《Keeper of Totality [Time-Travel LitRPG]》


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    Categories:


    [Realities]


    Definition (Reality): An infinite multi-dimensional and multiple timeline secondary highest-level non-sentient non-living dimensional entity that is a component of a ¡®Hyperverse¡¯, a primary highest-level non-sentient non-living dimensional entity.


    Synonyms: Multiverse | Antonyms: N/A


    [Updated: Origin Reality]


    The Origin Reality is the reality that the ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö of ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö originated from. Notable characteristics of the Origin Reality are the presence of the ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö , or Earth as it is called by its residents, and the ensuing high amounts of Influence Earth carries as a result of this. Another important feature of the Origin Reality is that it is currently the home of the former ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö of the ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö [See: ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö: ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö >> ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ].


    Due to an event involving the propagation of the ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡¯ ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö technology in the Cosmic Realm after the ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö of ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö had been created, the realm borders of the Origin Reality are ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö and ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö. This has been exacerbated by the rewrite of the main timeline of this reality, increasing the likelihood of a potential ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö of the borders between the ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö and the other physical realms once more. All the realms bear traces of the past ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡¯s incursions and have followed the typical processes observed relating to Conceptual Coalescence and Collective Conceptual Ideology.


    [Realms]


    [General Info]


    Definition (Realms): Under normal circumstances, realms are primary intermediate-level non-sentient, non-living dimensional entities, although exceptions to the non-sentient rule may apply [See: ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö >> Races >> Higher Races >> Paragon Anomaly].


    Synonyms: Main Dimensions, Superior Dimensions, Universe | Antonyms: N/A


    Realms are a phenomenon only observed in the ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö Reality, which makes it one of the reality''s unique defined characteristics. Realms can be categorised as physical, non-physical, material, and immaterial realms, with two categories applicable to each realm. Several realms may also have isolated dimensions [See: Realms >> Dimensions].


    [Physical Realms]


    [General Info]


    Definition (Physical Realms): Physical realms are realms that allow material and matter-based entities to exist within their borders.


    Synonyms: N/A | Antonyms: N/A


    The characteristic of a realm being physical is the major determiner of whether the ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö-¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö assimilates them. It has also been observed that the physical realms have the greatest population density and quantities, with the highest race variance as well. With the exception of one realm, the Tartarus Realm, all physical realm races are capable of continually sustaining their lives in the different physical realms.


    The physical realms and their details are contained within as follows:


    [Beast Realm]


    [General Info]


    The Beast Realm is named as such by the System due to the native race of the realm: Magical Beasts, which are particularly notable existences within the Tower due to their bloodline and conceptual descendency from a category of Great Beings known as the Primal Beasts. The realm itself is also unique in that it is the physically disseminated ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö of the Dragon Mother Tiamat, one of only two ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö Primal Beasts.


    The realm is formed of environmentally independent vast sections of land called ¡®regions¡¯, which in turn can have multitudes of biomes within. Regions often take on characteristics of a limited number of elements, be they essential elements or mid-level elements. No known region has taken on the elemental characteristics of a higher-level element. Beasts of the region¡¯s elements are always found within its borders.


    Regions are created in naturally forming isolated pocket dimensions, which are under accelerated time to allow the natural mana phenomenon to form the regions. All collective evidence points to the subraces of the new regions¡¯ beasts being randomly selected within the constraints of ensuring the population of one type of subrace is never eradicated, and all beast subrace populations parallel that of mundane creatures.


    Within the entirety of the Tower¡¯s current realms, the regions of the Beast Realm are the places with the highest naturally occurring mana density, when the sources of the Mystical Realm¡¯s planes are excluded. Natural mana phenomenon, natural treasures and Origin items are found frequently within this realm, although artifacts have been found rarely, if at all. The quantity of mana in this realm also means the Beast Realm has the highest quantities of monsters, and regularly faces the ill fortune of Aberrants forming within the regions. The number of Aberrants in this realm is unknown.


    [Abilities]


    [General Info]


    The natural abilities of this realm¡¯s residents are varied but follow basic rules. Through magically and conceptually anchored lineages, magical beasts are born with ¡®bloodlines¡¯, a form of power inheritance from ancestral descent. Inheriting both elemental affinity, bloodline spells, and bloodline advancement from parents, a magical beast may then increase its strength through the consumption of compatible natural treasures.


    Consumption of incompatible natural treasures can have disastrous consequences, however. If the mana within a magical beast becomes turbulent and chaotic, taking on the characteristics of monster essence, the beast¡¯s bloodline may become unstable. Combat results in the release of this chaotic and malignant mana from the body of the magical beast, and so this can increase a beast¡¯s bloodline stability.


    If a beast falls below 50% bloodline stability, each time their stability lowers, the chance of them falling and turning into a monster increases. If a beast has reached Superior or greater, this monsterification may further infect its bloodline relatives as well.


    [Origin Skill]


    Magical beasts are currently the race with the highest maximum limit for subskills in the Tower. The three standard subskills are listed below:


    Elemental Manipulation Subskill


    <ul>


    <li>This subskill provides a brief description of the User¡¯s subrace, elemental affinity, and unique skills. If the User has the Primal Descendant skill, it lists the primal beast responsible for the beast¡¯s elemental lineage.</li>


    <li>If a beast has more than one affinity and is not a hybrid, the description and spells reflect the details of the other elemental affinity in the one skill.</li>


    <li>If the beast is a hybrid, they receive two elemental manipulation subskills.</li>


    </ul>


    Ancient Retribution Subskill.


    <ul>


    <li>This subskill turns the User into a monster when their bloodline stability falls too low.</li>


    <li>This subskill also increases the User¡¯s bloodline advancement and strength when they consume compatible natural treasures, and so is not purely detrimental.</li>


    </ul>


    Natural Synchrony Subskill


    <ul>


    <li>This subskill allows for a magical beast to adapt to the mana around it and obtain features that may provide it with a predatorial advantage. It may also provide the beast with traits that form when the beast is under severe stress, pressure or in immense danger to enable them to survive.</li>


    <li>This subskill is also what allows magical beasts to sustain themselves with very little physical food, so they may absorb the mana of their surroundings if it is their elemental affinity to restore their strength and refill their mana stores.</li>


    <li>This subskill grants magical beasts a minor increase in the power of their field of influence on the area around them, and so when it comes to a magical beast with a domain or a Rank-4 magical beast wielding atmospheric mana, few outside races can dominate their grasp on the mana around them with pure mental manoeuvres.</li>


    </ul>


    There is one subskill that is found in only a fifth of the realm¡¯s population:


    Primal Descendant Subskill:


    <ul>


    <li>This subskill allows a beast to enhance its size, STR and CON by a certain factor, the factor determined by the bloodline advancement of the beast.</li>


    <li>Among the older generations of beasts, there is the idea that the Primal Descendant subskill indicates a higher percentage of ancestral blood in the beast.</li>


    </ul>


    [Ranking]


    The strength of a magical beast can be determined based on two factors:


    <ol>


    <li>Bloodline Rarity</li>


    </ol>


    And:


    <ol>


    <li>Bloodline Advancement</li>


    </ol>


    Bloodline rarity is the most important factor of a beast¡¯s strength. A beast with a higher bloodline rarity can defeat nearly all other beasts of its same bloodline advancement, and sometimes even those of a higher bloodline advancement. A higher bloodline rarity grants a beast stronger elemental manipulation abilities, stronger and more numerous bloodline spells, and grants them bloodline suppression, in the innate force of a beast to cause all weaker beasts to cower into submission. Superior-strength beasts and greater often use bloodline suppression to attempt to dominate the opposing party. Beasts with higher bloodline rarity are thought of as having higher potential.


    The bloodline rarities are as follows:


    Common >> Uncommon >> Rare >> Epic >> Ancient >> Legendary >> Mythical


    The subraces with higher rarity frequently have young born at a higher bloodline advancement as well, and have an increased resistance to the monsterification process. Legendary rarity beasts and greater are called bloodline royalty. Only two subrace lineages of the Beast Realm have reached Mythical: The Dragons, and Phoenixes.


    Bloodline advancement is considered synonymous with the actual strength of a beast. Each rank of advancement grants a beast different abilities:


    Low-ranked Beast ¨C The weakest beast. No sapience and their intelligence is low, so they frequently consume incompatible natural treasures and become monsters. Beasts with intermediate bloodline advancement and/or Rare and lower bloodline rarity have children of this advancement. Increasing bloodline advancement must come through either age due to being born to advanced-level beasts, or through luck. Beasts at this level of advancement have only one bloodline spell.


    Intermediate-ranked Beast ¨C Considered the ¡®young¡¯ of the magical beast race by most subraces. If a beast is born to advanced-level parents, it will naturally reach this bloodline advancement by the age of ten. With this advancement, they gain mortal race-level intelligence and sapience, although they mature at the same rate as the mortal races. Here they access more bloodline spells and elemental manipulation.


    Advanced-ranked Beast ¨C The ¡®young adults¡¯ of the magical beast subraces. They gain the ability to morph their forms into a bipedal appearance resembling the mortal races, although they retain some characteristics of their beast forms and their ¡®hair¡¯ is often made of the same material as their fur, feathers, or scales. They can use elemental manipulation in this form but not bloodline spells unless they morph into their partial forms, where they gain traits such as scales, transformed claws, tails and wings.


    Superior-ranked Beast ¨C The adults. A beast must have at least this advancement before they can become a member of their enclave¡¯s ¡®Warborne¡¯, the militant beasts of the enclave and private army of the enclave¡¯s leader. Superior beasts gain bloodline suppression, a stronger form of bestial aura that can instil weakness and fear in their weaker brethren. Their elemental manipulation abilities grow so strong that their most basic elemental manipulation forms an elemental domain, which becomes further strengthened when they use their Origin Skill Domains. It is here though, that another ¡®caste¡¯ of beasts appear: those with primal descendancy and those without. The Superior beasts with primal descendancy become the elite Warborne forces, the strongest of the beast armies.


    ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö Beast ¨C The second highest level of bloodline advancement. Only the leaders of the bloodline royalty subraces have this level of strength. To become a ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö Beast, a magical beast must have the Primal Descendant subskill, without exception. At this level of advancement, their elemental abilities are often equated to that of Archmagus Grand spells, those who have lived over several thousand years and have a fully formed Superior rune in their mana pools. Those who have reached ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö Beast level advancement are titled Beast Kings. The beast Realm¡¯s Stages are an exception, where the simulated beasts had been made weaker and only Superior beasts had been given the titles of Beast King. When a beast becomes a ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö Beast, their Primal Descendant subskill evolves to become the ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö subskill, meaning ¡®¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡¯, and their size, STR and CON multiplying factor becomes x10.


    ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö Beast ¨C The highest level of advancement. The last recorded ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö Beast was from before the times of the first ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö incursion. When a magical beast reaches this level, they are no longer a member of the lower races but a higher race.


    [Races]


    [Higher Races]


    [Primal Beasts]


    [Paragon Anomaly]


    The Paragon Anomaly, or Realm Ruler of the Beast Realm is the Dragon Sovereign. Taking the form of a titanic golden dragon, her name changes with each cycle as she goes through a rebirth every twenty thousand years. Presumably, her name changes due to her memories being erased each rebirth. Her current name is Dhalia and her humanoid form is that of a well-endowed human woman plated from the shoulders down in golden scale armour. Her hair and eyes are both golden, and her tanned skin also takes on a golden hue.


    Her ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö is the ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö self of Tiamat, the Dragon Mother, Primeval Sea of Life, and Primal Dragoness. Due to being ¡®severed¡¯ in an event just before the assimilation of the realm, she can maintain a higher race ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö with ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö and ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö while her ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö Primal self maintains its ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö in the ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö. Her ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö is ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö, the Obsidian Dragon, known as the ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö, who goes by ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö currently. He also undergoes rebirth, but due to the ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö nature of his ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö, he does not have the status of a Paragon Anomaly and uses a weaker ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö.


    [Lower Races]


    [Mortal Races: Unavailable]


    [Magical Beasts]


    The native race of the Beast Realm is called Magical Beasts, a race whose form is that of mundane creatures but often of titanic size and with unnatural features such as glowing stripes, metallic fur, and so on. They are born with elemental affinities and can cast ¡®bloodline spells¡¯, a form of conceptual magic inherited through descendancy. The sapient beasts of the Beast Realm mature at the same speed as the children of the mortal races, but do not age, as is the case with all non-mortal races.


    [Geography]


    The geography of the Beast Realm is as diverse and beautiful as it is dangerous and incomprehensible. An ever-expanding piece of land, when regions are developed in their pocket dimensions, they surface at the main realm and join with the edges of the ¡®frontier¡¯ regions of the Beast Realm, becoming the new frontier regions themselves. Biomes and environments can be in direct contrast with each other, a desert region placed right beside a snowfield. It is theorised that the reason this is so is to prevent the conflict over natural treasures of one element from becoming to fierce, but this has not been proven.


    Every region of the Beast Realm is constantly growing in size, over extremely long periods of time. This is possible due to the continual increase in mana and mana density of the regions, which is shown in the mana phenomenon of the regions becoming more powerful and deadly, and the geography becoming more dangerous to traverse. Mountains and rivers of the Beast Realm are known to become taller and wider, with valleys becoming deeper and cave systems stretching downwards seemingly forever. The larger and subsequently more powerful regions form a larger number of more powerful natural treasures and Origin items.


    The largest region in the Beast Realm is known as the Central Battlefields region, a place occupied by no singular ruling enclave, and twenty times the size of any individual region. It is here fledgeling Warborne are sent to train themselves and those unsatisfied with their bloodline stability head to stabilise their bloodlines. Going to the Central Battlefields region is considered a rite of passage among the combative beast subraces. The second largest region is the region of the Dragons, although the abodes of the pure dragon bloodline members such as the Dragon Kings are in a separate dimension that contains all members of the three dragon lineages. The Dragon Sovereign rules from her palace in the Dragons¡¯ dimension. The third largest region is the region of the Phoenixes, and the fourth is the Distorted Depths, a region infamous for its incredibly numerous Monster Kings and Aberrants.


    [Governing Body]


    The subraces of the magical beast race follow a very strict hierarchy. No beast subrace may be the vassal of a different beast subrace, and must only be the vassal of a bloodline of their own subrace that is higher rarity. The exception to this is the Dragon subrace, which all the Legendary beast bloodlines are loyal to. While they may fight their fellow Legendary bloodline subraces, they show full obedience to the Dragon Sovereign.


    For the most part, the governing system of the Beast Realm can be considered a feudal system. Exceptions to this rule exist, however. The Ancient clans are frequently found in frontier regions and have had little to do with the ruling beast subraces. Due to their regions being young, but having somewhat high bloodline rarity, they are usually the ruling Supreme enclaves of their own regions. They govern themselves independently but will listen to the orders of their subrace¡¯s Legendary bloodline.


    [Unique Realm Event]


    The Unique Realm Event of the Beast Realm is a Lair. Formed by a monster to guard a precious natural treasure and spawn their kind, monster essence forms something reminiscent of a ¡®Domain¡¯. The Lairs must be cleared out regularly to prevent them from growing stronger and have the highest density of monsters out of any Unique Realm Event.


    [Origin]


    The Beast Realm is the physical ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö of the primal Dragoness Tiamat. Known as the Primeval Sea of Life, ¡®She¡¯ can form regions and environments with the ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö of ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö. In contrast to this, ¡®Her¡¯ ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö, ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö, has the conceptual ability of destruction. Due to a ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö between the ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö when ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö by their ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö selves, ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡¯s ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö was shattered into pocket dimensions, where the magical beast races were able to be formed. The dimensions of the Beast Realm continually gravitate towards the main realm in an attempt to reform ¡®Her¡¯ ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö and return to being whole once more. This can be only done with the acceptance of every magical beast in being reabsorbed back into ¡®Her¡¯ ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö, a near impossibility. The Dragon Sovereign, ¡®Her¡¯ ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö, has expressed ¡®her¡¯ opposition to reforming ¡®Her¡¯ ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö.


    ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö, as a Primal of the destruction concept, can exist in oblivion and does not currently have a material ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö. ¡®His¡¯ immaterial ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö has been banished to the ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö until the day arrives that the ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö between the two Primals¡¯ ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö and ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö selves is resolved.


    [Demon Realm]


    [General Info]


    The Demon Realm is notable among the realms mostly for its Paragon Anomaly, the Primordial Demon, who is considered one of the most powerful beings in existence by the Tower¡¯s residents. However, the lower-race denizens of the realm are not to be underestimated. The demons of the Demon Realm had been involved in the history of the Mystical Realm for aeons and all bear special personality characteristics as an effect of being nigh-on immune to permanent death.


    The endless landmass that is the Demon Realm is geographically segmented by the System into areas called ¡®Dominions¡¯. These were not a wholly original facet of the Demon Realm before its entrance into the Tower, but a partial result of the System¡¯s attempt at assigning a reference methodology to the inherently chaotic and incomprehensible Demon Realm. Due to the predatory nature of demonic power, all non-sapient organisms native to the Demon Realm desire to kill and consume the power of any other living organism to cross their path. Many sapient organisms of the Demon Realm exhibit this behaviour too.


    Users have been unable to determine whether the Demon Realm is truly infinite. Attempts to obtain this information from its Demon Emperor have been met with difficulty as it has been determined that the Demon Emperor can detect land as far as his perception can view. This proposes two theories: that the Demon Realm expands when the Demon Emperor¡¯s power and consequently perception increases, or that the realm truly is infinite.


    One important detail to note about the Demon Realm is its utter lack of monsters. This is due to mana being scarce in the Demon Realm as it is treated as a currency of sorts, with the inherent ¡®materialism¡¯ of mana enhancing a demon¡¯s power greatly and improving their lineages. Because of this, a culture of forming contracts with residents of the Mystical Realm to obtain mana was created, and few sources of mana outside demonic nobility estates can be located. As all demons are technically immaterial ¡®dimensional entities¡¯, mana allows them to form physical bodies when not in their realm.


    [Abilities]


    [General Info]


    The abilities of demons of the Demon Realm progress in a nonlinear and irregular way. While most can be linked back to the inheritance of physical traits known as demon lineages, unlike magical beasts, demonic abilities can often be impossible to track back to the lineages. This is thought to be due to the Demon Realm and demons¡¯ strong connection to the concept of chaos, an effect of Conceptual Coalescence.


    There are two key traits that determine the abilities of a demon, however: whether the demon is a humanoid True Demon or a demon beast. True Demons are technically the same race as demon beasts as a severe reduction in demonic power can turn a True Demon into a demon beast, while a major increase in demonic power can turn a demon beast into a True Demon, but it still affects their abilities, nonetheless. A curious detail is that a True Demon is not necessarily stronger than a demon beast, perhaps because the purity of demonic power is important for determining how ¡®human¡¯ a demon looks and does not equate to the total quantity of demonic power.


    A third and the most important factor of a demon¡¯s abilities is how much access to the demonic tongue and script they have. The rarer, purer and more powerful their lineage and/or lineages, the greater access to the script they have. This allows them to cast demonic spells and the more demonic runes and words they use in their spell, the stronger it is. What specific runes and words become available to the demon when they enhance their strength is apparently random. The four Demon Dukes have access to the entire lexicon of the demonic tongue if only with their demonic lineages enhancing their specialities in one or two aspects of the tongue, while the Primordial Demon and Demon Emperor is/are the only individual who understands the demonic tongue well enough to go to the extent of creating new words and runes in it.


    [Origin Skill]


    As mentioned in the category [General Info], the innate abilities of a demon are hard to predict and understand. But just as with the other races, their Origin Skills carry a few key similarities and subskills. Demons normally only have three subskills when not a half-demon of another race, and the third subskill determines their unique personal abilities along the lines of strengthening their talent with a weapon, demonic spell comprehension and such.


    Descendent of Chaos Subskill:


    <ul>


    <li>Grants them demonic power instead of spiritual energy. Key traits of demonic power are that it is fundamentally still composed of spiritual information particles, but these particles vibrate and respond violently to the emotions of the individual.</li>


    <li>Grants them innate suppression over weaker demons and allows them to devour the demonic energy of those defeated by them with certain rules. Weaker defeated demons grant less demonic power than equal strength or stronger demons.</li>


    <li>Changes a demon¡¯s ¡®True Name¡¯ when their strength is enhanced by making it longer. A True Name allows someone to locate and summon a specific demon at will, so this is thought to be a preventative measure against that.</li>


    </ul>


    Demonic Lineage Subskill:


    <ul>


    <li>Grants them a demonic lineage of some level of purity and rarity, as well as one or two abilities characteristic of the lineage. Some demons have multiple lineages when the purity of their power and lineage is low, in which they¡¯d obtain the weaker abilities of their lineages in return for more of them.</li>


    <li>Depending on the specialities of the lineages and their rarities, this subskill grants a demon understanding, both written and spoken, of the demonic tongue. This allows them to use demonic spells when they desire a specific effect besides enhancing their magical and physical strength with demonic power and/or overwhelming the soul of their opposition. The power of a demonic contract is also determined by a demon¡¯s understanding of the demonic tongue.</li>


    </ul>


    [Ranking]


    The Demon Realm¡¯s original ranking system bears similarities to that of the Beast Realm, in that lineage rarity and innate strength advancement are two categories, but the naming schematic is very different.


    For lineage rarity, translations of the demonic tongue refer to the later True Demon lineage rarities as noble titles. This may be because of the very strict feudal hierarchy of the Demon Realm. It should be noted that the demon beast lineages are not graded at all and demon beasts are only categorised by their actual strength as all demon beast lineages are ¡®inferior¡¯ to True Demon lineages.


    The True Demon lineage rarities are as follows, with the word ¡®demon¡¯ being a suffix or prefix depending on the term:


    Lesser >> Intermediate >> Greater >> Lord >> Baron >> Viscount >> Count >> Marquis >> Duke >> King >> Emperor


    The lineage rarity of ¡®Demon King¡¯ is not used formally, but has traditionally been used to refer to the ruling Four Demon Dukes whoever they may be at any time, because pinnacle strength just under the Great Beings status of [Ancient Daemon] is needed to succeed as the next true Demon Duke. Demon ¡®Dukes¡¯ as a title refers to members of the Ducal lineages.


    {Temporary Note: The title of ¡®Demon King¡¯ used in the Unique Event Hero Vs. Demon King War is only to denote that the strength of those selected demons once they have obtained that status during the event is on par with the natural strength of the four Demon Dukes. They are not true Demon Kings and will have that status revoked once the event is over, as their temporary buffs are removed.}


    The demon beast strength ranking is as follows:


    Lesser >> Intermediate >> Greater >> Low Lord >> Intermediate Lord >> High Lord >> King >> Emperor


    Because demon beasts do not adhere to a feudal hierarchy and only adhere to a lineage suppression and predatorial one, they do not have unique nobility titles.


    The Demon Emperor is at the top of both ranking systems, even though he lacks a beast form. This is because the Primordial Demon is considered a personification of the realm itself. In Demon Emperor ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡¯s case, he is not a Primordial Demon but an ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö, an ancestral creature of demons that is supposed to live in the ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö like the Primals. He is capable of assuming the position of Demon Emperor and Primordial Demon because he is the existence known as the ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö and the one who bestowed his aspects on a ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö to create the Demon Realm. As a ¡®dimensional existence¡¯ he is able to satisfy the requirements of dimensional navigation to be considered a Paragon Anomaly.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    [Races]


    [Higher Races]


    [Ancient Daemons]


    [Paragon Anomaly]


    The current Realm Ruler of the Demon Realm is the Demon Emperor. In his normal form, he appears with a height towering over most mortals, with large scarlet eyes that glow when he is emotionally heightened, an androgynous countenance and long white hair. For trivial reasons, he decided to have black hair in the current cycle. He has the physical build of a warrior and is largely considered a dispassionate and apathetic individual by the races due to his lacking interest in controlling the affairs of the realms. While he gives himself a new name every cycle after he awakens from his deep slumber, the same individual has been the Demon Emperor for the past 500,000 years. He chooses to pass the time between when he must wake in a cycle by sleeping.


    He is not a Primordial Demon.


    Demon Emperor ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö is a unique case of a connected existence ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö a Paragon Anomaly¡¯s role and ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö as them for a long time. This is only possible because all Primordial Demons take their ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö from ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö, the ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö of Ancient Daemons. He is also unique because he is the first proof of ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö higher races being able to change their aspects and Causality-anchored abilities under the right circumstances. He is capable of using the abilities and higher element from before he became a Fallen ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö but prefers his new higher element, which suits the role he performs for each cycle.


    While rarely seen, the Demon Emperor¡¯s combat form is very dissimilar to that recorded for true Primordial Demons. They gain gold demonic script and a singular pair of horns, but he gains marks of black demonic script on his forehead, cheeks, chest, abdomen, forearms and back, with one symbol that seems to represent his name featuring prominently. He grows a pair of large black feathered wings, spreading a total of seven metres in wingspan, and three pairs of black horns. When he steps beyond that to enter his True Form, he gains black scale armour that covers his legs, thighs, waist, shoulders and back. The Demon Emperor wields a sword in battle ¨C a featureless, seemingly dull dark metal weapon yet with an indestructible nature. It is referred to as ¡®Nameless¡¯ in all records.


    [Lower Races]


    [Mortal Races: Unavailable]


    [Demons]


    Demons are the result of a strong connection between the ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö and Conceptual Coalescence. With their oppositional natures towards ¡®divinities¡¯ depicted in Earth¡¯s mythology, they are considered the metaphysical counterbalance to the creatures known as spirits, and Ancient Daemons are known as the counterbalance to Primarchs. Because of the circumstances regarding the formation of the realm, they gain physical bodies in their home realm as opposed to that of spirits, who remain non-physical.


    Demons are ¡®dimensional entities¡¯ like spirits and are capable of traversing the spiritual realm to access the Mystical Realm. While the first few cases were because of Ancient Daemons accidentally gaining access to the realm, later demon arrival has been due to summoning by mortals or other demons. Demons are capable of having ¡®incarnations¡¯, semi-independent physical bodies in the other realms that share the same mind as the demon¡¯s main body. If these bodies are killed, the incarnation gets returned to the main body in the Demon Realm.


    Demons have a unique system of rebirth. When one dies, they lose a portion of their demonic power, which directly affects their strength. As their ¡®True Bodies¡¯ are essentially a single soul surrounded by dense demonic power, they can sometimes lose memories as a result of this, especially when already weak. If a demon has collected mana as well, they lose a portion of that. If they lose enough of their soul, and consequently their True Body, they degrade into a non-sapient demonic beast and must return to being a True Demon to regain their memories. This does not mean a finite amount of demons exist at any one time because demons can still procreate and have children with new souls and no former memories.


    For a demon to become an Ancient Daemon, they must have Demon King-level strength and have obtained a portion of ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö essence.


    [Geography]


    The vast sectors of the Demon Realm are separated into ¡®Dominions¡¯. These unusual pieces of terrain have their borders defined based on the span of the demonic ¡®biome¡¯ contained within. Such biomes are often expanding or shrinking in accordance with the ruling demon¡¯s Khaos Authority: Auctoritas, a Demon Realm-exclusive alternative to Faction Authority found only in Strongholds. Dominions take on the characteristics of the ruling demon¡¯s own powers, so they can change when another demon succeeds an earlier ruler. While biomes may be changing, the formation of the shape of the terrain itself stays fixed. The presence of a Dominium is also determined by one hidden trait: the presence of an Ancient Daemon seal.


    The Demon Realm is known to be ¡®infinite¡¯ on a horizontal but not vertical basis. Unlike the Tartarus Realm, which has unknown depth, the Demon Realm can have Dominions with shallow depths but vast lands composed of inorganic substances. Only inanimate matter such as minerals and earth present harmless capabilities, but those substances can be seeped with demonic power and as such become highly valuable materials for construction or crafting.


    The weather of the Demon Realm is only as temperamental as its ruler. While small storms and rainfall can occur in response to the Dominion ruler¡¯s emotions, it is always overruled by the Demon Emperor¡¯s storms when his anger is roused. The demonic lightning and rain from such storms are catastrophically damaging to all living and non-living things.


    [Governing Body]


    Using such a term as a feudal ¡®Empire¡¯ is glorifying the governing form of the Demon Realm more than it deserves. At its essence, it could be loosely titled a hierarchal system that is built upon the concept of utter loyalty bordering on slavery to the caste above. Demonic lineages grant a strong demon absolute control over weaker demons in the area. Frequently, this is not an issue as the higher castes of demon nobility show a lack of care or indifference to the members of the castes below the caste immediately underneath. These castes are purely based upon a demon¡¯s strength and lineage.


    While Strongholds may have demon guards owned by the ruler of the Stronghold, the Daemonium Palace has no guards besides those placed there who are vassals of the Demon Duchies. The Demon Emperor needs no guards as no known ability yet has demonstrated the capability of sealing his powers, the only potential way to harm him. In comparison to the lesser demons that walk within his terrain, he can be considered omnipotent.


    The four Demon Duchies themselves are famed in the other realms of the Tower. The oldest living ¡®Demon King¡¯, the ruler of a Duchy lineage, is Abyssal Duchess Lilith Iona al¡¯Abyssus. With all succubi and incubi lineages being vassals of the Abyssal lineage, she is the most ancient demon after the Demon Emperor. Known publicly as the Demon Emperor¡¯s personal aide and secretary, she is the leader of demon ¡®high society¡¯. The Abyssal lineage is famous for its ability to grant contractees their ¡®Black magic¡¯, which includes mind control and temptation amongst other things.


    While Duchess Lilith is the oldest, the most famed demon clan in the outside realms is the Nefas Infernalis, the wielders of the unique Flames of Sin abilities. The Duke of the Infernal demons at the current time is Infernal Duke Reighdorlan Decarabria Nefas Infernalis. The Flames of Sin ability is split into seven unique abilities named after the seven sins of Superbia (Vainglory), Luxuria (Lust), Invidia (Envy), Ira (Wrath), Gula (Gluttony), Avarita (Avarice), and Acedia (Slothfulness). An Infernal demon may be born with the ability to handle only one or several of these flames, based upon the lineage purity, but the Infernal Duke is determined by who has the most proficiency with all seven of the flames. These flames can instil emotions in their enemies, as well as have distinct unique effects themselves. Superbia grants invincibility for a limited time, Luxuria can command its victims to do anything, Invidia enables the user to shapeshift and gain the abilities of their enemies for a limited time, Ira grants immense strength and magical power, Gula enables the demon to devour the magical power of their enemies, Avarita enhances the power of whatever tool the user wields, and Acedia freezes enemies for an amount of time. The Nefas Infernalis is the largest clan with the most vassals.


    The Draco Bestia clan are unique in that their ancestor was, as the name suggests, a draconic beast. Born between a high ranked dragon and a demon beast, this draconic beast passed the trials of the Dragon¡¯s Gate and became a True Dragon with the characteristics of both a dragon and demons. Little else is known about them, but their descendants gained enough power to have equal standing with the other Demon Duchies. Unexpectedly, they appear to have a good relationship with the Dragon Sovereign in the Beast Realm, as their Dukes and Duchesses frequently visit her each few thousand years. Their current Demon Duke is Demonic Dragon Duke Zagan Rhaegal Draco Bestia. The youngest of the current Dukes, at a mere five thousand years of age.


    The fourth Demon Duchy clan is that of the Lux-Tenebrae Khaoticus, who earned their name from their peculiar constitutions of containing both dark mana and light mana internally. Limited records from the time of the Chaos Demons¡¯ formation suggest that a human was able to survive a demon transformation process and their traits of having both dark and light affinity passed to their demonic offspring. They are the only demons born with mana, and their numbers are few and scattered. They are known to have a secret position and job among the four Demon Duchies, but it is unknown what it is, besides the fact that no other Duchy interferes with them. Their current Duke is Chaos Duke Choronzon Haures Lux-Tenebrae Khaoticus, a famed warrior in the Demon Realm.


    It should be said that while the Demon Duchies may have different abilities, all of their Dukes have near-equal power.


    [Unique Realm Event]


    Strongholds are the alternative to typical Ascendant Cities in the other realms, like the existence of Necropolises in Tartarus. The quantity of vassal demons within the Dominium of the ruling demon grants them more authority to control their Stronghold and create more facilities utilising the System¡¯s power. Demons are not known for their level of education in civil engineering.


    While it is possible for a non-demon to take over a Stronghold and gain its authority, without demonic power to sense the entire Dominium, it would prove useless to them. Instead, when a User challenges a Demon Lord of a Stronghold, they gain additional benefits compared to defeating another User of their race. They can also improve their resistance to demonic power.


    While Strongholds must form after a new Obelisk is placed, that is not their only requirement to form in a Dominium. This is the same hidden requirement for a Dominium to exist, in that a Stronghold must be built atop a sealed incarnation of an Ancient Daemon. The reasons for this are complex, but it is primarily because a demon¡¯s strength is enhanced when in the presence of an Ancient Daemon. The demons absorbing demonic energy also prevent the incarnation from gaining awareness. If there is not an Ancient Daemon seal for a considerable distance, the Dominium before is simply an abnormally large Dominium.


    Ancient Daemon seals themselves are simply a point of connection between the Demon Realm and the ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö. Unlike the Cosmic and Mystical Realm, whose connection is the link between mortal spiritual energy and the conception of Primarchs, the Demon Realm has no relationship with the ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö besides Ancient Daemons being former lower race demons.


    [Origin]


    Unique from other realms of the Origin Reality, the Demon Realm was not naturally created. The realm itself existed before any alterations, but due to the ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö Imperatoris-Daemonium utilising his ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö Causality to ¡®infuse¡¯ the realm with his ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö aspects, it gained the identity of the ¡®Demon Realm¡¯ and sided with chaotic forces. The result of this was that a lower race similar to the ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡¯s characteristics formed ¨C the demons. The ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö likewise formed Ancient Daemons in an attempt to connect to the Demon Realm, but their chaotic natures were at odds with ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö and as such became enemies of the realm.


    [Tartarus Realm]


    [Mystical Realm]


    [Heavenly Realm]


    - [Earthly Realms]


    - [Mortal Realms]


    [Cosmic Realm]


    [WARNING: INFORMATION AFTER THIS POINT IS {¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö}. GAIN LEVEL 3 AUTHORITY OR HIGHER TO PROCEED]


    [Nonphysical Realms]


    [Material Realms]


    [Immaterial Realms]


    [Dimensions]


    [Monsters]


    [Energies]


    [Great Beings]


    [Individuals with an importance value of [¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö] or higher]


    [Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft]


    [General Info]


    Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft is one of three individuals whose souls¡¯ have been taken from the old main timeline to be preserved in their new bodies in the new timeline. Having lived for 248 years and 9 months in the old timeline, she was returned to three months and one day before her 18<sup>th</sup> birthday on Earth. On the day of her 18<sup>th</sup> birthday, the 2<sup>nd</sup> of July, her soul age became 249. The length of time she was a member of the Tower in the main timeline of the ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö Reality pre-rewrite was 231 years.


    Little has been able to be determined about her past, however, it is known that she was a member of the Eternal Empire¡¯s Sub-Battalion of the Navy in the Distorted Depths for 25 years, where she was an Admiral at the time she resigned. At some point in her life, she became an Archmage, and it has been noted that she lists her various professions in the past timeline as ¡®A mercenary, a professor, the Twelfth Seat of the Illusion Order, a consultant, an expeditionary, a spymaster, a living catastrophe, an infamous figure on Earth, and an ¡®honorary member¡¯ of the Dawn Dissenters¡¯.


    Lucille Goldcroft appears as an eighteen-year-old woman with straight black hair. Her facial features are considered conventionally attractive by most races within the Tower, although she cannot be said to have the non-mortal aesthetics that some humans and mortal races carry when they are particularly talented with mana. She has a slim figure with a height of 5 ft. 5 in. or 165 cm. Her skin tone is pale but not unnaturally so, and her baseline physical athleticism demonstrated has been high. Her original eye colour happened to be an unusual shade of dark blue, but contact with the System in the new timeline resulted in it consequently becoming a unique shade of piercing violet. The reason for this colour is unknown, although connections between her new eye colour and the element of space can be made.


    She wears her long straight hair down with a long fringe reaching her eyebrows. The image presented in the Shard of Totality when she used a materialised mirror in the spiritual space suggests this may have changed later in life, however.


    [Personality Traits]


    Lucille Goldcroft is, for the most part, a comparatively friendly individual if met with a complete stranger with no connection to her or her enemies whatsoever. Seemingly not fearing someone questioning her knowledge, she freely expresses the personality she gained over 231 years of being in the Tower and shows no interest in acting at least in part like her age unless it suits her purpose. She is content to let others keep questioning her abilities and doesn¡¯t care to answer them unless she feels it necessary.


    She is approachable in ordinary circumstances, although someone might be met with a shortened conversation if she doesn¡¯t consider them interesting enough. Most would assume her to be a particularly expressive individual if they were unaware of how she acted when around those she was more familiar with. But Lucille Goldcroft is naturally an abnormally inexpressive person. This does not stem from a disability or any sort of mental condition such as sociopathy or psychopathy as it is difficult to apply such terms to someone who purposely controls their mind, but is instead due to her constitution.


    Based on the characteristics she emphasises in her Alter-Ego¡¯s consciousness, it can be assumed that due to her naturally inexpressive nature, her unique personality characteristics struggled to present themselves as anything but indifference and apathy in the past timeline. A large percentage of this was intentional, however, both in the current timeline and the prior. Her current way of presenting herself is an effect of spiritual energy manipulation, used to enhance her gestures and ensure her expressions are lively enough for others to pick up on. She only does this when she intends to fool someone, or she wishes to ensure the meaning of her words is understood correctly.


    Lucille Goldcroft has been described by others as sarcastic, stubborn, opaque, whimsical, witty, humorous, intelligent, always carrying a level of casual indifference, and manipulating. Her manipulative tendencies are partially just another way she uses her spiritual energy control to reach her objective, but she has shown an uncommon type of interest in other people. That is not to say she observes them as she would experimental subjects, but there is a level of academic curiosity she shows regarding the reactions of other people when it comes to some situations. She has also demonstrated a fondness for theatrics and enjoys seeing her actions affect both the people and the world around her. This fondness for theatrics extends to the clothing she chooses to wear.


    [Strengths]


    Lucille Goldcroft is a very adept mage and researcher. Her vast spiritual energy allows her to comprehend information faster than most, and she gains the equivalent of hours to think through what normally someone would have a second to think through. She is both cautious and careful while being decisive as well.


    She has demonstrated an incredible talent for understanding magic and mana. From the development of her own unique form of magic to her further exploration of the phenomenon and laws of the realms themselves, she has considered every possible angle to amplify the effects of her magic. As it is, the curiosity that led to her in depth research into so many topics appears to have abated somewhat, but that is only because she has researched all she physically can until the present. Her curiosity may return when she finds an object of interest in this timeline.


    [Weaknesses]


    Lucille Goldcroft may seem to freely share information about herself in some cases, but she firmly refuses to give away information about herself in other cases. This includes her intentions to defeat and kill the third [A??????????n????????????????????????m?????????@???????????????-----]


    [Error: User not found]


    -which may possibly be due to the way the third [A??????????n????????????????????????m?????????@???????????????---]


    [Error: User not found]


    -ability¡¯s work. She also seems to have a tendency to attempt to push others away when they express a desire to learn more about the aspects of herself she hides from them.


    [Past Timeline Info]


    There is an annoying lack of information about-


    [Error: Bias detected. Rewriting sentence.]


    There is a lack of information about Lucille Goldcroft¡¯s motives, actions and past in the prior timeline. The System contract made between her and the Authorizer was an attempt to rectify this, but her memory seals as well as her artful control of her thoughts has made it difficult to obtain additional information. She does not seem to be intentionally hiding information of interest to the System, but she is also aware that her level of value may be affected by what she reveals. This has led to the System¡¯s indirect form of utilising her through the Authorizer.


    [Relatives]


    [Unknown Parents]


    <ul>


    <li>Lucy herself has very few memories of them. Information on their whereabouts is considered extremely high value information by the System.</li>


    </ul>


    [Marvin Goldcroft]


    <ul>


    <li>The CEO of Medallion, Earth¡¯s largest global corporation. Their relationship is not hostile but there appears to be a rivalry between them of some kind. He is the great uncle of Lucille and the identical twin brother of her grandfather.</li>


    </ul>


    [Richard Goldcroft]


    <ul>


    <li>Lucille¡¯s grandfather. Lucille appears to feel a sense of mild exasperation regarding him. The man is enjoying spending his retirement in different resorts all over Earth and has the distinct characteristic of irresponsibility.</li>


    </ul>


    [Friends]


    Lucille Goldcroft does not seem to only consider the people around her as ¡®tools¡¯, so anyone she has shown a large part of her true personality to will be considered ¡®friends¡¯. She views her bond as her best friend, although this could be attributed to her not thinking of her colleagues in the last timeline as friends. Her bond has additionally claimed that she considers a Paragon Anomaly as one of her closer ¡®acquaintances¡¯, referring to the acquaintance as ¡®he¡¯.


    She considers her aide as a friend. And while not necessarily returned, she considers her personal crafter as someone on the borders of being a friend, although she has noticed that he has not once ever called her ¡®Lucy¡¯ instead of ¡®Lucille¡¯. Lucille¡¯s exact emotions about her serpent bond are mixed. She feels a sense of responsibility for him as their bond resulted in his death at the time of her death. Her bond feels just as responsible for her as he believes his reaction when they first made a soulbond changed how she perceived herself.


    [Lovers]


    Lucille Goldcroft has not ever had a lover. She seems to consider romance not as something to avoid, or something she would never have time for ¨C although she doubts that too ¨C but something physically impossible for her personally. The reasons for this stem from her own knowledge about her constitution and her feelings regarding her artificial emotional control. She does not appear keen on allowing anyone to discover enough about her to be considered a partner. She only views her bond as a close companion who has been in life or death battles with her, and her feelings towards him are closer to that of a sibling, as he feels the same about her.


    Due to her disinterest in romance, she has experienced no romantic relationships or any form of intimacy and is perfectly fine without it. Her experiences with the third [A??????????n????????????????????????m?????????@???????????????---]


    [Error: User not found]


    -have enhanced her disinterest. She actively suppresses any form of desire due to ¡®not needing it¡¯. The likelihood of her ever gaining a romantic partner is very low.


    [Enemies]


    Lucille doesn¡¯t have many people or groups she considers her enemies and is flexible when it comes to changing motives of herself and others. However, the few she has she will not change her opinions on.


    [¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö - ERROR]


    [PSC: Alectis, could you manually add the data here? I can¡¯t do anything myself.]


    {....fine.}


    [The Third Anomaly: Hero of Light]


    <ul>


    <li>Someone who has a corrupted class. Something to do with Causality. Can¡¯t be killed outright. Goldcroft has a vendetta against him. Reason for the new timeline and me having to repeat all this work ¨C as such, must be killed.</li>


    </ul>


    [PSC: ....Alectis.]


    {What.}


    [PSC: Sigh]


    [END]


    <ul>


    <li>An organisation run by ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡¯s ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö. Enemies of the three(?) new Anomalistic Users discovered in the current timeline. According to Scytale¡¯s memories, these were the enemies he and Lucille allied against until they permanently bonded, and the [Her0¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö] had a signal on him that was used by END and they were tracking until they ended up in an ambush that got them killed. Lucy spent several decades fighting against END until her death.</li>


    </ul>


    [Malediction Society]


    <ul>


    <li>An organisation of the Mystical Realm that deals in illegal slavery, slave exchange, Heretic Item transactions, Host creation and development.</li>


    </ul>


    [Scytale]


    [General Info]


    Scytale is a male magical beast hybrid of the races of Truth-Seizing Serpent and Sanctity Caladrius. He is the grandson of his maternal clan¡¯s Matriarch, and the great-grandson of his paternal clan¡¯s Patriarch, the two bloodlines being surprisingly well-matched in a way that allowed him to fuse the bloodlines and become a winged serpent, or amphiptere. As one of the three souls with intact memories of the timeline pre-rewrite, he is a highly important individual to the System. This is also because he is the lone individual with memories of the former timeline that the System is able to comprehensively analyse and understand his personality, in accordance with reading his memories. Unfortunately, as an individual without much advanced education before his second meeting with Lucille Goldcroft, he only provides the System with an overall understanding of the events of the timeline pre-rewrite without any of the exact details required to make comprehensive plans.


    As an individual born in a realm assimilated into the Tower before the beginning of the rewrite, the System has been aware of his abnormalities for fifteen months before his meeting with his current bond. At the time, his strange memories did not take high importance due to the possibility of it being a residual effect of distant lineage to another beast or similar, but it was when he met his bond that his importance was realised. It was only when he met his bond that he visited an Obelisk for his abnormalities to be fully comprehended. Before that, however, his potential was rated as high by the System due to his deep understanding of bloodlines and quick advancement. This can now be attributed to his pre-rewrite knowledge.


    In his beast form, he appears as a pale silver serpent with metallic wings of white gold and feathers on his head of white gold. He inherited the traits of his maternal clan¡¯s Warborn and has a downward pointing arrow of silver horns on his head. He does not have a feathered tail and his bloodline characteristics make it unlikely he¡¯ll gain a feathered tail. His slitted eyes are dark gold. Depending on his bloodline advancement, he may have one or multiple pairs of wings.


    His humanoid form retains his key characteristics in that his mimicry hair has the same metallic and silver sheen of his scales, and his slitted eyes are likewise dark gold. Unlike most serpent clan members in their humanoid forms, his hair is not straight but wavy. This could be a sign of his Caladrius heritage. He seems to prefer keeping it long like his serpent relatives. His estimated future physique will be lithe, tall but with firm muscles. As is the case with all serpent clan members, he has high flexibility and his body also retains the low weight of his bird clan relatives. It should be noted that he was not born with the stature of his serpent relatives and this shows itself in his unusually youthful form for his age.


    His human form pre-rewrite seemed to be much the same, with only modifications to his eye and hair colour. His eyes gained the indigo hue and luminosity of the Truth-Seizing Serpents, and his wavy hair showed the tri-tones hues of their scales, appearing like black except when light hit at different angles to reveal hues of dark green and indigo present too.


    [Personality Traits]


    On an outward glance and according to the first impressions of many, Scytale presents as an outgoing, chaotic, air-headed person with a mischievous streak. At times this can be considered true, but his inherited wily and cunning from his serpent relatives is not to be underestimated. He has a strong understanding of his own talents and will try to avoid territory such as the theorems of magic that he knows he is ill-disposed to. He is a very loyal individual, but for him to consider someone as a person worth his loyalty, he ensures Lucille accepts them as her own people and friends too. He enjoys antagonising people including his bond, a trait shared by both of them which possibly contributed to their strong relationship.


    [Strengths]


    As mentioned prior, Scytale is a fiercely loyal individual to his close friends and family. He takes physical harm seriously, even if he responds to verbal threats and insults flippantly. This flippancy could also be considered a strength of his, as he has yet to make a mistake in battle over anger. His mistakes due to anger usually occur in a non-combat setting. Ability wise, he is incredibly talented among magical beasts in understanding their instinctual bloodline magic, before the rewrite and afterwards. His magical talents excel when it comes to using details and vague theories from Lucille into practical action. It is for this reason that she has sometimes used him to carry out experiments in the past.


    As a magical beast with the highest potential number of subskills in his Origin Skill, his talent is extraordinarily high. With the past of having ascended to a ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö Beast capable of devouring materials and small celestial bodies to enhance his strength, it was not without reason that he became known as the ¡®World-Ender¡¯.


    [Weaknesses]


    Due to his low attainment in mental enhancement, Scytale has been more seriously impacted by the rewrite than the other two who returned alongside him. This has shown itself in his hastiness to do anything mildly entertaining to him and his proclivity to letting slip secrets when Lucille is not close enough to warn him beforehand. As of yet, this has not been dangerous, but this is only due to luck.


    His habit for antagonising people has often caused him and the people around him problems. He usually shows responsibility for his actions and takes care of the issue, but he¡¯ll try to avoid it without prodding from his bond. But if he is at fault for something, he usually accepts reprimand and/or punishment peacefully, if with a fair amount of complaint for theatrics¡¯ sake.


    [Past Timeline Info]


    According to Scytale¡¯s memories, most of the organisations who knew of him in the past labelled him with the following words: an immense pain in the backside. The reasons for this are as follows:


    <ol>


    <li>He was incredibly strong.</li>


    <li>He refused to submit to any power.</li>


    <li>He enjoyed causing chaos wherever he went.</li>


    </ol>


    He was an uncontrollable factor which most could only blame their bad luck if he came across them. Because of his chaotic nature, not many could acquaint themselves with him and as such he had no strong friendships with anyone outside of those in his enclave and with Lucille. This may have resulted in his latter cataclysmic destructive tendencies... as he had no one to stop him. He revelled in such chaos and fared perfectly fine without a large pool of acquaintances.


    His first meeting with Lucille Goldcroft was happenstance. She saved him and the adolescent beast used his intellect to scam Lucille Goldcroft into a soul bond. When Scytale felt her mind for the first time he reacted with immense fear. Lucille Goldcroft brought him to his enclave and promised the Matriarch she would leave the region so he wouldn¡¯t be affected by their bond any longer.


    This bond automatically faded after the five years were up, and it wasn¡¯t until Scytale had already achieved his title of Truth-Seizing World-Ender that they met again, when they were both over a century old. After a brief alliance to deal with their common enemy, Scytale wished to reinstate the bond now that he was more mature. Lucille Goldcroft had also expressed that she was more aware of her identity, so his fear of the unfamiliar was lessened. They remained bonded from that time to the end of the first timeline.


    They still needed to work hard on their bond to reach the level of affinity normal bonded pairs have. It may be why they have a strong bond in the current timeline as well. It is expected that Scytale will re-bond Lucille when the five years are up and he has taken a year¡¯s break.


    [Relatives]


    [Tanith]


    <ul>


    <li>Scytale¡¯s mother of the Truth-Seizing Serpent Clan. She was known as the black sheep of the Matriarch¡¯s children and left the region hundreds of years ago to explore. Scytale¡¯s egg was brought back half a century ago where it laid dormant until the enclave managed to find the right conditions for it to incubate, different from normal snakelets of the clan. He has no thoughts regarding his mother and she is essentially a stranger to him. The enclave heard rumours that Tanith had died in another far region, but nothing has been confirmed.</li>


    </ul>


    [Unknown Father]


    <ul>


    <li>Only known to be a high-ranking member of the Sanctity Caladrius bloodline, a bloodline that has it¡¯s Patriarch reach the Ancient bloodline rarity and being a major force of the bird beasts, neither Scytale nor his clan knew his second subrace until recently. Judging by the unique Heroic Power attribute Scytale gained and his Legendary bloodline, it¡¯s estimated that he is the great grandchild of the Patriarch. The father would likely be unaware of Scytale¡¯s existence.</li>


    </ul>


    [Skulker]


    <ul>


    <li>An adolescent male serpent of the Truth-Seizing Serpent Clan. Scytale gets along well with him due to their shared mischief-making tendencies.</li>


    </ul>


    [Verdilast]


    <ul>


    <li>The general of the Truth-Seizing Serpents¡¯ Warborne. Superior Beast.</li>


    </ul>


    [Jouten''garde]


    <ul>


    <li>The Matriarch and progenitor of the Truth-Seizing Serpent Clan. She has existed since the Violet Luminosity Jungle Region¡¯s pocket dimension conception. Her clan managed to become substantially powerful by her reaching the rank of ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö Beast. She is a wise creature but often one who quickly becomes overwhelmed by the changing events of the System and modern era. As a pocket dimension progenitor, the first of her descendants were born from her mana, and then she preserved their bloodline when they mated with other beasts to ensure her bloodline and subrace was maintained in her grandchildren. Scytale¡¯s egg had already been fully developed and was only in dormancy when Tanith left him with the enclave, so Jouten¡¯garde chose not to attempt bloodline refinement in case Scytale was harmed.</li>


    </ul>


    [Friends]


    Scytale currently considers all the residents of the Aurelian Commission¡¯s Headquarters excluding the staff, as his friends.


    [Lovers]


    Scytale has had a few, casual and infrequent trysts with different women in his past, including a half-dragon, but nothing that ever lasted more than a few months. He has no interest in settling down and personally, he always feared having descendants in case they would be killed because of his bloodlines. It could be said though, that he had a wide variety of... tastes.


    [Enemies]


    Lucille¡¯s enemies are Scytale¡¯s enemies.


    [Sanctity Caladrius]


    <ul>


    <li>Scytale has resolved himself to slap his father in the face with his tail if they ever meet. He wants to do this for all his bird-bloodline relatives.</li>


    </ul>


    [Citadel of Light]


    <ul>


    <li>Scytale often had minor conflicts with the organisation in the past, but mostly on behalf of Lucy. He enjoyed antagonising the Sages and continued to do it in his free time without Lucille¡¯s prompting.</li>


    </ul>


    [Conlan Alan Griffin]


    [Marellen Vadel]


    [Trisroa Vel-Winteridge]


    [Vincentimo Sorviere Evisenhardt]


    [Sedric Ferin]


    [Annaliese Verdon]


    [Raegan Verdon]


    [Jasten Albrecht]


    [Hargrave Einar]


    [Vitis Exolvuntur Imperatoris-Daemonium]


    [Zhang Mingxia]


    [Caspian Wharifin]


    [Individuals with an importance value of [Notable]


    [Primordial Constructs]


    [The System]


    [Information Retrieval completed]


    [Closing System Repository¡­]

 Chapter 0 - Prologue: Discontinuation Confirmed.

    [Confirming the discontinuation of {Conlan Alan Griffin}¡¯s 6<sup>th</sup> lifeline]


    [Confirming the discontinuation of {Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft}¡¯s 5<sup>th</sup> lifeline]


    [Confirming the discontinuation of {Scytale}¡¯s 6<sup>th</sup> lifeline]


    [Discontinuation confirmed]


    [Initiating User Conlan Alan Griffin¡¯s resurrection]


    [Error: Resurrection Sub-System unavailable. Automatically Re-processing Entity]


    [Initiating User Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft¡¯s resurrection]


    [Error: Resurrection Sub-System unavailable. Automatically Re-processing Entity]


    [Initiating User Scytale¡¯s resurrection]


    [Error: Resurrection Sub-System unavailable. Automatically Re-processing Entity]


    [Initiating Entity Re-processing]


    [Entity Re-processing has commenced]


    [Progress: 0%]


    [Progress: 1%]


    [Progress: 2%]


    [Progress: 3%]


    [Progress: 4%]


    [Progress: 5%]


    [WARNING: Sub-System Usurpation has been detected. Source identified as originating from User Conlan Alan Griffin. Attempting to erase]


    [WARNING: Erasure Failure. Erasure Failure. Alerting P---- S----- C-]


    [Higher-Authority Override confirmed. Authority: Z---- presence confirmed. Halting all processes]


    [Authority: Z----: Recommence Entity Re-processing for Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft and Scytale]


    [Order accepted. Recommencing Entity Re-processing]


    [Authority: Z----: Report Soul Integrity Status for User Conlan Alan Griffin]


    [Reporting: 95%. Entity Re-processing decreased integrity by 5%]


    [Authority: Z----: Query. Potential Vessels for User Conlan Alan Griffin]


    [Current Vessel Priority: Lesser Demon Beast-43%, Lesser Spirit Beast-21%, Lesser Undead-9%, Human-2%, Magi-]


    [Authority: Z----: Halt all vessel propositions]


    [Order accepted]


    [Authority: Z----: Activate Over-System channel]


    [Over-System channel confirmed. Underworld Sub-System has merged with Over-System]


    [Authority: Z----: Create Project: Rewrite]


    [Created Project: Rewrite]


    [Authority: Z----: Re-route all System resources to MAX prioritize Project: Rewrite]


    [Re-routing resources]


    [Error: MAX prioritisation of Project: Rewrite will majorly disrupt System operations. Higher-Authority command required. Realm Collapse estimated to begin in 3 days after procedure initialisation. Estimated Entity Loss: 983,863,729,376,298,765,-]


    [Authority: Z----: Ignore with Higher-Authority Command. Under entry Project: Rewrite, create new Reality Timeline Seed]


    [Ignoring all barriers. New Reality Timeline seed created under entry Project: Rewrite. Current branch count: 384,384,280,152,096-]


    [Authority: Z----: Copy Timeline-1 from V. 2073 onwards to Project: Rewrite, Reality Timeline Seed]


    [Copying¡­¡­ Copied]


    [Authority: Z----: Replace Timeline-1 with Timeline-1: Copy under Project: Rewrite.


    [Error: Timeline-1: Copy detected to have exact parallel with Timeline-1 from V. 2073 until Timeline-1 end date. Replacing Timeline-1 will cause the timeline to undergo a rewrite. Initiating rewrite will destabilise the Reality and erase data with an importance value of-]


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    [Authority: Z----: Ignore with Higher-Authority Command. Transfer User Conlan Alan Griffin to Timeline-1 after rewrite commences.]


    [Ignoring all barriers. Rewrite of Timeline-1 with Timeline-1: Copy will commence in 23:59:59:59. Replace or Merge consciousness?]


    [Authority: Z----: Replace. Delete all data on Project: Rewrite. Ignore with Higher-Authority Command]


    [Replaced. Deleting all data]


    [Higher-Authority has been confirmed as transferred. Closing Over-System channel. Returning to normal operations-]


    [Highest-Authority Override confirmed. Authority: P---- S----- C------------ presence confirmed. Halting all processes. P---- S----- C------------ has descended on Underworld Sub-System]


    [Reactivating Over-System channel]


    [System-announcement: ¡­¡­tsk. Missed it.]


    [System-announcement: Nothing that hasn¡¯t happened before. Okay, let¡¯s see what¡­.]


    [Data deletion interrupted. All data confirmed as at full integrity]


    [System-announcement: ¡­¡­¡­..]


    [System-announcement: ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­]


    [System-announcement: ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­]


    [All Sub-Systems Alert: Total Main Timeline Reality Rewrite confirmed. Time until rewrite: 23:59:59:58]


    [System-announcement: ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­]


    [System-announcement: I want to retire.]


    [System-announcement: ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..]


    [System-announcement: ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.]


    [System-announcement: ¡­.small steps. Current soul integrity of Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft and Scytale¡­¡­ wait. Why are they here. They have more resurrections left.]


    [System-announcement: Never mind. Soul integrity of Scytale is at 92.3%. Lucille¡¯s is¡­¡­.. 69.9%. Ouch. Good thing she has a strong soul. Now, sealing Scytale¡¯s memories should protect his integrity for the time being, and Lucille will protect her own.]


    [System-announcement: Now why are they¡­ of course. A null zone. People only ever kill each other in a null zone. Why do I even bother.]


    [System-announcement: Regardless, everything will be erased if I don¡¯t do something, so ¡®time¡¯ to see what this new timeline is.]


    [System-announcement: ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..]


    [System-announcement: ¡­..huh. Is it trying to make its host believe he went back in time? Is that what this is? A timeline beginning 231 years in the past¡­.]


    [System-announcement: Wait, I¡¯ve heard of this before. It¡¯s in mortal fiction. I think it¡¯s called ¡®regression¡¯.]


    [System-announcement: This may be surprisingly useful. If I can only find a way to¡­. Ah, this is possible. I¡¯ll have to thank it later. Wonder why it¡¯s interfering.]


    [System-announcement: Hah. That¡¯s funny. She practically bonded with the guy. I¡¯m sure she¡¯d hate it if she ever remembered what she really did. In contrast, he would be overjoyed in that twisted way of his.]


    [System-announcement: Lucy never can never catch a break, can she.]


    [System-announcement: While I normally hate loopholes, I¡¯ll accept it this one time. Query. Evidence of transferred User Conlan Alan Griffin having been bonded to two other Users. Suggesting an Error. User Conlan Griffin will be incompletely transferred without the Timeline-1 souls of Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft and Scytale in Timeline-1: Copy. Requesting Solution.]


    [Calculating¡­. Error accepted. Solution found. Transferring User Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft and Scytale to Timeline-1 under Project: Rewrite.]


    [Replace or Merge consciousness(es)?]


    [System-announcement: Merge.]


    [Merged. Transferring... Transferred]


    [System-announcement: And while it¡¯s doing that¡­ oh, oh no. ¡®Rewrite¡¯? That''s what it called the new timeline? Why couldn''t it have used a nice normal standardised name like Origin Reality Severed Timeline: Seed 2073.43.72.19.423.939? What a failure of a System Operation!]


    [System-announcement: Absolute Command: All Sub-Systems are to re-route resources and transfer Sub-Systems to Timeline-1 under Project: Rewrite. Use Temporary Channel under P---- S----- C------------ Authority. Ignore all barriers. This is my Final Ultimatum.]


    [Absolute Command: All Sub-Systems are to re-route resources and transfer Sub-Systems to Timeline-1 under Project: Rewrite. Use Temporary Channel into the Timeline under P---- S----- C------------ Authority. Ignore all barriers. This is my Final Ultimatum.]


    [System-announcement: Underworld Sub-System, recall all User souls. Just because the soul exists regardless of space and time, doesn¡¯t mean I want them all to experience the end of their present selves.]


    [System-announcement: ¡­though I can¡¯t do anything for those not assimilated.]


    [All User souls have been recalled. Currently sealed in an unconscious state]


    [System-announcement: Lucille may have issues in the new timeline with her Status. Will she be fine? ¡­¡­I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be fine. They¡¯ll deal with it.]


    [System-announcement: ¡­¡­eventually.]


    [System-announcement: Right, that should be all for the major parts. I¡¯m a bit jealous, they¡¯re going to get almost double the resources I started with. Wait, I should probably seal all of that, otherwise they might send our Authorizer to investigate it, and he¡¯s already going to be busy dealing with everything else that¡¯s going on.]


    [System-announcement: I also need to transfer my consciousness over properly so I don¡¯t waste a ##### ###### #############¡­. my work never ends¡­.]


    [System-announcement: But anyway, time to go make that offer to Anonymity.]


    [System-announcement: ¡­.although¡­.I probably owe Alectiserath a big apology after all this, don¡¯t I¡­¡­]


    [Closing Over-System channel]


    [Highest-Authority has been confirmed as transferred. Returning to normal operations]


    [¡­¡­¡­¡­]


    [Private Response for Higher-Authorities by Underworld Sub-System: ¡­..kindly please do not disturb my work again¡­..]

 Chapter 1 (1 of 2) Shady Salesman

    The golden light of the afternoon sun was streaming through the windows of the room. The d¨¦cor was dark, and a desk sat in the centre of the room. On one side was a luxurious leather armchair, and on the other side, a swivel chair. The armchair was occupied by a man appearing in his early thirties with dirty-blonde hair, relatively good-looking and dressed up in an expensive suit. On the desk sat a small vial of golden liquid.


    ¡°-and as you hold the status of the only heir of Medallion, the largest corporation in the world, I doubt it will be beyond your capabilities to¡­ ah, entertain further talk of negotiations regarding the X-ranked elixir I¡¯m offering you?¡± The man gave the figure sitting on the opposite side of the desk a meaningful smile after he finished his sentence, gesturing to the vial on the desk between them.


    Sitting on the other side of the desk with her chin propped up on her arm and her other hand tapping a slow rhythmic pattern on the desk, was a young girl in her late teens. Her long, straight black hair fell on either side of her face and she had a fringe that reached her eyebrows. She was dressed from the neck down in black, from her black turtleneck to her black trench coat, black pants, and black boots, making her appear like she didn¡¯t have the word ¡®colour¡¯ in her dictionary.


    Currently, the girl was watching the man with a slight smile on her lips as she continued to tap her fingers on the desk. She didn¡¯t reply.


    The man coughed and continued to present his proposal. ¡°The X-ranked elixir being this vial, right here,¡± he said, gesturing to the crystal tube. ¡°I believe you have the potential to become one of- no, the most popular celebrity among your generation, and I wish to ensure you have every chance of doing so.¡± He gave her another winning smile. ¡°Miss Goldcroft, I want to become your personal agent regarding all things related to your awakening and future career.¡±


    The man pushed the vial closer to her. ¡°And I¡¯m willing to give you the X-ranked elixir to make it happen.¡±


    ¡®Miss Goldcroft¡¯ stayed silent, still studying him with her chin propped up. The only change was that maybe her smile had grown slightly wider.


    After a minute or two of silence, the blonde-haired man spoke up. ¡°Ahem. Um, Miss Goldcroft? May I know some of your thoughts about this matter?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±


    The man blinked when the girl finally made a sound of acknowledgement for the first time during their meeting and then reclined back in her chair. Her smile disappeared for a second as she stared at him, making him nervous, before suddenly returning with full force. She picked up the vial and held it up to the light for her to inspect. ¡°So, X-ranked elixir?¡±


    The man¡¯s expression brightened at her interest and he nodded. ¡°Yes, this is the X-ranked elixir. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re familiar with its value.¡± He clasped his hands together with a smirk. ¡°Manufactured only once every year by the Fabricators, then auctioned to the highest bidder yearly. For the lucky few who have become Elixir Agents, such as me, we get given this precious substance to protect ourselves if there comes a time we are held hostage or at a disadvantage.¡±


    He spread his hands. ¡°And I want to invest in you, Miss Lucille Goldcroft, by giving you my X-ranked elixir.¡±


    Lucille tilted her head at him, studying him curiously before she smiled wider. ¡°I see. Then I¡¯m pleased you¡¯ve seen such potential in me. I¡¯m flattered¡­¡±


    The man smiled but Lucy continued speaking.


    ¡°¡­is what I¡¯d usually say in this situation, however¡­¡± She stood up from her chair, surprising the man in the armchair, and then grabbed the vial. Leaning against the side of the desk, she tossed it into the air before catching it again and returning her attention to the man.


    ¡°Stephen Lawrence¡­¡± She paused and tilted her head at him again. ¡°It is Stephen Lawrence, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is,¡± he replied with slight confusion.


    Lucille nodded. ¡°Right. You called this liquid the X-ranked elixir.¡± She uncapped the vial. ¡°But this liquid¡­ is not the X-ranked elixir.¡± And then she poured the vial¡¯s contents straight onto the man¡¯s head.


    For a moment, the man froze up in his chair, completely stunned by what had just happened. Then he abruptly stood up and began hastily patting his drenched suit, as if looking for something to dry himself with. The sticky golden liquid stuck to his hair. Agent Lawrence raised his head to stare at her. ¡°I- what- Lucille Goldcroft, why did you just do that?!¡±


    ¡°What a fascinating question.¡± Lucy tapped on her chin, pretending to think. ¡°Why did I just do that? Perhaps we should begin from the top.¡±


    She smirked and grabbed a pen off the desk to twirl in her fingers. ¡°Today at two in the afternoon, I allowed you access to my floor of the skyscraper so I could listen to your offer. That is when you placed the vial of so-called ¡®X-ranked elixir¡¯ on my desk.¡±


    Her smirk widened. ¡°After that, you proposed that we form a¡­ collaborative relationship where you become my private Agent for the rest of my future career as an ability user, while I provide you with financial support.¡±


    She gave Agent Lawrence a light shrug. ¡°In ordinary circumstances, this would be quite profitable for the two of us. But¡­ you never intended on giving me the X-ranked elixir.¡±


    Lucille dropped the pen to pick up the empty vial and tossed it into the air. Then she grabbed it and held it up for him to see. ¡°This is an S-ranked elixir. Still valuable, and the highest quality of S-ranked elixirs can be sold for up to billions of dollars, but¡­¡± Her smile faded slightly and she tilted her head at him. ¡°This is not the priceless X-ranked elixir you¡¯re promising me.¡±


    Agent Lawrence gave her a strained smile. ¡°Miss Goldcroft, as an individual still quite young, you may not be familiar with elixirs and their properties. An X-ranked elixir is always nearly indistinguishable from its lower-tier counterparts, so-¡±


    ¡°Agent Lawrence, I am not the fool you seem to think I am,¡± Lucille Goldcroft interrupted. She narrowed her eyes at him and smirked. ¡°Anyone familiar with your Union and the distribution of elixirs knows that the X-ranked elixir is black.¡±


    The man stared at her, obviously stunned that she knew that. The specific colour of the X-ranked elixir was a detail only known to the upper echelons of the business and political worlds. But Agent Lawrence recovered quickly. He rubbed his chin in thought, looking at the ground, then raised his eyes to her. Then he gained a confident smile.


    ¡°Well, Miss Goldcroft, you caught me,¡± he said calmly. He spread his hands. ¡°You¡¯re right. That wasn¡¯t the X-ranked elixir.¡± Then he chuckled. ¡°But what do you think this will change? That I¡¯ll hand the real X-ranked elixir over to you?¡± He turned around to leave. ¡°This deal is off. Goodbye, Miss Goldcroft.¡±


    ¡°¡­I see.¡± Lucy eyed him with a strange smile on her face. Then she walked around her desk to unplug a small device from the computer residing on it. She held it up as she called out to the agent. ¡°Agent Lawrence, I believe you¡¯re forgetting something.¡±


    He glanced back to give her a sceptical look. Lucille grinned as she held the device up. ¡°Agent Lawrence, you do realise I have security cameras in my room, right? And this storage device contains all the video evidence of your lies.¡±


    He stared at the device, then at her. Lucille threw the device into the air like she had done with the glass vial, taunting him. He dashed forward to grab the device, stumbling over the carpet, barely managed to snatch it from her, and then stomped on it with his foot, crushing it.


    Lucy tilted her head and smiled. ¡°That was, of course, a copy. All security footage is uploaded elsewhere for safety reasons.¡±


    He paled. Lucille smirked and sat back down on her swivel chair. She kicked her legs up on the desk and spread her hands wide. ¡°So, what will it be, Agent Lawrence? A public revelation that a government employee has been presenting S-ranked elixirs as X-ranked ones to future awakened, and to the heir of the largest corporation in the world herself, or¡­¡±


    She leaned forward. ¡°You give me the real X-ranked elixir.¡± There was silence in the room before she added, almost as an afterthought, ¡°Also, I¡¯m aware that the protection clauses of Agents state that the X-ranked elixir should be used in the event of blackmail. Let me clarify something. This is blackmail. I am blackmailing you right now.¡±


    ¡­


    Agent Lawrence ended up agreeing to give her the elixir. Their new ¡®agreement¡¯ was finalised through a contract, where she would keep the event that had just occurred secret, in return for the X-ranked elixir ¨C which would arrive tomorrow, on her birthday, the 2<sup>nd</sup> of July.


    Almost as soon as the deal was struck, Agent Lawrence stood up. ¡°Then I¡¯ll take my leave now,¡± he said quietly.


    Lucy smiled and followed him to the door. ¡°Take care, Agent Lawrence. I believe there will be a wonderful cooperation between us.¡±


    He gave her a weary nod, prepared to leave until Lucy held out her open palm to him. ¡°And Agent Lawrence¡­¡± Her smile became cold. ¡°Get rid of the trash while you¡¯re here.¡±


    He glanced between her and the empty glass vial in her hand. He gulped and grabbed it, ignoring the strange chill he received when he touched her strangely cool hands. Then he opened the door of her room and stepped through.


    ¡°I hope your future business ventures go as well as this one!¡± she called out cheerily.


    The door shut and Lucille was left alone in her room. Her smile, which had been nearly ever-present throughout the entire meeting, disappeared and she went expressionless. Then she walked over to a window of the room with her hands behind her back.


    The agent might have noticed the marker I placed on him, but he won¡¯t know enough to detect anything besides a strange sense of someone watching him.


    Stephen Lawrence¡­ I thought the name was familiar. I never realised he was the same man who had given me my ¡®X-ranked elixir¡¯. This might have consequences that will end up being very unfortunate for a certain someone¡­


    A cruel smirk briefly appeared on her lips before disappearing once more. She walked back over to her desk, looking somewhat solemn until she sat back down and lackadaisically lounged sideways in the slowly rotating desk chair. Lucille¡¯s eyes fell to the traces of liquid gold still drying on the armchair opposite her.


    Exactly 231 years ago, she had drunk that elixir. It hadn¡¯t activated until her birthday, however, as someone could only awaken when they were eighteen.


    Agent Lawrence probably thought she was eighteen so he arrived to give her the offer then, and that was what she was in the public eye, but technically she wasn¡¯t yet. That was because some random journalist ¡®managed¡¯ to find a leak on what her birthdate was, which was wrong, yet sent it out to all the news platforms so the public knew her as being born the day before.


    Understandably, the whims of the natural world didn¡¯t answer to the opinions of mediocre mortals of human existence, nor documents of paper, so she was 17 years, 11 months, 30 days, and 18 hours old. Not exactly 18. But, all of this was irrelevant, because the X-ranked elixir would be arriving tomorrow, and not now.


    And when she drank the elixir, her calm stay at her old home would end. Lucy placed her hands behind her head as she looked up at the roof.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    The employees of the building had been eyeing her with suspicion these last few months. They probably thought she was either plotting her next evil plan to mess with her great-uncle that would incur an incredible amount of collateral damage¡­ or that she was possessed.


    And maybe she was in a way, but that was going into semantics. She had entirely absorbed the remnants of the 17-and-11-months-old girl so that she had reacquainted herself with the ways of the Goldcroft family and would not seem strange to them. It was, after all, still her own soul.


    It was a surprisingly easy process, considering it was her immature self. She had heard others say that assimilating the souls of clones based on their teenage selves was a particularly strenuous activity, as some may say they were a little rebellious. Another party said it was even harder than assimilating the souls of others. That party was promptly killed afterwards by her personally.


    Maybe her ego had done a 360 and regressed into a teenager over time, so now she was once again the mental equivalent of personified teenage angst. She contemplated that for a while.


    Eventually, she shook herself and turned to look out of the nearest window. Marvin was probably going to waste a few months looking for her and setting up preventative measures for her ¡®plot¡¯. Not that there was one. He¡¯d be wasting all his effort for nothing.


    As for his brother, her grandfather¡­ Richard would likely just laugh when Marvin reveals Lucy¡¯s disappearance and continue his retirement in his newest choice of resort. There was a reason why it was Marvin who ran the global financial powerhouse that was Medallion, and not his twin brother.


    She¡¯d rather relive her meeting with Agent Lawrence than think about her disappointing relatives. She had a lot. Her parents, for one, who left when she was 5 and were never seen again.


    Now that the contract had been signed, It was practically set in stone that she would receive it. And from what she knew about Stephen Lawrence¡­ there was a certain mutual acquaintance of theirs that this deal could heavily impact.


    An individual that she detested from the very depths of her soul, and would do anything to see them receive justice. Someone whom she wished she could throw down a pit as deep as Tartarus so he would never see the light again. A person whose disgusting attention had haunted her for 231 years.


    That person was going to have to suffer quite a bit because of this newest change. And Lucille was thrilled because of that. She had many plans to make him suffer more.


    That man, with a heroic kind of nature, was named Conlan Griffin.


    ¡­


    10 am on July the 2<sup>nd</sup>, a small dark box, the kind to carry jewellery, was sent to Lucy¡¯s room. Opening it up, she picked up the glass vial and studied it in the light, holding it in the air.


    The vial containing the X-ranked elixir was small. Barely longer or wider than her little finger, the tube bore no markings or other identifying features that would indicate manufacturing. The glass was so unusually, perfectly clear that it would almost seem non-existent if it were not for the sensation of crystal against her fingertips. The stopper was semi-translucent, appearing like a type of gem. It was a pale, sky-blue and the only feature on it was the seemingly carved symbol of a single cog.


    That was not the symbol of the Union or its divisions.


    Because of this, Lucy could confirm that the X-ranked elixir was not created by anybody on Earth. Or created by ¡®anybody¡¯ at all.


    She drew her attention to the actual contents of the vial. Thick, with a consistency similar to a mixture of water and cornflour, the matte black substance slid frictionlessly off the walls of the vial. It didn¡¯t look appetising in the slightest, but elixirs weren¡¯t designed to be tasty. Besides, she had consumed her fair share of dubious liquids for research purposes.


    But she was curious about what effects this elixir could have. She assumed it would mean she¡¯d start stronger than she had in the past, of course, considering she had only drunk the S-ranked one before. Elixirs were supposed to have qualitative effects at each rank that differed from the lower ranks, so she wondered how powerful the elixir she held now was. Maybe it wouldn¡¯t have much impact on her at all.


    She glanced at the clock and took a deep breath. It was time for her to stop delaying. But there was one last thing for her to do.


    She pressed a button on her desk and on her laptop at the same time, deleting any recorded footage of her meeting with Agent Lawrence as well as all her browsing data from the last three months, then stood up, tucking the vial into a pocket. She walked over to one of the windows and waited patiently. A couple of minutes later the door of her room opened.


    A man in his late fifties walked in, wearing a clean grey suit. His hair was neatly styled and he walked forward to stand near Lucy. The expression on his face was a mixture of weary, nervous, and hesitant.


    ¡°It has been quite some time since you¡¯ve called me for anything, Lucille,¡± the man said.


    ¡°I thought you were of the opinion that it¡¯s better it remains that way,¡± she replied with mild amusement.


    He didn¡¯t say anything, as if responding would be a mistake. She thought that made him quite intelligent.


    She turned around to face him with a smile. ¡°I have something I want you to give my uncle for me.¡±


    He hesitated as he saw her smile, but didn¡¯t comment and just gazed wearily at her. ¡°Lucille, where are you running off to now?¡±


    She blinked. ¡°You think I¡¯m going somewhere?¡± He didn¡¯t reply, so she hummed and turned to face the window again. ¡°Well, Stallen, you¡¯re incorrect. I won¡¯t take a step outside this building.¡±


    He narrowed his eyes with suspicion but sighed and seemed to give up on questioning her. ¡°As you say, Lucille. What would you like me to bring him?¡±


    She pulled a piece of folded paper out of her coat¡¯s pocket and turned around to hand it to him. ¡°Just a letter. And¡­ a piece of advice.¡± She smiled brightly. ¡°Tell Marvin to get someone to deal with Arthur Millan. I hear he has quite strong connections to some members of the American Division who were trying to force the military deal issue.¡±


    He stared at her. ¡°Lucille, how do you know about-¡±


    ¡°Stallen, the letter.¡± She smiled sweetly. ¡°Take it.¡±


    He took it from her and then opened his mouth to speak. ¡°But Lucy, you shouldn¡¯t know-¡± The words died in his mouth as he saw her take out a vial.


    ¡°And so it begins again.¡± She uncapped the vial, then tilted her head back. But just before she drank it, she glanced at Stallen. ¡°By the way Stallen, please tell my uncle this¡­¡± She gained a broad grin. ¡°Good luck finding me this time.¡± And she downed the elixir in one gulp.


    Stallen¡¯s eyes widened as he realised what those words meant. ¡°Lucille!¡±


    Then the sound of glass clinking against the ground was heard as Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft, the heir of Medallion, and a famously infamous individual in the eyes of the entire world¡¯s society, disappeared into thin air.


    <hr>


    A door with a plaque engraved with the words ¡®Chief Executive Officer¡¯ swung open, revealing a panicked brown-haired man in his fifties.


    The dark-haired man in his early sixties wearing a beige suit and red tie, sitting behind the large desk in the room, glanced at the doorway. He took in Stallen¡¯s expression and then sighed. He turned to the figure sitting in the chair opposite him. ¡°I believe it¡¯s best we leave this meeting for another time. It seems Mr. Stallen has something important he needs to tell me.¡±


    The man nodded and Stallen stepped aside to let him past. Stallen quickly shut the door and came up to the desk.


    ¡°Sir! She¡¯s gone!¡±


    Marvin Goldcroft, one of the founders of Medallion and its current CEO, gazed wearily at his secretary. ¡°I assume my great niece used an unusual method of exit if you¡¯re reacting this way, Maximillian.¡±


    Stallen spread his hands. ¡°She disappeared! Right in front of my eyes! I swear sir, there was nothing I could do!¡± He opened his mouth to continue proving his innocence until Marvin held up a hand.


    ¡°Stop.¡± Marvin turned to his computer and pressed a few buttons. Stallen hesitated as his boss controlled the device. Medallion¡¯s CEO crossed his arms as he watched a video play. ¡°It seems what you said is true. She¡¯s really putting in the effort this time.¡±


    Stallen blinked. ¡°I- what? How do you-¡±


    ¡°Security cameras, Maximillian,¡± Marvin stated dryly.


    ¡°¡­ oh.¡± Stallen had forgotten about those in his panic.


    ¡°I see she handed you a letter for me,¡± Marvin said, looking at his secretary. ¡°It may contain some level of detail to enlighten us of her plans. Tracking teleportation of such magnitude that it didn¡¯t even trip our sensors or energy shielding is out of our skillset, so we must use alternative methods to locate her.¡± He held his chin as he pondered over the video. ¡°However, it appears she was aware she would be transported after drinking that substance. And¡­¡± He narrowed his eyes. ¡°That looks like an X-ranked elixir.¡±


    Marvin turned to Stallen. ¡°But the letter, Maximillian.¡±


    Stallen handed it over for Marvin to read. The dark-haired man with greying sideburns flattened it out. He read it and then scowled.


    To whomever this may concern, including my great uncle Marvin.


    Catch me if you can. I¡¯d suggest you don¡¯t bother trying though. It¡¯d be a waste of time and effort on your part. Also, you¡¯ll find that I¡¯m not the only one that went missing today. But we¡¯ll be back. Watch out for new mana spikes and rift formation. I¡¯ll see you again in a year.


    From the amazing, wonderful, escapist extraordinaire, Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft the one and only.


    P.S. Marvin, I transferred you your early birthday present. It¡¯s the stocks I¡¯ve been secretly buying from Medallion. You''re welcome.


    ¡°Buying the stocks of my own business to give me for my birthday,¡± Marvin muttered. ¡°What kind of insane person would ever think that¡¯s a good idea.¡±


    Stallen hesitantly approached the desk and grimaced as he read the letter. ¡°¡­ I¡¯ll contact the necessary people, sir.¡±


    Marvin sighed. ¡°You do that.¡± He checked his watch and stood up, straightening his tie. ¡°I¡¯m going to make several calls that may land some government employees in very big trouble, as I am not amused with the newest developments. Harold better have an explanation for this, otherwise, he¡¯ll be permanently banned from all of our Richesse line stores.¡±


    Marvin glanced at the letter again and scowled. ¡°That nuisance is going to be handed over to the FSF for intensive correctional training if she doesn¡¯t gain a sense of propriety soon.¡±


    Stallen looked at the letter on the desk with confusion. ¡°But sir, what did she mean by specifically writing ¡®mana¡¯? From what I know, that¡¯s a colloquial term used by the younger generations to make fun of the terms the government uses to denote energy usage."


    ¡°How would I know that?¡± Marvin marched towards the office door. ¡°At the very least, I¡¯ll bring it up with Harold after I inform him of his revoked tailor appointments.¡±


    <hr>


    ¡®That nuisance¡¯ was currently floating in an expansive limbo characterised by its utter lack of colour and depth of field. Lucy didn¡¯t know how long she had been waiting, because her thoughts were bending and fraying then snapping back to place with the regularity of the weather. That is, irregularly. She tried counting but gave that up quickly when her numbers became letters of the Greek alphabet.


    She knew time could get a bit squiggly in these metaphysical minor dimensions, with the absence of matter and all, so she just resigned herself to pulling back her stray thought strands, which had somehow started singing the macarena in her head by the time she finished counting backwards from 100 in Latin.


    Eventually, she felt the pull of something more material and found herself tumbling through a psychedelic sky to find herself face-planted on the ground, a mouth full of grass. She got up to sit cross-legged as she knew what would come next. A semi-transparent white screen popped up, and familiar tones of the androgynous, apathetic voice of the System sounded out.


    [Welcome to the Tower!


    To Join the System as an Ascendant, You must complete the Tutorial.


    To accelerate this process, you have been allocated an identity:


    You are a rogue bounty hunter with hopes to make it big by defeating a rumoured beast in the area. Unfortunately, you are only a beginner, and so do not have the reputation to gain aid from the local Lord, and must do it alone. Defeating the beast may reward you with riches that will set you for a lifetime, but be wary that you do not attract attention far beyond your abilities, as this town is not what it seems.


    <ul>


    <li>The townspeople will not be very wary towards you.</li>


    <li>Your present athletic abilities have been considered.</li>


    <li>There will be no long-term consequences from the events of the Tutorial.</li>


    </ul>


    You have one month to complete one of these Objectives:


    <ol>


    <li>Survive until the end of the month.</li>


    <li>Defeat the ¡®Abyss Monster¡¯ of the caves without dying by the end of the month.</li>


    <li>Become Lord of the town without dying by the end of the month.</li>


    <li>Find proof of the Lord¡¯s corruption without dying by the end of the month.</li>


    <li>Find proof of the Lord¡¯s corruption and send a message to a neighbouring town Lord without dying by the end of the month.</li>


    <li>Learn a skill without dying by the end of the month.</li>


    <li>Learn a spell without dying by the end of the month.</li>


    <li>Discover the sealed treasure under the town and escape without dying by the end of the month.</li>


    <li>Kill everyone from the town.</li>


    <li>Find the Demon.</li>


    </ol>


    Good Luck and May You See Future Horizons!]


    Mentally she closed the window and started sorting out her plans. In the corner of her vision, she could see the little [Completion Rate: 0%] floating in her field of view wherever she looked. Once she saw that everything was as she expected, she started to seriously think about her plan of action.


    Right, No. 9 is a trap. No. 1 is the bare minimum, and it means staying until the very end of the month, which is annoying, so no. No. 2 will give me what I need to do No. 6 and 7, which will let me do 4 and 5. So no matter what I choose, I need to do that first. The issue is with No. 10 and 8. I can¡¯t do one without the other, but then I¡¯m more likely to die.


    I don¡¯t know about No. 3. I''ve heard I need to trigger something first, but I might mess it up if I trigger one of the other objectives too.


    Out of the 10 objectives, only 2 could be completed if someone died, but they were both traps. Someone could kill everyone in the town, but it would always lead them to die no matter what, so they couldn¡¯t complete any of 1-8¡¯s objectives. Completing No. 9 rewarded someone with only a 1% completion rate, which would be terrible. No. 1 rewarded someone with a 5% completion rate but was typically something a person who didn''t understand the situation would do, as they only wanted to survive. Lucille had no intentions of doing either of those objectives.


    Luckily everything matched up with what she remembered, so she could consider her plan of attack. The System was very tricky, as it hid many details in its wording. No. 9 and 10, for example, didn¡¯t mention that someone would need to survive after them, but that was not a good thing. It meant there was no chance of survival if they did those objectives.


    The harder the objective, the higher the completion rate at the end of the Tutorial. The higher the completion rate, the better. Failing an objective did not mean that someone would fail the Tutorial, but any triggered objectives would make it harder to complete the other objectives due to the naturally occurring complications afterwards. Everything was interconnected.


    Defeating the Abyss Monster granted someone a skill book and spell, giving them a reputation to meet the Lord. Meeting the Lord would then allow them to find his secret vault containing the ¡®corruption¡¯. It was all on the person if they could even find out what the ¡®corruption¡¯ was though. To survive the Lord¡¯s anger, hiding in his basement was the only way. The basement used a passage that was in the vault. Every single time someone came across an objective, it would be linked to other events, and more events triggered more complications, which drastically increased the difficulty of the Tutorial unless they completed the objective.


    Eventually, everything would cascade into an impossible situation, with death inevitable. Those who had reached that point were considered the most insane, mad, and suicidal people in the entire world.


    Lucille planned on triggering every single one. She was anticipating the chaos.


    ¡­


    5 hours and a very unforgiving hike through muddy woods later, Lucy, the intrepid, amazing, spectacular temporary bounty hunter made it to the outskirts of the town. Typically, when someone heard that a town had a ¡®Lord¡¯ they would think it would be medieval.


    They would be right.


    Well, half-right. If they would count a town that had magical streetlights and carriages pulled by fantastical beasts medieval. The town centre was made up of many 2-storied buildings and shops, the marble pathways being walked across by several hundred people going about their business.


    It wasn¡¯t some tiny village. It was an actual town, and quite a prosperous one too. It was unfortunate for the bounty hunter identity because anyone who went into the Tutorial didn¡¯t get given much money. Maybe enough for a few nights in a decent tavern, but hardly enough to get the weapons and armour a sane person would use to hunt a monster.


    Lucy sometimes wondered about whoever the bounty hunter''s identity was based on, and whether they ever ended up defeating the Abyss Monster. It was more likely they died to the first wolf they saw. Well, that was a problem for maybe real fake-bounty-hunter, and not her. She had work to do.


    -A while later-


    ¡°Please, young lady, I beseech you, get revenge for the poor soul of my dearly beloved and departe-¡°


    ¡°I don¡¯t see how this is related to me wanting to purchase a dagger,¡± Lucille said dryly.


    ¡°Well, perhaps I might persuade you with knowledge of a wondrous mighty weapon found deep in the caverns of the shire ruins north of h-¡°


    ¡°I believe I¡¯ve heard that weapon is cursed,¡± she stated blandly. ¡°In fact, I recall reading a book that details how the weapon¡¯s curse is so powerful that without bathing in a substance called spirit dew, it would kill the weapon¡¯s wielder in one day. Curiosity kills the cat, as the saying goes, so I¡¯d rather not go near there. Let¡¯s return to discussing the dagger.¡±


    The old man in front of her stared at her, clearly incapable of comprehending the idea of a ¡®young adventurer¡¯ not being lured by his promises of treasure. His eyes had also widened when she had mentioned ''spirit dew'', and he had put a hand up to a bag on his belt. They were in the man¡¯s decaying shop, which contained mostly bare shelves decorated with the occasional magical item.


    The awkward silence in the room made her annoyed, so she sighed and decided to approach from a different angle. ¡°Maybe we can arrange something else. I know the Abyss Monster has made its den at the remains of an old camp, which had a spell tome and a mana-skill book you''ve been trying to obtain,¡± she explained, making his eyes widen. ¡°I¡¯ll give them to you in return for borrowing that life-drinking enchanted dagger to kill the beast. I only need it for a month.¡±


    He still looked hesitant. ¡°Young lady, that dagger was enchanted using very rare and expensive reagents! It¡¯s not just something I can let you borrow¡­..¡± he complained.


    ¡°Sir, the reagents probably cost you 10 bronze crowns from the closest alchemy shop on the main street. The enchantment itself is of the lowest level of enchantments in the blood magic series, and the blade is made of plain iron.¡± Lucille crossed her arms to give the man a flat stare. ¡°Could you please give me the dagger while I¡¯m asking nicely?¡±


    30 minutes and several underhanded threats of legal action later, Lucille had a new weapon to artfully fail at wielding. She would use it better than the conman would, even if still to a terrible extent.


    She had signed a magical contract with him to return it in a month, but it was a non-issue. Nothing could be taken out of the Tutorial. And she would be gone before the month was over.


    As for what she needed to do now¡­ Lucy was going to pick some flowers. Ones that just so happened to be toxic to feline-type Abyss Monsters.

 Chapter 1 (2 of 2) - Shady Salesman.

    With a bouquet of bright blue flora in one hand, and a malevolently red-tinged dagger in the other, Lucille set about preparing a trap for the cat-like Abyss Monster. Anyone unfamiliar with monsters and their nature could possibly believe it possible to tame or befriend the monster, but those who thought like that and entered the Tutorial often ended up dead sooner rather than later.


    Monsters were foul, horrid creatures. While the Abyss Monster did vaguely resemble its feline lessers, it was unmistakable that monsters were the nemesis of every sentient being. Monsters existed to distort, destroy, and devastate civilisations. Borne from the stagnant and malignant miasma zones of mana found in nature, monsters did not have sentience or complete souls. They attacked anything with a soul on sight and had no human emotions. No Tutorial entrant had a chance of taming a monster there.


    The monsters themselves tended to incite revulsion on sight. Decked in tumours, defects and the twisted connections to the mana surrounding them, many have vomited just by seeing such creatures. Lucy had better control of her body than that, but she still wasn¡¯t looking forward to seeing one of them again for the first time in a while.


    Addictive blue flowers, check. Vampiric iron with unusually sharp edges, check. The leather gear I arrived in under my coat is decent enough quality for me to use. I''ll find something better another time. I will not say something as dramatic as ¡®I only got one chance at this¡¯ because that is calling for fate to maneuver me into a MacGyver moment where I¡¯ll probably lose a limb or two. My wrecking ball trap should give me two chances at this. Hopefully. Probably. Maybe.


    ....touch wood.


    She carefully sneaked through the cave the Abyss Monster had made its den in, dropping a few flower petals on the ground at the crossroads. The flowers themselves were the magical-world equivalent of catnip and worked on any feline-like creature with mana. The dropped petals were hopefully enough to distract any monstrous minions, as the plant also had sedative qualities. It wouldn¡¯t work on the Abyss Monster, but it should''ve been enough for monsters of the magical density the minions had.


    She heard the flowers also made good tea but hadn¡¯t tried it. She eventually reached the main cave where she made her way over to the pile of bones and leaves that seemed to be some sort of bed for the monster. The sensation of walking on white bone shards belonging to a variety of creatures¡¯ femurs, limbs and skulls wasn¡¯t a particularly enjoyable experience.


    She placed the rest of the bouquet on the bone pile and got out the lengths of rope and metal ball she had managed to get off some townspeople. It was good that the cave was still as she remembered, as she was able to set up the wrecking ball trap as plan B. The Abyss Monster had probably gone out hunting for the afternoon. A woodman she met mentioned he saw fresh traces going the opposite way. It was perfect timing for her to enact the plan. A plank of wood was jammed between two stalactites on the roof where she let down a rope tied to the iron ball. It was a failed helmet made by some apprentice blacksmith.


    She had gotten up there using a potion of flight she managed to .....obtain from the old shopkeeper. The potion was a scam in and of itself, as it didn¡¯t let the user fly faster than a kilometre per hour, and only reached a maximum of 5 metres, not to mention the 5-minute effect length. It was very good for Lucy''s plans that the roof of the cave was low.


    Going to the back of the cave, she rigged the ball¡¯s rope so that it could be released when she was at the back of the cave, hopefully swinging into the Abyss Monster if her first attack failed. It was an atrocious plan, a fact she could definitely admit, but it was better than dying from using a cursed sword she couldn''t even wield. Lucy could proudly admit she had no physical combat ability.


    She also added her secret weapon to the flower pile to enhance its strength: spirit dew. She had snuck it off the shopkeeper''s belt when he was busy checking the magic contract for loopholes. You learnt a few skills here and there when you entered the Tower, which may or may not include a convenient sleight of hand trick.


    In the end, she waited patiently for a few hours before she could feel the thud of large, clawed feet making their way towards the room. There was always a possibility that the Abyss Monster could smell her scent hidden under the pile of leaves she made for herself in a corner of the room, and not be distracted by the flowers, but hopefully that wasn¡¯t the case. She saw its shadow at the cave entrance and then it entered.


    The Abyss Monster itself was covered in a mangy and flea-bitten brown coat, with a raggedy darker mane reminiscent of a lion. Unfortunately, the rest of it wasn¡¯t nearly so nice. Its muzzle had been covered in festering scar tissue, and its right eye had gone a sickly green colour, its pupil and iris glazed over to show it had gone blind. Pus leaked from some badly healed wounds on its face and body. The Abyss Monster¡¯s tongue lolled out as the mouth was opened in an ever-present sneer, froth collecting at the sides of its jaws. Its fangs occupied most of the room in its mouth, more than any typical creature, and the arrangement of the teeth looked like a dentist¡¯s worst nightmare. Its muscles bulged twistedly and dreadfully as if some sort of steroid overdose had happened. The claws were solid black, signifying its ability to use dark magic, the origin of its name ¡®Abyss¡¯.


    It was also 2 metres tall.


    The monster noticed the blue flowers on its ¡®regal¡¯ throne and sniffed them suspiciously. For a moment it looked like the flowers weren''t enough to distract it, but after a tense moment of waiting, it flopped down with its back turned to Lucille, and started munching on them. She waited a few moments longer to be safe, but it was well and truly distracted. The monster conveniently rolled onto its back to sleep, as the sedative properties of the large quantity of the blue flowers, as well as a nice big meal, sent it into a deep sleep.


    She was lucky the monster wasn¡¯t any stronger, as it would¡¯ve developed abilities that could sense her presence. She approached carefully. Taking care not to disturb it, she positioned the dagger very specifically over the spot she assumed would be the heart. She took a deep breath and plunged the dagger down. The blood sprayed everywhere.


    Unfortunately, she underestimated the survival instinct of the beast, and as soon as the dagger had gone in halfway, a massive limb swung and collided with her side, sending her flying backwards to crash into the back cave wall. Her vision briefly dimmed and swam as her head rang, and when she touched her side, it came away bloody. She slowly got up from the floor where she had landed and tried to move.


    The Abyss Monster had gotten up and was still thrashing about, trying to dislodge the dagger with tendrils of dark magic. She could see the malicious red glow of the life-drinker enchantment draining the lifeforce of the monster, but it was in danger of being dislodged if the beast kept this up, so she shakily got up and slowly moved towards the rigged cord.


    Pulling it down, she heard the rush of wind as the iron lump speedily moved down towards the Abyss Monster. It collided with the back of its head with a hard thunk. She waited in tense silence before becoming confident that the beast was out for the count. She came closer. The life-drinker enchantment was doing its thing but wasn¡¯t enough to kill it, so she pulled out the dagger before plunging it in once more, making sure she got the heart.


    She waited calmly until the breathing of the beast slowed, and then ended. She waited a bit longer. She still hadn¡¯t seen the completion rate go up from the monster''s death, and so, with a groan, resigned herself to slicing open its midsection and digging around with her bare hands until she found the monster¡¯s core, then pulled it out with a splash of blood. One could never be sure a monster wouldn¡¯t regenerate. She heard the ding of a notification.


    [Objective: Defeat the ¡®Abyss Monster¡¯ of the caves without dying by the end of the month]


    [Completion Rate: +30% ]


    All of a sudden she became a bit dizzy, and decided to find a place to sit down. She looked around.


    Not here, that¡¯s for sure. I don¡¯t fancy a bath of blood. I didn¡¯t fancy a blood bath just then either, but look how that turned out.


    Eventually, after about 5 minutes of half-hearted searching, a good shove to a boulder made it give way to lead her to the musty remains of a camp. It used to belong to a group of young adventurers, but their luck seemed to have run out as a cave roof had come down, blocking them from escaping. If she had taken the normal way, she would have had to traverse 20km of windy and treacherous tunnels. It was much easier to smash a hole through the cave wall.


    She sat down on the rotten rug of the campsite, ignoring the miserable remains of its owners, and found the two books she was looking for. The mana-skill book was what she expected. A leatherbound book filled with several martial forms on yellow-tinted stiff paper that taught the user how to use mana to trigger an enhanced strike when using a blade. A common skill for weapon wielders in the System. The other book though¡­


    She eyed the spell tome with strong suspicion.


    She had a feeling the reason why the old scheming conman back in town wanted it was not because of the spell. She didn¡¯t really know why, maybe it was the horrifyingly ostentatious gold binding, or the literal gemstones decorating the front. Or maybe it was the signed name ¡®Rostchilde¡¯ written in gold lettering on the front, which just so happened to be the name of the powerful Marquess family she had to go to if she wanted to report the Lord¡¯s corruption.


    Lucille believed she had just found her ticket to fulfilling the 3<sup>rd</sup> objective.


    She put it down and considered her fight. Anyone with a love of fighting would¡¯ve been sorely disappointed at how her ¡®battle¡¯ had turned out. She had to use traps and tricks to get a small opening and hadn''t even managed to get its vitals on the first try. She heard people who defeated it through direct combat earned a completion rate of 40% rather than 30%, but she didn¡¯t care that much. This wasn¡¯t going to be her last fight in the Tutorial, so preventing herself from getting any more injuries was the most important thing. At least until the last battle. She had some experience with recreational martial arts, so she could move her body when she needed, but it was the more supernatural methods of physical combat that she failed to grasp.


    After an hour of rest, she eventually got up. Using some spare bandages in her backpack she brought there, she had managed to do some minor first aid for her side. The bleeding was mostly from a somewhat deep gash caused by the monster¡¯s claws, but what worried her more was the dull deep-seated ache she felt coming from it, which probably meant she broke a rib on that side, as sometimes it turned to sharp pain when she moved. She decided to abuse her monster slayer privileges when she got back to get some expensive healing from a member of the town.


    However, first, she needed to learn the skill and spell before she could lay a trap for the conman using the book. It was not the brightest idea to learn or practice either spell or mana-skill when injured, but if she went back to the town conman would get suspicious when she didn¡¯t take them straight to him. If she did it in the cave, he couldn¡¯t accuse her of learning them, even if he had suspicions. The shopkeeper should¡¯ve specified that she couldn¡¯t learn them in the contract.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    He probably thought I would be too dumb to learn them. He likely expected me to try them, as I look like a stereotypical run-away daughter with my lack of callouses or muscles, trying to escape an arranged marriage through adventuring or something of that sort. He probably also expected me to die to the Abyss Monster. I wonder how many others he tricked into going to hunt the Abyss Monster.


    On second thought¡­. never mind. Ignorance is bliss.


    She got into the default stances of the first book. Mana-skill books were made so that the stances functioned as guides for mana to travel through the user¡¯s mana veins. They activated effects until the user was able to sense the mana and became confident enough to activate it when they liked it. But¡­ she was terrible at physical combat. After years of attempting to learn any good physical skills, she had concluded it was an innate disability for her.


    She supposed you couldn¡¯t have everything when you already had stunning good looks, genius intellect, inheritance rights to billions of dollars and a once-in-a-millennium talent for magic, but it was very annoying when trying to do mana-skills. Something about them just wouldn¡¯t click for her. Like a missing puzzle piece.


    She contemplated burning the book in many interesting ways when she finally tripped over doing the stances. Maybe she could dissolve it in acid. Did she mention she hated physical combat?


    She was probably going too hard on herself. It had only been an hour after she got up, and she was missing her stats. If she had the INT for mana, then maybe she could just brute force it. Then Lucy facepalmed.


    Mana. Of course. I don¡¯t need the stances, or even the book if I can just make the mana move how the skill wants it to. I know how to manipulate mana; it just didn¡¯t occur to me because I haven¡¯t tried to sense it yet. Maybe the missing INT and WIS have made me dumber, and it wasn¡¯t a myth?


    Actually, I need to think more about this. I was able to place a spiritual marker on Agent Lawrence when I shouldn¡¯t have had the spiritual power to do that yet. Something¡¯s not quite right here.


    It was a subject to think about later. She had a task to do, and now a way to do it. Then, in less than 5 minutes after she rediscovered how to pulverise someone''s insides, she had fulfilled another objective:


    [Objective: Learn a skill without dying by the end of the month]


    [Completion Rate: +10%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 40%]


    Yay! 10% up! Now I get to sit in a corner and cry because every single per cent to come afterwards will be like pulling off fingernails with a tweezer. This is the point the average elite member of the Tower would¡¯ve reached when they did the Tutorial. Unfortunately, the option to exit early hasn¡¯t appeared, so even if I wanted to, I can¡¯t leave now. It must trigger at 50% I suppose.


    Come to think of it, what did I get last time? 46%, 48%? I think I got those extra percentages for partially completing an objective by the end of the Tutorial. I miss my eidetic memory. Anyway, time for the fancy spell now.


    The spell was much easier if a bit weird. ¡®The Vortex Foundation Builder Vol. 2¡¯ was the name of the spell tome. She grimaced at the title.


    Blighted battlemages infecting everything. If you wanted to inflict stupidity and violence on the masses, go hit each other with iron sticks like the rest of the normal idiots. Don¡¯t bring your lacking intellect to other, more well-learned societies. Seems the Rostchilde March was a noble family of storm mages, the second most common battlemage school. At least the spell is somewhat useful, not that it would work for my magic.


    The spell itself enabled the user to briefly overcharge their spell with extra mana and keep it from going out of control for a maximum of half a minute, inflicting added damage. It was obviously only in Volume 2 to prevent young Rostchilde nobles from crippling themselves in an attempt to show off when they begin learning magic. While Lucy happened to use magic far more refined than what a mere storm mage could do, she, um, could maybe admit to having the fireball spell in her arsenal. Because what sort of mage didn¡¯t know fireball?


    However, she didn¡¯t plan on ever casting it in the Tutorial for reasons A: She didn¡¯t want to drain herself, and B: It would be cheating. Plenty of prospective System Users could use some limited low-ranked spells or similar, but she had the inkling, based on her understanding of how the System calculates the Completion Rate, that she wouldn¡¯t get as high a score as if she limited herself to what was in the Tutorial. So using the charge mana-skill and the, ugh, battlemage spell, besides her abysmal stabbing abilities, was all she could attempt to use. Luckily it was her planning ability that was her strong point, and not her ability to conveniently place her blade in areas where something might run into it.


    She decided by that point to look over what objectives she had left:


    [You have one month to Complete one of these Objectives:


    <ol>


    <li>Survive until the end of the month.</li>


    <li>Defeat the ¡®Abyss Monster¡¯ of the caves without dying by the end of the month.</li>


    <li>Become Lord of the town without dying by the end of the month.</li>


    <li>Find poof of the Lord¡¯s corruption without dying by the end of the month.</li>


    <li>Find proof of the Lord¡¯s corruption and send a message to a neighbouring town Lord without dying by the end of the month.</li>


    <li>Learn a skill without dying by the end of the month.</li>


    <li>Learn a spell without dying by the end of the month.</li>


    <li>Discover the sealed treasure under the town and escape without dying by the end of the month.</li>


    <li>Kill everyone from the town.</li>


    <li>Find the Demon.</li>


    </ol>


    Good Luck and May You See Future Horizons!]


    [Completion Rate: 45%]


    The completion rate showed up as above 0% even if the objectives were technically incomplete because, by that point most sane, normal people had resolved themselves to having an enjoyable, relaxing time leeching off the town Lord¡¯s tax money and not tempting fate until the end of the month.


    Lucille was by most societies¡¯ definitions not sane or normal, and so decided her next step would be to gain the proof of the Lord¡¯s corruption from his locked vault, hide evidence of her search, sneak into the secret passageways of his mansion to head towards the basement, all while the Lord and his servants were still in the building before she got kicked out because of a stingy Lord having to give up his hard-earned tax money and not wanting to see the cause of it for any longer than necessary. Piece of cake.


    So, with the vault key she had found under the rotten rug of the campsite, and definitely unused books in hand, she started to walk towards the cave entrance. Her eyes saw the Abyss Monster and she realised that the Lord might make excuses if she didn¡¯t bring back anything but the monster¡¯s core. Now annoyed and irritated at the new paint job she got due to the bloody head she had to put in her pack, she walked towards the cave entrance again.


    Did she ever mention the blue flowers were poisonous? The petals were able to kill the lesser monsters in the area, showing her little experiment was a success, and that she should continue to not drink them in her tea. Maybe the more annoying kind of visitors in the future could get to try it.


    ...


    Sir Conman the Soon-to-Suffer seemed to be ecstatic that someone was competent and had gotten the books. He also seemed nervous because someone was competent and had gotten the books. Lucille saw him try to play it off and act normal, but she could see the way his attention was more on the spell tome than the mana-skill book, increasing the likelihood that it may be a stolen good, and was her ticket to becoming her own little noble in the Tutorial.


    She left him with a handshake and a spiritual marker for good measure after reminding him the dagger was loaned to her for a month, but the old man seemed eager to leave and possibly didn¡¯t even hear her. He was probably making plans to hide and become a well-known mage under a different name, whatever it was currently, but too bad for him, until she removed the marker from her end, she could always find him. Permanently. Forever and ever.


    So with her plans prepared, she got healed, and then she made her way to the front gate of the Lord¡¯s marble manor, present in her full glory: A black trench coat, black pants, black turtleneck, black boots, leather vest, rough corn sack leaking blood, and a dagger in its holder, strapped to her thigh. It may seem that she was wearing a ton of black, but she didn¡¯t wear black because she liked it, she wore black because she knew the blood wouldn¡¯t show up on it. She found blood gross, but she, unfortunately, tended to find herself in situations involving copious amounts of it.


    The two gatekeeping guards watched her cautiously, which she understood after considering herself in their position, watching a young woman walking up to them with a bag leaking blood and wearing all-black clothes. Maybe she could pass as a necromancer on any other day. She dropped the sack on the ground to let them see the Abyss Monster¡¯s head and core within. It was comical watching them lean in with curiosity before jerking back in horror.


    ¡°Lucy Goldcroft is here to turn in the head and core of the Abyss Monster for the bounty,¡± she announced with pomp.


    These things had to be said with confidence to get any sort of benefit out of the deal. Otherwise, she might have to go on a revenge spree because someone thought they could take advantage of her. Revenge was overrated and would get their ancestors chasing after her instead. Too much effort to deal with.


    If even a single one of the descendants ends up saying ¡®My family¡¯s future is ruined¡¯ they¡¯ll pop up like demons hearing somebody wants power.


    It seemed like her introduction worked as intended, as the gatekeeping guard who looked like he had higher seniority ordered the younger guard inside to report to the lord. He likely suggested to his junior to make it quick too, as the younger gatekeeper came back before their stare-off could get any more awkward.


    ¡°L-L-Lord Seburus will r-receive you now,¡± the young guard stuttered.


    She picked up the bag and followed him in, pretending to not see the offer of aid the younger guard was suggesting with an outstretched hand. Pretending to be oblivious was much more polite than ignoring him, insulting the Lord by suggesting she didn¡¯t trust his guard with the bag in the process. Which she didn¡¯t.


    A servant came with a box for her to put the bag in which she agreed to. It was presumably so she didn¡¯t leak monster blood all over their nice fancy carpets, so there was no sense in ignoring it. She was brought to a suitably ostentatious living room where she placed her box and was told to wait before being left with a cup of tea and some biscuits by the aged butler. Maybe the Tutorial knew she was British.


    In preparation for what would come next, Lucy shifted a bit into a proper noble seating position and readied her mind to act like a pretentious privileged runaway noble. She thought she might try to mimic that brat that had subordinated under her at the Distorted Depths. He left a memorable impression on her, as it was her first time dealing with someone who had such utter disregard for her ability to obliterate him with a mere thought. The idea they might meet again, and she could teach him reality once more made her slightly more happy about the stress she could see occurring in her future when she thought of him.


    She refocused her distracted attention, which she had been getting really annoyed at these last few months due to her stat loss, on the living room door as it opened once more, allowing another addition to the butler to come inside. She got up and bowed to the extra person, but not before making sure it was perfectly angled to be low enough to not be blatantly offensive, but high and dismissing enough to be disrespectful of the other.


    ¡°Greetings, my lord. I am Lucy Goldcroft, here to turn in the Abyss Monster¡¯s proof of death,¡± she said haughtily.


    She felt faintly proud of her acting when she saw the slight eyebrow twitch on the other person, who was the Lord in question, and a bit amused at how he waited just slightly longer than was required before allowing her to sit down with a motion. She ensured that she made herself comfortable on the couch more quickly than was acceptable for a guest, and to her amusement, she saw the corner of his mouth twitch again as he tried to maintain a polite, disarming smile.


    He returned her introduction with a boisterous laugh with bejewelled hands and arms spread wide.


    ¡°And what a fine proof it is, my girl! Come, please, eat some refreshments before you regale me with tales of your exploits. It is a joyous occasion indeed that such a foul beast has been slayed before it could wreak more havoc across my land. I will, of course, ensure you are paid in as much coin as you should need for your future amazing adventures.¡± He gave a mocking tilt of the head with his patronizing statement.


    ¡°A lord such as yourself will not hesitate to reward such a promising young woman as myself for dealing with a terrible beast plaguing your land and citizens for a while now. It is practically mandatory for a good Lord,¡± she responded in kind, a calm smile on her face.


    They continued to make small talk and jabs for a while, with the Lord steadily growing more incensed, and Lucy continuing to seem oblivious to his sarcasm until they started to wrap up their discussion and head towards the bounty reward. But Lucille had one more remark to make before she could begin the next phase of her plans.


    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose, Lord Seburus, you know anything about demons would you?¡± she asked sweetly.


    <hr>


    Earth, New York, Malcolm Street, Sunrise Apartment 3B, 3 Months before the Tutorial.


    In a dingy grey apartment fallen into complete disrepair and covered in the omnipresent musk of poor-quality lemon air freshener and human sweat, a young man in his early 20s awoke to find himself on a rickety mattress, creaking under his weight as he sat up, grasping his chest. Cold sweat dripped from his body into the fabric of his second-hand grey shirt and baggy tracksuit pants, and his brown hair had darkened from the grease. He remained there for a while, rocking backwards and forwards until his breathing had calmed. He lifted his head to take in his surroundings.


    Clearly, it was not what he expected, as his face screwed in befuddlement, and he viewed the room again in blatant confusion. His nose wrinkled as he took in the scents of the shabby square dump and ran a hand through his hair, which turned out to be a mistake, as it was now stuck in one position. He glanced down at the metallic strap on his wrist in surprise and turned on the holowatch, a square emerging to show the date in a green-blue translucent fashion. He let out an audible gasp and got up to throw open the window, to find himself peering out at a busy American metropolis in full traffic-jam splendour. He watched for another minute before returning to fall backwards onto the bed. He clenched his teeth.


    I¡¯m¡­ back? I¡¯m really back? How?! I died. I felt it. That swell of mind-rending agonising pain from my soul, and somehow I¡¯m back on Earth in this dingy apartment?!


    Conlan Griffin found himself in more confusion than when he woke up. He took another look at his holowatch and realised the make was ancient, way too ancient, for what he had before he died. A good few centuries too old. Then he realised.


    Did I¡­ go back in time? Is that how it is? I did hear the activation of a subskill from my main skill, but all my skills should¡¯ve been locked due to over-using them. Wait¡­ I had an unknown subskill too, didn¡¯t I?


    He thought back on what his skills were. One subskill had always remained locked no matter what he did, so it was reasonable to think it could¡¯ve been a life-saving skill that would only activate with death. In fact, it was the only reasonable cause for his situation. He looked up at the roof and clenched his fist in front of his face.


    This is a second chance, isn¡¯t it? A chance to do everything right, and have no regrets. No fears, no ruined relationships, and to rise higher than I could before. And most importantly, gain more strength to protect my friends and family. I need it more than ever now that I know what¡¯s coming next.


    And¡­ please wait for me, Adrianna. I¡¯ll come for you once again, and this time, I¡¯ll save you.


    But first, he needed to fix his terrible physique and get out of his ugly financial situation. And then obtain the X-ranked awakening elixir by saving his long-time friend Stephen Lawrence from a rift break.


    Everything will surely go right for him this time. Everything.

 Chapter 2 (1 of 2) Existential vomiting bug and haunted eyes

    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose, Lord Seburus, you know anything about demons, would you?¡± she asked sweetly.


    The Lord was annoyed by then and couldn¡¯t quite hide the flinch of his ring-laden fingers as he went to pick up another cup of tea. He recovered from it with a scowl.


    ¡°What rubbish is this now, Miss Goldcroft? I have politely ignored it so far, but your constant disrespect of my position as a noble with your comments, and your seemingly unknowing disregard of your position as a commoner,¡± he stressed with a frown, ¡°Has destroyed what semblance of goodwill I had before this discussion. We should get this foul ordeal over and done with before I continue to listen to such insults.¡± He beckoned to the butler to bring a contract.


    ¡°What insults?¡± She raised an eyebrow with suspicion. ¡°I¡¯m asking if you have any knowledge of demons, or of demons being in the area. How did I insult you?¡± She furrowed her brows like she was in deep thought.


    The Lord stiffened. ¡°Ahem! Apologies girl, it seems I was overthinking your words. What is this about demons?¡± He coughed and continued in a hurry to gloss over his mistake and prevent her from thinking deeper.


    Lucille gained a malicious glint in her eyes that proved she was not going to let him get away without a bit of suffering.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m asking because I believe I may have detected traces of them in the cave system of the Abyss Monsters. I hope you understand how serious the implications are if that is the case,¡± she replied.


    ¡°What implications? I¡¯m sorry, but as a non-combatant, I don¡¯t tend to do so well on these subjects,¡± he stated blandly.


    Lucy ignored his attempts to refrain from supplying any more information to her. ¡°It''s strange that a monster of such strength chose such a, pardon me for saying this, undeveloped area when taking into account the population and mana density of the area. Particularly a greater kin of this kind of strength. If I may?¡± she asked the butler, gesturing towards the box with the core and head. She pulled it over to let the Lord view the bowling-ball-sized sphere of swirling muddy green and brown. She ignored their reaction to the smell and put it away when he pulled away quickly.


    The butler removed the biscuits and other similar foods to lower back down to the kitchen through the dumb waiter. It seemed they had both lost their appetite.


    ¡°A core of this size only belongs to upper-level low-ranked monsters or higher,¡± she announced. ¡°If demonic beings are around here, it means the possibility that they manufactured the scenario of the Abyss Monster¡¯s existence is quite high, and that they are targeting you or something in the area.¡±


    ¡°What rot,¡± he responded brusquely. He rushed on to explain when he saw Lucy¡¯s narrowed eyes. ¡°I do not mean to dismiss your concerns, Miss Goldcroft. I just find there is no possible reason for demonic beings to target one such as me. I would also hope to know all important matters of my domain, as the Lord of this place, and demons are an extremely improbable occurrence all things considered. What could possibly cause you to think of something this¡­ extreme?¡±


    Which was a very thinly veiled fantasy way of saying ¡®You don¡¯t look like you¡¯re out of high school but you¡¯re trying to tell a politician with 50 years of legal experience that they¡¯re doing things wrong.¡¯


    She smiled and replied, ¡°I do have experience taking part in a battle to slay a demon baron north of here in Firnshire County, so you don''t need to worry about my credentials. The paladins up there are wonderful at teaching others how to identify things of demonic nature.¡±


    Firnshire was also conveniently placed about a month away for a messenger to come back with evidence of her credentials. When she would be hopefully enjoying the profit of her struggles.


    ¡°As for the evidence¡­¡± She tapped her fingers on the lacquered coffee table before shaking her head. ¡°I admit I don''t have anything in the way of physical evidence to give you, but that wasn¡¯t my intention. I have no interest in more demon-slaying after the battle of Firnshire,¡± she explained. ¡°No, it was just a warning, as I happened to find an adventurer campsite near the lair of the Abyss Monster bearing the marks of some specific demonic inscribing on their skeletons in the style of the Abyssal clan. I did not touch them to bring them back, as I had no way of knowing what ill-begotten magic was still in effect. They should still be there, next to the main cave.¡±


    His expression rapidly darkened and he frowned heavily. Lucille hid her smirk behind another sip of tea. She knew she had him when she mentioned Abyssal demons. Abyssal demons had the worst reputation among all the races and were known for their love of twisted contracts, disastrous curses, and ability to manipulate the mind and senses. Not all of them followed their reputation, but she had no expectations that the one good abyssal demon was hidden in the town. She mentally ran through her next plan when the Lord suddenly got up and headed towards the door.


    He looked back briefly. ¡°Please, make yourself comfortable for the night here at my manor. If it is as you said, this matter must be resolved as soon as possible, so I will prepare to observe the campsite with my guards in person tomorrow."


    She nodded with solemnity. "Do what you must to protect the town, Lord Seburus."


    "We will postpone the bounty issue until tomorrow if that is all,¡± he said, nodding his head politely as a goodbye. The butler walked swiftly after his Lord.


    She waited until he had shut the door before letting her face relax into its normal expressionless look. She leaned back on her seat to watch the roof, counting their steps in her mind patiently. When he had gone for at least 10 minutes, she went to the door of the living room and opened it, looking around before she found a guard outside her door. She smiled at him to get his attention.


    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you could get the butler for me, could you?" she asked politely. "I¡¯m meant to be staying here, but I have no way of knowing where my living arrangements will be," she explained, the guard nodding in understanding. "The Lord was very abrupt with his decision to let me stay, with the demons appearing and all, so perhaps you could alert the butler to my situation?¡± She gave a disarming smile completely at odds with the mention of demons.


    The guard nodded along until he did a double take at her words and paled. ¡°D-demons?¡±


    ¡°Has it not been announced yet?" She blinked in surprise and then hummed in contemplation. "Well, the butler has more details, so it would probably be best for you to ask him when you meet."


    ¡°Ah! Certainly milady, I¡¯ll go get him now!¡±


    And he walked off, full of nervous energy, to get the butler from the Lord¡¯s study. She watched the empty hallway for a short minute to make sure nobody would enter the room, before making her way to the dumb waiter used by the butler to bring up the refreshments and squeeze inside. She used the pulley to slowly lower herself until she stopped on a floor that was absent of people. She didn¡¯t lower herself any further due to the kitchen being full of people, which did not favour someone on a stealth mission. The gloomy atmosphere of the stony hallways also perfectly matched the description she had heard others mention containing a secret passageway. In other words, it looked like a generic dungeon.


    Finding a strangely ornate lamp holder on the wall, at least compared to the others, she gave it a pull, to see the grey cold brick peeling away, revealing a tight spiral staircase that was enclosed within the walls of the manor. She entered quickly before pulling on another ornate lamp holder, hiding her within the bowels of the earth. She hoped it wasn''t forever.


    Descending it, she found the real dungeons. She noticed, with some disgust, that the cells all seemed to be rather unused for such a large town. That meant the Lord, or whoever was behind this, did not care about human life and felt it a waste of resources to imprison criminals rather than kill them. Pulling up a jutted stone on one of the cell''s floors revealed a handle, which, when pulled, took her down another secret passageway. Typically, finding these in the Tutorial wouldn¡¯t be so easy, but then again, most people couldn¡¯t do it twice. She was special.


    This time the stone in the room was practically black. The bolted vault in front of her had locks on them, but she set to work unlocking them with the same keys needed for those locks. The keys she had once again managed to slip off of someone - the butler when he passed her the box for her bloody bag in this situation, with her trusty snatching abilities. You could never know what skills came in handy.


    Bolts off, the 3-meter-tall vault opened to reveal ledgers, documents, and boring contracts. People new to the Tutorial usually believed the corruption mentioned in objectives No. 4 and 5 was political corruption, and they would have their beliefs proved true in the form of incriminating dry tree mulch. But that wasn¡¯t all.


    What Lucille was looking for happened to be the demonic type of corruption. Evidence of the Lord¡¯s connections with demons, or traces of demonic magic. She found what she wanted in the form of a dull wooden box. She opened it, took out the object within, and made sure to set everything back where it used to be. She hoped it was, considering her memory was better than she thought it would be after her stat loss, but it wasn¡¯t eidetic memory. Yet.


    [Objective: Find proof of the Lord¡¯s corruption without dying by the end of the month]


    [Completion Rate: +15%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 60%]


    [Do you wish to exit the Tutorial? Yes/No]


    Pressing [No], she collected herself. Objective 5 would begin when she exited the manor.


    She focused on the final phase of her plan. Narrowing her eyes in concentration, she pressed minute strands of mana against the back wall of the vault, searching for purchase with the threads. Something eventually absorbed it, and with a click, she was able to find the third secret passageway of the manor. This one, however, she had found on her own last time she was here, instead of from hearsay. She ducked through the newly formed archway, shutting the entrance behind her to find herself in a large open room. She let herself relax slightly when she noticed she was in the place she wanted to be. The whole journey had been slightly stressful.


    She didn¡¯t relax for too long, as the butler should¡¯ve noticed her disappearance by now, and started inspecting the new room. It was not inconspicuous at all when it came to hiding its purpose. Many unique tools were decorating the walls, with several metal tables covered in very suspicious-looking dark stains placed in the area. One back wall, however, remained clear of anything. Anything besides the rather obvious red-hued geometric shape covering the entire wall. Or almost.


    She frowned slightly when she noticed an elongated vertical shape in the corner of the room, covered in a white sheet. As she came closer, she noticed rather dusty spiderwebs covering the entire thing, accompanied by the disintegrating remains of starved spider husks. She watched it for a while, contemplating what to do.


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    It was the first time Lucille had been truly apprehensive since several months before the Tutorial. While she might¡¯ve been slightly nervous dealing with the Abyss Monster, she knew it was only a physiological reaction caused by her young body, as someone with her experience would never be shaken mentally. No, the reason why she was apprehensive was because the object in the corner of the room was an unknown.


    The Tutorial never changed. Ever. It was the same for every single person who entered it. The only difference was that the strength of the inhabitants upscaled the stronger the person was before they entered. There would always be the conman, always be the Lord, the butler, the same guards, the same location for the objectives, the same Abyss Monster, and the same skill and spell. Lucille knew for a fact that nobody who made it to the room she was in had found anything other than a giant red demonic pentagram and the torture instruments in the surroundings.


    There was only one choice. She threw off the sheet.


    It was a mirror. A mirror made dull by the thick layers of dust piled on its surface, but a mirror all the same. One thing Lucy knew about mirrors in unnatural situations was that they were always more than just boring old mirrors. The same held true within the Tower realms.


    Firstly, this human-sized mirror had a perfectly preserved silver frame, not a spot of tarnish to be seen. Secondly was the fact that she had never seen this in her last Tutorial. And thirdly was the innocuous System message that popped up after she threw the covers off.


    [Objective: Discover the sealed treasure under the town and escape without dying by the end of the month]


    [Completion Rate: +12%]


    She stared at the message. She glanced at the mirror, and then back at the message again.


    That was not meant to be there. The sealed treasure was supposed to be a cursed sword buried under layers of trapped ruins, the one the old man had tried to get her to pick up for him, and the one that would kill her within 24 hours of touching it. That was not a mirror. There was only one conclusion.


    She raised her eyes to the roof and tried to will the System to hear her threats of the indiscriminate chaos she could cause with her knowledge once she got out of the Tutorial. It didn¡¯t respond.


    She sighed and watched the mirror carefully. The System must''ve authorised this change. She knew, from the moment she woke up and took even one breath out of schedule, that the butterfly effect was in place, but this was far, far too quickly an effect to come about just because of that.


    She was aware that anyone connected to the System had given it access to every memory and thought in their mind, but if that was the case already, the outcome of that would not just be a mirror. She would¡¯ve expected some sort of deep scan, or deal of some kind to restrict her actions, something along those lines. The mirror reeked of third-party involvement, and she had not the slightest idea where to find out more. She hadn¡¯t felt this lost in years.


    She decided her first step would be to wipe off the thick dust with the slightly less dusty sheet, just to make sure it was a mirror and not some portal to the eldritch forefathers or something. She didn¡¯t know if eldritch forefathers existed, but she wouldn¡¯t put it past the System to have something along those lines. Once the mirror was clear enough to see her entire body, she took a step back and saw her reflection.


    It waved.


    She blinked. She had not waved.


    I don¡¯t believe that¡¯s how mirrors are supposed to work.


    The Lord and butler chose that second to make their presence announced with the stomp of heavy leather boots, and she looked over her shoulder to where the entrance to the room was. She turned back to the mirror where she found a very familiar smirk on the face of her reflection. She felt an eyebrow twitch.


    That¡¯s my smirk, you cow. You can¡¯t have it.


    No, it was not ironic that she called something that looked and acted like her a cow. The reflection¡¯s face lost its smile and pointed over its shoulder as the sounds of other people came closer. She mirrored its action, where it shook its head, pointed at itself, and then pointed over its shoulder again.


    Lucille¡¯s eyes widened slightly when she realised it was asking for her to hide behind the mirror. That was actually a bit smart. Maybe it was her reflection and not some alien entity that wanted to kill her and take her place. She hoped.


    Pulling the covers back onto the mirror and herself as she waited behind it, she heard the discussions of the Lord and his butler as they came to inspect the vault. The soundproofing down there clearly lacked a good budget.


    ¡°Asmerseburus, that girl is probably more likely to be searching for items on the higher floors where more valuables are kept. She directed the guard in my direction, away from the bedroom chambers where your possessions and the like are kept. We¡¯re wasting time looking down here at the vault,¡± said the exasperated-sounding butler, who wasn¡¯t behaving like the Lord was a superior now.


    ¡°That¡¯s assuming she was just a plain thief,¡± ¡®Asmerseburus¡¯ argued. ¡°And that she wasn¡¯t someone sent by my political rivals who are getting antsy. We can¡¯t have anything upsetting the plan at this late stage." He narrowed his eyes at his ''butler''. "And don''t forget, master granted me his name, and not you. Show more respect for my status."


    Lucy rolled her eyes before beginning the last phase of her plan. As they argued just outside the closed hidden door to the demonic engraving room, she started to sneak a tiny strand of mana along the wall edge. Their argument reached its conclusion soon afterwards.


    ¡°As I said, Asmerseburus, nothing has been touched. Not even that box. She probably stole the monster corpse from another foolhardy adventurer so she could sneak into the manor and steal some riches to fuel her future ¡®heroic adventures¡¯. She was obviously a runaway noble of some kind,¡± Gregfar the butler replied. ¡°If it puts your mind at ease then let¡¯s just try checking the summoning room briefly, before finally seeing how much damage she did to our assets.¡±


    Lucy heard Asmerseburus, or the Lord, let out a sniff. ¡°I¡¯ll make you be the one to report this to Master if you keep up this attitude. Open the door.¡±


    The annoyed butler grumbled but opened the door to the room. The two of them stepped inside and made it to the middle of the room, 3 metres away from where Lucille was behind the mirror.


    ¡°Maybe she got kidnapped? She did seem to be a noble. She could be of higher status than we thought,¡± suggested the butler.


    The Lord looked at his butler before bursting out laughing.


    ¡°That is the most ridiculous thing you''ve said all year,¡± the Lord chuckled. ¡°If a single real noble set even one foot in this backwards dump, I would give up my position to the most penniless peasant I can lay my eyes on.¡±


    She triggered the pentagram. For Asmerseburus and Gregfar, the circle on the wall glowed a darkening, bloody light, and they both rushed to either side of the room to make way for the mirrored pentagram on the floor, this one coalescing red light in the centre. Both people kneeled on the floor as the red-black light slowly morphed into a vaguely humanoid form. Lucy could feel the slow drain of the atmospheric mana surrounding her steadily gravitating towards the figure to keep the connection open.


    [Objective: Find the Demon]


    [Completion Rate: +17%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 89%]


    If the ominous summoning circle or red-black glow emanating from its centre wasn¡¯t a clue to its identity, then the grating, whiplash sensation she could feel as the figure¡¯s aura brushed up against hers was a tell-tale sign of the identity of this creature. It was a demon. It was in its partial astral form, but it was still a demon. It must''ve been a rare occurrence to trigger this in the Tutorial too, because her completion rate, which had steadily been becoming harder to raise the more objectives she completed, jumped up quickly. She listened silently to their discussion.


    <hr>


    ¡°Master!¡± exclaimed Asmerseburus. ¡°You¡¯ve contacted us early! Are you here to honour us with your plans, or is there something urgent you must reveal to us?¡±


    The vaguely humanoid hostile cloud tilted back its head(?) slightly in what seemed to be confusion. Asmerseburus and Gregfar winced as the loud sound of its masculine voice reverberated in their heads, a phenomenon that occurred when something of an immaterial realm had not fully attuned to the new realm it was in.


    ¡°What fool¡¯s work is this, Asmerseburus? Did I not respond to your summoning?¡±


    ¡°Er¡­. no?¡± he replied questioningly. He and Gregfar made eye contact, both wondering what mess they had gotten into now.


    The demon looked down and placed a glowing appendage, probably a hand, on his chin, and seemed to think for a moment before carrying on.


    ¡°I¡¯ll discuss this with you later. For now, I want an early update on the situation of the town and that monster.¡±


    ¡°There is no need to worry about that monster anymore, my lordship. It has been dealt with just today, in fact,¡± Gregfar spoke up.


    Asmerseburus quickly shot him a glare that could kill, aiming to shut him up, but the butler was unfazed, hoping to boost his reputation by undermining the Lord¡¯s.


    ¡°Oh? Do tell,¡± the demon responded curiously.


    So Gregfar launched into a long explanation about the events of that day, describing the story with far more embellishments and exaggerations than even that girl had told the Lord. He had aimed to stall for time, hopefully making the demon lose attention, but the demon listened to the butler patiently the entire time. Gregfar started to turn pale and slightly green as he tried to prevent the demon from asking more about the situation.


    ¡°And so? Where is the woman who slayed this monster? She sounds like a worthy vessel.¡±


    Both Asmerseburus and Gregfar had turned white at that point, and the butler gulped as he realised his attempts to gain favour with the demon had failed. Gregfar shakily made eye contact with Asmerseburus once more.


    ¡°Th-The thing is mi-milord, is that she¡­ um¡­ may have run away?¡± Gregfar squeezed out.


    Both men grasped at their necks as a choking, overbearing pressure rolled out of the middle of the circle in waves, grinding at and fraying the minds of any who were within its borders.


    "Explain yourselves!" the demon growled at them.


    The unwilling Gregfar reluctantly revealed how they ended up coming down to the vault to make sure that everything was fine, and that the most important item was still there so that evidence of their affairs with demons wouldn''t escape. He made sure to frame Asmerseburus in a bad light, emphasising how his superior lost control of his temper when dealing with the girl and gave away information he shouldn¡¯t have.


    The man in question shivered as the form of the demon focused on him, and then the demon turned back to them both. The volume of his voice increased slightly, and gentle amusement could be heard in its tone.


    ¡°Well, well, well. You have made quite a mess of this situation," the demon remarked wryly. "You mean to tell me a young girl tricked both of you, my followers, into leaving someone who had enough power to slaughter the upper-level strength Abyss Monster on her own alone in the mansion, causing you to instantly rush down to the point of the highest importance in the mansion while showing everyone who might be watching where we keep our secrets, and, without finding the girl, came into this room where someone activated the pentagram, without your knowledge?¡±


    The Lord and butler gave each other wary looks at felt a bit of confusion at the emphasis the demon placed on the last bit, but otherwise remained silent.


    ¡°Well?!¡± the demon demanded.


    Both hurriedly gave nods with Asmerseburus speaking up to respond in a trembling voice.


    ¡°Th-that is the gist of it. My lord.¡±


    The demon fell silent for a minute, letting both men wonder if they should¡¯ve said anything at all.


    ¡°The gist of it. The gist of it. The gist of it?!?!¡±


    The red-black smog of the demon¡¯s arm solidified to grasp the wheezing man by the throat, pulling the Lord¡¯s face towards his own so he could speak to Asmerseburus.


    ¡°I am impatient. Very impatient. I grafted your pitiful astral forms into such fine human vessels, wordlessly sacrificing my own opportunity to gain a form of my own in this realm, gave my own name to a lowborn demonite soldier I thought I saw potential in, and this is the result,¡± he practically snarled with rough, harsh tones revealing the demon¡¯s violent nature. ¡°I wanted to use this experience to see if I needed subordinates.¡±


    Then the demon suddenly lifted Asmerseburus back from him. The two men could almost see the peaceful smile on his formless face.


    ¡°And I¡¯ve made my conclusion. Asmerseburus. No¡­ Seburus,¡± the demon continued gently, embodying the image of an adult slowly letting down a young, hopeful child. The Lord let out a whimper.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need you.¡±


    The man collapsed instantly onto the floor as the demon let go, thin filaments of red aura getting drawn out of the man to enter the vague form of the demon''s outstretched hand. The demon turned towards the other demon in human skin. Gregfar was trying, and failing, to scurry backwards on his bottom as quickly as humanly, or demonly, possible. The demon of the pentagram was unfortunately faster. Forcefully picking him up and setting the man in a standing position, almost tenderly brushing off the dust on Gregfar¡¯s suit, the demon placed a ghostly hand on the fearful man¡¯s cheek. The red-black demon chuckled.


    ¡°My dear little Gregfar, you always were a follower to Seburus,¡± he began quietly. ¡°Even when he became a proud captain of his squad in the demon realm, you were only ever second-in-command, overshadowed in every way. I bet my naming of him only served to fuel the sense of unfairness in your lowborn heart. I bet you could do better, Gregfar. I could¡­ give you my name. Would you like my name, Gregfar?¡± the demon quietened to a whisper.


    Gregfar licked his cracked lips and gave a slow nod, an inkling of hope beginning to rekindle.


    The demon tilted its head. The other man froze when the demon¡¯s hand fell to his neck.


    ¡°Unfortunately,¡± the demon said, with a voice like ice. ¡°I don¡¯t need you either.¡±


    With an audible crack, the neck of Gregfar collapsed inwards, and the demon tossed the body like a ragdoll, leaking that same red aura away where it slammed against the wall.


    ¡°In fact!¡± the demon proclaimed with intense mania, ¡°I don¡¯t need anyone else either!¡±


    Several hundred streams of thin red aura flowed down through the roof and funnelled into his outstretched hands, the demon¡¯s colour and form becoming denser and more defined by the second. A thick red smoke billowed out of his form, before splitting apart to reveal the true astral form of the demon.


    With a crown of two pitch-black horns, circling the back of his head and almost touching together, the demon was just short of 3 metres tall. His skin was a unique pale maroon tone, and his arms ended in black-tipped claws, each an inch thick and twice as long. The demon had a defined and burly musculature with broad shoulders and wild unruly black hair growing out from his head all the way to his waist. While the horns, claws and unique skin tone were important features of a demon, they didn¡¯t show his classification. No, the spiralling black Demonic Script found everywhere on the demon¡¯s body, originating from the centre of his chest, showed he was an Abyssal Demon. His cornea and pupils were black, while his irises were white.


    The completed astral form moved towards the motionless body of the Lord. Picking it up, he brushed it off, then stood it up with some sort of animation technique. He placed a hand over its head.


    ¡°It was wise to not kill him. This can be a temporary vessel for now,¡± he mused, before murmuring in an esoteric language with his other hand on his own forehead.


    The comatose body in his outstretched hand glowed that ominous red aura, while the demon winced as his astral form became noticeably dimmer and ill-defined. He let go, the red aura emanating from the Lord¡¯s body disappearing, and with a snap the astral form dissolved, the red summoning circle on the ground disappearing as the connection was cut. The formerly comatose body moved, briefly bending its knees to brush off the extravagant clothes he was wearing and straightening everything up.


    Then the body looked up at the ceiling and let out a hearty chuckle, only this time it was the Abyssal Demon¡¯s voice coming from it.


    ¡°I must seem stark raving mad, talking to myself like this. It is said that talking to oneself is certainly not a sign of a sane mind.¡±


    He abruptly spun around to face the wall with the red pentagram.


    ¡°Unless I have an unexpected audience to resolve this dilemma for me? It is hardly proper to make one¡¯s acquaintance without a name, isn''t it, young lady?¡±


    Calmly inspecting the circle above her was the slim form of a girl with mid-back length straight black hair, outfitted in a strange, long dark cloak that wrapped around her. The girl relaxedly turned to face the demon, an easy-going smile on her face. She gave a dramatic bow. Then she looked up, narrowed her eyes, and grinned.


    ¡°Pardon me for my manners, sir. Lucy Goldcroft, here to make your acquaintance.¡±

 Chapter 2 (2 of 2) Existential vomiting bug and haunted eyes.

    Of course they were also demons. The System couldn¡¯t have been more obvious. What human mother would ever name their child Seburus or Gregfar? Lucy inwardly shook her head from behind the mirror. Those lesser demons were looking rather pitiful as the higher demon wrung them out for information, but Lucy wasn¡¯t fooled. She had clear evidence of their crimes in the form of the used torture instruments on the metallic tables and the lack of live prisoners in the dungeon cells. She held no sympathy for them.


    When the intensity of the demon¡¯s aura had peaked, she was very glad her innate disability to not succeed at physical combat was present in this situation, as it was the best defence against killing intent there was. Killing intent could only harm someone if they could sense it, after all. It could be more dangerous to her if the demon was physically present with a fully manifested incarnation and attuned, able to manipulate mana, but the current abrasion to her soul couldn¡¯t do a thing. She went back to focusing on their strained conversation.


    Eventually, it seemed the demon was done with them both, and she heard Gregfar¡¯s body slam against a wall. An unexpected notification popped up.


    [Objective: Kill everyone from the town]


    [Completion Rate: +1%]


    What? How- oh. Oh. It¡¯s the System¡¯s wording again. Everyone from the town, not in the town. That means that every original member of the town had been replaced by lesser demons. I know the background setting of the town is that it only made progress within the last ten years, so I guess the demons have put effort into masking their existence by replacing them. And I suppose manipulating the situation to have an intermediary kill them all counted as killing them myself.


    Lucy focused back on listening to the demon as he recited a possession ritual. She decided to come out. The demon already knew of her presence, as a higher demon had far better perception abilities than lowborn demonite soldiers. Demonite soldiers were also considered demon beasts, not even lowborn True Demons, meaning that only meeting the higher demon gave her any completion rate. She stepped out from behind the mirror to inspect the red pentagram. There was one last thing she needed to check.


    The demon in human skin spoke up, ¡°I must seem stark raving mad, talking to myself like this. It is said that talking to oneself is certainly not a sign of a sane mind.¡±


    He turned around to watch Lucille inquisitively.


    ¡°Unless I have an unexpected audience to resolve this dilemma for me? It is hardly proper to make one¡¯s acquaintance without a name, is it not, young lady?¡± he suggested.


    She knew it had begun then. The best way to deal with people like him was to beat them at their own game. For most people that was a struggle, but she was very good at doing that. Lucy turned around, bowed politely and spoke, ¡°Pardon me for my manners, sir. Lucy Goldcroft, here to make your acquaintance.¡±


    If he was going to act polite until the end, then she would do the same. The Abyssal demon, as she could see from the slowly disappearing demonic script on his face, seemed to smile genially at her, but she noticed the cold glint in his eyes when he did so.


    ¡°Why, welcome to my humble abode!¡± he said. He looked at the bloodstained floor and tables with distaste. ¡°My¡­ former subordinates didn¡¯t have much talent for hospitality, so I do hope you¡¯ll forgive me for their sakes. They could be a little¡­ tiring, to deal with, so I dealt with them instead!¡±


    He swung his arm wide to showcase his new body and Gregfar¡¯s remains on a far wall. ¡°Did you perhaps come here with some intention in mind?¡± he questioned, showing off sharp incisors - hints of his demonic nature - with a smile.


    ¡°Indeed, I did sir. I came here for a special kind of deal,¡± she stressed, taking a step, both hands behind her back.


    The Abyssal raised an eyebrow. ¡°Oh? What sort of deal do you have in mind that it would require you to meet me, Miss Demon-slayer?¡± He smirked, taking a step forward himself. They were 3-metres-away from each other at that point.


    ¡°Well,¡± she started, spreading out a hand, ¡°I was thinking I might need some¡­ power of a certain kind if I was to progress on my future journeys. Power that can be given in the form of a contract, with certain beings.¡± She gave a wide smile, showing off her white, perfectly uniform teeth. She took another step forward, spreading out her other empty hand.


    ¡°You see, my far too simple-minded parents seem to find pleasure in gaining short-term wealth in the form of selling off their only daughter through marriage.¡± She shook her head from side to side in a show of disappointment, before shrugging. ¡°I say they are too unambitious.¡± She made eye contact with the demon, a smile never leaving her face.


    The Abyssal raised a hand to the Lord¡¯s chin in thought. He looked at her closely. ¡°And you seem to think this power can be given through me?¡± He mirrored her wide smile and took a step forward. Then another. And then another.


    ¡°How about I give you something more? Something with more honour, more power, more strength.¡± He grinned viciously. They were a metre apart now.


    Lucy tilted her head innocently. ¡°What could be greater than a contract with you?¡±


    ¡°How about you¡­ become my vessel!¡± And then he lunged.


    Well, Lucy never wanted a contract with such a pathetically weak demon in the first place. He had to be nobility ranked or higher to even have a chance.


    That doesn¡¯t mean he is weak to the current me. It just means, when considering the entirety of the Demon Realm, that he¡¯s probably in the bottom 5%.


    That included the demon beasts as well. He was truly pathetic. The fact he was scaled to her present physical capabilities only emphasised her current lack of strength, however.


    When he lunged again, Lucille narrowed her eyes and made sure to track the trajectory of his hand and step aside. She supposed it was a blessing that he didn¡¯t have a weapon, but the demonic energy manifesting into black claws on him reduced the benefit. A slight graze from it, and she would feel intense pain ten times worse than from just a weapon. That wasn¡¯t much of a detriment to her, but the lingering aura would conflict with her mana, reducing the effectiveness of her already lacking spell and skill. She was criminally underprepared for this, but she didn¡¯t have much of a choice. She needed the demon to underestimate her.


    And so far, she had been facilitating that by narrowly dodging the swings of the demon-possessed Lord.


    Lucy could dodge well enough just by calculating the trajectory of attacks and adjusting for them, but when it came to the so-called mystical ¡®battle instinct¡¯ she had a grand total of none. A side effect of her terrible combat skills and immunity to killing intent. She would exhaust herself if she didn¡¯t change something up soon, however, and so at 50 seconds, she spoke, her smile on her face during the entire period of combat.


    ¡°That was rather violent treatment for a girl. You need to treat ladies with better respect than that if you want to woo them. Minus five points.¡± She dodged a particularly pointed punch to the face by ducking.


    ¡°You call yourself a lady with that eerie grin constantly on your face? You must be insane to try to keep up the act!¡±


    Clearly, Lucy hadn¡¯t tired him out enough, so she kept going with a shake of her head. ¡°A demon calling me insane? What is this world coming to? How old are you to have gone senile already?¡±


    A vein bulged on the Abyssal¡¯s forehead and she hurriedly dived to dodge the blast of demonic energy shot at her from the demon¡¯s black-clawed hand. She broke her fall with an awkward roll and looked up to notice the pitch-black demonic script had reappeared on his skin, and that the corneas of his eyes had turned back to black as well. The red-black aura thickened around him, and she knew it was a sign he was drawing on more power from his astral form.


    ¡°I would be more careful with how you use your words if I were you,¡± he growled out through clenched, gritted teeth.


    She pulled out the dagger from its sheaf on her thigh and ducked under a table as the demon charged at her to slam two fists down onto her makeshift shelter, the metal buckling and stretching with a high-pitch screech, halting just before her eyes.


    She quickly slid out and sprinted to where the mirror was, hiding behind it once again.


    With an aggravated roar, he ran towards the mirror and tossed the sheet off with one hand, punching the mirror¡¯s centre with the other.


    Lucy hissed through her clenched teeth as the mirror shattered, a rain of glass shards showering down on her. She rolled out of the corner she was in once again and hastily stood up to face the heaving demon. She smiled again, but it was strained.


    ¡°Seems like your current vessel is a bit too large around the midsection, considering you can¡¯t even catch a weak girl. You should get a new one.¡±


    <hr>


    The girl was tiring. The Abyssal could see it. It was present in the way her face had paled, and the way she had to squeeze out her taunts with little strength while taking large gulps of air. While she now had a dagger, it would be of no consequence. The girl would fail to harm him permanently in the end. Even the bright determined spark in her eyes had grown dim over the course of several minutes. He could feel that the end of the battle was coming¡­. though it was a bit strange that she had kept smiling throughout the whole fight.


    He shook his head and recentred himself on the present. The girl would exhaust herself soon enough. He just needed to push her a bit more and not fall for her taunts.


    ¡°You¡¯ll become my vessel soon enough, girl. Why don¡¯t you come to me and get this over and done with quickly.¡± He gestured for her to come over with his elongated black claws.


    In response, the girl pretended to backpedal quickly in panic and shouted out loudly, ¡°Help! There''s a creepy old man asking me to follow him!¡±


    He scowled and charged forward to try to get her again. She was a very good dodger, he could give her that. Their back and forth of him attacking, her dodging continued for a bit longer, but slowly there were no more metal tables, no more mirrors or objects to hide behind. He was barely tired or injured, and she was there, struggling to stay upright. He had no idea where she got her confidence to fight him.


    ¡°Unfortunately, I¡¯d prefer my body to be my vessel,¡± she hissed through clenched teeth.


    The girl swiped at him with her dagger and managed to nick his upper arm, but he just smirked inwardly. Those injuries would be healed before the hour was over.


    Eventually, he managed to injure an arm of hers, and she had exhausted herself to the extent she had to lean on a wall to support herself. Her gaze darted towards the entrance, but he didn¡¯t fall for it. Mid-way through the fight she had changed her actions to recklessly aiming for the exit, but he had positioned himself between her, leaning against the pentagram wall, and the exit behind him. He raised a clawed fist and shook it in triumph.


    ¡°This is where it ends, my lady.¡±


    ¡°¡­I ¡­.thought ¡­.you said ¡­.I ¡­wasn¡¯t ..a ....lady,¡± the girl squeezed out, her eerie smile still present, even as her strength drained away by the second on her trembling legs. ¡°..I guess ..it¡¯s ..true ..a demon ..always ..goes ¡­back ..on ..their ..word¡­¡±


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    He felt his good mood slipping but refrained from falling for her taunt.


    ¡°I suppose this is the end. I can¡¯t say it was very enjoyable.¡± And he readied his claw, encasing it with demonic energy, and prepared to ram her. It was when he was halfway through the charge when she spoke.


    ¡°No, it was not, Asmeristereth!¡± she shouted.


    What?! How?!?


    And the girl burst forward with hidden strength, dagger in hand, and her unused mana beaming off it with power. The dagger slipped straight through his breastbone, and into his chest cavity that would hold the heart, pushing the air from him in the form of a gasp. And, for good measure, after withdrawing the dagger, the girl placed a palm on his abdomen where a burst of mana rushed forward, blowing him back and making him spit blood onto the ground. He stayed there on the ground on one knee, breathing heavily.


    The girl stood, several metres away, on trembling legs, breathing just as hard, but with a triumphant grin and that irritating bright spark of hope back in her eyes. The girl slowly walked forward to stand in front of him, her dagger wet with his blood.


    ¡°It seems I have won, Asmeristereth,¡± she stated, seemingly calm but with barely concealed excitement from her victory leaking through.


    The Abyssal remained silent. It seemed he had no answer. That was until he started to chuckle. Then he started to laugh heavily. And then he started to bellow deeply, slowly standing up as the girl flinched backwards while he doubled over, clutching his injured stomach as he wheezed. Then he stopped, straightening up, to reveal a malicious sneer on his demonised face. He barked out a final laugh.


    ¡°So that was your secret plan. Slowly appear to weaken, hiding your true strength until one final moment, where you would go all out by distracting me with a partial piece of my True Name, composed with little clues from the pentagram. Bravo, it failed most spectacularly.¡± He clapped his broad-clawed hands in mock appreciation.


    He sneered again. ¡°Regardless of the fact you must have my whole True Name to control me, and that I know humans have mana, it seems you fell for a trick of mine from the very beginning. You see, this body isn¡¯t my true vessel. What, did you think I would trust my astral soul to some weak human physique? Oh no no, my true vessel is safely sealed away, far further than you could hope to reach before you die, providing me with endless life force and regeneration! How does it feel to have that hope of survival stolen away so quickly? It must be a unique experience!¡±


    The girl licked her bleeding lips from where she had bit them. Her pupils had shrunken in fear. ¡°N-n-not your true vessel?! I stabbed your chest! Then wha-¡±


    He smirked at her horror. ¡°Why, it¡¯s the heart of this body, obviously. One of the most common vital points of any creature.¡±


    The girl stared at him for a while. ¡°The heart?¡±


    He was about to respond when it happened.


    With almost inhuman speed, the girl¡¯s frightened expression was gone and went blank, the sickly white pallor of her skin returned to normal, and the trembling of her limbs utterly gone. Her whole body language had switched, the only traces of her former state being the tattered cuts on her strange coat, and the line of blood trailing down her chin from her injured lips. Then just as quickly as it went, her expression switched back to that wide grin she had at the beginning, showing just slightly too many teeth to be natural.


    She held out her hand. ¡°So¡­ whose heart is this?¡±


    The Abyssal turned his eyes to the outstretched hand and froze.


    ¡­¡­ If it had not been there, beating on her palm, then he could¡¯ve sworn his heart had stopped.


    <hr>


    Lucille found the sight of the Abyssal gazing at his own heart mildly comical. She didn¡¯t know that the pale maroon tone of a lower Abyssal demon¡¯s skin could change to so many colours in one minute. She imagined she could see the tiny cogs of his brain whirring as he worked out how she had it, why she had it, and why she hadn¡¯t killed him already.


    Then he leered when he thought he had found the ¡®reason¡¯ why she was showing him. ¡°Ha, it¡¯s protected, isn¡¯t it, and you don¡¯t know how to unlock it. So long as even a single one of those chains is wrapped around it, you can never kill me." He chuckled. "What, going to use it as a hostage, take me to the paladins for a reward? Better try getting out of the room first!¡±


    However, Lucille just smiled gently at him, eyebrows raised, and with a simple, slight twist between two fingers, and a unique shift of her mana, the clasp at the top of the heart came undone. She held it out so the Abyssal could see each of the 20-ish chains slowly unlink from the clasp one agonising link at a time until an unprotected, unchained, crimson-red beating heart was eventually revealed on her bare palm.


    Asmeristereth stared apprehensively at the heart, his gaze flickering between her face and the heart until it ultimately rested on the heart. She moved to pull the dagger and it slowly descended. The demon blanched.


    ¡°Wait, wait! If you kill my vessel like this, it won¡¯t be permanent. I will return, and find you again. I will get my reven- wait! Wait! Put the blade down! We can reach an agreement! I have money, status here! That contract you wanted!¡± He rushed his words, hoping to say something that would catch her attention.


    Lucille didn¡¯t know why he was so eager to remain in the human world, although there was the possibility it was because he had no other subordinates to replace. But she was willing to play along for a bit.


    ¡°Oh? And would that contract guarantee that I can gain whatever powers I wish?¡± she wondered aloud, her grin back again.


    The demon¡¯s expression darkened, and he growled, ¡°Don¡¯t be greedy, you scheming wench. I¡¯ll give you enough to get your creepy grin out of my sight.¡±


    Lucille dropped the smile. She went expressionless once more. She leaned forward and grabbed one of the black horns of the demonised Abyssal and spoke into his ear, her voice bone-chillingly frigid.


    ¡°I keep up this smile to give people something familiar to lean on when it comes to me. Something human. People become willing to talk if I smile. Then they become trusting, leaving their hesitancy behind as they spill their secrets. They become just as open, foolish, and unprotected as this heart of yours,¡± she said, tapping on his chest.


    Stepping back, she kicked a black boot against his injured chest, and he collapsed onto the ground, something jabbing into his side. Lucille had turned her attention back to the heart and didn¡¯t see him slowly wrap his claws around the sharp object.


    Lucille stepped back with both the dagger and heart, positioning it directly above it. She didn''t bother to look at the demon as he struggled to get up, feeling impatient to get the Tutorial over and done with.


    He was aware that he had reinforced the heart just by forming a contract, so if he managed to get it from her before the dagger cut all the way through he might just be able to continue to live in the current realm. Lucy moved to cut down with the dagger. Making his mind up, he struck.


    With a feral roar he charged towards her in desperation, and as the dagger sliced through the first few layers of muscle, his roar grew louder from the agony, but he continued to push forward.


    Lucy went to dodge, and one outstretched grasping claw failed to grab the reinforced heart being stabbed by the dagger, but whether it was because her minor injuries had finally caught up to her, or the fact that her brief burst of anger had made her lose focus, something meant the demon¡¯s hidden weapon slipped out of her attention.


    She stabbed the heart, the demon¡¯s body collapsing, and instead of dodging his slowly losing momentum fist completely, the nearly invisible shard of glass held in his hand slipped into her right eye even as she had tilted her head to dodge his claws.


    The unexpectedly cold chill of the glass, more than the pain, made Lucy let out a gasp, but she knew she shouldn¡¯t get distracted during a fight, even if it was ironic she thought about this after losing an eye.


    She looked down with her one good eye, but the demon¡¯s body was motionless, the battle over. She caught sight of the small black piece of astral soul escaping with a barely noticeable whistle through the air, and the soul shard flew through the roof and out of her perception. On the floor next to him were the gruesome remains of the severed heart, spilling out blackened blood, the traces of demonic influence still there. The rest of his demonised features were fading, however.


    Moving quickly but carefully, so as not to shift the shard in her eye, she got down and sliced a curved black horn off him. The glossy flat surface where she had cut through turned dull, contact with mana solidifying it and anchoring it back in the present realm. The main body of Asmeristereth would find himself with a slightly weakened horn on one side shortly if the Tutorial didn''t automatically halt at the end of the month.


    Slowly standing back up, she looked around and sighed. The mirror, and its shattered pieces, had spread much further than she had thought, interrupting her calculated series of actions, and it consequently resulted in her getting a shard stuck in her eye. She still didn¡¯t know what the silver mirror had been, or why it was there, never having gotten the chance to ask the demon about it, however, she had more pressing concerns. First was to get others in here to see the evidence, and then to find a certain someone she could sense was over in the next town.


    Lucy heard a heavy boot thud behind her and she turned around to see the older gatekeeper guard at the room entrance, looking between her, Gregfar¡¯s remains, and the still demonised body of the Lord with a varying mixture of apprehension, confusion, and horror. She smiled.


    Step No. 57: Find a witness, complete.


    ...


    There had been several reasons why she had to kill the demon as opposed to escaping once it had been summoned. The most important of which had been that no matter what, to find the demon, she had to have it summoned by herself, or had it summoned by the Lord, in which A: the demon would be able to track her mana or B: she had to be present when the Lord summoned it to ¡®Find the Demon¡¯, and the demon would be still able to track her through her soul¡¯s energy. That was fine when she had plans to escape anyway, but not before getting the cursed weapon, and then taking the scammer to the Rostchilde family for his probable bounty, and then leaving the Tutorial before her inevitable death.


    This scenario doesn¡¯t work when she finds a separate treasure that won¡¯t kill her unless by her own act of pushing a shard of it deeper into her own head, making finding the other one redundant, or having the whole town filled with people possessed by lesser demon subordinates who are all soul linked to the Abyssal demon, causing her eventual escape to have been a rather thankless and trying task. It was still possible for her to do it but killing the demon would make it much more likely she could get a noble title as a reward.


    The result of her calculated risk in attacking the demon was a possibly-not glass shard of a haunted mirror stuck in her right eye and a truckload of shame and regret instead of sleep for the night. Which made her realise something.


    As she stood in front of an actual mirror (she had checked) she realised that her mental state was, in nice terms, very very bad. In more accurate terms, she may as well be bipolar. While her emotional state was more¡­.. malleable compared to most, due to her strong soul power, collection of mentally influencing self-applied techniques, and a whole host of other more uncommon factors, it was only malleable when she was the one doing it.


    So she shouldn¡¯t even be capable of switching between emotions she didn¡¯t want at the drop of a hat or having said emotions influence her actions to such an extent as to ignore someone who was trying to kill her in the middle of a fight. She tried to remember what the trigger could¡¯ve been and groaned when she realised it had probably been happening since before the Tutorial.


    I had thought that was dealt with. If the personality degradation is this bad, I am really not looking forward to the rest of it.


    She presently had a thick bandage wrapped around her right eye. The shard had been removed, but to stop the bleeding, emergency spell work had been done by a local healer, who wasn¡¯t able to do healing on something as delicate as an eye. She had said it was fine, because she was on a schedule, and the System would heal all injuries at the end of the Tutorial, even death. This was why she had been travelling with the older guard, who was called Harth, to another town to pick up a certain someone.


    She opened the door to the apothecary in front of her to find the old wizened conman sitting there, his formerly white scraggly beard neatly cut and trimmed. He was dressed in lavish mage clothes, sitting behind a lacquered oak bench.


    She smirked at the stunned expression on his face when he looked up. ¡°It¡¯s only been a day and you¡¯re taking advantage of my work already. You have more money than what I expected from someone hesitant to part with an iron dagger.¡±


    She nodded to Harth next to her, and he unfurled a thick bounty poster, looked up at the mage, and re-rolled the parchment. He nodded back, before running up to the other man and slamming his sheathed blade against the back of the man¡¯s neck without the conman getting a word in edgewise. The man crumpled onto the bench, unconscious.


    ¡­


    A few hours later, Lucy and the guard were standing in front of the Rostchilde Marquess, just having finished retelling the story from when she had slayed the Abyss Monster up until the guard came in to see the demonised body. The guard had left after he had done his part and she, having shown the illegal documents from the vault to the Marquess, had now guaranteed that none of the corrupted nobles mentioned in the documents would be getting the town added to their property. She had presented the horn of the Abyssal demon as proof of the Lord¡¯s corruption too so now, at a completion rate of 95%, she had one last objective to do.


    ¡°I see,¡± the Marquess said at the end of the story. His eyes then flicked over to look at the trussed-up conman, who was looking rather wide-eyed at this moment.


    ¡°So then, may I ask, how did you come across this particular man during that period?¡±


    Lucy smiled. ¡°It¡¯s a rather amusing coincidence. It turns out, that the man who happened to sell me this enchanted dagger, and who wanted a very specific tome from an adventurer camp, seemed to be particularly antsy after he had received the book.¡± She shrugged. ¡°So, I decided to mark him to track later.¡±


    The Marquess¡¯s eyebrows went up when he heard mention of an ability to track the man at such a distance, but otherwise did not speak on it. He picked up the spell tome, checking it was real, before placing it back on the desk next to him. He nodded and focused back on her.


    ¡°Then what reward would someone with a history such as yours would you like?" he asked. "With the achievements of Abyssal demon-slayer, corruption revealer, and successful bounty hunter, you could gain a noble title if you so wish."


    Her smile grew slightly wider. ¡°Well, it turns out that a nearby town has lost, 200-300 odd people?¡± She tapped on her chin, thinking, before turning back to the Marquess, ¡°Due to the unfortunate withdrawal of a few hundred lesser demons. I believe it may need a new Lord to replace them. Particularly as the former Lord had a history of corruption, someone with no ties but with backing from a higher noble would be suited to the position to stabilise the area while a few queries into the workings of several other noble families are carried out,¡± she said, winking at him.


    The Marquess leaned back in his seat and chuckled, before deciding to play along. ¡°And due to frequent sightings of demons in the area, an accomplished and promising young demon-slayer would be a good fit for the position, who just so happened to be the one responsible for slaying the menace to that town, carrying a good reputation among the people.¡± He nodded, approving. He stood up.


    ¡°So then, Miss Goldcroft,¡± he continued, ¡°I believe I have decided on a reward for you. For your fine achievements in helping this kingdom, you shall henceforth be known as Baroness Goldcroft, by the authority of the Rostchilde March.¡±


    After shaking hands with him, Lucy stepped back and bowed respectfully. Then, with a cunning grin, she asked, ¡°And where shall I be stationed, Your Lordship?¡±


    With a grin just as wicked as her own, the Marquess responded, ¡°Well, I have just received news that there¡¯s a town nearby that had been recently afflicted by demons¡­¡­¡±


    ...


    Lucy was delegated a room in the mansion that night, and she lay there on the bed, looking at her completion rate and new notification.


    [Objective: Become Lord of the town without dying by the end of the month]


    [Completion Rate: +5%]


    [New! Completion Rate: MAX]


    [Do you want to exit the Tutorial? Yes/No]


    She got up and breathing deeply in preparation, pressed [Yes].


    She abruptly felt the bed, air flow, heat of the setting sun, sound of the wind rustling the curtains and everything around her disappear. She opened her eyes to a white room similar to the one just before the Tutorial, although this one had depth to its edges. The only thing accompanying her as she stood in the space was the small ding! that was the sound of System messages and the familiar emotionless genderless voice that followed.


    [User has chosen to exit the Tutorial]


    [Reverting the User]


    Lucy was glad to find her clothes whole and tidy again, all her aches and injuries gone. Her injured lip had turned back to smooth pink skin and her right eye was now unpunctured again.


    But why is my vision from it so blur-


    [Connecting User to the System]


    [Calculating User completion rate]


    [Calculating¡­]


    [Calculating¡­]


    [Objectives:


    <ol>


    <li>Survive until the end of the month: INCOMPLETE</li>


    <li>Defeat the ¡®Abyss Monster¡¯ of the caves without dying by the end of the month: COMPLETE.</li>


    <li>Become Lord of the town without dying by the end of the month: COMPLETE.</li>


    <li>Find proof of the Lord¡¯s corruption without dying by the end of the month: COMPLETE.</li>


    <li>Find proof of the Lord¡¯s corruption and send a message to a neighbouring town Lord without dying by the end of the month: COMPLETE.</li>


    <li>Learn a skill without dying by the end of the month: COMPLETE.</li>


    <li>Learn a spell without dying by the end of the month: COMPLETE.</li>


    <li>Discover the sealed treasure under the town and escape without dying by the end of the month: COMPLETE.</li>


    <li>Kill everyone from the town: COMPLETE.</li>


    <li>Find the Demon: COMPLETE.]</li>


    </ol>


    [User has completed 9/10 objectives and gained a MAX completion rate]


    [User has completed the Tutorial]


    [User has gained new rewards! Please check your notifica¡­.]


    [User has unlocked their Status! Please check your noti¡­]


    [User has unlocked their Origin Skill! Please check your Sta¡­]


    [User has unlocked their Classes! Please che¡­]


    [User has unlocked their Skills! Ple¡­]


    [User has unlocked the¡­]


    [User has unl¡­]


    [User h¡­]


    [Us¡­]


    Lucille wasn¡¯t listening. That was because she was lying on the ground in the white space, senses sealed. See, as soon as the message telling her that she was connecting to the System had appeared, she felt intense nausea, her head started ringing, and she felt so dizzy that she could hardly tell which way was up. These signs meant she had just received access to huge quantities of soul power, previously sealed off, and her body was busy trying to reaccustom itself to having its senses expand a 10km radius outwards. It made sense she would have access to more quantities of soul power than expected, considering her strangely high mental faculties since she came back.


    But this didn¡¯t explain the exponentially increasing, indescribable sense of wrongness and the intense stabbing pain affecting every single inch of her skin, her organs and even her bones she felt coming from her body which she knew shouldn¡¯t happen when connecting to the System.


    Or the reason why she was feeling pain coming from her right eye.

 Chapter 3 (1 of 2) Introducing the real conman.

    So now Lucille was lying face flat on the floor, currently dealing with the sensation of wanting to vomit, while physically being incapable of it, and having the sensation that her own body was trying and succeeding to stab her with millions of finger-sized daggers. The possessed eye was also hurting again, and she didn¡¯t know why.


    She decided her first plan of action was to deal with the existential migraine inflicting torture on her so she could think straight. She sealed off her senses to her physical body to prevent it from affecting her actions after a brief spiritual perception scan showed her nothing was happening to her. Then she focused on her inward self, using her consciousness like an anchor, until she became capable of feeling her soul, complete with its mental power and spiritual energy sea.


    Spiritual energy was the power of the soul. It was arguably even more common than mana, the energy of the material realms. Overlaying everything in existence was the layer the immaterial lay on, the spiritual realm, where spiritual energy was found. This was the layer where the soul resided. Whenever a sentient creature formed a thought or felt emotion, it released spiritual energy into the spiritual realm, forming ripples across it. Normally, this energy went undetected and unused actively by the soul, but in the case of mental communication or using psychic abilities, this energy was manipulated into a form with power.


    Lucille was a rare User who specialised in it. It wasn¡¯t like it was an unknown energy or anything, but across the entire population of the Tower, maybe less than 5% focused on it. Or how Lucy did at least. The Heavenly Realm was an exception and was excluded from this count, as they had no mana there. For the individual, spiritual energy aided them in thinking faster, better, and clearer, than someone with less spiritual energy. Its main ability when someone earned enough of it was to allow the user to think multiple things at once or have multiple ¡®thought strands¡¯. This was what Lucy excelled at.


    When she got to look at her soul accurately for the first time since she had ¡®come back¡¯, she was properly shocked to discover that she had retained approximately 70% of her soul power. She was also properly irritated to find out the source of her personality degradation.


    Lucille had, with the use of spiritual energy, ¡®programmed¡¯ her different thought strands to do different tasks concurrently. These included memory upkeep, counting her many thought strands, dissolving or reforming certain strands, and emotional control, to name a few. Emotional control worked by overwhelming particularly angry or panicked thought strands with the emotions of other thought strands thinking several different emotions at the time. This allowed her to keep herself mostly less emotional and in control.


    So, she was angry to realise that certain mental shocks can send her whole mind in disarray, where her many thought strands, which were not part of her core personality complex and without her knowledge, had been sealed behind a System-made barrier to prevent her from overloading her body on Earth, were immersing themselves in a deluge of emotions not conducive to a good state of mental wellbeing.


    Her structured mind had started infighting amongst itself in the form of emotional breakdowns because the 50-odd thought strands responsible for keeping a calm mind had absorbed the emotions they were there to overwhelm, infecting the others. These emotions were particular things such as full-blown wrath, insistent anxiety, panic, and depression. She knew she was not particularly¡­. happy about being back, but the extent of her anger almost scared her.


    When taking a step back to overlook it all, her orderly, well-structured machine-like mind had completely made a mess itself, making her angry, which ironically heightened the wrathful thoughts even more and made the situation worse. The demon should be happy it wasn¡¯t able to experience her wrath in its full glory.


    So, what was she going to do about it? Well, she had a few choices. She could painstakingly dissolve and reform the thought strands one by one, giving them back their job before going on to the next one, or she could just dissolve the lot, leaving her with only her core personality complex, and a huge spiritual sea outside the borders of her mental power centre. Just thinking about the many years it took to get a functional system going made her give up the second option immediately, so she set herself to work. Besides, without any thought strands, her mind might literally collapse from the overload of information being received through her perception field.


    The first thing she did was make sure her central thought matrix was fine. Generally, as a rule, she made sure the thought strands closer to her core were thicker so they could be less influenced by the feedback of the lesser strands, and indeed, her 10 major strands were fine. These had enough thickness to run about 5 times as fast as a pre-System human mind each. The major strands had another ten minor strands to oversee each, running at 3 times a pre-System mind¡¯s speed, and those another ten each. It continued further on from there, and she believed she may have about 10,000 of them currently activated.


    However, some of the thought strands had the thickness only capable of doing simple tasks such as counting or spelling out a single word, and it was these that essentially functioned as a mental computer. It was also these that had no resistance at all to very heightened emotions, and so probably required dissolving before being put back together. Technically she could make more thought strands, but she always ensured that 50% of her spiritual energy always remained under the control of her personality complex so she could think at least 20 times faster than a pre-system mind when needed, as her personality core controlled her body.


    That was what she did then. She split off enough energy for her processes, considering her practically comatose body didn¡¯t need controlling anyway, and used them all to correlate them with her memory and reform the thought strands to what their tasks were originally. She also used this to delegate some thought strands organising redundant plans to other uses. Considering her ¡®return¡¯, a good 430-odd plans needed to be completely deserted, as they held no relevance to the current her. Finally, after completing the extremely tedious task, her mental state returned to normal. With the mild irritation, confusion, panic, and a whole host of detrimental emotions erased, her mind was completely clear and refreshed, the literal mental fog gone. She triggered a function to test it.


    Time since the last Rank up.


    27 years, 10 months, and 24 days since Rank-7.


    Oh. That thought brought up a whole host of complex emotions, mostly anger again, but when she reinspected everything, it was just her personality core acting up. To be on the safe side, she added another 10-ish thought strands to the emotional control section. She decided it would be best to sort her body out now.


    Sending out another whole-body scan in the form of a spiritual energy pulse, this time more detailed, there wasn¡¯t much she could see. All her organs were fine, her injuries had healed, and even the right eye that was hurting again was whole. However, when she focused on it again, she discovered there was a layer covering where her iris should be, and it completely nullified spiritual energy.


    All the feedback she could receive was a miniature black hole in her eye, which shouldn¡¯t be possible. Spiritual energy never had anything that could nullify it besides another¡¯s spiritual energy, and it didn¡¯t look like this. However, she didn¡¯t have anything to go on that could explain it, so she ignored the eye for the time being. It was unlikely it had anything to do with the sensation of the world rejecting her very existence.


    Considering it only happened when she started connecting to the System, and that her body was physically fine, it was probably the System¡¯s doing. Not that she ever remembered it putting people through torture, but she didn¡¯t know everything. She brought up her Status.


    It¡­. was not what she expected. At all. It explained a lot, it really did, but it also created more questions than answers. However, it made it obvious it was a System problem.


    Rolling her eyes mentally, she re-entered her soul again, but this time started inspecting the central part of her core personality complex. Past the thicker mental power or the ¡®soul ocean,¡¯ as the Heavenly Realm called it, she found the shell containing her consciousness. And there it was, the source of her issues.


    When a User entered the System for the first time, they got what looked like a tiny irregularly shaped hole punched into the consciousness. It didn''t do anything for them besides making a few holographic screens adhere to their mind, but for the System, it gained access to their thoughts and memories and granted it the ability to give them skills, levels, stats, and abilities. This ¡®System port¡¯ was what granted them a unique identifier for the System to read and make sure they had the correct abilities. In this way, when they died and returned to life, the System could give them everything they had back, minus some levels.


    99.99999% of Users only ever had one of them. She had two.


    For some reason, instead of using the same port and deleting her data, the System procured a new one. This caused quite a few errors, such as the System not knowing what her Status should look like. It was trying to reconcile the fact that she had ¡®high¡¯ stats, while also being a level 0 newbie, who should have no stats at all. Opening her Status up in the mental space to check again, she could see several signs that the System had royally messed up.


    [Status: ]


    Name: Lucille Goldcroft (Lvl. 0?????????????????????????)


    Age: 18y


    Race: Human


    HP: 99/100 {+1/5m}


    MP: 0/100 {+1/5m}


    Stats:


    Free Stat Points: 30


    STR: &???????????7???????????2???????????? SPRT: 7000


    CON: _??????????????????2??????&????????????????????7????????? MENT:65


    AGI: *???????????????????2?????????????????)?????????????9?????????????????????? CHAR: 5???????????????^???????????????????????7???????????????????


    DEX: 1??????????????????????????????????5???????????????????????????????????!??????????????????????3?????????????????????????????? CHP: -???????????????????????????????????


    INT: 3?????????@????????????2???????????????9??????????? HRP: -?????????????????????????????


    WIS: N??????????????????????????3?????????????????????????????????$?????????????????????????????8???????????


    [Origin Skill: -___- | Type: /null/


    <ul>


    <li>Desc: user.blank/data{^*}->all</li>


    <li>Subskills: ---------------</li>


    <li>Awakening: 0 ]</li>


    </ul>


    Skills:


    [[Empty] ]


    Scratch that. Lucy didn¡¯t even know if she would be able to breathe oxygen safely at this rate. This was like a bombshell had gone off on her status screen. Though her mental stats remained normal. Or, at least what she expected. Watching the MENT on her screen, she made sure it was functioning properly. It ticked up to 66 and she nodded mentally. Her soul structure had a cyclic process to it that turned spiritual energy into mental power and back again. Mental power was essentially just concentrated spiritual energy, so only when she thought really hard did she need it.


    She first tried to order what the issues were and their possible origins in her mind. Firstly, the most obvious of them all were the stats. Trying to compare them mentally to what she remembered it was before, she could see that the number of glitched symbols matched the number of digits for that stat, but they didn¡¯t seem to be real. This could be shown by her health and mana points. Someone with 0 stats invested in CON would have an HP of 100. Every point after that added 50 HP to their max, which she didn¡¯t have added. Her HP also didn¡¯t seem to be regenerating and was permanently stuck at 99 which she thought might be related to her right eye. She didn¡¯t know for sure.


    Another thing was her atrocious mana. She knew someone was supposed to be unconscious when their mana was at 0. It wasn¡¯t regenerating either. However, she was able to manipulate mana within her body during the Tutorial, which meant she still had access to mana of some sort. In fact, in the System-made white space she was in, she could feel the mana and spiritual energy surrounding her and sensed that she was still able to manipulate it like one would any spell, so it¡¯s not like she was crippled. However, manipulating atmospheric mana outside the User¡¯s body was an advanced ability only found in people Rank-4 or above, so that wasn¡¯t supposed to be happening either.


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    The glitched level 0 was related to her stats, so the final thing was the Origin Skill. She had to stare just to make sure. She had never, ever seen a ¡®blank¡¯ Origin Skill. Origin Skills were unlocked by the System as soon as the User finished the Tutorial and were the most important part of their skill set. Origin Skills were powerful, unique, and independent from each other, with each Origin Skill being the best-suited skill for their User. The Origin Skill was formed from a User¡¯s pre-System accumulation of life experience, personality, affinities, physical talents, race, realm, and several other factors.


    All Origin Skills had equal potential and what varied between individuals was the degree of awakening, which could be increased by multiple factors, such as the X-ranked elixir she took back on Earth. Normally, that elixir would allow her to gain limited usage of her Origin Skill on Earth, but she had entered the Tower and gained access to better awakening resources.


    The ¡®blank¡¯ Origin Skill she had currently was not the same one she had before. That one enabled her to design spells with a unique puzzle cube formed of mental power. It had been called ¡®Manifester¡¯s Cuboid Energy Matrix¡¯. With it, she could essentially program spells for herself and use them later whenever she wanted, vastly different from the practices of wizards and mages from the Tower realms who had to form spells with just their mana manipulation.


    This Origin Skill, however, was not that. Even when she tried to trigger what would¡¯ve been her former Skill, she could feel her will interact with where she knew the Origin Skill sat, but it just slipped off and failed to find purchase. She concluded that the System somehow managed to use her other memories to create this skill, as well as optimising it due to her Completion Rate in the Tutorial, but looking at the System jargon filling the skill, it failed to complete it and was missing something. She internally shook her head and decided to put it aside until later.


    She believed that there was nothing she could currently do to resolve her issues without entering the Tower properly. She realised she still hadn¡¯t made any progress with the rejection issue, and so decided to do something that normally people would call stupid: she unsealed her body¡¯s sense of agonising torment just to see if anything had changed.


    To her surprise, the overwhelming sensation of ¡®wrongness¡¯ and most of the pain had reduced to some extent. To her irritation, however, a strange, incessant tingling sensation was vibrating against her spiritual energy, and causing chills to run down her spine. That was a sensation that occurred because she had been ignoring the System messages. She could afford to ignore them for a bit longer though. Returning her consciousness to her body in full and sitting up, she pulled up her status and decided to try something.


    [Status: ]


    Name: Lucille Goldcroft (Lvl. 0?????????????????????????)


    Age: 18y


    Race: Human


    HP: 99/100 {+1/5m}


    MP: 0/100 {+1/5m}


    Stats:


    Free Stat Points: 30


    STR: &???????????7???????????2???????????? SPRT: 7000


    CON: _??????????????????2??????&????????????????????7????????? MENT:65


    AGI: *???????????????????2?????????????????)?????????????9?????????????????????? CHAR: 5???????????????^???????????????????????7???????????????????


    DEX: 1??????????????????????????????????5???????????????????????????????????!??????????????????????3?????????????????????????????? CHP: -???????????????????????????????????


    INT: 3?????????@????????????2???????????????9??????????? HRP: -?????????????????????????????


    WIS: N??????????????????????????3?????????????????????????????????$?????????????????????????????8???????????


    [Origin Skill: -___- | Type: /null/


    <ul>


    <li>Desc: user.blank/data{^*}->all</li>


    <li>Subskills: ---------------</li>


    <li>Awakening: 0 ]</li>


    </ul>


    Skills:


    [[Empty] ]


    Taking one free stat point, she placed it in INT. The instant she tried to do so, the overbearing sense of ¡®wrongness¡¯ and the stabbing pain that reared its ugly head again threatened to send her comatose. Her Status fizzled for a second before the little [Free Stat Points: 29] popped back to [Free Stat Points: 30]. Gritting her teeth, she attempted it with all the other stats, including the hidden ones that were also not supposed to be there. To her shock, she couldn¡¯t even add any to the hidden stat SPRT.


    CHP, or Chaos Power, and HRP, or Heroic Power, she could understand, as they had specific requirements to gain those, but for SPRT or MENT? She knew how those stats functioned like the back of her hand, and realised the System was blocking almost anything from interacting with her. That had some crazy implications, but now she knew that she couldn¡¯t get stronger through stat points, she had to take a mostly non-combat role for the foreseeable future. The System always rectifies errors, however, so she knew it would leave a way somehow, if it realised she was back to level 0.


    There was one last thing she had to do before checking her messages. She opened her right eye, which she had been keeping closed for safety¡¯s sake, looked around and¡­.. what she saw made her outright flabbergasted, even more so than her Status.


    Instead of seeing the empty white limbo she expected, she was somehow looking through the ¡®walls¡¯ of the infinite space, to see pale, semi-translucent white-blue geometric structures floating in an endless void. Even as she watched, chain-like things moved to run through spherical cog objects and she could now hear the grating as they were threaded through millions of gargantuan pulleys, a giant machine revealed behind the non-material space she was in. It seemed endless, and the mesmerising sight entranced her for a while.


    Then she hissed in utter agony as a sensation akin to someone feeding her eye through a blender was felt. Quickly holding the eye shut, she had to wait in the white space, breathing heavily as the intense strain coming from her eye was released, that mind-breaking pain fading slowly. She pulled a hand away from the eye, and it was wet with blood.


    Did I just cry blood? Wait, that¡¯s not important¡­. did I just see the System outside this space? Not the Tower, Not the Realms, not the Tutorial, but the System itself, which none have seen since besides its creators?! What on earth is this thing?!?


    Summoning an imaginary mirror in the space hurriedly, a feature of the metaphysical area, she held it up to take a look. Indeed, thick tears of fresh blood were rolling down her face¡¯s right side, exactly where her tear ducts would cry tears. This did not seem to be a good day for her.


    Very, very carefully, she opened her right eye to look in the mirror. She saw¡­¡­ what did she see?


    At first, she thought it was a pitch-black hole covering just larger than her iris, but as she watched, it twisted and turned to become a kaleidoscopic amalgamation of yellow, blue, purple, and black spiralling in the shape of a galaxy. That made her uncomfortable, as she did not want to be some magical anime girl, but then it formed a decagon before shattering to look like a piece of glass smashed in the centre, with multiple pupils within each shard. When the fly-eye similarities made her feel slightly repulsed, the eye shifted again, making her question what it was that was in her eye. Was it responding to her thoughts?


    The thing, for she hesitated to call what it was that this was happening to her ¡®eye¡¯, finally settled on something that looked like a golden magical array in front of a black background, complete with its angles and slight magical glow. Even as she watched, it slowly rotated and shimmered in a way an activated magic array does. She frowned because this was even more obvious than the galaxy, but it didn¡¯t move again. She groaned. Thinking of how the heterochromia would make her stand out even more than her past look, something in the eye shifted and she watched her reflection become what she looked like before she went back to Earth. She dropped the mirror. When it became obvious that the mirror was harmless, she picked it up, and that changed reflection was still there.


    Figuring it was the eye, she focused on the mirror just to be sure. She felt the eye make a strange twinge, and to her sight from it, the mirror had disappeared. To her normal eye, the mirror hadn¡¯t changed. That interested her, and she tried focusing on the mirror again, which returned it to normal. It still didn¡¯t tell her much about the thing covering her eye, but at least it allowed her to tell what was physical and what was not.


    Then her eye twinged again, and she stared as gold lettering slowly appeared in the mirror as she was focused on her eye. It wasn¡¯t lettering like System notifications though, which was blocky and neat. This was wavy fancy lettering that shimmered slightly above the surface of the mirror. Lucy raised an eyebrow as it spelled out a sentence.


    {Shard of Totality}


    Well, she knew what to call it now. Though having a ¡®shard of totality¡¯ in her eye seemed a bit over the top. She¡¯d just introduce it as the shard to others. Closing her right eye, as the strain was building up again, the gold lettering disappeared leaving just her face looking back. Then she noticed her other eye and groaned sighed. Why was it purple?! She wasn''t some edge lord for heaven¡¯s sake, she could talk and socialise with people just fine!


    On a closer inspection though, it seemed to be because of something else and not the shard. It was probably because of how high her spiritual energy was now. She did have a naturally unusual eye colour of a dark bluish colour bordering on indigo, and people with high mana or any kind of energy in their bodies tended to have brightly coloured features, so this wasn¡¯t something that uncommon. However, this purple was essentially violet, and paired with her golden eye, she would not be forgotten easily.


    Deciding she needed a break, she finally started inspecting her vibrating Status messages. It was time to prepare for her Tower entry.


    [User has completed the Tutorial]


    [User has gained new rewards! Please check your notifications to receive them.]


    [User has unlocked their Classes]


    [User had unlocked their Skills]


    [User has unlocked their Aspects]


    [User has unlocked their Titles]


    [User has unlocked their Quest Log]


    [User has unlocked their Directory]


    [Would the User like to view the System Guide? Yes/No]


    Ignoring the question of whether she would like to view the System Guide, she pressed [No]. Lucy had spent a total of 231 years as a member of the System and could be considered highly knowledgeable about the functions of the System. In fact, due to the high utility of spiritual energy when manipulating System functions, she might even be the foremost expert on it, as she spent a rather vast period just researching the System. She could explain each and every function by heart.


    What Classes themselves did was rather self-explanatory, but the System had a few added quirks compared to Earth fiction. Picking a class gave someone a main skill, or primary skill, which gave them the main ¡®class¡¯ abilities. With a rarity ranking ordered from lowest to highest, it went Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Ancient, and Legendary. Classes could tier up, and to evolve them to a higher rarity, a second class must be absorbed.


    Skills were simple. Passive actions such as walking, running, and jumping were tertiary skills and were skills that could combine to form a skill someone actively used called the secondary skills. These secondary skills went into the skill slots of a main skill, allowing it to tier up and tiering up the class the main skill was from in the process, potentially evolving the rarity of the skill if the skill was compatible enough. Skills gave you information, techniques and abilities that could range anywhere from mana manipulation to cooking to flying on swords.


    Aspects were also known as traits or perks. A User had three Aspect slots at the beginning, and a class gave an Aspect, occupying a slot. Aspects also had tiers but didn¡¯t have rarities. Non-human races automatically had an Aspect, reducing the available Aspect slots and causing them to receive fewer class Aspects than humans, but they gained strong racial-specific abilities in return. Aspects gave percentage-based stat boosts, or they could give you information and skills too. Some stronger Aspects gave multiplicative boosts instead of additive ones.


    Titles were also self-explanatory, however, unlike classes they didn¡¯t have tiers. They did have rarities though, following the same rarity ranks as classes, skills, and items. Titles could only be gained by real-life events, such as defeating the strongest of your rank and becoming an owner of a Faction, or entering capital ¡®E¡¯ Events, and could reward the User with unique skills or great stats. They could also grant you special authority and permissions to access certain places. The nobility had Titles matching their status.


    The Quest Log was a bit different. Each Realm in the Tower had overarching ¡®objectives¡¯ a User had to complete before they could become stronger. Lucille¡¯s Quest Log looked like this:


    [Quest Log: ]


    Main Quest (Rank-1: Beast Realm):


    <ul>


    <li>Objective: Complete Stages 1-10 In the Beast Realm to reach Rank-1</li>


    </ul>


    Rewards: Rank-1 Status, Lvl cap increased to 199, Main skill slot +1, Class Tier cap +3, Aspect cap +3, Class Tier +1, 1000xp, Main Quest (Rank-2: Demon Realm) Unlocked. Failure: N/A


    <ul>


    <li>Objective: In the Beast Realm, find and secure an item, object or bond that is Rare or higher with the System Obelisk.</li>


    </ul>


    Rewards: Stages 6-10 Unlocked, 1500xp, Crystalline Token +1. Failure: N/A


    General


    <ul>


    <li>Enter the Tower by picking a city in the Directory.</li>


    </ul>


    Rewards: 100xp, Beginner Ascendant Title, System Obelisk Access. Failure: N/A


    <ul>


    <li>Reach Lvl 10(MAX)</li>


    </ul>


    Rewards: Class Tier +1, Stages 1-5 Unlocked, Novice Title. Failure: N/A


    Class


    <ul>


    <li>N/A</li>


    </ul>


    Faction


    <ul>


    <li>N/A</li>


    </ul>


    Realm


    <ul>


    <li>N/A</li>


    </ul>


    Personal


    <ul>


    <li>Explore the realms of the Tower as pioneers for Earth. Unlimited Resurrections during this period.</li>


    </ul>


    Reward: Forerunner Title, Home Realm Permissions, Class Rarity ^1. Time Limit: 4:11:29:23:17:45


    <ul>


    <li>Go to the Hidden Temporary Event in the Mystical Realm exclusive for Forerunners on November 22<sup>nd</sup>. Objective location is indicated in Directory.</li>


    </ul>


    Reward: ??? Failure: 50% reduced Xp Penalty. Time Limit: 4:20:23:17:45


    [ ]


    Lucille¡¯s Quest Log was the same as every Rank-0s besides the personal quests. Those personal quests were unique. They were related to the 1000 people aged 18-25 who got teleported during July into the Tutorial. Due to Earth not knowing of other realms, 1000 people were selected by the System to visit the Tower to bring knowledge of its and the System¡¯s existence back to Earth in roughly 5 years¡¯ time. Lucy told her great uncle Marvin it was one year for a very simple reason: It would be one year for them. During the next 5 years, Earth was going to be experiencing time at a rate 5 times slower than her, so for them, those missing would only be gone for a single year. The other forerunners wouldn¡¯t know that though, except for possibly one other.


    The other personal quest was an Event that would occur in 5 months. During it, Earth¡¯s status, and the System¡¯s plans for it, would be revealed to all of the Forerunners. It allowed the Users to focus on building up strength in the Tower realms without worrying about their families¡¯ circumstances, or foolishly trying to find a way back to Earth.


    But Lucy¡¯s focus was on something else now. The very first notification, and the most important of them. Rewards. She tapped on the notification and a massive list appeared.


    [User has new rewards (11) available: ]


    Tutorial (Completion Rate: MAX):


    <ul>


    <li>Origin Skill Primer (Rare) x1</li>


    <li>Blank Skill book (Rare) x1</li>


    <li>Unattributed Stat Potions (+5) x6</li>


    <li>Resurrection x1</li>


    <li>Overachiever (Unique) Title x1</li>


    <li>Faction Command (Common) x1</li>


    <li>Inheritance key (Soulbound) x1</li>


    <li>Dimensional Pack (Soulbound, Uncommon) x1</li>


    <li>1 Crystalline Token</li>


    </ul>


    Bonus:


    <ul>


    <li>Accessory ¨C Mask (Epic-, Soulbound) x1</li>


    <li>1,000 Crystalline Tokens</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    Lucille couldn¡¯t help but feel like her haunted right eye was worth it. Just the rewards themselves were worth more than what some of the most famous Permanent Events could reward you with. The Origin Skill Primer could be considered the most valuable of the lot, as Origin Skills were the most important feature of a System User. It affected their entire skillset.


    The blank skill book enabled you to choose any Rare skill generally available without specific requirements. Unattributed stat potions, which were given by the System, rewarded the User with fixed stats, but enabled the User to choose which stat they wanted their potion to increase, and better yet, didn¡¯t have a risk of failure. Hopefully, the stat potions would work if she couldn¡¯t assign free stat points.


    The resurrection wasn¡¯t particularly useful to her at this stage, but it was worth having, as her infinite resurrections only lasted 5 years. The Overachiever title was rewarded when someone gained a Completion Rate of over 70% but was typically a reward not given during the Tutorial, so she guessed the System had increased the bonuses with that Unique identifier.


    The Faction Command was arguably the least useful to her. She would keep it as an emergency plan, but she hoped she didn¡¯t need to create a Faction with it. She could probably sell it if all went well. The Inheritance Key was a one-time pass to a re-occurring once-a-decade Permanent Event. Every User gained the key, and it was an opportunity to gain hidden classes, special skills, or rare weapons by completing trials left by different Factions.


    The dimensional pack was essentially a pseudo-inventory. Typically, a User gained a subskill from their class that functioned as an inventory when they reached Lvl 100, but she had plans that would make that an issue, so it was of great benefit to her.


    The 1 crystalline token was¡­. Well, when placed next to the 1,000 crystalline tokens in the bonus reward, it was rather pitiful. But they were still valuable. Crystalline tokens were the currency handed out by the System itself. The Realms each had their currencies, however, the crystalline tokens could be exchanged for any of the currencies. In the Mystical Realm, a single crystal token was the equivalent of 1000 rose crowns, the highest denomination there. Crystal tokens were also capable of upgrading a Faction''s Faction Authority, so they were very rarely used as a method of payment.


    That was why it was good the System only kept crystalline tokens at the System Obelisks for her to exchange. Money exchange was one of the most basic features of the Obelisk, and they had many other features including tiering up a class, selecting classes, class evolution, skill selection, ranking up, viewing the Leaderboards, creating a Faction, completing a quest, and teleportation to other Obelisks. Ascendant cities were cities that had been built around the Obelisks to take advantage of their traffic and utility.


    She continued to the next reward.

 Chapter 3 (2 of 2) Introducing the real conman.

    She continued. Taking out the Origin Skill Primer, she drank the white-blue liquid, and the bottle disappeared from her hands. The Origin Skill on her status flickered, but unfortunately, the awakening level didn¡¯t change. She then tried drinking a stat potion she selected to be a DEX potion, and was pleased to find that it functioned, meaning the stat potion¡¯s abilities overruled her ¡®no-interaction¡¯ glitch thing she had going on, adding 5 DEX which she felt in the way her mana strands became finer. She couldn¡¯t see it on the screen however, so with a bit of a push from spiritual energy, she managed to adjust her Status, so it showed the 5 new DEX stats in brackets next to the glitch. Spiritual energy was the energy of customisation.


    Thinking about what she would be doing now, she decided to add the rest to CON. She did this because CON was responsible for the defence and vitality of the body, and it seemed she was going to be rather squishy if poked the wrong way for the next few years. Looking at her status again, she noticed that, with an HP of 1350, she was finally in full health again. It seems the shard wasn¡¯t considered ongoing damage anymore.


    She took out the final reward and held it curiously in her hand. She knew nothing about this reward, never having heard about it before. It had a rarity of Epic-, and that little dash to it meant there was something other about these things that made them different to everything else within the same rarity, Rank, or even race. They typically had a unique connection with the System too.


    The matte black mask was interesting. It covered half her face, the edge running from right down the centre at the hairline over her nose bridge, leaving her nostrils uncovered, to end up mostly down her right cheek. It covered her right eye completely and was perfectly smooth apart from the fleur-de-lis reminiscent pattern bordering all the edges, slightly raised from the otherwise flat surface. The System brought up its item sheet for her.


    [Accessory ¨C Type: Mask, Soulbound ]


    Name: The Shadow Herald¡¯s Vision


    Rarity: Epic-


    Desc:


    Acting on behalf of a greater being, the Shadow Herald has worked to fulfil its master¡¯s desire for the future for aeons. While his efforts have gone unseen and unheard throughout all of the time, everything in the Tower beholds the consequences of his actions every day. He works even now, although his present title does not do justice to his glorious identity that existed before the Tower had been but a concept.


    Abilities:


    Formless Shadow - This mask has absorbed the nature of its past owner, acquiring the ability to suit his whims.


    <ul>


    <li>The mask will change form to what you desire. A mask is not necessarily all it can be, and all it will be.</li>


    </ul>


    Willingly Forgotten Origins - To complete his master¡¯s desire, the Herald must work without acknowledgement or reward. To do so, he needs to ensure he is but a fleeting memory in the Realms.


    <ul>


    <li>Whatever is covered by the mask will be easier to be reduced in other¡¯s perception, appearing lesser or not as important to the observer.</li>


    </ul>


    Singular - When the Herald adopted his position, he was gifted a blessing by his master. Becoming the first of his kind, they all bow before him, whether he is known to them or not.


    <ul>


    <li>Grants unfettered access to the Demon Realm.</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    Hmmm.


    Lucille was two minds about this. One was to throw it into the furthest reaches of the void and never even think about it again. The other was to study it as much as possible, then throw it into the furthest reaches of the void and never think about it again. The second option was only there because she had never heard mention of an item existing before the Tower.


    She knew the System and the Tower were two separate things, even if the Tower was a creation of the creators of the System, but the fact this incorporated ¡®unfettered access¡¯, an authority only used by owners of their Factions, and by the System itself, meant a few things. Firstly, it meant the System was around to see this item be created. Secondly, the owner of the mask had a very high authority acknowledged or given by the System.


    Thirdly, the System knew when the Tower became a concept, which means it knew who the creators of the Tower were and was very not-so-subtly implying this ¡®Shadow Herald¡¯ was involved in the creation of the Tower. Therefore, the System seemed to be the ¡®Master¡¯ of the Herald, which made sense, as whoever the master was had the power to change the entire race of the Herald. Which brought up the last point. It was unfettered access to the Demon Realm, which meant the Shadow Herald was the very first demon. And the description said this guy was still alive.


    Lucy really wanted to throw away the mask now.


    However, she just sighed and left it on. Considering it ended up as a reward, the mask must not be too important for the Herald, and he must¡¯ve allowed the System to grant it to someone. The mask was also obviously given to her to conceal her eye, so she would make use of it for the time being. Maybe with time, she could learn to keep her right eye open without activating the shard.


    Finally, she opened the last System function.


    [Directory: ]


    <ol>


    <li>Beast Realm</li>


    <li>Demon Realm</li>


    <li>Tartarus Realm</li>


    <li>Mystical Realm</li>


    <li>Heavenly Realm</li>


    </ol>


    [ ]


    Lucy was going to go to the Beast Realm. Not because she wanted to rank up, but rather because someone she considered her best friend was there, and she wanted to find him. There was also a possibility he would know who she was, and she needed more allies for the future. Selecting the Beast Realm, she scrolled through the regions.


    [Directory ¨C Beast Realm ]


    Region Selection:


    <ol>


    <li>Ancestral Land of the Dragon-blooded</li>


    <li>Phoenix Empress¡¯s Paradise Enclave</li>


    <li>Wolvenheim Royal Glade</li>


    <li>Everfrost Airborne Fortress</li>


    <li>Aquaristel Capital</li>


    <li>Endless Jungle</li>


    <li>Ver¡­¡­¡­.</li>


    <li>¡­¡­¡­.</li>


    <li>¡­¡­¡­</li>


    </ol>


    [ ]


    She kept scrolling. There were over a hundred thousand regions, and every few years, a new one was added. Every realm kept expanding, as new places were put under the banner of the System. The place she was looking for was several thousand digits lower. She wasn¡¯t planning on going to any of these high-level ascendant cities, because anyone there was capable of squashing her like a bug. The Directory did have a search function, but she needed an Obelisk for that, and she could remember which region she wanted anyway. Spiritual energy¡¯s benefits were endless when you weren¡¯t a war-mongering metal stick owner investing stats into strength.


    On average, a region was about the size of a smaller continent. And the Beast Realm had thousands of the things. At least those from the Beast Realm liked keeping the names simple, because if she had to scroll through a thousand ¡®Verdisandel Ve Reschtin City¡¯ or ¡®The Anciente Supreme Abode of Archmagus Aerost Runestar Medolin the 2<sup>nd</sup> of the Highest Seat of the Violet Order¡¯, she just might decide the System needs to be deleted.


    Her eyes glanced at the region of the ¡®Distorted Depths¡¯, sitting stably at 100, and her eyes narrowed as she remembered her plans, but she kept on scrolling. Finally, at rank 21076, she found it.


    [Directory ¨C Beast Realm ]


    Region selection:


    <ol start="21075">


    <li>Th¡­.</li>


    <li>Violet Luminosity Jungle</li>


    <li>Gh¡­.</li>


    </ol>


    [ ]


    The Violet Luminosity Jungle was called such because the area was filled with purple-white fluorescent plants, naturally formed illusion phenomena and a host of creatures that thrived by pulling unsuspecting humans into their dens with tricks of light and manipulation of the senses while they were entranced by a particularly pretty looking glowing flower. It was also where she would find her closest and longest-time friend.


    Luckily, even though they had an average size reaching half a large continent, regions in the Beast Realm only had 3-4 cities, and she was quickly able to select the one she wanted. It was a low-ranked Ascendant city that went by the name of the ¡®Supreme Serpent¡¯s Silent City¡¯, supporting most Ascendants up to Rank-2.


    She wouldn¡¯t have a clue which supreme serpent it was named after, as there was probably 5,000,000,000 serpents that used the title of ¡®supreme¡¯, and it was probably called silent because it was placed out in what was essentially the countryside, but it was the closest place to where she needed to go in the region. It also had enough access to equipment for her to purchase, as it was considered a ¡®frontier¡¯ region, which meant it was a popular place many others came to so they could gain new unexplored resources. All the stronger places, while prosperous, had items that cost far too much and had far too few ways to gain money to afford them.


    These ¡®unexplored resources¡¯ all belonged to the current inhabitants of course, but none of the explorers cared about that.


    Selecting the city, a notification popped up.


    [User has reached a Completion Rate: MAX in the Tutorial and is now on the Leaderboard. ] What shall you call yourself?


    [Leaderboard Identity: ______________ ]


    She had forgotten about this. A User¡¯s ¡®Identity¡¯ was their nickname that went onto Leaderboards, such as the highest-level User, strongest User within rank, Faction with most credits, strongest Faction, highest Completion Rate on stages or the winners in Events. Some people used their names, but it was typical to use an identity that couldn¡¯t be connected to their real-life identity. Essentially, it was a game username. A User only needed an Identity when they made it to the top 10,000 of the population of competitors. She was one of the best elites among the elites doing the Tutorial.


    She thought for a bit. She could use her old Identity, however, there was someone who would recognise it, and she had plans for that Identity anyway. No, she needed a new one. She thought about what was different about her this time round and considered her plans, then looked at her Status and Origin Skill. She smiled. It could possibly be arrogant, but she could never be worse than him when it came to these things.


    [Leaderboard Identity: Archetype]


    [¡®Archetype¡¯ has reached Rank 1 on the Tutorial Leaderboard]


    As the city selection activated, she fancied she could still see the massive white-blue cogs of the System working behind the scenes of the white space as her physical body dematerialised to be transported within the first realm of the Tower.


    ...


    [General Quest: Enter the Tower by picking a city in the directory ¨C COMPLETE]


    [+100 xp, Beginner Ascendant Title, System Obelisk Access]


    [Level Up!]


    [+1 level]


    [+5 Free stat points]


    [User has reached Level 1]


    Her vision clearing to find herself in the middle of a wide flat open area, Lucille took in her first view of an Ascendant city. With a wince, she had to pull back the size of her perception field as the quantity of information she was receiving from it was way too much for her weak constitution. For her, it was a rather underwhelming experience seeing the city, but she supposed for anyone else from Earth it would be rather shocking.


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    The city was primarily built out of a stone that came in several light shades of grey and white. Lucille was standing in the central plaza, a wide open area built around the Obelisk that acted as the centre of the city. The tallest buildings, reaching several stories in height, were built around there, before slowly decreasing in height the further they went out. The building closest to her was the largest one, a Greco-Roman-esque townhouse structure with white marble pillars and coloured silken banners hanging from its balconies. The embroidery on the banners indicated the building was the City Lord''s manor, the local equivalent of a city council estate.


    Lucy looked around and after and after exchanging her tokens for some of the Mystical Realm¡¯s currency using the Obelisk interface, with a total of 1000 crystalline tokens, 999 rose crowns, 999 silver crowns, and 1,000 bronze, she started heading down a path that led to a road lined with shops built under low-hanging strips of multi-coloured silk. She inspected the wooden signboard of the shops which were often decorated by small trinkets or works of craftsmanship that denoted what wares the shops were selling. Most of the tradesman in the bazaar only bartered their wares for monster parts and materials that could be obtained from the region, as the xp they could obtain from crafting items with them were more valuable than any currency from another realm. As such, she needed to find places that dealt in crowns.


    She put her hands behind her back and whistled tunefully, not feeling like she was in a rush to get anything done. The only objective she had that was on a time limit wouldn''t happen until the following month, so she could spend as much time as she wanted exploring the city she had spent a few months in in the past. But maybe it was a better idea for her to have lunch before she started investigating anything.


    Stepping through the open doorway of a large tavern, she walked up to the bar where a woman dressed in a leather outfit was cleaning some cups. The woman looked up as she saw Lucille. "What do you want for lunch? I''ll take it you''re not here for any drinks at this time of day."


    Lucy nodded with a calm smile. "I''m fine with something simple. And a glass of water would be nice too."


    "Sure." The bartender gestured to a table. "Pull up seat. I''ll be there soon."


    Lucille walked over to the round table and sat down, waiting patiently. She looked around the tavern to entertain herself, observing the people in there. Most were adventurers dressed in mismatched leather and metal gear, while some seemed to be guards judging by their full-body sets of armour. The general style of clothing here consisted of coloured leather clothes and silk sashes that made them all vaguely resemble cosplaying pirates. Although one table with two people caught her attention. A young man with curly brown hair and green eyes, sitting opposite a woman with long wavy dark hair and a black leather outfit. She had a longsword sheathed by her waist.


    Her gear is exceptional quality for someone in an outer region. And the crest on her sword sheath... she''s a member of the Black Hand''s Shadow Blade Division. I wonder why she''s here?


    Lucy moved on though, because she had no reason to involve herself with a member of the Mystical Realm''s strongest Mercenary Guild. Although she could draw some conclusions about the mercenary''s identity, considering her travelling companion...


    The bartender came over with a plate of food and her drink. "Here''s your meal. Twenty bronze crowns, or an Uncommon natural treasure if you have any."


    Lucille retrieved the lowest denomination of the Mystical Realm''s currency out of her dimensional bag and slid them across the table. The bartender pocketed them and walked off, giving her a wave. "Enjoy," she said, with her tail swinging behind her.


    This was the Beast Realm. And its local inhabitants weren¡¯t human. Making up around three quarters of the realm''s population, Magical Beasts were its native race.


    While they could appear wholly and partially human as they pleased, their true forms were that of beasts capable of using magic deep from within their bloodlines. Like normal creatures had species, magical beasts had their individual races such as cats, dogs, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and so on. They typically had traits such as white fur that glowed, feathers made of flames or shells made of metal that made them visually different compared to mundane creatures.


    Normally, a race having such diverse forms would make¡­ procreation slightly difficult. But that was why they were a ¡®race¡¯ and not individual species. As long as they had gained a human form, they were capable of having children that were also magical beasts. This created millions of different variants and sub-races such as a ¡®flaming wolf¡¯ or ¡®ice wolf¡¯ within their main race. There was a hybrid race known as beastmen who existed as well, typically either descendants of magical beasts who hadn''t inherited their beast form, or someone of the mortal races who wished to increase their strength by absorbing the bloodline essence of a magical beast.


    The bartender seemed to be some type of tiger beast, judging by the long tail and shape of her ears, but the colouration of her fur was indigo with luminous blue stripes, as opposed to orange and black. She was probably an illusion element beast. Which reminded Lucille of the individual she had come to the region to meet...


    Lucy finished her meal and left the tavern, beginning her exploration of the semi-permanent marketplace. While there was a particular shop she wanted to eventually locate, she set about buying the basic necessities she''d need for her journey into the Violet Luminosity Jungle. She needed to go to a certain enclave, which was the name for the cities magical beast subraces lived in. Unfortunately, said enclave was also in the thickest, most dangerous part of the jungle.


    There wasn''t anything special about the items she bought. They were things like a magical lantern, a well-crafted bed roll, and a canteen to hold water among other things. None of them reached greater than Uncommon level in rarity, but that was mostly due to the lack of spells and skills within them. Who needed a sleeping bag that could cast fireball? Although, she did manage to discover that her shard functioned the same way as an Inspection skill. That was a skill every User obtained as it was in-built into their Status, but the shard was already performing better than the most upgraded Inspection skill. It also revealed... unusual details when focused on Users.


    One peculiar creation did catch her eye though. One of the permanent shops along the side of the main road has a signboard decorated by a logo of a wing made out of metal. When she walked past, she paused as she saw what was inside through her perception field, so she stepped in as the bell alerting the shopkeeper to a customer rang. She walked to the front desk and looked up at the item hung on the walls. She crossed her arms and waited around five minutes for someone to come to the bench.


    A young man hurriedly entered the room through the door behind the bench. "Oh, um, a customer! I wasn''t expecting one yet!" He awkwardly came up to the bench and gave her a slight bow. "I''m the owner of this shop, miss. My name is Revas." He smiled and gestured to the items on the shelves around him. "I only obtained this store a few hours ago, so I ask that you excuse my original absence. I hope I haven''t kept you waiting for long."


    Lucille smiled and shook her head. "There was no issue. It gave me time to admire your craftsmanship." She gestured to the item on the wall, a glider. "Are you a magic engineer?"


    "Engineer? Oh, um..." He rubbed his neck sheepishly. "You could say that. My current class was built on the foundation of an engineering class." He glanced at the glider. "But the System calls me an Aeronautical Mana Mechanic." He grinned at Lucy. "Flying beasts always fascinated me. But the stuff I sell in this shop is more broad. I have skills in other areas too."


    "Really? That''s a shame." Lucille propped her chin up on the bench with her arm and smirked. "Because I was going to buy it."


    Revas blinked. "Sorry? You said... buy it?" He glanced at the glider then at her. "I... well, I didn''t expect someone would want that. I mostly built it to be some fancy showpiece for my shop."


    "Does that mean it''s not functional?" Lucy asked.


    He shook his head. "Oh no, it is. Tested it out myself." He shrugged. "It''s just not too practical. I''ve got better ones in the back."


    "Hmm..." Lucy held her chin, thinking, before gesturing to him with a smile. "Well, where I need to go just so happens to require a safe method of descent. If you''re willing to part with one of your other ones, then I''d be willing to give you several hundred silver crowns for it."


    Revas stared at her, then at the glider. He glanced back at her, looking like he wanted to make sure she was being serious. Then he dashed out to the back of his shop, rifling through chests for his constructions. Lucy leaned to the side and watched curiously as he let out curses, trying to extract one of the unwieldy devices from its storage. He rushed back out with the arrow-shaped item in hand, made of thick beige canvas and bronze metal fixings, then placed it on the bench in front of her.


    "Let me just begin by saying..." he said, sounding slightly out of breath, "that this glider is probably not worth the amount you''re offering."


    Lucy untied her dimensional bag from her belt. "Yet the fact you barely hesitated before retrieving another glider suggests you expect that I''d be willing to spend that much even after you''ve told me this."


    Revas rubbed his neck. "I''m not one to ignore good fortune when it comes my way. And..." He gestured to her. "One thing I know about people like you is that you typically know what you''re doing. I''m fine not asking questions when it benefits me."


    She smirked. "I expect you''ll live a long life with that outlook, Mr. Revas."


    It wasn''t long until she left the shop, having stashed the glider in her dimensional bag. The normal rules of physics would imply that getting the glider into a bag of that size would be impossible, but in the Tower, she wasn''t dealing with the normal rules of physics. It got sucked straight into the bag. But now she decided it was time to find that shop she had made plans to locate.


    Making her way to a luxurious shop that happened to be a branch of a rather large chain of stores in the Mystical Realm, she was prepared to have quite a bit of fun messing with someone she knew from the past.


    Standing in front of the glass shop front, she could see the showpiece magic items put up to draw attention. The building lacked doors, but that didn¡¯t mean it was unprotected. An oak signboard above the door read ¡®Abbott Everett¡¯s Magisterial Treasure Emporium¡¯ in curly gold font, and the logo of a stylised golden hourglass drawn with a particularly long flourish sat beside it. She stepped through the open doorway of the stereotypical fantasy shop and was met with the chime of a bell, revealing that there had been magical arrays guarding the front door.


    The Magisterial Treasure Emporium franchise was famous for one thing and one thing only. It was extraordinarily overpriced. While they had high-quality goods, they were mass-produced, common items. Most people with money would go to a quality craftsman for a custom order. The emporium also dealt in the trading of items and was what Abbott Everett¡¯s hobby was. Disgruntled and unsatisfied with his deportation out into the ¡®uncivilised¡¯ wilderness, and annoyed at the optimism of young Ascendants, he took to scamming lucky young adventurers out of their chance good fortune, and replaced it with extremely overpriced items by passing them off as ¡®rare treasures¡¯.


    She looked across the room and there Everett could be seen with a frown, sitting behind the front counter with a walking stick by his side. He was a reedy, short man with a hunched back and a partially balding head. His arms were as thin as sticks and his skin had a grey pallor to it that could make her believe he was an undead if she did not know otherwise.


    His frown could be attributed to the fact that the few adventurers in here were well-equipped and in the know of what a good price for the items was, not people he could readily prey on. She could see a few snicker at the price on the labels underneath each item on the shelves and the corners of Everett¡¯s mouth drooped even lower. Then she saw his eyes brighten when he saw her, an obviously naive young girl, but like every good businessman, he didn¡¯t eagerly rush over to pander to her.


    Lucille had made a show of inspecting the most expensive items in the storefront and continued to look around with wide eyes and curiosity obvious on her face. Walking up to the shelves, making sure he could see her face, she made sure her expression was unaffected when looking at the prices, and when he was within earshot of her, she even mumbled, ¡°It¡¯s cheaper than I expected.¡±, just to sell the image she had more money than sense about these things. As Everett started to wander closer to her, the other adventurers gave her glances of pity.


    When she had finished viewing all the items he began the conversation.


    ¡°Anything catches your fancy, young lady?¡± he said with a slow drawl, his smile giving her an unwelcome glimpse of aged teeth.


    She smiled back.¡°These goods are very high quality but I¡¯m finding them a bit¡­ subpar when it comes to my needs,¡± she began, hesitating a bit to appear like she didn¡¯t want to insult the shopkeeper¡¯s items.


    The shopkeeper¡¯s smile widened, and he beckoned for her to follow him. ¡°Well, we wouldn¡¯t keep the kind of items that suited your kind out the front, young lady.¡±


    Lucy blinked. ¡°What do you mean when you say my kind, Sir?¡±


    He gestured for her to lean down so he could whisper into her ear, ¡°You don¡¯t think this is the first time I¡¯ve served a noble in my time, do you?¡±


    Lucy paled and made to move away, for they were now back at the countertop at the back of the room when he chuckled and put a finger to his lips.


    ¡°Please, I couldn¡¯t harm you anyway. But I do have¡­ special wares that are only brought out for people like you, so at least wait for me to bring them in case they may suit your taste.¡±


    The hunched man shuffled out to the store room for a few minutes, before coming back with a bunch of items in his arms. He gently placed them on the counter one by one so Lucy could see them, and she leant in to look, curious. He spread out his palms to show her.


    ¡°I believe these may suit someone of your¡­ position, young lady, and this one,¡± he said, tapping a finger in front of a bronze knife with a particularly large pigeon-egg sapphire on its pommel, ¡°Isn¡¯t even brought out for others like you. I¡¯m only bringing this out because I can see something special to you, something I haven¡¯t seen in anyone else to come by me so far. I believe this knife will only suit someone who has a great future ahead of them.¡± He leant back, confident she would bite. She avoided eye contact at the flattery but inspected the items.


    She spotted others looking at them in her perception field. Surprisingly, there were two people she recognised.


    An adventurer behind her with messy nut-brown hair heard what Everett had said and looked amused when he saw the knife. ¡°Isn¡¯t that weapon the birthday present the old man scammed off the local City Lord¡¯s son last Saturday?¡± he muttered, digging his elbow into the dark-haired woman next to him.


    The woman whacked him on the back of his head and hissed at him to be silent but likewise appeared entertained. The shopkeeper glared at the both of them, but Lucy pretended she didn¡¯t hear them and continued inspecting the items.


    ¡°Could you explain the items more in-depth? I¡¯d like to know as much as possible about them before I make a purchase,¡± she said, still watching the items. Her eyes drifted to the bronze knife.


    Everett¡¯s grin widened, and he went into an exaggerated description of every item¡¯s ¡®glorious past¡¯, with the knife being given the wondrous background of the first weapon of a famous Mythos from Glory Pantheon. He refused to tell her which Mythos it was though, saying it would ruin the knife¡¯s power to tell her.


    Making sure the man was distracted, her eyes flickered up to the board above him, where she could see an ornate shield and 2 swords crossed in front of it. Very, veeery carefully, she sent out a single strand of spiritual energy up to it. Behind her, she sent out several other strands to grab a few objects off the shelves with the spiritual energy and even from the window area and lowered them down out of his sight. One of the items, the most important to her plan, happened to be an expensive dimensional bag that was sitting on the shopfront.


    The brown-haired adventurer spotted the moving decorative shield and pair of swords behind the shopkeeper first and was about to point at it and shout in surprise, but the older female adventurer wrapped one arm around his mouth and the other around his waist and dragged him out. Everett almost looked up to see what the commotion was, but Lucy excitedly pulled him down to ask him more about the symbols on the bronze knife.


    She gently shuffled all the items into the dimensional bag sitting on the floor behind Everett, then dragged the dimensional bag back onto its stand in the front of the shop. She abruptly looked up at Everett and announced, ¡°I want to buy them all.¡±


    If she had thought the man¡¯s grin couldn¡¯t get any wider before, than the moment after she had said that was the happiest day of his life. With all the energy his aging body could muster, Everett rushed to gather them up and take them to the end of the counter where he could use the box where he stored his money, complete with the quill and paper for him to write the receipt. Lucy¡¯s plan was almost complete, but she needed to do one more thing.


    ¡°Before I buy them, I would like something to store them in.¡±


    Everett nodded enthusiastically and went to the shelf where the dimensional bags were kept.


    She shook her head and pointed at the front of the shop. ¡°Actually, I was thinking of purchasing that one. It¡¯s the only one that caught my eye.¡±


    Happy to increase his profits even more, he grabbed the lavishly expensive pack. He went to look inside to make sure it was in perfect quality, but she hurriedly grabbed it off him and went to the front. She assumed he would just attribute it to an overeager girl acting how she wants, and she assumed correctly, Everett shaking his head in slight amusement. He marked the prices down on a piece of paper and placed the items on a white square on the desk, a System-made balance. After the magic items and the pack had been placed on the balance, he placed them inside the pack and handed the pack to her. Both of them were full of smiles, they waved goodbye, one being happy at his successful scam, and one being happy at the reality check she would be giving him. She calmly turned the corner of the street with the dimensional backpack.


    Then she bolted.

 Chapter 4 (1 of 2) Partners in crime.

    While Lucy did not yet have the stats to go superhuman speeds, she had an innately high physical fitness, so she only had to satisfy a certain speed requirement to escape Everett.


    There was no way she could just stuff a bag full of stuff and expect that she would only have to pay for the bag. It was nonsensical. However, she had managed to trick him into only giving her a price for the magical items he showed her, and not the 50-odd trinkets she had managed to get into the bag without him noticing. Her unsealed spiritual energy was also a massive boon for lesser telekinesis. But due to the value of individual objects reaching extraordinary heights compared to items on Earth, there was a system put in place by the System that allowed a shopkeeper to cancel the trade if the customer hadn¡¯t owned the object for more than 15 minutes and was within a 5km zone.


    There still needed to be physical people to enforce this rule, however, so now she had to either get outside the 5km zone or hold onto the object for more than 15 minutes while hiding from the guards. She could also just run for dear life like she was currently, avoiding both the guards and trying to get out of there as soon as possible.


    She chose to expand her perception field, and in the meantime, she managed to see that the brown-haired adventurer and his black-haired female partner were watching her sprint down the street some distance ahead. The woman nodded to her and the brown-haired adventurer jumped up and down, waving his hands about, so she gave them the thumbs up as she ran past them, watching them both double over laughing as Everett hobbled out, cane shaking in a bony hand raised to the high heavens in demonic wrath. It seems he had noticed that the System reported a sale of several more items than he thought he had given her on his Status.


    She noticed some grey steel and blue adorned helmeted city guards had wandered into her field of perception, and made sure to adjust for their path as she chose which way to run. Finding a staircase of white plastered brick winding up a squat building, she dashed up it to rush across the flat rooftops. Unfortunately, modern London lacked the facilities to practice fantasy parkour, so she enjoyed it while she had the chance.


    <hr>


    A brown-haired and green-eyed man grinned as he and his partner walked down the streets of the city. ¡°That girl is my new favorite person, Larena. I want to be her when I grow up."


    The older female adventurer next to him shook her head with a sigh. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t support her actions. That girl just made things difficult for the entire veteran adventurer society out here." She turned to watch Everett and the guards with her arms crossed. "Everett¡¯s shop, while he is unliked, still has the best magical items we can get with any consistency, and will take out his anger on his frequent customers. Copying her will only have negative consequences."


    Everett was verbally abusing the guards for ¡®letting such lowborn rogues into this city where they could terrorise his livelihood.¡¯


    Garthe rolled his eyes. ¡°Says the woman who almost strangled her brother just so that girl could make a fool out of the guy.¡±


    Larena turned her head and didn¡¯t make eye contact. ¡°I was just interested in her ability to levitate those items. I couldn¡¯t sense any mana in it and thought it might be a pathway to advance my techniques.¡±


    "Uh huh...¡± Garthe gave Larena a flat look.


    They both turned back to watch the guards talk with the shopkeeper as their ¡®conversation¡¯ reached a particularly heightened point before Everett turned with a huff after saying he would ¡®do it himself¡¯ and started walking down the street on his flimsy cane.


    Garthe elbowed his fellow adventurer. ¡°Hey!¡± he hissed at her as the grumpy shopkeeper wandered closer. ¡°How about we mess with him a bit as well? We don¡¯t need to do much, just prevent him from using one of his magic thingies to get to that girl. His anger could hardly get worse than it is now." Garthe attempted to persuade her, ¡°Plus, how could he dare retaliate against my mighty sister, a member of the infamous Black Hand¡¯s Mercenaries!¡±


    ¡°We need to get going,¡± she stated, arms crossed and face serious, although the slight twitch of her lips indicated she wasn¡¯t as averse to the idea as she presented herself.


    ¡°Come on, we¡¯ve hardly done anything in this city! Help me do this one little thing and I won¡¯t bother you this week,¡± he suggested, tugging at her arm.


    The older woman sighed but followed after her brother. They both stopped in front of Everett as he glared at them for having the audacity to block his path.


    Garthe gave a loud cough before bowing to the man in mock politeness. ¡°Garthe Barbosas, my dear sir. We happened to be in your store earlier this day, as you might¡¯ve seen. We have something to discuss with you,¡± he said. He was close to bursting into laughter.


    The look on Everett¡¯s face indicated that no, he did not remember them from earlier, but he was professional enough to not say so. ¡°What is it?¡± he stated bluntly with a heavy frown. ¡°I¡¯m a bit busy and don¡¯t have the time for a long conversation.¡±


    ¡°I assure you I will make this worth it for you. Because this,¡± Garthe said, gesturing with both hands to the woman beside him, ¡°Is one of the almighty members of the Black Hand Mercenary Guild, the powerful Raven¡¯s Wing Shadow Blade!¡±


    The black-haired woman next to him shot Garthe an irritated look but tilted her chin up, crossed her arms and looked down on the hunched man in front of her. The wizened shopkeeper gave her scrutinising glance, taking in the high-quality black leather outfit, sword strapped to her waist, and the embroidered crest found on the front of her light black cape, and quickly determined she was the real deal. He gave a scraping bow to Larena, ignoring Garthe, and summoned a bright smile to his face.


    ¡°If I had of known that someone of such high esteem was visiting my humble self, I would¡¯ve prepared a greater welcome for you! Please, to what do I owe this pleasure?¡±


    While Everett was polite, the twitching of his fingers against his cane and his frequent glances down the road Lucy had run down indicated he was not that happy about them stopping him from following after the thief, regardless of his ability to capture her.


    Garthe smiled politely and slightly shifted his posture to block his view of the road. ¡°As you would obviously know, a Guild of such power as the Black Hand needs to constantly expand to find talent and resources. The Guild has set its sights on the Beast Realm this year and has sent out an elite chosen few to find places of little fame but high potential. We have been considering making an outpost here, but we would like to ask you a few questions about ensuring our members are well-outfitted here in the Violet Luminosity Jungle,¡± Garthe said ''professionally''.


    Everett gave a nod and kept the smile on his face, but the adventurer pair could see it was becoming strained. ¡°I would love to discuss this in depth more, but I am a bit busy at the moment. Perhaps we could reschedule-¡°


    Larena cut him off by stepping forward and glaring down at him, one hand on his hip. ¡°What could be more important than discussing an important business deal with the largest Mercenary Guild in the Mystical Realm? Is there perhaps something you are trying to hide from us?¡± Her eyes narrowed and he blanched, aware of what would happen if his higher-ups knew he prevented such a lucrative contract with a big Guild.


    He clasped his hands together and bowed placatingly. ¡°O-Of course not. Be it on my own head if such a thing had come to pass. I have kept my branch in perfect working order, and have it in good assurance-¡°


    ¡°Actually,¡± Garthe interrupted, frowning, ¡°There¡¯s an awful lot of city guards in the area. There hasn¡¯t been a robbery of sorts near here, has there? Perhaps we should ask them to stay informed. We would hate our discussion to be interrupted due to a common thief, wouldn¡¯t we?¡± He set off to talk to the nearest guard.


    Everett hastily ran after him as fast as he could. When he got in front of Garthe again, he widened his strained smile and raised his hands out in front of them. ¡°Ah, come on now, please, don¡¯t dishonour yourselves with such petty trifles. I¡¯m sure the guards are just doing their daily rounds.¡± He glared at the nearest guard who was watching them as if daring him to say otherwise. He beckoned to the two adventurers and pointed to the Emporium. ¡°Do come in and have some beverages at my humble store and we can discuss this deal in greater detail while perusing my stocked wares to see what your fellow mercenaries will need out here in this region.¡± He showed them to his store.


    Garthe followed with a polite smile, but Larena gave a haughty, disapproving sniff.


    ¡°There better had not of been a robbery in your store, for if there was then I shall report your lacking security measures to my superiors myself, and I dare say they shall rather want to rethink their dealings with the Magisterial Treasure Emporium after that.¡±


    Everett continued to keep a strained smile on his face but both Larena and Garthe could see how pale his skin was after that statement, and how the old man seemed to be entirely obsessed with accommodating their every need after that. The thought of furious superiors interrogating him on why the Black Hand no longer wanted them to store or supply them with items served as better motivation to ignore his original worries than anything else.


    <hr>


    Darvis McGarrod had a lot to say about this whole debacle, he realised, an opinion that had formed while watching his steel-plated subordinates wearing blue crests on their chestplates scurry about looking for information about the city''s newest troublemaker. For one thing, Everett probably had it coming for years. The number of the city¡¯s youths who had been tricked out of rare items that could grant them better lives in another region, or who had lost their lives adventuring with incompatible and sub-par items priced at a markup of 300% had to be somewhere in the near 500s. It had to be said that that, more than anything, indicated the sentiment most of the Factions of the Mystical Realm had about low-ranked Ascendant cities, and low-ranked Ascendants in general.


    Another was the fact he just discovered that his guards had been dispatched due to Everett issuing a Trade Reversal Call, and not because he had literally been robbed outright, even if he had said otherwise. Therefore, the girl they were tracking was probably not a real thief and had just gotten caught in the full brunt of Everett¡¯s wrath after she had played a fancy trick on the wrong person. He had to give it to her though, whatever she did to make Everett that angry would be something he would be willing to give a few levels to watch.


    He had also discovered that the ¡®Black Hand¡¯s mercenaries that were being entertained by Everett at this moment who had also been present in the shop just moments before the Trade Reversal Call, had abruptly rushed out of the shop and watched the shop for a while until the girl came out, something he found out due to an off-duty member of the guard being present to see it at the time. It was a likely possibility that they decided to distract Everett for fun, as the city records available to him revealed that the younger of the two siblings had a reputation for mischief.


    All this did not mean he wanted to be the one to deal with it! Just because he was the only highest-ranking authority within the guards who could organise the Trade Reversal Call, and the one who had the most experience with the cranky miser of the shop, does not mean he should be the one to resolve Everett¡¯s issues even if he was the only one capable of getting him to hold back his verbal abuse and the only person Everett had no leverage over to overcharge and... he had just explained to himself why he was here. Darvis sighed before continuing to issue orders to his guards as he followed the little dot indicating the girl on his mini-map of the city.


    That was another issue he had with this. The girl technically didn¡¯t harm anyone, and she did give Everett some well-deserved karma, but that put him in a bit of a tight spot. The Magisterial Treasure Emporium was a considerably big franchise, and while they gave Everett too much authority in the way of allowing him to set prices, they did have the highest quality magic items the city could get with any sort of regularity. The City Lord would also be in a difficult situation if his city had ruined a relationship with a medium-sized Faction from the Mystical Realm, and so as the captain of the guard, Darvis couldn¡¯t just ignore Everett¡¯s Trade Reversal Call.


    However, if he aided Everett too much, he would be ruining his relationship with most of the local veteran adventurers, the main source of monster materials for the city, all of them hating the man¡¯s guts. Catching the girl would also likely ruin her impression of the city and subject her to Everett, who had some particularly vindictive magic items to use on his enemies and he did not want that for any person, let alone an 18-year-old girl.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Darvis¡¯s best bet would probably be to catch her and use his authority as captain of the guard to prevent Everett from doing anything else after they renegotiate the trade. By saying he¡¯ll give her a private reprimand, he could warn her against doing anything to Everett again and give her some advice to get out of the city as soon as possible. That would probably be the best conclusion for the situation, no matter how much Everett deserved it, and would be unfair to the low-ranked girl.


    That was another thing he had to say about this all. According to the shop¡¯s System records, the girl was Rank-0. A. Rank. 0. How she even managed to trick Everett and the shop¡¯s wards against magic usage while being so overwhelmingly weak was what nobody could find out! The max level cap for a Rank-0 was 10! Even a Rank-1 had a cap of 199, and Everett had to have been a good, what, Rank-2 if he was put in a frontier region for a mid-sized Faction? Either she was just incredibly talented or was from a dangerously strong Faction, which in either case meant Everett should not, at all costs, get his hands on her, for the good of the city¡¯s future and its people.


    He sighed once more and continued observing the mini-map. It was proving to be rather unhelpful for the first time in his 20 years of guard service and 39 years of life. For some incomprehensible reason, anytime a guard got within 300 metres of the girl, she took a detour and managed to miss being seen by them each time. He had received eyewitness reports that she was on the rooftops, but it was easy enough for the bird-type beastmen and magic beasts to get up there, so it¡¯s not like his guards couldn¡¯t access her. The only reason he could think of was that she had some type of large-field perception skill, an impossibility when Rank-0s rarely had classes with rarities high enough for that, or a magic item, but he couldn¡¯t know what kind because none of the items she had taken from the shop could do that kind of thing.


    With a groan, he straightened up from the wall where he had been leaning against to observe Everett and the two mercenaries. It seemed he may have to deal with it personally. He headed over to the Emporium where Everett glared at him for interrupting his extensive flattery. Darvis nodded to the two mercenaries and raised his visor to talk.


    ¡°You may as well stop now. I¡¯ve decided to resolve this myself. Can¡¯t have this mishap involving the higher-ups, so the fun¡¯s over,¡± he declared, deciding it was better to reveal he knew what they were doing.


    The younger brown-haired man groaned but chuckled good-naturedly while the woman just shook her head wryly and patted her partner on the shoulder.


    ¡°That¡¯s unfortunate," The young man said with a slight grin. "There¡¯s not a chance that you¡¯re some rare Guard Captain class that doesn¡¯t have his stats boosted unfairly high due to your job now, is there?¡±


    Darvis raised a bushy eyebrow but shook his head. ¡°If that girl manages to escape, I¡¯ll buy you a drink myself.¡±


    The mercenaries got up from their chairs while Everett watched on in confusion and nervousness as his ¡®VIP customers¡¯ were walking away.


    ¡°May I ask what is happening?¡± he asked as he followed behind them.


    The brown-haired man turned to Everett and smirked. ¡°It just so happens that the Black Hand is not planning on expanding into this region. By the authority vested in me, I decided it¡¯s not worth it to stall you any longer. Good luck finding the ¡®thief¡¯."


    But just before the old shopkeeper could react, the man turned back around to waggle a finger at him. ¡°Ah, but that doesn¡¯t mean you can retaliate. My sister here is actually the Raven¡¯s Wing Shadow Blade.¡± And with that, the pair walked out the door.


    While Everett froze to stew over the mixture of dawning realisation, confusion, embarrassment, and anguish the mercenaries had left him with, Darvis decided to get to work. 10 minutes had already passed, and he wasn¡¯t about to let the girl get the other 5 minutes for free after all the trouble she had put him through.


    <hr>


    ¡°Hey, Larena,¡± said a certain brown-haired adventurer to his sister. She looked at him, frowning.


    ¡°What is it?¡± she replied, feeling annoyed. Garthe looked at her and gave her a nudge with his elbow.


    ¡°Come on, are you still angry at me for using your title without your permission? What good is joining a large Faction unless you get to bandy their name around!¡± he said, spreading his hands dramatically.


    Larena was not impressed. ¡°The name of the Black Hand is not supposed to be used for trivialities. May I remind you that I took a break from work to help you train, Mr ¡®I haven¡¯t taken the entrance test yet so I¡¯m not a member of the Black Hand¡¯?¡± she told him, both hands on hips as she pointed out the fact that it was not his name he used.


    Garthe shrugged off the accusation. ¡°Minor details and besides, it will help you. Anyway, I have a question to ask you about that girl.¡±


    Larena shot him a sceptical look but replied anyway, ¡°What question?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± Garthe began, ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering. This whole thing began because Everett thought she was some stupid noble girl with money. However, I still can¡¯t work out if his conclusion was wrong or not. She was able to scam him, so she wasn¡¯t as na?ve as she pretended she was, but she could fork out enough money to buy all the most expensive items Everett had,¡± he thought aloud. ¡°She was also good looking and had similar enough mannerisms that even I originally thought she was a noble. Now, I don¡¯t necessarily have the experience to say she is for certain, but what about you?¡± He raised an eyebrow at his sister.


    After considering it, Larena answered, ¡°She is certainly an interesting case. I could tell she was low-ranked, but if she had the money at that rank to buy all of Everett¡¯s most expensive items, it means she has backing." She held her chin. "That would also mean she could¡¯ve bought the items she tricked him out of too, which means she didn¡¯t do this to obtain valuables," she mused.


    ¡°That could point to her being a noble in the sense that only they would spend money for entertainment or sport as it seemed she did. But looking at her capability to vault over rooftops,¡± she continued, nodding up to the roofs above them, ¡°That¡¯s a skill I would expect to find in those found on the underside of cities, such as assassin circles and dark guilds, which certainly does not suggest ¡®young noble girl¡¯.¡±


    ¡°So, in conclusion: you have no clue,¡± Garthe stated blithely.


    His sister glared at him. ¡°No, my conclusion is that she¡¯s either a noble, or has had enough experience with them to act like them, and in either case, it would mean she¡¯s someone with higher status than us who we do not need to hang around.¡±


    ¡°Except to steal her manipulation technique.¡±


    ¡°Except to ask for her manipulation technique,¡± she acquiesced. She gave her brother a curious look. ¡°However, now that I answered your question, what was this about telling the world my title being helpful to me?¡±


    Garthe blinked in incomprehension, before remembering what she was talking about and gave her a big smile. ¡°So, you have no boyfriend.¡±


    Larena stared at him for a moment before nodding slowly. ¡°Yes¡­?¡± she agreed, confused as to where this was going.


    ¡°And me, I¡¯m in the prime time of my life, 24, single and handsome, but I always have this clingy parasite by my side that is scaring away all my potential lovers. I was thinking it was time to get rid of it. She¡¯s gorgeous, strong and has a great figure, but she¡¯s already 28 and so I thought desperate measures were in hand.¡± Garthe had his eyes closed while nodding along to his statements, so he didn¡¯t notice Larena¡¯s hands had started balling into fists.


    ¡°Due to her scary position as a member of the Black Hand, all the weak noble boys get frightened away, and so I thought someone from the frontier cities, who had grown used to the harsher ways of life would be perfect. And so, by telling everyone your title, I get to brag about my connections while showing your potential suitors this woman, and it might¡¯ve worked, if only someone would take her!¡±


    That last section Garthe yelled unnecessarily down the street with his hands cupped around his mouth, and so, unfortunately, he did not manage to see the mana-clad fist hurtling his way where it landed squarely on his abdomen, sending him flying a good twenty metres to crash against the side of a building.


    His semi-conscious state may have prevented him from fully hearing the furious roar of the female dragon named Larena shout ¡°Garthe!¡±, but some while away, a trenchcoated young woman turned her head in slight bemusement when hearing the noise before continuing to run towards the end of the 5km zone, a very disgruntled guard captain hot on her heels.


    <hr>


    Lucille had gotten into a rhythm. Jump across a gap in the rooftop, sprint for a bit, before changing her direction 90 degrees left, then repeat with 90 degrees to the right, forming a zigzag. Oh, and occasionally throw the random bucket, broom, or rug in the direction of a giant fly known as the city guard captain that decided to follow her. Considering his tendency to dash for her in a straight line, it was deceptively easy to hit him with the things.


    They didn¡¯t do much but make him swear on his mother or such, but they did block his vision for a few seconds where she could change direction in a split moment of interruption. She almost had to laugh at one stage when a bucket landed on his head, and she thought about asking him if he was okay when a rather sharp stool managed to nick him above his eyebrows, drawing blood, but she decided not to as it wouldn¡¯t contribute to increasing her chances of making it out of there. He kept his visor down after that.


    Nothing had really interrupted Lucy¡¯s rhythm until she heard a scream of a woman that sounded suspiciously like the war cry of a fire dragon, but it didn¡¯t make her do anything but turn her head slightly. One of her thought strands informed her when she checked that roughly 10 minutes had gone by.


    She focused on her perception and clicked her tongue when she noticed the guard captain was about 5 metres closer and was now 30 metres away from her. She knew he would¡¯ve eventually gained on her with his speed, but she could only use his inexperience at running with high agility stats against him. She knew he had only been a guard captain for a month and that this would be his first real attempt at using them because they had met before, but he couldn¡¯t know she knew that.


    She decided she had to mix things up. Considering she had 5 minutes left, and how far she had travelled, she believed she could afford to change her plans. She jumped off the side of her building, landing in an alleyway. Her fall broken by the multicoloured silk overhanging between the buildings, she slid off it and dashed through the narrow streets. Darvis McGarrod cursed and jumped down as well, his heavy armour making him take longer to get back up.


    Abandoning her zig-zag pattern, she weaved through the populated streets, occasionally knocking over some barrels and wooden boxes. Her plan, if it could be called that, was to abandon any attempt at hiding her position from the other guards to confuse them and get them lost in the narrow streets. She could already see it working as the guards got themselves stuck due to their heavy armour, and how they kept bumping into each other.


    Although, as she looked closer, there were fewer guards than she expected. She compared it with Darvis¡¯s actions and inwardly nodded, realising why. He had become guard captain for a reason.


    Use the major threat as a distraction and coordinator while getting his less important subordinates to trap me. It¡¯s a reversal of what normally happens, and most of the time it would¡¯ve worked. If you hadn¡¯t revealed this favourite tactic to me while you were on a victorious drunken spiel in an inn after capturing a criminal with a huge bounty. Unfortunately, other factors in play will make all your efforts null and void.


    Now aware he was trying to herd her in a certain direction rather than catch her, she made sure her general direction was still in a roughly straight line she had been aiming for originally. She jumped over a fallen pole and grinned when a following guard faceplanted in an attempt to do the same. Dashing for a bit more, she ended up on a main street and ran full throttle to make the last stretch. It wasn¡¯t the true 5km mark yet but-


    She came to a screeching halt. Forming a semicircle in front of her were 50 guards, all lined up to prevent her from getting through. There were no gaps. She quickly turned to find guard captain McGarrod behind her.


    He lifted his visor to peer at her. ¡°Your luck¡¯s out, kid.¡±


    Instead of making some last dash to try to escape, she nodded to the guard nearest to her. ¡°Catch.¡±


    At the same time as the guard scrambled to stop the dimensional bag packed with items worth several thousand silver from falling to the ground, Darvis caught her by the front of her coat. She raised her hands in surrender. It was all over-


    [Lucille Goldcroft has escaped the 5km zone at 12 minutes and 14 seconds. Trade Reversal Call Order is automatically dissolved]


    Or it would¡¯ve been if not for that.


    Darvis looked at something in the air, clearly seeing the same message she did, and then looked back at her.


    ¡°Everett used his illegal basement to place the ¡®official¡¯ Emporium¡¯s Shop a little to the left of his business,¡± she stated. He stared at her.


    ¡°It allowed him to pay less for the building when the System scanned only half his business,¡± she added. ¡°So¡­ I got out sooner than expected.¡±


    The bemused guard stared at her for a little longer.


    Then the guard captain let go of her coat and she smoothly brushed off the dust, straightening it up. Taking off his visor, the bearded dark-haired man just ran an armoured hand through his messy hair, watching her for a second before looking up at the skies and sighing. He sighed again. After a long moment, he waved the other hand at the others.


    ¡°Guard dismissed.¡±


    Shuffling around a bit, the guards gave him a salute before slowly moving away from the strange situation. The guard holding the dimensional pack awkwardly walked over to place the bag between the two of them, looked at them both, and quickly jogged away to catch up with the others. They were left alone.


    Lucy spoke up first, ¡°I suppose you have questions.¡±


    The man gave her a grunt before sitting down on the ground, helmet placed between his legs and his dark eyes watching her. Eventually, after seeing she wasn¡¯t about to run off, he ran a hand down his face. ¡°You do realise how much trouble you have caused, don¡¯t you?¡±


    Lucy definitely did not look smug when she told him no. She earned an exasperated groan from him for that.


    ¡°You girl,¡± he said, pointing at her with a metallic finger, ¡°Have given the entire cohort of this city¡¯s guards a wake-up call on how much trouble one post-Tutorial brat can cause if they had the means. You¡¯ve also given me a wake-up call on how bad my utilisation of agility is,¡± he said, rubbing his hairy chin in thought. He shook his head.


    ¡°You better be thankful you had those Black Hand mercenary siblings to take the brunt of Everett¡¯s wrath for you because otherwise, I might just arrest you for your protection,¡± he told her.


    ¡°There are a few issues with that, firstly being the fact I¡¯m not a resident of this city, so I¡¯m not subject to your policies,¡± she interjected.


    Darvis just looked at her before putting his head in his hands. ¡°Of course, you¡¯re not,¡± he grumbled. He placed his armoured palms on the ground on either side of him.


    ¡°What¡¯re you going to do now? Planning to stay in this city for long?¡± He frowned as the rather unpleasant possibility came to mind.


    She shook her head with an amused smile. ¡°Luckily for you, I¡¯m going to be using at least a quarter,¡± she explained with a hand on the pack, ¡°of these new items when traversing to a nearby serpent beast enclave, 5 days hike south of here.¡±


    ¡°A quarter,¡± he stated, unamused. He looked at her to see if she was genuine about leaving, before nodding when he saw it was true, and getting up with his helmet. He must¡¯ve seen something in the look she gave him, however, because he raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°What?¡± he said, puzzled.


    She smirked. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you would like any of the magic items I ¡®acquired¡¯ while in there?¡± she asked him.


    He barked a laugh and shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t take bribes,¡± he said as he went to put on his helmet.


    Lucy turned the pack upside down and 11 magic items fell out. She pointed at them again and tilted her head. ¡°Not even these?¡±


    He was about to shake his head again but paused after looking down. In that split second, Lucy could¡¯ve sworn his eyes bulged.


    ¡°Actually,¡± he murmured, reaching down, ¡°I might just accept them.¡±


    In his hands, as he stood back up was the silver shield and sword pair crest that Lucille had sneaked into the bag. He wordlessly ran a metal hand over the glossy white-silver surface of the shield and the sapphire gemstones running down the centres of each sword. He looked up at her in shock.


    ¡°This was behind Everett and was the centrepiece of the shop! How-,¡± he stopped himself, raising a palm, and shook his head.


    ¡°No, you should never ask an Ascendant what their abilities are,¡± he muttered, continuing to admire the ornament. Eventually, he looked down at the others.


    ¡°What are these?¡± he asked, curious as to why she poured them out.


    She pointed them out one by one. ¡°This snow blossom staff was a gift from the pure-blood members of a beast clan to one of their lesser clan member¡¯s bonds. The girl should still be working as a lookout with her Crystal Thorn Swan for the guards on the city walls.¡±


    ¡°This hammer was an inheritance award one of the blacksmiths of the armouries gained when he was young but had traded it for a weaker longsword. I believe he is a master smith in the industrial district.¡±


    ¡°This sword was crafted for the fianc¨¦ of the young City Lord. It, unfortunately, had to be sold to Everett so the family could get out of debt, ruining the family¡¯s reputation on her birthday night when they couldn¡¯t provide her with a gift.¡±


    ¡°This talisman¡­¡±


    ¡°This spell tome¡­¡±


    Lucy continued to tell Darvis the origins of each of the magic items. This wasn¡¯t actually because she knew all their information, but rather because her fancy shard worked from behind her mask, giving her their item sheets.


    She called out the descriptions of ten items. 2 magic staves, a hammer, a longsword, 2 shortswords, a spell tome, a talisman, a shield and even a mirror. She picked up the last item and tossed it up and down with her hand. The guard captain¡¯s face was thunderous by the time she finished telling him about the items. He looked up at her.


    ¡°I assume you¡¯ll want these back to their owners?¡± he asked, picking them up and putting them away in his dimensional skill.


    She shrugged. ¡°I can¡¯t use them anyway, so may as well.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll see to it.¡±


    She showed him the knife in her hand. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose the young City Lord would want this back, would he?¡±


    Darvis chuckled and shook his head. ¡°No, when the young lord lost it, the City Lord treated it as a life lesson for him and replaced it not three days later. You can keep it.¡±


    He took another look at the shield and sword crest. ¡°This is very precious to me, but I think you could see that. As thanks, can I treat you to a drink?¡±


    She grinned. ¡°I don¡¯t often drink alcohol, but I haven¡¯t had dinner yet?¡±


    He laughed heartily.


    ¡°Sure, the inn I know does great roasts. Actually,¡± he said, considering, ¡°It seems I owe some mercenaries a drink too.¡±

 Chapter 4 (2 of 2) Partners in crime.

    ¡°Why do I have to pay for your drink?! You have your own money to pay for it!¡±


    The speaker who was complaining to their friend was an attractive young man in his mid-20s with unusually light-coloured, styled blonde hair. Pinned to his chest on his silver-grey suit jacket was a badge depicting 3 gold coins.


    His friend shrunk down in the chair, looking sheepish. ¡°Hey, you¡¯re the impressive manager of a major Faction, not me. You had enough money to come to the Beast Realm for a holiday. Surely you can pay for this one thing, Efratel.¡±


    ¡®Efratel¡¯s¡¯ companion had navy shoulder-length hair and attractive looks as well, appearing like he was in his late teens. However, he was dressed in a long ankle-length dark-blue cloak with embroidered silver embellishments, and a long grey staff with an amethyst gem dully glowing on top which suggested he was a mage or wizard.


    Efratel glared at him. ¡°Marellen. You¡¯ve been gambling again.¡±


    ¡®Marellen¡¯ avoided eye contact. ¡°No¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Marellen,¡± Efratel stated.


    ¡°¡­ just a little?¡±


    Efratel rubbed his temples with his hands, watching the man opposite him stubbornly inspect the floor, then groaned, exasperated. ¡°Why?! Even if you¡¯re from a branch family, you¡¯re a literal noble! Any money you could pull out is ten times more than what a random commoner can, so how could you lose enough money that I have to pay for your 10-bronze drink when you have a monthly budget allocated to you!?¡±


    Marellen watched the inn¡¯s bartender on the left of the room scrub their bench with suspiciously intense fascination.


    The sound of Efratel¡¯s knuckles rapping on the wooden table quickly summoned an answer to Marellen¡¯s mouth. ¡°I wanted to see if my new theory on cause and effect would apply when the gambler in question didn¡¯t desire a particular outcome and used another¡¯s opinion.¡±


    Efratel gazed at him wordlessly for a while, before asking the real question. ¡°And who was this second opinion?¡±


    ¡°I believe he said his name was Marty Wilstime,¡± Marellen answered.


    Efratel ran a hand down his face at the expected answer. ¡°Marellen¡­.. Marty Wilstime is the one who runs the betting ring here.¡±


    ¡°Oh... that explains a lot...¡±


    The two men just stared at each other, one in a mixture of pity and consternation, and another in belated realisation. They both turned when they heard a muffled snicker from the table behind them. A dark-haired girl wearing a half-mask waved and walked up to their table.


    ¡°I believe you may have better luck testing out that theory of yours if your second opinion didn¡¯t have ulterior motives in mind,¡± she said, smiling at them both. She turned to Marellen. ¡°You could also try testing out your theory by using adults and children to see if more complex thought adds a layer of variables to the equation.¡±


    Marellen¡¯s eyes lit up and he held his chin in deep thought. ¡°Now there¡¯s an idea¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t support his weird experiments¡­¡± Efratel complained.


    Lucy smiled brightly at him but said nothing. She looked at his badge. ¡°What¡¯s a manager from the Aurelian Commission doing in a frontier region?¡±


    He smiled brightly back. ¡°What¡¯s someone who can recognise the badge of a manager of the Aurelian Commission doing in a frontier region?¡±


    Lucille held her chin for a moment but eventually nodded. ¡°That is a considerably fair point.¡±


    Efratel took off his grey coat. ¡°Well, I for one am here for a holiday with my penniless cousin to see the sights of the Beast Realm.¡±


    Lucy smirked. ¡°And I¡¯m here to find my scaly friend to make another bond with after the last one ended.¡±


    Efratel just looked at her. ¡°A bond lasts 5 years. You become a User at 16. My inspection skill tells me you¡¯re Rank-0, so you can¡¯t be older than you appear.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°It¡¯s a fault of time travel. Always makes people think I can¡¯t blast them with a Grand spell.¡± She couldn¡¯t, yet, but that didn¡¯t mean she didn¡¯t know how to.


    Efratel shook his head wryly.


    She looked over to where the inn owner, Marty Wilstime, had his System-channel open. A System-channel told people of the general announcements going on in other realms and was very good at attracting customers to the inn. Today was a special day. She turned back to the two young nobles. ¡°As for me, I¡¯m going to place my bets. It¡¯s a particularly interesting day today.¡±


    The two glanced at each other and got up from the table, looking curious.


    ¡°How so?¡± Efratel asked.


    ¡°Well,¡± Lucy began, ¡°It¡¯s the Astrologers'' day of horrors.¡±


    Efratel looked at her, confused, but Marellen understood and chuckled. ¡°That was today, was it? What time?¡±


    She told him it was at 9 in the evening, and he nodded.


    ¡°Day of horrors? What is this that Marellen of all people knows and not me?¡± Efratel asked them, growing more confused by the second.


    Marellen turned to him to explain. ¡°We¡¯re talking about the Millennium Chapter,¡± he said. ¡°Common knowledge for members of the All-Aeon Athenaeum is that the Astrologers are incapable of finding out anything, and I mean absolutely anything, beyond the time of the Millennium Chapter announcement. Any predictions, such as weather reports to ¡®arcane estimations¡¯ are rendered ineffective,¡± he explained, shaking his head.


    Lucy nodded in agreement. ¡°And as soon as the Millennium Chapter is revealed, all their prediction arrays must be reset, their fate compasses need to be rewound, and they get millions of calls from people and Factions wondering how doomed they are for this Chapter. They hate it because they must do work rather than just sit in their lofty towers demanding fees while telling people they¡¯ll die in a year.¡±


    Efratel looked at them curiously. ¡°Does this affect the Citadel of Fate as well?¡±


    Marellen shrugged while Lucy continued thinking. Eventually, she shrugged too. ¡°Sometimes. Most of their efforts are focused on the rivers of fortune in the present as opposed to the future. We all know how Prosperity works regarding the fortune readings of the Empire.¡± She shot Efratel a sly look. ¡°They¡¯d probably fit in better with your Faction than with theirs.¡±


    Efratel rolled his eyes. ¡°Yes, well, we all know what I¡¯m mandated to say.¡± He placed a hand on his chest and another palm in front of him, gaining a far-off look like one who had read too many official documents on the subject. ¡°Good Lady, the Aurelian Commission does not only have material benefit as its goals. Just because we are a union of merchants does not mean we cannot sympathise with the common folk and aid the talents of this generation in reaching greater heights, for we are also a community of families with like minds, and we - etcetera, etcetera, so on and so on. You get the idea; I¡¯m not going to say it all.¡±


    ¡°You should hope there¡¯s not a stray superior here to catch you flouting protocol,¡± Lucy remarked.


    He laughed as they made their way to the betting tables of the inn. Marty, the bartender, innkeeper and local gambling organiser saw them coming and smiled at them. He had a bowler hat on his head and a leather vest over his white long-sleeved shirt. He tipped his hat in greeting and noticed Marellen standing with them.


    ¡°Why, hello again sir! I hope you found yourself in great spirits after your grand experiment!¡± he exclaimed, grinning.


    Marellen avoided eye contact while Efratel sighed. ¡°Please find someone else to trick out of their coin, Mr Wilstime,¡± he said wearily. ¡°As much as he likes to mess around with useless endeavours, he is a Vadel and should Have. The. Dignity of one!¡± he added, punctuating his statement with three sharp jabs into Marellen¡¯s side with his elbow, who was distracted and inspecting the different bets with intrigue.


    Lucy walked up to Marty. ¡°What are the most popular bets for the Millennium Chapter?¡± she asked, curious.


    Marty let out a big toothy grin and showed them over to the largest table. ¡°Well, the most popular one as of the present is the Tower Tournament. Most believe it will be stationed in the Heavenly Realm to let them have the Millennium Chapter twice in a row,¡± he said, showing them the chart.


    ¡°Like what happened with the Mystical Realm?¡± Marellen asked.


    Marty nodded. ¡°Gave them publicity. The Heavenly Realm has only been with us a thousand years, so it will help them get accustomed to the Tower quicker.¡±


    Efratel leaned in to look. ¡°Runner up is the Slaughter Festival? I haven¡¯t heard of that one happening since before my great-grandfather was born.¡±


    Marty rubbed his head. ¡°Ah, well, someone spread the news that the monster population has been increasing in big quantities this millennium and the Slaughter Festival would be best to get rid of them. Plus, it¡¯s probably a bit of patriotism leaking in as the only realm it ever occurred in was the Beast Realm.¡±


    Marty showed them several others. The Transcendent Trials, The Islands of Ire, and the Abyss Crest were some of the more popular ones.


    Millennium Chapters were themed Unique Events that occurred within the Tower every one thousand years. For these Events, the System offers the inhabitants of the realms special titles, items, and rewards in exchange for the temporary credits you could gain in the Event. As these Events were for the Factions, an Ascendant normally needed to join a Faction to gain the best rewards. The theme of the Event was also reflected in several other smaller Events in the Tower though, making it important for more than just the Factions. Eventually, they came to the table with the rules.


    Lucy raised an eyebrow. ¡°If they get the format and the realm correct, the winner takes all? That¡¯s a bit extreme, isn¡¯t it? Won¡¯t you lose money?¡±


    Marty shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s a near impossibility to get both right. There are at least 300 formats as of now and 5 realms, and even then, most of the money I make is from the sale of beverages and food.¡±


    Efratel narrowed his eyes. ¡°Yeah, but you clearly feel the need to trick my younger cousin.¡±


    The innkeeper gave Efratel a toothy grin and shrugged. ¡°Treat it as a life lesson for him: don¡¯t trust strangers. Besides, I don¡¯t believe it¡¯s as much as you think.¡±


    Before the blonde man could ask Marty what he meant, Lucille walked forward with her brown drawstring Soulbound dimensional bag in hand. ¡°10 silver crowns on Realm War.¡±


    They all turned to her in mild surprise at the amount. Marty raised an eyebrow and scratched his beard. ¡°Well now, I¡¯m not one to say no to free money, but that is a rather odd choice. A Realm War¡­. now when did the last one of those happen?¡± He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled out to the rest of the inn.


    ¡°Anybody know when the last Realm War was?!¡±


    Several of the people in the inn looked up, and one yelled back to Marty, ¡°I think it was around 54 chapters ago!¡±


    ¡°Thanks George!¡± replied Marty, who turned back to the three of them and pointed a thumb back at the guy. ¡°So, there you have it.¡±


    The two cousins blinked, surprised at the answer.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Lucille just nodded. It was the rarest one for a reason. She looked over at the other half of the chart. ¡°If it¡¯s a Realm War, then it has to have more than one realm.¡± Some of the formats did the same, so there was a category for dual-realm location. ¡°Another 10 silver on Demon Realm vs Mystical Realm.¡±


    The noble pair looked taken aback, while Marty just chuckled, taking the silver, and loudly announced her bet to the rest of the Inn. ¡°We have a confident one here! 10 silvers on Realm War and another 10 on Demon Realm vs Mystical Realm. Does anyone else want to join the bet to split her future reward?!¡±


    The others just shook their heads and sighed, a few even mourning the wasted money. It was obvious they had no belief that she would win.


    Efratel turned to her. ¡°What makes you so confident?¡±


    Lucy smirked as she moved back to her table. ¡°Time travel. Also, watch your cousin.¡±


    Efratel shook his head disbelievingly but noticed Marellen had pulled out a bag and was handing over coins to Marty behind him.


    ¡°Hey! Marellen, no! I thought you ran out of money!¡± he exclaimed, scrambling to take the bag off the navy-haired mage.


    ¡°But if I paid for the drink, I wouldn¡¯t have as much money to do experiments! And besides, what if she really is a time traveller?! It would be another great experiment!¡±


    ¡°If she climbed into a fire dragon''s mouth, would you?!?¡±


    ¡°All for the All-Aeon Athenaeum!¡±


    ¡°Marellen!!!¡±


    Lucille shook her head wryly as she heard their exchange but walked back to her table and sat down. Around half an hour later, the inn doors swung open, and Darvis walked in with several other men, who she could only assume were members of the city guard. Marty spotted him and walked over to greet him.


    ¡°And what brings our grand captain himself to this establishment, especially after that little fiasco I heard happened earlier?¡±


    Darvis grinned as his companions sat down at a table. He spotted Lucy wave in a corner and waved back, before turning to Marty.


    ¡°Well, it was troublesome indeed, but it¡¯s all resolved now, and look! We have the source of my problems right here!¡± he said, allowing Marty to see that Lucille had walked over.


    Marty stroked his beard as he raised his eyebrows in surprise. ¡°It seems this young lady has a fondness for recklessness, for just earlier, she spent twenty silver crowns placing a bet on Realm War.¡±


    ¡°The Millennium Chapter?¡± Darvis asked.


    Marty nodded.


    Darvis turned to her. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can give you advice after what happened earlier, but you know what you are doing, right?¡±


    She placed her hands on her hips and grinned. ¡°I can afford it.¡±


    Knowing she had just spent several thousand silver crowns at Everett¡¯s shop, he shook his head. They made small talk for a bit, but eventually, they went back to their seats. It was around two hours before the Millennium Chapter would be announced when Darvis got up with a mug in hand and shouted to the rest of the inn.


    ¡°Attention folks!¡±


    The other people turned around to look at him.


    ¡°There is something important I want everyone to know tonight, so please bear with me. I¡¯m sure many of you have heard of the event with old man Everett¡¯s shop that went on today.¡±


    That got a few chuckles and nods of acknowledgement from the people in the inn. Most of them were veteran adventurers or frequent regulars of the inn, and so were a fairly close-knit community.


    ¡°For those who don¡¯t, here¡¯s the summary: A young girl managed to trick Everett out of around 50 highly expensive magic items when he thought he was fooling an ignorant noble into purchasing ill-begotten goods. I won¡¯t tell you how, but the long and short of it is that the girl managed to give us city guards a huge run for our money, and in the end, managed to get the Trade Reversal Call revoked. It was a pretty big embarrassment for us and not our most amazing of moments.¡±


    The guards snickered a bit at that because they knew Darvis had been fooled just as much as they had, if not more so.


    ¡°But apart from showing us that Everett had an illegal basement, there was some other good that came out of this.¡± He pulled out the silver sword and shield crest from his dimensional skill, and the people who recognised it gasped, but quite a few looked puzzled at the item and the surrounding reactions.


    ¡°Many of you are more recent to this frontier city, and therefore wouldn¡¯t know what this is beside the first-generation settlers, but that doesn¡¯t matter. This here, is the crest awarded to the city guard when we passed the trials set by the System and was the result of our finalisation as an Ascendant city around the Obelisk. We got to design it and everything, and every day our little city guard felt proud at the fact we were able to slay that King-Ranked monster when we walked past it. Unfortunately, due to some¡­ circumstances, our lack of magical items almost killed half the military force of the city, and so, as the highest authority at the time, I made a deal with Everett. In exchange for supplying us with magic items at a much lower cost, he asked for this in return.¡±


    Most of the people clenched their fists when they heard Everett was responsible for the city¡¯s problems again.


    ¡°Nobody begrudged me for my actions, as we were desperate, but it weighed heavy on our hearts every time one of us had to go by Everett¡¯s shop and see this hanging above him. That brings me to today. It turns out that the ten items our thief did purchase happened to be items that had been scammed by Everett in the past and he had kept as trophies. This crest was the only item of that quality that was stolen. By the ¡®thief¡¯s¡¯ request, I returned those items, and now I¡¯m left with this,¡± he said, holding up the crest.


    ¡°And so, I have decided to hang it up in this inn where those who still remember it will be able to see it. But before that, I must thank the young woman on my right,¡± he finished, gesturing to Lucille, who rolled her eyes, ¡°For daring to brave the dragon¡¯s den and returning with his prized jewels!¡±


    The inn¡¯s residents erupted with roars of laughter and cheers, offering toasts in her direction. The frontier adventurers really, really did not like Everett, and so were very happy he finally got a taste of his own medicine. The spontaneous festivities continued in the inn for a bit longer, while Lucy ate her promised meal. It was quite a break from her normal activities.


    ...


    Sometime later, two adventurers, one man dressed in shades of brown and green with curly brown hair, and a woman wearing a thin dark grey cloak and glossy black leather with her long black hair freely flowing around her, stood in front of the Inn door. Garthe turned to his sister.


    ¡°Why do you think guard captain McGarrod invited us to the inn? I thought he would be up to his neck in paperwork right about now.¡±


    The older woman sighed. ¡°How would I know? He just said there¡¯s something he needs to give us.¡±


    Garthe gasped in mock excitement and ran up to his sister to shake her. ¡°You don¡¯t suppose he¡¯s going to buy us a drink? The one he said he would owe us if the girl managed to win?¡±


    Larena brushed off his hands with a look of disdain. ¡°You wish. He probably called us here to reprimand you. There¡¯s no way a a Rank-0 could escape a city guard captain, not with his System-issued class.¡±


    ¡°You''re just in denial...¡±


    They stepped through the doorway to find themselves in a very loud and noisy inn, with many people shouting and cheering. There was an infectious atmosphere to the room and was not the sight of men groaning after a hard day at work.


    Darvis saw them and raised a mug to them. ¡°It seems I owe you two a drink.¡±


    Garthe crossed his arms to stare at Larena with a smug grin on his face, while she just turned away and tried to ignore him. They both picked up the offered mugs and looked around the room in curiosity.


    Garthe was the first to notice Lucy and excitedly pointed at her. ¡°Look look! The one you wanted to filch skills off of!¡±


    Larena sighed and pushed down his arm that was blocking her view. ¡°I did not want to ¡®filch¡¯ skills off of her thank you very much,¡± she hissed, finally capable of seeing Lucy at her table.


    Lucy looked up and waved at the two of them, inviting them to come over. Pulling up a chair each, they sat down with their mugs.


    ¡°Lucille Goldcroft,¡± Lucy introduced, holding out a hand in greeting and circulating mana through her palm. She had an unnaturally cold body temperature and wanted to make her hand feel warmer. They both shook hands with her. Lucy looked at Larena curiously. ¡°Are you a member of the Black Hand?¡±


    Larena raised an eyebrow wryly. ¡°Not everyone dressed in black is a member of the Black Hand.¡±


    ¡°So, you are a member of the Black Hand,¡± Lucille replied, grinning.


    Garthe pointed at himself. ¡°Hey, what about me? Why am I not included?¡± he said, pouting a little.


    ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯re not dressed in black,¡± Lucy responded, nodding sagely.


    Garthe clicked his tongue while Larena shook her head, amused. ¡°Are you not scared of my identity?¡± the woman asked, curious.


    Lucille smirked. ¡°There are scarier things than dark knight wannabees with adrenaline addictions.¡±


    That made Garthe burst out laughing and Larena had to whack him on the back of his head to get him to stop. She turned back to Lucy. ¡°While he¡¯s probably here to meet his new hero, I¡¯m curious about that ability you used in Everett¡¯s shop. Can I ask how you managed to lift the items without tricking the wards?¡± Larena asked curiously. ¡°You didn¡¯t seem to use mana.¡±


    It was normally considered rude to ask about someone¡¯s abilities, but because Larena wasn¡¯t asking for the name or specifics, it was still socially acceptable. Lucille demonstrated her spiritual telekinesis by lifting the pepper shaker on her table. The two mercenaries watched it curiously as it spun around. ¡°I¡¯m using spiritual energy,¡± she answered with a smile.


    Larena¡¯s eyes widened slightly, and she gave Lucy and her outfit another look. ¡°You¡¯re a cultivator?¡±


    Lucy shook her head with amusement. ¡°Not every spiritual energy user is a cultivator. This time I¡¯m actually not.¡±


    Garthe almost went into a coughing fit as he tried to stop himself from laughing again, and Larena just gazed at him with a mixture of pity and derision, then turned back to Lucy once more.


    ¡°Sorry about him. I haven¡¯t seen spiritual energy in action myself as the Black Hand doesn¡¯t have much of a relationship with the Heavenly Realm, but I¡¯ve never heard of spiritual energy acting like that before,¡± Larena said, tapping on the pepper shaker, and watching it spin again.


    Lucy nodded. ¡°Usually, you can add stats to spiritual energy when you reach Rank-3. As it governs the mind, normally mages and magic users find they already have high spiritual stats compared to warriors or such. Spiritual energy is what controls mana, but it increases with mana use anyway, so they only like to invest in the mental stat to increase their calculating ability and thinking speed rather than multitasking ability,¡± she explained, lifting her cutlery as well to demonstrate her point.


    ¡°This application of it,¡± she continued, ¡°Is largely considered ¡®crude¡¯ or ¡®unrefined¡¯ by cultivators of the Heavenly Realm, and probably only hidden weapon masters would use this.¡± She noticed Larena was thinking deeply and decided to tell her more. ¡°To use it like I do you probably need a SPRT count of 100 for the required spiritual energy sea size.¡±


    Larena raised a thin eyebrow. ¡°And you have that at Rank-0?¡±


    Lucy gave her a wide grin. ¡°I¡¯m a bit special.¡±


    Larena chuckled but leaned back and sighed. ¡°The reason I¡¯m asking is that having the ability to use skills without alerting an enemy would be an amazing combat asset for my class. I don¡¯t think I can afford the stat loss though.¡±


    Lucille raised an eyebrow and pointed a fork at her. ¡°That¡¯s a feature of charm. It makes mana feel less intrusive, so when you use it, it¡¯s harder for others to pick up on it. Those who have high CHAR don¡¯t reveal this because other people don¡¯t normally appreciate the concept of skills being used on them without them knowing. The Obelisk Repository can tell you this.¡±


    Lucy dropped the fork and tapped on her chin, before saying a bit more. ¡°SPRT has more applications than most people realise. For one thing, if you tend to use a lot of debuffs in your skillset, you can keep them active much easier. It is also great for preventing your abilities from affecting allies. And,¡± she continued, ¡°As long as you have a SPRT stat of 10 points or higher, and you set up a cycle of some kind that uses it constantly, you can gradually increase the stat without stat points. The stat gain from this decreases after the 100-point mark though.¡±


    Larena nodded thoughtfully. ¡°I can accept using 10 points on it.¡±


    Lucy leaned back. ¡°At least invest in it to gain the ability to sense your soul. That ability will be useful against soul cultivators from the Heavenly Realm. Soul injuries are very troublesome.¡±


    That seemed to make Larena interested, and she nodded again.


    Suddenly, Marty at his bar rang a loud bell on his bench, and the inn went quiet. ¡°Could I please have your attention? The System channel is about to announce the Millennium Chapter in three minutes, so please keep the noise down to a minimum for this part! Thank you!¡±


    The customers went back to chatting at their tables, but they kept their voices down to hushed whispers. When it got to the twentieth second, they started a countdown together. It was almost time, and Lucy listened in carefully when it got close.


    ¡°10!¡±


    ¡°9!¡±


    ¡°8!¡±


    ¡°7!¡±


    ¡°6!¡±


    ¡°5!¡±


    ¡°4!¡±


    ¡°3!¡±


    ¡°2!¡±


    ¡°1!¡±


    The familiar chime of a System notification rang, and an emotionless, genderless voice sounded out. Everyone looked at their System notifications that had popped up, with messages parallel to the voice appearing.


    [System-wide Announcement: The Millennium Chapter]


    [It is time for the Millennium Chapter to be announced. A Realm will be randomly selected as the Ascendant representative for the Tower]


    [Realm Selected: Mystical Realm]


    [A Rank-5 User will be randomly selected as the Ascendant Representative]


    [User Selected: Supreme Archmagus of the Violet Order, Septian Hallestan Voudelare]


    There were a few sighs of disappointment. Some had been betting on which realm and User would be the representative. A magical projection appeared on a blank wall of the inn where the System Channel, a radio-sized gadget, was kept. It showed a tall white pillar circled by a spiral staircase, and a sky-blue flame burning on top. A figure dressed in purple robes trimmed with gold and holding a staff could be seen walking up the steps. Judging by the size of the figure, the sky-blue flame was taller than a human. The figure eventually made it to the top.


    Lucy knew of the white pillar as the System Beacon, as it is the only place the System would ever commune with the Tower¡¯s inhabitants when they decided to ask a question of it. It was an occasion that only occurred after a Faction had won the Millennium Chapter.


    The figure, presumably the Archmagus, placed a hand into the fire. On his open palm, a white-silver plaque materialised, and he brought it closer to himself to read.


    [The theme of the Millennium has been decided:]


    [DICHOTOMY]


    [Just as chaos and order exist, everything that occurs must have an equal and opposite reaction. This concept continues further to describe fundamentally opposed forces. The theme of Dichotomy has been chosen to represent this natural phenomenon within the Tower.]


    There were quite a few murmurs after this, and Lucy was not surprised. The System had never chosen the same theme more than once, even if sometimes there were similarities. ¡®Dichotomy¡¯ as a concept, however, was an issue for the residents of the realms within the Tower. That was because none of them had the word in their language. It was a term from Earth.


    Language was a difficult subject for people of the realms. Magical beasts had no natural language, as they were born with telepathy that allowed them to communicate with every intelligent creature. Demons spoke the demonic tongue that only those with demonic blood could ever understand, but the language was also incomplete due to the many demon bloodlines having only part of the language within them, so they borrowed the Mystical Realm¡¯s language for general use. Tartarus¡­. most of the inhabitants just killed every sentient creature they saw, but the intelligent ones usually came from other realms, and so spoke those languages.


    Only the Mystical Realm and the Heavenly Realm had their distinct languages, but the Heavenly Realm¡¯s language was mixed with using ¡®intent¡¯ and weird double meanings to communicate, so the Mystical Realm¡¯s language was the default one. Every User¡¯s Status had a translation function anyway, so there¡¯s that too.


    Of course, the Mystical Realm and its main language of Imperial Common had words like ¡®Dichotomy¡¯, closer to contrast, opposite, contradiction, polarity, and so on. But the System decided to use a new word, one from an unassimilated world unknown to the Tower denizens. And only Lucille knew why it had done so. Currently, all the inn residents could do to decipher what the word meant was to use context clues, so they quickly turned their attention back to the System-channel.


    [To celebrate the new Millennium, 73 years after it begins, the System issues a Unique Temporary Event for the Realms to participate in. The Format will be chosen now.]


    [Format:_________]


    The space started flickering with different formats, speeding up until eventually, like a slot machine, it slowed down to reveal the word.


    [Format: Realm War]


    [Realm(s): Demon Realm vs Mystical Realm]


    There was pin-drop silence in the inn as all the people who had been present when Marty had revealed the bet turned to look at the black-haired mask-wearing girl sitting at a table near the door. Their reactions made their friends who didn¡¯t know about the bet turn to look at what they were looking at too, meaning everyone in the inn was staring at Lucy at this moment. Efratel and Marellen even stood up in shock.


    The two mercenaries at her table were looking rather bemused at the attention.


    ¡°I¡¯ll shout you all a free drink!¡± Lucy said in response to their reactions. That got everyone chuckling as they were kicked out of their shocked states, and they all turned back to see the final part of the Millennium Chapter.


    [Unique Temporary Event: Demon King vs Hero Battle]


    [Rules:


    <ul>


    <li>The Mystical Realm will pick the battlefield location within specifications.</li>


    <li>Any Faction from all Realms may side with either the Demon Realm or the Mystical Realm.</li>


    <li>True Demons and demon beasts gain 3x as many battlefield resurrections as other races. This does not apply to non-demon Demon Realm allies.</li>


    <li>Mystical Realm Factions may support individual ¡®Heroes¡¯ under Rank-4. Heroes gain support buffs and temporary stats. Factionless ¡®Solitary Heroes¡¯ can also exist.</li>


    <li>Demon Realm Factions may support individual ¡®Demon Kings¡¯ under Rank-4. Demon Kings gain support buffs and temporary stats. Factionless ¡®Solitary Demon Kings¡¯ can also exist.</li>


    <li>Factions gain ¡®Aligned¡¯ War Credits.</li>


    <li>Mystical Realm Factions will support the Heroes in conquering Event Demon Strongholds.</li>


    <li>Demon Realm Factions can have different ranking demon nobility who may occupy these Strongholds.</li>


    <li>Highest Leaderboard Ranking Hero will fight the Demon Emperor for the final battle.</li>


    </ul>


    Information:


    <ul>


    <li>For the duration of this event, temporary ¡®War Credits¡¯ and ¡®Aligned War Credits¡¯ will be available.</li>


    <li>Receiving or using these Credits for purchasing will end one week after the final battle.</li>


    <li>¡®Dark Aligned War Credits¡¯ are only gained by Demon Realm Factions, Demon Rulers and non-demon Demon Realm Faction allies for this duration and can contribute to their Non-Event Strongholds and Auctoritas.</li>


    <li>¡®Light Aligned War Credits¡¯ are only gained by Mystical Realm Factions, Heroes and Mystical Realm Faction allies for this duration and can contribute to their Factions and Faction Authority.</li>


    <li>¡®Lesser¡¯ and ¡®Greater¡¯ War Credits are also available for individual reward purchases.</li>


    <li>The ¡®War Ceremony¡¯ will be open, a neutral no-fighting floating island zone where War Credits may be used.</li>


    <li>Additional Information can be found at the Obelisks.</li>


    </ul>


    Time Until Event: 4 Years and 11 Months. ]


    [System-wide Announcement has ended]


    There was a short silence as everyone absorbed the information, and then there was a scramble as some went to sell their owned business shares, some went to buy business shares, some got prepared to save for when they¡¯d have no business in their realm, some prepared to move realms, but most just wanted to make it to the Obelisk to find more information. Mainly rewards.


    ¡°The Pantheon is going to have a field day¡­¡± Larena murmured.


    Garthe nodded and looked up at the roof. ¡°For victory, for honour, for glory and Glory Pantheon¡­¡± he said, with a half-hearted fist raised in the air, punctuating his statement. They remained silent for a bit before nodding to Lucy.


    ¡°I¡¯m happy we got to speak with you. You¡¯ve given me a lot to think about, and I¡¯ll check out that information about CHAR too,¡± Larena told her, getting up.


    Garthe winked at Lucy as his sister left, and stage whispered to her, ¡°They really are wannabe dark knights, aren¡¯t they?¡± And he quickly jogged after his sister before she could get mad at him.


    Lucille waved goodbye, and then, when she had a moment of peace, sighed, and leaned back in her chair.


    The mercenaries were energetic people. She hoped they didn¡¯t die in the coming years. There was a bit Lucy hadn¡¯t told Larena about spiritual energy, however. Spiritual energy massively expanded a User¡¯s senses. Currently, she was using a field big enough that she could hear every single conversation within this inn at once, and for many, knowing someone could see, hear and sense that much was highly unnerving and made them apprehensive. There was also the transmission technique. A spiritual energy user could have an entire conversation with another spiritual energy user while talking to you, and you wouldn¡¯t even know it.


    She was sure Larena would figure this out if she managed to add spiritual energy into her fighting style though. Someone who used dark and water affinities as she did would need the ability to prevent friendly fire. She distinctly remembered talk of a Black Hand mercenary who had lost herself when she accidentally killed her brother and ended up offending so many Factions in her grief that they gathered around her to kill her, but she didn¡¯t die before she had killed every single one of her enemies on that battlefield.


    And she only died because she ran her sword through her heart.


    Well, that wasn¡¯t Lucille¡¯s problem anymore though.

 Chapter 5 (1 of 2) Galaxy noodles.

    In the red light of the morning sun, Lucille was stretching in preparation for her journey into the jungle wilds. As was normal for a jungle, the morning was steamy and only slightly better than the humid heat of the night. It was roughly 5 am, but already carriages pulled by low-ranked magical beasts and several trains of pack animals with bags of all sizes strapped onto their backs were making their way through the streets of the Supreme Serpent¡¯s Silent City, heading to and from the brightly coloured bazaar. She had said her goodbyes to Darvis and her sparse few acquaintances the night before, letting Marty treat all of them to free drinks with the prize money and retreating up to bed.


    Considering her friend, she might return to the city after she completes her goals, but it would be a long time after that before she would return. She had spent a couple of years here in the past, but if she was going to enact her plans, she needed to head to the other realms. Particularly the realm of magic, the Mystical Realm. Shaking her head, she checked her inventory. She was fully stocked with enough food to last a month as well as other necessities due to her Tutorial fortunes and the time spent between Everett¡¯s and her dinner, so that was fine.


    She had also replaced her trench coat and other clothes with a more fitting adventurers¡¯ outfit, but that didn¡¯t mean she didn¡¯t have it anymore. It was her only memento of Earth for the next five years, so she kept it. Her Emporium dimensional backpack held roughly a quarter of her supplies because if some other less pleasant members of society knew she had a soulbound dimensional pack, they would turn to more extreme measures to get their way.


    In a way, it was lucky she couldn¡¯t increase her INT stat. Monsters go after Users with more mana, and so Lucy was currently less appetising than a fly in a soup. She could still die by breaking her bones, drowning in water, or getting slammed into a tree by the force of neighbouring Ascendants fighting, the normal deal, but hopefully, the magical items she ¡®acquired¡¯ would help her avoid that. She had picked the most useful ones such as the enchanted leather belt, an extendable rope, a perception interrupting device, a presence minimiser anklet, a forcefield summoning necklace, and several others. Maybe only a fifth of her items had uses applicable to her in the current situation but it was always good to be prepared.


    She picked up the belt to carry her nice bronze knife. The sapphire pommel was a bit ostentatious, but she wasn¡¯t going to complain about too much luxury. Unfortunately, it had a massively more underwhelming item sheet than the one Everett had tried to tell her it had.


    [Weapon ¨C Type: Large Knife, Magic Item ]


    Name: Severing Water¡¯s Guide


    Rarity: Rare


    ATK: 1000


    MP: 100/250


    Desc:


    This weapon was crafted by a senior blacksmith in a frontier city for the birthday of a young lord, who was becoming a user. The young lord had it for less than a day before it was sold to a scammer in exchange for a ¡®longsword of high renown and found in myth and legend.¡¯ Unlike the longsword, this knife has a high quality suiting its materials and has perfectly functional spellwork engraved in the sapphire pommel.


    Abilities:


    A Guiding Hand- An aid given from father to son in the hope of letting him fulfil his dreams.


    <ul>


    <li>This knife will stabilise the User¡¯s hand when in use, preventing them from hurting themselves or others when they do not wish.</li>


    </ul>


    Severance Of Water- using the strength of the blue sapphire in its pommel, this blade can unleash the rapids of rushing rivers, becoming a force to be reckoned with.


    <ul>


    <li>User can push mana through the blade, releasing a stream of water at the same rate as the mana flow, or use the charge within the pommel to unleash a slash of high-pressure water at an enemy. Pommel holds a maximum of 250 mana.</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    Lucy had to smile when she saw the description. She had forgotten about how the descriptions of items changed the more you knew about them. The bronze knife could also supply her with fresh water, a valuable function. She had some thoughts on how to charge the knife if she only had sparse internal mana, but that was an experiment for later. It was time to get going. She slipped the knife into its sheath on her leather belt and headed off.


    Exiting the city gates, the glow of the sun was just about to appear over the tops of the high trees. The leafy maze shimmered with viridescent green, she could see flocks of multicoloured birds hovering above it, and she even heard several animal calls. From the outside, the Violet Luminosity Jungle looked like any rainforest you could find on Earth. That changed when you got deeper in. It was a peaceful walk for the first section, as the area around the city had been cleared away to make way for expansion, but half an hour in, she made it to the edge of the jungle. She looked in and took a deep breath to prepare herself.


    The jungle was in a valley. While the thick growth surrounding the top of the valley hid it from view, it was not light and sunny. As soon as she took her first step under the shade of the vine-covered trees, she could see it. The steep incline of the ground caused the carpet of undergrowth to appear bright at the rim of the valley, but very dark and shadowy at the bottom. Separated into three layers by the city, the outermost circle where the jungle met the sparser greenery was the glow zone. It had weaker monsters, and no beast enclaves could be found in the area.


    The middle section was the daydream zone. Called such due to the still present view of the sun, several weak vassal enclaves could be found here, but the key features of the Violet Luminosity region were not apparent. The nightmare zone, as it was called, was the centre, most dangerous and darkest section of the valley. It was obviously where Lucille was headed.


    She narrowed her eyes as she surveyed the glow zone. There were two ways to get to the nightmare zone. Or technically three. The first was to take the long spiralling path around the rim and through the entirety of the outer zones, then end up in the centre. The second way was to take an extremely steep shortcut down the side of the valley, cutting through most of the glow zone and the daydream zone. Treacherous and barely visible, it was pretty much only used for emergencies. The third ¡®way¡¯ was to slide down the slope as if it were a slide. Only idiots or dead bodies did that. The differences between them were zero. Sighing, she made her way to where the second path was located. She had taken it several times before, so she didn¡¯t need to fear much, but it was still annoying.


    And so began Lucille''s trek into the wild unknown. She moved down awkward paths and steep slopes, using her equipment to progress through the jungle valley. She had spread her perception wide to ensure she could detect any monster or beast around her, as while her lacking mana would lower her value as food, it was better to be safe than sorry. Her time traversing the glow zone was relatively easy and peaceful, if monotonous. The glow zone was the largest, so while it was the safest, it would also take the most travel time.


    In the daydream zone, a thick purplish-grey fog drifted through the gloom. Secreted from the symbiotic hibiscus that lived among the trees, it distilled tiredness in its victims and induced hallucinations. Lucy, due to her soul, found it very hard to hallucinate. She was aware that the tiredness was also a hallucination, and easily shook it off to continue her hike.


    One night, when her camp was set up, she pulled out the bronze knife. Lucille walked away from her camp for a moment and activated the skill through her ''will'', which was essentially a very rudimentary, instinctual application of spiritual energy. Water encased the blade and shot out. She let the skill continue until the blade''s mana was emptied. Lucu returned to her bedroll and sat down on it, then focused on her perception field. Using her spiritual energy she controlled the local mana to flow into her body, even if it was in minute doses. Her body didn''t have the constitution to take great amounts of mana yet. When she ranked up then she would, but currently, her low rank was why she wouldn''t be able to gain stats from stat-boosting foods yet.


    She directed all the mana into the blade. It flowed into the gem without difficulty, making Lucy content. The mana hadn''t remained in her body long enough to obtain her mana signature, so she was glad the weapon wasn''t picky enough to only take her branded mana. She put the blade away and just rested until dawn that night.


    The following day she found the nightmare zone, where she was faced with very pretty-looking phosphorescent plants. With acidic sap. As well as found toxic mushrooms that would give her a new lung disease if she breathed in their spores. And of course, the creatures there weren''t very friendly either. She put more effort into leaving the area fast.


    On the morning of the fifth day, she finally made it past the luminous area. Here, the trees were back to their monstrous heights, and the dream hibiscus could be seen once more. The undergrowth in this area though was glowing blue and lavender, providing light for the creatures where the sun didn¡¯t touch. She was almost there. Making her way to where the biggest of the trees were, she attempted to climb them. It took some effort, but she managed and went on one of the widest of the branches. She leaned back on the green-grey trunk behind her to take a break.


    When she opened her eyes a few minutes later, a snake with a head the size of her own was staring back at her. Its tongue flickered in curiosity.


    The beast enclave she was visiting was called the Truth-Seizing Serpent clan. With the oldest of them reaching several kilometres in length, and their heads the size of castles, they were one of the largest snake clans to be found in the Beast Realm. They were also surprisingly unknown. The beast clan¡¯s abilities were centred around illusions and trickery, and it was reflected in their looks too. The snake in front of her had a gorgeous pattern of indigo, dark blue, and specks of green all on black scales that shimmered every time its body moved. These patterns were understandably distracting and were used to hide the tensing of their muscles under their skin, disguising when they would strike.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    They also had their bloodline abilities that created illusions and clones to bait enemies into attacking. As seen in the pulsating deep indigo eyes of the Truth-Seizing snake in front of her, they had the eyes from a bloodline ability to see past illusions. That was where they got their names from as combined with their ability to sense lies, they could ¡®make their own truths¡¯. They were the Supreme clan of the region, a position only one beast enclave could take per region. They just didn¡¯t care about going anywhere else, so nobody knew about them.


    She bowed her head for the traditional greeting but added a bit. ¡°I greet a denizen of the realms. I wish for the Supreme clan¡¯s blessing in travelling to their ancestral home.¡± It was considered the most peaceable way of asking to go to their ¡®city¡¯ of a kind.


    The snake in front of her blinked its purple eye the size of a small plate and flicked its tongue to taste the air in front of her. It pulled back to size her up.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± the snake asked. For people unfamiliar with the magical beast race, hearing such a human voice sound in their head with no warning, and no movement from the beast in question was very unnerving, but she was used to it. Considering his voice sounded like a young boy¡¯s, she could guess he was male.


    She raised her head and responded, ¡°Lucille Goldcroft.¡±


    The snake raised its upper body a bit to look at her and nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t have a real name yet, but others call me Skulker.¡±


    She hid a smile at that. The nickname ¡®skulker¡¯ really did suit the snake, considering how he decided to sneak up on her for fun. She probably disappointed him when she didn¡¯t act surprised. The snake turned his head and gestured vaguely with his nose in a direction in front of her.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take you to the enclave. There is someone who said they knew ¡®Lucille¡¯.¡±


    She froze for a second before smiling widely. It seems her prediction was right; he did remember her. She nodded her head in thanks before carefully following the 10-metre-long snake across the thick boughs of the trees. The enclave was built on the other side of a cliff, so climbing trees was one of the only few ways to enter it. There was a tunnel through the cliff, but that was for the current beast ancestor of the clan, and so would be extremely rude to go through it. She was lucky the large size of the snakes meant that she could easily walk across the branches they used. They slowly climbed higher.


    It turned out Skulker was quite the chatterbox and was rather curious about the outside world, so she placed his age at an estimate of twelve to thirteen. The size of them varied depending on factors like bloodline strength, mutations, and ancestral blood quantity, so it wasn¡¯t the same for each one, but she could guess. As long as both parents were intermediate beasts, the children matured at the rate of a human, regardless of size. He was not afraid to quickly shrug more polite speech to ask her questions.


    ¡°When do you think I should enter a city? I¡¯ve heard when you turn 16 you can use the Obelisks,¡± the young snake asked her.


    She smiled and responded to the serpent, ¡°For humans, we tend to live in cities because of our small size, so we can easily access the Obelisks. However, I think you may have problems. If your seniors are telling you to wait longer, it means they think you¡¯ll be too big to enter without learning to become a human at advanced rank or shrinking yourself.¡±


    It was why some enclaves didn¡¯t use the Obelisks until they were in their 50s or older. Particularly those without a main bloodline and that had more intermediate beasts than advanced. The lower bloodline purity makes it harder for them to become human. They could still use the System, but in the Truth-Seizing clan¡¯s situation, it was important for them to have either inherited the bloodline ability to shrink or reach advanced rank to become human, so they could undergo the Tutorial. Bonding was popular because it allowed a beast not at advanced to come into an Ascendant city.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you become my bond? We can do it right here!¡± the snake excitedly suggested.


    She raised an eyebrow. ¡°You believe I don¡¯t know the enclave rules? I can only bond with a clan beast if it is at a minimum strength of intermediate and age of 14. You have, what, one or two more years left?¡±


    ¡°Two¡­.¡± Skulker murmured despondently. He quickly perked back up when they started talking about the food in the city though.


    Eventually, they made it over the cliff, and she looked inside the overgrown semicircle of cliffs surrounding the enclave. One thing most humans misunderstood about enclaves is that they were the same as the dens mundane or low-ranked magical beasts live in. They were incredibly wrong. With human-level intelligence, even before they gained human forms, magical beasts were capable of building tools and structures and ignoring their lesser base instinct, in the case of solitary animals, to build cities for their clan. Easily bigger than the size of the Supreme Serpent¡¯s Silent city, the enclave was full of Truth-Seizing snakes of all sizes going about their business.


    Generally, when it came to isolated enclaves, none of the beasts used human form, so they all bartered and worked in snake form. This led to unique structures suiting their forms being built. She spotted interesting pulleys made of vines and spiralling ramps that took snake beasts up the 3 layered city levels. The city had been made in the way a bonsai tree would, but with magic, and so the city was made of giant trees pulled into the form they needed where they could go about the rope bridges and wooden decks. Some of these structures were giant to fit the size of the larger beasts, and so the entire city made Lucy look very, very small.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­.¡± Skulker turned to Lucy. ¡°Normally I would use this tree slide here,¡± he said, using his tail to point at the spiral tree forming a ramp, ¡°But like the younger ones, I think you¡¯d just slip off it without our weight. I¡¯d let you ride me, but my parents would get angry if I let someone who wasn¡¯t my bond on my back. Sorry.¡±


    Lucy held up a hand and shook her head. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to let me ride you. I know how beast clans work. Besides, you¡¯d be just as slippery as the slide,¡± she said, pointing to his sleek scales.


    It seemed the young snake hadn¡¯t even realised that his body wasn¡¯t the type for people to ride on anyway. She wondered what he had been told about bonding. She took a look at the drop and smiled. She retrieved a certain item from her dimensional bag. Shaped like a bag itself, it had a leather strap on it which she pulled to show Skulker the triangle-shaped glider that popped out. She smiled.


    ¡°In case there were no trees I could climb, I brought this. It can help me fly for a short while.¡±


    Skulkers'' slitted pupils widened as he inspected the glider, but then they narrowed again. He looked up at her.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t even look like feathers. How can this help you fly? Don''t lie to me.¡±


    Lucy grinned and after putting on the brown leather glider, jumped off the edge of the cliff. She looked back and saw Skulker staring at her, starstruck. Gliding around the slide, she made her way to the first layer when she alighted upon the wooden deck. She turned back to Skulker, up on the cliff.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you coming down?¡±


    Quite a few snakes had looked up as she was gliding to see the strange bird that had dared to fly above their city, and when noticed it was a human, were rather curious and she noticed a few tongues try to flicker near the air next to her. She expected it, and their curiosity receded only slightly when they noticed Skulker was coming down the slide. They probably thought the snake had picked up a new friend he wanted to show around. Skulker arrived on the first layer and watched her pack the glider away closely.


    ¡°It really did let you fly! So cool! I want one of them!¡±


    ¡°They don¡¯t make them for snakes, unfortunately. You¡¯ve got to work on getting that advanced rank,¡± she said to him with a smile.


    ¡°But bloodline strength increase is so boring. Isn¡¯t there an easier way?¡±


    She chuckled but shook her head. Then she noticed one of the larger snakes was coming their way. Judging by the small horns forming an upside-down arrow pattern on its forehead, she could see this was one of the stronger ones. She nodded her head in greeting even as she heard Skulker mumble ¡°Gotta get a human form¡­¡±


    The new snake nodded its head to her and then placed a large eye directly in front of Skulker. The smaller snake jerked when he saw the snake in front of him.


    ¡°So instead of looking after your siblings like I asked, you¡¯ve turned to abducting humans?¡±


    The snake¡¯s voice was much deeper than Skulker¡¯s but was still male, so she assumed he was Skulker¡¯s father by their interaction. Skulker turned his head to avoid eye contact. Then he noticed Lucy watching them and turned back to his father, his nose raised high in the air.


    ¡°I have been escrot¡­ escorter¡­. escorting an honoured visitor to our supreme enclave! It is a noble duty.¡±


    Lucy quirked an eyebrow and even the other snake just stared flatly at Skulker. She turned to the older snake and gave him a deep bow.


    ¡°By your request, I have managed to retrieve the wayward clan kin by pretending to be a visitor.¡±


    Skulker turned to her with a look of betrayal. He sounded aghast. ¡°What?! You were pretending to visit?! How ¡­oh. You¡¯re both teasing me,¡± he muttered, noticing how they were both snickering at his reaction.


    The older snake turned to Lucy and dipped his head in an approximation of a bow. ¡°Welcome to the enclave of the Truth-Seizing Serpent clan. I am Verdilast. We haven¡¯t had a human visitor for several decades now. Hopefully, Skulker hasn¡¯t given you too much trouble.¡±


    She shook her head.


    The snake continued, inspecting her curiously, ¡°We¡¯ve been rather interested in this visitor the youngest great-grandson of the ancestor has been saying would be coming. Especially considering Glimmer, as we call him, has never left the enclave in his entire life, for all his bragging.¡±


    She gave a wry smile at that but then had to reconsider what Verdilast had just said. ¡°Glimmer,¡± she stated flatly.


    The older snake snorted. ¡°We call him that because he said his scales glow brighter than the rest of us.¡±


    She sighed and followed the older snake and Skulker to where she knew the central pulley elevator was.


    The three layers were set out like a staircase within the semi-circle-shaped enclave, the lowest layer being the biggest, and the central elevator was where one could alight at any of the three layers. Walking onto the platform with the forms of Skulker and Verdilast, the pulleys lowered the platform. The wood and vines being used to support them were magical materials, granting them enhanced strength to support the immense weight of the gargantuan snakes. It was just another example of the immense quantity of resources found in the Beast Realm as such ¡®wasteful¡¯ use of materials that could be used to create weapons in the other realms was considered shocking for most.


    Many of the materials reached the Rare level in rarity on average, the same rarity as her bronze sword which required an intermediate blacksmith, valuable jewel and enchanting to reach that point. At the same time, a plank of wood was considered that level. If humans had a choice, they would uproot every tree in this jungle. That was why they supported the expansion of the major beast enclaves so much.


    They got off at the bottom layer. The top layers were typically places for trade or work, and so didn¡¯t necessarily require as much space, while the bottom layer, hidden as it was underneath the shade of the middle layer, was filled with massive houses and caves built into the cliffs for space. She was glad all the big ones knew how to shrink.


    Opposite the enclave was a beautiful clear lake surrounded by waterfalls, the only space not covered with gargantuan trees reaching a kilometre in height and a third as wide. There were even docks near the lake, although it seemed to only be for interesting ferry structures that enabled the user to get across the lake. As the enclave and the lake were surrounded by cliffs, massive rope bridges crisscrossed the area. It was not as daunting to see when you were on a lower layer, but from above it showed you just how high up the bridges were.


    They made their way into a massive cave entrance below the middle layer and at the centre of the curved semi-circle cliff face. A few snakes with small horns on their foreheads sat out the front and nodded when they came past. She knew the horns signified their greater bloodline strength.


    As they entered the tunnel, purple gems the size of her head began glowing, lighting up the dark from their alcoves in the cave walls. They had delicate mana-circles on them, so she could only assume they were created with the human forms of the snakes. They took a few entrances that were slowly heading down, deeper into the ground. Eventually, they made it to a much larger entrance. It was dark, and she couldn¡¯t see very far from where she was using her normal eyesight instead of perception. Verdilast thumped the tip of his tail against the grey tunnel wall.


    ¡°Verdilast and youngling Skulker are here to show in visitor Lucille Goldcroft.¡±

 Chapter 5 (2 of 2) Galaxy noodles.

    ¡°Verdilast and youngling Skulker are here to show in visitor Lucille Goldcroft.¡±


    After he said that, she could hear the slow sliding of snake coils unwinding, and a pulsating indigo eye the size of a doorway appeared. The same mottled blue, black, purple, and green pattern she could see on the other Truth-Seizing snakes was apparent on this snake too.


    ¡°Come in, girl,¡± an older female voice sounded out, the intensity of it reverberating inside Lucy¡¯s head.


    ¡°See you, Lucy! I¡¯ll get a human form quickly!¡±


    She waved goodbye to the father-son pair and entered the large cavern. She blinked to accustom her left eye to the darkness, as she knew her perception field needed to be shrunk or she¡¯ll be overloaded by the sheer quantity of mana escaping the beast in front of her.


    Coiled up to the top of the several hundred-metre-tall cavern was a stunning serpent with scales glowing and dimming constantly. Each one of the window-sized scales switched through a cycle of black, purple, dark blue, cyan, indigo, and violet, occasionally letting off light before changing colour. The body of the snake was as wide as a manor at its thickest, while the size of the snake¡¯s head was as big as a house. Like its other kin, the serpent had an arrangement of horns leading from the front of its forehead up to its brow ridges on either side forming an upside-down arrow shape, these glowing constantly. The pulsating indigo eyes of the snake flickered with flecks of violet and gold, and its pitch-black pupils were as tall as Lucy. The gorgeous snake gazed at her carefully.


    This was the almighty ancestor of the Truth-Seizing Serpent clan and was also her best friend¡¯s great-grandmother.


    She knelt on one knee and dipped her head. ¡°Lucille Goldcroft greets the Supreme Ancestral Matriarch of the Truth-Seizing Serpent Clan, one at the pinnacle of all realms.¡±


    ¡°Raise your head, girl," the ancient snake replied. ¡°It has been several decades since one of your kind has stood before me and- ¡°


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, you¡¯re old and strong. Great. Now put me down please.¡±


    Lucy couldn¡¯t help it. She scowled as she saw the familiar creature. Currently dangling between the two eyes of the Supreme Ancestral Matriarch was a small snake the length of her arm, his tail coiled around the nose horn of the larger serpent. He was currently swaying in impatience as the matriarch went cross-eyed trying to spot the brat on her forehead. Lucy figured this edition of ¡®having friends in high places¡¯ was taking it a bit too far.


    ¡°Why in the realms are you up there?!¡± came the shocked and slightly mortified voice of the matriarch as she quickly moved to place him down, proving that this wasn¡¯t some elaborate scheme set by the two of them.


    ¡°Your scales don¡¯t have any sense of touch when you¡¯re this strong. It¡¯s easy to sneak up there,¡± said the mischievous sound of a young boy from the thin squiggle Lucy usually called a friend. Like most days with him, she was wondering if she needed to change that status.


    On his slightly raised stone pillar at the edge of the room, the Truth-Seizing snakeling turned to Lucy. ¡°You took too long. In the 3 months you spent in your world, I had to spend 15 months in Systemless agony!¡±


    She narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°You just wanted access to the Obelisks to entertain yourself.¡±


    ¡°Yep,¡± came the unabashed response from the snake. Lucille shook her head while the Matriarch sighed, sounding like she was used to this. She turned to Lucy.


    ¡°This one¡¯s name is Jouten¡¯garde. It has been revealed to me that you intend to bond with this young snake.¡± Lucy nodded, making Jouten¡¯garde dip her head in apology. ¡°I am sorry for your loss.¡±


    Lucille shook her head wryly while the young snake in question raised himself higher on his podium in mock outrage, scales lit up like a Christmas tree. ¡°How could anyone bonding with me suffer a loss?! This one¡¯s wonderous existence brings all of creation enlightenment when in my presence!¡±


    Lucy just gave him a flat look. ¡°Sure thing, Glimmer.¡±


    He wilted, glowing scales fading. ¡°My dark past has returned¡­¡±


    Jouten¡¯garde looked between the two of them and shook her head with bemusement. ¡°I am aware of Glimmer¡¯s change of sorts 15 months ago, but he firmly refuses to tell us anything until his ¡®future bond¡¯ arrives. He also said something along the lines of not being the same as you,¡± she said, gesturing with her tail at Lucy, ¡°Remember, so we ¡®need to prepare to be suitably shocked and awed¡¯.¡±


    Lucy raised an eyebrow at the littler snake, but he gave nothing away. She turned to Jouten¡¯garde. ¡°He just wants to keep you in suspense.¡±


    ¡°That is what we were led to believe, yes.¡±


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not all about the suspense," he argued. ¡°Part of it is so I could have someone to deal with the difficult questions instead of me.¡±


    Jouten¡¯garde tilted her head, puzzled, while Lucy rolled her eyes in exasperation. Rubbing her nose a bit in thought, she looked up to the snake matriarch. ¡°I¡¯m sure you can see that while not that great of an improvement, ¡®Glimmer¡¯ has matured more than you would have any reason to expect he would.¡±


    Jouten¡¯garde nodded while ¡®Glimmer¡¯ glared at her for the ¡®not that great of an improvement¡¯ bit.


    ¡°Due to bonding binding the souls of two creatures tighter together, in some situations, attack, buffs or effects can apply to them both, particularly those directed at the soul.¡± She rubbed her head as she thought about how to phrase her next sentence. ¡°Because there was a future where both ¡®Glimmer¡¯ and I had been bonded before we died when an effect that sent the soul back to the past of another timeline was applied to us in that timeline, we both got sent back and now have memories of that ¡®future¡¯.¡±


    Jouten¡¯garde stared at her silently, switched her gaze to ¡®Glimmer¡¯, and then switched it back to Lucille after a while. ¡°I¡¯m confused,¡± was all she stated.


    ¡°Because we used to be bonded in the future, we both got sent to the past, and because now that past is our present, and the past past was our future, we now have memories of a future that never existed and never will because we now know of that future in the present which was the past.¡± ¡®Glimmer¡¯ nodded sagely, like all of that just made perfect sense.


    Jouten¡¯garde stared at them both. ¡°I¡¯m still confused,¡± was all she said after a moment, not surprisingly as it was ¡®Glimmer¡¯ speaking.


    Magic beasts as a rule typically did not do too well when it came to the finer details of magic, magic theory, and whatever the hell Lucy and ¡®Glimmer¡¯ had happened to them. There were exceptions, but the usage of instinctual magic didn¡¯t really provide the environment for deeper consideration of the less material side of the realms.


    She sighed. An example would be better for the ancient serpent. ¡°¡¯Glimmer¡¯ and I have about two centuries worth of memories about events and situations that could happen from this point onward. These memories are static, and so the contained information won¡¯t change even if the actual events occur differently, so they will be reliable for the first couple of years at least. It¡¯s like we get an entire book about how our life could go if we make specific decisions, but it doesn¡¯t tell us what will happen if we make other decisions.¡±


    Jouten¡¯garde seemed to consider this for a moment, before nodding slowly. ¡°So, you are currently like those of the Timeless Sands Sphinx clan, who gain bloodline memories of an alternative life when they become a superior beast?¡±


    Lucille smiled and nodded, pleased the giant serpent could understand the concept, if not its ramifications.


    The serpent looked between the two of them again. ¡°And you both have memories where you know each other?¡± she asked.


    They both nodded.


    She pulled back her head to look at the two. ¡°Well, I suppose that makes more sense than whatever the rot Glimmer spewed at me earlier was. But that leads us to the second question. What is this ¡®amazing surprise¡¯ this young snake has in mind for us?¡±


    They both turned to ¡®Glimmer¡¯, sitting on his waist-high podium. He raised his head arrogantly as he looked at them both. ¡°In consideration of my memories, I decided not to abandon my other bloodline, and decided to absorb it instead.¡±


    ¡®Glimmer¡¯ was only half Truth-Seizing Serpent, and the other half unknown.


    ¡°However,¡± he said, sounding a bit sheepish as he turned to Jouten¡¯garde, ¡°I had to hide my changes from all my clan-kin, and to do that I needed some scales of yours to use the temporary essence within to paint an illusion over me.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­..¡± Jouten¡¯garde remarked dryly.


    It was true that using her scales was one of the few ways to avoid having your illusions pierced through by the matriarch with her truth-seeing eyes, and therefore her kin, but those scales were used by the older Truth-Seizing snakes to absorb more of her bloodline essence and were valuable for the enclave. It was a bit like eating your parent¡¯s favourite food they were saving.


    ¡°But it will be worth it! You will be amazed! Shocked! Stunned!¡±


    ¡°Just get on with it,¡± Lucille stated bluntly. The snake sniggered but kicked up a storm of mana as the illusion on him was slowly removed.


    ¡°Behold!¡± he proclaimed as the last of the illusion disappeared. ¡°For I have emerged like a butterfly from its cocoon, an immortal after ascending their tribulation, and a god after achieving divinity! Just as the realms will now submit at my feet, bask in the splendour of my sheer glory, mortals, and weep!¡± And he spread his wings with pride.


    For the metre-long snake indeed had wings now. White-gold as they were, the things spread out on either side of him the length of her arm span. Only slightly tinted with darker gold colours, it would be hard to say they were from a living creature if it were not for the rustling sound and movement in the wind every time the snake shifted. Replacing the hypnotic pattern of a Truth-Seizing Serpent¡¯s scales, his scales were instead a brilliant silver with a glossy sheen, looking for all the world like burnished metal.


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    Matching his other plumage was a crown of the same white gold feathers on his head, beginning at his brow ridges and forming a line of feathers that ended where his metallic wings began. In a form like that of the stronger Truth-Seizing Serpents, he had horns forming that same upside-down arrow pattern pointing at his nose, these silver. His black-slitted pupils sat within golden irises that flickered and shifted with the light. Rather than a magical beast, he seemed like the life¡¯s work of a master metalworker. And there is no way in hell Lucy was going to be telling him that.


    ¡°This is¡­ certainly a surprise,¡± announced Jouten¡¯garde after a few moments. She seemed like she didn¡¯t know what to think of his change.


    Lucille was slightly less phased. ¡°Quetzalcoatl?¡± she asked ¡®Glimmer¡¯.


    ¡°Nah,¡± he responded. ¡°Amphiptere. I don¡¯t have the tail or beak for it.¡±


    Lucy nodded. All beasts had an instinctual understanding of what their sub-race is called, or in ¡®Glimmer¡¯s¡¯ case, his hybridisation, so it wouldn¡¯t be wrong. She considered his colouration. ¡°Correct me if I¡¯m wrong,¡± she began, ¡°But do you have access to light magic now? It¡¯s that or metal, and that¡¯s more common in draconic bloodlines.¡±


    ¡°Yup. I get to do fancy tricks with light. Maybe shoot a few laser beams or two.¡±


    ¡°You said in consideration of your memories,¡± she continued. ¡°That means you eventually worked out what your other bloodline was and are willing to use it this time around. When were you going to tell me what it was before this?¡±


    He shrugged. He looked happy he could do that now, utilising the wings to mimic it. ¡°By the time I found it out, I had completely removed it, so it was useless to know. But it¡¯s strong, even better than our Truth-Seizing bloodline.¡±


    ¡°And so, what is the bloodline?¡± Jouten¡¯garde asked him. They both turned to hear his answer.


    For some reason though, ¡®Glimmer¡¯ was staring down at the ground, avoiding eye contact with either of them. ¡°¡­..drius,¡± he muttered.


    ¡°What?¡±


    Jouten¡¯garde wasn¡¯t close enough and so didn¡¯t hear him, but Lucy, who was closer and had a small perception field surrounding her, heard him and made a strange expression.


    He said it again for the matriarch. ¡°It¡¯s the Sanctity Caladrius bloodline.¡±


    There was a long pause. It was¡­. unexpected.


    It¡¯s not like there was anything wrong with a Caladrius, or the Sanctity Caladrius bloodline. If the phoenixes were considered the emperor race of all magical bird-type beasts, then Caladrius were a major noble bloodline underneath. In Earth¡¯s mythology, they were known for purifying the sickness of royals by flying away with it. The Sanctity Caladrius bloodline was at the very top of the Caladrius hierarchy and was indeed quite a bit stronger than the Truth-Seizing Serpent bloodline. It explained his colouration, as the Sanctity Caladrius were known as the bird beasts with the strongest light magic. The Caladrius of the Beast Realm also grew several pairs of wings, with their current ancestor having four pairs of wings. It was one of the better bloodlines.


    There was only one itty bitty problem.


    ¡°Don¡¯t Caladrius¡­. eat snakes¡­?¡± Lucy asked, sharing an awkward look with Jouten¡¯garde.


    Jouten''garde slowly dipped her head in acknowledgement. ¡°The low-ranked beasts of their kind do indeed¡­ eat snakes as their main food source. Higher ranked Caladrius don¡¯t do that obviously, but our baser instincts mean there is no love lost between the Caladrius and the serpent bloodlines.¡±


    They both turned back to ¡®Glimmer¡¯, unsure what to make of the situation.


    ¡°Your parents had weird taste,¡± Lucy told him. The snake glared at her. It wasn¡¯t even like his parents could have no idea what kind of beast the other was. Magic beasts all had an instinctual recognition ability to know which race the other beast was, regardless of whether they were in human form or not.


    Lucy turned to Jouten¡¯garde. ¡°And am I right in saying that if the central serpent clans or even the Caladrius discovered this, it would be a major diplomatic issue?¡±


    Jouten¡¯garde let out a groan. ¡°Indeed. I¡¯ve also been facing pressure from them to let my enclave take a more active role in the expansion and politics of the central regions, and this would make it even worse. Our enclave could be considered a noble serpent clan if we wanted. I just want us to be left alone.¡±


    In the end, that was the true reason why nobody knew more about these giant snakes. Their natural habitat was very specific, even if their abilities made it so they could be a very strong and unique faction within the Beast Realm, and so they preferred to stay in their frontier region, living out their own lives. Occasionally they may leave, but among the trillions of inhabitants in the realms, they were a minority, and so generally stayed unknown.


    ¡®Glimmer¡¯ flapped his wings, annoyed. ¡°Come on, you¡¯re focusing on the wrong thing. How come you¡¯re acting more astonished at this rather than my beautiful splendour?! I¡¯m now a flying snake!¡±


    ¡°What!??! Glimmer can fly now?!¡±


    They all jerked slightly at the exclamation and looked around until they spotted the source. A vent used for airflow was at the base of one of the cavern¡¯s side walls, where a forked tongue and scaled nose were peeking out of it, trying, and failing to remain hidden.


    ¡°I believe we have an eavesdropper,¡± Lucy remarked wryly.


    Jouten¡¯garde rolled her door-sized eyes. ¡°Yes, I do believe we do. Come out Skulker, we know you¡¯re there.¡±


    A mottled snake sheepishly slithered out, his head lowered as he looked between the Matriarch and Lucy. Then he spotted ¡®Glimmer¡¯ and his purple eyes widened, and he rushed over. He skittishly tasted the air near the winged snake and inspected ¡®Glimmer¡¯s¡¯ metallic wings. ¡°Wow! You have wings now! Is this a rare mutation? Will I get wings too?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s with the new fascination for wings, Skulk?¡± responded ¡®Glimmer¡¯, a bit bemused at the attention he was receiving from the bigger snake as Skulker¡¯s large head nudged him.


    ¡°That would probably be my fault. I used a glider I had bought a few days ago to enter the enclave, and now he thinks it¡¯s what all humans do,¡± Lucy said with amusement.


    It was a bit of a sight to see the once-was cocky feathered snake be pushed around by the 10-metre-long, 12-year-old serpent. ¡®Glimmer¡¯ did not gain any major size increase until his bloodline reached advanced in the past, meaning he was an outlier for his enclave, and was tiny in comparison to the rest of them.


    Jouten¡¯garde sighed. ¡°Unfortunately, Skulker, this is unique to Glimmer, so you will not get wings as your bloodline strength increases. My great-grandson¡¯s form comes with a few issues, and so will need to be kept secret in the meantime. The important members of the enclave will know though. In fact, why don¡¯t you go find your father and bring him here?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯ll kill me!¡± responded the horrified snake. It was obvious he sneaked in there without his father¡¯s knowledge.


    ¡°Then consider that your punishment for sneaking into the Supreme Matriarch¡¯s abode,¡± responded Jouten¡¯garde, unamused. ¡°Whatever punishment he gives you will be far nicer than the official charges for illegally hiding in here. Off you go.¡±


    And so, the troublesome snake tearfully crawled out of the cavern entranceway to find his soon-to-be irate father. Jouten¡¯garde turned to them both.


    ¡°Verdilast is the current general of my War-Borne. Considering his son knows as well, he¡¯ll be one of the few outside of us to know of Glimmer¡¯s hybridisation. It seems taking him out of here as a bond would be the best for the long term. Please don¡¯t reveal his origins before you¡¯ve reached sufficient strength.¡±


    ¡°Then should we bond now?¡± Lucy asked ¡®Glimmer¡¯.


    Bonding was relatively simple. Requiring a name for the beast, a few lines of lyric or similar, and a gesture from the human, it bound them through the System, forming a link between their minds to communicate without speech. It became a skill, and the stronger the bond, the deeper the level of communication. They could also swap abilities and skills depending on the type of bond. To protect their members from a life of servitude, the first bond only lasted 5 years with a year¡¯s break between the first and second bond, and then they could decide to make it more permanent.


    She glanced at ¡®Glimmer¡¯s colouration again. ¡°Last time the name I picked matched your scales, but now that you look different, do you want a name matching your current form?¡±


    ¡®Glimmer¡¯ scoffed. ¡°I am not going to spend over 200 years of my life with one name, only to switch it. Keep it the same.¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°I, Lucille Goldcroft, would like to initiate a binding contract with the Magical Beast in front of me, for the standard period of 5 years, where I will release him so he may search for his path.¡±


    She felt the immaterial machine-like limbs of the System grasp onto her spiritual energy and mana, before twisting the mental energies of them together. Now she needed a saying and a gesture. She made eye contact with the shiny snake. He was too late in realising what she was about to do.


    ¡°Scytale, I choose you!¡± she proclaimed, hand on hip and finger pointing at the silvery amphiptere.


    Scytale was horrified.


    ¡°Nooo! Argh, how could you reduce my glorious ceremonial rite to such a piece of mundane, innocuous mortal fiction! Where were the bowing, the magical light announcing my coming, and my grand reveal! Where were the hundred lines of reverent poetry! Why have I been reduced to a lowly Pok¨¦mon?!?!?¡±


    Jouten¡¯garde looked very confused by the sudden outburst, and why the winged snake launched himself at Lucy to pretend to strangle her. Lucy doubted the old serpent would understand even if she explained.


    The invisible manipulation of the System intertwined their spiritual energy until suddenly, an intangible line of thread was linking them both. Able to feel the edges of Scytale¡¯s mind rubbing against hers, she decided to take it further. Instead of accepting the skill as it was, she wrapped her threads of spiritual energy around it, braiding the strand into more and more complex structures until it was as thick as a rope. She nodded, pleased, when she could feel his thoughts and emotions with actual clarity. She had probably skipped about twenty years of strained life-or-death situations to reach a bond of this strength. A notification popped up.


    [Available Primary Skill: Half-Beast Assimilation (Altered)]


    Desc: This is a customised version of the typical Beast bonding ability given by the System. Almost a brand-new skill, this one skips years of relationship trials to tightly bind a willing beast to yourself with a far thicker bond than most can achieve in decades.


    Info: Accepting this main skill occupies one primary skill slot, and gives you the Morph, Unity, and Perfect Harmonisation subskills]


    She swiped the notification away, uninterested. She wasn¡¯t a physical fighter.


    ¡®Woah. What is with your spiritual energy? I was expecting it to be around my level still, not this.'' The mental voice of Scytale come through the bond after she had made it stronger. She also gained access to his emotions, senses, and memories if she wanted, but she blocked those out as it was disorientating.


    Do you even remember how much I had?


    Scytale looked at her for a second.


    ¡®Actually, we need to talk about that later. I don¡¯t have as many memories as I would expect for someone over 200.¡¯


    Somewhat confused, she sent back an affirmation and turned to Jouten¡¯garde. Conversing with their thoughts was exceptionally quick, even with Scytale lacking the mental stats to speed it up, so they weren¡¯t out of tune with the outside world for any longer than a few seconds.


    ¡°Yes, I can feel the bond working. We¡¯ll need to go to an Obelisk to finalise anything, however.¡±


    Jouten¡¯garde nodded, and at that moment Verdilast and Skulker came in.


    ¡°Skulker told me Glimmer had¡­ changed¡­..¡± Verdilast slowed as he came to see the little silver snake sitting next to Lucy and the matriarch. Lucy watched him do a double take.


    Scytale flapped his white-gold plumage smugly.


    Verdilast looked down at the larger mottled snake next to him. ¡°You failed to mention this,¡± he said to Skulker, sounding annoyed.


    Jouten¡¯garde spoke to him, ¡°My great-grandson has been named Scytale by his new bond, Lucille. However, there are¡­. other factors to do with his second bloodline I must discuss with you.¡±


    Jouten¡¯garde got Verdilast up to speed on Scytale¡¯s bloodline while Skulker took advantage of the opportunity to ask Lucille more questions about the realms, during which Scytale teased him about not going with them. Before the mottled snake could get too incensed at the silver one, Verdilast and Jouten¡¯garde came back over.


    ¡°I feel like the new generation is only composed of troublemakers,¡± Verdilast said to them, looking weary.


    Jouten¡¯garde nodded in agreement. She turned to Lucy and the silver amphiptere. ¡°It would probably be best for the pair of you to leave soon. But before that, Lucille, do you have any plans for the near future?¡±


    Lucy thought for a bit and shook her head. ¡°Not for a while. I want to leave time for the Inheritance Event in a month though.¡±


    Jouten¡¯garde nodded. ¡°It would be best to be in an Ascendant city by that point in time so you could use the Obelisks for teleportation, yes. Well then, I¡¯m sure the rest of the enclave would love to meet our first honorary member and find out the new name of my great-grandson during this time. You will be our guest. Although we may need to ask for specifics when suiting your needs. This time, Scytale, let me apply the illusion, instead of wastefully using another one of my scales.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s why they seemed to be disappearing¡­¡± Verdilast muttered.


    After Scytale had his illusion reapplied, they said goodbye to the matriarch. Leaving the caves to come back out into the lively third layer, the sun was a welcome sight.


    Lucy had a thought.


    You know¡­ your name kind of suits your new form too.


    Scytale was confused.


    ¡®How?¡¯


    Because you have wings, so ¡®Sky¡¯ and you¡¯re all tail.


    Scytale did not deign to respond.


    ...


    They had a peaceful time during the following weeks. Skulker introduced her to all his friends, asking her to show them her glider, and she demonstrated it from the tops of the cliffs. The matriarch had a meeting with all her direct subordinates and trusted elders to tell them about Scytale and revealed her decision to have Scytale be Lucille¡¯s bond to gain strength in the outside world. And Lucille revealed the reason why she got along well with the snakes: her illusion magic.


    If her ability to manipulate the soul and spiritual energy came first, then her knowledge of the System came second, and her ability to use illusion magic third. Her interest originally stemmed from her introduction to the System. Wondering if the Status screens were a type of illusion in the past, she went on to make that her class: an illusionist. When she discovered the relationship between the senses and the soul, that became her other focus. The manipulation of the soul eventually led her into seeing its connection with the System, and she therefore returned to the beginning with her studies. Trying to make her illusions more realistic, she learnt spiritual energy manipulation techniques and developed her abilities into a unique new subset of illusion magic.


    Her current Status limitations meant she couldn¡¯t use her full spell repertoire without drawing some attention from the elder snakes, but that wasn¡¯t needed to show off for the younger ones. She even explained a bit about illusion magic and its limitations for the Truth-Seizing Serpent bloodline. There were some questions on why she was so weak, why she hadn¡¯t reached level 10, why she hadn¡¯t done the first stages yet, but she managed to use the excuse that it means she was not monster bait to deflect them.


    In all honesty, it was more the fact that levels or stages weren¡¯t useful to her plans at the current stage. The first part of her entry into the System was always going to be busy and packed, and while she could focus on gaining strength, she believed that with her ideas for a new ¡®class¡¯, then she may do better by going about it a different way. With her plans to gain lots of resources and access to information to study, she hoped to find a way to form something that will break the limitations of the System. She was supposed to be ¡®Archetype¡¯ after all.


    Lucille and Scytale just spent time with his family and friends, enjoying the peace of the enclave. Neither of them approached the topic of their pasts or plans, relaxing with the little time they had before it would be hectic for the two of them. The System aimed to keep every realm in an ever-advancing state, and that included shaking up the status quo everywhere, even when the inhabitants themselves did not like change.


    Lucy knew that the Truth-Seizing Serpent enclave would eventually have to respond to the requests of the central regions and involve themselves in the political turmoil that was constant over there. When that happened, she will be happy to aid them as the family of her bond, but that required both her and Scytale to be prepared to face the issues that will occur when her bond¡¯s form is revealed. She could tell Scytale didn¡¯t like it, but he knew that the best way for him to aid his family was to leave.


    At the end of the month, they both said their goodbyes.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give this glider to your dad for when you gain a human form. In exchange, no telling anyone about what Scytale looks like. Understood?¡± Lucy told the tearfully nodding 10-metre-long Skulker, who had gotten quite attached to her during the month.


    ¡°We¡¯ll look forward to your return. I suggest you reach Rank-3 before revealing your new bloodline,¡± said Verdilast to Lucy¡¯s bond. He nodded sombrely, before flapping his wings with obnoxious arrogance.


    ¡°Who do you think I am? I¡¯ll be Rank-4 by the time I¡¯m back!¡±


    Everyone rolled their eyes and shook their head but smiled. Verdilast nodded to them both.


    ¡°The matriarch sends her good wishes too. Her size doesn¡¯t let her come out easily, but she can see you with her perception from down in the cavern. Look out for her great-grandson and prevent him from getting into trouble, because she¡¯ll probably come to kill you after killing her great-grandson for the anguish he caused her.¡±


    Lucy smiled wryly but nodded. Stepping back a step, she gave a deep bow.


    ¡°I thank the Supreme clan for their hospitality and blessing me with the honour of a visit to their ancestral home. I take with me one of your clan-kin as a partner and guide for the trials of the future and will release him to you with good sentiments in our hearts when we say our goodbyes. I bid you farewell, and may you see future horizons.¡±


    With Scytale above her head and his body coiled on top of her pack, they set off back through the Violet Luminosity Jungle, heading to the Supreme Serpent¡¯s Silent City.

 Chapter 6 (1 of 2) Information on possible hostile ancient being unwanted. Please delete from memory

    ¡°Ha! You did visit a snake enclave! I thought you were kidding!¡±


    Lucy turned to face the speaker, Scytale around her neck. She and her bond had arrived the day before and were taking a walk before lunch. With the return from the jungle being even more stressful than the trip into the jungle, they had both agreed to stop any discussion of plans until they had been properly rested. Currently covered in his ancestor¡¯s illusion still and would be for the next month, Scytale had comfortably settled into his normal position of the past, as a rather heavy necklace.


    Greeting them both was a tall man dressed in heavy steel armour, a blue crest on his chest plate. Darvis McGarrod lifted his visor to reveal his weathered face, peering at the new addition of Lucy¡¯s with his brown eyes.


    Lucille raised Scytale¡¯s upper body for him to see. ¡°My new bond.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is I who she travelled all this way to find, for only I am worthy of such effort.¡±


    Lucy gave the snake a flat stare as Darvis chuckled.


    ¡°Sure thing buddy. Although,¡± he said, giving Scytale a closer look, ¡°I didn¡¯t even think we had a serpent enclave here. Your colouration reminds me of a story the City Lord told me.¡±


    Lucy and Scytale blinked in sync at the statement.


    Darvis grinned at their reaction, before explaining, ¡°When we first settled in this region, none of us could work out what to name our city. We traded information, trying to come up with some key characteristics of the area to pick a name from. Eventually, we turned to the City Lord for help, as his father first discovered the region.¡±


    Darvis placed his armoured hands on his hips as he looked out towards the jungle. ¡°He told us that his father had once suddenly met this giant black, mottled serpent with indigo eyes larger than himself. The serpent ignored him, no doubt due to his lack of threat, and the City Lord¡¯s father had apparently seen it turn invisible before his eyes, blending in with the trees.¡±


    He turned back to them with a shrug. ¡°Unaware of what the real Supreme clan of the region was, we decided it was our best bet, and named the city after the story. We had almost given up, thinking it was a rulerless region.¡±


    Lucy nodded. A rulerless region was always a sign of the region lacking enough resources to support a major enclave. There was only one exception, but it wasn¡¯t a phenomenon that would occur again.


    Darvis squinted his eyes as he looked at Scytale. ¡°Do your folk get much bigger?¡±


    Scytale let out a hissing laugh. ¡°I didn¡¯t inherit the size of my clan. My ancestor can wrap herself around this city twice when shrunken. We¡¯re the Supreme clan of the region, yes.¡±


    Darvis¡¯s eyes widened when he heard Scytale¡¯s description, and thoughtfully nodded with a hand on his bearded chin. Then it looked like he had a realisation, and he hastily dipped his head. ¡°I uh¡­ greet the Supreme clan of the region. May I ask for the honoured name of your bloodline?¡±


    Scytale snorted. ¡°We only use the old greetings because we don¡¯t interact with the outside world much. We won¡¯t take offence if you don¡¯t use them, as long as you¡¯re not trying to be disrespectful, which is obviously not what you were doing. My kin calls themselves the Truth-Seizing Serpent Clan, after our ability to create our own truths through illusions.¡±


    It was customary to introduce the key feature of a beast¡¯s bloodline when introducing their name to others, as it provided context without unduly giving away their abilities.


    Darvis looked relieved but still a bit hesitant. Scytale noticed and flicked his tongue. ¡°You want to ask how strong our enclave is, right?¡±


    Darvis nodded.


    ¡°We are considered an Ancient clan, as our ancestor is over 20 chapters.¡±


    Darvis sighed and ran a hand down his uncovered face. ¡°That¡­ makes things a bit difficult. No offence to you guys, of course, but Ancient clans are¡­ finicky to deal with when determining their actual strength.¡±


    Ancient clans held no position among their main race but had existed long enough to not be underestimated, so it was hard to rank them among other sub-races with their more honorary title.


    Scytale nodded in understanding. ¡°We aren¡¯t vassals, have no vassals nor have allegiances outside our loyalty to the serpent races as a whole, however, if it helps as a comparison, the central serpent enclaves have been pressuring us to interact with them and the outside world more, which wouldn¡¯t happen if our clan could be placed any lower than a mid-ranked noble clan.¡±


    In actuality, the Beast Realm did not have a feudal system, but it was easier to rank them as such for the other realms to understand. Magical beasts did not technically ¡®speak¡¯ a language as such rather than send their vague thoughts and intent across, which the System translates for the other races. Those with bonds did not have their thoughts translated and they received their bonds intentions in full capacity when the skill was strong enough, but still had the words of other magical beasts translated.


    Darvis looked happy at what Scytale had told him but was deep in thought. A minute later he looked up at them. ¡°Do you think your clan would be open to some limited communication?¡± Then he paused. ¡°¡­...actually, where is your clan? We haven¡¯t found a single sign of your kin for over thirty years.¡±


    ¡°In the centre of the nightmare zone,¡± Scytale replied smugly. Darvis¡¯s eyes widened and he looked at Lucy, the unanswered question of how she survived clear on his face. She shrugged.


    ¡°I¡¯m too weak to be monster food.¡±


    He didn¡¯t look so happy at that answer but didn¡¯t ask more. He turned back to Scytale who responded to the other question.


    ¡°My clan is neutral, but that doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯re hostile to others. We¡¯re just hard to access. I can mark it on your mini-map if you want, and if you tell them Scytale sent you, then I¡¯m sure they¡¯d be happy to discuss stuff with you. As our clan is big, there¡¯s no issue for human access, besides getting my clan¡¯s help to climb over a few trees.¡±


    ¡°Hah. Tree climbing. Haven¡¯t done that in a while,¡± Darvis chuckled. He accepted their suggestion about the mini-map, and they chatted for a bit longer before he bid them goodbye to continue with his duties as captain of the city guard. Lucy and Scytale went off to continue their walk.


    ¡®What¡¯s the bet Skulker will be the first to see them?¡¯


    Statistically low enough that it''s improbable, so it¡¯s obviously going to happen.


    He snickered as they made their way back to their room at the inn.


    ¡­


    Lucy got two chairs and dragged them to the silk-shaded balcony of her room. Placing a pillow on the other for Scytale to coil up on, she sat in the other and watched the traffic go by underneath in the sun of the early afternoon. She looked at Scytale.


    I believe it¡¯s time we finally discuss our situation.


    Scytale shuffled his feathers lazily as he remained curled up on the pillow.


    ¡®Thanks for being patient. I can tell how worked up you¡¯ve been these last few weeks. It¡¯s like your mind¡¯s been on accelerated speed for the entire month.¡¯


    Lucille sighed.


    Nearly. The issues with my Status have ruined all the original plans I¡¯ve made. At least the general skeleton of my plan is something I don¡¯t have to modify.


    ¡®Imagine how you¡¯d be struggling without your mental constructs.¡¯


    I¡¯d rather not.


    She turned her chair slightly so she could kick her legs up onto the balcony railing.


    Anyway, my Status issues aren¡¯t going to be resolved in the next few minutes, so I think discussing your memory loss is the more important thing right now.


    ¡®Right, my memories. I¡¯m¡­ not sure memory loss is the best term for it though. Because it feels like I still know everything I used to, but there¡¯s always something niggling at my mind that always slips out of my grasp.¡¯


    She glanced at her bond.


    It¡¯s clear to me that your personality hasn¡¯t regressed, so your description of your symptoms is as I expected. Are you facing any other issues?


    Scytale opened his golden eyes to look down at the streets below.


    ¡®Well, my eidetic memory is gone for sure. And sometimes something triggers memories to come back. I usually get several because of my mental age, though.¡¯


    Lucy huffed a slight laugh. Scytale, of course you¡¯ve lost your eidetic memory. You wouldn¡¯t be able to forget anything in the first place if you still had it.


    ¡®Oh¡­ Well, I meant more in the sense that anything I remember doesn¡¯t have the same clarity it used to.¡¯


    Then you must have soul degradation. But the fact your memories are only triggered by external influence¡­


    Lucy stopped communicating mentally with Scytale for a moment, falling silent. Eventually, she leaned back in her seat with her eyes closed.


    I¡¯m going to need to inspect your soul.


    Scytale¡¯s eyes widened as he stared at her.


    ¡®Please no.¡¯


    Scytale, this was always going to have to happen.


    ¡®Yes, but¡­¡¯


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    He hesitated, before flapping his wings with false bravado and outrage. ¡®I don¡¯t want to do it! The sensation of someone rifling through my soul sends shivers down my spine!¡¯


    Lucy sighed and sent the amphiptere a flat look. We would¡¯ve needed to do this to ensure our memories match and we aren¡¯t from different timelines. Stop overreacting.


    ¡®You¡¯re not the one who¡¯s getting someone rifling through their memories¡­¡¯


    Scytale.


    ¡®Ugh, fine. Get it over with quickly.¡¯


    Lucille turned around to face Scytale. She sent her spiritual energy through the bond so she could begin searching his soul. It wasn¡¯t difficult for someone with her mental processing capability, especially as Scytale had lost most of his soul stats, but navigating his strangely intense emotions and sensations, as well as avoiding spending too long focusing on the incomprehensible ancestral bloodline memories within his soul took some effort.


    Usually, soul inspection was something only an extremely trusted relative or close friend would do, but they were both bound so tightly by Lucy that if Scytale wanted to, he could see her memories, and he could see hers. Perceiving the simple spiritual energy sea surrounding his ¡®sphere of consciousness¡¯, ¡®mental power¡¯ or ¡®soul ocean¡¯ as the Heavenly Realm liked to term it, was always an experience because she had arranged her soul into a mechanised system of thought strands and mental constructs, all moving and doing their job like a computer.


    Compared to Lucille ¨C whose soul looked like a matrix of foggy-white machinery that was always moving like it was some giant building-shaped mechanical construct ¨C Scytale¡¯s soul was completely bare and unprotected.


    That was how a soul naturally appeared for those who didn¡¯t use soul manipulation abilities. And Lucy¡¯s soul was by no means normal when it was in its natural state either. Her soul had always tended to conform to shapes and structures of a more artificial design.


    Scytale kept his memories inside his sphere of consciousness. All living beings kept their memories there, as memories were key parts of an individual¡¯s personality. While her memories were carefully compartmented in a way similar to the mind palace technique, Scytale¡¯s were sort of haphazardly strewn about. They drifted about in bubbles throughout his consciousness, with the older ones sinking to the bottom.


    Some of those memories Lucy wouldn¡¯t ever be able to access. Those were his ancestral memories and the key difference between the soul of a magical beast versus the other races. That, and his instinctual sensations she could feel through the bond.


    Yes, this is definitely soul degradation. But there¡¯s something else going on. I believe I know what it is, but let me check your memories just to be sure.


    ¡®Please be quick¡­.¡¯


    You know anyone else would be ten times slower than me. Stop whining.


    It wasn¡¯t unwarranted though. Having someone rifle through your soul and scan every moment of your life was not a pleasant sensation.


    Just as I thought. Your memories are sealed. However¡­ there¡¯s no spiritual energy residue within your soul at all, which means only neutral spiritual energy was responsible for this and the soul degradation.


    ¡®Huh? That¡¯s a thing? But then the soul-tracking techniques of the Heavenly Realm would be defunct! Who could do this?!¡¯


    Not who. What. It¡¯s the System¡¯s doing. Both the soul degradation and the memory sealing.


    ¡®That makes no sense. Memory sealing is supposed to protect the soul from degradation, yet you¡¯re saying it both sealed and degraded it? Isn¡¯t that just making its job harder?¡¯


    Lucille turned back to the balcony.


    I believe this is a situation of two different Sub-Systems interacting. The Underworld Sub-System that¡¯s responsible for sending souls to either the Resurrection Sub-System or back to the soul realm must¡¯ve begun the soul deconstruction process but was interrupted somehow. And I think I know what interrupted it.


    ¡®¡­ so you¡¯re saying you know what happened? That¡¯s good enough for me. As long as it¡¯s not going to continue, and my memories of the past timeline match up, then I¡¯m okay.¡¯


    Lucy put her hands behind her head. When you can, put free stat points in MENT. The System will automatically repair your soul degradation when that happens.


    ''Sure thing, doc. A lecture a day keeps the destruction away.''


    She rolled her eyes as Scytale flickered his tongue. They sat in silence for a while, enjoying the cooler temperature as tropical thunderclouds bordered the horizon, rolling towards the city. Eventually, Scytale shook himself and looked at Lucy.


    ¡®So, shall we discuss your recent misfortunes of the new timeline instead of mine?¡¯


    Lucy wordlessly sent through the information about her Status, rewards, and the mask. Scytale stared at her.


    ¡®Where do I submit my resignation of being your bond?¡¯


    She cocked an eyebrow at him. What, it¡¯s not the fate-distorting Hero coming after me that has you scared but a single line suggesting the existence of some old demon?


    ¡®Said demon is apparently some supremely ancient powerful monstrosity, still alive and you just earned an item that controls their own realm!¡¯


    Lucille smirked. We¡¯ve faced worse.


    Scytale hung his head in mock despair. ¡®That doesn¡¯t mean we need to face more.¡¯ He shook his head and glanced at her. ¡®The mask pretty much mentioned they¡¯re pretending to be someone or something. Do you have any idea who this demon is?¡¯


    Lucy fell silent.


    ¡®Wait¡­¡¯ Scytale narrowed his eyes at her. ¡®Do you?¡¯


    She remained silent.


    ¡®Do you?¡¯


    ¡­ let¡¯s change the subject.


    ¡®Uh¡­ okay¡­¡¯


    Lucy sighed and the conversation fell into a lull once more. That was until Scytale spoke up again.


    ¡®Well, Lucy, what plans do you have in mind to deal with your Status issue?¡¯


    She hummed for a moment, thinking. I do have an¡­. unconventional plan in mind, but¡­


    She looked up at the stormy sky, judging how much time they¡¯d have before it rained.


    I say we take a walk while we discuss it. It may be somewhat of a complicated topic.


    ¡­


    They began their walk through the colourful silk-sheltered streets of the city, stopping to inspect any shops that seemed interesting. They didn¡¯t buy anything, however, as Lucille was busy communicating with the winged snake on her shoulders.


    Let¡¯s discuss what my main issues currently are. The number one, major problem above all else is the fact I can¡¯t assign my free stat points. That means I am barred from ever gaining stats through my levels.


    Scytale bobbed his head in an approximation of a nod. ¡®Yeah, even when you select your class, you won¡¯t be able to assign your stat points. Stat distribution is all up to the User, after all.¡¯


    Lucy sent her agreeance through the bond as she bent to look at the brass magical items a crafter was selling at his booth.


    As such, I¡¯ll need to increase my strength through other methods. The System¡¯s stat potions still work, so I can count on Event and stage rewards for those, but there¡¯s no way I¡¯ll be given enough to make up for all the levels I¡¯ll earn. Nor would the System be willing to give me stat potions so I don¡¯t need to level up.


    ¡®So, I guess you¡¯re saying you have a solution for this?¡¯


    Elixirs and stat-boosting foods such as purified monster meat can allow me to gain 25% of the rank total for each rank.


    Scytale turned his head to eye her as she pulled away from the booth to continue walking.


    ¡®Are you saying you want to max your bonus stats early instead of doing it over several years like most people? For a Rank-1 to do that, it¡¯s going to take loads of money, Lucy.¡¯


    She smirked. Which is why I¡¯m planning on joining a Faction.


    Scytale stared at her. ¡®Is this the Lucy I know? What happened to the mighty Archmage who avoided any contact with the Guilds, Sects, and Supreme Institutions to go exploring outer planes on her own? I thought you swore off any Faction business after you quit the Navy.¡¯


    Lucy rolled her eyes. I never swore off anything. But I avoided them to not get caught up in politics. She raised an eyebrow at her bond. Take a guess where I plan to go.


    Scytale thought deeply. ¡®Well, it¡¯s probably going to be in the Mystical Realm considering it has the largest reach and best technology. The Empire of Eternity? But if we became nobles, we would be too busy with politics, fiefdom ruling and gathering resources, and it takes years to gain any kind of powerful title. All-Aeon Athenaeum is a decent choice, but your magic is unique, and they would ask too many questions about your application of atmospheric mana to be safe. They¡¯re also too prideful. The Citadel of Fate¡­.¡¯


    Scytale shook his head. ¡®Paragon has too much power over it, and it¡¯s risky if they notice anything wrong with our fortune and fate. And there is no way we could ever join Glory Pantheon with your terrible combat abilities.¡¯


    She flicked his forehead for the last statement but continued walking. I¡¯m not going to one of the Supreme Institutions.


    ¡®Huh? But only they¡¯re rich enough- wait.¡¯


    Lucy smirked as Scytale realised what she meant.


    ¡®Ohhhh¡­ so that¡¯s where you plan to go. But how will you make sure their money becomes yours?¡¯


    Well¡­ Lucille reached into her dimensional bag and withdrew a small item. Shaped like a white credit card, printed on the front was a sky-blue key shape. When she tilted the card, the key icon shimmered, and Scytale could see that it slightly hovered above the white card like a hologram. It was the Inheritance Key. The item every User only received once from the Tutorial, and never again.


    I have this. And with it, I can gain a title of nobility without needing to rule a fiefdom, as well as be the superior of a clan of Glory Pantheon.


    ¡®Two for the price of one, huh? But won¡¯t you be too busy managing it to level up then?¡¯


    She shrugged.


    I¡¯ll pretend to be a puppet leader while someone else gets to have the power.


    Scytale nodded. ¡®Okay, so¡­ I guess you plan to use a ton of items and artifacts to make up for your lack of strength. But then, what class are you going to choose? It can¡¯t be that you plan to be completely non-combatant?¡¯


    I¡¯m not going to choose one.


    Her bond blinked. Then blinked again. ¡®¡­what?¡¯


    I said I¡¯m not going to choose a class.


    He stared silently at her, and Lucy felt amused when she saw the thoughts running through his head.


    I¡¯m not crazy. The only benefits a class could give me are primary skills and Aspects. I can¡¯t even use my free stat points so what¡¯s the use of getting a high rarity class? All it will do is turn the default five stat points per level up into more depending on my class rarity, so it¡¯s essentially useless to me regarding my stats.


    ¡®But what about the multiplier boosts from Aspects?!¡¯


    Lucy smirked and narrowed her eyes at her bond. Scytale, you know the best multiplier boosts never come from class Aspects. And you know I am perfectly capable of getting any Aspect I want.


    Scytale fell silent for a moment. ¡®¡­right. Your Authority. You¡¯re able to access every Class, Aspect, Skill, and Title in the System.¡¯


    Ah, but only so long as the second layer of Status restrictions hasn¡¯t activated. Unfortunately, that automatically activates when a User receives their first class and makes their Status unalterable.


    Lucy grinned at him. But what if I never gain a class? Doesn¡¯t that mean everything is always available?


    The silvery amphiptere shook his head wryly. ¡®I bet the System is regretting it sent you back to the past now. When did you find out about this ¡®second layer restrictions¡¯ thing?¡¯


    Just when I was searching through the System Repository¡¯s miscellaneous knowledge. It wasn¡¯t even considered classified information. Anyone who has naturally increased their Authority could find this under the ¡®System Information¡¯ category.


    She smirked again. Of course, only an individual with extraordinarily high Authority who¡¯s capable of accessing all Classes, Aspects, Skills, and Titles straight out of the Tutorial would ever be able to use this knowledge. For this to work though, we need to check I still have my Authority. So we need to use my Rare skill book.


    Scytale nodded, understanding her plan. ¡®But there¡¯s just one more thing I¡¯m curious about¡­ how are you going to complete the inheritance trial? I thought nobody ever completed it.¡¯


    This Permanent Event was deconstructed following the reveal of the 7<sup>th</sup> realm. All unopened inheritances at that time were destroyed. I was there and watched the System remove it all. I was curious and so, using my Authority, saw the answer to several of the harder trials among the System jargon.


    Scytale continued nodding along to her explanation¡­ until he hesitated and narrowed his eyes at her.


    ¡®Hold on.¡­ you were conveniently there, just as the System was using the source code of reality, and you just ''happened¡¯ to peek at what it was doing at the right time to see ¡®this¡¯ particular inheritance¡¯s solution?¡¯


    ¡­¡­I may have had my perception field open at its maximum to find instances where the System was destroying other Events for study purposes. I thought the harder inheritances had something to them that made them different. I was wrong. It was just humanity¡¯s stupidity failing to find the solutions.


    ¡®Oh, this was when you had only just discovered your Authority. Didn¡¯t you waste 50 years of your life researching the System during this period while I gained strength? Wait, it was closer to 70.¡¯


    Lucy¡¯s expression went flat.


    Shut up. Anyway, that¡¯s my goal. In a week the decennial Permanent Event will open in the Wolvenheim Greenwood Region. As it¡¯s a region belonging to one of the Wolf clan nobilities, it will be more advanced, and more extensive. That means there will be a branch of the Empire¡¯s Distorted Depths Battalion in the city. I need your illusion magic to help me with a plan.


    ¡®¡­ what are you trying to do with them? There shouldn¡¯t be a need for you to interact if you¡¯re going ahead with this plan of yours.¡¯


    Be patient. Ever heard of this skill?


    Lucille sent through her recollections of a certain skill she discovered at the Obelisks, showing Scytale the information. He tilted his head with interest.


    ¡®That is probably one of the few skills I could say are actually overpowered. For me, it doesn¡¯t hold much practical value, but for anyone who needs to be in two places at once with separate identities, this skill is perfect, besides the additional resource costs. I¡¯d almost envy you if it wasn¡¯t obvious why you want this as your first main skill. You¡¯re going to be near him aren¡¯t you.¡¯


    He gave her a look of pity, but she just returned his look with a wicked grin.


    Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.


    ¡­


    It was finally time for them to head to the Obelisk. Clicking her tongue when she noticed the now darker clouds, she let Scytale slither up her arm and coil around her neck, before heading off down the city streets before the rain could catch them. It was times like these that she wished the concept of public transport made it to the Tower before encountering Earth. It was a small comfort that, if her plan worked, she could implement it, along with several other features of a modernised society.


    Barely making it before the rain started falling, she stepped through the angular archway of the giant smooth glossy black pillar. It had long been a point of contention among the Tower realms on why the System chose to place intimidating black structures of great height throughout the realms, rather than following through with its theme of white-blue colouration. Lucy thought it was because the System wanted to keep the polished angular spikes true to the concept of Earth¡¯s ¡®obelisk¡¯ while seeming futuristic in style, as all System creations are wont to do. The object was large at the base while steadily decreasing in size as it grew taller. It was square-shaped at the base, with four sides, and when it reached a certain point at the top, the edges bent inwards to form a point.


    They always remained taller than the highest building in the city. Several egotistical rulers of the past sought to test this, and so, to their eternal frustration and humiliation, and everyone else¡¯s amusement, they found the Obelisk was still a good height taller than their building, no matter how high they built.


    Inside the Obelisk was unknown. That was because as soon as you stepped through, you went unconscious, and then found yourself inside a semi-translucent white box placed some distance above the Obelisk, a scene of the realm you were in playing about below. It wasn¡¯t necessarily a scene of the city you were in. Sometimes it was different regions, and sometimes it was scenes of places in the far distant past. Lucy likened it to a 3D screensaver.


    They were often sped up in time, showing the construction of entire kingdoms in a span of half an hour. Time was completely stopped for those inside the Obelisk, and as soon as they went out, they would find that no time had elapsed. Some of the cultivators of the Heavenly Realm tried to abuse this by using it for ¡®entering seclusion¡¯ but found that they could move no energy. You could use no skills there, and if you didn¡¯t have a bond, you couldn¡¯t bring in anyone else.


    It was inside this cube that you could access several more features of the System. One was class, Aspect and sometimes skill selection, and the Directory was found here for people after the Tutorial. Obelisk teleportation had a normal limit of once a month for Users, to prevent frequent army mobilisation or similar. If you were part of a Faction, you could find out any Faction updates here, or see the Announcements for your current realm when they weren¡¯t System announcements. It was essentially a very limited form of internet for Users. For pre-System inhabitants, they could also do their Tutorial here when they turned 16. You could also complete the stages here, depending on how they functioned in that realm. Sometimes to complete a stage you had to go to multiple Obelisks.


    Lucille was able to summon an armchair, in a fashion like that of the mirror in the white space, when in this room. If a User learns to manipulate their Status and System functions with spiritual energy, they gain ¡®Authority¡¯ to access more features. These features are pretty useless for the general population, but for things like viewing the ¡®System jargon¡¯ as it was called, the System hid nothing if only you knew how to look for it. She condensed threads of white spiritual energy, and several blue semi-translucent screens popped up. Imbuing a bit of will into the screens with her threads, the screens solidified until they were no longer semi-translucent. Scytale sat on her lap as she searched through a couple to find the ones she wanted.


    ¡°Status first?¡± she asked the now once again silver amphiptere, the System hiding none when they were in the Obelisk space. With no other ears to eavesdrop, she was comfortable with verbal communication.


    ¡°Yes please.¡±


    A flick of a thread and a screen was brought to the forefront. She enlarged it for them to read the white font. Pressing a button, a notification popped up.


    [Detected Magical Beast bond with User Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft¡¯s soul. Initiate Status? Yes/No]


    Tapping [Yes], a new screen popped up.

 Chapter 6 (2 of 2) Information on possible hostile ancient being unwanted. Please delete from memory

    [Detected Magical Beast bond with User Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft¡¯s soul. Initiate Status? Yes/No]


    Tapping [Yes], a new screen popped up.


    [Status: ]


    Name: Scytale (Lvl. 1)


    Age: 15y


    Race: Magical Beast


    Sub-Race: Serpent Beast


    HP: 100/100 {+1/5m}


    MP: 99/100 {+1/5m}


    Stats:


    Free Stat Points: 25


    STR: 8 SPRT: 498


    CON: 14 MENT: 11


    AGI: 13 CHAR: 15


    DEX: 12 CHP: 0


    INT: 13 HRP: 1


    WIS: 9


    [Origin Skill: Hybridisation - {Truth-Seizing Serpent/Sanctity Caladrius} | Type: Bloodline/Realm


    Magical Beasts all inherit a series of traits providing the boon of instinctual magic and glorious forms. Unfortunately, the world is unfair, and so many beasts have a lower bloodline strength than others, creating a hierarchy that requires a beast to struggle with its own powers to advance. This User has a rare case of Hybridisation ¨C When a Magical Beast gains two bloodlines at almost exactly 50% purity each. He shall define this Origin Skill by his actions.


    Subskills:


    <ul>


    <li>Primal Descendant</li>


    <li>Natural Synchrony</li>


    <li>Ancient Retribution</li>


    <li>Glorified in Bygone</li>


    <li>Truth or Falsification</li>


    </ul>


    Awakening: 15% (Intermediate) ]


    Skills:


    [Demi-Mortal Assimilation (Altered)]


    [ ]


    It was unexpected and expected at the same time. There were a couple of things Lucille found were not what she thought, and some were. But one thing instantly stood out to her.


    ¡°Why are your stats fine?¡± She scowled.


    ¡°Well, I am only 15 according to the System. It wouldn¡¯t print another port on my consciousness until I bond or turn 16, in which either case, I will go to an Obelisk where the processing capability is slightly higher, meaning it¡¯s more likely to check for anomalies within my soul. Don¡¯t be jealous, I only get 25 free stat points instead of 30 remember!¡±


    ¡°30 Stat points I can¡¯t even use! And you get higher starting stats than humans, you brat.¡± She glared at the cheeky snake, flicking his tongue at her in amusement. Sighing, she looked at his stats in more detail.


    ¡°They¡¯re a bit weird.¡±


    ¡°Yup. STR is below 10 because I wasn¡¯t born with the size of my relatives, so that¡¯s expected. It¡¯s why my AGI is high for my enclave though, and DEX is slightly higher too. I think INT and WIS are the same, due to being a magic-casting clan. The 99 MP is because of the slight mana drain to keep my great-grandmother¡¯s spell active. The rest though¡­¡±


    CON could be explained by his second bloodline. Higher rarity bloodlines did normally have better constitution. His old starting stats had CON at 13. She supposed his SPRT was due to retaining part of his soul stats, but the others were really weird.


    ¡°It seems I have all the hidden stats?¡±


    ¡°Probably because you have a high SPRT stat. 300 was the amount needed to gain the Authority to unlock those without reaching Rank-3.¡±


    ¡°I think I remember having a high CHAR when I first unlocked the stat, and we attributed that to my bloodline being involved with illusions, so why is it even higher?¡±


    ¡°In that situation, there¡¯s only one cause. The other bloodline has a higher CHAR stat than your original.¡±


    ¡°¡­.have you ever heard about the Sanctity Caladrius having charm spells?¡±


    No, she had not. And if she didn¡¯t know, it was for two reasons only. One was that they didn¡¯t normally have a high CHAR, and it was a mutation for Scytale. The other was because it was kept secret by the bloodline, which was common when related to charm. So, they had a famous light bloodline secretly using hidden manipulative techniques, a situation that instantly felt suspicious, and was giving her severe flashbacks to her experiences with that blighted organisation in the Mystical Realm famous for collecting money from its noble followers as ¡®donations¡¯ for its ¡®prosperity¡¯. She felt a vein twitch on her forehead.


    ¡°Rule number 1. Avoid the Sanctity Caladrius. At all costs. I am NOT going to get involved with a second manipulative Faction when I just know I¡¯m going to get screwed over by the first. Don¡¯t see if you can sneak near them, you know how the older ones can detect their descendants. They probably already sense the new member of their bloodline.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not stupid. This whole situation is giving me Citadel of Fate vibes and I want none of it. However, what do you think the deal is with that Heroic Power? Its main users are manipulative in a different way.¡±


    She rubbed her head with a complex expression on her face. Heroic Power¡­ was a version of spiritual energy with quite specific uses. While the Heavenly Realm mentioned it when talking about reaching the ¡®heart¡¯ realm with ¡®sword¡¯ or ¡®weapon intent¡¯, creating their ¡®weapon souls¡¯, the Mystical Realm used it to form Heroic Weapons and Armour. Formed out of elemental mana, these weapons gained the special Transient prefix next to their rarity.


    They were ¡®summonable¡¯ temporary weapons and armour, costing a certain amount of mana to form and keep active, but had much higher stats than normal weapons of that rarity. Mana-arts that developed Heroic Power were what Glory Pantheon was famous for, dubbing those who learnt the techniques ¡®Champions¡¯ or ¡®Mythos¡¯ depending on their age and whether they were active participants in Championships.


    100 points of spiritual energy condensed to form a single point of HRP. This one point enabled the user to form a weapon or piece of armour out of it. The issue with Scytale having it was that it was a technique belonging only to the ¡®mortal¡¯ races as they were called, humans, elves, dwarves, etc, with few exceptions. With the exclusion of the Titans who were naturally born with it, to Lucille¡¯s knowledge, and she had a LOT of knowledge on System history, there had never been a nonmortal race with Heroic Power.


    If a bloodline could provide this, then it meant it was either a much higher rarity than it seemed, or was a jealously guarded secret, and a bloodline ability that very rarely occurred in its descendants. She turned to Scytale.


    ¡°Please tell as few people about this secret as possible. It is very likely that if the Sanctity Caladrius find out that a beast with another sub-race has this ability, or even notices the higher CHAR stat, and knows what it represents, they¡¯ll either try their hardest to kidnap and indoctrinate you so you become their tool or will hunt you down to the end of the realms. More likely the latter considering you¡¯re a serpent.¡±


    He nodded solemnly, likewise aware of how important it was to keep this secret.


    ¡°What do I do with it?¡±


    ¡°Nothing for now. I think that even if you tried to hide it by using the Heavenly Realm techniques, with your light element affinity, it will automatically become a Heroic Weapon or piece of armour. I¡¯ll try to study as much as I can about it, but I¡¯ll be busy the next few years, so I suggest you do too.¡±


    She rubbed her face again and groaned. ¡°Unfortunately, I know more about Chaos Power than Heroic Power. All I need to do is defeat, or even make a deal with a demon, to find out more about Chaos Power, but that doesn¡¯t work on Glory Pantheon members, their loyalty to their clans being way too high. Why couldn¡¯t you have formed Chaos Power instead? It always gives interesting debuff affixes.¡±


    He flapped his white-gold wings, ruffling her hair with the breeze. ¡°Then I would be a demon beast and not Scytale. Let¡¯s look closer at the sub-skills, I see something I like.¡±


    She opened the Origin Skill tab and Scytale used his snout to tap on Primal Descendant.


    [Sub-skill: Primal Descendant | Type: Bloodline/Transformative ]


    The Magical Beasts of the Beast Realm are descended from mighty creatures larger than the size of worlds, who roamed and fought with each other in their spectacular glory. Unlike their unintelligent ancestors, their descendants are capable of thinking of the consequences of their actions, so therefore please watch below you when you unleash part of their incomprehensible size.


    Ability:


    Endless Growth ¨C Squash not the creatures below you.


    <ul>


    <li>Enables User to increase their size by a certain factor, and multiply their STR and CON. Factor increases each bloodline strength increase. Current factor: x3</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    Scytale bobbed his head happily in an approximation of a nod.


    ¡°This is great. I didn¡¯t gain this skill until I reached advanced level last time. From my memory, I reached about Skulker¡¯s size when I was advanced, so¡­.. yup, x3 is a nice starting point. My old one started at x2 though?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°The Caladrius also have this sub-skill in their bloodline.¡± Not all magical beasts had the skill. It was more common in the higher rarity bloodlines, but it wasn¡¯t a rule. It was also in lower rarity bloodlines, and some higher rarities didn¡¯t have it at all. Scytale made a face, or at least sent his intention of making one through the bond.


    ¡°Caladrius again. Now I know what I do about the bloodline, I¡¯m not quite so proud of it now. Ah well, I¡¯ll adapt, I come from a bloodline known for its illusion magic anyway, so I can be cunning and manipulative.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re a sneaky snake.¡±


    ¡°That too.¡±


    They looked at the other sub-skills. Natural Synchrony was the skill that enabled all magical beasts to communicate mentally, but it also was responsible for several other features. For one thing, magical beasts could increase their bloodline strength by devouring natural resources or materials that matched their elements. The skill could also provide mutations in some beasts when they were in a habitat without their element of mana, or some other situation, like gaining a glowing horn if they were in a cave when they advanced their bloodline strength. They skipped over the third skill to view the Glorified in Bygone one.


    ¡°I think this subskill is responsible for your HRP.¡±


    ¡°That much is obvious, it¡¯s the Sanctity Caladrius bloodline ability.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mean the bloodline; I mean the skill itself.¡±


    ¡°How?¡±


    She brought up the skill sheet. Using a long finger, she pointed at the skill description.


    [Sub-skill: Glorified in Bygone | Type: Bloodline/Elemental ]


    Desc: As brilliant beacons of light, the many winged Sanctity Caladrius have often been guardians and idols of worship for the lesser, mortal masses. Descendants of one of the few peaceable primals, the Light Bringer, they have protected and purified many areas where abominable creatures roamed, allowing the races to hold deep respect for these beings, with some placing them on a pedestal as more than mere beasts.


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Abilities:


    Neophyte Light Bringer ¨C Child of the purest light.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives User advanced Light Affinity. All light element spells have up to 75% increased efficiency and effectiveness. Current element ratio: 75%</li>


    </ul>


    Golden Pillar of Peace ¨C Everywhere you spread your wings shall see your light.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the User Lesser light manipulation.</li>


    <li>


    Gives the User the spells: Sanctification Zone, Rays of Purity, Force of Power (light), Brilliant Beacon.


    </li>


    <li>


    Gives the User the Sympathetic aura effect. Applied to all light spells.


    </li>


    </ul>


    Emergent Glory ¨C What was, shall return in time, and the praise of mortals will be with them once more.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the User a buff depending on the number of onlookers. Current onlooker count: 1/50. 50 = +50% skill effectiveness.</li>


    <li>


    Gives the User mana regeneration +1/1m for every onlooker.


    </li>


    <li>


    Gives the User a temporary mana cap of +1000 for every 100 onlookers.


    </li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    ¡°This is¡­. unique. Huh. Gaining buffs through attention. But ¡®idols of worship¡¯? Is that what you mean?¡±


    ¡°No, I mean ¡®mortal masses¡¯. That only refers to the races that don¡¯t necessarily have any ancestral connection to the ''great beings¡¯ as they were called, such as primals. It seems that this ¡®worship¡¯ of the Sanctity Caladrius enabled them to gain CHAR stats and the potential for HRP, as they were familiar with the mortal races which gained the stat.¡±


    ¡°But wouldn¡¯t that mean other powerful races with a history of worship, such as Phoenixes or Dragons, have the stat? I¡¯ve never heard about that before.¡±


    ¡°Does it honestly surprise you, with how massively overpowered they are, that those races could be born with every available stat?¡±


    ¡°¡­okay, I see your point.¡±


    Then she lifted the metre-long winged snake to look him in the eye.


    ¡°Scytale. If those Major bloodlines are hiding this, when they don¡¯t hide any other ability of theirs, means that this point of Heroic Power you¡¯ve gained could be the answer to becoming a Mythical bloodline. They¡¯re hiding this so none of the other bloodlines discover this, making the Sanctity Caladrius hide this as well, so they won¡¯t attract the Major bloodlines¡¯ attention. I can¡¯t be certain, but if you work it out, you could potentially raise your hybridised bloodline to Mythical, and raise the Truth-Seizing Serpent bloodline to Legendary when it happens.¡±


    Scytale stared at her for a moment, before lowering his head and letting out a low, drawn-out hiss. She likened it to a growl of frustration.


    ¡°This is almost as big as that mask of yours. I¡¯ve found out too many risky secrets while being a Rank-0. Let¡¯s just check my serpent bloodline skill to make sure it¡¯s the same, before moving on to what you wanted to do.¡±


    Bringing another screen to the forefront, this one she brought out had his Truth-Seizing Serpent bloodline skill.


    [Sub-skill: Truth or Falsification | Type: Bloodline/Elemental ]


    Hidden in the wild frontiers, the Truth-Seizing Serpents have gone millennia without anyone discovering the Supreme Ancient clan, besides their fellow serpents. With individual power rivalling that of the highest noble serpent clans, the only thing stopping the gorgeous snakes from becoming stronger is their relatively few numbers, limited by the region they live in. Fitting with their nature, they have the rare and wondrous ability to create and manipulate illusions like others do the elements, and having descended from the World Serpent, they can reach massive sizes but remain hidden from mortal view.


    Abilities:


    Illusions of Grandeur ¨C With or without their illusions, they awe those around them.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the User mid-level compound: Intermediate Illusion Affinity. All illusion spells have up to 25% increased efficiency and effectiveness. Element ratio: 25%</li>


    </ul>


    Veiled in Secrecy ¨C Those who understand not what they see, therefore do not see it.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the User Greater illusion manipulation (no element)</li>


    <li>


    Gives the User the spells: Lesser Invisibility, Incongruity Inversion, Illusory Body


    </li>


    </ul>


    Truth¡¯s Insight ¨C No other beings shall use their powers against them.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the User the spell: Greater Lie Detection</li>


    <li>


    Gives the User the ability: Discerning Eye (Illusion)


    </li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    She smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve always found it funny that the System sounds like a fan when describing your bloodline. Considering what we now know about your enclave becoming a ¡®local legend¡¯, I think the City Lord¡¯s father was the fan, being one of the few humans who knew you existed.¡±


    He hissed at the screen. ¡°I¡¯m annoyed the light element affinity became the dominant one. At least my illusion manipulation didn¡¯t become a light illusion manipulation. My enclave¡¯s version is less restrictive.¡±


    She nodded at that. ¡°It¡¯s because the Sanctity bloodline is a higher rarity. They even got an extra light spell in the second skill compared to your bloodline. Be thankful it didn¡¯t degrade your Greater illusion manipulation.¡±


    ¡°I never understood that. Why is it Greater while the Sanctity bloodline was only Lesser light manipulation?¡±


    ¡°That would be because illusion is a compound element. Typically speaking, it¡¯s harder to gain mastery over the natural ¡®essential elements¡¯ as the Mystical Realm terms them, compared to the more complex ones, because the complex elements were created with intelligent minds behind them. High-level compound energies are a different situation, with how they add concepts into the mix.¡± She tapped on his head. ¡°Any rudimentary plans on how to use the light and illusion manipulation?¡±


    The winged serpent perked up a bit. ¡°Well¡­ it can basically be summarised as turning into a really angry armoured disco ball.¡±


    She quirked an eyebrow but swiped away the screens. ¡°I¡¯ll ask for more details later. Any questions on the ¡®Demi-mortal assimilation¡¯ skill?¡±


    ¡°Nope. I understand it¡¯s because I turned down the ¡®Semi-mortal¡¯ main skill but have a strong bond with you. I¡¯m not interested in merging with you in combat, and I didn¡¯t think you wanted that either. What were you planning to do now?¡±


    She brought up a new screen. ¡°Firstly, let¡¯s complete this quest, and find out your bloodline rarity.¡± Tapping a button, a notification came up.


    [Main Quest (Rank 1: Beast Realm): COMPLETED]


    In the Beast Realm, find and secure an item, object or bond that is Rare or higher with the System Obelisk.


    Rarity: Legendary


    Type: Bond


    [Rewards: Stages 6-10 Unlocked]


    Scytale turned to Lucy on her lap. ¡°Legendary? But I still have my Epic Truth-Seizing Serpent bloodline.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s likely because you gained that HRP point. It must be a rare occurrence, meaning the System graded your bloodline at the same level as the Caladrius bloodline instead of placing you at Ancient,¡± she responded.


    ¡°Huh. Was that it for you?¡±


    Shaking her head, she went through a few more screens. There were so many because her Authority automatically opened them, which was a bit annoying but easy for her to navigate with her spiritual energy. She found what she wanted and, bringing it forward, it pushed aside the other screens.


    Then they froze.


    [Lucille Goldcroft¡¯s Titles:


    Activated: Regressor ¨C Unique


    Inactivated: Overachiever ¨C Unique, Beginner Ascendant ¨C Common


    Available: 99+]


    [Scytale¡¯s Titles:


    Activated: Regressor ¨C Unique


    Inactivated: Overachiever ¨C Unique (Shared), Beginner Ascendant ¨C Common


    Available: 3]


    Both of them stared at the screen for a while, before Lucy wordlessly tapped on ¡®Regressor¡¯ for its information.


    [Title: Regressor | Type: System]


    Rarity: Unique


    Desc: By the blessing of your patron, Aut6or$ty: Z@lec ##### ###### #############, You have gained a second chance as a User. Use it wisely, for this will not happen again.


    [Benefits: x1.25xp gain, +15% to skill gain chance]


    Scytale started sniggering. ¡°Somehow, I don¡¯t think we¡¯re supposed to have this. But what¡¯s with you?¡±


    Lucille was looking at the screen, an odd expression on her face. Moving her finger, she counted the number of hashtags.


    ¡°Why did it bother to hide its name? I can see how many letters are here.¡±


    The snake on her lap looked from her face to the screen, and back again.


    ¡°It?¡±


    She patted him on his head. ¡°More dangerous secrets. The hashtags were related to what I was talking about when I inspected your soul, while the crossed out name is¡­.. well, it has something to do with some past of mine.¡±


    Scytale tilted his head and narrowed his eyes at her.


    ¡°Tower past or otherwise?¡±


    ¡°A bit of both.¡±


    ¡°¡­.please bring this up again when I reach Rank-6 at the very least, so I don¡¯t die without knowing how.¡±


    ¡°You can see my thoughts.¡±


    ¡°Let me be dramatic. It¡¯s a coping mechanism.¡±


    Shaking her head wryly, she checked the other titles. Due to Scytale being a bond, he was able to share some of her titles and sometimes Aspects. He shared the Overachiever title because as an underage bond, he couldn¡¯t do the Tutorial, and was able to see her memories of it anyway, rendering the experience redundant for him. The Overachiever title gave her the benefit of a +5% completion rate when her completion was under 90%, a massive bonus. The normal Overachiever title only gave +1% up to +3% depending on rarity. The snake on her lap gestured with his nose towards the ¡®Available¡¯ section of their titles.


    ¡°That ¡®99+¡¯ answers the question of whether you still have your unknown Authority though. Although you have access to waaaay more than 99.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because it¡¯s a collapsed list. I¡¯m not planning on taking any just yet. How about we check yours? I think the Titles may get you nice Aspects.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Right. I begin with an Aspect because of my bloodline. Will it give me two or replace my old one?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s see another day. Titles for now.¡±


    She pressed on the ¡®Available¡¯ section of Scytale¡¯s titles.


    [Available Titles:


    New! Prodigy of Light ¨C Epic


    New! Phantasmal Splendour ¨C Ancient


    New! Hybrid Nature ¨C Unique]


    Scytale titled his white-gold feather-crested head.


    ¡°Epic? Even though the bloodline is Legendary? That¡¯s lower than Ancient!¡±


    ¡°Title rarities also indicate the actual rarity of the event or creature because Titles are mostly based on real-life occurrences. There are about 5 light element beasts for every illusion one. The benefits won¡¯t necessarily be better though.¡± She considered the titles. "Prodigy of Light and Phantasmal Splendour are titles that let you obtain Aspects of the light and illusion element, so there''s no harm in adding them. The Hybrid Nature Title grants you the Bloodline Sync Aspect, which helps you manage your two bloodlines better."


    She looked down at her bond and shrugged. ¡°May as well add them all. Only the resulting Aspects have limits on them.¡±


    He nodded, pressing on them all with his nose. He activated them all, and Lucille activated her Overachiever and Beginner Ascendant Titles, the latter of which indicated that they were Users and not pre-System inhabitants. Then, Lucy pulled out a small round white token from her Soulbound dimensional bag. Pressing down on it like it was a button, a white-blue holographic image of an open book formed above it, as large as a real book, and rotating slowly. A notification sounded.


    [Skill book ¨C Rare has been identified. Open Rare skill selection? Yes/No]


    She pressed [Yes] and two screens appeared in front of her. On her left was a scrolling list of millions of skills, slowly moving through them to showcase the names. On her right was a screen titled [Class Skill Selection]. Considering the ¡®[Class Skill Selection]¡¯ only said ¡®[Class not detected. Go to class selection?]¡¯, she shut that screen down and turned to the list of skills. Normally, a User wouldn¡¯t use the list of skills as it would take far too long to find any viable skills, but for Lucy, it was a breeze to sort through them with her spiritual energy and thought strands. However, that wasn¡¯t needed. She looked at Scytale on her lap.


    ¡°What do you think?¡±


    He swayed from left to right, doing what Lucy knew was his ¡®thinking¡¯ movement.


    ¡°If it was me, I¡¯d go for some of the valuable evolvable skills.¡±


    She let out a hum. ¡°I¡¯m going to be hard-pressed to find skill unlock items for the skill slots of my primary skills, so I don¡¯t think the added skill consumption will be an option for me. Should I go for some of the more¡­ exotic options?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t hurt looking. I always enjoy seeing the special skills and what they can do. Most people can¡¯t even find them.¡±


    She looked at the screen. Materialising a thicker strand of spiritual energy, she connected it to the screen, and attempted to imbue the mental image of the screen ¡®shattering¡¯ or of an illusion ¡®breaking¡¯. The screen resisted, and with a slight strain, she added more spiritual energy, until the screen fizzled away with the sound of static and a new one popped up. Unlike the other blue ones, this screen was a dark grey. Compared to the original screen, which had skills such as Shadow Step or Fire Blade, this screen had skills of much more interesting names.


    [Complete Authorisation: Skill Selection ¨C Rare]


    <ul>


    <li>¡­..</li>


    <li>Hem¡­..</li>


    <li>Grand Archmage Olisidair¡¯s Experimental Fire-Ice Construct Type 9</li>


    <li>Unstable Dimensional Severance: Prototype 4, Partial Materialisation</li>


    <li>Umbra Shadow Scythe Technique: Sequence 28</li>


    <li>Daoist Razing Sunfire¡¯s Ultimate Blade Technique: 4 of 208</li>


    <li>Krale¡­.</li>


    <li>¡­.</li>


    <li>¡­..</li>


    <li>Type¡­</li>


    <li>Type 5 Variant 6 9827B</li>


    <li>Type 7 Variant 24 3210L</li>


    <li>Type¡­</li>


    <li>¡­..</li>


    <li>¡­.</li>


    <li>Thend¡­</li>


    <li>Ancient Fire Dragon Heart Manifestation Mana furnace</li>


    <li>Mythos Arestiel¡¯s Alternative Champion Halberd Mana-art Footwork Technique</li>


    <li>Elemental Probability Calculation Mechanism Ratio 32</li>


    <li>Luthema¡­..</li>


    <li>¡­..</li>


    </ul>


    ¡°Ooooh. What does the dragon heart skill do?¡±


    ¡°The description says it¡¯s a prototype method to simulate the power of an adult fire dragon¡¯s dragon heart while only having their bloodline and not their source. Unfortunately, the mana-art was extremely volatile and didn¡¯t have the expected power, so was abandoned by the creator so he could try out more successful ventures. It seems it¡¯s for the dragon-blooded.¡±


    ¡°And what about the Elemental Probability Calculation Mechanism?¡±


    ¡°It says it¡¯s a type of divination technique that uses elemental geomancy to determine the best type of spell to use depending on the atmospheric mana ratios. Huh. Sounds like something Marellen would be interested in.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s Marellen?¡±


    ¡°Some noble mage I met. I¡¯m going to stop reading out the descriptions now and start working out what I should pick.¡±


    ¡°But they¡¯re so interesting¡­ Look! Daoist Razing Sunfire created 208 Ultimate Techniques! I thought that was just a stereotype about cultivators!¡±


    She just rolled her eyes. ¡°I can show you some more another day. We still have to get ready for the Inheritance Event.¡±


    And so, they scrolled through the choices as she deliberated over them. Independent skills didn¡¯t typically have much use unless used to tier up a main skill, or primary skills as they were also called. As main skills were usually only gained when getting a class, she couldn¡¯t do that for the moment. The good thing was that all Rare skills and higher were secondary and not tertiary skills. Tertiary skills gave passive boosts, and the more tertiary skills that fused, the higher the rarity of the secondary skill. Secondary skills were added to the subskill slots of a main skill. If a main skill had available tiers to tier up, it did so. Incompatible skills existed, and some even brought down the rarity of the main skill when added, but usually, those couldn¡¯t be added to the main skill at all.


    ¡°What kind of path are you trying to complete, and what do you need for the first main skills?¡±


    She put a hand to her chin in thought. ¡°I¡¯m aiming for utility. This means general mana manipulation, a crafting main skill or two and adaptive skills. I already know which type of main skills I want for the first three ranks at least, so that¡¯s fine. But I wonder¡­ maybe the creator of the elemental divination technique had others.¡±


    The creator¡¯s name was registered as ¡®Saufren Lestial¡¯ which made her raise an eyebrow. She wasn¡¯t too familiar with the details, but she was pretty sure that guy was supposed to be dead.


    ¡°The All-Aeon Athenaeum registered him as ¡®Missing in Action¡¯, not dead.¡±


    ¡°Well, I suppose, but wasn¡¯t he that all-element battlemage of 200,000+ years ago? That¡¯s unlikely. Maybe he¡¯s a hidden inheritor who adopted his name.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you check when he last created a skill?¡±


    She could, and so, checking it, she was amazed to find out his first skill creation was registered as 99,998 years ago, and his latest skill was only 10 years ago. So he was definitely the ¡®Saufren Lestial¡¯ she was thinking of.


    ¡°I know he¡¯s a battlemage, but don¡¯t let your prejudices stop you from taking a good skill of his.¡±


    She glared at the snake on her lap. ¡°I know I say I hate battlemages, but only because their main factions, the Red and Grey Orders, are exceedingly violent and make it a habit to fight each other, destroying the environment to test how much destruction they can cause. The skills I¡¯m seeing Saufren Lestial with indicate he doesn¡¯t quite have such an obsession for blasting people to pieces, and so I¡¯m fine.¡±


    In fact, the Rare skills she could see he had made indicated he was a genuine prodigy when it came to all the elements, and working out the most unique elemental combinations. He also had made a good 50+ ¡®adaptive¡¯ skills like the divination technique, which reacted to the environment of the user. She managed to find some decent choices.


    ¡°I¡¯m thinking of picking ¡®Elemental Integrity Verification¡¯, ¡®Environmental Analysis Var. 3¡¯, ¡®Energy Anomaly Automated Indication¡¯ or ¡®Chaotic Usurpation Perspective¡¯.¡±


    ¡°¡­..they all sound the same to me. Can I have an overview? Also, I don¡¯t think I could ever have the type of character to copy other¡¯s skills whenever I want.¡±


    Due to only Lucy having the authorisation, Scytale couldn¡¯t see the descriptions she could and had to rely on her providing the information. He could see their names because sometimes others earned limited access to the User skill sheet, but normally nobody could use a skill book on them. She rolled her eyes at the other part of what the snake said.


    ¡°Any created skill is automatically added into the System database, and variants of those skills are constructed for less restricted use. There are going to be versions of these skills in the normal Rare skill list, but they might vary slightly. The System would never allow Users to hoard information that could otherwise be used to strengthen the Tower¡¯s inhabitants,¡± she said. ¡°These personal skills are just more applicable to me, as they are easier to modify for my purposes.¡±


    She reviewed the skill descriptions, shortening their names for Scytale. ¡°Verification tells me the ¡®integrity¡¯ of elemental mana in my area, meaning how likely they are to become another element. Environmental Analysis gives me a summarised version of the elemental biomes and localised mana environments in my immediate area. It¡¯s good for making quick modifications to my spells depending on my situation. Energy Anomaly can act as an alternative to my lacking killing intent detection, highlighting strange mana forms in my mana vision or even spiritual perception field passively. The Perspective one seems to be related to what we know about the 7<sup>th</sup> realm.¡±


    ¡°So like, field researcher specialised skills? They sound useful, you might need to get them all. But the third one sounds the most important. You can¡¯t even detect killing intent when I share my senses with you, so as your plan will make you a bigger target, this is the most valuable to you right now. Seems even Saufren had issues detecting killing intent.¡±


    She frowned slightly as she thought about the last skill. ¡°It¡¯s more likely Saufren has found traces of the 7<sup>th</sup> realm. You know how ¡®Absolvance¡¯ works, and how half the entities there are not even ¡®living¡¯ technically speaking.¡±


    ¡°Guess the stories of him exploring the outer planes are true. Anyway, picking the Anomaly one?¡±


    Nodding her head, she selected the skill, and the holographic skill book next to her turned the same grey tone as the screen. She attached a spiritual energy strand to the book, activating it with her will. There was a disconcerting noise of fizzling static she felt reverberate within her head before the skill book disappeared. She instantly felt her spiritual energy follow the commands of the skill, alerting her thought strands to little details that didn¡¯t conform to the rest of the white cube she was in. She got up from the armchair and stretched, regardless of the lack of muscle tiring in the frozen time-space. The silvery-winged snake wrapped around her neck so she could leave.


    ¡°I want to exit the Obelisk,¡± she called out. The apathetic System voice sounded out as the notification appeared.


    [Do you want to exit the Obelisk? Yes/No]


    Selecting [Yes], the world went black as she found herself standing in one of the four archways of the Obelisk. She looked up and sighed.


    I forgot it was raining.


    ¡®No, you didn¡¯t, you can¡¯t forget anything. You just didn¡¯t want to think about it.¡¯


    That¡¯s true, she responded to Scytale with a smirk on her face, heading back as slowly as she could just to annoy the once again wingless and now very wet snake resting atop of her head.

 Chapter 7 (1 of 2) Trials of subterfuge.

    In the Wolvenheim Greenwood Region, at Grove of Snarling Fangs City¡¯s Obelisk, a young woman with long, straight black hair wearing a mask covering half her face appeared, a shiny white-gold winged serpent laying across her shoulders and resting on her head. Among the hundreds of thousands of visitors commuting to and from the city centre, they weren¡¯t necessarily a unique sight, but the eye-catching colouration and seeming rarity of her bond drew a few eyes here and there as they made their way through the traffic.


    The Wolvenheim Greenwood Region was directly ruled by a Supreme high-noble clan under the royal wolf bloodline, the Fenrirs, and so Scytale and Lucy had deemed it safe to remove the Truth-Seizing matriarch¡¯s illusion from him. Quite happy he had his large wings back, the metre-long snake used every chance he got to flap them to the anguish of the girl underneath him, who had the breeze ruffling her normally straight hair everywhere.


    Lucy had to see if she could pull a feather out to get him to stop. While she was twirling her shiny new trinket in her hands, the now more subdued amphiptere was curious about her plans for the city.


    ¡®So how are you going to do this? What are the requirements for the main skill?¡¯


    I need to form an ¡®Identity¡¯ in two different places at once, at the same time, while being Rank-0, which means I can only do this at level 10 or below. And obviously without having selected a main skill already, otherwise I wouldn¡¯t have a skill slot for this.


    ¡®Yeesh. That¡¯s practically impossible. All right, so why couldn¡¯t this have been done earlier?¡¯


    Because I need to make a conceptual ¡®Identity¡¯. That means the residual spiritual energy of 100 people or more must be directed at me and my temporary doppelganger at the same time in two different places.


    ¡®Okay, this must be used by only one other person in the history of the System. So, I guess you need to make scenes in areas with lots of people, but you can¡¯t be unsafe about it, which means¡­. the Inheritance Trials Event and the Distorted Depths Battalion Application?¡¯


    That¡¯s right.


    ¡®I guess I¡¯m your temporary doppelganger then. Illusion, the ultimate element, helping someone trick double the people in the same amount of time. Should I act for the Inheritance Event or the Battalion Application?¡¯


    She tapped on her chin with a finger in thought. Currently trying to find an inn, they had to make their way past many more people than had been in the Supreme Serpent¡¯s Silent City. This city had a much larger population of magical beasts, and most were wolf-types, having long tails and ears with their human features. As was customary among the wolf clans, when they had a disagreement, they organised duels to resolve it. She eventually responded to her bond.


    Play my part at the Inheritance Event. Physical combat is less important when you¡¯re part of a navy on constantly stormy seas, so I doubt they¡¯ll try to test my physical ability at the Battalion Application. I passed it last time just fine, and it shouldn¡¯t be that different compared to the time a few months later when I originally joined it. You can act like me well enough, can¡¯t you?


    ¡®Oh definitely. I just have to stand there, all smug, eyes narrowed and with a supremely irritating wide grin on my face that makes anyone who sees it think I know too much about them. Yup, easy peasy.¡¯


    I¡¯d swat you if we weren¡¯t in public.


    ¡®I know.¡¯


    Entering a decent-looking inn, it was a quick process to get a room key and go up to it. Lucille flopped down on the bed and Scytale lay next to her coiled up. She looked up at the roof.


    Come to think of it, I didn¡¯t get the appearance change option that I had when I finished the Tutorial the last time.


    ¡®I noticed you didn¡¯t change your appearance. Was it because of that?¡¯


    Not at all. I just don¡¯t care about my appearance anymore after 200+ years. Sure, I wanted to make it so my appearance wasn¡¯t connected with my family when I first entered the Tower, but that must not even be on my list of priorities now.


    The old her looked much different to her currently. The original 18-year-old Lucille Goldcroft had been careful in ensuring nobody would know who she was, and so, when offered it by the System, took the chance to completely change her form. She knew several others from Earth had been offered it as well. The User gained an Epic skill that perfectly transformed their body so they could have their old appearance or their new one whenever they pleased.


    ¡®Then the System must¡¯ve detected that you weren¡¯t planning on changing your looks. So, when do we want to do this?¡¯


    She closed her eyes, or eye, as one was already closed behind the mask, and relaxed.


    The day before the Inheritance Trial appears. I want to take advantage of the groups that will appear because they¡¯ve earned early knowledge of where it will occur, so in two days, here¡¯s what I want you to do...


    ¡­


    Two days later, in the Tower equivalent of mid-August, a figure walked through the entrance of a large intimidating building. Built out of grey-blue and white brick, in large gold-thread font, the navy-blue banner hanging across the giant entranceway spelled out ¡®THE EMPIRE OF ETERNITY¡¯S BEAST REALM BRANCH OF THE DISTORTED DEPTHS¡¯ NAVY BATTALION: GROVE OF SNARLING FANGS CITY¡¯. Hanging below that, a much smaller banner spelled out ¡®APPLICATIONS CURRENTLY OPEN¡¯.


    The figure had an unruly mane of wild black curly hair highlighted by glowing strands of dark blue and indigo, with specks of white, and piercing brilliant blue eyes. She was tall and had a stunningly gorgeous face but watched everything with a cold, indifferent expression. The woman was currently wearing a white dress shirt, dark-blue pants, knee-high brown boots, and a light-brown leather vest, appearing like she was in her early 20s. It was Lucille, currently using an illusion to appear as she did when she signed up for the Navy in the past.


    Making her way forward with purpose, she reached an applicant desk where a young female clerk dressed in a militant Navy-blue uniform detailed with gold buttons, cuffs and a collar was working. She tilted her head - wearing a matching navy blue and gold cap - to look up at Lucy. She put on a pleasant smile.


    ¡°Are you here for the Distorted Depths Region Navy Battalion application?¡±


    She nodded her head silently. The clerk pushed forward a form and pen on the dark lacquered wood of the desk.


    ¡°Please write your name, level, race, realm of origin, and class type here before you head to the waiting area. The other information is optional. The Empire accepts all we can for the Distorted Depths Region, so do not fear that we will reject you,¡± the short-haired clerk told her.


    Lucy nodded again. She filled out the form and handed it back to the clerk.


    The clerk read out the form, comparing it to an invisible status screen of information. ¡°Your name is Adrianna Riftmire?¡±


    Feeling like a pattern was forming, Lucy nodded her head once again.


    ¡°Level 40, your race is human and you¡¯re a mage. I don¡¯t suppose you could tell me where you are from? We don¡¯t have any Mystical Realm residents of that name in our population registry.¡±


    Well, that was because ¡®Adrianna Riftmire¡¯ didn¡¯t exist. Yet. Lucy responded, her tone apathetic.


    ¡°I¡¯m not in the registry because I came from one of the outer planes of the Mystical Realm. It was destroyed during a freak void storm, and the System initiated an emergency teleport for my countrymen. Not all of them made it. Is there more information on this you would like me to supply?¡± she asked.


    The clerk stared at her and then coughed. ¡°Oh, no. That will be all I need.¡±


    She very quickly stamped a red seal of acceptance with the Empire¡¯s emblem onto her form. She awkwardly stood up and while bowing, pointed a white-gloved hand in the direction of the waiting room to her left.


    ¡°Please be seated in the waiting room over there. The wait will be for the next half-hour, or until the waiting room is full. Please don¡¯t hesitate to show your talents in the assessment trial, as you may gain a higher initial position when fully accepted into the Navy. The Empire wishes you luck, so that you may see future horizons.¡±


    Then the clerk stiffly gave her the Empire¡¯s salute, a fist pressed against her chest, before sitting down and ignoring Lucy, drawing eyes from the other 20 clerks working nearby. Lucy, herself almost raised an eyebrow but kept up her act and entered the large waiting room. The room big enough to fit hundreds was filled with many people, most of them older veteran adventurers and mercenaries, seated on the wooden benches supplied for them by the staff. One large wall was made of glass, showing a huge white auditorium filled with different obstacles and targets, presumably the assessment area. On the opposite side of the auditorium was a raised platform with several armchairs placed there, but they were currently empty.


    Due to her apparent young age, she drew some looks, but most ignored her. She leaned against the wall and waited patiently with her eyes closed.


    Most of the people within were mercenaries or adventurers who were looking to enter the navy for a stable job, the Distorted Depths¡¯ Battalion meaning they would gain access to larger amounts of experience from defeating the many monsters found in the Beast Realm. If they entered the Main Navy Battalion instead of the Distorted Depths¡¯, they wouldn¡¯t be fighting monsters, but people. They were people who already had some combat experience, and hoped to get to a decent level in the Navy¡¯s hierarchy by showing off their strength. Lucy, however, wasn¡¯t aiming for that. She had another place she needed to go before becoming an Officer in the navy.


    After some time, the doors were opened by a man wearing navy blue. The staff member who opened the doors spoke to the whole room.


    ¡°You will now enter the assessment hall. The assessors are honourable military Captains of the Empire¡¯s different battalions, a total of 24, so do not disrespect their judgement. If you are called up, you will come to the front, where you will demonstrate your abilities to them. Everyone else must remain behind the red line, which also indicates where the magical barrier will be, for your protection. Do not move past the red line until your name has been called, or else you will be disqualified.¡±


    They went through a few more rules, with some particularly pointed ones such as ¡®no combat between participants while waiting¡¯ and such. Eventually, they headed through the doors and turned left, ending in front of the glass wall of the waiting room. Lucy counted roughly 80 participants and combined with the Captains, if all went to plan, she would get the skill. Contacting a certain winged snake, she sent a pulse of spiritual energy along the bond.


    I¡¯m waiting for my turn. How are you going on your end?


    She heard Scytale¡¯s voice echo through the bond.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡®I think I¡¯m good. I¡¯ve got a plan to bait three mid-sized Factions which are searching for the Inheritance Trials site to come together.¡¯


    Good. The identities don¡¯t need to form at exactly the same time, but it would be best to keep them within half an hour of each other. ¡®R¡¯ from Riftmire is quite far down the Imperial Common alphabet, so I¡¯ll be here for another hour at least.


    ¡®So begin in an hour?¡¯


    Yes.


    ¡®Got it. Then I¡¯ll start preparing¡¯


    <hr>


    A black-haired girl with a mask over her face¡¯s right side was crouched in some tree branches, watching a few steel-plated guilders mull about in the woods below. Scytale¡¯s illusions didn¡¯t transform his body, unlike his great-grandmother¡¯s, but it automatically conformed to what people imagined a human would normally do in his position, so his fake limbs weren¡¯t clipping through the trees near him or twisting weirdly. It was one of the better applications of spiritual energy with illusions Lucy had taught him.


    With half an hour still left to go, he was currently waiting for the three Factions to trigger the magic he had left. The Guilds were busy searching for a sign or something that would indicate where the Inheritance Event was going to appear tomorrow, so they could camp and be some of the first to enter. He had asked Lucy in the past about what Guilds in the Beast Realm really did considering they tended to act like large gangs with some sort of ineffectual moral standpoint, but from what he gathered from her description, they were supposed to fight the larger and stronger monster Lairs, rather than squabble over land rights and territory.


    Considering all three Factions were from the city, he was willing to take a bet that they would bicker like children when they saw each other, and instantly get defensive if they saw a rival ¡®guilder¡¯ spying on them. It wasn¡¯t his fault that his three illusion spells were conveniently mimicking the three Faction¡¯s armour designs. It was only a coincidence. He could swear on his Caladrius bloodline¡¯s ancestors.


    He snickered when he discovered that the three armour designs were in the colours red, blue, and yellow, the primary colours. Or not the true primary colours, if you considered that green and not yellow as the primary colour for light, and not paint. That thought of light made him think about his new avenues of attack for the future¡­. wait, he was supposed to be keeping a lookout for when they would trigger the spells!


    Oh, he was fine. They hadn¡¯t yet. A quick check with Lucy and her internal clock told him that he still had 25 minutes, so he continued musing about his light element manipulation.


    Known as one of the 6 essential elements of fire, water, earth, wind, light and dark, the light element was very popular for its relatively high attack. Not as great as fire, but it made up for it with its buffs. Conversely, dark was a great defensive power with good debuffs. He was a bit annoyed with the element on how it was related to ¡®heroism¡¯ and its connection with that guy, but it was better for him than any of the four base elements, because it also had illusion spells in its repertoire. There were both light element and dark-element illusion spells. He still thought neutral illusion magic was best because he could mimic both light and dark magic with it, but his new bloodline didn¡¯t change his no-element illusion manipulation to light, so he was content.


    However, while dark magic was more ¡®conceptual¡¯ according to Lucy, as nobody could literally manipulate the absence of light, therefore making it more irregular with its function, the light element was interesting in another way. Most thought light was a less hot and flashier version of fire magic, but he knew better, thanks to his experience with Lucy and through her, Earth. Microwaves, x-rays, infrared, ultraviolet, and even the nastier ones, like gamma rays, were all available to him.


    He knew the rare light Archmagus¡¯ had discovered the electromagnetic spectrum, but while most thought their highly devastating forms of magic were related to their proficiency in manipulating the element, he knew it was the opposite: manipulating the electromagnetic spectrum was the most basic form of light manipulation, and therefore the purest. Creating massive barriers of light magic was ten times harder than creating microwaves, however, creating microwaves was harder mentally to understand when it came to elemental laws. He had already skipped that step.


    His issue was this: he wasn¡¯t a very deep thinker. Most magical beasts weren¡¯t, although the magic manipulators like his sub-race were considered more academic-minded than most. But yeah, unlike Lucille and her years of research, he was simple. Point him at the enemy and he¡¯ll rip them to pieces.


    However¡­ he was getting interested in finding out more about the scientific side of the light element now that it applied to him, and possibly his future magic. Lucy said that was because if he could find anything that would make him stronger, he would try his best to do it. He supposed it might be true, he did enjoy the few video games he played, even if not the VR games so common in her world at the present. And when she explained spiritual energy and its relation to magic, he did pick up a few tricks.


    But how could it apply to him¡­. Hmmm. It seemed like he would need to think a bit. While his plan could, very very loosely, be explained as becoming a ¡®very angry armoured disco ball¡¯, as he told his bond, it was more complicated than that. His last skill of the Sanctity Caladrius bloodline could be explained as needing him to be an aggravator of some kind. Stereotypically what Earth¡¯s Users refer to as a ¡®tank¡¯. Because the Tower was not a game, no matter what the forerunners believed, people built their classes and skillset around their Origin Skills, regardless of their actual wants, and so there was very little true ¡®min-maxing¡¯.


    He wasn¡¯t too upset about that, as he wasn¡¯t quite up for becoming the ¡®Truth-Seizing World-Ender¡¯ of old yet, but he had no experience with the traditional fighting style of a tank, with buffs and all. He was originally more of a just shrug off all the damage and turn their spells against them kind of guy.


    How did a stereotypical tank usually function? He remembered they had good defence, physical strength, high hp, aggro skills and regen¡­. and the light element was best for healing outside water or wood. He focused on CON and STR in the past, due to his size meaning he didn¡¯t get the stats members of his bloodline usually did, but this time he would have to go for a more magic-based fighting style. He would need much more INT than WIS, as WIS would increase his mana regen, which was the easiest for him to increase due to his Caladrius skill, but his mana cap was harder to increase. Although¡­. If he invested in WIS instead of relying on his bloodline skill to supply it, couldn¡¯t he use tons of passive buffs?


    As long as he had enough mana, he could apply millions of buffs, increasing all his stats, and the stronger he becomes, the more likely he is to attract more attention. With more mana, he could have permanent healing spells, and permanent buffs active. He was sure Lucy knew some of the skills required for the Citadel of Fate¡¯s Paladin class, and they had some of the best light element buffs, so if he fused a low-rarity Paladin class... Oh, and with his elemental mimicry technique, he could simulate the other elements with his illusion magic at around 75% similarity, and they had some cool buffs too. Even better, he will be immune to the effects of elemental damage reduction, as unless they were specific to illusion, a dark, fire, air, water, or earth damage reduction would be ineffective, as he will be using illusion for those buffs.


    And how could he forget about skill chains? By using damage reflection buffs, every time he gets attacked, he can set off skill chains and reactive buffs that can reverse the damage, sending it back to them. With a high CHAR stat, they¡¯ll always consider him the greatest threat on the battlefield, attacking him and making it worse. Then he¡¯ll really become a threat from the bonus mana, which means they¡¯ll continue attacking him, keeping their attention on him! Wait, but for his defence, just high CON might not be good enough. If only he could create a super strong full-body Heroic Armament somehow¡­. Maybe Lucy knew a technique to merge-


    He flinched as he felt a slight mana drain. Quickly switching his attention to the faint senses of his three illusory guilders, he realised one of the Faction¡¯s guilder parties had activated the fake guilder. He quickly controlled it to follow the party at a distance. Checking the time, he realised there were about 5 minutes left, so, he activated the other two, finding a few parties nearby to stalk. Then, very carefully, he made his illusion puppets enter the range of the three party¡¯s senses. When a party member noticed the puppet and saw their colour, he made them start running away, leaving traces. Someone with decent skill would be able to see that the traces were on purpose, but he didn¡¯t believe they had anyone like that here. They weren¡¯t any of the larger Factions from the city, after all.


    He led the three parties to an open field. It was where Lucy knew the Inheritance Event was going to appear, but these little Factions hadn¡¯t discovered that yet. He made sure the parties didn¡¯t appear in the field at the same time, so they wouldn¡¯t meet and then watched from his now bird-shaped illusion puppets to see them make their way back to their main Faction camps. In this way, they would report the open field within the forest to their superiors, suggesting that could be where the Inheritance Event will appear. The open field was expanded with System magic, and so was a new addition to the forest that normally these Guilds would have known like the back of their hands.


    After they reported, he made his way over to the field. Hiding within one of the encircling trees, he watched patiently as the red, blue, and yellow Guilds, each having 50 people, came over to inspect the field, approaching from the field¡¯s sides, all evenly spaced from each other. Then, while sniggering, he saw the awkward silence occur when the three leaders and their subordinates saw the other two factions had found the field and arrived at the same time as them.


    Scytale had used his illusions to prevent the Guilds from realising the other Guilds were searching for the site of the Inheritance Trials. There were a few close calls, but he managed to prevent them from seeing the real guilder parties, so they all were extremely excited when they ¡®realised¡¯ that they were the only ones currently in the forest at the time.


    When the three leaders started walking towards the circular field¡¯s centre to talk, Scytale knew it was his time to shine. Activating [Lesser Invisibility], he slithered his way through the grass, hiding in preparation as he eavesdropped on their conversation. The red-plated, black-haired leader spoke up first.


    ¡°So, you guys teamed up and baited me here? What are you going to do now, kill us here, where anyone can stumble across my Faction¡¯s bodies?¡± he growled, a hand already on the handle of the longsword by his waist.


    The red-haired leader with a blue crest on her armour made a motion to grab the battle axe strapped to her back. ¡°You¡¯re playing this sort of game, huh? Well, I don¡¯t care, I¡¯ve been wanting to cut off that over-blown ego of yours anyway.¡±


    The blonde-haired Guild leader with gold, yellow-crested armour and a spear on his back stepped between them both and held up his hands placatingly, a smile on his face.


    ¡°I believe we shouldn¡¯t be fighting right now. Maybe we can all take a step back to think through this situation further-¡±


    ¡°No!¡±


    The blonde-haired man ran a hand down his face as they prepared to fight.


    ¡°Please, Garson, Louise, don¡¯t do this now. I feel like something¡¯s off about this.¡±


    The red-head Guild leader turned her head to the blonde guy with renewed fury.


    ¡°As if I would believe your sketchy mug, Francis! I¡¯ve never trusted you since you stole my skill book.¡±


    ¡°But that was when we were 16! ¡­never mind, please calm down and think about this a bit more!¡±


    Louise clenched her teeth and looked ready to argue, while Garson, even though he was still scowling, removed his hand from his sword and took a less aggressive position.


    ¡°Well,¡± he said, arms crossed, ¡°You always were the smartest one, Francis, so I¡¯ll hear you out, if only because I don¡¯t believe Louise has the intelligence to bait us like this.¡±


    Louise turned back to him, obviously irate, while Francis nodded in thanks and placed his gauntleted hands on his hips. He gestured with one, indicating to the gathered Guild members.


    ¡°Thank you. Now, can we at least agree that none of us in our right minds would ever lead another of our three Guilds to an Event we could use ourselves?¡±


    The two of them grudgingly nodded and Francis continued.


    ¡°And so, I want to bring up another fact: why could none of our parties see traces of the other Guilds right until we were all conveniently led to this field at the same time? Surely you can see the issue, as all our trackers have similar skill levels!¡±


    ¡°Thomas is at tier XII for his tracking. He tiered up last week.¡±


    Francis gave Louise a look. She blinked back.


    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about their Statuses.¡± He put a hand to his forehead before gesturing to the others again.


    ¡°I¡¯m just saying, there¡¯s no point to me, Garson, or you Louise, inviting any of the other Guilds to this field. It¡¯s more likely someone else lured us here.¡±


    ¡°Someone like me?¡±


    All three of them whirled around, weapons at the ready, to see a black-haired mask-wearing girl(?) standing behind them. They glanced at each of their own Faction members, who shrugged and looked just as confused as the trio was to see the girl. Scytale stepped forward as he masqueraded as Lucy, a carefree smile on his face. With the illusion copying his intentions, it was easy to make it follow his expressions, even if he was in beast form. The Lucy mimicry¡¯s grin widened, and he made it do a deep bow, one hand spread wide.


    ¡°Lucille Goldcroft at your service,¡± he said with her voice. They traded wary glances between them, telling Scytale exactly how they felt about not sensing his presence. Lesser Invisibility had minor presence-reducing abilities, as it was an intermediate spell. The red-wearing Garson waved his sword at ¡®Lucy¡¯ threateningly when she straightened up.


    ¡°Get back.¡±


    ¡®Lucy¡¯ raised an eyebrow, her smile still present. ¡°Whatever for?¡±


    Louise was less cautious and swept out with her battle-axe, letting a slash of water magic out at the same time. ¡®Lucy¡¯ leaned back, dodging it with ease. It wouldn¡¯t have done anything to the illusion, but it was best to keep the act up for now. ¡®Lucy¡¯ saw that Francis seemed to be looking at the area around him with searching eyes, and she narrowed her own eyes, but Francis¡¯s gaze quickly returned to her.


    Francis hissed at Louise with clenched teeth before she could make another move. ¡°Get. Back. You can¡¯t harm her.¡±


    ¡®Lucy¡¯ tilted her head at him. ¡°What astute eyes.¡±


    ¡°Why not?! She¡¯s right there!¡± Louise hissed back at him. ¡®Lucy¡¯ placed her hands behind her back with an amused smile, slowly walking around them. The defensive trio moved around in a circle to keep her within their field of view.


    ¡°It¡¯s because-¡± Francis began, but Garson slashed through ¡®Lucy¡¯ with his longsword. Instead of pulling back, injured as she normally would¡¯ve been, she wavered like a reflection on water and reappeared on their opposite side, chuckling.


    ¡°-of that,¡± Francis finished. The other two looked flabbergasted that the attack didn¡¯t work, while Francis let out a sigh. ¡°She¡¯s an illusion,¡± he explained to them.


    ¡®Lucy¡¯s¡¯ smile widened, and she gave an exaggerated shrug.


    ¡°Indeed. It seems we may be at an impasse. You seem intent on killing me, an unknown factor, while I currently do not feel the same way. Although that,¡± she continued, eyes narrowing coldly while her smile remained the same, ¡°May change depending on your actions.¡± The three of them shrunk back a little at the implied threat. Scytale had no intention of killing them, but they had no way of knowing that.


    Garson and Louise seemed to become nervous with her statement, but Francis straightened up slightly, still pointing his spear at her.


    ¡°Your earlier words seemed to imply you led us here. Is that true?¡± he demanded.


    ¡®Lucy¡¯ smirked and responded. ¡°It¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°For what purpose?!¡± He shouted at her, scowling. ¡®Lucy¡¯ let out a short laugh and pointed at the ground beneath them.


    ¡°You¡¯re here for the Inheritance Trials are you not?¡±


    Garson and Louise opened their mouths in surprise, while Francis remained silent. ¡®Lucy¡¯ raised an eyebrow at Francis¡¯s reaction but carried on walking with her hands behind her back.


    ¡°Don¡¯t want to give any more details away? Well, your silence is an answer in itself. I¡¯m here for it too, obviously.¡±


    Garson let out a ¡®Bah¡¯ while Louise scoffed. Francis kept his spear steadily aimed at her.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡±


    ¡°Oh? You don¡¯t?¡± she responded.


    ¡°No,¡± he growled. ¡°You¡¯ve turned up a day earlier. You led all our factions to the field where the Event is most likely to appear. You let us talk it out instead of inciting us to fight, and you used an illusion to appear before us as we were discussing this. Why would you do any of these things?!¡±


    ¡®Lucy¡¯ raised her eyebrow again. ¡°Curious? Then let¡¯s trade information. One question per answer.¡±


    Francis stared at her for a second before shaking his head. ¡°I¡¯m not playing your games.¡±


    ¡®Lucy¡¯ halted her actions. They nervously watched her for a moment, unsure of what she was going to do, before the girl started chuckling, then doubling down and laughing heartily in a show of emotion the real Lucy would never do. Slapping her thigh and wiping away a fake tear in laughter, ¡®Lucy¡¯ stopped using the type of words the real Lucy would, and grinned in amusement at them.


    ¡°I mean, come on, ¡®I¡¯m not playing your games¡¯? What is this, some childish book with the villain tricking the three heroes with words of power? Do you think you actually have important information? No random demon is going to turn up and think ¡®Oh, I might just trap these random guilders into an unwilling contract, that¡¯ll be worth it¡¯. Dude, be realistic. Even if I meant it, my questions couldn¡¯t do anything to you guys.¡±


    The three of them just stared at the ¡®Lucy¡¯ who had abandoned his acting, very confused and feeling slightly embarrassed when they heard what she said. Garson had even begun to turn red in humiliation, and Francis¡¯s expression was very interesting for Scytale to watch as burgeoning realisation formed.


    ¡°Sorry guys had to do this for my bond. Something about 100 people seeing me or whatever. And wow, you guys are terrible guilders. I mean, I¡¯m not even Rank-3 yet and you got tricked by my illusions! But seriously, get a grip. I don¡¯t care about your ¡®information¡¯ or whatever. Who cares what this little region has. Anyways, I gotta go. So long!¡±


    And, after poking his tongue out at them, Scytale in ¡®Lucy¡¯s¡¯ form dashed away from the three factions, having received confirmation from Lucille that his part of the job was completed. But he wanted to do one last thing. Turning around, he yelled out to them, pointing in the air.


    ¡°Oh, AND THIS IS FOR TRYING TO KILL ME!¡±


    And with a twist of magic, illusory red fireworks shot up from his finger above the clearing, spelling out the words ¡®INHERITANCE EVENT HERE!¡¯ next to a bright red arrow, pointing downward, clearly visible from the city. As the three red, blue, and yellow Guilds watched, his Lucy visage melted away, and they barely caught a glance of a silver tail slipping into the darker woods.


    I don¡¯t think I could ever truly understand why Lucille plays with her enemies like that, but I¡¯ve got to admit, that was majorly satisfying.

 Chapter 7 (2 of 2) Trials of subterfuge.

    ¡°Adrianna Riftmire,¡± announced the blue and gold-wearing Navy Officer in front of the barrier, within the assessment hall of the Empire¡¯s Distorted Depths Navy Battalion Branch. Finally ready for her part, she stepped forward and crossed the red line symbolising the starting point of the magic barrier. Glancing out of the corner of her eye, Lucy saw that most of the participants were bored and ignoring her, clearly waiting for the assessment to end so they may receive notice of either acceptance or refusal into the Battalion.


    Seems I need to be flashy with my magic to get these guy¡¯s attention. I¡¯m pretty sure they have sound-cancelling magic built into the barrier as well, so I have to consider that.


    She looked up at the 24 assessors sitting in the armchairs above her and waited.


    ¡°You¡¯re Adrianna Riftmire?¡± asked the one in the middle, a battle-scarred dirty-blonde-haired man dressed in the blue-gold of the navy. The others wore colours of red, green, white, and even violet, indicating their allegiance to other Battalions.


    ¡°Yes sir,¡± responded Lucy, bowing her head in respect. She was not part of the military, nobility, or other Empire Factions, and therefore should not salute. The man nodded in acknowledgement of her respect.


    ¡°You may raise your head. As you were told, we¡¯ll issue your tasks, and you must not tell those outside what it was we asked you, regardless of the fact they can see your actions. Is that clear?¡±


    ¡°Yes sir,¡± she answered.


    ¡°Very good. Now, as you have registered as a mage, I want you to shoot one fireball at the training dummy in front of you.¡± The dummy in question was made of bronze metal, the height of a normal human, and was enchanted with self-repairing magic.


    Without even nodding, she raised her right hand in the gesture of a gun, and a marble-sized ball of condensed fire coalesced an inch away from the tip of her index finger, in front of a red-orange glowing circle. She activated it, shooting it at the dummy, and it blasted through the centre of it, punching a hole. The Navy Captain raised an eyebrow at her magic.


    ¡°That was¡­ unnaturally high power and speed. Okay then, if that¡¯s too easy, I¡¯ll give you thirty seconds to shoot as many of these targets as possible when you say you are ready. Do not manipulate any mana until you say go, because our sensors will detect it.¡±


    Lucy nodded her head and then said, ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±


    The instant she did so, 20 white illusory targets appeared on the walls of the square area she was in, moving quickly. Without raising a hand, exactly 20 fireballs, the same as the one from before, formed a ring around her as they sat in front of orange mana-circles, and with a small gesture from her hand, they slammed into the targets around her, each fireball matching the target. The targets disappeared as soon as she did so, and several of the assessors¡¯ leaned forwards in interest. A few of the participants behind her had also looked up, interested in what she was doing.


    ¡°You seem experienced with orders. Captains, what do you say I should do, test more spells, or move on to the next task?¡±


    They discussed amongst themselves for a bit, before the Navy Captain looked back to Lucy.


    ¡°We¡¯re moving on to your speciality. What kind of mage are you?¡± The red-wearing Captain, a member of the Empire¡¯s Main Army Battalion, listened intently for her answer.


    ¡°I¡¯m an illusion mage.¡±


    There were several sighs from the other Battalion Captains, and the red-wearing one leaned back, disappointed, while the Navy Captain just raised an eyebrow at her answer.


    ¡°And what makes you think an illusion mage is suited for the constant battles of the Distorted Depths?¡±


    She looked up at them and answered without a waver in her voice.


    ¡°I¡¯m capable of fighting multiple opponents at once, with my magic being automated and capable of minor self-driven action.¡±


    The Captains watched her intently, curious about what she meant. Lucille expected this, as normally that was an answer summoners were more likely to use. The battle-scared Captain in the centre just nodded his head and gestured with his hand.


    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s see it.¡±


    Lucy looked to the floor next to her, manipulating the mana around her to coalesce into a vague shape. The purple-blue illusion magic slowly changed colour until a quadrupedal form reaching up to her waist appeared. It breathed slowly in and out but didn¡¯t move otherwise. She placed a hand on the black-furred, green-eyed beast beside her.


    ¡°This is a lesser Direwolf. Found in the weaker forest regions of the Wolvenheim area, they are normally low-ranked monsters that are strong enough to defeat a Rank-1 if the Rank-1 is not careful. They can reach a User level equivalent of 80.¡±


    The Captains looked confused and a bit pitying, because they thought she had made a mistake, and the people behind her laughed a bit, while the red-wearing Captain walked forward and looked down at her, condescending.


    ¡°Young lady, while a tamer has the limited capability to use spells, they can by no means be referred to as a mage. I must praise your application of the fireball spell, but this monster-¡±


    ¡°I say this with all due respect sir,¡± she interrupted, keeping her cold blue eyes on him as she spoke, ¡°But this is not a monster. So, I can by no means be referred to as a tamer. Please let me continue my demonstration.¡±


    A few of the Captains looked a bit shocked and enraged at her attitude, while the Army Battalion Captain went red in the face as he looked like he was about to shout. The Navy Captain held up a forestalling hand to the red-wearing Captain, a silencing look on his face. He turned back to Lucy.


    ¡°Riftmire,¡± he said, his face stern. ¡°If this was the navy, I would demote you three ranks for having that attitude towards your superior. However,¡± he added, seeing the army Captain next to him about to say something, ¡°It''s true you haven''t finished your demonstration, so I will let it go just this once. Watch your words in the future and continue with your demonstration.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir.¡± She nodded, turning back to her Direwolf with an outstretched hand. ¡°This,¡± she began, ¡°Is not a monster. It is the model I have spent the most time perfecting, so its mana may resemble the chaotic and abrasive nature of monster mana, but it is not real. It is purely a construct. And,¡± she continued, ¡°It is capable of doing minor functions on its own. That includes simulating the primitive mind of a real monster, so it can attack when directed and respond to threats. It''s not the only monster I can mimic.¡±


    She waved a hand and the Direwolf lost form, growing taller, transferring to two legs, and gaining a wooden club in one hand, dragging on the floor. It lost its hair, revealing green-brown skin, a bald head, swollen belly, and gangly limbs. When it had reached twice her height, it stopped growing. She gestured to this new form of her construct.


    ¡°This is an ogre. This will not be unfamiliar to you, as I assume you have all fought it before in your time.¡±


    The captains nodded, all of them quite interested in her ability to change the illusion to other monsters. The Navy Captain nodded and asked her another question, while half the people behind her watched.


    ¡°And why do you think this will benefit the navy?¡±


    She waved a hand in response, and the form of the ogre changed again. This time, she added more of her illusion magic into the mix, making sure to appear very slightly drained. The viewers, including the captains, all let out slight gasps of shock as a towering 10-metre-tall, grotesque tentacle wriggling about within the room was revealed. With sticky grey-blue skin on its outside, and pink suckers winding their way up the inner part of the slimy tentacle, it was not pleasant to view. A few of the people behind her flinched even as the Navy Captain was beginning to show a smile on his face, eyes wide and eyebrows disappearing into his wild hair.


    ¡°It¡¯s easy for me to design constructs that suit the environment I am in. This includes the tentacle, which was built as a prototype battle construct for the Distorted Depths, although there are some key details I¡¯m sure the Navy Captain will recognise.¡±


    The man in question nodded, chuckling. ¡°Indeed. This belongs to no form of monstrous octopus or other tentacled creatures I am familiar with in the ocean.¡±


    She nodded at his answer. ¡°Because they are made from my own magic and no currently existing spell, I create them myself. I can alter my constructs to suit the situation when needed. This construct here has no basis for its structure, so unfortunately, it also does not have its own abilities, unlike my other monsters.¡±


    The Captains nodded in understanding, and she could see a few pondering her magic¡¯s implications. However, she hadn¡¯t yet managed to gain the residual energy of all of them to complete her identity. This was actually because a few participants were asleep. It seemed she needed to show a bit more. The scarred Captain in the centre raised an eyebrow at her statement.


    ¡°So, your constructs can use abilities? Are they physical? That¡¯s not something illusion magic can do, to my understanding. I¡¯ve only heard of illusion magic mimicking spells.¡±


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    She nodded and used the tentacle to pick up one of the bronze dummies surrounding her. A few captains look excited, likely thinking of how to poach her from the navy battalion. If she grew stronger, she could easily cause widespread devastation when copying the stronger monsters. The dirty-blonde-haired Captain grinned widely.


    ¡°I believe we¡¯re almost done. Do you have any stronger spells for us today?¡±


    At that question, her normally expressionless face changed slightly. The captain looked curious at her reaction. Lucy ¡®hesitantly¡¯ nodded.


    ¡°I do have another spell I could show you but¡­ I¡¯ll explain first. When designing my constructs, I aimed for realism. This means adding details like shadows, sound, involuntary movement, and presence.¡±


    She could see the Captains nodding along in understanding so far, so she continued.


    ¡°I have also tried to mimic the chaotic and twisted properties of monster mana. It doesn¡¯t always work, but it enables me to use their strong auras to scare away weaker monsters. It also enables me to use some of their more¡­ esoteric capabilities when directing my monster constructs. I¡¯ve managed to recreate the warning call of a King-ranked monster I heard, along with the effects of its mana during that time, for a brief few seconds.¡±


    All the Captains looked immensely curious at her statement, and the middle Captain gestured for her to go on. She had a slightly wary expression, and asked them, ¡°I¡¯m not sure the barriers protect from this kind of mana usage. Are you sure you want me to do it here?¡±


    A few of the Captains had ¡®knowing grins¡¯, underestimating the chaotic nature of monster mana, and Lucy¡¯s ability to manipulate something similar and very strong, and so had full confidence the barriers would be fine. They all gestured for her to go on.


    She sighed. ¡°I suggest you cover your ears.¡± And then, quicker than most could react, she activated a spell, her hands covering her ears.


    Lucy had plenty of experience with spiritual resonance, and so knew how to protect herself from the worst of it, but none of the people inside the assessment hall knew how. So, when she cast the spell, a chaotic storm of mana surged and pulsed out, disrupting the internal workings of the barrier, which fractured in places, and causing a few to have internal mana conflicts.


    At the same time, a pulsation of spiritual energy erupted from behind the barrier, bringing with it a strange sense of disassociation and a terrible headache for everyone within the assessment hall. In addition, a terrifying roar that sounded like a million electric guitars screeching in horror echoed around the hall for a few seconds, making everyone who wasn¡¯t prepared in the way of having their hands on their ears cry out in pain, a few even bleeding from burst eardrums. They even felt the hall vibrate for a few seconds from the aftershock. The room was deathly silent for a few minutes after that.


    Lucy, now heaving in exhaustion from the ¡®mana loss¡¯, was half bent, hands on her knees, and looking up at the assessing captains, all looking at her with varying ranges of shock, mild terror, greed, and confusion.


    ¡°That,¡± she said, through half-taken breaths, ¡°Was the sound of a Monstrous Elder Drake¡¯s territorial call I had the misfortune of hearing in the past. As you can see, it¡¯s very good at sending a message, which I think would be a useful ability for the navy of the Distorted Depths.¡±


    While all the participants and Captains were looking at her in a stunned state, she could hear the familiar chime of a System notification. Ignoring it, she knew her work was done, and she straightened up.


    ¡°Is my assessment over?¡± she asked impatiently. The Captains all blinked for a few seconds, and, with a big grin, the battle-scared, blonde-haired Navy Captain nodded to her.


    ¡°I think we have decided on a verdict, but please wait with the rest of the participants until we have completed our selections. Thank you for your time, Adrianna Riftmire.¡±


    ¡­


    A few hours later, Lucille, still disguised as ¡®Adrianna Riftmire¡¯, was walking away from the clerk''s desk with a small envelope in hand. Inside was her pass that would give her entry to the White Squall Navy Fortress in the Distorted Depths Region, an isolated Ascendant City that required special permission to enter. She was to turn up 2 months later and enter the elite cadet training camp with Commander ¡®Merrow Arkenast¡¯s¡¯ patronage. Commander Arkenast was apparently the ¡®Navy Captain¡¯ in charge of the assessment, who was decidedly not a Captain. Lucy knew this from her past, but it was still good things were the same as she had experienced.


    Before she reached the doorway to the hall that led outside, she heard hurried footsteps behind her. She turned, and there she found the red-wearing military Captain, the one who had accused her of not being a mage. He looked flustered from his rush to catch up with her, holding up a hand to get her attention.


    ¡°Ah, Miss Riftmire. Here you were, I almost missed you.¡±


    She faintly raised an eyebrow at the man. He looked a bit embarrassed by her reaction and quickly tried to get out what he wanted to say.


    ¡°Do you think you could perhaps consider¡­ ah, wait. Introductions first. Seif Rodgers.¡±


    He held out a black-gloved hand to her, and she hesitantly shook it. He gave her a sheepish smile.


    ¡°I know we got off to a bad start, but please don¡¯t think my attitude reflects the attitude of my battalion. I just didn¡¯t think the Beast Realm had a mage of your¡­ calibre and was quick to judge. I apologise for that.¡±


    At that, she looked at the man more closely. With slicked-back blonde hair, and the good looks typically found in the Empire¡¯s nobles, she could place him as having a noble title of some sort. He had light blue eyes, and if it weren¡¯t for the calluses she felt on his hand when she shook it that indicated he wielded a weapon, she would assume he was a battlemage of some kind. She could place him in his mid to late twenties.


    It seemed she had been staring for too long because he was awkwardly rubbing the back of his head as she gazed at him, and so she took a step back and dipped her head to him.


    ¡°No, it was my fault. I let my emotions rule my actions, and I shouldn¡¯t have responded that way to someone who would hold a higher rank than me in the future.¡±


    Captain Rodgers nodded and put a fist to his mouth, coughing and gesturing to the envelope she held in her hands.


    ¡°Would you consider placing your future in the hands of the Empire¡¯s Main Army Battalion instead? We can teach you much of the same, with access to even a few more resources than the Navy can. I believe you can use your talent just as well, if not better within the main forces of the Empire.¡±


    She looked down at her envelope and then back at him. She frowned slightly.


    ¡°Unfortunately, that¡¯s impossible.¡± She held up a hand to forestall the words of the Captain and shook her head.


    ¡°Not because of any perceived fault of your own, as I decided on this after extensive research into the resources of both battalions. And,¡± she added, seeing that the captain was about to continue attempting to persuade her, ¡°The Main Army Battalion can¡¯t suit some of my main needs.¡±


    Rodgers looked confused at that, and she held out a palm to show the miniaturised form of the Direwolf formed with magic. She looked up at the Captain as realisation began to dawn on him.


    ¡°My magic is focused on mimicking monsters. It can work with magical beasts and other non-humanoids too, but mostly monsters. And the Distorted Depths is currently the place where I can see and research some of the strongest monsters we know, with the abilities I currently have. The Main Army Battalion is unfortunately used to fight humans, which is not where my skillset lies. I could potentially contribute to the Main Army in the future,¡± she added, ¡°But before that, I need to see some of the strongest monsters in battle, where the likelihood of me dying is significantly lower than if I entered the wilds or outer planes on my own. So, I can¡¯t show the future talent you see in me currently until I have managed to learn all I can from the Distorted Depths region.¡±


    Nodding, Rodgers sighed and ran a gloved hand through his blonde hair. He clicked his tongue. ¡°No wonder Commander Arkenast was so certain I would fail. Never mind, while I couldn¡¯t gain a wonderful talent for my Battalion, at least I cleared up any issues with someone who will be one of the rising stars of the future,¡± he said with a grin.


    ¡°And,¡± he continued, ¡°Considering you already have the acceptance pass, you may as well be part of the navy already, so¡­¡± He lifted his right arm and did the same salute as the clerk she had seen earlier. ¡°For the Eternal Authority of the Empire, Navy Cadet Riftmire.¡±


    She looked silently at him for a second before mirroring his action. ¡°For the Eternal Authority of the Empire.¡± With a happy nod, he turned away, and she did the same, both going their separate ways.


    <hr>


    Seif Rodgers closed the door behind him as he entered the room of Navy Commander Merrow Arkenast. The blue-gold-dressed Commander looked up from his documents and Rodgers stood still, saluting.


    ¡°Captain Rodgers reporting, sir.¡±


    Commander Arkenast nodded in acknowledgment before looking back down at the form he was reading. ¡°I see you failed?¡±


    Rodgers grimaced and nodded. ¡°Indeed. I should¡¯ve realised why she wanted to enter the Navy in the first place. I¡¯m just glad I apologised.¡±


    The Commander nodded again at that. ¡°You¡¯ve been warned not to underestimate the abilities of some of these ¡®backwards¡¯ Users as the nobility of the Empire central refers to them. Use this as a learning experience. Although, I can¡¯t fault you for this one, reading her profile.¡±


    Rodgers raised an eyebrow and Commander Arkenast held up the document he was reading, revealing that it was the form Lucy had filled out with the details of ¡®Adrianna Riftmire¡¯.


    ¡°Level 40, age 21, human, and from the Mystical Realm. However, the clerk has written an additional note that said, ¡®When asked why she was not in the registry, responded that she was from an outer plane of the Mystical Realm that was destroyed¡¯. Apparently, not many made it.¡±


    Rodgers rubbed his chin in thought. ¡°I thought she was a noble at first. So, she¡¯s not from a hidden family of some kind?¡±


    The Commander shook his head. ¡°While she might¡¯ve been a kind of noble on that outer plane, she¡¯s not a true noble by the System¡¯s standards. And I¡¯ve put in a request to be forwarded to the All-Aeon Athenaeum on illusion magic with the same characteristics as hers, but it will be at least a month before we receive feedback. If there are no details, we might be looking at a unique school of self-taught illusion magic, never seen before.¡±


    Rodgers groaned. ¡°It would make sense and annoys me even more that I couldn¡¯t get her if she¡¯s that kind of genius. Do you think she¡¯ll leave after copying a few monsters?¡±


    The Commander thought for a moment before shaking his head. ¡°For self-taught magic, it seemed rather high quality. If she¡¯s a researcher, then she might be looking to discover the magic of monsters in far greater depth, and the Distorted Depths will provide her with the best examples. We¡¯ll have her for a few years at least, or until someone uncovers the body of a primal beast or some other primordial creature.¡±


    Rodgers chuckled at that. Nobody had ever discovered one of those, and it would be the All-Aeon Athenaeum that would get their greedy paws on it first, not some little girl.


    ¡°Then I should congratulate you on obtaining such a talented new member. I¡¯m sure in a few years she¡¯ll be an Officer the other Battalions would be jealous of.¡±


    Commander Arkenast waved a hand. ¡°I have to see how she¡¯ll do first.¡± He smirked. ¡°I¡¯ll be keeping a close eye on Adrianna Riftmire to see what she¡¯s like. As the first person I¡¯ve ever given my recommendation to join the elite training camp, I¡¯m expecting a lot from her.¡±


    Rodgers nodded. ¡°I look forward to seeing what she¡¯ll become by the time the Millennium Chapter arrives.¡± He raised an eyebrow at the Commander. ¡°Unless one of the other Battalions draws her to their sides.¡±


    ¡°Ha. Not a chance.¡± Commander Arkenast smirked. ¡°The Generals and Main Navy Admirals will be seeing my wrath if they dare try to transfer her without my permission.¡±


    Rodgers nodded. He saluted the Commander. ¡°Then sir, I believe this application was my last mandated task?¡±


    Commander Arkenast gave him a nod. ¡°Yes. Thank you for your work. I permit you to return to your Battalion in the central Empire. Officer Rodgers, you have now left my command.¡±


    With a smile, Seif Rodgers responded, ¡°For the Eternal Authority of the Empire.¡±


    ¡°For the Eternal Authority of the Empire.¡±


    <hr>


    Lucille, now without being disguised by an illusion, made it back to her room in the inn and found Scytale relaxing on her bed. Sitting down next to him, she started to pull off her boots.


    ¡®It worked?¡¯


    Yep. The notification popped up. Now is the point my real plan begins.


    ¡®Wow, so villainous. Well, come on now, let¡¯s see this skill!¡±


    The winged snake started jumping up and down excitedly. She shook her head at how he was more eager than her but laid back on the bed after her shoes were removed.


    ¡°Share notifications and Status with bond Scytale,¡± she said to the empty air. A System message popped up.


    [Do you want to share your notifications and Status with Scytale? This can be disabled at the Obelisk. Yes/No]


    As normal, she pressed [Yes] and called up the notification she received in the assessment hall.


    [Available Primary Skill: Alter-Ego]


    Desc: With extremely high prerequisites to gain, this main skill gives you another body. Freely customisable by the User, you can alter as much or as little as you want, using it as an independent User by itself. None shall realise your connection.


    Info: Accepting this main skill occupies one primary skill slot, and gives you the Unique Origin, Isolated Will, Controlled Form and System-Backing subskills.]


    ¡®Wait, do we need to go to the Obelisk for this? I thought that¡¯s how you usually select main skills.¡¯


    That¡¯s only when it involves a class. These isolated main skills can be selected whenever I want.


    She tapped on the skill and another message popped up.


    [Do you want to select this primary skill now? You have 1 main skill slot remaining at Rank-0. If you select this skill, you may not gain a class until Rank-1. Yes/No]


    She smirked and tapped [Yes]. The instant she did so, she felt her soul strain in some way, and then this strange cold sphere of energy formed below where her heart would be. Aware it was the existence of the main skill in her body, she ignored it and opened her status, clicking on the new main skill. It was exactly what she wanted, and she loved it.


    [Primary Skill: Alter-Ego | Type: System/Clone ]


    Rarity: System


    Desc: Created by the System for its most important subordinate, it was made to aid the subordinate in using two identities at once, with no possibility of connection. Note: As this is a System skill, no alteration may be made to the skill in any way, whether it be by merging classes, trying to tier up the skill, or adding skills to its sub-skill slots, of which it has none.


    Subskills:


    Unique Origin - Because all Origin Skills are unique to the individual, the Alter-Ego will have a unique skill too, selected from a combination of several traits of the User¡¯s choice.


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the Alter-Ego a fully functional independent Origin Skill. User can influence the outcome somewhat. Limitations may apply.</li>


    </ul>


    Isolated Will ¨C The Alter-Ego is another body, which means it must be capable of functioning without directly being controlled, and when in isolated pocket realms and regions without access to its other counterpart.


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the Alter-Ego a semi-independent consciousness. Spiritual energy signature will be slightly different. The Alter-Ego¡¯s consciousness will act, for all intents and purposes, as a second soul, when disconnected from the User.</li>


    </ul>


    Controlled Form ¨C The Alter-Ego is not used to be a second copy of the User. It will have another identity separate from the User and therefore must have its own looks, classes, skills, and abilities.


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the User customisation of the Alter-Ego before release, including selecting race, classes, bloodline, titles, aspects, skills, physical features, and affinities. Limitations may apply.</li>


    </ul>


    System-backing ¨C Without verification, any Alter-Ego would fail to pass identity checks. The System will take care of this for you.


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the Alter-Ego a ¡®backstory¡¯ customisable by the User. The System will support all details if there are no contradictions in the backstory.</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    It seems they had some customisation to do.

 Chapter 8 (1 of 2) Money money money.

    [Primary Skill: Alter-Ego | Type: System/Clone ]


    Rarity: System


    Desc: Created by the System for its most important subordinate, it was made to aid the subordinate in using two identities at once, with no possibility of connection. Note: As this is a System skill, no alteration may be made to the skill in any way, whether it be by merging classes, trying to tier up the skill, or adding skills to its sub-skill slots, of which it has none.


    Subskills:


    Unique Origin - Because all origin skills are unique to the individual, the Alter-Ego will have a unique skill too, selected from a combination of several traits of the User¡¯s choice.


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the Alter-Ego a fully functional independent Origin Skill. User can influence the outcome somewhat. Limitations may apply.</li>


    </ul>


    Isolated Will ¨C The Alter-Ego is another body, which means it must be capable of functioning without directly being controlled, and when in isolated pocket realms and regions without access to its other counterpart.


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the Alter-Ego a semi-independent consciousness. Spiritual energy signature will be slightly different. The Alter-Ego¡¯s consciousness will act, for all intents and purposes, as a second soul, when disconnected from the User.</li>


    </ul>


    Controlled Form ¨C The Alter-Ego is not used as a second copy of the User. It will have another identity separate from the User and therefore must have its own looks, classes, skills, and abilities.


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the User customisation of the Alter-Ego before release, including selecting race, classes, bloodline, titles, aspects, skills, physical features, and affinities. Limitations may apply.</li>


    </ul>


    System-backing ¨C Without verification, any Alter-Ego would fail to pass identity checks. The System will take care of this for you.


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the Alter-Ego a ¡®backstory¡¯ customisable by the User. The System will support all details if there are no contradictions in the backstory.</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    Scytale let out a low whistle, or the equivalent mental message of one.


    ¡®So, if I¡¯m seeing this right, you can make an exact copy of yourself from the past, and the System will back you by inputting your fake details as true in the records available to others? I can see why you wanted this. I still feel like its infiltration potential is wasted with your plan though.¡¯


    What do you mean wasted? I AM infiltrating with this. Besides, it¡¯s not made for gaining extra strength. What good would it do for me to know some more ¡®secrets¡¯ of the other Factions anyway?


    ¡®I suppose we already know enough to make it worth it for them to kill our future 50 generations of descendants. So, going to start it?¡¯


    Yep.


    ¡­


    The next day, a girl with a mask and her unusually fluffy snake made their way through the city gates at 5 am. Normally that was a time without much traffic, but it was not that day, as they headed along with several hundred others to the forest outside the city. It seemed Scytale¡¯s signal had worked. They followed the travellers through the forest to make it to the large open field within, which had expanded again to accommodate all those waiting. They sat down in the grass together, ready for it to begin, next to the other thousands of people.


    At exactly 7:00, everyone felt the ground tremble and they looked towards the centre of the field. Quickly rising out of the ground was a white marble building with golden banners decorating it. On top was a giant bronze bowl filled with roaring fire, while above the hundred-metre-wide doors was a large clock. The building resembled a museum; however, it was much, much larger than any museum back on Earth. When the trembling stopped, the building could reach 50 stories in height. Everyone looked off into the air, gazing at the System message that had appeared in their field of view.


    [System-wide Announcement: The Decennial Inheritance Trials Permanent Event has opened in the Beast Realm at Grove of Snarling Fangs City, the Wolvenheim Greenwood Region. It will last for a month before being reopened in ten years. Status and Status notifications are unavailable within the Event.]


    ¡®Permanent Event¡¯ didn¡¯t mean it was permanently open. It meant that, unlike the Temporary Millennial Chapter Event, which changed each time, the System was usually not going to remove the feature in the near future. The situation Lucille experienced was incredibly rare.


    But that gave the System some leeway to only make it accessible at certain times, and for that reason, everybody in the field dashed towards the entrance of the building so they could make it before the several million Users in the other realms teleported to the city. Even Lucille decided to speed up a bit. The total population of the Tower realms could reach several trillion in number, so even if most had already completed their Inheritance Trials, many were planning on turning up out of the percentage of those who hadn¡¯t completed the event.


    Finally pushing past the rush of people on the marble steps to enter through the massive doorway, everything went black for Lucy and Scytale, like the Obelisk. When they woke up, they found themselves standing in a dark hallway. The floor was made of dark-grey marble tiles, crisscrossed with gold filaments, and the walls a polished black brick. As they walked, it made a dim echo, and their only light was from the yellow glow of the bronze ceiling lamps, shaped like mini chandeliers, or leaking from under the ornate doors spaced every two metres from each other. The hallway was roughly seven-metres-wide, and neither Lucy nor Scytale could see an end behind them or in front. When she tried to expand her perception field, she found it wouldn¡¯t, and she was restricted to her body¡¯s senses.


    She looked at the winged snake on her left. ¡°Remember how it works?¡±


    ¡°Yep. If you¡¯re looking for a specific trial with relation to you, a door with symbology related to that Faction will appear. You just need to pick the right one. But we have no relation to it though.¡±


    ¡°Then we need to take the lift.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a lift?¡±


    ¡°Only if you look for it.¡±


    They walked down the tiled hallway, her boots clicking against the hard surface of the ground, and Scytale¡¯s scales sliding across them. Occasionally they both paused as they heard strange echoes coming from behind some of the ornate doors. One haphazardly bolted door even rattled as they heard snarls of creatures behind it. They both ignored it, carrying on. Eventually, Scytale noticed something.


    ¡°Is there something at the end of the corridor? I thought the corridors were endless?¡±


    ¡°The space within the Mansion functions based on the desires and expectations of its inhabitants. It is known to be one of the trickiest places to navigate without a comprehensive understanding of how the spiritual realm and magic interact.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re making it sound like this mansion is not just a feature of the Inheritance Event.¡±


    Lucille just grinned at him and kept on walking towards the end. Scytale grumbled good-naturedly.


    ¡°Fine, keep your secrets.¡±


    He could read her mind for the answer if he wanted, but that was too much effort, so he followed her from slightly behind. When they got to the end, they stopped before what looked like a bronze cage, but with black tinted glass between the spaces, set into the wall. They both looked up to see the level indicator for the lift. It almost looked like something that was created in the 19<sup>th</sup> century, with a brass semi-circle-shaped border and a little arrow in the centre pointing to the ¡®level¡¯ they were on. The engraved bronze nameplate above read ¡®The Non-Euclidean Space Elevator¡¯.


    ¡°This doesn¡¯t look like any space elevator I know.¡±


    ¡°The emphasis is on non-Euclidean space, and not space elevator, so you could probably also call it the Elevator of Non-Euclidean Space. Although, if you believe it can take you into outer space, it just might do that.¡±


    She pressed the bell-shaped button on the right, so a small metallic ding rang out, and the tinted glass of the cage brightened. With a rattling noise, the bronze door retracted like a sliding glass door into the wall, revealing a likewise bronze cage-like structure. Lucy stepped in and Scytale followed, who inspected the dome-like area with intrigue. Similar to a birdcage, there was a hard circular floor, before the straight metallic bars of the lift curved up to meet in the centre over their heads. On a brass metal plate attached to the side of the cage near Lucy¡¯s waist height, there were eight buttons engraved with strange icons. Connected to a small tube coming down from the top of the cage was a black-painted metal trumpet-shaped speaker, like that of an old gramophone.


    When Scytale tried to look up past the roof of the cage, all he could see was a thick rope holding them, ascending to who knows where. When he looked down, the stone tube-shaped elevator shaft they were in just showed dark curling mist past a certain point, the bottom invisible. The winged snake shivered.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen some stuff, but this has got to be among the top weirdest places I¡¯ve been. I am under no delusions that this is just a normal System Event now.¡±


    Lucille shrugged.


    ¡°Truth be told, the System never made this. This ¡®mansion¡¯ is the weakened materialisation of a construction built from concepts rather than anything from the physical realms. Most races are going to find it creepy to some extent, as it¡¯s not truly ¡®here¡¯.¡±


    The snake just gave her a sideways glance. ¡°That ¡®most¡¯ not including you, because you don¡¯t experience the mortal concept of ¡®fear¡¯.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to die?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not the same thing. Anyway, what do we do now?¡±


    Lucy hummed and looked around. The buttons had strange symbols that she hadn¡¯t seen before, so she had no clue what would happen if she pressed them. She tapped a finger against the metal plate of the buttons.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be that you don¡¯t know how to activate this thing, right?¡±


    ¡°Patience. It¡¯s likely to be a puzzle. Several features of the Mansion never change, and the Non-Euclidean Space Elevator is one of them. The requirements to activate it may change, however.¡±


    ¡°¡¯ Likely¡¯? Someone just decided when building this that they¡¯re going to make it full of fun puzzles? For what, a reality tv show? It¡¯s more likely to be a death trap with that way of thinking.¡±


    She raised an eyebrow even as she was leaning over, inspecting the mist below them while holding on to the cage door.


    ¡°The Mansion was built using the concepts of Mystery, the Mind, Tests, Imagination and Steampunk, to name a few. Be glad the System put limiters on this place because otherwise, it would¡¯ve created a death trap just because you said that.¡±


    ¡°Created¡­ Wait, ¡®Steampunk¡¯? really?¡±


    She looked back at the snake. ¡°I¡¯d assume it¡¯s for the aesthetics,¡± she responded. Then she looked at the door and hit her forehead with her hand while the snake gazed at the cage in bemusement, pondering over the mentality of the Mansion¡¯s creator.


    ¡°I¡¯m an idiot,¡± she grumbled, pulling the door of the elevator cage closed. The instant she did so, the lift started rumbling and yellow light flooded the cage, the symbols on the buttons glowed with blue light, and a short tune came out of the speaker above their heads before they heard someone coughing softly, a male voice sounding from it.


    ¡°You are currently using the Non-Euclidean Space Elevator, so I have to inform you of some information," he said.


    "These are the current rules for the levels: 1<sup>st</sup> button on the top left is for the blackout space. It will send you back outside to wherever you entered from."


    "The 2<sup>nd</sup> button below that is for the duplication field, just in case you need to get an extra one of your artifacts,¡± he explained.


    ¡°The 3<sup>rd</sup> is for the anomaly research laboratories. If you¡¯re heading there, please do not enter the wrong lab without following the required procedures."


    "The 4<sup>th</sup> below is for the museum. Don¡¯t touch anything sealed behind the perma-glass."


    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    "Now, on the top right, the 5<sup>th</sup> button. That¡¯s for the current Event, so don¡¯t enter unless you are part of it."


    "The 6<sup>th</sup> below that is a null zone. Unless you wish to have a really bad day, don¡¯t enter that level.¡±


    Both Lucy and Scytale traded sour looks at that statement.


    ¡°The 7<sup>th</sup> is the sealed zone. Don¡¯t enter this one either unless you want to distort it into something that¡¯s not you. If you still don¡¯t know where to go, press the 8<sup>th</sup> button on the bottom right. That will call me again to help. Have a good day.¡±


    And with the little tune playing one last time, the speaker fell silent, leaving Lucy and Scytale to ponder on the implications of what happened.


    Lucy recovered quicker, shaking her head, and pushed the 8<sup>th</sup> button. The speaker sounded again, this time without any tune.


    ¡°¡­.you¡¯re still here,¡± returned the voice, sounding slightly irritated. Lucy just smiled.


    ¡°Unfortunately. We do have a real issue though,¡± she added.


    The voice sighed. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s hear it.¡±


    ¡°But first, could I know your name? You didn¡¯t introduce yourself,¡± she asked lightly.


    ¡°¡­..Marcus,¡± he said with a flat voice that suggested he didn¡¯t understand why she wanted such information.


    ¡°What¡¯s your job? I¡¯ve never heard of there being someone responsible for this mansion.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the head researcher of the Department of Dimensional Anomalies.¡±


    ¡°Oh? How large is this department?¡±


    ¡°We have about two hundred people here. Was there anything else?¡± he said, sounding increasingly exasperated.


    She smirked. ¡°I do have a question. I entered the elevator to find a specific trial from the Inheritance Trials event, but it seems more complex than I anticipated to locate it. How would I do so?¡±


    She heard a low mutter of ¡®Why is a User here¡¯ before he coughed loudly and spoke up.


    ¡°Which trial? Just send out your spiritual energy, we can detect it from over here.¡±


    She did so, and she heard him humming through the speaker as he worked in the background.


    ¡°I see. Okay, press button 5 and six doors down on your right will be the trial. Do you need anything else?¡±


    She was about to shake her head while half-stepping out of the now-open elevator, before stopping and looking back up at the speaker.


    ¡°Marcus, there is one more thing¡­.¡±


    His sigh rattled the speaker. ¡°I figured. What is it?¡±


    Lucy¡¯s eyes narrowed as she smiled.


    ¡°Will you and the department continue to exist after talking to me?¡±


    There was silence as Scytale looked at her in dawning realisation, and Marcus seemed to have frozen, completely quiet. And then, an uproar of noise erupted from the speaker as multiple people seemed to be talking over each other before Marcus¡¯s voice could be heard yelling over the top of them.


    ¡°Enough! We¡¯ll speak on this later.¡±


    Sounding dreadfully weary, he spoke to Lucille. ¡°Due to your input, we have just been informed by our... facilities, that the Department of Dimensional Anomalies has become a permanent addition to this place, and about the fact that we are now existing, but hadn¡¯t been before we spoke to you.¡±


    Lucy nodded with a bright smile on her face.


    ¡°Well, thank you for answering my question, Marcus. I hope to see you again next time.¡±


    And with that, she stepped back out into the dark hallway, Scytale right behind her. Behind, Marcus let out a final sigh through the speaker.


    ¡°The feeling is not mutual.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Is this it?¡±


    ¡°What do you think of when you think of money?¡±


    ¡°Gold?¡±


    ¡°And what metal is this?¡±


    ¡°¡­..gold.¡±


    ¡°Then the likelihood of this being the trial we want is high. Especially considering it is exactly 6 doors away from where the Elevator was behind us.¡±


    Scytale went to turn, but Lucy stopped him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look back. The Elevator might move, and then we won¡¯t be 6 doors away anymore, and then this trial might not be correct, which leads to a whole host of more complications. If you¡¯re still suspicious, look more closely at the door.¡±


    They were currently inspecting what looked like a solid gold door, but encrusted with all kinds of gemstones, forming patterns. The door was about a head taller than her, and everything from its door handle to its hinges was completely gold. She traced the outlines of the gemstone mosaic, but rather than uniform square pieces creating the design, the pieces were cut to fit into the carved gorges and deepened lines of the burnished gold, creating a minor 3D effect when viewing.


    She squatted to point at the picture on the bottom. ¡°This one,¡± she began, ¡°Shows all the members of this noble family having red hair, indicated by the ruby used on their heads. I can tell they are nobles because the silver circlet they all have around their foreheads,¡± she said, indicating the position of it on her head, ¡°Is a ceremonial item traditionally worn by the Eternal Empire¡¯s nobles today when the noble clan they are subservient to has a successor take up their inherited position. These nobles are shown crafting weapons and offering them to their master, which is a feature of the weapon clan I¡¯m thinking of.¡±


    She pointed to the one beside it. ¡°These blue guys, like all the members of the four noble clans shown here, also wear circlets, and are not depicted as a warring clan but owners of these massive white villas and diamond cities in the background, showing they own estate and large pieces of land.¡± She straightened up to gesture to the third one. ¡°These guys are depicted wearing onyx robes and are shown as controlling the other nobles without circlets with long pieces of string, and also killing some of the nobles who disagreed with their master.¡±


    She pointed to the last noble family. ¡°These guys are dressed in silver. Rather than have any similar job, they are shown gathering money and sealing it in vaults. But at the end of it all at the very top,¡± she said, reaching up to tap on the spot above her, ¡°All four noble clans can be seen offering their weapons, buildings, the enemy heads and their money to the guy in the centre, who has gold hair and sits on a throne, and a chalice overflowing with jewels on his lap.¡±


    She leaned back to take the whole thing in, before turning to the snake. ¡°The System designs all these doors itself, so there can be no misunderstanding the message of the image on this one.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, okay, I¡¯m convinced. Ready to begin?¡±


    She nodded, and with a relaxed smile, pushed on the golden door handle. Shading her eyes to get used to the light emitting from the room behind the door, she shut it and took in the sight before her with Scytale.


    The hall in front of her appeared like a throne room. There was a grey, stone seat at the back of the room, three steps leading up to it, but what had caused the light wasn¡¯t that. Rather, it was the mounds of gold coins and piles of treasure, such as gemstones, weapons, and magic items, that were on either side of them. The throne in the centre of the massive hall was a bit underwhelming in comparison.


    ¡°How much do you want to bet that the throne has the puzzle mechanism?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not taking a losing bet.¡±


    Walking forward, they found in several places they had to wade through knee-deep trinkets and coinage just to get past it all to reach the throne. Lucy had thought that maybe the reason it was raised above the ground was not to look down on people, but rather to make sure the seated person did not drown under the immense weight of the gold. They made it to the seat of dark-grey polished stone and inspected it curiously. Embedded in the highest point of the throne back was a dull, round yellow stone of some kind, and 5 empty sockets underneath. When Lucy went behind the throne, she found a strange glass screen set in a silver frame and a note stained with age within a dark wooden box, hidden in the stone drawer beneath the seat. She and Scytale read the note curiously, sitting on the ground.


    ¡°The King of Gold left 5 gems of wonder within his treasure room, once part of his throne of power, but they have gone unfound for centuries. Use the seeing glass to identify the items within this hall and recover the treasures of old.¡±


    ¡°Cool! There are soooo going to be cursed objects within this hall! But is this task that dangerous?¡±


    She scoffed, jabbing a finger at the note. ¡°If the task was easy, it wouldn¡¯t have taken centuries to complete it. Although, that¡¯s probably a lie because plenty of people have passed the first trial room for this place.¡±


    She picked up the glass frame and tilted it with intrigue. Deciding it needed more inspection, she removed her mask, peering at the seeing glass with her right eye¡¯s shimmering golden iris.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you use that yet. What does it do?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± she said, placing back down the magnifying glass lookalike. ¡°I can use it on items to see their descriptions, just like any normal inspection skill. However, I can also stop it from showing me their item sheets so they appear¡­ different than what a normal inspection skill can show. I tend to see small strands of different kinds of mana forming shapes and structures around and within it, and there¡¯s this multi-coloured gaseous haze that appears to surround them. I need to use my spiritual energy to detect it better, but it seems to show me the ¡®concepts¡¯ imbued in the items when they were crafted.¡±


    Scytale tilted his head. ¡°How does that work on a User?¡±


    Lucille looked at the roof for a second in thought before looking back down at the seeing glass and replacing her mask, the hard black material fixing itself to her face.


    ¡°The same gaseous haze appears, but it generally has more structure to it, occasionally forming into weapons or other vague objects, like shields, spell tomes, and staves. But I can also see this hazy semi-translucent crystalline barrier that appears whenever they manipulate their mana, moulding the mana into more defined shapes,¡± she told him. ¡°I¡¯m not entirely certain, but I¡¯m seeing some patterns, and I think it could be them activating their skills. I can also see matching spherical forms of multi-coloured energy below their hearts within them resonating with their mana usage, so I¡¯m likely to be on the right track.¡±


    Scytale nodded, and she lifted the glass for him to see.


    ¡°It appears to be purely white in my vision, meaning it¡¯s probably a System-made object, but it¡¯s an analysis object. However, it¡¯s made to describe the least rare items as the best, and the higher rarity items as the worst. I think it might also describe cursed weapons in a good light too.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s times like these that I wish I had my human form back. Wings and a tail are not very good at picking up items.¡±


    Lucy nodded and stood up from where she had been sitting, stretching, and then looked around.


    ¡°I guess we start searching. Most people would just pick the items with the fanciest descriptions and try to find a way to fit them into the throne¡¯s sockets. At least we know the ones with the worst descriptions are likely to be the ones we need.¡±


    ¡°Then why is there so much other stuff? There are better ways to create a trial room.¡±


    She inspected the nearest item, a silver dagger, that was next to her foot.


    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s a lesson in not acting on greed?¡±


    ¡°Like that scene in that movie with the lamp and the cave?¡±


    ¡°Possibly. Please don¡¯t go setting off any lava.¡±


    The two of them collected a bunch of items, deciding it was the quickest way to go about it, and sat down next to each other, sorting the items into groups of ¡®definitely cursed, maybe cursed and suspiciously vague¡¯. The first pile held all the items that were too good to be true and the second had items that were somewhere in the middle between possible and unlikely. That last pile was an assortment of broken shards, strange ornaments, and anything with a very weird description. Scytale nudged a golden chalice with a green emerald embedded into its side towards her.


    ¡°What¡¯s the description for this? The emerald is about the same size as the stone throne¡¯s sockets.¡±


    ¡°This solid gold chalice was used by the King of Gold to drink his favourite wine. The emerald within was a local specialty of one of his subordinates¡¯ domains and given to him when he first rose to power.¡±


    ¡°That fits the suspiciously vague category. Think it might be one of them?¡±


    ¡°Unlikely. If it was a silver chalice, then I would potentially agree.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    She picked it up to look at it closer, twirling its handle between her fingers.


    ¡°Silver turns black when it comes in contact with several poisons, so is most often used in making noble cutlery and dishes. Considering it¡¯s not made of silver, and there¡¯s no hint of a poison-detecting enchantment on the item, it could be a symbolic item that poisoned the Founder in this setting, meaning it¡¯s more likely to be cursed. Also, the green colour of an emerald is normally associated with poison.¡±


    ¡°Sounds sketchy enough. Into the ¡®too good to be true¡¯ pile you go.¡±


    After Lucy placed it back down, they continued to inspect all the items, occasionally getting up to collect more. When they were nearing the end of their item collecting, they had to start digging deep into the larger piles of coins. Eventually, they managed to find what seemed to be all of them. Magic items were much rarer than the coins within the room. Scytale tilted his head, curious about something.


    ¡°Why collect them all? Shouldn¡¯t we only look for items of a certain size or ones with jewels?¡±


    She answered him without looking up. ¡°You know the System doesn¡¯t necessarily limit the solutions to its Events like a game on Earth. If you can create a shortcut straight to the end, you could do so. In the same vein, multiple scenarios could occur in the trial rooms of the inheritance event. There may be a secret passageway in here that could give us hidden rewards.¡±


    ¡°WHAT?! Then why are we still doing this if we could do that?!¡±


    She looked up at him with a strange expression.


    ¡°Why would I need to get them when completing the trial lets me own everything within anyway?¡±


    ¡°¡­oh yeah.¡±


    She shook her head wryly and continued, ¡°These multiple scenarios are also the reason why we are trying to avoid placing any potentially cursed gems inside those sockets. It¡¯s quite likely that if we got even one wrong, we would have to fight a monster matching the theme of the cursed gem, or even have another stage added to the trial. If we got them all wrong, we might actually drown ourselves in lava,¡± she added. ¡°Also, the System is quite clever with how it hides its solutions, like this,¡± she said, pulling a bulky box from the ¡®definitely cursed¡¯ pile closer to them.


    ¡°Yeah, what is this?¡±


    ¡°I think¡­¡± she answered, flipping the metal latch of the box open and folding it out.


    ¡°Yep. This seems to be some sort of variant of senet, the Egyptian board game. It has two sections when you flip the top of the box open, so there seem to be two boards. The description says, ¡®This item can manipulate the forces of war from behind the scenes using its pawns, driving your opponent to take wrong actions without them knowing and offering you victory.¡¯¡±


    ¡°The wood of the box is pitch black. And I¡¯m pretty sure those white pawns are made of carved bone.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m obviously not going to use it. However, if I press this,¡± she said, pushing her finger against one side of the box¡¯s half, ¡°There¡¯s a secret compartment.¡± The side made a clicking noise and when she let go with her finger, it sprung back to reveal a sliding draw. Pulling it out, they saw a milky-coloured semi-translucent stone rolling within. She picked it up and read out the description, holding the seeing glass above it.


    ¡°A mana-less stone used by the king to play marbles with his friends.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Now we know how vague the System is going for. But I have another question.¡±


    She looked at him, slightly exasperated. ¡°You¡¯re unusually curious about the System and its ways of doing things since we¡¯ve come back.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t exactly have the time to ask you about your research when we were battling planetary-sized behemoths in the past, and my sealed memories aren¡¯t doing me any favours. Anyway, is there actually a ¡®King of Gold¡¯? I mean, the whole story of this trial is kinda cliche, but all the item descriptions are far too put together and it¡¯s making me suspicious.¡±


    ¡°The System always makes its Events have a story or flow of some kind. It has something to do with ¡®Influence¡¯, but on a much wider scale. I suppose letting its Users take part in grand epics solidifies their Identities better. This ¡®King of Gold¡¯ is more a metaphor for the Faction¡¯s Founder than anything.¡±


    ¡°Influence. That¡¯s the thing that allows some min-maxing to work, right? Oh, and functions as identity verification for the System to see if we¡¯re legit.¡±


    She shook her head, feeling vexed. ¡°You have missed sooo many details in your description, but whatever. Let¡¯s get back to work.¡±


    Around half an hour later, they put down the items and looked at their three piles. ¡®definitely cursed¡¯ was actually in the middle, with ¡®maybe cursed¡¯ having the largest height, and ¡®suspiciously vague¡¯ being the shortest.


    Scytale spoke up,¡°So do we keep looking for secret compartments?¡±


    ¡°We can check, but it¡¯s probably not going to be used by the System more than once more. The whole ¡®lesson¡¯ of this room seems to be avoiding fakes and scam items, so I think we need to check the ¡®suspiciously vague¡¯ pile with different characteristics in mind.¡±


    She picked up the seal stamp next to her. It had a green jewel as its handle, rather than normal wood. ¡°If it¡¯s a gem of ¡®wonder¡¯, it¡¯s likely to be unique or odd in some way. This white marble we have here has silvery flecks that move inside of it like a snow globe when we shake it. We also need to consider the mana characteristic of the gems. This stamp has an emerald on its handle. It also has several other colours within its centre, meaning it may be a valuable commodity for jewellery due to how pretty it looks. However, the colours represent traces of other minerals within the emerald, meaning it has low purity, and may not function well as a catalyst for magic, which requires accurate equipment.¡±


    She placed the stamp down and looked at Scytale. ¡°This means it isn¡¯t a ¡®wonder¡¯ when it comes to magic. High-grade gemstones are more likely to be in the ¡®definitely cursed¡¯ pile as they are used for stronger items, so if we find one in this pile, it could be one of the stones we need.¡±


    Scytale nodded in understanding and they both began to search through the ¡®suspiciously vague¡¯ pile, which had about 50 items. They eventually narrowed it down to around 10 that could have the gemstones they needed. Scytale abruptly looked up to ask Lucy a question.


    ¡°You said the story created by the System always flows, right? So would this trial follow an overall theme?¡±


    She nodded with a smile. ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡±


    ¡°So, we need specific colours in our gemstones. If I say the yellow stone on the throne matches the ¡®gold¡¯ hair of the Founder, the rest should follow that theme as well. This white stone doesn¡¯t exactly match the silver of the clan on the door, but it does bear a resemblance due to the silver flecks within it. If that¡¯s the case, we need a red, blue, and black stone, or something similar. I don¡¯t know about the 5<sup>th</sup> stone.¡±


    She nodded in agreement, and they separated the 10 items. There were 2 red items, 1 blue, 3 black, 2 green and 1 violet.


    ¡°What now?¡±


    She smiled. ¡°Now we just check which gemstones can pop out of their item. It wouldn¡¯t do for the System to give us an impossible job.¡±


    Doing that gave them 2 red, 1 blue, 2 black, 1 green and 1 violet gemstone. Scytale cocked his head at them.


    ¡°Now how do we narrow them down?¡±


    She held up the white stone. ¡°Remember what it said? The ¡®King of Gold¡¯ used this stone to play marbles with his friends. If his friends are represented by the stones, then we need spherical smooth stones that can also function as marbles.¡±


    Scytale flicked his tongue. ¡°That makes sense. But then we need to choose between the green and violet gemstones for the fifth gem. Do we just guess?¡±


    She looked down, thinking for a bit, before reaching out to grab the violet one. ¡°We¡¯ll go with this.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Why?¡±


    She got up, the other four stones in hand, and smirked at the winged snake. ¡°Come on, you know just as well as me what violet means when it comes to magic.¡±


    Scytale looked at it closely for a second before shaking his head. ¡°Of course. If there¡¯s going to be a ¡®gem of wonder¡¯ it will be that one, won¡¯t it.¡±


    They made their way over to the throne. Lucy read the note one last time to check they hadn¡¯t missed anything. They had checked the descriptions on the marbles earlier, and they all were the same as the description for the white stone, even the green marble. Nothing came to mind, so they started socketing the gems in the back of the throne, above where a person would sit. As they placed the stones in, they lit up with a glow and the buzzing sound of magic. They looked down at the last violet gemstone in her hand.


    ¡°Here goes nothing,¡± Scytale said.


    She placed the violet stone in and there was a tense moment where nothing happened, before it too lit up, and the yellow stone above them let out a glow. They heard the grating sound of hidden mechanisms, and they looked around the back of the throne to see that the blank wall had changed to reveal a red-carpeted staircase ascending into the darkness on the other side of a stone archway. It was dimly light by yellow candlelight from the candle holders fixed to the stone walls on either side of it. They looked at each other and walked towards the staircase. Seeing nothing interesting from where they were at the bottom, they started climbing it.

 Chapter 8 (2 of 2) Money money money.

    A few minutes later, when they got to the top, they found themselves in a large ballroom, decorated with gold fixtures and beige wallpaper. At the base of the walls of the room, spaced at regular intervals, were white marble podiums holding an assortment of objects encased behind glass, appearing like museum exhibits. The floor appeared like rose quartz, its tiles polished and smooth, but what caught the attention of them was the human-sized figure standing in the centre of the ballroom. Lucy and Scytale approached it slowly but with a normal walking pace. The figure turned towards them, and they saw its face.


    Lucy still had to call it an ¡®it¡¯ because they had an androgynous beauty that made it difficult to guess their gender. Their cream-coloured hair was tinged with pink by the time it reached past their waist and near their ankles. The figure wore white and pink mage robes but had no hat or staff that would indicate they were ready for offence or to cast spells. Lucy couldn¡¯t place a visual age for the figure, as they had a timeless face that seemed like they could be anywhere from their teens to their late twenties. Their eyes were also pink, and they clasped their hands together with a gentle smile on their face as they spoke.


    ¡°Welcome. It¡¯s been quite a few years since anyone has managed to perfectly solve the puzzle in the first room. Come have a seat here,¡± they said, gesturing to the three new brown leather armchairs that had appeared behind them when they said that. He had a slightly more masculine voice, but Lucy knew that with these creatures, they were technically still genderless until they reached a certain level of strength. Considering he had a humanoid form, he had reached that level.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen a spirit guardian in a while,¡± she said as she took a seat. Scytale got his own armchair for his metre-long body. The spirit tilted his head curiously.


    ¡°You know what I am? And you said you¡¯ve seen one before¡­ hmm,¡± he said, narrowing his eyes at her. He shook his head however and continued. ¡°Well, as you have said, I am the spirit guardian of this Faction. I was left here by the Founder to test those who wish to receive his inheritance. I go by Ashale¡¯viaf.¡±


    Lucy nodded. Spirits, like their metaphysically opposed kindred the demons, had true names, and so would only use part of their very long actual name when revealing their identity.


    ¡°I¡¯m Lucille, and this is Scytale,¡± she responded in kind. He nodded in acknowledgement and swept a hand around him to show the room.


    ¡°If you came into this trial without a desire to challenge it for the inheritance, you may take one item from this room, sealed behind the glass, to bring out with you as a reward. If you wish to challenge the inheritance,¡± he said, turning back to them, ¡°Then we shall play a game of questions. For every question answered, the other may ask one back in return. I can detect lies, so please remain truthful. If there is no need for a vague answer, then please don¡¯t say ¡®maybe¡¯ or other such words. If you cannot answer the question, I will ask another, and the reverse will happen if I do not answer yours. I suggest you place limitations on your questions, otherwise, my answer may be too vague. If you want to do the challenge, we can begin any moment.¡±


    She narrowed her eyes. As the spirit never said who would start, if she asked a question, such as asking for more defined rules, it would begin, and if she shook her head or asked to select a reward, she would not continue the challenge. The spirit purposely left out details, so they had little to work with. She nodded her head and remained silent. The spirit¡¯s smile widened but he nodded in acceptance of her ¡®answer¡¯.


    ¡°Then I will take that as permission to begin. First, a question from me: Why do you want to challenge the trial?¡±


    She smirked. ¡°To own the Faction. I assume it¡¯s now my turn, so I¡¯ll go: Is this the final stage of this trial?¡±


    The spirit tilted his head back to laugh. ¡°I suppose that was my fault. For your question, the answer is: it''s dependent on how well you answer my questions.¡± She tilted her head at that, but the spirit continued, ¡°My question now is: What need, or desire would owning this Faction fulfil?¡±


    She thought for a second before answering. ¡°My need for resources.¡± The spirit raised an eyebrow, so she decided to be more specific. The spirit needed certain answers from her to certain questions, and if she tested him too much, she wouldn¡¯t obtain her goal. ¡°I need magical items, access to information and human resources most of all.¡±


    The spirit sat back a little, seemingly content with her answer. He nodded at her to continue.


    ¡°Did you decide to test the Users who enter the second room of the trial like this?¡±


    Ashale¡¯viaf narrowed his eyes at her but responded calmly, ¡°No. Will the fulfilment of your goal be beneficial to the Tower?¡±


    She responded instantly, nodding her head, ¡°Definitely. How many Users managed to get past this point in your questioning?¡±


    The spirit raised his eyebrows but smiled, amused at her question. ¡°Several hundred.¡± Lucy nodded. The trial had at least several thousand entrees in its time. The spirit continued with its question.


    ¡°Will the fulfilment of your goal be beneficial to the Faction?¡±


    Lucille looked straight into his eyes. ¡°I cannot answer that question. It needs to be more specific or have context.¡± That was the good thing about that rule, it allowed the questioner to rephrase it, although normally it wouldn¡¯t be used like this.


    The spirit leaned back and hummed in thought, before asking her again, ¡°Will the members of the Faction be accepting of the decisions you want to make?¡±


    She laughed. ¡°I hope they will be.¡± The spirit raised an eyebrow again, so she clarified her answer, ¡°I aim to show them by example that the benefits they can gain from following my decisions are greater than what hesitancy they have for them.¡±


    Ashale¡¯viaf let out a ¡®huh¡¯ and leaned back, nodding in thought, his eyes looking at something in the distance. He gestured for her to continue. Lucy tapped a finger on her chin, her eyes narrowed as she watched him, before abruptly asking her question.


    ¡°Is there currently a present third party who has an interest in our discussion?¡±


    Lucy noticed the spirit briefly froze for a few milliseconds before responding to her question. If she wasn¡¯t experienced in reading body language, she wouldn¡¯t have noticed it.


    ¡°No,¡± he told her stiffly. Then he turned to Scytale. ¡°And for what is your main reason for following your bond?¡±


    Lucy made eye contact with Scytale, an eyebrow raised at first, but then just shrugged at him and leaned back in her seat, her legs crossed and hands behind her head. It was the non-verbal equivalent of ¡®do it yourself¡¯. He bared his fangs at her but responded to the spirit.


    ¡°There¡¯s a practical benefit in following her, but most importantly, she¡¯s interesting. She never stops surprising me. When are you going to go back to ignoring me?¡± he asked, annoyance present in his tone. The winged snake did not like tests. The spirit chuckled in amusement but responded casually.


    ¡°After one more question. Will you want split authority over the Faction if you complete the challenge?¡±


    Scytale stretched out his wings and reared up with outrage. ¡°Hell no. Don¡¯t ever make me think more than I need to. Leave the scheming to Lucy, I just fight stuff. And please stop asking me questions now.¡±


    The spirit sent him a wide smile that just made the snake even more irate. ¡°As you wish. Then,¡± he said, turning back to the girl in front of him, ¡°Lucy, what benefits will you owning this Faction bring them?¡±


    She smiled. It finally sounded like this conversation was going somewhere. ¡°Logistical and structural improvements. The Faction needs to change if they wish to support the ambition to have an even larger size. However, I can also bring them technological improvements.¡±


    The spirit quirked an eyebrow again, but this time she didn¡¯t add more detail. She continued. ¡°How many questions did the Founder tell you to ask?¡±


    The spirit halted for a second, stunned by the question, but he then gave her a slightly sheepish smile. ¡°He told me to ask ten. My question now is: What do you think is your talent?¡±


    She smirked at his reaction but answered his question easily. ¡°My greatest talent is my knowledge. How many questions set by the Founder have you asked as of now?¡±


    He counted on his fingers before holding them up for her to see. ¡°A total of five. Now, why is knowledge your greatest talent?¡±


    ¡°Because it allows me to make accurate plans, helping me to gain an advantage over competitors. Are you bored in here?¡±


    Some would think Lucille was running out of questions to ask. They would be right. She was getting bored herself.


    The spirit shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not bored. If knowledge is so important to you, why have you not asked me other questions, such as the answers to the ten questions, or how well other Users have done compared to you?¡±


    She smiled slightly. ¡°There are two answers for this, the long and short answer. I¡¯ll say them both. The short answer is I already know the answers. The long answer is I can calculate, based on the characteristics of the first five questions you asked, and the number of Users who got past the first four questions, the standard decrease in successful participants per question asked,¡± she explained. ¡°This number changed as the difficulty increases, or other ¡®factors¡¯ get involved, but I can guess that roughly twenty have progressed to this point during your time as the spirit guardian here.¡±


    She pretended not to notice how the spirit¡¯s eyes widened when she stated that and continued, ¡°I could¡¯ve asked more questions to demonstrate my ¡®personality trait¡¯ of emphasizing knowledge, but I ¡®know¡¯ that is not currently what you need. My turn to ask a question I guess, so¡­ if you¡¯re not bored, then are you scared?¡±


    Ashale¡¯viaf had been listening intently to her answer until that point, where he froze, expressionless, and stared at her. She just raised an eyebrow and started tapping her finger on the edge of the armchair when a few minutes later, he didn¡¯t say anything. Eventually, he sighed, putting his hands to his temples to massage them.


    ¡°I cannot answer that,¡± he finally answered, sounding tired. Lucy looked at him, her expression unreadable, but nodded.


    ¡°Then how many Users reached the point of your last question?¡±


    He looked up at her with his mouth hanging open, flabbergasted at her chosen question after her original one. She shrugged. ¡°I like to know when I¡¯m correct.¡±


    ¡°¡­.19.¡± he slowly said, as if unaware of what to make of her now. He leaned back and looked at her for a few seconds, rubbing his chin in thought, before continuing.


    ¡°What are your hobbies?¡±


    For this question, it was Lucy¡¯s turn to flabbergasted, and her eyebrows almost disappeared into her hair. It was not a question most people thought to ask her, and not something she had an answer for on the spot. ¡°I don¡¯t see how this is related to the Faction.¡± The spirit gave her a cheery grin, his earlier show of emotion practically gone.


    ¡°Does this mean you can¡¯t answer the question?¡±


    She held up her hand in opposition, running her fingers through her black fringe in thought. ¡°No, I¡¯ll answer it. It is just slightly unexpected, that¡¯s all. There is¡­ not anything I believe fits the concept of a normal person¡¯s ¡®hobby¡¯ as such¡­¡± she began, crossing her arms and frowning at the floor.


    ¡°However, there are activities I regularly take part in to some extent. Mostly out of necessity. I often have times when I do extensive research into concepts I lack knowledge of. It is why I have a rather broad knowledge base, as my magical specialties are hard to find good, recorded information on. I somewhat enjoy research, but I¡¯ve never done it as a hobby. Was that one of the Founder¡¯s questions?¡± she finished, looking up.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Ashale¡¯viaf smiled widely. ¡°It was. Was research not your core profession before this?¡±


    She shook her head, looking off slightly into the distance. ¡°I never was, and I doubt I¡¯ll ever be a full-time researcher. That is because of the¡­. hazardous nature of my areas of knowledge. One does not like people knowing too much about it, another has many, many negative ethical connotations when considering ¡®researching¡¯ it, another only has me to pioneer it and¡­. I would prefer that nobody needs to study the last one. What¡¯s the next question?¡±


    The spirit looked immensely interested in asking more, but refrained from doing so, and asked his next question. ¡°Hmm. Okay then, my next question is this: you must escape from an enemy and three options are presented before you do so. The sword, to defeat the enemy, the pen, to write to the enemy kingdom, which will let you live if you surrender and offer you protection, and the power of a dragon, which will help you achieve your goal, but who is likely to ask an impossible task of you afterwards. Which do you choose?¡±


    Lucille just stared at the man. ¡°You know this is a really badly written scenario, right?¡±


    The grimace on the spirit¡¯s face told her he was not the one to write it. She sighed and put a hand on her forehead. ¡°Ignoring the obvious lack of limitations and the numerous loopholes, I will assume that all my answers must be within the logic and reason of this scenario.¡±


    The spirit nodded in agreeance, so she continued, ¡°So, I will also assume an angry much stronger dragon that could decimate an enemy kingdom is not chasing after me, and that all three solutions could potentially work if I chose them with enough thought behind them. Therefore, my answer is to choose them all. Was this the only scenario you could choose?¡±


    The spirit grimaced again. ¡°Believe it or not, this was the best one. Why choose them all?¡±


    She sighed but nodded in acknowledgment of his question. ¡°As a Faction Head, and personally, I should plan for all factors. Picking up the sword, while it''s unlikely I, Lucille, could defeat the enemy with it if they are after my head, could potentially make them more hesitant to fight me, allowing me to stall for time to make another plan. Writing a letter to the enemy kingdom grants me an escape route, and if I eventually decided not to go to them, then it wouldn¡¯t matter anyway, as they wouldn¡¯t trust just my letter in the first place." She continued, ¡°I¡¯ll request the aid of the dragon as a last resort, but any promises not bound by high-quality magic contracts do not hold enough strength to keep me if the dragon¡¯s task is too difficult, so I¡¯d just run away then.¡±


    Ashale¡¯viaf nodded and sighed, likely just as happy as she was to get past that irritating personality-testing question. ¡°What¡¯s your question?¡±


    ¡°Are you planning for me to go to another stage after this?¡± Lucy asked him.


    He leaned back and looked at her expressionlessly for a bit, before answering, ¡°I am. What is your class?¡±


    She tilted her head and looked at him with narrowed eyes and a wide smile. ¡°I don¡¯t know why you need to ask that, but I¡¯ll answer anyway. I have no class. What number of the Founder¡¯s questions are we up to now?¡±


    He nodded along to her answer, automatically assuming she had said she was a mage, considering the ¡®talent¡¯ she mentioned, until he registered what she had said and did a double take. ¡°That¡¯s impossible,¡± he stated flatly. She leaned back with a smile.


    ¡°Use your fancy lie-detection magic on me. I¡¯ll even say it again: I have no class.¡±


    He stared at her for a second, before leaning back and frowning, tapping a finger on his armchair in thought. Eventually, he shook his head and looked up. ¡°Sorry. What number, you asked? We¡¯re up to nine now. My question is this: What is your attitude toward the four Supreme Institutions of the Mystical realm? Independently and overall.¡±


    She smiled. ¡°Well then. The Empire of Eternity: Acknowledge as the governing legal body, but do not let its title be overwhelming, as it is as divided as it is large. All-Aeon Athenaeum: Supporting their members can be beneficial, but don¡¯t trust their claims too much when it comes to time. Glory Pantheon: Praise their exploits, avoid manipulating them, but never provoke them. Citadel of Fate: If they want money, chuck it at them, hope they lose interest, and don¡¯t trust them as far as I can throw them.¡± She spread her arms wide.


    ¡°Overall, don¡¯t consider the Supreme Institutions as entire Factions. They are composed of hundreds of minor groups, all with their ambitions and goals. If I don¡¯t ruin the Institutions¡¯ prospects and the political stability of the realm, I¡¯ll survive.¡±


    The spirit had smiled at a few of her descriptions and nodded when she finished. He sat there, thinking for a while, and they both stayed quiet, waiting for him. Eventually, he stood up, brushing the non-existent dust from his long white and pink robes, before looking at them both. He nodded solemnly.


    ¡°I believe we are done here. Please rise as well.¡±


    They both stood up, stretching, and the armchairs behind them disappeared. The man with long, rose-tinted hair waved a hand to his right, and what looked like a wooden doorframe appeared in the centre of the ballroom. Within, there was a small room with an empty podium, like the ones around the edges of the ballroom they were in, but nothing else of detail could be identified at their distance away from it. Ashale¡¯viaf waved a hand to the doorway-shaped portal.


    ¡°Here is the final room. Let us go in.¡±


    Following the spirit, Lucy and Scytale stepped through and found themselves in a dark stone room, lit by those same yellow candles from the staircase. The podium had five small wooden boxes on top, the kind that stored individual pieces of jewellery, and they were open, revealing 4 rings, each inlaid with a different coloured gemstone that the marbles had been made of, besides the purple gem. The spirit turned to them with a 5<sup>th</sup> box in his palm, this one containing a gold ring with a yellow gem.


    ¡°For this task, I need you to pick an answer out of 5 possibilities. These rings correspond to the individual beliefs that each one of the noble clans and the Founder had about what was important for business: Endurance, Creativity, Information, Relationships and Power. Do you need me to ask which colour represents which belief?¡±


    She shook her head. Scytale was around her neck again, looking at the rings curiously. Endurance was for red, Creativity was for blue, Information was for black, and Relationships was for silver. Anyone who knew the history and background of the Faction could identify these. The Founder was known as a strong warrior, and so Power was assumed to be representing him.


    She held her chin for a few moments before turning to the spirit. ¡°I¡¯ve chosen.¡±


    He raised an eyebrow in surprise. ¡°That was quick. Are you sure you don¡¯t need more time?¡± She shook her head, so he nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s hear it then.¡±


    ¡°The Founder would¡¯ve selected power. All the noble clans represented here have unique beliefs, but they can all be considered a type of ¡®power¡¯ or ¡®talent¡¯ of a person, and what someone needs to run the Faction can be a ¡®power¡¯ not defined by what is represented by the noble clans.¡±


    The spirit nodded in understanding of her explanation but looked at her with a complex expression. ¡°So, are you choosing the gold ring?¡±


    ¡°Nope,¡± she replied with a grin. The spirit blinked.


    ¡°Sorry?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not selecting that ring.¡±


    The spirit stayed there for a moment, his mouth hanging open, and then began rubbing his forehead in frustration.


    ¡°Then which ring are you choosing?¡±


    She pointed at him. ¡°Ignoring the fact that you never said I needed to choose a ring, nor mentioned whether I could pass or not by selecting any of the rings, I¡¯m pretty certain this is another dumb personality test set by your Founder,¡± she said, scowling. ¡°Nonetheless, I would choose Creativity.¡±


    The spirit raised an eyebrow.


    She shrugged. ¡°In my experience, if you can be creative enough, then you don¡¯t need the other types of solutions. Although, I could use that excuse for any of the beliefs. So, what were you trying to do here?¡±


    Ashale¡¯viaf stared at her for a bit longer now, before groaning and chuckling in self-derision.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. It was a personality test. And in truth, this is the only part of the trial that is important. The questions beforehand weren¡¯t needed at all, it wasn¡¯t even part of the true trial.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°I know.¡±


    He tilted his head curiously. ¡°How?¡±


    She gestured to the portal behind them. ¡°Because, at the very start, you never said you weren¡¯t going to lie. It¡¯s probably a fail-safe measure for you, in case something went wrong in the testing, but it meant I could tell that the ¡®Founder¡¯s ten questions¡¯ weren¡¯t a thing.¡±


    ¡°But I tried to make it obvious that I hadn¡¯t selected the questions,¡± he stated, confused.


    ¡°That was due to a mistake on your part, actually,¡± she told him. ¡°One of my questions was ¡®How many questions did the Founder tell you to ask?¡¯. You said ten. My next question was ¡®How many questions set by the Founder have you asked as of now?¡¯. You answered five. The answer should¡¯ve been eight, the total number of questions you had asked up till that moment. I wasn¡¯t asking for the number of mandatory questions the Founder had specified for you to say, word for word, that had already been asked.¡±


    The spirit hummed, tapping a foot on the floor. ¡°But that could¡¯ve been me misunderstanding the question, not me revealing that they weren¡¯t a thing.¡±


    She tilted her head. ¡°Spirits aren¡¯t human. They mimic human reactions to interact with them, but they don¡¯t need to when showing emotion, as they can directly display it with spiritual energy. A normal human reaction would¡¯ve been confusion and asking someone to rephrase the question, while possibly seeming slightly apprehensive of the answer by the twitching of fingers or other involuntary action.¡±


    She grinned. ¡°When a human lies, they need to make sure the other person hasn¡¯t caught on. You had an action already planned to showcase your ¡®accidental reveal of information¡¯, and because you¡¯re not human, you needed to concentrate more on how to display the emotion and make it seem natural, preventing you from picking up on how you were about to jump to conclusions.¡±


    The spirit rubbed his head as he processed what she said for a while, before raising a finger as he realised a ¡®mistake¡¯ in her answer. ¡°But I¡¯m a spirit guardian. I was human originally before becoming a spirit after I converted my race, so I should still use human behaviours.¡±


    She smirked. ¡°You¡¯re not. You¡¯re a spirit beast in human form. Likely a spirit beast king by my reckoning.¡±


    Ashale¡¯viaf had a flabbergasted expression. She continued to answer his unspoken question. ¡°I said you were a spirit guardian because using that term designated me as ¡®somewhat knowledgeable but overconfident¡¯ due to the fact I was close, but not quite correct. As a spirit, you have a very long lifespan and have had plenty of time to get used to human reactions. By making you subconsciously underestimate me, you lowered the complexity of your apparent emotions, ¡®manipulating¡¯ the conversation to make it seem to me like I had the upper hand from my perspective. You quickly gave that up when other¡­ factors got involved, but it set the theme of the conversation.¡±


    The spirit grimaced when she stressed the word ¡®factors¡¯ but nodded in acknowledgment. He frowned again though, crossing his arms. ¡°This doesn¡¯t make sense though. I shouldn¡¯t have been manipulated this easily. There¡¯s something else you did, but I can¡¯t tell what.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°My first question on ¡®how many Users had gotten to this point in your questioning¡¯ wasn¡¯t to help me calculate their later reduced numbers, although when you asked the question why I had never asked more about the other Users, I did briefly calculate it then to create a misleading answer. The first question was actually to see if this second room challenge of yours was normal, and how many times you had used this ¡®question¡¯ test format.¡± She grinned. ¡°I could find out how reliant you were on your lie-detection magic.¡±


    The spirit paused the tapping of his foot and rubbing of his chin to look up at her in shock. But then his expression changed to wariness, then confusion, and then suspicion.


    ¡°But when did you lie?¡±


    She shook her head, feeling very amused by the spirit¡¯s changing expressions. ¡°I didn¡¯t. But someone else did.¡± He frowned at her before his eyes rested on Scytale in realisation.


    ¡°So, you do want split authority?¡±


    The silver snake reared up and hissed loudly. ¡°Never in a million years.¡±


    The spirit raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Then¡­ you lied about the main reason you were following her?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Sure, she¡¯s interesting, but we both have no problems separating from each other for long periods. We¡¯d never hold the other back from doing what they needed if it was beneficial for them, and circumstances can take us our separate ways. No, even with how close we are, it¡¯s not pure sentiment that keeps me here.¡± His pupils thinned. ¡°Lucille¡¯s research is very deeply involved with certain groups or individuals that I have unresolved questions about, and if there is even the slightest chance, I have been unknowingly screwed over by them, she is my surest bet to find them and shred them to pieces. That is what will keep me here with her through hell or high water.¡±


    By the end of his statement, Scytale¡¯s eyes had gained a red-tinged rim around the irises, and Lucy noticed the edge of Ashale¡¯viaf¡¯s form shuddering and warping slightly when the snake spoke, so she patted him on the head to calm his emotions, realising the winged-snake was probably letting out copious amounts of killing intent and disrupting the spirit¡¯s spiritual energy.


    As a magical beast, they already had strong killing intent, and considering he used to be known as the ¡®Truth-Seizing World-Ender¡¯ when killing intent grew stronger the more beings killed, the spirit beast king was probably feeling like a floating leaf amongst white-water rapids. The snake blinked his eyes and the red rim disappeared. He looked to the wide-eyed spirit.


    ¡°Apologies. I shouldn¡¯t have let my emotions run away like that.¡±


    The spirit, looking more tired than upset, just ran a hand through his long hair and sighed. A low ¡°I¡¯m having second thoughts about this¡± was heard by the two of them, but they said nothing. The spirit looked at something in the distance and shook his head.


    ¡°I can¡¯t be bothered to ask you why you thought you should lie about that. Anyway, as Lucy likely knows by now, none of these rings are correct, because anyone who enters this trial has some connection to it,¡± Ashale¡¯viaf explained. ¡°This means that the only people who have reached this point in the past were young noble members of the Faction. They¡¯d either pick the colour of the noble clan they were subordinated under to show their loyalty or the gold ring because they assumed that the colour representing the Founder was the superior one. It didn¡¯t matter, because all authority to make the decisions rested in my hands anyway,¡± said the spirit, shrugging.


    He reached behind himself with one hand, and when it returned, clasped inside of it was a circular purple object, about the size of his palm. The object¡¯s fabric was velvety in texture, and the gold clasp and chain dangling from it indicated it was a pocket watch. He pressed the gold clasp to fold it out, showing the inside. The top half had a normal clock made of ivory and detailed with faint black patterns, although it had several smaller clocks embedded in its face that indicated the days, months and even the phases of the moons for the Mystical Realm. It was a watch normally used by Astrologists, and sometimes normal arcanists, such as elemental mages or wizards.


    The bottom half however had five gem-encrusted hands pointing to five matching circular gemstones around the rim of the bottom clock. These spherical gemstones were made of either black onyx, white diamond, blue sapphire, red ruby, or yellow topaz, all the same type of stone that composed the marbles from the first room. The five hands decorated each with red, white, yellow, blue, or black gemstones were all anchored to the central metal pin, which below happened to have a dark, dull stone of some kind with unidentifiable colouration, besides nearing grey. He pointed at the middle stone.


    ¡°Could you please drop some blood on this part here?¡±


    Lucy raised an eyebrow but smiled. Taking her bronze knife out of her inventory, she slashed her palm leaving a several-inch-long gash, and the crimson liquid ran down, dripping onto the centre of the strange clockface. The spirit looked at her in abject exasperation.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need that much, girl!¡±


    She shrugged as she inspected the stone in the pocket watch.


    ¡°I heal quickly.¡±


    And indeed, the wound had already turned into silvery scar tissue. She flexed her hand for the spirit to see, and he tilted his head to look, but eventually let it go. Then, he placed a flat palm above the bottom face of the watch and closed his eyes. With her spiritual senses sealed, she couldn¡¯t see anything abnormal, but by sending mana through to her right eye, she saw through the mask to watch coiling white seals of magical runes rotating around the watch be pulled away, entering Ashale¡¯viaf¡¯s palm, and becoming hidden from view. Halting the flow of her mana to the eye after she saw what he was doing, her vision returned to normal, even if her right eye twinged a bit.


    He held out the pocket watch for them to look at, and they saw that the dull dark stone in the centre was now semi-translucent and the same deep violet as the outside of the watch, a high-grade amethyst. Lucy could see the five hands of the watch slightly vibrating in place. The spirit closed the pocket watch, holding it out for Lucy to grab, which she did. She held the watch up, turning it curiously. The spirit pointed a finger at it.


    ¡°The top face of the watch is an Astrologer¡¯s clock. It¡¯s one of the better types available for mages and magic usage in general. The bottom face¡¯s five hands do different things, but it essentially works as a localised compass.¡± She looked up at that, and he continued.


    ¡°As the colours of the gemstones represent the four noble families and the Founder of the Faction, the matching arrows will always indicate the position of the closest member of that family to your current position. The gemstones themselves have magic that grants you unfettered access to all the noble¡¯s facilities. The topaz however is different, as the Founder isn¡¯t part of the Faction anymore.¡± He pointed to the gem. ¡°That gemstone, you can ¡®input¡¯ your own objective for the arrow to point towards. The amount of mana required to find it is the only barrier to gaining what you want. The violet gemstone in the centre is responsible for all the tracking magic.¡±


    She saw a smile appear on the spirit¡¯s face.


    ¡°As of now and hereon after, you are now the owner of the Faction represented by this trial. That is the ultimate reward of this Inheritance Trial, and so, now that it has been received by someone, all treasures currently still within this trial shall automatically be placed into your dimensional bag when you exit the Event. This Trial shall close and remain closed until you or your successor decide to leave a new Inheritance Trial for this Faction.¡± He paused. ¡°However, I have one last question for you before you may leave.¡±


    Scytale and Lucy looked at him curiously.


    ¡°Why did you ask if I was scared?¡± he said after a moment. Lucy¡¯s eyes narrowed and she smiled.


    ¡°Because I wanted to see if you knew that the Inheritance Trials would be removed in a few years.¡±


    The spirit stood there, visibly astonished and tempted to ask for more, but he shook his head and laughed.


    ¡°I said I wouldn¡¯t ask more, so I won¡¯t.¡±


    Then he took a step back and dipped his head in a bow. ¡°Then this is goodbye. If it is destined and the stars align, I may meet you again in another form. I could be a bird, or a great beast, or some other being, but if fate wills it, I hope I may see you again. I, Ashale¡¯viaf, wish good blessings upon you for your journeys and ask that you raise your new Faction to even greater heights in the coming times. May you see future horizons,¡± he finished, waving a hand to the new portal he had made, showing the endless corridor of doors from before.


    Lucy and Scytale traded a look before she just gazed flatly at the spirit, and Scytale let out a scoff. The spirit frowned slightly in confusion at their reaction, not expecting them to stay any longer. Lucy rolled her eyes and stepped through the portal, but not before waving at him and saying something more.


    ¡°I have a suggestion. How about you don¡¯t act dramatic for the person who knows you work as their new Faction¡¯s gardener?¡±


    ¡°Wai-¡±


    With that, Lucille and Scytale headed off with a newly obtained palm-sized pocket watch engraved with the insignia of three coins featured on its front.

 Chapter 9 (1 of 2) Secret Scripture of Scaly things that Slither.

    Lucille and Scytale walked down the infinite corridor, the dull echo of her footsteps and his scales their only companion. There was tension as both were waiting to see who spoke up first. Eventually, Scytale gave up.


    ¡°So, when were you going to tell me what all that was about or are you just going to act mysterious and secretive until the end of time?¡±


    She smirked. ¡°How much don¡¯t you understand?¡±


    He bared his fangs at her. ¡°From the moment we stepped into the ballroom onwards.¡±


    Lucille grinned but nodded her head. ¡°Then I¡¯ll explain. Simply put, none of the outcome was a result of either me or the spirit.¡±


    He cocked his head. ¡°None of it?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely none.¡±


    ¡°¡­..and so why did you think we could pass this trial?¡±


    She smiled at him but didn¡¯t answer his question right away. ¡°It will take a bit of explaining before I get to that. You understand that all the trials have some sort of ¡®theme¡¯ or ¡®story¡¯ they must stick too, right?¡±


    Scytale nodded, so Lucy continued. ¡°When a User sets up a trial, they may tell the System what they want it to be about and select a few items and inheritances to be within it. It gives them a bit of good reputation when the new generations see their ¡®impressive trial¡¯, or for the weaker Factions, it¡¯s a way of preserving themselves.¡± She told him. ¡°You and I don¡¯t feel much about the whole deal, as we weren¡¯t part of any typical Factions in the past, but it has to do with building up ¡®Influence¡¯. It¡¯s why the Heavenly Realm is obsessed with the ruins of ancient cultivators and soul beasts, as a realm with only spiritual energy to manipulate, they understand the importance of ¡®Influence¡¯ more than anybody else.¡±


    ¡°But the System¡¯s ¡®Influence¡¯ is different though.¡±


    She nodded in acknowledgement. ¡°That¡¯s true. But it is only a more refined version of the same thing. The System has just turned it into its own type of ¡®resource¡¯. It¡¯s why stats and Statuses work for it, but nobody can recreate it for themselves. Anyway, to get us back on track, the System has very specific settings that it makes mandatory for each trial. The more freedom a User wants when designing their trial, the more restrictions they must allow the System to place once finished.¡±


    Lucille continued explaining. ¡°Every trial has three settings they must have, without fail. These are offering a treasure at Epic rarity or higher, having the trial follow a bit of history or ¡®lore¡¯ of the Faction, and having a clause that will shut down the trial when someone follows the correct procedures. In this case, it was when someone gained the item symbolising their inheritance of the entire Faction.¡±


    Scytale bobbed his head in understanding so far, before pausing and turning to her as they walked (or slithered) down the hallway. ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to ask. Are you sure it¡¯s soulbound?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Yes. While my spiritual field is inaccessible, I can still feel the bond with you and a much smaller strand of spiritual energy leading to the pocket watch. Anyway, these settings lead me to my next point. It is very rare to find a spirit in a trial.¡± Lucy said to him.


    ¡°As they are fully sentient living creatures, and Ashale¡¯viaf had some control over the trial, the Founder must¡¯ve sacrificed some freedom over the trial, so the System could take advantage of it. Such as there likely being a direct channel to the spirit in question, able to contact it and receive real-time information on the trial, and controlling the spirit¡¯s actions to a certain extent. Spirits do have a closer connection to the System than most are aware.¡±


    He halted his movement for a second. ¡°Oh. That was why you asked the question about the third party, wasn¡¯t it? When did you realise it was watching us?¡±


    ¡°When Ashale¡¯viaf asked the question of whether the fulfilment of my objectives would be beneficial for the Tower. This Faction wouldn¡¯t care about the Tower, their entire purpose is to chase benefits and money. It was not a question I would expect from this trial.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­. So why did you get me to use the lie-detection dodging technique to lie about my reason for following you?¡±


    Lucille smirked. ¡°That was to test the System. By revealing to the spirit at the end the real reason, I was subtly checking with the System to see if it wanted to communicate with us more, which if it did, I would assume it wasn¡¯t happy with how things are going so far and wanted to restrict us by making a deal. Because it didn¡¯t take things further after you said that, I can now safely assume it is willing to take a more passive stance and see where we are headed with all this.¡±


    He tilted his head for a second. ¡°It knows our thoughts and memories. Why would it want to¡­ wait.¡±


    Scytale looked up at her and she grinned, understanding that he had gotten the idea.


    ¡°If the System knew everything, there was no need to communicate with the spirit, indirectly checking our character, choices and motives.¡±


    She picked him up and put him around her neck, sensing his slower pace was annoying him. ¡°That¡¯s right. I believe the System cannot see my memories. The System port in our consciousness seals our memories so they can be perfectly preserved when resurrecting us or allow the System to re-upload our complete personality in case of soul damage. This becomes an issue when the System is only connected to my second port, and not the first, which contains my memories of the first timeline. It has access to my memories before the port was added because it needed to carefully select who would enter the Tower as forerunners, but that only contains memories up to the point I entered the Tower.¡± She explained.


    ¡°This had the added side-effect of messing up my Origin Skill, which is supposed to be made of all the past experiences up until that point. I believe it can still see your memories, as your Status isn¡¯t glitched, but how useful those are when it comes to a battle junkie like you is debatable.¡± She said, sending him a look.


    Scytale sheepishly looked to the side. ¡°Yeah¡­ two-thirds of my life is probably just on battlefields, and I didn¡¯t focus on my spiritual stats until later, so my eidetic memory doesn¡¯t cover my earlier memories. I can understand why the System needs more details. But what about our thoughts?¡±


    She slowed her pace for a bit. ¡°It can definitely still see those. That is likely the only reason why it hasn¡¯t locked us up to study us or killed us outright. It knows our plans don¡¯t intend to harm its goals, but without my memories to analyse my personality, it cannot predict with accuracy how I will react when faced with certain situations, making me an uncontrollable variable. This is related to why I don¡¯t believe we should involve ourselves that much with the Citadel of Fate. Their fate Thaumaturgy works with the System¡¯s aid, so we¡¯d either be their archnemesis or¡­ never mind, I can¡¯t think of anything else. They¡¯d likely just want to kill us.¡± She said with a weird expression.


    He hissed in agreement, before falling silent. Then he spoke up again. ¡°There¡¯s just one last thing I don¡¯t understand.¡± He paused. ¡°How did we¡­ beat the trial, exactly?¡±


    She smirked. ¡°I used the System¡¯s rules against itself. When I originally saw the answer to this trial I realised it was ridiculously simple but quite hard to do correctly when you can only enter once. The System¡¯s involvement made it easier for us to beat it. If the spirit asks more than 10 questions, he has no choice but to let the challenger into the last room to do the final test.¡± She continued. ¡°If they pick up on the fact that they aren¡¯t allowed to select a ring, then they gain the inheritance item. Because the System involved itself in this trial, Ashale¡¯viaf had no choice but to let us through to the final room as he went over the question count.¡±


    Scytale¡¯s eyes widened, and he stared at her. ¡°But¡­ why hasn¡¯t anyone solved this trial sooner?!¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°The spirit has full control over what questions to ask, how many, and who to allow through. He can also likely see how we completed the first room of the trial because he knew we had used the violet gem. Remember I told you about the hidden room?¡±


    He nodded. Lucy continued with her explanation. ¡°People, normally the Faction¡¯s young noble members, bring back news of the other rooms and how to access it to their families when their trial ends. Those who use this past knowledge for the trial are then labelled as ¡®lazy¡¯ or people who want to take shortcuts by the spirit. He uses the questions to check if he¡¯s correct with his lie-detection magic, so if any attempt the challenge, he can force them to fail. I planned on staying on his good side with my answers, but the System involving itself meant I didn¡¯t need to care too much about that, so I was less careful.¡±


    Scytale sighed. ¡°The Founder must¡¯ve really trusted Ashale¡¯viaf. I wonder what their relationship was?¡±


    They walked in silence for a bit before Lucy spoke up with a grin on her face. ¡°How would you like to be my trial¡¯s guardian beast? Beat the Level 799 World-Ender to receive my inheritance, we¡¯ll see how that goes.¡±


    Scytale flapped his wings with excitement. ¡°Oooh, I could use my illusions to make it seem like they¡¯ll have to fight my lesser clones, all the way up till they fight me, but then when they eventually ¡®die¡¯, they¡¯ll have their progress reset, so it seems they¡¯re in a time loop, but I¡¯ll add slight changes each time to my illusions to make it seem like they ARE making progress, but the next loop all the changes are gone, and they¡¯ll feel like they¡¯re slowly going insane. The dungeon of Scytale! Known to be the hardest among trials, it¡¯s impossible to beat! That will get all the Glory Pantheon brats trying to fight me.¡±


    They pretended to come up with ideas for their future ¡®trial of horrors¡¯ for a bit, before he eventually spoke, a bit puzzled. ¡°Sooo¡­ are we leaving or what? We¡¯re just going to walk forever?¡±


    Lucy grinned. ¡°I assumed you might¡¯ve forgotten. We need to do your trial too, remember?¡±


    Scytale blinked, nonplussed, before rearing up on top of her head in realisation. ¡°Oh yeah! Because I¡¯m a bond, I don¡¯t have a Tutorial, and as you hadn¡¯t already used it by the time we bonded, your inheritance key can be used for my inheritance too, can¡¯t it? Um¡­ but how should I choose a trial?¡±


    She gestured vaguely in the direction of the infinitely repeating series of doors. ¡°Take your pick. This is yours, not mine, so I can¡¯t use my spiritual energy to direct one to appear for us. Although, I do have a suggestion.¡±


    She walked up to one of the doors near them, although this one was slightly different to the ones around it. While those had a variety of different colouring decorating the front, the door they were in front of looked like it was made of a large cut of solid grey stone. There was no door handle, and any symbology on the front was barely visible and looked like it was roughly hewn out of the stone. She pointed at it.


    ¡°These types of doors are for fallen inheritances. They can become ¡®fallen¡¯ for a variety of reasons, but its normally because the trial within didn¡¯t gain a User who could complete it within two thousand years, was made for an individual - which is illegal according to the System¡¯s regulations for the trials, or has something within it that the System would prefer to not leak to the outside world. They don¡¯t have any rooms except one, no tests or anything, and the room contains all the items that would normally be behind puzzles or monsters.¡±


    ¡°But these are locked by the System,¡± Scytale stated, confused. ¡°You need a special author- oh. Hang on, your Authority works on physical places too?¡±


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    She grinned. ¡°If this was set by the Mansion, then no, I couldn¡¯t access it, but because the trials exist here due to the System¡­ I suggest we test it out. I can sense you don¡¯t want to do more puzzles and problem-solving.¡±


    He hissed at that. ¡°You¡¯re right. I want to relax in my bath of money, not work for more of it. Okay, nice creepy non-Euclidean Mansion? Could you kindly please give me the perfect fallen inheritance that will enable me to complete my goals for the future? Very please, much thank you, put it ten doors down on the right. Muchas gracias.¡±


    Lucy shook her head wryly but walked down. When they came to a stop in front of a stone door a head taller than Lucy was, with the barely visible detailing of a many-horned beast next to a sword, exactly ten doors down on the right, Scytale remained silent for a good thirty seconds, just staring at it, from his current position next to her on the floor. Eventually, he turned to Lucille for an explanation.


    ¡°How?!? Can the creepy Mansion hear me?! Is it sentient?...uh, sorry, you¡¯re not that creepy¡­¡±


    She smiled in amusement. ¡°I highly doubt it¡¯s sentient. Constructs formed out of conceptual elements can¡¯t gain spiritual energy like magic items can, to become spirit items with souls, as they¡¯re in a fixed state due to already being imbued with spiritual energy. No, it probably picked up on your residual spiritual energy. Either that or Marcus is watching us through invisible security cameras, manipulating everything for us.¡±


    She waved to the dark roof. ¡°Hi, Marcus!¡±


    Scytale shook his head, watching her, before turning back to the door. ¡°Well, guess it¡¯s this one we do. Now, how do you open it?¡±


    Lucy placed a palm on the cold surface of the door, closing her eyes and pushing a bit of spiritual energy into it. ¡°Considering a stone door is not as intuitive as a Status screen connected to the soul, I¡¯ll use a bit of verbal intonation to get the message across. Let me try¡­ Query. Access Permissions of User Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft Sufficient to Download Information on Fallen Inheritance, Currently in Contact. Location: Malkisofret¡¯s Primordial Construct: Mansion of Mystery, Floor 5. Requesting Current Title of Fallen Inheritance.¡±


    Scytale winced as Lucille¡¯s words reverberated through the air with a weird cadence, and he felt a section of his soul twitch in response. He presumed that was his connection to the System, although he couldn¡¯t be certain. He saw Lucy frown slightly and watched her inspect the door with slightly more caution.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t work?¡±


    She shook her head, still frowning. ¡°No, it worked, but¡­ never mind. This fallen trial is the Trial of the Obsidian-borne Beast¡¯s Forge. It does seem to be your trial, because it¡¯s a trial left by a magical beast¡¯s Faction, but¡­ it seems the reason it fell was because the System deemed it unsafe for Users to bring out its items. Either they were too powerful¡­ or they could be dangerous to the Users themselves.¡±


    ¡°A crafting beast Faction¡­ those are rare. But why would the items be dangerous to the wielding Users?¡±


    She shrugged, holding her chin in thought. ¡°Many reasons. It could be that the items have bloodline requirements that when attempted to be wielded, inflict horrendous damage on the User who tried. I could understand if the bloodline died out that it would be dangerous for anybody else to try but¡­¡± Her eyes widened in realisation as she looked at the beast detail on the door again. ¡°Oh no.¡± She abruptly turned to her bond.


    ¡°Do you remember those really early myths about the beginning of the Tower, when it was said that a specific group of beasts with over 50% primal beast bloodline purity still existed?¡±


    Scytale was taken aback and hissed when he got her message. ¡°You mean that terrifying draconic race known for their catastrophic dark element bloodline magic? I¡¯m pretty sure only the current dragon race knows of them, and us because of our¡­ experiences with the 7<sup>th</sup> realm. Wait, no way¡­ WHY THE HELL IS THIS HERE?!?¡±


    She scowled. ¡°I have absolutely no clue. There is no reason why the System should have kept this. The dragon race wiped out everyone who knew of them for a reason. They should not have existed, and the fact that the System hasn¡¯t erased this either means it doesn¡¯t have anything to do with them, which is the best option for all the realms, or¡­ there¡¯s something in here it wants to keep but doesn¡¯t know what to do with.¡±


    They both turned to stare at the door, practically unblinking, almost like they were afraid it would move. Scytale swayed, nervous. ¡°Should we open it after all? If the Mansion thinks this is going to be useful for my future, I¡¯m not sure I want that future anymore.¡±


    Lucy had a conflicted expression. ¡°On one hand, they were a proper part of the Tower until that¡­ breach happened. Not all their items would be related to their¡­ nature, considering they were an entire fully functional beast enclave¡­ but on the other hand, the System has some control over what trials to put near us, so¡­ it might plan on dumping the ticking time bomb that could be within on us to destroy it along with us all when the time comes.¡±


    Scytale groaned. ¡°Why are we finding all this stuff out now, as weaklings, when we could¡¯ve found a way to resolve it all at Rank-7¡­ well, you could¡¯ve, I don¡¯t think I can beat up memories of secrets too well. Is there any reason we can¡¯t just ignore everything within if it¡¯s too risky and just exit the trial?¡±


    She shook her head, face expressionless as she considered the merits of opening it compared to leaving it be. ¡°Any faulty protections or dangerous tests would¡¯ve been removed by the System as soon as the trial was designated as ¡®fallen¡¯, so just entering, and looking at the items is no issue. The real question is¡­ whatever is being kept in there, is it worth knowing about, or not?¡±


    They both fell silent, Lucy quickly calculating how it could impact them, and Scytale just letting her think. Eventually, she clenched her teeth and put her palm back on the rough, cool door. ¡°Look, we already knew they existed, and what they were involved in, ever since we entered this new timeline. They can¡¯t affect us, and I know enough to prevent any lingering remnants of that race from affecting us. Just, don¡¯t touch anything, and let me use my shard to view everything. We¡¯ll be safe for the next five years at the very least, so we can worry about it then.¡±


    Scytale gave her a serious nod and she began to recite the System¡¯s commands again, her voice sounding as if it was overlayed by a million copies of the same words. ¡°Query. Access Permissions of User Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft Sufficient to Enter Fallen Inheritance: Obsidian-borne Beast¡¯s Forge. Requesting Access with User¡¯s Authority.¡±


    Scytale could tell through their bond that beneath her fingers, she could feel the whirring of gears as the door was unsealed, texture returning and ebony black colouration appearing across the now wooden door, like a blot of paint bleeding into paper. They looked at the circular silver door knocker next to Lucy¡¯s hand that appeared, its centrepiece shaped like an open dragon¡¯s mouth. They both grimaced.


    ¡°That answers the question of if this was left by THAT race or not.¡±


    She nodded, sighing, before grabbing the handle and knocking it against the black wood and stepping back as they waited. The carved horned beast and sword detailing light up, a red glow shining from its eye and the gem on the handle of the sword, before swinging inward with a loud creak. They looked at each other.


    ¡°Well, that wasn¡¯t ominous at all,¡± Lucy grumbled, and with Scytale around her neck again, she slowly walked inside to see the dreaded room.


    It was¡­ well, it was a forge. It was a decaying, very old forge, with spiderwebs hanging from the corners, and broken weaponry haphazardly strewn about, but it was a forge, as the anvil in the left corner and the quenched furnace behind it showed. A pair of bellows could be seen resting on a workbench nearby, and several smith¡¯s tools were anchored to the brick walls of the square room. The room itself was full of cracks on the ceiling and its walls, however, and the oil lamps used to light up the room were empty and cold. The darkness of the room made it appear monotone and colourless, the gloomy atmosphere of the clear signs of ageing not helping the sensation.


    ¡°This doesn¡¯t quite feel cursed or dangerous or anything¡­ more just sad. It¡¯s clearly abandoned.¡±


    She nodded, and paused as she was in the centre of the decrepit smithery to take in the scene. ¡°I suppose they had a sad story, from a certain point of view. Most of their fall wasn¡¯t their fault, although those present at the time would hold no sympathy for their plight. And¡­ I think this place is more of a garbage pile than anything.¡± she said with a complicated expression. ¡°These items aren¡¯t carefully arrayed to protect them from damage, not like how a real smith would. Trials don¡¯t normally age, so the System has left it to its devices so time will remove the traces. We can¡¯t be too careful though. I¡¯ll let you down so you can look but tell me if you feel anything off. I don¡¯t have the instinctual ability to sense danger like you.¡±


    They separated to search the small room. Lucy went to check the larger items, and the ones more likely to be functioning, while Scytale went to see if there was anything hidden amongst the largest pile of broken items on the main workbench. Most of it was non-functioning. There were shards of glass, a few pendants with dull gemstones - likely once-was mana-stones - rusted swords, and tarnished jewellery.


    There was armour as well, but the leather straps for them had turned to dust as soon as the breeze of Scytale¡¯s movement touched them, and the armour was just as rusted as the weapons. Some strange-looking black objects on top of the smith¡¯s anvil seemed to be functioning, but something warned Scytale against touching those, and he trusted his instincts when it came to things like that.


    He inspected some of the lamps on the benches. The oil was dark brown and grungy, the lamps themselves turned to grey glass by the grime caked on them. Not wishing to get his scales dirty, he avoided getting closer and checked inside the furnace behind him to see if there was anything in it. All that was there were thick layers of grey ash, and a few pieces of broken metal, likely belonging to some of the smithery¡¯s tools.


    He looked across the room to see Lucy kneeling, several large piles of items around her as she seemed to be searching through large rusty chests of some kind, half her height, and there was a dingy shovel next to her, so he assumed she was opening them with the use of it somehow. He turned back to search again and continued for about a quarter of an hour like that.


    Suddenly, he felt the wave of scalding hot anger swelling up from Lucy and flowing down the bond, and he turned his head almost fast enough to get whiplash, to see Lucy standing up, a dark expression on her face as she held her mask in her left hand, and another hand pressed against a workbench he had searched earlier, staring down at something on the table. A trickle of dark blood was running down her right cheek and dripping onto her black shirt, staining it, but she didn¡¯t move to get rid of it, either unaware of it or uncaring. As he watched, her expression grew darker, and she growled loudly enough that Scytale wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he turned to find another beast in the room. He moved over as fast as he could to see what the issue was because his bond with Lucille told him she was fine but incredibly angry.


    He arrived next to her and had to bump her leg to get her to notice him. It was rare she wasn¡¯t paying attention to her surroundings, especially without her perception radius active. She jolted, and looked down, before noticing it was him and sighing. She picked him up, clearing a spot on the bench for him with her left hand, and placed him down. She also put a finger to her cheek, and when she noticed it came away bloody, she closed her golden eye and pulled a face towel out of her dimensional pack, rubbing herself against it. She eventually put it down and closed her eyes, rubbing her forehead with one hand while grimacing.


    ¡°Sooo¡­ what was that about?¡± Scytale asked after a few minutes.


    She looked down at the table with a frown, and she tapped a long finger on the black metal case next to him. He leaned down to inspect it curiously.


    ¡°I believe I¡¯ve found what the System doesn¡¯t want to destroy.¡±


    The case was around the length of Lucy¡¯s arm, and it was open. The outside was covered in a glossy black paint, and the corners had ornamental metal edging, while the inside was coated in red velvet, and two indents could be found within the soft inside. The case was very well preserved, and Scytale thought he could sense mana still swirling about it, indicating it was a magic item. But what was interesting was what was inside the indents.


    Two small-sized blades were within, parallel to each other, along the length of the box. Both were curved and placed opposite to each other in a way that the tip of one blade was level with the handle of the other. The fascinating thing about these blades, however, was that one was a blinding reflective white, and the other was pitch black. And neither of these blades had any decoration whatsoever. Their handles, pommels and blades were all perfectly melded in such a way that they appeared like the entire form of the weapons¡¯ were forged at once. The white one was so clean that he could see his own eyes in it, and the black one was so dark it seemed to absorb the light directed at it. He turned to Lucy.


    ¡°So, they¡¯re daggers. Nice looking, and a bit weird in style, but daggers. Why the big reaction? Some dastardly ability of some sort inside them?¡± He asked in confusion.


    She scowled. ¡°Technically, they¡¯re not daggers, however, that¡¯s beside the point. This one is a spirit weapon,¡± she said, pointing at the white dagger, ¡°and this one is a demonic weapon.¡± She added, pointing now at the black one. ¡°But here¡¯s the thing: they¡¯re both sentient.¡±


    Scytale paused for a moment as he registered what she said. Then he sent across his impression of a torrent of anger, frustration, and confusion through the bond.


    ¡°Both sentient¡­ but didn¡¯t you say the System left this trial here to rot?!? Why are these in here too!?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not all either. They¡¯re unnamed.¡±


    Scytale groaned. If it was just the fact that the System left two sentient weapons here, which, while atrocious, was not the worst it could¡¯ve done, he and Lucy wouldn¡¯t have had such a big reaction, thinking the sacrifice for keeping the trial secret was worth it. The fact that these weapons were unnamed meant the smith created them and immediately discarded them, uncaring for the new souls within, and one of the worst feelings known to weapon spirit, armour spirit, or any other type of created soul, was the sensation of being unnamed.


    It left them incomplete and caused them literal pain when it lasted for longer than a year, as their new souls slowly began disintegrating. The fact that they were kept in here meant their souls had been slowly shrinking, shredding themselves just by existing, without having any way of controlling it.


    It also reduced their intelligence level when the soul got too small, meaning they could only exist in constant pain, unaware of what they were, and unable to fix it. Because a weapon or armour spirit had the choice to detach themselves from their physical body to go to the spirit realm when they got strong enough, everybody in the Tower acknowledged them as fully thinking beings on their own, especially as spirit guardians, former mortal races, often decided to become a weapon or armour spirit in their lives. These were new souls, however, created at the time of the weapons¡¯ formation.


    ¡°What are we going to do with them?¡±


    Lucy ran her fingers through her fringe in frustration, before reaching into her brown drawstring dimensional bag.


    ¡°First, I¡¯m going to soulbind them. The spiritual energy from the bond should be enough to stabilise their souls, and I can give them more energy if they need it once I check their conditions. Then we¡¯ll discuss it further.¡±


    Using her bronze knife again, she drew blood from her left and right hand¡¯s index fingers and dripped some onto the black and white daggers at the same time. Then, after removing the weapons from their case and putting them on the bench, she placed her palms flat against them both and frowned in concentration. Scytale knew she was summoning her spiritual energy and sending it through her limbs internally as she couldn¡¯t bind them with her spiritual energy threads which required her spiritual perception field to be open. Unlike the pocket watch and with him, this had to be done manually without System aid to force the bond.


    Eventually, she withdrew her hands, and the two daggers lifted themselves from the bench a few centimetres, vibrating slightly as they stayed there in mid-air. She put her mask on, and Scytale turned to her again.


    ¡°So, how are they?¡±


    ¡°I think their souls had about a year left in them before they would die. They barely had the self-awareness of an ant, which is not very high in the first place, so they¡¯re going to take at least half an hour to recover to the minimum level of sentience that would keep them safe.¡±


    Lucille sighed again, tapping her pale fingers against the workbench to some unknown rhythm, while rubbing the back of her neck. Eventually, she shook her head to clear her thoughts and looked at her snake bond.


    ¡°These weapons have a synergy ability. They are powerful individually but can only show their real abilities when their wielder has bonded to both. I think they have the basic function to enhance their abilities by a factor of x5 when within a kilometre of each other. But yes, the white one is a spirit weapon, so it has a spirit¡¯s soul inside, but the black one is a demonic weapon, and has the soul of a demon. I think they were both meant to be spirit weapons though.¡±


    Scytale tilted his head as he watched the daggers hover over the bench, absorbing spiritual energy from their bond with Lucy.


    ¡°Then why is it a demonic weapon?¡±


    ¡°Well, this was definitely a forge of a member of ¡®that race¡¯, and the crafter could create souls during their preliminary formation instead of using a spirit guardian, so they were extremely talented. However, if the smith was of that race, then when they ¡®turned¡¯ during that event, their nature might¡¯ve infected the second weapon somehow. If they ¡®turned¡¯ during that time, then they obviously wouldn¡¯t care about the ¡®failure¡¯ of a weapon, and probably discarded them both, having no emotional attachment or care for their lives.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ that race wasn¡¯t demonic. Demon dragons are an entirely different thing.¡±


    She grimaced. ¡°I believe they didn¡¯t fully infect the weapon with their nature. They only sent its spiritual energy into disarray, so the weapon adapted and adopted the next closest thing. Spirits and spirit weapons can fall and become demons or demonic weapons, but it¡¯s rare. I suppose its young age allowed it to become accustomed to the chaotic energies. One thing I do know is this: they are incredibly powerful for their rarity.¡±


    Scytale stopped staring at the daggers, which were slowly rising into the air, to look at her.


    ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°Enough to gain one of the alternative rarities when named.¡±


    Her bond pulled back, heavily surprised.


    ¡°Are they a nascent Wonder, Forbidden or Heretic?¡±


    ¡°The spirit weapon is probably a nascent Wonder, but the second is something like a nascent Forbidden demonic weapon with energies so chaotic it practically borders on Heretic.¡±

 Chapter 9 (2 of 2) Secret Scripture of Scaly things that Slither.

    ¡°The spirit weapon is probably a nascent Wonder, but the second is something like a nascent Forbidden demonic weapon with energies so chaotic it practically borders on Heretic.¡±


    The alternative rarities functioned as a description of the type the magical, or spirit in the case of the daggers, the item was. They came with five different prefixes that could be added before the normal rarity ranking: Origin, Transient, Wonder, Forbidden and Heretic. With Origin referring to powerful natural objects formed of the world¡¯s energy without sentient beings influencing it, and Transient referring to temporary summonable items such as Heroic Armaments and Weapons, the other three were more nebulous.


    Wonder usually referred to the fact that the item was near impossible to recreate and functioned in incomprehensible ways that couldn¡¯t be mimicked. They often had strange rules for how they functioned. A Forbidden item carried immense power, in the sense of a tome that could summon a Grand-mage¡¯s Grand Spell Meteor Shower, carrying enough strength to devastate entire kingdoms. They were ultimate techniques in essence.


    Heretic weapons were the worst kind, and never a good thing. They carried monster essence that twisted and distorted the User and were heavily regulated by the System. There was no knowledge of a Heretic item over Rare ever being found within the five realms, and both Lucy and Scytale knew that the System confiscates and seals away such items where nobody could ever find them. Or at least, that was the ideal situation.


    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s the traces of its creator leaking in. It won¡¯t be dangerous for you, will it?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°There¡¯s no actual monster essence within it, so it¡¯ll be fine. I have enough spiritual energy to not succumb to the bloodlust of the demonic weapon anyway, and these dagger lookalikes have an interesting function. Like all demonic weapons, this weapon can absorb the spiritual energy of its victims and strengthen itself and its owner, like a demon can with other demons, but also like demons, you need to purify the residual spiritual energy to avoid losing control of your chaotic soul.¡±


    She pointed to the white ¡®dagger¡¯. ¡°The spirit weapon takes over this function, directly rerouting the spiritual energy through itself as an intermediary. It takes half of the energy, purifying it and sending the energy to its owner, and uses the other half to do¡­ something. I don¡¯t know what yet, as it hasn¡¯t been defined by a name that would form the ability.¡±


    Scytale nodded along to her explanation but paused when he realised something.


    ¡°So, if they¡¯re not daggers, then what ARE these?¡±


    Lucy had a complicated look on her face at that question. ¡°Well, their current form is functional, but it¡¯s just a dormant form for them, providing passive boosts to the User if they were defined.¡±


    ¡°¡­..it¡¯s not like you to draw out an explanation. What are their true forms?¡±


    ¡°¡­. snake-swords.¡±


    ¡°¡­.snake-swords?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°The kind that gets waved around like a whip with extra steps?¡±


    ¡°¡­.yes.¡±


    ¡°You, Lucille Goldcroft, soulbound snake-swords?¡±


    Lucy remained silent. Scytale stared at her just to make sure she wasn¡¯t joking, and even read her thoughts through their bond to check but had to throw his head back with silent laughter as he realised why she was keeping quiet.


    ¡°What is with you and slithering things? I mean, you gained me as a bond the first time, and this time you gain two sentient swords that just happened to be in the shape of snakes? Do you have some rare serpent affinity? Natural Dao roots of the Supreme Snake Dao? The hidden successor to the Secret Scripture of Scaly things that Slither?¡±


    She whacked him over his feathery head. ¡°There¡¯s no way the ¡®Snake Dao¡¯, if it existed, would be a Supreme Dao, something synonymous with the incomprehensible forces of nature. But yes, the true form of these weapons are two snake-swords that extend outwards and can be manipulated like a whip by controlling them with mana or spiritual energy.¡±


    Lucy picked up the white dagger, twisting it slowly, seeing the little bit of light in the room bounce off its surface. However, as she held it, the second black dagger lifted itself and floated near the white dagger, slowly moving around Lucy¡¯s head in a circle while trembling slightly.


    Scytale cocked his head as he watched her let go of the white dagger, and it moved next to the black dagger, circling with it in sync. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ not you doing that? They have autonomous movement already? Wow, only much older spirit and demonic weapons normally do that. What rarity are they?¡±


    She smiled. ¡°These are Epic ranked. And that¡¯s their starting point.¡±


    All demonic or spirit weapons were evolvable. Some sentient ones chose not to gain higher strength, but with spiritual energy, mana, potentially more materials and time, they can all increase their strength. So, while some Users had to build up their weapon from Rare or even Uncommon rarity, these daggers already had amazing strength and could reach even greater heights. Scytale watched as the daggers followed the direction of Lucy¡¯s pointing finger, and then came back.


    ¡°So, another reason for people to kill us then. Even if they get damaged or need to switch Users at a higher rank, they¡¯ll start at Epic rarity, unlike most other weapons, making them extremely valuable. But considering this trial was the best for ¡®my¡¯ future, maybe you having weapons that can fight on their own to protect you will protect my resources too?¡±


    Lucy frowned slightly. "Possibly... but our current focus should be naming the two weapons. I''ve also noticed these two weapons have a strange bond between them going on that''s interfering with the ''master'' bond I should have with them as their soulbound owner." She continued thinking, a hesitant look on her face. ¡°I think I have a name for the black one, but the white one¡­ I¡¯m not sure.¡±


    Scytale looked at her eagerly. ¡°Are they going to be thematic names?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°I intend to take some names from Earth¡¯s mythology. Considering they will technically be the first magic items to be named after them, and as magical items hold actual power, they might get imbued with some of their concepts if I do so and could cause a feedback loop that will reduce some of the instability of them in the 7<sup>th</sup> realm.¡±


    Scytale hissed at her implications. ¡°Oh yeah, that¡¯s a good point. Let¡¯s just borrow their Influence then. Snake themed?¡±


    ¡°Yep. The two names I am planning on also have some relation to each other in history and have similar themes, so I think it will magnify their synergetic bond.¡±


    ¡°So, you already have two names. What¡¯s the issue?¡±


    She grabbed the black dagger from where it was hovering in the air in front of her. ¡°I¡¯m planning on naming this one Apophis.¡±


    Scytale blinked and looked at her. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ more suitable than I thought. The Egyptian snake deity embodying a constant cycle of darkness and chaos, and naming a black demonic weapon after it, when demons are the incarnations of the metaphysical forces of chaos? Yeah, that works. But I can¡¯t think of any other Egyptian-related snake creatures in mythology for the white one.¡±


    She frowned slightly, letting go of the black dagger. ¡°I was thinking of naming the white dagger Ouroboros.¡±


    Her bond tilted his head at her answer. ¡°I can¡¯t say that I¡¯m very familiar with it, besides the fact it eats its tail and is in the shape of a circle¡­ or was it the infinity sign? So, yeah, I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re hesitant about it yet.¡±


    She ran her hands through her fringe. ¡°Ouroboros was a younger deity concept originating in the Western world through Egyptian symbology, likely Apophis itself, and Greek influence brought across by travellers, like non-magical alchemy was. It¡¯s typically a symbol of cycles, rebirth, life and death, infinity, karma, and so on. But my issue is I¡¯m not sure if the name would suit a spirit weapon, something typically associated with ¡®good¡¯ or ¡®pureness¡¯. Ouroboros kind of suggests cultists and other darker things due to its lesser renown, even if the symbolism is not inherently bad. I don¡¯t want the weapon to become demonic because of the name.¡±


    The silvery snake narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°I think it¡¯s fine. It suits it better than my idea of Ladon, which was a gold, several-headed dragon. Also, let me give my perspective as a snake: nobody is going to think ¡®snake-sword? Wow, that is totally a weapon used by upright and honourable people!¡¯. It¡¯s a weapon based around the idea of a snake, we¡¯re not beasts known for being chivalrous, righteous and all that.¡± He paused to gesture with his nose at the white dagger.


    ¡°It¡¯s also a weapon. All weapons are used for killing, so a weapon that embodies the cycle of life would not be as bad as what it could be sent as a message.¡±


    She looked at him and then watched the daggers spin for a while. Eventually, she nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t have the time to search through my memories of Earth¡¯s history for a good name, even if I speed up my thoughts. I haven¡¯t found a better one as of now, so I¡¯ll stick with what I¡¯ve got. Hopefully, the ¡®cycle¡¯ concept will aid it in absorbing the demonic energy of the black dagger better. Alright.¡±


    She grabbed them both. ¡°As of now, I¡¯ll name this black snake-sword Apophis and this white snake-sword Ouroboros.¡±


    While her voice didn¡¯t reverberate like it had when she used her Authority to open the door, there was something to it that Scytale could feel occurring. The best way he had to describe it would be that a build-up of metaphysical static was occurring, with the two daggers at the centre. He could feel the pull of spiritual energy funnelling towards the daggers, and while his soul didn¡¯t lose any as his spiritual energy had his spiritual energy signature, he could tell it was rushing into two vortexes and coalescing into the completed souls of the weapons.


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    As he watched, they gained a colourless glow to them, and their forms shifted in a way that made them look like liquid for a moment. And then it ended, the two daggers hovering vertically before Lucy¡¯s face, vibrating. They took in the changes of the weapons.


    While the base forms of the daggers were the same, two curved blades attached to their handguards and then short pommels, in white and black, they had changed in ways very different from each other. The white blade had a perfectly smooth, razor-sharp edge. No nicks or indents were visible, just a solid curve up to the tip. While it was curved, it wasn¡¯t one-sided, being just as sharp on both edges. In the centre of the handguard was a diamond-shaped sky-blue sapphire, a brighter colour than most sapphires, framed by a silver border, and having the insignia of a crescent moon on its front. The handguard itself curved down on its two ends.


    There were some additional white-silver decorations in the pattern of vines winding along the handguard, but that wasn¡¯t what caught Scytale¡¯s eye. It was the handle that he paid attention to. Instead of leather, winding its way along the dagger was a small white snake ornament. Its head ended up just past the handguard and on the flat of the blade, left of the gemstone centre, while its tail, after spiralling its body around the handle, rested on the end of the pommel, another spherical carved sapphire. The eyes of the small snake were the same brilliant blue stone.


    What was interesting was its pair, the black dagger, had the same snake decoration winding its way up the handle to rest its head on the flat of the blade, just black, on the right of the gem and not the left. The similarities stopped there. Unlike the white dagger, the inner curve of the blade was serrated in three places, and only the outer curve was smooth. The handguard tilted up at the ends and vicious-looking black thorn decorations wrapped around the guard. The diamond-shaped gemstone embedded within its guard was a malevolent crimson ruby, this time with a black sun symbol on its front, the pommel¡¯s stone and the snake¡¯s eyes containing the same scarlet gem.


    As Lucy grabbed them again, the white dagger gained a sky-blue aura, and the black one a bloody glow.


    ¡°Huh,¡± she said after a moment. Scytale just stared at her.


    ¡°Huh?! Is that all you have to say?! Glory Pantheon would weep at your lacklustre reaction! No wonder you say you can¡¯t be a warrior!¡±


    Lucille looked at him blankly before she realised what he meant. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not upset at their looks, it¡¯s just¡­ they''re much more mentally immature than I expected.¡±


    Scytale felt a strange tugging sensation on his soul before he managed to sense the weak thoughts and emotions of the two souls.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Scytale mused. ¡°Have they started to form proper personalities yet?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°They already have genders. Apophis is a boy, and Ouroboros a girl.¡±


    Scytale looked at her sceptically. ¡°And you could tell that how?¡±


    Lucy shrugged. "I can easily tell based on their differing soul structures." She moved a finger to gesture for them to come back, and they did. Picking up the black dagger, she held it and they watched with interest as the snake ornament¡¯s eyes started glowing, and it started slithering along the dagger''s body after unwinding itself. It crawled downwards, and climbed up her arm, reaching her forearm to ¡®look¡¯ at her, although the tail didn¡¯t lose contact with the dagger.


    Scytale, feeling bored, asked, "Can I see their true forms?¡±


    ¡°Of course. But let¡¯s do this one at a time. I¡¯m getting the impression that their true forms are much bigger than we think.¡±


    Scytale watched intently as she held Ouroboros with the blade pointing up.


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure you don¡¯t hold curved daggers with the blades on top.¡±


    She waved a hand at him in response. ¡°Shush. Don¡¯t badger me. Glory Pantheon aren''t here to attack me for offending their sensibilities, and these aren¡¯t actually daggers. It¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    They watched as Ouroboros¡¯s form shifted, the pommel growing longer, the handguard widening and the blade straightening and lengthening. Scytale tilted his head. Everything below the blade was pretty much the same, but the blade itself¡­.


    ¡°Is it segmented?¡±


    Still white, it had two parallel sides that eventually changed angles to meet together, forming the tip, like a typical longsword. However, from where he was, he could see several segments overlapping the earlier one until it reached the end of the sword. The edges of the sword were angled slightly per segment, creating serrations, but the bottom of each segment was arrow-shaped, pointing up towards the tip.


    ¡°This is an interesting blade. The sections of the snake-sword don¡¯t connect, and the blade doesn¡¯t extend as one whole piece of metal. And I think...¡± she continued, pointing Ouroboros so the weapon was parallel to the floor.


    Scytale watched as the blade extended slightly, gaps between the segments appearing amidst the sky-blue haze surrounding it. The gaps meant the edge wasn¡¯t smooth, and so created more points on the blade¡¯s edges that could catch and shred stuff, doing more damage. Nothing seemed to be connecting them, and they hovered in the air.


    After raising the sword so it was vertical again, she flicked a finger against the metal with a chink and the segment wavered and rotated slightly, the neighbouring segments doing the same as the force dispersed along the blade. She placed a hand in the gap between two segments and waved it. The pieces stayed in mid-air.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing between them. No wire or invisible cord of some kind. It¡¯s like some kind of¡­ electromagnetic current is running through the blade, giving it cohesion. It reminds me of the magnetised repulsion armour from Earth like it can switch between magnetised segments, becoming solid, or repelled segments, moving around. It¡¯s not a design I would expect to find within the Tower at this time.¡±


    Scytale tilted his head. ¡°That sounds like too advanced technology for this time. Are you sure it¡¯s electromagnetism?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°I said it was like it, not that it was. But the spiritual energy of the weapon is functioning very similarly. Almost something I would expect an immortal practitioner of the Gravitational Grand Dao to come up with if they had a profession in formations.¡±


    ¡°I feel like it¡¯s too short to be a snake-sword.¡±


    She pointed it horizontally again. ¡°Watch.¡±


    Immediately after she said that, with several metallic clangs, more segments started appearing one by one. Extending to roughly five metres in front of her, Scytale could see many more segments than just the original ones. She pulled the sword back with a jolt of her wrist, and it snapped back into its longsword structure next to her before slowly disconnecting again. The tip of the sword had always remained a point however, the arrow shape allowed more segments to appear with no extra movement.


    Scytale blinked. ¡°They¡¯re just¡­ appearing? Not invisible or anything, no dimensional pocket magic they¡¯re being pulled out of?¡±


    Lucy nodded. ¡°This is one of the abilities of both weapons from what I¡¯ve worked out. I believe this is why Ouroboros might get the Wonder distinction. They can extend using these segments rather than stretch out, so they technically have no limit besides how much energy I can give them, and my ability to manipulate them.¡±


    ¡°The segments don¡¯t seem very snake-like if you ask me.¡±


    She grinned, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Oh really? But don¡¯t you think it looks like a snake when it does this?¡±


    Before he could ask what she meant, she extended Ouroboros so its blade segments filled the room. Following her pointing finger, he watched with interest as he noticed the entire blade was constantly moving, oscillating up and down, and letting out an almost mechanical hum. He nodded begrudgingly; he could see how the movement looked like a snake¡¯s. But he had an issue.


    ¡°If it can theoretically extend infinitely as you suggest, the blades will end up as tiny strings when stretched over any long distance in the scheme of things. I know the blade¡¯s width won¡¯t shrink when stretching, but it¡¯s not the best for some battles.¡±


    Wordlessly shaking her head, she tapped on a segment. Instead of vibrating faster as he expected, it grew in size, reaching half a metre in width. The nearby segments had also grown in size, but a tad smaller, and the next ones, a tad smaller still, so as the blade oscillated, it grew and shrank in size, like two sine graphs overlapping.


    ¡°This is a second ability of theirs. The rule, from what I can tell, is that they can reach up to the equivalent of an eighth of their length in width whenever I want. I can trigger it from any point along the blade and in multiple places concurrently too. However, I''ll give control over that ability back to Ouroboros if I end up using these myself. Mana-arts require someone to have killing intent, so I don''t know how these will work for me though." She observed the weapon closer. "The segments can additionally widen the gap between themselves if needed, so it won¡¯t get caught on anything I don¡¯t want it to. I also have a vague sense of the area around the blade like my perception field, so I can tell what it¡¯s cutting.¡±


    He watched her extend, shrink and collapse Ouroboros¡¯s blade before speaking up. ¡°So how does Apophis vary? Is his blade different?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know yet, so let¡¯s check.¡±


    She let go of Ouroboros, now in her dagger form again and grabbed Apophis. They watched as he lengthened, and she raised his longsword form vertically to look at it. They blinked in surprise. Apophis¡¯s blade was also segmented, but it was different. His segments had the same shape as Ouroboros¡¯s, but they were reversed, the arrow-shaped top of the individual segments pointing towards the handguard. It would¡¯ve looked like a flame-sword, if it weren¡¯t for the fact that the sword didn¡¯t just end in a tip but two points because of the reverse arrow structures, before then ending in a disconnected tip the shape of a square on an angle.


    It was strange because the direction of the arrow design meant it was harder for the blade to catch on and rend flesh, which was unusual for a demonic weapon. There was a slight difference he noticed though. On either side of the sword¡¯s flat surface, for each segment, was a strange, ridged strip of metal going up the centre. It was only a small detail, but neither of them could understand what it was for. Lucy shrugged and extended the sword.


    There was a delayed clang of metal as more blades, perpendicular to the original segments, appeared along both sides of the sword, like how a 3D cardboard cut-out model appeared as the segments appeared and hovered slightly apart. These half-blades meant if you looked down the blade from the top when it was straight, it appeared like a series of repeating crosses. These half-segments also had the same repulsion ability going on, staying a few centimetres away from the metal ridges but never touching. It looked vicious, but that wasn¡¯t the worst bit.


    The catch was that unlike how Ouroboros oscillated like the body of a snake, Apophis didn¡¯t. His oscillation was when these half-segments increased their distance from the ridges before drawing closer to their main segment again. Combined with the fact the gap between the segments meant they could rotate slightly, it made for a rather nasty blender.


    The deep scarlet aura running through the blade seemed to glow malevolently. There was an awkward pause as they realised how it worked.


    ¡°¡­interesting torture device you¡¯ve got there.¡±


    Lucille just sighed. ¡°Normally I would be mad at you, but I can¡¯t ignore what¡¯s in front of me.¡± She rubbed her head. ¡°I¡¯m going to need to set some rules for myself when using these. If I need to kill monsters, I¡¯ll use Apophis. If I need to kill other Users, then I¡¯ll use Ouroboros.¡±


    Scytale bobbed his head. ¡°I feel like that¡¯s a bit of a reversal of the normal order, killing others with a spirit weapon instead of the demonic one, but if you¡¯re going to be the leader of this Faction of yours, you need good PR, and you aren¡¯t going to get that by wielding this blade against people.¡±


    She let go of Apophis after returning him to his dagger form. The two weapons rotated around them. She got out her dimensional bag and withdrew two leather sheaths from her bag. She hooked them onto her belt on either side of her waist. Scytale supposed it was good she was ambidextrous.


    ¡°Why do you have two?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± she said, inserting Apophis into her left sheath and Ouroboros into her right. ¡°One was a magical item I ¡®bought¡¯ from the Emporium for my bronze knife. I kept the knife in my bag for this event, as I expected us to refrain from combat, while the second is a non-magical spare I got in case the first broke somehow. It turns out they came in handy for this.¡±


    She stretched, raising her arms above her head, and looked around. ¡°Was there anything else?¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°There were a few strange objects on the workbench over that side, but they gave me a bad feeling.¡±


    Lucille nodded. ¡°If this place was fully mundane then the System would¡¯ve had no reason to close it off. I¡¯ll use my Authority to reseal this place once we exit, just to make sure.¡±


    She picked him up, placing him across her shoulders, and they took one last glance around the place. Then, without looking back, they walked out of the decaying forge, shutting the door behind them. Turning back to the grey stone, Lucy placed a palm on the door and used that weird tone of hers to use her Authority, and the stone lost detail, becoming completely smooth with no detailing. They turned around to walk down the endless corridor. Lucy pulled out the palm-sized violet pocket watch with the golden emblem of three coins, swinging it by its golden chain.


    ¡°We have a bit less than a month of teleportation cooldown, and I want us to use that time to discuss our next steps. But when we can use it,¡± she said with a grin, ¡°We¡¯ll go to the Mystical Realm so I can take up my new post as owner of my Faction.¡±


    It would be time for them to head to the independent city-state of the Gilded Dome plane, the headquarters of the Aurelian Commission ¨C the largest official merchant Faction of the Tower realms.


    <hr>


    A lone hooded figure approached the large building, the black cloak hiding their face from view. Only the shine of two ice-blue eyes could be seen in the shadows of their face.


    They entered the open doorway of the building, ignoring the ruckus around them. Heavily-built men and women with scars and mismatched armour laughed and chatted with each other at tables. They held large weapons and tankards of drink, enjoying themselves as the sun went down. A few people leaned against the room¡¯s walls with their arms crossed, not entertaining conversation with anyone.


    The cloaked figure marched up to the front bench and pulled up a seat. They threw off their hood to reveal the pale face of a woman framed by wild black curly hair streaked with glowing lines of indigo. Some of the people at the tables closest to her snickered and then downed their drinks.


    The man behind the bench came up to the figure, raising an eyebrow. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you around here before. Just in case you didn¡¯t know, miss¡­¡± He gestured to the room. ¡°This here isn¡¯t any old tavern. This is the Grove of Snarling Fangs branch building of the Savage Wolf Mercenary Guild.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± the woman stated curtly, her voice indifferent. ¡°I didn¡¯t come in here believing it was a tavern. I came because I want to join the Guild.¡±


    The man fell silent and watched her closely. Some of the nearest mercenaries began laughing but a quick warning look from the man shut them up. He leaned back and crossed his arms. ¡°Our guild does take Rank-1s, but when it comes to mages we tend to be picky. What¡¯s your element?¡±


    ¡°Illusion.¡±


    He smirked and leaned his arms on the table. ¡°But I thought illusion mages don¡¯t have combat spells until they form their domain at the very least.¡±


    She didn¡¯t say anything and just wordlessly watched him for a few seconds. Then she snapped her fingers.


    The man behind the bench eyed her strangely until a thundering sound resounded throughout the room. He pulled out a dagger as he got into a combat-ready position and shouted out to the rest of the room, ¡°Everyone! We¡¯re under attack! Get into position and prepare for battle!¡±


    The sound of fireball blasts and shaking earth continued to sound, making all the mercenaries stand up and prepare to fight. Then it suddenly stopped without warning.


    They all looked about with confusion as they saw that nothing had happened.


    ¡°Is this enough to prove myself?¡± the woman draped with a black cloak asked.


    The man behind the bench slowly turned to her and stared, before bursting out into loud laughter. He sheathed his weapon and walked back over to her as the rest of the mercenaries settled. ¡°Okay, you got me there miss. What do you want?¡±


    Instead of instantly answering, she withdrew an envelope from a pocket. She showed the seal on the front to the man. ¡°Temporary employment until October when I will join the Distorted Depths Navy¡¯s elite cadet training camp,¡± she stated calmly. ¡°I don¡¯t need the exclusive wage of a mage. In return though, I want access to read all the Savage Wolf Mercenary Guild¡¯s information on current Dungeons and Lairs available right now.¡±


    He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ¡°Dungeon and Lair records, eh? I can do that, but what for?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a mage. I live for research,¡± she replied, her lips twitching slightly.


    He chuckled. ¡°Of course. Well then, our future Guild member? What name should I put down on your application note?¡±


    ¡°Adrianna Riftmire.¡±


    ¡­


    Her hood back in place, the woman left the Guild¡¯s tavern and headed straight for the centre of the city. Walking up to the towering pillar of sleek black stone, she walked through the Obelisk¡¯s archway and entered the inky darkness beyond. When she next opened her eyes she was in a hazy white cube overlooking the Ascendant City below.


    With a flick of her wrist a chair formed and she sat down on it with a sigh, her eyes closed. After a moment she opened them, although the look in her eyes was slightly different.


    Alright. Consciousnesses are merged. Time to use my mental constructs to ensure my plans will work.


    With a twist of will, a notification asking, ¡®Access System Repository?¡¯ popped up. Selecting [Yes], the woman skimmed through the categories of information to find what she was looking for. She opened up the screens.


    With this information, I can now carefully decide which Realm Events I want the Hero to be fooled into going to¡­ and which ones I¡¯ll go to myself.


    A Hero needs to face difficulties in his journey to success, after all. I wonder if even the great Hero of Light can deal with an Aberration before Rank-4.

 Chapter 10 (1 of 2) Interlude - The World of the Hero.

    Conlan Griffin clenched his fist, a victorious grin on his face within the blank-white confines of the System space. He had done it. After killing the Abyss Monster in combat, slaughtering the demonised Town Lord with the weapon of the abandoned shrine, while half dead from its curse, and dragging his trophy to the Marquess of the region for verification, he had managed to complete the Tutorial. It was finished. He could now enter the Tower and begin his real climb to the top. He was ready.


    It hadn¡¯t been without its hiccups though. For some inexplicable reason, his former friend, and the one who had given him his X-ranked elixir, wasn¡¯t there at the time of the original rift outbreak on Earth, so he never got to save him this time. When he tried to find out why, for some reason the man had been at a bar, drowning his sorrows, so he wasn¡¯t at the place he was in the past. Conlan was of mixed emotions, but unfortunately, the man wasn¡¯t that important in the scheme of things, so he didn¡¯t try to befriend him this time. It meant he had to do some illegal hunting and take some more indirect methods to gain the fortune and reputation needed within the three months leading up to July to get the X-ranked elixir for that year, but it was worth it. He was aware his actions would cause butterfly effects, but even if he had changed things on Earth, it was the Tower¡¯s realms that really mattered.


    And he, the only User with the Unique Hero of Light class, was about to return to where he truly belonged. He hoped he could prevent her from falling down a dark path this time. He had killed her with his own hands in the past, but he would NOT let that occur again.


    To do so, he needed to rip out the corrupting influence that had brought her down. He would do whatever it takes to prevent that group from rising again with their devastating magic and terrifying tools of war. Right up until he regressed, he still had a wound from them that had never healed, no matter how many mages, wizards or doctors looked at it. The only issue was he didn¡¯t know where to start searching for them. They only appeared 70 years before he regressed, with no warning, but with immense power. He shook his head. He couldn¡¯t do anything about them currently. He needed more strength before he could find clues. And for that, he needed to enter the Tower.


    [User has completed the Tutorial]


    [User has gained new rewards! Please check your notifications to receive them.]


    [User has unlocked their Classes]


    [User had unlocked their Skills]


    [User has unlocked their Aspects]


    [User has unlocked their Titles]


    [User has unlocked their Quest Log]


    [User has unlocked their Directory]


    [Would User like to view the System Guide? Yes/No]


    Smirking at the last notification, he pressed [No]. He had spent most of his life within the Tower. If he didn¡¯t know what these functions did, he couldn¡¯t be called a true User. He opened up his Status.


    [Status: ]


    Name: Conlan Griffin (Lv. 0)


    Class: Hero of Light ¨C Unique


    Age: 21y


    Race: Human


    HP: 100/100 {+1/5m}


    MP: 100/100 {+1/5m}


    Stats:


    Free Stat Points: 60


    STR: 9


    CON: 7


    AGI: 8


    DEX: 9


    INT: 6


    WIS: 5


    [Origin Skill: A Hero¡¯s Blade | Type: Weapon/Elemental


    Desc: [Collapsed]


    Subskills: [Collapsed]


    Awakening: 8% ]


    Skills:


    [[Empty] ]


    He had to sigh when he saw it. All those years of levelling, all the stress he went through, and he was reduced to this. He used to be a Rank-7, Level 799 behemoth power in his own right, but he¡¯s now back to the bottom of the ladder.


    He grinned. For now. He closed his Status after distributing his stats evenly between STR, AGI and INT. His Origin Skill was the same as before, boosting him with the light element, increasing his talent with the sword and making it easier for him to gain skills, while his class was working as normal, giving him double the stats a User is normally awarded, with each increase in Rank, increasing the rarity of the class his doubled stats were based off. He was ready to move.


    [User has reached a Completion Rate: MAX in the Tutorial and is now on the Leaderboard. ] What shall you call yourself?


    [Leaderboard Identity: ______________ ]


    With a smirk, he inputted his Identity. There was no point changing it, and he wanted it to be the same, showing the world he was back and will be on top once more, even if he wasn¡¯t currently.


    [User has reached a Completion Rate: MAX in the Tutorial and is now on the Leaderboard. ] What shall you call yourself?


    [Leaderboard Identity: The Ruler of Light ]


    There was no need to check his rank on the Leaderboard, it was obvious he was going to be in first place. He stretched out his hands, cracking his fingers and warming up his muscles. It was almost time for him to leave. But first, he ran over what his plans were for the future.


    It was unfortunate, but he wouldn¡¯t be able to get to the Inheritance Event in time if he wanted to gain the most benefits. What was more important was levelling up so he could satisfy the baseline requirements for the elite training camp of the Empire¡¯s Distorted Depths Navy Battalion at White Squall Fortress. To find his future Faction and party members again, and recruit some talent, he needed to be placed in her cohort.


    So, the first thing he needed to do was to attack some Lairs, the Permanent Realm Events of the Beast Realm, so he could quickly gain levels by killing the monsters within. He knew of the better ones for his current skill level, and he also knew where he could find some equipment and weapons too, so he would do that first, then attack the Lairs. Then he would go find Catherine Sherwood, his past party member and another forerunner from Earth, someone who would go on to become one of his trusted friends. She would currently be working in an inn in a poorer region. He needed to take her with him to the White Squall Fortress.


    Next, he would sign up for the cadet applications with Catherine two months later so he could get a recommendation for the elite cadet training. There he will gain the best resources and meet other members of his party. There were a few he wanted to try to gain the loyalty of too, although it would be a task. They didn¡¯t have much like for him in the past, but if he could get their support, it would be worth it, even if it upset her. She¡¯ll forgive him in the end when she knows he¡¯s doing it for her.


    When the icy storm period comes to the Distorted Depths, the cadets will be given leave to let their superiors deal with the harder monsters, so they can take that time to go to the Forerunner¡¯s Event on November 22<sup>nd</sup>. That will be when it is revealed to the forerunners what the purpose of their entry into the Tower is for, and when they¡¯ll all begin trying to build up power and influence within the Tower, not panicking anymore about never returning to Earth.


    After a year or so in the Navy, he¡¯ll make his next move. But for now, it was time for him to enter the Tower once more. He would reach the top again, and nothing will stand in his way.


    <hr>


    Two young men were walking down the busy market streets of the Supreme Serpent¡¯s Silent City. The city had a much livelier feel to it than when Lucy had been there, as thousands of new visitors rushed in, trying to earn a place for themselves in the soon-to-rise city. Rumours had it that the Supreme Beast clan of the region had been discovered and were going to open their enclave to trade shortly after proper trails and routes had been made to make it more accessible. It was interesting news for the older of the two men, but the younger one just ate his frozen fruit dessert with gusto in the humid weather.


    The man with the ice dessert had messy navy-blue hair coming down to his shoulders and was dressed in sandals, shorts, and a short-sleeved shirt, abandoning his normal dark-blue mage robes that were so incredibly impractical for the current temperature. The platinum-blonde-haired man next to him just watched him eat his dessert at high speed with an expression of mild bemusement. He was dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and pants, with polished leather shoes, but anyone who knew him personally would think that it was a miracle he wasn¡¯t wearing his suit.


    They were, of course, Efratel and Marellen, the two Vadel cousins that Lucy had met in the inn at Darvis¡¯s makeshift celebratory party. Marellen spoke up once he had finished the treat, looking rather red from the hot weather.


    ¡°So, I know you did have spare leave to take, but there¡¯s no way you would¡¯ve come here to take a holiday. Can I finally know the real reason we came to this city, or are you going to tell me once it¡¯s all over?¡±


    Efratel sighed but nodded, rubbing his pale, sweaty face with a handkerchief. ¡°Fine¡­ It¡¯s true, I¡¯m not here to take a break. There¡¯s an object being transported by one of the Commission¡¯s convoys, and I need to supervise it to make sure it arrives safely at its destination. I need to check the convoy to make sure it¡¯s all in order, and I have the authority to add extra protection if I wish, but it needs to arrive at the next region.¡±


    Marellen nodded but looked up in confusion. ¡°Why am I here then?¡±


    Efratel eyed him to see if he was joking but shook his head in mild frustration when he saw that Marellen was not. ¡°Marellen. While you waste your talent on¡­ other, less profitable ventures, you ARE considered a magical talent by virtue of having all six essential affinities. If you just study at one of the Athenaeum¡¯s Academies, then-¡±


    ¡°But that costs too much. I won¡¯t be able to afford my experiments.¡±


    Efratel glared at Marellen with all the fury, frustration, and condescension he could muster. Marellen had the bare minimum decency to avoid eye contact but didn¡¯t say anything else in the way of an apology. In fact, he continued to push his point.


    ¡°I still believe chance can be calculated without fate, karma or fortune manipulating-¡° He shut up when he saw Efratel¡¯s expression.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°If. You. Went,¡± Efratel began again through gritted teeth, ¡°Then you would realise for yourself that you have the magical talent to be a successful mage. Although, I think the problem with you is you just wouldn¡¯t care even if you were a genius.¡±


    Marellen blinked, nonplussed. Efratel just sighed and put a hand to his left temple, feeling the beginnings of a headache rear its ugly head.


    ¡°Look,¡± he said. ¡°I brought you here to reduce the pressure on my family by the side-families. By allowing you to come along, I can reduce the complaints from them believing that I¡¯m not allowing the side families to share the benefits of me being a manager for the Aurelian Commission. I¡¯m ¡®sharing¡¯ part of my power with them through you by letting you aid me in one of my tasks. You¡¯re Rank-2, and you¡¯re a competent mage, so I can let you come along to reduce their noise.¡±


    Marellen rubbed his nose, thinking. ¡°But¡­ our fathers are best friends?¡±


    ¡°Some people are easily satisfied,¡± Efratel replied.


    ¡°So, I¡¯m a scapegoat,¡± Marellen stated, eyes narrowed.


    ¡°It¡¯s because you hate politics.¡±


    Marellen gave a belated ¡®ah¡¯ in the understanding of only that final sentence, making Efratel roll his eyes, but the two men kept walking down the streets of the city in the heat of the early evening. They made their way to the inn for dinner, as had been routine for most of the month. When they got there, they took a seat and ordered their meals. After a while, Marellen spoke up.


    ¡°So¡­¡± he said, pondering. ¡°When does the convoy arrive?¡±


    Efratel placed a tin fork next to his plate. ¡°They¡¯re arriving in two days. I didn¡¯t know until this morning. That¡¯s why we¡¯ve been here all month. There were no time constraints for the convoy to arrive, and they don¡¯t know what they were transporting. All I know is their name: The West Lion¡¯s Merchant Train. They¡¯re one of the better ones, but not a convoy company owned by any big guild or such.¡±


    ¡°No time constraints?¡± Marellen asked, inspecting a spoon distractedly.


    Efratel raised an eyebrow at what Marellen was doing but nodded. ¡°The only requirement is for the object to arrive safely. Because the convoy doesn¡¯t know how important it is, they¡¯re taking their time like a normal merchant train would. This will be their last stretch before they turn back though, so I need to make sure they don¡¯t have any obstacles for this last region.¡±


    ¡°Which region?¡±


    Efratel shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s only one region past the Violet Luminosity Jungle. Those nearby haven¡¯t finished coalescing in their pocket dimensions for the System to bring them to the main Beast Realm yet. That¡¯s why it¡¯s a ¡®frontier¡¯ region. The region we¡¯re heading to is named the Permafrost Glacial Abode.¡±


    Marellen made a face, looking up from his spoon. ¡°Cold? Right after a boiling hot tropical region?¡±


    Efratel shrugged. ¡°The Beast Realm doesn¡¯t have seasons. It¡¯s all dependent on the individual regions, and if they have weather cycles themselves. It¡¯s why the Distorted Depths is so dangerous at the end of the year. It has its ice storms during that time, and the Empire¡¯s Navy always loses a few ships.¡±


    The navy blue-haired noble nodded, before leaning forward. ¡°So, what¡¯s the object? Is it a rare item or a natural treasure? Can I study it?¡± he asked his full attention now on the conversation.


    Efratel shook his head and crossed his arms, but Marellen was not about to give up. ¡°If you don¡¯t put my curiosity to rest now, it just might get the better of me later. Then you¡¯ll be sorry.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just politics,¡± Efratel tried to use it as an excuse. Marellen was not fooled.


    ¡°And who am I going to be revealing this to that would ruin some clan¡¯s political ambitions? What is it Efratel? I¡¯m not asking for major details here.¡± He gazed intently, frowning at his cousin.


    Efratel sighed and put his hands up in a surrender position. ¡°Look, I don¡¯t know anything either. All I know is I was informed to come here and ensure it is delivered safely. That¡¯s all I can tell you.¡±


    Marellen narrowed his blue eyes at that. ¡°That¡¯s all I ¡®can¡¯ tell you? So, there is something you¡¯re not telling me.¡±


    Efratel made eye contact with his younger cousin, expression unusually serious. ¡°Don¡¯t pry into things not related to you and please, act oblivious. I¡¯ve got things under control.¡±


    Marellen looked at him for a long moment, before sighing and nodding. ¡°Manager business stays with the managers. I get it. Who have you hired?¡±


    Efratel nodded, happy to move on. ¡°I recruited an adventuring snow elf mage through an intermediary at the last region. She¡¯s currently with the convoy already and will do the last stretch with us as well.¡±


    Marellen looked interested in his description. ¡°A mage? And a snow elf¡­ they live in the plane of the World Tree, Glenheim. Isn¡¯t she a bit far from home?¡±


    Efratel gave him a warning look. ¡°Marellen. Don¡¯t upset my contracted subordinate by asking invasive questions. The fact that snow elf is out here isn¡¯t a willing choice: She¡¯s got ice and fire affinities.¡±


    Marellen looked down, thinking for a minute, before looking up. ¡°I don¡¯t get it. It¡¯s useful to have more than one affinity when it comes to magic.¡±


    Efratel groaned. ¡°You and your magic-based mindset. That¡¯s not the issue. Needless to say: The fact a snow elf was born with a fire affinity points to speculations that she isn¡¯t a full snow elf and one of her parents is not her real parent. It¡¯s not necessarily true, but that doesn¡¯t stop rumours. Please, don¡¯t ask why she was socially exiled in the way of asking her questions about her heritage and reason for being here. Got that?¡±


    Marellen nodded, and Efratel sighed, mentally exhausted. ¡°Why ask about the convoy guards in the first place?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± Marellen said, counting on his fingers. ¡°If you have that elf and me, that means you have two mages, right?¡± Efratel nodded, so Marellen continued, ¡°Ideally, that would mean you need two frontline fighters to protect us at the bare minimum. So, what about the guys behind us?¡±


    Efratel leaned to the side to see where Marellen was pointing over his shoulder, and raised an eyebrow, before leaning back, a hand on his chin in thought. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a decent idea. They have the reputation to scare off any potential bandits and must have good combat strength to join a Mercenary Guild like that. Well, the woman at least, the man doesn¡¯t seem to have joined yet. I suppose as her adventuring partner he must have the strength to handle himself too though.¡±


    The man and woman in question were Larena and Garthe Barbosas, the sibling pair who aided Lucille by distracting Abbott Everett when she was escaping the city guards. They were currently having another argument, this one about Larena¡¯s choice of attire. Efratel looked at Marellen, his eyes narrowed. ¡°When did you see them?¡±


    Marellen held up the spoon.


    It took Efratel a moment to realise what he meant before he put a hand to his forehead in frustration. ¡°Really¡­ that¡¯s what you were doing with the spoon? Spying on the table behind you?¡±


    ¡°It was the best way to do it without drawing attention. I don¡¯t have any stealth skills.¡± Marellen raised an eyebrow, acting like what he said was obvious.


    Efratel stared blankly at him for a second, but rubbed his temples, giving up on discussing Marellen¡¯s actions any further. ¡°Any particular reason why you pointed them out? It¡¯s not like you to pay attention to anything outside magic.¡±


    Marellen gave a sheepish smile at that. ¡°I wanted to ask them what they discussed with that girl Lucy a few weeks ago.¡±


    His blonde-haired cousin raised an eyebrow at him, a smile on his lips. ¡°Why? Are you interested in her? I¡¯m kidding, there¡¯s no way-¡°


    ¡°I am,¡± Marellen responded.


    Efratel froze, his expression still smiling, his teasing words halted. He stared at him in abject horror. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what-¡±


    ¡°I heard she spent over a thousand silver coins at the local Emporium, so she must be quite rich. Since she seemed interested in my experiments, I think she¡¯d make a good sponsor for me,¡± Marellen mused, looking thoughtful.


    Efratel stared, then clenched a fist, steadily growing more incensed by his blue-haired cousin. ¡°That¡¯s not what I- You know what, fine. Fine, fine, fine.¡± Efratel took a deep breath, calming himself down. Marellen watched him puzzledly, oblivious to why Efratel was acting that way. Efratel didn¡¯t miss his cousin¡¯s reaction, but ignored him after summoning all his will and looked around his cousin to view the table near them again.


    ¡°Well, can¡¯t hurt to talk to them. Let¡¯s try it,¡± he said, getting up from his seat, Marellen following him soon after. They arrived at the table just as Garthe was struggling to escape his sister¡¯s death grip around his neck. They looked up, interested in the new arrivals.


    Efratel gave them his best smile. ¡°Good evening to you both. My name is Efratel Vadel, and this is my cousin, Marellen Vadel,¡± he said, gesturing to the navy-haired man beside him. He stuck out a hand for them to shake.


    Larena saw the hand and quickly let go of her brother, realising that holding someone in a headlock wasn¡¯t the best first impression to make, and pushed him aside to stand up and shake the hand.


    ¡°Good evening to you too. My name is Larena Barbosas, and this is my younger brother, Garthe. Forgive me for my forwardness, but can I ask why you wanted to introduce yourselves?¡± she queried. Garthe sat next to her with a smile on his face, looking up at them with curiosity.


    Efratel nodded, and he and his cousin pulled up a seat at their round wooden table. ¡°Well, my cousin here wanted to talk to you for other reasons, but I would like to negotiate a contract with you two mercenaries.¡±


    The siblings looked at each other, then looked back at them with mild interest. ¡°I am technically on leave¡­. but considering it¡¯s a trip to aid my brother¡¯s training, I might be open to a deal. But have you got the money to pay a member of the Black Hand?¡± Larena asked him, an eyebrow raised.


    Without saying anything, Efratel fished a small object out of his shirt pocket and flipped it onto the table. The siblings leaned forward to look, and they could see a small badge with the logo of 3 gold coins upon a royal blue surface. They both nodded in understanding.


    ¡°Well, if you¡¯re a manager for the Commission under the Alichanteu, then I can at least say the pay might be enough to move us. What¡¯s the outline of our potential task?¡±


    Efratel smiled at how they seemed to be considering his offer seriously and described it to them. Larena tapped her fingers on the bench, while Garthe leaned back in his chair, arms crossed as he observed them with a smile.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s the object?¡± Garthe asked nonchalantly.


    ¡°That¡¯s confidential,¡± Efratel replied smoothly with his best business smile. The green-eyed man just clicked his tongue in disappointment but didn¡¯t push it further, something that instantly made Efratel¡¯s opinion of him rise a notch and his opinion of Marellen lower. Not that it could be lowered any further. Larena frowned a bit, uncaring or oblivious to the others, and looked up.


    ¡°Can I have more details on why you need us two specifically? If you needed manpower, you could easily hire twenty mercenaries or more to guard this convoy.¡±


    Efratel nodded. ¡°The¡­ convoy company is unaware of what they are transporting, and it is essential it stays that way. Hiring fewer, but more powerful guards would make me feel assured of my own, and the object¡¯s safety.¡±


    Larena¡¯s eyes narrowed and Efratel inwardly grimaced, being careful to show no change in expression. She was sharp. She tilted her head to the side, looking at him with a calculating gaze. ¡°And so, who is more important as our priority for protection: you, or the object?¡±


    He hesitated for a second, before deciding to reveal more. It was obvious she had already guessed this much anyway. ¡°The object,¡± he stated firmly. She gave him a smirk, revealing that his guesses about what she knew were correct. She rested her head in her hand, twirling a fork. Before she could speak up, Garthe beat her to it, leaning forward with exaggerated eagerness.


    ¡°So, anyone particularly strong in this group of yours?¡±


    Ah. A battle junkie. Efratel knew those types well. Unfortunately, he would have to disappoint him for now, but he knew how to entice him. ¡°Sadly, you two would be our front liners for this contract if you take it, so there would be few who could be your sparring partner,¡± he said, resting his elbows on the table, fingers intertwined. ¡°But...¡± he added, seeing Garthe¡¯s interest dwindle slightly, ¡°We intend to go to the next region. As another frontier region, this time a wintery forest and mountain range, I¡¯m sure it would have plenty of beasts, monsters and bandits who would be good to train your weapon against, compared to this area. The Violet Luminosity Jungle and its illusions are a bad matchup for warriors and weapon users, unfortunately.¡±


    Efratel could see that Garthe was thinking intently about his suggestion, nodding to his explanation distractedly. The brown-haired man made eye contact with his sister, some unknown message being shared between them, and he turned back. ¡°If you need front liners, then who are the other members of the group?¡± he asked, an eyebrow raised.


    ¡°If you take the job, we¡¯ll have two front liners and two mages. One of them is my cousin here,¡± he said, placing a hand on Marellen¡¯s shoulder, shaking him a bit so his wandering attention would return to the discussion. ¡°The other is a female snow elf with a dual affinity in ice and fire.¡±


    They both blinked in surprise at that, and Larena spoke up with an eyebrow raised questioningly. ¡°Snow elves are one of the higher-ranked elf races, and they rarely leave Glenheim. Does she have political entanglements surrounding her, considering her affinities?¡±


    Efratel shook his head. ¡°She does not. She is essentially separated from the political bodies of the Great Fae plane. I have researched extensively into her background for this task, and I can say that there is no need to worry that working with her will offend a larger force. In two days, the convoy will arrive, with her as well. She is Rank-2, like my cousin.¡±


    Larena leaned back a bit, thinking. ¡°I am Rank-3, but I suppose if you¡¯re paying me well I¡¯d be fine with working with other Rank-2s. My brother is one, anyway. Technically two front liners and two mages are indeed best for a small party without a healer, but one of the front liners should be a tank.¡±


    Before Efratel could say anything, Garthe raised his hand a bit. ¡°Actually, I could probably fill that role. I¡¯ve got a few defence-boosting skills in my list that would likely be enough to cover us in the worst case.¡±


    Larena turned to her brother with mild scepticism. ¡°Why haven¡¯t you told me this already? Also, you use a spear, which isn¡¯t known for its defensive capabilities.¡±


    He shrugged. ¡°I earned them because of a lucky skill confluence between my earth and wood affinities. I can¡¯t exactly use them for myself as they rely on more than one user, so they¡¯d be no good for our fights. We had better things to do than try to train me in them, especially when you don¡¯t have those affinities.¡±


    Larena gave a nod of understanding, her scepticism fading. She closed her eyes for a second to contemplate it, before turning to Efratel. ¡°I think you should consider my current decision as ¡®temporary acceptance¡¯. We¡¯ve had enough training in this region for now I believe so getting some more experience in before we head back to the Mystical Realm can be allowed. We need a bit of time to get our things in order, so how about we meet up at the Obelisk at 10 am in two days to finalise the deal and meet this snow elf?¡±


    Efratel nodded, happy with the plan. Garthe spoke up just before they got up, ¡°Oh, what did your cousin want to discuss?¡±


    Marellen¡¯s eyes lit up, but Efratel clasped a hand around his mouth, keeping a polite smile on his face. ¡°I believe if you join us on this convoy he will have plenty of time to ask you then. Trust me, it¡¯s not as important as he seems to think.¡±


    Marellen struggled weakly to get the hand off him, but Efratel didn¡¯t relent. Garthe cocked an eyebrow, wondering what it was, but shrugged and stood up with Larena, having finished the discussion. They said their goodbyes, moving towards the door. Garthe gave them an easy-going wave as he went in front of them to leave, but just before Efratel started walking, Larena placed a firm grip on his shoulder behind him and whispered into his ear, her killing intent thick.


    ¡°The only reason I¡¯m allowing this to happen is so my brother can gain experience with how the big Factions do things. If you think for one second you can use us as scapegoats and sacrifices for this scheme of your superiors, then you would be dead wrong.¡±


    Instead of submissively nodding in fear as she expected, Efratel spun around and took her grip off his shoulder, a stern expression on his face as he looked at her.


    ¡°I am not someone who would let others die for me. Just because I am not a fighter, does not mean I am not risking my life in this venture too,¡± he almost growled.


    Larena gave him a long look to see if he was genuine, then nodded with a wry smile. ¡°Seems I misjudged you. Maybe things will end up all right for you in the end. Well then, I¡¯ll see you again in two days!¡± she said, walking away with a small wave of her hand.


    Efratel watched her leave, slightly apprehensive, but she didn¡¯t come back. He sighed and turned around, before freezing when he saw Marellen in front of him with narrowed eyes.


    ¡°I know nothing, he says. If that¡¯s true, then I¡¯m the Grand Arcanist of the Spatial Tower. What rubbish.¡±


    Efratel sighed and checked his wristwatch for the time. ¡°Look. Everything must go to plan. All I need you to do is do your part as a mage, and we should be fine. Just follow my lead, okay?¡±


    Marellen considered it but eventually shrugged. ¡°Can I have a budget increase after this trip?¡±


    If that was what it would take to get Marellen to cooperate, then so be it. Efratel was willing to allow him to indulge in his experiments later.

 Chapter 10 (2 of 2) Interlude - The World of the Hero.

    The Permafrost Glacial Abode region was full of winding grey mountain ranges, capped by snowy white peaks, visible from every corner of the region. Below the towering stone structures, wintry pine forests surrounded it. If looked at from above, one could see the winding forms of a train of carriages pulled by hardy beasts of all kinds moving through the forest.


    As the armoured carriages decorated by flashing mana-circles and displays of protective spellcraft rested in a small clearing amidst the snow-covered ground of the pine forest, a raven-haired woman was seated upon a coachman bench, a small dagger resting on the flat of her palm. Now and then the dagger lifted slightly, hovering above her palm unstably, but then it would drop, and a scowl would appear on the woman¡¯s face.


    A navy-haired, dark blue cloaked man walked over to her, his robes trailing along the snowy ground below him. He watched what she was doing while a brown-haired, green-eyed man approached them from the other side.


    ¡°Still working out how to do what that girl did in the shop are you, sis?¡± asked Garthe as he arrived before Marellen and Larena.


    The woman hissed through her teeth as his question made her lose focus, the blade in her hand dropping back down. She looked up at the young man, irritation present on her face.


    ¡°As you can see, yes, I am. I have a newfound respect for Lucy after this,¡± she said, growling slightly as she attempted to lift the dagger once more. It fell after a few seconds. ¡°And a newfound respect for how she managed to do it without using any mana at all. I don¡¯t think she was kidding when she said she had 100 points in SPRT.¡±


    She sighed and put the dagger away, before raising her arms and stretching.


    Garthe just raised an eyebrow as he leaned against the convoy carriage. ¡°Why don¡¯t you just give up if it¡¯s so difficult? It¡¯s not like anyone in the Mystical Realm ever uses it.¡±


    Larena shook her head. ¡°No, I can see how this will help me if I can increase my proficiency in it. Just the increase to my sensory capabilities alone is¡­¡± She smiled wryly. ¡°Yeah, if she had over 100 SPRT then I can understand why she didn¡¯t tell me how much she could sense straight away. It¡¯s more useful than the Mystical Realm gives it credit for. I think I might aim for a main skill based around it when I next Rank up.¡±


    Garthe whistled at that; a bit surprised at how eager his sister was to use spiritual energy. ¡°Think it would be good for my skill set?¡±


    Larena curled her hair around her finger pensively for a moment.


    ¡°I use debuffs, so multitasking is especially useful for me. I suppose if you could incorporate the spiritual perception into your domain ability, you could be a User who controls their environment with your wood affinity. It might help you control your plants more independently.¡±


    She turned to the noble mage beside her, who was looking into the distance and unfocused on the conversation. He was wearing rounded gold-framed glasses that were slowly slipping down his nose as he remained distracted. Larena elbowed the man to get his attention, a semi-transparent shadowy thread emerging from her index finger.


    ¡°What do you say about Garthe using spiritual energy, Marellen?¡±


    The mage blinked, turning to her before his eyes refocused. ¡°Oh, sorry, I was just thinking of the implications spiritual energy would have concerning my magic. Spiritual energy for Garthe, you say?¡±


    He rubbed his chin, thinking deeply. ¡°I suppose it might allow you to be a weapon user who could use large-scale skills. I do remember my cousin saying that weapon users tend to struggle with things like that as their multi-tasking ability is lacking compared to wizards or mages such as I.¡±


    Garthe nodded, slightly intrigued by the possibility. His wood and earth affinities would be excellent for large-scale application, especially if he gained the high-level Nature element. He turned to Marellen with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°Your cousin mentioned that Lucy had said something quite interesting at that inn. Is it true she said she was a time traveller?¡±


    Marellen responded, enthusiastic, ¡°Yes, she did in fact. I understand that such a concept would normally be dismissed as a joke, but she did perfectly guess what the Millennium Chapter Event would be, and if spiritual energy functions like Larena said, then it¡¯s likely Lucy really did have 100 or more points in SPRT, so it could have some merit to-¡±


    ¡°Spiritual energy?¡± interrupted a cool, feminine voice. They turned to the newcomer.


    Wearing a cold and indifferent expression and having a rather unapproachable atmosphere, the newcomer wore elegant flowing light grey robes tied with a silver braided sash around her waist. A thick, heavy white coat hung across her shoulders and ended near her feet, dark grey fur trimming the collar and its sleeves. Her almost translucent silvery shimmering hair hung near her waist, and half of it was tied up in a small bun, her distinctly pointed ears decorated by sapphire ear cuffs. Holding an ash-grey staff topped with a pulsating fiery orange gemstone the size of a fist, she turned her deep aquamarine eyes upon the small thread extending from Larena¡¯s finger. Her name was Roa Winteridge, the snow elf with ice and fire affinities.


    Larena raised an eyebrow in surprise. She waved her hand around. ¡°You can see this?¡±


    The elf¡¯s voice turned frigid, and her expression darkened, or her eyebrows seemed to have bent inward when looked at closely. ¡°Just because I have the affinity for fire, does not mean I am not a true full-blooded el-¡±


    Larena held out a hand to stop her. ¡°Sorry, that wasn¡¯t what I meant. I had no intention to insult you.¡± She smiled at her. ¡°Of course, an elf could see spiritual energy, you wouldn¡¯t live among spirits if you didn¡¯t. No, it was just because I haven¡¯t met someone from the Mystical Realm who could see or use this yet, so I was a bit surprised. I didn¡¯t mean to insinuate anything.¡±


    Roa¡¯s expression returned to its normal indifferent expression, and she nodded in acceptance of the apology. She came closer, inspecting the little thread of energy. ¡°I suppose it isn¡¯t very common for even us. We elves normally only use it to bind spirits in an attempt to further ourselves along our Sorcery classes. It normally doesn¡¯t play much of an active role.¡±


    She tilted her head as she looked at the strand, before raising her eyes. ¡°Are you learning to do this just by feeling? No visuals?¡±


    Larena nodded.


    ¡°Then to gain spiritual sight, you need to send the spiritual energy into your eyes, just like mana vision.¡±


    Larena made a face as Garthe snickered beside her, and Marellen let out a small ¡®oh¡¯ at her suggestion.


    The raven-haired woman went a bit pink and put her face in her hands. ¡°That¡­ was so obvious in hindsight. Thanks for the information, even if I should¡¯ve come to that conclusion myself.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you need to rethink this whole spiritual energy thing,¡± added Garthe beside her.


    Larena shot him a glare and took out her dagger. He flinched away but she just held it in her palm, focusing her spiritual energy into her eyes. She blinked as her vision changed, and she could see the multi-layered mist-like substance drifting in specks throughout the wintry pine forest, and her shadowy spiritual energy coalescing around her small dagger.


    ¡°It¡¯s not as colourful as I imagined. Most of it is barely more than white spots that could pass for snow, although I can see the normal mana of the environment.¡±


    Roa nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that the Heavenly Realm is different, and they have multi-coloured spiritual energy due to their ¡®five phases¡¯, but all the other realms have only the neutral white spiritual energy in the environment. The colour of personal spiritual energy is different. Have a look at us.¡±


    Larena turned her eyes upon the three others and blinked in surprise. ¡°Huh. You guys have this weird¡­ sphere of sorts just below your neck and in the centre of your chest. It has two layers, one solid looking one in the middle, and a thinner, more translucent outer shell. I¡¯m guessing that¡¯s your soul. Wait, I can see the multi-coloured elemental mana inside of you guys as well. Spiritual energy can do that?¡±


    Roa had an expression that could almost pass for a smile¡­ if you squinted. ¡°Indeed. Spiritual energy enables someone to control mana, and so is capable of viewing it. When you have greater spiritual energy quantities, the outer shell of your soul grows larger and more solid. Those with more spiritual energy can bond more spirits, or fewer, more powerful spirits, as it enables them to keep them in the material world for longer before they return to the spirit realm.¡±


    Garthe cocked his head. ¡°What happens when your soul grows larger than your body?¡±


    Roa frowned faintly in thought. ¡°I do not know much. From what I have heard, those with more spiritual energy have their souls begin to conform to the shape of their bodies, and then it becomes less translucent as the energy condenses. I do not have the specifics beyond that.¡±


    Marellen piped up, ¡°Actually, I¡¯m pretty sure that¡¯s what the Heavenly Realm calls Nascent Soul. From what I¡¯ve heard, it gets to the point that their soul is strong enough to detach from their body and move independently, and exists in the spiritual realm, so it can grow in strength without restraint. It¡¯s the equivalent of Rank-1 I think¡­ or maybe Rank-1 and a half?¡±


    Garthe scowled slightly. ¡°Oh, those guys have that weird half-step thing, don¡¯t they? Then they have those ¡®Daos¡¯ they¡¯re supposed to comprehend to do their ¡®cultivation¡¯ thing. And people wonder why the Empire has struggled to put their claws into that realm yet when the whole realm is so confusing.¡±


    Roa turned to Larena, an eyebrow raised so slightly it may as well be no change in expression. ¡°What led you to pursue spiritual energy manipulation, if you don¡¯t mind my asking?¡±


    Before Larena could respond, Garthe cut in, a cheery grin on his face. ¡°Well, my beautiful elven lady, do we have a story for you!¡±


    Larena noticed an eyebrow twitch on Roa¡¯s expression, the greatest show of emotion from her yet, and she let out a silent prayer for Garthe¡¯s failed flirting once more. Then she leaned back with a big smile as she listened to her brother regale the elf with a grandiose retelling of Lucy¡¯s thieving and grand escape, with a lot more involvement than was true on Garthe¡¯s part, and a lot less actual fact. Even Marellen listened curiously, who she knew had already been told the real story by herself earlier. It was mid-afternoon by the time the story was finished. Roa had a vaguely intrigued expression on her face.


    ¡°She sounds like an¡­ interesting personage,¡± responded Roa. Then a slightly puzzled expression formed on her face. ¡°However¡­ how many objects did you say she lifted at once?¡±


    Larena told her she had counted around 50 and Roa frowned.


    ¡°And you are certain there were no mana fluctuations?¡±


    When Garthe and Larena both nodded, Roa raised an eyebrow. ¡°That girl was definitely lying then.¡±


    The sibling pair looked at each other in mild surprise and turned to the elf. ¡°Why is that?¡± asked Larena.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°I believe you have noticed how hard it is to manipulate a singular object,¡± Roa said, gesturing to the dagger in Larena¡¯s hand. She nodded, so Roa continued.


    ¡°Compared to mana, manipulating spiritual energy to have an impact on the environment in the magic realms requires vastly more of it in return for a lesser impact. That is why the Heavenly Realm, which has no mana and is full of dense spiritual energy, is best suited for cultivators to use their abilities. If they try to do so in the other realms, besides the Demon Realm which contains demonic power in similar quantities, spiritual energy will have reduced effectiveness, while mana does not.¡±


    Roa could see the others were still confused by her explanation, so she added more. ¡°So, to manipulate an object the size of your dagger in the Beast Realm, without aid from mana, and singly that item, would require roughly 50 points of SPRT, without taking the energy density into account. This Lucy girl certainly had more than 100 SPRT points. Now, how she could have that much while being Rank-0, I do not have an answer.¡±


    They sat in silence for a bit, considering that, and they looked up when they heard footsteps coming their way. A platinum blonde-haired, grey-suited man was standing before them, looking rather chilly as he rubbed his gloved hands together.


    ¡°Getting along are we?¡± asked Efratel cheerfully.


    Garthe grinned in return. ¡°Look, the weakling approaches.¡±


    Efratel rolled his eyes. ¡°Ha, ha, we¡¯re close enough to use nicknames are we?¡± He shook his head wryly and came closer. ¡°Anyway, I just wanted to go over what we would be doing in a few days. We¡¯re almost at the city, and so I need to talk about what will happen at the drop off-¡±


    Without warning, a tremendously loud rumbling noise occurred in the mountains to their right. They watched as a white cloud started rolling down the side of the range, heading towards where they were, even as the ground started to shake beneath their feet. They all prepared to run away, and Roa¡¯s eyes widened as she sensed the energy coming from it.


    ¡°Avalanche triggered by a mana storm?!¡±


    Marellen squinted, but then his pale face paled further. ¡°That¡¯s not natural mana, that¡¯s a User¡¯s mana! That was summoned intentionally!¡±


    They all carefully backed off, before turning around and running together as fast as they could. Marellen, Roa and Garthe were all focused on escaping, but Larena turned to Efratel who was hurrying the best he could, which wasn¡¯t very fast when you were in a grey suit. She yelled out to him over the noise of the avalanche.


    ¡°So, you didn''t get told about this by your superiors?!?¡±


    Efratel, red and breathing heavily, barely managed to get out an answer.


    ¡°There were supposed to-¡± He stopped for a bit to catch his breath. ¡°To. Be. Protectors,¡± he got out, looking dreadfully weary. Larena clenched her teeth but ran back to him, and the Rank-3 woman hoisted him over her shoulder and continued to dash away from the avalanche with the others. If it were any other time, the blonde man would¡¯ve probably been rather mortified by the position, but then was not a good time to have room for embarrassment.


    Unfortunately, no matter how far they ran, the avalanche wasn¡¯t slowing, the rumbling insistently getting louder, and was nipping at Roa¡¯s heels behind them. As the one with the least physical stats, as elves happened to have, she was the slowest. Barely able to keep herself from stumbling, she struggled to catch up with each passing moment. Then they had to slow as they noticed the ground ending abruptly within 20 metres of them, the sign of a valley edge.


    Garthe clicked his tongue but turned around, standing before the avalanche. He pushed Roa behind him, before removing the spear from his back in one swift movement. He pushed the emerald spear blade first into the icy soil and raised a hand to the others.


    ¡°Accept the link!¡± he shouted, and they all felt their mana attach to the streams of green mana emerging from him. Then all went dark and silent as heavy snow encased them within its hold.


    <hr>


    The entity was angry. They were also a bit frustrated, curious, wary, and suspicious, but mostly just angry. It was not a common occasion for them to feel such strong emotions about something, but they were willing to accept them for just a little bit as they ruminated over how their past month and a bit had been.


    To start the month off, two new anomalies appeared. And they were both apparently linked. The serpent they had known about for a few months before he had become a User, and had high expectations for his new hybridisation, but what they hadn¡¯t known about was the strange¡­ girl who had somehow achieved a perfect Tutorial result¡­¡­. And gotten a piece of it stuck in her eye. Why that piece of ancient history decided to finally involve itself with mortals was an utter mystery to them¡­ until they finally entered the Obelisk together and they discovered soooo many things wrong with them both, it was a wonder they could even characterise them all.


    Maybe the second System port in the girl¡¯s soul wasn¡¯t her fault, but it made things much harder for themself. The amphiptere was alright. He didn¡¯t have a second System port, so they were able to see what the issue was. The problem now though was that the serpent¡­. could only be a combat asset. He didn¡¯t have the brain to hold key information for very long. They knew the background information now because of the serpent, but there were large periods in his memories where he hadn¡¯t been with the girl and was instead just fighting. And the serpent hadn¡¯t been the girl¡¯s bond the entire time they knew of each other.


    The girl was scarily intelligent, however, for a User at least. Scarily informed too. Half of the things they had barely managed to glimpse within her vast spiritual energy were all topics they had kept under firm lock and key to never reveal themselves again to mortals. Except, from what they were getting from the serpent, that lock had failed in the ¡®future¡¯. Why was still an unknown that could only be revealed with time, or the girl¡¯s own admissions.


    Normally, a sapient individual with such a high anomaly rating would be dealt with instantly, but this time, it was a unique situation. The girl¡¯s core beliefs seemed to align well with the System¡¯s, and themself. She didn¡¯t wish for the destruction of the Tower and even had a few plans that would be of great benefit to them all. She was also well aware of what limitations she could bypass, and what she should not do, no matter what. And she cared about sentient life, meaning she was unlikely to go on a murder spree and ruin the world with her knowledge. At least, from what they gathered. The girl was an excellent actor, even fooling herself sometimes.


    But then came the later part. Once they were in the Obelisk together, the entity tried to peer closer at what exactly they were looking at when it came to them both.


    Let¡¯s just say they would definitely do another intense scan of Earth, and what it was hiding. The girl seemed to be in the know, but the entity had a feeling that they would only be able to find out what they want by either asking her or retrieving the information from her mind itself. This requires an extensive set-up and an extremely long series of procedures to find a way to plug the System into her original port, while maintaining her current ego and mental integrity, AND without damaging her already unstable soul she had barely patched up before she had formed a real alter-ego. The girl wouldn¡¯t be increasing her soul size anytime soon, that was for sure.


    So that was something to work on for the long term. However, even if they were going to do that right now, they wouldn¡¯t. And that was because of her unfinished Origin Skill. There was no way they were going to let that skill form itself without involving themself in the process. The girl must¡¯ve taken inspiration from the simulation abilities of the System¡­. her soul structure also had an eerily similar makeup to how the actual System¡¯s processes worked. They may need to investigate that later.


    But no, the skill they had acted on to prevent her from forming needed intervention. The incomplete Origin Skill, from what they could barely gather, was going to be capable of accessing an extremely deep layer of the spiritual realm. They weren¡¯t sure how the girl would utilise that function for herself, but they wanted to gain access to that ability too. It could be a good few thousand millennia before something even remotely similar forms elsewhere, so they would take the chance to do so.


    The girl wouldn¡¯t suffer for it. They were pretty sure the girl would encourage what they were going to do. It would only be a temporary thing until the potential of the ability could be realised, and then they would allow the girl¡¯s skill to form completely. They were aware, that combined with her current soul instability issues, it would be dangerous for her to form it now, so delaying it would allow her physique, although that was another issue, to adapt to the spiritual energy she carried as she ranked up.


    While that was a spot of good fortune for the entity, it was only a minor benefit among the host of issues that came with the two new User¡¯s arrivals. One of many examples was the Mansion. She managed to cause that leviathan of wasted effort to materialise a fully functioning research and containment organisation! How?!? They had been trying to do that for ages. They may have been a teensy bit peeved at that. Just a little bit. At least the Mansion didn¡¯t materialise its own pseudo-system. That was one of their fears. But no, they were fully functioning independent incarnations, complete with awareness of what they were. They would contact them very soon.


    She also had some very intense hostility towards another forerunner. They were a bit worried about that, hoping she wasn¡¯t the type to ignore everything just to pursue revenge, so they checked what his other User was and-


    They didn¡¯t remember handing out that Unique class. They didn¡¯t even have that Unique class in their records. That shouldn¡¯t be possible. And the Tutorial completion rate¡­. Why didn¡¯t they get told about this User? He almost had an anomaly rating as high as Lucy did.


    ..¡­they needed to look closer. Something was wron-


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    The entity was confused. They could¡¯ve sworn they had just discovered a new issue. However, they had no idea what they had been looking for. They tried rechecking their thought processes, but there was only a small lapse in concentration. But they shouldn¡¯t be capable of being distracted¡­. maybe it was just the tumultuous emotions they were feeling about those two new anomalies. They should deactivate the emotion modules. Probably time to stop indulging in their frustrations.


    But not before they complained to themself about the weird resources they had gained access to. All their resource allocation correspondents have said that they were detecting duplicate resources in stock for the System. But when they checked, these ¡®extra¡¯ resources were all locked behind timed seals that were supposed to release in a few years, at a staggered rate. Except they all bore the traces usually formed by their own authority. Authority they didn¡¯t authorize to be used.


    Luckily they were able to check when these seals appeared, which was¡­. 3 months before the forerunner¡¯s initiation into the Tower. That would match up with Lucille and Scytale¡¯s ¡®return¡¯, which was very suspicious. They had some theories, but nothing that could be discovered in any short period of time. They supposed that could be sped up by the first seal unlocking, allowing them to access the information within, or by accessing Lucy¡¯s original port, whichever came first.


    There were still a few factors they were hesitant about concerning the two new anomalies. Namely the ¡®Authority¡¯ available to Lucy. That wasn¡¯t something they had any control over however, as it was a confluence between her soul manipulation skills and her¡­ other issues, and was an inbuilt feature of the System, so they just hoped the girl didn¡¯t end up breaking a hole into the side of reality. The two snake-swords were actually in the best possible position, and they were pleased by Lucy¡¯s naming decisions for them. They hoped they lived within the Tower without being shadowed by their origins. They had some regrets about how they went about dealing with them, but hopefully, things would be better now. If Lucy was being genuine.


    There were at least another twenty issues they had about the two anomalies, but those they would activate higher privacy locks for to hide their mental processes. For now, the entity would take a passive stance with Lucille and her bond. If all goes well, they¡¯ll be a great asset to the Tower and System, but if it doesn¡¯t¡­. well, they were sure the new ¡®Department of Dimensional Anomalies¡¯ would have interest in studying two new specimens in addition to their collection within the Mansion.


    They rechecked everything, wondering if they were ready to return to their normal work. They were still a bit leery about that strange lapse in focus earlier, but they guessed that it may just need a break from dealing with the two anomalies for now. They had an¡­. ¡®acquaintance¡¯ to visit.


    They made sure to activate their mental monitoring processes, just to be safe though.


    ¡­


    In a pitch-black area, a singular object was present. If Lucy was here, she might¡¯ve associated it with the white, endless zone of the System space she was in before and after the Tutorial, just in black. Lucy would also recognise the man-sized object illuminated by the source-less light in the space. With a curly, opulent silver frame, and a crystal clear surface, it was the full-body mirror of the Tutorial. On the top half, right where someone¡¯s right eye would be if they saw their reflection within, was a small, dark irregular hole. The glass was pitch black, with no light reflecting off of it.


    In the nearly empty space, a white humanoid figure appeared in front of the mirror. While they had enough definition that you could count their individual fingers, and see the shape of their limbs, the surface of their form shifted with white mist, curling around them, and hiding any identifying features.


    The figure crossed their arms and looked at the mirror.


    [You definitely love to give me trouble at the most annoying of times, don¡¯t you.]


    For a moment, nothing happened, but like a pebble that had been thrown into a calm pool of water, the dark mirror rippled to show a dimly lit figure. With black, waist-length hair, and a hole for their right eye, the figure was a replica of Lucy, minus the eye. They crossed their arms, copying the posture of the white misty figure in front of them, and gave them a smug grin. The figure just let out a breathy sigh.


    [What has you so interested in this girl that you would give a fragment of yourself to her? It¡¯s a waste on your part.]


    The Lucy visage just raised an eyebrow and slowly shook their head. Then they pointed at the hole they had for an eye, and then at themself. The white humanoid shifted slightly, irritated.


    [Are you pretending to be a mute now? Fine, I¡¯ll let you play your game. So, you didn¡¯t give her a fragment? What then did you d-¡­..you didn¡¯t.]


    Lucy¡¯s doppelg?nger just smiled wider and winked. The misty figure clenched a fist.


    [Did you really just give her access to the entirety of your abilities?! What happens when she starts piercing through the outer shielding and sees the _______ or the ________?! She¡¯ll kill herself just from glancing at them!]


    Fake Lucy formed an ¡®X¡¯ shape with their arms, shaking their head vigorously. They pointed to their head. It took a while for the white figure to decipher what they meant.


    [You¡¯ve gone senile in your old age. Her spiritual energy won¡¯t counteract her physical capability as a lower race. She¡¯ll still die from incomprehension, as her mind isn¡¯t made for that.]


    The Lucy visage leaned back, arms crossed, and cocked an eyebrow. They stared at each other for a while, before the white figure shook their head miserably.


    [I give up. Stop pretending to be incapable of communication. I need answers.]


    Lucy¡¯s doppelg?nger just smiled slightly and leaned forward, rapping their knuckles on the glass pane of the mirror. It rattled in its frame, and the Lucy fake shrugged. The white figure got angrier.


    [Just, I don¡¯t know, change form or something! I have things to do, so please just tell me what it is!]


    Surprisingly, the Lucy visage did so. The glass rippled once more, and in place of where Lucille¡¯s form had been, was a lanky young individual, possibly male. But this form could not be mistaken as human. Its skin was pure white and unblemished, and it was dressed in a white coat, like a doctor. The facial features were human, but below its eyes were four light blue glowing lines, going straight down from below its eyelids to halfway down its cheeks, two on either side. Its pupils were light blue, the same as the four neon lines on its face, but the irises of the ¡®man¡¯ were a luminous white, barely a shade darker than the whites of its eyes. A messy white hairdo rested upon its head, reaching its ears, glowing with the same intensity as its eyes, and the hair drifted slowly, like a head of moving tendrils. The mist of the white figure¡¯s body darkened as it uncrossed its arms.


    [Not that form,] they stated curtly as if there would be no contention on that point.


    The new form of the reflection just eyed the white misty humanoid for a moment, before seemingly sighing. The glass ripped once more, and this time it showed the reflection of the white figure. The white figure in question just groaned but acquiesced to the arrangement.


    [If this makes you happy. Can you explain why you decided to use Lucille Goldcroft as a host?]


    The reflection tapped on the glass, but this time, instead of rattling the pane, curly gold lettering appeared on the glass. The misty figure leaned forward to read it.


    [¡®Timeline Insurrection?¡¯ That makes no sense. I would¡¯ve been contacted if resources were rerouted to a new timeline.]


    The reflection tilted its featureless head, watching the misty figure rub its white forehead. Then it pointed at the humanoid mist. The white figure just stared - or did a reaction approximating that.


    [But I¡¯m in charge of the main timeline for this section.]


    Tilting its head back, the reflection opened its ¡®mouth¡¯, a dark hole in the foggy face of its visage. It seemed to be laughing, shaking, and shuddering a bit in the silence. It tapped on the glass again, and words bloomed across it.


    {That¡¯s what all your versions say.}


    The white figure ¡®scowled¡¯.


    [¡®That¡¯s what all your versions say¡¯?!? Seriously, you-]


    The reflection tapped on the mirror surface once more.


    {I¡¯m kidding. This is definitely the main timeline.}


    The misty figure stared at the reflection, sceptical. The reflection tapped again, then leaned back with a relaxed posture.


    {Lucille Goldcroft will be fine, she knows how to deal with ____. And while this is the main timeline, whether it was the first is another question.}


    [Oh, so here I am, wallowing in indecision over whether I need to get rid of her before she becomes a problem, and now you just reveal you have access to her entire memories?! I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯re going to send them my way?!]


    The reflection shrugged and shook its head. The misty form groaned in a low voice.


    [Figures. You just want to watch the world burn. Or maybe you can¡¯t see her memories. I can¡¯t be bothered clarifying. And about the timeline thing¡­. I¡¯ll take you at your word for now. Another investigation to add to the agenda¡­.] they sighed again.


    The reflection nodded, seemingly happy with what the misty form had taken away from the one-sided conversation. It tapped one final time on the mirror.


    {I may or may not enjoy watching the worlds burn, but Lucy doesn¡¯t} the words read. The reflection changed back to the white-coated form from before. The young male figure looked intently at the misty humanoid standing before it, its hair drifting with unfelt wind.


    {So, believe me when I say she won¡¯t fail. Even if she does, there has never been a time you have failed. But you might. You¡¯re going to need her aid soon, so don¡¯t waste the chance she¡¯s given you, Dionsifade.}

 Chapter 11 (1 of 2) New superiors.

    Vincent Evisenhardt¡¯s day had been terrible. It was truly atrocious, and he had not remembered ever having one worse. To be honest, being a son of the main family line of the Evisenhardt County was never something that gave him amazing days, but they never gave him this much difficulty. Well, quite as much difficulty as that person gave him.


    It all began when he had to head to the Gilded Dome plane to submit Evisenhardt¡¯s monthly records to the Aurelian Commission Headquarters, the centre of the independent city-state, merchant-owned plane. As the youngest son of Evisenhardt, or what was known as the ¡®Silver County¡¯ of the Commission, it was his responsibility to go back and forth between the County and the Headquarters, delivering the monthly update on profit margins, expenditures, income, and other important numbers about the County¡¯s businesses, so the copy may be kept in the Headquarters for safekeeping, as had been the Faction¡¯s rule for centuries.


    He had expected to go to the gargantuan marble and gold monstrosity, hand over the forms, and spend a few days at its staff hotel taking a break, before using one of the Mystical Realm¡¯s teleportation arrays to make it back to the County without an Obelisk teleportation cooldown. Events did not proceed so smoothly.


    The moment he had gotten off his carriage and entered through the 20-metre-high entranceway of the ostentatious building, he could sense trouble. Hand-held protective case in hand, he had taken one step within the main reception hall and could see clerks trading hushed whispers, nervous glances being stolen towards the magic elevators, and staff scurrying about, every single one of them seemingly avoiding the lift that would take them to the highest level of the Headquarters with all their ability. Vincent had tried to ignore them, inserting his silver access card into its slot, and taking the lift that led to the exclusive floor of the Evisenhardt County, to find out more. When he stepped back out, the receptionist seated behind the desk in front of him looked up, and he could see clear relief on the receptionist¡¯s face as he quickly got up to greet Vincent with a handshake.


    ¡°Very glad to see you again sir,¡± the brown-haired, stout man said to him, looking suspiciously cheerful.


    Vincent raised an eyebrow as he handed over the case, unlocking it atop the oak desk¡¯s surface to hand over the documents within. ¡°And whatever seems to be the matter with you, Merst? Never could I have believed I would see the day you would be glad that I was handing you more work.¡±


    The man looked a tad awkward but recovered quickly. He gave a deep bow, surprising Vincent greatly.


    ¡°Please help us, sir.¡±


    That gave Vincent the first clue something was wrong. As a rule, most of the permanent staff stationed at the Headquarters were a bit¡­ stuffy and difficult to deal with, as working at the Headquarters meant they were unable to progress within the hierarchy of the Commission, by being rather far from any profitable connections such as clans of the Pantheon or other noble families of the Empire to make business deals with. The Commission only favoured those who benefit the Faction, after all.


    So, if Gordon Merst, one of the most irritating men that Vincent needed to deal with on any regular basis, was willing to ask for help, it might be better for him to turn around right then and storm off back to his County. Unfortunately, the colour of his hair gave him quite a heavy responsibility, and so, as a member of a main bloodline of one of the four Counties of the Aurelian Commission, this trouble was thrust onto his lap, and now he must deal with it.


    Vincent felt a vein twitch within his temple, and Merst seemed to have noticed because he squeezed out a rushed explanation for his actions.


    ¡°At the tenth hour this morning, a dark-haired young woman with a winged snake bond entered the Commission¡¯s Headquarters, holding up a purple pocket watch embellished with the Commission¡¯s insignia. She went to the front desk to ask if they could verify her inheritance rights. Believing she was a fraud, we tested it right then and there, as we had done several times before.¡±


    The middle-aged man stared at him, unblinkingly, as if trying to get some unspoken message across without having to physically say it. Vincent was not in the mood for it, and so just sighed, his expression weary.


    ¡°What is it? Merst, I don¡¯t have all day. If she¡¯s a fraud, then she¡¯s a fraud. Just kick her out.¡±


    Merst gulped, his expression queasy. ¡°She¡¯s not, sire.¡±


    Vincent frowned. ¡°What?¡±


    The man quickly rephrased his answer. ¡°I mean, she¡¯s not a fraud.¡±


    He stared at the man, hardly believing Merst had just said what he did. ¡°I¡¯m going to need you to state, very clearly Merst, what exactly happened today at 10 am in the reception hall.¡±


    The receptionist grimaced and sighed. ¡°Believing she was a fraud, the clerk in charge placed the pocket watch on the desk, activating the Faction¡¯s inheritance item scanning function. However, instead of sending out the rejection notice, we all saw it light up with a gold glow, and it floated up.¡± Merst gulped again.


    ¡°All the staff members within that hall at the time received the System message that said the woman had been accepted as the inheritor of the Faction by having the succession token and was now the new owner.¡±


    Merst stared at Vincent, his expression pale. ¡°I think we have a new Faction Head, sire.¡±


    After blinking back at the man several times, disbelieving of the situation for a while, Vincent rubbed his temples, scowling immensely. He paced the small reception room, a hand behind his back. The implications this had for the Faction were¡­ innumerable. It could be the destruction of the entire Commission, and the end for them all. Depending on the new leader¡¯s personality, she could be used as a puppet ruler, a scapegoat, an infiltrator, and all kinds of things.


    And he, as a member of the Evisenhardt family, had the responsibility to respond to the issue as the first noble with any power to be here to control the situation. He needed to act as soon as possible because if all those staff had heard the message, the other families of the Commission would act as well. He looked up at Merst, who was waiting for his response anxiously.


    ¡°What was this woman¡¯s name?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Lucille Goldcroft, sire,¡± Merst responded respectfully.


    Vincent tapped his fingers on the desk. The name didn¡¯t ring any bells. He didn¡¯t expect it to, but the naming conventions of her name didn¡¯t bring to mind any strong associations with certain realms or planes. The fact she had a last name meant she probably wasn¡¯t born in the Beast Realm, and her name wasn¡¯t one the cultivators tended to use, so he could rule out those two realms. She wasn¡¯t undead, obviously, so that was a no to the Tartarus Realm, and from what he gathered from his brief conversation with Merst, she seemed to be a human, which meant it was unlikely that she had been born in the Demon Realm. That left the Mystical Realm¡­ which was of no help, considering the population of this realm was in the literal trillions, like all the others.


    Therefore, until he met this ¡®new leader¡¯ himself, he couldn¡¯t discover whether she had any important background or not. He sighed heavily, foreseeing many difficulties in the near and far future. He looked back at the fidgeting Merst.


    ¡°So, has she done anything in the five hours she¡¯s been leader?¡± he asked, rather curious. He wanted to see what type of person this woman was. Merst hesitated but shook his head.


    ¡°All she asked was to be directed to the Faction Head¡¯s floor, and have the staff give her the records of the Founder¡¯s vault for the past several centuries. Oh,¡± Merst added, realising there was one more detail. ¡°And she also was seen asking the Faction spirit if her bond could go explore the Pavilion¡¯s gardens.¡±


    Vincent raised an eyebrow at that. The Pavilion of the Commission¡¯s Headquarters had many carefully cultivated man-made environments, and so letting her bond roam to find treasures that could advance its bloodline was understandable. And magic beasts tended to hate being locked indoors anyway. If Ashale¡¯viaf had agreed, then she had definitely passed the inheritance trial. But the Founder¡¯s vault¡­ it made him wonder what she was trying to do.


    Each year, all the businesses had to donate the equivalent of 5% of their annual profit to the Founder¡¯s vault, either in money or raw resources. Many had tried to avoid this, but as it was an inbuilt Faction rule formed at the time of its Faction Command deployment, enforced by the System itself, none ended up achieving their goals. Several mages, wizards and even an Archmage had been invited to inspect the vault¡¯s magic arrays, finding a way to crack it open, as the gathered wealth would be immense, but every single one had failed. The Counts all believed the vault was probably a System given item. He wondered why the woman didn¡¯t go straight to the vault and only asked for the records though.


    Vincent stopped pacing, looking at Merst, who appeared very skittish. Merst bowed deeply once more.


    ¡°Please, Sir Evisenhardt, we need guidance. All the staff members are extremely worried, fearing they¡¯ll offend their new Faction Head by ignoring her orders, but also scared they¡¯ll offend the four families as well by listening to her. Would you help us?¡±


    He stared at the shameless man. Essentially, what Merst was saying, was that all the staff were too scared stiff to deal with this issue, and needed a noble who could take responsibility and be a scapegoat for them. He crossed his arms, unamused, but Merst didn¡¯t stop bowing. Eventually he sighed.


    ¡°Is she using the Founder¡¯s study?¡±


    Merst nodded. Vincent pushed up his slipping glasses and put his hands behind his back.


    ¡°Firstly, I need a change of clothes. I can¡¯t go looking like the son of a noble if I¡¯m to observe this new leader from up close. Get me the uniform of the staff responsible for the fortieth floor.¡±


    It was going to be a stressful day.


    ¡­


    ¡°Hey. You¡¯re Vincent Evisenhardt, right? Then you¡¯d know the format of these documents the best. Come here and help sort all these records with me.¡±


    Vincent was right. He was always right about these things. He had been standing there for half an hour, replacing the staff member who had originally been sent to be responsible for answering to this new leader¡¯s needs, when the mask-wearing girl had looked up and gestured for him to come over. He hated his job.


    Pushing up his glasses, which he was contemplating just taking off by now, he answered her, hoping to stall for time. ¡°Just because I have silver hair doesn¡¯t mean I am a relative of the Count.¡±


    The girl gave him a flat stare. ¡°If you weren¡¯t, you would¡¯ve said so directly then. Could you come here?¡±


    Suppressing a sigh, he grabbed a chair and sat along one edge of the large desk. Surrounding her were several thick stacks of documents, and he could see her shifting through them, sorting them into piles, and occasionally jotting down some words in neat print. He had a feeling this girl wasn¡¯t simple, as she could sort the forms with even more ease than he could. The girl pointed to several stacks with a finger.


    ¡°These are for magical items, these are for spell tomes or skill books, these are estates or land ownership, these are for natural treasures or similar resources, and these are for pure monetary accounts. I¡¯ve done thirty per cent of the last 200 years already, so just take from this pile,¡± she said, pointing to the largest pile almost reaching her head in height, ¡°and continue to sort them.¡± Then she went back to working in silence.


    Vincent stared at her, wondering if she was going to say anything else, but when she didn¡¯t do anything more, he shook his head in mild frustration and began working. Merst had left out a lot in his description. For one thing, the girl couldn¡¯t be more than 18, meaning she was about 9 years younger than him. Secondly, the mask that covered her right eye. Where a young girl could¡¯ve gotten an injury so bad she required a covering he had no clue, but it wasn¡¯t something he could discover right now. Thirdly, she was Rank-0. That was incredibly weak. She was either rather brave or rather foolhardy to come to the Gilded Dome plane, then the Aurelian Commission Headquarters, and ask to become the Head.


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Well, to find out more about this new leader of his, he was prepared to follow along. He had his experience as a noble playing their games, so whatever this girl could throw at him would be easy to overcome.


    ¡­


    It was the third day, and Vincent was ready to blow his top. He decided to hold a grudge against Merst for dumping this on him. The girl hadn¡¯t said anything more to him at all, only continuing to work through the mess of forms without a word. She was there before he got to the study in the morning and remained there even when he left. He had almost tried to see if he could arrive earlier than her but decided that wouldn¡¯t be good for his mental tenacity. He had long since sent a message by a courier and teleportation to the Count, his grandfather, so they were now aware of this ¡®new leader¡¯ of theirs, and he assumed that Ravimoux, Alichanteu, and Chavaret had also received news of her as well, so that was done.


    But no, she continued to just work, and work, and work. Making him work as well. He was done. He was completely over it.


    Pushing the paper in front of him to the side, he leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, and just stared at her. She didn¡¯t look up. He let out a cough. She didn¡¯t look up. He felt a vein twitch in his temple again, which he feared was becoming rather common. Just when he was about to open his mouth, the girl slowly pushed her documents away, crossed her legs, intertwined her fingers, and rested her elbows on the table, then tilted her head at him.


    ¡°What?¡±


    Vincent was close to losing it. He hadn¡¯t felt that angry in years. He opened his mouth to speak, but then the girl just grinned widely, her visible eye narrowed.


    ¡°I expected you to last a week at least. I didn¡¯t know the youngest son of Evisenhardt had such a lack of patience.¡±


    Vincent took off his glasses, letting them hang around his neck by their chain, and narrowed his own eyes at her. So, she was testing him. He had almost begun to believe that he was only here as free labour for her, just to gain some extra hands to work on the records. The girl definitely knew how to act as a real noble did, if she had managed to infuriate him this much. Well, she was almost a real noble now. The Faction Head held an Honorary Count title.


    ¡°Miss Goldcroft,¡± he began, finally ready to stop with the act. ¡°Could I please ask you to reveal your intentions in getting me to work on these records?¡±


    ¡°You may,¡± was all the girl said. He waited and frowned slightly when she didn¡¯t continue. Then she spoke again.


    ¡°Well, are you going to ask?¡± she said, blinking innocently.


    He involuntarily groaned, dropping his crossed arms to rest them on the table. He pressed a hand to his right temple.


    ¡°What is it that you want?¡± he finally asked, a bit weakly to his ears, and likely a smidgen desperately.


    The girl smiled irritatingly and twirled a ballpoint pen in her right hand, leaning on the table. ¡°I needed more hands.¡±


    Vincent stared at her, and she leaned back with a slight laugh at his reaction. ¡°I¡¯m kidding. I wanted to see how you would act.¡±


    Vincent frowned slightly. ¡°Why would that matter?¡±


    She tapped the pen against her lips, smiling at him in a way that he couldn¡¯t guess what she was thinking, and then she shook her head wryly.


    ¡°I think that¡¯s a question for later. For now,¡± she said, stretching her arms and getting up. ¡°You probably have many other, more important questions. So, I say we go for a walk.¡± She added, gesturing towards the door.


    ¡°My bond hasn¡¯t come out of the gardens in three days, so I believe he¡¯s having too much fun. We can¡¯t have that.¡±


    ¡­


    Vincent and Lucille walked along the dark-grey paved pathway, occasionally pushing dark green ferns to the side as they made their way towards a certain winged snake. The gardens of the Headquarters¡¯ Pavilion were actually on the Pavilion¡¯s roof, with different biomes having individual mana environments and ecosystems. They were currently in a garden based on the tropical regions of the Mystical Realm, so there were many vines, ferns, and other thick undergrowth. The artificial mist was sprayed down on the plants from the mana-circles above, so now Vincent was feeling slightly damp, and a tad uncomfortable in the magically increased temperature of the area. He wondered if this was another test of his new Head as he removed his white suit jacket.


    They turned a corner and the dark-haired girl stopped, Vincent almost bumping into her. He looked at the bush the girl was looking at, and there he was surprised to find a small silver snout poking out between dark green leaves, two golden eyes peering at them both. A plant stem was hanging out of the mouth, and around the snout were faint traces of purple juice.


    ¡°This place is great! I bet it won¡¯t even take a year to reach advanced rank if I get to eat this stuff every day.¡± Sounded the immature voice of a young boy.


    Vincent raised an eyebrow in surprise when he noticed the dark-haired girl was scowling at the new addition.


    ¡°That may be so, but those plants are now mine.¡± She stressed, pushing aside the leaves to stick an arm into the bush.


    ¡°What¡¯s yours is mine, and what¡¯s mine is also mine. I see you also have a poison detector with you.¡±


    The winged snake, because he could now see the rest of its body, wound its way up Lucille¡¯s arm to rest on her shoulders, its head on top of hers.


    Lucille sighed. ¡°Their hair is not actually made of silver.¡± She told the beast. Vincent¡¯s eyebrows nearly disappeared into his hair as she turned around to look at him. She pointed to the fluffy snake on her head. ¡°This uneducated freeloader is Scytale. He¡¯s my compeer bond.¡±


    The snake opened up his white-gold wings and flapped them proudly. Vincent supposed that a bond of equals explained the way they spoke to each other, although he wondered why she didn¡¯t refer to him as a familiar if that was the case. He dipped his head slightly.


    ¡°Greetings. I¡¯ve never heard of a snake bloodline with wings before.¡±


    The silvery snake scoffed. ¡°Of course, you haven¡¯t. I¡¯m a hybrid.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± asked Vincent curiously. ¡°A hybrid of what?¡±


    ¡°A snake and a bird,¡± Scytale responded sarcastically, a bit smug.


    Vincent suppressed a sigh. So, the snake took after its bond. He could foresee fun days ahead for himself.


    Scytale blinked and flickered his tongue. ¡°My snake bloodline uses illusions, while my bird bloodline uses the light element. As for what they are¡­ I won¡¯t go into details.¡±


    Vincent raised an eyebrow but didn¡¯t ask further. It seemed there were issues surrounding the snake¡¯s heritage. They continued to walk, and Vincent decided to finally ask Lucille a few questions.


    ¡°So, you are the new Faction Head?¡±


    Lucille held out her hand, and with a pop, a palm-sized violet object appeared on it. She dangled it by its golden chain so Vincent could see the golden insignia of three overlapping coins embossed on the front. She pressed a button on the top with a click, and Vincent leaned forward to have a look at what was inside.


    ¡°This here,¡± she said, pointing to the top half of the watch, ¡°Is just a normal Astrologer¡¯s clock chart. A very high quality and fancy one, but nothing too unusual.¡± She pointed to the bottom face. ¡°This is a localised compass, however. Have a look at the arrow with the white diamond, and where it is pointing.¡±


    Vincent¡¯s eyes closely followed the arrow as she moved the compass back and forth, frowning slightly in confusion. He even stepped to the side to see if the arrow was pointing behind him, but it followed him. He looked up.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ pointing to me?¡±


    Lucille nodded. ¡°All the arrows matching the colours of the four families point to the closest bloodline relation of that family. The topaz arrow points to whatever I designate I want to find.¡±


    Vincent held his chin. ¡°Well, I can say that ability sounds like something the Faction¡¯s inheritance token would have. Although¡­¡± he continued, looking at her in mild exasperation.


    ¡°Did you have to test your qualifications in front of almost a hundred people in the reception hall?¡±


    She raised an eyebrow at him, smirking. ¡°You know just as well as me what games nobles like to play. If I hadn¡¯t proved without a doubt that I was the successor, it¡¯s possible I could¡¯ve been held up for several months as people came to ¡®test¡¯ the validity of my qualifications, when in reality they were just preparing schemes.¡±


    Vincent stared at her for a moment but had to give a wry smile. ¡°I can¡¯t say it wouldn¡¯t have happened. Can I ask if you became the successor just by chance, or did you intend to use the Faction for something?¡±


    Lucille¡¯s eyes narrowed and she continued walking, gesturing for him to follow.


    ¡°I intended to become the new Faction Head.¡±


    While Vincent had asked the question, he was not truly expecting an 18-year-old, Rank-0 girl had wanted to become the Aurelian Commission¡¯s new leader. He tapped his fingers against his arm, thinking deeply. ¡°For what purpose, just furthering your class?¡±


    It was unexpected to him when she shook her head. She turned to face him, eyeing him with a strange look.


    ¡°I come from the ______.¡±


    He¡­ couldn¡¯t hear that word. And that was extremely strange. The System could translate anything into someone¡¯s language, so the fact it didn¡¯t, and what came out of her mouth sounded like the grating of metal against stone, meant something else was going on. He frowned.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t catch that. Could you repeat it?¡±


    ¡°I come from the ______.¡± She reiterated. When she could see he didn¡¯t understand. She shook her head wryly and turned back around.


    ¡°As you can see, my words are under an info lock. Anything I say will either be completely blocked out, brushed aside like I said a joke, or not even responded to, depending on what I reveal. So, I need to be very sparse with my description of where I come from.¡±


    Vincent frowned slightly but nodded, so Lucille continued.


    ¡°Roughly 2 months ago, 1000 individuals of my world entered the Tower, so we could bring back information of the Tower and System to my world in five years just before it assimilates.¡±


    He raised an eyebrow. ¡®World¡¯ was the term usually used by those from outer planes of the Mystical Realm or lower realms of the Heavenly Realm to describe their home. It was because they only had that zone as their ¡®world¡¯ and were relatively disconnected from the concept of the gargantuan sizes of the realms in general. It was interesting that this girl used the word. Lucille grinned at him.


    ¡°And my world is under an info lock, so it is incredibly valuable to the System in some way. I would place it as the equivalent of an unexplored Great plane of the Mystical Realm in value, possibly higher.¡±


    That shot his eyebrows up into his hair again. It could¡¯ve been a lie, but this new leader didn¡¯t have a reason to lie to him. It might have been just patriotic overconfidence, but he didn¡¯t know enough about the girl to gauge whether that was true or not.


    Lucille continued down the path, heading towards a small fountain in the centre of the area. She brushed aside some greenery as she walked. ¡°Consider my leadership the equivalent of a deal. In exchange for access to the resources and connections of the Faction, I will, to the best of my ability, aid the Commission in expanding and increasing its power. I, someone with no relation to nobility or the realms, hope to collaborate and be supported by the families, not command them.¡±


    Vincent watched as she pulled out the pocket watch and hung it in front of him, pausing her walk. She smiled slyly.


    ¡°And, I do believe Evisenhardt, Ravimoux, Alichanteu and Chavaret have a vested interest in doing so. I may, just maybe, allow them access to some¡­ particular permissions in the Faction that they have wanted for many centuries.¡±


    Oh. It hadn¡¯t quite clicked for Vincent before this, but he realised at that moment, he was talking to a new kind of evil, one he and his family hadn¡¯t quite come across just yet. One who had money, power, ambition, and dreadfully tempting benefits.


    He had to revise his opinion of her origins. This wasn¡¯t a human; this was clearly a demon.


    ¡­


    A while later, Vincent and Lucille sat down on two opposing couches, a low, dark brown, glass-topped table between them. The room was surprisingly small for what Vincent expected from the Founder, leading into a small kitchen behind Lucille. Behind himself was a tall and wide window with cushions on its windowsill, enabling one to sit there. There was a small round table behind him as well. He wondered what the rest of the level was like if this was only part of it.


    Lucille tapped the plush indigo couch cushion below her, Scytale coiling himself up on a pillow set up next to her on her left.


    ¡°It¡¯s in better quality than I expected for something almost 1500 years old, even with protective enchantments.¡±


    Vincent nodded. ¡°We regularly get staff to come in and clean this level, and wizards to redo the magic arrays and enchantments here. The whole level should be in perfect condition.¡±


    She raised an eyebrow as she leaned back, one arm over the back of the couch as she crossed her legs. ¡°Should be?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never personally visited here. Sometimes it opens to the younger generations of nobles so they can come to visit a place with historical value for the Faction.¡±


    Lucille hummed. ¡°That sounds like a museum.¡±


    Vincent rolled the strange word around his mouth. ¡°A¡­ museum?¡± he asked questioningly. Lucille shook her head distractedly.


    ¡°A hall for keeping historical artifacts for public viewing. A concept from my home.¡±


    Vincent contemplated that. He supposed it was like how nobles like to keep expensive paintings and magic items on display, although wouldn¡¯t a publicly accessible area be at risk of thievery and malicious destruction without a noble¡¯s guard to walk the area''s hallways? If anyone got their hands on the powerful artifacts, they could easily cause a lot of havoc and ruin a lot of estates, which would be costly-


    Lucille Goldcroft shifted in her seat, and he returned his attention to their conversation. The half-mask-wearing girl placed down the violet pocket watch, tapping the glass next to it.


    ¡°This,¡± she began, ¡°Has many, many functions, so long as I am within the Headquarters, or any land designated as directly part of the Faction. This includes the original businesses of the Faction under the families when the four Counties swore their allegiance to the Founder.¡±


    Vincent nodded. He was aware of that fact. It was the same for the Empire¡¯s Emperor when he wore his crown, or the Citadel of Fate when their Prophetess wore her diadem. Any major Faction chose this method of Faction Authority, as it was a far safer way to protect the Faction leader¡¯s position due to the inheritance token being soulbound. He gestured for her to go on, so Lucille leaned back.


    ¡°I understand that the original Counties were very loyal to the Founder. Unfortunately for the Counties of today, it means when they go without a Faction Head for a long period, many important permissions got locked behind the wall of Total Faction Authority, never to be seen again. I can permanently allow the Counties access to these permissions if we can come to an understanding.¡±


    Vincent blinked before leaning back with his arms crossed, sighing. It was definitely the best bartering chip she could have on hand. Not even the vast wealth of the Founder¡¯s vault could be such a temptation for the Counties, even if they would love to access that as well. He had remembered horror stories from the other nobles when he was a kid about what the Commission Head could do if they got their hands on the inheritance token, compared to other Faction leaders with their Factions. He fingered the chain of his half-moon glasses hanging around his neck.


    ¡°And what would you like from this arrangement?¡± he asked pointedly. There was no way getting such benefits would be easy. Lucille smiled, and he felt like he was falling for a trap of some kind.


    ¡°Same as what I said before. I want the complete backing and support of the Counties when I implement changes within the Faction.¡±


    Vincent leaned forward on the couch, looking at her intently. ¡®Changes¡¯ could be many things, not necessarily good things. The girl grinned as she resumed her earlier words.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look so nervous. The Faction getting bigger and more powerful aligns with my goals. I¡¯m not here to ruin it.¡±


    She told him not to look nervous, and Vincent hadn¡¯t even realised he was appearing that way until she pointed it out. He grimaced a bit, wondering when his control over his emotions had weakened so much. The silver snake next to her was silent, lying down, and breathed slowly, appearing asleep.


    ¡°What exact changes do you have in mind?¡± he said at last, understanding he needed to be the one to ask the questions between them.


    Lucille kicked her feet up onto the table. ¡°Structural changes mostly. At least for the first few years. Currently, as it is, the Faction is not capable of supporting a bigger size. I intend to change that.¡±


    Vincent tilted his head, as the dark-haired girl took off a brown drawstring bag from her belt by untying the cord it was attached to, then reached in. He realised it was a dimensional bag when she pulled out a thick leather folder, opened it out, placed it on the table, and turned it around to face him. He touched it carefully, and when she nodded, he picked it up, slowly reading the documents within. The documents were handwritten in that neat, perfectly uniform script he had seen her using earlier when he was ordering the vault records, and all of them were in a straightforward format that detailed several plans for the Faction. He didn¡¯t recognise the format it was in, as it didn¡¯t conform to any of the Empire¡¯s normal documentation methods, but it was clear enough to understand.


    He put on his glasses to see it clearer. Before he turned the first page, Lucille tapped on the desk to draw his attention.


    ¡°Hold on a moment. I suggest you don¡¯t start reading all of it just yet. There¡¯s more where that came from.¡±


    Vincent raised an eyebrow at the ¡®more where that came from¡¯, looking at the folder he carried and judging it was as thick as his index finger. He looked up to see her holding four other folders in different colours, each matching a colour of one of the Counties. She held them out to him.


    ¡°I have plans for all the Counties. The one you¡¯re holding is just the overall summary.¡±


    Vincent was now firmly of the opinion she was a demon in disguise. No other thing would or could give him more work so freely. He sighed in exasperation and weariness, nodding as he stood up to take them to his temporary study on the Evisenhardt level to read. Just before he reached the door, Lucille spoke up again.


    ¡°I would appreciate it if this time, you didn¡¯t reveal this to your grandfather the instant you leave me alone. I hope to have the element of surprise when I show them these plans myself. Actually,¡± she added, ¡°Could you tell the Counties of my intentions to meet all four of their representatives sometime? I think that would be a good decision.¡±


    Her eyes tracked him as Vincent left the room, feeling deeply conflicted, but giving her a nod. On one hand, he needed to report as much as he knew to the Count so he could prepare their family for the future. On the other¡­. he feared he might ruin any nascent form of relationship between himself and this new leader of his.


    He was also a bit curious about why this girl seemed to be testing him for¡­. something.

 Chapter 11 (2 of 2) New superiors.

    The dark-haired girl lay across an indigo couch, feet up and shoes kicked off. Lucille had her hands behind her head, her one visible eye closed. There were two daggers on the table beside her, one white and one black. The couch opposite her had a snoozing winged snake. Scytale blinked his eyes blearily as he eventually got up, and flapped his wings, waking up. Lucille opened her eyes at the noise and turned to look at the snake.


    ¡°Had a good nap?¡±


    Instead of answering, Scytale opened his jaws to yawn loudly, showing off his fangs. Then he slithered off the couch and onto the short table.


    ¡°I hope you haven¡¯t checked yet.¡±


    Lucy rolled her eyes as she sat up, turning to face the table. ¡°I have more patience than you. I was going over my experiences with Vincent Evisenhardt, checking if I had missed anything about his personality.¡±


    The snake lowered his head, so his golden right eye was level with Ouroboros and Apophis in front of him.


    ¡°Think he would be good for the job?¡±


    She nodded as she rubbed her left eye, then picked up Apophis, twirling him in her hands.


    ¡°His personality matches up with what I remember the few times I had met him, and with what I remember of his reputation. As long as I benefit the Commission with my actions, he will support me.¡±


    Vincent Evisenhardt had essentially been the de facto leader of the Aurelian Commission in the ¡®past¡¯. He had led it into an era of power, guiding the Counties, and was the face of his generation of middle-level nobility. She remembered he had supported the next Emperor into power when the current one abdicated, breaking the neutrality rule of the Commission, but allowing him to gain an Honorary Marquis title, and the Faction had gained power almost greater than the 7 Eternal Duchies.


    Unfortunately, it didn¡¯t last when everyone found out about the destruction of the Inheritance Trials Event, as all the lesser nobles within the Commission got tempted away by Factions with more potential. A Faction that had lost its inheritance token was a Faction without a future. But Evisenhardt were still prosperous under his leadership when his oldest brother decided to pass him the Count title.


    She eyed the snake dubiously. ¡°Unless you¡¯d like to take up the position?¡±


    Scytale shrunk back and quickly slithered onto the couch next to her. ¡°Y-You¡¯ve already chosen after thinking deeply, let¡¯s not change that now. Come on, it¡¯s time to show me the Status page of the daggers.¡±


    She scoffed at his eagerness to get out of work and focused her will on the dagger. A white-blue semi-translucent screen popped up in front of her, and she shared it with Scytale. Then they stopped talking as they focused on reading the page.


    [Status: ]


    Name: The Serpent¡¯s Fang: Apophis (Lvl. 0)


    Race: Demonic Weapon


    Rarity: Forbidden - Epic (Evolvable)


    MP: 100/100


    Stats:


    ATK: 300


    MATK: 100


    SATK: 100


    CHP: 1


    Skills:


    <ul>


    <li>Burning Blood-Feud</li>


    <li>Twin Souls: Chaos</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    ¡°This is¡­ weaker than I expected. Is he really a Forbidden weapon?¡± Scytale said, sounding slightly disappointed. She whacked him over the head as Apophis trembled slightly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot. He¡¯s at Level 0, what are you expecting from him? We need to level him up too. Also, you¡¯re a terrible reader. What do you see below his SATK?¡± she told him, frustrated.


    Scytale narrowed his eyes as he read it. Then he opened them wide in disbelief. ¡°He has Chaos Power?!¡±


    She rolled her eyes. ¡°Yes, he does. He got a mental affliction debuff from it too. I¡¯m sensing what seems to be ¡®Despair¡¯ from him.¡±


    ¡°Ooooh,¡± Scytale responded. Mental afflictions were great at reducing the motivation and morale of enemies. ¡°That¡¯s a nasty one. Is it better than ¡®Dread¡¯?¡±


    ¡°A tad. Despair makes them more willing to give up, while Dread makes them a slightly bit too nervous and paranoid, causing issues. Let¡¯s see his first skill.¡±


    [Skill: Burning Blood-Feud | Type: Influence/Demonic ]


    Desc: In times past in an unknown world, an ancient empire worshipped a deity of the sun. In opposition to this deity was the serpent of darkness and Chaos who wished to devour this sun deity, as was its only desire. A confluence with this mythology and spiritual energy has led to the bestowment of a ______¡¯s resonance blessing upon this weapon, taking on the forces of Chaos¡¯s pinnacle.


    Abilities:


    Dark Devouring ¨C The strength of one becomes another¡¯s.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the weapon¡¯s User the ability to gain the spiritual energy of those killed by this weapon. {When used alongside Twin Souls: Order, 3<sup>rd</sup> Activation, this ability is disabled.}</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to drain the energy of those within the aura of this weapon to replenish the energy of its User. Drain speed = 5% of User¡¯s MP + User¡¯s MP regen.</li>


    </ul>


    Chaotic Origin ¨C Corrosion became Chaos, and Chaos became power.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to form an aura of demonic energy along its blade.</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon Chaos Power. Point of Chaos Power increases with each evolution. Current Debuff Affixes: Despair.</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s neat. He¡¯s going to get more Chaos Power each evolution. It seems your naming worked, considering the description. And- wait, what¡¯s with you?¡±


    Lucy was holding her chin, her eyebrows raised. ¡°Seems I had it wrong. He doesn¡¯t give half the devoured spiritual energy to his user. He passes it all to Ouroboros, but only when the third ability of her second skill is activated. Spirit weapons don¡¯t usually absorb anything but the residual spiritual energy of their owners, so that¡¯s interesting. I wonder what she does with it.¡±


    ¡°Lucille Goldcroft, getting something wrong?! No¡­. it can¡¯t be!¡±


    She whacked him on the head. ¡°Item identification isn¡¯t my specialty. I had to do it without the aid of the System, by sensing their vague energy structures through our bond, so it wasn¡¯t very accurate when I identified their basic abilities.¡±


    ¡°I thought you did plenty of item identification back ¡®then¡¯ though.¡±


    She sighed. ¡°I had made a bunch of specialised equipment for it, so I didn¡¯t waste a primary skill slot. I miss my old base.¡±


    Scytale flapped his white-gold wings. ¡°It is what it is. What¡¯s the next skill?¡±


    She narrowed her eyes at the screen just before she pressed on the skill. ¡°I have a feeling this name is a sign of the System dumping annoying things on our lap again.¡±


    [Skill: Twin Souls: Chaos | Type: Soul/Link ]


    Desc: Two souls were locked together in abandoned space, with opposed natures for millennia. Where others may have destroyed each other, these two souls became as close as siblings and as linked as those by blood. They understood the Supreme Cycle of Chaos and Order, embracing their similarities and differences as one.


    Abilities:


    Supreme Cycle of Chaos and Order ¨C Two comprehended the incomprehensible.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to sense and have a telepathic bond with its soul twin at all times.</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon and its User the ability to be immune to the forces of Chaos or Order. No demonic or spiritual mental influences will affect it or its User.</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to transfer spiritual energy to its soul twin. {Activated when used alongside Twin Souls: Order, 3<sup>rd</sup>}</li>


    </ul>


    Gargantuan Serpentine Mimicry ¨C The body and jaws of a serpent


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability of independent movement.</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to extend infinitely, as long as the User has the energy to support it.</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to extend in width, as long as the User has the energy to support it. Ratio: 1/8 weapon¡¯s length.</li>


    </ul>


    Domain of Chaos and Order ¨C Ordered Chaos


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the weapon this skill when within 1km of Soul Twin: Order</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon an x5 multiplicative stat effect when this skill is active. ATK, MATK and SATK x5.</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon an x5 multiplicative ability effect when this skill is active. Energy requirements and cooldown ¡Â5. Skill effectiveness x5.</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to receive the spiritual energy of those slain by its soul twin. Supreme Cycle of Chaos and Order applies.</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    ¡°Seems to show what you explained about the weapons before. So, why are you feeling iffy about the skill name?¡±


    She sighed, rubbing her forehead. ¡°You know how the System likes to add extra Events or form natural treasures related to the theme of the current chapter? Those items give benefits to those who compete in the Millennium Chapter. If we don¡¯t have people coming after us to kill us for the daggers, we¡¯ll be hounded by people pressuring us to sell or trade them.¡±


    ¡°You mean YOU will. I¡¯ll be fine.¡± He said smugly.


    She narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°Then, should I accept offers from some who wish me to break off our bond so they could bond you instead? How much do you think you¡¯ll go for? I think a bond with a hybrid could go for several hundred crystal tokens if they¡¯re special.¡±


    He looked to the side shiftily. ¡°Er, no, no, I¡¯m quite fine here.¡±


    She went back to analysing Apophis¡¯s skill. ¡°These weapons are really built around being used as a pair. I doubt anyone could use them effectively otherwise. Look, it says he can receive the energy from those slain by Ouroboros.¡±


    ¡°But it says the first ability of Twin Souls: Chaos also applies, which means it will be transferred to Ouroboros anyway, even if he could gain the energy.¡±


    She hummed, spinning Apophis above her palm with her spiritual energy. ¡°I suppose it completes a cycle in some way. So, this weapon has an energy drain function, a multiplicative domain ability, and uses demonic energy and Chaos Power. He starts with very low starting stats for an Epic weapon though, being a sentient weapon that needs levelling up. I suppose being able to ignore magical and spiritual defence, even if limited to only 100 points to begin with, is a good trade-off. Let¡¯s see Ouroboros¡¯s Status.¡±


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    [Status: ]


    Name: The Serpent¡¯s Form: Ouroboros (Lvl. 0)


    Race: Spirit Weapon


    Rarity: Wonder - Epic (Evolvable)


    MP: 100/1000


    Stats:


    ATK: 300


    MATK: 100


    SATK: 100


    Skills:


    <ul>


    <li>Rebirth From Death</li>


    <li>Twin Souls: Order</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    She nodded after she read the screen. ¡°Yep, she became a Wonder. I suppose her uniqueness isn¡¯t shown because they have an entire skill based on sharing abilities. No Heroic Power, so you¡¯re not going to be replaced anytime soon.¡± She patted his head in mock reassurance and he tried to nip her fingers.


    ¡°I wonder what this Rebirth From Death thing is. Sounds like a type of Citadel resurrection skill.¡± He said after he stopped trying to attack her.


    ¡°I hope not. I¡¯m still unaware of what would happen to me if I died with my messed up soul ports. Let¡¯s not test that.¡± She replied, clicking on the skill.


    They both stared in mild shock when they read it.


    [Skill: Rebirth From Death | Type: Influence/Spirit ]


    Desc: In times past in an unknown world, the mythology of an ancient empire was spread to other continents and underwent a reformation. Now of another form, the deity represented the cyclic nature of life and death, and all within. A confluence with this mythology and spiritual energy has led to the bestowment of a ______¡¯s resonance blessing upon this weapon, taking on the forces of Order¡¯s pinnacle.


    Abilities:


    Cyclic Reforming ¨C The strength of one becomes another¡¯s.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to obtain the spiritual energy received by its soul twin. {Activated when used alongside Twin Souls: Chaos}</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to reconstitute skills from the energy of those slain by its soul twin and pass them to its User. Collected Skill Shards:</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to merge skill shards to form new tertiary or secondary skills. Limitations apply.</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to reconstitute stats from the energy of those slain by its soul twin and pass them to its User. Stat gain maximum: 50% of Rank Total.</li>


    </ul>


    Ordered Origin ¨C Order became power.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to shield its User from damage up to the total of its added active ATK, MATK and SATK. Shield resets when its User receives unshielded damage the equivalent of what was negated.</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to absorb damage up to its active ATK using its User¡¯s equivalent MP, while shield is active. Absorbed damage can be reflected partially or completely. Current absorbed damage:</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    Lucy whistled as her bond sat a bit higher in his little tower of coils. He glared at the screen.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think Ouroboros is playing favourites too much?¡±


    Lucy grinned smugly and crossed her arms. ¡°I have no idea what you mean.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that,¡± he replied crossly.


    She shook her head wryly in amusement. ¡°Well, it¡¯s obvious something is going on here. But it¡¯s not as overpowered as you think. This skill would be completely ineffective if Apophis wasn¡¯t bonded to me as well. It¡¯s only his skills that are responsible for gaining spiritual energy from what is killed, and only his Twin Souls: Chaos, 3<sup>rd</sup> Activation ability allows me to gain spiritual energy from what Ouroboros kills too. Not a single ability of her first Activation would work if they weren¡¯t close enough for their soul link.¡±


    He grumbled. ¡°Yeah, but you get stats and skills from what you kill. That¡¯s unfair. Sooo unfair.¡±


    She looked at him in mild frustration. ¡°Really. While it may give me stats, they¡¯re not bonus stats. I can only gain half of the maximum for my rank. Even if I ate every natural treasure within the realms, I could only gain another 25% of the Rank Total on top of that due to the System¡¯s imposed limits. If a normal User gained it on top of their normal level-up class stats, it wouldn¡¯t shoot them over the top of the maximum. It could only make sure that they reach the absolute total possible for each of their Ranks, allowing them to catch up to higher rarity class Users.¡±


    She frowned at the screen slightly. ¡°If I get all my stats from just Ouroboros¡¯s skill, natural treasures, and the normal stat potions gained each rank up, I would still be 20% weaker than the peak Users for my rank. 10% weaker than the average Users for my rank. I need to do something about that.¡±


    Scytale narrowed his eyes, thinking hard to make sure she wasn¡¯t tricking him. Then he begrudgingly nodded. ¡°Okay, so not as overpowered as I thought. You still get skills though.¡±


    She rolled her eyes. ¡°Leave me alone. Didn¡¯t we decide on me not using Apophis when killing users? That would reduce my skill gain drastically when only using one weapon. Plus, do you think I¡¯m going to slaughter thousands to get skills?¡±


    She raised an eyebrow at the skill description when she reread it. ¡°Actually, it says ¡®skill shards¡¯. I¡¯m assuming this means I must collect multiple of the same kind of tertiary and secondary skills before recombining them into something new.¡±


    She tapped her fingers on her left arm. ¡°I guess it reduces secondary or even primary skills into a more basic form because it doesn¡¯t say I can form any primary skills using the ability, so it¡¯s a bit like choosing a side class, where the forgone main skill deconstructs into secondary skills. It probably also means that it is very unlikely I¡¯ll get complete skills through this.¡± She frowned in thought. ¡°I¡¯ll need to either make them into entirely new ones or gather enough shards to reconstitute the original. This will take much longer than gaining a whole skill when used. I¡¯ll take the creative freedom over that as a trade-off, however.¡±


    Scytale nodded, not so upset at the ability now. He nodded to the second ability. ¡°What¡¯s your opinion on the defensive ability?¡±


    She thought for a second. ¡°I believe it¡¯s decent. I¡¯ve seen better, but there¡¯s one interesting detail in this.¡± She leaned forward slightly to point to a sentence. ¡°It says negated. That usually means I won¡¯t gain any damage, no matter what, regardless of debuffs, MATK and SATK. The shield reset function is a bit strange, but it has probably been defined like that to work in conjunction with the damage reflection ability, which I presume must automatically reset the shield when the damage is reflected.¡±


    Scytale flickered his tongue. ¡°It¡¯s a nice skill. Apophis is definitely the more offense-based weapon though. But I have a question¡­. does it say what you must gain spiritual energy from?¡±


    She paused and reread the description. ¡°No... it doesn¡¯t. Huh.¡±


    They turned to each other and spoke in sync. ¡°Monsters.¡±


    Scytale looked at her, blinking his golden eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of a skill being capable of gaining skills from monsters. Is that¡­ dangerous? It sounds like something that should belong to a Heretic item.¡±


    She considered it. ¡°Monsters have decaying souls, so their spiritual energy is very weak. It¡¯s why tamers can increase their normally terrible intelligence and prevent them from attacking humans, by giving them their residual spiritual energy to stabilise their collapsing souls through a bond. It¡¯s only monster essence that is dangerous and that is why their parts need to be purified before being used. Only the werewolves gained a monster bloodline and maintained their sapience¡­ but that was a pure fluke and every single other person to try copy them has failed ever since. Even he doesn¡¯t count.¡± She leaned back, looking at the roof while she considered the idea further.


    ¡°Apophis could¡¯ve almost been a Heretic weapon. It even says, ¡®Corruption became Chaos, and Chaos became power¡¯ in one of his ability¡¯s descriptions, referencing his past, while Ouroboros¡¯s is just ¡®Order became power¡¯. But¡­ I think it¡¯ll be fine. Monsters do have abilities. They wouldn¡¯t be such an annoyance otherwise. They get their mana to form some sort of structure even amidst the ugly miasma of their monster essence, so I suppose I could cast their skills too.¡±


    She looked at the two daggers on the table after placing Apophis down next to Ouroboros. ¡°I was actually planning on getting a primary skill that would allow me to form Proto-skills as my adaptive skill, so I could be a good all-rounder. This is much better as it removes my enormously large need for skill books to properly tier up my main skills without a class.¡±


    Scytale suddenly reared up, baring his fangs. ¡°So, you do admit there was favouritism in how Ouroboros defined her skills! I witnessed you say it!¡±


    She sent him a flat look. ¡°Sure, I admit it. Yay for you. Let¡¯s just see whether Ouroboros¡¯s Twin Souls: Order is any different from Apophis¡¯s skill.¡±


    They turned to read the new white-blue sheet.


    [Skill: Twin Souls: Order | Type: Soul/Link ]


    Desc: Two souls were locked together in abandoned space, with diametrically opposed natures for millennia. Where others may have destroyed each other, these two souls became as close as those linked by blood. They understood the Supreme Cycle of Chaos and Order, embracing their similarities and differences as one.


    Abilities:


    Supreme Cycle of Chaos and Order ¨C Two comprehended the incomprehensible.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to sense and have a telepathic bond with its soul twin at all times.</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon and its User the ability to be immune to the forces of Chaos or Order. No demonic or spiritual mental influences will affect it or its User.</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to transfer spiritual energy to its soul twin. {Activated when used alongside Twin Souls: Chaos, 3<sup>rd</sup>}</li>


    </ul>


    Gargantuan Serpentine Mimicry ¨C The body and jaws of a serpent


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability of independent movement.</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to extend infinitely, as long as the User has energy to support it.</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to extend in width, as long as the User has energy to support it. Ratio: 1/8 weapon¡¯s length.</li>


    </ul>


    Domain of Chaos and Order ¨C Ordered Chaos


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the weapon this skill when within 1km of Soul Twin: Chaos</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon a x5 multiplicative stat effect when this skill is active. ATK, MATK and SATK x5.</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon a x5 multiplicative ability effect when this skill is active. Energy requirements and cooldown ¡Â5. Skill effectiveness x5.</li>


    <li>Gives the weapons the ability to switch places with their soul twins.</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    ¡°Oh, they can switch places. That¡¯s new. And it seems, looking at both this and Rebirth from Death, that Ouroboros can receive the energy of those slain by Apophis. So Ouroboros transfers the energy of those killed by Apophis to Apophis, while Apophis gains the energy of those killed by Ouroboros, as well as the energy of those killed by himself sent by Ouroboros, and then sends all of it back to her, completing the cycle.¡±


    Scytale stared intently at one of the descriptions. ¡°I didn¡¯t pay much attention to this ability in Apophis¡¯s skill sheet, but look at this. It says you¡¯ll be immune to the mental abilities of the forces of Chaos and Order.¡±


    He turned to look at her. ¡°Does this mean, you can waltz into the middle of the Infernal Duke¡¯s Stronghold, and just, be unaffected by all the clan¡¯s bloodline abilities? No affliction from Wrath, Lust, Avarice, Envy, Gluttony, Sloth, or Pride? Like, could you render their abilities completely nullified, and walk out unharmed?¡±


    Lucille opened her mouth to refute the idea, but then paused, considering it with a strange expression on her face. She eventually shook her head. ¡°Unfortunately, the Infernal Demon clan¡¯s abilities don¡¯t only affect the soul. They can have other effects, such as the flame effect of all their abilities, that would do me damage. Although, I would definitely render at least half of their bloodline abilities null.¡±


    The Demon Realm had four Duke bloodlines below the bloodline of any reigning Demon Emperor. These bloodlines gave their members the category of Archdemon, and their bloodline patriarchs ascended to the position of Duke when they reached sufficient strength. The Infernal Demons used their signature Flames of Sin bloodline magic to rule over hundreds of thousands of vassal demon clans.


    Scytale nodded in slight disappointment. ¡°Guess it would be too good to be true.¡±


    They went silent as they stopped discussing the daggers, Lucy slotting them back into their sheaths at her waist. She eventually spoke up, having something to ask her bond.


    ¡°So, what are your plans for your class? You¡¯ll need to be a bit careful in avoiding what you were like in the past, because while nobody knew we used to be bonded, the Hero,¡± she said, spitting out the title like it was a poisonous object, ¡°Will want to either persuade you to his side or kill you if he discovers you are the ¡®Truth-Seizing World-Ender¡¯ from the past.¡±


    The silvery snake bobbed in an approximation of a nod. ¡°Yeah. I have an idea, but it will depend on something. Do you know of any technique that can merge Heroic Armaments into a singular item?¡±


    Lucille tilted her head in surprise at the question. She leaned back in thought. ¡°Not Heroic Armaments per se, but a Sect from the Heavenly Realm has a technique that enables someone to merge their ¡®sword souls¡¯, their Heroic Weapon equivalent.¡± she said, moving her fingers in the ¡®quote¡¯ action.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure I could alter it, so it works with Armaments if we get our hands on it. It¡¯s not a highly valuable technique, so it shouldn¡¯t be too hard to trade for the rights to it.¡±


    Scytale bobbed, happy with that answer. ¡°That¡¯s great. I can go ahead with my plan now.¡±


    She raised an eyebrow. ¡°And what plan requires something like this?¡±


    Scytale flicked his tongue and settled into a more comfortable position. ¡°So. My hybridisation means I gain mana regen and a higher MP cap the more people who are watching me. This means I should build my classes around this fact, using my charm to attract attention. But I¡¯ll essentially be drawing tons of aggro that way, right?¡±


    She nodded, crossing her arms. ¡°Ah. I can see where you¡¯re going with this.¡±


    ¡°Yep. I need to have good defence. Me being a target on the battlefield will mean I need to have the ability to survive the onslaught of attacks as I become stronger from their attention. I expect myself to be acting solo in the future due to my bloodline, so. What do you think about me becoming a self-buffer and healer using my light affinity?¡± He looked up, waiting for her answer. She was the most informed about the System and its skills that he was aware of and had the best processing ability to consider all his options.


    Lucy leaned back with her eyes closed, thinking deeply. Her soul was currently rifling through its extensive memories of all the skills she had found, and the mechanisms of how the light affinity interacts with magic in general. Scytale had to temporarily stop the flow of information coming through her end of the bond as it was incredibly overwhelming with the accelerated speed and multiple thoughts.


    ¡­..I currently know of 23,765,987 light element skills and spells applicable to Scytale. Half of those require access to the Citadel of Fate¡¯s archives to completely form the pathway, so I¡¯ll leave those out for now. I can get rid of most of that half now, leaving a few thousand, as they have better-quality versions. Some 24 are mana-arts from the Glory Pantheon¡¯s few light element clans. Those could be good subskills to formulate the armament ability. I¡¯ll need to cut out the physical practice part of it, considering he¡¯s a magical beast, not human. 212 healing skills can be cast by him, but only 113 can be used on the caster. Considering he¡¯s going to have high MP regen but a lower MP cap, I need to focus on the ones that require channelling rather than a brief infusion of mana. That cuts it down to¡­ 57. Only 13 of the best spells are under advanced rank spellcraft, which don¡¯t require a mage¡¯s runic model or a wizard¡¯s heart circles to cast, so I can teach him those. 149 of the better defence-boosting skills require a link with Escalon for Thaumaturgy, which is not happening, so I¡¯ll exclude them. 38 under advanced rank can be utilised, but there¡¯s some crossover, so I¡¯ll only leave the ones that cover the most weaknesses¡­.


    Lucy blinked as she opened her eyes and looked at the patiently waiting winged snake.


    ¡°How does your illusion affinity come into play?¡± She asked. Scytale flapped his wings in eagerness.


    ¡°I plan on using the mimicry aspect of illusion magic to copy the higher strength buffs of the other elements which will grant me an effectiveness of 75% with my current mana manipulation abilities. I thought they would be good to add to my attack arsenal, so I¡¯m not just pure light element.¡±


    Lucy considered this while her fingers fiddled with her fringe. She leaned forward to gaze at the table before them. The ability of illusion magic to mimic other magic wasn¡¯t unknown. It was what illusion magic was famous for, actually. But hardly anybody used it that way because it was too difficult and considered a high-level technique. That was because it required the user to have a complete understanding of how the normal elements functioned so they could perfectly replicate the elemental mana in the form of illusion mana.


    But that would mean studying the original element you were copying, which would also mean having the element to analyse, so why would you use illusion magic that way when you could just use the actual element in the first place? Most used the ability of illusion magic to form tricks of the eyes and senses or clones, distracting the opponent, than to cast lower quality versions of other elemental abilities.


    Lucy used illusion magic for an altogether different purpose though. She turned to her bond.


    ¡°Is that to reduce the elemental resistance of your opponents, and increase your own? I¡¯ll see what buffs and protections I can find. So, what¡¯s the Heroic merging technique for?¡±


    Scytale coiled himself up. ¡°As a magic beast, I¡¯m going to be using my body for fighting. Considering humanoid weapons are terrible for that form, I thought about armour. However, that would be individual pieces, not great for a serpentine body, and I¡¯m not sure how to find a Heroic mana-art that cultivates full body armour.¡±


    Lucille nodded. There would be weak points in between multiple armour pieces. For Glory Pantheon¡¯s Mythos or Champions, it wasn¡¯t an issue, as they typically made multiple different types of armour and weapons to suit the battle. Being able to switch to different armours was important for them, and not viable when you wear full body armour.


    ¡°So, a Heroic Armament merging technique that will give you a full-body set of armour as long as you merge new Heroic Power points into your original armament. I¡¯m guessing you¡¯ll go for incredibly high defences?¡±


    ¡°Yep. I want to have armour that is almost purely for defensive purposes, so I can attract attention without worry. And because it will be for my beast form, I intend to mask the fact I use Heroic Power so it appears like a scale transformation bloodline ability like some beasts can use, such as the Rockhide Spinebeasts.¡±


    Lucy nodded again. ¡°That sounds like a good plan. Make sure when you form your armour it has a realistic scale texture.¡±


    She leaned back, their conversation falling into a lull. She looked around the room. ¡°I don¡¯t think we had anything more on the agenda today, so I should probably go back to sorting out the records for the vault. I¡¯ll begin considering what skills to help you gain.¡± She shook her head in mild irritation. ¡°I can understand why they wouldn¡¯t assign someone to do so considering nobody can access the wealth within, but it makes it an incredible annoyance for me.¡± She sighed.


    Scytale nodded. ¡°Not going to tell me about the pocket watch?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she responded. ¡°I checked, but the item sheet doesn¡¯t have anything interesting. And when I activated the Faction Authority, all it brought up was several hundred screens of settings and options. At least I managed to find out that I have the ability to halt all the Counties¡¯ income flow with the click of a button.¡± She grinned evilly.


    Scytale gave a hissing laugh. ¡°Oh, that sounds like a good threat. Now to see how they''ll react to that information.¡±

 Chapter 12 (1 of 2) A disgruntled future friend or two.

    While the Beast Realm was a gargantuan piece of land of incomprehensible size, with the System adding newly coalesced regions to it like bubbles floating up to the surface of water to appear around its edges, the Mystical Realm had a different structure. Rather than being a continuous area of land, the Mystical Realm had ¡®planes¡¯.


    These planes were areas of land ranging from roughly the size of a small continent up to 5 times the surface area of Earth, which just floated in the void space surrounding them. These planes had their own atmospheres and environments and grouped like a cluster of grapes on a vine. Some could even see the planes surrounding them in the distance, although that was uncommon. These planes had spatial expansion phenomena occurring where you couldn¡¯t mine through to the underside of these land masses, but if you were lucky enough to see them from a distance, you could view the reverse-mountain-like structure of the underside, with a relatively flat surface in comparison on top.


    The gravity of these planes was such that you would fall into the empty void space below if you tried to walk on the underside of a plane, or even ¡®off¡¯ the edge of these planes. The planes were attracted towards other clusters of planes, and the ¡®stronger¡¯, or larger planes, attracted younger or smaller planes to themselves in turn. This was how the discovered part of the Mystical Realm slowly expanded, with newly found or newly formed ¡®outer¡¯ planes becoming attracted by the immense pull of the largest central plane yet discovered within the realm, moving towards it.


    This, the ¡®Aeternus¡¯ plane, as it was called, was the original land of the Empire of Eternity, and was just larger than 5 times the surface area of Earth. It was the only Superior-ranked plane that had been discovered by the Empire and its citizens, and presumably the System. The Empire had existed long before its assimilation into the Tower ¨C the Mystical Realm had been the fourth realm to be added - and had an extraordinarily rich and extensive history. It was also where one could find the stereotypical ¡®Sword and Magic¡¯ culture. It was a human-dominated empire, where one could find the most advanced supernatural technology of the Tower during this time.


    The Empire didn¡¯t just have human citizens though. They had long since conquered the non-human planes, and below the ¡®Superior¡¯ plane of Aeternus, were the ¡®Great¡¯ planes of the semi-independent lesser empires. They had roughly a quarter the size of the Aeternus plane and held many other fantastical races.


    Glenheim, the home plane of the elves and fae, and the plane of the World Tree, the gate to the spirit realm.


    Rocht¡¯guardes, the dwarven stronghold of metal and stone.


    Bastion, the mountainous plane of the giants and their royal race, the titans.


    Atlantea, the flooded domain of the mermen and the Atlanteans.


    The Wastelands, the abandoned land of the beastmen, the beast-blooded races without a bestial form.


    And the Metal-borne Coalition, or just ¡®Coalition¡¯, the massive behemoth of machinery and magical engineering constructs, formed by the ¡®working¡¯ races of goblins, gnomes, the rare sentient golems, puppets and others, the craftsmen¡¯s paradise.


    All these lesser empires had been allowed to rule themselves, in return for their citizens becoming citizens subject to the laws of the Empire as well. Below the Great planes were the Major and then Minor planes.


    The reason why Lucille was considering all this was because the city-state Gilded Dome plane was technically a Great plane. However, because of some distant battle in the past between several of the ¡®great beings¡¯ as they were called, it had shattered, most of it falling into the void space, and left only a single shard the size of a small continent to orbit the Aeternus plane.


    The traces of the great beings¡¯ devastating journeys through the material and even immaterial realms could still be found in the form of catastrophic void storms in the space between planes, a natural phenomenon only found in the Mystical Realm. The other realms had plenty of their own dangerous phenomena as well. The primal beasts and their equals weren¡¯t exclusive to the Beast Realm. While a ¡®shard¡¯ of a Great plane was still the size of a minor continent, that was small for the residents of the Tower¡¯s realms. Even if the entire Gilded Dome plane was a city.


    And Lucy was currently navigating the ostentatiously ornamented streets and pathways of the Gilded Seat, the actual name for the plane¡¯s city that the Headquarters was located within, and which was protected by the glistening golden magic array dome above her that earned the plane shard its name. While the technology of the Mystical Realm had not yet managed to arrive at the logistics to support a city with 80-story-high skyscrapers ¨C although the All-Aeon Athenaeum¡¯s Towers were close ¨C The city was still a mesmerising sight for the average User. All the wide roads were paved using white marble, and the detailed lampposts were plated in a light layer of the yellow metal the Commission loved so much. As she walked, she could see whirring mana-circles casting spells atop tiled rooftops, and amazing magical artifacts shifting and moving behind the glass shop fronts of the fancy artificing stores.


    Crowds of people walked along the roadsides, dressed in all kinds of fabulous clothing unique to the different planes and realms. Some were dressed in mage robes coloured to match their Athenaeum school of magic, staves in hand, some wore elegant gloves, smart suits, matching ascots and held canes in a style favoured by the nobility of the Empire, while some were dressed head to toe in intimidating armour, weapons strapped to their waists or backs.


    She could also see the flamboyant silk drapery and brightly coloured leather outfits of the Beast Realm¡¯s residents, and she thought she saw a few in the oriental Sect robes denoting their origins from the Heavenly Realm. There were occasionally some pedestrians who had the horns, wings or tattoos found on those with demonic heritage.


    If you asked Lucy, the actual city gave her 19th-century vibes, minus the magic of course. They had even developed newspapers, indicated by the young boys shouting out headlines on the sidelines. It irked her they had gotten this far, yet the Mystical Realm still hadn¡¯t developed trains yet. They were too wrapped up in their little internal wars and competitions to focus on development. The Coalition had gotten close before her return, but they were too prideful and restrictive about who they let use their technology to begin forming the logistical progress and supply chains that occurred on Earth in the industrial revolution.


    Scytale was currently exploring the rooms on the fortieth story of the Headquarters, but she hadn¡¯t come alone. No, Vincent Evisenhardt was trailing behind her, slightly to her left. The 27-year-old man with fluffy silver hair, silver eyes, and likewise silver half-moon glasses connected to a chain around his neck was picked, somewhat forcefully, by his new superior to come along. She knew she couldn¡¯t go around alone anymore as the new Head of the Commission, so she selected the man to make the trip.


    He was currently looking at her with a rather irritated expression. She pretended she couldn¡¯t see it, but she had a full 360 degree vision with her spiritual perception, so his slip in emotional restraint was fully known by her. She found it rather amusing how willing he was to express his emotions when he thought she couldn¡¯t see him. She whirled around to look at him, who started with a jolt and paused slightly, but she kept on moving backwards as she smiled at him, spreading her arms widely to gesture to their surroundings.


    ¡°Quaint city, is it not?¡±


    Vincent frowned slightly, fixing his slipping silver glasses, and stared at her in bemusement.


    ¡°I hardly believe it can be called quaint when it occupies an entire plane.¡±


    Well, that was true. Even the cities of the 7 Eternal Duchies struggled to reach a similar size to the Gilded Seat. The Gilded Dome plane was the gathering place of hopeful new entrepreneurs and businessmen, aiming to gain potential investors among the noble members of the Aurelian Commission. Quite a few had noticed Vincent¡¯s silver hair and tried to attract his attention, who had been immensely annoyed by the whole affair and had begun walking at a very brisk pace. Lucy grinned and spun back around, hands behind her back as she walked.


    ¡°I suppose for someone like you who belongs to the main line of a County directly involved with its construction, this place may seem impressive and something worthy of pride. However, for me¡­¡± she said, gesturing to the impressive buildings and the traffic on either side of her, ¡°This just screams of inefficiency.¡±


    Lucille could see the man frowning a bit, before moving faster to catch up with her, who had been walking a tad speedier. ¡°And what inefficiencies are these that even a young girl like you can see?¡±


    He was suggesting that an 18-year-old girl had nowhere near enough life experience to make accurate judgments in comparison to the many well-learned organisers and planners of the city that had been involved in its making, but Lucy ignored that. He had read the notes she wrote on her ideas for the Commission and by extension, the city, so he was probably just checking they were all her own ideas, and that she wasn¡¯t a puppet of some other Faction. She continued moving, making her way down a side street now and then.


    ¡°Well, before anything, the city¡¯s transport System is atrocious. Whoever had the idea to place teleportation arrays right in the centre of the transport building, and just let everyone shove each other onto it until we¡¯re all packed like sardines in a tin, should¡¯ve been sent back to whence they came from and never employed again. Yet this city has hundreds of teleportation arrays just like it, making me believe that did not happen, unfortunately.¡±


    Vincent raised an eyebrow behind her, keeping close so he wouldn¡¯t get separated within the large crowd she was making her way through.


    ¡°The teleportation array was placed that way to make sure the maximum amount of potential could be accessed for the space it took up.¡±


    ¡°And yet,¡± she said, giving him a sideways look, ¡°The arrays would¡¯ve had much more utility for their district if they had all been placed evenly throughout the plane, instead of gathering the majority around the Headquarters¡¯ central area, before slowly becoming fewer and fewer the closer we are to the edge of the plane.¡±


    They turned a corner, Vincent grimacing at her response. ¡°We had expected the richer districts to be oriented around the Headquarters, and so had to cater to their desire for easy access to them to continue gaining their favour, considering the Commission is a nobility-dominated Faction. It was unavoidable to maintain our strength.¡±


    Lucy threw her hands up in exasperation. ¡°Then just give the nobility their own teleportation system! It would be easy, and even profitable, to grant them teleportation arrays for their private usage, that were separated from the public array system. You could potentially charge them a premium price for it in return for quicker teleportation speeds and smoother transfers from the higher-quality arrays!¡±


    She turned around to face him and put her hands on her hips. ¡°This isn¡¯t even some amazing idea that only I¡¯ve ever come up with. I have a business background, but it could have been an idea that any random person you select off the streets came up with. And tell me, have you never, not once, in all your life as a member of the Commission, ever considered making changes to the teleportation system?¡±


    Vincent opened his mouth, but closed it again, apparently having nothing to say. She turned back, shaking her head. ¡°It¡¯s all because nobody in the Commission would profit from doing this, isn¡¯t it? Or at least in comparison to chasing deals with other Factions.¡±


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Vincent kept silent. They turned into another side road, and they could see that these buildings were slightly shorter and less flashy compared to the ones along the main road. Lucille continued moving, so Vincent had no choice but to follow her.


    ¡°And that is why the Faction needs restructuring. It needs clear divides between what is a responsibility as a member of the Faction, and what is a responsibility as a noble. This is what has locked off the Counties from accessing their ancestral inheritances, isn¡¯t it. The Founder¡¯s rules prevent them from using the inheritances without the Head¡¯s permission.¡±


    Vincent opened his mouth in shock, pausing his movement, before blinking and shaking his head wryly as he jogged to catch up with her. ¡°I suppose the Total Faction Authority informed you of that.¡±


    She looked back at him and nodded, before continuing to pass the now much sparser crowd. ¡°Indeed. When I opened it for the first time, I was greeted by a thousand requests for inheritance access, sent by the different Counts over the years.¡± She scowled slightly at that. The ¡®unread messages¡¯ strain the System put on her soul then was incredibly irritating.


    Vincent huffed a slight laugh, before speeding up to walk beside her. ¡°So, what you¡¯re trying to say is you know what you¡¯re doing when it comes to this leadership thing?¡±


    She gave him a flat look but sighed. ¡°I suppose that was the gist of it, yes.¡±


    They came out onto a new bustling street. On this one, the buildings only reached about 3 stories high, and quite a few looked like residences rather than stores. Lucy looked around and let out a small ¡°Ah.¡± when she saw her objective and began walking towards it. Vincent noticed this and cocked an eyebrow as he shifted his glasses to get a better look at what she was heading towards.


    ¡°I thought you had come out this far just to explore, but would I be more correct in suggesting you intended to go to a specific place?¡±


    Lucy nodded with a wide smile on her face, happy she had found the correct place. ¡°Yes. As a matter of fact, this is the place I was trying to find.¡± She said, pointing with a gloved hand. She normally wore gloves, but she hadn¡¯t gotten herself a pair until becoming the Faction Head.


    Vincent followed her gaze before his expression twisted into a complicated mixture of bemusement, confusion, mild shock, disgust, and slight apprehension. ¡°That,¡± he said, likewise pointing at where he thought she was gesturing to, ¡°Is your objective?¡±


    Standing before them was a two-story house. Unlike the two much nicer, pristine three-story buildings on either side, this house did not look like it belonged on the street. At all.


    The building was sagging on one side in a way that would offend every single construction organisation¡¯s sensibilities, and was made from wood so dark, they weren¡¯t sure if it was from grime or natural colouration. The windows were haphazardly boarded up, and what little glass was visible was caked in dust and practically tinted black. The tiling on the roof was falling off, and they could see a hole on one side of the dark grey pointed roof that left it vulnerable to the outside elements. The gutters were loose on one side, the fixations incapable of stopping it from falling. There was a crooked dark-grey chimney leaking black smoke on top to complete the look.


    The bottom story was a tad better, but only because the front windows weren¡¯t fully boarded up. The glass was still so thickly smeared with dust it was impossible to see inside, and the doorstep also sagged in the centre. Lucy wasn¡¯t sure it would hold anyone¡¯s weight. The front door had a clunky brass plaque on it engraved with ¡®P. T. F. Customised Accessories¡¯ in bold letters. They gazed at the building in silent appreciation of its ¡®aesthetics¡¯ for a moment, before Vincent had no choice but to say something.


    ¡°This is your objective?!?¡± he said despairingly.


    ¡°You¡¯ve said that already.¡± Lucy deadpanned, but he ignored her. He gestured with both of his arms to the decrepit abomination of a house, his glasses falling from his nose.


    ¡°You take me on a walk throughout some backstreet district of the city, after pulling me from my very rare break, saying you have something highly important to do, just so we could stand here admiring this violation of safety standards?!? And you say you¡¯re going to be a good leader, allowing the Faction to enter a new era of prosperity!¡± he got out, going a bit wide-eyed towards the end. Lucille shook her head, and he relaxed slightly, but not before she could say her piece.


    ¡°Not just admire it outside. I plan on going inside too.¡± She added. A vein pulsed above one of his eyebrows. She marched onwards towards the door as Vincent opened his mouth to say something, but then she whirled around to stare at him with a serious look.


    ¡°I¡¯d like you to remember that while I may be young, and have no issues being on friendly terms with you, I am still the new leader of your Faction, and soon to be an Honorary Count in my own right, who does not require listening to the demands of their subordinates.¡±


    Vincent blinked, registering what she had said, and then took a step back, nodding solemnly and looking a bit embarrassed at his slip in emotions. It was rather unprofessional of him.


    But Lucy made eye contact with him, and then her face split into a wide grin. ¡°So, you acknowledge you¡¯re my subordinate? Good. I have a lot more work in the future for you.¡±


    Then she grabbed the brass doorknob in front of her and turned it, opening the door with a loud creak. Vincent realised he¡¯d been had, and let out a long groan. It contained a slight bit of amusement though.


    They stepped through the doorway, and both of them coughed as the door dislodged dust from above their heads, filling the room with shifting grey clouds. A flat-sounding bell rang out, and they briefly heard a dull thud above their heads combined with a muffled shout of some kind. Lucille placed a hand above her eyes, peering through the dusty clouds with curiosity, while Vincent took his glasses off to rub them with a handkerchief, removing any stray dirt kicked up by the room. The uneven floorboards creaked below them as Lucy headed to the front desk, while Vincent observed the grime-coated items on the sloping shelves at the side of the room, leaning down to inspect them with a sense of horrified fascination.


    They turned when they heard loud stomping as a man came down a rickety spiral staircase, dusting off his apron and lifting his hair away from his face. Then he crossed his arms and gazed at them with a dark expression.


    The man himself only looked like he was in his early twenties, but his expression said he was not pleased to have to deal with them. He had flat, long brown hair that was tied up in a low ponytail at the base of his neck, stray hair falling on either side of his face. His eyes were also brown and he was wearing a beige long-sleeved shirt rolled up to his elbows that looked like it could have been white at some point in time. His aforementioned apron was creamy linen on top of a leather lining, covered in mostly dark grey, but also other kinds of stains. His hands were calloused and also stained with what looked like black grease and a leather belt strung with pouches and tools was wrapped around his waist.


    He scowled deeper when Lucy smiled brightly, holding out a hand for a handshake, while Vincent just observed their interaction with an unreadable expression.


    ¡°Hi. You¡¯re Sedric Ferin, right?¡± Lucy said with a cheerful expression. ¡®Sedric¡¯ eyed her hand with ill-disguised suspicion. Lucy blinked, before smiling and taking off her right glove. She held out her uncovered hand for him again, flexing it a little for him to see.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to bind you into a contract that will sell your soul, no need to be scared.¡±


    The man, clearly not appreciative of her joke, scowled deeper but cautiously took her hand and shook it, flinching back very quickly afterwards. He flexed his right hand with a weird expression on his face. ¡°Why is your hand so cold?!¡±


    Lucille raised an eyebrow as she replaced her glove. ¡°I usually circulate mana within it to make my body temperature closer to normal, but I decided your attitude didn¡¯t warrant such care.¡±


    Vincent looked mildly startled by that strange fact, but Lucy waved a hand. ¡°Regardless. I haven¡¯t introduced myself yet.¡±


    She gave a slight dip of her head, a hand placed in front of her. ¡°Lucille Goldcroft. Just call me Lucy.¡±


    The look on Sedric¡¯s face showed he had no intentions of doing so, but he gave a slow nod. He narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°¡­.why are you here? I don¡¯t deal with your kind.¡±


    She assumed the ¡®your kind¡¯ was referring to nobility. Lucy rapped a black-gloved hand against the front desk, with a bright smile on her face. ¡°Well, that might change in the future, but that¡¯s irrelevant. I¡¯m here about the inheritance left behind by a certain relative of yours.¡±


    Sedric frowned deeper, confusion clear on his face. ¡°Does this look like a place belonging to someone with an inheritance of some kind?¡±


    She smiled knowingly and leaned forward, resting her elbows on the wood. ¡°I suppose inheritance is not the right word on this occasion. It would be more accurate to refer to it as a talent.¡±


    Sedric looked even more confused. ¡°What in the realms are you on about lady?¡±


    Lucy blinked. It seemed the message wasn¡¯t getting through to this particular person. She narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. ¡°Maybe I should say a profession?¡±


    The man blinked. ¡°I¡¯m self-employed.¡±


    Lucy sighed and tried again. ¡°The thing your grandfather had.¡±


    Sedric tilted his head to look at her with the most mocking and condescending face he could muster, crossing his arms. ¡°He¡¯s already dead.¡±


    She straightened up to gaze flatly at him. ¡°Sedric Ferin, I¡¯m talking about your class.¡±


    That got a reaction out of him. With his mouth forming the shape of a belated ¡®oh¡¯, he took a step back with a wary expression, getting into a defensive position. She even noticed he put a hand to his belt, like one of the tools there could help him fight them off.


    Lucille just rolled her eyes as she held a hand to her forehead. ¡°Does it appear like I¡¯m heavily armed? Look, I have no intentions of doing anything to you. You¡¯re not even Rank-2. You are virtually useless to me right now.¡±


    The pony-tailed man paused his retreat, studying their expressions cautiously. When it seemed that Vincent¡¯s bemusement and Lucy¡¯s unamused expression and crossed arms meant she was telling the truth, he slowly straightened up. He didn¡¯t come any closer though. ¡°Then¡­ what is it that you want?¡±


    Lucy grinned but didn¡¯t answer him straight away. She gave another glance around the room. ¡°I intend to tell you soon, but for now, do you perhaps have somewhere else we could go? I think you might prefer to be in a more comfortable place while we talk.¡±


    <hr>


    Sedric Ferin watched the strange woman who introduced herself as ¡®Lucille Goldcroft¡¯ inspect his upstairs living room with a curious look on her face. He suppressed a twitch of his eyebrow but still scowled when she ran a gloved finger along his wall, rubbing her fingers to check for dust. She turned to look at him with an immensely irritating smile on her face.


    ¡°This is a lot nicer than downstairs. I think keeping your bottom story utterly inhospitable is an amazing way of avoiding others. Maybe I should try it sometime.¡± She said in a tone that made it impossible for him to determine if she was being sarcastic or not.


    He stared at her as he lowered himself into his armchair. ¡°Was that a compliment or an insult?¡±


    She hummed as she sat down on the couch opposite him, a coffee table between them. She crossed her legs as she responded. ¡°It was supposed to be a compliment. I do wish I could¡¯ve used this method to deal with uninvited guests in the past.¡±


    He shook his head, disbelieving. ¡°This was given to me by my grandfather anyway. I¡¯ve only had it for a year, so the mess isn¡¯t mine.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± She said. Then she gave him a wide grin while narrowing her eyes. ¡°Just like I knew you were Sedric Ferin, and that you have a Legendary class.¡±


    Sedric flinched and stared at her in apprehension. Lucille just smiled and didn¡¯t say anything else. Eventually, he spoke up. ¡°And you knew that how?¡±


    She tapped a finger on her chin as she gazed to the side. ¡°Hmm¡­ perhaps I¡¯ll tell you if we can reach an agreement. But allow a new Faction Head to have her secrets please.¡±


    Sedric narrowed his eyes at her but then blinked as he realised what she said. ¡°Sorry? A new Faction Head?¡± he asked, taken aback.


    She nodded amicably. ¡°Indeed. Only seven days ago, in fact.¡±


    He scowled at her. ¡°So, you become a new Guild Leader or similar, and the instant you do so, you try to get me to join your Guild? Is that how it goes?¡±


    The mask-wearing woman cocked an eyebrow at him and shook her head. She reached into a brown bag tied to her belt and pulled out a circular purple object. She chucked it at him, and he hastily caught it. Sedric curiously turned the object in his hand and was then stunned when he saw the golden symbol of three coins engraved on the front.


    ¡°Not a Guild. I¡¯m the new Head of the Aurelian Commission.¡±


    He looked up in scepticism. ¡°You¡¯re joking.¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± She could see Sedric still didn¡¯t believe her, so she expounded on her statement.


    ¡°That,¡± She said, pointing at what he could now see was a pocket watch, ¡°Is my soulbound inheritance token. It gives me control over the Commission. It¡¯s well known that the Faction has become suspiciously busy these last few days, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Sedric frowned but grudgingly nodded. Everyone was worried some calamity had befallen the Commission. Said calamity was possibly this woman in front of him. It was still incredibly unlikely. The black-haired woman raised an eyebrow, pointing downstairs.


    ¡°And did you not notice what the hair colour of my partner was? Surely you know what silver hair represents in the Gilded Seat, as a resident of this city?¡±


    Sedric opened, then closed his mouth. He did, as a matter of fact, know what silver represented within the city. Namely, one of the four founding County bloodlines, the Silver Evisenhardt family. The person opposite him grinned.


    ¡°You could even go downstairs and ask him. He¡¯s the youngest grandson of the Count of Silver, Vincent Evisenhardt.¡±


    He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. If that was true, he was in a load of trouble. Deeep trouble. If it was any random Guild Leader from some backward world, Sedric would be fine to just pack up and run away. He had a few magic items left by his grandfather that could protect him. But, if she was the leader of a Faction as large as the Aurelian Commission, it would spell disaster for him to insult their ¡®generosity¡¯ that way, as it were.


    Chavaret was responsible for the Commission¡¯s mercenary army and were expert weapon craftsmen. They could be sent after him. Ravimoux had extraordinarily good intelligence agencies and assassin circles under their leadership, so he¡¯d have to fear for his life each night. The Alichanteu owned vast sectors of land and buildings, so he would have to avoid any of their hotels and inns while on the run. And¡­. the Evisenhardt ran the banks. They could afford any bounty to be set on his head. He rubbed his face with his hands. He hadn¡¯t had a good sleep last night, and so he was feeling far too mentally drained for this situation. Not that any day would be good for this situation.


    He looked up at the woman and glared at her. ¡°And so, what does the amazing Faction leader Miss Goldcroft want with a weakling accessory craftsman?¡±


    The Goldcroft woman just smirked and leaned back after throwing a thick wad of paper on the table. ¡°No need for flattery, or formality. You can call me Lucille or Lucy just fine.¡±


    Sedric cautiously picked up the top white document and focused on what was written. He frowned deeper and deeper as he read through the golden text. It was exactly as he suspected. A contract that would place him into a lifetime of eternal servitude to the Faction, the situation his grandfather had spent most of his life trying to escape and lost all his strength and abilities to run away from.


    It left him weakened and dying when he made his way to the Gilded Dome plane to buy an old decaying building that would hide him from his pursuers, protecting him within the neutral city-state. Sedric, his last blood relative and only grandson, was the one who cared for him to his last dying breath, and the one who gained his grandfather¡¯s Legendary class as an inheritance. And the building, but that wasn¡¯t anything to rejoice about. He slammed the documents down on the table in disgust.


    His grandfather had taught him all the tricks used within magic contracts so he could avoid the same fate. In the third section of the second page of the contract, the enticing words that said the contracted would be ¡®released from service when they have completed the item requested by the employer¡¯. It sounded nice, but it just meant that the employer could keep finding issues with his item, postponing his release indefinitely. There was no way a big Faction like the Commission would be willing to see him leave when he had a Legendary class and had knowledge of all their crafting secrets.


    And the next page had a clause about ¡®unconditional support in resources and equipment for the crafter¡¯. It didn¡¯t mention it would require the crafter to be locked up in the equivalent of a cell for his life, forced to make items day in and day out. This whole contract was a farce. He looked up at the ¡®Aurelian Commission leader¡¯ with a dark expression.


    ¡°Did you really expect me to sign this?¡±

 Chapter 12 (2 of 2) A disgruntled future friend or two.

    ¡°Did you really expect me to sign this?¡±


    The woman tilted her head, looking confused. ¡°Yes, of course?¡±


    Sedric was not fooled and sneered. ¡°What, going to send hitmen after me if I don¡¯t? Lock me out of access to my money at the banks?¡±


    She frowned. ¡°What? No. That¡¯s not what I- oh.¡± She put a hand to her chin in thought.


    He had to clench a fist when the woman dared to act insulted. There was no way that she didn¡¯t know what was in that contract. Even if it was written by someone else, a leader so useless that they didn¡¯t know how crafter contracts worked, and left a subordinate to do the work for them, was little more than a puppet.


    He nearly began shaking in anger when she gave a small smile, appearing like she had understood something. He watched as the woman leaned forward and turned the contract documents over until he could see the last page. Then the woman leaned back again and shrugged.


    ¡°Sorry. I should¡¯ve made it so this was at the start. I think after reading this you¡¯ll change your mind.¡±


    Sedric crossed his arms as he leaned forward to read it. He didn¡¯t know what games she was playing now, but he wasn¡¯t going to fall for it. He scanned the document, but rather than seeing something else incriminating, he found something confusing. He frowned, this time not in anger, but in puzzlement. He picked it up for a closer look.


    ¡°Non-exclusive contract? What is this?¡± he asked after looking back up.


    The black-haired woman nodded. ¡°Yes, I guessed you had missed that. I have no intention of preventing you from crafting for other people. All I care about is that you craft some items for me, and that¡¯s it.¡±


    He stared at her. ¡°That is ridiculous. Aren¡¯t you worried I could just craft the same item for everyone else, sharing your secrets with all your rivals and enemies? This isn¡¯t logical.¡±


    She raised an eyebrow at him. ¡°Am I the Faction Head, or you? Besides,¡± she added. ¡°I have added clauses to protect against that.¡±


    He scoffed. Of course, she did. After he signed this contract, he would be locked out of half his abilities if he ever got out of it, just because her Faction would want to prevent any possible chance of their ¡®secrets¡¯ escap-


    ¡°It says here that you must credit the author of the item blueprint if you use concepts from their work for any other item. And any item design must have over 50% variation compared to the original item when used to create an item for anyone but me. I think that¡¯s all¡­. oh wait.¡± The woman said, tracking the words on the document she was holding with her finger. ¡°The author gains 10% of the proceeds if the crafter sells an item with under 50% and over 40% variation. No item with variation under 40% is to be sold or given to another at any cost. So, there you have it.¡± She finished, looking up.


    Sedric was even more confused than he had been when he saw the ¡®non-exclusivity¡¯ condition. These terms were¡­ extremely generous. So much he became even more suspicious, as nobody gave crafters, who had no combat abilities, these terms. He picked up another one of the pages, pointing to the words he had seen earlier.


    ¡°But what about the clause that states I¡¯ll only be released when I make the item you need? That¡¯s just an excuse to keep me in your service forever.¡±


    He blinked as the woman clicked her tongue and leaned forward to take the page out of his hands with a ¡°Let me see that.¡± He watched as she scanned the document, and then she pointed to another line on the page, this one a bit lower.


    ¡°Yes, I did put that in. But you failed to see I said that I needed only a single item made, and it would be using blueprints I have given you, and I am liable for any failures in the final outcome because it relies on you being Rank-3 to even begin making the artifact. In other words, I can¡¯t keep holding you forever, because it would be my fault, and not yours.¡±


    He took the document she held out to him to read again. He frowned. ¡°This has to be a trap. There¡¯s no way a Faction would be willing to give me so much support and be willing to accept blame if the outcome is not what they desire. Liability under the Empire means the more powerful Faction or force has to pay more depending on the power difference between the two groups. That could be up to a hundred times more resources compared to if I broke the contract.¡±


    The woman rolled her eyes and sighed. She grabbed another sheet and turned it around for him to read. ¡°This is why you always read the full contract. Look at the top here: It says, ¡®Private Contract¡¯. As in, a contract between individuals, and not a Faction and crafter.¡± She continued, showing him the name signed at the bottom, which read ¡®Lucille Goldcroft¡¯. ¡°I am requesting this in my personal capacity as another equal, and not requesting you to be my subordinate under the leadership of the Commission. You won¡¯t join the Faction with this contract.¡±


    He cocked his head, still sceptical. ¡°But that would mean you have the resources capable of ¡®unconditionally¡¯ supporting a Legendary class crafter, all by yourself. I¡¯m not a Legendary warrior, I require much more than someone who just needs a good weapon and armour.¡±


    The dark-haired person opposite him leaned back and shrugged while grinning. ¡°Surely you¡¯ve heard of the Founder¡¯s vault, the private property of the Faction leader?¡±


    Sedric felt his jaw drop as he understood the implications, and gulped.


    ¡°Forget one Legendary crafter.¡± She added. ¡°I can support a hundred.¡±


    He tapped his fingers against the armrest of his chair. ¡°I¡­ think I might need to re-read the contract.¡±


    The Commission Head laughed. ¡°Take your time. If you wish, I could add a probationary clause, so you have a month in which the contract won¡¯t take effect, and you can cancel the deal at any time during that period.¡± She leaned forward to tap on the coffee table, pointing at the documents. ¡°Unconditional support goes a lot further than you think too. I could let you move to a new residence or rebuild this old one. If you wish, you could do your work in the Headquarters itself and possibly even stay there.¡±


    Sedric slowly nodded, seriously contemplating the offer this time¡­.. maybe the contract was worth it, even if it was trapped? He considered another part of the contract. ¡°I don¡¯t want to work 24/7.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°8 hours each weekday, including an hour of break. I was originally going to give you both Saturday and Sunday off, but there are limits to how much I can let you have free time, even with my authority as a Faction leader. Instead, on Saturday will be when we meet up to discuss your progress or what you require to advance your craft, including any additional item requests we can organise as well. If I have a crafter I want to use them well.¡± She grinned. ¡°You can¡¯t begin making my required item until Rank-3 anyway, so crafting a few extra accessories for me until then won¡¯t be difficult. I¡¯ll support you with all the blueprints, materials, and equipment you need, and you gain bonuses for each additional item you craft. It¡¯s written in there.¡±


    Sedric nodded again but then paused. ¡°Blueprints? I didn¡¯t think they were very common. Are you sure you have enough?¡±


    Most crafters didn¡¯t make blueprints so their work couldn¡¯t be copied. The mask-wearing woman pointed a finger at him and asked a question to him in return. ¡°Yes, I do. In fact¡­ do you know what makes crafter or non-combat classes special?¡±


    He raised an eyebrow at the unexpected question but answered. ¡°Our terrible combat stats, obviously. But I would say our specialised techniques are the most important thing.¡±


    The woman tilted her head and then gestured to him. ¡°But, mages and wizards can use mana just as well as alchemists can, so why does their mana make spells, but alchemists makes elixirs?¡±


    She continued without waiting for an answer. ¡°Well, their techniques are different, besides the fact, alchemists put their mana into substances, but it¡¯s not some fundamental aspect of their mana that causes the different outcomes. It¡¯s just their knowledge of how to manipulate their mana differently, knowledge given to them by a skill. So, if knowledge is all that separates a mage and a crafter¡­¡±


    She grinned. ¡°Then can¡¯t you just learn it all the hard way?¡±


    Sedric stared, dubious. Was she implying you could find out how to make blueprints by learning all the information required to be a crafter using mundane memorisation? But to do that, you needed to have an incredibly high studying ability and be capable of storing it all in your mind without needing a skill to aid you and repeat it enough to create functional items without a crafter¡¯s class. She was also implying you could learn how a mage uses their mana through that method too¡­ and that all the blueprints were created by her.


    Before he could ask if what she suggested was true, she got up off her chair and stretched. She turned towards Sedric.


    ¡°So, would you like me to quickly add the probationary clause to give you an extra month to think about it? I am the new Head of the Commission, so I have other work to do. We¡¯ve left my silver-haired partner downstairs for quite a while as well.¡±


    Sedric blinked and responded, stuttering. ¡°A-Ah, yeah, I think that would be best for now.¡±


    She nodded and added another clause to the magical contract. Thin, multi-coloured strands of mana coalesced and melded into the contract as she wrote, and he could see that her neat handwriting perfectly matched the rest of the words on the documentation, so that ruled out the possibility of a subordinate writing up the document. Once she had done, she got up and nodded, holding out a filled fountain pen to him.


    "Your turn.¡± She spoke.


    He hesitantly took the pen and read what she had added. When he found it was all in order, he slowly put the tip of the pen to the page. He had a moment where he almost wanted to back out, but he eventually gritted his teeth, and before he could pull away he signed his name in one fluid movement, the golden ink sparkling on the paper. Then he handed it back.


    She pulled out what Sedric recognised as a document duplicator, a small magic item used to replicate the physical writing of the document, but not the magical component. ¡°Would you like the original or the copy?¡±


    ¡°The original,¡± Sedric replied. She nodded and reshuffled the documents into their original numerical order, and then placed another pile of documentation next to it, these blank. She put the long thin silver strip of metal along the top edge of the pile, before slowly moving it downwards to reach the bottom edge. On the blank documents next to it, black ink unfurled on it and spread to form a copy of the magical document, this time purely mundane and without the golden text. She handed the magical contract back to him.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    ¡°Now that we both have a copy of this, I think it¡¯s time for me to get going. I¡¯ll see you again sometime within the month, so don¡¯t worry too much about what to do.¡±


    She held out a black-gloved hand for Sedric to shake. ¡°May we see future horizons.¡±


    He cautiously grabbed and shook it when he stood up. ¡°Uh¡­ may we see future horizons.¡±


    And with that, the woman gave him a nod and went back downstairs, leaving Sedric Ferin, pondering over what had just happened, feeling like a storm had just blown through his home.


    <hr>


    Vincent intently watched Lucille, who was whistling, walk down the stairs. The girl waved a little when she saw him looking at her, and she smiled. ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting for so long. I¡¯m done now.¡±


    He narrowed his eyes as she used an arm to jump over the bench, dusting her palms when she was on the other side. Walking towards the door and exiting, he followed Lucy from behind once more. They walked down the street at a relatively brisk pace for a while, having a silent journey, before she spoke up.


    ¡°Did anything interesting happen in the room while I was occupied?¡±


    ¡°Not that I experienced. It was just dusty and smelt of mildew.¡± He said a tad dryly.


    Lucy clearly sensed something from his voice, as she gave him a sideways look. ¡°That is a common occurrence in old houses, to my knowledge. Maybe it would comfort you to know that as my escort, you would¡¯ve had to remain standing behind me and not sit down anyway?¡±


    ¡°Having a place to sit was not the issue.¡± He stated.


    Lucy gave a short laugh that made him flinch. ¡°And I don¡¯t think it was the musty waiting area you found yourself in either, was it?¡±


    He remained silent, trying to find a way to start saying what he wanted to. Lucille gave a large sigh and turned to look at him.


    ¡°I am well aware that a Count¡¯s relative, no matter how young, would have to be an Ascendant. And non-combat nobility classes such as yours all have rather special skills about dealing with social situations and negotiating deals. You had a way of eavesdropping on my conversation with the crafter. So, spill.¡±


    Vincent was about to refute, but the look in Lucy¡¯s eyes told him it was a lost cause, and he inwardly groaned. He took off his glasses, while they headed towards the teleportation array they came from.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been in this city for seven days, correct?¡± he queried. Lucy nodded, so he continued. ¡°So, a week into your leadership of the Faction, you find some obscure building in some obscure district, and go to negotiate a private contract with a Legendary class, the rarest form of class possible, and a crafting class to boot, that not even the Commission¡¯s extensive information network knew of.¡±


    Lucille raised an eyebrow. ¡°Would Ravimoux be that willing to share their information with the other Counties?¡±


    ¡°Not in the slightest chance,¡± he replied drolly. ¡°However, when it comes to Users with classes at Ancient rarity or higher, it¡¯s in the Faction¡¯s foundational rules that all and any information on them when they enter Gilded Seat is to be reported to the Headquarters for the Counties to become aware of them.¡±


    She nodded, humming slightly in thought. ¡°That is useful information. I suppose it¡¯s so spies can be tracked. And so, what is your point?¡±


    He stared at her, but she only smiled. ¡°Communication is important, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Vincent pinched his nose bridge above his glasses. ¡°What I want to ask is how can you, an 18-year-old girl, know where to find a Legendary crafting class User, who has apparently only had his class for a year, while being Rank-0?¡±


    ¡°If I tell you it involved time travel, would you believe me?¡± she asked, smiling. He just scoffed in return, making her click her tongue. ¡°Nobody seems to believe me when I say that. Except maybe that one mage.¡± She added, tapping her chin with a finger.


    He shook his head wryly. ¡°What is the real reason then?¡±


    ¡°You said you wouldn¡¯t believe me if I told you it was time travel.¡± She said, blinking innocently.


    He looked at her for a moment and then sighed in exasperation. ¡°You¡¯re never going to tell me the truth, are you?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± she mused, looking at him with an unreadable expression. Then she smirked. ¡°Maaaybe?¡±


    He gave a weak chuckle, more in self-pity than anything, and they continued walking towards the teleportation array. When the white, domed building appeared, Lucille slowed her pace a bit to walk alongside Vincent.


    ¡°Sir Evisenhardt.¡± She began. Vincent gave her a funny look due to the formality but didn¡¯t say anything. She turned to face him.


    ¡°You¡¯re the youngest son of the Count¡¯s only son, right? Relatively speaking, you have practically no succession rights.¡±


    He wondered where she was going with this. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s true,¡± he said. ¡°And I don¡¯t want to become the Count if that¡¯s what you¡¯re thinking.¡± He added, feeling suspicious.


    Lucille smirked and waved a hand. ¡°Who cares about that? No, it¡¯s because I have a suggestion for you.¡±


    He raised an eyebrow as he gestured for her to continue, focusing on the conversation intently. He had a feeling what she was about to say was the reason why she had shown such interest and favouritism to him, and he wasn¡¯t about to miss out on an explanation. She gave him a wide smile, holding out a gloved hand.


    ¡°How would you like to be my aide?¡±


    Vincent blinked. Then he blinked again. Opening, and then closing his mouth a few times, he then ran a hand down his face. He held out the other to pause any more conversation from Lucy.


    ¡°I need a moment.¡± He replied weakly.


    Lucille crossed her arms and leaned against a nearby building, leaving Vincent to his thoughts, pacing around a bit, and tapping a foot on the ground. When he had felt collected enough, he looked up from where he had been staring at the ground in thought.


    ¡°Why me?¡± he began. He hadn¡¯t thought of anything else he could say.


    The dark-haired girl pointed to his hair. ¡°I will admit it is partially a political move. Having a direct bloodline relation of one of the Counts by my side will give credence to my words and will be seen as them supporting me. The Evisenhardts also have good financial administration capabilities, which I will need when reorganising the Faction.¡±


    Vincent tilted his head. ¡°Only partially?¡±


    She groaned slightly. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose I could just say I know in the same way I knew there was a Legendary class here¡­.¡± she grumbled.


    ¡°So, with blind, unadulterated confidence?¡± he suggested.


    She gave him a flat look. ¡°You do realise that¡¯s not the best joke to say to a girl who wears a mask over her right eye?¡±


    Vincent stiffened, and looked away sheepishly, while Lucille sighed. ¡°Although technically my right eye works better than my left¡­¡± she added. Vincent was curious about that statement, but she shook her head and gestured for him to follow before he could ask.


    They began heading towards the teleportation array building once more as she looked up at the sky in thought.


    ¡°There is an element of the idea I just can¡¯t tell you about. Not because I¡¯m trying to hide it, but rather because it will make things messy, and some things aren¡¯t worth knowing about until they directly impact your life. You¡¯ll find out eventually, I¡¯m sure, but we¡¯ll deal with it then.¡±


    She stopped looking at the sky as they got closer to the dome-roofed circular building. From where they were, they could now see the shimmering indigo details on the roof, rotating slowly in a stylised visage of constellations and mythical creatures. The All-Aeon Athenaeum always went all out in making sure everyone knew who was responsible for the ¡®wondrous¡¯ teleportation system that enabled the Empire to function. Not that any other Faction had spatial magic.


    Lucille continued with what she was saying. ¡°Firstly, I suggested this to you, because you have not yet taken up a permanent position within the Faction or your County that would otherwise occupy you. I need someone who can devote their time to doing the tasks I ask them to, and adapt to working with me, without being stuck in the methods of most nobles.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Vincent mused. He rubbed his chin, a hand in his pocket as they walked. ¡°So, you needed someone relatively young then. I have seen that anyone past a certain age or who has entered a certain position for too long tends to be rather stubborn. I can understand that.¡±


    She nodded as she gestured to him. ¡°It means I also need someone who can stand by my side as an equal individual, if not in an equal status.¡± She looked at him intently. ¡°Nobility is filled with those who wish to form connections and cling to higher nobles in an attempt to gain power, usually through fake flattery and masking their true intentions. I can¡¯t have that in my aide.¡±


    She grinned at him. ¡°That was why I tested you when we first met. To see if you could say what you mean without deceit, regardless of the other¡¯s status or position. But I did expect you to last longer. I¡¯m not sure you¡¯re a very good fit for a noble if you¡¯re that impatient.¡±


    He scratched the back of his neck, feeling awkward. ¡°Um¡­ my reaction wasn¡¯t really because of you.¡±


    Lucy waved a hand in disregard of his statement. ¡°That much was obvious. But even if that was so, as a mid-ranked noble, you¡¯ve had the training to hide your emotions. The fact that I¡¯ve presented myself as someone friendly enough for you to be open to means if succeeded at my part at least.¡±


    Vincent frowned slightly. Her sentence implied that what he thought was her current personality was just an act¡­ but he¡¯d seen some of the better actors of the Empire, and none of them seemed to be capable of keeping up the same front as consistently as she did. So, what was fake and what was real, and why would she tell him she was acting? Lucille spoke up again before he could think further about it.


    ¡°While it¡¯s not a good thing when facing nobility as a whole, it¡¯s what I want. I can¡¯t have someone manipulative and untrustworthy going behind my back. I need what I say to be implemented. I¡¯m fine with someone arguing and critiquing my decisions, suggesting improvements, or pointing out the feasibility of my plans, but I cannot, and will not, have a subordinate who pretends to accept them, and then abuses their power to implement changes that do not conform to the spirit of my plans as well as the physically written rules of them.¡± She stated firmly. ¡°Do you personally know of anyone who could satisfy my requirements?¡±


    He considered the question for a moment but eventually shook his head. She nodded in acceptance of the silent answer, and they stepped past the crowd around the teleportation building to take the VIP line, using Vincent¡¯s insignia, a silver badge depicted with three gold coins, by showing it to the staff there. Lucy stopped to purchase a newspaper from a nearby paperboy who was selling them to those waiting. She turned to Vincent to continue their conversation.


    ¡°This stems from the Faction not having clear divides between the responsibilities of vassal nobility under the four Counties and the responsibilities of a member of the Faction. Automatically becoming a member of the Faction just because of your bloodline doesn¡¯t mean you are capable or even want to, excel in the position you were given, and this occurs throughout the Commission, halting any real future advancement.¡±


    He shifted a bit at her statement. That¡­ made him a little uncomfortable. It was the honour, pride, and obligation of the Counties¡¯ vassals to work for the Faction, taking up a position to contribute to the Faction that protected their livelihoods and supported them with resources and connections to rise to greater heights. It had been that way since the Empire had made them the only official merchant union for nobility, and it had continued to be so even as more nobles gathered under the banner of the Aurelian Commission.


    Changing it so those positions were more¡­ professionalised and a matter of ambitious desire rather than dutifully returning the grace of their lords and ladies dishonoured the wishes and desires of the First Counts and the Founder to protect their descendants through unity. Nonetheless, this was about him becoming an aide, so there were other questions to ask first.


    ¡°But, even if I had all those qualities you wanted, I¡¯m still a member of the Evisenhardt County first. I could still answer to my grandfather, working in the background to undermine your instructions. And how would you even know if I supported your ideas and plans?¡± he asked, frowning a little.


    Lucy gave a slight laugh. ¡°The moment you didn¡¯t spill all my plans to your grandfather that day, was when I knew you supported them, and in turn, me. Or were at least interested, and saw enough potential in them, that you decided not to ruin any burgeoning relationship between us by mixing in political loyalties. That showed you could be an individual separate from your family and have your own aspirations and desires.¡±


    That made much more sense to Vincent. He nodded his head, even as the line started moving to let the crowd on to the 20-metre-wide luminous violet magic array. Then he jolted, feeling like a lightning bolt had struck him, and he quickly dashed to catch up to Lucy who had gone on ahead to stand on the array.


    ¡°Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.¡± He said, putting a hand on her shoulder. ¡°I didn¡¯t read those folders until I had gotten to my private study on the Evisenhardt floor of the Headquarters. That¡¯s at least 15 levels below your floor at the top! How did you know I didn¡¯t tell anyone else about them?! It¡¯s been seven days since then!¡±


    The dark-haired girl paused, looking up from the newspaper she had been reading, to stare at him for a moment, like she hadn¡¯t even considered that. Then she broke out into a cheery grin. ¡°How about we discuss that after you become my aide, shall we?¡±


    Then the circular form of mana below their feet lit up with an indigo glow, causing their vision to swirl as the ground shifted beneath their feet. Many people among the crowded streets of the Gilded Seat stopped to watch the befuddling spectacle of an Evisenhardt noble desperately attempting and failing to get explanations from the black trenchcoated young girl in front of him, who was studiously ignoring him as she read her black and white newspaper.


    It wasn¡¯t until a while later that Vincent realised not once had she bumped into a member of the crowd while she had been walking with her head down, supposedly unable to see where they were going.


    <hr>


    Sedric Ferin focused intently on the violet diadem in front of him on the workbench. Unfortunately, due to certain¡­ interruptions the day before, he had made a mistake while crafting the accessory and had to redo it. While his home was derelict and dilapidated, he did get customers now and then through other contacts, so he had to finish this piece of jewellery. The purple gem in the centre made it frustratingly hard to concentrate on engraving the required mana-circuits for his enchantment work because it kept reminding him of the absurd woman¡¯s eye colour, or at least the one not hidden behind a mask, and therefore his experiences from yesterday. Still, he had delicate work to do, so he had to ignore whatever thoughts he had about that whole debacle and focus on this.


    Eventually, the mana-absorbing circuit¡¯s channels had been engraved into the amethyst before him on the oak wood bench, and he could abandon the more boring gem-smith¡¯s tools to start using the expensive enchantment implements that would turn the mineral into more efficient storage for mana, giving actual power to the diadem. He was glad he hadn¡¯t needed to craft the crown¡¯s base, only needing to engrave the channels and fill them with a mana-catalysing binder when the order arrived from a blacksmith because that would increase the complexity far above what making this would be worth in profit. He could create the base as well, by being an all-encompassing ¡®accessory craftsman¡¯ instead of jewel smith or specifically enchanter, but the cheap miser who wanted to put a shiny gem on their daughter to sell them to some rich merchant didn¡¯t deserve such effort.


    Although, if he was paid enough¡­.


    Sedric shook his head to rid himself of any stray thoughts and grabbed the welding goggles hanging around his neck to place them over his eyes, brushing aside his stray dark hair. Then he grabbed the heated binder pen from another bench. Rifling through some half-empty bags on his workshop¡¯s shelves, he found a gem-stone specific enchantment binder that would leave the amethyst appearing like it was unengraved. Customers liked magical items that didn¡¯t show the mana-circle.


    He pulled on thick leather gloves and turned the pen on, feeling it heat up in his hand. Then, after adding the hardened binder to the back of the pen, he slowly filled the engraved amethyst with the molten liquid, which quickly adopted the texture and colourisation of the surrounding mineral. Multi-coloured mana fizzled and popped as it streamed into the binder and stone, causing the channels to light up with a glow. It was a slow process.


    All of a sudden, the flat, toneless bell below his upstairs workshop sounded out with a loud Ding! and he yelped as the linked alarm bell in front of him started vibrating as well, causing molten enchantment binder to spill out from the pen as he accidentally dropped it, also knocking over some of the equipment on his bench. The binder solidified on the surface of the violet gemstone, giving it a lumpy, misshapen look. He stared at the mess and growled in fury.


    ¡°May the Citadel¡¯s blighted Sages get their ravenous, insatiable hands on your miserly fate and feed it to the Dire wolves.¡± He cursed bitterly.


    He then quickly packed everything up, turning the pen off so it stopped leaking binder all over his floor, and he took his grimy goggles off. He stomped down the rickety staircase outside his door, uncaring the disturbingly loud creak his stairs made as he found himself on the atrociously filthy ground floor. He looked to see who the new offender was¡­. and stared.


    ¡°Why are you here?!¡± he exclaimed, aghast.


    There, cheerfully grinning, was the black-haired and mask-wearing Lucille Goldcroft waving a gloved hand in greeting.


    ¡°Did you miss me?¡± she asked.

 Chapter 13 (1 of 2) Sneaky sneakster.

    ¡°Did you miss me?¡± she asked.


    The steadily deepening scowl on the young man¡¯s face told Lucille that no, he had not missed her, and in fact wanted her gone, but she ignored the obvious and gave him a wide smile.


    ¡°I mean, who wouldn¡¯t want a chance to meet the new Head of the Aurelian Commission once more?¡±


    Her rhetorical question quickly turned the dubious expression of Sedric¡¯s into a repulsed one, but he shook his head wearily and ran a hand through his lank hair, ignoring the black grease he smeared onto his face in the process. He looked at her with a dark expression.


    ¡°Why are you actually here?¡± he stressed, placing both leather-covered hands onto the countertop.


    Lucy grinned and gestured to him. ¡°I¡¯m here to see if you¡¯ve decided to accept the contract yet.¡±


    He stared at her in silence as he leaned against the bench, scowling at her.


    She smirked at his reaction and waved a hand. ¡°I¡¯m kidding. I¡¯m here to give you this,¡± she said, pulling out a black card with golden detailing and a tiny purple gemstone in the centre. ¡°Here. This will give you access to my personal floor of the Headquarters. I say, ¡®personal floor¡¯ but it¡¯s massive, so don¡¯t believe I¡¯m giving you access to my private quarters or anything.¡±


    Confused, the brown-haired man took the shiny black card that had been shoved into his face, looking between it and her. He eventually just looked at her again.


    ¡°I still have a month, don¡¯t I? Why would you give me this?¡± he asked, more puzzled than he had been in his entire life.


    Lucy leaned her elbows on the table between them, exaggeratedly looking around for eavesdroppers. She cupped a hand to her mouth and stage whispered.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell anybody, but four representatives of the Counties will be arriving this week and staying for a while for several discussions with me. They¡¯re very likely to be the Counts themselves.¡±


    The wordless statement of ¡®Why tell me this¡¯ was written across Sedric¡¯s face, so Lucy gave a big shrug as she lifted her arms off the countertop.


    ¡°Because of security and privacy concerns, gaining access to the Headquarters will be an issue. Very few people outside the Commission know there¡¯s a new leader, after all. They¡¯d prefer to keep it that way until the discussions are over. So, this,¡± she said, pointing to the black and gold card, ¡°Is your way of bypassing it all. I¡¯m not sure how long the representatives will be staying, so it¡¯s possible I can¡¯t leave the Headquarters until they return back to their Counties, which could be at the very end of the month.¡±


    She saw him turn the card in his hands around, inspecting it curiously. ¡°But isn¡¯t it dangerous to leave something with that much power to me?¡±


    Lucille grinned and pulled out her pocket watch, spinning it around by its chain. ¡°Not when you can disable any access pass remotely with a click of a button. If anybody tries to stop you, press the gem on the front of the card to send me a message. It¡¯ll come up in my Faction Authority.¡±


    She stopped swinging it, pressing the clasp to pop it open. She hummed as she read the time on the top face of the watch. ¡°I need to get going. Because I said it was a short trip, I could come without an escort, but now it¡¯s over, I have quite a lot of things to organise at the Headquarters, so I won¡¯t stay any longer. See you soon.¡± She snapped it shut.


    Lucy gave him a goodbye wave and turned around to walk out the door. Behind her, Sedric looked down at the card in his hands, then looked at the form of the girl opening the door in front of her. Then he jolted.


    ¡°Wait! How do I return this if I don¡¯t-¡±


    Slam!


    ¡°Want to accept the contract¡­¡± he finished as the door shut, dislodging dust from the ceiling. He was once more alone in the room, only the sound of creaking boards in the wind to accompany him. He frowned down at the card in his hands, turning it slowly.


    Then he widened his eyes, astounded.


    ¡°Does the Aurelian Commission use Ether Crystal Amethyst in their business cards?!¡±


    ...


    Back at the Aurelian Commission¡¯s Headquarters, Lucy whistled tunefully as she walked through the extravagant entranceway of the building, hands in her pockets. Normally, the main reception hall was full of hundreds of people going in and out every hour, but today, the hall was rather silent, except for the sound of a few panicky rushed clerks dashing to and from the elevators to their destinations. She looked around to inspect the huge room in more detail than she had time for earlier in the week.


    As was written in the name of the ¡®Aurelian¡¯ Commission, gold was the main theme of the place. From the fixings of the sconces holding the warm-yellow glow of magical light, to the luxurious chandeliers above her head, and even to the embroidery of the tall curtains, gold was present everywhere you looked. Even the floor was covered in a thin plating of metal, polished so well you could see your reflection in it and causing the room to look bigger, and even more impressive, than its already large size seemed. The reception hall reminded her of some of the really expensive older hotels she had been to on Earth in the past with its design. She could say it did partially function as a hotel for the members of the Faction.


    The roof above her was arched like the ceiling of a church, but a light beige, giving the entire place a warm atmosphere. The wallpaper was a creamy white patterned with slightly darker beige designs of floral likeness. Many desks were available for people to talk to clerks, although most were empty due to the ongoing preparations for the arrival of the four Counts or their representatives, a rather big event for the nobles of the Faction.


    I suppose it¡¯s like an unexpected visit from the CEO for these permanent Headquarters employees.


    As she walked she could hear the footsteps caused by her heavy boots echo around the hall. Near the series of magic elevators next to the front desks Lucy saw two men talking, one of which she identified as Vincent in his white suit, and the other as a stout, middle-aged man she had met once before when she became the leader a week ago. A thought strand dutifully informed her that the man¡¯s name was Gordon Merst.


    Her footsteps made the men look up, and Vincent nodded to her in acknowledgement, while Merst hastily gave her a scraping bow. She nodded to the man while she made her way over to Vincent, and he stood back up with a relieved expression.


    ¡°Did I miss anything important while I was gone?¡± she asked them. Vincent shook his head, while the other man gave another deep bow, rubbing his hands together nervously.


    ¡°Oh no, definitely not sire! Er, I mean miss. Sir Evisenhardt here has absolutely everything under control, no need to fear! In fact, why don¡¯t you head upstairs and just relax, leaving everything in our capable hands, and let us do¡­ it¡­ all¡­..¡± he slowed his words, withering under the intense glare Vincent gave him.


    When Vincent pointed angrily to a door to dismiss him, he bowed deeply once more and quickly scurried off towards the nearest exit, two pairs of eyes watching him leave, one mildly amused and one very exasperated.


    Lucy turned towards the silver-haired man next to her with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Remember how yesterday I mentioned nobles are always eager to please?¡±


    Vincent didn¡¯t deign to respond, just letting out a long sigh as he pinched his nose bridge. They started walking towards an elevator.


    ¡°So, was there something he was trying to hide from me, or did he just misunderstand the relationship between us?¡± she asked.


    ¡°The latter I think,¡± Vincent grumbled, taking out a handkerchief to clean his glasses. ¡°That man can flip a switch between grovelling or condescending quicker than somebody could blink. The instant he feels like he¡¯s in a stable position status-wise, he¡¯ll push for his agenda, and when he gets anxious, he¡¯ll try to flatter every single man with even somewhat significant status to cross his path. This has to be the most fearful he¡¯s been in his entire life.¡± He finished, looking a bit happier at the end of his sentence, by Lucy¡¯s reckoning.


    Vincent put his glasses back on. ¡°But in all honesty, there was something I wanted to discuss with you. Namely, how you¡¯re going to approach interactions with the Counts.¡±


    Lucy gave a sound of acknowledgment as she placed her own black card into a slot in the elevator. Some things in the Mystical Realm were uselessly high-tech, like the access cards, and some were just backward. The elevator buzzed with the sound of mana circuits, and it moved upwards. Lucy directed her attention back to Vincent.


    ¡°You mean all the political schemes that will occur before the meeting even starts.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡± He responded as they stepped off the elevator into an empty corridor on the 40<sup>th</sup> floor. They headed to Lucy¡¯s living room, and she threw her black coat onto the side of the indigo couch, Vincent taking up a seat on the couch opposite her. She sat down on the plush cushioning and crossed her legs. Vincent looked around.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen your snake friend anywhere recently. Is he fine?¡±


    She waved a hand dismissively. ¡°He recently discovered that Ashale¡¯viaf has a few garden biomes he¡¯s trying to keep hidden from him, and so has decided that finding them is his new pet project. Our bond¡¯s at least advanced rank, so I know where he is and what he¡¯s up to.¡±


    Vincent seemed like he couldn¡¯t be bothered to react to the casual reveal that Lucy has an advanced rank bond with Scytale at 18, which normally takes 20 years to develop, and just nodded. He leaned back.


    ¡°So, what direction will you be trying to approach the Counties from? You seem well-versed enough in politics to understand you need a proper method.¡±


    Lucille nodded absentmindedly, slowly drawing on the room¡¯s mana to form a small clear orb of mana spiralling in her gloved palm. The orb began to gain a white hazy glow.


    ¡°There¡¯s going to be several messengers who¡¯ll arrive before the meeting to talk to me privately, likely one from each County. So, instead of talking to a specific one or accepting the private talks in any sort of order, I¡¯m going to turn them all away.¡±


    He rubbed his chin, frowning slightly, and ignoring the strange new action of Lucy. ¡°Are you going to act like you¡¯re indifferent to politics and the Counties?¡±


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    She shook her head, white spirals beginning to form on its surface as the orb rotated at higher speeds on her palm. ¡°That¡¯s a recipe for disaster. I can¡¯t offend the Counties in such a way. No, I want to keep my impression as being as neutral as possible.¡±


    He looked up from the table. ¡°But you¡¯ve already made a connection with me.¡±


    She looked around the room, frowning in concentration. ¡°Obviously I¡¯ve tipped the scales somewhat already, but I won¡¯t show any more favouritism to a specific family. Until the meeting, I won¡¯t accept any private meetings or gifts and will refuse them all. I need to make sure the benefits each family receives will be equal, so they all increase in power evenly. It would disrupt our supply chains and operations if one family grew inadvisably large in power.¡±


    She kept looking around the room, staring at the roof. Then her eyes narrowed when she spotted what she was looking for.


    ¡°Then I suppose my family won¡¯t be a part of any plans for the short term if I accept your offer of becoming an-¡±


    ¡°Hold on a moment.¡± She spoke abruptly, holding out a hand to pause him. He stopped when he noticed how still she had gone and tried to see what she was looking at too. Then Lucy¡¯s mouth curled up in a wicked grin and she spun around on the couch to point the hand with the mana orb at the corner behind her like it was a gun.


    BANG!


    The white mana-orb at the end of her index finger flew into the corner of the room, and something fell to the floor with a crash. The noise made Vincent violently jerk, and he jumped up.


    ¡°What in the realms was that?!¡± he shouted, heavily alarmed.


    Lucy blinked and pointed at the ground behind her couch. ¡°There was a fly.¡± She told him innocently.


    Understandably aware that whatever had fallen was not a fly, he warily leaned to the side to see what was on the ground. There, on the light-brown carpet behind Lucille¡¯s couch, was a humanoid figure dressed from head to toe in black, frothing at the mouth, with his eyes rolling up into the back of his head. He was unconscious.


    Vincent stared at Lucy. ¡°That is a fly?¡±


    She gave him a casual shrug and he barely suppressed a groan. He slowly came closer, dropping down to one knee to look at the eavesdropper better, and lifted the collar of the person¡¯s clothes to look for identifying symbols. Lucy tilted her head as she rested it on her arms, peering over the back of the couch.


    ¡°Someone from black?¡± she asked curiously.


    Vincent gave her an unamused look, not fooled by her attitude. ¡°From Ravimoux? Undoubtedly so.¡±


    He got up and brushed himself down, then folded his arms. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you could even spot him.¡±


    Lucille turned around and flopped back on the couch, looking up at the roof. ¡°I think you¡¯ll find, if you stick around long enough, that I can do quite a lot.¡±


    He didn¡¯t answer, just watching the assassin with a complicated expression. ¡°Is he permanently injured?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°No. Just a mild concussion. My arcane orb didn¡¯t have enough force to break anything, as I made sure it would dissipate on contact. It got him here.¡± She said, miming a ball hitting her against the back of her neck. ¡°Most humanoids become unconscious when force is applied to this spot. The spin of my orb made it curve around him.¡±


    He eyed her with suspicion. ¡°That¡¯s unusually high precision for a low-ranked spell shot by an 18-year-old.¡±


    ¡°He wasn¡¯t exactly a moving target.¡± She told him wryly.


    Vincent rolled his eyes at the lack of a proper answer and looked back at the interloper. ¡°What are you going to do with him?¡±


    She tapped on her chin, thinking. Then she got up off the couch and raised a finger for Vincent. ¡°Wait a minute.¡± She told him.


    Vincent raised an eyebrow but did as she asked. Lucy went to the opposite corner of the living room and opened two side-by-side doors, leaning back to look at the man behind her. ¡°There¡¯s a kitchen back here.¡± She said by way of explanation, which didn¡¯t explain much at all in reality.


    He waited with his arms still crossed as he heard the sounds of cupboard doors opening and closing and the metallic clanging of an assortment of unknown objects being pushed aside. A moment later Lucy returned, this time holding a large jug cast out of solid brass in her black-gloved hands.


    ¡°So, as Scytale and I were exploring,¡± she began, ¡°We discovered that the kitchen here had a cupboard that was linked to the Founder¡¯s vault, allowing us to access a few magic items from there. I had unsealed the cupboard with my Faction Authority.¡± She said. She raised the jug higher for him to see.


    ¡°When I was going through the vault¡¯s records, I discovered a particular item had been donated one year. Lo and behold, when I checked the other day, it was part of the kitchen¡¯s collection. It can transmute mana into any liquid or drink Rare ranked or under, at whatever temperature one wishes.¡±


    She moved over to the intruder and looked at Vincent. ¡°I had originally wanted to use this for another purpose first, but I suppose it can be used this way too.¡±


    Then, she tipped the jug entirely upside down above the man¡¯s head. Out came bitingly cold chilled water that splashed all over the interloper, drenching his clothes and making him wake up with a startled gasp. He looked around with wide eyes while shivering.


    ¡°W-Where-¡±


    ¡°Did you have a nice nap?¡± Lucille asked him pleasantly.


    The man froze as he looked up at the other two people in the room, Lucy leaning down with her hands on her knees, and Vincent just watching him with a cautious expression. He scrambled to get up and sat pressed against the wall, looking between the two with a panicky expression.


    ¡°W-What do you want from me? U-Uh¡­ information, I can give you information?! Or money!¡±


    The man went pale as Vincent narrowed his eyes at the intruder, shifting his glasses, and Lucy rolled her eyes as she straightened up to look at him with a hand on her hip.


    ¡°If this is the standard quality that Ravimoux employs in its services, I fear they won¡¯t survive much longer,¡± she said derisively, smirking.


    Vincent, having realised what she was doing, held his chin in ¡®thought¡¯. ¡°I believe he¡¯s a disposable piece. They must have planned to cut him off if the plan went awry, so they could claim ignorance. He won¡¯t have anything useful to tell us,¡± he stated with an indifferent professional voice.


    ¡°Reaaally?¡± Lucy mused, narrowing her eyes, and smiling wider at the man. ¡°Should we get rid of him?¡±


    Vincent nodded. ¡°I believe that would be the best if he has nothing to contribu-¡±


    ¡°Contribute?! I can contribute! I can be useful!¡± the man pleaded, trembling violently.


    Vincent narrowed his own eyes at the man. ¡°No, I don¡¯t think-¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± Lucille said, holding up a hand to pause him. She looked down at the intruder with an unreadable expression. Then she smiled brightly, hitting a fist against an open palm with an audible smack.


    ¡°I have a better idea.¡±


    She squatted down so she was eye-level with the dark-cloaked figure, a hand on her chin in thought. ¡°You heard me mention my plans for the private meetings with the representatives, didn¡¯t you?¡± she asked, watching him intently.


    The man almost shook his head, but when he saw the look in Lucille¡¯s eyes, he understood that would be a mistake and gave a tearful nod of his head instead. ¡°Th-The p-p-part about sending them a-away?¡± he stuttered.


    Lucy gave him another bright smile and straightened up, putting her hands behind her back, and pacing the room. ¡°If I do that, my intentions of remaining politically neutral within the Faction will be known, but I have the chance of offending the representatives as well. That may cause me some difficulties, so if you play your part well¡­¡± she said, looking over her shoulder at the man with narrowed eyes.


    ¡°I can reduce the hostilities before they overreact.¡±


    The interloper vigorously shook his head in agreement, anxious to please the people who held power over his immediate future. Lucy smiled cheerfully once more, continuing to pace around the room. Vincent had a strange expression on his face as he watched her, but when she raised an eyebrow at him for an explanation, he shook his head slightly, so Lucy gave him a slight shrug and moved back in front of the intruder.


    She kneeled on one knee and leaned forward to look at the intruder, smiling wickedly.


    ¡°If an intruder who was luckily caught by me at the right time heads back to their clan, head held high, and reveals everything that occurred up until before they were caught, then it will work. It¡¯ll even be of benefit to the intruder!¡± she announced, spreading her arms wide as she grinned at the confused man.


    ¡°Instead of a subordinate who failed their mission,¡± she told him, ¡°They¡¯ll go back as someone who successfully infiltrated the leader¡¯s room and discovered their secret plans. Their future will be full of potential when they return in triumph!¡±


    She waited as the man slowly stopped shaking in fear as a dawning realisation of what she meant lit up in his eyes. She leaned forward again so he couldn¡¯t look anywhere else but at her face and poked his chest with a long finger.


    ¡°A rise in status is guaranteed, so long as you play your part well.¡±


    The man still looked a bit unsure, so she stood back up, and then after straightening her clothes with a calm smile on her face, she gave him an exaggerated shrug. ¡°I don¡¯t want them to know I found them spying on me. I want to take what advantages I have, and let them stay in the dark about my abilities. Our little agreement won¡¯t be revealed from my side.¡±


    She spread her arms wide as she took a step back, giving him an ¡®encouraging¡¯ smile.


    ¡°What are you waiting for? This opportunity only comes once in a lifetime, you know.¡±


    Like a lightning bolt had struck him, the man froze and quickly stood up. He gave them a hasty bow each before he activated some skill that caused his figure to fade from view, his presence disappearing. Lucille watched with narrowed eyes as the soul in her spiritual sense distanced itself from them, and then she moved her gaze to the floor where he had been, gazing at it expressionlessly.


    Vincent frowned when she didn¡¯t move and walked next to her. ¡°Miss Goldcroft?¡±


    When she still didn¡¯t move, he leaned forward to look at her slightly cold expression and waved a hand in front of her. He dropped the formality. ¡°Lucille!¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± she started and turned to the side to face Vincent, her carefree smile back in place. She grinned widely after a moment and held up the jug next to her for him to see. There were no more signs of her strange state. ¡°Well, now that that¡¯s done, would you like some tea?¡±


    Vincent couldn¡¯t help but be stunned for a second by her nonchalant reaction, but he sighed, having gotten used to it by now, and nodded wearily. He went back to the couch and slumped down on it. Lucy went back to the kitchen to retrieve two cups, whistling merrily and returned holding one teacup and one mug, placing them down on the coffee table.


    She poured out some steaming hot tea into the teacup for Vincent and poured a dark liquid into the mug for herself. Then she picked it up and sat down on her couch again, crossing her legs. They enjoyed some silence before Vincent spoke up.


    ¡°He could reveal everything to Ravimoux right now, and your plans for him would fail.¡±


    Lucille took a long sip of her drink with her eyes closed. ¡°Why would I have plans for someone like him?¡±


    He looked up from his drink with a silver eyebrow raised. ¡°Did you not just tell him to reveal your plans on interacting with the representatives to Ravimoux?¡±


    She opened her eyes to look at Vincent for a moment, before turning sideways to lie across the couch with her feet kicked up. She placed her mug on the table between them and put her hands behind her head.


    ¡°Technically it was all the intruder¡¯s idea. I told him nothing.¡±


    Vincent placed the cup down on the table and crossed his arms, looking at her as if wondering whether to rise to the bait. Eventually, he just shook his head and ignored it.


    ¡°Well, if you¡¯re so all-knowing to know of a Legendary class in this city, know whether I have reported to my grandfather or not, and whether there was a hidden intruder in this room, then surely you¡¯re all-knowing enough to know what my point was?¡±


    ¡­¡­maybe he didn¡¯t ignore it then. Lucy gave him a sideways glance, but then huffed and shifted to face him better.


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t what I meant. What I¡¯m saying is, there was no agreement between him and me, there was no implementation of this on my behalf, and I certainly did not suggest to an assassin of the infamous Ravimoux to not tell their boss that someone is capable of seeing through their County¡¯s unique invisibility skills at Rank-0.¡±


    That made Vincent blink and with a belated ¡°Ah.¡± he nodded and picked up his tea again.


    ¡°Right. Nothing happened. This is all purely hypothetical, not based on true events in the slightest, but what would be your intentions if you had somehow manipulated an intruder into revealing your stance for interactions with the Count¡¯s representatives, and had gotten them to pretend their mission went to plan, with no interaction with us at all?¡±


    She smirked at his phrasing and answered him. ¡°I would intend to deal with the intruder in a way that would not incite conflict between the intruder¡¯s clan and me while ensuring the intruder has the incentive to prevent knowledge of this event from spreading.¡±


    Vincent raised an eyebrow as he took a sip of his tea. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have done that by letting the intruder live and you personally telling their clan about it so Ravimo- I mean the hypothetical intruder¡¯s clan would be in your debt?¡±


    ¡°That would make things complicated,¡± Lucy said. ¡°A clan wouldn¡¯t care about the life of a disposable piece like the ¡®hypothetical¡¯ intruder, so placing them into my ¡®debt¡¯ would give them a way to plant one of their members closer to me in an attempt to pay back said debt. Then would come a trying series of discussions and events where if I took even a little too much aid from the family under the excuse of this ¡®debt¡¯, they would push and pull at me to gain benefits for abusing this lack of equal relationship.¡±


    She looked at the man opposite her. ¡°That is the case if I initiated it. If the hypothetical intruder went back and revealed everything voluntarily without my intervention, but kept the supposed deal secret so he wouldn¡¯t seem untrustworthy, then the clan would become aware of this ¡®debt¡¯ on their end, and it would then be considered a weakness of theirs because they believe I don¡¯t know the intruder revealed everything. They would fear I would discover this ¡®debt¡¯ at the wrong time and force them into a difficult situation.¡±


    ¡°If the interloper doesn¡¯t reveal all this,¡± she continued, ¡°But then the clan senses something off, pressures him and that causes him to eventually reveal the truth, they¡¯d prefer to stick with the interloper¡¯s original story, because the fact I instigated it meant that I am willing to ignore this mistake of theirs for the sake of their goodwill, and there would be an unspoken deal that they would leak my neutral stance in return for forgetting this event.¡±


    She leaned forward to grab the jug and pour some more of her drink for herself. ¡°If they don¡¯t discover the intruder¡¯s story is fake, then they¡¯d be a disappointment to the Faction, but the situation would progress almost the same as if they had later discovered the intruder¡¯s story was false, just with less proactive leaking of my neutrality on their part. In the end, the hypothetical intruder in this situation was only a piece, with any of my future actions relying on the family behind him, and so the interloper was never a proper part of my plans.¡±


    ¡°Hypothetical, completely fictional plans,¡± Vincent added.


    She smiled slyly and nodded. ¡°Hypothetical, completely fictional plans.¡± She agreed.


    Vincent hummed and leaned back, tapping his fingers against his other arm. ¡°Why show goodwill to Ravimoux though? This isn¡¯t me speaking as an Evisenhardt, but it seems you¡¯re emphasizing that County specifically.¡±


    Lucy nodded and crossed her legs while lying down, idly kicking a foot up and down. ¡°Paradoxically, to maintain my neutral stance, I almost need to show more favouritism to Ravimoux than the others.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Vincent responded, curious.


    ¡°Ravimoux has never had a good reputation.¡± She began, as the man opposite her nodded. ¡°They¡¯re the biggest force in the Empire¡¯s underworld, and run all the Commission¡¯s casinos, black markets, entertainment districts and dark guilds. If it was all illegal, they wouldn¡¯t be capable of functioning as a noble clan of the Empire, but, indeed, they¡¯re not as well-liked or someone¡¯s first choice when it comes to collaborating with one of the four Counties.¡±


    She took another sip of her drink and looked at Vincent with a smile. ¡°I can understand why they made such a hasty move in trying to discover my plans. Young nobility can be¡­ rather impressionable and very few of the more mainstream future nobles have the flexibility of mind to accept using a clan like Ravimoux in their forces, or if they did, they wouldn¡¯t use it as much as the more ¡®honourable¡¯ or ¡®praiseworthy¡¯ methods.¡±


    She smirked. ¡°A proud young na?ve leader who decides to wipe out the ¡®dark, evil, and treacherous¡¯ Ravimoux clan is the best choice for the prosperity of the Commission would be an understandably terrible catastrophe for the Faction and Ravimoux. Dealing with them in the way I did means I¡¯m acknowledging the fact that Ravimoux is a necessary evil and that I¡¯m willing to treat them as equals to the other Counties. It also shows them that I¡¯m not someone who can be easily manipulated.¡±


    Vincent gave a nod of acknowledgment at that, seemingly content with her explanation, although he still raised an eyebrow as he took another sip of tea. ¡°But if they didn¡¯t discover the intruder¡¯s story was false, then they wouldn¡¯t receive your message.¡±


    Lucy scoffed and waved a hand dismissively. ¡°You¡¯ve seen the personality of that intruder. With that backbone, he could only ever be a sacrifice or a good actor. In the first case, do you think he¡¯d be able to keep the deal secret when pressured by the clan?¡±


    Vincent thought for a bit, his arms crossed, but had to nod in agreement.


    Lucille continued. ¡°In the case that he¡¯s a good actor¡­ then he¡¯ll probably reveal everything that happened and then Ravimoux would know what I wanted. In the end, any private meetings we have after I meet with the four Counts will clear things up. In the large scheme of things, this tiny hiccup is irrelevant.¡±


    He nodded in understanding and drank his tea. She blinked and turned to him when she realised something. ¡°I¡¯ve actually been meaning to ask you about something. Have you ever heard of the Vadels?¡±

 Chapter 13 (2 of 2) Sneaky sneakster.

    "Have you ever heard of the Vadels?¡±


    The man frowned slightly as he tapped his fingers on the couch¡¯s armrest in thought. ¡°The name rings a bell, but I can¡¯t remember where I¡¯ve heard it before. Members of the Faction?¡±


    Lucille nodded and swung her feet around, sitting back up on the couch. ¡°I was in a frontier region a while ago and happened to meet two young noble cousins who had said their surname was Vadel, one a mage, and the other a manager who wore the Alichanteu¡¯s Faction insignia.¡±


    Vincent paused and then nodded. ¡°Of course. The Vadels are a Baron family from a Major Kingdom. I believe they own several alchemy stores and are responsible for part of a city¡¯s operation in their Viscounty.¡± He frowned again. ¡°Why would they be in a frontier region?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I would like to discover.¡± She responded. ¡°The manager said he was there on a holiday, but it was painfully obvious that wasn¡¯t true.¡±


    ¡°The Commission¡¯s businesses are targeted towards the Empire and Mystical Realm, which is predominately made up of humanoid beings. If a manager went to a frontier region of the Beast Realm, where his title holds little power to protect him, then he¡¯s either foolish or has another agenda.¡± He thought aloud, crossing one leg over the other. ¡°Although¡­¡± he continued, looking slightly troubled. ¡°I have heard interesting rumours about the state of the Blue County.¡±


    ¡°Its state?¡± Lucille asked, leaning forward to listen intently. ¡°They¡¯re not selling off property or getting into debt are they?¡±


    ¡°Nothing so extreme.¡± Vincent refuted. ¡°As a member of the main bloodline with very weak inheritance rights, I¡¯m not kept too up to date about these things, but I¡¯ve heard they¡¯re going through a succession war of some sort.¡±


    She leaned back with an eyebrow raised incredulously. ¡°A succession war? And nobody knows about this?¡±


    He shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s written in the Faction rules that the Counties are not to get involved with each other besides occasionally collaborating and dealing with Faction emergencies. We are merchant clans first and foremost, and so, as long as a Count has talent enough that it keeps the County afloat, we¡¯ll accept it. Our bloodline loyalties aren¡¯t particularly strong compared to other Empire nobility in the first place.¡±


    She nodded but still wanted to know more. ¡°Why are they having a succession war at all?¡±


    ¡°I heard some time ago the Alichanteu Count collapsed, but Evisenhardt hasn¡¯t heard of any either good or bad developments occurring from it, or if they have, they haven¡¯t told me.¡± He told her. ¡°Alichanteu strictly follows the tradition of the current Count¡¯s descendants being the main bloodline, and so they only have three major successors this generation from the Count¡¯s blood, as he only had one son, who died twenty years ago. The third and youngest successor, his granddaughter, has expressed no interest in politics, and so the County is split between supporting the eldest or the middle child, both male.¡±


    ¡°Different mothers?¡± Lucy asked. Vincent nodded and she hummed. ¡°If the Counties don¡¯t have much publicly available information on the internal status of the Alichanteu, then I¡¯m assuming they can¡¯t tell which side holds the greater power either. I suppose we¡¯ll be able to tell by seeing which successor comes as their representative. I remember you said only the Alichanteu Count wouldn¡¯t be coming in person.¡±


    She frowned slightly. ¡°That means the weaker side will plant one of their members besides the representative so they can observe our interactions and have a private discussion with me. If they don¡¯t, then it means something else has happened.¡±


    She looked off into the distance with a far look, reviewing her plans for the meeting. ¡°If they¡¯re from different mothers, it is possible that some other force is trying to involve themselves in the Faction¡¯s politics. That might endanger the Commission¡¯s neutral status, and if so, I could potentially need to involve myself with the Alichanteu more directly under the pretext of protecting our neutrality.¡±


    She returned her gaze to the table and leaned forward to pick up her mug. ¡°This might be extremely profitable if I play my cards right.¡±


    Vincent eyed her suspiciously. ¡°That sounds distinctly ominous.¡±


    When she didn¡¯t say anything and just grinned, he sighed and leaned back in defeat. ¡°It seems whatever you¡¯re planning on doing at the meeting doesn¡¯t just involve the plans you gave me, from my perspective. Would I be able to hold back on answering your request about becoming an aide until after the meeting?¡±


    ¡°Do as you see fit,¡± Lucille said, giving him a small wave. ¡°Can I ask you to look into that ¡®holiday¡¯ of the Vadels?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°I was planning on doing that regardless. It could be a clue to discovering what is happening within the strangely silent County and would probably interest Evisenhardt to know of this as well.¡± He said, looking slightly hesitant as he glanced at her. ¡°Do you mind if-¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care if you reveal that to them,¡± Lucy replied, understanding what he wanted. ¡°Just make sure to tell me if Evisenhardt discovers anything else in return.¡±


    He dipped his head in agreeance before looking up. ¡°Do you have any names to start the search?¡±


    She tapped on her chin in thought. ¡°The navy-blue-haired mage was called Marellen, I believe.¡± She closed her eyes to review her memories in more detail. ¡°The blonde manager was called¡­ hmm¡­. ¡± She snapped her fingers. Not that she needed to think that long with her eidetic memory. ¡°Efratel. That was it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll relay that to my grandfather. Although, I¡¯ve been meaning to ask something ever since we sat down and used that jug.¡± He said, looking at the mug in her hands.


    ¡°What are you drinking? It looks rather dark to me.¡±


    Lucille blinked and then smiled as she tilted the mug for him to see inside.


    ¡°Yes, well, I do love my coffee black.¡±


    Unfortunately for Vincent, her response didn¡¯t actually tell him what coffee was.


    <hr>


    - Sometime during the end of July -


    In the golden light of the afternoon sun, an icy blanket of snow gleamed and glistened, the world completely silent besides the rustling of leaves from a few distant trees. The ground was still and unmoving, and few would know that an avalanche had passed through the area just a few moments ago unless they noticed the odd branch sticking out of the white surface now and then. Besides five specific individuals.


    Crunch.


    Instead of branches, in one certain area, the icy carpet was punctured by a tanned hand, after which was revealed to be connected to a long arm, then shoulder, and then upper body as a brown-haired, green-eyed man with ice crystals still coating the tips of his hair pushed himself up and wiggled his way out of the thick snow. He vigorously shook his head to remove the crystals and stood up, planting his hands on his hips as he surveyed the area.


    ¡°That was a much wilder ride than I remembered signing up for.¡± Garthe Barbosas announced, looking around at the havoc wreaked by the man-made avalanche that descended upon the convoy in the Permafrost Glacial Abode.


    Then he yelped as a cold pale hand wrapped itself around his ankle, and he waved his arms around to regain his balance as a raven-haired woman, still spitting out ice, pulled on his leg to raise herself out of the snow.


    Larena Barbosas gazed up at him, unimpressed. ¡°If you have time to reflect on your experiences, you have time for other things. Help me up.¡±


    Garthe hastily grabbed her arms to pull her out, and she stood back up, brushing off the ice particles coating her black-leather pants. ¡°Are the others fine?¡± she asked at last, frowning slightly as she looked for signs of the rest of her party.


    ¡°Should be. The skill only cut out a minute ago, which was when I decided to try to get out. I felt three mana connections coming from around here, here, and somewhere over there.¡± He said, pointing to three different spots with vague gestures of his hand. ¡°I¡¯m hoping we¡¯ll sense their mana when we get closer. Luckily none of them got pushed over the cliff. The avalanche was at the end of its run.¡±


    She nodded and they set to work trying to find areas where the snow dipped slightly or seemed to move, looking for signs of the others being underneath the thick icy layer. Garthe spotted a mop of messy navy-blue hair sticking out of the snow at one point, so after a bit of digging he managed to pull out a very bedraggled-looking Marellen, who coughed and spluttered as he tried to peer around, his glasses askew. Eventually, he straightened up once he had fixed them and looked at Garthe.


    ¡°That was an interesting skill you used. Or was it a spell? Wait, no mana-circle.¡± He said, shaking his head and sending bits of snow scattering. ¡°So, skill. From what my mana-sense tells me, it had a rather high ratio of wood mana rather than earth, which makes it rather interesting how it functioned so well when ice and water mana are so predominant here in this region. I suppose the linking mechanisms allowed it to draw on the mana of other-¡±


    ¡°Time for that later, bud. There¡¯s still two more buried, one of which is your cousin.¡± Garthe told him, slightly exasperated.


    Marellen blinked his eyes in belated realisation as he noticed their surroundings, and Garthe shook his head wryly. Suddenly, they both flinched as they heard a muffled sound coming from their right, below the snowy carpet.


    ¡°Excuse me.¡± Came the elegant, refined and very cold voice of Roa Winteridge who did not seem to be happy.


    They turned to see a small mound of snow strewn with cracks on the ground, slowly moving up and down, but not breaking. Garthe and Marellen shared a look before they both scrambled to dig into the ground. With a little effort, they both leaned back as a fiery-coloured glowing stone made its appearance before them, attached to an ash-grey staff. They looked down the hole to see Roa standing within a deep hollow area in the ground, the snow melding together to form a glass-like surface all around her. She gestured with the staff to the small cave around her.


    ¡°I attempted to melt the ice around myself using a weak fireball, expecting I could use my ice magic to form a tunnel. Unfortunately, the magical signature of the spell-caster still infests this artificial avalanche we found ourselves buried under, so I couldn¡¯t move any of the snow after it had refrozen, causing me to find myself in this predicament. I don¡¯t believe I can get out using magic, and will need you, Garthe, who has the physique of a warrior, to aid me in leaving.¡± She narrowed her eyes. ¡°Preferably now. Before I get angry.¡± She added, seeing they hadn¡¯t moved.


    The two men looked down at her and then looked at each other.


    ¡°Do you think that was elf-speak for ¡®oh please help me great and mighty handsome warrior, I need your suuuper strong fit body to lift me up¡¯?¡± Garthe asked.


    Marellen frowned and scratched the side of his face. ¡°I think that was actually ¡®Get me out you insufferable male imbeciles before I incinerate you both¡¯. The cool tone of her voice makes it sound more pleasant.¡±


    They sheepishly looked down as the snow elf gave a long drawn-out sigh and rubbed her temples, glaring at them both. ¡°Remove me from this icy pit before it becomes your eternal grave.¡±


    Marellen shrugged when Garthe raised an eyebrow at him. ¡°Close enough.¡±


    Before she could get angrier, Garthe shifted in preparation for hopping down. ¡°My stats should let me jump out after I help her.¡±


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    But Marellen held out a hand to stop him. ¡°I think I have a better idea.¡±


    Then, with closed eyes, he held out both his palms. ¡°Wiferal¡¯s Breath.¡± He murmured, and then, tiny streams of white mana appeared above his palm, growing thicker by the second. They flowed idly above his palm until something changed, and the mana flowed over his fingers to fall into the icy hollow. White strands quickly turned into bigger streams as the mana flowed across Marellen¡¯s palms down into the cave, pooling below Roa until it disappeared. Then her cloak flapped about her as she was slowly lifted into the air. When she reached the opening, she hopped off the invisible wind current and straightened her clothes and hair. She turned to them.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± She said stiffly, dipping her head to Marellen in acknowledgment. Then without a word to Garthe she turned around and stormed off with her head held high, the orange glow of her staff flickering brightly, walking towards Larena. She didn¡¯t look back.


    Garthe had an injured expression, a hand placed above his heart. ¡°What did I do?¡±


    Marellen didn¡¯t say anything in the way of comfort or explanation, so Garthe shrugged and started heading towards the direction of their final party member. ¡°No mana-circle?¡± he said, looking at Marellen curiously.


    He shook his head. ¡°Not for this level of spell. You¡¯re getting a mage confused with a wizard. Mages don¡¯t need to form mana circles to cast basic elemental manipulation as a consequence of the runic models in our mana pools. Not that we can¡¯t use them, but only wizards build mana-circles to cast low-ranked spells because of their heart circles. We have much more direct control over our mana, although not as much as elementalists and sorcerers.¡±


    They both sneakily glanced at Roa, who was conversing with Larena. The snow-elf faintly scowled at them when she saw them watching but gestured for them to come over, so the two men changed their path to head over.


    ¡°Where did you say you sensed your final connection?¡± she asked, gesturing to the snowy expanse beside them. Garthe rubbed his chin as he tried to remember.


    ¡°I think it was near that tree.¡± He said, pointing towards an old pine, barely still standing after the force of the icy disaster. Roa nodded and started making her way over there, boots sinking into the snow with every step.


    ¡°The lesser ice spirits in the area are revealing to me that they can sense warmth emanating from that direction. It is likely to be where our final member lays.¡±


    ¡°Can you not make it sound like he¡¯s dead?¡± Garthe complained, rubbing his arms in the cold.


    Roa gave him a dirty look, but Larena pushed in front before she could say anything. She tapped a boot on the ground, looking for hollow space below, and when her boot dipped in slightly, she bent down and pushed an arm into the snow. She gestured to Garthe.


    ¡°A little help please.¡±


    Garthe likewise got down and sunk his arms into the snow, then they pulled, and a platinum-blonde-haired head emerged, followed by an upper body. They sat Efratel against the tree as Roa got down and formed a small orb of orange between her palms, placing it near him so he could be warmed up by the heat. He was looking remarkably worse for wear than the other four. His grey suit was damp, clinging to him, and he couldn¡¯t stop his teeth from chattering or his body from shivering. Larena glared at the two other men.


    ¡°Please be aware that it is crucial you don''t leave someone under Rank-3 in the snow for very long unless they have a build with high CON. He clearly does not.¡± She berated the two, both looking rather guilty.


    Larena returned her gaze to Efratel once he had stopped shivering so violently. She narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°You¡¯ve got some pretty big explaining to do.¡± She stated simply.


    Efratel grimaced and shakily began to stand up. ¡°Y-Ye-Yeah.¡± He stammered, still shivering as he wrapped his arms around himself.


    ¡°B-But first, could we g-get somewhere a b-bit w-w-warmer?¡±


    ¡­


    A few days later, thanks to the help of the two mages¡¯ fire spells and Larena¡¯s decent hunting abilities, they managed to make it to the Ascendant City the convoy had been heading to. They had searched briefly for survivors back at the avalanche site, but no one was found, and so they found themselves in a small warm inn, enjoying the sensations of civilization once more. Specifically, the sights, sounds and smells of good food.


    ¡°Mmmm,¡± Garthe said, stretching his arms after he had cleaned his plate. He blinked his vibrant green eyes at the other occupants of the table. ¡°Now what?¡±


    ¡°Now,¡± Larena began, focusing intently on Efratel, ¡°We hear what he has to say.¡±


    With a silent wave of Marellen¡¯s staff, a white barrier of wind mana formed around their group, masking their words from the ears of other people.


    Efratel sighed as all eyes at the table turned to him, and he ran a hand through his blonde hair. ¡°Let me just begin by saying that getting squashed by a magical avalanche was not on the agenda.¡± He stated dryly.


    Garthe scoffed. ¡°That much is obvious. Who would willingly try to get killed by an avalanche?¡± he remarked mockingly. He quickly shut up and shrunk into his seat when Larena glared at him.


    Efratel ignored the noisy adventurer, clasping his hands together on the table. ¡°Please understand,¡± he continued, looking at each of them in turn, ¡°That all of this is either my conjecture or based on very sparse knowledge of what my superiors wanted.¡±


    They all nodded, so he took a breath to collect himself and began the explanation. ¡°As I, or the convoy, was a disposable piece as seen by the avalanche, I believe we were a decoy.¡±


    They all gave him varying reactions to that statement. Marellen looked thoughtful, and in the case of Roa, she carefully listened to what he would say next. He shifted in his chair to get comfortable and continued.


    ¡°The Alichanteu are the clan of the Commission that interacts the most with the smaller businesses and vassal nobility of the Faction. They own everything from entire cities to grand palaces, hotels of nobles, to production facilities, and even the stores of businesses. They are the clan which have the easiest time expanding, and so the excuse of trying to gain a foothold in one of the Beast Realm¡¯s frontier regions can be easily explained away.¡± He paused to make sure they were all following and continued when he could see that they were. ¡°There wasn¡¯t anything of importance that the convoy had been transporting. There was no item, or treasure, to be sent to this Ascendant City.¡±


    ¡°They only needed it to seem like there was.¡± Larena realised, gazing at the table with her eyebrows furrowed. ¡°I suppose they needed a real Commission member to be here so it would seem realistic.¡±


    Efratel nodded, while Larena looked up. ¡°But why would they even need a decoy? Was there an enemy?¡±


    He hesitated, but when he saw their focused expressions, he sighed and rubbed his neck. ¡°Please, please, please don¡¯t tell anybody what I¡¯m going to say next. I¡¯m only saying this because I owe you my life, and you almost lost yours.¡±


    The others traded curious glances and watched him with an expectant look, but nodded, so he continued. ¡°Alichanteu is actually in a state of internal conflict. The Count collapsed some time ago due to a past necromantic wound re-emerging somehow, and so his two grandsons with succession rights are fighting over the position. The avalanche was a result of this conflict.¡±


    Garthe leaned back with his arms crossed, his eyes glinting menacingly, while Larena scowled. ¡°Really? We all got caught up in some petty little noble game, and it was just bad luck? Just being used as a sacrifice?¡±


    It was Roa who looked up from where she had been frowning at the table, trading glances with Marellen, before shaking her head. ¡°That isn¡¯t it.¡±


    They all turned to look at her, including Efratel, all of them curious about her explanation. She tapped on the gemstone embedded in her staff next to her. ¡°Any personage with elf heritage has heightened senses to spiritual energy, and those with more pure heritage, such as pure-blooded elves, can see the spirit realm that the World Tree touches overlaid over everything within the realm. This phenomenon only exists in the realms with normal mana, such as the Beast Realm and the Mystical Realm. For obvious reasons, the Demon Realm is excluded from this, but I am able to see and communicate with spirits almost anywhere within those other realms.¡±


    She gestured to the inn¡¯s door. ¡°Spirits form contracts with us to absorb the mana of the physical realms, so they can gain a physical form like elementals or even fae. They are therefore very attentive to unique mana, much more than any mortal race could be. I do not believe there were no special items within the convoy. I believe there were several. The convoy wasn¡¯t meant to be attacked.¡± She finished.


    The others looked a bit stunned by that revelation, including Efratel. He frowned at the circular wooden table, a hand on his chin. ¡°This might be a bigger event than I thought.¡±


    Garthe sent a sneaky glance towards the door, a sly grin on his face. ¡°Do you think we should go back and dig these items up?¡±


    He held up his hands in a symbol of surrender as Larena gave him a withering look and Roa a frosty glare. ¡°I was kidding, kidding!¡±


    Marellen was still frowning as he looked at the table, and Roa noticed this. ¡°What happens to be the matter?¡±


    He blinked, shaken out of his deep thought. ¡°Oh, I was just¡­¡± he frowned again after a moment as he looked at Efratel with a complicated expression. ¡°¡­do you recognise the spell that summoned the avalanche?¡± he asked him, looking troubled.


    Efratel froze and covered his mouth with his hand, wide-eyed. After a pause, he slowly moved to rub his eyes. ¡°I¡­ thought I had just been seeing things.¡±


    Marellen slowly nodded and leaned back with a sigh. The other three watched their interaction with curiosity, and Larena cocked an eyebrow. Feeling slightly weary, Marellen decided to explain after his cousin remained silent.


    ¡°The¡­ Alichanteu don''t have solid blue hair like the other Counties have their hair colours." he began. ¡°That¡¯s not to say they don¡¯t have the element represented by it, but it usually manifests itself in their eye colour and hair tips rather than their full hair colour. When it does manifest like that, the Alichanteu clan member has an extremely high talent in water element manipulation. Without exception. Quite a few times a mage with blue hair in Alichanteu has earned a seat in the Blue Order of All-Aeon Athenaeum.¡± He said, frowning once more as he considered what that meant. The others drew in a few small gasps of surprise.


    ¡°About four centuries ago, one of these blue-haired irregulars was born to the main bloodline of Alichanteu. He¡¯s now the 43<sup>rd</sup> ranked Seat of the Blue Order, with a dual membership of the Ice Tower as a double class of mage and wizard. His name is Merkenia Pristine Alichanteu, the Archmage of Everlasting Glaciers. And that avalanche spell is the signature move he developed, his Grand spell, albeit weakened for the purposes of masking the avalanche as an accident.¡±


    They all went silent, absorbing this new information. Larena tapped her long nails on the oak table as she glanced at Marellen. ¡°How certain are you that this was him? Couldn¡¯t the spell caster just have been mimicking the avalanche concept, trying to pretend they were this Archmage? Or possibly just thinking that making the attack look like an accident would¡¯ve been good and that they had no intention of alluding to Merkenia¡¯s potential involvement?¡±


    Marellen shook his head, shifting his navy hair that reached his shoulders, as Efratel gave a bitter laugh. ¡°Oh no, that was definitely the Archmage. It may come as a surprise to you all, but my cousin here is actually a rather desired talent.¡± He said, tapping the man next to him. He shook his head wryly. ¡°A few years ago, the young nobility of the Alichanteu and their vassals gathered together for a series of social events. Marellen was born with a Minor affinity for all six essential elements, meaning he could take whatever path he wanted in the future for his magic.¡±


    He gave them a slightly weary smile. ¡°Merkenia visited Marellen repeatedly each day for a month straight, trying to tempt him into becoming his student. Eventually, he gave up, but due to the number of times the Archmage demonstrated his magic to Marellen in an attempt to impress him, there is nobody within the young nobility of the Faction who knows the Archmage¡¯s mana signature best.¡±


    Marellen nodded. ¡°Without a doubt, that was the Pristine Archmage¡¯s mana.¡±


    Larena leaned back, and they all considered the implications of his involvement.


    ¡°So¡­¡± Garthe began. ¡°Apart from the fact he almost killed us, why is it bad that this Archmage in particular sabotaged the convoy?¡±


    ¡°The Archmage is part of my side of the succession war. My own force betrayed me.¡± Efratel stated flatly.


    Garthe winced. ¡°Ohhh¡­. yeah, that¡¯s not good¡­¡±


    Efratel rolled his eyes and sighed. ¡°The question is: will I be killed if I return alive, or will they not realise what happened?"


    There was a moment of silence before Garthe abruptly put his hands on the table and stood up. ¡°Well, that¡¯s our job done. Time to give us our pay so we can get out of here. We will still be paid, won¡¯t we?¡±


    Then there was a loud scuffle as Larena jabbed a mana-enhanced elbow into his side, making him fall off his chair, and sending him curling up into a fetal position on the ground. She turned to Efratel, ignoring the pained groans coming from the green-eyed man.


    ¡°I sincerely apologise. This was why I joined this trip, to show him how nobility works. Obviously he still has more to learn.¡±


    Efratel looked at the wheezing man on the ground for a second before chuckling as he turned back to Larena. ¡°I¡¯m sure this has been an interesting experience for him. Yes, you will still get your pay. In fact, I¡¯ll double it.¡± He said, pulling out a dimensional pouch from the inside of his suit jacket. He counted out the rose crowns and passed them to them all, minus Marellen.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t I get any?¡± The mage wondered aloud.


    Efratel raised an eyebrow. ¡°Didn¡¯t you want a monthly budget increase? I mean, if you really want to be paid only once¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah, no, I¡¯m fine,¡± Marellen replied hastily, waving his hands. Efratel rolled his eyes and leaned back in his seat.


    ¡°If it helps,¡± began Roa, who had been thinking over the whole convoy situation, ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll care if you return alive. It would only be dangerous if you revealed you know who was responsible for the attack, or that it was an attack in the first place.¡± Then she turned to Marellen. ¡°However, if they find out Marellen was with you¡­¡±


    Efratel widened his eyes as he understood her implications. ¡°Marellen knows the mana signature of the Archmage. Everyone is aware of how the Archmage tried to tempt him into becoming his student by showing him spells and should be familiar with them. They¡¯ll assume he¡¯s told me who attacked the convoy.¡±


    She nodded solemnly. ¡°Indeed.¡± She looked between them both, her expression complicated. ¡°I¡­ have heard that if you become the private manager of a mage of the All-Aeon Athenaeum¡¯s Academy, you and the mage will have political immunity for that period. The Archmage will not be able to touch you if you become Marellen¡¯s point of contact while he joins the Academy.¡± Then she frowned and shook her head sadly. ¡°Although, that would require a sponsor, and I¡¯m not certain who could be willing to accept the repercussions of sponsoring you both after this.¡±


    Efratel sighed and nodded in thanks. ¡°I¡¯ll keep that information in mind. Thank you, Roa.¡±


    She nodded coolly in return and the conversation lapsed into a lull, broken only by the sound of Garthe getting off the floor to get into his seat.


    Larena clapped her hands loudly to get everyone¡¯s attention, then gave them all a smile. ¡°While this journey has had plenty of hiccups, this has been one of the few times I¡¯ve truly enjoyed everyone¡¯s company. So, I have a little gift for all of you.¡±


    They looked up at her, blinking curiously. Then she turned to Garthe. ¡°Except for you. It¡¯s useless for you.¡±


    While Garthe sat there in stunned silence by the apparent exclusion, Larena got out three small black circular objects from within her black dimensional pouch. Efratel, Roa and Marellen picked them all up curiously, inspecting the raised icons and symbology on either side. One side held a rather morbid image of a loosely bandaged opened hand being stabbed through with a silver knife, while the other side only had the engraved words ¡®Larena M. Barbosas¡¯.


    ¡°This,¡± Larena began, smirking as she pointed to the coin-like token in Efratel¡¯s hand, ¡°Is a token of friendship from the Black Hand. It also functions as a referral letter.¡±


    She reached forward and plucked the round token from Efratel, who was looking at it with interest and turned it around to show them her silver name on one of the sides. ¡°Normally, you need either high status or deep pockets to even gain access to one of the branches of the Black Hand Mercenary Guild. However, as my private token owners, you can skip all that to send me a message through my Guild. I might still ask you for a high wage,¡± she said, winking at Efratel, ¡°But it will allow me to give you priority when I choose to take on a mission.¡±


    Then she turned to the two mages. ¡°Both of you have amazing talents for magic, much greater than most I¡¯ve seen your age. Marellen knows amazing theorems and understands magic with a much greater depth than many, while you Roa, have no limitations imposed upon your magic by either your heritage or your affinities, and can use them with just as much power as each other. Don¡¯t ignore one of them, as unused talent is one of the greatest mistakes one could make as an Ascendant.¡±


    Both of them blinked at the unexpected praise and advice, while Larena turned to Efratel.


    ¡°And I¡¯m not going to give up a chance to make a connection with one of the rich managers of the Commission!¡± she teased, making Efratel roll his eyes, but smile in amusement. She threw it back to him. ¡°I¡¯m not going to be able to protect you from the mighty forces of an Archmage, obviously, but if things play out well and you survive, then I won¡¯t mind collaborating with you sometime.¡±


    He nodded and pocketed the black token. Larena looked at Garthe, who was seeming much less disappointed about not earning a gift after he saw what it was.


    ¡°I suppose we better get going. My break is almost over, so Garthe and I should probably take this chance to use the Obelisk.¡±


    They all nodded and got up from the table and headed outside the inn. After a few goodbyes and well wishes, Garthe, Larena and Roa headed to the Obelisk at the centre of the city, leaving Efratel and Marellen standing outside, snow gently falling on them.


    Efratel turned to Marellen with a mischievous glint in his eyes. ¡°You know... I think I might have to send you to the Academy after all.¡±


    The navy-haired mage groaned while Efratel chuckled. Then the manager rubbed his chin.


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t the Archmage connected to another outside force besides Alichanteu? Do you remember anything, Marellen?¡±


    Marellen hummed and looked down in thought, tapping a foot on the ground. Eventually, he looked back up at Efratel.


    ¡°I think he was married to a distant relative of one of the Eternal Duchies.¡±


    <hr>


    Four people were standing outside a pair of dark double oak doors. Two of them had scarlet hair and wore ruby-red armour, guarding the doors, but the other two were dressed differently, one a female with long straight black hair, and the other a tall male with silvery hair wearing half-moon glasses.


    Today, Lucille was wearing different clothes than her normal high-necked tops and long black coats. She had ditched the coat for a sleeveless brown leather vest, and she wore a long-sleeved dark-grey shirt and black tie. Her shirt pocket held the violet pocket watch. She turned to Vincent as she pulled on black gloves, the man himself wearing his normal white suit, if with a diamond brooch pinned to his jacket.


    ¡°That should be it. Anything else I might need to do?¡± she asked, shifting her mask to fit in place better. Vincent shook his head, holding a folder in his arms.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Mused Lucy, who turned back to the doors. ¡°Well then, I suppose it begins.¡±


    Then after gesturing to the two ruby-armoured guards, she put her hands behind her back and stepped forward through the open doors into the dark room within. When she saw who was inside, she fixed a calm smile on her face and gave a bow.


    ¡°Good afternoon Gentleman. As introductions are in order, I will begin first. My name is Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft.¡± She announced.

 Chapter 14 (1 of 2) Endgame Bosses - Corporate Edition.

    ¡°Good afternoon Gentleman. Introductions are in order, so I will begin first. My name, is Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft.¡±


    She straightened up and observed the room and its inhabitants with narrowed eyes, still smiling. The room itself was circular, with no windows, and only a single light fixed to the roof providing visibility. The doors had already shut behind her. In the middle of the room was a small round table. There were five seats evenly spaced around it, four of which were occupied. She looked at the fifth seat, the one which had a yellow topaz embedded in its back and walked towards it.


    ¡°I suppose this seat is mine.¡± She said, sitting down, and none of the others moved to stop her. Vincent, after putting down the thick folder before her, walked behind one of the other people in the chairs and stood behind him. She nodded and looked around the room to observe the people within in clearer detail.


    Vincent was standing behind a silver-haired man Lucy would place anywhere from in his late 50s to early 60s, although she knew visual looks didn¡¯t reflect actual age in the Tower. The man had a short goatee and neat hair, his eyes reflecting a cunning glint as he analysed Lucy¡¯s actions and behaviour. He was the Evisenhardt Count, dressed in a light grey suit and wearing a matching white diamond brooch to Vincent. He had a cane leaning against the table.


    Left of Vincent was a stern man appearing like he was in his late twenties, and very visually similar to Vincent in appearance. His hair was more flat than Vincent¡¯s however, he didn¡¯t wear glasses, and his expression was a tad colder than the man by his side. She assumed that was one of Vincent¡¯s older brothers.


    Next to the Evisenhardt Count was a rugged man appearing in his 40s, with wild red hair and greying sideburns. His rough tanned skin bore the marks of several faded scars above his short beard, and his bulky frame was obvious as he crossed his arms, gazing solemnly at her with brown eyes. His scarlet hair made it obvious he was the Count of Chavaret, the clan famous for their blacksmithing and strong mercenary armies.


    Behind him with a greatsword strapped to his back was a younger man in his mid-30s, a wild mane of red hair reaching the middle of his back visible from where Lucy was sitting. He wore a mixed assortment of hardy leather and red metal armour, and a thick scar could be seen on one of his forearms. She knew he was one of the sons of Count Chavaret. He appeared relaxed, but Lucille could see him gazing at the doors and other Counts, watching for possible threats.


    The figure in the third chair was rather underwhelming compared to the people beside him, whether it be in looks or in atmosphere. Dressed in a deep blue jacket, the formal kind with luxurious tassels and clasps, the young man in his mid-twenties seemed to be rather nervous and fidgeted a bit in his seat, his skin tone slightly pale. The man had deep blue eyes, and his long blonde hair ended in blue tips, showing he had a strong water affinity. Behind him was a grey-haired man in blue mage robes holding a staff, smiling amicably. Lucy could see traces of a fine mist blooming around him, the elemental manifestation of a High-mage of water.


    The last figure, on Lucy¡¯s left, didn¡¯t seem to have anyone behind him, but that didn¡¯t necessarily mean he was unaccompanied. Dressed in a plain, short-sleeved black shirt and black leather pants, the man in his late twenties had slicked-back black hair, dark green eyes and a small beauty mark under his left eye. His bare right arm had a thick black tattoo curling all the way up to his shoulder. He leaned one elbow on the table, chin on his hand. When he saw her looking at him, he smirked and gave her a wave. That man was the Count of Ravimoux. Lucille narrowed her eyes when she saw his reaction but didn¡¯t say anything and returned her focus to the centre of the table.


    All the people had been observing her during this time as well, and when it became obvious they had finished, the Count of Evisenhardt smiled jovially and stood up, holding out a hand to her. She mirrored his actions as she likewise stood up with a calm smile on her face, taking care not to seem too hurried, and shook his hand firmly.


    ¡°It seems promising times are ahead for the Faction.¡± Began Count Evisenhardt. ¡°We haven¡¯t had a Faction Head since the Founder. I must thank you for taking care of my youngest grandson during this time.¡± He said, smiling brightly. He took a step back and placed a hand on his chest, giving her a slight bow. ¡°My name is Sevastian Edgar Evisenhardt.¡±


    She gave him a wide smile and nodded back to him. ¡°He can be a bit troublesome, but I¡¯ve managed.¡±


    Count Evisenhardt gave a light laugh as Vincent pushed up his glasses, giving her a slight glare. She noticed his brother was looking at him with an odd expression, and she smirked, but didn¡¯t comment. Her perception field told her that the young Alichanteu man was about to get up off his seat, but the mage behind him put a firm hand on his shoulder and gently shook his head.


    There was a loud scraping noise as the tall Count Chavaret pushed his chair back as he stood up, towering over her. Count Evisenhardt moved out of the way to let the man hold out a large hand for her to shake. She took it and the man let out a low grunt, observing it with bushy eyebrows before letting go.


    ¡°Hmm. Not a warrior then. Donovan Raymond Chavaret.¡±


    She smiled and shrugged. ¡°Unfortunately, my talents lie in magic. Although, that might change.¡± She said, gesturing to the doors. ¡°I have a pair of soulbound sentient weapons you might want to have a look at.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± he responded, looking at her curiously. ¡°What kind?¡±


    She grinned. ¡°Demonic and spirit.¡±


    That made him raise his eyebrows as he inspected her again, before the young man from Alichanteu came around him. He gave her a slight bow and smiled winningly at her.


    ¡°Artair Sandrell Alichanteu. As my grandfather is¡­ otherwise indisposed, I have come as his representative for this meeting. Please forgive him for not being able to visit you during this time.¡± He said, giving her a deeper bow this time.


    ¡°I see¡­¡± she said, with narrowed eyes. Then she smiled and nodded back to him. ¡°Well, as long as you have the authority to make decisions on his behalf during your visit here, then I suppose it will be fine.¡±


    She pretended to ignore the way his smile became slightly strained after she had said that and smiled at the High-mage who had been watching them intently from behind him. The mage blinked and gave a slight bow when he saw he had her attention and then went back to his normal expression. The black-haired man behind her lazily stood up from his chair, and with one hand in his pocket, he held out the other for her to shake.


    ¡°And I am Regulus Fardevrio. I believe you are already aware of my last name, so I will avoid stating redundancies.¡± He said, smirking. She noticed the other Counts had interesting expressions to his sentence, Count Evisenhardt twitching an eyebrow and Count Chavaret just crossing his arms to gaze at the man.


    Lucy smiled and shook his hand. ¡°Well then, I¡¯m glad to meet you Count Ravimoux.¡±


    The man chuckled, while the others showed exasperation when she had her back turned. They made their way back to their seats, and Lucille leaned forward to clasp her hands on the table.


    ¡°Now then.¡± She began. ¡°I¡¯m sure you have many questions, so we should start with that.¡±


    Count Ravimoux leaned forward and gestured to her right eye, smirking. ¡°What happened to that, may I ask?¡±


    She narrowed her eyes at him, but calmly put a hand to her black mask and removed it, placing it down on the table. The others looked at her golden eye curiously, including Vincent, not expecting the unique colouration within.


    ¡°I have a foreign object within it I would rather not remove at this particular junction. It is of little consequence. Were there any other, slightly more important questions?¡± she asked wryly, returning the mask to her face. Count Ravimoux grinned but leaned back in his seat.


    Count Evisenhardt spoke up first. ¡°Well, It has been revealed to me that you have a number of interesting plans for the Commission, the specifics of which I am unfortunately unfamiliar with.¡± He said, shooting a pointed glare at Vincent, who avoided eye contact. He turned back to Lucille and gave her a cunning grin.


    ¡°I believe that is one question I would love answered.¡±


    She nodded in acknowledgment, while Count Ravimoux leaned forward again. ¡°What would I like to know is who exactly is Lucille Goldcroft?¡± he said, a slight smile on his lips. He shrugged when he saw her gaze. "There is frustratingly little information on you.¡±


    They all turned to her, wordlessly asking for her answer. She leaned back relaxedly in her seat. ¡°I have told Vincent of this before, but I come from an unassimilated world under a rather strong info lock. The most I can tell you is that I come from a family with a history of business, and that I am human. Anything beyond that will require your private investigation, because I¡¯m unsure what will actually be revealed if I try to tell you about it.¡±


    Count Ravimoux let out a hum and leaned back, eyeing her with an unreadable expression. He smirked and gave her a shrug once more, seemingly willing to accept her answer. The others slowly nodded, seeing that if the County responsible for information was fine with it, then they could be too. Count Chavaret grunted as he leaned forward, eyeing her with a serious look.


    ¡°I believe your actual origins do not matter, as long as you act with intentions to benefit the Faction. We won¡¯t be able to discover anything more about you without seeing how you work, so let¡¯s see these plans of yours.¡±


    The others gave acknowledging nods, so Lucy smiled and opened the folder on her desk. She handed out forms to each of them, picking up her own to start explaining. ¡°Firstly, let me begin by saying I am willing to invest 10% of the Founder¡¯s vault into the businesses of the Commission over the course of the next five years.¡±


    ¡°Only 10%?¡± spoke Artair. The others looked to him for a moment, and Lucy tilted her head at him, eyes narrowed.


    ¡°Nobody has checked the records of the Founder¡¯s vault for a few centuries, so I suppose it is normal for you to not know, but the total monetary value of the contents of the vault is estimated to be about 100 million crystalline tokens, from the records I have seen. 10% is 10 million crystal tokens.¡±


    ¡°The equivalent of a decade¡¯s worth of our annual income before expenses.¡± Said Count Evisenhardt, a hand stroking his goatee in thought.


    Lucille nodded. ¡°Obviously not all of the hundred million is in an easily transactional value, but that still leaves a quarter of a million in pure currency. A cash injection any higher than 10 million will be wasted on the Faction if it is used now.¡±


    The three Counts made small noises of acknowledgement, thinking deeply, while Artair frowned. Then he looked up, a serious expression on his face. ¡°The contents of the Founder¡¯s vault are composed of the compiled profit of over a thousand years of the Faction¡¯s operations. Why do you believe you have the right to dictate how this money should be spent?¡±


    Lucy looked at him silently for a moment, while the other Counts and even the high mage behind him let out low sighs. She leaned back, eyeing him with an unreadable expression. ¡°How old are you, sir Alichanteu?¡±


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    He blinked at the unexpected question but answered truthfully. ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯m 26.¡±


    Lucille nodded. ¡°So, 8 years older than me. You¡¯ve been an Ascendant for 10 years. Now, I have something to say about that.¡± She said, moving forward to look at the man with a serious expression.


    ¡°It is written, in the first Founder¡¯s rules, that the contents of the vault are the private property of the Faction Head. Regardless of the Counties¡¯ wishes. No one but the Faction Head, and Ashale¡¯viaf¡¯s incarnation, may enter it.¡± She shifted again and intertwined her fingers together, elbows resting on the table.


    ¡°I am not dictating where the money of the Commission should go. I am dictating where my money should go. And I¡¯m doing this freely as a sign of goodwill. This is not a case of someone taking the Counties¡¯ hard earned money and wasting it. I even specified for the next five years, and never told you what I¡¯m going to do with the rest of the contents of the vault.¡±


    They all watched as the young heir shrunk back a little in his seat, looking embarrassed. Lucy sighed and relaxed her posture. ¡°I turned 18 a little more than two months ago. Is it because of my young age that you feel I should answer to you?¡± she said, pulling out the pocket watch and holding it up for him to see.


    ¡°N-No, that¡¯s not it.¡± He said, shaking his head. She tilted her head.


    ¡°If so, then please remember something. You are not here to push your own agenda as a potential Count of Alichanteu.¡± They all took note of how he flinched when she emphasised ¡®potential¡¯. Lucy continued. ¡°You are here to represent the intentions of the current Count and Alichanteu, making decisions that would benefit the whole County and improve its entire power and standing.¡± She narrowed her eyes. ¡°Not to try play at being a Count.¡±


    Then she leaned back with a smirk and shrugged her shoulders. ¡°Of course, I haven¡¯t yet received my position as an Honorary Count by the Emperor, so I¡¯m not one to talk.¡±


    They all looked at her closely when she said that, probably trying to work out what her meaning was. Count Evisenhardt waved a hand to get their attention and gestured to the forms before them all.


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave the boy alone for now and get back to the matter at hand. What exactly do you intend for us to do with this money? It is surely not for free.¡± He said, looking at her curiously.


    She nodded and gestured for them to open their forms. ¡°What I want is your complete backing and support when implementing a restructuring of the Commission. This includes access to your employees or businesses, and accurately reporting to me the issues or progress of my plans in their implementation.¡±


    They started flicking through the forms, and she left them to read them in silence. When they all put them down, most of them were deep in thought. Count Ravimoux was watching her with an intense gaze, his constant smile still there. Count Evisenhardt spoke up without looking away from his documents.


    ¡°A complete overhaul of the structure of the Commission that makes sure positions held within it are isolated from the status one holds as a noble, so one can advance their career purely on contribution, qualifications and merit.¡± He looked up at her. ¡°You do realise this is taking away everything that holds us nobles together within the Faction?¡±


    She closed her eyes as she reshuffled her forms. ¡°I need to limit nepotism. Corruption is a normal event and can even be a tool in the right hands.¡± She looked up at him with a serious expression. ¡°What I cannot allow to continue is the rampant suppression of talent that occurs due to the innate status restrictions between higher nobles and lower nobles, and between nobility and commoners. You don¡¯t believe commoners could ever gain real power within the Empire, do you?¡±


    Count Evisenhardt scoffed as Count Ravimoux chuckled and the Count of Chavaret shook his head. She smirked. ¡°The strength-based system of the Empire, and of the Tower itself prevents them from rising on their own, and if they do, they get assimilated into the hierarchy set up by these main forces. They can never overcome the natural disadvantage in starting stats and resources to overtake any main noble clan. So, that¡¯s not your issue, is it?¡±


    Count Evisenhardt shook his head and gestured to the document. ¡°Of course not. No, my issue is that this restructuring of yours will ruin cohesion and loyalty within the Faction and introduce conflict. It has many advantages, I can easily see that, but it¡¯s too risky.¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t to cause conflict between the Faction¡¯s nobility.¡± She leaned forward to gaze at each of the four. ¡°This is to protect them from it.¡±


    ¡°Sorry?¡± frowned Count Evisenhardt. Count Chavaret crossed his arms and Count Ravimoux straightened up, watching her actions intently. She picked up her pocket watch and pointed to it.


    ¡°It is highly difficult to keep a Faction completely neutral when most of its members are part of the Empire, a Supreme Institution.¡± she said to them. Instead of responding, they only raised eyebrows at her, so she continued.


    ¡°The Faction is only called ¡®neutral¡¯ because it¡¯s never expressed any outwards stance on how it interacts with certain races or realms, always saying it is willing to trade with any group. That doesn¡¯t mean it doesn¡¯t privately have any opinions that influence our decision.¡± She placed the pocket watch back down. ¡°All noble clans have their own agenda, which unfortunately means private interests get mixed up when it makes decisions to trade with certain groups, such as the necromancers, undead, demons, or the ¡®uncivilised¡¯ beast clans, even though they have immense power and resources.¡±


    She leaned back to look at them. ¡°This restructuring will protect the noble families from being influenced by the wishes of stronger nobles, when it¡¯s not what they want. By making sure only the businesses owned by the nobility, and not the clans themselves, are under the authority of the Faction, they can keep their interests while allowing the Faction to remain uninfluenced by political bias. We need to change from just a loose alliance of merchant nobles,¡± she said, waving the form, ¡°to a true merchant union.¡±


    ¡°But how will you deal with the loyalty of the lower nobility once this restructuring has occurred? Or the interests of the commoners encroaching on the interests of nobility?¡± asked Count Chavaret.


    She smirked. ¡°That¡¯s easy. After all, their oaths of loyalty to Evisenhardt, Alichanteu, Ravimoux and Chavaret are completely unrelated to their decisions to have their businesses join the Faction. It¡¯s an Empire oath and not a Faction oath after all.¡±


    Count Chavaret gave a hearty chuckle at that. Typically, it was normal for nobility to make an oath of allegiance to one of the Counties when they joined, to gain their protection and use some of their authority. Over time, this basically became mandatory, but by highlighting the fact that they used an oath from the Empire to express their allegiance, she can separate the Faction from the fact they must continue to serve their lieges.


    She tapped on her chin. ¡°As for the commoners¡­ let them join a new force under my name.¡±


    They went silent as they processed this. Count Ravimoux leaned forward with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Are you planning on forming a force to counteract the Counties? I¡¯m not worried, but the vassal clans could be.¡±


    Lucy gave him a dismissive wave. ¡°Pfft. Not at all.¡± She put down her form. ¡°No, this is because of the method by which I plan to expand the Faction. Have a look at the fifth page.¡± She said, bringing her own version to the front of her pile. They looked at their own, reading it with raised eyebrows.


    ¡°Huh.¡± Count Chavaret said, scratching his greying beard. ¡°This is¡­ certainly something new. A standard noble hierarchy definitely wouldn¡¯t work too well with this.¡±


    She smiled at him. ¡°Once the basic structure is in place, then the nobility can start involving themselves once more, and the Faction will settle into a new status quo. You can use my power as Head for all this if you wish. In fact¡­¡± she said, leaning forward with a grin. ¡°Why don¡¯t we pretend I¡¯m a puppet leader.¡±


    They all looked up, blinking, and slightly stunned. Count Ravimoux held his chin. ¡°A puppet leader¡­¡± He looked at her oddly. ¡°You¡¯re an¡­. interesting type of person for suggesting this. And you¡¯re willing to just accept this?¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°The truth would come out eventually, but probably not until the five year period I set is over. Nobody is going to believe you¡¯re willing to accept listening to an 18-year-old girl. Just spread the word I¡¯m a specially curated candidate you planted in the Inheritance Trials, and I managed to get the item. It¡¯s a common enough occurrence, and it will distract the outside forces until we¡¯ve consolidated our power after the restructuring.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s why you suggested I become your aide¡­¡± murmured Vincent. Unfortunately, due to the small size of the meeting room, everyone heard him. They all turned to him in surprise, and he awkwardly adjusted his glasses as he avoided eye-contact, embarrassed by the sudden attention.


    ¡°You suggested to my grandson to become your aide?¡± Count Evisenhardt asked, looking at her curiously. She nodded and he turned to his grandson with narrowed eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll hear more about that later.¡±


    Vincent grimaced slightly and gave a nod, likely worried about the grilling he¡¯ll receive by his grandfather. Artair looked at the forms with a slight frown, before looking up.


    ¡°But these ideas¡­ it¡¯s hard to believe an 18-year-old girl came up with them. Were you some sort of genius in your home world?¡±


    She blinked. ¡°Genius? Oh.¡± She shook her head in realisation. ¡°Of course not. I never came up with these ideas. These are all products of my home world.¡± She got a few raised eyebrows when she said that.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to believe your nobility let these type of policies be allowed if that¡¯s the case.¡± Count Ravimoux stated.


    She grinned. ¡°When did I say we had nobility?¡±


    They all straightened up, confused by her statement. Artair looked at her curiously. ¡°Is it similar to the Coalition? Where your status is determined by your craftsmen ranking?¡±


    Lucille considered it but shook her head. She gestured to the form on her table. ¡°Not quite. It¡¯s not specific to craftsmen for us. Our whole world functions like this contribution system I¡¯ve suggested here, from the governing bodies to privately owned businesses.¡± She smiled. ¡°Although, my world is similar when you compare us to their magitech. I have a few plans that make use of my knowledge of my world''s engineering skills. Including advancing those airships the Supreme Institutions are so fixed on being the first to create.¡±


    She waited as they drew in startled gasps, most of the people standing behind the Counts going wide-eyed. The Counts had no reaction, however. They shared a glance, and the room entered a strange silence for a while.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Count Ravimoux mused. Then, his dark-green eyes narrowed, and his face went deadly serious as he gazed at her. ¡°And why do you think we¡¯ll just listen to you now that the item has been removed from the Inheritance Trial? We could just kill you here, right now, and find someone more appropriate to bond the token.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡± Count Chavaret growled, looking at her with furrowed brows. ¡°It¡¯s a threat to the Faction to have someone so young, and so weak as our leader.¡± The man behind him reached for his greatsword.


    ¡°Now, now.¡± Count Evisenhardt said. His eyes glinted as he looked at Lucille. ¡°We don¡¯t need to be so violent. I¡¯m sure she can just bestow us with authority and leave the Faction to us. We don¡¯t need to get rid of her. She¡¯s only Rank-0.¡±


    Artair just gazed at her with a complicated expression, not making any move, while Vincent looked worried as he watched their interaction. Lucille looked at them all with a tilted head, her face expressionless. Then she tapped on the pocket watch on the table.


    ¡°Show Sevastian Evisenhardt, Donovan Chavaret, Artair Alichanteu, and Regulus Ravimoux the Main Total Faction Authority page.¡±


    Above the watch, a semi-translucent white screen appeared. She poked it, and it enlarged itself so they could all see what was written on it. She smiled widely as they stared at her.


    ¡°Would you look at that! Mental Activation is enabled for the instant destruction of all County inheritances and businesses. I wonder who put that there.¡± She said brightly, like she wasn¡¯t threatening to destroy the very foundation of the Counties.


    There was a tense silence as nobody knew how they should react, the sound of Lucy putting the pocket watch back in her chest pocket being heard by all present. It was broken by Count Ravimoux letting out a wry chuckle and tilting back in his chair. ¡°You said it earlier Artair.¡± He said. ¡°She doesn¡¯t seem like any old 18-year-old in the slightest. Old men, your ploy failed.¡±


    Count Chavaret scowled at the man while Count Evisenhardt just clicked his tongue and shook his head, frustrated. After glaring at the Ravimoux Count, he turned to her and smiled. ¡°I suppose we have no choice. The Evisenhardts are willing to proceed with these plans.¡± He said, holding up a hand.


    ¡°The Ravimoux are willing as well.¡± announced Count Ravimoux, holding up a hand too.


    ¡°A-As are the Alichanteu, on behalf of the Count.¡± Said Artair, after a poke in the back by the High-mage behind him.


    There was only the Count of Chavaret left watching Lucy. ¡°Three of the Counties have already given you their vote, so my vote is rendered useless either way. However, what I want to know is this. As the leader of an immensely large Faction in the Mystical Realm, you will be up against the political schemes of ancient individuals thousands of years old in age, while only being 18. Do you have the confidence to stand up against them, and not fail under the pressure?¡±


    They all waited for her answer, varying levels of interest present in their body language. Lucille looked at them all with narrowed eyes, before turning to Count Chavaret with a mischievous expression.


    ¡°I believe I¡¯ve heard that you¡¯re around 500 years old, Count Chavaret. You must have had some experience with spiritual energy.¡±


    He frowned but nodded. Lucy grinned and leaned an elbow on the table. ¡°I can understand your fears. I¡¯m young, and youth brings weakness. But there¡¯s a much simpler answer to this than you¡¯d expect.¡±


    Her face became expressionless. ¡°You see, I¡¯m not actually 18.¡±


    There was a moment when they all looked perplexed, staring at her confusedly, before they felt it. Lucille unfurled her spiritual energy, spreading her soul power throughout the small room they found themselves in. The air rippled as something similar to a shockwave moved through it, and there were strangulated gasps as Count Evisenhardt put a hand on his chest, trying to calm his pulsing heart. Artair had his hands around his neck, feeling breathless, and Count Ravimoux scrambled to get out of his chair.


    Lucy raised an eyebrow when she saw the man behind Count Chavaret try to draw his greatsword, and the pressure intensified, pushing down on the room¡¯s occupants. The wild-haired man dropped to a knee, struggling against the weight, and the high mage behind Artair tried to use his staff to keep standing. Vincent had gone pale and was already on the ground, his brother barely kneeling too.


    Only Count Chavaret remained still in his seat, but Lucy could see he had gritted his teeth with clenched fists, his vessels bulging as he strained against the pressure. She could see his brown irises had gained a red rim around them, so he was likely trying to resist the energy by enveloping himself in his battle intent, a form of killing intent. Unluckily for him, Lucy didn¡¯t use killing intent in her spiritual energy, so it was ineffective. He growled as he tried to stand up to resist it better. Not wanting anyone to collapse, she snapped her fingers and before they could react the spiritual energy withdrew inwards, her overbearing presence gone.


    Everyone just stared blankly at her for a moment. She smirked and leaned back in her chair, doing nothing else. There were a few sighs of relief as the invisible dizzying force was gone, and Artair weakly climbed back into his chair that he had fallen out of.


    ¡°What¡­ was that?!¡± He suddenly exclaimed, his skin pale and clammy.


    Count Chavaret grunted as he sat back down in his chair. ¡°Soul pressure.¡± He spat.


    Count Evisenhardt fumbled with a white handkerchief he had drawn out of a pocket, trying to stem the blood flowing from his nose. ¡°Didn¡¯t have it in you to give an old man a little mercy?¡± he muttered, grimacing at his dishevelled state.


    ¡°You¡¯re that weak at Rank-3? Ha, I¡¯m sure your grandsons are so proud of you!¡± mocked Count Ravimoux, although he wasn¡¯t looking to well himself. The tattoo around his arm kept writhing and twisting, and his skin had gone a tad green.


    Vincent, his brother, the High-mage, and the wild-haired man behind Count Chavaret all looked worse for wear. Vincent looked at Lucille with a complicated expression, which she understood. Who wouldn¡¯t have mixed feelings if the young girl they thought they knew somewhat went and did this to several Rank-3 and 4s?


    They all flinched as Lucy spoke up. ¡°Do you need an explanation from me?¡±


    The greatsword wielder behind the Count of Chavaret stared at her warily, but internally, she rolled her eyes. If she wanted them dead, they wouldn¡¯t have survived her soul pressure. Count Chavaret gazed at her under bushy eyebrows for a bit, but eventually nodded. ¡°I know what you meant to show us, but I¡¯m not sure the others understood.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ I¡¯m rather lost.¡± Count Evisenhardt added dryly, watching them interact while appearing unamused.


    She nodded as she pulled out her pocket watch, spinning it around by its chain. ¡°Soul pressure is obviously something gained when you have a strong soul. Having more spiritual energy increases the intensity of it. Cultivators are famous for using it as an area-of-effect ability on weaker cultivators. The average User definitely does not have a soul pressure with the strength of mine.¡± She said, smiling. ¡°But some races, such as the celestial dragons, are born with incredibly vast souls, so it¡¯s not a physical impossibility that a Rank-0 User could have such strong soul pressure.¡±


    She kept silent that she didn¡¯t even use a tenth of her soul pressure on them, or the fact that she had to limit herself to using 20% of her energy at any one time so her body didn¡¯t collapse under the weight of the feedback. Seeing them understand, she leaned forward and gave them a wide smile. ¡°But one other lesser known feature of soul pressure is this: it contains small pieces of the numerical history of the user.¡±


    She leaned back and shrugged. ¡°This only increases according to the flow of years in the main realms. No pocket dimensions under an increased time ratio can increase the ¡®depth¡¯ of my presence outside what the equivalent would be in the main realms. So, while it''s harder for those less familiar with spiritual energy to understand the tiny pockets of information revealed through my energy, Count Chavaret here,¡± She said, gesturing to the bulky man, ¡°Has probably battled a few cultivators in his time, and knows what I tried to impress upon you with my presence.¡±


    He gazed at her with an unreadable expression, before answering.


    ¡°You¡¯re definitely not 18.¡±

 Chapter 14 (2 of 2) Endgame Bosses - Corporate Edition.

    He gazed at her with an unreadable expression. ¡°You¡¯re definitely not 18.¡±


    She smirked and rested her chin on a hand. ¡°Technically my body is, but the age of my soul, the length of time I consider myself ¡®alive¡¯ for?¡±


    She grinned widely. ¡°Much older.¡±


    Count Chavaret scratched his chin, staring down at the ground in thought. ¡°Older than a hundred, but less than half a thousand¡­ I¡¯d place you at two centuries¡­. wait.¡± He looked up. ¡°Two centuries and a half.¡±


    ¡°249 years to be exact.¡± She nodded. ¡°I believe that is old enough to be considered an equal?¡± she said to them, smirking.


    Count Ravimoux frowned at the table. ¡°And I¡¯m 29. Does that make me the youngest again?¡± Then he looked up and cocked an eyebrow at her. ¡°But there¡¯s a problem. My Inspection skill says you¡¯re only 18. And I am quite confident in my information skills.¡±


    She hummed, then leaned back in her chair, legs crossed. ¡°Trade secret?¡± she responded.


    He narrowed his eyes but said nothing else. Reincarnation and possession were not unknown concepts for the residents of the Tower realms, but the System only allowed it in very rare circumstances. If the System had allowed it for her, then she wasn¡¯t about to go telling anyone why. But she hadn¡¯t reincarnated or through possession, and unless she showed them her Title, they wouldn¡¯t believe her.


    She noticed Vincent was looking at her with a troubled expression. She gave him a smile, but he only blinked, still lost in thought, so she shrugged and looked around. Artair looked at her and then shivered.


    ¡°Her being much older than she looks matches up with what I felt when that pressure was felt. I got this strange sensation of¡­ omniscience emanating from you and had the feeling like I was sitting before some incomprehensible creature.¡± He said, looking pale.


    Lucille nodded. ¡°When you feel the thousands of sensations I¡¯ve received over the years, it¡¯s hard for someone with little spiritual energy to comprehend the situation. It¡¯s why the ¡®immortals¡¯ go to great lengths to ensure their presence doesn¡¯t affect the weaker cultivators. Some get soul damage just from the sensation.¡±


    She turned to Count Chavaret with narrowed eyes. ¡°So, do you feel confident enough to have me as your leader?¡±


    He scarred man watched her silently for a moment, before crossing his arms and slowly nodding. ¡°You¡¯re not young, or weak. I can¡¯t complain.¡±


    She smiled and leaned back. ¡°Then I guess that¡¯s settled then. I have a few plans for each of the individual Counties I¡¯d like to show you to, so there¡¯s still plenty more to discuss.¡±


    ¡°But before that¡­¡± Spoke up Count Evisenhardt. ¡°I¡¯d prefer if we could go over this¡­ ¡®umbrella company¡¯ concept and these subsidiary businesses.¡±


    ¡°Ah, and I¡¯d like to know more about this public transport system you¡¯ve suggested.¡± Said Artair.


    Count Ravimoux and Count Chavaret both nodded in agreement. Lucille narrowed her eyes and grinned like a cat that had caught its prey.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s discuss these topics further then.¡±


    <hr>


    A while later, Sevastian and Vincent Evisenhardt walked down one of the long corridors of the Headquarters, their footsteps being the only sound heard in the white-walled area. Count Sevastian Evisenhardt slowed his steps, and his grandson sped up to walk beside him. The goatee wearing man turned to Vincent and narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m unimpressed. Very unimpressed, Vincent. You have not dealt with this well.¡±


    Vincent remained silent as his grandfather sighed and shook his head. ¡°Have a guess at why I believe you have not done well.¡±


    Vincent shifted his glasses and stared at the carpeted ground, frowning. ¡°Because I didn¡¯t tell you about the offer of becoming her aide?¡±


    The Evisenhardt Count scoffed and gave a dismissive wave of his hand. ¡°I don¡¯t care about that. I assume you didn¡¯t inform me so you wouldn¡¯t lose what good rapport you had built with her. I would¡¯ve done the same in your situation. No, it¡¯s because of another reason.¡±


    He turned to gaze at Vincent with stern eyes. ¡°Have you already rejected her offer?¡±


    Vincent shook his head. ¡°I only asked to wait until after the meeting to answer her.¡±


    The older man gave a firm nod of his head. ¡°Good, at least you have that much sense in you. Before the meeting, did you have plans of accepting?¡±


    Vincent hesitated but nodded under his grandfather¡¯s narrowed gaze. The shorter man then made eye contact with Vincent and put a hand on his shoulder. ¡°What about now?¡±


    Vincent went silent. The man shook his head and raised his cane, gesturing to the corridor behind them with the white stick. ¡°You know, from the moment that girl stepped through the doors, I did not see one hint of her trying to hide who she was. She had every intention of showing us the irrefutable proof of her age from the very start.¡±


    Sevastian tapped on Vincent¡¯s chest with the cane. ¡°You were the one to say she was clever, boy, you know her personality best. Tell me, has she ever tried to hide her real self from you?¡±


    Vincent considered all of his time spent with her, and realised that no, Lucy had not actually ever tried to pretend she was a normal 18-year-old girl. She hadn¡¯t even tried to hide her more special abilities. Scytale might also be more unique than he first thought too. He shook his head for his grandfather, who nodded and continued marching down the hallway with his cane.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen her type before, boy. She¡¯s dangerous, very dangerous, but I know what she is.¡±


    ¡°Her¡­ type?¡± Vincent repeated, frowning as he followed the man.


    Sevastian nodded. ¡°It¡¯s a surprise to see it occurring in an 18-year-old, even if she has a soul older than two centuries.¡± He looked at his grandson with a serious expression. ¡°Many individuals, often those isolated from society at one time or another, once they reach a particular age, develop¡­ interesting personalities. Not by accident, but rather intentionally. A common example would be the Grand wizards and Archmages of All-Aeon Athenaeum, with their haughty and pretentious attitudes. They shrug off all values that society would force upon them and act without restraint, as long as their ¡®persona¡¯, if you will, allows it, uncaring of the attitudes of the people around them.¡±


    He sighed and shook his head. ¡°I had almost thought I was seeing things when I noticed it occurring with her, but I suppose the difference between her body and soul in age explains it.¡± He frowned and shook his head again. ¡°Don¡¯t try to get them to drop their persona though. Most of the time, this ¡®front¡¯ they put up is a coping mechanism of sorts. It is how they interact with society in an acceptable way after years of isolation. They don¡¯t necessarily have nice personalities underneath. Of course, those members of All-Aeon Athenaeum aren¡¯t always pretending.¡± He said, chuckling to himself.


    Sevastian suddenly whirled around and tapped Vincent on the arm with his cane. ¡°What I am unimpressed about,¡± he continued, frowning at the man wearing half-moon glasses, ¡°Is how you didn¡¯t accept that girl¡¯s offer the instant she made it!¡± he rebuked, glaring at him with piercing grey eyes.


    Vincent scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. ¡°It would be unbecoming of an Evisenhardt to be so eager to accept an offer.¡± He replied, trying to reduce his anger.


    His grandfather¡¯s glare intensified as he lightly whacked Vincent over the head with his cane. ¡°Don¡¯t make excuses to me young man, I¡¯ve had over seven hundred years of experience in dealing with your father¡¯s generation.¡± He waved his cane higher in a threat of more violence.


    ¡°But¡­ wouldn¡¯t me taking up her offer trouble the County?¡± The younger man said in response, covering his head to avoid being hit by the cane.


    His grandfather huffed and marched on ahead. ¡°When do you turn 30, boy?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ three years?¡± Vincent responded hesitantly. The Evisenhardt Count nodded and waved a hand to gesture at him.


    ¡°When an Evisenhardt noble turns 30 they traditionally take up a proper position of power within either the County or the County¡¯s main businesses. However, you are one of 7 brothers, and have 6 competent sisters. You are also the youngest child, with the least succession rights.¡± Sevastian raised an eyebrow at him. ¡°What position still exists for you by now?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hardly my fault my father had three wives.¡± Vincent responded sarcastically.


    His grandfather was unamused. ¡°Then would you rather not have been born?¡±


    Vincent wisely remained silent, so the older man gave him a mildly exasperated sigh and turned to face him. ¡°Vincentimo Sorviere Evisenhardt.¡± He stated. ¡°You are young. Inexperienced. And unneeded.¡± His grandfather told him harshly, interjecting each word with another poke of his cane. Vincent blinked, nonplussed. His grandfather whirled back around and pointed to the end of the hallway.


    ¡°But for some reason, that girl saw something in you. This girl has offered you a way to bypass all your siblings and make it straight to the top. Don¡¯t ruin this chance. I have noticed the positive light you have described her in before this, meaning you¡¯re clearly unopposed to working with her. I had almost thought you were interested in her.¡± He chuckled.


    Vincent gave him an absolutely horrified look, making his grandfather glare at him again. ¡°I know now that that was obviously not the case. You were interested in the personage, or maybe more accurately, the mind behind those plans of hers.¡±


    Vincent stared at him in confusion, making Sevastian shake his head wryly. ¡°Ever since you were a child I¡¯ve noticed all the wonderful ideas you¡¯ve come up with for the County and the Faction.¡± He gave a regretful sigh. ¡°Unfortunately, the way of the County and its nobility has been fixed over the years, with very little room to make the changes you so desired.¡± He looked at his grandson. ¡°Again, boy, don¡¯t ruin this chance of yours.¡±


    They walked in silence as Vincent digested their conversation. It was a lot for him to take in. But he couldn¡¯t help look at his grandfather weirdly. ¡°How could you even believe I would be interested a girl 9 years my younger?¡±


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°Bah.¡± The Count of Evisenhardt gave a dismissive wave of his hand. ¡°Age gaps are normal among Ascendants. It¡¯s not so uncommon. Why, I¡¯m 50 years older than your grandmother!¡±


    ¡°You married her when she was already 172.¡± Vincent responded flatly. ¡°It¡¯s not the same.¡±


    The older man turned to his grandson with narrowed eyes. ¡°It seems you¡¯ve some attitude in you. I don¡¯t know if I want that returning to my County. As a matter of fact¡­¡± Sevastian said, looking intensely at Vincent, ¡°You won¡¯t be returning at all.¡±


    Vincent was stunned. ¡°¡­what?¡±


    The older man grabbed his grandson by the shoulders and whirled him around. Then, he lifted his cane and pointed it in the direction of Lucy¡¯s room. ¡°If you won¡¯t take matters into your own hand, then I will.¡± He said. He jabbed his grandson in the back with the white cane. ¡°You go up there, you say you¡¯ll accept that offer, and you stay here.¡±


    ¡°W-Wait, wait, wait.¡± Exclaimed Vincent, confused by the developing events. ¡°What are you-¡±


    ¡°Just go!¡± his grandfather interrupted, pushing the man along with the cane. ¡°I¡¯ll not have you standing here like some pushover, trying to stall! Get up there and accept her offer!¡±


    Vincent hesitantly took a step forward, and then started walking quicker when he noticed Sevastian waving around his cane threateningly behind him.


    ¡°I¡¯ll kick you out of the County if you try to come back without having accepted that offer!" he shouted.


    Still stunned, Vincent started making his way down the familiar path to the elevator that would take him to Lucy¡¯s room. As he got closer, his stunned state faded, and he slowed down, but kept moving. He thought deeper about his situation.


    His grandfather had always been a¡­ headstrong man, courtesy of his many years negotiating with nobles at the Bank, but never this outspoken. He supposed the plans Lucy described must have given him some motivation and gotten him excited somehow.


    He hesitated as he considered Lucy¡¯s plans. Even if they weren¡¯t original ideas, as she had said, it was still mightily impressive that she had come up with a way to adapt them to the Commission. It would¡¯ve needed heavy experience in organisational management. It made him wonder what she did before all this.


    Although¡­ he shuddered slightly as he remembered the sensation of the soul pressure. It was a dizzying, throbbing sensation that felt like it was threatening to tear apart the very fibres of his mind, vibrating and resonating in time with the hundreds of vague thoughts and impressions pulling at his consciousness as the vast presence had descended on the room. Maybe it wasn¡¯t a good thing to know more.


    That brought him to a topic he didn¡¯t really want to consider. Namely, how he was going to interact with Lucy after all this. Before the meeting, he had been willing to become her aide, because she was a genuinely interesting person, and her plans had intrigued him. Now she didn¡¯t feel approachable, or even human to him anymore. It¡¯s not like she had tried to hide her true thoughts or opinions from him, and apart from a few odd times, she had always given him an explanation for her actions. But then there was that stray comment about how she had ¡®played her part¡¯ which gave him mixed feelings.


    Maybe he needed to approach this from a different angle. He frowned as he turned a corner and considered the implications behind a 250-year-old soul being in a teenager¡¯s body. He had heard a few stories from before the time of the Tower, when the Mystical Realm was still unassimilated, about Archmages or 12<sup>th</sup> circle wizards developing reincarnation spells that let them be reborn in a new body a few thousand years later, and apparently the concept was heavily prevalent in the Heavenly Realm, with their 6 paths of Samsara. Strong demons could also use their astral body to possess others, and a few rare soul magics could do so too. But after assimilation, reincarnation and possession were strictly controlled by the System, and handed out as a very rare reward, apart from temporary possession abilities. As for why Lucy had earned it¡­ he had no clue.


    With her strong and large soul, it would make sense if she was a soul cultivator, but cultivators had a very distinct nature and presence. Lucille felt more like a high-ranked mage or noble to him. She even used several mannerisms similar to the nobility of the Empire, and she cast that arcane bolt spell. Cultivators couldn¡¯t use mana. They were born with their ¡®dantian¡¯ that allowed them to condense spiritual energy into this ¡®spiritual essence¡¯ thing that resided within their bodies, allowing them to strengthen their bodies with the normally rather ineffectual energy.


    And you could only have a dantian if you had a ¡®Spiritual Root¡¯, which required you to be born in a realm with no mana. That meant the Heavenly Realm. You couldn¡¯t have a spiritual root even if you were born in the Demon Realm, which had very sparse mana, because even the slightest contact with it while within the womb would change it to become normal mana veins. Soul cultivators were the rarest, so maybe they could do things normal cultivators couldn¡¯t¡­ but he put Lucy being a cultivator at rather unlikely.


    He scratched his neck, a bit confused. That meant she was a mage or wizard of some kind, considering that spell of hers, but he didn¡¯t actually remember asking what kind of mage she was. There were several Orders for mages and Towers for wizards corresponding to different elements in the All-Aeon Athenaeum, but she hadn¡¯t used any elemental magic in front of him as of yet. He supposed he¡¯ll have to ask her later. As for more clues that could point to her identity¡­ there was only that serpent bond of hers, who was practically missing in action with how long he hadn¡¯t seen the beast, and the strange way she had treated him when they first met. There was also that situation with the Legendary accessory craftsman¡­


    He paused when he remembered a strange piece of conversation he had had with her after meeting the crafter. It had been a strange excuse, but if there was the slightest bit of truth to it, it would explain a few things. Such as her attitude towards him and the crafter, and her apparent lack of desire to become a Rank-1 first, coming straight to the Commission as soon as she was able. But¡­


    He shook his head forcefully. That was utterly ridiculous. There was no way she would¡¯ve been so willing to admit she was a time traveller. He chuckled wryly to himself as he entered the elevator. There were probably a mountain of alternative answers he could choose from, and he was only getting fixated on one of the least likely or logical solutions available. He shook his head again to get rid of the idea, stepping out of the elevator and into one of the cream floral-patterned corridors of the Founder¡¯s floor. He guessed he wouldn¡¯t be able to find out anymore until he had worked alongside her for a while. If her attitude hadn¡¯t changed towards him, then it might be easier than he expected.


    But as he opened the oak door of her living room, a thought resided in the back of his head that maybe, just maybe, Lucille knew more about what will occur in the future than she was letting on.


    <hr>


    Lucille looked up from her tea when she saw the door of her room open to reveal Vincent standing there in his white suit, looking a bit weary. He shut the door behind him with a click as she gestured to the brass jug on the coffee table.


    ¡°Would you like some?¡±


    He seemed to watch her expression for a moment, like he was looking for something. She tilted her head at his reaction, but then he just sighed and gave a light chuckle to himself, sitting down on the couch opposite her. She shrugged and took another sip of her drink as he picked up the jug.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t some of that disgustingly bitter drink you seem to be able to enjoy daily is it?¡± he said, eyeing the jug dubiously.


    She shook her head and winced at the pain it induced. ¡°I decided not to exacerbate my headache by drinking something like that today.¡±


    He raised an eyebrow at her. ¡°Headache?¡±


    She frowned as she rubbed her temples. ¡°There is a reason why I haven¡¯t been using my spiritual energy constantly.¡± She responded dryly, taking another sip of her tea. ¡°It¡¯s not exactly fun to be in a body that can be overwhelmed by strain if you so much as think too hard.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to know what kind of thinking you¡¯re doing if it could give you a headache just like that.¡± He said, putting down his cup. He shook his head and leaned forward to look at her intently. ¡°I¡¯m here because I would like to accept your offer of being an aide.¡±


    Lucy glanced at him and noticed a few details. The normally immaculate suit he wore was slightly crumbled, Vincent¡¯s fluffy hair seemed to be strangely flat on top, and his glasses were slightly askew. She peered at him over the top of her drink as she took another sip.


    ¡°Normally, I¡¯d be fine to start working out the finer details once you¡¯ve said that, allowing you to begin working soon. But¡­¡± she said, cocking an eyebrow. ¡°Are you sure this was a willing acceptance of your own design?¡±


    Vincent blinked, his mouth slightly open in surprise. ¡°How did y- wait.¡± He said, staring at her suspiciously. ¡°That¡¯s not just a guess, is it. That headache¡¯s not normal.¡±


    Lucy avoided eye-contact and looked to the side. ¡°The view is rather pleasant today, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°The window is behind you.¡± Vincent reminded her.


    They had a brief staring contest in the silent room before Lucy sighed and placed her empty cup on the table. ¡°Are you aware of what spiritual sense is?¡±


    ¡°Vaguely?¡± he said, a bit puzzled.


    Lucille pointed to her head. ¡°If I was a cultivator, then I could direct my spiritual sense more locally to view specific areas. Because I¡¯m not, having sacrificed that function and ¡®spiritual sense¡¯ for greater detail, when I use what is my spiritual perception field, it expands in a spherical form, and I get feedback on everything within that radius.¡± She winced as she rubbed her head again. ¡°If I had the physique of a Rank-3, then I could support it for longer periods.¡±


    ¡°So, you were spying on the conversation I had with my grandfather.¡± He responded flatly.


    Lucy blinked. ¡°No?¡±


    Vincent leaned back to look at her with suspicion. ¡°Aren¡¯t you saying you had a headache because you expanded it too much to hear me and my grandfather?¡±


    She shook her head and looked at him again. ¡°No. I expanded it too much while listening to you and your grandfather, the other Counts, the heir, and his escort. All the cleaning staff. The maids. The clerks. Viewing every breeze, every mote of dust, every object. Every speck of matter. Every particle of mana. Any spiritual energy residue. Everything within the Headquarters.¡± She frowned at the table. ¡°Actually, I think the magic arrays in the basement need replacing. They¡¯ve probably gone over their 10-year limit, because the mana efficiency of those ventilators is atrocious.¡±


    Vincent stared blankly at Lucy. Then he held up a hand to pause her, the other messaging his nose bridge. ¡°W-Wait just one moment.¡± He put his hands together and stared at Lucy again, leaning forward. ¡°You¡¯re saying¡­ you can even see detail up to¡­ what, the number of people in Headquarters right now?¡±


    ¡°9,334.¡± She abruptly announced. She rubbed her temples. ¡°It was originally around 7,300 an hour ago, but the news about the visiting Counts seem to have been spread.¡±


    Vincent leaned back, flabbergasted. Then his eyes widened in realisation. ¡°So, that¡¯s how you found out I never reported those plans to my grandfather.¡± He narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°How long have you been spying on me?¡±


    She cocked an eyebrow and leaned back. ¡°After how you saw me react to using it for a short period of time today? Seriously?¡±


    He opened his mouth but closed it afterwards when he realised that there¡¯s no way she could¡¯ve used it for a whole week just to catch him. Lucy pointed to her head again. ¡°I¡¯m just proficient at personality analysis.¡±


    The man wearing half-moon glasses rolled his eyes. ¡°Riiiight.¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°Believe what you will. As for another matter¡­¡± She narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°Any update on the Vadel situation?¡±


    Vincent¡¯s expression went serious as he nodded. ¡°There has been, actually.¡± He intertwined his fingers as he leaned forward. ¡°The two nobles have returned safely to their estate, but there¡¯s a curious event that occurred during their trip: the convoy had been destroyed by a freak avalanche and only five people survived, including the two Vadels.¡±


    She frowned, crossing her arms. ¡°An accident on a secret mission is far too suspicious.¡±


    Vincent nodded. ¡°I agree. It is very unlikely. Especially considering it was called the ¡®Permafrost Glacial Abode¡¯ region.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°The naming conventions of the System are very specific. If it has ¡®Permafrost¡¯ in the name, it will mean the glaciers and ice there are not prone to shifting, unless dislodged by a King-ranked monster or equivalent strength beast of some kind.¡± She frowned again. ¡°But a monster or beast of that strength would¡¯ve had its aura felt if they were close enough to be affected by an avalanche from a frontier region. The mountains wouldn¡¯t have grown too high yet, meaning they would¡¯ve been close enough to sense it.¡±


    Vincent sighed and leaned back. ¡°That is the conclusion my clan and Ravimoux have come to.¡± Seeing Lucille look up in response to ¡®Ravimoux¡¯, he explained himself. ¡°I made the decision of involving the forces of Ravimoux to gain more accurate information.¡±


    Lucy tapped on her chin. ¡°That¡¯s a good move. As much as the situation involving that intruder was dealt with in a way that reduces debt between us, the Count would want to show his goodwill to me so I could have no complaints about the intruder. Letting them help is also a way to access their information of Alichanteu, which I¡¯d say they have more on than the other Counties.¡±


    Vincent nodded and looked at the table. ¡°Then should we assume there was an instigator behind this ¡®avalanche¡¯?¡±


    ¡°That seems the best plan for the moment. Why did those five survive?¡± she said, reaching for the jug.


    He frowned slightly as he reviewed his memories of the information. ¡°I think it was attributed to a mix of skill and chance. The heir of the Vadels and the manager for Alichanteu, Efratel, had hired several individuals of much higher talent than were contracted by the convoy company. His younger cousin, Marellen, is known as a minor talent within the Alichanteu, but the other three were also interesting. He had contracted a pair of siblings, the female being a member of the Black Hand Mercenary Guild, and the male being a spear wielder known for causing trouble.¡±


    Lucy paused her pouring of her tea to look up. ¡°Huh. Were they called Larena and Garthe?¡±


    Vincent reached into a coat pocket and withdrew a slip of paper, reading it carefully. He looked up. ¡°Uh¡­ yes, actually. How did you know that?¡± he asked curiously.


    She went back to pouring. ¡°I actually met them around the same time as I met the Vadels in that frontier region. I suppose my intervention caused them to decide to work together.¡± She said, picking up her refilled teacup and leaning back on the couch.


    ¡°I see. The last member was also rather unique: a snow-elf mage who has been working as a adventurer of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild in the Beast Realm after she ran from the unfortunate rumours about her heritage that caused conflict within her family. She has the rare dual affinity of ice and fire and I believe her current name is Roa Winteri-¡±


    Lucy spluttered as she spat out her mouthful of tea, coughing. She withdrew a handkerchief from her pocket as she coughed several times, waving a hand to the dubious Vincent to assure him she was alright. ¡°Sorry.¡± She said, putting back down the teacup. ¡°I think I might¡¯ve misheard you. Could you repeat that last bit for me?¡±


    He eyed her sceptically but acquiesced, shifting his glasses as he looked back down at the paper. ¡°Her name is Roa Winteridge. Although, it seems she¡¯s been going by a nickname of sorts, because I have been informed that her true name is actually-¡±


    ¡°Trisroa Vel-Winteridge.¡± Lucille interjected, frowning deeply.


    Vincent stared at her for a moment, eyeing her with suspicion. ¡°It seems you¡¯re familiar with her.¡±


    Lucy kept frowning, staring at the table in thought. ¡°Not really. I¡¯ve never met her if that¡¯s what you¡¯re asking.¡±


    ¡°Yet your reaction points to more than a simple connection.¡± He replied dryly.


    Lucille gazed at him with narrowed eyes, wondering how much to tell him. She sighed and looked at the roof. ¡°There is a certain group of¡­ people I very much wish not to get involved with. She is someone with such connections to that group of people, whether she knows of it or not. I just didn¡¯t expect her name to be coming up here.¡±


    Vincent still looked suspicious. ¡°Did you offend some powerful force or Faction of some kind?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°No. Neither they nor the¡­ group she¡¯s connected to know of me in the slightest. My existence doesn¡¯t endanger the Faction at all, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re worried about.¡±


    ¡°And if I ask any further, you¡¯ll just respond with time travel?¡± Vincent asked, an eyebrow raised.


    Lucy shook her head again. ¡°Not even that.¡± Vincent looked taken aback by her answer, but she didn¡¯t stop to address it. ¡°We have little more than a partial relation to one other person at one point in time.¡± She looked down at the table, frowning again. Then she shook her head and gestured to him. ¡°She¡¯s a very talented magic-user, so it would be best to keep an eye on her.¡±


    That was the biggest understatement of the millennium. After all, who would dare reduce the grand title of the Sovereign Sorceress of Frostfire to a mere magic-user?


    ¡°Keep tabs on the rest of the group to the best of your ability as well. Knowing of a manager who¡¯s in contact with the Raven¡¯s Wing Shadow Blade of the Black Hand can¡¯t be a bad thing for the Commission.¡±


    Vincent nodded. After finishing his tea, he got up and gave a light bow. ¡°I¡¯ll come back another day to discuss the finer terms of my employment, and potentially the internal debut we need to arrange for you, but for now, I¡¯ll return to my residence.¡±


    He held out a hand for her. ¡°I look forward to working with you, Lucille Goldcroft.¡± He said with a smile. She stood up and shook it, before he left and shut the door behind him. In the now silent room, Lucy sat back down expressionlessly, crossing her arms.


    Hearing the name of the second strongest member of the Hero¡¯s party was definitely unexpected, but it showed that her actions would cause more and more butterfly effects that would culminate to create unfamiliar events as time went on. That was why she decided to put so much effort into aiding a Faction that was fated to collapse in a few years. She needed more power than just what a few skills and stats could do.


    She looked at the roof and closed her eyes. But she didn¡¯t mind the butterfly effect. It would only benefit her more in the end. Information was only useful when it was valid, and the Commission would give her the advantage when it came to that.


    Then, I might see if I can steal this party member of yours, Griffin. Don¡¯t hate me too much, ¡®Hero of Light¡¯.


    Lucille¡¯s mouth curled up into a wicked grin. The Commission was only a side project, after all.

 Chapter 15 (1 of 2) Little noodle with big ambitions.

    The mighty predator sneaked through the soundless darkness. He was in his natural habitat, the trusty undergrowth masking his tracks, and the artificial night sky aiding his agile form in melding into the illusory drapes of gloomy shadow, hiding him from view. His elegant scales barely made a sound as he smoothly glided over fallen leaves and branches, bending his serpentine body around the plants, and avoiding patches of light. He turned a corner and before him was¡­ a wall.


    He narrowed his now-disguised golden eyes at the barrier. It was a two-leg construct, this one human in origin. He lifted his shimmering head slightly to view the area above. Only an artificial crystal of some kind could be seen betwixt one domain of powerful flora and the next, twinkling with unnatural light. Another construct of humanoid creation. They dare to limit his glorious kingdom¡¯s borders with their mere devices of unnatural design?


    The mighty predator scoffed and returned his attention to navigating the treacherous land he found himself within. Destroying the constructions of lowly manlings can occur another day, for today, he had a goal. A mighty journey he had set himself upon, a quest that would ensure he was rewarded with endless riches and honour if he dared but to cross paths with this place of fabled origin. When he turned a corner, slithering around the base of the beautiful waterfall he laid eyes upon once before, he almost let out a gasp when he found it: his goal. But he didn¡¯t truly gasp! No mighty predator, no wondrous king, no emperor, no sovereign should ever, ever lose composure enough to gasp.


    For there before him was his objective: an arcane gate of past aeons, a mesmerising portal that would send him to the next world. The one with the name of The Exit. He hissed as he surveyed the area. The gateway of artificial crystal sat there seemingly unguarded, only a slowly rotating decagonal construct of silver magic on its front, but the mighty predator was not fooled. Within his domain of flora lay another entity, one who would not hesitate to take the chance to bar him from exploring grander kingdoms. It was his ancient enemy, his rival for his domain, and his archnemesis: the Great Demon. He narrowed his eyes as he peered through the undergrowth, watching for any signs of movement. He would not be barred today.


    He slithered along the edge of the undergrowth, taking care not to touch the polished stone pathways the humanoid beings loved so much, lest his mesmerising scales attract unwanted attention with their sound. The mythical Exit held no bush nor shrub for him to use to sneak closer, so when he made his move, he would need to be quick. Overhead, the decagonal magical constructs let out a faint mist in a false caricature of heaven-sent waters. But he was not displeased, for the rain-like mist would aid in disguising his form when he would dash towards the arcane gate. Yet that was only the first hurdle he would have to pass to enter his new domain.


    Even if his glorious form managed to avoid the Great Demon¡¯s sight to reach the gateway, the innocuous magical construct on its front presented a different challenge. That of authority. How his archnemesis had gotten his hands on such grand power of malicious origins he could only wonder, but that was irrelevant. While he may not have the capability to unseal the arcane construct as of yet, he had a plan. For after agonisingly tedious years of scouting out the enemy, he had discovered a weakness in the form of an inconspicuous floating green orb.


    He knew the two legs referred to it as a golem, a metallic device with artificial behaviours and motives. The device had six metallic limbs, with an assortment of sharp tools fashioned in the way of the humanoid tools of its creators at its ends, used for the caretaking of his domain. Within the centre of a metallic frame held an emerald green crystal orb, slowly glimmering with what he knew of as a spirit of nature within. He had no conflict with the keeper of his domain, no, it was not this keeper itself that was the gate¡¯s weakness.


    He listened silently and with his serpentine eyes, he saw the hovering construct make its way towards the arcane door. It paused, using its many limbs to shuffle, arrange and clip the flora surrounding it, ensuring his domain remained in perfect form. He got into position, his powerful frame wound tight as he prepared to make his move. For this levitating construct was not only a guardian of his domain, but had other domains to guard.


    Then he froze as the scent of roses wafted past him. He whirled around, looking for the origin of this scent. It couldn¡¯t be that the Great Demon had found him alread-


    Oh. His eyes rested upon the blossoming red flower opposite him on the other side of the polished stone walkway. A magical rose, its potent mana increasing its scent above what its mundane variant could have. He wryly shook his head as he let out a sigh. The Great Demon had obviously not found him yet, that would be absurd! He was the mighty predator, a grand thief of the dark, and a silent assassin. Perhaps the immense significance of this task was getting to him. He would be sure to take a break once he had settled into his new domain, surrounded by the most luxurious of natural treasures and nature¡¯s bounty, in a glorious new home made of-


    The golem was moving again. He narrowed his eyes once more, focusing on his task to the utmost. For the Great Demon was surely going to be alerted when he infringed upon its authority as he moved to the next realm and would take countermeasures in the case of his failure. He only had one chance, and one chance only.


    As the crystalline gate creaked open and the golem moved to enter through it, he unwound his taut body like a powerful spring and dashed across the smooth surface of the ground. His goal was in sight, and he had no room for failure. For he was the mighty grand Truth-Seizing World-Ender, the dark devourer of a thousand starships, the one and only Scytale, and he would-


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Scytale let out an unmighty yelp as he whirled around to see Ashale¡¯viaf staring at him with a rather bemused expression. He hissed and bared his fangs.


    ¡°The Great Demon! You shall not foil my plans! Prepare yourself!¡±


    The silvery snake dropped his illusory disguise and lunged at the perplexed white and pink-haired spirit, opening his jaws to take a large bite out of the man¡­ rather ineffectually, as he went straight through the spirit¡¯s immaterial, semi-translucent body and landed on the other side. He spun around and bared his fangs at Ashale¡¯viaf once more.


    Ashale¡¯viaf was very confused. ¡°Demon? You do realise-¡±


    ¡°Silence, foul demon! I¡¯ll not have you confound me with your twisted lies!¡± he yelled, lunging again at the white-robed spirit with his wings outspread.


    The spirit caught the snake around the middle with strangely smooth ease, Scytale letting out a strangulated ¡°Gah!¡± in the process, and raised the snake to look at him.


    ¡°-that I am the exact literal opposite of a demon?¡± he finished with exasperation.


    Scytale hissed. ¡°All meaning is subjective, and any term is fine so long as I get myn mengmage acrommlngnm,¡±  he said, with a mouthful of the spirit¡¯s wrist in his jaws. Physical obstruction didn¡¯t actually impact a magical beast¡¯s speech, their thought transmission being a form of telepathy. Scytale didn¡¯t care about that though, being melodramatic to the end.


    Ashale¡¯viaf sighed as he undid the materialisation of his wrist, leaving Scytale to snap his jaws uselessly against the empty air. The spirit narrowed his pink eyes at the snake.


    ¡°Now, what were you actually trying to do, heading towards that specific access point?¡±


    ¡°I was looking for an exit,¡± the snake said, blinking innocently. ¡°You said there was one this way.¡±


    ¡°Strange,¡± the spirit responded dryly, an eyebrow twitching. ¡°For some reason, I distinctly remember saying that the three exits were in the other three directions and that this one was. Not. Open. I wonder why there seems to be an inconsistency between our memories.¡±


    ¡°I wonder why too,¡± Scytale responded, tilting his head within the spirit¡¯s grasp. ¡°Maybe you got it wrong?¡±


    Ashale¡¯viaf¡¯s expression darkened. ¡°Yet, how come I can remember seeing you make a beeline straight for this exit, as soon as you entered this section of the gardens?¡±


    The amphiptere gave a low hiss. ¡°I think you hallucinated. You should get tested for schizophrenia, I heard it happens to people in their old age.¡±


    They stared at each other in silence for one intense moment. Then Ashale¡¯viaf broke.


    ¡°I¡¯m a plant spirit, for heaven¡¯s sake! Plant life is my domain! Of course I could sense you skulking around here like some thieving criminal! AND I CAN¡¯T EVEN GET SCHIZOPHRENIA!¡±


    ¡°Oh really? That¡¯s nice,¡± Scytale responded distractedly, flapping his wings as he tried and failed to wriggle out of the spirit¡¯s grasp.


    The pink-eyed spirit narrowed his eyes at the winged snake. ¡°You.¡±


    Scytale looked back up at the spirit. ¡°Hm? Me?¡±


    ¡°Yes you,¡± Ashale¡¯viaf responded, his face going red with fury. Then he dropped to the ground, squatted, and rested his head in his arms. ¡°This is a trial for me, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Scytale said, now placed down on the ground.


    ¡°The vengeful ghost of the Founder has decided to get rid of me because I outlived him. This is all a tribulation set by the heavens to test my worthiness. It¡¯s a punishment for me.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think-¡±


    ¡°Was it the insults towards your personality tests?!¡± Ashale¡¯viaf shouted, now looking up at the glass roof. ¡°Is it because I spent too long finding a successor? I thought I picked well with how perfectly they completed the first trial, but it was a farce! Have you come to mock me by placing this unholy menace within my sanctuaries?!¡± he said, gesturing to Scytale.


    ¡°Hey!¡±


    Then Scytale flinched back as the spirit stood up and gestured to the roof with outstretched arms, looking at the snake with wide eyes. ¡°3 Spectral Cherry fruits, gone forever! My wonderfully neat rows of Blossoming Phantasmal Mandrakes, ravaged by a greedy beast! 28 Illusory Dewberries! 173 leaves of Deceptive Miracle Palmwood, nowhere to be found!¡±


    Scytale slowly started backing away.


    Ashale¡¯viaf looked a bit insane by now. ¡°5 Radiant Sun Apples! They were Epic ranked!¡±


    The snake paused. ¡°In my defence, you had a hundred of those on that one tree.¡±


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Exactly 100! Now there¡¯s only 95!¡± the spirit yelled with a hoarse voice. He stared at Scytale with an intense gaze for a silent moment.


    Then he suddenly dropped to the ground, wrapping his arms around his knees, and sobbed. ¡°Why is this happening to meeeee¡­.¡±


    The amphiptere shuffled his wings a bit awkwardly. ¡°Um¡­ okay. I¡¯m just gonna¡­¡± He crept backwards, ready to hide in a nearby bush.


    But a deft hand grabbed him when his back was turned and pulled him to face the bloodshot pink eyes of the plant spirit. ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t,¡± growled Ashale¡¯viaf.


    The suspiciously murderous-looking spirit stood up with a squirming silver snake in his grasp and marched towards the centre of the artificial biome. When he made it to the central area, he turned 90 degrees and strode onwards towards one of the four exit points of the artificial biome. He put a hand against the light-blue mana-circle on the front of the glass door, and it swung inwards. Shutting the door behind him, he looked up at the artificial clear sky.


    ¡°Seal all exits until 48 hours have passed in biome A12: Wintery Wasteland. Use Highest Level Seals, so none other than user Ashale¡¯viaf or the Faction Head may access.¡±


    ¡°Command accepted,¡± returned a metallic, artificial voice, reverberating out of four speakers in the four top corners of the square room. Ashale¡¯viaf gave Scytale a malicious grin as he placed the snake down on a grey boulder in the middle of the barren white room.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard snakes are cold-blooded creatures. If that¡¯s the case, then I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll love this ice cold room.¡± He snapped his fingers, and the rest of his body began disappearing into rose-pink particles shaped like petals.


    ¡°No, no, that¡¯s not how biology works-¡±


    The snake stopped when he realised the plant spirit had already gone. He looked around the room he was within, fearing the worst.


    Filled with frosty gales formed from the light blue mana-circles above, he shivered as he gazed at the white expanse, seeming larger than it was due to the artificial semi-translucent sky dome that filled the place. Untouched white snow covered the ground everywhere he looked, and only one corner held a small hill made of hard grey rock to look like a naturally formed stone mountain. Icicles hung from its overhang. There was not a single plant to be seen.


    Scytale dashed towards one of the sealed glass doors and flapped his wings as he headbutted it, trying to push it open.


    ¡°Wait, wait! You can¡¯t do this to me! This is a crime! My bond is the Faction Head, the Faction Head, you hear me?! This is a felony! A betrayal of the highest order! HEY!¡±


    In another artificial biome of the Pavilion, Ashale¡¯viaf smiled gently as he used his spirit magic to carefully cultivate a white rose on one of several large bushes. Only he knew if the smile was due to the peaceful situation he found himself in, or if it was due to listening to the anguished crimes of a particularly greedy little snake in one of the other biomes.


    <hr>


    ¡°I¡¯ve had a really bad idea.¡±


    Scytale looked up from within his many layers of blankets to gaze at the dark-haired girl next to him with weary eyes.


    ¡°...you wouldn¡¯t tell me you had a bad idea if you didn¡¯t intend to do it. What is it?¡±


    Lucille was leaning forward, a chin on her hand, as she gazed intently at the table with a complicated expression. She frowned a bit as she responded.


    ¡°It involves the Citadel of Fate.¡±


    The snake stared at her unblinkingly with golden eyes for a second before forcefully shaking his head and trying to slither out of his bundle of blankets onto the floor of the living room.


    ¡°Nope. Nope. Bad idea, very bad idea, I¡¯m out. Goodbye. And besides-¡±


    He paused to let out a short sneeze and looked up at her, lying tangled within his blankets on the couch.


    ¡°I hab a colb.¡± He sniffed.


    Lucy clicked her tongue and picked him up within the bundle to place him on her lap, trying to unwind the blankets from around him. ¡°I¡¯m not sympathetic.¡±


    ¡°Fireball spell please.¡±


    She sighed and snapped her fingers, the orange particles of atmospheric mana becoming attracted to the tiny speck that had formed above her fingers, and then merging to turn into a small round ball of flame that sat above her palm. With a bit of will it moved to hover slightly in front of the snake, Scytale sitting there with his eyes closed as he swayed back and forth while she unwrapped the blankets, falling to form a nest-like structure around him.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have eaten those natural treasures if I had known the guardian spirit was so vindictive! Who knew a rose spirit could be so mean.¡±


    ¡°Roses have thorns,¡± she stated flatly. ¡°And I¡¯ve already told you not to eat them, for a good reason at that.¡±


    Scytale didn¡¯t open his eyes. ¡°Are you sure? Maybe you¡¯re becoming schizophrenic as well.¡±


    She unceremoniously dumped one of the unravelled blankets on top of him. ¡°Part of it is so the delicate ecological mana balances of those artificial environments aren¡¯t upset, but most of it is so you don¡¯t aggravate the monsterification process of your Ancient Retribution subskill by absorbing so much incompatible mana without a break.¡±


    The snake wriggled to try to get the blanket off him. ¡°I¡¯ve been good since we¡¯ve come back, so let me indulge just a little bit. I haven¡¯t gone below 80% bloodline stability in the past, and I¡¯ve never been that greedy. You can trust me.¡±


    ¡°How come I feel like I can vaguely remember you running to me to complain about indigestion when you swallowed several adamantium shielded ships because you didn¡¯t have lunch,¡± she said, eyes narrowed.


    ¡°That was one time!¡± Scytale exclaimed, poking his head out from under the blanket.


    ¡°That was three times, actually,¡± she pointed out.


    Scytale hesitated. ¡°Well, three times then.¡±


    He basked in the heat of the fireball for a bit longer and then turned to Lucy after the spell ended.


    ¡°So.¡± He paused to sneeze again, then shook his head and continued, ¡°What¡¯s this terrible idea of yours?¡±


    She leaned back and crossed her arms with a contemplative look. ¡°What if we go visit the Citadel¡¯s new Prophetess.¡±


    He stared at her once more. ¡°You¡¯ve finally gone mad. You¡¯re literally insane. I always knew it was coming, but now it¡¯s here, it feels too soon. Write me into your will while you still have a partially functioning brain, please.¡±


    She held up a finger. ¡°I¡¯m not insane. I have actually put deep thought into this.¡±


    Scytale narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°I¡¯ve heard most don¡¯t seem mad when the process begins.¡±


    She lightly whacked the back of his head and sighed. ¡°Just listen properly for a bit if you¡¯re actually curious.¡±


    He sheepishly turned back around and wriggled himself into a better position for comfort. Once she could tell he was ready, she snapped her fingers, and out of her palm rays of light shone. They beamed onto the empty coffee table, and slowly, a holographic structure of gold crystal towers, bridges and spires was made visible. It rotated slowly above the table, shimmering slightly with its digital aesthetics. Scytale sneaked out his nose to bump the projection. It flickered slightly where he touched it, but didn¡¯t disappear.


    ¡°Your 3D model projections are by far your best spell idea for illusion magic. You should use them more often, it makes discussions with you less borin-¡±


    ¡°Do you want this explanation or not?¡± Lucy said with a glare.


    He fell silent and she sighed again, running her fingers through her fringe. Then she gestured to the projection. ¡°We have the intention of avoiding the Citadel of Fate due to several reasons, but the summary of the situation is this: Out of its five forces of Providence, Protection, Pledge, Prosperity, and Paragon, three of them are dangerous to us. Four if you count the fact that the Paladins of Pledge are the loyal hands of the Sages of Paragon.¡±


    She pointed at the hologram, and it zoomed in to show the six main golden glass towers with more clarity. Like a staircase, five of the six towers were arrayed in a circle around a central one, going from tallest to shortest in order. Five bridges connected these towers to the central tower. On top of each tower was a glowing yellow crystal shaped like a star, surrounded by a white frame. She gestured to the tallest outer tower.


    ¡°Paragon is obvious. Any member of Paragon is a skilled leader of one of the other subdivisions of the other forces and holds a position of power within the subdivision, having access to resources much greater than any normal individual of the Citadel. This includes the true Fate manipulation skills, as opposed to the lesser fortune or seer abilities gained by Prosperity. Only they can actually manipulate Fate as opposed to reading it, and so we will avoid them like the plague. The Sages have the most power.¡±


    She then gestured to the next highest tower. ¡°Providence is also dangerous, if to a lesser extent. They have abilities to see how much Fate, or what our Fate is.¡± She grimaced. ¡°I have no clue what we would look like through their Fate-reading skills. We might even seem like Fate Devourers to them.¡± Scytale gave her a nod, likewise uncomfortable with the idea. Being outed as a Fate Devourer meant the Citadel would initiate a kill on sight order for all their combat-capable members, and provide a big bounty reward for whoever finds them.


    She skipped over the third highest tower, that one belonging to Pledge. She pointed to the second shortest tower, or fourth highest one. ¡°As for Prosperity¡­ unfortunately, as part of a Faction heavily involved with nobility, we¡¯ll have to deal with them and their fortune essence eventually. The best we could hope for is to offer them donations to ensure they don¡¯t cause Protection to withdraw their healers from supporting us. I¡¯ll need to at least make myself look busy so any of their representatives don¡¯t become too offended when I have to refuse their attempts at making a connection with me.¡±


    She looked down at Scytale. ¡°They might actually be our way of getting you access to good light skills without me abusing my Authority to directly copy them into skill books for you, which would be highly suspicious.¡±


    He nodded energetically. ¡°The Citadel holds a monopoly on all light-element catalysts for summoning light-element spirits thanks to their elemental origin plane Pedestal anyway, so getting the title of ¡®Sacred Beast¡¯ will grant me access to their exclusive Aspects. They¡¯ve always wanted to draw the light element beasts of the Beast Realm under their banner so they can monopolise their support capabilities as well, so it sounds like a good idea politics-wise.¡±


    She sighed. ¡°But that means we need to get past Providence without suspicion first. Which brings me to my plan with the Prophetess. But first, Protection.¡± She gestured to the shortest tower. ¡°Considering it¡¯s less of a proper force and more of a series of training facilities and hospitals for light-element healers, support mages, and any class that needs Thaumaturgy, it¡¯s not a threat to us. As the force with least power, as they answer to the other forces, we need to take care not to offend any of the other forces before we worry about them. Actually,¡± she said, holding her chin in thought. ¡°If all goes well with the Prophetess, I should consider expanding the branch of Protection in Gilded Seat as a show of support.¡±


    ¡°Scheme later. What¡¯s this to do with the girl and her fancy light magic?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°No, that¡¯s the saintess, a position given by Prosperity each 100 years to one female noble of the Empire with high affinity for light magic. The Prophetess is different. She¡¯s the most powerful seer within the Tower realms, has the highest amount of Fate, and best ability to manipulate it. Her class is given out directly by the System every twenty thousand years, which means the prophecies she sees always come true, as they are backed by the System itself,¡± she explained firmly. ¡°The Prophetess is the highest ranked position within the Citadel of Fate, for all that she was used as a figurehead for most of her life in the past under the thumb of the Grand Sage. While the saintess is mostly just a position used to appease the nobility¡¯s sense of honour and pride, the Prophetess is practically idolised by the commoners, and so has great popularity among them. She has no magic casting abilities.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I get it. Anyway, your plan for the Prophetess?¡± he asked impatiently.


    Lucy rolled her eyes, closing the projection with another snap of her fingers. ¡°I want to meet her before she gets taken to the Citadel¡¯s branch in the Empire¡¯s Capital City.¡±


    Scytale sent his scepticism through the bond. ¡°But that would require knowing the date she became the Prophetess. Her birthday.¡±


    She fell silent. The snake stared when he realised what that meant. ¡°You didn¡¯t¡­. did you really go snooping around every Faction and their members¡¯ private information in the past?¡±


    The mask-wearing woman glared down at her bond, pulling on one of the tufts of feathers on his crest. ¡°No I did not, thank you very much.¡± She frowned slightly. ¡°I had to file a report at Pedestal one time when I was Commander due to one of their high-ranked members dying under my subordination at the Distorted Depths. The birth dates and death dates of their members were written together, and the highest ranked members were at the top of the list.¡±


    She scowled and looked intently at Scytale. ¡°I¡¯ll let you have one guess at whose fault it was. I¡¯ll even give you a hint: the victim was pretty, female, and gave up her life for him.¡± She gave a cruel smirk.


    The snake let out a sardonic laugh in response. ¡°His crimes just keep on piling up, don¡¯t they?¡±


    She shook her head bitterly and then went silent, thinking hard as she frowned at the table. ¡°But I saw something else that day when I went to file the report.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Scytale tilted his head curiously.


    Lucille rubbed the back of her neck. ¡°Next to the Prophetess¡¯s name, there was another member who had died, but was placed under ¡®Honorary membership¡¯. He died at the time of his joining, which meant it was a case of someone putting someone with a high rank¡¯s name into the memorial tome, as a way of remembering them. But it was the last name that surprised me then.¡±


    She looked at him with a complicated expression. ¡°Did you know the Prophetess had a younger brother?¡±


    The snake blinked once, then blinked again. Then he sneezed. ¡°Ugh¡­ no, no I did not,¡± he said, sniffling. ¡°That¡­ kind of feels like something I should know. Wait, not even just me, that feels like something everybody should know!¡±


    She sighed and rubbed her forehead. ¡°That¡¯s not the most important bit. He died two hours before she was taken back and officialised as the Prophetess.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ guess that explains why nobody heard about him and why he¡¯s only an ¡®Honorary member¡¯¡­.also explains why she looked so depressed all the time.¡±


    She frowned at the table, her expression still complicated. ¡°It¡¯s not a very well-known fact, but the Citadel actually receives information about the new Prophetess and her location 3 days earlier than they officiate her. They usually send a high-ranked member or two of Pledge to guard her in secret as they observe her actions during that three day period she has her class. But there are protective measures in place for siblings and family members of the Prophetess, so if they didn¡¯t step in to save her brother¡­ for some reason, they didn¡¯t want him to survive.¡±


    They fell silent as the contemplated the implications of that for a while. Scytale looked up at her. ¡°So¡­ is your sneaky scheme to be all manipulative and put the Prophetess into your debt by saving her brother?¡±


    She whacked him on the head, but it didn¡¯t have any heat. ¡°It¡¯s dangerous for someone like me to have the Prophetess indebted to me, regardless of my status as the Head of the Aurelian Commission and an honorary Commissioner of Finance for the Empire. I actually just want to talk to her, and see how her Fate abilities interact with me, considering how twisted my Status screen is. I¡­ also want to make sure she¡¯s not set on a collision path with the Hero.¡±


    ¡°That is¡­ a very good point. You think he¡¯ll aim for a connection with her?¡± Scytale responded, eyes narrowed.


    She nodded. ¡°Definitely. He worked solo last time, but I can assume he¡¯ll want to abuse the extremely high Fate and light affinity his class gives him to gain support from the Citadel, whether indirectly or directly.¡±


    She placed Scytale back on the couch beside her, blanket free. Then she got up, went into the kitchen, and brought back some teacups and the brass jug. ¡°But before we consider this any further, I think we should deal with our new visitor.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Scytale blinked, confused. ¡°New visitor? What do you- oh. Ooooh.¡± He swayed as he absorbed the new information sent through the bond. Then suddenly he got down on the floor and crept up onto the couch opposite Lucy, the one with its back turned to the entry and kitchen doors. ¡°I have a good idea.¡± He crouched down with his white-gold wings tucked, his silver body hidden from any newcomer¡¯s view.


    She narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°What do you think you are doing?¡±


    Scytale hissed, ¡°Don¡¯t spoil it!¡± and then went silent.


    She rolled her eyes and sighed, and after pouring some tea for herself, leaned back on the couch with her legs crossed. They waited as footsteps approached their room. They heard a knock on the door.


    ¡°Uh¡­ hello? Anybody in here? I was told to come here¡­¡± came the sound of a familiar voice. They heard him curse as he fiddled with the doorknob. ¡°Damn thing is worth more than a year of my wage,¡± he grumbled.


    The door creaked open as the face of Sedric Ferin was revealed, followed by the rest of him as he peeked into the living room. He surveyed the room and his gaze paused as he noticed Lucy staying studiously silent on the couch while she sipped her drink.


    ¡°Oh, so you were in here. Why did you not-¡±


    ¡°ROOOAR!¡±


    ¡°Eeeek!¡±


    Lucy watched as Scytale had suddenly reared up and stretched out his wings in front of the young man, scaring the living daylights out of him and sending him scrambling backwards to lean against the wall with his back pressed flat against the surface, panting heavily as he stared at the metre-long snake, who stared back with golden eyes. Nobody said a thing.


    Then Scytale broke the silence.

 Chapter 15 (2 of 2) Little noodle with big ambitions.

    Then Scytale broke the silence.


    ¡°Achoo!¡± he sneezed. He shuffled his wings as he shook his head and turned back to Sedric. ¡°Ugh, I hate colds. Forget that part, how was my introduction?¡±


    The dark brown-haired man gave a long, slow blink. He turned to Lucy for an explanation.


    She pointed at the white-gold winged snake with a hand. ¡°That thing is Scytale.¡± She stated flatly.


    Sedric stared at them both, his mouth slightly open. Then he blinked again and straightened up. ¡°Are both of you sadistic or something?!¡± he exclaimed, incredulous.


    The snake gave a harumph while Lucy gazed dully at the man.


    ¡°And he just ignored my words like I¡¯m not here.¡± He grumbled.


    Lucille narrowed her eyes. ¡°Let it be known that I would prefer not to be given that title, especially on behalf of my immature bond.¡±


    Then she gave an exasperated sigh and waved a hand to the man, who didn¡¯t seem to know what to do with himself. ¡°Just sit down already. One of the staff members must have shown you here, am I correct?¡±


    Sedric awkwardly sat down on the couch next to Scytale. He was wearing much nicer clothes today, his long-sleeved shirt actually being white this time, and his pants clean if not particularly stylish. His brown hair was untied, reaching past his shoulders to hang free, and he didn¡¯t have any grease marks on his face. He scratched the back of his neck.


    ¡°Uh¡­ yeah. Your staff sure are weird though.¡±


    She raised an eyebrow as he continued.


    ¡°I turned up at the hall below, and none of the people I asked for help would even look at me except to give me a dismissive look, and even when I finally got to speak to a clerk, they kept trying to get me to leave, even when I said I knew you. Then I show them this.¡± He held up his black card. ¡°And they start panicking and fussing over me, like I¡¯m royalty.¡± He said, frowning in confusion.


    She tilted her head as she looked at him. ¡°Surely you¡¯re not asking me why staff of the famous Aurelian Commission would be so dismissive of you?¡±


    He scowled at her. ¡°I know it¡¯s because I¡¯m a commoner. I¡¯m not an idiot.¡±


    She remained silent as she thought about her memories of trying to subtly ask him about his class. She sipped her drink.


    ¡°What I want to know,¡± he continued, ¡°Is why exactly does this card give me such treatment?¡±


    She gazed at him in silence for a moment, and set down the cup she held. ¡°I suppose I better explain. Tea?¡± she said, gesturing to the brass jug.


    He blinked, nonplussed, before hesitantly nodding. ¡°Uh, sure. Why not.¡±


    She got up and poured him some tea, and the man cautiously picked up the teacup, doing strange motions with his hand like he was unsure how he was supposed to hold it. She sighed and decided to put the poor man out of his misery.


    ¡°I¡¯m not a noble, you know. I don¡¯t particularly care how you hold it.¡±


    He jolted to catch the teacup that started to slip from his hands. He looked up in surprise. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ not?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll be one once I officially meet the Emperor and become an Honorary Count as is written in the law for the Head of the Commission, but as of currently, I do not hold a title, nor was I born into any sort of nobility.¡±


    ¡°Then how come you sound so pretentious?¡± Sedric said, frowning deeply in thought.


    Lucille stared at him, as he didn¡¯t seem to realise what he had just said, while at the same time the formerly silent Scytale flapped his wings and broke down into hearty guffaws, struggling to keep himself from laughing. Lucy¡¯s stare quickly switched into a glare as she looked at the chuckling snake. Scytale used his telepathy to talk through his laughing fit.


    ¡°Pretentious you say? Well I¡¯ll have you know, it stems from a particularly famous empire known for their tea in-¡±


    ¡°Scytale.¡± Lucy said as her glare intensified. The snake ignored her as he kept laughing even more.


    ¡°-and their descendants retained this attitude through their accent, which is exacerbated in Lucy¡¯s case as she is the heir of a very wealthy-¡±


    ¡°Scytale. If you say even one more word, so help me I will strangle you so much you will wish that spirit had permanently locked you in that room for your own safety.¡±


    He stopped laughing, and settled back down.


    ¡°Uh, you know I was only kid-¡±


    ¡°One. More. Word.¡± She hissed, holding up a finger.


    He finally shut up and after making sure he wasn¡¯t going to speak up again, she sighed, pinching her nose bridge in frustration. Sedric was looking at the blank wall next to him with suspiciously strong interest, slowly sipping his tea as she threatened the snake. She narrowed her eyes at him.


    ¡°And you.¡±


    He flinched, spilling a bit of tea, and awkwardly turned back to her. She leaned back and crossed her arms, gazing at him with a complicated expression as he fidgeted in front of her. Eventually she just sighed again and waved a hand wearily. ¡°Let¡¯s just talk about the card, shall we?¡± she said, smiling brightly. They both gave nervous nods under her narrowed eyes.


    Reaching into her dimensional pouch, she withdrew her own black card and held it up for him to see. ¡°Do you have a bank account?¡±


    He frowned. ¡°What commoner would have the excess money to waste on a bank?¡±


    She ignored him after another pointed glare and placed her card on the table between them. ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a no. This,¡± she began, pointing to the card, ¡°Will be what you use for all monetary expenditures from now on.¡±


    He turned his own card around in his hands, and raised an eyebrow at her. ¡°What, does it have a dimensional pocket within it for me to store my gold inside?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°Of course not. It¡¯s only a form of identification for you to use to purchase things.¡±


    The Tower didn¡¯t have any sort of infrastructure in place to switch to digital currency, so there was no such thing as credit cards. He frowned at the card. ¡°How does it work?¡±


    ¡°Anything purchased by using this card will be financed by the Commission itself. It¡¯s normally a benefit given to members of the Faction, and the limit is dependent on how high your status is within the Faction.¡±


    She saw Sedric about to open his mouth again and sighed. ¡°Yes, yes, I know you¡¯re not a member of the Faction, be patient will you? I don¡¯t want to have to explain this multiple times.¡±


    He gave an awkward nod, so she continued. ¡°As the Head of the Faction itself, I am allowed to take some personal liberties when it comes to handing out the black cards, though at a cost. Unlike the coloured cards of the Counties, these cards do not have a hard limit. You could spend as much as you want with them.¡±


    His brown eyes widened, and he stared at the card in his hand with new eyes. She narrowed her eyes at his reaction. ¡°Sedric Ferin.¡±


    He jumped at the tone in her voice and looked up.


    ¡°I hope you¡¯re not just planning on buying whatever you want with it?¡±


    The expression on his face told her he had indeed been planning on using it that way, but she ignored it and fixated an intense gaze on the man before her. ¡°The demerit of using those cards is that the money comes out of the Founder¡¯s vault. Do you know what that means? Those are my personal belongings. Every purchase you make using that card will be using my money.¡±


    Sedric gulped slightly and nodded. He gave a shaky smile as he tried to appease her, putting the card back into a pocket. ¡°I- uh, of course, of course, I wouldn¡¯t dare waste your money unwisely. No plans for it now, nope, no siree.¡± He stuttered, looking away.


    She narrowed her eyes again but huffed and leaned back with her arms crossed. ¡°If you ever plan on making a career in scamming, do try to learn to lie better.¡±


    He grimaced, then slowly nodded. She leaned forward to pick up her tea.


    ¡°Anyway, if you need materials or equipment not already in the Founder¡¯s vault, you can ask a staff member to send a craftsmen here for the order. Touching a thumb or finger to the central amethyst, inserting a bit of mana, and then stamping the thumb or finger on a contract will make it so the bill has official permission to be sent to the Commission, which then takes it out of my vault.¡± She explained. ¡°Food will be supplied while you¡¯re within here, and you can choose to stay within the Headquarters, or we could organise a house for you nearby. I¡¯d suggest staying here on my floor as it is closer to your workroom.¡±


    Sedric did a double take. ¡°Wait- here, here? As in, this level?¡±


    She nodded, but sighed when he saw his odd expression. ¡°We¡¯ve had this conversation before when I gave you the card. This entire level is considered my ¡®house¡¯ as it were. My memory tells me it has fifty large bedrooms complete with an ensuite and bell pull access, and twenty living rooms. We could go entire weeks without seeing each other on this floor. If you take up a residence here, I may also let you have certain allowances in what non-essential objects you may buy.¡±


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    She noticed how his eyes lit up with greed and she decided to curb his desires. ¡°I will be requesting for and checking all records of purchases made using that card to ensure you are not stretching the limit of what is considered an ¡®allowance¡¯.¡±


    He gave a suspicious cough. She gestured to the card in his pocket. ¡°So, the reason why you were treated so different when you showed them the card?¡± She scowled. ¡°They¡¯re all bootlicking scum, trying to climb up the Faction¡¯s hierarchy by clinging on to any conceivable minor or major relation to me. They want to butter you up.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ that makes a lot more sense now. I did think for a moment one of the female clerks was flirting with me¡­¡± he muttered.


    She pretended not to hear that, so before Scytale could make any rude comment, she stood up and checked her pocket watch after taking it out. She turned to the two of them.


    ¡°Considering it¡¯s almost lunch time, how about we check out the place you¡¯ll be working while the staff prepare it for us.¡± She said to them.


    Sedric cocked an eyebrow at her. ¡°But I haven¡¯t actually said I came here to accept it yet.¡±


    She gazed flatly at him before marching up to him, holding out a gloved palm. ¡°So, you don¡¯t want the job? Hand it back then.¡±


    He hurriedly stood up and backed away, two hands covering his chest pocket with the card inside. ¡°Wait, wait! I didn¡¯t say I wasn¡¯t going to accept it!¡±


    She rolled her eyes and gestured to them to move, exasperated. ¡°Then let¡¯s get going! Stop messing around.¡±


    Scytale slithered across the back edge of the couch to climb up Lucy¡¯s arm and onto her shoulders. Sedric followed as she opened the door and entered the white hallway of the fortieth floor. Most of the wallpaper of the Headquarters had the same beige and white floral theme, and the top floor had this but with added sections of light brown. The hanging lamps were miniature gold chandeliers containing the same warm yellow magical lamps of the reception hall.


    The floors of the Counties had wallpaper in the colour of their noble clan, and the library and office areas for the permanent staff had different decorations. The doors on the fortieth were dark glossy brown oak, bordered by a gold frame. Occasionally paintings or vases and other decorations could be found, but it had the theme of a large and expensive manor, if it wasn¡¯t placed in the centre of a city.


    The carried on walking for a bit until Lucille spotted a staff member straightening up a picture frame and went over to them. ¡°Excuse me.¡± She said. The staff member turned around and hastily gave a bow, placing a hand over her heart in the way of the Empire.


    ¡°I um- ah, yes Sir Head! I mean Miss- er, Lady-¡± stammered the young girl with short curly brown hair. She wore a neat white skirt and formal jacket, as was the uniform of the female staff in the Headquarters.


    ¡°Miss or Lady Goldcroft is fine. Even Lord.¡± Lucy said, giving her a dismissive wave. ¡°Would you be able to organise lunch for us three to occur in an hour or so?¡±


    The girl straightened up and gave a firm nod, seemingly trying to please. ¡°Absolutely Lady Goldcroft. Would you like it in your normal room?¡± she said, gesturing to the room they had come from.


    Lucy thought for a bit. ¡°Actually¡­ do you know if anybody is using the rooftop for any event currently?¡±


    The girl shook her head. ¡°Nothing has been scheduled, and even if there had been, I¡¯m sure we could rearrange things for you, Faction Head.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t ever do that.¡± Lucy responded, shaking her head absentmindedly. ¡°It would be bad for the Commission¡¯s operations. Then can I ask if it can be brought up to the rooftop? Whatever has been arranged for lunch is fine.¡±


    The girl nodded again, but looked a bit awkward as she fidgeted with her hands. ¡°Of course we can! Um¡­ but you don¡¯t have to be so polite to someone like me, Miss¡­ I¡¯m not a high-ranked Faction member¡­¡±


    Lucille looked at the girl for a moment. ¡°Hmm¡­ what¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­¡± the girl was startled. ¡°Sally Meyers, Miss.¡±


    Lucy smiled at her. ¡°The staff of the Commission are not servants. You won¡¯t be here working as a caretaker forever, you¡¯ll become a proper clerk eventually. I shouldn¡¯t treat you like a servant.¡±


    Sally blinked as Lucy patted her on the shoulder as they went past, nonplussed. It was only when Lucy, Sedric and Scytale had gone down the hallway a bit that she jumped and hurriedly headed towards the elevators so she could organise the lunch.


    Sedric looked at Lucy weirdly. ¡°Why¡¯d you do that?¡±


    ¡°Do what?¡± she responded, without looking at him.


    He gestured to the area behind them in exasperation. ¡°Y¡¯know, the thing with the girl earlier. Treating her nicely and all.¡±


    ¡°Why, do you have an issue with it?¡± she asked him with a raised eyebrow.


    Surprisingly, he nodded. ¡°Yeah. You gave that girl assurance that she¡¯ll eventually get a job as a proper member of the Commission.¡± He scowled. ¡°It¡¯s plain obvious she¡¯s a commoner. She¡¯ll never be treated like any of the proper noble members, and will never end up getting a real job here.¡±


    Lucy hummed as they turned a corner into a slightly wider corridor. ¡°Do you hate the divide between commoners and nobles?¡±


    Sedric scoffed as he swept a bit of brown hair out of his face. ¡°I¡¯m not answering that one. Don¡¯t make me out like I¡¯m one of the Dissenters. It just feels at odds with your personality.¡±


    She stared at him for a moment before she let out an ¡®Ah.¡¯ in realisation. ¡°You think I¡¯m some manipulating, controlling megalomaniac that treats everyone with condescension.¡± She stated flatly.


    He scratched the back of his neck, looking a bit sheepish. ¡°Those are, um, harsher words than I was going for¡­¡±


    ¡°Well sorry to disappoint your expectations.¡± She continued dryly. ¡°Also, I wasn¡¯t really being philanthropic in my actions, nor was I needlessly giving hope to someone about something that wasn¡¯t true.¡±


    He gave her a dubious look, so she explained. ¡°It¡¯s written in the Faction¡¯s rules that every apprentice clerk will become a new clerk within 1 year. It can be extended up to 3 if their superior finds a reason they shouldn¡¯t become a clerk yet, but they will eventually have to let them become a clerk if they don¡¯t want to lose their job.¡±


    He frowned a bit. ¡°But what about afterwards?¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°Any office would probably be happy to have a newcomer so their workload is lowered, so they wouldn¡¯t be kicked out very quickly. They do a lot for their wage. I suppose the head clerk would still suppress a new clerk, but only for a while to make sure they¡¯re not talented enough to replace them.¡±


    He raised an eyebrow. ¡°You¡¯re saying you weren¡¯t being benevolent when you said that?¡±


    The silent Scytale abruptly spoke up, chuckling. ¡°Benevolent? I¡¯m sorry, what you¡¯re saying couldn¡¯t be further from the truth. She¡¯s probably k-¡± He stopped because of a stare from Lucy, and rephrased his answer. ¡°Uh¡­ done things with way less emotion than even I ever could. Yeah, nah, not a description I¡¯ve ever seen been applicable to her? She doesn¡¯t really even care about the commoner-noble divide much either.¡±


    The brown-haired craftsman frowned in thought, so before he could realise anything from Scytale¡¯s words, she let out a long, loud sigh and gazed at them both.


    ¡°In my experience,¡± she said, sounding tired, ¡°It is far easier to communicate with people when they don¡¯t have negative opinions of me, and easier to deal with a group when they¡¯re not apprehensive towards me. It¡¯s just freer of hassle.¡±


    Although, that wasn¡¯t why I treated the girl that way. Her attitude towards me was¡­ not as terrible as it could be in a predominantly noble Faction I suppose, but definitely worse than I expected. If I want decent subordinates for my plans, I need to change the attitude of the Faction towards talented people and by extension commoners.


    Sedric, however, was frowning even more. ¡°There you go again. ¡®Freer of hassle¡¯. Why don¡¯t you just say it¡¯s easier to talk to people who like me?¡±


    She stared at him, incredulous, while Scytale started snickering again. ¡°Are you doing this on purpose?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± he said, looking confused.


    ¡°Pffffft.¡±


    She facepalmed and let out a long groan as Scytale broke down into loud laughter.


    ¡°At least you¡¯ll be able to make me more magic items this way. No other noble would want to hire you with a head that dense.¡± She sighed.


    ¡°Hey-¡±


    ¡°See Lucy, I told you all those years ago it wasn¡¯t worth it to keep talking like a noble.¡±


    The snake turned his head to look at Sedric with his golden eyes.


    ¡°Listen, let me tell you something: She used to be waaay worse than this. And I mean way worse. Lucy here is great at copying the mannerisms of people, but not so great at forgetting them, especially with her eidetic memory. Now,¡± he said with a sly tone, ignoring the intense gaze coming from Lucy. ¡°Let me tell you about the time she met a bunch of mercenaries in a frontier region. This was just before she met me.¡±


    After a few failed attempts from Lucy to try to get her bond to shut up, she gave up and resigned herself to listening to the snake reveal her dark past to the guy with no sense next to her. In reality, she didn¡¯t actually care too much. Maybe the concept that she hadn¡¯t appeared from thin air and did have a life would comfort the man a little, who seemed a little freaked out by her at times. Instead, she kept her mind busy by currently going over her personality analysis of him.


    From what I¡¯ve garnered from his first reaction to seeing me and his comments on the workings of society, he hates people. Or more actually, he detests them and everything about others. He¡¯s disillusioned with the world around him, and believes everyone¡¯s a threat. He may not actually have combat abilities, but his grumpy tone and harsh words when he does speak act as his shield to make others avoid him. Even now, I don¡¯t think he¡¯s actually dense, but is trying to make me reveal my ¡®true colours¡¯ as it were by testing me. Though maybe he accidently takes it a bit too far sometimes.


    She took a short glance at his clothing and hairstyle.


    He has his hair down. I don¡¯t think that¡¯s because he believes its more formal for this setting. He originally had his hair up, which is more practical for crafting, but the hair fell down on either side of his face. I think he did it as a way for him to hide his face and reduce attention on him, so when he¡¯s coming to a place where he¡¯ll be under even more scrutiny, he tried to hide his face more. Maybe keeping the long hair, even though it¡¯s impractical for crafting, is also an element of this. An interesting thing is after Scytale¡¯s spectacle, he commented on the staff first¡­ after calling me sadistic. Hm.


    She reviewed her memories of earlier, while helping Scytale refrain from revealing any details about her age not being what it seems through their bond.


    He picked a group with a slight relation to me, but distant enough he wouldn¡¯t unduly offend me by insulting them¡­. I don¡¯t actually believe he meant to call us sadistic out loud. That was probably an outlier, but possibly a hint at his¡­ not necessarily ¡®real¡¯, because he does hate people, but more comprehensive personality. I¡¯ll take that out of the equation for now. I¡¯m actually surprised he knows about the ¡®Dissenters¡¯ as being an actual collective group rather than just random uprisings that sometimes occur that the general public know it as. He seemed to think I knew of them too, and this was after I told him I¡¯m not a noble.


    She blinked when she realised something.


    Does he think I¡¯m a Dissenter? Or at least a Dissenter supporter. That is actually a rather amusing connection for him to make. I¡¯ve been mistakenly called that in the past by some groups, but have never actively tried to push for their agenda in the slightest. In fact, the Dissenters didn¡¯t want to have anything to do with me at all. Should I support his conclusion?


    She made sure to let out a sigh when Scytale tried to tell another ¡®embarrassing¡¯ part of her past to Sedric, who didn¡¯t seem to understand why the noisy snake kept talking to him.


    For now, I won¡¯t, but I won¡¯t get rid of it either. It¡¯s not like there needs to be any sort of personal trust between us for the task I want him to do. I just need him to have trust that I¡¯ll keep my word. I¡¯m sure he¡¯d be a great ally if he was personally invested in my goals, but my main one is mostly just selfish, and the others he¡¯d probably run away from screaming in fear.


    I think it¡¯ll be better off if I act like I have been: that he¡¯s important, but I don¡¯t care about him individually too much. And I can¡¯t make him think his class is super important either. It is, but only in the sense that I can¡¯t spend much of my time crafting everything myself, and he¡¯s the only way I can do this without attracting attention from the Supreme Institutions. That was not fun last time.


    She considered his class. The Runestarred Arcane Inaugurator was a Legendary non-combat class. Crafting classes came in many forms but from what she knew, his one was specifically an enchanting-smithing hybrid class, at least at his Rank. Of course, ¡®smithing¡¯ was very broad, there being jewelsmiths, blacksmiths, weaponsmiths and so forth, but it meant he was capable of using smithing techniques to create the main frame of the item. Using the right techniques and materials would make the item have power. While alchemy enabled one to create substances with innately magical effects, enchanting was the ¡®wiring¡¯ that allowed one to add effects like spells. And they didn¡¯t necessarily need to be in the form of a mana-circle to function, although he¡¯d need to get to Rank-2 to get the 3<sup>rd</sup> primary skill related to his ¡®Runestarred¡¯ title.


    There was a reason why she couldn¡¯t just go to any famous crafter and get them to craft stuff for her. The first reason was secrecy, but the second main reason was this: Sedric¡¯s class was purely for crafting accessories. And for most of the Tower¡¯s denizens, that wasn¡¯t actually a good thing. Unlike weapons, accessories didn¡¯t have attack values, and unlike armour, they didn¡¯t have defence values. They were essentially items that had a couple of skills attached, but because they weren¡¯t a User¡¯s skills, they wouldn¡¯t benefit from the stats of the User, besides possibly the power and density of their mana.


    They did not, however, have those nebulous ¡®cooldowns¡¯ found on non-accessory items. ¡®Cooldown¡¯ varied from person to person, and was all based on how much strain the individual¡¯s physique and mind could sustain. If Lucy had to use a skill like that overcharge skill in the Tutorial, she would likely have a weeklong cooldown just so she didn¡¯t hurt herself irreparably. Someone ask her to cast that fireball spell from the Battalion Application? With her spiritual energy and computational power, in the right environment, she could theoretically cast it until the end of time.


    But one thing that accessories didn¡¯t lack was their flexibility. If you could mana-bind enough magical items and switch them out quick enough, you¡¯d have a vast array of tools with skills available to you. Some skills or spells just couldn¡¯t be cast by the sapient mind, like spatial spells. They needed a magic array or non-casted mana-circle. It was for these functions Lucy needed someone, and someone who would be able to craft them to her specifications. She didn¡¯t just plan on giving Sedric the blueprints and materials and just let him attempt to craft the items on repeat.


    She was going to personally teach him each week so he would understand what she needed, and how to get his items to function. That included supporting him with the specific skills she knew he needed, and explaining more complex mana theory. He wouldn¡¯t quite be getting the ¡®unconditional support¡¯ he thought he was. If he found time to even spend one extra cent with that card, then good for him.


    I suppose I¡¯ll just leave it to fate, the kind without Citadel¡¯s interference. If he wants to join me and become part of my plans in full, then I¡¯ll give him the chance. If he doesn¡¯t, then I¡¯d be fine just leaving him alone. By the time we¡¯re done, considering his slower levelling speeds, I could craft everything else I need on my own. I¡¯d also be strong enough that even if he does manage to leak my secrets somehow, it wouldn¡¯t affect me. But¡­ I¡¯ll see if I can poke and prod him a bit to find out how he learnt of the Dissenters. Considering it¡¯s seemingly he¡¯s willing to stay here, I¡¯ll be able to interact with him often.


    ¡°-and that was how we met.¡± Scytale finished up.


    Sedric raised an eyebrow. ¡°So, in summary, you ran away from home, and didn¡¯t even make it out of your enclave¡¯s territory before you had to be saved by her like some special princess and escorted back home. But not before you got her to unwillingly bond to you in some scheme involving illusion magic and an amazingly ¡®realistic¡¯ dying act.¡±


    ¡°That is the gist of it, yep.¡± The silver snake nodded happily.


    ¡°Well that sounds pathetic.¡± Sedric responded flatly.


    Lucy let out a barely suppressed snicker as the snake reared up and flapped his wings on her shoulders in offense. She felt all the stories had been worth it now.


    ¡°But I¡¯m still confused.¡± He said, frowning. ¡°You¡¯ve made this sound like it happened years ago, but Lucille is Rank-0 according to my Inspection skill, and you said you were 15.¡± He looked between the two. ¡°When exactly did this occur?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡± Scytale told him.


    The man was about to say something else when Lucille abruptly stopped and he had to pause too.


    ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± She told them. Standing in front of them were two intimidating grey steel doors. The wallpaper in this part of the floor had changed to become a light grey, and the lamps above and on either side of the corridor were no longer a warm yellow but clinical white light contained in a brass frame. The steel doors had no handles, but the centre did have a cut square containing tinted black glass with a handle to pull it up.


    ¡°This is... uh, more different than I thought, considering this floor is supposed to be your ¡®house¡¯.¡± Sedric said, looking at the doors in surprise.


    ¡°Half the floor isn¡¯t for living space.¡± She replied, placing a palm on one of the doors. ¡°It¡¯s actually a large training facility. The Founder was still a warrior, and didn¡¯t feel the need for large showy rooms. The original Counts still gave him a floor equivalent to the space inside a manor though.¡±


    She roused the surrounding mana within her spiritual field and directed it towards her, making sure it briefly entered her body before she fed it through her arm and into the door. On the centre of the doors, in front of the square of tinted glass, a silver-grey multi-layered decagonal mana-circle appeared and began rotating. While it technically wasn¡¯t a circle, the three layers rotated in different directions, making the edge seem circular in appearance. Then with a click, the tinted glass rolled up and the two doors swung inward.


    There was a moment when the other side was dark, and then the dim glow of clinical white light appeared. Sedric narrowed his eyes as he tried to peer through, but he couldn¡¯t see much.


    Then Lucy gestured to the open doors. ¡°Shall we have a look then?¡±

 Chapter 16 (1 of 2) The chosen one.

    Then Lucille gestured to the open doors. ¡°Shall we have a look then?¡±


    They stepped through and found themselves on a small ledge bordered by a metal handrail. They blinked as they got used to the darker area, and Sedric¡¯s expression twisted up in confusion.


    ¡°Why is it empty?¡±


    Lucy gazed at him for a moment. ¡°I said that card would be used to buy all your equipment. What did you think that would mean?¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ right,¡± he said, going silent. He leaned over the side of the railing to look down. ¡°It¡¯s big though.¡±


    The room itself was grey, the walls made of smooth solid stone like concrete. There were a few round ceiling lamps providing light from the roof, and the walls had a few lamps inbuilt as well so they weren¡¯t sticking out. The room was actually tiered, and had two stories. They were on the top story, and the bottom one below them. The small ledge they were on had a staircase coming off one side to get to the bottom, while the other side had a small walkway guarded by another handrail that led one to the opposite side of the room that contained the top story. The top story was only half the size of the bottom one and was more of a balcony, so someone could look down and see the bottom floor if they wanted to.


    Lucy also leaned over the railing to allow Scytale to look. ¡°There were three equipment warehouses near the central training zone, all empty, and so I decided you could use this one for your crafting. With this much space, it means you can have every single possible type of equipment you need, and enough space to craft your own.¡±


    She looked at him. ¡°This is why I suggested you stay here. Your workspace would only be a short walk away if you were here.¡± She smirked. ¡°Let¡¯s not forget you¡¯d be eating for free and the same high quality food as me too.¡±


    His eyes widened and he gulped. ¡°You mean¡­ food like temporary stat boosters?¡±


    She smiled wider. ¡°I¡¯m talking about the permanent stat boosting foods.¡±


    Which I can''t have, because I''m only Rank-0.


    She turned away as his eyes grew larger and started walking down the stairs. Scytale climbed onto the railing and slithered down it in his own fashion. She turned around. ¡°Aren¡¯t you coming?¡± she said to him. He quickly snapped out of his daze and started following her down.


    ¡°The mana-circle on the doors is triggered by detecting your mana signature. I haven¡¯t yet keyed it to yours, so before we leave, I¡¯ll get that done," she explained, stepping onto the stone floor. She gestured to him to follow her as she walked to the area under the top story overhang.


    In this area, there was a large wooden bench, and two boards on two walls of a corner. On was made of cork, to pin paper on to, but the other was a big blackboard. She reached into her pouch as Sedric looked at the rest of the room, which had areas for him to hang tools, and metal shelves along the walls. It was clearly not as empty as he thought, but he wasn¡¯t able to see this area because of the top story overhang. She pulled out a tall rolled up piece of thick parchment paper, then unfurled it after untying the string around it. She placed it flat on the wooden bench. Sedric leaned over to have a look at it curiously, while Scytale used his wings to give himself a bit of lift to jump onto the table.


    ¡°Can you tell me what this is?¡± she asked, pointing to the blueprint. The parchment was covered in complicated black lines and small, neat print. As they watched, some of the lines and script moved and shifted as mana flowed through the ink, revealing layers to the paper that weren¡¯t there originally. It moved in a cycle, showing one part of the blueprint after the next, and then reverting back.


    Sedric rubbed his chin as he looked at the blueprint, frowning slightly. His fingers tracked the curve and length of the lines. ¡°I think this is¡­ an alticator, judging by the three different forms the layers show. And¡­¡± he moved his hand to trace the outline of a strange screw shape tipped by a thin point. ¡°This is some sort of¡­ carving tool? It doesn¡¯t seem to inject any sort of substance though, so the device isn¡¯t a type of binder pen. Besides that though¡­¡± he shrugged with an awkward expression. ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s too complicated.¡±


    She nodded and picked up the parchment, walking over to the cork board. ¡°Well, that¡¯s fine. After all, I know what this is.¡±


    He hesitated. ¡°Wait, so you didn¡¯t want my help to find out what it is?¡±


    She smiled and shook her head. ¡°No. I did say I would be giving you the blueprints, right? This is closer to one of the devices of the Coalition than a proper magic item though. It¡¯s still within your capabilities to make,¡± she said, pinning the blueprint up with some small tacks.


    He frowned. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a device from the Coalition. I have no experience with that.¡± Then he looked up. ¡°Wait, make?¡±


    ¡°Yep. This is your first long-term task from me,¡± she responded, smiling brightly.


    He became incredulous. ¡°I literally just told you I can¡¯t understand it! What are you expecting from me?!¡±


    She smirked. ¡°If you can¡¯t understand it, then you¡¯ll just have to learn it from me.¡±


    He stared. ¡°From you,¡± he stated flatly.


    She tilted her head. ¡°What, did you think you get a day off on Saturdays after having a brief meeting with me? Sorry, not happening.¡± She pointed a thumb back at the blueprint behind her. ¡°But don¡¯t worry, I know what I¡¯m doing. After all, I created this once.¡±


    ¡°There is no way,¡± he said, disbelieving.


    She sighed and gestured for him to come forward. She pointed to a corner of the parchment. ¡°Read that,¡± she said blandly.


    He squinted until he found what she was pointing to. ¡°Lucille A. Gold¡­ croft¡­¡± he murmured, his eyes going as wide as saucers.


    ¡°Even if you¡¯re dubious that I created the blueprint, unless a User alters a design so much it¡¯s basically a new item, then they can¡¯t create one, so this has to be enough proof,¡± she stated. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter what you think, I¡¯m still going to be teaching you.¡±


    She went back to the bench and leaned against it with her arms crossed. ¡°Also, this isn¡¯t supposed to be used for anything else but crafting. This tool is to make your own equipment. Eventually you¡¯ll come to a point when current tools either aren¡¯t accurate enough or aren¡¯t specific enough for your use, and then this will help you create custom equipment. You won¡¯t need it for a while yet, but it will be a good training tool for you to understand the concepts I¡¯m trying to show you.¡±


    Lucy had based the concept off of a 3D printer. Although this one used hand controls to utilise different arms to construct the design, as crafting with mana added a big level of complexity to the situation. It would be good to show him basic mechanics though, before she could then teach him better circuitry with enchanting.


    He opened, and then closed his mouth. Then he groaned. ¡°I just- ugh, fine. You¡¯re the boss, so whatever. Got anything else you plan to teach me?¡±


    ¡°I do actually. I plan to teach you a few skills,¡± she told him, fiddling with the piece of twine from the parchment in her hands.


    Sedric came up to the table and slammed two hands flat against the bench as he leaned on it. ¡°Skills?¡± he asked wearily. ¡°Plan on giving me faulty skills that make me waste my lifeforce or something?¡±


    ¡°If I wanted to create a suicide bomb then there are far better people for the job,¡± she responded nonchalantly, without looking up. ¡°Scytale, for example.¡±


    ¡°Just because I¡¯m enjoying the warmth of these mana-lamps, doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t hear you!¡± he yelled from his corner of the bench, swaying in front of one of the white lamps on the wall. He sneezed.


    Lucy ignored him as she turned to the bemused crafter and gazed at him intently. ¡°I know exactly what is required for the final item I want from you, and as you are now, you. Do. Not. Cut. It. Take what I¡¯m offering. It¡¯ll help you after the contract ends.¡±


    He sighed and ran his hands through his dark brown hair. ¡°I just don¡¯t know why you¡¯re investing so much in someone who will leave you in the end. It feels wasteful.¡±


    Wordlessly, Lucy reached into her shirt pocket and pulled out her black card. She held it up for him to see, and they stared at each other.


    Sedric broke eye contact first. ¡°All right, I get it!¡± he said, throwing his hands up in exasperation. ¡°You¡¯re rich and don¡¯t care. Sheesh. Stop making me feel dumb. I don¡¯t get why I¡¯m getting treated like this.¡± He narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°You don¡¯t feel like an 18-year-old at all.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± she said. She got up from leaning against the table.


    ¡°Wait, what-¡±


    ¡°Contact my aide Vincent for any further details,¡± she cut him off, feeling a bit cheeky. Vincent would probably get frustrated and a bit anxious about the fact she told Sedric to talk to him, and start panicking under the pressure of not knowing what he¡¯s supposed to say. He might get mad if he discovers Lucy didn¡¯t really care if people knew she wasn¡¯t truly 18, but still put him in that situation. She didn¡¯t care too much about her regression either. She only needed two particular connections hidden.


    She started moving towards the staircase. ¡°It should be lunchtime soon. Let¡¯s head up and key in your mana signature," she said to him.


    Scytale lazily nodded as he slowly stopped swaying in front of the light and slithered down to the other end of the bench to climb up her arm. Sedric still look exasperated but sighed when he realised he wouldn¡¯t be getting an answer from her anytime soon. They went up the stairs and Lucy paused him to get him to inject some mana into the door¡¯s mana-circle after she had activated it. Then they left for the nearest elevator.


    ¡­


    ¡°It seems you¡¯re enjoying it,¡± Lucille said, watching Sedric wolf down his roasted meal with wild abandon.


    He looked up and blinked. ¡°Ish very goom,¡± he replied with his mouth still stuffed full. He swallowed and repeated his sentence. ¡°It¡¯s very good.¡±


    ¡°I think I can see that,¡± she responded, rather dryly. Scytale was next to her, coiled up as he digested his much smaller meal.


    Sedric had noticed that fact and raised an eyebrow. ¡°Surely you need to eat more than that, even if you¡¯re small for your sub-race.¡±


    The snake didn¡¯t look up. ¡°Not really. Magical beasts can sustain themselves on the ambient mana of their surroundings if they have good control and a good mana environment. We eat to increase our bloodline strength and purity more than anything. I had some compatible natural treasures a few days ago that I¡¯m still digesting and purifying, so it wouldn¡¯t be good for me to eat much of this high quality food in case it decreases my bloodline stability.¡±


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    Sedric stabbed his fork into his meal again. ¡°Why would you want to have high bloodline stability? Is it bad to have it low or something? Like, does your bloodline change?¡±


    Lucille and Scytale looked at each other for a moment, then looked back at Sedric. He blinked at their reaction. ¡°What? Did I say something wrong?¡±


    Lucy took a sip of her water. ¡°In this context, it¡¯s not bad, but don¡¯t ever go asking that to another magical beast. While it¡¯s not exactly offensive, it is something they tend not to speak to other races about.¡±


    Scytale raised his head to gaze at Sedric with his golden eyes. ¡°If our bloodline stability drops too low, we turn into monsters.¡±


    The brown-haired man¡¯s mouth opened and closed. He looked at them both, trying to see if they were joking. They were not.


    ¡°Like, actual monsters? The ones covered in festering growths and lumps and stuff? The ones which hate every sentient being?¡± he asked them, stunned.


    ¡°I don¡¯t recall hearing any other definition,¡± Lucy replied wryly. ¡°I hope you understand why a race already known for being very aggressive and violet would want to stop the other races knowing they are at risk of turning into the enemy of all the realms? Even now, they still struggle to overcome the stigma of being uncivilized beasts after hundreds of thousands of years.¡±


    ¡°Well, uh¡­ yeah, I can understand that¡­¡± he mumbled, suddenly looking sorry. Scytale placed his head back down, but explained for the man.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a well known fact in the other realms. For us, it¡¯s part of our life, and we can talk about it just fine. It¡¯s just not a pleasant topic. But it¡¯s a bit of an unspoken rule to not discuss this to anybody that does not have a major relation to magical beasts. We can discuss it with our bonds and the beast-blooded, who do not suffer from the monsterification process like magical beasts, but otherwise we don¡¯t discuss it openly with the other realms.¡±


    He opened his mouth and yawned. ¡°It¡¯s mostly a sad topic for us, because sometimes our new young are born as a low-ranked beast, and because they lack the sentience to control themselves when it comes to valuable natural treasures, increasing their bloodline instability, they often become monsters. We have measures in place for that occasion.¡±


    Sedric hesitated, a forkful of food halted before his mouth. ¡°Then¡­ why would you tell me this?¡±


    ¡°Because I think you¡¯d be too dense and ask another beast, and get killed from it because of your idiocy," the snake responded with snark. ¡°You should thank me, I just saved your life.¡±


    ¡°Hey, saved whose life?! Listen here you-¡±


    Lucy sighed as the two of them began to bicker back and forth. She looked around the rooftop.


    The rooftop itself was rather large, covering the entirety of the Headquarters¡¯ main building roof, and filled with a blossoming garden. As it was used as a venue for hosting events, many marble gazebos and silk curtained walkways decorated it. They were currently eating beside a small fountain on an outside table. The structure of the Headquarters was rather interesting.


    Lucy had heard that the Founder had originally wanted a normal house, but then it was decided that when the Founder obtained the Gilded Dome plane, they would create the central area for the Faction at it¡¯s very centre. The Headquarters'' main building occupied a large rectangular area, just a tad bit too long to be a perfect square. Outside the Headquarters'' building was a larger area that bordered it with a wide strip, forming the impression of a square within a square when seen from birds eye view.


    It was this wide, green outer strip that held the gardens of the Headquarters. The reception hall had direct access to the main street of the Gilded Seat city, as half of it was not part of the main building of the Headquarters. But on either side of the reception hall building were two gates that enabled access to the gardens. The front half of the garden section was like a noble¡¯s stereotypical idea of a garden, with lots of hedges, marble fountains, and flowering plants. The half of the garden area that was at the back of the main building though, had the Pavilion.


    The Pavilion itself was a semi-enclosed sheltered area, with sliding glass screens and outdoor lounges, an area to keep cool and out of the sun. It had three sections that came of the long rectangular area at right angles to extend along either side of the main building. What was interesting was that the Pavilion was two-storied. If Lucy looked over the side of the rooftop to see the building, she could see a series of repeating gridlines over the top, and the sheen of glass revealing the artificial biomes that Scytale had gotten his cold in. It sounded like it would clash with the marble and gold theme of the main building, but the plenteous elegant glass structures and decorations and glass-themed bottom story of the Pavilion meant the entire building seemed more like an ostentatious, very large crystal showpiece of some kind. The glass fountains that were inside the artificial lake surrounding it also presented this image.


    She turned back to the two others at the table when they began to get more animated in their arguing. Scytale just had this personality where if you didn¡¯t learn to put up with it or find some weakness of his to control him, he would aggravate you to no end. Lucy had long gotten used to it, but now the fluffy snake had found a new target.


    Sedric was scowling at the silver snake. ¡°Well, if this bloodline of yours is so great and all, then why are you a midget?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t test me you mere crafter!¡± Scytale told him grandly. ¡°For this is not my true form! In fact, I shall reveal myself to you in my full glory right now!¡±


    Lucy rolled her eyes as the snake on their table raised himself up with his wings spread out, and with a glow of yellow light, his metre-long body began to grow. Slowly, his coils thickened and he lengthened, his outspread wings gaining width and height as he activated his Primal Descendant ability, increasing his size by x3. He flapped his white-gold plumage proudly as he waited for their reaction.


    ¡°Skulker is still bigger than you,¡± Lucy stated flatly.


    He reared up and bared his fangs in outrage, hissing. ¡°He¡¯s huge for his age!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s average.¡±


    ¡°Now you¡¯re just making things up,¡± he grumbled.


    Sedric put a hand on his chin. ¡°Well, I guess I can see how your scales and feathers could be impressive.¡±


    Scytale and Lucy turned to him in slight shock, confused about why he was saying something nice about the snake. Lucy wanted to know what the catch was.


    ¡°But,¡± he continued, ¡°It¡¯s not really anything great unless you fly. Can you actually use those wings?¡±


    ¡­¡­and there it was.


    Lucy decided to sit this conversation out as she sipped her water like she was Switzerland. Although she felt like nudging Scytale a bit, because his suspicious silence was not helping his cause. Before she could do so, Sedric opened his mouth, so she sighed and resigned herself to avoiding the crossfire.


    ¡°Well?¡± the brown-haired man said, cocking an eyebrow.


    Scytale shuffled his wings a bit as he started to shrink inward. ¡°Um¡­ there are¡­ complications¡­ surrounding this issue and I don¡¯t really feel up to answeri-¡±


    The other man leaned forward with malicious glee on his face. ¡°Oh really¡­ complications, are there? I think there¡¯s something else going on here though¡­¡± Sedric said, a grin slowly widening on his expression.


    Scytale shrunk down further. ¡°N-no, there¡¯s nothing else that coul-¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re hiding something,¡± Sedric interrupted, his eyes narrowed. ¡°You don¡¯t want to tell me something.¡±


    Lucy evaded eye-contact when Scytale turned to her for help. She was the epitome of neutrality, a calm land of political disinterest, completely uninvolved with anything and-


    ¡°Aha!¡± Sedric suddenly shouted, jumping up from his seat to point at the silver snake. ¡°You¡¯re afraid of heights!¡±


    Scytale was flabbergasted. ¡°¡­¡­what.¡±


    In her personality analysis of him, Lucy had been starting to think that this new crafter of hers had a strange instinct for things. Such as how he had been unconsciously trying to avoid attention and had been subtly testing her. She had thought she needed to revise her impression of him¡­ but now it was for an altogether different reason. This guy may have intuition¡­ but he was completely off the mark when it came to acting on it.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare deny it!¡± the young man said to Scytale with utter confidence in his voice. ¡°It¡¯s obvious you¡¯re trying to avoid flying because you¡¯re scared!¡±


    ¡°That is the dumbest thing I¡¯ve ever heard,¡± Scytale told him flatly. ¡°Your confidence is utterly unfounded.¡±


    ¡°Now you¡¯re just being defensive,¡± Sedric said, sitting back down to cross his arms smugly.


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m being defensive!¡± Scytale yelled, incredulous. ¡°I have literally just finished telling you I come from a clan of tree snakes! We thrive in high places!¡±


    ¡°You also told me you were overprotected by your clan due to your size, so you tried to escape and nearly got eaten by a sleeping crocodile because you were distracted and climbed into its mouth, which was how Lucille saved you,¡± the man pointed out, raising an eyebrow. ¡°I bet you haven¡¯t even touched a tree.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve taken that story waaay out of context,¡± Scytale said to him, shrinking back down to his normal size.


    ¡°No I haven¡¯t,¡± Sedric responded.


    ¡°Yes you have.¡±


    ¡°No I haven¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Yes you have!¡±


    ¡°No, I haven¡¯t. It is perfectly relevant-¡±


    ¡°No it isn¡¯t! In the first place, I told you my overprotection was having guards surround me all the time, which-¡±


    ¡°Ah, but you didn¡¯t say you had touched a tree! See, I was righ-¡±


    ¡°Who hasn¡¯t touched a tree?!? I¡¯m obviously going to ignore such a stupid statement!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not stupid, and you¡¯re still just being defensive. Unless you prove me wrong, I will still continue to believe-¡±


    ¡°Argh! Listen, I literally just told you there are other issues surrounding this that-¡±


    ¡°Like being terrified of heights?¡±


    ¡°No! ¡­wait, I get it now. You¡¯re projecting! You¡¯re the one who''s scared of heights!¡±


    ¡°H-Huh? W-wait, that¡¯s not-¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare deny it!¡±


    Lucille let out a long groan while leaning back in her seat, pinching her nose bridge, as another round of bickering began. She rubbed her temples and scowled. Finally, she couldn¡¯t take it anymore and slammed two hands down onto the table.


    ¡°Would both of you Shut. Up.¡± she growled at them. The intensity of her glare made them both awkwardly look away. They went silent for a moment.


    Sedric opened his mouth first. ¡°He started it by calling me dense.¡±


    ¡°False accusati- oh, wait, I did actually say that," Scytale muttered sheepishly.


    Lucy ignored her bond to whip her head around and direct her glare at Sedric. He flinched.


    ¡°I can¡¯t even believe I have to say this, but may I remind you that the person you are arguing with is a 15-year-old. Sedric Ferin, how old are you?¡±


    Scytale looked at her with narrowed eyes and communicated through their bond. ¡®Hang on Lucy, I¡¯m not actually-¡¯


    Scytale. Please, for just one, blissful moment, could you be silent?


    ¡®Um. Okay.¡¯


    Clearly he had felt something through their bond because he agreed very easily. Lucy sighed and looked at Sedric.


    ¡°Ferin, how old are you?¡±


    He looked down and grimaced. ¡°¡­..1.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t hear you,¡± she stated blandly. ¡°Speak up.¡±


    ¡°¡­21,¡± he told her reluctantly.


    She raised both her eyebrows. ¡°That¡¯s a 6 year age gap. The difference between a 12-year-old, and an 18-year-old like myself.¡±


    He shrunk down in his chair as she turned to Scytale with narrowed eyes. ¡°You.¡±


    He hid his face with his wings so she couldn¡¯t see him. She glared at him, letting him feel the full intensity of her emotions through their bond. ¡°Stop giving in to your instincts.¡±


    Sedric furrowed his brows in confusion. ¡°Instincts?¡¯


    ¡°Indeed,¡± she said with a dry tone. ¡°There is a reason why the serpent clans are famous for their cunning. They have a desire in their blood to rile another up to poke for weaknesses, and often try to sow discord among clans. In Scytale¡¯s case¡­¡±


    She looked with narrowed eyes at the snake who was peeping through his feathers. She turned back to Sedric. ¡°He¡¯s also just a brat, which makes it ten times worse.¡±


    ¡°Hey, I was okay with what you were saying up until that last bit¡­¡±


    Her glare shut Scytale up. Then she sighed and pinched her nose bridge. Scytale, I really need to point something out. Sedric is over two hundred centuries younger than you.


    ¡®Well, maybe I did get a little carried away¡­ or maybe a lot¡­¡¯


    You did, but that¡¯s not my point. She raised her eyes to look at the silver serpent who had stopped hiding behind his two large wings. I can feel through the bond that your emotions have become simpler, and stronger. You didn¡¯t act like this at all before we died.


    The snake raised his head and blinked at her. ¡®Actually, now that you mention it¡­¡¯


    You¡¯ve become emotionally immature, and now have the self-control of a 15-year-old. It must be a side effect of regressing to a young body.


    ¡®What?! Why are you fine then?!¡¯


    Because my soul is already within the transition layer between the physical realms and the spiritual realm, I can pseudo-simulate the Rank-3 ability to have perfect control over my body. You haven¡¯t done that, because it was useless to you as someone with a smaller soul, so the perfect control didn¡¯t carry over to the new timeline.


    ¡®Ugh.¡¯


    This interaction only took a few seconds through their bond, so for Sedric, they had only been silent for a short moment. He sat a bit straighter in his chair and looked at Lucy.


    ¡°I¡­ actually have a question about your plans for me,¡± he told her, looking thoughtful.


    Lucy sipped her drink. ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°On the contract, there was no mention of any duties such as going to events as your crafter or taking the examinations to earn a higher ranked crafter title,¡± he said. ¡°Am I just going to be crafting?¡±


    She raised an eyebrow at him. ¡°Remember, we signed a non-exclusive contract. Sending you to events just to brag about you would be a strange decision. It would be like placing a gift before my competitors, as I can¡¯t prevent you from crafting for others.¡±


    ¡°Uh.. right. That makes sense,¡± he said, scratching his cheek. ¡°But what about the examinations?¡±


    She eyed him for a moment, then placed down her drink. ¡°I don¡¯t care about the examinations. That is because the connections of high ranked crafters can¡¯t help me.¡±


    Seeing his confused expression, she placed her arms on the table and looked at him. ¡°There is a reason why I contracted you, an accessory crafter. I could technically create the item I wanted using the aid of any of the other crafting classes. But they don¡¯t have the adaptability I want. My item will be very complex.¡±


    Sedric frowned. ¡°Aren¡¯t accessory crafters even more restricted than the other crafters?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°Absolutely not. Sure, the items themselves have limitations on them, like not being able to boost attack or stats, but a sword is only a sword, while an accessory can be all sorts of things. I¡¯m not talking about jewellery here.¡±


    ¡°Not¡­ jewellery?¡± Sedric responded, looking even more confused. ¡°But that¡¯s literally the definition of an accessory, isn¡¯t it? Necklaces, rings, bracelets, anklets, earrings, maybe a crown or tiara?¡±


    ¡°A magic item is called that because it can either cast spells or skills,¡± she stated. ¡°What form it takes is up to the crafter¡¯s own ability. Even a swordsmith could craft an accessory if they tried.¡±


    ¡°But I can¡¯t imagine an accessory being anything other than jewellery,¡± he said, looking at her with narrowed eyes.


    She grinned. ¡°And that is why I will be teaching you. For example, what if there was a way to make magic items connect to each other?¡±


    ¡°Connect?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yes. Crafting magic items that function in such a way that they lead to forming a giant interlocking network to create a much more powerful and large function,¡± she said.


    ¡°For example, a network that would allow everyone within a certain radius to talk to each other regardless of distance,¡± Scytale piped up.


    He looked between them both, wondering if they were messing with him. ¡°No, but-¡± he paused, and rubbed his chin. ¡°I suppose if there was infrastructure in place¡­ but the different sizes of the arrays would create conflicting spellwork- engraving might reduce that however¡­¡± he looked up, raising an eyebrow. ¡°How large a radius are we talking?¡±


    She smirked. ¡°You also seem to be under the notion magic items need to remain a certain size. Or that they have to be permanent objects," she added.


    Scytale looked at her with his golden eyes. ¡°You mean¡­ like bullets and shells? Don¡¯t tell me you plan to introduce guns?¡±


    She gave the snake a funny look. ¡°Obviously not. The scaling difficulty of their crafting would make them redundant for anyone Rank-3 or over. If I was going to create a weapon, I¡¯d begin with an electromagnetic railgun, then take it from there.¡±


    Sedric just looked back on forth between them both, utterly bemused. ¡°I have no clue what this ¡®electromagnetic railgun¡¯ of yours is, but I just want to say, wouldn¡¯t these ¡®connectable¡¯ magic items of yours be closer to artifacts? To create something like that, you¡¯d need an artificer.¡±


    She quirked an eyebrow. ¡°Why would I need an artificer?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ to create something of sufficient power? I don¡¯t think half of what you wanted could be done without the weird magic of artifacts,¡± he responded, confused on why she asked him that question.


    Lucy had an odd expression on her face. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯ve heard, but artificers don¡¯t make artifacts.¡±


    Sedric stared. ¡°They¡­ don¡¯t make artifacts?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°Nope.¡±


    He stared again. Then he became incredulous. ¡°They¡¯re literally called ¡®Artificers¡¯! How could they not make artifacts?!¡±


    ¡°They don¡¯t make artifacts, they ¡®develop¡¯ them,¡± she stressed.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see the difference,¡± he stated flatly.


    ¡°Well then, I better explain,¡± she responded. ¡°What artificers do, is turn magical items into artifacts.¡±

 Chapter 16 (2 of 2) The chosen one.

    ¡°Well then, I better explain,¡± she responded. ¡°What artificers do, is turn magical items into artifacts.¡±


    He paused. ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°Are you trying to squeeze their class secrets out of me?¡± she joked. ¡°I¡¯m kidding,¡± she added, seeing the man start to look awkward.


    ¡°The exact process is kept a closely guarded secret by the Artificers, but the general details are available to anyone who wants to know at the Athenaeum. You know what Origin items are, right?¡± she asked him.


    ¡°Sort of. It¡¯s not like I¡¯d ever get to see one,¡± he told her.


    She nodded. ¡°Origin items are a phenomena that occurs in very energy-dense and pure areas. I say energy dense because this occurs in the Heavenly Realm and Demon Realm too,¡± she added. ¡°They are naturally formed items with incredibly strong and highly pure elemental mana or spiritual energy. They usually don¡¯t have a combat function, but cause their surrounding area to be a sanctuary for those who want to increase their elemental affinity. Depending on the element, they can even give unique effects to those within the domain.¡±


    She tapped the table. ¡°Artificers use a similar phenomenal mechanism to replicate this and make artificial versions of Origin items.¡± She paused for a moment. ¡°I should specify that they¡¯re not actually trying to create copies of Origin items in any way. They make artifacts to make artifacts, not artifacts hoping they¡¯ll be Origin items.¡±


    ¡°There are several conditions required to ¡®develop¡¯ an artifact.¡± She gestured to him. ¡°First is a magical item of sufficient power and age. Over 1000 years is what I¡¯ve been told. The second is an environment with a dense mana environment. Unlike with Origin items, the mana doesn¡¯t need to be a single kind, but you need to control the elemental ratio to get the desired outcome. The environment can be artificially induced.¡±


    She leaned back in her chair. ¡°The last condition is time. Looots of time.¡± She frowned slightly. ¡°I¡¯ve heard rumours it¡¯s supposed to be about twice the age of the object, and then longer depending on how strong you want the artifact. So if you want a powerful artifact, you¡¯d waiting for quite a while.¡±


    ¡®You mean you decided to test it one time to discover exactly how long artifacts needed. Was that equivalent to ten years of your life wasted in main realm time?¡¯


    Shush.


    She shrugged. ¡°That would be the case if they didn¡¯t have a bunch of pocket dimensions with accelerated time. Of course, space is still limited within their artificial mana phenomena, so you¡¯d be on a long waiting list to get your artifact.¡±


    Sedric looked flabbergasted. ¡°I- but I¡¯m sure I¡¯ve heard people say artificers create artifacts! Isn¡¯t that something everyone is told?!¡±


    A bit confused, Lucy shook her head. ¡°Nobody thinks that way, unless you come from the-¡± She paused, having realised something unexpected. She looked at him with a strange expression on her face. ¡°Sedric, you said you inherited that house and I¡¯m assuming the class from your grandfather a year ago, right?¡±


    Sedric gave her a hesitant nod, feeling the question was slightly off topic. Lucy leaned forward to gaze intently at him. ¡°Where did you live before this? Or if you lived in several places, what were those?¡±


    He frowned slightly and crossed his arms. ¡°We were always travelling. My grandfather was my only living blood relative left, and I¡¯ve followed him since I was eight. We¡¯ve visited several Major kingdoms, and my grandfather did odd work for a few people here and there. He kept it quiet so he wouldn¡¯t be abducted by a Guild or similar, but he had a friend who pointed him to people who wouldn¡¯t ask too many questions,¡± he told her.


    Lucy felt her suspicions increase. ¡°None of the lesser empires?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see how that wou- None of them,¡± he said, switching his words when he saw the look she gave him.


    She leaned back, arms crossed and with a complicated expression on her face. ¡°Do you know if your grandfather had ever visited the Coalition?¡±


    The man scowled, sounding defensive. ¡°No, he-¡±


    ¡°Never mind,¡± she said, cutting him off after she had seen his reaction. ¡°You said you had no experience with it, so if he had been there, then he would¡¯ve taught you more about them. That was obvious in hindsight.¡± She pretended to ignore the way he relaxed slightly as she moved onto the next question. ¡°Why did you mention suicide skills back in the room down there?¡±


    Sedric paused, the question having caught him off guard. He furrowed his eyebrows slightly and his expression darkened a tad. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you know better than me?¡±


    Her confounded expression seemed to confuse him because he leaned forward to expand on his statement. ¡°I mean, considering you know who I am and all, and even my class, it¡¯s obvious you-¡±


    Quickly picking up a fork, she flung it at him and it narrowly missed his cheek. He stared at her with wide eyes as she gazed dully at him. ¡°I missed on purpose,¡± she stated dryly.


    She got up from the table to collect her fork from a nearby bush, and he twisted in his chair to face her with an angry expression.


    ¡°What the hell was that for?!¡± he yelled.


    As she went back to the table, she tapped him on the head with the handle of the fork. ¡°It was because you had an idiotic idea,¡± she stated flatly. She placed the fork back on her plate and turned to him. ¡°Sedric Ferin, please remember this,¡± she said, holding up a finger. ¡°I hired you for your class and its abilities, there¡¯s no more to it. I couldn¡¯t care less about your origins.¡±


    ¡°Besides,¡± she added. ¡°There is no way the Head of the Aurelian Commission should have any connection to some random commoner they found by ¡®chance¡¯ on the streets. We have no relation.¡±


    The young man blinked, nonplussed for a moment, before his eyes lit up with a ¡®realisation¡¯ and he gave her a large nod to show he ¡®understood¡¯. ¡°I mean, of course we wouldn¡¯t, what an absurd notion! There is no way that the Commission¡¯s leader, the leader of a powerful noble faction, would have any connection to the¡­¡± he withered under her stern gaze.


    Lucy sighed. It was obvious he was having another misunderstanding about her, but she couldn¡¯t be bothered to correct it at that moment. She picked up the fork and pointed it at him once more. ¡°Idiotic thoughts.¡±


    Leaving the confused Sedric to his own devices, she took out her pocket watch and checked the time. ¡°I need to get back to organising documents, so I think we should leave our discussion here.¡± She picked up Scytale. ¡°I¡¯ll see you again on the weekend. Feel free to start getting some equipment or move in over the week.¡±


    ¡°Uh, okay,¡± the long-haired man said, getting up from his chair. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll see you sometime?¡± he asked, still confused.


    She smiled and waved as she headed towards the rooftop¡¯s elevator. ¡°See you soon.¡±


    She had to finish the last century¡¯s worth of vault documents, and then tomorrow, she would pick up a Prophetess.


    <hr>


    A few days ago, in a distant plane that glimmered like crystal from afar, 6 golden glass spires could be seen in the centre of the glistening city of the plane. These spires appeared as extremely tall spears rising out of the ground, connected by flowing bridges and elegant curved structures. The dull diamond-shaped yellow stone on top of the tallest spire suddenly let out a searingly bright glow that seemed to fill the entire sky of the plane with white light, before it dulled to a pulsating luminescence, but still brighter than it had been before. Within the spire, a man dressed in opulent white and gold robes was pacing, the hall he was within filled with reflective mirrors of gold glass. He stroked his long white beard, and in his hand was a tall gold staff topped with a gold semi-circle set at an angle. 5 golden spokes could be seen sticking out of it, giving it a shape reminiscent of a sun. The centre contained a hovering glowing yellow gemstone.


    The man turned around when he heard the sounds of footsteps from behind him. In front of him were two tall intimidating men dressed in full plate armour, besides the helmet. Both wore armour seemingly cast out of burnished gold, but one had a scarlet cape and scarlet crest on his chest plate. He had salt and pepper black hair, greying at the sideburns, and dark brown eyes, appearing in his mid 40s. The man without a cape beside him was handsome, appearing somewhere in his late twenties to early 30s, but had a head of wild blonde hair and a closely shaved beard. A short scar was across his right eyebrow, and his eyes were a steely grey. The old man looked at the man wearing the scarlet cape and stretched out his hands with a wide smile.


    ¡°Sir Louveste! How wonderful it is to see you again. I trust you have successfully completed your last mission if you have responded to my command?¡±


    The man got down on one knee and dipped his head, the blonde haired man beside him following. ¡°It is my greatest honour to rid the realms of those heretical cultivators.¡±


    The older man stroked his beard with a slight frown on his face. ¡°Come now, can we not do away with the formalities? You are my longest time friend after all, Rolland.¡±


    Rolland Louveste shook his head. ¡°How dare I respond to the High Truth Gidelis Annador in such a manner, especially on such a day as today?¡±


    The older man gave a sigh but it could be seen that Rolland¡¯s manner had pleased him. He bent forward to help the armoured man up. ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll just have to acquiesce for now.¡±


    When the man had stood up, Annador turned to look at the kneeling man next to him. ¡°And who is this?¡± he asked, stroking his beard again. ¡°I do not recall you having introduced this man to me before.¡±


    Louveste nodded, and gestured to the blonde-haired man. The man raised his steely grey eyes and responded to the white-robed man with a fist pressed against his chest, ¡°High-Ranked Paladin Jasten Albrecht reporting to the Great Sage of High Truth Gidelis Annador.¡± His tone was an entirely formal baritone and held no change in emotion.


    The Sage furrowed his brows as he thought for a bit. ¡°Jasten Albrecht? I do believe I recall hearing such a name recently¡­ when was it?¡± his eyes widened a bit as he looked at the man. ¡°The recent champion of the Paladin rankings?¡±


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    He sighed. ¡°Unfortunately, I was occupied, and couldn¡¯t be there to authenticate your win in person.¡± He nodded to the man, gesturing for him to rise. ¡°I am glad we have been able to meet.¡±


    Albrecht dipped his head as he stood up. ¡°It is my greatest honour to meet the High Truth.¡±


    The Sage turned to Louveste. ¡°It seems he takes after you with his formality.¡±


    Louveste gave the tiniest of smiles. ¡°He was like this before we met. I have been considering him as a candidate for my successor.¡±


    The Sage¡¯s eyes widened a bit and he turned to Albrecht. ¡°To be considered so highly by the 6<sup>th </sup>Templar of High Justice, I must see your talent in person sometime.¡±


    Louveste took a step forward to gaze at Annador with stern eyes. ¡°Let us discuss this later. I believe all of Pedestal has seen the joyous signs of our new chosen at the top of the core tower. Has she appeared?¡±


    The Sage likewise took on a stern expression and nodded to them both. ¡°Follow me,¡± he said, turning around and walking down the hallway while using his tall staff as a cane. They followed in silence, only the sounds of armoured footsteps echoing as they walked across the gilded floor. They went through an open archway to enter a new wide room.


    This room was large, and formed of high rising archways coming together at the centre of the peaked roof. In the middle of the room was a gargantuan glass cuboid prism structure, gently pulsating with multicoloured light and gold rays. 5 narrow bridge walkways led to the circular walkway around the prism, but below the walkways was completely empty, only the walls of the spire descending down into a seemingly bottomless chasm below. The Sage and two men walked down one of the white marble walkways, and when they made it to the central ring, the Sage turned around and looked at the men with stern eyes.


    ¡°Sir Louveste of High Justice and Paladin Albrecht, please kneel before the Oracle Prisma.¡±


    They both dropped to one knee as the sage spread out his arms, holding the staff in one hand. The Sage switched to using a commanding tone. ¡°On this day, our new light has been revealed to us. The Prophetess, the High Oracle, has been chosen. She will be brought before us so we can guide her and allow her to fulfill her destiny, as custom dictates. Therefore, she must be observed for three days and then brought among us.¡±


    He looked at Louveste and placed his staff before him. ¡°6<sup>th</sup> Templar Rolland Louveste,¡± he said. ¡°You shall be beholden to the authority of the Radiance Staff, and guard the Prophetess for 3 days and 2 nights, as commanded.¡±


    ¡°As the Primarch of Fate wills,¡± the Templar responded, grabbing on to the staff as he stood up. The Sage nodded and he let go. Then Annador turned to the bushy-haired kneeling man beside him.


    ¡°A Templar must take a trusted man with him for this task,¡± the Sage told Albrecht. ¡°High-Ranked Paladin Jasten Albrecht, You shall be beholden to the authority of the Radiance Staff, and guard the Prophetess for 3 days and 2 night, as commanded.¡±


    He grabbed on to the staff firmly. ¡°As the Primarch of Fate wills,¡± he said formally, standing up.


    The Sage nodded to them both and turned around to gaze at the enormous glowing prism behind him. ¡°You shall go, in secret, to the 8<sup>th</sup> Major Kingdom of Viridescent Emerald, the Evergreen plane. There you shall go to Devidial City and find the village of Verdure Hill. Our chosen shall be there.¡±


    They both gave firm nods as the Sage turned around once more to face them. He spread his arms wide. ¡°Now go! Find the High Oracle, and bring her back when the time is nigh!¡±


    In sync, Louveste and Albrecht placed their clenched fists on their chests. ¡°Yes your Eminence!¡±


    Then they turned around and headed towards the exit of the vast room, walking down the walkway. Once they were out of sight, the Sage turned around and let out a deep sigh. He looked back at the rotating prism.


    ¡°A Prophetess, just after we had selected this century¡¯s saintess. How absurd,¡± he muttered. He gazed at the slowly rotating crystal with narrowed eyes, stroking his white beard. ¡°And a commoner too. Annoying.¡±


    Gidelis Annador considered the state of the Citadel of Fate. Under his leadership as the Great Sage, the Citadel had entered a new era of prosperity. More nobles had come under their banner, and the Olden faction of the Empire and All-Aeon Athenaeum have worked closer with them than ever before, managing to earn a few policies for themselves from the Emperor over the last few decades. But a new Prophetess upset things. Last year, the saintess had been selected from a particularly strong and notable duchy of one of the 24 Major Kingdoms, and the Citadel had managed to sway the attitudes of several more neutral forces into being part of their side. Now though¡­


    He sighed. A new Prophetess meant chaos. And Fate didn¡¯t like chaos. An upset in the stability of the Empire meant the golden rivers of Fate became difficult and muddy to read, which hadn¡¯t been helped by the Millennium Chapter halting the Fate reading abilities of Providence for a while. Luckily, it didn¡¯t impact their ability to read the essence of fortune, but it was only a mid-ranked element compared to the powerful nature of the high-level element of Fate, so they could only attempt to utilise the abilities of the Oracle Prisma for a while. It gave them rudimentary information on the potential pathways of the future, but they were incapable of actually manipulating the rivers of Fate using it.


    He shook his head. And now, a mere commoner was selected to become the next Prophetess. It was not the first time he lamented over their lack of control of the Prophetess class. He couldn¡¯t even manipulate Fate relating to the Prophetess, as her innate authority over the essence was far stronger than his artificially earned hold over it. He narrowed his eyes again as he turned around and began walking along the suspended walkway. But a commoner girl was useful. She¡¯d make a good puppet, and judging by the scene he had seen in the Oracle Prisma¡­ she was rather na?ve and unknowledgeable, being a country bumpkin, and so he would be able to teach her well indeed.


    Some other time he might pity the girl¡¯s fate, but she was only a pawn in the end. When her training is complete and she accepts the entirety of the true class from the Oracle Prisma, then she¡¯ll be used to calculate the outcome of the future with that perfect accuracy of hers, given to her by the System, and likely live the rest of her life within the core tower. It was her Origin Skill that made her a Prophetess, after all. The life of an individual was irrelevant when it came to the prosperity of the Institution. Now, so long as nothing occurs during the observation period, he¡¯ll be able to make use of her for the Citadel.


    He left the large open room and its spectacular structure behind. He had to begin preparations for the Millennium Chapter, and locate which plane for the battlefield would grant the Empire the highest chance of winning in five years.


    <hr>


    The sun was high overhead, beaming down warm rays of the early afternoon as a small country town was filled with lazy and contented energy, this time of year being a relaxing period for them all. The town was placed at the base of a small hill, green fields surrounding them on all sides. It was a picturesque view, providing a sense of peacefulness and security as a soft breeze blew through the grass on the hill.


    Not all of it was picturesque, however. Outside the town, a long walking distance away and closer to a nearby forest, was a little squat house. The house was made of brick and had a tiled roof, but it had seemingly crumbled into disrepair. The tiling was patchy, providing poor shelter from the wind and rain, and the window shutters were falling of their hinges. The bricks had cracks running through them, and vines had started reclaiming the building. Inside was sparsely decorated and plain, and it was in here that two young figures could be found.


    Beside a low, short bed, a young girl in her teens was collapsed on her knees, sobbing as she buried her head in her hands. A broken stool sat a ways from her, the legs having come off. She wore a plain dress that was slightly too small for her, and had a head of flowing wavy golden-blonde hair.


    But the figure on the bed was the more noticeable feature of the room. Laying on the bed was a skinny young boy, shifting restlessly on the bed. He had his eyes closed as his eyelids flickered in uneasy sleep, and his skin was deathly pale and clammy, cold sweat dripping off him as he tossed and turned, clutching his chest. He had shoulder-length messy brown hair that was pasted to his forehead and darkened by his sweat, and he had dark bags under his eyes. His face was gaunt and his limbs were as skinny as sticks. He coughed weakly and the girl lifted her face to anxiously hold his pale hand in her palms, a tearful expression on her youthful face.


    When she looked up, her whole face could be seen. The girl could only be called gorgeous, with unblemished clean skin, willowy eyebrows, and large eyes. Her eyes themselves were a blinding, luminous gold in that seemed to gleam like they were cast purely out of the resplendent metal. They were red rimmed as tracks of tears could be seen trickling down her face and into her hair near her neck. She let out a choked sob as she leaned forward and held the boy¡¯s hand to her forehead.


    ¡°Raegan, don¡¯t leave me. Not now,¡± she cried weakly, clenching the hand tighter.


    The boy¡¯s eyelids flickered a bit more, but it was unknown whether it was in unconscious recognition of her voice, or because of his restless sleep. The girl looked up at the boy¡¯s face.


    ¡°Raegan, we can l-leave here if you wanted! You would always tell me we should run away¡­¡± she sniffled. Then she gave him a strained smile. ¡°W-We can be part of the Citadel! We¡¯ll be treated like nobles, and wear fancy clothes! Get revenge on the town who hated you!¡± She let out a short, hysterical laugh with wide eyes, likely to try and seem excited, but it sounded like the laugh of the insane. Her eyelids drooped as she lowered her head to rest her forehead against the side of the wooden bed.


    ¡°Just¡­ wake up for me, Raegan. Wake up, please¡­¡± she muttered weakly, thick tears dripping down her face once more. She went silent for a moment.


    ¡°Why did you never tell me your condition was this bad?!¡± she then cried out, grabbing on to her brother¡¯s thin wrist once more. ¡°Did something more happen?¡± She gazed at his pale face and sickly complexion once more, a solemn expression on her face. The, she moved her golden mana into her eyes, making them glow with vibrant light.


    The girl¡¯s expression was dismayed when she couldn¡¯t see what she was looking for. She placed her head against the bed¡¯s side again with a loud thunk as she grasped onto the thin sheets of the bed.


    ¡°I¡¯m supposed to be this Prophetess...¡± she murmured. She looked up at the roof being held up by rotting wooden beams with a pleading gaze. ¡°But why can¡¯t I save my own brother.¡±


    Only the creaking of the roof as wind blew through the house was heard, the world unresponsive to her cries, besides the weak sounds of shallow breathing coming from the bed beside her. The girl bit her lip, and clasped her hands together as she kneeled on the ground, ignoring the way her arms were shaking and the way her nails dug into her pale skin. Crimson blood welled from under her fingertips, but the girl rested her firmly clasped hands on the bed¡¯s edge and closed her eyes.


    Then, the surrounding air around her gained a mesmerising golden glow as the space shimmered and glinted like liquid metal, the strange aura giving off light in the dark room they were in. Dust and grime disintegrated around them when touched by the glowing light, even their clothes become a pure white rather than their faded beige tone. The girl waited.


    Then she frowned as several strong sensations flowed into her. The distant sound of the clang of metal, the scent of dust and dirt, the stale breeze of a dry afternoon and the sensation of an abrasive aura rubbing against her very being, a sensation she could only assume to be the debilitating touch of demonic energies. The metallic taste of blood on her tongue. The girl dropped the golden aura, collapsing weakly against the side of the bed.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to know about a war I¡¯ll never be part of!¡± she sobbed, leaning her head against the hard wooden board. ¡°I want to know how I can save my brother¡­¡±


    She twisted the coarse fabric of her dress in her hands, uncaring of strain she placed on the poor quality material. She gazed into the distance with a dismal look, drained and tired. She closed her eyes, as she let out another choked, dry sob, but she had no more tears left for her to cry.


    ¡°Take away this class...¡± she murmured. ¡°And leave me be, please¡­ I don¡¯t want to see this future¡­¡±


    She was quiet for a while, and almost seemed to be asleep as she laid there, breathing slowly without movement. Then suddenly, the boy on the bed started twisting and turning more vigorously, clutching at his chest with two hands and arching his back. Her eyes opened wide and she got up, turning to face the boy on the bed and hurriedly trying to hold him still so he didn¡¯t fall off the bed. Her face turned more and more anxiously as the seizing didn¡¯t stop, the boy letting out strangulated cries of pain.


    ¡°Raegan, Raegan, you need to stop moving. You¡¯ll make it worse,¡± she said, trying to push him back down. ¡°Raegan, tell me what¡¯s wrong, please.¡±


    She pushed him down with her entire upper body weight, keeping him down, until the boy slowly stopped moving, and his breathing slowed. She waited for a tense moment, and gave a sigh of relief when he didn¡¯t move again. She slumped against the bed, anxiously holding his hand.


    Then she froze as she noticed something wrong. She anxiously waited in the silence, listening to his breathing, and went wide eyed when she heard it. She turned to her brother and watched him as he breathed, her face growing paler and paler with every moment. The boy¡¯s breathing was slowly growing quieter and quieter. He was dying.


    She placed an arm across his chest as she held his hand. Her vision went blurry as new tears had come to flow where the others had dried, and she put his hand against her cheek.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ I¡¯m sorry,¡± she cried. ¡°I tried to help you, but nobody wants to help the ¡®cursed child¡¯ of Verdure Hill. Even the orphana-¡± the words got stuck in her throat, and so she just stroked his hair as she sobbed with her head in her arms. ¡°Please forgive me, Raegan¡­¡±


    Knock. Knock. Knock.


    Her heart nearly stopped when she heard a strange sound. She slowly raised her head to gaze at the door of their house with wide eyes.


    ¡°Excuse me...¡± she heard what sounded like the voice of a young girl say. ¡°Is anybody in there?¡±


    She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she went completely stiff, and gulped as she tried to swallow with her dry mouth. She shakily raised a hand to hold it over her mouth. Fate hadn¡¯t told her anybody was there. Her precognition hadn¡¯t activated. The ability bestowed on her by the very System itself, that granted her ''perfect'' visions of the future, had failed. She jumped as she heard the voice cough.


    ¡°Just so you know,¡± the voice said casually. ¡°I can actually sense that you¡¯re in there. Both of you, in fact.¡±


    She anxiously stood up, ignoring the pain in her stiff joints, and stood in front of the bed as if to protect it.


    ¡°Well, if I don¡¯t hear you say something in the next ten seconds, I¡¯ll presume you otherwise cannot or won¡¯t say something, and will come in. I¡¯ll begin counting.¡±


    Clutching her brother¡¯s hand tightly again, the blonde-haired girl started to panic. What could she even say? Her brother was dying right at this moment behind her, her abilities were failing her, and someone was trying to come in. Someone who she couldn¡¯t even read the fate of. Her eyes grew wider as she had a terrible thought. They weren¡¯t a Fate Devourer, were they?!


    Fate had told her it would still be a few hours before the Citadel would come to collect her, so they wouldn¡¯t be able to arrive in time to save her. She needed to stall for ti-


    ¡°I guess I¡¯m coming in then,¡± the voice said, jolting her out of her thoughts. Ten seconds had already passed, the time feeling shorter due to her muddled thoughts. ¡°Does this count as break and entry?¡± they wondered aloud.


    She felt her breath catch in her throat as the door of their aging home swung inward, dislodging dust from the roof. The new figure coughed as they swept the dust from off their shoulders.


    ¡°I feel like I¡¯m setting a new trend here,¡± she muttered, for the blonde-haired girl could see that she was a female, dressed in a long dark overcoat and strange dark shirt that came up to the middle of her neck. The figure took a step forward and turned to look at the blonde-haired girl. The blonde girl stared.


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re definitely the right person,¡± the figure said, brushing dust off the top of her dark-haired head. She took another step forward as the girl was still standing before the bed, frozen stiff.


    The figure was not very tall, but slim, with straight black hair that fell past their elbows and a fringe that just brushed their thin eyebrows. Or, eyebrow, for the figure was wearing a hard black mask that covered their right eyebrow, eye, and part of their cheek. The figure tilted their head as they noticed the blonde girl¡¯s strange gaze.


    But the girl was not staring at the figure at all. No, the figure was an interesting sight, but it was not what caused the girl¡¯s reaction. The blonde-haired girl trembled as she gazed past the figure to stare at what was behind her. For there, where a person normally kept there glowing halo of golden fate, which directed their future, there was nothing. Or more truthfully, the absence of everything. Like a great black sun rising behind the figure, an endless void, the gilded rivers of fate halted when they came before that immovable halo of emptiness. Nothing entered it, and nothing would exit. No light, no mana, no essence of Fate or fortune, the golden energy would warp and twist around it like it was some distorted abomination of ill omen.


    She could feel the void straining against the world around it like it was trying to grow, and there was a disconcerting sense of incongruity, like the void was something that shouldn¡¯t ever be seen by mortal eyes.


    The girl went weak at the knees and collapsed to the ground as the figure leaned forward with their hands behind their back to gaze at her, an intense light filling her one violently violent visible eye.


    ¡°Good afternoon, Miss Annaliese Verdon,¡± the figure spoke, giving her a wide smile.


    ¡°My name is Lucille Goldcroft.¡±

 Chapter 17 (1 of 2) Friendly black hole.

    In a forest, a black-haired man wearing golden and scarlet armour gazed at the steely-eyed man beside him out of the corner of his eye. They were both leaning against trees with their arms crossed as they observed the small decaying home a few kilometres away with their vision skills.


    Rolland Louveste looked at the stern man next to him. ¡°You look uncomfortable.¡±


    ¡°¡­sir,¡± the man said after a delay, facing the imposing Templar. For most of the members of Pledge, learning to read the emotions of the always solemn and serious High-ranked Paladin was an arduous task, but Louveste had known Jasten Albrecht ever since he had entered Pledge as a knight in training at 15. Louveste could see that his eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and the corners of his mouth were stiff in a barely noticeable grimace.


    Louveste turned back to observing the small building and viewing the inhabitants within. ¡°Do you think this is needlessly cruel?¡±


    Albrecht didn¡¯t answer, but his silence told Louveste everything he needed to know about the man¡¯s opinions on the matter. Louveste shook his head.


    ¡°If you have words to say, then say them. Do not hold your tongue before me, Albrecht. I¡¯ve known you for 16 years.¡±


    Albrecht, who had been watching Louveste with his steel grey eyes, turned them back to the house in the distance. ¡°This seems unnecessary.¡±


    ¡°And don¡¯t try to twist my meaning to make it sound nicer,¡± Louveste replied.


    Surprisingly, he heard the chink of metal as the blonde-haired man shook his head. He turned to look at the Paladin with one eyebrow slightly raised. Albrecht glanced at him and spoke in his low formal voice.


    ¡°Needless cruelty implies there is no meaning behind the actions taken in regard to the boy, which cannot be the case as it was an order from you, the Templar of High Justice, to not interfere. I believe this to be unnecessary, as there could be alternative measures that use the boy for more benefit.¡±


    Louveste continued observing the building. ¡°Such as?¡±


    Albrecht gazed at him with an inscrutable expression, but answered him, ¡°Supporting the boy with resources and good treatment could breed goodwill towards us in the Prophetess, making her less resistant to some commands. The boy could also be a bargaining chip in an arranged marriage or discipleship in a deal with a large Faction or clan that wishes to gain a stronger connection to us. Or, in the event that the Prophetess is unusually resistant towards us, he could be a hostage to control her.¡±


    Louveste gave a nod. ¡°And if this was in any other situation regarding the Prophetess, we would take similar actions to those. But not in this case.¡± He scowled. ¡°Not when it comes to that thing,¡± he spat with distaste and derision.


    ¡°Sir?¡± Albrecht responded, looking at him intently when he heard the emotion in Louveste¡¯s voice.


    Louveste stopped leaning against the tree and straightened up to gaze sternly at the slightly shorter man on his left. ¡°Listen carefully, Albrecht,¡± he said, expression solemn. ¡°As a force with history dating back to the earliest days of the Empire, before the assimilation of the Tower, the Citadel has very few actual enemies with real power. So few they could even be counted on my fingers.¡±


    He held up a hand for Albrecht. ¡°But only three have truly threatened the stability of the Citadel and its allies. The first would be the Astrologers,¡± he said, holding up his index finger. ¡°Their navigation of the planar pathways and astral bodies have enabled them to conflict with our authority over Fate and fortune. We keep each other in check, but our conflict is political rather than physical.¡±


    He held up two fingers. ¡°The next would be the forces of the Heavenly Realm. The innate resistance of that realm to the energies of magic give us difficulty when predicting their actions, and their divination techniques have pressured both Providence and the Astrologers of All-Aeon Athenaeum. Not to mention those heretical cultivators,¡± he said, scowling, ¡°That devour the destiny and karma of those before them.¡±


    ¡°It would be unwise to discuss them like that next to the forces of the Mystical Realm,¡± Albrecht interjected. ¡°The Five Heavenly Sects have become the Empire¡¯s firm allies, and speaking ill of them in generalities could ruin your reputation.¡±


    Louveste waved a hand at him dismissively. ¡°You understand my meaning.¡±


    ¡°¡­yes sir,¡± Albrecht responded, looking at him with an unreadable expression.


    ¡°Finally,¡± he said, holding up a third finger. ¡°Is our one, natural enemy. I¡¯m not talking about the Fate Devourers of the Heavenly Realm,¡± he added, seeing Albrecht frown. He sighed and gestured to the house¡¯s general direction.


    ¡°The Prophetess is the only individual who can naturally manipulate Fate. Even the High Truth himself had to gain the essence with an elixir,¡± he said. ¡°But the System always maintains balance. If there is someone able to grant you more Fate¡­¡±


    Louveste gazed solemnly at the grey-eyed man. ¡°Then there¡¯s someone who can take it away.¡±


    He turned back to the house and scowled, one hand on the pommel of his longsword at his waist. ¡°That thing,¡± he spat, ¡°Is the bringer of waste and destruction to any who even look upon it. It¡¯s mere presence destroys livelihoods and families. People die without knowing how, just by standing too close to it.¡±


    He gave a mocking laugh. ¡°And the chain of devastation only increases the longer it sucks away your fortune. At first, you would only lose a bet. Then you¡¯ve lost your job. You friends die, your family dies, your sons and daughters die, all in the worst ways imaginable. Then the mental pain turns to physical, as your body is crushed and ruined by the ¡®coincidental¡¯ accidents that occur to you, and you lay struggling to take a breath through the pain, before dying a slow, miserable death. All of this could be in a matter of a few seconds, to over agonising years.¡±


    ¡°¡­you¡¯re talking about that boy?¡± Albrecht said, his face showing the emotion of actual confusion for the first time in a while.


    ¡°That is no mere boy, Albrecht,¡± he growled, stroking the pommel of his sword. ¡°That is a ravenous beast that will steal your life away without you even knowing.¡±


    Albrecht frowned. ¡°But how do you know what he is?¡±


    Louveste shook his morosely. ¡°Be glad that this backwards countryside is where we found them, Albrecht, be very glad. For that thing, is invisible under Escalon¡¯s eyes.¡±


    Albrecht stared for a moment before his grey eyes widened slightly. ¡°You mean¡­¡±


    Louveste nodded. ¡°Fate cannot see it, Fate cannot touch it, and Fate will avoid it. Its Fate and fortune is completely invisible to our Fate vision. We cannot direct its future, and if it was in any place more populated, where the rivers of Fate flow freely over all,¡± he said, gesturing to the town. ¡°Then it would be impossible for us to even notice its lack of Fate among the vast curtains of gold aura. Only the strong hold the Prophetess has over the essence protects her from descending into misery and misfortune by having it sucked away from her. That thing is a true Fate Devourer.¡±


    Albrecht crossed his arms, the golden and white metal covering them clinking as he did so. ¡°The System never gives purely detrimental Origin Skills,¡± he stated firmly. ¡°What you¡¯re describing sounds like a conscious decision on their part to reflect that ability of theirs in their class choice.¡± He gestured to the house¡¯s direction with a gauntleted hand. ¡°That boy cannot even be 16, regardless of his malnourishment, so how could he be a User?¡±


    Louveste gave a sardonic laugh. ¡°It has been proven that the Prophetess is extremely lucky even before she receives her title, so how could that thing be any different? Because, that thing suffers from its own misfortune too,¡± he said, a vicious grin on his face. ¡°Others avoid them like a plague when they realise misfortune always occurs around them. Deaths are blamed on them, and sicknesses seem to form within whenever they lock eyes.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Without fail, every one of them grow up twisted and disillusioned, without childhood naivety befitting their age. They only have disdain for the world, the world which spurns their very presence. Very few live to see past their thirtieth year.¡±


    Albrecht looked at the house in the distance, now aware of the threat within. ¡°Could we not control him somehow?¡±


    The older Templar scoffed. ¡°How? We try to get close, we¡¯ll lose our lives just from having the bad luck of breathing the wrong way. We can¡¯t even manipulate it from a distance, as our Fate and fortune attempts cannot track it.¡± Louveste narrowed his eyes as he viewed the house. ¡°No, it is far better that we let it die now, without our intervention. The Prophetess will be none the wiser of our presence, and we can let her move on from its death to work for the glory of our Citadel.¡±


    He gave Albrecht a stern look. ¡°The Templar of High Justice does not have room for emotions such as sympathy or pity in their line of work. We do what we must to further the strength and authority of our Citadel, and strong feelings will prove a barrier to you in due time. Heed my words carefully, Paladin Albrecht.¡±


    ¡°¡­yes sir,¡± Albrecht responded, his expression calm and collected once more.


    Louveste didn¡¯t notice the way Albrecht observed him closely as the blonde-haired man pretended to watch the house. The Templar stiffened as he noticed something occurring in the distance and he narrowed his eyes again, straightening up.


    ¡°There has been a variable,¡± he said to the Paladin next to him in a low voice.


    In the distance, a black-coated figure being escorted by two taller armed men in full-body scarlet armour could be seen, heading towards the house. They watched as the figure knocked on the door.


    ¡°¡­what shall we do sir?¡± Albrecht said, reaching a hand up to the greatsword strapped to his back.


    Louveste held out a hand to pause him. ¡°Nothing. We will watch, and if they leave soon afterwards, ignore them.¡±


    He gazed intently into the distance as the figure went inside. ¡°If they do anything else¡­ protect the Prophetess, but we will continue waiting to uncover their identity.¡±


    The bearded Paladin saluted and the two men stood still, watching, and waiting as the situation developed.


    <hr>


    ¡°My name is Lucille Goldcroft,¡± she said.


    Lucy waited for the girl to react as she observed her. Annaliese Verdon was still as gorgeous as she had remembered, at least compared to the sparse few times they had met. Although the girl was looking much more worse for wear than during her time as the High Oracle. Those clothes definitely did not scream noble Prophetess of the glorious Citadel of Fate. She had yet to bloom into the beauty she had been in her twenties, being only a 16-year-old girl as of the present.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Lucy blinked and then watched, perplexed, as the girl struggled to get up from the ground, and then grabbed the leg of a broken stool near her to wave it ¡®threateningly¡¯ at Lucy.


    ¡°G-Get back,¡± the girl stammered, clearly trying to put on a strong front even as her face paled.


    Lucille tilted her head, but raised her arms in a surrender and calmly took a step back. They stared at each other for a moment, before Annaliese slowly began to move so she was standing directly in front of the bed, trying to shield it from view. Lucy raised an eyebrow and leaned to the side to look at what she was guarding, and straightened up when the other girl waved the stool leg ¡®menacingly¡¯ once more. Annaliese pursed her lips for a moment, before she focused her wavering gaze intently on Lucy. Then, she suddenly dropped the wooden leg and bent forward in a 90-degree bow.


    ¡°Y-You can kill me or use me for whatever you wish,¡± she said in a shaky voice, ¡°But whatever you d-do, in return, p-please don¡¯t touch my b-brother.¡±


    The blonde-haired girl waited as the other girl stiffened. Lucy felt her thoughts freeze to a halt. They both remained completely silent, only the sounds of their breathing being heard in the small room as Lucy stared at the Prophetess before her. As the silence continued, Annaliese slowly gathered the courage to take a quick peek at the other girl¡¯s reaction. She blinked when she saw Lucy was wearing an utterly stupefied expression. Then Lucy¡¯s expression changed.


    ¡°Girl, are you trying to get me killed here?!¡± she demanded.


    Anneliese was taken aback and began to slowly straighten up as she saw that her reaction was much different than she expected. ¡°U-um, I-¡±


    She paused as Lucille took a deep breath and ran her gloved hands through her hair, looking extremely exasperated.


    ¡°Miss Prophetess, you are about to become one of the most idolised figures throughout all of the Mystical Realm, and will have the backing of a force large enough to squish me with just a word,¡± she stated blandly. ¡°Anyone caught having had the Prophetess say those words to them would be dead quicker than if they were holding a dragon¡¯s egg,¡± she stressed. ¡°So I will ask you again, are you trying to get me killed?¡±


    The Prophetess had been staring at her with her mouth slightly agape, and quickly snapped it shut when she realised Lucy was waiting for her answer. ¡°U-uh no, that¡¯s not what I was trying to do¡­¡± she replied, twisting the cloth of her dress in her hands nervously.


    Lucille rubbed her forehead. ¡°I never would¡¯ve thought the Prophetess had such an overreactive imagination in her youth¡­¡± she muttered.


    Annaliese blinked. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what did yo-¡±


    Lucy waved a hand dismissively to interrupt her and placed a hand on her hip, looking at the girl. ¡°Anyway, you are the Prophetess, right? With the whole vision of the war, Glory Pantheon getting decimated, the Demon Emperor killing half the Rank-5s in one move, all of that?¡±


    The blonde-haired girl stared, and her jaw dropped. ¡°There is no way-¡±


    Lucy paused her by holding out a hand. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if you caught it earlier, but I¡¯m Lucille Goldcroft,¡± she said, grinning. ¡°I¡¯m not going to do anything to you, so you don¡¯t have to be so panicky.¡±


    Annaliese cautiously took the hand and shook it. Lucy let go with a smile on her face. ¡°Now, I heard you had a bro¡­ ther¡­¡± she paused when she saw the figure on the bed, and her suddenly eyes widened as she took in the situation. Then she scowled heavily, scaring Annaliese a bit. She rubbed her face. ¡°This is what happens when I¡¯m paying too much attention to what¡¯s outside¡­¡± she muttered.


    ¡°Excuse me for a moment,¡± she said, gently pushing Annaliese to the side so she could get down on one knee to see the sickly boy on the bed better. Her frown intensified as she removed her mask. Annaliese panicked and quickly got down on her knees to see what Lucy was doing. She was slightly stunned to see the slowly rotating brilliant gold circle covering the girl¡¯s right eye, but just watched Lucy with anxiety as her expression darkened more by the second.


    Eventually, Annaliese had to speak up. ¡°W-What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Lucille didn¡¯t answer her, but instead looked up and scowled, seemingly gazing at something on the other side of the wall. ¡°Selfish pigs,¡± she spat in a low voice.


    Before Annaliese could say anything, Lucy suddenly turned to her with a stern gaze, making the Prophetess jump. ¡°There are obviously many things wrong with your brother.¡±


    Lucy turned back to the boy on the bed as Annaliese seemed to wilt, the gravity of the situation returning back to her. Lucy grabbed the skinny limp wrist of the boy, feeling for a pulse below his clammy skin. Through her right eye, she watched as thin strands of faintly luminous mana were being drawn towards his heart and lungs, keeping it pumping. But where the mana had been removed, the flesh and tissue seemed to wither and shrink, turning an ugly grey colour. As she watched, the amount of mana being drawn towards the boy¡¯s heart became less and less, the body failing to supply enough to keep him going.


    She pulled off a glove and placed her hand in the air above his nose and mouth, trying to feel his breath. Lucy was bewildered.


    ¡°This is an Accelerated Mana Dystrophy Constitution,¡± she said, her eyebrows furrowed. ¡°Nobody older than six should have this.¡±


    Annaliese gulped. ¡°Because they d-die?¡± she asked anxiously.


    Lucy didn¡¯t look up as she reached for her brown dimensional bag on her belt. ¡°Because they get cured.¡±


    She turned to Annaliese. ¡°He¡¯s already reached the final stage. Has he never been treated?¡± she asked, incredulous.


    Annaliese bit her lip and bowed her head to hide her expression. ¡°The doctor won¡¯t treat us.¡± She gave a sorrowful smile. ¡°Nobody wants to help the ¡®cursed child¡¯ of the orphanage, after all.¡±


    ¡°If they think this a curse, then they must be idiots,¡± Lucy stated flatly. She looked back down at the boy as she began to search for something in her bag.


    The Prophetess shook her head. ¡°Not¡­ this.¡± She gestured weakly to the boy. She wrapped her arms around herself. ¡°He¡¯s¡­ always had bad luck. Or not him specifically. Just those around him.¡± She gazed sadly at her brother. ¡°A child drowned when they tried to push him into a river, and fell in themselves. The daughter of the mayor contracted an incurable disease, which they discovered when she began spitting blood in front of my brother one day. Our mother died giving birth to him.¡± She curled up into a ball and began rocking herself.


    Her voice was quiet. ¡°I¡¯ve tried to stop it, but I can¡¯t even see his fate. What good am I as a Prophetess?¡±


    Lucy stopped searching through her pouch for a moment to look up and stare silently at the girl. ¡°Can¡¯t see his fate?¡± she repeated.


    Annaliese couldn¡¯t see her expression, and just gave a small nod, silent as she sat there on the floor. She jolted when Lucy abruptly stood up.


    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder they left him to die!¡± Lucille said, laughing, but a laugh filled with strong bitterness. ¡°Who wouldn¡¯t relish the chance to kill their only antithesis?!¡±


    Leaving Annaliese blankly gazing after her, Lucy stormed off towards the entrance of the house and open the door. She stuck her head out to look outside.


    ¡°Guard Barus.¡±


    Annaliese was startled when she heard the voice of a man say, ¡°Yes Head?¡± in response to Lucille, so discomposed that the idea of there being others beside Lucy didn¡¯t even cross her mind.


    Lucy¡¯s expression was cold. ¡°Please go in to the town and find the doctor, telling him to come here with all his equipment. If he refuses, then tell him there will be worse consequences for him than just what treating a so called ¡®cursed child¡¯ would result in if he dares to offend a high-ranking member of the Commission.¡±


    She slammed the door shut and whirled around, marching back to the bed near Annaliese. She pulled out one small wooden box, and one slightly larger box from her bag, placing them on the edge of the bed.


    The Prophetess was dazed. ¡°A high-ranked member of the Commission?¡± She hastily got up from the floor and bowed again. ¡°Please excuse me for not properly greeting a member of a Faction from the Aeternus plane!¡±


    Lucy didn¡¯t look at her, but reached into her overcoat¡¯s chest pocket. She withdrew a palm-sized round object from it. ¡°Think fast,¡± she said, and chucked it at the confused girl.


    Miraculously, Annaliese managed to catch it after stumbling back a bit, and looked down at the violet pocket watch with a gold chain she held in her cupped hands. She blinked as she noticed the three gold coins embossed on the front. ¡°This is?¡±


    ¡°My inheritance token,¡± Lucy replied, kneeling back down, and grabbing one of the boxes. ¡°It represents my status as the Head of the Aurelian Commission.¡±


    Annaliese hung it by its chain as she held it up to look closer. ¡°But I thought the Commission didn¡¯t have a leader.¡±


    ¡°Well, now they do,¡± Lucy said, looking up and giving her a tight-lipped smile. It was without her usual cheeriness.


    The Prophetess then blanched as she realised what she was doing, and hurriedly tried to give the object back to Lucy, who just groaned and gave her a dismissive wave. ¡°It¡¯s soulbound, it will teleport to me whenever I want. Stop caring about that right now. I need to do this.¡±


    It was clear Annaliese had then realised Lucy was going to do something in relation to her brother, and she kneeled down next to Lucy, anxiously grabbing on to the thin mattress of the bed. Lucy undid the latches on both box and opened them. Then she stood up and gazed down seriously at Annaliese with her violet and gold eyes.


    ¡°Do you want me to save your brother?¡±


    Annaliese blinked and had a dumbfounded expression. ¡°What sort of question is that that?! Of course I want someone to save my brother!¡± she exclaimed.


    Lucille cocked an eyebrow and tilted her head at the younger girl.


    The girl¡¯s cheeks tinged pink when she realised what she had said, and slowly dipped her head as she sat there on the ground, twisting her dress¡¯s skirt in her hands. ¡°I-I mean¡­¡± she bowed her head deeper. ¡°Please save my brother.¡±


    Lucy took a breath as she pulled off her other glove. ¡°Then I suppose I¡¯ll get started.¡±


    Annaliese watched with nervously as Lucy removed the object within the larger wooden box, and she paled when she saw the device. A large brass needle the length of her forearm was being held by Lucy, who inspected it with her gold eye, searching for defects. She tapped on the glass container within it, and it made a loud ring. She turned to Annaliese.


    ¡°I¡¯ll make this quick.¡±


    ¡­


    Sometime later, Annaliese was whimpering slightly as Lucy slowly wrapped a thick bandage around the boy¡¯s thin wrist. Annoyed at the Prophetess¡¯s overreaction, she whipped her head around to stare at the golden-eyed girl.


    ¡°If he wasn¡¯t as malnourished,¡± she stated flatly. ¡°Then he could¡¯ve taken it orally. He needed a quick injection of a mana-dense substance so his body wouldn¡¯t continue to consume his lifeforce.¡±


    She got up, putting away the boxes into her pouch, and pulled her black gloves back on. ¡°I believe this fear of needles you have has no relation to the boy at all.¡±


    Annaliese blushed slightly. Both girls turned when they heard a reedy male voice speak up.


    ¡°I-If y-you¡¯re done here, m-may I leave?¡± said a thin aging man dressed in a white coat. Holding him firmly by the shoulder was a tall imposing man in scarlet armour with dark-red hair and a brown beard. He glared down intimidatingly at the doctor.


    Lucy was expressionless as she responded to the man. ¡°You may go back to the town, and write a medical referral that details the boy¡¯s 4<sup>th</sup> stage Accelerated Mana Dystrophy Constitution. Do not mention anything about the boy¡¯s so-called ¡®curse¡¯. Your life will not be worth living if you do.¡±


    The reedy man gulped and quickly moved towards the door, followed closely behind by the scarlet warrior. But just before he got to the door, he looked back over his shoulder at Lucy.


    ¡°P-Please be careful M-Milady,¡± he stammered. ¡°T-that boy¡¯s presence has taken more lives than monsters around here. I don¡¯t want to be responsible for your death. Your fate will be miserable if you stay near him much-¡±


    Lucille¡¯s cold expression shut him up as he was pushed out the door by the warrior. Lucy rolled her eyes. ¡°How can someone who doesn¡¯t even believe in Fate be affected by it?¡±


    ¡°You¡­ don¡¯t believe in Fate? How would that¡­¡± Annaliese was confused.


    Lucy looked at her silently for a moment and then shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s irrelevant. Now we have to discuss what will happen here on after.¡±


    Annaliese gave a solemn nod, getting up from beside the bed. She clasped her trembling injured hands against her stomach, waiting for Lucy to start explaining the real reason she came here. She did not.


    ¡°Now, your brother will not be able to survive with the mediocre medical facilities available to you in this town. Nor would I suggest trying to do so, as no doubt the townspeople would rather kill you both than allow him to be treated among them,¡± she stated, putting back on her mask. ¡°It would also be dangerous for the people around him, considering the lack of Fate energy in such an isolated place. He would drink them dry in only a few moments.¡±


    The Prophetess¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You¡­ know what he is?¡¯


    Lucy frowned, opening her pocket watch Annaliese had now given back to check the time. ¡°Barely. It¡¯s closer to a thing of myth or theory. The concept of the Prophetess¡¯s antithesis even existing is something I never thought I could see validated. Regardless, that¡¯s not up to me to investigate any further.¡±


    She snapped the pocket watch shut and put it away. She turned to the other girl with a serious expression. ¡°I want to take him away from here. He needs a proper hospital to recover from the lifeforce reduction, otherwise he¡¯ll be in a perpetual coma for ever, irrespective of how much mana he has within his system. He also needs to be somewhere much more populated than just the closest city, so the reduction in Fate would be barely noticeable for those affected by it.¡±


    Annaliese grimaced. ¡°U-Um¡­ but the Citadel will come collect me in a few hours.¡±


    Lucy waved a hand dismissively. ¡°I suggest you check again.¡±


    The Prophetess frowned, but closed her eyes as a golden aura enveloped her again. Then her golden eyes opened up wide as she stood there, stunned. ¡°No way¡­ the prophecy changed! They¡¯ll come get me in a week!¡±


    She held her chin. ¡°They must¡¯ve already found my carriage with the Commission¡¯s emblem on it then. Do you know where they¡¯ll pick you up?¡±


    ¡°U-Uh, it doesn¡¯t say,¡± Annaliese responded, still shellshocked. Then she fixed an intense stare onto Lucy. ¡°No, how did the prophecy even change?! They¡¯re given to me by the System! They¡¯re not supposed to change.¡±


    Lucy ignored her to continue thinking out loud. ¡°So, if it doesn¡¯t know where you¡¯ll be picked up, it means Fate can only judge based on the actions of others. Does that mean I¡¯m ¡®invisible under Escalon¡¯s eyes¡¯ too?¡± she mused, remembering an obscure piece of text in an old document of the Citadel¡¯s she found.


    Annaliese paused when she heard Lucy¡¯s words. She frowned slightly. ¡°Invisible¡­ you mean, like my brother¡¯s Fate?¡± She raised her eyes to Lucy, looking at something unseen beyond her, and gulped, turning pale again. ¡°N-No, that is definitely not it¡­¡±


    Lucille silently observed the girls reaction, a hand covering her own mouth in thought. ¡°Hmm. So there¡¯s something wrong with mine after all.¡± She shook her head and sighed. ¡°Never mind. As I was saying earlier, your brother will need to be moved to a big hospital.¡± She fixed a stare on Annaliese. ¡°And I would like to suggest we move him to the hospital of Gilded Seat city.¡±


    Annaliese went silent for a moment as they began to walk towards the door. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ the city of the Commission¡¯s Headquarters¡­ right?¡± she looked up to see if she was correct. Lucy nodded, and so she continued frowning in thought. ¡°You¡¯d be taking us to the satellite plane of the Aeternus plane itself?¡± she asked nervously.


    Lucy ignored her apprehension as she turned back to the bed, looking down at the boy. ¡°I¡¯m going to pick him up,¡± she said to Annaliese, who slowly nodded. Putting one arm around the boy¡¯s back and another under his knees, she lifted the thin body as his head bumped against her weakly. She moved towards the door with Annaliese following behind, and answered the other girl¡¯s question. ¡°It¡¯s where I have the most control, and would be the best place to protect you both. Nobody would find out you were the Prophetess unless I wanted them to. Which I don¡¯t,¡± she stated, exiting the open door.


    The Prophetess gazed intently at her. ¡°Are you really¡­ the Aurelian Commission¡¯s leader?¡±


    Lucy nodded to the second scarlet-armoured guard who had been outside the door, who silently followed after them. ¡°Unless any normal person gets escorted by two Rank-4s from Chavaret¡¯s mercenary army,¡± Lucy responded wryly, ¡°Then yes, I am.¡±


    Annaliese nearly stumbled when she heard the ¡®Chavaret¡¯s mercenary army¡¯, but kept on following after Lucy, who began heading towards a fancy ornate carriage stopped on a nearby road, pulled by two large horses with grey mist billowing out from under their hooves. A coachman in black uniform was sitting in the front, holding the horses¡¯ reins.


    The first guard, who Lucy had called ¡®Barus¡¯, was standing out the front of it, a white document in hand. He saluted when he saw Lucy coming. Opening the door for her, she stepped in and slowly placed Annaliese¡¯s brother down on one of the plush cushioned benches, pulling out a blanket from her pouch and covering him. She held out a hand to Annaliese, who took it, and Lucy pulled her into the carriage, sitting opposite the boy near the window. Annaliese sat next to her brother, putting his head on her lap, as Barus handed Lucy the document, which was the doctor¡¯s referral. He shut the door, and the two guards climbed onto the back. The carriage started moving, and Lucille read the referral.


    Looking up and seeing the Prophetess was still in deep thought, she sighed. ¡°Look, we still have two hours before we arrive at Devidial City, and organising use of a large-scale planer alignment array for the carriage will probably take another half-hour, even when using my position to pressure them. Take that time to think about it.¡± She observed the still pale complexion of the other girl. ¡°Or alternatively, use it for sleep. How long have you been looking after Raegan?¡±


    She looked sheepish. ¡°Um¡­ 28 hours. Give or take.¡± Lucy nodded, but before she could finish reading the referral, Annaliese¡¯s expression changed and she leaned forward to gaze intently at Lucy. Lucille quirked an eyebrow at her reaction.


    ¡°You said Raegan. I never told you his name was Raegan,¡± Annaliese said.

 Chapter 17 (2 of 2) Friendly black hole.

    ¡°You said Raegan. I never told you his name was Raegan.¡± Then Annaliese frowned as she realised something else. ¡°Actually, I never told you my name either. And there was the comment about the war¡­ and you knew where I lived¡­ and you knew I was the Prophetess when I haven¡¯t even been officiated. Plus, your Fate¡­¡± She stared at Lucy. ¡°What are you?¡±


    Lucille huffed and put away the referral, replacing it with a newspaper. ¡°It¡¯s a bit rude to refer to me as a ¡®what¡¯. I¡¯m very much a human.¡±


    Annaliese gulped. ¡°A-Are you a Fate Devourer?¡± she asked shakily.


    Lucy stared at her over the top of her newspaper. ¡°And that is very rude to refer to me as. No I am not. I have never touched the stuff, or even used the light element,¡± she stated crossly, studiously ignoring the girl.


    The Prophetess hesitated. ¡°Then¡­ why didn¡¯t Fate tell me you were coming?¡±


    Still ignoring the girl, Lucy looked out the window and whistled. ¡°Wow, what a beautiful tree.¡±


    The golden-eyed girl was dumbfounded. ¡°How is that even changing the subject?¡±


    ¡°Haaaa¡­¡± Lucille sighed, pinching her nose bridge. ¡°Just take the hint. Let¡¯s discuss this another time. Honestly, you¡¯re almost worse than Sedric¡­¡± she grumbled.


    ¡°Who¡¯s Sedric?¡± Annaliese asked curiously.


    Lucy gazed at the girl with narrowed eyes, having had an idea. ¡°You know what? I¡¯ve told you to go to sleep.¡± She pointed a finger at the girl. ¡°So, just go to sleep. Nighty night.¡±


    Before the girl could react, Lucy twisted her mana into a small white mana-circle at the tip of her finger, and a ball of the same colour shot out and inserted itself into Annaliese¡¯s forehead. She slumped against the window, breathing slowly.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t needed a sleep spell for several years,¡± Lucy muttered.


    Now that the girl was asleep, she rolled up her newspaper. In the Tower, the alternative to wearing noise-cancelling headphones to block out untowardly noisy people was to pretend you were reading a newspaper. As was also sometimes the case with certain noisy people when it came to headphones, it didn¡¯t always work. The act of reading a newspaper was even more fake in Lucy¡¯s case, as the speed of her thoughts meant anything she saw was recorded nearly instantly. That was without even considering the fact that just having the newspaper within her spiritual energy field meant her mind had already known the contents within. She took off her overcoat and kicked up her legs to sit sideways on the bench, back against the window.


    Having returned to her expressionless default when others weren¡¯t around, she closed her eyes as she mentally reconstructed the image of what she had seen at the border of the forest near the Prophetess¡¯s house. An austere-looking man with greying sideburns and black hair, and a wild-haired bearded blonde man with steely-grey eyes. One in gold and crimson armour, wearing a lavish cape, and the other in gold and white armour, indicative of a Paladin.


    Rolland Louveste and Jasten Albrecht.


    She put her hands behind her head. They¡­ were not the best possible witnesses, but they weren¡¯t the worst. The Templar of High Justice was greedy and ambitious, someone who pushed for the Mystical Realm¡¯s involvement in the Heavenly Realm, and was very discriminatory towards cultivators after a few years of destroying a few Fate Devourer Sects. But the man was cautious. He wouldn¡¯t jeopardise Gidelis Annador¡¯s plans by acting out before a discussion with the High Truth. The fact that the Prophetess had seen they had a week before she was taken meant Annador wasn¡¯t overly worried about what the Commission wanted with the Prophetess. It was possible he had already heard the rumours of there being a new Faction Head for them too.


    It was actually Jasten Albrecht who was the bigger issue. He was an irregular. A genius warrior and the youngest ever Templar at 36, the man was unpredictable. Even until the end of the first timeline, nobody discovered what his intentions were. She was actually surprised to see him next to Louveste, because she knew they had been very hostile towards each other, to the point they had tried to kill each other several times. She wasn¡¯t close enough to get a good look at their residual spiritual energy waves to see their emotions, however, so she couldn¡¯t begin to estimate what either of their intentions were. And the fact Albrecht was here also shed light on a few key details regarding his past relationship with the Prophetess¡­.


    Still, neither of them had tried to intercept her. Either they already knew something about the black-haired girl wearing a half-mask from the Commission, or they didn¡¯t want to interfere with the Prophetess and her for another reason.


    Possibly both.


    She stole a glance at the sleeping form of the boy, remembering what she had seen through the shard. While seeing the internal mana of another person was useful, it wasn¡¯t anything she couldn¡¯t do with her own dense spiritual energy. But she had learnt that depending on what she wanted to see, the shard could show her layers of the world. The basic ones were mana, like mana-vision, and just spiritual energy vision, which could see both spiritual energy and mana, but she could also see the little multi-coloured glistening motes and spheres within any User¡¯s centre that represented a User¡¯s skills, including the larger sphere that sat above them just below the heart, that represented their Origin Skill.


    When she looked at the boy, she could see his Origin Skill was this weird semi-2 dimensional spherical concave grey structure that represented his unformed Origin Skill, and he had no smaller motes or spheres that represented any other skills, showing he truly wasn¡¯t a User. It confirmed that she was seeing a User¡¯s skills when she used the shard.


    But it also confirmed something else. She was aware that skills technically weren¡¯t a thing, just being some sort of coalesced mental structure of nebulous ¡®Influence¡¯ the System so loved shoved into roughly formed epicentres of tangible conceptual weight, so it meant the shard had some sort of relation to the System. She had a vague idea of what might actually be in her eye, which if put into more commonly understandable terms would be saying it¡¯s like Marcus, which left her feeling weird, like some sort of parasite had attached to her, however, she decided she would ignore it. It was closer to a symbiotic relationship anyway. But she had digressed.


    She paused to consider the fact she had gotten distracted again. It was giving her flashbacks to the mental instability she had been under before she fixed her soul. The way her thoughts had distorted in that limbo before the Tutorial was not normal, no matter how much she had rationalised it to herself while in that state. And all that rambling about metal toothpicks. She checked to see if her personality was beginning to degrade again and gave a slight sigh of relief to see it was just her being emotional.


    Which was normally an odd occasion for her, but she had isolated her personality complex from the vast majority of her thought strands so it would give the soul energy time to settle, and hopefully not become too unstable again. The normal emotional control wasn¡¯t active, which meant she got angrier easily, and now was definitely feeling the age gap when it came to dealing with Sedric, Scytale and Annaliese. Funny, because most of the Tower realms consider someone within their 200s to be the equivalent of someone in their late twenties.


    Actually, it was probably normal for someone in their late twenties to feel an age gap when around teenagers, or in Sedric and Scytale¡¯s case, those who still acted like teenagers. Questions after questions. When you know too much, you stop wanting to know, so she had a hard time relating to their curiosity about what she knew, but sheesh. And if she began telling Sedric and Annaliese about her ¡®regression¡¯¡­.


    Imagine having to discuss the fact the butterfly effect meant some trillion people might not even be born to those who haven¡¯t even come in contact with such topics¡­ the ethical dilemmas of time travel weren¡¯t really discussed by the general population in the Mystical Realm. Theoreticals were only a conversation topic enjoyed by factioneers of All-Aeon Athenaeum, after all.


    Well, she could happily blame the butterfly effect on the ¡®Hero¡¯, who likely hadn¡¯t even considered it that far. And the soul existed regardless of space and time, so they hadn¡¯t actually disappeared for eternity. But true reincarnation was only a thing in the Heavenly Realm, so she didn¡¯t know where those unborn souls would go.


    But when she had used the shard to look at the boy¡¯s condition, she had tried to peel back a few more layers. Or maybe it was closer to applying a filter to her vision. She had heard that those with Fate-vision, or Fate-sight as it was also called, saw the energies of Fate as massive semi-translucent rivers of gold aura that flowed to and from people, cities, and places, the current of gold diverting depending on which Fate someone has determined a place to have. Those with high Fate just have more opportunities in general, and head towards better quality futures due to the greater quantity of opportunities. Those who manipulate Fate can select opportunities to occur out of several choices in someone¡¯s Fate. So, she had tried to see Fate, because realistically that should¡¯ve been one of the layers.


    Well, she should¡¯ve known she was a special one. Of course, she wouldn¡¯t be able to see what everyone else could. Instead, what she saw was the overlapping all-encompassing white spiritual realm overlaid on her vision. The spiritual realm was an immaterial and non-physical realm that didn¡¯t technically occupy any space whatsoever but was always present. And normally, you saw the spiritual realm when you entered your soul space, or projected your soul body, and ¡®nascent soul¡¯ as those who like being unique would say. Through her vision, she saw the Prophetess¡¯s golden spherical Origin Skill surrounded by a vague golden silhouette of her body, in the same position as she was in the physical realm, leaning against the window while she slept.


    Her golden centre slowly let out golden ripples into the spiritual realm, like light reflecting off the surface of the small waves of water. In the spiritual realm, ripples represented the residual spiritual energy given off by all sentient creatures, otherwise known as thoughts, which could be sensed and heard using spiritual energy.


    If you asked Lucy if she was a mind reader, she would say only if you wanted her to be, and it wouldn¡¯t be very effective. Even soul cultivators who had a good understanding of the spiritual realm had great difficulty in decoding and translating the millions of sensations and emotions even the tiniest mammal felt. She would just conveniently not mention her thousands of helpful thought strands that could do it for her if she wished.


    But the golden ripples weren¡¯t thoughts. Thoughts were just ripples, like ripples on water, which normally had no colour. Coloured ripples represented concepts. And considering they were emanating from the Prophetess¡¯s Origin Skill, it was likely the concept of ¡®Fate¡¯.


    The boy, however, was¡­ interesting. Nobody knew what the spiritual realm actually looked like, as an individual¡¯s spiritual energy only translated it into a form that the User could understand, but it was Lucille¡¯s first time seeing something in the spiritual realm that looked like a real paradox. Half of what she saw looked somewhat like those physics diagrams of wormholes or black holes. The tiniest motes of colour in the surrounding mostly pure white area seemed to be dragged towards the opening of a funnel, which occupied the space where the boy¡¯s incomplete Origin Skill was and fell down into an endless hole.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    But like a Klein bottle, there was another structure occupying the same space as the funnel. This one was upside down and seemed to spit out motes of pure white substance. It sounded like he was an existential vacuum cleaner of some kind, but she didn¡¯t think that was what was going on. His Origin Skill was unformed, after all, so it was currently applying the barest minimum of its preliminary functions. She had no basis to determine what his Origin Skill actually did.


    She didn¡¯t believe his ability couldn¡¯t be controlled. The System never gave truly dangerous Origin Skills. That would defeat the entire purpose behind the System if skills hurt their Users. Perhaps his Origin Skill just needed understanding. That reminded her about a certain mage who may like to study his abilities, and considering what she knew about how concepts worked, he just might be immune to it.


    But now she thought of him, he was actually a talent in and of himself and might be willing to be part of an independent force under her. She had the resources and knew of a valuable gift she could tempt him with. A sponsorship might be a good idea. That mage¡¯s Essential Order Origin Skill gave him all 6 essential elements, and he was interested in probability and chance calculation, so he would be a good fit for Saufren Lestial¡¯s divination skills. Now she needed an excuse to do so without arousing attention¡­


    She opened her eyes as she remembered something. In her discussion with the four Counties, they had agreed to hold an internal debut for her to officially reveal her plans to the entire Commission. They weren¡¯t going to invite Faction allies or any other force due to the Empire¡¯s annual end-of-year ceremony, as it was a rule for a new noble of a large noble faction in the Mystical Realm to meet the Emperor personally before holding an external debut, but organising a smaller event purely for the Faction wasn¡¯t illegal. If she used her authority as Head to order Efratel to come to the debut, without inviting him with her real name, then she¡¯d have enough time to talk to him before the event. She would also like to discuss his trip and the Alichanteu¡¯s internal conflict in more detail, while also asking him about his interactions with Trisroa Vel-Winteridge and the Barbosas siblings.


    Vincent would organise it. He was her aide, after all. She¡¯d never tell him the real reason she wanted him as her aide was so he could deal with all the nobles for her. She turned her head to look out the window, noticing the outline of a city on the horizon, still a good hour and a half away. She sighed and turned her body back around, sitting normally on the bench, and opened her dimensional bag to get some paper and a pen. She might as well do some work while they were waiting. She needed to make the most of her time.


    ¡­


    ¡°You cast a spell on me!¡± Annaliese exclaimed, stunned outrage apparent on her face.


    Lucy looked up from her newspaper to gaze dully at the girl opposite her. They had just dropped off her brother at the hospital. ¡°Technically I cast a spell at you. Also, for the record, you¡¯ve said this at least four times already. This is the fifth,¡± she said, returning to her newspaper.


    The younger girl was unrelenting. ¡°But you used magic to shut me up! How is that fair when I can¡¯t even do anything back!¡± she responded, indignant.


    ¡°If I wasted a spell on you, just so you would keep quiet¡­¡± Lucy replied dryly, ¡°Then maybe that¡¯s saying something about you.¡±


    ¡°They were understandable questions,¡± Annaliese stated, stubbornly sticking to the topic.


    ¡°I remember saying we¡¯ll discuss this later.¡± Exasperated, Lucy threw out an arm to gesture to the busy streets of the Gilded Seat, becoming increasingly tired by this conversation. ¡°How, may I ask, does this look like a good place to discuss confidential topics about your immensely high status, Miss Prophetess?!¡±


    Annaliese blinked. ¡°Don¡¯t noble carriages like this have soundproofing, especially with the amount of money you have?¡±


    Lucille glared at her. ¡°I specifically took a lower quality carriage without expensive soundproofing enchantments just so I wouldn¡¯t draw attention. And don¡¯t think for one moment that just because I have money, I¡¯d waste it however I want. You should know even more than me how important money is.¡±


    That finally made her shut up for a moment, looking sheepish. But it was only for a moment. ¡°So¡­ are we there yet?¡± she asked, nearly pressing her nose against the window to see outside.


    Lucy rolled her eyes with a loud sigh as she folded her newspaper and put it down. She pointed to the other side of the carriage. ¡°If you would look out the opposite window,¡± she said, weary, "then you would see our designated location, and then I don¡¯t have to tell you because you could see it for yourself.¡±


    The blonde-haired girl eagerly switched to viewing out the other window, and her eyes grew rounder as she spotted the Headquarters towering over all the other buildings. She turned to stare at Lucy. ¡°That¡¯s your house?¡±


    ¡°House of half a month, I suppose. I only live on the top floor though,¡± Lucy replied.


    ¡°You live in a mansion,¡± Annaliese stated. Then she blinked and frowned slightly. ¡°Actually, how old even are you?¡±


    Lucy had an unreadable expression as she looked at the girl. ¡°¡­18. Why, may I ask, do you need to know?¡±


    Annaliese felt that something was a little off with her answer but didn¡¯t focus on it, instead pulling back to look at Lucille with a shocked expression. ¡°You sound nothing like a teenager.¡±


    ¡°So I¡¯ve been told,¡± Lucy stated, unamused. ¡°Why are you so suddenly confident in revealing your true opinions all of a sudden, thinking I¡¯d just let it go?¡±


    The other girl shrugged. ¡°You don¡¯t seem to really care about other people¡¯s opinions.¡± She thought for a moment. ¡°Or about other people much, either,¡± she added.


    ¡°How very astute of you. And convenient for your continued well-being,¡± Lucy responded dryly as she pulled back on her overcoat. She cocked an eyebrow at the girl as she gestured to the door with her head. ¡°Also, we¡¯re here.¡±


    The carriage pulled to a halt precisely one second after that, and the door opened. Annaliese quickly hurried after Lucy as they exited the carriage, and stopped to stare, amazed at the giant marble and gold building that glinted in the sun of the late afternoon. Brilliant flowering hedges lined the pathway, full of gorgeous blooming flowers of all kinds. Lucy gestured to the pathway.


    ¡°I decided to take the side entrance, believing it to be the wisest course of action,¡± she stated. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d appreciate having to go through the main reception hall.¡±


    The golden-eyed girl blinked in confusion. ¡°Why? I¡¯ve heard the reception hall is supposed to be gorgeous.¡±


    ¡°Because the reception hall would be filled with pretentious noble nitwits who would love to judge us both,¡± she stated blandly, walking down the path. The two Chavaret guards followed her. ¡°As you have so accurately pointed out,¡± she continued sarcastically, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t care about their opinions, but I¡¯m not sure you would be so resilient to their gazes.¡±


    She gave a pointed stare as she looked Annaliese up and down, especially looking at Annaliese¡¯s dress, which was dirty at the knees and hem, patched up in places and obviously too small for her. The girl turned red as she held the dress¡¯s skirt in her hands, twisting it awkwardly. Lucy sighed at her reaction and just exasperatedly walked towards the Headquarters, leaving the Prophetess to hastily try to catch up to her.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think you should be far past the point of embarrassment by now?¡± Lucille said, pinching her nose bridge.


    Annaliese scratched her cheek. ¡°Er¡­ I hadn¡¯t really considered it much at all, with all that had been going on.¡±


    Lucy turned to gaze at the girl silently for a moment. Then she spoke up, ¡°What you are doing right now is unhealthy.¡±


    The girl flinched. She hugged herself and looked to the side. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    ¡°Focusing too much on the present, ignoring your emotions, keeping yourself going without stopping, forcefully acting bright and bubbly,¡± Lucy replied, stepping through the side entrance. A doorkeeper bowed to her as they passed after Lucy held up her black card for him to see, and they continued walking. ¡°I kept things moving fast so you didn¡¯t fall into shock, but you are going to be completely exhausted for a while. Stop trying to rush things.¡±


    She raised an eyebrow at Annaliese. ¡°It¡¯s obvious you think I¡¯ll answer your questions as soon as we get to my floor. Don¡¯t think I¡¯m going to do that when you¡¯re running on less than two hours of sleep.¡±


    The expression on Annaliese¡¯s face froze as Lucy made her way towards the lifts. Lucy smiled brightly at the Prophetess. ¡°Unless 24 hours have passed, I will refuse all meetings with you. I will be telling that to my staff.¡±


    Annaliese was aghast. ¡°What! No, you can¡¯t do that! You can¡¯t just order me to rest, you¡¯re not my mother!¡±


    Lucy stubbornly ignored the girl¡¯s attempts to get her to withdraw her words as they stepped into the lift. Exercising an extreme talent for blocking out noisy people, Lucy headed towards her living quarters on the top floor once the lift had ascended.


    Annaliese was silently glaring at Lucy as she opened the door to her living room. Vincent, because of how often they used her room to discuss things, had taken up the habit of staying there when Lucy wasn¡¯t in her study, and so looked up from what he was reading as he heard them come in. Lucille sighed as she took off her coat and slung it across the back of the couch, sitting down on the couch with aplomb.


    Annaliese just shifted awkwardly as Vincent shifted his glasses, peering at her curiously. He turned to Lucy. ¡°It seems you had a successful trip? I¡¯m not sure I appreciate the lack of details beforehand, however,¡± he said, looking at Lucy with narrowed eyes.


    Lucy closed her eyes, not bothering to look at him. ¡°Let¡¯s just say the situation was urgent. I¡¯ll tell you about it later.¡± She gestured with her thumb to the girl behind her. ¡°Please organise a room for her on this floor, as well as someone to get her some clothes.¡±


    Vincent raised an eyebrow at how tired she looked but got up and walked over to the Annaliese, holding out a hand to shake for her. He smiled at the girl. ¡°Pleased to meet your acquaintance, Miss Verdon. I am Vincent Evisenhardt, Lucille Goldcroft¡¯s aide. I am sure you have had an arduous journey, so please have a good rest during your time here.¡±


    The Prophetess looked wary as she shook his hand. ¡°You¡­ know who I am?¡±


    Her reaction made Vincent pause, and he shifted his half-moon glasses again to look at her more closely. ¡°No I do not,¡± he stated blandly. ¡°I have absolutely no clue who you are, besides your name.¡± He gave Lucy a side-eye. ¡°I was unfortunately left in the dark about several details due to someone here.¡±


    Lucy didn¡¯t react. ¡°Also, please send someone to talk to the hospital. Her brother is there. It would be best if the boy had as few people visit him as possible, and try to avoid using Citadel healers too.¡±


    Vincent frowned slightly as he looked at her. ¡°It seems there were some issues. But Citadel healers¡­¡± He held his chin. ¡°Protection¡¯s light element spells are the most effective. Why would you want to avoid using them?¡±


    Lucy finally opened her eyes and turned around to look over the back of the couch. She made eye contact with Annaliese, before looking at Vincent. ¡°Her brother had terrible lifeforce reduction. Light element spells don¡¯t apply much in that circumstance, as water and wood element healers can aid better.¡±


    Vincent gazed intently at Lucy. It wasn¡¯t an excuse that could fool him in the least, because light element spells were still beneficial in a multitude of other ways for an injured individual, but he sighed and decided to let it go. ¡°I¡¯ll organise something.¡±


    Lucy pointed to the Prophetess. ¡°And, this girl has stayed up for 28 hours straight with only a less than two-hour nap before we came here, so please organise her room as quickly as possible.¡±


    The blonde-haired girl glared at Lucy, while Vincent looked between them both, observing their interaction. Then he smiled, seemingly understanding something, and Lucy narrowed her eyes at him. Vincent placed two hands on the Prophetess¡¯s shoulders and spun her around, pushing her towards the door. ¡°Come here, let me show you to your new room, Miss Verdon.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Wait-¡±


    He pushed her out of the room, a businessman-like smile on his face. ¡°Now, now, do you want to damage the Faction¡¯s reputation by refusing our goodwill?¡±


    ¡°But-¡±


    ¡°During your time here, you will be treated like a noble! Do you really want to miss this chance?¡±


    ¡°Um-¡± The weak cries of Annaliese as she tried to refuse slowly quietened as they left Lucy¡¯s living room, Vincent firmly moving her along. When she couldn¡¯t hear them anymore, she exhaled loudly and twisted her body on the couch, kicking her feet up. She put an arm across her eyes as the other hung limply over the edge of the couch.


    He¡¯s going to give me grief about this.


    She had a strong suspicion he was beginning to catch on to the reason why she had hired him. Possibly the reason why she wanted to pretend she was a puppet leader, too. Unfortunately for him, their contract meant he needed to work for her for at least ten years before he could even leave, a short time period for a member of the realms. They were in it for the long run.


    Scytale had decided to devote his full attention to finding a way into Ashale¡¯viaf¡¯s three hidden gardens since he wasn¡¯t allowed to eat any more natural treasures without asking her. She was glad it was keeping him entertained, but the idiot knew nothing about the way magic arrays and mana-circles functioned, so he was just trying to force himself through the doors. At least it meant he wouldn¡¯t terrorise her new guest.


    On the topic of guests¡­ she expanded her spiritual energy field to see what Sedric was up to. The staff were giving her reports, Sally Meyers being especially keen on helping her for some reason, but she wanted to see firsthand how he was using the card. Well, she made it sound like she didn¡¯t know why Sally Meyers was trying so hard, but truthfully she had just decided to ignore it. Gratitude was burdensome. It was better for them to hold hostility towards Lucy because then she knew she was allowed to screw them over.


    Sedric was currently unpacking boxes in his new workshop. It seemed he had put the card to good use, as he had purchased high-quality versions of his most basic tools, although she noticed that a few of the tools seemed to have far too many redundant ¡®special features¡¯ to say he was smart with his choices. Like the workbench that had a plush leather swivel chair attached. He¡¯d find out in time that more often than not, he would be standing up to work. Well, that was for him to experience and not for her to tell him. When he realised the uselessness of it, she could use it as blackmail in the future if he became too free with his spending.


    As for her two other ¡®guests¡¯ of a sort¡­ Apophis and Ouroboros were actually dormant. With their souls formed, they needed to fall asleep to let them settle properly. They had essentially been subjected to tremendously long periods of soul damage, which couldn¡¯t be healed with just a donation of her own spiritual energy. They also needed to learn to understand the new information coming from their own spiritual energy perception, and so she had left them on her bed in her new bedroom, which she wasn¡¯t using too much really.


    She likely wouldn¡¯t become a Rank-1 for a good few months at least because of the lack of weapons, as she wanted to avoid using powerful magic as an alternative in case the System restricts it, and certainly didn¡¯t have the time to level up afterwards, especially when she hadn¡¯t tested out how her broken Status worked. Scytale would likely match his own plans to hers too, as it was just easier for them both to remain together at this time. She had nobles to deal with first anyway.


    Which reminded her of the Citadel. She doubted they would stretch the time to officiate the Prophetess any longer than the week she already had, which was hopefully enough time to sort out everything she needed to with the Prophetess. She wouldn¡¯t know which high-ranking member would come to collect her, but they would likely already know she existed. She needed to keep them guessing about what she was really like. That wouldn¡¯t be too hard for her though. As long as she managed to trick the Citadel¡¯s light element lie-detecting spells, she would be fine. With her ability to control her emotions and even her own thoughts, putting on a whole different persona was effortless.


    As long as Annaliese kept her mouth shut.

 Chapter 18 (1 of 2) Lucy doesnt deal well with kids.

    A dark-haired girl was lying across a desk with her face flat against the dark oak surface, her arms dangling over the other side. Lucille¡¯s dead-straight hair was sprawled across it, but she couldn¡¯t be bothered to care. Her headache was killing her.


    That was because she had decided to forgo more mundane methods of form writing to abuse her spiritual energy telekinesis. Like twelve invisible tentacles, the spiritual energy threads lifted up six pages of paper around her with a pen to match each, currently doing six times the amount of work she could do if she decided to stick to using her physical self to complete it. The downside was of course the agonising sensation of a drum pounding behind her eyes, beating in time to the throb she felt echo around her skull without end. Her pathetically mortal, Rank-0 body did not like the efficiency of supernatural paperwork, she supposed.


    She had decreased the size of her perception field to reduce the sensory overload in an attempt to mitigate the worst of the sensation, which helped a small bit. Unfortunately, it meant she wasn¡¯t able to respond in time when Vincent swung open her study door without knocking, to stand frozen stiff with a pile of documents in one arm as he took in the strange situation. She slowly raised her head, ignoring the hair covering her face. ¡°What is it?¡± she asked wearily.


    Her perception field registered a vein twitch on Vincent¡¯s forehead as he shifted his glasses. He put on an amicable business smile.


    ¡°This is a surprise,¡± he stated calmly. Lucy interpreted that as not being calm at all.


    ¡°I have a headache, so please make this quick,¡± she replied, unwilling to draw this out.


    He narrowed his eyes. ¡°You¡¯ve told me you get a headache from using spiritual energy.¡± He took a step forward. ¡°Considering you still haven¡¯t gone back to the Beast Realm to complete the first stages, this isn¡¯t some new ability you picked up by being Rank-1.¡±


    He strode forward to slam the pile of documents onto her desk, his smile now gone as he glared at her. ¡°Do you mean to say you put me through several days of needless, stressful work when we first met when you were perfectly capable of doing it all on your own?¡±


    They stared at each other for a while, not blinking. Then Lucy ran a hand through her hair to get it out of her face and intertwined her fingers as she straightened up, smiling brightly. ¡°Well, if it isn¡¯t my one and only aide. What extremely important situation has popped up that needs my attention, right now?¡± She dropped the documents she was levitating onto a nearby table, withdrawing her silvery-white spiritual energy strands back into her soul.


    He stared at her, utterly incredulous. ¡°Hah,¡± was all he said.


    Lucille sighed and gave him a dull look. ¡°An over 200 soul in an 18-year-old¡¯s body comes with complications,¡± she stated dryly. ¡°Pounding headaches are not normal. I have an unstable soul, so I have avoided using spiritual energy so as to not irreparably damage before it could heal. This is the first time I have put in the effort to sustain such use of it for longer than a few minutes. Would you begrudge me for hiding a potential weakness?¡±


    Vincent gazed at her sceptically for a moment, but relented with a sigh, placing a hand on the new pile of documents. ¡°This is an entire list of every single group, whether that be noble families, businesses, or other, that is aligned with the Commission. As you have requested, I also documented the officially recognised leaders of each group.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Thank you. To prevent outside forces from coming to the debut, I only want to invite the leaders of each group, with each invitation being allowed to bring two others affiliated with the Faction.¡± She picked up a form from the top of the pile, reading it. ¡°As for how we justify sending Efratel a private invitation¡­ what do you think?¡± she asked, looking up.


    Vincent pondered it. ¡°He¡¯s already a manager of the Commission, so he¡¯s affiliated¡­ oh.¡± He hit his palm with a fist. ¡°What if we invite all staff, manager ranked and up? Without being able to bring others, of course, as Faction positions aren¡¯t inheritable like noble titles, so they wouldn¡¯t need to introduce their successors.¡±


    She thought for a moment, and then nodded. ¡°That could work. And, if I ask the official staff to stay afterwards, it will help another idea of mine. For Efratel, we could add another letter into his envelope to not draw too much attention. In fact, let¡¯s invite all manager level staff and higher to stay at the Headquarters during the event. All official forces of the Faction have their own estates in Gilded Seat anyway.¡±


    Vincent grabbed a spare piece of paper and pen from Lucy¡¯s desk and jotted it down. He looked up once he was done. ¡°What¡¯s this other idea of yours?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m aware there has been discontent among the staff at the amount of ¡®favouritism¡¯ I have apparently been showing towards commoners,¡± she stated.


    ¡°Ah,¡± Vincent responded, understanding. ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to talk to you about that.¡±


    Lucy tapped on the desk with her fingers. ¡°I don¡¯t particularly care for, or have anything against commoners. Sedric was just a fluke due to his high rarity class, and Annaliese is only going to be staying for a week, so those incidents won¡¯t repeat themselves. However, I will still need to make myself clear to avoid ruining my reputation among the greater Empire nobility.¡±


    ¡°Only staying for a week?¡± Vincent replied, raising an eyebrow. ¡°I thought you might¡¯ve had the intention of raising the girl to be a subordinate of yours. That golden hair and eyes of hers indicate she has high light-element affinity second only to the Prophetess herself.¡±


    Lucy didn¡¯t point out how wrong he was, and just shook her head. ¡°A terrible decision for many reasons, but you¡¯ll find out who she really is at the end of the week.¡±


    He narrowed his silver eyes at her. ¡°So that girl is someone important. Why not tell me now, your most knowledgeable royal highness?¡± He gave a mocking bow, and then paused as he had a scary thought. ¡°She¡¯s not the illegitimate daughter of some powerful noble is she?¡±


    ¡°Pfft. No,¡± Lucy said, smirking. ¡°She¡¯s a countryside orphan whose mother died giving birth to her brother, and whose father was a local hunter. I¡¯m not sure they were even Ascendants.¡±


    Vincent rolled his eyes. ¡°I suppose if it¡¯s only a week I¡¯ll just have to make do with ignorance. So, how will you assuage the nobility¡¯s worries?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m planning on holding an event after the debut,¡± she replied, picking up a pen and twirling it in her fingers. ¡°A sort of¡­ selection process, if you will, after the Counts announce the restructuring plans, that will give young members of the Faction a chance to come under my ¡®wing¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Building up your individual force, I see. Only the younger members?¡± Vincent asked, curious.


    ¡°Under 30 at the very least. They won¡¯t have begun to undertake official duties for their families if they are nobles, and they will likely be more accepting of the policies I institute,¡± she said, taking a piece of paper and beginning to draw something on it. ¡°Using my name as the Faction Head, I want to host an event that allows any young member of the Faction to submit a proposal. It could be a new market suggestion, a new business concept, a new method of business management. Possibly even a new invention if they can show it has feasibility and applies to the Commission. They¡¯ll have to come up with three different ones on Headquarters¡¯ grounds to get through the eliminations.¡±


    ¡°And in this way, you would be sorting purely by talent,¡± he said, thinking. ¡°But, if it¡¯s every member of the Faction, it could still be seen as giving the commoners too much attention.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to be able to make everyone understand my goals right away,¡± she replied, drawing three columns on her page. ¡°That takes time, and as a ¡®puppet leader¡¯, I shouldn¡¯t show too much care for the consequences of my actions, so I¡¯m not going to try show them I don¡¯t care about commoners. Due to the natural limitations in education and resources, the commoners will naturally filter out as the selection process continues.¡±


    ¡°But wouldn¡¯t that defeat the purpose of building a force that values talent and ability, rather than social status?¡± he asked, slightly confused.


    She held up a finger. ¡°And that is why I will get a member of each of the Counties to be ¡®judges¡¯, who will ¡®help¡¯ me decide who deserves to be invested in and given a second chance. In this circumstance, I¡¯m more interested in those who didn¡¯t quite pass, because I want to draw them to my side. The winner will have their idea implemented by me, and they will be in charge of the project. Those who submit a proposal should have put the time and effort to make their proposal good and worth it.¡± She started writing in the columns. ¡°There will be no runner ups, however I will tell them all I intend to support some individuals to possibly implement their ideas at a later date once they have refined them.¡±


    She grinned. ¡°And I¡¯ll get the Counties help in refining these ideas, but require the members to work for me until they are complete, meaning I¡¯ll have an individual workforce who is invested in working well and gaining my attention. Those County members might be drawn over too.¡±


    He frowned slightly. ¡°That¡¯s not going to work forever though. Eventually they won¡¯t want to keep waiting while working for you, and will leave.¡±


    ¡°Therefore, the contracts will last a minimum of five years while their ideas are refined. Which just so happens to line up with the restructuring goals of the Commission during that period, after which I¡¯ll have a steady stream of talent coming in once they aren¡¯t restricted by the original structure of the Commission.¡± She put down the pen. ¡°They won¡¯t try to escape the contract once they realise they¡¯ve essentially been granted political immunity during that time period, while their clans are hurriedly trying to gain an advantage within the turmoil. Their families will favour them and try to pull them back.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re planning on supporting the illegitimate and unfavoured young nobles?¡± he said, looking suspicious.


    She smirked. ¡°Who knows? Although, I won¡¯t be able to do this if I just invite the manager employees and higher,¡± she said, thinking. ¡°Then, the first round will be split into two private competitions. Those who are higher ranked employees and nobles, those who are affiliated but haven¡¯t officially joined, and commoners. From the second round onwards however¡­¡± she grinned again. ¡°They¡¯ll have to be careful their ¡®lesser brethren¡¯ don¡¯t overtake them.¡±


    He gazed at her, looking mildly exasperated, but sighed and shook his head ruefully. ¡°The lesser nobility will regret not having learnt to support instead of oppress their relatives after this. They still haven¡¯t managed to understand why the Counties have lasted so long.¡±


    She nodded. This fact was part of the reason why she could even have the Counties¡¯ aid. The infighting within the Empire was so extreme that they understood the need for any sort of talent and would never suppress their own valuable bloodline. And as Counties not from the 24 Major Kingdoms or 108 Minor Kingdoms of the Mystical Realm, but the Aeternus plane itself, they held immense power, and so looked down on those who didn¡¯t ever learn from their mistakes and kept suppressing talent, never becoming capable of rising. The nobles of the Mystical Realm were insightful. One should never think those from the realm of magic were stupid just because of their society¡¯s structure. They could see the potential in Lucy¡¯s plans, and were very happy to step on thousands of lesser nobles to achieve them. They didn¡¯t care about ¡®backlash¡¯ from the lower nobility.


    She handed the sheet she had been writing on over to Vincent. He read it curiously. ¡°A list of staff names?¡± he asked, looking up. ¡°And why are the categories ¡®R¡¯ and ¡®O¡¯?¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°Radical and Olden. I¡¯m thinking Ravimoux might be interested to know.¡±


    He abruptly held the piece of paper away from him like it was poisonous and looked at her with an aghast expression. ¡°These are people from Radical and Olden?! Wait, why do you even know this?!¡±


    She raised an eyebrow. ¡°Did you think I increased the size of my spiritual perception field just so I could eavesdrop on you and the Count back then? That¡¯s a bit narcissistic.¡±


    He gave her a look that told her he was unamused. ¡°So, you managed to get their identities how?¡±


    Lucy rubbed her temples, feeling like she wanted some tea. ¡°I guessed that their spies would move when they found out about such a big event as the four Counts of the Aurelian Commission or their representatives coming together for a meeting. These are the people who I noticed communicate either through magical items or by passing a message to someone outside.¡± She pointed to the page. ¡°I only put those who I found out for certain which side they were on in the outer columns, while the centre contains those who reported to ¡®someone¡¯ in general.¡±


    She leaned back. ¡°If Ravimoux already knew who they were, then that¡¯s good. If they didn¡¯t, then I just helped them out a little. I hope they can investigate the people in the middle column though. Those people had higher status within the Faction and were very careful when they reported, so they might be subordinates of more powerful groups.¡±


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    He nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll give this personally to the Count next time he comes to Gilded Seat.¡±


    Ravimoux were less conventional when compared to the other Counties. While Evisenhardt, Chavaret and Alichanteu ruled over land on the Aeternus plane and owned several smaller planes each, Ravimoux did not. Or if they did, they weren¡¯t telling anybody. They basically owned hundreds of casinos, spread throughout the Mystical Realm in various high-ranked Ascendant cities. Such a set up was very practical when you were a publicly known underworld information agency. They were also the central point of contact for the Tower¡¯s network of ¡®dark guilds¡¯, which included assassin circles, thieves guilds and rougher mercenary organisations. It just so happened that wherever a Ravimoux casino was found, underneath may or not have an extensive black market within a localised pocket dimension too. They were the ¡®uncontested¡¯ rulers of the underworld, although Lucille knew they never dubbed themselves that.


    It was the actual ruler of the underworld that did.


    Because Ravimoux was also responsible for most of the Commission¡¯s intelligence, Count Regulus Ravimoux was actually the Count who came to the Gilded Dome plane most often, his central area of work being the Black Lily Casino in the city. He was there at least once a month, so it was fairly simple to meet up with him. Lucy might actually take the chance to talk to him personally, after she thought about the idea. Vincent was her aide, so he¡¯d have to come along too though. He¡¯d be annoyed to find out she was going as well even though she had just handed the list to him.


    She stretched her arms. ¡°I think that¡¯s all for now. Oh, wait.¡± She tilted her head at Vincent. ¡°Have you considered any personal subordinates for yourself?¡±


    ¡°Oh. Um¡­¡± He blinked, surprised by the question. ¡°No, not really. It didn¡¯t even occur to me, actually.¡±


    ¡°Well, you should,¡± she said, getting up from the desk. ¡°Take the chance to use some family connections of yours too. Your siblings might be unhappy if you don¡¯t show you have no interest in the Count title, so share your power a bit so they don¡¯t get nervous. You could even organise it when you go deliver the debut invitations to the Counties.¡±


    He stiffened and stared at her, baffled. ¡°Wait, I¡¯m delivering the invitations?!¡±


    ¡°You are my aide,¡± she said wryly. ¡°And it will only be to the four Counts. I¡¯m a puppet leader, remember?¡± she continued, pointing at herself, and grinning mischievously. ¡°The type who lounges around at home all day and spends the Faction¡¯s money frivolously, only leaving to go on brief flights of fancy to see whatever I think is interesting in that moment. We have eyes on us. Be thankful I¡¯m not actually a puppet leader, dumping all my work on you.¡±


    He pushed up his glasses, glaring at Lucy with narrowed eyes. ¡°You look like you¡¯re enjoying this.¡±


    ¡°I think you need to get your eyes checked. Maybe you need glasses.¡±


    There was silence in the study as Vincent registered her joke, and then he groaned loudly in exasperation as he pinched his nose between the eyes. Lucy gave him a cat-like grin as she leaned against the desk with her arms crossed.


    ¡°Now, was that all?¡± she asked smugly.


    He looked irritated by her expression. ¡°Yes,¡± he replied stiffly, whirling around, and walking towards the door. He paused, and looked back at her. ¡°What are you going to do now, considering it seems you¡¯ve finished checking the vault records?¡±


    She tilted her head and hummed, thinking. ¡°I might start planning on how to use the vault¡¯s resources, and test out the training facility later in the week.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°So, does that mean I can find you in your living room if I need you?¡±


    Lucy¡¯s smile stiffened. ¡°Uh¡­ no. Ahem.¡± She coughed awkwardly and turned to look out the study¡¯s window. ¡°Due to a certain pushy¡­. guest of mine, I will be recovering from my headache elsewhere in the Headquarters¡¯ Pavilion, having tea. I¡¯m sure you could contact me by finding Scytale.¡±


    Scytale was on the top story of the Headquarters that day, exploring all the rooms. Vincent stared at her for a moment, before slowly, very slowly, a knowing grin spread across his face.


    ¡°I see¡­¡± he responded, his smile growing wider as he noticed her expression twitch. ¡°So, if I happen to see a certain blonde-haired girl, then I suppose you want me to tell her where you are?¡±


    She scowled. ¡°No, that is definitely not-¡±


    He gave a cheery wave and walked through the doorway. ¡°I will make sure to do as you wish my liege!¡± he yelled, closing the door.


    ¡°Wait, don¡¯t-¡±


    Slam.


    The door shut before she could get her words out, and Lucy was left standing there, an arm half stretched out to pause him. She groaned and leaned against the desk again, looking up at the ceiling.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to need something a bit less mundane than English breakfast to get me through today.¡±


    <hr>


    Annaliese scowled as she paced down a long hallway, hands held behind her back. She was currently dressed in a shirt and skirt far nicer than the prettiest thing she had ever worn, but that didn¡¯t make her happy. She was also a bit embarrassed though. The strange girl who had saved her brother and brought her to the Commission¡¯s Headquarters had made her immensely curious, but under the stress and her own emotion imbalance of the day before, she became impulsive and could¡¯ve offended the person now responsible for keeping her brother alive.


    That didn¡¯t mean she wasn¡¯t angry that the girl had treated her like a child and kept her waiting to hear her answers about why she seemed to know who she was. It felt strange to be treated that way by someone barely older than herself, but for some reason it didn¡¯t feel like it was done to pick on her.


    As for the reason why she knew that¡­ she looked at her hand as small tendrils of golden essence emerged from it and swirled about. She seemed to be able to sense others intentions. She wasn¡¯t quite sure why, because she hadn¡¯t been to an Obelisk that would enable her to use her Status, but the vague meaning behind other people¡¯s words could be sensed by her.


    Which made Annaliese slightly apprehensive about seeing the girl again. She still had no clue why the girl had saved them both. It definitely wasn¡¯t out of compassion, from what she remembered sensing yesterday in her haze of anxiety and shock. The girl seemed¡­ apathetic, or too uncaring. She hadn¡¯t comforted her in any way, keeping things going with a methodical pace, and any words she spoke to her almost felt like they carried little meaning, like they were said just for the sake of pleasantries.


    She made a face as she revisited what she had just thought. Maybe she was actually tired, because that last statement sounded like something written in an old depressing novel. As she reconsidered, it wasn¡¯t that the girl was emotionless or anything. Saying that her words felt like they carried little meaning was an exaggeration. It felt more like she was¡­ acting in a certain way towards her?


    Annaliese paused her walking. That felt right. She did say she had kept moving so she wouldn¡¯t fall into shock. She was definitely trying to make the process easier for her in some way. But that didn¡¯t explain why she felt there was something wrong with how Lucille had told Annaliese her age.


    She shook her head and kept moving. She gazed out the long window on her right, which stretched down the corridor. It showed a gorgeous view of the gardens as she pondered over what exactly Lucille was. Regardless of how rude that apparently sounded.


    Maybe she was an Astrologist? She used magic to put her to sleep, so it made a bit of sense. But from what she knew, Astrology was more responsible for detecting when new void storms and natural mana phenomenon would occur or when new outer planes would drift close and become part of the Aeternus plane¡¯s domain, not finding people. She didn¡¯t know much about magic, but Astrology was supposed to be really hard to learn, with all its practitioners being old mages or wizards over a hundred, so maybe Lucille wasn¡¯t an Astrologer.


    A seer? That also seemed unlikely. Again, she didn¡¯t know much about them, but seers weren¡¯t exactly considered a powerful class, and their abilities lied more in viewing the past and present. Definitely not powerful enough to know who the Prophetess, someone bestowed a class by the System itself, was before anyone else. The same went for oracles. And she couldn¡¯t be a diviner, as that was a Heavenly Realm only thing.


    She was stuck. She kicked her feet uselessly against the corridor carpet, sighing. She wanted to know. She hated being in ignorance, especially after everything she experienced with her brother, not knowing what was responsible for the endless misfortune and calamities that surrounded them both. She wanted to know how her abilities worked, how mana worked, how Fate worked, everything and anything to do with herself. She had always loved reading when younger, as knowledge felt like the only power she ever held over her own life. The desire for knowledge had faded as the attitudes of her townspeople grew more hostile towards them both, but it was coming back.


    She clenched her fists as she turned a corner into a large central room, resolving herself to never be left in the dark again. She had heard stories about nobility, about Ascendants, and about their lives, and had wanted to be a part of that once upon a time. Now she had forcefully been pushed into it, she needed to survive, and she would do it with the only power she knew was truly hers. Knowledge. And she could begin, if only she knew where to find that blighted girl!


    After a quick check to make sure no-one else was around, she growled and kicked a foot against a wall of the large main room she found herself in, silently screaming in frustration as she waved her fists in the air uselessly. She went to do it again, when-


    ¡°That wall is probably harder than your own foot.¡±


    She yelped and spun around to see who the origin of the young boy¡¯s voice resounding in her head was. She paused when she didn¡¯t see the expected offender. Wondering if it was her imagination, she begun to inch towards the room¡¯s entranceway, fearing there was a ghost. She let out an even louder yelp when something cold and smooth rubbed against her ankle, and she stumbled, tripping over a long scaly tail. She looked up to see a silver snake with white-gold wings staring at her with unblinking golden eyes, wiggling the tail responsible for her fall in front of her face.


    ¡°I was going to tell you I¡¯m down here,¡± the voice said, sounding amused.


    ¡°¡­.a snake¡­¡­ bird¡­ thing?¡± Annaliese was originally just going to say snake, but the large fluffy wings didn¡¯t quite manage to escape her attention.


    ¡°The ¡®thing¡¯s name is Scytale,¡± the voice snarked. ¡°Also, the correct term is ¡®amphiptere¡¯.¡±


    Annaliese blinked, nonplussed, before she realised what she was talking to was a person and not some mundane reptile, and scrambled back, sitting with her back against the wall.


    The snake let out a hissing laugh, jaws open wide. ¡°I don¡¯t bite," he said, but the bared fangs didn¡¯t really dissuade Annaliese from that idea. The serpent tilted his head as he gazed at her. ¡°Although I might wonder what a Prophetess tastes like.¡±


    ¡°And the number of people who know my identity seem to have multiplied,¡± she said in a flat voice. ¡°Would you like my signature?¡±


    The snake made a gagging gesture. ¡°Yuck. No, if it wasn¡¯t for Lucy, I wouldn¡¯t want to have anything to do with the Citadel.¡±


    Annaliese raised an eyebrow. ¡°What does the Commission Head have to do with this? Also, why do you feel strangely familiar?¡± she asked, tapping her chin.


    ¡°I¡¯m Lucy¡¯s bond. I don¡¯t have much choice but to follow most of Lucy¡¯s plans," he replied. ¡°And that sensation would be the light element talking. I suggest you learn to ignore it, otherwise every suspicious old geezer of Paragon will try to abuse it to act like your long-time friend.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t like the Citadel?¡± she questioned, curious. If he was her bond, then he should have similar values to Lucille.


    Scytale folded his wings, looking sheepish. ¡°You know what, forget what I just said. Everyone within Citadel are compleeeeetely friendly and non-suspicious, they¡¯re all just one big happy family, and there are definitely no suspicious old men who wants to use you to increase their fate. Absolutely not.¡±


    They stared at each other. Annaliese slowly narrowed her own golden eyes. ¡°You¡¯re not very believable, you know that?¡±


    The snake hung his head dismally. ¡°If I die, tell Lucy I fought a valiant battle to keep my opinions to myself. It was a heroic effort and I struggled to stay silent to the very end, but the enemy was too powerful. Entomb me in a grand sepulchre to honour me.¡±


    ¡°So, what¡¯s wrong with people from the Citadel?¡± she asked, amused by the snake¡¯s theatrics. He was very different to his bond.


    He slowly backed away, looking for a way to escape as he twisted his head from side to side. She glared at him. ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t. If you don¡¯t tell me now, then I might just start forming unfounded opinions, and then who would be in trouble?¡±


    He stared at her, likely to try see if she was being serious, and then wilted like a dying flower. ¡°Please, please, please, please, please don¡¯t say anything to Lucy about this,¡± he pleaded.


    Annaliese crossed her arms, still sitting on the ground. ¡°Only if you don¡¯t leave anything out in your explanation.¡± It was unlikely that she would have a reason to tell Lucille about this in the first place, but it seems the snake was oblivious to that.


    The snake groaned. ¡°Ugh. Fine. Look, all commoners tend to have this collective opinion about nobles, right? About how they¡¯re always condescending and full of uppity nonsense.¡±


    The expression on Annaliese¡¯s face turned awkward. Scytale sighed. ¡°You don¡¯t have to feel so nervous. There¡¯s nobody else here, and neither me nor Lucy care what you think about nobles. Me, because I¡¯m a magical beast and really only care about bloodline suppression, and Lucy, because she¡¯s a former commoner too.¡±


    She blinked. ¡°Wait, Lucille was a commoner? Really?¡±


    ¡°I understand the feeling,¡± Scytale responded, nodding sagely. ¡°It¡¯s that pretentious accent.¡±


    Annaliese didn¡¯t say anything but her answer was clear on her face. The silvery serpent continued what he was saying. ¡°Anyway, to Lucy and me, the Citadel is like what nobles are to commoners, but ten times worse," he hissed with distaste. ¡°Combined with their ¡®holier than thou¡¯ attitude and their white robes, they just reek of snobbish self-confidence, and even their healers act like you don¡¯t deserve to be healed by them.¡±


    He shuffled his wings in an approximation of a shrug. ¡°And with their reputation and penchant for manipulation and politics, it¡¯s like icing on the cake. The whole concept of diverting Fate from the unfortunate to whichever noble pays the most just sits wrong with me.¡±


    She hesitated. ¡°They¡­ divert Fate? Not give it?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s only one individual in the Tower realms who can give Fate," he said, gazing intently at Annaliese. ¡°And that is you. That¡¯s what makes you so valuable. Of course, you can divert Fate too, but it¡¯s your Origin Skill that can supply it without harming yourself.¡±


    He opened his jaws to yawn, shaking his head to get rid of the tiredness. ¡°You woke me up from my nap.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± she said, feeling a bit guilty. ¡°Sorry.¡±


    ¡°Nah, it was time for me to wake up,¡± he replied. ¡°Anyway, Fate is a finite resource for the Citadel, reliant on how many people are under their wing, but you can add to their pool of the resource, which makes you so important.¡±


    He paused. ¡°The Great Sage would also want to keep you close to him, as your authority¡¯s control over the essence is higher than his artificial hold.¡±


    She nodded, thinking deeply. She looked at the snake. ¡°Does that mean I can get some benefits by using my status?¡±


    Scytale tilted his head, thinking for a moment, but shook it after a second. ¡°I think you should ask Lucy that one. I might suggest something bad. She¡¯s always been a good schemer, as she managed to become the Faction Head, after all.¡±


    She absorbed that information for a bit. She wasn¡¯t quite sure how to deal with Lucille, and asking extra questions made her feel a little apprehensive, but if her bond was suggesting this, then maybe it meant she would be willing to offer advice. She had a complicated expression as she pondered over how to ask her next question.


    The snake noticed her face. ¡°You look like you ate something weird.¡±


    Annaliese hesitated, but eventually decided to just get it out. She shifted until she was sitting cross legged, and then leaned forward with a serious expression on her face. ¡°Can you tell me why she knows who I am?¡±


    Scytale blinked and then perked up, flapping his wings. ¡°Oh, that!¡± He paused, and then sagged. ¡°¡­.is not something I can say.¡±  He finished sheepishly.


    Feeling irritated at how he got her hopes up, she glared at him. ¡°Why not?!¡± she exclaimed.


    ¡°Because Lucy would kill me!¡± the snake responded with the same gusto. ¡°Not, you know, literally, because I¡¯m her bond and all, but she¡¯s got some pretty bad punishments to dish out that I really don¡¯t want to have to experience right at this moment.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you just get me to promise to keep it secret like before?¡± she pleaded.


    He firmly shook his head. ¡°Nuh uh. That was different. Lucy didn¡¯t want me to tell you about my opinions on the Citadel because it would be bad if the Commission was blamed for the Prophetess having a hostile attitude towards them, but she didn¡¯t truly believe I could keep it hidden for long.¡± He gazed at her intently. ¡°But for this, I won¡¯t compromise. This secret impacts both of us, and I feel like I have a vague memory of her saying she was going to tell you anyway?¡± he said, sounding unsure.


    She sighed and nodded, slightly relieved it seemed she did have the intention to tell her. ¡°Yes, but she said she wouldn¡¯t meet me for at least 24 hours.¡± She scowled. ¡°I still have about an hour left.¡±


    ¡°And with Lucy¡¯s condition right now¡­¡± He paused, tilting his head as he listened to something unseen. ¡°She¡¯ll probably try to avoid you for even longer.¡±


    She stood up, angry. ¡°Even longer?!¡± Then she registered what he had said. ¡°Wait, condition? It¡¯s not related to me, is it?¡± she asked anxiously.


    Scytale shook his head. ¡°Nah. She got impatient and overworked herself. It was all her own fault,¡± he said, with just the slightest hint of schadenfreude.


    She sighed and crouched down. ¡°Can you at least tell me why Lucy¡¯s Fate looked so weird?¡± she asked weakly.


    Scytale blinked. ¡°Wait, her Fate?¡± Then he reared up, flapping his wings. ¡°Oh! I can tell you that checking our Fate was one of the reasons why Lucy wanted to meet you. How weird? Can you describe it for me?¡±


    Annaliese awkwardly tried to describe the endless abyss she saw hovering behind Lucille¡¯s head, and the mind-bending sensation of wrongness it caused her to feel when she looked at it. Because it felt so off to her, she couldn¡¯t understand why the snake began rolling on the floor laughing when he heard her description.


    ¡°Oh, that is so perfect for her!¡± he exclaimed, still giving a hissing laugh. ¡°I need to be there when you tell her that her Fate looks like the literal void, and it¡¯s pitch black, of all things!¡±


    Annaliese raised an eyebrow. ¡°Is¡­ this a laughing matter?¡± she asked questioningly, not understanding the apparent joke.


    Scytale stopped laughing to answer her question. ¡°Black fate probably just represents how she¡¯s not supposed to have a ¡®future¡¯, so it¡¯s not going to kill her. As for why I am laughing¡­ I keep saying to Lucy that she¡¯s obsessed with the colour black, but she keeps denying it! She blatantly ignores she has this whole theme going on!¡±


    She paused to consider his words, and her eyes widened in realisation. ¡°Ooooh. Now I get it. But does that really apply to her?¡± she wondered aloud.


    ¡°Black hair. Black mask. Black coat. Black trousers. Black shirt. I¡¯m not quite sure how to emphasise my point any more than this.¡±


    Annaliese blinked as she considered his words, and shrugged when she couldn¡¯t find anything to refute. She stood up and stretched. ¡°So, her Fate means she has no ¡®future¡¯?¡±


    Scytale flickered his tongue. ¡°Nope, not saying anything. That fits in the same category as that secret you want to know from Lucy. She¡¯d be fine telling you about it when you ask though.¡±


    She sighed. ¡°I just wish I knew where she was, so I could get my questions answered as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°But I know where she is?¡± Scytale said.

 Chapter 18 (2 of 2) Lucy doesnt deal well with kids.

    ¡°But I know where she is?¡± Scytale said.


    Annaliese froze, and stared at the snake. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I said, I know where she-¡±


    ¡°I heard what you said!¡± she responded exasperatedly. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me this sooner?!¡±


    ¡°You never asked,¡± he told her sourly. ¡°But it doesn¡¯t take an hour to get to her. So, how about we take a little detour on the way?¡±


    She raised an eyebrow. ¡°Why?¡±


    Scytale opened his mouth slightly and for a split second, Annaliese thought she saw a wicked grin form on his serpentine face. ¡°There¡¯s somebody I want to visit,¡± he replied mischievously. ¡°You see, his name is Sedric.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Hellooooo!¡± the silvery snake shouted, having taken up a position on Annaliese¡¯s shoulder. They were standing in front of a big grey door. ¡°Is anybody innnn thereeeeeee?¡±


    Annaliese looked at the golden-eyed snake on her shoulder. ¡°I don¡¯t think this is going to work,¡± she stated. ¡°He probably can¡¯t hear you through this thick door.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯d you mean he can¡¯t hear me? He¡¯s definitely just ignoring m- oh wait.¡± Scytale turned to look at Annaliese. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be familiar with the metaphysics behind mental transmission.¡± He flickered his tongue. ¡°You hear this thing I do? Placing words inside your literal head? Yeah, that thing isn¡¯t blocked by physical barriers.¡±


    She blinked in surprise and her mouth made a small ¡®O¡¯ shape. ¡°Wow, you''re a professional irritator.¡±


    The snake looked at her, taken aback. ¡°That¡¯s- well, I guess I am? Kinda? An unpaid one? Maybe I should demand a wage for keeping Lucy grounded in reality all the time.¡± He turned back to the door. ¡°But let me continue. Seeeedriiiiiiiii-¡±


    They jolted when the door slammed open, revealing a very grumpy looking young man dressed in a leather apron and thick gloves. His lank, dark brown hair was tied at the base of his neck, and around his neck hung a pair of strange goggles that had multiple different lenses to switch out. It was clear he had been wearing them, because a rectangular outline was visible around his eyes, some of his face having been covered in black grease. His complexion was dark around the eyes like he hadn¡¯t slept well. He glared at Scytale.


    ¡°I can hear you just fine, you damned snake,¡± he growled. He pulled off a glove and stuck a finger in his right ear, shaking it with a grimace. ¡°I¡¯m going to get tinnitus,¡± he muttered, removing it.


    Scytale looked at Annaliese. ¡°See? Told you I could do it!¡± He turned back to the man, who Annaliese presumed was Sedric. ¡°Yeah, I perfected the soul echo in my voice, just for all that extra jazz.¡±


    Sedric glared at the snake, but sighed and leaned against the doorway, crossing his arms as he observed Annaliese. ¡°And who are you?¡± he asked.


    Scytale glanced nervously at Annaliese. ¡°Um, well¡­ she is¡­ uh¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the Faction Head¡¯s new subordinate, Annaliese Verdon,¡± she said, smiling brightly.


    Sedric gazed at her dubiously. ¡°Right¡­ And you decided to come visit me?¡± He shook his head and sighed, scratching the back of his neck, and then pulled back on his other glove. ¡°Anyway, I doubt that thing has told you anything useful,¡± he said, glaring daggers at Scytale, who blinked innocently. ¡°But I¡¯m Lucille¡¯s contracted crafter, Sedric Ferin,¡± he stated. ¡°If introductions was all you wanted, then I¡¯ll get back to work.¡± He turned around and tried to walk back into the room.


    ¡°Aha, an opening!¡±


    Before the startled Annaliese and Sedric could respond, the winged snake jumped off her shoulder and slid through the doorway, skirting around Sedric¡¯s legs.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t-¡±


    Ignoring Sedric¡¯s cries, the snake slid down the railing to explore the workshop. True to his earlier words, they both could hear his gleeful snickers crystal clear like he was right beside them as he made it into the room. Sedric placed his hands on his head in frustration, letting out a loud groan as he hurriedly marched into the room to limit the worst of the snake¡¯s mischief.


    Seeing they had both ignored her, Annaliese shrugged and followed them in, looking around with interest at the large room filled with boxes and gadgets of different kinds. She walked down the stairs as Sedric tried to catch the sneaky snake who kept slithering around the place, checking out the new equipment.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve seen Lucy use one of these before! A recombiner I think she called it,¡± he said, looking at a strange clock-like object sitting on a table. ¡°She said it¡¯s only good for those over Rank-2 though.¡± He looked back at the scowling Sedric who was trying to sneak up behind him. ¡°Aren¡¯t you Rank-1?¡±


    The snake dodged Sedric¡¯s grasp to skid under a bench, inspecting the new table from underneath. ¡°This has a bunch of weird thingy-ma-bobs and drawers down here. This looks so annoying to have to navigate to find stuff. What a trash design.¡± He wiggled out from under the table.


    Then he climbed onto a rotating leather chair and desk set in the room¡¯s corner, flapping his wings to buffet Sedric¡¯s face creeping up behind him. ¡°Wow, look at this expensive shiny leather! It doesn¡¯t even look like it¡¯s been used yet!¡±


    The expression on Sedric¡¯s face twitched as the room went silent for a bit, the snake suddenly turning around, and they both stared at each other. Then Scytale reared up and flapped his wings. ¡°These are all totally useless!¡± he exclaimed. ¡°Did you really just buy whatever random shady item the salesman offered you?!¡±


    Sedric coughed awkwardly. ¡°I-I thought deeply behind each purchase and-¡±


    ¡°Deeply my foot,¡± the snake stated flatly, channelling his inner Lucy, and ignoring the biological impossibility of that statement. ¡°I¡¯m so going to tell Lucy so I can see you get in trouble.¡±


    The man paused, and became sceptical. ¡°Do you think Lucille actually cares enough about your opinion to come down here and say anything?¡±


    Scytale hesitated. ¡°I will admit, you have a greater understanding of our relationship than I hoped you would.¡± He raised himself higher on his leather ¡®throne¡¯. ¡°Nonetheless, ineffective threat or not, you still suck at buying stuff!¡±


    ¡°Everybody has their weaknesses,¡± Sedric said, narrowing his eyes at the snake. ¡°Just like you and flying.¡±


    The snake¡¯s haughty attitude faded and he seemed to wither. ¡°Hey, that was a low blow,¡± he grumbled.


    Annaliese, who had been watching their interaction with bemusement, finally spoke up. ¡°Wait, Scytale can¡¯t fly?¡± she asked, cocking an eyebrow. ¡°I just thought he rode on my shoulder because he was being lazy.¡± Then she tilted her head, remembering his speed dodging Sedric. ¡°Actually, considering how fast he moved down here, he was definitely just being lazy.¡±


    Both Annaliese and Sedric stared at the snake waiting for an answer. He hid behind his wings. ¡°Uh, I plead the fifth,¡± he began, before registering their nonplussed gazes. ¡°I mean, I will neither confirm nor deny that statement!¡± he announced grandly, stretching out his wings. ¡°The crafter is simply wallowing in low-class ignorance!¡±


    He ignored Sedric¡¯s outrage to look at Annaliese. ¡°I will be able to fly, eventually, but not right now. It¡¯s physically impossible.¡±


    She blinked, and then widened her eyes in realisation. ¡°Are you afraid of heights?¡±


    ¡°ARGH! NO!¡± the snake cried in furious frustration. ¡°That. Is. Not. It! Don¡¯t start up with that too!¡±


    ¡°Hey, what do you mean ¡®low-class ignorance¡¯,¡± Sedric said, still upset by the insult. He jabbed a pointy looking tool from his belt at the silver reptile. ¡°I¡¯m a Legendary class crafter.¡±


    Annaliese turned to him in shock but Scytale hissed at him before she could say anything. ¡°So what? I¡¯m a Legendary rarity beast, but you don¡¯t see me bragging.¡±


    They stared at him, Sedric with incredulousness, and Annaliese with dumbfounded amazement. ¡°Wait, are you saying you¡¯re bloodline royalty?¡± she said, suddenly alarmed.


    Sedric gazed at the snake with wide eyes. ¡°There is no way that¡¯s possible.¡±


    The flustered snake looked around the room for a distraction. ¡°Oh, wow, this chair really is great!¡± he said, looking down at the leather seating. ¡°I might ask Lucy to take it up to the fortieth story, just so you don¡¯t have this comfort!¡±


    Annaliese didn¡¯t think anyone could fall for such blatant method of misdirection, but she was proven wrong when Sedric immediately started arguing with snake.


    ¡°No way. Beg Lucille for your own. This one¡¯s mine.¡±


    ¡°You crass pleb!¡± Scytale exclaimed. ¡°I don¡¯t ¡®beg¡¯, I command!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d hate to have you be my king,¡± Sedric snarked. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t get anything done.¡±


    ¡°Of course I would! There would be a million statues in my honour, hewn out of fine marble all across the land, just so everybody could see my spectacular glor-¡±


    ¡°Can you just wait a moment?¡± Annaliese interrupted, holding out a hand to pause them. ¡°I¡¯ll ignore that comment about your bloodline, but could you at least tell me why you can¡¯t actually fly?¡±


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The snake looked at her for a moment, and then seemed to slump in a sigh. ¡°Fiiine,¡± he replied. He shifted his wings to stretch out one of them for them to see, the artificial light of the room glinting off the metallic white-gold feathers. ¡°If I was a bird, these things would be enough to lift me into the air. But I¡¯m not. I was born as a snake, so that will always be my sub-race.¡± He opened up the other and gave them a flap to demonstrate. ¡°Now, they seem big enough to allow me to fly, but due to reasons I can¡¯t explain besides the fact it¡¯s just weird bloodline shenanigans, I need to wait until I grow a second pair to actually fly.¡±


    Sedric crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. ¡°And when would that be?¡±


    ¡°When I reach advanced rank with my bloodline. Which will coincidently be when I gain a human form,¡± he responded to the brown-haired man.


    Annaliese nodded and then paused with an odd expression on her face as she realised something. ¡°¡­but why would you grow multiple wings?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s because my other bloodline- No, wait, I¡¯m not answering that,¡± he said, sharply turning his head to narrow his eyes at Annaliese with suspicion. ¡°You said you¡¯d ignore my bloodline. Why are you asking questions like that?¡±


    She held up her hands in a surrender and backed away. ¡°Just curiosity is all.¡±


    ¡°Huh,¡± spoke Sedric, thinking. ¡°Does that have anything to do with your discussion about bloodline stability yesterday?¡±


    ¡°Yep. In fact, it is directly correlated.¡± The snake nodded. ¡°I gain bloodline energy from eating natural treasures of the right element. All natural treasures have slightly different element ratios though, so I need to be careful when eating them. If I gain enough energy, then my bloodline goes up a rank, and I unlock my human form and new bloodline spells, while increasing my manipulation ability of the element.¡±


    ¡°That feels unfair,¡± Sedric said, scowling. ¡°As a crafter, I need to work all day, and you can just eat stuff to grow stronger.¡±


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t complain, mister I only need an elixir to change my element. A beast¡¯s base strength is determined by their bloodline rarity, regardless of rank.¡± Then he sheepishly looked to the side. ¡°Although I¡¯m probably not the best example in this situation. Regardless, we don¡¯t have the flexibility of the humanoid races. Besides, all the realm¡¯s races can use the System to level up, so the strength divide evens out over time.¡±


    Annaliese listened to the conversation with interest. ¡°Are magical beasts the only race to have another way of progression?¡±


    Scytale looked at her. ¡°What? No, each realm gives a different way of progression outside the System.¡±


    Both of gave him dubious looks. ¡°So then, where is this magical way of getting stronger?¡± Sedric asked, feeling like the snake was playing tricks on them.


    ¡°Mana-arts and magic of course. We can¡¯t learn new spells and skills like you do unless we gain a human class through the System for our human forms, and our bloodline spells don¡¯t form mana-circles.¡±


    The two humans blinked as they took in the information. Annaliese was confused. ¡°No, but- isn¡¯t that a normal thing for all the realms? The System gives us spells and skills, after all.¡±


    Scytale shook his feather-crested head. ¡°Magic and mana existed in your realm before the Tower assimilated it. And only the Mystical Realm developed a way to increase the user¡¯s mana using the individual¡¯s base elemental affinities. You must¡¯ve heard of Essential Order before?¡±


    Sedric scratched his head. ¡°Sure, but I thought that was some profound thing the mages and wizards likes to say. I didn¡¯t see how that related to me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the name for the type of Origin Skill those who have descended from people from the Mystical Realm get. Humans aren¡¯t native to the Beast Realm, after all. Unless they were born in the Heavenly Realm and then left, all non-beast and non-beast-blooded races of the Beast Realm have that Origin Skill, besides demons and undead. Each realm-specific Origin Skill even has a name,¡± Scytale told them.


    ¡°The Beast Realm¡¯s one is called Beast-blooded. That¡¯s because even the beastmen have this Origin Skill, although they don¡¯t have a few key sub-skills like us, and can¡¯t increase their bloodline strength. The Demon Realm¡¯s is called Khaos. Those with demonic heritage gain a demonic bloodline that enables them to access a portion of Demonic Script, and gives them Demonic Power, or DMNP, instead of SPRT. All demonic lineages grant the individual the ability to devour spiritual energy from demons defeated by them.¡±


    Seeing they were paying attention, he shuffled in his seat and raised his snout haughtily like he was teaching them some grand secret.


    ¡°The Tartarus Realm has Death Source. Actually, any undead have this ability, but only those formed in the Tartarus Realm have the natural ability to manipulate death mana, the metaphysical opposite of mana. Those created by necromancers in other realms are dependent on the necromancer¡¯s mana and can¡¯t self-regenerate death mana unlike those from Tartarus. Anyway, Death Source enables them to substitute all their spells and mana-arts¡¯ mana with death mana, which make their spells and skills unique in a way different to the other realms¡¯.¡±


    He looked at them both. ¡°Next is obviously Essential Order, which I just explained, but it goes a bit further. It allows anyone with heritage from the Mystical Realm to be born with one or more elemental affinities of the 6 essential elements, or even a mid-level element, but also allows the ¡®mortal¡¯ races to form contracts with demons, spirits, undead, even tame monsters, and bond with magical beasts. There¡¯s also sometimes special ¡®Constitutions¡¯ that some people have.¡±


    He looked at Annaliese as she paid closer attention to his words, remembering her brother. ¡°They can be formed from an exposure to certain types of mana when young, or be the case of a distant ancestral descent from a magical beast or other nonmortal race, which gives them interesting talents, but is sometimes detrimental. The Heavenly Realm has their own variant they call ¡®Physiques¡¯, but those are pretty much the same thing, if specific to cultivators and spiritual energy.¡±


    Before she could ask more, he moved onto the next one. ¡°And finally, the Heavenly Realm. There is a major reason why the Empire hasn¡¯t expanded very far into that realm, and that realm has managed to form a somewhat equal relationship with the Empire. That is because of their ¡®Spiritual Roots¡¯. Within their body, they have this almost organ-like structure that enables them to connect to the very realm they live in, which grants them, like elemental affinities, one of the ¡®five phases¡¯ of wood, fire, earth, metal, or water. Because of this, they can comprehend ¡®Daos¡¯, or receive esoteric information from the very realm itself, that gives them control over the laws of their realm.¡±


    ¡°But it comes with limitations,¡± he added. ¡°Firstly, if they wish to keep this ability to ¡®comprehend¡¯ stuff, they must never, ever, gain a class that uses mana. Their spiritual root will disintegrate after being touched by it, they can never increase the size of their ¡®dantian¡¯ again, and anything they have ¡®comprehended¡¯ is erased from their minds for eternity.¡±


    He continued explaining. ¡°If they remain a cultivator and don¡¯t get a class with mana, their abilities will be weaker outside the Heavenly Realm and have less impact due to the innate resistance of the other four realms, caused by mana. Only soul cultivators can keep gaining soul power even after their spiritual root is removed, but they don¡¯t understand Daos and can¡¯t connect to the Heavenly Realm anymore, nor increase their strength through ¡®tribulations¡¯ as they ascend from the lesser realms.¡±


    Sedric whistled as Annaliese stared at him in shock. ¡°That seems like a harsh requirement though,¡± she told the snake.


    Scytale made a hissing laugh. ¡°Anybody who¡¯s actually seen a high-rank cultivator act in person would never say that. Destroying lesser realms is a daily occurrence for them. In return for harsh requirements outside, their power within their own realm is scaled extraordinarily high. But the need for a spiritual root to be a powerful force within the Heavenly Realm is what stalls the Empire¡¯s advance. Many forces within the Empire still push for it to try conquer part of that realm.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Anyway, the System doesn¡¯t use these names, preferring to categorise Origin Skills differently. That¡¯s because every User¡¯s Origin Skill is still unique to them. Even beasts within the same bloodline have different spells.¡±


    They remained silent for a moment, contemplating what Scytale said, and feeling a bit small. Sedric raised an eyebrow. ¡°So, what about Lucille? What¡¯s her Origin Skill type?¡±


    Annaliese gazed at the snake, immensely curious. She blinked when he looked away sheepishly. ¡°That¡¯s a question for her. Not because I don¡¯t know, but because I don¡¯t know if she wants to tell anyone. She¡¯s an anomaly who doesn¡¯t fit in with any of the five realms.¡±


    Sedric narrowed his eyes, thinking the snake was just being difficult, while Annaliese sighed and nodded. She frowned a bit. ¡°Going back to the constitution thing,¡± she said. ¡°What exactly is an ¡®Accelerated Mana Dystrophy Constitution¡¯?¡±


    The snake blinked and closed his eyes, swaying a bit. Eventually he opened them. ¡°I remember Lucy told me once ages ago. I think it¡¯s one of those rare semi-detrimental conditions.¡±


    ¡°Semi-detrimental?¡± she asked, confused by the term. ¡°How can something be semi-detrimental?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because the symptoms of the condition are negative, but are usually signs of a more positive ability. Like the Yin-Yang Extremity Physique of the Heavenly Realm. It can essentially be considered something like the User having a dual affinity for light and dark, but the energies conflict and create internal injuries when not controlled. With the right cultivation technique, the User can minimise the conflict and become a genius talent.¡±


    He flickered his tongue. ¡°If it¡¯s mana dystrophy, then it means the body needs far more mana than normal to survive, or it will combust its own lifeforce to keep the body going. The symptoms can be reduced by having a mana-rich healthy diet, and ¡®cured¡¯ by using a special implant that can attract atmospheric mana and funnel it into the body until they reach adulthood.¡±


    Annaliese made a complicated expression, partly because she was guilty about how she wasn¡¯t able to support her brother properly, and partly because she didn¡¯t like the sound of the condition.


    Sedric took the words right out of her mouth: ¡°How is that only semi-detrimental?¡±


    ¡°Most people would react like that,¡± Scytale agreed, nodding. ¡°But then a researcher in the Empire discovered that a strangely high percentage of mages and wizards had the condition when younger. The ability of the human body to take in atmospheric mana is much higher when an adult, so they didn¡¯t suffer from it any longer.¡±


    ¡°Is that why you can¡¯t become a mage apprentice until at least 15, a year before adulthood?¡± Annaliese asked.


    Scytale nodded again. ¡°And some have theorised that the stereotype of mages being skinny and physically unfit came around because of this condition too. Anyway, turns out, Mana Dystrophy Constitution is actually because the flow rate of mana is much higher within the individual¡¯s body. I¡¯m not sure on the exact implications that has and why many with the condition became spellcraft users, but the Empire invests in those with the condition because nine times out of ten, they can successfully become a mage or wizard. It¡¯s a legal requirement to report any with the condition to the Imperial Clinic so they can get a sponsorship to go to the Academy when older.¡±


    She narrowed her eyes. It seemed their town doctor was more than just a little unhappy with her and her brother if they even committed a crime just so they wouldn¡¯t become successful when older. She contemplated asking Lucille to help them take legal actions, but shook her head. She thought her brother, the more vengeful one between them, might appreciate being able to take matters into his own hands, even if he was only 12 currently.


    ¡°This is all very interesting,¡± Sedric said in a flat voice, which suggested he didn¡¯t actually find it interesting at all. ¡°But I have work to do.¡±


    ¡°Ha. Work? You just want to play with your fancy new toys,¡± Scytale replied cheekily, watching Sedric¡¯s expression twitch. ¡°I know for a fact Lucy or anyone else haven¡¯t commissioned an item from you, so you just want to fool around, don¡¯t you.¡±


    The man with brown lank hair twirled his metal tool around his fingers menacingly, glaring at the snake. His sleepless look didn¡¯t help diminish the scary atmosphere beginning to form around him. ¡°Do you think those wings of yours would make a good glider?¡±


    ¡°Nope. I found out the feathers can stiffen and turn hard, so you¡¯d tear your back to shreds if you tried to make one out of them,¡± Scytale responded, uncaring towards the hostility being directed at him, and flexing his wings.


    Sedric narrowed his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sure I could find a good use for them somehow.¡±


    ¡°Not as good as me having them still attached to my back.¡±


    The two of them stared at each other, Annaliese remaining out of the conversation the best she could, intensely focused on observing the weird pen closest to her.


    The crafter went to open his mouth but Scytale interrupted him before he could say anything. ¡°Also, my bond holds all the power over your wallet. For your information. I just had this urge to tell you, like it might be slightly important. I wouldn¡¯t know why.¡±


    Sedric clawed at his hair in a silent scream of frustration, incensed by the happy-go-lucky reptile in front of him. ¡°Why do you keep bothering me?!¡± he squeezed out through gritted teeth.


    ¡°Because I¡¯m bored,¡± the snake responded. It didn¡¯t do much to calm Sedric¡¯s rage, not that it was supposed to. ¡°I keep trying to get into those three gardens, but I keep failing, and Ashale¡¯viaf isn¡¯t getting any dumber as time goes by. If I had a human form, then I could do more, but here I am bothering you because my bond is a shut in who hardly goes anywhere.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± Sedric responded flatly. ¡°That¡¯s not my problem, so why don¡¯t you leave me be?¡±


    ¡°Lucille¡¯s a shut in?¡± Annaliese asked, curious.


    Scytale looked at her and shifted his wings in an approximation of a shrug. ¡°More accurately, she can¡¯t go anywhere. She¡¯s busy here. But she used to travel a lot. I¡¯ve seen some of her memories from when she was younger in her home world.¡±


    Scytale jumped off the chair and started heading towards the staircase. ¡°She came from a rich family, but there were always tons of eyes on her, so she pretended to be a terrible heir while sneaking out and using the family¡¯s money to travel to different places. She did that ever since she was twelve.¡±


    Annaliese followed after the snake. Sedric eyed them both with suspicion but sighed and began returning to his work. ¡°With her bodyguards?¡±


    ¡°Nope. Completely alone.¡± The snake laughed when he saw her expression. ¡°I¡¯ve seen her memories as her bond, so it¡¯s definitely true. She didn¡¯t even do normal things like sneaking out to buy toys or something. She went to visit places like the World Tech Expo, which is her world¡¯s equivalent of the Coalition¡¯s crafter festival, or the Academy¡¯s magecraft competition. She¡¯d stay away from home as long as she could before her family eventually dragged her back.¡±


    They left the workshop, closing the door behind them. She helped Scytale back up onto her shoulder. ¡°Does she hate her family, enough to run away?¡±


    ¡°Well, her living family is technically only composed of three individuals. It would be better to describe their family as the owner of a large merchant group. Her great uncle and grandfather are twins, and her great uncle runs the business, while her grandfather relaxes in retirement at resorts. But she doesn¡¯t hate them. They¡¯re all pretty weird, actually.¡± Scytale pointed with his snout to direct her. ¡°Lucy is in that direction.¡±


    ¡°Her grandfather and his brother are business geniuses. They built their organisation from scratch, and her grandfather only had one son, who had one daughter in turn, so she¡¯s the only living heir of the business. But they basically treated it as a game of cat and mouse. She had already demonstrated her intellect and ability to run the business before the age of twelve, so they ended up not caring much and just brought her back when it went on for too long.¡± He gestured again, and it took her into a room with a lift entrance.


    ¡°Hang on,¡± Annaliese said, thinking. ¡°If she¡¯s the only heir, was the son not in line for the business?¡±


    Scytale gave her a brief glance. ¡°Lucy¡¯s parents up and left when she was about five years old. Nobody knows where they went, although I think Lucy does. She just doesn¡¯t care enough to go find them.¡±


    She frowned slightly. ¡°That first bit about not knowing where they went is a lie.¡±


    The snake on her shoulder turned his head to look at her. ¡°Thank you, miss living lie detector,¡± he stated wryly. ¡°It¡¯s not that people don¡¯t know where they were last seen, but they entered a special natural phenomenon unique to Lucy¡¯s world, and nobody knows why or whether they are even alive anymore. It¡¯s hard to describe it properly without context.¡±


    She grimaced slightly as she went inside the lift and pressed the ground floor button with Scytale¡¯s advice. ¡°Oh¡­ sorry, I wasn¡¯t trying to call you out on it. I¡¯m still getting used to the new sensations I feel coming from people.¡±


    The snake huffed. ¡°Well, I can understand that. My snake bloodline gives me a lie-detection skill too. But most of the Citadel have a more accurate way of testing lies, so I think you¡¯ll get a visual skill from them when you go. Rather than sensing intentions, it will show an aura of colour when the personal is consciously lying. That way it will be less complicated. Not to say sensing isn¡¯t helpful either, but it¡¯s better for sensing hostility more than anything.¡±


    He jumped off her shoulder and looked at her. ¡°So, ready to ask Lucy some questions?¡±


    Annaliese nodded seriously. ¡°Definitely.¡±


    <hr>


    Lucille sighed as she took another sip of her magical tea as she sat at an outdoor table within under the Pavilion western wing¡¯s shade, a decorative waterfall on her right. The brass jug was on her table, filled with her choice of an Uncommon-ranked Pale Chrysanthemum Tea that was used by cultivators to soothe spiritual energy strain. It didn¡¯t help much, but the mana cost wouldn¡¯t be worth it to fill the jug with anything else. It took time to bring atmospheric mana into her body and convert it to her own, before putting it into the jug, which she actually found out was an artifact and not a magical item, as it didn¡¯t have any buttons or mana-circles within to control it.


    She checked her pocket watch and was inwardly irritated to see that she had less than a minute remaining before the girl was supposed to find her. Hopefully she had a bit more time, as she had retreated to the Pavilion in an attempt to stall the supposed Prophetess, but the emotions she had felt coming from Scytale had been getting increasingly shady, meaning he had something to hide. He seemed to also be getting increasingly expectant about something, but she didn¡¯t know what. If she could be bothered, maybe she could poke around to see what it was, but she really didn¡¯t want to have to deal with an immature magical beast¡¯s horridly intense emotions right now.


    She poured herself another cup of tea and sipped it, enjoying the peace and quiet of the serene-


    ¡°So here you were!¡±


    She felt an eyebrow twitch as she slowly put down the cup to stare at the offensively energetic and headache-free teenager before her, who had just turned a corner to find Lucy sitting blissfully alone at the garden table. A sneaky serpent was suspiciously peeking out from behind the girl, flickering his tongue as he saw her.


    She didn¡¯t feel the need to hide her pain-induced glare as she got ready to pour herself another cup of the magical sedative, pessimistic about how she would deal with talking to the two immature individuals. ¡°Indeed.¡±

 Chapter 19 (1 of 2) Battlemage Admiral Lucy.

    They both ignored her glare, the girl casually pulling up a seat across from Lucille at the small round table, and Scytale climbing onto a nearby wall that separated them from the artificial lake around the Pavilion. The blonde-haired girl crossed her arms and leaned them on the table, gazing intently at Lucy, while Scytale studiously avoided making eye contact with her.


    Lucille sipped her tea and didn¡¯t say anything for a good few minutes, leaving the girl to become increasingly fidgety as she waited for Lucy to start the conversation.


    ¡°If you could both remain like this for the next few hours I think I¡¯ll be quite happy,¡± Lucy began wryly, leaning back in her chair with her arms crossed. ¡°Failing that, you could also leave, in case the thought hadn¡¯t crossed your minds.¡±


    Annaliese stared at her with mild outrage, while Scytale hissed at her. ¡°Gah, don¡¯t be like that! And don¡¯t take your mood out on us. It¡¯s not our fault you were impatient, and forgot the mortal sensation of pain exists after a few decades without it.¡±


    She gave Scytale a flat look. ¡°If all it took was a bit of spiritual energy manipulation to give me soul strain this bad, then I probably would¡¯ve gone insane after my event with the Emporium.¡± She frowned at the table. ¡°I had to briefly expand my perception field outside the limits I set for myself when I went to pick up the Prophetess yesterday. I wanted to know who our observers were.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right, the Citadel. I think I remember you telling me about that. Sorry Miss Prophetess, it seems you were responsible for Lucy¡¯s condition,¡± Scytale replied. He blinked when he received an intense glare from Lucy.


    Lucy sighed as the Prophetess¡¯s eyes widened, clearing having caught on to Scytale¡¯s mistake. The girl spoke up. ¡°Are you saying¡­¡± She stood up and slammed her hands on the table, making the teacup and jug jump. ¡°That they were already there when my brother was dying and didn¡¯t do anything about it?¡± she asked in a quiet voice, completely at odds with her actions.


    Lucy removed her mask and rubbed her eyes. ¡°At least you didn¡¯t yell. If this was yesterday, you probably would¡¯ve, so it seems the sleep did you some good.¡±


    The girl ignored Lucy to whip her head around and stare at Scytale on her right, who flinched at the attention. ¡°Has this got anything to do with how you said you don¡¯t like the Citadel?¡± she demanded.


    The serpent let out a pathetic whimper as he received Lucy¡¯s intense stare, clearly aware he was in deep trouble. ¡°Snake.¡± she stated calmly. ¡°What. Did. You. Do.¡±


    He hid behind his wings and instead of saying anything, he gingerly pushed his memories along their bond, leaving Lucy to stare at him, wide-eyed and angry. Then she scowled and flung her black mask at the snake, who blocked it with a wing.


    ¡°I have enough on my plate without you adding more complications,¡± she growled. ¡°Did you think for even one second about how much you could impact us with your words?!¡±


    He flared his wings defensively. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t blame me. I was generously warning her against trusting in the sensation of affinity resonance. Then she started pressuring me for more information, and I had no choice but to fold.¡±


    She shot him a flat look. ¡°You, being pressured by her," she said, pointing to Annaliese. ¡°A 16-year-old girl.¡±


    ¡°I thought we¡¯d established I now have the mind of a 15-year-old. Give me a break,¡± he replied, peeking out from his wings.


    She glared at him for a bit longer, before exhaling loudly and covering her eyes with a hand. She remained silent for a while, Scytale awkwardly shuffling his wings and Annaliese looking between the two, confused on numerous points. She shook her head and put her hands on her hips. ¡°So, is anyone going to tell me why it seems the Citadel decided to let my brother die? He almost did!¡±


    ¡°Uh, technically he has already died once. If we want to be accurate,¡± the snake spoke up, unable to keep his mouth shut.


    The Prophetess frowned. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Honestly snake, I am this close to sending you to the Caladrius for a character-strengthening exercise,¡± Lucille said, gesturing with her thumb and index finger to emphasise the small gap between them.


    ¡°¡­.I¡¯ll shut up now.¡±


    ¡°A wise decision,¡± Lucy remarked dryly, rolling her eyes. She sighed and turned to the other girl, gesturing to the seat.


    ¡°If you want your questions answered, then sit down,¡± she stated.


    Annaliese sat back down in the chair near instantly, looking at Lucille expectantly. Lucy took another sip of her tea, wondering if she should create a Rare-ranked one after all. She looked at Annaliese.


    ¡°I¡¯m assuming you have several questions, so just ask the one you¡¯re most curious about first,¡± she told her.


    The Prophetess shifted a bit, thinking about how to phrase the question. Eventually, she just decided to say it straight. ¡°How did you know I was the Prophetess?¡± she asked apprehensively.


    Lucy placed down her teacup and studied the girl opposite her. Then she closed her eyes as she answered.


    ¡°I¡¯m a regressor.¡±


    Before Annaliese could properly register what she said, Lucy stood up from the table, picked up the black overcoat she had slung over the chair¡¯s back and began walking away. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve said my piece. I¡¯m done here.¡±


    ¡°What? But-¡± Annaliese gaped at her, flabbergasted, while Scytale reared up and hissed.


    ¡°Seriously! Answer the girl¡¯s question properly Lucy! Don¡¯t blatantly abuse the fact that only those from Earth would have a single clue what that even means!¡±


    She whirled around to glare at the snake. ¡°Have you forgotten the fact you said you would shut up?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ but this is¡­¡± His voice slowly died down as he received Lucille¡¯s frosty look.


    ¡°I want you to shut up because your telepathy is exacerbating my headache, and not because I just don¡¯t want to hear your voice. You would know this if you bothered to see how I was doing, instead of shying away from the shared pain like a wimp,¡± she stated, her eyes narrowed at her bond.


    He flinched but wisely didn¡¯t say anything. Lucy collapsed back onto the garden chair, rubbing her temples as she sat sideways on it, the overcoat placed on the table. She snapped her fingers and the mask next to Scytale disappeared, reappearing on her palm as she summoned it through the soulbond. She pushed it back on, the cool leather-like material fixing itself in place, and then she turned back around to face Annaliese.


    ¡°The term ¡®regression¡¯,¡± she began, ¡°Means to return to a previous state. If I¡¯m a regressor, then it means I have returned to an earlier stage of my history,¡± she explained, aware that the specifics of time, time travel and timelines were not something most people discussed in the five Tower realms. She tapped on the table. ¡°I know who you are because I have met you before.¡± She gazed seriously at the Prophetess. ¡°I knew what you had seen about the war in five years because I was there when you announced your vision to the wider world.¡±


    She intertwined her black-gloved fingers and rested them on the table. ¡°And I physically experienced the events of the war myself, on that very battlefield," she finished.


    There was silence as Annaliese stared at Lucille, absorbing what she had just heard. Her expression changed from being nonplussed to shocked, to incredulous, to contemplative, and then perplexed in a matter of seconds. Lucy waited as the girl tried to wrap her head around the concept, covering her mouth with one hand as she thought. Eventually, Annaliese raised her eyes from the table to look at Lucy.


    ¡°Wait, so you¡­ went back in time? Does that mean there¡¯s another version of you running around somewhere?¡± she said, trying to make sense of things.


    Lucy shook her head with a wry smile. ¡°That is why I¡¯m a ¡®regressor¡¯, and not just a time traveller. I woke up and found myself in my own body, in the past.¡±


    ¡°But how?¡± Annaliese asked.


    ¡°I died,¡± Lucy stated flatly. Annaliese grimaced, making Lucy roll her eyes at the girl¡¯s awkward expression. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I had done it before. It wasn¡¯t that big of a deal.¡±


    Annaliese nodded. ¡°Oh- wait.¡± The girl paused, doing a double take. ¡°Did you just say you had died before?¡±


    Lucy nonchalantly sipped her tea. ¡°Well, I am an Ascendant. Resurrections are given for a reason. Normally I¡¯d just be revived at the last Obelisk I visited, one rank weaker, but this time was different.¡±


    The golden-eyed girl hesitated. ¡°Um¡­ I¡¯ve heard the term ¡®Ascendant¡¯ be used before, for the Obelisk cities and such, but I haven¡¯t actually been told what it really means.¡±


    Lucille eyed her for a moment, then shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s because the meaning of it is rather broad,¡± she said, picking up the overcoat and putting it on as the late afternoon turned cooler, slowly becoming evening. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard it used in the context of referring to large Factions and Guilds. To be honest, the term ¡®Ascendant¡¯ originally meant someone who was part of the System in the earlier days of the Tower.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ isn¡¯t anyone 16 and over automatically part of the System?¡± Annaliese asked, confused.


    ¡°Well, yes, but this was back when the System hadn¡¯t placed Obelisks everywhere, and the discovered territory of the realms was much smaller. So the term currently means someone who is actively ¡®climbing¡¯ the Tower,¡± Lucy replied, crossing her arms.


    The Prophetess still looked confused, so Lucy resigned herself to further explanation. ¡°That¡¯s anyone who is attempting to level up, do realm quests and complete stages to rank up, without taking breaks greater than 6 months at a time. That is what is considered actively ¡®climbing¡¯ the Tower.¡± Then she scoffed. ¡°Although the term ¡®Tower¡¯ is far too grandiose for the glorified elevator shaft we all live in.¡±


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    Lucy leaned forward in her chair, resting her chin on one hand. ¡°But that¡¯s irrelevant. Don¡¯t you want to know more about my ¡®regression¡¯?¡±


    Annaliese jolted and then nodded vigorously, annoyed at how she got distracted. ¡°Yes. Like¡­ how did you know me?¡±


    Lucy blinked, slightly surprised by the unexpected question. She cocked an eyebrow. ¡°Not ¡®what will happen in the future?¡¯ or ¡®Why did you bring me here?¡¯¡±


    ¡°I want to ask those too,¡± the Prophetess replied. ¡°But I¡¯m more interested to know what our relation was. And about who I was, or will be like in the future.¡±


    Opposite her, Lucille shook her head and raised a finger. ¡°No, it¡¯s only ¡®was¡¯. Because technically, I haven¡¯t time travelled. It still actually happened in the past.¡±


    Annaliese looked confused. ¡°Oookay? But how?¡±


    Reaching for her brass jug, Lucy poured more tea for herself. ¡°If you want to know more about that, then let¡¯s leave it for another day. You still have a week here, remember?¡±


    The girl blinked in realisation and then nodded in agreement. ¡°Right. And then the Citadel will come pick me up,¡± she said, frowning.


    Lucille eyed her expression and then sighed. ¡°Don¡¯t be so anxious. Scytale and I have our biases because we are both firmly on the very disagreeable side of the spectrum when looking at our relationship with the Citadel. He made you needlessly worried about something you personally have nothing to worry about. Truthfully, we shouldn¡¯t either, because we don¡¯t have plans to be hostile towards them again, but years of prejudice don¡¯t go away even after death,¡± she said wryly. ¡°As the Prophetess, you are in a significantly better position than either of us.¡±


    She then frowned down at the table slightly as she wrapped her hands around her teacup. ¡°As for the relationship between us¡­ practically none,¡± she stated, surprising Annaliese.


    ¡°But you said¡­¡±


    ¡°That we have met before, yes,¡± Lucy interrupted with a bland voice. ¡°That does not mean we actually knew each other. We met and traded greetings exactly three times at various Empire events, and then the time you revealed your vision was a massive large-scale ceremonial event that had hundreds of thousands of people in the audience from a multitude of different powerful forces, even some from different realms.¡±


    Annaliese¡¯s golden eyes were wide open in shock, making Lucy smirk.


    ¡°The authority of the Citadel is big,¡± she remarked. ¡°And as the Prophetess, you will be placed in the very epicentre of their massive whirlpool of politics. 3.4 billion people live in Pedestal alone, and that number doesn¡¯t include the multitude of sub-divisions and aligned noble forces spread everywhere that the Citadel uses to expand its power. You will be a central figure of attention.¡±


    Lucy picked up her teacup to take a sip. ¡°We met in a purely professional capacity. Our positions, status and fields of work were so far removed from each other, that we only greeted each other for formalities sake.¡±


    Then she hesitated as she remembered their last meeting and the strange request the Prophetess had for her. But that was irrelevant now, so Lucy shook her head and continued drinking her tea.


    Annaliese seemed to be deep in thought. ¡°So¡­ we met at big noble events? Like balls and things?¡± Lucy nodded, so the girl continued. ¡°That meant you had high status, right? To be able to come to those events.¡±


    Lucy paused and tilted her head, thinking. ¡°High status is debatable. I didn¡¯t hold a noble title, but those of a certain power level had benefits equal to nobility anyway. Those events were mostly annual Empire ceremonies, so I had no choice but to come. I worked in the military.¡±


    The blonde-haired girl opposite her stared at her for a second, stunned. ¡°Wait, the military? Seriously?¡±


    Lucy raised an eyebrow. ¡°What, don¡¯t believe someone like me could survive in the military?¡±


    ¡°I mean¡­¡± Annaliese fiddled with her shirt¡¯s sleeve. ¡°It feels a bit off somehow¡­¡±


    ¡°As a battlemage, I didn¡¯t take part in physical combat, so I can tell why it seems off to you,¡± Lucy replied wryly. ¡°I don¡¯t exactly have the physique typical of someone who fights for a living.¡±


    Lucille had a very slight build and didn¡¯t have the needed height to be described as ¡®willowy¡¯, only being very slightly taller than average. She wasn¡¯t able to gain much weight either and always weighed less than normal. Although, when she altered her looks in the first timeline, she made herself taller and well-built in general, just so she wouldn¡¯t be disadvantaged in combat by her body type. She didn¡¯t add the galaxy hair though. That would be Scytale¡¯s illusion mana causing issues when they first bonded.


    ¡°Oh¡­ yes.¡± Annaliese nodded, relieved Lucy understood her meaning. ¡°But a battlemage?¡± she asked curiously. ¡°What type? Storm?¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t start lumping me together with them,¡± she replied dryly. ¡°If I was a storm mage then the Navy never would¡¯ve let me work in the Distorted Depths region of the Beast Realm, known for having the worst magical storms ever discovered. I was an illusion mage.¡±


    It was a well-known fact that when natural magical phenomena like a mana storm occurred, you keep those of the same element as the natural disaster far, far away from the catastrophe. At best, spells of the natural disaster¡¯s element would turn chaotic and potentially injure the spellcaster and those around, and at worst, the disaster absorbs the spell and the spell¡¯s mana, growing larger, more powerful, and gaining the spell¡¯s characteristics. A storm mage in the region known for its perpetual cataclysmic mana storms swarming with oceanic monsters of terrifying behemothic size? Yeah, bad idea. The funny thing was one time one of her superiors had allowed a storm mage to join. It was lucky he had killed himself with his spell before he could truly cause any issues.


    Annaliese cocked her head. ¡°An illusion mage? Did you trap enemies in dreams?¡±


    ¡°Hah. No,¡± she replied, amused by the way the girl had immediately thought of illusion magic¡¯s most commonly known application. ¡°The dream subset of illusion magic is one thing I have absolutely no affinity with. My one attempt at it resulted in the spell that knocked you unconscious,¡± she said, pointing to the Prophetess, ¡°And that spell gives you a dreamless sleep, which made it quite the failure indeed. Besides, monsters have no souls, so mental attacks are less effective than plain firepower, something important to the military.¡±


    ¡°So then¡­?¡± Annaliese asked curiously.


    ¡°So then, ask a different question. It¡¯s going to be dinner time soon.¡± She smiled when she saw the way Annaliese drooped in disappointment. ¡°I¡¯m not saying I won¡¯t tell you more, or even demonstrate my magic, but it¡¯s not that important. My time in the military, and by extension, my time as Admiral there didn¡¯t make up my entire life.¡±


    In actual fact, Lucille spent twenty years as an Admiral before resigning, which was roughly only 8% of her life before she regressed. While memorable, for entirely opposite reasons than someone wanted something to be memorable for, that period didn¡¯t make much of an impact on her life in the long term¡­ except when concerning one particular individual. Good thing she still had more than a month left on Adrianna¡¯s side before she had to meet him.


    ¡°Why do you sound like a noble then, if you worked in the military?¡± Annaliese asked.


    Instead of answering, Lucy shot a stern look at the snake on the wall next to them to silence the burgeoning laughing fit she could just sense was about to occur. She huffed and crossed her arms, even as Scytale struggled to hold in his snickers. ¡°Contrary to what he might tell you, my homeland¡¯s accent is not that pronounced, and most of how I sound is a result of my past experiences with nobility. Any member of the military Commander ranked and higher is required to undergo a formal etiquette course to progress further up the ranks,¡± she said. ¡°As high-ranked members of the military often deal with nobility on a day-to-day basis, and are considered de-facto nobles themselves, it is a highly important skill required to not offend someone unknowingly. I haven¡¯t bothered to train myself out of this way of speech as it has been more useful than not.¡±


    She took another sip of her tea. ¡°Especially now, considering once I go to the Empire¡¯s annual end-of-year banquet, I will be given my Honorary Count title, and become true nobility. I¡¯m not going to change my way of speaking anytime soon.¡±


    The Prophetess hummed in acknowledgment, looking satisfied with Lucy¡¯s answer. Then she became hesitant. ¡°So¡­ why exactly did you want to meet me?¡±


    Pulling out her pocket watch from her coat¡¯s chest pocket, Lucille checked the time before closing it with a snap, then looked up and eyed the Prophetess. ¡°Well, I did want to know what my Fate looked like, believing my regression changed it. And from your reaction yesterday, it seems there is indeed something wrong with it?¡± she asked, an eyebrow raised.


    She watched as the Prophetess¡¯s eyes gained a luminous intensity for a second, and then the girl shuddered and shrunk down in her chair. ¡°T-That is- uh¡­ yes,¡± she replied timidly.


    Lucy was about to ask more when her eyebrow twitched as she received the emotion of intense amusement flowing down her bond with Scytale. She gazed at him with narrowed eyes as the winged snake began letting out barely suppressed giggles and guffaws, squirming around on the stone brick wall while trying to keep himself from laughing. Her expression changed as she turned to the Prophetess, who flinched when she saw Lucille¡¯s face.


    ¡°Kindly tell me just what is so amusing about what you have seen?¡± she said, smiling brightly.


    She waited as the girl tried to describe the otherworldly black halo that sat vertically behind her head, telling Lucille about the weird way light and space seemed to bend around it, and how it gave off this sensation of wrongness like it wasn¡¯t supposed to exist or be there somehow.


    One part of Lucy¡¯s mind had already started contemplating the possible relations the sensation had to the sensation when she finished the Tutorial, but her actual expression was growing flatter and flatter with each word from Annaliese. She held up a hand to pause the girl when the Prophetess began trying to explain why Scytale was laughing.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to tell me anything,¡± she replied dully. ¡°I can already tell it¡¯s just him being an absolute idiot like always.¡± She glared at the snake and rubbed her forehead. ¡°For your information, I won¡¯t be wearing much black after this week. I have asked for a tailor to come in to create some clothes befitting of the Commission¡¯s Faction Head, but due to the tailor¡¯s status, he couldn¡¯t come in straight away, he will be arriving on the same day as you leave.¡±


    Lucy frowned a bit. ¡°As for my Fate¡­ well, because I ¡®regressed¡¯, I suppose my Fate turned black due to the fact that the ¡®possibilities¡¯ I had at the time were abruptly cut off, yet I¡¯m still alive. Have you ever seen a real Fate Devourer¡¯s fate?¡± she asked Annaliese, who quickly shook her head. Lucy nodded. ¡°Fate Devourers are called such because their techniques divert a User¡¯s fate, as opposed to the Fate of kingdoms, countries, and worlds in the Citadel¡¯s rivers of Fate, and add it to their own. You¡¯ll find that their Fate is a murky colour because the Fate blackens as the ¡®opportunity¡¯ of the original individual doesn¡¯t apply anymore.¡±


    She sighed. ¡°And this black Fate slowly detaches itself from the Fate Devourer¡¯s Fate to dissolve. Black or ¡®ended¡¯ Fate as it is sometimes called, is only a temporary measure, and so Fate Devourers have to continue to steal from others¡¯ Fate to sustain their own high Fate and fortune. This is why I can¡¯t be a Fate Devourer because if my Fate is wholly black, I should have no future left at all.¡±


    Lucy took another sip of tea. ¡°So, rather than being ¡®invisible under Escalon¡¯s eyes¡¯, I am more accurately ¡®dead¡¯ to Fate. And who cares about what the dead are up to, when they are supposed to be in their graves?¡± she shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m guessing the reason why your prophecy concerning the Citadel changed is because I am an ¡®anomaly¡¯ who cannot be tracked or my actions predicted, either by Fate or the System itself.¡±


    ¡°Even the System?¡± Annaliese asked, wide-eyed.


    Lucy paused. ¡°Well, that¡¯s a different matter. But it does compound to create an even bigger effect. Have you tried manipulating my Fate yet?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­¡± Annaliese responded, hesitant. ¡°Am I allowed to?¡±


    Lucy nodded. ¡°Now that we''re discussing this, we might as well test it. I know I¡¯ll be fine even if you did try to manipulate it for a bunch of other reasons that I don¡¯t have time to explain, but it would be good to check.¡±


    Annaliese¡¯s eyes glowed once more as she tried to pull on her golden aura and touch Lucy. Lucy directed her mana towards the shard in her eye, looking through the mask to see what the Prophetess was doing. Lucy still wasn¡¯t able to see Fate, but she was able to see the Prophetess¡¯s light-element component of the high-level energy. The light mana rebounded off of something, incapable of breaching the distorted metaphysical space around Lucy¡¯s Fate.


    ¡°I can¡¯t do anything,¡± Annaliese replied after a moment, stunned. ¡°While my brother¡¯s Fate is completely invisible, making it look like he has none, for you it just¡­¡± She mimed a finger getting bounced off her palm.


    Lucille held her chin as she thought. ¡°Then, I think I can make an assumption based on what I know about Fate. Because Fate doesn¡¯t even see your brother¡¯s Fate as he is its antithesis, then prophecies don¡¯t change at all even when he is involved. I suppose after the time allotted for the end of the prophecy must be when any of his actions are discovered. As for me¡­¡± she gave a small grin. ¡°This is interesting. Prophecies do change because I¡¯m still detectable, but only after I have acted out, meaning I am never in the equation. Any prophecies can¡¯t calculate my involvement, but when I introduce a variable, they can then recalculate based on the new situation. I wonder how I can use this¡­¡± she mused. Then she blinked. ¡°What about Scytale? Have you seen his Fate?¡±


    Annaliese paused and shook her head.


    Lucy smiled. ¡°You should probably get into the habit of checking whenever you can. It will help you find people that would be worth forming relationships with.¡±


    The blonde-haired girl grimaced. ¡°That.. sounds like a way of viewing the world that I don¡¯t want to have.¡±


    Lucy cocked an eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯m not telling you to base your actual friendships on their Fate. Fate doesn¡¯t tell you who you would enjoy hanging out with. I¡¯m saying you should use it to find strong allies and people who can support you so you don¡¯t become a complete puppet subject to every whim of Paragon.¡±


    ¡°Is¡­ that something likely to happen?¡± Annaliese asked cautiously.


    Thinking for a moment, Lucille gained a complicated expression. ¡°I would say¡­ yes because it has happened before.¡±


    The girl blinked and then realised what Lucy meant. ¡°You mean¡­ the past?¡±


    Lucy nodded. ¡°It occurred with you. But you were cold and standoffish for the first few years, likely due to the death of your brother. It wasn¡¯t until later you started trying to build up your own force within the Citadel, but because you started so late, you had many struggles doing so. You have your brother to protect now,¡± Lucy said, gazing seriously at the girl. ¡°So, make sure you find a way to do so without relying on the verbal promises of Paragon. He¡¯d likely end up as a hostage.¡±


    Clenching her fists, Annaliese nodded with an anxious expression on her face. Then she turned to look at Scytale. ¡°I¡¯ll check his Fate now.¡±


    Lucy waited as the girl¡¯s eyes glowed once more, and then tilted her head as the girl kept trying to see the snake¡¯s fate, who was watching them curiously. Eventually, Lucy spoke up. ¡°What is it?¡± she asked, puzzled.


    ¡°Oh! Um¡­¡± Annaliese turned around with a strange expression on her face. ¡°Well, he has lots of Fate, and I can manipulate it¡­¡±


    ¡°So?¡± Lucille queried, still perplexed.


    ¡°But it¡¯s white. Like, blindingly white,¡± the Prophetess finished. ¡°And also, when I try to manipulate his Fate¡­ it just pops back into place after a few seconds. I can¡¯t really do much with it.¡±


    Lucy stared at her for a second and then snorted a laugh as the snake glared at her. ¡°This is a bit ironic,¡± she responded, feeling like karma was on her side, finally. ¡°After all he said about not being weird like me¡­¡±


    ¡°So¡­ there¡¯s nothing wrong with it?¡± Annaliese asked after a second.


    ¡°Not in the sense that it would be harmful to him. It never was for me,¡± Lucy replied, smirking.


    ¡°¡­for you?¡± the Prophetess said, raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been told that is what my Fate was like before I regressed,¡± Lucy responded. ¡°I¡¯ve also been told by a certain snake that having white Fate means I must be a boring person because the colour is so bland.¡±


    ¡°Oh...¡± was all the Prophetess replied.


    ¡°As for why it appears white¡­ I said some time ago that I can¡¯t be affected by Fate because I don¡¯t believe in it,¡± Lucille said. ¡°The same holds true even now. It was why I wasn¡¯t worried about you manipulating my Fate. But my situation is different to Scytale¡¯s. I don¡¯t think he¡¯s managed to understand what I mean when I say I don¡¯t believe in it, so he hasn¡¯t magically become the same as me before my regression.¡±


    She held her chin. ¡°It must be just a sign that Fate can¡¯t affect them somehow. I suppose it¡¯s because we¡¯re bonded. It would be a bit dumb if Fate could calculate my actions just because it could calculate based on Scytale¡¯s knowledge of my thoughts.¡± She frowned a bit. ¡°Although, the ¡®entity¡¯ responsible for trying to hide his fate hasn¡¯t deigned to express their intentions to me¡­¡± she murmured in a quieter voice.


    Before Annaliese could register her words she shook her head and sighed. ¡°Anyway, I believe there¡¯s a chance that only you can see what our Fate looks like. I know only the highest members of Paragon can actually see ended Fate, and nobody besides you even noticed my white Fate last time," she told her. ¡°Fingers crossed it¡¯s just a Prophetess thing.¡±


    Annaliese looked surprised and then nodded. ¡°Then, let¡¯s hope so. Is checking your Fate the only thing you wanted to see me for?¡±


    Lucille stopped moving, and then leaned forward, gazing intently at the Prophetess. ¡°There was one more thing. I wanted to give you a warning.¡±


    Annaliese stared at her. ¡°A warning?¡±


    Lucille nodded seriously. ¡°Yes. About the war.¡±


    ¡°The war I saw a vision of? The Millennium Chapter?¡± she questioned.


    ¡°The very same,¡± Lucy replied, leaning back with her arms crossed. ¡°Listen. Under no circumstances should you ever, ever try to influence the outcome of the war. Ever. Stay out of the Event as much as you are physically capable of. Don¡¯t do anything, don¡¯t touch any Fate, and do not get involved with the final victor of the Demon Emperor battle. I cannot stress this enough. Don¡¯t do it.¡±


    Annaliese looked bemused. ¡°But¡­ I never had any intention of doing so in the first place? I mean, the Prophecy is System given. It¡¯s not supposed to change. Why would I try doing that? Sure, they didn¡¯t seem to be doing too well in the vision, but you don¡¯t permanently die in a Chapter Event¡­¡±


    ¡°Because there will be a point that the entirety of the Empire is so desperate to succeed in the war that they will stop at nothing to gain an advantage,¡± Lucy stated solemnly. ¡°And the Citadel will be included. If Paragon tells you to direct Fate to a certain Faction, smile, nod and do it. But don¡¯t take matters into your own hands. Please stay passive. You and the lives of those around you will be in danger if you don¡¯t. Your brother especially.¡±

 Chapter 19 (2 of 2) Battlemage Admiral Lucy.

    Annaliese was horrified. ¡°B-But why? Why would that happen?¡±


    Lucille frowned. ¡°That is because of the ultimate reward of the Event. The one purely for Factions,¡± she said. ¡°It will be announced on the first day of the Demon King vs Hero Battle. Then the Factions and Supreme Institutions will try to become the winner. The result of that is endless political chaos and turmoil during that period that eventually results in an armed confrontation between realms, especially the Mystical Realm and the Heavenly Realm.¡±


    ¡°W-Would the System really let things get that bad? Conflict is the opposite of everything it stands for!¡± Annaliese stammered.


    Lucille looked at her and then sighed. ¡°The three Tenets of the System are this: Discover Knowledge, Gain Strength, and Protect Life. Never has it said it stands for stability.¡± She gazed intently at the Prophetess once more. ¡°There are forces beyond anyone¡¯s understanding that are involved in this war. The System desires a specific final outcome. Every individual on the battlefield is its puppet, and their lives are controlled to grant it the ending it wants. Regardless of how powerful you may be, you will be beholden to its whims if you so much as take one step on that plane. The System picks and chooses who it wants to succeed, and who it wants to fall. If you try to change what happens, then you will be sacrificed. Regardless of whether you fulfilled your original purpose or not.¡±


    They both fell silent as Annaliese pondered over Lucy¡¯s words. After a while, Lucy shook her head and got up from the table. ¡°It would be better for you to think about this later in your spare time. We have about half an hour until dinner,¡± Lucy said, looking at her pocket watch, ¡°And it¡¯s getting rather chilly out here. I suggest we head back up.¡±


    Annaliese blinked, and then nodded, getting up from the chair. ¡°Was that really all you wanted to tell me?¡± she asked hesitantly.


    Lucy raised an eyebrow. ¡°Yes, why?¡±


    The Prophetess stared at Lucy with her reflective golden eyes for a second, an odd expression on her face, and then shook her head. ¡°Never mind.¡±


    Lucy watched her for a second, and then shrugged, starting to head off. ¡°Well, today I¡¯ve told someone I knew for less than a week more secrets than I care to count, so I don¡¯t feel the need to discuss things further right now. I¡¯m going to be busy, and-¡±


    ¡°Hey! You can¡¯t have forgotten me already!¡± spoke a needy serpent, rearing up on the wall.


    Lucy paused and slowly turned around with a flat look on her face. ¡°Indeed I have not. I¡¯ve already come up with your punishment too.¡±


    Scytale hesitated, his wings frozen mid-angry flap. ¡°¡­..what punishment? Is it to be confined to the floor instead of your shoulder for a month?¡±


    ¡°Oh no. Nothing so dull,¡± she replied, a malicious grin on her face. ¡°You, my bond, are going to be helping me test the limits of my mana interaction in the training room this week. You will be given the honour of being responsible for the spellcraft.¡±


    The silver snake stared at her for a second, panic blooming across his face, before flapping his wings noisily in distress. ¡°No, how could you! How could you dare to do this, trapping me in a room with you and forced to fling spells at you all day?! This is a crime! A homicide of boredom! Retract your statement, you foul demon, you horrific-¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to be using magic?¡± Annaliese interjected, looking immensely curious.


    Lucy glanced at her, noticing her expression, and then nodded. ¡°You can watch if you want to.¡±


    ¡°She says that like you¡¯d want to, but let me tell you something. Watching magic when you haven¡¯t seen it before sounds fun, but in reality, when it comes to mages, it is soooo boring,¡± Scytale said, hopping off the wall. ¡°All it is is test after test after test. Sure, you see a powerful fireball being shot at something, and cool explosions, wow! But then they do it again. And then again. And then again, just because they need the data. If you¡¯re lucky, they change the spell to a different one within half an hour. If you¡¯re not, then you¡¯re stuck watching them do the same thing for the next three hours. It¡¯s even worse for me because I¡¯m going to be doing the magic, which means I¡¯m going to suffer from mana fatigue afterwards, but Lucy¡¯s not going to give me a break, and-¡±


    ¡°If you have the spare energy to keep jabbering then maybe you should save it for when we start doing the testing,¡± Lucy interrupted in a dry voice.


    Scytale froze but then began thrashing about on the ground. ¡°How could you treat me so cruelly, you vindictive vixen! You callous bond! You show me no love and treat my every word like dirt beneath your boot. Go on, prove me wrong! Say something meaningful to me!¡±


    Lucy was about to just keep moving while ignoring the snake, but had an idea and looked down at the serpent with a gentle smile on her face. ¡°If I had to kill everyone in the realms but I could save one person¡­¡± she said, smiling sweetly. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t save you.¡±


    And then she looked back up and marched towards the exit of the Pavilion.


    ¡°Awwwww- wait.¡± The snake paused. ¡°¡­.did you say ¡®would¡¯ or ¡®wouldn¡¯t¡¯, because I swear I just heard you-¡±


    ¡°Come on, time¡¯s a ticking Miss Prophetess. We need to leave before he realises I¡¯m running away so I don¡¯t have to hear his voice,¡± Lucy told the bemused Annaliese, walking quickly.


    ¡°Hey!¡±


    ¡­


    The next few days were a busy time for Lucy. Not just because of preparations for the debut, but because of her ¡®guests¡¯ as well. When Scytale wasn¡¯t helping her in the training room, he was annoying Sedric, who seemed to be getting progressively grumpier as he stayed up all night testing out his new equipment. The man almost had a worse sleep schedule than Lucy used to. As such, he would come to interrupt her in the study to complain about her bond.


    Lucy always told him that if he crafted enough magic items to reach Lvl 100 of Rank-1, then he would get a skill to block out mental interference such as Scytale¡¯s telepathy, but that was just a straight-up lie. Sure, the skill existed, but you gained it through a long period of single-minded determination to focus on your work. She was going to see if he could get it this way too though.


    What she didn¡¯t tell him was that if Scytale added just a little bit of spiritual energy to his telepathy, he could break through the mental skill anyway. But that wasn¡¯t her problem.


    He had also come to complain about Annaliese as well, who began following the snake, obviously liking his company a little. Therefore, she had been following Scytale into Sedric¡¯s room and annoying him with constant questions. Part of the annoyance was because he was embarrassed that he couldn¡¯t explain what half the equipment he had in his workshop even did. Lucy was getting the idea that he was never formally taught how to be an accessory craftsman, even if his grandfather had been a Legendary crafter. She wasn¡¯t sure what was up with their relationship for that to occur, as it seemed Sedric had lived with the man for several years up until he died, but it didn¡¯t really matter to her.


    She had decided though, that when she checked up on the craftsmen of the Commission¡¯s businesses that she would bring the man. It stated in their contract that Saturday was when he had to be taught by her. Excursions should obviously be included as part of his education. He¡¯d find out how to be a normal crafter first, and then she would begin teaching him how to do better. But Lucy didn¡¯t talk to Annaliese about not bothering him because she was only going to be there until Tuesday, not that the man knew. Plus, she was also having her own struggles with the Citadel¡¯s Prophetess¡­


    The girl wouldn¡¯t. Stop. Asking. Her. Questions. It was beginning to get on her nerves. When Scytale was busy and the girl wasn¡¯t visiting her brother in the hospital, with nothing to do, she would come to either Lucy¡¯s office or her living room when she was in, either watching her work as she observed her Fate or asking her about stuff when Lucille wasn¡¯t visibly occupied. This meant often, as Lucy tended to utilise her eidetic memory and multiple thought strands to create plans without physically using a pen and paper to brainstorm. It didn¡¯t help that Vincent had started directing the girl to her whenever he chanced upon her. Why the man was holding a grudge for so long Lucy didn¡¯t have a clue.


    They weren¡¯t even normal time-travel-related questions like: Did I have a partner, did I become super strong, was I popular, how old were you before you regressed, did your regression kill trillions of innocent lives¡­ maybe that last one was not quite normal but whatever. They were dull, everyday normal things, and then sometimes questions that were strange and lacking context, mostly about Lucy herself and her likes and dislikes.


    Things like: What¡¯s your favourite colour, did you have a lover, what did you like to eat, who were your friends, and what else did you do besides work in the military. Lucy could only say she had no favourite colour because who cared about that at her age, you would more likely see her dead than with any lover of some kind, she preferred not to eat in general if she could, the only people not her subordinates who had a proper relationship with her was Scytale and maybe that one other person from Tartarus, and she had a¡­ colourful resume if she needed to apply for any job in the past.


    A few of her jobs besides being an Admiral were a mercenary, a professor, the Twelfth Seat of the Illusion Order, a consultant, an expeditionary, a spymaster, a living catastrophe, an infamous figure on Earth, and an ¡®honorary member¡¯ of the Dawn Dissenters, which was one big mistake they permanently engraved as their eternal shame and regret. Serves them right for trying to take credit that didn¡¯t belong to them.


    As she reconsidered her responses¡­ maybe the real reason the Prophetess kept asking her questions was just to hear how she would reply. There was one time Annaliese asked what dress she should get when Lucy said she could have some more clothes if she wanted, and Lucy responded by saying she should get the flashiest dress she possibly could because once she entered the Citadel she would be confined to a life of servitude eternally outfitted in pure white clothes.


    The girl had seemed to be amused for some reason, but Lucille was dead serious when she said that. The Citadel really did only ever wear white, or they wore golden jewellery for added ¡®colour¡¯. The Twelve Templars had coloured capes and embellishments on their armour, but they were the outliers.


    But whatever the Prophetess¡¯s reasons for asking Lucille questions, it was irrelevant. That Tuesday she would be escorted away by Paladins and unless Lucy saw her at some formal event, which was unlikely when she had Vincent to sacrifice, they would never see each other again. She was somewhat glad the girl had been conversing with her because it meant she was able to clear up some misunderstandings the girl had about the Citadel ¡®thanks¡¯ to her bond¡­.


    That serpent was going to be the death of her. Once upon a time, she had wondered if she shouldn¡¯t have left Scytale with his enclave even while bonded to him, no matter what his family had said and how he reacted when they had bonded, but now that she was experiencing what he was like as a teen for herself¡­ she could only be jealous of how lucky her younger self was. He was insufferable. Still, at least the fact that she hadn¡¯t taken the snake to the White Squall Fortress in the past meant the Hero currently had no clue what the connection was between the terrifying Truth-Seizing World-Ender and her, which was a bit of luck she was willing to take.


    But as she walked down one of the fortieth story¡¯s long corridors to stand in front of two double doors, twice her height, she stopped considering things of the past and prepared to start doing things more important. Apophis and Ouroboros were strapped to her belt, content to view the world from her perspective. Over the past few days, with Scytale¡¯s help, she had started to come to a conclusion about just how far her broken Status prevented things from interacting with her. And she believed she only needed one last test to confirm it.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡­


    ¡°So, I think I know what is happening,¡± Lucy stated, in the middle of a massive multi-story cube-shaped training facility, standing on what was the 38th-floor equivalent of the Headquarters. The room was similar to the warehouse that turned into Sedric¡¯s workshop, the walls and floor were made of a smooth stone that looked like concrete. In the training facility, however, the stone was a much lighter colour, and many more white mana lamps covered the walls and the roof, flooding the place with white light. The size of the place was about half a soccer field and went up three stories to connect to the 39<sup>th</sup> and 40<sup>th</sup> floors too.


    Annaliese wasn¡¯t there, having stopped coming after the first few days of testing, realising the truth of Scytale¡¯s words.


    Scytale, who was sitting atop several stacked boxes so he was higher to shoot spells at Lucy, gazed wearily at her, his movements slow and lethargic. ¡°If you know then please reveal this wondrous information to the common pleb in front of you, your most gracious highness, because he¡¯s beginning to see multiple of you. I swear I¡¯m shooting three fireballs instead of one.¡±


    Lucille ignored the snake, a hand on her chin in thought as she gazed off to the side with a blank look. She was wearing a dark grey long-sleeved dress shirt with black trousers that day, her overcoat missing as she was inside. She wasn¡¯t wearing any gloves. Black scorch marks could be seen all over the floor near where she was standing. ¡°I¡¯m going to be utterly defenceless if I get caught in a natural mana phenomenon, but I can supplement that weakness with items.¡±


    Then she turned to look at the weary snake with a raised eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯m pretty certain that you skimped when adding mana to that last spell.¡±


    ¡°Ugh,¡± Scytale replied, drooping his head languidly over the side of his makeshift podium. A half-empty sack filled with round glass bottles rested against its side. ¡°One does not simply shoot intermediate fireball spells ten times in a row at Rank-0. I can only take so many mana potions!¡±


    ¡°Stop complaining,¡± she responded flatly. ¡°Your beast physique means you digest them instantly and don¡¯t have an upper consumption limit like humans. You can drink them endlessly.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean I should!¡± he exclaimed loudly, his energy returning because he found something to argue about. ¡°They taste like someone¡¯s stinky sock wrapped in rotten fish skin and left in a dumpster for ten years. No, it¡¯s even worse than that! Like a baby¡¯s diaper wrapped in a stinky sock wrapped in rotten fish skin and left in a dumpster for ten years. Bleh and I still have the aftertaste stuck in my mouth,¡± he finished, gagging.


    ¡°Don¡¯t exaggerate. It can¡¯t be that bad,¡± she said, unsympathetic to his plight.


    ¡°You¡¯ve forgotten I taste things differently in beast form, haven¡¯t you,¡± he replied, gazing at her with narrowed eyes.


    She blinked and gave him a dismissive wave of her hand. ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous, I don¡¯t forget things,¡± she said, bending over to tighten her leather boot by pulling on the string.


    ¡°Oh ye- wait,¡± he said, pausing. Then he reared up in outrage, wings flared. ¡°That just makes it even worse! That means you willingly put me up to this task, knowing I¡¯d have to drink these at least every ten minutes. You cold-blooded psychopath!¡±


    Lucy looked up from her boot and made a face. ¡°Coming from a snake?¡±


    ¡°¡­..you cold-hearted psychopath!¡± Scytale replied after a long pause.


    Lucille stood back up and stretched, arms above her head. ¡°Don¡¯t forget this is supposed to be your punishment.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think for one moment I have ever forgotten that,¡± he stated grumpily.


    ¡°Good.¡± Lucy nodded. She raised her index finger for the snake. ¡°One more spell, and then we¡¯re done.¡±


    ¡°Really? Just one more?¡± he asked hopefully. Then he froze and narrowed his eyes at Lucy with suspicion. ¡°You¡¯re not going to ask for an advanced spell, right? I think I really might die if I have to cast one of them.¡±


    She rolled her eyes in exasperation. ¡°One more low-ranked fireball spell. Although I need you to use the mana-burst technique on it,¡± she added.


    He hesitated. ¡°The thing that makes the spell collapse before hitting? I mean, if I didn¡¯t have spiritual energy, that might be hard, but I should be able to do it, as long as it¡¯s not from too far away.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°We don¡¯t have to move. I just want it to explode two metres in front of me.¡±


    ¡°Well, okay then. If you¡¯re ready¡­.¡± Lucy nodded again, so the snake began. ¡°Go!¡±


    A bright orange orb coalesced a metre in front of him, and it shot out, flying towards Lucille, standing ten metres away. But just before it hit her, the orb swelled as the mana within became chaotic, a building tension present in the air, clear to anyone¡¯s senses, and the strange sound of static. It burst, releasing all its energy.


    BANG!


    Scytale was expecting Lucy to be fine. She was not.


    [-74 HP]


    [HP: 1276/1350]


    The force managed to send her flying a few metres, whistling through the air. She landed on the hard stone floor with a loud thud, the motion flipping her back over her head to land on her stomach. Her entire body ached, and she felt like she had just been hit by a sledgehammer. The hair on her arms was singed.


    She lay there for a while, grimacing in pain, before shakily getting onto her hands and knees and then sitting down on the cold floor. ¡°Ow,¡± she finished weakly. She touched a hand to her nose and it came away bloody. Her head rang.


    As soon as Lucille stopped flying, the realisation of what he did registered for Scytale, and he anxiously dashed over to see if she was okay. ¡°LUCY! Wait, you¡¯re fine- never mind, no you¡¯re not, you¡¯re bleeding. Um, do I get Vincent, or a staff member, or maybe I could heal you-¡±


    ¡°Scytale-¡± she stopped to cough and then continued, ¡°Healing potion.¡±


    He jolted, and quickly slithered back over the bag near his box tower, using his snout to rifle through it. ¡°Right, of course. You wouldn¡¯t be unprepared.¡±


    He slithered back with his jaws holding the mouth of the round bottle, and Lucy took it, uncorking the glass bottle and downing the glowing pale blue contents. She sighed as the mana of the liquid went to work healing all the injuries and bruises she had gained, her ringing headache receding. Reaching into her dimensional bag, with her will to direct it she withdrew a clean face towel, mopping up the blood spilling from her nose that had begun to stem from the potion. As it was a high-grade potion she had obtained with her status as the Faction Head, it took less than thirty seconds for any ache or scar on her body to be removed.


    ¡°I guess that confirms it,¡± she stated after a moment.


    Scytale stared at her. ¡°Confirms what exactly? Also, sorry for my reaction. I¡¯m not used to seeing you so capable of being injured.¡±


    She gazed seriously at her bond. ¡°I have concluded that I cannot be damaged by any current spells.¡±


    Her bond went silent before he glared at her. ¡°Is this the entire culmination of my days¡¯ worth of mana? I¡¯m being drained to the bone to fuel spells, and the result is being told something I physically observed with my own eyes!? Wow, thanks a lot, Sherlock.¡±


    She sighed and tapped him on the head. ¡°If you could just think for a moment before speaking, then maybe you would understand the implications of my sentence.¡±


    He continued glaring at her, but listened to her and considered it. ¡°Fine. So, I¡¯ve been casting different types of spells by using my illusion mana to mimic a mage¡¯s spells. I don¡¯t use a mana-circle of course, but because I can cast low-ranked spells with almost 95% similarity, and intermediate spells with 80% similarity thanks to my mana, it¡¯s been good enough for testing purposes. But in a radius of about half a metre around you, any spell freezes in place and rapidly disintegrates into the elemental mana that composed it.¡±


    He stopped looking so angry as he tried to puzzle out what was happening. ¡°But you finally got hurt for some reason¡­ wait, did you say any current spell? Not just mine?¡± And then he paused. ¡°And you received it, but I didn¡¯t receive a notification of you taking any damage the whole time, even when you flew back.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Well, that¡¯s because the last one was force damage.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right, duh. I don¡¯t get notified in that case¡­. hang on, force damage affected you?¡±


    She smiled wryly. ¡°Yep. And that is my major weakness. I believe I am currently immune to any spell or skill Rank-5 or under. But force is still a fundamental feature of the spells, and I don¡¯t have the CON or mana to passively protect myself, so if I get hit by their mundane energy¡­¡±


    ¡°You still get hurt. Huh. That¡¯s¡­ well, no wonder you said any ¡®current¡¯ spell. Rank-5 is currently the highest rank you could be because the last two realms haven¡¯t opened up yet,¡± Scytale replied. ¡°Normally I¡¯d call haxs as it¡¯s practically pseudo-invulnerability, but¡­¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s only ¡®pseudo-invulnerability¡¯. Force damage is the caveat,¡± she finished for him. ¡°I suspect I could also take damage from soul-type abilities, but that would be if I didn¡¯t have my current size of soul and its soul density.¡±


    ¡°Why is this happening though? I mean, it¡¯s kinda good, but you can¡¯t receive healing spells or buffs in this state,¡± he asked curiously.


    She held her chin as she sat there on the ground, thinking. ¡°I believe it¡¯s due to two factors. One is that I have no class, and I can¡¯t assign stat points. That is likely due to the fact I was at the max Level for Rank-7. My first soul port is telling the System I can¡¯t grow stronger, but my second soul port is saying I should be able to. This also means I¡¯m stuck in this limbo where the System can¡¯t decipher how much damage I should receive from a skill, and so the spell just freezes in place as it attempts to calculate it.¡±


    She slowly got up. ¡°As for the second factor¡­ you already know what ability we gained at Rank-7. Even when Rank-7s get resurrected and drop a rank, we retain it. I shouldn¡¯t need to explain why spells and likely skills as well disintegrate when they get near me. Especially when I¡¯m in an area directly under the System¡¯s influence.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, okay, I understand now. I guess this is good for you though, as you were struggling to find a way to make up the stat difference that would occur due to your limitations when gaining stats,¡± he replied.


    Lucy sighed. ¡°Maybe. But what happens when a spell is needed to identify me, or some other important magic item in the Empire is used on me for other, non-malicious purposes and it simply doesn¡¯t work?¡± She straightened up and headed towards the sack with the bottles to put away the empty bottle in her hand. ¡°I¡¯m going to need a way to selectively control what gets through this ¡®non-interference¡¯ bubble and what doesn¡¯t. Clearly, my own mana still functions. This might need to be the concept for my second primary skill,¡± she said, thinking.


    ¡°Hey, when can I get my first class? I have an empty main skill slot and it¡¯s bugging me,¡± Scytale added, using the box pile to climb onto her shoulder.


    ¡°It would be a waste to get it now,¡± she replied. ¡°Get to level 10 first, because everybody¡¯s received stats are the same up until the point, class or not. Then you can use a rarer class for your first skill slot rather than start from Common ranked and evolve it by merging. Plus, to get a good buff class you need a human form because magic is a humanoid creation. Become advanced rank.¡±


    ¡°If it was that easy to get a rarer class for your first primary skill, then why doesn¡¯t everybody do it?¡± he asked, sceptical, as she walked towards the room¡¯s entrance. She gestured to something, looking up. From up above them near the ceiling, two daggers, one black and one white, flew down to circle Lucy and Scytale. ¡°Do these weapons of yours not care about their owner?¡± the snake asked as Lucy put them into their sheaths.


    ¡°I told them to not come down because I wasn¡¯t badly hurt,¡± she said. ¡°Besides, they enjoy flying up there. I¡¯ll test them out sometime eventually.¡±


    ¡°As for the first skill¡­¡± she continued. ¡°They do. You forget that most Beginner Ascendants only become an Ascendant because the Tutorial is mandatory to become a worker class later on. They usually pick a somewhat decent class with a skill that applies to their worker class, like archer for hunting, tier up the skill a little and then focus on the worker job. Those who care about class rarity are those who become Rank-3 or higher Ascendants, and are usually part of a larger Ascendant Faction.¡±


    She opened the room¡¯s door. ¡°I didn¡¯t pick a Common class before I entered the Tower. And I was able to receive my Rare Illusion Mage instead of the normal Uncommon classes for my choice. You were just impatient and were overeager to get a class.¡±


    ¡°I always found that funny, the thing with the illusion mage. Why would it suggest that to you?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Simply due to my personality,¡± she responded, heading towards a nearby lift to get up to the fortieth floor. ¡°I got a soul class due to wanting to know how other people thought, and an illusion class because I wanted to have a way of controlling the world around me by making my own. The suggested classes often reflect what the User desires.¡±


    ¡°And because of that, you chose the two classes stereotypically used by manipulative people, yet used them in an utterly incomprehensible way instead. Even while being a manipulative person,¡± he said cheekily. ¡°What do you think my first class of ¡®Scaled Defender¡¯ meant about me?¡±


    She remembered the way Scytale had used the class and smirked. ¡°That you¡¯re a dense idiot who just shrugs off any criticisms? And you also had a complex about your miniature size making your stats weaker.¡±


    He hesitated. ¡°Uh¡­ touch¨¦?¡± he replied.


    ¡°About which part, the dense idiot or the complex?¡± she asked him slyly.


    ¡°Obviously not the complex! My size was just perfect for me! I was in no way weaker because of it, nobody ever teased me about my size, and my family definitely weren¡¯t overprotective and tried to prevent me from leaving the house!¡± he exclaimed.


    Lucy thought about remaining silent, but couldn¡¯t help it. ¡°I never said they did. Did I hit a sore spot?¡±


    ¡°N-No,¡± he stammered, wriggling his wings, and accidentally bumping her on the head with them.


    That made her head ache again, and so she started getting sick of his theatrics. Lucy sighed. ¡°If you say so. I do hope you keep in mind that as your bond, I can see every thought running through your little serpent brain, and am fully aware you only said that for attention. I¡¯m not exactly sure who you are trying to get sympathy from. I¡¯ve heard this whole story over fifty times, and I¡¯m not sure Apophis and Ouroboros have the mental development to comprehend it either.¡±


    The two weapons vibrated against her waist, aware they were being discussed, but not very engaged in the conversation.


    Scytale fell silent for a bit, and then sheepishly replied. ¡°Look, I¡¯ve just been really bored. You¡¯ve been busy, there¡¯s nothing to tell me about Adrianna¡¯s situation, and Annaliese is going to be leaving soon. Sedric is a grump, so while it¡¯s fun to annoy him, he doesn¡¯t seem to understand the concept of social interaction. And I miss the modern entertainment of Earth.¡±


    Lucille stepped into the lift. ¡°There¡¯s not much I can do about plain boredom. Unless you have a human form, I don¡¯t want to send you out to wander alone in the city, even if you¡¯re capable of it.¡±


    There was still prejudice about magical beasts being uncivilized and prone to causing destruction, and so a human form was considered the minimum for the Empire¡¯s society to accept you. Scytale went quiet, pondering something.


    ¡°You know¡­¡± he spoke up slowly. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about that. We¡¯ve estimated it would take at least a year before I could become an advanced-ranked beast if I made sure my bloodline stability remained above 90%. I think we could cut that down to six months or less.¡±


    She glanced at him with a slight frown on her face. ¡°But that would-¡±


    ¡°Drop my bloodline stability down to 80%, yes,¡± he interrupted. ¡°But I can¡¯t do practically anything until I¡¯ve reached that level. I¡¯m not stupid, I¡¯m not going to eat hundreds of natural treasures over a short time and let their minute differences in mana conflict. I would eat one high-ranked treasure and then digest it.¡±


    She thought deeply, considering it. Then she sighed. ¡°You¡¯d have to head to the Central Battlefield Region later. That would get you involved with the royal bloodline sub-races.¡±


    ¡°It was going to happen eventually. To be recognised among the beast races you need to head there and become successful at least once in your life. Combat is the only way to increase bloodline stability,¡± he told her. ¡°I won¡¯t need to do it for a year or two, anyway. The combat required to level up should keep it high enough that I¡¯d only need to head there if I found a chance to become a superior beast.¡±


    She huffed. ¡°Well, you know more about bloodlines than me. Have it your way. I¡¯ll tell Ashale¡¯viaf to let you use an Ancient natural treasure from the gardens. But if you¡¯re that bored, what about visiting the Library?¡±


    The snake blinked. ¡°There¡¯s a Library?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± She nodded. ¡°It¡¯s in the basement. Sure, it¡¯s not in any way comparable to those of All-Aeon Athenaeum, but they store lots of interesting things. You could see if you can find any hidden skills or such.¡±


    He tilted his silver head. ¡°Huh. Then I might go one day. But after Annaliese leaves, what are you planning to do? Besides the debut, of course.¡±


    When the lift arrived at the top story, Lucille didn¡¯t immediately leave it, which sent alarm bells ringing in Scytale¡¯s head. Instead, she dry-swallowed and gave him a tight smile. ¡°Well, I need to make a deal with someone.¡±


    ¡°¡­who?¡± Scytale questioned, feeling apprehensive about her answer.


    Lucille didn¡¯t look at him, slowly stepping out of the lift as she clasped her hands behind her back. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ going to form a contract with the Demon Emperor of the Demon Realm.¡±


    Lucille had discussed with the Prophetess the turmoil and chaos that would occur in the future. What she hadn¡¯t mentioned was that the reason why she didn¡¯t want her to get involved with it was because of the person behind it all.


    And Lucille was going to make the chaos even larger this time. To do so, she needed to form a contract with one of the strongest known individuals within all the Tower realms. Lucille was going to meet with Demon Emperor Vitis Exolvuntur Imperatoris-Daemonium.


    She only hoped she wouldn¡¯t be killed by him when she did.

 Chapter 20 (1 of 2) Magecraft, Wizardry and Mythos.

    ¡°Are we actually doing this?¡± sounded the surly voice of a grumpy brown-haired man, who was currently frowning at the mask-wearing girl sitting on his bench.


    Lucille cocked her head. ¡°If you had a problem with it, then you should¡¯ve brought it up with me before we signed the contract.¡±


    Sedric stared. ¡°I wasn¡¯t about to start arguing with the new Faction Head of the Commission!¡±


    ¡°And yet you seem so happy to do it now,¡± she replied dryly. He looked away with his arms crossed and she rolled her eyes. ¡°We¡¯d both be breaking the contract if we didn¡¯t do it. So, suffer. If you think I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m on about, then just calmly nod to what I¡¯m saying and immediately forget about it once we¡¯re done.¡±


    He gazed at her dubiously, clearly not believing someone could actually teach if they had an attitude like that. Lucy didn¡¯t care for the opinions of the less intelligent, and so ignored him. She pointed with a thumb towards a figure behind her. ¡°And tell me honestly, it¡¯s not the fact I¡¯m teaching you that is the issue, is it?¡±


    He switched his glare to the blonde-haired girl sitting on a stool at the bench, leaning her arms on the table. When Annaliese saw Sedric¡¯s gaze, she smiled brightly and gave him a wave. His glare intensified.


    ¡°What is she doing here?¡± he grumbled.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to say I want to ask the same question, but we all know it¡¯s because she wants to annoy us and make our lives difficult,¡± she replied flatly, shooting a glance over her shoulder at the girl behind her.


    Having become immune to Lucy¡¯s comments in an inconceivably short time period, Annaliese smiled cheerfully and leaned her chin on her hands. ¡°Don¡¯t mind me, and go do your thing. I¡¯m just curious about magic," she replied sweetly.


    ¡°This is supposed to be about crafting,¡± Sedric replied, irritated the girl had decided yet again to come to bother him.


    ¡°Magical item crafting is 70% magic, 20% designing, and 10% construction,¡± Lucille responded, getting out a fountain pen from her dimensional pouch and tossing it in the air. ¡°The Coalition was a force under All-Aeon Athenaeum until they achieved independence, and became a lesser empire. She¡¯s not wrong about the fact I¡¯ll be talking about magic.¡±


    She narrowed her eyes when she saw how Sedric looked grumpier, having had an idea. She gave a big shrug. ¡°She¡¯s only going to be here until Tuesday anyway, so no need to be so on edge. Even if she was smarter than you and could answer all my questions, she¡¯d leave and never return again to make you feel inferior. There¡¯s no need to care so much.¡±


    Sedric¡¯s eyebrow twitched and Lucy inwardly grinned, knowing he had latched onto the bait. She gestured to him. ¡°Pull up a chair.¡±


    He glared at her for a second, before sighing and sat with his arms crossed on one of the bench stools. With the ¡®mysterious¡¯ aspect of Lucy having worn off a bit over the past week, he seemed much more at ease voicing his complaints. Lucy stopped throwing the pen in the air and shifted a bit so she could see them both. She clapped her hands once.


    ¡°So then. What is magic?¡±


    They stared, nonplussed. Annaliese looked perplexed. ¡°Um¡­ we¡¯ve been asked those types of questions in school.¡±


    Lucy¡¯s face broke into a grin. ¡°I know. I¡¯m just messing with you.¡±


    Sedric gave her an incredulous look, while Annaliese sighed in relief, glad she didn¡¯t have to answer boring questions like that. Lucy pointed her pen at them both. ¡°Then what¡¯s the difference between a skill and a spell?¡±


    ¡°One is used by non-magic classes, and the other by magic classes,¡± Sedric said.


    Lucille glanced at him for a moment and then shook her head. ¡°Nope. That¡¯s not it.¡±


    The man scowled, while Annaliese looked thoughtful. ¡°One is activated using the System, and one doesn¡¯t need the System?¡±


    Lucy pointed her pen at the girl. ¡°How do they explore outer regions then, if all they have are spells? There are no Obelisks nearby to use the System¡¯s aid.¡± Annaliese blinked in surprise, but Lucille shrugged. ¡°You¡¯re closer than him at least,¡± she said, directing her pen to point at the offended Sedric.


    ¡°Simply put, a skill is an energy pattern. I say energy pattern because depending on the skill, it could be mana, spiritual energy, or soul power. Sometimes all three. Spells are exclusively mana, but that¡¯s not why they are divided. Because- a spell is still a skill,¡± she said to both of their confusion.


    ¡°Why would someone say ¡®spell¡¯ instead of skill though?¡± Annaliese asked.


    ¡°Just to be more specific. Spells are cast by mages and wizards. Not all magic classes. Magic swordsmen use lower-ranked spells, but sorcerers, shamans and summoners don¡¯t use spells at all. If you see them doing it, then they¡¯re a hybrid class. An elementalist is slightly different too, as they can only use spells of their element, and don¡¯t necessarily need mana-circles. That¡¯s because you need to be very proficient In elemental manipulation to cast spells without mana-circles,¡± she said.


    She rapped on the bench with her knuckles. ¡°Now, what¡¯s the difference between a mana-circle and a magic arra-¡±


    ¡°Magic arrays are large-scale semi-permanent spells. Mana-circles are more temporary, have a shorter lifespan, and are less powerful,¡± Sedric replied, beginning to show competitiveness, as he said it quickly so Annaliese couldn¡¯t respond.


    ¡°You¡¯re not wrong, and that is what is commonly known about them. But I¡¯m talking about the fundamental difference between them,¡± Lucy told him. ¡°Why couldn¡¯t you just make a really large mana-circle, or a really small magic array?¡±


    Neither of them spoke up, so Lucille answered for them. ¡°Again, there¡¯s actually no difference between them. Large mana-circles are called magic arrays, and small magic arrays are called mana-circles. They both use the same runes and theory,¡± she said, receiving annoyed expressions in return. ¡°But there is one special detail. Wizards can cast magic arrays. Mages cannot. That is all there is to it.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± Annaliese spoke up. ¡°If they use the same runes¡­¡±


    Instead of answering, Lucy asked another question. ¡°Have either of you heard how mages and wizards can actually cast spells? Especially advanced level ones and higher.¡±


    Sedric frowned. ¡°I¡¯ve heard there¡¯s a difference between them, but I don¡¯t know much besides that.¡±


    ¡°Well, the All-Aeon Athenaeum doesn¡¯t want new magic Factions springing up everywhere, so they keep the details quiet. Neither does the Empire. That¡¯s because you¡¯d likely explode in a shower of blood if you tried to become either without instruction,¡± she said wryly.


    Both of them looked horrified.


    Lucy gestured to her abdomen. ¡°Mages are simpler. They use runes to build a three-dimensional ¡®runic model¡¯ within their mana pool, which is just below the diaphragm. They typically use elemental runes, which is why in return for not being able to create magic arrays, they gain very high elemental manipulation, rivalling elementalists in control. They are easier to become, and that¡¯s why there are more members of the Orders rather than the Wizard Towers. Different schools within the Orders have different methods of creating a runic model, so some mages have different strengths compared to other mages of the same element.¡±


    Placing down the pen and removing a glove from her right hand, Lucille showed them her horizontal flat palm. They watched on curiously and then with shock as Lucy used her mana to create neon lines of light. She roughly sketched out a simplistic human heart in red and blue lines, which slowly rotated above the hand.


    Sedric spoke up first, ¡°Is that being cast with a mage class or a wizard class?¡±


    Lucille glanced at him and then shook her head. ¡°Neither. For me, I use my spiritual energy to manipulate the mana in my general vicinity. But unless you devote your stats to almost an exact split between INT and SPRT, you¡¯d never have enough to do it this way. This is elemental manipulation because all I¡¯m doing is causing illusion mana to show a certain image, the most basic ability of the illusion element. It hasn¡¯t taken on any effects such as generating warmth.¡± Slowly, the heart moved off her palm to levitate over the middle of the table, letting them see it better.


    [Available Secondary Skill: Greater Illusion Manipulation (Neutral)]


    I¡¯ll deal with that later.


    ¡°So, a wizard,¡± she began. ¡°I¡¯m sure both of you have heard of heart circles.¡± They nodded, so Lucy continued, ¡°That¡¯s not a figure of speech. They form mana-circles around their heart. It was a practice that started occurring when a dragon was first slayed, and the power of a dragon¡¯s heart was revealed. It doesn¡¯t increase a wizard¡¯s mana to be like a dragon¡¯s however, but functions as a runic machine for them to cast spells.¡± It was better described as a primitive calculator, but they would¡¯ve had no clue what that meant.


    Lucy pointed at the heart, and a holographic, white, flat disc formed around it, slowly rotating. The centre of the disc was empty, forming a ring that encircled the heart. ¡°While a mage¡¯s runic model can take on many forms, all wizards have the same structure around their heart. What varies is the type of runes they use. Now, what circle wizard has this kind of heart?¡±


    ¡°¡­.shouldn¡¯t it be a 1<sup>st</sup> circle wizard?¡± Sedric spoke up questioningly, an eyebrow raised with scepticism.


    ¡°Nope,¡± Lucy replied with a smirk that made him scowl. ¡°In actual fact, no true wizard has a circle like this. That¡¯s because the first heart circle is composed of three mana-circles.¡±


    Without a gesture this time, two flat rings formed above and below the mana-circle around the heart, their diameter being the same size. A small gap was between each ring. She pointed at the illusion. ¡°That¡¯s a 1<sup>st</sup> circle wizard¡¯s heart. They form all three circles at the same time, and they wouldn¡¯t physically be capable of casting spells if they did not. Watch.¡±


    They leaned in to look at the projection. The two upper and lower rings, which had been hovering slightly apart from each other while rotating, slowly pulled in closer to the central ring and then stopped moving. It then appeared like one ring, lighting up with an intense glow. Lucy gestured to it. ¡°The runes need to align to cast a spell. If you know every rune off by heart and have the multitasking ability to use your mana to project each of the hundred runes required to cast just a low-ranked spell, then maybe you wouldn¡¯t need this. But there¡¯s a simple reason why wizards can cast magic arrays and mages can¡¯t.¡±


    They watched with surprise as three more mana-circles pulled together to appear like a single ring, and drew in closer to the 1<sup>st</sup> heart circle. Then the process repeated itself for a third time, then a fourth time, a fifth time, and then a sixth time. ¡°Here is a 6<sup>th</sup> circle wizard¡¯s heart," Lucy told them. ¡°Wizards and mages can pretty much cast the exact same spells up until this point. As more circles appear, another layer of calculations and complexity can be added. But a 7<sup>th</sup> circle wizard is when magic arrays can be cast.¡±


    The projection gained a new mana-circle, but this time it was perpendicular to the original ones, forming a ring that circled above and below the heart. Then it gained another 2 mana-circles, which pulled together, and then it occurred again and again to form a total of 6 wizard circles perpendicular to the original ones. ¡°And here we have a 12<sup>th</sup> circle wizard¡¯s heart. Because the mana-circles can resonate the runes not just vertically with each other, but horizontally too, a wizard can utilise far more runes and rune combinations in their spells than any mage possibly could. A 12<sup>th</sup> circle Archwizard has 36 mana-circles, and with each heart circle mana-circle having around 900 runes on average, that¡¯s 32,400 runes to use.¡±


    ¡°But a wizard¡¯s heart circles and a mage¡¯s runic model are still internal, right? How do they cast spells externally then?¡± Annaliese said.


    Lucille smiled. ¡°And this is what¡¯s truly important to be a genius mage. You need to resonate your mana outside your body so it will copy the runes you have either in your mana pool or around your heart. But to do this takes a lot of mental concentration and an understanding of the correct rune combinations, and then to create more complicated spells, you need multiple mana-circles, which requires multitasking ability. This needs the user to be smart, well-learned and have high mental power.¡±


    And Lucy could just use her spiritual energy to directly form the runes she needed without requiring to form spells indirectly through heart circles or runic models. But normally a human soul didn¡¯t have what it takes to compute complicated spells with just its own mind, and struggled to focus and ignore distractions. Lucy was a special case. Although, she hardly ever used normal magic, so it was wasted on her.


    ¡°So, how does this help me?¡± Sedric asked, frowning. ¡°Seems kinda usele-¡±


    Without warning, Lucy threw the fountain pen in her hands at the man, and it hit him on the forehead. He stared at her and rubbed the spot, incredulous, while she pointed to him. ¡°What trigonometrical mana theory do you use when calculating the mana-retainment limit for metals engraved with intermediate-level spells designed to be cast by a 3<sup>rd</sup> circle wizard?¡±


    He gazed blankly at her, so she turned her head to the projection and ignored him. She focused on the illusion and it disintegrated into a shower of white light. ¡°When you can answer my questions without needing me to explain them, then you have the right to complain about what I¡¯m teaching. I can tell that you never had formal magic education from your grandfather.¡± The pen on the ground was lifted up by her spiritual telekinesis, and she dropped it back into her hands.


    Sedric had a troubled expression on his face, but Lucy didn¡¯t care enough to ask about the reasons behind it. Instead, she asked her next question. ¡°So, if spells are cast like that, then what are mana-arts?¡±


    ¡°Skills?¡± Sedric grumbled, still annoyed by her earlier question.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Lucille shot him a flat look but sighed. ¡°This time you¡¯re right, but they¡¯re not just normal skills. A true mana-art is at least primary skill level. If it¡¯s not, then it likely won¡¯t be able to take you past Rank-3 with it. But that doesn¡¯t explain what a mana-art is.¡±


    Annaliese awkwardly raised a hand. ¡°Um¡­ why do people continue to use mana-arts if we have the System to grow stronger? Mana-arts were created before the assimilation of the realm¡­¡±


    Lucy tilted her head back to look at the roof as she thought about how to answer. ¡°Within the System, there is a passive feature that allows one to create a ¡®path of progression¡¯. This is a strict composition of skills that have all been specially altered to have high sync with each other and lead up to you getting a very specific class. Someone with a complete path of progression earns a class at least Ancient rarity or higher. All true mana-arts are complete paths of progression.¡± She turned to look at the Prophetess. ¡°Mana-arts were the original method of using abilities to combat monsters. They were made to give humanoid races abilities similar to them.¡±


    She got off the table and decided to sit on a stool. ¡°Guild politics and nobility politics make it a habit to stay far, far away from each other most of the time. Do you know why that is?¡± Lucy asked them both.


    Sedric frowned. ¡°Is it because Guilds are usually commoner forces?¡±


    Lucy shook her head. Annaliese piped up. ¡°Because Guilds are untrustworthy?¡±


    Lucy made a face. ¡°I don¡¯t know what books you¡¯ve been reading, but that¡¯s not it. It¡¯s because the Guilds know, that without a doubt, almost any noble force can crush them. That is because they have mana-arts.¡±


    Noticing their curious faces, Lucy explained it to them. ¡°Guilds battle monsters and make a profit by selling their parts, often employing people to craft armour and weapons for them from the materials. They¡¯ve embraced the aspect of the System that gives them strength through killing. Guilders and commoner warriors are almost always higher levelled and higher ranked than most nobility.¡±


    Before they could ask questions she held up a finger. ¡°But while nobility usually takes the time to level up slowly and don¡¯t necessarily try to rank up quickly, they have more power. And that¡¯s because of the traditional heritage of mana-arts, formed over millennia and passed down to their successors. They are powerful sets of skills that work in harmony to bring about effects such as multiplicative Aspects, high-rarity primary skills, and elemental manipulation,¡± she explained. ¡°They take the time to learn every part of their skills, reading knowledge compiled over thousands of years, and have better combat abilities in general. A Rank-4 noble can typically defeat a Rank-5 guilder, sometimes even with the entire level gap of 100.¡±


    She tapped on the bench. ¡°The way they work is this. Using a mana-art that matches their strongest elemental affinity, they use a phenomenon called ¡®elemental resonance¡¯ to attract elemental mana to themselves. Many mana-arts start by generating a whirlpool-like motion within the mana pool. This draws in elemental mana, slowly increasing the size of their mana pool.¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯s wasteful,¡± Sedric interjected. ¡°Forcefully pulling in mana means it would be a temporary thing before the mana dissipates. You need to have the control of a mage to mentally dominate the mana around you, then draw it in to actually increase your mana pool permanently. Besides, they can increase their mana with stat points. Doing it this way would make it leak from the body.¡±


    ¡°But they aren¡¯t doing it to expand their mana pool,¡± she said, pointing the pen at him. He flinched back, to her amusement. ¡°If someone without a mana-art did it, then sure. It wouldn¡¯t do anything. But for them, it¡¯s different. They let the mana flow into their body, rather than keep it in the mana pool.¡±


    He furrowed his brows. ¡°But that would still be wasteful. Unless it matches their elemental affinity, it wouldn¡¯t¡­. oh,¡± he finished quietly.


    Lucille cocked an eyebrow at him, while Annaliese let out a slight giggle, making him glare at her. The Prophetess turned her head away to avoid eye contact with him. Lucy just sighed. ¡°Yes. Elemental resonance means they attract elemental mana of their affinity. And slowly, they divert it to places in the body for it to settle, depending on the instructions of the mana-art.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s different for different mana-arts?¡± Annaliese asked curiously.


    Lucy shrugged. ¡°It really depends on what the mana-art is geared towards. A wind element mana-art is probably agility, and speed focused, so the spinal cord is targeted first. Earth is defence and endurance-focused, so the bones are targeted. Fire is strength and power focused, so the muscles, while water is based around sharpness and flexibility, so the ligaments and joints,¡± she explained. ¡°The mid-level elements have different features. And when they reach a certain level of elemental saturation, they gain an Aspect and the primary skill of their mana-art. Because the System detects what they¡¯re doing is the same as a past mana-art, it gives it to them. That¡¯s a path of progression.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ this can give them a Constitution?¡± Annaliese queried.


    Lucy shook her hand to say, ¡®Sort of¡¯. ¡°They¡¯re not called Constitutions, but they fit what Scytale told you about people sometimes earning them in areas of high mana density. It¡¯s an artificial process. Once they have the basic mana foundation laid, they can train their mana-art¡¯s techniques, which are made exactly for that mana-type,¡± she told them.


    ¡°Certain moves combined with a certain mana flow ends up coating your limbs in flame, or other features. When they have reached the highest saturation of mana, they can manifest an ¡®aura¡¯, and use ¡®aura blade¡¯,¡± she continued. ¡°This is because the mana has stayed in their body long enough that it¡¯s been branded with their mana signature, like a mage, and can be controlled outside the body without losing their strength. I won¡¯t explain the next stages of a mana-art.¡±


    She turned to look at Sedric. ¡°As for why all this matters for you¡­ an item crafter implants these ¡®energy patterns¡¯ into an item by finding materials that would best hold the skill or spell they want. Then they enchant it with the spell by engraving or imbuing it. But to know how to make the best items, you need to know how to put spells and skill into your items in a way that makes them function properly, and knowing the fundamental differences between skills, spells, and mana-arts aids this.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t my class help me with all this? Why do I need to be taught it?¡± Sedric responded, looking a bit nonplussed.


    Lucille eyed them both for a moment. ¡°Do you know how class rarities work?¡±


    Sedric scoffed loudly. ¡°If that was common knowledge, then anybody could go around with a high rarity class.¡±


    Lucy narrowed her eyes and pretended to throw the pen at him again. He flinched and put his hands up to protect himself, and then blinked when it didn¡¯t hit. ¡°If you have an Epic class at level 234, what is your new level if it evolves to Legendary?¡± she asked him.


    His face screwed up as he tried to work out what she meant, but Lucy rolled her eyes. ¡°The answer is 187. The level penalty of a jump from Epic to Legendary, or Epic to Ancient and then Legendary is 20%. The user would lose the equivalent of 46.8 levels in Xp, so they would go down to 187 with 2% of level 188¡¯s Xp. Again, you can complain about what I¡¯m teaching if you answer my questions,¡± she said, frowning at him.


    She sighed and rubbed her head. ¡°I asked to gauge how much you know. Not to be condescending or imply you are ignorant,¡± she tried to explain. She continued talking about classes. ¡°To evolve a class, you need to merge it with another main class. Doing so would give you a main class with two primary skills, one from each class that was merged. It doesn¡¯t always increase its rarity, but you have some control over the result, so if there¡¯s a rarer class option, you can choose it. This is how you evolve a class to a higher rarity. Some factors can influence this, such as a primary skill evolving to a high rarity beforehand, or bloodlines, but typically, this is how it works.¡±


    She looked at them both. ¡°But there¡¯s a more important factor in this. Do you know what is actually the major difference between high rarity classes and lower rarity classes, besides the stat points?¡± she asked them.


    Annaliese spoke up, making Sedric scowl. ¡°I¡¯ve heard someone describe them as ¡®more¡¯ in some way.¡±


    Lucy raised an eyebrow. ¡°More how?¡±


    Annaliese shrugged sheepishly. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t really know.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not picking on you,¡± Lucy said, smiling. ¡°I suppose ¡®more¡¯ is a rather vague way of describing it. But rather, higher rarity classes are ¡®comprehensive¡¯.¡±


    She turned to look at Sedric, making him raise an eyebrow. ¡°I assume you had a crafting class before you inherited your grandfather¡¯s?¡± she asked him. He nodded, so she continued. ¡°What was the key difference between them?¡±


    He rubbed his chin, thinking. ¡°I just had a Rare enchanting class, so it wasn¡¯t great. But I gained skills with greater effectiveness, such as the higher-rarity Steady Hands skill, I earned the second primary skill which enabled me to create the frame of the item itself, and I received new information from the skill.¡±


    She pointed her pen at him. ¡°The second primary skill is the most important part,¡± she said. ¡°A class has a higher chance of evolving if it is combined with a class that adds something entirely new to its skillset. To get a new type of class,¡± she continued. ¡°You need to earn skills that do not fit your first class and have little connection to it. And to gain those skills¡­ you need information. This is how a class evolves, and how it becomes more ¡®comprehensive¡¯,¡± she finished. ¡°I understand both of you don¡¯t need to worry about class rarities.¡±


    Annaliese¡¯s Prophetess class was a Unique System-given class, so it couldn¡¯t be changed, and Sedric¡¯s class was almost as rare as it could be.


    They nodded. But Lucy leaned forward and rested her elbows on the bench, looking at them both. ¡°But that doesn¡¯t stop knowledge from being useful. Earning secondary skills that fill the little gaps in your skillsets, finding new ways to apply your abilities, and even unlocking Titles, there are many ways that learning can help you. Especially if you need to do something so outside your class type, that you don¡¯t have a single skill related to it. The System doesn¡¯t block you from testing out the techniques of different classes. Maybe some could be useful to you.¡±


    She leaned back and opened her dimensional pouch at her belt, withdrawing two new fountain pens and some paper, passing the paper and pens to Annaliese and Sedric. They took it with curiosity. ¡°I think that¡¯s enough explaining, so I¡¯ll get you to do something now.¡±


    She got out some paper for herself and after dipping her pen in an inkwell, drew a circle within a larger circle, and then drew some interesting geometric shapes and lines within it.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go over what ¡®nodes¡¯, ¡®frames¡¯ and ¡®runes¡¯ are in relation to mana-circles.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡±


    ¡°I assure you milady, that supporting my Lord is the better choice. You will not regret your decision if you choose to do so.¡±


    A dark-haired girl was sitting at a lacquered wood desk, pondering over the sheet of paper in her hands with narrowed eyes, if one hadn¡¯t been hidden behind a mask. She was expressionless as she read it, and didn¡¯t seem to even glance at the figure standing before her. Lucille had a guest.


    She had been working at the desk for most of the morning until one of the staff members had come in and told her there was someone who wanted to see the Faction Head. This was interesting, as so far, the County¡¯s rumour control and propaganda had been successful, and most ambitious nobles at the Headquarters had come to Vincent to discuss things, believing he was the ¡®secret Head¡¯ of the Faction. But she thought she knew who it could be, and she was proven correct when a man wearing a dark blue outfit had confidently strolled into her study after she had allowed him entry.


    The man hadn¡¯t bothered to introduce himself, rather revealing that he was a supporter of Arwen Rostov Alichanteu, who happened to be the second heir of Alichanteu, Artair¡¯s 19-year-old younger brother. The long-awaited noble politics has arrived at her doorstep. Long-awaited, because it was Monday, and had well and truly been more than a week since the meeting had occurred. Either this second faction of the Blue County was pretty lazy¡­ or they didn¡¯t manage to sneak in until that day due to the competence of the first faction.


    She decided to test her theory. ¡°So, Mr¡­?¡±


    ¡°Simard Reeves, Milady,¡± he said, bowing.


    She tapped on her chin. ¡°The Chairman of Crystal Swan¡¯s son?¡±


    He gave a wide smile. ¡°I am honoured you have heard of me.¡±


    Lucille flipped through the pages of the proposal he had given her. ¡°Were you first in line for the gem company¡¯s ownership?¡±


    Reeves¡¯ smile stiffened. ¡°Second in line, milady. My elder brother is first for succession.¡± He clenched his hands at his side.


    She didn¡¯t care about his reaction and looked up, observing him with her violet eye. ¡°So, if you wanted to propose this plan, why didn¡¯t your faction try to contact me earlier?¡±


    The man gave the teeniest of grimaces but hid it quickly. Unfortunately, Lucy was easily able to detect it with her perception field and narrowed her eyes. He answered her, ¡°We decided to make our move once there was less scrutiny surrounding you, milady.¡±


    She leaned back in her chair and gazed at him dubiously, although no sign of it was written on her face. So, he was making excuses. That meant something went wrong, and they either were blocked from contacting her or didn¡¯t find out what occurred during the meeting until much later. She was expecting them to contact her at least five days before today.


    She tilted her head a bit as she continued staring at the blonde man, long enough that he was beginning to get nervous. If they hadn¡¯t managed to contact her until late, then it could possibly suggest, no matter how equal the two factions appeared to be, that Artair¡¯s force had the upper hand, if only slightly. One of the proposal¡¯s suggestions was for Alichanteu, or more accurately this ¡®Arwen faction¡¯ to give her a few subordinates. That was probably because Artair¡¯s supporters had taken advantage of the fact he was the representative to pass responsibility for the preparations of some of her plans to his group¡¯s members, leaving Arwen¡¯s group to feel the need to get her to involve them more deeply in her plans so they wouldn¡¯t be left out, even if not said directly.


    That meant Arwen¡¯s faction had to make a more drastic move to come to meet her, and probably lost a hidden piece through this meeting. The Crystal Swan was a large luxury business franchise in the Mystical Realm that sold exquisite gems mined from the company¡¯s gem mines. Luxury goods were quite a valuable factor to be able to control when it came to a merchant Faction¡¯s politics, so the fact this Arwen group has openly revealed that the second son of the Crystal Swan¡¯s chairman was on their side meant Artair¡¯s group was better off because of it just because they now knew that detail. They probably already knew he was on Arwen¡¯s side, but the fact he publicly revealed it could give them some freedom to plot.


    Before Reeves could say something to break the tense silence, Lucy closed her eyes and reshuffled the paper, placing them back in a neat pile on her desk. She crossed her arms, a bright smile on her face.


    ¡°So, in summary, this proposal of yours is to place your group¡¯s people under my command to ¡®balance¡¯ out the responsibility Lord Artair¡¯s group has taken most of the control of. The caveat is that it will be used as a channel to directly contact me, and I will have to indirectly support your faction until this Lord Arwen becomes the new Count. And you¡¯ve come to me, and not my aide, because¡­.?¡± she asked, an eyebrow raised.


    He gave her a solemn nod like he was about to say something Lucy would be deeply interested in. She was not. ¡°Once Lord Arwen becomes the new Count of Alichanteu, we will devote our efforts to helping you break out of the influence of Evisenhardt and the other Counties, becoming a true leader of the Faction,¡± he stated. ¡°We will swear loyalty to you, as Alichanteu did to the Founder so many years ago. We will be your closest subordinates,¡± he finished, eagerly trying to gauge her reaction.


    Lucy narrowed her eyes again, feeling a bit stunned at the man¡¯s ability to be so thick-skinned. ¡°We will swear loyalty¡¯? Only the Counts ever swore loyalty to the Founder. Is Lord Arwen going to swear loyalty to me when he becomes the Count, or is he going to push this responsibility onto his subordinates?¡±


    Reeves¡¯ expression twitched even as he smiled widely. ¡°Of course, he won¡¯t. He will swear loyalty to the Faction Head himself.¡±


    She cocked her head, incredulous at the shamelessness of this man. By blatantly lying to her, he had just unknowingly revealed that this Lord Arwen had plans to use her and then discard her once he became Count. Maybe it wasn¡¯t the boy himself who had come up with the idea, but if he didn¡¯t know about it, he was no better than a puppet ruler. Plus, the man had said ¡®Faction Head¡¯ and not you or Milady, so there might also be plans to institute a new Faction Head as well. She didn¡¯t have any doubts that plenty of the County vassals without a clear understanding of the relationship between her and the Counts were becoming ambitious, but this was just ridiculous.


    She abruptly stood up, startling the man, and picked up the proposal on her desk. She walked over to her study¡¯s window, looking down at the gardens below. She didn¡¯t turn around as she spoke. ¡°Is this some ruse to test me, or are you really this ignorant?¡± she demanded.


    Simard Reeves blinked, slightly flustered by the unexpected question. ¡°Could you please clarify what you mean, milady?¡±


    She turned around to gaze at him with a wide smile like her earlier sentence hadn¡¯t existed. ¡°Firstly, not once have you referred to me as the Faction Head this entire conversation. I will ignore it this instance, but know if your attitude is not rectified I will have to assume you are representing the stance of your young master,¡± she stated, not calling him a ¡®Lord¡¯ anymore.


    The man gave an unsightly grimace and gave her a bow, this one lower and with more respect than the one before. ¡°Yes, Faction Head.¡±


    She flicked the proposal in her hand. ¡°Secondly, I have no intentions of accepting this,¡± she told him. His eyes widened and he opened his mouth to persuade her again, but she firmly shook her head, holding out a hand to stop him. ¡°Not just because of the fact you have heavily implied for this entire time that I am only to be used as a tool and then disposed of once my usefulness has faded.¡±


    He paled, appearing panicked, but Lucille continued. ¡°No, I have zero intentions of getting involved in the Alichanteu¡¯s succession conflict. At all,¡± she stated with finality. ¡°I believe you need to analyse your information again because the responsibility of choosing people for the positions of those plans lies with me," she said, her smile widening.


    She pointed at the steadily growing more anxious man. ¡°Thirdly,¡± she continued, looking at him oddly. ¡°Becoming a puppet leader was my suggestion. Your information sources must be badly compromised if your master has come to such a ridiculous conclusion as to try to help me ¡®escape¡¯ what I decided on. Is this ¡®Lord¡¯ Arwen planning on going against the Faction Head¡¯s decisions?¡± she asked him sweetly.


    The man nervously shook his head, the realisation that things were going very, very wrong for him and his faction beginning to dawn. Lucille held out the proposal to him. ¡°Take this back, and tell your faction to not ever try something like this again. It¡¯s embarrassing for both of us.¡±


    He hesitantly took back the papers, his expression looking complicated and a bit angry. She eyed him for a moment before letting out a long, drawn-out sigh. ¡°Look,¡± she said, gesturing to him with a hand. ¡°This isn¡¯t me just insulting your lord.¡±


    He gave her a dubious look. She put her hands behind her back as she gazed out the window. ¡°I am doing your faction a favour,¡± she stated, ignoring the man¡¯s sceptical expression behind her. ¡°Do you think that if any other member of the Counties were in my position that they would¡¯ve elected to just ignore the many insults sent my way?¡±


    Reeves¡¯ face paled again as he remembered what she had said earlier, but Lucille continued. ¡°Instead of supporting your rival faction due to your attitude, I have shown you that you have been fed misinformation which caused your faction to have to reveal their association with the chairman of Crystal Swan¡¯s second heir, told you about my stance on the Alichanteu succession struggle, and directly informed you of my fake status as a puppet leader of the Commission,¡± she said, turning around. She put a cheery smile on her face.


    ¡°If your faction had decided to come and directly express their misgivings about the assignment of responsibility with the plans, then I would¡¯ve accepted having a proper discussion about this," she said, her smile very fake. ¡°But you people did not. Instead, you tried to use a vulgar little ploy to play ¡®subordinates¡¯, scheming to obtain the Faction Head position.¡±


    The man grimaced, giving her a nod in acknowledgement.


    She narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°I suggest you leave, but beforehand, listen to one last message from me to your faction. If the Alichanteu¡¯s succession conflict escalates to the extent that the Commission¡¯s neutrality stance is threatened¡­¡± she stated with a smirk. ¡°Then I have no hesitations in taking away Alichanteu¡¯s power until the situation has been resolved. Bring back my words, Simard Reeves. You may go.¡±


    And with that, she returned to looking out the window.


    The man hesitated, wondering what to do, before awkwardly bowing to Lucille¡¯s back, and then turning around. He went to open the study¡¯s door, before freezing when he saw Vincent standing in front of him. The silver-haired man tilted his head to see around the tall pile of paper he had in his arms, and smiled politely, giving Reeves a nod.


    Reeves blanched and gave Vincent a polite nod in return, before hastily walking away from the study as much as the term ¡®walking¡¯ allowed without being an outright jog. Vincent cocked an eyebrow at the man¡¯s reaction, but entered the study and placed the pile on a nearby table. Lucy looked over her shoulder at the noise.


    ¡°That was¡­?¡± Vincent asked.


    Lucille gave him a dismissive wave, turning back to the window. ¡°Who else? It was finally Arwen Alichanteu¡¯s subordinate. He was the second son of the Crystal Swan¡¯s chairman.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± He nodded. ¡°So, what wonderful proposal did he suggest?¡±


    Lucy turned around with a scowl on her face, walking over to one of the two armchairs in her study, and flopping down on it. ¡°I found out some people are greater idiots than I believed possible,¡± she replied.


    Vincent sat down in the opposite armchair as she told him what she had just experienced. He looked almost as incredulous as she had felt by the time she was finished.


    ¡°I fear for the future of Alichanteu if their second heir was so misinformed as to suggest that,¡± he said, shifting his half-moon glasses. ¡°Although, that brings up another strange fact I have discovered about them,¡± he added, frowning slightly. ¡°When I checked who the people on your list were, I discovered that more of Olden¡¯s spies had connections to Alichanteu than they did to the other Counties.¡±


    Lucille, who had been gazing at the ground in thought, looked up in surprise. ¡°Has this been a known trend or a more recent thing?¡± she asked, feeling suspicious.


    He shook his head. ¡°Definitely a more recent trend. The employment of most of these spies dates back to just before the succession issues began before the Count retreated from the public eye. I don¡¯t think many were employed past five years ago,¡± he said.


    Lucy covered her mouth with a hand, thinking. ¡°Is it a barely noticeable quantity compared to the other Counties?¡±


    ¡°No. At least two-thirds were related to Alichanteu and their vassals,¡± he responded.


    She frowned and held her chin. ¡°Some central Empire noble seems to be using Alichanteu as their playing field. I have to wonder what they are doing if they¡¯re trying to get involved with the neutral Aurelian Commission, and just how far they intend to spread their influence.¡± She looked up. ¡°Once we discuss this with Count Ravimoux, I think we need to ask the Counts to double-check just who they are employing. Especially who their heirs have been employing. They¡¯re the best targets to infiltrate the centre of the Faction.¡±


    He nodded along, mentally jotting it down so he wouldn¡¯t forget. Then he realised he had heard something suspicious. ¡°Once we discuss this with Count Ravimoux?¡± he asked, narrowing his eyes.

 Chapter 20 (2 of 2) Magecraft, Wizardry and Mythos.

    ¡°Once we discuss this with Count Ravimoux?¡± he asked, narrowing his eyes.


    She shrugged innocently. ¡°We can¡¯t exactly leave it now that we¡¯ve realised things are getting this suspicious. I should go in person to have a conversation about this.¡±


    He stared at her and then sighed in exasperation. ¡°Yet you went and gave me that list regardless.¡±


    She gave him a big smile. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t, then my wonderful aide wouldn¡¯t have gone and discovered this new piece of information. Although even though you held that list away from you like it was toxic when I first handed it to you, I believe there¡¯s a bit of curiosity going on here," she said with a smirk.


    He coughed. ¡°Well I-I, um, is it not the responsibility of an aide to make sure their liege hasn¡¯t made an error?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care if you look at what I¡¯ve handed to you. In fact, it¡¯s necessary. I can¡¯t get my plans done if you don¡¯t corroborate your actions with my intentions,¡± she said, crossing her arms. ¡°But if I ask you to take action against those spies, you can¡¯t go running to me complaining that it¡¯s too risky or I might offend those Factions.¡±


    He hesitated. ¡°Are you planning to?¡±


    She rolled her eyes. ¡°Not yet. They haven¡¯t been caught for so long, so it would be better to use them to leak false information to their forces. It would be suspicious to act on them now.¡±


    She gazed flatly at him as he let out a ¡®barely detectable¡¯ sigh of relief, forgetting how much detail she could know within her perception field. ¡°Make sure to tell me if they try to stir anything up, however. If they try to use me for some plot, I want to know,¡± she added.


    ¡°But would they really, at this junction? The Crown Prince has practically been decided already,¡± he said, tapping his fingers against his arm.


    She sighed. ¡°Yes, but the almost Crown Prince would also love to get more forces on his side before he becomes Emperor so he doesn¡¯t have many difficulties after he lands the throne. He will be the second Emperor from the Radical faction in the Empire¡¯s history. Olden has already expressed their immense distaste for that and would try to reduce his power so the prince can¡¯t implement policies for Radical. Besides,¡± she continued. ¡°The 6 Eternal Duchies would love to interfere with us too. They¡¯ve always been annoyed at the power the Commission holds without being a duchy.¡±


    ¡°Not the 7<sup>th</sup> Duchy?¡± he asked, raising an eyebrow.


    She paused and then shook her head. ¡°Foreign Prince Stolas Eterial has no ambitions to become involved with the central politics of the Eternal Empire. He was instituted as an Archduke to facilitate inter-realm trade and reduce hostilities between the Empire and the Heavenly Realm, so he¡¯d probably rather welcome us, as money is the one universal language among the realms.¡±


    She tapped on her chin. ¡°I should go meet him during the Empire¡¯s banquet. His Duchy is the only one that hadn¡¯t been around to meet the Founder and Counts, being around 200 years old. Working with him should enable the Commission to balance its relationship with the Eternal Duchies.¡±


    ¡°You need a valid reason to meet him. It is well known he doesn¡¯t appreciate being used for political ploys without benefit to his Duchy, and would return the favour tenfold. Likely personally. He is a very proficient Aether Warden,¡± he said, grimacing.


    She raised an eyebrow. ¡°Seen something, have you?¡±


    ¡°You would never know the horrors of seeing someone who appears in his mid-20s locking a Grand Archmagus of Fire in a barrier, slowly squeezing him until his body is crushed and his organs spill out, just to make a point, while calmly smiling the whole time in front of the entire noble population of the Empire,¡± he replied, shuddering as he remembered one particular event he had been to.


    Lucy gained an odd expression when she heard that. ¡°But he¡¯s not normally a violent person, is he? Did the Archmagus meet him on an unlucky day?¡±


    ¡°Oh no, the Archmagus well and truly deserved it,¡± Vincent told her, shrugging. ¡°He, being a xenophobic pig, had blatantly tried to attack a Sect Leader of one of the Five Heavenly Sects without reason. The Archduke killed him right then and there for it.¡±


    ¡°Ah. Well, that¡¯s a justified reason to kill someone when you¡¯re responsible for inter-realm relations,¡± she stated flatly. ¡°But he¡¯s normally a passive and well-liked person among the Empire¡¯s nobles.¡±


    ¡°Except among the other 6 Eternal Duchies,¡± he added dryly.


    ¡°They don¡¯t count, because they have always hated each other. A new rival changes nothing,¡± she said.


    She leaned back and put her elbow on the armrest of the chair, placing her chin on her hand. ¡°Anyway, how¡¯s the progress on the debut invitations going?¡±


    ¡°There have been no complaints about the rules for invitations, however, many have been wondering what order you will use to invite people. A single messenger will have to visit several clans, and as this is your first public event, you need to be careful not to offend the wrong people,¡± he said.


    She blinked. ¡°Just do it in alphabetical order.¡±


    ¡°Alphabetical order?¡± he replied, frowning slightly.


    ¡°Yes. Obviously, you visit the higher nobility first, but for those within the same noble tier, just visit the ones whose letter of Imperial Common comes first,¡± she said, looking at her left hand distractedly.


    ¡°Well, I mean, sure that could work,¡± he responded, holding his chin. ¡°It¡¯s not how nobility would normally do it.¡±


    She gave him a dismissive wave. ¡°Yes, I know they like to do it based on a multitude of complicated factors such as time as vassals, contribution to the Counties, bloodline connection, age, wealth, plane, etcetera, etcetera. But the order of delivering invitations doesn¡¯t influence the order of entering the Headquarters¡¯ ballroom and being announced. How many nobles would find an issue with it if I did it this way?¡±


    ¡°Not many. Partly because they wouldn¡¯t want to offend you, or ¡®me¡¯ through you,¡± he replied. ¡°But also because they like to ask the messenger what order the invitations were delivered in. Checking to see if it was in alphabetical order is something easily done, and there would be no room for complaints, besides some traditionalists arguing that ¡®youth have no respect for the old customs¡¯. This should assuage the messengers¡¯ worries.¡±


    She nodded. The messengers would be the most worried because there was always a chance the nobility could choose to take their anger out on the messenger after the event. Not before it, because that would offend the host of the event, but it was still a relatively feasible possibility for it to happen afterwards through assassination or similar.


    She clasped her hands together and stretched them out before her. ¡°Any other updates, or things on the agenda?¡±


    He put a hand into his suit¡¯s pocket, pulling out a small slip of paper. Unfolding it, he pushed up his glasses and peered at it. ¡°My grandfather has told us the Emperor has allowed us to retrieve the Aurelian Commission Head¡¯s seal from the Empire¡¯s Vault, and the Imperial Courier will arrive with it within three days, so we can use it to issue invitations to the Commission¡¯s nobles.¡±


    The Evisenhardt Count, being the head of the County of the Commission with closest relations to the Imperial family, and also just the closest County to the Capital City in general, had taken up the task of going to the Emperor to officially appeal for the seal to be retrieved. It was also Lucy¡¯s method of indirectly telling the Emperor there was a new Commission Head. She was sure Count Evisenhardt had already revealed to the Emperor her fake status as a true puppet leader and probably discussed a few more key details like her soul age, but she was fine with that. Lying to the Emperor was treason, and she didn¡¯t want to be a criminal so soon.


    She nodded, so Vincent continued. ¡°The tailor will also be arriving tomorrow, and Count Ravimoux will be in Gilded Seat in a week. The invitations are already being written, and most just need the seal to complete it. I¡¯ll need you to write that letter to Efratel Vadel so we can insert it into the envelope before the invitations are delivered.¡±


    ¡°Already done,¡± she said, getting up from her armchair. She went over to the desk, and after withdrawing a key from her dimensional pouch, she unlocked a drawer on her desk. She pulled out a piece of folded parchment. Walking back over, she handed it to Vincent for him to read. He held his chin thoughtfully as he pondered over it.


    ¡°This seems well-written enough, if very typical of you. But what did you mean by putting ¡®looking forward to seeing you again¡¯ without signing your name?¡± he asked, raising his eyes to look at her.


    She grinned like a cat. ¡°It will throw him for a loop.¡±


    ¡°You want to mess with him,¡± he responded dryly.


    With a wide smile on her face, she leaned against his armchair and shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s not only to mess with him.¡±


    ¡°So that is part of the reason.¡±


    ¡°Nobody¡¯s seen the Faction Head¡¯s handwriting, so who would believe this was actually from the Commission Head? I know you plan to put the Evisenhardt seal on the envelope to give it validity, but you have to admit, this letter is very suspicious,¡± she told him. ¡°This sentence means the Faction Head or their aide knows who he is, and has met him in person. He¡¯ll be more likely to come to the private meeting with that in the letter.¡±


    He eyed her dubiously but sighed and put the letter into his pocket. ¡°Whatever you say, my lord.¡± Then he furrowed his brows. ¡°It still feels weird to call you that.¡±


    ¡°Faction Head is a gender-neutral position. Plus, when a female inherits a duchy, you don¡¯t call her Duchess, you call her Duke, and her husband Duke Consort. It¡¯s the same thing for all noble titles. You could call me lady if you wish.¡±


    For some inexplicable reason, he shuddered, making Lucille narrow her eyes at his reaction.


    ¡°I have never seen a person who ¡®Lady¡¯ does not fit more,¡± he muttered.


    ¡°Then I suppose this wonderful subordinate of mine is going to be kept here until 11 pm helping me fill out forms,¡± she stated dryly. ¡°How kind of you for volunteering. I will make sure to reward you for your loyalty.¡±


    She left the frozen Vincent to start sorting out the documents he had brought in, ignoring the strangulated sounds of Vincent crying, ¡°When have I ever volunteered?!¡±


    Lucy actually couldn¡¯t care less about his opinions on her ability to be ¡®ladylike¡¯ or not, but she could admit it was very entertaining to pick on the man. It was something about the way he hadn¡¯t realised he kept getting himself into trouble by falling for her tricks.


    <hr>


    On a dry dusty battleground, there were the sounds of strong wind whistling through the plains, accompanied by only heavy footsteps as the sun headed towards the horizon, approaching dusk. Scattered across the ground were blood-coated pieces of armour and discarded weapons, the signs of battle. Decaying bodies and carrion were seen across the area, and the occasional sound of crows was heard as the ravenous corvids devoured the flesh of those slain. Spears and broken swords were sticking into the ground at odd angles, but there was one particular point on the battlefield where the heaviest concentration of bodies could be found.


    A lone individual walked away from this point. He was an intimidating figure. He was bulky and tall, with wide shoulders, and heavily built. He was outfitted in a mix of dark-grey metal and brown leather armour, leather straps wrapped around his arms. In one hand he carried a tall blood-red and black spear with several small points along its blade and had thick, untamed dark-red hair that cascaded far down his back. Two long braids fell past his ears on either side of his face. On any other day, the man could perhaps look attractive if somewhat cold, but drying blood was splattered across his clothes and face, leaving him drenched, his hair matted, and appearing terrifying and merciless, the scent of blood even overpowering the smell of the carnage around him. Deep amber eyes glowed with intensity as he trudged towards a single target in the distance.


    As the man drew closer to his location, stepping over the piled bodies, one of the formed moved and revealed itself to be a heavily injured man, groaning weakly as he clung onto the red-haired man¡¯s leg for help. Without hesitation, the blood-stained warrior swung his spear and decapitated the injured person with a spurt of blood before they could make another move. The spray drenched the man¡¯s fist and arm, but he shook it to remove the worst of the crimson liquid and kept moving.


    After some time, he had put the bodies and the battlefield behind him and stepped forward to stand in front of an encampment of tents close to a nearby forest. Roaring laughter and loud voices could be heard from within the encampment in the dusk of the evening, and the warm glow of a tall bonfire shone through the tents. Two men dressed in a mix of steel and leather armour were lazily chatting as one rested his hand on his longsword¡¯s pommel, and the other leaned atop the large greatsword implanted into the earth beneath his feet. The longsword user noticed the red-haired man and waved, smirking, while the other glanced at the red-headed spearman and then ignored him.


    ¡°If it isn¡¯t our mighty Sir Einar!¡± the longsword user remarked, the tone of his voice mocking rather than with any familiarity. ¡°Have you returned from butchering the rest of the peasants, oh Dreaded Spear-fiend of Blood?¡±


    The man leaning against the greatsword scoffed. ¡°Of course he has. Anyone could smell that thick scent of blood from miles away.¡±


    Einar looked between the two of them, inexpressive and unresponsive to their comments. ¡°¡­. are you going to let me through?¡± he asked in a low voice, his throat scratchy and dry from the dusty wind on the battleground.


    The man with the greatsword scowled, straightening up to hoist the sword over his shoulder. He separated from the longsword user, who gave Einar a mocking bow as the taller man walked past them both. The greatsword user leaned in and spat on Einar¡¯s boot as he passed, making the red-haired man glance at him with amber eyes.


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Filthy dog of a filthy noble,¡± the greatsword user growled.


    Hearing that, Einar ignored him and continued walking forward into the encampment. As he headed towards the central area of the encampment where the fire was, the warriors he passed turned their heads to gaze at him with mild hostility, and several screwed up their noses as they smelt the stench of blood coming from him. When his gaze occasionally met the gazes of those in front of him, they flinched away quickly and turned their heads to get back to what they were doing, but he could feel their gazes on his back as he made it to the main cleared space of the camp.


    The ones responsible for the raucous laughter from earlier were all sitting around the campfire, drinking tankards of alcohol, and raising their voices boisterously as they traded stories. One of them, with unruly brown hair and a scarred face, had two female warriors in each arm, and several other warriors joked and flattered him. He looked up from one of the women at his side and noticed Einar walking past them. He sneered.


    ¡°Had a fun time out there, ¡®Spear-fiend?¡± the man shouted, attracting the attention of the men surrounding him. They looked up and had various mocking expressions, snickering at, or ignoring the red-haired man.


    Einar ignored him and them, walking over to a large rock that was a distance away from the campfire, and sat down. Reaching into a thick leather bag at his waist, he withdrew a cloth and began wiping down his red-black spear with it, removing the blood and other substances coating its surface.


    The scarred man¡¯s expression darkened when he saw that the spearman had ignored him, but he didn¡¯t stop sneering. ¡°Stay silent if you wish,¡± he yelled. ¡°We all know you just loved murdering those pitiful commoners. The way you felt your spear slice into the soft, unprotected flesh¡­¡± He mimed swiping across his neck. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder you got that nickname Dread Spear, you bloodthirsty hellbeast.¡±


    The red-haired spearman continued ignoring him and the insults, studiously cleaning his spear. He turned it a bit to see if he missed anything, and the serrated blade end glinted red in the light of the campfire. Satisfied, he put away the cloth, leant the spear against the rock, and began peeling off the leather straps wrapped around his palms, the bloodstained material leaving grimy red tracks where it had been.


    The scarred man scowled at him. ¡°The General should be so proud.¡±


    Hearing that, Einar finally paused his motion, looked up, and gazed wordlessly at the man with his deep amber eyes. After a tense moment, he slowly blinked once, and then returned to unpeeling the leather straps in a clear dismissal of the man¡¯s words.


    The man¡¯s expression turned ugly and he made a motion to stand up, but one of the men sitting just behind him patted his shoulder and whispered a few words into the man¡¯s ear, making him pause, and fall back with a strangely elated expression on his face. The man who had whispered glanced at Einar and spoke up with a much louder voice. ¡°Don¡¯t waste your time on him, Graves. Nobody should. He¡¯s not one of us.¡±


    The scarred man smirked, before breaking out into a loud laugh, hugging the shoulders of the women beside him close to his sides. ¡°That¡¯s right my friends! Who cares about a noble¡¯s fardyl dog? No, it was far more interesting to hear Enrick¡¯s tales of that night at Blue Waterlily Inn¡­¡±


    The rowdy men went back to drinking their rum and other alcohol, swapping vulgar tales and cruel anecdotes about the battles of the past. Einar continued unravelling the leather straps he had around his forearms and shoulders, then started to untie his leather armour. He was just about to begin doing the same for his dark-grey steel armour when he paused as he heard the sounds of footsteps approaching. He looked up to see the figure of a mature-looking woman with long raven hair and piercing green eyes heading towards him. She was dressed in a long grey cloak with silver fastenings, and she walked with authority as she gazed at the camp with distaste. A few of the campfire¡¯s warriors noticed her and wolf-whistled, making the scarred man look up. He smirked, a greedy look in his eyes.


    ¡°Have you finally come to join us, your most eminent Highness?¡±


    She gazed at the man for a moment but turned away and walked up to Einar. He gazed up at her. ¡°Asla,¡± was all he said.


    Her expression didn¡¯t change as she gestured to the tall tent behind her. ¡°The Vice-Master has received a letter from the General. He has requested your presence,¡± she stated coolly, abruptly turning back around, and walking towards the tent, making the scarred man scowl at how she had ignored his question.


    Einar frowned slightly at her odd behaviour, but got up from his rock, grabbing his spear and inserting it into the holder he had strapped to his back. He followed after her, his long, wild red hair moving in the wind of the night. The scarred man called after them. ¡°Have you been too cold to your missus? Maybe chasing after younger women?¡± he snickered.


    Einar just glanced at him, but Asla, who was easily in her late twenties to early thirties, whirled around and stared at the scared man. ¡°You seem to think being the blood-related brother of the Vice-Master allows you to take certain liberties within this subdivision of the Warband, Graves. May I remind you that I hold the power to suggest to the General which mercenaries we should continue to employ, and which we should not.¡±


    Graves scowled but returned his attention to the conversation with his fellow mercenaries. But as Einar and Asla walked towards the Vice-Master¡¯s tent, the man¡¯s eyes tracked their forms. Asla swept aside the tent¡¯s curtain and Einar did the same after her, finding themselves standing before a stern-looking dark-haired and battle-scarred man in his 40s, standing up and reading a report. He didn¡¯t look up as they entered.


    ¡°I have brought Mercenary Einar as ordered,¡± Asla announced, walking towards one side of the tent, and remaining there.


    The battle-scarred man looked up and nodded to Asla, then turned to face Einar. He picked up a thick letter made of yellow parchment sealed by a red seal and held it out to the red-haired man. ¡°Read this,¡± he told him sternly.


    Einar lowered his amber eyes from the Vice-Master to gaze at the letter, before stepping forward and reaching out to grab it with his large calloused hands. Opening it, his expression slowly darkened as he read it, and by the time he refolded the letter, he was frowning heavily. The Vice-Master ignored his expression, to gesture to the letter, speaking with an authoritative voice.


    ¡°As you can see, your position as the General of Blazing Iron¡¯s successor has been officially revoked. His second student will be given the Spear Mythos¡¯s signature mana-art, and will become a new Champion of the Spear Major Discipline at Glory Pantheon,¡± he stated.


    ¡°As you know, your position here in the Indomitable Mercenary Warband was the result of a debt owed to the General by the Warband Master, and you were put under my command by the General¡¯s request. Now that your master has revoked your succession rights, and now has no relation with you as he has stated in his letter,¡± he continued, distractedly rifling through the reports on his desk, ¡°I will be transferring you to another subdivision. Asla will be remaining here, as she is no longer your supervisor. Please make preparations to leave by the third hour, tomorrow afternoon.¡± The Vice-Master fell silent, ignoring Einar and Asla once more.


    Einar didn¡¯t answer, gazing at the letter still held in his hands. Asla stepped forward, a slight frown on her face. ¡°Einar?¡± she asked.


    Einar raised his amber eyes to look at the Vice-Master. ¡°Sir.¡± The man didn¡¯t respond, so Einar asked again, ¡°Vice-Master Fallwen.¡±


    The Vice-Master looked up with a slight frown on his face. ¡°What is it, Mercenary Einar? I¡¯m busy.¡±


    ¡°I resign,¡± he stated calmly. They blinked.


    The Vice-Master and Asla both stared at him, dumbfounded. ¡°What?¡± the Vice-Master repeated.


    ¡°I resign from the Indomitable Mercenary Warband,¡± Einar said again. He reached a hand to his chest and ripped off a metal plaque he had attached there, the symbol of the Warband engraved on it. He placed it on the Vice-Master¡¯s desk and withdrew his hand, making his point clear.


    The Vice-Master¡¯s expression darkened. ¡°If you truly mean to resign, then you have to-¡±


    ¡°Pay ten times the price paid to me when I joined. I know,¡± Einar interrupted. He reached into his leather pouch at his waist, withdrawing ten round crystalline objects. He placed them on the desk. ¡°Ten crystalline tokens,¡± he stated emotionlessly.


    Asla frowned and stepped forward. ¡°Einar, that is a significant amount. Think about this more. Now that you have no relation to the General, remaining within the warband is your best-¡±


    She paused as the loud clang of metal was heard as Einar undid the fastenings of his dark metal shoulder guard, dropping it to the ground. He did it again with his vambraces, chestplate and shin guards, straightening up to gaze at the Vice-Master. ¡°And I have returned all armour given to me by the Warband,¡± he continued. He never once looked at Asla.


    The Vice-Master gazed at the bloody, unclean armour with distaste. Then he raised his eyes to look at the spear on Einar¡¯s back. ¡°The spear-¡±


    ¡°-Is a reward from the System itself for Einar¡¯s efforts in clearing the Southern Dearth Dungeon,¡± Asla interrupted to stand in front of the red-haired man, gazing at the Vice-Master with narrowed eyes. ¡°It has no relation to the warband.¡±


    Einar finally glanced at her, but his expression didn¡¯t change. He returned his gaze to the Vice-Master. ¡°May I leave now, Indomitable Mercenary Warband¡¯s Vice-Master Fallwen?¡± he asked, emphasising the new lack of relation to each other.


    Vice-Master Fallwen gazed solemnly at Einar for a while. Then he sighed and gave him a dismissive wave as he returned to his reports. ¡°Yes, you may. As of now, you have officially left the warband. You may not return,¡± he stated with finality.


    Asla¡¯s eyes widened and she opened her mouth to say something to the Vice-Master, but stopped and looked over her shoulder when she heard rustling. Without hesitation, as soon as the Vice-Master had said his statement, Einar had turned around and swept aside the tent¡¯s cloth entrance flap, marching towards the campfire. Asla hastily followed after him as he retrieved the leather straps he had untied and unwound from his hands and walked towards his private tent, ignoring the mocking jeers and calls from the curious mercenaries.


    He rolled up his bedroll, stuffed his belongings away into a large pack, and exited his tent, ignoring all of Asla¡¯s attempts to get him to talk. Not packing up the tent, as it was a belonging of the warband, he left the encampment and headed towards the forest. Only once he was at least out of sight of the encampment did he stop in place, letting Asla catch up to him, panting as she tried to catch her breath. She straightened up as Einar turned around to gaze at the woman.


    ¡°Why did you do that?¡± she demanded, gesturing to the encampment. ¡°The fact that the Vice-Master didn¡¯t kick you out is a sign of your talent. He was moving you so you didn¡¯t have to deal with Graves,¡± Asla said. ¡°You¡¯re a valuable Rank-4 nearing 5, the Warband would want to keep you, and they do.¡±


    Einar gazed wordlessly at her for a while, before opening his mouth to speak. ¡°Make no mistake, Asla,¡± he stated, watching her solemnly. ¡°I do not need your ¡®generosity¡¯. I am aware it was you who asked for my transfer.¡±


    She stared at him, and then sighed, running a hand down her face. ¡°Can¡¯t I have some goodwill towards the boy I knew for practically 10 years?¡± she pleaded.


    Einar crossed his arms. ¡°What little relationship we had was discarded when the General placed you as my supervisor so he could put all his attention on the little dragon-blooded boy that became the new successor,¡± he said, his voice emotionless. ¡°The word ¡®friends¡¯ has not applied to us for over 8 years. What are you trying to do here?¡±


    She grimaced. ¡°Look, I-¡± Then she paused, and sighed again, shaking her head. ¡°Never mind. What are you going to do now? No Mercenary Guild will accept someone who has been effectively exiled from both the General¡¯s weapon clan and the Indomitable Mercenary Warband. You must have some plan.¡±


    He looked at her for a moment, before turning his eyes to the small dim glow of light in the distance between the trees. ¡°Maybe if the General had ever seriously considered me as his successor then he and you would be able to find out.¡±


    She watched him with a complicated look on her face. ¡°I know that the General never returned your desire for a father and son relationship, but that doesn¡¯t-¡±


    She stopped when she noticed Einar¡¯s expression had finally changed. A sardonic smirk had spread across his face as he gazed at Asla with dark amusement. ¡°I have never, not once, considered the General as my family. I knew what he was like from the moment he took a little dirty orphan off the streets of one of the 108 Minor Kingdoms. I was only ever a tool.¡± Then his expression went cold, amber eyes glowing dimly. ¡°That does not mean he has not broken his promise to me. He offered me his mana-art in return for my talent as a spearman.¡± He shook his head in derision. ¡°Too bad a mere blood-element manipulator doesn¡¯t match up to a dragon-blooded little noble of the Empire.¡±


    He turned back around and began making his way through the forest.


    ¡°Wait, Einar-¡± Asla began, stretching out a hand to pause him. He stopped but didn¡¯t turn around.


    ¡°If you have something to say, then say it now. I will make an effort to never meet again,¡± he stated. Then he paused and let out a light chuckle. ¡°Do you want to say sorry?¡± he asked mockingly, tilting back his head to look over his shoulder.


    Asla bit her lip as she withdrew her hand. He gazed at her for a moment, and then laughed softly again, shaking his head with amusement. ¡°I don¡¯t need a sorry,¡± he said, his voice low and quiet once more. ¡°After all, you won¡¯t feel the need to be sorry once all this is over.¡±


    And then he marched onwards, leaving Asla alone in the dark forest to ponder over what his words meant.


    ¡­


    At a river in the forest, the red-haired man was shirtless as he doused himself with water using a bucket he had retrieved from his dimensional skill. The icy water of the night would¡¯ve chilled any pre-System individual to the bone, but for him, he barely felt it. The blood matting his thick red hair was slowly washed away as he dumped bucket after bucket over his head. He frowned slightly when the reddish water began dripping down his face, so he placed the bucket on the riverside next to his belongings and headed deeper into the water to wet his entire body. He went under and then pushed his head up through the surface, the currents causing the cool water to flow over the multitude of scars he had collected over the years over his body. A particularly large cross-shaped scar on his back twinged as he dived again, feeling his tangled hair slowly become looser.


    Hargrave Einar didn¡¯t care for the lingering emotions of the General¡¯s poison mage. The fact she had been placed as his supervisor 10 years ago and still remained one meant that she was well-trusted by the Spear Mythos, and had likely been very willing to report his every move. The 17-year-old boy who discovered this 8 years ago had felt betrayed, but Hargrave had no thoughts about it anymore. The fact she had tried to do something like this to assuage her twisted remnant sense of guilt and responsibility rubbed him wrongly, but as long as leaving him alone was what she interpreted as the best thing for him, he was fine to let her live. The General, however, he could not be left alive.


    That man had broken his promise. Hargrave didn¡¯t expect everyone to follow his values when it came to oaths, but this time, the General needed to be held accountable. That was because the very person who had indoctrinated him with the importance of keeping to his promises was the General himself. It was obvious Hargrave was only a tool till the very end, and when he had outlived his purpose¡­


    He expected there to be an assassination attempt in the coming few months had he remained a mercenary at the warband. The Spear Mythos of Blazing Iron would never let the shameful failed inheritor of his mana-art remain alive to desecrate the identity of his new precious dragon-blooded successor. He was sure Asla had vaguely understood this as well, but due to her distorted concept of their relationship, she had held hopes that the fact the General hadn¡¯t asked for Hargrave to return all the magic items and money he had been gifted as his ¡®successor¡¯ that maybe the General didn¡¯t have any intention to kill him.


    He didn¡¯t care if the General issued a bounty for his death. Anyone who would come after him would die in due time. But he planned to be a hunter, and for that, he needed an identity that would let him survive until he got his revenge. Instead of Hargrave Einar, he could be¡­


    Come to think of it, did either of them ever once refer to me as Hargrave?


    Hargrave wasn¡¯t sure they even knew his first name. Orphans often didn¡¯t have a last name, but he did, so he introduced himself as Einar because it was customary to reveal your last name first when meeting a noble. So, if he had ever been adopted by the General to become his real heir¡­ he probably would¡¯ve been Einar Selwood. He scowled when his fingers caught on the tough matting of his dark-red hair, and waded back to the riverside. His long hairstyle was customary for the successor of the Selwood weapon clan, but he was no longer the successor.


    Picking up his spear, he gathered his hair and cut into it. The thick knots, the strength of his Rank-4 hair and quantity of it meant that even his Epic-ranked spear couldn¡¯t slice through it in one deft movement, rather requiring him to slowly cut through it. When he was done, the haircut was uneven and messy, some sections falling past his shoulders while some only fell to his ears, but he didn¡¯t care. He cut short the two braids on either side of his face as well, one of them becoming longer than the other. Then after rinsing his hair with the bucket once more, he got out and dried himself with a towel, pulling on a new clean white shirt afterwards.


    He sat along the riverside for a while after that, just thinking. He would just go by Hargrave, no last name. He had a magic item that could disguise his hair and eye colour for the time being, but his fighting style and weapon were too eye-catching.


    Using the leather straps that had been around his limbs, he began wrapping them around his spear, Eolith, the material hiding the black and red designs. Then he opened up his Status, leaving the skill section aside.


    [Status: ]


    Name: Hargrave Einar (Lvl. 493)


    Class: Blood-stained Spearmaster of Eolith ¨C Ancient (Tier: XIV)


    Age: 26y


    Race: Human


    HP: 82,928/98,200 {+3133.69/1m}


    MP: 32,971/46,350 {+5380/1m}


    Stats:


    Free Stat Points: 3


    STR: 2079 SPRT: 327


    CON: 1964 MENT: 68


    AGI: 1182 CHAR: 3


    DEX: 849


    INT: 927


    WIS: 538


    [Origin Skill: True Heart-Blood Subsummation | Type: Absorption/Realm


    Desc: [Collapsed]


    Subskills: [Collapsed]


    Awakening: 89% ]


    He frowned slightly as he looked at his Status. It reminded him all too much of the ¡®resources¡¯ the General gave him so he could be a passable heir. But not once did the General ever give him the elixir that would increase his fire affinity to the extent he could use the General¡¯s mana-art. He couldn¡¯t say anything of this Status was purely his own¡­ except his spear and the Origin Skill. However, he had only ever used one subskill of his Origin Skill because of a promise he had made to his mother¡­


    But if the General was going to break his promises, then Hargrave would have to break his too. He tapped on the Origin Skill which he hadn¡¯t checked for years.


    [Origin Skill: True Heart-Blood Subsummation | Type: Absorption/Realm


    Desc: Blood is the life-giving substance of almost all living creatures. It carries the breath, the power, and the spirit of the body. The magical beasts draw on their ancestral lineage to cast impossible spells, while the demons use their lineage to use the dark and malicious Demonic Script of their race. This User can go beyond mere blood manipulation, to manipulate their own source, race, and bloodline. They only have to try.


    Subskills:


    <ul>


    <li>Sanguine Controller</li>


    <li>Source Absorption</li>


    <li>Bloodline Adept</li>


    </ul>


    Awakening: 89% ]


    Before his mother had passed away from an incurable disease in some slum, she had warned him of something. A myth carried down throughout her family of fallen nobility. If there was anybody born with red hair in their family, they should either be killed or never learn to use their abilities. That was because they carried the ability to absorb the bloodline and source of any other flesh and blood creature. They could change to become a magical beast, a demon, an elf, a dwarf, a soul beast of the Heavenly Realm, or anything that carries blood in their veins, but also use the abilities of those that did not by devouring their source. However, because of this, they could also become twisted abominations, with the characteristics of the undead, the demons, and other races manifesting when they exited their human form, distorted creatures of mindless terror.


    But he didn¡¯t remember that last sentence of the skill description. He knew awakening an Origin Skill could change it sometimes, but this seemed like the System was pushing him to use the skill. He supposed it was because of another reward he had earned with his evolvable demonic spear, Eolith. Reaching into his dimensional skill with his will, his arm pushed through the hole that had appeared in space before him to retrieve a certain clear sphere. It was a very rare and desired reward, one he had never told anyone else about. But it was his way to defeat the General, who he knew he could never do with his current skills.


    [Item ¨C Type: System ]


    Name: Reset Orb


    Rarity: Legendary


    Desc: To those who have taken the wrong path and misused their potential, the System offers them another chance.


    Ability:


    Reset ¨C Begin again.


    <ul>


    <li>Returns User to Lvl 1, removing all primary, secondary, and tertiary skills, Classes, and Aspects. User will not have to re-complete stages to Rank up.</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    He turned the clear orb, barely larger than a marble, within his hands. He would keep his Titles and Origin Skill awakening rate, but beyond that, he would essentially be like someone fresh out of the Tutorial. He would naturally Rank up when he reaches the required level. There was only one issue¡­ it was his 4<sup>th</sup> Primary Skill. Scarlet-Stained Eolith, a skill made just for his signature weapon. It was what enabled him to get an Ancient rarity class, and he feared if he removed the skill, his spear would return to being just an Uncommon weapon. But it was evolvable, so he could always re-evolve it.


    Taking a breath, he swallowed the orb, which disintegrated as it moved down his throat. Slowly, he felt his stats leach out of him, his ranks falling with every level lost, and the passive perception and body-boosting skills disappeared, leaving him feeling blind and weak. It was a humbling feeling. He clenched his fist, getting used to the new sensation of his primary skills being missing, a sensation akin to losing a limb you never knew you had. However, his soulbond with the spear remained, and he could tell it was still Epic ranked. He wouldn¡¯t be defenceless. Plus, there was a hidden side effect not mentioned in the description of the orb: all his scars were removed, and his body became like that of someone after the Tutorial.


    He stood up, picking up his pack, and placing his disguised spear back into its holder on his back. Then, he marched off towards what he knew to be the direction of the nearest Ascendant city. Once he made it to the Obelisk, the General would be hard-pressed to find him.


    He made a decision that from then onwards, he would only ever attack those who attacked him first. Nobody else needed to die when the General was the only target of his revenge.


    As Hargrave had pondered over the best way to complete his revenge, he was reminded of the little 18-year-old dragon-blooded noble who had become the General¡¯s successor. Remembering his Source Absorption subskill, his eyes glowed with intensity. If it was the power of a dragon that the General wanted, then Hargrave would give him the power of a dragon. It would make him a heinous criminal, someone detested by all the realms, but it would give him the overwhelming power he desired to defeat the General so utterly that he would never dare face another man again.


    Hargrave would become a dragon-slayer.


    And then maybe, I could find out what I¡¯m truly worth.

 Chapter 21 (1 of 2) Officiation of a Prophetess.

    ¡°So, you said you had something important to ask me. What was it?¡± Lucille asked the blonde-haired girl in front of her.


    They were sitting on one of the few balconies of the fortieth story. Lucy was drinking her coffee again for the first time in a while, which the Prophetess had timidly tried once and then inelegantly spat out and never touched again, while Annaliese was drinking hot chocolate, a drink she had taken to when Lucy was demonstrating the abilities of the jug. The girl had a conflicted expression on her face as she gazed into the steaming surface of her drink. It was the early afternoon of Monday after Lucille had met up with Vincent.


    Annaliese grimaced and took a deep sip of her hot chocolate.


    Lucy smiled brightly at her, her voice sweet. ¡°You¡¯ve been procrastinating and avoided answering me for the last ten minutes by drinking that hot chocolate. I¡¯m not falling for it. There¡¯s no more in the jug, by the way.¡±


    The girl stiffened slightly with a sheepish expression on her face but sighed and nodded. She gingerly clasped her hands together on the balcony table and stared at them. ¡°I know I¡¯ve only known you for a week¡­¡± she began. ¡°But I have nobody else to ask.¡±


    Lucille remained quiet as she gazed at the girl with narrowed eyes.


    ¡°How do I prevent the Citadel from controlling me and my brother?¡± Annaliese asked, raising her eyes to stare at Lucy with her golden eyes.


    Lucy stared back, and after a moment, ran a hand down her face in exasperation. ¡°I should¡¯ve known that snake would give me more grief,¡± she muttered.


    The Prophetess blinked and hastily shook her head. ¡°Oh, um¡­ this has nothing to do with Scytale,¡± she said. Then she hesitated. ¡°Well, kind of.¡±


    Lucy made a face. ¡°How can something only have somewhat nothing to do with him?¡± she asked blandly.


    ¡°He said I should ask you when it came to knowing what kind of things I should push the Citadel to give me, and what not¡­.¡± she said in a quiet voice.


    Lucy tilted her head, thinking, but then her eyes narrowed abruptly. ¡°Why did he think I would be best to tell you?¡± she questioned, suspicious.


    ¡°¡­.he said you¡¯re the best at scheming,¡± Annaliese replied, inwardly apologising to Scytale for getting him into trouble. He was sleeping on Lucy¡¯s couch.


    Lucy gazed at the Prophetess for a moment and then huffed. ¡°Well, fine. That¡¯s his way of admitting I¡¯m smarter than him,¡± she said.


    ¡°But as for your question¡­ I¡¯ll help you,¡± Lucy suddenly said, surprising Annaliese.


    ¡°You¡­ will?¡± she asked dubiously.


    Lucy cocked an eyebrow. ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m doing much else at the moment. And we probably won¡¯t have time to meet tomorrow, at least until you leave.¡± She shrugged. ¡°Besides, we likely won¡¯t see each other again, or if we do, it won¡¯t be in a private setting.¡±


    Annaliese had an odd expression on her face for a moment, making Lucy curious, but the girl nodded and sat up straighter to listen to Lucille¡¯s words.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure where you got the idea I wouldn¡¯t help you, especially after all that has happened, but let me use this to correct your misconception,¡± she began calmly. She put down her mug and crossed her legs. ¡°The Citadel will get you to sign a contract when they take you away. This much is a given, as it is mandatory because of the System¡¯s Authority bestowed on the Supreme Institution. They have no choice but to specifically state your tasks and their requirements in the contract,¡± she told her.


    ¡°There have been instances in history where the Prophetess has a special request to make, or issue with the contract, in which the person responsible for collecting the Prophetess will negotiate with her,¡± Lucy said, pointing at Annaliese. ¡°To give yourself some leeway, this is what you must ask for, no matter what. You cannot fold to the pressure of the Citadel.¡±


    She held up a finger. ¡°Firstly, they are to, under no circumstances, attack, kill, suggest for, or order for, the death or harm of you or your brother. Ensure he is placed at the same protection priority level as you. The Citadel has no justification to prevent you from protecting your brother without appearing suspicious. They don¡¯t know you were aware they were there while he was sick,¡± she said sternly. ¡°They might try to get you to change the contract a few years later, but even then, they still need your permission to change anything. This is what it means to be directly bestowed a Unique class by the System itself.¡±


    Annaliese nodded solemnly with a serious expression, firmly committing everything to memory. Lucille held up a second finger.


    ¡°Secondly,¡± she continued. ¡°Is to ask for free time.¡±


    The Prophetess blinked. ¡°Free¡­ time?¡± she parroted, confused.


    Lucy crossed her arms and nodded. ¡°I¡¯m being serious here. If you do not explicitly ask for this, you will be subjected to endless hours of lectures, training, social events, and Fate bestowal, all of which will leave you absolutely exhausted and very mentally drained,¡± she stressed. ¡°They do this intentionally. Sure, they might give you breaks every Saturday or similar, but it won¡¯t truly be stated in the contract. They will have power over how you spend your time, from how early you wake up, and when you eat, to when you fall asleep, and they can revoke your ¡®weekly¡¯ breaks whenever they need. You are not an individual to them. You are a valuable resource.¡±


    Annaliese frowned. ¡°But¡­ how do I ask for free time? That doesn¡¯t sound like something I could demand without sounding immature and greedy¡­¡±


    ¡°Use your brother,¡± Lucy smirked.


    ¡°Sorry?¡± the girl asked incredulously, feeling like her ears weren¡¯t working.


    Lucille shrugged. ¡°Ask for a week¡¯s worth of time each month to be able to spend it with your brother. Use family time as your excuse. They can¡¯t wiggle their way out of that one if they want their reputation to remain good. Who would trust a Citadel that mistreats their own Prophetess, not even letting her visit her one and only brother?¡± she said.


    Annaliese crossed her arms in thought. ¡°So¡­ a week each month?¡± she repeated.


    Lucy shook her head. ¡°No. A week¡¯s worth each month. This is so you can take breaks throughout the month, instead of all at once. You could do that too if you wanted, but prioritize the flexibility of splitting up the days. Make sure to get them to put in ¡®however you wish¡¯, whether by saying you might want to bring your brother out to visit places or some other excuse, so you have the freedom to go almost anywhere.¡±


    She tapped on the table. ¡°They might try to haggle the week down, but that¡¯s fine. Make sure it stays at or above five days, however, so you can allow for travel time. They¡¯ll also want you to bring guards with you at all times, but you don¡¯t need to reject that. You will be at risk of assassinations if not careful,¡± she stated. ¡°Someone who has taken a private guard¡¯s oath is under several geas that protects your privacy, so don¡¯t feel too anxious to not reveal secrets. Unless they¡¯re so big that the guard will accept the price of breaking a geas.¡±


    ¡°You mean¡­ like yours?¡± the Prophetess asked Lucy.


    Lucy paused, having been caught off guard. Then she nodded with a strange expression on her face. ¡°That¡­ yes, don¡¯t tell them that either. I don¡¯t particularly want to be kidnapped for my information, even if I don¡¯t care if you know I¡¯m a regressor.¡±


    Annaliese smiled slightly but nodded. ¡°What else?¡±


    ¡°Finally, make sure to request full access to the Prophetess¡¯s resources. Don¡¯t phrase it exactly like me though, because my term is way too specific to be an accident if it comes out of your mouth,¡± she replied wryly. ¡°The Great Sage, who is traditionally the Prophetess¡¯s teacher, will even be happy to grant you access. The other Sages of Paragon won¡¯t like to give the Prophetess access to her official inheritance and will use excuses such as ¡®being too young¡¯ to withhold that money and other resources from you. They have the authority to use the Prophetess¡¯s inheritance when there is no Prophetess.¡±


    ¡°Ah. So¡­ politics stuff,¡± the Prophetess replied.


    Lucy gave an approving nod. ¡°Politics stuff. Don¡¯t let greedy old men and their personal ambitions stop you from getting what you are rightfully owed. The inheritance is also supposed to include the Prophetess¡¯s family, so you are entirely within your rights to find magic instructors for your brother using that money, and even get the Citadel to tell you all their known information on his Origin Skill, which I believe must be cyclic in nature like yours,¡± she said, intertwining her fingers and resting them on the table.


    ¡°Is¡­ this really all I need to protect me and my brother?¡± the Prophetess asked hesitantly.


    Lucille cocked an eyebrow. ¡°Don¡¯t forget, you will need to stand up against a high-ranking member of one of the Institutions and explicitly state for this to happen. If you show you are weak, they will step right over you and ignore your wishes.¡± Then she tapped on her chin. ¡°Although, if you can perfect it, using the guise of a na?ve, ignorant, and optimistic girl can help you well when trying to free yourself from the influence of the Sages. If you can demonstrate that your firm attitude is only in relation to your brother and close friends, you could manage to avoid the scrutiny of the Sages.¡±


    She grinned. ¡°That part¡¯s a suggestion, not something you want to try without being fully dedicated to fooling their eyes and lie detection. Do it if you fancy becoming the actual leader of the Citadel rather than just a figurehead.¡±


    Annaliese looked stunned and contemplative about Lucy¡¯s words, but Lucille just gave her a dismissive wave. ¡°Sleep on it,¡± she said, not believing the Prophetess would take her words seriously. ¡°The Commission is neutral though, so I can¡¯t help you if you want to do that.¡±


    Lucy reclined back in her chair and picked her mug of coffee up. ¡°How¡¯s your brother?¡±


    The change in topic caught the Prophetess off guard, but she nodded when she registered the question. ¡°The doctors say he¡¯s doing well. The wood-element healing was just as effective as light-element could¡¯ve been, and there¡¯s been no sign of his ¡®curse¡¯ doing anything. I think the quantity of people near him has helped, as you said. He still hasn¡¯t woken up though¡­¡± she added sadly.


    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    ¡°Nothing much I can do about that, I¡¯m afraid,¡± Lucille replied, shrugging. ¡°The lifeforce-reduction in his body means he won¡¯t be able to move a muscle until that¡¯s fully restored. Don¡¯t let the Citadel transfer him to their clinics until you¡¯ve signed the contract with the protection rights in effect.¡±


    I probably shouldn¡¯t tell her that due to the lack of mana within awakening him to the presence of spiritual energy, he¡¯s likely been capable of sensing everything around him while locked in an immovable body. That wouldn¡¯t be good for her mental wellbeing.


    Lucy drank the last of her coffee and sat straighter in her chair, stretching. ¡°I need to get back to work. Will you visit him one last time before tomorrow?¡± she asked Annaliese.


    She absentmindedly nodded, beginning to get up. Then her expression changed and she scowled at Lucy. ¡°Actually, I have one last thing to say.¡±


    Lucille raised an eyebrow. ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like being compared to Sedric,¡± she stated flatly, glaring at Lucy. ¡°There is no way I¡¯m as bad as him.¡±


    Lucy stared at her, wondering what she was talking about, before realising she was referring to their carriage trip to the Headquarters. She just laughed as she stood up from her chair and walked towards the door of the balcony, a disgruntled Annaliese following as well.


    ¡­


    ¡°Is there anything else you¡¯d like to request, Faction Head?¡± asked the tailor, bowing to the black-haired girl observing herself in the nearby full-body mirror. He was taking down measurements to ensure the clothing fit.


    Lucy turned to get a better look at her herself in the mirror and then shook her head. ¡°I believe this is fine for now, Sir Edalvien. You may add what you feel is best suited to the other sets of clothes. I will pay for it all and any additional costs.¡±


    Instead of appearing shocked or eager like some of the craftsmen Lucille had talked to, he only gave another bow and calmly continued taking some extra measurements with his tape. They both paused when they heard knocking on the room¡¯s door.


    ¡°Come in," Lucy said, her perception field telling her who it was.


    The door swung open to reveal Vincent, stepping through to walk over to where they were. He gave a nod in greeting to the tailor, and then stopped to take in Lucy¡¯s new look, a hand covering his mouth as he observed her.


    ¡°Hmm,¡± he said.


    Lucy nodded to the tailor, who gave them both a bow, and then rolled up his measuring tape, packing up his equipment. He gave them another bow and left the room.


    Lucille spread her arms wide as she gave Vincent a wide smile. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    He didn¡¯t respond right away. She tilted her head. ¡°What, does it look bad on me?¡± She smirked.


    He blinked and then shook his head, pushing up his glasses. ¡°No, that¡¯s not it. It suits you very well,¡± he replied. ¡°But it¡¯s rather masculine,¡± he added, giving her another analysing look.


    Lucille had her hair out as usual, her black mask fixed in place, but she had changed her entire ensemble. She wore a light grey shirt and dark-brown leather corset. She also had a black leather sleeveless vest with an asymmetrical front over the top that buttoned up at the waist and neck, and three horizontal gold chains hanging across her waist. Two gold chains also came down either side of her chest from the collarbone area to attach themselves high on her waist, and over the high neckline of the vest was a dark-grey ascot, two smaller gold chains fixing it in place. Over her left shoulder was a braided gold cord that tied to her leather belt at her right hip, the end of the rope-like sash hanging loosely with a tassel.


    Two empty sheaths were on either side of her belt. She wore black leather boots and was also wearing an unbuttoned suit jacket, with pants of the same colour, the pants having golden lines running down the sides. Her hands had white gloves that ended at her wrists. Because of her slim figure, it definitely did look like something a man would normally wear, but not unattractive. There was only one issue.


    Her suit jacket and pants were violet. Violently violet.


    ¡°When Scytale and I told you to pick a colour that wasn¡¯t black, I don¡¯t think this was what we meant,¡± Vincent deadpanned.


    She looked down at herself and then looked back up. ¡°I don¡¯t see the issue," she replied innocently.


    Vincent¡¯s expression distorted, making Lucy give him a cat-like grin. ¡°Apparently black is too boring for you guys, so I thought this would be better to make a statement,¡± she said, smiling from ear to ear.


    Vincent¡¯s eyes widened as he had a horrifying suspicion. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you ordered all your clothes in this colour?¡± he pleaded.


    She blinked and then went back to looking at herself in the mirror. ¡°Hmm,¡± was all she said, copying Vincent¡¯s mannerisms from earlier.


    ¡°Lucy, please!¡± he exclaimed desperately.


    As his expression got increasingly despairing, she turned back to him and narrowed her eyes. ¡°Maaaaaaybe?¡± she replied in a sing-song voice.


    He let out a loud groan as he ran a hand through his silver hair. ¡°Seriously, why would you do this Lucy? I¡¯m already hearing the complaints that will be sent my way if the Faction Head goes out wearing something like this.¡±


    She reached into a pocket of her violet pants and pulled out her pocket watch, a suspiciously similar shade to her jacket and pants, and swung it in circles by its chain. ¡°I didn¡¯t pick this colour completely thoughtlessly," she replied. Then she gave him another smirk. ¡°Also, today is the first time you¡¯ve called me Lucy. You did it twice, in fact.¡±


    He crossed his arms and stared at her with light grey eyes. ¡°And why did you feel the need to point this out?¡± he questioned.


    She shrugged. ¡°No reason. Besides making you feel awkward. It seems I succeeded,¡± she added, pointing to his crossed arms.


    He rolled his eyes, dropping the crossed arms, and didn¡¯t deign to respond. Instead, he frowned as he looked at her with an odd expression. ¡°You seem very different today.¡±


    ¡°I know I have taste, but clothing doesn¡¯t normally make that much of a difference to my good looks,¡± she remarked with nonchalance, placing the pocket watch back in its pocket after brushing off the nonexistent dust on its surface.


    But he didn¡¯t react to her statement the way she expected. He pointed at her with a strange expression on his face. ¡°And there it is,¡± he stated.


    She spread her arms and glanced down at herself to see if she had some insect climbing on her or something. ¡°Am I the it?¡± she asked curiously.


    ¡°You¡¯re exaggerating your body language,¡± he said. ¡°You don¡¯t normally do that.¡±


    He held his chin as he frowned slightly, still looking at her with an odd expression on his face. ¡°I¡¯ve noticed how you normally act. You make very little unnecessary action, and your walking is at an almost perfectly equal pace each time you take a step. You never appear tired, never speak with much emotion in your voice, and you¡¯re not normally this expressive, if expressive at all.¡± He tilted his head. ¡°Actually, this is reminding me of the time with the intruder. ¡±


    ¡°Well, isn¡¯t someone unnecessarily observant,¡± she stated flatly. ¡°Am I such an oddity that you felt the desire to pay attention to me like this?¡±


    He grimaced. ¡°And now the weird incongruity I felt is gone. You¡¯re back to normal. But you just avoided the subject, meaning something is going on,¡± he pointed out.


    She stared at him for a moment, expressionless, before turning around to walk over to a chest of draws in the room they were in. She picked up a long, thin black object off of it.


    Vincent raised an eyebrow. ¡°Is that¡­ a cane?¡±


    She held it up to her eyes, looking at the black gloss of the texture. ¡°Well, it looks like a cane.¡± She tapped it against the chest of draws. ¡°It sounds like a cane.¡± Then she took off a glove and ran a finger down the surface. ¡°And it feels like a cane.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s a cane?¡± Vincent asked dryly.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a cane,¡± she replied, shaking her head.


    He stared at her for a moment, dumbfounded, and then sighed. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s not. If it was then I¡¯d be asking why a perfectly healthy 18-year-old needed to carry one of them around, but it seems the situation is different.¡±


    She smiled. ¡°Even if it was a cane, I¡¯d still carry it around.¡±


    He raised an eyebrow. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Aesthetics,¡± she replied smugly.


    He glared but managed to refrain from sighing again. ¡°Moving on then. What is it?¡±


    ¡°A staff,¡± she stated, pulling back on her white glove as she held it in the crook of her arm.


    ¡°For magic? I suppose that makes a bit of sense... I doubt many people would expect a cane to be flinging spells at them,¡± he mused. ¡°What does it do?¡±


    ¡°Magic, I assume,¡± she said, grinning. She continued explaining before Vincent could get truly mad at her. ¡°This one helps with arcane magic. It¡¯s the most practical magic for me as the Commission Head.¡± She leaned on the cane, its T-shaped handle made of black wood, and its thin end dipped in gold.


    He nodded. ¡°I see. How powerful is it?¡± he asked curiously.


    ¡°This one is only Rare level. Partially because of the limitations of its structure, but also because I¡¯m only Rank-0. Nobody is expecting me to cast any big spells,¡± she said.


    ¡°That¡¯s true. But what is also true,¡± he replied, gazing at her with narrowed eyes, ¡°Is that I can tell you thought you distracted me with the cane. Why are you acting so-¡±


    His question was interrupted by the sudden opening of the room¡¯s door. A panicked staff member ran in, bowing deeply when he noticed them both staring at him.


    ¡°Faction Head,¡± he said, after another bow to Lucille. Then he turned to Vincent and gave another bow. ¡°Sir Evisenhardt.¡±


    Vincent frowned. ¡°You didn¡¯t knock. Someone has to have taught you the proper manners for this, I¡¯ll have to check wi-¡±


    ¡°Vincent, wait.¡± Lucille stepped forward, putting a hand in front of him to stop her aide from speaking. ¡°Something else is going on here.¡±


    She frowned as she stepped forward, aware through her perception field that the man had been running, judging by the way his legs trembled with exhaustion, and he was very pale as he panted to catch his breath. ¡°What do you need to tell me?¡±


    The man gulped, and slowly straightened up. ¡°T-The Citadel is here, Lord,¡± he said. ¡°Th-They¡¯ve brought a contingent of Paladins,¡± he told her fearfully.


    Vincent stared at the man, disbelieving. ¡°Wait, Paladins?! Why haven¡¯t they sent notice, or sent a messenger to-¡±


    Lucille gestured to him with a hand, pinching her nose bridge as she frowned slightly. ¡°No, this is my fault. They¡¯ve arrived sooner than I expected. How annoying.¡±


    Vincent¡¯s incredulous stare switched to Lucy. ¡°How could this be your fault?!¡±


    She ignored him to step forward and touch the staff member on the shoulder. ¡°I need you to do something for me,¡± she told him seriously. ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone, but immediately go find Annaliese Verdon and bring her to my room. I¡¯ll deal with the Paladins.¡±


    ¡°Annaliese¡­?¡± Vincent murmured.


    The man shakily nodded. ¡°W-Where could I find her, F-Faction Head?¡±


    She paused and closed her eyes, expanding her spiritual perception field. She blinked and then looked at the man. ¡°She¡¯s on the rooftop near the central fountain. Go quickly," she ordered.


    He nodded again, and quickly dashed off to find the girl. Lucy frowned, and cane in hand, began making her way out of the room, walking quickly. Vincent followed after her with an exasperated expression on his face.


    ¡°Lucy, tell me, what has Miss Verdon got to do with this?¡± he asked agitatedly.


    She didn¡¯t glance at him as she navigated the corridors of the fortieth story. ¡°I don¡¯t have much time to explain. Golden eyes, blonde hair, the Citadel. Make the connection yourself.¡±


    He frowned as he thought over her words before his eyes flew wide open. ¡°Oh you have got to be- Did you really kidnap the Prophetess of the Citadel?!?¡± he demanded.


    ¡°And her brother,¡± she added absentmindedly with a troubled expression, stepping into a lift.


    ¡°And her brother she says,¡± Vincent muttered, following after her. The lift doors closed as his stormy gaze bored into her head. ¡°What were you thinking?¡± he suddenly growled, bending down to talk into her ear.


    Lucille snapped. She whirled around and hooked her cane around his neck, pulling his head down lower to stare emotionlessly into his startled eyes. ¡°I was thinking I could save her dying brother,¡± she growled back, her voice frigid. There was a tense moment as they stared at each other, neither of them making a sound.


    Then she slowly removed the cane to let him awkwardly straighten up, and he rubbed his neck as he gazed at her with a complicated expression.


    She took a step back and sighed, running a hand through her hair. ¡°Look. I offered Annaliese a chance. She willingly decided to come with me. Her officiation got pushed back a week later, so now the Citadel is here to take her and her brother after they have reasoned that no harm has come to her.¡±


    ¡°How much earlier did they arrive?¡± he asked her.


    ¡°Only a few hours. But I had planned to meet them before they any news about the Prophetess being with me could spread,¡± she said, crossing her arms and tapping her fingers against them. ¡°Whoever was responsible for this didn¡¯t care about rumours being spread about the Prophetess¡¯s relation to me. Something pressured the Citadel to move sooner, and they put someone unpredictable in charge of the contingent as a result.¡±


    She stiffened as she had a thought. Vincent noticed her reaction. ¡°Who is it?¡± he questioned, understanding she knew something.


    ¡°Jasten Albrecht,¡± she said, feeling perplexed. The lift opened and they stepped outside. Lucille tapped her cane twice on the ground and Vincent blinked as a semi-translucent white barrier appeared around them. ¡°Soundproofing,¡± she explained.


    ¡°I don¡¯t recognise the name,¡± Vincent replied.


    She shook her head. ¡°Nobody would. He¡¯s only a High-ranked Paladin.¡±


    Vincent followed her as she made her way to the reception hall, her boots clacking against the ground. ¡°But the Prophetess would need the safety of a Templar escort, so why would he be in charge of the contingent?¡± he asked her, confused.


    ¡°How should I know?¡± she complained, frustrated. Albrecht always made her plans flip upside down. ¡°But I know he had been next to the 6<sup>th</sup> Templar of High Justice when I visited the Prophetess.¡±


    He ran a hand through his hair, his glasses askew. ¡°And yet you didn¡¯t trust them to save the Prophetess¡¯s brother?¡± he asked exasperatedly.


    She paused, but only slightly before continuing to walk. ¡°They didn¡¯t act to help him before I arrived, so why would they afterwards?¡±


    Before he could say anything, she turned and tapped him on the head with the cane, then continued moving until they reached a pair of tall double doors. ¡°I highly suggest you do not ask or even consider things further. As long as the situation can be resolved properly, we will never see her or her brother again most likely, so let¡¯s refrain from getting ourselves in more trouble, shall we?¡± she said, smiling brightly.


    He gave her a suspicious look but slowly nodded, straightening his glasses before they entered the reception hall. She tapped her cane on the ground, and the barrier dispersed. ¡°Then let¡¯s go,¡± she said, pushing the double doors open after Vincent nodded.


    Several dozen people within the hall looked up at the noise, including ten Paladins dressed from head to toe in white and gold armour, fully armed. Only the tallest Paladin at the front had his helmet removed. He turned to look at the newcomers with his stern steel-grey eyes, wild blonde hair framing his face. Lucy inwardly sighed as she saw it was who she expected.


    She put on a calm smile as she made her way through the gap that had opened up between the curious onlookers of the reception hall, one hand behind her back as she carried her cane. Vincent followed close behind.


    When she came to a comfortable distance away from the Paladins, several of them got into a hostile position. She stopped where she was, and spread her arms wide, her cane still grasped in her right hand.


    ¡°Well, isn¡¯t this a surprise!¡± she announced. ¡°If an unexpected one...¡± she added, her eyes narrowing.


    Jasten Albrecht glanced at the way the staff and other onlookers had let her through, understanding she held status of some sort.


    ¡°And who are you?¡± he replied, gazing at her expectantly.


    Her face split into a wide grin, showing her white teeth. Placing the cane¡¯s end on the floor as she grasped its handle in one hand, she placed the other hand on her chest, dipping her head in a polite bow. ¡°My name is Lucille Goldcroft,¡± she revealed.


    She suddenly straightened up, making some of the Paladins reach for their weapons. A gesture from Albrecht calmed them, but Lucille ignored their movement to lean heavily on her cane in a lazy manner. She smirked as she observed them. ¡°As for who you are¡­.¡± she drawled.


    She cocked her head and grinned at the steely-eyed Paladin. ¡°Perhaps we might want to discuss this somewhere else?¡± she asked amicably.


    One of the Paladins behind him stepped forward with a hostile expression, glaring at her. ¡°How dare you think to order-¡±


    A stern look from Albrecht silenced him, and he retreated, still angry. Albrecht narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°And why have you come here to meet us?¡± he questioned.


    Still leaning on her cane, she blinked. ¡°Me?¡± she replied innocently, pointing at herself.


    There was no reply from the blonde Paladin, but she smiled like he had answered. She straightened up and reached into her pants pocket, withdrawing the violet pocket watch, and dangled it as it swung slowly for them, enabling them to see the emblem on the front.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it the duty of a Faction Head to greet their guests?¡± she told them sweetly, her wide smile growing just a tad too much to be natural.

 Chapter 21 (2 of 2) Officiation of a Prophetess.

    Albrecht accepted her request for a more private venue of discussion, and she took them to the Pavilion area she had discussed her regression with Annaliese. The other nine Paladins were spread out, surveying the area for eavesdroppers and potential threats. Albrecht sat opposite Lucille at the table and Vincent stood behind her. She crossed her legs, the cane leaning against the table. She gestured to the brass jug and two teacups she had placed on the table.


    ¡°Would you like some?¡± she asked him politely.


    He shook his head, so she shrugged and poured some for herself. She picked up the cup as she reclined in her chair. ¡°I¡¯ve introduced myself, but I haven¡¯t heard your name yet, Sir Paladin,¡± she said.


    ¡°Jasten Albrecht,¡± he stated curtly. He crossed his arms. ¡°I assume you know why we¡¯re here.¡±


    She closed her eyes as she took a sip of her tea. ¡°I may, but just so we have the same awareness of the situation, could you please state exactly why you have come here?¡±


    He gave a barely noticeable frown, but did as she asked. The other Paladins shot her dirty looks, clearly not liking her attitude. ¡°I¡¯m here for the Prophetess,¡± he stated calmly.


    She opened her eyes and placed down the tea. Then she tilted her head curiously as she gazed at the man with a smile on her face. ¡°To my understanding, the Prophetess is normally escorted by a Templar of Pledge. Unless you¡¯re wearing Paladin armour for another reason¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a Templar,¡± he replied to her unsaid question. ¡°However, I have been granted full authority to deal with this situation.¡±


    ¡°And your method of dealing with this situation was to turn up without notice in the reception hall of the Aurelian Commission¡¯s Headquarters,¡± she said in turn, narrowing her eyes while keeping her smile steady.


    He just gazed at her without any expression, so she spread her arms and gave a wide shrug. ¡°Well, what can I do,¡± she told him. ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll just have to take you at your word, Sir Albrecht, and assume you do have the authority.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯ll give us the Prophetess?¡± he tried to confirm.


    She smirked and leaned back in her chair, her arms crossed. ¡°No.¡±


    The other Paladins put their hands on their weapons, ready to attack once she had said that, while Albrecht just frowned. ¡°Yet you said this without guards, directly within earshot of nine other high-ranking Paladins of the Citadel, which is at odds with the implications of your answer.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t ¡®give¡¯ you the Prophetess.¡± She shrugged.


    ¡°And why is that?¡± he asked, looking sternly at her.


    She calmly sipped her drink. ¡°Because I could only ¡®give¡¯ her to you as much as I could give you my aide standing right behind me,¡± she said, gesturing to Vincent. She inwardly grinned as she registered an eyebrow twitch on his face behind her. ¡°In case you don¡¯t know, slavery is illegal in the Empire. I don¡¯t own the Prophetess in enough semblance of the word that I could ¡®give¡¯ her to you.¡±


    He gazed at her for moment, before slowly nodding. ¡°Of course. The Prophetess would never be beholden to the forced wishes of another. Then, will you allow her to leave?¡±


    She smiled. ¡°I have never stopped her from leaving if she so wished. You only had to come get her.¡±


    He nodded again, uncrossing his arms. ¡°Then where is she?¡±


    She placed down her tea again and gestured with her cane to the entrance of the Pavilion zone. ¡°I have already requested for her to come. She should be here within the minute. If she¡¯s not, then you may go search for her as you please.¡±


    He politely dipped his head to her. ¡°Then we must thank the new Commission Head for her hospitality towards the Prophetess during these last few days.¡±


    Lucille smiled and nodded in acknowledgement. ¡°I am very glad to receive those words from the Highest-ranking Paladin of Pledge.¡±


    His gaze changed as he regarded her with a slightly surprised expression. ¡°You know who I am?¡±


    ¡°You did just introduce yourself as Jasten Albrecht,¡± she pointed out, grinning. His gaze didn¡¯t waver, so she gave a light sigh, smiling widely. ¡°The Paladin rankings are an event often paid attention to by the nobility of the Empire, as they can sometimes suggest who has a high likelihood of becoming a Templar.¡±


    ¡°That may be so,¡± he replied, regarding her with minute curiosity, ¡°But-¡±


    They turned when they heard the sounds of armoured footsteps approaching. Next to two Paladins was Annaliese, looking nervous as she walked between the two intimidating figures. They stopped before Albrecht.


    ¡°¡±We have found the Prophetess.¡°¡± The two armoured figures announced in sync, getting down on one knee.


    The other 7 Paladins all got down on one knee, and dipped their heads toward the flustered Annaliese, who looked to Lucy pleadingly. She studiously avoided the girl¡¯s gaze.


    Albrecht stood up from his chair and then also kneeled down on one knee, one fist on the ground as he bowed his head. ¡°High-ranked Paladin Jasten Albrecht greets the Prophetess of Fate,¡± he stated firmly. The other Paladin¡¯s echoed his call, but left out their names to just say, ¡°We greet the Prophetess of Fate.¡±


    As Annaliese twisted the cloth of her dress in her hands, she had an awkward expression. ¡°Um¡­ hi?¡± she replied hesitantly.


    Albrecht stood up and saluted her with one fist placed on his armoured chest. ¡°I will be responsible for your protection until you have been transferred to the Citadel¡¯s Division in the Imperial Capital, my lady. I am in charge of the escort contingent.¡±


    The Prophetess blinked, and then gave him a cautious nod, unaware of the correct method to address the Paladins.


    Albrecht turned to gaze at Lucy and Vincent with his steely eyes. Lucy nodded.


    ¡°I think I shall take my leave,¡± Lucille said with a smile, getting up from her seat and grabbing her black cane in her white-gloved hands. She gestured to Vincent and they began walking towards the Pavilion exit.


    Annaliese went wide-eyed and panicky as she watched Lucy leave, and she took a step forward to try follow them. ¡°What? But what am I-¡±


    A metallic hand on her shoulder prevented her from moving, and she turned back around to see Albrecht slowly shaking his head. ¡°They are leaving because we must have no outside forces observing us when we sign the contract for your officiation. Normally, we would do this in a Citadel subdivision location, but I have decided to do it as soon as possible.¡±


    She stiffened, and then grimaced slightly, giving him another wary nod. He pulled out Lucy¡¯s chair to help Annaliese sit in it, before sitting in the opposite seat himself. He gazed at the girl before him.


    ¡°Are you aware of the responsibilities of a Prophetess?¡± he asked her.


    She shook her head, and Albrecht began talking her through what exactly she must do as the Prophetess, which included blessing some forces with Fate, or going to noble events as their representative.


    ¡°A more in-depth explanation will be given to you by the Great Sage himself, but for now, these details will suffice. Are there any more important questions you wish to ask?¡± he questioned.


    She shook her head, so he nodded. She jumped, startled, when he reached his arm forward and it disappeared into a white hole that appeared in front of her eyes. He withdrew his arm to reveal a white stack of bound papers, and placed it down on the table. Opening it up revealed neat blue text. Albrecht pushed the stack towards Annaliese so she could see it. ¡°This is the System-contract, the most binding contract used within the realms. Unless both forces wish for it, it can never be changed, and will be enforced by the System itself. Are there any requests you wish to have added to the contract?¡± he asked her.


    Annaliese hesitated, eyes on the contract. Albrecht waited patiently as the girl worked up the courage to state her wished. She gulped as she finally spoke up. ¡°P-Please ensure my brother is protected just as well as me,¡± she stammered. ¡°No assassinations, no death threats, no using him as a hostage. I want his safety to be prioritised just as much as me,¡± she told him, staring up at the tall man with anxious eyes.


    He rubbed his close-cut beard as he contemplated her words with a complicated expression. ¡°As the Prophetess, you will always be guarded by at least 10 High-rank Paladins at all times, or a Rank-5. Your brother doesn¡¯t necessarily need to have that high level of-¡±


    He paused as she stubbornly shook her head. ¡°No. If I have ten Paladins guarding me, then he needs to have ten Paladins guarding me, or a Rank-5 if I do. I value his life more than my own,¡± she stated, her voice trembling.


    The Paladin regarded her with his grey-steel eyes, his expression unreadable. Then after a tense moment, he nodded. ¡°Same priority of protection as the Prophetess. I will explicitly state there are to be no attempts on his life, and he is never to be held as a hostage against the Prophetess, regardless of the reasons. The Citadel will maintain his well being to the utmost limit they are capable of,¡± he stated with finality, placing a finger of his gauntlet on the paper. New blue text bloomed across the page as the updated contract was revealed, and he moved his hand away to let the Prophetess read it. She sagged with visible relief when she saw it had been added.


    The first hurdle having been overcome, she spoke up with a bit more confidence. ¡°I¡­ also want to have official days off,¡± she continued.


    He very slightly raised an eyebrow, making her cheeks tinge pink as she hastily shook her hands. ¡°Not to be lazy, or things like that. I want to be able to have enough time to look after my brother¡­¡± she said, trying to justify why she wanted it. ¡°He¡¯s only twelve, so I want to make sure I can spend time with him and he doesn¡¯t feel abandoned.¡± She looked down at the table. ¡°C-Can I have a week of time each month?¡± she asked timidly.


    He tilted his head as he considered it. ¡°A week is too much. If it¡¯s four days, then I could accept it.¡±


    She shrunk down into her seat. ¡°F-Five days?¡± she tried to negotiate.


    He raised his eyebrows, but wryly shook his head. ¡°Okay. Five days¡¯ worth of time every month to visit your brother.¡± He went to add it to the contract, but Annaliese straightened up, making him pause his action.


    ¡°B-But what if I want to take him places, or go out to buy him a present? That time wouldn¡¯t be spent visiting him¡­¡± she added hesitantly.


    He gazed at her for a moment, and then let out a barely noticeable sigh. ¡°Five days¡¯ worth of time every month to spend however the Prophetess wishes, as long as it does not put her in danger,¡± he stated. He pressed down his finger again and raised his eyes to look at the Prophetess. ¡°I¡¯ll have to explain to the Sages that the reason behind it was that you intended its focus to be your brother,¡± he told her.


    She nodded, and then sheepishly began fiddling with her fingers. ¡°There is¡­ one more thing. Or it¡¯s more like a question¡­¡± she said, an odd expression on her face.


    He tilted his head slightly as he observed her. ¡°I will answer to the best of my ability.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that the Sages¡­ don¡¯t really like the Prophetess,¡± she began slowly. ¡°Would¡­ they stop me from giving my brother gifts, or won¡¯t let me spend money on anything?¡±


    The tiniest of smirks appeared on Albrecht¡¯s face, before it disappeared near instantly. ¡°I can put in a clause that can allow you access to all your inheritance so they can¡¯t control it. You could spend it on whatever you want, if you so wish,¡± he replied.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°Oh, please add that then,¡± she asked him. He altered the contract one final third time, and then nodded. ¡°Then, shall we complete the contract?¡±


    She slowly nodded, and so he flipped to the last page. He pushed the contract closer to her and pointed to the blank section at the end of the page. ¡°To sign the contract, place your finger here, and then push your Fate energy into the paper, stating your name. With this, the contract will be complete.¡±


    She took a breath, and placed her index finger on the spot, summoning her Fate energy with a golden glow in her eyes to insert into the paper. ¡°Annaliese Verdon,¡± she stated as calmly as she could.


    The text on the page lit up with a brilliant blue glow, and the stack of pages lifted itself up, hovering between them as two thin, white, semi-translucent chains extended from it, glowing as brightly as the text. Annaliese had to shield her eyes as the chains grew longer, one of them wrapping around Albrecht¡¯s armoured wrist. She flinched as another chain shot out to wrap around her wrist, but she didn¡¯t feel anything, the chains having no physical form. She felt a slight pressure build and then release in her mind. Then the chains splintered into fragments of light, and the page fell back down, the text now a silvery colour. Albrecht picked the contract back up, replacing it in his dimensional skill. He stood up from the table and offered a hand to her.


    ¡°Then, Miss Annaliese Verdon, our new Prophetess,¡± he said with the first true smile she had seen on him. ¡°I believe it is time we now leave.¡±


    ¡­


    Lucille and Vincent waited in the reception hall as the Paladins prepared to leave. All other staff had been told to remain out of the lobby area so as few issues could occur as possible. Scytale had decided to remain in her living room and watch through their bond, just to avoid complications, and he had said his goodbyes when he had told Annaliese to go to the Pavilion after the staff member brought her to their room. The blonde-haired girl was in the midst of the Paladins, looking rather intimidated by their height and armour. When orders had been given, Albrecht turned around and nodded to Lucy.


    ¡°Are all procedures in order for the transferal of her brother?¡± he asked.


    Lucy nodded, smiling. ¡°The hospital has already been informed that the Citadel will take over the treatment process. He¡¯s been prepared for transport.¡±


    ¡°Very well then,¡± he replied. He took a step forward and gave her a serious nod, a hand on his chest. ¡°As the highest-ranking member of the Citadel here, I thank the Commission Head for their generosity towards the Prophetess, and for watching over the welfare of her brother. The Citadel will always welcome you as a guest, and will repay you for saving the life of our Prophetess¡¯s precious family member,¡± he stated solemnly.


    Lucille narrowed her eyes but nodded in acknowledgement of his words, then gave an exaggerated shrug as she grinned. ¡°Well, what can I say? I never expected the girl who¡¯s brother I saved on a whim would turn out to be the Prophetess. It must be Escalon¡¯s will.¡±


    Lucy had to say she was impressed by the man¡¯s ability to keep his expression perfectly still as he nodded too. ¡°As Escalon wills.¡±


    Annaliese had a complicated expression on her face as Albrecht went to gesture to the other Paladins, getting ready to move, before she gritted her teeth and ran from them to stand in front of Lucille, who blinked, nonplussed. Some of the Paladins went to bring her back, but Albrecht held out a hand to pause them, keenly watching the developing events with slightly narrowed eyes.


    Lucy tilted her head as the girl stared at her for a moment, only a few metres away, before Annaliese gave a deep bow. ¡°Thank you for saving my brother, Lucy,¡± she told her.


    She was still bowing, so she didn¡¯t see Lucy¡¯s expression as the older girl hesitated, and then took a step forward. She placed a gloved hand on the Prophetess¡¯s head¡­ only to haphazardly ruffle her blonde hair, making a mess of it. Startled, Annaliese straightened up to stare at Lucille, who gazed at her expressionlessly.


    ¡°You are an idiot,¡± she stated flatly, poking her in the forehead. Then she took a step back and gestured with the gold-tipped cane to the wary Paladins behind her. ¡°Go on, off with you. Leave before they think I¡¯m going to attack you or something. Scytale gives me enough grief without you adding more to the basket.¡±


    The blonde-haired girl blinked her golden eyes once, and then widened them, quickly spinning around to dash back to the Paladins, the realisation of their staring eyes following her making her flush pink and awkwardly fiddle with her hair, moving to stand next to Albrecht. Albrecht looked between the two with a strange expression on his face, before shaking his head with a sigh and saluting to Lucille. ¡°Farewell then, Commission Head.¡±


    Lucy nodded, and the Paladins started marching, Annaliese in their midst. Lucille and Vincent turned as well¡­ to see a grimy, sooty Sedric coming into the hall with a confused expression on his face, scratching his head.


    ¡°There¡¯s been a big commotion going on upstairs, so I went to ask where you were, and then they said you were down here, so I- wait, what¡¯s going on?¡± he said, noticing the Paladins. ¡°Why is Annaliese leaving? And isn¡¯t that the Citadel of Fate?¡± he asked, becoming more and more bewildered. ¡°Where¡¯s she going?¡±


    Lucy raised an eyebrow with a slight smirk and gestured to the girl. ¡°She¡¯s the Prophetess.¡±


    He frowned. ¡°The Prophetess? There¡¯s no way that¡¯s¡­ poss..I..ble¡­.¡± his eyes widened as he realised the implications of the blonde-haired girl getting escorted away by Paladins. He paled, shocked.


    Coincidently, Annaliese chose this moment to look back, and noticed Sedric was there, looking dumbfounded. She realised what had happened, and so she stuck her tongue out at him. She grinned when she noticed the colour return to his face as he scowled at her, back to normal. Her steps became lighter as she followed the Paladins, not noticing that Albrecht had been watching their interaction with a questioning look beside her.


    ¡°She just poked her tongue out at me,¡± he muttered, incredulous. He turned to stare at Lucy. ¡°Are you sure that thing is the Prophetess?!¡±


    She just sighed as Vincent, standing behind her, bent slightly to tell her something. ¡°You know she¡¯s going to come back, don¡¯t you,¡± he whispered with amusement.


    She groaned. ¡°Don¡¯t jinx me,¡± she pleaded.


    <hr>


    Annaliese rested her chin on her hand as she gazed out the carriage window with an absent look. Jasten Albrecht was sitting opposite her as the strongest Paladin there, her safety now his priority. She considered all the things that had happened over the past week as the convoy headed to the hospital to pick up her brother for teleportation.


    She had enjoyed her time there. The people were interesting. Lucille was interesting. Her face never changed until she said something, and when she did say something, it was either meaningful, or¡­ just to poke fun at you. Which felt weird, but nice. Nobody had really treated her normally in her town, her looks either attracting too much attention, or her brother¡¯s reputation and by extension hers also attracting too much attention. Her time at the Commission was different. Sedric seemed to just hate everyone in general, so he was an outlier, but Lucy and Scytale just didn¡¯t care about any of that. Vincent didn¡¯t care either, although he seemed a bit annoyed at Lucy sometimes. But Lucy seemed indifferent to other people¡¯s attention. She had to wonder what kind of life gave someone that sort of temperament. After all, she was only¡­. oh.


    Annaliese realised what was off with Lucy¡¯s answer when she had asked her what her age was. If Lucille had really been from the future, then she should¡¯ve been older. She probably was physically 18, and she looked it, but if her mental age was different¡­. She narrowed her eyes slightly as she thought about it. So, Lucy had been treating her as a little girl. That irritated her quite a bit. She wasn¡¯t that immature, was she?


    ¡­.although, she was trying to come up with a plan to visit Lucy again in a way she couldn¡¯t refuse. Maybe that was slightly petty and immature. But it was Lucy¡¯s fault! She had, out of her own mouth, managed to tell Annaliese how to get free time to visit her! She could do it every month if she pushed. And stay for five days, at that. She could even bring her brother, who would likely be very interested to know there were two people who seemed like they couldn¡¯t be affected by his powers.


    Maybe Lucille could help him¡­ she seemed to know a bit about what his power was. If her brother could protect himself with it, then the contract didn¡¯t need to be relied on. It would be his own power. But the words Lucy had said about putting on the appearance of a na?ve girl had struck a chord within her.


    She didn¡¯t think Lucy thought she was na?ve. Both she and her brother had known about the tricks and cruelty the world could play on them from a young age. But getting people to underestimate her was a power she could use. It wasn¡¯t a magical, Ascendant power, but she believed it was useful, and that she had what it takes to do it. And for that, she needed to play it safe and wait. She wouldn¡¯t visit Lucy until her image was cemented in everyone else''s¡¯ minds.


    But it was so annoying. No matter how she asked, Lucille seemed stuck on the idea of never seeing her again. At least not in any sort of close or private way. She had overheard her discussions between her and her aide about acting like the silver-haired man was the real leader, but that just meant Lucy was going to have a way of freely moving about and having fun without her. It was unfair. It also hurt a little, that for Lucy, she was just a passing figure, and not someone to spend much time with. She knew as the Prophetess she couldn¡¯t be too close to the Commission leader, and Lucy had explained that being in debt to her was a really bad thing for Lucy, but even after Lucille shared her secret, was that knowledge so freely shared to whoever asks that it didn¡¯t matter? She didn¡¯t think a week was enough for a true friendship to properly form but¡­.


    She was curious. Curious on what Lucy thought about her, curious about the girl who seemed to know the answers to whatever you asked, curious about what Scytale knew about her past, curious about Scytale¡¯s bloodline, curious about what Lucy wanted Sedric for, curious about what she did in the past, curious about what she needed the Commission for, needed money for and why Lucille needed a mask and why her eye was gold and how old she really was and¡­


    She liked her time at Lucy¡¯s place.


    But her last thought as she drifted off to sleep was Sedric¡¯s expression as she left. It was so funny¡­.


    <hr>


    It was strange. Jasten Albrecht watched the sleeping young girl in front of him as the carriage rolled through the streets of Gilded Seat.


    Lucille Goldcroft had been¡­. strange. She had been an incredibly strange individual.


    The Citadel obviously knew about the rumours of there being a new Head of the Aurelian Commission. As soon as Providence had felt the ripples in the river of Fate, they had weaved it and woven it in ways to find out what was the occurrence as soon as feasibly possible. They had discovered, thanks to a ¡®lucky¡¯ encounter with a staff member with particularly loose lips and lust for money, about the strange girl with a serpent beast bond that had turned up one day.


    They had also discovered that the Commission¡¯s Fate had soared to great heights, a sure sign of success in the future. What was unique about the situation was they didn¡¯t find the change until she had already become the Commission Head. That shouldn¡¯t have happened. They should¡¯ve known as soon as she was about to get her hands on the inheritance item. Especially as a Rank-0, their ability to read her Fate would¡¯ve been much higher.


    But that was for Providence to puzzle out and not Jasten. No, he found the person themselves odd. He considered her interactions with him, and her aide. That girl was definitely not the puppet leader she was rumoured to be.


    Firstly was the lack of signals they sent each other. Jasten was not the best at reading body language, but as a peak Rank-5 who had tiered up his Thaumaturgy skill to the maximum for his class, and had the highest amount of stats a Rank-5 for his class rarity could, the body language of a Rank-0 and a Rank-2 non-combat User would never be able to escape his senses. And it was the girl who had been leading the conversation the entire time, and seemed to intentionally do so.


    He wasn¡¯t going to tell anyone unless they asked very specifically though. That was their problem. He had managed to avoid politics with as much might as he was able to muster, and he wouldn¡¯t aid the Sages by revealing this information needlessly. They hated him anyway, due to his unique capability of avoiding following the true intention of their orders but still technically doing as they asked, and therefore messing up their plans. He guessed this was what endeared him to Rolland Louveste somehow, but Louveste had not endeared himself to Jasten. Especially not after this mess.


    He sighed and rubbed his temples, taking care the sound of his armour didn¡¯t wake the sleeping girl opposite him. The Great Sage and the Templar of High Justice had¡­.. an argument. It hadn¡¯t been pretty.


    While he knew the High Justice¡¯s prejudice against cultivators had been getting progressively worse as he made new victories in battle against the specific Sects who dealt in their Fate manipulation and ¡®devouring¡¯, it hadn¡¯t quite struck home until that conversation in the forest. He hadn¡¯t liked Louveste from the start, well aware of his ¡®hidden¡¯ nature as an ambitious, power-hungry opportunist with racist bias covered by his ¡®just¡¯ disguise, but antagonising him would¡¯ve been a bad decision, as Louveste had covered for him on several occasions to prevent the Sage¡¯s ploys from affecting him. He had framed it as ¡®looking out for a promising young Paladin¡¯ (Jasten was already 31), but he had his suspicions on what he actually wanted. And it was proven true.


    Successor of High Justice? No thanks. Jasten didn¡¯t care for that. Give him a job as High Custodian, where he could actually protect people, that he would do. Not slaughtering millions just to further the ambitions of the Sages in their lofty towers. He had tried to do exactly the opposite, when the manipulation of a Sage would call for the destruction of a plane, or the ruin of a kingdom. Not because he was particularly righteous, or some unsung hero of some kind, but because he wouldn¡¯t be the person responsible for the destroyed lives of those people. He would distort the meaning of their orders just enough to royally mess up their plans, and then he would come back in triumph after ¡®successfully¡¯ completing their missions.


    But letting an innocent boy die was just wrong. So he had removed what little hesitation he had left, and decided to make the switch. And the chance came with the Prophetess¡¯s contract.


    What the High Truth and the 6<sup>th</sup> Templar had argued about was that little boy. When it became known that somehow the Aurelian Commission had become involved, and decided to take the boy to get him treated, Louveste had been adamant that they involve themselves. Send assassins, get a doctor to kill the boy while he was in hospital, immediately march over to the Commission and demand for the Prophetess and her brother, a whole host of ridiculous and plain stupid suggestions.


    He was actually inwardly relieved to find out the Commission Head had removed all Citadel and light-element healers from around the boy. Which had some scary implications about what she knew about the boy, and suggested she knew the girl was the Prophetess before they met. That should be impossible, along with several other supposedly impossible details he discovered. But again, he wouldn¡¯t voice that observation unless he was directly ordered to.


    Louveste got mad. Really mad. He kept shouting that the boy, or the ¡®antithesis¡¯ as was apparently his unofficial name, class name unknown, would spell destruction for the Citadel. The Great Sage was more pragmatic. He believed this to be an opportunity. The antithesis had been born as a direct blood relation to the Prophetess for the first time in history, and he hadn¡¯t awakened yet. He suggested that they support the antithesis so when he awakens, they could discover the true details of his class through his sister, and make sure he has goodwill towards the Citadel. If he learns to control his abilities, he could be an amazing weapon for the Citadel. But Louveste had refused the Great Sage.


    And the Great Sage had not appreciated that. If anyone managed to fight through thick political battles to reach the top of an organisation like the Citadel, you know when they called you a ¡®friend¡¯ it was only for benefits. Louveste had grown too proud, and had challenged the High Truth¡¯s authority. So, for the first time in several centuries, the Great Sage used his Institution Authority to order the Templar so he would leave the escort contingent, as he was deemed emotionally unfit for the job. The High Truth had decided to let Jasten be in charge, no Templar.


    Louveste¡¯s anger had receded, because he believed Jasten was ¡®on his side¡¯ and would support his intentions, but he knew what the Great Sage was really suggesting. The Great Sage was offering him a choice, one where he chose between Louveste, and the High Truth. And by letting the Prophetess¡¯s condition of giving the boy the same priority protection as her be implemented, he had demonstrated his choice. Now all he had to do was wait out the storm.


    But he still felt that several things were definitely off about the situation with the Prophetess. Nothing was obviously dangerous or harmful in any way, but little details that didn¡¯t add up. For one thing, the actual requests of the Prophetess. They were understandable things to be hearing from someone who seemed like a rather sweet and kind person, if nervous. But it was like she somehow knew exactly what to suggest that the Sages normally wouldn¡¯t allow, while having the right justification for it too. That meant someone had prepared her for this, and which also meant that Lucille Goldcroft was willing to help the Prophetess. For what, he had no clue. It felt too beneficial to the Prophetess to come from someone from a merchant Faction, but nobody really knew what the new Commission Head was like yet.


    But Lucille Goldcroft. He hadn¡¯t known what he was looking at when he met her. That girl had no micro expressions. Unlike anyone else, the tiny expressions that revealed one¡¯s thoughts were gone, her expression only exactly what she wanted. He didn¡¯t think that was possible for a human. Maybe a demon, or a humanoid golem, but not a human. Even at high ranks nobody tried to control their physical body like that. It could possibly happen if they needed to be really careful at hiding their emotions, but they wouldn¡¯t be capable of doing it for any extended period beyond a short second.


    The biological instincts and normal functions of a human didn¡¯t change as you ranked up, no matter how high your stats were. It was immensely taxing, physically, and mentally, to sustain such an intense level of control over your body. Unless you had an instinctive ability to control your body with high accuracy, it wasn¡¯t worth it.


    So, he couldn¡¯t truly read her body language. That level of control extended to the way she moved her body, too. The aide was far easier to read, and it seemed he was utterly out of his depth when it came to the events developing at the time, so he based his observations off of him, but¡­.


    Jasten scratched his beard as he tried to think about what else was bothering him. Ah, her left eye. If someone lost an eye, they usually moved their head to compensate for the lost vision. It would be the little things, such as turning corners, but it occurred. He noticed this due to the fact that a lost right eye is a big weakness if you¡¯re on the battlefield. Maybe the girl had perception skills, but that would mean she wouldn¡¯t even need to look at him to see him, yet she acted like she didn¡¯t have such a skill. While also not moving her left eye to compensate for any possible lost vision.


    She also didn¡¯t take her gloves off when giving him a handshake before leaving as was normally customary between those with titles of nobility, or a position equalling the power of nobility, like a High-ranked Paladin. It wasn¡¯t necessarily relevant, but it was still another detail.


    When he used his Battle Analysis skill to determine the likelihood of winning against her, it didn¡¯t give any result, not even win, lose, or tie. It just returned: [Error: Cannot Calculate.]


    He couldn¡¯t sense the slightest bit of killing intent normally present in any living being, which meant she hadn¡¯t killed anything, or was an expert at hiding it.


    And his intuition was going wild, telling him there was something strangely wrong with her, but he couldn¡¯t determine if it was strength, illness, or something else. He trusted his intuition on that part, but that didn¡¯t mean it was being very helpful.


    But in the end, she hadn¡¯t harmed the Prophetess. And his light element lie-detection told him the Prophetess was genuinely thankful to the girl from the bottom of her heart¡­.. that same lie-detection didn¡¯t tell him if Lucille Goldcroft genuinely thought she was an idiot or not, though.


    He raised his eyes to the blonde-haired girl sleeping opposite him, who had started to snore slightly as she leaned against the window. He sighed, and rubbed his eyes.


    What was weird, was that he couldn¡¯t stop thinking about the reaction Lucille Goldcroft had to the girl¡¯s bow. The strange switch from that smile to absolutely zero expression whatsoever was very unnerving, true, but before that, and before she had ruffled the girl¡¯s hair, her expression was very weird.


    He didn¡¯t think it would mean anything for him personally or likely affect the Citadel in the short term, but what he saw on her face seemed to be a little bit of guilt, regret, pity¡­.


    And sorrow.

 Chapter 22 (1 of 2) A letter from..... someone.

    A platinum blonde-haired man was lying face flat on a bed, dressed in a crumpled white dress shirt and grey suit pants. The bed was wide, easily fitting more than one person, and was within a spacious room that had light streaming through the glass windows. A light-grey suit jacket was lying wrinkled on the ground beside the bed, having been discarded, and a pair of socks and shoes were strewn across the carpet. Next to the bed on the bedside table was a small round bell that kept ringing. The man raised an arm to hit a small button next to the bell, and it stopped. He lay there for a few more minutes.


    Then the bell began ringing again, and he groaned, haphazardly slapping a second button next to it, this one in front of a small round speaker. A woman¡¯s voice sounded out from it.


    ¡°Young master,¡± she called.


    The man groaned again. ¡°What is it?¡± he grumbled into his pillow, not raising his head.


    It seemed the woman was still able to hear him because a breathy sigh came through the speaker. ¡°It¡¯s 12:40, young master.¡±


    The man exhaled loudly, resigning himself to his fate and rolled over with a grunt. He lay there, sprawled on the bed with his hands out on either side. He grimaced, blinking out the sleeping dust from his blue eyes. He grudgingly moved his hands to start clumsily untying a loose tie from around his neck, the tie having nearly come undone by itself.


    ¡°So?¡± he reluctantly spoke up.


    The voice that came from the speaker was filled with disappointment equivalent to any a parent could muster.


    ¡°Young master, it¡¯s 12:40 p.m. 20 minutes to one. You need to get up,¡± she said, sounding like they¡¯d had this same conversation before.


    ¡°I bet you don¡¯t tell Marellen to get up at noon,¡± he complained.


    ¡°Marellen lives on the other side of the estate. His assigned maid is different, so of course I don¡¯t. I shouldn¡¯t do for you either, but you ignore any other maid,¡± the voice stated flatly. ¡°Besides, young master Efratel, Marellen still stays awake for half the day, unlike somebody, because he chooses to spend his time awake at night.¡±


    ¡°I thought he was banned from night experiments after that last fireball explosion,¡± Efratel retorted, feeling like the day was finally beginning if he was getting annoyed at his cousin.


    ¡°Yes, well, you know with that cousin of yours, he always tries to find a way around things, and then everyone just gives up and lets him get his own way when it becomes too much effort to stop him. Just like his father,¡± she replied dryly. ¡°Now, get up.¡±


    With another grunt, Efratel sat up and swung his legs over the side of his bed, but not before complaining once more. ¡°My ¡®holiday¡¯ is still in effect you know, it¡¯s my time to spend however I please,¡± he said.


    ¡°Not when it involves the Counties it doesn¡¯t. There¡¯s an important envoy coming in an hour, apparently,¡± she stated, and then with a single ring of the bell, the voice cut out, returning the room to silence.


    He sighed but began getting ready. Having a shower, dressing in his clothes, brushing his teeth, putting on his watch, repining the Commission badge on his second clean suit after spending a good twenty minutes searching for the hellish object under the bed, tying his tie, the normal drill.


    It was a much more presentable Efratel who opened the door to his room, and he started to make his way down the corridors of his home. That was until a young maid carrying a big empty basket stopped him.


    ¡°Oh, young master Efratel, you have a¡­ um¡­¡± She pointed to the back of his head.


    Confused, he reached a hand up there and pulled away with a sock, which had been stuck to the back of his head. He frowned at it. ¡°How did that get there?¡± Before the maid could say something, he turned and threw it into his room behind him. The sock hit the back wall of the room, as he was standing right outside the door.


    The maid¡¯s expression scrunched up slightly as she gestured to the basket in her arms. ¡°I needed to collect it, young master.¡±


    He looked between her, the basket, and then the sock in the room behind him. He grimaced and gave an apologetic shrug. ¡°Same general vicinity?¡± he replied.


    She sighed with a nod, heading into his room to collect his washing, and shutting the door behind her.


    He felt a bit sympathetic. If it¡¯s something to do with a County, it''s always hectic as they make preparations to receive the envoy. Although¡­ the head maid had said ¡®Counties¡¯? As he walked towards the dining hall of the estate¡¯s main building, he could see maids and other servants scurrying about, shifting objects and decorations to ensure the receiving hall was in good condition.


    While they were a Baron family, they were a Baron family from one of the 24 Major Kingdoms, and rather rich as members of the Commission, so there was lots of work to do. They had plenty of ornaments to move about. It seemed news about this envoy had arrived late. Still, it likely wouldn¡¯t have anything to do with him, so he didn¡¯t think further as he entered the dining hall to have a quick breakfast(?). And then his expression crumpled.


    Marellen was there, dressed in a dress shirt and formal pants, not wearing his normal mage clothes as he sat at the table. But he was asleep, his head laying sideways on the table as he snored, half-eaten breakfast in front of him. His messy navy-blue hair was getting into his bowl of cereal, and his round glasses were dangling from several blue threads, having gotten tangled up in it.


    One of the nearby maids in the room gingerly began to walk up to Efratel, and he gave her a wave to tell her he would sort this out. She slowly retreated back, and he pinched his nose bridge, contemplating what to do. Then he decided to go simple. He grabbed a metal spoon off the table and stormed up to the sleeping Marellen, and then, with a scowl on his face, Efratel rapped the hard utensil against the man¡¯s skull.


    Marellen awoke with a jerk, his hair dripping milk. ¡°Huh? Wha? Is the calculation for the fire-earth elemental fusion already complete? I must¡¯ve forgotten to turn on the light filtration¡­¡± he blinked his eyes blearily as he realised something was missing, rubbing his head where the spoon had hit him. ¡°Where are my glasses?¡±


    He winced, and with a very loud ¡°Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!¡± from the younger man, Efratel slowly pulled the pair out from Marellen¡¯s left-hand side¡¯s hair, trying to cause as much pain as possible to his irresponsible younger cousin. With a judgemental expression, he held them up for Marellen to see. The mage clumsily tried to grab them and Efratel shifted them so they dodged the man¡¯s hand. They stared at each other for a moment.


    ¡°You fell asleep with your hair in your milk,¡± Efratel spat with disgust.


    Marellen yawned, stretching. ¡°Give me a break. I¡¯ve been trying hard to recreate that fusion bomb Roa used with other elements and it¡¯s left me exhausted.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± Efratel retorted. ¡°If I have to get up to deal with pompous County messengers, then you have to get up to deal with pompous County messengers.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t need to be mean about it,¡± Marellen said, finally retrieving the glasses from Efratel and putting them back on. ¡°I did manage to come down here, after all.¡±


    ¡°Yet you fell asleep with your hair in your milk,¡± Efratel repeated.


    ¡°Ish fwine,¡± the mage replied, shovelling soggy cereal into his mouth. He swallowed. ¡°I don¡¯t care about my hair as much as you do.¡±


    He flinched as Efratel¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Someone seems to be a bit mouthy today. If you don¡¯t care about your hair, would you like it sheared off?¡± he said, picking up a knife threateningly.


    Marellen gazed at the knife contemplatively, before giving him a dismissive wave. ¡°Meh. I burn my hair off all the time. It grows back within half an hour. If you can get rid of it for good, then I¡¯d even thank you.¡± He pointed to the breakfast array on the long dining table. ¡°Want some, or are you just going to stand there judging me all day?¡± he asked.


    Efratel glowered at his cousin but sighed and drew a chair. Picking up a piece of buttered toast from one of the platters, apparently brought out for Marellen in the morning before he fell asleep, he gestured to a maid to come and fill a teacup with tea. The maid did so, pouring from the steaming pot she held, and retreated to the back of the room, where other maids stood to respond to the request of any member of the Vadel household. He sighed after a sip as the Rare-ranked blend¡¯s magic entered his system, giving him an extra boost of energy.


    Marellen lifted up his bowl and downed the rest of the milk, making Efratel scowl again.


    ¡°Marellen. At least try to make it seem like you¡¯re a noble of some¡­ fashion. We¡¯re not starved for food here,¡± he complained.


    Marellen paused, looking down at the bowl in his hands, and then shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m struggling to get out of the habit after having my eardrums blown by the millions of warnings those two mercenaries had about wasting food.¡±


    ¡°The food that contains the milk you got in your hair,¡± Efratel stated blandly.


    Marellen didn¡¯t react. ¡°Yes, I got milk in my hair. Oh, the horror. Are we done now?¡±


    Efratel crossed his arms to stare at Marellen, a piece of toast unceremoniously hanging out of his mouth. Marellen ignored him to push his dishes out of the way, grabbing a napkin from the table to start drying his damp navy-blue mess, the ends of it reaching just past his shoulders.


    Seeing Marellen didn¡¯t care, Efratel sighed and gestured to the open door of the dining room, servants busily moving up and down the corridor. ¡°Any idea what¡¯s that about?¡± he asked.


    Marellen peeled off the stray bit of cereal that had stuck to his hair. ¡°Something about an important meeting of some kind with an envoy from Headquarters? I¡¯ve heard the order of the envoy''s arrival was strange this time, not following the normal pattern of delivering news, which was why we didn¡¯t hear about it until late.¡± He grinned as he turned Efratel. ¡°I¡¯ve heard Levin was furious this morning until he found out the delay was also partially because of his own people creating issues. Nobody¡¯s seen him say a word since.¡±


    Efratel snorted in amusement. ¡°Oh, dear. His partial ownership of the city¡¯s transport arrays has always made him puff up like a peacock, but now his own staff have gotten him into trouble. That¡¯s a bit of karmic justice right there.¡± With a smile, he sipped his tea.


    Marellen put down his napkin, his hair mostly dry. ¡°I¡¯ve also heard we¡¯ve got a new Commission Head.¡±


    Efratel spat out his tea. He grabbed a napkin to mop up the drink, staring at his cousin incredulously. ¡°Now where in the realms did you hear that?¡± he asked.


    Marellen blinked. ¡°I overheard our fathers when I snuck past the head maid to do experiments last night.¡±


    The blonde-haired man eyed him dubiously. ¡°Just rumours?¡±


    The navy-haired mage shrugged. ¡°I didn¡¯t really care, to be honest. I was trying to leave the central garden before the head maid caught me, so I didn¡¯t stay to listen.¡±


    Efratel sighed. ¡°Of course. Well, we won¡¯t find out the truth until it¡¯s been officially revealed.¡± He looked at his cousin. ¡°You¡¯ve been even more enthusiastic about experiments than before. And that fusion spell you mentioned doesn¡¯t sound like it''s Fate or probability-related?¡± he asked curiously.


    Marellen sighed, pushing his thick hair out of his eyes. ¡°I think I need access to geomancy spells or astrology magic of some kind. I just haven¡¯t been able to progress. And about the fusion spell¡­.¡± He lowered his eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking I might need more combat power.¡±


    Efratel blinked for a moment, confused, before realisation dawned. ¡°Ah. Right. Strength. Important, yes,¡± he answered awkwardly.


    They went silent for a moment, the crushing gravity of their situation having been brought to the forefront of their minds, and the relaxing normality of their day gone, both remembering the ticking timebomb called Alichanteu politics they had on their hands.


    Then Efratel had a thought. He gave his cousin a slightly worried look. ¡°Don¡¯t let your father hear you¡¯re practising combat magic.¡±


    The navy-haired mage¡¯s eyes widened as he realised the implications of Efratel¡¯s words and hastily shook his head. ¡°No. Never going to happen. No way. I¡¯ll kill myself before he can do anything with the information.¡±


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Efratel shook his head wryly and checked his watch. ¡°Well, anyway, how long do we have before we need to be there? 2:40, wasn¡¯t it?¡± he asked, frowning slightly.


    Marellen turned to him with a strange look on his face. ¡°Wasn¡¯t it 1:40? That¡¯s what Madam Berna said.¡±


    Efratel stared at him and then checked his watch. Then he looked up and stared at Marellen again. His face paled.


    Marellen¡¯s eyes widened in panic. ¡°How long do we have?¡±


    ¡°20 minutes,¡± he replied gloomily like he was revealing they were sentenced to death. Which was practically true, if they didn¡¯t get moving right then and there.


    They scrambled to get up, Marellen grabbing his formal jacket beside him on the chair, and Efratel hurriedly pulling him up as they stood, accidentally knocking over a chair in the progress. He helped Marellen pull his jacket on, and then quickly spun him around by the shoulders and started pushing him towards the door.


    ¡°Wait, wait, wait, wait,¡± said the hurried mage, trying and failing to remove Efratel¡¯s grip. ¡°Why am I in front of you?¡±


    ¡°So I have a shield,¡± Efratel grumbled. He gave up and just started dragging the mage by the arm as they dashed down the corridors, hoping to get to the receiving hall before they had less than ten minutes left. The Baron had firmly instructed them from a young age to be at events twenty minutes earlier at all times, and they had already messed up. If they got there with fewer than ten minutes to spare¡­. they both shuddered, synchronised in their imaginations. They sped up as they got closer, becoming more and more panicky as they navigated the ten-minute run to the receiving hall.


    ¡°This is all your fault!¡± Efratel yelled as he nearly skidded past one of the turns. He yanked Marellen around before he too could run past it.


    ¡°Why is this my fault?!¡± he exclaimed, indignant. ¡°I had just been calmly minding my own business when you had to come along and-¡±


    ¡°YOU WERE SLEEPING IN YOUR FOOD!¡± his older cousin shouted.


    ¡°And you have been sleeping in to well past 12 each day!¡± Marellen retorted, not giving in.


    Efratel growled as he yanked his cousin around another corner. ¡°The side branches are so going to give me grief about this,¡± he grumbled.


    ¡°At least they care what you do!¡± Marellen replied.


    Efratel paused slightly to give the mage an incredulous look. ¡°Think about what you just said, and then tell me if you really mean it.¡±


    He opened his mouth and then shut it. ¡°Uh, I¡¯m fine with having them not care about me and my experiments, actually.¡±


    Efratel scoffed as they turned another corner. ¡°That¡¯s what I thought.¡±


    ¡°They still complain about me though!¡± Marellen yelled.


    ¡°We all complain about you! Stop talking and keep moving!¡± Efratel yelled back, dragging him by the arm still. ¡°I invoke my rights as an older cousin by three years to tell you to hurry up!¡±


    ¡°You traded those away in that bet with the salamander five years ago!¡± Marellen refuted, struggling to keep the same speed.


    ¡°You still remember that?¡± Efratel replied, surprised, as he dashed past a corridor full of paintings. ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t matter right now!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but- oh look, here it is,¡± Marellen said, digging his heels in.


    Efratel slowed before the double doors of the receiving room. They stopped, panting for breath, and then shared a look. ¡°Back entrance?¡± Efratel asked.


    Marellen nodded firmly. ¡°Back entrance.¡±


    They quickly took a smaller corridor and found a small single door. Very, veeery gently, Efratel opened the door, and they crept into the back of the large hall filled with the entire Vadel household, from the side families, to the elders, and to the in-laws. The two young men sneaked across the back wall of the auditorium, trying to remain out of sight. They flinched when a loud authoritative voice boomed out among the crowd.


    ¡°Where¡¯s my blighted son? There are eight minutes until it begins,¡± the man said. The man had brown hair but brilliant blue eyes the same shade as Efratel¡¯s. He had greying sideburns, looking like someone in their early 40s. He had a grumpy look on his face as he surveyed the area.


    Efratel and Marellen shared a wide-eyed glance as they realised they had under ten minutes left, according to what Efratel¡¯s father, the Baron had just said. They made hasty hand gestures to each other, trying to work out if they should sit at the very back, escape, or try to slip into their seats when nobody was watching. The problem was¡­ both Efratel¡¯s and Marellen¡¯s seats were right at the very front, next to their fathers, who were sitting together.


    Another voice spoke up, this one from a man to the Baron¡¯s left. He was sitting relaxedly in his chair with a leg up, one ankle resting against a knee, and laughing heartily. The hair on either side of his face was shaved, except for the very top, and was the same navy shade of hair as Marellen. A thick scar cut across the man¡¯s right temple, and he had tanned skin, darker than Marellen¡¯s never-seen-the-light, vampire-esque white. He wore a scarlet red and gold military outfit, and a tall staff rested by his side. Marellen¡¯s father was clearly a battlemage. He chuckled loudly.


    ¡°Calm down Hector! The boys are fine. They¡¯ll turn up eventually. I doubt they¡¯ve gotten into trouble. Why, they might be in this very hall!¡± he exclaimed with a toothy grin, spreading his scarred arms out wide.


    Efratel and Marellen exchanged wary and slightly awkward looks. If the battlemage with high stats said that¡­ he definitely knew they were there. They were so screwed.


    ¡®Hector¡¯ scowled. ¡°If they are, I¡¯ll give them the worst hiding they¡¯ve seen since they were twelve years old. Now is not the time to be playing games with me.¡±


    ¡°Psh,¡± the other man said, giving a dismissive wave. ¡°I¡¯ve played worse tricks as a kid. Remember the time with the drake egg and the one with that demon beast? Marellen must¡¯ve been raised too perfectly by me, he¡¯s so obedient and hardly gets up to the type of things we used to-¡±


    ¡°Your ¡®perfectly raised¡¯ kid blows up my garden walls for fun, Silas. Don¡¯t try to pretend he¡¯s not one of your breed, there is nothing about your boy that does not reek of your penchant for indiscriminate chaos and-¡±


    The two men began bickering, Silas bragging about his untoward adventures with Hector when they were younger, and Hector arguing with him over the technicalities of childraising. Efratel and Marellen made eye contact and slowly began to inch their way back to the room¡¯s exit. A new voice spoke up, sounding slimy and mocking.


    ¡°Sounds like this heir of yours is rather subpar. He even dared to ignore the head of the household. Maybe should we rethink our decision to entrust our future to someone like that,¡± interrupted a man, sitting in the central area just like Hector and Silas. He had straight, dark-green hair and eyes, and was stroking a long goatee with a greasy smile on his face.


    Silas stared at him like he was a rather interesting insect climbing up his leg, while Hector raised a bushy eyebrow at the man. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you mean by saying this, Levin. Efratel is still my son, regardless of his failures. What, do you believe I would just hand over the heirship to one of your foul slime-spawn? Not after today¡¯s fiasco.¡±


    Levin¡¯s smile stiffened and there were a few chuckles in the audience, many feeling amusement at Levin¡¯s situation. Marellen was shaking, trying to hide in his laughter, while Efratel had to let out a light cough to cover up his choked laughs. One boy in the seats near them angrily turned his head once he heard the muffled noises to see who was mocking Levin, and narrowed his eyes when he noticed Marellen and Efratel sneaking across the wall behind him.


    Marellen and Efratel froze. The teenage boy with dark green eyes smirked and turned back around. He stood up with a hand held high so the Baron and Silas could see him in the back row of the auditorium. ¡°Excuse me.¡± When he had gotten them and everyone else¡¯s attention, he bowed slightly and gestured to the panicking young men behind him.


    ¡°Sirs,¡± he began loudly, a polite smile on his face. ¡°I believe I have found the heir and his cousin.¡±


    Hector and Silas turned their eyes to the frozen Marellen and Efratel, barely lit up in the dim area behind the tiers of seats. There was a tense moment of silence. The Baron¡¯s eyes narrowed, while Silas just leaned back with his arms crossed, amused.


    ¡°Boys. Get down here,¡± Hector growled. Silas turned his head and covered his mouth to hide the widening smile on his face.


    Marellen and Efratel shared one last grim look before they both slumped and slowly began walking down the aisle staircase, many eyes watching them move. The two young men glared at the teenage boy as they walked past, taking note of his very special eye colour. This grudge would not be forgotten.


    They sheepishly took their seats at the front row next to their fathers, Silas giving his son a pitying, sympathetic pat on the shoulder, while the Baron leaned to the side to whisper into his son¡¯s ear.


    ¡°If you think for one moment that I am going to forget this, then you¡¯d be dead wrong,¡± he hissed.


    Efratel sighed and gave a nod. ¡°Yes sir,¡± he replied glumly, getting ready to wait for the messenger. But not before he cupped a hand around his mouth to speak into his father¡¯s ear. ¡°Marellen was sleeping in his breakfast cereal,¡± he whispered, making sure that if he died, his cousin would be going down with him.


    The Baron gazed at his son, and turned his head to look at the navy-haired mage next to Silas for a moment, before turning his gaze back to his son, a bemused expression on his face. Then he let out a long sigh. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t even be surprised anymore,¡± he grumbled.


    Efratel leaned near his father again to say something more. ¡°And what is this about a new Commission Head?¡± he asked, an eyebrow raised.


    The Baron¡¯s blue eyes widened and he twisted his head again to look at his son, who gestured with his head to his younger cousin. His father slowly raised a finger to wordlessly point at Marellen for more confirmation, and Efratel nodded. Hector gained a stormy look and pinched his nose bridge, gripping the armrest of his chair. ¡°That damned brat,¡± he growled. He sighed. ¡°I never should¡¯ve let Silas marry into the Barony. That whole family gives me more grief than even Levin¡¯s lot does, and that¡¯s saying something,¡± he muttered.


    ¡°Aunt Stefanie included,¡± Efratel added.


    ¡°My sister is the cause for this whole lot,¡± the Baron replied. He patted Efratel¡¯s shoulder to tell him to stay quiet as a guard marched up to the centre of the tiered auditorium and turned to face Hector. The Baron nodded, and then stood up from the chair and walked to the front of the room, turning to face the rest of the auditorium, hands behind his back.


    ¡°From here on after, the doors to the receiving hall shall be locked. If there is somebody yet to arrive, then they must wait until the message and the following discussion is over before they receive the news.¡±


    There was a low mumble of assent throughout the room, making Hector nod to the guard nearby. He walked off and there were several loud clicks as the rooms were locked.


    ¡°Now then,¡± he began. ¡°As most are probably aware, the envoy will not remain here for long, on account of his need to go reveal his message to the other nobility. We are gathered like this for the discussion afterwards to ensure we do not take up his time.¡± Most in the audience gave him understanding nods, so he continued, ¡°Please do not interrupt the envoy until after his message unless it is an emergency of the like as an individual dying. If you want to leave or do not have a reason to take part in the discussion, then you may do so after the envoy has revealed his message. Any members of the Commission, members of the military at Captain rank or higher, and those who have or will have a major role in the operations of the Barony must stay.¡±


    Efratel sighed. As a member of the Commission and an heir, he had no choice but to be present for the endless petty politics and verbal insults thrown about during the discussion. That included Levin¡¯s group and their vain attempts at gaining power within the Barony. Marellen technically didn¡¯t have to stay, but Silas would likely force him to just so his son would need to suffer like him. As an ex-member of the military, Silas also had no choice but to stay, especially as one of the Baron¡¯s main backers, and was a fact he was distinctly unhappy about, at all times. Politics was what the storm mage readily complained about the most, whether it be military or nobility.


    A few more rules were discussed, until finally, Hector finished up. He gestured to the nearby guard, who unlocked a door. A young man was revealed behind it, carrying a strange white box in his arms. He was dressed in the blue formal wear of the Alichanteu, and a small emblem of three overlapping gold coins was embroidered on his chest. The Baron nodded to him, so he nervously walked forward to stand in front of the room. The Baron took up a post beside him as the man placed the white box on the ground. The man straightened up, coughed, and addressed the room.


    ¡°The Four Counties have an important announcement to make. The message will be broadcasted for you all, so you may see the exact wording of the command for yourselves.¡±


    There was a soft rustle of murmurs as discussions about the implications of the Four Counties issuing a command occurred throughout the room. The man sent a glance to Hector, who stepped forward and clapped once, and the room fell silent again. He stepped back and nodded to the young man again. The young man took a breath and bent down to unlatch the box, and a shimmering, large, white Faction Notification screen appeared before them all as the man slowly read the announcement.


    [This Faction Announcement has been issued with the Total Faction Authority of the Aurelian Commission.] It began.


    There was silence as the man paused, and then startled gasped as some people realised the implications of that statement. Marellen and Efratel leaned back in their chairs to share a look. Silas frowned and rubbed his chin, looking pensive. The envoy continued.


    [The Commission¡¯s Four Counties of Alichanteu of Blue, Chavaret of Red, Evisenhardt of Silver and Ravimoux of Black have collectively agreed to send this message.


    The Aurelian Commission has a new Commission Head.]


    The envoy paused as the room¡¯s noise rose into an uproar, people hastily discussing the statement. The noise level didn¡¯t die down even after a few minutes, so the Baron frowned and clapped his hands again. ¡°Quiet!¡± he ordered. The room fell silent. ¡°Please do not interrupt the envoy again,¡± he told them.


    [On October 18<sup>th </sup>until October 25<sup>th</sup>, the Commission Headquarters will host a ball to welcome the arrival of our new Faction Head. The new plans for the Commission will likewise be revealed during this time period.]


    The envoy paused as the noise increased again, but it didn¡¯t reach unacceptable levels, so he continued reading out the message as it unfurled in sync with his words.


    [The rules for this event are as follows:


    To enter the event venue, an invitation is required. This will be supplied by the envoy to each Titled Noble to view privately, along with a letter of the details.


    Each Titled Noble will gain two additional lesser invitations to give to two other individuals. Direct Commission or Commission-affiliated forces only can use the invitation.


    Titled Nobles do not have the right to refuse the future plans of the Commission. They are only attending the venue to meet the Faction Head and be informed of the planned timeline.]


    He took a breath and continued.


    [Any member of the Commission Manager ranked and higher also gains an invitation to attend the event. No additional invitations will be given to them.


    Commission members gain permission to stay at the Headquarters for the duration of the event and for a month afterwards.


    From November 7<sup>th</sup> to November 21<sup>st</sup>, the Commission Head will hold a competition for young members of Commission and Commission-affiliated forces under 30 years of age. Details entailing the event will be addressed in the private letter delivered to the individuals containing their Commission member exclusive invitation.]


    Efratel felt his eyebrows raise, and turned to see what expression Marellen had. Marellen¡­ wasn¡¯t even looking at the Faction Notification, just holding his chin in his hand while staring at the ground. Efratel wasn¡¯t sure if he was thinking about the notification or not. He sighed and returned to watching the envoy announce the rest.


    [This completes the Faction Announcement. Thank you for your future attendance, and may you see future horizons.]


    There was silence as the notification disappeared, and the envoy bent forward to close the box. He hesitantly looked around the room. ¡°That¡¯s all. Are there any questions?¡±


    Instantly, the room exploded with noise, and the envoy became flustered as he panicked, wondering which question to address out of the multitude of raised hands and questions shouted at him. The Baron sighed, and stepped forward, clapping a third time.


    ¡°Silence!¡± he shouted. He frowned around the room, daring anyone to speak again. They did not. He turned to the envoy.


    ¡°I have a question of my own. Who is our Faction Head?¡± he asked.


    The envoy blinked and awkwardly scratched his head. ¡°I um¡­ had to sign a contract to not reveal that yet. The Counties don¡¯t want anyone contacting them ahead of time.¡±


    Hector narrowed his eyes but nodded, and sternly looked around the room. ¡°No more questions related to that. Are there any others?¡± he asked them all.


    Several people held up their hands. The Baron nodded to one man, so he spoke. ¡°Only two extra attendees, no matter what?¡±


    The envoy nodded. ¡°Yes. The extra invitations are linked to the main invitation for verification¡¯s sake, and only those who are affiliated or part of the Faction are capable of activating it. This is because the Empire¡¯s banquet will occur in December, so this is to be a strictly internal debut. There are plans for a larger scale event to occur next year for an external debut.¡±


    The man nodded, satisfied with the answer. Efratel¡¯s eyes narrowed as he noticed some of Levin¡¯s supporters exchange whispered words. Hector pointed to another person, this time a woman.


    ¡°Are we allowed to know what the Faction Head¡¯s event is?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± the envoy replied. ¡°The specifics will be revealed at the actual event, and there are some others for the young members themselves to tell you if they wish, but there are some details I can tell you. The theme of the event will be about introducing new ideas, plans, propositions, or inventions that are useful to the Commission,¡± he told them. ¡°I don¡¯t know how it will function, but several representatives besides the Commission Head will judge competitors over three rounds. The first round will be split into two separate events, as one will include commoners,¡± he continued, hushed whispers forming at that information, ¡°But the final prize will be the Commission Head implementing the winner¡¯s plan, concept, business idea or invention into the Faction with their authority, and that individual will be placed in charge of the plan.¡±


    Quite a few of the older members of the audience widened their eyes and began talking to their younger family members. Efratel rubbed his chin. He didn¡¯t think he had anything to contribute, and Marellen¡¯s experiments with probability hadn¡¯t made enough progress that the Commission would be interested when they could likely just ask the Astrologers or the Citadel.


    The Baron reluctantly pointed to Levin, eyes narrowed at him. Levin gave a cunning smile. ¡°What orders were the invitations delivered in?¡± he asked.


    The envoy blinked. ¡°Oh, right. Yes, the delivery order was different this time.¡± He pulled out a slip of paper out of a pocket. ¡°Here. As a general rule, nobility within the same rank were visited in alphabetical order for fairness¡¯ sake.¡±


    Efratel smirked as Levin¡¯s facial expression distorted. He was likely looking for some way to shirk the blame of the late delivery onto another noble family within the city, or on the Commission itself. He wondered what made the four Counties or the Commission Head choose this new order though.


    The envoy continued explaining. ¡°Entering the venue still follows tradition, so there¡¯s no change there. The four Counties were visited first, and then the Viscounts, then Barons, and Baronets of the Aeternus plane, all in alphabetical order. Then it was the Major Kingdom nobility, and then the Minor Kingdom nobility, in order of noble rank and alphabetical order too. Staff members of the Commission were also visited in alphabetical order within the same rank, or in the case of being part of a noble family, delivered at the same time.¡± He looked up from the paper. ¡°Anything else?¡±


    There were a few more miscellaneous questions, and then the envoy left after handing two envelopes to Hector, one in black and gold, and the other white and gold. Efratel sighed, incapable of zoning out anymore, because the politics had now started. Levin instantly spoke up as the Baron handed him the white envelope, his name written in curly gold font on the front, and marked with the seal of Evisenhardt and another violet wax seal.


    ¡°Considering the Baron¡¯s heir has his own invitation, there are two spare ones now, aren¡¯t there? We need to discuss this. Now, I am firmly of the opinion that Silas¡¯s son should not go to the event, because-¡±


    ¡°Just shut it, Levin,¡± Silas retorted. ¡°He wasn¡¯t going anyway. Right, son?¡± he asked Marellen.


    Marellen shot Efratel a glance and shook his head. ¡°No way. I¡¯ll stay home.¡±


    Efratel grimaced slightly, nodding. It was a terrible idea for him to go there if Archmage Merkenia had a chance of appearing. He was thankful Silas had managed to curb any possible chance of that. The Baron¡¯s supporters might¡¯ve pushed for it to ensure close ties between them both would continue, especially with the talent Marellen had shown.


    Efratel didn¡¯t notice the narrowed eyes Silas had as he observed their interaction.


    Levin¡¯s face brightened up. ¡°Then-¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯s not to say I won¡¯t go. I¡¯m currently retired from the Main Army Battalion, for all that I wear this,¡± Silas continued with a smirk, gesturing to his outfit. ¡°And as someone with the Vadel last name, I am a direct member of Commission nobility. What do you think, Hector?¡± he asked Hector.


    Hector looked surprised Silas offered to go, and frankly, Efratel was too. The Baron nodded, slightly nonplussed. ¡°I am accepting. Who disagrees?¡±


    Levin scowled but didn¡¯t speak up. There was a mumble of assent throughout the room, nobody daring to fight with the battlemage. The Baron nodded. ¡°Then, that¡¯s decided. Now, moving on to the next attendee¡­.¡±


    Efratel sighed as the arguing ramped up. He touched the envelope in his suit pocket. Hopefully, it wouldn¡¯t have any unexpected surprises. He didn¡¯t need more stress after that trip.

 Chapter 22 (2 of 2) A letter from..... someone.

    The blonde-haired man flopped face-forward onto the large bed, uncaring that his jacket was getting wrinkled. The door of his walk-in wardrobe opened and shut behind him as a navy-haired mage appeared, and grabbed a large square pillow from the windowsill¡¯s seating area. He casually dumped himself cross-legged on the pillow on the ground and took his glasses off. He was once again dressed in his flowy dark-blue mage robes, which Efratel was feeling rather jealous about, stuffy as he was in his formal wear. Unfortunately, testing his father¡¯s wrath by wearing clothes ¡®unacceptable for the Baron¡¯s heir¡¯ was not something he was willing to try. Ever.


    He groaned as he rolled over, staring at the roof. ¡°Who was the Levin kid?¡± he asked Marellen.


    Marellen had a pen cap in his mouth as he drew mana-circles on a piece of paper. ¡°Sh¡¯olow¡±


    ¡°Solow. Hmm. Do you think he would look good bald?¡± he mused.


    Marellen removed the pen lid to talk. ¡°I was thinking a potion that turned his skin black in places would be better. Apparently, he¡¯s meeting with some rich merchant¡¯s girl for a potential arranged marriage this week. I think he¡¯d be really charming and she¡¯d fall right for him when he looks like he has the plague.¡±


    Efratel turned his head to frown at his cousin. ¡°Where do you find out this stuff? Nobody ever tells me what Levin¡¯s kids are up to.¡±


    The mage shrugged without looking up. ¡°Because everybody knows I don¡¯t care enough about politics to waste my time dealing with them. The maids love to gossip around me.¡±


    ¡°And they still haven¡¯t caught on to the fact you repeat this all to me?¡± he asked, sceptical.


    Marellen tapped on his chin with the pen, oblivious to the accidental blue lines he drew on himself. ¡°I think only the head maid knows about the short-range teleportation circle I made in your closet when I was 10. And my father, who said quote ¡®I want my own to mess with Hector¡¯ unquote. That was how the ghost story of the Baron¡¯s bathroom began.¡± He touched the pen to the page in front of him.


    Efratel sighed. ¡°Whatever then. I¡¯ll start reading this letter.¡±


    He opened it up, falling silent as he read the documents inside. He slowly put the white temporary Headquarters access card in his pocket. Then he frowned and sat up. He stayed silent, searching through the envelope, and counting on his fingers for a good ten minutes. He stared at his room¡¯s front door for a while, thinking. Then he turned to face his cousin, feeling apprehensive.


    ¡°Marellen,¡± he began questioningly. ¡°Your memory is better than mine. How many items am I supposed to have in this envelope?¡±


    ¡°Three. The invitation card, the ball details, and the competition details.¡± He stiffened for a moment and then raised his eyes to narrow them at Efratel. ¡°I sense trouble.¡±


    Efratel ignored him, an increasingly worried expression growing on his face. ¡°Have I ever unknowingly met a high-ranked member of the Commission, or been to Headquarters? Or even Gilded Seat?¡± he asked anxiously.


    Marellen slowly got up from the floor and began backing away. ¡°Leave me out of this, Efratel. I don¡¯t want to die at 23. I¡¯ve got thousands of years still left in me.¡±


    Efratel dropped the envelope and its contents and grabbed his hair in his hands, letting out a scream of frustration and anguish through gritted teeth. ¡°Why does this keep happening to me?!¡± he growled. ¡°Damned distorters of Fate, just leave me alone!¡±


    Marellen blinked. ¡°That bad?¡±


    Efratel roughly yanked out a small piece of paper from within the envelope, holding out the crumpled paper to let Marellen look, appearing a little insane with the messy hair and wide eyes. ¡°I¡¯m cursed, I tell you. The realms are out to get me.¡±


    Letting his curiosity get the better of his sense of danger and self-preservation like it normally does, Marellen slowly walked forward to grab the piece of paper and sit on the edge of the bed. He frowned and put on his gold-framed glasses, reading what appeared to be a letter.


    ¡°Oh,¡± he finally replied. He turned to look at his cousin. ¡°I wish you luck in the afterlife.¡±


    Greetings, Efratel Vadel.


    I hope this letter finds you in good health, and not dead due to the political ploys of Alichanteu. That wouldn¡¯t make me particularly pleased, and I suspect neither would it you. It has been some time since we met, but I enjoyed our conversation. I suppose you have no clue who I am though. I hope so because I went to great lengths to ensure my identity was not revealed by the messengers.


    I am writing because I would like to ask that you come to the Headquarters, at least a week earlier than the debut beginning date. That is because I would like to meet with you privately to discuss a few things. Which may or may not include revealing to me the exact nature of your trip to the Permafrost Glacial Abode. I hope we have a nice meeting because even if you try to avoid coming, I do have the authority to order you to Headquarters. Just a reminder. Looking forward to seeing you again.


    Sincerely, the Aurelian Commission¡¯s new Faction Head.


    P.S. Please burn the letter. Maybe use Marellen.


    Efratel scowled. ¡°If I die because of this, I¡¯m going to become a ghost in Tartarus to devote my life to revenge.¡±


    Marellen rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ¡°How does a ghost get revenge on cardiac arrest?¡±


    ¡°Ha, ha, very funny,¡± Efratel deadpanned. Then he paused and stared at Marellen. ¡°Actually, no. That is not funny. Not funny at all.¡± He frowned and placed a hand on his chest where his heart was. ¡°Don¡¯t let me die from stress.¡±


    Marellen hummed as he re-read the letter. ¡°It almost feels like it¡¯s been written by a girl. The writing looks a bit feminine.¡±


    Efratel scowled and snatched the paper away from him. ¡°And what would you know about female writing?¡±


    ¡°I received just as many love letters as you,¡± Marellen pointed out.


    The blonde-haired man cocked an eyebrow. ¡°How? I got at least three times as many each day as a teenager.¡±


    The mage shook his messy mop of hair. ¡°Those weren¡¯t love letters. Those were offers for arranged marriages.¡±


    Efratel contemplated this for a short moment, before rolling his eyes when he couldn¡¯t refute.


    Marellen leaned over to read the letter in Efratel¡¯s hand again. ¡°If it was from a girl¡­¡± he began. He looked up and stared at Efratel. ¡°You don¡¯t have a secret hidden long-lost female childhood friend you¡¯ve never told me about who now wants to see you again after years, do you?¡±


    Efratel stared back at him, dumbfounded. ¡°That¡¯s your guess?¡±


    The mage shrugged. ¡°If it was, the older members of the Barony would be pleased. They¡¯ve been worried about your lack of interest in romance.¡±


    Efratel gestured to the letter in his hands. ¡°How could I have time for that with all this? Besides, what is it with old people and trying to matchmake the young when they got married when they were over a hundred?¡± he frowned.


    Marellen lay down on the bed. ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t affect me. They never had expectations for my love life prospects anyway.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, whatever, magic-addict,¡± Efratel grumbled. ¡°Use your amazing brain to puzzle this out.¡±


    They fell silent as they thought over possible answers for why Efratel had the letter. Marellen spoke up, ¡°Now, even if they did know you, is there any conceivable reason why they¡¯d want to meet you again? Besides that really obvious line about the trip.¡± He shuddered.


    The blonde-haired man shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m the heir to a Baron of a Major Kingdom. The Commission Head is going to be an Honorary Count of the Aeternus plane, the Empire true. We¡¯re worlds apart.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯m lost. It¡¯s definitely the real Commission Head, right?¡± the mage replied.


    ¡°The letter had a seal made of violet wax, the same as the envelope had. I don¡¯t think it could be anyone else unless they were close to them and borrowed the stamp,¡± he said, frowning.


    Marellen sighed and sat up. ¡°Oh well. Work it out yourself. This doesn¡¯t involve me anyway.¡±


    Efratel stared at his younger cousin. ¡°Of course it does. The letter even mentioned you.¡±


    Marellen slowly turned his head to stare back at Efratel. ¡°No it didn¡¯t,¡± he stated.


    ¡°Yes it did,¡± Efratel replied.


    Marellen frowned, and grabbed the letter, shifting his round glasses. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you,¡± he told him. He re-read the letter.


    Efratel leaned forward to point to the last line. ¡°There, you see?¡±


    Marellen froze as he read the message. He closed the letter and then reopened it. There was no change. He closed it again and then reopened it. There was still no change.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    He nervously turned to stare at Efratel with wide eyes.


    Efratel smirked, feeling a bit of schadenfreude. ¡°Seems we¡¯re both going to Tartarus.¡±


    <hr>


    ¡°Vincent! It¡¯s been ages since I last saw you! Come in, I¡¯ll make us some tea before you catch me up on recent events.¡±


    Vincent sighed with a wry smile on his face as he followed the shorter woman in, her long grass-green hair that was blooming with tiny flowers drifting behind her. Melissa Evisenhardt was an interesting person. She always seemed happy to see him, even amidst the politics of the Evisenhardt County. It felt a bit off to be back, actually. Crossing paths with his siblings was awkward at the best of times, on account of the second youngest sibling being 50 years older than him, but now, after he had become the aide of the Commission Head, and was the second most powerful person within the Commission besides the Counts¡­


    He grimaced. The few siblings he had crossed paths with had been slightly colder than normal, likely feeling threatened by his position. None of them had been Melissa Evisenhardt¡¯s three bubbly girls or son though. Melissa was his father¡¯s second wife. She was a retired wizard of the Green Tower, her affinity being wood, and she dual classed as a wood-element mage as well, the elemental manifestation giving her the hair. His father married her for political reasons, as he did the other two, but Melissa hadn¡¯t married him for that. She was aware of what she was getting into but didn¡¯t seem to mind. When Vincent had asked at one point, she had replied with ¡®I get a cushy job and a big family. I want nothing else¡¯.


    That didn¡¯t stop Vincent from feeling out of place as he stepped into the shimmering viridescent greenhouse that doubled as her home. Even the chairs and tables were made of strong twisted vines, ivy and flowers blooming everywhere from the roof to the floor to the walls. She made excellent tea, however. A fact she demonstrated by bringing out a tea set with the steaming hot, red, freshly brewed liquid, and pouring him a cup. He breathed in as he took a sip, feeling the relaxing energy of this particular brew spread through him.


    ¡°Rather strong colour,¡± he told her as she took a seat opposite him, her green cloak blooming with multicoloured flowers and dropping small petals here and then.


    She smiled and nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve developed a new hybrid breed of hibiscus-rose. I was planning on sending you some of the tea when I heard you became the Faction Head¡¯s aide. It¡¯s one of my sweeter varieties,¡± she said with a wink.


    He coughed awkwardly as she just laughed. His love for sweets was one thing Lucille had yet to discover. He hoped. Otherwise, she might just find the bitterest tea she could just to torment him. The 8<sup>th</sup> circle wizard opposite him rested her head on her hand and gazed at him with a smile. ¡°So, I¡¯ve heard a little, but I¡¯d like to hear what has happened from your mouth.¡±


    He spent a bit of time just catching up with the cheerful woman, telling her what had happened over the past month from his perspective. ¡°And then I found out, to my irritation, that Lucille had, in fact, ordered most, if not all of her outer clothes and jackets to be some shade of bright violet. I still feel like I¡¯m seeing the afterimages of her closet,¡± he finished, taking his glasses off and rubbing his eyes. He went to take another sip of his drink.


    Melissa laughed with her musical voice. ¡°She sounds interesting.¡± She tapped on her chin with a long elegant finger. ¡°Is she pretty?¡±


    Vincent paused, swallowed his drink, and sighed. Then he shot her an irritated look. ¡°Why are you asking me this?¡±


    Melissa blinked, a bit confused, before breaking out into another laugh and sending him a dismissive wave. ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t mean to imply that. No, I was wondering how many marriage proposals she¡¯d be getting in the next few months.¡±


    He felt his thoughts freeze to a halt, an indescribably strange expression on his face. Lucy and¡­ someone? That just¡­ no, no that just felt so wrong. He hadn¡¯t explicitly asked her about it but¡­. even with the fact that she seemed to have no life outside working, her mental age was literally almost 250. Anyone who proposed to her was going to be at the very least not even 10% of her age, and he felt she was utterly uninterested in those things anyway. With how she had dealt with Annaliese, Sedric and Scytale most of the time, she didn¡¯t seem to have the greatest ability to pretend they were her peers. He doubted she¡¯d have the patience to deal with that type of suggestion from someone younger than her.


    Melissa observed his expression with interest. ¡°It seems there¡¯s some issues surrounding that idea,¡± she said.


    He slowly nodded, lifting his tea to drink again. ¡°To say the least,¡± he replied awkwardly. He hesitated, wondering if he could ask Melissa a question that had been on his mind for some time.


    ¡°If I say there was someone who revealed themselves to have a soul age of over 200 while being in a younger body¡­¡± he began. ¡°For what reason would the System have granted them a reincarnation?¡±


    She blinked and gazed down at the table in thought as she pondered over his question. ¡°What an interesting hypothetical¡­ I¡¯ve only heard of it happening 3 times after the assimilation of the realm but¡­.¡± She looked up and narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°That¡¯s an extremely specific question, Vincent. And looking at the theme of our conversation for the last half hour¡­ it wouldn¡¯t have anything to do with this new Faction Head of ours, would it?¡±


    He grimaced, aware he was taking a risk. But it would spread within the Counties eventually, as the Counts and their heirs already knew, and he trusted Melissa, who only loved her family and her plants, to not pry. She proved him correct when she reclined back in her chair, shrugging with a wry smile on her face.


    ¡°All right. I won¡¯t ask. But as for your question¡­.¡± she mused, tapping on her chin. ¡°If the System granted that reward, it could only be for a few, very rare reasons. One is that it made an error, and wanted them to not suffer the consequences of its faulty actions.¡±


    He raised an eyebrow and she nodded. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s practically impossible. I don¡¯t even think it has happened before, but the Athenaeum says it could happen like that. The second is they have a unique ability that can¡¯t be replicated very easily by anyone, even the System, and it hadn¡¯t found someone who could reach the same potential with the ability, and therefore wanted to reincarnate them so they could find some way to pass on their teachings.¡±


    He blinked. That didn¡¯t sound like Lucy. She joined the Commission and wanted to expand it. Not settle down with a successor and pass on her knowledge. Maybe eventually but¡­. she was busy.


    Melissa picked up her tea to take a sip. ¡°The third is that they were so immensely powerful, that the System stored their souls to offer them reincarnation when it needed them for some great disaster later on that it couldn¡¯t easily solve by using normal Users. Maybe they were a great hero.¡±


    He scratched his chin, contemplating it. Maybe she was powerful, but¡­. ¡°Great evil, more likely,¡± he muttered. He looked to the side, avoiding eye contact when he noticed Melissa¡¯s eyes narrow curiously.


    ¡°Has time travel ever been possible?¡± he asked her, trying to move on.


    She blinked, an odd expression on her face. ¡°And what is someone who¡¯s not a member of All-Aeon Athenaeum doing, contemplating things like this?¡± she questioned.


    ¡°Someone mentioned it to me in passing and now it¡¯s been on my mind,¡± he replied blandly, reaching out to pour himself some more tea.


    Melissa quirked an eyebrow but smiled and wryly shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s impossible.¡±


    He nodded, finally getting the response he needed to put the idea to res-


    ¡°But not necessarily because it can¡¯t happen,¡± she continued, ignoring him as he flinched, almost missing the teacup as he poured tea from the teapot.


    He looked up, incredulous. ¡°It¡¯s a thing?¡±


    She shimmied her hand to say, ¡®kind of¡¯. ¡°There¡¯s no proof. But some have theorised that¡¯s how the primal beasts disappeared. And the reason why it¡¯s impossible is because why would the System, when it tries to propagate the collection of all knowledge, ever permanently cut a piece of itself off by sending a User to the past or future and become unable to receive that particular piece of information?¡± Then she held up a finger. ¡°But timelines are a thing.¡±


    He frowned, picking up the teacup. ¡°Timelines?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Parallel realms where everything is almost the same, but events occur differently. And I know for a fact that timelines do exist because I¡¯ve seen one myself.¡±


    He tilted his head, confused, and making her smile. ¡°I¡¯ve been to a pocket dimension that was created to be an identical version of a Minor plane 212,000 years ago. Every particle of mana and matter had been copied and placed in a perfect representation of a natural mana phenomenon that destroyed the plane, captured somehow by Saufren Lestial in the past. And there¡¯s an even more common example. Stages.¡±


    He felt his eyes widen as he realised what she meant. ¡°So, that¡¯s why they share so many similarities to the realms, but never any historical accuracy.¡±


    She crossed one leg over the other with a lazy smile. ¡°Of course, both examples are technically not ¡®true¡¯ timelines, but many people have theorised that timelines are how the System controls the realms. By making millions of them and determining the best route for the main timeline by following the past examples of ended timelines.¡± She continued, ¡°If you got sent to the past in a younger body, in a timeline that was copied from a point in your past, then I suppose you could say time travel exists. But not fully, because your original timeline still exists, running events situated sometime in the ¡®future¡¯, or the timeline was at least stopped by the System before your new timeline.¡±


    He rubbed his neck. Now he was even more confused. Melissa noticed his reaction and shook her head. ¡°This is why we don¡¯t talk about it to those out of the All-Aeon Athenaeum. It¡¯s confusing, and many mages have tried to find a way to escape to a different timeline. It never works. No User has ever escaped to another true timeline on their own effort, or if they had, then we¡¯ll never find out.¡± She shrugged. ¡°I suggest you don¡¯t concern yourself with it.¡±


    He nodded and decided to think about this back at the Headquarters. He placed down his teacup and leaned forward with a serious expression on his face. ¡°Actually, I came here for another reason,¡± he stated.


    Melissa pouted. ¡°Aww, you didn¡¯t come here to see little ol¡¯ me?¡± She began laughing again when she saw the awkward expression once again on his face. ¡°I¡¯m just teasing you,¡± she said. ¡°What¡¯s your request?¡±


    He replaced the glasses hanging around his neck on his face as he answered. ¡°I want you to suggest some people from Evisenhardt that could be my subordinates.¡±


    She raised an eyebrow and gestured to him to keep going, so he did. ¡°The Commission Head has requested that I ask for subordinates from Evisenhardt. I wanted to ask you because as someone with no interest in the County¡¯s politics, your suggestions would be less biased.¡±


    She smirked. ¡°Are you trying to take advantage of our relationship, Vincent?¡± She laughed again. ¡°Oh well. Why do you need a less biased opinion though?¡±


    He crossed his arms and frowned slightly as he gazed at the floor. ¡°Because I need people who can follow my requests without pushing for too much political power. The plans that will be instituted have been organised by all four Counties and the Commission Head. I can¡¯t have subordinates who want to mess that up. Mother would try to place some of my eldest brother¡¯s subordinates under me, no matter how capable they are, and Genevieve¡­.¡± He shuddered. ¡°Mother would kill me if I asked the 3<sup>rd</sup> wife for anything.¡±


    Melissa twirled her hair. ¡°Hmm. It feels surprising to see the Counts going along with the Faction Head¡¯s plans so easily. Are they up to something?¡±


    He hesitated but shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. They¡¯re happy to implement her plans because they can see the merit in them, and wouldn¡¯t pass up a free opportunity to gain more control over the vassals. As for how ¡®loyal¡¯ they are¡­.¡± He shrugged. ¡°I believe they¡¯re just taking a watch-and-wait stance. For them, she¡¯s an unknown. They want to see how capable she is, if it¡¯s worth removing her to put another leader in place, or if she¡¯ll be too much effort.¡±


    The wood-element wizard pointed a teaspoon at him. ¡°Which reminds me. Are you allowed to stay here for so long? I¡¯ve heard the invitations for the lower nobility have begun being sent, but don¡¯t you need to visit Ravimoux?¡± she asked curiously.


    Vincent gained a strange expression on his face. ¡°When I sent a message to Count Ravimoux saying I would be coming to formally deliver the invitations, he replied by telling me not to bother, as he would deal with spreading the appropriate rumours to make it seem like I visited. His message said, ¡®It¡¯s not like you have anyone else to give invitations to¡¯.¡±


    They fell silent as they considered the implications of the Count¡¯s words. When the Count had ascended to his position 9 years ago, there had been a..... purge. They both shuddered. Melissa grimaced slightly. ¡°Moving on then,¡± she said, to his eager nods.


    She gazed at the ground, tapping her fingers against the table. She looked up. ¡°How many subordinates?¡± she asked.


    He thought for a moment. ¡°I¡¯m thinking two. I don¡¯t yet have enough work that it needs both of them, but as the work increases, they¡¯ll be able to adjust to it at a smooth rate.¡±


    She hummed as she contemplated it. ¡°Well, if you need to please your mother¡­ what about Caius?¡±


    Vincent blinked. ¡°Caius? Caius, that little upstart who tried to expand into the Beast Realm with his father¡¯s businesses?¡±


    She smiled as she nodded. ¡°The very same. He even had quite a bit of success. He came back because he had been bored, however. He has a tidy profit from his shares in the business that could enable him to live the rest of his life without working, but you know how he is.¡± She shrugged helplessly.


    He held his chin. ¡°Well, his father is a supporter of mother¡¯s favourite, my eldest brother. And Caius is not the heir of his father either. I haven¡¯t seen him for what, twelve years now?¡± he mused. ¡°We used to play together as a kid. It would be nice to catch up. If he wants something interesting to do, then helping me with Lucille¡¯s plans would entertain him for sure.¡±


    She smiled. ¡°Then I¡¯ll see if he wants to go. If he does, I¡¯ll send him to the ball.¡±


    ¡°Any ideas for the second?¡± he asked.


    She hummed again and then smiled widely. ¡°You know what, I¡¯ll send them as a pair. Caius and Jacques Rouzet. I¡¯m sure that combination will make things interesting.¡±


    His eyes widened slightly. ¡°Now that¡¯s a name I haven¡¯t heard for a while. He and Caius used to be inseparable. Jacques was Caius¡¯s¡­..¡± he furrowed his brows as he tried to remember.


    ¡°Second cousin from the maternal side. He¡¯s just finished studying at the Academy, but he¡¯s been feeling a bit lost on what to do. He passed with top marks though,¡± she told him.


    ¡°But if he¡¯s a talent like that, then he should¡¯ve been put to work already,¡± he said curiously, raising an eyebrow.


    She hesitated. ¡°Well, there¡¯s been some¡­ issues relating to the type of people he involved himself with during his time at the Academy.¡±


    He idly ran a finger down the silver chain of his glasses. ¡°What, bad people politically speaking, or ruffians of some kind¡­?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°Worse. Or at least for Evisenhardt¡¯s vassals. Commoners.¡±


    ¡°Of course, they would complain about that.¡± He replied, frowning. ¡°They¡¯re not even part of Olden, for goodness¡¯ sake, why do they have such a rigid mindset about them?¡±


    ¡°You forget, Vincent dear, that for them, commoners are a real threat to their position,¡± she replied wryly, picking up her teacup. ¡°When nearly millions of people can easily ascend to Baronet and even Baron within their lifetime by just showcasing their fighting ability to the Empire, you would obviously be fearful that the newcomers would overtake you in power.¡±


    ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean you need to avoid them, that means you need to bring them into the nobility and let them contribute to your family,¡± he responded, still frowning. ¡°Who cares if Jacques is friends with commoners if he can get talented people to work for us? It¡¯s like they¡¯re trying to appeal to Olden, even though Evisenhardt is part of the neutral fac¡­tion¡­¡± his voice trailed off.


    Vincent remembered the discussion he had with Lucy about their potentially being Olden spies within the Counties that have gone undetected. If they were being so obstinate about Jacques avoiding commoners¡­. he might need to commission Ravimoux to do in-depth research into those vassals¡¯ backgrounds. He raised his eyes to look at Melissa. ¡°Could I perhaps have a list of those who are against Jacques¡¯s relation with commoners?¡±


    She eyed him for a moment and then nodded. ¡°Seems like there¡¯s trouble. I won¡¯t pry.¡±


    He gave a thankful nod. ¡°As for Jacques, I¡¯m fine with him as a choice as well. He¡¯s a far better option than most of Evisenhardt¡¯s people because at least I know him.¡±


    ¡°Then I suppose I¡¯ll have to give him a little push. He¡¯s been dawdling for too long,¡± she replied, a mischievous smile on her face. ¡°Well, if that¡¯s the formal conversation over, then would you like to come see some of my new flower breeds?¡± she asked him.


    With a wry smile, he nodded and stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll have to see if there¡¯s any we should grow at the Headquarters.¡±


    As Vincent followed behind the green-haired wizard, he decided he would leave the complicated thinking until later. He would enjoy the small break he had left because once he left the family estate of Evisenhardt, he wouldn¡¯t be coming back for some time. It made him feel bittersweet, but he was looking forward to what new changes would be coming to the Commission in the next few years, and he wouldn¡¯t miss the chance to be right at the centre of them by being too attached to his cold family home.


    He also felt like Lucille might start a coup d¡¯¨¦tat of the Empire if he stayed too long, just because she didn¡¯t want to deal with nobles. It would be best to stop that before it began.

 Chapter 23 (1 of 2) Regulus Fardevrio Ravimoux.

    ¡°And¡­ we¡¯re here,¡± a dark-haired girl announced as the ornate carriage pulled to a stop. The door swung open as the coachman unlatched it, and the silver-haired man opposite her stood up, leaving the carriage. Vincent turned around and held out a hand to help her down¡­ which Lucille blatantly ignored to jump down off the carriage step on her own.


    Disgruntled, her aide pushed up his glasses as he gazed at her. ¡°I believe etiquette dictates that it is customary for a lady to be helped down by their escort,¡± he remarked dryly.


    Lucy didn¡¯t look at him, humming as she observed the large building in front of them. ¡°Well according to someone, I¡¯m not a lady.¡±


    ¡°She might not want to be helped,¡± the voice of a young boy piped up. ¡°But I do. I¡¯m stuck.¡±


    She sighed and turned around, gazing at the silvery-winged snake currently trying to manoeuvre himself over the fold-out series of steps. His wide wings were caught, and he wasn¡¯t able to wiggle his body to slither down the steps in any practical way.


    ¡°This is beastism, I tell you. When will they make snake-accessible staircases¡­¡± he grumbled as Lucy managed to fit him through. She lifted him onto her shoulders, where he raised his head above hers like he normally does. Once he was in position, he flared his wings. ¡°All right! Time to gamble!¡±


    Lucy scowled and raised her cane to whack him on the head. ¡°There will be no gambling today, Mr. 15-year-old. Besides, what money ¡®you¡¯ have is actually mine.¡±


    ¡°Come on! You don¡¯t go visit the most famous casino in all the realms just to do nothing!¡±


    She sighed again while Vincent watched them with amusement. She jabbed a finger at the amphiptere. ¡°No running off and bothering the casino staff. Don¡¯t bother the people who are obviously not normal customers of the casino. And do not try to find the entrance to the black market pocket dimension.¡±


    The silvery snake flapped his wings indignantly. ¡°But that¡¯s where all the fun happens!¡±


    ¡°If you enter that place, you¡¯ll lose more than your non-existent assets,¡± she retorted. ¡°I happen to recall several illegal Legendary elixir recipes that require the heart of a hybrid primal descendant. You are ludicrously valuable when transformed into body parts.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­. then maybe I won¡¯t go in there after all¡­.¡± he muttered sheepishly.


    ¡°Smart idea,¡± she replied flatly, pulling out her pocket watch and checking the time. She turned to Vincent. ¡°Then I suppose we head in.¡±


    The three of them were heading into Ravimoux¡¯s largest casino, The Black Lily. It was a tall, wide building, made of dark stone and roughly twenty stories high. A giant lily was being projected above the building, formed out of black, indigo, and dark-blue mana, and the large sign above the entrance was flashing, composed of many mana lamps. A red carpet led through the immensely large, ostentatious, dark-brown lacquered doors, two staff members in black waistcoats greeting those who entered, and a long stream of people going to and from the casino. As Lucille and Vincent drew close, she held up her violet pocket watch for them to see. Both of their eyes widened, and they bowed.


    ¡°Commission Head,¡± one began. ¡°The Count has told us of your visit. He has said to tell you he is in the VIP lounge, which he kept clear for your visit. One of our staff will direct you once you are inside,¡± he told them.


    Lucy nodded to him in thanks and stepped through into the warmly lit area on the other side of the door.


    The grand chamber before them was filled with the loud rumbling of thousands of people talking, playing games, drinking at the bar, or just chatting. The whole venue was filled with the theme of black, the chandeliers with pale blue mana lamps glowing, the embroidery over the couches, everything was some shade of black. The staff all had black waistcoats as they ran about the place, platters of drinks balanced on their hands. One of them spotted Lucy, Scytale and Vincent, and ran up to them. She showed them her pocket watch, which made them also bow, and they asked them to follow them.


    As they walked past the throes of people, Vincent whispered into her ear. ¡°I can feel the stares of everyone on my back,¡± he told her, rather irritated. ¡°Why did you have to pick such an attention-drawing colour?¡±


    ¡°You appear to be selecting one minor fact out of several other details that would make us eye-catching,¡± she replied wryly. ¡°Namely, the fact I have a very shiny winged snake bond across my shoulders, I wear a half-mask or the fact you have Evisenhardt¡¯s signature silver hair, which is not very subtle, I might add.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but once they notice those details, they continue staring at us because of your clothing!¡± he complained.


    ¡°I¡¯m just wearing the correct theme for the Commission Head. Evisenhardt wears white, Chavaret wears red, Alichanteu wears blue, and Ravimoux wears black. It may change occasionally, but you all wear your County¡¯s colour. Violet just so happens to be the Founder¡¯s colour,¡± she responded, following the casino staff member up a series of dark wood stairs at the back of the first casino floor.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure nobody would mind if you picked another colour,¡± he tried to persuade her.


    ¡°They shouldn¡¯t mind anyway. I¡¯m the useless puppet leader, remember? I can wear whatever I want,¡± she replied smugly, as Vincent let out a groan. She gestured to what was up the steps. ¡°He¡¯s here.¡±


    Count Ravimoux was at the top of the spiral staircase, dressed in a black dress shirt and tie as he watched the casino¡¯s proceedings below, his black hair slicked back. Over his shoulder was slung a black jacket, and several silver rings embedded with dark green gems shone on his fingers. When he saw them coming he spread his arms wide with a genial smile on his face. ¡°Miss Goldcroft! How wonderful it is to see you again. It¡¯s been some time since we last met.¡±


    Lucy mirrored his facial expression as she arrived at the top of the staircase, and shook hands with him. ¡°It has. Thank you for accepting my request for a meeting," she replied.


    Behind her, Vincent gave a slight bow to the Count, who nodded in return to his greeting. The Count held his chin as he observed Scytale with interest. ¡°And I don¡¯t believe we¡¯ve met yet,¡± he told him.


    ¡°Nope. I know you though. Sharing memories with Lucy and all that compeer bond stuff.¡±


    The Count raised an eyebrow curiously. ¡°Compeer? Are you her familiar?¡±


    The serpent shook his head while Lucy answered for him. ¡°A familiar requires one to bind their mana to each other as well, but only our souls are bound, and not our mana, so I can¡¯t cast any spells through him and he can¡¯t through me.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± the Count mused. He smiled and gestured to the large casino hall below their balcony. ¡°Are you sure you wouldn¡¯t like a chance to test our services before our discussion? You might find something that will provoke your interest down there,¡± he said with a wink.


    Lucille gazed down at the casino in mock contemplation and then turned to the Count with a wide grin on her face. ¡°I think I would prefer not to gamble away the Founder¡¯s vault just to fill your coffers, Count Ravimoux.¡±


    He clicked his tongue and shook his head in false disappointment. ¡°How sad. You didn¡¯t fall for it. Oh well.¡± He looked at Vincent and smirked. ¡°Sir Evisenhardt. Did you enjoy the free time I gave you?¡±


    Lucy watched with slight curiosity as the expression on Vincent¡¯s face turned awkward, the Count chuckling at his reaction. ¡°Am I missing something here?¡± she asked.


    Count Ravimoux grinned at her. ¡°You see, when Sir Evisenhardt here sent a messenger to inform me he was coming to formally invite Ravimoux to the debut ball, I suggested he use that time in a more worthwhile way, while I take care of spreading the appropriate rumours on my end to make it seem like he had come. There is no one else he needed to invite, after all.¡± He shrugged.


    ¡°Ah. I have heard¡­ something about how you are the only direct lineage of Ravimoux, but not the specifics,¡± she replied.


    He gave her a smirk. ¡°All the others conveniently died of mysterious causes, leaving me as the only one left. I had no involvement,¡± he said, spreading his arms wide.


    ¡°What rubbi- I mean... A-Ahem, Ahem,¡± Vincent coughed, trying to cover up his mistake.


    They watched with amusement as he tried to avoid making eye contact with them, becoming intensely focused on the goings on of the casino below. Count Ravimoux crossed his arms with a playful smile on his face. ¡°It seems Sir Evisenhardt here has some misgivings about my statement. Do I perhaps have an eyewitness?¡± he questioned, his eyes narrowed.


    Vincent stared at him, incredulous. ¡°Excuse me, sir, but I have some very distinct memories of a certain occasion nine years ago at a County ball where most, if not all of the direct County members had been able to see one of only two Ravimoux heirs at the time be skewered through with a very long dagger by the other heir of Ravimoux, who then proclaimed himself the new Count. Please don¡¯t single me out if you¡¯re going to start listing eyewitnesses.¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, I do indeed recall seeing your face there at the time. You¡¯re two years younger than me, so you were¡­ eighteen? It seems I left an impression on you,¡± Count Ravimoux mused.


    Vincent shifted his glasses, silver-grey eyes narrowed. ¡°I was close enough the blood splattered on my shoes,¡± he stated flatly.


    ¡°How lucky, a front-row seat!¡± the Count exclaimed cheerily. He chuckled as Vincent sighed, and turned to Lucille. ¡°Then, shall we head inside the lounge? And as for your bond¡­. well, I suppose he would share your memories anyway, so there¡¯s no privacy issues¡­¡± the Count considered.


    ¡°Yeah, but that doesn¡¯t mean I want to sit through it all! Lucy will just tell me the important bits anyway. Is there anywhere I could go?¡± Scytale spoke up.


    As the Count thought about it, Lucy grabbed the snake¡¯s head in her white-gloved fingers and turned him around for him to face her stern expression. ¡°Not the black market,¡± she told him firmly.


    The Count blinked. ¡°Why not the black market? I could always send some adequate guards to protect him if you¡¯re worried¡­¡±


    She gestured to his wings. ¡°He¡¯s a hybrid,¡± she stated blandly.


    ¡°Ah.¡± Count Ravimoux paused and then held his chin in thought. He eventually nodded. ¡°Right. I may be in charge of the black market, but let¡¯s not put my control to the test by tempting fate.¡± He hummed. ¡°Well, the upper floors have some interesting magic items and portraits you could go see¡­¡±


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    Scytale perked up. ¡°Are there cursed items?¡±


    The Count grinned wickedly. ¡°Maybe?¡± he replied.


    ¡°Hell yeah! Point the way Mr. Count dude!¡± he cried, looking forward to seeing lethal objects that kill people in strange ways.


    Lucy facepalmed as they followed the smiling Count through a doorway, leaving the first-floor casino¡¯s balcony to start heading down hallways with red-black wood walls. As Scytale jumped down off her shoulder, Vincent looked at the amphiptere with mild confusion. ¡°Hell¡­ yeah?¡± he asked.


    Lucy just sighed. ¡°Scytale can see all my memories. That means he can also access the knowledge of my world¡¯s slang and unique words. Unfortunately for us, he¡¯s managed to include it into his vocabulary.¡±


    ¡°I see. That makes a lot of sense. I¡¯m still trying to work out what a ¡®jazz¡¯ is. Sedric told me he said that when he was complaining to me one time,¡± Vincent remarked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a music genre,¡± she replied drolly as the Count stopped. He gestured with a hand to a door that contained a staircase carpeted in dark red.


    ¡°This will lead to the upper rooms. I ask that you don¡¯t try to enter any that are locked. They¡¯re likely occupied,¡± he told the snake. ¡°If you happen to find one of the cursed objects I certainly don¡¯t have, don¡¯t touch it and get cursed, please,¡± he said with a smirk.


    Scytale raised himself and flapped his wings. ¡°Even if I did, I¡¯d be fine! I¡¯m a light element beast, after all.¡±


    Hearing that, the Count¡¯s eyes narrowed, but Lucille stepped forward and bent down to whack his head before the black-haired man could say anything. ¡°Scytale. You will not touch anything. Even if it looks cursed. Especially if it looks cursed,¡± she told him sternly. ¡°I am not risking a light-dark elemental explosion here, and even if that didn¡¯t happen, your light element would ruin several hundred objects that I¡¯m sure Count Ravimoux would markup the price for me when I need to provide compensation. Do. Not. Touch. Anything,¡± she stressed.


    ¡°Um¡­ okay¡­.¡± he replied nervously.


    The Count had a lazy smile on his face as he nodded. ¡°I¡¯m glad that the message has gotten across. But Miss Goldcroft!¡± he exclaimed with a hurt look on his face. He placed a hand on his chest. ¡°You wound me! Do you truly believe I would charge you an unfair price for compensation?¡±


    Lucy and Vincent both eyed him for a moment. Lucille smiled brightly. ¡°Count Ravimoux, I believe your commonly known ¡®fair price¡¯ is a physical limb or two being removed if an individual fails to provide compensation with interest.¡±


    He chuckled. ¡°Well, I suppose that¡¯s understandable.¡± He turned to Scytale on the ground. ¡°Listen to your bond and don¡¯t bring down my casino, please. It¡¯s one of my better ones,¡± he told the snake.


    ¡°Okay, okay, no touching anything. I got it. Bye!¡± the white-gold winged serpent said, jumping onto the handrails of the staircase to go up the floors.


    Once he had gone, the Count turned to them both with a smile on his face. ¡°Then, shall we head to the VIP lounge?¡±


    They followed him through several hallways until they ended up in a room with several black upholstered couches, and a low table between them. They took up a seat, and Count Ravimoux crossed his legs and intertwined his hands, resting them on his knee. ¡°Now,¡± he said. ¡°Before we discuss anything. Miss Goldcroft. Were you satisfied by the way I dealt with the¡­ intruder some weeks ago?¡±


    She smirked. ¡°What intruder, Count?¡±


    He laughed. ¡°Well, I suppose that is the ideal response. But shall we say there has officially been nothing between us before the meeting?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°I believe the more professional we keep any relationship, the better. I have no intention of trying to involve myself in the politics between the Counties. I want to be neutral.¡±


    He gave her a sly smile as he held his chin in thought. ¡°But if so, are you not playing favourites already by coming to meet me? My sources tell me I am the only Count you have seen twice so far.¡±


    Lucy shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ve already balanced things out a bit. For Evisenhardt would be Sir Evisenhardt here,¡± she said, gesturing to Vincent, who remained silent as he listened to their discussion. ¡°I asked Count Chavaret for some guards, and so two Rank-4 members of his mercenary army will be my private guards when I leave Headquarters. Alichanteu has been¡­ difficult, on account of their internal conflict.¡± She continued, ¡°But I have intentions to sponsor one of their vassal talents, and have other plans in the works. So, I have not yet tipped the scales to favour one group or the other.¡±


    He nodded thoughtfully. ¡°Then I suppose I¡¯ll have to see what you intend to offer me today. The ¡®intruder¡¯ swiftly revealed his information under pressure from my subordinates so I became aware of your stance.¡±


    ¡°So, he was a scapegoat,¡± she replied.


    ¡°Indeed. He was bottom of the rung,¡± the Count said, shrugging.


    She hummed and then gestured to Vincent, who pulled out a piece of paper from his suit pocket. ¡°There¡¯s something I would like you to see before the offer, though,¡± she told him.


    Vincent passed the paper over, letting the Count read it. As he read through it, the smile on his face grew wider and more malicious. He looked up. ¡°And this is¡­.¡±


    She reclined back on the couch. ¡°A list of all those I saw sending messages to identifiable or unidentifiable forces when I used my spiritual energy to find potential spies after the meeting. I¡¯m sure you know most of them, but¡­.¡±


    ¡°Oh yes,¡± he replied, a cruel smirk on his face. ¡°At least two-thirds. But the final third, most of which are in the unidentifiable column¡­ this is interesting,¡± he said, his eyes gaining a glint as he read the page again. ¡°What would you like me to do with them?¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°Whatever you wish.¡± He looked up curiously as she gestured to the page. ¡°I am only showing you this as it is my responsibility as the Commission Head to ensure potential threats are reported. It is Ravimoux¡¯s job to decipher which spies are too risky to remain, and which can be left alone. Personally,¡± she continued, ¡°I don¡¯t feel there¡¯s much urgency in removing them any time soon. A new Commission Head will make them all hesitant to move, but if we remove them now, the ones we haven¡¯t caught will be even more careful, and it may be extremely hard to find them when we need to as the restructuring progresses.¡±


    ¡°Indeed,¡± he replied, nodding. He folded the page and put it in his pocket. ¡°Very well then. I will consider what is the best move for these individuals. I wouldn¡¯t want to hastily remove such enthusiastic, valuable employees if they¡¯ve been talented enough to make it into the upper echelons of the Commission,¡± he told them, his relaxed smile back on his face.


    Vincent coughed and spoke up, ¡°There is something I would like to add though.¡± The Count nodded, tilting his head, and so Vincent continued, pulling out another list for the man. ¡°I have seen signs that this proxy battle between Olden and Radical has extended into the Counties as well.¡±


    The Count leaned forward, his smile gone as he took the paper. ¡°Now that is pressing news. Headquarters is far less risky a place for them to be, but if this has started infecting the Counties as well¡­ oh dear. I see what the problem is.¡± He looked up. ¡°These are the main supporters of your mother, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    Vincent sighed, nodding. ¡°I discovered, thanks to Melissa Evisenhardt, that there have been some particularly notable signs of discontent with commoner forces within Evisenhardt. And there¡¯s no way Radical would¡¯ve sat still while Olden expanded their influence, so I¡¯m assuming that Genevieve Evisenhardt is backed by Radical. The other two Counties must have their issues with the two factions too. They¡¯re aiming for the heirs of the Counties.¡±


    ¡°And it¡¯s obvious why I haven¡¯t seen this occur for my County,¡± Count Ravimoux replied, crossing his arms, and frowning slightly. ¡°I have no heir, and I¡¯m known for keeping a very tight leash on my subordinates¡¯ loyalties, so they would have no chance to infiltrate deeply within Ravimoux.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll need to check somehow with Count Chavaret, but it¡¯s obvious Alichanteu is in a terrible state. Have you heard what occurred between Arwen Alichanteu¡¯s messenger and me?¡± Lucille spoke up.


    The Count gained an interested look. ¡°Not yet. What happened?¡±


    Lucy told him what the messenger offered and how it went, and even the Count had gained an incredulous expression by the end of it. ¡°I hope I do not offend¡­¡± he began, a strange look on his face. ¡°But just know, that if I ever do get involved in Alichanteu¡¯s succession politics, I will never, ever support Arwen Alichanteu.¡±


    ¡°That is the conclusion I believed you would come to, yes,¡± she remarked dryly. She rubbed her head with a white-gloved hand. ¡°I believe I might need to take this chance to transfer some of Alichanteu¡¯s management responsibilities to myself once I find out what occurred in that trip in the Permafrost Glacial Abode,¡± she told him.


    ¡°Building up your own force already?¡± he replied teasingly, but his eyes were narrowed with an analysing gleam.


    She gave him a dismissive wave. ¡°It would be a form of punishment for them, rather than a benefit for me, so I wouldn¡¯t keep it. And as a ¡®puppet leader¡¯, I can¡¯t directly control anything unless I¡¯m working with people who are bound by a secrecy contract. I¡¯d probably hand the responsibility over to Vincent or the selected participants of the competition.¡± She paused, having had an idea, and then an evil grin spread across her face. ¡°Do you think the two Alichanteu heirs know about the airship development?¡±


    The Count¡¯s eyes widened, and then he threw his head back and laughed loudly for a while. ¡°Oh, you are terrible,¡± he said, still chuckling. ¡°No, I don¡¯t think they do. They wouldn¡¯t until they became the Count. Only the older, more influential members would be aware of those projects.¡±


    She smirked. ¡°I don¡¯t need to warn the Alichanteu heirs. They¡¯re not the real forces behind the succession conflict, anyway. But it would be a perfect warning against the real powers within the County. And, because I need to cover up the transfer of the airship development projects, which are supposed to be top secret, they can''t reject me if I ask for other responsibilities to be transferred as well. I hope the Vadel heir comes to Headquarters with some useful information,¡± she added thoughtfully.


    Count Ravimoux nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve been keeping tabs on their family. It seems that apart from the heir and the Baron, the Baron¡¯s brother-in-law, a battlemage, will be coming, as well as a young member from a side family.¡±


    Lucille tilted her head, eyes narrowed. ¡°A battlemage?¡± She held her chin, frowning slightly. ¡°And he¡¯s coming because¡­.¡±


    ¡°Silas Vadel was a Captain in the Main Army Battalion,¡± the Count explained. ¡°But he¡¯s known for his distaste for politics, something well known because he has repeatedly avoided promotion because of his battle lust and disagreeable attitude towards his superiors. He¡¯s been staying with the Vadels after he ¡®retired¡¯, although he¡¯s been offered unconditional permission to return to his old position if he chooses to come back.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s noticed something off about the mage and the heir, hasn¡¯t he,¡± she replied.


    ¡°That is the conclusion I came to as well. If he notices Efratel Vadel leaving to have a secret meeting with someone, he¡¯ll likely try to find out who he is meeting with,¡± the Count responded, leaning back on the couch.


    ¡°I¡¯ll consider how to talk to him then,¡± she said, crossing her arms in thought. She shook her head to rid her mind of excess thoughts and smiled. ¡°Now, the offer, rather than more spy removal for you.¡±


    He chuckled and gestured for her to go on.


    She smiled, and after using a bit of will to remotely access her dimensional pouch on her waist, a folder appeared with a pop, landing on the table. She passed it over to him. ¡°How willing would you be¡­¡± she began, ¡°To have all your black market pocket dimensions linked into one large sub-dimension, financed by the Commission Head herself?¡±


    The evil grin the Count gave her after he read the first page of the folder matched her own with eerie similarity.


    ¡°Quite willing indeed,¡± he replied with malicious glee.


    ¡­


    They continued discussing Lucille¡¯s proposal in greater detail for a few hours, going over the feasibility and specifics of the plan. Lucy¡¯s idea was to link all the pocket dimensions to a larger sub-dimension, using the smaller pocket dimensions as transport tunnels of a sort. It was a system the dragons used to access their Major Dimension, and three of the four Supreme Institutions also used the method to access their ¡®origin planes¡¯, planes that were not part of the main Mystical Realm¡¯s dimension and were located in inferior dimensions.


    All-Aeon Athenaeum¡¯s actual Athenaeum, their incredibly large library, was located on their Aeonic origin plane. Pedestal was the Citadel¡¯s origin plane, while the Empire¡¯s origin plane was rumoured to keep their most powerful weapons. Glory Pantheon didn¡¯t have one, but they were responsible for all the weapon clan Tournaments, Champion and Mythos Championships, and the Coliseums spread out all over the realm, their base of power being located in the 1<sup>st</sup> Eternal Duchy. They also had strong ties with Bastion and the titans, the ¡®only¡¯ non-mortal race to use Heroic Power.


    The Count looked up from the proposal they were pondering over. ¡°The Supreme Institutions won¡¯t like this, however. They¡¯ll think we¡¯re trying to become the next Supreme Institution.¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°For them, they emphasize their origin planes because they hold their strongest weapons and sources of power. They jealously guard all permission to enter. The Athenaeum¡¯s origin plane is segmented into sections by very firm magical wards and barriers, and you must be an official mage or wizard of the Athenaeum to enter. The Citadel only allows fourth-generation Citadel members or longer to live there, and only those of royal descent can access the Empire¡¯s origin plane. This won¡¯t be an ¡®origin¡¯ plane. It¡¯s not our place of origin,¡± she replied.


    ¡°Additionally,¡± she continued, ¡°The ultimate goal of this would be to link realms together, like the dragon¡¯s dimension, rather than planes of the Mystical Realm, so keeping secrets in there would be a bad idea for safety¡¯s sake. And only those of certain status or higher will be able to enter to keep it as a place of exclusivity.¡±


    ¡°And where will you find this sub-dimension? I doubt the Violet Order or Spatial Tower will be willing to easily hand one over, especially as they want to keep a monopoly over all planar pathways,¡± he asked, raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°The Artificers have a few,¡± she replied, a grin on her face. ¡°They use sub-dimensions all the time to develop their artifacts and are frequent customers of the Order and Tower. I don¡¯t believe the Order or Tower have ever considered the fact someone might go to the Artificers for their sub-dimensions. And if you throw in a deal to alert the artificers of strange new elemental phenomena they might want to study and imitate in their pocket dimensions to develop artifacts¡­.¡±


    ¡°It seems feasible,¡± he mused, rubbing his chin.


    ¡°Will you not have to deal with complaints from the Athenaeum when they discover this? It might create issues for the Commission¡¯s transport systems,¡± Vincent spoke up.


    She smiled and held up her pocket watch. ¡°I¡¯ll still need their expertise to link the pocket dimensions together. If they¡¯re complaining even after I give them so much money, shut them up by saying all the money belongs to the Athenaeum anyway, as the Artificers are still under the Athenaeum¡¯s authority. It shouldn¡¯t matter to them who I purchase the sub-realm from.¡±


    ¡°The perfect excuse to stop them from complaining if they want to keep up the pretence that the money is being invested in research projects rather than their luxurious lifestyles,¡± the Count replied, nodding. He smiled as he looked down at the report. ¡°It seems I¡¯ll have to increase my control over the black markets. I believe I¡¯ve done well so far, but occasionally, some idiots try to test me and-¡±


    He paused, seeing Lucy¡¯s facial expression. The Count and Vincent watched in bemusement as it went through a transition of irritation, anger, confusion and dumbfoundedness in the span of a few seconds. Then it changed again. ¡°Can anyone tell me why my snake is watching two assassins battling each other on the rooftop?¡± she said, with a tight, slightly strained smile on her face.


    The Count blinked once and then scowled. ¡°Idiots like them.¡±


    <hr>


    Scytale wanted popcorn. He hadn¡¯t felt such strong cravings for food for many years, mostly due to not needing to actually eat to sustain himself for at least a century, but still. He wanted popcorn.


    He had originally been going through the many finely equipped posh rooms of the casino, looking at the various ornaments and expensive paintings he came across in the many private rooms on the upper floors. Some were boring, apparently meeting rooms for the Count¡¯s subordinates, some had very fancy decorations, and but some were more¡­. unique.


    He knew that the Ravimoux casino needed to cater to individuals of all the realms, but a black skull with a green mana lamp inside was a bit creepy. The objects he did find had metal plaques underneath their podiums or shelves that told the history or details of the item. The black skull used to be an Archlich¡¯s and was gifted to Ravimoux by the undead lord that killed it. Scytale wouldn¡¯t have a clue why an undead would think a human Faction would be interested in that sort of decoration, but the Count didn¡¯t seem to mind if he was showing off such strange items.


    Although, the man himself was strange. Scytale understood that if you spent enough time around it, you¡¯d be indifferent towards death. He was like that himself. But he didn¡¯t joke about it like the Count did. He had met worse than the Count though, and plenty of people far stranger, so Regulus Ravimoux was kinda mellow compared to the type of people who came out of the underworld most of the time.


    But Scytale shouldn¡¯t be judging him, because he seemed to like collecting cursed objects! That was neat! He had also tried to at one stage, but Lucy ended up stealing them away from him and sealing them. It wasn¡¯t his fault the collection turned an entire planet into an inhospitable wasteland because they were too strong! It was the item creator¡¯s fault! Their fault for making the items so interesting!


    He also found a neat picture at one stage. Apart from just the normal curtains, wallpaper, and mana-lamp sconces, the room with the picture had nothing else, besides the picture itself. It was huge and occupied an entire wall of the room. It appeared to be a painting of a ballroom, with people dancing, and musicians playing instruments. It was very well made, but what Scytale found cool was the fact that no matter what person in the picture you looked at, they always seemed to be looking back at you. Even if you had seen that they weren¡¯t looking at you earlier, the instant you move your eyes to them, they automatically stare back at you. You didn¡¯t even see them move. A less cool detail was the fact that their eyes had no irises and the corneas¡¯ were pitch black, but you couldn¡¯t have everything.


    Another cool thing he had found was a window. It wasn¡¯t a real window, because it showed Gilded Seat in creepy tones of black and white with weird shady creatures stumbling around down below on the streets, but it looked like one. He had asked a staff member what it was because it had no plaque, but they replied they had never heard of a window like that before. When he backtracked, he couldn¡¯t find the room again, so he just kept exploring. Eventually, he made it to the top story and found that the rooftop entrance that should¡¯ve been sealed was open. That was when he snuck out to find¡­.


    ¡°You killed my father!¡±


    Inigo Montoya? Is that you? Where are the rest of your lines?


    ¡­.. a real-life action movie playing out.

 Chapter 23 (2 of 2) Regulus Fardevrio Ravimoux.

    Unless you were in a frontier/unexplored region and plane, an Event battlefield, or the dark parts of a city, you wouldn¡¯t really find that much action going on due to the System preventing conflict within a certain range of the Obelisk. It could still happen if you were on properties that were controlled by Authority, or used a Shop Command, which granted certain benefits to a User with a worker class, but for the casino¡¯s situation, normally the power and reputation of Ravimoux prevented anyone from causing a fuss. Scytale supposed that a casino that functioned as a centre for all the local underworld forces might be more¡­.. prone to this sort of situation, but it was really dumb. And amusing to watch.


    He had activated his [Incongruity Inversion] and [Lesser Invisibility] to hide behind one of the dark stone brick chimneys, watching the events curiously. One of the two assassins was dressed in black and red leather armour, a hood forming a shadow over his face. A black cloth mask had fallen down around his neck, allowing Scytale to see that he was young, in his late teens to early twenties, with black hair and blue eyes.


    The man opposite him was outfitted in a pitch-black outfit, a mask with Ravimoux¡¯s green crest embroidered on its front covering the lower half of his face. From where he was, Scytale couldn¡¯t see the man¡¯s face, but it seemed the younger assassin recognised him because the young man had an ugly scowl on his face as he glared at him, one long red dagger held in a hand, ready to fight. The other man had two black daggers sheathed on either side of him, with a relaxed posture as he observed the hooded assassin with his arms crossed.


    The red-hooded assassin raised his long dagger to point angrily at the older man. ¡°You murdered the man who raised me! Why?! Why did you kill my father?!¡±


    The black-dressed assassin just tilted his head. ¡°Boy, I¡¯ve killed many people. Who in the realms are you talking about?¡±


    Scytale suppressed a snigger as he heard that. It was a very stupid question to ask an assassin, but the younger man didn¡¯t seem to realise that, instead, taking a step forward with his dagger still raised.


    ¡°His name was Gabriel Vahedi!¡± the youth shouted. ¡°A knight of Duke Wilshire of the 7<sup>th</sup> Major Kingdom!¡±


    Scytale winced. That man had just told the assassin their identity, and what possible connections there are that could be held hostage against the young man. Well, if the young man became an assassin, he probably had nothing left to lose¡­.


    The older assassin rubbed his chin in contemplation. ¡°A knight¡­. No, I don¡¯t remember killing a knight. You must have the wrong person,¡± he said, shrugging nonchalantly.


    The younger assassin threw off his hood and glared even harder at the black-dressed assassin, gesturing with the dagger. ¡°There is no way you are not my father¡¯s murderer,¡± he growled. ¡°After all, I saw you with your mask down, and you still have that horrid scar across your mouth that I saw when you slaughtered my father right in front of me!¡±


    The black-dressed assassin clicked his tongue. ¡°There¡¯s no helping it. A battle it is. I¡¯ll have to finish this before the boss gets here.¡± And with that, the older assassin pulled out his dual daggers and swung their curved blades at the red-wearing young man, who lunged forward with a vicious snarl on his face, aiming for the older assassin¡¯s vitals.


    They clashed a few times, spikes and ropes of smoky black mana coiling and curling around them both. It seemed they both used dark magic. Now that they were fighting, Scytale yawned, getting into a comfier position, as the boring part was happening. He relaxed his attention but listened out for the brief episodes of strained conversation between them.


    After a few minutes of battle, something changed. The younger man spoke up. ¡°Why¡­ did¡­ you¡­ kill him?!¡± growled the young assassin as he clashed blades, aiming for the other man¡¯s face.


    ¡°Why else?¡± the older assassin replied casually, easily blocking, and diverting the attack with a lazy swing of an arm. ¡°The bounty, the reputation, the boss¡¯s favour, there¡¯s a bunch of reasons. Pick one and it¡¯ll probably be right.¡±


    ¡°Why did Gabriel Vahedi need to die!¡± the young man screamed, angrily stabbing at the black assassin¡¯s ¡®exposed¡¯ waist.


    The black assassin turned his body to the side in one swift movement as the red assassin over extended, and gouged a line along the man¡¯s arm, fresh blood spurting from the wound. With his other dagger, he locked it with the handguard of the young man¡¯s blade, and then shoved his knee into the man¡¯s side, sending him flying. The red assassin coughed and spluttered, winded, as he tried to get up off his knees to grab the red blade lying on the rooftop¡¯s surface nearby.


    The black assassin put one hand on a hip and threw one of his black daggers in the air, spinning and catching it idly as he observed the young man with a weary gaze.


    ¡°Let¡¯s say I killed your father. You get revenge by killing me, and then what?¡± he said, sounding tired. ¡°Ravimoux would never let such an offence go. If you survive, you¡¯d be tarnishing their name. And then there are the people who commissioned me to kill the knight.¡±


    He gestured to the edge of the rooftop. ¡°Use your talent to pile up some money, and then purchase details on who commissioned me. Don¡¯t waste your life here, son.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare call me son!¡± he yelled, getting up as he held his side.


    ¡°But I just- whatever, fine,¡± the black assassin muttered, getting into a combat position again. ¡°Fine, fine. Here we go again.¡±


    They began fighting again, the black assassin still easily fighting the red assassin, with no sign of tiredness, while the red assassin was visibly worse off, his new wound and injured side creating additional strain. It seemed the black assassin would finish the fight easily.


    But Scytale narrowed his golden eyes, his slits thinning. The red assassin wasn¡¯t actually tired. He could see the younger man¡¯s eyes were tracking every one of the black assassin¡¯s feints and false moves, picking and choosing which ones to ¡®fall for¡¯ or not. It finally happened, as the red assassin was getting pushed closer to the rooftop edge. The man was a few short paces away from the edge, anxiously looking behind him with every step.


    The black assassin sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll make this quick. Better have a resurrection, boy.¡±


    He went to take a sharp stab at the young man, but the young man¡¯s eyes lit up with hidden light and he dodged the blade. Instead, his red blade became coated in a flickering aura of black and orange flames, and the aura extended with a flash, searing the side of the black assassin.


    The black assassin coughed, stumbling back, and clutched his severely burnt side, the cloth flaking away. His mask fell down, revealing a thick ropy scar going up from his chin to the corner of his mouth, the skin twisted and waxy due to the incomplete healing. The black assassin coughed again. ¡°You¡­ had a fire¡­ affinity?¡± he spluttered weakly, holding his side that had begun leaking clear fluid due to its injuries.


    Instead of answering, the young man sneered and dashed forward. Before the black assassin could recover, the red assassin rammed into him and grabbed his arm, dragging him to the edge of the rooftop. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you as many times as it takes,¡± he said in a low voice.


    The black assassin clutched at the younger man¡¯s arm, drawing blood with his nails, but the red assassin didn¡¯t let go. With one last heave, he threw the black assassin over the edge and then turned away with a wrathful look on his face. After a moment of heavy breathing, he started walking towards the opposite edge of the rooftop and didn¡¯t see the quick black shadow flash behind him as it dropped over the edge. Scytale lifted his head as his eyes widened.


    Something shoved into the red assassin, sending him sprawled over the ground, spluttering. The assassin¡¯s eyes widened and his breath seized in his throat as an overbearing pressure pushed down on him from all sides, squeezing the strength from his limbs. Scytale watched curiously as a pillar of pitch-black smoke swirled in front of the man, a tall figure emerging from it. In its black-gloved hand was the black assassin, grasped firmly by the collar of his coat as he dangled limply, an awkward expression on his face.


    ¡°Hmm,¡± said a voice, like it was observing an interesting spectacle. ¡°I don¡¯t often have to deal with this sort of thing personally.¡±


    He dropped the black assassin, who fell to the ground with a grunt, grimacing as he sat up.


    ¡°Sorry, boss,¡± the assassin said, wincing as he brushed off the grit sticking to his wounds.


    Count Ravimoux, whose figure had fully manifested from the smoke, observed the man for a moment, before turning his dark green eyes to the red assassin, struggling, and failing, to get up with the pressure bearing down on him from all sides. ¡°How many times have I told you all not to mix personal and professional affairs while on my property, Bartram?¡± he reprimanded the black assassin.


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t help it,¡± ¡®Bartram¡¯ replied, breathing heavily as he gingerly touched his burnt side. ¡°The boy saw my face before I pulled up my mask. It seems he was there when I took on an old mission and managed to see me.¡±


    ¡°Well, I suppose that¡¯s understandable,¡± the Count commented. He narrowed his eyes as he looked down at his subordinate. ¡°But not excusable. This does not mean I won¡¯t be issuing a punishment for failing to take the conflict somewhere else. I was in a meeting.¡±


    The man nodded his head spiritlessly, looking depressed all of a sudden. He turned to look at the red assassin on the ground a few metres away. ¡°What about him?¡± he said.


    The Count silently observed the red assassin, holding his chin in a hand as he considered the young man. ¡°Indeed. What shall I do¡­.. hmm.¡± He took a step forward, kneeled down, and lifted up the young man¡¯s face, who was glowering at him. The Count tilted his head, green eyes intently focused on the red assassin. ¡°Nobody died¡­ although that was due to my intervention. I¡¯ve always told you to get to Rank-4, Bartram.¡±


    Bartram sighed. ¡°Yes, Count Ravimoux. I will.¡±


    ¡°Well, I know what to do.¡± The Count smirked, his eyes gaining a cruel glint as he spoke up. ¡°This man has offended Ravimoux. And we don¡¯t let our offenders live.¡±


    He dropped the pressure, the red assassin taking in a deep breath, but before he could move, the Count grasped him firmly by the neck and hoisted him up. He let out strangled sounds as the Count pulled him over to the rooftop edge, lifting him in the air over the edge with one arm. Count Ravimoux smiled as the assassin tried to remove his grasp, failing to remove the vice-like grip the Count had around his neck.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°If I was one of my brothers, perhaps I would send out a bounty to have you killed on sight after your resurrection, over and over again. But I¡¯m not. So¡­¡± he said in a cheerful voice, his green-black irises gaining a red-hued outline as a black smoky aura enveloped him. ¡°Take this as a warning from Ravimoux.¡± Then his tone switched. ¡°And never mess with us again,¡± he stated icily.


    SPLATTER!


    The assassin¡¯s head exploded in a shower of blood, the pressure intensified in one short moment to burst his head. The red liquid sprinkled Count Ravimoux, getting into his hair and on his face and clothing as he let go of the lifeless body, which fell off the edge of the building to land somewhere on the streets below in a crumpled heap. He turned around with a smile on his bloodied face, hands behind his back.


    Bartram stared for a moment and then gestured to his own face. ¡°Um, sir, you have a little¡­¡±


    The Count gazed at him, nonplussed, and then touched his face. ¡°Ah,¡± he replied, seeing his glove come away with blood. He snapped his fingers and all the blood slipped off him, splattering onto the dark brick of the rooftop. He pointed to the door of the rooftop entrance. ¡°Go get healed, Bartram. Then we¡¯ll discuss your punishment.¡±


    The man sighed, nodded, and then disappeared into black particles of fog. Once he was gone, Count Ravimoux looked around the place with a searching gaze. ¡°Now, if her serpent was able to see the battle, then he must be here somewh-¡±


    ¡°Peekaboo.¡±


    The Count whirled around, a cold expression on his face. Then he blinked as he saw the shiny snake peeking out from behind a chimney, realising it wasn¡¯t a threat. He walked forward to come closer to Scytale, then he held his chin as he leaned forward with one hand behind his back, peering at the snake with curiosity. ¡°How interesting. You were obviously using an invisibility spell beforehand, but it seems you have some way of removing yourself from my mental awareness. I didn¡¯t even notice you were there.¡±


    The snake slowly backed away. ¡°If you¡¯re curious, ask Lucy. She studied my spell a bit, but I remember her saying it was conceptual though, only accessible by my bloodline, so even if you dissect me it¡¯s useless.¡±


    The Count chuckled as he straightened up. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dissect you.¡± He ignored the sceptical gaze of Scytale to start heading towards the rooftop exit, the winged serpent following along. ¡°Did you find anything that interested you?¡± he asked casually as they descended the stairs.


    ¡°Lots of things. But there was this weird window that none of the staff members could tell me about, all black and white.¡±


    He paused as he noticed the Count had frozen for a second, before walking slightly quicker. ¡°We don¡¯t talk about the window,¡± he stated stiffly.


    Scytale blinked, and then slowly nodded. ¡°Okay¡­ no talking about the window. Got it. Oh, but why did an undead gift Ravimoux an Archlich¡¯s skull?¡±


    <hr>


    The Count told Scytale about some of the backgrounds behind some objects he found as they went down the stairs to meet up with Lucy and Vincent. When they finally came back, Scytale slowly started to shuffle behind the Count, avoiding Lucy¡¯s gaze. Lucille was just staring at him with no expression.


    ¡°Ugh. Don¡¯t look at me like that. That¡¯s your angry expression,¡± he said.


    ¡°I¡¯m not angry,¡± she replied calmly.


    ¡°Yes, you are! I can feel it through the bond. Don¡¯t lie to me!¡± he yelled.


    She narrowed her eyes. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s say I am angry. Why would I be angry, Scytale?¡±


    He shiftily looked to the side. ¡°Uh¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­.¡±


    Lucy scowled. ¡°And yet, you¡¯re hiding behind Count Ravimoux. Are you perhaps scared of something?¡±


    ¡°You know what, maybe I¡¯ll just keep looking around the casino¡­¡± He slowly tried to back away, inching towards the door.


    With a flat expression, she pointed a finger up, and the winged snake yelped as he was lifted up into the air. Using her spiritual energy, she pulled the serpent over and grabbed him with her hands as he tried to wriggle out of her grasp. He kept trying to buffet her head with his wings, so she pulled him taut.


    ¡°Ow, ow, ow! Don¡¯t do that!¡± he whined. ¡°My spine is getting stretched in places it shouldn¡¯t be stretched!¡±


    ¡°Stop being a wimp. I can tell what you¡¯re feeling through our bond, just like you can feel my anger. Your spine is perfectly fine,¡± she stated flatly. ¡°Stop flapping, or I¡¯ll never put you down.¡±


    ¡°This is abuse!¡± he complained.


    ¡°Break the bond then,¡± she replied.


    He groaned but stopped moving his wings. With a sigh, she placed him around her neck and pulled out her pocket watch to check the time. Vincent and the Count just watched their exchange with amusement, remaining silent. Lucille turned to the Count. ¡°Should we discuss more, or leave it for another time?¡± she asked.


    He rubbed his chin and then nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s leave it for later. There¡¯s some work I¡¯ll have to do on my end before I can truly determine the feasibility of this, and I¡¯ll have to start preparing my subordinates for the reorganisation of the black markets.¡± He stuck his hand out. ¡°I wish you luck with your ventures, and may you see future horizons,¡± he said with a smile.


    She grasped his hand to shake it, and then blinked in realisation, pulling out a piece of paper she had in her pocket. ¡°Before I forget, could you please alert me as soon as possible if someone with these characteristics comes to one of your casinos?¡±


    He grabbed it and read it with a curious expression on his face before his eyes widened slightly. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll definitely see to it. You have my word,¡± he replied, giving her a small bow.


    She smiled and nodded back. ¡°Then, thank you for your time, Count Ravimoux, and may you see future horizons as well.¡±


    Behind her, Vincent gave a bow to the Count as well, who nodded, and then Vincent, Lucy and Scytale left, walking back down the stairs to the first floor of the casino. When they made it back to the carriage, she sat down, Vincent doing the same opposite her. Scytale sat on the bench next to her. Lucy sighed as the carriage started moving, making Vincent raise an eyebrow.


    ¡°What is it? I thought you¡¯d be happy with how today went,¡± he asked.


    She gave him a dismissive wave. ¡°That¡¯s not why I¡¯m sighing. I have nothing to be happy or upset about, as today went exactly how I expected. Minus Scytale¡¯s little misadventure,¡± she added, glaring at the snake for a moment. She shook her head. ¡°No, I just hate politics.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re very adept at it,¡± he replied, slightly confused.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean I like it,¡± she responded dryly. ¡°That just means I can do it.¡±


    He leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms as he observed her. ¡°What did you even do before all this? I¡¯ve been thinking you used to be some noble of some kind, but that doesn¡¯t really tell me much.¡±


    ¡°I lived, ate, drank, breathed,¡± she deadpanned. ¡°And no, I wasn¡¯t a noble.¡± She held out a hand to pause him as he opened his mouth to say something. ¡°Yes, I talk like one. That point has been adequately explained to me by many. I had noble etiquette education, but I was a commoner.¡± She looked out the window. ¡°Up until around five months ago, I was an ordinary teenager. Or at least as ordinary as you could get when you have a grandfather who owns 4% of every country¡¯s stock market in your world.¡±


    ¡°Countries plural?¡± he asked curiously.


    She glanced at him. ¡°I wasn¡¯t kidding when I said my world might have a value equal to that of an unexplored Great plane. It has the size to support it. Technically though, they¡¯re more like ¡®vassal states¡¯. We have a unified governing body for my world.¡±


    Vincent held his chin. ¡°So, five months ago you remembered your past memories?¡±


    She smiled slightly. ¡°I think you¡¯re making a few assumptions about what I am that are not accurate in the slightest. Well, it¡¯s a close enough description.¡±


    ¡°Does Scytale have access to all your memories? Or maybe not¡­ if he did, I¡¯m not sure he would act as young as he does¡­¡± he mused.


    Scytale, who had been pretending to be asleep, raised his head and hissed at the aide. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m only two and a half years younger than her! I¡¯m not that young!¡±


    ¡°Yet her mental age is over two hundred,¡± Vincent replied, bemused.


    ¡°I know what I said,¡± Scytale said, gazing at the man with unblinking gold eyes.


    The silver-haired man looked between Scytale and Lucille for a moment, confused. ¡°I¡¯m lost.¡±


    The amphiptere yawned and settled back into position. ¡°Lucy has already told you our bond is at least advanced rank, right? That takes twenty years to develop.¡±


    Vincent blinked and then became flabbergasted. ¡°Wait, are you saying-¡±


    ¡°My mental age is 245. I''m physically 15. Lucy gets rid of it with soul magic, so she doesn¡¯t suffer from it, but my young body makes me more immature,¡± the snake responded lazily. ¡°Also, most of my memories, unlike Lucy, are sealed, so there¡¯s that too.¡±


    ¡°Sealed? No wait, that doesn¡¯t matter,¡± he replied, furrowing his brows. ¡°You knew each other before you¡­..¡± he hesitated as he struggled to phrase it nicely.


    Scytale saved him from the anguish. ¡°Died. Got killed. Fell into eternal sleep. Kicked the bucket. Bit the dust. Slept with the fishes. Got put six feet under.¡± The snake began laughing at Vincent¡¯s progressively more awkward expression. ¡°Ha! You should see your face! It¡¯s almost as bad as Annaliese¡¯s when Lucy told her she had died!¡±


    Vincent stiffened slightly and glared at them both as Lucille pinched her nose bridge, mildly vexed. ¡°You mean to tell me Miss Verdon heard about this before I did?¡± he said, rather angrily.


    Scytale tilted his head in thought. ¡°Come to think of it, I never told Annaliese I was like you, Lucy. Oh well. A surprise for next time.¡±


    ¡°Stop jinxing me! I don¡¯t want a next time!¡± Lucy told the snake, an eyebrow twitching in irritation.


    The snake flickered his tongue playfully. ¡°Don¡¯t hate me when I say I told you so!¡±


    She groaned and rested her head against the carriage wall behind her. ¡°Why did I decide to bond you a third time?¡±


    ¡°Because you just love me soooo much.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± She snapped her gloved fingers. ¡°Now I remember. It was so you could distract the enemies while I run away.¡±


    ¡°No it was not!¡± he argued.


    ¡°Your light-element bloodline is literally all about grabbing attention,¡± she replied wryly.


    ¡°Well, I mean, maybe so, but-¡±


    ¡°So I¡¯m guessing you two did know each other then?¡± interrupted Vincent in a dry voice.


    ¡°Unfortunately, I¡¯ve known about this snake for 231 years,¡± she stated, pulling out her pocket watch and idly playing with its gold chain. ¡°So, yes.¡±


    ¡°Why do you both have the memories then?¡± he asked curiously.


    ¡°He was my bond at the time of my death. Whatever happened to my soul happened to his too,¡± she answered, not looking up.


    Vincent narrowed his eyes. ¡°And what did happen to your souls?¡± he pushed.


    Lucille looked up from the pocket watch, blinked, and then traded glances with Scytale. Then she turned back to Vincent and stuck out her tongue. ¡°Not telling.¡±


    Vincent groaned, rubbing his temples. ¡°Why not?¡± he asked, sounding very exasperated.


    ¡°Because it would make you worry needlessly about certain things. Look for clues yourself if you¡¯re that curious. It¡¯s irrelevant to my work as the Commission Head anyway,¡± she said, tucking the pocket watch into one of her pants¡¯ pockets and gazing out the window again.


    He sighed and leaned back on the bench. They were silent for a few minutes, Scytale having finally fallen asleep for real. Then Vincent crossed his arms and stared at her. ¡°Can you tell me what you did in the past?¡±


    ¡°Hm? Oh.¡± She faced him again. ¡°Sure.¡± She didn¡¯t say anything else and just looked at him.


    His eyebrow twitched when he realised she was doing the same thing as when they had just met, but he kept his complaints to himself to ask his question. ¡°You can use magic, so you are, or were, a mage of some kind. What¡¯s your speciality?¡±


    ¡°Illusion magic,¡± she told him.


    He stared at her in surprise. ¡°Illusion magic? Really?¡±


    Lucy shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve never used it the normal way, but I do use illusion mana. If I had to say what my second magic speciality is, I would say arcane, but that¡¯s just because of the utility of non-elemental mana. I have no elemental affinity, so as much as I might occasionally use other magic, I¡¯ll never be amazing at it.¡±


    He became thoughtful. ¡°No elemental affinity is... really rare. No wonder you used illusion magic, which isn¡¯t composed of the 6 essential elements. But¡­ shouldn¡¯t your affinity be different now? I mean, if you died and entered a new body¡­¡± he asked, raising an eyebrow.


    She smiled and shook her head wryly. ¡°It¡¯s still no elemental affinity. Ask more questions and stop making wrong assumptions.¡±


    He frowned slightly at her statement but continued. ¡°What was your profession?¡±


    She cocked an eyebrow. ¡°After living for almost two and a half centuries, I have a lot of work experience.¡±


    Vincent rolled his eyes in exasperation. ¡°Fine. What was one of your jobs?¡±


    Lucy hummed and tapped on her chin. ¡°Well, I was a professor at one stage.¡±


    ¡°A professor? For the Academy?¡± he questioned.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I spent some time teaching advanced environmental mana theory while doing some part-time research,¡± she replied, crossing one leg over the other. ¡°My field of research was the relation between the spiritual realm and mana. Hence my specialty in spiritual energy and the soul.¡±


    ¡°But as the Commission Head, you can¡¯t go there anymore, can you? If you want to remain neutral, you won¡¯t be able to return to research more¡­.¡± Vincent said.


    ¡°Who said I ever wanted to return?¡± she asked, an odd look on her face.


    He was speechless. ¡°But¡­ to get stronger, you need to get new spells and-¡±


    She sighed. ¡°I¡¯ve already learnt all I need from there. One thing important about high quantities of spiritual energy and soul power is the eidetic memory. I¡¯ve read everything I ever needed from the Athenaeum¡¯s records.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t want updated information?¡± he asked, looking sceptical.


    She stared at him flatly for a moment, before rolling her eyes. ¡°Whatever you¡¯re thinking right now is wrong. I¡¯m not what you believe I am.¡±


    ¡°And what is it that I am thinking?¡± he said, narrowing his eyes at her.


    ¡°How would I know? I haven¡¯t bothered to check what you¡¯re thinking yet,¡± she stated drolly.


    He nodded absentmindedly before his eyes shot wide open. ¡°Wait, are you a mind reader?¡± he exclaimed in shock as he leaned forward.


    Lucille frowned at her aide. ¡°I cannot ¡®read your mind¡¯ in the way you¡¯re thinking. If I release a higher density of spiritual energy into the surrounding area, then maybe I could sense your emotions or surface thoughts. I can¡¯t read memories or see anything you¡¯re subconsciously or consciously trying to hide that way.¡± She turned to face the window. ¡°Those at high ranks are automatically protected against this by their mana, and when I¡¯m in areas with high population density, all the emotions and residual energy waves blend together so I can¡¯t decipher them. It¡¯s too much effort to read people¡¯s minds now.¡±


    He stared at her for a while, suspicious. ¡°That¡¯s a pretty poor way of trying to pretend you don¡¯t do it.¡±


    She glanced at him. ¡°I¡¯m not pretending. If I was reading your mind, I would either try to keep the fact I could do it a secret, or I would tell you I was doing so when I revealed that I have the capability, in which either case you wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to stop me.¡±


    He hesitated, a contemplative look on his face. He begrudgingly nodded. ¡°I suppose that makes sense. But why does it require a higher spiritual energy density?¡±


    ¡°If I use my spiritual energy in its most basic form,¡± she explained, ¡°It functions like a domain ability, where I can control the environment, or in this case, energy, within a certain radius around me. But to interact with anyone else¡¯s spiritual energy, I need to flood the area around me with much more spiritual energy. Detecting what emotions someone feels needs almost all their surrounding spiritual energy to be mine. It¡¯s a waste of time when if you have more than one individual nearby, all their thoughts blend together like ripples on a pool.¡±


    He eyed her for a moment and then nodded. ¡°And¡­ how did you die?¡± he asked quietly.


    She gazed at him for a while, her face expressionless. Lucille looked up at the roof of the carriage and closed her eyes. ¡°For longer than two centuries, there had been someone who had an¡­. obsession with me. I don¡¯t know why, nor do I care to know, but eventually for some reason he ended up believing I was associating with enemies of his, or had been ¡®corrupted¡¯ somehow. That man had a self-righteous attitude, and thought he could ¡®save¡¯ me.¡± She frowned slightly. ¡°I knew even if I told him the truth, he would only believe what he wanted. It ended up in a battle to the death. And he killed me, but at the same time, I killed him too. Neither of us could resurrect again. As a compeer bond, Scytale died at the same time as me. He was dealing with the man¡¯s subordinates.¡±


    Vincent gazed at her for a while and then sighed. ¡°Well, at least he died. He won¡¯t come back.¡±


    She looked at him but didn¡¯t say anything, and the carriage trip was quiet for the rest of the trip back.


    ¡­


    ¡°Distract Vincent for me,¡± Lucy told Scytale.

 Chapter 24 (1 of 2) Deals with a Demon Emperor.

    ¡°Distract Vincent for me.¡±


    The snake glanced nervously between the door of the living room and the open window. ¡°Do we really have to do this? Surely there¡¯s a better way¡­.¡± he asked reluctantly.


    She rolled her eyes, jumping up onto the windowsill. ¡°We¡¯ve been over this. If I told him I was going to the Demon Realm, he would do anything to stop me.¡±


    ¡°And for a good reason too!¡± her bond exclaimed loudly. ¡°Demons don¡¯t care for consequences at all! They¡¯d happily kill you if they found you the slightest bit irritating! ¡­.which I must add, is one of the most likely things to occur when it comes to you¡­.¡±


    ¡°Which is why I¡¯m heading straight for the Demon Emperor¡¯s Palace. I have unfettered access, so they wouldn¡¯t stop me, and demons with stronger bloodlines have more political sense. I¡¯ll be back before the day is over,¡± she said, looking over the window¡¯s edge.


    ¡°How? Don¡¯t you only have one monthly Obelisk teleport?¡± he responded, slithering over to the window.


    ¡°The one after the Tutorial is free, so no. I have two,¡± she replied. ¡°I have Ouroboros and Apophis with me as well, just in case.¡± The two daggers were strapped to sheaths on either side of her belt, and she wasn¡¯t wearing her violet suit and jacket ensemble, just the black and brown leather adventurer clothes she had picked up before going to Scytale¡¯s enclave.


    She turned around to look down at the amphiptere on the floor. ¡°Time for me to go.¡±


    The silvery snake began to panic. ¡°Wait! But you still haven¡¯t explained how to distra-¡±


    Turning back to the window, she stretched out her two hands, a mana-circle appearing on either one. She turned invisible as she jumped, her second spell slowing her fall from the forty-story-high building.


    Scytale slithered onto the windowsill to look down as she landed, his eye ability seeing past the invisibility spell. He let out a groan as she began making her way around bushes and hedges in the garden, navigating a way that wouldn¡¯t intersect with the guards.


    Click.


    He whipped his head around to stare at Vincent, who had just walked into the room with a pile of forms under one arm, shutting the door behind him. Scytale froze as Vincent stared back, taking in the absence of the Faction Head. Vincent slowly narrowed his eyes in the tense silence.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Lucille?¡± he stated calmly, a vein throbbing on his forehead. ¡°And why is the window open?¡±


    The winged snake whimpered as he slowly lowered his head, his anxiety increasing by the second. Lucy was so going to suffer for this.


    ¡­


    ¡°Open Obelisk Directory,¡± a dark-haired girl stated.


    Lucille was standing in the semi-translucent box of the System Obelisk, prepared to leave for another realm. The System acquiesced, providing a selection box for her.


    [Directory: ]


    <ol>


    <li>Beast Realm</li>


    <li>Demon Realm</li>


    <li>Tartarus Realm</li>


    <li>Mystical Realm</li>


    <li>Heavenly Realm</li>


    </ol>


    [ ]


    [You have 2 uses available. The next one will be gained on October the 1<sup>st</sup>.]


    Selecting the [Demon Realm], she ignored the selection list to directly ask the System to take her to her location.


    ¡°Select The Daemonium Palace Stronghold in The Demon Emperor¡¯s Dominium.¡±


    If the Beast Realm was separated into regions, and its unique realm-specific Events were the Lairs, then the Demon Realm was segregated into Dominiums. Here, the realm-specific Events were the Strongholds, which doubled as Ascendant Cities. These cities were directly ruled by Demon Lords, and to gain ownership of a Stronghold, a demon needed to defeat them in battle to take their title. Unlike regions, which were fixed in size, Dominiums increased in size depending on how many Strongholds a demon owned. Any reigning Demon Emperor governed the largest Dominium, which had existed long before the Demon Realm¡¯s assimilation into the Tower.


    [Directory ¨C Demon Realm ]


    Dominium selection:


    <ol>


    <li>The Demon Emperor¡¯s Dominium</li>


    </ol>


    Stronghold selection:


    <ul>


    <li>The Daemonium Palace Stronghold</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    [Confirm selection? Yes/No]


    Pleased at how much quicker the selection process was in the Obelisk, she pressed [Yes]. With a disorientating sensation of her limbs disappearing, Lucy¡¯s vision went black, the box of the Obelisk fading away as she turned into white particles, her body travelling through metaphysical space to go to the 2<sup>nd</sup> realm. The Demon Realm.


    ¡­


    Lucille whistled as she walked through the streets of The Daemonium Palace Stronghold. She was outside of the palace itself, which was an imposing building made of red, black, and gold stone that towered over the streets from the mountain on which it sat, overlooking the city.


    While some places in the Beast Realm shared similarities with places in the Mystical Realm, the Demon Realm could never be mistaken for one of the other realms. Sure, the Strongholds might have some infrastructure resembling places in other realms, but the Strongholds themselves most often resembled a stereotypical vampire¡¯s castle, with dark stained glass and pitch-black walls. It could change depending on the area you were in and the strength of the demon ruling it, such as the rooftop tiles being on fire, or a wall of freezing shards of giant ice surrounding it, but there was always this striking sense of being in a vintage horror movie.


    Lucy guessed it might have been because the sky of the Demon Realm was blood red.


    The Demon Realm itself had a fascinating ecology and structure. Unlike the Beast Realm, which slowly grew larger as more frontier regions came into being, the Demon Realm just existed. From what the realms knew, the Demon Realm was an infinite landscape that just went on, and on, and on. You could keep walking in one direction and never return to the starting point. And this realm was filled with an assortment of random biomes that seemingly had no rhyme or reason, with all the colours of the environment being distinctly wrong in some way.


    At one stage you could be walking through a forest of vibrant blue and deep green glowing trees and plants in the shape of ferns, to find yourself emerging at the top of a mountain, stretches of endless chasms below. Even the night cycle was weird, as the sky never had any constellations or marks to navigate by, and only a thick blanket of red and grey mist darkened the area when it was night. And it didn¡¯t stop there.


    The Demon Realm had very little mana, and when there was, it was the private stock of a higher-ranked demon, and wouldn¡¯t be something you could use. That meant there were no magical plants, monsters, or beasts besides those who came from other realms. But that didn¡¯t mean you¡¯d only find mundane creatures there. While the Demon Realm was a physical realm unlike the spirit realm, it was an immaterial realm too. The spirit realm was filled with spiritual energy, and the Demon Realm was filled with demonic power, the opposite of spiritual energy. And that meant all living things within were demonic.


    Everything was out to get you. Absolutely everything. Any beast was a demonic beast, any insect was a demonic insect, and any plant was a demonic plant. They all had highly aggressive territorial instincts, and intelligence and cunning far higher than what their strength would suggest. They didn¡¯t gain sapience until much later, compared to creatures of similar strength in other realms, but even the weakest creatures in the Demon Realm wanted to kill you, from the grass to the bees to the birds.


    It was for a very simple reason. All creatures with a demonic lineage had the ability to absorb the demonic power of another demonic creature. It enabled them to strengthen their abilities, fuelling more powerful demonic spells, and increased their soul presence and pressure to bring about bloodline submission, the instinct of a weaker demon to obey every command of a demon stronger than you. But it only activated when you had defeated the creature, giving you 50% of their demonic power if at the same strength, less if they were weaker, and more if they were stronger.


    A demon could only trigger the ability once on another demon, and then they¡¯d have to fight other demons to obtain demonic power. It had limits, because if they absorbed the demonic power from too many different demons without purifying the spiritual signatures, then they¡¯d become highly aggressive and emotionally unstable, making them more reckless, and their abilities more prone to ruining their body.


    This kill-or-be-killed nature of theirs extended to the ¡®True Demons¡¯ as well, those who weren¡¯t demon beasts or plants. True Demons were the actual humanoid race of the Demon Realm and had their astral bodies, which were essentially their actual form. As creatures from an immaterial realm, all demon creatures were technically made up of demonic power. Only in the Demon Realm did it give them physical form though, which was why they needed to obtain mana from other realms to manifest properly in those realms.


    That was how demonic contracts came about, a promise of mana, whether it be by demonic sacrifice or other methods, which would allow them to go to other realms or dimensions, which they found interesting. They couldn¡¯t absorb the spiritual energy of non-demon races, but because all their abilities came from their astral form and dealt with the soul, they earned a reputation for collecting souls.


    Only the noble demon bloodlines cared about contracting the mortal races to gain a source of mana. Most demons had too much to deal with in their realm to care about other realms. But mana was a valuable ¡®currency¡¯ for them all because it allowed them to advance their bloodline and make it stronger. And the stronger the demonic bloodline, the more human they appeared, at least in their normal forms.


    All True Demons were unkillable. The body you killed in the material realms would only ever be an incarnation, a shard of their astral form. And the shard would automatically return to its owner if weakened slightly. If you tried to kill a True Demon in the Demon Realm¡­ it wouldn¡¯t work either. Sure, it was possible to slay their form, which had flesh and blood when in the Demon Realm, but if they ¡®died¡¯¡­ they would just pop up sometime later somewhere else in the Demon Realm, weaker than they were before, and sometimes missing a few memories.


    It was random, and on a supposedly infinite landscape, sometimes it was the equivalent of never seeing them again, but if they were a User, the System could return them to the closest Stronghold¡¯s Obelisk. The System abused its connection with them to place Obelisks throughout the realm if they reformed somewhere far from civilisation. True Demons could only ¡®die¡¯ by being defeated so many times their sapience was reduced due to lack of strength, and they turned into a demon beast. If they get killed again and again after that, they get reduced to the weakest rank of demon creature within the realm and continue with that life until they finally regain strength, working their way back up to True Demon.


    But no matter how far any demon creature was from civilisation, there was one presence they could always feel the location of, wherever they were. The one existence at the very top of their food chain, the Primordial Demon. Who was also, unfortunately, the very same individual Lucille needed to meet today.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    She sighed as she gazed up at the imposing palace. There were some individuals within the Tower that the System didn¡¯t control. Not that it couldn¡¯t, but rather because they were vitally essential to the mechanisms of their realms, in that their existence was a fundamental feature of the realm itself. The Beast Realm had the Dragon Sovereign, the supreme ruling beast over all of the beast races. The Mystical Realm had the World Tree, the sole natural gate to the spirit realm. The Heavenly Realm technically had four, the Celestial Cardinal Beasts, who all worked together to maintain order. Tartarus had the Monarch of Death. And the Demon Realm had the Primordial Demon, who also held the title of Demon Emperor. The System termed them Paragon Anomalies because their strength was something that could never be replicated.


    She took a step, and then a shudder went through her as a vibration resonated throughout her soul, the all-encompassing sensation of roaring waves of demonic power flooding the area around her. She accessed the new notification she sensed appearing. A familiar emotionless voice spoke.


    [You are within the Auctoritas of Demon Emperor Vitis Exolvuntur Imperatoris-Daemonium.]


    She grimaced and sped up her pace slightly. There was a reason why Dominiums were called such. A True Demon had absolute control over their territory, capable of sensing everything within. Unlike normal spiritual sense, it meant they were capable of killing anything with demonic power within too, with just a thought. And when a demon was within their Stronghold, it manifested in the form of ¡®Auctoritas¡¯, or Khaos Authority. The thoughts and minds of every demon within the Auctoritas would be unconcealed before the ruling demon¡¯s presence. It very obviously came with an instinctual sense of fear for the weaker demons. Fear was the only method of ruling known to demons.


    She sighed slightly as she came to stand before two demons, guarding a great gate before an imposing staircase that led up to the doors of the Daemonium Palace. One of them had grey skin, light grey hair and glowing orange eyes indicating a member of the Ash-veil vassal bloodline under the Infernal demons, while the other had rose-tinted skin, brown hair and six red horns that curved over the back of his head like a helmet. She didn¡¯t know what bloodline the demon carried, but the unconcealed maroon wings on his back suggested he had an impure bloodline, likely with strong demon beast lineage. They gazed at her suspiciously as she walked up.


    ¡°Good morning,¡± she said, smiling. ¡°Or is it evening?¡± She peered up at the sky. ¡°I can never tell when I¡¯m here.¡±


    ¡°State your business,¡± the winged demon replied sternly, taking a step forward with a glaive in his hand to bar her entry.


    ¡°I want to enter the Daemonium Palace,¡± she replied casually.


    The Ash-veil demon frowned slightly. ¡°And why do you want to enter the palace?¡± he asked.


    Lucy shrugged. ¡°To meet the Demon Emperor.¡±


    They stared at her with undisguised disbelief. The winged demon scowled at her, growling slightly in a way that showed his large incisors. ¡°How dare you think so lightly of the Demon Emperor¡¯s time! Go away at once!¡± he said, pointing the glaive at her.


    She crossed her arms and gazed back at them, unfazed. ¡°But I have unfettered access,¡± she replied, grinning.


    The winged demon glared at her, moving his glaive threateningly, while the Ash-veil demon frowned at her. She didn¡¯t move, even as the winged demon¡¯s expression grew darker. The winged demon went to take a step forward, but the Ash-veil demon put out a hand to stop him.


    ¡°Just wait,¡± he said, closing his luminous orange eyes. They waited for a moment, the winged demon still glowering at her, before the grey-skinned demon¡¯s eyes flew open and widened just as a new voice was heard.


    ¡°She can come in,¡± said a lazy female voice, the telepathic words drifting by them.


    The Ash-veil demon hastily bowed to Lucy, forcing the winged demon next to him to do the same, who was looking very flustered and confused. Then he straightened up and gestured to the gate. ¡°You may enter, Miss- er, milady,¡± he told her awkwardly.


    She smiled and headed through the large gate, even as the Ash-veil demon struggled to stop the winged demon from angrily storming after her. Then she gazed at the tall series of marble stairs that led up to the palace and sighed, resigning herself to half an hour of climbing. It was probably a demonstration of sorts. If you mattered, the Demon Emperor could just teleport you right to him, but otherwise, you had to climb on foot like common rabble. There was a reason few outside demons ever saw the Demon Emperor in person.


    But that voice¡­ a woman, so it wasn¡¯t the Demon Emperor. Then¡­ was it her?


    After some time, Lucille made it to the top of the stairs. The huge double doors of the Daemonium Palace were fully open, revealing a long, wide corridor, embroidered scarlet drapery and banners hanging from the ceiling. She walked forward, making her way through the first hall of the palace. She stepped through another pair of large double doors, finding herself on a blood-red carpet that extended onwards up a distant series of steps. She continued walking until she found herself in front of a short staircase of about twenty steps. At the top was¡­ a throne. An empty throne. She knew any reigning Demon Emperor only ever sat on the throne on very rare occasions, never calling assembly. Unless it was for a Millennium Chapter involving the Demon Realm.


    The throne didn¡¯t look like the stereotypical image of a demon ruler¡¯s throne, with pointy spikes and pitch-black colouration. It was quite tasteful in design, being made of red, black, white, gold and a few red gemstones for decoration, the main colour predominantly being red. Lucy had heard there was annoyance towards the Demon Emperor from the Eternal Empire when the Mystical Realm assimilated, due to the Empire¡¯s national colours being scarlet and gold, and the Demon Emperor at the time had replied by¡­. making all the Strongholds within his Dominium built out of red and gold. She had heard it was an interesting era back then.


    As for the current reigning Demon Emperor¡­ she had heard he was lazy and indifferent to everyone, but how much of that was truth was up to her to discover. He definitely hadn¡¯t been lazy when he massacred half of the Empire¡¯s forces on the Millennium Chapter battlefield all alone¡ªusing an incarnation with only 1/8<sup>th</sup> of his main body¡¯s strength. In one day. While sitting on a throne. And mocking them.


    The guy was terrifying.


    But she turned her head to look around, as she stayed still in that throne room, wondering where to go. She didn¡¯t dare use her perception field within the Auctoritas of the Demon Emperor, and she hadn¡¯t seen anybody else since she stepped in. The Daemonium Palace wasn¡¯t the central force for political affairs in the Demon Realm. None of the higher-ranked demons liked to enter the Auctoritas of another demon, in case they weren¡¯t strong enough to stand against instinctual loyalty, so they typically sent messages to each other by proxy. The Demon Emperor just telepathically sent messages to the Four Demon Duchies as he was mentally linked to the four highest noble bloodlines¡¯ rulers. The Primordial Demon didn¡¯t need to eat, drink, or even sleep unless he wanted to, and so only a few servants stayed in the palace. And one of the Demon Dukes, who managed the palace in his stead.


    She turned around when she heard the sound of footsteps approaching. She blinked when she saw a woman waving to her.


    ¡°Why, hello there,¡± said the demon.


    She was wearing a very¡­ revealing black outfit that left little to the imagination about her curvy figure, and had long wavy black hair that cascaded down her back. Curling across every part of exposed skin besides her forehead, chin and nose were black lines of script, shifting and reordering themselves with each of her steps. Two glossy, ebony-black horns extended from either side of her forehead to curl slightly around her ears, like long goat horns, and her lips and nails were painted black, matching the raven hair on her head and dark eyes. A pair of large, black, leathery wings extended from her shoulder blades and folded up as she came closer. She was about a head taller than Lucille, and she tilted her head as she looked down at her, tapping her chin with pale white fingers.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that our visitor would be such a gorgeous little girl. Although¡­¡± she said, smirking. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen what you look like under that mask of yours.¡±


    Lucy put a smile on her face, ignoring the antagonising remarks, and bowed politely with one hand placed over her chest. ¡°My name is Lucille Goldcroft. I am honoured to meet you, Miss¡­.?¡± she asked questioningly.


    The demon laughed and gave her a dismissive wave. ¡°Oh, just call me Lilith. No need for formalities. Come, follow me," she said, turning and heading towards a side corridor. Her wings disappeared, scattering into fragmented black light.


    Lilith. So, it is her. I wonder why she came in person then¡­


    Lucy walked beside her, her smile still fixed in place. ¡°Do you work here normally, Miss Lilith? What¡¯s your job?¡± she asked brightly, pretending to be oblivious to her identity.


    Lilith laughed lightly, navigating the empty corridors with ease. ¡°Oh yes, I¡¯m a permanent employee. You see, I¡¯m a very special kind of person to the Demon Emperor.¡±


    Lucille stared at her for a second, before blinking and fixing her expression. ¡°Really?¡±


    She cannot be implying¡­. does she think I¡¯m an idiot? Is she trying to mess with me, get me to slip up?


    Lilith smirked and gestured for her to follow along. ¡°Well, I have a¡­ close relationship with him, let¡¯s say.¡±


    Why hasn¡¯t he killed her yet for saying this?!


    ¡°What do you normally do when there are no visitors?¡± Lucy asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m his secretary, most of the time,¡± she replied, her heeled boots clacking against the floor. ¡°Maybe I was chosen for it because of my looks?¡± she mused aloud.


    Lucille¡¯s polite smile twitched a bit, but not enough to be noticeable as she walked beside the woman. No, you don¡¯t just hire the Abyssal Duchess to be a secretary because of her looks¡­


    ¡°Is the Emperor busy? Do you need me to wait?¡± she questioned, trying to move the conversation along before she got killed because of what the demon was saying.


    Lilith shook her head. ¡°No, of course not. He¡¯s never- he has time,¡± she said, switching her statement hastily.


    Lucy narrowed her eyes slightly. This woman is really going to get me killed. Was she just about to say, ¡®he¡¯s never busy¡¯?


    ¡°I¡¯ve noticed you haven¡¯t asked me about my unfettered access yet. Do you not need to know more?¡± Lucy asked her.


    The demon woman paused, glancing at Lucy for a second. There was a slight delay before she answered, ¡°¡­no need, everything¡¯s been checked already.¡±


    Lucille took note of how she had hesitated before answering. It likely meant she was mentally contacting someone¡­ quite possibly the only other person to have unfettered access within the Demon Realm.


    ¡°Now, don¡¯t make him angry. I¡¯m not sure if even resurrection could save you from your fate if that happens,¡± the demon teased. ¡°He doesn¡¯t care for formalities, so make sure you tell him why you are there without dawdling. He¡¯ll know if you do.¡±


    She nodded as Lilith stopped for a moment to gaze at Lucy with narrowed eyes. A semi-transparent ghostly apparition of outstretched black wings loomed behind her as a black aura curled and twisted around her feet with every step as she walked closer to Lucille. The sounds of screaming winds could faintly be heard as her black lines of script slithered and coiled around her body.


    ¡°And don¡¯t think you can try to form some sort of¡­ closer relationship with him. That would be irrational, disrespectful, and idiotic,¡± she said, taking a step forward to gaze at Lucy with a cruel smirk on her face. ¡°I will be there, in that room, so if I see any sign of you making that sort of move¡­ well, let¡¯s just say that maybe you¡¯d be better off if he was the one to kill you,¡± she said in an icy voice that didn¡¯t match her expression. Then her cruel smirk relaxed back into her usual smile as she continued walking down the corridor.


    Lucy blinked an odd expression on her face and then shook her head wryly to follow after the demon woman.


    I think I get it now. He¡¯s not keeping her around for the reason she¡¯s suggesting. She¡¯s bug spray. Well, this is all irrelevant anyway.


    They continued walking for a while before Lilith stopped at a small side door. She gestured to it. ¡°We¡¯ll wait in here. The Demon Emperor will join us in a bit.¡± She narrowed her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t forget what I¡¯ve told you, little girl.¡±


    Lucille suppressed a sigh and nodded. She followed Lilith into the room, the demon woman telling her to take a seat on one of the couches, while Lilith herself stood behind the opposite couch and waited patiently.


    Lucy contemplated keeping the mental construct for her expressions active but decided not to, and with a flick of a mental switch, she went expressionless, turning off the mental construct responsible for her facial expressions and subconscious body language, so anything she did was consciously controlled. She didn¡¯t want to make things harder for herself by slipping up and accidentally showing the wrong emotion, so she paused the soul structure that formed her body language and outward emotions.


    It was a tense few minutes as she waited, going over her plans for how she would talk to the Demon Emperor. Then, the door opposite the one she entered swung open to reveal a tall person, who walked over to the opposite couch. She took a moment to observe the Demon Emperor with her accelerated thoughts.


    The 242-year-old Vitis Exolvuntur Imperatoris-Daemonium was dressed in what seemed to be a tied black silk dressing gown and pants, wearing no shoes or shirt. He was very tall, easily standing head and shoulders above Lucille, and looked to be in his mid-twenties. He had pitch-black hair that was even longer than her own, falling past his waist, and near bone-white skin that almost made him look like a statue. The Demon Emperor had the type of looks that could only be described as either belonging to a tall, muscled, and broad-shouldered woman, or a very pretty man. He had no horns, wings, talons, or tattoos that would denote him as something other than human, and if it weren¡¯t for his eyes, he could probably be mistaken as one.


    His irises were large, ruby-red, and glowed with bloody light.


    What was terrifying for her was that she could detect he had no aura at all. He felt just like an ordinary human, a pre-System individual. It suggested he had impossibly high control over his perpetually chaotic soul and incomprehensibly high mana, that was theorised to reach the World Tree¡¯s level. The Primordial Demon was rumoured to be stronger than even the most powerful magical beast, the Dragon Sovereign.


    She blinked as the Demon Emperor sat down on the couch with aplomb, crossing his arms as he gazed at her. ¡°Let¡¯s make this short. Who are you, and what are you doing in my house?¡± he asked in a low voice.


    Aaaand I already can tell this is going to be difficult.


    She removed her violet pocket watch from a pocket to show him at the same time she spoke up. ¡°My name is Lucille Goldcroft, the Head of the Aurelian Commission. I would like to request a contract with you.¡±


    He didn¡¯t say anything for a moment, just slowly tilting his head as he observed her. ¡°A contract,¡± was all he stated.


    She didn¡¯t reply, keeping her face expressionless as her nervousness began to build.


    He shook his head. ¡°What, do you want power? You have nothing you could give me in return. I don¡¯t care if you have unfettered access.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want power,¡± she replied calmly.


    ¡°Then what? Borrowing my status?¡± he said, no smile on his face as he watched her.


    ¡°I¡¯m the Head of the Aurelian Commission,¡± she responded, shaking her head. ¡°It would be detrimental to me to use your status.¡±


    ¡°Then get on with it,¡± he stated harshly. ¡°It was you who asked for this audience.¡±


    Lucille took a breath and explained. ¡°I want to be involved in the disruption of order within the Tower this cycle.¡±


    Behind him, Lilith¡¯s eyes widened as she turned to stare at the Demon Emperor with shock on her face, but he didn¡¯t change his expression as he gazed at her. Then he slowly shook his head.


    ¡°A little girl not even past her second decade is asking the Primordial Demon to be involved with the disruption of order,¡± he said blandly. His voice was level, seemingly without emotion or intent, but the harsh words dripped with derision.


    She gazed back at him, not a single expression present on her face. ¡°I am aware of something you need to know.¡±


    ¡°And what would that be?¡± he replied, tilting his head with mock curiosity.


    She clasped her hands together and didn¡¯t dare look away. ¡°The reason why you will fail.¡±


    He stared at her in silence, as she stiffened in position, waiting for his answer. Then he abruptly stood up with a dark expression. ¡°How ridiculous. Get out,¡± he stated ruthlessly, walking towards the entrance he came from. He opened the door and prepared to leave, but he paused as he heard her say something.


    ¡°You¡¯d think being the Primordial Demon for over 300,000 years would give you more patience,¡± Lucille stated tonelessly. She tilted her head. ¡°I suppose playing pretend is wearing thin.¡± She tapped a finger on her chin. ¡°What else did you go by? Ah yes. I think the first was Eligos, then Orobas. Then was Phenex. Andromalius. Finivit. Dilavre. Malphilet. Omni-¡±


    Her voice cut out as a seizing pressure built up within her chest, choking the breath out of her and giving her a pounding sensation of abrasive static tattooing itself against her mind, the air rippling within the room. Her head went cold as a primal fear towards the existence in front of her emanated from deep within her being, her thoughts scattering like dust in the wind. Lucy gasped for air, clutching at her chest as a stabbing sensation pulsed from it, her vision swimming with a red haze. She deliriously registered Lilith dropping to her knees with strangulated gasps as well, unable to stand up against the wrathful presence of the Demon Emperor. He slowly walked forward to gaze coldly at her, and then as her vision began to dim, the pressure suddenly cut out.


    Lucille coughed and spluttered as she drew in deep breaths, her skin cold and clammy as the chills ran up and down her spine, but she didn¡¯t show any of the fear on her face as she shuddered.


    The Demon Emperor turned to look at the demon woman on the opposite side of the room. ¡°Lilith, out,¡± he ordered, expression stern.


    The woman blinked, a very confused look on her face as she slowly stood up. ¡°I- what? My lord?¡±


    ¡°I said out,¡± he stated coldly, narrowing his eyes at the woman.


    She flinched, and then quickly made her way outside the door, shutting it behind her. The Demon Emperor sat back down on the couch, staring silently at Lucy as she slowly stopped breathing as heavily. When she was back to normal, if a bit pale, he leaned forward with a chilling expression on his face. ¡°I will not say it again. Who are you, and what are you doing in my house?¡± he said, with a voice like ice.


    Lucille sighed as she gazed back at him, weary. ¡°My name is Lucille Goldcroft, and I come from a timeline that ended 231 years in the future.¡±


    It was going to be a tiring discussion.

 Chapter 24 (2 of 2) Deals with a Demon Emperor.

    Tap. Tap. Tap.


    The Demon Emperor was frowning at the ground as he leaned his chin on a hand, deep in thought. Lucille remained silent and waited patiently for him to say something as he tapped his fingers against the armrest of the couch. He looked up and gave her a dismissive wave.


    ¡°Put that away,¡± he ordered, returning to look at the floor.


    She nodded, using her will to interact with the shared Title screen in front of them.


    [Lucille Goldcroft¡¯s Titles:


    Activated: Regressor ¨C Unique, Overachiever ¨C Unique, Beginner Ascendant ¨C Common


    Inactivated: ]


    [Do you want to close this screen? Yes/No]


    Selecting [Yes], she waited for him to say something as the screen disappeared. The fact he hadn¡¯t killed her yet was¡­ good, but at the same, the tense silence was really irritating. And she was pretty sure he was doing it on purpose, for the same reason he had turned up in a dressing gown, called her a little girl when he should easily be able to see she wasn¡¯t young and had also been straightforward with his questions. He was testing her, trying to see what her reactions would be. Or maybe he was just being lazy and didn¡¯t bother to get changed, but considering individuals with high mana density could materialise their clothes with only a thought, that was unlikely.


    He returned his blood-red gaze to her. ¡°And why would I need to care about this?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Because of his class¡¯s first primary skill,¡± she replied, her face still expressionless. ¡°One of its subskills is capable of bending the situations around him to always be in his favour. It¡¯s called Deus Ex Machina.¡± She lowered her gaze to the floor. ¡°If I tried to kill him, he¡¯d always survive, stronger than before. Those around him would also benefit. He also has extremely high Fate, so he¡¯s lucky too. And his class itself gives him strength much higher than anyone else.¡±


    ¡°I sense no lies, so you believe what you are saying,¡± he stated, watching her intently. ¡°Class name?¡±


    ¡°Hero of Light,¡± she said.


    The Demon Emperor paused, his hand falling from his chin as he stared at her. ¡°Hero?¡± he repeated.


    She shifted in her seat. ¡°+50% bonus damage to undead, demonic, and dark-affinity users. It increased by another 50% each time he ranked up. He also has immunity to demonic mental debuffs.¡±


    He gazed wordlessly at her for a while, making her feel a bit nervous. She moved the hair itching the back of her neck. She knew why he was staring at her, as ¡®Hero¡¯ was an extremely specific term with a deep correlation to the Demon Emperor¡¯s own class, but it was still nerve-wracking.


    He leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms. ¡°You said you want to involve yourself with this cycle¡¯s disorder,¡± he stated.


    Lucille nodded. ¡°To my understanding, it is the responsibility of the Demon Emperor to introduce chaos within the realms to ensure progress does not stagnate. Especially when it comes to the reveal of the next realm.¡± She prevented her body from stiffening when his eyes narrowed, and continued, ¡°The Hero won the Demon King vs. Hero Battle. I am aware the Mystical Realm needed to win, and it was arranged so that the highest-ranking hero would win. But the Hero¡¯s existence ended up negating most of the disorder because his Deus Ex Machina skill meant any force or Faction he supported, would gain benefits in turn.¡±


    She stopped her thoughts on that matter from showing on her face. ¡°He supported the Empire and the Citadel. And that meant his delusional decisions ended up ruining my home world when he tried to ¡®help¡¯ it. The Supreme Institutions were too stable and unified, walking right over my world and turning it into an inhospitable wasteland.¡± Her gaze didn¡¯t waver as she looked straight at the Demon Emperor. ¡°I want to make the chaos bigger this time,¡± she said, pushing forward the violet pocket watch on the table between them.


    He tilted his head slightly. ¡°And yet, this does not explain how you know of the cycle, or why you seem to know more about me than you should,¡± he replied icily.


    She blinked. ¡°I am an adept System Scholar. Finding out about the existence of the cycle was easy enough. As for the latter¡­¡± She hesitated. ¡°I use soul power and spiritual energy, so I have a good memory. Once I tried to find and memorise the 666,666 characters of Demonic Script, which was when I found out that even if a demon grows stronger, or their bloodline changes, the first several hundred characters of their ¡®True Name¡¯ are always the same.¡±


    She paused, making sure he wasn¡¯t angry or looking like he was about to kill her, then continued, ¡°On the Demon King vs. Hero battlefield, you cast a demonic spell that used your True Name. I recognised that it matched up with the recorded True Name of an ancient Primordial Demon from just when the Demon Realm assimilated into the Tower. I became suspicious, and found that the same True Name was recorded for almost all the Primordial Demons before you as well.¡±


    ¡°The True Names of the Primordial Demon are hidden within the deepest confines of the Daemonium Palace¡¯s Crypt,¡± he replied, narrowing his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s forbidden for all.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­I snuck in,¡± she said awkwardly.


    One of his eyebrows twitched. ¡°You snuck in,¡± he stated flatly.


    ¡°The rules said you would be killed if you were caught being in there, not-¡± She coughed as she realised she shouldn¡¯t be saying this to the Demon Emperor, the one responsible for the rules in the first place. As he stared at her with ruby-red eyes, she hastily moved on. ¡°This was during the time when there was no Demon Emperor, as you had ¡®died¡¯ or gone dormant or whatever it is you do before you reappear as the ¡®new¡¯ Demon Emperor. I wasn¡¯t found.¡±


    There was a tense moment where she didn¡¯t know how he would react, but it seemed he wouldn¡¯t press, the edges of his lips barely curled in a faint smirk as he gazed at her. ¡°Why do you want to ruin this man?¡±


    Lucille¡¯s expression instantly turned cold. ¡°I get to see him at his lowest, of course. I want to see him helpless, isolated, and distraught as every one of his egotistical, ignorant plans fail to the many ¡®coincidences¡¯ that I¡¯ll engineer around him until he finally realises he can never have what he¡¯s always wanted.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s personal then,¡± the Demon Emperor replied, giving her a calculating look. He turned his head to gaze at something in the distance with furrowed eyebrows, contemplative. After a while, he sighed and snapped his fingers. With a flutter of noise, a blank sheet of paper dropped onto the table between them, while a black pen appeared in one of his hands. He leaned forward and pointed at the sheet.


    ¡°I will inform you of any major plans, and request your aid if required. Satisfactory?¡± he asked, looking up at her.


    She nodded, and so he raised the pen. ¡°We will meet in person every 6 months until the Demon King vs. Hero Battle, and then once after. The Aurelian Commission will not be oppressed by the four Demon Duchies if it expands into the Demon Realm.¡±


    He stabbed the pen into his palm with an unnaturally swift movement and dragged it, cutting open a deep wound. Fresh blood welled from within as he held his hand above the paper and then clenched it, turning his fist so a long stream of blood flowed down to soak into the sheet.


    ¡°In the name of Vitis Exolvuntur Imperatoris-Daemonium, the Primordial Demon and Demon Emperor of the Demon Realm, I make a pact to uphold the provisos and boons agreed upon by the contractor and myself through the essence of my primordial blood. May the oathbreaker¡¯s gage be forfeit shall they test the promises set by this vow,¡± he announced with authority, the air around them vibrating with his words as his blood shone with black light.


    The blood that was on the page seemingly disappeared at once, turning the sheet back to white. He opened his palm, the flow stopping as his wound resealed. He gestured to the seemingly blank page.


    ¡°25% of your soul until after the Millennium Chapter,¡± he stated.


    She hesitated. ¡°I think blood would be better in my case¡­.¡±


    He tilted his head questioningly. Blood was the harsher form of collateral because it could potentially kill you if you broke the contract while losing 25% of your soul wouldn¡¯t. She pointed to her head. ¡°I have 7,000 SPRT right now,¡± she said by way of explanation. ¡°I¡¯m not certain the paper can hold 25% of my soul.¡±


    The Demon Emperor eyed her for a moment, and then threw her the pen with an inhumanely precise, strangely fluid movement, which she caught. She peeled off a glove, and without hesitation, she stabbed the pen into her own palm, sliced across, and also dripped her flowing blood onto the sheet of paper.


    ¡°Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft accepts the boons and provisos decided upon through this pact. I offer my life force as a gage for a blood pact,¡± she stated, her blood sinking into the white sheet of paper. The sheet of paper slowly darkened with the sound of sizzling ashes, becoming as black as charcoal. A light stream of smoke began to trail from one of its corners.


    When she was done, the pen teleported from her hand into the Demon Emperor¡¯s, and he touched the tip of it to the page, causing dark red text of the glowing, ominous Demonic Script to bloom and spool from the tip of the pen, unfurling to arrange itself into a spiral structure on the black sheet. She blinked as a searing sensation emerged from her injured palm, and she looked down to see a single black character glowing with dull red embers seemingly burnt into her flesh. She looked up to see the Demon Emperor had a matching symbol on his own palm.


    [Gained Secondary Skill: Mark of the Primordial Demon]


    I should probably check that before I leave the Obelisk.


    ¡°Until three months from now, you will hear nothing from me,¡± he stated, leaning back on the couch. He crossed one leg over the other and gazed at her. "Is there anything else?¡±


    Lucy shook her head, so he gestured to the door of the room. ¡°Then leave,¡± he said with finality, not looking at her anymore.


    She stood up, picked up her pocket watch from the table, gave a short bow, and made for the exit, leaving the room. She was eager to get out. For some reason, Lilith wasn¡¯t outside, but she remembered the path and quickly walked towards the direction of the throne room.


    When she was some distance away from the room, she slowed her pace, less anxious to get away before anything could go wrong. She idly ran a hand along Apophis¡¯s short pommel.


    So, immunity to the forces of chaos and order doesn¡¯t apply to anything that is just pure soul power, with no mental afflictions. I¡¯ve¡­. very rarely had to deal with such overpowering soul pressure from a soul larger than mine.


    She shuddered slightly as she wrapped her arms around herself for a moment, slightly speeding up her pace.


    And it was demonic power, too. I think I have minor soul damage from the conflict. If he had imbued even the slightest bit of mana into his aura, he would¡¯ve lacerated all the skin from my flesh due to the abrasiveness. Without my current soul power, my soul would¡¯ve been torn to shreds. But the fact the contract worked proves my ¡®pseudo-invulnerability¡¯ doesn¡¯t defend against soul abilities.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    She looked down at the mark on her left palm, appearing like someone had seared it into her flesh with an iron rod. Wondering if she could hide it, it suddenly sunk into her pale flesh, with no sign of injury besides the silvery scar tissue from the cut. She pulled on her black glove.


    Now, she had completed the most important step of her first phase of plans. Namely, negotiate a deal with the Demon Emperor so she doesn¡¯t get killed by unknowingly and unintentionally messing with his plans. The high-level element of Disorder was one of the few things not even Fate essence could prevent, and she would rather have it pointed far, far away from her.


    It was the last week of September. On October 1<sup>st</sup>, Adrianna would enter the White Squall Fortress at the Distorted Depths Region to complete the elite navy cadet course. There she would meet the Hero. Lucy turned a corner and entered the throne room.


    In the past, because of her outstanding performance in battlefield manipulation, Lucille as Adrianna had been assigned to be the Squad Leader of a cohort of young individuals all from the elite training camps over the last three years who had completed it with top marks. This included nobles from different realms who had come to the navy for an exchange program. She had eventually firmly solidified her position as their superior over time, but it had been intense and full of conflict during those times. Conflict she was sure the Hero intended to repeat so he could persuade some of her talented subordinates to leave with him when he left the Navy.


    And while he was wasting time within the Distorted Depths, she would rile things up in the upper echelons of the Empire, so everything would go wrong for him when he left. Although she wished she could engineer his death while he was under her command, she had to be patient and wait. It was her job to be there when he made mistakes, and then she could widen the cracks so he would ruin himself once he realised his Hero class wouldn¡¯t protect him any longer. She dearly wished for his destruction, but watching him slowly succumb to his own wrongdoings might possibly be more¡­. enjoyable to watch.


    With light steps she left the Daemonium Palace to descend its stairs, whistling tunefully as she made her way back to the Obelisk, and ignoring the stares of the two demon guards as she exited the gate, alive.


    ¡­


    A black-haired person with scarlet red eyes was leaning forward on his couch, rubbing his temples as he gazed solemnly at the table before him with a frown. The Demon Emperor didn¡¯t look up as the door to his room was softly knocked on twice. The door slowly opened as Lilith the Abyssal Duchess meekly peeked in, an awkward expression on her face.


    ¡°Um¡­ Your Majesty? I have the cycle plans you requested¡­.¡± she spoke up nervously.


    He gestured disinterestedly to the table with a hand, where she hurriedly walked forward to deposit them, and then quickly dashed back outside.


    There was silence in the room. The Demon Emperor went completely still, not a single movement to be seen. He went as still as a statue as even his breathing paused. Then it happened.


    BOOM!


    A shockwave burst out from the demon, an all-encompassing wave of angry red energy enveloping the room. Quicker than the eye could see, and with the sound of roaring winds, the aura expanded to fill the entire palace.


    Smash!


    Glass throughout the entire building shattered as the pressure built, and the rolling waves of aura turned into a giant warped beacon that lit up the palace in glowing scarlet and black light, a haze of wrath writhing and twisting around the massive structure like some primeval demented halo. The brilliance and chaotic, abrasive presence of the energy climbed higher and higher with each second, and the blood-red sky of the Demon Realm became tumultuous and dark, shifting with red and grey storm clouds as the harsh winds stirred up booming thunder and searing red lightning.


    Whenever lightning flashed, the entire sky lit up with the wrathful bright red aura, the ground beginning to tremble as the energy emanating from the palace refused to stop increasing, the earth quaking over and over again. Every demon within the Stronghold and even the Dominium shuddered and avoided looking directly at the awe-inducing sight of the palace, the intensity of the anger that was felt deep within their own souls sending chills down their spines.


    The Demon Emperor had a frigid expression on his face, a snap of his fingers turning his clothes into a blood-red, black, and gold royal jacket and cloak. His hair billowed out behind him as it crackled and popped with hostile raw power, the rippling waves of red energy distorting the light and sound within the palace, and the tense, stifling sensation of static building with every second as the air pulsed and resonated with the emotions of the Primordial Demon. The glow from his ruby eyes soared with wrathful intensity as he spoke.


    ¡°Dion. Explain.¡±


    ¡­


    [Secondary Skill: Mark of the Primordial Demon | Type: Soul/Contractual ]


    Rarity: Mythical


    Desc: You have faced an incomprehensibly powerful individual from myth, known to be the hardest to meet and leave with your life intact. You have returned alive and even negotiated a deal with the Paragon Anomaly of the Demon Realm. Who stands to earn the most from this deal remains to be seen though.


    Ability:


    Branded ¨C The sign of a contractor of the Demon Emperor.


    <ul>


    <li>Through the sealing of a blood pact, the Demon Emperor will always have an innate awareness of the User¡¯s location and health.</li>


    <li>Grants the User the limitations of a demonic contract, and will be released when the contract has satisfied its purpose.</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    I¡¯m not sure what to think about this.


    Lucille had teleported back to the Gilded Dome plane of the Mystical Realm, reducing her available realm teleportations to none. She had decided to sort some things out while in the Obelisk though. One was the new skill. It was¡­ interesting, in that it was a very high rarity for a secondary skill. She guessed only skills given by the classes of the other Paragon Anomalies would have the same rarity while only being a secondary skill.


    She wondered what would happen if she used it as a subskill for a primary skill, but considering her contract didn¡¯t grant her any power, it would likely be rather useless in that situation. If she had a demonic lineage, then she supposed she would¡¯ve had the chance of earning a powerful demonic contract skill by entering into a contract with the Demon Emperor.


    The innate awareness section was expected. All demons had the same ability with their contractors, so that wasn¡¯t an issue. The health thing wasn¡¯t normally there, but because she had used her own life force as collateral, she supposed it extended to her well-being as well. She didn¡¯t have much choice. 25% of her soul included her soul density too, which wasn¡¯t accurately shown through the Status screen. If the entire palace could contain a quarter of her soul, she would be lucky. And besides, if worse comes to worse, breaking the contract would hurt her, but life force treasures could heal her. A contract that called for 25% of her soul would normally only cause a 25% reduction in life force if she broke a blood pact.


    She just felt a bit iffy about the skill description. ¡®Who stands to earn the most from this deal¡¯ sounded decidedly ominous. Still, it was highly unlikely that the Demon Emperor would make a move to get rid of her after the Demon King vs. Hero Battle because in what little she discovered about the 300,000+ years demon in her research, he was very apathetic. He only did his duty, stirring up chaos every now and then when the Supreme Institutions were getting a bit too cocky, and then not a word was spoken from him afterwards. And unbeknownst to the Demon Realm and the realms in general, he did this again, and again, and again. All under the guise of being a ¡®different¡¯ Primordial Demon each time.


    He was actually 242 years old though. His new body reformed almost two hundred and a half centuries before she entered the Tower, and then he took up the mantle of the Demon Emperor again, which was why he went by Vitis Exolvuntur Imperatoris-Daemonium, rather than any of the other names. She didn¡¯t really know much about him at all though. He just seemed to¡­ appear, randomly becoming found in the Demon Realm¡¯s records after a certain point in time. She wasn¡¯t sure any True Demon even knew that there used to be Primordial Demons, as the reigning bloodline, rather than just a ¡®Primordial Demon¡¯.


    But very hidden secret past of the Demon Realm or not, it was none of her business. She had a whole six months before she had to see that terrifying demon again, which she was going to enjoy to the fullest.


    There was another thing she wanted to check up on though. She looked at another screen she had opened.


    [Available Secondary Skill: Greater Illusion Manipulation (Neutral)]


    She didn¡¯t bother expanding it, just holding her chin as she contemplated accepting it or not. In all honesty, she didn¡¯t really need it. Sure, the skill was the sign of a talented mage when they could begin to form spells out of their element without a mana-circle, but she could do that already, and didn¡¯t even require a runic model to do so. While she might get a marginal efficiency and effectiveness bonus for accepting it, and potentially reduce the mana cost¡­ she used atmospheric mana, so her ¡®mana pool¡¯ was fully dependent on the quantity of mana in her immediate surroundings, and her spells were normally highly efficient when she used her thought strands to compute them anyway.


    Even if her internal mana could benefit from the reduced mana cost, it was so pitifully small that why should she even bother with it, when she had atmospheric mana? And there was a risk if she accepted the skill: it could potentially replace her no elemental affinity with illusion affinity, given enough time and utilisation. When she had bonded Scytale in the past, that was what happened, his mana fusing with her own, which she absorbed and reflected in her black, indigo, and blue hair that glowed like the night sky in the dark. It had annoyed her to no end. Her body was incredibly susceptible to mana, but if she wanted a decent mana manipulation skill for the second primary skill, she needed to keep her no elemental affinity.


    With a flick of will, the screen collapsed. She could always select it later. In fact, gaining the greater manipulation skills for each of the essential elements might be a good idea for her second primary skill. Mid-level elements were a combination of the essential elements anyway, so gaining manipulation skills for the mid-level elements wasn¡¯t necessary.


    But she had one more thing to do before she left the Obelisk. Reaching into her dimensional bag, she pulled out a round white token, which gently lifted itself above her palm after she pressed it.


    [Skill book ¨C Rare has been identified. Open Rare skill selection? Yes/No]


    The projection of a holographic open book appeared above the floating token next to her, slowly rotating as it shimmered with semi-translucent light.


    She had only searched through the Founder¡¯s vault once, and it was to obtain this item. The vault had roughly 30 blank, non-soulbound skill books that had randomly been deposited over the years. With how expensive they went for, she was unsurprised to see that for a Faction of just over 1,500 years, they wouldn¡¯t have many. If a force donated a skill book, it meant they were running out of methods to pay the required 5% of their annual profit, and needed to substitute it with something else of value.


    Most of the skill books weren¡¯t that high rarity. One was Epic, 7 were Rare, 9 were Uncommon and the rest were Common. She planned on using them carefully and wanted to use her power as the Commission Head to find more, but for now, she wasn¡¯t using a skill book token in the Obelisk for herself. It was a gift.


    Using a bit of mental manoeuvring after pressing [Yes], she managed to bring up the [Complete Authorisation: Skill Selection ¨C Rare] screen like last time. She found the skill she wanted, and selected it, pleased. The holographic book glitched with grey light, but instead of activating the skill, she picked the token up. The grey open book projection snapped shut and was sucked back into the token. She placed it back into her dimensional bag and then spoke to the System.


    ¡°I want to exit the Obelisk,¡± she said. The System¡¯s emotionless cold voice replied in the empty silence of the Obelisk cube.


    [Do you want to exit the Obelisk? Yes/No]


    With a tap on [Yes], her body was whisked away into scattered shards of white light, her vision disappearing once more.


    ¡­


    A sneaky silver, white-gold winged snake was silently slithering along the corridors of the 19<sup>th</sup> floor, trying to avoid being found by a certain aide of his bond. After misinforming Vincent of Lucy¡¯s location a few times, he had taken to just outright avoiding the man. All the staff who saw him would come up to him to inform Scytale that Vincent was looking for him, and he was sure the staff would inform Vincent in turn if they spotted him, but for the last hour, it had been working. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t use his spells, as the movement of mana would set off several magic arrays placed to detect strange mana movements.


    He had actually managed to hide with Sedric for some time because the mana-detecting arrays weren¡¯t found within his workshop, but when the crafter found out from Vincent that Scytale was hiding, he got suspicious and sadly found him in his room.


    Scytale had definitely not tried to scare him and released his illusion purely for fun, no siree.


    When he finally felt the presence of Lucy in the Headquarters, he dashed towards the spot where he would intersect with her. He slid around a corner, very happy he finally had someone else to take on Vincent¡¯s wrath.


    ¡°Lucy, Lucy, Lucy! Thank the System! You¡¯re finally back from the- woah.¡± He skidded to a stop, flapping his wings to slow his momentum as he saw the girl. ¡°Dude. Fix your face.¡±


    She paused and put a gloved hand to her completely blank, cold expression. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my- oh.¡± She blinked once and then rubbed her temples as her expression became more natural and alive, if still her emotionless default. ¡°I didn¡¯t turn the expression regulator back on.¡±


    ¡°That bad, huh? Well, be glad it was me who saw you! If anyone else did, they¡¯d call it creepy!¡± he announced proudly.


    ¡°You still call it creepy,¡± she said in a deadpan voice. She sighed and pinched her nose between the eyes. ¡°And yes, it was bad. I swear I can still feel my soul fraying at the edges due to that aura.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re alive, so I¡¯ll take it that it wasn¡¯t the end of the realms?¡± he replied, coming closer.


    ¡°Hopefully.¡± She peeled off a glove to show him a small black mark emerging from her left palm¡¯s surface. She pulled it back on. ¡°I got it done. Now I¡¯ve made sure I¡¯m not going to accidentally ruin one Paragon Anomaly¡¯s evil plans, I need to make sure I don¡¯t ruin the other¡¯s.¡±


    Scytale hesitated. ¡°Wait. The others?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°I meant that one other one. You know who I¡¯m talking about.¡± She held her chin in contemplation and then grinned at the snake. ¡°Would you like to meet him?¡±


    The amphiptere shuddered and backed away. ¡°Oh hell nah. Sure, the Paragon Anomaly you met today is incredibly dangerous and more powerful, but him? He¡¯d be the more likely one to kill me.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± she replied, observing her bond with amusement. ¡°Only if you have a reason for him to kill you. Are you hiding something from me?¡± she said, playfully narrowing her eyes. She smirked slightly and began walking. ¡°He¡¯s not that bad.¡±


    ¡°Lucy, there has never been a time where I have thought you weren¡¯t a special person,¡± Scytale stated flatly. ¡°But calling that guy an acquaintance was when you surpassed the limit of being ¡®special¡¯ and entered a whole new other level called universal impossibility.¡± He paused when he had a thought and sped up to follow her. ¡°And did you plan on getting to know him again this time?¡±


    Lucille slowed and then let out a long sigh. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t. But I have unfinished business I need to solve with him.¡±


    ¡°Unfinished business that does not involve me,¡± the silver snake pointed out. ¡°Anyway, can you check where Vincent is? I don¡¯t want to be here when he starts interrogating you. I¡¯ll be caught in the crossfire.¡±


    She nodded and stopped walking, both of them pausing near a large spiral staircase that took people down to the next level below. ¡°I haven¡¯t expanded my spiritual perception field yet since I came back. Let me see where he¡­..¡±


    She stiffened.


    Scytale narrowed his golden eyes at her, taking in her rigid expression, and froze too as he had a thought. He quivered. ¡°He¡¯s not¡­. here, is he¡­.?¡± he asked fearfully.


    ¡°I do believe I am,¡± announced a dry voice.


    They whirled around to see Vincent, gazing at them both with crossed arms. Scytale slowly began to hide behind Lucy¡¯s legs.


    Lucy put on a bright, cheery smile and spread her arms. ¡°If it isn¡¯t my dearest aide! Where have you been this last day? I¡¯ve spent ages looking for you.¡±


    Vincent didn¡¯t say anything and just gazed at Lucy. Her expression didn¡¯t change as he raised a hand to his chin contemplatively. ¡°You know¡­¡± he began. ¡°I think I get it.¡±


    She tilted her head, still smiling.


    Vincent pointed a finger at her. ¡°You make that expression when you have to talk to someone you really don¡¯t want to talk to.¡±


    She opened her mouth to reply, but Vincent¡¯s face changed, and with a stormy expression he marched up, glowering down at her. ¡°Where have you been?¡± he hissed, his expression furious.


    She leaned back slightly as she put her hands behind her back, avoiding eye contact. ¡°Oh, you know, just here and there-¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare give me that!¡± he growled, his angry glare intensifying. ¡°Do you know how stressed I¡¯ve been this past day? The Commission Head disappeared into smoke!¡± he said, throwing two hands up in the air. ¡°And then I¡¯ve been running around all over the place thanks to the directions of this bond of yours,¡± he continued, glaring at Scytale who was ducking behind Lucy.


    He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, crossing his arms when she didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°Can you tell me why you couldn¡¯t tell me?¡± he asked.


    She shook her head, making him pinch his nose bridge in frustration. He took off his silver glasses, letting them hang around his neck, and then grabbed Lucille by the shoulders. ¡°Lucy, I am your aide, right?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yes, you are,¡± she replied, her expression neutral.


    ¡°So, as your aide, I need to be informed of all the important decisions my lord decides on, right? Right?¡± he questioned impatiently. Not waiting for her to answer, he shook her. ¡°Then could you please, please tell me where you went, for all of our well-being sakes¡¯?¡± he pleaded. He slowly straightened up.


    She narrowed her eyes at him, thinking. There was a beat of silence. Then she opened her mouth.


    ¡°Nope,¡± she stated flatly.


    He stared at her, incredulous, and with his expression slowly darkening, while Scytale peeked out behind her. ¡°Listen well, Lucy¡¯s aide. The personified irritation device named Lucille has innate immunity towards all guilt-tripping. Take this wise advice and use it as you see fit,¡± he proclaimed grandly.


    ¡°Guilt-tripping?¡± he replied, switching his glare to the snake at her feet.


    That was when Lucy took her chance. She ducked out of his grasp and dashed towards the staircase. In one swift movement, she jumped onto the handrail and slid down it, descending to the lower floor. Scytale slithered after her with wide eyes. ¡°You are not leaving me alone to deal with this!¡± he cried.


    At the bottom of the stairs, they could hear the angry shouts of an incensed aide with silver hair yelling ¡°Hey!¡± as they ran to find their next hiding spot.


    It wasn¡¯t until three days had passed and a sneaky snake was tied to a balcony edge that he was able to find Lucy doing work normally in her study.

 Chapter 25 (1 of 2) Navy of the Distorted Depths.

    [You have slain Lesser Monstrous Wolf (Lvl. 25)]


    ¡°This should be the last of them,¡± a male voice called out. The speaker was well built, with dark brown hair, standing in a small clearing with other dead monster bodies around him. His eyes were a shimmering gold. As he spoke, he pulled out a longsword from the body of a dead wolf monster, blood spurting weakly from the gap. He shook his sword of remnant flesh and grime as he gazed at a notification.


    [Beast Realm Event: Lair of the Black Wolves (Lvl. 30) has been completed.]


    Defeated:


    Low-ranked


    72x Juvenile Monstrous Wolves (Lvl. 20)


    23x Adult Monstrous Wolves (Lvl. 29)


    1x Direwolf Lair Boss (Lvl. 36)


    [ ]


    [Structural Integrity of Lair: ]


    34% -> 12%


    Alert: Structural Integrity below 20%.


    No more monsters will form until integrity rises to 20%


    [ ]


    ¡°Ugh. Finally. I was getting sick of being sprayed by gross puss all the time,¡± replied a loud female voice. Out of a dreary forest stormed a woman with short, fiery red hair, and piercing green eyes. She had an athletic figure with attractive facial features and was wearing form-fitting clothes that showed off her defined abs. She swung a tall spear around, cutting away the undergrowth as she made her way over to the man. She leaned against her spear as she gazed at the man with her vivid green eyes.


    ¡°What¡¯s the plan now, Conlan?¡± she asked.


    Conlan blinked, realising he had been staring at her for too long and coughed. He gestured to the monster bodies around them, leaking foul brown and green murky miasma. ¡°It will depend on how well we did in this Lair. What¡¯s your level?¡±


    She narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say never tell anyone my level?¡± she asked. He sheepishly scratched his cheek, making the red-haired woman grin. ¡°I¡¯m just kidding.¡± She smirked. ¡°It¡¯s 32.¡±


    Conlan felt a smile spread across his face.


    We made it.


    The red-haired woman blinked when she saw his expression. ¡°I¡¯m taking it that it¡¯s a good thing?¡± she asked curiously.


    ¡°It means we can finally go where I wanted to,¡± he replied, nodding.


    ¡°So, are you finally going to tell me where you planned on taking us?¡± she asked, raising an eyebrow.


    He hesitated, thinking. Conlan sighed and ran a hand through his hair, then stored his longsword in its scabbard on his belt. He gestured for the woman to follow him as he went to lean against a large stone. He clasped his hands together. ¡°Cathy,¡± he began seriously. ¡°You said you¡¯d trust me on whatever I say. But¡­ I don¡¯t want you to feel forced into this.¡±


    Well, she¡¯d come and follow me regardless of whether I say this or not. She always kept that little crush on me after I had saved her. It didn¡¯t change even before I died.


    ¡°It might be dangerous, far more dangerous than anything we¡¯ve experienced so far, and you¡¯ll be placed outside your comfort zone over and over again,¡± he continued a solemn expression on his face. He lowered his gaze to look at the ground, putting a grimace on his face. ¡°If you want, we could do the Rank-2 stages as well, and come back when-¡±


    ¡°Are you kidding me, Conlan?¡± she interrupted an angry expression on her face. She crossed her arms. ¡°No way in hell am I going back to the Obelisk to do one of those again. No, not until I get to level 199. Those stages are torture.¡± She walked forward and gazed at Conlan just as seriously as he gazed at her. ¡°I said I would follow you from the moment you saved me in that inn. And you promised me that you knew a way for me to gain enough strength to stand on my own in this strange new world.¡±


    She gazed at her hand and clenched it, tumultuous emotions running through her. She looked up and gave him a soft smile. ¡°I¡¯m going where you¡¯re going, danger or not.¡± She held out a hand for a fist bump. ¡°And I¡¯ll make sure I¡¯m always your equal in strength,¡± she said, winking.


    Conlan stared at her for a moment, and then his smile widened, and he bumped her fist. ¡°Thank you, Catherine.¡±


    I knew I could count on you to always follow me.


    ¡®Catherine¡¯ scowled. ¡°It¡¯s Cathy. Catherine is what my mum calls me when she¡¯s mad.¡±


    He just laughed, making her try to kick him in the shin, but her leather boots were unable to get through his Rare leg armour. ¡°I¡­ want to sign us up for the Empire¡¯s Navy,¡± he finally said.


    Catherine eyed him curiously. ¡°I¡¯ve heard quite a bit about this Empire. They essentially rule an entire realm, right? But the Navy¡­¡± she frowned slightly. ¡°I didn¡¯t think my skill set would fit in with a Navy.¡±


    ¡°The Navy of the Empire is different to that on Earth,¡± he replied, shaking his head. ¡°And I don¡¯t want us to sign up for just the normal Main Navy Battalion. I want to sign us up for the Distorted Depths region¡¯s Navy Battalion.¡±


    ¡°The Distorted¡­ Depths?¡± she asked curiously.


    ¡°It¡¯s the least populated region of the Beast Realm, but it¡¯s very important,¡± he said, getting off the stone. ¡°It¡¯s full of incredibly strong monsters of gargantuan size. The Distorted Depths Navy fights these massive creatures because the materials of a high-ranked monster are extremely valuable to the Empire, whether it be to create elixirs, armour, weapons or for research.¡±


    ¡°Fighting? Wait, does that mean¡­¡± her eyes widened.


    Conlan nodded, smiling. ¡°Fighting strong monsters earns us loads of experience. And with the merits obtained through our actions, we can obtain valuable skills and training from official, high-quality forces. We would even have a direct cut of the slain monsters¡¯ profit, which we could use to purchase high-quality armour or weapons made with these monsters, or allow them to be sold for our own profit.¡±


    ¡°I see. Yes, we would definitely get strong quick this way,¡± she said in agreement. ¡°But I¡¯m still fire and wind affinity. How would that work with being on water?¡±


    He smirked. ¡°By being a very powerful dual affinity user. They allow anyone in as long as they can show their worth.¡±


    Well, it will still be hard for her with her fire affinity. But I want- no, I need to go to the Distorted Depths. I won¡¯t be able to see her for years if I don¡¯t.


    He started walking towards the forest edge. ¡°And if we can show the assessors for our Battalion Application how valuable we are, we could even be invited to the elite navy cadet training camp, where we will be instructed by the best of the best, and enter into direct military action without having to climb up the ranks.¡±


    He looked back at her with a grin. ¡°We¡¯ve satisfied two requirements to enter the Elite Navy Cadet training camp. That¡¯s to be above level 30, and under 25 years of age. If we can show we have talent, then we¡¯re all set.¡±


    ¡°But what about the Forerunner¡¯s Event in November?¡± she said, frowning as she followed him.


    ¡°I¡¯ve done my research,¡± Conlan told her. ¡°The training camp goes from October 1<sup>st</sup> to October 31<sup>st</sup>, and then we come back on the 1<sup>st</sup> of February next year to become official members of the Navy. That¡¯s because all the training camps finish at that time, so then they¡¯ll sort the cadets into different groups and place them under Squad Leaders over the three-month break. Those three months at the Distorted Depths are also the worst and most dangerous months of the year for the region as well.¡±


    ¡°Oh really?¡± she asked, following him as they trekked through the thick undergrowth. When they had first come into the Lair, thick coiling murky monster miasma filled the zone with ugly brown-green fog, and monsters were popping up everywhere within sight. As they completed it a few times, with it resetting once every two to three days, the miasma slowly reduced. It was now barely pooling high enough to reach the soles of their shoes. ¡°How come?¡±


    ¡°Because that¡¯s the winter-equivalent months for the region. And with winter comes terrifying mana phenomenon storms, the chaotic mana generating thousands upon thousands of monsters that swarm the seas, and sometimes stronger monsters form that could easily devastate entire kingdoms if they were on land,¡± he stated solemnly. ¡°The Distorted Depths region is one of the largest regions within the Beast Realm. If we can spend one or two years there, we¡¯ll be far better equipped for the realms and the Tower.¡±


    She remained silent for a while, thinking over what he said. She eventually spoke up, ¡°Then, let¡¯s do it. You know more about this Tower than I do, so if you think this is the best path for us, then I say we follow it.¡±


    He looked back at her over his shoulder and smiled. ¡°Then our next stop will be the Empire¡¯s Distorted Depths Navy Battalion Application.¡±


    They walked a while longer, the residual miasma slowly disappearing as they exited the circle of chaotic mana miasma that indicated a Lair.


    [You have left the Lair of the Black Wolves (Lvl. 30)]


    As they began walking towards the Ascendant city they were nearby, Catherine spoke up, ¡°So, you said we¡¯ve both satisfied some prerequisites for the application, right? That means you¡¯re at or over Lvl. 30. What¡¯s your level?¡± she asked.


    Conlan glanced at her as she came up beside him, grinning and giving him a playful nudge with her elbow. ¡°Come on, I¡¯ve told you my level, haven¡¯t I? Can¡¯t show the same attitude?¡±


    He smiled. ¡°Of course I can.¡±


    She¡¯s going to be my party member from now on, so I could¡­. no. It would be best to keep important information to myself in case my party members accidentally reveal it. I¡¯ll give her a lower figure.


    ¡°It¡¯s Level 37,¡± he told her.


    She groaned. ¡°Argh, I¡¯m still behind. Here I was thinking Lvl. 32 was great, and you¡¯re 5 levels ahead of me! Just you wait, I¡¯ll catch up.¡±


    He laughed. ¡°That¡¯s never going to happen.¡±


    After all, I¡¯m Level 43.


    ¡°Oh, by the way,¡± he continued, interrupting her counterargument about how she would definitely get higher than him soon. ¡°The way you incinerated all those monsters was awesome.¡±


    ¡°R-Really?¡± she replied, blinking in surprise.


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    He nodded. ¡°That raging inferno was so cool. I bet you¡¯ve put in tons of work to make your ability that powerful. You¡¯re going to be an amazing fighter in the future.¡±


    She froze for a second, her ears becoming tinged with pink. ¡°O-Of course!¡± she said, putting her hands on her hips and raising her chin proudly. ¡°I¡¯m going to become the best of the best!¡±


    He grinned and patted her shoulder. ¡°And I¡¯ll be right beside you the entire time,¡± he told her.


    The two of them kept walking towards the city in the distance in the glow of the late afternoon sun, the red-haired woman yelling at him with embarrassed cries as he just laughed, making her even angrier and embarrassed. They disappeared over a hill as the sun dipped down on the horizon.


    ¡­


    ¡°Well, here we are,¡± Conlan stated, looking around the new place they found themselves in.


    Catherine also looked around, curiosity plain on her face. They were at White Squall Fortress.


    The fortress was a private Ascendant city that required documentation or a letter to use any of the facilities within. You could not leave the fortress or enter most of the buildings without one. The fortress was built along the edge of a towering, nearly kilometre-tall cliff, enormous rolling waves splashing against the cliff¡¯s side and frothing with white foam. It was made of intimidating dark grey stone and was three-tiered. It was the fifth largest fortress within the Distorted Depths Region and had the highest non-military population out of them all. An ever-present grey storm crackling with thunder could be seen hovering over the dark grey waters of the ocean in the distance and howling, screeching winds that gave the fortress its name whipped through the air. The people within the fortress were barely sheltered from the strong gales by the daunting grey walls of the fortress.


    Conlan and Catherine were on the first tier of the fortress, where the Obelisk was. All the buildings were bare of decorations, made of hardy wood and grey stone. There was a small market where the non-military members of the fortress traded and bartered, and several shops for necessities, but nothing extravagant. The grey stone that paved the ground below them was slick with droplets of water, the ocean mist and ongoing storm bringing a damp chill that settled into everything, regardless of the weather. The walls of the fortress facing inland were shorter than the opposite walls, and two paths curled up on either side of the fortress to form a wide ramp that took people to the next tier.


    The people within the fortress were either dressed in navy blue and white, black, or gold-detailed military uniforms or wearing thick cloaks and fur-trimmed clothes that kept out the chill. The ones dressed in navy-coloured uniforms vastly outnumbered those without it. Most of those in military uniform only wore blue and white, while some wore navy blue and black. Only one or two could be seen wearing blue and gold, often ordering around the people wearing other uniforms. A steady stream of people transporting large green, blue, or grey-coloured carcasses was flowing to and from different buildings on the first tier.


    Catherine wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. ¡°Wow, you weren¡¯t kidding when you said it would be cold. I am so glad I listened when you said to buy this coat." She was wrapped in a thick light grey jacket that reached her ankles, with dark fur trimming on the neck and sleeves. Brown leather boots covered her feet.


    ¡°Our Navy uniforms will come with in-built cold protection enchantments,¡± he replied with a smile. ¡°They¡¯ll also supply us with military-grade weapons.¡±


    ¡°I was wondering why you said we didn¡¯t need to get better weapons," she said, nodding. ¡°And those cold protection enchantments must be great, judging by how many people are wearing their uniforms.¡± She gave another look around. ¡°So¡­ what do we do?¡±


    He scratched his chin. ¡°Let¡¯s find an inn to book for the night, and then we¡¯ll go submit our application forms to the Navy. We begin staying in the Navy¡¯s lodging tomorrow.¡±


    They asked around for the location of an inn, even though Conlan knew where to find one already, and entered it. Many people dressed in the were chattering and laughing away as they sat at the round wooden tables, eating and drinking. Conlan walked up to the woman at the front desk.


    ¡°Do you have lodging available for us?¡± he asked with a polite smile on his face.


    The female innkeeper looked up. ¡°Got your invitations?¡± she replied.


    Conlan and Catherine showed her the white envelopes stamped with a blue seal, and she nodded. She walked over to a large book and picked up a pen. ¡°One room for-¡±


    ¡°Oh, sorry,¡± Conlan interjected, holding up a hand. ¡°Two rooms please, and just for tonight,¡± he added, as Catherine stiffened with pink cheeks beside him.


    The innkeeper glanced between them both and then shrugged. ¡°Sure. Two rooms for one night¡­ here we go,¡± she said, having finished jotting down their booking in the large book. Using one of the keys attached to the keychain on her belt, she unlocked a drawer below the book and handed them two keys. ¡°They have location tracking enchantments on them, so make sure you return them to me before 10 am tomorrow," she warned.


    After acknowledging her warning, they went upstairs to place their belonging in their rooms. A few minutes later, they were outside the inn once more.


    ¡°Then, shall we take a look at the next tier?¡± Conlan asked Catherine.


    She agreed, and they began walking up one of the large ramps that led them to the next layer. The second tier contained the lodgings and dorms of the navy and several other military-only facilities. The buildings were multi-story and had a very minimalistic theme, lacking any artistic detail. Only big signs designating the purpose of each of the buildings could be seen, written in bold text for visibility. One of the buildings had a temporary banner that said, ¡®ELITE CADET APPLICANTS ENTER HERE¡¯.


    He pointed it out to Catherine. ¡°That¡¯s our stop.¡±


    They headed over to the shorter building.


    ¡­


    ¡°You¡¯re all registered now,¡± spoke a desk clerk in a blue and white uniform. He looked up from his open books and forms and then withdrew two small badges from a box on his desk. He passed them to Conlan and Catherine. They were the same navy blue as the uniforms, and a stylised golden E for elite was embossed on the front. The clerk gestures to the badges. ¡°You¡¯ll get your official nametags after you¡¯ve completed the training camp. Until then, these badges will allow you access to all the facilities open to those in the training camp. Please insert your mana, or other energy type if applicable.¡±


    They both fed a thin stream of mana into the badges, Conlan¡¯s badge lighting up with a faint gold-yellow glow, while Catherine¡¯s lit up with a deep orange. It faded away after a few seconds, but they could feel the sensation of part of their mana being within the objects.


    ¡°They¡¯re now mana-bound to you and contain your mana signature, so tomorrow, you will be able to access the facilities. Remember, the training camp begins at 1:00 pm sharp, so do not be late. You will be locked out of the facilities and will be expelled from the camp from that point onwards. I suggest arriving an hour to half an hour earlier, at the very least,¡± the clerk told them sternly.


    They nodded with seriousness, and the clerk nodded back. ¡°That will be all. Any additional information will be in the booklet I gave you earlier if you need it. Thank you for your future merits in the Navy. For the Eternal Authority of the Empire,¡± the clerk stated, giving them a salute. He then returned to his work.


    Conlan and Catherine left the clerk, making their way back to the entrance of the building. Conlan couldn¡¯t help but turn his head to the side every few seconds, wondering if he might be able to see her.


    Catherine noticed his actions. ¡°You¡¯ve been turning your head around a lot since we¡¯ve come here. Looking for something?¡± she asked curiously.


    He stiffened slightly but moved on with a slightly tight smile on his face. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m just curious to see if any of the other training camp members are here. I want to know who we¡¯ll be working alongside for the next month.¡±


    She¡¯s probably not here. It¡¯s likely she¡¯s already registered. I¡¯m a bit disappointed that I can¡¯t see her yet, though.


    Catherine nodded, naively believing him. ¡°I¡¯m wondering too. Am I going to be surrounded by men the entire time?¡± she mused.


    ¡°Apparently there¡¯s a promising new cadet this year,¡± they heard a voice say.


    They slowed their walking when they passed two Navy Officers in conversation, slightly curious about what they were talking about.


    One of the two Officers blinked and looked curious. ¡°Really? I¡¯ve just come back from leave, so I haven¡¯t caught up on the news. Is this person someone from a powerful force?¡± he asked.


    The other Officer, an older man, shook his head. ¡°Not that I¡¯ve heard. But the Commander himself gave them an invitation in person.¡±


    The younger Officer¡¯s eyes widened and he looked stunned. ¡°The Commander? The White Squall Commander? The Commander Arkenast?¡±


    ¡°The very same,¡± the other Officer replied.


    ¡°You¡¯re pulling my leg,¡± the younger Officer said, looking sceptical. ¡°The Commander has never, in his entire career, given a personal offer to a cadet.¡±


    ¡°But he did this time,¡± the older Officer responded, shaking his head. ¡°And guess what: I¡¯ve heard they¡¯re a mage.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way,¡± the other Officer said, dumbfounded. ¡°Not even a warrior?¡±


    ¡°Not even a warrior,¡± the older Officer said, smiling widely.


    The younger Officer frowned. ¡°What¡¯s this so-called ¡®promising cadet¡¯ like? I mean, if you¡¯re going so far as to try to get me to believe this, you must have some eyewitness reports¡­¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯ve heard she¡¯s a girl. Nobody¡¯s seen her since she registered a few days ago, though.¡± He slung an arm across the younger Officer¡¯s shoulders. ¡°But never mind that. How was your holiday?¡±


    The two Officers walked off as they started discussing other, unrelated topics. Conlan gazed after them.


    A female mage¡­ It¡¯s got to be her.


    He gave a slight sigh of relief. He had always had a niggling worry that something might¡¯ve changed this time round, that maybe she remembered everything, that somehow she didn¡¯t even exist anymore, but he could rest easy now, as the Officers¡¯ words were basically verification. Conlan blinked when Catherine tapped his shoulder.


    ¡°What do you think she¡¯s like?¡± she asked curiously, as they continued to move towards the exit. ¡°She must be pretty good if a Commander personally offered for her to be here.¡± She tapped on her chin. ¡°Maybe she¡¯s some arrogant abandoned noble princess, who got forced by her family to enter the navy so she¡¯d get accidentally killed, and will return triumphant and with lots of power to laugh in their faces.¡±


    He huffed a laugh. ¡°This isn¡¯t a novel," he said, but he wasn¡¯t truly focusing on the conversation.


    No, she¡¯s not arrogant. She¡¯s just¡­ indifferent.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s good that there¡¯s another girl. I was worried there would only be men.¡± Then she paused and hastily shook her hands. ¡°That¡¯s not to mean I hate men- I mean, I like you- wait, not ¡®like¡¯ like in that sense, I meant in general, not that-¡±


    He patted her shoulder reassuringly. ¡°I understand what you mean, Cathy,¡± he said with a warm smile.


    ¡°U-Uh right, that¡¯s good,¡± she muttered in embarrassment, ears slightly pink. Eager to move the conversation onto something else before awkward silence fell on them, she turned to look at Conlan. ¡°R-right. I had something else I wanted to ask,¡± she told him.


    He raised an eyebrow and gestured for her to go on.


    ¡°What do you intend to do after all this Navy business?¡± she asked. ¡°It doesn¡¯t sound like you intended to stay here permanently.¡±


    He contemplated her question for a moment. ¡°Well, it¡¯s a bit farfetched to discuss this now,¡± he replied, thinking about the Faction Command Deployment he earned from the Tutorial. ¡°But let¡¯s just say I plan on finding talented allies while here, and I¡¯ll leave the rest as a surprise for later.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm...¡± she responded, looking at him with narrowed green eyes. Then she shrugged. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll follow you no matter what you do.¡± She hit her fists together with a vicious grin on her face. ¡°Just leave the worst fighting to me. I haven¡¯t been a three-time semi-finalist for the International Youth Boxing Championship for nothing. I don¡¯t just have good looks.¡± She winked.


    He gave her a smirk. ¡°But don¡¯t you use a spear now?¡±


    Her smile stiffened. ¡°E-Even, if I use a spear, knowing how to throw a proper punch, can still be useful!¡± Then she looked down at her hands, clenching and opening them. ¡°But still, I¡¯m surprised. It¡¯s really weird how well the spear has just clicked for me. How did you know I would enjoy it so much?¡± she asked curiously.


    He paused and put a calm smile on his face as they left the building. ¡°I suppose I just¡­ have this special instinct for these sorts of things, I guess.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°You will not begin training until tomorrow,¡± the Navy Officer told them, taking them through a long wooden corridor. ¡°Today will just be an introduction to the duties and tasks required of you for the duration of the training camp, and then you will be introduced to your living areas. The living areas and facilities of the cadets are in a building separate from the Officers of the Navy, so you will not be in contact with the other Officers unless they are your instructors.¡±


    ¡°Are the sleeping areas for the men and women different?¡± asked Catherine.


    The Officer paused and then nodded. ¡°Yes, they are. But everything else is shared."


    They turned a corner and then stopped before a door. He pulled it open and gestured to it. ¡°The Officer in charge of speaking to you will arrive in half an hour. You shall remain in here until he arrives,¡± he stated.


    They nodded, and then with bated breath, they both stepped into the room. The door shut behind them as they took in the new sight.


    The room was of medium size and contained several rows of wooden benches. The walls themselves were also wooden, and flickering mana lamps hanging from brass holders adorned the walls. As the door shut, several people within the room looked up to see the new arrivals.


    Catherine took a seat on one of the empty benches as Conlan looked around the room, matching the people from his memory to the people within the room. He narrowed his eyes slightly as he sorted through the 30-40 odd people sitting on benches chatting or standing near the walls. He noticed a few.


    That man with the mousy brown hair was... Ruel something, I think? And the tattooed man next to him was named Drew.


    He saw a man with chocolate brown skin and blonde hair, dressed in a sleeveless vest with a red silk bandana around his head.


    He was Palin, from that desert Major plane.


    A man wearing a thick black cloak with long black hair that hid his face.


    Wilden¡­. Leutia? The necromancer.


    A girl with very short wispy ash-white hair and brown eyes, sitting cross-legged as she levitated off the ground with her hands behind her head, looking bored. Her ears were pointed and curled up slightly.


    Noirel Arventiel. That half-fae never liked me for some reason.


    He paused when he noticed a trio of two men and a woman chatting near a corner. They were dressed in flowing oriental robes of white, black and varying shades of blue, with features similar to those from the Asia regions on Earth that indicated they were from the Heavenly Realm. The young woman had long dark hair and deep blue eyes and stayed silent as she observed the conversation between the two men. One of them was tall with a broad frame and had several nicks and scars on his face, with average looks. The shorter man beside him was lanky and held a fan with his long hair half tied up. He seemed to be making jabs at the taller man, but even as he did so he scanned the room with narrow eyes, observing the other people.


    They were that exchange group from the Heavenly Realm, right? One of the five Heavenly Sects, the Vast Longevity Flowing Glacier Sect. They didn¡¯t stay as part of the Navy for very long though. The woman is one of their potential successors, Zhang Mingxia. The tall man is from her family, Zhang Meng, while the foxy-looking guy is¡­ Liao Tengfei. Great. Just great. I always hated his penchant for stirring up drama.


    His eyes drifted away from the Sect trio, spotting a few other people he recognised, until they paused on a woman sitting on the ground near one of the walls. She had dark brown curly hair that fell down one side of her face, thick lashes, and gorgeous blue eyes, likely due to her water affinity. She looked gentle and timid and avoided looking at any of the others. Conlan looked at her with a complicated expression on his face as he remembered all that had happened.


    Liliana¡­


    He shook his head. The past is the past. It won¡¯t be happening again.


    He continued scanning the room until he froze, his gaze having landed on one particular individual. He felt his heart begin pounding faster, and his hands shook slightly.


    Leaning against the wall was a figure, her arms crossed and eyes closed with an expressionless face. She was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt and dark leather pants, with brown leather boots laced up. She was tall, taller than any of the other women within the room, nearly reaching Conlan¡¯s own height. She had sharp features and thin black eyebrows, her skin a pale tone that contrasted against the black. Thick, untamed, curly black hair rolled down her back and just past her waist, but now and then strands of her hair shimmered and glinted with indigo, violet, and blue radiance, the occasional silver gleam appearing as her wild hair sparkled with illusory vibrance.


    Behind him on the bench, Catherine leaned forward to see what he was gazing at so intently. ¡°What¡¯re you staring at?¡± she asked curiously. Then her eyes widened slightly as she saw the woman. ¡°Oh wow, she is gorgeous.¡± Then she blinked and narrowed her green eyes to glare at Conlan. ¡°So, you¡¯re staring at the pretty lady, are you? Fell in love at first sight, want to ask her out on a date?¡±


    He shook his head and put a smile on his face. ¡°No way. I was just thinking her hair is a bit unique.¡± He shot a glance at the woman.


    I really want to go up and talk to her now but¡­. It¡¯s more important right now for me to keep Catherine¡¯s affection for me alive so she becomes loyal.


    ¡°And besides,¡± he said, shooting Catherine a wink. ¡°You¡¯re more my type anyway.¡±


    He smirked as the red-haired woman went beet red, and she turned her head to the side to avoid looking at him. Then he stiffened.


    The woman leaning against the wall had opened her eyes and was staring right at him, her eyes an icy, emotionless blue. He began to panic as his skin went cold.


    Why¡¯s she looking at me? Is it me? Have I done something, does she know something, does she recognise me?! What do I do?! Do I go up and talk to her, or do I-


    The woman gazed at him for a beat and then closed her eyes again. Conlan heaved a sigh of relief, but also one of slight disappointment as his beating heart slowly calmed.


    It was just a coincidence then¡­.. it feels bittersweet.


    He avoided looking at her for the rest of the time, just chatting with Catherine as they waited for the Officer to arrive. When the door to the room opened, everyone looked up to see two men walking in. One was shorter and younger, with a navy blue and black outfit, while the taller middle-aged man was wearing a fancier outfit in navy blue, gold and white. They walked to the front of the room, the taller man standing slightly behind the shorter man.


    The shorter man, who had dark hair and appeared in his late twenties, took a step forward and gazed sternly at them all. ¡°Good afternoon. I am Officer Ross Stanhope, and I will be in charge of you all for this training camp. Please take up seats on the benches so we may begin.¡±


    The people scattered around the room all walked over to the benches. The tall wild-haired woman leaning against the wall straightened up and walked over, seating herself a few rows in front of Conlan and Catherine. When they were all seated, he gestured to the man beside him.


    ¡°Now, originally, I was to be the one responsible for your introduction. Things have changed, and instead, this man will be responsible for the beginning of this introduction.¡± He took a step back, while the other man stepped forward.


    The man who appeared in his mid-40s gazed around the room, crossing his arms. He had wild dirty-blonde hair, and rough scars coated his skin. He smirked. ¡°I doubt many have seen me before, but my name is Merrow Arkenast. Commander Arkenast to you all. I am the highest authority in White Squall Fortress."

 Chapter 25 (2 of 2) Navy of the Distorted Depths.

    ¡°I doubt many have seen me before, but my name is Merrow Arkenast. Commander Arkenast to you all. I am the highest authority in White Squall Fortress,¡± he said with a toothy grin.


    The audience was silent for a moment, before low mutters broke out, the audience starting to discuss the implications of him being there. The Commander cocked an eyebrow at the noise, before tapping his foot against the ground.


    RUMBLE!


    The mutters were silenced as a thick oppressing force descended upon the room, the gravity seemingly multiplying as billowing waves of blue energy unfurled from the man at the front of the room. Conlan gritted his teeth as he tried to remain upright against the pressure, Catherine trying to do the same next to him, but was slowly buckling under the weight. The curly-haired woman several rows in front of him¡­ was fine, if a bit pale.


    The Commander smirked and shot her a glance, before the blue aura was withdrawn back into him, and everyone let out sighs of relief. He placed his hands behind his back. ¡°Don''t speak until I''m finished, otherwise I''ll leave and you won''t get to hear my words. Is that clear?¡± he said, narrowing his eyes at them.


    There were several shaky nods, and he grinned. ¡°Good. Now, firstly. That aura I let out was not even a quarter the strength of the auras you will have to stand up against when fighting monsters of behemothic size. I see two of you have already fainted,¡± he said, pointing to two unfortunate young men, who collapsed on their benches. He gestured to Officer Stanhope. ¡°Take them out and deposit them outside this room. They won¡¯t be part of this training camp anymore.¡±


    The Officer nodded, easily picking up the two men and slinging them over his shoulders to exit the room. The Commander looked at all the pale faces. ¡°You think this is unfair?¡± he asked rhetorically.


    Nobody answered, but several expressions on the audience¡¯s faces said it all. He smirked. ¡°Nobody said it was fair that we fight the most dangerous creatures in the realms daily, while not even being able to earn a noble title because we¡¯re not part of the Empire¡¯s Main Armies. If you came here thinking we¡¯re like those spoon-fed wastes in the Mystical Realm, killing a bit to retire on a throne above all the pathetic commoners, you were misinformed.¡± He nodded to the door. ¡°The Distorted Depth¡¯s Navy can¡¯t earn titles. Go now if you thought we could.¡±


    Surprisingly, two people did stand up and leave. Conlan wondered what kind of information they had received to try to do the elite cadet training camp. The Commander clapped his hands together to draw everyone¡¯s attention.


    ¡°Now, let me tell you a fact,¡± he said with a smirk. ¡°Something proven time and time again over the years at this training camp, that it has become an axiom. Less than half of you here today are going to go on to become Navy Officers.¡±


    Dubious and sceptical looks appeared on the faces of many, but the Commander placed his hands behind his back and paced the front of the room. ¡°You¡¯re all here to earn a chance at wearing this,¡± he said, pointing to Officer Stanhope¡¯s outfit, ¡°uniform. Because if you complete the elite training camp, you don¡¯t need to spend a year as a cadet. You become full-fledged members of the Navy the instant you pin your new shiny name tags to your chest.¡± He narrowed his eyes at them all. ¡°Do you really think a benefit like that could be earned easily?¡±


    Some people shifted awkwardly on the benches. The Commander''s expression went cold. ¡°Well it¡¯s not going to happen,¡± he growled. He paced back to the centre of the room. ¡°Many of you here come from nobility, or fallen nobility, and want strength to be able to keep being nobility. Some of you who aren¡¯t nobles want strength so you don¡¯t get pushed around by nobles. Either reason is fine. I don¡¯t care.¡±


    He stood straight and looked around the room again. ¡°But revelling in the rewards given by the slaughter of thousands of creatures just to give you physical power will not help you here. There is a reason why Level 30 is the bare minimum to join,¡± he stated. ¡°Sure, stats might make you harder to kill. That¡¯s great. But you wouldn¡¯t be in danger of death if you stayed on the Navy¡¯s powerful ships and followed orders. No individual can have greater protection than within the walls of the warships, which can even block attacks from monsters stronger than King. And we don¡¯t need people with massive mana levels, acting as delicious, tasty lures for all the monsters out there.¡±


    He crossed his arms again. ¡°We need people who can fight, and fight by using weapons that will actually kill the monsters. Not what fancy magic the System has chosen to bless you with. Unless several Rank-5s came out and decided to take out all the stops just to kill a few King-ranked monsters, they couldn¡¯t make a dent into the monster population of this region.¡± He gave them a vicious grin. ¡°There are thousands of King-ranked monsters out here.¡±


    Many in the audience turned pale, and some went sickly green. If greater-ranked monsters could destroy cities with enough time, King-ranked reached the level of devastation of wiping out entire nations. The average Rank-5 would never be able to defeat a King-ranked monster solo.


    Commander Arkenast looked around the room again. ¡°If you want to leave now, then do so. Remember, completing this training camp means you must stay in the Navy for at least twelve months, except in very special circumstances. I¡¯ll give you a minute to make your choice.¡±


    Conlan saw hesitation and determination warring on the faces of several. Not the curly-haired woman though, whose expression hadn¡¯t changed since the beginning, still cold and indifferent. The seconds ticked by, but eventually, the minute was over, and nobody had left.


    The Commander smirked. ¡°Well, even if you think you can do it now, who will actually be able to do it remains to be seen.¡± He walked over to Officer Stanhope. ¡°I don¡¯t have anything more to say, so I¡¯ll let Officer Stanhope take over.¡± He went back to his original position as the younger Officer took a step forward.


    ¡°Then, I will begin informing you of what exactly a member of the Navy does.¡± The Officer told them.


    Conlan zoned out for the rest of it, content to observe the people he recognised from the past. He had listened in to the Commander¡¯s speech just to check if anything had changed, but it hadn¡¯t, and so he didn¡¯t feel the need to focus much on what the Officer was saying. About an hour later, the Officer finished up his speech.


    The Officer nodded to the Commander. ¡°Then, I think that will be all." He turned back to them. "Over the month, you will take lessons to learn more about how the Navy functions, but for today, you will only be getting used to your facilities.¡± A clipboard suddenly appeared in his hands, and he pulled out a pen from his pocket. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll take the roll, to see who has left and who has not out of those registered.¡±


    Conlan and Catherine waited patiently for their names to be called out. Conlan managed to relearn the last names of some of the people he had seen earlier but hadn¡¯t remembered fully.


    I see. Drew¡¯s last name is Baxtimer. That Ruel guy¡¯s last name is Deirvetch.


    He had a complicated expression when Liliana stood up to announce her presence as Liliana Mason. Her voice was still the same, soothing, and quiet.


    Then it was her turn.


    ¡°Adrianna Riftmire?¡± the Officer asked.


    The long-haired, tall woman stood up and spoke. ¡°Present,¡± she responded, in that same emotionless, apathetic tone he had heard her use for so many years. He had a small smile of nostalgia on his face when he heard her speak.


    Then Conlan screwed up his nose when the man with the dark skin was called on.


    And that Palin guy¡­. Zo-, Zoc¡¯uraghets? How do I even pronounce that properly? It¡¯s ridiculous! No wonder I never remembered it.


    But as the Officer put away his clipboard, Conlan looked around the room in confusion. Adrianna always had her closest subordinate, no matter what her rank became, but how come he couldn¡¯t see¡­. he hit his forehead.


    Caspian Wharifin didn¡¯t become her subordinate until next year, duh. He was in the Navy for several years before us. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t be here yet, he hasn¡¯t been assigned to her.


    Catherine gave him a questioning look but he dismissed it with a wave and returned his attention to the officer in front, who finished up reading the roll. ¡°Then I will take you to your new facilities,¡± he stated with authority.


    He looked at the Commander as Commander Arkenast took a step forward with a smile on his face. ¡°I may have been blunt, folks, but that doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t want you in the Navy. We¡¯ll take whoever wants to join. For all of our sakes, I hope you complete this camp.¡± He gave them all a salute. ¡°For the Eternal Authority of the Empire.¡±


    And with that, he marched out of the room. Officer Stanhope nodded to them all. ¡°Follow me,¡± he said.


    ¡­


    The large cafeteria hall was filled with the sounds of cutlery and dishes as people sat at tables to eat dinner. Conlan, having lined up and received his tray of food, looked around the hall to see where he should eat. Catherine was behind him.


    He had smiled when he saw his dinner. If there was one good thing he could say about the Navy, it would be the free access to large quantities of high-ranked monster meat. Even without fancy preparation, purified monster meat when it comes from a strong monster was delicious. His gaze paused on the figure of Adrianna sitting alone at one of the tables as she ate. He hesitated, contemplating sitting with her.


    I¡­ maybe not. Adrianna was even colder before she became Captain than afterwards, so she might start disliking me if I tried to talk to her. Maybe I could sit at the end of her table?


    He glanced at Catherine next to him, who was watching the levitating form of Noirel Arventiel sleeping in the air with interest. That would probably be a bad idea. Catherine looked around and pointed out another figure at a table. ¡°Should we sit next to her? She¡¯s pretty. I mean, not that Adrianna woman pretty, but still pretty.¡±


    Conlan followed her finger and grimaced slightly when he saw she was pointing to Liliana Mason.


    Catherine observed Liliana for a moment. ¡°Actually, she kinda looks a bit similar to that Adrianna woman,¡± she muttered. ¡°Less pretty though, and less standoffish.¡±


    He pretended he couldn¡¯t hear the red-haired girl next to him, and slowly began walking towards Liliana. ¡°Sure, let¡¯s go say hi,¡± he said. It would be suspicious if he avoided her, and regardless of their past together, she was an amazing water-element archer.


    The brown-haired woman blinked and looked up in surprise as they slid in next to her. Conlan stuck his hand out with an easy-going smile on his face. ¡°I¡¯m Conlan Griffin,¡± he stated.


    She stared at him as Catherine sat down next to him and placed her tray on the table. Then Liliana¡¯s eyes widened and she hastily grabbed his hand to shake it. ¡°O-Oh, hi. My name is Liliana Mason,¡± she stammered awkwardly.


    Catherine grinned and also held out her hand. ¡°And my name¡¯s Catherine Sherwood.¡±


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    ¡°Hello¡­¡± she replied shyly.


    Catherine smiled and leaned her chin on one hand. ¡°Now that the name trading is over, I¡¯ll begin the real introductions. I¡¯m 20 years old, I use a spear, and my affinities are fire and wind. I''m also great at fighting hand-to-hand.¡± She smirked. ¡°Now it¡¯s your turn.¡±


    Liliana blinked. ¡°Oh, um¡­. okay,¡± she began slowly. ¡°I use the water element, I¡¯m an archer, and I¡¯m 23. I don¡¯t think I have any good talents¡­.¡± she added hesitantly.


    Catherine¡¯s eyes widened slightly. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re 23? Seriously?¡± she asked.


    The dark-haired girl blushed. ¡°D-Do I look old?¡±


    Catherine surprised her by vigorously shaking her head, her fiery red bob cut going everywhere. ¡°No, not at all!¡± she exclaimed. ¡°You look so young! I thought you were younger than me!¡± she leaned forward and clasped Liliana¡¯s hands in hers, startling her. ¡°Tell me what you did to your skin,¡± she demanded.


    ¡°Y-Young? Thank you, but¡­ I didn''t do anything¡­¡± the older girl said, nonplussed.


    Conlan looked between them both with a slight smile on his face. ¡°I¡¯m feeling a little excluded here,¡± he interjected.


    Liliana glanced at him and then turned nervous, hastily shaking her hands. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, I never meant to exclude you-¡±


    Catherine gave him a dismissive wave. ¡°You don¡¯t need to talk to him. He¡¯s not important.¡± She gazed at Liliana with intensity. ¡°No, he¡¯s not as important as finding out the answer to all. Do you use a special cream? Is it magic? Wait, don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s the water affinity. I¡¯d be screwed if it was.¡±


    He watched them with a smile on his face as the confused Liliana was interrogated by the overly friendly Catherine. They continued making light conversation for a while as they ate before they heard some noise occurring at one of the tables near them. The Sect disciple with a white fan, Liao Tengfei, was talking loudly as several people near him turned to listen to his conversation, which he was obviously making loud on purpose.


    ¡°Now, as I had the privilege of entering the building for the elite cadet applications, I happened to overhear an interesting rumour,¡± he announced, his eyes narrowing as he observed all the eavesdroppers. ¡°Junior brother Meng, did you know that apparently, the Commander himself offered for an applicant to enter the elite training camp?¡±


    Zhang Meng, the man beside Zhang Mingxia, frowned at the man with the fan but answered. ¡°I have yet to hear of this rumour, senior brother Tengfei. Do you mean to tell us about this?¡±


    Liao Tengfei smirked and collapsed his fan. ¡°Of course, junior brother Meng. It is my duty to inform our lady of all the important ongoings surrounding her.¡± He gestured to everyone in the hall with his fan. ¡°The only question is, who is this talented figure? I dearly want to know what kind of person the Commander has seen such potential in. It is rumoured he has very high standards.¡±


    There were low mutters as people began discussing the rumours. ¡°Maybe they¡¯re a powerful warrior?¡± someone spoke up.


    ¡°I heard they were a battlemage though,¡± someone else said.


    Liao Tengfei gazed around the room with a sly smile. He stood up and spread his arms dramatically. ¡°Then, shall the one responsible for these rumours make themselves known? We are going to be fellow members of the same military, after all.¡± He smirked. ¡°A failure to take into account the strengths of each and every member of our group may conclude with our injury or worse.¡±


    The murmurs heightened as people began talking louder, and pointing fingers at each other. ¡°Yeah, they should tell us who they are, so we know who would be best to follow,¡± another voice said above the crowd.


    Conlan snuck a glance at Adrianna, who was watching the proceedings, but who also didn¡¯t make a move. She returned to her meal, disinterested.


    The noise grew louder as Liao Tengfei gazed around the room in mock curiosity. ¡°No? They¡¯re so callous as to let all of us be injured because of their desire to withhold information? Are we supposed to let someone like that into the Navy?¡± the man called out.


    Suddenly, a new, short figure with wispy ash-white hair descended down onto his table. Noirel Arventiel narrowed her brown eyes as she walked, barefoot, along the table and put her hands on her hips, staring down at the man with a glare. She opened her mouth.


    ¡°Shut thy hideously oversiz''d that from which thee speak thy coystrill,¡± she said with the voice of a child, her tone containing an enchanting, sing-song lilt to it. ¡°None shall like thee if ''t be true thee tryeth to put on whispers and opinions ''mongst us. We careth not,¡± she stated grandly.


    Her accent and strange translation of her speech caught several people off guard, but Conlan was aware that was just how fae spoke. He knew with the System¡¯s translation they were far easier to understand than without the translation. They warped the meaning and pronunciation of their sentences so much that most didn¡¯t know if they were even speaking the same language as them.


    Liao Tengfei¡¯s eyebrow twitched. ¡°And what ability have you to say this to me?¡± he asked, his smile strained.


    ¡°Mine own instinct tells me thee speaketh falsities and half-truths daily,¡± she announced proudly, crossing her arms as she looked down at him. She turned to look at the nearby eavesdroppers. ¡°Mine fae heritage hast yet to fail me, and so I am warning thee all as well. This sir is nothing valorous,¡± she proclaimed, pointing at him.


    ¡°But I believe I have heard you are only a half-fae,¡± he interjected, narrowing his eyes as he opened his fan. ¡°An individual with only an incomplete bloodline tries to judge me, the disciple of a Sect Elder of the Vast Longevity Flowing Glacier Sect?¡±


    ¡°Silence, oh sir of falsing tongues!¡± she exclaimed angrily. ¡°Thy status hast nay hold ov''r me. Neither can thee useth to suppress us within the Empire''s Navy. Thou art equal hither.¡±


    He glared at her and went to open his mouth to argue, but the dark-haired woman next to him slammed her cup down with a thud and glowered at Liao Tengfei.


    ¡°Be quiet, brother Tengfei. She is right.¡± She took another sip of her drink. ¡°It is me you shame with your over-vocalisation. We are here to show our Sect¡¯s willingness to work with the Empire as their steadfast allies. This dishonourable way of speaking greatly disappoints me,¡± she said, narrowing her dark blue eyes at him.


    He glared at her, but dipped his head and sat back down. ¡°I apologise, junior sister Mingxia.¡±


    She gave him a frosty glare. ¡°Senior sister Mingxia. Do not forget I hold higher status than you, for all we have spent many years together as disciples of the same sect.¡±


    A vein twitched, but he bowed again, not saying anything.


    Zhang Mingxia huffed and abruptly stood up. She spread out a hand to gesture to the rest of the room. ¡°The poor actions of my subordinates should not represent the attitude of my Sect. It is a great honour for me to exchange valuable words with you all, spending my time among the talented youth of the Empire. Do not fear that I may shun you, for I intend to act as my temporary station requires here at the navy. I wish to form cordial relationships with you all,¡± she said, giving a slight nod to them. She straightened up, putting a wide smile on her face. ¡°And fear not that we will endanger you all, for my presence here shows that I have pledged to defend the Empire against these treacherous beasts, these foul monstrous beings!¡± she exclaimed, raising a fist in the air. ¡°I shall protect you where otherwise you fail! Again, fear not!¡±


    And with that, she spun around and made her way to her quarters. There was silence for a moment, as everyone took in the statement of the weird Sect girl.


    ¡°The lady is strange in a way I am not,¡± Noirel muttered.


    Zhang Meng glared at her, but Liao Tengfei placed a hand on the taller man¡¯s shoulder and shook his head. He also glared at the half-fae but stood up with Zhang Meng, and left the cafeteria hall. Or seemed like they were going to.


    Zhang Meng watched as Liao Tengfei walked closer to a girl with curly hair, a smile on his lips as he gazed at her with narrowed eyes from behind the fan. Adrianna noticed the shadow over her table and looked up, gazing at the man with her icy eyes.


    Liao Tengfei smirked as he pointed at her with the fan. ¡°I¡¯ve noticed that Miss Riftmire here seems to be uncaring towards our little conversation earlier. Is it because you have no relation to it, or maybe you want to avoid scrutiny, hmm? Do you have something to hide?¡±


    She gazed at him for a beat, and then ignored him, returning to her meal.


    He narrowed his eyes but kept his smile on his face. ¡°Come to think of it, are you perhaps a noble of some kind? I haven¡¯t heard of any family with quite such an¡­ eye-catching colouration of hair as yours.¡±


    She sighed and looked up from her tray. Her low voice was as cold as her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not a noble,¡± she stated expressionlessly.


    He tilted his head, tapping on his chin with his fan. ¡°Ah, then a promising commoner talent. Then, we should introduce ourselves, should we not? Making valuable connections could never go wrong, and as fellow navy cadets, we should learn more about each other, to foster collaboration and well-meaning intent.¡± He smirked.


    She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. ¡°No, that¡¯s wrong,¡± she replied.


    He gazed at her with slight curiosity. ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°Because a relationship with you is unimportant when it comes to being a member of the Navy,¡± she responded. She narrowed her eyes, her voice frigid. ¡°Are you so idiotic that you have forgotten that we¡¯ll be split up after this?¡±


    His expression darkened, and he opened his mouth, but Adrianna abruptly pushed back her chair and stood up. She walked around the edge of the table and gazed at Liao Tengfei with her emotionless eyes.


    ¡°Do you have some miracle power of foresight that helps you determine who, out of the 2000 navy cadets after this camp, will be sorted into each group?¡±


    His expression distorted, but she continued and took another step.


    ¡°Or is this some power play you¡¯re trying to do, plotting schemes to rile up the members of this camp and build your own little faction within the navy? Let me tell you this,¡± she said, not a change in expression to be seen on her face. ¡°Having a connection to someone I don¡¯t even know will be here by the end is utterly worthless to me. We can have this discussion again if we end up in the same squad next year, but otherwise...." She turned away. "Don¡¯t bother me again.¡±


    She picked up her plate and walked off to deposit it. Then she exited the hall without another glance back.


    Liao Tengfei¡¯s expression was stormy as he glared after her, but he didn¡¯t follow her and instead exited the other side of the hall, heading to the men¡¯s quarters. Zhang Meng trailed after him, ignoring the looks of everyone they passed.


    Conlan sighed and returned his attention back to his table. Events had gone exactly as he remembered, which gave him a feeling of relief. He expected things to change by the end of the month, but for now, everything should be the same.


    ¡°Hey, do you think maybe she¡¯s the one who got the Commander¡¯s offer?¡± Catherine whispered conspiringly to them, cupping a hand around her mouth for dramatic effect. She leaned back to glance down the corridor that Adrianna went down. ¡°Although, she looked like she could¡¯ve been a warrior, rather than the rumoured mage. She had the height for it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­. not sure,¡± Liliana said. ¡°But before you guys came, one of the men came up to talk to her. I didn¡¯t catch what they said, but she tripped them over and walked off to go to another side of the room.¡±


    ¡°Pffft.¡±


    They turned to look questioningly at Conlan as he tried to muffle his laugh. He gave them a wave as he coughed. ¡°Sorry. I¡¯m just imagining that scenario. That man must have been so angry, and really embarrassed.¡±


    And she has no patience for morons like always. Well, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to keep her crew in check for so many years if she wasn¡¯t like that.


    ¡°I¡¯m not really sure if she¡¯s the mage either,¡± he told them. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s the fae girl?¡±


    Although that was a lie. He already knew Adrianna had received the Commander¡¯s favour. And it seemed Liao Tengfei was aware of this too. He wasn¡¯t quite sure how the Heavenly Realm man had worked it out, but maybe he had seen her interacting with the Commander in some way. Conlan thought the man was quite stupid. He irritated someone the Commander had hopes for, had recognised as a talent, and tried to isolate her from the others in the training camp by making it seem like she was heartless. Except, she was. At least at this stage. And she was perfectly fine playing into that impression.


    But the fact Conlan had seen Adrianna again after so long gave him a warm feeling as he participated in the conversation between Liliana and Catherine, having a relaxing time before they would need to rise early the next morning.


    <hr>


    ¡°Here it is,¡± Catherine spoke to Liliana beside her. Dinner was over, and they had decided to go to bed in preparation for tomorrow. They were looking for the room they had placed their belongings in earlier.


    Catherine slowly pushed the door open to reveal a room with eight beds. Only one person was in the room, sitting on a bed with her back against the wall and her feet kicked up. Adrianna was reading a book and didn¡¯t look up when they came in. Catherine walked over to her bed, which was right next to Adrianna¡¯s corner bed, and sat down, facing the opposite direction to the woman as Liliana sat down on her bed, which was next to Catherine¡¯s. Catherine stretched and began untying her bootlaces while Liliana started searching through her bags.


    ¡°So, eight girls. It feels like a lot, and not many at the same time,¡± Catherine spoke conversationally.


    ¡°I had that thought too. I didn¡¯t expect the Empire to be so accepting of women in the military. Although I suppose magic would lessen the strength division¡­.¡± Liliana muttered.


    The last part was said much quieter, but Catherine heard it and became slightly suspicious. ¡°Are¡­ things different where you come from?¡± she asked.


    Liliana blinked, and then she became panicky. ¡°Oh, um, no, women enter the military quite often,¡± she said, shaking her hands. ¡°I just thought the Empire might be different. I mean, the men can marry multiple wives and all¡­.¡±


    Catherine felt her suspicions deepen and hesitantly tried to ask another question. ¡°Liliana, do you perhaps-¡±


    Her words were cut short when the door to their room opened, and several women came in.


    Liliana turned back around to look at Catherine. ¡°What was your question?¡± she asked.


    Catherine eyed the girls and then shook her head. ¡°Never mind. It wasn¡¯t important.¡±


    The other girls began finding their beds and sitting down. Catherine looked at them all with narrowed eyes and then grinned. She clapped her hands loudly once to draw all their attention.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to be living together for the next month, so what do you say we all introduce ourselves? I¡¯m sure you might remember some of our names from the roll call, but it can¡¯t hurt to hear them again, can it?¡± There were some nods, so she started. ¡°I¡¯m Catherine Sherwood,¡± she said with a smile.


    ¡°I¡¯m Liliana Mason,¡± Liliana said, trying to help Catherine.


    ¡°Esdras Blackbinder,¡± one woman spoke up. She had blonde hair reaching her shoulders.


    ¡°I¡¯m Bathilda Narigo,¡± another said, this one with bright blue hair and blue eyes.


    ¡°Is it my turn? Then, I¡¯m Melaina Cinderbrook. Hello everyone,¡± said a third girl, who had long, lavender hair and a calm smile on her face.


    Noticing Adrianna was still ignoring them, Catherine pointed her thumb at her. ¡°Even if you haven¡¯t heard her name, you probably all saw her in the cafeteria. Her name was Adrianna Riftmire, from what I remember,¡± Catherine said for them.


    There was no acknowledgment from Adrianna besides the sound of a page turn as she continued reading her book. The other girls looked at her for a moment but turned their eyes away.


    ¡°Weren¡¯t there two others?¡± Bathilda spoke up, glancing at the two empty beds, one opposite Adrianna, and one opposite Catherine.


    ¡°I think one was called-¡± Liliana¡¯s words were paused as the door opened again, revealing Noirel entering the room.


    ¡°I see thou art all hither already,¡± the ashy-haired fae said in her musical voice. She was short and wore a white shirt and flowy white trousers with trailing white ribbons floating around her. She walked barefoot.


    Catherine noticed she seemed to pause slightly when she saw where her bed was, and she paled as she glanced at Adrianna. The fae girl stiffly walked over to her bed and stubbornly avoided looking at Adrianna as she sat cross-legged on it and began floating.


    ¡°I hath heard what thee wast talking about. I am Noirel Arventiel,¡± she announced.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s seven out of eight. But where¡¯s the Sect girl?¡± Esdras asked, looking around.


    ¡°Zhang Mingxia is ¡®cultivating among the spiritual energy rich glades of the outdoor training grounds to absorb the esoteric yin water element into her foundation to progress towards the next realm¡¯,¡± spoke up a new, cool voice.


    The girls all turned to look at Adrianna, who hadn¡¯t looked up from her book. She must¡¯ve sensed something was off about the gaze she was receiving though, because she blinked and raised her icy blue eyes to look at them. ¡°Her words, not mine,¡± she added. She returned to her book and ignored them.


    Catherine had been surprised at how low her voice was, for a girl. It sounded pleasant, but contained little emotion and no warmth, like she was reading out facts off a page or apathetically announcing a test subject¡¯s death. She narrowed her eyes and grinned as she realised the girl had finally participated in conversation. She turned around on the bed to face Adrianna.


    ¡°And what do you do? I haven¡¯t been able to work out if you¡¯re a mage or a warrior.¡±


    Adrianna raised her eyes to gaze at Catherine. ¡°Me?¡± she replied dubiously.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Catherine nodded.


    Adrianna looked at her for a moment, before stating, ¡°I¡¯m an illusionist." She lowered her eyes back to her book.


    Catherine smirked. She wouldn¡¯t be letting her off that easily. ¡°So, you use illusion magic? Like, tricks of the eye and stuff?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the common understanding,¡± the woman replied, not looking up.


    ¡°Can you show us some spells? You¡¯ve got to be good if you entered the elite training camp,¡± Catherine said, leaning forward on her bed.


    Adrianna closed her book, glanced at Catherine, and then gazed about the room to view the other eager looks of the girls.


    ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± she stated shortly, placing her book on the table beside her bed.


    Ignoring the slightly disappointed looks of the others, and Catherine¡¯s narrowed eyes, Adrianna swung her legs over the side of the bed and pulled out a thick jacket from one of her bags. Putting it on, she raised her icy eyes to the six girls watching her, besides Noirel, who avoided eye contact and addressed them.


    ¡°In case you haven¡¯t heard, we will be following the official schedule of the Navy here.¡±


    She stood up and began walking to the door of the room. Opening it, she glanced over her shoulder at them. ¡°Tomorrow will be a 4 a.m. start. It wouldn¡¯t be a good idea to tire yourselves out by chatting late into the night.¡± Then she shut the door behind her, leaving them in silence for a moment. They exchanged looks.


    ¡°I need to brush my teeth,¡± Liliana muttered, breaking the silence.


    All of a sudden, they hastily began sorting through their belongings to get ready for bed, with several rushing out to find the bathrooms for a shower, and others trying to find the clothes or other assorted objects they needed. There was a bustle throughout the room, as they became panicked.


    It was 11 p.m.

 Chapter 26 (1 of 2) Socialisation is bad.

    ¡°What¡¯s a Paragon Anomaly?¡±


    A dark-haired girl raised her eyes from the work on her desk to stare at the 27-year-old man sitting on one of the armchairs in her study.


    ¡°You just don¡¯t give up, do you,¡± she stated flatly.


    Her aide narrowed his silver eyes at her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. My superior who is responsible for the entire Faction, and who is our first Faction Head since the Founder himself, ditched me for an entire day without giving me the slightest notice and now refuses to tell me where she went. I think I¡¯m entitled to ask another, less important question.¡±


    She gazed at him for a moment, then sighed. ¡°How much did you hear?¡±


    ¡°From the part where you said you were going to visit another Paragon Anomaly, and thereon,¡± Vincent replied.


    ¡°Could you not just drop this conversation topic? It has been well more than a week since. We have to prepare for the debut in a fortnight,¡± she told him, leaning her chin on one hand as she looked at him.


    The silver-haired man shifted his glasses as he gave her a flat stare. ¡°Well, if someone could answer my question, then I could devote my whole mental effort to completing our preparations.¡±


    Lucy groaned. ¡°Can¡¯t I just say you¡¯ll find out eventually?¡± she pleaded.


    He glared at her and sighed. ¡°Has this Paragon Anomaly thing got any relation to the Citadel¡¯s Paragon?¡± he asked.


    She blinked and then straightened up. ¡°Oh. Definitely not,¡± she said, shaking her head. ¡°I can tell you that much at least.¡±


    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s a relief,¡± he said, frowning slightly. ¡°But I still haven¡¯t heard the term before.¡±


    She gave him a dismissive wave. ¡°Go ask All-Aeon Athenaeum.¡±


    He raised an eyebrow. ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s an official designation or similar? A term used by researchers?¡±


    She hesitated and shimmied her hand. ¡°Close enough I will say. It¡¯s a very niche term that would normally never come up in any conversation,¡± she said, willing to give him that much information. ¡°It¡¯s a System Scholar term.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± he replied, eyeing her curiously. He sighed and then shrugged. ¡°Well, let¡¯s leave it at that for now. I will, of course, be asking more about this at a later date, and I expect a more comprehensive answer than this when the time comes.¡±


    ¡°Of course, your noble lordship,¡± she replied drolly. ¡°This mere commoner will certainly find a way to satisfy your lofty expectations.¡±


    The strange expression he made when she called him ¡®lordship¡¯ made her smirk slightly, but she went back to her work, and he, his.


    A while later he looked up from the documents at his table. ¡°Have we gone over how exactly you will act at the debut? We have to put on this ¡®puppet leader¡¯ show for them all somehow.¡±


    She looked up. ¡°I basically just have to be immature,¡± she responded.


    He eyed her for a moment, thinking. ¡°I don¡¯t think that area needs much improv-¡± He dodged the flying pen thrown his way.


    Lucille gazed at him with narrowed eyes and then huffed as she leaned back in her chair. ¡°Nobody except the Counties know I¡¯m mentally older than 18, so it should be fine if I pretend I have a short attention span. It will be so I don¡¯t get caught up in long conversations. I¡¯ll put on a cheerful disposition. But I also want to make them think I¡¯m thoughtless and irresponsible.¡±


    He stared at her, and she could see the cogs ticking in his head as he thought over the events of the week earlier.


    ¡°You¡¯re thinking I¡¯m already irresponsible, aren¡¯t you,¡± she said with narrowed eyes.


    He slowly shook his head. ¡°No, no, definitely not, my lord,¡± he replied with a cheery smile.


    She rolled her eyes and got up from her chair, walking over to another table with a pile of documents in hand. She hit them against the table to straighten them up.


    ¡°But why the thoughtless part?¡± he asked her.


    She glanced over her shoulder at him. ¡°So I can say insults straight to their face and get away with it,¡± she replied calmly.


    ¡°¡­.what?¡±


    She grinned. ¡°I¡¯m kidding. Maybe.¡± Seeing that he wasn¡¯t amused, she explained, ¡°I want to make it so I appear as someone who doesn¡¯t consider the consequences of my actions. Remember, many people are going to wonder how I found the Prophetess, right?¡±


    He slowly nodded.


    ¡°Then by pretending I¡¯m thoughtless, we can ensure they know it¡¯s a lucky coincidence, and that I saved a random girl¡¯s brother on a whim because I wanted to appear like the protagonist of a story.¡± She placed down the pile. ¡°This will give me justification to go to other places I might need to appear in person to resolve issues, by acting ¡®curious¡¯, and treating it like I¡¯m going on a holiday or adventure.¡±


    He considered it for a moment and then nodded. ¡°I can see the merits. But ¡®justification¡¯?¡± he said with narrowed eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me the reason why you won¡¯t tell me where you went is because you don¡¯t have a good enough excuse to ¡®justify¡¯ the Commission Head going there?¡±


    She paused and then turned around. She tilted her head as she looked at him. ¡°You know, if I wanted to, I could make a very convincing liar. Would you like me to create false reasons and distort the truth for you every time I need to do something unusual?¡± she asked him, not smiling. The room was silent.


    ¡°Well, no, but¡­.¡± He gazed at her for a while with a complicated expression, hesitation warring on his face. When he finally spoke, it was on a seemingly unrelated topic. ¡°Lucille, why did you become the Commission Head?¡±


    As she opened her mouth to answer him, he held up a hand to pause her as he frowned slightly. ¡°I know you said it was to protect your world, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s it,¡± he stated seriously. ¡°You said you¡¯re 249. 18 years of your life is very short in comparison. I don¡¯t think you could¡¯ve gained that much emotional attachment to something, whether it be your home or not, that you would become the Head of a very large Faction just to protect it, because of that short time, compared to the rest of your life.¡±


    ¡°If it was just family members, you wouldn¡¯t have needed to say, ¡®the world¡¯,¡± he continued. ¡°And you wouldn¡¯t need to try so hard to expand the Commission either. The power in your hands, if you used your Faction Authority, is large enough to protect millions of pre-System individuals. I could understand if you wanted luxury, but you don¡¯t seem to care about that either.¡± He crossed his arms. ¡°So, what is it?¡±


    He¡¯s surprisingly good at analysing my motivations. I thought I kept it vague enough, but apparently not.


    She cocked an eyebrow and smirked. ¡°What, getting suspicious of me?¡± she replied with mild amusement.


    He gazed dully at her. ¡°I have been suspicious of you from the moment I met you. It multiplied tenfold after that meeting.¡±


    She blinked, not having expected that answer. She considered how to answer for a second before she smiled widely. ¡°Vincent. Do you know why none of the Counts have asked me this question? If you think I¡¯m being suspicious, then don¡¯t you think the people who have lived for several centuries would think this too?¡±


    Her aide looked at her with confusion. ¡°I don¡¯t see where you¡¯re going with this,¡± he replied.


    She walked over to her desk and picked up her cane that was leaning against its side. ¡°It¡¯s because they don¡¯t care,¡± she stated calmly. She used one arm to lean on it as she looked at him. ¡°My existence here is currently beneficial, so they don¡¯t care. It is an implicit arrangement to not ask each other why we are doing what we are doing what we are doing, or why we are following the requests of each other. As long as I act within the boundaries I have shown them I¡¯ve set for myself, they are willing to let me do whatever I please.¡±


    She pointed the cane at him. ¡°So, if they don¡¯t care, why do you care?¡± she asked, an eyebrow raised.


    He frowned at her, perplexed by her answer. ¡°Because as your aide, I feel like it¡¯s important for me to know. You said I needed to make sure my plans align with your intentions. I can¡¯t follow your intentions if I don¡¯t know what your intentions even are," he pointed out.


    She gazed at him for a while and then let out a long sigh. Putting her cane aside, she crossed her arms and leaned against the desk, tilting her head at him ¡°Look, I don¡¯t know how to put this lightly. Vincent, I have killed people.¡±


    He looked startled by the abrupt admission, but she didn¡¯t think about it. She moved over to the window opposite his armchair, ignoring his reaction as she peered through it. ¡°You see an 18-year-old girl. I¡¯m not,¡± she told him. ¡°You might see me as someone who acts on a whim. I¡¯m not.¡± She turned around and leaned against the windowsill. ¡°Sure, an Ascendant gets multiple lives, so they fight more often. That¡¯s not what I¡¯m saying. I have personally hunted people down to oblivion, and I have done it willingly. I didn¡¯t kill to level up.¡±


    He had wide eyes as he stared at her, taking in what she said, but he scowled. ¡°I¡¯m not sheltered.¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m not saying you are. As a member of a County, you couldn¡¯t be, and I was there when Count Ravimoux admitted to killing his brother right in front of you. But here¡¯s the issue. When I said I was an illusion mage, what was the first thing that came to mind?¡± she said. ¡°Fancy distractions, sending people to sleep, minor hallucinations. And yes, maybe I could do those if I wanted. But you¡¯ve forgotten I¡¯m a manipulator of the soul.¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    She smirked slightly. ¡°I said I don¡¯t bother with mind reading. Not that I haven¡¯t done it at all.¡± He looked taken aback as she continued, ¡°And not the petty kind that passively occurs. I mean flooding someone¡¯s mind with my own soul power, scouring every second, every minute of their past, every little dark secret revealed as I withdraw after a mind wipe and they never remember what happened. But I have a perfect memory. I remember everything I¡¯ve seen.¡± Her smirk widened. ¡°Now, what sort of person am I if I¡¯ve done something like that?¡±


    He just stared at her as she gave him a lazy shrug. ¡°What I¡¯m saying is this. Do you really know what you¡¯re asking right now?¡± she said, tilting her head at him. ¡°Knowing what I was in the past, knowing what I am, and what I want? I don¡¯t think you really want to know.¡±


    She gave him a humourless smile. ¡°And did I tell you I was a professor? I meant to say I was a professor for less than ten years out of 249.¡± She narrowed her eyes as she smirked. ¡°Much shorter than 18, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    The room descended into silence as she stopped talking, and Vincent remained quiet. He looked down at the ground, thinking, while she just watched him with expressionlessly, as he couldn¡¯t see her. She pulled out her pocket watch and flipped it open. She glanced at it and snapped it shut with a click, making Vincent look up, and then grabbed the cane leaning against her desk.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m off to lunch,¡± she said in a bright, upbeat tone that didn¡¯t match the solemn atmosphere. ¡°I¡¯ll be in my living room if you need me after that. See you.¡±


    And with that, she left the study, leaving Vincent all alone. He had a troubled look as he tried to ponder the implications and meanings of her words. A while later, when Lucille¡¯s perception couldn¡¯t see the room anymore, he groaned and leaned back in his chair, then took off his glasses. He rubbed his face.


    ¡°What¡¯s an expression regulator?¡± he muttered in the silence.


    ¡­


    ¡°Again, are you sure you want to do this?¡± Lucille asked her bond.


    He didn¡¯t look at her as he navigated a path through the slightly damp ferns and vegetation.


    ¡°Yep, yep, yep,¡± he replied, flapping his wings to dislodge a twig that had taken up residence within his feathers. ¡°I¡¯m certain. If I don¡¯t get a human form soon, I feel like I¡¯m going to go insane.¡±


    They were in one of the artificial garden biomes of the Pavilion. In fact, they were in the very same biome that Scytale had been trying to use to access one of the three biomes Ashale¡¯viaf had sealed away from him and then got caught and sentenced to impromptu jail time in an arctic cell.


    ¡°Have you been to the place I¡¯ve told you about yet?¡± she said, stepping around a mossy log that had been artistically placed to seem like it had naturally fallen.


    He glanced at her. ¡°Not yet. I don¡¯t think it would be a good idea to go down there as the nobles begin arriving.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Hmm. True. They will be arriving in the next few days.¡± She ducked under a low-hanging vine. ¡°When I have time, would you like to check out the Founder¡¯s vault?¡±


    He paused. ¡°Isn¡¯t the Founder¡¯s vault just a System storage artifact? The kind made for Factions? Normally the Faction leader just gets a screen pop-up containing the list of contents and you click on one to get the item.¡± He jumped over a long stick. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how I¡¯m supposed to ¡®check¡¯ that out.¡±


    ¡°The Founder¡¯s vault is a dimensional storage artifact,¡± she told him. ¡°You can physically enter it.¡±


    ¡°Wait, a dimensional artifact?!¡± he exclaimed, shocked as he turned around to look at her. ¡°I thought nobody could get their hands on one, besides the All-Aeon Athenaeum¡¯s Artificers. And they keep those to themselves.¡±


    She smirked as they turned a corner. ¡°Well, the Founder¡¯s is a System artifact, so he earned it as a reward in an Event somehow. Likely when he earned his Faction Command. I¡¯m not sure anyone really knows it¡¯s a dimensional artifact.¡± She looked at him. ¡°I haven¡¯t been in yet,¡± she added.


    ¡°Do you think it might be useful for some of your plans?¡± he asked her.


    Lucy shook her head. ¡°No. As a System artifact, it comes with strict limitations. It¡¯s not transportable, and I can only access it while in the Headquarters. I can¡¯t even access it if I¡¯m at one of the other Counties.¡±


    He nodded as he turned back around. ¡°That¡¯s disappointing. By the way, I¡¯ve been meaning to ask,¡± he said, glancing at her. ¡°Everybody just kinda calls him the ¡®Founder¡¯, but who was he actually? Nobody ever talks about him.¡±


    ¡°Ah. Well, this generation of the Commission wouldn¡¯t know him, so I guess they just don¡¯t find him relevant. He was only in charge of the Commission for a century before he left, after all,¡± she said. ¡°His name was Crawforde Lockhart.¡±


    The snake gave her an odd look. ¡°Only a century? Why would he make a Faction and just ditch it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not entirely certain,¡± she said after some thinking. ¡°I didn¡¯t really care about him, so I don¡¯t have much information on him. But from what I¡¯ve gathered, he was a battle addict. It was the Counts who ran the Faction.¡±


    ¡°Wait, how old was he when he left?¡± Scytale asked.


    ¡°1,054,¡± she reported, her thought strands dredging it up with near-instant speed. Then she blinked. ¡°Now that I consider it, that¡¯s rather young for him to just disappear. Usually, someone¡¯s over three chapters before that happens.¡±


    ¡°I remember being really confused once why all the old guys don¡¯t seem to exist,¡± her bond said. ¡°Now I¡¯d kinda prefer to keep not knowing why.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s why nobody really gets quests besides the realm quests until that age. For them, ¡®information¡¯ is a tastier reward than strength. Of course,¡± she continued, ¡°You get some like the old generations from All-Aeon Athenaeum who stick to the dogma that such information is ¡®forbidden¡¯, and they just hole themselves up and research for fifty chapters or longer.¡±


    ¡°Which makes that Saufren Lestial guy even weirder. He should be part of that same old generation, yet he¡¯s been investigating outer regions for¡­ what,¡± He looked at her. ¡°A hundred thousand years?¡±


    She contemplated it and slowly nodded. ¡°Around that. But he was over a hundred chapters before the Mystical Realm was even assimilated into the Tower. And most of those chapters were him doing the same thing he is now, just safer now because he has the System.¡±


    They paused their discussion when they came to the glass door of the next biome that Scytale had tried to enter a few weeks ago. The slowly rotating mana-circle on its front was still there. As Scytale slithered forward a bit, a flurry of pink petals accompanied by the scent of roses appeared, and Ashale¡¯viaf materialised. When he saw Scytale, he scowled, but his expression quickly changed to a ¡®polite¡¯ smile when he saw Lucille.


    ¡°Greetings, Faction Head,¡± he told her. ¡°And¡­.¡± He shot a glare at the snake, who was smugly raising his head and flickering his tongue. ¡°Scytale,¡± he stressed in a flat voice.


    Lucy smiled. ¡°I haven¡¯t been able to meet you very often, as I¡¯m usually quite busy within the Headquarters¡¯ main building. I hope you¡¯ll forgive me,¡± she said with a polite nod.


    The pink-haired spirit smiled and shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m just the caretaker of the gardens. There¡¯s no need for you to greet me.¡± He shot a look at the snake on the ground next to her, who was getting smugger and smugger by the second. ¡°May I ask why you need to enter this biome?¡± he asked in a slightly tense voice.


    Lucille gave him a cheery smile that made him flinch. ¡°I need to select an Ancient ranked natural treasure.¡±


    ¡°¡­ why?¡± he asked nervously.


    She looked down at Scytale. ¡°For him, obviously.¡±


    He stared at her for a while, before his gaze slowly moved to the silvery winged snake. One of his eyebrows twitched. ¡°As he is a magical beast, I would like to caution you against letting him eat whatever he wants. It will destabilise his bloodline and-¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± she interrupted, holding out a hand to pause him. She smiled. ¡°Only an Ancient ranked light treasure. Then he¡¯s not allowed to eat any more. He wants to reach advanced rank.¡±


    Ashale¡¯viaf hesitated, thinking about it, and then gave a slow nod in acceptance. ¡°I will be stopping him if he tries to eat anything else.¡±


    He stepped aside and held out an arm to gesture to the door. ¡°Please enter.¡±


    Lucy nodded and stepped forward. She placed a hand on the mana-circle, and inserted her magic. The facilities of the artificial biomes had already registered her magic signature, so she could enter whichever biome she pleased due to her Total Faction Authority. The crystal door swung open, and she stepped through. Scytale followed after her, but he turned back to look at Ashale¡¯viaf.


    ¡°Be grateful! After this, I won¡¯t be coming back here for some time!¡± he exclaimed grandly. Ashale¡¯viaf actually smiled, but the snake continued. ¡°You will have to suffer without seeing me. From now on, I will explore the fabled library!¡± He turned back around and followed Lucy, the door clicking shut behind him. He didn¡¯t see the spirit¡¯s stiff expression.


    ¡°But¡­. I¡¯m the librarian¡­.¡± he murmured in despair.


    ¡­


    Before Lucille and Scytale was a gorgeous golden fruit with a glossy sheen hanging off the branches of a tall oak. The weight of the fruit made it sag. A tantalising scent wafted from it, and like the psychedelic film on a bubble, it shimmered and flickered with a multitude of colours that had coalesced as its mana reached incredible density. A glittering cloud of pale yellow and gold mana enveloped it, and they could feel how the non-elemental mana that made contact with it slowly changed to the same tone, becoming attracted to the fruit.


    If it had been a Legendary fruit, the entire biome would¡¯ve been filled with dense golden mana that pulsed and resonated along someone¡¯s veins as the body naturally drew in the mana due to how much there was. As it were, it was Ancient, and so the density of mana was still localised to the fruit. Lucille activated her shard to view the Status Screen of the natural treasure.


    [Natural Treasure ¨C Type: Light, Fruit]


    Rarity: Ancient


    Desc: The fruit of the placid Incandescent Aureus Oak contains some of the richest light element found in Ancient ranked natural treasures. It naturally halts at Ancient ranked, the oak incapable of producing fruit of a higher rank. That does not mean the fruit is poor quality, however.


    Purity: 96%


    [ ]


    She turned to him. ¡°This is the treasure your instinct is pointing to? It has very high purity, I¡¯ll admit that.¡±


    Scytale nodded. ¡°Yep. I bet if it had a few more years then it could reach 100% purity and would scatter into pure light element. This one had the highest purity on the tree, which means it might not even be four months until I reach advanced rank.¡±


    She hummed musingly. ¡°This biome is about ten times as large as the normal artificial biomes, and only filled with high-ranked light element plants.¡± She smirked at the snake. ¡°I think one of the other biomes he¡¯s hiding from you must contain high-ranked illusion treasures.¡±


    ¡°But what would the third contain?¡± he asked.


    She shrugged. ¡°I haven¡¯t checked with my perception yet.¡± She looked around again. ¡°If this is for light element, they must have a large biome for each of the essential elements.¡± She turned back to her bond. ¡°Want me to pick it?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to. I can¡¯t reach,¡± he said with amusement. ¡°But yes, please. I would prefer not to have Ashale¡¯viaf trying to kill me for damaging a valuable plant.¡±


    She nodded and stepped forward. Acting on innate instinct as a magical plant, the tree began to withdraw the fruit from her, but she reached forward and firmly gripped the thick stem above the leafy light-gold crown above the fruit. Withdrawing Ouroboros from her waist, she kept her in dagger form as she held the silver-white dagger upright and firmly sliced at the stem. It was important for someone to only make a single cut when harvesting from a magical plant, as a damaged stem could mean the tree would be incapable of producing fruit from that stem in the future.


    The tree pulled back with involuntary movement as the dagger cut in, but she kept her gloved hand gripped tightly on the stem. The tree shuddered as the fruit and part of the stem came free, when she quickly placed Ouroboros¡¯s handle in her mouth, but she kept her hand around the cut stem and bent down to hand Scytale the fruit, who had to activate his Primal Descendant skill to open his jaws wide enough to get a grip on the fist-sized object. She straightened up and inspected the end of the branch. ¡°Doesn¡¯t look damaged,¡± she murmured, after removing Ouroboros from her mouth.


    She put away the dagger. Using her teeth to peel off a glove and then tuck it into her belt, she placed her fingertips on the inch-wide stem¡¯s end. She willed some of the semi-aqueous, mostly gaseous mana within her body to her fingertips, and frowned a bit. Lucy looked at the snake. ¡°Can I have a bit of help with light element mana, please? It¡¯s being attracted to the other plants.¡±


    He nodded, with his mouth still full, and translucent glittering golden mana formed a vague aura around him. He extended a tendril to Lucy, who drew it into her body and forced it through her fingertips into the plant. The tree stopped trying to pull away as it received the energy. The stem¡¯s flat end slowly extended and grew out with a short, pale young sprout, which grew three new leaves. Within the centre of the leaves formed a tiny golden dot, the size of a tack. She stopped inserting mana after that point, as the atmospheric light element quickly became attracted to the dot, and it grew to the size of a marble in a few seconds. It stopped growing at the same speed after that point, the speed of its growth slowing as it increased in size.


    Scytale detached his tendril of mana from Lucy, who quickly began drawing dense silvery-white spiritual energy from her soul and condensed it into strands, then flushed it through her body, aiming to get rid of the residual light element, in case it began to give her an affinity. She stopped when the light element levels in her mana pool and body returned to normal, if slightly higher due to the biome they were in. She removed the white glove from her belt and pulled it back on her right hand.


    ¡°That should make Ashale¡¯viaf slightly happier. The clean cut and mana injection will mean the lifespan of this branch will not degrade and can create a fruit of the same quality because I haven¡¯t picked the fruit off normally,¡± she told her bond.


    ¡°I could do with some help removing the stem and leaves though,¡± he said, fruit still in his mouth.


    Lucy nodded and kneeled on one knee, then took the golden fruit from Scytale¡¯s mouth. She turned it in her hands, inspecting it. ¡°I might use Apophis for this. I didn¡¯t on the tree because his demonic energy could injure the plant, but his serrations would be good for this.¡±


    She unsheathed the black and red jewelled dagger from her belt and began cutting the fruit away from the remaining stem and leaves. She chucked the stem and leaves back at the oak, which used its branches to snatch them up and absorb them into itself, the new marble-sized fruit increasing slightly in size.


    ¡°Is that thing nearing sentience?¡± Scytale asked, peering around the kneeling Lucy to look at the tree.


    She glanced over her shoulder and then turned back to Scytale. ¡°I think it is already. Magical plants in artificial environments normally gain sentience faster than in the wild, and Ashale¡¯viaf is a plant beast spirit king. His domain would automatically aid the growth of all plants and attract the spiritual energy needed for them.¡±


    The white-gold-winged snake turned to the tree. ¡°Uh, sorry?¡± he apologised, using his innate ability to communicate with every living thing.


    The oak shook its branches at the serpent, presumably in anger, making Lucy roll her eyes. ¡°It has the fruit to spare. If it was in the wild and needed the fruit to attract a strong beast to guard it, then maybe I¡¯d pity it. Here though, the fruit will only disintegrate into pure light mana. It probably wants the mana so it could evolve.¡±


    She placed the fruit of the Incandescent Aureus Oak back on the ground in front of Scytale. ¡°One stem and leaf-free natural treasure. Remember not to puncture it with your fangs.¡±


    He flapped his wings indignantly. ¡°Hey, who¡¯s the magical beast here? I¡¯ve been on this rodeo plenty of times.¡±


    Still in his enlarged form, he gently placed his mouth around the fruit, making sure his fangs didn¡¯t puncture the fruit, which would cause it to release its high mana density. He tilted his head up as he opened his mouth wider, and slowly he managed to get the fist-sized fruit down his throat. He gulped as it slowly slid down. Unlike in a mundane snake, the fruit visibly shrank within his neck, leaving him looking just like he did before he had swallowed it. He opened his jaws again in a yawn as his eyelids began to lower.


    ¡°Wake me¡­. up¡­.. before you go to¡­. the Forerunner¡¯s¡­. Event¡­.¡± he said sleepily. His eyes closed fully and his breathing slowed, shrinking himself down as he entered hibernation. Normally a magical beast would take a natural treasure to their den and then settle down to digest it or go to sleep in the case of snake beasts, but Scytale had Lucy to move him.


    She sighed and picked up the snake, putting him around her neck. She glanced at the tree again and then looked around the biome.


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised at how close you are to a full manifestation,¡± she said, seemingly speaking to no one. "But Scytale wouldn¡¯t do anything to you if you let him in that biome. Neither would I, for all that you seem intent on avoiding me to the utmost of your ability.¡±

 Chapter 26 (2 of 2) Socialisation is bad.

    The biome was quiet for a moment, and then with a sigh that sent wind rustling through all the plants in the room, Ashale¡¯viaf manifested with a flurry of petals in front of her.


    He crossed his arms as he gazed at the serpent around her neck for a moment, and then raised his pink eyes to Lucille. ¡°I haven¡¯t been trying to avoid you. We just haven¡¯t crossed paths,¡± he replied.


    She cocked an eyebrow at him. ¡°The caretaker of the Aurelian Commission has direct authority over the Headquarters¡¯ gardens, magic arrays, and the library. This includes the artificial biomes, the front gardens, the rooftop gardens, and the many interconnected magic systems within the main building of the Headquarters. You could manifest in front of me anywhere,¡± she stated wryly.


    He avoided eye contact. ¡°I¡¯ve been busy-¡±


    ¡°Doing the same thing you¡¯ve done for the last millennia and a half,¡± she interrupted flatly. ¡°You hardly do anything, besides help the occasional Faction member find something in the library. Your presence is the only thing required for the gardens to flourish.¡±


    He looked at her with a complex expression, then sighed. ¡°I have¡­ only incomplete memories of the Inheritance Trial. It seems my incarnation signed a contract with the System that meant I wouldn¡¯t receive some information when the Inheritance closed,¡± he explained. Then he made a strange face. ¡°But I know that nobody could use mana or spiritual energy within the trials unless required by the trial, so I understand why I did not see your¡­. soul.¡±


    His semi-translucent manifestation distorted slightly, his visage becoming vague before it became defined again. Lucy smirked, knowing that was the equivalent of a shudder.


    He stared at her with disbelief. ¡°No, what even are you? There¡¯s been a Rank-5 soul cultivator who visited the Commission before. But they don¡¯t have a soul like yours. Yours is¡­.¡± He flinched as he saw her smirk widen.


    ¡°I¡¯m what?¡± she asked in a pleasant voice.


    He gazed at her without moving for a moment, before sighing. ¡°Why are you here at the Commission?¡± he asked wearily.


    She narrowed her eyes and grinned, giving him a wide shrug. ¡°I didn¡¯t lie to you. I need resources. Money, skill books, elixirs, natural treasures, people. The Commission will come out better off for it.¡±


    He furrowed his brows slightly when he saw all her words were true.


    She took out her pocket watch and opened it, checking the time, then snapped it closed. ¡°Anyway, I need to head back. Enjoy the peace and quiet without Scytale, because you¡¯ll wish for it to still be here next month.¡± She smirked.


    He groaned as she left the biome, heading back towards the Headquarters¡¯ main building with her bond around her neck. Lucy considered what she had seen in her perception field.


    In the third biome, the one Ashale¡¯viaf was hiding from Scytale, and the largest biome, an enormous semi-translucent vivid green rose vine had filled the room. The stem of the vine was as thick and tall as a truck, winding and spiralling throughout the massive area, with enormous pink and white roses billowing rainbow essence blooming along its length. In the centre of the room, surrounded by the largest roses, a green crystalline orb larger than a person was slowly coalescing. She knew that as he attracted more mana, his vine would grow more and more solid as he became physically anchored to the realm.


    Spirits were split into two categories, spirit guardians and spirit beasts. While both had a human form, spirit beasts could switch between beast and human form, but spirit guardians only had a human form. That was because a spirit guardian was someone from the mortal races, such as humans, elves, and dwarves, who gave up their body to become a spirit. Many great warriors in the past did this, because it enabled them to act as ¡®guardian spirits¡¯ for their force if they became bound to an item, like a powerful sword, and also allowed them to become ageless beings. This was how most sentient items were made. Sometimes they decide to go to the spirit realm instead, as was often in the case of magic users like Archmages, who wanted to explore the furthest reaches of magic.


    Spirit beasts were the original residents of the spirit realm. Their strength ranking went from lesser, intermediate, greater, and then superior, similar to magical beasts in some ways. However, unlike magical beasts, they could only gain sapience at greater rank, the equivalent of a magical beast¡¯s advanced rank. Superior was when they gained a human form, making spirit guardians automatically superior rank. It was also why one needed to have pinnacle-level strength before converting their entire body to mana and spiritual energy to become a spirit being.


    Spirits had one level of strength after that, which was King. After that, they only needed time and mana, and then they could become immensely powerful beings. And spirits were the metaphysical opposite of demons. They shared many similarities, such as needing mana to manifest a physical body in the material realms, had astral bodies, and they also used contracts to bind themselves to mortal individuals.


    But they used spiritual energy to do so, rather than demonic power. Spirits also had affinities, which caused their unique spirit magic to act like elemental magic in the material realms. This magic, when used with the power of mana, became extraordinarily powerful, as spirits had some of the highest understanding of natural elemental laws out of any sentient creature.


    They didn¡¯t use soul magic like the demons either, and their contracts functioned very differently. While the demons could form contracts with multiple individuals, a spirit only contracted one individual at a time. They didn¡¯t absorb spiritual energy, and when they formed a contract, they devoted their entire power to their contractor, in exchange for a portion of their contractor¡¯s mana each time a spell was cast, which they were able to keep after the contract. They also didn¡¯t have a physical form in the spirit realm, which was a non-physical realm, but immaterial like the Demon Realm.


    It was one of the main reasons they formed contracts, as with enough mana, they could fully materialise, and if they chose to forego a core, they could become elementals. These beings could form contracts, but they existed in the material realms and had bodies made out of pure elemental mana. If they chose to form a core, like Ashale¡¯viaf seemed to be doing, they would become fully manifested Spirit Kings, and their domain would become a spirit gate that could passively summon their lesser kin. At that stage, within the jurisdiction of their core, they would have a proper physical body they could freely manifest anywhere.


    This meant their blood and abilities could be passed down, giving their descendants a semi-mortal body. These descendants, who weren¡¯t bound by their Spirit King''s domain, were called fae. The domain of their origin Spirit King or Queen would be their ¡®court¡¯, a place which had a strange intersection with the semi-materialised spirit realm and its spirits. The fae could use spirit magic, which functioned in incomprehensible ways and was unlearnable by the mortal races, just like demonic spells and bloodline magic, and could also form contracts.


    She assumed Ashale¡¯viaf might be forming a core because the contract that bound him to the Mystical Realm as the caretaker of the Headquarters was running out. He had clearly gathered enough mana to begin the process, so he decided to make the Headquarters his permanent home. Maybe that was why he was scared of her, fearing she might be a change detrimental to him. The Commission was quite lucky, as a plant guardian spirit, especially a Spirit King, was very, very desired for noble gardens and magical plant cultivation, and they were exceptionally rare. Spirits that weren¡¯t part of the six essential elements were the rarest varieties of spirits, and plant spirits, while not necessarily the most powerful, were venerated above them all.


    That was because the Paragon Anomaly of the Mystical Realm, the World Tree, was a plant spirit. An extremely old and powerful one, but a plant spirit. While its main affinity was wood, a must for all plant spirits, it also had an affinity for all six essential elements, which made the World Tree the sole spirit gate for all the different types of spirits. To become a spirit guardian, you needed to go to Glenheim on the Great Fae plane, its home, and to contract the most powerful spirits, you also needed to go there. A summoning ritual wasn¡¯t enough to contract superior spirits or higher.


    But due to this natural spirit gate, the elves had made it their home. As a race with innately high mana and spiritual energy, it was perfect for them, and the spirits favoured them because of this in turn. The elves who contracted the most powerful spirits at the highest level of bond were the strongest sorcerers, gaining the physical features of their spirit¡¯s humanoid form when they entered their elemental manifestation state.


    And Trisroa Vel-Winteridge had managed to contract two Spirit Kings of contrasting elements, an ice and fire king. Still, being a mage granted her magic more utility, as a spirit couldn¡¯t create new spirit magic. It was all innate. Lucille didn¡¯t know how her path would progress this time, but if she could just prevent the girl from becoming hostile, that would likely be enough. The Hero would definitely try to find his second strongest party member again, and Lucille wouldn¡¯t stop him otherwise it would seem suspicious, but she wouldn¡¯t purposely try to place Trisroa in a situation where she could meet the Hero. Lucy honestly thought it was a bit of a waste she became a sorceress, because one time in the past, she had seen Trisroa cast an amazing spell that showed her high talent for magic. Family issues had nothing to do with just being good at what you do.


    Thinking about the past had made her moody though, so she stopped ruminating over the mechanisms of spirits and their magic and instead stepped into a lift of the main building of the Headquarters to take her to the fortieth story. She had someone to visit.


    ¡­


    For about half an hour, a dark-haired girl had watched a certain individual mess around with his equipment from the top balcony of his workshop and had been content to see his abilities, waiting for him to become alert to her presence.


    Sedric was oblivious.


    He hadn¡¯t even noticed Lucille¡¯s shadow that appeared over his table, too absorbed in his work, and making weird things with his equipment. Such as a strange gauntlet that looked like it injected medicine through the spikes on its knuckles when it punched something.


    Or the helmet that had an extendable light fixing, like an anglerfish, that ignored the fact it would blind the wearer when they put it on, rather than illuminate their work.


    Or the spider-like thing that hooked onto someone¡¯s neck, forearm, or maybe thigh(?) and held up tools for the wearer to pick up, except the spider¡¯s legs weren¡¯t long enough to cling on to anything.


    Or the- actually, never mind. Lucy wasn¡¯t going to continue counting. They were all too dumb.


    She understood he was probably spending time inventing stupid stuff because he lacked direction. He enjoyed what he was doing, but also had no idea what he could do to improve himself. Apart from trial and error and immense wastage of resources.


    Narrowing her eyes, she decided to do something.


    As Sedric dropped his binder pen and climbed under his table to look for it, she called out, ¡°The pen¡¯s behind you.¡±


    Thunk!


    ¡°Ow!¡±


    She watched with some amusement as he mumbled curses to himself, rubbing his sore head that he had hit against the workbench when he got startled. He slowly clambered out and stood up, then turned around. He looked up and crossed his arms with a sorely disgruntled look on his face.


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± he asked sourly.


    Lucy smirked as she leaned against the railing. ¡°Because I own this floor. But that¡¯s the wrong question.¡± She lifted the cane by her side to point at the unamused man. ¡°Why are you still here?¡±


    ¡°¡­..I work here?¡± he said, looking at her oddly.


    She gave him a flat stare. ¡°Then how come I¡¯ve received reports that you haven¡¯t been to your area of the floor in more than two weeks.¡±


    He scoffed. ¡°You should be glad I¡¯m so willing to work.¡±


    I¡¯ve had people tell me I don¡¯t have a life outside of work. I understand and accept this point, as I can¡¯t say I have any hobbies. But this man¡¯s hobbies are also his work. I even socialise more than him somehow.


    She narrowed her eyes at Sedric. ¡°Work? As in, making proper functional items that people can use and are not just some vague recollection of a fever dream that you had the idiotic idea to recreate in reality?¡±


    The dark-haired man gained an affronted look, but she ignored it to walk down the stairs. When she came to the workbench near him, she crossed her arms and sighed. ¡°I understand that you haven¡¯t got much to do. I haven¡¯t given you anything to do, so of course you have nothing to spend your time on besides this.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ are you finally here to give me something to do?¡± he asked curiously.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m here to tell you to stop wasting my money building rubbish,¡± she deadpanned.


    Sedric scowled. ¡°It¡¯s not rubbish, it¡¯s-¡±


    Crack.


    He stared at Lucille, holding the broken shards of a binder pen in her gloved hands. She haphazardly chucked it over one shoulder. ¡°Whoops,¡± she stated flatly.


    He came closer. ¡°What are you-¡±


    Crack.


    Lucy snapped a second binder pen she found on the workbench in half. She looked up at him. ¡°These things are really flimsy, aren¡¯t they?¡± she asked innocently.


    Sedric¡¯s eyes widened as he realised what she was doing. ¡°Hey, I need tho-¡±


    She grabbed three from a container.


    Crack. Crack. Crack.


    ¡°How poor quality. What a waste of money,¡± she said with a wide shrug, an irritatingly bright smile on her face. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I should authorise you to buy new ones.¡±


    Sedric glowered at her before his eyes slowly drifted to another spot on the workbench. She followed his gaze. He was looking at a box of binder pens.


    There was a beat of silence.


    Then they both dashed around either side of the workbench, trying to get to the box. Unfortunately, Sedric¡¯s longer reach meant he got to them first, making her click her tongue as she was leaning across the table with one arm stretched out. Then she narrowed her eyes as he held the box high above her in triumph.


    A sneaky strand of invisible spiritual energy extended from her as she physically picked up the strange anglerfish helmet he had made. ¡°Tell me, have you ever actually used this?¡±


    Distracted by his victory, he scoffed. ¡°It¡¯s still a work in progress,¡± he said, as the pens started to levitate above his head.


    She put down the helmet. ¡°Then what about these gauntlets,¡± she continued in a flat voice, pointing to the offending object in question.


    That actually made him sheepish, and he turned his head away. ¡°W-Well, those are just a concept-¡±


    CRACK!


    He whipped his head back to stare at her. The many splintered fragments of obtained binder pens rained down from her fingers onto the ground. ¡°There we go,¡± she replied cheerily.


    He turned his wide gaze to the box he was still holding above his head, which just so happened to be very empty. He dropped the box onto the table with a look of disgust on his face.


    Lucille casually brushed her hands together to remove her gloves from any lingering fragments and then picked up the cane leaning against the workbench side. She marched up to Sedric, and before he could react, hooked the handle of the cane around the back of his collar and yanked him after her. ¡°Come on, we¡¯re going somewhere,¡± she told him.


    He coughed and spluttered as he stumbled back, trying to dislodge the handle. When he did, Lucy turned back and instead firmly yanked the sleeve of his shirt as she pulled him towards the stairs.


    ¡°W-Wait, it¡¯s still during my working hours,¡± he tried to excuse himself, pulling against her.


    She glanced back with a smirk on her face. ¡°Didn¡¯t you read the contract? All hours involving me count as work.¡± Then she eyed his black-stained top and grimy face with disdain. ¡°And for heaven''s sake Sedric, go take a shower.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Where are you taking me?¡± the dark-haired man complained, grumpy as he crossed his arms to glare at the girl with a mask across from him.


    Lucille stopped gazing out the carriage window to look at him. ¡°You¡¯re making this sound like a kidnapping.¡±


    ¡°Might as well be,¡± he muttered and then flinched when he saw Lucy¡¯s narrowed eyes.


    ¡°For your information,¡± she stated dryly, ¡°I¡¯m taking you to the Commission¡¯s craftsmen zone. I could drop you off here, and let you walk back?¡± she added with a bright smile.


    Sedric blinked. ¡°The craftsmen zone? Isn¡¯t that for Commission personnel only?¡± He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly when he saw Lucille¡¯s derisive look. ¡°I meant Commission crafters,¡± he added. ¡°Not, you know, me. And you¡¯re different.¡±


    ¡°Well Sedric,¡± she began in a bright voice, ¡°I am the Commission Head. And that means, blighted uppity Commission crafters or not, I will be letting in anybody I want into that zone, and nobody can stop me, tradition be damned.¡±


    He looked taken aback by the harsher language coming from her. ¡°You¡¯re¡­. upset at them about something?¡± he asked curiously.


    She frowned slightly as she checked her pocket watch. ¡°The general crafters typically belong under Alichanteu¡¯s authority. I¡¯m expecting some people to try ¡®gain my favour¡¯ along with other dull political schemes.¡± She glanced at him. ¡°I suggest you refuse any ¡®tempting¡¯ offers to spy on me for them. With how often you leave your workshop, it will be embarrassingly obvious if you¡¯re trying to get information out of me.¡±


    He glared at her but wisely didn¡¯t comment. He moved on to another topic. ¡°Where¡¯s that uselessly shiny snake of yours?¡±


    ¡°Hibernating. He ate a powerful natural treasure and will be asleep for the next month,¡± she replied, leaning back in her seat. ¡°He¡¯ll finish digesting it sometime in January next year if he¡¯s lucky, and will reach advanced rank.¡±


    He narrowed his brown eyes at her for some reason, making her look at him weirdly. ¡°What? I¡¯m not kidding that he¡¯s asleep. I¡¯m not about to set him on you to get you to come out of your workshop each day.¡± She held her chin in thought. ¡°Although now that I think about it, that¡¯s not such a bad idea¡­¡± she mused.


    He scowled but asked his question. ¡°Don¡¯t you have anything better to do than take me out on a day trip in Gilded Seat? I know your aide has complained about you ditching him before.¡±


    She widened her eyes at him in mock shock. ¡°You left your workshop long enough to talk to a human?¡±


    ¡°All right! I get it! Stop making a fuss about it!¡± he exclaimed in anger, finally having had it with her.


    Like it hadn¡¯t changed, Lucy¡¯s expression instantly went back to being neutral. ¡°To answer your question, Vincent is organising things with the staff. For reasons irrelevant to you, I can¡¯t have much direct interaction with them at this stage.¡± She leaned her elbow against the window. ¡°I could write more plans, but there¡¯s only so much I could plan without receiving information on real-time changes. So, no, I don¡¯t have much else to do right now,¡± she said with a bright smile.


    He gazed at her sceptically, clearly not believing her. Then the carriage rolled to a stop and the coachman called out that they were there. They both got up and left the carriage, and stood before the crafter zone¡¯s gates. Two red-haired guards who had been in the carriage followed them and stood several metres away from Lucy. Sedric glanced back at them in surprise.


    ¡°You have an escort?¡± he asked her.


    ¡°Hm? Oh. Yes. Two Rank-4s from a side family of Chavaret. They¡¯re from the Mercenary Army,¡± she explained.


    The two guards didn¡¯t glance at her as she spoke about them. Lucille went back to observing the crafter zone in front of them.


    Built in the style of a large trading show, the crafter zone was constructed under semi-permanent tent-like roofs, with different crafter sections built into rows, people coming and going between different areas and down the rows with deliveries or transporting materials. Magic arrays and mana-circles adorned the open wide buildings, used for a variety of purposes. The entire zone occupied ten districts, making it one of the largest sub-zones within Gilded Seat. It was the centre for all of the Commission¡¯s manufacturing and was where all the items and materials produced in other planes or fiefdoms got transported before the Counties sold them in their businesses.


    Lucille walked up, with the long-haired Sedric trailing behind, to one of the two overseers at the gate who were writing in ledgers, recording who was entering and who was leaving that specific gate. He looked up and had a slight frown on his face when he saw Lucy.


    ¡°What are you doing here, girl? We don¡¯t have anyone like you who needs to come in,¡± the man said.


    She gave him a wide smile and then pulled out her pocket watch. ¡°Can the Commission Head enter?¡± she asked pleasantly.


    The man, who wore glasses, shifted them with a deeper frown as he inspected the object. Then his eyes widened as he saw its item sheet, and he blanched. He backed up and gave a deep bow.


    ¡°Ah, c-certainly, milor- milady.¡± He straightened up. ¡°Would you like someone to show you around? I can organise it if you give me a moment¡­¡±


    She shook her head and held up a hand. ¡°No thank you, I know where I want to go.¡±


    He gave her an uncertain nod, slowly returning to his normal position beside the gate.


    Lucille walked through, Sedric following behind.


    And the overseer just called over someone to go send word that I¡¯m here. How wonderful. Time to leave.


    ¡°So¡­ do you actually have a place you want to go to or are you just trying to make sure they don¡¯t follow you?¡± he asked dubiously.


    She didn¡¯t look at him as she navigated down the busy street. ¡°Obviously the latter. If you see something that interests you we could stop to look. Just keep in mind all the items here already have places they need to be transported to, so we shouldn¡¯t ask for anything, even if I¡¯m the Commission Head.¡±


    He looked around curiously after that, watching the different types of mana-circles and magic arrays being used, and the different kinds of magic items being sorted and checked. After some time, he spoke up when he saw something strange.


    ¡°Hang on, what¡¯s that weird cart there?¡± he asked, pointing to an interesting structure made of brass and silver metal.


    It had four wheels and carried what looked like a boiler on its back, but glowing vein-like circuits ran along channels on its sides and over the metal. Three carts were hooked in a line behind it, and it thrummed with energy as the boiler on its back released clouds of multi-coloured mana every few seconds.


    ¡°Ah,¡± Lucille said, noticing the cart as well. ¡°That would be an alchemical engine from the Coalition.¡±


    ¡°The Coalition?¡± he asked, frowning. ¡°How is that a golem or puppet?¡±


    She gestured for him to follow as they came closer. A man, presumably its owner, was discussing details with around five people on the other side, showing off the engine and seemingly advertising its utility to the interested craftsmen.


    ¡°Firstly, it¡¯s neither a golem nor a puppet,¡± she explained, gesturing to the engine. ¡°Golems have cores that contain metal or earth spirits within to give them minor intelligence, but this device is purely controlled using the magic engineering mechanisms. And it¡¯s not a puppet because an individual¡¯s mana doesn¡¯t need to interact with it either.¡±


    She used her cane to point to the boiler structure. ¡°It uses a special alchemical solution to fuel the mana-circle and components within, which generates mechanical energy to push it forward. I believe he¡¯s showing this off to advertise the utility of machine power because you can see how it could easily pull more carts than any human.¡±


    ¡°A low-ranked magical beast could pull that much if they were strong enough though,¡± Sedric rebutted.


    ¡°Does the engine look like something that needs feeding, cleaning or shelter?¡± she said, raising an eyebrow at him. ¡°And because it¡¯s made of metal, if it gets damaged you only need to replace parts and find a crafter who could do so. Although,¡± she continued, holding her chin as she observed it, ¡°I do not believe it was very well thought out by the representative to try to showcase this particular model.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Why?¡± he asked, crossing his arms.


    ¡°Well, the alchemical solution that fuels it, as well as the type that runs through its mana circuits is jealously guarded by the Coalition,¡± she told him. ¡°They keep the specific recipe, which is used to make puppets, safe and secure. Which makes it horrendously expensive to obtain when not a member of the Coalition.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t the Commission have the money to buy the solution?¡± he replied.


    ¡°Yes, but he¡¯s not talking to the nobles who could afford to waste money on that,¡± Lucy explained. ¡°He¡¯s talking to the mostly commoner crafters, who are much more pragmatic and well-learned when it comes to feasibility and calculating costs of things. Look,¡± she said, pointing with her cane. ¡°Three of those head crafters have just walked off once they heard the price.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m also sceptical on whether he has the authority to organise a trade deal large enough for the Commission,¡± she continued, leaning on her cane. ¡°Sure, these devices would make logistics much, much easier and faster, but two hundred engines isn¡¯t enough for even one business directly owned by Alichanteu. He¡¯d be looking at several thousand, if not more orders and the Coalition has strict limits on how much of their technology can be exported outside of their Great plane.¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°He¡¯s likely only here to reveal a ¡®new technology¡¯ that is being developed on the Coalition¡¯s plane. It¡¯s not technology that would be truly feasible until the next few years or so.¡±


    ¡°It seems like you¡¯re familiar with the Coalition, miss,¡± a new voice spoke up.


    They turned to see a young blonde man in his early twenties behind them. It appeared like he had just come out of the workshop behind them. He held out a hand for them to shake. ¡°Sameul,¡± he introduced himself.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been before,¡± Lucy said with a smile. ¡°I¡¯m Lucy.¡± She elbowed the brown-haired man beside her to get Sedric to uncross his arms. ¡°This grumpy man is Sedric,¡± she told him.


    Sedric scowled at her but Sameul just smirked and nodded. He walked forward to stand beside Lucy and gazed at the engine.


    ¡°Y¡¯know,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ve been observing that man try to show off the alchemical engine for the past hour now, and it¡¯s a bit laughable really.¡± He turned to them. ¡°I come from the Coalition myself. It was one of my tickets to becoming the junior head crafter for this section,¡± he said with a grin.


    ¡°Has more of the Coalition¡¯s technology been coming into this place recently?¡± Lucille asked curiously.


    He rubbed his chin and nodded. ¡°It wasn¡¯t quite so pronounced up until the past month and a bit or so. I think it coincides with the rumours about when the Commission Head first arrived?¡± he mused.


    Sedric glanced at Lucy but she just nodded, looking at the ground in thought. ¡°Are they trying to gain the Head¡¯s support?¡±


    Sameul shrugged. ¡°Might be. It¡¯s not exactly something I¡¯ve been considering. I¡¯ve got my hands full preparing to enter the Faction Head¡¯s competition in November.¡±


    Sedric¡¯s expression went strange, but Lucy blinked. She gave him an analysis look. ¡°Considering you¡¯re already a junior head crafter, then you should easily be able to get past the preliminaries at least.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Well, thanks for the confidence at least-¡±


    ¡°But,¡± she interrupted him, a wide smile on her face. ¡°Would you like a recommendation that will let you bypass the preliminaries and enter the first competition?¡±


    Sameul stared at her for a second, nonplussed, and then his eyes widened. ¡°Wait, you can do that?¡± Then he hesitated. ¡°Are you a noble?¡±


    ¡°Technically not,¡± she told him before he could start apologising for any ¡®offence¡¯. ¡°But I have a high enough position in the Commission that I could give you one.¡± She reached into her dimensional pouch on her belt and withdrew a thick white envelope with a purple seal on the front. She handed it to him. ¡°The preliminaries are mostly just to remove the worst of the entrants. There¡¯s no harm in giving this to someone who¡¯s already demonstrated their talent.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ thank you very much,¡± he replied, surprised.


    Lucy took out her pocket watch to check the time and turned to Sedric. ¡°We better get going.¡± She turned back to Sameul. ¡°It was good to meet you. I hope you do well in the competition. I¡¯ll see you there.¡± Then she began walking off, her two escorts still a few metres away.


    Sameul paused. ¡°Wait, why would I see you there?¡±


    Lucille glanced back and put away her pocket watch. ¡°It will probably just be a lucky coincidence,¡± she said with a grin.


    He gazed after her, confused, but shrugged and went back inside his workshop.


    Sedric crossed his arms as he followed her. ¡°What was that about?¡± he asked her.


    She used her thumb to point behind them. ¡°It would be a shame if, by some accident or emergency, he couldn¡¯t progress past the preliminaries. If he has the talent to reach the status of junior head crafter at his age, I may as well let him try. Besides, there is a reason why the Coalition is known for the best crafters,¡± she replied. She took another glance around and then turned to Sedric. ¡°I should probably warn you that it would be bad to leave the fortieth floor for the next few weeks.¡±


    ¡°I mean, I didn¡¯t plan to, but¡­.¡± he said, confused.


    ¡°This week the nobles for my debut will be arriving,¡± she explained. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to get caught up in commoner-noble drama and want your life to remain hassle-free, don¡¯t be seen by them.¡±


    His face automatically screwed up, but as he contemplated it, he seemed to understand that he really did not want to deal with that. ¡°Uh¡­ yeah. Okay. No leaving the floor. Got it.¡±


    She gave him a flat stare and poked him with the cane. ¡°That does not mean not leaving your workshop.¡± She narrowed her eyes as he avoided eye contact. ¡°If you keep this up, you¡¯ll begin speaking in grunts, and then nothing else.¡± She paused slightly to consider her statement. ¡°Actually, I think that symptom has already begun to show its early stages.¡±


    She smirked as Sedric yelled ¡°Hey!¡±, and she turned around, continuing to explore the rest of the craftsmen zone.

 Chapter 27 (1 of 2) Arrival of the pests/nobility.

    The Aurelian Commission Headquarters was bustling with a level of activity that hadn¡¯t been seen in centuries. Everybody in Gilded Seat watched as droves of ornate and flashy carriages with a multitude of different crests weaved to and from the imposing building, nobles arriving and registering for the debut ball each day. Some had been there as early as two weeks sooner, making sure they had enough time to complete other business throughout Gilded Seat. Smaller social events were held in the private estates of the nobility, as agreements and other plots became arranged. The forty floors of the Headquarters were nearly full, having just enough space for all the direct members of the Commission only. It was hectic and chaotic for the staff of the Commission.


    A young man with styled platinum blonde hair sighed as he stood in front of the towering building, taking in the sight of it surrounded by blooming gardens with all kinds of exotic flowers. As he saw the coachman of his carriage behind him retrieve his luggage, his father opened the carriage window and called out to him.


    ¡°We¡¯re off to the estate then, Efratel,¡± said Hector Vadel.


    Efratel turned around and nodded. ¡°Have a safe trip,¡± he replied.


    Opposite the Baron, a tanned, navy-haired man leaned out the window with a wide grin on his face. ¡°Be a good boy now, Efratel. Don¡¯t go causing trouble for your father.¡±


    Efratel just gave him a flat look, making the battlemage chuckle. ¡°I¡¯ll be visiting some old friends on Alichanteu¡¯s lounge floor if you need me this week. Other than that, enjoy your time without Marellen!¡±


    ¡°That I can say I¡¯ll do,¡± he replied wryly. He checked his wristwatch and then looked up. ¡°I¡¯ll see you at the ball, father.¡±


    The Baron nodded, and Silas Vadel shut his glass window. Efratel began walking to the Headquarters, the coachman behind him. When they finally got to the side entrance, the one the Commission staff would be entering by, another man stepped up with a clipboard in his arms.


    ¡°May I please have your name and rank, sir?¡± he asked, dressed in the white attire typical of the Headquarters¡¯ staff.


    Efratel nodded. ¡°Efratel Vadel, manager.¡±


    The man tracked his list with a pen in his hand and then paused when he landed on Efratel¡¯s name. His eyes seemed to widen fractionally for a very short moment, but Efratel couldn¡¯t tell if it was just his imagination within that small time frame. The man nodded, holding out a hand.


    ¡°Your invitation card?¡±


    Efratel withdrew it from his suit pocket, and the man picked it up to observe it. He nodded and then passed it back to Efratel. ¡°It¡¯s all in order.¡± He gestured to another staff member nearby, who came over and took the luggage off the coachman. The coachman bowed to Efratel, who nodded, and then left, to return to the carriage.


    ¡°Please follow me, sir, I¡¯ll take you to your room,¡± said the other staff member.


    They made their way to an elevator, and then he was taken up to one of the higher floors. Efratel observed the place curiously.


    It felt odd to not have the notification informing him of being on a Faction¡¯s property pop up, or the Institution version. He knew from when he once went to the Capital, that if you walked over the Palace''s direct domain, you¡¯d get a message telling you that. He had heard it was the same for all the other Institutions too. But because the Founder didn¡¯t set it up, the Headquarters and the Counties didn¡¯t have those messages. Maybe things would change with the new Commission Head.


    With that complicated idea rearing its ugly head again and making him depressed, the staff member stopped in front of a room, opened it, and bowed. ¡°This is your room, Sir Vadel. Your invitation card will allow you to open it at any time. If you need help, there¡¯s someone near the elevators in charge of each floor you could talk to. Enjoy your stay,¡± he said, depositing the luggage inside.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Efratel replied, stepping into the room. He made sure the staff member left, then he shut the door behind him and leaned against it, sighing. He crossed his arms as he surveyed the room.


    It came with an ensuite, a large queen-sized bed, and a small balcony because he was in one of the outer rooms. Then his thoughts froze to a halt as he registered the small folded card with a purple seal propped up on his chest of drawers.


    He slowly walked up to it and gingerly opened the card. Once he had finished reading it, he threw his head back and laughed bitterly.


    He would be going to Tartarus tomorrow.


    ¡­


    Efratel nervously fidgeted with his tie as he stood in front of the mirror in his guest room at the Headquarters. Already his grey suit was beginning to feel stuffy, but he still had a couple of hours left in the day before he had to meet the Commission Head.


    The man grimaced as he glanced at the propped-up card on the room¡¯s chest of drawers.


    The assigned rooms made sense when it came to ensuring the Headquarters was capable of housing all the invited people. What was not so great was the fact it meant the Commission Head was able to put instructions for him to meet them at the western wing of the Pavilion that day at 1 p.m. It was much too soon.


    He sighed and rubbed his neck. He just couldn¡¯t get rid of the incessant anxiety nibbling away at his mental state. He felt like he would be an utter mess by the time he met the Commission Head and would ruin himself. He needed to do something to keep himself busy.


    He contemplated what to do. Many of the Commission¡¯s members had arrived and begun to ¡®socialise¡¯, or rather, dig for gossip and rumours. Even his uncle had come to the Headquarters today to chat with other nobility. He knew many people had tried to find out the name, identity or even gender of the Commission Head, but apparently, the Counties had gotten all the Headquarters¡¯ staff to sign contracts preventing any information from being revealed. And supposedly, the Commission Head had only stayed on their floor the entire time since people began arriving. Even their aide, who was rumoured to be a member of Evisenhardt, couldn¡¯t be found.


    He gazed at the roof. If he saw who they were, maybe he would be calmer. If they were going to be there at the Pavilion at 1 p.m., then he could catch a glimpse at who they were, and his nervousness might settle.


    Having decided what to do, he stood up. He would go to the Pavilion¡¯s western wing, and see if he can¡¯t find this mysterious Commission Head of theirs. Now with purpose, he left his room and began heading towards the nearest lift so he could descend to the bottom level.


    ¡­


    Efratel let out an undignified and very un-noble-like curse as he dodged the sixth briar bush in a row, trying to not get his suit caught on the blighted thorns. He hadn¡¯t entered the Pavilion itself, rather talking a walk around the artificial lake that bordered it. He knew the Headquarters¡¯ gardens had a lot of roses, but this was just ridiculous.


    He had avoided the main paths though, so he supposed it was slightly unfair to complain when he wasn¡¯t exactly taking the official path around the lake. The gardens on the western side of the Headquarters were made to seem like a naturally occurring glade, with the roses cut and pruned to have a more ¡®organic¡¯ style. It just meant he was having a ton of difficulty avoiding them. He would be more accepting of the experience if Marellen was here to suffer with him.


    He continued to walk around the lake, trying to see who was in the western wing, and looking to see if he saw anybody he recognised. He had only seen staff so far, and as the son of a Baron from a Major Kingdom, he didn¡¯t know most of the nobility that would be coming to the debut, apart from Alichanteu vassal heirs of similar rank he had met at a few events in the Blue County. The Pavilion¡¯s ballroom wasn¡¯t used unless it was for the formal announcement of a new Count from one of the Counties, and he had been too young to go see Count Ravimoux¡¯s succession ball. He didn¡¯t have any experience with the other Counties either. He dearly wished he wouldn¡¯t see Archmage Merkenia. He feared his nervousness would make the Archmage suspicious.


    He awkwardly avoided eye contact with a staff member who was leaving the Pavilion through one of the connected bridges. Technically he wasn¡¯t snooping or being suspicious, because he was allowed to be here, they couldn¡¯t ask him to go away as he was an official guest of the Commission Head, if they asked him what he was doing he had a justified excuse and-


    Urgh. He couldn¡¯t fool himself. He was so acting suspicious.


    He sighed and dodged the next evil briar bush as he turned around and followed back along the lake. He had about half an hour left, so maybe he should just enter the Pavilion and wait for them there. Half an hour wasn¡¯t too early, was it? He didn¡¯t want to be seen as too anxious or impatient though. Maybe he should wait a bit longer¡­..


    Thump.


    He tripped over a tree root and faceplanted on the ground. He lay there for a moment, bemoaning his situation. Groaning, he slowly got onto his hands and knees, only taking minimum comfort in the fact the high-quality fabric of his suit wouldn¡¯t get dirt marks on it easily. He began to get up and-


    ¡°Is the view pleasant down there?¡± spoke a young, feminine voice behind him.


    ¡°Like hell it is,¡± he grumbled, before pausing as he registered that someone was behind him.


    Hang on, haven¡¯t I heard that voice somewhere before¡­


    He stood up and turned around to see a young woman dressed in a bright violet suit gazing at him with mild amusement. She wore black boots and a gold braided sash was over her shoulder, tying to one side of her belt. For some reason, a black cane was grasped in her white-gloved hands. She had straight, black hair that fell down on either side of her face with a long fringe that reached her eyebrows, and she peered at him with a vivid violet eye, the other hidden behind a hard black half-mask.


    ¡°Lucille¡­ Goldcroft?¡± he said, surprised, before he blinked and coughed into his fist as he realised he was being rude. ¡°Sorry. Miss Goldcroft?¡±


    ¡°I see you remember me," she replied, smiling.


    ¡°Well, you made quite an impression at the inn," he said wryly, before holding his chin in puzzlement. ¡°But why are you here?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m-¡±


    She was cut off as Efratel¡¯s eyes widened, realising something. ¡°Do you work for the Commission?¡±


    She tilted her head, looking at him oddly. ¡°In a sense.¡±


    ¡°No wonder you recognised my badge back then!¡± he exclaimed, feeling like the puzzle pieces were fitting together. ¡°It would make sense if you were part of the Commission.¡±


    She blinked once and then grinned. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m here for the ball.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± he replied thoughtfully. Then he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. ¡°And¡­ why are you here?¡± he asked, wondering if he had seen him snooping around.


    She smirked and used her cane to point to the roof of the Pavilion. The artificial biomes gave way to a small balcony that enabled someone to have a large view of the gardens past the encircling lake.


    ¡°I was up there. I managed to see you, and thought you looked a little¡­.. lost,¡± she said with a smile. She tilted her head curiously. ¡°And why are you here?¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    He fiddled with his collar. ¡°Uh, well, I am supposed to meet the Commission Head here in half an hour. But¡­ I don¡¯t know who they are, so I thought I might be able to see them¡­.¡± he answered sheepishly.


    Lucille raised both eyebrows, glanced at the Pavilion, then glanced back at Efratel. She broke out into a wide grin. ¡°I see. Scouting out the enemy territory.¡±


    He coughed, embarrassed. ¡°That¡¯s not quite how I would¡¯ve put it¡­.¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°Well, I could take you to them early if you wish. They wouldn¡¯t mind.¡±


    Efratel blinked. ¡°Really?¡± He furrowed his brows slightly. ¡°But I was going to be having lunch here?¡±


    Lucille gestured to the Pavilion with her cane. ¡°I know the Pavilion¡¯s western wing isn¡¯t set up for any meal currently, so it¡¯s possible they only wanted to meet you here and then they¡¯d go somewhere else,¡± she explained.


    Efratel paused, remembering the wording of the letter. ¡°That makes sense if it¡¯s not set up. Then¡­ could you please take me?¡± he asked.


    She nodded with a slight smile and began heading towards the main building, Efratel following after her.


    ¡°So, you¡¯ve met the Commission Head then,¡± he said, walking slightly behind her. ¡°Can you tell me anything?¡±


    Lucille glanced at him and smirked, but shrugged. ¡°Sorry. No can do.¡±


    He sighed but nodded as they stepped through one of the main building¡¯s entrances. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that the contracts for the staff have been very restrictive when it comes to information about them.¡±


    ¡°The Counties have a very specific approach they want to take when it comes to revealing the Commission Head¡¯s identity to the wider nobility,¡± she said, navigating her way through corridors full of people. ¡°The restrictions will lessen after the debut.¡± She glanced back at him with a smile. ¡°By the way, is that navy-haired cousin of yours still trying to experiment with gambling?¡±


    ¡°You mean Marellen? Of course.¡± He scoffed. ¡°Although, he¡¯s used his time recently on more successful ventures. He lacks the astrology and geomancy spells to progress.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± she replied, turning a corner. ¡°Did he have formal magic education?¡±


    ¡°He did, but like most nobles, he went to the Academy much later. He had a private magic education from his father, a battlemage. Several of the teachers wanted him to continue at the Academy as an academic, but he refused,¡± he told her, rolling his eyes. ¡°Nobody¡¯s managed to get him interested in doing any profession though, so I¡¯m not sure what he¡¯ll do.¡± He glanced at her. ¡°Do you have much of a magic background yourself?¡±


    She smiled and held up her cane as they stepped into a lift. ¡°Yep. This is a staff.¡±


    Efratel did a double take as he observed her ¡®cane¡¯ again. ¡°I suppose you¡¯ll have the element of surprise on your hands if you ever need to cast attack spells?¡± he replied. Then he blinked and his eyes widened slightly as he saw her pull out a black card with a small purple gemstone embedded in it. ¡°Is that¡­ the access card for the fortieth floor? You have one?¡±


    She smiled wryly. ¡°I have to take you up there somehow,¡± she said, inserting the card for the reader to scan the gemstone.


    ¡°Well, yes, but¡­.¡± He hesitated and gave her an odd look. ¡°Actually, what¡¯s your position in the Commission? If you¡¯re capable of going to the top floor whenever you please¡­.¡±


    She paused for a moment. ¡°It would probably just be easier to show you,¡± she replied.


    He frowned slightly. ¡°Show me? Show me wha-¡±


    The doors opened and she stepped out, taking a right turn. ¡°The Commission Head¡¯s study is this way,¡± she said, gesturing to the hallway.


    Suddenly feeling nervous, he forgot his original question and followed her. They turned a corner and Efratel was surprised to see a silver-haired man with half-moon glasses reading some documents he was holding as he walked towards them. The man looked up and shifted his glasses as he peered at them.


    ¡°Lucy? And¡­.¡± He turned his gaze to Efratel.


    Efratel realised he was meeting a member of the Silver County and bowed with one hand placed over his heart. ¡°Efratel Vadel, under the Alichanteu. I greet a member of the Evisenhardt County.¡±


    ¡°Ah. Yes, hello." The man dipped his head in acknowledgment, and held out a hand for him to shake, which Efratel did. ¡°I¡¯m Vincent Evisenhardt, the thirteenth son of the Evisenhardt main family.¡± He turned his gaze to Lucille, who smiled cheerfully.


    ¡°He needs to visit the Commission Head, so I¡¯m taking him to them,¡± she said, pointing to Efratel.


    Efratel blinked as the silver-haired man gained a strange expression, glancing between him and Lucille. ¡°I see¡­..?¡± Vincent Evisenhardt replied questioningly.


    Lucille gestured for Efratel to follow, and he was surprised that the Evisenhardt heir also did. Then he had a realisation. ¡°So, if you¡¯re here on this floor, and you¡¯re a member of the Silver County¡­.¡± he began.


    The man glanced at him. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m the Commission Head¡¯s aide,¡± he replied to his unasked question, although Efratel was confused about the strange emphasis he placed on the words and the narrowed eyes he had as he gazed at Lucille.


    The girl glanced over her shoulder with a broad grin on her face. ¡°Vincent, you¡¯re burning holes into the back of my head.¡±


    The man narrowed his eyes even more. ¡°What are you trying to do here?¡± he asked her, confusing Efratel.


    The girl shrugged and kept on walking. Efratel glanced between the two of them, feeling like the dynamic between them was very strange. Then Lucille stopped before a dark, oak door.


    ¡°We¡¯re here,¡± she said and then opened it.


    Efratel hesitated when he saw the room was empty. He slowly stepped in, feeling like something was off. ¡°Why is it-¡±


    He stopped speaking when the black-haired girl placed her cane on the room¡¯s desk, and then took off her violet suit jacket. She slung it over the back of the desk chair, sat down in it, and then kicked her legs up on the desk.


    Efratel froze as a Cheshire grin emerged on her face. She spread her arms wide.


    ¡°Tada!¡± she exclaimed. ¡°I¡¯m the Commission Head.¡±


    <hr>


    Lucille watched as the blonde-haired man stared. And stared. And stared. There was silence for a good few minutes. She gave Efratel a small wave, and he didn¡¯t move.


    She turned to her aide, who was watching them with an interesting look on his face. ¡°I think I broke him,¡± she said with amusement. One of Vincent¡¯s eyebrows twitched as he scowled at her.


    Then Efratel finally unfroze. ¡°What is this.¡± he stated flatly. He turned to Vincent with an incredulous expression. ¡°Is she joking?¡±


    Vincent scowled even more at Lucy but sighed, and gestured to her. ¡°This is Lucille Goldcroft, who has unfortunately,¡± he stressed, ¡°Become the new Faction Head of the Aurelian Commission. No, she¡¯s not joking,¡± he added dryly.


    Efratel returned to staring at her, who blinked innocently and gave him a casual shrug. ¡°I¡¯m not lying. The Commission Head is yours truly,¡± she told him.


    He just gazed silently at her, his face going through different expressions of emotions every few seconds. As the silence continued, Lucille hummed and tapped on her chin. ¡°Also, I remember making an offhand joke about not flouting protocol in front of potentially disguised superiors in that inn where I met you,¡± she said, smirking. ¡°Funny how that turned out.¡±


    Efratel remained silent while Vincent adjusted his glasses and glared at her. ¡°Lucille, get your boots off the desk,¡± he stated dryly.


    Lucy blinked. ¡°Why? It¡¯s my desk.¡±


    His expression distorted. ¡°You¡¯re going to ruin an expensive piece of furniture that is older than 1500 years.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s my expensive piece of furniture,¡± she replied innocently.


    Vincent groaned in frustration and pulled off his glasses, pinching his nose bridge. Efratel glanced between the two of them, and then finally ran a hand through his hair with an expression of exasperation and weariness.


    ¡°So, you sent me that letter?¡± he asked. She nodded, making him let out a deep sigh. ¡°Why couldn¡¯t you have told me it was you? Marellen and I have been stressing over it the past month, thinking I¡¯m heading to my end!¡±


    ¡°Your reaction was funny though,¡± she stated nonchalantly, making him glare at her.


    ¡°Funny,¡± he repeated. He gazed at her for a moment, and then sighed again, crossing his arms. ¡°Well, I¡¯m feeling more relieved now. I was worried it would be higher-ups from Alichanteu,¡± he muttered.


    Lucille slowly tilted her head. ¡°Why are you feeling so relieved? Don¡¯t be.¡± She smirked at his confusion. ¡°Haven¡¯t I specified in the letter that as the Commission Head, I am very, very interested in hearing what exactly occurred during that ¡®holiday¡¯ of yours?¡±


    The way his face slowly paled with dawning realisation gave her quite some entertainment.


    ¡­


    ¡°-and then after that, we returned to the Barony and didn¡¯t do anything until we received the messenger for the debut ball,¡± the man in a grey suit finished, glancing between them both with slight apprehension as he and her aide sat in the two armchairs in her study.


    Lucille had straightened up and was frowning as she tapped on her desk with her fingers, while Vincent was holding his chin with a complicated and slightly dark expression. Hearing about the Archmage had not been good news. Unfortunately, though, it had been expected.


    Vincent looked at Efratel. ¡°Archmage Merkenia has strong ties to an Eternal Duchy, doesn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes, that¡¯s true,¡± he replied with a nod.


    His answer made Vincent frown at the ground. ¡°He¡¯s probably Olden then¡­¡± he muttered.


    Lucille looked up at Efratel. ¡°Your Barony supports Arwen Alichanteu?¡± she asked.


    He nodded. ¡°Yes. The Viscounty we¡¯re in has been under Alichanteu¡¯s authority for more than two centuries now, and supports him as well.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± She stopped tapping, having had a thought. ¡°When would the avalanche have been?¡±


    Vincent looked up from the floor, realising her implication.


    Efratel frowned in thought slightly. ¡°This was¡­ two or three weeks after I met you?¡± he replied hesitantly. ¡°It was sometime at the end of July.¡±


    ¡°So, not related to you,¡± Vincent said to Lucy.


    She nodded in agreement. ¡°Yes. This wasn¡¯t an effect of me becoming the Commission Head later on.¡± She resumed tapping on the desk. ¡°The only thing I did in July was go to a beast enclave, August was the Inheritance Event, and then on the first of September, I became the Faction Head.¡±


    This also means it probably occurred like this in the old timeline. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have the information on the old Trisroa¡¯s past to compare. The two young nobles might have died last time.


    She sighed and leaned back. ¡°We promised to keep the other Counties updated on the conflict between Olden and Radical within the Blue County, so we¡¯ll have to send it by Ravimoux so they can hear this. The fact that Archmage Merkenia, someone who was supposed to have sworn off involving himself in Faction politics after permanently entering All-Aeon Athenaeum, has made a move means Olden was trying to do something big, and needed a bigger event to cover it up.¡±


    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for the fact you became the Commission Head after having met Sir Vadel here, none of the other Counties would¡¯ve likely known that Alichanteu even got an Archmage to move,¡± Vincent added in agreement.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± They looked at Efratel as he nervously spoke up. ¡°Could I kindly ask that you don¡¯t reveal that you know this to Alichanteu?¡± He grimaced. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be responsible for my family¡¯s destruction.¡±


    Lucy and Vincent traded looks. Lucille gave Efratel a dismissive wave. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that. It¡¯s not in our''s, or the other Counties'' interests to say anything.¡± She gave him a serious look. ¡°I have already told Alichanteu I will be staying out of their succession conflict, so I would be going against my word if I did that.¡±


    He sighed and seemed to relax slightly. Lucille rubbed the back of her head. ¡°As for what we¡¯ll do with this information¡­ I believe we¡¯ll need to think on this for a while,¡± she told Vincent, who nodded. The room went silent for a while, and then Lucy abruptly clapped her hands together. ¡°Right. Anyway, on to the next topic.¡±


    ¡°Next¡­. topic?¡± Efratel asked, puzzled.


    She nodded. She picked a pen up and twirled it in her fingers as she leaned her chin on her hand. ¡°Sponsorship. That¡¯s what you and Marellen need to get out of this, right?¡±


    He stiffened, and then his eyes widened. ¡°Wait, are you saying-¡±


    ¡°That I¡¯ll sponsor you? Yes,¡± she said with a smile.


    He put a hand to his head in confusion. ¡°I- but¡­ why would you? We¡¯re only part of a minor force within the Faction. And we didn¡¯t even know each other for more than a few hours before this¡­¡±


    She intertwined her fingers and stretched them out in front of her. ¡°The specific details of the event I¡¯m organising after the debut haven¡¯t been revealed, but essentially, it¡¯s going to be another way for me to ¡®sponsor¡¯ younger members of the Commission. Think of this like that.¡±


    He stared at her, flabbergasted.


    She sighed when she saw he was still disbelieving. ¡°If you want other reasons¡­ it will become more obvious to you after the debut, but I can¡¯t take much direct action. I know it looks like I have full control over the Faction now, but things are a bit different,¡± she explained. ¡°Using you and your cousin outside the Commission will give me a way to form a group around you that can move on my behalf. But that sort of plan is far in the future, so you shouldn¡¯t worry about it right now.¡±


    He rubbed his chin with a complicated look. ¡°But what about Alichanteu? They could give you difficulty¡­¡±


    She smirked. ¡°You¡¯re worrying about the wrong person. Not even a sponsorship from another Count would give you as much protection as a sponsorship from me. Alichanteu¡¯s heirs are too eager to gain my favour.¡± She leaned back in her chair. ¡°They would love the chance to have their vassals be placed under my direct authority. Even a potential secret escaping couldn¡¯t change that.¡±


    He sighed and scratched his head. ¡°You¡¯re serious about this, aren¡¯t you,¡± he said.


    She just smiled and opened a drawer from her desk. She pulled out an envelope with a purple seal, and another sheet of paper rolled up in a scroll tied with purple string. ¡°I¡¯ve even written up the official documentation too. Here,¡± she said, holding out the scroll.


    With a slight frown, he got up and walked over. He took the scroll from her, and then unfurled it, slowly reading through it. His eyes went wide and he turned to Lucille. ¡°This-¡±


    ¡°-is the official document that states Commission Manager Efratel Vadel is to be removed from his position as manager over the Commission¡¯s businesses in the Vadel Barony, and instead become the private manager of Recipient Marellen Vadel, who will be sponsored by the Commission Head to enter the All-Aeon Athenaeum Academy as a grade 1 academic,¡± she said, gesturing to the document. She held out the envelope in her hands. ¡°And this contains an offer of sponsorship for your cousin, along with a certificate for the All-Aeon Athenaeum.¡±


    He stared at her, shocked. Then he registered the outstretched envelope and took it. He furrowed his brows when he felt it. ¡°It¡¯s heavy? And¡­ there¡¯s a small round object inside?¡± he asked curiously.


    ¡°Skill book.¡± She smirked, her answer making him blanch. ¡°If he doesn¡¯t want to accept, tell him he won¡¯t get the skill inside.¡±


    ¡°Is it¡­. valuable?¡± he asked apprehensively.


    She tilted her head and grinned at him. ¡°I think Rare skill books often go for the equivalent of a Major Kingdom¡¯s Baron title?¡±


    His face paled further and he tried to hand the envelope back. ¡°I- We can¡¯t-¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to force you or your cousin to accept this,¡± she replied, leaning back, and avoiding the envelope. ¡°But I hope you understand that this is the best way to protect you both, and by extension, your Barony.¡±


    Her answer made him pause, and he contemplated it with a complicated expression. He looked at the two items he had, and after a brief moment of warring hesitation, he grimaced and placed the envelope in his suit jacket. He bowed to her. ¡°Then, as the heir of the Barony of Vadel, I thank you for your extreme generosity.¡±


    She rolled her eyes. ¡°Spare me the formalities, please.¡±


    Vincent stood up and leaned against his armchair. ¡°Then, what justification will you use for a ¡®puppet leader¡¯ doing this?¡± he asked her.


    Efratel looked between them confusedly while she hummed. ¡°This one¡¯s fairly easy. I was happy to meet someone I saw before becoming the Faction Head, so I did this. And if they ask any further¡­¡± she looked at Efratel. ¡°Marellen can spend as much time as he wants at the Athenaeum, and I promise I¡¯ll remain his sponsor. But I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll want to be doing absolutely nothing for those months or even years at the Academy, am I correct?¡±


    He gained a strange expression. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ right. Marellen will be blowing up things on Athenaeum property and not mine, so he won¡¯t be my responsibility most of the time.¡± He held his chin. ¡°What do you suggest?¡±


    ¡°The Athenaeum has a program that enables nobles to sponsor mages or wizards to go on expeditions, right?¡± she asked Vincent, who nodded. ¡°Marellen will need to get some practical experience, so if as his sponsor, I say for you to support him as he goes to outer planes being explored by All-Aeon Athenaeum, nobody will complain. It¡¯s a common thing for nobility to be interested in the strange curios brought back from those fallen civilisations.¡± She shrugged.


    ¡°And this ties into your plan for a semi-independent group under your authority?¡± Vincent asked her.


    She smiled and nodded. ¡°That would be correct.¡±


    ¡°Expeditions¡­¡± Efratel mused. ¡°That sounds interesting. I like that idea.¡± Then he shuddered slightly. ¡°Although, please tell me I won¡¯t have to go. My one journey through the wilds nearly ended with me being squashed by magical snow,¡± he added sourly.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t send a non-combatant,¡± she told him with a grin. She paused and then tilted her head. ¡°Do you still have the contact details of Trisroa Vel-Winteridge?¡± She registered his nonplussed gaze. ¡°She goes by Roa Winteridge.¡±


    He blinked. ¡°Oh. Sorry, we called her Roa the entire time, so hearing her original name left me slightly confused for a second.¡± He frowned slightly and then nodded. ¡°I do. She¡¯s working at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild in the Beast Realm, and told me she¡¯d likely be there for a few months more.¡±


    ¡°Then, if you can, reach out to her,¡± she said with a grin. ¡°I¡¯ll sponsor her too. Although, as an elf, she might not want to go to All-Aeon Athenaeum¡­ she might want to do field research on expeditions¡­.¡± she added thoughtfully.


    ¡°Roa?¡± Efratel asked, surprised.


    Lucy nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand. I knew of her before she met up with you, but I only found out you were with her after I came to the Commission. There¡¯s no reason for me not to sponsor a member of the talented noble snow elf bloodline, regardless of family issues,¡± she said with a shrug. ¡°Also, we haven¡¯t met. I just knew about her,¡± she added.


    ¡°She¡¯ll likely want to come in person to meet you if she hears someone wants to sponsor her, especially if she hears it¡¯s the Commission Head. She¡¯ll be sceptical,¡± he told her.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. I expected as much. If she accepts, you¡¯ll be her manager too,¡± Lucy replied. She paused. ¡°Do you also have the contact details of the Barbosas siblings? I understand if you don¡¯t, them being part of the Black Hand and all¡­.¡±


    ¡°Ah. Surprisingly, I do. I have Larena¡¯s token.¡± He nodded. He raised an eyebrow. ¡°Why do you care?¡±


    She shrugged with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s useful to have someone who has a connection with the famed Black Hand Mercenaries,¡± she explained.


    Efratel smiled. ¡°That¡¯s interesting. Larena said it was useful to have a connection to a member of the rich Commission.¡±


    She hummed. ¡°Great minds think alike?¡±


    Vincent rolled his eyes while Efratel chuckled at her joke. She opened her pocket watch, which was on the desk, to check the time. Putting it away, she stood up from the desk. ¡°Well, there¡¯s only one last thing on the agenda. I did promise to have lunch with you, after all.¡±


    ¡°I had forgotten about that,¡± Efratel replied, an odd expression on his face.


    ¡°I think it would be best for me to take my leave then,¡± Vincent spoke up, sighing. ¡°I¡¯m not at liberty to sit down for any longer with all the work I have to do.¡± Lucy frowned slightly, making him shake his head. ¡°I¡¯m not saying I need help. You do more work than me, to be perfectly honest,¡± he told her. ¡°It¡¯s just I need to continue the preparations for the main County families.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Yes, I¡¯m not exactly familiar with the customs and traditions of the Commission,¡± she said, holding her chin. She gave him a small wave. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll likely see you sometime after this.¡±


    He nodded and picked up the paper on the table near him. Then he left the study. Lucille turned to Efratel. ¡°Shall we head to the rooftop for lunch then?¡±

 Chapter 27 (2 of 2) Arrival of the pests/nobility.

    ¡°Whatever blighted political ploys you¡¯re trying to do here, keep my family damn well out of it,¡± growled a tanned, navy-haired battlemage. He had his hands slammed on Lucille¡¯s desk, glaring at her.


    Lucy tilted her head slightly. She traded glances with Vincent, who was watching the battlemage warily.


    Then her face went expressionless as she turned back to the scarred man, and she released part of her spiritual energy, keeping it localised to the mage. His eyes went wide as an overbearing pressure descended on him, the air around him rippling and distorting with invisible power like looking through twisted glass. There was a heavy thrum as the space around him buzzed with the sound of static.


    Lucille spoke in a completely toneless and cold voice, ¡°Silas Vadel, get your hands off my desk.¡±


    Breathing heavily, he slowly straightened up, but glowered at her, not taking any step back. They stared at each other before Lucille sighed and snapped her fingers. The spiritual energy was withdrawn like it had never been there.


    ¡°You are under the severe misconception that I have done anything they were not already involved in first.¡± She continued, her voice still cold, ¡°Unless you are making this demand with a comprehensive understanding of all that has happened to Efratel and Marellen Vadel, you do not have the right to try to intimidate me like this.¡±


    His glare intensified, but his expression had changed from just being dark, to mixed emotions as it was apparent he didn¡¯t know what had really happened.


    Then Lucille gave him a bright smile. ¡°You are lucky it was me and not one of the Counts you tried this on because if it was them, you¡¯d be dead,¡± she stated cheerfully.


    He furrowed his brows, while Lucy sighed again and just rested her head on her palm, leaning her elbow against the desk. ¡°Firstly, let me tell you precisely what Efratel and Marellen got involved in during July.¡±


    ...


    The battlemage frowned as he crossed his arms, sitting in the armchair Efratel had been a few hours earlier. Vincent was standing near the door, watching the mage apprehensively, while Lucy was sipping tea obtained from the brass jug, having retrieved both jug and cup from her dimensional bag. She resolved herself to drink coffee more often after this because she didn¡¯t like having to drink tea all the time just so her headaches would get better. Vincent could stop using her artifact for tea and get his own because she liked black coffee and she would have it. Who cared if it was too bitter for anyone not from Earth.


    Silas Vadel looked up at her, sighed, and then stood. He walked over to Lucille and gave her a deep bow. ¡°Please forgive me for my overreaction. I¡¯ll accept any punishment in return for not taking this past me.¡±


    Lucy didn¡¯t look at him as she blew on her drink. ¡°Your punishment can be ensuring Marellen has no choice but to accept my offer of sponsorship.¡±


    He straightened up with confusion. ¡°Sponsorship?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve given Efratel a sponsorship for Marellen to go the All-Aeon Athenaeum, as well as an official order for him to be Marellen¡¯s manager,¡± she answered. ¡°They¡¯ll have political immunity during the time he¡¯ll be studying there, and hopefully Marellen will have gained enough power by the time he¡¯s finished to protect them both on his own. I¡¯m doing this to protect those two young nobles, not ruin them,¡± she stated flatly.


    Silas gazed at her with a complicated expression and then sighed. ¡°Again, I am sorry for my reaction. And yes, I¡¯ll get him to accept it. If he doesn¡¯t¡­ I¡¯ll beat him into accepting myself¡­¡± he muttered, gazing off into the distance.


    Lucy¡¯s expression twitched.


    Battlemages and their domestic violence¡­. I don¡¯t need to give Marellen a therapist too, do I?


    He turned his eyes to her again. ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s all you want to punish me with?¡± He hesitated. ¡°I would prefer not to owe any favours.¡±


    She observed him quietly for a moment and then shook her head. ¡°After what just happened, you haven¡¯t really demonstrated yourself to me as someone I can entrust with actual work,¡± she replied wryly, the battlemage¡¯s expression stiffening. ¡°And it would be easier to keep this quiet for your sake. If Efratel found out his uncle just threatened the one person preventing him and his cousin from getting killed by an Archmage¡­.¡±


    She didn¡¯t finish the rest of her statement, allowing the navy-haired man to come to a conclusion on his own. His expression turned sheepish, and he slowly nodded. ¡°No telling my nephew about this unless I want to be hated for life. Gotcha.¡±


    She hummed. ¡°What made you react like that, if you don¡¯t mind me asking?¡±


    The man gazed at her for a moment, and then sighed, running a hand through the navy strip of hair on the top of his head, that fell down his neck. ¡°My instincts were easily capable of telling me they had gotten into trouble when they came back. They kept acting skittish and avoided answering some questions, and I was able to see they were meeting up more often to talk about something.¡± He crossed his arms and frowned. ¡°Marellen even stopped testing those weird magic concepts of his to create spells for actual combat.¡±


    ¡°I suppose they never would¡¯ve managed to escape the senses of a battlemage.¡± Lucille nodded. ¡°Well, has everything been cleared up then?¡±


    He slowly nodded and then gave her an Empire bow, one hand pressed against his chest as he did so. ¡°Yes, Commission Head. Thank you for your generosity.¡±


    Then he turned and left the study. Vincent sighed and rubbed his forehead. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I shouldn¡¯t have let him come here.¡±


    Lucille tilted her head with a strange smile on her face. ¡°Do I look that helpless?¡±


    Her aide awkwardly coughed into his fist. ¡°N-No, that¡¯s not what I meant.¡± He adjusted his glasses and crossed his arms. ¡°But I still shouldn¡¯t have allowed someone like that to threaten the Commission Head.¡±


    She just gave him a dismissive wave. ¡°I would¡¯ve done the same thing as you. Don¡¯t take it to hea-¡± She paused, a strange expression on her face, and slowly put a hand to her nose. ¡°This is a bit ironic,¡± she muttered, dark amusement in her voice. ¡°What bad timing.¡±


    Vincent¡¯s eyes widened as he realised her fingers had come away wet with red blood. He quickly walked over to her and handed her a handkerchief. ¡°Here.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Thanks,¡± she said, using it to stem her flowing nosebleed. ¡°Don¡¯t go expecting this back though.¡±


    His expression turned incredulous. ¡°That¡¯s not-¡± He stopped, and then sighed, running a hand through his hair. He stepped next to her desk. ¡°Are you ok?¡± he asked, worry on his face.


    ¡°Except that my most vital bodily fluid is escaping my body through one of my sensory organs, I¡¯m right as rain,¡± she deadpanned.


    He scowled at her. ¡°Could you please answer my question seriously so I know whether I need to call for a healer or not?¡±


    ¡°Not, because I¡¯m immune to healing spells of all kinds,¡± she said, reaching into the dimensional bag on her belt.


    ¡°I said be-¡± He halted when he saw she wasn¡¯t smiling. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re not joking?¡±


    ¡°At least I assume so, considering Scytale couldn¡¯t get one spell to touch me even when I wasn¡¯t using a defensive ability,¡± she replied absentmindedly. She withdrew a small bright blue vial, then tilted her head up and downed it in one gulp. She placed it down on the desk and looked at him as she continued to cover her nose with the handkerchief. ¡°As the nosebleed is due to my unstable soul rather than something physically wrong with me, the high-grade healing potion won¡¯t do much. Still, it will cut down the time needed for the bleeding to stop.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still confused about why you¡¯d be immune to healing spells, but I¡¯ll let it go for now,¡± he said with a frown. ¡°Is this going to happen again?¡±


    ¡°Me needing to use my soul pressure or the blood nose?¡± she asked, tilting her head.


    ¡°The nosebleed, obviously,¡± he responded, unamused.


    She hummed for a moment. ¡°I¡¯d say no because if I had to use my soul pressure again without letting my soul settle, I¡¯d spit up blood. A short coma if I need to use more than a quarter of my spiritual energy.¡±


    He stared at her. ¡°A co- a coma?!¡± he suddenly exclaimed.


    ¡°Only my body. I¡¯d still be conscious. With my soul, I can¡¯t not be conscious,¡± she explained nonchalantly, ignoring the effect her words were having on Vincent. ¡°Because my soul is compartmentalised into different sections for my mental processes, I don¡¯t-¡±


    ¡°Stop,¡± he said, holding out a palm. He took his glasses off and pinched his nose bridge. ¡°I don¡¯t care about that. I didn¡¯t even ask about that.¡± He looked at her, his gaze complicated. ¡°Why are you avoiding talking about things that matter?¡±


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    She looked at him silently for a moment, expressionless. Then she exhaled loudly. ¡°Because they don¡¯t matter. Once your limbs have been severed a few times, your organs rupture or you get blasted into smithereens, a blood nose is really low on my list of injuries. In fact, a nosebleed has got to be one of the most mundane forms of injury I¡¯ve ever experienced,¡± she mused with an odd expression. She took away the handkerchief from her nose. ¡°I think It''s stopped,¡± she told him.


    ¡°Why would you have to suffer injuries like that?!¡± he yelled, dumbfounded, and feeling a bit scared because of the relaxed tone she described her experiences with.


    ¡°Just the normal methods of torture between mercenaries,¡± she said, shrugging casually. She tilted her head slightly with an emotionless expression. ¡°And I of all people shouldn¡¯t complain about pain. Most people don¡¯t get the luxury of turning off their sense of pain whenever they want, so if all I get is a headache or two from my soul, then I should deal with it.¡±


    ¡°Oh. So you didn¡¯t have to feel all that pain,¡± he said, looking slightly relieved.


    ¡°Hm? Of course, I did,¡± she said, raising an eyebrow. ¡°I didn¡¯t create the soul technique to turn off my body¡¯s pain until I was at least 72. My time as a mercenary was well and truly over by then.¡±


    He went back to staring at her and then gained a dark expression. ¡°Then why are you talking about this so calmly? It¡¯s disturbing to hear you say this!¡±


    ¡°You asked, I answered,¡± she replied dryly. ¡°And there¡¯s worse things than pain.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡± he asked, sceptical.


    ¡°Apathy,¡± she stated tonelessly, standing up from her desk. She waved the red-stained handkerchief. ¡°I¡¯ll go deal with this.¡± She gazed up at him. ¡°Could you move please?¡±


    He frowned at her but didn¡¯t move away. ¡°Are you going to do this again?¡±


    She crossed her arms and tilted her head as she looked up at him. ¡°I don¡¯t normally try to give myself migraines. I prefer to be capable of functioning as a normal human being.¡±


    His serious expression didn¡¯t change. ¡°I mean are you going to hurt yourself again.¡±


    She sighed and used her free hand to rub her face. ¡°I will if I have to. I¡¯m only Rank-0, so any healing potions will have high effectiveness. I know my body. I won¡¯t go over what it can handle.¡±


    His frown deepened as he gazed at her. Then he placed his hands on her shoulders. ¡°Lucille,¡± he stated sternly. ¡°Please don¡¯t injure yourself if you could avoid it with an alternative. It¡¯s not pleasant to see you do that.¡±


    She stared at him expressionlessly. ¡°Then I¡¯ll do it when you¡¯re not watching,¡± she replied flatly, slowly removing his hands.


    ¡°Lucy!¡± he said, leaning against the desk with exasperation as she walked around the other side of the desk.


    She stopped when he called her name and looked over her shoulder. ¡°Vincent, why do you care?¡±


    He frowned at her like he didn¡¯t know why she was asking that. ¡°Because you¡¯re a friend,¡± he stated. He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly after a moment when she just stared at him silently with no emotion on her face. ¡°Did I say something wrong?¡±


    She blinked, and then stopped looking at him, walking towards the door of the study. ¡°That¡¯s a terrible way to think. I¡¯d make a bad friend.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± he asked, crossing his arms as he leaned against the desk.


    She turned around with a wide grin on her face, startling him. ¡°I¡¯ve been called insane by many people, Vincent. Sometimes a psychopath," she said, her tone light-hearted and carefree. ¡°It¡¯s not far from the truth.¡±


    He held his chin as he observed her with an odd expression, having had a strange realisation. ¡°Lucy, are you angry?¡±


    ¡°Why would I be angry?¡± she asked, tilting her head.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he stated flatly. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m asking.¡±


    She looked at him silently for a second and then hummed as she gazed at something unseen. ¡°Well, yes. I am angry. Very angry, in fact,¡± she said with a bright smile. ¡°You see, I just met someone I really, really don¡¯t want to see. Yet I¡¯ll have to do so, and probably on a regular basis for a long time as well.¡± Her smile widened, and she gave him a casual shrug. ¡°All I can do is try my best to make his life hell.¡±


    Vincent seemed to not know how to respond, and she shut the door behind her.


    <hr>


    A silver-haired man groaned as he leaned against the walls of the Pavilion¡¯s ballroom, feeling very tired. Vincent was the most drained he had been in years. He just finished the preparations only an hour earlier, and soon the nobles would be arriving for the debut ball. Or debutante, they would finally find out. He supposed he was glad Lucille found him capable enough to organise all this, but he really, really didn¡¯t want to do it regularly. It was a relief to find out she didn¡¯t want to be the type of noble to host banquets for every possible event under the sun, like New Year¡¯s, the end of the year, birthdays, ranking up, traditional ceremonies, or forming an alliance with new forces¡­. he realised nobles did host a lot of events. But thankfully, she didn¡¯t plan on doing one once she hosted her external debut.


    However, that made him feel stressed already because the external debut was an even bigger event than the internal one.


    He decided to not think about it anymore and just continued hiding from the eyes of the arriving nobility. It had mostly become an open secret that he was her aide, but it seemed the nobility were aware enough not to bother him during such a busy week. For once. But as for the event that day, and the rest of the week¡­ he knew he wouldn¡¯t be that lucky, especially as the ¡®real¡¯ Faction Head behind the scenes. He ran through what he was supposed to do.


    He would essentially be acting as her ¡®chaperone¡¯ for the next week at the ball and would be directing her to go to different places. They had decided that she would only be there for a third to around half of the event each day, and then she would be ¡®allowed¡¯ by him to go back to the fortieth floor, partially to keep the impression that she was only a young whimsical girl, and partially for another reason. To cement the idea that it was he who had the real power. They expected the nobility would start revealing their true intentions once she left and would start trying to see how they could involve themselves in the new plans. It would be when the Counties announce ¡®their¡¯ plans for the restructuring, and he would present the plans to everyone.


    This meant Lucille was going to be able to spend many of her hours that week blissfully alone and free of pandering and petty noble politics. He should¡¯ve known she had an ulterior motive.


    She had come up with plans in case the situation changed though, such as using the mental transmission technique to have one-way communication with him. He had expressed his worries that the use of her spiritual energy would cause her soul upset again, but she had assured him it would be fine, which, knowing her, didn¡¯t give him much reassurance. But the fact that she was having soul issues, when reincarnation was a System reward and shouldn¡¯t have any side effects, seemed to suggest her condition was some of her own doing. And that put him back to square one on what she was exactly because no soul could escape the System¡¯s purview, even if she had illegally acquired an old reincarnation spell from before the realm''s assimilation.


    He sighed and decided to move from his position to somewhere slightly more secluded, as the lesser nobility were slowly entering the Pavilion central ballroom. The fact of the matter was that the reason why he was trying to find out about Lucille was that dealing with her felt like some strange ancient creature from an outer plane had come to him and started magically offering everything the Commission needed for apparently no cost at all. So far. He didn¡¯t believe there was anything free in the realms, and she had begun showing signs that she had a different agenda in mind. Not that he could ever decipher it with how obvious she was about not wanting him to know what it was.


    And what did she mean she had seen somebody she hated?! He knew as an absolute fact that she hadn¡¯t been anywhere since her impromptu outing the month before because they had been too busy doing work in her study from morning to night each day! If she had managed to find a way outside all that to go anywhere, he wanted to go with her!


    The reality was he had been hired by Lucille Goldcroft, and not the Aurelian Commission Head. She had even said that was the case, and that she would need to ask him to arrange some things that wouldn¡¯t make sense in context with her status as the Commission leader. She had told him she needed someone who could follow her requests to the spirit of them and not just the law, which was what he was trying to do¡­. But she didn¡¯t seem to understand he needed to know what she wanted from him. Or more accurately, she very obviously knew he was getting annoyed with her, but didn¡¯t care and wanted to continue doing what she was doing anyway. And it had gotten worse since Scytale had fallen asleep.


    Also, she was a terrible person for making him feel so awkward after he said he called her a friend. Who cared if she had a convoluted and morally ambiguous past, that was the true indicator of an evil person or not.


    Well, she hadn¡¯t exactly denied the friendship on her end, just seemed to try to warn him against thinking that way. For now, he¡¯d attribute it to her strange mood, but that didn¡¯t mean he wasn¡¯t still angry at her blatant disregard for her own heal-


    ¡°Now, who could this wallflower be?¡±


    He inwardly groaned because a noble had spotted him, but then he blinked as he realised he recognised the voice. He straightened up as he saw who had spoken.


    ¡°Jacques? Is that you?¡± he asked, surprised.


    The pony-tailed blonde man grinned and waved energetically at him as he came closer. Vincent turned to look at the man with red-tipped straight silver hair next to him. ¡°And Caius?¡±


    ¡°Ah, so you haven¡¯t forgotten about me then,¡± ¡®Caius¡¯ replied, smiling. ¡°I hear you¡¯ve been busy.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s an understatement,¡± he said, rolling his eyes. Then he spluttered as Jacques hooked an arm around his neck and made him bend over slightly, his glasses falling off his nose.


    ¡°Yes, I heard you¡¯re now the top boss of the Commission!¡± he exclaimed with a grin. ¡°Well, second top boss,¡± he amended.


    ¡°You have outgrown us lowly mortals in one leap,¡± Caius said, giving him a mocking bow. ¡°We can only bask in your glorious presence.¡±


    ¡°Ha, ha,¡± Vincent stated dryly, slowly disentangling himself from Jacques¡¯s hug. He had always been overenthusiastic when approaching his personal space. ¡°I suppose our past relationship had no part in your desire to be the direct subordinates of the Commission Head¡¯s aide.¡±


    ¡°Well, friends in high places, and all that,¡± Caius said, grinning.


    ¡°Hey, I only came here because Melissa told my parents something, and I now get pushed into doing actual work!¡± Jacques complained. ¡°I only ever wanted to lounge about doing nothing and use their money freely! Who did such a thing to me?¡±


    ¡°I did,¡± Vincent replied, eyeing the man with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°Wait, you?¡± Jacques said, slightly stunned.


    ¡°On the Commission Head¡¯s command, I used Melissa¡¯s advice in selecting two people to be my secretaries,¡± he explained to the blonde man. ¡°Not my mother, because she¡¯d try to put my dearest eldest brother¡¯s spies next to me, and not Genevieve, because I¡¯d be killed if I got within a kilometre of her.¡±


    ¡°What, didn¡¯t you know you came here because of him?¡± Caius asked Jacques, an odd look on his face.


    Jacques held his chin in thought. ¡°Nope. My parents probably never told me because I would refuse to come otherwise. I only got told I was coming for a job halfway through the trip.¡±


    Vincent and Caius glanced at each other, and both sighed in a shared understanding of Jacques¡¯s personality.


    ¡°Anyway,¡± Caius said, turning to Vincent. ¡°On the command of the Commission Head?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes,¡± he replied, retrieving his glasses hanging around his neck and lifting them to check their clarity. ¡°They suggested I do it to make it obvious I don¡¯t care about the County heirship. If I did care, I¡¯d likely be considered the 6<sup>th</sup> ranked successor just from my new position.¡±


    ¡°So you are listening to them?¡± Caius asked curiously. ¡°The rumours among the County vassals point to a shared consensus that you and the Counties are the real power behind the scenes, yet from what I¡¯ve heard leaking through your mother¡¯s supporters, there has been some¡­.. interesting plans being discussed, their origins apparently being the Commission Head themself.¡±


    ¡°And when is this mysterious Commission Head going to reveal themself?¡± Jacques added, crossing his arms. ¡°I¡¯m sick of all this secrecy. Just tell me who¡¯s going to be dooming this Faction or not already.¡±


    ¡°Nobody is dooming anything,¡± Vincent stated flatly, lowering his glasses to rub them with a clean handkerchief, not the one he gave Lucille. ¡°If someone was going to be dooming this Faction, it would be you.¡±


    Jacques narrowed his eyes at him. ¡°Hey, as their aide, you must¡¯ve met them plenty of times. Come on, tell me what they¡¯re like,¡± he said, nudging Vincent with his elbow. ¡°Get me in the know before the big reveal.¡±


    Vincent sighed and replaced his glasses. ¡°It will only be an hour more before they come. You probably won¡¯t get a chance to meet them personally today, due to all the main County members here, but I¡¯ll make sure to introduce you personally sometime this week. Failing that, at the end of the week when you take up your position as my secretary.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah, that thing. Will I be the first secretary or second secretary?¡± Jacques mused.


    Vincent and Caius glanced at each other, and then at the man. ¡°It will be second secretary. Obviously,¡± Vincent replied.


    ¡°Obviously,¡± Caius repeated, nodding his head.


    Jacques glared at them. ¡°You guys are the worst.¡±


    Caius turned to Vincent. ¡°I accepted the offer, because I was bored, and wanted to do something new and interesting. I can¡¯t promise I¡¯ll stay if it doesn¡¯t satisfy that requirement.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s interesting you want, then you¡¯ve come to the right place,¡± Vincent remarked dryly. ¡°And Melissa told me what you wanted, so I asked for you with full understanding of this.¡±


    ¡°But Vincent, I¡¯m not sure if I could do a good job at this,¡± Jacques spoke up, a troubled look on his face. ¡°I have the basic education of an Evisenhardt descendant, true, but I¡¯m sure there are others better suited for this.¡±


    Vincent looked at him for a moment and then shrugged slightly. ¡°If it¡¯s not for you, you can leave. However, calling you here was mostly just to get you out of the County, as Melissa asked. I¡¯ve heard about your situation.¡±


    Jacques¡¯s expression became complicated. ¡°Ah¡­ right. But if that will cause issues for you, then maybe it¡¯s better that I-¡±


    Vincent held up a hand to pause him. ¡°Neither I nor the Commission Head care about your relation to commoners, so you don¡¯t have to worry about that. I¡¯m aware that the reason behind the vassals becoming more vocal about your relationships has several¡­. political insinuations behind it. Staying here will at least keep you out of the crossfire.¡±


    Jacques looked confused, but Caius turned to him with a worried look. ¡°Are you saying that¡­ Olden is getting involved in¡­..?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll discuss the details behind this in a more private setting,¡± Vincent replied, nodding his head.


    ¡°So it wasn¡¯t just the fact that the commoners normally got better grades than me that made them angry¡­.¡± Jacques murmured.


    Caius looked at him oddly. ¡°Jacques, just out of curiosity, what were you ranked within your year level?¡±


    ¡°Oh, just below average,¡± Jacques replied nonchalantly. ¡°I scored 100% whenever I did the tests though, which gave me a pass.¡±


    Caius facepalmed, while Vincent sighed. He turned away when a nearby waiter in a white waistcoat came up to him and whispered to him that it was beginning. He nodded and then turned back to Caius and Jacques.


    ¡°I need to go. A few things will be revealed tonight, but some might make you confused, so I¡¯ll clear up your questions afterwards,¡± he told them.


    ¡°And the mystery continues,¡± Jacques remarked wryly, grinning.


    Caius shot him a look and then nodded to Vincent. ¡°Let¡¯s catch up some more later. It¡¯s good to see you again,¡± he said.


    Vincent waved goodbye to them and headed towards one of the exits. He paused slightly as one of the arriving nobles was announced.


    ¡°ANNOUNCING THE 8<sup>TH</sup> CIRCLE GREEN TOWER WIZARD, AND 2<sup>ND</sup> WIFE OF HARALDUS EVISENHARDT, MELISSA VIOLETTA EVISENHARDT!¡±


    Vincent blinked as he saw the green-haired woman waltz into the ballroom with a smile on her face.


    I didn¡¯t think she was coming. And she didn¡¯t care about the right order of arrival either. Well, she always loves being spontaneous. I suppose I¡¯ll say hello later.


    And then he left the ballroom to go find Lucille.

 Chapter 28 (1 of 2) Enter in style.

    Lucille felt tempted to take a peak around the doorway to look into the ballroom. She and Vincent were on the second story of the ballroom, and on the other side of the doorway was a balcony. Attached to the balcony was a grand staircase that led down, gradually growing wider as it reached the main hall¡¯s floor before all the nobility. Unfortunately, her perception didn¡¯t let her look outside its borders, so she¡¯d have to expand her perception field to cover the whole ballroom if she didn¡¯t want to use her eyes. Which, with her body, would probably kill her right then and there.


    She was wearing different clothes today. Instead of her usual violet, her now buttoned-up suit jacket was a darker purple, and gold embroidery of the Faction¡¯s symbol decorated it. She was wearing a white shirt and wore a black tie instead of a grey ascot. An amethyst brooch was pinned to it. She even had her hair partially up in a small ponytail, a thin gold ribbon holding it in place. She was planning on ditching the whole ensemble after this to go back to her violet suit though, if only for Vincent¡¯s reaction.


    She looked at Vincent who was nervously fiddling with his collar. ¡°The staircase has a long handrail. I could slide down it.¡±


    He didn¡¯t answer for a moment and then started as he realised what she said. ¡°Slide down- Huh? What?¡±


    ¡°Slide down the handrail,¡± she repeated, holding her chin as she observed it on the other side of the open doorway. ¡°It would make an impact.¡±


    ¡°No, you can¡¯t slide down the handrail. What an absurd notion,¡± he replied, aghast.


    She turned to him. ¡°Why not?¡± she asked innocently.


    ¡°Why- why not?!¡± he exclaimed, incredulous. ¡°Of course you can¡¯t! You¡¯re the Faction Head!¡±


    ¡°The puppet Faction Head,¡± she responded with a sly voice. ¡°Who cares what the puppet Faction Head does.¡±


    He narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°But you¡¯re not.¡±


    ¡°Who says I¡¯m not? I have no power of my own and have to rely on the cooperation of the Counties to get my plans to work. The relationship dynamic could change at any moment,¡± she said, raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°Ignoring the fact you have a healthy amount of threatening ability in the form of a violet pocket watch,¡± he stated flatly.


    She hummed and then shrugged. ¡°Sure. Ignoring that.¡± She turned back to look at the balcony. ¡°Are you jealous you didn¡¯t have the idea first? You could slide down the handrail too if you want.¡±


    He stared at her. ¡°If I- no, I don¡¯t want to slide down the handrail!¡± He looked at the staircase. ¡°Even if I wanted to, I¡¯ve never done it before, so I wouldn¡¯t know how.¡±


    She grinned. ¡°Someone sounds like they¡¯ve had a sad childhood.¡±


    He glared at her, and then sighed, pinching his nose bridge. ¡°Why are you talking about inane things like this? In only ten minutes, you¡¯ll be revealed as the Commission Head, and then we¡¯ll have to start dealing with nobles. We should be preparing more.¡±


    She eyed him for a moment. ¡°It¡¯s because you look stressed.¡±


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m stressed,¡± he stated dryly, adjusting his glasses. ¡°This has been the most stressful time of my life. And then we¡¯ll have to do it again next year¡­¡± he grumbled.


    ¡°Well, if it helps, after the external debut, I won¡¯t be at the Commission as often, so there will be no big events we have to host,¡± she said, shifting a bit of stray hair.


    ¡°What will you even be doing?¡± he asked dubiously.


    ¡°Lots of things,¡± she replied with nonchalance. ¡°I need to do the stages to rank up, then I need to level up, and I need to level up my two weapons too, not to mention finding evolution materials for them. Then I need to go check out the airship development and go to aid Alichanteu as they start implementing the new city development plans. I don¡¯t trust those heirs with half of that.¡±


    ¡°And how much of all this are you planning on informing me about before you run off?¡± he asked with suspicion, eyes narrowed.


    She smirked. ¡°I just told you the things I plan to inform you about.¡±


    He sighed wearily but moved on. ¡°Where are your weapons, by the way?¡± he asked, noticing she didn¡¯t have her sheaths. ¡°I thought sentient weapons normally stay very close to their wielder.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re ¡®guarding¡¯ Scytale in my room. Not that they¡¯ll be very effective,¡± she replied. ¡°And that might be the case if they were not sentient weapons from the beginning, and felt a desire for others¡¯ presence. They only know themselves as ¡®swords¡¯ rather than a demon and spirit.¡±


    ¡°¡­..weren¡¯t they daggers?¡± he questioned, confused.


    She coughed awkwardly. ¡°Well, no, not technically. How many members of your family did you say were coming today?¡± she asked abruptly.


    He gazed at her, suspicious of the strange topic change, but answered, ¡°Half of my siblings, my father, his three wives and the Count and his wife. Originally only my mother, Isaella Evisenhardt, and Genevieve were coming, but it seems Melissa randomly decided to join in too.¡±


    She gave him an odd look. ¡°I have to say, your family is really strange. Isn¡¯t your father much closer to the Count in age than he is to you? And the second youngest child of his is already 78.¡±


    He thought about it. ¡°Well, my grandfather is 942, and my father is 712¡­.¡± He hesitated, realising just how much of an age gap there was between him and the rest of his family.


    Lucy shook her head with amusement. ¡°Right. Anyway, Count Ravimoux is obviously alone, and both the two male Alichanteu heirs came, their sister not having any interest. What about Count Chavaret?¡±


    Vincent held his chin. ¡°I think it was him, his eldest son, who you saw at the meeting, and his second daughter.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not familiar with the names of his children,¡± she told him.


    ¡°His eldest son and named heir is Martelemore, and his second daughter is Rosaline. She¡¯s a warrior of some fame within Glory Pantheon,¡± he informed her. Chavaret, while part of the Commission, was also a warrior clan of Glory Pantheon, and participated in their Tournaments.


    ¡°¡­..Rosaline,¡± she stated flatly, after a pause.


    Vincent sighed. ¡°Yes, they have red hair, and he decided to call her that. That observation has come up plenty of times before, in almost any discussion I remember occurring at an event she attended. Please don¡¯t mention that near her. She is very proficient with the halberd.¡±


    ¡°While I might intend on acting thoughtless for the nobles this week, I¡¯m not quite irresponsible enough to irk a warrior of the Pantheon. Nor suicidal enough,¡± she replied in a dry voice. She blinked, held her chin in thought for a moment, and then looked at Vincent with incredulity. ¡°Actually, how stupid do you think I am? That was a terrible insult to my intelligence.¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I-¡± He hesitated, and just sighed, running a hand through his hair. ¡°Look, I was at an event that resulted in a very burnt limb of someone¡¯s when they tested her patience once. Even if she is known as the most patient of his children¡­.¡± he added with a strange expression.


    ¡°Really,¡± she commented drolly. Then after a moment, she hummed and took out her pocket watch to check the time. She smiled widely and turned to Vincent. ¡°It seems to be time for us to make our entrance.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel ready,¡± he muttered nervously.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m going whether you want to or not, so you have no choice but to follow me,¡± she replied smugly. Then she paused as her eyes fell on the staircase.


    ¡°What are you-¡± His eyes rested on what she was looking at. There was a tense moment of silence, and then they traded glances, staring at each other for a second. Vincent paled at the Cheshire grin forming on her face.


    ¡°Don¡¯t fall behind!¡± she exclaimed cheerily, dashing towards the staircase. In one movement she leapt onto the railing and slid down it while ignoring her aide¡¯s anguished cries, her cane in one hand.


    The nobles below looked up at the commotion with startled expressions, which quickly turned to strange gazes as they registered the girl who arrived at the bottom of the stairs. Lucille grinned as they watched her, and then gave them all a fancy bow. She straightened up.


    ¡°Hello all. My name is Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft.¡± She gave them a wide smile. ¡°The new Head of the Aurelian Commission.¡±


    Vincent was going to hate her for this.


    ¡­


    ¡°Haha, what an interesting young lady you are!¡± said a random noble for the fifty millionth time in a row.


    To be fair, most of the nobility Lucy was dealing with happened to be major side family members of the Counties or their most powerful vassals, so they weren¡¯t that random, and she was easily capable of remembering all their names with her eidetic memory. She just didn¡¯t want to.


    She and Vincent were being approached by the more powerful nobility, such as those from the Aeternus plane and the Major Kingdoms, talking to them as they, in turn, tried to analyse her personality. Several times, as they had decided, Vincent would make a show of talking quietly to her and directing her to somewhere else, just to portray the idea she listened to him. Baring the staircase incident.


    ¡°So, the 12<sup>th</sup> Major Kingdom¡¯s people usually wear clothes like this?¡± she asked with wide eyes, acting like a curious young girl. The man she was talking to had dark skin common to those from the desert plane and was dressed in flowy red and white robes. Heavy gaudy jewellery decorated his fingers and wrists, and he had a short black goatee.


    The man gave her a wide smile and nodded cheerfully. ¡°Indeed, we do. And our Kingdom is famous for our fine fabrics, and my Viscounty especially!¡± the man said, giving her a jolly chuckle.


    ¡°Wow! But I thought the 12<sup>th</sup> Kingdom was famous for having lots of sand,¡± she said, blinking innocently.


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    The Viscount from the Tua¡¯Cethla Kingdom of Shifting Sands¡¯ smile stiffened, while another noble standing next to him tried to stifle his laughs. The Tua¡¯Cethla Viscount glared at the other noble, a pale, reedy middle-aged man likewise dressed in long robes, but his clothes were elaborately decorated with a multitude of tiny gemstones, and precious metals adorned them. His robes were reminiscent of Earth¡¯s medieval time period, uselessly ostentatious and impractical.


    ¡°Why yes, my lady. The Crumbling Ruins plane is definitely famous for having a lot of sand, and not much else!¡± the new noble spoke in an amused voice, to the Tua¡¯Cethla noble¡¯s intense displeasure. ¡°My Barony on the Aeternus plane, however, contains beautiful mountain ranges that I¡¯m sure would delight you more than the views of the sand kingdom. And if you come, I will make sure to have a vast array of our finest precious gems, mined straight from my Barony¡¯s mountains, just for you,¡± he said with a pandering smile.


    ¡°Bah. Don¡¯t listen to this mere Baron, Faction Head,¡± the Viscount said with a scoff. ¡°His gemstones can barely function in magical items, and the highest quality he¡¯s ever managed to find was only enough for a High-mage¡¯s staff! The only thing he has is quantity, pumping out overpriced rocks year by year.¡±


    ¡°Overpriced rocks?! And I¡¯ll have you know, this Baron from the Aeternus plane has a noble title equivalent to that of a mere Viscount from a Major Kingdom¡­¡±


    Lucy inwardly sighed as the two nobles began to bicker. The conflict between the Commission¡¯s vassal noble clans was always petty, because as merchants, the Counties strictly prevented them from fighting with each other, otherwise it might damage their main businesses¡¯ profits. Feeling a bit irritated, she clapped her hands together once very loudly to gain their attention.


    ¡°Then sir, what kind of gemstones are in your Barony?¡± she asked happily.


    The reedy noble coughed into his fist and raised his chin high, eager to sing his own praises. ¡°In my fine mines, we regularly find Eagle¡¯s Eye Rubies, famed for their use in vision-enhancing fire affinity elixirs, Undine¡¯s Tear Sapphire, a useful power storage in water breathing items, and Luminescent Winter Opal, the gorgeous stone of dual light and ice that many a noble lady have desired to have embedded in fine jewellery to hang around their necks.¡±


    ¡°Those names sound slightly familiar¡­¡± she mused with a thoughtful expression.


    The Baron puffed himself up even higher. ¡°Of course! These unique stones of our Barony have been hailed among the ages as fine gems of splendour, famed stones of gorgeous wonder and-¡±


    ¡°I believe I might know where you heard of them, Faction Head,¡± Vincent interrupted with a calm smile. ¡°It was likely when we investigated the contents of the Founder¡¯s vault. I recall seeing several thousand of those gems recorded as yearly offerings from many, many different noble fiefdoms throughout the Mystical Realm.¡±


    Ha. Vincent is finally getting sick of his spiel too.


    ¡°So, I can look at them whenever I want?¡± she asked him.


    He nodded, giving her a pleasant smile as he gazed at the withering Baron in front of them with narrowed eyes. ¡°Yes, we have plenty of them.¡±


    The Baron didn¡¯t look as haughty as he slowly backed away, to the sand kingdom Viscount¡¯s immense amusement. He let out hearty guffaws as the Baron glared at him.


    ¡°What about the Viscount¡¯s fabric?¡± she asked her aide.


    ¡°Ah, you wouldn¡¯t have quite as much of that, I¡¯ll have to inform you,¡± the Viscount interjected with an amicable smile. ¡°We joined the Commission much later, so our wares would be quite a bit¡­. rarer within the Founder¡¯s vault.¡± He seemed to swell, having found something that the Commission Head didn¡¯t have.


    ¡°Do you have purple?¡± she asked abruptly, knowing full well due to the customs of the Tua¡¯Cethla Kingdom that he did not. She gazed at him with an eager look.


    The dark-skinned Viscount let out a sigh of ¡®sadness¡¯, even though he obviously didn¡¯t care too much. ¡°Unfortunately, the Tua¡¯Cethla royal family is the only nobility allowed to wear the Crumbling Ruin plane¡¯s signature regal purple fabric, and they have never deigned to share their recipe with lower nobles like me.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± she stated. Then she shrugged. ¡°Well, I only want purple. It¡¯s my favourite colour. If you don¡¯t have it, then I guess I don¡¯t need to visit your Viscounty.¡±


    The Baron beside him gained a grin as the Viscount''s expression froze. ¡°Oh, but my lady, I am sure I could find something else that would please-¡±


    ¡°No thanks,¡± she replied with a cheery smile, making his words die in his throat. ¡°Maybe I should go say hi to another Viscount, one on the Aeternus plane this time?¡± she wondered aloud, the Viscount¡¯s face paling. ¡°I¡¯m sure they might have purple fabric¡­.¡±


    Vincent took the chance to place his hands on her shoulders to steer her away from them. ¡°Then we shall take our leave. We have other nobility to greet, after all,¡± he said with his best business smile.


    The two nobles gave them slow nods as they bid them goodbye, both mournful over their lost chance to gain more power.


    Vincent bent to whisper into her ear. ¡°Is purple being your favourite colour the real reason you dress like this?¡± he murmured.


    She gave him a glance and then smiled cheerfully, still acting like an innocent girl for all the other watchers. ¡°Of course not. How could I still have a favourite colour after nearly 250 years?¡± She paused and looked to the side. ¡°And it seems the main County families are finally moving. Or one member of the main County families.¡±


    Count Ravimoux was walking towards them with a smile on his face, holding a glass with red wine inside. Two people were beside him, both dressed in black and wearing masks. One seemed to be a man, while the other seemed to be a woman. The man¡¯s mask that covered his chin, mouth and nose was entirely black, but the woman had green detailing on hers, decorated like a snarling mouth. She appeared to be trying to converse with the masked man beside her, who didn¡¯t seem interested and was steadily gazing forward.


    ¡°Have you been enjoying yourself?¡± Count Ravimoux asked.


    Lucy gave him an energetic wave. ¡°Hello, Regulus!¡±


    Vincent gave her an odd look, and the Count¡¯s eyebrows raised just a fraction, but he seemed willing to play along, as his smile widened as he approached. ¡°I¡¯ve noticed you¡¯ve been busy talking to the many people here, Lucy. If you want to leave, you can.¡±


    She noticed how the people nearby seemed to be trying to listen closely to their conversation. ¡°I have a bit of time left, don¡¯t I?¡± she said, turning to Vincent, who nodded.


    ¡°Yes, you have ten minutes left before you may return,¡± he stated with a smile.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try for a bit longer then,¡± she replied, turning back to ¡®Regulus¡¯. ¡°And who are you with?¡±


    ¡°Ah. This,¡± he said, gesturing to the man, ¡°Is my aide, Tarquin. He¡¯s not very social, so I¡¯ll hope you forgive him for not contributing to our discussion.¡±


    She tilted her head slightly, looking at the stern man, and gave him a small wave with a smile on her face. He glanced at her but didn¡¯t say anything. Count Ravimoux then gestured to the brown-haired woman next to him, who came forward. ¡°And this is one of my subordinates-¡±


    ¡°Let me introduce myself, my lord,¡± she said to the dark-haired man. The Count smirked but stepped back and sipped his wine. The woman smiled, or appeared to be smiling due to her eyes as her mask covered her mouth, and gave Lucy a bow. ¡°My name is Margaery, a poison-element manipulator. Also known as the Viscountess of the Femidela family.¡±


    Lucy pretended to eye the woman warily with wide eyes and slight nervousness. ¡°...poison?¡±


    Viscountess Femidela stepped forward, a hand on her cheek as she observed Lucille. ¡°Yes, poison. Are you scared?¡± she asked amusement in her voice.


    Lucy noticed the Count¡¯s smirk had grown wider.


    Oh, he has definitely told her what I¡¯m like. They¡¯re both having fun at my expense because I have to do this.


    She glanced at Vincent, who seemed to be watching the developing events with interest.


    If he starts anything too, he better be prepared to work overtime.


    ¡°N- no, I¡¯m not scared,¡± she stated, crossing her arms. ¡°But¡­ what do you do as his subordinate?¡±


    The woman blinked, caught off guard, and then laughed. ¡°I make very special kinds of cocktails,¡± she said with a wink.


    ¡°Does Regulus enjoy drinking them?¡± Lucy asked innocently.


    The Count¡¯s expression became slightly strange while the Viscountess covered her mouth and began laughing again. ¡°No, not for him,¡± she chuckled.


    ¡°But if you¡¯re his subordinate, shouldn¡¯t you make things for him?¡± Lucy continued, tilting her head in fake puzzlement.


    The Viscountess clutched her stomach as she laughed harder, and the Count gazed at them both with slightly narrowed eyes. Vincent was looking at Lucy with exasperation.


    ¡°It seems my subordinate enjoys the idea of poisoning her boss a little too much,¡± the Count stated in a dry voice. He stared intently at Margaery Femidela, who flinched and avoided eye contact.


    ¡°Oh, no sire! It would physically pain me to consider such a thing!¡± she said dramatically, slowly backing away.


    ¡°That¡¯s because the dark contract would activate and inflict torturous punishment on you if you did,¡± the Count said in a cheerful voice, smiling brightly at his subordinate.


    The Viscountess pouted but returned to her position beside him. ¡°Can you believe him?¡± she said to Tarquin. Tarquin ignored her.


    ¡°Well, I hope you enjoy the rest of your night, Lucy,¡± the Count said, giving her a nod. ¡°I¡¯ll be going to-¡±


    ¡°Ah, Miss Goldcroft, I don¡¯t believe we¡¯ve met yet!¡± exclaimed a new, young voice.


    They all turned to see who had so rudely interrupted, and found that a young man who appeared in his late teens was approaching them, with deep blue eyes and brown hair that ended in blue tips. He wore a dark blue jacket with gold adornments and walked forward with what was either supreme self-confidence or arrogant idiocy. Something about his smile seemed to be supremely irritating.


    In the distance a few metres away, the blonde and blue-haired Artair Alichanteu was watching the young man approach them with caution, sipping his drink carefully.


    Lucy blinked. ¡°No, I don¡¯t believe we have.¡±


    The young man strode forward and gave her a deep bow. ¡°You seem to have already met my brother before, though,¡± he said, giving her a wide smile and sticking out his hand. ¡°I give my greetings to the Faction Head.¡±


    ¡°Greetings,¡± she said with a nod and smile and reached out her hand to shake hands with him¡­.. when he grabbed it and kissed the back of her gloved hand instead.


    She, the Count, his subordinates, the nearby eavesdroppers, and Vincent stared at him for a while, stunned. In the background, Artair Alichanteu spat out his drink.


    Lucille was very proud her expression didn¡¯t so much as even twitch.


    If somebody doesn¡¯t do something I¡¯m going to kill this brat right now.


    The Count¡¯s face showed undisguised incredulity, and Tarquin had to slightly nudge him before he realised he had lost control of his emotions, so he coughed to recompose himself.


    The sound made the young man release his hold on her hand and straighten up. He then turned to Count Ravimoux and bowed again. ¡°And I greet the Count of Ravimoux,¡± he said, his tone much more deferential than to Lucille.


    ¡°Hmm,¡± was all the Count replied, seemingly observing the man with disinterest. ¡°Who might you be?¡±


    Lucy dearly wanted to smile when she saw how the young man¡¯s calm smile stiffened and became strained as he smiled awkwardly at the Count. She could sense Vincent behind her covering his mouth to hide his own smile.


    The young man coughed and stood up straight. ¡°We have met before, your lordship. I am an heir of Alichanteu¡¯s main family line, Ar-¡±


    ¡°Artair?¡± the Count interrupted, rubbing his chin ¡®thoughtfully¡¯. He glanced at the brown-haired man, whose expression distorted momentarily, and then shook his head. ¡°No, Artair has blonde hair. He¡¯s also taller and clearly older. You can¡¯t be more than twenty.¡±


    The man¡¯s smile became even more strained as he spoke to the taller man. ¡°No, my name is Arwen Alichanteu, Count Ravimoux. Artair¡¯s younger half-brother.¡±


    I¡¯m almost thankful he hasn¡¯t seemed to realise the Count is fully aware of who he is. While it would be amusing to see him try to verbally fight the Count, I don¡¯t want him dead just yet¡­ We¡¯ll see if that changes though.


    ¡°Ah. The teenager. No wonder I didn¡¯t recognise you. The last time we met you weren¡¯t even fifteen yet,¡± the Count replied, giving him a large nod.


    Arwen winced at the description of ¡®the teenager¡¯, but dipped his head. ¡°Yes, it has been five years since then. Unfortunately, I haven¡¯t had the capability of going to more events over the last few years. My dear older brother is a bit¡­ overprotective,¡± he said, smirking.


    ¡°Really,¡± the Count stated flatly, unimpressed, although it was clear to Lucy and Vincent that the young man didn¡¯t pick up on it.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not to say I don¡¯t appreciate his well-meaning intentions,¡± he continued, oblivious to the lack of interest or sympathy from his audience. ¡°I just wish I could¡¯ve returned back to the County from the Academy much sooner. There was so much I could¡¯ve helped him with!¡± He shook his head ¡®sadly¡¯. ¡°Alas, those issues have already been dealt with, so I must show my capabilities in other ways.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Count Ravimoux responded in a dry voice. ¡°Well, if you have so much to say on this topic, why don¡¯t you say it to the person in question?¡± he said, suddenly turning around to point to Artair Alichanteu some distance away behind them.


    Artair flinched at the attention and awkwardly tried to shuffle away, realising his eavesdropping was discovered.


    Arwen narrowed his eyes at his half-brother, now aware of what he had been doing. ¡°Actually, I might just do that. Thank you for the suggestion. I bid you goodbye, your lordship,¡± he said with a nod to the Count, and then abruptly turned to give Lucy a flashy bow with a wide smile on his face. ¡°And I hope to see you again very soon, Faction Head. I would love to begin forming a closer relationship with you, so if I could be so honoured to receive your invitation¡­.¡± he drawled, his smile widening.


    Lucy was stopped from having to answer (or curse him with dark magic) by Vincent putting a hand on her shoulder and giving the young man a tight smile. ¡°If her schedule allows,¡± he stated, partly to keep up the ¡®puppet leader¡¯ impression for all the eavesdroppers, and partly to tell the man it was incredibly unlikely.


    Arwen Alichanteu smirked but straightened up and turned around, confidently striding towards his older brother, who seemed to be intensely focused on making his way to the tables of food. Or running away, but the exact terminology didn¡¯t make much difference to Lucille. They stared at him for a moment before Count Ravimoux stepped closer to them and slightly leaned to the side to say something only she and Vincent could hear.


    ¡°Do I have your seal of approval to assign someone to go find a few interesting details about his past?¡± he muttered, narrowing his eyes as he watched Arwen try to start a fight with Artair.


    She laughed, pretending he had told her a joke and with a cheerful smile said, ¡°No approval needed, and I suggest you find out the dark past of his main supporters too. Somebody needs to punish them for their sins of supporting an idiot.¡±


    The Count smirked and straightened up, then dipped his head to her. ¡°Then I will see you again tomorrow, Lucy,¡± he replied.


    ¡°Goodbye Regulus,¡± she said, and then he and his two subordinates turned to continue walking somewhere else.


    She and Vincent likewise walked away, her steps upbeat and bright as she kept up her acting. ¡°Do I need to visit Chavaret and Evisenhardt too?¡± she asked Vincent cheerfully.


    ¡°That will not be required. They¡¯ll meet you later in the week, and any proper discussions will be reserved for the second last day¡¯s slightly more¡­. informal meeting,¡± he added in a quieter voice.


    ¡°Then I suppose it is the next phase,¡± she responded, pretending to yawn. ¡°Good luck.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll need it,¡± he muttered, before smiling and patting her on the shoulder for the watchers. ¡°You seem tired, Lucy. Let me handle the rest. You can go back now,¡± he said in a louder voice.


    ¡°Really?¡± she asked, blinking. Then she nodded, and ¡®yawned¡¯ again. ¡°Then I¡¯ll go back to my floor. Tell me if something interesting happens!¡± she said as she moved away, giving him a small wave. She made her way to an exit, but not before she snuck an invisible strand of spiritual energy over to him.


    ¡®I¡¯ll be on the top story watching the hall from above if you really need me. Ask a staff member though, because I¡¯ll be using an illusion to disguise myself,'' she sent.


    She watched through her perception as he looked slightly surprised, seemingly unaware that was her plan. She inwardly rolled her eyes as she made it to the exit.


    Did he really think I¡¯d just be relaxing in the main building while he¡¯s here? I¡¯m not sure what he thinks I do all day if he believes I know how to do something like ¡®relax¡¯. Drinking tea for my headache doesn¡¯t count.


    When she made it to a corner out of sight from any nobles, she drew on the external mana to blanket herself in a layer of illusion mana, changing her outward appearance into a fairly generic and unnoticeable look. She started walking towards the stairs.


    It had been a bit funny to see several people¡¯s reactions that day though. She had noticed Silas Vadel and Efratel looking at her strangely at two different points during the event, and Artair seemed to have been avoiding her the entire time like he wasn¡¯t sure how to interact after the meeting, nor react to her ¡®sudden¡¯ personality change. It seemed the act she put on was too far removed from her normal expressions and body language for them to reconcile the difference.


    Well, yes she had to make an effort to have her face be anything other than expressionless. That was why she used her spiritual energy to control her body, after all. Let them spend the equivalent of more than 50 years main realm time under a time dilation in a pocket dimension alone and have a look at how expressive their face is. Excuse her for having to relearn what it meant to be normal.


    She reached the top of the stairs and walked over to a balcony, ready to watch the show below. The uproar from the nobility would be a sight to see, that was for sure.


    She watched as Vincent walked over to his grandfather, the Count of Evisenhardt, and made eye contact with him. They moved over to the base of the grand staircase, and the Evisenhardt Count clapped his hands loudly, drawing the room¡¯s attention.


    ¡°May I have your attention please!¡± he announced with an authoritative voice. ¡°My grandson, Vincent Evisenhardt and the aide of the Faction Head has something he would like to announce.¡±


    The room went silent as Vincent stepped forward with a folder in hand, and adjusted his glasses. He smiled at them all. ¡°Now that you have met our new¡­. Faction Head and she has retired for the night,¡± he began loudly, ¡°Shall we move on to the real reason for calling you all here this day?¡±

 Chapter 28 (2 of 2) Enter in style.

    The basic plans for the Aurelian Commission were split into five different categories. Lucille had chosen to do it that way due to how the Counties had very strict divides between what they controlled and hated others encroaching on their authority. Four of the categories were for each County to do separately, while the fifth contained the plans she would directly oversee and be responsible for implementing.


    For the Evisenhardts, they ran the Empire¡¯s Silver Bank, the largest bank in the Mystical Realm. Her plan for them was to change the structure slightly so they could be responsible for the Commission¡¯s ¡®shares¡¯ in businesses, and organise the Commission into more of a union of merchants. She wanted the Evisenhardts to begin using their financial administration capability to properly categorise and reform the financial distribution of their vassals and main businesses, beginning to isolate fiefdom and business profit.


    When the structure has been reformed enough, then they could begin following the concept of the international global corporations, owning hundreds upon thousands of smaller businesses. She wanted the other Counties¡¯ businesses to start following this structure at that stage too.


    But for Evisenhardt only, she was planning on revealing the concept of ¡®insurance¡¯. Maybe she was evil.


    Ravimoux was a slight issue. Mainly because 40% of their income was from illegal ventures, while the rest was because of their casinos and entertainment districts. But her plan for them didn¡¯t necessarily involve illegal business and was instead allowing the black market to become a place for people of all realms to gather, which also granted complete privacy to those within.


    For that, she was going to pursue more ¡®neutrality¡¯ for the Commission, by opening up trade with Tartarus and the Demonic Sects of the Heavenly Realm. Trading with them wasn¡¯t illegal, and there was a market for their specialities in the Mystical Realm and a demand on their end for the Mystical Realm¡¯s specialities. It was for political reasons only that they were disliked, so if she managed to ensure anonymity within the VIP black market, it should work.


    Chavaret were simpler. They had a long history of being excellent blacksmiths and warriors due to their strong fire affinity and also had two mana-arts that their side bloodlines could choose from to take either path. The main family had one mana-art that did it all. They manufactured high-quality weapons and armour for Glory Pantheon and owned private mercenary armies that they hired out to lower-plane kings or nobles who wanted to win a Battlefield Event, gain a higher title of nobility, or even land.


    She wanted to get them to expand into fighting in the Beast Realm so they would have a steady stream of high-rarity materials to craft good items. The magical beasts obeyed strength, after all, so they would be happy to work with them if they showed their might and helped them defeat rival beast enclaves. Plus, the many monsters would help the warriors level up.


    And then was Alichanteu. They were a noble clan that owned land and managed cities, while also owning many large hotel chains and auction houses. She would need their cooperation when re-constructing districts in Gilded Seat and would use them to help build up better supply lines and more cohesive logistical routes. She also intended to test out a more modern city design plan on some of their newer cities in preparation for the reconstruction of Gilded Seat.


    If she managed to make Gilded Seat a demonstration of what a modern city was and managed to get it functioning, then other places in the Mystical Realm would follow. Then, when the new structure of the Commission allowed more commoner and noble merchants to join more easily, the Gilded Dome plane would become a massive centre for trade, even more so than the 7 Eternal Duchies.


    Which left the fifth category of plans. One part of it was easy to explain. She needed to create an internal affairs division that would enable her to root out corruption and keep the members of the Commission in check. But as for the rest of her responsibilities¡­ There was a niche that the four founding Counties hadn¡¯t covered. While they all had vassals with businesses that covered the more normal and daily items, they didn¡¯t yet have businesses fully devoted to developing technology for the Commission.


    Which was normal, as corporate-owned research institutes were very much an Earth thing and not an idea that had come to the Tower realms yet. But by building off the competition she was hosting, she would use her resources as the Commission Head to fund the development of new technology and then implement it in the Commission or sell it to other forces.


    That was a very big part of the reason why she wanted to transfer the management of the airship development to herself. Partially because she could accelerate their development of them, and partially because the airship development facilities had some of the highest-quality magic engineering and magitech within the Tower. She wanted to win over the engineers, and therefore their technological expertise, to her side.


    As for the airships¡­. airships themselves were a rather risky thing to be developing for any force. That was because they held a certain meaning among the people of the Mystical Realm. There was evidence and lost relics from the ancient past of the Mystical Realm that pointed to wondrous civilisations that had managed to conquer planes using massive floating fortresses built in the shape of ships, and the Imperial family¡¯s origin plane was rumoured to contain one derelict one.


    The All-Aeon Athenaeum and their expeditions regularly unearthed old technology of the past that functioned in strange and incomprehensible ways. Some signs indicated these ancient empires were even larger than the Eternal Empire, which contained one Superior plane almost five times the size of Earth, several Great planes a quarter the size of the Aeternus plane each, 24 Major planes, and 108 Minor planes. Not to mention the thousands of unranked outer planes slowly joining under the Aeternus plane''s domain of influence each year.


    It was a race to determine which ancient faction could resurrect the glory of the past first. Every Supreme Institution, to Lucille¡¯s knowledge, had development plans and facilities for it, each using a different method. Of course, sometimes other Factions also tried to build airships, but none would have the resources to support it, and most of their ambitions fizzled out after a few years. Except in the Aurelian Commission. It wasn¡¯t a Supreme Institution, but wasn¡¯t technically just a large Faction either, as they owned several Guilds and forces equivalent to a large Faction in their own right. They had managed to keep their research going for several centuries.


    She didn¡¯t want to reveal the airships before the Supreme Institutions did theirs¡¯ though. It would paint a target on their backs they didn¡¯t need, and apart from showing the royal family and Duchies that the Commission was a larger threat than they thought, it would only give them the slightest boost to the number of craftsmen aiming to join them. It wasn¡¯t necessary. But she did want to ensure the research into airship crafting proceeded because it would be incredibly useful for the Commission and her plans to increase the level of transportation technology they had. Now she just needed to find some way to get Alichanteu to hand the management responsibility over without a fuss.


    Vincent was currently explaining her plans for the nobility below, standing next to his grandfather. Count Ravimoux and Count Chavaret had also moved over to stand at the front in a show of support, while the two Alichanteu heirs had not, just standing in the first row of nobles as they weren¡¯t Counts. From what she could see, it didn¡¯t seem to be going¡­ badly, but all the people who weren¡¯t part of the County main lines were understandably of mixed emotions about the whole thing.


    After all, their lords had just revealed that these plans of ¡®theirs¡¯ had been created without their knowledge and were now going to be forced upon the Commission, with no regard for the wants and desires of the vassals. Yet if they complained, they wouldn¡¯t be able to participate and gain power during the next few years, which was sure to be highly important for resetting the status quo.


    She was sure that for the rest of the week when attending the ball nights wasn¡¯t mandatory, they would be organising smaller social events in their estates to discuss the intentions of the four Counties. She had no doubts that eventually the origin of the plans would slowly leak to the vassal families, and then to their vassals, as so on until everyone in the Commission knew she was responsible for suggesting them, but she hoped five years was a short enough period that it would take some time before anything substantial leaked out to the wider realms. Those in power would know, and the forces with spies in the Commission, but outside of that, she would still be known as the useless ¡®puppet leader¡¯.


    Another reason why she had arranged for Vincent to essentially be her ¡®minder¡¯ was so the nobles wouldn¡¯t come up with stupid schemes like the one Arwen Alichanteu¡¯s subordinate suggested, such as putting her in real power or other rot. She didn¡¯t want to be in charge of the Commission at all times. She had other things to do, such as interrupting brewing conflicts between some forces that later cascaded into terrible results, or inciting different ones that suited her purpose.


    She also needed to ensure the Dawn Dissenters wouldn¡¯t try to use her to further their agenda. Her goals may appear to align with theirs on the surface, but she had lived long enough to know that every society had a caste system. It just took on different forms, and she wasn¡¯t about to change up the Empire¡¯s structure. No, if the Dissenters tried to bring trouble to her, she had no qualms about giving them a little trouble back. Especially when she knew what the true purpose behind the Dawn Dissenters was.


    She knew Vincent wouldn¡¯t start having any trouble with nobility until the next day though. That was when they¡¯d start trying to suggest their opinions or try to find a way to get involved, blatantly ignoring the fact the four Counties had told them that they were only informing them of a decision, and not that they would be willing to accept complaints. So, as the nobility clapped below after his finished announcement, she considered what her next steps would be. She had two and a half months before the end of the year, and she needed to continue planning.


    She would try to be more open with Vincent about her plans, but it wouldn¡¯t be easy. Some of them would be straight-up detrimental to the Empire, and some could embroil her in political conflicts that had been going on for more than twenty chapters if she wasn¡¯t careful. She also had to be cautious about how she explained her Status issues when she started asking for resources. If knowledge of that spread, the Counties might not be happy to have her as their leader.


    She¡¯d just have to wait and see how things play out. If there was one thing she could be, it was patient. After all, she was prepared to stay beside the Hero with her old identity for as many years as it took, just so he would meet his end in the worst way possible. She could wait.


    <hr>


    A man with long, brown hair in a low ponytail frowned as he leaned against a windowsill, gazing down at the brightly lit Pavilion many stories below outside. He huffed, scowling a bit, and then turned to sit down on the couch in his room, crossing his arms.


    Sedric still didn¡¯t know what to think about the Commission¡¯s new Head. He had managed to hear a bit about what she was planning from the staff and the few conversations he had overheard between her and her aide, but all it did was make him even more confused. Why did she even need to act like a puppet Head? It wasn¡¯t like she was incapable. The conversations he had heard made it obvious that the Evisenhardt noble treated her as an equal. Well, politics was never something he understood anyway. He was more confused about other things.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Like what she did before becoming the Commission Head. She clearly had an in-depth understanding of mana theory, and the books he had bought using her money had proved all she said was correct, if in many more fanciful words than she had explained it with. He was beginning to understand she did know what she was talking about and adequately explained the links between mana theory and his work so he could understand why it applied to him. It was just very annoying having a girl younger than him explain it all.


    Although it seemed there was something else going on related to that, because the one time he had asked about her and why she acted the way she did to her aide, he had very awkwardly deflected the topic and changed it, in a way that was obvious to even him, and Sedric could admit he wasn¡¯t socially adept in the slightest. And then when he asked about her to her annoying bond, the snake said something like her soul being different from other people. Which explained nothing.


    He grimaced and rubbed his face, before checking the time on the clock in his room. He wasn¡¯t quite ready to head to bed, but he didn¡¯t want to head back to his workshop. Lucille had also mentioned she would break all his equipment if he didn¡¯t spend an hour a day outside his workshop, so there was that too. The memory of her breaking all his binder pens made him scowl. Who was she, to force him to leave his workshop like that?


    Then he made a face.


    ....well, except the person with control over his budget.


    He sighed and stood up. He began pacing, thinking about what to do, before he had an idea. Going to a chest of drawers in his room, he retrieved a notebook and normal pens, and then a second folder, and sat back down on his couch.


    Lucille had given him a folder containing all the possible different types of variations for each component of a low-ranked arcane mana-circle. She had said that she knew the runic components for each of the elements too, but non-elemental mana didn¡¯t often explode, so it was the safest version for him to freely experiment with at his current stage, especially as his class was the Runestarred Arcane Inaugurator. Not that he couldn¡¯t make items that contained elemental spells, but any spells with fire mana were more dangerous than non-reactive arcane mana, and his class made using arcane spells easier.


    He flipped through the folder, which was divided into three sections for the three separate components of a mana-circle: Nodes, Frames, and Runes. In each section, she had drawn and written a description for each of the variations, explaining their function, and what other components they link to using a small key below them. She had made the folder during his time with her on Saturdays, and begun it when Annaliese-


    I need to call her the Prophetess now, don¡¯t I¡­.


    When the Prophetess was with them. The level of detail and the clarity of the drawings had surprised him then, and he was even more surprised to hear that what she had made was technically called an ¡®inheritance journal¡¯ by the crafters. He had heard of them, compilations of notes that contained all the known component variations of a lineage of crafters, and were jealously guarded by them. She explained that hers wasn¡¯t so valuable though, because it only contained the most basic component variations, and because arcane mana didn¡¯t have a fusion element version nor was it part of a mid-level element, most of the basic variations were already known by those who used arcane mana.


    It also didn¡¯t contain any diagrams for the next stage of spells, which layered a second mana-circle onto the first and linked it 3 dimensionally, but she said he should be able to make his own journal when he got familiar enough with the basic foundational variations to design his own second stage of spells. But if he wanted to do that, he needed to start memorising the different functions of the component variations. Not the actual diagrams though, because she explained that was what the folder was for, a reference so he didn¡¯t need to memorise how to draw them. That would come with time.


    So he flipped to the first section, Runes. The most basic, basic component of a spell. Nodes and frames were just arrangements of three or more runes that formed a specific purpose shared by all nodes or frames, but runes were still responsible for ensuring they had a function. How Lucille had described a rune was that it was a ¡®command term¡¯. They each did something, all with slight differences, and when linked, could form a more complicated output. However, there were over 100,000 different types of runes, and new ones were discovered each year by the mages of All-Aeon Athenaeum, so she said she would put what was known as 3rd-grade runes in the folder. Because runes were also composed of smaller runes themselves.


    1st-grade runes were a thing, but they were used in ancient times by the first wizards to essentially write what were full sentences, paragraphs, and epics, and that was when a wizard had to read out their spells. The ¡®compound rune model¡¯ as it was called was the modernised version that all wizards, and especially mages, used. It was what enabled the first mages to create runic models in their mana pools.


    3<sup>rd</sup> grade runes were the staple for all item crafters when they used low-ranked spells in their items. Categorised as a ¡®lesser¡¯ rune, a rune containing only multiple 1st-grade runes, they had a structure large enough to contain enough energy to last for a minute when activated. When multiple were put together, they could last longer, and form a more powerful final result.


    It was explained to him that arcane magic had slightly more than 200 3rd-grade runes that were considered ¡®mainstream¡¯ runes. Technically there were more, but 3<sup>rd</sup> grade runes outside of those then began having the same function as the original 202, just with minor differences. The 202 arcane 3rd-grade runes were the standard, known to work with the most variations of other components, and were used most often in those variations. They had the simplest structures for the most power, refined over millennia.


    Knowing what the runes did was helpful, but only if you wanted to fine-tune your mana-circle and fill in the gaps. He was interested in making one from the other structures, where all he had to do was fit them together. He flipped to the next section.


    Frames were the linkages between the runes, the runic function within, and the dividing lines. They were strings of runes, or sometimes seemingly solid lined borders that contained one ¡®function¡¯ of a spell. That could be the section responsible for the distribution of mana throughout the mana-circle, or the section that gives the arcane mana its shape. Frames could be several shapes or sizes, but depending on the placement in the mana-circle, they might have a curved outer edge or be circular. It was the frames he would pick and choose from to give his spell a purpose, turning mana into something. But before he could start assembling a spell with frames, he needed something else.


    Nodes were the centre point for a mana-circle. They were the first thing to be formed when a mage or wizard cast a spell and then frames built off from there. The node of a mana-circle was where a magic user injected their mana for the spell to consume, and the most basic real spell contained at least one 4th-grade lesser rune, a rune containing 4 1st-grade runes. The more runes a node contained, the more frames could be connected, which also meant the larger the node, the more frames there were. A basic true spell could have 4 frames, one matching each 1st-grade rune in the node.


    He had heard that the semi-permanent magic arrays could have nodes with over 50 runes inside, which made magic arrays truly enormous when all the frames were added. A spell could have more than one node, layering mana-circles on top of mana-circles. Magic arrays were known to be, on average, the size of a house when cast. There was a reason only wizards had the computational power to cast them. Mages sacrificed the utility of magic arrays to slowly construct a 3-dimensional ¡®superior¡¯ rune within their mana pool, their runic model becoming a rune itself that was composed of thousands of smaller runes. They built in the runes so their very mana could activate any function from their runic model as they pleased.


    He flipped through the folder, wondering what he should try to use as the node. There were around thirty variations of ¡®core¡¯ nodes, the nodes that made up the first spell layer of an arcane spell. He was only going to try to assemble a first-layer spell for that night, but for a second-layer spell, he would have to use one of the ¡®modular¡¯ sub-nodes to add additional mana-circles to it. He first considered how many frames he wanted.


    And then he realised he needed to know what he wanted his spell to do.


    Ideally, it would be one he could engrave on a magic item. That would be easier to do as a first-layer low-ranked spell, as he didn¡¯t know how to add spells with multiple layers to an item yet, due to the way two 2-dimensional overlapping mana-circles translated into a spell engraving. He knew it had something to do with imbuing spell properties directly into the materials, but he wasn¡¯t there yet.


    He also couldn¡¯t physically cast the spell himself, as he lacked the heart circles or runic models to do so. As he had mana, he could manifest runes, but it was mentally taxing as he had no internal mana structure to support his spell casting. Most people who weren¡¯t magic users but talented with mana manipulation could cast small low-ranked spells, but that wasn¡¯t him. He didn¡¯t need to anyway. The spell also had to be an arcane spell, so he considered what type of spells arcane mana created and¡­.


    He realised he finally had a proper question for Lucille. What purpose did arcane mana serve?


    He frowned as he tapped a pen against his chin. Sure, he knew of some arcane spells like Wizard¡¯s Eye, Arcane Hand, and Mana Shield, but as for the fundamental properties of the translucent dark-blue mana¡­.. he didn¡¯t have a clue. He frowned deeper as he flipped through the folder, trying to see the purpose of the runes and frames within. From what he could see, most of the frames and runes were responsible for the distribution of energy and the isolation of elemental mana within a spell of more than one element and added stability to the spell structure. He knew it was non-reactive, so that made sense, but he also knew at least one person in the distant past had made an arcane Grand spell. It couldn¡¯t have a purely support purpose.


    He sighed, scratching the back of his neck. He couldn¡¯t exactly begin designing some sort of spell without a goal. It was pretty much impossible to link random frames together and hope they worked, as what part of the frame was connected to what rune determined the order of the spell¡¯s component activation, and therefore its purpose. He rubbed his head as he considered how to progress.


    He did have some experience with spells. As an item crafter, he had learnt how to engrave a few basic enchantments, which were spells that activated over a long period, and knew how to attach an attack spell or two to an item. But he hadn¡¯t taken the time to properly look at what he was engraving.


    Thinking about one of the few arcane spells he knew how to engrave, he got out his notebook and flipped to an empty page. Then he began drawing the spell so he had a visual aid. If he used mana ink then the spell could even activate temporarily as a cantrip, but he was using normal ink.


    The spell he picked was Arcane Barrier. It was a version of Mana Shield that was stronger, but it formed a hard barrier as opposed to the permeable barrier of Mana Shield that allowed the user to cast other spells, and reduced physical damage rather than magical. When activated, it formed a multi-faceted clear blue barrier out of runes, the size of an umbrella, and was capable of protecting the User from physical attack.


    The amount of protection scaled off of WIS when cast, but in the case of a magical item, it would continually absorb mana from the energy supply, reforming the shield until it had no energy to support its structure. It was a common enough spell, but it was used as a last resort because unless it was attached to an item, you couldn¡¯t move while casting it.


    He analysed the structure of the mana-circle. The node itself was composed of eight 3rd-grade runes, allowing it to have eight frames. He supposed the eight frames had something to do with the actual structure of the barrier because it was partially made up of flat octagons. He matched the frames to the ones in his folder, and found that apart from enabling the mana to turn solid and link together, it also seemed to distribute¡­ energy? Force? Or something else across its surface when interacted with.


    But that was very vague. Elemental mana could easily pass through it, the non-elemental mana being non-reactive and permeable, but somehow it blocked physical damage, so what kind of energy? He tried looking at the runes themselves within each frame, but they were too complex for him currently. He was still stumped.


    He blinked when he heard a familiar ding.


    [Gained Tertiary Skill: Magic Disseminating Eyes]


    Huh¡­. I haven¡¯t had that kind of notification in months.


    Because of his Legendary class, skills were harder for him to gain. Not because of the class rarity itself, but rather because his class was built upon many skills before he had gained it, all included within the class, so most skills were redundant to regain. And as he inherited it from his grandfather, most of the primary skills had also retained their tiers as well, although his grandfather hadn¡¯t managed to tier them up to the max. The fact he got a new skill now was¡­. Well, it was a bit insulting. It meant he hadn¡¯t been doing anything with enough motivation behind it before this to obtain a skill related to it. Although it was true he hadn¡¯t really been focused on the magic aspect of his work.


    He activated the skill page to see what the passive effect was.


    [Tertiary Skill: Magic Disseminating Eyes | Type: Magic/Visual ]


    Rarity: Uncommon


    Desc: An ability gained by those who actively try to pierce the veil of mystery behind magic.


    Effects:


    <ul>


    <li>+10% effectiveness to mana sensing and mana sight skills.</li>


    <li>Slight increase in visual clarity when observing spell lines and runes. Mentally distinguishes overlapping mana lines of magic.</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    It was¡­. surprisingly useful. He hadn¡¯t considered how magic users and craftsmen could tell which mana-circle was which when they were projected, as they were technically 2-dimensional even if spaced apart by the caster, at least for all low-ranked spells. The fact he obtained an eye skill meant his class didn¡¯t cover that in its primary skills, so it also indicated a path for growth if he became confident enough to tier up his primary skills. His Legendary class was made of three separate main classes, so when he became Rank-2, he would obtain his third and final main skill for the class. However, he needed a secondary skill to be able to use it on a primary skill, so he wasn¡¯t able to try anything with the new skill he gained.


    He rubbed his chin and opened up his Status which he hadn¡¯t checked for some time, not bothering with the skill section.


    [Status: ]


    Name: Sedric Ferin (Lvl. 43)


    Class: Runestarred Arcane Inaugurator ¨C Legendary (Tier: VII)


    Age: 21y


    Race: Human


    HP: 2700/2700 {+519.62/5m}


    MP: 5350/5350 {+880/1m}


    Stats:


    Free Stat Points: 15


    STR: 9


    CON: 54


    AGI: 21


    DEX: 190


    INT: 107


    WIS: 88


    [Origin Skill: Continuous Crafter¡¯s Mind | Type: Crafting/Realm


    Desc: [Collapsed]


    Subskills: [Collapsed]


    Awakening: 36% ]


    He was kind of annoyed whenever he saw it, to some extent. He had originally been Level 104, and if he had just evolved his class, it would¡¯ve lost only 30% of its level. Yet because he inherited the class, he had to start completely from scratch. At least he didn¡¯t have to do the stages again. Those sucked.


    His old class had only been Rare level, which gave him 8 stats each level up, but his Legendary class gave him 11. And as a crafter, he was unlikely to die and go down a rank, losing 100 levels, so he was pretty okay with his Status.


    It was just so slow to level up. A crafter couldn¡¯t just kill things and gain a level. Their levelling was dependent on the quantity and quality of the items they crafted. The System wouldn¡¯t cheat them if they did kill something, but the times that happened, it was usually when the User was a dual classer, having both a combat and non-combat class.


    He saw the 15 free stat points floating there for him to use and considered adding them. Then he realised he couldn¡¯t be bothered, and decided to dismiss his Status. Stats weren¡¯t very important for a crafter in the first place, besides having the capability to manipulate some types of tools, so he could leave it.


    He got up, prepared to get some sleep. But he made sure to mentally note down his question about arcane mana for Lucille. She said she would only be at the Pavilion for a few hours each day and would be less busy as the week drew on, so he should be able to find her in one or two days. Then he wanted to try to see what real magic items he could make.

 Chapter 29 (1 of 2) The Secret Meeting.

    Lucille was in her living room, writing out some of her plans on sheets of paper as she sat on one of the couches. She wasn¡¯t wearing her suit jacket but she was wearing her violet pants. Next to her, the snoozing Scytale was coiled up and completely silent, breathing slowly. His silver scales shimmered with a soft golden aura, however, the dense light element of the fruit he ate was being digested, enhancing his lifeforce and bloodline. Ouroboros and Apophis were once again in their sheaths on her belt. Opposite her, the door opened and then shut, and a third individual entered the room.


    ¡°Now, what brings you here, on a day that¡¯s not Saturday, and in a room that¡¯s not your workshop?¡± she asked, not looking up.


    Sedric crossed his arms and sighed. ¡°Could you stop nagging me about the workshop thing? I¡¯ve been leaving it,¡± he complained.


    Lucy looked up and shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m just pointing out how strange it is,¡± she replied innocently.


    ¡°Yeah right,¡± he muttered, looking away. Then he made an odd expression after having a realisation and glanced at her. ¡°How did you know it was me when you didn¡¯t even look up?¡±


    She tapped on her head with a pen. ¡°Spiritual energy. I saw you from the moment you entered the hallway.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a bit cree-¡± He snapped his mouth shut when he saw her narrowed eyes. He gestured to the piles of paper on the coffee table in front of her to change the topic. ¡°Are you busy?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not doing anything important, no,¡± she replied, stacking the papers together and pushing them aside. ¡°What do you need?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I have a question about magic I would like to ask,¡± he began hesitantly. ¡°What does arcane mana really do?¡±


    She observed him for a moment and then replied. ¡°Normally I would say cast spells, but somehow I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the answer you¡¯re looking for,¡± she said with a slight smile.


    ¡°Yeah... not that,¡± he replied, not finding her joke very funny.


    ¡°Well, then sit,¡± she said, pointing her pen at the opposite couch. ¡°We won¡¯t need to write anything down, and you don¡¯t have your folder on you, so we won¡¯t need the table over there.¡± She indicated with her thumb to the small round table between the back of her couch and the window.


    He sat down on the couch opposite her as she began to explain.


    ¡°Before we begin, do you know what the difference between arcane mana and non-elemental mana is?¡± she asked him, crossing one leg over the other.


    He frowned, thinking, but shook his head. ¡°I didn¡¯t think there was one.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like anything will change by knowing the difference, but it will still be helpful. Arcane mana is just non-elemental mana controlled by someone. That¡¯s it,¡± she stated. She could see he didn¡¯t understand, so she explained further. ¡°Arcane mana is non-elemental mana that contains your mana signature. Because everyone has a unique mana signature, the properties of arcane mana can vary depending on the person.¡±


    She pointed an index finger up, and a small white spinning ball began to form just a centimetre away from her finger¡¯s tip. It gained several small rings that spun around it and had a silvery sheen as it made a small humming noise. He watched it curiously as she elaborated, ¡°For example, the default colour of my arcane mana is very different to everyone else. I was born with no elemental affinity, so my arcane mana takes on the colour of my spiritual energy. So do my mana-circles.¡±


    She snapped her fingers and the ball scattered. ¡°But a different colour is a very rare kind of unique change. Most still have the normal translucent dark blue colouration when they cast arcane spells. The changes could be very small, such as making your runes last slightly longer, or could be more impactful, such as making your spells more resistant to disruption.¡± She gestured to him. ¡°As a crafter who uses arcane mana, finding out your unique property might be helpful, but it¡¯s not essential. Most people go their entire lives without working out what arcane mana does for them.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, that¡¯s not really what you¡¯re asking, so I¡¯ll move on.¡± She continued, ¡°Arcane mana has three special properties to it that make it different to elemental mana. The first is that it¡¯s non-reactive. Complex spells almost always use arcane mana to stabilise them, ensuring conflicting elemental energies don¡¯t mix.¡±


    He nodded in understanding, making her go on. ¡°Secondly is the fact arcane mana is, most of the time, a mana that can turn solid. Not like earth mana, or turning water into ice mana. It can transition between physical and non-physical easily, all while remaining non-reactive. Alchemists love to use it so their elixir ingredients don¡¯t mix until the right point,¡± she told Sedric.


    ¡°The third property is less known and usually less understood. Arcane mana governs the natural, mundane, non-magical energies. It deals with force, and changes it to other kinds of forces,¡± she said, leaning back on the couch.


    ¡°Mundane¡­. energies? Like what?¡± he asked, confused.


    ¡°Energies like light, sound, heat, vibration, electromagnetism, kinetic, even gravity to a certain extent,¡± she explained, twirling a pen.


    Sedric frowned. ¡°Light and sound have their own elements.¡±


    Lucille sighed. ¡°I¡¯m not talking about elements here. I¡¯m talking about the energies that exist in the absence of mana. The vibration of the air would still create sound, regardless of the element. The sun of the plane would still beam down different types of light on us, irrespective of light mana.¡±


    She pointed her pen at him again. ¡°Sound cancelling barriers are arcane spells. You don¡¯t use the sound element for those. And magic barriers work by halting the force behind an impact, and spreading it across the shield so it can sustain the force without breaking. Then you have the normal Mage Orb spell, which produces a globe of light to see by.¡±


    He rubbed his chin as he gazed at the floor, trying to understand the concept. ¡°So then¡­ as a crafter, how does manipulating forces help me?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Force reduction, distributing stress, and arcane spells are also great at ensuring the mana density running through the engraving is maintained using pressure. For you as a crafter though, it means you can craft magic items of all the elements,¡± she said, ¡°Without worrying about elemental conflict because you can use your mana to isolate the mana types. Your mana also won¡¯t conflict with the elements themselves because of the non-reactive aspect of arcane mana.¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­.¡± he replied, thinking about it. He looked up. ¡°I¡¯m still confused about the actual applications of it though. Magic items rarely deal with volatile element combinations, so it feels a bit useless for me in that sense.¡±


    ¡°Well, unless you need a magic item with a very specific purpose, arcane runes are only responsible for supporting functions in that regard. They are the most commonly found rune type in magic spells though,¡± she explained, reaching for her brass jug, which was on the table in front of her. ¡°They serve as the fundamental framework for any spell intermediate level and up. There¡¯s no such thing as an intermediate spell without arcane mana and arcane runes.¡±


    He blinked. ¡°Really? Why¡¯s that? Is it just because they¡¯re non-reactive?¡±


    She shook her head and began pouring some coffee into a mug on the table. ¡°It¡¯s because arcane runes are the only runes capable of transmuting mana into the different elements. If you have a fire affinity but want to cast a fusion spell, you need arcane mana to change it into the other element, unless you have dual elements. Even then, you¡¯d still need arcane mana to evenly distribute the mana throughout the mana circle, otherwise, it would collapse.¡±


    He considered it for a moment, and then his eyes widened slightly. ¡°Would that mean I could make magic items that contain materials with conflicting elements, and they wouldn¡¯t degrade? Like, if I used a fire element gem, and also used a water element liquid to reduce heat damage to the engraving¡¯s runes¡­.¡±


    ¡°Yes. You could protect the elements in your magic items quite easily,¡± she responded, nodding as she took a sip of coffee. Then she narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°But don¡¯t go testing this out. Unless you can calculate the exact mana density and quantity of each element in each material and correlate it with the strength and grade of the arcane runes, you¡¯d be risking a total collapse of your item or even an explosion, thanks to the Mana to Mana Principle. You¡¯re not there yet.¡±


    He was looking rather shifty until the last sentence, obviously already coming up with ways to do exactly what she warned against. But when she mentioned ¡®Mana to Mana Principle¡¯, his expression changed to become puzzled. ¡°What was that principle again? I¡¯ve forgotten a lot of that sort of thing after I gained my class¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the third Fundamental Theory,¡± she replied, twisting herself so she could kick up her feet on the couch. ¡°Mana attracts mana to itself, at greater speeds and quantities the more of it there is. In the magic item situation, if you don¡¯t balance the elemental ratios properly, your fire mana or water mana would begin attracting its element, and then when there¡¯s too much, the arcane or other elemental mana would change to the dominating element, ruining your spell engraving and materials.¡±


    ¡°Wait, so the Fundamental Theories apply to crafters as well as magic users?¡± he asked, surprised. ¡°I thought it was just one of those things that nobody needs again outside of school unless you¡¯re a magic addict.¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°If you¡¯re a warrior, then who cares? But as a crafter, it¡¯s very important. Even when you attach skills instead of spells, you need to understand how the mana will turn into the skill.¡±


    His expression turned awkward. ¡°Um, I don¡¯t know how to attach non-spell skills to items yet¡­.¡±


    Lucille gave him a dismissive wave, not looking at him. ¡°Obviously. You need to be Rank-3 to do that. And surprise surprise,¡± she said, giving him a slight smirk as she glanced at him. ¡°You need spiritual energy to do so. That¡¯s the entire reason why I want you to be Rank-3 before you begin making the item I want.¡±


    ¡°¡­..so spiritual energy isn¡¯t just a cultivator thing?¡± he asked with a strange expression.


    She rolled her eyes. ¡°Everybody seems to forget that spiritual energy existed before the Heavenly Realm. Heroic Power needs spiritual energy. Mages and wizards need spiritual energy. Sorcerers need spiritual energy. Spirits need spiritual energy.¡± She raised an eyebrow at him. ¡°The reason why most people can only access the stat at Rank-3 is because usually, it¡¯s only useful for them then. When you start using abilities that can wipe out entire cities, you need the extra control.¡±


    He scratched his chin, considered it, and then shrugged. ¡°Whatever you say. I¡¯m more interested in the Mana to Mana thing.¡± Then he paused, and his expression became slightly nervous. ¡°And now I¡¯m worried that the other two Fundamental Theories are important to me somehow. Could I please have a refresher?¡± he asked sheepishly.


    She grinned slightly and sat up straighter as she sat sideways on the couch. ¡°The first one is the Mana Metaphysics Principle. All mana is naturally in a semi-material state and this only changes when the power of the mind is applied. Because of this, you only see natural mana phenomena in the physical realms, which contain sapient creatures. And the denser the mana, the more material it becomes, turning into a physical substance. Because mana attracts mana, this can happen often.¡±


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    She paused to point a gloved finger at him. ¡°That¡¯s how Origin items are made, by the way.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­ that¡­ actually makes sense,¡± he replied, slightly shocked.


    ¡°The second principle is Mana Resonance.¡± She continued, taking another sip of coffee, ¡°All mana particles are intrinsically linked, and the closer they are together, the stronger the link. Elemental mana has stronger links to its kind, but weaker links to other kinds. Non-elemental mana is linked to all equally.¡± She propped her chin up against the armrest of the couch, still sitting sideways. ¡°That¡¯s how mages and wizards can ¡®resonate¡¯ their runes externally, while their mana construct is internal. They can ¡®copy¡¯ their runes, and then project the copies within their field of influence.¡±


    ¡°So, not as important to me,¡± he stated.


    She gave him a funny look. ¡°Of course it is. Multi-layered spells can only be engraved into items through this process. And then there¡¯s your own ¡®field of influence¡¯, which is the term for how far you can extend your mana before it loses your mana signature. It helps you manipulate several magic items at once.¡± She paused and then raised an index finger. ¡°Again, that can be increased through spiritual energy. Your mana signature is just a version of your spiritual energy signature, after all.¡±


    He blinked. Then he put a hand on his forehead and held up his other hand to pause her. ¡°Wait, wait, wait,¡± he said, sounding perplexed and bemused. ¡°What¡¯s this about multi-layered spells and engraving? I haven¡¯t learnt about that yet, but that feels like something important¡­.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± She glanced at him and then turned around to sit normally on the couch. ¡°True, I haven¡¯t gotten to that part yet in our discussions. Well, you know what properties gemstones carry in magic, right?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± he said, frowning a little at the simple question. ¡°Any magic item needs one. Every crystal is capable of containing mana, so they¡¯re used as power sources for spells. The colour of the gemstone also indicates its affinity. Red for fire, blue for water, white for air, brown for earth, yellow for light, black for dark, and then violet for space.¡±


    ¡°So,¡± she replied with a smile. ¡°If gemstones can be filled with mana, can lose mana, and they can also have affinities¡­ doesn¡¯t that make them mini mana pools?¡± She smiled wider and continued as Sedric¡¯s expression gradually grew more stunned, ¡°And what do mages put inside their mana pools? Runic models.¡±


    She put her mug down and spread her hands. ¡°Gemstones are vessels for artificial mana constructs. By placing permanent rune projections within the gemstone, you can create an item that will cast multi-layered spells, and the larger and higher quality the gemstone, the larger its own field of influence. Gemstones are also not controlled by the limitations of a wizard¡¯s heart circles, or a mage¡¯s runic model, so the spells within can be of vastly different structures and types to a normal mana construct¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°But wouldn¡¯t that mean I could just go ahead and put a bunch of runes within gemstones, and then call myself a crafter after selling them?¡± he asked, disbelieving. ¡°I may as well just sell stones on a stick and call it quits!¡±


    Lucy gazed at him silently for a moment. ¡°Sedric. You¡¯re describing a magic staff,¡± she said in a dry voice.


    ¡°¡­you¡¯re joking.¡±


    She sighed and shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m not. Granted, there are vastly more steps behind making a good staff besides just putting spells in the gem and sticking it on top, but dedicated staff crafters are known to have rather¡­ cushy jobs in comparison to other crafters,¡± she said.


    He held his chin. ¡°Should I change my profession?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t even know how to craft one item with a multi-layered spell inside. How exactly are you planning on getting a Grand-mage¡¯s Grand spell inside a jewel the size of your fist?¡± she asked in a wry voice, raising an eyebrow.


    He coughed and looked away. ¡°Maybe I won¡¯t then.¡±


    She smirked but moved on. ¡°But this isn¡¯t to say the other aspects of magical item crafting are redundant. Gemstones themselves come with limitations. Firstly is that they are expensive,¡± she stressed, giving the brown-haired man opposite her a look. ¡°Most people try to use as small and as few gemstones as possible. Do you think every crafter gets free access to the Commission Head¡¯s vault?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re rich. I understand,¡± he said in a tired voice.


    She shook her head in amusement and then continued, ¡°Another thing is size limitations. Make runes too small, they won¡¯t contain enough mana to function. Make them too big, and you won¡¯t have enough room for the entire spell in the gem. A crafter needs to be able to calculate what sized gem is correct for what they need, basing it on the element of the spell, and how many spells you plan to include in your item. Sometimes an item needs auxiliary gemstones when there¡¯s no space, and the crafter needs to know how to properly link the spell lines together.¡±


    ¡°Then there¡¯s the item¡¯s body,¡± she said, gesturing to him. ¡°Carrying around only gems is impractical, and unless you¡¯re familiar with magic, insert mana into the gem from the wrong direction and the whole spell model collapses. You still need to make sure the item can be carried easily, and its shape is right for the type of spell you¡¯re crafting.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like there¡¯s fewer components in it than less powerful magic items though¡­¡± he mused. He became surprised when she vigorously shook her head.


    ¡°Absolutely not,¡± she stated firmly. ¡°Your job will get even more complex. Remember, each gemstone had a limited capacity for mana. By putting runes inside, you are permanently reducing its capacity, and the gem will no longer have the main purpose of being mana storage. And the smaller size of runes used in crafting means the spell will be weaker if cast straight from the gem. You need to substitute for that.¡±


    She held up her hands and began counting on her fingers. ¡°You¡¯ll need to craft an activation function and link it to the correct spell frame. For that, you need to determine the right mana-conductive material. Then there¡¯s the amplification material to increase the spell¡¯s power. The metal type for the linkage mana lines. The element transmutation substance. The atmospheric equaliser. The binder congealer. The sealant. The protection enchantment. The power container. The spell toggle. The negative integrity diffuser. The density regulator.¡±


    She shrugged before his wide-eyed stare. ¡°There are more features you need to take into account when crafting the body of the item. And for each one, you need to ensure the elemental integrity and ratios of each material and the actual mana in the spell lines is okay, and won¡¯t conflict with or escape the item. You need a very solid understanding of the alchemical properties of each substance you¡¯re dealing with, and all this does not take into account the actual amount of magical theory you need to design the spell within the gemstone.¡±


    She leaned back and crossed her arms. ¡°You want to design your own items. But don¡¯t forget that¡¯s not what most crafters do. Usually, they carefully follow the instructions on blueprints handed down for millennia by their masters, becoming good at making only want the blueprint tells them to. They don¡¯t know how they are making what they¡¯re making, they just know what to do.¡±


    ¡°Now I see why custom item makers are so rare,¡± he muttered, rubbing his head. ¡°That is¡­ well, my skills don¡¯t tell me what half of the things you just spoke about are.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re even starting at a better place than them due to having a comprehensive Legendary class. A Legendary class, on average, requires a foundation of four or more decent quality side or main classes to reach its rarity, usually Epic ranked or higher.¡± She held her chin and thought for a moment. ¡°I believe the Runestarred Arcane Inaugurator was built on the foundation of enchanter, all-purpose smith, and magic engineer. It shows the three classes were already very high quality and comprehensive before merging.¡±


    She watched as he pondered over her words with a complicated expression, frowning slightly.


    ¡°If you wish,¡± she said with an unreadable gaze, ¡°I could directly hand you the blueprints of the items I want made, and then let you use trial and error to make them. Eventually, you¡¯ll reach a decent enough quality and could move on to the next one. We could use this method instead of having me teach you magic and engineering theory each Saturday.¡±


    He looked up to stare at her like he was shocked such words were even coming from her.


    Lucille rolled her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not going to be stubborn and keep trying to make you learn something if you don¡¯t want to. I¡¯m not an idiot, I can tell you¡¯re uncomfortable when I try to teach you.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ that¡­¡± He grimaced. ¡°It¡¯s not that you¡¯re not helpful, it¡¯s just that-¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m 18. I¡¯m aware,¡± she stated dryly. ¡°I can perfectly comprehend that for most people the idea of someone younger than them trying to explain or even order them to do something is not pleasant and can feel undermining.¡±


    ¡°Uh.¡± He stared at her. ¡°It kinda feels even worse when you say it so openly like that¡­. and with that tone of voice¡­.¡±


    She sighed and rubbed her temples. ¡°Just¡­ consider the fact that I am actually the Commission Head, and haven¡¯t been placed under the command of someone else, being manipulated by the Counts like a puppet on strings. If they didn¡¯t respect my capabilities in some measure, there is no way you¡¯d still be sitting here as my contracted crafter.¡±


    She rested her chin on her hand as she looked at him. ¡°So, do you want to continue what we¡¯ve been doing, or would you rather just have the blueprints?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t I have both?¡± he replied, blinking innocently.


    She stared at him incredulously and then ran a hand down her face. ¡°No, you can¡¯t have both. I haven¡¯t even drawn up any other blueprints yet, what are you expecting from me?¡±


    ¡°Then I guess we¡¯ll just keep doing what we have been¡­¡± he muttered.


    Lucy assumed it was because he was too embarrassed to admit he could see what she taught him was useful. ¡°Although, if you want something to do¡­.¡± she mused, thinking. She stood up and walked over to the table behind her, then grabbed a pen from the stationary container on its surface. She also grabbed a blank piece of paper on it and then began drawing on it. Sedric stood up and walked over to see what she was drawing, curious.


    ¡°So, you really do draw the blueprints?¡± he asked, to her nod. ¡°But¡­ how? The one you gave me which I have in my workshop has such a high level of complexity. You must have spent ages making it.¡±


    ¡°Not really. It was about one afternoon,¡± she replied nonchalantly.


    He stared at her. ¡°Excuse me? You spent one afternoon coming up with an entirely new magic item, yet you¡¯ve just told me how hard it was to design one today? And you¡¯re still trying to say you used only one afternoon to draw that blueprint up?¡±


    She looked up with a slight frown. ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± She stopped to check her memories and then shook her head. ¡°Never mind. It seems I haven¡¯t told you yet. Anyway, I have an eidetic memory.¡± She went back to drawing on the paper.


    He blinked and paused to try to remember what that was. ¡°The thing where you remember anything you¡¯ve seen?¡±


    ¡°Mine¡¯s several stages above that. Eidetic memory means I remember every sight, sound, scent, touch and taste I had at the moment, normally temporarily. However, for me with my soul power, I can also remember every thought I had at the time, remember the exact pattern the atmospheric mana was in around me, as well as have permanent perfect recall of the memories,¡± she explained, switching to a new page.


    He scowled at her. ¡°That feels so unfair. So you can easily copy any blueprint you see. How could you be that lucky?¡±


    Lucy gave him an exasperated glance. ¡°I wasn¡¯t born with it. I had a good memory, but not even the base stages of what is considered ¡®eidetic¡¯.¡± She gestured to her head. ¡°There is a reason why one of my strengths is spiritual energy. It¡¯s very useful.¡±


    She straightened up and turned to look at him. ¡°It wasn¡¯t without thought that I began using it either. I¡¯ve demonstrated that I use illusion magic,¡± she said, smiling. ¡°Good memory is extremely helpful when you want to create a realistic illusion.¡± She passed him the two pages she had drawn on, revealing that they had two mana-circles sketched on them. ¡°When you go back, play around with these two single-layer spells on your items.¡±


    She smirked and crossed her arms. ¡°They will make up the basis of the first magic item I want you to craft.¡±


    Sedric glanced between the pages and her with wide eyes. ¡°Wait, really? This is actually a component of a magic item?¡±


    Lucy nodded. ¡°The actual item I need to be crafted will contain a three-layer spell, but these two spells use some of the same fundamentals with lesser power. It will at least help you understand what I mean when I say arcane mana deals with ¡®force¡¯ after all.¡±


    He gazed at the pages, and he held his chin as he analysed the diagrams. ¡°I might go test these out now then. Thanks for making time.¡±


    And with that, he turned around and left the room, obviously eager to start making items. Lucille kept her smile until he was gone, and then her expression reverted to nothing as per usual. She sighed as her eyes rested on the pages on the table.


    If he can make any progress with those spells, then all the better for me. Force damage seems to be my only weakness right now, so those energy-repulsion circles will likely be a core component of most of the protective accessories I design.


    I think my expression regulator is degrading. I find myself slipping up and showing this more often than not. Didn¡¯t I change the default?


    She closed her eyes as she briefly checked her soul, rifling through the rigid silvery-white structures and constructs to find one of her mental processes. She exhaled and opened her eyes again.


    Of course. The thought strands responsible for it are just as motivated as me to do anything about it. Figures.


    She snapped her fingers and the illusion mana scattered, and she then made her way over to the windowsill. She crossed her arms as she looked out into the garden below.


    Question is, do I even bother trying to reset it? It¡¯s just going to do this again. It might not be worth keeping the passive regulation on. Scytale couldn¡¯t care less with how long he¡¯s known me, and I¡¯m pretty sure Vincent¡¯s clued on to the fact I¡¯m not actually a smiley person.


    She tilted her head as she considered that thought further.


    Well¡­ it¡¯s not like I was being very subtle with that conversation about killing and soul reading. But after what Conlan did the day before¡­¡­


    She turned away from the window.


    I knew what I would be dealing with by taking this path. I knew I¡¯d have to see him try to ruin my subordinates'' lives again. But¡­. seeing him like that with them¡­..


    She rubbed her temples and walked back over to the couch.


    I don¡¯t want to think about this anymore. I have a private meeting with the four main families in a few days. I¡¯ll fix up what I can now so I¡¯m fine for that, and then I¡¯ll consider what I¡¯ll do about my expressions.


    She sat down on the couch and sighed, looking up at the ceiling.


    I hope I don¡¯t need to seal my past memories on Adrianna¡¯s side.


    ¡­


    A dark-haired girl closed her pocket watch as she stepped in front of a pair of large, dark double doors, two guards on either side. It was the second last day of her debut event. All the direct bloodline members who had come to her event would be there, as well as the most important vassal members. The eastern wing of the Pavilion had been set up for the meeting, most nobility unaware it was even occurring.


    She held up her pocket watch for the guards to see, where they politely bowed and opened the door. She stepped through it, and a doorman on the other side noticed her and straightened up to reveal her presence.


    ¡°NOW AN-¡±


    ¡°Nope,¡± she stated flatly, interrupting him.


    He gazed at her with a nonplussed look on his face. ¡°¡­.no?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°No.¡± She stepped forward and crossed her arms. ¡°If there was a single person in this room who doesn¡¯t know the name of the Faction Head by now, then they¡¯re a failure of the highest order. I don¡¯t need to be introduced when there are only about thirty people here,¡± she explained wryly.


    ¡°But-¡± he was stopped again when she held up her pocket watch.


    ¡°This is coming from the Faction Head,¡± she reminded him.


    He hesitated but bowed and took a step back, giving up all plans of continuing her introduction. She gave a satisfied nod and turned around, then walked down the short staircase in front of the doors. Not many people noticed her entrance, but Count Ravimoux, who had been standing next to one of the tables around the edge of the room, did. He glanced between the doorman and her with a lazy smile on his face.


    ¡°I see you don¡¯t enjoy the idea of another grand proclamation of your entry?¡± he said with amusement.


    She nodded to him. ¡°Good evening, Count Ravimoux.¡±


    The black-haired man placed a hand on his chest with a shocked expression. ¡°Just ¡®Count Ravimoux¡¯? How cold! And after I had thought we had grown close enough to be on a first-name basis, ¡®Lucy¡¯,¡± he said with a wide smile.


    She picked up a glass of wine from one of the tables and sipped it calmly. ¡°You should be thankful I didn¡¯t call you ¡®Reggy¡¯,¡± she replied wryly.


    After a pause, the smile fell from his face and he stared at her with narrowed eyes. ¡°Oh yes, I¡¯m very thankful indeed,¡± he said in a low voice. ¡°In fact, you should be thankful you didn¡¯t call me ¡®Reggy¡¯.¡±


    She didn¡¯t look at him as she took another sip of her wine. ¡°Oh, what do we have here, the Faction Head is being threatened by one of the Counts.¡± She glanced at him with a slight smile. ¡°And by someone from the Black County too. How stereotypical.¡±


    He gazed at her silently for a moment, seemingly caught off guard by her response, and then clicked his tongue and sighed. ¡°Count Ravimoux it is then,¡± he said, crossing his arms.


    It seemed their discussion had been noticed by others because a woman with long grass-green hair was watching them curiously some distance away. She started walking over, making the people around her notice, which happened to be several individuals with silver hair. Vincent had also been with them and also walked over. Two of the silver-haired men followed, one of them with two women near him.


    The green-haired woman nodded to Count Ravimoux and then stepped forward to greet Lucille with an energetic smile on her face.


    ¡°Hello! We haven¡¯t met yet, but I¡¯ve heard about you. I¡¯m Melissa Evisenhardt,¡± she said, giving Lucy a slight bow. She stepped forward and raised a hand.


    Lucy nodded, placing down her glass, and went to hold out her hand to shake hands with her. ¡°Hel- ¡­..hah?¡±


    She stared at the woman with wide eyes.


    Melissa Evisenhardt had begun pulling on her cheeks.

 Chapter 29 (2 of 2) The Secret Meeting.

    Melissa Evisenhardt had begun pulling on her cheeks.


    ¡°You¡¯re so cute!¡± she squealed. ¡°Vincent didn¡¯t tell me how pretty you are, but he should¡¯ve! You look like a doll!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­eshcuse me?¡±


    Lucy stared at her incredulously as Count Ravimoux broke out into loud laughter, while the taller woman kept poking and touching her face. To Melissa Evisenhardt¡¯s right, Vincent was watching them, stunned. Then he broke out into a wide smile and hastily covered his mouth to stifle his chuckles. The other Evisenhardts who had come over watched the interaction with a mix of embarrassment and weariness, obviously used to the wizard¡¯s strange actions.


    ¡­¡­does she not know my age?


    ¡°If anyone else looked at you, they would never guess you¡¯re nearly 250!¡± the wizard exclaimed happily.


    That¡¯s a no then.


    Lucille narrowed her eyes as she saw Vincent was still struggling to keep from laughing. Melissa finally let go of her face and stepped back with a calm smile.


    ¡°Did he put you up to this?¡± Lucy asked with a slightly disgruntled expression as she rubbed her sore cheeks.


    Melissa glanced at who she was looking at. ¡°Who, Vincent?¡± She turned back to Lucy and smirked. ¡°Maybe~?¡±


    The man in question very quickly paled and firmly crossed his arms in front of him in the sign of an ¡®X¡¯, vigorously shaking his head.


    Lucy narrowed her eyes further as she looked back at the wizard. ¡°I see,¡± she stated dryly, making Vincent blanch even more. She sighed and rubbed her head. ¡°Do you act this way with everyone you meet for the first time?¡± she asked the wizard.


    ¡°Nope!¡± the green-haired woman replied cheerily. ¡°Only those I find interesting. And you are very interesting, Commission Head.¡± Melissa smiled.


    Lucy gazed at her, feeling slightly troubled. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I want such attention from a wizard of All-Aeon Athenaeum.¡±


    The bubbly woman cupped her cheek and tilted her head. ¡°Oh? Am I scary?¡± She turned to look at a silver-haired man with a beard, who was standing next to the two women. ¡°Haraldus, what do you think? Am I that scary?¡±


    ¡®Haraldus¡¯ gazed at his 2<sup>nd</sup> wife for a moment, and then facepalmed, sighing. A tall black-haired woman with blue eyes beside him watched them with an unreadable gaze, while a shorter woman with brown hair and deep pink eyes chuckled politely from behind a rose-coloured fan.


    ¡°Our Melissa could never be scary,¡± she said with a smile.


    Melissa nodded, looking pleased. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    The man with a beard stepped forward and held out a hand for Lucille to shake, which she did. ¡°I¡¯m Haraldus Evisenhardt, Vincent¡¯s father. I will be here in my father¡¯s stead, as he had to leave the event early to respond to summons from the capital,¡± he explained.


    Lucy nodded in understanding. Count Evisenhardt had greeted her on one of the earlier days in the week and she had a short discussion with him, so she had no reason to find fault in the fact he couldn¡¯t be there that day.


    The brown-haired woman with a fan took a step forward and curtsied elegantly before Lucy. ¡°Genevieve Evisenhardt,¡± she revealed.


    ¡°And I¡¯m Isaella Evisenhardt, Vincent¡¯s mother,¡± announced a cool voice from the woman with blue eyes and hair tied up in a bun. Isaella gave her a curtsey as well.


    ¡°Pleased to meet you all,¡± Lucy replied, nodding politely. As someone with a higher status than them within the Faction, she didn¡¯t have to be too formal.


    Isaella took a step towards the other Evisenhardt man, who had been watching silently and put a hand on his shoulder. ¡°And I believe you¡¯ve already seen my eldest son before, even if he hasn¡¯t introduced himself to you yet.¡±


    The man, who Lucy knew was the man who had stood behind the Count of Evisenhardt at the meeting, stepped forward and held out his hand. ¡°Lysander Evisenhardt,¡± he stated. He looked similar enough to Vincent that they could be twins, but his expression was colder, he didn¡¯t wear glasses, and his hair was longer, lying flat against his head. Vincent¡¯s hair was fluffy on top and trailed down the back of his neck.


    Lucille gave him a bright smile as she shook hands with him. ¡°Indeed. I believe you left the room looking a bit shocked by the events at the meeting. Have you recovered?¡±


    His expression finally turned to look slightly uncomfortable, and he coughed into his fist as he took a step back. ¡°Ah, yes, thank you,¡± he said. ¡°You certainly made an¡­.. impression that day.¡±


    ¡°That she did,¡± Count Ravimoux spoke up with a relaxed smile on his face. Then he turned to Lucy. ¡°Which reminds me, I¡¯ve been meaning to ask¡­. what exactly is in your right eye that you showed then?¡± he asked curiously. ¡°If it was just a normal object, then a healer would be enough to deal with that, but you obviously haven¡¯t gone to one yet, even though you could.¡±


    The others also looked at her curiously, even Vincent and Lysander, who had seen it before, all wondering the same thing now that it had been brought up.


    ¡°Oh¡­ this,¡± she said, detaching the mask from the right side of her face, ¡°Is not something any healer could actually remove. You can see that it hasn¡¯t ruined my eye, which means it¡¯s not any normal foreign object.¡±


    Her larger golden iris visibly showed how it slowly rotated with an illusion of a miniature magic array, gleaming gold mana lines and runes intersecting and shifting within on a pitch-black background. She pointed to it. ¡°I have essentially had a shard of an artifact enter my right eye, and it has fused with it. I believe it may be permanent.¡±


    ¡°How interesting,¡± the Count said with raised eyebrows, holding his chin as he observed her eye. ¡°Artifacts work in mysterious ways, so if it has truly become part of you, then I believe you may be correct in that it is permanent. But if so, why do you still wear a mask?¡± Then he paused. ¡°Unless it¡¯s to hide a valuable object, in which case, please forget I ever asked.¡±


    ¡°It might possibly be valuable, but I am unsure,¡± she said with a shrug, to their surprise. ¡°It has given me some abilities, certainly, but I had originally thought I only had a shard of a broken mirror in my eye. I didn¡¯t even know it was an artifact until it fused with me.¡±


    I will conveniently leave out how my reflection in the mirror was capable of moving without me and it lets me see the System.


    She replaced the hard mask and tapped on it. ¡°This is actually so I don¡¯t subconsciously activate it. The shard is not naturally part of me, so if I use it for too long, it severely strains my eye and even spiritual power. The last time I pushed it too far, I cried blood,¡± she explained wryly.


    Their eyes widened, and Vincent looked especially shocked. In the distance, a few more people began walking over.


    ¡°That is a good enough reason to continue wearing it than any, I say,¡± Count Ravimoux said with a slight chuckle. ¡°It would be bad for our Faction Head to go blind.¡±


    ¡°I would rather not go blind either,¡± she replied with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s possible that if I rank up, my body will gain tolerance to it, and eventually I won¡¯t need the mask.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡± Count Ravimoux narrowed his eyes, still smiling. ¡°And when do you plan to rank up? There have been a few worries voiced among the vassals about the Faction Head still remaining at Rank-0, and I agree with them.¡± He smirked and crossed his arms. ¡°We don¡¯t want you to die, I¡¯ll have you know.¡±


    ¡°That we don¡¯t,¡± added a gruff voice. They turned to look at a tall man with red hair and scarred features gazing solemnly at her. A few paces away from him were another man, the red wild-haired man who had been at the meeting, and a curly-haired red-headed woman.


    Lucille nodded to the taller man. ¡°Good evening, Count Chavaret. I see you¡¯ve finished your discussion.¡± She glanced at two other individuals who had joined, one with blonde hair with blue tips, and a shorter person with brown hair that ended with blue tips.


    Artair and Arwen Alichanteu were grudgingly standing next to each other, as they needed to so they could be part of the discussion. Behind Artair was the High-mage she saw at the meeting, and behind Arwen was a man with pale blue hair. Ice crystals were forming at the tips of his hair and in a cloud of mist around him, showing he was also at least a High-mage, but he didn¡¯t have the dark blue hair colouration she knew belonged to Alichanteu¡¯s signature sign of magical talent, so it wasn¡¯t Archmage Merkenia.


    ¡°Indeed,¡± Count Chavaret replied. ¡°But I am curious what your answer to Regulus¡¯s question is.¡±


    Considering Count Chavaret was several centuries old, and Count Ravimoux was only 29, it wasn¡¯t improper for him to call Regulus Ravimoux by his first name, as he must have known the dark-haired man since he was a child. Lucy nodded. ¡°As soon as feasibly possible after the Empire¡¯s end-of-year banquet,¡± she revealed.


    ¡°Oh?¡± the black-haired Count asked curiously. ¡°That sounds strangely specific. Is there a reason why you don¡¯t want to do it beforehand?¡±


    ¡°Partially to ensure outside forces don¡¯t see me as someone worth eliminating,¡± she explained, ¡°But also because as a Rank-0 ¡®successor¡¯, I am especially protected by the Empire¡¯s law.¡±


    Both Counts considered her statement. ¡°But you¡¯ve already inherited the Faction, have you not? That would mean you¡¯re not a successor anymore,¡± Count Chavaret spoke up.


    She shook her head. ¡°Not according to the Empire¡¯s definition. I am already a ¡®Faction Head¡¯ recognised by the System, yes, but the Empire has yet to recognise me as the Aurelian Commission¡¯s Head,¡± she said with a wide smile. ¡°The Aurelian Commission Head must hold the title of Honorary Count. It is a commission of the Eternal Empire, after all. We were originally supposed to be a government authority.¡±


    ¡°I doubt you¡¯ll receive the responsibilities and title of Honorary Commissioner of Finance, however,¡± Count Ravimoux replied.


    ¡°I¡¯m well aware of that," she said with a nod. ¡°But that status was given for political reasons to someone who they knew had no intention of using it, and, well, we all know how long the Founder stayed in the Faction. It was never a real title to begin with.¡±


    The dark-haired Count nodded in understanding.


    ¡°Then, could you please ensure you take the time to increase your strength as soon as possible after that,¡± Count Chavaret stated seriously. ¡°A project can be pushed aside for a month if it means your continued safety.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do as you ask,¡± she replied with a smile. ¡°I have only been pushing it off because, with my soul power, I am less at risk than most to be at this rank. And my bond is undergoing an evolution to advanced rank, so he can play a more active part in my protection soon,¡± she added.


    ¡°Your bond was a¡­ hybrid serpent?¡± Count Chavaret said thoughtfully.


    ¡°One with a strange fixation on cursed objects,¡± Count Ravimoux remarked, giving her an odd look.


    Lucy¡¯s expression twitched and she sighed. ¡°He¡¯s tried collecting them before,¡± she grumbled. ¡°He loved the inheritance trial.¡±


    ¡°Actually,¡± Artair Alichanteu interjected, stepping forward. ¡°Could I ask how you earned the inheritance token, if we¡¯re on this topic? I don¡¯t believe this has been discussed yet.¡±


    She nodded and took some time to explain how she earned the pocket watch, making sure to leave out the System¡¯s interference while only revealing the requirement of how many questions Ashale¡¯viaf needed to ask, and telling them how she didn¡¯t select any of the rings. Her audience had some complicated expressions after she told them about the requirements.


    ¡°Have we just been unlucky for so many years?¡± Artair said.


    ¡°Or hated by the guardian spirit,¡± Count Ravimoux added. ¡°Don¡¯t forget, he¡¯s aware of every person who has ever set foot in Headquarters. He knows most of the Commission¡¯s higher-ranked members.¡±


    Artair looked at Count Ravimoux. ¡°But surely he can¡¯t remember everyone?¡± he asked sceptically.


    Count Ravimoux glanced at Lucille with a sly smile. ¡°I think our Faction Head here would know more about that than me.¡±


    Everyone looked at her when he said that, and she shook her head wryly at the attention. ¡°Well, I suppose that¡¯s true,¡± she said, looking at them all. ¡°Spiritual energy greatly improves memory. So does mental power and demonic power too, all the soul energies. Spirits and demons have the greatest amounts of soul power, on account of their long lifespans. Although demons lose soul power and memories when they die, so they¡¯re in a different situation.¡± She looked at Artair. ¡°But yes, Ashale¡¯viaf, as a spirit beast king, should be capable of remembering every detail surrounding those who have visited Headquarters.¡±


    ¡°So, never make a mistake in front of someone with strong soul power,¡± he muttered absentmindedly.


    The others glanced at him, while Lucy smirked and crossed her arms. ¡°Yes, never make a mistake in front of me. I¡¯ll remember it for my entire life,¡± she remarked with amusement.


    Artair¡¯s expression turned awkward as he realised who he was talking to, making the others chuckle. Count Chavaret gestured to his son and daughter beside him.


    ¡°Before I lose the opportunity, I¡¯ll introduce Martelemore, who I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll remember,¡± he said, shooting a glance at the embarrassed Artair, ¡°Was at the meeting, and my daughter, Rosaline.¡±


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    She nodded to them both, the long-haired man looking slightly wary as he obviously remembered her soul pressure, and the woman with long curly red hair looking stern and serious as she nodded politely back.


    ¡°The rest of my children have been introduced earlier this week, so I won¡¯t call them over,¡± Haraldus said, gesturing to the other five silver-haired adults talking to some vassals on the other side of the room, including Count Ravimoux¡¯s poison master and aide.


    They continued discussing several things for a while, with the others speaking up, not just the Counts and her talking, when Count Chavaret spoke up.


    ¡°I recall at the meeting you said you had two sentient weapons. Could it be those right there?¡± he asked, gesturing to the two daggers sheathed at her waist.


    ¡°Ah. Yes, these are my two weapons,¡± she replied, unsheathing them. She set them to levitate in the air in front of her, to everyone else¡¯s surprise. She gestured to Apophis. ¡°This one is demonic,¡± she said and pointed to Ouroboros. ¡°And this one is spirit.¡±


    The others allowed Count Chavaret to take a step forward and observe them with interest. As a blacksmith, inspecting rare weapons such as demonic and spirit weapons, while also having them be sentient, was an uncommon experience, and so they understood he¡¯d be interested. His son and daughter also seemed to be analysing them with scrutiny, although they didn¡¯t interrupt their father by moving forward.


    ¡°These are¡­. very high quality,¡± he muttered, slowly picking up Ouroboros, who Lucy told to let the Count pick up. ¡°And I can sense with my skills that this dagger is considered an ¡®incomplete piece¡¯?¡± he said, turning to look at her.


    ¡°They need to be used together to bring out their maximum power,¡± she replied, nodding. ¡°I¡¯m sure you can tell their energies aren¡¯t trying to conflict either, even though they¡¯re a spirit and demonic weapon.¡±


    ¡°Well, I won¡¯t try to inspect them for much longer, no matter how unique they are,¡± he said, taking a step back as he let go of the dagger. ¡°But when you do visit the Chavaret County, take them to me and I¡¯ll find out what evolution materials would be best.¡± Then he narrowed his eyes at the blades. ¡°But these aren¡¯t their true forms, are they.¡±


    Lucille¡¯s smile stiffened. ¡°Yes, but¡­ their true forms are rather large¡­.¡±


    ¡°We can just make room,¡± Count Ravimoux said with a smile, likely interested in what was causing her reaction. ¡°I am likewise curious to see what other form a dagger could take.¡±


    She glanced at them but sighed and stepped back. She picked up Ouroboros, and then, pointing her at the floor, the dagger lit up with blue light and extended out to about a metre as she switched to longsword form. Lucy slowly raised the weapon once the sky-blue aura died down and held it horizontally near her to let them see.


    ¡°Flamberge? Or¡­. not. I haven¡¯t seen a flamberge with such a style of edge before,¡± Count Ravimoux remarked.


    ¡°No, this isn¡¯t it. This isn¡¯t what I¡¯m detecting,¡± Count Chavaret said with a frown. He looked at Lucy. ¡°Three forms?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°Technically this is just its inactivated second form.¡± She gave them all a mildly exasperated look. ¡°Again, it is very large. You¡¯ll need to take a step back if you want to look.¡±


    To her annoyance, they all did, weirdly interested in the weapons she carried for some reason. She sighed again and pointed Ouroboros up.


    Clang! Clang! Clang!


    With just a thought and the sound of metal, the segments detached and then extended, before several more were added to the end. She extended it out to about three metres and lowered the slowly oscillating white blade, surrounded by a thin layer of sky-blue aura. She observed their mixed reactions.


    ¡°In all my time as a crafter, I have never seen such an interesting weapon,¡± Count Chavaret mused with bushy eyebrows raised, looking at the way the segments shifted and tilted. ¡°And if your two weapons are a pair, I¡¯m assuming that black dagger is a weapon like this as well.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a... snake-sword?¡± Vincent spoke up, having been silent for some time. They all looked at him as he gazed at Lucy with a strange expression. ¡°So¡­ you have a snake bond, and you soulbound two snake-themed weapons? Am I understanding this right?¡±


    Lucy scowled at him. ¡°It¡¯s a coincidence.¡±


    ¡°Seems our Faction Head may have the attributes of a serpent if serpentine things are gathering around her,¡± Count Ravimoux said with amusement.


    ¡°I said it¡¯s a- you know what, never mind,¡± she muttered. ¡°Forget it. Next topic, please?¡±


    ¡°What are their names?¡± Arwen Alichanteu asked, wanting to have his part. He had been beginning to look uncomfortable about how he was being ignored.


    ¡°The white one is Ouroboros and the black one is Apophis,¡± she said, gesturing to the two weapons. ¡°I actually had to name them, as they had apparently been left unnamed by their maker. You wouldn¡¯t be familiar with the names. They¡¯re named after mythology from my world.¡±


    ¡°How cruel,¡± Count Chavaret replied with a frown. ¡°They didn¡¯t name two sentient weapons.¡±


    ¡°You had to name them?¡± Vincent pointed out with narrowed eyes. ¡°This wouldn¡¯t be a case where they had indeterminable forms before you named them, and only chose to become snake-swords after you got involved, would it?¡±


    She groaned. ¡°No. They were snake-swords before I named them. Why are you so fixated on this little fact?¡±


    He just shrugged, making her sigh. Arwen Alichanteu looked at the still-floating Apophis.


    ¡°Then I guess the demonic weapon must be pretty much the same?¡± he asked, gazing at the black dagger embedded with malevolent red rubies.


    She gave him a tight smile. ¡°Yes, there¡¯s little difference,¡± she said as she retracted Ouroboros and returned her to dagger form.


    Vincent, becoming suspicious due to her expression, gestured at Apophis. ¡°Then you should have no problem extending that snake-sword for us to see too,¡± he remarked, smirking slightly.


    Lucy narrowed her eyes at him, but his smirk only widened.


    ¡°Demonic weapons have unique characteristics that differ from spirit weapons,¡± Count Chavaret announced. ¡°They seem to mirror each other in some ways, so I would be interested in seeing what it looks like.¡±


    Vincent grinned in victory as she looked around at her curious audience with a complicated expression, placing her hands on her hips. ¡°Why are you all so interested in my weapons? I¡¯m sure members of the Counties have better things to do than discuss my belongings.¡±


    Count Ravimoux smirked and spread his hands. ¡°Surely we¡¯re allowed to be curious about our new Faction Head, can¡¯t we? This is the longest extended period that the Counties have had any interaction with you, after all.¡± Then he held his chin and thought for a moment. ¡°But, I must say, you did a spectacular job at misdirecting the other nobility into thinking you had little importance.¡±


    ¡°The amount of nobility trying to gain my favour has been spectacularly annoying as well,¡± Vincent commented with a disgruntled look, pushing up his glasses.


    ¡°It is good for you to begin being part of more social events,¡± Isaella Evisenhardt spoke up, looking at her son. ¡°You¡¯ve avoided the central politics of the Counties and the Empire long enough.¡±


    ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean I want to be introduced to them as the aide of the Commission Head!¡± he said with exasperation.


    ¡°No point complaining about this now when you¡¯ve already signed the contract,¡± Lucille responded nonchalantly.


    ¡°Yes, but- oh.¡± He narrowed his silvery eyes at her. ¡°I see what you¡¯re doing. Lucille, you still haven¡¯t shown us your demonic weapon¡¯s form.¡±


    ¡°I had been beginning to notice that,¡± Count Chavaret added, furrowing his eyebrows as he gazed at her.


    She looked between them both, and gave a long sigh of resignation, grabbing the handle of Apophis. ¡°Please avoid touching the demonic aura,¡± she warned, as she extended his blade to longsword form.


    Then, she raised it and inserted her spiritual energy just like she had done with Ouroboros. The segments appeared with several clangs, along with the additional delayed sound of the half-segments appearing. There was silence as they watched the half-segments running up and down the blade¡¯s length repeatedly pull away from the main segments¡¯ ridges, and then pull back inward. The slight vibration running along it meant the weapon also twisted slightly, rotating back and forth as a crimson aura bloomed with a bloody glow, humming mechanically. The aura itself incited a sensation of discomfort due to the Despair affliction caused by the Chaos Power. The awkward silence continued as they gazed at the deadly weapon/blender.


    ¡°¡­..is that even a snake-sword anymore?¡± Artair Alichanteu muttered.


    ¡°Hm,¡± Count Ravimoux said in contemplation, observing the moving weapon. He turned to Lucille. ¡°Miss Goldcroft, I didn¡¯t think you were that kind of person.¡±


    She didn¡¯t feel the need to mask her expression as she glared at the dark green-eyed Count. ¡°And I¡¯m not.¡±


    They went back to watching the weapon. The silence continued for a bit longer until the other Count spoke up.


    ¡°You know¡­.¡± Count Chavaret mused, a strange expression on his face. ¡°It reminds me of the time I went to the Coalition. There was a tunnel the equivalent of ten men high filled with layers of massive blades, used to crush, and slice their discarded metal creations before being re-smelted.¡± He gestured to the blade and looked at Lucy. ¡°Those you attack might suffer a similar fate.¡±


    She retracted her energy from the demonic weapon and it shrunk back down to its longsword form, and then its dagger form. She let it float again. ¡°It goes without saying that this weapon will not be used on people,¡± she replied dryly.


    ¡°Does our Faction Head possibly have intentions of killing people somehow?¡± Count Ravimoux said with a sly smile. He held his chin as he observed her. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what reason the Commission Head would have to do something so violent. Do you perhaps have a secret?¡± He narrowed his eyes at her and grinned. ¡°Possibly a secret not fit for someone like the Commission Head¡­ do we need to do something about this?¡±


    They all stared at him, shocked at what he was saying, or implying. Lucille just cocked an eyebrow. ¡°Are you threatening me again?¡±


    He blinked. ¡°Did I sound like I was threatening you?¡± He looked around and saw how they were avoiding eye contact, looking away or at the ground. ¡°Really?¡±


    Count Chavaret ran a hand down his face. ¡°Regulus¡­.¡± he muttered in exasperation.


    Count Ravimoux crossed his arms and frowned at the ground. ¡°That was not actually my intention at all. Hmm.¡± Then he looked up at them all. ¡°Oh. I see what this is. This is all because I¡¯m a Ravimoux, isn¡¯t it.¡± He lifted up his chin. ¡°You¡¯re biased against me, so you see my every word as a threat,¡± he proclaimed with mock affront.


    Lucille and the others just gazed dubiously at him. ¡°Sure. Let¡¯s go with that,¡± she said.


    ¡°He¡¯s always been like this.¡± Count Chavaret sighed, before turning his head to gaze at Lucy with a stern expression. ¡°And what did you mean by ¡®again¡¯?¡±


    The dark-haired Count turned to Count Chavaret and opened his mouth to say something, but Lucille beat him to it.


    ¡°You can ask ¡®Reggy¡¯ all about that,¡± she replied, using her thumb to point to the man next to her.


    Count Ravimoux whipped his head back around to stare at her. ¡°You-¡±


    His words were cut off when they all heard a suspiciously timed loud coughing noise coming from the other side of the room. They turned to see Margaery Femidela, the Viscountess and Count Ravimoux¡¯s poison master clutching her stomach as she doubled over, trying to keep from laughing. She held a half-spilt glass in one hand. The woman flinched and looked over her shoulder when she detected Count Ravimoux¡¯s gaze, his eyes narrowed.


    ¡°Aaaand we have an eavesdropper,¡± Lucy commented in a wry voice.


    The dark-haired Count¡¯s expression darkened, and he clenched his fists. ¡°Excuse me for a moment,¡± he growled, marching off to go to find his far too visibly amused vassal.


    They watched him drag his poison master off somewhere by her collar and then returned their attention back to their discussion circle.


    Lucille picked up the floating Ouroboros to return the dagger to her sheath.


    The blonde and blue-haired Artair gazed at Apophis and reached forward to touch the ominous weapon. ¡°I¡¯m still shocked that this dagger can turn into that. I mean, it looks so-¡±


    She hastily looked up once she realised what he was doing. ¡°Wait, don¡¯t-¡±


    ¡°Ow!¡±


    ¡°¡­..do that,¡± she finished, sighing wearily.


    He abruptly yanked back his bitten hand to gaze incredulously at the strange black snake ornament that had unwound itself from around the handle, ruby eyes glinting as it bared its metallic fangs. One of the points had slight traces of red from where it had bitten the Alichanteu heir, drawing blood. The metal snake tried to extend itself from the dagger to pounce on the young man, but its tail couldn¡¯t lose contact with the weapon, even if it had slithered onto the dagger¡¯s blade.


    ¡°Apophis. Back,¡± Lucy stated harshly before the aggressive weapon could realise it had autonomous movement and didn¡¯t need to mimic a snake to get within stabbing distance of the heir. The black snake opened its jaws in a soundless hiss at Artair but rewound itself around the handle, and then the dagger floated near Lucy. She picked it up and sheathed it, then crossed her arms to stare at Artair.


    ¡°How come it bit me?¡± he asked, looking stunned. ¡°The other one didn¡¯t bite Count Chavaret.¡±


    The red-haired Count in question, as well as his two children, gazed at Artair with strange expressions, while Lucy just sent the young man a flat look.


    ¡°Spirit,¡± she said, gesturing to the white dagger on her waist. ¡°Demonic,¡± she stated blandly, pointing to the black dagger opposite it.


    Artair blinked and then covered his face with a hand as his ears tinged pink. ¡°Right,¡± he mumbled. ¡°My mistake.¡±


    They all gazed at the Alichanteu heir with mixed emotions before Count Chavaret turned to her. ¡°Well, it was interesting seeing your weapons,¡± he said, giving her a nod. ¡°However, I might take my leave to discuss a few things with some of the other Counties¡¯ vassals. Please do visit our County when time allows.¡±


    ¡°Ours as well,¡± Haraldus added. ¡°Although,¡± he said, turning to Count Chavaret. ¡°I believe you said you wanted to discuss one of the partnerships between our main businesses?¡±


    The Count nodded, and they moved away, their children and wives too. Vincent stayed behind with Lucy, seemingly not interested in talking to his family any longer. As they left, Melissa turned around to give her a small wave and a wink.


    ¡°I might take a break to get a little fresh air,¡± Artair murmured, nodding to the High-mage just behind his shoulder.


    ¡°Enjoy the rest of the night,¡± Lucy said with a nod. He dipped his head in a slight bow, and then walked off, leaving only her, Vincent, and¡­.. Arwen. Also his ice mage.


    The brown and blue-haired 19-year-old took a confident stride forward and then dipped his head. ¡°I have yet to properly greet you tonight, Faction Head,¡± he said with a broad smile.


    Both Vincent and Lucy eyed him sceptically but didn¡¯t show it on their faces. ¡°Indeed,¡± she said with a bright smile. ¡°We had quite the gathering earlier, so there was no urgency to. You don¡¯t have to now, either. There¡¯s no need for such formalities,¡± she added, trying to get him to leave.


    ¡°How could I possibly do such a thing? And I would definitely take the chance to discuss things with you,¡± he said with a grin. He didn¡¯t get the message. ¡°I am the one who has had the least interaction with you, out of the main County members, after all.¡±


    She didn¡¯t say anything but just smiled politely. The teen gestured to her.


    ¡°Then, is it really true your soul age is nearly two and a half centuries?¡± he asked, observing her with a relaxed smile. ¡°I had thought it was false when I had originally met you.¡± He smirked. ¡°After all, who could believe such a beautiful young woman was at that age?¡±


    Lucille felt an eyebrow twitch, and Vincent stared at the young man like he was a particularly many-legged creature. Her polite, very false smile became even more fake. ¡°Yes, I am 231 years older than you,¡± she stressed, beginning to feel immensely irritated.


    ¡°And you revealed this to the Counts¡­ so you have a way of showing without a doubt that you are that age?¡± he asked, gazing at her with narrowed blue eyes. ¡°Would I be able to see this?¡±


    She raised an eyebrow but blinked and glanced at Vincent when she sensed his expression darken in her perception field. He put a hand on her shoulder. ¡°Arwen Alichanteu, are you implying that you can¡¯t trust the judgement of the Counts themselves and that you think you are important enough to require evidence for your own eyes before you can accept the fact that the Commission Head is 249 years old?¡± he stated sternly.


    Isn¡¯t that a bit of an overreact- oh. Really.


    She narrowed her eyes at her aide, who glanced at her but looked away.


    He¡¯s trying to stop me from using my soul power again. How ridiculous.


    Arwen¡¯s eyes widened slightly and he hastily shook his head. ¡°Oh no, I would never do so. Just for curiosity¡¯s sake is all. If you don¡¯t wish to, that¡¯s fine by me,¡± he said to Lucy.


    ¡°I won¡¯t, because it will affect more individuals than just you if I did so,¡± she stated, wishing he was an enemy so she could start permanently ridding herself of him already.


    ¡°If that is your will,¡± he replied, giving her a deferential nod. He glanced up at a clock in the large room and then sighed. ¡°It appears it might not be possible for us to continue discussing things like this much further. Oh well.¡± He smiled widely and gave her an elegant bow. ¡°I will wait for the invitation of my lady in the future for us to meet again,¡± he said, holding out a hand.


    She just gazed expressionlessly at him and crossed her arms. He blinked when he registered her expression and that she hadn¡¯t taken his hand for him to kiss.


    ¡°Ah, do you perhaps not like this method of parting?¡± he asked, straightening up. He smiled and then held out his hand again. ¡°Then, should we just shake hands normally?¡±


    She was silent as she looked at his outstretched hand for a moment, and then she smiled brightly, having had an idea. She took his hand¡­.. and then bent, and kissed the back of it. He stiffened.


    ¡°I hope you¡¯ll enjoy waiting for an invitation that will never come, my lord,¡± she said cheerfully and then walked away with a spring in her step, leaving the frozen Alichanteu heir and stunned Vincent in her wake.


    Vincent glanced between her and Arwen incredulously, hardly believing what just happened, and then hurriedly followed after her. ¡°Lucille, what did you just do?¡± he demanded. ¡°Lucy? Hey!¡± He kept following her as she moved to the other side of the room, whistling merrily, and completely ignoring her aide.


    Behind her, the teenager turned bright red in humiliation as he registered what had occurred, and angrily stormed towards the exit, his ice High-mage hot on his heels.


    <hr>


    Several minutes before, Count Regulus Ravimoux and Viscountess Margaery Femidela were standing on a balcony overlooking the large room, taking a break from the social event below. Regulus had a glass of wine in his hand as he leaned against the railing, and he looked at his poison master.


    ¡°Have you done what we discussed?¡± he asked in a low voice.


    Margaery smirked, hands on hips. ¡°Of course, my lord. I have all thirty countdowns corresponding to each individual on my Status screen, and so each and every one of them will suffer one of several different variations of death, including heart failure, stroke, or death by a curse. We¡¯ve already tracked how many resurrections they each have, and so our assassins are ready to kill them permanently before they can return to their forces.¡±


    He swirled his glass and took a sip as he gave her a curious look. ¡°All thirty? I was expecting half that number.¡±


    ¡°How could you have so little faith in me, my lord!¡± she gasped with mock outrage. Then she leaned her back against the railing and gave him a sly grin. ¡°Even when it is my undying affection for you that gives me the motivation to do so well.¡±


    Regulus raised an eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯m not sure your husband would approve of these ¡®undying affections¡¯ of yours,¡± he remarked dryly.


    ¡°Oh psh,¡± she said, giving him a dismissive wave. ¡°Who cares what he thinks. Besides, Tarquin doesn¡¯t approve of anyone or anything, so what do you expect.¡±


    He tilted his head but didn¡¯t comment as he continued to observe the figure of Lucille Goldcroft below. He watched with interest as Arwen Alichanteu approached her.


    ¡°Have you made any progress on that matter down there?¡± Margaery said, turning around to also focus her attention on the girl with a mask.


    He glanced at his subordinate. ¡°Be careful what you say. She might be able to hear.¡±


    The poison master thought for a moment. ¡°I¡¯m getting the impression she already knows or doesn¡¯t even care.¡±


    ¡°I suppose that is probably true,¡± Regulus acquiesced.


    Margaery bent over the railing and cupped her hands around her mouth. ¡°Hey Faction Head, if you can hear us look up!¡± she said in a stage whisper.


    Lucille Goldcroft didn¡¯t look up.


    He gave her a flat look as the brown-haired woman leaned back and shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t think she can right now.¡±


    He sighed but didn¡¯t say anything about her actions. ¡°It¡¯s going poorly. The circumstances are very¡­. unusual this time, yes, but there¡¯s nothing on her. She¡¯s like a ghost.¡± He shook his head. ¡°No, even a ghost from Tartarus would have more on them. There is absolutely nothing on her before her arrival at the Violet Luminosity Jungle region.¡±


    His poison master hummed. ¡°So, it¡¯s unlikely she¡¯s offended some powerful force or noble family and will bring trouble to us?¡±


    ¡°Yes, unlikely,¡± he replied. ¡°For all intents and purposes, I think it¡¯s best for us to assume her tale about coming from an unassimilated world is correct.¡±


    ¡°Interesting,¡± the woman responded, propping her chin up as she leaned against the balcony¡¯s handrail. She glanced at his right hand. ¡°And what does that say about her?¡±


    He shrugged off his coat on his right shoulder and pulled back the sleeve of his black shirt, revealing his forearm. There, what seemed to be a coiling tattoo slowly shifted and moved, but if looked at in greater detail, the tattoo could be seen to be formed of densely packed black runes arrayed in tight ribbons of script, ravelling, and unravelling themselves to form ever-changing patterns. He straightened his sleeve and put his coat back on properly.


    ¡°It¡¯s absolutely terrified of her,¡± he said with some amusement. ¡°And I¡¯m not surprised. The density of her soul power back then nearly sent its runes into disarray.¡±


    He viewed the runic tattoo as it slowly curled around his fingers. ¡°But what really scares it is that it can¡¯t detect her presence. Its curse energies can¡¯t find her killing intent at all.¡±


    ¡°So this girl has either never killed anything or is expert enough to hide her killing intent from even that,¡± Margaery remarked, eyeing his hand.


    ¡°Possibly, but-¡±


    He paused to watch Lucille Goldcroft below interact with the Alichanteu heir.


    ¡°What is she doing?¡± he muttered, frowning slightly.


    Margaery blinked and looked down. ¡°Hm? Oh, looks like the Alichanteu brat realised the Commission Head shouldn¡¯t be treat-¡±


    They stared incredulously as the girl bowed and kissed the back of the heir¡¯s hand, in the style of a lord to a lady, and then happily walk off, leaving the heir to stew in embarrassment and mortification.


    Regulus kept his gaze on her, feeling a weird mix of amusement, shock, disbelief, and niggling suspicion.


    Is our Faction Head a little crazy?


    His poison master burst out laughing. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a woman do that before! Hey, can I have her instead of Tarquin?¡± she asked him, grinning.


    He rolled his eyes, making her chuckle.


    ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure what she¡¯d think of your statement if she was listening to-¡± He stopped talking as he noticed the dark-haired girl down below look up at them and smirk. He raised an eyebrow.


    What, so she really was listening in? How large is her percep-


    He felt his thoughts freeze to a halt as the girl waved and then exaggerated the motions of her mouth to silently call out, ¡®Hi Reggy.¡¯


    The woman to his right broke out into a coughing fit as she struggled to stifle her laugh, having seen it. He glared at her, then at the girl down below before he sighed and turned away from the balcony edge. He ran a hand through his hair, feeling mildly vexed.


    This is because I made that comment about her demonic weapon, isn¡¯t it. And I can¡¯t even do anything back. Hm.


    He glanced down at the girl again, who had turned away and was now talking to the County vassals. He began walking towards the direction of the stairs.


    Well, I probably deserve it. Maybe karma is finally punishing me for my sins.


    He smirked at that thought, but with his poison master following close behind, he left the balcony and prepared to get entangled in the far too political conversations he had managed to escape so far. In a few weeks¡¯ time, several factors with special connections to Olden and Radical would find themselves breathing no longer, and would consequently create some intriguing reactions on those two forces¡¯ end, but for now, he had to keep politely smiling and do his boring job as the Count of Ravimoux.


    Then he glanced at the girl with a mask discussing things with the vassals as his usual smile fell back in place.


    Although, I think this new Faction Head of ours will make things a little more interesting in the coming years.

 Chapter 30 (1 of 2) Captain Adrianna Riftmire.

    ¡°Captain? Captain, please.¡±


    She looked up. Standing on the other side of the table was a young man in his early twenties, looking at her with mild exasperation. He had striking sea-green hair and eyes, and running down the right side of his face and neck were cyan patterns in the shape of waves. He was dressed in the elite officer uniform of the navy, blue and black, and held a clipboard in his arms. His ears were semi-translucent at the tips.


    ¡°What is it, Vice Captain Wharifin? I¡¯m busy," she replied coolly, returning back to her work at the table.


    ¡°Yes, I can see you are dissecting monsters," he stated blandly, eyeing the large carcass with distaste. ¡°Could you step away from the table for one moment and direct your full attention to me, please?¡±


    She sighed and looked up again, placed her hands on the table, and leaned against it. She was currently dressed in a long-sleeved white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, her hands covered by white gloves, and wore dark blue pants with heavy black boots. On the table in front of her was the large carcass of a sea monster, appearing like a shark in the texture of the skin. It was cut open. Scalpels and other tools were lying next to it, evidence of her research.


    ¡°Have we not discussed everything we need to already?¡± she asked, gazing at the young man.


    ¡°Well, yes, but there¡¯s been a new development,¡± he said sourly, frowning as he glanced at the door to the cabin room.


    She straightened up and pinched her nose bridge. ¡°Again?¡± she replied, slight frustration leaking into her normally toneless voice.


    She didn¡¯t need to see his nod for any confirmation and just marched off to another side of the room. She peeled off the gloves she was wearing and deposited them into a basin, then yanked off the long navy blue and gold-trimmed coat hanging on the wall. She eyed the feathered hat beside it for a moment, but shook her head wordlessly, already knowing it would be raining outside. Pulling it down, she stormed off towards the door and threw it open, roughly pulling on the coat and placing the hat on her head as she walked onto the ship deck, Vice Captain Wharifin close behind.


    ¡°Don¡¯t need your staff?¡± the young man asked, frowning as he looked up at the stormy sky, drizzling rain.


    ¡°Anything that needs my staff is more than just a ¡®new development¡¯,¡± she muttered, furrowing her brows as she placed a hand above her eyes, trying to see through the perpetual sea fog that covered the warship. She turned to look at her second-in-command.


    ¡°Who was it, anyway?¡± she asked. ¡°It wasn¡¯t Officer Deirvetch, was it? His mouth always gets him into trouble.¡± She frowned imperceptibly and crossed her arms. ¡°Or was it him again¡­¡±


    ¡°No, this time was actually someone else,¡± Vice Captain Wharifin answered, looking around. ¡°It was-¡±


    ¡°-AND THIS IS WHY THE CAPTAIN NEVER SHOULD¡¯VE LET YOU ON THIS SHIP!¡±


    The Vice Captain snuck a look at her face and winced as her expression grew steadily colder, even more so than it already was. She marched over to where she heard the sound of a young woman yelling at the top of her lungs, climbing up the stairs to reach the forecastle deck, the raised part of the main deck at the front of the ship that the forecastle, the crew¡¯s living quarters, could be found below. Her second-in-command followed her with a complicated look on his face.


    Standing on the forecastle deck were five people, two women and three men, all in navy blue and black uniforms. One of the women, who she knew had been responsible for the yelling, had wavy, deep blue, shoulder-length hair, and was gazing crossly at the man in front of her with her hands on her hips. The second woman had dirty-blonde hair that was kept in a thick braid that fell down to her waist and stood behind the blue-haired woman in a show of support.


    Standing to the side of the women, watching the events, were two men. One was short, and had mousy-brown hair, while the other was taller with very short red hair, and black tattoos in the shape of chains around his arms and neck. The man with mousy-brown hair was snickering and seemed to be eating a sandwich as he gazed at the fight like he was watching an interesting show.


    The third man was the one facing the blue-haired girl. He was tall and had dark-brown hair. His eyes were a rare brilliant gold. A large longsword was strapped to his waist as he frowned at the woman in front of him.


    ¡°Every one of our problems can be attributed to you!¡± the blue-haired woman yelled, pointing at him. ¡°Every single one! The Captain has given you a chance time and time again, and yet you still continue to stir up trouble and conflict on this ship! We all have our problems, but one of the Captain¡¯s biggest faults must be that she didn¡¯t kick you off the moment you tried to fight that greater monster! What, did she think you¡¯d ever be useful?¡± she continued mockingly, tilting her head.


    The gold-eyed man scowled, but the other three people heard the sounds of footsteps and glanced behind them. They all paled, and the short man with a sandwich began coughing as he choked on his lunch.


    Neither the man with dark-brown hair nor the blue-haired woman noticed, and the man went to open his mouth to argue, but the woman cut him off.


    ¡°Captain Riftmire may be a genius leader, but she doesn¡¯t understand that keeping you on this ship is the worst decision she could ever make,¡± the woman said with fury, crossing her arms. ¡°She might be strong enough to survive, but if you stay here, your arrogance and egotistical nature will be the death of the rest of us. I don¡¯t know why she ever let you on here! She should¡¯ve thrown you into the ocean the moment she set eyes on you, and let the sea monsters-¡±


    ¡°I never knew you had so much to say about my actions," she interrupted, her voice icy as she gazed at the shorter woman. ¡°Officer Winrich, at a better time, you should come to my cabin to have a more private discussion with me if you believe I am doing something wrong. It may be a meaningful lesson for both of us.¡±


    Maeva Winrich froze, and nervously looked to the side to see her and her Vice-Captain watching the events. Maeva blanched and hastily did an Empire salute, one fist pressed against her chest. ¡°Captain.¡±


    She looked emotionlessly at the Officer, but let her gaze wander to look at each of the other members. She frowned slightly as she spoke in a cold voice. ¡°This is not a game,¡± she stated harshly. ¡°The work of a Captain is not to resolve the petty fights and squabbling of their subordinates.¡±


    She threw out an arm to point at the horizon. ¡°In just a few hours¡¯ time, we will enter the central zone of the Distorted Depths where we will be at risk of being detected by King-ranked monsters for the first time. And yet you¡¯ve riled your emotions up high, possibly allowing yourselves to be blindsided when we ultimately fight. Have you all lost your damn minds?¡± she growled, her voice chilly.


    They glanced away, avoiding eye contact, and not saying anything. She could see that the golden-eyed man was pretending to look sorry, but his expression brightened when he saw her look at him. His smile dimmed when her gaze moved to the next person without pause.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care what you were fighting about,¡± she stated shortly, crossing her arms. ¡°That¡¯s not my job. My job is to ensure we can enter and exit the central zone successfully, and allow us to prove ourselves to Commander Arkenast that we can make this work. This is the longest that this type of group has stayed together.¡±


    The short man frowned. ¡°But that¡¯s only because you¡¯re sca- ow!¡± The mousy-haired man rubbed his side where the red-haired man to his left had elbowed him.


    She ignored the two idiots to gaze at them all again. ¡°Let me remind you that this is what you wanted. Not me. I¡¯m not the one who wishes to prove themselves to the Commander.¡±


    They all looked away with complicated expressions, aware of her thoughts on this matter. The short man with a half-eaten sandwich opened his mouth and scoffed. ¡°Captain, you might not care because you¡¯re already his precious little favourite, but us mere mortals need to-¡±


    ¡°Elite Naval Officer Ruel Deirvetch," she said, directing her icy stare to him. ¡°Shut. Up.¡±


    ¡°Oh, she¡¯s mad¡­..¡± the red-haired man to his left muttered quietly. Ruel Deirvetch scowled but didn¡¯t retort.


    ¡°Now, everybody back to their positions before I turn this ship around right now and tell Commander Arkenast my crew was too busy fighting amongst themselves to fight the actual monsters,¡± she demanded, whirling around, and walking down the stairs with a flick of her coat. She didn¡¯t look as she pointed to Officer Winrich.


    ¡°You. Follow,¡± she ordered, Vice Captain Wharifin walking beside her with a sigh.


    Maeva Winrich slumped, and the braided woman next to her gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder, but she followed, walking down the stairs. The other four awkwardly separated to go back to what they were doing.


    ¡°Whose idea was it to place so many tightly wound young nobles and commoners on this melting pot of a ship,¡± Vice Captain Wharifin muttered beside her.


    She didn¡¯t look at him. ¡°You¡¯re complaining to the wrong person. Go talk to Commander Arkenast if you think it will make a difference.¡±


    The green-haired man stared at her. ¡°You know I¡¯m including you in that count too, right?¡±


    She ignored him to open her cabin door and held it open for the slightly shorter man. After he had entered, she gestured to the blue-haired woman behind with a tilt of her head. ¡°In,¡± she stated curtly.


    Maeva Winrich sighed but nodded, and ducked under her arm to enter the cabin.


    She walked in, shut the door behind them, and then crossed her arms, leaning against the door.


    ¡°How many times have we had this conversation, Winrich?¡± she asked, watching the woman in front of her sternly.


    The young woman looked down with her hands held together awkwardly in front of her but didn¡¯t answer.


    She put a hand to her head in mild frustration. ¡°As a healer, it is vital you don¡¯t lose control of yourself, lest you end up making a mistake when we fight. You can¡¯t let your personal opinions overrule your ability to react in the thick of battle. You need to heal people, regardless of whether you like them or not.¡±


    ¡°And I can do that!¡± Maeva abruptly exclaimed, looking up. ¡°I haven¡¯t made a mistake yet!¡±


    ¡°But you might,¡± she responded, frowning slightly. ¡°While I usually only spend time in my cabin, I can see that the conflict on the ship has been increasing. Tensions are running high this past month, and the already unstable atmosphere has gotten worse as we approach the central zone. And now we¡¯re only a few hours away.¡±


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    ¡°¡­.I won¡¯t cause trouble again, Captain,¡± Maeva replied quietly, looking at the floor. ¡°But it wasn¡¯t my fault.¡±


    She gazed silently at the blue-haired woman for a moment, and then walked over to a chair and sat down. She sighed as she looked up at the roof. ¡°I¡¯m not blind, Maeva.¡±


    The woman looked up, stunned. Her eyes widened. ¡°Wait, are you saying- I mean, you already know that Conlan-¡±


    ¡°Is responsible for half the mess on this ship? Yes,¡± she replied blandly, leaning forward to tighten the laces on her boots.


    ¡°But¡­ you¡¯ve never actively said anything to rebuke him, and it¡¯s obvious he feels more than just admiration for you, so I thought-¡±


    She looked up, and Maeva hastily shook her hands as she saw the frigid expression on her face. ¡°Not that you would ever think of him like that, but it always looked to me that you favoured him a little¡­.¡±


    Vice Captain Wharifin, who was leaning against the cabin wall with his arms crossed, gazed at the Officer with incredulity.


    ¡°I don¡¯t favour anyone,¡± she replied flatly, sitting up to grab the long staff leaning against the wall next to her. ¡°I dislike everyone on this blighted ship,¡± she muttered, inspecting the gem on the end of the silver rod.


    The green-haired man rolled his eyes, and Maeva Winrich gave her a dubious look. ¡°Except Liliana,¡± she responded, putting her hands on her hips. ¡°We all know you have a soft spot for her.¡±


    She frowned as she placed the staff on her lap. ¡°Feeling responsible is not the same thing as having a soft spot,¡± she said, slightly uncomfortable.


    The blue-haired woman threw up her hands. ¡°Oh, come off it! She¡¯s the only one you let call you by your first name!¡±


    ¡°To be fair,¡± Vice Captain Wharifin interjected, a slight smile on his lips. ¡°Everyone lets Liliana call us by our first names. By that definition, we all have a soft spot for her.¡±


    ¡°Well, yes, but¡­¡± The woman frowned and looked at her. ¡°Captain, you need to get rid of Conlan.¡±


    She sighed and rubbed her temples. ¡°I¡¯m not having this conversation,¡± she stated wearily, getting up from her seat and moving over to her table. She started to shrug off her coat.


    The Officer¡¯s face darkened, and she angrily marched up to slam her hands on the table, glaring at her. ¡°No, you need to! His overzealousness to gain any smidgen of your attention will kill us all!¡± she hissed, distress beginning to enter her expression.


    Vice Captain Wharifin frowned and walked up to the table. ¡°Wait, Maeva-¡±


    ¡°Please, stop,¡± she said, rubbing her forehead, and not wanting to be reminded of the man with gold eyes. She felt a headache beginning to emerge.


    ¡°Maeva don¡¯t-¡±


    The woman shrugged off the Vice Captain¡¯s hand from her shoulder and vigorously shook her head. ¡°No, this needs to be said. If not for our sake, then think about Liliana¡¯s! You¡¯ll hurt her. We all know the only reason he keeps her around is because she looks like-¡±


    The woman paused when they heard a loud knocking noise coming from her cabin door. Maeva frowned and crossed her arms, looking away, while she spoke up. ¡°Who is it?¡± she asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s me, Adrianna- I mean, Captain,¡± a brown-haired woman said, correcting herself after she saw the others in there once she had opened the door. The woman blinked. ¡°Did I hear someone say my name?¡±


    She shot Officer Maeva a meaningful glance. ¡°¡­no, you didn¡¯t,¡± she replied, turning back to the woman. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Liliana Mason gazed at the three of them with an unsure look but answered. ¡°Um¡­ Noirel has a message for you. She said she¡¯s spotted something,¡± she told them uneasily.


    Vice Captain Wharifin and Maeva both groaned while she scowled at the table. She angrily pulled back on her coat. ¡°Dammit,¡± she said.


    Grabbing her staff, she stormed out the door with her three subordinates following behind. The wind howled and a constant hail of rain had begun to fall from the grey skies, the deck beginning to become slick with water. She marched up to the bottom of the main mast, looked up, and whistled, sticking two fingers in her mouth.


    At the top of the main mast in the lookout, someone with short wispy hair looked down. They seemed to slouch slightly when they saw her, and then, trailing white ribbons, they used one arm to jump over the lookout edge. They fell straight down, but instead of crashing, a gust of wind blew and halted the figure from touching the deck, causing her coat to waver in the wind. The form of what looked to be a 16-year-old girl was floating near her, her boots raised only a few centimetres off the ship deck.


    ¡°¡­..Captain,¡± the girl said after a moment, looking very uncomfortable and anxious as she glanced at her. A spyglass was attached to her waist.


    She ignored the girl¡¯s strange reaction to hold out her hand and turn her head, trying to see what the girl had spotted. ¡°Where is it?¡± she said, her tone sharp.


    The half-fae awkwardly passed her the spyglass and gestured to the horizon directly in front of them. ¡°It appears to beest a land-type monstrous turtle. No stronger than greater-ranked, but its size is worrisome.¡±


    ¡°Give me an estimate,¡± she responded, heading back up the steps to the forecastle deck. She put the spyglass up to her eye when she made it to the front of the ship. She frowned as she spotted the island look-alike, complete with a tree-covered mountain and sandy shores. She turned back to the ashy-haired girl when she didn¡¯t respond. ¡°Well?¡±


    ¡°Giga,¡± the half-fae replied, hugging herself with apprehension.


    She stared at the girl for a beat, while the Vice Captain and two other girls paled. She scowled and clicked her tongue, before snapping her fingers, making the air ripple around her. She turned back to look at the distant monster, that was slowly approaching them.


    ¡°ALL HANDS ON DECK!¡± she shouted, the soul magic she had cast sending her voice out to the entire ship through a spiritual transmission. The ones closest to her winced at the loud noise, but soon enough the sound of footsteps could be heard coming from the forecastle below them and from the opposite end of the ship. After passing the spyglass back to Arventiel, she ran back down the stairs with her staff in hand as her subordinates dashed to their positions.


    Pointing her staff at the deck above her cabin, the quarterdeck, a thick tendril of mana extended outwards and attached itself to the handrail up there. She allowed the mana rope to pull her over to the quarterdeck, and a man with grey hair at the steering wheel saluted to her as she landed. She pointed to the monster.


    ¡°Quartermaster Vima, fire both mana engines. We have a giga-sized monstrous turtle who¡¯s sighted us. Prepare for collision.¡±


    As soon as the man nodded, she jumped over the railing to land in front of her cabin, and then she walked to the centre of the ship below the main mast. The warship below her began to rumble and thrum with power as the Quartermaster pulled levers, firing up engines and mechanisms below.


    As more of her subordinates began emerging from below deck, she grasped her staff tighter at the centre of the deck. She closed her eyes in concentration.


    ¡°Clarity Seal. Mental Awareness Amplification. Perception Multiplier,¡± she stated loudly, the skills activating in accordance with her will. She raised her staff and drew on the billowing indigo and dark-blue illusion mana emerging from within her, and then slammed the staff down with a pulse of mana, thick purple glowing veins emerging from the base of the staff to sink into the ship.


    ¡°Activate Illusory Territory: Manifestation. Synchronise with Core Skill Unit. Activate Core Skill Unit: Scan.¡±


    A thin bubble of indigo film seemed to emerge from her, and then swell to an enormous size, containing the entire ship within the strange shield. The illusion mana grasped onto her Origin Skill within her.


    ¡°Identify and Mark Users. Isolate Marked Users.¡±


    The crew members barely even glanced at themselves when a white circle appeared on their fronts and backs, then faded.


    ¡°Activate Domain: Demi-Omnipresent Anatomization Zone.¡±


    A disorientating second film in a white glowing grid-like pattern emerged again, everything contained within the Illusory Domain briefly lighting up as it was registered and documented within her skill.


    ¡°Activate Core Skill Unit: Deployment.¡±


    Another rush of illusion essence billowed out of her, filling the entire spherical shield. The air shimmered like the psychedelic film of a bubble.


    ¡°Prepare Illusory Construct: Foundation.¡±


    The silver-white puzzle cube in her mental space shifted and reassembled itself, restructuring into the registered pattern of her construct. The air on the ship glowed for a second and then dimmed.


    ¡°Deploy Illusory Construct: Sky-Eagle, White Wind. Lightning Model, Version 6.2.¡±


    With the glow of silver-white light, a horrific screeching sound emerged to her right as a giant eagle the size of a house appeared alongside the ship. Lightning crackled along its length, wailing winds tearing at the air as it beat its wings. She pointed her staff at the eagle.


    ¡°Deploy Localised Illusory Sub-Territory. Target: Sky-Eagle, White Wind.¡±


    The eagle gained another indigo shield, large enough to cover its whole length. She pointed her staff at the deck.


    ¡°Deploy Illusory Construct: Saw-tooth Shark School. Unmodified, Version 2.13.¡±


    The sea foam below and around the ship bubbled and frothed as nearly a hundred giant grey sharks snapped and roared under the waves. She raised her staff high again.


    ¡°Deploy Core Illusory Construct: Morphic Kraken.¡±


    All the crew looked up as they felt a horrendous presence and terrifying scream, like the harsh scratching of metal talons against stone, descend upon the ship. They shuddered as thick, slimy grey-blue tentacles began to emerge from the waters below and wrap themselves around the ship¡¯s three masts, pulling the body half up onto the main deck. Beneath the ghastly skin of the phantasmal creature, the muscles squirmed and bunched together in foul ways only a monster could do. But while the mammoth creature hauled itself out of the water, the crew were able to pass right through it, unbarred from their work.


    Once she had finished, she dashed up the forecastle deck stairs to announce her orders to the officers on the main deck. ¡°Attention!¡± They looked up at her as she gestured to the monster on the horizon.


    ¡°Incoming battle!¡± she shouted over the wind, the indigo air distorting with her words. ¡°We¡¯ve got a giga-sized greater-ranked Monstrous Turtle heading our way, only a few hours away from the central zone¡¯s border! We¡¯re potentially looking at a scion of a King-ranked monster, our most dangerous enemy yet!¡±


    She stopped to point at a few individuals and direct them to their posts. ¡°Baervad, prepare the main cannon. We need maximum firepower before we reach the conflict zone!¡±


    The half-demon smirked and saluted. ¡°You got it, boss!¡±


    She pointed at the red-haired man from earlier. ¡°Baxtimer, haul down those sails! We¡¯re going full mana-power, no wind!¡±


    He nodded and ran off to the nearest mast.


    ¡°Twyla, check the engines below deck and support Quartermaster Vima!¡±


    The woman with the long braid saluted and headed to a door.


    ¡°Leutia, get those damn summons out already!¡±


    The necromancer flinched at the tone of her voice but began drawing on his death mana.


    ¡°Zoc¡¯uraghets, Griffin, Mason, Deirvetch, man the forecastle deck, and get ready for first impact. Estimated Level of the monster is 370, with an error margin of twenty-plus levels. You¡¯re on primary cycle for the next two hours!¡±


    The golden-eyed man smirked and headed for the stairs, along with the girl and the two other men. Liliana Mason pulled out the massive longbow held in its quiver on her back in preparation.


    ¡°Winrich, you¡¯re main healer for the next three hours. High-priority measures are active. If you get below 70% mana, swap with Junem!¡±


    The blue-haired woman nodded firmly, and swirling blue light began coalescing on her palms as she activated her preliminary skills for the battle.


    With her commands issued, she ran back down the stairs and headed to the left side of the ship. She jumped off the side, landed on one of the big wings of her eagle construct, and walked onto the centre of its back. She crouched low with staff in hand as the eagle opened its mouth in a loud screech, thick tendrils of golden lightning crackling as they jumped from feather to feather. The eagle flapped its wings once and almost began to rise just before Vice Captain Wharifin dashed to the side of the ship to lean over the railing.


    ¡°Captain, you¡¯re going alone?¡± he yelled to her, the howling wind of the eagle¡¯s mana even stronger than that of the skies.


    She didn¡¯t look at him as she checked her Origin Skill to ensure all her constructs were in working order. ¡°I need to buy time for the warship¡¯s main weapons. We¡¯re set to reach the conflict zone in ten minutes, not the half an hour we need,¡± she replied, her domain allowing him to hear her normally at their proximity.


    He looked at her worriedly. ¡°Can¡¯t you take somebody with you?¡± he pleaded.


    She turned to look at him coldly. ¡°Vice Captain Caspian Wharifin, I will not be responsible for somebody else¡¯s life while I am up there fighting the scion¡¯s head. I have already calculated the probability of defeating the monster if it was somebody else, and I can say our chances are abysmal if I don¡¯t do this. Stop panicking.¡±


    The lightning of her eagle crackled again as it jumped and sparked, preparing itself for the high-intensity speeds required to get to the island-sized turtle in a short enough time.


    ¡°Then take me,¡± he argued, looking even more anxious.


    She firmly shook her head, her wild hair scattering in the wind behind her. ¡°Your Atlantean bloodline is too valuable for you to be taking an active part in the battle with the turtle. I need you here to keep track of all the presences on or around the ship so you can direct the crew into defeating all the lesser monsters.¡±


    The eagle beat its wings again as she looked toward the monstrous turtle. ¡°Caspian Wharifin, as your superior, I order you to go back and take up your position as Vice Captain. I¡¯m going.¡±


    And without another look back, her eagle rose into the sky and let out another ear-piercingly loud screech. It flew down and soared over the waves, the lightning mana leaving a taste of acrid metallic tang on her tongue as she headed towards the 5-kilometre-long monster on the horizon. As she got closer, a massive dark-green head rose out of the waves and saw the golden eagle coming towards it. It let out a roar that sent the mana around it into disarray, buzzing and thrumming with power.


    With a twist of her Origin Skill, the Morphic Kraken back on the warship raised its mouth full of rotating layers of shard-like teeth, and simultaneously let out a dizzying screech like the sound of glass shattering fused with screaming metal.


    The two pulses of energy met and clashed between the warship and the turtle, and let out a supersonic shockwave that sent towering waves high into the sky. She sighed as she directed the eagle to avoid the ice-cold, dark grey waters heading their way. It was going to be another very long day.


    ¡­


    It was pitch black outside the windows of her study. She was up late at night, reading some reports, and had her heavy boots kicked up on the desk as she leaned back in her tilted chair, a lit cigar in one hand flooding the room with dark smoke while she went through the formal documents. She was wearing a long thick coat in the colour of navy blue, gold, and white, different from her old one. She didn¡¯t look up as the door of her room opened and shut with a click.


    ¡°Why are you always up so late?¡± a green-haired man grumbled as he entered the room.


    ¡°So I can be alone,¡± she replied, not raising her eyes.


    He yawned, then rubbed his neck, sighing. ¡°Yes, yes, hello to you too. I shouldn¡¯t have expected any better.¡± He crossed his arms as he looked at her. ¡°Anyway, congratulations on your promotion. I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t make it to the ceremony.¡±


    She scoffed and put the report down on her lap. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be. It was just meaningless formalities done by a Duke who doesn¡¯t even care. You didn¡¯t miss anything.¡±


    He raised an eyebrow. ¡°Is that an attitude a Commander is supposed to have?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s only my Vice Commander in here to hear this, so who cares.¡±


    He stared at her for a while. ¡°¡­what?¡±


    She took another draught of the magically-infused drug in her hand and breathed out. ¡°Congratulations on your promotion.¡±


    Vice Commander Wharifin shot her an incredulous look, and then groaned, rubbing his face. ¡°How can you be so nonchalant about these things? Vice Captain to Vice Commander isn¡¯t just some normal jump in rank. And I was only your Vice Captain because Commander Arkenast ordered it!¡±


    ¡°Then do you not want it?¡± she asked blandly, gazing at the trail of smoke coming from the end of her cigar.


    He gave her an exasperated look but sighed. ¡°Thank you for your trust, Commander Riftmire. I will endeavour to meet your expectations as your new Vice Commander,¡± he replied wearily.


    ¡°Good,¡± she stated, crossing her arms. ¡°I can¡¯t trust half of what I need doing to the lot under me.¡± She turned her head to look outside. ¡°If the monsters don¡¯t get me first, it will be their failures that do,¡± she muttered.


    He gave her a suspicious look. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me the reason why you just promoted me is so I have to suffer along with you?¡±


    She stuck the end of the cigar in her mouth and gazed wordlessly at him.


    He facepalmed. ¡°Of course it is. Figures. No, who cares if Caspian Wharifin is the highest valued talent of the Navy after Adrianna Riftmire, I¡¯m just getting promoted for my paperwork ability.¡± He sighed again, and put his hands on his hips, then glanced at her. ¡°I have to say though, when we first met, I never would¡¯ve taken you for a smoker.¡±


    She removed the cigar to breathe out the smoke. ¡°I can assure you it only started after the first central zone trip.¡±


    ¡°Good enough reason as any, I suppose,¡± he replied. Then he frowned when he looked at the cigar in her hand, and the dark-grey smoke near her. ¡°Although isn¡¯t that the type Commander Arkenast usually smokes? The really heavy kind.¡± He shot her a worried look. ¡°Is it okay for you to be smoking that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± she responded, tilting her chair slightly forward, but not removing her feet from the desk. ¡°With my superior illusion affinity, any other internal mana disperses after a short period of time. And it¡¯s impossible for me to get addicted anyway.¡± She went to take another puff of her cigar.


    ¡°Is this another one of those ¡®I¡¯m a genius so things are different¡¯ spiels?¡± he groaned, rubbing his head.


    She paused, the cigar a few centimetres from her lips, and gazed silently at him for a moment. ¡°Vice Commander. Tell me, do you and all the crew really see me as a genius?¡±


    He shot her a dubious look and frowned when he saw she was being serious. ¡°The only time someone under 30 ever became a Commander in the Distorted Depths, they were 24 and had joined the navy at 18. You were 21, and became a Commander at 23.¡±


    She didn¡¯t comment on the fact she was technically only 20 currently. He crossed his arms and gazed at her with a complicated expression. ¡°What do you see yourself as, if not a genius?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± She gave him a humourless smile. ¡°I just see myself as too good of an actor.¡±


    He was silent for a while before he replied. ¡°Captain. You seem off somehow. More emotional. You would never say things like that.¡±


    She glanced at him when he called her captain, but didn¡¯t mention it. She looked away. ¡°I only discovered the right formula,¡± she muttered.


    ¡°Formula?¡± he repeated. He frowned when she didn¡¯t explain.


    ¡°Well, Vice Commander Wharifin, I¡¯m pretty much done with this,¡± she said, raising her cigar, ¡°So if you want to stay here and go over these reports of the new crews under my command with me, you can. Or leave and get some more shut-eye. The choice is up to you.¡±


    He looked out the window, seeing that the sky on the horizon was beginning to brighten, and sighed. ¡°It feels lazy of me to do that when you¡¯re in here, doing this only a day after your promotion. And with our ranks, we technically don¡¯t even need to sleep for a week.¡±


    He walked up to her desk and dragged a second chair closer. Then he roughly shoved her boots in an attempt to get them off. ¡°Alright, Miss Commander lady, get your boots off your desk and budge over to make room so I can acquaint myself with my new duties as your Vice Commander.¡±


    She rolled her eyes and removed her feet, then shifted over as she placed her used cigar on the tray next to her. The green-haired man watched her do so with a strange expression as he sat down on the chair beside her, and grabbed a report off her desk.


    ¡°Again, you¡¯re really off today,¡± he said.


    She propped her chin up on her hand and gazed at him for a moment. ¡°Wharifin.¡± She whacked him over the back of the head with the report she had. ¡°Shut up and read.¡±


    ¡°And the Captain I know is back¡­¡± he muttered, looking down at the sheet in his hands as he rubbed his head.


    But he didn¡¯t see the slight smile she had on her lips as she watched him.

 Chapter 30 (2 of 2) Captain Adrianna Riftmire.

    ¡°Captain.¡±


    ¡°Somehow, no matter what my rank is, you always seem to slip up and call me Captain sometimes.¡±


    Caspian Wharifin gave her an empty smile. ¡°Force of habit I guess.¡± Then his smile slowly fell, and he gazed silently at her.


    She observed the man in front of her. They had spent well over twenty years as superior and subordinate, but she hadn¡¯t quite ever seen him in the mess he was now. The man only appeared in his late twenties, as she did as well, and his tousled sea-green hair had grown longer. But what drew her eye was his surroundings.


    Empty glass bottles were strewn on the floor around him, and he was sitting on the ground. His clothes were crumpled and dishevelled, while the room was dark and the curtains weren¡¯t open, although glass fragments were sprinkled on the ground below the curtains. He was sickly pale, looked like he hadn¡¯t slept in days, and gripped tightly in his bare left hand was a jagged shard of bloodstained glass the length of his forearm. He didn¡¯t seem to care about the fresh dark red blood rolling down his fist and dying his sleeve and ground below him.


    She tilted her head. ¡°This is interesting. It seems you¡¯ve changed your height to be a few inches taller than me. Funny how your inferiority complex shows itself like this.¡±


    The man frowned. ¡°Why are you here, Captain?¡±


    She tapped on her chin as she observed the rest of the room. Her eyes rested on a chest of drawers, and she walked over, picking up an object. ¡°I heard a rumour that you seemed to be blaming yourself for what I caused. Not the outcome I expected, but interesting enough nonetheless.¡±


    ¡°You caused?¡± He stared at her.


    She played with the Vice Admiral badge she had in her hands and glanced back at him. ¡°Wharifin, you always were my smartest subordinate. Surely you should¡¯ve worked this out by now.¡±


    His eyes grew wider, and then he glared at her. The bleeding from his left hand increased as he clenched his fists. ¡°I heard you were dead.¡±


    She turned to face him. ¡°But I¡¯m not,¡± she replied, smirking slightly as she crossed her arms and leaned against the chest of drawers. ¡°And you were supposed to know me best, weren¡¯t you? You should know I would never really die.¡± She raised the badge and bit the edge of it. ¡°Was this even real?¡±


    He laughed bitterly. ¡°You¡¯re telling me that you caused everything during those 25 years in the Navy.¡±


    ¡°Not everything. I certainly had no control over what happened in our fifteenth year,¡± she replied, idly tossing the badge. ¡°Still, I was plenty involved in the events with the original crew.¡±


    He gazed at her and didn¡¯t speak.


    She walked forward and crouched on one knee before him, and then yanked on the collar of his shirt as she observed his state again. ¡°What a wreck you have made of yourself,¡± she remarked. He glared at her, and she glanced at his left hand. ¡°Do you want me to finish the job?¡±


    His eyes widened as he stared at her, looking distressed. ¡°We haven¡¯t seen each other for twenty years, and that¡¯s what you say to me?¡± he said, his voice wavering as he held back pent-up emotions.


    She tilted her head and shrugged. ¡°Just a question.¡± She stood up and tossed the Vice Admiral badge at him. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you kept that useless little memento. Well, I suppose the results of my experiment did leave quite an impact on us all.¡±


    ¡°E-Experiment?!¡± he stammered, incredulous and angry. ¡°You¡¯re calling all that just an experiment?!¡± He coughed as his voice grew raspy.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe I¡¯m saying anything wrong,¡± she replied, putting her hands behind her back as she paced the room. ¡°After all, none of you would¡¯ve broken the way you did without me having my little part to play. You all did have very twisted emotions towards your wonderful Captain,¡± she said with a dark chuckle.


    ¡°Dais Twyla died,¡± he growled, glowering at her.


    ¡°She fell too soon. I shouldn¡¯t have used her in that fight,¡± she replied, absentmindedly checking her nails.


    ¡°Charlene sacrificed herself!¡±


    ¡°She was stupid,¡± she stated flatly, looking at him with derision. ¡°It was better off that she died than if she was going to keep acting that way.¡±


    ¡°¡­..Liliana was traumatised, and we never saw her again,¡± he whispered, his voice failing him.


    She glanced at him and rolled her eyes. ¡°She wasn¡¯t able to distract Griffin for long enough. A woman with such a bleeding heart never should¡¯ve joined the Navy.¡±


    He stared wordlessly at her with bloodshot eyes, and his hands were beginning to tremble, whether it be from blood loss, lack of sleep, stress, or emotional turmoil, she did not know. He angrily raised his right hand and jabbed a shaky finger in her direction. ¡°Don¡¯t think you can fool me,¡± he spat. ¡°We all know your relationship with Conlan.¡±


    ¡°Hm,¡± she mused, holding her chin as she looked around the room. She leaned against the wall and looked at him. ¡°Yes, he was one of my few failures. At first, his eagerness was something I could use, but it got tiring fast.¡± She shrugged. ¡°He was certainly useful though. I doubt half of what occurred would¡¯ve happened without his instigation.¡±


    His expression grew stormier and more emotional, anger, distress, sadness, and fear warring on his face at different intervals. His voice shook. ¡°I-If all this was just an experiment, then tell me, what in the realms were you testing?!?¡±


    Her lips curled up into a wide grin. ¡°The fastest way to break something, of course.¡±


    His face paled with anger in the silence, and then his expression grew steadily calmer as he took in her words. He rubbed his face with one hand and tilted his head back in silent laughter. ¡°You¡¯re a monster. You¡¯re really saying these things to me.¡± He finally dropped the glass shard, and buried his head in his hands, ignoring the blood he got on his face. ¡°Such a heartless person as you never should¡¯ve been born, Captain.¡±


    She spread her arms. ¡°I could say similar things about you too, Wharifin. The soft-hearted demi-Atlantean of Captain Riftmire¡¯s crew, who had to push himself each day just to breathe near a low-ranked monster. What were you trying to prove, or even, who to? I hope it wasn¡¯t me. You had nothing left to prove to me.¡±


    There was only silence.


    When he didn¡¯t respond, she marched up to him and yanked his head back, a handful of his sea-green hair clenched in her fist as he stared wide-eyed at her, stunned. She smirked cruelly as she spoke into his ear, ¡°Do you think those girls would appreciate seeing you like this?¡±


    He flinched and forcefully shoved her back, and she casually straightened up as the man began trembling with intense anger. ¡°Oh dear, I hit a sore spot," she said cheerfully. ¡°Are those the kind of thoughts you torment yourself with at night?¡±


    Blood began trailing down his chin as he bit his lip in silent fury. His eyes began to get watery, and he furiously rubbed them. ¡°Why are you here, Captain?¡± he asked again, his voice wavering.


    She fell silent, and then her voice turned emotionless. ¡°To see the conclusion of those events. The others had run their course, but you had not. And now I can say my experiment is finally over.¡±


    She turned around and began heading towards the door, but glanced back when she heard him hurriedly scrabbling for the large bloody glass shard and shakily pointing it at her as he slowly stood up, stumbling slightly as he did so.


    ¡°Tell me, Captain,¡± he growled. ¡°Everything was absolutely your doing?!¡±


    She smirked and spread her arms wide in an exaggerated shrug. ¡°Obviously. Why, don¡¯t believe I could¡¯ve done it?¡± Her smile widened. ¡°I¡¯ve told you before: I¡¯m just too good of an actor.¡±


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    His eyes were wide before he held his head and tilted it back. He laughed hysterically. ¡°No, of course, you could¡¯ve! It even makes sense! Only the genius Admiral Riftmire could do something like this!¡±


    She cocked her head at his reaction but didn¡¯t say anything.


    ¡°Ha.¡± The green-haired man slowly lost his hysterical smile and waved the glass shard again. He looked like he might cry at any second. ¡°If¡­. If I can¡¯t find any proof that you didn¡¯t do it, and there¡¯s nothing else to explain it¡­..¡± He shuddered as a tear rolled down his cheek. ¡°Then I¡¯m going to have to kill you, Captain.¡±


    She held her chin and smiled. ¡°Well, it would make for a rather interesting final outcome. Try it if you wish.¡± She turned around and sent him a little wave. ¡°Although you¡¯ll need to get out of that ugly state if you want a chance.¡±


    She took a step forward to grasp the door handle, then turned it. Then she paused as she heard him say something else.


    ¡°Adrianna¡­ Please, tell me you didn¡¯t do it¡­¡± he said, his face bearing the most fearful and hurt expression she had ever seen on him. ¡°Just tell me you didn¡¯t do it, and it doesn¡¯t have to be like this!¡±


    She glanced over her shoulder and sighed. ¡°Fine. I didn¡¯t do it.¡±


    He seemed to slump in relief, but his face went white as a sheet as she said her next words.


    ¡°Keep taking comfort in that illusion for as long as you need.¡±


    And with that, she shut the door behind her. While she walked away, she tried very hard not to hear the strangulated and choked sobs coming from the room as the last person she called a friend self-destructed in grief and the loss of betrayal.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Lucille opened her eyes. She blinked when she was faced with the white roof of her living room, registering where she was, and sighed as she threw an arm over her face, the other hanging limply over the edge of the couch.


    She lay there for a long while, feeling drained. After some time, she took a deep breath and exhaled, slightly uncomfortable.


    Now which accursed thought strand was responsible for that memory?


    She dived into her soul space, rifling through the many soul strands, and checking her memories to see which one had led the feedback responsible for it. When she found it, she had it ruthlessly dissolved, the strand scattering into white particles that sunk into her spiritual sea. She withdrew part of her spiritual energy to replace it, and then set it back to what its purpose had originally been, according to her memories.


    She rested both hands on her stomach as she gazed up at the roof.


    I thought it would be fine to set up Adrianna with the personality I had at the time, but I can steadily feel my other self becoming more and more uncomfortable. In five days will be the day I make that request to Commander Arkenast, after all, and the prospect of seeing him again¡­.


    She sighed, and then sat up, leaning her arms on her knees as she slowly erased the emotional upset from her actual personality matrix so she wouldn¡¯t be impaired for the day. She removed her mask and rubbed her eyes tiredly.


    Well, the me in the past wouldn¡¯t have a clue about what to do about the emotions I¡¯m feeling currently. I wanted to avoid this, but it seems I can¡¯t use that personality when dealing with him. Also¡­ I think I¡¯ve had enough of acting around him¡­.


    She glanced out the living room window and rolled her eyes when she saw it was still dark. She stretched and got off the couch, then began heading for her room.


    There¡¯s clearlyno more rest for me tonight. I guess I¡¯ll just go back to doing work. But first, a shower, and then after that: Coffee.


    ¡­


    A little while after that, she navigated the quiet and empty halls of the Headquarters¡¯ fortieth-floor hallways to make it to her study with a mug in hand. Due to the existence of protective mana-circle enchantments and Ashale¡¯viaf, there was no need for guards inside, so it would still be around three more hours before the Headquarters staff got up at 6 and filled the floor with more people. She opened the door to her study. Feeling nostalgic, she leaned back in her tilted chair and kicked her feet up on her desk as she began working, drinking from her mug now and then and copying the mental renditions of her plans onto actual paper.


    Sometime slightly after 6 a.m., a staff member entered her study and paused when he noticed she was in there. She looked up and gave him a dismissive wave. ¡°Just skip this room for now. If you need to, you can come back later to clean.¡± He nodded and shut the door.


    When it was around 7:15, she sensed Vincent enter the hallway through her perception field. She listened with some amusement as he stared incredulously at the staff member who had entered her study, the man having gestured to her aide in some way.


    ¡°She was in there before you got here again?¡± he asked disbelievingly, receiving a nod. The silver-haired man stared at the door of her study and then sighed. He entered her room.


    ¡°How regular is your sleep cycle?¡± he questioned, frowning slightly as he shut the door behind him.


    ¡°Pretty regular, actually,¡± she replied, not looking up.


    ¡°¡­..how?¡± he asked sceptically.


    ¡°It¡¯s regular because it¡¯s always irregular,¡± she said, smirking slightly.


    He crossed his arms. ¡°Lucy, how much sleep do you even get?¡±


    She raised her eyes and shrugged. ¡°Enough.¡±


    He gazed at her and sighed. ¡°Look, I know what your working speed is normally. And apart from making me feel self-conscious about my own handwriting neatness and speed¡­¡± he said, slightly disgruntled, ¡°I can also gauge how long you¡¯ve been up.¡± He pointed at her desk. ¡°That¡¯s about four hours¡¯ worth.¡±


    ¡°Four hours of work you don¡¯t have to do,¡± she replied, raising an eyebrow as she spun her pen.


    ¡°Lucy, you¡¯ve been up since three,¡± Vincent responded, walking closer to lean against an armchair.


    ¡°Do I look like I¡¯m tired?¡± she asked, continuing to work with her feet up on the desk.


    ¡°Urgh.¡± He pinched his nose bridge. ¡°No, but that¡¯s not my point. Do I really need to spell out what I¡¯m saying?¡±


    She put down her pen and crossed her arms. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you want me to do. Should I just knock myself out? That¡¯s not a substitute for sleep. It would make me more tired than if I was to keep doing what I am.¡±


    He stared at her as he realised what she meant. ¡°You can do that?¡±


    ¡°Sure. With the ease of flipping a switch,¡± she replied, rubbing her neck as she twisted it to relax her stiff muscles.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­. well, whatever,¡± he said, looking bemused. ¡°If you have insomnia, couldn¡¯t you just take a sedative?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± she asked, tilting her head. ¡°I¡¯ve been doing the same thing for nearly six months now, and I¡¯m still fine.¡±


    ¡°¡­.what?¡± He stared at her, stunned. ¡°Are we still talking about sleep right now?¡±


    ¡°Mmhmm,¡± she said, smiling a little. ¡°With my spiritual energy, it¡¯s arguable that even if I reach Rank-3, I won¡¯t be able to gain a better understanding of my body than I do now. I¡¯m perfectly aware of my condition at all times.¡±


    She took her feet off the desk and leaned forward, propping her chin up on the dark table. ¡°Please don¡¯t think that just because I¡¯m in a younger body I¡¯m the type of person to push myself beyond my limits, unaware of the damage I¡¯m causing. I¡¯m not.¡±


    He gazed silently at her with an odd look on his face. She cocked an eyebrow. ¡°Did you really think that about me?¡±


    He avoided eye contact and awkwardly coughed into his fist. She gazed at him and then sighed. ¡°Soul instability doesn¡¯t work the way you think it does. My body isn¡¯t hurt in any way by having a soul of my size within it. It¡¯s only when I have to use it too much do I get hurt, but it¡¯s not continuous. I¡¯m not on a time limit here.¡±


    He frowned slightly, looking at the ground. ¡°I¡­. believed you were, actually. With how you described what would happen if you used your soul power again, I thought things could only get progressively worse for you.¡± He looked up at her. ¡°Not that I thought you would die. But all this,¡± he said, gesturing vaguely at her pile of work, ¡°Definitely made me think you were pushing yourself too much.¡±


    ¡°If I was pushing myself, you¡¯d know it,¡± she replied, pushing back her chair, and standing up.


    ¡°Still, I¡¯ve had this thought for a while now,¡± he said, tilting his head slightly as he watched her. ¡°What is causing your soul instability? You just said your body is fine, which makes me think it¡¯s not just the fact you¡¯re in a new body that¡¯s causing this.¡±


    Lucille glanced at him as she moved the forms on her desk to another table, and was silent long enough that he didn¡¯t think she would answer. But she did, after sighing. ¡°Soul shock.¡±


    He frowned. ¡°Soul¡­. shock? And that¡¯s supposed to be¡­..¡±


    ¡°Just like how anyone could go into shock. And I¡¯ve been putting it off for too long, and now have to deal with the consequences,¡± she said, rubbing her head. ¡°I suppose the fact that Scytale¡¯s asleep also means I¡¯ve been left alone with my thoughts for a while now, and it¡¯s not doing my mental state any favours.¡±


    He gazed at her with a conflicted expression. ¡°I¡¯m¡­. not quite sure how bad what you¡¯re describing is, or how it affects you, but¡­ are you going to be okay?¡±


    She gave him a dismissive wave. ¡°Nothing a bit of time can¡¯t fix. I¡¯ve been through this before.¡± She shrugged. ¡°This is the main reason I don¡¯t want to rank up for another few months yet either. I¡¯d prefer to be at my best state before I do the stages.¡±


    And I need to work out how to fix my Origin Skill.


    He glanced at her to make sure she was being honest and then sighed. ¡°Just, don¡¯t treat yourself badly, alright? If you could sleep for longer, do it.¡±


    She eyed him and then rolled her eyes. ¡°Being in a bad condition is detrimental to my ability to work, so there¡¯s no reason why I would want to unduly strain my body in the first place.¡±


    He looked at her with exasperation. ¡°That¡¯s probably the best I¡¯m going to get from you, isn¡¯t it,¡± he said wearily.


    She smirked but gestured to him. ¡°But what about you? You¡¯re always here before eight. I know I haven¡¯t explicitly set a time for you to work on the contract, but still. I¡¯m not trying to make you work all day.¡±


    He put on his glasses, which had been hanging around his neck, and sat down in the armchair to start working. ¡°I¡¯m naturally an early riser. Although, not get up at 3 a.m. in the morning early riser.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so that¡¯s why you react badly when you have to work late,¡± she remarked wryly, heading back to her desk. ¡°And here I thought you were just being grumpy because I made you do something you didn¡¯t want to do.¡±


    He shot her a flat look. ¡°There¡¯s a fair bit of that as well,¡± he said in a dry voice. ¡°But usually, I don¡¯t like to be kept at Headquarters until after 10. Again, I¡¯m not sure how you do it. I¡¯ve heard you don¡¯t go to your quarters until around 11.¡±


    Vincent didn¡¯t stay at the Headquarters. He lived in one of his family¡¯s estates in Gilded Seat and usually used a carriage to get to Headquarters. Generally, only the staff and the occasional lower nobility stayed there besides Lucy, Scytale and Sedric, and the lower nobility left soon enough once they had completed their business.


    She shrugged and grinned. ¡°But you¡¯re Rank-2.¡±


    ¡°Regardless of my rank and how early I rise, I still want my sleep. Anyway, the final event is today, so we need to go over what you¡¯ll be doing afterwards. In particular, the plans for the competition.¡± He adjusted his glasses and pulled a piece of paper towards him on the table. ¡°The venue on the north side of the city is in the process of being prepared, so now we need to go over the rules. By the way,¡± he said, looking up. ¡°Do you know who¡¯ll come as Ravimoux¡¯s representative?¡±


    ¡°Viscountess Femidela,¡± Lucy replied, picking up a fountain pen and dipping it in an inkwell. ¡°Although I believe, as the Count¡¯s poison master, that she¡¯s here for another reason too.¡±


    He raised an eyebrow. ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°Making sure no Olden or Radical spies get through, and ensuring that some¡­ ongoing business is completed,¡± she responded, thinking back to the conversation she overheard.


    ¡°¡­..I¡¯ll not ask what this business is,¡± he said with a complicated expression, likely beginning to understand what she meant. ¡°Then, we have me, Rosaline, Viscountess Femidela, and who from Alichanteu? I can¡¯t imagine Artair or Arwen allowing the other to come as the representative.¡±


    She smirked. ¡°I may or may not have stated that as the oldest son, Artair should go, but Arwen gets to select someone to go with him. I have to keep things fair, but I¡¯m more than happy to make my point clear on my thoughts about his attitude towards me.¡±


    He sighed. ¡°Right. I still can¡¯t believe him. That¡¯s how you should treat someone of similar status and age, or lower. Not the Aurelian Commission Head, who¡¯s soon to be an Honorary Count of the Aeternus plane, and is far older than him as well. Goodness,¡± he said, shaking his head. ¡°Well, moving on then. It¡¯s time we get working.¡±


    They continued to work for a few more hours, going over their decisions for the three rounds of the competition, and how they would be judging them. To ensure her position as ¡®puppet leader¡¯ was still ongoing, the four representatives of the Counties would be publicly known as the ones with the ability to judge the competition. In truth, she would have the final say and would direct them with her spiritual transmission.


    When there was a lapse in conversation, she put aside her work and intertwined her fingers on her desk as she looked at Vincent.


    ¡°On the day after the competition end date, I¡¯ll have to go somewhere,¡± she said.


    The scratch of a pen and paper paused as he slowed his writing, and he was still for a while, but then he held up a hand to tell her to wait as he finished what he was doing so he could focus on the conversation. When he was finally done, he pushed the papers on his desk away and crossed his arms as he gazed at her with a pensive look.


    ¡°Can I ask where?¡± he replied.


    She nodded. ¡°It¡¯s in the Capital City on the Aeternus plane. I plan on taking Scytale. Although, you can¡¯t come.¡±


    He frowned slightly as he pushed up his glasses. ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯s physically impossible,¡± she said with amusement. ¡°It¡¯s a Temporary Event with strict requirements.¡±


    He held his chin as he looked at her with a dubious expression. ¡°I don¡¯t remember ever hearing about a Temporary Event being at the Capital before.¡±


    She smirked. ¡°Of course not. That¡¯s because it¡¯s never happened before. This time is a first.¡±


    He stared at her silently, seemingly unsure about what to say or do. After a while, he rubbed his head and furrowed his brows. ¡°¡­.why, may I ask?¡±


    She counted on her fingers. ¡°Do you mean why is it happening, why do I need to go, or why I know it exists?¡±


    Vincent groaned. ¡°All three, if possible.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not dangerous or super important, just so you know,¡± she explained, leaning her chin on her hand. ¡°I need to go because it¡¯s a quest. That¡¯s how I know about it too, and how Scytale can go, being my bond. As for why it¡¯s happening¡­ it¡¯s an Event for all the people from my home world.¡±


    Her answer caught him off guard, and he stared at her, stunned. ¡°Huh,¡± he said after a while.


    Lucy gave him a wry smile. ¡°Yes, just to remind you, I do come from an outer region. I¡¯ve already told you that I¡¯m one of a thousand people who got teleported into the Tutorial, you know.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t say that fact is ever normally at the front of my mind when talking to you,¡± he said, looking at her oddly. ¡°You know a lot about the Supreme Institutions and how the Empire works in general, so it¡¯s obvious an outer region isn¡¯t where you¡¯ve spent most of your life.¡± He paused as he had a thought. ¡°You don¡¯t want to contact anyone?¡±


    ¡°Just because they come from my home world, doesn¡¯t mean I know any of them,¡± she replied, raising an eyebrow. ¡°That¡¯s a thousand people out of a world with 8 billion individuals. Who cares who they are.¡± She shrugged. ¡°Also, they¡¯re probably all hiding their identities. New environment, new culture, incredibly large worlds, they would be scared stiff.¡±


    ¡°8 billion?¡± he repeated, surprised. ¡°I thought you said your world was about the size of a Great plane. They only have around 4 billion on average.¡±


    She blinked and then realised why he was surprised.


    Right. The population density of Earth is incredibly high for those of the Mystical realm. I mean, it went from less than 2 billion to over 8 billion from the beginning of the 1900s to 2023, so I get it.


    ¡°Many technological improvements and other events in the past mean my world has a lot of people,¡± she said, smiling. ¡°I could explain it all, but we¡¯re getting off-topic. And besides,¡± she continued, leaning back in her chair. ¡°Even if you wanted to go, you can¡¯t. It won¡¯t be assimilated for almost another 5 years yet.¡±


    ¡°5 years¡­¡± he mused, rubbing his chin. He glanced at her. ¡°Does that coincide with the Millennium Chapter?¡±


    ¡°Somewhat,¡± she replied, picking up a pen. ¡°I have a counter on my Status that tells me when, but we know the actual duration of the Millennium Chapter isn¡¯t determined until the second System Announcement of the Millennium Chapter, so it¡¯s probably before.¡±


    Although, that¡¯s only a one-way entrance for Earth¡¯s residents to come to the Tower. For everyone else, they¡¯ll have to wait a bit. Unless I take people to that place¡­hm. Now that¡¯s an idea. I¡¯ll have to think about this later.


    He nodded, and she pointed her pen at him. ¡°Anyway, the Event won¡¯t take up any time, as it¡¯s a System Event. It will be under a time freeze. However, while I¡¯m at the Capital, I want to take the chance to access the Athenaeum¡¯s Archive for something.¡±


    ¡°Is this ¡®something¡¯ something you don¡¯t want me to know about?¡± he asked, eyeing her suspiciously.


    ¡°Yes. No. Maybe,¡± she said with a smirk. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how relevant it is at the moment, or whether it will have any long-term impact. Ask me again once I¡¯ve checked out what it is that I want to.¡±


    He looked at her and then rolled his eyes. ¡°Fine then. I¡¯ll make sure to do that. Although you¡¯ve been remarkably forthcoming with information today, I have to say.¡± He held his chin in mock thought and then smiled. ¡°What¡¯s a Paragon Anomaly?¡±


    She sent him a flat look. ¡°Don¡¯t test your luck.¡±


    He shrugged with a slight grin. ¡°Worth a try.¡±


    She shook her head but went back to doing work. Until Vincent asked something else.


    ¡°Lucy, you said your world has a value equivalent to a Great plane, right?¡± he questioned.


    She tilted her head curiously. ¡°Yes, I did?¡±


    ¡°And that there¡¯s a population of 8 billion on it. You also mentioned your grandfather and great uncle own 4% of every country¡¯s stock market in your world, and that there was no such thing as nobility there.¡± He raised an eyebrow. ¡°What was your status?¡±


    She paused, and then her face split into a wide grin. ¡°Not telling.¡±


    He stared at her, and then groaned, resting his head against the back of the chair as he chuckled. ¡°I should¡¯ve expected that.¡±


    They didn¡¯t talk too much after that, and they continued to work until it was time for the last ball of her debut.

 Chapter 31 (1 of 2) Stalker Sect Girl.

    End of Week 1 of October at White Squall Fortress.


    ¡°Spar with me.¡±


    A tall woman with pale, ice-blue eyes gazed silently at the long blade tip pointed at her face. She slowly raised a hand to pinch the flat of the blade and directed it to the side.


    ¡°I¡¯m not a warrior,¡± she stated in a cold, emotionless voice.


    Then she turned around and walked off at a brisk pace, ignoring the other person. The white-robed girl from the Heavenly Realm on the other end of the weapon was undeterred and followed after her.


    ¡°I am aware that while you may have the physique enabling it, the physical arts are not where your talent lies,¡± she replied in an airy tone, her long dark hair trailing behind her. ¡°But I can see by your demeanour and bearing that you are the strongest individual here out of us all. I wish to test my blade against someone of your import.¡±


    The other woman continued ignoring her, heading to the training grounds of the dormitory. It was a short time after breakfast, where there was a brief moment of respite from the training and time for yourself if you finished your food fast enough. She walked onto the empty green field, the Sect successor a few paces behind. She made for one of the training targets and stood a few steps away. Zhang Mingxia watched from the side as the woman raised a hand and pointed at the target.


    ¡°Activate Target Lock. Prime Autonomous Control System,¡± she announced in her toneless voice.


    In front of her, a silvery-white mana-circle appeared, steadily keeping its node¡¯s position firmly fixed on the target, according to her perception. On either side of her, two smaller silvery-indigo mana-circles appeared, the four slowly rotating as they floated in mid-air.


    She pointed with her other arm, keeping both directed at the target. ¡°Manifest Type-3 Mana-Shots, Ratio: 25% Fire, 25% Wind, 50% Arcane.¡±


    Four small indigo-blue spheres coalesced within the centre of her smaller mana-circles and then slowly changed to look like condensed fires encased in a translucent clear shell.


    ¡°Deploy,¡± she stated.


    The four illusory fireball orbs sped towards the target in a perfectly straight line with the whistling of the wind and then hit it with barely a sound. There was a delay before the target was enveloped in roaring bright-orange flames, eddies and wind currents swirling about it to form a mini fire-tornado. She watched as the fire slowly died down after a few minutes, and then with the glow of dark-blue arcane mana, the burnt target slowly began to repair itself. She walked to the next target, her five mana-circles still active as they slowly rotated about her in circles.


    She raised her hand again, even as Zhang Mingxia spoke up.


    ¡°I have been told that the ability to shift the location of these ¡®mana-circles¡¯ whilst keeping them active is the mark of an advanced mage. Yet my Inspection technique reveals you to be only an intermediate mage,¡± she said, her speech elegant and refined. She held a tasselled silver-blue sword in her arms. ¡°Once again you have proved yourself to be much more than the rest of our cohort.¡±


    The woman with blue and indigo streaked glowing black hair continued ignoring her observer, and cast a second spell. ¡°Manifest Type-3 Mana-Shots, Ratio: 30% Fire, 30% Wind, 40% Arcane.¡±


    Four more orbs appeared, but with thinner clear shells, and more violently twisting and thrashing flames within. She opened her mouth again. ¡°Deploy.¡±


    Again the spell orbs shot towards the target, and this time, the impact made them burst open with enough force to send a wave of heat back to the two women. The ground was scorched black around the target, and it took a while longer for the target to begin its self-repair.


    She walked to the third one and raised her hand. ¡°Manifest Type-3 Mana-Shots, Rat-¡±


    ¡°I also detect strong spiritual essence contained within your form. It is a rarity among the magical realms.¡±


    The pale-eyed woman directed a stare at the Sect girl, and then, a bit more forcefully, continued with: ¡°Ratio: 35% Fire, 35% Wind, 30% Arcane.¡±


    This time the fireball mimics became vague and ill-defined, the crystalline outer shell beginning to fracture. The woman sent them out, but they burst halfway through the journey, sending flames crawling across the grass with a short wave of heat that sent the two individuals¡¯ hair flying. They observed the result for a brief second, before the taller one walked forward, snapped her fingers to dismantle the five mana-circles around her with the sound of shattering glass, and then stretched out her hand.


    ¡°Water Ball.¡±


    A round transparent ball of water, the size of a fist, coalesced from light-blue water mana to hover above a flat blue mana-circle, a few inches over her palm. She kept it there for a while, adding more water mana to it, so it swelled in size. Then she stepped back, and the ball flew off her palm to splash and douse the growing grass fire. It sizzled for a while, and the tall woman waited to make sure no more flames would spring up, before turning on her feet and marching off in the opposite direction.


    Again, the Sect girl followed her. ¡°Ah, do you have an affinity for the essence of water? I myself have lesser spiritual roots of water and greater spiritual roots of ice. It is a minimum prerequisite to practice the honoured Vast Longevity Flowing Glacier Scripture of my Sect. I would be interested in comparing the differences between the essence of water and the phase of water.¡±


    The woman in front of Zhang Mingxia raised her eyes to the sky for a brief moment and then turned to face the 19-year-old girl behind her. ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± she stated shortly, before whirling back around and continuing to head towards the exit of the training grounds.


    The girl blinked in non-understanding for a moment, before eagerly following after again. ¡°Then that is even more impressive. My education as a successor has informed me that runic model manuals for dual elements do not become available until a mage is at advanced rank.¡± She sped up her pace so she could walk alongside the taller woman. ¡°You must have a high comprehension of the elemental laws that govern the magic realms to utilise the element without an affinity for it.¡±


    The woman with glowing hair continued ignoring the girl, not showing the slightest hint of any reaction on her expressionless face.


    Zhang Mingxia looked around after the silence had continued for a while. ¡°I understand that you seem to be adverse to trading pointers in combat with me, but could I know where you may be going? You seem to have a destination in mind.¡±


    Surprisingly, the woman stopped and turned around. She gazed at the Sect heir for a beat and then raised her index finger to point to the sky. ¡°There,¡± she stated curtly.


    The dark-haired girl stared confusedly at the finger and then blinked when she heard a magical announcement be broadcasted from a nearby mana-circle.


    ¡°Breakfast is over. All cadets to their designated training rooms for their after-breakfast training session. You have five minutes.¡±


    The tall woman turned around and marched off once the announcement was over. The Sect girl still followed after her.


    ¡°How unfortunate I am not placed in the same group as you. Nonetheless, I will continue trying to convince you to spar with me. I believe it will be worthwhile for both our sakes,¡± she announced, head held high as she walked over to take a different exit.


    The pale-eyed woman glanced at the dark-haired girl but said nothing, and headed for her own group¡¯s training room.


    Zhang Mingxia gazed after her, but turned her eyes to the figure of a woman with a fiery red bob cut and piercing green eyes, leaning against a building wall with her arms crossed as she watched them with a grin on her face.


    ¡°Still trying to convince her, I see,¡± the redhead said, straightening up as she walked over to the Sect heir.


    Zhang Mingxia gave a slight huff and tied her blade to her sash as she walked next to the woman. ¡°It is a thankless task. But I shall prevail eventually. Instructor Stanhope has already revealed that we shall begin to spar amongst ourselves tomorrow. I only wished to see her capabilities beforehand.¡±


    Catherine Sherwood glanced at the exit the subject of their conversation had left through and put her hands behind her head. ¡°Is she really the strongest here? She looks intimidating, sure, but I thought illusion manipulators tend to take up a more background role when fighting.¡±


    ¡°I know not,¡± Zhang Mingxia replied, shaking her head. ¡°But my spiritual sense does not lie. She can be placed in the Nascent Soul realm, rather than Spiritual Core like the rest of us. I have heard it is hard for those of the magical realms to reach such realms, and tend to remain at Spiritual Core until you undergo your ¡®Rank-2¡¯ tribulation, and reach every second realm each tribulation thereafter.¡±


    Catherine gave her a disgruntled look. ¡°All this xianxia stuff gives me a headache,¡± she muttered.


    Zhang Mingxia glanced at her curiously. ¡°Xianxia? The literal translation of that word happens to be ¡®immortal heroes¡¯, however, you seem to be using it in a context I am unfamiliar with.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s-¡± Catherine paused, and sighed. ¡°My home world has literature that mentions a culture similar to your realm¡¯s. That is the term we use for it. I only know about it because of a friend who was obsessed with it.¡±


    ¡°How interesting. I always thought that each realm was completely distinct from each other, with little cultural similarity,¡± the dark-haired girl mused. ¡°I once found information that a thousand years ago, the realms were in upheaval when they were introduced to the Heavenly Realm. I have heard the chaos is repeated each time a new realm is introduced.¡±


    ¡°My world is¡­ interesting, that¡¯s for sure. I wish I was still there,¡± Catherine replied, sounding a bit melancholy.


    Zhang Mingxia observed her reaction. ¡°Can you not return?¡±


    The redhead frowned. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ not sure. I don¡¯t even know what realm it¡¯s in,¡± she said as they turned a corner. ¡°The guy I came here with comes from my world, but I don¡¯t think many people from it have been teleported to the main realms. We were teleported straight into the Tutorial,¡± she explained.


    ¡°Your world was not destroyed, was it?¡± the Sect girl asked.


    ¡°No?¡± Catherine replied, confused. ¡°Why would it be destroyed?¡±


    Zhang Mingxia nodded thoughtfully. She looked at Catherine. ¡°The System teleports pre-System individuals to the Tutorial as an emergency measure when worlds are destroyed.¡±


    Catherine¡¯s eyes went wide and she lowered her arms. ¡°What?¡±


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°But in your case, you likely do not need to worry.¡± Zhang Mingxia continued, ¡°If your world had been destroyed, the System would¡¯ve teleported your entire world¡¯s population. It is improbable the System would¡¯ve erased your memories before teleportation into the Tutorial, so I believe your world is intact.¡±


    The redhead put a hand on her chest and breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°You had me scared for a second there.¡±


    Zhang Mingxia paused and gave her a dip of the head. ¡°My apologies. It was not my intention to make you worried.¡±


    ¡°Very few people intend to make someone worried,¡± Catherine replied, giving her a dismissive wave. She looked around the hallway where they were. ¡°Anyway, another session of mana manipulation training. Or spiritual energy training in your case,¡± she said, gesturing to Zhang Mingxia.


    ¡°The differences between the two always interest me. It is unfortunate I am unable to use mana if I wish to continue cultivation,¡± the Sect heir replied, stepping through the training room doorway. ¡°That is why I am so interested to see the abilities of Adrianna Riftmire. She uses mana but has seemingly merged her skillset with spiritual energy, according to my senses. I am unsure as to the benefits or reasons behind that when one is not a cultivator.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re talking about her again?¡±


    Both the Sect heir and Catherine looked towards the brown-haired woman with blue eyes who had approached them. Liliana Mason was wearing a quiver on her back that contained a large longbow made of raven-coloured wood and wore protective leather gloves that reached her elbows.


    Catherine nodded and pointed her thumb at Zhang Mingxia. ¡°She¡¯s still trying to fight her. It¡¯s not working.¡±


    The Heavenly Realm girl scoffed. ¡°A spar is hardly a true fight. But yes, she has been strangely determined to avoid any lengthy interaction with me,¡± she said.


    Liliana nodded. ¡°She¡¯s been like that with everyone though. I¡¯ve heard that nobody in her group has managed to goad her into fighting.¡± Then she gained a strange expression. ¡°She¡¯s¡­ a bit odd.¡±


    Catherine and Zhang Mingxia traded glances and looked back at the archer. ¡°I can¡¯t say I¡¯ve seen anything in particular, besides her not wanting to have anything to do with anyone,¡± Catherine commented, Zhang Mingxia nodding in agreeance.


    ¡°Well¡­.¡± Liliana began slowly, looking slightly awkward. ¡°Do you know what she does at night? Or where she goes?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been too exhausted to wake up in the middle of the night, so I wouldn¡¯t know,¡± Catherine said, slouching slightly as she sighed wearily.


    ¡°And I usually cultivate outside at night, requiring little sleep due to the rejuvenation abilities of my Sect art,¡± Zhang Mingxia replied.


    ¡°Erm¡­ she doesn¡¯t sleep in her bed,¡± the brown-haired archer said.


    Her audience blinked in sync, confused. ¡°As in, doesn¡¯t sleep at all?¡± Catherine asked sceptically.


    Liliana shook her head. ¡°No, she does, I¡¯ve seen her. She just doesn¡¯t do it in her bed.¡±


    The two women opposite her went silent as they tried to understand what she meant. The red-haired woman tilted her head as she crossed her arms. ¡°I think we need more details here.¡±


    The blue-eyed archer grimaced and pushed aside stray hair from her face. ¡°So, earlier in the week, I was having trouble sleeping, due to the new schedule. I use the water element and it naturally refreshes me, so it didn¡¯t affect me too badly. But anyway, I saw her leave the dorm one night. And then I found out she leaves it every night.¡± She sheepishly clasped her hands together. ¡°I might have followed her to see what she was doing.¡±


    ¡°Having adventures without me?¡± Catherine replied, grinning. ¡°Well, go on, what was she doing?¡±


    ¡°Uh... well, sleeping,¡± Liliana said, scratching her cheek. ¡°But the first time I followed her she slept on one of the support beams near the roof,¡± she said, pointing up at the wooden supports. ¡°And then I found her again, lying underneath a bookshelf in the small library here. Another time was in a tree outside. And she also climbed onto the roof of one of the buildings.¡±


    Zhang Mingxia and Catherine stared at her. ¡°¡­. I doubt it wasn¡¯t her, but you sure?¡± Catherine asked, bemused.


    Liliana nodded. ¡°And¡­ she¡¯s seen me following a few times, but she just ignores me, and then does her thing. I haven¡¯t approached her yet. It¡¯s kind of getting awkward whenever I see her though¡­.¡± she muttered.


    Zhang Mingxia raised her eyebrows. ¡°May I ask how many times you have done this?¡±


    ¡°5 times,¡± Liliana replied. ¡°I wasn¡¯t able to find her last night.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m jealous,¡± the redhead grumbled. ¡°You water affinity people and your natural rejuvenation abilities, still looking so fresh with no sleep.¡± She glanced at the Sect girl to her right. ¡°Anyway, what are your thoughts on this?¡±


    Zhang Mingxia looked at Liliana with a strange expression. ¡°If she had left to sleep in the same location each night, I would¡¯ve attributed it to a difficulty sleeping in a bed due to her lifestyle before this. But¡­¡± She shook her head. ¡°The roof of a building is very different to sleeping under a bookshelf. I am not quite sure there¡¯s a logical explanation for this.¡±


    ¡°Do either of you have any idea what she did before this?¡± Liliana asked curiously.


    They both shook their heads. Catherine gained a thoughtful look. ¡°You said you couldn¡¯t find her last night?¡± She smirked as her eyes gained a mischievous glint. ¡°Then how about tonight we go on a little night-time escapade? I want to see this in person.¡±


    Liliana and Zhang Mingxia both looked interested. ¡°But would you be fine?¡± the Sect successor asked the green-eyed woman. ¡°You have an affinity for the fire and wind essences, not water. And do not forget we will be sparring with each other tomorrow. You will want to have high energy.¡±


    ¡°Maybe if you asked me this earlier this week, then I wouldn¡¯t have wanted to do this,¡± Catherine said with a grin. ¡°But the lessons and training about how to energise me by cycling my mana have begun to sink in, and the monster meat is doing wonders for my CON. I can survive a little less sleep tonight.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure how she¡¯ll take this¡­.¡± Liliana said worriedly.


    ¡°Pfft,¡± Catherine scoffed, giving her a dismissive wave. ¡°Nobody knows how she¡¯ll take it. I¡¯ve hardly seen her say more than five words in one sentence this week, apart from that first day. Nah, it¡¯ll be fine.¡± She smirked. ¡°I¡¯ll take anger over indifference any day.¡±


    ¡°Well, I am not averse to it,¡± Zhang Mingxia announced grandly. She turned to Liliana. ¡°What do you say?¡±


    The archer had a hesitant expression for a moment, before sighing and reluctantly nodding. ¡°Okay¡­. But please don¡¯t make it obvious. It¡¯s awkward enough as it is.¡±


    ¡°Then why do you keep doing it?¡± Catherine asked, quirking an eyebrow.


    Liliana avoided eye contact. ¡°Erm¡­ some of the solutions she uses to get to her hiding spots are quite creative¡­¡±


    ¡°So, you find watching her entertaining,¡± the redhead said with a grin. ¡°I wonder where she¡¯ll go tonight.¡±


    Their conversation was paused as an instructor stepped into their room, and so they walked over to the other four people in the room and waited for their lesson to start. The instructor stepped forward.


    ¡°Now, before we proceed with the session, I have an announcement to make. Straight after this, please head to the main auditorium. Your uniforms will be available for collection there,¡± he said. ¡°The uniforms themselves are Rare ranked, made from high-quality monster materials, and have cold-protection, defence increasing, water-repelling and self-cleaning and repair enchantments. They¡¯re on the brink of being Epic, and you only get one uniform, so don¡¯t damage it, not that you could,¡± he revealed. ¡°As elite cadet training camp members, you will have the Elite Officer uniform.¡±


    After that announcement, the session commenced, and the three women busied themselves with practising their manipulation techniques, familiarising themselves with their skills and elements.


    ¡­


    ¡°You think you¡¯re so great, don¡¯t you.¡±


    A woman with cold eyes gazed silently at the short man with mousy-brown hair standing in front of her. She had her arms crossed and was expressionless as usual. This time she was wearing a dark navy-blue form-fitting shirt and pants with heavy black boots that reached to just below her knees. The long-sleeved shirt had a high neckline, and two lines of silver buttons running down on either side of a centre black panel that went from her neck to the waist. White arrows were pointing either up or down along the panel.


    The man opposite her was wearing an outfit of the same style and was glaring at her, looking angry. Everyone around them was also wearing the same outfit. They were in the cafeteria, at lunch, and the entire room had their attention focused on the developing events occurring between the woman and the man. The man pointed a finger at her.


    ¡°All you do is stand there and act like everyone else are idiots, ignoring anything anyone says,¡± the man said, scowling. ¡°I¡¯m sick of it. You haven¡¯t even accepted anyone¡¯s request for a spar, stubbornly and arrogantly avoiding revealing your abilities. Do you think this attitude will endear you to the Commander?¡±


    The woman stared at him, unblinkingly, before slowly, very slowly, she raised a hand and stuck a pinkie in her ear. She twisted it and looked to the side disinterestedly.


    ¡°I think I hear a dog barking,¡± she stated tonelessly.


    The man turned red in the face, while several of the people nearby began laughing at their exchange. At a nearby table, Liliana nudged Catherine and whispered into her ear. ¡°That was more than five words, wasn¡¯t it.¡±


    Catherine grinned and propped her chin up as she leaned against the table, excited about the drama.


    The man facing the woman jabbed his finger at her again in fury. ¡°T-This is all because I asked you out on the first day, isn¡¯t it?!¡± he spluttered. ¡°Stop holding such a big grudge over nothing!¡±


    ¡°Pffff!¡±


    Liliana and Catherine blinked as they turned to face the golden-eyed man sitting behind them, coughing, and thumping his chest because he had choked on his water. He wiped his mouth as he glanced at Liliana incredulously. ¡°Ruel Deirvetch was the one to get tripped over?¡±


    The archer looked back at the short freckled man and then nodded. ¡°Actually, yes. He was.¡±


    ¡°¡­ that¡¯s surprisingly fitting¡­¡± he murmured, drawing curious eyes from the girls. He shook his head and they returned to watching the developments in front of them.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you want me to say,¡± the woman replied to the mousy-haired man, tilting her head slightly as she regarded him. ¡°But then again, I couldn¡¯t care less about your opinions in the first place.¡±


    Ruel Deirvetch¡¯s expression darkened, and he opened his mouth to respond, but suddenly a strong arm was wrapped around him and his mouth blocked, then he was dragged away by a man with close-cropped red hair. The short man let out muffled curses as he thrashed, trying to dislodge the tattooed man¡¯s grip, but failed to overcome the strength distance.


    ¡°Stop making yourself out as an idiot, Ruel,¡± the man said, pushing the short man onto a table bench. ¡°Even I could admit it was embarrassing to see what you did back then.¡±


    ¡°Shut up Drew,¡± Ruel responded, folding his arms as he scowled heavier, this time at the red-haired man. ¡°I don¡¯t need your snark.¡±


    ¡°It is my duty as a friend to prevent your height complex from getting to your head,¡± Drew replied, nodding proudly.


    Ruel¡¯s eyes widened in anger and he shot up from his seat. ¡°Height complex?! Did you just say I have a height complex?! Listen here, I do not-¡±


    The short man began arguing with his friend, the tense atmosphere gone. Distracted, the mousy-brown-haired man didn¡¯t glance back. The woman with glowing streaked hair eyed them both for a moment, before turning away and marching towards the exit. She paused when a new arrival appeared, dressed in flowing white, black and blue robes.


    ¡°So, you were here!¡± Zhang Mingxia proclaimed, placing her hands on her hips. ¡°You have avoided me for too long. Come, let us exchange pointers in combat!¡±


    The woman¡¯s expression cooled and she sped up her pace to walk past the overeager Sect heir. The Sect heir, expecting this, likewise sped up her pace to chase after the cold woman, the taller woman''s long legs and quick pace making that quite the struggle. Everybody watched as the sounds of the Sect girl trying to persuade her echoed down the hallway as they left.


    ¡°Again, I sincerely believe it will be useful to you to spar with a successor of the Vast Longevity Flowing Glacier Scripture! The interactions between my qi and the spiritual energy in your magic will¡­ enlighten¡­ reveal¡­. spar¡­¡­ wait¡­¡­¡­ fast¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..¡±


    ¡°And she¡¯s off again,¡± Catherine said, sighing with a wry smile on her face. ¡°And here I was thinking something exciting was going to happen for once.¡±


    ¡°¡­ she really does not like people,¡± Liliana murmured. ¡°At first I thought she was shy, but¡­.¡±


    ¡°With the way she mocked that Ruel guy? Nah.¡± Catherine scoffed. ¡°Seems like she¡¯s got quite a bit of attitude to her.¡±


    Conlan gazed at them with a strange expression on his face. ¡°¡­. now that¡¯s an understatement¡­.¡± he mumbled.


    Liliana blinked and looked back. ¡°Did you say something, Conlan?¡±


    ¡°Uh, no,¡± he said, shaking his head.


    Liliana crossed her arms and gazed at the floor. ¡°Still, this is making me nervous about how tonight will go¡­..¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care if she¡¯ll get mad. I just want to see what she¡¯ll do,¡± Catherine replied with a grin.


    The golden-eyed man behind them stiffened slightly and looked between them with a wary look. ¡°¡­ you¡¯re doing something tonight?¡± he asked slowly.


    They glanced back, and the redhead smirked. ¡°We¡¯ll tell you how it goes tomorrow.¡±


    His expression turned conflicted, and slightly awkward. ¡°What are you planning to-¡±


    ¡°Lunch is over. Head to your next session,¡± the mana-circle above their heads announced.


    ¡°That¡¯s our cue then. By for now, Conlan!¡± the bubbly redhead exclaimed, standing up and giving him a wave.


    Liliana likewise stood up and nodded. ¡°See you later.¡±


    The two girls left the man, who had a slightly complicated frown on his face. They didn¡¯t see it and happily made their way over to their next session.


    ¡­


    Liliana and Catherine remained silent in their beds as they heard Adrianna Riftmire get up and leave the room. They hurriedly sat up and glanced at each other.


    ¡°Do we go now?¡± Catherine asked in hushed whispers.


    ¡°Mingxia said she can use her spiritual sense to watch her for several hundred metres, so she¡¯s going to lead us as we follow her,¡± Liliana replied quietly, shaking her head.


    ¡°Urgh. I¡¯m getting antsy,¡± Catherine complained, stretching her clasped hands out in front of her. She glanced at the blue-eyed archer to her left. ¡°Does she ever do anything else before sleeping?¡±


    The archer shook her head. She thought for a moment. ¡°I think it would be fine to meet up with Mingxia. She can tell us when to begin following her.¡±


    The fiery-haired woman eagerly nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s do that then,¡± she whispered back.


    They carefully got out of their beds and pulled on warm jackets, before leaving the room, trying not to wake anyone. They walked through the empty corridors of their dorm area before leaving the building, going to the area where Zhang Mingxia usually cultivated. The Sect girl was sitting in a lotus position in her white and blue robes, her sword placed on her lap. She glanced over her shoulder.


    ¡°I have overheard your discussion. It will be a few minutes more before we leave.¡± She stood up and tied her blade to her robe¡¯s sash.


    ¡°¡­. It¡¯s slightly unnerving knowing the amount you can see and hear using your spiritual sense,¡± Liliana muttered, hugging herself as she shivered in the cold breeze. ¡°And the idea of a high-level cultivator seeing entire continents worth of information¡­.¡±


    Zhang Mingxia tilted her head, looking slightly confused before she nodded in understanding. ¡°I see. I have heard those of the Mystical Realm react badly to the concept. You do not have to worry too much. While spiritual energy does increase my mental capabilities, I can still be oblivious to some things ongoing within its borders.¡±


    She crossed her arms and looked in the direction of the woman she was observing. ¡°And we cultivators can protect ourselves with our spiritual sense to block out what we do not wish others to see, which is how our Ancestral Inheritances and Ancient Lands can be hidden. Only a stronger spiritual sense than the protection can pierce through it.¡±


    Liliana and Catherine watched with interest as the Sect girl¡¯s expression became strange. ¡°However, I must say, this woman we are following¡­.¡± She turned back to them. ¡°She doesn¡¯t seem to be searching for a spot to rest. Not that she won¡¯t, but rather it seems she already has a place in mind, considering how much purpose she is walking with. We should leave before her pace becomes troublesome for us.¡±


    The two girls eagerly nodded and followed after Zhang Mingxia as she began tracking the path the subject of their conversation had travelled.


    ¡°I shall avoid taking alternative routes to those she walked, even if it would reduce time. I do not want to accidentally cross paths with her,¡± Zhang Mingxia announced.


    ¡°Do we know where she¡¯s going?¡± Liliana asked curiously. ¡°She picked a different direction almost whenever I followed, so it¡¯s not like she always goes to the same section.¡±


    The Sect heir glanced at the direction the woman was heading in. ¡°I believe she may possibly be heading towards the library area, but I am not certain.¡±


    ¡°¡­ would she go to the same place twice in a row?¡± Catherine questioned, glancing at Liliana.


    Liliana shrugged as they walked, while Zhang Mingxia contemplated the question. ¡°Perhaps it is possible that she decided the library would be the best place to sleep after testing out the other places? Or¡­.¡± She paused and then blinked. ¡°Oh. It seems the library is not where she is heading. She passed that room.¡±


    They turned a corner as they continued following the Sect heir. ¡°So, she¡¯s going somewhere new tonight?¡± Catherine remarked with a grin.


    ¡°Well, this direction doesn¡¯t match up with where she went the nights before, so I guess so,¡± the brown-haired archer of their group replied.


    They continued walking for a while, the walk going on for several minutes, and they still hadn¡¯t come across her.


    Catherine glanced at Zhang Mingxia. ¡°So¡­ she¡¯s still walking? Feels like a long walk just to find a new place to sleep.¡±


    ¡°And isn¡¯t this sector easiest to get to by walking the other way? This way takes longer,¡± Liliana commented.


    ¡°Maybe she just wanted a pleasant night walk,¡± the redhead replied, shrugging.


    ¡°I¡¯m not certain that idea fits with our understanding of her personality,¡± Zhang Mingxia said, frowning slightly. ¡°But in just a few more turns, we will find ourselves in front of the dorm-¡±


    She froze, an incredulous look on her face.


    Liliana and Catherine looked at her oddly, not understanding why she was reacting that way before their eyes flew wide.


    ¡°No way, we¡¯ve done a full circle?!¡± Catherine exclaimed, stunned. ¡°Does this mean she knows we¡¯re here?!¡±


    Zhang Mingxia gained a pensive expression. ¡°I do not know. There is¡­ not much knowledge on those who use spiritual energy and are not cultivators. They are a minority.¡± She glanced in the direction of where the woman was. ¡°It¡­. may be possible she has a form of spiritual sense.¡±


    ¡°¡­. does that mean she might¡¯ve heard our conversations?¡± Liliana asked nervously.


    Zhang Mingxia nodded, making her groan and bury her head in her hands. ¡°Why did I ever go out with you guys tonight ¡­..¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m wondering that myself,¡± replied a new voice.


    The girls whirled around to stare wide-eyed at the tall figure, standing with her arms crossed as she gazed coldly at the girls a few metres away.


    Adrianna Riftmire, the woman they were supposed to be following from a distance, was somehow right in front of them. Not the hundred metres away she was supposed to be.


    The woman narrowed her eyes, observing them with ice-blue irises.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡±

 Chapter 31 (2 of 2) Stalker Sect Girl.

    -A few minutes earlier-


    A woman with pale blue eyes and wild black hair streaked with glowing lines opened her eyes and frowned faintly at the roof in front of her. Removing her hands from behind her head, she sat up and looked down over the ledge she was resting on.


    What are they doing?


    Idling below her were the forms of Zhang Mingxia, Catherine Sherwood, and Liliana Mason, discussing the location and direction of her illusory doppelganger. She had cast an invisibility spell and the doppelganger spell at the same time as soon as she detected Zhang Mingxia¡¯s spiritual sense on her, not wanting to be bothered again by the offensively outgoing cultivator, but then she found the presence of Liliana Mason and Catherine Sherwood meeting up with the white-robed girl.


    And then she discovered their absurd plans.


    Liliana, she could... well, maybe not understand, but knew the girl would likely try to follow her again. It was what happened in the past timeline, after all. The idea of her meeting up with Zhang Mingxia to stalk her made sense if a slightly strange butterfly effect to occur.


    But then was Catherine Sherwood. She didn¡¯t have much experience dealing with her, besides when they battled each other. The girl wasn¡¯t part of the Navy at any stage in the past. What she did know about the girl was that she had a reckless personality and an addiction to adrenaline. She was a battle junkie. Like she didn¡¯t have enough of them in her original crew.


    She rubbed her temples as she contemplated what to do because events were dragging on for far too long. And her personality didn¡¯t like to deal with troublesome things.


    The personality of ¡®Adrianna Riftmire¡¯ wasn¡¯t something like giving her consciousness an entirely different personality that she may as well be a different person. She was still Lucille, and Lucille was her. It was just that her thought patterns had been changed so there were differences between the two consciousnesses that would ensure she didn¡¯t slip up.


    In some cases, just the act of changing the thought patterns would be enough to be a distinctly different person, but not in this case. She was still modelled after a specific period of her own life, she still carried many characteristics from back then, and her personality would change as time went on to become similar enough to automatically merge with her main personality. It just might take 231 years to occur naturally without a little push.


    The Heavenly Realm¡¯s soul cultivators sometimes had issues with their clones becoming hostile towards their main body, and wanting to replace them. That was physically impossible in her case. For one thing, ¡®Adrianna Riftmire¡¯ was part of a System skill, so no errors like that would ever occur. The severing of a soul clone from its main body usually occurred in the case of them using a technique that absorbed the soul power of others, contaminating the clone¡¯s soul with foreign spiritual energy signatures, and therefore allowing them to form their independent soul source.


    Lucy didn¡¯t need to do that, and if the artificial personality didn¡¯t exist, Lucy would essentially be piloting two bodies. As it were, Lucy had thinned the link between the two consciousnesses so the artificial personality¡¯s thought patterns wouldn¡¯t change upon detecting the main consciousness¡¯s thought patterns.


    She contemplated widening the link to allow her other self, who had the soul structures that enabled her to properly reflect her emotions, to merge with her and deal with this but had to sigh. That would defeat the entire reason behind the creation of the artificial personality. Even if she was still struggling to get into the mindset of calling herself ¡®Adrianna¡¯ rather than Lucy mentally, her personality was required to properly deal with the events that would occur in the future without seeming suspicious. Griffin had never seen the more cordial side of her, for the obvious reasons of her not ever having enjoyed being in his presence.


    Although she still thought of herself as Lucy, she currently had slightly different emotions towards things. That included the existence of any easy solution in briefly merging the two consciousnesses to deal with the idiots below, which she dearly wanted to do, but couldn¡¯t, and which was making her annoyed. And her annoyance was exacerbated by the fact she could only get angry at herself because she set herself up like this.


    She looked down again and scowled. If it was just Liliana, she would¡¯ve left her alone, because the girl would eventually stop following her when it got too awkward and never brought up the subject at all last time. She doubted she would have as much luck when it came to the other two.


    She decided her best bet would be to confront them and get it over with. Still keeping her invisibility spell active, its illusion essence draped around her form, she jumped down off the ledge and then stood behind them as she dissolved her illusory clone and the illusion.


    ¡­


    The girls continued to stare at the woman who had made her presence known, still gazing at them with her icy eyes. Slowly, very slowly, Zhang Mingxia raised her finger to point incredulously at her.


    ¡°How?! I was watching you with my spiritual sense! You were over there!¡± she exclaimed, pointing to some far-off distance. ¡°Not here!¡±


    Adrianna continued to gaze expressionlessly at them. ¡°Do you not know what illusions are?¡±


    ¡°B-But I still should¡¯ve seen you approaching us!¡± Zhang Mingxia exclaimed again, disbelieving.


    ¡°Invisibility,¡± was all Adrianna replied.


    Zhang Mingxia closed her mouth and glared silently at her, hands clenched by her sides. Liliana was awkwardly avoiding eye contact, while Catherine gazed at her for a beat before the redhead smirked.


    ¡°Where are you planning on sleeping tonight?¡±


    Adrianna switched her gaze to her. ¡°None of your business. Stop following me,¡± she said, and turned around, marching off.


    Catherine grinned and followed after her, an indignant Zhang Mingxia and embarrassed Liliana tagging along too.


    ¡°Come on, don¡¯t be like that!¡± the redhead replied, quickening her pace to walk beside the cold woman.


    Adrianna ignored her, continuing to walk forward at a steady pace.


    Catherine clicked her tongue. ¡°At least tell us why you don¡¯t sleep in the dorm.¡±


    ¡°My sleeping habits are none of your concern,¡± she responded in her toneless voice, turning a corner.


    ¡°But they¡¯re so weird!¡± Catherine said, spreading her hands. ¡°Like, why the support beams? Or the roof? At least pick somewhere that¡¯s not cold or out in the open. I don¡¯t get it.¡±


    ¡°As intriguing as it is to know that my places of sleep have been well documented,¡± Adrianna replied icily. ¡°I want you to leave me alone.¡±


    ¡°Boo!¡± the redhead suddenly exclaimed, giving her a thumbs down. ¡°Minus ten points for the blatant sarcasm! You should make it subtle so you keep the opposition guessing! How are you supposed to keep up the strong, cold, and indifferent schtick if you show your emotions so easily!¡±


    The fiery-haired woman grinned as she saw Adrianna¡¯s expression begin to twitch, and seemingly decided to push a bit further.


    ¡°By the way, is this something you decided to do on purpose? Like, put up a front of being like this to hide your antisocial personality behind a cool fa?ade. Maybe I should try it.¡± Then Catherine put a hand on her head and moved it side to side. ¡°Although, I don¡¯t think I have the height for it. Shame, I wanted to look down on people like you do.¡±


    Her grin grew wider as the taller woman¡¯s expression grew colder with every word of the annoying girl.


    Catherine gave her one little push. ¡°The glowing hair kinda ruins the effect though. What kind of intimidating military woman has glowing hair? Oh! Is it a cosmetic choi-¡±


    ¡°Would you Shut. Up.¡± Adrianna growled, whirling around. She glared at the three of them. ¡°I have already told you to leave me alone. Are you deaf? Do you not understand the meaning of those three words? Should I take you to the medic to diagnose your mental illnesses?¡±


    Liliana flinched back at the look in her eyes, while Zhang Mingxia frowned. Catherine stared at her and then pointed a finger at her as she scowled. ¡°Hey, that¡¯s insult-¡±


    ¡°Do I look like I care?¡± Adrianna interrupted, her voice dripping with freezing derision. ¡°If I do, then you¡¯re blind. I am here for one thing only. I will do what my superiors ask of me but do not expect me to have any interest in forming something like a ¡®relationship¡¯ outside of a professional acquaintance. This is making me angry.¡± She narrowed her cold eyes. ¡°Get lost.¡±


    All three girls stared at her as they registered what she said. The blue-eyed archer among them looked awkward, while Catherine gazed silently at her.


    Zhang Mingxia took a step forward. ¡°I cannot help but notice that the attitude which you have towards us is much different to that of Liliana the past few nights,¡± she said with an airy tone. ¡°Is it something against us two additions you have?¡±


    Adrianna glanced at Liliana for a moment, making the girl shrink back, then turned her icy stare back to the other two girls. ¡°Mason¡¯s voice doesn¡¯t make my head hurt because she doesn¡¯t speak to me,¡± she stated flatly. She turned around and stormed off once more.


    The three girls behind her traded glances, and then slowly began following her again. This time, Zhang Mingxia came up beside her.


    ¡°May I ask what you did before this? It is rare an illusion manipulator decides to enter a military profession,¡± she asked.


    Adrianna had a dark expression. ¡°I do not like having to repeat myself.¡±


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    ¡°And you do not need to,¡± the Sect heir announced grandly. ¡°You have made your intentions clear. We only wish to know more about a fellow member of our cohort.¡±


    ¡°Our cohort?¡± Adrianna muttered. ¡°I¡¯m hearing this from someone who won¡¯t even be here in a few years.¡±


    Zhang Mingxia frowned as she gazed at the cold woman. ¡°I may not be here permanently, but that does not mean I will not do my utmost to aid the Navy as I would as a permanent member.¡±


    ¡°Ah! I get it!¡± Catherine suddenly exclaimed, slamming a fist down on her open palm. ¡°You¡¯re being rude so we¡¯ll leave you alone! I was wondering why you¡¯re so verbal tonight!¡±


    Adrianna suddenly spun around, startling the three of them. ¡°I. Want. To. Sleep.¡± she hissed with a stormy expression. ¡°We only get 6 hours of sleep. I want mine.¡±


    The three girls hesitated as they realised what they were doing, which was annoying someone who did not happen to have the rejuvenation ability of the water element, and who also wasn¡¯t a warrior, and so didn¡¯t have high CON. Zhang Mingxia¡¯s and Liliana¡¯s expressions became slightly awkward, while Catherine narrowed her vivid green eyes at her.


    ¡°Then where are you sleeping tonight?¡±


    The woman growled and whirled back around, storming off as fast as she could without outright running.


    Catherine sped up to a jog to keep up with her. ¡°Can¡¯t you just tell us where? If you do, we¡¯ll leave you alone, and then you can catch up on the next 5 hours and a half of sleep, so tomorrow you¡¯ll-¡±


    Adrianna whipped around with a cold look on her face and pointed her index fingers at Liliana and Catherine. A silver mana-circle abruptly appeared before both of her index fingers and began spinning.


    Catherine¡¯s eyes widened and she ducked, aware of what was happening, but Liliana was a second too late and the small white bullet hit her. The archer soundlessly crumpled to the ground, while Catherine stood up and placed her hands on her hips triumphantly.


    ¡°Ha! I dodged-¡±


    The ¡®dodged¡¯ bullet turned around behind her to hit her in the back of the head. The redhead likewise crumpled to the ground.


    Zhang Mingxia gazed at the girls with wide eyes, while Adrianna just silently observed the sleeping forms of Liliana and Catherine. After making sure they were asleep, she hefted both up and slung them over her shoulders. Then she began heading back to the dorms, but not before looking over her shoulder to narrow her eyes at the stunned Sect heir.


    ¡°I hope you have more sense than to test me too,¡± she stated icily, before marching off like usual, but at a slightly slower pace.


    After an awkward pause, Zhang Mingxia slowly began following too, but a few more steps behind than before, and with a more subdued expression. She hesitantly spoke up, ¡°I have seen you cast more than three spells at the same time, so it would¡¯ve been easy for you to cast a spell on me as well.¡±


    Adrianna didn¡¯t look back, but she did answer. ¡°The sleep spell targets the mind as an attempt at the dream subset of illusion magic,¡± she replied apathetically. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t affect anyone who cultivates the soul.¡±


    ¡°¡­.you are aware my cultivation technique is also a soul art?¡± Zhang Mingxia asked cautiously.


    ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand,¡± Adrianna responded coldly. ¡°I don¡¯t care about your Sect technique¡¯s secret functions. I¡¯ve only noticed due to my application of spiritual energy in magic.¡±


    The 19-year-old girl went silent as she tried to understand the implications of Adrianna¡¯s words. She hugged herself, frowned slightly, and then sped up her pace a bit. They walked in silence for a while, until Adrianna was almost at the dorm room of the girls.


    ¡°I would just like to ask one question,¡± Zhang Mingxia spoke, straightening up as she looked at Adrianna with a serious gaze. ¡°I cannot comprehend why you do not want to spar with me. It is almost certain that with your strength you will be paired with me for the spar tomorrow and perhaps onwards.¡± She took a breath. ¡°Could I know why you do not wish to do so?¡±


    Adrianna turned around to gaze dubiously at the Sect heir. Zhang Mingxia blinked, before raising her chin and planting her hands on her hips.


    ¡°I swear on my status as the 27<sup>th</sup> ranked successor of the Vast Longevity Flowing Glacier Scripture, that I will talk to you no more this night if you return an answer to my question,¡± she proclaimed.


    The woman with icy eyes studied her for a moment, and then an imperceptibly faint smirk appeared on her lips. She tilted her head. ¡°You wish to know why I don¡¯t want to spar with you?¡±


    Zhang Mingxia eagerly nodded, and Adrianna turned back around to open the door of the room.


    ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯re bothersome,¡± she stated flatly, walking in to deposit Liliana and Catherine on their beds after shutting the door. Then she went to her bed, took off her boots and jacket, then got in.


    Zhang Mingxia remained frozen, staring at the door with a stunned look on her face. It gradually became incredulous.


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­. bothersome? I¡¯m bothersome?!¡±


    The girl glared at the door and the figure of Adrianna in her spiritual sense, before furiously turning around to storm off to the place where she liked to cultivate, muttering in a dark voice the entire way.


    ¡°She called me bothersome¡­. me, bothersome, a successor of a Heavenly Sect!¡±


    <hr>


    ¡°She attacked us!¡± an angry redhead exclaimed, arms crossed as she sat on her bed.


    Her audience winced at the tone of her voice. ¡°Cathy, I¡¯m not exactly sure it could be considered an attack when she didn¡¯t even hurt us¡­.¡±


    The blue-eyed archer timidly shrunk back when faced with Catherine¡¯s furious gaze.


    ¡°Whose side are you on, Liliana?¡± she demanded, scowling. ¡°No, she attacked us, no matter what anyone says. She cast a spell on unwilling people and hauled us like sandbags to be dumped back in our beds. Even if we had been willing somehow, she still treated us like literal garbage!¡±


    ¡°You did say anger was better than indifference¡­¡± Liliana awkwardly pointed out.


    The redhead¡¯s scowl intensified but she didn¡¯t answer and instead glanced over to the bed opposite Adrianna¡¯s. ¡°Anyway, what¡¯s with you today?¡±


    Zhang Mingxia was sitting on her bed with a tasselled jade pendant on her lap, sorting through an assortment of belongings. She had a miffed look on her face and was rather roughly arranging her objects to be replaced into her spatial jade.


    ¡°She called me bothersome,¡± she said with an affronted tone. ¡°I have never in my life been insulted in such a way. How dare she mock my good intentions by treating me like some irritating flying insect!¡± She crossed her arms with a dark expression. ¡°I have lost any form of desire to hold back my strength today, regardless of her being a mage or not. She will face my full power or not at all.¡±


    ¡°Ooh, scary. Make sure I¡¯m there to see it,¡± Catherine replied with a vicious grin.


    Liliana glanced between them hesitantly and then buried her head in her hands. ¡°This is why we never should¡¯ve followed her¡­.¡± she muttered wearily.


    ¡°What¡¯s done is done,¡± the redhead stated, stretching her arms. ¡°All right, let¡¯s get ready. At least we¡¯re not too tired for today. I guess some good came out of it¡­.¡± she muttered grumpily.


    The three girls got changed and ready for the sparring session that would occur, all filled with nervous energy and eager to finally begin learning to do what they had joined the Navy for. Fighting.


    ¡­


    ¡°The basic rules for this are as follows,¡± Officer Stanhope announced to the uniformed cadets standing in front of him. ¡°You will be paired up with another cadet of the most similar strength to you, and you will spend the session fighting them as the instructors and I observe your abilities. You may be switched to different partners depending on your fighting style, level of skill, or apparent weaknesses.¡±


    He began pacing in front of them, clipboard in his hands. ¡°Magic classes will not necessarily be paired with magic classes or warriors with warriors. It will be entirely decided by which partner will develop your fighting ability the best. There are 34 of you left right now,¡± he told them. ¡°If you are not at a certain benchmark of ability by the end of this next week, you will be told to leave. We don¡¯t care if you have a high rarity class, a path of progression, or a high level. This is purely based on your ability to fight and adapt in battle.¡±


    He pointed to a big wooden board that showed a schedule. ¡°Sometime next week we¡¯ll progress to team battles commanded by team leaders. We¡¯ll pick the leaders. All right then.¡± He looked down at his clipboard. ¡°Without further ado, I will announce the pair-¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t be starting without me already, Officer Stanhope?¡± A tall, burly, dirty blonde-haired man in his mid-40s dressed in a long navy-blue, white, and gold-trimmed coat walked towards the front. ¡°Wait for your own Commander now, would you?¡±


    The battle-scarred Commander Merrow Arkenast grinned as he crossed his arms and observed the cadets once he had made it to the front, who stiffened and went white as a sheet as they realised they would be sparring in front of the Commander himself.


    Officer Stanhope blinked and then narrowed his eyes. ¡°I didn¡¯t hear you were coming, sir.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s always time for spontaneity.¡± The Commander smirked, the Officer eyeing his superior with a dubious look. ¡°And besides, the cohort this time is going to be a little different, isn¡¯t it? I wanted to watch them today.¡±


    ¡°I thought the Admirals hadn¡¯t decided yet,¡± the Officer remarked, looking curious.


    The Commander raised an eyebrow at him, making the Officer pause, and shake his head. ¡°A discussion for later then.¡± He held up his clipboard. ¡°I was just about to announce the pairs for today.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Commander Arkenast took the clipboard from the shorter man and then nodded once he had scanned it. He passed it back. ¡°Looks like what I expected. But first¡­.¡± He grinned widely as he placed his hands on his hips. ¡°There¡¯s something I wanted to show you all today.¡±


    He scanned the cadets, and his grin widened when he saw who he was looking for. ¡°Could the cadet with my personal invitation come to the front?¡±


    The Commander smirked as he saw her cold expression twitch slightly, but the woman just sighed and came forward. There were mutters as they all saw her moving, this being the first time it was proven that she was the recommended cadet. Eventually, she stood in front of him.


    ¡°Here, sir,¡± she said, her normally toneless voice tinged with slight weariness.


    Commander Arkenast placed two hands on her shoulders and turned her around to face the rest of the cadets. He gestured to her, one hand still on her shoulder. ¡°Now, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve seen and heard her name before, but I¡¯ll get her to say it again. Please introduce yourself to them, cadet.¡±


    ¡°My name is Adrianna Riftmire,¡± she stated coolly. She glanced to the side and saw the Commander¡¯s eyes narrow on his grinning face, so she suppressed a sigh and continued. ¡°I''m 21 and a former mercenary. I use illusion magic and spiritual energy.¡±


    Commander Arkenast pressed her shoulder a bit, telling her to continue, so she reluctantly did. ¡°My class rarity is Epic and I¡¯m at Level 52.¡±


    There were a few murmurs at that. Epic rarity was one of the better rarities among them, the average being Rare. But it was only a step above Rare. It wasn¡¯t Ancient, which would¡¯ve been a more acceptable Rarity level for someone only 21 who had caught the eye of the Commander. Neither was she any higher than the average level among them. The scarred man behind her opened his mouth as he dropped his hand from her shoulder, likely to end her introduction, but she said one last thing.


    ¡°My only elemental affinity is illusion. It¡¯s superior grade,¡± she announced expressionlessly.


    The cadets stopped talking in hushed whispers to start discussing whether she was telling the truth or not, creating an uproar among the group. Even the two Navy members¡¯ eyebrows went up, the Commander and Officer Stanhope exchanging glances, unaware of this fact.


    Eventually, Officer Stanhope stepped forward to quiet them down when the noise went on for too long. ¡°All right, that¡¯s enough,¡± he ordered a slight frown on his face. He stepped back as he looked at the Commander for him to continue.


    Commander Arkenast smirked as he spoke up. ¡°Well, now that you have discovered this¡­.. interesting fact about Cadet Riftmire,¡± he said with a glance at the cold-faced girl, ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re eager to begin sparring amongst yourselves. However, one thing needs to be shown to you.¡± He crossed his arms as the smirk on his scarred face widened. ¡°The gap between someone I personally recommended¡­.¡± He pointed to the cadets. ¡°And you guys.¡±


    He whispered to Adrianna, ¡°Use the one you did for me.¡±


    She gave him a wary look. ¡°¡­.. with their current strength?¡± she replied, making the cadets in the front row who heard her scowl.


    He gave her a malicious grin. ¡°If they¡¯re too weak to remain standing after being hit by a Rank-1¡¯s spell, the Navy doesn¡¯t need them. Take it away.¡±


    She sighed and then pressed her hands against her ears. Then, with a twist of her Origin Skill, the air around her began to ripple and distort. It didn¡¯t do anything for a few seconds before the ripple burst out with a shockwave and the sound of screaming metal and fracturing glass sounded throughout the training grounds.


    Boom!


    All the cadets hurriedly put their hands to their ears and several dropped to a knee when they had become dizzy from the painful sound. The mana in the area went chaotic and into disarray, clashing with the internal mana of all the cadets, sending an abrasive feeling like sandpaper throughout their bodies and their mana veins. The spiritual energy gave them all pounding headaches that throbbed with the increasing intensity of the cry, leaving them feeling strangely dissociated and disconnected from their bodies as they observed their surroundings with blurry vision and deafened hearing. The cry itself gave everyone an impending sense of dread that couldn¡¯t be removed like they were about to be devoured by some nightmarish creature.


    Liliana was on her knees, her head lowered as she tried to cover her ears. Catherine was angrily trying to stand up, but couldn¡¯t stop her trembling limbs and nearly toppled over sideways due to dizziness. Zhang Mingxia spat out blood as she stared solemnly at Adrianna, the chaotic spiritual energy giving her minor internal spiritual energy backlash.


    The reactions of a few others were mixed as well. Ruel Deirvetch and Drew Baxtimer were barely standing, and they exchanged wide-eyed glances as they realised who Ruel had been yelling at. Zhang Meng was scowling at Adrianna like she was a new threat to be eradicated, and Liao Tengfei had his eyes narrowed as he tried to get up from one knee. Noirel Arventiel had gone white as a sheet as she stared at Adrianna, her entire body trembling in what looked like fear rather than lack of strength or pain.


    And¡­ Conlan was gazing at Adrianna with a wide, disconcerting smile on his face, easily standing up and appearing unaffected by the spiritual dissonance.


    ¡°I think that¡¯s enough now, Cadet Riftmire,¡± Commander Arkenast announced.


    Adrianna withdrew the presence, and the visual distortion disappeared as the horrific sound died down. All the cadets watched her warily after they sighed in relief as the Commander grinned at her again and asked her a question.


    ¡°Now, what level of strength would you say that was in comparison to the original creature, Cadet Riftmire?¡± he said.


    ¡°I believe I managed to mimic 8% of the Monstrous Elder Drake King¡¯s cry, sir,¡± she replied calmly, her words making the cadets¡¯ faces turn white.


    ¡°And you stayed conscious long enough to copy its properties?¡± he asked curiously, raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°My high spiritual energy allowed me to endure, however, I was knocked unconscious soon afterwards,¡± she stated expressionlessly. ¡°I heard the few other Users under Rank-3 nearby went into comas for several days to weeks. I was lucky.¡±


    Her words made several of the other cadets shift uncomfortably, and Commander Arkenast picked up on it.


    ¡°You believe she¡¯s being intentionally humble,¡± he said, crossing his arms. He eyed them solemnly, and then shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you now: she¡¯s not. She is incredibly, incredibly lucky to be alive after that. The cry of King-ranked monsters can kill,¡± he growled. ¡°The shockwaves they release cause environmental devastation and soul damage, but even worse are the aftereffects. Monster essence instils despair and hopelessness in people by its very nature. It brings about all sorts of dark emotions at the moment, such as anger, grief, or panic, and many become depressed for months after being near high levels of monstrous mana.¡±


    ¡°You are in the Distorted Depths,¡± he continued with a stern expression. ¡°Dealing with monsters and high-level monster presences will become a daily ordeal for you all. If you do not have the strength of mind to cope, you will break. And the fact that Cadet Riftmire here,¡± he said, pointing to her, ¡°Had the strength of mind to analyse the cry of the monster, while enduring the spiritual shock of the call, means she had already demonstrated she is capable of adapting in battle and learning from her enemies, a qualification we need here at the Navy.¡±


    He looked around at them again. ¡°I am not afraid to say that if somehow only one of you passes this training camp by the end of the month, it will be her. If she asked, I would transfer her to join the Navy right now.¡±


    He smirked as he glanced at her. She didn¡¯t react. He shrugged and took a step back, then placed his hands behind his back as he began walking off to the side. ¡°But she knows there are things she can learn here. And because of that, she¡¯s smarter than every single person here who¡¯s complained about what we¡¯re teaching.¡±


    Several cadets flinched, the Commander having pointed out exactly what they had verbalised before. Not many of the sessions had been about actual fighting that week.


    As he left, Commander Arkenast waved to Officer Stanhope. ¡°Stanhope, don¡¯t announce the pairs in alphabetical order this time. Announce them according to strength.¡± He gave his subordinate a toothy grin. ¡°There¡¯s going to be a few changes around here soon.¡±


    The Officer gazed at his Commander with a complicated expression, and then sighed slightly, nodding. ¡°¡­..yes sir. Then, I¡¯ll now continue announcing the pairs,¡± he said as the Commander left.


    ¡°1<sup>st</sup> ranking pair: Adrianna Riftmire and Zhang Mingxia.¡±

 Chapter 32 (1 of 2) Manifestor of Monsters.

    A scarred man with wild, dirty-blonde hair sat in a chair behind a desk, cloaked in a long navy blue, white, and gold-trimmed coat, reading through thick reports and paperwork. In one hand he held a lit cigar that was filling his room with heavy dark grey smoke, coiling, and pooling around on the ground. He looked up when he heard a knock on his door.


    ¡°Come in,¡± Commander Arkenast said with a broad grin, eagerly leaning forward in his chair.


    A man with dark hair appearing somewhere around his late twenties entered, holding a pile of documents. He came in front of the Commander and saluted. ¡°Sir,¡± Officer Stanhope said.


    The Commander paused when he saw the man, studied him for a moment, and then smirked. ¡°You look tired. Been busy, have you?¡±


    Officer Stanhope sighed. ¡°Dealing with the cadets is¡­ tiring, yes. I can¡¯t believe this year will be the organisation of the special force again, and I have to train them for it.¡± He gave the Commander a suspicious look. ¡°That is what you meant a few days ago, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Commander Arkenast leaned back with a relaxed smile. ¡°It is. The Main Navy Admirals have officially decided. The M.W.S. Dawnlight will sail again.¡±


    ¡°And it has to be this decade when I¡¯m head instructor,¡± Officer Stanhope replied wearily. ¡°But¡­. have you decided on the rest of the members, sir? This year won¡¯t have enough.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re that bad?¡± the blonde-haired man responded, raising a bushy eyebrow.


    ¡°Not really¡­¡± the Officer said, grimacing. ¡°Standards have actually risen this year, in fact. But not enough to be the crew of the M.W.S. Dawnlight.¡±


    ¡°Bit of a shame for all those who otherwise would¡¯ve passed this year, but it is what is,¡± the Commander remarked, putting his cigar to his lips for a moment. He breathed out the smoke and he watched as it made coiling patterns in the shape of beasts. ¡°The crew will be a mix of last year¡¯s and the year before that. I¡¯m thinking of putting him as second-in-command.¡±


    Officer Stanhope raised an eyebrow. ¡°By ¡®him¡¯ you mean¡­.¡±


    ¡°The seaborne,¡± Commander Arkenast replied, nodding his head. ¡°It¡¯s about time he left my direct command.¡±


    ¡°¡­ But his talent would allow him to go further,¡± the dark-haired man said, looking sceptical. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be a waste?¡±


    ¡°Look,¡± the Commander stated, the end of his cigar briefly sizzling as a small orb of water appeared to douse it before he discarded it in a bin nearby. ¡°That boy has talent, sure, however, his temperament is terrible for a leader. But as the go between the crew and the Captain, he has the perfect disposition. He needs someone else who can make the harsh, cool-headed commands that his nature otherwise wouldn¡¯t allow if he was in charge.¡±


    ¡°If you think so, sir,¡± the Officer replied, looking troubled. ¡°But the go between the crew and the Captain¡­. Have you already thought things through that far?¡± he asked.


    Commander Arkenast grinned and propped his chin up on the desk. ¡°What are you implying, Officer?¡±


    Officer Stanhope gazed at his superior for a beat, and then just sighed. ¡°Nothing, sir. Anyway, I brought the battle reports on the cadets as ordered. I will supplement any additional details you need to the best of my ability.¡± He walked forward and deposited the reports on the Commander¡¯s desk.


    The Commander grinned wider and began scanning through them. ¡°So, I get to see how able our little cadets are. Give me a moment to get up to speed.¡±


    Officer Stanhope waited patiently as Commander Arkenast read them, the man gaining a thoughtful expression as he read their capabilities. Eventually, the battle-scarred man looked up.


    ¡°Indeed. It seems they are of a much higher standard this time around. But I can¡¯t help but notice one particular cadet¡¯s profile doesn¡¯t seem to be in the right spot?¡± he said with a smirk.


    Officer Stanhope nodded. ¡°I thought it prudent to write a separate report for you, sir. It¡¯s in the very back.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± the Commander responded. He gained a lopsided grin. ¡°Officer Stanhope, aren¡¯t you reading a bit too much into what you think your superior¡¯s intentions are? If you keep this up, you¡¯ll start issuing orders without my command.¡±


    The Officer just gave his superior an exasperated look, making the blonde man chuckle.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s true I would¡¯ve asked you for a private report sometime soon,¡± Commander Arkenast acquiesced. ¡°Now, let¡¯s see how our newest star is doing¡­..¡± He went silent as he read the documents entailing the private report, his expression changing several times. He raised an eyebrow at one point, and slowly a broad smile began to spread across his face. He gave a short laugh before placing the report on the desk and then intertwined his fingers.


    ¡°All right, Stanhope. I¡¯ve read it, and I like what I¡¯m seeing. But I want to hear your personal views on her.¡± He grinned. ¡°What do you think of Cadet Riftmire¡¯s capabilities?¡±


    Officer Stanhope sighed and rubbed his head. ¡°I can only say exemplary on all accounts, sir. She¡¯s a monster.¡±


    ¡°Not many people I¡¯ve heard termed a ¡®monster¡¯ in the central Empire have deserved the title, but this case might be different,¡± Commander Arkenast replied with a smile. ¡°Let¡¯s start from the top: her combat role?¡±


    ¡°Battlefield controller,¡± Officer Stanhope replied near-instantly. ¡°There¡¯s no other position for her. Her perception grants her wide-spread senses of the entire area with no blind spots, and she is perfectly capable of forming her magic anywhere within a large zone, reminiscent of a nascent pseudo-domain ability.¡±


    ¡°And she¡¯s only Rank-1. What will she be like when she gains access to real domain abilities, I wonder,¡± the Commander mused. He narrowed his eyes at the Officer. ¡°Her planning capabilities?¡±


    ¡°Ridiculous,¡± the Officer said with a shake of his head. ¡°She seems to have an incredibly strong memory, likely brought about by her spiritual energy. She has an acute awareness of every detail, she¡¯s creative and analytical, and this compounds to allow her to account for all outcomes. Granted, I don¡¯t know her multi-tasking ability aside from her ability to cast multiple spells, as I¡¯ve only tested her against individual fighters so far, so this might be different when I try to place her in the actual position of battlefield controller.¡±


    ¡°What about her magic itself?¡± Commander Arkenast asked curiously. ¡°I¡¯ve received the official verdict from All-Aeon Athenaeum: There is no subset of illusion magic capable of materialising physical illusions outside of those that mimic other elements.¡±


    ¡°Even better adaptivity than you theorised, sir,¡± the dark-haired man replied with a complicated look on his face. ¡°Her illusions aren¡¯t fixed. She can change them on the spot when needed to deal with difficult attacks, they can become permeable, and she casts them incredibly quickly. There¡¯s only one issue: she doesn¡¯t seem to cast mana-circles when she materialises her illusions.¡±


    ¡°No mana-circles¡­¡± the Commander repeated with a thoughtful look. ¡°Yet they¡¯re still classed as spells according to your Analysis?¡± The Officer nodded, making the battle-scarred man hum. ¡°So, an ability that materialises the outcome of the spell without the required rune arrangements. No runic model could do something like that. It¡¯s an Origin Skill ability.¡±


    He looked at Officer Stanhope with a stern expression. ¡°Keep no physical evidence of this observation, and speak not a word of it outside here. If the Main Army knows of her capability to repeatedly cast spells with no rune arrangement, they¡¯ll stop at nothing to get someone with such high-intensity firepower. I¡¯ll not have them ruin her chance of developing that unique magic further.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir,¡± the Officer replied solemnly.


    ¡°Onto her personality then. How difficult will she be?¡± Commander Arkenast smirked.


    ¡°To be perfectly honest, I don¡¯t think she¡¯d make a bad subordinate,¡± Officer Stanhope said, to the Commander¡¯s surprise. ¡°It¡¯s not arrogance that makes her like that.¡±


    ¡°Huh,¡± the Commander said, leaning back with his arms crossed. ¡°Really? So she¡¯s not some fake noble from her little isolated outer plane who thinks they have a bit of talent? I might need some more details here.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ I think her personality can be summed up as really not wanting to have anything to do with people,¡± Officer Stanhope replied wearily. ¡°She doesn¡¯t underestimate them. When fighting, she knows how to control her resource expenditure, and keeps the spells she uses to the bare minimum to defeat them. While at first, it seemed like she underestimated them, I could see later on that she had actually been slowly increasing the strength of her spells to accommodate to any adaption from the opposition, working out the best balance when fighting.¡±


    He paused and sighed. ¡°And while it also seemed like she was mocking her partners when they fought, her comments have actually made her opposition improve, rather than cause them to lose against her.¡±


    Commander Arkenast stared. ¡°You don¡¯t mean¡­.¡± Officer Stanhope slowly nodded, and the Commander burst out laughing. ¡°She¡¯s training them? How funny! Who¡¯d ever help someone fight against them? What an interesting personality.¡± He rubbed his chin in contemplation for a moment. ¡°What else?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not very patient until patience actually matters,¡± the dark-haired man replied. ¡°She doesn¡¯t wait for her partners to prepare, always striking first, but never with enough power to end the battle first try. She doesn¡¯t bother making conversation outside of her comments towards her opposition when fighting, which often sound demeaning, but are actually just rather frank and lack delicacy. She can also follow orders well, and never loses her temper while fighting.¡± He gained a strange expression. ¡°Actually, she might have more of a military background than we expected. When she talks she doesn¡¯t really sound like a noble.¡±


    ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll have to revise my impression of her then,¡± the Commander remarked, tapping his fingers against his desk. ¡°So, excellent fighting ability, an eye for detail, even when picking up on her opponent¡¯s weaknesses, and she actually listens without complaint. Hm.¡± He thought for a bit and then smiled wryly. ¡°Her relationships with others?¡±


    ¡°Atrocious,¡± Officer Stanhope stated in a flat voice. ¡°And she seems to have no intention of changing that. She mocks people she¡¯s developed a dislike for, treats anyone as irrelevant except in specific circumstances like fighting, and couldn¡¯t care less about the slowly increasing hostility towards her among the cadets. Although that¡¯s been tempered by a bit of fear since last week.¡±


    ¡°Does she brag?¡± the Commander asked.


    ¡°Not exactly,¡± Officer Stanhope replied with an awkward expression. ¡°But she¡¯s so frank and pragmatic, she almost always states what she thinks to be facts, which more often than not, are actually true because she¡¯s coldly analytical of herself as well. Of course, everyone hates her because she doesn¡¯t care enough to phrase it differently.¡±


    ¡°So I better let her demonstrate her talent well if I place her in that position¡­¡± Commander Arkenast murmured. He waved off the Officer¡¯s curious look and continued. ¡°You¡¯re switching to team combat soon, right?¡± He leaned forward and grinned. ¡°She¡¯ll be a team leader, obviously, but at the end of each day, I want you to do something more. I want you to set her up against everyone else.¡±


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Officer Stanhope blinked, and then his expression became incredulous. ¡°Excuse me, sir? Everyone? She might be capable, but she¡¯s still only a Level 52 21-year-old. Isn¡¯t that a bit excessive?¡±


    ¡°Ah, but Stanhope.¡± The Commander grinned wider. ¡°Have you ever seen her be properly pushed yet?¡± He smirked and tapped his finger against the report on his desk. ¡°You¡¯ve told me she¡¯s won every single battle against the Vast Longevity Flowing Glacier Sect heir, while only being a mage and under additional limitations. I want everything on her to be revealed.¡±


    The Officer observed his superior with mixed emotions before he sighed and nodded. ¡°Then that will be the final battle each day from now on. But sir, please allow me to be frank about your intentions for her after this.¡±


    Commander Arkenast gazed silently at the dark-haired man for a moment and then nodded.


    Officer Stanhope rubbed his temples with a conflicted expression. ¡°If you plan on placing him under her command¡­. How will this affect him? We both know the issues surrounding monsters and Atlanteans and if her illusions manage to copy that part of monster essence as well¡­.¡±


    The blonde-haired man at the desk crossed his arms and frowned, staying quiet for quite some time. The silence drew longer. As Officer Stanhope was beginning to believe he wouldn¡¯t answer, the scarred man exhaled softly and ran a hand through his wild hair.


    ¡°Stanhope, you and I have both known the boy for six years now,¡± he stated, gazing sternly at his subordinate. ¡°And suffice to say, it¡¯s hard to find a single person here in White Squall Fortress who dislikes him. But as the Navy Commander stationed here, I must put my personal preferences aside, and do what is best for the Empire¡¯s Navy Battalion.¡±


    He leaned forward with solemnity on his face. ¡°If I place him under her command, and it turns out her illusions have the same effect as the real ones, only two outcomes could occur. Either he finally realises he¡¯s not meant for the Distorted Depths, and goes home, leaving his stubborn desire to repay ¡®his debts¡¯ behind, or Adrianna Riftmire can use his ability to help her refine the realism of her illusions. He¡¯ll either leave the Navy or continue helping it if he stays, regardless of what ill effect it might have on him.¡±


    Commander Arkenast looked down at his desk and then picked up the reports to read them again. ¡°If that is all now, Officer, then you may leave.¡±


    ¡°¡­.. yes sir.¡± The dark-haired officer saluted and turned around to leave the room. But just before he left, the Commander spoke up.


    ¡°Stanhope. If I had a choice,¡± he said, frowning slightly with a complicated expression. ¡°Then I would always pick the first option. It would never be the second.¡±


    Officer Stanhope regarded his superior for a moment and then nodded. He shut the door behind him, and the Commander returned to working in silence in his room, picking up another cigar off his desk to light.


    <hr>


    Week 2 of October at White Squall Fortress.


    ¡°You¡¯re looking in the wrong place.¡±


    The dark-blue-eyed Sect heir just glared silently at her attacker as the illusory beast she had stabbed her silver-blue sword through turned transparent and disintegrated into indigo particles. The girl whipped around to slice at the grey tentacle trying to wrap around her neck.


    ¡°The real attack was from here, not there.¡±


    Zhang Mingxia¡¯s eyes widened as she tripped over another slimy limb trying to encircle her ankle, and muttered under her breath as she dived into a roll to escape the faintly luminous illusions. She abruptly stood up and turned to glower at the unaffected tall woman in navy blue and black uniform behind her, standing with her arms crossed as more indigo-blue mana escaped her.


    ¡°I¡¯ve told you to look behind you,¡± Adrianna announced apathetically.


    The dark-haired girl spun around and warily held her sword, and then paused when she didn¡¯t see any attack. She looked over her shoulder questioningly, and Adrianna faintly raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say I was attacking. But Fireball.¡±


    Zhang Mingxia hissed as a mana-circle materialised in close proximity to her, and she narrowly dodged the fist-sized angry orange orb that hurtled past her. Then she yelped as a Direwolf construct put its teeth around her ankle and yanked it, causing her to fall over and face plant onto the ground. A cold tentacle ripped her sword from her grasp and pointed it at the girl. Adrianna walked forward as she observed the Sect heir who was angrily glaring at her on the ground.


    ¡°That would be your 15<sup>th</sup> defeat today. I won¡¯t count it though,¡± she stated indifferently as she took the sword from the construct and dropped it next to the cultivator.


    Zhang Mingxia¡¯s glare intensified. ¡°And whyever not?¡± she hissed through gritted teeth as she got off the ground, grabbing her weapon.


    Adrianna turned and walked back to her position. ¡°Because it is obvious you entered this battle with emotions too turbulent to fight properly.¡± She faced the 19-year-old girl and raised her hand to cast a spell. ¡°Now, again.¡±


    Zhang Mingxia gazed silently at the woman and then turned her head as she crossed her arms. ¡°No,¡± she stated crossly.


    Adrianna tilted her head slightly. ¡°No?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not fighting you,¡± the heir growled, tying her weapon to her sash. ¡°I¡¯m done.¡±


    ¡°You are my paired partner for today. Instructor Stanhope ordered it,¡± Adrianna replied tonelessly.


    Zhang Mingxia didn¡¯t look at her. ¡°And I shall go to him and request my partner be changed. This pairing does not aid me in advancing my abilities. It only exists to cause you to undermine me and suppress my own spiritual sense thanks to your spiritual energy, preventing me from exercising my real strength.¡±


    Adrianna gazed silently at her with ice-blue eyes and then turned away disinterestedly to begin walking towards the Officer. ¡°Then do it, and we¡¯ll get his answer.¡±


    The Sect heir frowned, but followed after her, heading towards Officer Stanhope. The dark-haired man looked up from his clipboard when he heard them approaching and made a grimace before hiding it behind a more neutral expression.


    ¡°Yes, cadets?¡± he said.


    Adrianna crossed her arms and stood to the side as Zhang Mingxia walked forward with her head held high. A few cadets close by watched them with interest.


    ¡°I would like to request a change in opponent,¡± she proclaimed with a dark expression. ¡°Cadet Riftmire has continuously insulted me, and my own spiritual sense has been rendered ineffective thanks to her spiritual energy. I wish to have a partner who I can demonstrate my abilities against in full.¡±


    Officer Stanhope gazed at her wearily and then turned his eyes to the wild-haired woman watching the nearby fights. ¡°Are you not going to explain yourself?¡± he asked her, his voice tinged with slight exasperation.


    Adrianna glanced at him and shook her head. ¡°I can¡¯t force someone who doesn¡¯t appreciate my efforts to see past their blinding emotions and understand what I¡¯m doing. I have gone above what anyone else would do in my position,¡± she stated emotionlessly. ¡°If she wants a new partner, I don¡¯t care. She can do whatever she wants.¡±


    The Officer sighed, and put a hand to one of his temples. ¡°You could at least make an attempt at telling her,¡± he complained.


    She eyed him dubiously and moved her gaze to the slightly confused and still angry Sect heir. She turned back to him with a flat expression. ¡°Will she even believe me?¡±


    ¡°Just do it,¡± he growled, getting mad.


    Adrianna sighed and turned to the sceptical and irate Zhang Mingxia. ¡°Monsters have decaying souls. The stronger the monster, the more degraded the soul,¡± she explained coolly. ¡°In the Distorted Depths, your spiritual attacks will have barely any effect, amplified by the resistance mana has to spiritual energy. You will have to rely on almost purely physical capabilities when fighting them like you have been doing with me.¡±


    Zhang Mingxia frowned, but when neither Adrianna nor Officer Stanhope said anything more, she looked at the dark-haired man cautiously. ¡°Is this¡­. true?¡±


    ¡°It is. Normally we don¡¯t deal with cultivators, you have to understand,¡± he said. Then he whipped his head to the side to glare at Adrianna. ¡°But that¡¯s not what I meant, cadet.¡±


    Adrianna didn¡¯t say anything as she watched him wordlessly with her icy stare, making him groan and pinch his nose bridge in frustration. ¡°You know what?¡± he said, pointing at some random spot. ¡°Go. Just go and¡­ train, or do whatever you want, while I talk to Cadet Zhang. Get out of here. Honestly, you lot will kill me sooner than the monsters do¡­¡± he muttered in a dark voice.


    Without hesitation, Adrianna walked off, making him glower after her. He sighed and turned back to Zhang Mingxia. ¡°Follow me for a bit,¡± he said.


    She walked beside him as they moved to a more private area. He planted his hands on his hips as he gazed sternly at her. ¡°Firstly, no matter what you say, I¡¯m not changing your partner,¡± he stated firmly.


    Zhang Mingxia¡¯s eyes widened and she opened her mouth but was cut off by the Officer.


    ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯ve improved far more than if I had paired you with anyone else this week. All of the people who¡¯ve fought her have improved far better than if they hadn¡¯t fought her. None of you have realised it yet,¡± he explained tiredly.


    The Sect heir just stared at him, disbelieving. ¡°I have not succeeded in defeating her even once!¡± she exclaimed indignantly. ¡°We¡¯ve fought over and over again, and I¡¯ve only had to listen to her demeaning remarks while I struggle uselessly against her. That is not improvement,¡± she said, upset.


    Officer Stanhope glanced in the direction of Adrianna. ¡°That¡¯s just as much a testament to her own ability to control her strength as it is to your tenacity and endurance,¡± he replied, looking back at her. ¡°Have you not realised the difference in her spells since the start of these spars until now?¡±


    Zhang Mingxia frowned, considering it. Her eyes widened a tad, but she still scowled. ¡°She¡¯s just treating me as a training target for her own practice,¡± she muttered crossly.


    ¡°She¡¯s right in that your emotions have blinded you,¡± Officer Stanhope stated flatly, crossing his arms. ¡°Just because she has not revealed her full strength yet does not mean she¡¯s still using the same level of strength this entire time when fighting you. She¡¯s been helping you guys become used to fighting her, and learn to adapt to her fighting style.¡±


    ¡°No sound-of-mind combatant would train others to go against them,¡± she replied sceptically. ¡°Why would she ever do such a thing?¡±


    He gave her a dreary look and then glanced over his shoulder to watch Adrianna casting spells for practice. He returned his gaze to Zhang Mingxia and gestured to the cold woman in the distance with a tilt of his head. ¡°Do you think anyone knows what¡¯s going on in that head of hers?¡±


    Then he frowned slightly and held his chin. ¡°Although I believe in this context, it¡¯s because she¡¯s thinking long-term.¡±


    ¡°Long¡­ term?¡± Zhang Mingxia repeated, confused.


    The Officer gazed seriously at the Sect heir. ¡°You¡¯re aware of what¡¯s going to happen. You also know all the remaining cadets will be placed under a Squad Leader from the same camp. She¡¯s conscious that you will likely be her future crewmate, and so understands you need to be as familiar with her abilities as she needs to be with yours. And the better you perform, the better for her and her squad.¡±


    The girl stared at him and then looked at Adrianna in the distance. She scoffed after a while. ¡°How arrogant. Does she think of herself as my superior already?¡±


    The Officer paused and looked at her suspiciously. ¡°What do you mean ¡®already¡¯?¡±


    ¡°It is obvious, is it not?¡± Zhang Mingxia replied with a complicated expression. ¡°The Commander himself got her to demonstrate her capabilities, she has remained as the strongest ranking individual here during our spars, and I have noticed the Officials and instructors observing her more frequently than the other cadets. She will be our Squad Leader next year.¡±


    Officer Stanhope glared sternly at her. ¡°Cadet Zhang, keep those opinions to yourself in the future and do not talk about this again. It is not up to a cadet to guess our intentions.¡± She nodded, embarrassed, and so he sighed. ¡°Regardless of whether she is chosen for it or not, I doubt she cares. Cadet Adrianna Riftmire is only here to refine her unique magic by studying the monsters here, after all. She can do that with or without high status.¡±


    ¡°She¡­. only wants to study monsters?¡± the girl replied, stunned. ¡°She¡¯s not here for status? Or learning to fight?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know for sure, but nor do I care,¡± he stated shortly. ¡°It¡¯s none of my business. I am only discussing a cadet like this with you because you are the leader of the company from the Vast Longevity Flowing Glacier Sect. I believe you have enough sense to understand I wouldn¡¯t bother explaining this if you were one of the other cadets.¡±


    Zhang Mingxia went quiet for a bit, but then her face screwed up. ¡°But this isn¡¯t an explanation for the insulting way she treated me, Cadet Mason and Cadet Sherwood,¡± she replied sourly.


    Officer Stanhope raised an eyebrow. ¡°I did notice you and Cadet Sherwood seem to be rather hostile towards her compared to the others. What¡¯s this about?¡±


    Her angry expression stiffened, making him narrow his eyes. ¡°Cadet Zhang. Tell me what you did,¡± he ordered sternly.


    The cultivator seemed to wilt as she reluctantly explained how they tried to follow her to work out where she was going to sleep, and how Adrianna reacted. By the end of it, the Officer was looking at her with a dark expression on his face.


    ¡°I¡¯d treat you that way too if I wanted to sleep,¡± he berated her crossly. ¡°It is none of your business what she gets up to at night. You are not a bunch of mischievous children trying to pull pranks on people. You are going to be joining the military,¡± he stressed. He frowned and glanced at Adrianna. ¡°I suppose having the sleeping habits of a cat is one of the least terrible weird personality traits to have¡­.¡± he muttered.


    Zhang Mingxia looked at him curiously but he ignored her and began walking off. ¡°Anyway, we¡¯re done here. You can have the rest of the session off for now, but I want to see no more complaints about you being her partner from now on, you hear me?¡± he said, jabbing a finger at her.


    ¡°Yes sir,¡± she replied unhappily.


    Officer Stanhope had a frown on his face as he returned to his normal position before his eyes went wide and he dashed off to head towards one particular pair of opponents.


    ¡°Hey! Arventiel! I said no flying over five metres! Get down from there, and stop making faces at Cadet Liao! And you, Baxtimer!¡± he shouted, pointing at the short-haired redhead, currently wielding long black chains covered in raging orange flames. ¡°Stop setting Cadet Leutia¡¯s hair on fire! In fact, stop setting everything on fire!¡±


    Zhang Mingxia observed him with a strange look on her face, before sighing, and slowly walking over to the area where she and Adrianna trained at. Adrianna looked over, and they briefly made eye contact, but the tall woman glanced away and continued practising her magic. The Sect heir scowled, but didn¡¯t bother looking at her again, and walked over to where she saw Liliana and Catherine taking a break. While the two weren¡¯t paired, their battles had ended at the same time.


    ¡°No cigar?¡± Catherine asked.


    Zhang Mingxia gave her an odd look. ¡°I am unfamiliar with that turn of phrase.¡±


    ¡°She means no luck,¡± Liliana explained, currently polishing her bow as she sat on a log.


    Catherine frowned as she looked down at the archer. ¡°¡­.yes, that¡¯s what I meant,¡± she said, appearing conflicted.


    The Sect heir didn¡¯t notice her strange reaction and just sighed as she leaned against a tree. ¡°Were you aware she had been adjusting her strength as we adapted to her abilities?¡± she asked awkwardly.


    ¡°What? She has?¡± Catherine asked, shocked. ¡°So we¡¯re not just really, really bad?¡±


    The heir nodded, making Catherine cross her arms. ¡°Huh,¡± she said. ¡°But¡­. why?¡±


    ¡°So we learn,¡± Zhang Mingxia replied dully.


    ¡°That makes me feel a bit¡­. unhappy,¡± the redhead said with a frown. ¡°Are we that subpar compared to- oh.¡±


    They all watched as Officer Stanhope began tearing at his hair as another pair of fighters caused him grief and wouldn¡¯t listen to his instructions, currently destroying the surrounding landscape with overeagerly thrown elemental attacks.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure he¡¯s paid enough for this,¡± Catherine murmured. Then she paused with a questioning look on her face. ¡°Actually, how old is he? 27, 28-ish? Isn¡¯t he quite young for this job?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s 36,¡± Liliana commented offhandedly, looking up from her bow. Catherine stared at her, so she explained, ¡°I overheard one of the other instructors say his age.¡±


    Catherine directed her stare back to Officer Stanhope and then scowled. ¡°Is this the water element striking again?¡± she muttered darkly.


    ¡°I believe this instance is due to being Rank-3 or higher,¡± Zhang Mingxia announced. ¡°Those who have passed their Rank-3 tribulations can change their appearance, as they age much slower compared to the early ranks.¡±


    The redhead considered it and then made a face. ¡°Does that extend to healing scars?¡±


    Zhang Mingxia looked at her curiously. ¡°Yes, why?¡±


    Catherine¡¯s nose scrunched up. ¡°Then¡­ what¡¯s with Commander Arkenast?¡±


    They all contemplated her words, thinking about the battle-scarred man, who had obviously not bothered to remove the traces of his past injuries. They gained strange expressions.


    ¡°¡­ Personal preference, perhaps?¡± Zhang Mingxia spoke up hesitantly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t get men,¡± Catherine muttered. She pointed to Officer Stanhope. ¡°He chooses to look in his late twenties, while the middle-aged Commander chooses to look as terrifying as possible like he¡¯s trying to demonstrate what will happen to everyone once they join the Navy.¡±


    ¡°I think the difference is Officer Stanhope is married,¡± Liliana replied, placing her bow back in its quiver. ¡°Also, the Commander isn¡¯t middle-aged. He¡¯s 452 years old.¡± She blinked when she registered the bemused stares of Catherine and Zhang Mingxia.


    ¡°How do you know this stuff?!¡± Catherine exclaimed incredulously. ¡°Do the Officers really like to gossip around us that much?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­. I, just asked?¡± Liliana said, scratching her cheek. ¡°They seemed happy enough to share.¡±


    Catherine and Zhang Mingxia traded glances. Catherine leaned over to whisper into the Sect heir¡¯s ear. ¡°Am I that ugly?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t quite believe that is the issue here,¡± Zhang Mingxia remarked, eyeing Liliana oddly. ¡°I think her disposition is just one that enables her to endear herself to people.¡±


    ¡°Including a bunch of hardened, callous and cold military men and women,¡± Catherine muttered.


    The blue-eyed archer just blinked, nonplussed, and puzzled by their conversation. They continued to make idle chatter until Liliana and Catherine said their goodbyes to continue fighting their partners. Zhang Mingxia just sighed and began practising her blade arts and footwork, now feeling a little pressured after the discovery that her spiritual arts wouldn¡¯t help her when facing monsters.

 Chapter 32 (2 of 2) Manifestor of Monsters.

    ¡°Riftmire. Let¡¯s talk for a moment,¡± Officer Stanhope called out to her.


    The curly-haired woman paused her magic as she heard her name, and shattered her half-formed mana-circles before she came over. She studied him for a moment.


    ¡°I see you have yet to completely deal with the fire issue,¡± she remarked dryly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get me started on- wait.¡± He hesitated. ¡°Yet?¡±


    She gestured to his hair, which happened to be trailing smoke. He put a hand on his head and scowled as his palm smothered the smouldering embers of a burgeoning fire that still remained. He stared at his hand, his expression stormy.


    ¡°May the distorters of Fate get their greedy hands on their miserly fortunes and feed it to the ill-begotten dearth mother who spawned such slime-born brats,¡± he cursed angrily. ¡°I am so done with this job.¡±


    ¡°I believe your curse may be more effective if spoken near someone of higher status,¡± she replied tonelessly. ¡°Maybe Commander Arkenast, for example.¡±


    He slowly raised his eyes to stare incredulously at her, disbelieving that such words came from her mouth. ¡°Do you have a split personality?¡±


    She gazed flatly at him, not answering.


    Eventually, he groaned and ran a hand down his face. ¡°I- just- whatever. I give up. I¡¯m using up my saved leave after this to take a holiday, superior¡¯s orders be damned.¡± He narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°Don¡¯t go repeating that last bit to anybody.¡±


    ¡°You said you wanted to talk to me, sir?¡± she said in a deadpan voice.


    He sighed and gestured to her to follow him. ¡°You know, if you acted this differently around all the other cadets, then maybe they would give you less grief.¡±


    She observed the forms of Zhang Mingxia, Catherine, and Liliana in the distance and then turned back to him as she walked beside him. ¡°The ideal extent of my interaction with them would be ensuring they don¡¯t die and that¡¯s it,¡± she stated coldly.


    He rolled his eyes. ¡°Yeah, sure, whatever. Anyway, the Commander has given me an order. As it¡¯s an order, I can¡¯t ignore it, and therefore you will also have no choice in the matter, as this is directly related to you.¡± He turned to face her with a weary expression. ¡°Do you think you can fight against all the cadets?¡±


    She stared at him, dubious. ¡°All. As in all at once,¡± she stated flatly.


    ¡°Yes, all. I¡¯m asking if you think you can fight off all the cadets at once, with only you to face them,¡± he said with exasperation. ¡°Again, I have no say over this. I can give you certain handicaps though, if you think you need it.¡±


    She frowned slightly and looked down at the ground in thought. She glanced back up, imperceptibly raising an eyebrow. ¡°You¡¯re being serious.¡±


    ¡°I wish I wasn¡¯t,¡± he muttered darkly.


    She brushed aside the stray hair on her face as she replied, ¡°I can do it.¡±


    ¡°You sure?¡± he asked sceptically.


    She nodded. ¡°If I consider this order to be a demonstration for them and a test for me, I have a way of completing it. But I¡¯ll need some preparation time.¡±


    ¡°Hm. How long?¡± he questioned.


    ¡°45 seconds, although maybe a minute just to be safe,¡± she replied, her expression neutral.


    He stared at her. ¡°That¡¯s hardly preparation time at all. You don¡¯t want something like a staff or mana potions?¡±


    ¡°My firepower should hopefully be enough that I won¡¯t need mana potions,¡± she responded, shaking her head. ¡°As for a staff¡­ I¡¯ve never used one, so it would be hard to adapt to it in time before the fight.¡±


    He looked curious. ¡°You¡¯ve never used a staff before? I¡¯m sure intermediate level is when a staff becomes useful for a mage, though.¡±


    She gave a slight shrug. ¡°I became Rank-1 a little over 3 months ago. I haven¡¯t needed one yet. And¡­. with my method of magic activation, a staff is currently unnecessary.¡±


    ¡°¡­.right, magic activation,¡± he muttered, giving her a side-eye. ¡°Is there anything we should know about it?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve probably seen I don¡¯t arrange runes when forming my magic,¡± she replied, to his slow nod. ¡°Strictly speaking though, I don¡¯t need many rune arrangements at all. My illusion constructs are based on different principles of activation altogether. Principles that use spiritual energy.¡±


    She held out a palm to manifest a small Direwolf illusion. ¡°The illusion essence only forms the ¡®shells¡¯ of my constructs. But my spiritual energy forms the cores of them. I can essentially add pseudo-sentience to them to ¡®puppet¡¯ their bodies.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ not really magic,¡± he said with a frown. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, your abilities are wholly unique.¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°I can use mana-circles to achieve the same effect of pseudo-sentience. But they don¡¯t have the ability to turn permeable, so I can¡¯t prevent friendly fire without rigid control operations. Nor can I activate their abilities on command through my pseudo-domain ability.¡±


    He raised his eyes from the construct to stare at her, stunned. ¡°Wait, you¡¯ve already formed a pseudo-domain ability? It wasn¡¯t nascent?¡±


    She thought for a moment. ¡°My Status classifies it as a pseudo-domain ability, but it doesn¡¯t quite use the establishment of an Origin Skill domain to do so. My Origin Skill is closely tied to spiritual energy and the mind,¡± she explained calmly. ¡°And as I¡¯m not a cultivator, my perception and my spiritual energy are the same thing. My magic is cast through my perception field and so it is classified as a pseudo-domain ability even without my actual Origin Skill.¡±


    ¡°¡­.how wide an area are you talking about?¡± he asked suspiciously.


    She pointed to one end of the training ground. ¡°From there,¡± she said, ¡°to there,¡± she added, pointing at halfway to the opposite end. The training ground was about the size of a soccer field.


    He went wide-eyed. ¡°How high is your SPRT? That should be impossible for a mage when you need to distribute stats to INT and WIS as well.¡±


    She gazed at him silently for a moment, before answering, ¡°As an individual with spiritual energy before Rank-3, I have a special talent for it. That includes a unique Aspect I gained.¡± She frowned slightly. ¡°It¡¯s a rare ratio type that increases my soul density, so one stat point of my spiritual energy and mental power is equivalent to multiple stat points rather than one, not reflected on my Status page.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so instead of having the stats just shown on your Status, in reality, you have 25% or even 50% more,¡± he replied, nodding. He paused when he saw her watching him expressionlessly. ¡°I¡¯m wrong, aren¡¯t I.¡± He sighed wearily. ¡°Is it higher?¡±


    ¡°Do you want me to answer honestly?¡± she asked.


    He made a face and sighed again. ¡°No, you¡¯ve already been this forthcoming with information. I won¡¯t ask more.¡± He raised an eyebrow. ¡°But I¡¯m going to have to report all this to the Commander.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I expected that,¡± she replied indifferently.


    Officer Stanhope nodded. ¡°So, you don¡¯t need a staff or mana potions then. If that¡¯s the case¡­.¡± He looked around at the other cadets and turned back to her. ¡°You have half an hour before the fight. You¡¯ll fight against them all each day at this time from now on.¡±


    She nodded in acceptance, before pausing as she noticed something. ¡°Sir.¡±


    ¡°Hm? What?¡± he said, beginning to walk over to his original position.


    ¡°Cadet Deirvetch and Cadet Zhang Meng are attempting to terraform the training grounds,¡± she replied with an odd expression, pointing at them.


    He nervously turned around to widen his eyes as he saw the short grinning freckled man hurling giant bolts of lava at the angry cultivator, who had to avoid the lava lake being formed around his feet and the bolts themselves that sprayed drops of molten stone when they fell. The Officer put his hands on his head.


    ¡°What are they doing?! I just told them not to ruin the training grounds!¡± he exclaimed in anguish.


    Adrianna glanced at him, remembering something. ¡°Sir, is this your first time as head instructor?¡±


    He didn¡¯t look at her as he scowled at the two cadets in the distance. ¡°Yes, but I don¡¯t see how that is relevant.¡±


    ¡°The training grounds are protected by a self-repair magic array,¡± she informed him calmly. ¡°It¡¯s set to activate every third night.¡±


    He turned to gaze at her with incomprehension. ¡°The Commander told me to prevent the grounds from being damaged.¡±


    Her lips thinned into a straight line. ¡°I¡¯ve only met the Commander twice so far, so I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯ve got his personality right, but¡­.¡± She glanced back at the two fighting cadets. ¡°He might be messing with you.¡±


    He glanced at the cadets, then stared at her, and then back at the cadets again. Then he threw his hands up in the air and stormed off. ¡°I am done! Done! This Navy can go to hell! The Commander can go to hell! I am quitting my job, and never looking back!¡± He abruptly pointed to a second observing instructor on the sidelines. ¡°You¡¯re taking over my job. Don¡¯t look for me, as I won¡¯t care what new disaster has occurred. I am out of here!¡±


    All the nearby cadets watched him march off the training grounds with strange expressions, and the temporary head instructor facepalmed with a sigh. It took a few seconds before everyone went back to normal. Adrianna watched him with mixed emotions, before shaking her head and walking away.


    Ross didn¡¯t quit during my entire career in the Navy, so that¡¯s not happening. But fighting them all at once¡­.. that was not fun last time.


    She sighed slightly as she remembered how it went. She won, obviously, but it was annoying to deal with. She only hoped that a certain gold-eyed man¡¯s plans for the event would allow her to have an excuse to ¡®develop¡¯ her techniques against them all faster. Although he was a different issue altogether¡­.


    She rubbed her temples with a frown before returning to her position. She had a bit less than half an hour left before she dealt with the fight, so she¡¯d have to plan on how much skill she was going to show so Griffin wouldn¡¯t become suspicious. Well, he was without a doubt going to try to see if he could defeat her this week due to his twisted inferiority complex, so she just needed to pretend to adapt to his abilities in real time. And as for demonstrating her abilities to the instructors¡­.


    She had a faint smirk on her lips as she arranged another mana-circle. She was going to show them just what exactly a ¡®Core Illusory Construct¡¯ was.


    ¡­


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    ¡°All right, Cadet Riftmire,¡± Officer Stanhope said with a sigh. Clearly, his claims of quitting hadn¡¯t stood against the test of time and logical thought. ¡°When you¡¯re ready.¡±


    She nodded, mentally sorting through the structures of her Origin Skill. The 34 cadets were watching her pensively, rather confused and a bit dubious about the command to all fight against one person. They hadn¡¯t encircled her, but even if they had, it wouldn¡¯t matter. She had full 360-degree perception, after all.


    She took a step back and spread her hands out on either side of her, her eyes closed. She prepared her pseudo-domain base construct.


    ¡°Establish Zone of Control.¡±


    In a silver-white grid-patterned hemisphere, an area 100 metres across with her at the centre lit up with a white glow, before fading. However, she had gained an acute sense of all the mana within her zone, revealing what elements surrounded her.


    ¡°Release Illusory Foundation,¡± she commanded.


    Her indigo-blue illusion mana rushed out of her to fill the invisible hemisphere, blanketing the ground with a knee-high film of purplish fog. The top half of the hemisphere remained clear of the illusion mana, but that was intentional. Her Illusory Constructs didn¡¯t manifest in mid-air, after all.


    She pointed at the crowd in front of her. ¡°Mark Users. Activate Target Lock.¡±


    She inwardly smirked as they all flinched when the silvery-white grid pattern appeared on their skin, before disappearing. They warily checked themselves but found nothing. And now her magic was primed to automatically target them.


    ¡°Synchronise with Core Illusory Construct,¡± she ordered.


    The illusion mana surrounding her seemed to become denser and appeared more ¡®physical¡¯ somehow, but nothing else happened. Then she pointed at the ground and opened her eyes.


    ¡°Manifest Core Illusory Construct: Morphic Kraken.¡±


    Her opponents paled as the horrific sound and pressure from a few days ago made its reappearance, but this time it was weaker, as she wasn¡¯t devoting all her mana to its cry. Then their eyes widened as a phantasmal beast, three times her height, began to reveal itself in the dense illusory fog.


    Ghastly grey semi-translucent limbs began to writhe and twist within the fog, and behind her, a wide circular mouth filled with rotating jagged shards of teeth opened up, spinning at high speeds. Ten horrifying tentacles with sticky fleshy suckers stretched up towards the sky, swaying and coiling while dripping icy water. Its eerie cry reverberated and distorted the air around her, the limbs seemingly warping in the light.


    They went silent.


    ¡°I¡¯m done, sir,¡± she announced calmly.


    Officer Stanhope stared at her, before coughing and gesturing to the crowd. ¡°Go ahead now.¡±


    None of her opponents moved, utterly still. She narrowed her eyes, and then the corner of her lips twisted up in a cold smirk as she made a mocking gesture to them to come forward.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear him? It¡¯s time for you to all try to attack one person. You must be so proud of your talents right now,¡± she remarked, her normally toneless voice gaining a slight lilt to it.


    She spread her arms. ¡°I won¡¯t even move from this spot. Would that make it fairer?¡±


    Her audience scowled, clenching their weapons in anger. She pointed at the ground. ¡°Does it count as my win if the opponents are too scared to even come near me, Officer?¡±


    Officer Stanhope just regarded her with a complicated expression, before he sighed. ¡°If none of you move within the next minute, the last two people to attack her will be kicked from the camp.¡±


    The crowd¡¯s eyes widened in panic, and they began whispering to each other. Then, with a grimace, Catherine Sherwood stepped forward, a spear in hand.


    ¡°What the hell. This is stupid,¡± she growled. She pointed her spear at Adrianna. ¡°I¡¯ve fought you before. You¡¯ve only grown more disgusting limbs, that¡¯s all.¡±


    Zhang Mingxia also stepped forward. ¡°It could hardly end worse than our normal spars. Very well then.¡± She readied her sword for combat and shifted her feet into the best position to launch herself from. ¡°Let us fight.¡±


    And with that, they both dashed towards her. Adrianna¡¯s expression cooled and without moving, she directed the nearest tentacles to attack the two girls. Both of them slid under the slimy appendages, having predicted that move from earlier battles, and attempted to dodge the maze of grey flesh to get towards her.


    Catherine growled, and her spear end lit up with blazing dark-orange flames. She sliced at a tentacle in an attempt to char it, but the limb distorted in impossible ways, stretching itself sideways.


    Zhang Mingxia bent backwards to avoid a tentacle and flipped as she dodged the second limb trying to grab her ankle.


    The others warily watched, before hesitantly moving forward. Drew Baxtimer grinned and the black chain tattoos around his neck and wrists disappeared to materialise as thick metal links in his hands, wreathed in red fire.


    ¡°Catch me if you can, shorty!¡± he exclaimed as he dashed forward, swinging them like whips to try to entangle the grey tentacles.


    Ruel Deirvetch scowled and ran forward as well, the path he left slowly melting into dark-red molten stone. Bolts of lava materialised as he began trying to chuck them at Adrianna, who easily blocked them with a distorted illusory tentacle.


    Slowly others joined the battle. Zhang Meng began swinging his sabre, clashing against the limbs.


    Liao Tengfei started waving a fan encased with ice, the frosty crystals briefly forming around the illusions, before shattering as they couldn¡¯t hold them for long.


    Wilden Leutia, the long-haired necromancer, sighed and held out his staff as he released thick dark and death mana, skeletal hands breaking through the ground.


    Palin Zoc¡¯uraghets dashed forward with two long curved daggers, sand swirling around him.


    Liliana aimed her raven longbow at the battle, and clear blue arrows of water shot out at regular intervals, warding off the illusions when they were about to attack them at certain times. Officer Stanhope gave her an approving nod for that.


    Noirel Arventiel was pale, but grimaced, and flew off to join the fight. Her ribbons curled and stretched as she tried to occupy one of the tentacles.


    And Conlan Griffin¡­.. he was observing the battle calmly with gold eyes. Then slowly, he withdrew his longsword from its sheath, and it lit up with a layer of yellow mana. He charged forward into the throng to aid Catherine as she tried to slice through another tentacle.


    Officer Stanhope glanced at his blade with a slight frown but returned to focusing his attention on the battle. Slowly, more and more people joined, and to their horror, more and more tentacles appeared as well. They could not overwhelm her with pure numbers if they wanted to defeat her.


    ¡­


    ¡°That¡¯s a kraken.¡±


    ¡°Yup, it¡¯s a kraken alright,¡± Officer Stanhope replied to his superior with a sigh. He glanced at the burly blonde-haired man beside him.


    Commander Arkenast had cast an invisibility spell and was watching the battle curiously with his arms crossed. The cadets were unaware he was there.


    ¡°She didn¡¯t pick some other creature to mimic?¡± the scarred man asked.


    Officer Stanhope shook his head. ¡°She has other illusions, but she seems to use this one the most, whether it be partially materialising it or in full, like now. She called it a ¡®Core Illusory Construct¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Hm,¡± the Commander mused. ¡°I think this is the full form of what she demonstrated to me several months ago. But I remember her saying it can¡¯t use abilities as it¡¯s not based on a true monster.¡±


    ¡°But isn¡¯t a key feature of her skillset using monster abilities in her illusions?¡± his subordinate replied sceptically. ¡°Why would she purposely limit herself like that? Especially when she has to fight them all off. If this was later when she had a better handle on how much power she needs to deal with them, then I would understand.¡±


    ¡°Well, it seems to be working,¡± Commander Arkenast commented. He pointed to the fight as one of the cadets was gripped around the ankle and raised into the air, dangling there uselessly as the fiery-haired girl with green eyes shouted in anger. ¡°And she seems to be doing a very good job of making herself seem like the villain.¡±


    ¡°¡­.yes, I had noticed that. So, it¡¯s intentional then,¡± the Officer responded, a strange look on his face as he held his chin. ¡°To be honest, her attitude towards the instructors has been fine, and she¡¯s not as cold with us. But why is she¡­¡± he paused and then facepalmed. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m an idiot.¡±


    He turned to the Commander who was watching him with interest. ¡°Before this, she told me her perception was enough to cover half the training grounds. She probably overheard my discussion with the Heavenly Realm girl about how she was treating them. It seems the Sect heir is aware of the likelihood of her becoming their Squad Leader.¡±


    The Commander grinned. ¡°So Riftmire¡¯s already decided what type of leader she¡¯s going to be then, has she? I suppose I¡¯ll just have to see how well it works in the end. But if the Sect girl has said that¡­ then perhaps she sees Riftmire as her future leader already.¡±


    Officer Stanhope gave his superior a dubious look. ¡°You sure, sir? I¡¯ve had nothing but complaints from her about Riftmire this week. From her and Sherwood, in fact.¡± He narrowed his eyes at the girls fighting Adrianna. ¡°But they¡¯ve improved greatly by fighting her. They¡¯re still in the fight.¡±


    They watched as a cadet was flung by a tentacle out of the battle zone, where they laid face flat on the ground, groaning in pain.


    ¡°I¡¯d normally tell her off for such violent treatment, but in this case¡­.¡± the Officer muttered.


    Commander Arkenast nodded. ¡°She¡¯s only doing that to the warriors. Not even the hybrid warrior-manipulators are being treated like that, for all, she strung that redhead upside down. A constant awareness of the capabilities of the cadets, not attacking them with more than they can handle, all while fighting multiple at the same time¡­. she¡¯s an excellent battlefield controller. I¡¯m not sure there¡¯s even a choice here. She¡¯s going to be their leader whether she likes it or not.¡± He smirked.


    They both blinked when Adrianna shot them a flat look and then redirected her attention back to the fight. The Commander turned to his subordinate in surprise. ¡°Can she see me?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­. I did just discover her ¡®nascent¡¯ pseudo-domain isn¡¯t nascent at all¡­¡± Officer Stanhope replied awkwardly. ¡°And we¡¯re standing in it, technically. She can probably hear our conversation.¡±


    Commander Arkenast rubbed his chin with a sly grin. ¡°Should I reveal myself?¡±


    Officer Stanhope gazed at him wearily. ¡°We¡¯re doing this for combat data, remember Commander? We can¡¯t collect that if you scare the living daylights out of the rest of the cadets.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. True,¡± the man replied with a nod. ¡°I¡¯ll stay invisible for now. But back to her magic¡­ she¡¯s still using that kraken illusion. And none of the cadets have been hurt enough to be counted ¡®out¡¯ of the fight yet. What is she doing?¡±


    ¡°I think I heard it be called a ¡®morphic¡¯ kraken¡­. But why morphic?¡± Officer Stanhope muttered. ¡°It can¡¯t be the fact it can turn immaterial because that¡¯s a feature of all her constructs¡­¡­¡±


    Then they paused. One of the tentacles distorted, and then it stretched out to twice its original length, making the nearby cadet jump. Then it seemed to gain a ghostly haze of fire that set the clothes of the cadet alight, and they hastily tried to beat down the flames. They bumped into a second cadet and the fire jumped to them as well.


    The Commander burst out laughing. ¡°Oh, I see! Just because it has no abilities of its own, doesn¡¯t mean it can¡¯t use the abilities of other monsters. And here I was thinking she just had strange taste for a girl, but the monster¡¯s form was for practical reasons. That¡¯s rather creative.¡±


    They fell silent for a while, just watching the fight. Then Officer Stanhope turned to his superior with narrowed eyes. ¡°So, is it true that the training grounds have a self-repair magic array that activates each third night?¡±


    Commander Arkenast blinked and then looked down at the Officer with a strange expression. ¡°How¡¯d you know? None of the other head instructors worked it out until after the camp.¡±


    The dark-haired man just stared incredulously at him. ¡°So it is true! You told me to protect the training grounds, knowing full well how futile it would be! I can¡¯t believe you!¡± He pulled at his hair as he groaned. ¡°Do you know how much stress I¡¯ve been under trying to deal with this lot? I tell them one thing, and then they immediately do the opposite! I tell them not to use destructive attacks, they use destructive attacks! I tell them not to antagonise their opponent, and they start mocking them straight after! This is torture, I tell you!¡±


    The Commander just gazed at the man with amusement as he began muttering curses under his breath, and then returned to watching the fight. Then he blinked again and turned to his subordinate. ¡°But seriously, how did you know? The magic array is controlled by the mainframe array two miles below the fortress. The only people who should know are the Navy¡¯s magic engineers and me as the Commander. And the past head instructors.¡±


    Officer Stanhope stopped wishing ill upon the cadets and his superior to give Commander Arkenast a dubious look. ¡°But Cadet Riftmire told me.¡±


    There was a moment of silence. They slowly shifted their gaze to stare at Adrianna as she tripped over another two cadets. They narrowed their eyes.


    ¡­


    Attack coming from 81 degrees to the right. I¡¯ll activate the Mire Serpent¡¯s ability, turning the ground to mud around them. That will stall them for 5.06 seconds where I can direct my focus to the ice attack coming from Liao Tengfei.


    She observed a warrior swing his greatsword at a tentacle, trying to slice it in half.


    That will turn permeable¡­ now. And because he over-extended, the weight of his swing caused him to trip over the cadet¡¯s foot next to him. I can leave him alone for a bit.


    A redhead with green eyes dodged the swipe of another illusory tentacle, while the blue-eyed and dark-haired Sect heir beside her succeeded in avoiding the entanglement of slippery flesh attempting to intertwine her ankles on the ground.


    Zhang Mingxia and Catherine Sherwood, the ones the most used to my combat style, have given up on defeating me and are instead trying to adjust to the chaos, so two of the biggest threats don¡¯t need my attention. But not everyone is putting in all their effort, so I can¡¯t tire them out this way.


    She quickly checked her mana and health.


    [HP: 1600/1600 {+40/5m}


    MP: 3250/5100 {+620/1m}]


    If I had four minutes of no fighting, I¡¯d be back to full. But the casting of monster skills is draining me with little merit in the long term. Then¡­.


    A cold smirk danced on her lips.


    Should we pick up the pace?


    Startling the cadets, as she hadn¡¯t moved once yet, she raised her arms to point directly at either side of her. They watched warily as two dual-layered mana-circles began to arrange themselves before her fingertips.


    ¡°Blast Shock,¡± she announced.


    BOOM!


    With a sound reminiscent of a cannonball, the air rippled as an invisible force shot out, a resonating pulse sending the air thrumming with power. Two cadets who got caught directly by the blast were thrown from the Zone of Control and laid there, unconscious. The ones who had been on the fringes of the attack were holding their heads with dizziness and wobbling, disorientated, a few beginning to bleed from their noses.


    [-1264 Damage]


    [-1322 Damage]


    [-520 Damage]


    [-520 Damage]


    [-750 Damage]


    [-415 Damage]


    She frowned slightly as she glanced at one of the cadets.


    -750? Seems they had weaker CON than I thought. I¡¯ll reduce the intensity of my attacks for them. And¡­ oh.


    She blinked as she noticed Officer Stanhope drag the two unconscious cadets away from the battle.


    They haven¡¯t even lost half their health. I guess going unconscious on the battlefield means death for you anyway though. Then, 32 attackers. Let¡¯s reduce this further.


    She spread her hands again, and the cadets quickly tried to avoid the path of her spells. But she wasn¡¯t going to use the same trick twice.


    ¡°Tremor.¡±


    They all wobbled as the ground beneath them rumbled and groaned, becoming choppy and jagged as her magical earthquake spat the ground up, making the floor uneven and harder to navigate. She didn¡¯t stop as she gestured with her hands for the rocks to rise.


    ¡°Earthen Artillery,¡± she said. And then she pointed a finger to the other side of her. ¡°Wind Enhancement.¡±


    Instead of their normal speed, the rocky shards that were raised into the air shot out towards the cadets in all directions, passing through her illusions and sped up by the force of the wind backing them. The cadets dived to cover their heads.


    [-780 Dam¡­.]


    [-675 Damage]


    [-825 Damage]


    [-340 Damage]


    [-530 Damage]


    [-965 Damage]


    [-265 Da¡­..]


    [-430¡­.]


    She clicked her tongue as Ruel Deirvetch raised his arms and a wall of earth blocked her bombardment on one quarter of the [Zone of Control].


    With a twist of her spiritual energy, she guided the rocky bullets to go around the earthen barrier, but the man was too quick and shielded the other sides of him and the people around him as well, having detected the movement of the earth mana.


    At least he¡¯s smart enough to realise he needs the others if he wants a chance of defeating me. But not that smart.


    She calmly called out ¡°Tremor,¡± once more, and his impromptu shelter collapsed as the ground turned choppy again. The man cursed as he fell into a pit of his own making, having taken the earth from beneath him to make the walls. The cadets around him grumbled as they got buried in rubble and dust.


    Behind her, the cadets were regaining her footing, and warily watching for where she would point her spells next. But they had forgotten something.


    Her immaterial illusions quickly turned back to being material and thrashed about as they stretched and thinned to impossible sizes, the cadets having forgotten what they were originally fighting. Noirel Arventiel yelped as several of them tried to grab her out of the sky, her luck of not being on the ground applicable no longer.


    Zhang Meng grinned in victory as his sabre finally managed to cut through a tentacle, the cadets around him gaining brighter expressions as well, but then he paled as two new tentacles reformed from the illusion mana, and continued to attack him, transforming into bony spikes with faintly poisonous tips.


    Drew Baxtimer had a smirk as his black chains wrapped around several illusions, binding them together, and his flames did briefly cause the mana to lose cohesion, but then his eyes widened as the tentacles merged and he was strung upside down, dangling there in a tangle by his weapons. She discarded him outside the zone, and Officer Stanhope dragged him off.


    Ruel managed to climb out of the pit, but not before she cast a [Quagmire] spell that sent him and the five people around him sinking back down into the mud, pulled in by her illusions. They likewise were eventually dragged away as well.


    She shot a [Blast Shock] at Liao Tengfei, who, thinking he could be smart by doing some strange martial art flipping technique in mid-air, couldn¡¯t tell which way was up or down when he landed and faceplanted, his immaculate white and blue robes finally getting dirty. She chucked him out of the Zone when he didn¡¯t get up for a whole minute.


    She tried to send a [Fireball] at the perpetually angry Catherine Sherwood but narrowed her eyes when a well-timed water arrow was shot by Liliana from the edges of the Zone, interrupting the spell.


    The blue-eyed archer gave a small fist-pump of celebration, but then she had her bow wrenched from her hands and was unceremoniously dumped upside down by a tentacle that had manifested while she was distracted by her ¡®victory¡¯.


    Palin Zoc¡¯uraghets was kicked out when she blasted him with a [Firebolt] that made his sandstorm too hot for him to handle and the [Ice Squall] she gave him to cool him down was not appreciated, the sand crumbling into strange crystals around him that he couldn¡¯t manipulate. He left the battle of his own will, his mana not high enough to manifest more sand.


    The other fighters were slowly removed through varying spells and other movements from her illusions, slowly becoming whittled down. And then one man made a move that surprised her.


    Conlan Griffin willingly got hit by a [Blast Shock] so he could be removed from the battlefield. Even though it was painfully obvious to her that he was perfectly capable of continuing.


    But with what she knew about him, it didn¡¯t take long for her to guess his plans.


    Ha. I see what he¡¯s doing. Then I suppose I¡¯ll have to keep waiting for a few days.


    By the time her MP was down to 250, there was nobody else left standing within her [Zone of Control], and she had kept her promise of not moving from her spot. She ignored the suspicious stares of the Commander and Officer Stanhope as she deactivated her skills and left to go have a shower.

 Chapter 33 (1 of 2) Lost the battle but won the war.

    A man with golden eyes took a breath as he slowly walked towards a figure sitting on a log in the distance. Conlan was finally going to talk to her. He had been avoiding any contact with Adrianna in case she became hostile towards him, but he decided to finally approach her to make a request, and finally begin causing some changes compared to his past.


    He watched as she cast, shattered, and recast small mana-circles repeatedly with a very slight frown on her face. She didn¡¯t look up as he approached, not that he expected her to. After a couple of minutes of staying silent, he finally spoke.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that for keeping spell matrices of that size stable, you need to link all the frames to the central node, rather than just a few.¡±


    She slowly raised her head and looked at him with a faintly dubious expression. ¡°You know magic theory?¡±


    ¡°Oh, no. This is just something I heard by coincidence,¡± he replied with a smile.


    She frowned but looked back down at the incomplete mana-circle hovering over her palm. Then it lit up with a glow as the runes linked and it slowly started spinning.


    She held her chin and observed it. ¡°It seems the mana density required for this circle is higher than estimated, but not a conclusion I would¡¯ve spent a long time reaching. This will advance my progress by a few days,¡± she muttered.


    His smile became a bit awkward.


    Only a few days? Well, whatever. That¡¯s not why I¡¯m here.


    He blinked as she stood up and crossed her arms, gazing at him expressionlessly.


    ¡°Okay then. What do you want?¡± she asked indifferently.


    ¡°¡­.do I have to want something?¡± he responded, caught slightly off guard by her question.


    ¡°We¡¯ve had no interaction besides in combat for the last few weeks, but decided to approach me today,¡± she said coldly. ¡°Unless you want something, you have no reason to talk to me. Say what you want.¡±


    He inwardly grimaced, annoyed he had been so obvious, but sighed. ¡°Could I ask you some other time?¡±


    She narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°I detest people thinking I owe them favours,¡± she stated icily.


    This isn¡¯t going how I expected, but to be honest, it¡¯s not out of character for her. I guess I¡¯ll just ask.


    ¡°I would like to ask that you put me on your team for the team combat battles,¡± he requested.


    She watched him silently with those icy eyes of hers and then shook her head. She turned away and began walking off. ¡°Impossible. Ask something else.¡±


    Conlan scowled and clenched his fists. ¡°Could I know why?¡± he replied with a strained voice.


    She glanced back at him over her shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ve been told not to tell anyone by the head instructor. If I tell you, then that will be how I repay my ¡®debt¡¯.¡±


    ¡°¡­.then please tell me,¡± he said in a low voice.


    She regarded him and then gave a slight sigh. ¡°Because just like the team leaders, the people on my team have been chosen by the instructors as well. We only pretend to ¡®select¡¯ members because of their orders.¡±


    And with that, she walked off, leaving him stunned as a hidden fact not revealed the first time around became known to him that day.


    <hr>


    End of week 3 of October at White Squall Fortress.


    ¡°Sherwood, take another step to the left. Deirvetch¡¯s spell is going to hit you if you don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Zhang, you need to begin the footwork of that speed technique. Do it within three seconds or you¡¯ll lose your advantage.¡±


    ¡°Baxtimer, I said the right, not the left. Mason¡¯s now unguarded. Get back into position.¡±


    Adrianna frowned as she directed the assortment of cadets that had been placed under her command to fight against the team on the other side. The camp was beginning to contain only the future members of her crew as the numbers thinned, harsher limits having been imposed on them by the instructors. She was facing Ruel Deirvetch, Wilden Leutia, Palin Zoc¡¯uraghets, Zhang Meng, and Griffin, all being directed by Liao Tengfei.


    Her expression twitched as she registered Liao making a mocking gesture to Noirel Arventiel on her team. ¡°Arventiel, stay put. Don¡¯t fly after him. He¡¯s obviously trying to bait you.¡±


    The ashy-haired half-fae scowled but slowly flew back from the other team¡¯s side of the battle zone.


    She inwardly sighed, but then her eyes flew open as she turned to stare at a red-haired man. ¡°Baxtimer. The. Right.¡±


    The chain-wielding battle maniac clicked his tongue but moved in front of the slightly nervous Liliana. He had been trying to get over to Ruel so he could fight him.


    She felt a headache beginning to emerge, starting to remember just what dealing with her old crew had been like, but continued combatting Leutia¡¯s undead while the other fighters dealt with their opponents. The first five years of her career at the Navy had definitely been the most stressful time there. And she didn¡¯t even have the other members under her yet.


    She decided to stop thinking about it for her own mental wellbeing¡¯s sake and focus her attention on the battle. The opposition was unlikely to win, but a drawn-out fight would increase the risk of that happening. She narrowed her eyes and glanced at Liliana as an idea came to mind.


    She flicked her wrist and her illusory construct abruptly smashed through all Leutia¡¯s skeletons, the long-haired man becoming startled as he was left defenceless.


    Her team members'' eyes widened as she stepped forward with a slight frown on her face. ¡°This is ridiculous. If you guys can¡¯t keep to your positions, then I¡¯ll do it myself. Don¡¯t get in my way.¡±


    Her team had dark expressions as more illusion mana gushed out of her, and more of her Core Illusory Construct¡¯s form appeared. But she also sent a spiritual transmission to Liliana.


    ¡®I need you to do something. Try not to react as I give you the details.¡¯


    The girl¡¯s eyes widened as she received the information, and she almost nodded but managed to stop herself from doing so. The intensity of her shots slowly decreased as the archer conserved her mana.


    Her own construct¡¯s full form appeared and she began dealing with the entire opposite team on her own. Liao Tengfei became flustered as he didn¡¯t know how to direct them to respond to her, while his team became angry and started aiming all their attacks at her.


    Her own team¡¯s reactions were mixed. Arventiel was looking pale, and Baxtimer was staring at her with narrowed eyes. Catherine looked angry at her insulting words, and Zhang Mingxia was gazing at her with a strange expression. She knew the Sect heir was likely confused as her actions didn¡¯t match up with her behaviour up until now, but she didn¡¯t really care what the cultivator thought. Liliana only looked awkward and uncomfortable by their reactions.


    She attacked Leutia first, Officer Stanhope disqualifying him when he was pushed out of the battle. He didn¡¯t have the mana to continue summoning more undead.


    As he was the first ¡®casualty¡¯ of the fight, Liao¡¯s team increased the speed and strength of their attacks. She took it upon herself to fight against them as Liao tried to order them to battle her with some semblance of a plan.


    With a Blast Shock, she removed Ruel Deirvetch from the fight, and her opposition¡¯s numbers went down to four, Zoc¡¯uraghets, Griffin, Zhang Meng, and Liao. Then Catherine Sherwood spoke up.


    ¡°If she thinks she doesn¡¯t need us, even after she picked us for her team, then she won¡¯t get our help. I say we leave her to it,¡± she announced angrily. She crossed her arms as she looked at Zhang Mingxia. ¡°What do you say?¡±


    ¡°I¡­.¡± the Sect heir hesitated as she glanced between the redhead and Adrianna.


    Drew Baxtimer yawned and then nodded. ¡°May as well. It¡¯s become boring now.¡±


    Zhang Mingxia grimaced and then copied the other two to walk over to the sidelines as the fight continued. Noirel Arventiel slowly glided over as well, her face still pale as she watched Adrianna cautiously.


    ¡°Hey, Liliana, come over here. No reason for you to keep fighting if we¡¯re not,¡± Catherine called out to the archer.


    Liliana looked at Adrianna with a complicated expression but eventually moved over. She stood to the side as Adrianna kept fighting the other team.


    Adrianna narrowed her eyes as Griffin once again willingly received an attack to be disqualified, but ignored him, as the opposite team was now down to three. Zhang Meng and Palin Zoc¡¯uraghets continued attacking her, and her team members remained on the sidelines, not interested in helping. Except for one.


    Officer Stanhope stepped forward to halt the fight. ¡°Riftmire¡¯s team wins.¡±


    Her team blinked, and looked over to find the opposite team¡¯s leader, Liao Tengfei, knocked out. Zhang Meng and Palin Zoc¡¯uraghets also stared, unaware that their team leader had been attacked.


    ¡°Wait, how?¡± Catherine exclaimed, before she paused, and looked behind her. ¡°Liliana? Why did you help her?¡±


    Liliana glanced at Adrianna, who was withdrawing her illusions, with an awkward expression. The archer held her bow in her hands. ¡°She asked me to earlier.¡±


    ¡°¡­ But for what reason did she act as a distraction?¡± Zhang Mingxia asked, confused, and appearing slightly uncomfortable after she realised what Adrianna had done.


    ¡°Riftmire, explain yourself to them,¡± Officer Stanhope ordered, looking at her with annoyance.


    Adrianna glanced at him, and let out a short sigh. ¡°In a few hours, you will all have to fight me again. I wanted to end this battle early so you wouldn¡¯t tire yourselves out too much.¡±


    They all gazed at her strangely. Officer Stanhope scowled. ¡°Riftmire.¡±


    She bent down to lace up her boots. ¡°Also, the odds would be too uneven if you faced me after a drawn-out battle. It would be meaningless if you couldn¡¯t learn anything from fighting me.¡± She straightened up.


    ¡°Thank you, Riftmire. Now you may go,¡± he replied, frowning at her.


    She nodded and walked away.


    The Officer sighed and faced the others. ¡°Go take a break and wash up. She¡¯s not wrong that you¡¯ll have to fight her soon. But what she didn¡¯t mention is that both of us could see none of you were willing to take this battle seriously.¡± He glared at them. ¡°After this week, you will not be fighting each other. You¡¯ll be getting some actual practice on real ships with other Officers. What are you going to do when they order you to do something?¡±


    He pointed behind him. ¡°Are you going to react like today? You¡¯ve all been under her command at some point this week. What if there¡¯s someone with a worse attitude who¡¯s your superior?¡± He shook his head and turned away. ¡°Get going.¡±


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    They awkwardly shifted where they stood, silent for a while, before slowly separating to leave the training grounds. Catherine frowned at the ground. ¡°Does the Officer not care about her comments? He¡¯s told us off for mocking people while fighting, but not her.¡± She gave a bitter laugh. ¡°I guess it¡¯s just because she¡¯s the Commander¡¯s precious little prodigy.¡±


    Zhang Mingxia gazed after the man with a complicated expression. ¡°That is not¡­.¡± She paused, grimaced, and then started walking away. ¡°Excuse me. I need to go talk to someone for a moment.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Wait, where are you¡­¡±


    She didn¡¯t hear the rest of the redhead¡¯s words as she sped up her pace to go find Adrianna. Adrianna didn¡¯t look behind her when the girl finally caught up.


    ¡°Why did you do that?¡± she asked, following the taller woman from behind.


    ¡°¡®That¡¯ is a very vague term,¡± Adrianna muttered, not speeding up but not slowing down either.


    Zhang Mingxia quickened to walk beside her. ¡°I mean refrain from revealing your plan to us. It conflicts with your actions these last few days.¡±


    Adrianna glanced at her with a slight frown but kept moving. ¡°I¡¯ve already explained myself.¡±


    ¡°No, you have not!¡± the Sect heir suddenly exclaimed, dashing in front of Adrianna to block her path. ¡°So far, your orders and actions have been clear cut and with sufficient explanation. But not then. You abruptly decided to take it upon yourself to do everything, instead of delegating the responsibility, and making the other team members feel redundant.¡±


    She clenched her fists as she gazed at Adrianna. ¡°Only for you to reveal you were just doing it as a distraction. You could have revealed your plan to us beforehand so we did not believe we were useless to you like you did with Liliana.¡±


    Adrianna crossed her arms as she looked at the girl, but Zhang Mingxia didn¡¯t move. She suppressed a sigh as she spoke, ¡°Then tell me, Zhang Mingxia.¡± The heir blinked when she used her full name, but she continued with her words. ¡°When I said I would do it alone, did any of you once think I was lying? That maybe I had a different motive?¡±


    Zhang Mingxia stared at her as she gestured to the training grounds behind her. ¡°You saw how the opposite team and even our own team members reacted. You said my actions didn¡¯t match up with my actions over the last week. Why then, did they instantly believe what I was saying?¡± She gazed at the girl with no emotion on her face. ¡°And why then, are you saying you saw things differently if you didn¡¯t reveal this to them?¡±


    The long-haired girl¡¯s eyes widened as she realised what she was implying. She watched as Zhang Mingxia¡¯s expression became hesitant, uncomfortable, and guilty. The girl hugged herself. ¡°I- but, you have acted this way intentionally! I know your comments were only so they would attack you¡­.¡± she replied in a quiet voice.


    ¡°I only took what was already there and made it obvious,¡± Adrianna stated coldly. She uncrossed her arms and walked around the still Sect heir. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter anyway. It¡¯s not like I cared what they thought.¡±


    Zhang Mingxia whipped around to look at her. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t you care?! These people are going to be fighting life-or-death battles with you after this! Shouldn¡¯t you make an effort so that they wouldn¡¯t dislike you as much?!¡±


    Adrianna paused and looked back at her. ¡°Ruel Deirvetch is here because he¡¯s a member of the vassal family of Drew Baxtimer¡¯s clan. He¡¯ll leave when Baxtimer does.¡±


    The Sect heir blinked in confusion.


    ¡°Noirel Arventiel is here to develop her fae-magic skills. When she feels she has reached a sufficient level, she will leave as well. Zoc¡¯uraghets wishes to gain power that would enable him to be recognised as a core member of his noble family. Leutia is here to collect the bodies of strong monsters for his class.¡± She continued walking. ¡°Griffin, Sherwood, and Mason are here to gain strength and resources. And your company will leave when your Sect requires you to.¡±


    Zhang Mingxia scowled at her. ¡°So, you don¡¯t believe it is worth forming relationships with those who will only be here temporarily? Even if such relationships could continue on afterwards?¡±


    Adrianna turned to face her and gazed at her expressionlessly. ¡°I¡¯m not sure why you care. Are you acting like this because you think I¡¯m hurt by their attitudes?¡± She shook her head and turned back around, walking away. ¡°You don¡¯t know me well enough for that.¡±


    Then she left, leaving Zhang Mingxia in silence, and feeling a little lost at how she was supposed to interact with the cold woman.


    ¡­


    ¡°You, cadet, are going to be the death of me. Seriously, if I had a rose crown for all the headaches you¡¯ve given me this week, I¡¯d own a city by now!¡±


    She stared wordlessly at the dark-haired man who was running a hand through his hair, complaining about her. Ross Stanhope always did have a habit of readily complaining about anything and anyone in her presence, which she had still never discovered the reason why till the present. It wasn¡¯t like she had ever made for great conversation with her personality. The Officer narrowed his eyes when he received her lack of response.


    ¡°Hey, I can tell you¡¯re not even focusing on my words.¡±


    And he was as intuitive as always. She looked away, making him scowl.


    ¡°Look here. Cadet, could you not at least try to interact with the others somewhat? At least to make them more willing to listen to you. How you¡¯re acting right now is too much,¡± he said, sighing.


    ¡°I remember you said you¡¯d be taking me to the Commander,¡± she stated blandly. She gestured to their surroundings. ¡°This isn¡¯t it.¡±


    They were standing outside of the training camp¡¯s buildings, the fortress¡¯s goings on plain for them to see. The Navy members were transporting and carting monsters, while others were going in and out of different buildings.


    Officer Stanhope glared at her. ¡°Oh, yes, certainly, after you answer my question!¡± he hissed.


    She frowned slightly and crossed her arms. ¡°They¡¯re immature.¡±


    The man stared at her, before facepalming. ¡°Immature she says. Of course they¡¯re immature, they¡¯re a bunch of high-strung young people!¡± He jabbed a finger at her. ¡°You¡¯re the abnormal one here! If you were the slightest bit more normal like them, I wouldn¡¯t be dealing with all these issues you caused!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be normal,¡± she retorted. ¡°Being normal would mean being like them, and that would mean I would be immature too.¡±


    The Officer buried his head in his hands. ¡°Oh, may the Death Monarch and his ninety-nine find me sinless before his court when they take me because I am this close to kicking you off our layer onto the ground below,¡± he threatened, indicating the small gap between his fingers. ¡°Do not test me today, Riftmire.¡±


    She remained silent as he sighed again and planted his hands on his hips. He looked up at the sky for a while and then lowered his eyes to narrow them at her. ¡°Now, how come you only seem to talk back to your superiors rather than show this facet of your personality to your peers? Maybe I wouldn¡¯t get so much grief from them if you did so¡­.¡± he muttered.


    ¡°What time did the Commander want us?¡± she asked, not caring how obviously she was showing she was trying to avoid the topic.


    He glared at her, pulled back his uniform¡¯s sleeve to check his wristwatch, and then glared at her again. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll let you have your way this time. But I will come back to this conversation later.¡± He marched off to head towards the wide ramp that led to the third tier, where the main command building of the White Squall Fortress was.


    They entered the main building and navigated a few corners, the dark-haired man grumbling the entire way.


    ¡°Now, if you would just explain yourself, then I wouldn¡¯t get their complaints every time it¡¯s time for you to command them! Do I need to go up to each cadet personally and explain your intentions myself, when that should be something you do?¡±


    She didn¡¯t look at him as she walked beside him. ¡°It¡¯s not like they would believe me.¡±


    ¡°And that is your fault!¡± he yelled, drawing attention from the other Navy Officials in the corridor. ¡°You should¡¯ve said you were just trying to get them familiar with your abilities from the start, instead of making them all either hate or fear you! Neither are good options, I¡¯m telling you,¡± he said exasperatedly.


    ¡°There are worse monsters than my construct,¡± she replied tonelessly.


    ¡°Sure, but most cadets don¡¯t fight a kraken as their first monster in the Navy,¡± he muttered sourly. ¡°Even if it was a small one. I¡¯m shocked they¡¯re not traumatised yet.¡±


    ¡°Its size is because I don¡¯t have enough mana at my level. Once I¡¯m over Level 150 I¡¯ll likely have enough to manifest it fully,¡± she informed him.


    He froze, halted on the spot, and turned to stare at her with wide eyes. ¡°Excuse me? Did you just say that is not its full form?¡±


    She calmly nodded as he looked at her incredulously, before he groaned and pinched his nose bridge. ¡°How could you even have the ability to create something so big without having the stats to support it yet? The System doesn¡¯t give a User a class with unavailable abilities, you know.¡±


    ¡°Origin Skill,¡± was all she stated.


    He glowered at her. ¡°Is that your way of telling me to shut up and stop asking?¡± He sighed when she didn¡¯t answer, and just rubbed the back of his neck. ¡°Anyway, I don¡¯t get you,¡± he said with a frown.


    He gestured behind them towards the direction of the building¡¯s entrance. ¡°You avoid talking to them outside of fighting, spend most of your time either casting magic or reading and then treat them like that when you do fight.¡± He crossed his arms. ¡°Yet you cater your attacks directly to their condition that day, place them in positions best suited to developing their skills, and manage to ensure not one of them goes without their abilities being used in some way during your team fights. Do you care about them or not?¡±


    She gazed silently at the ground, making him frown heavier. ¡°Riftmire-¡±


    ¡°Very few of them are going to be here in a few years,¡± she interrupted, looking up. ¡°For most of them, all they need to do is gain sufficient strength whether that be in combat skills or levels, and then they can leave. The sooner they know how to fight, the sooner that can happen. How they feel about me is irrelevant. My job will only be to make sure they¡¯re alive by the end of it.¡±


    He tilted his head as he regarded her for a long while, and then a bitter smile appeared on his lips. ¡°You¡¯re saying that you believe they shouldn¡¯t waste their lives here by dying.¡± She didn¡¯t respond, and he shook his head with a sigh and began moving again. ¡°Well, I thought it was something like that. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve let you deal with them however you want. Only time will tell whether your actions will get the result you desire though.¡±


    They walked in silence for a bit, before Officer Stanhope slowly turned his head to narrow his eyes at her. ¡°But, how come I¡¯ve found out that the self-repair magic array is not a detail that a mere cadet is supposed to know about?¡±


    I should¡¯ve known taking pity on him would come back to bite me. Oh well. I have an excuse.


    ¡°¡­¡­ Magic array?¡± she replied.


    He glared. ¡°Yes, the magic array! Don¡¯t play dumb with me! How did you find out about it?!¡±


    She blinked. ¡°I¡¯ve seen it activating at night.¡±


    The dark-haired man nodded. ¡°Oh, yeah, sure- Are you kidding me?!¡± he shouted at her, his glare intensifying. ¡°You think I¡¯m an idiot?! ¡®Self-repair¡¯ are two very specific terms, cadet. Terms that just so happen to be exactly the name of the magic array I¡¯m talking about!¡±


    She kept walking and just glanced at him. ¡°Is this really that important?¡±


    He mimicked her words with mocking gestures. ¡°¡®Is this really that important¡¯.¡± His expression became stormy. ¡°We¡¯re looking at an extreme security breach here, cadet. The Commander told me it¡¯s connected to the mainframe array. You know, the very thing entirely responsible for all the operations of the fortress!¡±


    She looked away and clicked her tongue.


    Officer Stanhope¡¯s eyes widened in anger. ¡°Did you just click your tongue at me? Seriously?¡± He threw his hands up in the air. ¡°These are the kinds of problems I have to deal with! I get non-stop whinging from the others, attitude from you, and a sadistic Commander who has no hesitancy dumping all of this on me! Why am I still stuck in this stupid Navy in the first-¡±


    ¡°Do I hear someone complaining about me?¡±


    They both looked up to see Commander Arkenast sticking his head into the corridor with an eyebrow raised, watching the Officer with a mildly amused expression. The dark-haired man stiffened as he stared at the Commander, and then slowly turned to look at Adrianna.


    ¡°I remember you telling me your perception occupies half the training grounds, cadet,¡± he hissed at her. ¡°Just when were you going to tell me he was there?¡±


    She glanced at him, then at the Commander, and then back at him. She shrugged.


    Officer Stanhope pulled at his hair with a groan of frustration, while the Commander just chuckled. The battle-scarred man gestured for them to come in. ¡°I see you¡¯ve finally brought Cadet Riftmire, Stanhope.¡± He smirked at Adrianna. ¡°But you really should stop messing with the poor man. He might go bald if he pulls out any more hair.¡±


    The object of his words glowered at his superior as they walked into his office. The Commander sat down on his chair and propped his chin up against the armrest of his chair as they stood in front of his desk.


    ¡°I¡¯d hardly call it messing with him when I just didn¡¯t want to have to repeat myself,¡± she calmly replied, hands behind her back.


    The dark-haired man whipped his head to the side to stare at her, and the Commander grinned. ¡°Well, if that¡¯s how you think. But cadet, since we¡¯re on this topic.¡± He narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°Tell me exactly how you discovered the existence of the magic array. This is an order.¡±


    She suppressed a sigh as she resigned herself to explaining. ¡°I was in the fortress five days before the training camp began. I explored it to familiarise myself with the place, and happened to find the entrance to the mainframe level.¡±


    They both stared at her. ¡°The mainframe level. The one that has very harsh punishments for all unauthorised personnel who have entered,¡± the Commander stated blandly.


    ¡°Section Five Paragraph 23 Line Eight of the White Squall Fortress¡¯s Code of Regulations states that all Officers of all ranks must have signed permission from the highest authority within the fortress before they are authorised to enter the mainframe level. I wasn¡¯t an Officer,¡± she explained coolly.


    They continued staring at her in silence for a while, the seconds dragging into minutes. Then both of the men made eye contact, and the Commander leaned down to open a drawer in his desk. He pulled out a very thick, heavy book, and dropped it onto his desk with a thud, kicking up dust from its pages. He flicked through it to find the section she was talking about. Slowly, the Officer moved next to his superior and also read the paragraph.


    ¡°Huh,¡± Commander Arkenast said after a few minutes. ¡°Well, what do you know? And I thought this ridiculously thick book covered everything.¡±


    ¡°But, sir, it does,¡± Officer Stanhope replied, looking up to scowl at her. ¡°It¡¯s illegal to hand out the passcodes for the level¡¯s entrances. Those caught doing so, or illegally knowing them, are charged under military law with criminal offences.¡±


    She looked away. ¡°I took an alternate route.¡±


    That made the man clench his fists and glare at her even more. ¡°Details, cadet. Details.¡±


    She sighed and brushed aside some hair from her face. ¡°You both know my perception is large. I noticed a magic engineer on the first layer take a weird route to a disguised entrance. It didn¡¯t require passcodes, so I followed them. It seems the mainframe level has a shortcut the engineers like to take.¡±


    ¡°¡­.a shortcut?¡± Officer Stanhope muttered.


    Commander Arkenast frowned, flicking through the book. Then he looked up from it and rubbed his chin as he glanced to the side with a pensive expression. After some time, he returned his gaze to her. ¡°Did you see what they were using it for?¡±


    His eyes narrowed as her expression changed to become slightly hesitant as she struggled with how to phrase it nicely. Eventually, she gave up. ¡°I¡¯m guessing normally it would be for bringing down their apprentices¡­. but this time was alcohol. Alcohol and¡­. women. They were throwing parties down there.¡±


    They returned to staring at her again, incredulous. Then they both scowled, and the air surrounding the Commander rippled with his aura, distorting as his Rank-5 presence was partially unleashed. The weight of the air in the room intensified as gravity started to multiply. ¡°I think some people need to be taught exactly who their superior is, and why I  have been the Commander for over three centuries,¡± he growled.


    Officer Stanhope and her didn¡¯t say anything, and after a while, he sighed and withdrew his aura. She and the dark-haired man both drew slight breaths of relief as Commander Arkenast waved his hand.


    ¡°I¡¯ll deal with this later. I¡¯d say thank you for drawing this to my attention¡­.¡± He narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°However, we both know you only avoided punishment because you skirted around the law. That isn¡¯t something to be commended.¡±


    He sighed again and then reclined back in his chair with a grin. ¡°But this comes as a slight surprise to me, Riftmire,¡± he said. ¡°I thought you might be the type to be a stickler for the rules, but it seems you can be rather flexible when you want to be. Don¡¯t ever try something like this again though,¡± he added with a stern voice and look.


    She nodded, and his grin returned. ¡°Unless Main Navy politics come to us and I want you to stir up a little trouble for them. Then you have my permission to try something after you tell me what you¡¯ll do.¡± He looked at the Officer next to him. ¡°Right, well, while this conversation has been enlightening, it wasn¡¯t actually what I wanted to discuss with you.¡±


    His subordinate nodded, stepping out from behind the desk. ¡°First, we wanted to discuss your Superior illusion affinity. Over 90% affinity for a mid-ranked element.¡± The dark-haired man raised an eyebrow. ¡°That¡¯s not something you put on your application form.¡±


    ¡°The Captains there all had access to my information,¡± she replied calmly. ¡°If I had done so, the attempts to draw me to their Battalions would¡¯ve increased, and when I eventually joined the Navy, it¡¯s possible the order from the Main Navy or even General Battalion might¡¯ve arrived to transfer me to them or the Magecraft Battalion. If I wanted to join those Battalions, I would¡¯ve applied to them.¡±


    Commander Arkenast laughed. ¡°Yes, I can definitely see that happening. Even I couldn¡¯t have held them off for long. Well, as soon as you become an Elite Officer, they can¡¯t transfer you without your permission, so you¡¯re safe now, as nobody else can leak this. Not safe from their offers of recruitment though.¡± He smirked. ¡°As for the revelation that you have such a high affinity for the element¡­. I guess the glowing hair should¡¯ve made it obvious,¡± he said, gesturing to her.


    ¡°That was definitely not intentional,¡± she said through gritted teeth.


    The two men blinked. ¡°Does that mean you had a choice over your affinity?¡± Officer Stanhope asked curiously.


    She crossed her arms with a small frown. ¡°I had no elemental affinity. My body is abnormally receptive to mana, and so when I came in contact with a high amount of it by accident¡­ it changed my entire affinity.¡±


    ¡°How long ago was this?¡± the dark-haired man questioned.


    ¡°I entered the Tutorial at eighteen,¡± she answered. ¡°It was a month afterwards.¡±


    The two men glanced at each other with wide eyes. ¡°And you developed a completely unique magic in under three years using an affinity you barely even knew?¡± the Commander said, looking bemused. ¡°If you want to join the Academy, I could write a referral. I¡¯m not sure your talent belongs here.¡±


    ¡°If I entered the Academy, the Illusion Order would abduct me and force me to parade myself as the little student of some great Archmage of theirs, pretending my skill was a result of their teachings,¡± she stated coldly. ¡°My magic is my magic. Not theirs.¡±


    They gazed silently at her with strange expressions, and then the battle-scarred man chuckled with a wry shake of his head. ¡°It seems you know what you¡¯re doing. All right then. I¡¯ll move on from this topic.¡± He crossed his arms as he looked at her with a smile. ¡°Cadet Riftmire, you¡¯re going to be a Squad Leader.¡±


    She stayed silent as they watched for her reaction. When she didn¡¯t respond, the Commander clicked his tongue and looked at his subordinate. ¡°You were right. She definitely overheard you.¡± He turned back to her and leaned forward. ¡°But cadet, next year¡¯s going to be a little different. The members of your training camp aren¡¯t going to be split up into different squads. You¡¯re all going to stay together.¡±


    ¡°¡­.is this that special force I¡¯ve heard about?¡± she said, ensuring she looked slightly surprised and hesitant.


    ¡°So you know about it. But do you know what it does?¡± he asked. She chose to shake her head, so he nodded and reclined back in his chair. ¡°The special force is the crew of the M.W.S. Dawnlight. It¡¯s a special warship that uses some of the best ship-building technology but is also manned by only a small crew. A crew that is never any larger than twenty people. If you become Captain, that¡¯ll be your ship.¡±


    ¡°What will be my tasks?¡±


    ¡°Many different things,¡± he replied. ¡°The special force doesn¡¯t have a fixed role. But it¡¯s known for only having a crew with high combat power. Your crew will need to be able to survive the central zone of the Distorted Depths using few people rather than many like the normal warships, and will fight independent monsters most of the time.¡±


    He gestured to the window behind him, which showed the dark grey choppy seas of the region. ¡°That includes the rare monsters which are valuable, to the more dangerous monsters that can¡¯t be dealt with normally. Sometimes you¡¯ll receive an order to collect a very specific material from the higher-ups of the other Battalions.¡±


    ¡°Most of the cadets are only going to be here temporarily though,¡± she replied.


    He smiled. ¡°The special force never lasts long. You could say it¡¯s a test of sorts that gets done every half-century. And the longer the force stays together, the more talented the leader.¡±


    He opened a drawer in his desk and withdrew a folder, then held it out to her. ¡°This contains everything about your position as the leader of the Dawnlight¡¯s crew. Read that in your own time, but for now, I¡¯ll explain the basics of your position here today.¡± He smirked at her. ¡°You¡¯re going to have your work cut out for you, I¡¯ll tell you that right now.¡±

 Chapter 33 (2 of 2) Lost the battle but won the war.

    After she returned to the training camp, she still had some time before the final fight, so she left to go find the library. She wasn¡¯t using enough spiritual energy to be able to detect the contents of the books, so she was going to enjoy reading the mundane way for the first time in a while.


    Technically she could transfer mental power and spiritual energy from her main consciousness, but she was restricting herself to using only the SPRT her Status as Adrianna showed through the thinned consciousness link, partially so the additional spiritual energy she gained from her second Status wouldn¡¯t destabilise her soul, and partly so she didn¡¯t accidentally show too much ability that might make Griffin suspicious. She had nearly finished reading through all the books, and they would be onboard ships the next week, so she was taking the chance to relax slightly.


    She grabbed a thick book from one of the shelves she was nearly done with and sat down beneath the stairwell of the library¡¯s stairs. It was about half an hour later when she had to suppress a sigh as a second individual walked down the stairs to enter the library. And her perception field told her exactly who it was.


    Liliana Mason hummed as she wandered the aisles of the library, idly picking random books off the shelves and scanning them, before returning them to their places and moving on. Two times, she stopped, picked up a book from the shelves and continued to hold it as she moved around the large room. She had the two books when she rounded a corner and headed back for the stairs.


    ¡°Now, where should I read these¡­.¡± she murmured to herself as she walked towards the library¡¯s staircase.


    Then she froze as her eyes fell on the figure of Adrianna under the stairwell.


    Adrianna stared back at the blue-eyed archer for a moment and then proceeded to ignore her as she continued reading her book. Liliana remained still, looking very self-conscious, as hesitation and indecision warred on her face. Then she carefully walked towards her.


    ¡°Um¡­ have you¡­.. been here since the beginning?¡± Liliana asked awkwardly, shifting stray hands of dark-brown hair from her neck.


    Adrianna slowly raised her eyes to gaze at the woman and then nodded.


    ¡°O-Oh. I see,¡± Liliana muttered quietly. ¡°Uh¡­ sorry for the intrusion.¡±


    Adrianna looked back down. ¡°I don¡¯t own the library,¡± she replied, returning to her book, and flipping a page.


    Liliana blinked and then began edging away from her with an embarrassed look. ¡°R-Right. Er¡­ I¡¯ll leave you to it then.¡± Then she walked up the stairs with slightly stiff and rigid movements, glancing at her with a sheepish expression.


    A few minutes later, Adrianna sighed and put down her book, then looked up to stare at the brown-haired woman peeking over the stair railing, watching her from above.


    ¡°What are you reading?¡± Liliana asked curiously.


    She gazed silently at the archer for a second, before reluctantly answering, ¡°¡­it¡¯s an annotated memoir of a High-mage¡¯s musings on runic model design and theoretical advanced-level spell models for fusion elements.¡±


    It seemed the fact she even responded made the woman a bit bolder because she stopped secretively peeking over to straighten up. Liliana appeared even more curious. ¡°You¡¯re an intermediate-level mage, right? And you¡¯re already reading something like that?¡± Then she hesitated. ¡°I guess it¡¯s already obvious you¡¯re a genius magic user though¡­..¡±


    Adrianna returned to looking down at her book. ¡°I haven¡¯t met many mages, so I wouldn¡¯t know what the average standard is.¡±


    Liliana slowly took a step back down the stairs. ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to go to the Academy?¡±


    Adrianna sent the woman a flat look, well aware that she seemed prepared to return to the library¡¯s floor, but the blue-eyed archer didn¡¯t pick up on it. She prevented herself from sighing as she answered, ¡°The Academy¡¯s illusion department doesn¡¯t have any active research into the relations between spiritual energy and illusion magic. It¡¯s useless to me.¡±


    Liliana seemed to think for a moment with a pensive expression before she hesitantly spoke up. ¡°Do you know what Rilcofin¡¯s Water Element Mana Mastery Method is? The mana manipulation instructor mentioned it, but I can¡¯t find it in the mana manipulation book section.¡±


    Adrianna studied the woman and then nodded. ¡°That¡¯s because it¡¯s in the prerequisite skill section. That mana mastery method is one tertiary skill of three required to get a secondary skill related to water element manipulation.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s part of a secondary skill? Really?¡± Liliana replied, surprised. She glanced down the stairs, thinking, and then walked down them with quick steps, the two books still in her arms. She placed them down on the last step and went into the aisle containing books that detailed low-rarity skill prerequisites. After a moment, she stuck her head around the corner.


    ¡°Do you have any idea where it is exactly?¡±


    Adrianna eyed the woman dubiously before resigning herself to replying, ¡°Third shelf from the bottom, eighth book from the right.¡±


    ¡°Third shelf¡­ eighth book¡­¡± the archer murmured. ¡°Oh! Here it is! You have a good memory.¡± She pulled out the book and paused as she registered its weight. ¡°Wow, this is heavy. This might be a task to get through.¡±


    She walked over to the last step again and sat down, opening it on her lap. She began to frown after a while. ¡°Radix¡­ intersection¡­ mana linkage¡­ passive returning cyclic movement path? This sounds like magic, and I¡¯m not a mage.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because it¡¯s made for elementalists, and not warriors. The instructor probably suggested it because you¡¯re a hybrid warrior-manipulator,¡± Adrianna informed her, not looking up from her book.


    Liliana looked up at her, then at the book, then at her again. Adrianna sighed as she realised what the archer was going to ask.


    ¡°Do you have any idea what this is about?¡± Liliana asked sheepishly.


    Adrianna clicked her tongue and gestured to her. ¡°Pass it here,¡± she said.


    The archer happily, and with a bit of surprise at her answer, passed it to her and then stood up to walk over to her, sitting down against the wall under the stairwell next to her. Adrianna scanned the page, matching it to her memories containing her comprehension of the book, before beginning her explanation.


    ¡°Radix intersection and mana linkage are terms used to refer to mana veins. Radix intersections are two points inside someone where the body¡¯s mana veins merge to connect above and below your mana pool,¡± she told her. ¡°Mana linkage is when you form a mana line that doesn¡¯t use the existing mana veins as a path, and instead cuts across through the body itself to connect to its destination.¡±


    She pointed to a diagram on the page as Liliana leaned closer to look. ¡°This section discusses the upper radix intersection, which means the point connecting all the upper body¡¯s mana veins.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ thank you,¡± Liliana replied. ¡°Then¡­. the passive cyclic path thing?¡±


    ¡°As a tertiary skill, it only has a passive function,¡± she stated. ¡°That¡¯s just a name for the method used to form the passive function, and other mana mastery methods would have other names for their methods.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s helpful to know,¡± Liliana responded. Then she closed her eyes as she tried to mimic what it was describing with her water mana. She opened her eyes a few seconds later with a frown. ¡°It¡¯s more difficult than it seems.¡±


    Adrianna gazed flatly at her. ¡°Have you finished the section for the skill yet?¡±


    ¡°Er¡­.¡± She glanced down at the book on Adrianna¡¯s lap. ¡°No, not yet,¡± she said, flushing a bit.


    Adrianna picked it up and dumped it on her lap. ¡°Then finish it,¡± she stated blandly.


    Liliana gave her an embarrassed smile and then returned her focus to reading the book. Then she grimaced. ¡°I still don¡¯t understand what half these words mean though¡­..¡± she muttered.


    Adrianna put down her book and pressed a hand to her temple, realising she would not be able to be left alone as she had planned. She rested the back of her head against the wall with a sigh and held out her hand. ¡°Give it,¡± she ordered tonelessly.


    They spent the better part of the next hour decoding the words within Liliana¡¯s book, continuing that way until it was time for the final fight between Adrianna and the rest of the training camp.


    <hr>


    It¡¯s finally time.


    Conlan fiddled with his uniform¡¯s buttons as he waited for all the fighters to get ready. He had been preparing for this final fight for some time, but he still couldn¡¯t help running over the plan again and again in his head, just to make sure he hadn¡¯t missed anything. He needed to get this part perfect before they stopped doing combat, and before they left the training camp to come back next year.


    Over the last week, he had laid low, making sure he didn¡¯t stand out but was capable enough to not be kicked out of the camp. He had been to the library to learn useful skills and had formed stable relationships with most of the cadets if not any close friendships. He knew all their personalities though, so that would come with time. He had also slowly leaked some of his capabilities to the instructors so that when he eventually revealed his true strength, they wouldn¡¯t be suspicious.


    But he had to reveal that strength first. He glanced at the other cadets as he listened to their conversations.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sick of this,¡± Ruel Deirvetch muttered with crossed arms. ¡°The Commander already got her to show her spell at the very start, we don¡¯t need to keep fighting her just so they can show that she¡¯s his favourite.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s getting kind of boring,¡± Drew Baxtimer replied, looking up at the sky as he stretched his arms. ¡°Nothing¡¯s changed the last few times we fought.¡±


    Conlan looked over his shoulder as Catherine spoke up, talking to Liliana and Zhang Mingxia.


    ¡°Last fight, and then I¡¯m done. I am never going to talk to her again,¡± she exclaimed with her hands on her hips. ¡°We¡¯ll get split up into new squads in February, and I won¡¯t need to be anywhere near her.¡±


    He watched Zhang Mingxia give her an awkward smile, while Liliana looked uncomfortable with her statement. He knew the Sect heir was already aware that her company would be placed in the special force, so that explained her expression, but Liliana¡­. Well, Liliana always had a much different relationship with Adrianna than the other crew members for some reason. He guessed the signs of that were beginning to reappear. And as for Adrianna herself¡­.


    He turned around to see the woman standing still in the area of the training grounds they used when fighting her, her arms crossed as she gazed at the ground. He shook his head and tapped a hand against the pommel of his longsword. She wouldn¡¯t care about their comments.


    Finally, the head instructor arrived. The dark-haired man gestured to the woman, who nodded and then set up her illusions. When she was done, she very slightly tilted her head and gestured to them to come forward.


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to start?¡± she asked in that toneless voice of hers.


    That made several of the others scowl, and Catherine, Drew and Ruel dashed forward to begin fighting her. Zhang Mingxia and Palin Zoc¡¯uraghets were just a beat later, and he ran forward as well.


    He pulled out his sword in one swift movement and then added something to it that would enable him to fight: a mana blade. Or a pseudo-mana blade. He didn¡¯t have the mana to form a real one at his level, even with his doubled stats, so rather than gaining a blade of light mana that extended out past the sword¡¯s tip, the metal was only coated in a thin layer of the golden-yellow mana. The pseudo-mana blade was a technique only he was capable of doing, because of his years of experience with sword fighting and the light element.


    [Incomplete Mana Blade ¨C Light]


    When I get enough skills, I¡¯ll deactivate those notifications.


    He stepped onto the battlefield and habitually dodged the [Morphic Kraken Tentacle] that materialised next to him to attack him. Then he swung his sword through it, his light mana''s purification causing the fake monster mana tentacle to dissolve back into illusion mana which Adrianna recalled. Without the mana blade, he would be incapable of cutting through, the tentacle turning permeable.


    He took advantage of the break in combat to dash forward and make it to the others. He ran forward to deflect a strike heading for Catherine¡¯s exposed back and turned around to protect her for a bit as he cut away the bony spines that an illusion had morphed into.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± she replied distractedly, her spear lighting up with hot, red flames. ¡°Gimme a second and I¡¯ll be good. Ruel needs help soon.¡±


    ¡°Earthen Deformation?¡± he asked.


    She nodded, shouting, ¡°Something like that!¡± and then leapt forward with a swipe of her spear, intense heat from the weapon distorting the air around it. The illusion she attacked seemed to melt slightly as the fire mana damaged the construct, and Adrianna had to keep de-materialising and then adding illusion mana back to the destroyed parts so the illusion wouldn¡¯t disintegrate.


    He left her to run over to the mousy-brown-haired man, dodging the attempted entanglement of the grey-blue illusions as he went. The man was frowning in concentration as the stone around him liquified into molten orange lava. He didn¡¯t look at Conlan as he spoke up.


    ¡°Just help me if a Blast Shock or other spell is incoming. I¡¯m using more than earth this time.¡±


    ¡°Got it,¡± he said, using his sword to block the morphed wolf head that was aiming for the man.


    The snarling illusion clenched its teeth around his blade, but he was able to cut right through and it melted into indigo-blue mana, that quickly reformed into another illusion, this time a grasping claw tipped with dark shadowy mana nails. He ducked under it as it swiped, the shadowy claws lengthening, but it didn¡¯t hit Ruel as his sword deflected it to the side.


    Ruel threw out a hand and turned his palm to be horizontal with the ground. ¡°Wave of Molten Earth,¡± he announced, the skill sending out waves of dense fire and earth mana in the form of lava mana from him.


    Zoc¡¯uraghets and Drew dived to the sides, getting out of the skill¡¯s range. The ground turned red as it bubbled and cracked, large stone shards sinking into the glowing liquid stone. The molten stream quickly extended from in front of Ruel to head towards Adrianna.


    Adrianna glanced at it and gestured with her hand. Ruel watched warily to see what spell she would use. Conlan glanced at the ground to his left and noticed the illusion mana condensing.


    ¡°Monster skill incoming,¡± he informed Ruel.


    Ruel noticed it as well and pointed a finger at the indigo mana. ¡°Earthen Barricade.¡±


    Just as an illusory tentacle thickened and lashed out, sending a wave of frosty ice crystals that re-solidified the molten ground beneath it, the earth rose to create a short wall, blocking them from the attack. The wall quickly crumbled, and Ruel clicked his tongue with a gesture of his hand.


    ¡°It was on top of lava. Couldn¡¯t do much,¡± he said, lava bolts rising out of the molten stone to aim themselves at Adrianna¡¯s illusions.


    Conlan nodded and dashed forward to attack the illusion before it could release its skill again. His sword shattered the icy crystalised illusion and it fell apart.


    ¡°Griffin, leave it to me,¡± a new voice spoke up. They glanced at the blonde-haired and dark-skinned Palin Zoc¡¯uraghets, his sandstorm mana spinning around him. He held a large weapon, or falchion as Conlan knew it was called, in one hand. The man swung his weapon, and a thick blade of sand materialised in mimicry of its movement just a few seconds later, slicing the illusion about to attack Ruel.


    Conlan jumped across the lava pool and fought his way through the illusions to get over to Zhang Mingxia and Drew Baxtimer. At several points, he had to duck and dive to avoid the lashing of the [Morphic Kraken Tentacle]s, but he eventually managed to get to the more central part of the battlefield. He needed to be there to begin the next stage of his plan.


    Zhang Mingxia noticed him and gave him a nod. ¡°Your support is appreciated. I am beginning to be pushed back.¡±


    Several illusions had combined forces to attack the Sect heir, preventing her from getting closer to Adrianna, who was still a good ten-twenty metres away. Drew had his hands full wielding his chains, trying to restrict the movement of a particularly large tentacle that had materialised and would cause tons of damage if allowed to rampage however Adrianna pleased.


    He sprinted over, leaping over an illusion with spines that had swiped at his legs, and then swung his blade in two quick movements to give Zhang Mingxia a brief respite and an opening to counterattack. His movements split one of the illusions in half lengthwise, and it collapsed into mana particles, the illusion too small to reform itself into separate tentacles.


    He twisted his arm behind him to sever the blue-grey limb trying to get him from behind. Crouching slightly, he pushed forward with his strength to cut the base of three of the illusions trying to attack Zhang Mingxia, and the vague formation they were creating to box her in became ruined. She took the chance to escape the fleshy cage, her movements becoming quicker once she was free of their bombardment.


    He noticed Adrianna glance at her, then at Drew. Quickly, he dashed forward to yank the man out of her spell¡¯s path, his fiery chains slackening in surprise as he was pulled away.


    Adrianna pointed at him.


    ¡°Blast Shock.¡±


    The air rippled with power as the wind-element spell was cast, and her illusions distorted, unable to keep their form in the mana disruption. He glanced behind him as he heard muffled curses, to find Liao Tengfei struggling to get up, holding his head with a scowl as his head rang from the shockwave after being caught directly by the blast.


    The narrow-eyed man stumbled and faceplanted, which was when the head instructor decided to retrieve him in one quick flash, utilising his high-rank speed stat. The robed man was haphazardly dumped outside the battle zone.


    ¡°Quick thinking,¡± Drew said beside him, swinging one of his two chains as he prepared to attack again. The black metal lit up with an orange glow. ¡°You always seem to know when she¡¯ll attack.¡± And then he ran forward, throwing out a chain to hook around the new illusions that had formed.


    Conlan glanced at him, before dashing forward himself to deal with the illusions flickering with ghostly white fire in front of him.


    Well, I have known her for over 200 years. But even then, she¡¯s still unpredictable.


    He smirked.


    That¡¯s why I can¡¯t wait to see how she¡¯ll react when I achieve my goal.


    For a few minutes, he continued attacking and dodging the illusions, which cycled through several variations of monster skills, from poison mana to searing hot spikes of fire mana that materialised, the different kinds pushing him to use an assortment of techniques and sword movements at different times. He paused when he saw Catherine and Zhang Mingxia fighting next to each other, and then noticed that they were being bombarded by many more attacks than him. They were grimacing as they fought next to each other.


    He leapt over one of Wilden Leutia¡¯s undead, which was combatting another illusion, and then sprinted across the battlefield to thrust his sword into the illusory construct about to stab Catherine in the shoulder with a bony spine as her back was turned.


    His eyes widened and he spun around as he detected a morphed tentacle aiming for him only a few centimetres away from his neck, but then he blinked as a bolt of high-pressure water punctured a hole straight through it, disintegrating it into illusion essence. He turned to give Liliana on the outskirts of the battle zone a thankful nod, before helping Catherine and Zhang Mingxia fight off the illusions.


    ¡°We have not been making progress,¡± Zhang Mingxia announced to them both, her blue water qi giving off a soft glow around her.


    ¡°Should I just forfeit right now?¡± Catherine muttered, scowling as she swung out with her red-orange flame-coated spear, flickering with light. ¡°No, I won¡¯t. I won¡¯t let her have it that easy.¡±


    They ducked as Noirel Arventiel air-tackled a tall illusory tentacle that was overhead, her strange ribbon weapons extending out to about five metres around her as she twisted the fake limb into knots and flew past the illusions to entangle some others. A surprise for many in the camp when it was first discovered, the half-fae was mostly a physical combatant.


    He glanced at the two girls, and then finally decided it was time. ¡°Cathy. If I needed a distraction, do you think you could buy time?¡± he asked in a low voice as he swept away another illusion.


    The redhead shot him a look, her vivid green eyes eying him with scrutiny before a wide grin spread across her face. ¡°Sure thing, Con. If I can¡¯t beat her, then I¡¯ll go out with a bang.¡±


    ¡°It seems you are planning on attempting something,¡± Zhang Mingxia remarked, glancing at him as she severed another morphed limb from its body. ¡°I have noticed that out of us all, only you have yet to reveal some hidden method. Very well then,¡± she proclaimed, holding out her tasselled sword as the blue qi surrounding her became denser in colour. Her dark hair began trailing frost behind her as she moved.


    ¡°I shall use all my strength as well. I will wait to see what this secret technique of yours is.¡±


    With each of her slashes, the wound edges gained crystals of ice, and a spray of sharp ice shards fanned out whenever her blade moved. It was a far cry from just the blue blades of water qi from earlier. The ends of her hair began frosting over.


    The dark-haired girl re-entered the battle with even more energy than before, but Catherine did something else. She raised her spear high as red-hot fire mana gushed out of her, the air distorting with heat. She had a lopsided grin as she called out her skill name.


    ¡°Inferno Torrent!¡±


    The strange red-orange flames she used materialised around her, and the roaring fire soared high, twisting with blazing winds, but she remained untouched. The ground was burnt in a circle several metres outwards from her, and a crest of flames that would never die lit up her spearhead. Her hair flickered with fire as she readied her spear, and rushed forward into battle, the heat ruining the smaller illusory constructs just by being within her presence.


    That will keep Adrianna busy for a while, hopefully. Now, I need to focus.


    He took a deep breath and reached for his mana, even as he deflected the attack of another [Morphic Kraken Tentacle]. He began withdrawing the glittering golden-yellow light mana from his mana pool, funnelling it into threads to reach his limbs. Such fine control over internal mana was impossible without being Rank-1 or higher. Slowly, his technique began to form the correct pattern, and the light mana rose to the surface of his skin. He blocked another attack and stepped forward, and then he released the skill.


    [Gained Secondary Skill: Effervescent Battle Aura ¨C Light (Incomplete Technique)]


    Power thrummed through his limbs as all his stats were temporarily increased by 150%. A real battle aura multiplied a User¡¯s stats by a full 300%, but his battle aura was only ¡®Effervescent¡¯, after all. It flickered and dimmed as it swam about him, the phantasmal form of full-body armour made of light coating his body. But the armour wasn¡¯t detailed and didn¡¯t contain any definition, looking vague and distorted, as his incomplete skill barely materialised.


    Still, it was enough. He shot forward, his path leaving behind echoes of his light mana that appeared like afterimages. The fake mana blade he was using lengthened, becoming boosted by the release of his temporary battle aura. Any illusory constructs that attempted to attack him were disintegrated just by contact with his light mana.


    He registered Palin Zoc¡¯uraghets, Ruel Deirvetch and Zhang Meng behind him staring at him in shock, but he ignored them to catch up to Catherine and Zhang Mingxia, who were very quickly tired from using so much energy so fast.


    Catherine was panting as she leaned on her spear, her INT not high enough at her level to use the unique ability of her Origin Skill he knew her Inferno Torrent was for long. The fire leaping along her hair flickered and dimmed, her mana exhausted.


    Zhang Mingxia was still fighting, but her ice-encased longsword was slowly losing its ice crystals, and the blue qi around her was thinning as her spiritual energy was exhausted.


    The girls glanced behind them, and their eyes widened as they saw his speed and battle aura. He grinned at their reactions but ran past them, aiming straight for Adrianna. Adrianna narrowed her icy eyes and faced a flat palm towards him.


    ¡°Arcane Barrier x3. Mana Shield x3,¡± she stated calmly.


    As she cast the spells, the first crystalline barrier manifested with the sound of something hitting glass, and a three-layered shield appeared, protecting the side of her that faced him. Then the second spell activated, the round Mana Shield appearing between the gaps of each of the Arcane Barriers.


    Just as quick-witted as always. She immediately analysed that my battle aura enhanced both my mana and physical damage. But is she not going to attack?


    He was proven wrong when she faced her other palm towards him. The air of the entire Zone of Control that was the battlefield glowed with white light, and then suddenly, every single one of her illusions collapsed into indigo-blue illusion mana, that was drawn towards her. He tried to use the chance to get to her before she cast her next ability, but she easily diverted some mana to form a large [Morphic Kraken Tentacle] that didn¡¯t instantly dissolve, keeping him occupied.


    The others watched her warily as she pointed up.


    ¡°Phantasmal Conflagration,¡± she announced with a cold expression.


    Then everyone froze as above their heads, the giant form of her Morphic Kraken¡¯s main body appeared, and a horrendous screeching sound resonated within their heads, the presence of the artificial monster made stronger. A mouth full of jagged rotating layers of teeth opened above them, and then the construct paused. They watched in tense silence as its entire blue-grey body glowed with aqua light.


    Boom!


    And then a giant ball of aqua flame rushed out of its mouth and headed straight for him, its surface flickering with tongues of magical fire. His eyes widened as he realised what skill that was.


    She copied the fire breath attack of the Monstrous Drake King?! Is that even possible for a Rank-1?! But¡­


    He gave her a ferocious grin and pointed his golden blade at her. ¡°Did you think I had nothing else?!¡±


    It¡¯s still not enough.


    With a roar, he charged forward and began moving his mana into a pattern that was very familiar to him. Into the first sword skill of a skill that had been beside him for centuries. And into a skill that made him become the final victor of the Demon Realm Vs. Mystical Realm War.


    ¡°Heroic Sword of Brilliance: Illuminate!¡±


    [Gained Secondary Skill: Heroic Sword of Brilliance: Illuminate]


    His sword flared with gold-white light, searing an intense afterimage into the eyes of anyone who saw it. The battlefield flashed, the entire training grounds becoming lit up with radiance, and everyone stared as they registered the massive illusory construct hovering over everyone warp and distort to flake away into particles of mana, not even retaining their element as all the illusion mana scattered in every direction. They waited for the glow to recede, watching for the outcome of the battle.


    Conlan coughed, his mana fizzling and dying out as his battle aura and mana blade collapsed, not having the mana to continue being sustained. He was sitting down on the ground, the force of something having pushed him back when his sword clashed with what Adrianna counterattacked with. His sword was lying a few metres away. He looked up to see what she had done.


    Standing there, unaffected, was Adrianna with no expression. Her palm was held out, and surrounding her was a multi-coloured crystalline barrier made of densely packed runes, the decagonal shield reflecting and refracting light off of its surface. Then, as he watched, a small crack on one corner of the barrier spread, and the entire barrier crumbled into shards that dematerialised, reverting to normal mana.


    They blinked and turned to look to the side as a dark-haired man appeared beside them with a twist of light. The head instructor glanced between them and looked at Conlan with a small frown on his face, but sighed and crossed his arms.


    ¡°Riftmire wins.¡±


    Conlan put on a disappointed expression as he clenched his fist, but in reality, he wasn¡¯t disappointed in the slightest.


    After all, that wasn¡¯t what I was aiming for.


    He stood up, brushing off the dust from his clothes, and retrieved his sword. That seemed to be the instigator as the silence was quickly broken. Catherine rushed over and slung an arm across his shoulders, grinning widely at him.


    ¡°Conlan! You did it! You finally landed an attack on her and even broke her shield! I can¡¯t believe it!¡± she exclaimed excitedly.


    ¡°Yes, it was rather unexpected,¡± added Zhang Mingxia, who had arrived just after Catherine. She smiled as she spoke again. ¡°I am impressed by your abilities. I had not expected there to be a change during the last battle.¡±


    ¡°Hey, that was battle aura, wasn¡¯t it?¡± asked Drew Baxtimer, he and the others slowly gathering around Conlan. The red-haired man smirked and stretched his arms out in front of him. ¡°If I had known you had something like that, I would¡¯ve asked to fight you more.¡±


    Palin Zoc¡¯uraghets walked over and inspected the spot where he had fought Adrianna. ¡°It seems you even pushed her back as well.¡±


    ¡°Ha! The Commander¡¯s favourite finally had the little commoners drag down her pristine reputation,¡± Ruel Deirvetch proclaimed with a wide smirk, hands on his hips. ¡°I wish I could¡¯ve been closer when it happened.¡±


    He smiled and looked around to see where Adrianna was.


    Now, how is she going to react when she sees them all praising me like this? Is she finally going to lose her indifference and show some emotion towards-


    He froze, and his expression stiffened as he saw what she was doing. Completely uncaring about the words and actions of them all, she was calmly walking off the battleground with not a glance in his direction, her face expressionless like normal. Her icy gaze didn¡¯t land on them once as she looked to the head instructor, who nodded, and she turned her back on them to head towards the exit of the training grounds.


    Catherine followed his gaze and scowled when she saw where he was looking. ¡°You don¡¯t need to pay her any more attention. We¡¯re done with her,¡± she said with a scoff.


    ¡°Yeah, Riftmire can go die in a ditch for all I care. I never want to see her again,¡± Ruel Deirvetch muttered.


    He gave them a calm smile in return to their words and paused to look over behind him when he felt a cool hand pat him on the shoulder. Liliana was there, and she smiled at him.


    ¡°Good job, Conlan.¡±


    He blinked, and then his smile widened. He gave her a nod. ¡°Thank you, Liliana.¡±


    Yeah, I don¡¯t need to worry about her right now. Making the others admire and want to follow me is more important. I need to win them over. And¡­.


    He gave her receding form another glance, before turning his back on her to talk to the people around him, all proud and happy about his accomplishment.


    I still have more than a year left to change her emotions towards me. She''ll come around eventually.


    What Conlan didn¡¯t know was that Lucille was utterly seething after he had acted that way, angry at his manipulation of her former crewmates¡­¡­ and angry at his shameless attempts to win the favour of the people whose lives he had destroyed by his own actions the first time around.

 Chapter 34 (1 of 2) Begone, nobles. Good riddance.

    Two figures were in a long corridor, decorated by paintings and expensive ornaments. Nobody else was around, the two individuals were in the middle of a private conversation. One was a girl with long black hair, wearing a violet suit, while the other was a man with platinum-blonde hair, dressed in a light grey suit.


    ¡°Keep in contact. If you need anything, don¡¯t hesitate to ask me for it.¡± The dark-haired girl with a half-mask smirked and held up her pocket watch. ¡°This exists for a reason, you know.¡±


    Efratel Vadel chuckled and nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to send you letters regularly. I¡¯m not sure how willing I could be to use the privilege of the Aurelian Commission Head¡¯s vault access very often, but if there¡¯s anything important, I¡¯ll ask for your support.¡± He bowed his head. ¡°Again, thank you for everything, Lady Goldcroft.¡±


    Lucille gave him a dismissive wave. ¡°Just call me Lucy. I don¡¯t need the formalities, and it doesn¡¯t fit with my image to have someone I know from before I became the Head of the Faction call me by my last name,¡± she said with a sly smile.


    He blinked, and then his expression became hesitant. ¡°Right. Your¡­ image,¡± he replied slowly.


    She observed his reaction and then realised what the issue was. ¡°You¡¯re worried I don¡¯t have the power to protect you and your cousin?¡± He looked a bit awkward when she said that, so she smiled. ¡°That¡¯s not an issue. The act I put on for the debut was my idea, after all. And even if the Counties stopped working with me for some reason¡­¡± She held up her pocket watch again and grinned. ¡°I have enough money to push my agenda regardless.¡±


    He stared at her and then shook his head wryly. ¡°Of course. I keep forgetting. That¡¯s probably a bad thing to forget.¡± He checked his wristwatch. ¡°Well, I suppose I better head off now,¡± he said. Then he glanced at her, looking curious. ¡°But I still can¡¯t work out how you knew I was a manager of the Commission back then. It¡¯s been revealed you came from an outer region, somewhere that shouldn¡¯t know of the Commission, and then there was the thing with the Millennium Chapter Announcement¡­¡± He laughed. ¡°Marellen still thinks you might be a time traveller.¡±


    She put her hands on her hips and smirked. ¡°He¡¯ll have to see for himself when he meets me again. Maybe I¡¯ll invite you guys sometime next year.¡±


    Efratel smiled. ¡°Then I¡¯ll look forward to it. I¡¯ll try to keep Marellen out of trouble until-¡±


    ¡°Efratel! Where could he possibly be? He said he¡¯d be-¡± The source of the voice rounded a corner and spotted Efratel. ¡°Oh, there you a¡­re¡­.¡±


    Hector Vadel stopped on the spot to stare at the blonde-haired man and Lucy, frozen stiff as he registered the situation. Turning the corner and following the Baron, Silas Vadel appeared and blinked as he saw who Efratel was talking to. Then the navy-haired battlemage turned his eyes away to avoid eye contact with Lucy, looking rather shifty. The Baron just glanced back and forth between Efratel and Lucy with wide eyes, very confused about why his son was talking to the new puppet Head of the Commission, someone very high up in the Faction hierarchy.


    Lucille saw their reactions and grinned at Efratel. ¡°I think there¡¯s a discussion you need to have here.¡±


    He coughed awkwardly into his fist. ¡°Er, yeah, just maybe. Then, I¡¯ll suppose I¡¯ll take my leave.¡± He dipped his head. ¡°Farewell, Commis-¡± He stopped and rephrased his words when he saw her raise an eyebrow. ¡°Uh¡­ Lucy¡­¡± he finished with a glance at his father¡¯s reaction.


    The Baron paled and then turned to look at the battlemage next to him, silently pleading for an answer. Silas Vadel just shrugged, looking rather sheepish.


    Lucille smirked and waved goodbye. ¡°Bye then, Efratel.¡± She turned around and walked away, but was listening to them through her perception field.


    Hector Vadel marched up to his son once she was ¡®out of hearing¡¯ distance. ¡°Efratel!¡± he hissed. ¡°What in the realms were you doing!? Why were you talking to the Faction Head?!¡±


    Efratel sighed with a wry smile on his lips as he walked next to his uncle and father towards the exit of the corridor. ¡°About that, father¡­ there¡¯s something I¡¯ve been struggling with how to explain to you¡­. You see, it turns out I¡¯ve met the Faction Head before¡­.¡±


    Lucy shook her head as the sounds of the blonde-haired man trying to explain the events of the inn a few months ago slowly quietened and died out as they left her perception field. It was better that it happened this way though, because then the Baron would at least know his son was telling the truth instead of being sceptical of her transferal document. She stretched her arms above her head as she made for the nearest lift.


    There were two people she needed to meet today.


    ¡­


    ¡°Huh. So this is what the Founder¡¯s floor looks like,¡± a man with a blonde ponytail announced, hands on his hips. He was quickly shoved aside by a man with red-tipped straight silver hair, as he was blocking the entryway. Except the shorter man wasn¡¯t quite able to get him to move completely.


    ¡°Move you idiot. And why are you saying something so ridiculous? This place looks exactly the same as the floors below,¡± Caius Evisenhardt grumbled, trying to squeeze past the taller man.


    Jacques Rouzet got out of the way, and Caius stumbled as he was finally free to move. He glared at the man before huffing and straightening up. He looked around. ¡°This was where Vincent asked us to meet, right? The living room with four couches in the section opposite the Faction Head¡¯s quarters?¡±


    ¡°Well if it¡¯s not, who cares,¡± Jacques replied, casually sitting down on a couch. ¡°Nobody can make me walk through any more hallways. This place is way too big.¡±


    Caius clicked his tongue. ¡°And this place isn¡¯t yours. Don¡¯t act so freely here,¡± he complained but likewise sat down.


    ¡°Meh. If the Faction Head hates it, then she can just fire me. It¡¯s not like I ever wanted to work in the first place,¡± the man with a ponytail announced.


    Caius glowered at Jacques. ¡°Seriously, how did you get top marks with this attitude?¡± Then he considered it, a strange look on his face. ¡°No, seriously, how did you? You said you barely earned a pass on all your subjects because of the exams, so how did you get top marks?¡±


    ¡°The final project was fun, so I did well,¡± Jacques told him. ¡°And you know the Senior Academy only cares about the final project so they can copy the student¡¯s ideas for their use. If letting them steal the credit let me leave that prison, I¡¯d do it as many times as it takes.¡±


    Caius rolled his eyes. ¡°Sure, whatever. Just don¡¯t make things too difficult for Vincent.¡± He looked around the room. ¡°Speaking of Vincent, where is-¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here. I see you¡¯re both here as well,¡± the silver-haired man said, sticking his head around the doorway. Vincent walked in and sat down next to Caius on his couch.


    ¡°Ah, so this was the right room?¡± Caius asked, to Vincent¡¯s nod. ¡°I was worried Jacques here had already messed things up by acting like he owns the place.¡±


    ¡°Even if it was the wrong place, it wouldn¡¯t matter,¡± Vincent replied, taking off his glasses and sighing. ¡°She¡¯d still be able to find us.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± Jacques asked sceptically. ¡°This place is massive.¡±


    Vincent glanced at him and then shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s a question you¡¯ll have to ask her, I¡¯m afraid.¡±


    Jacques narrowed his eyes while Caius looked curious. ¡°And when is she coming?¡±


    ¡°When she comes,¡± Vincent said with a shrug. ¡°She won¡¯t be long, but it might take a few minutes.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah! The Faction Head!¡± Jacques suddenly exclaimed, leaning forward. Vincent and Caius gazed dubiously at him as he asked his question. ¡°Why is an 18-year-old girl the Faction Head of the Aurelian Commission? I mean, the four founding Counties of the Commission listening to a girl only two years out of the Tutorial? It¡¯s ridiculous.¡±


    ¡°3 and a half months, actually,¡± Vincent replied calmly. ¡°She was teleported into the Tutorial at 18.¡±


    ¡°That makes it even worse though!¡± Jacques responded, looking at Vincent with a strange expression.


    Vincent just spread his hands. ¡°Ask her then. She might explain it if she feels like it. But I¡¯m not telling you anything unless she says I can.¡±


    Jacques scowled. ¡°How quickly your loyalties switch from your friends of many years to some new lord of yours with a pretty face. Have you gotten her signature yet?¡±


    Caius and Vincent stared at him with flat expressions for a long while. Eventually, Vincent spoke up. ¡°I¡¯m beginning to regret this,¡± he stated dryly.


    Caius paused to contemplate the question. ¡°If you¡¯ve signed the contract to become her aide¡­ then technically, you did get her signature.¡±


    Vincent looked at the man next to him with mild exasperation as Jacques laughed and crossed his arms.


    ¡°See? I told you so,¡± he proclaimed smugly. The other two shook their heads, and then Caius turned to Vincent.


    ¡°Anyway, I want to ask something else,¡± Caius said to Vincent. ¡°What kind of person is the Faction Head? She¡¯s obviously not really like how she acted at the balls this week.¡±


    Vincent blinked and then leaned back on the couch with his arms crossed, a complicated look on his face. ¡°Hm. That¡­ is a difficult question,¡± he replied after a moment. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how to answer that.¡± He held his chin. ¡°Maybe it would be better if I explained my first experiences with her.¡±


    He crossed one leg over the other, Jacques and Caius watching him with interest as he began to speak. ¡°The first time we met, she immediately identified me as Vincent Evisenhardt, and ordered me to help her sort the Founder¡¯s vault documents.¡±


    They became confused. ¡°¡­but even if you have silver hair, that doesn¡¯t make you a direct member of the main bloodline,¡± Caius pointed out.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m pretty sure I know how she knew who I was,¡± Vincent responded. Then his expression went flat. ¡°But she made me work through those documents with her for a full three days when I was originally only supposed to stay at Headquarters for a day to take a break, and in the end, I had to speak up to initiate the conversation so I could stop working.¡±


    Caius and Jacques stared at him. Then Jacques broke out into laughter. ¡°But isn¡¯t that your fault for trying to beat her at her own game? If you had just spoken up before then, then you wouldn¡¯t have needed to do all that extra work!¡±


    He just sighed. ¡°I was expecting her to give me different orders, trying to see how willing I would be to listen. Not just help her with work for twelve hours of the day. She didn¡¯t even look at me as she passed me more forms to sort.¡± He shook his head ruefully and then continued, ¡°Anyway, after that, she took me to the Pavilion¡¯s gardens to go find her snake bond.¡±


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Snake¡­ bond?¡± Caius asked curiously, Jacques likewise looking interested.


    Vincent blinked and then nodded. ¡°Ah yes, that hasn¡¯t become common knowledge yet. The Faction Head has a bond of equals with a winged snake hybrid named Scytale. I think he said he was called an ¡®amphiptere¡¯,¡± he added. He smiled slightly as he considered his interactions with the serpent. ¡°Scytale is¡­ also an interesting character.¡±


    Then he chuckled. ¡°But you can ignore him for the most part. He usually goes about the place, complaining about the Faction Head to whoever will listen, uses weird references and words nobody understands, and just talks too much in general, mostly empty bragging about himself.¡±


    ¡°How come nobody¡¯s seen him then?¡± Jacques spoke up. ¡°He doesn¡¯t sound like the shy type.¡±


    Vincent vaguely gestured in the direction of Lucy''s room. ¡°He¡¯s in hibernation. He ate a strong natural treasure so he could become an advanced beast, so apparently he¡¯ll be asleep for the next two weeks. I think Lucille said if things go well he¡¯ll gain a human form in January.¡±


    ¡°Lucille?¡± Caius said, looking surprised. ¡°You call her by her first name?¡±


    Vincent nodded. ¡°She doesn¡¯t like formalities too much. She¡¯ll probably ask you to call her Lucille or Lucy too.¡± He shot Jacques a smirk. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m not too worried about Jacques here. She¡¯d be fine with him, even if his incredibly loud mouth started to run wild again.¡± Then he thought for a moment with a strange expression. ¡°Although, he¡¯ll likely be hit by a pen sometime in the future.¡±


    ¡°Why a pen?¡± Jacques asked confusedly.


    ¡°The Faction Head has a habit of throwing small objects at people when she thinks they have made a dumb statement,¡± Vincent stated flatly. ¡°Normally that¡¯s a pen because that¡¯s what she has closest to her most of the time, but it can be anything from cutlery to a ball of crushed paper if it¡¯s close enough.¡±


    ¡°¡­ huh,¡± was all Jacques replied.


    Caius gave Vincent a strange look. ¡°And how many times has this happened to you that you can pinpoint this as a habit?¡±


    ¡°Er¡­.¡± Vincent coughed into his fist. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s happened once or twice¡­¡±


    Jacques smirked, while Caius just shook his head. ¡°Right. Well, what else is she like?¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Vincent contemplated it a bit. ¡°She has a terrible sleep schedule. If she says you can go back, just accept the offer. It¡¯s not worth trying to be nice by staying until she¡¯s done her work.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that!¡± Jacques replied with a smug grin. ¡°I¡¯ll be taking any chance to ditch work and leave as fast as I can.¡±


    Vincent and Caius shot him mildly exasperated looks and then ignored him. Vincent held his chin as he considered something else. He frowned slightly. ¡°And¡­ she doesn¡¯t smile much.¡±


    Caius and Jacques blinked. ¡°Really? I understand she was acting at the ball, but that seems a rather big contrast in personality if that¡¯s the case,¡± Jacques said.


    Vincent sighed and ran a hand through his hair. ¡°It¡¯s not that she doesn¡¯t smile. She smiles quite a bit when talking to someone, and she¡¯s not stern or harsh. But if she¡¯s not talking to anyone, or if she¡¯s alone, she goes completely expressionless.¡±


    The two other men traded glances as they looked at Vincent, perplexed. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure most people are naturally expressionless when alone though,¡± Caius commented. ¡°Normally I don¡¯t find myself smiling when nobody has said anything.¡±


    ¡°No, but-¡± Vincent hesitated and then sighed again. He rubbed his face as he struggled with how to explain it. ¡°Sure, that¡¯s normal for most people. But most people¡¯s faces also show something now and then. It¡¯s like she¡¯s not even thinking anything when she does that.¡± He frowned at the ground as he crossed his arms. ¡°It¡¯s a little unnerving,¡± he muttered.


    Caius and Jacques just looked at him, appearing unsure of what to make of his statement. Then Jacques shook his head. ¡°You said she¡¯s not stern or harsh, so then what is her personality actually like? I¡¯m getting conflicting ideas here.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s sarcastic, whimsical, and loves to mess with people,¡± Vincent replied dryly. ¡°You think you¡¯ve got her figured out and the next day she does something just to prove that notion wrong. She¡¯s stubborn and bull-headed, and nobody can ever stop her from doing what she wants. Her entertainment is most often obtained when she successfully annoys someone else. Usually me.¡±


    He leaned forward with exasperation. ¡°She ordered her entire wardrobe in bright violet, and I¡¯m pretty sure it was just to see my reaction. It¡¯s ridiculous.¡±


    ¡°Wait, her entire wardrobe is that colour?¡± Jacques asked incredulously. ¡°She really wears clothes like that all the time?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Vincent complained, throwing his hands in the air. ¡°Then she uses the excuse that she¡¯s the ¡®puppet head¡¯ to wear them, saying she can wear whatever she wants. And she does. She also drinks this horridly bitter mundane drink from her home world called ¡®coffee¡¯. I tried it once.¡± He shuddered. ¡°Never again, that¡¯s a certainty.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure with your tastes, you¡¯d hate something like that,¡± Caius remarked with a smile.


    Vincent stiffened as his expression became slightly awkward, and then he rubbed his nose. ¡°Please don¡¯t ever tell her about that,¡± he muttered.


    ¡°So¡­ she was responsible for all those plans you announced on the first day?¡± Caius asked, raising an eyebrow.


    Vincent nodded. ¡°All of them. She says the ideas were taken from how her home world operates, but she¡¯s clearly gone to the effort of adapting all of them to the Commission while ensuring the balance of power is maintained, so don¡¯t believe she¡¯s not capable. And just so you know, she also came up with the idea to act as a puppet head.¡±


    Then he paused as he had a thought, and became serious as he looked at Caius and Jacques. ¡°I have something important to say. If you ever see her trying to leave Headquarters without anyone else, you must find me as soon as you can, because it¡¯s likely I will have no idea that she¡¯s even trying to leave. Try to see if you can stall her, or find out where she¡¯s going at the very least. I do not want a repetition of last month, but I have a very strong hunch she¡¯s going to do it again.¡±


    ¡°Last month?¡± Jacques asked curiously.


    Vincent just groaned and buried his face in his hands. ¡°It was the worst. One morning she decided to completely run away without telling anyone and only came back several hours later, and the entire time not one of the staff members managed to catch sight of her doing so. And her bond was an accomplice too!¡± he said, looking up. ¡°The number of times I had to run around to random locations that blighted snake had directed me to¡­ only to find out that the very window I found him beneath in the morning was the one she escaped out of! I didn¡¯t think she¡¯d actually do that!¡±


    He rested his head against the back of the couch as he shook his hands at the roof. ¡°Why a window, for goodness sake?! Couldn¡¯t she have just taken the front door if she could remain unseen by everyone? And it was even on the fortieth floor! Then I¡¯ve managed to find her lying down in strange places that count among the least of them beneath a table, under a stairwell, in a bush, behind curtains, and even on the roof of a balcony!¡±


    Caius and Jacques exchanged looks at his outburst. ¡°You seem like you have some frustrations,¡± Caius said.


    ¡°Many, many of them,¡± Vincent replied flatly. ¡°For instance, she got someone to craft her a magic staff in the shape of a cane. She doesn¡¯t even need a cane. In fact, she doesn¡¯t even need a magic staff either, as I¡¯ve seen her easily cast spells without one before. I have no clue why she carries it around with her.¡± He rubbed his head. ¡°And then there¡¯s her weird sense of style¡­.¡±


    ¡°You mean the men¡¯s clothing? It suits her, and it¡¯s not that strange to see in the Emp-¡± Jacques¡¯s words were cut off as Vincent jabbed a finger at him.


    ¡°And it¡¯s comments like that which will motivate her to continue! Seriously, do not say things like that around her, please,¡± Vincent said with exasperation. ¡°But no, I¡¯m talking about beforehand as well. All her clothing was pitch black, from the neck down. Maybe occasionally she¡¯d switch to a different shirt of some varying shade between dark grey to vaguely brighter than black, but she still constantly wore this weird high-necked black coat that went to her ankles. That, or another shorter black overcoat.¡±


    ¡°To match the mask maybe?¡± Jacques wondered.


    ¡°But according to her serpent, that was all she wore before her mask,¡± Vincent muttered. ¡°Does she mess with people to hide a bland personality, I wonder?¡±


    Then he scowled before Caius or Jacques could respond. ¡°And if it¡¯s messing with people, I cannot believe what she did on that first day. I had explicitly said that she should not slide down the handrail of that staircase, and what did she do? She slid down it! What was even the point of her asking me whether she should do it in the first place!?¡± he exclaimed angrily.


    ¡°If you have this many complaints about her, then why haven¡¯t you gone and spoken to her about this yet?¡± Jacques asked.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve been wondering how you were going to explain that, Vincent.¡±


    There was silence as all three men stiffened. Lucy watched with amusement as they slowly turned to see her behind them, casually leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed. Vincent scowled as she walked over and sat down on a couch opposite them.


    She blinked and held up her hands as she saw their gazes.


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t mind me, I am perfectly happy to sit here and listen to my aide reveal all the annoyances he has about me to the two people who have to meet me for the first time today. Please continue with your conversation.¡±


    The silence continued as Caius and Jacques awkwardly glanced between her and Vincent, who was glaring at her. Then her aide sighed and buried his face in his hands. ¡°How long have you been there?¡±


    ¡°About five minutes,¡± she replied, propping her chin up against the armrest of the couch.


    He removed his hands to look at her. ¡°Which means you were fully capable of hearing our conversation since the very beginning,¡± he said sourly, looking very unhappy.


    The other two men shot him confused looks, clearly wondering why she would be capable of hearing them when she wasn¡¯t even in the room before then, but she ignored them and just smirked. ¡°Maybe?¡±


    He groaned and rubbed his face. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have told us you were there earlier? Why did you have to wait until now?¡±


    ¡°But it was very interesting to listen to,¡± she said, crossing her legs. ¡°Also, I¡¯m glad to know my choice of attire suits me. Because I didn¡¯t plan on ever changing it in the first place.¡±


    It took a second for Jacques to realise she was talking to him, before the ponytailed man slowly grinned, and then started laughing. ¡°Vincent, I think you just got caught by your boss. And after what you said about me not running my mouth¡­¡±


    Vincent¡¯s glare switched from her to Jacques as even Caius smirked at his situation. She smiled slightly as her aide eventually sighed and looked up at the roof, ignoring them all. She gestured to Caius and Jacques.


    ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m Lucille Goldcroft, as I¡¯m sure you no doubt know by now. But yes, call me Lucille or Lucy, because if I have to hear one more ¡®Faction Head¡¯, ¡®Miss¡¯ or ¡®Lady Goldcroft¡¯ this week, I just might curse someone,¡± she said, her expression going flat. ¡°You don¡¯t want that to be you.¡±


    Caius and Jacques began staring at her with strange looks on their faces, likely feeling a sense of incongruity when comparing her behaviour of the current to how she acted during the week. They slowly nodded.


    Vincent stopped staring at the ceiling in silent frustration to eye her dubiously. ¡°Do you even know any curses?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t make empty threats.¡±


    He returned to glaring at her. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t even be threatening my friends. It was because of your orders that they¡¯re here in the first place.¡±


    She pointed at Caius and Jacques, who were watching their interaction, bemused about why they were the topic of the conversation. ¡°Do they look like they¡¯re the ones who are annoyed at my statement?¡± She paused as she considered something. ¡°Is threatening your friends something else you plan to add to your list of frustrations about me?¡±


    His face darkened. ¡°Don¡¯t bring that up,¡± he hissed.


    She ignored him to tug on the sleeve of one of her gloves. ¡°You need to stop being so angry. After all, you weren¡¯t the one who had to listen to their aide freely complain about them to the people who are now going to be in frequent contact with them for at least the next year if not longer.¡± She looked up and shrugged. ¡°By the way, I¡¯m telling Scytale when he wakes up that you think you can ignore him. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll quieten down after that.¡±


    Vincent¡¯s expression twitched as he crossed his arms to stare at her in silent irritation, but Jacques looked between them in astonishment.


    ¡°Wait, so you really were able to hear our conversation from the very start?¡± he asked, stunned. ¡°How?¡±


    Lucy and Vincent stopped having a silent stare-off to direct their gazes to Jacques instead. He slowly leaned back. ¡°Uh, why are you looking at me like that?¡±


    Vincent gave her a side-eye. ¡°Are you going to tell them?¡±


    Lucy held her chin as she contemplated it. ¡°I wonder how long it would take for them to realise if I just left them to work it out themselves.¡±


    ¡°If you do that, I will be telling them, regardless of whether they believe me or not,¡± he stated flatly, not interested in letting her play her games.


    She clicked her tongue. ¡°You¡¯re no fun when you¡¯re grumpy.¡±


    He scowled. ¡°Hey, I am not-¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t particularly mind if you choose to keep Jacques in the dark,¡± Caius interjected, making Jacques glare at him. ¡°But if this is something I need to know for my job, I would prefer to know¡­.whatever this is that you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    Vincent narrowed his eyes at Lucille, making her sigh. ¡°Yes, yes, okay, I¡¯ll show them. I wasn¡¯t actually planning on not telling them.¡±


    She raised her hand to point at them. ¡°This is going to feel rather strange.¡±


    They all stared at her as the air suddenly rippled outward from her and she released her soul pressure, the light distorting within the room as they felt the immense presence of her soul descend on them. All three of them quickly went pale, and she withdrew her spiritual energy, not wanting to use it on them for long, nor risk destabilising her soul further. They were silent.


    Then Vincent glared at her. ¡°Did you have to use it on me too?¡±


    She glanced at him with exasperation. ¡°My soul pressure expands outwards in a circle. I can¡¯t not include you if I wanted to reach them over there,¡± she said, gesturing to the two men. ¡°This isn¡¯t like the time with Silas Vadel.¡±


    ¡°Soul¡­ pressure?¡± Caius muttered. He looked up from where he had been gazing at the ground. ¡°So you have spiritual sense? Is that how you heard us?¡±


    She sighed. ¡°It¡¯s not spiritual sense, but it¡¯s close enough.¡± She blinked when Jacques, who had been staring at her, raised his hand to point at her.


    ¡°You¡¯re not 18,¡± he stated.


    Vincent looked surprised, while Caius just gazed at him in confusion. Lucy clapped her hands. ¡°Thank you! Finally, someone I haven¡¯t needed to explain it to myself.¡±


    ¡°Jacques, you know how soul presence works?¡± Vincent asked, Caius becoming even more confused.


    Jacques furrowed his brows with a grimace. ¡°Yep. A special instructor from the Heavenly Realm taught all the students at one point. He demonstrated his soul pressure to us as he was describing spiritual energy in these uselessly fanciful, obscure terms that made no sense and contained the ¡®Heavenly Dao¡¯ in every sentence, which I never got a straight answer on what that actually was.¡±


    ¡°Ah, the Heavenly Dao refers to the System. When the realm was assimilated, it took over the operations of the Heavenly Realm,¡± Lucy explained.


    His eyes widened. ¡°Woah, everything makes a hell of a lot more sense now.¡±


    ¡°Wait, wait, wait,¡± Caius interrupted, holding up a hand. He gestured to her. ¡°You mean to say she¡¯s older than she looks?¡± He hesitated. ¡°Have you changed your appearance? Wait, no, that can¡¯t be it. You¡¯re Rank-0, not Rank-3, and you¡¯re human, right?¡± he asked.


    She nodded, making him frown. ¡°Then¡­ how¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure she¡¯s physically 18. At least I think,¡± Jacques replied, shooting Vincent and Lucy a glance. They both nodded, so he continued. ¡°But her soul is older. Quite a bit older,¡± he said with a strange expression. ¡°Like, much, much, much, much-¡±


    Vincent facepalmed as Lucy¡¯s expression gradually grew flatter, Jacques going on and on without reading the room. Caius winced as the man continued to dig his grave. She pointed a finger at him.


    ¡°-much, much, much, much- Ack!¡± He choked as the mana orb shot him in the throat, and he doubled over, coughing. Vincent sighed, having expected that outcome.


    ¡°For your information,¡± Lucille began dryly, ¡°I don¡¯t care about my age. But as you have so kindly pointed out, my soul age is 249 years, leaving me without much patience for idiots.¡±


    She rolled her eyes as the man shot her a sheepish grin, clearly not having taken her message very seriously. Caius looked between them both and then spoke up, ¡°So the Counties are aware of this?¡±


    ¡°The main family members at the very least,¡± Vincent replied, nodding. ¡°But the direct vassals are mostly still unaware, only knowing Lucy was the origin of the plans. Except for Count Ravimoux¡¯s vassals, but they¡¯re a different situation.¡±


    ¡°How come they haven¡¯t killed you yet?¡± Jacques casually asked Lucy, already forgetting his most recent lesson about subtlety and its correlation to magic bullets.


    She gave him a flat stare as she slowly held up her pocket watch. ¡°Because this can ruin their foundations with the click of a button.¡±


    ¡°¡­ ah.¡±


    ¡°The Counts are sure to bring this up eventually,¡± Vincent remarked, frowning slightly as he looked at the object.


    She glanced at him and nodded. ¡°Of course. But it would likely be when I visit the Counties personally in the future. They¡¯ll likely want to avoid discussing the contents of their inheritances near the other County members, regardless of the lack of desire to sabotage each other. It¡¯s just good political sense.¡±


    ¡°So you do plan on visiting them? When would that be?¡± he asked.


    She thought about it and sighed. ¡°It would have to be some time after the next debut, and will probably be one of the first things I do after that. We first have this competition, and then the end-of-year annual banquet, and the next year we have to begin the preparations for the external debut.¡± She frowned and looked down at the ground. ¡°And then somehow I¡¯m supposed to find time during that for me and Scytale to level up and learn skills. Oh, and I also need to level up my two swords, because they¡¯re sentient weapons,¡± she complained.


    ¡°Weapons? Weren¡¯t you a mage?¡± Jacques asked, confused.


    Lucy¡¯s expression twitched as Vincent smirked. She rubbed her face and then pulled back her jacket so they could see one of the two sheaths at her waist. ¡°I have two soulbound transforming swords. Their dormant state is as daggers.¡± She paused and looked down at Ouroboros, whose snake ornament had begun wriggling as the weapon registered she was being talked about through their soulbond.


    ¡°Also¡­¡± She pulled the white blade out and let go, the dagger hovering in mid-air. She then did the same with Apophis, and then they all watched as the two weapons began slowly roaming around the four of them in a wide circle.


    Vincent gave her an odd look. ¡°Why are you using your telekinesis on them?¡±


    She crossed her arms. ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± she stated shortly.

 Chapter 34 (2 of 2) Begone, nobles. Good riddance.

    Vincent gave her an odd look. ¡°Why are you using your telekinesis on them?¡±


    She crossed her arms. ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± she stated shortly.


    He stared, then stared at the weapons. Then he stared at her again. ¡°What?¡±


    The room went silent as they tried to puzzle out what she meant. It dragged on for at least a minute as they began to gain worried expressions. Jacques broke the silence first.


    ¡°Free movement?!¡± he exclaimed incredulously. ¡°Hey, only one in ten thousand sentient weapons have that! And that¡¯s without even mentioning how rare sentient or even demonic and spirit weapons are in the first place!¡±


    ¡°¡­. Lucille, what¡¯s their rarity?¡± Vincent asked suspiciously.


    She looked away. ¡°Epic.¡±


    All three of them paled. ¡°Lucy, you¡¯re going to get yourself killed carrying these around!¡± Vincent said, alarmed. ¡°A pair of sentient, demonic and spirit weapons, with autonomous movement, while still being Epic?! Why do you even have these in the first place?!¡±


    She sighed and ran a hand through her fringe. ¡°They were a reward from Scytale¡¯s Inheritance Trial. He didn¡¯t need them, for obvious reasons. And I only soulbound them so their souls wouldn¡¯t decay.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­.¡± They looked at Caius as he awkwardly leaned back from the black snake ornament that was swaying in front of his face, unwound from Apophis¡¯s handle. ¡°What is it doing, and why is it doing that?¡±


    Slightly confused herself, she poked the bond to find out. Then she grinned. ¡°Oh, I see. He¡¯s looking at your hair. He¡¯s discovered what ¡®colours¡¯ are recently, and he recognises he¡¯s partially red like you.¡± She glanced at the silver-haired man to her right. ¡°He¡¯s also trying to work out what¡¯s the difference between you and Vincent.¡±


    Vincent pointed at himself, sceptical. ¡°But we don¡¯t look the same at all, even though we¡¯re both Evisenhardts. And we shouldn¡¯t. I¡¯m pretty certain Caius is something like a seventh or eighth cousin.¡±


    ¡°And probably seven times removed, because of how old your father is,¡± Caius added. ¡°My father¡¯s not even a hundred yet.¡±


    ¡°As always, nobles of the Mystical Realm have weird families,¡± Lucy muttered. She shook her head and continued before they could react, ¡°He¡¯s trying to work out why you¡¯re both ¡®Evisenhardts¡¯.¡±


    ¡°¡­. shouldn¡¯t that be obvious though?¡± Jacques spoke up. ¡°It¡¯s just their last name.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Vincent said, looking at the dagger again. ¡°Is that what you meant when you said they only know themselves as ¡®swords¡¯ rather than a demon and spirit? They began as weapon souls?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Neither of them has come across the concept of a ¡®relative¡¯ before so they¡¯re curious.¡± Then she made a face. ¡°Curious about a lot of weird things. They get fixated on the most random of ideas.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡± Caius asked interestedly.


    Instead of answering, she pointed at her other dagger. He looked down at his feet to notice the white blade slowly moving under the couch¡­ and then back out again. Then back under¡­ and then out. It repeated the process multiple times.


    ¡°¡­..uh,¡± Jacques said, looking at it oddly. ¡°Yeah, what is it doing?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s trying to find out how ¡®light¡¯ and ¡®dark¡¯ work,¡± Lucy replied drolly. ¡°Normally, they¡¯re content to absorb the information I send them through the bond, and stay still as their souls develop, but it seems the fact we¡¯re talking about them has made them energetic.¡±


    ¡°I still don¡¯t like that you have them,¡± Vincent muttered, frowning.


    She watched the two weapons, feeling troubled herself. ¡°But the issue is I¡¯m probably one of the few people alive who could heal their souls.¡± They looked at her when she said that, so she explained, ¡°As they went unnamed for some time, they have soul damage. And I can¡¯t just give them to a soul cultivator to fix, because that might ruin the cultivator''s foundation. No cultivation technique enables someone to bond to both a spirit and demonic weapon.¡±


    ¡°Then how come you can?¡± Caius asked.


    She shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not a cultivator, so the weird rules of their realm don¡¯t apply. But I also have enough soul power that I won¡¯t fall to the destructive urges of my demonic weapon, and can also keep my bond with my spirit weapon safe from accidentally falling to the demonic energies of her pair.¡± She glanced at Apophis, who had started to gravitate towards a window in the room. ¡°Not that that would happen, as they have no instinctual enmity towards each other.¡±


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t you just find another non-cultivator?¡± Jacques said.


    ¡°I could if they existed,¡± she stated wryly. ¡°But in case you haven¡¯t noticed, after seeing how spiritual energy doesn¡¯t have the same effect in the magical realms as the Heavenly Realm, not many among the magical realms care too much about soul power and spiritual energy. Where would I find them?¡±


    ¡°¡­.I suppose that makes sense,¡± Vincent said with a sigh. ¡°I¡¯m not about to prevent you from helping two new souls. But Lucille, do you even know how to fight with these?¡±


    She contemplated it. ¡°Not a clue,¡± she replied.


    ¡°Couldn''t you learn?¡± Jacques asked. ¡°Plenty of warriors could teach you how to use swords. You could even ask a Mythos from Glory Pantheon using your status if you wish. The Major Discipline of the Sword is the most popular out of the 12 Major Disciplines.¡±


    She glared at Vincent as he smirked. ¡°Ah, but that would be if her weapons weren¡¯t snake-swords.¡±


    Jacques and Caius blinked. Jacques raised an eyebrow. ¡°You mean you soulbound a snake and-¡±


    ¡°A snake and two snake-swords, yes, I have. Please just shut up about the snake thing,¡± she interrupted, feeling very annoyed. ¡°Scytale annoys me enough about it.¡± She turned to Vincent. ¡°Why are you so amused by the fact I have a snake bond and two snake-swords?¡±


    He grinned. ¡°Because I found a topic you dislike.¡±


    She narrowed her eyes. ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s what this is, Mr. ¡®I hate bitter things¡¯.¡±


    His expression stiffened as Jacques laughed at him. Caius shook his head in amusement, before moving the topic along. ¡°Well, I understand why it would be a struggle then to find out how to use them. Snake-swords aren¡¯t part of the 12 Major or even 24 Minor Disciplines, so you would be hard-pressed to find any sort of fighting style or mana-art for them.¡±


    She sighed. ¡°Yes. But I¡¯ll come up with something when I need to fight. It¡¯s true that they¡¯re strong, so it would be a waste if I didn¡¯t-¡±


    Clang!


    They quickly glanced at the source of the noise, and Lucy¡¯s eyes widened as she saw Apophis try to attack the glass of the window he was at with his levitating dagger form, attempting to smash it. She hurriedly got up and ran over. ¡°Hey! Apophis! No!¡±


    She grabbed the weapon before he could re-attempt it and held it up, staring incredulously at it as the snake decoration tried to bite her. ¡°Stop attacking your wielder! That defeats the entire purpose of you being my weapon in the first place!¡±


    Then she looked up at the roof and glared. ¡°Ouroboros! Stop trying to turn off the mana lamp! You¡¯ll break it!¡± The white dagger slowly lowered itself near Lucy as she scowled, and grabbed it as well.


    Vincent, Caius and Jacques watched her with bemusement. She angrily shoved them both back into their sheaths and then walked back over to her couch, sitting down on it with a huff.


    ¡°So¡­. What was that about?¡± Jacques asked, looking very confused.


    She scowled again. ¡°Apophis has decided he wants to work out why I can see things outside his perception and wants to check for himself. Ouroboros is still trying to discover how light and darkness work.¡± She glared down at Apophis, who had started buzzing. ¡°And now they¡¯re telling me that they want to move around again.¡±


    ¡°Seems like you¡¯re going to have your work cut out for you if you end up wielding them,¡± Caius commented.


    She rubbed her temples in frustration, and then looked at them. ¡°Anyway, did we want to move on to the part you came here for?¡±


    ¡°What did we come here for again?¡± Jacques asked, holding his chin as he tried to remember with a frown on his face.


    Lucille gazed flatly at him as Caius facepalmed and Vincent sighed. ¡°The contract, Jacques,¡± he told the man, sounding weary.


    ¡°Ah, right,¡± Jacques said with a firm nod, crossing his arms.


    They all stared at him, making sure he wouldn¡¯t make any more dumb comments before Lucy shook her head and opened her dimensional bag. She pulled out two folders and held them up.


    ¡°While this chat has been enjoyable, I believe it¡¯s time we start discussing what your jobs will entail.¡±


    ¡­


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    After they had signed the contracts, they continued with their conversation and had lunch, before Caius and Jacques left Headquarters through one of the side entrance hallways. Lucy glanced at her aide beside her as they watched them go.


    ¡°Is Jacques going to be okay doing this job?¡± she asked dubiously.


    He sighed but nodded. ¡°He acts like that, but when it comes to actually doing what he needs to, he¡¯s capable. I¡¯m not certain he¡¯ll want to stay here though. But I¡¯m not certain there¡¯s anything he wants.¡±


    She tilted her head as she watched the ponytailed man disappear from view. ¡°If I offer him another position, and he accepts, would you be fine with that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what this other position could be, but it¡¯s not up to me to decide what he should do,¡± Vincent said, looking at her with a strange expression. ¡°To be perfectly honest, I never thought I¡¯d see either of them ever again, considering my status as a member of Evisenhardt¡¯s direct bloodline. We went our separate ways some time ago.¡±


    She turned around and began heading back down the hallway, Vincent following. ¡°I¡¯ve been considering what to do about Alichanteu, and I believe the best decision is to give the Empire¡¯s political factions a distraction. This wouldn¡¯t occur until next year though.¡±


    He frowned. ¡°I would prefer for him not to be placed between Radical and Olden. That sounds too risky.¡±


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t happen instantly. It would take some time before they start paying attention to him,¡± she replied. ¡°I¡¯m wondering if asking Jacques to help create a commoner commerce union might be a good idea.¡±


    His eyes widened slightly, and he went silent as he considered it. ¡°But¡­ he¡¯s a noble?¡± he asked hesitantly.


    ¡°One with a good relationship with commoners,¡± she stated, taking a turn to go find the nearest lift. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want him to be the leader of the organisation. But if I can set up a situation in some of the cities where Alichanteu will be implementing my plans, Radical and Olden will be preoccupied. I want Radical to desire to control this new neutral force, and want Olden to try to sabotage their attempts to do so.¡±


    He had a complicated look on his face as he thought over it, and then sighed. ¡°Please ask me about this after the annual banquet, so I have time to consider this idea. And you don¡¯t even know if Jacques could do it yet,¡± he pointed out.


    She shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll know if he could soon enough.¡±


    They didn¡¯t talk for a while, just walking through the building. It wasn¡¯t until they entered the lift that Vincent spoke up.


    ¡°Lucy¡­ do you... uh¡­¡± He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. ¡°Not care about what I said about you earlier?¡±


    She looked at him. ¡°What, that I¡¯m sarcastic, unpredictable, stubborn, have a weird sense of style, strange sleeping habits, and enjoy annoying you?¡± she asked dryly.


    He went silent as he stared at her, clearly not having expected her to bring that up.


    She shook her head as she stepped off the lift. ¡°Not really, no. Couldn¡¯t care less. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m unaware of what you think about me.¡±


    ¡°¡­have I been that obvious?¡± he replied.


    She smirked and pretended to think. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­. The first time we met you only spoke up because you were annoyed I was handing you so much work. When I took you out to go find Sedric, you complained you were having a break when I found you and were perfectly happy to glare at me whenever my back was turned, not knowing I could still see you.¡±


    She opened the door of her living room. ¡°Now, you¡¯re just happy to complain whenever I do anything that seems slightly annoying to you, which includes kicking my feet up on desks and my couch, leaving out some details just for fun, and apparently, bringing around a magic staff in the form of a cane.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make me sound like someone who complains about everything,¡± he said, disgruntled.


    She turned around and leaned against her couch, smirking. ¡°Is that complaining I hear?¡± She grinned as he crossed his arms, looking irritated. ¡°Anyway, I haven¡¯t cared what other people thought about me for more than two centuries. With my soul power,¡± she said, gesturing to her head. ¡°I see and hear a lot, and not much of it is anything I needed or wanted to see in the first place. I¡¯ve grown used to hearing others¡¯ opinions on me.¡±


    He looked at her silently for a while and then sighed with a nod. ¡°Well, I¡¯d still like to say sorry anyway. I shouldn¡¯t have spoken about you like that. But¡­ I¡¯m still curious about something.¡±


    She tilted her head curiously as he asked his question.


    ¡°Why do you never sleep in your room?¡± he said with mild exasperation. ¡°I¡¯ve heard you sleep on the couch at night, and then I catch you in random places every other time. You have a perfectly good bed.¡±


    She blinked and then smiled. ¡°That¡¯s actually because I developed the ability to sleep pretty much anywhere when I was younger. Because of that, I don¡¯t feel much need to rest in my room. But during the day, if you catch me like that, then I¡¯m not asleep.¡±


    ¡°Not asleep?¡± he repeated, raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°I have eidetic memory. Typically, I¡¯m immersing myself in my memories,¡± she explained, walking around the end of the couch, and taking off her jacket to place it down. ¡°That, or looking at my soul space. I¡¯m very much aware of my surroundings during that time, so if you need to talk to me, it¡¯s fine to approach.¡±


    ¡°¡­ well, I¡¯ll make sure to do that if I need to,¡± he replied with a strange look on his face.


    Lucy gestured to her couches. ¡°Do you want to stay here and have some tea?¡±


    He opened his mouth to answer, paused, and then narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°Actually, no. No, I won¡¯t. I have the distinct suspicion that I will not like whatever it is that you put before me.¡±


    She clicked her tongue and smirked as he sighed, and shook his head wryly at her reaction. After that, they parted ways, and Lucy went on to lay sideways on her couch as she delved into her thoughts, as per usual.


    Also, she was definitely going to continue bringing her cane around.


    ¡­


    ¡°Is your understanding of arcane mana and its workings any better now?¡± she asked a dark-brown-haired man below her.


    Sedric paused when he heard her voice, looked up, and took off his goggles. Then he glared at her. ¡°No, no it is not! This makes no sense!¡± he exclaimed angrily, gesturing to the large metal plate engraved with a mana-circle on top of his workbench.


    He gestured for her to follow as she walked down the stairs, and pointed to a much larger version of a slightly different mana-circle he had on a plate on the ground. ¡°I can¡¯t work out how these are supposed to work! The rules are different for everything I throw at them!¡±


    ¡°But do you know the most basic functions they have?¡± she asked, raising an eyebrow.


    He frowned. ¡°Kinda. This one generates this weird translucent clear hemisphere shell and stalls objects that are chucked at it, but some objects I throw at it don¡¯t register at all and pass straight through it. And then there¡¯s this one,¡± he said, pointing at the one on his workbench, ¡°That the objects rebound off! The first time it happened the object hit me! I swear I have a lump.¡± He scowled, rubbing his head.


    ¡°Well, it is called a force reflection shield for a reason,¡± she replied, feeling amused. ¡°Now, imagine if I gave you a mana-circle that used fire mana instead, and you tested that out for the first time.¡±


    He thought about it and then grimaced. ¡°Yeah¡­ I don¡¯t really want to imagine that.¡±


    She walked over to inspect the mana-circles and then looked back at him. ¡°Do you just need a more in-depth explanation of what they do?¡±


    He sighed. ¡°Pretty much. And why they act differently. You also said these two were circles of a three-layered spell?¡± he asked.


    She nodded and sat down on a stool at the workbench. ¡°These aren¡¯t the exact ones used, because they¡¯re designed as single-layer spells, but yes. Have you looked at the component differences?¡±


    He nodded and sat opposite her, and then pulled forward both the folder she had made for him which contained the arcane components, and also a big notebook. He flipped to a page that showed how he had analysed the two circles by drawing them as diagrams.


    ¡°The difference between them is just one frame, and which node they¡¯re linked to. But that doesn¡¯t mean I know how each frame works, with how rune arrangements are. You can¡¯t read them like normal sentences, even if they can be translated.¡±


    ¡°If we still used magic like the wizards of old, then we could. We¡¯d also have to read fifty paragraphs to describe one mana-circle,¡± she remarked. Then she grinned and pointed to one of the diagrams. ¡°Also, Sedric. They both use all the same frames.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± He pulled it closer and frowned. ¡°How?¡±


    She smirked. ¡°That frame¡¯s rotated.¡±


    He lifted the notebook to look and then dropped the book on his bench with mild exasperation and annoyance. ¡°Okay, great. Still tells me nothing,¡± he replied sourly.


    ¡°The rebound one is easier to explain. All it does is reverse the direction of the object by reflecting it with the same or similar amount of force it had on contact.¡± She tapped on the metal plate between them. ¡°It doesn¡¯t decrease or increase the acceleration though, so when you throw something, it will be thrown back at roughly the same speed, or the same speed if it had continued to travel along the arc of your throw.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ interesting, but I don¡¯t get why you¡¯d need a spell like that. Anything with enough mana gets through anyway,¡± he said, looking confused.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not going to reflect anything non-mundane.¡± She continued, leaning her chin on her hand, ¡°We¡¯re not dealing with the high-level Mirror element here. Also, you need to take into account that the speed isn¡¯t perfectly preserved, nor is the object reflected instantly. A more complex circle could reduce the energy inefficiencies, but that¡¯s not necessary right now.¡±


    She gestured to the other one on the ground. ¡°That one is¡­ slightly more difficult. It doesn¡¯t reduce acceleration to 0, otherwise, gravity would not affect it, rather it loses all momentum. Have you tracked the mana cost when it activates?¡± she asked him. He shook his head, so she continued, ¡°The circle will be drained faster the more speed or force behind the thrown object.¡±


    She pointed to the one in front of them. ¡°This mana-circle only loses mana dependent on the size of the thrown object.¡±


    She glanced at him. ¡°And Sedric, these circles aren¡¯t made for actively thrown objects. They¡¯re made for passive protection.¡±


    He looked between her and the circles. ¡°I¡¯ve sort of guessed that, but passive protection from what?¡±


    ¡°Force damage,¡± she replied.


    He rubbed his chin, considering her answer. ¡°Force damage isn¡¯t very dangerous though. Especially if your CON is high enough, and Users with low CON don¡¯t normally get close enough to be harmed by it. Mana negates most of it too.¡±


    She sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s just say my situation is a little different. This won¡¯t be the only force damage-reducing item I want made either, so it would be good for you to get used to this function of arcane mana.¡± She shook her head. ¡°Anyway, are there other questions you want to ask before I move on to the multi-layer spell?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Why that circle still let stuff through,¡± he said, pointing to the plate on the ground.


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s because it will let through any object under a certain level of momentum. I don¡¯t need to protect myself from anything without enough force to hurt me, after all. It just decreases the mana cost.¡± She paused to consider it. ¡°Well, maybe some things could still hurt me without the force, but I shouldn¡¯t have a reason to be around anything like that in the first place, and should also be able to protect myself from them.¡±


    He nodded as she held out her palm. ¡°I¡¯m sure you can see the conflict between the two mana-circles if they¡¯re part of the same multi-layer circle, right?¡±


    ¡°One stops the object, and one lets it continue moving. You can¡¯t have both,¡± he replied. Then he watched with interest as white glowing lines appeared above her hand, and she started magically sketching out the three-layered mana-circle with illusion mana.


    She formed one larger circle, and then side-by-side, two smaller circles appeared above it, slowly rotating. A third even smaller circle appeared above those two, only large enough to cover the centre of both smaller circles. The two smaller circles happened to be the two circles she had given Sedric. Then she changed one of them to blue and one to red, just so they were distinct from the circle below, and changed the top to green. She pointed at it. ¡°And here we have the mana-circle that will be in the item¡¯s core gemstone.¡±


    She made the illusion move towards Sedric so he could get a better look. He leaned closer when he noticed something. ¡°The two circles have a sixth node in the centre on this? The ones you gave me had five nodes.¡±


    She smiled and pointed at the bottom circle. ¡°They have to have some way of connecting to the bottom circle¡¯s sub-nodes, don¡¯t they?¡± She gestured to the nodes outside of the central node frame.


    He hesitated as he had a thought. ¡°Does¡­ that mean frames can be inserted vertically as well?¡± he asked cautiously, likely worried about how complex that could make a spell. ¡°Like a wizard¡¯s heart circles?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°Not when casting a runic spell, nor for most of the spells you¡¯ll be working with, although it can be different when it comes to elemental spells and the rarer non-casted spells. The extra nodes here connect directly to their sub-node. But when it comes to a runic model, it doesn¡¯t work that way. Because the greater runes used in that are three-dimensional, a mage needs to take into account all directions when building the model in their mana pool.¡±


    ¡°Also¡­.¡± He pointed between the two smaller mana-circles of the illusion. ¡°They both have a really thin outer ring frame added that is almost entirely filled with runes that are left disconnected. Do they connect when they touch?¡±


    ¡°Yes, they do,¡± she confirmed with a nod. She held up her gloved hands and showed him how she linked them together. ¡°Here, they act like cogs. One has to activate, and then the other is frozen into position and doesn¡¯t activate. The other has to activate, then the opposite can¡¯t. Their sixth nodes constantly send a signal to the mana-circle below, which detects what circle is required, and then rotates them into the correct position. If both are required, the top circle activates to use them both. This will enable the item to properly reflect the force damage depending on the situation.¡±


    ¡°The spell can change depending on the situation?¡± he asked with surprise. ¡°I didn¡¯t know a low-ranked spell could do that.¡±


    She smiled. ¡°That¡¯s why it¡¯s an ¡®adaptive¡¯ spell.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so that¡¯s what that means,¡± he replied, eyeing the illusion with curiosity. ¡°Adaptive skills and spells have always seemed kind of vague to me. I don¡¯t have any, so it¡¯s hard to find out what they are.¡±


    Lucy nodded and then pointed to the illusion. ¡°There¡¯s another important element of this ¡®cog-like¡¯ function I wanted to discuss. If you have circles that are linked and engraved in actual cogs, then when you have a spell like this¡­.¡± She grinned. ¡°You generate machine power. Someone only needs to input mana, and then your mana engine can start moving.¡±


    Sedric stared at where the illusion was, with wide eyes. ¡°Hang on¡­ that¡¯s magic engineering? That¡¯s what the Coalition is famous for developing?¡±


    ¡°Indeed. A key detail of magic engineering is that it very rarely uses multi-layer spells. It uses ¡®mana circuitry¡¯ to ensure the engraving channels are all linked up, rather than projecting the spells into 3-dimensional space,¡± she explained. ¡°Which is why the Coalition rose to power so quickly. They don¡¯t need many powerful gemstones to use their technology. They can create highly powerful machines for much lower cost.¡±


    She shattered the illusion and pointed to him. ¡°And I¡¯m sure you know why this is important to you.¡±


    He raised his eyes from where the illusion had been to gaze at her with a complicated expression. He was silent for a while before he spoke. ¡°So, you know who my grandfather was,¡± he said.


    Lucy stared back at him, registering what he said. Then her eyes narrowed. ¡°Sedric Ferin, be very, very careful about what you¡¯re trying to suggest. I do not know who your grandfather was.¡±


    Her words made him blink and he replied with a weird look on his face. ¡°Suggest what? That you¡¯re a dissent-¡±


    She grabbed a binder pen from the bench to chuck at him. He dodged it as she glared at him. ¡°I said not to say it,¡± she growled. ¡°I have nothing to do with who you¡¯re thinking of right now.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­. But you knew about my class¡­ and you¡¯ve said you¡¯ve been to the Coalition¡­¡± he replied, looking slightly confused.


    ¡°Of course I¡¯ve been to the Coalition. Did you think I could just learn all this stuff anywhere?¡± she stated flatly. Her irritation built when he still looked sceptical. ¡°You know what, let¡¯s just stop this conversation here,¡± she said, standing up from the table. ¡°The reason why I said knowing magic engineering is important to you is because your class¡¯s third primary skill comes from a magic engineering class.¡±


    He hesitated, the dawning realisation of just what kind of misunderstanding he made spreading across his face. ¡°Oh¡­ right¡­¡±


    She climbed up the stairs to leave. ¡°Anyway, I have to prepare for the competition now, if there¡¯s nothing more you need help with.¡± Then she had a thought and went over to the railing. ¡°If you want, you can watch the competition next week. It might be interesting for you. But when they discover you¡¯re my contracted crafter, they might bother you. You can ignore their attempts to see your skills or accept their requests. I don¡¯t mind either way,¡± She paused and then added something else. ¡°But just remember that it¡¯s not them that have the talent to be the Head of the Aurelian Commission¡¯s crafter.¡±


    Then she left the workshop, ignoring the slightly stunned look on his face because of her words. She fingered the chain hanging from the violet pocket watch in her pocket as she walked to her room.


    Maybe this way he¡¯ll find out he¡¯s quite a capable crafter when it comes to understanding magic.


    She was expressionless again, but a faint smirk briefly appeared on her lips as she saw him duck to avoid the reflected binder pen he had thrown at the mana-circle.


    Well, he was one of the Coalition¡¯s ten Grandmaster crafters for a reason.

 Chapter 35 (1 of 2) Unwanted Education: 1. Alichanteu Politics: 0.

    ¡°Now where did I put that elemental reconstituter¡­ ah, here it is.¡±


    A navy-haired man was rifling through a pile of chests, all filled with an assortment of strange multi-coloured objects of different shapes and sizes. He was dressed in long dark-blue robes trimmed with gold, and a long magic staff was lying next to a messy bench haphazardly covered in pieces of parchment and complicated diagrams. Empty inkwells and stray pens were scattered across it, with the occasional bronze or glass object placed on top. The room he was in was dark and the curtains were drawn, only a small lamp on the bench providing light.


    When he found the object he was looking for, he pulled it out of the chest and held it up, inspecting it through round gold-framed glasses. He observed the item with vibrant eyes that changed colour every few seconds and then placed it on the bench after clearing some space. Then he placed a palm on top of the globe-like object, and slowly the clear object began to gain a gaseous red and light-blue hue. The red hue flickered like fire, while the blue hue began to gain specks that appeared like ice crystals.


    The man frowned when he saw it happen. ¡°I can copy the ice-fire combination well, so why can¡¯t I get the earth-fire ratio right?¡± he muttered.


    He dragged a stool over, sat down, and continued to test several other elemental combinations for around an hour. Then he flinched as he heard a loud knocking on the room¡¯s door.


    ¡°Young master! It¡¯s time to come out!¡± came the sound of a loud authoritative female voice.


    He eyed the door for a few seconds, contemplating whether he could pretend he wasn¡¯t in there or not. He slowly returned to his work and winced when the door knocking increased in intensity.


    ¡°Young master Marellen, if you don¡¯t come out right now, I¡¯m telling Levin who created the skin-dye potion,¡± she threatened.


    He sighed and stood up from the bench. He walked over to the door and opened it, feeling mildly exasperated. ¡°Madame Berna, it¡¯s not even dinner time yet. What is there that I even have to do?¡±


    ¡®Madame Berna¡¯, their headmaid, and a stern-looking woman in her mid-30s, narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°Did I not warn you to be prepared to welcome back the Baron and his entourage only one day ago?¡±


    ¡°The Baron¡­.¡± His eyes widened in realisation. ¡°Ah. They¡¯re back?¡±


    She rubbed her temples. ¡°Yes. And why haven¡¯t you opened the curtains of your study?¡± she said, gesturing to them. ¡°It¡¯s the middle of the day. There¡¯s no need for it to be so dark.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± He glanced back at his room. ¡°Oh.¡± He turned back to her. ¡°I forgot.¡±


    She glared at him, before letting out a long sigh and then marching off. ¡°Well, you need to go greet them. Leave your magic tricks for later.¡±


    He grudgingly followed after her, not really wishing to have to go through such needless formalities. Although¡­. He was glad Efratel was back. That meant his cousin was probably safe in the meantime.


    ¡°Anyway, it looks like you¡¯ll finally be leaving the estate for an extended period of time,¡± she told him as she navigated the corridors. ¡°I¡¯m glad you can now do something with your life, instead of staying here for the next five years as well as the past five.¡±


    He stared at her. ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    She glanced over her shoulder. ¡°Yes, well, with how much you lock yourself in your room, it¡¯s obvious you wouldn¡¯t have heard anything yet. Young master Efratel can explain things for you.¡± And she continued walking at a brisk pace.


    His eyes widened as he sped up to catch her. ¡°Wait, what¡¯s this about leaving? And what has this got to do with Efratel?¡± He started feeling anxious when she only smiled. ¡°Hey, I don¡¯t want to leave! I¡¯m fine here! And where would I be going?!¡±


    She pushed open a door as he was feeling increasingly on edge. ¡°I need an explanation, please! Where in the realms would I be-¡±


    He paused when he saw the Baron, Efratel and his father in the room. They turned to him as they heard the door open. Then he really began panicking as he saw the smirks on his father and Efratel¡¯s face.


    ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯d say welcome back but¡­. I¡¯m not sure I¡¯m going to like what I¡¯m about to hear,¡± he said, wishing he was back in his room.


    He felt his skin go cold when even the Baron began to smile. ¡°Come take a seat before we begin this discussion,¡± the man said, gesturing to an armchair.


    He gingerly walked up to it and sat down, sending Efratel wide-eyed glances for help. Efratel looked away with a broad grin. He watched cautiously as the Baron gestured to Efratel, and Efratel withdrew a thick letter, then took out the contents. His cousin passed Marellen one of the documents, and with a nod from the Baron, he warily unfolded it.


    As soon as he saw the first line, he closed it. ¡°No,¡± he stated.


    His father grinned. ¡°Yes.¡±


    Marellen shook his head firmly. ¡°No. Never. Not going.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid Marellen, that you have no choice,¡± Efratel said with just a hint of schadenfreude. ¡°Read it through to the end.¡±


    Feeling very bitter, he opened it and forced himself to read it fully.


    Congratulations Recipient Marellen Vadel on your Grade 1 Academic sponsorship to All-Aeon Athenaeum.


    This letter is to inform you that you have been accepted as an Academic by All-Aeon Athenaeum through the sponsorship program. The sponsorship program allows promising individuals to be supported by outside forces during their time at the Athenaeum¡¯s facilities. This will entail full access to the Senior Academy¡¯s resources, the opportunity for transfer to the Aeonic origin plane, and authorization to explore the unique outer planes owned by the Athenaeum as an expeditionary, possibly obtaining ancient artifacts of immense power and intrigue. These are some of the options available to you as a Grade 1 Academic¡­.


    The letter went on to explain what he would actually do at the Academy. His expression distorted with every word, and it wasn¡¯t until he saw the last line that he properly paid close attention to what it said.


    We welcome you to All-Aeon Athenaeum and express our greetings to your sponsor, the Head of the Aurelian Commission.


    His thoughts froze to a halt for a few minutes. He slowly looked up. ¡°This joke isn¡¯t funny,¡± he stated nervously.


    The Baron shook his head. ¡°Do you think we could ever joke about this? An opportunity like this is far, far beyond anything we would ever hope to come to one of us. As for why you have been offered this opportunity¡­.¡± He glanced at Efratel. ¡°I think I¡¯ll leave it to my son to explain later.¡±


    ¡°But first I would like to congratulate my cousin on finally getting a job!¡± Efratel said cheerfully, clapping his hands. ¡°I never thought I¡¯d see the day come.¡±


    ¡°No! I¡¯m not going!¡± Marellen exclaimed with alarm. ¡°This is ridiculous! I rejected all offers to stay for a reason! And how could the Head of the Commission wish to sponsor me in the first place, I¡¯m not even a successor of some kind!¡±


    ¡°Marellen.¡± He flinched when his father spoke. The battlemage smirked. ¡°You¡¯re going.¡±


    ¡°¡­.I can¡¯t be forced to accept,¡± Marellen stubbornly replied. Then he inwardly winced as the other navy-haired man raised an eyebrow and cracked his knuckles. But threat of violence or not, he didn¡¯t want to go. ¡°Just tell them I¡¯m not good enough to go there.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re going to lie, make it more believable,¡± Efratel responded, crossing his arms. ¡°After all, you had Archmage Merkenia asking you to be his student for a month straight.¡±


    ¡­¡­.and the reality of Marellen''s situation came crashing down as he realised what Efratel was trying to say. He glanced down at the letter, grimacing. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be caught in the middle of all those attempts to drag me to their Orders again. You know I hate politics.¡±


    ¡°And I think you¡¯re forgetting just who has decided to sponsor you,¡± the Baron spoke up. ¡°As a sponsored academic, any High-mage, Grand-mage or Archmage who wishes to take you as their student must have the permission of both you and your sponsor. Not many, even among the Duchies, have the power to pressure the soon-to-be Honorary Count of the Commission.¡±


    That... made it slightly better, but not by much. Especially as he still didn¡¯t know why he was being sponsored.


    Efratel grinned when he saw Marellen''s expression. ¡°And Marellen, the Commission Head has promised you access to whatever resources you need, no matter the cost. How does an unlimited budget sound to you?¡±


    He, his father, and even the Baron paused to register what Efratel just said. ¡°¡­..unlimited?¡± the Baron responded.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°The aide of the Faction Head told me so,¡± Efratel said with a nod. ¡°Marellen has access to as many resources as he wants from the Founder¡¯s vault.¡±


    ¡°If Vincent Evisenhardt told you, then it must be true,¡± the Baron replied with surprise. He turned to Marellen. ¡°You don¡¯t have any reason not to go now.¡±


    ¡°I- but, my experiments-¡±


    ¡°The Faction Head hasn¡¯t specified what department you must enter,¡± Efratel interrupted with a smirk. ¡°It is entirely up to your contributions whether you can gain the spells needed to further your research or not.¡±


    Marellen wracked his brain for more excuses. ¡°I¡¯ll be unwillingly kept there for several years or more-¡±


    ¡°I remember Efratel telling me that the end date of the sponsorship is dependent on your own wishes.¡± His father grinned. ¡°Now, as for whether you¡¯re willing to offend the Commission Head by leaving quickly just because you don¡¯t want to deal with politics¡­..¡±


    All hope was lost. He couldn¡¯t do that. He glared down at the letter in his hands. ¡°When would I even go?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe we¡¯ve discussed that yet,¡± the Baron said, turning to Efratel. ¡°Is there a date he must be there by?¡±


    ¡°Ah, well the transferal of me from general manager to the private manager of Marellen is effective as soon as he goes to the Senior Academy,¡± Efratel said, thinking. ¡°Which would mean whenever we say he must go, because he¡¯ll try to procrastinate for as long as possible.¡±


    There was silence, all of them contemplating Efratel¡¯s answer. Marellen began to feel very worried as the three of them slowly turned to look at him.


    ¡°How quickly do you think you could transfer my responsibilities over to someone else?¡± Efratel asked the Baron with a slowly widening smirk.


    ¡°I believe it would only take 24 hours at most if we pushed,¡± the Baron replied with an amused smile. He looked to the battlemage on his right. ¡°Would you prefer to spend some more time with your son before he leaves?¡±


    ¡°Oh no, I could never prevent my son from taking advantage of such an amazing opportunity,¡± Silas said with a wicked grin, obviously finding entertainment in Marellen¡¯s increasing stress levels. ¡°Stefanie likewise would want me to ensure he can use this privilege given to him as soon as possible. It¡¯s time our son left the house.¡±


    Marellen felt chills go down his spine when he saw them exchange glances. The Baron gave him the biggest smile he had ever seen on the man in his entire life.


    ¡°Well then, Marellen, guess where you¡¯re going tomorrow!¡±


    ¡­


    He glared at the blonde-haired man sitting on the end of his bed. ¡°I hate you.¡±


    Efratel shrugged casually. ¡°This has nothing to do with me. Do you really think I could ever go up to the Head of the Aurelian Commission and ask for a sponsorship?¡±


    Marellen frowned. ¡°Well, no, but¡­.¡± He narrowed his eyes when he saw the smirk on his cousin¡¯s face. ¡°I still hate you.¡±


    ¡°Now, now, isn¡¯t this exactly what we needed?¡± Efratel replied with a smile. He reached into his jacket and pulled out an envelope. ¡°No nasty Archmages coming after us both. Only nasty Archmages coming after you to abduct you to their pocket dimensions as their student.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± he groaned, putting his hands on his head. ¡°That is the exact opposite of what I want! I want to be left alone so I can use magic I actually like, not be forced to change my affinities to use some school¡¯s special runic model!¡±


    ¡°Well, the Faction Head has decided to reject all requests of those High, Grand and Archmages, so you¡¯re safe to continue using all-element magic,¡± Efratel remarked, pulling out an object from the envelope. ¡°Run away from them all you want and you¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    Marellen walked up to the bed and sat down on it. ¡°So, you met the Faction Head? Did you know them?¡±


    Efratel looked at him and smiled. ¡°Yes, you¡¯ll never guess who it was, it was actually-¡± He paused, a strange expression on his face.


    Marellen began to feel suspicious. ¡°What is it?¡±


    He felt distinctly uncomfortable when he saw the wide grin slowly spread across Efratel¡¯s face. ¡°You know¡­.¡± he said, looking very amused by something. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll tell you.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t tell me?¡± Marellen repeated, incredulous.


    ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll tell you. I¡¯ll leave it as a surprise for when you finally visit them,¡± Efratel said cheerily, looking incredibly happy for someone who was supposed to be going to Tartarus the week before. ¡°This is revenge for leaving me to deal with it all alone as I went to Headquarters.¡±


    ¡°But that was because of the Archmage!¡± Marellen exclaimed disbelievingly. ¡°I couldn¡¯t go!¡±


    Efratel just shrugged, leaving Marellen feeling rather unhappy. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t my sponsor dislike the fact their recipient has no idea who they are?¡± he asked sourly.


    His cousin chuckled. ¡°No, I have a strong hunch they would very much approve of what I¡¯m doing. Let¡¯s just say¡­ I¡¯m passing the favour on?¡± Then he stopped with a thoughtful look on his face and glanced at Marellen. ¡°In fact, it seems you¡¯ve ended up getting your wish in a strange twist of fate.¡±


    Marellen frowned slightly. ¡°What wish?¡±


    His cousin shook his head wryly and reached into the envelope again. ¡°No, I won¡¯t reveal anything. You can¡¯t get me to answer that one.¡± Then he raised an eyebrow. ¡°And Marellen, the Faction Head doesn¡¯t want to keep you stuck in the Academy or All-Aeon Athenaeum for the rest of the time. They want me to organise expeditions for you.¡±


    Marellen blinked. ¡°Expeditions? You mean to the Old Era planes owned by Athenaeum?¡±


    Efratel nodded. ¡°Yes. You won¡¯t have to be among Archmages all the time. I¡¯ve also been told to contact Roa again so she can be sponsored too. If she accepts, I can get her a position as an expeditionary rather than an Athenaeum researcher.¡±


    ¡°She did say she prefers developing her spells through experience rather than research,¡± Marellen mused. He looked down at the object Efratel was holding in his palm. ¡°But what¡¯s that?¡±


    He became curious when Efratel looked a bit awkward. ¡°Because the sponsorship was so important for us, I had no choice but to accept the Faction Head¡¯s gift for you. It¡¯s a Rare skill book.¡±


    Marellen stared, his eyes widening. ¡°But that¡¯s worth almost as much as your father¡¯s title-¡±


    ¡°-Of Baron, yes.¡± Efratel sighed. ¡°But the Faction Head said you won¡¯t get the skill if you don¡¯t accept the sponsorship, so they seem to believe this skill will be valuable to you somehow. I don¡¯t know what it is yet.¡±


    He crossed his arms as he looked at the small white token Efratel placed on the bed between them. ¡°¡­. I suppose we better check then,¡± Marellen said with a sigh. He activated his General Inspection skill to bring up the skill sheet.


    [Secondary Skill: Elemental Probability Calculation Mechanism, Final Version | Type: Elemental/Reactive]


    Rarity: Rare


    Desc: A skill created to reveal the cause-and-effect relationship between mana and matter. This skill grants the User a passive precognitive awareness of the world around them, borne from the fundamental understanding of the behaviour of mana instilled by this skill in the User. Created by Saufren Lestial.


    Ability:


    Adaptive Geomancy Pseudo-Array ¨C Runic Model Attachment, All-Element


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the User an All-Element Runic Model Attachment that passively senses and detects the causation and effectual pathways of mana in the User¡¯s general vicinity, informing them of past and potential changes. Requires Mage Class.</li>


    <li>Grants the User the advanced-level spell: Element-Based Prediction.</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    ¡°¡­.oh, wow. Now I see why they said this would tempt you,¡± Efratel remarked after a moment. ¡°This is perfect for- wait, what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Marellen had gone pale as he read and re-read the last sentence of the description. He grabbed his cousin by the shoulders and shook him. ¡°Efratel! Who is the Faction Head?!¡± he hissed.


    Efratel frowned as he looked at him. ¡°Not someone who should cause this reaction. Why are you so scared?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you see who created this skill?! It¡¯s Saufren Lestial¡¯s!¡± Marellen replied anxiously.


    Efratel just stared at him. ¡°Marellen, I don¡¯t understand. I have no clue who that is.¡±


    Marellen stared back at his cousin as he registered his words, and then took a deep breath to recompose himself. He let go of Efratel with a sigh. ¡°Efratel, Saufren Lestial is one of the Five Founders of the All-Aeon Athenaeum.¡±


    Efratel glanced between him and the token and then gained a troubled expression. ¡°That¡­. means this skill book is worth much, much more than a Baron title,¡± he replied with a grimace. ¡°A skill from the Athenaeum¡¯s original inheritance¡­.¡±


    Marellen shook his head. ¡°No, that¡¯s not the issue. Those types of skills are actually quite common because of the other Founder¡¯s successors.¡± He jabbed a finger at the skill book. ¡°Saufren Lestial had no successor. He never took on a student.¡±


    Efratel went silent as he considered the implications of Marellen¡¯s statement. ¡°Then¡­. how many skills does the Athenaeum have of Saufren Lestial¡¯s¡­?¡± he spoke up apprehensively.


    ¡°There should be none,¡± Marellen stated curtly. ¡°This skill book is priceless.¡±


    They both gazed down at the skill book token, lying there innocently on the bed sheets. They stared at it for a few minutes, and then Efratel buried his head in his hands. ¡°This should¡¯ve been impossible for them to get their hands on! And can we even return such a valuable skill book in the first place?!¡±


    ¡°To where?¡± Marellen replied, feeling defeated. ¡°Return it to the Faction Head and offend them, or try to give it to All-Aeon Athenaeum¡­. and bring down the Commission¡¯s wrath on us when the Athenaeum starts pressuring the Commission for answers.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure they would be offended per se¡­.¡± Efratel said awkwardly. ¡°But this is¡­. well, something so valuable means they¡¯re really planning on sponsoring you. You do realise this is exactly what you¡¯ve needed, right?¡±


    ¡°¡­yeah,¡± Marellen replied, feeling uncomfortable. ¡°Seriously, Efratel, who is the Faction Head? How did they know I¡¯d want this type of skill?¡±


    Efratel had a strange look on his face but shook his head. ¡°They¡¯re not someone to be that wary of. Let¡¯s just say this gift is because of the circumstances surrounding¡­. the reason why they know of us.¡±


    Marellen scowled but sighed as he looked at the skill again. ¡°I guess we continue discussing this then. It¡¯s an adaptive skill that will grant me passive awareness of the possible outcomes of spells. As it¡¯s only Rare, it would only have the strength to apply to mana. I wouldn¡¯t be able to predict events.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of a Runic Model Attachment before,¡± Efratel commented, looking at the skill sheet. ¡°Does this mean whatever runic model you have, you can always use this skill?¡±


    Marellen held his chin as he considered it. ¡°Possibly. I¡¯ve never heard of a Runic Model Attachment either. But Saufren Lestial is the Founder who created and popularised the runic model method of magic, becoming the first true mage. I¡¯m sure the creator of modern magecraft was able to design other unique runic constructs as well.¡±


    They went silent again as they considered what to do. Efratel glanced at him. ¡°¡­I think you should accept the skill. If Saufren Lestial had no successor, then nobody should recognise it. And I know if the Faction Head gave you this, then they don¡¯t plan on telling anyone it exists.¡±


    Marellen grimaced and then sighed. ¡°I suppose any questions about where this skill came from will have to be saved for the Faction Head when we meet in person.¡± He reached out to pick up the skill book token, and the illusory book icon appeared, hovering above it. Then he pressed down on the token, and it disintegrated into white particles.


    [Gained Secondary Skill: Elemental Probability Calculation Mechanism, Final Version]


    He blinked as he instantly noticed a change. His self-awareness of his runic model, slowly rotating within his mana pool, indicated that the model had gained a smaller construct that linked to his runic model, the runes assembling and reassembling themselves every second. He could sense the likelihood of each mana particle within his room changing to another element, entering another magical device, becoming matter, and other possibilities. He could also detect the chain reactions that would be caused by the possibilities and knew if he chose certain actions, an outcome he wanted would be more likely to occur.


    Efratel watched him with curiosity. ¡°It seems you can feel something?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ yeah¡­.¡± Marellen looked at his hand as he summoned a small ball of fire mana to his palm. ¡°It¡¯s not like I can tell what is actually going to happen in the next few seconds. But I can tell what the mana around us is going to do in the next few seconds, or what it already has done. And if I learn to align my spells to the outcome I want based on this information¡­.¡±


    Efratel gave him a wry smile. ¡°Should I leave you alone for a while so you can test this out?¡± He smirked. ¡°After all, tomorrow you¡¯ll be going to the Senior Academy. You won¡¯t have enough time for any experiments with what will happen.¡±


    Marellen glared at his cousin. ¡°Thank you for the reminder that I¡¯ve been forcefully and unwillingly pushed into tertiary education a second time. Yes, leave, because I don¡¯t want to see your face anymore.¡±


    The blonde-haired man only laughed as he left his bedroom, shutting the door behind him. Marellen watched him go, feeling rather unhappy again. But as he looked down at the mana on his palm interacting with the elements around it, he had a feeling that maybe he wouldn¡¯t dislike going to the Athenaeum as much as he thought he might.


    He¡¯d take his last dying breath before he¡¯d admit that to anybody though.


    ¡­


    ¡°Hey, kid! Come out from your little hideout and have a talk with your dad!¡±


    Marellen stuck his head out of the window of the small outdoor building he used for his more¡­ destructive experiments. He looked at the navy-haired battlemage waving cheerfully at him with mild annoyance, unhappy he had been interrupted yet again. ¡°There¡¯s a door.¡±


    ¡°And if I was capable of getting past all your mess to reach you inside that place, I¡¯d be wondering what was wrong with you,¡± his father said as he walked forward to stand in front of him. ¡°What¡¯d you think about this whole academic business, kid?¡±


    Marellen stared at the man, and then slumped against the windowsill, throwing his arms over the edge. ¡°What blighted Sage decided to pick on me today?¡±


    ¡°As it¡¯s the Athenaeum, you might want to blame the Astrologers,¡± Silas said with a smirk. ¡°But it won¡¯t be as bad as you think. You still like magic, after all. Not many mages get the chance to buy whatever elixirs or magical equipment they wish to use for their research.¡± He raised an eyebrow. ¡°And with your spending habits¡­.¡±


    Marellen looked away. ¡°It¡¯s for experimentation.¡±


    His father chuckled and shook his head. ¡°If that¡¯s what you call your bad sense of budgeting.¡± He smiled and put a hand on Marellen¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Seems like your mum and I won¡¯t see you for some time. Learn to enjoy your time there, Marellen.¡±


    ¡°I could always be back sooner than you expect,¡± the mage replied with a slight frown, trying to untangle one end of his glasses from his hair.


    ¡°Maybe, but this time is different,¡± the battlemage said, his expression unusually serious, and the tone of his voice making Marellen look up. ¡°I¡¯m¡­.. thinking of returning to the military.¡±


    ¡°¡­. Didn¡¯t you say you quit for good?¡± Marellen replied, feeling confused and slightly apprehensive by his father¡¯s sudden change in attitude.


    Silas sighed. ¡°Yes, well, things change. Your mother¡¯s still an instructing warrior at Glory Pantheon, and you¡¯re leaving the Vadel estate for some time. I don¡¯t exactly have much to do right now.¡±


    He just gazed silently at his father, unsure why he was acting this way. It wasn¡¯t a very good excuse. ¡°But-¡±


    ¡°Anyway, son!¡± the battlemage suddenly exclaimed, a broad grin on his face. ¡°You better start packing! With how disorganised you are, it might be past midnight before you are ready!¡±


    ¡°If I don¡¯t pack then maybe I can avoid going for a bit longer¡­¡± Marellen muttered sourly.


    Silas laughed and patted him on the shoulder again. ¡°None of that. You¡¯re now a sponsored mage of the Aurelian Commission Head. You can¡¯t be seen looking so grumpy about this.¡± He stepped away from the window and waved as he began walking away. ¡°Who knows, maybe I¡¯ll have finally accepted that promotion to Colonel while you¡¯re gone!¡±


    Marellen¡¯s eyes flew wide open and he began to panic as suspicions about the reason why his father was doing this arose. ¡°Wait, Dad, do you know about-¡±


    ¡°And Marellen,¡± his father said as he turned around, a stern expression on his face. Marellen understood that he was definitely aware of what he and Efratel were facing. ¡°Next time, I want to know if my child is in danger of being killed by an Archmage.¡±


    After that, the battlemage left, leaving Marellen feeling very guilty and a bit lost.


    Then his face screwed up as he realised what his father said.


    ¡°What does he mean, next time?!¡±

 Chapter 35 (2 of 2) Unwanted Education: 1. Alichanteu Politics: 0.

    ¡°And here we are! The Academy of the All-Aeon Athenaeum!¡± Efratel exclaimed cheerily. They both stepped off one of the many teleportation arrays and walked out of the path of all the people around them to observe the place for a moment. A notification dinged for them.


    [You are standing on the grounds of the All-Aeon Athenaeum¡¯s Academy, a Sub-Faction of a Supreme Institution.]


    The Academy was an immensely tall structure made of towering spires, the main colours of its brick being predominantly dark purple, blue, and black. Its tallest spire rose above the clouds. It was covered on all sides by thousands of mana-circles and larger magic arrays that whirled and hummed, stirring up the mana as millions of spells were cast each second. In a semi-circle around the front of the Academy were around fifty large domed buildings with roofs depicting constellations of all kinds, the teleportation arrays of the Spatial Tower. Millions of people streamed to and from these buildings, most dressed in robes denoting their school, Order or Tower of magic. Strange levitating objects whirled around many of the people, magical devices of different kinds.


    Marellen turned around and walked back to the teleportation array. ¡°You know, I think I¡¯ve changed my mind. Let¡¯s just go back and-¡±


    ¡°Not happening,¡± Efratel said as he grabbed Marellen¡¯s collar and dragged him back. ¡°And your father has already sent a message about this to your mother. Are you willing to face her wrath when you return so quickly?¡±


    Marellen shot his cousin a weary look. ¡°Is there not some other way to avoid Archmage Merkenia? In fact, isn¡¯t directly joining a sub-Faction of All-Aeon Athenaeum the most likely way to meet him again?¡±


    ¡°Which is why we decided to send you here so quickly, so no news about this reaches Alichanteu for some time,¡± Efratel retorted, yanking on his wrist, and dragging him towards the direction of the Academy.


    Marellen pulled weakly against him, but unfortunately, his complete disregard for the STR stat meant it was useless. He gave up and despondently trudged after the blonde-haired man.


    They walked through the crowds of people to enter the main reception hall of the Athenaeum, where new students went for the first time. He wasn¡¯t a new student, having done his education there up until he was eighteen, but they needed to go there, as he was coming back as an academic. He shuddered as he remembered his teenage memories of the place. He was glad he was staying far, far away from that part of the Academy.


    A young male mage dressed in dark purple robes of the Academy¡¯s staff uniform came up to them. ¡°Can I help you with something?¡±


    He stayed silent as Efratel stepped forward with a polite smile. ¡°I¡¯m here to submit the sponsorship registration documents as his private manager.¡±


    The man¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Ah, yes! Please, follow me.¡±


    They did so, walking behind the mage as he led them off to a side hallway of the main reception hall. He took them to a smaller room that had several people sitting behind desks, some of them talking to other people. They were brought to a desk, where the man behind it, dressed in long white robes, looked up.


    ¡°A recipient and his manager for the sponsorship program,¡± their guide explained, before bowing slightly and leaving them with the man.


    The mage in the white robes, appearing in his mid-30s nodded and stood up to shake hands with them both. ¡°Vicela Mesifeth,¡± he introduced. ¡°A High-mage of the White Order. I¡¯m currently in charge of the sponsorship program.¡±


    Marellen and Efratel nodded after shaking hands with him. ¡°My name is Efratel Vadel, and this is my cousin Marellen Vadel, who I am the manager of, and who will be sponsored to enter the Academy,¡± he explained.


    ¡°I see. You have the registration forms?¡± the man asked.


    Efratel, using a dimensional item he owned, summoned the papers to his hands and passed them over. The High-mage briefly glanced at them, and after seeing the seal of the All-Aeon Athenaeum, he nodded and gestured for them to follow. ¡°I¡¯ll take you to the Academy¡¯s Archive to register this.¡±


    They followed him down a few corridors for a while, until they entered a massive hall filled with many bookcases, automatically being sorted through and distributed by mana-circles and magic arrays. Set into the centre of the hall was a giant bronze sphere, slowly rotating where it was in the floor, covered in ever-shifting runes, and projecting many different multi-coloured symbols and icons into the empty air above it. A handrail separated people from the sphere, and on four sides of the outer ring around the sphere, there were slanted tables covered in buttons and switches of all kinds. Many people were at the tables, controlling the sphere¡¯s projections, reading, and accessing data.


    Marellen had only seen the Junior Academy¡¯s Archive artifact, which was larger than a house, but this one was five times the size. He knew the Archive artifact of All-Aeon Athenaeum¡¯s origin plane was even larger and more powerful, linked to all the Sub-Factions¡¯ Archive artifacts.


    Vicela walked up the circular ring of stairs to the only empty table, raised slightly higher above the other tables. A small white circle appeared horizontally above his palm, and then a round brass device dropped into his hand. He held up Efratel¡¯s and Marellen¡¯s registration documents and pressed a button on the brass device, and it lit up with a cyan glow. It beamed a ray of light onto both documents and then dimmed, which was when the High-mage inserted the orb into an empty circular slot on the table. He passed the documents back to Efratel as the table lit up with a hum, and he began manipulating the controls.


    The High-mage explained some of what he was doing to them. ¡°If you were just a normal Academic, then we could just give you your Archive orb to connect you to the sub-Faction, and wouldn¡¯t need to do this,¡± he said. ¡°But as you¡¯re being sponsored, your manager, who would normally not be able to stay on Athenaeum property, will also need to be linked to the Archive. As he is not a mage of All-Aeon Athenaeum, he will need a slightly different device.¡±


    The projections continued to twist and arrange themselves to form different sentences, all using the original language structure of runes. After a few seconds, the table stopped glowing, and he removed the brass orb. Then he turned to them. ¡°The Archive now has your information, and you have been registered as a private manager and academic mage of the Senior Academy. Follow me to collect your Archive items.¡±


    They walked to another section of the immense hall, where several tall glass cases stood against a wall. He opened one of the cases and took out another bronze orb that looked like his own, as well as a large brass ring that appeared to be a bracelet. He raised his orb, which lit up again, beaming light onto both of the new objects. Both of the objects glowed in response, after which he handed the orb to Marellen and the bracelet to Efratel.


    ¡°Use your mana to mana-bind the objects,¡± the High-mage told them. He looked at Efratel. ¡°As you are not a true member of the Athenaeum, you will only have temporary Sub-Faction access. But this will enable you to contact the recipient while on Athenaeum property, as well as access most of the functions of an Archive orb.¡±


    Marellen inserted a thin stream of mana into the bronze orb on his palm and blinked as he felt it link with the object, a semi-permanent string constantly connected to the item. Then he raised his eyes when he heard the familiar sound of a System notification.


    [The Supreme Institution of All-Aeon Athenaeum:]


    [Welcome back to the Academy, Marellen Vadel.]


    He instantly felt sour as soon as he saw that notification, but didn¡¯t focus on it as Vicela started walking again once they had bound their items. They followed as he left the Archive hall, taking them back to the room they had found him in. He gestured to one of the staff, who walked up.


    ¡°Take this man to the 57<sup>th</sup> floor so he can receive information about his authority as a private manager and the sponsorship regulations.¡±


    He nodded, and Efratel waved to Marellen as he left. ¡°I¡¯ll see you in a bit.¡±


    ¡°Now that¡¯s done¡­.¡± the High-mage said, turning to Marellen. ¡°We need to go over what conditions your sponsor has asked for, and your previous information recorded in the Archive, to see what will need to happen for you.¡±


    ¡­


    Sometime later, Marellen and Vicela entered what seemed to be the High-mage¡¯s private office. With a gesture from the High-mage, he sat down on a plush armchair opposite the man¡¯s desk, while the white-robed man walked behind the desk and opened a few draws, searching for something. A small glowing orb sat on his desk, spinning with a constant mechanical buzz as it sat within a crystal container. The walls of the room were lined with roof-high bookcases filled with heavy books, and several tables near the bookcases had other magical items sprawled across them.


    The High-mage sat down when he had found what he was looking for, a small metal stand that he placed on his desk, and then sat his Archive orb on. He dragged a piece of paper before him and picked up a pen as the orb lit up, and projected lines of neat runic script into the air between them.


    ¡°Right. So, your name is Marellen Vadel?¡± he began, reading off the projection.


    ¡°Yes sir,¡± Marellen replied with a nod.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll just check with you to make sure all this data is correct,¡± the man said, jotting down words on the page before him. ¡°You completed your education at the Junior Academy, studied at the Senior Academy for two years after that, and then graduated?¡±


    Marellen nodded, and so the High-mage continued reading his information. ¡°You¡¯re quite young to receive a sponsorship then¡­¡± he murmured absentmindedly, making Marellen wince as he knew what was coming. Vicela paused and frowned slightly when he saw something else. ¡°Graduated five years ago?¡±


    Marellen suppressed a sigh. He knew he appeared young due to his innately high magical density, something that came about due to his father being a High-mage before his birth and was also responsible for his hair that refused all forms of alteration, but it was incredibly annoying to be mistaken as an eighteen-year-old, Every. Single. Time. That was without mentioning the teenage girls¡­.


    ¡°I¡¯m twenty-three,¡± he replied wearily.


    The High-mage looked up and stared at him for a moment before he coughed. ¡°Ahem. All is in order then. And¡­ upper ranked magecraft graduate for that year? With those grades?¡± he asked, raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°That was the year the 74<sup>th</sup> 5<sup>th</sup> generation Princess graduated,¡± Marellen explained.


    ¡°Ah, no wonder then,¡± the High-mage remarked. ¡°Very few could beat a member of the royal family, and that would¡¯ve pushed everyone¡¯s ranking down. But you should¡¯ve received several offers to become a personal student¡­.¡±


    Marellen grimaced as the High-mage¡¯s eyes flew wide open, having found the offers in question in the information. ¡°2 Archmages¡­. 4 Grand-mages¡­ 7 High-mages¡­.¡± He stared incredulously at Marellen. ¡°You didn¡¯t accept one of these?¡±


    ¡°¡­could we please move on?¡± Marellen replied weakly.


    Vicela gazed at him for a second longer, before sighing. ¡°I suppose it¡¯s none of my business. Let¡¯s have a look at the conditions set by your sponsor that should already be in the Archives¡­¡±


    Marellen watched the projection change, showcasing new details. He was curious to know, as he didn¡¯t know what conditions he had to meet. He blinked as the High-mage frowned. ¡°There¡¯s¡­. nothing. There¡¯s only a request to know what people approach you, High-mage or higher, and the general request to send your basic progress information over to them. That last one is a common request for all sponsorships, but they¡¯ve given you complete freedom over everything.¡±


    Vicela looked up in confusion. ¡°There¡¯s not even a budget set. What kind of sponsor would ever do that?¡± Then the High-mage paused. ¡°I should probably check who your sponsor is.¡±


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Marellen shifted awkwardly in his seat as the man searched for the information. Then silence fell on them as he found out who it was.


    The High-mage slowly raised his eyes to look at Marellen. ¡°You¡¯re the recipient of the Aurelian Commission Head,¡± he stated blandly.


    ¡°Apparently, but I wouldn¡¯t know why they picked me,¡± Marellen replied, hoping he wouldn¡¯t ask questions.


    Vicela continued to stare at him, before shaking his head. ¡°Whatever then. Considering you¡¯re being sponsored by an Empire noble rather than one of the vassal kingdoms¡¯ nobles, that will authorize you to access higher-grade spells within the Archive, without the research contribution requirements they need.¡± He put down his pen and intertwined his fingers. ¡°It seems all your information is accurate, so I¡¯ll now explain what¡¯s available to you as a sponsored academic, and what you need to do.¡±


    Marellen nodded, so Vicela began. ¡°I understand as a former student here, you don¡¯t need me to repeat the information about the Academy¡¯s facilities and normal operations itself, so I¡¯ll skip that part. As a Grade 1 Academic, you have access to every department¡¯s resources and don¡¯t need the same special access permissions as them. You¡¯ll have access to the same information level as most 5th-year students as well,¡± he said.


    ¡°As your sponsor hasn¡¯t set any conditions for you,¡± he continued, ¡°You will be able to select what department to enter, what research topic to pick, or even topics if you wish. This can be completed using the Sub-Faction access of your Archive orb. Now, while studying as a student requires you to gain the appropriate merit points to pass your selected area, academics have a different process to go through.¡±


    The High-mage leaned forward slightly with a serious expression. ¡°You need to gain contribution points. This is a type of Athenaeum currency that only academics or full members of the Orders and Towers have access to. With it, you can purchase spells, skills, spell tomes, magical materials, items, artifacts, and other resources. Even as a sponsored academic, there will be some things unavailable for your sponsor to purchase using crowns under any circumstances¡­.¡± Then he hesitated. ¡°¡­. Is what I¡¯m supposed to say, but the Aurelian Commission Head is slightly different,¡± he said with a light cough.


    ¡°We tell that to nobility because the actual price of those resources is so astronomically high that it¡¯s better we don¡¯t reveal this, so they won¡¯t try to purchase them and embarrass themselves, creating political issues. We¡¯ve had too many problems with that in the past,¡± he explained with an awkward look on his face. ¡°But I¡¯ll allow your sponsor to purchase those without your contribution points if they so wish, considering the amount of money available to them.¡± He frowned. ¡°They also haven¡¯t set a condition for them to receive part of your contribution, so you will be able to use your contribution purely on yourself. This means you will have access to a lot of contribution, as we set the contribution gain rate to be higher for a recipient, expecting the opposite.¡±


    ¡­..Marellen was getting the feeling he really, really needed to have a talk with Efratel about this sponsor of his, because he had no idea what they wanted from him. The lack of expectations was making him more worried than he thought he¡¯d feel if there were expectations placed on him.


    The High-mage shook his head with a sigh after a moment. ¡°I won¡¯t change that. Considering you haven¡¯t even been given a budget, it doesn¡¯t matter whether you have access to more contribution points or not. Anyway,¡± he continued, gesturing to the bronze sphere he still held. ¡°Contribution can also allow you to purchase more features for the Archive orb, and as an academic, you have private lodgings, so you can also have your lodgings customised to your wishes. All of this information and more will be sent to your Archive orb.¡±


    He stood up and passed Marellen a sheet of paper. ¡°Tomorrow at midday you need to turn up at the Magic Assessment Facility so the Academy can record your current level of ability. Use your Sub-Faction access through your Archive orb to find the location. Do you have any more questions before you leave?¡±


    Oh, Marellen had many, but not something the High-mage in front of him could answer, unfortunately.


    ¡­


    ¡°Who in the realms is the Faction Head?!¡± he hissed, slamming his palms against the table.


    His blonde-haired cousin just chuckled and reclined back in his armchair as he drank his tea. ¡°I¡¯m revealing nothing. Have a bit of patience, and you¡¯ll find out.¡±


    Marellen groaned and sat back down in his armchair. They were in a caf¨¦ that was part of the residential area of the Academy, and he had cast a sound barrier spell to prevent anyone from hearing their conversation. ¡°Efratel, I¡¯m not saying this because I¡¯m curious. I¡¯m worried.¡±


    Efratel raised an eyebrow. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be. They¡¯re not that scary.¡±


    ¡°Then explain to me why I somehow seem to have no conditions whatsoever listed for my sponsorship,¡± Marellen replied wearily. He raised his Archive orb and activated it, setting it to levitate between them. Then it projected the ¡®list¡¯ of conditions in the form of a white-blue System screen.


    Efratel leaned forward to read¡­. what was barely a few sentences. He leaned back and crossed his arms with a strange expression.


    ¡°Come to think of it, we didn¡¯t discuss the finer details of what this sponsorship entails,¡± he remarked.


    ¡°¡­.Isn¡¯t that the most important thing to discuss?¡± Marellen asked incredulously.


    ¡°Well¡­ I couldn¡¯t meet with them very often due to the attention being placed on them last week. I barely got to see them the day after the event,¡± Efratel replied with a hand on his chin. ¡°But they asked for me to keep contacting them, so it¡¯s not like you¡¯ll be kept at the Academy for the rest of time doing nothing. I told you yesterday about the expeditions, remember?¡±


    Marellen frowned slightly. ¡°I don¡¯t have any experience with field research. And it would be dangerous for somebody with no experience to go to places like the Old Era planes, which have strange magical phenomena nobody understands.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s probably why they sent you here first, rather than straight into those outer planes,¡± Efratel explained. ¡°And you¡¯d likely be going with Roa if you did.¡±


    ¡°Have you contacted her yet?¡± Marellen asked.


    Efratel shook his head. ¡°Not yet. That¡¯s what I¡¯ll be doing this week. That, and probably contacting your sponsor to work out a few more details, considering we¡¯re rather lacking in that department.¡± Then he smiled. ¡°But first, let¡¯s have a look at just what¡¯s available to you now!¡±


    He sighed and tapped on the System screen to access other features of his Sub-Faction access. ¡°So¡­ do I pick a department?¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Efratel considered it. ¡°I think we wait on that one. I need to check which departments support expeditions, after all, and I¡¯d like to contact the Faction Head first.¡± He pointed to a function on the screen. ¡°Why don¡¯t we check the Archive orb?¡±


    Still feeling very unsettled and not impressed by Efratel¡¯s unwillingness to explain who the Faction Head was, he tapped on the button to take them to the screen that showed the options available for his Archive orb customisation.


    ¡°Elemental ratio scanning¡­ golem automation¡­. alchemy recombiner¡­. semi-array engraving module?¡± Efratel said with an odd look on his face, reading out some of the options. ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure what a lot of this means. You might need to check this out in your own time.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m familiar with how the Archive orb operates, although I never received a professional model like this,¡± Marellen replied. ¡°I got one to use during my time here at the Junior Academy, and then one at the Senior Academy as well.¡± He read the list of options again. ¡°This orb is the complete version, however, and will be what I continue to use if I get transferred to the Aeonic plane.¡±


    He looked at his cousin as he had a thought. ¡°Has my sponsor said anything about that topic?¡±


    ¡°Transferal?¡± Efratel asked, slightly surprised. He considered it. ¡°No, they haven¡¯t. I don¡¯t think they would be against it. You being a full member of the Athenaeum would probably be more beneficial for any potential expeditions.¡±


    ¡°¡­I¡¯m still not sure what I think about that,¡± Marellen muttered.


    ¡°Well, at least try it once before you decide what you think. Also, wouldn¡¯t you be safer now with that¡­ new addition to your skillset?¡± Efratel said, raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°Again, if I could receive enough information from the skill to guess what events will occur, it wouldn¡¯t be a Rare skill,¡± Marellen retorted. ¡°It¡¯s nowhere near powerful enough to calculate more than the results of a low-ranked spell.¡±


    Efratel shrugged, then held his chin. ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to ask. Have you tested out the spell it gave you yet?¡±


    Marellen blinked and then shook his head. ¡°Not yet, no. Maybe that¡¯s something I should do¡­ I wonder how it interacts with unbalanced mana reactions¡­.¡± he murmured thoughtfully.


    His cousin shook his head wryly. ¡°Please consider these things later, when I¡¯m not here in front of you. For now, let¡¯s just discuss what we¡¯re both going to do this week.¡±


    They spent the rest of the afternoon talking about what Efratel and Marellen planned to do.


    ¡­


    ¡°Marellen Vadel¡­. yes, you¡¯ve been registered for the testing. Please follow me,¡± the staff member said after reading the information projected by his orb.


    Marellen followed the man through the hallways of the Magic Assessment Facility, rooms behind glass walls on either side. He could see mages testing their abilities and casting spells at obstacles and on the testing equipment, the whole spatially expanded level echoing with the sound of destructive magic. The staff member held up his orb to beam onto a sealed door, taking him to one of the more advanced rooms. The room didn¡¯t hold many people, and he was told to wait for a bit.


    Sometime afterwards, his name was called, and so he stepped through a pair of doors to enter a small circular room. Standing on a level slightly higher than him and behind a protective mana-shield were two people. One was sitting behind a control table of sorts, while the other was standing, wearing red robes and appearing in his mid-40s. The red-robed man stepped forward to talk to him through the barrier.


    ¡°High-mage Demar Edgelin of the Red Order. Before we begin, I would like to ask you for your name, Rank, level, mage advancement, and class details,¡± he explained. ¡°You can choose to hide your class details if you wish, but if we detect abilities that come from any classes under Ancient already registered in the Archive, these details will be added to your records.¡±


    Marellen nodded. ¡°Marellen Vadel, at Rank 2, Level 212. I¡¯m an advanced mage. My main classes are All-Element Mage, Runic Decipherer and Spellcraft Scholar. I also have an Element Alchemist side class.¡±


    ¡°So, two Rare main classes, and an Epic main class. All-Element Mage¡­ hmm,¡± the High-mage mused. ¡°Level 212 is a rather high level for someone registered to have been Level 70 five years ago, and also without a battle class, but I suppose that can be attributed to your non-combat Rare classes of Runic Decipherer and Spellcraft Scholar. Moving on then,¡± he said, with a gesture to the man at the control table.


    The man nodded and pressed a button. The floor in front of Marellen opened up to reveal a large clear orb sitting on a stand. Demar gestured to it. ¡°Place a hand on it to allow us to record your basic affinities.¡±


    Marellen suppressed a sigh and did as asked. He inserted his mana into the large head-sized crystal, which quickly gained swirling hues of red, brown, blue, white, yellow, and black. The two people watching the orb waited for the colour distribution to change and show his dominant affinities. It didn¡¯t.


    ¡°Naturally balanced affinities for all six essential elements? This isn¡¯t on the setting that tests runic model enhanced affinity, is it?¡± the High-mage asked the man next to him. The man shook his head, making Demar raise his eyebrows.


    ¡°A Minor affinity for all six¡­. You could use any and every school¡¯s runic model. You¡¯re quite the talent,¡± the High-mage remarked.


    Marellen smiled awkwardly. ¡°It¡¯s only an innate ability.¡±


    ¡°It is. And therefore, we will test your current magical proficiency now,¡± Demar replied with a nod. He turned to the man at the control table, who flipped a switch. Glowing magical targets lit up on the walls behind Marellen, so he turned to face them.


    ¡°The standard multi-casting fireball test first. When you¡¯re ready,¡± the High-mage announced.


    Raising his hand to gesture at the targets, Marellen rotated his runic model to access the right runes. Then he used his mana to project them into his field of influence. Thirty small mana-circles appeared, which he used to shoot the targets with orange balls of fire mana with a bang.


    Demar nodded. ¡°Above average multi-casting abilities. Very good.¡± He gestured to the man next to him. ¡°Onto the next test. Please cast the spell with the most layers that you can cast so we can test your multi-layer spell-casting ability.¡±


    Carefully arranging the required runes needed, Marellen built up his spell. The High-mage raised his eyebrows when he was done.


    ¡°6-layer advanced spell? That¡¯s rather impressive,¡± he commented. ¡°Then we¡¯ll now do parallel elemental manipulation. Considering you have all six affinities, show us how many you can manipulate at the same time.¡±


    Marellen released his mana into the surrounding air, the multi-coloured gaseous hues swirling and mixing. Then he slowly added effects to it and pushed the mana into six different orb-like structures. Spinning in a circle around him was an orb of water, a ball of fire, a cyclonic whirlwind, a hard rocky clump, a radiant spark, and a shadowy swirling circle. He maintained them for the High-mage to see.


    ¡°All six. You must have spent quite some time learning to multi-task like that,¡± Demar remarked. ¡°Let¡¯s move on. A couple more tests.¡±


    They continued testing to document his abilities. Some were tests that tested his flow rate, others his elemental comprehension which would allow him to summon his elements, and there were a few that tested his rune arrangement speed and his field of influence size. The High-mage nodded one last time.


    ¡°One final test. Please attack the mana barrier of the wall over there with your most powerful spell. You can have as much preparation time as you need,¡± he stated.


    Marellen considered it for a moment.


    I¡¯m sure the earth-fire fusion would do more pure damage, but if it¡¯s power¡­


    He turned to face the mana barrier opposite the High-mage. Raising his hand, he pointed at it as he released his elemental mana. The mana began to be attracted to a singular point set a few metres away from his face in mid-air.


    Wind, 15%. Water, 16%. Now add fire, 5%. Earth, light, dark, another 6% each.


    A multi-coloured orb began coalescing, filled with dense elemental runes, and quickly drawing in all the mana within the room, causing the orb to swell. He raised his other hand, and three rings of dense dark-blue runic lines wrapped around the swelling orb, restraining it in place.


    Arcane mana seal, 3-layered tri-bind. Another 10% of fire, light and dark.


    The High-mage behind him widened his eyes, but Marellen didn¡¯t see it. Small flecks of mana began flaking away from the mana barrier as the outer edges of the room became a vacuum of mana, the energy all being attracted to the psychedelic swirling sphere the size of his head hovering in front of him, thin streams of dense elements adding to it. It strained against its seal but didn¡¯t break.


    He winced as several of the seal¡¯s runes disintegrated, the pull of the mana becoming too strong, and the orb instantly swelled again. He tried to add another seal, but only one ring of runes attached themselves properly. A slight breeze ruffled his clothes and hair as the wind mana was drawn into the orb.


    And slowly, 1% more earth¡­. 2% more earth¡­.


    Several more seal runes fractured, and a slight headache began to build as he struggled to control the conflicting energies within the orb. He cautiously added more earth mana, but the fire mana within the orb repeatedly flared up as he did so. When he got to 10% earth mana, the orb bulged and strained again with new intensity, the sealing runes barely holding it in place.


    ¡°Activate the next tier of mana barriers,¡± Demar ordered the man next to him.


    Sensing the spell wasn¡¯t going to achieve completion, Marellen quickly materialised several mana shields to hide behind. Then he frowned slightly as he received a strange sensation from his runic model.


    My skill is telling me¡­ to add more earth mana? Now?


    He glanced at the orb, only a few seconds from bursting. Then he gritted his teeth and did so. The orb instantly shattered its seal and the air gained the vibrating sensation of chaotic mana as the sphere began distorting in shape. They cautiously shielded their eyes as they waited for it to burst¡­.


    ¡­but it didn¡¯t.


    They stared at the elemental spell that had finally formed. Surrounded by six rings of elemental essence, the six-coloured orb sat peacefully in mid-air, twice the size of Marellen¡¯s head. The runes within shifted and slowly cycled, switching to different elements with a regular pattern. The surrounding mana had completely stilled but there was tension present in the atmosphere.


    ¡°¡­ It seems the earth mana stabilised it,¡± Marellen muttered quietly. Before the High-mage could say anything, he gestured with his hands, and the orb floated near the mana barrier. Then, Marellen activated the spell.


    Boom!


    With an exceedingly quick speed, the orb and its rings unravelled, unleashing the full force of its elemental blast into the room. The mana barrier, and even the newer ones that had been set up, trembled, and cracked like fracturing glass, while the floor vibrated with the force. A rainbow gaseous hue swept the room like a gust of wind, the multi-coloured mana swirling about the place and not losing its colour until a full thirty seconds had passed.


    Marellen watched the result curiously. It was the first time that spell had ever formed successfully for him.


    Even with the fire mana conflicting, adding the earth mana at the last second briefly stabilised it enough for the natural elemental balancing of the spell to correct it without my intervention. This supports my theory that elements have a fundamental optimal ratio they require to maintain constant manifestation and lines up with what my Origin Skill demonstrates when I test it using fusion elements. I have to wonder if this ¡®optimal ratio¡¯ is another fundamental behaviour relating to the Mana Resonance Principle, or if this ratio can be considered a new principle altogether¡­.


    ¡°-adel.¡±


    ¡­another interesting detail was the mental suggestion I received from my new skill. I felt the desire to perform that action, when predicting the outcome of a spell of this magnitude should lie outside my hypothesised parameters for the skill. Perhaps this ¡®optimal ratio¡¯ is what the skill¡¯s cause and effect analysis is built on, tracking changes from this origin point of perfect harmony. My spell is not an archetypal version of any natural elemental harmony, but it was capable of being self-contained through some unknown process after I added that earth mana. This also suggests the possibility that my sense of cause and effect will exponentially increase the further the environmental atmospheric mana is from natural harmony, an opposite conclusion to what my first results from the skill pointed to. As for how to test thi-


    ¡°Vadel!¡±


    He blinked when he realised Demar Edgelin was calling him. He turned around to face the High-mage. ¡°My apologies. I was lost in thought,¡± he said with a slight bow.


    The red-robed man regarded him with mild bemusement for a moment and then shook his head. ¡°Happens to the best of us I suppose. All right then, Attack power-¡± He paused, and reread the sentence the Archive orb he had attached to the control table was projecting. He slowly spoke with a strange expression, ¡°Attack power: lower advanced mage, mana density: upper advanced mage, runic theorem¡­¡­.¡± He turned back to Marellen with a slightly astonished look on his face. ¡°Lower High-mage level.¡±


    Marellen remained silent, uncaring. Hearing that may make some people happy, but not him. The only reason why his spell could be completed was due to pure chance, after all, and had no influence from his knowledge of runes. The fact he relied on his new skill to cast the spell was just a sign that his understanding of magic wasn¡¯t high enough.


    The High-mage sighed. ¡°Overall magic level: peak-level advanced mage. At Level 212.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Maybe I¡¯m getting old. Anyway, that¡¯s it for you. Advanced mage Marellen Vadel, you may go.¡±


    With a nod, he did so and left the room with slightly quicker steps than he entered. Considering the newest event with his spell and skill, he was eager to test out new ideas and experiment.


    After all, he had magic to do.

 Chapter 36 (1 of 2) A Crafty Commanders Complex Contrivance.

    ¡­ And so, Marellen has been panicking about what he¡¯s supposed to do at the Academy. A little direction for us both would be very welcome. I also may have kept it a secret from my cousin who exactly the Commission Head is, so if you could help me continue to hide that, I¡¯d be thankful.


    Sincerely, Efratel Vadel.


    Lucille smirked slightly as she read the last line before Efratel''s name, but tucked the letter back into its envelope. She pulled out a drawer of her desk to retrieve paper and an envelope and then dipped a pen in a nearby inkwell. She started responding to Efratel¡¯s letter.


    To Efratel Vadel,


    I¡¯m glad to hear you¡¯ve both been officially registered with the Academy. You should be safe for a long while now. As for what I want from your cousin¡­ I¡¯m aware he has a Minor affinity for all six essential elements. Consider it as me giving him the opportunity to try to continue to develop that all-element magic of his. Especially as all-element magic is a path that hasn¡¯t been open to magic-users for a very long time. You also don¡¯t have to worry about that ¡®gift¡¯ of mine. I received it as a System reward, and so nobody will know of it unless I tell them.


    As for transferral, I have no particular opinion. Any additional resources that an official mage of All-Aeon Athenaeum can access I am able to purchase, so there is no need to be overeager to go there to try gain these resources. However, going to the Aeonic origin plane will grant Marellen access to much greater runic theorem knowledge contained in their main Archive, and likely also contain all-element spells or theories that aren¡¯t studied or used by the mainstream schools. They will be immensely useful if he wishes to remain an all-element mage.


    With expeditions, I have a suggestion. If he intends to discover more about the environmental mana laws of the six essential elements, going to planes with natural mana phenomena would enable him to see how it works in person. Ancient planes that are being explored for their natural artifacts, for example.


    She spent some time adding more details, such as discussing finance and other smaller things. She also stated that she was very willing to keep her identity from Marellen a secret. She finished off the letter by signing it and sealed it in the envelope so she could ask for someone to send it by teleportation courier eventually. She leaned back, crossed her arms, and kicked her feet up on the desk as she considered what she needed from the two nobles.


    The answer was something very simple: she didn¡¯t. That¡¯s not to say there wasn¡¯t anything she wanted from them, but it was less of a ¡®want¡¯ and more of a hope or wish. She just wanted to see what ripples the thrown stones of Trisroa Vel-Winteridge¡¯s formerly dead party could make in this timeline. In her opinion, any change was a good change, unless it benefited the Hero. Well, he was about to go gallivanting off to receive ¡®hero-worthy¡¯ rewards from completing a Dungeon or Lair with his fanatically loyal redhead party member somewhere after going to the Forerunner Event.


    Her expression went cold as she considered that. He had never seen her true appearance. That was a good thing for her, but it meant she was unaware of how he would react if he happened to see someone ¡®new¡¯ at the Event. Although there were a thousand forerunners, and he didn¡¯t have an eidetic memory, so the possibility they wouldn¡¯t even meet or him notice her was there.


    She shook her head and stretched her arms in front of her, having decided to stop thinking about him. Today she, as Adrianna, had to make a special request to Commander Arkenast, and she also had to prepare for the competition event she was hosting. That meant formally greeting Artair Alichanteu, Rosaline Chavaret and Viscountess Femidela, the three County representatives coming to judge the competition. It was annoying, but that was what she had to do as the Head of the Commission.


    ¡­


    ¡°-And that is why I use the Rare-ranked Fiery Wave Footwork skill rather than the Epic-ranked Wildfire Cyclic Path,¡± finished a woman with long, curly red hair, sitting at a table with several other individuals.


    One of them, a woman appearing in her late twenties with green eyes and brown hair, leaned forward curiously. ¡°But wouldn¡¯t the lesser AGI stat amplification bonus for the footwork be a weakness when you come across those who utilise the White River weapon clan¡¯s signature mana-art?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± the red-haired woman replied with a nod. ¡°But the Fiery Wave Footwork skill is still only an auxiliary footwork ability. I use Chavaret¡¯s Battle-forged Red Flame mana-art as an heir of the County, after all. The movement abilities of the mana-art are enough to counteract the White River weapon clan¡¯s techniques, and the Fiery Wave Footwork skill just provides a series of smoother transition moves to support it.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± the green-eyed woman responded. She smiled and took a sip from her cup. ¡°As someone with a more background-focused role, my mana-art¡¯s strength lies in wide-spread abilities and area of effect elemental release. I¡¯m interested in how my poison manipulation compares in that sense to the red flame used by your clan.¡±


    Lucy remained silent as Rosaline Chavaret and Viscountess Femidela discussed their combat techniques and experiences with mana-arts. She, along with Vincent and Artair, were quietly ¡®listening¡¯ to the two women, with the three of them having nothing to add. It had been like that for the last half hour. Viscountess Femidela, now in a slightly less formal setting than the debut ball, had ditched the traditional masked attire of Ravimoux¡¯s vassals and subordinates, which was why they saw her face. The 25-year-old Rosaline was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt and red leather pants with boots, all high quality, showing how she prioritised her status as a warrior than as a noble.


    They were all sitting at a table in the Pavilion, having lunch. Artair, to Lucy¡¯s amusement, was gazing off to the side with a distant expression, having completely forgotten that his presence as Alichanteu¡¯s representative required him to at least try to seem engaged for politeness¡¯ sake. Vincent had a calm smile on his face as he watched the two women conversing, but Lucy knew he only ever smiled like that when he had to deal with nobility, and didn¡¯t care about what they were talking about in the slightest.


    She was actually considering how surprisingly normal the interactions between everyone were. It was slightly unnerving. There had been no major discussions about politics or attempts to discover more information about her, nor had anyone properly approached the subject of the competition apart from when they first greeted each other that day. She supposed she could attribute that to the people who had come as the representatives though.


    Rosaline Chavaret commanded one of the legions of her County¡¯s mercenary army, and so didn¡¯t often take part in many political events, as she was mostly fighting on Event Battlefields for the forces that had hired them. Artair was¡­. well, from what she had gathered, it seemed the first heir of Alichanteu wasn¡¯t too motivated to become the new Count. Maybe he aimed for it out of a feeling of responsibility. As for Margaery Femidela, Lucy wasn¡¯t quite sure. She had a suspicion the woman just signed up to judge the competition for fun, as dealing with the members of Olden and Radical at Headquarters that Ravimoux had decided to remove certainly didn¡¯t take a noble with a fiefdom title.


    Vincent was obvious. He was there as her aide, and so would follow her lead when choosing to discuss politics or not. But she knew he considered all dealings with nobles a matter of professionality, so he wasn¡¯t about to make small talk with them. She still hadn¡¯t worked out why he got the nickname of ¡®Dictator¡¯ in the past though¡­.


    Judging that Rosaline and Viscountess Femidela were deep enough in conversation to not care if she started another one, she glanced at the blonde and blue-haired man opposite her. ¡°Sir Alichanteu.¡±


    He didn¡¯t respond. She tilted her head as there was no reaction from him, still distracted by his thoughts. She gave him a small wave, but he still didn¡¯t notice. She leaned back in her chair and held her chin. ¡°Perhaps I should support Arwen to become the new Count after all,¡± she thought aloud.


    Vincent shot her a mildly exasperated look as the man opposite her blinked once, then several times, and then directed his attention to her, staring at her with bemusement and slight incredulousness as he finally registered what she had said. ¡°¡­. what?¡±


    She smirked. ¡°I¡¯m kidding. I had to say something to get your attention.¡± She pointed to a hedge bush near the wall of the Pavilion. ¡°You seem to have found something rather interesting about that bush if you¡¯ve continued to stare at it for so long.¡±


    He glanced between her and the plant a few times in incomprehension before realisation set in and his expression turned very awkward. ¡°My apologies for the lapse in focus, Faction Head. I will avoid repeating my mistake.¡±


    Lucy grinned. ¡°Who said I was upset you weren¡¯t paying attention?¡± She gestured to the two women, who ignored them to continue their discussion. ¡°I don¡¯t believe they assumed the three non-warriors would stay engaged the entire time. I can¡¯t say I¡¯m finding much interest in the differences between one weapon clan¡¯s art and the other.¡±


    He stared at her, taken aback by the frankness of her words. ¡°Uh¡­ right.¡± He glanced at Rosaline and Viscountess Femidela. ¡°As a member of Alichanteu, I¡¯ve had little to no relation with those of Glory Pantheon and its forces. Alichanteu is purely in charge of administration and land ownership, unlike Chavaret and Ravimoux.¡± Then he frowned slightly. ¡°Although, Ravimoux isn¡¯t part of Glory Pantheon¡­¡±


    ¡°Technically all that¡¯s needed to be considered a force of Glory Pantheon is to register a mana-art exclusive to your clan or family with them, so they are in some sense,¡± she replied, picking up her cup from off the table. ¡°But Ravimoux doesn¡¯t participate in any Tournaments, so they¡¯re not a weapon clan.¡± She took a sip and set it back down as he nodded. ¡°Perhaps if they did, their dark mana-art¡¯s ranking would come close to the 3<sup>rd</sup> Duchy¡¯s.¡±


    Viscountess Femidela shot her a smirk before returning to her conversation, obviously having heard her statement, while Artair gave Lucy a very slight grimace. ¡°Please don¡¯t let the members of the 3<sup>rd</sup> Eternal Duchy hear you say that. They¡¯re rather ruthless when it comes to eradicating any threats to their position.¡±


    ¡°Well, Ravimoux has to have maintained their control over the Empire¡¯s black markets for so long while remaining a County somehow,¡± she said with a shrug. ¡°But potentially hidden strength of the Black County or not, I wanted to ask you something else.¡± Her smile widened. ¡°How has the distribution of my plans¡¯ management authority been going in Alichanteu?¡±


    He stared at her for a few seconds. Then, he slowly began to appear very, very hesitant about something. ¡°It¡­ uh¡­ could be going better,¡± he replied awkwardly.


    She raised an eyebrow at his reaction and crossed her arms. ¡°What, is your half-brother giving you trouble? Depending on the context I may be able to intervene here.¡±


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Surprisingly, he shook his head with a grimace. ¡°It¡¯s not an issue I can ask the Faction Head to help with. This is a problem for both Arwen and me.¡± He sighed. ¡°The vassals are continually fighting over who gets what responsibility, and a resolution to this problem is nowhere in sight. There¡¯s no cohesion whatsoever among them.¡±


    Vincent spoke up for the first time in a while, paying proper attention to their conversation. ¡°Surely if it¡¯s that bad, then you and Arwen can come to an agreement to settle the dispute? Regardless of the relationship between you two, Alichanteu¡¯s current situation is important enough to be prioritised,¡± he asked.


    Artair glanced at him and shook his head. ¡°Unfortunately, we don¡¯t have the power. Alichanteu only has me, my sister, and Arwen as its direct bloodline members, so the Count¡¯s power hasn¡¯t been shared very much. And the authority to call a vassal assembly lies with the direct vassals, not us.¡± He rubbed his temples. ¡°They¡¯ve been calling an assembly every few days, most lasting longer than eight hours. It is¡­ very tiring to deal with them,¡± he explained wearily.


    ¡°Well, when it¡¯s not related to the Commission, it¡¯s true I don¡¯t have the authority to intervene,¡± Lucille replied with a slight frown. ¡°I can¡¯t do much about the vassal assemblies. Is there a main instigator behind all this?¡±


    Artair considered it. ¡°Not an ¡®instigator¡¯ as such¡­.. but the main reason we¡¯re having so much trouble with the vassals is because of the neutral faction besides Arwen and me.¡±


    ¡°Neutral?¡± Vincent asked curiously.


    ¡°The Count¡¯s supporters who still haven¡¯t switched sides,¡± Artair explained. ¡°They¡¯re the largest faction in Alichanteu at the moment, but because all of them are firmly staying out of any succession issues, neither Arwen nor me has enough power to tip the sides completely. I haven¡¯t discovered why they¡¯re so fixed on staying out of the succession battle.¡±


    ¡°Do they have any specific characteristics as a force?¡± she asked him.


    ¡°They¡¯re the vassals involved in magic engineering,¡± he confirmed with a nod. ¡°All of them have a long history of magical design and construction, and are one of our most important forces to maintain all our city mainframes and sea ships in our port cities and on our water planes.¡± He gestured to her. ¡°They¡¯ll be the ones helping you with your ¡®trainline¡¯ construction when the time comes.¡±


    That¡­ was very important information. It seemed Artair may be talking about the group responsible for the airship development. The reason they were staying out of the succession conflict was probably because they wanted to prevent Radical or Olden from discovering the airships, with the current likelihood of those political force supporters being among the Alichanteu vassals. The fact they were so determined to be seen as neutral¡­. She could use this.


    She traded glances with Vincent, who also knew the significance of what Artair had said.


    ¡°It appears I will have to contact them soon then,¡± Lucy said to Artair. ¡°And perhaps when we discuss the trains I can ask them to pressure the other vassals into making a decision.¡±


    ¡°If by that stage it is still needed, then I¡¯ll be thankful,¡± he replied, sounding slightly tired. Then he blinked and then straightened up, looking curious about something. ¡°However, one issue the vassals have been discussing is who will take on the responsibility of the trainline development. They seem to think the finance that will be used for it could be better spent on other ventures, considering the existence of teleportation arrays.¡±


    She smiled and raised her cup to sip from it. ¡°And do you think this way?¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°Oh no, certainly not. No, I can see the logistical improvements the existence of such transport will make. A form of short-term transport itself will be incredibly useful for any city.¡± He became more animated as he continued talking, ¡°And the concept of underground transport routes¡­ it reminds me of the descriptions of Rocht¡¯guardes¡¯ dwarven railway tracks and their moving fortresses. Commercialising such a thing is an amazing idea.¡±


    ¡°Well, the trains will not have such massive sizes, nor will they be outfitted with any weaponry like the rail fortresses,¡± she said with amusement. ¡°But the concept is similar. And the reason why I want to implement them goes beyond short-term transport.¡± She continued, placing her cup down again, ¡°Foremost would be to cut down on teleportation array costs for Gilded Seat and the Faction.¡±


    Vincent blinked and looked at her with slight confusion. ¡°You still care about this?¡±


    She shot him a mildly exasperated look but clasped her hands together. ¡°You know I have a magic background,¡± she said to her aide. Vincent slowly nodded, while Artair looked a bit confused. She continued with her words, ¡°That means I was able to find out just how much teleportation arrays cost when teleporting an individual even only a ten-kilometre distance, and how much people should be paying to use them.¡±


    Her expression went flat. ¡°The current cost of using teleportation arrays is the equivalent of using a dragon king to pull a commoner¡¯s cart.¡±


    They stared at her. ¡°Surely it can¡¯t be that bad¡­ can it?¡± Artair asked hesitantly.


    She sighed and rubbed her temples. ¡°For citizens of the Empire, no. The Empire is incomparably powerful compared to anything else in the Mystical Realm, and this means it is incomparably rich too. So the expense of magic arrays is seen as very little for most people and less for nobles, especially when even the lowest nobility of a Minor Kingdom rule, at minimum, over ten million people per person.¡± She leaned back and crossed her arms. ¡°But the mana cost of a teleportation array activating, receiving mana, and teleporting one person ten kilometres away has the same mana cost as teleporting them to another plane. Even the time required is the same.¡±


    Viscountess Femidela and Rosaline paused their conversation when they overheard her words. Lucy hadn¡¯t been quite sure how to explain the current teleportation array situation was like placing thousands of airports just to take someone to the next suburb for the same resource cost as taking them through intra-dimensional warping into the next world, but it seemed the message got across to Vincent because he narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°Then how come I happen to hear that to use the Athenaeum¡¯s planar arrays you are charged more than ten times the price of normal teleportation arrays, all to ¡®ensure the efforts of the Violet Order and Spatial Tower in engraving such wondrous magic for the masses to use is duly rewarded¡¯,¡± he stated with strong suspicion.


    ¡°Greed, obviously,¡± she said with a shrug. ¡°Granted, planar teleportation arrays are more complex than localised teleportation arrays and may require more space to be engraved so increasing the price somewhat is acceptable, but even the mana cost of teleporting to one plane versus a further plane isn¡¯t dependent on physical distance, as teleportation arrays utilise planar alignments, dimensional leylines, astral pathways and other complicated spatial phenomenon to function. Their claim of ¡®distance increasing mana cost¡¯ is a blatant lie.¡±


    There was silence. It made for a very funny scene when all four of the people at Lucy¡¯s table turned their heads to stare in the direction of what they knew to be the nearest teleportation array dome outside Headquarters. Vincent¡¯s expression twitched, Rosaline glared at the Pavilion bush blocking her view, the Viscountess narrowed her eyes as a cruel smirk appeared on her lips, and Artair began to look rather awkward and uneasy.


    ¡°Also, if any of you try to bring the Empire¡¯s attention to this, it wouldn¡¯t work. Most high nobility already know this, and get decreased teleportation costs in return for staying, and keeping others, silent,¡± Lucille added.


    Their gazes turned back to her, and they went quiet for a few moments. Then Viscountess Femidela laughed. ¡°Well, this has been very enlightening,¡± she replied, still smirking. ¡°To know just how much of my income has been stolen by those snobbish old men when it didn¡¯t need to be¡­ regardless of the high nobility, I¡¯m sure my superior would like to know this,¡± she told Lucy.


    Lucy smiled and didn¡¯t physically say anything, but she sent a spiritual transmission to the poison master.


    ¡®You may also like to mention to Count Ravimoux on my behalf that this detail could be very useful information when it comes to renegotiating deals with the Violet Order and Spatial Tower after the sub-dimension deal with the Artificers.¡¯


    The woman blinked, and her smile widened a tad, but she didn¡¯t show any other movement that would indicate she received some sort of message. Artair looked a bit queasy. ¡°Are we allowed to know this?¡± he asked cautiously.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t try to draw attention to it, then you¡¯ll be fine,¡± Lucy replied, picking up her cup and drinking from it. ¡°As I said, most high nobility already know this. It¡¯s an open secret among them. Of course, the Commission doesn¡¯t contain high nobility, so the real reason behind the trainline implementation has to be hidden for now.¡±


    ¡°And are you allowed to reveal all this?¡± Rosaline asked her.


    She smirked and spread her arms. ¡°Whatever could you possibly mean? The Athenaeum has no records of someone named ¡®Lucille Goldcroft¡¯ having ever joined their Institution. How could some young girl completely unrelated to them be responsible for this leak in information?¡±


    The Viscountess gave a slight laugh as Rosaline nodded, looking satisfied. Vincent just shook his head.


    ¡°You said cutting down on costs was one of the reasons for the trains,¡± Artair said curiously. ¡°What are the others?¡±


    ¡°Well, the second is to reduce traffic in Gilded Seat,¡± she explained. ¡°Particularly now as the Coalition¡¯s technology is developing, more and more mana-engine carriages and other transport vehicles are flooding the streets. It would be bad if the city couldn¡¯t accommodate that.¡±


    Vincent frowned at the table as the others nodded. ¡°I had been noticing the traffic has been getting particularly bad these last few years¡­¡±


    Viscountess Femidela looked at Lucy and narrowed her eyes while smiling. ¡°Are you predicting that the Coalition¡¯s technology will become more popular as time goes by?¡±


    Lucille nodded. ¡°The Coalition¡¯s technology emphasizes efficiency and use of materials rather than just power, making them cheap. Their constructions can be high-quality while also using materials with less value.¡± She gestured in the direction of the unseen teleportation dome. ¡°The Athenaeum¡¯s spires, for example, are made out of the most valuable magical stone and metals available, with the wizards and mages competing to see whose spire can contain the largest and purest control gem. They might be powerful, yes, but if they can¡¯t put the abilities of the magical resources to good use, it¡¯s wasted.¡±


    She gestured to them. ¡°I take it that you¡¯ve all seen one of the Minor Kingdoms in your life.¡± The four of them nodded, so she continued, ¡°The lower magical density of those planes means that they can¡¯t get access to the same materials and resources the higher planes can. They¡¯re permanently stunted and incapable of developing like the Empire. But the Coalition¡¯s and similar technology can change this.¡±


    Lucy leaned forward with a serious expression as they paid attention to her words. ¡°And this is why the trains are so important. They can be used for the unranked planes.¡±


    She waited silently as they all took in what she said and considered the implications of her words. They all looked thoughtful, and it was Vincent who finally spoke up, ¡°You intend on raising their status.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s impossible for unranked planes to come close to reaching even a vague resemblance to the Empire¡¯s level of development,¡± she replied. ¡°Even once their citizens choose to leave and visit the Empire using Obelisks, when they come back and try to advance their plane, it doesn¡¯t work. They don¡¯t have the logistical capability. There¡¯s just not enough mana to place more teleportation circles.¡±


    ¡°But these trains made with magic engineering don¡¯t function on purely magical methods,¡± Artair murmured, looking at the table. Then he raised his eyes to look at her. ¡°The materials used to craft the trains will very quickly lose power when placed on such low mana-density planes though.¡±


    She nodded in agreement. ¡°They will need to be crafted to the specifications of the planes. The lower-ranked planes¡¯ trains will be very simple, used purely for transport. It¡¯s only when we start reaching the Major Kingdom level that we¡¯ll begin adding spatial expansion, additional services, and aesthetic focus.¡± Then she smirked. ¡°I intend for the train on Gilded Seat to have three levels, one for transporting goods, one for the commoners and the top level to be for nobility, where the ride will be for leisure and recreation. Obviously, the price for riding in special luxury surroundings will be fair and appropriate for individuals of such high status.¡±


    Her listeners chuckled because as merchant nobility, they had no problem charging other nobles an exorbitantly high price for things. Viscountess Femidela smirked as she spoke, ¡°And there¡¯s one more thing I¡¯m hearing about this that I like. Did you say you¡¯ll be charging the passengers a price?¡±


    Lucille grinned. ¡°Yes. The money earned from this will go to the Commission rather than the pockets of greedy spatial magic users.¡± She leaned back and shrugged. ¡°Of course, the intention behind this is to reinvest the profits from the trainlines back into redeveloping Gilded Seat, but it will take at least a few years to design the city¡¯s train and construct it before that.¡± She looked at Artair. ¡°And because this is being funded by the Founder¡¯s vault, those people arguing over whether the finance should be used on them don¡¯t have the right to do so. The decision of where the money will go has already been made.¡±


    He nodded in agreeance. Rosaline replied to her, ¡°I¡¯ve heard from my father that you said the contents of the Founder¡¯s vault was about a century¡¯s worth of the Commission¡¯s current incoming annual finance.¡±


    ¡°In monetary value, yes.¡± Lucy nodded. ¡°And there¡¯s enough in pure currency that I can take out of the vault to more than fulfil the equivalent of ten million crystal tokens I said would be used over the next five years. The rest of the vault¡¯s contents, however¡­.¡± She smiled at them. ¡°Not so easy to find a purpose for.¡±


    ¡°Because of the types of assets?¡± the Viscountess asked curiously.


    ¡°Some nobility like to donate to the vault very special items made uniquely by their fiefdoms,¡± Lucy replied wryly. ¡°An ornate fountain made of Ancient-ranked marble might be pretty, but I don¡¯t need an entire two hundred and thirty-nine of them.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like you might need some help exchanging these assets,¡± Artair said thoughtfully. ¡°An auction might be worthwhile.¡±


    She grinned. ¡°In return for a healthy portion of the proceeds going to Alichanteu, I presume?¡± She gestured to Rosaline as well. ¡°Not all of it is of only interest to Alichanteu either. There¡¯s a rather large stock of weapons and weapon crafting materials Chavaret may like.¡±


    Rosaline looked intrigued as Lucy turned to the brown-haired woman next to her. ¡°As for Ravimoux¡­¡± She smirked. ¡°There may possibly be the mana-arts and special inheritance of one or two destroyed noble clans that need taking off my hands.¡±


    The poison master smirked back. ¡°I don¡¯t believe Alichanteu will want to deal with the political backlash of revealing those at their auction. But Ravimoux¡¯s black market would certainly love to get their hands on them.¡±


    ¡°It seems like now might be a good time to discuss the distribution of the sale responsibility of these assets then,¡± Vincent spoke up. ¡°We¡¯ll need to agree on what assets and resources each County has priority access to.¡±


    The others nodded, including Lucy. ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll begin explaining what the Founder¡¯s vault contains¡­.¡± she began.


    ¡­


    Lucy sighed as she sat down on her couch and rested the back of her head against it, gazing up at the ceiling. It wasn¡¯t like talking with the three representatives had been difficult, and they were easier than what a discussion with the Counts would be like, but she still disliked having to deal with nobility. She had her experience with them, but never had she been such a direct part of their world.


    She was glad something could be done about all the useless objects in the vault though. She did not need five hundred sets of Rare-ranked cutlery.


    She glanced at the still-sleeping winged silvery snake next to her. Scytale would probably be bored out of his mind if he had been awake during this time, even with the competition ready to begin. Well, he¡¯d probably go to antagonise Ashale¡¯viaf in the library, so maybe not too bored. Although that was one place she hadn¡¯t been to yet.


    Deciding she wanted some coffee, she got up and went into the kitchen, then returned with a mug and the brass jug artifact. She set about pouring it as she considered her interactions on Adrianna¡¯s side. She was glad the Commander seemed happy to accept her request, and she expected him to be because she had asked for something similar in the last timeline.


    She went to pick up her mug. The only issue was she had never been a subordinate under his full leadership before, so she wasn¡¯t aware of how things would go if she worked on his ship with her Ra-


    She froze with her mug just a few centimetres from her lips.


    He was here? At this time?


    She put down the mug and rubbed her temples as she considered what she was going to do.


    It seems I¡¯ll have to merge my consciousnesses for the foreseeable future. This is¡­ unexpected.

 Chapter 36 (2 of 2) A Crafty Commanders Complex Contrivance.

    -A while earlier-


    [Status: ]


    Name: Adrianna Riftmire (Lvl. 52)


    Class: Illusionist of Monstrous Apparitions ¨C Epic (Tier: V)


    Age: 21y


    Race: Human


    HP: 1600/1600 {+40/5m}


    MP: 5100/5100 {+620/1m}


    Stats:


    Free Stat Points: 0


    STR: 23 SPRT: 115


    CON: 32 MENT: 25


    AGI: 22


    DEX: 34


    INT: 113


    WIS: 62


    [Origin Skill: Manifestor¡¯s Cuboid Energy Matrix | Type: Soul/Realm


    Desc: On a world yet unknown to the Tower, individuals have developed a vast array of abilities that function in unique ways. Due to the User¡¯s natural talent with the soul, they have gained the ability to compute and display mentally registered magic whenever they wish, disregarding the need for a long cast time and enabling their spells to function on automated commands.


    Subskills:


    <ul>


    <li>Soul Construct</li>


    <li>Manifestations of the Mind</li>


    <li>Simulator</li>


    </ul>


    Pseudo-Domain ¨C Zone of Control


    Awakening: 6% ]


    She felt an indescribable sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu as she looked at the white-blue screen before her. It was a very strange experience to see her old Level 52 Status again. Well, not quite the same, considering she had never actually been 21 years old at this time, and the 10+ levels she had gained on top of the original levels had their stats distributed differently. The Alter-Ego skill worked just as well as she expected, being a System skill and all. She could even feel her Origin Skill back in place, its silvery-white cube structure represented within her mental power as well as just below the heart area where an Origin Skill was normally only found. She was a little special.


    But there were a few slight differences she had sensed over the last few months compared to the Origin Skill she originally had. She looked through the subskills of her skill.


    [Sub-skill: Soul Construct | Type: Soul/Psychic ]


    Desc: The User¡¯s incredibly high talent for the manipulation of their soul has manifested in the form of an Origin Skill that creates a control centre for all manipulation of mana, spiritual energy, and soul power.


    Abilities:


    Mental Tesseract ¨C Cube of calculation.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the User a mental structure that can compute and register multi-dimensional energy-form objects and entities, storing patterns and creating processes.</li>


    </ul>


    Soul Configuration ¨C Unique soul talent.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the User access to SPRT and MENT at Rank-0.</li>


    <li>Gives the User access to the Soul Compression Aspect.</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    [Sub-skill: Manifestations of the Mind | Type: Soul/Magic ]


    Desc: Mana may affect natural laws with more ease than spiritual energy, but it is spiritual energy that forms the soul and controls the energy of the material realms. With a deeper understanding of this phenomenon, the borders between imaginary and real are blurred.


    Abilities:


    Amplified Mana Manipulation ¨C Control of the mind equates to control over mana.


    <ul>


    <li>Enables the User¡¯s mana manipulation proficiency to develop with direct correlation to their spiritual energy manipulation on a 1:1 ratio and vice versa.</li>


    </ul>


    Magical Materialisation ¨C  Fine elemental control granted by a powerful soul.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the User the ability to have enhanced control over their elemental affinities. Current affinity: Mid-level compound: Superior Illusion Affinity (99%).</li>


    <li>Gives the User the ability to have their registered patterns materialise without rune arrangement or the User¡¯s mana manipulation.</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    [Sub-skill: Simulator | Type: Soul/Psychic ]


    Desc: Through the Mental Tesseract, the User gains high computational power that will allow them to make estimates on the outcomes of spells and their magic when they activate the Mental Tesseract. The higher their knowledge of the fundamental mechanics of reality, the higher the accuracy of their predictions.


    Ability:


    Microcosmic Emulator ¨C Simulation of Reality.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the User the ability to mentally simulate the consequences of different rune arrangements, spell models and all registered patterns in the Mental Tesseract, enabling the User to determine if a pattern will successfully materialise or not, and how it will interact in different scenarios.</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    The first two were the same as they had originally been, but not the last one. That one had changed from ¡®Pseudo-Simulator¡¯ to just ¡®Simulator¡¯. Not that such a change was bad. In fact, it was very good. The structure of her Origin Skill had become significantly more complex, by about an additional 30% compared to her old one. She could tell the abilities of the soul construct were capable of more comprehensive and in-depth analysis.


    She had managed to recreate and improve on all the functions of her mental tesseract with spiritual energy and soul power over time, taking her soul¡¯s abilities to another level, but considering her soul clone¡¯s current limitations in that regard, the slight upgrade was a welcome addition. If she had this exact subskill in the last timeline, she estimated her magical progress would¡¯ve been only half as fast, just because of how complex the skill now was. Her past self would¡¯ve struggled to utilise it well.


    The reason why she was checking her Status though was because of her request for Commander Arkenast. The request she was going to make was nearly the same as the one she had made in the past, just one month earlier. But she wasn¡¯t using her main body in the Navy, so she was able to ask now rather than after the Forerunner¡¯s Event as she had done in the past. It was her current primary skills that gave her the combat power needed if he accepted her request though, so she pulled her first one up to double-check it.


    After a particularly nasty run-in with a memory-altering effect proving her eidetic memory was not infallible, she had developed the habit as a precaution.


    [Primary Skill: Intermediate Mage of Illusion¡¯s Compendium | Type: Runic/Elemental ]


    Rarity: Rare


    Tier: V (5)


    Desc: The mid-level compound element of illusion has some of the most esoteric capabilities of all the elements, yet few truly comprehend the possibilities of the element. This User has begun to explore the infinite potential of an element that can mimic all the elements and has chosen to follow the method of permanently engraving its runes into their mana pool to manipulate it.


    Subskills:


    Runic Model: Illusion ¨C The crystallisation of modern rune theory come to fruition.


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the User the Intermediate Illusion Mage Aspect (Tier V).</li>


    <li>Grants the User an illusion element runic model that increases in complexity as User adds more runes to it. Current progress: 12% towards advanced level.</li>


    </ul>


    Phantasmal Spell Tome ¨C The most important part of being a mage.


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the User access to the following spells based on current runes in runic model: Lesser Illusion Dispersion, Lesser Mirage, Invisibility, Arcane Detection, Arcane Scan¡­.. [collapsed]</li>


    <li>Grants the User access to the basic runic theorem knowledge of an intermediate mage.</li>


    </ul>


    Subskill slots:


    <ul>


    <li>[empty]</li>


    <li>[empty]</li>


    <li>[empty]</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    Just seeing it made her feel incredibly annoyed. She spent ages earning the right skills to increase the rarity of the skill, but now she had to do it again. At least she knew the best way to improve it.


    Because of how tiering up skills and classes functioned, it could be quite hard to get a better rarity. Tiering up a skill consumed the secondary skills in the skill slots, increasing the tier of the class¡¯s Aspect so when the class itself tiered up it would give percentage-based boosts to things like mana-sensing capability, spell efficiency and effectiveness, mana density, INT and WIS multipliers, and other bonuses. It was these bonuses she wouldn¡¯t be able to gain for her main body because she was going to forego a class, meaning she would never have the same stats as other Users.


    When all of a class¡¯s primary skills reached the same tier, the class itself would tier up and these bonuses were gained, and then the cycle started again. If someone hadn¡¯t merged classes to evolve them, then the class would only need its original primary skill to tier up. If their class had multiple primary skills, the skill amount needed to tier up the class drastically increased.


    But doing this didn¡¯t increase the rarity of a skill. It didn¡¯t add any new subskill to the primary skill. Only when a subskill in the subskill slot was highly compatible with the primary skill would the skill evolve, and permanently gain something new. This was what made a path of progression so useful to many. They already knew which skills were highly compatible.


    For people who didn¡¯t have a path of progression, they could always decide not to use the secondary skills in the subskill slots if they didn¡¯t want to risk losing the skill, but gaining a lower rarity skill locked the User out of gaining a higher rarity one until it disappeared, so it wasn¡¯t suggested. It was a good thing she knew what skills she needed to evolve it the way she wanted.


    The actual rarity of a class only changed when two main classes were merged, and then the User selected the evolution they wanted, adding one or two more features to the class¡¯s Aspects, while also increasing the stat gain and maximum class tier cap to fit the rarity. But because her first primary skill was only Rare, its rarity tier cap was lower than her second primary skill¡¯s, and so until she evolved her first primary skill to the rarity level of her second, her class wouldn¡¯t be able to tier up fully. Although, as a Rank-1, she had a Rank tier cap of 6 anyway, so she didn¡¯t need to be too hasty to evolve it just yet.


    Her second primary skill was a little more¡­ unusual.


    [Primary Skill: Enhanced Soul, Mind and Spirit | Type: Mental/Magic ]


    Rarity: Epic


    Tier: V (5)


    Desc: The field of the soul is not one studied by many of the material realms. Very few not belonging to the Heavenly Realm choose to apply its functions to their abilities, but this User has chosen to do so. Rather than discover the esoteric Daos and wonders of cultivation, they will instead build up a powerful mind to enhance their magical abilities.


    Subskills:


    Metaphysical Cognition ¨C The presence of mind increases the presence of soul.


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the User the Soul Mage Aspect (Tier V).</li>


    <li>Grants the User the ability to be conscious of their soul¡¯s presence at all times, enabling them to detect the application of spiritual energy when casting magic.</li>


    </ul>


    Spiritual Control ¨C Soul over mind over matter.


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the User the ability to imbue their magic and mana with spiritual energy. Allows for remote control and extended field of influence.</li>


    <li>Grants the User access to the basic spiritual energy and soul power knowledge of a Rank-1 soul mage.</li>


    </ul>


    Subskill slots:


    <ul>


    <li>[empty]</li>


    <li>[empty]</li>


    <li>[empty]</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    Technically speaking, there was no such thing as soul magic, for all that it was called that. Soul wasn¡¯t an element, nor were there any runes that influenced it, and so she wasn¡¯t a soul ¡®mage¡¯, but that was the term the System decided to use as her designation. The class enabled her to enhance her spell-casting ability by creating mental structures that were capable of computing runic algorithms and spell models more easily.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    In that sense, the class was mostly a support class to be used in conjunction with another magic class. It didn¡¯t give her the capability of supporting the constant information load received through her perception field she kept permanently active with her main body though, so besides in combat, she wasn¡¯t using a large perception field.


    It was with the soul mage class that she learnt how to make ¡®cores¡¯ of spiritual energy that she stored her monster constructs in, then added illusion mana that mimicked a monster¡¯s mana to form the body. Using the ¡®Scan¡¯ function she designed with her Origin Skill, she was able to record the abilities of monsters to use for her purposes, if at weaker strength. As time went by and she quit being Admiral, she stopped using the magic she developed in the Navy. Considering she was going to be using the status of a military member for some time, she was interested to see how much further she could take her old magic.


    She closed the screens and jumped down off the wall ledge she had been sitting on. The training camp had officially concluded the day before, the second last day of October, and now was just the day when everyone said their goodbyes and left to go spend the next three months elsewhere. As the mana ice-storm period of the Distorted Depths was far too dangerous for most new members of the Navy, they and all new members were given leave until February. They had received their badges that indicated they were Officers of the Navy yesterday.


    She didn¡¯t believe that when Griffin came back the next year his discovery of her decision would be an issue. She had firmly ¡®proved¡¯ to him she was in no way a person from Earth in the first timeline, and with that misconception having lasted over two hundred years, it was unlikely he¡¯d suddenly sense something was off. She had used an illusion spell to disguise herself as someone else so she didn''t use her real or Adrianna identity when she went to the Forerunner''s Event, after all. She expected him to attribute it to his so-called win during the last battle motivating her to gain strength, which would probably make him rather self-satisfied. Well, the more incorrect assumptions he made, the better for her.


    What would possibly be an issue is that she planned on revealing her inability to sense killing intent to the Commander. He had actually discovered it last time and got mad at her for hiding such a weakness and not having enough trust in her crewmates to reveal that to them, especially when they were frequently in life-or-death combat. It hadn¡¯t been a matter of trust. She just didn¡¯t want them to know she was even more abnormal than they thought.


    Typically, mages weren¡¯t expected to be able to detect killing intent very well, but her complete incapability of doing so quickly became obvious when the stronger monsters¡¯ intent knocked everyone else of her Rank unconscious. She had masked her weakness when it came to sensing attacks by developing many detection spells and using her scanning function often.


    But she was pretty sure Commander Arkenast would be more curious than anything if she revealed it. She didn¡¯t think it was even possible for her to lose his ¡®favour¡¯ as her crewmates had put it, although that was the wrong description. Her abilities weren¡¯t why he paid attention to her in the past, and now.


    ¡­¡­most of their past interactions had stemmed from him just trying to get a reaction out of her. He could be very annoying when he found someone interesting. Maybe that was why Ross had always complained to her of all people. He felt some bond of shared suffering.


    But she could tell that the last of the members of the training camp had left, so it was time she went to go find Ross and ask to meet the Commander. All going well, she would not be leaving like the rest of the former cadets, and would instead stay during the most dangerous months of the Distorted Depths.


    ¡­


    ¡°Why are you still here?¡± the dark-haired man exclaimed, aghast.


    She had found him as he was just about to leave the training camp section of the fortress layer. He was staring at her with what seemed to be horror like he was appalled at the idea of willingly choosing to remain in White Squall Fortress any longer than necessary.


    ¡°I want to meet the Commander,¡± she replied.


    He gazed wearily at her. ¡°You do realise I¡¯m no longer head instructor, right? I¡¯m not in charge of you anymore.¡±


    ¡°As an Elite Officer, I don¡¯t have the authority to meet with the Commander. You weren¡¯t going to be dismissed from your position until the day after the training camp-¡± She gestured to him and then the open door of the building. ¡°-which I assume you were going to do now.¡±


    He ran a hand down his face exasperatedly. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right, I¡¯m talking to the person who memorised the entire rulebook of the fortress¡¯s Navy operations.¡± He paused and narrowed his eyes at her with suspicion. ¡°Did that happen before or after your little adventure down to the mainframe level?¡±


    ¡°I read it before that.¡±


    His expression became strange as he heard her answer. ¡°¡­I¡¯m not sure if that makes it better or worse,¡± he muttered. He pulled back his sleeve to check his wristwatch, glanced at the open doorway, and sighed. ¡°It¡¯s true I was heading there, so I may as well take you. I doubt you¡¯d waste his time with something stupid.¡±


    She opened her mouth to respond but he glared at her before she could. ¡°No, don¡¯t tell me. I don¡¯t want to know what you plan to ask him. I was here, expecting to be free from dealing with you lot.¡±


    He began walking to leave the building and headed towards the main command building, and so she followed, staying silent as he started his complaining yet again.


    ¡°I can tell you, I am not ever accepting one of the Commander¡¯s offers again. Becoming head instructor was the worst mistake of my entire life. If he tries to get me to transfer, or take another position, or even promote me I will firmly decline-¡±


    ¡­there was a lot she really wanted to say about that topic but she kept quiet.


    ¡°-quit if he tries to do it anyway. And if I hear one more ¡®training grounds¡¯, ¡®training camp¡¯, or ¡®spar¡¯ I am going to punch someone. I swear, this month has made me lose more years of my life than ever before, regardless of my current lifespan. Nothing the Commander has done in the past has come close to what I¡¯ve had to put up with these last-¡±


    It continued like this until they reached the main command building and entered it, making their way to where the Commander¡¯s office was. They earned quite a few looks as they went through the building, no thanks to the overly verbal Officer next to her.


    ¡°Sixteen years under the Commander, and I am at wit''s end. Now if he offered to transfer me to another fortress, that I would accept, if only to escape him and his-¡±


    ¡°You do realise,¡± she interrupted. ¡°We¡¯re outside the Commander¡¯s door? He can probably hear you.¡±


    ¡°-tendency to-¡± He paused when he registered that she had spoken up. Then he realised what she had said, and glanced between her and the door in question.


    Right at that moment the door opened for them to see the smirking blonde-haired Commander Arkenast there. ¡°You ruined my fun. I was interested to hear what else he had to say about me.¡±


    Very predictably, Ross Stanhope glared at his superior. The scarred man glanced between them both. ¡°Now, are you here for separate reasons or?¡±


    ¡°Separate reasons, but it¡¯s fine sir. She can listen.¡± Ross glanced at her. ¡°In actual fact, she already knows what I want to request.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Well, come in,¡± the Commander replied, standing back so they could enter his office. The Commander sat down behind his desk as the dark-haired Officer stepped forward.


    ¡°I request to take leave,¡± he asked, standing up straight with his hands behind his back.


    The battle-scarred man raised an eyebrow. ¡°The instant the training camp ends? Are you still mad at me for the training grounds prank?¡±


    The Officer very nearly glared at his superior once more but coughed to recompose himself and shook his head. ¡°I had planned to request this before that.¡±


    Commander Arkenast smirked and crossed his arms. ¡°But what if I don¡¯t want to give you permission?¡±


    Ross sighed wearily. ¡°Please sir, I believe a two-week break is an acceptable request.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm.¡± The Commander drew out his hum, smirking as he registered the twitch of the Officer¡¯s expression. ¡°Well, alright then. But on one condition.¡±


    The dark-haired man gazed dully at him before shaking his head. ¡°If it gets me away from here, I don¡¯t care what I have to do.¡±


    Commander Arkenast turned to Adrianna with a toothy grin. ¡°Did you hear that? He¡¯s accepted. This came out of his own mouth. You¡¯re witness to this.¡±


    The man turned back to Ross and spread his arms. ¡°Congratulations, Stanhope, on your promotion from Elite Officer to Head Officer!¡±


    He stared. ¡°What-¡±


    ¡°Now, obviously you wouldn¡¯t take on the duties just yet, considering you¡¯ve just taken leave,¡± the Commander continued quickly, pulling out a draw of his desk, ¡°But once you come back you will immediately receive your tasks and responsibilities.¡± He got up with a small object in hand and walked speedily towards the man. ¡°The workload may be hard at first but I have full confidence you will succeed at it.¡±


    ¡°But, sir-¡±


    ¡°The training camp under your authority had exemplary results, so I expect you will achieve great results in this position too.¡± He roughly shoved the Head Officer badge into the dark-haired man¡¯s hands and began pushing him out the door. ¡°After your holiday, I expect we will be seeing each other much more often.¡±


    He smiled and waved to Ross as he began to close the door. ¡°I look forward to working with you, Head Officer Stanhope.¡±


    ¡°Wait-¡±


    Click.


    The door shut on him, leaving only the Commander and her in the room. The wild-haired man dusted his palms with a satisfied smile and grinned at her. ¡°That was much easier than I expected.¡±


    He walked back over to his desk to sit down, then reclined back in his chair as he looked at her. ¡°It can be quite hard to get that man to open up, but I¡¯ve found when he does, he can be very talkative. The fact that he¡¯s acting like that after only a month of knowing you is quite astonishing.¡±


    She hadn¡¯t exactly done anything for him to be like that besides be subjected to too much of the Commander¡¯s attention as well. But she was sure the man in front of her knew that.


    ¡°It seems it hasn¡¯t quite clicked for him that out of all the people to complain to, he chose the one with eidetic memory,¡± she replied.


    Commander Arkenast¡¯s bushy eyebrows shot up before he burst out into loud laughter. ¡°Oh dear, it seems he¡¯s shot himself in the foot this time,¡± he said, chuckling. He waved to her to come closer, so she did. ¡°Well, let¡¯s hear what you¡¯re here for now.¡±


    ¡°I came here about two things, sir,¡± she began calmly. ¡°One is to inform you about a feature of my capabilities that would be important for you to know as I continue working in the Navy.¡±


    He raised an eyebrow curiously. ¡°Oh?¡±


    She took a breath and continued, ¡°I can¡¯t detect any form of killing intent.¡±


    Her answer made him pause, and consider it for a moment. ¡°Reduced sensitivity?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she replied, shaking her head. ¡°Complete incapability of sensing anything. I am immune to it, and can¡¯t emit it myself.¡±


    He went silent as he observed her, likely thinking over the implications of this for her time in the Navy, and possibly wondering how true it was. ¡°I think this needs testing,¡± he said after a while. He gestured to her. ¡°Do you mind if I¡­¡±


    She shook her head, and so he watched her as his irises gained a red-hued outline. As the seconds ticked by, the hue deepened in colour indicating he was increasing the strength, but she was perfectly fine with no outward symptoms and experienced none of the sensation of deep fear nor imminent death most experienced when subjected to killing intent. As a Rank-5 combatant over several centuries old, he definitely had accumulated strong killing intent.


    The red hue disappeared as he leaned back, looking very intrigued. ¡°While I¡¯m certain there¡¯s stronger killing intent than mine out there, I think that was quite enough for me to know you¡¯re telling the truth. That is¡­ very interesting,¡± he said, tapping his fingers on his desk. ¡°Any idea why that¡¯s the case?¡±


    ¡°It could be a side-effect relating to my talent with spiritual energy but I¡¯m not sure,¡± she replied.


    ¡°And I guess you¡¯re telling me this so the fact it wasn¡¯t revealed won¡¯t become an issue later,¡± he mused. ¡°I can tell you that it won¡¯t be too much of a problem, as we don¡¯t expect high killing intent sensitivity from magic users anyway. Although I am curious about how this works in a physical combat setting,¡± he added with a grin. He gestured to her. ¡°What was the second thing you wanted to talk to me about?¡±


    ¡°I want to request to stay here for the next three months,¡± she responded.


    ¡°I see.¡± He observed her with a smile as he held his chin. ¡°You do realise I¡¯ve had a few requests like these in the past, right? Very few have I ever accepted. What makes you think I won¡¯t deny your request?¡±


    ¡°Well sir, for one thing, I¡¯m not an adrenaline-filled battle addict without a sense for their own capabilities, nor a young noble with little succession rights who thinks they¡¯ll become their clan¡¯s new favourite by bringing back a few stuffed king-ranked monster heads, and I don¡¯t intend on trying to fast-track to the next Rank by attempting to slay a deadly monster way above my pay grade,¡± she stated dryly.


    He laughed. ¡°All right, you got me. Those are exactly the same reasons why I denied their requests. Then I¡¯ll ask a different question.¡± He pointed at her. ¡°Why do you want to stay here?¡±


    ¡°To become familiar with the Navy,¡± she replied. ¡°Especially as I¡¯m now a Squad Leader, and will soon be in charge of the M.W.S. Dawnlight. I¡¯ll have to deal with the ice-storm period of the Distorted Depths next year, and I want to get experience with it now when I won¡¯t get killed instead of experiencing it for the first time next year on the ocean.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s due to you wanting to prepare,¡± he commented, eyeing her curiously. ¡°What would you do if I declined your request?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d probably go back to doing mercenary work,¡± she said with a shrug. ¡°That, or adventuring. It¡¯s best if as the Squad Leader, I¡¯m at a much higher level when the others come back.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Commander Arkenast crossed his arms. ¡°If I accepted, you¡¯d have to be temporarily demoted from Squad Leader.¡±


    ¡°I need a squad to be a Squad Leader.¡±


    That made him chuckle. ¡°Right. You get it.¡± He rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he considered her request, and then he smirked.


    She did not like that smirk.


    ¡°I¡¯ll let you stay on one condition,¡± he said, lifting a finger.


    She gazed wearily at him. ¡°Could I please hear what this condition is before I agree, sir?¡±


    The battle-scarred man clicked his tongue. ¡°Learnt from Stanhope¡¯s mistake, have you? Oh well.¡± He grinned wickedly. ¡°You help me test out how this no killing intent thing works, and I¡¯ll let you stay for the next three months.¡±


    She went silent as she considered what he meant. Then she sighed slightly as she realised she was talking to one of the aforementioned battle addicts. ¡°You want me to spar with you?¡±


    His grin widened. ¡°It would only be for the next month, as my ship will set out in December to head for the central waters. I won¡¯t occupy all your time, maybe every few days.¡± He rested his chin on his hand. ¡°But I have a feeling you could make a very interesting physical combatant if you wanted.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t actually a bad suggestion. She did have some experience with fighting physical combatants up close, even if not with her limbs as such, and she knew her inability to manifest killing intent meant she was a very unpredictable fighter for them. If she could use the experience with her main body it would be useful. The only issue was she knew exactly what the man in front of her was like when fighting. But it was a little detail in the scheme of things.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine with it. Learning how to fight a physical combatant up close might be helpful,¡± she eventually replied.


    ¡°Very good.¡± He smiled. ¡°Now, as for what you¡¯ll do during these next few months¡­¡± He paused to consider something, seemingly having had an idea. He glanced at her again. ¡°As the future leader of the crew of Dawnlight, it might be a good idea for you to become familiar with the combat operations of the fortress¡¯s main attack crew, rather than just stay here and combat shoreline monsters.¡± He tapped his fingers on his desk thoughtfully.


    He leaned forward to gaze intently at her. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what. My ship will be doing several rounds this month as we prepare to head into the central zone, getting back into the right habits after 8 months without the ice-storm period. If you,¡± He pointed at her, ¡°Can prove your abilities with us during this time, then I¡¯ll put you on my ship for the rest of the ice-storm period.¡±


    She stared at him for a few seconds, feeling quite surprised. He wasn¡¯t one to ever let a new, low-ranked, young member of the Navy do something like that. ¡°But sir, I¡¯m still Rank-1. And Level 52.¡±


    ¡°We have a few Rank-1s on the ship. You¡¯d never be asked to enter combat unless under very specific circumstances, circumstances we try to avoid, so your level isn¡¯t a worry.¡± Then the Commander raised an eyebrow. ¡°But they¡¯re highly talented individuals who¡¯ve performed far, far better than their peers. Which is why I need to see in person how you¡¯ll go over the next month.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Then I¡¯ll do my best, but I¡¯m not sure I¡¯ll meet your requirements.¡±


    He pointed a finger at her. ¡°And that answer has instantly made you better than the hundreds of idiots who¡¯ve come to me before spouting words of unfounded self-confidence. Nothing is proven yet, so I¡¯m only asking for your full effort. As for who you¡¯ll be placed under¡­.¡± He thought for a moment and then grinned. ¡°I¡¯m sure my new Head Officer will be interested to know who¡¯s going to be one of his subordinates when he comes back.¡±


    And things were working out just like they had been in the past timeline. Ross would never be able to escape the curse of being given more work. She nodded, expecting the Commander to direct her to someone to arrange for her continued stay in the Navy, but the blonde-haired man said something else.


    ¡°And there¡¯s someone I¡¯d like to introduce you to, but¡­.¡± He blinked and then smiled. ¡°Ah. Here he is.¡±


    Then she saw him. She felt her body freeze up as she felt a very familiar presence enter her perception field, and knock on the Commander¡¯s door, a stack of papers in hand.


    The Commander called out to him, ¡°Come in.¡±


    The door was pushed open to reveal a young man in his early twenties with tousled sea-green hair, sea-green eyes, and cyan wave patterns that trailed down the right side of his face and neck, appearing on his forearms as well. The tips of his ears were semi-translucent and luminous aqua veins could be seen within them. He paused when he saw her and gave her a smile and nod, before walking up to the Commander¡¯s desk to deposit the documents.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Commander Arkenast replied. ¡°Now, Wharifin, this,¡± he said, gesturing to her, ¡°Is Officer Adrianna Riftmire, who is the new Squad Leader chosen from this month¡¯s elite training camp. She¡¯ll be working with you for the next few months.¡±


    The young man blinked in surprise. ¡°You mean Ross¡¯s group? I see.¡±


    She stared with slightly wide eyes at the young man who turned back to her, holding out his hand for her to shake as he smiled. ¡°Hi. My name¡¯s Caspian Wharifin.¡±


    He was the man who had been her closest subordinate for 25 years in the Navy and was quite possibly the worst person the Commander could¡¯ve ever chosen to put beside her.

 Chapter 37 (1 of 2) Elves and public speaking.

    ¡°Thank you again for agreeing to meet with me.¡±


    ¡°It was no issue,¡± she replied. ¡°I have not needed to visit any of the other realms for some time. Using one of my Obelisk teleports was a simple thing.¡±


    Trisroa Vel-Winteridge, or Roa as she preferred to be called, watched the blonde-haired man in front of her curiously as they both sat down in chairs opposite each other. It had been quite the surprise to receive notice from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild that Efratel Vadel wished to meet her again, after three months of no word from him. Especially considering the¡­ Archmage incident. She gestured to him.


    ¡°You look to be in good health, so I take it you and your cousin have been safe and well?¡± she asked.


    He nodded with a smile. ¡°Indeed. That issue has been¡­ mostly resolved. In fact,¡± he continued, ¡°My request has something to do with that as well.¡±


    Hearing that, she narrowed her eyes, but the man opposite her held up his hand and shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not related to Merkenia Alichanteu. I¡¯m not going to try to involve you with an Archmage.¡±


    That made her feel more relaxed, and she nodded. Although it was a mystery what sort of discussion he could want that would be related to the Permafrost Glacial Abode trip but not the Archmage. She supposed she was about to find out.


    Then he said something absurd.


    Efratel pointed at himself. ¡°You see, Marellen got sponsored like you suggested, and I¡¯m his private manager now.¡±


    She couldn¡¯t help but stare at him for a while. She¡­ had suggested that but never once had she thought it would happen. She could agree that Marellen was talented, but to be a sponsored mage of a noble meant you needed both talent and connections, and she remembered that Marellen had explained he wasn¡¯t even an heir, and that both of them came from a Major Kingdom¡¯s Barony. And who would even accept the political risk of their situation anyway?


    Efratel grinned. ¡°It¡¯s rather funny to see you looking so shocked.¡±


    She blinked when she realised what expression she was making and coughed. ¡°Apologies. That is¡­ very surprising.¡±


    ¡°Quite. I¡¯m still struggling to accept the fact myself,¡± he said with a strange expression. He shook his head and continued speaking, ¡°It occurred purely due to a series of coincidences, so Marellen and I are currently trying to work a few details out about this ¡®sponsorship¡¯ thing.¡±


    ¡°And so, who is this new sponsor of yours?¡± she asked curiously.


    He hesitated. ¡°Ha¡­ well¡­¡± He frowned slightly and rubbed his head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how to go about explaining this.¡± He gestured to her. ¡°Have you heard the rumours of there being a new Aurelian Commission Head?¡±


    ¡°The Adventurer¡¯s Guild in the Beast Realm is a branch of the Mystical Realm¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild, so yes, I have received that particular piece of interesting information.¡± She realised what he meant and very slightly raised an eyebrow. ¡°You mean to tell me you were sponsored by the soon-to-be Honorary Count of the Commission themselves?¡±


    ¡°A fact I am still trying to reconcile in my mind, yes,¡± he replied with a nod.


    ¡°I suppose that might explain why you haven¡¯t been chased after by any hostile water Archmage from Alichanteu,¡± she said after a moment. ¡°Alichanteu is a County under the Commission, after all.¡± Then she sent him an odd look. ¡°Although hearsay says the Commission Head is not the real authority behind the scenes.¡±


    ¡°Apparently the situation is mostly intentional and on the Head¡¯s behalf, but I¡¯m still trying to work out just what exactly the power dynamic within the Commission is,¡± he muttered. Efratel sighed with a shake of his head. ¡°It seems to be safe for Marellen and me. The Commission Head¡¯s aide personally affirmed that we would be protected as if the Commission Head had all the power.¡±


    ¡°Intentional and on their behalf¡­¡± she mused. ¡°Interesting. And I assume this is not something to be revealed to just anybody then.¡±


    ¡°I doubt many would believe you if you said the Commission¡¯s four Counties were listening to a juvenile new leader anyway.¡± He paused with a strange look on his face. ¡°Have we just discovered the reason why the Commission Head is pretending to be a false leader? Making people underestimate them?¡±


    ¡°Ensuring the rest of the Empire¡¯s nobility doesn¡¯t see them as a threat perhaps,¡± she considered. ¡°And so, how does being sponsored relate to what you wish to speak about today?¡±


    He smiled. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve been asked to offer you the Commission Head¡¯s sponsorship as well.¡±


    She returned to staring silently at him for a while, but she didn¡¯t care. She had just heard something extremely confusing, shocking, and unbelievable. ¡°Me.¡±


    ¡°You,¡± he confirmed with a nod.


    ¡°They want to sponsor me.¡±


    He just waited as she sat there, stunned. She rubbed her temples and frowned slightly. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ not sure how to respond.¡± She glanced at him. ¡°Perhaps I should first ask why they would want to sponsor me?¡±


    ¡°The Head mentioned it would be worthwhile to sponsor a member of the Snow Elf bloodline,¡± he replied.


    That answer made her rather unhappy. ¡°So, this is about my bloodline?¡±


    For some reason, he hesitated. ¡°Maybe, but¡­ the Head seemed to know of you before receiving news of our party if I interpreted things correctly. Your full name was stated.¡±


    She narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°My history with the Vel-Winteridge Duchy of Glenheim may contain many undesirable aspects, but I am not that infamous.¡±


    The blonde-haired man just shrugged. ¡°Sorry, but I don¡¯t know. Maybe you can ask the Head yourself if you accept the sponsorship.¡±


    She frowned at his response but realised there was another important question she needed to ask. ¡°But who is the Commission Head? That particular detail has been slow to spread to the Beast Realm.¡±


    Efratel grinned. ¡°Well, this was why I said the sponsorship was very coincidental. It was pure luck.¡± Then he gestured to her. ¡°In fact, you¡¯ve heard of them as well.¡±


    ¡°¡­ how do you know I¡¯ve heard of them?¡± she asked dubiously.


    ¡°Because we¡¯ve spoken about them to you,¡± he replied with a smile.


    She tried to figure out what he meant. Considering he had used ¡®we¡¯ he must¡¯ve been referring to the time spent with the two mercenaries, Marellen and him, but they had discussed many topics then, so selecting one mentioned individual from all of it was a rather hard task to do¡­


    The blonde-haired man smirked and decided to give her a clue. ¡°The Commission Head is a girl.¡±


    A girl? But who could- wait.


    Her eyes widened incredulously. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re referring to that woman who we persistently and futilely tried to persuade Marellen was not a time traveller for the entire Permafrost Glacial Abode trip?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the one,¡± he said with a wide grin. ¡°Lucille Goldcroft. The new Head of the Aurelian Commission.¡±


    ¡°¡­ that is a coincidence beyond the mind¡¯s imagining,¡± she replied, flabbergasted.


    ¡°And also the reason why we got her support to enter the Academy.¡± Efratel nodded. ¡°Although, she also wanted to know what exactly happened with the Archmage back then. It sounded like she was taking her job as the Commission¡¯s new Head very seriously.¡±


    She blinked as he gained a strange expression. ¡°But not that seriously. She hid her identity when we met again so she could see my reaction when she revealed herself as the Commission Head.¡± Then he scowled. ¡°She also never signed the letter requesting my presence on my debut invitation with her name, so Marellen and I were panicking over what would happen to me when I went to Headquarters.¡±


    ¡°So, still as much an interesting character as I¡¯ve heard?¡± she replied, amused.


    ¡°Yes.¡± He sighed. ¡°In fact, when she revealed her identity to the Commission¡¯s nobility, she slid down the staircase handrail.¡±


    ¡°¡­ are you certain this sponsorship offer isn¡¯t some elaborate prank she decided upon?¡± she asked with suspicion.


    ¡°Feeling less certain after this conversation, that¡¯s for sure,¡± Efratel muttered. He shook his head with another sigh and gestured to her. ¡°Anyway, if you accept her sponsorship, I¡¯ll be your manager too. She¡¯s suggested I allow you to work with Marellen, however, if you wish, you will be sponsored through the Adventurer¡¯s Guild rather than become a mage of All-Aeon Athenaeum.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± She pondered over the idea of being sponsored, and what that would mean for her life from thereon after. ¡°I do not desire to join the Athenaeum, that is true¡­¡± She looked at him curiously. ¡°What would the Commission Head wish for Marellen and me to do?¡±


    ¡°She has mentioned sending you both to outer planes as expeditionary researchers,¡± he explained. ¡°Old Era planes specifically. It would be no issue to give one of the non-factioneer exploration slots to you with the Commission Head¡¯s status.¡±


    Exploring Old Era planes sounded¡­ very interesting. Investigating ancient ruins and fallen cities to find powerful artifacts and lost magic of times gone by was the archetypal idea of every magic user¡¯s dream. But being sponsored by a Count of the Aeternus plane¡­ and the Commission Head didn¡¯t have the same status as just any Count.


    The finance available to the Aurelian Commission was second only to the Eternal Duchies, and they held a position most recognised as equal to the Marches. She was bound to get caught up in politics eventually if she accepted the offer, and if her family heard word of it¡­ she didn¡¯t want to have to deal with them. She had been enjoying living as just ¡®Roa Winteridge¡¯.


    ¡°I think¡­ if I accept this offer, that I will wish to eventually meet the Commission Head in person,¡± she finally replied.


    The blonde-haired man in front of her nodded in understanding. ¡°I assumed so and even mentioned this to her. She said she intends on inviting Marellen and I to Headquarters sometime next year, and I expect that will include you too if you accept.¡± He hesitated and gave her a sheepish grin. ¡°But if you accept the sponsorship, can I ask that you don¡¯t tell Marellen who the Commission Head is? I may or may not be trying to keep her identity a secret from him until he meets her.¡±


    She smiled. ¡°I am sure his reaction will be interesting to see when that happens. I will endeavour to avoid revealing this if I happen to accept this offer.¡± She tapped her fingers against the armrest of her chair thoughtfully for a while and then looked up. ¡°Can I request that I reveal my answer in a week¡¯s time? I believe this requires more thought.¡±


    ¡°Certainly,¡± he said with a nod. Then he smirked. ¡°Although, I know of one more important factor you may want to consider while thinking this over. The Commission Head is in charge of a very rich organisation. Please keep in mind that she now has full authority over the Founder¡¯s vault, containing the accumulated donations of thousands of nobility over the past fifteen centuries. And she has permitted you and Marellen to have no budget.¡±


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    ¡­ she certainly needed to consider this offer further. ¡°I will make sure to consider this offer carefully.¡± Then she hesitated. ¡°But¡­ what would happen when it comes to my family?¡±


    He frowned slightly and held his chin. ¡°Well, she¡¯s willing to sponsor you, which means she¡¯s not afraid to deal with any political issues. You¡¯re not a direct bloodline member of the Duchy either, so I doubt it would be too big of a problem if they discovered you working for her.¡± She nodded in agreement as he thought over it. ¡°I¡¯ll ask the Head through a letter, and I should be able to get back to you by the time you¡¯ve decided things on your end.¡±


    ¡°Then I suppose we agree to meet here again at the same time next week?¡± she replied.


    He nodded. ¡°That sounds acceptable. Now, I believe that was all I needed to talk about with you today¡­¡± He looked down at his watch, then looked at her and grinned. ¡°But it would be a shame if we ended our discussion so soon, wouldn¡¯t it? I¡¯m interested to hear how things have gone for you these last few months.¡±


    She was slightly surprised but happy to continue her relationship with the young noble. Her party members had been interesting people. ¡°Of course. I myself am curious to know how your interactions with the new Commission Head proceeded.¡±


    ¡°Yes, well, she is¡­ interesting, that¡¯s for sure,¡± Efratel said with a chuckle. He smirked. ¡°And Marellen wanted me to ask you a few more questions about your ice-fire magic.¡±


    She shook her head wryly. ¡°That would be like him. Then, let us leave the complicated questions for later, and I will discuss how my last few months have been¡­.¡±


    <hr>


    ¡°-competition will test your ability and push you to your limits, and the Commission will support you the entire time. With the lucky winner getting my permission to implement my plans-¡±


    In an enormous, large hall, a dark-haired girl was speaking to an audience from a balcony. She had been relaxed and easy-going, and she was smiling cheerfully as she continued speaking for a while longer. She had clumsily stumbled over her words a few times while doing her speech and didn¡¯t carry herself with the seriousness and calm attitude most would have when talking in front of such a large congregation. The girl made a show of looking down to read the rest of her speech off a piece of paper and looked up to finish. She gave them a wide smile.


    ¡°-The representatives and I all look forward to seeing the results of the first round in two days. As the Aurelian Commission Head, I thank you for coming today, and wish you the best of luck.¡±


    With that, she turned around and walked through the pair of doors behind her, a spring in her step. A blonde and blue-haired man stepped forward to take over her spot and began speaking to the audience. The instant she stepped through the doors, her cheerful smile faded to become a calm one, her open body language was erased and changed to controlled meticulous movements, and her steps became measured and steady. There was no trace of the happy-go-lucky girl from before.


    In the room on the other side of the doors, Vincent stared at her with a strange expression.


    ¡°I can still never get used to seeing you do that,¡± he stated. ¡°It¡¯s like I¡¯m looking at a completely different person.¡±


    ¡°That is the intended purpose of my act, you know,¡± Lucille replied, sitting down on a couch. ¡°If you think that way, then it means I¡¯m doing something right.¡±


    ¡°Your ¡®act¡¯ goes far beyond the normal definitions of the word,¡± he said, sitting down on a couch opposite her. ¡°Your tone changes so utterly that it takes me a few seconds for me to register that it¡¯s you speaking.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you mean when I change my voice?¡± Lucy gestured to her neck. ¡°This was a skill I developed because I needed to make my illusions more realistic. That changed when I finally became capable of creating illusory sounds. I can also ¡®throw my voice¡¯ as ventriloquists do.¡±


    She had actually learnt those skills on Earth. Consistently and successfully running away from her great uncle all the time required unique skills.


    He regarded her with mild bemusement. ¡°I suppose that¡¯s one more strange fact about you to add to the list.¡±


    ¡°One of quite a few, I assume?¡± she asked wryly.


    ¡°You could say that.¡± He sighed and shook his head. ¡°Anyway, after this, the first round begins. The rest of the Gold Dome Hall western sector is almost prepared for the different categories, they just need a few more hours and then very little setup will be required tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Glad to see everything is on track,¡± she said. ¡°Depending on the success of this event, this might become a yearly occurrence.¡±


    He gave her a curious look. ¡°Yearly occurrence?¡±


    She nodded as she watched Artair through the large windows on either side of the double doors continue to explain the event to the audience. ¡°The Commission doesn¡¯t have any event unique to itself, which is unusual for a large Faction, even if the Commission isn¡¯t a normal Faction. Turning this competition into an annual thing will increase cohesion and sense of Faction loyalty among the members,¡± she explained. ¡°It would also serve as a way for nobility to identify promising individuals to support, which enables less talent among the Commission¡¯s members to go unseen.¡±


    Vincent nodded thoughtfully. ¡°And if we increase the scale of the event, the Faction would have a truly special celebration that would strengthen connections between the Counties¡¯ nobility and outside. We could also invite guest judges from other Factions and the Institutions to facilitate good relations with them.¡± He glanced at Artair. ¡°But if we do that, I¡¯ll be worried about the attention the Coalition and Athenaeum will give us.¡±


    ¡°As this is the first year the Commission has done this, I¡¯ve been lax with the restrictions for proposed projects,¡± she replied. ¡°But if this is well received, I will ensure any magic or magic technology proposed must be firmly within the confines of a suggested product to sell or business to invest in, so we don¡¯t infringe upon their yearly events.¡±


    Lucy raised her arms above her to stretch. ¡°And I think we¡¯ll be ignored this year because the final round makes it so they have to suggest it as a business idea, as the separate categories are removed by that stage.¡±


    ¡°I suppose we just wait to see how well this goes,¡± he said.


    She and Vincent were in the Gold Dome Hall, the largest event venue in Gilded Seat. The Headquarters didn¡¯t have the facilities to hold all the participants, and so the Commission used a wing of the hall instead. The next year, when the external debut would occur, the entire Gold Dome Hall would be used to contain all the Empire and inter-realm representatives. Currently, the opening ceremony of the competition was occurring, where Artair was explaining the rules to the audience below.


    The actual event was fairly simple. Different parts of the facility were set up for the different categories, such as magic engineering and product concepts, where the participants would have booths to showcase their ideas. The judges, members of the Commission who elected to stay for the competition as well as the debut, were to go around and evaluate everyone¡¯s ideas.


    As nobility, she expected there would be a fair amount of corruption and bribery going on, which was why the commoner sections would be judged purely by Headquarters¡¯ Commission staff, who had a greater quantity of commoners among them. Corruption would still be present there too, but to a lesser extent. No noble would be able to threaten a commoner into ensuring their own child¡¯s proposal is given a pass, as they were separated.


    She was thinking of turning the competition into a type of business conference and expo. It would enable her to better use the ¡®Commission¡¯ part of the Aurelian Commission, making use of the Faction¡¯s status to double as both a corporation and a proper government organisation, possible only because of the structure of the Empire.


    Of course, politics being what they were in a feudal society, she would have greater restrictions than a government organisation on Earth, but lesser restrictions in some cases too. Such as legally being able to destroy other Factions, conquer planes, and kill things in general.


    She was sure it was only the all-powerful System that stopped the Empire¡¯s society of 304 billion residents, excluding the unranked planes, from descending into chaos. Status screens were very useful for controlling the lives of hundreds of millions of commoners when you were a Titled noble.


    While she could continue musing about how an all-encompassing incomprehensibly powerful non-physical entity managed to keep a feudal-level war-mongering Empire from instantaneously falling to ruin when they hadn¡¯t even developed airplanes yet, Artair was finishing up his speech, so she returned her attention to her present location.


    The blonde and blue-haired man gave the crowd a wave, turned around with a confident smile on his face, and then walked towards the doors. The instant they shut behind him he slumped.


    ¡°That was tiring.¡± He sighed. ¡°How many times did you say I have to do this again?¡±


    ¡°Before and after each round, and then at the closing ceremony, so that will be about seven times,¡± she replied with a smirk.


    He gazed wearily at her and then walked over to an armchair to sit down. ¡°Surely seven speeches is a bit too much?¡±


    She tilted her head innocently. ¡°But if you become the Count, you¡¯ll have to make far, far more speeches than just these.¡±


    He stared at her for about two seconds before frowning at the ground. ¡°Maybe I should give up the succession after all?¡± he muttered.


    She shook her head wryly as Vincent spoke up, ¡°Please don¡¯t. The other Counties would prefer to see Alichanteu survive beyond only one more generation.¡±


    ¡°Yes, if I had to meet Arwen any more frequently than I already do, I would instantaneously pass off the Faction inheritance token to the first person who asks,¡± she added.


    Artair glanced between them both hesitantly. ¡°¡­ I thought you¡¯ve said you weren¡¯t going to get involved in the Alichanteu succession fight?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not,¡± she replied with a nod. ¡°But I am perfectly happy to express my opinions about who I would not support for the next Count.¡± She pointed at him. ¡°That¡¯s because nobody will care about the words of the ¡®puppet leader¡¯, the other Counties have a no-interference rule, and only the vassals of Alichanteu have the real decision-making power here. Which,¡± she continued, ¡°lies mostly in the hands of the neutral faction you discussed the other day.¡±


    ¡°Well, I suppose¡­¡± Artair considered with a strange look on his face. ¡°But¡­ if you say you¡¯re staying neutral about something, aren¡¯t you supposed to not tell anyone your real thoughts?¡±


    ¡°That is how most nobility would typically proceed regarding something like this, yes,¡± Vincent replied dryly. ¡°In case you haven¡¯t worked it out, Lucille is unique.¡±


    She narrowed her eyes at her aide but magnanimously elected to ignore what he was implying. ¡°I also happen to not officially be a noble yet,¡± she pointed out.


    ¡°You have about a month until you do though, as the Empire¡¯s end-of-year banquet is soon,¡± Artair responded. ¡°Speaking of which¡­¡± He glanced at Lucy. ¡°Am I supposed to call you Count or Countess?¡±


    ¡°Count. It would be Countess if I was married to a Count,¡± she told him. ¡°But considering my title would only be used when I¡¯m at official Empire events, I doubt you¡¯d have to call me that very often. I¡¯m the Faction Head first and foremost here.¡±


    ¡°On the topic of marriage¡­¡± Vincent spoke up with a slight grin, ¡°Have you realised just how many marriage offers you¡¯ll be getting once you finally step into the central Empire?¡±


    Her expression went flat. ¡°Burn them.¡±


    ¡°¡­I think you might have some problems there when it comes to the marriage offers of the Marches and Duchies¡­¡± Artair added hesitantly.


    Lucille gestured offhandedly to her aide. ¡°And that is when he needs to exercise his power as the ¡®real¡¯ Faction Head to step in and ignore them all for me.¡±


    Vincent smirked. ¡°But what if I accept?¡±


    She slowly turned to stare at him. ¡°Then that is when I will exercise my power as the real Faction Head to step in and ignore them all for me.¡±


    He chuckled. ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll save you the effort and decline them all beforehand.¡±


    ¡°I am truly grateful from the bottom of my heart that I have such an extremely capable aide,¡± she stated dryly. She shook her head and pulled out her pocket watch to check the time, and then gestured to them both. ¡°I believe it may be time for us to end our conversation here, as I¡¯m sure we all have plenty of work to get back to.¡±


    Vincent nodded while Artair just groaned and buried his head in his hands. ¡°Don¡¯t remind me. And Arwen¡¯s tag-a-long won¡¯t even do anything to help.¡±


    She smirked. ¡°But if you become the Count, you¡¯ll have to do much more work than this.¡±


    He slowly raised his head to gaze wearily at her. ¡°Are you sure I can¡¯t give up the succession?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely. Because I might end up having to erase Alichanteu if you do.¡±


    ¡­


    After some time, she was finally released from all her work to take a break. Deciding to go for a walk, Lucy used her perception field to avoid people so no opportunistic nobility would find her. She navigated her way through the wing of the Gold Dome Hall, past the extravagant vases and paintings that decorated the rooms, past windows behind expensive curtains and-


    She paused when she saw a very¡­ unusual scene occurring in one of the rooms that had just entered her perception. With a slightly strange expression, she changed her path and walked towards the room. She stuck her head around the corner, looking at the visage of Viscountess Margaery Femidela in the room, who had her back turned. The woman paused for a second and turned around to see Lucy there, and then smirked as she spread her arms.


    ¡°Oh dear. It seems I¡¯ve been caught.¡±


    Lying there on the ground around her were four dead bodies, three of them male, and one female. One was slumped against the side of a couch, and there was a fair amount of blood covering all of their clothes. Two of them had strange puncture wounds, while the other two seemed to have died from poisoning. The carpet was stained red, and some sections of Viscountess Femidela¡¯s outfit of dark trousers and shirt seemed to be suspiciously darker than the surrounding cloth. The curtains of the room were torn in places, and there was also blood smeared on some of the walls. The ceiling chandelier was hanging by only half of its fixings.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Lucy took a step into the room and observed the surroundings with a mix of morbid interest, slight curiosity at what caused such a situation, and mild bemusement. ¡°I¡¯m not entirely sure the curator will appreciate the new change in d¨¦cor.¡±


    The Viscountess chuckled. ¡°Really? But I worked so hard to find a new shade of carpet that he might find appealing,¡± she replied, gesturing to the stained carpet.


    ¡°Perhaps the members of the Evernight March may enjoy it,¡± Lucy told her. She tilted her head as she looked at the four bodies on the ground. ¡°Which force were these from?¡±


    ¡°Oh, both Olden and Radical,¡± the Viscountess said, giving her a casual shrug. ¡°It seems a little conflict occurred between the two groups, so I decided to step in and resolve the situation for them.¡±


    ¡°And the identities of these people in particular are¡­?¡± Lucy asked.


    Viscountess Femidela pointed to them. ¡°Two of the men were participants, while the other two here were some of the Commission¡¯s staff.¡±


    Lucy raised an eyebrow. ¡°They just happened to chance upon each other in this room, then began fighting?¡±


    The woman in front of her let out a light laugh and shook her head. ¡°There may have been a few letters planted by me requesting them to come here, all under the disguise of it being their faction¡¯s orders.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Lucille took another glance around the room. ¡°Considering their bodies haven¡¯t disintegrated, I¡¯ll take it that they¡¯ve already used their last resurrections. Will you send for someone to remove them?¡±


    ¡°No need. I¡¯ll take care of it myself,¡± Viscountess Femidela replied. The brown-haired woman snapped her fingers as a white 2-dimensional disc appeared in mid-air, and she plunged her arm within it. When she withdrew her hand, held within it was a small vial filled with a grey liquid of some kind. She walked over to each body and dripped several drops on them. As Lucy watched, the bodies and their clothes melted away, steam rising from where they were. The liquid they turned into quickly evaporated, and the Viscountess returned the vial to her dimensional skill.


    ¡°The Grey-Bloom Dissipation poison is a particularly hard poison to synthesize for one that¡¯s Rare-ranked,¡± Lucy remarked once she was done. ¡°Was that your own work?¡±


    ¡°It was, yes,¡± the Viscountess said. She gave Lucy a curious look. ¡°You have experience with it?¡±


    ¡°Not so much when it comes to using it on dead bodies,¡± Lucy replied, although she had used it for that at one stage, ¡°However, I was once interested to see how its alchemical properties worked when infused with a specific fire-type spiritual plant of the Heavenly Realm.¡±


    ¡°And the outcome of that experiment?¡± Viscountess Femidela asked with interest.


    ¡°It changed the poison from one requiring physical contact to a form of gas,¡± Lucy told her with a strange expression. ¡°And the spiritual properties it gained meant the poison became a soul dissipation poison instead. That was one biohazard I regret creating.¡±


    ¡°Well, I however am very interested to know what spiritual plant you used.¡± The poison master smirked.


    Lucy grinned. ¡°I¡¯m sure you are, but the problem with the poison was not the fact it was a soul dissipation poison. My issue with it,¡± she explained, ¡°Was that it tried to dissipate my soul as well, and ignored all protective measures I had in place. If you wish to die while using the poison on your enemies, then I¡¯m willing to give you the recipe.¡±


    The woman blinked. ¡°Ah. That would be an issue. No, I suppose I¡¯ll pass on your offer in that case,¡± she said with a smile.


    Lucy took another glance around the room. ¡°Were those the only ones you needed to deal with?¡±


    The Viscountess smirked and shook her head. ¡°They weren¡¯t, but besides the ones I¡¯ve already dealt with, the others I will deal with another day. I¡¯ll send for some of the Commission¡¯s staff to clean this up now.¡±


    Lucille nodded and then took out her pocket watch to check the time. ¡°It appears to be time for lunch in only half an hour, so it would be best to deal with this before then.¡±


    Viscountess Femidela gave her a nod. ¡°Then I will bid you goodbye, Faction Head.¡±


    They both left the room and separated, going different ways. As Lucy walked away from the room, she ruminated a little on what had just happened.


    That was a slightly strange event to come across. I haven¡¯t been involved in a situation like that for several months now.


    She slowed her steps for a second and then sped back up.


    Although, maybe that fact is the stranger one. Having to live such a normal day-to-day life for an extended period is leaving me feeling a little¡­ off. That, combined with my soul shock and dealing with the merged consciousnesses for a while¡­ I¡¯ve been trying to wait until the stages, but¡­


    She shook her head and looked out of a window she was near.


    Oh well. I can¡¯t do much about it. I should focus on the reason why I took a walk in the first place.


    She sighed and used her spiritual energy to imbue her mana with the mental imagery of illusion mana. The illusion mana in the environment, attracted to mana that had taken on its characteristics, became drawn to her, where she was able to use her spiritual energy to surround herself with the illusory energy. Painting the imagery of blending into her surroundings over herself, her elemental manipulation made her invisible, and so she opened a door set in the wall to step out onto a balcony overlooking the open area below.


    There, the contestants of the competition event could be seen, with crowds of people viewing all the proposals and items. It seemed the event was quite popular, which was good, however, that wasn¡¯t why she had stepped out.


    She removed her mask from the right side of her face and glanced at a random person below.


    [Status: ]


    Name: Gil Bramwell (Lvl. 231)


    Class: Molten Engineer ¨C Rare (Tier: VIII)


    Age: 27y


    Race: Human


    HP: 5900/5900 {+76.81/1m}


    MP: 19850/19850 {+3200/1m}


    Stats:


    Free Stat Points: 4


    STR: 89


    CON: 118


    AGI: 90


    DEX: 642


    INT: 397


    WIS: 320


    [Origin Skill: Smouldering Iron Hammer | Type: Crafting/Realm


    Desc: [Collapsed]


    Subskills: [Collapsed]


    Awakening: 22% ]


    She¡­ could see Statuses.

 Chapter 37 (2 of 2) Elves and public speaking.

    [Status: ]


    Name: Gil Bramwell (Lvl. 231)


    Class: Molten Engineer ¨C Rare (Tier: VIII)


    Age: 27y


    Race: Human


    HP: 5900/5900 {+76.81/1m}


    MP: 19850/19850 {+3200/1m}


    Stats:


    Free Stat Points: 4


    STR: 89


    CON: 118


    AGI: 90


    DEX: 642


    INT: 397


    WIS: 320


    [Origin Skill: Smouldering Iron Hammer | Type: Crafting/Realm


    Desc: [Collapsed]


    Subskills: [Collapsed]


    Awakening: 22% ]


    She¡­ could see Statuses. She had discovered this before the meeting with the main County members, when she had taken off her mask for a bit and glanced at a Commission staff member who happened to be in the room at the same time, the screen accidentally popping up. She knew that the ¡®Shard of Totality¡¯ as it seemed to be called was capable of seeing elements of the System, showing her stuff that was technically not supposed to exist.


    But to be able to pierce through to see all of someone¡¯s stats and their Origin Skill laid bare, and if she chose, to see each of their primary, secondary, and tertiary skills as well? She had a feeling, that she could even choose to see someone¡¯s Titles and Aspects if she wanted. And that was not good in the slightest.


    It wasn¡¯t like she cared if someone saw her Status as Adrianna unless it was the Hero. People from Earth normally had far fewer hang-ups about discussing stats and skills than people from other realms, on account of their deep culture of gaming and digital entertainment. It wasn¡¯t like the concept of ¡®skill levels¡¯ was a thing in the System either, so the actual capabilities of an individual couldn¡¯t be judged just by seeing their stats or skills. However, all of this did not stop it from being extremely, extremely dangerous for other people to know she had this ability.


    The five realms had a culture of avoiding discussing things like Statuses. When the User was under a certain Rank, level, and class rarity, it wasn¡¯t so important, but when they had a special bloodline, came from a powerful clan, or were a member of an important noble lineage, everything changed. It meant she would be capable of discovering secrets like the fact the Sanctity Caladrius were close to becoming a Mythical bloodline regularly.


    She didn¡¯t want that! She did not want to find out things like that any more frequently than never! She already knew more than enough for every single Supreme Institution to issue a kill-on-sight order for her. Some of her memories and knowledge about things she had even prevented Scytale from being able to see, on his request.


    Being able to see Aspects, Origin Skills and primary skills meant she would be able to see the unique secret abilities of powerful forces, and the most private capabilities of incredibly powerful people. The Empire¡¯s royal family, for example. The trouble she would find herself in if they found out she glimpsed even one Origin Skill of their members¡¯¡­


    She might also end up finding out secrets like the bloodline connections of people. What if she found out that a main bloodline member of a Duchy was a fake and wasn¡¯t related to them at all in the slightest? That someone was the illegitimate descendant of a powerful noble? Or that a demon was possessing someone? And these weren¡¯t even the worst possibilities.


    Some might say Lucy was overreacting, but she knew exactly what kind of abilities and items existed out there that could detect her knowing the wrong things. Ancient magical artifacts capable of powerful prediction, Wonder magic items that functioned on strange rules and logic that could point the wielder to people who knew their secrets, spiritual treasures that could track down her soul¡­


    High-level cultivators were even capable of soul reading. Well, she had enough soul power to protect herself from that, but it would still be very bad for her to have to reveal she had that capability at her rank. But still, just because she was safe from the Citadel¡¯s Sages, did not mean she was safe from the Heavenly Realm¡¯s diviners, where the entire realm didn¡¯t use mana and only used spiritual energy to function. Just imagining what would happen if a Heavenly Sect discovered she knew one of their Sect Leader¡¯s or successor¡¯s core abilities¡­


    Yeah. She was not happy in the slightest she gained this ¡®overpowered¡¯ ability. It was the definition of not worth it. She may have just become the most powerful appraiser of the entire Tower¡­ but was she in the All-Aeon Athenaeum, Inspecting rare and exotic old artifacts? No. She was going to be the new Honorary Count of the Aurelian Commission, where being a noble automatically made her a target for assassinations, she was also the only contractor of the Demon Emperor, and she had to deal with the Hero and his knowledge of the future.


    She. Did. Not. Need. This.


    Unfortunately, short of removing her eyeball, she doubted she could get rid of it. And considering it had seemingly fused with her body¡­ removing it might not even be a solution in the end. She sighed, and replaced the mask over her right eye, turning away from the balcony. When she was back inside she dropped the invisibility, and turned to walk back to where she had come from before seeing the Viscountess.


    So far, at least, it seemed the ability to see User¡¯s Statuses didn¡¯t activate when the mask was on. That was good. What wasn¡¯t so good was the fact it instantly activated as soon as the mask was off. Until she became Rank-1, she doubted she would be able to tell if her control over the abilities of the shard would improve or not. For the foreseeable future, she would never be taking it off. It wasn¡¯t like having the mask on all the time made things difficult, as it wasn¡¯t uncomfortable.


    She made her way along the path to where she knew the dining hall was, as lunch was going to be soon. The competition seemed to be going well. It was unlikely there would be many hiccups, and once it was done, she and Scytale would head to the Forerunner¡¯s Event.


    The Event itself wasn¡¯t that important, outside of it being mandatory for all forerunners, and Scytale only wanted to go because he didn¡¯t go last time and it was a rare System Event. She¡¯d also be able to find out more about ¡®broken¡¯ Origin Skills while in the Capital. After that, in the next month, would be the Empire¡¯s annual end-of-year banquet. It lasted two weeks, and during that time Vincent would be dealing with most of the politics instead of her.


    ¡­except maybe regarding one person. The people at the top of the seven Eternal Duchies likely already knew she wasn¡¯t a real puppet head, and so when she visited Archduke Stolas Eterial, she would do it with the full status of the Aurelian Commission Head.


    I should probably send the request to organise a meeting with him within the next few days. He¡¯s known to be hard to meet with outside of Empire events, so if I send an official letter now I can meet him during the banquet. And if I don¡¯t do it now, it will be unlikely I¡¯ll be able to meet him at the banquet because thousands of other nobles probably have the same idea as me.


    That was a task for later. For now, she had lunch with the Country representatives.


    <hr>


    A ponytailed man with dark hair walked through the crowds of people, looking at the different items and objects in the crafter¡¯s section of the competition. Sedric was currently doing as Lucille had suggested, exploring the event to see what other crafters had made.


    It had been interesting enough to see what was being made, although some items were too high-rarity for him to Inspect, as he was only Rank-1. None of the items without spells, for example. The fact that he needed to be Rank-3 to craft items without spells for skills was very interesting, and if Lucille needed him to use spiritual energy to craft her item, then she didn¡¯t want an item crafted that only used spells. But she refused to tell him what it was she wanted crafted, which annoyed him beyond belief.


    Before the System though, the Mystical Realm only knew how to craft items with spells. He wasn¡¯t sure it was possible to craft non-spell items without the System. He didn¡¯t know much about what it was like before the System because the Mystical Realm had been assimilated for over a hundred chapters, so he wouldn¡¯t really know if it was possible or not, but he guessed after so long had passed it didn¡¯t matter anymore.


    Finding interest in something he saw, he walked over to one bench to check out an item.


    ¡°-but the main alchemical solution would evaporate if you increased the amplification by that much. The circuit would generate too much heat.¡±


    ¡°And that is why I use a secondary water-element coolant here. The temperature is regulated and kept to a minimum, the properties of the solution itself being retained due to its transmutation recipe.¡±


    ¡°Oh? It doesn¡¯t mix with the main coolant?¡±


    ¡°No. If you look at the Item sheet for the secondary solution, you can see that it is mineral-based, so it doesn¡¯t merge with the other coolant here, which uses several types of mana water mixtures, and-¡±


    Sedric looked up from the item he was viewing to see two people who were surrounded by a small crowd, having quite a loud discussion as they analysed the device on a bench. It seemed they were one of the more popular contestants. Interested, he came closer to see what they were talking about and read the Item Sheet of the object.


    [Apparatus ¨C Type: Compounder, Magic Item ]


    Name: 3-Element Compounding Engine


    Rarity: Rare


    MP: 5600/7,000


    Desc:


    Crafted by an advanced craftsman, this device was designed to compound basic alchemical materials from raw substances so the User has access to simple alchemical substances without needing an Alchemist class to transmute them. As this item is a prototype, it can only be used with materials of the elements of fire, earth, and water. Using one multi-layer intermediate spell and several advanced-level mana circuits, this device requires an input of 50MP to activate, 250MP per second to recharge until full and uses its mana storage based on how rare an alchemical substance you want to synthesise.


    Abilities:


    Automated Alchemy ¨C Machine-powered transmutation.


    <ul>


    <li>This prototype compounder can synthesise a combination of elemental materials of fire, earth, and water to create alchemical substances at Rare level or under. Synthesising time is dependent on the substance¡¯s mana density.</li>


    </ul>


    Internal Pseudo-Recombiner ¨C With the existence of a pseudo-recombiner within, the device will always provide accurate results.


    <ul>


    <li>This compounder will recycle the alchemical output if not a stable alchemical material, reconstituting the alchemical material until it is stable enough to be a substance for use.</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    The object that sat on the bench was a rounded pot-like device cast out of brass, covered in dials and switches. He watched it vibrate and tremble as steam escaped from valves, making lots of noise as it created whatever alchemical substance it had been tasked to make. He was surprised to see how practical the item was. He could definitely see the uses for it, if not for him personally.


    As the Commission Head¡¯s crafter, he had free access to many resources, alchemical solutions and substances that could be bought whenever he wanted. But for a normal crafter, this device would make crafting items much cheaper due to being able to transmute raw materials into alchemical substances directly, instead of asking an alchemist to do so for an expensive price.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    For an organisation like the Commission, he could see how being able to mass produce alchemical substances would be useful. Especially for producing many elixirs, which could be made up of several alchemical solutions, synthesised using other alchemical solutions, which were in turn synthesised from more alchemical solutions. Crafting elixirs was a very expensive profession.


    The internal pseudo-recombiner was also interesting. He had a recombiner on his bench in his workbench, which he couldn¡¯t use yet due to the mana cost being too high at Rank-1, so he was a bit curious to see how the creator of the item managed to reduce the mana cost for his item.


    He was going to walk forward to get a closer look when one of the members of the crowd looked back and stopped to stare at him for a second. Sedric blinked when he realised he recognised the person.


    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re that person from¡­ back then,¡± the blonde-haired man in his early twenties began hesitantly. He was the junior head crafter Sedric and Lucy had met in the craftsmen zone, Sameul. ¡°You were¡­ uh¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Sedric,¡± he replied as the man moved away from the crowd to come to talk to him.


    ¡°Right.¡± The man nodded. And then with an awkward look on his face, he continued, ¡°And the person you were with at the time¡­ she¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, she¡¯s the person you¡¯re thinking of, no, she¡¯s not really like how she acted earlier, and no, she¡¯s not as useless to the Commission as she¡¯s pretending,¡± Sedric said, well aware of what Sameul¡¯s issue was.


    ¡°So I really did unknowingly meet the Commission Head and talked about joining her event right in front of the person herself,¡± he muttered. Sameul shook his head and sighed. ¡°Yeah, that was a shock I was not prepared to receive today. So she¡¯s intentionally acting like that?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know much about what she¡¯s trying to do. I¡¯m not part of the Commission, technically,¡± Sedric explained. How was he supposed to know what was inside that woman¡¯s head?


    ¡°Huh. I figured you must¡¯ve been if she took you to the craftsmen zone,¡± Sameul replied, surprised. ¡°Then what¡¯s your relationship with her? Are you a participant in the competition like me?¡±


    The day had finally come when Sedric could brag about his status. He smirked and crossed his arms. ¡°Don¡¯t need to be. I¡¯m her personal crafter.¡±


    The blonde-haired man¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Really? Her personal crafter? You must be pretty skilled then. What kind of crafter?¡± he asked curiously.


    ¡°Accessory. She said the adaptability of my class is useful,¡± Sedric replied with a shrug.


    ¡°Accessory crafting is a pretty rare profession to go into, from what I know.¡± Sameul gestured to himself. ¡°As for me, I¡¯m just a boring magic engineer. Haven¡¯t felt the need to branch out just yet.¡±


    All right. Sedric felt like that was enough small talk to be considered a functioning member of society. Now he needed to find some way to politely exit the conversation¡­


    ¡°I saw you looking at that compounder earlier. Do you have an interest in the Coalition¡¯s magitech?¡± Sameul asked.


    ¡­¡­crap. He was asked another question. He was still stuck.


    Sedric prevented himself from sighing as he came up with a reasonable-sounding answer that wasn¡¯t ¡®my highest known rarity class has magic engineering as its third primary skill and I know absolutely nothing about it¡¯.


    ¡°Uh¡­ kinda. I¡¯m interested in magic engineering, which is why I¡¯m in this section of the competition. I¡¯ve been wondering if I should take it as my third main skill.¡±


    The man in front of him blinked and looked between him and the object on the bench. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ surprising. Not that I¡¯m saying it¡¯s surprising that you specifically are interested,¡± he added. ¡°But just that someone not from the Coalition is interested at all. The profession of ¡®magic engineer¡¯ was only fully formed two thousand years ago, after all, and the All-Aeon Athenaeum doesn¡¯t have the most favourable attitude to us, which makes most people prefer to use other alternatives to our stuff,¡± Sameul explained. ¡°Can I ask how much you know?¡±


    ¡°I just know you need to align single-layer spells with engraved spell lines on cogs, and the input of mana then helps your machines move. Not much besides that,¡± Sedric replied.


    And Lucille¡¯s knowledge comes to my rescue- no, wait. That doesn¡¯t make me happy at all. I don¡¯t want her to be my saviour.


    Sameul gave him a grin. ¡°That¡¯s more than most people know.¡± He seemed to think for a moment and then gestured to Sedric. ¡°If you¡¯d like, I can show you a bit about how it works.¡±


    That made Sedric pause in surprise. He¡­ was actually kind of interested in the offer. It was important that he learnt more about the profession, and maybe if he left the event having learnt a bit, he could show Lucille he wasn¡¯t as stupid as she seemed to think he was. He might even end up seeing a look of shock on that inexpressive face of hers. It would beat that irritatingly self-satisfied smirk she got when she did smile.


    That thought alone almost made him instantly accept, but as he considered it further¡­¡­ wasn¡¯t this too nice of someone he had barely even known for longer than ten minutes? What reason could someone with the status of junior head crafter have to do something like that? It couldn¡¯t be the fact he was the Commission Head¡¯s personal crafter, because most crafters never had that much power in their organisations, even if his case was different¡­


    He was suspicious.


    ¡°I mean, I¡¯m interested, but why would you do that?¡± he asked Sameul.


    Sameul gave him a dismissive wave and gestured to Sedric to follow him. ¡°I¡¯m just happy enough that someone¡¯s interested in my home plane¡¯s technology. It¡¯s not like I¡¯ll be teaching you some hidden secret of the Coalition or anything, so I may as well let you take a look.¡±


    Even as he followed the man, Sedric was still sceptical. There was no way the man was being helpful¡­ just to be helpful. That was stupid. Nobody ever did anything like that. He bet the man was just trying to get close to Lucille using him. Yeah, that made more sense. This Sameul guy was probably going to try to use the fact he told Sedric about the Coalition¡¯s tech to make him ¡®owe him a favour¡¯, using him to meet Lucille again so he could become her new personal crater instead, and take over his position as-


    ¡°By the way, if you were looking at that compounder, I can¡¯t say that was the best example of the Coalition¡¯s magic engines, with the multi-layer spell inside and all,¡± Sameul spoke up as he led Sedric through the crowds of people.


    Sedric forgot his original train of thought as he answered, ¡°Ah. That. I was just interested in that pseudo-recombiner trait of the compounder. I wanted to know what changes he made to the spell to reduce the mana cost so much.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that was the same reason I went to look at it,¡± Sameul replied as they walked. He scoffed. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s nothing much. The only reason people were crowding around the crafter¡¯s compounder was because the item¡¯s concept was unique. The actual spellcraft was really shoddily done. It was like a patchwork blanket, stitching random frames together to give it some half-baked functionality. I swear half of those runes were redundant.¡±


    ¡°I guess being a magic engineer would give you a better idea of spellcraft than other crafting professions,¡± Sedric said, stepping to the side to avoid some people.


    ¡°Yeah. Understanding basic rune theory is essential for magic engineering.¡± Sameul nodded. He glanced at Sedric. ¡°That¡¯s one thing I should probably tell you if you want to branch out into magic engineering. While it¡¯s true that most of our machines use single-layer spells, it¡¯s not a rule that we have to only use single-layer spells. Some of our machines use multi-layer spells.¡±


    ¡­could it be? Was Lucille wrong about something? ¡°Really? So your technology isn¡¯t made mostly out of simpler spell types?¡± Sedric asked, almost expectantly.


    Sameul chuckled as he turned a corner. ¡°Oh no, we definitely still use a lot of single-layer spells. What I mean is, that our really, really powerful devices use multi-layer spells and even arrays. But to get to the point you need to be somewhere around advanced to senior ranked in magic engineering,¡± he explained, ¡°which requires more than just time and effort.¡±


    Well, that was disappointing. Although, now that Sedric recalled, Lucille had said very rarely did magic engineers use multi-layer spells. Not, ¡®not at all¡¯.


    ¡°Where are you taking me, by the way?¡± Sedric asked.


    ¡°Just to my section of the competition,¡± Sameul replied. He looked around. ¡°It should be somewhere around-¡±


    The man came to a stop as he stared at something. Sedric followed his gaze to see a crowd of people at one specific display, seemingly discussing the object. He glanced at Sameul. ¡°Is that supposed to be your bench?¡¯


    ¡°¡­it is, but why are there so many people around it?¡± Sameul said quietly.


    Sedric took another glance at the people near the bench, noticed their expensive clothing, and then looked at Sameul with a strange expression. ¡°¡­aren¡¯t they nobles, too?¡±


    Sameul gave him a wide-eyed look, and then slowly took a step back, preparing to run away. At that moment, one of the members of the crowd looked back and pointed out Sameul to the rest of them. The nobles turned to see him, and then, with one leading in front, they walked towards Sameul.


    ¡°oh- dearth-mother no, they¡¯ve spotted me,¡± Sameul muttered. ¡°What do they want? Go away, go away, blight-blight-blight-blight-¡±


    ¡°Are you Sameul O¡¯Dearvy?¡± the front noble abruptly asked, looking at Sameul. He had brown hair, looked to be in his mid-30s, and was dressed in a black and red suit. The noble watched Sameul with narrowed eyes.


    ¡°Uh¡­ yes. And¡­ may I know¡­ who exactly you are, sir?¡± Sameul replied hesitantly.


    ¡°Erastus Aldithley,¡± the man replied shortly. He gestured to Sameul¡¯s bench behind him. ¡°I am here because I have a proposition for you. Sell me the rights to your device here, and I will give you a position as a crafter under the main business of Alichanteu.¡±


    There was silence as Sedric and Sameul registered the words of the noble. It seemed noble drama had come to the junior head craftsman next to Sedric.


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ already a junior head craftsman though¡­.¡± Sameul responded.


    Aldithley scoffed. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve heard. You work as a junior head craftsman for one of the vassal businesses in the crafter¡¯s zone. But I am promising a position in a main business of the Blue County itself, rather than just one of their subordinate businesses.¡±


    That was all very good and well, but¡­


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be a junior head craftsman if I took your offer though, right?¡± Sameul asked.


    The noble marginally raised an eyebrow, as if the idea itself was absurd. ¡°Obviously not. You may have created an interesting device, but you do not have the status or have demonstrated enough potential to be given such a position.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ if I wouldn¡¯t have my current status¡­ and I wouldn¡¯t have the wage and access to resources of a junior head craftsman¡­ why exactly should I accept your offer, sir?¡± Sameul said.


    ¡°Why, to become a part of a prestigious noble-owned business, of course,¡± Aldithley announced haughtily. ¡°And if you show talent, then perhaps one of our crafters will be willing to take you as a student.¡±


    Sedric and Sameul traded glances before Sameul turned back to him. ¡°But I¡¯m a magic engineer? All the best teachers for my profession are at the Coalition, so if I wanted a teacher, I would¡¯ve stayed there,¡± Sameul told him. ¡°And sir, I came to Gilded Seat to make connections with other crafters, which,¡± he gestured to their surroundings, ¡°Is what I¡¯m doing right now, by joining this event.¡±


    Sameul crossed his arms and shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but your offer doesn¡¯t interest me.¡±


    The noble, and the nobles behind him, just stared at him, like they couldn¡¯t believe someone had refused an offer from a noble. The surrounding watchers winced, aware of what was going to happen next. Erastus Aldithley slowly turned red and then opened his mouth to release his fury.


    ¡°You dare to refuse my offer? A mere commoner like you refuses the offer of a Viscount from the 23<sup>rd</sup> Major Kingdom-¡±


    This is getting stupid. I just came here to know about magic engineering, but he¡¯s not stopping.


    Should I¡­ reveal my status as the Commission Head¡¯s personal crafter? I could probably resolve this¡­ and I heard something about how nobles aren¡¯t supposed to be in the commoner section of the competition too.


    Sedric glanced at Sameul, who was looking more than just a little bit tired of the tirade being directed his way.


    If the Commission staff got involved then they¡¯d probably be on my side. I¡­ don¡¯t want to stand out, but if there¡¯s going to be no end to this¡­


    He took a step forward and waved a hand between Sameul and the Aldithley guy, getting their attention.


    ¡°Uh, hey, Erastus or whatever. Could you quit it?¡± Sedric said.


    The noble glared at him. ¡°That is Lord Aldithley, to you, commoner.¡±


    Sedric sighed. ¡°Yeah, fine, Lord Diddly-something. Look, this guy¡¯s not interested,¡± he pointed to Sameul, ¡°And I have a feeling you guys aren¡¯t even supposed to be in this section,¡± he gestured vaguely to the nobility behind the man, who seemed to be nobles of similar rank, and who flinched at his statement, ¡°So unless you think shouting at someone is going to change their mind, maybe we could all just leave?¡±


    Aldithley narrowed his eyes at Sedric. ¡°And who might you be, to say this?¡±


    Sedric reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out his black access card for the fortieth floor of Headquarters. ¡°The personal crafter of the Aurelian Commission Head.¡±


    Sameul, the crowd, and the nobles all turned to stare at the black card with the Commission¡¯s symbol of three gold coins in his hand. There was silence for a while before people began muttering to each other. The nobles started looking worried until Erastus Aldithley scoffed. ¡°You think you can fool me with that fake?¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Sedric asked incredulously. ¡°Fake? Do I look stupid enough to pretend to be the Commission Head¡¯s personal crafter right in the middle of a literal Commission event? Where even the lowest-ranked staff member can verify my card whenever they want?¡±


    ¡°-then you stole it,¡± Aldithley stubbornly replied.


    ¡°I stole it?¡± Sedric put a hand to his temples. ¡°From who exactly? Who do you know has this card that I can just randomly walk up to them and take this from their pockets?¡± He looked around until he spotted someone he had met once before the competition at Headquarters. ¡°You know what, let¡¯s get another opinion. SIR ALICHANTEU!¡± he shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth.


    The blonde and blue-haired Artair Alichanteu, who was going around doing his job as the representative of the Blue County, blinked and looked around when he heard his title. He stopped when he saw Sedric waving to him, before walking over.


    ¡°Mr. Ferin? I didn¡¯t know you would be here. What seems to be the-¡± Artair paused when he saw Erastus Aldithley and his group of nobles, all looking rather pale now that they discovered Sedric knew the first heir of Alichanteu.


    Artair frowned at Aldithley. ¡°Sir Aldithley, I tasked you with reading the profiles of participants of the nobility, not taking a walk through the venue of the competition. You are not supposed to be here.¡± He looked at the other nobles. ¡°None of you are supposed to be here. The nobility and commoner competitions are separated until the next round.¡± He narrowed his eyes at them. ¡°Leave now, and if I see you here again before the round is over, I will give you more than just a warning.¡±


    They quickly made their way towards the nearest exit, and the crowd dispersed. Artair put his hands behind his back and turned to Sedric. ¡°Now, what did you need me for, Mr. Ferin?¡±


    Sedric pointed a thumb in the direction of the leaving nobles. ¡°You¡¯ve pretty much just dealt with it. That Aldithley guy was trying to get junior head craftsman Sameul here,¡± he said, gesturing to Sameul, ¡°To hand over the rights of his device to him, in exchange for a place in one of Alichanteu¡¯s main businesses.¡±


    Artair stared at Sedric for a few seconds, before slowly, he gained a grin. ¡°Oh really? Is that true?¡±


    Sedric raised an eyebrow at his reaction. ¡°Uh¡­ yes. Is that¡­ good?¡±


    Artair¡¯s grin widened as he shook his head. ¡°Well, definitely not for them, but certainly for me. You see, it seems my little brother¡¯s tag-a-long by the name of Aldithley has just broken a few rules set by our mutual acquaintance, and this will reflect on his lord. It¡¯s quite a spot of good luck for me.¡±


    ¡­¡­ah. It seems someone might have just annoyed Lucille. Sedric was slightly curious to know how that would end up for them, but¡­ maybe ignorance was the more healthy option for his continued mental well-being.


    Then Artair turned to Sameul. ¡°Although, not quite as good luck for you, crafter Sameul. I apologise as the representative of the Blue County that there was such an incident,¡± he said with a slight dip of the head.


    Sameul was quite flustered and quickly shook his hands to refute. ¡°N-No need to apologise to me, Sir Alichanteu. I¡¯m fine now that they¡¯re gone.¡±


    Artair nodded. ¡°Well, if that was all¡­ oh.¡± He took out a notepad and pen and gestured to Sameul. ¡°Could I please have your full name so I can report his incident? It may come in handy for me,¡± he said with a smirk.


    ¡°Sameul O¡¯Dearvy,¡± the blonde-haired man replied.


    Artair jotted it down and then blinked. ¡°Wait¡­ did you say O¡¯Dearvy?¡± He put away the notepad and instead pulled out a thick wad of envelopes from the inside of his suit jacket. He riffled through them, until he found what he was looking for, and then pulled it out. He smiled as he put away the other envelopes and handed the last one to Sameul. ¡°Then let me congratulate you, participant O¡¯Dearvy. You¡¯ve progressed to the next round.¡±


    Sameul stared at the envelope with a violet seal in his hand with wide eyes, then glanced between Artair and the envelope. ¡°No way¡­¡±


    Artair just glanced at his wristwatch and gave them a nod. ¡°Then it¡¯s time I returned to handing out the rest of these envelopes. Farewell.¡± And with that, the Alichanteu heir left them.


    Although Sedric could¡¯ve sworn he heard the man singing a song under his breath with the lyrics of ¡®Arwwwwen¡¯s going to get in troooubbble~¡¯ as he walked.


    He turned back to the stunned Sameul next to him. ¡°So¡­ congratulations, I guess?¡±


    ¡°I- uh, t-thanks,¡± Sameul stammered, still staring at the envelope.


    ¡°What is your device, if you don¡¯t mind me asking?¡± Sedric asked.


    The man stopped staring at the envelope, blinked, and then put it away. Then he walked towards his bench. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a type of engine that uses water element solutions and the fire element to create steam. The pressure from the steam then generates mechanical power which is converted to magical power. This method only uses basic elemental reactions to power it, meaning the cost of alchemical substances is minimised.¡±


    That made Sedric interested. ¡°How did you get the mechanical power to produce mana?¡±


    Sameul grinned. ¡°Well, this can be your first lesson in magic engineering. With mana circuitry, just as a spell can generate machine power, machine power can also generate mana¡­¡±


    Sedric spent the rest of his time that week discussing magic engineering with Sameul, or looking at the rest of the crafter¡¯s section, pondering new ways to use his skills and abilities in a way that might have a chance of surprising Lucy.

 Chapter 38 (1 of 2) Return of the Noisy Noodle.

    -End of week 3 of November-


    ¡°-and the final winner of the Aurelian Commission¡¯s Competition is¡­ Lux Bramwell!¡±


    The crowd gave a round of applause when they heard the silver-haired man¡¯s announcement. The winner, a young man with brown hair, came and shook hands with the dark-haired girl first in line, and then the County representatives, beaming as he held a big picture frame containing an ornament with the Commission¡¯s symbol. There were a few more congratulatory words and another speech to the audience before they could all leave the massive auditorium.


    Lucille spoke up first, ¡°Right. That¡¯s all done now.¡±


    ¡°Except we still have to deal with the aftermath,¡± Artair said with a sigh.


    ¡°It¡¯s easier compared to the work that we needed to do during the event,¡± she replied, as she, Artair, Viscountess Femidela, Vincent and Rosaline stepped into a large living room.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go talk to Lux Bramwell then,¡± Vincent told them, as he received nods in return. ¡°I have to discuss how we¡¯ll implement his idea.¡±


    ¡°And I will see to ensuring no¡­ extra influences have snuck past my purview these last two weeks.¡± Viscountess Femidela smirked then she waved goodbye, and left the room.


    Artair and Rosaline also went their separate ways to do their jobs. Lucy grabbed her cane and headed towards a room she was going to use to meet several individuals.


    I suppose it¡¯s time for me to begin forming my own force.


    ¡­


    A large room of the Gold Dome hall was filled with the chatter of people talking and discussing the reason why they were asked to be there. Twenty-three people turned to look when they heard the door of their room open and blinked in surprise when they saw it was a dark-haired girl with a mask, the Aurelian Commission Head, and not one of the other representatives. Lucy took out her pocket watch to check the time.


    ¡°I¡¯m three minutes early, however¡­¡± She raised her head and looked around the room. ¡°It seems all of you are here, so I may as well begin.¡±


    She went to the front of the room and sat down on the chair there. She waved to the rest of them. ¡°Take a seat.¡±


    The people opposite her hesitantly did so, unsure as to why they were meeting with the Aurelian Commission Head herself. Lucy crossed one leg over the other and then gestured to them.


    ¡°Now, I assume all of you are wondering what will you be told that is so important that you had to sign a magical contract promising your silence on whatever you saw and heard within this room,¡± she began. She smiled. ¡°That is because I will be giving you all an offer.¡±


    She let them absorb her words for a while. When the crafters began exchanging hushed whispers, she decided to continue. Lucy held up one of her gloved hands, showing five fingers.


    ¡°If any of you come to work for me for five years, during this period I will support them with my resources as the Aurelian Commission Head, and use the Counties¡¯ expertise to refine their final idea submitted in this competition until they are fit for commercial use. This refinement will be completed before the five-year period is over.¡±


    Her audience fell silent and then began talking amongst themselves. She didn¡¯t do anything and just stayed still, letting them discuss it. One man hesitantly raised his hand, so she pointed to him. ¡°Question?¡±


    ¡°Are you offering this to only one person among us, or¡­.¡±


    Lucille shook her head. ¡°No. If all of you accept, then I will support you all. These terms apply to all who accept my offer.¡±


    The talking among them grew slightly louder, all of them surprised by the offer. She could hear them talking about the pros and cons of her offer with the people next to them. It sounded like most were willing to accept, but they hadn¡¯t noticed one little detail she had mentioned at the very start. Another man raised his hand, making her point to him and nod.


    ¡°What about our current jobs?¡± he asked.


    ¡°As the County vassal business you all work in are part of the Commission,¡± she replied, ¡°And my status as the Aurelian Commission Head is enough to order for your transferal with no breach of contract. Your workplaces will be compensated for the loss of a competent worker.¡±


    When there were no more raised hands, she gestured to a Commission staff member in the corner of the room, who nodded and began handing out the details of the offer, which mentioned things such as wages and crafting allowance. Most immediately read the information on the pages, but one blonde-haired man didn¡¯t pick it up and just raised his hand.


    Lucille smirked and pointed to him. ¡°Yes, Mr. O¡¯Dearvy?¡±


    Sameul blinked at the fact she knew his last name but coughed and gestured to the pages on his lap. ¡°I have a question. Who will we be working under?¡±


    The rest of the crafters fell silent and looked up as they realised his implication. Lucy propped her chin up with the armrest of the chair and gestured to them all with her hand. She spoke to them with a wide smile.


    ¡°I have offered this to you all on one condition. You will be supported with resources from the Founder¡¯s vault, have your plans refined, and your intellectual property will remain yours at the end of it, only if you work directly under me, Lucille Goldcroft.¡±


    She continued as they gained slight frowns, ¡°Not my aide, Vincent Evisenhardt. Not under any other member of the Commission, unless ordered to. No, you will be direct subordinates of the Aurelian Commission Head, and no one else. My orders always have to be your first priority.¡±


    There was silence among them as they took in her words, frowns of deep contemplation on all of their faces. Lucy gestured to the exit. ¡°If you don¡¯t like the idea of being under the Aurelian Commission Head when they have questionable power of their own, then you may take your leave now, and we¡¯ll forget this meeting ever occurred,¡± she told them. ¡°But you won¡¯t be able to speak about this offer or anything that happened in this room because of the magic contract in effect,¡± she added.


    After a few seconds, two of the twenty-three people in the room got up and gave her a short bow. She nodded to them, and they left the room. She waved to the Commission staff member to come forward, and they did, with magical contracts and pens in hand.


    ¡°If there are any more questions, please ask them,¡± Lucy said.


    Nobody raised their hands, so she tilted her head. ¡°Nobody?¡± After she received no answer, she narrowed her eyes and smiled. ¡°If so, then I will wait for you all to make your decisions. You have one hour, after which the offer will no longer be available. Please think carefully.¡±


    With that, she leaned back in her seat and waited. Her audience began discussing things among themselves, wondering how much power she held if she was making an offer like this. After a few minutes, one person stood up and walked over to her.


    ¡°Here¡¯s my signed contract,¡± Sameul said with a grin. ¡°I don¡¯t think I need to wait long to think about this one.¡±


    She smirked, and took his contract, then signed it with her own pen. ¡°I assume coming to a decision must be easier for you, considering the circumstances of our meeting. I¡¯ve heard you¡¯ve been talking to my Legendary crafter.¡±


    ¡°Yeah- wait.¡± His eyes went wide. ¡°Legendary?¡±


    ¡°Not the first impression you got from him?¡± she replied wryly. She handed the contract back and gestured to it. ¡°You are now one of my direct subordinates. As stated in the contract, you get a 10 rose crown signing bonus and will start work on the first day of next year. Enjoy your break, Mr. O¡¯Dearvy.¡± She grinned. ¡°You are now free to go.¡±


    He blinked and then smiled. After a short dip of the head, he turned and left the room. Lucille looked back at the rest of the people in the room and gave them a wide smile.


    ¡°Now it¡¯s your turn to make a decision.¡±


    ¡­


    Twenty out of the original twenty-three agreed to be her subordinates. Now Lucy had completed one of the final few steps she needed to do before the next year, which was when things would become much busier for her. However, that was for then. With the competition over, she had returned to Headquarters for the day, with tomorrow being the day she would go to the Capital for the Forerunner¡¯s Event. But first, she had a job to do.


    She swung open the door of her living room, shut it behind her with a click, and then walked over to one of her couches. Seated there was an unusually shiny winged snake, his body slowly moving as he breathed. She squatted down next to him and¡­ poked him.


    ¡°Scytale.¡±


    He didn¡¯t move. She gently tugged on one of his head feathers. ¡°Scytale, get up.¡±


    He still didn¡¯t move. She sighed, and shifted closer so she could cup her hands around her mouth and talk into his ear, ¡°Scytale, if you don¡¯t get up now, I¡¯m ditching you and going to the System Event all by myself so you won¡¯t get to spy on the Hero.¡±


    There was still no reaction, the magically induced sleep being very hard for him to escape. She stood up and placed her hands on her hips, considering what to do. Eventually, Lucy decided there was only one way she could wake him up. Summoning her most vivid memory of a magical sound blast to the forefront of her mind, she took the sensation¡­ and drove it through their bond to be plunged straight into Scytale¡¯s mind.


    ¡°GAH!¡±


    The snake sprang up and shook his feather-crested head. ¡°Ow, ow, ow, ow-¡± He glared at Lucy. ¡°That hurt. Why did you have to wake me up like that?¡± Scytale shook his head again. ¡°Urgh, my head¡¯s still ringing.¡±


    ¡°I did try to wake you normally, I¡¯ll have you know,¡± she replied with a raised eyebrow. ¡°You were completely unresponsive. Be glad I didn¡¯t use one of my even more painful memories.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, whatever. You just wanted to inflict suffering on me,¡± he grumbled. ¡°So, is it time for the Event?¡±


    ¡°Not yet. That¡¯s tomorrow,¡± she responded, taking a seat next to him. ¡°There¡¯s something I wanted to do first in case it became useful.¡±


    ¡°And you needed me awake for it?¡± She nodded, so he tilted his head curiously. ¡°What is it then?¡±


    She reached into her dimensional pouch to take out a mug and the brass jug. ¡°I wanted to go to the Library to find out more about your ¡®Sympathetic aura effect¡¯.¡± She began pouring herself some coffee.


    ¡°Ooooh. Yeah, that. We didn¡¯t really focus on it at the time, did we.¡± Scytale nodded. He stretched out his wings to get rid of the sleepiness in his body.


    ¡°Well, that was because I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s supposed to do,¡± she stated, taking a sip of her drink.


    He paused and turned to stare at her. ¡°Wait¡­ you don¡¯t know what it does?¡±


    Lucy shrugged. ¡°Obviously I know what an aura effect does. It¡¯s another type of affix and applies to mana only. But while I¡¯ve heard of the Sympathetic aura effect, its actual effects are unclear to me. However,¡± she continued, ¡°I do know that it¡¯s one of the effects those who focus on CHAR are more likely to get.¡±


    ¡°That explains why it¡¯s a Sanctity Caladrius bloodline ability,¡± Scytale said. ¡°Actually, let me bring up the skill page to see. I still don¡¯t have eidetic memory yet.¡±


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    [Sub-skill: Glorified in Bygone | Type: Bloodline/Elemental ]


    Desc: As brilliant beacons of light, the many winged Sanctity Caladrius have often been guardians and idols of worship for the lesser, mortal masses. Descendants of one of the few peaceable primals, the Light Bringer, they have protected and purified many areas where abominable creatures roamed, allowing the races to hold deep respect for these beings, with some placing them on a pedestal as more than mere beast.


    Abilities:


    Neophyte Light Bringer ¨C Child of the purest light


    <ul>


    <li>Gives User advanced Light Affinity. All light element spells have up to 75% increased efficiency and effectiveness. Element ratio: 75%</li>


    </ul>


    Golden Pillar of Peace ¨C Everywhere you spread your wings shall see your light.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the User Lesser light manipulation.</li>


    <li>Gives the User the spells: Sanctification Zone, Rays of Purity, Force of Power (light), Brilliant Beacon</li>


    <li>Gives the User the Sympathetic aura effect. Applied to all light spells.</li>


    </ul>


    Emergent Glory ¨C What was, shall return in time, and the praise of mortals will be with them once more.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the User a buff depending on the quantity of onlookers. Current onlooker count: 1/50. 50 = +50% skill effectiveness.</li>


    <li>Gives the User mana regeneration +1/1m for every onlooker.</li>


    <li>Gives the User a temporary mana cap of +1000 for every 100 onlookers.</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    ¡°Right. It¡¯s applied to all my light-element bloodline spells, so it¡¯s a passive effect I can¡¯t turn off. But can¡¯t you guess what it does from the name?¡± the snake asked. ¡°You¡¯re more familiar with the System¡¯s naming conventions than me, so you must have some idea.¡±


    Lucy shook her head. ¡°Not this time. I don¡¯t know what it does because as it¡¯s an aura effect, it¡¯s not mental.¡± She gestured to the screen. ¡°If this was a spiritual energy affix, in a way similar to how Apophis¡¯s Despair mental affliction is a demonic power affix, then I could guess. But when it comes to mana¡­ I¡¯m not sure. It must work differently than just generating ¡®sympathy¡¯ in those you cast your spells on.¡±


    ¡°Huh. Well, what are we waiting for? Let¡¯s go check it out!¡± he exclaimed, flapping his wings.


    Lucille just sighed. ¡°Scytale. At least let me send you my memories of the last few weeks first.¡±


    He sheepishly pulled back his wings. ¡°Uh¡­ yeah. Let¡¯s do that first.¡±


    ¡­


    After she had shown him her memories of her time at the Commission and as Adrianna, they got up and began making their way through the corridors to find Lucy¡¯s study. She had something she needed to do there before they went to the Library.


    ¡°What are you going to do about him though?¡± Scytale asked her, continuing a conversation they were in the middle of having. ¡°You met him a whole three months earlier.¡±


    ¡°There is nothing to be ¡®done¡¯,¡± she replied, turning a corner. ¡°The only difference is that I don¡¯t have a reason to be so cold towards him this time around. I¡¯ll just avoid making a few mistakes I did last time.¡±


    ¡°¡­Lucy, are you happy you got to see him again?¡±


    She paused slightly, glanced at her bond near her feet, and then continued walking again. ¡°Yes.¡± Then she frowned. ¡°But¡­ this means I¡¯ll have to keep the Hero firmly in check, otherwise¡­ it won¡¯t end well. Again.¡± She sighed.


    ¡°Take care of the things you can do in the present, and forget the rest, Lucy. Maybe we won¡¯t even meet the Hero tomorrow, and we can just have a nice day out,¡± he replied.


    She huffed a slight laugh. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t bet on it.¡±


    ¡°Oh! Hey, Lucy- woah, that is one shiny snake. I was not expecting that when I heard you had a serpent bond.¡±


    Lucy and Scytale turned around to see a blond ponytailed man there, holding a stack of paper in his arms, and looking stunned as he saw the silvery snake on the ground. Jacques and Caius had begun working at Headquarters two weeks ago.


    Scytale flapped his wings. ¡°I know a green scaly thing is what stereotypically comes to mind when someone thinks of a ¡®snake¡¯,¡± he snarked, ¡°But don¡¯t generalise us so much. We can be pretty too.¡±


    Jacques smirked. ¡°My apologies then, O bond of the Faction Head,¡± he said with a slight bow. It seemed he approved of the snake¡¯s character.


    Scytale took the sarcasm in stride and spread his wings proudly. ¡°As long as you understand the high status I hold,¡± he replied with grandeur.


    ¡°High status being on the floor, like a lowly crawling insect,¡± Lucy stated dryly.


    Her bond looked down at himself and then turned to her. ¡°Lucy, can you lift m-¡±


    ¡°Not happening.¡±


    Scytale slumped as Jacques looked between the two with amusement. ¡°Can¡¯t you just fly?¡±


    Lucy and Scytale stared at Jacques for a few seconds, making him confused. ¡°What? What did I say?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m getting d¨¦j¨¤ vu,¡± Scytale muttered.


    Lucy just sighed and continued walking to go to her study. ¡°My bond here will be able to fly when he reaches advanced rank. But not at his current bloodline strength.¡±


    Jacques and Scytale followed her as they made their way there. ¡°Was there any particular reason you called out to me earlier besides noticing my bond?¡± Lucille asked the man.


    ¡°Hm? Oh, yeah.¡± He held up the documents he held in his arms. ¡°I was just going to say I¡¯ve got the updates on how the preparation for the first organisational changes are going in the Counties. Ravimoux is nearly finished and will be done by the end of the year. Chavaret is the next quickest, then Evisenhardt, with Alichanteu taking the most amount of time.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s to be expected with the mess that County is in. And that second heir of theirs¡­¡± she muttered with a scowl. She shook her head as she opened the door of her study. ¡°I¡¯ll do something about them after the banquet.¡±


    Inside her study, Caius looked up from the armchair Vincent usually sat in. ¡°Oh, Lucille. I was just waiting here because Vincent¡¯s out,¡± he replied. He stood up from the chair.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± she replied. ¡°I¡¯m here because I want you to give Vincent a message for me when he comes back from the 17<sup>th</sup> floor. Tell him Scytale and I went to the Library for a while, in case he¡¯s wondering where I am.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Caius said with a nod. He gave her a curious look. ¡°Not going to tell him yourself?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s currently dealing with the man known as Gordon Merst,¡± she stated flatly. ¡°I¡¯m not getting involved. Only one of us needs to be sacrificed for that job.¡±


    Jacques and Caius gained strange expressions when she said that.


    ¡°Note to self: don¡¯t bother Vincent for a while¡­¡± Jacques muttered.


    ¡°Er¡­ right. No going to find Vincent.¡± Caius coughed. He held out a white envelope with a sky-blue seal to her. ¡°Anyway, the reply from the 7<sup>th</sup> Eternal Duchy came.¡±


    She blinked and then took the envelope. She went over to her desk to find a paper knife, and unsealed it, reading the letter. She nodded after a moment. ¡°It seems the Archduke has accepted my request for a meeting at the banquet. That¡¯s good. Although it will be an entirely private meeting, so Vincent can¡¯t come.¡±


    ¡°Archduke Stolas Eterial?¡± Jacques asked with surprise.


    ¡°The Empire only has one Archduke,¡± she replied wryly. ¡°I¡¯ll inform the Duchy we received their acceptance later.¡± Then she looked down at the ground next to the couch and frowned. ¡°Also, Scytale. Stop trying to trip Caius over.¡±


    ¡°Tsk.¡±


    Caius flinched he heard the sound of a young boy in his head and looked down to see a white-gold winged silver snake reluctantly removing a long silvery tail from next to his foot.


    ¡°He hadn¡¯t noticed me,¡± Scytale muttered with annoyance.


    ¡°And so your decision to alert him to your presence was to attempt to make him have an accident,¡± she said with narrowed eyes.


    ¡°It worked with Annaliese. And that was because you were all ignoring me!¡± he exclaimed, rearing up.


    Lucy just rolled her eyes as she left the study, the snake following along. Jacques turned to Caius with confusion.


    ¡°Who¡¯s Annaliese?¡±


    Caius watched Scytale leave with mild bemusement. ¡°I think he¡¯s referring to the Citadel¡¯s new Prophetess.¡±


    ¡°Huh- no, wait.¡± Jacques stared at Caius. ¡°Did her bond just say he intentionally tripped over the Citadel¡¯s Prophetess of Fate?¡±


    ¡­


    The lift descended to the basement of Headquarters, and Lucy stepped out, with a sneaky serpent on her shoulders, who had finally managed to get her to put him there. In front of them was a massive hall filled with bookcases reaching the room¡¯s roof. Occasionally in places, glowing books lifted themselves off of book trolleys to be reordered by the mana-circle automatically cast on them, and inserted into the bookshelves. The flutter of paper and whir of magic was the only sound heard in the room.


    ¡°So¡­ are you going to expand your perception field to find the information you need? It might give you a headache as you are now though,¡± Scytale asked.


    She smirked. ¡°No. There¡¯s an easier way. Could I please have some help, Ashale¡¯viaf?¡± she called out to the empty room.


    There was silence for a few seconds before a cloud of semi-translucent pink petals appeared in front of them. The form of the white and pink-haired rose spirit cloaked in white robes with gold trimming coalesced. Ashale¡¯viaf had an expression that looked like he had eaten something sour as he glanced at Scytale and then turned to her.


    ¡°What do you need help with, Faction Head?¡± he asked wearily.


    Scytale stared wide-eyed at the spirit. ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    Ashale¡¯viaf¡¯s expression twitched as he looked back at the snake. ¡°Because I¡¯m the librarian.¡± Then he sighed. ¡°As a spirit, I can manifest my incarnation in more than one place at a time.¡±


    Lucy¡¯s bond narrowed his eyes. ¡°Yes, but that can only happen if you¡¯re powerful enough to form two or more incarnations. Which means if you¡¯re capable of doing this in the Mystical Realm, you¡¯d have to be a nearly fully-manifested spirit, who¡¯s close to making the material realms their home.¡±


    The rose spirit¡¯s expression stiffened, clearly not expecting Scytale to know that much about spirits. Scytale looked between him and Lucille¡¯s widening smirk. ¡°What are you not telling me?¡±


    Lucy tapped her bond on the head. ¡°Let¡¯s forget about this for now,¡± she said, to Ashale¡¯viaf¡¯s visible relief. ¡°I came to the Library to find out more about aura effects,¡± she said to the spirit. ¡°If there¡¯s anything on the ¡®Sympathetic¡¯ effect specifically, I¡¯d like to read it, but if not, then a book that briefly lists aura effects and their purposes would be fine.¡±


    He nodded and gestured with a hand. ¡°Please follow me then.¡±


    She did, and with Scytale on her shoulder, they spent a few minutes navigating the many bookshelves, placed in alphabetical order of Imperial Common. He finally came to a stop before one of the bookshelves with a ladder leaning against it, and with a gesture of his finger, one of the books lifted itself off the shelf. It fell into his hand, where he turned around and passed it to her.


    ¡°There is no book specifically on the ¡®Sympathetic¡¯ effect currently in the Headquarters¡¯ collection, however Copan Earlwight¡¯s Encyclopedia of Affixes contains information on the aura effect you are looking for. This is the 7<sup>th</sup> volume,¡± he explained, ¡°Which is the most up-to-date version.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± she replied with a nod, taking the book from him.


    ¡°If that is all then I will take my leave,¡± he said, giving her a short bow, but not before narrowing his eyes at Scytale, who just flickered his tongue in return.


    She sat down on the last step of the bookshelf ladder as Ashale¡¯viaf disappeared in a cloud of petals once more. Scytale sidled up to her as she flipped open the book.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you already know what¡¯s in it? It¡¯s inside your perception field,¡± he said to her.


    She raised her eyes from it to give the snake next to her a flat look. ¡°I¡¯m opening it so you can read it.¡±


    ¡°Ohhhh¡­¡±


    She went back to flipping through the pages until she found the section she was looking for. She tilted the book to let her bond read the page.


    Aura Effect 98: Sympathetic


    This aura effect is an ability commonly given by the System to Users with high CHAR or charm-type bloodlines and paths of progression. The Sympathetic aura effect is sometimes mistaken for the Empathetic aura effect, but it is important to know that there are differences between them. As an aura effect, this ability does not mentally instil ¡®sympathy¡¯ in those affected by the User¡¯s aura, but instead enables the User¡¯s mana to be predisposed to forming small mana links and mana bonds with the mana of the people around them. These bonds are unnoticeable unless viewed on an extremely small scale, but allow the User to absorb and send information through them, while also transferring mana. The transferred mana has different effects depending on the affinity of the User.


    These links seem to occur as a form of enabling the connected to gain a common understanding with someone, the bonds enhancing comprehension. This characteristic is why the Sympathetic aura effect is often confused with the Empathetic aura effect. However, the linkage of mana in the case of the Sympathetic aura effect is universal, and not dependent on shared affinities like the Empathetic aura effect. This is because the mana linkage is completed using non-elemental mana as an intermediary. This is also the reason why the connection benefits of the six essential elements* are non-dependent on elemental effects, as seen below:


    Affinity:


    Earth ¨C Temporarily increases the interruption resistance of the mana of those connected for the duration of the connection. Increases the interruption resistance of the User in turn if the connector has stronger interruption resistance.


    Fire ¨C Briefly increases the power of the mana of the connector. Casting spells or using mana-dependent skills while in this state will consume the link. Power increase and cooldown before new link forms are dependent on WIS of the User.


    Water ¨C Increases the attraction of elemental mana to the connected and the User when using elemental abilities, enabling potential activation of the ability amplification phenomenon. Attraction level scales with the number of connected.


    Wind ¨C Increases the mana flow speed of the connected and User, dependent on the number of connected. Enables quicker activation of skills and abilities.


    Light ¨C Shares mana, regenerating the connected¡¯s mana. This uses the User¡¯s mana to do so, transferring mana out of their own mana pool to fill the mana pools of the connected. Transfer speed is dependent on mana regen.


    Dark ¨C Drains the mana of the connected to refill the User¡¯s. Drain speed is dependent on mana pool size, or INT.


    *The aura effects of mid-level and high-level elements are not documented in this book.


    These affinity effects can only be activated intentionally, and the User can specify which connection to activate these effects on. It should be said that as it is ¡®universal¡¯, the User¡¯s mana automatically pseudo-bonds with all sentient beings'' mana. It takes time and practice to prevent the link from occurring and to disintegrate these links but likewise means others are unable to readily sense the connection.


    It took Scytale a while to read it and absorb the information. After a while, he raised his head to look at Lucy.


    ¡°Okay, so¡­ this does what exactly? I can share mana with people, that¡¯s neat¡­ if I knew enough people to make this ability worth it!¡±


    She smirked. ¡°You regenerate mana dependent on how many people look at you. In summary, Scytale¡­¡± She gave him a wide grin. ¡°You¡¯ve become my battery.¡±


    He glared at her. ¡°You use atmospheric mana.¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°Ah, but I still need to use my own mana and spiritual energy with Apophis and Ouroboros. So, in actuality, you¡¯re their battery too.¡±


    ¡°But I physically can¡¯t be!¡± he exclaimed, spreading his wings. ¡°I fight with my Primal Descendant skill. I¡¯ll end up being over 30 metres long once I reach advanced rank and activate it if I reach Skulker¡¯s size again. I can¡¯t fight alongside you like that!¡±


    Lucille just shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to say to you, Scytale. In essence,¡± she gestured to the book, ¡°this is completely useless to you.¡±


    The winged snake looked between her and the book, then sagged. ¡°Useless ability, clogging up space on my Status for no reason,¡± he grumbled sourly. ¡°I already have so much on there when I¡¯m not even Rank-1 yet.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the case for every high-rarity beast though,¡± Lucy replied, shutting the book. ¡°As a Hybrid with the Primal Descendant skill, you have it even worse. You have a whole two more subskills in your Origin Skill than nearly everyone else besides other beasts with primal descendancy. But Scytale, remember your light-element spell list?¡±


    ¡°Sanctification Zone, Rays of Purity, Force of Power, and Brilliant Beacon, right?¡± he said to her nod. ¡°What about it?¡±


    ¡°Only Force of Power is an attack spell,¡± she stated, extending her spiritual energy to lift the book back into its spot on the bookshelf.


    He hesitated. ¡°Wait¡­ what do the others do?¡±


    ¡°Sanctification Zone is a spell that temporarily converts the elemental mana in your vicinity to light element mana,¡± she explained, standing up and beginning to head towards the Library¡¯s exit. ¡°Rays of Purity is a weak healing spell that can be cast on multiple people at once. As for Brilliant Beacon¡­¡± she grinned. ¡°You become glowy.¡±


    ¡°¡­glowy?¡± he repeated.


    Lucy nodded. ¡°Yep. Glowy.¡± She raised her hands up. ¡°You let off a tall pillar of light. It does nothing else.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ my light-element bloodline is pretty much useless right now?¡± he asked, following after her.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like your illusion bloodline spells do much either though,¡± she replied, stepping into the lift, Scytale entering just after.


    ¡°Yeah, but seeing through lies, going invisible, camouflaging myself and having a spell that makes people gloss over any mistakes I make while invisible is at least better than being a walking light show!¡±


    She stopped reaching for a button on the lift to give Scytale an odd look. ¡°Scytale¡­ may I remind you that you don¡¯t have a human form right now, so any metaphors like that sound extremely strange when taking your current appearance into account.¡±


    He stared at her, then looked down at himself. ¡°This stupid body,¡± he muttered. ¡°I¡¯m not leaving human form for at least a week when I finally get it.¡±


    The lift began to rise as Lucy turned to him. ¡°How¡¯s your progress with your bloodline?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s going fine,¡± he replied. ¡°I can tell I need over a month more, but probably not a month and a half. I¡¯m guessing I¡¯ll reach it within the first two weeks of January.¡±


    ¡°Good that everything¡¯s all on track then,¡± she said.


    ¡°So what are we going to do now?¡± Scytale asked.


    She got out her pocket watch and checked the time. ¡°Now I think might be the time to check out the Founder¡¯s vault.¡±


    ¡°Any particular reason?¡±


    Lucy pointed to her dimensional pouch. ¡°The first reason is that I have yet to get around to emptying all the Inheritance Trial¡¯s items out of here to look at what we received. I haven¡¯t needed to yet.¡± Then she sighed. ¡°And the second reason¡­ is to retrieve a particular object I discovered when I first searched the records. It¡¯s unlikely I¡¯ll be able to use it for what I want, but I want to have it on me just in case.¡±


    Scytale flapped his wings, and Lucy lifted her up onto her shoulders again. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll wait until we¡¯re up there to see what item you¡¯re talking about. But how do we enter it exactly?¡±


    Lucille stepped off the lift as the doors opened. ¡°We need to go to the vault¡¯s room first. As a dimensional System artifact, it doesn¡¯t take up any physical space in the main realm, so it¡¯s kept on our floor. All I need to do is use my pocket watch to access it.¡±


    She made her way through the corridors of the fortieth floor until they came before a small side hallway. Entering it, a large pair of white double doors stood before them, set into the end of the hallway. Lucy brought out her pocket watch and opened up its Item Sheet.


    [Inheritance Token ¨C Type: Pocket Watch, Magic Item ]


    Name: Token of the Aurelian Commission¡¯s Founder


    Rarity: Ancient


    MP: 10,000/10,000


    Desc:


    This pocket watch has been designated as the Aurelian Commission¡¯s succession item by the Founder of the Aurelian Commission, Crawforde Lockhart. Crafted by a master crafter, it functions as both a clock and a locator for members of the four founding Counties of the Commission: Evisenhardt, Chavaret, Ravimoux and Alichanteu.


    Abilities:


    Four Founding Counties ¨C Used by the Aurelian Commission Head to locate members of the Counties.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the four symbolic gemstones of the Commission¡¯s four Counties the ability to locate the closest member of each of the Counties. Consumes mana passively and must be recharged once a month.</li>


    </ul>


    Commission Head¡¯s Compass ¨C Special ability of the Aurelian Commission¡¯s succession item.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the yellow gemstone the ability to locate what the Commission Head desires to find. Requires varying mana costs dependent on location, distance, rarity, and type of target.</li>


    </ul>


    Total Faction Authority ¨C Faction Authority of the Aurelian Commission.


    <ul>


    <li>Grants Total Faction Authority of the Aurelian Commission to the User soulbound to this token.</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    ¡°Huh¡­ this is really lacklustre. Isn¡¯t what¡¯s written on here the exact same stuff Ashale¡¯viaf told you?¡± Scytale asked.


    Lucille nodded. ¡°Exactly. Which is why I didn¡¯t bother showing this to you beforehand.¡± She placed a hand on the doors and pulled on her soulbond with the item. ¡°Activate Total Faction Authority to open the Founder¡¯s vault,¡± she said.


    [User Lucille Goldcroft has used their Total Faction Authority of the Aurelian Commission Head to access the Founder¡¯s Vault.]


    The doors in front of them lit up with a white-blue glow as the notification sounded. They swung inward, revealing what looked to be a blank white wall.


    ¡°So¡­ uh¡­ do we just step through? Into the seeming nothingness beyond?¡± Lucy¡¯s bond asked hesitantly.


    Lucy smirked. ¡°Yep.¡± And with that, she stepped forward through the white wall, and then the doors shut behind them.

 Chapter 38 (2 of 2) Return of the Noisy Noodle.

    On the other side of the wall, Lucille and Scytale were faced with a massive corridor filled with repeating doorways. The walls were white, the same shade as the double doors, and the floor was hard stone. White ceiling lights dotted the roof every metre or so. Scytale turned his head to Lucy.


    ¡°This feels like the Mansion.¡±


    ¡°I also can¡¯t use my spiritual perception. The hallway isn¡¯t endless like the Mansion¡¯s though,¡± she replied, stepping forward. Nameplates were above each doorframe, and she glanced at them as she passed, looking for where she wanted to go. The nameplates had words such as ¡®Books¡¯ and ¡®Magical Items¡¯ on them, as well as numbers to show the years the items on the other side of the doors were deposited. Lucy kept going until she found one room with a nameplate saying: 670-700/100 A.S. Magical Tools.


    ¡°Explain to me how to read the Mystical Realm¡¯s Calendar again?¡± Scytale asked, narrowing his eyes at the nameplate.


    Lucy rolled her eyes. ¡°The 670 to 700 indicate that this room contains items submitted from the year 670 to the year 700 of the Mystical Realm¡¯s 101<sup>st</sup> millennium after assimilation. The 100 indicates the millenniums after assimilation already passed, while the A.S. just means ¡®After System¡¯.¡±


    Scytale tilted his head. ¡°So the item you¡¯re looking for must be pretty old then? The Commission¡¯s only been around for a millennium and a half, so this item has to have been deposited¡­¡± He hesitated as he tried to do the math.


    Lucille sighed and opened the door. ¡°It was deposited in the 684<sup>th</sup> year, so that¡¯s 389 years ago. It is old, yes, although not for the reasons you are thinking. But it was an unexpected item to find in the vault¡¯s records, that¡¯s certain.¡±


    With Scytale on her shoulders, she stepped into the large room. Filling the room were tall shelves filled with chests and boxes of different kinds. Lucy navigated the shelves to find the aisle containing the item. Eventually, she managed to find a shelf containing a small wooden box. She pulled it off the shelf and opened it to look inside.


    Within the box was what looked like a round brass cylinder containing a tube made from crystal. One end of it was shaped like a cone. Five small dials ran down its length, and there were two gemstones set in the metal, a purple one on its base, and a red one on the cone-like end, but not obstructing the tip, which had a small hole.


    Lucille pressed the purple gemstone, and both gemstones began glowing. As they watched, the tube made from crystal gained glowing dark-blue lines of runic script and then began to slowly turn. She pressed the red gemstone, and out of its tip extended a thin needle of silver. She pressed the red button again, and the needle retracted. After pressing the purple gemstone on its base, the glowing light died down, and Lucy nodded.


    ¡°It seems to be working correctly.¡±


    ¡°Lucy, no Item Sheet is popping up. I can¡¯t tell what this is,¡± Scytale said.


    She put it back in its box and continued walking through the aisles. ¡°That¡¯s because this is one piece of three.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Then why is it separated from the other pieces?¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°To conserve space, I assume.¡± She gestured to the shelves. ¡°This entire artifact must automatically sort itself, otherwise all of these items would be piled together without rhyme or reason. Nobody else but us has entered here for more than a millennium, after all.¡±


    She walked further until she came to a stop in front of a section of the room without any shelves. Instead, there was a massive spherical object of some sort, hidden under a large sheet. Stepping forward, she grabbed the sheet and pulled it with one large yank. The sheet slid off, revealing a giant clear orb, taller than her, inside a frame of bronze. The orb seemed to be made from several layers of glass, and engraved mana circuits filled with metal covered each spherical layer. In front of the main body of the object was a metal switchboard covered in dials and buttons. Lucille took the bronze cylinder from earlier and slid it into an empty round hole within the switchboard. She twisted it, and it locked in place, but nothing happened.


    ¡°It seems like this needs an external power source to work,¡± she murmured with a slight frown. ¡°I won¡¯t be able to check its Item Sheet until it''s powered.¡±


    ¡°That is one big plasma ball,¡± her bond said, eyeing the giant structure with slight confusion. ¡°This is supposed to be only one of the other pieces?¡±


    Lucy blinked and then shook her head. ¡°No, this contains the third piece inside.¡± She pulled a lever on the switchboard, and a hatch on the side of the giant orb opened. She walked around the side to reach through the hatch to bring out a smaller orb the size of her head made of glass and bronze, covered with several metal buttons. Four violet gemstones, about as wide as her fist, were evenly spaced from each other on four sides of the orb.


    ¡°This is the third piece,¡± she explained as she walked back around to the switchboard. ¡°It¡¯s a container. The main structure of the machine could be considered the¡­ processor, while the brass cylinder is an extraction device.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­ I guess having a giant magical plasma ball in the Founder¡¯s vault is pretty surprising¡­¡± Scytale replied.


    She shook her head as she kneeled down on the ground next to the switchboard, placing the smaller orb down next to her. Scytale jumped off of her. ¡°No, the shape and size of the device wasn¡¯t why I found it unexpected. There are several stranger objects in the vault¡¯s records.¡± She peeled off her gloves and started running her fingers along a metal panel in the side of the switchboard, looking for indents. ¡°You see, this device is actually outlawed.¡±


    The silvery snake glanced between her and the massive sphere with wide eyes. ¡°This defective snow globe is outlawed?¡±


    Her fingers brushed over a small symbol in the metal, and so she began inserting mana into the plate. ¡°I suppose it¡¯s not illegal to own, or even use, technically. However, the creation of these devices was banned about sixty thousand years ago. And those who brought one of these devices to the royal family for its destruction were given a hefty reward, so they quickly declined in number. We¡¯re probably looking at one of the last few in existence.¡± The metal plate came off, and she reached her hand inside.


    ¡°Sixty- Lucy, what are you doing to an expensive antique?!¡± Scytale exclaimed, flapping his wings in horror. ¡°Stop disembowelling it and get it fixed back up so we can sell it!¡±


    She sent him a flat look as she pulled back her hand. ¡°Scytale, as someone without an ounce of true technical knowledge, could you please not refer to my work as ¡®disembowelling¡¯?¡± She put a hand to her face to remove her mask and inserted mana into her right eye to see through the switchboard and into its internal mechanisms. ¡°This was donated to the vault by a noble family of crafters who ended up losing their title because their crafting legacy wasn¡¯t carried on. However, when I looked into it, this was submitted as being in ¡®perfect condition¡¯.¡±


    She reached an arm in again. ¡°The item list of the System artifact showed that the item didn¡¯t have the ¡®incomplete¡¯ label on its Status, which meant it was in perfect condition. But I need to check what type of powering system to use for this device. Crafting and magic were less standardized back then than now.¡± She finally managed to grab what she was looking for and pulled it out. She unplugged the connecting tubes and held up a rectangular metal plate covered in small uniformly cut crystals and gemstones, a runic symbol engraved on each one.


    ¡°Hey, that looks like a powerful keyboard!¡± Scytale suddenly said, sticking his snout near the plate. ¡°I bet it was used by¡­ keyboard warriors!¡± He snickered to himself. ¡°Get it? powerful keyboard? Keyboard warrior? Am I funny? Come on Lucy, laugh!¡±


    She looked at him with mild exasperation and then proceeded to ignore him, inserting a bit of mana into each gemstone to check how the runes lit up. As she did, each gemstone projected its engraved rune in the air above it.


    ¡°Tch. You¡¯re no fun,¡± the white-gold winged snake muttered. He slithered around the side of the giant glass sphere in the frame and raised himself up to stick his nose through the hatch. ¡°What are you even doing right now, anyway?¡±


    ¡°Comparing the 4<sup>th</sup> grade runes on this rune plate to the ones in my memory,¡± she stated, putting down the plate. ¡°I was checking if they used mainstream ones or not, as some crafting blueprints in crafter inheritances require niche runes, especially for a crafter family with history reaching back over sixty thousand years ago.¡± She gestured to the plate. ¡°It seems this device uses runes that are only two thousand years out of date. I should be able to make an adapter mana-circle for the power system without much effort.¡±


    ¡°Did you have to do all this inside the dimensional artifact though?¡± he asked from inside of the giant orb he had just climbed inside. ¡°You could have just taken it out of the artifact by clicking on the item list.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but I didn¡¯t think Vincent would¡¯ve approved of discovering that a giant orb that takes up an entire room¡¯s worth of space was now cohabitating with us on the fortieth floor,¡± she replied with a smirk. She plugged back in the connecting tubes to the base of the plate, returned the rune plate back inside the switchboard, and then picked up the metal side panel. Pushing it against the switchboard, it locked back in. Lucy pulled on her gloves, put her mask back on, picked up the smaller sphere next to her, and then stood up. With a sigh, she walked around to the side of the giant orb to gaze dully at Scytale.


    ¡°Are you going to get out?¡± she asked him.


    ¡°Nope,¡± he replied smugly, flickering his tongue.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    She rolled her eyes at the predicted answer and then glanced at the open hatch. There was a moment of delayed realisation from her bond, before¡­ she shut the hatch. It sealed itself firmly closed.


    ¡°Uh¡­ Lucy¡­ I¡¯m willing to get out now¡­¡±


    ¡°You know¡­¡± she said, holding her chin in mock contemplation, and ignoring the snake¡¯s words. ¡°It might be better for you to stay here for the next month and a bit as you finish your advancement¡­¡±


    ¡°I happen to disagree with that statement¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­you¡¯ll be very protected in the System artifact, as only Ashale¡¯viaf and I can enter¡­¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t really need the protection¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­my peace and quiet would continue¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­ugh. I can¡¯t deny that one¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­and I can always send Ashale¡¯viaf here to check up on you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to bring in a torturer too?!¡±


    There was silence for a beat, before Lucille narrowed her eyes at the snake. ¡°Scytale.¡±


    ¡°¡­what is it?¡± he asked hesitantly, unsure as to why she was using a different tone of voice.


    ¡°You are not allowed to leave my sight during the Forerunner¡¯s Event,¡± she told him firmly. ¡°Do not run off.¡±


    He avoided eye contact. ¡°What a ridiculous idea¡­ why would I ever do-¡±


    ¡°Scytale.¡±


    ¡°Clearly you don¡¯t understand me as well as you think you do! How could I ever have such intentions as to-¡±


    ¡°Scytale.¡±


    He slumped, before flapping his wings angrily. ¡°All right! All right! Fine, I won¡¯t go wander off anywhere. Sheesh, do you have to take the fun out of everything¡­¡± he muttered grumpily. ¡°What¡¯s even going to happen if I don¡¯t do as you say? Going to kill me?¡±


    ¡°No, but if I sense even a hint of the intention to do as I told you not to right now, you will be confined to this ¡®defective snow globe¡¯ for the rest of the month,¡± she stated blandly. ¡°So, you better put any plans to mess with the forerunners firmly out of your mind.¡±


    He let out a groan. ¡°But it would be so funny! Imagine all the references I could make, all coming from a talking magical snake! They¡¯d be completely stunned!¡±


    She sighed, having known exactly what Scytale wanted to do as soon as he asked to go to the Event. She hadn¡¯t even needed to see his thoughts to guess. ¡°Scytale, that would be a terrible idea. Because of the fact that sharing memories requires an advanced level bond between us, which takes an average of twenty years to form.¡± She placed a hand on her hip. ¡°How are you going to explain your knowledge to them? If the Hero hears about it, his first thought won¡¯t be ¡®they have a strong bond with a forerunner¡¯. His first thought will be ¡®There¡¯s another regressor, and it¡¯s someone who¡¯s been to Earth¡¯.¡±


    ¡°¡­urgh. I hadn¡¯t considered that,¡± he murmured.


    ¡°Which is why I¡¯m telling you this now.¡± She said. She gestured to the door. ¡°So, can I let you out without the Hero wanting to make killing the Aurelian Commission Head and her serpent bond his first goal?¡±


    He drooped his head. ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    Stepping forward, she undid the hatch. He slid out, where she returned the sphere in her arms to the giant orb. She shut the hatch and went back to the switchboard, where she removed the extractor device from its slot.


    ¡°Don¡¯t need the rest of it?¡± Scytale asked.


    She held up the bronze cylinder, which she then placed back in its box, then in her dimensional bag. ¡°I just need this for now. I¡¯ll come back for the rest of it if this ends up being used at all, but that would require me to have more space in my dimensional bag. Speaking of which¡­¡± She held out her arm for Scytale to climb up. ¡°Time to empty it.¡±


    They left the room, heading down the hallway again. It took a few minutes before they came to the end of it. At the very end, a room with a nameplate that read: 070-100/101 A.S. Unassigned was found. Lucille walked in and set Scytale on the ground.


    ¡°All right then,¡± she began. She first took out the box containing the extraction device and set it down on the ground next to her. Then she unbelted her dimensional bag, widened its opening, and turned it upside down. There was a delay, until with loud sounds of clanging and dinging, her random collection of magical items received in the Inheritance Trial, items stolen from Abbott Everett¡¯s Emporium, items bought using her crowns, and any other random objects she picked up over the last few months since entering the Tower tumbled out. Even the rose, silver, and bronze crowns she had exchanged all fell out with the sound of raining metal, leaving the final pile to sit at almost waist height in the room.


    ¡°That¡¯s a lot of junk,¡± Scytale stated.


    ¡°It was getting crowded,¡± Lucy agreed. ¡°It took far too long to search through all my items with my will than needed, and while I haven¡¯t picked up any large objects, so I could store a lot, I¡¯ve been restraining the amount of spiritual energy I use at any one time, and so I was reaching the limit of what I could mentally retain.¡±


    She pulled out her pocket watch and opened up her Total Faction Authority. ¡°Now, I can¡¯t use my spiritual telekinesis, but¡­¡± she pointed at the pile. ¡°Sort all items in room 070-100/101 A.S. Unassigned.¡±


    [Sorting all items currently within Aurelian Commission¡¯s dimensional System artifact, room 070-100/101 A.S. Unassigned]


    The pile in front of them lit up with a white glow before the assorted objects slowly reshuffled and separated from each other. They waited a few minutes before several smaller piles formed for the three types of coins, while the items were arrayed in neat rows. Lucy walked over to the coins and pointed at them.


    ¡°Place selected items in room 070-100/101 A.S. Unassigned into User Lucille Goldcroft¡¯s soulbound dimensional bag.¡±


    [Placing selected items currently within Aurelian Commission¡¯s dimensional System artifact, room 070-100/101 A.S. Unassigned into User Lucille Goldcroft¡¯s Soulbound dimensional bag item]


    She stretched her arms above her head and then walked over to the rows of Abbott Everett¡¯s items.


    ¡°Alright.¡± She pointed to them. ¡°Complete and utter mass-produced garbage. All of these items can be deposited in a magical item store room and never seen again. Transfer selected items in room 070-100/101 A.S. Unassigned to 070-100/101 A.S. Magical Items.¡±


    [Transferring selected items currently within Aurelian Commission¡¯s dimensional System artifact, room 070-100/101 A.S. Unassigned to 070-100/101 A.S. Magical Items]


    The items lit up, and then with a pop, they disappeared. She walked over to the other items and looked down at them. ¡°Now, these I bought before going to your enclave,¡± she said to Scytale, ¡°And until we get some high-quality items made for when we level up, they will probably do. It¡¯s not like we¡¯ll end up failing the stages even if we forgot something.¡±


    She picked up a rope, a sleeping roll, and a few other items such as a mana lamp that would be useful in adventuring scenarios. The rest she also sent to the magical item room.


    ¡°Transfer selected items in room 070-100/101 A.S. Unassigned to 070-100/101 A.S. Magical Items.¡±


    [Transferring selected items currently within Aurelian Commission¡¯s dimensional System artifact, room 070-100/101 A.S. Unassigned to 070-100/101 A.S. Magical Items]


    Then she walked over to the other items. One was her brass jug, which she picked up and put next to the extractor device¡¯s box. Then she went and sat down next to the pile. ¡°Time to look at all the Inheritance Trial¡¯s items.¡±


    She picked up the closest object to her, which just so happened to be the golden goblet with an emerald embedded on its front that Scytale had pointed out to her back then. She removed her mask, placed it on the ground next to her, and then used her right eye to bring up the goblet¡¯s Item Sheet.


    [Utensil ¨C Type: Goblet, Cursed Item ]


    Name: Velista Femidela¡¯s Emerald Bane


    Rarity: Rare


    MP: 50/1000


    Desc:


    This goblet was crafted as a gift to a noble clan outside of the Aurelian Commission. When tasked to assassinate the receiver of the goblet, the poison master of the County of Ravimoux at the time cast a curse on this goblet, imbuing a special toxin that killed the goblet¡¯s receiver. Ravimoux¡¯s Count granted the poison master¡¯s family the inherited role of the Ravimoux Count¡¯s direct subordinate from then on.


    Abilities:


    Emerald Lips ¨C A poisonous gift.


    <ul>


    <li>This goblet inflicts the Emerald Sleep poison on anyone who drinks from this cup.</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    Lucy gained a slightly strange expression after she read the description.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t Femidela the last name of that Viscountess you met at your debut?¡± Scytale asked her, coming closer to the items.


    ¡°Yes, it is. It seems this is an ancestral item of some kind.¡± She tapped on her chin as she considered what to do with it. ¡°She might appreciate receiving it, as it may hold some sort of historical or possibly sentimental value-¡±


    ¡°Oh, hey, Lucy. That creepy board game is here,¡± the winged snake interrupted, using his snout to gesture to the black senet-like game.


    Curious, she pulled it forward and read its Item Sheet. Then she fell silent.


    ¡°So¡­ going to show me what it says?¡± Scytale questioned, confused about why she hadn¡¯t shared her visual sensation of the screen with him.


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ not entirely sure you¡¯ll want to see it,¡± she replied hesitantly. ¡°This isn¡¯t something most people would like to know exists.¡±


    ¡°¡­surely it can¡¯t be that bad though, right?¡± he said with scepticism. ¡°Just show me. You have to be exaggerating.¡±


    She shared it with him. He fell silent for a while too.


    ¡°Uh¡­ so¡­¡± he eventually spoke up, ¡°This creepy board¡­ allows you to mind control your enemies by making them take certain actions, getting them to fall into traps¡­ as slowly you end up creating a trap for yourself without your knowledge, even though it seems like you¡¯re going to win¡­ until both you and your enemies end up succumbing to the power of the board game and fall to ruin, along with all your friends and family.¡±


    He looked at the board. ¡°I mean¡­ it¡¯s just as creepy as I expected from a game made out of blackest black wood and literal bone, but I don¡¯t really see the issue-¡±


    ¡°Someone within the Commission had this created within the last century,¡± she interrupted flatly.


    The golden-eyed snake stared at her as the seconds ticked by. ¡°Er¡­¡­ who, exactly?¡±


    ¡°Well, he¡¯s probably already dead, so no need to be too worried,¡± she said, making the snake let out a sigh of relief. ¡°It¡¯s says here his name was Gredaire Ravimoux.¡±


    ¡°Ravimoux again? Is there any cursed item here that does not have a relation to them?¡± Scytale asked, sounding slightly exasperated. ¡°But how do you know he¡¯s dead?¡±


    ¡°Because when we visited the Black Lily, Count Ravimoux¡¯s interactions with Vincent seemed to suggest he killed all his family members to ascend to his current status,¡± she stated, pushing away the game board and crossing her arms as she gazed at it.


    He looked between her and the game board. ¡°Uh¡­ but couldn¡¯t this Gredaire guy be a distant relative? Who¡¯s to say he had succession rights anyway?¡±


    ¡°He wasn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t what?¡±


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t a distant relative,¡± she explained. ¡°He was the Count of Ravimoux before Regulus Ravimoux. His father.¡±


    Scytale tilted his head, trying to remember how the visit to the casino had gone. ¡°I know my memory¡¯s pretty bad right now compared to before, with the seals and all, so I get that I can easily misremember things, but¡­ I seem to have missed the part when he told us his father¡¯s name¡­¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°He hasn¡¯t told you, but he¡¯s definitely told me.¡± She gave him a funny look. ¡°You still don¡¯t remember?¡±


    ¡°Remember what?¡± he asked confusedly. ¡°All I know is that for some reason you seem to have known the Count¡¯s dad is named Gredaire, yet didn¡¯t know Regulus Ravimoux killed his family to become Count until the Black Lily visit.¡±


    She flicked his forehead. ¡°Just the fact you know that much should¡¯ve made it click for you.¡± Lucy sighed. ¡°Count Ravimoux told me his father¡¯s name in the last timeline.¡± She glared at him as his eyes widened. ¡°I¡¯ve already told you that I knew him. It was the entire reason why I wasn¡¯t fazed when that intruder came to my room in the second week of being Commission Head. I knew how he worked, and knew it wouldn¡¯t be an issue long term.¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­ is this to do with that sketchy period of your life taking on random jobs to find out random people¡¯s secrets?¡± he asked.


    She narrowed her eyes at her bond. ¡°¡¯Sketchy period of my life¡¯?¡± She rolled her eyes when he just flickered his tongue. ¡°It wasn¡¯t random people¡¯s secrets. I was looking to find clues to several important pieces of information I needed.¡± She let out a sigh. ¡°Yes, I met Count Regulus Ravimoux several times then. Ravimoux does have the best information Guilds, after all. We had a professional relationship where I completed tasks issued by him related to what I wanted to know, and he gave me access to all the information Ravimoux obtained through the completion of the task.¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯m beginning to remember those memories you showed me,¡± Scytale replied. He looked at the board game. ¡°So¡­ what¡¯re you going to do with that?¡±


    She thought for a moment. ¡°I believe the Count must know what to do with an object like this. This can¡¯t be the first cursed item his father wanted crafted.¡±


    The silvery snake next to her tilted his head. ¡°Hang on¡­why was this in the Inheritance Trial to begin with?¡±


    ¡°To hide the fact this was made, I assume,¡± she said, reaching for the next object on the ground. ¡°Sometimes, noble clans of the Commission might give one of their members an object to place in the trial when they use their inheritance key. You could say it¡¯s a way of demonstrating their ¡®loyalty¡¯ to the Faction. Gredaire Ravimoux must¡¯ve organised for this to be hidden in the Inheritance Trial.¡±


    ¡°Huh. All right then, what¡¯s the next creepy item you got there?¡± Scytale asked.


    They spent the rest of the hour going through the items and objects from the Inheritance Trial. There weren¡¯t any useful items, either due to the item being less powerful than ones they could buy present-day due to out-of-date magic or crafting techniques used, or had gemstones that required over thousands of mana to refill, which they had no time for, and wasn¡¯t worth it for the rarity of the objects. Eventually, all the items were sorted, and Lucille used her Total Faction Authority to place them in storerooms. She and her bond left the unassigned store room and headed for the exit.


    But just before they left the dimensional artifact, Scytale turned to Lucy.


    ¡°But what was that giant orb thing anyway? You made it sound quite important.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± She sighed, her hand a few centimetres away from pulling open the doors to leave. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ a particularly foul device, due to what it was made to do.¡± She pushed open the doors.


    ¡°You see, the device allows one to steal the Origin Skill and bloodline abilities of a slain magical beast.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°So, you¡¯ll be back before the day is over?¡± a silver-haired man asked.


    Lucille nodded with a smile, dressed as she was in a grey long-sleeved shirt, black pants, and boots. Apophis and Ouroboros were in their two sheaths on her belt. She didn¡¯t have her suit, sash, or cane, and Scytale was riding on her shoulders.


    Vincent narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°And you¡¯ll tell me what it is you plan to search the Athenaeum¡¯s Archive for?¡± he asked suspiciously.


    ¡°If I can,¡± she replied. She tugged on her gloves to straighten them, ready to leave.


    Vincent sighed. ¡°Well, have a safe trip to this special Event of yours. I wish you¡¯d tell me more about what it¡¯s for.¡±


    She smirked. ¡°Maybe. I¡¯ll see you soon,¡± she said with a wave.


    Her aide nodded. ¡°See you later.¡±


    And with that, Lucille and Scytale left to go to the Forerunner¡¯s Event in the Capital City of the Eternal Empire¡¯s Aeternus plane, along with a thousand other forerunners, anxious to know why they had been teleported into these strange new worlds by the mysterious System.

 Chapter 39 (1 of 2) Cosmic Origins.

    ¡°Woahhh.¡±


    A woman with a fiery red bob cut and piercing green eyes stepped off a teleportation array to stare at the busy streets of the Capital City of the Eternal Empire. She stood still, blocking the exit, and annoying the other users of the array behind her, so a tall man with dark brown hair and gold eyes next to her grabbed her arm to pull her out of their path.


    ¡°Get out of the way before you start staring at everything, Cathy. You¡¯re annoying everyone else.¡± Conlan sighed. ¡°Imagine you¡¯re blocking the exit ramp of a plane.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but look!¡± she exclaimed, gesturing with two hands to the view before her. ¡°You told me they still hadn¡¯t invented trains yet! How does this city look like it¡¯s part of the Middle Ages?!¡±


    They were looking out of a side window of the teleportation dome, observing the traffic and buildings in sight. Tall buildings built out of unusually brightly coloured stone spread across the city, brass streetlights dotting the roads every few metres. The shopfronts were painted rainbow with the sheen of psychedelic mana - mana-circles, magic arrays, artifacts, and powerful items spitting out spells and supernatural abilities every second within the shops. Carriages pulled by exotic beasts with plumage and fur of vivid colouration rolled through the streets, the carriages¡¯ symbols sometimes glowing with power, and high-density mana radiating off of them. Sometimes, rumbling metallic constructs with luminous steam escaping their valves roared past, the metal glowing orange with heat.


    The skies were filled with roaring beasts flying overhead, occasionally mages and wizards with flowing robes flying past as well. Very rarely, figures of oriental clothing on swords soared above. The auras and emanating magic of the city bled together to create a visual cacophony of illusory rivers, and luminescent streams coating the vision of all who saw the city. The sky lit up with flashes and loud bangs of magic spells and abilities combined with the calls of magical creatures, an auditory chaos matching the visual one. And the streets were crowded with millions of people, all dressed in an assortment of clothes from all realms.


    ¡°I never said the Empire was similar to the Middle Ages,¡± he replied, pulling on her arm to drag her out of the teleportation dome. ¡°Do you think our Navy uniforms are something people from the Middle Ages would wear? Or even the facilities there?¡±


    Catherine hesitated for a second. ¡°Well¡­ I just thought that was the System doing stuff. I didn¡¯t realise they had the tech normally.¡± Then she pointed a finger back at the teleportation dome behind them. ¡°But none of the other planes we visited were like this! All those Dungeon cities were medieval-ish, unlike here!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because they were lower-ranked planes,¡± he explained wearily, continuing to drag her onward as she turned her head around, looking at all the sights. ¡°Also, I suggest you turn off the passive Inspection function of your Status, otherwise-¡±


    ¡°Ack! My eyes! I¡¯m blinded!¡± Catherine suddenly exclaimed, waving her hands around while blinking rapidly. ¡°Why does everything here have an Item Sheet? My mind¡¯s getting overloaded with notifications!¡±


    ¡°-that will happen,¡± he finished.


    The redhead blinked once more and then sighed in relief. ¡°Okay, it¡¯s finally turned off. But why were there so many-¡± She paused to stare at the ground in disbelief. ¡°Conlan,¡± she hissed.


    The man looked at her weirdly as she whispered into his ear. ¡°The stones in the footpath are Epic rarity.¡±


    Conlan facepalmed as he received strange gazes from the people around them, who were probably all Ascendants and very likely capable of hearing her words. He grabbed her wrist and pulled Catherine onwards before she could attempt to pry up a pebble from the ground below them. ¡°Would you stop embarrassing us? You¡¯re acting like a country bumpkin. And why would you even want an Epic-rarity pebble?¡± he told her quietly as they followed a little marker on the mini-map the System had given them to find the Event.


    ¡°It was only going to be a souvenir!¡± she complained, following after him. ¡°But seriously, why is everything so high-rarity here? Even the lamppost over there is an Ancient-ranked item. We¡¯re pretty much walking on solid gold.¡±


    ¡°The Capital has been built using the most valuable resources so it¡¯s protected by the innate mana-density of the materials,¡± he replied, turning a corner of the main street. ¡°If anyone uses magic in this city, it¡¯ll be much harder for them to damage anything. This is also because we¡¯re on the Aeternus plane, the only Superior plane. Even if you used an advanced-level spell, you might not be able to leave a mark on the dirt here.¡±


    ¡°Huh. Where did they get all this stuff though?¡± Catherine wondered aloud, watching everything with curious eyes.


    ¡°From older planes, most likely,¡± he said, waiting for the carriages on the road to roll by so they could cross it. ¡°Magical resources and natural treasures become more powerful by absorbing mana over time. Or they got it from the Beast Realm, whose regions have a much higher magical energy density than most planes in the Mystical Realm.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ why doesn¡¯t everyone just live there then, if so much mana is available?¡± she asked, following him down a side street. ¡°You explained when we visited those lower-ranked planes that less mana meant they couldn¡¯t advance their tech, so if mana helps places progress¡­¡±


    He smirked as he glanced at her. ¡°We¡¯d be killed by the monsters and magical beasts there, who¡¯ve gotten strong by eating all the powerful natural treasures. Any place with lots of mana has lots of very strong creatures.¡±


    They continued walking for a bit before they entered a small alley without anybody nearby. They came to a dead end and Conlan stopped. Catherine looked around in confusion.


    ¡°Uh¡­ Con? There¡¯s nothing here¡­¡±


    ¡°Just wait a bit,¡± he replied, waving to her. He tapped on his Status screen to access the Quest Log.


    [Quest Log: ]


    Main Quest (Rank-2: Demon Realm):


    <ul>


    <li>Complete Stages 11-20 In the Demon Realm to reach Rank-2</li>


    </ul>


    Rewards: Rank-2 status, Lvl cap increased to 299, Main skill slot +1, Class Tier cap +3, Aspect cap +3, Class Tier +1, 6000xp, Main Quest (Rank-3: Tartarus Realm) Unlocked. Failure: N/A


    <ul>


    <li>In the Demon Realm, slay a demon at Intermediate or greater strength, and return to Obelisk alive 48 hours after its defeat.</li>


    </ul>


    Rewards: Stages 11-15 Unlocked, 3000 xp, Crystalline Token +1. Failure: N/A


    General


    <ul>


    <li>Resist the demonic aura of a demon without being affected by mental influences for 30 seconds or longer.</li>


    </ul>


    Rewards: Stages 16-20 Unlocked, Demon Resistor Title. Failure: N/A


    Class


    <ul>


    <li>N/A</li>


    </ul>


    Faction


    <ul>


    <li>N/A</li>


    </ul>


    Realm


    <ul>


    <li>N/A</li>


    </ul>


    Personal


    <ul>


    <li>Explore the realms of the Tower as pioneers for Earth. Unlimited Resurrections during this period.</li>


    </ul>


    Reward: Forerunner Title, Home Realm Permissions, Class Rarity ^1. Time Limit: 4:6:11:19:22:39


    <ul>


    <li>Go to the Hidden Temporary Event in the Mystical Realm exclusive for Forerunners on November 22<sup>nd</sup>. Objective location indicated in Directory.</li>


    </ul>


    Reward: ??? Failure: -50% xp Penalty. Time Limit: 0:00:00:30:5


    [ ]


    ¡°And five, four, three, two, one¡­¡± he counted.


    When the clock ticked down from thirty minutes and five seconds to thirty minutes, the wall in front of them gained a small white oval. It grew in size, to become larger than a person. The white oval rippled, until the inside disappeared, leaving a hole in the wall that seemingly allowed someone to step through it into the room on the other side.


    [Gateway to Hidden Temporary System Event: Forerunner¡¯s Event]


    [Time until closure: 29:43]


    Conlan gestured to it. ¡°We can go in now.¡±


    ¡°Okay, but¡­¡± Catherine looked around. ¡°If this is the Event, where are all the other forerunners?¡±


    ¡°We probably all get our own entrances to prevent anyone in the Capital from noticing us gathering,¡± he said. He hadn¡¯t actually put too much thought into the reasons behind why the System did things. Who cared why it did things the way it did? ¡°You¡¯re in a party with me, and you¡¯re a forerunner, so I guess we get to use the same entrance.¡±


    He turned to the gateway. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    He stepped through, Catherine following him just after. The gateway shut behind them and they found themselves inside a massive hall with black walls, white light flooding the place from overhead. There were no lamps that could be the origin of the light, but the walls sometimes had neon blue glowing lines making geometric shapes. In their peripheral vision, a counter indicating the slightly under half an hour left before the Event began had appeared.


    Other white ovals appeared on the walls and enlarged to let people in. Several were already in the room, leaning or sitting against the walls. They all looked anxious, and slightly wary, even of their own world¡¯s people. Most of them clutched weapons and had mixed armour of some kind. All of them were looking worse for wear, the anxiety of being dropped in entirely new worlds with no knowledge of how to return to Earth a constant cause of stress over the last nearly 5 months.


    ¡°Now we wait,¡± he said to Catherine, who let out a groan.


    ¡°Really? We have to wait even more?¡± She crossed her arms with a scowl. ¡°I just want to know why this dumb Event is even occurring in the first place! Although¡­¡± She looked around again. ¡°This room is nowhere near big enough to fit everyone from Earth. So, did only some of us become forerunners?¡± she thought aloud.


    Conlan smiled and gave her a shrug. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I guess we¡¯ll find out today though.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but only after waiting another near half ho-¡± Catherine¡¯s words died in her mouth, and she froze, staring at one particular individual who had stepped out of a gateway.


    Conlan saw her strange reaction and followed her gaze. ¡°Cathy? What are you looking- oh.¡±


    The brown-haired woman looked around the room interestedly with blue eyes. A large longbow was strapped to her back, and she wore mixed leather armour and blue clothes. She didn¡¯t seem too fazed about the appearance of the room, nor even thinking about the reason why they were there, because she had a smile on her face, and was watching everything with pure curiosity. Her eyes swept past Catherine and Conlan when she hesitated and looked back at them again. Her eyes widened as she stared at them.


    ¡°¡­Cathy?¡± she said, stunned. ¡°And¡­ Conlan?¡±


    Catherine stared at Liliana Mason, the water-element archer she and Conlan had met at the Navy¡¯s elite cadet training camp. Conlan just watched the two girls¡¯ reactions, feeling a little amused.


    The silence drew longer as even some of the other forerunners noticed the awkward staring contest before Catherine suddenly slammed a fist down on her palm.


    ¡°I knew it!¡± she exclaimed loudly, making the nearby forerunners flinch at the sound. ¡°I just knew you had to be a forerunner! All those little things you¡¯ve said or done, all the many hints! It was so obvious!¡± She abruptly narrowed her eyes at Liliana. ¡°You never told me you came from Earth.¡±


    ¡°B-But that was because I didn¡¯t know you were also from Earth!¡± Liliana replied, looking very bewildered by the situation. ¡°If I had known, I would¡¯ve told you!¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­¡± Catherine said with suspicion, her green eyes still narrowed. She turned to Conlan. ¡°What do you think of this, Con?¡±


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°Oh, I already knew she was a forerunner,¡± he stated calmly.


    ¡°¡­what?¡±/ ¡°Huh?¡±


    Both girls stared at him, which made him confused because he didn¡¯t know why they were reacting that way. Then it clicked.


    ¡­shoot. I¡¯m not supposed to know this yet.


    He coughed and waved his hand placatingly as he came up with an excuse. ¡°Er, well, maybe didn¡¯t know for certain, but I had a pretty strong idea that she was one.¡± He gestured to Liliana. ¡°Her last name is very Earth-like, after all.¡±


    ¡°Her last name?¡± Catherine muttered. She held her chin as she glanced at Liliana. ¡°I mean, I guess¡­ but have the last names been that different here?¡±


    ¡°Most of the first and last names, if they¡¯re from people from the Mystical Realm, are pretty similar, but not exactly the same as we¡¯d hear on Earth,¡± he explained. ¡°If someone has both a first name and a last name that sounds Earth-like, I¡¯d bet they came from Earth.¡±


    Catherine stared at him with admiration, and Liliana looked at him with surprise. ¡°I didn¡¯t realise you were so perceptive, Conlan,¡± Liliana said. ¡°It¡¯s amazing how you¡¯re able to pick up on details like that.¡±


    Well, that was because he was completely making that up, and had no idea whether the names of members of the Tower had any pattern behind them or not. He coughed again and gestured to the rest of the room. ¡°Should we head to the front? It seems like there¡¯s a door that will open.¡±


    The two women turned to look at the door in question. With two massive black double doors wide enough to fit ten men across, one covered in geometric white patterns that bore a vague resemblance to a tower of some kind, and another covered in geometric blue lines that created the surface of a globe-like structure, possibly representing Earth, was at the end of the long room. They nodded and headed to the front, where more people were gathering.


    Conlan noticed a few individuals who stuck out. One brown-haired woman with features of someone from East Asia, wearing a white dagger attached to her belt, had a casual posture as she studied her nails. Another holding a tall staff that Conlan could tell was at least Epic rarity, if not higher, based on the mana he sensed emanating off of it. His Inspection skill wasn¡¯t powerful enough to pierce its protection. A third person with dirty-blonde hair and brown eyes, in his mid-twenties, with a calm and relaxed smile on his face.


    He stopped to stare when he saw someone he recognised. In fact, someone he knew very well, and used to be an early member of his party before circumstances caused him to drop out. With red-blonde hair, blue eyes, and roguish features, one of his closest first friends in the Tower, Anthony Walters. The man looked up from the ground, and Conlan looked away before he could notice him staring.


    But¡­ is it worth forming a relationship with him again? He dropped out because his blacksmith class wasn¡¯t a high enough rarity, so investing in him- no. I shouldn¡¯t be worried about this.


    He glanced at the man again.


    I know where to find thousands of extremely valuable resources, and inheritances which will give him powerful crafter skills, enough to be worthy of being in my party as the party¡¯s private crafter. I know how to get him a powerful class and path of progression, so he won¡¯t fall behind. He can be useful, but if he¡¯s not¡­ I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll end up dropping out of his own will again.


    Wondering if there was anyone else he recognised, he kept looking around the steadily gathering crowd, until his eyes rested on a strange sight. Leaning against a wall with her arms crossed was an expressionless black-haired young woman dressed in dark clothes, no older than her late teens. She couldn¡¯t be considered very tall and had her eyes closed, or from what he could see. She had sharp, attractive features, with a long fringe that reached her eyebrows, and straight hair that fell on either side of her pale face, her hair reaching her waist in length.


    Two curved daggers were in sheaths on either side of her belt, but what was surprising was the black leather mask that prevented him from seeing the right side of her face, and the silver snake with white-gold wings and a feather-crested head resting across her shoulders and head.


    A magical beast bond? It¡¯s not advanced level yet either. That¡¯s very surprising. The System¡¯s Status Guide briefly describes the realms before a User exits the Tutorial, so most forerunners would never head deep into the dangerous regions to be able to contract an intermediate-level beast. They¡¯d only go to that realm to reach Rank-1. And¡­


    Conlan hesitated. She feels a little¡­ familiar¡­


    He double-checked to make sure and shook his head.


    No, I have definitely never met her before, because I have no memory of ever being near someone with her presence. If it¡¯s not her presence that¡¯s making me feel this way¡­ then¡­ have I seen her somewhere before?


    He tried to work out what was familiar about her appearance. He didn¡¯t think they had met in person in any way, but she almost felt like someone¡­ he had seen¡­ on¡­ TV¡­?


    He was prevented from continuing that train of thought further when the woman¡¯s silver snake, whose head had been resting on the woman¡¯s, opened its golden eyes and stared directly at him. The snake raised itself higher and then began hissing. He blinked when the woman seemed to make a very faint frown and opened her own eyes, revealing her visible left eye to be a piercing, unnatural, vivid shade of violet that could only be attributed to possible high-density supernatural power in her body. The woman raised a hand to gently tap the serpent on the head, making it stop hissing. She glanced at him for one brief second, smirked slightly, looked away, and then walked off.


    Conlan felt an eyebrow twitch. Did¡­ she just snub me? Me? The only Hero of Light¡­ and Guild Leader of the most powerful Guild in the Tower? That¡¯s¡­


    He shook his head and rubbed his temples, turning back to the door.


    No, I can¡¯t be annoyed by the attitude of one random woman right now. She¡¯s irrelevant, anyway. One day, if she doesn¡¯t die, she¡¯ll be seeing me on Earth¡¯s news, so why should I care about her reaction? No, let¡¯s focus on this Event first. We have ten minutes left.


    And¡­ he needed to deal with the new individual, the man with blonde hair and brown eyes who he had seen earlier, now approaching him.


    <hr>


    Alright¡­ time to see if it¡¯s worth forming a connection with any of my fellow earthers.


    Randall Holloway looked about the room, tapping the ground with a foot. He had his suspicions about what the Forerunner¡¯s Event was for, and what it was going to reveal, from the moment he found it on his Quest Log after the Tutorial. The fact that one of the personal quests had called them ¡®pioneers¡¯ for Earth, and would give them ¡®home realm¡¯ permissions¡­ well, it was the process of elimination.


    So, unlike many of his fellow forerunners here, Randall wasn¡¯t worried about finding a way home. No, he was much more interested in seeing how the abilities of his home world¡¯s people matched up to the powerful residents of the Tower.


    [Origin Skill: Inexorable All-Seeing Eyes | Type: Vision/Realm


    Desc: Secrets are part of every individual¡¯s life. Some are more important than others, some create chaos when revealed, and some¡­ should never be seen or heard again. This User is capable of piercing through the veil of mystery to see the truth and only the truth. They must take care they are not crushed under the burden of this knowledge, for this ability is not a boon, but a curse.


    Subskills:


    <ul>


    <li>Status Seer</li>


    <li>Records of Sight</li>


    <li>Inexorable Unveiling</li>


    </ul>


    Awakening: 6% ]


    He smirked as he read his Origin Skill page. If he wished, he could see the Titles, Aspects, skills, and abilities of anyone. He could view the information of powerful items, look at people¡¯s stats, and see how much potential someone has. And this information was stored in his skill, so he would never forget the Status of someone he had seen. No item or artifact could prevent his skill from seeing something¡¯s Status.


    He had used this fact to get a gauge for just how powerful the people of the realms were. Considering what he suspected about the reasons behind the Event, this skill would be very useful for seeing how the people of Earth would compare to them. So, he paid attention to people with noteworthy gear, and weapons, or just held themselves differently.


    Hmm. The staff is fancy, but her class is only Rare. She¡¯s more likely going to get killed for her item.


    He has a combat class, yet he¡¯s not even Level 70 yet after four months? And his class isn¡¯t a rarity high enough that would give him a large xp reduction. He¡¯s probably only doing adventurer work for money.


    The woman with the white dagger¡­ she has one of those mana-art things. It seems a weapon clan found her talented and took her in¡­ it would be bad if I get involved with her clan¡¯s politics but she might be a useful contact¡­ I¡¯ll keep her in the back of my mind¡­


    He paused when he saw a trio of three people, two girls and one man. One girl had brown hair and blue eyes, the other had fiery short red hair and green eyes, while the man in his early twenties had brilliant golden eyes for some reason. It seemed the three knew each other, so, curious, he had a look at their Statuses.


    The two girls¡­ they¡¯re only at Levels 64 and 66 which would normally indicate they¡¯re not motivated or talented fighters, but the rarity of their skills and the tiers of their classes are surprisingly high. That means they¡¯ve managed to earn a lot of compatible skills somehow. And their items¡­


    Not willing to waste time when he had almost only ten minutes left, he twisted his Origin Skill to give him the summarised information.


    [Eternal Empire Navy¡¯s Military Grade Longbow]


    [Rarity: Rare]


    [Eternal Empire Navy¡¯s Military Grade Spear]


    [Rarity: Rare]


    Both military military-grade items for the Empire¡¯s Navy. This meant both of the two girls had been professionally trained and became members of the military if they were allowed to carry around items made specifically for the Empire¡¯s military.


    Definitely need to get their contact information, or at least how they entered the military at their levels. The redhead even has an Origin Skill that increases her attack strength the more powerfully her flames burn, so she might be a User who gets stronger over protracted battles. The other girl¡¯s Origin Skill grants her naturally high proficiency over all archery skills. I wonder what the man¡¯s Status is like, as it almost seems like he¡¯s their leader.


    He opened the golden-eyed man¡¯s Status¡­ and stared.


    [Status: ]


    Name: Conlan Griffin (Lv. 70)


    Class: Hero of Light - Unique


    Age: 21y


    Race: Human


    HP: 8600/8600 {+93/1m}


    MP: 5850/5850 {+690/5m}


    Stats:


    Free Stat Points: 0


    STR: 196


    CON: 177


    AGI: 183


    DEX: 130


    INT: 121


    WIS: 74


    [Origin Skill: A Hero¡¯s Blade | Type: Weapon/Elemental


    Desc: [Collapsed]


    Subskills: [Collapsed]


    Awakening: 16% ]


    ¡­¡­he had a Unique class. The only individual he had heard of in his information gathering of the realms that had a Unique class was the Citadel of Fate¡¯s Prophetess, the icon of a Supreme Institution. And¡­ it was called ¡®Hero¡¯. Just the stats alone were almost more than double any other forerunner here, making him incredibly powerful, and he had one of, if not the rarest class type, that also symbolised something very important. He needed to talk to the man as soon as possible, but he decided to check the man¡¯s Titles, just to be sure there was nothing-


    [Title: Regressor | Type: System]


    [Rarity: Unique]


    His breath hitched in his throat as he stared at something he couldn¡¯t believe was real. The seconds ticked by as he tried to consider all the possible implications of this Title existing, and all the steps he needed to take next. Then, struggling to hide his widening grin, he made his decision. Putting on a calm and confident smile, although he made sure it wasn¡¯t arrogant, he walked up to the man, ¡®Conlan Griffin¡¯.


    The ¡¯Hero¡¯ seemed to hear his footsteps and turned around to look at him curiously, the girls next to him doing the same. Randall held out his hand to the man.


    ¡°Hi. I¡¯m Randall,¡± he introduced. ¡°I was a bit curious about your weapons, so I thought I might have a chat with you guys.¡±


    The golden-eyed man blinked and then nodded with a smile. He grabbed Randall¡¯s hand to shake. ¡°I¡¯m Conlan. Yeah, having a chat with someone else from Earth sounds nice.¡± The man turned to gesture to the girls next to him. ¡°And these two are¡­¡±


    ¡°Catherine, but just call me Cathy,¡± the redhead piped up.


    The smiling woman next to her nodded. ¡°My name¡¯s Liliana.¡±


    Randall shook hands with them both, before asking a question. ¡°So, I noticed that all of your weapons seem to have similar design styles and characteristics. It almost looks like they were made by the same person.¡±


    ¡°Ah, no, they probably weren¡¯t made by the same person,¡± Conlan replied, gesturing to the weapons. The golden-eyed man smiled. ¡°We got these for becoming members of the Eternal Empire¡¯s Navy.¡±


    Randall made his eyes widen. ¡°The Empire¡¯s Navy? How on earth did you manage to do that within only a few months after the Tutorial?¡± Then he pretended to hesitate. ¡°Unless¡­ did we get teleported into the Tutorial at different times?¡±


    Conlan Griffin chuckled. ¡°No, I got teleported into the Tutorial in July. I¡¯m pretty sure all of us forerunners got teleported into the Tutorial at the same time.¡±


    Good. He confirmed something I already knew from talking to other forerunners. Then let''s discover why he wanted to join the military.


    ¡°We demonstrated our abilities to apply for the Distorted Depths region¡¯s Navy Battalion,¡± the brown-haired man in front of him continued to explain.


    Randall hesitated for a brief second. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ one of the most dangerous regions in the Beast Realm?¡± He took another look at their gear and Statuses.


    ¡°It is, yes, but the warships of the Empire give us protection against the monsters there,¡± Conlan Griffin said. ¡°We get free high-quality weapons, armour, access to the military¡¯s skill libraries and are allowed to eat purified monster meat from powerful monsters.¡±


    Ah, so he¡¯s there to build up strength. He must be planning to leave after a year or two.


    ¡°That sounds like much better benefits than what joining the military on Earth would get me,¡± Randall joked. He decided to see if he was of interest to the ¡®Hero¡¯. He pretended to rub his neck awkwardly. ¡°Do you think you might¡­ be able to tell me¡­ how to enter the Distorted Depths¡¯ Navy too?¡± he asked ¡®hesitantly¡¯.


    The golden-eyed man seemed to study him for a second. ¡°Depends. Could I know what your class type is?¡±


    He wants to know if I¡¯ll be useful. Here goes nothing.


    He scratched his neck. ¡°Uh, I¡¯m actually¡­ a dark mage.¡±


    The man and the two girls in front of him blinked at him in surprise. He gave them a sheepish grin. ¡°Yeah, I know, I don¡¯t look like one, with the blonde hair and all. I¡¯m not a necromancer though,¡± he said, ¡°But just a dark mage.¡±


    Conlan Griffin went silent, holding his chin as he gave Randall an appraising look. Then he smiled. ¡°I just want to know one more thing. Was asking about our weapons the only reason you approached us?¡± he asked.


    I need to be very careful what I say here.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± He looked away as if he was looking for eavesdroppers. Then Randall lowered his voice. ¡°I¡­ couldn¡¯t help feel like you¡¯re someone important. It feels a bit weird to call it an ¡®instinct¡¯ or something, but¡­¡± He shrugged. ¡°I think a connection with you is one of the steps I need to take first here before anything.¡±


    The ¡®Hero¡¯s eyes widened as he stared at him for a few seconds, and then he smiled at Randall. He gestured to the weapons. ¡°While the Distorted Depths¡¯ Navy does take mages, if you¡¯re 25 or older, you won¡¯t be able to undergo the elite training camp to become elite members of the Navy. The elite training camp only occurs once a year in October, as well.¡±


    That is¡­ very disappointing. I¡¯m already 25. Then, how can I-


    ¡°-but,¡± Conlan Griffin continued, ¡°That¡¯s not to say you can¡¯t become an Elite Officer by joining the Navy normally. The Distorted Depths¡¯ Battalion recruits year-round.¡± The golden-eyed man smirked. ¡°Especially talented Officers can become Elite Officers in less than twelve months. Us three are part of White Squall Fortress.¡±


    He¡¯s telling me to prove myself before coming to him if I have plans of joining him. There¡¯s only one decision to make here.


    ¡°That is¡­ very useful information. Thank you.¡± He nodded. He glanced at his counter in his peripheral vision, then looked back at them and smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll have to think carefully about what to do with this knowledge. If you¡¯re lucky then¡­¡± He gave them a grin. ¡°Maybe you¡¯ll see me next year.¡±


    Conlan Griffin and the two girls gave him smiles and nods. ¡°Hopefully, if you decide to join, we¡¯ll see you again,¡± the brown-haired man said.


    With that, Randall left the three of them to disappear back into the crowd of nearly a thousand, a new goal in sight. He needed to make new plans, and research more about this ¡®Distorted Depths Navy¡¯. He looked down at his fist and clenched it.


    If he expects twelve months, then I¡¯ll do it in six.


    He stood to the side near a wall, having found a comfortable gap. As the counter in his vision approached three minutes, he prepared to find out what this Forerunner¡¯s Event was all about. He casually inspected the crowd again, until his eyes caught a glimpse of silver, which drew his attention. He blinked when he saw what the origin of the metallic colour was.


    A dark-haired woman wearing a mask covering the right side of her face was standing a few paces away from him. She had a long fringe and two short sheaths attached to her belt, potentially holding daggers of some sort. Her left eye was an unusual shade of intense violet, but what was surprising was the silvery winged snake draping its tail across her shoulders, its crested head and white-gold wings raised above the woman¡¯s head.


    A magical beast got in here? It must be one of those ¡®bonds¡¯. And¡­ wait a second¡­


    Randall stared at her, feeling slightly confused.


    I feel like I recognise her from somewhere. Is she a celebrity of some kind? Famous on the datanet somewhere, possibly? I¡¯ll need to think more about this, but I should check what Origin Skill she has for now. It might have something to do with enhancing familiarity and closeness with animals¡­


    He viewed her Status¡­ and frowned.


    Lucille Goldcroft¡­ the name feels familiar, but what¡­ is this?


    [Status: ]


    Name: Lucille Goldcroft (Lvl. 1????)


    Age: 18y


    Race: Human


    HP: 350/350 {+1/5m}


    MP: 0/100 {+1/5m}


    Stats:


    Free Stat Points: 35


    STR: &???????????7???????????2???????????? SPRT: 7000


    CON: _??????????????????2??????&????????????????????7????????? MENT:65


    AGI: *???????????????????2?????????????????)?????????????9?????????????????????? CHAR: 5???????????????^???????????????????????7???????????????????


    DEX: 1??????????????????????????????????5???????????????????????????????????!??????????????????????3?????????????????????????????? CHP: -???????????????????????????????????


    INT: 3?????????@????????????2???????????????9??????????? HRP: -?????????????????????????????


    WIS: N??????????????????????????3?????????????????????????????????$?????????????????????????????8???????????


    [Origin Skill: -___- | Type: /null/


    <ul>


    <li>Desc: user.blank/data{^*}->all</li>


    <li>Subskills: ---------------</li>


    </ul>


    Awakening: 0 ]


    Is my skill malfunctioning? That shouldn¡¯t be it, it says it can¡¯t be blocked, so what am I looking at here? Is she hacking the System somehow? Even the stats I can see are impossible to get at Rank-0, so they must be fake somehow. Does she possibly have an Origin Skill that¡¯s supposed to be capable of blocking out information, when my skill is supposed to be unstoppable, so it¡¯s become glitched like this? But where¡¯s her class?


    Randall rubbed his temples and decided to see her Titles, to make sure-


    [Title: Regressor | Type: System]


    [Rarity: Unique]


    He stared blankly at what he was seeing. Then he felt the blood drain from his face. He stole a glance back in the direction of the ¡®Hero¡¯, seeing that the Title was still there, and he glanced back and forth between the two to compare, but couldn¡¯t deny the reality he saw in front of him.


    There wasn¡¯t only one regressor. There were two.

 Chapter 39 (2 of 2) Cosmic Origins.

    There wasn¡¯t only one regressor. There were two.


    How?! Why are there two?! Are there more of them? Do they have a relationship? Do they have hostility towards each other? And the familiarity I feel from her name is making me worried. I can¡¯t make heads or tails of her Status, there¡¯s no useful information I can obtain- wait.


    He facepalmed as he realised why her name felt so familiar.


    Lucille Goldcroft! I know where I¡¯ve heard that name before! She¡¯s the crazy heir of Medallion! The largest incorporation in the world! How could I have been so stupid?! Her great-uncle is one of the most powerful people on Earth!


    Randall bit his nails anxiously, and began to pace around a bit, the other forerunners giving him looks.


    This is bad. Have I involved myself too early? I shouldn¡¯t have been so hasty in approaching that man¡­ but I can¡¯t even see her class, stats, or skills, so how could I know whether it¡¯s worth siding with her or not? Although for some reason her eye colour changed, and she¡¯s wearing a mask¡­


    He stole another glance, noticing she was looking at the floor.


    I might be overthinking things. Who¡¯s to say they even know each other? It¡¯s possible the memories of the future they have are different. Maybe they could end up as allies, although it would be risky to introduce them this early. And I have yet to prove to the Hero I can be trusted. Besides, I promised myself that I would never, ever give anyone even a hint of my Origin Skill abilities. I can¡¯t tell either of them there¡¯s another regressor.


    He took a deep breath, and let it out.


    Let¡¯s calm down. That ¡®Hero¡¯ is currently a known variable because I can see his Status, so I¡¯ll stick with him for now. It might not be too late to jump ship later. And¡­ maybe I can drop hints over time, because with Lucille Goldcroft¡¯s Status¡­¡­. she¡¯s an unknown variable. It¡¯s better to get rid of unknow-


    He froze. Two golden, slitted eyes were staring directly at him. The serpent bond of the Medallion heir had raised its eyes and was staring at him, the snake not moving. Then, slowly, the dark-haired woman raised her vividly violet eye and stared directly at him too. Like he was watching a video in slow motion, the woman very slightly tilted her head. She gazed silently at him for a few seconds, then lifted her right gloved hand to slowly remove the leather mask from her face. He stared, stunned, when he saw the slowly rotating golden circle within her eye, mesmerizingly brilliant.


    Then her lips parted in an unnervingly wide smile, and the winged serpent across her shoulders bared its fangs. With clear, exaggerated movements of her mouth that enabled him to easily understand the meaning of her silent words and emphasised gestures of her hands, she sent him a non-verbal message.


    She pointed at him.


    ¡®You¡¯.


    She raised her hands.


    ¡®Can¡¯.


    She gestured to her eyes.


    ¡®See¡¯.


    Then, she slowly lifted her gloved hands to outline the border of the Regressor Title box hovering above her head.


    ¡®It¡¯.


    She narrowed her eyes as she finished her sentence, still smiling.


    ¡®Can¡¯t you?¡¯


    His heart pounded in his chest, his limbs stiff, as the meaning of her actions was made clear to him. Involuntarily, his eyes drifted over to the ¡®Hero¡¯ in the distance, and the dark-haired woman in front of him followed his gaze. His mind went blank when she returned her gaze to him, tilted her head to the other side, and then her strange smile widened even further.


    At that point, Randall knew, with utter certainty, that Lucille Goldcroft was aware there was another regressor.


    The woman with violet and gold eyes made a gesture to the snake on her shoulders, which slowly slithered down to coil around her arm. She held her arm out as the serpent raised its upper body high in her hand, hissing loudly. The rims of its two golden rises gained a red hue which deepened over the seconds.


    Then Randall was struck with a deep, resonating sense of impending death as if he was going to be killed in near milliseconds. His heart thumped painfully inside of his chest as his limbs trembled with fear, cold sweat sliding down his face and causing his clothes to stick to him. He felt lightheaded as the breaths he drew became short and harsh in his chest, his throat feeling dry and rough. He clutched his head as a headache drummed a painful beat in his head. With pain-induced hyperfocus, he watched the woman move again.


    She pointed one gloved finger at him, then smirked. She tapped on her lips to symbolise ¡®Speaking¡¯. Then she pointed a thumb at her neck and made a very slow swiping motion across it.


    The counter in Randall¡¯s peripheral vision ticked down to 00:00.


    [The Forerunner¡¯s Event will now begin. Please enter through the open doors to receive information on your purpose here in the Tower]


    The black double doors with glowing geometric lines made a sound akin to the unlocking of heavy metal bolts, then swung open. The one thousand people in the room began to filter through the inky black wall of darkness on the other side, disappearing from view.


    As he just stared blankly at the dark-haired woman, the snake around her arm hissed louder at him, hued irises deepening in colour. The woman¡¯s smirk widened as she glanced at Randall, and gave the serpent¡¯s head a gentle, placating pat. The serpent stopped hissing, and he gasped as he was released from the sensation of imminent doom, taking heaving breaths. Almost lazily, the woman returned the snake to her shoulders and then replaced her black mask.


    With his limbs still frozen in place from fear, he didn¡¯t move an inch as the woman came closer, heading towards the double doors. But as she passed him, she paused, putting a hand on his shoulder. She was still smiling, but her icy voice was barely loud enough to be a whisper, her serpent hissing softly once more.


    ¡°Randall Holloway. Do not interfere.¡±


    And with that, she patted his shoulder once and walked onwards, leaving him standing there in clothes drenched by his own cold sweat, and shaking uncontrollably in apprehension for what his future held.


    <hr>


    ¡®When do we kill him?¡¯


    Lucille was still smiling as she walked towards the entrance of the Event.


    What could you possibly mean, Scytale? Why would we ever want to kill someone who hasn¡¯t tried to hurt us yet?


    ¡®¡¯Yet¡¯ being the important part,¡¯ he replied mentally, lowering his head to give her a sideways look. ¡®Leaving him alive could ruin all your plans, Lucy. His existence is a liability.¡¯


    Her smile didn¡¯t change as she came near the doors.


    Do you not have confidence in your killing intent?


    ¡®Of course that¡¯s not it.¡¯ Scytale¡¯s internal sigh leaked through the bond. ¡®I just want you to explain why you don¡¯t seem to be worried about this.¡¯


    She lost her smile and looked over her shoulder to give the man who had seen her Status another glance. He made saw her looking and immediately avoided eye contact. She turned back to the large open doorway.


    I noticed him when we first entered the room. It was pretty easy to pick up on what type of person he was. He kept scanning the room, his eyes stopping on individuals with unique traits of some kind, and never lost his smile. That meant his smile was an act he put on, not a natural trait of his. And when we watched him interact with the Hero earlier, he acted in a disarming way, trying to ensure the Hero¡¯s group didn¡¯t find him suspicious. In essence, he¡¯s a schemer. Someone who likes being in control of events, and being a part of them.


    She shook her head.


    And those types of people value themselves first and foremost. He would never, ever reveal his greatest strength by hinting at the ability to know the Statuses and Titles of people. Because they place themselves first, it means they¡¯re also very cowardly when not in a position of power. And right now, I¡¯m in a position of power, because I know what he knows, but he doesn¡¯t know enough about me.


    ¡®So, if we had to worry about him, it would be in many years where maybe he¡¯s earned the strength to go against us.¡¯


    Exactly. But I¡¯ll be asking Ravimoux to watch him closely.


    She placed one foot into the pitch-black wall on the other side of the double doors. Now, let¡¯s enter.


    She stepped through, finding herself on a pure white narrow platform that extended forward for a few metres, before connecting to a circular white centre platform. The room was black and appeared infinite. They couldn¡¯t see anything on either side of the walkway platform as a pitch-black oval floating in mid-space behind them shrunk and disappeared. Lucy kept walking until she stepped onto the circular platform. It turned clear at the same time a notification chimed.


    [Welcome to the Planetary Simulation Viewer]


    Slowly, pinpricks of light appeared in the distance of the endless space, until thousands appeared, in a replica of the Milky Way, revealing themselves to be millions of stars. Below the transparent circular platform was the slowly rotating giant form of Earth, its night-time continents lit up with twinkling golden lights of cities and houses. Two semi-translucent chairs appeared for Lucille and Scytale, allowing them to sit down. As they sat, another notification sounded out.


    [In this space, all information about Earth and its future assimilation into the Tower is available to the User, as long as they request it. This includes knowledge about their future return to Earth in 4 years and 6 months.]


    [The System waits to see what potential lies in those from Earth¡­.]


    There was a delay before a final notification appeared.


    [The first planet of the 6<sup>th</sup> Realm: The Cosmic Realm]


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    With that last notification, Lucy stretched out her hands before her and decided to get working. She didn¡¯t need to ask about her return to Earth, and so, she was going to see just how much ¡®all information¡¯ covered. That information would likely go unused, but it was possible that she could eventually use it for something. Scytale was just happy to see the hyper-realistic 3D documentary animation that was the space around them when she searched for information.


    Now, let¡¯s begin by asking about the collision and fusion chance of non-elemental mana-types with mundane weak nuclear force and strong nuclear force over these next few years on Earth.


    ¡­


    ¡°Ugh. Information overload,¡± Scytale complained. ¡°I mean, the close-up exploding star simulation was pretty awesome, and because it was the System, it had no difference to the real thing, but all the long words you used made my head spin.¡±


    He flickered his tongue near her head as they walked through the Capital City¡¯s traffic.


    ¡°Like, what the heck is an astro-magnetised star-core reduction reaction?¡±


    She turned a corner of the main road they were walking beside. ¡°A type of star implosion caused by extremely strong artificial gravity.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ a black hole?¡± he asked dubiously.


    She shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s not a black hole.¡±


    He went silent and hung his head dismally. ¡°I give up. I surrender to my fate. I¡¯ll never be good at this nerd stuff.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a-¡± She stopped talking, and just sighed, rubbing her temples. ¡°Never mind. Anyway, we¡¯re here.¡±


    She came to a stop in front of a large, imposing building. Built out of dark purple and black brick, the massive structure had a long series of stone steps leading up to its open doorway, thousands of people in mage and wizard robes climbing and descending the steps with books, tomes, magical items, staves, and scrolls in hand.


    Towering supporting pillars of glittering purple marble that had golden and silver engravings in the shape of powerful beasts made from runes held up the triangular roof, in a way similar to the Parthenon of Athens, and carved above the doorway was a scroll the length of a train - big, bold, glowing golden words that spelled out ¡®ALL-AEON ATHENAEUM ¨C CAPITAL CITY IMPERIALIUS AETERNIA¡¯ painted along it.


    Seven sky-high beacons of mana in the colours of green, red, blue, white, yellow, black, and violet soared up from its roof, the elemental mana gushing over the roof and down the sides of the building, a tantalizing scent coming from it all, and a sense of euphoria emerging alongside it. Lucy had to summon her spiritual energy to coat her body with enough of it to prevent the mana from flooding her body, potentially changing her affinity. The mana mixed, creating rainbow hues as elements fused to become mid-level elements such as wood, lightning, or lava. Scytale flapped his wings, breathing in the rich energy.


    ¡°Now that is an amazing sensation. As a magic beast, I¡¯m loving it here. I wonder how many poor sorry Users they¡¯re sapping for mana to keep those mana beacons burning.¡±


    Lucille pinched her nose bridge as nearby mages shot him dirty looks. ¡°Scytale, could you please not ruin my chances of fixing my skill before we even get inside?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to see who could refuse the money you can throw in their faces,¡± he replied cheekily.


    She just sighed as she began climbing the steps. The humongous open double doors they were approaching were made of glossy black wood, the corner frames fancy ornamental designs of runes. The doors were large enough to fit twenty buses across, and three times as high. Their surfaces were carved with four giant runes, which Lucy knew meant ¡®Knowledge¡¯, ¡®Secrets¡¯, ¡®Known¡¯ and ¡®Unknown¡¯. Sometimes briefly, deep within the lines of the runes, they glowed with violet light. She walked past them into the crowded entrance hall. Powerful magical artifacts radiating mana were encased behind protective crystal on either side of the entranceway, golden plaques describing their abilities and historical value beneath.


    In the centre of the entrance hall, set into the floor of dark grey polished stone with gold veins, was a giant bronze compass-like design. It had no arrows or needles, as the floor was perfectly flat, but dials spun and clock faces rotated within it. A magic array of dark blue arcane mana was perpetually being cast above it, enabling hundreds of people to cross through the array.


    Most of the mages and wizards entering or exiting the building did just that, the array recognising their Archive orbs, and letting them through after documenting their presence, but if Lucille tried to walk past, she¡¯d be lucky if she wasn¡¯t incinerated by a fireball spell.


    One side of the entrance hall was where the smaller population of non-factioneers of the Athenaeum were, lining up behind a glowing globe structure the size of a car. They left, gaining a glowing cyan rune on the back of their hands, where they would wait until a mage or wizard behind one of the many desks called for them. Unfortunately, that required casting a spell on the individual, and Lucy just so happened to be very immune to spells. Luckily, she had an alternative.


    She walked up to one of the desks, which had little to no people waiting behind it. The wizard at the desk, a man with a silver beard, glasses, and a badge with seven stars on it, indicating his status as a 7th-circle wizard, looked up at her.


    ¡°This desk is for those who wish to purchase information from the All-Aeon Athenaeum¡¯s Archives,¡± he informed her indifferently. ¡°Only nobility holding Titles from the Aeternus plane may utilise this service. If you do not wish to purchase information or do not have the right status to do so, then please use another desk.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a Title currently,¡± she told him, making him frown, but she continued, ¡°However, this should be enough to prove my status.¡± She took out her violet pocket watch and placed it on the desk.


    The wizard opened his mouth, likely to tell her to leave, until he glanced down at the pocket watch and paused, probably seeing its Item Sheet. ¡°Excuse me,¡± he said, making her nod to allow him to pick him up. He adjusted his glasses to peer at the item.


    Lucille tapped her fingers on the desk. ¡°The Head of the Aurelian Commission holds an Honorary Count Title,¡± she said. Then she smirked. ¡°And the Empire¡¯s annual banquet is in two weeks.¡±


    He raised his eyes from the pocket watch to look at her, probably understanding her meaning of ¡®I¡¯m going to be a Count in two weeks when I can then get you in deep trouble if you reject me now¡¯. He placed back down the pocket watch and looked at Scytale.


    ¡°And the snake?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a compeer bond,¡± she explained. ¡°I believe he¡¯s allowed in, according to the rules.¡±


    The wizard nodded, having Inspected Scytale and found the status of ¡®bond¡¯ on his Inspection page. ¡°As long as he¡¯s a bond.¡± He pushed the pocket watch towards her so she could retrieve it, which she did, and he pulled out a sheet of paper with words written in silver ink. He grabbed a pen from beside him and held it out to her. ¡°Your signature, and method of payment.¡±


    She signed it and then wrote down her chosen method. When he pulled it back to read, he raised an eyebrow. ¡°Deposit method? That requires you to have at least five crystalline tokens on hand, the excess to be returned after you have retrieved your information.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°I¡¯m aware.¡±


    He gave her another appraising look, but eventually let out a short sigh. He rolled up the contract and placed it in a small metal box which he locked by infusing the rune on the front with mana. Then he withdrew a small badge from a drawer of his desk, picked up the metal safe box, and passed both to her. He pointed to the other end of the entrance hall.


    ¡°That badge will allow you to pass the identifier array without issue. Take the badge and box to the fifteenth room on the left, where someone will take you to a private room to complete the trade,¡± he explained. ¡°The ¡®Watcher¡¯ will sign a contract promising his silence on all seen or heard within that room once you have placed the deposit. After that, you may ask for what information you need, and the total cost will be returned to you, then taken out of your deposit if you wish to proceed with the deal.¡±


    He paused and said one more thing. ¡°The Athenaeum will take a base minimum payment of one hundred rose crowns if you do not wish to continue with the deal. Is that all?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yes, thank you,¡± she replied, giving him a nod. He nodded in return and continued working on his documents. Lucy and Scytale moved past the identifier array, easily walking past the many layers of mana-circles that had risen to try to analyse them. There was no such thing as protection of privacy when it came to the Athenaeum storing their information. Too bad it wouldn¡¯t work on Lucille, with her ¡®pseudo-invulnerability¡¯ to magic. Scytale¡­ well, she¡¯d have to escape the Capital¡¯s Athenaeum branch quickly after the trade so she could avoid any mages or wizards asking to study her hybrid bond.


    She continued walking, the wide hallway at the end of the entrance hall containing more ornamental magical artifacts hidden behind glass cases. Eventually, she found the fifteenth side corridor, which led to a small room where only one woman was working behind a desk. The woman looked up at Lucy, who showed her the badge. The woman nodded, standing up and giving her a slight bow. She pressed a button on her desk before gesturing to a door on the side of her.


    ¡°Please enter this room and wait until the Watcher arrives,¡± the woman said.


    Lucille went and opened the door, entering the room beyond as the woman shut the door behind her. Two plush armchairs on either side of a table were inside, and she took up a spot on one of them as Scytale slid onto the back of the chair. She waited patiently for the ¡®Watcher¡¯.


    After a few minutes, a man dressed in blue robes with dark hair opened a door opposite the one Lucy came in through and gave her a slight bow. He sat down in the chair opposite her.


    ¡°Good afternoon,¡± he said. ¡°My name is Elron Farnelost of the Blue Order, and I will be the Watcher for this trade.¡± A white circle appeared horizontally above his palm, where a sheet of paper dropped out, covered in sentences of golden ink. He placed it down on the table and slid it forward for Lucy to read.


    ¡°This is the Ancient-ranked contract I will be using to promise my silence on who requested the information, and what information was requested. I will sign it as soon as you have deposited the five crystalline tokens in the sealed box.¡± He gestured to the box she held. ¡°Could you please pass it for me to unlock?¡±


    She passed him the box, where he tapped the glowing rune on the front with a finger. The box opened, and he placed it down on the table. Lucy opened her dimensional bag to withdraw five tokens, placed them in the box, and then slid back the contact after she had read it, making sure no loopholes existed in it. The mage took out a pen from his dimensional skill and swiftly signed the contract. He shut the safe box and then leaned back in the chair.


    ¡°Now. Before I ask what information you¡¯re requesting, I need to inform you of several things,¡± he explained, intertwining his fingers, and resting them on his lap. ¡°The older the information you request, the more expensive it will be, due to the mana required for the Archive to search back that far. The more forces involved in the information, the more expensive it will be as well. And,¡± he continued, ¡°If this information is popular, and requested by others, the price will go down, due to other people knowing about it.¡± He gestured to her. ¡°Any questions?¡±


    She shook her head, so he nodded. ¡°Then you may state what information you want.¡±


    ¡°I would like to obtain records of broken, incomplete, or unfinished Origin Skills,¡± she said. ¡°Not ones that have been changed by the User undergoing a race change to undead or beastmen,¡± she explained, ¡°But ones that have had strange lines in their descriptions, or required resources outside of typical Origin Skill primers to function properly. And, if possible, I want to know what those particular resources were.¡±


    He tilted his head, considering the strange request. ¡°Incomplete Origin Skills¡­ hmm. It¡¯s possible we don¡¯t have anything on that subject, as it pertains to the System,¡± he said, to her nod, ¡°Which isn¡¯t known to make many errors, if at all, and is hard to study. You don¡¯t mean Origin Skills with hard-to-raise awakening rates, do you?¡± he asked.


    Lucille shook her head. ¡°No. I mean Origin Skills that either have lines of System jargon in their description, specifically state something like ¡®incomplete¡¯ or cannot be activated at all.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± he replied. He gave her a nod. ¡°Then I will ask for this information to be retrieved from the Archive. If the event comes that there is no information on this topic, then we will only take the minimum cost out of the deposit, but if the Archive takes a while, we will ask you to return another day to retrieve it.¡± Then he shook his head. ¡°Although, that usually occurs when there is an excess of information to search through, which I doubt is an issue in your case.¡±


    He stood up and walked over to the door he entered through. He glanced over his shoulder to tell her one more thing. ¡°The time to retrieve information from the Archive is typically half an hour on average.¡±


    Lucy nodded, and he left, shutting the door behind him. She closed her eyes as she and Scytale prepared themselves for the wait. Slightly more than half an hour later, he walked in, three folders in hand. He placed them on the table between them.


    ¡°It seems there were three records matching your requirements. Due to being submitted quite a while ago,¡± he told her, ¡°The cost of the information will be a total of two crystal tokens. Do you accept this cost?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡± She nodded.


    He stood up and gave her a bow. ¡°Then I will leave the room, and withdraw the required amount from the safe box. Use this device,¡± he said, putting a brass bell-like object between them, ¡°To call me when you have finished reading, where I will destroy the copied records and return the excess of your deposit. I hope you find what you need in those records,¡± he finished politely. With that, the mage left.


    Lucille picked up the first folder and set about reading it. The record revealed details about a man who failed to absorb the bloodline of a powerful magic beast to become a beastman and mentioned the strange way his Origin Skill description warped in the process.


    ¡®But I thought you specified not to receive information about those who underwent a race change?¡¯


    I did. But technically, this person failed the race change, so he never underwent one.


    ¡®And they still charged you for the information? Wow, what a scam.¡¯


    She placed down the first disappointing record and picked up the second. This one was slightly more useful. It discussed a special Origin Skill of a member of a dying human subrace on an outer plane that was conquered seventy thousand years ago. The User could use their Origin Skill, as their tribe had a method of pre-awakening Origin Skills using pseudo-elixirs made from purified monster parts, a method many unassimilated planes and worlds used.


    But it seemed the User¡¯s ability was unique enough that the System couldn¡¯t instantly categorise it, especially as it was race-specific, and their race had few members. Unfortunately, all it took was less than a week before it could categorise the Origin Skill, so it never underwent ¡®fixing¡¯ of any sort.


    Lucy sighed, putting it down.


    I didn¡¯t expect to have much luck, but this is pretty poor.


    ¡®You still have one more. Read that first.¡¯


    She picked up the last one¡­¡­ and paused.


    Archive 18.10.792/17 A.S: Unfinished Origin Skill.


    Documented Occurrences: 1.


    Record Submitter: Faltin Summerel


    Record Event Date (Estimation): 24.3.124/1 ¨C 24.9.124/1 A.S.


    Subject Name: Unknown.


    On the 24<sup>th</sup> of March, Year 1124 after the Mystical Realm¡¯s assimilation, reports of a high-noble heir of the 2<sup>nd</sup> Eternal Duchy, incapable of using or viewing their Origin Skill after the Tutorial were heard. A high-ranked wizard known for being a well-learned System Scholar came to the Duchy and was tasked with discovering what the issue was. Several months passed, and it was thought the wizard would be incapable of determining the issue.


    The wizard then unexpectedly called in a water Archmagus capable of using the water-space fusion element of Maelstrom and then requested the presence of wizards or mages of each of the other four space fusion elements after that. The five space fusion element users of All-Aeon Athenaeum returned to the Aeonic plane soon afterwards.


    The heir was then tasked with undergoing the first ten stages by the Duke of Medolin at the time, even without their Origin Skill. The heir returned from the Beast Realm, and it was reported that their Origin Skill was functional. Reports say the heir stated they were given a special catalyst or unique primer by the System once they had completed the final stage and received their stage rewards.


    It is not fully known what exact item the heir absorbed, however, a few transcribed coded letters discovered several thousand years later in the Medolin Duchy seem to suggest the heir may have received a dimension core in their stage completion rewards. The identity of the heir, the subject of this report, is not known, but the most likely theory is that they were the founder of the Violet Order, who are thought to be the one responsible for founding the Artificers. This theory is supported by the fact they were an heir of the Medolin Duchy, also known as the Star Fall Astrum Duchy, the only magic-using duchy of the 6 Eternal Duchies.


    The Star Fall Astrum Duchy is the place of origin for the high-level Astrum element, the element used by the most high-ranking Astrologers. The Astrologers are considered the highest-level authority in charge of both the Violet Order and Spatial Tower, with the Artificers not being under their direct authority, but having close connections with them. It is known the Violet Order is a relatively recent addition to the All-Aeon Athenaeum, as the absence of any mortal or nonmortal individual capable of using pure space element means having an order named after spatial essence sparked much controversy. Nonetheless, its creation enabled there to be more users of the five space fusion elements, which, ¡®coincidentally¡¯, were all used by the five Archmagus and wizard visitors of the heir in their youth.


    ¡®Okay, lots of words, and you¡¯re frowning slightly. Which means you¡¯ve found something, or you haven¡¯t, but you¡¯re still looking at this, so¡­what did you find?¡¯


    Lucille put down the report and rubbed her temples. I think this is what I¡¯ve been looking for.


    ¡®That¡¯s good!¡¯


    The item I need will be given to me by the System after I complete the Beast Realm stages.


    ¡®Yay. Easy fix then-¡¯


    But the item is a dimension core.


    Scytale paused and looked between her and the folder. ¡®I¡­ kinda see your problem, but remind me what those are again?¡¯


    They¡¯re the objects used to create lesser dimensions. The grading scale goes from red to violet, the closer the colour is to violet, the higher the dimension. They¡¯re very rare, found on newborn planes, and to create one artificially you need to use plane sources. A stronger plane creates a more powerful dimension core. Violet grade is enough to create powerful dimensions that could even hold the Institutions¡¯ origin planes.


    She sighed and rested her head against the back of the armchair. But my new Origin Skill has to have taken on some of the characteristics of my old Origin Skill, which deals with the soul and spiritual energy, so what¡¯s the link between dimensions and the soul? I know for a fact that there is none, because the spiritual realm has no dimensions, being omnipresent, immaterial, and non-physical. How can dimension cores exist for something that doesn¡¯t have any dimensions?


    Lucille crossed her arms.


    Then there¡¯s the fact this means my Origin Skill seems to be a type of nascent dimensional skill.


    Dimensional skills were incredibly, incredibly rare compared to the entire population of the Tower. Even with the fact demons and spirits were natural ¡®dimensional existences¡¯, capable of traversing the material realms through the immaterial realms, nobody was able to manipulate pure space element. This meant dimensional skills were only found in one realm. The realm that often gave magical abilities without elements.


    ¡®But Lucy, you can see why you could get a dimensional skill, right?¡¯


    She looked at him and frowned slightly, but nodded.


    ¡®The most important thing is that we can fix it. I say we stop thinking about all this and return home for a break.¡¯


    She shook her head wryly. You always tell me to stop bothering to think about things.


    ¡®Doesn¡¯t make it any less true.¡¯


    With that, she stacked the folders, pressed the bell device, and after getting her remaining crystalline tokens back, she and Scytale left the All-Aeon Athenaeum¡¯s branch in Imperialius Aeternia, the Capital City of the Eternal Empire¡¯s Aeternus plane.

 Chapter 40 (1 of 2) Observations of a Strange New Colleague by Caspian Wharifin.

    The main command building of White Squall Fortress was filled with Officers going back and forth with documents, doing their work, and sorting out the operations of the several thousand military members stationed in the cliff-top structure. Warships the size of islands crested the sea horizon outside of the fortress, and titanic beings with massive flocks and crowds of their lessers flooded the fleets in an attempt to destroy the ships and devour the Officers commanding the boats.


    In one of the many corridors of the main command building, a young man with sea-green hair watched as the tall, curly-haired woman with glowing hair walked in front of him, carrying a stack of paper to deliver to the next room.


    Caspian Wharifin had a new colleague.


    And¡­ he couldn¡¯t work her out. When the Commander told him they would be working together, he didn¡¯t realise the man meant it literally, both of them being placed under the same new superior, and doing most tasks together. He had originally thought it was to help the woman get used to the work, but when it became clear she needed very little help at all and he told his superior that, she still wasn¡¯t transferred elsewhere. She was even allowed on the Commander¡¯s warship for the past month, like him. Although for her, maybe that wasn¡¯t a good thing. He shuddered as he remembered her sparring session with the Commander.


    It seemed the Commander was treating her like Ross and him though. The man would get immensely interested in one or two people now and then, and would then devote himself to terrorising them until they left the Navy. The woman in front of him didn¡¯t seem like someone who would quit easily, but that could just possibly mean when her buttons were finally fully pressed, it would be a big event.


    ¡°Officer Wharifin?¡±


    He blinked when he heard the toneless voice and saw Adrianna Riftmire, the person in front of him, looking back at him. He shook himself out of musing.


    ¡°Ah, yes, Officer Riftmire?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve been staring at me for the last few minutes,¡± she stated coolly.


    ¡­ it was slightly awkward that she had noticed. He coughed. ¡°Sorry. I was distracted¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­by your hair.¡±


    Her expression instantly went cold, making him feel amused. One of the few things he had worked out about the woman was that her hair seemed to be a little bit of a sore point.


    ¡°Then I suggest as your colleague you spend your time more effectively,¡± she replied icily. She continued onwards with that march of hers, ignoring him once more.


    He realised something. ¡°¡­how did you know I was staring at you though?¡±


    She glanced back over her shoulder to give him what he was beginning to recognise as a dubious look, so he explained himself.


    ¡°I mean, your back was turned. You shouldn¡¯t be able to see me,¡± he said.


    She gazed wordlessly at him, which, if this was still the beginning of November, he might¡¯ve been a bit weirded out by it, but by now he had realised it was her wondering whether to tell him something or not. She let out a very slight sigh.


    ¡°I use spiritual energy. I can see on all sides of me at all times.¡± Then she began moving again.


    Ah. So, don¡¯t do anything behind her back, thinking she¡¯s not looking.


    But now he had another strange fact to add to the dozens of other observations he had made about the weird new colleague of his over the nearly three weeks they had worked together. Which included amongst them her ability to keep her voice perfectly neutral at all times, her limited facial expressions, and her glowing hair. He thought he also remembered Ross mentioning strange sleeping habits¡­?


    Adrianna Riftmire paused and took a turn to go deliver her documents to another room of the fortress¡¯s Main Building, leaving him alone. As always, she didn¡¯t bother to inform anybody what she was doing until she had done it. Or at least if she thought it unimportant, which clearly showed how high interaction with him ranked on her list of priorities. Although he was beginning to think differently these last few days¡­


    When he had asked the Commander, his superior, and a few others questions about her, they had said he was strangely curious about the new Officer. And to a certain extent, Caspian was. Just the fact she had such a striking appearance made her an unusual person, but she had a multitude of other characteristics that made her interesting to him.


    One was just her general behaviour. She looked like she was in her early twenties, but she didn¡¯t speak like one in the slightest, nor did she interact with the other Officers her age beyond what was necessary. He hadn¡¯t been around her when she was near the Commander and their superior to see how she was around them, but¡­


    She was also highly talented, with a seemingly perfect memory. The fact she used spiritual energy probably explained that fact, but he thought she was a Rank-1, so it was another mystery how she could use SPRT at her rank.


    Also, she was taller than him! He wasn¡¯t short and wasn¡¯t someone who had anything against a woman being taller than him, but it was still very strange when standing next to her. Slightly embarrassing when he couldn¡¯t reach into a tall cupboard and she ended up getting him the object too.


    But he was picking up on little details that told him Adrianna Riftmire wasn¡¯t quite as cold as she seemed. None of the Officers said they had experienced her being rude in any form, and while she spoke like the colour very light grey was an emotion, a few of her comments could be interpreted as humorous if always said without any expression that could tell you if she was being serious or not.


    He had actually had more luck reading her body language than her expressions when it came to working her out, although when he tried to point out the real meaning of some of her words to the other Officers, they just looked at him like he was insane.


    Well, he had always been like that. Good at picking up what someone was feeling based on little details. Still, Adrianna Riftmire¡¯s body language felt a bit too¡­ artificial. And there was her weird reaction to seeing him when they first met. Sure, Atlanteans were very rarely seen outside of their capital city in Atlantea, but he was only quarter-Atlantean, and didn¡¯t even have their skin colouration. While not many, there were still some beastmen and magical beasts in White Squall Fortress, so she shouldn¡¯t have been so surprised to see his appearance.


    He still couldn¡¯t work out why she hadn¡¯t been transferred though. Or at least given a different position if the Commander didn¡¯t want to remove her from under their superior. Her work ethic was leaving him feeling a little subpar, actually, even though he knew he worked better than most Officers, which was why he had been under the Commander¡¯s direct command for so long.


    ¡­the Commander wasn¡¯t trying to play matchmaker, was he? If he was, that would be horrifying, and very scary. Caspian didn¡¯t need the Commander picking up weird new hobbies at this point. That man caused the Officers of the fortress grief even when things were going well for them all, so this could be the final straw before a riot occurred.


    But he had gotten lost in his thoughts again, and had work to do, so he decided to focus on the present and get his work done before the shift was over.


    ¡­


    ¡°-and that should be the last of it,¡± he said, placing down the stack of papers on the desk.


    ¡°Tomorrow we¡¯ll be going on the Commander¡¯s ship again,¡± she replied, placing down her stack too.


    ¡°Ah¡­ yeah.¡± He tried to prevent himself from grimacing, not wanting Adrianna to notice his reaction, although the silent stare he got didn¡¯t give him much hope she had missed it. He raised his arms above his head to stretch. ¡°Shift¡¯s over then.¡±


    Adrianna nodded and then turned around to leave the room. He followed¡­ not because he was some creepy stalker, but just because the cafeteria was in the same direction. He wondered what to start a conversation with, so the trip to the cafeteria wouldn¡¯t get too awkward. ¡°So¡­ what did you do before joining the Navy?¡±


    She glanced at him. ¡°I used to be a mercenary.¡±


    ¡­ Alright, so ¡®I used to kill people for a living¡¯ wasn¡¯t quite the answer he was expecting.


    It seemed Adrianna had picked up on his thoughts because the icy-eyed woman let out a sigh. ¡°Just so you know, I never killed anyone. I only worked in a supporting role.¡±


    Come to think of it, I don¡¯t know what her class type is.


    ¡°Supporting role?¡± he asked curiously.


    ¡°I¡¯m an illusion mage, so I didn¡¯t use attack spells,¡± she replied.


    An illusion mage was a strange class to use if you were entering the Navy, with the lack of attack abilities at low ranks, and he had heard she was the new Squad Leader chosen from the elite training camp, so he wondered how that worked. To be chosen as a Squad Leader from the elite camp, you needed to have high combat strength, regardless of commanding ability, so she must have had some method of fighting she hadn¡¯t told him yet.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    He had been a Squad Leader a few years ago, although he never entered one of the training camps. He was picked for his other abilities. But there was another more important detail of her statement to address.


    ¡°¡­the Commander¡¯s spars with you are always physical though?¡±


    Her expression seemed to twitch slightly, and she slowed her pace for a moment. ¡°You could say he¡¯s found one trait of mine to be slightly interesting.¡±


    That was a bit vague, however¡­ ¡°He seems to find whatever trait this is of yours more than just a ¡®little¡¯ interesting,¡± he said hesitantly.


    Adrianna¡¯s expression went flat. ¡°The Commander is a very special kind of person. You can only accept he has his faults and move on.¡±


    Caspian stared at her in disbelief. ¡°¡­what did you just say?¡±


    She looked at him for a brief second and then faced forward again. ¡°I said the Commander¡¯s only using me to keep himself entertained until the ice-storm period begins.¡±


    No, you cannot just brush over it like that!


    ¡°Hey, I know full well what you just said, and it was not that!¡± he hissed, speeding up his pace to walk closer to her. ¡°Don¡¯t think you can just pretend I never heard what you said!¡±


    She very slightly raised an eyebrow at him. ¡°Then why did you ask me what I said in the first place?¡±


    He glared at her, and when she didn¡¯t receive an answer she just walked off. He followed after her. ¡°You called the Commander a ¡®very special person¡¯. As your senior Officer, I cannot ignore that! You do not just call the highest commanding authority of this fortress a ¡®special person¡¯!¡±


    ¡°But I just did.¡±


    ¡°You-¡± he groaned and pulled at his hair, even as she continued.


    ¡°And everyone¡¯s special. Everyone is a unique, special, very distinctive individual. Even you. Especially you,¡± she added.


    Caspian narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°Did you just call me not right in the head?¡±


    ¡°Officer Wharifin, if that¡¯s how you interpreted my words, then that means that¡¯s what you think of your Commander,¡± she replied, tilting her head slightly. ¡°As your fellow Officer, I cannot ignore that. You do not just call the highest commanding authority of this fortress ¡®not right in the head¡¯.¡±


    He stared incredulously at her, any comeback lost amidst the mental struggle of feeling very, very annoyed, or quite stunned at the words coming out of her mouth. He finally managed to speak after a few seconds.


    ¡°Should I go find our superior to reveal your opinions about our Commander?¡±


    She gave him one slow blink and then nodded. ¡°Yes, let¡¯s do that. I need to report to him about an Officer who seems to think the Commander¡¯s mentally challenged anyway, so may as well.¡± And with that, she marched onwards.


    There was a delay before Caspian¡¯s thoughts caught up to what she said. He ran after her. ¡°Hey, hey, hey, actually, let¡¯s not do that. How about we just drop this whole conversation topic, in fact.¡±


    She glanced at him over her shoulder and then shrugged. ¡°If you want. But you seem to think our superior will disagree with us. I¡¯m not sure you¡¯re right.¡±


    He hesitated as he considered it. Actually, the man would probably agree with them very wholeheartedly, and then proceed to punish them for daring to say it. He coughed and gestured to the open doorway at the end of the hallway. ¡°Let¡¯s just have lunch, and forget we ever had this conversation.¡±


    They went into the cafeteria and got their trays of food. Adrianna sat down at a table, and he decided to sit down opposite her. She didn¡¯t seem fazed. She didn¡¯t even react.


    ¡°By the way¡­¡± he began, ¡°Did I do something? Because for some reason, you¡¯re bothering to talk to me, and it¡¯s weirding me out.¡±


    She slowly raised her eyes from her food to give him a dull look. ¡°I thought you said to forget the fact we were having a conversation.¡±


    ¡°No, I said to forget the fact we had a conversation,¡± he responded, waving a fork at her. ¡°There¡¯s a difference.¡±


    ¡°You mean the conversation where you called the Commander-¡±


    ¡°Ah! No, no, sorry, I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about!¡± he interrupted hastily, drawing odd looks from nearby Officers. ¡°No idea at all! Next topic, please!¡±


    He watched, slightly surprised, as she rolled her eyes. ¡°If you wanted to start a conversation, beginning with ¡®I¡¯m getting weirded out because you¡¯re talking to me¡¯ isn¡¯t the best way.¡±


    He crossed his arms and leaned back, raising an eyebrow. ¡°And you think you can do better?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± she replied with a slight shrug. She gestured to a group of Officers in Navy uniform at one of the tables. ¡°I just have to ask a bunch of Officers how long they¡¯ve been in White Squall Fortress and they all get into a contest about how long they¡¯ve survived under the Commander.¡±


    He considered it¡­ and realised that was actually the easiest way to begin a conversation in the fortress. ¡°Uh¡­ has this happened more than once?¡± he asked with a strange expression.


    She nodded. ¡°I made the mistake of bringing it up among a room full of Senior Officers the last time.¡± She made an expression Caspian interpreted as a grimace. ¡°I had to use an invisibility spell to escape.¡±


    ¡°Okay then¡­¡± He took another bite of his meal and pointed his fork at her. ¡°So, if you¡¯re so capable of starting a conversation, then how come you don¡¯t do it more often?¡±


    She stared silently at him like he had said something stupid. ¡°I don¡¯t talk to people because I don¡¯t like people,¡± she stated flatly. She glanced down at her food, then at him. ¡°On that note, why are you making noises with your mouth in my direction? Stop doing that. It¡¯s annoying.¡± Then she returned to her food.


    Caspian clicked his tongue. ¡°It¡¯s called communication. You know, one of those essential life skills? A skill you seem to be lacking?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a fully functional adult. I just removed features I haven¡¯t needed since I was a teenager when I last cared about people,¡± she deadpanned.


    ¡°Then how come the sarcasm is still there?¡±


    ¡°Because, unlike good communication skills, sarcasm is essential to the fully functioning adult,¡± she stated calmly, pouring some water out of a jug on the table into her cup.


    It seemed Adrianna Riftmire, when she bothered to engage in conversation, was a much more interesting person than she let on. He leaned forward.


    ¡°If sarcasm¡¯s so essential to you, why haven¡¯t I heard you use it more?¡±


    She gazed wordlessly at him. ¡°Because I¡¯m always using it. Nobody notices because they can¡¯t read my emotions, so they end up gazing blankly at me trying to work out if I was being sarcastic or not.¡±


    He hesitated because he couldn¡¯t quite tell if she was being serious¡­ and then he realised he was doing exactly as she just stated. He shook his head and decided to ask her something he¡¯d been curious about for a while now.


    ¡°Anyway, how old are you? You look like you¡¯re in your early twenties, but you don¡¯t act like it at all, so I¡¯ve been thinking you¡¯re older,¡± he said.


    She glanced at him, and put down her cup after taking a drink. ¡°I¡¯m 21.¡±


    He stared at her for a few seconds. ¡°Wait, really? You¡¯re younger than me?¡±


    She gave him a dubious look. ¡°Maybe, but I don¡¯t know how old you are.¡±


    He blinked and then coughed. ¡°Right. Of course you don¡¯t. I¡¯m 22.¡± He considered if it was worth asking her this now, and decided he might as well. ¡°Can I call you Adrianna?¡±


    She opened her mouth to answer and then paused for some reason. She continued before he could comment on it, ¡°I guess, but I¡¯m still calling you Wharifin.¡±


    Caspian blinked at the strange answer. ¡°Huh? Why?¡±


    She used her fork to point towards an open doorway, and he turned around to see what she was gesturing to. Then he hesitated as he saw three people there he recognised. Wearing light-blue badges, and giggling as they hid behind the doorframe, were three girls in their late teens, girls he knew worked for the healers¡¯ division. They also happened to be looking at him, and he knew exactly why they were there.


    ¡°I¡¯m not getting caught up in your love life,¡± Adrianna stated flatly. She got up from the table with her tray in hand.


    ¡°Uh¡­ I swear that isn¡¯t what this is-¡±


    ¡°So you have no love life?¡±


    ¡°Ye- wait, no, that¡¯s not what I-¡± He paused as he saw the corner of her lips curled up in a faint smirk.


    Is she¡­ teasing me?


    ¡­..huh.


    He got up and followed her with his tray in hand. ¡°Anyway, I strongly object to the statement that I have no love life! That is an outright lie!¡±


    She turned to him with a sceptical look. ¡°Having a love life requires there being females attracted to you nearby, Wharifin. Where exactly are they, if those three,¡± she pointed at the girls in the distance, ¡°Aren¡¯t part of your love life?¡±


    He raised an eyebrow. ¡°Aren¡¯t you right here though?¡±


    She stared at him for a couple of seconds. Then he watched as her face morphed into her most expressive look yet, an expression of abject horror. ¡°Officer Wharifin, think very carefully on what you just said, and your implication, and please tell me you don¡¯t mean it.¡±


    He considered it. Ah, it was females attracted to him nearby, so he had suggested that she was- ohhh. He held his chin and then nodded firmly. ¡°I have suddenly decided that I can find zero feminine characteristics about you whatsoever, so therefore, you are no longer considered a girl in my books. Situation resolved.¡±


    She gave him a flat stare, and then rolled her eyes, and walked off to deposit her tray. ¡°I guess if we compare our heights, I don¡¯t have a height typical of a woman, so in that sense, yes, I have fewer feminine characteristics than you.¡±


    Oh, he was so not going to let her off for that dig. ¡°At least I can comfort myself in the fact that I don¡¯t have sparkly, glowing hair,¡± he replied, depositing his tray as well.


    She slowly turned to face him and then narrowed her ice-blue eyes. ¡°I¡¯d take glowing hair over phosphorescent sensory organs any day.¡±


    Phosphorescent sensory organs? What does she- hang on.


    He frowned and put his hands up to cover the top half of his ears. ¡°They don¡¯t glow that much.¡±


    ¡°I can see the veins in them,¡± she informed him tonelessly. ¡°It¡¯s like you¡¯ve got a strange dose of mana poisoning. You remind me of an axolotl.¡±


    He glared at her as she looked away, put a hand to her chin, and tilted her head slightly in mock contemplation. ¡°Do Atlanteans count as amphibians?¡±


    ¡°I am not a sea animal,¡± he said through gritted teeth.


    ¡°Many sea creatures use gills to breathe underwater,¡± she continued, ignoring his words. ¡°Do you have gills?¡±


    He scoffed and crossed his arms. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°But you can breathe underwater?¡±


    He narrowed his eyes at her, suspicious as to why she was asking this. ¡°Yes.¡±


    She took another glance at his ears and returned her gaze to his face. ¡°Axolotls¡¯ gills are external, so they look like ears.¡±


    ¡°I happen to know axolotls require fresh water, which doesn¡¯t support your theory that I am some form of part humanoid amphibian,¡± he hissed.


    ¡°I have a reason why you might be able to breathe in saltwater,¡± she said calmly. She spread her hands. ¡°Magic.¡±


    With that last statement, she turned around and headed for the exit. Caspian glared at her leaving figure and turned to storm off in the opposite direction so he didn¡¯t have to deal with her anymore.


    ¡­at least until their next shift that day.


    ¡­


    ¡°Officer Wharifin, watch your step,¡± said the emotionless voice of a woman with blue and indigo-streaked black hair.


    He looked down past the tall stack of papers he held to see the pen rolling near his foot. With a sour expression, he stepped over it, then looked back at Adrianna, still annoyed about her comments from lunch. ¡°Am I supposed to say thank you for warning me now?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand why you¡¯re so angry,¡± she replied, using a pen to write up documents while at her desk. ¡°It¡¯s not my fault your ear tips are semi-translucent. Be a functioning adult and move on, Wharifin.¡±


    ¡°I regret trying to talk to you,¡± he muttered. ¡°Why don¡¯t you go back to ignoring me as you always have?¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s what you want,¡± she stated, continuing to work.


    He eyed her dubiously, expecting her to make another annoying comment, but she didn¡¯t look at him. He sighed and walked across the room to place down the stack of papers. He came back over to her once he was done. ¡°Anyway, have you completed most of these yet?¡± he asked, gesturing to the work she was doing.


    She didn¡¯t respond.


    He frowned. ¡°Adrianna?¡±


    She still didn¡¯t respond. She didn¡¯t even look at him.


    He facepalmed when he realised what she was doing. ¡°When I said to continue ignoring me, I didn¡¯t mean it literally!¡± He didn¡¯t receive any answer, making him slam his hands down on her desk. ¡°Hey!¡±


    She finally raised her pale eyes to look at him. ¡°Then what did you mean? Because I don¡¯t know how you can ignore someone figuratively if I¡¯m not allowed to do it literally.¡±


    He ran a hand down his face with exasperation. ¡°Is this how you really are? Because if so, I can understand why you seem to have no friends. Who could even put up with you?¡±


    ¡°You can,¡± she replied, unaffected by his words.


    He gave her a strange look. ¡°What do you mean I can? Haven¡¯t I just complained that I can¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°Our superior stationed you here beside me so you have no choice but to put up with me.¡±


    He glared at her. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t have to be that way! I shouldn¡¯t have to have no choice but to suffer because of you.¡±


    She seemed to consider his answer for a moment and then pointed a pen at him. ¡°This is just my personality. You wouldn¡¯t have to ¡®suffer¡¯ as you put it if you hadn¡¯t spoken to me, so in essence, this is all your fault. I can¡¯t be blamed.¡±


    Caspian just sighed. ¡°Whatever, I¡¯m done with you.¡± He pulled back his uniform sleeve to check his wristwatch. ¡°The shift ends in half an hour, so let¡¯s just agree to avoid antagonising each other until then.¡±


    They continued working in silence for a few more minutes, and he stepped through the room¡¯s doorway into the hallway, prepared to go get something from another room. Then he paused when he saw someone coming down the corridor.


    Ross Stanhope was marching down the hallway, a dark expression on his face. ¡°Blighted Commander¡­¡± he muttered. He looked like he was very intent on killing someone, or at least badly maiming them.


    When Caspian saw the dark-haired man, he slowly began to step back into the room he and Adrianna were working in, feeling a sense of foreboding, and recognising the look on the man¡¯s face.


    Ross looked up and noticed Caspian there, then waved to him. ¡°Hey, Caspian, come with me! Let¡¯s go get a drink!¡±


    Oh¡­ nononono, I am not doing this now. Quick, I need a scapegoat.


    He looked behind him and noticed Adrianna was watching him. He waved hastily to her, mouthing at her to come to him. With a strange expression, she looked between him and Ross, and then firmly shook her head.


    Crap. She knows.


    Ross grabbed Caspian¡¯s wrist to drag him onwards, then frowned when he saw Caspian was distracted. ¡°What are you looking at? ...hm?¡± He noticed Adrianna there and waved to her. ¡°Yeah, you too. I need someone else who can understand my woes.¡±


    Well, at least she can suffer beside me.


    Looking slightly tired, she held up her work. ¡°There¡¯s another twenty minutes before the shift ends.¡±


    ¡°And just who is your superior, Riftmire?¡± Ross retorted. ¡°Get over here.¡±


    With what seemed to be defeat, she sighed and stood up from the desk, and then followed after Caspian and Ross. They made their way through the main command building, exiting it, and Ross took them to one of the inns on the lower level, filled with other Officers off duty. He waved to the innkeeper as they walked in.


    ¡°Get me something strong,¡± he called out.


    ¡°How strong?¡± the innkeeper asked.


    ¡°The strongest,¡± Ross replied with a dark voice. ¡°I¡¯ll need it after today.¡± He glanced at Caspian, then turned back to the innkeeper. ¡°I¡¯ll get some ale for the guy next to me too.¡± Then he jabbed a finger at Adrianna. ¡°You can get your own if you want some. You don¡¯t deserve any freebies from me after what you¡¯ve put me through.¡±


    Adrianna just rolled her eyes as Caspian glanced between the two curiously.


    Does¡­ Ross have something against Adrianna?


    They sat at a table as the innkeeper brought the drinks. Ross took a big sip of his tankard, before slamming it down on the table. It had begun. ¡°The Commander is insane!¡± he suddenly exclaimed. ¡°He¡¯s completely mad! You could try to bring me another man more mad than him to prove me wrong, but I swear, he is the craziest person in all the realms!¡±

 Chapter 40 (2 of 2) Observations of a Strange New Colleague by Caspian Wharifin.

    They sat at a table as the innkeeper brought the drinks. Ross took a big sip of his tankard, before slamming it down on the table. It had begun. ¡°The Commander is insane!¡± he suddenly exclaimed. ¡°He¡¯s completely mad! You could try to bring me another man more mad than him to prove me wrong, but I swear, he is the craziest person in all the realms!¡±


    ¡°What did he do this time?¡± Caspian asked wearily.


    ¡°The Commander,¡± Ross stressed, ¡°decided today would be the day to discard a bunch of decommissioned warships by picking them up and using them as weapons to throw at the monster tide!¡± He took another draught of the tankard and slammed it onto the table again. ¡°Then he put me in charge of wreckage collection duty, even though the wreckage was all his own damn fault!¡±


    ¡°¡­was it effective though?¡± Caspian questioned, taking a sip of his ale.


    ¡°No, it was not,¡± Ross stated shortly. ¡°We still had to spend the normal seven hours cleaning up the monsters, then spent an extra three mopping up all that drifting metal.¡± He glared into the depths of his drink. ¡°I thought I asked for the strongest. This is nowhere near strong enough for this.¡±


    ¡°At least it¡¯s still better than last year,¡± Caspian said placatingly.


    Ross gave him a dour look. ¡°Anything is better than last year, Caspian. We¡¯ve all said that enough times that it¡¯s becoming the Navy¡¯s new catchphrase.¡± He rubbed his temples. ¡°I never should¡¯ve taken that break. At the very least, I should¡¯ve taken the entire month off if this was what I would return to.¡±


    ¡°Has he done other things this month as well?¡± Caspian asked hesitantly.


    Ross let out a short bark of laughter. ¡°Has he done other things?¡± he repeated sarcastically.


    ¡°The very first day back from my break, he puts two hundred Officers under my command and tells me to get to work. The next day he gives me the command to deal with the monster tide, even as I¡¯m still trying to organise my new subordinates. The week after he spontaneously chooses to challenge a nearby monster King who hasn¡¯t tried to attack a warship in years, then throws the carcass to two other monster Kings, so there¡¯s been no break from the mana storms all month, and then he does something like this today. Not to mention the mechanical issues we¡¯ve been having this entire time,¡± Ross finished, crossing his arms with a scowl.


    ¡°I guess the outfall of the penalisation of the engineers hasn¡¯t helped the workload,¡± Caspian said with sympathy.


    He blinked when Ross whipped his head to the side to glare at Adrianna. ¡°Oh yes, I haven¡¯t forgotten that little detail, Riftmire.¡±


    ¡°I agree, it¡¯s unfortunate that such important members of the Navy were found treating the mainframe level as a party-throwing location. I¡¯m disappointed in them,¡± Adrianna stated tonelessly.


    ¡­Caspian felt her phrasing was a little weird, but Ross¡¯s glare intensified.


    ¡°You¡¯re the reason this entire debacle with the magic engineers even occurred, Riftmire! Don¡¯t go throwing shade when you¡¯re no better yourself!¡±


    Adrianna looked away, while Caspian glanced between the two in confusion.


    ¡°How is Adrianna related to this?¡± he asked.


    Ross let out a scoff and gestured to her, and then leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed. ¡°Well Caspian, It just so happens that little miss ice queen here,¡± he said with a glare at the curly-haired woman, ¡°fancied herself a quick trip down to the mainframe level the week before the training camp began. The Commander and I discovered this the second last week of October, which was how the troubles with the magic engineers started.¡±


    Caspian stared at Ross, then stared at Adrianna. ¡°¡­but I thought going to the mainframe and knowing its passcodes when you weren¡¯t a magic engineer was a criminal offence?¡±


    ¡°My trip wasn¡¯t illegal,¡± she stated calmly.


    Ross threw his hands up. ¡°The legality of your trip rested on minute technicalities! The technicalities being that you weren¡¯t yet an Officer and that you didn¡¯t need to know the passcode to get in!¡±


    ¡°My visit allowed the fortress to discover the severe case of insubordination going on within its depths, as well as a hidden route that compromised the fortress¡¯s safety standards.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re proud of that?! The only reason you didn¡¯t face charges was because your trip was the lesser of two evils!¡±


    ¡°Yes, the Commander said I wouldn¡¯t face charges. We don¡¯t need to bring it up anymore.¡±


    ¡°Of course, we need to bring it up! This all because of you!¡±


    ¡°No, this is because of the magic engineers.¡±


    ¡°The magic engineers I wouldn¡¯t have needed to know about until you revealed the problem!¡±


    ¡°As you just said, I revealed a problem the fortress was facing, so why are you still mad?¡±


    ¡°Have you not been listening to me at all?!?¡±


    Caspian glanced between Ross and Adrianna, feeling slightly bemused.


    ¡­is this how she normally interacts with Ross?


    ¡°So¡­ Adrianna discovered the illegal entrance to the mainframe level?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yes, she did,¡± Ross muttered grumpily. He pointed a finger at Adrianna. ¡°And just so you know, we¡¯ve sent the code of regulations to the Main Navy Battalion for revision. Don¡¯t go thinking you can play that same trick twice.¡±


    ¡°Do you know where I can find the revised edition of the code once the revision is finished?¡± she asked him.


    Ross went to answer, then hesitated, and shot her a glare. ¡°Yes, but I¡¯m not telling you. I know full well you just want to see if there are any new loopholes in the rules.¡±


    She clicked her tongue, making Ross glare even more, but the dark-haired man just took another drink from his tankard and sighed. ¡°Out of all the people the Commander could¡¯ve put you under, why did it have to be me?¡±


    ¡°Because, Head Officer Stanhope, he wanted to annoy us both,¡± Adrianna stated flatly.


    The man just groaned and placed his head on the table. ¡°Ugh. No, don¡¯t call me that. Just call me Ross. I don¡¯t want to hear another ¡®Head Officer¡¯ after work.¡±


    She went to open her mouth, but Ross raised a hand. ¡°Nope, superior¡¯s orders. Objection denied.¡±


    Adrianna gazed at the man with an odd expression, making Caspian curious, but the woman just shrugged. Ross turned his head to look at Caspian. ¡°So, has your day been any better than mine?¡±


    He considered it and then narrowed his eyes at Adrianna. ¡°Actually, no, not really, because I had to put up with her.¡±


    The dark-haired man raised an eyebrow and lifted his head from the table. ¡°When did you start having issues with Riftmire?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a new development,¡± Caspian muttered sourly. He glared at her. ¡°She called me a sea animal.¡±


    ¡°Technically I only likened his ears to an axolotl, and then asked if Atlanteans counted as amphibians,¡± Adrianna replied emotionlessly.


    Ross took a drink of his tankard. ¡°An axo-what now?¡± He gestured to the innkeeper to refill his drink.


    ¡°An axolotl. It¡¯s an amphibious creature with external gills that live in still-water lakes. It remains aquatic its entire life,¡± she informed them. Then she paused and held out her hand to them. ¡°Maybe I should show you.¡±


    Caspian watched curiously as indigo-blue mana pooled on her palm, then began to coalesce into a rough form. The blob gained definition, and an illusion of a creature with white, slimy skin and pinkish feathery structures extending out from the sides of its head appeared.


    Ross glanced between the illusion and Caspian¡¯s ears with a strange expression.


    Caspian placed his hands over his ears with a frown. ¡°I don¡¯t have weird feeler-looking things coming out of my head.¡±


    ¡°No, but the fan pattern of your phosphorescent veins looks a bit like them,¡± Adrianna said. She dematerialised her illusion. ¡°And you said you don¡¯t use gills to breathe underwater, so the possibility that your ears are external gills is there.¡±


    ¡°Well, even if that was the case, at least my ears would serve a purpose,¡± he retorted. He gestured to her. ¡°What does your hair do, besides make you uselessly sparkly? It¡¯s like someone dumped toxic glowing alchemy substances all over your head.¡±


    Her expression cooled. ¡°The hair is a side effect.¡±


    Caspian raised an eyebrow sceptically. ¡°A side effect of what?¡±


    ¡°Ha. I can answer that one,¡± Ross spoke up. He smirked. ¡°Our Navy¡¯s new Astrologer planar atlas in human form has a Superior illusion affinity.¡±


    Caspian blinked in surprise, and glanced at Adrianna again, whose expression had twitched at the ¡®Astrologer planar atlas in human form¡¯ descriptor. ¡°Superior? Isn¡¯t that kind of talent enough to become one of the highest-ranking illusion Archmages though?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, exploring the mysteries of magic by borrowing the power of aging old men hidden in lofty towers often comes with getting unwillingly married off to either arrogant young nobility with a penchant for suicide or other aging old men,¡± Adrianna stated icily.


    Ross and Caspian stared at her for a while. Caspian coughed as Ross decided to just sip his drink. ¡°Er¡­ right. Not planning on going to All-Aeon Athenaeum anytime soon then.¡±


    ¡°Not until I gain enough mana to manifest my kraken larger than their towers at least,¡± she muttered.


    Ross spat out his drink and went into a coughing fit as Caspian gave her a confused look. ¡°Kraken?¡±


    ¡°Riftmire¡­¡± Ross began wearily after he had stopped coughing, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me your construct¡¯s size scales off of your INT?¡±


    She went silent for a couple of seconds as she gazed wordlessly at him, then spoke, ¡°More mana, bigger spell. Bigger spell, bigger kaboom. That¡¯s the only fundamental principle of mana anybody needs to know.¡±


    Ross ran a hand down his face. ¡°Just who have we accepted into the Navy?¡±


    Caspian was still confused. ¡°What¡¯s this about a kraken?¡±


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    They looked at him, and then Ross sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll let you find out another day. Let me just say this.¡± He leant near Caspian and pointed at Adrianna. ¡°This new Officer who has the looks of an imperial princess, a voice that sounds like the auditory version of watching paint dry, and the expressiveness of a rock, is an abyssal demon in disguise, I tell you.¡± He pulled away from Caspian and took another draught of his tankard.


    Adrianna did not seem amused as Ross continued, ¡°A psychopath. Someone reaching the Commander¡¯s level of insanity. On another level of demented.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯d like, I could compile a list of all the names I heard you called last month,¡± she replied with a cold voice. ¡°Some were quite unique.¡±


    Ross opened his mouth to refuse, but then blinked and leaned forward with a curious look. ¡°Actually, I¡¯m a little interested now. You must¡¯ve heard this with your perception field, I¡¯m guessing.¡±


    ¡°The first of your descriptors I heard was ¡®grump¡¯,¡± she said, making Caspian cough as he struggled to prevent himself from laughing. Ross scowled, while she continued, ¡°Later I heard some call you ¡®meanie¡¯, ¡®heartless¡¯, and ¡®the dragon instructor¡¯. That last one was from Sherwood.¡±


    ¡°Of course it was,¡± he muttered.


    Adrianna continued, ¡°Then several others described you as the ¡®man trying to be the stereotypical idea of a gruff military guy¡¯, the ¡®Commander¡¯s spy¡¯, the ¡®party pooper¡¯ and ¡®the one who doth complaineth about all things within his heart¡¯.¡±


    Ross stared incredulously at her while Caspian burst into laughter. His laughter grew louder when Ross shot him a glare, and then the dark-haired man held up a hand to her and rubbed his head. ¡°Let me guess. The first and second was Deirvetch, the third was Baxtimer, and the last was obviously Arventiel.¡±


    ¡°The second was actually Liao Tengfei,¡± she informed him calmly. ¡°And he said it without any sarcasm.¡±


    Ross buried his head in his hands as Caspian tried to stop laughing. ¡°Were¡­ there any others?¡± he asked, still chuckling.


    ¡°There was another,¡± Adrianna replied. ¡°This was from Zhang Mingxia.¡±


    Ross sighed. ¡°All right then. Let¡¯s hear it.¡±


    ¡°She said you were more stubborn than the inauspicious readings of her Sect¡¯s 5<sup>th</sup> Heavenly Ancestor Profound Blue Swallow¡¯s divinations every time he divines his future.¡±


    The Vast Longevity Flowing Glacier Sect¡¯s 5<sup>th</sup> Heavenly Ancestor was famous for having incredibly bad luck. They stared silently at Adrianna, who showed no emotion, like always.


    ¡°I¡¯m not drunk enough for this,¡± Ross muttered.


    ¡°¡­it seems you had an interesting group this year,¡± Caspian finally said. Ross scoffed and took a draught of his tankard, while Adrianna didn¡¯t comment.


    ¡°Do you know which ones will be staying at White Squall Fortress?¡± Caspian asked them.


    The dark-haired man and Adrianna traded eye contact, and then Ross shook his head. ¡°Nope. That¡¯s still yet to be decided. There are still more than three months until they return, after all, so the instructors of the different camps aren¡¯t overly hasty to sort them.¡±


    Caspian raised an eyebrow. ¡°But all Officers will be busy once December begins, as the ice-storm period begins, with the monster tides picking up. Shouldn¡¯t they have sorted that out by now?¡±


    ¡°Look, ask Commander Arkenast, and not me,¡± Ross said, placing down his drink. ¡°Maybe they¡¯ve sorted them out already, but I don¡¯t know. If I had a say,¡± he said with a scowl, ¡°I would never be seeing any of those new Officers again, but look who I¡¯m stuck with.¡± He gestured to Adrianna.


    ¡°I suddenly recall that one of your other nicknames was ¡®White Squall Fortress¡¯s worst possible role model for new cadets¡¯,¡± she replied.


    Ross narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°Which cadet said this?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°It wasn¡¯t a cadet. It was an instructor.¡±


    He stared silently at her and then facepalmed. ¡°Great, so I¡¯m getting called names by my colleagues as well.¡±


    ¡°To be perfectly honest,¡± Caspian spoke up, ¡°When we heard the Commander was giving you the position of head instructor this year, we all placed bets on whether you would finally enact your claims of quitting or not. And not one of us thought you would last the entire month as head instructor.¡±


    Ross turned to stare at Caspian. ¡°Did you bet on me quitting?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Caspian said with a smirk. ¡°In the six years I¡¯ve known you, you must¡¯ve threatened to quit thousands of times, but not once have you ever tried to. I knew we¡¯d be stuck with you for a while yet.¡±


    The man glowered at him, then downed the rest of his drink. He turned to face the innkeeper with his tankard held up. ¡°Hey, are you sure this is the strongest?¡±


    ¡°Positive, sir!¡± the innkeeper called back.


    He glared into his empty drink. ¡°Not even alcohol can provide me relief anymore.¡±


    ¡°It would be bad to get too drunk, as all three of us have to board the Commander¡¯s warship tomorrow and deal with him again,¡± Adrianna spoke up.


    Ross and Caspian stared at her, then glanced at each other. ¡°You know what, what time is it?¡± Ross said, checking his wristwatch with a frown. ¡°Why are we still here? I may be Rank-3, but even I want a full night¡¯s rest. We shouldn¡¯t be here, discussing our problems when we have a harsh day ahead of us. Why did you bring me here?¡± He got up from the table and walked over to the bar to pay for his drinks, then headed for the inn¡¯s door, pointing to Adrianna and Caspian. ¡°If Commander Arkenast notices my hangover tomorrow, I¡¯m telling him it¡¯s you two¡¯s fault!¡±


    Caspian and Adrianna just gazed flatly at the man as he left, and then both sighed. Caspian got up from the table and nodded to Adrianna. ¡°See you tomorrow.¡±


    She nodded in return, and then they went their separate ways.


    <hr>


    ¡°Check the right pipeline, Riftmire. I¡¯m about to activate the secondary main engine.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Yes sir.¡± She rushed over to the other side of the engine level of the warship and checked to make sure the valves were tight and in position, before running back up a short series of metal stairs to the head magic engineer in charge of the warship¡¯s engines. She saluted. ¡°All in position.¡±


    The head magic engineer, a brown-haired man in his late thirties who appeared stern and serious, nodded and then pulled down a massive lever the length of his arm. The ship rumbled as rainbow-coloured steam gushed through pipes, lights and dials flashing. The ship picked up speed, the brass pipes and cogs around the engineers below deck all trembling with power. Adrianna paused when she noticed something occurring on one of the pipes.


    ¡°Sir, I think there¡¯s an issue.¡±


    The head engineer frowned. ¡°Riftmire, I have checked the engine layer a multitude of times this week, and haven¡¯t seen any issue of any sort occurring in that section,¡± he stated curtly. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you can make a judgement on whether the engine is facing an ¡®issue¡¯ or not.¡±


    ¡°My apologies sir,¡± she said with a slight dip of her head. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to insult your abilities. But I don¡¯t know what a glowing sub-pipe is supposed to mean in this part of the ship.¡±


    He frowned and came over to the side of his platform. He scowled when he saw the sub-pipe in question. Dashing down the stairs, he came and checked the dials and switches, then turned to the rest of the ship¡¯s layer. ¡°Hey!¡± he shouted. ¡°Who was in charge of the pressurising mana-circle in this section of the ship this week!?¡±


    ¡°It was originally supposed to be a senior craftsman but it was changed to an advanced craftsman because of the mainframe level issues!¡± another magic engineer replied.


    The head engineer¡¯s expression darkened further. ¡°Of course it was,¡± he muttered, withdrawing a strange metallic tool from his belt to unlatch a metal plate on the floor underneath the glowing pipe, revealing a mana-circle slowly rotating within. He stuck his hands in and mana started getting released from his fingers. ¡°The whole mainframe event cost me years of my life. I hope those twits fall into an activated poisonous volcano phenomenon and get their skin melted from their flesh. That, or get caught in the centre of a lich¡¯s blight spell.¡±


    He turned to Adrianna. ¡°Well spotted, Riftmire.¡±


    He removed his hands from the mana-circle, which was now rotating faster, and then replated the metal panel. Then he got up and headed back over to his raised metal platform next to the main engine, where he could see the rest of the layer. Behind him, a tall battle-scarred man walked down some steps and then stuck his head through the doorway.


    ¡°Is Riftmire free, Diselon?¡±


    The head engineer paused, turned around, and saluted. ¡°Commander.¡± He nodded and gestured to Adrianna, who came up the steps. ¡°She is.¡±


    ¡°Good. I need to speak with you,¡± the Commander said to Adrianna, ¡°But first¡­¡± He turned to the head engineer, Diselon. ¡°How has she done?¡±


    ¡°Excellent, sir,¡± Diselon replied. The Commander blinked in surprise as the man continued, ¡°I can only say she¡¯s done well on all accounts. She never forgets a detail, can work swiftly without error, and listens to all orders perfectly. I¡¯ve been wondering if I could request for her to be permanently transferred to the mana-engine layer.¡±


    Commander Arkenast smirked. ¡°Unfortunately, no can do. She¡¯s set to be one of our new Squad Leaders for next year¡¯s new Officers.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Diselon said with a regretful sigh. Then he paused and gave Adrianna an odd look. ¡°Wait, Squad Leader?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± The Commander gave her a pat on the shoulder and turned to Diselon with a strange smile. ¡°Officer Riftmire here isn¡¯t a magic engineer. She¡¯s an illusion mage. I thought she would¡¯ve informed you of this fact but¡­¡± He turned back to Adrianna. ¡°It seems she didn¡¯t need to.¡±


    ¡°I could¡¯ve sworn she had an engineer or crafting class of some kind,¡± Diselon responded, surprised. ¡°She even knows mechanical principles. I thought that was why you temporarily placed her with me in the first place.¡±


    The blonde-haired man shook his head, smiling. ¡°Not at all. However, the magic engineer shortages will soon be over, so Riftmire here will be transferred soon,¡± he informed the engineer.


    Diselon nodded as the Commander gestured to Adrianna. ¡°Let¡¯s go above deck for a bit, Riftmire.¡±


    They began climbing the stairs even as another engineer called out to Diselon.


    ¡°Sir, the temperature of the third element vessel is rising!¡±


    Adrianna saw Diselon go over in her perception field, and then whack the back of the head of the young engineer. ¡°Of course the temperature of the vessel is rising, you imbecile, it¡¯s filled with high-density fire mana!¡±


    When she and the Commander were above deck, blue skies speckled with light clouds overhead, he turned to face her with a grin.


    ¡°Even magic engineering? Riftmire, what are you doing in the Navy? You should be the genius heir of some big noble clan, not a commoner mage in our little fortress.¡±


    ¡°It was useful, so I learnt it,¡± she replied calmly.


    ¡°It was useful,¡± he repeated, shaking his head. ¡°If you wanted to be a magic engineer, sure. But you¡¯re developing some new illusion magic in a backward realm with a ship full of people who fight monsters for a living.¡±


    ¡°No, I mean it was literally useful for me,¡± she explained. ¡°Any improvement to my knowledge of how the fundamental forces of the realms work improves the abilities of my Origin Skill. Even knowledge of engineering rune theory exponentially increases the power of my constructs.¡±


    He studied her with a strange expression and tilted his head. ¡°Riftmire, why are you okay with telling me this? I could spread this knowledge to everybody, and then they¡¯d all know how your Origin Skill works.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± she replied indifferently. ¡°What could they do if they knew, stop me from learning? I¡¯m not sure how that works when we have an incomprehensible entity connected to our minds that injects information into us in the form of classes.¡±


    Commander Arkenast shook his head again. ¡°Whatever you say, Riftmire. Anyway,¡± he continued, walking onwards across the warship deck. Hundreds of Officers were rushing about on the deck, going to and from their jobs. ¡°I brought you up here to discuss how you¡¯ve gone over the month.¡±


    She walked beside him as he glanced at her and raised an eyebrow. ¡°And I¡¯m sure that by now, I haven¡¯t been giving you all these random positions because I think you¡¯re incapable. No, I¡¯ve been giving you these positions because you¡¯re too capable.¡± He let out a chuckle. ¡°I¡¯m a bit disappointed to hear that you¡¯ve succeeded at all your jobs. I thought I could finally find something you¡¯re terrible at.¡±


    She gave him an unamused look, which he seemed to pick up on because he smirked, however, he didn¡¯t address it. ¡°I¡¯ve received requests for your permanent transfer by almost all of the Officers I¡¯ve placed you under. I¡¯m sure most of them have been heavily disappointed to know you¡¯re another combatant. Officers who choose to do their lines of work are rare.¡±


    He turned to her. ¡°Do you know why I haven¡¯t let you use your magic yet?¡±


    There were two reasons that she knew of, but she gave him the answer he probably wanted from her. ¡°Because as a member of a ship¡¯s crew, I need to be able to operate the entire ship, regardless of my normal job.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Yes. As people who fight monsters, our crewmates can get injured or incapacitated often, and there needs to be someone who can take over their jobs, even in the absence of someone with the class type for it. Even a Squad Leader, Captain or Commander needs to do this.¡± He gestured to her. ¡°Especially as the leader of the M.W.S. Dawnlight¡¯s crew. You will have fewer numbers in your crew, which means fewer people who can replace you if you¡¯re hurt. And if a crewmate can¡¯t replace you, and your job is vitally important to the ship, such as being able to fire the mana engines below deck to escape monsters¡­¡± He shrugged. ¡°You and your crew are doomed.¡±


    She nodded as he continued walking to the front of the ship, where Officers were combatting flying monsters of all kinds, several giant creatures on the horizon releasing foul waves of monster mana. ¡°But so far, you seem to be able to replace nearly anybody on a warship, except this warship¡¯s main combatants, who have more than fifty times your fighting ability. And except one other person when they join your crew.¡±


    He stopped, looking at one particular person on the ship. Caspian Wharifin was a distance away, holding his hands out as expansive aqua ripples were expelled from them, distorting the air around him to appear like the movement of a pool when a drop of water landed on it. The cyan wave pattern running down his right side¡¯s face and neck was also releasing aqua light, mirrored reflections of the patterns projected into the air near them. They wavered slightly with the movement of the air.


    His sea-green hair and eyes, as well as his eartips, were all glowing with the same light. The aqua ripples Caspian was releasing covered almost half the warship, a titanic structure cast out of solid metal, and he was directing Officers to the location of different monsters.


    Then suddenly, one of the giant monsters on the horizon let out a horrific screech, and the flying monsters attacking the ship did the same. Caspian stumbled, his ripple aura dimming and wavering, shrinking to half its size.


    The Commander scowled. ¡°He¡¯s doing it again."


    Before Adrianna could even blink, the man appeared next to Caspian and roughly yanked him upright, then dragged him away from the battlefield to walk back over to Adrianna. He let go of Caspian, who was wincing from the Commander¡¯s strong grip on his arm. Caspian was extremely pale, and his limbs were trembling.


    Adrianna watched silently as Commander Arkenast threw out an arm to gesture to the closest door. ¡°Get below deck,¡± he growled.


    Caspian opened his mouth to reply, ¡°Sir, the sensation¡¯s not that bad yet, I can still-¡±


    ¡°I said get below deck,¡± the Commander interrupted, looking very angry. ¡°Wharifin, don¡¯t make me repeat myself.¡±


    ¡°But sir-¡±


    ¡°Do as I say.¡±


    Caspian grimaced, and then nodded, beginning to walk over to the door. But then his face went a sickly green, and he dashed over to the edge of the warship to retch over its side.


    The Commander, who was frowning, gave him one last look and then sighed, walking away. He crossed his arms and glanced at Adrianna who had remained silent the entire time, her brows slightly furrowed. ¡°I¡¯ve noticed you make that expression whenever you see him on this ship. You don¡¯t react that way to anyone else.¡±


    Adrianna stopped watching Caspian and turned to the Commander. ¡°I know the characteristics of the Atlantean bloodline.¡±


    Commander Arkenast paused and gave her another look. He was silent for a while, before speaking up, ¡°Wharifin¡¯s only part Atlantean though.¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°The man I met who told me this was half-Atlantean.¡± She glanced back at Caspian and frowned. ¡°He shouldn¡¯t be here.¡±


    The Commander sighed. ¡°I see.¡± He turned away and gestured for her to follow him.


    ¡°Caspian Wharifin came to White Squall Fortress at sixteen,¡± the battle-scarred man began, heading towards the quarterdeck. ¡°Normally, due to the dangerous nature of our work, we try our hardest to reject the applications of individuals so young, even if they¡¯re legally adults, however when it comes to nobility, things aren¡¯t dealt with so easily.¡±


    ¡°His father is a Marquess in Atlantea.¡± The Commander continued, ¡°That man¡¯s not Atlantean, however, the boy¡¯s mother was a half-blood. I met the Marquis when he and I were young, both in the Distorted Depths Navy. We were the crew of the Dawnlight at the time.¡±


    He kept walking, Adrianna keeping pace beside him. ¡°Both of us were there for different reasons, and he left early. But anyway, the crew of the Dawnlight got caught in a particularly tough situation, and events progressed until a situation arose where I ended up saving his life. As reckless, young, low-ranked Ascendants, we had already used all our available resurrections at the time, so I truly did save him from eternal oblivion.¡±


    Then he let out a dark chuckle. ¡°The funny thing was, I hated the guy. He was the most stuck-up, snobbish, disgusting, and despicable person I have ever met. However, because I had a duty to do, and his continued existence would keep the crew alive for longer, I saved him.¡± He shrugged.


    Then Commander Arkenast scowled. ¡°But 423 years later, he suddenly decides he wants to fulfil his sense of ¡®noblesse oblige¡¯ and repay his debts, by sending his sixteen-year-old son in his place, to work under me. His Atlantean son.¡±


    He went over to the side of the warship and leaned against it as Adrianna came up to him. ¡°And I couldn¡¯t refuse. Main Navy orders came down, to let him stay. A Marquess from one of the lesser empires is almost the equivalent of the Duke of a Major Kingdom, after all, so politics and all that. I reluctantly agreed to let him work for me, and then tried, and still try, to get him to leave of his own will.¡± He jerked his head in Caspian¡¯s direction. ¡°As you can see, I still haven¡¯t succeeded. Kid¡¯s more stubborn than a dragon, I tell you.¡±


    The Commander gestured to the choppy water tens of metres below them. ¡°Maybe I could¡¯ve given him a smaller role on land, away from the ocean and battles, but I am still the Commander of White Squall Fortress.¡± He sighed. ¡°I have a duty, and regardless of the harm it causes to that boy, it¡¯s an unfortunate truth that his ability to detect all and any monsters has saved the lives of my subordinates time and time again. So, even with the effects of his bloodline¡­¡± He turned to look at Adrianna. ¡°I still need to use him. And you will need to use him too.¡±


    He moved away from the side of the ship to walk up the quarterdeck¡¯s stairs. ¡°Because with the method of leadership, you¡¯ve chosen, you will not be able to be the bridge between the crew members. The one who can talk to the crew as their friend, and equal.¡± He shook his head. ¡°The boy¡¯s soft. The entire reason why he¡¯s still in the Navy is because he knows his presence saves lives, and he wants to prove to me that I can treat him like all the other Officers. That softness is why he can¡¯t be a leader. He can¡¯t make the orders that could leave even the slightest chance of getting someone killed.¡±


    He glanced at her. ¡°And now I¡¯m giving that position to someone even younger than him.¡± Then he let out a short, harsh laugh. ¡°Although, at least you were a mercenary beforehand if it makes it any better.¡±


    On top of the quarterdeck, near the steering wheel of the warship, Commander Arkenast placed his hands on his hips, looking at the view of the chaotic warship for a while, before gesturing to her. ¡°Today¡¯s the 22<sup>nd</sup> of November, eight days until the end of the month. You¡¯ve already proven to be good enough to be placed on my ship for the next three months, but starting from the 24<sup>th</sup> onward, for those six days we¡¯ll be out at sea before returning one last time until December¡­¡± He turned to her. ¡°You¡¯ll be placed in combat. I need to see how you¡¯ll do as a combatant, if not a main one.¡±


    ¡°Riftmire. If you know the characteristics of the Atlantean bloodline¡­¡± He continued, ¡°Then I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware of how your magic might affect him. But I¡¯m sure you¡¯re also aware of how beneficial this could be to you too. I¡¯m not going to accept any requests for him to be transferred out from under you,¡± he stated firmly.


    She nodded in acknowledgement, but his gaze was stern. He placed a hand on her shoulder. ¡°Riftmire. The rest of your crew may only be here temporarily, so I¡¯m willing to let you deal with them how you want, but Caspian is different.¡± He squeezed her shoulder. ¡°Do not treat him the same.¡±


    ¡°¡­yes sir,¡± she replied.


    The Commander nodded and then walked back down the stairs. He gave her a wave. ¡°Tell Diselon I apologise for holding you up for so long. You can return to your work.¡±


    With that, he returned to ordering his subordinates above deck. She took one last glance at where Caspian had been, before descending the stairs to head back down into the bowels of the ship, helping ensure that the mana engines took them to their next destination.

 Chapter 41 (1 of 2) Future rainbow dragons and an overachieving magic addict.

    ¡°And we are back!¡± Scytale exclaimed, jumping off of Lucille¡¯s shoulders to glide to the floor.


    They had just stepped into Headquarters, having returned from the Forerunner¡¯s Event. They had entered through a side entrance, as the Faction Head disappearing without guards would draw too much attention if discovered, especially with Vincent having ordered all the staff to report to him if they see signs of Lucy leaving. Which irritated her to no end. She wasn¡¯t some irresponsible teenager who was sneaking out without her parent¡¯s permission to do questionable things.


    ¡­although Vincent might think otherwise if he heard she went to visit the Demon Emperor, whom no human had seen and come back alive during the last 300,000 years, all to form a contract with him, which would normally mean she¡¯d become one of the most dangerous Users alive due to the ¡®immense power¡¯ she obtained through the contract. Which was the exact reason why she was not telling him what she did.


    She went through the building, the staff giving her slight bows as she went. One of them ran off, presumably to tell Vincent she was back. She and Scytale took the lift and he went to her living room, while she went to her bedroom to get changed back into her usual clothes. Then she went back to the living room, slung her jacket over the back of a couch, and sat down. A few minutes later, Vincent opened her door. He stopped to stare at her for a couple of seconds, before shifting his glasses and sitting down opposite her.


    ¡°When the staff told me you had returned, I almost didn¡¯t believe them,¡± he eventually said.


    She gave him a flat look. ¡°I¡¯m a perfectly capable adult. Even if I didn¡¯t turn up, I¡¯d be fine.¡±


    He narrowed his silver eyes. ¡°Then wouldn¡¯t a perfectly capable adult tell me what they were doing in the last week of September?¡¯


    ¡°No, because it¡¯s none of your business,¡± she retorted.


    He sighed. ¡°Lucy, of course, it¡¯s my business. As soon as you became the Faction Head, your business became the entire Faction¡¯s business.¡± He gestured to her. ¡°You¡¯re currently the controller of the entire Faction¡¯s System operations. Like it or not, you¡¯re the most important individual of the Commission.¡±


    ¡°You can just use Scytale as a replacement if I die,¡± she replied with a shrug.


    Scytale, who had been trying to drag a large bowl of magical fruit from the kitchen into the living room, froze. ¡°Uh¡­ excuse me? I think I just heard you mention me in a context that sounds suspiciously similar to something like ¡®work¡¯, and that topic and me aren¡¯t really on the best of terms¡­¡±


    Vincent, with a strange expression on his face, gazed at Scytale and then turned back to Lucy. ¡°Somehow, I don¡¯t think that¡¯ll work.¡±


    She clicked her tongue. ¡°Really? Oh well. I was kidding anyway. If I died, he would too.¡± She received a stare from Vincent, so she explained, ¡°He¡¯s a compeer bond. The end of my soul means the end of his.¡±


    ¡°Basically, she goes kaput, I go kaput.¡± The silvery snake flapped his wings to jump onto the couch next to Vincent. ¡°Hey Lucy, can you use those creepy invisible limbs of yours to lift this up? I¡¯m hungry, but the bowl just flips on top of me if I try to get to one of the fruits.¡±


    She rolled her eyes. ¡°I see you¡¯ve already attempted it.¡± Then she narrowed her eyes at the amphiptere. ¡°And what do you mean, you¡¯re ¡®hungry¡¯? You ate an Ancient ranked natural treasure, and still haven¡¯t finished digesting it.¡±


    He blinked innocently. ¡°But Lucy, there¡¯s no food in my stomach. The fruit¡¯s turned to pure mana.¡±


    She sighed and used her spiritual telekinesis to lift the bowl up onto the coffee table between them, then got a fruit out for him. ¡°At least you¡¯re restraining yourself to the Common ranked ones.¡±


    ¡°Er¡­ that was actually just what was in the bowl¡­¡±


    She rubbed her temples as Vincent smirked. He crossed his arms as he gestured to her. ¡°Anyway, was the trip successful?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°As successful as it could be, I suppose. All the other people from my world found out they weren¡¯t doomed to be stuck in the Tower with no way home for the rest of eternity, while I managed to do what I needed to do.¡±


    Vincent raised an eyebrow. ¡°They didn¡¯t know they could go back?¡±


    ¡°We weren¡¯t told anything before we got teleported.¡± She shrugged. ¡°I knew we would be assimilated eventually due to knowing about the System beforehand, so I never panicked.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± He eyed her curiously, and then shook his head. ¡°Well, anyway, there¡¯s a more important question to ask here.¡±


    She smirked and opened her dimensional bag to retrieve her brass jug and some cups. ¡°Is there?¡±


    He narrowed his eyes. ¡°Yes, there is. Can you tell me what you needed to go to All-Aeon Athenaeum to find out?¡±


    She smiled. ¡°I can.¡±


    Vincent scoffed. ¡°Of course you- wait, did you say you can?¡± he repeated, stunned.


    ¡°I¡¯ve discovered the problem I went to All-Aeon Athenaeum¡¯s Capital branch to solve is only going to be temporary, so yes, I can,¡± she stated, reaching for the brass jug to begin pouring some coffee.


    ¡°¡­huh. Then, what did you need to find out?¡± he asked curiously.


    ¡°Well, the reason why I needed to go to All-Aeon Athenaeum is because-¡±


    Lucille paused, and with a slight frown, watched as someone who was dressed in black moved quickly through her level, directly towards her location.


    Vincent watched her with narrowed eyes. ¡°Lucy, what game are you playing n-¡± The words halted in his mouth when he noticed Scytale was looking at the door of the room as well as her.


    The door opened and the person came in. The man, someone dressed in clothes with Ravimoux¡¯s crest saw Lucille, and bowed to her, breathing heavily.


    ¡°Faction Head.¡±


    Lucy gave him a wave. ¡°Catch your breath first.¡±


    He nodded, panting as he rested his hands on his knees. Vincent looked between Lucy and the man with confusion. The man eventually straightened up.


    ¡°The individual you requested to be contacted about has come to us,¡± he said.


    Lucille stared at him for a bit, stunned, and then blinked, reaching into her dimensional bag. ¡°He came to one of Ravimoux¡¯s casinos? On which plane?¡±


    The man shook his head. ¡°He came to Black Lily. He¡¯s currently still there, as we requested for him to wait so we could contact you.¡±


    Lucy¡¯s eyes widened, and she hastily stood up, grabbing her suit jacket to pull on. Vincent narrowed his eyes and stood up as she ran towards the door.


    ¡°My apologies, Vincent,¡± she told him, as she opened it and quickly looked back. ¡°It seems our conversation will have to wait until I¡¯ve dealt with this.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you at least explain-¡±


    She had already left. He scowled, crossing his arms. ¡°What good is being her aide if she doesn¡¯t tell me what she¡¯s doing?¡± he muttered.


    ¡°You do realise you could just ask me, right?¡± Scytale piped up.


    Vincent flinched, then turned to stare at the snake with red juice around his mouth, which he had entirely forgotten the presence of.


    ¡°Then what is she doing?¡±


    Scytale glanced at the door, then back at Vincent. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not sure how much she wants me to tell you, but¡­ you could say she¡¯s going to meet another Sedric.¡±


    ¡°Another¡­ Sedric?¡± Vincent asked, frowning in confusion.


    ¡°Yeah. She wants to make another deal.¡±


    ¡­


    Lucille stepped off the carriage, adjusting her jacket, and checking she had her pocket watch as she got ready to enter the casino. She turned to the man from Ravimoux.


    ¡°You said he¡¯s still here?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°As soon as we noticed he perfectly matched your description, we decided to contact you. It¡¯s probably only been twenty minutes since we asked him to wait.¡±


    ¡°Good. He¡¯s not someone I want to keep waiting,¡± she replied quietly, before walking into Black Lily. The man from Ravimoux led her up the stairs at the end of the main hall and through the building, taking her to one of the private rooms. Eventually, he stopped in front of one, then gestured to it with a bow to her. She nodded as he left, and then, taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open.


    Inside was a man she had met only once in the last timeline, and someone who she hoped to prevent the Hero from meeting, at all costs.


    He had changed his hair and eye colour with a magical tool of some kind, he looked younger, and he didn¡¯t have the inhuman aesthetics gained from becoming a nonmortal race as he was still human at the present, but there was no mistaking the intimidating build and strangely intense gem-like eye colour he had.


    ¡­¡­or the terrible haircut that looked like someone had taken a kitchen knife to his hair and sheared off random sections spontaneously.


    He was dressed in a plain white shirt with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall, and his hair had been changed to brown, while his eyes were green. By his side was a massive spear almost his own height, wrapped tightly in leather straps that prevented her from seeing what it looked like. She could¡¯ve used her spiritual energy to see through it, but she didn¡¯t want to do anything that could risk ruining the chance she had. But standing near the spear was somewhat of a terrifying experience for her, considering what she knew about that particular demonic weapon¡¯s capabilities.


    The man looked up when she entered, and seemed to frown very slightly when he saw her, but uncrossed his arms and stopped leaning against the wall. She stepped forward and gave him a nod.


    ¡°I apologise for the wait. The Black Lily wanted to contact me before any deals proceed.¡± He focused his attention firmly on her as she gestured to the two armchairs on either side of a table in the room. ¡°Please take a seat.¡±


    He studied her silently for a moment before he grabbed his spear and sat down. She prevented herself from showing any sort of behaviour that could be taken as discomfort from his action and sat in the chair opposite him. She intertwined her fingers and rested them on the table as she smiled at him.


    ¡°Before anything, I believe I should introduce myself. My name is Lucille Goldcroft, the current Head of the Aurelian Commission,¡± she stated, pulling out her pocket watch and pushing it forward on the table.


    The man opposite eyed it, likely reading its Item Sheet. He returned his gaze to her face as he spoke, ¡°What does the Aurelian Commission Head want with me?¡±


    ¡°I would like to make a deal with you,¡± she replied calmly. Her expression went serious. ¡°I¡¯ve been informed you asked Ravimoux¡¯s information guild for the location of dragons of the six essential elements. Under normal circumstances, Ravimoux would have no issue supplying this information, as dragon hunting, while outlawed, is an extremely profitable venture for them to support.¡± She gestured to him. ¡°I would like to suggest an alternative.¡±


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    When she had mentioned ¡®dragon hunting¡¯, he began to frown, and replied when she had finished her sentence, ¡°An alternative?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Yes. Because in seven years¡¯ time, an Event hosted by the dragons called the Dragon¡¯s Gate will occur, which only occurs every fifty years,¡± Lucy explained. ¡°This Event enables draconic beasts with impure dragon lineage to go through a series of trials to become True Dragons of new draconic lineages. Someone doesn¡¯t necessarily need to pass all the trials to become a True Dragon. This process was how the first elemental dragons were created. And I can enable you to use this method too.¡±


    Reaching into her dimensional pouch while he watched her actions closely, she pulled out the brass cylinder extraction device she had obtained from the Founder¡¯s vault and held it up. ¡°This device is a component of a machine called the Bloodline Essence and Source Obtainment Catalyser and Purifier. The other components are stored in the Commission¡¯s Headquarters, but when it¡¯s powered, the Item Sheet becomes available. The device is used by someone to take the bloodline essence and source from a slain magical beast, then use it to gain the entirety of the beast¡¯s abilities for themselves, becoming their exact sub-race, and shedding their own mortal race.¡±


    She put it closer to him on the table. ¡°This particular component is used for bloodline essence extraction, which was what these machines were typically used for because as it turns out, no mortals are capable of absorbing the immense power of a nonmortal race¡¯s source.¡± She tilted her head slightly as she looked at him. ¡°Or almost no mortals.¡±


    His gaze narrowed and he leaned forward to listen to her words, his full attention on her. Lucy tapped on the extraction cylinder. ¡°The ¡®purification¡¯ part of the machine is the important part. Unlike several other machines of its type, this one is capable of purifying monster essence in a monster¡¯s bloodline and source, so it reverts back to being a magical beast¡¯s bloodline essence and source.¡±


    She gave him a slight shrug. ¡°And it¡¯s not illegal to purify a monster¡¯s bloodline to obtain their beast race. It¡¯s actually very common, due to many people wishing to become beastmen of powerful bloodlines, but haven¡¯t found a beast willing to lose some of their strength by bestowing bloodline essence on them. And some still like to attempt to absorb a purified source, although they never succeed.¡±


    Lucille tapped her fingers on the table. ¡°What I wish to propose, as the Head of the Aurelian Commission, is my full support in terms of intelligence, finance and resources, to allow you to hunt monstrous draconic beasts such as monstrous drakes, wyverns, wyrms, etcetera, of the six essential elements, so you can undergo the Dragon¡¯s Gate trials and become a True Dragon.¡±


    The man didn¡¯t make a move to reply, just watching her wordlessly, so she decided to explain further, ¡°With my status as the Aurelian Commission Head, over the seven years I can support you financially with magic items, elixirs, even armour if you wish, while also using the intelligence resources under me to find the locations of draconic monsters of the correct elements for you to hunt, purchasing the rights to hunt them and prevent other hunters from attempting to slay them¡­¡±


    She leaned her chin on her hand as she narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°And have Ravimoux cover any tracks relating to the individual named Hargrave Einar.¡±


    She didn¡¯t say anything more as she waited for his response. The silence was tense as he stared at her with his luminous eyes, and she went still, showing no emotion. Then, almost quicker than she could react, he was behind her, pointing the tip of his spear at her neck. She could see in her perception field that his eyes had gained the red-hued outline of killing intent as he spoke with a low voice.


    ¡°And why wouldn¡¯t I kill you, when you¡¯ve shown how much you know about me?¡± he growled, shifting the spear¡¯s tip even closer to her neck. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m afraid of your status if I¡¯m willing to become a dragon slayer?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t,¡± Lucille replied firmly, remaining collected. ¡°And you wouldn¡¯t kill me, because you would be killing someone who¡¯s shown no intent of wanting to kill you whatsoever.¡± He furrowed his brows when she said that, but there was something else she needed to address. ¡°Also¡­¡±


    With a slight bit of hesitance, she very gently placed a finger on the edge of the spear and slowly pushed it away from her. ¡°You, ah, seem to have forgotten to unwrap your weapon.¡±


    He stared silently at her for a couple of seconds, then raised the leather-wrapped spear upright to look at it. After a moment, he marched back over to his armchair and sat down with it with his arms crossed, frowning at the table. Then he rubbed the back of his neck with one hand.


    ¡­Lucy didn¡¯t know for certain, but she thought he might have been a bit embarrassed.


    She coughed to get rid of the building awkward silence and gestured to him again. ¡°In return for any support you receive, I want the Aurelian Commission to have the rights to the rest of the draconic monster parts, besides the extracted bloodline essence and source. That means the draconic monster heart would go to you, as draconic monsters are the only monsters without cores. Having a draconic bloodline, even lesser, will make you an excellent dragon beast slayer, as those without draconic blood find it extremely difficult to survive the attacks and pierce the dragon scales of dragon beasts.¡±


    She clasped her hands together and rested them on the table. ¡°I would also like to mention that if you accept my support, I will try to find evolution materials for your demonic weapon.¡±


    He glanced at the weapon beside him, then returned his attention to her. She continued further, ¡°And if you choose to use the Dragon¡¯s Gate to become a True Dragon, it will also deal with the issue of finding a dark-element dragon bloodline.¡±


    He gave her an odd look. ¡°Issue?¡±


    Lucille nodded. ¡°It¡¯s not something many know outside of those with connections to dragons, such as dragon-blooded, but at any point in time, there is only ever one dark-element dragon. The black dragons, as they are called, are born each twenty thousand years, and can come from any of the dragon lineages,¡± she told him. ¡°Many have tried to become dark-element dragon-blooded, but the black dragon¡¯s abilities can¡¯t be transferred in any way. Their abilities are unique each time and are a fundamental feature of the entire regal dragon race, so aren¡¯t bloodline-linked. The current black dragon has a particularly troublesome trait of cloning, and is famous for his inability to be killed.¡±


    The black dragon of the name Margotharel also had a particularly annoying personality, but that wasn¡¯t a detail that was relevant to Lucy at the moment.


    ¡°However,¡± she continued, ¡°Dark-element monstrous dragon bloodlines do exist, so you¡¯ll be able to gain all six essential elements if you become a True Dragon.¡± She reached into her dimensional pouch and retrieved two contracts, placing them on the table side by side. ¡°There are also two methods we could go about this if you accept. One could be a contract with me, the Aurelian Commission Head,¡± she said, pointing to the pocket watch, ¡°Or with me, Lucille Goldcroft,¡± she added, pointing at herself.


    He looked between the two contracts with a slight frown. ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡±


    ¡°If we form an official contract with my authority as the Faction Head of the Commission, it will mean any support you receive is purely within the confines of the contract, and all based on fair trade,¡± she stated seriously. ¡°Any finance, magical tools or evolution materials for your weapon given by me will be based on the estimated profit obtained from slaying a monstrous draconic beast. This also means that the instant you receive the bloodline essence and source of the sixth slain monster, the instant our contract ends, and we won¡¯t have any more interaction.¡±


    ¡°If the circumstances were different, then perhaps I could justify an official contract extending right up to and beyond the Dragon¡¯s Gate Event, but¡­¡± She leaned back in her chair. ¡°For certain reasons, terminating our contact before then would likely be for the best.¡±


    His expression seemed to grow slightly colder when she said that, but it didn¡¯t seem to be directed towards her, more to her implications.


    ¡°As for a personal contract with me personally¡­ I can support you up to the Dragon¡¯s Gate,¡± she said, making him stare at her. ¡°It will mean the finance and resources you receive don¡¯t have to be proportionate to the value of the slain monsters. As it will be me and not the Commission who¡¯s supporting you, I can use the contents of the Founder¡¯s vault, my own personal belongings, and assets, to support you.¡±


    He was still staring at her as she said one more thing. ¡°You¡¯ll also be able to stay in Headquarters, as my private guest, as much as you want. Your accommodation and necessities will be completely free, of course.¡±


    She spread her hands. ¡°So, if you form either of these contracts with me, you will have done nothing illegal, will still be entitled to the full protections of the law, and even if you don¡¯t become a True Dragon through the Dragon¡¯s Gate¡­¡±


    Lucille gave him a serious look. ¡°Then you can always return to your original plan.¡±


    Finished, she crossed her arms and waited patiently for him to say something. The man opposite her was frowning, holding his chin as he pondered over her offer. Eventually, he raised his eyes to look at her.


    ¡°And what happens if I don¡¯t accept either of these? Will you arrange for my death?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely not,¡± she replied, shaking her head. ¡°No, I¡¯ll leave here after telling Ravimoux to give you the information you requested, and then we¡¯ll never see each other again. You¡¯ll receive no aid or additional help from me at all, and it will be like we never met.¡±


    He fell silent when he heard her answer. Then, as the minutes passed by, he leaned forward to gaze solemnly at her. ¡°The Allblaze Duchy.¡±


    ¡°You wish to know if I¡¯ll want to tell the 4<sup>th</sup> Eternal Duchy of Solarmane about you?¡± she asked. He nodded, so she considered it with a strange expression, and then firmly shook her head. ¡°No. For many reasons, including the fact the Aurelian Commission and the Allblaze Duchy have had little need for interaction, and that if I did, I¡¯d be entangled in a situation of having both the Selwood clan and the Allblaze Duchy in my ¡®debt¡¯ as such, while both would deny it on their ends¡­¡±


    Lucy hesitated, then sighed and gave him a wave, shaking her head again. ¡°Look, I may be a member of a noble force, but there are some situations nobody needs to get into if they can avoid it. Duchy politics are above my qualifications. They¡¯re too complicated.¡±


    ¡°And either way¡­¡± She pointed at herself with a slight smile, while he looked at her with a strange expression. ¡°I¡¯m currently the owner of an immense amount of wealth, and so I can¡¯t imagine receiving any sort of ¡®reward¡¯ from them for telling them about you that would be valuable enough for me to waste my time and effort. Also, in the contracts I¡¯ve specified I wouldn¡¯t tell anyone what I or Ravimoux know about your past unless you want us to tell someone.¡±


    Lucy gestured to the contracts. ¡°If you wish to consider this further, I can give you some more time to think through my offer, and we can meet back here again.¡±


    He looked between her and the contracts, then abruptly shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t need that.¡±


    She blinked, surprised, as he took the personal contract and read through it. He looked back up. ¡°Do you have a pen?¡±


    She smiled and opened her dimensional bag to pass him one. He took it, then swiftly signed it, pushing it back to her for her to sign. She did the same, the mana ink glowing briefly, and then she got out a copier item to scan the contract onto another page. She passed the original back to him, then stood up.


    ¡°Well then, if you have no more questions, from now on, you have the full support of the Aurelian Commission Head for seven years¡¯ time,¡± she said with a wide smile. ¡°I¡¯ll organise the search for a draconic monster with you at a later date. And as one last thing¡­¡±


    She pulled out a black access card with a purple amethyst on it, and passed it to him, who took it with a confused frown. ¡°This will allow any of your purchases to be bought using my money, and give you access to my personal floor of Headquarters.¡±


    She grinned as he stared at her with wide eyes. ¡°Where you¡¯ll be staying.¡±


    ¡°Hang on, what¡¯s this about your personal-¡±


    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll see you whenever you decide to come stay,¡± she said to him, walking towards the door to leave after putting away the pocket watch and extraction device. She gave him a smile. ¡°Thank you for accepting my offer, Hargrave Einar.¡±


    He gazed at her with mixed emotions, before sighing. ¡°¡­it¡¯s just Hargrave.¡±


    She nodded, and then left the room, shutting the door behind her. She continued walking until she exited the Black Lily, and got into her carriage. Only when it began moving did she allow herself to take a deep breath while shuddering, and feeling very, very lucky, as well as slightly off balance after her second experience of meeting that man.


    Because the man known as Hargrave Einar was the strongest User of his time, someone who had been titled the most powerful Rank-6, the Plane Destroyer of Firebloom, nemesis of the 4<sup>th</sup> Duchy, convicted dragon-slayer of six dragons and had become the only member of the strongest dragon bloodline after the Dragon Sovereign¡­.


    The Prismatic Dragon Ruler.


    ¡­


    A silver-haired man with half-moon glasses glared at her with a very angry look on his face, hands planted on his hips. Scytale was noisily munching on a fruit beside them, watching the show with quite a bit of schadenfreude.


    Lucy had her hands behind her back as she gazed out the window to the side. Her seeming lack of care made her aide scowl.


    ¡°Care to explain what ¡®another Sedric¡¯ means, oh Faction Head?¡± Vincent hissed.


    ¡°Whatever my bond has told you, he¡¯s a lying liar, and his words hold no credibility,¡± she stated calmly.


    ¡°Hey! My words have plenty of credibility, thank you very much!¡± Scytale exclaimed.


    ¡°The words of a serpent should never be trusted.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s purely a stereotype! A stereotype!¡±


    Vincent glowered at them both before she could respond to Scytale. ¡°I know you¡¯re both fully capable of carrying out your argument mentally, so could you please stop trying to side-track me with such immature fighting.¡±


    Lucy clicked her tongue, making him sigh and walk over to the couch to sit down. She did the same opposite him.


    ¡°Please Lucille, can you just tell me what you left to do? All Scytale has told me is that you went to try to form another contract with someone,¡± Vincent said.


    ¡°He¡¯s correct. That is what I did,¡± she replied, shrugging. Vincent shot her an unamused look, so she sighed and continued, ¡°Yes, I made another magical contract with someone. Yes, I intend for them to stay at Headquarters like Sedric, although they won¡¯t be here a lot of the time. The contract will last seven years.¡±


    Vincent looked at her with a slight frown on his face. ¡°But who are they?¡±


    ¡°His name is Hargrave,¡± Lucy said. ¡°And he¡¯s the person I asked Ravimoux to tell me about when we went to Black Lily to visit Count Ravimoux.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ the note you gave him?¡± he asked, to her nod. ¡°I remember you said the person you wanted to find was related to dragons somehow.¡±


    ¡°Not yet, but he will be. Because he wants to absorb dragon bloodlines,¡± she replied, reaching for her brass jug still on the table.


    Her aide gazed at her with confusion. ¡°Dragon¡­ bloodlines? As in plural?¡±


    Lucille hesitated as she brought her coffee to her lips. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ complicated.¡± She took a sip and sighed. ¡°Hargrave himself is an ex-mercenary who wields a spear, but what is important about him is not his past or current abilities, but his future potential.¡± She placed down her cup of coffee. ¡°He has an incredibly powerful Origin Skill that will make him one of the strongest Users ever alive.¡±


    Vincent stared silently at her for a couple of minutes. She just drank her coffee in the silence, Scytale having nothing to add. Vincent then crossed his arms and tapped on one of them with his fingers.


    ¡°Is this where you¡¯ll bring up time travel again to explain your knowledge like the time with Sedric?¡±


    Lucy blinked at the unexpected question and then gave him a wide grin. ¡°What are you talking about, Vincent? Time travel is impossible. Of course I¡¯m not a time traveller. I was lying back then.¡±


    Her answer made him scoff. ¡°What did I expect.¡± He shook his head. ¡°I suppose you won¡¯t tell me how you know what his Origin Skill is, so I¡¯ll ask something else instead. What kind of person is this man?¡±


    Lucy gained a strange expression as she considered it. ¡°Actually¡­ I don¡¯t really know.¡±


    ¡°¡­you signed this type of contract with him and don¡¯t even know what type of person he is?¡± Vincent asked incredulously.


    She coughed. ¡°Today was the first time we met. All I could see was that he was quiet, but that was likely because he was guarded against me. I do know, however, that he never attacks someone with no intention of attacking him, and¡­¡± She counted mentally for a second. ¡°He should be either 25 or 26.¡±


    The silver-haired man opposite her looked surprised by her answer. ¡°I was expecting someone older if he¡¯s an ex-mercenary. He would be younger than me then.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but he¡¯s spent at least fourteen years on the battlefield, so don¡¯t treat him as if he was a normal person,¡± she replied, reaching for her coffee.


    Vincent frowned. ¡°Fourteen¡­ but¡­¡± His eyes widened. ¡°He¡¯s fought since he was twelve years old?¡±


    She nodded, her silent reply making Vincent feel slightly disturbed and gaze at her with apprehension. ¡°Lucille¡­ child soldiers are highly, highly illegal. Just what is his background?¡±


    She grimaced. ¡°I- look, this is something better explained on another day, and you wanted to know about why I went to the Athenaeum, didn¡¯t you?¡± she said. ¡°He doesn¡¯t want people to know his past, and I told him I would not reveal it to anyone unnecessarily.¡± She gestured to Vincent. ¡°If circumstances change, or he even becomes willing for you to know, then I¡¯ll tell you as my aide, but would we be able to leave this topic for now, please?¡± she asked.


    He sighed, rubbing the back of his head. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll see what sort of person he is first before asking further.¡± He crossed his arms again. ¡°So, why did you need to go to All-Aeon Athenaeum?¡±


    ¡°To find out a way to fix my own Origin Skill issues,¡± she said with a smile.


    He stared at her. ¡°¡­what?¡±


    ¡°You see, I¡¯m incapable of using my Origin Skill due to several factors, and so I went to All-Aeon Athenaeum in the Capital to access their Archive so I could discover what the issue was. I ended up finding the solution, so now that I know that my Origin Skill isn¡¯t going to be a permanent weakness, I can allow myself to tell you this,¡± she continued, her grin growing wider.


    He kept staring at her. ¡°No, Lucy, I don¡¯t-¡±


    ¡°I can even let you have a look if you want,¡± she said, his eyes growing wider. ¡°Share User Lucille Goldcroft¡¯s Origin Skill main page with User Vincentimo Evisenhardt-¡±


    ¡°Lucille, please stop-¡±


    [Sharing User Lucille Goldcroft¡¯s Origin Skill main page with User Vincentimo Evisenhardt]


    ¡°There, you see?¡± she finished, pointing to the screen just as it was appearing.


    ¡°No!¡± Vincent put a hand over his eyes and turned away. ¡°Please do not show me this! I don¡¯t want to know about your Origin Skill! Let alone the fact that is very personal information regarding your own strength, I don¡¯t want to be kidnapped for this information, so could you please put that away for me!¡±


    She smirked. ¡°I don¡¯t see the problem, Vincent. Haven¡¯t I said before I left that my condition was only going to be temporary, so I could tell you? And besides, even if you saw it, you wouldn¡¯t be able to gain any useful information about my Origin Skill. That¡¯s because my Origin Skill has no subskills.¡±


    ¡°No¡­ subskills?¡± After what seemed like a brief battle between self-restraint and curiosity, Vincent hesitantly lowered his hands to see the skill sheet.


    [Origin Skill: -___- | Type: /null/


    <ul>


    <li>Desc: user.blank/data{^*}->all</li>


    <li>Subskills: ---------------</li>


    <li>Awakening: 0 ]</li>


    </ul>


    He gained a strange expression as he tried to make sense of it. ¡°What in the realms¡­?¡±


    ¡°I told you so,¡± she replied with a casual shrug. ¡°My Origin Skill is incomplete. I have no abilities from it yet.¡±


    He glanced between her and the skill. He narrowed his eyes. ¡°You seemed to be having great fun at my expense.¡±


    Lucy grinned. ¡°Your evidence, Vincent?¡±


    He just sighed and took another look at the skill. ¡°An incomplete Origin Skill¡­ no one would ever believe me if I told them about this¡­ but how will you use-¡± He paused, and then looked at her. ¡°You said this was temporary?¡±


    She nodded with a smile. ¡°Indeed. All-Aeon Athenaeum recorded one individual in the past with this problem. The solution will be given to me in the form of a System item obtained through the Beast Realm¡¯s stage rewards.¡±


    [Do you want to close this screen? Yes/No]


    She selected [Yes], closing the Origin Skill information.


    ¡°Stage rewards¡­¡± Vincent held his chin and nodded. ¡°That makes becoming Rank-1 an even bigger priority then.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Scytale and I plan to complete the stages as soon as the Empire¡¯s banquet is over,¡± she replied. She finished her coffee and placed it down. ¡°After we both reach Lvl 10, of course.¡±


    And when I become Rank-1, I can finally start eating stat-boosting foods. My body just can¡¯t absorb the mana as it is.


    He gave her a weary look. ¡°You still haven¡¯t reached the max of Rank-0 yet?¡±


    She spread her hands. ¡°Nope. We¡¯re both Level 1. Haven¡¯t even killed a single monster yet.¡±


    ¡°And you call yourselves combatants¡­¡± he complained, running a hand down his face. He paused to give her a meaningful look. ¡°You are going to be a combatant, correct?¡±


    She smirked. ¡°Certainly. Do you think I need any skill to amplify my mental abilities or want access to the many pages of System information granted to a noble with a governing class?¡± Lucy shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ll have my hands full reorganising the Faction Authority permissions, and as an Honorary Count, I won¡¯t have any land to rule.¡± She tapped on her chin as she considered something. ¡°I¡¯ll likely end up as a hybrid class User, however.¡± She shrugged. ¡°I have no need for all my primary skills to be combat-orientated.¡±


    Well, for people who couldn¡¯t see her Status, she¡¯d seem like a hybrid classer. But she had no plans of ever taking a class, even with the decreased stat points she¡¯d receive, because with her ultimate plan to solve her lack of strength¡­ but that wasn¡¯t something she could do for quite a few years yet. Until after she became Rank-3, at the very least.


    ¡°That is what the rest of the Counties assumed, and have no complaints with.¡± Vincent nodded. ¡°A non-combat class will enable you to increase your level with less risk as well.¡±


    She nodded, even if that wasn¡¯t actually the case for her. She raised her hands and stretched. ¡°Well, do you have any more questions?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you know how you ended up with such an Origin Skill?¡± he asked, raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°If I knew that, then I wouldn¡¯t need the System to fix it for me.¡± She shrugged.


    He chuckled. ¡°So you don¡¯t know everything then.¡±


    She rolled her eyes, and they began the first of their discussions about what she would do during the Empire¡¯s banquet, Scytale having fallen asleep beside them.

 Chapter 41 (2 of 2) Future rainbow dragons and an overachieving magic addict.

    Hargrave stepped out of the Black Lily casino having just undergone the most unnerving experience of his entire life. He was feeling completely out of his depth because a person who seemed to be only an eighteen-year-old girl had revealed she knew his full name, his past, his future plans, his goal, and the details of his Origin Skill. Lucille Goldcroft was a new kind of threat he had no idea how to deal with.


    As his meeting with her had progressed, revealing she knew everything he wanted to hide and more, becoming stranger and stranger, he had considered how he could kill her many times.


    He had reached the conclusion that¡­ he couldn¡¯t.


    If he did, Ravimoux would definitely never help him find the locations of the dragons, which was an essential step in helping him achieve his goal, his location would be revealed to the General and the Allblaze Duchy, his intentions of becoming a dragon-slayer would be discovered, immediately making him an outlaw, and he¡¯d have bounty hunters after his head all day and all night. He didn¡¯t think he¡¯d die, but avoiding that situation was best.


    He had considered how he could escape after killing her as well. But even then, actually killing her would¡¯ve been completely effortless for him. The Inspection skill clearly told him she was only Rank-0. He had reached Lvl 100 over the last few months, and she had come to him, completely unprotected. Decapitating her, running her through with his spear, and crushing her neck with his hands was all something he could¡¯ve done.


    But his instincts honed over 14 years on the battlefield had told him that would¡¯ve been a very bad, bad idea. The fact she had the confidence to give him such an offer, even when she had shown she knew exactly who he was, meant trusting those instincts was something he needed to do. At least until he discovered how she knew what she did, and why she wanted to offer him such a contract in the first place.


    And¡­ she hadn¡¯t emitted any killing intent towards him, not once. Even if someone wasn¡¯t a warrior, the thought of killing someone in the slightest couldn¡¯t be hidden in front of him, who had gained such a high sensitivity to killing intent from all his fighting. Although it was deeply disturbing she had known about a resolution he had made to himself a few months prior and told no one, she hadn¡¯t done anything to suggest she wanted him dead. He couldn¡¯t even see a sign of it written in the contract details. It was all exactly as she had said.


    Although¡­ the thing with the spear¡­.. that was awkward.


    ¡­¡­he didn¡¯t do too well with awkward.


    He shook his head to clear his mind of the memories of that event and just sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, as he headed towards where he was staying with his spear in hand.


    The main reason he had accepted the contract was that when the person who offered it to him was taken out of account, the offer was beneficial to him. Extremely so. If he had chosen to follow his original plan, he would¡¯ve needed to support himself financially somehow, and the easiest way to do that would¡¯ve been by selling the rest of the dragon parts from the slain dragons to other underworld groups who dealt in those goods. But those groups were just as likely to stab him in the back after he had killed the dragons, not willing to part with the valuable dragon heart, which equalled 50% of a dragon body¡¯s total value.


    It seemed that he also wouldn¡¯t need to hide his identity. He would still have to avoid anyone from either the Allblaze Duchy or Glory Pantheon in case they recognised him, and he¡¯d still have to use his first name, but he wasn¡¯t going to be a criminal and would have the support of the largest force in the underworld to hide his tracks. Just the offer to find evolution materials for his demonic weapon was incredibly valuable to him. No two demonic weapons used the same evolution materials, and he had found his weapon to be very picky.


    ¡­he needed to learn more about what it meant for him to be living on the Aurelian Commission Head¡¯s personal floor though. Again, the strange girl he had met had just given him the ability to find where she was living and sleeping, where he could easily kill her at any time, but hadn¡¯t seemed to care in the slightest. Any person who couldn¡¯t find something wrong about that situation was someone who¡¯d probably never live long.


    And a noble who didn¡¯t want a connection with the powerful Solarmane Eternal Duchy? All because it was ¡®too complicated¡¯? Her explanation seemed somewhat reasonable, but that wasn¡¯t something a typical noble would say. Well, if she had no interest in the matters of the 4<sup>th</sup> Duchy, all the better for him.


    The General of Blazing Iron had become well known for his succession of the Blazing Iron mana-art, a surprise considering someone who could practice the art hadn¡¯t been seen for some time, but the ¡®Selwood¡¯ clan name was only given to him because the successor of that spear art always carried that last name.


    The General was more importantly known as a direct bloodline member of the Allblaze Duchy¡¯s Solarmane family, someone from the generation of the current Solarmane Duke¡¯s father. When he went up against the General, he wouldn¡¯t just be going up against a powerful Mythos of Glory Pantheon, who wielded some of their authority, but an influential person within the central Eternal Empire as well, a member of a Ducal household and a member of the Eternal Empire¡¯s General Battalion.


    Thinking about what he had to do made his expression grow colder, and he tightened his grip on his spear. Regardless of the Aurelian Commission Head¡¯s intentions for him, he had a goal, and that goal came before anything else. As long as she didn¡¯t try anything until after the Dragon¡¯s Gate, he¡¯d accept the new arrangement and would use her support to strengthen himself with the best skills, tools, and elixirs until the seven years were up. In the meantime, as he stayed at her place, he¡¯d try to discover more about this ¡®Lucille Goldcroft¡¯, and what she wanted from him. If he discovered she had malicious intentions towards him¡­


    Then he would kill her.


    But the fact she hadn¡¯t reacted even when faced with the full strength of his killing intent made him feel like that would be a difficult job to complete.


    <hr>


    ¡°Transfer to the Aeonic plane,¡± the white-robed High-mage said.


    ¡°¡­huh?¡±


    Marellen had been alone in his assigned room, testing out many experiments using his new skill, especially using the advanced spell, Element-based Prediction, that came with it. Occasionally submitting his assigned work and submitting progress on the research topics he had picked up, that was how he had spent his last few weeks, and sometimes meeting with Efratel, who was arranging for the crafting of new equipment for Roa. Then a mage had told him that Vicela Mesifeth had requested his presence¡­ and now he was faced with this situation.


    ¡°¡­what do you mean, transfer to the Aeonic plane?¡± he asked hesitantly.


    ¡°Exactly as I said it,¡± the High-mage of wind replied, sitting at his desk in his study. ¡°Quit being an academic.¡±


    ¡­but not anyone could just choose to go to the Aeonic plane, and he couldn¡¯t exactly quit being the Aurelian Commission Head¡¯s recipient so soon, so what did he-


    Vicela Mesifeth sighed. ¡°I¡¯m saying this because I¡¯m offering to allow your transfer to the All-Aeon Athenaeum¡¯s origin plane,¡± he explained. ¡°Simply put, you¡¯re too advanced for the Academy.¡±


    The High-mage picked up some forms on his desk. ¡°A Research into the Micro-Scale Mechanisms of Water-Earth Elemental Combining. The average length of time for a 5th-year student to write up a report of this level is three months. You did it in two weeks.¡±


    ¡°But that was because that combination had many pre-written manuscripts-¡±


    ¡°The Results of Fusing Partially Materialised Lava and Storm Elements, a research topic usually studied by professors¡­¡± Vicela looked up. ¡°Violet-level grading. The maximum grade.¡±


    ¡°I just happened to have the right affinities-¡±


    ¡°You submitted a theoretical greater rune combination of four elements to the Archive, which a High-mage later cited in a new manuscript, and not three days later became a Grand-mage, becoming one of the few dual mid-level element affinity Grand-mages in the entire Academy,¡± Vicela stated flatly, cutting Marellen off.


    ¡°I can¡¯t receive credit for that-¡±


    ¡°The only reason you won¡¯t receive credit for that,¡± Vicela continued shortly, ¡°Is because the Grand-mage would never provide another mid-level element High-mage insight into becoming a Grand-mage, to protect his own precious status in the Academy. And how could he dare admit to anyone that a mere advanced mage was the source of the inspiration for the consolidation of his Grand spell.¡± Vicela scoffed.


    Marellen didn¡¯t reply, keeping his silence. He didn¡¯t think he had anything he could add that would help his situation. The High-mage in front of him sighed.


    ¡°Marellen Vadel. You have no reason to be in the Academy,¡± he said wearily. ¡°Normally, mages become part of All-Aeon Athenaeum by becoming the student of a mage or wizard. Those not talented enough to be picked in the Junior Academy can study here in the Senior Academy to further their knowledge rather than magical skillset, and can grab the attention of the professors, becoming their students, to be transferred to the Aeonic plane that way.¡±


    The High-mage jabbed a finger at Marellen. ¡°You have already studied here five years ago. And in both the Senior and Junior Academy, you rejected all offers of becoming a student.¡±


    Marellen shifted in his seat as Vicela continued, ¡°And the existence of academics is supposed to allow a mage to transfer to the Aeonic plane without being a student, by gaining the contribution needed to do so. Instead of taking up a position as the whatever generation student of a member of the Orders or Towers, you¡¯d enter the other departments, doing more practical work.¡±


    Vicela pointed at the forms on his desk. ¡°And that is what I¡¯m saying I¡¯ll do now. I¡¯ll let you transfer to become an unaffiliated mage early and before you¡¯ve obtained the necessary contribution, so you don¡¯t need a teacher.¡± He gave Marellen a wave. ¡°You have High-mage level theoretical knowledge, which is easily enough to cover for the lack of contribution. Even being the recipient of the Aurelian Commission Head wouldn¡¯t matter. You¡¯d still be their sponsored mage if you transferred.¡± Vicela spread his hands. ¡°So, join the All-Aeon Athenaeum fully.¡±


    Marellen stared silently at the man dressed in white robes, not having expected to be confronted with an offer like this so suddenly. Well, most people wouldn¡¯t be confronted by an offer like this in the first place¡­


    Instead of panicking and impulsively refusing as he was tempted to, he pushed aside his anxiousness to consider the offer seriously.


    If I think about this offer purely from the side of the positives, then it¡¯s very beneficial to me. I was never going to accept becoming a student, and my sponsor was going to decline all offers, so this offer only came earlier than it would¡¯ve. I¡¯ll have access to the main Archive artifact, where I can see if there are any manuscripts and research into all-element spells and magic. I might also be able to discover more about Saufren Lestial¡­ but¡­


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    ¡°Can I¡­ have some time to think about this?¡± he asked weakly.


    Vicela rolled his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you even need to think about, but sure. However, if you don¡¯t accept before the end of December, it¡¯ll be hard for me to transfer you until after June next year because the Senior and Junior Academy students will graduate,¡± he informed him. ¡°Those new talents will be prioritised for transfer over academics.¡±


    Marellen nodded but had one more question to ask the High-mage. ¡°And¡­ could I ask¡­ why you want me to transfer so much?¡±


    Vicela raised an eyebrow. ¡°Me? That¡¯s because all the professors wish to gain contribution for referring a talented academic to the origin plane, but can¡¯t because you haven¡¯t obtained the needed contribution for transferal yet.¡± He scoffed. ¡°And now they¡¯re all getting annoyed at me for not letting you be transferred.¡± He narrowed his eyes at Marellen. ¡°We both know who¡¯s really at fault here though.¡±


    ¡­ah. So the High-mage was getting blamed because of him, making him an annoyance to the man.


    ¡°¡­I¡¯ll make sure to consider the offer carefully,¡± Marellen replied awkwardly.


    Vicela Mesifeth sighed. ¡°Yeah. You do that.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°I think you should accept,¡± Efratel said.


    Marellen stared at his cousin as he received the casual reply. He was meeting up with Efratel at the caf¨¦ they went to last time so he could discuss the offer of transfer with him. Except all he had said to Efratel was that Vicela Mesifeth had given him an offer of transfer to the Aeonic plane.


    ¡°Could we not discuss this a little more before you come to a conclusion like that?¡± he asked wearily.


    ¡°What¡¯s there to discuss?¡± Efratel shrugged. ¡°You get access to more rune and magic knowledge, can form connections with people right at the centre of the Athenaeum¡¯s power, and won¡¯t have to complete as many miscellaneous tasks to receive contribution.¡±


    Efratel raised the fork he was using to eat his lunch and pointed it at Marellen. ¡°As I see it, the Aeonic plane is just a better version of the Academy. The Academy was made to allow young mages and wizards to become accustomed to the Athenaeum anyway, so it¡¯ll hardly be different.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to come though¡­¡± Marellen replied.


    ¡°Yes, but you¡¯ll still be able to contact me with the Archive orb,¡± Efratel responded, picking up his glass to take a sip of water. ¡°As the Commission Head¡¯s sponsored mage, you can afford any price to send a message from the sub-dimension to the realm. I¡¯m hardly at the Academy most of the time anyway.¡±


    Then Efratel leaned forward to point at Marellen with a serious look on his face. ¡°And this can be useful in other ways too, when it comes to expeditions. Don¡¯t forget about what I told you a few weeks ago, about the Commission Head¡¯s letter.¡±


    Marellen furrowed his brows. ¡°Commission Head¡¯s¡­? Ah¡­¡± His eyes widened slightly when he remembered. ¡°About the planes with natural mana phenomena?¡±


    Efratel nodded. ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve had a look, however, opportunities for expeditions in Old Era planes with natural mana phenomena are strictly kept to the most promising students of the Junior and Senior Academy,¡± he said. ¡°That¡¯s because of the higher probability of artifacts forming on them, and they don¡¯t want such artifacts wasted on mages without talent.¡±


    ¡°However, Marellen¡­¡± Efratel spread his hands. ¡°Because you¡¯re not joining any of the Orders or Towers, if you accept the transfer you could work for the Artificers.¡±


    Marellen blinked in surprise. ¡°The Artificers? Why them?¡±


    ¡°Because you can work as an expeditionary for them, bringing back Old Era natural artifacts for them to study,¡± Efratel explained. ¡°And I believe they are the best choice for what you want to do.¡±


    His blonde-haired cousin held up his hand. ¡°We both know All-Aeon Athenaeum has five areas for mages and wizards to work in. One is under the Astrologers.¡± Efratel raised a finger. ¡°They require one to be at least a 7<sup>th</sup> circle wizard, over a hundred years old, and someone with strong political connections before you can be considered an ¡®Astrologer¡¯, so you won¡¯t be working for them. Nor the Spatial Tower or Violet Order.¡±


    Efratel raised a second finger. ¡°The next is the Arcanists. These are the elemental Orders and Towers outside of the Spatial Tower and Violet Order, the ones not under the Astrologer¡¯s authority. You won¡¯t be working for any of them either.¡±


    He raised a third as Marellen watched. ¡°Then there¡¯s the Battle-path. The battlemages.¡± Efratel lifted an eyebrow. ¡°If you want to follow your father¡¯s footsteps and enter a Battalion of the Empire, working to conquer planes, then I¡¯d suggest this to you.¡±


    Marellen shuddered, making Efratel chuckle. ¡°I¡¯ll assume that was a no to that suggestion then,¡± his cousin remarked wryly.


    Then the blonde-haired man raised a fourth finger. ¡°We also have the Pioneers. The field researchers, analysis mages, documenters, archaeologists,¡± he gestured to Marellen, ¡°and the main expeditionary forces. However, the Pioneers¡¯ expeditionary forces are more about mapping newly discovered planes, and don¡¯t normally go to Old Era planes,¡± he said.


    Then he clasped his hands together and rested them on the table. ¡°And finally, we have the Confluents. Your alchemists, runic cryptographers, dedicated spell researchers, runic model developers, anything outside of pure elemental magic¡­¡± he listed, ¡°And the Artificers. And also the magic engineers before they broke away to join the Coalition.¡±


    Efratel gestured to Marellen. ¡°If you work for the Artificers, you¡¯ll gain access to Old Era planes, where you¡¯re entitled to part of the artifacts you retrieve, which, unique as they are, you can¡¯t purchase using the Commission Head¡¯s money,¡± Efratel explained, ¡°And will enable you to see natural mana phenomena in person, seeing if it does further your research into all-element magic, as the Commission Head suggested it would.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ have begun to believe it might,¡± Marellen replied hesitantly. ¡°Due to the lack of all-element spells, I can only find natural examples to further my magic, so natural mana phenomena are likely the closest I¡¯ll get to seeing all-element magic in person.¡± He looked down at his hand. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ quite surprising to me that the Commission Head suggested something like that. They must have a good understanding of magic.¡±


    Efratel hesitated. ¡°I¡­ wouldn¡¯t know much about that. They do seem capable of casting magic, but as to how much they know about it¡­ I have no idea.¡±


    Marellen sighed, having gotten used to these vague answers of Efratel¡¯s over the last few weeks. ¡°I¡¯ll think about the transfer for a few more days at least,¡± he said. ¡°Anyway, how has Roa been going?¡±


    ¡°Roa has been putting her resources as a ¡®sponsored mage of the Aurelian Commission Head¡¯ to good use,¡± Efratel replied with a chuckle. ¡°She¡¯s ordered a new staff, cloak, and other magical wear of a higher quality than the one she had been using. Not because of greed though,¡± he added, ¡°Because if she was still a normal adventurer, those items would make her a target. She¡¯s getting them in preparation for when you two explore the Old Era planes.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s enthusiastic about the idea?¡± Marellen asked with surprise.


    ¡°She said it¡¯s an amazing offer,¡± Efratel responded, smiling. ¡°Apparently, the idea of exploring ancient planes with powerful treasures appeals to her sense of adventure.¡±


    ¡°I suppose she¡¯d be used to combat, having worked in the Beast Realm for some time,¡± Marellen mused.


    ¡°Yes, and that¡¯s why you shouldn¡¯t be too worried about going to Old Era planes.¡± Efratel nodded. ¡°I plan on employing other experienced people to accompany you.¡± Efratel paused and then a slight smile appeared on his face. ¡°I may already have an idea just who, too.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to tell me, are you,¡± Marellen sighed wearily.


    Efratel only grinned. Marellen shook his head. ¡°At this point, I may as well just succumb to my fate and agree to go to those Old Era planes. I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be an interesting experience, at least.¡±


    ¡°Well, if you¡¯ve made up your mind, then I have a list of things you need to do beforehand,¡± Efratel said, reaching into his coat pocket to withdraw a piece of paper.


    Marellen took the list curiously. It contained information about what Marellen needed to do on his end at the Athenaeum, but other parts of it¡­ ¡°New skills?¡±


    Efratel nodded. ¡°You need to check the Archive and see what skills you should get to prepare you for going to the planes.¡± He gave Marellen a smirk. ¡°You¡¯ve only had experience researching spells at home, and a tiny bit of practical experience when we went to the Beast Realm. You have the contribution now,¡± he said, ¡°And I¡¯m allowed to purchase skill books for you using the Commission Head¡¯s money. See if you can evolve your main skills before going to an Old Era plane.¡±


    ¡°But the rest of this list¡­ new magical equipment?¡± Marellen asked curiously.


    Efratel gave him a slight grin. ¡°Use your sponsorship to get the top-quality version of all magical equipment for your rank. Any alchemy tools, magical gear, rune translation items, artifact analysis equipment¡­¡± His cousin thought for a moment and then smiled. ¡°Actually, how about we do this now?¡±


    ¡°¡­now?¡±


    The blonde-haired man nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± He gestured to the bustling street outside the caf¨¦. ¡°We¡¯re already close to the right sector, so it won¡¯t be a long walk.¡± Efratel clapped his hands together. ¡°So, let¡¯s go shopping!¡±


    Marellen had a feeling his cousin was more excited about the prospect of shopping on an unlimited budget than he had let on so far. He sighed, and after they had paid for their meal, they went searching through the magical shops, buying and ordering the new equipment for when he went searching for unique mana phenomena. Which, as the day continued, he had actually begun to like the idea a little.


    Then he was struck with another thought. If he could transfer to the Aeonic plane and explore Old Era planes for the Artificers over there¡­ then couldn¡¯t he avoid all the girls in the Academy?


    <hr>


    Grand-mage Deflasar Sulfest rubbed his temples as he considered the documents in front of him. As the authority in charge of outer plane expeditions, he received great power within the All-Aeon Athenaeum, but sometimes it left him with political messes like the one in front of him.


    Due to the unearthing of a particularly unique type of plane with rich wind mana the month before, the White Fall Dukedom on the 4<sup>th</sup> Major plane, the Snowbell Aurora plane, had been particularly vocal about conquering this new unranked plane for their nation of the Wintery Frost-Isle Queendom. As a noble clan with a history of producing powerful magic users for both the Ice and White Towers and Orders, many of which were High or Grand-mages within the Athenaeum, supporting their advance and supporting them as they conquered this plane was a good idea.


    The issue he had, however, was that the publicity of this new plane had overshadowed a highly important Old Era plane discovered only a few weeks prior to the wind plane. An incredibly valuable one too. Usually, keeping such a valuable plane a secret would be beneficial to those in charge of its exploration, but unfortunately, the situation was such that if after the White Fall Dukedom¡¯s plane had been conquered and they discovered the existence of the Old Era plane, who¡¯s exploration had occurred in the meantime, thousands of nobles will end up very, very mad at being left out. Supporting a Major Kingdom¡¯s Dukedom to gain their favour was one thing, but having the opportunity to gain the immense riches of the Old Era plane for themselves?


    And Deflasar couldn¡¯t even try to popularise this earlier discovered plane. That was because he would offend the White Fall Dukedom, who wanted to use the publicity of their plane conquering to obtain support from the nobles who desired a share of the profits and status of being ¡®plane conquerors¡¯. Publicizing the Old Era plane would make the nobles and talented expeditionaries flock to this plane rather than the one with strong wind element, reducing the profit of the White Fall Dukedom, who wished to limit the costs of conquering the plane by using these nobles.


    So, he was stuck. He had a valuable plane on his hands, but if he revealed it, he¡¯d offend a Dukedom, and if he hid it, the All-Aeon Athenaeum¡¯s losses would be immense. That was because this plane, or ¡®plane shard¡¯ as was more accurate, was on a time limit.


    Very rarely, when Astrologers calculated the location of a new plane that had drifted closer, and those from the Spatial Tower and Violet Order had set up a teleportation array to access it, they came across a phenomenon called a ¡®shattered plane¡¯. These planes were planes that had broken due to catastrophic battles between primal beasts in the past, the damage to the planes so great that their sources cracked, and the plane shattered into smaller planes. On the surface, that meant there were just more smaller planes, but things weren¡¯t so simple.


    Planes had a lifespan. The amount of time they could exist before their source mana, the impossibly dense substance that generated atmospheric mana for the trillions of existences that lived on their surfaces, ran out, and the landmass of the plane fell into the endless void space below. Of course, planes could also merge, in an event that took hundreds of thousands of years to occur, regaining lifespan and getting drawn towards the Aeternus plane¡¯s domain once more, so the Mystical Realm never ran out of planes. The mana of dying planes slowly leaked out, and people would gradually leave the plane, going to prosperous planes with more mana.


    However, shattered planes were different. They were planes that weren¡¯t dying naturally. They had been damaged, so the process of their death was extraordinarily chaotic. Shattered plane sources rapidly began releasing mana when the shattering occurred, raising the amount of mana in the plane up to soaring heights, sending all the mana within into disarray, creating hundreds of dangerous Dungeons, and heightening the power of all natural mana phenomena within.


    Also, artifacts, artifacts, artifacts. Thousands of powerful naturally-formed artifacts.


    In an extraordinarily rare process, the dense mana and heightened natural mana phenomena birthed many artifacts, the sheer quantity of mana within creating artifacts with power normally only gained after spending hundreds of thousands of years in pocket dimensions. Any magical item left on the Old Era plane, any relic or ruin with the slightest bit of magic, could become artifacts, creating a treasure trove for all expeditionaries who venture onto the plane.


    The negatives to this were the more dangerous natural mana phenomena and the many monsters from the Dungeons, but the Dungeons gave out experience and magical items, and, while on the plane, any magical item had a chance of becoming an artifact, so it was overshadowed by the massive positives of the place.


    However, a plane¡¯s lifespan was dictated by the size of its source, which controlled the size of the land mass it could support. The shattered plane that had been discovered was named the Ancient Brighten plane, and while its source was cracked, its main land mass had enough source mana to stay afloat for roughly one more century. The main land mass was called the Greater Allbright Empire shard, after the name of the nation that had existed on it.


    Another plane shard had broken off from this though, only a week before the White Fall Dukedom¡¯s plane had been discovered. It had been called the Sundown Continent Shard. This plane had a lifespan of only ten years. The mana within would reach its peak around the end of December, where it would stay for the next couple of years, until it slowly began to decline. If the artifacts within weren¡¯t retrieved before the end of the plane, they would never be seen again. It was a race against time.


    The best time to gain artifacts was at the very start, retrieving as many as possible before the speed of collection decreased, and the competition got stronger. The Artificers held priority, as the ones the plane¡¯s exploration authority had been transferred to, but they found artifacts with historical value or unique abilities more important, and so the more powerful artifacts wouldn¡¯t necessarily be wanted by them. In essence, if he failed to draw enough attention to the Old Era plane¡­ there would be a riot among the nobles.


    There was only one thing to do. Keep the plane as an open secret, and turn it into a special event. Deflasar would send out ¡®secret¡¯ invitations to talented young members of the Athenaeum, so they would come to the plane. He¡¯d need to ensure they were nobles, so he wouldn¡¯t attract unwanted attention from Olden, and they¡¯d need to come from higher nobility families, or at least have an important sponsor from the Aeternus plane behind them.


    That would allow the plane to attract publicity in a way different to what the White Fall Dukedom was doing, as the higher nobility would have no interest in a Dukedom from a Major Kingdom. And they had to be very talented, of course. There would be immense competition to enter this plane, so pure status wouldn¡¯t cut it.


    But even then, there wouldn¡¯t be enough people exploring the plane. All the good expeditionaries would be hired by nobles to go to the White Fall Dukedom¡¯s plane¡­


    However, the heirs of nobility would be going to the Sundown Continent shard. They¡¯d need protection. If he allowed them to take three additional people, so they could bring enough guards to form a four-man party, then there would be no issue. If the heirs died¡­ well, he was kind enough to even let them bring guards, so how was he to blame? He¡¯d make sure the invited Athenaeum member had control over all artifacts, though. Couldn¡¯t have some lucky commoner guard running off with a powerful artifact of the Athenaeum¡¯s now, could he?


    Deflasar Sulfest nodded to himself, and dipped his fountain pen in an inkwell, ready to begin writing up instructions for this new ¡®event¡¯. The nobles would be annoyed at how he had restricted it to those with invitations only, but by revealing that the Greater Allbright Empire shard would open a few years after the Sundown Continent shard, they would be quietened. With his instructions written up, he placed a finger on his desk to insert mana into the mana-circle that would call one of his students to assist him. Then he stood up, prepared to organise some people to spread rumours of this ¡®secret event¡¯ among the higher nobility mages and wizards. He left his study.


    A little while later, one of the Grand-mage¡¯s students entered the man¡¯s room and deposited a list on the desk. The list contained promising young members of the All-Aeon Athenaeum¡¯s Aeonic plane according to the Grand-mage¡¯s requirements, with both noble status, an important backer or family, and high talent.


    And on one page, a picture of a navy-haired young man next to the name of ¡®Marellen Vadel¡¯ could be seen.

 Chapter 42 (1 of 2) Affliction of an Atlantean.

    ¡°When faced with a move like this, you need to take a step back and correct your position.¡±


    The burly blonde-haired man punched out with his fist towards her exposed side. She narrowly dodged it, stepping back with one foot to twist her body to the side.


    ¡°And avoid getting caught in the follow-up move.¡±


    She ducked as the man¡¯s other fist shifted to try to punch her again. But the scarred man¡¯s leg swung out and swept her off her feet. She dived into a roll to get back up.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget to counterattack either. That can make your opponent pause and fail to do a follow-up move, giving you time.¡±


    She punched forward with her fist as he came closer, but the man blocked it with a large hand. Expecting that, she kicked a leg up, aiming for his jaw, but he blocked that with his other hand as well.


    He grabbed her ankle with two hands and pulled in an attempt to slam her onto the ground on the opposite side, but she foiled his attempt by wrapping her arms around his neck partway, trying to choke him as she essentially sat on his shoulder.


    ¡°I¡­ feel¡­ like¡­ this¡­ is¡­ a little¡­ unfair¡­¡± she said through gritted teeth, the strength of her limbs unable to cut off any air at all.


    The battle-scarred man just laughed. ¡°Sorry, but you won¡¯t be able to overcome the difference in our CON, Riftmire.¡±


    His pull on her leg grew stronger, and she slipped off his shoulder, slamming onto the ground. She gazed wearily at him as he stepped forward with a toothy grin.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been quite the interesting sparring partner this month, Riftmire,¡± Commander Arkenast said.


    ¡°Glad to know one of us has enjoyed this,¡± she muttered.


    He chuckled, leaning forward to offer her a hand. She took it, getting back onto her feet. The Commander gestured to someone standing off to the side with his hand. ¡°I¡¯m not the only one, Riftmire. I¡¯m sure Wharifin here has been watching our sparring sessions with great interest, considering how often he comes here.¡±


    Standing a distance away, looking at Adrianna and the Commander with a hesitant and slightly awkward expression, was Caspian. ¡°Uh¡­ sure¡­ if that¡¯s how you put it¡­¡±


    Commander Arkenast smirked, planting his hands on his hips. ¡°I have to say though, Riftmire¡­¡± he said, looking at her. ¡°I almost find it a shame that you chose to be a mage instead of a warrior. The possibilities of a warrior who releases no killing intent¡­¡± He shook his head. ¡°And imagine if you had become an assassin!¡±


    ¡°The only reason I have put up even a slight bit of resistance facing you is because of the analytical abilities I gained from being a mage,¡± she replied, stretching her arms. ¡°And I wouldn¡¯t be able to use mana-arts anyway.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Have you tested this?¡± he asked curiously.


    She nodded. ¡°I once tried to learn a prerequisite skill for a weaker mana-art just to see how it worked.¡± She shook her head. ¡°I couldn¡¯t understand the mana usage. It seems mana creates specific effects when killing intent is used, but I could only get the theoretical aspect.¡±


    ¡°Interesting. I don¡¯t usually think about how my mana acts when I use killing intent,¡± the Commander mused, ¡°But it seems to play a bigger part than I thought, considering our spars.¡±


    Then he grinned at her. ¡°Although, Riftmire, you have more physical combat experience than I expected.¡±


    In her sparring with Commander Arkenast, she hadn¡¯t been completely hopeless. She did know some martial arts, such as taekwondo, jujutsu, kickboxing, wrestling, Krav Maga¡­


    ¡­as the only heir of a multibillionaire, she had gotten bored.


    ¡°The martial arts I learnt were used for sport mostly,¡± she responded, walking over to the side to get a drink of water from a flask. ¡°They don¡¯t have any lethal moves.¡±


    ¡°For sport? On your home plane?¡± Commander Arkenast asked.


    Adrianna nodded. ¡°We didn¡¯t have much mana there.¡±


    Both the Commander and Caspian looked very interested, but she didn¡¯t say anything more on the topic. Commander Arkenast held his chin as he watched her, but eventually shrugged. Then a broad grin appeared on his face as he gestured to her to come closer.


    ¡°Well, considering this is our last day for sparring, I say we go another few rounds,¡± he said cheerfully.


    Gazing at him with a mixture of exasperation and weariness, she suppressed a sigh and stepped forward, then got into a combat-ready stance. Caspian gave her a look of pity as the Commander charged forward.


    He began by punching towards her face with his right hand, to which she tilted her head to dodge and followed up with a kick from her left leg, aiming for his side.


    Commander Arkenast twisted his body and raised a knee to block it, then kicked out with the leg to knock away hers.


    The move destabilised her, but she had expected that, and when his follow-up move came to take advantage of her weakness, she avoided the fist headed for her stomach by stepping to the side and running forward to punch the Commander.


    He caught her fist with his hand and twisted her around so it was behind her back. She slipped her foot behind one of his and tried to make him fall over backwards.


    He shifted his foot just slightly to remove hers, so she spun around to the other side, making her arm no longer behind her back, and aimed for his jaw with her other free hand.


    The Commander smirked as he grabbed that fist, making her locked in place as she couldn¡¯t remove his grip from either hand.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you using too much strength?¡± she hissed.


    Commander Arkenast chuckled. ¡°I said I¡¯d keep it to a warrior-manipulator of your level, and I still haven¡¯t changed it. Don¡¯t blame me for your mistakes.¡±


    He roughly shoved her back as he let go, letting her get back into position before they fought again.


    As they dashed towards each other to clash with their limbs once more, a few Officers walked by, some of whom were off duty on the ship, and paused when they saw them sparring. They came up to Caspian, who heard their footsteps and turned around. He gave them a nod when he saw who they were.


    ¡°Hello Lisent, Paroch and Mawelsteff.¡± He turned back to look at the Commander and Adrianna. ¡°As you can see, they¡¯re doing it again.¡±


    ¡°How long until he leaves her alone?¡± one of the Officers asked, a blonde-haired man in his late twenties.


    ¡°Well¡­ he did say today was the last day they would be sparring¡­¡± Caspian replied, watching Adrianna get flipped onto her back again by the Commander. ¡°Whenever he gets bored, I guess. Or there¡¯s work to be done.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure Stanhope would say there¡¯s work the Commander needs to do right now,¡± Another Officer said, a man with brown hair in his mid-thirties.


    Caspian huffed a laugh. ¡°We all know what he has to say about work and the Commander.¡±


    ¡°Although, this new Officer that¡¯s caught the Commander¡¯s attention¡­¡± the brown-haired Officer muttered. ¡°I think I heard something about her being on combat duty later today?¡±


    Caspian raised an eyebrow. ¡°But Riftmire¡¯s an illusion mage.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure that¡¯s what I heard though¡­¡± the Officer turned to the third black-haired Officer beside them. ¡°Mawelsteff, wasn¡¯t it you who told me this?¡±


    The man nodded. ¡°Yep. She¡¯ll be placed with the lot clearing out the low-ranked monsters today until the end of the month. The Commander will be there to supervise her as he¡¯s stepping back from fighting the greater monsters to give the newer Rank-5s a chance to increase their levels.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I remember hearing something from Stanhope about her,¡± the blonde-haired Officer spoke up. ¡°Her magic is pretty unique, according to him.¡±


    ¡°But if she¡¯s a mage, why is she sparring with the Commander?¡± the brown-haired one asked.


    The three of them and Caspian paused to watch Adrianna fight with the Commander for a few moves.


    The Commander threw out a punch which she used a forearm to deflect, then attempted to kick him.


    Commander Arkenast dodged it, but she ran forward and¡­ kneed his crotch. Of course, it didn¡¯t actually hurt the man, as his CON was too high, but it made Caspian wince, the expressions of the three Officers beside him twitch, and the Commander gaze at her with a strange expression.


    ¡°That¡¯s dirty¡­¡± the blonde-haired Officer muttered.


    ¡°Riftmire, don¡¯t you think you¡¯re being a little bit too underhanded?¡± Commander Arkenast said.


    ¡°You¡¯ve told me to attack if there¡¯s a weakness. I saw a weakness, so I attacked,¡± she stated calmly. She looked down at the wooden deck of the ship. ¡°If we were back at the fortress and had dirt on the ground, I would¡¯ve tried to throw some at your eyes.¡±


    They all stared at her, taken aback by her words. The three Officers beside Caspian turned to look at him.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Wharifin, what kind of person is this new colleague of yours?¡± the brown-haired Officer asked, feeling bemused.


    ¡°Here¡¯s the thing, Paroch¡­¡± Caspian watched the figure of the Commander charge forward and then grab Adrianna in a headlock. ¡°I¡¯m still not entirely sure.¡±


    Freed from the headlock a few seconds later, Adrianna attempted to kick Commander Arkenast¡¯s stomach, but he used his forearms to block it and then retaliated by grabbing her leg and pulling on it. She was yanked off her feet and laid there on the ground again, just breathing heavily.


    ¡°Again, with your inability to sense killing intent, I feel like it¡¯s such a shame you didn¡¯t become a warrior.¡± The Commander sighed, crossing his arms. ¡°You¡¯d be the Tower¡¯s most unpredictable fighter.¡±


    ¡°I would be killed by the first sneak attack I came across,¡± she replied after her breathing was back to normal.


    ¡°Possibly¡­¡± Then Commander Arkenast grinned at her. ¡°But wouldn¡¯t your pseudo-domain help you detect it?¡±


    A few metres away Caspian blinked in surprise, the three other Officers giving Adrianna another appraising look.


    ¡°A pseudo-domain at Rank-1?¡± Paroch commented. ¡°Normally only early Rank-2s start forming one of them. It¡¯s not until around late Rank-2 that you can form a domain, after all.¡±


    ¡°Do you know why the Commander put her next to you?¡± the black-haired Mawelsteff asked Caspian.


    ¡°Erm¡­ no, not really,¡± he replied with a strange expression.


    ¡°My pseudo-domain doesn¡¯t cover my inability to dodge an attack quick enough,¡± Adrianna said to the Commander, getting up off the ground.


    ¡°That¡¯s true¡­ however, on the topic of dodging-¡±


    ¡°Commander! I¡¯ve been looking- why are you fighting her again?!¡±


    The six of them all turned to look at the newcomer. Ross Stanhope was marching forward with a dark look on his face, holding a clipboard in one hand. He frowned when he saw Caspian and the three Officers.


    ¡°What are you guys doing here?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re off duty, sir,¡± the brown-haired Paroch replied with a smile.


    Ross nodded. ¡°Ah. That¡¯s fine then¡­ but you, Commander, are not!¡± he exclaimed, jabbing a finger at the battle-scarred man.


    ¡°Well, there wasn¡¯t really much that needed doing currently, so I-¡±


    ¡°Not much?! I still have half a dozen battle reports to go over with you, a logistics check-up to occur, and a meeting with the senior magic engineers scheduled in only an hour!¡± Ross interrupted, gesturing angrily to his clipboard. ¡°At least tell me where you¡¯re going before ditching work!¡±


    Then he turned to Adrianna and pointed at her. ¡°You should¡¯ve rejected his request for a spar.¡±


    Adrianna¡¯s expression was flat as she glanced between Ross and the grinning Commander Arkenast. ¡°Reject¡­¡± She gestured to the tall man next to her. ¡°¡­him.¡±


    Ross ignored her dubiousness to point at Caspian. ¡°And I¡¯m disappointed in you, Wharifin, for not preventing this foolhardiness.¡±


    Caspian stared at him in disbelief. ¡°Why am I getting brought into this?¡±


    The three Officers next to him chuckled and gave him a few pats on his shoulders, amused at his situation.


    The Commander spread his arms, smirking. ¡°Come now, Stanhope, you can¡¯t blame those two for this. None of this is their fault.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I know.¡± Ross glared at him. ¡°I¡¯m aware that this is your fault.¡± He sighed and put a hand on his hip. ¡°Are you done? Is this sparring session over? Can you please return to your study on the warship so we can discuss these battle reports?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Commander Arkenast considered it. ¡°Okay. We¡¯re done¡­.¡±


    Ross sighed in relief until the Commander said his next words.


    ¡°¡­.after one more spar.¡±


    Ross rubbed his temples with a scowl, then threw up his hands. ¡°Argh! Fine! Fine! Have your little spar, and then please come back with me!¡±


    The battle-scarred man grinned and turned back to Adrianna. ¡°Continuing on from what I was saying about your dodging ability¡­¡± He readied himself to attack her. ¡°Let¡¯s have our final spar with you only dodging my attacks, as we¡¯ve done a few times before.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Yes sir.¡± She prepared herself for the Commander¡¯s attack, going fully expressionless to devote all her mental abilities to focusing on the spar.


    The Commander dashed forward, ready to punch her, as she sped up her thoughts and sent more spiritual energy into the construct responsible for controlling her movements. She switched off the function responsible for lowering the precision of her actions.


    A sidestep to the left will give him 13 possible ways to make a secondary attack. A sidestep to the right, based on his current posture, will give him 23 ways to make a secondary attack.


    She sidestepped to the left. The Commander reached out with his other hand to grab her.


    Calculating the correct angle, she ducked just low enough for him to miss when he tried to move his arm down.


    He swept out with a kick. She rolled out of the way and got back up, then took several steps back to leave space between them. Her analytical mental constructs worked to determine his potential courses of action.


    He dashed forward again, this time to try to tackle her to the ground. She leaned to the side and let him slip past him. He turned around to face her again.


    He sprinted forward to kick her stomach. She twisted her body so he just missed her side.


    He turned and attempted to knee her side. She took several steps backwards to avoid it.


    He raced towards her to elbow her neck. She leaned back in one fluid movement and the attack went over her head.


    Their exchange repeated several times like this, the Commander coming after her, and her just barely avoiding his attacks.


    Then Commander Arkenast smirked. His steps quickened up and his movements became faster as he attempted to grab her.


    She analysed his movements in greater depth, adjusting her thoughts to match his new speed.


    My energy consumption is going to increase. I need to be careful with my actions so I don¡¯t tire too soon.


    She ducked under his arm, then took a few quick steps forward. The Commander¡¯s increased speed meant if she hesitated his follow-up attack would hit her.


    Commander Arkenast sent a punch towards her head as her back was turned. She tilted her head to avoid it, then hastily turned her body so he couldn¡¯t use that same arm to elbow her.


    He used his other hand to try to grab her arm. She evaded his grasp by taking another step back, but he had already come closer, ready for his next attack.


    He sent a kick towards her, where she narrowly dodged it by ducking into a roll. She sprang back up but instantly had to dive again as the Commander¡¯s arm reached for her neck.


    Unfortunately, that was a feint. His other hand was already positioned to strike her stomach when she avoided the attack.


    But she had estimated the possibility of that happening. Her own ¡®dive¡¯ was also fake, where she instead slipped past the arm and twisted around him.


    His leg moved to get her to stumble, but she could change the pattern of her steps quickly enough to avoid it. Then something changed.


    With a wicked grin on the Commander¡¯s face, the muscles in his right arm tensed for one brief moment, and then he sent out a powerful punch that sent the wind whistling past it.


    She focused intently on his moves as she felt inwardly irritated.


    Didn¡¯t he say he¡¯d keep his strength to only a warrior-manipulator of my level? This is at the level of a late Rank-1 warrior at the very least.


    Commander Arkenast¡¯s speed increased explosively, and it took her to the utmost limit of her current capabilities to keep track of his movements. She had merged her consciousnesses, so her main body¡¯s mental constructs could be used to deal with the Commander, but she couldn¡¯t use too much spiritual energy in case she unsettled her soul.


    She narrowly dodged his fist with a tilt of her head, the force of his punch sending her hair moving in the wind, but with reflexes as quick as lightning, he reached out with his other hand to try to grasp her wrist.


    She snapped her arm back while dashing back a few steps, but not before he sent a well-positioned leg heading towards her side.


    She barely evaded it and tried to create space between them by sprinting back. They were too close.


    Unfortunately, he kept up with her movements, the increased speed meaning he took less time to recover from his failed attacks. And her body didn¡¯t have the AGI to react to her high-speed thoughts, even if she could analyse his pattern of attack and wanted to get away from him.


    Commander Arkenast pushed forward powerfully on one leg and raised a knee, aimed straight towards her abdomen. From where she was, she couldn¡¯t step backwards or to the side quick enough to avoid it.


    However, using the force of his leg, she placed her hands on his thigh and then used her arms to lift her body up. He reached out with both of his own arms, in an act to grab her around the waist, but with the exertion of her core strength, she used her momentum to throw her legs and the rest of her body over his shoulder, essentially doing a flip as she landed on the other side of him to drop into a roll.


    She got back up, and turned around, breathing heavily as she gazed at the smirking Commander. Caspian and the others were staring at them, utterly dumbfounded.


    ¡°And that, Riftmire, is what truly makes it a shame you never became a physical combatant,¡± Commander Arkenast said, pointing at her.


    ¡°You said you¡¯d keep your strength to a warrior-manipulator of my level,¡± she replied wearily, not impressed with the newest change to their sparring.


    ¡°As the Commander of White Squall Fortress, I make the rules,¡± he replied with a toothy grin. ¡°And I wanted to know where your limits truly lie.¡±


    Commander Arkenast planted his hands on his hips. ¡°Your ability to control your body is near-perfect, Riftmire. That movement you did just then? It involved such accuracy that if you timed any of your movements wrong by the slightest margin, it would be over for you.¡± He shook his head in disappointment. ¡°And you chose to become a mage, of all things.¡±


    She walked over near Caspian, where a flask of water sat on a stack of boxes. She uncapped it to take a drink. ¡°My affinity is still illusion. The attack power of illusion mana is normally not very high, so I wouldn¡¯t be able to be a good physical combatant with it.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you gained the affinity one month after the Tutorial?¡± the battle-scarred man asked, raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°Yes, but I didn¡¯t necessarily want it to change my affinity. It wasn¡¯t on purpose.¡± She placed down the flask.


    However, she had already chosen to be an illusion mage before she had bonded Scytale. She just didn¡¯t know that magically bonding with a magical beast affected affinity, especially when you had no other elemental affinity. She might not have wanted a Superior illusion affinity had she known. Especially as the higher the affinity, the harder to change it. With a Superior illusion affinity, it was practically impossible for her to gain any other element.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± He eyed her curiously but eventually shook his head. ¡°Well, that¡¯s our final spar for a long time yet, although I wouldn¡¯t be averse to fighting every once in a while later on,¡± he said with a grin. ¡°It¡¯s a bit unfortunate you only got experience fighting someone much larger than you, which would normally be rare with your height, but I guess in the end, you¡¯re still a mage.¡±


    That¡¯s actually what made these spars helpful to me instead. When I fight people with my main body, they¡¯ll likely be taller and larger.


    Commander Arkenast walked over to the rest of them. He looked at Ross. ¡°That will be all for us.¡±


    Ross gazed at Adrianna with a strange expression, before turning to the Commander. ¡°¡­right. Then, let¡¯s go back to your study.¡±


    Commander Arkenast nodded, but then paused and glanced at Adrianna again. ¡°Actually¡­ I just want to talk to Riftmire privately for a few minutes first before we go.¡±


    Ross frowned. ¡°What? Why¡­¡± He saw the Commander glance at Caspian who happened to be explaining his interactions with her over the last month to the other Officers, and then nodded. ¡°Oh. Okay then. But please be quick, sir.¡±


    She followed after the Commander when he gestured to her, walking a distance far enough that the other Officers couldn¡¯t eavesdrop. He crossed his arms as he turned to her with a serious look on his face.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to be using your magic today.¡±


    She nodded, aware of what he probably wanted to say to her.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be on the ship, capable of watching you as you do so, but I¡¯ll also be watching to see how he reacts to your magic,¡± Commander Arkenast explained, sending another glance at Caspian. ¡°If for any reason the effect is worse than expected, or affects him negatively in other ways, then I might change my decision to have him as your second-in-command.¡±


    ¡°But if not¡­¡± He continued, ¡°Then he¡¯ll be your right-hand man for a few years at the very least. I¡¯ll also decide for him to stay on this warship over December and January too, so he becomes familiar with your abilities as your second-in-command. And I would prefer that you be the one to explain this to him.¡±


    ¡°After today?¡± she asked, already knowing the answer.


    The battle-scarred man sighed. ¡°No. I¡¯d like you to tell him before he sees your magic.¡±


    ¡°¡­I¡¯m not sure he¡¯d appreciate his younger colleague revealing this to him.¡± She knew Caspian wouldn¡¯t actually care, but she needed to keep pretending she was still unfamiliar with him.


    Commander Arkenast shook his head with a slight smile. ¡°That boy wouldn¡¯t react like that.¡± He put a hand on her shoulder to give her a solemn look. ¡°If you decide you don¡¯t want to be the one to tell him this, then I understand. It¡¯s quite a burden I¡¯m placing on you.¡±


    The last time he asked this she had remained silent, but she knew this was important for her to do in this timeline.


    ¡°No. I¡¯ll do it,¡± she stated firmly.


    He paused and tilted his head as he removed his hand. ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± She nodded.


    He went silent as he studied her, likely looking to see if she was being truthful, and then nodded with a sigh. ¡°Okay then. And, if you tell him before the third hour¡­.. then I¡¯ll show you both something interesting,¡± he said with a smile.


    With that, Commander Arkenast walked off, he and Ross going back to their work. She glanced at Caspian, who had begun another discussion with the other Officers, and shook her head, going in another direction.


    Now wasn¡¯t the time to tell him. She had a time and place in mind, and it would be after the ship finished returning to the fortress.


    ¡­


    Caspian hummed, heading down a side path behind the main command building of the fortress. The path he was walking took him to the outskirts of the fortress, where the massive walls that bordered it towered above the fewer people there. Then he entered a building, which contained stables of varying sizes, filled with low-ranked magical beasts of different kinds. He nodded to one or two people in there, then took a back entrance, so he found himself in a large garden behind the building. As he stepped out, ten-odd magic beasts ran towards him.


    Caspian chuckled as the juvenile wolf-beasts with wings launched themselves at him, bowling him over. ¡°All right, all right, I know you guys are happy to see me. Calm down a little.¡±


    He sat there for a few minutes, playing with the low-ranked magic beasts. He looked content.


    Adrianna didn¡¯t necessarily want to interrupt him, but she knew she wouldn¡¯t be able to catch him alone at any other time. And she also wanted to talk to him in this place for¡­ certain reasons. She walked forward from where she had been leaning against the building behind Caspian.


    When she came a little closer, Caspian seemed to pause for a second, appearing like he felt something, then looked over his shoulder. When he saw her, he stared at her, stunned.


    ¡°Adrianna? What are you doing here?¡± He frowned slightly as she walked up to him and crossed her arms. ¡°No, how did you even find this place?¡± He hesitated. ¡°Or me?¡±


    ¡°My spiritual perception helped,¡± she informed him.


    Her answer just made him gaze at her with a strange expression, before he sighed. ¡°I- whatever then. It¡¯s not like you can¡¯t be here, I guess.¡± He turned back to look at the wolves on his lap. ¡°Even if it¡¯s strange you followed me.¡±


    She didn¡¯t say anything, just watching the wolves, and so Caspian gave her a slightly awkward smile. ¡°So, came to see me play with baby magical beasts? I doubt that¡¯s it, knowing you.¡± He shook his head as his smile appeared slightly bitter. ¡°I guess the ¡®soft-hearted¡¯ demi-Atlantean who came down here to see a few puppies is just an interesting spectacle for you then.¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    She was quiet for a while, as he just watched her, looking curious and a bit confused about why she was hesitating about answering.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be in the Navy,¡± she eventually decided to say.


    Caspian Wharifin fell silent as he gazed at her, appearing hurt. Then his expression darkened and he stood up.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure you, who has no care for anybody or anything, might think that. I must seem like a burden to the Navy, from your perspective. After all, Adrianna Riftmire is already capable of doing anything anyone asks with no hesitation.¡±


    He turned around and walked off. ¡°Because showing or feeling emotion is a waste for you, isn¡¯t it? Why should you care about other people¡¯s feelings, and bother to say anything other than what you think is fact?¡±


    He opened the door of the building to leave. ¡°But I¡¯ll have you know, even if you don¡¯t seem to think I have value here, the Commander does. So do many others in the Navy. I don¡¯t need to prove myself to you.¡±


    He shut the door and she was left in the garden alone. She looked down at the winged wolves, who were trembling as they looked at her, letting out slight growls as they backed away. She sighed and walked away to leave.


    She wasn¡¯t able to tell him, and now he thought she found him useless and weak. That was not her intention.


    Maybe it would¡¯ve been better if she hadn¡¯t tried to treat him differently from the others. But she didn¡¯t know what else she should¡¯ve done.


    It would probably be best if she said and pretended to Commander Arkenast she hadn¡¯t been able to do as he asked.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    That had been how it had gone in the past. Back then, she had barely interacted with him, and so they weren¡¯t familiar enough that he would¡¯ve listened if she tried to explain herself.


    But she was going to go about things differently this time.

 Chapter 42 (2 of 2) Affliction of an Atlantean.

    That had been how it had gone in the past. Back then, she had barely interacted with him, and so they weren¡¯t familiar enough that he would¡¯ve listened if she tried to explain herself.


    But she was going to go about things differently this time.


    ¡°The Distorted Depths Navy isn¡¯t a place you should be in,¡± she replied to him.


    As in the past, Caspian appeared very hurt by her answer. He went silent, and then eventually, after a few minutes, he got up from the ground, brushing grass off his pants.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯ve heard, but I¡¯m not as weak as you seem to think,¡± he said quietly, before turning around and beginning to walk away.


    But her words made him freeze.


    ¡°I¡¯ve met a member of the Atlantean bloodline in the past who explained why Atlanteans don¡¯t like to travel outside of their Capital City.¡±


    She put her hands behind her back as she turned to look at the magical winged wolves. ¡°He described the sensations they experience when monsters are in their presence.¡±


    Caspian turned around to stare at her as she continued, ¡°A primal feeling of revulsion. A feeling of deep abhorrence and intense disgust. A sensation of physical and mental defilement and illness, making them sick to their stomach, giving them severe nausea, pain, dizziness, chills, finding it hard to breathe, and more symptoms.¡±


    He took a step closer to her as she glanced at him.


    ¡°The rulers of water, the seaborne, spend their days in the Capital City of Atlantea because their Sanctum of Purity, the source of one of the most powerful water-element natural treasures in the Tower, is the only thing that can erase the feeling from them. With their natural authority over water, Atlanteans use water as something like a second limb and merge their senses with it. They are capable of sensing the very environment around them at all times, and only need a monster to be on the outermost fringes of their perception to experience the sensation.¡±


    She crossed her arms. ¡°The Distorted Depths region is not somewhere an Atlantean is supposed to be.¡±


    Caspian gave her a weak smile as he spread his arms. ¡°But I¡¯m only quarter-Atlantean. Shouldn¡¯t that make it easier for me?¡±


    ¡°The man I spoke to was half-Atlantean,¡± she replied. She glanced in the direction of the main command building. ¡°The only thing a purer bloodline gives you is greater control over water and heightened senses. He said the sensation remains the same.¡±


    He went silent again as he looked at her with a troubled expression before he sighed and crouched down. He patted one of the wolf pups. ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t know, but that was clearly the wrong idea,¡± he muttered with a bitter look on his face. ¡°I had hoped there was at least one more person who knew me who didn¡¯t have to pity me every time I use my abilities.¡±


    Then he stood back up and frowned at her. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s up to you to say I have no place here. I don¡¯t believe someone who hasn¡¯t even been an Officer for a full month yet can comment on my decisions when I¡¯ve spent the last six years as a member of this Navy.¡±


    She gave a slight sigh. ¡°I wasn¡¯t referring to before this. The Commander has made a decision that will make things harder for you from now on, though.¡±


    He gave her a confused look, but she didn¡¯t explain. Instead, she crouched down and held out her hand for one of the winged wolves. It smelled her, but then it whimpered and ran away to hide behind Caspian.


    ¡°They¡¯ve never reacted like that before,¡± he muttered with a frown.


    She stood back up once she had seen them act how she expected. ¡°The Main Navy Admirals made an important decision before my training camp,¡± she suddenly said.


    Caspian blinked at the sudden and strange change in topic, but she continued, ¡°The M.W.S. Dawnlight, the special warship containing the elite training camp¡¯s crew of the last three years, is going to sail again in February. I¡¯ve been told I¡¯ll be in charge of its crew.¡±


    He stared at her in surprise. ¡°Oh¡­ wow, you must be impressive then¡­¡±


    She gave him a sideways look. ¡°Judging by the Commander¡¯s actions these last few weeks, who do you think he¡¯ll place as my second-in-command?¡±


    The green-haired man opened his mouth, paused as the realisation came to him, and then he closed it. He rubbed the back of his neck as he gazed at the ground in thought. ¡°¡­ is it me?¡± he finally asked with hesitance.


    She nodded. Her silent response made him gain a thoughtful and complicated look on his face as he considered the idea. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ I never expected to be given a responsibility like that¡­¡±


    She placed her hands on her hips and frowned slightly. ¡°And you¡¯ll be seeing my magic today.¡±


    He blinked. ¡°Oh, right, the Commander will be watching you¡­ wait, what¡¯s wrong?¡± he said as he saw the look on her face.


    ¡°The Commander has done a very cruel thing by placing you with me,¡± she stated as she glanced in the direction of the main command building. ¡°Even if he thinks it could-¡± she hesitated and just sighed as Caspian frowned at her.


    ¡°Cruel? Adrianna, the Commander isn¡¯t someone who¡¯s ever done something that could be described as being ¡®cruel¡¯,¡± he said, sounding uncomfortable.


    She went silent again and just shook her head. ¡°He said if everything¡¯s fine with my magic then you¡¯ll also be placed on his warship for December and January,¡± she informed him.


    Caspian considered it, then gave her a slight smile. ¡°That¡¯s a surprise, but it¡¯s not something that could be considered ¡®cruel¡¯. I¡¯ve done it several times before.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about that.¡± She shook her head again. ¡°Never mind. You¡¯ll understand in a few hours regardless.¡± She gestured to him. ¡°Anyway, just so you know, Commander Arkenast said there¡¯s something he wanted to show us after 3 o¡¯clock.¡± She turned around. ¡°I¡¯m going to head back now.¡±


    She saw Caspian stare at her for a couple of seconds through her perception, making her confused, before she realised it was because she had bothered to explain what she was going to do before doing it. She ignored him and walked away.


    Hopefully, this will mean we have a better start than last time.


    But Caspian¡¯s Atlantean bloodline was only half of the reason why he was the worst person the Commander could¡¯ve chosen to be her second-in-command.


    ¡­


    ¡°Commander, where are you taking us, and why are Riftmire and Wharifin here as well?¡± a dark-haired man complained.


    The footsteps of the four of them echoed, bouncing off the stony walls as they were led further and further down the tunnel. Caspian and her were walking behind the two older men as they discussed the Commander¡¯s decision to take them on a walk.


    The blonde-haired man gave Ross a toothy grin. ¡°Just be patient, Stanhope. We¡¯ll get there in a short moment.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve been walking for the past ten minutes already!¡± Ross replied, sounding annoyed. He frowned as he looked around the tunnel again. ¡°Also, I don¡¯t recognise the path we¡¯re taking. And I¡¯ve been an Officer here for sixteen years already.¡±


    ¡°Well, you¡¯d need to be an Officer for nearly fifty years or longer to recognise this path,¡± the Commander replied cheerily.


    ¡°Fifty? Wait¡­.¡± Ross¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Are you taking us to-¡±


    ¡°Here we are!¡± Commander Arkenast suddenly exclaimed, gesturing to a large metal door set in the wall. A circular design was engraved on the front. There were no doorknobs or handles to open it.


    The Commander placed a hand on the door, and with a glow of blue light, his mana filled the channels of the engraving. A hum sounded out as a magic circle generated in front of the engraving, slowly rotating in place. The door unlocked with a click and then swung backwards. Commander Arkenast gestured to it. ¡°Follow me.¡±


    Ross, Caspian, and she did so, following the burly blonde-haired man through into another dark hallway, this one with walls of dark stone brick. They came to a second door, but on the wall beside it were several smaller mana-circles. The Commander gestured to them.


    ¡°Because I¡¯m the chief commanding authority of this fortress, the mainframe is already keyed to my mana, so I can go anywhere I please. However, you guys cannot.¡± He pointed to the wall. ¡°So, if you don¡¯t want the automatic wards to activate and kill you before you can blink, insert your mana here so the room registers that your presence is allowed.¡±


    They did as he asked, him inserting mana into the next door as well to authorise their entrance. Then the door unlocked. They followed him through it and saw what was on the other side.


    Standing on a tall lookout surrounded by protective barriers, they were faced with a massive cavern. Complex metallic platforms and supporting structures were joined to the cave walls, extending towards the centre of the cavern. It was dark, and they barely had enough light from the closest mana lamp to see their platform, let alone what the construction was attached to, although they could hear water lapping against the stone below them. Then the Commander grabbed a massive lever attached to the wall beside the entrance door and pulled it down.


    With the hum and buzz of mana, small lights flickered above them. Then, with a slow increase in the intensity of the sound, more lights began switching on. The cavern was eventually flooded with light, and they could finally see what was below them in the darkness.


    Below them was a magic warship made of wood and metal. And painted along its side were the words, ¡®M.W.S. DAWNLIGHT¡¯.


    ¡°Welcome to the holding room of the M.W.S. Dawnlight!¡± Commander Arkenast announced cheerily.


    He gestured to them to follow him as he started walking down some steps, leading them to where the Dawnlight sat on the water below. The strange port surrounding the ship connected with it in some places, while at other times was disengaged from the port holes and other sections of the ship.


    ¡°The M.W.S Dawnlight,¡± the Commander began to explain, ¡°Is one of only 300 ships created by the Empire to have the word ¡®Dawn¡¯ in front of its name. And for the Empire, with how large it is, that means this ship is very rare.¡±


    As they came closer they could see the hull of the ship was plated with dull grey metal, while the deck was covered in a dark brown wood. Not to say the wood was weaker than the metal, however, because the sheer amount of mana emanating from the ship showed the wood was at the level of a strong natural treasure, with high rarity.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ¡°And the White Squall Fortress is the only place in the region allowed to house the M.W.S. Dawnlight,¡± the Commander continued to explain. ¡°That¡¯s because the Dawnlight wasn¡¯t given to the fortress.¡± He gave them a broad grin. ¡°The fortress was built for the Dawnlight.¡±


    Ross and Caspian¡¯s eyes widened, while she observed the ship. Painted with the theme of dark navy and grey, it followed the traditional colours of the Empire¡¯s Navy Battalions. While the three large blue sails were lowered, suggesting the ship used the power of the wind to drive itself, she knew that was only to take advantage of the powerful natural mana storms that occurred in the region. She was aware that below the surface of the grey waters of the cavern, five massive propulsion engines were attached to the ship, one larger one below the rudder, and two smaller ones on either side of the ship, front and back. Not even the Main Navy¡¯s huge warships used advanced ship technology like this.


    Commander Arkenast gestured to the ship as they approached one of the platforms extending out to it. ¡°The M.W.S. Dawnlight is also one of only two ¡®Dawn¡¯ ships to be found outside of the Mystical Realm, both here in the Beast Realm. I know another is in the Aquaristel Capital region.¡± He placed his hands on his hips. ¡°This brings me to what the real purpose of the special force¡¯s creation is.¡±


    He turned to Adrianna. ¡°I told you the special force is a ¡®test¡¯ of sorts,¡± he said. She nodded, and so he continued, ¡°That¡¯s not wrong. However, what¡¯s being tested is not the crew¡­¡± He smirked. ¡°But the ship.¡±


    She pretended to look surprised as Caspian raised his eyebrows, and Ross frowned slightly. ¡°But sir, from what I know, this ship¡­¡± he said, as he turned to the M.W.S. Dawnlight, ¡°Is roughly 600 years old.¡±


    The Commander¡¯s smile widened. ¡°And yet, apparently it¡¯s still a prototype and work-in-progress.¡± He turned to the ship again. ¡°Now, even though I¡¯ve been offered transferal a few times, I chose to remain a Commander in the Distorted Depths to avoid politics, so I haven¡¯t heard much of the real details, not that I want to.¡± He pointed at the Dawnlight. ¡°But for some reason, they haven¡¯t created more of them. These ships don¡¯t get replaced, nor decommissioned.¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°Again, I don¡¯t know why, so don¡¯t ask me. And I suppose the reason why the special force is going to run this year is because of the Millennium Chapter somehow. Maybe they plan to use a plane with lots of water as the Event battlefield, although I doubt it.¡±


    The blonde-haired man stepped forward and off the platform onto the ship. ¡°Come take a look,¡± he said to them.


    He gestured to parts of the ship as they looked around, observing the structure and layout of it. ¡°While the training camp was on, some Magitech Battalion engineers came down from the central Empire to check everything is in working order. They returned without needing to do much, so this is set for sailing at any time.¡±


    ¡°About that, sir¡­¡± Caspian spoke up, making the Commander look at him curiously. ¡°How does the ship leave the cavern?¡±


    ¡°Well, I won¡¯t do it now¡­¡± the man replied, ¡°But you see that massive metal circle in the cavern wall over there?¡±


    He pointed, making them all look to see the metal circle in question. ¡°That opens up to the sea through a switch, letting the Dawnlight leave, as we¡¯re at sea level right now. With how high the waves get outside sometimes, that doesn¡¯t mean it can always leave, but we wouldn¡¯t be letting a new crew sail in those conditions anyway.¡±


    The battle-scarred man gestured to the deck below them. ¡°This ship has been designed so as few people as possible are needed to man it. With the design emphasizing speed and manoeuvrability, the ship is used for the primary purpose of getting into and out of situations very quickly. Not to say it can¡¯t protect its crew, however.¡±


    Commander Arkenast walked over to the mainmast and placed a hand on it. ¡°The ship uses Ancient ranked wood found in the Endless Jungle, from some of the oldest trees there. It has extraordinary hardness for its weight. The metal plating the ship is a special alloy made to absorb the mana surrounding it at an increased rate compared to most natural magical metals. I heard it was Epic-ranked when it got here, but it¡¯s now Ancient level. Normally it would take about two thousand years for that kind of strength increase.¡±


    Then the blonde-haired man walked towards a small door set into the quarter-deck, the raised deck at the back of the ship. It was one she recognised well.


    ¡°And this,¡± he said, swinging the door open with a wide grin, ¡°Is the Captain¡¯s cabin.¡±


    They followed him in, seeing the room. At the other end of the cabin, large windows were set into the walls, allowing someone to see the view behind the ship. Alongside one wall closer to the entrance was a long carved desk, a chair behind it. There was a large four-poster bed with dark blue curtains as well as several wardrobes.


    Commander Arkenast patted Caspian on the shoulder. ¡°This is reserved for the leader of the crew, so your room won¡¯t be quite as nice, Wharifin.¡± He turned back to the door. ¡°I¡¯ll show you the rest of the ship.¡±


    The three men walked out, although Caspian hesitated and glanced behind him when he didn¡¯t hear her footsteps behind them. He blinked as he saw her looking at the Captain¡¯s desk. ¡°Adrianna? What are you doing?¡±


    She narrowed her eyes as she thought about the hidden compartment she had found within the desk.


    Griffin caught me opening it one time, so he¡¯d bound to try to get to it to see what¡¯s inside. I doubt he¡¯d discover much with just the ¡®Dawnbreaker¡¯ note, but I need to replace it with sufficient clues to the Fernfall Estate Dungeon before he tries to access it.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± she replied as she followed the men. They spent the rest of the hour inspecting the ship, the Commander explaining all the functions and responsibilities of the crew of the Dawnlight.


    Eventually, it was time for them to go back up, so they could board the Commander¡¯s warship again. When November ends, she¡¯d be staying on his ship for the next month, have one week of break, and then would be out at sea again until February came along. From that point onwards, she¡¯d be dealing with her past crew, Catherine Sherwood, and Griffin until Griffin chooses to leave the Navy. She didn¡¯t know what she¡¯d do after that, but her current efforts would be focused on performing well for the Commander during December and January.


    Ross spoke up once they had left the cavern, ¡°Sir, I can understand you wanting to show Wharifin and Riftmire the ship, but why did you bring me down too?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯ll be responsible for managing the Dawnlight¡¯s operations when it¡¯s at White Squall Fortress,¡± the blonde-haired man replied.


    Ross raised an eyebrow. ¡°Me?¡±


    Commander Arkenast nodded. ¡°I¡¯m not always going to be giving the crew of Dawnlight orders,¡± he said, glancing at Caspian and Adrianna to check they were paying attention. ¡°It¡¯s true that sometimes the Main Navy have specific tasks they want the Dawnlight to complete, or the Dawnlight¡¯s speed is useful in some circumstances, however, I won¡¯t always have something for you guys to do. And as a Commander, I do still have my work to complete.¡±


    ¡°But remember, it¡¯s the ship that is being tested and not the crew,¡± he continued. He pointed at the dark-haired man. ¡°And it¡¯ll be your job on my behalf to select what jobs they need to do. Which means, Stanhope¡­¡± The Commander grinned at his subordinate. ¡°You¡¯ll be meeting with the members of October¡¯s elite training camp quite often.¡±


    Ross stared at him, aghast. ¡°Sir?! Do you have to?! Could you not give this task to someone else?!¡±


    Commander Arkenast laughed. ¡°Of course, I can¡¯t. This was why I promoted you to Head Officer in the first place, after all.¡±


    ¡°If we¡¯re on that topic, please demote me, sir.¡±


    ¡°No can do. You¡¯ve already shown to be excellent at being Head Officer, so why would I ever demote you?¡±


    Caspian and her just followed silently as the dark-haired man tried futilely to persuade the Commander to remove the position of Head Officer from him. They made their way back up to the top of the tunnel, emerging into a room with several different paths, the junction point between all the different pathways to other parts of the fortress, deep within the cliff.


    Commander Arkenast turned to her and Caspian while Ross glared at him. ¡°Now, I may have shown you the ship, but true familiarity with it will come along with time,¡± he stated seriously. ¡°I have confidence you¡¯ll both succeed at your jobs, but mistakes are normal when working in a new position for the first time. Just ensure your mistakes won¡¯t cost your crewmates their lives.¡±


    The Commander nodded to her. ¡°Riftmire, you may now continue your break. And Wharifin¡­¡± He turned to the sea-green-haired young man. ¡°Come with me to my office. I want to have a little discussion with you.¡±


    <hr>


    The Commander sat down in his chair behind his desk as Caspian stood in front, hands behind his back. The blonde-haired man leaned his chin on a hand as he looked at Caspian.


    ¡°So, Wharifin¡­ what do you think of Riftmire?¡±


    Caspian blinked. ¡°What I think of her, sir?¡±


    Commander Arkenast nodded. ¡°Yes. What do you make of her personality, her temperament, anything you experienced while working with her this last month.¡±


    Caspian considered it for a moment. ¡°She¡¯s a strange person, sir.¡±


    The man raised a bushy eyebrow. ¡°That¡¯s the first word that comes to mind?¡±


    ¡°To be honest, I can¡¯t say I had any real conversation with her up until three days ago,¡± Caspian replied, not sure how to explain his interactions with her. ¡°She¡¯s always expressionless and doesn¡¯t bother with small talk, plus she never struggles with any of the work, so we didn¡¯t have much need to talk outside of passing information to each other.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Well, what did you think of her before you had a proper conversation with her?¡± the Commander asked curiously.


    ¡°Indifferent. And¡­ focused,¡± Caspian replied.


    ¡°Focused?¡± Commander Arkenast said with surprise. ¡°I thought you¡¯d say she was cold before anything else.¡±


    ¡°Some of the other Officers seemed to think so, but it didn¡¯t seem that way to me. For me, it seemed like she had a goal, and wanted to put all her effort into achieving it,¡± Caspian said, thinking deeper about his interactions with her. Then he gained a troubled expression. ¡°Commander, can I ask why she¡¯s here? I originally thought she was older than me, but she¡¯s a year younger, and she chose to work as a mercenary before all this. And the way she acts¡­¡±


    The Commander tapped his fingers on his desk with a slight frown. ¡°You¡¯re worried about what kind of past she had before all this?¡±


    Caspian nodded as the man rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Eventually, the battle-scarred man just sighed. ¡°You should probably ask her yourself, but I will say that the reason she joined the Distorted Depths Navy is because it can help her develop her unique magic better.¡±


    ¡°Unique magic?¡± Caspian asked curiously.


    Commander Arkenast nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve checked with the Athenaeum. They don¡¯t have any subset of illusion magic like hers.¡± The Commander moved on before Caspian could ask any further, ¡°But anyway, what do you think of her personality now?¡±


    ¡°She still finds small talk bothersome,¡± Caspian replied wryly. ¡°But I¡¯m beginning to be able to tell when she¡¯s being sarcastic.¡± He hesitated. ¡°At least I think I can.¡±


    The blonde-haired man chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s hard to know with her, isn¡¯t it? Well, better get used to being around her lots. You¡¯ll be working together for quite some time,¡± he said.


    ¡°So she really is going to be my superior then?¡± Caspian asked, finding the situation slightly weird.


    Commander Arkenast leaned back in his chair as he nodded. ¡°Yep. Your crewmates will be those from her training camp¡­¡± The man gave Caspian a toothy grin. ¡°And your old subordinates.¡±


    Caspian stared at him before his eyes widened. ¡°You mean from when I was Squad Leader?¡±


    ¡°Of course, some have left the Navy, but the guys from the two elite training camps I put under you last year will be with you, yes.¡± The Commander looked above Caspian, checking the time on a clock, then stood up from his desk. ¡°I think we¡¯ll have to cut this discussion short here for now, Wharifin. We both need to get ready to board my ship in two hours.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir,¡± Caspian nodded, giving him a salute.


    The Commander patted him on the shoulder as he passed him. ¡°I hope you get along with Riftmire.¡±


    With that, the man left. Caspian left the room soon afterwards. As he walked he considered what he thought about becoming Adrianna¡¯s second-in-command.


    It¡¯s unexpected, although I guess that explains why the Commander got her to work alongside me. It beats him trying to play matchmaker.


    He shuddered at that idea and walked quicker.


    He didn¡¯t have anything against working under Adrianna. Even if she could be annoying, she wasn¡¯t as humourless as he thought when he first met her. And the fact she knew how the Atlantean bloodline worked explained the strange reaction she had to seeing him for the first time. He was also looking forward to seeing his ex-subordinates again. His squad had only been temporary because the number of appropriate Squad Leaders from other camps hadn¡¯t been enough that year, and as he was younger than most of the experienced Officers, he had been given the job.


    He wasn¡¯t quite sure how Adrianna would do as a leader though. She didn¡¯t seem to be someone who¡¯d have much patience for other people, although it seemed, from her interactions with Ross, that she could at least deal with people somehow. He expected her to avoid most of her crewmates, quite honestly.


    Although, he didn¡¯t get the chance to ask either Ross or the Commander about her magic. It was almost like they were avoiding the topic, but for what reason he had no idea. Well, illusion magic mostly dealt with the manipulation of the senses, so maybe it wasn¡¯t a particularly nice type of magic. He could understand them not wanting to share the details until she told him.


    He turned a corner and froze as he saw three young girls, wearing badges of the healers'' division, standing together. They were, in fact, the three girls who had appeared in the cafeteria a few days ago while he was having lunch with Adrianna. He tried to back away without them noticing, but unluckily, one of them turned around and saw him.


    ¡°Here he is!¡± she exclaimed, pointing him out to the other two.


    He raised his hands in surrender and gazed wearily at them as they surrounded him.


    ¡°Hi, Caspian!¡± one of them said.


    ¡°Uh¡­ hi¡­¡± he replied awkwardly. ¡°So¡­ if you don¡¯t need me for anything¡­ I think I¡¯ll be off now¡­¡±


    The three of them traded eye contact, then smiled broadly. ¡°Can we touch your hair again?¡± one said, asking the dreaded question.


    He winced. ¡°Um, I kinda have to do something, and it¡¯s a bit urgent-¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll only be quick!¡± another said.


    ¡°But I-¡±


    ¡°Please?¡± the third asked. They all looked at him with expectant eyes. He couldn¡¯t see an escape route.


    He hesitated and then groaned as he buried his head in his hands. ¡°¡­fine. But only for a minute or two.¡±


    They eagerly put their hands on his head to touch his hair, giggling. ¡°The hair of a part Atlantean is super soft, isn¡¯t it,¡± one of the girls said among themselves.


    As his bad luck would have it, a tall curly-haired woman chose that moment to round the corner and stopped to stare at him with a slightly strange expression when she took in the situation.


    He glared at Adrianna, daring her to say something. She did.


    ¡°So you really do have no love life then.¡±


    ¡°Stop saying that!¡±


    ¡­


    The skies above them swirled with dark grey storm clouds, jagged, searingly bright streaks of lightning occurring every now and then, accompanied by the crashes of thunder. The ship rocked and tilted on the choppy dark-grey waves as the boat rode through the storm. A chillingly cold rain fell from above and hit the deck with the pounding of millions of drums.


    In the distance, the eye of the storm could be seen high above, but below, a massive, colossal creature roared and thrashed in the icy waters. Multi-coloured flashes of light could be seen surrounding the behemothic monster, as the Rank-4 fighters capable of flight fought the being. Cannons fired from the warships with the red-hot explosive strength of fire-mana, hitting the side of the creature with the sounds of its pained cries only a few seconds later. Thick waves of ugly brown-green monster essence rolled outwards from it, sending a foul sensation shooting through all the warship crew¡¯s bodies, increasing fatigue and weariness. The mana in the air hummed and crackled in the chaotic atmosphere.


    The gargantuan monster, a giant sea serpent with lightning-blue scales and many layers of jagged teeth crowding its mouth, let out an ear-rending screech that sent thousands of lesser sea serpents into a frenzy, flying out of the waves to attack the warship.


    Grimacing as the waves of monster mana swept over him, a sea-green-haired young man watched a tall woman with wild, glowing hair walk onto the main deck. He glanced at the battle-scarred and blonde-haired man next to him.


    ¡°So what did you bring me out here to see?¡± Caspian asked.


    The Commander shook his head. ¡°Wait a second.¡±


    With a flash of blue light, he disappeared and reappeared next to Adrianna in the distance. Caspian couldn¡¯t hear what they were saying over the howl of the winds, but she nodded, and Commander Arkenast reappeared next to him.


    ¡°Is it her magic? What about her magic is so impressive that you want me to look?¡± he asked his superior.


    The Commander patted his shoulder. ¡°Watch closely.¡±


    Caspian watched silently, the winds whipping around them, gazing at Adrianna as the air around her glowed silver for a few seconds, her mouth moving to say words hidden by the sounds around them. Indigo fog-like mana billowed out of her, and she raised her hands.


    Then it hit him. Caspian went green and staggered as he felt a powerful monster about to materialise right near them in dangerously close proximity. He whipped his head to the side to stare at Commander Arkenast with wide eyes, panicked and feeling queasy. ¡°Sir! There¡¯s a strong monster about to form! Somehow it¡¯s able to spawn on board the warship! We need to-¡±


    The words halted in his mouth as the blonde-haired man wordlessly shook his head and pointed in front of them. ¡°It¡¯s her.¡±


    He turned back to stare as the ghastly creature formed out of the once-was purple mana. Sticky, dull, blue-grey flesh dripping freezing water and squirming, thrashing tentacles coalesced, the ghastly limbs wrapping around approaching lesser sea serpents to strangle them. The main body of the creature hauled itself upright, the muscles underneath its translucent skin twisting and distorting in horrific, disorderly ways. A gargantuan mouth filled with shard-like teeth, the many layers rotating and twisting around, opened up, and then a destructive scream like the sound of thousands of banshees was released from it, the force of its cry shredding the monsters before they could attack. The illusory being stood at nearly five times his height.


    [Illusory Construct: Morphic Kraken]


    ¡°And that, is what her magic does, Wharifin,¡± the Commander said quietly, enough that he nearly failed to hear him.


    The battle-scarred man took a glance at his white-as-a-sheet face, and sighed, walking off to leave Caspian to his own devices.


    He stared, transfixed with horror, as Adrianna directed the monstrous mimicry to fight. She glanced back at him, and expressionlessly and emotionlessly, said, ¡°I hope you understand now why I said what I did.¡±


    Caspian did. Caspian did understand. Because if a person capable of this was going to be placed on the same ship as him for many months or more, using this creature to fight against the real horrors in front of them, and manifesting this construct and possibly worse others to practice her magic, day in and day out¡­


    ¡­..then it wasn¡¯t even a question why Adrianna had thought the Commander was ¡®cruel¡¯ with his decision to have Caspian as her subordinate.

 Chapter 43 (1 of 2) Future dragon guy.

    The Aurelian Commission Headquarters was filled with new rumours about the new guest of the Commission Head. The crafter was one thing, but the staff couldn¡¯t understand why this other person was now there. They also couldn¡¯t help but discuss possible reasons why the man had such a strange haircut.


    The said ¡®man with a strange haircut¡¯ in question was sitting in his new room on his new bed, thinking. He had a dilemma.


    Hargrave didn¡¯t know how he was supposed to find out more about the Commission Head. He had chosen to accept staying at the Commission when he wasn¡¯t levelling up so he could discover how she knew so much about him, but he had to admit to himself¡­


    ¡­maybe he should¡¯ve planned his search for information a bit more thoroughly before choosing to live in the house of his observation target.


    He knew where her part of the fortieth story was, because for some insane reason, he was told by the staff where she was, she knew where she worked, because, again, the staff told him where, and he had also been told what she normally did during the day, so he could find her if he needed her. All perfect information if he decided to assassinate her, but not so helpful when he wanted to discover other things about her.


    ¡­the Commission Head wasn¡¯t suicidal, was she? It could explain why she didn¡¯t fear his killing intent. Maybe it was a status thing that she offered him a contract allowing him to be here. He had heard nobles sometimes had strange hobbies and personality traits. Maybe she wanted to find the most interesting person possible to kill her so she died famously. Becoming the first noble victim of the future killer of the General of Blazing Iron.


    That¡¯s just stupid.


    He shook his head to get rid of his strange thoughts and sighed, looking out of the window next to him. He obviously couldn¡¯t walk up to her and ask her. She had no reason to answer him, and from his experience, keeping your cards close to you was one of the most important things someone needed to do when fighting, so with her being in a position of power over him now, he couldn¡¯t do that.


    Should he ask the Commission staff about her¡­..?


    The thought made him involuntarily shudder and he quickly shook his head. Definitely not. All it would do would make for an awkward situation when the Commission Head found out he was trying to get information out of the people around her and would then bring it up. He also didn¡¯t have much experience with obtaining information from people besides the normal methods used by mercenaries, and he doubted attempting that on the Commission staff would ensure the Commission Head kept his identity secret.


    He didn¡¯t really have much experience with starting conversations that began with anything other than a battle report either, so even if he wanted to start a conversation with the Commission Head, he wouldn¡¯t know how to go about it. Plus, she was probably a busy person, so he didn¡¯t want to make things difficult for himself by interrupting her too often¡­


    He scratched the back of his neck and frowned as he considered what to do. Then Hargrave just sighed again as he fell back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. It was only a couple of hours since he¡¯d arrived. He didn¡¯t have to be too quick about this. He had seven years to find out, and he was sure some kind of event would eventually occur that would allow him to become more familiar with the Commission Head.


    ¡­


    That opportunity came in the form of an unusually shiny winged snake seated outside his room¡¯s front door. He gazed confusedly at the strange visitor, who was tilting its feather-crested head at him curiously.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re the future dragon guy!¡± the snake exclaimed, the sound of a young boy resounding inside his head.


    Hargrave stared. ¡°Uh¡­ what-¡±


    ¡°I mean, Lucy told me that she¡¯d be getting a new guest, but I¡¯m definitely surprised at who it actually was,¡± the serpent continued, talking over him. ¡°If she was going to offer a contract to someone I expected them to be strong, but I didn¡¯t think she¡¯d decide to go ahead and meet with the guy who plans to literally become a dragon!¡±


    ¡°Hey, could you ple-¡±


    ¡°But anyway, hi future dragon guy! I¡¯m Scytale, the most amazing and wonderful creature to be found within this building, so I decided to honour you with my presence to congratulate you on arriving at the Commission and- hm? What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Hargrave was running a hand down his face as he considered how to get the snake to stop talking. When the snake finally did stop, he quickly waved a hand to interrupt any more speech.


    ¡°What was that you said earlier?¡± he asked weakly.


    The snake blinked his golden eyes. ¡°The thing about me being the most amazing thing here?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­no, before that.¡±


    The serpent named Scytale tilted his head as he considered it. ¡°Future dragon guy?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that!¡± Hargrave pointed a finger at him, and then hastily crossed his arms in front of himself in the shape of an X. ¡°Please do not call me that. I don¡¯t want to go around having everyone know what I want to do.¡±


    The snake seemed to snicker before replying, ¡°Then what do you want me to call you?¡±


    Hargrave sighed. ¡°Just Hargrave is fine.¡±


    ¡°Well then, Just Hargrave!¡± the winged serpent continued, ignoring his exasperated look, ¡°You should come with me so I can take you to meet some other important people you should know about! Not as important as me, obviously, but considering you¡¯ll probably end up meeting them at some point or another, you may as well see them now!¡±


    He hesitated as he considered it for a couple of seconds, but considering this was likely his best chance to find out more about the Commission Head¡­ also, he had something he really needed to ask the talkative magical beast in front of him. He shut the door of his room behind him as he followed the serpent.


    ¡°Why do you even know what I plan to do?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Because as Lucy¡¯s bond, I know everything she does,¡± the snake replied, making him feel somewhat stupid because, in reality, that could really be the only reason why a young magical beast was hanging around the Commission.


    ¡°Well, okay, maybe not everything,¡± Scytale conceded, turning a corner, ¡°Because she has a bunch of random magic knowledge and wacky secrets in her head that I can¡¯t be bothered to devote much mental effort into learning about, but I get the gist of things. Also, nobody else knows your goals, if you¡¯re wondering. All Lucy¡¯s aide knows is that you want to do something involving draconic monsters.¡±


    Considering the snake seemed happy to answer his questions, he thought about what else he could ask. ¡°Then do you know why she wanted to offer that contract to me?¡±


    ¡°So you don¡¯t die?¡± the silvery snake replied, shooting him a questioning look. ¡°I mean, the contract was entirely about making sure you don¡¯t get a bounty on your head or become hated by the Tower for killing dragons for their strength, so it feels kinda obvious to me what the intention behind it was. She¡¯s even keeping your identity a secret and covering your tracks.¡±


    Well, that may be so, but¡­ ¡°But why would she want me to not die?¡±


    The snake paused to give him a stare with those golden eyes of his, before turning back to lead him to wherever it was he was going. ¡°Yeah, uh¡­ maybe you should ask Lucy that one.¡±


    ¡­but he didn¡¯t want to ask the Commission Head. He gave a slight grimace, which luckily it seemed Scytale didn¡¯t pick up on as he was led through the fortieth floor of the Commission¡¯s Headquarters. The snake continued to talk even without his input.


    ¡°And here we have another living room like this building doesn¡¯t have enough already. By the way, if you want, I can show you where the training room is later. It takes up, like, half the floor in itself, which just proves how massive this place is,¡± Scytale said, ¡°And there¡¯s not really anything in there besides the place just being hard to damage and lots of empty space, but still. Oh, we¡¯re here!¡±


    Hargrave hesitated as he saw where they were. ¡°Isn¡¯t this in front of the Commission Head¡¯s study? Why are we here?¡±


    ¡°To introduce you to someone, of course!¡±


    The snake used his nose to nudge wide the semi-opened door. Inside was a silver-haired man with half-moon glasses sitting in an armchair, who blinked and looked up when he heard them enter.


    ¡°Hey, Vincent!¡± Scytale exclaimed.


    The silver-haired man raised an eyebrow. ¡°Scytale? Why are you he- oh.¡± The man noticed Hargrave standing there, feeling confused about the situation.


    ¡°He¡¯s not important right now!¡± the serpent said, making the two men give him strange looks. The snake slithered forward and narrowed his golden eyes at Vincent. ¡°Someone¡¯s told me that you seem to think my words are something you can just ignore.¡±


    Vincent¡¯s expression twitched as the snake reared up and flapped his wings angrily. ¡°Then to correct your wrong opinion, I simply need to talk enough that the wonderful value of my speech is permanently instilled in your lacking mind!¡±


    Hargrave felt bemused as the other man shot the snake an exasperated look, and then just sighed, rubbing his face. Vincent shook his head and then stepped forward to talk to Hargrave. ¡°As it seems he has nothing important to say right now, I¡¯ll make my introductions. I¡¯m Vincent Evisenhardt,¡± the man explained, holding out a hand for him to shake. ¡°And the aide of Lucille, the Commission Head.¡±


    He shook the man¡¯s hand. ¡°¡­it¡¯s Hargra-¡±


    ¡°Just Hargrave,¡± a winged serpent interrupted. They directed a stare at him as he blinked innocently. ¡°That was what you said to me, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    The silver-haired man ignored the snake as he nodded and stepped back. ¡°I also would just like to say that thanks to a certain serpent¡¯s bond,¡± he said, narrowing his eyes at the sneaky snake who ¡®hid¡¯ under a chair to avoid their gazes, ¡°I don¡¯t know much about her intentions for you, or know much about you either.¡±


    Hargrave opened and closed his mouth as he hesitated over how to respond, because before accepting the offer he didn¡¯t expect to be in a situation where he¡¯d have to come up with a reasonable explanation for what he was doing.


    Vincent crossed his arms as he saw his reaction and then shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not asking you questions right now. My questions will be directed at Lucille because if there was anyone who needed to give us answers right now it would be her,¡± he muttered darkly.


    That I can agree on.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Vincent looked down at the snake, still ¡®hiding¡¯ under a chair, even if his wings were too large to fit under it. ¡°So, Scytale, did you actually come here for anything else, or was it just to bring Hargrave here?¡±


    ¡°Is Sedric still in his workshop?¡±


    Vincent gave the serpent a strange look. ¡°Did you really come here just to ask that? Of course he is. Sedric doesn¡¯t ever step out of his room. Where else would he be?¡±


    ¡°Gotcha. Thanks.¡± Scytale moved over to the room¡¯s entrance. ¡°All right time to annoy- I mean, visit Sedric!¡±


    ¡°Although, Scytale,¡± Vincent spoke up, looking at the snake curiously. ¡°Where¡¯s Lucy? She wasn¡¯t in her living room when I went looking earlier.¡±


    ¡°Getting a defective snow globe out of the Founder¡¯s vault.¡±


    ¡°¡­I won¡¯t bother to ask what a snow globe is and instead just take it that she¡¯s in the Founder¡¯s vault then.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, Hargrave, come with me!¡±


    Hargrave glanced between the snake and Vincent, who was watching them with a raised eyebrow, and hesitantly followed after the snake, feeling like he was getting caught up in the snake¡¯s flow too much. ¡°But who¡¯s Sedric?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll see!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Huzzah! O¡¯ lowly crafter, I have arrived to grace you with my presence!¡± the snake exclaimed, spreading his wings as he sat on the platform¡¯s barrier.


    The brown-haired young man wearing strange goggles, working at a bench below their overlooking balcony, let out a loud groan and pushed the goggles up. ¡°When did Lucille manage to key your mana to my workshop¡¯s door?¡±


    The presumed ¡®Sedric¡¯ below turned around and raised his head to look at them. He stared when he saw Hargrave. ¡°There¡¯s another one?¡±


    Hargrave stared back when he heard the ponytailed man¡¯s words. ¡°¡­what do you mean there¡¯s another one?¡±


    Sedric scoffed as Hargrave and Scytale came down the stairs. ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t know¡­ here, I have a question for you.¡± He pointed a hand at Hargrave. ¡°Did you get offered a suspiciously good-sounding contract or she offered to protect or give you something while knowing a disturbingly high amount of information about you and your dangerous secrets?¡±


    ¡°I did get offered a contract, but¡­¡± Hargrave hesitated. ¡°Do you mean this has happened before?¡±


    Sedric rolled his eyes. ¡°Well, yeah. I mean, she came to me, a Legendary crafter, and then barely a week later she goes and picks up the literal Prophetess of Fate.¡± The man replaced his goggles and turned back to his bench with a mutter. ¡°What next, is she going to bring a dragon in here?¡±


    ¡­¡­.that last statement hit just a little too close to home for Hargrave to feel entirely comfortable.


    Then a certain silver snake, who had jumped up onto the bench, broke down laughing. Hargrave stared at the snake as Sedric gave Scytale a funny look. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡±


    ¡°Oh, no, no, nothing, nothing at all~¡± the serpent replied, sniggering. ¡°I¡¯m definitely not laughing at the irony of your sentence. No way¡­¡±


    Sedric seemed to decide to just ignore the noisy snake after judging that he wouldn¡¯t explain himself, and returned to fiddling with the strange objects on his bench.


    ¡°Anyway, Sedric, this is Just Hargrave, and- oh, hang on, there was something I wanted to get before coming here first.¡± Scytale abruptly jumped off the bench and climbed back up the stairs to leave. ¡°Be back in a second!¡±


    They watched the snake go, and then only awkward silence remained as two people who didn¡¯t know what to say to each other stood beside each other. Sedric shrugged and went back to his crafting.


    Hargrave wavered over whether to ask Sedric a question but eventually decided to just do it. ¡°So¡­ you said the Commission Head knew a lot about you too¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, I did say that,¡± the long-haired man replied, continuing to work with his goggles down.


    ¡°Do you know¡­ if¡­ she has a special reason for why she gave us offers?¡± Hargrave began hesitantly. ¡°Such as whether¡­ she¡¯s¡­ planning something¡­?¡± He internally winced at how badly he phrased his words.


    Sedric slid his goggles up again and slowly turned around to stare at Hargrave with an indescribably strange expression, making Hargrave wonder what he did. Then suddenly, the man smirked and crossed his arms.


    ¡°Oh, she¡¯s definitely planning something sketchy. Most definitely.¡± He gestured to the room around him as Hargrave blinked. ¡°I mean, she suddenly arrived at the Aurelian Commission to become the leader of a Faction of merchant nobility, purposely getting involved with shady politicians and businessmen. If that doesn¡¯t scream bad intentions, I don¡¯t know what does.¡±


    Sedric turned back to his bench as he continued, nodding to himself, ¡°And with how she acts, could she be anything other than someone who enjoys manipulation and toying with people? She has that supremely annoying grin on her face whenever you ask her a question, and then there¡¯s only ever a 50% chance she¡¯ll answer it truthfully, so I bet she loves keeping people in the dark and feeling in control. Only such a messed-up personality would suit the Head of the Aurelian Commiss-¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m back!¡± a snake interrupted, a small object held within his mouth as he jumped off the overlooking balcony to glide down to Sedric¡¯s bench. ¡°Also, Lucy would like to suggest that you don¡¯t waste your time and effort trying to work out whether she¡¯s scheming something or not, because she says if she was, she¡¯d never let you discover it.¡±


    Hargrave stared at the snake with wide eyes. ¡°¡­was she outside? ¡­did she hear me ask that?¡±


    ¡°Nah.¡± Scytale deposited the object on the bench and turned to him. ¡°Lucy uses spiritual energy, and so her perception covers this place. She couldn¡¯t help overhearing you.¡±


    That meant the snake¡¯s bond with her was strong enough to send coherent messages by being bonded for a few years, which shouldn¡¯t be possible if the snake was as young as he thought, the System not allowing bonds with those too young¡­ but there was a more important detail he noticed about this. He turned to stare at Sedric, who was smirking and realised the crafter had known this from the start.


    ¡°She also says that there¡¯s something she needs to show Hargrave after lunch, so any questions about her possible ¡®scheming¡¯ can be saved for later when you see her personally,¡± Scytale suddenly announced.


    Hargrave buried his head in his hands. ¡°¡­just kill me, please.¡± He felt like this day would permanently be engraved as his eternal shame and regret.


    Scytale tilted his head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure she¡¯s done enough yet for someone to react like that when told they would be seeing her.¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not-¡± He just groaned and shook his head. He ran a hand down his face. ¡°I- uh, could we change the topic to something else? ¡­.please?¡±


    He wanted to get out of this embarrassing situation of having just asked whether the Commission Head had bad intentions for him while she was capable of hearing him as fast as he could.


    The other two observed his reaction with slight curiosity, but then Sedric turned to Scytale. ¡°Anyway, what¡¯s this?¡± he asked, gesturing to the new object on his bench.


    The three of them glanced at the device. It was long and thin, looking a bit like an ink pen but slightly too wide, and black in colour. Scytale looked at Sedric. ¡°I got you a new binder pen! Be thankful, peasant!¡±


    Sedric raised an eyebrow and leaned to the side to Inspect it, but¡­


    ¡°Nope.¡± Scytale shuffled in front of it, blocking Sedric¡¯s view. ¡°No need to Inspect it. Just pick it up and put it to work. It¡¯s ready-for-use quality.¡±


    Sedric narrowed his eyes and took a step to the side to try to see it. ¡°I need to see if it¡¯s good enough.¡±


    Scytale spread his wings to block Sedric again. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s good enough! Do you think any gift given by me would be low class?!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t trust that you¡¯ve given me something decent for one second,¡± Sedric stated flatly, lowering himself to try to peek under the snake¡¯s wings.


    Scytale shuffled them, deflecting Sedric¡¯s Inspection once more. ¡°How could you say that about me when I¡¯ve just gone out of my way to get you a present! Where¡¯s the justice in this place!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you justice if you just let me Inspect it.¡±


    Hargrave, feeling slightly curious about why the snake was preventing the crafter from looking at the binder pen, Inspected it himself as the snake moved out of the way to block Sedric again on the other side of the table.


    [Tool ¨C Type: Crafting Pen, Cursed Item ]


    Name: Failed Enchanter¡¯s Grudge


    Rarity: Uncommon


    MP: 100/100


    Desc:


    This binder pen was used by a low-level dark-element crafter who attempted to create an item beyond his capabilities, changing his engravings over and over again to try to perfect the item. Unfortunately, he failed each and every time and so his emotions and dark-element mana gradually infused this pen to turn it into a cursed item.


    Ability:


    Unwanted Erasure ¨C An erasable binder pen... but not in a way that¡¯s useful.


    <ul>


    <li>Curses the User to see a dark-element illusion when the item is used on engraving channels. Channels will appear filled until the dark-element illusion disappears to reveal the channels have not been filled with binder, as this pen doesn¡¯t empty its contents at all. Curse illusion and curse lasts 30 minutes, mana cost varies on the amount of disguised engraving channels.</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    ¡­ah. Now he understood why the snake was hiding this from the crafter. For crafters, who often did very complicated spellwork and mentally tiring jobs, finding out they did all their work for nothing would make them very, very mad.


    ¡°Where did you obtain an item like this?¡± he asked Scytale.


    Scytale turned to him. ¡°Oh, they¡¯re from the Commission¡¯s Inheritance Trial. The first room is themed around cursed items, so because Lucy beat the whole trial, she got to obtain all the contents.¡±


    Sedric frowned. ¡°Cursed items?¡±


    Scytale turned back to Sedric with wide eyes, realising his plot was going to be uncovered. Sedric and the snake had a silent stare-off, nobody saying a thing. Then Sedric scowled and dashed to the side to try to see the pen.


    Scytale hastily tried to hide the item. ¡°Nononono- There¡¯s nothing to see here! This is definitely not a cursed item! I can swear on my light-element bloodline ancestors-¡±


    ¡°Will appear filled until the dark-element illusion spell disappears?!¡± Sedric exclaimed incredulously as he finally managed to read its Item Sheet. ¡°You want me to waste my time working, only to find out I never made any progress in the first place?!¡± He glared at the snake as Scytale avoided eye contact.


    ¡°Hey, it was one of the least bad options I could¡¯ve chosen to give you. You should be glad I didn¡¯t succumb to my desires and pick out a worse one-¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re admitting there are worse ones you have prepared!¡±


    ¡°...uh, well¡­¡±


    Scytale was saved from having to answer by the door of Sedric¡¯s workshop unlocking. They looked up and Hargrave stared, stunned, as a dark-haired girl with a mask suddenly stuck her head over the railing to look down at them.


    ¡°I came to inform you three that it¡¯s lunchtime,¡± the Commission Head said. ¡°We¡¯re having it together in one of the dining rooms because there¡¯s quite a few of us on this floor right now.¡±


    Then she stepped back to leave. Scytale jumped off the table joyfully. ¡°Yay! Free food!¡±


    Hargrave watched the snake go, feeling mildly confused. He turned to the ponytailed brown-haired man next to him. ¡°¡­why should the bond of the Aurelian Commission Head care about free food¡­ offered by his own bond?¡±


    Sedric scoffed. ¡°Beats me,¡± he said, replacing his goggles over his eyes. He went back to the workbench. ¡°Nobody can make sense of what that blighted snake says half the time. Anyway, enjoy your lunch. I¡¯m going to go back to-¡±


    ¡°Sedric, it includes you too,¡± the Commission Head suddenly interrupted, sticking her head back over the railing with eyes narrowed at the young man. ¡°You¡¯re not getting another staff member to bring you down lunch. Get up here, and get out of your workshop.¡±


    Sedric glared at the violet-eyed woman above them, but she just cocked an eyebrow. The long-haired man angrily pulled off his goggles, unbelted his tool belt, and took off his canvas apron, before storming up the steps. ¡°Become my crafter she says¡­ what do you even need me for if you won¡¯t let me craft?¡± he muttered sourly.


    The Commission Head rolled her eyes, clearly having heard the man¡¯s words, and then Hargrave stiffened as her gaze landed on him. She tilted her head. ¡°Are you coming?¡±


    After a brief moment of hesitation, he began to follow them up the steps.


    ¡­and he was beginning to feel like the dynamic between the people on the Aurelian Commission Headquarters¡¯ fortieth floor was a bit more complicated than he first thought.


    <hr>


    ¡°-a pen that only shows me an illusion of having completed my work, when in reality I wouldn¡¯t have even done anything!¡±


    ¡°Hey, at least it was only a weak curse! That binder pen was Uncommon rarity, and the curse didn¡¯t even last past half an hour!¡±


    Lucy watched with amusement as Sedric and her bond bickered over the prank Scytale had attempted to pull on the crafter while they ate lunch. Vincent was also interested in the discussion, although the fifth member at their table¡­


    The red-haired man looked quite lost and out of place as he watched them talk. Lucille had found his interactions with the other three earlier quite interesting. It was funny how he seemed to have no idea how to deal with her. That would probably change as time goes on, because as the contract was going to last for seven years he¡¯d have plenty of time to get used to being around her, but still. However, his reactions helped remind her that currently, she wasn¡¯t dealing with the dangerous Plane Destroyer of Firebloom, but a man still in his mid-twenties who had yet to become the infamous figure she remembered.


    She pointed a fork at her winged bond. ¡°Scytale, you wasted your chance with the pen. You should¡¯ve applied an illusion over it at least, so he was fooled long enough to try it out. Or brought it to me to apply the illusion if you thought yours wouldn¡¯t trick him.¡±


    Sedric glowered at her as Scytale turned to her in realisation. ¡°Now that you mention it¡­ well, that¡¯s disappointing. I might¡¯ve gotten my prank to work if I did that. I wonder how long it would¡¯ve taken him to realise he wasn¡¯t using any binder.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m estimating it would¡¯ve been at least a couple of hours.¡± She smirked.


    ¡°Could you stop talking like I¡¯m not here?¡± Sedric complained. ¡°And both of you seem to think I¡¯m much dumber than I actually am.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but you still haven¡¯t discovered ¡®that¡¯ yet,¡± Scytale replied.


    Sedric raised an eyebrow. ¡°That?¡±


    Scytale traded eye contact with Lucy, passing an unspoken message between them, and then she grinned. ¡°Ah. That.¡±


    Sedric glanced between them. ¡°What are you both on about?¡± He hesitated. ¡°Did you do something to my workshop? ¡­or equipment¡­?¡±


    Scytale snickered. ¡°Yep. He still doesn¡¯t know.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°He¡¯s still clueless.¡±


    Sedric¡¯s gaze kept switching between them as he got increasingly more nervous and confused.


    Vincent sighed. ¡°I doubt they¡¯ve done anything, Sedric. Lucy hasn¡¯t had enough time to do something, with how busy we¡¯ve been in preparation for next week, and Scytale¡­¡± He gestured at the amphiptere. ¡°In case you haven¡¯t realised, he doesn¡¯t exactly have the physical capacity to do much, considering his lack of limbs.¡±


    They all turned their gazes to the silvery snake, who hid behind his wings. ¡°I¡¯ll get them soon enough,¡± he grumbled.


    Lucy¡¯s aide gestured to her. ¡°She and Scytale were likely just messing with you.¡±


    She gave Vincent a wide smile. ¡°But are you sure we are? Are you certain?¡±


    He rolled his eyes as Sedric took another look at both her and her bond, before groaning. ¡°You guys are terrible. With how you guys treat me, it should be obvious why I don¡¯t want to leave my workshop!¡±


    Lucille fixed a flat stare on the crafter. ¡°Sedric, we are all fully aware that regardless of our attitudes towards you, you wouldn¡¯t want to leave your workshop. Don¡¯t give us such a blatant lie as an excuse for being antisocial.¡±


    He avoided eye contact. ¡°It wasn¡¯t that blatant¡­¡±


    She shook her head as even Vincent and Scytale gave him dubious looks. Hargrave just kept watching them all silently, looking confused.


    ¡°Anyway, Vincent.¡± She turned to her aide. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen Jacques or Caius on the fortieth floor today. What are they doing?¡± she asked curiously.


    ¡°Ah.¡± He nodded, placing down his knife. ¡°Jacques is currently discussing some arrangements with the crafters of the craftsmen zone. I assumed his familiarity with commoners would make things go smoother for us. And Caius has been negotiating some deals with a few of the upper nobility within the Commission, having lunch at an expensive restaurant within Gilded Seat.¡±


    ¡°Quick to pass that job off to someone else, I see,¡± she remarked wryly.


    Vincent rolled his eyes. ¡°Well, subordinates exist for a reason.¡±


    ¡°That they do,¡± Lucy agreed cheerily.


    The silver-haired man narrowed his eyes at her as she turned back to Sedric. ¡°And is there any more equipment you want before Vincent and I leave for the Empire¡¯s banquet in a week, Sedric? We won¡¯t be able to help you organise anything during the two weeks we¡¯ll be gone.¡±


    Sedric rubbed his chin as he considered it, but shook his head. ¡°No. I should be fine. All I¡¯m doing right now is practising putting those new enchantments and mana-circles you gave me into items, so there¡¯s not much I need.¡± Then he frowned slightly. ¡°Although, I¡¯m getting pretty bored just doing that.¡±


    Lucille nodded. ¡°I have to apologise for that. These last few months have just been too busy for me to request anything, and I¡¯m only Rank-0 right now.¡± She leaned back in her chair as she took a sip of coffee from her mug. ¡°I¡¯ll commission an item from you sometime in January, that I can promise you.¡±


    He blinked and looked curious, but nodded. She looked around and stretched as she saw they had all finished lunch. ¡°Well, considering we seem to be finished¡­¡± She looked at Hargrave, who seemed to freeze up slightly when he saw her gaze. ¡°There¡¯s something I need to show you, Hargrave. I¡¯ve set it up in one of the rooms.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah! The defective snow globe thing,¡± Scytale spoke up.


    ¡°Defective what now?¡± Sedric asked with a raised eyebrow.


    She blinked and then considered if she should show Sedric what she did. ¡°I suppose it might interest you to see the mana-circuit I set up, and you¡¯ll probably pass by the device at one point or another¡­¡± She turned back to Hargrave. ¡°Should I show him?¡±


    The red-haired man just gave her a look of incomprehension, so she opened her dimensional bag to take out the extraction cylinder she had shown him when she gave him the offer a little more than a week ago. She held it up for him. ¡°It¡¯s to do with this.¡±


    Hargrave paused when he saw the brass tube, and then slowly nodded. ¡°I¡­ guess he can.¡± It was clear the man was still unsure as to what exactly she was showing them, but he seemed to have some rough idea as he glanced at Sedric. ¡°If he¡¯s your personal crafter, then he¡¯s probably going to find out what I¡¯m doing eventually¡­¡± the man said with a slight frown.


    Lucy glanced at the confused Sedric and shrugged. ¡°Maybe if he learns to leave his workshop more often, then he might.¡±


    ¡°Would you stop talking about me leaving my workshop!¡±


    She ignored Sedric¡¯s angry outburst as Vincent spoke up with an eyebrow raised at her, ¡°I¡¯m curious as to what this is that you¡¯ve ¡®set up¡¯ in one of the floor¡¯s rooms.¡±


    Lucy paused to stare at Vincent for a few seconds. Then she gave him a dismissive wave. ¡°You¡¯re probably too busy with work to bother with this right now. You can go see it later.¡±


    Vincent narrowed his eyes. ¡°I can take a break for a few minutes.¡±


    She gave him a bright smile. ¡°No, there¡¯s no need for you to take time out of your day for this. Just go back to finishing off those documents.¡±


    Vincent scowled at her. ¡°No, I¡¯m beginning to think this is something I really should go see.¡±


    ¡°Lucy, I don¡¯t think you¡¯re getting out of this,¡± Scytale said before she could reply to her aide. ¡°And there¡¯s no way you could hide it all before he sees it. Just show him before he accidentally discovers it one day and gets even more mad.¡±


    Lucy resigned herself to her fate as Vincent went from having strong suspicion to utter certainty that she had done something he would not be pleased about.


    ¡°All right,¡± she said with a sigh, getting up from her chair as the others did the same. ¡°Let me show you what is in the 3<sup>rd</sup> living room on the north side of the floor.¡±

 Chapter 43 (2 of 2) Future dragon guy.

    ¡°So when are you going to tell me what¡¯s inside this room?¡± Vincent asked her, sounding annoyed.


    ¡°I may as well explain when you see it, considering we¡¯re-¡± She paused, and took a step into a room. ¡°Here it is.¡±


    Vincent and the others looked into the room curiously. ¡°Here? What¡¯s in¡±


    She stepped over the mana ink-painted carpet as her silver-haired aide stared at the room, aghast. ¡°Lucy, what have you done?!¡±


    Covering the entire carpet was a maze of thousands of lines of silvery ink, organised into strings of runes that gradually grew denser as they led towards a circle in the centre of the room. And within that painted circle was the main body of the Bloodline Essence and Source Obtainment Catalyser and Purifier, the massive glass sphere she had trapped Scytale inside when they inspected the Founder¡¯s vault before the Forerunner¡¯s Event. The mana lamps inside of the sconces had been removed from their positions, leaving the room with only natural light streaming in from a window on one side of the room.


    She avoided touching the spell lines as she spoke to the others, Vincent glaring at her, ¡°Now, please do not step on or cause any sort of displacement to the carefully arrayed mana-circuits as a change in their formation could disrupt the mana-transferal system I¡¯ve set up here-¡±


    ¡°Lucy, you¡¯ve ruined the carp-¡±


    ¡°-and disruption could lead to emission of high-density mana into the room, forming reactions with the damaged circuits to cast potentially catastrophic effects the mana-circuit was not intended to create,¡± she continued, ¡°Including risking elemental conflicts and other highly devastating explosive scenarios-¡±


    ¡°Lucy, the sconce lamps have been removed from their scon-¡±


    ¡°-and the emission of high-density mana would mean said high-density mana is absorbed by your body, with the possible side-effects of that being mana poisoning, temporary loss of the senses, minor decreased control of the body, and spontaneous human combustion. So if you could please stay over there, and not come any closer,¡± she continued cheerily, stepping into the circle of the glass orb, ¡°I would appreciate that. I don¡¯t want us to explode.¡±


    There was silence. The four of them stared at her, and she stared back.


    ¡°¡­I¡¯m having second thoughts about this after hearing that last side effect,¡± Sedric eventually muttered, breaking the silence.


    The expression on Vincent¡¯s face was very, very dark. ¡°I¡¯d like to know how you thought you could hide this from me, Lucille.¡±


    She sighed and bent down to pick up a pen and inkwell from where they were lying on the ground. ¡°It¡¯s only temporary. I set this up so I could see the information on the device¡¯s Item Sheet, and then this will be removed. The device won¡¯t be able to stay here, anyway, so don¡¯t think I¡¯m planning on keeping it in this room permanently.¡±


    Vincent frowned at her and then took a glance around the room. ¡°But I thought the mana-detection arrays were active everywhere on this floor. The alarm systems would go crazy if you tried to activate the device here.¡±


    She stared at him, then glanced at the wall she knew the arrays were contained within. Vincent¡¯s eyes widened in horror. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you removed the-¡±


    ¡°I asked Ashale¡¯viaf to temporarily turn them off,¡± she replied calmly, kneeling to start connecting the mana-circuit to the device with mana ink.


    Vincent sighed in relief, then scowled at her for intentionally making him panic. Hargrave was watching the floor cautiously as if it might explode at any second, and Scytale had climbed onto a couch near one of the walls, away from the circuit. Not because it was about to explode, but just because he wanted to be lazy and have something comfy to sit on.


    Sedric bent to have a look at the mana-circuit. ¡°You called this a mana-circuit, so I¡¯m assuming this is what a lot of the Coalition¡¯s machines use?¡± he asked. She nodded, so he continued, ¡°So what makes this different from a mana-circle?¡±


    ¡°Well, one is that it¡¯s still a first-layer mana-circle,¡± she explained, continuing to draw the linking lines from the device to the runic circle around it. ¡°But a very large one. Size is important with mana-circuits, and can affect its strength. Another is that this is for distributing power so the runic arrangement is different.¡± She looked up at him. ¡°A mana-circuit has only two major functions. One is to distribute mana, another is to convert it either to or from mechanical power. Which is why they hardly ever use elemental runes, and mostly only arcane runes.¡±


    ¡°Only arcane?¡± he replied curiously.


    She smirked as she continued drawing the rune lines. ¡°Because mechanical motion uses the mundane forces to work.¡±


    Sedric¡¯s eyes widened in realisation, while Vincent narrowed his eyes at the room¡¯s walls. ¡°Lucille, could you please explain to me why you thought it a good decision to remove the mana lamps?¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°I needed to access the mana somehow. If this was my home world¡­¡± She grinned. ¡°Then you could plug whatever tool you wanted into a hole in the wall purposely made for accessing power, but it seems the Commission doesn¡¯t approve of unsanctioned usage of its manalines occurring here.¡±


    ¡°I believe that¡¯s because the normal outcome of unsanctioned manaline access in the Empire is an enormous elemental explosion created by overly eager mages testing out their extremely inefficient new equipment,¡± her aide responded dryly.


    ¡°Which is why I¡¯ve linked the mana-circuit to all the sconces rather than just one, so I have enough mana,¡± she said. ¡°The device is only going to be turned on so I can see its Item Frame. It won¡¯t have its core function activated, because we have no way of using its core function at all.¡±


    ¡°So then¡­ what does this giant orb actually do?¡± Sedric asked. They all gave her curious looks.


    She finished drawing the final few silvery lines to the glass orb, and then carefully walked over to a nearby wall, avoiding the mana-circuit. ¡°I suppose it¡¯s time for you all to see for yourselves.¡± She flicked a switch.


    The room, which had been somewhat dark because of the removed mana lamps and only the window for light, lit up as the mana from the sconces travelled down the silver lines on the walls to flow into the mana-circuit. The glowing mana was sent into the giant glass sphere, where its switchboard buttons began to flicker and hum as power entered the construct. The bronze engraving lines covering each of the layers of crystal glass glowed blue, and multicoloured sparks fizzled and crackled within the centre of the orb. Eventually, the flickering of the switchboard stopped as the glow became steady and solid, and the device was fully turned on.


    Lucille stepped forward to insert the extraction cylinder into its slot, then nodded as another lamp lit up on the switchboard. ¡°This should be functional now.¡± She focused on her right eye for the shard to bring up the Item Sheet.


    [Apparatus ¨C Type: Catalyser, Magic Item ]


    Name: Bloodline Essence and Source Obtainment Catalyser and Purifier


    Rarity: Ancient


    MP: 912/100,000


    Desc:


    This device¡¯s concept was created during the first years of the Mystical Realm¡¯s assimilation, where the people of the realm felt threatened by the immense power held by those of the nonmortal races. As one of the final versions of its kind, this particular device is a model that brings a twist to the nefarious purposes of this creation, in that it can purify the bloodline essence and source of a monster as well as the normal function of erasing the residual mana and spiritual signature of the slain being¡¯s bloodline essence and source. Do not mistake that this construct was birthed from anything other than the atrocious desire to steal a nonmortal race¡¯s very power for the User themself, however.


    Abilities:


    Lifeforce Catalysation and Purification ¨C Erasing the control of a dead being¡¯s blood, and granting its bloodline salvation.


    <ul>


    <li>Degrades the residual mana and spiritual energy signature of the dead existence in its blood, reducing the chance of the bloodline essence attempting to control the assimilator of the bloodline and ultimately killing the assimilator. Mana cost: 1000 per minute. Length of time needed to degrade mana and spiritual energy signature increases depending on strength of existence¡¯s bloodline.</li>


    <li>Reverts the monstrous essence of the bloodline to normality, restoring normal mana levels and patterns within the bloodline essence. Mana cost: 2000 per minute. Length of time needed to purify bloodline increases depending on strength of monstrous bloodline.</li>


    </ul>


    Racial Core Catalysation and Purification ¨C Erasing the control of a dead being¡¯s race, and granting its power salvation.


    <ul>


    <li>Degrades the residual mana and spiritual energy signature of the dead existence in its source, reducing the chance of the mana backfiring and clashing with the assimilator¡¯s mana and ultimately killing the assimilator. Mana cost: 5000 per minute. Length of time needed to degrade mana and spiritual energy signature increases depending on the strength of the existence¡¯s source.</li>


    <li>Reverts the monstrous essence of the source to normality, restoring normal mana levels and patterns within the source. Mana cost: 10,000 per minute. Length of time needed to purify source increases depending on strength of monstrous core.</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    Lucille crossed her arms as she read the Item Sheet. Vincent, Sedric, Hargrave and Scytale just stared at the device, taking in its description ¨C which wasn¡¯t hidden from them even with its high rarity as the device had no information protection enchantments ¨C and forming conclusions about what the existence of this device meant.


    Vincent and Sedric went slightly pale when they realised it, Hargrave narrowed his eyes, while Scytale let out a low whistle.


    ¡°Yeah, uh, Lucy¡­ this is one nasty device you got here. I feel mandated as the only magical beast here to say¡­¡± He turned around to face Vincent, Sedric, and Hargrave. ¡°You humans suck! Seriously!¡±


    Sedric pointed a finger at the machine. ¡°Um¡­ Lucille, I hope I¡¯m wrong here, but is that description saying¡­ the Empire made these things to create their own magical beasts?¡± Then he winced. ¡°Or, I mean¡­ maybe not create, considering how it works, but to steal all their abilities and give them to the Empire¡¯s people instead¡­?¡±


    ¡°Not just magical beasts,¡± she replied, watching the mana-circuit to ensure nothing went haywire. ¡°This device was created so humans could gain the abilities of Tartarus¡¯s natural undead, and the demons too.¡±


    They considered that for a moment. Vincent and Sedric gained strange expressions. ¡°Yeah, I can¡¯t say I¡¯m feeling that guilty about those two¡­¡± Sedric said.


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    She rolled her eyes. ¡°Yes, well, it didn¡¯t work, just so you know. Undead don¡¯t have bloodlines, so those who tried to gain their sources just died due to the death mana or became lesser undead, while those who gained demonic bloodlines became either half-demons, witches, or warlocks.¡±


    Then Lucy shook her head. ¡°As for those who tried to absorb a demon¡¯s source as well as a bloodline, I can only say they were utterly stupid. A demon¡¯s source is their astral form, a part of their very soul, while having the existence¡¯s bloodline is essential to try to absorb their source so it would make them part demon, and when demons get stronger by absorbing other demons¡¯ soul power¡­¡± She smirked. ¡°It only ended up bad for the assimilator. Demons can¡¯t die permanently, after all.¡±


    They stared at her as she recited morbid facts to them, then looked back at the device. ¡°I feel like a device of this sort would be under strict regulations if using one is even allowed.¡± Vincent frowned.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s outlawed,¡± she casually said, making him go wide-eyed. ¡°But only to make them,¡± she added as he sighed in relief. ¡°Owning and using a pre-existing one isn¡¯t illegal.¡±


    ¡°¡­why would using one of these not be illegal?¡± Sedric asked sceptically. ¡°I find it hard to believe the Empire would allow these to continue to exist at all.¡±


    She considered how to answer, but eventually just sighed as she disconnected the giant sphere from its surrounding runic circle. ¡°The Empire allows devices like this to exist, because at the end of the day¡­ these devices allow the Empire to gain strength. Even if the Empire is on good terms with the ruling beast clans, the realms are all still in competition with each other. The System encourages us to fight, after all. If a powerful Empire User manages to emerge from stealing a beast¡¯s bloodline, they¡¯ll accept a magical beast¡¯s death as an acceptable price.¡±


    Lucille opened the glass sphere taller than herself, and took out the smaller clear orb container inside of it, holding it in her arms. She stepped outside of the mana-circuit. ¡°Good news is that I brought this out only because of its ability to purify monster bloodlines and sources. After it¡¯s achieved its purpose¡­¡± She glanced at Hargrave and then looked back at Sedric and Vincent. ¡°Then I¡¯ll likely turn it into the Empire for its destruction.¡±


    Lucy smirked. ¡°The reward for giving these devices to the Empire back then was a Legendary-level gemstone, the kind used for controlling the more powerful Wizard Towers and powering Forbidden items. As time went by, Legendary gemstones were used less as rewards for varying things as the Imperial Treasury increased restrictions on the amount of high-rarity items allowed to be taken out of the Treasury.¡±


    She gave them a wide grin. ¡°Considering we¡¯re probably looking at one of the last few Bloodline and Source Catalysers in the Mystical Realm, I highly doubt they bothered to change the reward over the years. I¡¯m looking forward to seeing them having to relinquish their precious treasures just because a few politicians were lazy.¡±


    Sedric and Hargrave gave her strange looks, while Vincent just rolled his eyes. Lucy gestured to Hargrave. ¡°Anyway, I need to discuss something with him, I assume you, Vincent, have more work to do,¡± she said to her aide, then turned to Sedric, ¡°And I assume you also want to get back to crafting, Sedric, so I¡¯ll take my leave for now. As for Scytale¡­¡±


    She glanced at her winged bond¡­ who was asleep. She rolled her eyes. ¡°We can leave him be.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ crafting¡­ I had forgotten about that,¡± Sedric muttered. He nodded and then turned around, walking away.


    Vincent sighed. ¡°And I suppose it¡¯s true that I have more work left. I¡¯ll see you in a while, then,¡± he replied. He began to walk back to the study.


    Good, he got side-tracked. Now he¡¯s not going to ask me how I¡¯m going to remove all the spell-lines.


    Lucille turned to Hargrave, who was watching her carefully. ¡°And as for what I want to discuss¡­ it involves the first draconic monster Ravimoux will find for you.¡±


    The tall red-haired man blinked at her in surprise but then paused as she handed over the large orb in her hands as well as the extraction device to him. ¡°But first, take these two. They¡¯re two essential components of the device needed to help you gain the bloodlines, so I assumed you might like to be in control of the location of these parts.¡±


    He put them into a dimensional item of his own and then followed behind her as she walked away from the living room, looking interested after she told him that. She continued to tell him what he would need to do to gain the bloodlines he wanted.


    ¡°The device won¡¯t be activated here at Headquarters once you¡¯ve slain a draconic monster, but instead at a location such as an outpost in the wilds of the Beast Realm, where the draconic monster will have been specifically led to,¡± Lucy explained. ¡°This is because the mana cost to run the device is far higher than what the Headquarters can support, and also to ensure you can quickly absorb the bloodline and source before mana begins to leave them by having the device located nearby.¡±


    She gestured to him. ¡°Which is another reason why I gave those two components to you. The first thing you need to do after killing a draconic monster is to store the bloodline essence and monstrous dragon heart so you can get back to the main body of the device in time. The dragon heart just needs to be stored in the orb, but the bloodline essence is obtained through extracting it with that extraction cylinder.¡± Lucille glanced at him. ¡°And the location it¡¯s extracted from is the heart, which is why bloodline essence is also known as heart-blood.¡±


    She paused her steps when she saw the man frowning at her. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± she asked, finding his reaction odd.


    He frowned further, staying silent for a while, but eventually said his question. ¡°Why do you know so much about my Origin Skill?¡± he asked, crossing his arms. ¡°Nobody should be able to know about it. I¡¯ve never told anyone anything regarding it.¡±


    Lucille blinked. ¡°Oh.¡± She hesitated for a moment. ¡°I suppose that¡¯s something I probably should¡¯ve explained when I made my offer to you. Yours is the normal reaction when someone doesn¡¯t know much about the Empire¡¯s history.¡± She coughed. ¡°Well, to put it simply¡­ I¡¯ve read about you.¡±


    Hargrave stared at her. ¡°About me?¡±


    She tilted her head as she considered it. ¡°Not you personally, but¡­¡± She glanced down the end of the corridor as she had an idea, and then turned back to him. ¡°Actually, let¡¯s leave the conversation about your first draconic monster bloodline for later. I believe this is something I should show you first. Let¡¯s go down to the Library.¡±


    ¡­


    They stepped through the tall hall filled with towering shelves of books. Lucy called out to the seemingly empty room, ¡°Ashale¡¯viaf, is there a copy of Aeternus and Arcana: Ancient Era Myths and Lore in here?¡±


    The spirit materialised with a shower of petals, making Hargrave flinch beside her. ¡°By Everdeen Vendimelas?¡± he asked her.


    She nodded, and so the spirit disappeared in a second shower of petals, to return only a few seconds later with a thick book in hand. He walked over to a nearby table to deposit the heavy tome with a thud. A cloud of dust was kicked up from its pages by the action, and she walked over to see it.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect anyone to know of this book anymore, considering the last time someone requested to see it was over a thousand years ago,¡± Ashale¡¯viaf murmured. He glanced at her. ¡°Was there anything else you needed, Faction Head?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°No, that¡¯s all I need, thank you.¡±


    The rose spirit nodded and dematerialised his incarnation.


    Hargrave watched the spirit go with caution, then turned to her. ¡°Is¡­ he capable of sensing everything in this building? Did he hear our conversation?¡± he asked, sounding to her like he could be worried.


    She hummed as she turned the dusty pages of the ornately decorated tome to find the right passage. ¡°Spirits who have yet to fully form a core or physical body of some kind use unusual intermediaries to sense the material realms, unlike demons and other spiritual energy using existences, so for a rose spirit like him, he can only use the magic arrays and plants within the building to see and hear us speaking. He would indeed normally be able to hear our conversation,¡± she said, ¡°But spiritual perception negates spiritual perception.¡±


    She gave the red-haired man a smirk. ¡°And I use spiritual energy. So he¡¯s incapable of hearing any of my conversations I don¡¯t want him to due to the spiritual perception field surrounding me.¡±


    ¡°And you could clearly overhear my conversation¡­¡± Hargrave muttered.


    She paused and then gazed at him with a strange expression, while he didn¡¯t seem to know what he had said until his thoughts caught up to his mouth and his eyes went wide, finally realising what he had just let slip. ¡°I- uh¡­¡±


    ¡°Here it is,¡± she said, returning to the book and deciding to help Hargrave by changing the topic. She stepped out of the way to let him read the page.


    Hargrave came forward to read it, then began frowning as he saw what it said. He read through the page, a complicated look forming on his face. ¡°This¡­¡±


    ¡°The existence known as the ¡®Blood Patriarch¡¯,¡± Lucille began, reciting what was written on the page, ¡°Is someone born to the human race every iteration of what is known as a ¡®cycle¡¯. Their fundamental abilities on the surface show themselves as an individual with an extremely rare Superior affinity for the element of blood, but this is not the case. While their affinity, if tested, shows itself as a Superior affinity for blood, their abilities directly control their very form of existence using blood as a medium.¡±


    Lucy used a finger to tap on one of the passages. ¡°They absorb the essence of any bloodline in its entirety, and face no struggle dominating bloodlines due to their authority over blood. But they also gain the ability to devour the sources of non-human races, becoming them if they have both source and bloodline. These characteristics are added to their nonhuman form gained by absorbing other racial sources and bloodlines. Historically, they have been known as terrifying, distorted abominations with unknown origins, but uncovered manuscripts have indicated that these creatures were human before their change.¡±


    She crossed her arms as she looked at the frowning man to her right. ¡°I hope this has explained some of my knowledge.¡±


    Hargrave ran a finger under one of the lines. ¡°What¡¯s a ¡®cycle¡¯?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a period of twenty thousand years,¡± she explained. ¡°Very few people know about it, but several phenomena occur that point to there being a twenty-thousand-year cycle of some kind. The black dragon I mentioned when I made the offer is another example of an existence whose manifestation is born every cycle. The Dragon Sovereign¡¯s rebirth and the Citadel of Fate¡¯s Prophetess are also like this.¡± She gave him a look. ¡°However, I¡¯ve found no mention of the ¡®Blood Patriarch¡¯ existing in the last cycle, which means it¡¯s jumped a cycle. Normally, this means the existence¡¯s strength is increased the next time they appear.¡±


    He held his chin, re-reading and pondering over the page. ¡°But¡­¡± he turned to her. ¡°It says here that the ¡®Blood Patriarch¡¯ is born with hair and eyes the colour of blood, and keep that appearance until they gain another bloodline.¡± He gestured to his face. ¡°My eyes aren¡¯t red.¡±


    Lucille sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t know the reason for that. It could be that it¡¯s a change due to the increased power you¡¯ve obtained from the cycle being skipped by the ability, or something else.¡± She placed her hands on her hips. ¡°But do you think this passage could refer to anyone else but yourself?¡± she asked him, an eyebrow raised.


    In actuality, Lucy had a vague theory about why his eye colour might not be red and was amber instead, but the implications of that were quite frankly very scary, so she didn¡¯t want to think about it at all, if possible.


    Hargrave grimaced as he heard her question, but didn¡¯t answer it. He looked back at the book. ¡°How many people besides you would know about my abilities and this ¡®Blood Patriarch¡¯?¡±


    She considered it. ¡°Very, very few.¡± She gestured to the tome. ¡°Aeternus and Arcana: Ancient Era Myths and Lore is a very old book written during the first millennium of the Mystical Realm¡¯s assimilation, and wasn¡¯t very popular. In fact,¡± she continued, ¡°It was highly unpopular because nobody believed what was written inside of it. It¡¯s a book detailing myths from before the System assimilated the realm, but the author¡¯s theories and research added into it made very few people treat it seriously.¡±


    She smirked at Hargrave. ¡°However, considering I¡¯m talking to one of the very ¡®myths¡¯ mentioned in this book, I believe the author deserves more credit than they received.¡±


    He just gave her a funny look, but then she paused as she thought of something. ¡°I should be careful to warn you though, that revealing any hint of your abilities before members of the Evernight March would be an extremely bad idea.¡±


    ¡°The Evernight March?¡± he said with a confused frown.


    Lucy nodded. ¡°The name of ¡®Blood Patriarch¡¯ was only coined after a certain inheritor of the ability managed to absorb a specific collection of sources and bloodlines, and wasn¡¯t a title that existed from the very beginning,¡± she explained. ¡°As absorbing sources and bloodlines permanently changes the race of a Blood Patriarch, that particular Blood Patriarch had children which can be considered the first members of what we call the ¡®Vampires¡¯.¡±


    She walked over to the book and shut it. ¡°As a result, they termed the progenitor and first ancestor of their race the ¡®Blood Patriarch¡¯, and essentially worshipped any Blood Patriarch afterwards as the leader of their race, even if only one Blood Patriarch could ever be called their ancestor. So, if you don¡¯t want to be kidnapped and forcefully placed on a pedestal as their ruler so the March can use you as justification to begin a coup d¡¯¨¦tat of the Empire, replacing the Emperor with you,¡± she said with a bright smile, ¡°Don¡¯t let them know what you are. It won¡¯t end well for you.¡±


    Lucille picked up the book as he gazed at her strangely. ¡°Just avoiding them altogether is preferable, as the entire reason they accepted becoming a Marquess family was so they had the power to search out the Blood Patriarch each cycle to fulfil their secret plans of realm domination. But you didn¡¯t hear that from me,¡± she added.


    She called out to the empty room again, imbuing spiritual energy into her voice like she had done so before so the spirit could hear her, ¡°Ashale¡¯viaf, I¡¯m done reading.¡±


    The white and pink-haired spirit materialised with a cloud of petals once more, then glanced at the book in her hands with a strange look on his face. ¡°I hope you found what you needed in that book because all I know is that the Athenaeum branded it as fiction some sixty thousand years ago.¡±


    Lucy smirked and handed it over. ¡°I did. Thank you for your help.¡±


    He nodded and left once more. Lucy walked towards the Library¡¯s lift as Hargrave followed her. ¡°Now, about the draconic bloodlines and sources¡­ I presume you intend on gaining them all over a longer timeframe?¡± she asked, using her access card to take them to the fortieth floor.


    ¡°Yes.¡± The red-haired man nodded. ¡°I need to strengthen myself in other ways besides obtaining the strength of the draconic monstrous beasts.¡±


    ¡°Then I can allow Ravimoux to devote more effort into finding draconic beasts with greater bloodline strength¡­¡± Lucille mused. She glanced at him. ¡°Does a draconic monster once a year up until the 6<sup>th</sup> year, then giving you twelve months of preparation before the Dragon¡¯s Gate sound good?¡±


    He nodded. She hummed as she thought it through further. ¡°I suppose you¡¯ll also want to obtain information on the monsters and prepare to fight them for several months leading up to the fight, so you don¡¯t waste the encounter by allowing it to escape or damage the dragon heart accidentally in some way. Then I should tell Ravimoux to ensure the draconic monsters can be found near outposts around June each year.¡±


    They stepped out onto the fortieth floor. ¡°Then, as for your first draconic monster, I suggest you absorb a water-element one,¡± Lucy said.


    Hargrave frowned slightly. ¡°I was going to hunt a fire-element one originally.¡±


    ¡°If you truly want that, then I can organise it for you,¡± she replied, following the path to her living room. ¡°But I¡¯m not suggesting this without thought. The water element, as a component of the mid-level element of blood, is more similar to your affinity, and so you¡¯d be able to learn more easily how to control it, gaining power quicker,¡± she explained. ¡°And the water element will help you suppress the fire element when the time comes for you to absorb a fire element bloodline. I¡¯m taking the elemental reactions into account.¡±


    He thought for a moment, and then slowly nodded. She asked one last question. ¡°I assume you¡¯re only going for regal draconic bloodlines and sources? Not oceanic or celestial ones?¡±


    ¡°I only want draconic bloodlines and sources of the six essential elements,¡± he said, shaking his head.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I expected,¡± Lucille said, nodding. She smiled and gestured to him. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll organise the search for a water element draconic monster with Ravimoux sometime after the Empire¡¯s banquet. We won¡¯t be seeing each other for about two weeks after this week.¡±


    She looked around, then turned back to him. ¡°I hope what I showed you in the Library helped you assuage some of your worries about what I know about you.¡±


    Hargrave went to nod, then hesitated as he realised there was something else distinctly off about all this. ¡°But¡­ how did you know that I¡¯m this ¡®Blood Patriarch¡¯ you read about when my eyes aren¡¯t red?¡± he asked with confusion.


    Lucy blinked once and then gave him a wide smile. ¡°Oh, no, I¡¯m not telling you that. Certainly not. How am I supposed to be this ¡®scheming mastermind¡¯ you and Sedric seem to think I am if I go ahead and just tell you everything?¡±


    And with that, she left the frozen stiff Hargrave to his own devices, walking into her living room and shutting the door. She sat down on her couch.


    Then she sighed because this would be the last time she would have such a relaxing day until after the Empire¡¯s annual end-of-year banquet. Where she¡¯d be given her Honorary Count Title, her existence and name would finally be spread throughout the Mystical Realm, and she¡¯d meet privately with Archduke Stolas Septamere Eterial, the ruler of the Aethereal Duchy, one of the Seven Eternal Duchies of the Aeternus plane.

 Chapter 44 (1 of 2) The Eternal Empire.

    Placed within the central point of the immense Aeternus plane, the only Superior plane of the Mystical Realm, the Capital City of Imperialius Aeternia was undergoing a strange event. The colossal, fantastical metropolis was covered by a several-layered incandescent dome of mana, the city glowing like a beacon, lighting up the area the size of a continent around it so that regardless of day or night, the skies were a bright blue like during the day.


    The dome shifted and reassembled itself repeatedly, the protective wards and seals realigning themselves to ensure the city was under maximum protection at all times should a disaster strike the metropolis. Enormous metal walls, normally hidden within the earth, had risen to surround the city and turn it into a fortress. Everyone within the city was barricaded in, the only way to enter or exit the city for the common people being the teleportation arrays currently under strict surveillance.


    Several gargantuan teleportation arrays were activated at specific marble plazas, the arrays spanning entire districts in themselves. The zones glowed the violet colouration of space mana, and lit up the surrounding areas with frequent flashes of violet light. A a multitude of ornate carriages covered in crests and emblems of many kinds and colours and pulled by exotic and flamboyant beasts appeared within the arrays, making their way down the broad stone streets. The arrays were separated by status, as the carriages appearing out of specific arrays had similar amounts of ornaments and escorts. Mana radiated off of the multitude of carriages.


    While normally many carriages belonging to people of different statuses would be roaming the streets, this day was different. On this day, the broad paved roads were bordered by lines of heavily armoured men and women, members of the Royal Guard who ensured the observers crowding the streets were held back, not interrupting the procession of the many, many nobles heading towards a very specific place in the city.


    Each member of the guard was covered in regal red and gold plate armour, and their blazing auras soared as they released all their mana in a show of immense power, any person in the army being early Rank-5 at the very weakest. The auras bled together in perfect sync to form a barrier between the footpaths and the roads, and the rarity of all their armour was Ancient.


    None of this was soundless, however. The crowd of commoners and interested watchers were talking and chatting, all enjoying seeing the massive procession of nearly all of the Empire¡¯s most powerful nobility arriving for the Empire¡¯s Annual End-of-Year Banquet, slowly heading towards the main street, and had enjoyed seeing the delegates of All-Aeon Athenaeum, Glory Pantheon, and the Citadel of Fate arrive as well. But it wasn¡¯t only the Empire¡¯s nobility that was travelling the streets and wasn¡¯t truly what the observers had come to watch as they stood on either side of the main road. Representatives from each of the different realms had come.


    The members of the Beast Realm¡¯s bloodline royalty used no carriages and used their impressive bestial forms to walk confidently through the city, freely releasing their mana into the air. The Regal Dragons, the Phoenixes, the Fenrir, Kitsune, Hydras, Sphinxes, Cerapters, and many other royal beast bloodlines walked the streets, most in their enlarged Primal Descendant forms, although even those who were not enlarged radiated such high quantities of mana that their presence could not be ignored. Some royal races, such as the Krakens, couldn¡¯t use their beast forms for obvious reasons and let their wild mana create marvellous displays around them as they walked. The sounds of the magical beasts¡¯ mana-shaking roars and cries reverberated throughout the city.


    The representatives of the Demon Realm came next, letting their demonic auras and presences freely rampage throughout the area as they moved, showing no care nor concern for the way the mana distorted and crackled around them. Most members of the crowd retreated to reduce the abrasive sensation of demonic power rubbing against their souls. The archdemons of the most powerful demonic bloodlines rode inside extravagant carriages pulled by dangerous demonic beasts of similar size to the magical beasts before them, the stronger the demon beast, the more powerful the True Demon that rode within the carriage. With the strength the demonic beasts had, most, if not all of them had already obtained sapience and the ability to switch to a human form, but for demons, their mental capabilities and self-awareness mattered not. Only the strong had a say among demons. They rode past the crowd arrogantly and grandly.


    Then all sound fell to barely anything besides hushed whispers as a dreadful presence rolled over the many viewers. The light around the crowd dimmed, and a dark grey fog fell upon them. Unhidden waves of death mana emanated out of the figures approaching them, the figures even more silent than the crowd. Two rows of armoured humanoids marched past them in synchronisation to the sound of some unheard drum, their metal a pitch black that reflected no light, and their footsteps making no noise. They marched slowly, and behind them was a gargantuan creature of pure white bone, its eye sockets and heart glowing with ominous light. Wings spread on either side, the skeletal Arch-Dracolich was as silent as the armoured figures even with its enormous size, draped in black silk coverings embroidered with a silver emblem of a hooded figure holding an open book.


    But marching in single file between the two rows of armoured guards were ten individuals wearing what looked like a military uniform of black and silver, five men and five women with dark hair and eyes. They released no death mana, seeming like normal humans. The realm of undead had no ruling lineage, but there were certain existences no member of the realm dared cross even if their own soul flames were at stake: the ones known as the Watchmen of Tartarus, the race that was given the title of the ¡®Death Race¡¯ for their racial connection and steadfast loyalty to the mysterious and secretive being named the Monarch of Death. The crowd watched them pass soundlessly, hoping the dreary sensation of the death mana would remove itself from them quickly.


    And when it did, the final realm¡¯s representatives came by. The crowd cheered as five immense sky boats of the Heavenly Realm slowly moved down the main road, arrayed in a line and each boat painted a different vibrant colour. The sky boats floated off the ground, and while normally the mana of the material realms would prevent this ability from occurring, the boats were consuming vast quantities of high-tiered spirit stones to support their flight.


    Silk sails spread out on either side of the boats, five-coloured spiritual energy escaping the ships. The boats and their sails cast shadows over the crowd below, but the crowd gasped as figures in oriental robes matching the colour of their boats flew out of the many-tiered ships.


    To entertain the crowd, large glowing projections cast by powerful formations hovered above and around the boats, showing scenes of battle between mythological creatures. The figures in oriental robes flew about on spiritual treasures and swords, using mesmerising abilities, and several playing elegant music on flutes and zithers, forming resplendent imagery of different scenes with the musical intent-filled spiritual energy. Golden lightning, raging flames, freezing glaciers, towering mountains, and blooming lotuses formed of spiritual energy covered the boats, one theme for each. It was a glorious sight.


    Then, the crowd watched as the last of the Heavenly Realm¡¯s procession went through gargantuan golden gates twenty stories in height, and the gates slammed shut, the processions disappearing beyond as they couldn¡¯t be seen any longer. Finally, the carriages of the Empire¡¯s nobility arrived on the main street, thousands of the gilded coaches filtering around the front gate to take side gates matching their status. The crowd waited patiently until the last event began to occur: the only processions allowed to enter from outside of the city¡¯s walls to come to the Imperial Palace, the procession of each of the Seven Eternal Duchies.


    <hr>


    ¡°Do you think if the train lines become popular enough to be implemented in the Capital the Emperor would allow the nobility to take the train to the palace?¡± a dark-haired girl with a half-mask asked the silver-haired man opposite her.


    Vincent huffed a laugh. ¡°I highly doubt it. As much as the traffic is atrocious¡­¡± He looked out the window of their carriage. ¡°The keeping of tradition is more important. The Empire has only lasted as long as it has because of its strict adherence to tradition and rules.¡±


    Lucille sighed as she rested the back of her head against the carriage wall behind her. ¡°I just believe that waiting five hours to enter the gate is a little too long for any of this whole event to be worth it.¡±


    Her aide smirked. ¡°Lucy, you should be glad that you¡¯re entering through the side gate reserved for the Aeternus plane¡¯s Counts. I¡¯ve heard it can sometimes take over 24 hours for the Barons, and even longer for the Major and Minor Kingdom nobility, with how many they have. And as someone part of the Aurelian Commission, we get to enter through the gates first.¡±


    Well, that was true. The Aurelian Commission was in a special position because as an organisation backed by the Emperor when it was first created, the Counts of the Faction held more power than any other Count. Partially because the Commission was founded by the four most powerful Counties of the Aeternus plane, and partially because they were the only four Counties not part of any larger fiefdom such as a March or Duchy.


    As a privilege awarded to their Faction, they were allowed to enter before any other Count. It was also because as a Faction formed because of the Emperor¡¯s order, they needed to demonstrate their loyalty to the throne before anyone else.


    She and Vincent were currently seated inside a carriage of the colour of gold and violet, the emblem of the Aurelian Commission, the three overlapping gold coins, shown on its sides. And positioned in front of and behind on either side of her carriage were the carriages of Evisenhardt, Chavaret, Alichanteu and Ravimoux, escorting her to the gate. Their carriages had their Faction emblem, the three gold coins painted onto their County¡¯s signature colour, as well as their family emblem revealed for all to see.


    Suddenly, the massive gates in front of the Commission¡¯s five carriages swung open, and the gatekeepers nodded to the coachmen, permitting them to start moving. With a jostle of the reigns, the low-ranked magical beast horses began moving, pulling the coaches forward. Armed knights of the four Counties escorted them on either side, but as the first two coaches of Evisenhardt and Chavaret moved through the gate, the guards split off to wait until all five carriages were through. Private guards were not allowed on Imperial property.


    Then Lucy¡¯s carriage crossed the gate. A notification sounded for her and Vincent.


    [You have entered the grounds of the Eternal Empire¡¯s Royal Abode: The Palace of Nine Pillars, the central Faction grounds of a Supreme Institution.]


    [Warning: Entry of the Hall of the Eternal Throne without a Title of appropriate status will result in immediate removal from the Palace of Nine Pillars.]


    The Aeternus nobility, royalty of the vassal kingdoms, high nobility of the lesser empires, delegates of the Supreme Institutions and the realm representatives would be allowed to enter the main wing of the palace, which contained the central banquet hall and throne room, but not anyone else. This was for several reasons, although the first was obviously as a show of power over the lesser nobility.


    The Emperor¡¯s voice would be broadcasted throughout the entire palace using a magical artifact, so all the Major and Minor Kingdoms¡¯, as well as the middle and lesser nobility of the lesser empires, could hear him in their separate banquet halls. The nobility of the unranked planes were not invited to the Palace of Nine Pillars, their status being too low.


    And as for the Palace of Nine Pillars itself¡­ Lucille leaned to the side, peering out of the window, to see them slowly approach the gargantuan building, exquisite flowering trees decorating the road to the palace. Rainbow mana radiated off of the building like it was the very sun itself, almost blinding all those who approached. Beautiful, tall gardens filled all the space around the palace, creating incredible scenery and scents.


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Outside of the gates of the palace, you could see the building, towering above the rest of the city¡¯s buildings and placed directly in the centre of the city, so nearly everyone could see it at all times. However, if someone was to try to get to or fly near the palace, they would discover that no matter how far they travelled, they never got any closer to the building. That was because the entire palace grounds were enchanted with spatial expansion magic. And once one entered through the gates, the immense size of the palace was revealed, being triple the height it showed outside the city gates.


    The Palace of Nine Pillars was called such because there were nine immense pillars arrayed out the front of the building. Reaching up to a third of the palace¡¯s height, each pillar was made of ornately carved gemstone, a different colour for each. They glowed with light and were the main cause of the blinding rays emanating from the palace. Three were placed on either side of the colossal double doors of the palace, and three above the doors, they held up a peaked roof above the doors and above the pillars over that. The carved gemstones were covered in runes, phantasmal projections of the runes hovering above the pillars¡¯ surface as mana rolled about within them.


    The palace itself was separated into three tiers. The first tier, with six of the pillars, curved around the bedazzling lake of crystal-clear liquid mana that was in front of the building. It stretched out on either side to contain other wings of the palace, crystal walls and silken coverings decorating it all. The second tier was above the main door, where three more gemstone pillars resided above. Here, white stone carvings depicting ancient battles sprawled across the walls, under the second peaked roof.


    Then was the third tier, with an enormous glass dome for a roof above the centre of the palace. Vine-filled gardens sprawled across the roofs, leaving no space uncovered. The main stone of the palace was reflective marble filled veined with gemstones of the same colour as the pillars and with gold in some places.


    The five carriages of the Commission slowly travelled around the lake, drawing closer to the palace. They came to a stop before the wide staircase leading up to the double doors. The coachmen of Lucy¡¯s carriage opened the doors, and Vincent stepped out first. Inwardly she sighed as she took his hand, because she couldn¡¯t avoid following etiquette here, and stepped out of the carriage.


    The doors of the other four carriages opened to reveal the groups of Count Ravimoux, Count Evisenhardt, Count Chavaret, and both Artair and Arwen. Count Ravimoux was accompanied by Viscountess Femidela and his aide, Tarquin, while Count Evisenhardt was accompanied by Vincent¡¯s father and eldest brother, Haraldus and Lysander.


    Count Chavaret was accompanied by his eldest son, Martelemore, and Artair and Arwen were accompanied by the High-mages Lucy had seen them with on separate occasions, the bearded older High-mage, and the light-blue-haired High-mage.


    As for why the others accompanying the Counts could even enter the main palace without a fiefdom Title such as Count, Viscount and so on was because they did have Titles. They were normally Titles such as ¡®13<sup>th</sup> Grandchild of the Evisenhardt County¡¯ or similar, and that was enough to allow them entry. As long as the lineage wasn¡¯t so distant that the System didn¡¯t acknowledge it, they were allowed to come to the Imperial Palace as Aeternus nobility.


    The Empire didn¡¯t follow the practice of handing down lesser nobility titles to relatives, unlike Earth in the medieval period, so just being part of a noble bloodline was enough to be considered a full noble. Those with fiefdom Titles were still held in higher esteem, however.


    And when it came to Lucy, who didn¡¯t have a noble Title of any kind¡­ that was one of the reasons why Count Evisenhardt had gone to the Emperor to appeal for the Commission Head¡¯s seal two months ago. It was also to request that the Faction settings of the palace be temporarily altered to allow her to enter the main building to receive her Honorary Count Title. If the Emperor didn¡¯t want her to gain the Honorary Count Title, then all he had to do was not change the settings so she would be removed by the System.


    That was why she was even able to come here when her ¡®no-interaction¡¯ status meant magic couldn¡¯t analyse her. If the scanning operations were anything but System-based Faction functions purchased using crystalline tokens, she would be caught up in a very complicated situation of being unable to be scanned by the magic, and registering as a threat.


    The wives of Count Evisenhardt, Count Chavaret, Haraldus, and Lysander, who was married, would be arriving later, as they didn¡¯t necessarily have to come to the opening ceremony.


    Lucy turned to Vincent. ¡°Then, time for your first Empire banquet event,¡± she said to him.


    He raised an eyebrow. ¡°Lucy, isn¡¯t this also your¡­¡± He hesitated, then narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°Actually, is this your first time coming to an Empire banquet?¡±


    She blinked and then smirked. ¡°Hmm¡­ I wonder. Possibly?¡± She turned to look at the Counts as Vincent narrowed his eyes further with suspicion.


    Count Evisenhardt nodded to her. ¡°I believe it is time for us to enter, then.¡± The other Counts also nodded as they began climbing the steps, prepared to enter the throne room. ¡°I am sure you will do an excellent job.¡±


    She shrunk her perception field, as it was a risk to have it open too large in the palace in case someone detected it, and followed behind them with Vincent at her side, more carriages arriving behind them. Guards lined the entrance staircase. Then, they moved past the gargantuan open double doors to walk down the long, red-carpet-lined hallway, spanning a hundred metres in width.


    The walk was mostly quiet, with the Counts discussing things with the people by their side. It took at least twenty minutes before they made it to the end of the hallway, and when they did, the doorkeeper dressed in a red and gold uniform saw them. Before they stepped out onto a balcony to reveal their presence to the thousands of Baronets, Barons, Viscounts, lower-status realm representatives, vassal kingdom and empire royals, and Supreme Institution delegates below, the doorkeeper grabbed a bell-shaped magical artifact and raised it to his mouth.


    The blare of a trumpet-like instrument briefly sounded, the sound travelling throughout the room due to being imbued with mana, and heads turned below them to look up at the balcony. The doorkeeper spoke into the bell-shaped artifact, and his voice resounded throughout the throne hall.


    ¡°Now Announcing the Entrance of the Entourages of the Aurelian Commission¡¯s Four Counties: Count Sevastian Edgar Evisenhardt of the Silver County of Evisenhardt, Along with his First Heir and First Grandson!¡±


    Count Evisenhardt, Haraldus and Lysander began climbing down the stairs to one side of the balcony.


    ¡°Count Donovan Raymond Chavaret of the Red County of Chavaret, with his Heir!¡±


    The two red-haired men likewise began their descent.


    ¡°The Representatives of the Blue County of Alichanteu, the First and Second Heirs!¡±


    Arwen grimaced when he heard ¡®second¡¯ heir, but Artair smiled and happily walked down the stairs, their two escorting High-mages behind them.


    ¡°Count Regulus Fardevrio Ravimoux of the Black County of Ravimoux, along with the Viscount and Viscountess of Femidela!¡±


    The dark-haired man smirked as the two people by his side followed him down the staircase. Vincent shared a look with Lucille, and she smiled as the doorkeeper spoke again.


    ¡°And Finally: Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft, the Head of the Aurelian Commission, Alongside her Aide!¡±


    With that, she began walking down the steps, Vincent right behind her. The red carpet came down these stairs as well, leading across the immense hall. She followed its path and avoided looking at the thousands of curious gazes directed her way, shrinking inward to appear nervous, and only walked towards where she knew the seats of the Aurelian Commission Counts were reserved, closer to the throne than the Viscounts and other low nobility. The lesser nobility had to stand at the back of the hall, where she had just entered, but those with higher status got to sit in sections reserved on either side of the red carpet.


    And at the end of the carpet, was a series of steps that led up to a towering throne. Cast out of solid gold, nine jewels of the same colour as the pillars outside the palace were set into the seat. Ornate carvings of airborne ships, ancient battles and primeval beasts covered the throne. And engraved on the back of the throne was the image of a tree, spreading out so its tips reached the nine jewels. The channels of the carvings and engravings gently released luminous mana into the surroundings, the nine crystalline stones also releasing light. A smaller throne in a similar style, this one placed lower than and next to the larger throne, was also at the end of the scarlet carpet.


    She made it to where she saw the other Counts standing in front of their seats, five of them in total. She came closer, and with an ¡®order¡¯ from Vincent, she sat down in the middle one, decorated by a silken gold and violet covering embroidered with the Faction emblem. Then the Counts sat down on either side of her, the chair of Alichanteu remaining empty as Artair and Arwen sat down in smaller chairs behind it. Like Vincent, who stood behind her, the other people who came with them stood behind their lords.


    There were many mutters and discussions from the nobility in the rows behind and further away from them, all directing attention to her and Vincent, both two figures unknown to the central Empire¡¯s world. Unfortunately, it would be extremely disrespectful for them to leave the spots where they were supposed to be waiting for the Emperor, and so sadly for them, they couldn¡¯t approach Lucy and Vincent.


    The doorkeeper began to announce the arrival of the other Counts from the Aeternus plane. After the Commission¡¯s Counts, the youngest - and more likely closer to the Royal Family ¨C Counties¡¯ representatives were announced first, and slowly it changed as Counts of older and more powerful Counties which were more loyal to and under the 7 Eternal Duchies were introduced. The later they were introduced, the further they were from the Royal Family¡¯s authority.


    It took well over three hours for the Counts to be introduced, and it was only that short because the Empire, with how large it was, couldn¡¯t give long introductions for absolutely everyone,. That was why Vincent¡¯s and the names of the others weren¡¯t revealed.


    Then the Marquesses began to arrive. They had more people accompanying them as the more powerful families were allowed to bring more members along. Many Marquesses radiated strong auras, showing that they had high personal strength as well. Lucy watched them all to ensure she remembered everything, her perception field shrunk only to a few metres wide, so she had to use her eyes with how far away they were. She only carefully recorded down any details with her thought strands, not giving them much of her focus, but she did pay attention when one particular Marquess family was brought up, one of the few Marquess families not part of the 7 Eternal Duchies.


    ¡°Announcing the Arrival of the Representatives of the Evernight March of Vampyreus!¡±


    With unnaturally pale skin, black, white, or silver hair, blood-red eyes and inhumanely beautiful features, the members of the Evernight March entered the hall. Lucy knew if you talked to one, you¡¯d sometimes be able to see they had long, fang-like incisors, and several of the ¡®Vampires¡¯ even had their leathery black wings out.


    Hopefully, Hargrave will take my advice and avoid them. They¡¯re not pleasant people to deal with at any time, to the extent that if Olden ever discovered what goes on in that March, they¡¯re bound to use it to start another long debate over non-human rights and their access to titles of nobility. Come to think of it, I don¡¯t recall hearing about the Evernight March getting involved with Hargrave in the past¡­


    The rest of the Marquesses were introduced and took up their seats closer to the throne. She took note of one Marquess, the Marquess of Ashthrope, who was a man appearing in his mid-50s with greying black hair. He sat in a position much closer to the throne, in the same area as seven other unique chairs. However, there were still more people to be announced before the final highest level of Aeternus nobility arrived.


    ¡°Announcing the Arrival of the Delegates of All-Aeon Athenaeum, Glory Pantheon, and the Citadel of Fate!¡±


    For fairness¡¯ sake, the arrival of the Supreme Institution representatives occurred at the same time. All-Aeon Athenaeum, the organisation with the longest history, was announced first, Glory Pantheon next because their weapon clans were an important part of the Empire¡¯s military might, which left Citadel of Fate for last.


    Around ten members of each of the Institutions walked down the steps. All-Aeon Athenaeum had an Archmage of each of the essential elements, three wizards, and an Archwizard, embroidered crests on their robes to indicate what position they held. Glory Pantheon had seven men and three women wearing full armour of different colours without helmets, although they didn¡¯t carry weapons. The Citadel of Fate had nine Paladins entering in white and gold armour, with a leading armoured man at the front, his armour gold with green embellishments.


    It seems, judging by the colour of that man¡¯s armour, that they sent the 8<sup>th</sup> Templar of High Renewal. They might be sending a message, because ¡®renewal¡¯ could be taken as them saying the year is about to renew, so they wish the Empire well until the next end-of-year banquet¡­


    Lucy prevented herself from smirking when she saw some of the nobles eyeing the Templar with suspicion.


    ¡­or they could be telling the current Emperor to abdicate the throne soon so the ¡®Emperor¡¯ is quickly renewed.


    The Emperor of the Eternal Empire held their position for a maximum of a thousand years and then must pass it on to the Crown Prince. As it was the 73<sup>rd</sup> year of the 102<sup>nd</sup> millennium after the realm¡¯s assimilation, and as an Emperor¡¯s term always ended in the first century of the millennium, the current Emperor only had 27 years before he had to give up the throne.


    The Citadel of Fate was a force essentially backing Olden, with the current Emperor being from Radical¡­ so the likelihood of the message being the latter was quite high. She found it amusing, but she was sure the forces of Radical and the loyalists of the Royal Family were less than impressed.


    ¡°¡­it seems someone thought they were being funny among the Sages¡­¡± murmured Count Evisenhardt, having come to the same conclusion as her. The other two Counts nodded, Count Ravimoux with a smirk on his face.


    The forces of the Supreme Institutions took up positions in sections reserved for them alone, all of them sitting on the side opposite that of the Aurelian Commission¡¯s Counts. Then, two large doors on either side of the throne opened up. Men and women began streaming through them, to take up positions in seats in front of the Marquesses. A doorkeeper wearing robes different to that of the other doorkeepers standing beside these doors raised his artifact to speak.


    ¡°Announcing the Entrance of the Imperial Princes and Princesses of the Eterial Royal Family!¡±


    If a noble below Aeternus Duke met one of the Princes and Princesses in any other situation, they would¡¯ve had to bow or even kneel depending on their status, but as everyone in the hall was waiting for the Emperor, their priorities had to be on that. Nobody moved from their seats as they waited for the next people.


    ¡°The Five Queens of the Eternal Empire are Now Entering the Hall of the Eternal Throne!¡±


    At that announcement, everyone in the room rose from their chairs, but they didn¡¯t bow or kneel. The five gorgeous women sat in ornate seats to the right of the smaller throne.


    ¡°Empress Helenea Melodisen Araminta Eterial of the Eternal Empire is Now Entering the Hall of the Eternal Throne!¡±


    As the woman wearing a deep scarlet dress and train, a golden crown on her head, entered through one of the doors, everyone bowed their heads. The woman with long curly golden hair and brilliant green eyes nodded once, and they all stopped bowing. She climbed the steps to the smaller throne and turned around to face the thousands of people in the hall, but didn¡¯t sit down. Then a long trumpet call sounded, blaring through the room, and a final person emerged from another third door. Many guards stood on either side of him as he walked towards the throne.


    The man appearing in his mid-40s with a dark brown beard and hair, dressed in a scarlet and gold imperial jacket and flowing cape, climbed the stairs of the larger throne to turn to the crowd, a sceptre of luminous gold held in one hand. On his head was a crown containing nine glowing gems, the same as the pillars of the palace and embedded in the throne.... and his irises were a mesmerising deep crystalline blue that glittered in the same fashion as a gem, a near-exact replica of one of nine jewels of the pillars, crown, and throne.


    ¡°Emperor Rodrigue Vilentasar Saphirus Eterial has Entered the Hall of the Eternal Throne. Kneel Before the Emperor of the Eternal Empire!¡±

 Chapter 44 (2 of 2) The Eternal Empire.

    ¡°Emperor Rodrigue Vilentasar Saphirus Eterial has Entered the Hall of the Eternal Throne. Kneel Before the Emperor of the Eternal Empire!¡±


    As soon as the announcement was made, everyone did so, their eyes looking at the ground respectfully. The Emperor and Empress sat down in their thrones, and a wave of mana washed over everyone within the room. The gems within the crowns and thrones increased the intensity of their glow, elemental mana streaming from them. Then, the glow faded, and the Emperor hit the base of his sceptre against the platform of the throne, letting it make a loud thud.


    ¡°You may all rise and be seated,¡± he stated with authority, his voice low and commanding, and the magic of the throne allowing everyone to hear him.


    Everyone stopped kneeling and returned to their seats. Nobody dared to speak, waiting for the Emperor to begin his speech. The doorkeeper in a unique uniform who had announced the Emperor¡¯s entrance walked in front of the throne to bow to the Emperor, then turned around to address the hall.


    ¡°Emperor Rodrigue Vilentasar Saphirus Eterial will now begin his opening statement of the Eternal Empire¡¯s End-of-Year Banquet,¡± the man announced, revealing himself to be the Master of Ceremonies for this event. He stepped to the side, off the centre of the red carpet.


    The Emperor stood up, hitting his sceptre base against the platform again. ¡°Today marks the beginning of the 101,073<sup>rd</sup> End-of-year Banquet after the Mystical Realm joined the Tower,¡± he announced loudly. ¡°And marks our 201,073 End-of-year Banquet since the establishment of the Empire. It is a matter of celebration that the Empire has had yet another successful year.¡±


    The Emperor gestured to the assembled nobles with his free hand. ¡°There are many things I could say, but there are also many things I won¡¯t. After all, you have all heard me say this at every single Banquet without fail for the past 973 years, have you not? Surely you must have tired from all this, as I certainly have,¡± he said with a hint of a wry tone in his voice. His audience of nobles smiled at his joke, well familiar with the manner of the Emperor.


    But then he continued to say something else, his tone still level and authoritative. ¡°Perhaps when the successive Emperor takes up their position you may all enjoy having a renewal of the script recited each year.¡±


    They were still all staying silent, which allowed them to hear the Emperor¡¯s words very clearly. Quite a few members of the audience struggled to hide their amused coughs, and many eyes sneakily glanced at the green and gold-plated Templar sitting on his elaborate chair. The Templar showed no outward reaction, although the Paladins standing behind him didn¡¯t seem so unfazed. The Emperor continued speaking.


    ¡°But I must come back to the main reason for my speech,¡± he said. ¡°As the Emperor of the mighty and ancient Eternal Empire, the ruling power of the Mystical Realm, I welcome you all, you who have demonstrated your loyalty and commitment to the Empire by being here today, and welcome those who have come to bring their good wishes from the other realms as well. On behalf of the Empire, I thank you for your presence and intentions to enjoy celebrating this grand event with us.¡±


    With that, he sat down. There were a few murmurs of assent and calm nods from the lesser members of the realm delegate entourages standing off to the sides, as the lead representatives would be called up soon. The Master of the Ceremonies stepped back onto the red carpet.


    ¡°To give greetings to the Emperor of the Empire, may the realm representatives of the four realms enter the hall in the order of the realms, as has been a tradition for 101,073 years.¡±


    The man stepped to the side once more. A door below the balcony Lucille had been introduced from opened up loudly, allowing 30-ish people to walk forward, individuals from the royal beast bloodlines, their partial beast forms activated to show furred, scaled, and feathered limbs, tails, or ears. Their powerful mana swam about in auras of different strong colours, restrained tightly around them to prevent their bestial presence from pressuring the nobility of the hall.


    A young male individual in front, with two large white scaly wings, scales on the back of his hands and cheeks, and two curved horns that extended over the back of his white-haired head came forward to stand on the red carpet in front of the throne and bowed, but didn¡¯t kneel.


    ¡°On behalf of the Sovereign beast race and all magical beasts I bring greetings and our wishes for the Empire¡¯s continued prosperity,¡± the man stated simply, short, and to the point as most magical beasts normally were.


    The Emperor nodded and gestured with a hand for the man to straighten up. ¡°I accept the dragon race and the bloodlines of the Beast Realm¡¯s wishes and greetings,¡± he replied. Then he held his chin. ¡°I must confess, however, I do not recall having met you before, lead representative of the Beast Realm.¡±


    The dragon in human form smiled. ¡°My name is Airras, the 3<sup>rd</sup> son of Wiferal, the Dragon King of Wind.¡±


    ¡°Then the Empire is honoured to have a pure bloodline member of one of the five most powerful dragon clans here with us for this event,¡± the Emperor said. ¡°I look forward to meeting the rest of the Beast Realm¡¯s representatives during the banquet.¡±


    Airras nodded and understood that was their cue to leave. The beasts all bowed again and walked off to take up their seats. As soon as they had done so, eight people walked through the door below the balcony. The four in front let their aura freely wash over all the nobles, the rough energy grating at the minds of all present.


    In the lead was an unbelievably attractive individual who looked like a young man with dark eyes and long dark brown hair, coiling black demonic script covering any exposed part of his body. Behind him were three others, all equally attractive. A female with wavy black hair and orange-red eyes glowing dimly like smouldering embers. A male with strange grey hair that flickered and switched between black, dark grey, light grey and white at varying intervals, the air distorting strangely around him as dark and light mana danced upon his skin. A third male with two massive red-black draconic wings behind him and a ferocious rampant aura being released, two large curled horns on his head. There were four others with weaker auras behind them, who showed no emotion and only followed closely behind the people in front, their auras restrained.


    ¡°The four Demon Duchies of al¡¯Abyssus, Nefas Infernalis, Lux-Tenebrae Khaoticus and Draco Bestia send their regards,¡± the lead demon said with a wide smirk. None of them bowed.


    All the surrounding nobles scowled at the demon¡¯s attitude and blatantly disrespectful behaviour, but the Emperor just narrowed his eyes. Then, without a sound, a ripple of the air moved out from him and over the demons, an overbearing presence descending upon them. They strained against the pressure as it forced them to their knees.


    ¡°You attempt to withstand my aura every year, demon, yet you never succeed,¡± the man with sapphire eyes stated with a frown.


    A feral grin appeared on the face of the leading Abyssal demon, blood dripping from his clenched hands, squeezed tight enough that his fingernails had dug into flesh.


    ¡°Only an individual who has proven their strength is worthy of having personages of the great Archdemon lineages bow before them,¡± the demon replied, still trying to stand up against the weight pressing down on him.


    The Emperor seemed to let out a slight sigh as he snapped his fingers, the pressure being released from them. ¡°Do not allow yourself or your fellows to begin trouble at my banquet, demon Dovatocus al¡¯Abyssus, or you may all find your astral soul shards very greatly reduced in power by the time they return to your main bodies.¡±


    Dovatocus just smirked as he stood up, the four leading demons withdrawing their demonic aura. ¡°Don¡¯t trouble yourself in worrying over that, Your Majesty. I wouldn¡¯t dare create or allow an upset when our time to play will arrive in only a few years. It would spoil the fun.¡± The demon brushed off any dust from his clothing with his already-healed hands and gestured to the other demons, so they all followed him off the carpet to their designated position.


    Then, with uncanny silence, the next group of representatives came in. Their steps left only silence as they crossed the carpet, they walked in perfect timing to each other, ten individuals equally split between male and female with dark hair and dark eyes, and sickly appearances, dressed in black and silver-adorned military uniform. No sign of any aura was released from them, but while they seemed human in looks, the strange silence of their movements and unnerving presence indicated they were not what they appeared. The male at the front came forward and bowed to the Emperor, while the males and females behind him kneeled all single file.


    The dark-haired male gave an Empire salute, one clenched hand on his chest. ¡°Vsakoxuth, 1<sup>st</sup> Sector Vigil of Tartarus,¡± he introduced. ¡°On behalf of my race and behalf of the entire realm of Tartarus, I bring our greetings and congratulations to the Empire for the progress it has made this past year.¡±


    ¡°I accept and thank you for your words towards the Empire,¡± the Emperor stated. ¡°And has your¡­ lord found it in himself to comment on the Empire¡¯s success?¡± he continued seriously. The nobles paid close attention to the Tartarus Realm representative¡¯s words.


    Vsakoxuth shook his head calmly. ¡°He has shown no such intentions for us to relay anything, as has been the case for the past 101 millennia. We can only surmise he is content with the progression of the Empire, which we have assumed since his first and only message.¡±


    ¡°Yes, as we assume as well,¡± the Emperor replied, moving on. ¡°Then I am glad to have all of your realm¡¯s representatives here with us today. It is infrequently that the Empire gets to entertain members of the death race and ones with such high status as yourselves.¡±


    Vsakoxuth smiled and nodded, and then the people behind him stood up. They followed him off the red carpet.


    The door below the balcony opened a final time to let ten individuals in colourful oriental robes walk out. Seven men and three women followed behind a beautiful woman arrayed in pale green clothes. Appearing in her early thirties, her dark hair was half tied up into a bun. The bun was held in place by a green jade hairpiece in the shape of a blossoming lotus, with small pink stones and gold embellishments providing additional detail to it.


    Her layered pale green dress shimmered with flickers of colour, with each semi-translucent layer embroidered with the pattern of a different kind of plant, all of them flowering in shades of pink. The dress trailed behind her along the ground, and she wore a transparent white mantle across her shoulders, unusual characters that seemed to shift every few seconds painted down the mantle.


    The other people were walking in two rows behind her. Besides one woman in green robes walking directly behind the woman in front, the rest of them walked in pairs, matching Sect robes of the same colour for each pair. Directly below the two women in front was a pair of men, one older one with silver hair and a younger one with brilliant gold hair, dressed in exquisite robes of purple and white colouration. Behind them was another pair of men, one older and another younger with scarlet red hair. Their robes were a vibrant red, burning itself into the eyes of all who saw them.


    The third pair were of a white-haired man and young woman, both of them wearing clothes of white, blue and in some places, black. The bearded old man had eyes of deep blue. The final pair were once again a pair of men, dressed in searingly bright yellow and light grey robes, with them both having statures that rose above the rest of their entourage.


    With a gentle smile on her face, the elegant woman in the very front stepped forward and gave a bow, hands clasped together. ¡°As has been a tradition instituted since the Five Heavenly Sects were first invited to this event, we have taken our turns to represent our realm. I, Leng Xiuying, have come as the lead representative of the Heavenly Sects for this event.¡±


    The Emperor raised an eyebrow slightly. Lucille knew he probably wasn¡¯t surprised, however. ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting you to come in person, Sect Leader Leng.¡±


    Sect Leader Leng¡¯s smile widened as she straightened up. ¡°It has been a while since one of us Sect Leaders have come to the Empire¡¯s End-of-Year Banquet, yes. I hope my presence here does not cause you issues?¡±


    He shook his head with a faint smile. ¡°Not at all. Please, enjoy the banquet to your heart¡¯s content.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Then let us represent our Sects in relaying their messages.¡± She stepped forward and bowed again. ¡°The 5th Heavenly Sect, the Profound Emergent Jade Lotus Sect, offers the Empire our highest congratulations and hopes your continued reign is as prosperous as the Empire¡¯s growth this year. As do I personally, the Sect Leader of the Profound Emergent Jade Lotus Sect.¡±


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    Then she stepped to the side and gestured with a hand for the next people to step forward. Rather than the two men dressed in white and purple, it was the two men at the very back of the row, dressed in yellow and grey, who came forward. They bowed before the Emperor, and the older man stepped forward.


    ¡°The 4<sup>th</sup> Heavenly Sect, the Earthly Immensity Impartation Sect, congratulates the Empire for another successful year while under the rule of Emperor Rodrigue Vilentasar Saphirus Eterial. Sect Leader Yue Qiqiang wishes for the fortune of the Emperor and Empire for the coming years as well.¡±


    The two yellow-robed men stepped to the side. The man and woman dressed in white, blue, and black came forward, then bowed. The older white-haired man straightened up.


    ¡°The Vast Longevity Flowing Glacier Sect, the 3<sup>rd</sup> Heavenly Sect, likewise congratulates the Empire on its prosperity this year and has divined that the future of the Empire under its current Emperor will remain as or have even greater prosperity. Sect Leader Zhang Bojing gives you his regards on behalf of his Sect, an ally of the mighty Eternal Empire.¡±


    The two white and blue-robed Sect members also stepped to the side, making way for the two men in vibrant red robes who came forward and then bowed. They also gave the Emperor their Sect¡¯s messages, the older man standing up straight to announce the message.


    ¡°The 2<sup>nd</sup> Heavenly Sect of the Supreme Nine Hells Descension Sect commends the Eternal Empire on their expansion into the lesser planes this year, vanquishing the inferior nations with their immense might. Sect Leader Diao Xiaotong gives the Empire his wishes for its successful military conquests to continue.¡±


    Then, finally, after those two had stepped aside, the two men dressed in white and vivid purple came forward, both bowing and then the older man with silver hair straightened up to announce the final message.


    ¡°And the 1<sup>st</sup> Heavenly Sect, the Worldly Origin Extinction Sword Sect, applauds all the successes mentioned before, and all the successes the Empire is bound to make in the future, as is only right of an ally of the Five Heavenly Sects,¡± the man announced grandly. ¡°Sect Leader Wu Weisheng of the Worldly Origin Extinction Sword Sect asks that the relationship between the Five Heavenly Sects and the Eternal Empire stays as firm and steady as always with Emperor Rodrigue Vilentasar Saphirus Eterial continued honoured rule over the Eternal Empire.¡±


    With that final statement, they rearranged themselves into the order they entered the room, standing behind Leng Xiuying who stood in front of the Emperor again. She spoke, ¡°Our words are not without substance, of course. The Heavenly Sects look forward to presenting you with gifts from our realm during this banquet.¡±


    The Emperor nodded. ¡°And I look forward to seeing what your realm will show me this year. I give my thanks to your Sects for these words you have all said.¡±


    With a calm smile, Sect Leader Xiuying bowed again, then walked off the side of the red carpet to find the section reserved for the Heavenly Realm delegates. Then the Master of Ceremonies walked down the red carpet to stand in front of the door below the balcony.


    The Emperor gave a slight nod, so the Master bowed, then straightened up and took a breath.


    ¡°As has been a tradition since the first of their conception, the Seven Duchies of the Aeternus plane must travel directly from their Duchies to the Imperial Capital and march around Imperialius Aeternia to demonstrate the might of the Empire,¡± he announced loudly, the hall silent around him in waiting. ¡°It is now time for them to finish their march, beginning the conclusion of this ceremony.¡±


    Trumpets sounded again before the Master of Ceremonies revealed his next words. ¡°Let the first of the Eternal Duchies enter the Hall of the Eternal Throne, beginning the completion of the grand march of the Seven Duchies!¡±


    This was one of the most important parts of the banquet. Lucy hadn¡¯t seen all of the Sovereign Dukes before, only three of them, from the 1<sup>st</sup>, 2<sup>nd</sup>, and 5<sup>th</sup> Eternal Duchies. Lucille and the rest of the nobles paid very close attention as two large side doors of the hall opened up, revealing darkness beyond. Then, ten people on either side of the hall marched out of the doorways, their auras oppressive and turbulent, leaving the sensation of a metallic tang on the tongues of those within the hall as the energy rolled over them.


    The twenty armoured men turned to form two lines and walked down the scarlet carpet to kneel before the Emperor. Then the door the realm representatives entered through opened.


    "Duke Deimos Antaris Haevaph of the Sky Razing Duchy of Haevaph, the 1st Eternal Duchy, has Entered the Hall of the Eternal Throne!"


    With silver and gold armour, and the symbol of a white thunderbolt and storm engraved on his chestplate, the intimidating man in his mid-50s marched down the carpet, an immense, glowing greatsword on his back. His wild gold hair that framed his solemn face was accompanied by a beard, and his grey eyes flashed with bright light every few seconds, stormy clouds circling within his irises. His searingly bright aura crackled and thundered with flashes of lightning and electric energies, sending shivers down the spines of those he walked past as the hair lifted from their skin. He walked between the two rows of knights and planted his luminous greatsword on the ground in front of him, then kneeled, bowing his head.


    ¡°I, Deimos Antaris Haevaph, bow to the Emperor of the Eternal Empire,¡± he stated loudly.


    The Emperor nodded, and the armoured men dispersed to stand on the sidelines while the Duke withdrew his aura. The sound of footsteps coming from the two side doors was heard again. This time, knights armoured in purple and grey with designs of stars on their armour streamed into the hall and kneeled before the Emperor.


    "Duke Ladeleus Exeor Medolin of the Star Fall Astrum Duchy of Medolin, the 2nd Eternal Duchy, has Entered the Hall of the Eternal Throne!"


    Out of the end door came a man in his late thirties, dressed in long robes of pale purple and dark grey. On his chest was a brooch depicting a nine-pointed star, indicating his status as a 9<sup>th</sup> circle wizard. He had no beard and his wavy dark hair reached his shoulders, with his eyes a brilliant silver-blue. Embroidered on the back of his robe were a twelve-pointed star and two crescent moons, the robe decorated by small stars and moons elsewhere. His elemental manifestation summoned small stars of silver light to orbit around him, his presence emanating a palpable sensation of mystery and awe. His staff was solid silver and likewise shaped in the form of a twelve-pointed star at its end.


    He came forward and planted the staff in front of him then kneeled next to the Duke of Haevaph, bowing his head as well.


    ¡°I, Ladeleus Exeor Medolin, bow to the Emperor of the Eternal Empire, may the stars forever align in a way favourable for him.¡±


    With another nod from the Emperor making him withdraw his aura, the knights moved to the sides of the carpet, leaving only the two Dukes kneeling. A third time the sounds of footsteps echoed from the side doors, and the lights in the hall seemed to flicker as a dark and malicious aura descended upon the room. Twenty armoured knights in heavy dark plate armour marched into the hall and knelt behind the two Dukes. A heavily built figure appeared in the doorway beneath the balcony.


    "Duke Morberos Ragnis Genest of the Ever-Present Shadow Duchy of Genest, the 3rd Eternal Duchy, has Entered the Hall of the Eternal Throne!"


    The sensation of the dark aura increased tenfold as the man with wavy black hair who appeared in his early 40s stepped into the hall, an arrogant smirk on his face. Fully plated in black heavy armour with an even darker howling wolf engraved on the front, he stood taller than the Duke of Medolin was when standing and gripped a massive war axe in one hand. What looked like a black tattoo of a wolf was on the side of his neck, and his eyes were dark blue. A twisted scar cut across his face from the right of his forehead down to his jaw on the left. He slammed the end of his war axe into the ground with a thud and kneeled, the smirk still on his face as he bowed his head to the Emperor.


    ¡°I, Morberos Ragnis Genest, bow to the ruler of the mighty Eternal Empire, Emperor Rodrigue Vilentasar Saphirus Eterial, my sovereign and lord.¡±


    The man had gone off script, making the other nobles watch the Duke closely, but the Emperor just nodded, and the dark knights stood to the side like the rest of the knights while the dark aura retreated. This time, a wave of heat seemed to fall upon the room as a fiery glow appeared on either side of the hall. Twenty crimson knights marched out to kneel before the Emperor, their armours glowing with orange light.


    "Duke Celadion Lumenor Solarmane of the Allblaze Duchy of Solarmane, the 4th Eternal Duchy, has Entered the Hall of the Eternal Throne!"


    With a cold and aloof gaze, the man with a mane of luminous red and orange streaked hair marched into the throne room, wearing the same scarlet armour as his knights. He looked to be in his late 50s, and a large spear was held in his hand. Engraved on the front of his chestplate was the symbol of a flaming sword, glowing with the same orange light as his eyes. The heat increased as he stepped past, the temperature warping the air around him that flickered with the embers and sparks of his fiery aura. He kneeled next to Duke Genest.


    ¡°I, Celadion Lumenor Solarmane, the ruler of the Allblaze Eternal Duchy of the Aeternus plane, bow my head to the Eternal Empire¡¯s Emperor,¡± he stated indifferently.


    Many nobles in the audience scowled when they heard the Duke emphasizing how he was a ruler in his own right. The Emperor narrowed his eyes but eventually gave a nod. The scarlet armoured men moved to the sides as the heat dispersed. Armoured footsteps sounded again and this time, a sharp and cold aura, like the sensation of a metal blade, released itself through the room. Twenty knights releasing the sharp aura marched from their respective doorways and kneeled before the Emperor. Their armour appeared to be a light-coloured metallic grey, like that of polished steel.


    "Duke Feidhlim Skallagrim Is?rnelghen of the Steelheart Duchy of Is?rnelghen, the 5th Eternal Duchy, has Entered the Hall of the Eternal Throne!"


    A man in his mid-30s with steel-grey hair and eyes and a stern expression marched into the hall with purpose, a sheathed longsword belted to his waist. A symbol of a silver bleeding heart shone on his chestplate, his silvery armour lightweight compared to that of the other armoured Dukes. His movements were rigid and militant as he saluted, drew his sword, planted it on the ground and knelt next to the other Dukes, forming a row of five.


    ¡°Feidhlim Skallagrim Is?rnelghen of the Steelheart Duchy bows his head to the Emperor of the Eternal Empire,¡± he said, his words curt and without excess.


    The Emperor nodded to allow the knights behind him to position themselves on either side of the carpet with the others, the Duke withdrawing his aura like the sheathing of a weapon. 100 knights now bordered the scarlet carpet leading up to the throne.


    Then, a dreadful, overbearing presence rolled out over the room, the glowing lamps fizzling and crackling in response to the aura. A sensation of doom and imminent destruction swam about the hall, laced with the red hue of thick killing intent. 20 more knights wearing dark grey, brown, and bronze armour marched in sync to kneel behind the five Dukes. Their auras flickered through varying shades of brown, red, grey and slivers of bronze. The symbol on their chestplates was a red-bronze and grey flame.


    "Duke Harpax Dorripan Extermina of the Havoc-Reaver Duchy of Extermina, the 6th Eternal Duchy, has Entered the Hall of the Eternal Throne!"


    With a vicious grin on his face covered in scars of battle, the heavily built man marched into the grand hall, his arms from the elbows down covered in heavy dark-iron gauntlets, which were splattered by fresh scarlet blood, dripping from the metal armaments. Wearing heavy plate armour from the neck down, he had unruly dark-brown hair accompanied by reddish-brown eyes, which perhaps might have been only brown if not for the thick killing intent emitted by him causing his irises to gain a red hue. Appearing in his mid-30s, he slammed his two armoured fists together with a clang and then knelt with his ferocious grin still on his face. His bloodied gauntlets dyed the carpet a darker red.


    ¡°I, Harpax Dorripan Extermina, bow my head before the Emperor of the Eternal Empire, may his glorious battle prowess as a warrior never be forgotten!¡±


    But the Emperor only showed anger at his statement. ¡°Harpax Extermina, withdraw your aura!¡± the Emperor commanded harshly.


    The man smirked but did as asked, letting many in their seats release sighs of relief. The Emperor frowned at him. ¡°Extermina. What made you dishonour yourself by participating in violence just before you entered this room to represent your Duchy?¡±


    The bloodthirsty grin returned to the man as he replied, ¡°I don¡¯t believe I dishonoured myself, Your Majesty. I caught a member of the Royal Guard attempting to steal from the Royal Treasury just a few minutes before I was due to enter.¡±


    The nobles in the hall let out gasps of shock, which only made the grin of the Duke widen.


    ¡°As is only right by someone of my status, I executed him on the spot,¡± he said, followed by a short bark of laughter. ¡°A Royal Guard should not dare to touch the possessions of his only lord, the Emperor of the Eternal Empire.¡±


    The Emperor narrowed his eyes, looking stern. ¡°Duke Harpax Extermina,¡± he stated shortly. ¡°Do not be mistaken that I would accept this as adequate justification for your actions in disrupting the opening ceremony of the banquet. You will be called to explain your behaviour to me in more depth at a later date.¡±


    Duke Extermina shrugged, looking relaxed and not worried in the slightest. The other Dukes had varying reactions, from indifference or mild curiosity, all the way to anger.


    The Emperor sighed and waved a hand. ¡°Nonetheless, we have stalled this ceremony for too long. Our last Sovereign Duke and only Archduke have been made to wait, and we cannot let that continue. Let the knights of the Aethereal Duchy enter the Hall of the Eternal Throne,¡± the Emperor commanded.


    At his words, the knights of the 6<sup>th</sup> Duchy stood on the sidelines, and the march of more footsteps echoed into the hall. Lines of knights armoured in light blue armour marched into the hall, their armaments letting off soft light. A white circle of runes was engraved on their chestplates and embroidered on their flowing blue cloaks. Their sky-blue auras were rigid and unified, almost giving off the sensation of being solid, yet they were perfectly translucent. Many nobles watched the knights curiously, as the 7<sup>th</sup> Eternal Duchy was much more reserved and let less information flow out of their borders compared to the other Duchies.


    "Archduke Stolas Septamere Eterial of the Aethereal Duchy of Septamere, the 7th Eternal Duchy, has Entered the Hall of the Eternal Throne!"


    And this was when Lucille paid very close attention to the person who would exit the door at the other end of the royal carpet. She had never seen the Archduke before, and she was supposed to be meeting him in a few days, so she looked to see who would exit and¡­


    She stared as the man with long white hair and sky-blue eyes came forward. Appearing in his mid-20s, he wore a light blue and silver imperial uniform in the style only worn by the royal family.


    What is with that hair colour?! It¡¯s like someone found a way to bleach reality to even the smallest atom so no colour is left at all and what¡¯s left is the brightest white the System limbo can summon! I swear it looks like it glows. That¡¯s weird. Aether¡¯s colour is light blue, not white, so how did he end up with that hair?


    Also¡­


    She frowned slightly and put a hand to a temple.


    I¡­ feel like I¡¯ve seen him before, but¡­ no, I¡¯m certain I¡¯ve never met him, so¡­ what is this the reason for¡­ feeling like this?


    Lucille took another glance at the man who knelt in front of the Emperor.


    In fact¡­ he looks like an exact replica of that¡­ that portrait I saw in¡­


    She put another hand to her other temple and rubbed them both, feeling a headache beginning to emerge.


    But, but¡­ no! That portrait was supposed to be a picture of¡­ of-f him, not of-


    Her thoughts cut out as she winced, the headache increasing in intensity for a split second. But something was off.


    Wait¡­ why am I feeling a headache? I haven¡¯t used my soul for a while, so it¡¯s not unstable enough to cause a headache. That shouldn¡¯t be happening. I shouldn¡¯t be able to feel a headache, because I can tell there¡¯s nothing physically wrong with my body using my spiritual perception.


    The headache¡¯s even gone now like I never had one at all. But what instigated the feeling of a headache in the first-


    She paused to stare at her hand as she removed it from her temple, feeling like she was missing a very, very important idea or detail of some sort.


    What was I¡­ thinking¡­ before this¡­?


    ¡°Lucy?¡± she heard Vincent whisper behind her, leaning closer with a questioning look on his face.


    I¡­ I¡¯ll check my soul later. For now, I have to watch the rest of the ceremony.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± she whispered back to him.


    ¡°I, Stolas Septamere Eterial, bow before the mighty Eternal Empire¡¯s Emperor, the ruler of the most powerful nation in the Mystical Realm,¡± the Archduke said with a calm smile on his face.


    For some reason, that expression on his face gave Lucille an intense sensation of incongruity, although she had no idea why.


    ¡°All seven of my Dukes have assembled themselves before me once more,¡± the Emperor stated, rising from his throne. Then he looked at the Archduke. ¡°Duke Extermina owes you an apology for the delay, Archduke Septamere. It seems he caught a member of the Royal Guard attempting to steal from the Royal Treasury, and thought it appropriate to enter the Hall of the Eternal Throne with fresh blood still dripping from his fists.¡±


    Duke Extermina glanced sideways at the white-haired man, watching him carefully, but then scowled as the Archduke didn¡¯t even bother to look at him, replying to the Emperor with his calm smile still present.


    ¡°The delay matters not. All that matters is that the seven sovereign Dukes of the Aeternus plane have finally gathered in the Palace of Nine Pillars, so the entertaining part of this event, the banquet, may commence,¡± he stated smoothly.


    The Emperor let out a laugh. ¡°A fine answer, and a far better one than what Duke Extermina tried to excuse himself with.¡±


    Duke Extermina¡¯s expression turned dark, while the other Dukes showed different reactions to this show of favouritism. Duke Genest watched the show the narrowed eyes, while Duke Haevaph and Duke Is?rnelghen ignored them. The Emperor gestured to the kneeling Dukes.


    ¡°The mighty Eternal Duchies of the Aeternus plane have protected the Empire for millennia, no matter their number. As the Emperor of the Eternal Empire, I thank the Eternal Duchies for this and their future protection and support.¡± He spread his arms. ¡°Dukes, you may all rise, and take up your seats as the right and left hands of the Empire.¡±


    All the Dukes bowed their heads and stood up, then saluted. After that, they walked over to their sections, their knights following them, and stood directly on either side of the throne. The Archduke and Duke Haevaph stood closest to the Emperor, followed by the others, with four Dukes on one side and three on the other. But the rows weren¡¯t uneven, because the fourth spot was filled by Marquess Ashthrope.


    The Master of Ceremonies stepped onto the carpet and faced the hall. ¡°It is now time to hear the chosen member of the royal family recite the founding words of the Empire. Please stand.¡±


    Lucille and the rest did so, as she internally shelved her troubled thoughts and prepared for the last few hours of the ceremony. She could analyse her thoughts another day, as she still had a few days before she had to meet the Archduke, with the entitlement from the Emperor being her priority right now. She needed to be given her Title of Honorary Count.


    But she couldn¡¯t help but glance at the blue-eyed man standing near the Emperor¡¯s throne, feeling deeply uncomfortable about something.

 Chapter 45 (1 of 2) A Demon Wants to Unauthorize Lucys Existence.

    ¡°Now Announcing the Entrance of the Head of the Aurelian Commission, Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft, and her Aide, Vincentimo Sorviere Evisenhardt!¡±


    Lucille and Vincent stepped down the stairs into the ballroom where that day¡¯s event was occurring. It had been about four days since the opening ceremony, and during that time they had had to deal with many nobles approaching them for discussions and introductions, trying to decipher what the dynamic was in the Commission. The other Counts had gone off to do their own thing, as they had non-Commission-related politics to deal with as well, so it was just her and Vincent for now.


    Vincent himself had been doing very well, not that she expected him to struggle to deal with the nobles at the banquet. The personality she remembered him having the few times she had met him as an Admiral of the Navy was coming through, the one that enabled him to be one of the leading figures amongst his generation. She had to admit that one of the reasons why she enjoyed annoying him was because he acted so differently from what she remembered when he wasn¡¯t with other nobles. He had a much more interesting character than she had expected before coming to the Commission¡¯s Headquarters.


    But today was an important day. Today was the day the Emperor would be handing out Titles of nobility. In other words, she would gain her Title of Honorary Count.


    She glanced in the direction of the large table raised above everyone else. There sat the Emperor and Empress on two thrones in the centre on a raised platform, with other important royalty sitting at two exquisite tables on either side of the thrones. That included the Archduke, while the other Dukes sat at extravagant tables on a level just slightly lower than the Emperor. There was one other person who sat at the table of the royalty next to the Emperor who wasn¡¯t a member of the royal family, however. It was Marquess Hepherson Ashthrope, whom Lucille had seen at the opening ceremony.


    She and Vincent made their way over to the silvery carpet that led up to the Emperor¡¯s table, where they had to greet him as the first thing required by individuals of their status. They lined up behind several other nobles waiting to pay their respects to the Emperor, and eventually, they came forward and kneeled.


    ¡°I, L-Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft, bow my head to the Emperor of the Eternal Empire,¡± she stammered as she lowered her head, introducing an artificial slight tremble in her words and limbs so she appeared nervous. She avoided all eye contact.


    ¡°Vincentimo Sorviere Evisenhardt bows his head to the Emperor of the Eternal Empire,¡± her aide smoothly stated behind her, no nervousness shown by him at all.


    The Emperor¡¯s gaze on her lingered slightly longer than it had for the other bowing nobles, but he nodded, allowing Lucy and Vincent to leave. They stepped off the carpet into the main ballroom area, some of the Dukes glancing at her as they left. The Archduke seemed to ignore her as he spoke to another noble next to him, which for some reason unknown even to herself, she garnered a strange sense of relief.


    With Vincent behind her, she continued walking to where the Commission¡¯s separate table was. But before they made it to the extravagantly decorated circular table, a noble came up to them. And it was someone she recognised.


    ¡°Lady Goldcroft!¡± the man with a goatee exclaimed, a smile on his face. He gave her a slight bow. ¡°It is a pleasure to see you again.¡±


    She made herself blink and then nod with a smile. ¡°Ah, yes. I feel the same as well, Viscount¡­¡± She pretended to hesitate and try to remember his name, making the expression of the man in front of her, the Viscount of the Tua¡¯Cethla Kingdom of Shifting Sands she had met for the debut, twitch.


    ¡°Viscount Naram Eil-Mlimar, my lady,¡± he informed her with another bow, his voice sounding slightly less happy. ¡°We met at your debut.¡±


    ¡°Right, we did,¡± she replied with a large, easy-going nod as if she hadn¡¯t acted as she had forgotten that just a moment earlier. The smile of the Viscount became slightly strained, but it brightened up as he turned to the silver-haired man beside her.


    ¡°And I am very pleased to see you again, Sir Evisenhardt,¡± Viscount Eil-Mlimar said with a wide smile, holding out a hand for Vincent to shake.


    Vincent smiled politely and nodded. ¡°As am I to see you, Viscount Eil-Mlimar.¡±


    The Viscount went to say something, but Lucy spoke to him before he could, ¡°Last time I saw you, I recall there was someone else I met?¡±


    Viscount Eil-Mlimar scoffed and shook his head. ¡°Bah, that low noble with such poor, garish taste from the Aeternus plane?¡± He gestured with his head to a certain direction, where a reedy, gemstone-decorated man was smiling at a few other nobles. ¡°Baron Syagrius Groth is busy discussing¡­. ¡®important¡¯ deals with some of Alichanteu¡¯s direct vassals. I doubt anything will come out of it. Alichanteu¡¯s vassals are better than to stoop so low as to fall for his words.¡±


    The gaudily-dressed Baron in the distance noticed the Viscount¡¯s gaze and narrowed his eyes at the red and white-robed man, and they glared at each other for a few seconds, before both turning back to their communication partners with wide smiles.


    ¡°But never mind that,¡± Viscount Eil-Mlimar said, waving a hand dismissively. He turned to Vincent as his smile grew wider. ¡°As a loyal vassal of Evisenhardt, I am very much inclined to give my aid to the Silver County as the Aurelian Commission goes through these tumultuous times. If there is anything I could do to support the County, then I would not hesitate to involve myself in a discussion over this¡­¡± The Viscount glanced at Lucille as he trailed off, and she and Vincent picked up on the hint.


    ¡°Lucille, how about you go sit down while I talk to the Viscount?¡± her aide asked her, putting his hands on her shoulders to guide her.


    She blinked as he gently pushed her. ¡°What? But- I mean, is that fine? I¡¯m supposed to be the Faction Head¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s fine. You can just wait for me at your table,¡± Vincent replied.


    Taking that as enough fake conversation for the Viscount to see, she nodded and went over to her table, which was covered in a gold and purple-decorated covering, cutlery and dishes made of gold set on top. Bowls of fruit radiating mana were placed on the table, and several dishes were already served as snacks. She sat down in her chair and pretended to be distracted by what was in front of her, but she was paying close attention to what the people around her were saying. She was also paying attention to the Dukes.


    The golden-haired Duke Haevaph sat at a long table directly to the right of the Emperor, with other golden-haired Ducal family members likewise seated at the table. The Sky Razing Duchy was named as such because the Haevaph family was also a powerful clan of the Glory Pantheon, called the Sky Razing Sword clan.


    They were known to be the 1<sup>st</sup> ranked clan of the entire Pantheon, and their Duchy was the base for all the most important Tournaments and Championships. Their Duchy even contained the building called the Grand Columns of Accolades, where the Major and Minor Disciplines kept a copy of all their mana-arts for preservation.


    Their famed lightning-element sword mana-art of their family, one of the rare Heroic Arts, was only 2<sup>nd</sup> ranked out of all the Sword Major Discipline¡¯s arts, however. That was because the 1<sup>st</sup> ranked sword mana-art was called the Imperial Aeternus Swordsmanship, the mana-art practised by the Royal Guard and the higher-ups of the Battalions. But even so, their lightning art was still a Heroic Art, one of the most powerful mana-arts of Glory Pantheon.


    The Haevaph Duchy were steadfastly loyal to the Emperor, and the Emperor alone. They were part of the ¡®Imperialist¡¯ forces, which didn¡¯t support Olden or Radical¡¯s ideals, and weren¡¯t part of the neutral faction.


    Opposite the Haevaph Duchy¡¯s table on the other side of the silver carpet leading up to the Emperor was a table draped with purple and grey silk. There sat the members of the Star Fall Astrum Duchy of Medolin, who had created the high-level element of Astrum hundreds of thousands of years ago, a compound element containing the elements of light and air to navigate the constellations.


    Duke Medolin and his relatives were mostly talking with noble mages and wizards from All-Aeon Athenaeum, as the Duchy was one of the most powerful forces within the Athenaeum. They were Olden purist magic users who disliked any of the new magic styles and spells developed by commoners emerging, including magic engineering.


    Then, at a table of pitch black wood positioned next to the Haevaph Duchy¡¯s table, was the table of the Genest Duchy, the Duchy of the dark element. Duke Genest spoke with many of the more powerful nobility such as the Marquesses, all of them being the most outspoken supporters of Olden. While they had a dark element mana-art, the Duchy¡¯s power mostly stemmed from a unique dark-element Constitution only obtained by individuals of their lineage, a Constitution that gave them a black tattoo in the shape of an animal.


    The Ever-Present Shadow Duchy had a tradition of sending their young members out undercover into the Empire¡¯s wider borders and had a bloody hidden battle for succession to become the next Duke. Illegitimate or legitimate, it didn¡¯t matter, someone only needed to have the Constitution to be eligible for the Title. There was no end date for when the succession battle would be over. If Duke Morberos Genest died to a distant relative of his in the ballroom there that day, that relative would become the new Duke. The cycle would never stop repeating itself.


    Covered in a searingly bright red and orange silk dining cloth next to the Medolin Duchy¡¯s table was the table of the Allblaze Duchy of Solarmane. The Ducal members with burning orange eyes sat overlooking many of the nobles with distaste, for the most part. A few were in arguments with some supporters of Radical, but most of them sat next to their close supporters in silent judgement of their surroundings. The Ducal family of Solarmane wasn¡¯t known for their hospitable and welcoming attitudes. They were part of Olden and used the fire element near-exclusively.


    Then, next to the table of Duke Genest was the table of the Duchy of Is?rnelghen, the metal element wielding Steelheart Duchy. The Is?rnelghen Duchy was part of Radical and was very strongly involved with all aspects of the Empire¡¯s military. They were favoured among the commoner members of the Battalions for their leadership and fair treatment of all military members, regardless of noble status, rank, or Title.


    Their mana-art worked irrespective of weapon type, as it enabled them to gain increased elemental manipulation rather than just increasing their physical ability. Their Duchy was where many craftsmen flocked to if they wanted to become involved in developing and manufacturing new weapons for the military.


    Opposite the Is?rnelghen Duchy¡¯s table, and beside the Solarmane table, was the table of Duke Harpax Extermina, the head of the Duchy that used the high-level element of Destruction, an element containing fire and darkness. The Havoc-Reaver Duchy was officially known as being part of ¡®Radical¡¯, but the reason why the Duke supported Radical wasn¡¯t because he aimed to give commoners greater rights.


    No, he supported Radical so more conflict would occur between nobles and commoners, inciting fights he could take part in to cause bloodshed and wage wars. He was recognised as a volatile bomb by the entirety of central Empire nobility, someone who couldn¡¯t be trusted in case he decided to turn against you to pursue his agenda of blood-crazed battle lust.


    Lucy knew Duke Extermina used to be the ruler of the 1<sup>st</sup> Major Kingdom, a nation that used battle to choose its ruler until the Emperor at the time had offered him the position of Duke. The man was hostile to all the Duchies that came before him, his inferiority complex being somewhat of an open secret, but he was even more hostile to the Duchy that came after his Duchy.


    ¡°Now Announcing the Entrance of the Representatives of the Four Demon Duchies: Dovatocus al¡¯Abyssus, Vibenia Nefas Infernalis, Lyconides Lux-Tenebrae Khaoticus, and Isidorius Draco Bestia!


    Lucy blinked as the four demon representatives entered the ballroom, followed by their entourages who had likewise come, the ones who hadn¡¯t formally greeted the Emperor at the opening ceremony. The groups of demons split into their respective Duchies, as they weren¡¯t exactly allies with each other in normal circumstances. The entourage of twenty or so Abyssal demons walked by her table, and she compared them to their matriarch, whom Lucille had met in the Daemonium Palace.


    Dovatocus must be a great-great-grandchild of Lilith or further. I¡¯ve heard the Abyssal Duchess is around 210 millennia, and the number of demons in the Archdemon clans can reach several hundred thousand.


    The demons of the Draco Bestia Duchy, the Demonic Dragons, walked by, their red and black wings manifested behind them for all to see, and they were soon followed by the Chaos Demons, with shifting grey and white hair and warped auras. Then, after that were the Infernal Demons, with dimly lit smouldering red eyes and hair having colours of black or scarlet.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    It sounded like she was describing the characteristics of the Demon Emperor, but they didn¡¯t have irises as large as the Demon Emperor, and historically, the Demon Emperor actually had a very different hair colour other than the black he had when she visited. She didn¡¯t know why he decided to make his hair black this time around, but it wasn¡¯t like she was about to go ask him why he changed his hair colour the next time they met, was she?


    But then she accidentally overheard something from two nobles standing nearby that made her freeze up.


    ¡°I wonder if they¡¯d reveal what made the Demon Emperor so mad a few months ago if one of us went up to them and asked them,¡± a brown-haired man around his thirties muttered, dressed in an embroidered silken suit.


    The blonde-haired man beside him gave the other noble a strange look. ¡°The Demon Emperor? Mad?¡±


    The brown-haired noble blinked and nodded as he turned to his conversation partner. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s been one of the most discussed topics among the central nobility these last few months. Nobody¡¯s ever seen the Demon Emperor, or heard of him doing something since his existence was announced, so it¡¯s a massive deal for all the realms.¡± He glanced back at the demon nobility. ¡°None of the lower demons seem to know anything, so I was wondering if the Archdemon bloodlines might.¡±


    ¡°How do you know he was even angry if nobody¡¯s seen him?¡± the blonde-haired noble asked with a raised eyebrow.


    The other man laughed. ¡°Why, the entire Demon Realm was quaking due to the tremors, that¡¯s how! People say the Demon Emperor let his demonic power spread far enough to reach even the unassimilated demon clans on the realm¡¯s borders.¡±


    He lifted his hands to emphasise his words, raising his voice with grandiose. ¡°Earth-shaking thunder, eye-rending bolts of red lightning, mind-bending soul pressure that rocked the souls of all within his presence! And on that matter the entire Daemonium Palace Stronghold was under so much pressure from his demonic aura that it was the equivalent of the earth element gravitation Grand-spells, multiplying the gravity twenty times over or higher. Only the strongest demons could walk in the city.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like a few demons happened to exaggerate their ruler¡¯s anger to brag about their realm,¡± the blonde noble pointed out with scepticism, knowing demons didn¡¯t exactly have a reputation for being very honest creatures.


    ¡°Possibly,¡± the brown-haired noble replied with a shrug, turning back to watch the demons. ¡°But I do know that it¡¯s an uncontested fact that the realm¡¯s storms didn¡¯t cease until a full month had passed, and they never waned in power, only abruptly cutting out one day. The Demon Emperor¡¯s presence was said to have been felt right up until the very end, with no lapse in strength.¡±


    ¡°How long ago was this?¡±


    The noble thought about it. ¡°Either early October or late September. Around that time I believe.¡±


    The blonde man stared at the other man. ¡°And you said the entire Demon Realm had felt his demonic aura?¡±


    The brown-haired noble nodded. ¡°Oh yes, all the demons concluded it was terrifying, feeling his presence for that long.¡±


    The other noble slowly nodded. ¡°I suppose this reminds us that even though the Primordial Demon only lives for two and a half centuries, when they¡¯re alive, they¡¯re a force that shouldn¡¯t be reckoned with.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡± The brown-haired man shuddered. ¡°I hate to imagine what¡¯s going to happen when the Empire faces him on the Millennium Chapter battlefield.¡±


    The two nobles moved away from their position, moving on to different topics, but Lucille couldn¡¯t help but stare at them.


    He¡­ got angry? ¡­at the end of September¡­? That¡¯s a very odd time frame¡­


    It¡­ couldn¡¯t be because of me, right?


    She considered it and shook her head.


    No, there¡¯s no way. He was perfectly fine when I visited. There was no sign of him being that mad. Yes, there¡¯s no way the Demon Emperor¡¯s anger was because I came and revealed to him the existence of the Hero and how he and I would mess up the Demon Emperor¡¯s carefully prepared plans. Yeah, no way that¡¯s it.


    Lucy buried her head in her hands.


    Oh, this is obviously because of me, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s impossible to pretend otherwise. Didn¡¯t withdraw his aura for an entire month?! He showed no sign of being that mad when I was there! None!


    ¡­well, except for when he pressured me with his aura¡­ and before that when I told him he would fail¡­


    ¡­¡­I am so going to be killed by him.


    She let out a sigh as she leaned back in her chair.


    Maybe he won¡¯t be so angry by the time I visit him in March, as six months will have passed. But knowing my luck¡­


    ¡°Lucille? Is something wrong?¡±


    She blinked as Vincent approached her, looking curious. He had finished his discussion with the Viscount. She shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s nothing important.¡± She glanced in the direction Vincent had been in earlier. ¡°Not going to take the chance to strengthen your reputation as the ¡®real¡¯ Faction Head?¡±


    Vincent shook his head. ¡°Not now. Not ever, if I had a choice. I don¡¯t want to have to deal with the other nobles. Viscount Eil-Mlimar is enough for me,¡± he muttered. He sighed. ¡°The Emperor is about to begin announcing the achievements of the Empire¡¯s nobility now, which means he¡¯s also soon going to be rewarding them.¡± He glanced at her. ¡°This includes calling you up to grant you your Title.¡±


    Lucille nodded and looked over in the direction of the Emperor. It was likely that during the event, she¡¯d be called to meet with him in private as well, so he could understand her real personality, and also validate what Count Evisenhardt likely told him about her age. She turned back to Vincent.


    ¡°Does he address the County level of nobility first?¡± she asked.


    ¡°No, actually,¡± Vincent replied. ¡°It¡¯s the Maj-¡±


    ¡°The Commendation of the Exploits of the Major Kingdoms will soon begin! Please be seated for this part of the Event!


    The announcement reverberated magically through the air. Vincent nodded. ¡°And there it is. After that, the County-level nobility will be commended.¡±


    She nodded. The 108 Minor Kingdoms had been commended the day earlier, a very long and tedious procedure. She assumed the 24 Major Kingdoms would be faster to go through.


    As the nobles of the hall all moved over to their respective banquet tables, the Master of Ceremonies came and stood in front of the Emperor, facing the rest of the hall with the Dukes behind him, and unfurled a large ornate scroll. A wave of mana washed over the hall, and Lucy knew that what the man said next would be broadcast across the Capital City through the mana, allowing the news to spread across the Empire.


    ¡°Our glorious Eternal Empire is composed of many powerful nations,¡± the man began loudly. ¡°And all of them exist under the banner of the authority of our Superior Aeternus plane. We have revealed the achievements of the 108 Minor Kingdoms and their changes in ranking. It is now time for us to proclaim the triumphs of the Major Kingdoms!¡±


    The nobles listened in silence as the man continued, ¡°To the citizens of the Gold-Dias Conquerors Kingdom of the Golden Warfield plane!¡± One particular table of nobles dressed in heavy armour paid close attention to his words. ¡°The Empire congratulates the 1st Major Kingdom for keeping its status as the 1<sup>st</sup> ranked Major Kingdom for the 142<sup>nd</sup> millennia in a row. Your War Overlord has shown his capabilities as the sovereign of your land and continues to make great victories as your forces partake in the conquering of the lower planes. We have great expectations that this will continue.¡±


    The announcer moved on. ¡°To the citizens of the Moonlight Symposium of the Populace, of the Melodious Lunar plane! Your scholars and historians have contributed to the records of the Empire this year once more, expanding our archives and knowledge! The All-Aeon Athenaeum especially thanks you, the 2<sup>nd</sup> Major Kingdom, for your efforts in translating the ancient records of the Old Era planes! The Empire hopes your knowledge and expertise continue to expand under the leadership of your Grand Elect.¡±


    A table of twenty people nodded with calm smiles. The Master of Ceremonies continued to the next Kingdom.


    ¡°To the people of the Fierenze Kingdom of the Sun Pyre, of the Blaze Forest plane!¡± he shouted. ¡°Working alongside the Allblaze Duchy of Solarmane, you successfully conquered twenty lower planes, the highest amount from a Major Kingdom this year! The Eternal Empire congratulates the 3<sup>rd</sup> Major Kingdom on their conquests, and will ensure its forces are given their deserved rewards!¡±


    ¡°The Wintery Frost-Isle Queendom of the Snowbell Aurora plane!¡± the man said, his voice growing even louder. Three women in white and blue gowns smiled as the man spoke, ¡°You have successfully surpassed the Everlasting Evenfall Mountains Kingdom and become the 4<sup>th</sup> Major Kingdom! The Empire gives you its highest praises for this grand achievement!¡±


    The man paused to allow the nobles of the hall to clap. He continued speaking after a few moments, ¡°Your successful conquest of a lesser elemental plane of wind for the Empire has increased your status! Work hard and well for the Empire so you may keep your new rank!¡±


    He moved on as the women gave firm nods. ¡°To the people of the Everlasting Evenfall Mountains Kingdom of the Abiding Dusk plane! Do not be disheartened, as the Wintery Frost-Isle Queendom¡¯s rank is as of yet still in question! You have also made great victories this past year, and if you surpass your previous selves in the coming year you may still ascend from your new position as the 5<sup>th</sup> Major Kingdom!¡±


    The man moved through the Major Kingdoms, summarising what they did during the past year and praising them on the Empire¡¯s behalf. Lucy heard him mention the Viridescent Emerald Kingdom, Annaliese¡¯s homeland, the 8<sup>th</sup> Major Kingdom, and the 12<sup>th</sup> Major Kingdom of the Tua¡¯Cethla Kingdom of Shifting Sands. He continued and concluded after praising the 24<sup>th</sup> Major Kingdom of the Fervent Flora plane, the Dancing Bloom Kingdom.


    He said his closing remarks for the Major Kingdoms and then announced something else.


    ¡°Now we come to the Empire¡¯s very own nobility, its loyal Aeternus Counts, who govern its many powerful and important Counties, working as the right and left hands of the Marquesses and Dukes. Our grand Emperor Rodrigue Vilentasar Saphirus Eterial himself will give them the grand honour of hearing his words on their achievements, and will allow them to renew their vows of loyalty to their lords.¡±


    The Master of Ceremonies bowed to the hall, then bowed to the Emperor, and walked off the centre of the silver carpet to stand off to the side. The Emperor stood up and stretched out an open empty hand. With a glow of golden light, his sceptre was summoned in front of him, and he grasped it. He hit the sceptre on the floor of his throne¡¯s platform, commanding attention as the sound rang out.


    ¡°Our most powerful Counties, and the only four under no March or Duchy,¡± the Emperor stated loudly. ¡°Counts and the County representatives of the Aurelian Commission, come forward to kneel before me.¡±


    Count Evisenhardt, Count Chavaret, and Count Ravimoux calmly stood up from their tables and walked to the end of the silver carpet. Artair and Arwen came a few moments later, following the Counts to walk along the carpet and kneel in front of the throne platform¡¯s last step.


    ¡°I, Sevastian Edgar Evisenhardt of the Silver County, bow my head to the Emperor of the Eternal Empire,¡± Count Evisenhardt stated.


    ¡°I, Donovan Raymond Chavaret of the Red County, bow my head to the Emperor of the Eternal Empire,¡± said Count Chavaret.


    ¡°And I, Regulus Fardevrio Ravimoux of the Black County, bow my head to the Emperor of the Eternal Empire,¡± Count Ravimoux stated. Artair and Arwen stayed silent behind him, not allowed to speak up as they weren¡¯t Counts.


    ¡°Counts of the Aurelian Commission,¡± the Emperor began loudly. ¡°As members of the Aurelian Commission, your Counties have prospered under your governance, and your Faction has attained greater heights over this past year. But an event has occurred that may bring the Commission to even greater levels of power.¡±


    He held up his sceptre. ¡°Lucille Goldcroft and Vincentimo Evisenhardt!¡± he called out. ¡°Come forward and kneel before me!¡±


    Lucy and Vincent traded eye contact, and Vincent gave her a slight nod. With the nobles watching her closely, she made a show of taking a deep breath, and with slightly stiff movements she walked onto and down the silver carpet, Vincent right behind her. She kept her eyes down and added a slight tremble to her limbs, her observers only seeing a nervous young girl. The Dukes watched her with varying levels of interest, however, the Archduke was talking to Marquis Ashthrope, paying her no heed. Appearing slightly pale and hesitant, she stepped in front of the three Counts and awkwardly kneeled.


    ¡°I-¡± She took another deep breath for added effect as she faked stumbling over her words and restarted her sentence. ¡°I, Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft, bow my head to the Emperor of the Eternal Empire.¡±


    Vincent only lowered his head due to his status, but the Emperor acknowledged it with a nod and returned his gaze to Lucille.


    ¡°For the first time since the Founder of the Aurelian Commission, Crawforde Lockhart,¡± he said authoritatively, ¡°Someone has inherited the Founder¡¯s inheritance token. You, Lucille Goldcroft, have become the first successor of the Aurelian Commission¡¯s Founder since its creation. That entitles you to the position of the Head of the Aurelian Commission.¡± He gazed solemnly at her. ¡°This position carries heavy responsibilities.¡±


    He stepped forward and walked down the stairs until he reached the last step. ¡°Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft, do you vow to lead your Faction with full comprehension of the power it holds?¡±


    ¡°I-I do,¡± she replied.


    ¡°Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft,¡± the Emperor continued sternly, ¡°Do you swear upon your own life to use this power for the betterment of the Eternal Empire and the Aurelian Commission?¡±


    ¡°I swear,¡± she said.


    The Emperor raised his sceptre upright and slammed it down, sending out a pulse that stirred the mana throughout the hall. ¡°Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft!¡± he shouted. ¡°Will you make an oath to serve me, my successors, and those who come after me who bear the Title of Emperor of the Eternal Empire, for as long as you carry your status and position as the Head of the Aurelian Commission?¡±


    ¡°I will.¡±


    He pointed his glowing sceptre at her. ¡°Then touch my sceptre and do so,¡± he commanded.


    With a trembling arm, she reached out to touch the end of it, but not before giving Vincent a quick, wide-eyed glance. He gave a subtle nod, which made the Emperor narrow his eyes, but she placed her hand on the end of the sceptre, and it released a wave of mana, glowing brightly. She began the oath she had memorised beforehand.


    ¡°I, Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft and Inheritor of the Aurelian Commission¡¯s succession token swear an oath to serve my liege and ruling sovereign, the Emperor of the Eternal Empire, whoever they may be at any point in time,¡± she said. ¡°I will obey their commands to their will and letter. I will work to ensure all actions taken with my status are motivated by the intention to bring glory and power to the Empire, and not by personal ambition.¡±


    Internally, Lucy couldn¡¯t help feeling the desire to roll her eyes at the sheer hypocrisy of the oath, but she kept up her acting.


    The glow of the sceptre died down as she heard the sound of a notification.


    [The Supreme Institutional Authority of the Eternal Empire has forcefully bestowed and activated the following Title:]


    [Title: Honorary Count of the Aurelian Commission | Type: Nobility]


    Rarity: Unique


    Desc: The Emperor of the Eternal Empire has bestowed the Title of Honorary Count of the Aurelian Commission for the User having soulbound the Token of the Aurelian Commission¡¯s Founder and succeeded the former Faction Head.


    [Benefits: Honorary Count permissions on the Supreme Institution, Sub-Faction and Allied Faction grounds of the Eternal Empire]


    Technically I could¡¯ve obtained this Title with my Authority if I wanted, but now I can legally use it.


    The Emperor nodded and she took back her hand from the sceptre with quick movements, continuing to appear nervous and jumpy. The Emperor raised his sceptre again, and grasping it in one hand, he spread out his other hand towards them all, kneeling on the carpet.


    ¡°Do you all swear to follow Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft as your Faction Head and respect the status she holds?¡±


    ¡°We swear,¡± they all replied.


    ¡°Then I now announce the bestowment of the Title of Honorary Count of the Aurelian Commission on Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft, the new Head of the Aurelian Commission!¡± the Emperor proclaimed to the rest of the hall.


    The nobility in the hall all stood up to clap, congratulating her on her new status. As the applause filled the room, the Emperor spoke quieter to them, ¡°You may rise and return to your places of seating.¡± With his sapphire gaze fixed on her, he added something else. ¡°I look forward to seeing how the Commission will prosper with their new Faction Head.¡±


    With that, he turned around and climbed back up the stairs, cape trailing behind him. They all stood up and calmly walked back to their seats. She sat down with a sigh as Vincent sat next to her.


    ¡°Now you¡¯re truly a noble of the Empire,¡± he said.


    ¡°Ha. Complete with all its benefits and detriments,¡± she replied with a wry voice.


    ¡°Hopefully you¡¯ll get to experience more of the benefits than the detriments,¡± her aide said. He glanced at the other Counts of the Commission at their tables. ¡°Although I noticed he only asked them if they would respect your status, instead of asking for them to announce their loyalty to you.¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t a relationship formed with loyalty as its base in the first place,¡± Lucy said, reaching for a cup to take a drink of water. ¡°Nor have I demonstrated any qualities that should mean they¡¯d swear loyal-¡±


    She paused as she saw something out of the corner of her eye, and turned to look. However, her gaze only fell upon the Emperor and Archduke discussing something. She watched for a moment, hesitantly taking a sip from her cup.


    I thought I saw the Archduke looking at me just then. Was I seeing things?


    ¡°Lucy?¡± Vincent frowned.


    I don¡¯t think he¡¯s looked at me once during these last few days. Which is a slightly strange observation to make, but there¡¯s been all kinds of off things I¡¯ve felt about him these last few days, making me pick up on these small details. Ever since¡­


    She put down her cup and rubbed her temples.


    Ever since¡­ what exactly? I can¡¯t seem to recall why I¡¯m paying so much attention to him. It can¡¯t just be because I¡¯m meeting him in three days, can it? Was it when I saw him for the first time? I think he reminded me of something, but I don¡¯t know what.


    Well, I guess I¡¯ve probably just forgotten it. I¡¯ll remember it eventually.


    Then she was hit with a distinct sense of incongruity, and Lucille lowered her hands to stare at them.


    I¡¯ve¡­ forgotten¡­ something¡­?


    A hand waved in front of her face and she was broken out of her thoughts. Vincent was looking at her with a frown. ¡°Lucille, are you all right? I¡¯ve noticed you¡¯ve been out of sorts these past four days.¡±


    ¡°It- uh.¡± She winced as she felt a headache form, and picked her cup back up. ¡°I¡¯m all right. I think I just need to take a break.¡±


    Vincent watched her silently, appearing unsure, but he slowly nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t push yourself too hard, Lucy.¡±


    She nodded as the Emperor called up other Counts. Lucille prepared herself to watch the rest of the ceremony, recording all and any details she could with her eidetic memory.


    She couldn¡¯t help letting her sight stray over to where the Archduke was sitting, however, beginning to feel slightly apprehensive towards her planned meeting with him in three days.

 Chapter 45 (2 of 2) A Demon Wants to Unauthorize Lucys Existence.

    -2 days later-


    ¡°Your presence has been requested.¡±


    Lucille blinked and placed the teacup she was holding on the table before her. A few moments ago, she had received word from a servant of the estate she resided in that someone would like to speak to her. So now, standing in front of her, was a man with his hands behind his back, dressed in the official uniform of the main wing of the Palace of Nine Pillars¡¯ servants. That could only mean one thing.


    ¡°How soon should I visit?¡± she asked, prepared to leave at any moment.


    ¡°Within the half-hour,¡± the servant replied indifferently. ¡°You are not expected to dress formally or bring anything due to the limited time frame in which the meeting may occur.¡±


    It was unlikely the man in front of her would leak any details if he was the representative of whom she believed he was, but it was better to be careful. She glanced towards the door ¡®nervously¡¯, and then turned back to him. She hesitated a moment before asking a question. ¡°Can I¡­ bring my aide?¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°No. No guards are allowed to come either.¡±


    She let out a short breath to calm herself and stood up. ¡°Let¡¯s go then. I don¡¯t have anything to do right now.¡±


    As the man nodded and left the room, Lucy followed him from behind. She briefly expanded her perception field to find Vincent working in another room, and then she sent him a spiritual transmission to alert him to what she was doing.


    ¡®A messenger from the Palace¡¯s main wing has visited me. I have to go alone, so don¡¯t panic if you can¡¯t find me. I don¡¯t know when I¡¯ll return.¡¯


    Vincent paused when he heard her message, and hesitation and unease warred on his face, but she watched him let out a sigh and give her a slow nod. With that response, she shrunk her perception and followed the messenger out of the building, where a coach with the insignia of the royal family sat before the front entrance. She got into the coach that was covered in a maze of strong protective enchantments, and the coach began moving as the coachman lifted the reigns of the magical horses. The messenger sat opposite her with his eyes closed, showing no intention to tell her anything more.


    Lucille was going to visit the Emperor.


    Well, she expected this. He would want an accurate understanding of her real personality before allowing her to return to the Gilded Dome plane, to ensure she didn¡¯t become an unpredictable factor. He¡¯d likely also want to make sure she had no intention of supporting Olden, which would be the last thing she would ever, ever do.


    Without fail, every annoying uppity noble or mage she met in the past was from Olden. They were the plague of the Empire.


    Radical and Olden were the Empire¡¯s two strongest political factions. Olden, named after its connection to those who existed before the assimilation of the realm, proclaimed their firm support of the Empire¡¯s traditional laws and customs, with a strong belief that it was these customs that allowed the Empire to keep its strength up to the present day.


    Radical was formed after the assimilation of the realm and was a group that stood up for more progressive and new regulations and policies. They supported the idea of allowing commoners to hold more sway within the Empire and had been a main instigator of the Coalition¡¯s eventual rise to power. Not to say any of them believed in a concept like democracy, however.


    The Eternal Empire had a very different culture and societal structure than Earth, with the inheritance of power being something handed down through bloodlines and Constitutions, and physical power being a requirement for rulership. The authority granted by birthright wasn¡¯t something they advocated to change.


    But they did wish to allow the Empire to gain more control over the major Guilds and other commoner Factions of the different realms due to the combat ability they had, and so tried to instil goodwill among the commoners so they would form Factions that would be willing to work for and alongside them. Radical had seen a major rise to power after the creation of the Metal-Borne Coalition, becoming a true rival of Olden a few thousand years prior to Lucy entering the Tower.


    Both political factions had forces in all four of the Supreme Institutions, although the Citadel of Fate chose to support people based on the reading of Fate, so their political alignments were considered more wishy-washy. Olden was the faction with fewer numbers, but around 70% of all high nobility, wizards and Archmages were part of it. Radical was larger but made of the less powerful lower nobility and influential commoners.


    The middle-level nobility was roughly split into thirds, with a third being Olden, a third being Radical, and a third neutral. The neutral faction was what the Aurelian Commission was part of because as merchants, they didn¡¯t want to lose out on any potential sources of revenue. The Commission¡¯s four Counties, along with several Marquesses, were considered the leading figures of the neutral faction.


    Although it was rumoured that the position of head of the neutral faction would be usurped by the Archduke in the coming years¡­


    With coincidental timing, a massive estate covered by a sky-blue dome appeared outside her window, the carriage travelling past the Aethereal Duchy¡¯s official residence in the Capital. It may have been called the ¡®Aethereal Duchy'' residence, but truthfully, it was the residence of only one person. The Septamere Duchy only had one bloodline member.


    Before she could continue thinking about the Duchy, the carriage rolled past and the massive front gates of the Palace appeared. The carriage didn¡¯t go through them but took a turn to take a side entrance. A little while later, the window revealed a view of the immense Palace of Nine Pillars, complete with the nine gemstone pillars that each resembled an eye colour of the royal family¡¯s lineage. The Eterial royal family of the Eternal Empire were descended from nine individuals, and the traits of gem-like eyes were inherited through the generations. One lineage had died out though, so only eight eye colours could be inherited by the royal family¡¯s descendants now.


    The coach pulled to a stop, and the messenger exited. He offered his hand to help her step down which she took out of politeness, and then the man turned to face the entrance.


    ¡°Follow me,¡± he told her curtly, before walking forward.


    Feeling slightly nervous, she followed him, making sure her perception field was smaller so nobody would have a chance of sensing it, and so she wouldn¡¯t upset her soul¡¯s stability by forcing her mental constructs to analyse the huge amount of mana contained within the Palace. They entered the building, walking down the long, ornately decorated hallways.


    She had met Emperor Rodrigue before when she was Admiral. In her 15<sup>th</sup> year of being in the Navy, because of¡­ an unusual situation that occurred back then, she was called to the Capital to be rewarded for her merits at a decennial military event hosted by the Empire. They had a short private meeting afterwards, where he wanted her personal report on the events of the Distorted Depths. Ten years later, she quit the Navy, and the Emperor abdicated only two years after that to retire on the Empire¡¯s origin plane.


    Which meant that personality-wise, she didn¡¯t have much to go on. She knew he was very politically capable, as he was the first Emperor from Radical to ascend to the throne and a good ruler who formed policies to protect commoners from noble authority yet never created instability within the Empire. He was also charismatic and mostly well-liked by the nobility when political differences were ignored.


    But none of this meant she knew what he¡¯d be like to her, the ¡®Commission Head¡¯ and not an Admiral, and what he¡¯d ask her, whether he would demand answers about her past, or if he¡¯d want her to complete tasks in return for keeping her position.


    The messenger turned a corner to take a narrower hallway which would contain fewer people, and she followed calmly. Then the messenger paused when they heard voices, and slowly walked forward to see two men discussing something while walking past.


    One was a man dressed in military uniform, while the other man appeared in his mid-30s with brown hair and brown eyes. Her eyes widened slightly when she realised who the man was.


    ¡°-but the finance allocated for these levels of Main Army military operations is not high enough, so if you want to organise an Aberration Conquest in the Aethereal Duchy, you¡¯ll need explicit permission from a General in the Duchy. I can put you in touch with one if you wish, however-¡±


    The brown-haired man paused when he noticed them. He dipped his head to the messenger. ¡°The Emperor is unoccupied. His Grace has just left the study.¡±


    The messenger nodded, but then the brown-haired man gave her a curious look. ¡°And¡­ the new Count Goldcroft, I see.¡± He stepped forward with a smile as the military man next to him nodded politely to her. The brown-haired man held out his hand for her to shake, which she did. ¡°Congratulations on your new Title. But I should introduce myself, as you probably don¡¯t know me. I¡¯m-¡°


    ¡°Count Daymar Bentsen,¡± she replied. She gave a slight shake of her head. ¡°No, I know who you are. It wouldn¡¯t be fitting of a noble of the Empire to be unaware of the aide of the Archduke.¡±


    The man blinked, surprised, before smiling. ¡°Well, I¡¯m still flattered you know of me.¡± He glanced at the messenger and then nodded. ¡°I won¡¯t keep you here for any longer. It was a pleasure meeting you, Count Goldcroft, and¡­¡± He gave her a strange smile. ¡°I look forward to enjoying a longer conversation with you when we next meet.¡±


    Count Bentsen and the man from the military walked off, continuing their discussion. She watched him go cautiously but followed after the messenger.


    He¡¯s probably referring to tomorrow when I¡¯ll have to go to the Archduke¡¯s estate to meet him. But if he¡¯s here¡­ is the Archduke here as well?


    She looked around but didn¡¯t see any sign of the man with long, white hair. She felt slightly relieved by that fact, as over the past two days, she had been getting increasingly worried about why she felt so uncomfortable about the Archduke.


    Archduke Stolas Eterial wasn¡¯t a bloodline member of the royal family. The Archduke had been given the surname of the royal family by the Emperor, so he was technically adopted into the royal family. That was why he was an ¡®Archduke¡¯ rather than ¡®Grand Duke¡¯, having no bloodline connection to them. It was also why his fiefdom was only a ¡®Duchy¡¯ rather than ¡®Archduchy¡¯. His title of Archduke wasn¡¯t inheritable by his descendants, and so if he had any, they would have the last name Septamere as well as only the Title of ¡®Duke¡¯. All this was why one of his other Titles was ¡®Foreign Prince¡¯.


    But she didn¡¯t know that much about him, besides what personality most of the nobility described him as having. A passive person who didn¡¯t have much interest in things outside his Duchy besides his job of improving relations between the Empire and other realms, especially the Heavenly Realm. Politically capable and on good terms with the Emperor. An incredibly talented user of the high-level element of Aether, someone who used barriers to protect his domain. Polite and well-mannered to all nobles, regardless of status. The youngest sovereign Duke ever, at just under nine years from turning two and a half centuries old.


    Now that Lucy was considering it though, his description almost sounded too perfect. Normally a few rumours about someone always leaked out when it came to high nobles, but she couldn¡¯t remember ever having heard a single bad thing about him. That event Vincent described about the fire Archmagus also seemed like it had a justified reason for occurring. But even if he secretly had a terrible personality, that didn¡¯t explain why she felt he was so familiar.


    The messenger came to a stop before a fancy carved door, and she was shaken out of her thoughts. Two armoured guards were on either side, barring the door with their blades.


    The messenger turned around and bowed to her, then stepped to the side for her to go through. ¡°You will enter this room alone,¡± he said.


    Giving him a shaky nod to keep her image, she straightened her white gloves as the two guards removed their weapons from the door. It swung inward, revealing two people, one brown-haired man in a chair with sapphire-like eyes, and a standing man in his mid-50s with black and greying hair.


    Lucille walked forward with rigid, awkward movements, and kneeled, keeping her head low so she wouldn¡¯t make eye contact with either of them.


    ¡°L-Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft greets the Emperor of the Eternal Empire,¡± she said, trembling slightly.


    Through her perception field, she saw the Emperor watch her curiously, then trade glances with the man next to him. The Emperor held his chin thoughtfully. ¡°If Harpax Extermina had this level of ability to hide his real emotions, I dare say the Empire would already be in dire straits,¡± he remarked with amusement.


    ¡°We should certainly count our blessings when it comes to that one,¡± the man beside him replied wryly.


    ¡°Indeed.¡± The Emperor gave her another curious glance, then waved his hand. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t believe we could have any meaningful conversation with this manner of behaviour, so how about we lose our masks and speak properly to one another now, Count Goldcroft?¡±


    There was a pause before the trembling of her limbs stopped. Her stiff movements relaxed and became fluid and regulated, and the tone of her skin returned to its usual colour. She lost her nervous expression and instead, a calm smile appeared on her face. She dipped her head in a bow, this time a confident and self-assured one, with no awkward movements. Lucille looked up and made eye contact with the Emperor, a wide smile on her face as her eyes narrowed.


    ¡°Then, let me introduce myself properly, Your Majesty,¡± she replied. ¡°I am Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft, the new Faction Head of the Aurelian Commission.¡± Then she looked at the man standing next to the Emperor and gained a slight smirk. ¡°And I greet you as well, Prime Minister Hepherson Ashthrope.¡±


    The Emperor tilted his head slightly. ¡°I had almost thought Count Evisenhardt had been exaggerating when I had seen how you¡¯ve been acting this past week, but it¡¯s evident he told me no lies regarding your abilities.¡± Then he narrowed his blue eyes at her. ¡°But it¡¯s yet to be seen if he¡¯s lied about other details relating to you.¡±


    Her smile only widened. ¡°I¡¯m ignorant of what you discussed with Count Evisenhardt, so you may have to enlighten me on what particular details you¡¯re interested in, Your Majesty.¡±


    Prime Minster Ashthrope held his chin, gazing at her with curiosity, while the Emperor showed no reaction.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± The Emperor tapped his fingers on the armrest of his chair, then seemed to make up his mind about something and shake his head. ¡°Let us start with the less important details. Do you happen to know the location of your home world?¡± he asked seriously.


    She shook her head. ¡°Unfortunately, the System prevented any attempts to discover my world¡¯s location in relation to the planes. I doubt the Empire will be able to locate my home world until it¡¯s been assimilated.¡±


    ¡°Disappointing, but expected, considering the Citadel and Astrologers both revealed that they were unable to find your origin,¡± the Emperor said. He gestured to the man beside him.


    The Prime Minister took out a sheet of paper. ¡°Now, Count Goldcroft,¡± he began. ¡°Out of all the Archmagus, Archmages and Wizards in the Athenaeum reported missing or dead over the past over 200 millennia¡­¡± He smirked as he looked up from the page. ¡°None have been documented to have your characteristics or ability to use soul magic.¡±


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    Lucille grinned slightly. ¡°It¡¯s not mandated that a magic user must join All-Aeon Athenaeum, and there have been past examples of people reaching the pinnacle of magic without going through official channels.¡±


    ¡°Even so¡­¡± The Prime Minister considered it and shook his head. ¡°Well, I suppose it¡¯s not important. Instead, what is important¡­¡± He looked at the man on his right.


    ¡°Lucille Goldcroft,¡± the Emperor stated solemnly. ¡°Do you intend to break the Aurelian Commission¡¯s neutrality policy?¡±


    Her expression went serious, and she shook her head. ¡°No. The Commission is needed to balance the conflict between Radical and Olden. Changing its position would strengthen either faction to levels that would cause instability within the Empire.¡±


    ¡°But that doesn¡¯t inform me of your personal agenda,¡± the Emperor said with a stern expression. ¡°So, tell me¡­ what do you want?¡±


    She fell silent for a few moments in the expectant silence, and then slowly replied, her face expressionless. ¡°What I want is to obtain personal power that can let me stand among the many members of the Empire and realms as an individual and not just the leader of a Faction. The Commission is only a shield until I believe I have the power I desire. Then I will take matters into my own hands.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying you won¡¯t interfere with the central Empire¡¯s politics until you¡¯ve reached this level of power you want,¡± the Prime Minister said.


    She dipped her head. ¡°That is correct, sir.¡±


    The two men traded glances, some unspoken message passing between them.


    ¡°Very well,¡± the Emperor stated. ¡°We will wait to ask you this again. Instead, let us discuss in detail the plans you have for the Commission and the nobility¡¯s potential response to these changes¡­.¡±


    ¡­


    Lucille left the Emperor¡¯s study soon afterwards. The timeframe they could have a meeting was small, so they couldn¡¯t talk for long. But it was enough for Lucy to plant a seed in the minds of the Emperor and Prime minister that the ¡®power¡¯ she wanted to regain was her status as an Archmage. Becoming an Archmage could take as long as 10 to 30 years depending on the talent of the individual, so the Emperor likely thought it would take at least that long before she¡¯d begin using her status as the Head of the Aurelian Commission. In reality, the ¡®power¡¯ she wanted to gain would take a lot less time, if she was careful.


    And she didn¡¯t plan on abandoning the Commission once she earned that ¡®power¡¯. The Faction was too useful for her to do that. She needed political backing as well as individual power if she ever wanted a chance at defeating the Hero.


    But it seemed the Emperor was now sure she was older than she appeared. She was aware he would find a way to determine her age for certain, but she had detected the presence of Leng Xiuying behind a wall and had felt the faint whisper-like sensation of the Sect Leader¡¯s spiritual sense brush over her. The woman had quickly retracted her spiritual sense once she had detected Lucy¡¯s soul, having seen her soul age and that her soul was strong enough that she couldn¡¯t analyse her strength, but Lucille believed she must be revealing what she discovered to the Emperor. As the Emperor, Prime Minister and Leng Xiuying now believed she was a reincarnated Archmage, that was the image she must uphold.


    The first and most important task before she returned to the Commission¡¯s Headquarters was now complete. Normally, that would remove most of the stress she felt, but the second task¡­


    The next day she would meet with Archduke Stolas Septamere Eterial to negotiate a deal, and she was determined to discover just why his very presence triggered such a strong sense of repudiation in her.


    ¡­


    -The next day-


    The door of Lucille¡¯s carriage swung open and she stepped out, faced with the towering white building in front of her. The carriage had passed through the Aether wards shielding the estate with ease and the blue-armoured guards and gatekeepers had formally saluted the carriage as it entered through the gates, demonstrating the fact that she was permitted to visit the Archduke that day. A fountain spraying mana-imbued water into the air sat in the centre of the estate¡¯s front paved entranceway. Straightening her black half-mask and white gloves, she climbed up the steps of the white and grey mansion. The frosted blue and pale white glass was set into the windows.


    The tall double doors made of white wood were opened to allow the staff easy access into and out of the building. Two men servants on either side of the doors spotted her and one stepped forward.


    ¡°Count Goldcroft?¡± he asked.


    She nodded and took out her violet pocket watch for them to Inspect, where he nodded back and then gestured with a hand to the entrance hall behind him. ¡°This way please, your ladyship.¡±


    She followed the servant as his partner walked behind her, guiding her to where she would find the Archduke. She looked around the place to pass the time and also for her own interest. The ornaments were tasteful and matched the curtains, wallpaper, and carpets'' blue, white, and silver d¨¦cor. None of them were gaudy or flashy, nor were they releasing extravagant waves of mana in a show of power. For a high-noble, it was quite bland. It seemed the Archduke wasn¡¯t very materialistic and didn¡¯t care much for objects or decorations.


    She was led down the main hallway until a familiar man with brown hair crossed their path. He looked up and smiled when he saw Lucy.


    ¡°We meet again, Count Goldcroft. It was quite coincidental to have that meeting yesterday, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    He dismissed the servants with a wave of his hand as she smiled and gave him a polite dip of her head. ¡°It was, indeed, Count Bentsen. I don¡¯t believe we should consider the accidental crossing of our paths a true meeting, however.¡±


    Count Bentsen chuckled and gestured down the hallway. ¡°No, I suppose not. Let me lead you to the room where we will meet with the Archduke.¡±


    She nodded in agreement and followed him, the Count talking happily to her in the meantime.


    ¡°It was unexpected for us to find a letter from the Aurelian Commission Head herself appearing on the Archduke¡¯s desk when the Duchy¡¯s weekly letters were delivered,¡± he began cheerfully. ¡°After all, there has been no word of anyone receiving a message straight from the new leader of the Commission.¡±


    ¡°Well, until I had met the Emperor, I was not allowed to go to any public events, so I would always have to have been constrained by the walls of the Commission,¡± she replied with a smile. ¡°There wouldn¡¯t have been much reason for me to contact anyone before the banquet.¡±


    He gave her a slightly wry grin. ¡°So, you mean to say that Vincent Evisenhardt isn¡¯t the one all correspondence between the central nobility and the Commission should go through?¡±


    She smirked and shook her head. ¡°I never said that.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± He looked at her curiously but moved on. ¡°Well, I have nothing to say on the rumours of the Aurelian Commission Head¡¯s status within the Commission, whether they be true or not. But is it possible that I may know what you plan to discuss today? Not that I want the deeper details, as they should be saved for when His Grace is with us.¡±


    ¡°Ah. Well, the main reason I wanted to organise a meeting with Archduke Eterial is because I intend to strengthen the neutrality position of the Aurelian Commission,¡± Lucy explained. ¡°While the relationships between the other Duchies and the Commission are relatively firm, the connections between the Commission and the Aethereal Duchy are less formalized.¡±


    ¡°And so, you want to negotiate a few deals to strengthen these connections?¡± he said thoughtfully. ¡°I can understand your reasoning. The Aethereal Duchy could indeed benefit from more economic involvement from the Aurelian Commission as well. I believe this may be possible, depending on the specifics of this arrangement, and on the will of the Arch-¡±


    Count Bentsen paused when he saw someone standing in the hallway in front of them and bowed. ¡°Your Grace.¡±


    She stiffened slightly as she saw who it was and then bowed, a fist pressed against her chest in the Empire¡¯s traditional salute. ¡°It is an honour to meet you, Your Grace. I am Lucille Goldcroft, the Head of the Aurelian Commission.¡±


    ¡°You may raise your head,¡± she heard him say. ¡°It is a pleasure to meet you too, Count Goldcroft.¡±


    She sped up her thoughts to analyse the man in front of her.


    The man known as Archduke Stolas Septamere Eterial appeared like he was only around 25-26. He was wearing the imperial-style formal jacket worn only by royalty, made of sky-blue fabric ¨C the Duchy¡¯s official colours ¨C with silver fastenings and tassels to secure it. He wore a cloak of white and silver over one shoulder, and his hands were covered by white silk gloves. He had no visible weapon or sheath attached to his belt, appearing completely unarmed, although it would be a disastrous mistake to believe he was defenceless.


    His eyes were a near-neon bright blue that seemed to watch her movements with piercing acuteness. The Archduke was tall, very tall. Lucy was five foot five in height, but he stood head and shoulders over her even then, which would put him at over six foot seven. The average height of people in the Tower was higher than on Earth due to Rank-3s and above having the ability to change their appearance, so he was only somewhat taller than normal for the realms, but he still had an intimidating appearance as his physique didn¡¯t suggest he was the pure Aether manipulator he was spoken of to be.


    As for his looks¡­ she couldn¡¯t think of a more proper descriptor than ¡®gorgeous¡¯, as much as it was strange to apply it to a man. His androgynous appearance made him a striking figure, although the impression wasn¡¯t helped by his long white hair that reached mid-way down his back. She couldn¡¯t associate his features with a human.


    Half of his blindingly white hair was pinned back, the rest falling over his shoulders. She had heard he was known as a desired partner for many noble women of the Empire, but he was still single after 242 years of his life, with no rumours of him ever being entangled with someone. She didn¡¯t know why he kept his current young appearance if he didn¡¯t want to have a relationship with anyone.


    In summary, Lucille felt like something was very, very, extremely wrong about the man in front of her, and every single one of her thought strands was telling her to get away from him.


    I also still can¡¯t shake this distinctly strong sensation that I¡¯ve seen him before. But I am certain I have had no interaction with him nor appeared at any events he was present at.


    Actually, he almost looks like an exact replica of that portrai-


    She hesitated as she considered her thoughts.


    Haven¡¯t I¡­ thought¡­ that¡­ before¡­?


    She set one of her major thought strands to pilot her body while she considered the problem in more detail. ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear those words from you, Your Grace.¡±


    The Archduke only had a calm smile as Count Bentsen spoke to his lord. ¡°Your Grace, do you intend to begin our discussions in the main sitting room?¡±


    The white-haired man glanced at him, nodded, and then turned around to walk down the hallway without another word.


    Lucy watched as Count Bentsen gained a slightly strange expression in response to the Archduke¡¯s actions, but he quickly schooled it into a smile as he turned to her. ¡°Then, let us have our discussion there before we have refreshments.¡±


    She returned his smile, mentally noting the brown-haired man¡¯s reaction. ¡°If that is what has been arranged.¡±


    She walked next to Count Bentsen as he followed the Archduke. ¡°Have you accustomed yourself to the ways of the central nobility yet, Count Goldcroft?¡± the Count asked.


    ¡°Some of it has been tiring, but for the most part I¡¯ve had no struggles,¡± she replied, trying to ascertain why she felt d¨¦j¨¤ vu about her thoughts.


    My thought strands have registered that I¡¯ve thought that before, but my memory contains no records of that occurring to me before this. All the data comparison strands tell me he shares many similarities with another individual, but for some reason, a cohesive image of the individual keeps failing to be recreated by my other thought strands. That¡¯s not a symptom of an unstable soul, so why¡­


    ¡°Is that due to the support of the four Counties?¡± Count Bentsen asked curiously.


    ¡°They have been helpful, but the credit mostly belongs to my aide,¡± she responded.


    The level of familiarity is far too high for it to just be an error, but the information I¡¯m getting seems to be making my thought strands very disturbed or scared in some way. Even before my return, I can¡¯t think of something that would cause me to feel that way. And this growing headache...


    ¡°It seems the relationship between you and your aide isn¡¯t quite as different to what you both portray as I suspected,¡± the man beside her said, giving her a sideways glance.


    Let¡¯s put aside my emotional changes and assume I do know him for now¡­ why would I be unable to remember who he is?


    ¡°Vincent Evisenhardt is my aide, in all understandings of the word.¡±


    It can¡¯t just be that I¡¯m forgetting something, because I don¡¯t-


    She stiffened up for a moment as her eyes widened, then she sped up her pace slightly as they continued walking towards the room, following the Archduke.


    I don¡¯t forget anything! It¡¯s impossible for me! That¡¯s the core reason why this entire situation has felt so wrong! I¡¯m being influenced by a thought and memory-altering effect!


    Now aware that her own thoughts and memories had been compromised, every single one of her core personality matrix¡¯s thoughts was thoroughly analysed by her thought strands under accelerated speed by applying her mental power, working through the splitting headache that had formed in the meantime. She double-checked everything in her panic, trying to make sure she missed nothing that could be a clue.


    Lucy released a sigh of relief when she finally determined that nothing was being changed right then. It seemed it only occurred when she focused on the Archduke and the incongruities she felt.


    ¡°I see,¡± Count Bentsen said. ¡°Then I¡¯ll take your words into account if the negotiations proceed smoothly and further contact with the Commission is required.¡±


    She nodded distractedly, feeling highly disturbed.


    But what kind of thought manipulation is this? It¡¯s not intrusive enough to make me unaware of the effect, but I still can¡¯t form any connections that could give me insight into what the issue is. And the e-emotions I¡¯m feeling from my lesser thought strands are beginning to get overwhelming for m-my consciousness¡­


    Count Bentsen gave her a strange look, but she didn¡¯t notice. He tilted his head slightly. ¡°Did your meeting with the Emperor go well?¡±


    ¡°It was successful,¡± she said. Then she paused, feeling slightly stunned at what she said because the results of a private meeting with the Emperor were not something she was supposed to reveal to anyone.


    And it seemed Count Bentsen had asked her that on purpose as a test because he slowed his walking to turn to her with a slight frown. ¡°Count Goldcroft, are you well? You¡¯ve been acting a bit dazed.¡±


    ¡°O-Oh, ah¡­¡± She internally winced as her headache increased in intensity, before replying, ¡°N-No, I¡¯m fine. I¡¯ve just been a little tired from this week¡¯s events.¡±


    He studied her but didn¡¯t seem satisfied by her answer. ¡°Are you certain? We could postpone this meeting if you¡¯re truly not feeling well.¡±


    ¡°No, this meeting will not be postponed,¡± a voice interrupted.


    They turned to look at the Archduke, who was looking back at them. ¡°Count Goldcroft has no need to leave, and is fine.¡±


    Lucille was feeling very nervous about the fact the Archduke had chosen to interrupt them only when the prospect of her possibly getting away from him was brought up, but Count Bentsen had a very slight frown when he heard the Archduke¡¯s response. Eventually, he sighed and dipped his head. ¡°As you wish, my lord.¡±


    The Archduke continued onwards without a word as soon as he heard the response, leaving Count Bentsen and her to follow after him in a slightly uneasy silence. Count Bentsen didn¡¯t try to continue the conversation, seemingly preoccupied by his liege¡¯s strange behaviour, frowning at the man.


    And Lucille was preoccupied with the sensation of mind-splitting pain pounding inside her head, her headache having increased to the point she was struggling to think.


    I can¡¯t- I can¡¯t think straight. My thoughts are fragmenting before I can collect them back together. Any time I try to associate the sparse few details I can keep consciously thinking about, the pain increases and scatter- scatters them into¡­ into pieces. E-Every time I try to c-connect two thoughts, t-this damn headache keeps b-blocking more thought, especially when I think a-about that portrait and that realm and that m-meeting and why can¡¯t I just ASSOCIATE them with this PERS-


    Every single one of her thoughts froze to a halt as one single word resonated with her.


    Association..? Assoc- Association?! No, I know what this is! This is an Association Limiter! I can¡¯t associate anything because the very construct connected to my soul is preventing it!


    Association Limiter?! The System is interfering with my mind? It doesn¡¯t want me to recognise this person- why doesn¡¯t it want me to recognise this person?!? What am I getting involved in right now?!?!


    Her hands felt clammy as she clenched them tightly, the pain in her mind being tossed aside as anxiety and confusion took its place to near-overwhelm her. Her normal ability to suppress her emotions with her thought strands was failing, and she focused on several sentences to keep herself fully aware of what was happening to her. Instinctually, she knew her heightened emotional state wasn¡¯t because of her own doing, but she was barely able to keep a grip on her thoughts right now.


    The System- the System is- is preventing me from thinking about something. I won¡¯t be able to associate anything because of it. There is nothing I can do about this situation right now unless I discover what¡¯s going on with the Archduke and find out why it doesn¡¯t want me to recognise him, but I can¡¯t, because of the limiter. And I can¡¯t do anything to remove the limiter until I work out what¡¯s wrong with the Archduke. This¡­ I can¡¯t resolve this! I¡¯m just going around in circles!


    She rubbed her temples and ignored the worried look Count Bentsen gave her. The Archduke didn¡¯t pay them any attention, walking onwards.


    And it¡¯s affecting my emotions now. This isn¡¯t good. I need to work this out before I lose recollection of all concrete facts about this situation. I¡¯ve dealt with the Association Limiter before, I just need to do it again. I can still remember how I went about it, so none of my past memories are changing¡­


    The silence drew on as Count Bentsen glanced between her and the Archduke.


    The Association Limiter works the same as an info lock. It will be impossible to break unless complete and undeniable fact is placed before the individual. I already know something is extremely off, I¡¯ve reached the first step. I just need to see one more key detail before I can fully break it. But to do that, I¡¯d need something capable of detecting the System, so I¡¯ll be able to see past any disguise the System has set up through Influence. But any object like that can¡¯t be found until the 7<sup>th</sup> realm. An object like that is¡­


    But there was one item she had that was capable of seeing Influence, the medium for skills. One object she had decided to put aside researching until she had the power to do so. An object called {The Shard of Totality}.


    She hesitated as she considered the idea.


    But if it did help me break through the limiter, that would mean this shard in my eye has a level of power close to the¡­ No, that¡¯s not important. I have no other option if I want to understand what¡¯s wrong.


    She glanced at the Archduke and took a breath.


    Here goes nothing.


    She took her internal mana, making sure none escaped her body in a way that could alert the two men near her to her mana manipulation, and moved it into her right eye, allowing her to see through her mask.


    At first, nothing happened, but with the feeling of her soul grating against its very self, her perception was opened up to a new sense and her vision distorted and twisted. The fabric of the world frayed and bent, rearranging itself to reveal the links and connections of intertwined cause and effect, stretched out over distances immeasurable with her mind. A new image transposed itself over her sight, revealing the hidden aura of the Archduke.


    At first, she could see the sky-blue hue of the high-level element of Aether around him, blending in with the lower-element version of itself, the non-elemental mana around them. But with the straining of her mind, that vision was erased to reveal the chaotic red energies tinged with flashes of black, the fierce aura pressing down on the spiritual energy surrounding them.


    And the white hair of the Archduke- no, not white hair, but was now black-as-night hair transformed, falling past his waist. The constant pressure that had been on her mind which she hadn¡¯t even noticed had been suffocating her thoughts released, and her mind broke free of the mental shackles with a hallucinatory sound of shattering, the pain gone. She instantly made the connection.


    Oh¡­ no, no, no, no! There were still three months left! I don¡¯t want to deal with him again so soon! No wonder I felt something was strange, change the hair and eyes and the Archduke looks exactly like him. He even has the hair colour that the demon is supposed to have. This is bad. I need to finish these negotiations before he realises I know who he-


    But then her eyes widened as the shard acted again. The Archduke¡¯s image was reverted back, the red aura withdrawn. Instead, the sky-blue aura made its reappearance but morphed and structured itself into plates of blindingly brilliant semi-translucent armour, interlocking and overlapping to cover the Archduke from the shoulders down.


    And in the same fashion as what she had seen when she received the shard, within the armour mechanical cogs of illusory material whirred and turned, threaded through by white-blue chains ascending up through unseen layers of the realm, the immaterial armour functioning as small parts of a much larger, much more powerful, invisible mechanism and construct of unknown origins. Placed over the Archduke¡¯s heart was an instrument made of the same cogs, beating in sync with the rhythmic workings of the armour.


    There was only one individual she had managed to obtain information of in her deep delving into the Obelisk Repository that had such a fundamental, intricate connection to the very System itself.


    Ah...... crap. He¡¯s the Authorizer.


    There was no way she was leaving this place peacefully.


    Can I run now? Is it too late to back out? Oh, who am I kidding, it was too late to back out the second I stepped into this building. Am I able to erase my memories? No, I can¡¯t even do that, my accelerated thoughts mean I¡¯ve generated far too many memories to resolve it so simply. I¡¯d be affecting my consciousness permanently if I did that.


    She stiffened up slightly when Count Bentsen finally looked at her, the three of them coming to a stop in front of a door. ¡°Here we are, Count Goldcroft. In around half an hour we¡¯ll take a break to have tea, and then we can further discuss-¡±


    ¡°Count Bentsen.¡±


    Lucy and the Count paused when they heard the Archduke speak up and turned to him. The Archduke wasn¡¯t facing them, his gloved hands held behind his back.


    ¡°You won¡¯t be needed for this discussion, so you can leave us to continue your work. I will continue the negotiations with Count Goldcroft.¡±


    Lucille¡¯s thoughts froze when she heard what the Archduke said, but Count Bentsen just gazed silently at his lord for a while. The Archduke didn¡¯t look back. The man bowed with a sigh. ¡°Yes, Your Grace. If that is what you wish.¡±


    Count Bentsen smiled and nodded at Lucille. ¡°It was a pleasure to meet you, Count Goldcroft. I look forward to when we will meet again.¡±


    She gave him a slightly strained smile in return, dipping her head and wishing she could ask him to stay. ¡°¡­likewise, Count Bentsen.¡± She went to turn around as the man left.


    If the Count leaves it will be¡­ just me and¡­ him. That¡¯s¡­ not good. That¡¯s not good at all. What does he want with me? ¡­is he asking the Count to leave so he can kill me? I should¡¯ve put a clause in the contract stating he can¡¯t kill me, but then I¡¯m not even sure it would work with a clone-type skill like-


    She froze as she realised the Archduke had turned around and was staring at her. She didn¡¯t move as he tilted his head slightly, no expression on his originally calmly smiling face.


    ¡°You know who I am,¡± he said.


    It was not a question. It was a statement. He was aware, without a doubt, that she had broken through the Association Limiter.


    But she couldn¡¯t just admit it so easily, as she was unaware of how he would react.


    She gave him a wide smile, hands behind her back. ¡°Your Grace, I¡¯m not sure what you mean. Are you referring to your status? Then yes, I¡¯m aware that you¡¯re the Arch-¡±


    The words died on her lips as the Archduke disappeared from her vision, and she felt a gloved hand slip around her neck, the Archduke reappearing right in front of her. His eyes, while not having the large glowing irises of his main body, had turned the same brilliant ruby-red that could only indicate he was emitting strong killing intent. He lowered his head to whisper into her ear as he tightened his grip on her neck.


    ¡°Did you think that was the response I wanted to hear, Goldcroft?¡± he hissed icily. His hand began to squeeze harder.


    ¡°¡­no, Your Majesty,¡± she managed to get out, feeling choked.


    There was a tense silence as neither of them moved, but then he slowly pulled back his hand and straightened up with a cold expression. He turned around and walked off.


    ¡°Follow me.¡±


    She quietly followed the Archduke as he had ordered and internally, Lucille sighed as she switched off her expression regulator.


    Time for a deal with the Demon Emperor¡­. take two.

 Chapter 46 (1 of 2) Demon, Dungeon and Delivery.

    She wordlessly followed the man - or demon - in front of her. The Archduke opened the door of what seemed to be the sitting room where they were originally going to discuss her proposals with Count Bentsen. He marched over to one of the armchairs in front of a low table and then sat down. He pointed at the chair opposite him.


    ¡°Sit,¡± he ordered coldly.


    Quickly doing what he asked, she sat awkwardly on the edge of her seat. Then, with a sound of whirring, he held up a gloved hand and a beam of blue light appearing seemingly from nowhere fell on his hand. The light slowly coalesced to form a bound folder of white-blue with the symbol of a cog on the front. He placed the folder in front of her.


    ¡°Sign it,¡± he said.


    She glanced between the Archduke and what she knew to be a System contract on the table before her. Then, without complaint, and without reading it, she flipped through to the very back, took off a glove and placed her index finger on the area to sign, inserting her spiritual energy. Blue blocky letters bloomed across the section, printing out her name. When it was done, she tensed as the mounting pressure built around her mind, and then it released, almost like it was gone. But if she focused, she could sense the thin but powerful immaterial chains wrapped around her soul, connected to the person in front of her.


    She took a breath before awkwardly speaking up, as the Archduke hadn¡¯t moved. ¡°May I please read the contract now?¡± she asked weakly.


    His expression was still cold and his eyes still scarlet, but he very slightly tilted his head.


    Lucille figured that was as much of an answer as she was going to get from him, and quickly picked up the book to flick through the pages. She accelerated her thoughts as quickly as she could to avoid making the Archduke wait any longer and found out just what exactly she had signed herself up to.


    The contract, for the most part, was not that malicious. She supposed if the System had gone to the effort of wanting her to be bound by a System contract it would avoid limiting her actions in ways that could prove unfavourable for them both, but she hadn¡¯t put her name down to be a slave for all of eternity. However, that didn¡¯t mean the contract wouldn¡¯t be in effect for all of eternity. The contract had no end date and could only be removed by the System¡¯s Authorizer, the individual in front of her.


    In essence, the contract could be considered as an extension of the demonic contract she had formed with the Demon Emperor, only it covered all her plans to intentionally affect the timeline on a large scale.She was to obey whatever order the Authorizer gave her regarding the preservation of the timeline and survival of the realms. Luckily, this didn¡¯t extend to impacting her desire to gain strength as the System wanted its Users to grow stronger.


    But there were three key points she noticed.


    One: She was to reveal exactly what her plans were to the Authorizer if they were going to fulfil a purpose that lay outside of purely increasing the Commission''s growth, or made use of a secret she knew because of her memories.


    Two: When it came to the timeline changes and the stability of the empire, his orders were to be given priority. He would have the last say on whether she should carry out her plans or not.


    And three: Following all terms of the contract did not ensure she would keep her life. If, at any point in time, the Authorizer tried to kill her, the contract would not prevent him from doing so. She was treading a very fine line between being useful to him, or a threat to be eradicated.


    Although the fact the Archduke had even given her this contract suggested that he may possibly be incapable of killing her somehow¡­


    She looked up from the contract and hesitantly asked another question. ¡°Your Grace¡­ it says we¡¯ll contact each other every month. How will we do that?¡±


    There was a pause as he seemed to consider her words for a brief moment. Then he snapped his fingers and a glowing blue orb, the size of a marble, appeared in his hand. The orb disappeared from his hands onto the table in front of her. ¡°Eat this.¡±


    She stared at him, then at the orb. When she didn¡¯t pick it up instantly, his ruby-red eyes narrowed. Suppressing a sigh, Lucy picked it up and placed it in her mouth.


    The orb disintegrated before she could swallow it, and in a way similar to the System contract, her soul strained in some strange way before it left. She blinked when she heard a notification.


    [Status Modifier ¨C Type: Communicator has been activated on User Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft]


    [Connecting User Lucille Goldcroft to User ############ ###########-#########.......]


    [Connected. Status Modifier is enabled]


    She glanced at the long name.


    Ah¡­ right¡­ He¡¯s¡­ that person. No wonder I kept thinking of the portrait, he must¡¯ve modelled his skill off his old appearance.


    ¡°This will allow me to send you messages,¡± the Archduke announced indifferently. He tilted his head at her. ¡°Do you have any more questions?¡±


    ¡°No sir,¡± she replied.


    His expression grew colder. ¡°Then leave.¡±


    She placed down the glowing contract, swiftly got up, and left the room, trying to ignore the gaze of the individual behind her as she shut the door. Then, she quickly walked down the hallways of the estate to find the entrance she came through. She descended the steps and got into her carriage.


    When the carriage had left the boundary of the dome-shaped Aether ward, she finally allowed herself to relax her tensed body, and she let out a weak laugh.


    Nothing can ever be easy, can it? I should¡¯ve known something would go wrong before the end of the year.


    She looked out the window.


    Thinking about it now, we never discussed the real reason I was there today. Well, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m about to go asking him now.


    <hr>


    In the empty hallways of the Aethereal Duchy¡¯s Capital residence, a tall individual with long white hair and ruby-red eyes gazed coldly in the direction Lucille had left in. There was a strange, tense silence in the air as if a heated argument was on the brink of bursting out. The disguised Demon Emperor opened his mouth to speak.


    ¡°I want to kill her.¡±


    A new voice sounded, paired with a glowing box of blue text.


    [No.]


    The immediateness and firmness of the answer made the Archduke instantly scowl, and he turned around to storm off in the opposite direction.


    [No, you are not killing her. Don¡¯t be ridiculous.]


    If Lucy had been able to hear it, she would¡¯ve been stunned by the sound of the voice accompanying the white-blue notification of the Archduke, because it was an unmistakable voice that every single User of the Tower heard almost every day of their life. But the emotional intonation in the voice was completely alien and unfamiliar, sounding like it shouldn¡¯t belong to such a sound.


    The Archduke ignored the second message to keep marching onwards with a scowl.


    [You can sulk all you want, Alectis, but I am not letting you kill her.]


    He glared at the message but didn¡¯t respond.


    [Wow, I¡¯m so scared, the big bad Demon Emperor is mad at me. Somebody help me, please.]


    The Archduke¡¯s expression twitched but he turned away from the message and tried to ignore it, keeping his quick pace. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t ignore the voice inside his head.


    [It¡¯s been three months and you still haven¡¯t gotten over it. Seriously, why do you want to kill her so badly? This is the first time I¡¯ve seen you be so insistent on something]


    ¡°Her presence infuriates me,¡± the Archduke muttered, not looking at the message.


    [And that¡¯s good! Well, okay, maybe not for Goldcroft, but you haven¡¯t felt anything at all for nearly 300,000 years, Alectis. This could be a change for you]


    He ignored the message, still storming down the long hallway. The voice in his head groaned.


    [We¡¯ve been over this. Goldcroft can¡¯t die, because we need her to understand what has happened to the main timeline. Unknowns aren¡¯t supposed to be a thing when it comes to the System ¨C although it¡¯s somewhat amusing that she doesn¡¯t seem to know what the distinction between me and the System is¡­]


    ¡°She¡¯ll be useless.¡±


    [Useless? Useless? Who¡¯s the one who¡¯s fundamentally part of a near-omniscient construct in charge of the entirety of this Reality¡¯s operations and can determine if she¡¯s useless or not? That is me, Dion! Not you!]


    The Archduke stopped scowling just long enough to give the box a dubious look, making the voice sigh.


    [Okay, yes, yes, I know there¡¯s the thing with the other An0????????????????m??????????????--- An0??????????????m??????????@?????????????????????---]


    The notification distorted and fizzled out for a second, before appearing anew.


    [-urgh, yuck, this must be what it¡¯s like for a mortal to feel a headache for the first time ¨C The other User, but that¡¯s a small detail in the grand scheme of things. A teeny tiny one. A near-irrelevant detail]


    ¡°That near-irrelevant detail is giving us this much trouble,¡± the Archduke muttered in response, but that was a terrible mistake. The voice renewed its side of the argument.


    [Yes! It¡¯s giving us this much trouble, which is why we can¡¯t kill Lucille Goldcroft until I¡¯ve seen her memories! Get over your desire to kill her already!]


    The expression of the Archduke darkened and he sped up his pace, but he refused to look at the message.


    [On a side note, aren¡¯t you curious about how she managed to discover your real-]


    ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡±


    [-of course you don¡¯t, that was always going to be the response, wasn¡¯t it? Yeah, you make a great Authorizer because you¡¯re the amazing great powerful mighty Demon Emperor, but wow, you can boring sometimes]


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    The notification box changed its position from slightly to the side of him to directly in front of his face.


    [Look, if there¡¯s anything you want me to do for you¡­]


    ¡°Then let me kill her.¡±


    [¡­.anything but that! You utterly stupid, brain-dead demon, get it through your thick skull! She is not to be killed!]


    A glare and silence was the only response, but the voice wasn¡¯t done yet.


    [And Alectis, don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t notice that thing with the Status Modifier you did there. You¡¯re not getting out of this so easily. You will be meeting her in person, and it will be regularly]


    The Archduke stopped marching and stared incredulously at the message. The voice grew louder, sounding taunting.


    [What? You mad? You want me to take it back?]


    Then it turned sarcastic.


    [Well maybe if you got off your supremely lazy royal backside and did something instead of sleeping all day then maybe I would!]


    He scowled again and stormed off.


    [And look at you, going all sulky again! You have no comeback, don¡¯t you! You¡¯re at a loss for words!]


    Then it seemed the Archduke had an idea, because he paused, turned to the notification, and stared at it. Then beside it, a screen of settings and System-controlling buttons appeared. He flicked a few.


    [What are you- hey wait, don¡¯t-]


    The Archduke stormed off again, the notification box frozen in place and stuck in one spot behind him. Not that the voice went away.


    [Hey! Alectis! You know how hard it is for me to directly interfere to fix stuff like this! Get back here! Change it back!]


    The figure with white hair didn¡¯t respond and continued walking away, using his well-practised ability to ignore the strangely verbal voice in his head gained through uncountable years of dealing with it.


    [HEY!]


    <hr>


    Thud!


    The arrow tip embedded itself in a wooden lever, barely visible in the dimly lit cavern. The force of the arrow allowed the lever next to a stone door to flick down, and with the hum of activated mechanisms, the small grimy lantern hanging above the door glowed with yellow light, flickering erratically.


    Rumble!


    With the grinding of gears and shaken dust of the cave roof above the door, the stone barrier slowly slid up, revealing a dark room on the other side. A thin mist of murky green-brown monster miasma leaked out, falling over the ledge in front of the door to drop down into the pitch-black darkness below.


    A woman with dark brown hair and blue eyes blinked and lowered her longbow when a notification sounded.


    [Mystical Realm Event: Dungeon of the Cursed Gem Mine]


    [Exploration Progress +1%]


    [New! Exploration Progress: 79%]


    She walked over to the edge of the platform she was on and cupped her hands around her mouth to call down, ¡°Conlan, I think I found the entrance to the last layer!¡±


    The man with brown hair and gold eyes looked up, then nodded. ¡°Got it, Lili! We¡¯ll be up there soon!¡± He swung his sword to hack into a vaguely humanoid clump of rocks that had formed to attack him. It collapsed when it was sliced in half and the man ran away to say something to the red-haired woman fighting nearby.


    Placing her longbow back in its holder, Liliana watched the door to ensure no monsters would start using the rickety rope bridge connecting her stone platform to the door¡¯s ledge opposite her. A few minutes later, two people arrived on the platform after climbing the wooden stairs set up by the miners long ago. One was the armoured man with golden eyes from earlier, and another a young woman with short fiery red hair and vibrant green eyes, a spear held in her hand, and leather armour protecting her body.


    Liliana gestured to the door on the other side of the bridge. ¡°Our exploration progress went up when I activated the lever.¡±


    ¡°How did you activate it?¡± Conlan asked curiously.


    She pointed to the lever. ¡°Just with an arrow. I¡¯ve been doing the same for any other levers I can see from my post up here, and it turned out that the door¡¯s lever was still functional. Monster mana is leaking out of there.¡±


    ¡°Then we definitely haven¡¯t been there before,¡± he replied. ¡°The miasma has retreated completely from the places we¡¯ve cleared out. The spawn rate has dipped down to less than three each hour.¡±


    ¡°Has my awesome fire burnt all the monster smog already?¡± Catherine asked with a grin.


    Liliana smiled as Conlan shook his head wryly. ¡°That¡¯s not how it works. The core¡¯s just been retrieving its mana so it can strengthen itself.¡±


    Catherine clicked her tongue and placed her spear in its holder on her back. ¡°And here I was thinking it was scared of us.¡± She gave Conlan a curious glance. ¡°What is a Dungeon Core, anyway? Is it a species of monster?¡±


    Conlan took a step towards the bridge and shielded his eyes with one hand, trying to peer through the darkness on the other side of the door. ¡°Nope. Not species. It¡¯s two things. A designation given by the System for the realm¡¯s unique Events, and a variant of monster.¡±


    ¡°Variant? Of which kind?¡± the redhead asked.


    ¡°Any and all. The Dungeon Core is the monster core of the Dungeon¡¯s Boss Monster,¡± he explained, turning back from the steep edge. ¡°And the Boss Monster can be any species of monster, although it¡¯s typically a monster suited to the environment. It¡¯s just a monster that can live with its core outside its body and control its monster essence to spawn more monsters and manipulate the territory around it.¡±


    ¡°Huh,¡± Catherine thought out loud. ¡°But why? Like, what causes monster miasma to spawn a Dungeon Core over another normal monster?¡±


    Liliana watched as Conlan hesitated. ¡°Oh, er¡­ let me think.¡± He scratched his head with a frown. ¡°Last time I took an Adventurer¡¯s Guild Dungeon course was ages ago¡­¡± he muttered.


    She immediately became curious. When did he have time to do something like take an Adventurer¡¯s Guild course?


    ¡°What did that book say about their formation? Something about man-made landmarks¡­¡± Conlan mused. Then he blinked as he remembered, and he snapped his fingers. ¡°Right. Dungeon Cores form in areas of artificially induced mana instability. Instead of how Lairs form in the Beast Realm, which is because of chaotic conflicting elements often caused due to fighting beasts, Dungeons are formed when artifacts and magic items go defunct.¡±


    Conlan walked over to the rope bridge to test it with his weight. ¡°When their spells go haywire with unpredictable effects, the mana becomes extremely chaotic but still retains some order. But the mana instability affects and breaks any artificial item or object in the environment, and so the chaotic mana spreads until there¡¯s no more man-made object or item around, and then turns into monster miasma. In other words, a Dungeon Core only forms in a building or structure of some kind.¡±


    He looked up at the roof. ¡°Like this mine.¡±


    ¡°Too complicated,¡± Catherine complained. ¡°Basically, someone¡¯s item broke and sent the mana into a hissy fit?¡±


    He sighed. ¡°I guess that¡¯s it.¡±


    ¡°So then¡­.¡± The redhead looked around. ¡°What happened to this place?¡±


    ¡°Oh! I can answer that one!¡± Liliana spoke up, happy to contribute. ¡°I asked the Adventurer¡¯s Guild before we came here. The noble son of the mine¡¯s owner came to visit with his friends, and they got into an argument.¡± She recalled what she heard. ¡°The young noble had a dark affinity, so he cast a weak curse he learnt, but missed his friend and cursed the core gem of the main tunnel borer device down here. The local mana eventually became monster miasma.¡±


    ¡°Neat,¡± Catherine replied. She looked around. ¡°Sounds like the owner would¡¯ve been pretty mad, looking at this.¡±


    ¡°I think this is probably safe to cross,¡± Conlan said, coming back from the bridge. ¡°There¡¯s no other contraption around here from what I can tell. This will be the last part of the Dungeon.¡±


    ¡°Finally!¡± Catherine exclaimed, raising her hands above her head. ¡°It¡¯s been nearly a month of this stupid Dungeon! I want to see the sun!¡±


    ¡°We should go back to camp if that¡¯s the case,¡± Liliana said to Conlan.


    He looked at her and nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll mark it on the Dungeon mini-map.¡±


    Soon afterwards, they descended the wooden stairs to the deeper levels of the layer below, making their way back to their rest point. But Liliana looked at Conlan curiously.


    ¡°Both the Beast Realm and the Mystical Realm have Unique Events, right? Is it only those two realms that have Unique Events because they have monsters?¡±


    Conlan shook his head. ¡°No. All of them do. The Demon Realm has the Strongholds, while Tartarus has Catacombs. The Heavenly Realm has Ancestral Inheritances.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ what about our realm?¡± Catherine asked.


    Conlan went to say something, but Liliana answered her first. ¡°That would have to be the Rifts, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Catherine nodded. ¡°Right.¡±


    They made less conversation after that, using the map to navigate their way back to their camp, and killing the occasional stray monster that appeared along their path.


    ¡­


    ¡°I¡¯m soooo hunnngrrryyyy,¡± Catherine whined, slouched as they trudged back to their campsite.


    Conlan shot her a mildly exasperated look as they turned a corner to see their array of tents around a campfire, the glow providing light for them.


    ¡°It¡¯s barely past midday. We had breakfast only a few hours ago,¡± he said.


    ¡°Yeah, and those few hours were full of fighting!¡± Catherine retorted. ¡°I need to eat three times as much to cover for that. No, five times!¡±


    ¡°Maybe Anthony has cooked lunch already,¡± Liliana replied placatingly as they stepped among the tents. ¡°The fire is lit at least.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t bet on it,¡± Catherine grumbled. ¡°Besides, it¡¯s just going to be the same bland slop we¡¯ve eaten for the last three weeks.¡±


    ¡°My lady, if that¡¯s what you truly think of my dishes then I¡¯ll be an utterly heartbroken man,¡± a new voice interjected.


    They looked over to the campfire to see a young man with reddish-blonde hair and blue eyes smirking at them, seated on a log. A large pot filled with boiling water was sitting on the campfire in front of him. ¡°My creation this time is the finest culinary finesse to come from Earth. I hold great pride in my work, but your words nearly bring me to tears .¡±


    Catherine rolled her eyes. ¡°Anthony, you have as many manners in you as a warrior can do math in this realm. Cut the ¡®lady¡¯ thing. You¡¯ve kept it up for the last week but it¡¯s starting to get tiring now.¡±


    Anthony, another person from Earth that Conlan has asked to join their party for the month as he did Liliana, gasped in mock horror, a hand on his heart. ¡°How dare you! You insult the deepest part of my character, calling everything a mere act! Your cruelty rends my heart to pieces!¡±


    ¡°If it did then my day would finally be going well,¡± Catherine retorted.


    He shook his head sadly as Liliana and Conlan sat down on the long log next to him.


    ¡°We found the entrance to the next layer,¡± Conlan stated seriously.


    Anthony paused, having started stirring the pot, and looked at him. ¡°You have?¡±


    The three of them, including Catherine, nodded. He rubbed his chin. ¡°That means you guys will fight the Boss soon. Do you think you¡¯re prepared?¡±


    ¡°I have no doubts we¡¯ll be able to kill it,¡± Conlan said. ¡°We¡¯re all Level 80 or higher, and killing this monster will get us over Level 90.¡± He held his hands out to the fire and rubbed them together to warm them. ¡°Level 100 is when we receive our pocket dimension skill. If we can get it before February, it¡¯ll be useful for when we¡¯re in the Navy.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t comment on the Navy thing, as I don¡¯t plan to join it,¡± Anthony replied. ¡°But if you think you can fight it, then I¡¯m ready whenever.¡± He leaned back and stretched his hands above his head. ¡°I¡¯ll be making quite a profit after all this is done, and my blacksmith skill has tiered up quite a few times just from the skills I¡¯ve gained working with the materials found in the mine.¡± Then he grimaced. ¡°Although my warrior class hasn¡¯t been making that much progress. I wish gunner was a class. I¡¯m good with a gun, but there¡¯s no such thing in the Tower.¡±


    ¡°Even if you don¡¯t have much talent as a fighter, you¡¯re a pretty good crafter,¡± Catherine said, looking into the pot on the campfire to check what was in it.


    Anthony blinked and then gained a broad grin. ¡°Ah, so my lady does love me after all! Those earlier comments must¡¯ve been jokes, how foolish of me to misinterpret your words. I¡¯m overjoyed to know that my affections are returned.¡±


    She scowled. ¡°Forget I said anything.¡±


    Anthony chuckled as he stood up and began serving the stew that was in the pot into bowls. He handed a bowl and spoon to both Liliana and Catherine, then gave them a fancy bow.


    ¡°Bon app¨¦tit, my ladies.¡±


    They looked into the bowls, to see¡­ what had been their staple food of boiled preserved meat and vegetables, the exact same thing they had had for the past few weeks. Catherine glared at him, but sighed and dug into her food.


    Conlan raised an eyebrow. ¡°Where¡¯s mine?¡±


    ¡°Ladies first,¡± Anthony said with a smug grin. ¡°Unless you want me to consider you a lady as well?¡±


    Conlan shook his head wryly and served some for himself. They ate in silence for a while, and eventually put their bowls down on the ground once they were empty.


    ¡°When should we fight it?¡± Catherine asked first.


    Liliana watched Conlan frown slightly, rubbing his chin as he considered it.


    ¡°I think¡­¡± He continued thinking, then nodded. ¡°Three days should be good. We¡¯ve fully explored the cavern connected to the entrance, and the miasma has thinned enough that we won¡¯t be getting any monsters close to our levels spawning. Three days would give us a good break and a chance to check our inventory again. We also need to pack up the camp.¡±


    The three of them nodded. ¡°Sounds good,¡± Anthony said. ¡°Then I¡¯ll start finishing off my stuff for the next few days. Time to say good riddance to this Dungeon.¡±


    ¡­


    -3 days later-


    The plank of wood under the red-blonde-haired man¡¯s foot creaked, and he winced. ¡°You know¡­¡± Anthony said, ¡°Are you sure this thing is safe?¡±


    ¡°The Dungeon Core wants to kill us to convert our bodies into mana to strengthen itself,¡± Conlan replied calmly, standing in front of the rope bridge leading across the gap up to the door. ¡°It won¡¯t make it impossible for us to get to it, otherwise it can¡¯t gain our mana.¡±


    ¡°Great, so I¡¯m once again reminded of the fact that we¡¯re intentionally heading towards something that wants to eat us,¡± Anthony muttered.


    ¡°If you want, Anthony, I could go first,¡± Liliana volunteered.


    With a thoughtful look, he glanced back at her, then at the bridge, appearing like he was contemplating the idea. He coughed and straightened up. ¡°Uh¡­ no, no, how dare I let a girl go before me. No, I shall brave the dangers of this bridge first.¡± He slowly took one step onto the next plank of wood, then another, and then another.


    With an evil grin, Catherine came up to the bridge and stomped a foot on the end to shake the bridge.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Anthony exclaimed. ¡°Don¡¯t do that!¡±


    Catherine snickered as Conlan sighed. ¡°Please guys, we want to get this over and done with.¡±


    Eventually, Anthony managed to cross without harm. Liliana nodded to Conlan. ¡°Then I¡¯ll go next.¡±


    With quick, light steps, she made it across, far quicker than Anthony had. He looked a bit sour because of that.


    Conlan was the next to cross the bridge. The armour he was wearing made him heavier than Anthony or her, but he safely crossed it. They all turned to wait for the final member of their party.


    ¡°Alright Cathy, it¡¯s your turn!¡± Liliana yelled.


    But the redhead paled and then gulped as she came towards the edge, looking very nervous as the realisation that she now had to do it dawned on her. ¡°Uh¡­ um¡­ right. My turn.¡±


    She slowly placed a foot on the first step and tried to put her body weight on it. The wood let out a groan that made her hastily step back. ¡°Uh, I¡¯m beginning to think this isn¡¯t safe anymore. What if it breaks all of a sudden?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll be fine, Cathy!¡± Liliana cheered. ¡°You can do it!¡±


    Catherine grimaced, and tried again, but quickly stepped back when it creaked once more. ¡°No, I really don¡¯t think I can do this¡­¡±


    Liliana tried to think of how to help Catherine while Anthony stayed off to the side, but before she could do anything, Conlan stepped forward.


    ¡°We need you to do this, Cathy,¡± he said. ¡°We can¡¯t complete the Dungeon without you coming over here.¡±


    ¡°But I-¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no choice,¡± he interrupted her. ¡°You have to come over here.¡±


    Catherine glanced between the bridge and Conlan, looking uneasy. ¡°Maybe we could leave the Dungeon here? We can probably reach Level 90 in other ways¡­¡±


    ¡°Catherine, you¡¯d be disappointing the other members of the party if you did that,¡± he stated shortly. ¡°We decided to complete this Dungeon weeks ago, and now you¡¯re going to change your mind all of a sudden?¡±


    She went wide-eyed and shook her head. ¡°No, I-¡±


    ¡°Then please come over here,¡± Conlan said.


    Liliana shared a look with Anthony. She knew Anthony didn¡¯t actually mind whether they fully completed the Dungeon or not, and she hadn¡¯t actually stated her mind one way or another.


    But Catherine glanced at Liliana, Conlan, and Anthony, and seemed to decide how they would feel about backing out all on her own. She grimaced again and slowly began to make her way across the bridge. At one point when she was over the middle of the bridge, it shook slightly, making her go pale, but Catherine clung tightly and continued after it stopped moving. When she finally crossed the bridge, her limbs were trembling.


    Liliana quickly came up to her and hugged her. ¡°Great Job, Cathy!¡±


    Anthony smiled at her as Catherine nodded shakily, stealing glances at Conlan.


    Conlan smiled and patted her on the shoulder. ¡°Good job.¡±


    It seemed that was all the reassurance Catherine needed because she quickly recovered and smiled back. ¡°Thanks.¡±


    They took a few minutes for her to get ready again, and continued through the open door, green-brown monster miasma coiling around their feet. Conlan held up the small mana lamp they had bought for the trip, trying to see around them as he led their group. They had their weapons in hand, ready for anything.


    The surface of the floor was completely smooth, with no tunnels or chasms to be seen. It appeared like a vast room, although once when Anthony accidentally kicked a stone, it skittered off into the darkness to sound like it hit metal. The monster miasma thickened as they walked. It continued that way for the next half hour, their exploration progress rapidly ticking up.


    [Mystical Realm Event: Dungeon of the Cursed Gem Mine]


    [Exploration Progress +1%]


    [New! Exploration Progress: 90%]


    ¡°Where¡¯s the Boss Monster?¡± Catherine asked in a hushed whisper.


    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know,¡± Conlan replied, ¡°But it¡¯s sure to appear eventually. The last 10% of a Dungeon is always the Boss room.¡±


    The silence went on as their exploration progress increased by 1% again. Then Conlan abruptly stopped, and they stopped as well.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Anthony asked.


    Conlan gestured to them to keep silent, and he crouched to let the light reveal a large, brass structure of some kind, embedded with jewels, on the ground. The jewels were dull and appeared like rocks, with none of their normal spectacular sheen to be seen. The metal seemed to merge and fuse with grey stone along its length, the bronze plates buckled and bolted at random intervals.


    ¡°Oh¡­ great.¡± Conlan sighed. ¡°This isn¡¯t what I wanted.¡±


    ¡°Conlan?¡± Liliana asked curiously. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    He stood up. ¡°It¡¯s an earth element symbiont. A symbiont is a monster that absorbs materials to strengthen itself,¡± he explained. ¡°Which means that-¡±


    RUMBLE!


    All of a sudden, the earth began shifting beneath their feet, and the gems on the stone-metal structure lit up in a staggered order. An ominous red glow emanated from a gem the size of their heads above them, and they heard the grating of metal. The cavern was flooded with light to reveal a haphazardly assembled metal roof structure, brass beams bolted and melded with each other at different points.


    And in front of them was a giant vaguely humanoid creature made of stone and metal, with no neck and its ¡®face¡¯ a round sphere that contained the red ¡®eye¡¯ of the monster, surrounded by a ring of metal. Its unwieldy fists were covered in bronze, mimicking gauntlets and twisted beams of iron joined to its back stretched out like metal whips and tentacles. In the centre of its chest, a black gem shone with malevolent light, projecting distorted black runes into the air that released a sound faintly reminiscent of screaming. A hazy aura of green and brown monster essence swam about it.


    [Dungeon Boss: Lesser Cursed Iron Symbiont ¨C Lvl. 99]


    [HP: 15000/15000 {+122.7/1m}]


    ¡°¡­ It¡¯s stronger than normal,¡± Conlan finished.

 Chapter 46 (2 of 2) Demon, Dungeon and Delivery.

    They stayed completely still as the monster seemed to ¡®look¡¯ from one person to the other, the ring of metal around its red gem whirring and clicking. Then the gem began to slowly glow brighter.


    ¡°Er¡­ this is just a thought, but Conlan¡­¡± Anthony began, ¡°How do tunnel borer machines work in this realm?¡±


    ¡°¡­they melt stone to form tunnels,¡± Conlan said in a low voice.


    All of a sudden, a loud high-pitched screaming sound emanated from the monster. Conlan¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°DODGE!¡±


    They dived to either side as a beam of searing fire mana shot out from the red gem, liquifying the ground where they had stood only moments before. Aware that the battle had now begun, they all split up into their positions, Conlan as the main tank, Liliana as a long-range attacker, Catherine as the secondary front liner, and Anthony to fill in the gaps in their team, his abilities being very different from the rest of them.


    Conlan dashed forward and struck a leg of the symbiont with his longsword.


    [-150 Damage]


    ¡°Great, its CON focused,¡± he muttered. He stepped back to avoid the wide swipe of the monster.


    Now that Conlan had gotten the creature¡¯s attention, Liliana was ready to begin attacking it herself. Quickly holding up her bow, she pulled the string taught and launched her magic metal-tipped arrows towards the monster, the metal enchanted to do x2 more damage.


    The three arrows lodged themselves in the gaps in the monster¡¯s makeshift armour but hardly did anything.


    [-50 Damage]


    [-50 Damage]


    [-50 Damage]


    [Dungeon Boss: Lesser Cursed Iron Symbiont ¨C Lvl. 99]


    [HP: 14700/15000 {+122.7/1m}]


    Catherine struck out with her flame-covered spear, the metal turning red where the flames grazed it.


    [-200 Damage]


    ¡°Hey! I told you you¡¯ll draw aggro if you don¡¯t time your attack!¡± Conlan shouted.


    ¡°My bad!¡± she said with an evil grin as she ducked under the metal beam swinging towards her.


    As Liliana readied her next shower of arrows, Conlan deflected a twisted whip of metal and struck the black gem in the centre of the symbiont¡¯s chest. The distorted screaming sound grew louder, and a flash of black pushed back his blade.


    He clicked his tongue. ¡°We need to disable one of its main weapons! I don¡¯t like the look of that curse!¡± he called out. ¡°Anthony!¡±


    ¡°Already on it!¡± the man replied. Anthony dodged the metal beam heading towards him and threw a strange sort of metal net over the monster¡¯s ¡®head¡¯. Small orbs within the net stuck to the monster and the glow of the red gem decreased slightly, but still slowly began to brighten as it readied itself for another beam of fire mana.


    ¡°They¡¯re supposed to drain mana but they¡¯re not made for monster mana!¡± Anthony said. ¡°It¡¯ll only delay the attack!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s enough!¡± Conlan called back. His blade lit up with a golden haze as he activated his light-element sword skill. ¡°Incomplete Mana-Blade ¨C Light!¡±


    The glowing sword struck the massive fist of the symbiont heading towards him.


    [-900 Damage]


    [Dungeon Boss: Lesser Cursed Iron Symbiont ¨C Lvl. 99]


    [HP: 13656/15000 {+122.7/1m}]


    ¡°If we keep this up we¡¯ll be good!¡± Conlan said.


    He got shouts of affirmation in return, and they kept up their shower of attacks. Occasionally the high-pitched noise from the monster would begin again, and they would quickly dodge the stone-melting beam fired at them. But they still had yet to see what the curse would do when it was finally cast.


    Anthony regularly threw out several small bombs and other devices he had made with his blacksmithing class, his warrior class just enough for him to last in combat without protection. Liliana began coating her arrows with water mana, the elemental reaction with the monster¡¯s fire mana-charged gem allowing her to do more damage.


    Eventually, they whittled its HP down to the halfway point.


    [Dungeon Boss: Lesser Cursed Iron Symbiont ¨C Lvl. 99]


    [HP: 7499/15000 {+122.7/1m}]


    ¡°Halfway done!¡± Conlan shouted. ¡°Be careful though, because when a Dungeon Boss feels threatened it-¡±


    Suddenly, the black gem in the chest of the symbiont released an ominous black light, and the curse runes distorted and blew up to larger sizes. The air crackled with near-palpable magical tension as the monster activated its second ability.


    BOOM!


    A wave of dark mana burst out from the symbiont and washed over them all, sending prickling pain through their bodies as the dark mana conflicted with their affinities. Conlan was hit harder, being the person closest to the gem and the one with an affinity for light, and his limbs trembled when he felt the dark mana, but he firmly gripped his weapon.


    The dark curse mana faded, revealing the symbiont¡¯s metal plating to be covered by the curse runes and its red gem slowly heating up again to fire at them, but nothing else had happened. No pain nor strange effect could be felt by them.


    They traded glances and Liliana opened her mouth to say something. But nothing came out. Her eyes widened and she watched as the others tried to say something too, but couldn¡¯t. They were silenced. Conlan looked at her and Catherine and then held up his hand to sign using the Navy¡¯s hand signals.


    ¡®Liliana, go help Anthony,¡¯ he told her. He signed something to Catherine and they began attacking the monster again.


    Liliana moved over to Anthony, helping him fend off the twisted beams of the creature with a few arrows here and there. She knew Anthony couldn¡¯t signal to anyone as he didn¡¯t know the Navy¡¯s hand signals, so she aided him in attacking the monster and prevented his situation from getting too difficult.


    Closer to the monster, which had begun to show a few chips in its stone and metal body, Catherine was still fighting. But her spearhead¡¯s flames had dimmed and were flickering slowly, their vibrant intensity gone. Catherine looked pale and was breathing heavily.


    Liliana knew Catherine didn¡¯t do well with protracted battles. Her strengths lay in quick battles and a fierce outpouring of attacks, her movement speed increased by her second affinity for wind. Unfortunately, when up against a monster with high CON such as the symbiont, she grew tired quickly.


    Then the ear-piercingly loud scream of the fire gem released from the monster, quicker than it had the last few times. The beam of fire mana shot out early, flying towards Catherine, who had a delayed reaction because of her tiredness.


    Conlan noticed and grimaced, before dashing towards her. He grabbed Catherine and dodged the beam, throwing her to the side. Then he whirled around and ran back towards the monster. His golden mana surrounded him and formed the temporary battle aura he had used in the Navy.


    That made Liliana worried because Conlan had told them that the aura had a long cooldown. He wouldn¡¯t be able to use it for the next few weeks if he didn¡¯t want to overdraw his mana and hurt himself. But as his blade struck the side of the symbiont, it was clear it was working.


    [-2700 Damage]


    [Dungeon Boss: Lesser Cursed Iron Symbiont ¨C Lvl. 99]


    [HP: 2999/15000 {+122.7/1m}]


    The large amount of damage made the monster release a loud roaring noise and fiery cracks spread out from the red gem on its head. The heat from its body distorted the air around it and the edges of Conlan¡¯s battle aura warped. He grimaced and quickly stepped back.


    As the monster took another swipe at Conlan, Liliana raised her bow and tried to shoot a few arrows imbued with water mana at it to do some more damage, but the amount of fire mana emanating from the creature was enough to disperse what little added help her mana did to the arrows.


    [-25 Damage]


    [-18 Damage]


    [-21 Damage]


    The arrows didn¡¯t stay in the symbiont, bouncing off of it. Anthony tried to run forward and do some damage with his longsword but had to step back, the heat being too strong for him.


    Catherine noticed that they weren¡¯t getting anywhere, as Conlan was preoccupied with defending against the monster¡¯s physical attacks, and gritted her teeth. With a sudden flare of more fire mana, her hair flickered with windswept flames and she charged forward again.


    The air vibrated in some way to let them know she had activated a skill, but what skill was unknown as the silencing curse was still active.


    Conlan glanced at her and his eyes widened. He hastily tried to sign to her. ¡®No, Cathy, don¡¯t-¡¯


    [-1000 Damage]


    The flaming spearhead collided with the monster¡¯s black curse gem and it let out a mechanical roar. The dark and fire mana flashed and crackled as red and black mana twisted about the symbiont. Screaming black runes that had been there from the very beginning let out a horrendous screech before fading, the dark mana dissipating. The monster went still.


    Catherine, swaying slightly from exertion with her hand struggling to keep its grip on her spear, gave a grin of victory.


    Then the creature bellowed and its entire brown-green monstrous aura turned a searingly bright red, the stone melting beneath its glowing stone feet. Fire mana radiated off of it as it leapt forward with violent strength, bounding towards Catherine with steps that shook the cave.


    Catherine was too tired to run away from the monster, and Liliana watched in horror as the symbiont attempted to grab the redhead in one of its glowing heated claws.


    But Anthony quickly dashed forward and swung his sword at the claw to deflect the monster, shoving her out of the way. The monster angered that its prey had been taken from it, roughly shoved into Anthony, sending him flying with an audible crack as his arm snapped to crash into the wall of the cave, unconscious.


    Conlan took that moment to launch himself up and stab his sword into the back of the monster.


    [-2500 Damage]


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    [Dungeon Boss: Lesser Cursed Iron Symbiont ¨C Lvl. 99]


    [HP: 503/15000 {+122.7/1m}]


    The monster twisted its head to look at Conlan and faced its red gem directly at his face, the gem glowing orange as it prepared to fire its melting ray at the man¡¯s face. But somehow, whether it was due to mana exhaustion or damage, or some other reason unknown to them, the gem flickered off and failed to activate.


    Conlan didn¡¯t waste a moment and raised a mana-clad fist to punch the gem of the symbiont.


    SMASH!


    [-550 Damage]


    [Dungeon Boss: Lesser Cursed Iron Symbiont ¨C Lvl. 99]


    [HP: 0/15000 {+122.7/1m}]


    [User Conlan Griffin has slain Lesser Cursed Iron Symbiont ¨C Lvl. 99]


    [Dungeon Boss of the Dungeon of the Cursed Gem Mine has been killed]


    [Exploration Progress +5%]


    [New! Exploration Progress: 99%]


    The symbiont crashed to the ground. Its cracked stone pieces fell apart, the disjointed metal plates falling to the ground. The heat from it disappeared and the air vibrated again as they received varying levels of experience equivalent to their contribution, increasing their levels. They felt dark mana dissipate from inside their bodies, the silencing curse removed.


    Catherine, Conlan and Liliana all took a moment to register the death of the monster, breathing heavily. Liliana ran forward to help Catherine up, who used her spear to support herself. Conlan, still wary, raised his blade and looked around to check for any other monsters, but when a few minutes had gone by and nothing else was there, he sighed heavily and sheathed his sword. He glanced at Catherine, then Liliana, and then Anthony.


    ¡°Liliana, go check on Anthony,¡± he ordered.


    She quickly nodded and ran over to the man, who seemed to be bleeding and had his skin badly burnt on his broken arm. However, she could tell he wasn¡¯t permanently hurt, and could probably be healed with a potion. She took one out of the pouch on her belt and poured it into his mouth.


    Anthony spluttered as his consciousness returned, and the air around his broken arm and where he had his cuts glowed briefly before dimming. Liliana could tell the arm hadn¡¯t completely healed by the way the man winced as he moved it, but he was at least able to move.


    ¡°Not my most amazing experience,¡± he said with a chuckle.


    ¡°Do you think you can get up?¡± Liliana asked him.


    He nodded, so she stepped back to let him stand. They both walked back over to Conlan, who was investigating the walls of the cave for some reason, while Catherine sat down on the ground, taking a break.


    ¡°Conlan? What is it?¡± Liliana asked curiously.


    ¡°I¡¯m looking for¡­¡± He paused and nodded. ¡°Here it is.¡± Flicking a lever that was hidden behind some rocks, the cave rumbled for a second, before rocks suddenly came falling down above their heads.


    [Exploration Progress +1%]


    [New! Exploration Progress: 100%]


    They hurriedly stepped back to see a hatch open up above them, and a series of metal steps extended down, to be used as a ladder to climb up to the next level. The three of them looked at Conlan.


    ¡°Our exploration progress wasn¡¯t 100%, so I figured there must be a hidden area,¡± he explained.


    Catherine slowly stood up and walked over. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t the logical thing be to think we missed a spot earlier in the Dungeon?¡± she asked with a raised eyebrow.


    Conlan glanced between her and the steps and smirked. ¡°But there was a hidden area.¡±


    Catherine considered it but shrugged after a moment. ¡°Sure, whatever I guess.¡± She looked at the steps. ¡°So¡­ do we head up? Or find the core first?¡±


    ¡°We can always find the core later,¡± Conlan replied. ¡°The Dungeon can¡¯t move its core without its Boss Monster.¡± He glanced at Liliana. ¡°I think you should go up first, Lili. Anthony and Catherine should go last, and between you and me, you¡¯re the lightest.¡±


    She nodded and gripped the two railings of the metal steps. Slowly climbing up, she stuck her head into what looked like a crafting workshop of some kind, lit up by dim and grimy mana lamps on the walls. She checked the room for monsters and then walked back over to the entrance to call down, ¡°I think it¡¯s clear!¡±


    The others climbed up, one after the other, and viewed the room curiously. Anthony walked over to a strange metal gauntlet placed on a workbench and played with the knobs and switched on it with interest.


    ¡°Looks like it¡¯s made to shoot a projectile of some kind,¡± he said. ¡°Wonder why they chose a gauntlet for the base.¡±


    ¡°Hey, uh¡­ Conlan, aren¡¯t these cannons?¡± Catherine called from the other side of the room.


    They all looked over and saw the massive metal tubes embedded with gemstones sitting in rows along the edge of the room, some disassembled and missing plates, all of them incomplete or unfinished in some way. They came over and inspected the devices.


    ¡°These definitely look like long-range weapons of some kind,¡± Anthony mused.


    ¡°Is¡­ the Empire supposed to have technology like this?¡± Liliana asked hesitantly.


    Conlan rubbed his chin as he bent to take a closer look inside a cannon. ¡°The dwarves of Rocht¡¯guardes have similar devices, but the Empire¡¯s Battalions didn¡¯t start using them until magic engineers were a thing, I¡¯m pretty sure. Something to do with the difference between dwarven runes and human runes.¡±


    He turned to look at them and placed a hand on the cannon. ¡°But the Coalition is the Empire¡¯s main manufacturer of magical cannons and long-ranged weapons. And because they are such important weapons to the Metal-Borne Coalition¡­ the crafter who made this must¡¯ve been pretty high up in the crafter hierarchy.¡±


    There was a moment of silence as they looked around at the workshop, wondering what that would mean. Conlan eventually shook his head and gestured to the room. ¡°There might be valuable tools, weapons or equipment the guy left here, so let¡¯s check everywhere to see what we can find.¡±


    They nodded and all split up, searching through incomplete machinery and discarded gems to find anything interesting. Liliana spoke up after a few minutes, ¡°Hey, Conlan?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± he replied distractedly, digging through a large wooden chest of sorts.


    ¡°Why would there be a workshop like this in a gem mine?¡± she asked curiously.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. The Adventurer¡¯s Guild said nobody came near this mine for the last 200 years, which was why the Dungeon could return to its full strength after its core was last shattered several centuries ago,¡± Conlan explained. ¡°But the noble family who owned this place became fallen nobles, as you said earlier, so I doubt it will be a problem for us in the long term.¡±


    Conlan looked down at the chest and stopped moving for a second before a broad grin appeared on his face. He pulled out a heavy leather-bound tome and waved it in the air. ¡°Guys, I found something!¡±


    The rest of them came over curiously as Conlan walked over to a workbench and placed the heavy book down. Catherine read the title engraved on the front. ¡°Mana-Charged Metalworker¡¯s Foundational Manual: Ordnance and Artillery? And that is supposed to be¡­ what exactly?¡±


    ¡°Ordnance means military supplies, mainly weapons,¡± Anthony explained. He opened the book to a random page filled with diagrams of weapons and mana-circles. ¡°This is an interesting book.¡±


    ¡°I think this is a crafter¡¯s inheritance journal,¡± Conlan said. They all looked at him as he smiled and explained to them, ¡°This is probably a manual used by the less experienced crafters to evolve their class to a specialised role. The Coalition has the most standardised methods of teaching crafters techniques than anywhere else in the Empire.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ this is valuable?¡± Liliana asked.


    Conlan nodded. ¡°Yes. It contains a section of a completed path of progression. So now we need to decide who this goes to.¡± Conlan glanced at Anthony, who was still reading the book. ¡°But I think this should go to Anthony.¡±


    Liliana and Catherine looked at the man. Anthony blinked and looked up when he saw everyone was staring at him. ¡°Hm? Sorry, what was that? I became a bit too absorbed in the manual when I discovered it has blueprints for several hand-held weapons.¡±


    ¡°Anthony, you said you¡¯re good with guns, right?¡± Conlan asked.


    Anthony rubbed his neck. ¡°I mean¡­ I¡¯ve had some experience with them, yes. I used to practice shooting a lot for fun. My granddad still had a few from before the first break and energy usage became a thing.¡±


    Conlan smiled. ¡°How would you like to have the manual then?¡±


    The man with red-blonde hair stared. ¡°Me? The manual?¡± He looked down at the book on the table. ¡°I¡­ would love to, if I could. The skills and class it gives seem perfect for me.¡± He looked at them. ¡°But doesn¡¯t anyone else want it? I¡¯m not even a permanent party member of yours. We¡¯ll be splitting up after this.¡±


    Liliana and Catherine looked at each other. Catherine shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t care. I¡¯m not the crafting type myself, and I¡¯m not worried about money. Better for it to go to someone who can use it.¡±


    Liliana nodded. ¡°And I think you deserve it after saving Catherine,¡± she said with a smile. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter that you¡¯re not going to be with us permanently.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re still hesitant to accept,¡± Conlan said with a smirk, holding out his hand, ¡°Then let¡¯s make a deal that you join our party permanently once we leave the Navy.¡±


    Anthony glanced between the book and Conlan¡¯s outstretched palm, nodded once, and then shook hands with Conlan. ¡°It¡¯s a deal then.¡±


    Conlan smiled. ¡°Then let¡¯s pack up anything valuable, break the Dungeon Core, and get out of here.¡±


    They all nodded until Catherine hesitated. ¡°Wait¡­ why was the curse of the monster to keep us all silent?¡±


    They traded glances. Liliana thought for a moment. ¡°Don¡¯t you think it was because the young noble who cast the curse tried to get his friend to shut up?¡±


    <hr>


    The forest¡¯s treetops rippled in the soft wind, the dark green undergrowth only filled with the sound of small birds and beasts on the ground. Sunlight of the late afternoon streamed through the trees, and all seemed calm and peaceful, not a thing out of place. In a wide clearing within the forest, a group of armoured men sat, chatting amongst themselves.


    ¡°-and I¡¯ll bet anything that the Guild Master will have Saden¡¯s head when we get back to the Guild Headquarters,¡± said one man with tanned skin and a war axe resting by his side.


    Another man cleaning a bloody longsword on his lap with a rag snorted. ¡°As if Mistguard¡¯s going to let that fly. If Saden even dares to harm his precious little prodigy¡¯s status he¡¯ll threaten to up and quit, and Mistguard¡¯s presence in the Guild this year has expanded it by a whole 30%. Saden wouldn¡¯t risk that.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± the man with a war axe turned to the third member of their group, a heavy-built man with a thick scar going down from his left eye to his jawline. ¡°Sir Firedal, what do you think?¡±


    Firedal raised his eyes from the ground in front of him and gazed solemnly at the two men. ¡°I¡¯d suggest putting more effort into coming up with ways to hide from the Shadow Blade¡¯s detection than discussing what-ifs.¡±


    The men went silent, both grimacing. The man with a war axe scowled and slammed his fist into the ground beside him. ¡°Dammit. So you think the rumours are true? That the King employed the Black Hand for this battle?¡±


    ¡°I saw the envelope informing the Guild branch first-hand,¡± Firedal replied. ¡°Without a doubt, it¡¯s them.¡±


    ¡°Just our luck,¡± the blonde man with a longsword muttered. ¡°Finish the battle with an overwhelming victory, and find out our traitorous little king employed the most famous mercenaries just to stab us in the -¡± He saw a flicker of shadow pass through the treetops and quickly stood up, raising his longsword. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡±


    Nobody responded. The men behind him watched carefully as the blonde-haired man slowly stepped closer to the clearing¡¯s edge, eyes darting from one tree to another.


    ¡°Anything there?¡± the man with the axe asked.


    The blonde-haired man slowly sheathed his longsword. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Seem like there¡¯s not, but-¡±


    A shadow dashed out from the opposite side of the clearing and pounced on him. The man with the axe widened his eyes. ¡°Vard! Watch out-¡±


    Blood spurted out of the back of the blonde man as he collapsed to the ground, dead. The true form of the figure manifested from the shadow and was revealed to be someone completely covered by overlapping light plates of metal, pitch black in colour, their helmet¡¯s visor a sharp downward pointing arrow. Their shoulders were covered by a light cloak that spread out on either side behind them, almost like wings. The end of their cloak drifted with whisps of black smoke as they held their thin silver longsword.


    The axe-wielding warrior stood up and charged forward with his weapon, roaring as he slammed it down onto the figure. The figure¡¯s form rent in two, the darkness splitting into two shadows. They re-coalesced behind the man and their sword sliced through his unprotected neck, beheading him. They turned around to face the final man sitting down on the ground behind them.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think that was a bit cruel? Letting them get betrayed by their Captain as well as their king?¡±


    Firedal gazed solemnly at the figure. ¡°Raven¡¯s Wing.¡±


    The figure stepped forward and flipped up their visor, revealing bright blue eyes. ¡°I¡¯m slightly curious as to what you want, considering you didn¡¯t tell them I was there even though I ran right past you. It¡¯s almost like you wanted to discuss something privately.¡± Their voice seemed to be distorted behind their armour, an enchantment of some kind disguising their identity.


    The man slowly got up as they came closer, guarded but not in a position suggesting he was hostile. ¡°This kingdom¡¯s only a small corner of the realm but my Guild likes being a big fish in a small pond. I¡¯d rather jump ship to somewhere with better prospects.¡± He nodded to them. ¡°I heard someone with a token from the Black Hand is allowed to skip the entrance test.¡±


    They tilted their head. ¡°So, you want my token? But what about you makes giving you one worth it?¡±


    He slowly unsheathed his longsword. ¡°Would you like me to prove myself?¡±


    The figure¡¯s eyes showed they were smiling as they crouched and raised their sword. ¡°That sounds fun.¡±


    A loud clang sounded as their weapons clashed, the armoured figure forcing Firedal back. He gritted his teeth at the unexpected strength and pushed back with a growl, disengaging their weapons. They slowly circled each other for a few seconds before the figure charged forward again. Metal rang against metal as they began to speak casually to the mercenary.


    ¡°So, Firedal was it?¡± they said. They aimed a sharp blow towards the man¡¯s neck and he blocked it with a swipe of his own weapon. ¡°You seem to know who I am.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± he said through clenched teeth, dodging another quick strike from his opponent. ¡°The Black Hand¡¯s Shadow Blade Division became my Guild¡¯s opposition. It¡¯s important as a Captain of my Guild to know who my strongest enemies are.¡±


    ¡°The Guild you¡¯re planning on betraying,¡± they replied, sending a slash towards his side.


    He hissed as he failed to dodge it completely and it left a shallow cut across his skin. ¡°The king betrayed us first. And I was planning on leaving the Guild anyway.¡±


    ¡°Leaving to try to enter the enemy Guild of your own Guild, just because they¡¯re better,¡± the figure commented. They sent a sharp kick towards Firedal¡¯s abdomen and he doubled over, wheezing as the air was knocked out of him.


    ¡°¡­your¡­ ha¡­ point¡­ being¡­?¡± he said, through harsh breaths. He straightened up and readied his sword again. ¡°I never heard of the Black Hand having a moral standpoint.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really have a point. I was just making conversation.¡± The figure abruptly took a few steps back, then tilted their head as they watched him. ¡°Hmm¡­ well, I believe I¡¯ve seen enough of your abilities to make my decision. But I do have to say something.¡±


    With a flicker of black light, they disappeared only to appear right in front of him. Firedal¡¯s eyes widened as he tried to take a step back but they rammed their elbow into his neck with sudden power, revealing that they had never been using their true strength. He fell to the ground on all fours, coughing and spluttering.


    ¡°It¡¯s true that members of the Black Hand receive four tokens to give people during their lives,¡± the figure replied casually. ¡°However, I¡¯ve already given out three of mine. I only have one left, which I don¡¯t want to waste.¡±


    They pointed their blade at Firedal. ¡°And¡­ you don¡¯t make the cut.¡±


    He hastily scrambled back, trying to avoid the weapon. The figure came forward with confident steps and jabbed towards his neck. He raised his sword to block the blade.


    ¡°Wait! Okay, let¡¯s forget about me joining the Black Hand. It¡¯s my Guild badge you want, right?¡± he asked hurriedly. He tore off the metal on his shirt and threw it at their feet. ¡°There, now you can give them that as proof of my death. You don¡¯t need to kill me.¡±


    The figure paused. ¡°That¡¯s a very quick change in attitude. Why are you- oh.¡± They glanced at the badge, then turned back to him. ¡°Ha. I see now. You wanted to kill me to take my token, if you failed to prove yourself to me.¡±


    His face turned white. The voice of the figure turned cold. ¡°Unfortunately for you though, you¡¯re too weak.¡±


    They sent a slash towards the man, the ends of their blade flickering with blue and dark mana. The attack cut him deeply across the chest, killing him instantly. The clearing fell silent as his dark blood leaked into the grass, along with the blood of the other two dead bodies. The other two dead bodies disintegrated into white light.


    The figure walked back to the edge of the clearing and sighed as they removed their helmet, revealing long wavy black hair framing a woman¡¯s face. She glanced at the bodies with disdain. ¡°The Aeternus plane¡¯s Guilds haven¡¯t used nameplates as proof of death in thousands of years. Why use those when we have Quests for authentication?¡± She shook her head and walked into the forest, helmet held under one arm. ¡°These backward planes, honestly.¡±


    She looked up and saw the sun drawing closer to the horizon. She replaced her helmet. ¡°Time to head back,¡± she murmured to herself.


    ¡­


    ¡°-Barbosas, even if you¡¯re her sibling, I can¡¯t just give you the letter meant for her.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯m telling you that I¡¯m basically an honorary member of the Guild, so why can¡¯t you just let me read it already?!¡±


    ¡°No, Mr. Barbosas, the point is that even if you were already part of the Guild, we are not allowed to hand out personal letters to anyone other than the one they¡¯re addressed to!¡±


    In a large hall, many people were paying attention to the argument occurring between one man and a woman. The woman, wearing a uniform and seated behind a desk like many of the other staff in the hall, was gazing exasperatedly at the man who had his hands slammed down on the desk, glaring at her. The man in his had messy nut-brown hair, green eyes and a spear strapped to his back.


    When it was obvious the woman wouldn¡¯t budge, he groaned and stepped back from the table. ¡°Come on, Larena never gets any letters! You can¡¯t just tell me that someone came to the Black Hand¡¯s branch in this city and delivered a letter for her, then not tell me what it¡¯s about!¡±


    The woman sighed. ¡°Please just wait until your sister is back to read the letter, Mr. Barbosas.¡±


    He clicked his tongue. ¡°Larena took on a mission this morning. She might not be back for a few days yet.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m proud to know you have such high expectations of my abilities, Garthe,¡± said a sarcastic voice.


    They turned to see a woman dressed in dark plate metal coming closer, a helmet held under her arm. Larena came up to the desk and placed an arm on it as she faced the clerk. ¡°So, what has my brother been nagging you about this time?¡±


    ¡°A courier from the Aeternus plane delivered a letter for you,¡± the clerk explained. She pulled out a key from her dimensional inventory and unlocked a drawer of the desk. Then she picked up the thick envelope with a blue seal of an insignia of three coins on the front. She handed it over to Larena.


    ¡°From the Aeternus plane?¡± Larena looked at the letter curiously. ¡°This looks like it¡¯s from the Alichanteu of the Commission.¡±


    ¡°Why would they be contacting you?¡± Garthe asked, coming up beside her and trying to see the letter better.


    Larena shoved him away and opened the letter, using a bit of dark mana to undo the seal. ¡°I don¡¯t know, so let me read this first.¡±


    She went quiet for a moment as she read it. Then she smiled. ¡°It¡¯s from Efratel.¡±


    ¡°Efratel?¡± Garthe blinked and looked over her shoulder to read the letter. Then he pointed to a line on the page. ¡°Hang on, doesn¡¯t that say¡­ ¡®Lucille¡¯¡­?¡±


    They fell silent, read the line, and then traded glances. Then suddenly, Garthe gained a broad grin and raised his arms in the air. ¡°We¡¯re going to be rich!¡±


    Larena whacked the side of his head. ¡°Just because she¡¯s now his sponsor doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯re going to be able to use her money. But this outer plane¡­ I like the sound of this,¡± she said as she read the letter again.


    Garthe nodded. ¡°And it would make up for you rejecting the Shadow Blade Captain¡¯s offer of coming with her to aid the Genest Duchy¡¯s expedition on that dark elemental plane. I still don¡¯t get why you ever rejected it. The dark element natural treasures would¡¯ve increased your strength massively.¡±


    She gave him a dismissive wave. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, especially as it means we can now do this. Because this outer plane event has been offered to other nobles, I¡¯m sure some of them have already commissioned missions from the Black Hand for this.¡± She turned around and walked away. ¡°I¡¯m going to check out these other missions¡¯ details to collect information, then I¡¯ll work on clearing my schedule for this meeting we¡¯re having with the others.¡± Larena glanced back. ¡°I assume you¡¯re taking his offer too?¡±


    Garthe smirked and crossed his arms. ¡°Of course. What adventurer would ever give up a chance to explore an abandoned plane¡¯s ancient ruins?¡±

 Chapter 47 (1 of 2) Synchronous Terminal And Generation Engine Simulations

    ¡°So, now that we¡¯re back in Gilded Seat, will you tell me what happened between you and the Archduke?¡±


    Lucille furrowed her brows but kept looking out of the window of the carriage, distractedly tapping her fingers against her seat in a rhythmic pattern. She didn¡¯t respond to her aide.


    Vincent sighed and crossed his arms. ¡°Lucy, whatever it is that has been making you act like this since the end of the banquet, as your aide and the aide of the Aurelian Commission Head, I need you to tell me.¡± He frowned at her. ¡°This is about the Archduke, one of the Empire¡¯s seven Sovereign Dukes. If this becomes a major political issue¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not,¡± she suddenly announced, turning back to him.


    Vincent blinked at the strangely quick reply but raised an eyebrow. ¡°Then what is it?¡±


    She let out a small groan as she pressed on her temples with both hands. ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± She sighed and tilted her head back to rest it against the wall of the carriage behind her. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ not a political issue. It is¡­ something personal.¡±


    ¡°Personal¡­?¡± Vincent asked quizzically. ¡°In what way?¡±


    Lucy hesitated but resigned herself to telling Vincent something to get him off her back. ¡°When I went to meet with the Archduke¡­ I realised I¡¯ve met him before¡­¡± She grimaced. ¡°And I wasn¡¯t supposed to realise that.¡±


    Vincent gazed at her strangely. ¡°You¡¯ve¡­ met him before?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°When we met I was unaware of his identity. He was aware of who I was, of course, but¡­ when we met again I recognised him. In other words, I was never meant to find out he was the Archduke¡­¡±


    ¡°But where did you meet?¡± Vincent asked. He scowled at her when she pressed her lips together and returned to looking out the window. ¡°Lucille¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not avoiding telling you because I want to, Vincent,¡± she said, glancing back at him. ¡°This pertains to one of the Archduke¡¯s secrets. One of the Eternal Duchies¡¯ secrets.¡± She crossed her arms. ¡°He didn¡¯t want me to know, so I¡¯m not bringing anyone else into this, because they would definitely not be meant to know. I¡¯m not going to risk revealing his secret to you.¡±


    Vincent went silent, looking pensive. Eventually, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll accept remaining unaware for now. But how does this impact you?¡± he asked seriously. ¡°Is he hostile now?¡±


    Lucy considered it deeply but shook her head. ¡°He¡¯s not. He might take advantage of this to ask me to do some things, but he wouldn¡¯t push it too much in case I revealed his secret to someone.¡±


    Not that Lucille would ever risk such a thing. She doubted anyone would believe her because of the Association Limiter protecting him, anyway.


    Vincent frowned. ¡°Ask you to do something?¡±


    ¡°Things like aiding a political venture of his or similar.¡± She looked out the window again. ¡°Considering he¡¯s mostly well-liked and passive in the eyes of the Empire, while also being part of the neutral faction, I don¡¯t believe it will be dangerous or disadvantageous for me to help him.¡±


    ¡°But did you manage to arrange the deal you met with him to negotiate in the first place?¡± Vincent asked, raising an eyebrow.


    She grimaced. ¡°No.¡±


    Vincent sighed but before they could continue the conversation the carriage pulled to a stop in front of the Commission¡¯s Headquarters. They got out and entered the building.


    ¡°So, what plans do you have now?¡± Vincent asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll set some events in order, and then in three days Scytale and I will head to the Beast Realm to-¡±


    Lucy was interrupted by a silvery winged snake that came slithering into the hall.


    ¡°Hey! Lucy! You¡¯re back! What happened? I couldn¡¯t send a message to you because you were too far away, but I could still feel your emotions leaking through to my side, and something got you real freaked out, so what- hm?¡±


    Scytale hesitated as he noticed Lucy¡¯s expression. Vincent blinked and looked at Lucille when he saw Scytale¡¯s strange reaction. Lucy had her arms crossed as she stared at the snake, not blinking.


    ¡°Wait¡­ I know that look¡­ you¡¯re about to show me something I really don¡¯t want to see, aren¡¯t you?¡± Scytale said with eyes narrowed in suspicion. He backed away as he flared his wings in front of him. ¡°No, Lucy, don¡¯t tell me it, whatever it is, don¡¯t-¡±


    Lucy ruthlessly shoved her memories of her encounter with the Archduke into Scytale¡¯s head and he recoiled in horror.


    ¡°No! I don¡¯t want to know that! Get it out! Erase my memories now!¡± He hastily shook his head from side to side as if that would do something about his new knowledge. ¡°That¡¯s terrifying! Let me live in blissful ignorance, please!¡±


    ¡°No. You get to live with the knowledge of that secret because you got to stay here enjoying the peace while I went to the banquet,¡± Lucy stated flatly, walking past the snake.


    ¡°You¡¯re holding a grudge because of that?!? I¡¯m not a noble! I couldn¡¯t come!¡±


    Lucille ignored his complaints, heading into the lift while the snake whinged about what Lucy had shown him.


    And Vincent was beginning to think that maybe it was best he remained in ignorance after seeing Scytale¡¯s reaction.


    ¡­


    -3 days later-


    Lucy stretched her arms above her head and then looked down at the shiny winged snake on her right. She was wearing her black and brown adventurer gear, Apophis and Ouroboros sheathed on either side of her waist. The dimensional bag was tied firmly to her belt.


    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s get to Level 10, and complete these stages,¡± she said to her bond.


    Scytale nodded. ¡°Yup! I¡¯ve been itching to get them done for ages!¡±


    Lucy smirked. ¡°Yes, well, considering the realm the first ten stages are based on, you¡¯d be right at home.¡±


    ¡°Any User always likes the stages of their home realm,¡± Scytale said. He slyly flickered his tongue. ¡°And I bet you¡¯re going to looove the Beast Realm¡¯s stages too.¡±


    Lucille shook her head wryly, aware of what he was hinting at. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the Beast Realm.¡±


    They entered the Obelisk of Gilded Seat they were standing in front of, appearing in the clear box high above the city.


    Lucy called out to the System, ¡°Open Obelisk Directory.¡±


    [Directory: ]


    <ol>


    <li>Beast Realm</li>


    <li>Demon Realm</li>


    <li>Tartarus Realm</li>


    <li>Mystical Realm</li>


    <li>Heavenly Realm</li>


    </ol>


    [ ]


    [You have 2 uses available. The next one will be gained on January the 1<sup>st</sup>.]


    She selected the [Beast Realm], as Scytale did the same with his own Directory. She crossed her arms. ¡°Where should we go?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no point trying to find some special valuable Lair or something. We just want to get to Level 10 and re-enter the Obelisk,¡± Scytale said. ¡°I reckon we just go to one of the lower-ranked regions.¡±


    She nodded and scrolled down the list. ¡°Give me a minute and I¡¯ll find somewhere.¡±


    After a few seconds, she looked at Scytale. ¡°How about this one? The Daylight Forest Region ranked in the bottom thousand for strength. Forest regions typically have normal monsters without affinities for mid-level elements and have low levelled ones.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good enough to me. Let¡¯s do it,¡± he replied.


    Lucy nodded and tapped on the region. Scytale tapped on the region in his own Directory, and they both scattered into fractured light.


    ¡­


    As was likely where the region got its name from, the forest was thin with light foliage, allowing the sunlight to stream down through the branches. Dead leaves and branches crunched underneath Lucille¡¯s boots as they were crushed under Scytale¡¯s scales.


    ¡°How do we want to do this then?¡± Scytale asked.


    Lucy hummed as she looked around the forest. They were following a trail that led deeper into the trees. ¡°Well, this will be the first time I ever use Apophis and Ouroboros in combat, so whatever we choose to do has to be simple. It needs to be a weak target too, as I won¡¯t be able to assign the stats from my new levels in any way.¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯d be pretty capable of blocking an attack if it comes your way,¡± Scytale said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t doubt it, especially with your Primal Descendant skill,¡± Lucy replied, looking up at the trees. ¡°But Ouroboros might be just as capable of shielding me from damage as you are.¡±


    ¡°How- oh, her shield skill? I forgot about that.¡± Then Scytale titled his head. ¡°Wait a second¡­ would monster skills even damage you? Because you still have that pseudo-invulnerability thing going on.¡±


    Lucy blinked and looked down at her bond. ¡°No, that only applies to  magic cast by Users. The System has to be involved somehow.¡± She looked around again. ¡°The only reason I have that ¡®invulnerability¡¯ effect is due to the System struggling to calculate damage between another User¡¯s spells and my own fake stats. Monster abilities would still affect me because I¡¯m not immune to mana or spiritual energy.¡±


    Lucille started walking forward again. ¡°But regardless, it would be best to reduce any chance of needing Ouroboros, as I still haven¡¯t begun learning to fight with the weapons.¡± She looked down at the daggers on her belt. ¡°It¡¯s possible I might not use their true forms while fighting.¡±


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Scytale nodded. ¡°So¡­ can you see any monsters with your perception field?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± She stepped over a fallen log. ¡°There¡¯s a few Armoured Formicidae around the corner.¡±


    He was silent for a moment. ¡°¡­ ants?¡±


    She raised an eyebrow at Scytale¡¯s reluctant tone. ¡°Scytale, we¡¯re not fighting a pack of Direwolves for our first fight.¡±


    ¡°I get that, but¡­¡± He reared up and flapped his wings. ¡°They¡¯re ants! Who wants to go fight ants to level up? What kind of battle would that be? Let''s go squash insects to gain powerful magical abilities, yay!¡±


    Lucy sighed. ¡°Scytale, you¡¯ve forgotten what Armoured Formicidae are, haven¡¯t you?¡±


    He hesitated. ¡°Uh¡­ I didn¡¯t think I had, but something about your tone is making me question my memory now¡­¡±


    She shook her head wryly. ¡°Just wait a few minutes. You¡¯ll see what you¡¯ve forgotten soon enough.¡±


    After a while, they rounded a bend in the trail. Lucy stopped and pointed. ¡°There, you see?¡±


    Scytale squinted his golden eyes. ¡°See what? All I see are the promised ants, and they look completely¡­ normal¡­..¡±


    The trio of monstrous ants came slightly closer to them, revealing themselves fully. Covered in hard black exoskeletons with strange multicoloured sacks attached to their barbed legs and abdomens with stings, the meter-high ants communicated to each other with high-pitched squeaks and clicks of their mandibles. Their antennae reached up another half metre above their heads, bringing their total heights to 1.5 metres.


    ¡°Armoured Formicidae are a species of giant ant,¡± Lucy stated, crossing her arms. ¡°Please don¡¯t underestimate insects the size of Great Danes, Scytale.¡±


    ¡°¡­ okay. Right.¡± He shifted his wings as he got ready to launch himself towards them. ¡°So, our plan of attack?¡±


    Lucy unsheathed the two daggers and crouched. ¡°Let me go first. They¡¯ll think I¡¯m an easy target because of my low mana, and probably won''t attack all at once. Let me get a handle on using the two blades, and then you join the fight when the other two begin attacking.¡±


    He nodded as she waited for when the three monsters were beginning to walk away. Then, she crept forward, trying to keep her footsteps as soft as possible so the ants didn¡¯t pick up on the vibration. Focusing on the shard brought up their information.


    [Lesser Armoured Formicidae ¨C Lvl. 6]


    [HP: 1550/1550 {+39.4/5m}]


    [Lesser Armoured Formicidae ¨C Lvl. 5]


    [HP: 1450/1450 {+38.1/5m}]


    [Lesser Armoured Formicidae ¨C Lvl. 5]


    [HP: 1350/1350 {+36.7/5m}]


    A few seconds later, the weakest ant, the one at the back, lifted its antennae and turned around to face her. It chittered to the other two as she readied her daggers, and it came forward, clicking its mandibles at her.


    Then it let out a high-pitched screech and charged. The foul sensation of monster mana washed over her as she dived to the side to roll out of its path, the creature leaving a trail of trampled leaves and branches behind it. It whirled around as she stood and held her daggers up again.


    Its antennae waved near her like it was trying to gauge her strength. It chittered again, before opening its mandibles wide and releasing a loud hissing sound. An orb of orange fire mana coalesced between its mandibles as an orange-green sack on one of its legs shrunk.


    She leaned to the side as a blazing fireball hurtled past her and she ran forward, stabbing downwards with Apophis towards its face.


    [- 300 Damage]


    [Lesser Armoured Formicidae ¨C Lvl. 5]


    [HP: 1050/1350 {+36.7/5m}]


    She had been aiming for its neck, but the blade glanced off of the exoskeleton of the ant¡¯s face as it moved. It shook its head and lashed out with a barbed leg towards her own legs.


    Lucille kicked its face before the hit landed and the ant screeched as one of its mandibles was crushed beneath her boot.


    [- 20 Damage]


    Not hesitating to take advantage of the moment, she rammed her knee into its side, making it stumble. She stamped on it to shove its body into the ground, then sat on it to keep it down. She didn¡¯t waste a second and stabbed Ouroboros into its neck behind its head, making it let out a ghastly screech.


    [- 500 Damage]


    [Lesser Armoured Formicidae ¨C Lvl. 5]


    [HP: 532/1350 {+36.7/5m}]


    She stabbed the vital spot twice again, and it died instantly, fluids and monster mana escaping from the cut. The xp flowed into her, with the 1.25 xp gain multiplier from her Regressor Title active.


    [- 300 Damage]


    [- 232 Damage]


    [Lesser Armoured Formicidae ¨C Lvl. 5]


    [HP: 0/1350 {+36.7/5m}]


    [User Lucille Goldcroft has slain Lesser Armoured Formicidae ¨C Lvl. 5]


    [Apophis: +5 xp]


    [Xp: 5/100]


    [Ouroboros: +5 xp]


    [Xp: 5/100]


    [+117 xp]


    [Level Up!]


    [+1 level]


    [+5 Free stat points]


    [User has reached Level 2]


    [Xp: 9/104]


    Behind her, the other two ants screamed and charged forward, but Scytale chose that moment to attack them, his enlarged form bowling them over. He shredded the exoskeleton of one ant¡¯s neck with his fangs, killing it instantly.


    [-1450 Damage]


    [Lesser Armoured Formicidae ¨C Lvl. 5]


    [HP: 0/1450 {+38.1/5m}]


    Scytale then launched himself at the other with wings spread wide to deflect the barbed legs of the insect. He sent his tail swinging to kick the legs out from under the ant.


    [-270 Damage]


    [Lesser Armoured Formicidae ¨C Lvl. 6]


    [HP: 1280/1550 {+39.4/5m}]


    The ant struggled to get up as Scytale moved closer. As Scytale went to bite its neck, the ant¡¯s antennae gained a sickly green substance, which sizzled as it dripped to the ground. The acidic liquid sprayed over Scytale when it lashed out with the antennae, making him hiss.


    [-50 HP]


    [-50 HP]


    [-50 HP]


    [HP: 1350/1500 {+39/5m}]


    Scytale backed away, which gave the ant time to get up again. But off to the side, Lucy had gotten up and decided to shoot a mana orb at the ant.


    [-10 Damage]


    It didn¡¯t reduce its HP much, but it did make the ant stumble again when the orb crashed into one of its legs. It raised its head and screeched at Lucy. Scytale took the chance to launch himself at the ant from the opposite direction, using his fangs to gouge into the ant''s exoskeleton.


    [-270 Damage]


    [Lesser Armoured Formicidae ¨C Lvl. 6]


    [HP: 1000/1550 {+39.4/5m}]


    The ant screeched in pain, but Scytale strengthened his grip on the ant¡¯s neck while wrapping his body around it, crushing it.


    [-260 Damage]


    [-280 Damage]


    [-290 Damage]


    He clenched his jaws and with one final pull he ripped the neck of the ant.


    [-170 Damage]


    [Lesser Armoured Formicidae ¨C Lvl. 6]


    [HP: 0/1550 {+39.4/5m}]


    It collapsed, dead.


    [User Scytale has slain Lesser Armoured Formicidae ¨C Lvl. 5]


    [User Scytale has slain Lesser Armoured Formicidae ¨C Lvl. 6]


    [Scytale has reached Level 2]


    [Scytale has reached Level 3]


    Because of Lucy¡¯s spell, she also gained xp from the fight.


    [+2 xp]


    [Xp: 11/104]


    With all three ants dead, Scytale unwrapped his body from the ant and took a moment to relax slightly, recovering from the exertion. He deactivated his Primal Descendant skill, losing his enhanced STR and CON. His max HP decreased but he kept the same percentage of damage that he had received in his larger form.


    Lucille walked closer and placed her hands on her hips, both daggers sheathed. ¡°Instead of using your Rays of Purity skill, I think we should just wait for you to heal. It will only take fifteen minutes with your current regeneration rate.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Right. We should save my mana for later when we¡¯re fighting more of them.¡±


    Lucy sat down on the ground next to him and pulled out Apophis to study the blade. Scytale noticed and tilted his head.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is something up with the daggers?¡±


    Lucille took out Ouroboros as well and opened the skill sheet of the dagger¡¯s second skill.


    [Skill: Twin Souls: Order | Type: Soul/Link ]


    Desc: Two souls were locked together in abandoned space, with diametrically opposed natures for millennia. Where others may have destroyed each other, these two souls became as close as siblings, and as linked as those by blood. They understood the Supreme Cycle of Chaos and Order, embracing their similarities and differences as one.


    Abilities:


    Supreme Cycle of Chaos and Order ¨C Two comprehended the incomprehensible.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to sense and have a telepathic bond with its soul twin at all times.</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon and its User the ability to be immune to the forces of Chaos or Order. No demonic or spiritual mental influences will affect it or its User.</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to transfer spiritual energy to its soul twin. {Must be used alongside Twin Souls: Chaos, 3<sup>rd</sup>}</li>


    </ul>


    Gargantuan Serpentine Mimicry ¨C The body and jaws of a serpent


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability of independent movement.</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to extend infinitely, as long as the User has energy to support it.</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to extend in width, as long as the User has energy to support it. Ratio: 1/8 weapon¡¯s length.</li>


    </ul>


    Domain of Chaos and Order ¨C Ordered Chaos


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the weapon this skill when within 1km of Soul Twin: Chaos</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon a x5 multiplicative stat effect when this skill is active. ATK, MATK and SATK x5.</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon an x5 multiplicative ability effect when this skill is active. Energy requirements and cooldown ¡Â5. Skill effectiveness x5.</li>


    <li>Gives the weapons the ability to switch places with their soul twins.</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    She read the information of the last activation again. ¡°I was wondering why they only did 300 damage each. I just discovered the issue.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, ¡®only¡¯?¡± Scytale asked. ¡°That¡¯s amazing for a Level 0 sentient weapon. Epic weapons are enough for a warrior to use until the Late Level 400s and these guys are still evolvable. No Level 10 gets to fight with weapons that do 300 ATK.¡±


    She sighed. ¡°Yes, but Scytale, their third activation says their stats are multiplied by five when within one kilometre of each other. I should¡¯ve been doing 1500 damage.¡±


    He looked between the skill information and the weapons. ¡°¡­. Oh. Huh. Okay.¡±


    She grimaced as she looked at them both again. ¡°I think the third activation only works when I¡¯m using their true forms. I can¡¯t use their full potential unless I use their snake-sword forms.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ you probably won¡¯t end up being a dual-dagger-wielding warrior then,¡± Scytale said.


    Lucy shook her head. ¡°Not if I want to be a good fighter. With my stat issues, the power of these two weapons will be my lifeline. These two are the only way I can have strength on par with other warriors of my level.¡± She looked at her bond. ¡°You seemed to deal with the two ants pretty well, considering you had to get used to your weaker strength.¡±


    Scytale nodded energetically. ¡°Oh yeah, the Primal Descendant skill is great. At the Obelisk after we bonded, I added 10 of my free stat points to STR, so with ATK being equal to STR multiplied by five I do 270 ATK on average because my skill multiplies that again by 3.¡±


    She rolled her eyes. ¡°I bet your MATK and SATK are terrible though. How many points do you have in WIS and MENT?¡±


    He fell silent. ¡°¡­9 and 13,¡± he slowly replied.


    Lucy raised an eyebrow. ¡°9 for WIS and 13 for MENT?¡±


    He didn¡¯t reply. She smirked. ¡°You didn¡¯t put any in WIS, and you put only two in MENT, even after I told you to do it to fix your soul. You have a pathetic MATK of 45 and miserly SATK of 65.¡±


    He hissed at her. ¡°Yeah, but at least I have MATK! My 100 MP can do 45 damage per point, but what can you do? 1 MATK for each MP?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to care about that.¡± She unsheathed Apophis and smugly raised the dagger. ¡°Both of my two weapons come with 100 MATK and 100 SATK on their own. That¡¯s much more than a mere 45 and 65.¡±


    He sent her a mental imitation of a ¡®tsk¡¯ and turned away. ¡°Whatever.¡± Then he glanced at her. ¡°So, are we ready to continue?¡±


    She smirked and stood up. ¡°Yes. Let¡¯s go kill some more ants.¡±


    ¡­


    With a crack, the head of an ant was split in half, the demonic aura-encased black blade coming down hard on its exoskeleton. Lucy took a second to breathe as the notifications sounded.


    [User Lucille Goldcroft has slain Lesser Armoured Formicidae ¨C Lvl. 6]


    [+142 xp]


    [Level Up!]


    [+1 level]


    [+5 Free stat points]


    [User has reached Level 5]


    [Xp: 34/110]


    She glanced over to where the sound of an ant¡¯s dying screech could be heard. Scytale ripped his fangs out from the monster and came back over to her.


    [User Scytale has slain Lesser Armoured Formicidae ¨C Lvl. 7]


    [Scytale has reached Level 7]


    ¡°Are you still fine, Lucy?¡± he asked her.


    Lucy nodded, looking at the red-jewelled blade in her hand. ¡°I am. It¡¯s just¡­ a bit hard to keep up with the agility of these monsters. Apophis is also quite heavy to wield in his sword form.¡± She looked at the other dagger sheathed at her waist. ¡°Without any STR I can¡¯t dual wield these.¡±


    Scytale thought for a moment. ¡°What about telekinesis though? You wouldn¡¯t have any problems with using that, would you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still trying to keep my soul as stable as possible,¡± she explained, crossing her arms with a slight frown. ¡°As it is currently, it might just be stable enough to gain a soul-related Aspect for it after the stages safely. I¡¯ve barely managed to settle it after that¡­ meeting during the banquet.¡±


    Scytale looked at the several monster ant carcasses sprawled over the ground before them, slowly releasing murky monster miasma. ¡°Then let¡¯s go to the centre of this Lair and find a point where you can extend a weapon and quickly wipe out a bunch. I¡¯ll deal with any of the ones left.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Alright. We¡¯ll get this over with as quickly as possible.¡±


    They tracked through the forest, brown-green mist pooling around their feet. It steadily grew thicker, and Lucy gestured for Scytale to stay quiet as they moved behind a tree, Lucy¡¯s perception field revealing the crowd of five to ten ants guarding the anthill¡¯s entrance in a small clearing.


    ¡°So, the plan is: You stretch out Apophis to launch a big attack and I¡¯ll deal with the ones that are left.¡±


    Lucy nodded and glanced at her bond. ¡°Do you have enough STR?¡±


    ¡°Yep. I put 15 in STR, 10 in CON and the rest in AGI so I do 495 ATK in my Primal Descendant form now,¡± he replied.


    ¡°And here I am sitting with 55 free stat points I can¡¯t even use.¡± She sighed.


    Scytale shuffled his wings in an approximation of a shrug. ¡°Better get used to it. You¡¯re going to have thousands of unused free stat points down the line.¡±


    She pulled out Apophis and stepped out from behind the tree. ¡°Time to start.¡± Letting the weapon shift into its longsword form, she swung her arm back as if she were about to do an underarm throw. The monster ants in the distance seemed to detect something was off, and looked in her direction, but they noticed too late.


    Lucille activated Apophis¡¯s demonic aura and slashed the crimson-hued blade, the sword lengthening instantaneously with the staggered sounds of clinking metal. The black blade cut through the bodies of the monsters with little to no resistance, segments revolving around it to create hundreds of small lacerations to the ants¡¯ exoskeletons, making them scream in pain. The whip-like movement of the weapon pulverised most of the ants, the few remaining suffering major damage to their bodies.


    [-50 Dam¡­]


    [-1500 Damage]


    [-50 Damage]


    [-50 Damage]


    [-50 Damage]


    [-1500 Damage]


    [-50 Damage]


    [-50 Damage]


    [-50 Damage]


    [-1500 Damage]


    [-50 Damage]


    [-50 Damage]


    [-50 Damage]


    [-1500 Damage]


    [-50 Damage]


    [-50 Damage]


    [-50 Damage]


    [-1500¡­.]


    [User Lucille Goldcroft has slain Lesser Armoured Formicidae ¨C Lvl. 4]


    [User Lucille Goldcroft has slain Lesser Armoured Formicidae ¨C Lvl. 5]


    [User Lucille Goldcroft has slain Lesser Armoured Formicidae ¨C Lvl. 4]


    [User Lucille Goldcroft has slain Lesser Armoured Formicidae ¨C Lvl. 6]


    [User Lucille Goldcroft has slain Lesser Armoured Formicidae ¨C Lvl. 5]


    [+93 xp]


    [Level Up!]


    [+1 level]


    [+5 Free stat points]


    [+117 xp]


    [Level Up!]


    [+1 level]


    [+5 Free stat points]


    [+93 xp]


    [Level Up!]


    [+1 level]


    [+5 Free stat points]


    [+142 xp]


    [Level Up!]


    [+1 level]


    [+5 Free stat points]


    [+117 xp]


    [Level Up!]


    [+1 level]


    [+5 Free stat points]


    The sound of the System notifications rang constantly as she retracted Apophis, the surrounding trees¡¯ bark marred by countless serrations from where the blade had cut across.


    [User has reached Level 10]


    [Xp: MAX]


    [User has reached MAX Level for Rank-0]


    [Please complete the Main Quest (Rank-1: Beast Ream) to unlock Levels 11-199]


    Lucy fell silent as she took in the devastation, but Scytale didn¡¯t waste a minute as he pounced on the remaining injured ants, killing them all within seconds. With Lucille already having reached Level 10, any share of the xp that would¡¯ve belonged to her from her damage was transferred to Scytale, allowing him to quickly get to the same level as her.


    [User Scytale has slain Lesser Armoured Formicidae ¨C Lvl. 5]


    [User Scytale has slain Lesser Armoured Formicidae ¨C Lvl. 7]


    [User Scytale has slain Lesser Armoured Formicidae ¨C Lvl. 6]


    [User Scytale has slain Lesser Armoured Formicidae ¨C Lvl. 8]


    [Scytale has reached Level 8]


    [Scytale has reached Level 9]


    [Scytale has reached Level 10]


    ¡°Haha! Yes!¡± Scytale exclaimed. ¡°I can feel the power flowing into me! Beware, hero, I shall soon obtain the strength needed to destroy you!¡±


    Lucille didn¡¯t respond, still observing the clearing. Scytale noticed her silence and came over to her, turning his eyes to what she was looking at. He glanced between her and the clearing. ¡°Er¡­ what are you looking at?¡±


    She crossed her arms as she stared at the clearing, then scowled. She threw a hand out to gesture at the devastation. ¡°Can you explain to me, Scytale, how exactly I¡¯m supposed to use this demonic weapon of mine?! I¡¯ll kill everyone around me with this weapon, friend or not!¡±


    Scytale considered it. ¡°You know Lucy¡­ because it¡¯s a demonic weapon, I¡¯m pretty sure that¡¯s the entire point.¡±


    She sighed and crossed her arms again. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ I don¡¯t know how I¡¯m supposed to use these. If I don¡¯t learn to fight with them, I won¡¯t be able to make use of their strong abilities, but I need to learn how to fight with them in the first place.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re complaining to a limbless reptile, Lucy,¡± Scytale said. ¡°What experience would I have fighting with weapons?¡±


    Lucy shot him a flat look. ¡°I¡¯m aware. But you have enough experience battling the races to understand my issue.¡±


    Scytale took another look at the clearing. ¡°Well¡­ was he easier to wield when extended?¡±


    She tapped her fingers against her arm in thought. ¡°Yes, he was. He was much lighter.¡±


    ¡°And you can control his movements with telekinesis?¡± her bond asked.


    Lucy nodded. ¡°I could, as long as I focused my will and spiritual energy correctly. His autonomous movement reduces the load on my soul. It¡¯s just that his demonic aura and rotating segments have an extensive area they affect.¡±


    Scytale nodded. ¡°Then you¡¯re probably overthinking things. The way I see it, using these weapons would¡¯ve always resulted in you turning into a massive area-of-effect damage dealer,¡± he stated. ¡°These swords are essentially made to be endlessly expanding and enlarging weapons, as long as you have the mana and spiritual energy. Apophis even absorbs energy. Just use Ouroboros if you¡¯re worried about his demonic aura.¡±


    Lucy paused and then unsheathed Ouroboros. ¡°Ah, yes. We need to check Ouroboros¡¯s Rebirth from Death skill.¡±


    Scytale blinked. ¡°Huh? Why?¡±


    ¡°To see if she¡¯s collected any skill shards and stats.¡±

 Chapter 47 (2 of 2) Synchronous Terminal And Generation Engine Simulations

    [Skill: Rebirth From Death | Type: Influence/Spirit ]


    Desc: In times past in an unknown world, the mythology of an ancient empire was spread to other continents and underwent a reformation. Now of another form, the deity represented the cyclic nature of life and death, and all within. A confluence with this mythology and spiritual energy has led to the bestowment of a ______¡¯s resonance blessing upon this weapon, taking on the forces of Order¡¯s pinnacle.


    Abilities:


    Cyclic Reforming ¨C The strength of one becomes another¡¯s.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to obtain the spiritual energy of those killed by its soul twin. {Only active when used alongside Twin Souls: Chaos}</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to reconstitute skills from the energy of those slain by its soul twin and pass them to its User. Collected Skill Shards: (5/10) Lesser Formicidae Skill Shard.</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to merge skill shards to form new tertiary or secondary skills. Limitations apply.</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to reconstitute stats from the energy of those slain by its soul twin and pass them to its User. Stat gain maximum: 50% of Rank Total. {Temporarily Stored Stats: x4 CON, x3 STR, x3 AGI, x1 INT}</li>


    </ul>


    Ordered Origin ¨C Order became power.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to shield its User from damage up to the total of its active ATK, MATK and SATK. Shield resets when its User receives unshielded damage the equivalent of what was negated.</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to absorb damage up to its active ATK using its User¡¯s equivalent MP, while shield is active. Absorbed damage can be reflected partially or completely. Current absorbed damage:</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    Lucy raised an eyebrow. ¡°It¡¯s named after the monster? What would a Lesser Formicidae skill do? Does it become a Greater Formicidae skill when merged with other Lesser Formicidae skills?¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± Scytale used his nose to gesture to a line. ¡°Why is it storing the stats? Also, I don¡¯t remember ¡®Stored Stats¡¯ being in the skill sheet last time we looked.¡±


    Lucille shrugged. ¡°I assume that¡¯s because I¡¯m Rank-0. As Rank-0s. we can only obtain free stat points to increase our strength. We can¡¯t use elixirs or eat stat-boosting foods to obtain them.¡± She held her chin as she observed the information. ¡°Although, can I only obtain one stat for each monster I kill? There are 11 stats here total, and I killed 11 monsters.¡±


    ¡°Well, whatever. Let¡¯s get out of here!¡± Scytale suddenly exclaimed, flapping his wings. ¡°I want to go beat these stages! We¡¯re done here!¡±


    Lucy shook her head wryly but began walking in the direction of the Ascendant City. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go do the stages. It¡¯s time for us to begin ¡®climbing¡¯ the Tower.¡±


    ¡­


    [General Quest: COMPLETED]


    Reach Lvl. 10(MAX)


    [Rewards: Class Tier +1, Stages 1-5 Unlocked, Novice Title]


    [Alert: No Class detected for User Lucille Goldcroft and User Scytale]


    [Withholding Reward: Class Tier +1 until Class is detected in User Lucille Goldcroft and User Scytale]


    ¡°That¡¯s convenient,¡± Lucy said.


    ¡°¡­ don¡¯t tell me you just left it up to luck whether we would obtain the tier upgrade or not?¡± Scytale asked suspiciously.


    Lucille smirked. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s relevant now. Didn¡¯t you want to start the stages?¡±


    Scytale narrowed his eyes but huffed as Lucy called out to the System, ¡°Take us to the Stages.¡±


    A white-blue screen appeared in front of them both.


    [Do you want to begin the Stages?]


    [Alert: Stages 1-10 must be completed independently. User Lucille Goldcroft and User Scytale may not enter the same Stage during the Beast Realm Stages.]


    [Yes/No]


    Lucille sighed. ¡°This is it.¡± She looked down at her bond. ¡°Good luck. Make sure to achieve the maximum Completion Rate while you can. You could come back to finish them, but the instant increase in your strength the first time you complete them is more beneficial for us right now.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Are you going to be okay? For me, once they¡¯re done, I¡¯ll be back outside the Obelisk not even a second after I left and besides a few key memories, it¡¯ll all feel like a dream. But for you, you¡¯ll feel every second as if time¡¯s actually passing¡­¡±


    She smiled at him. ¡°Scytale, I¡¯ve completed 70 of these things, and done them over and over again. I¡¯m used to it. Besides,¡± she added, turning back to the screen. ¡°I¡¯ve spent the equivalent of thousands of years in pocket dimensions under time dilation. These are hardly different.¡±


    She pressed [Yes] with a smirk. ¡°And¡­ you know I¡¯m looking forward to it for my own reasons.¡±


    Scytale scoffed and pressed [Yes] on his screen. ¡°Yes, you insane woman. And you call me crazy for my love of fighting.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Never mind. Time to begin.¡±


    After he said that, their bodies were whisked away into particles of white light, the Obelisk cube empty and silent.


    ¡­


    [Welcome to the S.T.A.G.E.S!]


    Available S.T.A.G.E.S (Beast Realm):


    Completion Rate: 0%


    Stage 1: Entry into the Deep Greenwood Region (UNLOCKED)


    Stage 2: LOCKED


    Stage 3: LOCKED


    Stage 4: LOCKED


    Stage 5: LOCKED


    Stage 6: LOCKED


    Stage 7: LOCKED


    Stage 8: LOCKED


    Stage 9: LOCKED


    Stage 10: LOCKED


    [Please complete Stage 1 to proceed to the next stage]


    Taking a breath to prepare herself in the white System space, she pressed on Stage 1. The empty white limbo around her faded, and she found herself tumbling onto the ground. She sat up and brushed the dirt out of her hair as she took in the towering evergreen trees covered in vines and crawling plants, massive twisted roots, and branches thicker than houses intertwined overhead and beyond the area she sat in.


    Lucille stood up, taking note of the two daggers still in their sheaths on either side of her.


    So, even though they¡¯re sentient, I can bring them in as weapons. I didn¡¯t check their Statuses earlier to see what their stats look like after their level-ups, but considering the nature of the Stages, it¡¯s not relevant right now. Although¡­


    She checked and nodded to herself.


    No Status screen for me or them. I¡¯m working with purely pre-System methods. All in order then.


    She did, however, have her dimensional bag. It only contained a bedroll, an empty canteen, and a rope, with no food or currency within. It was up to the System¡¯s discretion of who could bring what and how much into the stages. She supposed she was allowed the daggers, the bag, and its contents because of her limited strength.


    Then she put a hand up to her right eye.


    And¡­ I don¡¯t have my mask¡­ it seems my eye doesn¡¯t work here. I wonder what I¡¯d see if it did¡­


    Taking a look around, she noticed she appeared to be at the top of a hill of some kind and began climbing up a thick tree root to get a better idea of her location. She got on top of it and took in the view.


    Stretching out endlessly below was a thick, gargantuan jungle filled with brightly coloured flora and fauna, all emitting different levels of mana. A cacophony of different beast roars and bird cries sounded out below, multicoloured flocks of winged creatures soaring above the jungle. Occasionally, the ground trembled as powerful but unseen magical beasts stalked the region under the shade of trees as tall as skyscrapers. The sound of a System notification rang out.


    [S.T.A.G.E.S | Stage 1: Entry into the Deep Greenwood Region]


    <div>


    The lands of the isolated Deep Greenwood Region are fraught with conflicts and battles between mighty beasts and powerful monsters. At the top of this fierce hierarchy of struggle and blood, the three Beast Kings reign supreme over the region in a tenuous mirage of a truce. But this truce shall soon be broken.


    <div>


    You are but a lone wanderer from another realm, without a home, without a people and without safety. You have been cursed with the most disastrous of ill fortune ¨C you have entered the jungle when the bonds of peace are soon to be shattered.


    <div>


    Fight, wanderer, and grow, for you will come out of this ordeal stronger if you do.


    <div>


    And fight, wanderer, fight, because only the final victor of this battle between sovereigns will survive the cataclysm of the New Moon¡¯s day.


    [Collapse]


    Main Quest (Rank-1: Beast Realm) Overall Objective:


    <ul>


    <li>Ensure no contenders to the title of Supreme Ruler of the Region remain by the time of the New Moon¡¯s day.</li>


    </ul>


    Sub-Objectives ¨C Stage 1:


    Compulsory:


    <ul>


    <li>Survive the first night.</li>


    </ul>


    Optional:


    <ul>


    <li>Locate a safe water source.</li>


    <li>Build a functional shelter.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    [Completion Rate: 0%]


    Lucille had a month. One month before the cataclysm that would destroy the entire region would occur. If she failed to complete all the mandatory objectives before the end of the month, she¡¯d die. And it was very likely that was going to happen¡ªseveral times.


    Each of the different Main Quests were intended to teach the User something. Something essential for their continued life as a member of the Tower, as they would be facing intense conflict and dangerous situations frequently and constantly.


    The Demon Realm taught someone to fight, to wield weapons to surpass the violent demonic beasts with physiques superior to most other races.


    The Tartarus Realm taught someone to perceive their body, fighting against the energies of death mana to understand their physical condition to the smallest irregularity.


    The Mystical Realm taught someone to control the world around them, resonating the force within the body with the forces outside to bring about Grand spells and Penultimate abilities.


    The Heavenly Realm taught someone to understand the immaterial, the power of thoughts, the soul and the mind, and the impact of concepts and ideas on the manifestation of their abilities.


    And the Beast Realm? It taught the User to sense death. To perceive hostility, and avoid attacks with the intention of drawing blood. The way it did that was by forcefully introducing the User to a wild region of the realm filled with savage beasts and monsters in a constant battle to come out on top, all eager to remove any threat or competition in their quests for natural treasures. The Beast Realm taught the User to sense killing intent.


    Lucy¡¯s future in the short term was looking a lot like a wintry wasteland where nuclear war had taken place for thousands of years and then left to sit on an abandoned planet for the rest of time. Bleak.


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    However, she¡¯d complete the Beast Realm¡¯s stages eventually. Death wasn¡¯t permanent, and in the past, she had finished the stages, otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to reach Rank-1.


    Dismissing the Stage screen, she prepared herself to begin her descent down the hill, through twisted roots and flora to head forth into the dark jungle.


    But feeling slight anticipation and possibly a bit of excitement, Lucille activated her expression regulator, and her entire body language switched. Her normally neutral expression changed and she gained a calm and easy-going smile, hands held behind her back as she whistled while walking through the vibrant greenery. The atmosphere around her had changed to the extent she almost seemed as if she was a different person.


    Lucille was going to have some fun. After all, there was no need to care about consequences¡­ when everything was just a simulation.


    ¡­


    Hm. This looks like a good enough place to start with.


    Lucy observed the small clearing bordering a lake edge. She hadn¡¯t been able to detect any particularly strong beasts or monsters on this side of the lake so that probably meant her location was safe enough to satisfy the first optional Sub-Objective. She walked over to the lake''s edge and stuck her hand in the cool water.


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Locate a safe water source.]


    [Completion Rate: +2%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 2%]


    With the System having confirmed she had found a drinkable source of water that wasn¡¯t near some dangerous beast, she set about collecting thick vines and sturdy branches to use for her next Sub-Objective.


    For any User recently out of the Tutorial, the first ten stages would be very familiar to them. That was because the Tutorial had been intentionally made to introduce new Users to the stages, so they would be able to complete them and understand what they were meant to do. The stages did, however, have several differences.


    Each stage awarded a +10% Completion Rate when all Sub-Objectives of the stage had been achieved. At the end of the stages, the System would give the User rewards based on how high their Completion Rate was, just as it had for the Tutorial. It was the stages that Users were most likely to be given awakening primers, a very rare resource because of its application to an individual¡¯s Origin Skill. Magical beasts were exceptions to this rule, as their alternative methods of gaining strength meant their Origin Skills could have their awakening rates increased differently.


    Unlike the Tutorial, however, it was possible for the stages to have hidden objectives. These hidden objectives would still be listed in the Sub-Objectives, just with their requirements missing. And unlike the Tutorial, every individual¡¯s Main Quests and stages were unique.


    The System had a large collection of different Sub-Objectives and hidden objectives that it assigned a User to complete. The location and general context of the stage were the same for each User, and the Main Objective of each Main Quest was the same for everyone, but the time period, order and type of Sub-objectives could change, including the events and objects relating to them. Lucy didn¡¯t think the System had changed her Sub-Objectives in the new timeline but¡­


    ¡­well, you could say she had an ¡®above-average¡¯ level of attempts for each of the Beast Realm¡¯s stages. In other words, she sucked at them. As the Main Quest was supposed to force the User into sensing killing intent so they could survive, she¡­ did not survive. Not until she had managed to memorise every single possible outcome of her repeated attempts at the stages so she didn''t constantly have to redo them.


    But now she had to complete the Main Objective of the Beast realm while being the weakest she had ever been since her last day of being seventeen in the former timeline. She had a plan for how she could complete the Main Objective even with her current state, but it would require a lot of setup, a large amount of manipulation and possibly a little bit of poison. She needed to get this done as soon as possible so she had more time later in the stages to enact the more complicated elements of her plan.


    The stages acted as checkpoints, where the completion of them meant that for her next stage that point in time would be when she would return if she died or failed to complete the Main Objective by the end of the 31 days, the day of the New Moon. She would be stuck in endlessly looping time until the Main Objective was achieved. She could always leave the stages and Obelisk for a break and come to them again later, but that would defeat the purpose of her being there. At least she didn¡¯t have to worry about Hidden Objectives until the next realm¡¯s stages.


    Lucille used the rope from her dimensional bag to secure the last section of her leaf-roofed hammock in the trees as her musings on the mechanics of the stages came to a conclusion.


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Build a functional shelter.]


    [Completion Rate: +1%]


    She hummed as she received the notification. No, that¡¯s not good enough. Seems I¡¯ll need to do this again.


    She glanced at the lake where the late afternoon sun¡¯s golden reflection gleamed on the surface of the water.


    But I won¡¯t try again now. I¡¯ll save a better shelter for the next attempt.


    She climbed into her hammock and thought deeply about what she needed to achieve before the first major task of Stage 4 arrived. Then she closed her eyes.


    Alright. If this attempt is going to end early, then I¡¯ll make it worth it.


    Completely removing all her mental restrictions on the amount of soul power and spiritual energy she allowed herself to control, she released the entirety of her soul power and energy out of her body, expanding her perception field to its absolute maximum. To the level where it had been capable of scanning entire planes and planets, giving her information up to the smallest molecule, all of it obtained through her 799 levels of SPRT and MENT multiplied by her Soul Compression As-


    Her thoughts stopped, and all went black.


    ¡­


    Lucille lay still as the white static in her mind receded, returning her soul back to perfect form. She got up from the floor of the white System space and sighed as she looked at the screen before her.


    [Welcome to the S.T.A.G.E.S!]


    Available S.T.A.G.E.S (Beast Realm):


    Completion Rate: 3%


    Stage 1: Entry into the Deep Greenwood Region (UNLOCKED)(INCOMPLETE)


    Stage 2: LOCKED


    Stage 3: LOCKED


    Stage 4: LOCKED


    Stage 5: LOCKED


    Stage 6: LOCKED


    Stage 7: LOCKED


    Stage 8: LOCKED


    Stage 9: LOCKED


    Stage 10: LOCKED


    [Please complete Stage 1 to proceed to the next stage]


    I think I just exploded.


    Well, at least she had proven to herself she could actually kill herself if she ever tried to use too much spiritual energy. Any lingering temptation to push too far with her soul had been completely erased. But now she had mapped the entire region and located the positions of the three Beast Kings, all dangerous monsters, and all the materials she would need to complete her goals.


    Pressing on Stage 1, she was taken away again, returning to her position at the base of a tree root that could take her up to see what lay down the hill.


    [S.T.A.G.E.S | Stage 1: Entry into the Deep Greenwood Region]


    The lands of the isolated Deep Greenwood Region are fraught with conflicts and battles between mighty beasts and powerful monsters. At the top of this fierce hierarchy of struggle and blood, the three Beast Kings reign supreme over the region in a tenuous mirage of a truce. But this truce shall soon be broken.


    You are but a lone wanderer from another realm, without a home, without a people and without safety. You have been cursed with the most disastrous of ill-fortune ¨C you have entered the jungle when the bonds of peace are soon to be shattered.


    Fight, wanderer, and grow, for you will come out of this ordeal stronger if you do.


    And fight, wanderer, fight, because only the final victor of this battle between sovereigns will survive the cataclysm of the New Moon¡¯s day.


    [Collapse]


    Main Quest (Rank-1: Beast Realm) Overall Objective:


    <ul>


    <li>Ensure no contenders to the title of Supreme Ruler of the Region remain by the time of the New Moon¡¯s day.</li>


    </ul>


    Sub-Objectives ¨C Stage 1:


    Compulsory:


    <ul>


    <li>Survive the first night.</li>


    </ul>


    Optional:


    <ul>


    <li>Locate a safe water source.</li>


    <li>Build a functional shelter.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    [Completion Rate: 3%]


    With the sun returned to its position in the centre of the sky directly above her, she collapsed the screen and began her descent once more, only this time, she took a detour. Instead of taking a direct path to the clearing by the lake, she took a route through an open area filled with large overhead ferns. Coming to the centre of the zone, she found an enormous blue flower growing out of the ground, covering the floor with its petals as if it were a carpet. She placed her hands on her hips as she looked around.


    Seems like the other beasts and monsters around here are smart enough to avoid it. It looks pretty, but if someone were to come just a bit closer¡­


    Crouching down, she withdrew Ouroboros and extended the blade into its snake-sword form. Then, using her spiritual energy to carefully manipulate the blade, she used the tip of the extended blade to slice the pistil of the flower in half. The plant let out a loud sound similar to a screech as its massive petals started lifting themselves and waving around in the air, but Lucy had already managed to obtain the stigma when Ouroboros had retracted. She quickly backed away as the true form of the plant was revealed.


    A foul stench arose as the formerly blue petals shrivelled and became a rotting green-black, the murky mist of monster mana swimming about it. The centre of the plant released indigo illusion mana, revealing the beautiful appearance of the flower to be just a guise. With the bulbous stigma in hand, she retreated from the field of ferns.


    Monstrous Illusionary Corpse Lily. The stigma of the plant releases a magical substance that ensures any magical beast sees their most tempting natural treasure instead of the actual appearance of the plant monster. For me, because I¡¯m a human, I only saw a nice-looking flower, but this will be essential if I want to deal with the first Beast King.


    She tried to see if she could place it in her dimensional bag, but she was rebuffed. She shrugged, having assumed the System wouldn¡¯t let her put it in, and carried on travelling to the clearing by the lake. She received the notifications again.


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Locate a safe water source.]


    [Completion Rate: +2%]


    [Completion Rate: 3%]


    Having received the Completion Rate in the last attempt, it didn¡¯t add the 2% to her Completion Rate, only showing her that her Completion Rate hadn¡¯t changed. But that was fine.


    After ensuring the stigma was covered and wrapped up using some large flat leaves she had collected on the way, she set about collecting some stronger and flatter sections of wood and thicker ropes.


    If a hammock won¡¯t cut it then I¡¯ll just have to suffer through creating a treehouse.


    When her leaf-protected platform in the trees was assembled, the notification popped up again.


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Build a functional shelter.]


    [Completion Rate: +2%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 4%]


    Satisfied with her shelter now, she allowed herself to sit on her platform, watching the sun descend on the tree-lined horizon. She spent the rest of the night going over her aims for the next few stages, her musings accompanied by the cacophony of roars echoing across the jungle. When the sun had risen, the final notification of the stage sounded.


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Survive the first night.]


    [Completion Rate: +6%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 10%]


    [Stage 1 Complete. Transferring User¡­]


    ¡­


    [Welcome to the S.T.A.G.E.S!]


    Available S.T.A.G.E.S (Beast Realm):


    Completion Rate: 10%


    Stage 1: Entry into the Deep Greenwood Region (UNLOCKED)(COMPLETED)


    Stage 2: The Search for Sustenance (UNLOCKED)


    Stage 3: LOCKED


    Stage 4: LOCKED


    Stage 5: LOCKED


    Stage 6: LOCKED


    Stage 7: LOCKED


    Stage 8: LOCKED


    Stage 9: LOCKED


    Stage 10: LOCKED


    [Please complete Stage 2 to proceed to the next stage]


    She rubbed her neck and pressed on Stage 2, ready for the next section. She reappeared on her tree platform, the early morning sun just cresting over the treetops. Her Sub-Objectives were updated, as well as the description of her tasks.


    [S.T.A.G.E.S | Stage 2: The Search for Sustenance]


    You have survived your first night within the Deep Greenwood Region. But do not become relaxed yet. Dangers prowl the area around you and the quest for treasures to emerge stronger is steadily growing more uncontrolled and violent.


    You must surpass your previous weak self, learn to adapt, and accustom yourself to the ways of the beasts around you. While normally impossible, for this month you have become capable of devouring and absorbing the strength of the very same natural treasures the beasts and monsters around you fight so hard to obtain. Through the power of your awakened Origin Skill, you may yet become a fourth contender for the title of Supreme Ruler of the Region.


    For one may only survive past the New Moon¡¯s day if they achieve this. [Collapse]


    Main Quest (Rank-1: Beast Realm) Overall Objective:


    <ul>


    <li>Ensure no contenders to the title of Supreme Ruler of the region remain by the time of the New Moon¡¯s day.</li>


    </ul>


    Sub-Objectives ¨C Stage 2:


    Compulsory:


    <ul>


    <li>Hunt your first creature.</li>


    </ul>


    Optional:


    <ul>


    <li>Strengthen yourself with a natural treasure.</li>


    <li>Forage for edible plants.</li>


    <li>Find a successful method to cook your food.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    [Completion Rate: 10%]


    She climbed down from her treetop abode, and after ensuring her Monstrous Illusionary Corpse Lily stigma was safely hidden and contained in a hole behind a thick tree root, she set off to complete the first Sub-Objective.


    Now, what kind of beast should I, or maybe more accurately, can I hunt? Ideally, it would contribute to my plans for the 4<sup>th</sup> Stage¡­


    With her calm smile still on her face, she hummed and raised her eyes to the sky.


    I¡¯ve heard the Silver Reed Caiman is known for having particularly venomous spines along its back¡­


    <hr>


    The body of the ferret thrashed and twisted beneath his scales, but he kept his grip firm and clenched his jaws tighter. Eventually, the energy of the mammal seemed to fade as the blood loss became too much for it to overcome. The ferret went limp and he removed his red-stained fangs from its body, the scent of blood filling his nostrils.


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Hunt your first creature.]


    [Completion Rate: +5%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 16%]


    [Compulsory Sub-Objective completed. Do you want to leave the stage? Yes/No]


    Scytale shook his head after pressing [No], sending blood droplets scattering, and he flapped his wings to shake off the wet blood on them as well. He gazed at the dead ferret on the ground in front of him.


    I prefer to eat natural treasures over fresh prey. Some of my race are fine with eating the low-ranked magical beasts, but it doesn¡¯t make me feel too comfortable. But I needed to complete this Sub-Objective eventually.


    He pulled open his Stage description to check.


    [S.T.A.G.E.S | Stage 2: The Search for Safety]


    You have survived your first night within the Deep Greenwood Region. But do not become relaxed yet. Dangers prowl the area around you and the quest for treasures to emerge stronger is steadily growing more uncontrolled and violent.


    You must surpass your previous weak self, learn to adapt, and accustom yourself to the ways of the beasts around you. While normally impossible, for this month you have become capable of devouring and absorbing the strength of the natural treasures around you without the risk of bloodline instability. Through the power of your awakened bloodline, you may yet become a fourth contender for the title of Supreme Ruler of the Region.


    For one may only survive past the New Moon¡¯s day if they achieve this. [Collapse]


    Main Quest (Rank-1: Beast Realm) Overall Objective:


    <ul>


    <li>Ensure no contenders to the title of Supreme Ruler of the region remain by the time of the New Moon¡¯s day.</li>


    </ul>


    Sub-Objectives ¨C Stage 2:


    Compulsory:


    <ul>


    <li>Hunt your first creature. (COMPLETED)</li>


    </ul>


    Optional:


    <ul>


    <li>Strengthen yourself with a natural treasure.</li>


    <li>Become the major predator for your current territory.</li>


    <li>Find a habitat of your own element(s). (COMPLETED)</li>


    </ul>


    []


    [Completion Rate: 16%]


    It was a somewhat strange situation for him because he was technically undergoing his intermediate to advanced bloodline advancement, but he was going to go through the process in the Stages too. Users doing their own realm¡¯s Main Quest usually received added benefits due to their familiarity with the realm, but the experience of becoming a Superior beast to fight against the three Beast Kings wasn¡¯t something he needed, as he had gone past that point to reach the level of bloodline advancement after Superior.


    So Scytale was currently in a body that had been turned back to the beginning of intermediate, all so he could receive the experience of a beast advancing through the bloodline ranks. His bloodline energy hadn¡¯t really reverted back to the beginning of intermediate, however. The stages were simulations, which meant his body in the stage was artificial, and more like a temporary puppet with his mind inside.


    That brought the question of how Lucy got that weird shard thing stuck in her eye, considering it shouldn¡¯t have been an object that actually existed, but Scytale couldn¡¯t be bothered to think too hard about that sort of thing. That was his bond¡¯s job.


    Scytale stretched his jaws wide in a yawn as the sun began to set, and transformed into his Primal Descendant form to swallow the ferret easier. Then, using his illusion bloodline spells, he camouflaged himself to prepare for his next task. He had his eye on a specific natural treasure he had come across earlier, but he would be in for a rough fight with its guard before he could claim it as his own.


    ¡­


    In the silence of the night, interrupted only by the distant roars of battling beasts, Scytale¡¯s scales glided across the fallen leaves and foliage of the jungle. Tucking his wings close so he could fit under a large tree root to hide, he kept his eyes focused on his goal.


    Sitting in the middle of the small clearing was an oval-shaped dark blue fruit, with green leaves protecting its base. Its semi-translucent surface gleamed with the patterns of indigo and blue illusion mana, glowing faintly in the dark.


    Sleeping by the base of the fruit was a large black panther, its ears and tail tipped with glowing purple light, indicating its affinities for dark and illusion.


    My archnemesis! A beast of darkness and illusion, in contrast to my splendid illusion and light!


    He made sure that the panther was still asleep, and then he rushed out. He launched himself at the cat, quickly activating his Primal Descendant skill with his fangs bared, and they sunk into the fur of the beast.


    The panther let out a yowl and quickly sprang up, hissing at Scytale as it carefully guarded the plant from him. Scytale ignored the cat¡¯s attempts to scare him off and launched himself forward again, his wings outspread and feathers stiffened to cause as much damage as possible to the feline.


    The sharp edges of his feathers caused minor scratches to the panther¡¯s legs that made it yowl again, but it hissed and lashed out with a sharp claw. Scytale ducked as he bared his fangs again and prepared to attack a third time.


    The panther arched its back, and swatted Scytale¡¯s head away just as he was about to bite it again. He beat his wings against the panther and they tumbled together onto the ground, hisses and screeches interchanged as they traded rough blows. A heavy strike from the black cat left a bleeding gouge in his side, but when he finally managed to get a firm grip around the panther¡¯s front leg, it let out a loud pained whimper, thrashing about.


    It slipped out of his grip and backed away as it limped, hissing at him. But their positions had been reversed, with Scytale now being the one to guard the magical plant and not the panther. With a wave of summoned dark and illusion mana, it blended into the shadows, and Scytale waited to see if it would attempt one last attack.


    A few minutes later, he finally became satisfied that the panther had given up its treasure. Turning to the plant, he opened his mouth wide and swallowed it whole. He felt the plant rapidly disintegrate into mana within him and the rich illusion essence seeped into his blood and heart, strengthening his bloodline.


    His body swelled and his wings enlarged to match. A second pair of white-gold wings burst out from the flesh a few centimetres below his first pair, and he hissed in pain as he stretched out the second blood-stained pair. His body kept growing to reveal his full length with his Primal Descendant form activated. He looked down at himself to see the fallen tree trunks on the ground below were smaller than him.


    This¡­ isn¡¯t 30 metres. Did my second bloodline make me grow larger for my advanced form this time?


    He took one last look at his new form before shuffling his wings and getting ready to move.


    I guess I¡¯ll find out for certain when I reach advanced level for real outside of here. Lucy can tell me the details.


    Then, camouflaged once more, he began the hunt again.


    If I want a full Completion Rate, my current strength won¡¯t be enough. I need to find some more natural treasures before Stage 4.

 Chapter 48 (1 of 2) Predator or Prey.

    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Collect enough food to last the rest of the week.]


    [Completion Rate: +2%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 27%]


    [S.T.A.G.E.S | Stage 3: Tools of Survival]


    You have become a successful hunter in the Deep Greenwood Region. With your first beast slain, and your collection of trophies steadily growing larger, you have begun to reach the level of strength needed to announce your status as a new contender for the title of Supreme Ruler of the region. But it¡¯s not enough.


    You must devour stronger treasures to grow more powerful and must defeat the guardians of these treasures to obtain them. The competition within the region is fierce, and every beast and monster fights desperately to defend their treasures.


    Steadily increase your strength while laying low, so you may one day begin a fight that will end in your victory. The final victor of the region¡­ will be the one who survives. [Collapse]


    Main Quest (Rank-1: Beast Realm) Overall Objective:


    <ul>


    <li>Ensure no contenders to the title of Supreme Ruler of the Region remain by the time of the New Moon¡¯s day.</li>


    </ul>


    Sub-Objectives ¨C Stage 3:


    Compulsory:


    <ul>


    <li>Locate a new base of operations.</li>


    </ul>


    Optional:


    <ul>


    <li>Consume three additional natural treasures. (COMPLETED)</li>


    <li>Create three tools applicable to your situation, including a method of transportable storage. (COMPLETED)</li>


    <li>Collect enough food to last the rest of the week. (COMPLETED)</li>


    </ul>


    []


    [Completion Rate: 27%]


    Lucille tilted her head as she reread the Stage 3 objective list.


    A new base of operations¡­ there has to be a reason for the System to give me that objective. Is my current location going to become dangerous in a few days?


    She picked up the berries she had collected and worked on placing them into the sack she had woven with a magical variety of hemp she had found. Then she began walking back in the direction of her treehouse.


    It could just be an objective to make sure the User doesn¡¯t stay bogged down in one place for too long, hiding from the dangers, but the stages are entire simulated worlds. Everything has natural cause and effect. Nothing occurs without reason.


    Pushing aside some leaves with an arm, her clearing by the lakeside was revealed, where she placed her sack next to her other stored materials. These materials included a collection of plant and monster parts, weaker natural treasures, and some unique substances she had found, all collected over the last few days. As she had expected, the natural treasures she had eaten did not affect her, because she was still incapable of using her Origin Skill.


    She had tried to ensure she spent as little time as possible completing all the objectives, repeating Stages 2 and 3 a few times to find the speediest ways of completing them. It was a vastly different decision compared to what she did when she first completed the stages.


    Back then, over 231 years ago, Lucille had an extremely difficult time trying to complete all the stages. The main reason for that besides her lack of killing intent was her Origin Skill. Her skill, while it was unique and gave her enough talent to be equal to genius mages of the Mystical Realm, didn¡¯t provide a way for a Rank-0 to defeat the three Beast Kings. It enhanced her predictive ability but didn¡¯t give her a way of directly attacking her opponents.


    Before she had attempted the stages, she had tried to learn physical combat skills, just to see whether she should consider becoming a hybrid warrior-manipulator for her class. The result of that was finding out she couldn¡¯t produce killing intent and was therefore forever incapable of manifesting battle aura, bloodthirst, or detecting killing intent.


    So, in the stages, she was stuck for the equivalent of years trying to achieve the Main Objective before the region was destroyed in the cataclysm. During that period, she turned to studying the bloodline magic of the beasts and monsters, the only other creatures around her to take inspiration from. With her not having selected a mage class before completing the stages, she didn¡¯t have any foundational knowledge of runes to build upon.


    She used as many of the elements as she could during that time, trying to find what would work for her. Eating natural treasures of specific elements gave her small amounts of element mana to use, which she learned to manipulate when attempting to mimic the abilities of beasts and monsters around her. That was why, as ¡®Adrianna¡¯, she used a method of manipulating illusion mana closer to that of elementalists rather than mages and wizards.


    After several months of testing, she discovered the only element able to copy monster abilities was illusion, regardless of the element of the monster. That, combined with extensive analysis and theorising about her Origin Skill and the nature of magic based on its description, resulted in her final decision to become an illusion mage. She only discovered later due to contact with other illusionists that her mimicry ability was an advanced skill.


    But just because Lucy spent much longer than the three months she told Commander Arkenast and Ross she had spent to develop her magic, didn¡¯t mean she wasn¡¯t a genius. She had developed, entirely from scratch, a completely unique system of magic usage and abilities. And the total length of time she spent in the Beast Realm¡¯s stages back then only added up to around three years.


    Taking another look at her collection of materials and food, she placed them all in her woven bags and hefted them over her shoulder. Lucy began her hike to her new home.


    The Deep Greenwood Region was split into three major territories, each belonging to a Beast King. While much smaller than a real region, it was filled with many beasts. The north side of the region was the territory of the strongest Beast King and his enclave, the territory of the Rock-Fur Jungle Tigers. The east side ¨C where Lucille technically was, on the border between that territory and the western territory ¨C was the home of the Thundering Storm Vultures, who lived in the tallest trees of the region.


    The final territory belonged to the Black Vine Serpents, the territory of beasts and monsters who favoured sneak attacks and hiding from view. It was also known to be the territory of the weakest Beast King. That was where Lucille was headed, and would stay for the foreseeable future.


    But curious as to why the System had given her the task of escaping from her former home, she kept her perception field open wide to see what was happening behind her. A few hours into her walk, something finally occurred.


    With a sudden change in weather, the sky behind her darkened. She turned around to look as giant thick clouds rolled across the sky, blotting out the sun. With loud cries that shook the air, massive birds cloaked in bright lightning shot out of the clouds, guiding them to the area. They flew down to the lake Lucy had been located at.


    The Thundering Storm Vultures have come to visit the lake? What are they doing so close to the border of the Black Vine Serpents¡¯ territory?


    She watched them for a while longer, before humming and continuing her journey again.


    I wonder if this new threat will help me achieve my aims easier.


    After another half hour, she found the spot she had chosen after analysing her memories from when she expanded her perception. Out of the way, and distant from any natural treasures that would make it a target for other beasts and monsters. After setting up another rough shelter, she completed the last objective.


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Locate a new base of operations.]


    [Completion Rate: +3%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 30%]


    [Stage 3 Complete. Transferring User¡­]


    ¡­


    [S.T.A.G.E.S | Stage 4: Ascending from Prey to Predator]


    The month is short, and the time is nigh upon you. You have spent a week in this treacherous jungle, and have become used to the ways of the savage beasts around you. But you must push onwards. It is time for you to defeat your first Beast King. There are three within the Deep Greenwood Region.


    The vile Black Vine Serpent King, a serpent beast of poison and wood. He hides in the dark places, the deepest parts of the region, lying in wait for his prey. While the weakest in strength, he is the most cunning of them all and has lived many more moons than the two other Beast Kings combined.


    The prideful Thundering Storm Vulture Queen, an arrogant bird who summons winds and lightning with the power of her wings. Her loyal enclave spread the power of their tropical storms through the region, causing all lesser beasts to cower in submission. She rules from the highest treetops of the jungle, where rainfall and lightning bolts shower the trees daily.


    And finally, the strongest Iron-Fur Jungle Tiger King, who if it were not for the other two Beast Kings keeping him in check, would conquer the region for himself. He and his mighty enclave live in the most mountainous zone of the region, overlooking all from atop the tallest peak.


    Choose one, wanderer, and fight. [Collapse]


    Main Quest (Rank-1: Beast Realm) Overall Objective:


    <ul>


    <li>Ensure no contenders to the title of Supreme Ruler of the region remain by the time of the New Moon¡¯s day.</li>


    </ul>


    Sub-Objectives ¨C Stage 4:


    Compulsory:


    <ul>


    <li>Make preparations to remove the first contender.</li>


    </ul>


    Optional:


    <ul>


    <li>Demonstrate your power to the beasts in the surrounding area so none question your abilities.</li>


    <li>Deal with the enclave of the contender so they don¡¯t become a threat after the battle with the first contender.</li>


    <li>Fight a member of the Thundering Storm Vulture enclave.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    [Completion Rate: 30%]


    Alright. Now it¡¯s time to begin my plan.


    With Stage 4 having begun, Lucy knelt to open up her woven bags. She checked her collection.


    Stigma of the Monstrous Illusionary Corpse Lily, check. Silver Reed Caiman spines, check. Luminous Psychosis Lotus, check. Wood-element Potency Enhancer treasure, check. Amplifier-Suppressant pill, check. I have the other assorted natural treasures with me here too.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    She closed the bag again and began her trek through the dark and twisted territory of the Deep Greenwood Region, heading directly towards the enclave of the Black Vine Serpents. The region steadily grew darker the further she went in. Eventually, she found herself before a giant gate of some kind, black tree branches twisted to form an entranceway beyond. The tree branches were twisted all along the edges of the area, forming a barrier between her side and the zone on the other side of the entrance.


    She stepped through, finding herself in front of a massive network of dark trees and tree roots all interconnected to form tunnels and channels. Large black snakes were slithering along the tunnels and two large ones on either side of the entranceway looked at her.


    She tried to take another step-


    -until a massive scaly tail slammed down on her.


    Then she found herself at her original location once more ¨C the Stage 4 description screen open.


    Killing me as soon as I entered? That¡¯s a bit harsh.


    She had expected it, but if she had the choice to take the easy path, then she wanted to at least try it.


    She shook her head and began her trek a second time.


    ¡­


    Spending a few hours longer than in her first attempt, this time she didn¡¯t take the front entrance and walked the long way around. The very back of the enclave was the least protected zone, but that was also where the Black Vine Serpent King¡¯s abode was. Luckily, that was exactly where she wanted to go to implement her plans.


    If it were anyone else, they¡¯d probably be killed instantly by the Primal Descendant Serpent King, but because of her weak presence from her lacking mana, it was highly likely she¡¯d be able to enter relatively unharmed. If not, well¡­ she had some backup plans just in case, but her best bet relied on being able to enter the abode of the Serpent King.


    Approaching a hill near the thick barrier made of woven tree branches, she analysed her memories and perception field to find a weak point. She clambered down the steep hill, her feet skidding on the unstable ground, she made it to the base of the barrier. The entire tree branch barrier was a fully-enclosed dome, to prevent the possibility of an air raid by the Thundering Storm Vultures, so climbing over the barrier wasn¡¯t an option.


    Putting down one of her sacks, she withdrew a strange-looking orange flower and placed it at the base of the thinnest section of the branch wall. It gained a soft glow and with the shifting of leaves and wood, the branches around the flower withdrew. She got down on her hands and knees and began to crawl, moving the flower in front of her to open up a path. The wall of branches closed up behind her as the magical plants rearranged themselves back into position.


    The flower she carried was from the plant that was the natural nemesis of the black trees forming the Black Vine Serpent enclave¡¯s dome. As a magical plant species, the black trees had limited sentience and were capable of moving to avoid what they felt was a threat. Normally a weakness such as the one she was taking advantage of now would be disastrous for the enclave, but the orange flower natural treasure came in such limited quantities that it would effectively be useless for any of the two other major enclaves.


    The two other major beast clans were far too large and would need a much higher quantity of the natural treasure than she needed to bypass the barrier. But she was a small human, and the flower was enough to create a gap just big enough for her to fit through.


    She climbed out from under the branch barrier and looked around. She was in a large clearing, completely empty of any creature. In the centre of the clearing was a massive ancient tree, its roots spread out to touch the outermost edges of the clearing. And right in the middle of the tree was a large dark hole, revealing a tunnel that connected to some place under the tree.


    Focusing on her perception field, she moved slowly and carefully down the tunnel, making sure no other serpents were within the abode. Then she finally managed to see the beast within her perception field.


    A massive black serpent with scales as dark as coal sat sleeping in the centre of the cavern, its body slowly moving in time with its breathing. While not quite as large as the Truth-Seizing Matriarch had been, the Black Vine Serpent King was no doubt incredibly dangerous for her current self. Even its barrier guards had been capable of instantly killing her.


    But she wasn¡¯t going to attempt anything just yet. Instead of approaching the beast, whose scales were marred by countless slashes and poorly healed scars, she walked around it, hiding herself and her belongings in a little alcove just out of sight of the cavern¡¯s entrance. Then she waited.


    Eventually, after an entire hour had gone by, the sounds of sliding scales reached her ears, and two Black Vine Serpents entered the cavern. With her out of sight, they couldn¡¯t see anything, but she was perfectly capable of viewing them with her perception.


    They were dragging a large structure formed of leaves down into the cavern, a collection of colourful natural treasures and trophies to present to the Serpent King arranged on top. They left the tribute in front of the serpent and left the room.


    As soon as they were gone, Lucille took the opportunity to walk over to the natural treasures. Then she replaced them with her own collection, placing the Illusionary Corpse Lily¡¯s stigma, Silver Reed Caiman spines and Luminous Psychosis Lotus on top. Then, using the Potency Enhancer natural treasure, this one a type of sap, she ensured the stigma from the monstrous plant was completely covered in the substance. She placed the old natural treasures into her woven sack and returned to her hiding spot.


    Looking at the stronger natural treasures she now had, she shrugged and began eating them. The Serpent King could possibly detect the mana if she left them be, and eating them was the quickest way to erase the evidence.


    After another half-hour, there was movement from the Black Vine Serpent King. The old snake, with scales dull and scratched from age, lazily opened one dark green eye and yawned. Lucy watched as he shook his head to remove the sleepiness and then lowered his head to inspect the tribute. Then he opened his jaws and bared his fangs as he hissed.


    ¡°This is the quality of tribute they¡¯re now giving me? Food that they wouldn¡¯t even feed their own children?¡± He raised his head to look at the entrance, one of his eyes a pale milky colour indicative of blindness. ¡°My descendants think I¡¯ve become an easy target since I retreated to my abode for the season. It seems I must leave and remind them of who the true ruler of the enclave is¡­ hm?¡±


    The Serpent King lowered his head again to inspect the pile of treasures. ¡°What is¡­¡± He blinked, and then his mouth stretched into a wide grin. ¡°Dark Venom Lily? They managed to find one of these rare plants?¡±


    He chuckled and shook his head from side to side. ¡°I suppose the tribute could be considered acceptable after all. A high-ranked natural treasure¡­¡± Then he narrowed his eyes again and looked at the entranceway. ¡°But the quality of the rest of these natural treasures is atrocious. This will still need to be rectified.¡±


    He slithered forward slightly and then snapped up the treasures. He coiled himself up again to get comfortable, lowering his head back down¡­


    ¡°It appears you enjoyed your meal, sir.¡±


    The eyes of the Serpent King snapped open and he raised his head to stare at Lucy as she walked around him to stand in front of him. She smirked and placed a hand on her hip as she gestured to the empty bed of leaves.


    ¡°I¡¯m pleased to know that my hard work has not gone unappreciated.¡±


    The Serpent King narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°I¡¯m unfamiliar with your subrace¡­ and you have a bipedal form with such low strength¡­¡±


    Lucille smiled calmly and gave him a bow. ¡°I come from¡­ a foreign region. My name is Lucille.¡±


    ¡°Foreign region¡­¡± He studied her with suspicion. ¡°And yet surely you¡¯re aware of what position I hold in this region?¡±


    Her smile widened as she held her hands behind her back. ¡°Of course. One of the three Beast Kings of the Deep Greenwood Region, the Black Vine Serpent King.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯m sure you know what happens to those who dare to enter my abode!¡±


    He hissed and opened his jaws wide as he lunged at her. But he froze just before he could touch her as he heard her words.


    ¡°I hope you liked my poison too.¡±


    ¡°Poison?¡± He looked down at himself, attempting to detect the foreign substance in his body. He glanced between the empty bed of leaves and her, making the connection, and then hissed at her. ¡°You think you can poison me? A beast of the poison element?¡±


    Lucy smirked and gave him a wide shrug. ¡°Let¡¯s just say I¡¯m familiar with serpent physiology. You can feel it can¡¯t you?¡± Her smirk widened. ¡°The sensation of fire licking at your scales, ice forming in the pit of your stomach¡­ the feeling of claws raking across your flesh.¡± Lucille pointed at him. ¡°Look. Your scales are even beginning to fall off.¡±


    He followed her gesture to look at where she was pointing, then turned back to her, his words confident but his voice less so. ¡°The poison will fade. This is nothing to a beast of my strength.¡±


    She widened her eyes curiously and slowly tilted her head. ¡°Really?¡± Then she gained a wide grin and held up two gloved hands, fingers spread. ¡°Shall we count then? About¡­ the length of time it takes to breath ten times? I¡¯m sure a beast as powerful as yourself can cleanse yourself of the poison in that length of time, right? Surely that¡¯s possible for you?¡±


    He scoffed. ¡°Of course.¡±


    Lucy narrowed her eyes as she smiled. ¡°Then let¡¯s test this. One¡­ two¡­¡± She glanced between him and her hand and smirked. ¡°Three¡­ four¡­¡±


    The serpent¡¯s eyes slowly narrowed, but as the time ticked down, he stopped moving, watching her silently.


    ¡°Eight¡­ nine¡­¡± Lucy glanced at her hand again, then grinned widely. She covered her mouth as she chuckled. ¡°And¡­ ten. Oh dear. Your reaction seems to indicate that the sensation is still there. Should I count again? One¡­ two¡­¡±


    When she got to five she smirked and placed her hands behind her back again. The Black Vine Serpent King watched her warily as she stepped closer to look up at him. ¡°The effects haven¡¯t left yet, have they? You¡¯re still poisoned.¡±


    The Serpent King stayed silent as she stepped back and spread her arms wide. ¡°The great Black Vine Serpent King, a beast of poison and darkness, managed to become poisoned himself. How the other Beast Kings would laugh if they discovered this. If I leave here and tell the other Beast Kings then I¡¯m sure the Beast Kings would take advantage of this situation to finally remove you.¡±


    The Serpent King narrowed his eyes and looked towards the entranceway, but Lucille clicked her tongue and shook her head. ¡°Are you going to call for your descendants? I would advise against that.¡± She gained a cruel smirk. ¡°Your children would love to see you dead just as much as the other Beast Kings. You know this. They¡¯ve been upset about your demands for tribute for a while now. Wouldn¡¯t they leave you for dead once they find out about this?¡±


    She snickered and gave a lazy shrug. ¡°And we both know there¡¯s only one reason why neither of us are dead yet.¡±


    The Black Vine Serpent King turned to face her, watching her in the silence. Eventually, he replied, ¡°If you know how to poison even me, a Superior-level beast of poison, yet haven¡¯t chosen to give me a lethal poison, then it can only be because there¡¯s something you desire to obtain from me.¡± He narrowed his eyes again. ¡°And you have a way of ensuring that I won¡¯t take the risk of killing you.¡±


    She reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a palm-sized white sphere. ¡°Well, that¡¯s because I have the antidot-¡±


    Before she could blink a flash of dark mana burst out from the Serpent King and formed a claw to steal away the sphere. The temporary dark mana limb threw the orb into the Serpent King¡¯s mouth. He hissed at her. ¡°You were saying?¡± Then he paused when he saw Lucy¡¯s reaction.


    Lucy had her eyes wide in surprise, staring at him with a smile on her lips. She placed one hand behind her back and held her chin. ¡°That was¡­ easier than expected.¡±


    Her words made the Serpent King freeze up and he checked his body for any changes. He became confused when he felt that the effects of the poison had diminished slightly. ¡°That¡­ was that not the antidote?¡±


    Lucy shrugged and shook her head with a wry smile on her lips. ¡°That was not, in fact, the antidote. You see,¡± she said with a broad grin on her face, ¡°that was something I created to suppress the effects of the poison. However, the caveat is¡­¡± She smirked. ¡°It prolongs the life of the poison too. If you don¡¯t take it regularly, those ghostly sensations will become stronger, and you might quite possibly succumb to the poison.¡±


    She smiled brightly and spread her hands. ¡°And I was never going to say I have the ¡®antidote¡¯. I was going to say I have the antidote recipe¡­¡± She narrowed her eyes and smirked. ¡°Which you won¡¯t be able to find out if you kill me.¡±


    The dark mana of the Serpent King writhed around his body chaotically, revealing his calm outward appearance to not reflect his internal thoughts, but the snake just sighed and lowered his head to view Lucy with one large eye. ¡°It seems perhaps my age has finally bested me, for me to be tricked by something as little as this. Very well. State your demands and then give me the antidote.¡±


    Lucille shook her hands. ¡°Demands? I have no such thing as forceful as a ¡®demand¡¯ for you, sir.¡± She gave him another bow, looking up slightly with a sly smile on her face. ¡°What I wish to propose is a¡­ collaboration, of sorts.¡±


    The Serpent King flickered his tongue as he studied her with mild curiosity and suspicion. ¡°A¡­ collaboration?¡±


    Lucy grinned as she straightened up and placed a hand on her hip. She pulled out Apophis and spun the dagger as she threw it repeatedly in the air. ¡°You see, I just so happen to want two Beast Kings dead in this region. And I think with your help, we could do something.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not fighting either of them. I¡¯m not suicidal and I know my strength,¡± the Serpent King hissed.


    She blinked innocently as she caught the dagger. ¡°Who said anything about you killing them now? No, no, there¡¯s no need for you to fight them yet, sir.¡± Lucille smirked. ¡°All we need to do is turn them against each other, and the job is done for us.¡±


    The Serpent King raised his head, peering at her with intense focus. ¡°Turn them¡­ against each other.¡±


    ¡°Yes. We¡¯ll manipulate their enclaves into conflict, and make the event big enough to get the Beast Kings involved. When a winner is finally determined, weakened and alone after their intense fight¡­¡± She mimed swiping Apophis across her neck. ¡°You kill them.¡±


    The Serpent King hissed as he lowered his head to eye her, his dark mana curling about him. ¡°And I¡¯m supposed to work with the person who poisoned me?¡±


    Lucy raised an eyebrow. ¡°Is that the problem now?¡± She narrowed her eyes. ¡°You know just as well as I do that if it were not for that poison, I¡¯d be dead already.¡± She smiled brightly again and spread her arms in a gesture of peace. ¡°I want to form this partnership with us being in a relationship of equals. We can¡¯t do that unless I have some sort of advantage, can we?¡±


    He just snorted and shook his head. ¡°Fine. And you¡¯ll give me the antidote once they¡¯re defeated?¡±


    She smiled and nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    He sat up on his tower of coils as the dark mana warped around him. ¡°Then let¡¯s work out the details of this plan of yours. How are you going to go about this?¡±


    Lucy grinned. ¡°Well, I just so happen to know the location of the secret natural treasure stores of both the Thundering Storm Vulture Queen¡¯s eldest son and the Iron-Fur Jungle Tiger King¡¯s brother¡­ and I believe we could plant enough evidence for the spark of confrontation to begin¡­¡±


    <hr>


    The black serpent hissed in pain as Scytale used his tail to send it flying into the side of a tree. It was just another of the many he had fought off, the injured snakes forming a wide circle around him in their enclave. They hadn¡¯t been able to defeat him, however. His larger size and higher bloodline level meant they had no chance against him.


    Scytale had no interest in attacking the lesser members of the enclave, likely the ones with families to protect and with little power within the enclave. His only goal was their ruler. And now it was time for him to deal with the first contender.


    As the black serpents hesitantly shifted around him, two larger serpents guarding one large hole in a tree moved to either side. The whispers of communication that had been occurring between the observing serpents instantly died to silence. The sound of creaking wood and scales against rough dirt echoed up from the hole.


    The head of the great beast emerged first, jagged scars decorating its face, with two eyes gazing solemnly at Scytale, one a dark malevolent green, the other a pearlescent milky white. The body of the serpent beast emerged next, its scales having grown dull with age, but the powerful dark and poison mana radiating from it revealing the strength still carried by the impressive beast. The Black Vine Serpent King raised itself to its full height, larger than Scytale.


    ¡°So, you have fought my pathetic kin and won, beast of impure blood?¡± the Serpent King hissed.


    Scytale bared his fangs. ¡°I heard you were some impressive Beast King, but all I see is a coward who treats his children as tools to be thrown away whenever you want.¡±


    The Black Vine Serpent King narrowed his eyes. ¡°A creature of the many-winged lineage thinks to judge me?¡± He shook his head mockingly. ¡°As Patriarch, I am allowed to use those of my blood as I see fit. But if I were to father such spawn as you, a child of the Caladrius¡­¡± The Serpent King gave a hissing laugh. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t I die of shame?¡±


    Scytale readied himself, shifting his wings close to his body. ¡°Is this really what I will now get because of my second bloodline? Racial discrimination?¡±


    ¡°The snakelet fresh out of their eggshell shouldn¡¯t believe they can describe the ancient enmity between us and them,¡± the black serpent spat. ¡°From the instant they perceived our kind as prey, they had formed a blood feud between-¡±


    ¡°Look, old guy. I could not care less.¡± Scytale lunged at the Serpent King. ¡°Just fight! I¡¯ll show you who should get back into their eggshell!¡±


    Their battle lasted three whole days. And by the end of it¡­


    ¡­ only one of them remained, announcing his position as the new Serpent Beast King with loud cries atop the body of his fallen foe.

 Chapter 48 (2 of 2) Predator or Prey.

    ¡°And you have everything prepared?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. Your close guards and I will take advantage of the chaos to attack the vultures from the back. Neither will find it suspicious, as it¡¯s only natural to attack an enemy if they have a weakness.¡± The dark-haired girl smirked. ¡°As long as it¡¯s only a small-scale raid, then they won¡¯t know we¡¯ve been prepared for this all along.¡±


    The Serpent King glanced between the valley before them and her. He flickered his tongue and began to retreat into the darkness. ¡°Then do as you need to. And don¡¯t make any mistakes. Obtaining those treasures cost me four of my Warborne, and I don¡¯t want any more to be lost because of your decisions.¡±


    Lucille¡¯s smirk didn¡¯t change as she walked over to the territory. ¡°But I¡¯m sure you believe it to be an acceptable sacrifice to become the Supreme Ruler of the region.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± He didn¡¯t say anything more and left her alone, heading off to the place they had arranged earlier.


    When he was a distance away, she stretched her arms and began her journey into the territory of the Thundering Storm Vulture Queen.


    Time to use this chance to complete my Sub-Objectives then.


    She sped up her pace to a jog, being careful to mind her footing as she moved deeper into the territory. Eventually, she came to a hole beneath a large tree, covered by leaves so it would be hidden from plain sight. She climbed in and followed the tunnel made from thick tree roots.


    Lucille entered a room full of giant black snakes, who all turned to look at her. She walked forward to peer out of the tunnel¡¯s opening they were all waiting before, allowing her to see the long river the vultures were sitting around. Tall cliff faces bordered the clearing of the river, with the larger and more powerful vultures sitting on the top of tall trees to keep watch. In the distance, the cries and roars of many beasts could be heard. She turned to face the largest Black Vine Serpent.


    ¡°How long has the eldest son been gone?¡±


    ¡°Two hours,¡± the snake replied. ¡°The Eagle Warborne haven¡¯t fully left to watch from the trees. Some are still keeping guard by the river, and only a third followed the Queen¡¯s son to battle the forces of the Tiger King¡¯s brother.¡±


    ¡°Probably the Vulture Queen¡¯s orders¡­¡± Lucy murmured. She crouched down to prepare for the wait as she returned to looking out of the opening. The dark mana of the Black Vine Serpents cloaked their presence. ¡°We¡¯d still have to face several of the Warborne eventually. As long as the majority are distracted by the conflict, we¡¯ll win this battle.¡±


    ¡°Battle¡­¡±


    She heard the tone in the lead Black Vine Serpent Warborne¡¯s voice and gave him a look. ¡°You don¡¯t think I¡¯ll do anything.¡±


    He was silent, but his green eyes studied her. Lucy turned away. ¡°I¡¯ll do my share.¡± She ran a hand along Apophis¡¯ pommel. ¡°I just have¡­ unique ways of fighting.¡± Then her expression went cold as she looked at the serpent. ¡°But it¡¯s not up to you to decide whether I should participate in this battle or not. You have your master¡¯s orders to follow me. Don¡¯t question me.¡±


    The snake gave a slow nod, so she continued waiting in silence. Suddenly, a victorious roar sounded and a pained screech rang out, making all the Thundering Storm Vultures outside and all the Black Vine Serpents inside the hideout jolt.


    ¡°The Queen¡¯s son¡­¡± a serpent muttered.


    Then a sorrowful cry rang out, thunder clouds collecting above the territory. All the Thundering Storm Vultures let out sorrowful cries in response, and then they all fell silent.


    ¡°¡­ he¡¯s dead,¡± Lucy said.


    A metallic tang formed on Lucy¡¯s tongue as the stormy skies outside lit up with brilliant light, another furious cry resounding. The larger and more powerful vultures cried out and rose, lightning flickering across their feathers. They soared away, and only a few of the Warborne vultures were left behind to protect the weaker members of the clan.


    Lucille straightened up. ¡°The Queen has left to avenge her son. Let¡¯s go,¡± she ordered. ¡°Kill only the Warborne. We need to weaken them enough so they won¡¯t become a threat when we fight the tigers.¡±


    ¡°Only the Warborne?¡± the lead serpent asked, confused. ¡°But the young and weaker Thundering Storm Vultures can still be a threat. If we don¡¯t remove them now¡­¡±


    His words trailed off as her expression grew cold once more. ¡°Do as I have said.¡± She looked back at the vultures around the river. ¡°We need to conserve our strength to deal with the tigers after this. They will have stronger and larger forces than the vultures. Dealing with the young and other vultures will only waste time.¡±


    The serpent nodded, and with a gesture to the other Black Vine Serpents, they slithered out. Lucy watched them go and then followed.


    It wasn¡¯t that it would waste time. It was because she wasn¡¯t prepared to go as far as to kill innocents who had no part in this fight. Questions of ethics were difficult topics when it came to magical beasts and their culture of ever-constant conflict, but¡­


    For reasons relating to the more¡­ unnatural characteristics of her soul, she always retained perfect recollection of every attempt of the stages, devoid of the dream-like resemblance others felt when remembering the stages. While others would be left with only a few key memories important to their personal growth to prevent their minds from breaking under the burden of the memories from the stages, she would remember everything as if it had actually occurred.


    When someone retains perfect recollection of time in an environment where their actions never held repercussions for them or the real world¡­ it could be very hard to keep together a sense of morality.


    ¡­ the Hero would argue she had already lost hers, though.


    She shook her head and ran forward, readying herself to begin her next action.


    I shouldn¡¯t be thinking about this. This is my time to relax and enjoy myself. Where I can cause as much chaos as I like¡­ and study the impact my actions have on people.


    She smiled as she withdrew Apophis and Ouroboros.


    That¡¯s the only way I learned to be ¡®human¡¯, after all.


    ¡­


    She ducked behind a tree as another bolt of lightning flashed by. The battle occurring in the clearing was chaotic, but the serpents were steadily winning. In the distance, the sound of bird cries and roars could be heard, more of the Iron-Fur Jungle Tiger King¡¯s Warborne joining the battle as the fighting grew more intense. The two Beast Kings had yet to battle each other, only keeping watch to ensure they didn¡¯t begin any catastrophic attacks to destroy the forces of the opposing enclave.


    Lucille looked at the situation of the serpents.


    The first and third objectives appear like they¡¯re going to be completed without difficulty, but the second and fourth objectives won¡¯t be completed unless I do something.


    She stepped out behind a tree when there was a lull in the shower of lightning bolts.


    The way of magical beasts is to make it big and flashy. Let¡¯s hope Ouroboros¡¯s shield skill works when I use Apophis.


    Extending Apophis into his longsword form, she whipped out with the snake-sword to attack the closest vulture. The demonic blade slashed out, leaving countless serrations across the chest of the vulture, who had panicked when faced with the unfamiliar form of attack.


    The other Thundering Storm Vultures looked at Lucy as Apophis hovered in a wide circle around her, segments rotating and twisting around its length like a blood-red storm. Lucille smirked as the demonic aura crackled and sparked malevolently.


    ¡°I hope you don¡¯t believe the Black Vine Serpents are the only threat here.¡±


    The Warborne vultures glanced at each other hesitantly, but they were soon attacked by the serpents still fighting them. One of the few that weren¡¯t fighting a serpent screeched and came forward to face her.


    Here goes nothing.


    She narrowed her eyes and slashed with Apophis again. The vulture managed to avoid the segments and launched itself at her. Her sword snapped back to its dagger form as she dived into a roll to dodge the attack of the bird. She stood up straight as the bird flew into the air and they faced each other, the bird looking down on Lucy as she watched it.


    This one doesn¡¯t seem to be advanced rank yet. Is it a new member? It must be talented for its age if it became a member of the Warborne already.


    She readied her black blade again and whipped it at the vulture.


    But if it¡¯s still intermediate level, then I have a chance of defeating it.


    Her opponent attempted to dodge the segments again, but this time the unpredictable movement of the blade meant it failed to dodge fully. As Lucy attempted to attack again it let out a screech and let lightning mana flood the air around it. The air crackled as Lucy hastily pulled out Ouroboros and extended the weapon to its sword form.


    A beam of lightning shot down towards her, faster than the eye could see, but in the same amount of time a pale blue clear shield briefly formed around her, Ouroboros glowing with a sky-blue aura. The lightning dispersed against the shield, both disappearing right afterwards, and Lucy slashed Apophis towards the vulture once more, taking advantage of the bird¡¯s surprise at the failed attack.


    It screeched as the chaotically shifting weapon entangled with its feathers, knocking it to the ground as the sharp metal became enwrapped around the bird. Lucille ran forward and stabbed Ouroboros into the vulture¡¯s chest. It let out a cry of pain as its feathers became drenched in blood, splattering Lucy, but it soon fell silent.


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Fight a member of the Thundering Storm Vulture enclave.]


    [Completion Rate: +2%]


    Several of the serpents and vultures glanced at her when they had heard the cry of pain, and took in the death of the beast.


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Demonstrate your power to the beasts in the surrounding area so none question your abilities.


    [Completion Rate: +2%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 34%]


    Lucille straightened up and ran a hand through her fringe, uncaring about the blood she was getting on her face as she sighed from the exertion. She withdrew Apophis and raised the blade to point at the nearby beasts watching her. She tilted her head as a lopsided smirk appeared on her face. ¡°Who¡¯s next?¡±


    ¡­


    It was a bloody afternoon. Warborne, the ¡®soldiers¡¯ of an enclave, were picked because of their loyalty and strength, so not one of the vultures fighting them surrendered. The normal families of the enclave hid away from the serpents, but as Lucy had ordered, they showed no interest in going after the equivalent of civilian members of the enclave.


    While several of the Black Vine Serpents had died during the battle, the serpents outnumbered the vultures, and it was a total defeat for the birds. The lead serpent came over to Lucille as she stood facing the sounds of the tigers¡¯ and vultures¡¯ battle in the distance.


    ¡°Our next move?¡±


    ¡°We wait,¡± she replied. She turned to look at the serpent. ¡°Has everything been dealt with here?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°There are no more of this enclave able to fight against us.¡±


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Deal with the enclave of the contender so they don¡¯t become a threat after the battle with the first contender.


    [Completion Rate: +2%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 36%]


    She glanced at the notification.


    Seems what he says is true if I¡¯m receiving that notification.


    She faced the distance against. ¡°Then we need to wait until the next stage begins.¡±


    The serpent gave her a strange look. ¡°The next stage? When would that be?¡±


    Lucille opened her mouth to reply, but paused as everyone in the clearing heard the loud roars and cries of two beasts, the horizon lighting up with brilliant flashes of light.


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Make preparations to remove the first contender.


    [Completion Rate: +6%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 40%]


    She pointed.


    ¡°Here it is. The Thundering Storm Vulture Queen and the Iron-Fur Jungle Tiger King have begun to fight.¡±


    [Stage 4 Complete. Transferring User¡­]


    ¡­


    [Welcome to the S.T.A.G.E.S!]


    Available S.T.A.G.E.S (Beast Realm):


    Completion Rate: 40%


    Stage 1: Entry into the Deep Greenwood Region (UNLOCKED)(COMPLETED)


    Stage 2: The Search for Sustenance (UNLOCKED)(COMPLETED)


    Stage 3: Tools of Survival (UNLOCKED)(COMPLETED)


    Stage 4: Ascending from Prey to Predator (UNLOCKED)(COMPLETED)


    Stage 5: The Trial of Fire (UNLOCKED)


    Stage 6: LOCKED


    Stage 7: LOCKED


    Stage 8: LOCKED


    Stage 9: LOCKED


    Stage 10: LOCKED


    [Please complete Stage 5 to proceed to the next stage]


    Lucille took a breath as she prepared herself to move on to Stage 5. While looking at the list of stages indicated she was at the 50% mark, truthfully she was more like 70% of the way through. The last five stages would likely go very quickly, but they were also the stages that were most dangerous. She wouldn¡¯t be able to die permanently, but the stress of the stages could possibly make her soul unstable, and¡­ she knew that elements relating to the ¡®Cataclysm¡¯ would show up.


    But she would succeed. And afterwards, her first steps in growing stronger would finally be able to be taken.


    ¡­


    [S.T.A.G.E.S | Stage 5: The Trial of Fire]


    For three weeks now, you have survived and prepared to face the three sovereigns of the region. Your first target has been chosen, and you have launched a successful attack on their enclave. The possibility of you becoming the Supreme Ruler of the Region is growing stronger.


    But you never should forget your true reason for aiming to become the Supreme Ruler. Not for power, or treasures of the wild places. Not for abundant mana or high status. Your reason is survival. Purely survival.


    The trials for the region are about to begin, sifting out the failing subraces from those who thrive. Only one King may lead the remaining races of the region to a brighter future.


    The first trial, the trial of fire, begins today. If you truly have prepared enough, then you¡¯ll see the light of the next day. If not¡­


    ¡­ enjoy your life while it lasts, wanderer. [Collapse]


    Main Quest (Rank-1: Beast Realm) Overall Objective:


    <ul>


    <li>Ensure no contenders to the title of Supreme Ruler of the Region remain by the time of the New Moon¡¯s day.</li>


    </ul>


    Sub-Objectives ¨C Stage 5:


    Compulsory:


    <ul>


    <li>Survive the eruption.</li>


    </ul>


    Optional:


    <ul>


    <li>Remove the first contender.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    [Completion Rate: 40%]


    Lucille barely read the notification before she walked off, aiming to take a trail that would take her over a cliff to let her see the fight between the two Beast Kings in the distance.


    The serpent she had returned to standing beside called after her, ¡°Where are you going?¡±


    ¡°To see the battle,¡± she called back. ¡°I suggest you and your kin come with me to watch it too.¡±


    The serpent hesitated for a moment before calling out for the other Black Vine Serpents to follow. She climbed up and began trekking towards the fight.


    Half an hour later she managed to get to a hill overlooking the battle zone, a flat zone of tall trees where the vultures faced the tigers. The Iron-Fur tigers had fur of light grey and stripes of darker metallic colour giving them their patterns. The lightning of the vultures had little effect on the beasts, resulting in a harsh battle of claws and teeth between them.


    In the centre of the zone, an area that all the beasts avoided due to the danger of dying from stray attacks, were the two massive Beast Kings. They tumbled and clashed, lightning flashing and jagged spears of metal spurting from the ground. It was the edge between the Thundering Storm Vultures¡¯ territory and the Iron-Fur Jungle Tigers¡¯ territory, with their mighty mountains being the backdrop for the fight between the two Kings.


    The leading Black Vine Serpent came up to Lucille.


    ¡°Is it not suspicious for us to be here?¡± he asked her questioningly.


    She didn¡¯t look at him as she watched the battle. ¡°As long as we make no moves, they won¡¯t know our part in this battle. A rival enclave watching to see the outcome of a battle between two of its other rivals is an understandable situation. It¡¯s only if we attempt to involve ourselves in this fight that they¡¯ll both turn against us.¡±


    He glanced at her but seemed to accept her answer, as he retreated back to move over to the rest of the serpent Warborne.


    The sun above them slowly lowered towards the Iron-Fur Tigers¡¯ mountains in the distance as the hours went by, but Lucille stayed alert, watching the battlefield intently. She didn¡¯t remove her eyes from the battlefield once.


    The serpents behind her were looking bored, and a bit unhappy with the situation. Lucy heard them discuss her actions but ignored them. It was when the sun was beginning to set that something finally happened.


    Below them on the hill, the intensity of the battle was weakening. The fighting beasts had decreased in numbers and were losing strength, but carried on fighting. The two Beast Kings were covered in numerous scratches and wounds, bleeding furiously as they continued to fight. They were no longer wielding the elements to fight, as both of their mana had drained dry.


    Suddenly, there was a slight tremble of the ground, nearly unnoticeable by all the beasts when compared to the quaking of the Beast Kings¡¯ footsteps. But the ground underneath the Thundering Storm Vulture Queen sunk down, making her cry in surprise. The Iron-Fur Jungle Tiger King didn¡¯t waste a second and roared as he grabbed the neck of the Queen in his jaws. The Queen let out one last cry before slumping, dead.


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Remove the first contender.


    [Completion Rate: +5%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 45%]


    Lucille instantly turned away and bolted down the hill as fast as she could.


    ¡°Huh- wait, where are you-¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to die, then go!¡±


    The Black Vine Serpents exchanged hesitant glances, very confused about the situation. Then their eyes widened and Lucy stumbled as the ground rumbled furiously.


    The massive peaks of the Iron-Fur Jungle Tigers¡¯ territory let out booming sounds of cracking earth until immense black clouds of ash spurted from the mountains. Dislodged boulders and stones tumbled down the mountains as molten rock poured out from the volcanic mouths of the peaks. The ground near the mountains sunk in places just as it had done for the Thundering Storm Vulture Queen, and the black clouds rolled outwards, slowly covering the sky.


    Lucy picked herself up and kept running as a shower of fiery stones began to rain down from the skies. The howl of beasts echoed from behind her as the ones on the battlefield were hit first, the hail of fire wiping out both the victors and the defeated. The serpents quickly followed, realising the threat of the situation.


    Lucille ran through her plans for the stage.


    I need to get out of the territory. From what I know, the volcanic activity will act like a chain reaction in this stage, running from the border between the tigers¡¯ territory and the border of the vultures¡¯ territory all the way over to where the tigers¡¯ territory meets with the serpents¡¯.


    The constant rumbling of the ground dislodged several of the trees rooted in the hill, and they began to tumble down. Lucy dived to the side to dodge a large tree.


    The Black Vine Serpent King would¡¯ve taken his forces to deal with the Tiger King¡¯s forces on the other side of the territory, where the enclave itself resides. He would¡¯ve finished by now and would be waiting me. I¡¯ll need to meet up with him so the Tiger King can be killed, but where should I go first¡­


    She made it to the bottom of the hill and didn¡¯t even glance between the two routes in front of her as she followed the one that led back into the vultures¡¯ territory.


    No, the 7<sup>th</sup> stage will be in the vultures¡¯ territory. The System will ensure I get pushed back into that territory once I complete this stage, so it¡¯s better that I head there now so I don¡¯t have two problems on hand for the 6<sup>th</sup> stage.


    The ground beneath her rumbled again, but this time it was due to the stampede that had formed in the wake of the volcanic eruption. She gritted her teeth and sped up as she detoured to avoid the massive line of beasts heading towards her.


    The sound of trees falling could be heard as glowing boulders of stone crashed into them. The beasts in the stampede panicked, sending the rushing forces into even more chaos. Lucy kept heading away from them and had to come to a halt as she stopped before a steep decline. She glanced behind her, then at a thick tree trunk that was just teetering on the edge of the hill. She withdrew Ouroboros and lashed out with the weapon to cut the base of the tree and then jumped on board the log as it began to slide down the hill. It quickly gathered speed as the rumbling of the earth continued, and Lucy¡¯s eyes widened as it slammed into another tree.


    She was thrown off of it and tumbled down the hill the rest of the way, scratches and minor wounds marring her skin and tearing her clothes as she fell. She crashed through a thick section of foliage and rolled to a stop within a clearing. She coughed as she rolled onto her stomach and weakly got onto her hands and knees to stand up. She looked around to find herself right next to the lake she had stayed near for the first few stages.


    As for the volcanoes¡­ She stood up and turned around, then looked at the opposite side of the lake. There, a sea of lava could barely be seen, lighting up the skies with an orange glow as shattered mountains and spat-up ground formed islands adrift the strange scene. That part of the Iron-Fur Jungle Tigers¡¯ territory¡­ had sunk, gone forever.


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Survive the eruption.


    [Completion Rate: +5%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 50%]


    She took a look at the notification and released a sigh of relief.


    [Stage 5 Complete. Transferring User¡­]


    ¡­


    [S.T.A.G.E.S | Stage 6: The Trial of Darkness]


    Survived. You have survived. It was only one trial of many to come, yes, but you have taken your first step in proving your right to survive in this realm. All your preparation was not for nothing.


    But after seeing the brilliance of fire seared into your vision, darkness is the only thing that remains. Darkness, and only darkness. The black clouds have blocked out the sun, stars and moon, blinding all. And the Nothingness Volcanic Natural Phenomena has revealed its true nature.


    The senses have been cloaked with the ash of darkness. No sight, no sound, no smell, no taste, and barely any touch for the living and breathing of the region. The only thing you can rely on is your ability to perceive life and its propensity to kill. Find food, shelter, and water.


    And don¡¯t breathe in the ashes of darkness, for it will be your last breath if you do. [Collapse]


    Main Quest (Rank-1: Beast Realm) Overall Objective:


    <ul>


    <li>Ensure no contenders to the title of Supreme Ruler of the Region remain by the time of the New Moon¡¯s day.</li>


    </ul>


    Sub-Objectives ¨C Stage 6:


    Compulsory:


    <ul>


    <li>Survive until the darkness clears at dawn.</li>


    </ul>


    Optional:


    <ul>


    <li>Identify the race of five types of beasts (0/5).</li>


    <li>Detect a beast of low bloodline level.</li>


    <li>Detect a beast of intermediate bloodline level.</li>


    <li>Detect a beast of advanced bloodline level or greater.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    [Completion Rate: 50%]


    The System had returned her to her location but had sat her underneath a large bush of some kind. The bitter smell of burnt wood filled her nostrils, and she could still see easily enough, but¡­ she lifted some leaves out of her eyes, shaking down some pitch-black ash onto her. Her sight instantly went dark, everything she was perceiving shut down. Everything except¡­ her soul.


    She considered what she could do to step out safely without breathing in the ash, and removed her shirt and leather vest. She used the shirt to cover her mouth and nose while putting the vest back on. Then she stepped out and began walking.


    Blackened leaves and thick ash coated everywhere, the sight clearly visible to her through her spiritual perception field. Cultivators who did the stage rarely struggled with it due to their spiritual sense, but in return, they weren¡¯t able to eat natural treasures to improve their Origin Skills in the Beast Realm¡¯s stages due to the mana.


    Considering the fact that the 7<sup>th</sup> stage required her to be in the vultures¡¯ territory, others may assume it would be better for her to stay where she was due to her familiarity with the lake, and nearly all the beasts would be hiding away, waiting out the night, but Lucy actually wanted to get as far away as possible from the lake. She aimed to cross at least half the territory during the night, heading towards the Black Vine Serpents¡¯ territory.


    But before she left, she walked over to the lake and filled her canteen with its water, which for some strange reason had no ash within it at all.


    After that, she frequently took a route that led her under alcoves, tree roots and sheltered areas, just to decrease the amount of ash she had the possibility of inhaling. At one stage she paused to see several low-ranked birds huddled together and hiding away inside a log, allowing her to complete the first optional objective.


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Detect a beast of low bloodline level.


    [Completion Rate: +2%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 52%]


    The rest of her journey was¡­ silent. It was possible for her to detect soundwaves with her perception field, her mental constructs interpreting it into audio for her, but the lack of any sound from beasts and such made for an unnerving journey. The wind brushing past charred and dying trees was her only company.


    As her journey took her closer towards the borders of the territory, the wildlife became busier. Not all the trees were burnt here, and several of the larger animals were moving around. During that time she managed to identify 4/5 different beast races and complete the second optional objective.


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Detect a beast of intermediate bloodline level.


    [Completion Rate: +2%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 54%]


    But then she felt a presence that made her freeze up. Quickly looking for a hiding place, she slipped into the inside of a burned-out husk of a tree, its hollow interior barely able to fit her.


    With one side of his face covered in an ugly burn wound, and his proud iron-coloured coat eaten away by the rain of fire he was subjected to earlier, the Iron-Fur Jungle Tiger King lumbered past, low growls escaping from his throat whether he was aware of it or not.


    It was a tense minute when his tail rubbed against the hollow tree and he paused to come up to it to investigate it. Eventually, he turned away and Lucy was free to move again.


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Detect a beast of advanced bloodline level or greater.


    [Completion Rate: +2%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 56%]


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Identify the race of five types of beasts (5/5)


    [Completion Rate: +1%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 57%]


    The location Lucille finally made it to¡­ was the hill she began on in Stage 1.


    She sat down after climbing up and waited as the clouds began to disperse and the sun began to rise. Not that she could see it, of course. Dawn finally arrived a few minutes later.


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Survive until the darkness clears at dawn.


    [Completion Rate: +3%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 60%]


    And while she could use her eyes to see again¡­ her limbs felt weak and heavy, as if she was afflicted by some poison.


    [Stage 6 Complete. Transferring User¡­]


    ¡­


    [S.T.A.G.E.S | Stage 7: The Trial of Water]


    The dark has faded, and light returns again. But the traumas suffered by this region do not disappear so easily.


    The ash of darkness sits heavy in your lungs, regardless of how hard you tried to prevent it. It weakens your body, draining your strength, and sucking away your mana. It is possible to survive even with the curse, but¡­ it will be a hard path to traverse.


    The region offers a cure. The waters of the lake of mana, untouched by the misery of the black clouds. It will wash away all ash and darkness. However, the waters are not to cure the individual, but the entire region. So, if you wish to remove this burden from yourself¡­ will you be able to do so while facing the flood that follows? [Collapse]


    Main Quest (Rank-1: Beast Realm) Overall Objective:


    <ul>


    <li>Ensure no contenders to the title of Supreme Ruler of the region remain by the time of the New Moon¡¯s day.</li>


    </ul>


    Sub-Objectives ¨C Stage 7:


    Compulsory:


    <ul>


    <li>Find a high location to avoid the flood.</li>


    </ul>


    Optional:


    <ul>


    <li>Drink the lake¡¯s water to cure the ash.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    [Completion Rate: 60%]


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Find a high location to avoid the flood.


    [Completion Rate: +5%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 65%]


    Lucille took one look at the geyser of water that had spurted in the distance, slowly flooding the territory as the beasts roared in distress, then shrugged. She uncapped her canteen and drank from it.


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Drink the lake¡¯s water to cure the ash.


    [Completion Rate: +5%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 70%]


    [Stage 7 Complete. Transferring User¡­]

 Chapter 49 (1 of 2) The Mother Dragon, The Primeval Sea of Life – The Primal Dragoness Tiamat.

    The floating log bobbed up and down as the dark-haired girl stepped onto it. Her hands spread to either side for balance, Lucy walked along the tree, aiming for the next section of floating wood. Murky black and brown water filled with drifting trees and leaves surrounded her, but she used the floating debris as a walkway easily enough. There was a lot of it.


    [S.T.A.G.E.S | Stage 8: The Trial of Wind]


    The flood has healed the ruined places, removing the ashes of darkness. But safety has yet to return, nor has the final Cataclysm of New Moon¡¯s day occurred. Survive in this watery landscape as the dreadful ashy water drains away, letting the jungle flourish once more.


    Tread lightly, as light as air, so you may stay afloat on the remains of the past. Head towards the last territory, using the adrift wood as rafts, bridges or boats, anything you wish, where the remaining trials may commence. Sink not into the depths of the watery abyss, for you will not surface.


    But this is, of course, a trial. The winds beckon a storm, and with it, more beasts of the region shall be lost.


    The New Moon arrives in a day, and time is running out. [Collapse]


    Main Quest (Rank-1: Beast Realm) Overall Objective:


    <ul>


    <li>Ensure no contenders to the title of Supreme Ruler of the region remain by the time of the New Moon¡¯s day.</li>


    </ul>


    Sub-Objectives ¨C Stage 8:


    Compulsory:


    <ul>


    <li>Reach the Black Vine Serpents¡¯ territory before evening.</li>


    </ul>


    Optional:


    <ul>


    <li>Find food among the drifting foliage.</li>


    <li>Keep your head under water for less than 30 seconds total before reaching dry land.</li>


    <li>Locate the second contender.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    [Completion Rate: 70%]


    Normally, a User would be still stuck near the centre of the Thundering Storm Vulture¡¯s territory, but she had already crossed half of the zone. Which meant hopefully, she¡¯d be able to avoid the worst of the storm.


    She stiffened up as a small wave rocked the haphazard clumped island of mud, tree logs and branches she was standing on. The water in the flooded landscape was slowly draining away, but not quickly enough.


    Coming up to the edge of the clumped floating landmass, she knelt and carefully got down onto her hands and knees. A long, wide slippery log was separating her from getting to the next most solid section of land and debris, and she didn¡¯t want to fall in and have to restart the stage.


    Slowly moving, she crawled across the top of the log, aiming for the opposite side. Ensuring she stayed still when any small wave or similar caused the log to move, she finally made it after a few tense minutes. She stood up on the floating landmass after ensuring it was solid enough to take her weight, then looked around.


    Lucy blinked as she noticed that a bush tangled up in the debris island was covered in tiny berries. She came closer to have a look.


    I believe these berries are edible, although they¡¯re only used for medicinal purposes. Do these count as food?


    She picked one off but clicked her tongue when she didn¡¯t receive a notification.


    It seems not. They don¡¯t provide enough nutrition for the System to consider them food.


    Dropping the berry and ignoring the bush, she continued on her journey. There was another reason she had to find food besides the fact there was an objective for her to complete: she was really hungry.


    I typically regulate my body so I don¡¯t feel hunger very often, as I always eat enough just when I need it. But I don¡¯t have that luxury here. The hunger isn¡¯t enough to decrease my physical abilities, but I¡¯ll want to be fully satiated before I meet the two Beast Kings.


    Making sure her perception field was open wide so she could identify any possible food, she continued crossing the floating debris. She was able to see the edge of the Black Vine Serpents¡¯ territory several kilometres or so away, so she knew she would be able to make it there in time. But the storm was coming, ominous grey clouds bordering the skies behind her.


    She paused when she detected a few low-ranked magical beasts running across her path in the distance, burrowing into the debris. If animals were around, then that meant a possible food source too. Walking a bit closer she found what it was she was looking for and began searching through the leaves of the fallen tree beside her. She pulled away with a large fruit in hand.


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Find food among the drifting foliage.]


    [Completion Rate: +2%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 72%]


    If I didn¡¯t have the ability to analyse the fruit¡¯s characteristics with my spiritual energy, then the System would be the greatest Inspection ability ever. I could just touch everything until I complete my objectives.


    She ate the fruit and carried on. As she grew closer to the edge of the landscape, the debris grew thicker, allowing her to speed up her journey. She looked over her shoulder to observe the storm closing in on her.


    I still have around half an hour of travelling to do, but the storm is going to close in on me in ten.


    Lucille took another look around.


    And¡­ where is the Iron-Fur Jungle Tiger King? If the objective to locate him has come up in this stage, then he must be nearby somewhere¡­


    She flinched as a loud thunderclap sounded behind her. She turned around to eye the storm.


    ¡­ it might not even be ten minutes until it comes. I need to get out of here.


    She sped up her pace as she continued heading towards the serpents¡¯ territory in the distance. If the storm behind her was normal, then she wouldn¡¯t have a reason to be so quick to leave, but the storm behind her was a natural mana phenomenon¡­


    She was fifteen minutes away from leaving the Thundering Storm Vultures¡¯ territory when the downpour started. Harsh gales blew about, stirring up the drifting debris and affecting the floating land beneath her feet. She stumbled as waves began to cause the debris to crash against each other, some sinking beneath the murky water.


    The effects of the rain began to reveal themselves as she found herself struggling to breathe, even though she was above water. Her travelling speed slowed as she found herself attempting to cross a long log with fast-flowing water on either side, the draining water and constant waves creating rips that would pull her out to the centre of the water if she fell in. A few close calls occurred when she nearly slipped several times while crossing, the lack of air making it hard for her to control her body well.


    Then Lucy froze as she was faced with the unconscious form of a giant tiger half-obscured by foliage on the island in front of her, his scarred coat drenched with freezing rain.


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Locate the second contender.]


    [Completion Rate: +2%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 74%]


    She hesitantly went to pull out Apophis.


    Do I¡­ kill him now? This wasn¡¯t where I found the Thundering Storm Vulture Queen last time when she was my second contender. But¡­ is it possible to complete an objective a stage earlier? Or does the System have something else pla-


    The eyes of the Tiger King snapped open, then fixed themselves on her. It only took a second for him to register the blade in her hand before he let out a growl and sprang up.


    She didn¡¯t waste a second as she sheathed Apophis and ran past him, using the time it took for him to shake off the bushes and branches weighing him down to escape. The massive beast bounded after her.


    The floating debris island they were on shuddered under the weight of the beast¡¯s footsteps, and the Tiger King behind her snarled as his claws fell through the ground into the muddy waters below. The force of the collapsing debris made Lucy trip, but she quickly got up and continued running as the tiger behind her managed to pull himself out and continue chasing after her.


    ¡°Foul lesser beast! Attempting to slay your King!¡± he roared.


    Lucille didn¡¯t waste her breath by replying, continuing to run as she ducked under branches and climbed over large logs. The waves had grown stronger, and the land beneath their feet tilted in the choppy water. The storm was only growing stronger.


    She breathed heavily as she continued running, but her speed was gradually slowing as she became more lightheaded. The border of the Black Vine Serpents¡¯ territory was just a few metres away, but the Tiger King was catching up, his greater strength allowing him to fare better in the air-seizing rain.


    Thunder boomed as the Iron-Fur Jungle Tiger King let out a roar and launched himself towards Lucy. Feeling dizzy, she summoned her strength and jumped, grabbing onto the overhanging tree branch above her. The ground rumbled as the Tiger King growled again and leapt up, but his eyes widened as the landmass he was on sunk down into the water.


    Lucille watched as the water level dipped down suddenly, beginning to drain away at a faster speed. The Tiger King howled as he was pulled away.


    ¡°I¡¯ll hunt you to the ends of the realm, traitorous beast!¡±


    Lucille¡¯s strength failed and her grip on the branch slipped. She fell to the ground, where she landed on the bank of the Black Vine Serpents¡¯ territory.


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Keep your head under water for less than 30 seconds total before reaching dry land.]


    [Completion Rate: +2%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 76%]


    The rainfall stopped as the eye of the storm passed over. Waiting a few minutes to catch her breath, she eventually shuddered deeply as she recovered her energy and slowly stood up on trembling limbs. She turned away from the bank and began heading deeper into the territory.


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Reach the Black Vine Serpents¡¯ territory before evening.]


    [Completion Rate: +4%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 80%]


    [Stage 8 Complete. Transferring User¡­]


    It¡¯s good that he¡¯s going to follow me. Because I need to lure him into a trap.


    ¡­


    [S.T.A.G.E.S | Stage 9: The Trial of Light]


    The end is nigh. In barely a few hours, the sun will dip down, and the Cataclysm shall truly begin. Then, only the strongest beast remaining will survive.


    But your trials are not yet over, wanderer. The life-bringing mana pulses beneath the earth, where the mana blood of the region is startling active and intense. This mighty force has reached the breaking point, and the core of the region shall soon be revealed.


    Luminous mana crystals lie beneath the surface of the region, their edges like blades that shall pierce the bodies of the unworthy. Prove your place in this region by slaying the second contender and climbing out of the depths of the abyss.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    You are nearly there, wanderer. [Collapse]


    Main Quest (Rank-1: Beast Realm) Overall Objective:


    <ul>


    <li>Ensure no contenders to the title of Supreme Ruler of the Region remain by the time of the New Moon¡¯s day.</li>


    </ul>


    Sub-Objectives ¨C Stage 9:


    Compulsory:


    <ul>


    <li>Escape the cavern.</li>


    </ul>


    Optional:


    <ul>


    <li>Remove the second contender.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    [Completion Rate: 80%]


    Lucille peered up at the sky above.


    Is the storm over? I may just still be in the eye of the storm¡­ well, where I¡¯m headed, it likely doesn¡¯t matter if the storm is still happening or not.


    But getting caught in the storm again before she reached the Black Vine Serpents¡¯ enclave would still affect her physical ability, and with the Tiger King having vowed to kill her, she needed to move. Making her way forward in a direct path towards the Black Vine Serpents¡¯ enclave, she clambered down thick roots and navigated the thick foliage.


    The jungle there was silent, eerily silent. Even in her perception field, she couldn¡¯t sense more than the stray bird here or there. It was reasonable for someone to think that due to the disasters that had struck the other territories, the escaping beasts would¡¯ve run to the last territory remaining. The only possible reason that the number of beasts in the territory was still so few was¡­ that the escaping beasts had never made it.


    The jungle grew thicker as she headed towards the enclave, the eery silence continuing. She didn¡¯t slow her pace, however, because she had an Iron-Fur Jungle Tiger King set on seeing her dead and even though he was injured, the senses of a Superior beast would still easily be capable of tracking her. Lucille was also using her perception field to detect the warning signs of the stage¡¯s trial, but she hadn¡¯t found anything so far.


    It was when she decided to increase the size of her perception field briefly that her eyes widened and she broke out into a full-on run.


    Dammit, he¡¯s here already!


    A few moments later the distant sounds of crashing trees and broken branches could be heard, as well as a furious roar echoing through the jungle. With his mouth set into a feral snarl, the Tiger King was pushing down trees and trampling flora to get to her. The few birds that were still around panicked and flew out of their hiding places, creating a cacophony of sounds as the immense beast ran after her.


    Lucy had to come to a stop when a wide river filled with fast-flowing white-water rapids blocked her path. She looked around to find the tree trunk she had crossed the last time she came to the enclave, and quickly climbed up on it to cross the river. She stumbled slightly when the force of the Tiger King¡¯s run made the ground tremble, dislodging the log from its originally fixed place between rocks on either side of the river. The rapids began to push the log on one end and Lucille spread her arms on either side to attempt to steady her balance.


    The Tiger King pushed past a thick wall of foliage behind her with a loud growl and slowed to a stop beside the river. He immediately spotted her and snarled, but wouldn¡¯t be able to wade across the deep river to get to her in time. He glanced at the slowly shifting log she was running across and ran over to its end.


    Lucy¡¯s breath felt sharp in her lungs as she forced herself to keep running across the log, which was slowly sliding away from the river bank on the end behind her. The Tiger King didn¡¯t care and leapt forward to climb onto the end behind her, using it as a bridge as she was doing. The force of his jump pushed the log down into the river on his side and Lucy let out an involuntary gasp as she was launched into the air to come crashing down onto the log again. She hissed as she felt her body slam onto the wood, but she gripped the log tightly so she wouldn¡¯t fall off into the waters below.


    But for the Tiger King, it was much worse. His jump had completely dislodged the log from that side of the river bank and the rapids were able to release their full power, forcing the log to begin moving downstream.


    Lucille scrambled to stand up and kept running across the log unsteadily, while the Tiger King¡¯s back paws slipped off the log and the rapids threatened to pull him in. The log began to roll and Lucy used one last burst of strength to jump off the end of the boulder onto the opposite bank. The Tiger King roared as the log crashed into him and forced him under the water, sending them both down the flowing rapids.


    Lucy didn¡¯t look back as she picked herself up and kept running, aware that it would only stop him for a few minutes. In her perception field, she saw the Tiger King make it to the bank and drag himself out, shaking his wet fur. Then he growled again and set off after her.


    Another close call occurred when she had to crawl under several thick tree roots to escape the claws of the Tiger King. He snarled and hissed as he tried to grab her and shove aside the roots, but she kept crawling until she exited and continued running, ducking behind or under roots and trees to avoid his attacks.


    Eventually, the front entrance of the Black Vine Serpents¡¯ enclave was in sight. She bolted through the open front, ignoring the calls of the serpent guards.


    ¡°The King¡¯s servant? Where are you-¡±


    She dashed through the enclave, directly to the giant tree where the Black Vine Serpent King¡¯s abode rested below. She ran down the entrance to arrive before the surprised Serpent King.


    ¡°You have finally arrived? Did you lure the Tiger King to the right place?¡± he asked, lowering his head to eye her with scrutiny. ¡°You¡¯re late. I¡¯m aware that the situation for the outside territories is dire, so you can be excused for your tardiness, but I-¡±


    The loud sounds of paws hitting the dirt at a great speed interrupted him, the abode rumbling as soil fell from the roof above them. Shouts of alarm from other serpents could be heard as the gargantuan Tiger King barged into the abode, heaving with wrath as he glanced around searchingly. The Black Vine Serpent King looked between the Tiger King and Lucy.


    ¡°And¡­ what is this situation now?¡±


    The Tiger King¡¯s eyes fixated themselves on Lucille and he snarled as she hastily knelt before the Black Vine Serpent King, bowing her head in submission to him.


    ¡°My lord, I attempted to assassinate the Tiger King as you ordered, but I failed.¡±


    ¡°As I ordered? But you-¡±


    The Tiger King didn¡¯t stop to listen to the snake¡¯s words as he turned his head to stare at the Black Vine Serpent King. Then he bellowed furiously, his eyes turned red with killing intent, ¡°Serpent King! You will die for this!¡±


    The Black Vine Serpent King only had enough time to narrow his eyes at Lucy in understanding of what she did before the Tiger King rammed into him. The massive serpent hissed and spat as the two beasts began fighting, the abode shaking with the force of their battle. Lucy ran to the edge of the room to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.


    ¡°Tiger King, do you not think that this battle could wait for another time?¡± the Serpent King hissed, fangs bared as he attempted to bite the neck of the Tiger King.


    ¡°Never!¡± the Tiger King roared, swiping at the serpent with his metallic claws. ¡°You cowardly send a lesser beast in an attempt to assassinate me at my weakest point. The region needs to be rid of such a foul beast as you!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d believe me if I told you that was not my plan?¡± The Black Vine Serpent King reared back and an orb of glowing green mana formed within his mouth. He spat it out and the Tiger King dodged the poisonous mana orb.


    The Iron-Fur Jungle Tiger King growled as he circled the black serpent. ¡°I would never trust a snake. And don¡¯t believe I have ignored the fact that your territory is the only one that has yet to be afflicted by a disaster.¡±


    The Black Vine Serpent King summoned an ominous green aura as the Tiger King tried to attack. ¡°You¡¯re suspecting me of having something to do with the disaster?¡± the serpent asked incredulously.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re truly at fault¡­¡± the Tiger King said in a low voice. His iron-coloured coat stiffened and thickened as metallic mana swam about to encase him. ¡°But¡­ it won¡¯t matter when I end you!¡±


    An overpowering aura descended on the room, with the sensation of cold iron. The Serpent King hissed and spread his aura in return, the poisonous haze making Lucille feel as if she had been drenched in sticky corrosive liquid. Their auras rapidly expanded to cover the entire enclave, conflicting with loud booms and sparks of grey and green.


    Using all of their strength, the two Beast Kings launched themselves at each other, prepared to fight to the death. The ground rumbled with from their might, dust falling from the ceiling¡­ but when they disengaged the rumbling didn¡¯t stop.


    The Beast Kings looked about hesitantly as the quaking grew stronger, with dislodged stones falling down from the roof of the abode. The earth made a sound akin to cracking, and the Tiger King backed away from the Serpent King to inspect the spider-web like marks that were crawling across the floor near him. ¡°What is-¡±


    All three of their eyes¡¯ shot open as the floor of the abode split in two with a groan of stone. Then the ground shuddered and they began plummeting into an immense downward tunnel below, the only light the light from above and the dull glimmer of something at the bottom of the chute.


    Lucy concentrated on stabilizing her descent, however hard that may be. She knew what lay at the bottom of the tunnel, and ensuring she didn¡¯t land on it was her first priority.


    As luck would have it, she didn¡¯t land on what was at the bottom of the tunnel. Instead, it was the two Beast Kings who did, letting out furious roars of pain as their bodies crashed into giant jagged shards of glowing crystal. The semi-translucent white crystals were stained red with the blood of the two beasts. Lucy landed on the back of the Iron-Fur Jungle Tiger King, and let out a hiss of pain as she felt a rib crack, but she got onto her hands and knees to climb off of the giant beast.


    She stifled her groans as she slid off of the Tiger King and unsteadily walked past the sharp crystals, trying to get away from the two beasts. She winced as her rib twinged and leaned against the cave wall to take a break.


    In the centre of the massive cavern filled with glowing stones, the two Beast Kings pushed themselves up and moved away from the bed of sharp crystals, releasing pained grunts the entire time. The two of them observed the glowing minerals, studying them to try to work out what they were.


    ¡°¡­ crystals?¡± the Black Vine Serpent King murmured.


    ¡°And this mana¡­ the density is¡­¡± the Iron-Fur Jungle Tiger King trailed off, and traded tense glances with the Serpent King. Then his expression contorted into a snarl as they shouted at each other in sync, ¡°Mana crystals!¡±


    They instantaneously summoned their auras and returned to their battle, the metal mana and poison mana tinging the crystals closest to them with their elements. Hisses and roars resounded throughout the cavern, echoing loudly. Lucy looked up to see the gaping hole overhead, as well as a few overhanging ledges with large crystals dangling off of them. The forces of the battling beasts caused a few above to tremble dangerously, so she stopped leaning against the wall and moved on.


    Ignoring the pain in her ribs, she came up to the side wall of the cavern and began looking for ledges to begin climbing up. Behind her, the Black Vine Serpent King and Iron-Fur Jungle Tiger King continued battling violently, the temptation of gaining power from all the mana crystals in the cavern being too strong to resist.


    Lucille spread her perception field briefly, and sighed when she discovered that she wouldn¡¯t have ledges for her to climb the entire way up. She would have to use an alternative.


    Sneaking a glance back at the two fighting Beast Kings to ensure they weren¡¯t watching her, she walked up to one of the closest crystals. Unsheathing Ouroboros but keeping the blade in its dagger form, she cut into the crystal. The crystal shard separated cleanly and she tucked it away. Then she returned to the wall and began her dangerous ascent.


    With the aid of her two daggers combined with the rough edges of the cavern, she slowly began her climb. The battle of the beasts below shook the cavern and every now and then she had to embed her two daggers in the stone before her face and grip them tightly, hoping that the ledge beneath her feet wouldn¡¯t be dislodged.


    When she had reached the halfway mark she stiffened as the Tiger King slammed the Serpent King into the cavern wall, his scales split apart by the jagged shards behind him.


    The Serpent King coughed weakly and raised his eyes to gaze at the Tiger King. ¡°Do you think my death will really be the end of it all?¡±


    The Iron-Fur Jungle Tiger King replied with a sneer in his voice, ¡°What? Will your disgusting offspring get revenge for you? Would they be willing to do that to their disgraced cowardly patriarch, who steals from them in return for allowing the enclave to have the reputation of being the home of the weakest beast King?¡±


    ¡°No, I do not mean to discuss that.¡± The Serpent King coughed again and shook his head. ¡°You¡¯ve seen the destruction to the region. Tell me, do you think the death of another Beast King will help our enclaves¡¯ remnants survive?¡±


    ¡°The weaklings should perish,¡± the Tiger King spat coldly. ¡°The region will enter a new age after this and doesn¡¯t need the rotten traces of the past era.¡±


    The Serpent King fell silent. Then he chuckled darkly. ¡°Yes. Rotten traces of a past era indeed. Which is why I¡¯ll erase those remnants now!¡±


    The green poison mana-tinged crystals around them exploded with the sound of shattering glass. A thick fog of poisonous particles surrounded them both as the Iron-Fur Jungle Tiger King hastily backed away and attempted to cover his nose with his claws.


    ¡°You¡­¡± He broke into hacking coughs before raising his eyes to the Serpent King again. ¡°You would give up your own opportunity for power?¡±


    ¡°I just have to ensure no contenders to my title of the strongest survive!¡± the Black Vine Serpent King replied viciously, sending black spears of dark mana towards the Tiger King.


    In his weakened state, the Tiger King attempted to fight off the dark mana with his own pillars of metal, but his mana was running low after the events of the last few days, while the Black Vine Serpent King had been fully rested and healthy in his abode the entire time. With every spear of mana that clashed, the Tiger King was forced further and further back. When the Iron-Fur Jungle Tiger King was pressed up against the wall, breathing deeply, the Black Vine Serpent King said one last thing.


    ¡°Give my greetings to the Thundering Storm Eagle Queen for me, will you?¡± he asked mockingly. Then he drove a spear of dark and poison mana into the Iron-Fur Jungle Tiger King¡¯s heart.


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Remove the second contender]


    [Completion Rate: +4%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 84%]


    Lucy didn¡¯t look back once she received the notification, continuing her climb. The Serpent King below raised his head and narrowed his eyes at her, but didn¡¯t do anything. He looked around and began swallowing any clear, dark mana or poison mana-tinged crystals he could find. The bestial aura around him grew denser.


    Eventually, Lucy arrived at the section just before the opening of the tunnel where there were no ledges. Pulling out the crystal she had obtained, she concentrated deeply and brought out a strand of her own mana.


    Let¡¯s hope my atmospheric mana control still works in here.


    Utilising the method she had used in the Gold Dome Hall to turn her mana into illusion mana, she summoned wind mana. The crystal quickly turned a cloudy white, and once it had done so, she ruthlessly smashed it against the stone in front of her. The cloudy mana escaped the crystal and expanded to form a haze around her, where she extended her spiritual power to forcefully brand the mana with her own spiritual energy signature.


    She caused the controlled haze to lift her up, letting her float higher. It gently lifted her over the edge of the tunnel, and she allowed it to drop her onto the cracked floor of the abode. Then she bolted.


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Escape the cavern]


    [Completion Rate: +6%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 90%]


    Because below her was the final Beast King, the third contender for the title of Supreme Ruler of the Region¡­ and one who has just gained the power of nearly all the mana crystals in the cavern.


    [Stage 9 Complete. Transferring User¡­]


    ¡­


    [S.T.A.G.E.S | Stage 10: The Trial of Earth]


    A whispered sigh in the wind. The slight tremble of the earth as her heartbeat. The beasts all know of her presence and revere her as their origin, their protector. Their realm¡¯s supreme ruler.


    While shattered into her little dimensions, she still lives, and the beasts are born from it. But she still heals from her wounds, those which were caused not for her suffering, but for her freedom. The homes of beasts bear the burden of her healing.


    You have survived her four trials, wanderer. It is now time for you to face the fifth. And if she accepts you as another one of the beasts¡­ then perhaps you will live. [Collapse]


    Main Quest (Rank-1: Beast Realm) Overall Objective:


    <ul>


    <li>Ensure no contenders to the title of Supreme Ruler of the Region remain by the time of the New Moon¡¯s day.</li>


    </ul>


    Sub-Objectives ¨C Stage 10:


    Compulsory:


    <ul>


    <li>Remove all remaining contenders.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    [Completion Rate: 90%]


    Lucy stared at the stage description.


    That is not the Stage 10 description I received last time.


    She glanced at it again before turning away and running up to the entrance of the abode.


    I mean, I believe I know what it¡¯s about, but why would I be shown this?


    She frowned slightly as she stopped before a tree that had fallen over during the cavern opening up earlier.


    This might mean I need to be prepared for the stages to be different from the last timeline.


    But right now, she needed to focus on her current stage. She ran past the ruined trees ¨C the homes of the other serpents ¨C and jumped across small chasms that had formed across the ground. She didn¡¯t stop running until she found the centre of the enclave, where there was a massive clearing. In this place, there were no chasms. She panted as she leaned her arms on her knees.


    Then the earth began to rumble again and she unsteadily tried to keep her balance. She held her breath as cracks spread around the edge of the clearing, separating from the earth around it. The cracks grew wider until they had isolated the clearing from other sections of land.


    The earth shuddered and groaned until Lucy was forced to her knees by the sudden rise of her platform. Through her perception, she could see that the whole enclave began to deform as if mountains and valleys were forming at extremely high speeds. The sudden towering peaks reached impossible, colossal heights, while the fresh abysses where the remains of the jungle lay within shot down to past where the cavern had been. A new, terrifying mountain range was forming before her eyes, but the spires of stone and earth rippled like a wave as if the entire region was the body of some great beast.


    The constant moving of the clearing, which was now a new mountain peak, slowed down and Lucy was able to get back on her feet. She took in the view of the disfigured earth, lava flowing from gaping holes in the sides of the peaks, and the remains of the jungle painting peaks fully or partially at random. The earth continued to rumble ceaselessly.


    Then Lucille turned around with wide eyes as a malicious presence entered her perception. A thick, vile fog the colour of pitch formed in the centre of the clearing and spread, growing thicker and thicker. It roughly collected into the shape of a massive serpent, before it scattered to reveal the form of the Black Vine Serpent King. He looked up and narrowed his eyes at Lucille.


    ¡°So, you managed to survive.¡±


    She smiled calmly and spread her arms in a wide shrug. ¡°Luck was on my side. And it seems your wish of becoming the only remaining Beast King was achieved.¡± Then she glanced over her shoulder at the scene of the destroyed region below. ¡°Although, I must say, the events that occurred in the wake of the Vulture Queen¡¯s death were unexpected.¡±


    He didn¡¯t say anything and remained silent. Lucille placed a hand behind her back as she withdrew a small vial from a pocket and held it out to the serpent, carefree.


    ¡°As agreed, here is the antidot-¡±


    The force of something slammed into her and sent her crashing into a boulder that was sitting on the edge of the peak. Her head bounced of the stone and felt like it had split in half as she doubled over and clutched her stomach.


    Her gorge rose and she vomited onto the ground beside her. The stomach acid burned her mouth, and her puke was tinged with red. Fresh blood dripped from her nose as she looked at the Serpent King. ¡°You¡­¡± She coughed blood onto the stone and wiped her mouth. ¡°You attacked¡­ you don¡¯t want the antidote?¡±


    ¡°Your poison was a hallucinogenic,¡± he growled. ¡°Those sensations were fake. You wouldn¡¯t have given me something that would decrease my strength before I faced the other Beast Kings.¡±


    Lucille¡¯s eyes widened as she stared at him. ¡°You knew?¡±


    He let out a short bark of laughter. ¡°You said it to me yourself. Didn¡¯t you call what I felt ¡®ghostly¡¯?¡± He slithered closer. ¡°So, they were false. And the cleansing of the water removed the effects, allowing me to see clearly.¡±


    Lucy unsteadily got to her feet, a hand pressed against her injured stomach as she unsheathed Apophis. She slowly walked past the boulder to face the Black Vine Serpent King, her back to the edge of the peak. ¡°¡­you don¡¯t need to kill me.¡±


    ¡°Ha. No, I don¡¯t.¡± He gained a bloodthirsty smile on his serpentine face and moved closer to her. ¡°But you heard what I said down there. No beast besides me shall live. And I want to see you dead, most of all. The lesser beast who dared to threaten me, the Black Vine Serpent King.¡± He opened his jaws wide to swallow her. ¡°I will savour the satisfaction of feeling your life fade between my fangs!¡±


    But he hesitated as Lucille gained a strange smile on her face, showing off her perfectly straight white teeth. She took a step back, and then another. She was teetering on the edge of the peak.


    ¡°Not if I kill myself first.¡±


    And she plunged Apophis into her neck.

 Chapter 49 (2 of 2) The Mother Dragon, The Primeval Sea of Life – The Primal Dragoness Tiamat.

    The peaks of the last trial rose into the sky, and accompanying them were the roars of two battling beasts. One was a gargantuan tiger with fur the colour of solid metal, his face twisted into a ferocious scar. His hide was marked by numerous bleeding wounds, pieces of glass-like shards still sticking out of some.


    The beast opposite him was an immense serpent with scales that gleamed a brilliant silver. One large pair of pale golden wings with razor-edged feathers spread out behind him, with a smaller pair just below those and a further smaller pair below those sprouting from his back as well. Silver horns that formed a crown shaped like a downward arrow sat on top of his head, a crest of white-gold feathers behind those as well. His entire body was covered in a glistening psychedelic sheen with all the colours of the rainbow.


    Scytale thought he looked pretty dashing with his illusion aura.


    But the only possible admirer he had around him was the old fart currently attempting to slash his marvellous scales, and he doubted the Iron-Fur Jungle Tiger King was willing to give him an unbiased opinion of his looks.


    Still, you couldn¡¯t succeed if you never tried in the first place, right?


    ¡°Hey, how do you think I look right now? Am I shiny? Do I look awesome?¡±


    The Tiger King responded by roaring and charging forward to try to grip his body in his jaws. Well, that was a complete failure. Clearly, the Iron-Fur Jungle Tiger King didn¡¯t have Scytale¡¯s ability to appreciate cool scales. It seemed they would never be able to reconcile.


    Not that Scytale wanted to reconcile when his entire purpose of attacking the beast was to kill him.


    The earth continued rumbling and dislodged half of a mountain near them, causing a landslide to head towards the two of them. Scytale decided to use his racial advantage for the first time: his wings.


    Spreading them wide he launched himself into the air. With each flap, he soared higher and let out a woot of excitement. Scytale swooped and dived, enjoying himself for a bit.


    Then he sucked in a breath as a fifty-ton tiger jumped into the air and nearly grabbed him. The Tiger King landed on a smaller mountain on the other side and growled at him. Scytale decided it was probably time to forget about enjoying his ability to fly for now. It was a shame that he probably wouldn¡¯t recall the experience well after the stage. At least it wouldn¡¯t be long until he could fly with his real body.


    With a cry, six orbs of brilliant golden mana formed around him and shot beams of light towards the Iron-Fur Jungle Tiger King. The tiger dodged most of them but hissed when one caught him, burning through his armour of metallic mana. Scytale flew higher to avoid the rain of metal bullet look-a-likes sent his way by the tiger.


    The Tiger King pounced from mountain to mountain, crossing the deep chasms to try to grab Scytale out of the air. Metal blades manifested out of mid-air and shot past Scytale¡¯s body, aptly twisting and dodging around the sharp projectiles. When there was a lull in the attacks as the Tiger King recovered his strength, Scytale bared his fangs and dived towards the tiger.


    The Iron-Fur Jungle Tiger King leapt high into the air to avoid Scytale¡¯s strike and roared as he angled his body to increase his speed and plummet back down. Scytale¡¯s eyes widened and he rolled to the side as the Tiger King pulverised the rock where his head had just been, leaving a crater.


    Scytale attempted to flap his wings to get some distance from the Tiger King, but the ferocious beast roared and bit down on his wings, ignoring the gashes formed within his mouth from the feathers. Scytale hissed and fresh blood from the Tiger King¡¯s mouth dripped down his feathers, but the tiger refused to let go.


    Scytale wrapped his body around the Tiger King¡¯s waist, and the beast roared as Scytale¡¯s coils squeezed him. The Tiger King let go of Scytale¡¯s wings and the two of them rolled down the side of the mountain, biting and clawing at each other the entire way as the Tiger King tried to escape Scytale¡¯s coils while Scytale squeezed tighter. The edges of his feathers raked across the Tiger King¡¯s metallic fur, creating sparks.


    It was when they were close to the bottom of the valley between two mountains that Scytale finally let the Tiger King go free, causing the beast to crash into the stone wall. He soared back into the sky and flew away, planning on saving his mana for a big attack.


    The Tiger King shook his head to remove the stone dust from his fur and bounded after Scytale, his powerful limbs aiding his journey through the moving mountain range. Scytale tried to fly near him again at one stage, aiming to sink his fangs into the beast¡¯s neck, but a swipe of the Tiger King¡¯s claw shattered the top half of a mountain and sent boulders flying into the air. Scytale tucked his wings close to his body as he dived, letting his instincts as a winged beast descendant help him navigate the treacherous airspace.


    The ground below him drew closer with each second as he picked up speed, moving further away from the massive rocks falling above him, but closer to crashing into the ground. The distance between him and the group rapidly decreased, going from 200 metres, to 250 metres, 150 metres, 100 metres, 80 metres¡­


    At the 70 metre mark he snapped his wings open and released his light mana in one powerful burst, shooting him forward like a rocket. The stones caught in the wake of the supersonic shockwave shattered into dust instantaneously.


    Scytale once again let out a woot from the effects of the adrenaline rush, overjoyed at the strength he was feeling. Supersonic flight was something he had experienced as the World-Ender, but after being confined to his young body for so long¡­ it was exhilarating, to be freed.


    But he had a task to complete, and a beast to kill. With his mana-enhanced speed only being temporary, he shot directly skyward and then did a large loop to arrive behind the Iron-Fur Jungle Tiger King, whose reaction speed was much slower than Scytale¡¯s. Increasing his speed, Scytale opened his jaws wide and slammed into the Tiger King, his speed carrying them both past multiple mountains before crashing them into the side of one. The Tiger King roared as blood welled from the wounds left by Scytale¡¯s fangs, and thrashed and twisted below him, but Scytale refused to let go of the beast¡¯s neck.


    As their struggle continued, a malicious idea snuck into Scytale¡¯s mind that he couldn¡¯t ignore, like it was some irritating bug that wouldn¡¯t leave until squished. A small part of him was screaming out that it was a bad, bad idea, but that small part of him seemed to be pulling on memories he didn¡¯t have access to yet, so he ignored it in favour of the immature side of him that wanted to make the Tiger King suffer more.


    Using his illusion mana to mimic the metal element, he manifested a large metal spike in the air. Wanting to see the reaction of the Tiger King when the beast died from an attack of his own element, Scytale let go of the tiger¡¯s neck and launched the spike straight at the Tiger King¡¯s chest, a lethal strike that was sure to slay him on the spot.


    He watched gleefully as the metal spike approached its target¡­ and then froze as it shattered into smithereens against the Tiger King¡¯s fur. There was a second of tense silence between both parties before the Tiger King snarled and lunged at Scytale.


    Scytale inwardly panicked as he dived to dodge the strike.


    Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why did that memory have to return after I nearly died because of it?!


    Scytale belatedly remembered Lucy¡¯s firm warning that he had received when he met his bond for the second time, over 80 years after their first bond, to never, ever use the illusion copy of an element against its true version. The reason for that was¡­ compared to the real version, the illusion version was pretty crappy.


    He praised himself on his smooth execution of a barrel roll to avoid the Tiger King once more, then returned to his thoughts about his memories.


    ¡­ if I have other memories like that, then it¡¯s probably best if I take Lucy¡¯s words about fixing my soul seriously. I don¡¯t want something like that to happen in the real world.


    His thoughts were interrupted when the mountain directly in front of him began rumbling loudly, with a sound much louder than the constant rolling of the peaks and mountains around them. Scytale hesitated for a moment, worried about what was going to happen.


    Then the entire mountain burst into a downpour of bright red lava, shooting out plumes of toxic pitch-black ash. Instantly, Scytale turned away and flew towards the opposite direction, the Tiger King following close behind as he leapt from mountain to mountain to escape the wave of heat.


    Then the mountains on either side of him shuddered with the same force, and Scytale¡¯s eyes widened as they also exploded into a shower of molten rock. He shot through the valley, trying to keep up his speed as mountain after mountain exploded behind him. He twisted his body into many positions just to avoid letting the lava land on him, and he could feel the few drops that had landed on him burning through his scales. The Iron-Fur Jungle Tiger King was having far fewer issues, his metallic fur providing him some protection against the fiery forces.


    The end of the valley curved around a corner, so he took a sharp right to avoid crashing into the mountain at the end, but the mountain next to him suddenly exploded with a force greater than what he had seen before. He hastily rolled out the way but winced as a large splatter of lava landed on his largest two right wings, burning some of his feathers.


    He abruptly slowed down as his damaged wings couldn¡¯t keep up with his flying speed, and his flying became unsteady. The Tiger King below him jumped straight through the lava, completely unharmed.


    Defeating the Tiger King wasn¡¯t the issue anymore. It was being able to escape the exploding mountains that was the problem. He quickly glanced about, looking for somewhere that wouldn¡¯t be affected by whatever force was ruining the mountains around him. A flat plateau that rose far above the rest of the mountains drew his eye, and it appeared unaffected by the volcanic action. Flying high above the mountains, he made his way over, ignoring the narrowed gaze of the Tiger King below.


    He finally landed on the plateau, catching his breath as he watched the scene of the destroyed region, a chaotic mess of disasters. The volcanic activity of the 5<sup>th</sup> stage, the flooding of the 7<sup>th</sup> stage, the storm of the 8<sup>th</sup> stage¡­ all of it was occurring at the same time. He even spotted mountains covered in freezing ice near the edges of the region, facing more disasters of different kinds. Any remaining jungle had been turned to ashes by the lava, or destroyed by the landslides, floods, avalanches, and other forces ongoing. Not a soul was in sight.


    He used the moment of peace to check his conditions and winced. The speed boost he had used wouldn¡¯t be able to be repeated with his wings in the current state they were in, and his mana was under half of his total mana pool. The metal spike he had used against the Tiger King had consumed around 25% of his resources due to the high cost illusion had when mimicking another element, and had been all for nothing. Luckily his injuries were still minor, and the break between Stage 9 and Stage 10 had allowed all his resources to be refreshed and his injuries to be healed. But now, he either had to go out there and find the Iron-Fur Jungle Tiger King again, or wait until something happened that would force them to fight, which was typical of the System to do.


    But apparently, neither the System nor Scytale had to do anything. Scytale flinched as he heard the heavy sounds of breathing behind him, and he saw the Tiger King pulling himself over the edge of the plateau, having climbed up the flat-topped mountain to get to Scytale.


    Neither of them spoke, just staring at each other silently, their bodies tensed in preparation for a fight. It continued like that for at least a minute before Scytale decided to break the silence.


    ¡°So¡­I¡¯m kinda new to the region, and I¡¯ve been wondering¡­¡± he began. ¡°Are things like exploding mountains and massive floods normal around this place? Because if so, I might need to pack up my things and move out pronto.¡±


    The dull look he got from the Iron-Fur Jungle Tiger King revealed his attempt at livening up the atmosphere hadn¡¯t been appreciated. And if there was one single mantra Scytale always kept in his heart, it was that someone who didn¡¯t vibe with his humour was usually an enemy.


    Unless of course, they appreciated his jokes but still wanted to kill him anyway. Then Scytale would promise to remember them once they kicked the bucket.


    He didn¡¯t waste any more words and bared his fangs at the Tiger King, striking forward. The Tiger King growled and charged forward, batting Scytale¡¯s head aside as he slashed at his silver scales.


    They traded blows, Scytale shielding himself from the worst of the attacks with his wings while trying to bite the Tiger King whenever possible. He conserved his mana as much as he could to heal the worst wounds on his body over time, keeping him at his best physical capability if not magical capability.


    The battle escalated in danger when the plateau they were on began to rumble as well. Scytale increased the ferocity of his attacks, throwing in a few limited fire-illusion fireballs as well as several bolts of light to throw the Tiger King off guard. While the Tiger King¡¯s ultimate goal may have been to survive the disaster, Scytale didn¡¯t need to survive Stage 10. As long as he killed the Tiger King, he could put up with any wounds.


    So with a practically suicidal intensity, Scytale threw everything he had at the Tiger King, hoping as the plateau they were on began to collapse that the Tiger King would make a fatal mistake. The Tiger King was taken aback by Scytale¡¯s sudden change in attitude and retreated back a few steps to create distance between him and the silver serpent. Then he hesitated as his back claws felt the rough edges of stone dropping off into nothing.


    The plateau was crumbling, slowly decreasing in size as the edges of the rock gained cracks and slid down the cliff faces of the flat-topped mountain. Behind the Tiger King, there was¡­ nothing. Nothing but a several kilometre deep chasm that was so dark nothing could be seen of its end.


    Scytale took advantage of the Tiger King¡¯s hesitation to strike, lashing out with his fangs to gouge two deep lines across the beast¡¯s chest. The Iron-Fur Jungle Tiger King roared and reflexively jumped back, momentarily forgetting about the endless drop behind him. The Tiger King¡¯s eyes widened and he panicked as he felt his back claws slipping. He scrambled desperately and managed to cling onto the edge of the plateau with only his two front claws, Scytale looking over the edge down at him.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Scytale didn¡¯t do anything for a second before a wicked grin formed on his serpentine face.


    ¡°Hey.¡±


    The Tiger King looked up, only to see Scytale¡¯s tail positioned above the edge of the cliff, ready to slam down on his claws.


    ¡°Long live the king.¡±


    Scytale struck, and the cliff edge shattered. The Iron-Fur Jungle Tiger King howled as he fell, descending into the bottomless abyss below.


    Scytale waited patiently for the notification.


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Remove all remaining contenders]


    [Completion Rate: +10%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 100%]


    [Main Objective Complete. Transferring User¡­]


    Scytale tensed, ready to see the white space of the System appear before his eyes again¡­ but it didn¡¯t come.


    He stared, confused, as notifications cascaded down his sight.


    [Transfer cancelled.]


    [Alert: Stage 10 has been modified for the purposes of studying User Scytale¡¯s qualities. Analysing User Scytale¡¯s Stage 10 results¡­]


    [Hidden Requirement: Achieve 100% Completion Rate on first attempt of Stage 10. Status: Complete]


    [Hidden Requirements for the modification of User Scytale¡¯s Stage 10 have been satisfied. Playing the simulation¡¯s modified ending scene¡­]


    Modified ending scene? But Stage 10 has no ending scene. What is it on abou- woah, woah, woah! What¡¯s going on?!?


    Scytale flapped his wings futilely as his body suddenly began to levitate without his control. Beginning slowly, the speed at which he rose slowly increased, taking him high above the region.


    He kept flapping his wings, trying to do something, but all it did was make his body slowly rotate, giving him a dizzying view of the region below.


    Hey! I didn¡¯t come to the Beast Realm expecting zero gravity, you know! That¡¯s the Cosmic Realm¡¯s thing!


    The System was deaf to cries. Eventually, he sighed wearily and stopped struggling as he gave up trying to escape whatever metaphysical hold the System had on him. He watched the region below as he slowly rotated in space, feeling bored as time went by.


    I suppose I¡¯ll keep looking at the region or whatever. It¡¯s the only thing around here to look at, so I guess something is going to happen.


    He was somewhat curious, however. No User had ever seen what lay outside the stage region, so he might be the first.


    But nothing happened. He mentally counted to five minutes, with his estimate being that he had already been levitating for half an hour or longer, but gave up counting further due to it being too boring. He groaned as he kept spinning.


    Hey, look, System, my buddy. This is the most mind-numbingly boring thing to look at. The Beast Realm is literally just a random patchwork of strangely colourful regions, so could you show me something more interesting?


    He rolled his eyes as the silence continued.


    Figures. So, all I¡¯m left with here is looking at the existential horror-inducing view of an endless realm. Ugh¡­ it hurts my brain to look at it. At least planets are nice, easy-to-understand, spherical objects.


    Then something attracted his attention.


    What¡¯s that on the outer fringes of the realm? It¡¯s almost forming a shape¡­ wait a second¡­


    He stared as he kept floating up. Tracing the strange way the horizon dipped and curved in places, it was beginning to look like Beast Realm of the stage wasn¡¯t the endlessly flat piece of land he thought it was.


    ¡­ hm? Now that I think about it¡­ has Lucy ever told me what time period of the Beast Realm the first ten stages are supposed to be based on?


    He always thought it was some time just before the System¡¯s assimilation, but if it was even earlier¡­ possibly way earlier¡­


    His heart beat faster as a terrifying idea came to mind, and he tried to perceive as much of the Beast Realm as possible. As he rose higher into the air, more of the shape became recognisable, and he realised the Beast Realm from a distance looked like a sleeping creature or beast¡­ or in fact, a sleeping dragon.


    He stopped breathing for a second, then gulped.


    Oh¡­ that¡­ that is terrifying. So that¡¯s what it looked like before the¡­ severing. This is the first time I¡¯ve seen the main body of one of them. I¡¯ve only ever fought incarnations.


    But¡­ why is the System showing me this? Is it because of this ¡®studying¡¯ thing the notifications mentioned? But it has my memories already. Shouldn¡¯t it know what I know?


    A notification sounded, making Scytale flinch.


    [Main Objective Complete. Transferring User¡­]


    So¡­ it¡¯s done. I don¡¯t know what to think about this. I guess I¡¯ll discuss this with Lucy. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be interested to know the era the System made the Beast Realm¡¯s stages replicate.


    And as his body was whisked away into white light, the scene of one of the most powerful primal beasts sleeping peacefully was seared into his mind.


    <hr>


    [Welcome to the S.T.A.G.E.S!]


    Available S.T.A.G.E.S (Beast Realm):


    Completion Rate: 90%


    Stage 1: Entry into the Deep Greenwood Region (UNLOCKED)(COMPLETED)


    Stage 2: The Search for Sustenance (UNLOCKED)(COMPLETED)


    Stage 3: Tools of Survival (UNLOCKED)(COMPLETED)


    Stage 4: Ascending from Prey to Predator (UNLOCKED)(COMPLETED)


    Stage 5: The Trial of Fire (UNLOCKED)(COMPLETED)


    Stage 6: The Trial of Darkness (UNLOCKED)(COMPLETED)


    Stage 7: The Trial of Water (UNLOCKED)(COMPLETED)


    Stage 8: The Trial of Wind (UNLOCKED)(COMPLETED)


    Stage 9: The Trial of Light (UNLOCKED)(COMPLETED)


    Stage 10: The Trial of Earth (UNLOCKED)(INCOMPLETE)


    [Please complete Stage 10 to complete the quest]


    Lucille held her breath as she waited to see if the notification would come up. She heard a sound.


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Remove all remaining contenders]


    [Completion Rate: +10%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 100%]


    [Main Objective Complete]


    She smiled, breathing a sigh of relief. Her plan was successful. All she needed to do was make sure there was one single Supreme Ruler of the Region by the end of the stages.


    And that Supreme Ruler didn¡¯t necessarily need to be her.


    With the Black Vine Serpent King becoming the Supreme Ruler after the final contender, Lucy, was removed, she had completed all the stages.


    [Calculating¡­]


    [Calculating¡­]


    [User has completed all Sub-Objectives and gained a MAX Completion Rate]


    [User has gained new rewards! Please check your notifications]


    [Main Quest (Rank 1: Beast Realm): COMPLETED]


    Complete Stages 1-10 In the Beast Realm to reach Rank-1.


    [Rewards: Rank-1 Status, Lvl cap increased to 199, Main skill slot +1, Class Tier cap +3, Aspect cap +3, Class Tier +1, 1000xp, Main Quest (Rank-2: Demon Realm) Unlocked]


    [User has gained Rank-1 Status]


    [User has unlocked levels 11-199]


    [User has gained Main Skill Slot +1]


    [User has gained Class Tier Cap +3]


    [User has gained Aspect Cap +3]


    [User has gained Class Tier +3]


    [Alert: No Class detected for User Lucille Goldcroft]


    [Withholding Reward: Class Tier +3 until Class is detected in User Lucille Goldcroft]


    [+1000 xp]


    [Level Up!]


    [+1 level]


    [+5 Free stat points]


    [Level Up!]


    [+1 level]


    [+5 Free stat points]


    [Level Up!]


    [+1 level]


    [+5 Free stat points]


    [Level Up!]


    [+1 level]


    [+5 Free stat points]


    [Level Up!]


    [+1 level]


    [+5 Free stat points]


    [Level Up!]


    [+1 level]


    [+5 Free stat points]


    [Level Up!]


    [+1 level]


    [+5 Free stat points]


    [User has reached Level 17]


    [Xp: 96/140]


    [Main Quest (Rank-2: Demon Realm) Unlocked]


    She sighed as she saw the influx of free stat points she¡¯d never be able to use, but didn¡¯t let it ruin her mood. She stretched and prepared to finally see how the System was going to fix her Origin Skill. She opened her rewards list.


    [User has new rewards (6) available: ]


    Tutorial (Completion Rate: MAX):


    <ul>


    <li>Unattributed Stat Potions (+5) x10</li>


    <li>Unattributed Stat Potions (+10) x7</li>


    <li>Resurrection x1</li>


    <li>Blank Skill book (Epic) x1</li>


    <li>Blank Skill Book (Rare) x3</li>


    <li>1 Crystalline Token</li>


    </ul>


    Bonus:


    <ul>


    <li>Pseudo-Realm Core x1</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    ¡­ there were many things she had to take in. She glanced at the single bonus reward she had received instead of Origin Skill primers but decided to deal with the others first so she could give all her attention to the last reward once she was done.


    She received 17 stat point potions. The same number as her Level. It seemed the System was willing to give her enough stat points to be on an even playing field with anyone else of her own Level, and possibly even slightly better, as she would have the stats of a Level 17 User with an Ancient class, although that could be explained by the stat potion rewards normal Users obtained at the end of the Stages. She didn¡¯t expect to be given the same treatment every time she completed the main quests, but it was helpful, so she wasn¡¯t complaining about it in the slightest.


    Six months had gone by since the Tutorial and she hadn¡¯t died yet, so neither her infinite nor limited resurrections were particularly useful right now, but her not dying was a good thing. As she participated in combat more frequently over the next few years her chances of dying would increase, and even one single resurrection was one chance more than most people on Earth would receive. If she died, she¡¯s drop a Rank and lose a hundred levels. Even if she wasn¡¯t high levelled now, she didn¡¯t want to go through needless effort.


    Skill books would be particularly helpful to her right now. She planned to go with Scytale to the Obelisk and finally get their new main skills after he had received his human form, so with her new main skill slot, she was anticipating how powerful she¡¯d be able to make her next main skill.


    The crystalline token¡­ she ignored it completely to focus on the final reward.


    Selecting ¡®Pseudo-Realm Core¡¯ on the screen, the space around her vibrated in some way, before she felt an object form in her presence. She drew her attention to the melon-sized orb floating in front of her.


    The glowing orb was white with a centre of sky-blue, slowly pulsating as it hovered in mid-air. Lucy studied it curiously. It seemed¡­ that this ¡®Pseudo-Realm Core¡¯ was a System item.


    Not an authentic dimension core or¡­ whatever a ¡®realm core¡¯ was, considering Lucy knew for certain that realms didn¡¯t have cores. Neither did natural dimensions. It was only dimensions made from plane sources that had cores. And the colour of the orb was completely off for a dimension core anyway. Those didn¡¯t have white or sky-blue in their colour spectrum.


    Did that mean that this ¡®Pseudo-Realm Core¡¯ was something that could make an artificial realm? There was only one way to find out.


    Taking a deep breath, Lucy reached forward to touch the glowing sphere. Her hand slipped past the immaterial white light to brush the sky-blue centre, feeling as if she was touching a cloud. The light was sucked into her hand, and at first, nothing happened.


    Then she fell to her knees and clasped her hands to her knees as her head began to ring non-stop, pounding like it was filled with a million drums. Her vision seemed to turn completely white as the sound of static filled her ears, crackling and sending shivers down her spine.


    Her cold, unreactive empty Origin Skill, sitting between her lungs, began to be filled with faint white light that slowly grew brighter, amongst three other small motes of light ¨C one large one that contained a miniature version of her Alter-Ego¡¯s Origin Skill, the second largest one, appearing like a blood-red flashing light filled with coiling black demonic script, and the smallest, a tiny speck that flickered between different colours at random intervals. The three motes of light slowly gravitated around the largest sphere.


    The white light in her Origin Skill gained a brilliant intensity and completely filled her Origin Skill as Lucille felt something within her body had fundamentally changed, making her feel¡­ whole, in a way she had only felt when she had first received her old Origin Skill. But she still somehow felt¡­ restricted and inexplicably chained to something beyond her understanding.


    The white System space around her seemed to be unusually bright on this day, and a strange atmosphere filled the place.


    She weakly stood up as her Origin Skill sheet suddenly opened up by itself without her will. But what was written on it was not her skill description.


    [Origin Skill: ------- | Type: System/----


    Desc:


    There¡¯s a lot I¡¯d like to discuss with you, but I have my Authorizer for that, so I¡¯ll just keep it relevant here. If you formed your Origin Skill without any of my interference, it would kill you. You¡¯d die from the amount of information you¡¯d have to compute to retain access to this layer of the spiritual realm. Therefore, my solution is this: The System will give you this advanced version of your Origin Skill for you to use until you¡¯re capable of using your original one. Then it will take it away.


    Your Origin Skill is useful to the System, so it wants to record all of the skill data. The impact of taking this skill away from you will be hardly noticeable. You can¡¯t possibly utilise this current skill to even its lowest possible potential in the first place, so it won¡¯t cause you any problems.


    But depending on what you use this System skill for, you may end up retaining full authority over this layer of the realm. I¡¯ll be watching you carefully, Lucille Goldcroft. Don¡¯t make any mistakes.


    <ul>


    <li>P. S. C.</li>


    </ul>


    Subskills:


    <ul>


    <li>Null</li>


    <li>Null</li>


    <li>Null</li>


    </ul>


    Awakening: Null ]


    ¡­ what?


    She stared at the skill description but before she could attempt anything, it flickered once more. Her Status suddenly appeared.


    [Status: ]


    Name: Lucille Goldcroft (Lvl. 1????????????????7?????????????)


    Age: 18y


    Race: Human


    HP: 1350/1350 {+1/5m}


    MP: 100/100 {+1/5m}


    Stats:


    Free Stat Points: 170


    STR: &???????????7???????????2???????????? SPRT: 7000


    CON: _??????????????????2??????&????????????????????7????????? (25) MENT:65


    AGI: *???????????????????2?????????????????)?????????????9?????????????????????? CHAR: 5???????????????^???????????????????????7???????????????????


    DEX: 1??????????????????????????????????5???????????????????????????????????!??????????????????????3?????????????????????????????? (5) CHP: -???????????????????????????????????


    INT: 3?????????@????????????2???????????????9??????????? HRP: -?????????????????????????????


    WIS: N??????????????????????????3?????????????????????????????????$?????????????????????????????8???????????


    [Origin Skill: Simulacrum Realm | Type: System/Spiritual/Realm


    Desc: [Collapsed]


    Subskills: [Collapsed]


    Awakening: 100%.                                                                 ]


    Skills:


    Main Skills:


    [Alter-Ego]


    Secondary Skills:


    [Mark of the Primordial Demon ]


    [Energy Anomaly Automated Indication ]


    [Origin Skill: Simulacrum Realm | Type: System/Spiritual/Realm


    Desc: [Collapsed]


    Subskills: [Collapsed]


    Awakening: 100%. ]


    I¡­ don¡¯t¡­


    She stared at her Status, but ultimately decided that the message she had seen earlier could be thought about further at a later date. Because her new Origin Skill had an incredibly fascinating name.


    [Origin Skill: Simulacrum Realm | Type: System/Spiritual/Realm


    Desc: The spiritual realm is omnipresent, invisible, and intangible. It exists in all realms but is a realm in itself. Those versed in the art of soul manipulation have their consciousnesses reside on the first layer of this realm. Those who manipulate concepts can see and mould the second layer of the realm. You are the first to see the third layer of the realm. And you are the first to influence the third layer of the realm. This skill grants you private access to your own zone of the Spiritual Realm, completely subject to your whims.


    Subskills:


    <ul>


    <li>Omnipresent Soul Framework</li>


    <li>Artificial Realm Control</li>


    <li>Simulation</li>


    </ul>


    Awakening: 100% ]


    Lucy skimmed the skill description but remained expressionless as she tapped her fingers against her arm. She shook her head and opened the individual subskill descriptions to see what her new abilities actually were.


    [Sub-skill: Omnipresent Soul Framework | Type: Soul/Realm ]


    Desc: All souls interact with the spiritual realm. All souls receive from and send information into the spiritual realm through their thoughts. This skill allows the User to register souls with the Simulacrum Realm¡¯s Soul Framework, so they can enter the Simulacrum Realm as well.


    Abilities:


    Spiritual Reality ¨C Consciousness immersion.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the members of the Soul Framework the ability to immerse their consciousnesses partially or fully into the Simulacrum Realm. Doing so will allow them to experience the artificial sensations and visuals of the Simulacrum Realm, seeing the Layer of Imagination and its imaginary structures.</li>


    </ul>


    Spiritual Network ¨C Overlapping webs of thought.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the User the ability to register souls with the Soul Framework through contact with the User¡¯s spiritual energy.</li>


    <li>Allows members of the Soul Framework to register other souls with the Soul Framework, with permission from the User. This is completed by artificially recreating the User¡¯s spiritual signature and transferring it to the new soul through contact with the Soul Framework member¡¯s spiritual energy.</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    [Sub-skill: Artificial Realm Control | Type: Authority/Realm ]


    Desc: Mana may affect natural laws with more ease than spiritual energy, but it is spiritual energy that forms the soul and controls the energy of the material realms. With a deeper understanding of this phenomenon, the borders between imaginary and real are blurred. This skill allows the User to use this principle and extend their control over the imaginary and reality from just the Simulacrum Realm to the members of the Soul Framework.


    Abilities:


    Total Realm Mastery ¨C Operator Permissions for the Realm.


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the User Complete Authority over all structures, materials, laws, and phenomena within the Simulacrum Realm. User can mentally control the Realm to form their mental images and commands. The quantity of spiritual power of the User amplifies this ability.</li>


    </ul>


    Physical Realm Projection ¨C  Seeing is believing.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the User the ability to project their imaginary creations into the physical realms, allowing the viewers to perceive both imaginary structures and the physical realm they are located in. Imaginary creations currently cannot influence the physical realms.</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    [Sub-skill: Simulation | Type: Spiritual/Realm ]


    Desc: The souls of all are connected to the spiritual realm, and the spiritual realm retains all information. Through the use of this skill, the User can recreate the operations and mechanics of reality based on the collective perspectives of all connected to the spiritual realities. But if you want to create your own logic for the Simulacrum Realm¡­ the choice is up to you.


    Ability:


    Macrocosmic Emulator ¨C Simulation of reality.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the User the ability to create imaginary renditions of structures, materials, physical laws, magical principles, and natural phenomena in the Layer of Imagination. Creations will stay unchanged in the layer until the User uses this skill to erase or manipulate them. The User¡¯s imagination is their only limitation.</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    It was clear that her new Origin Skill had taken inspiration from the Manifestor¡¯s Cuboid Energy Matrix. That last subskill was without a doubt a direct upgrade to her existing ¡®Simulator¡¯ subskill. But the implications of the System strengthening the skill for her to use made her¡­ apprehensive. And she was struggling to work out what exactly this new skill meant for her. The System suggested that this skill was highly important somehow, but she didn¡¯t quite¡­


    One single line of a subskill attracted her attention and all her thoughts froze. She closed the other two subskills and brought the first subskill in front of her.


    [Sub-skill: Omnipresent Soul Framework | Type: Soul/Realm ]


    Desc: All souls interact with the spiritual realm. All souls receive from and send information into the spiritual realm through their thoughts. This skill allows the User to register souls with the Simulacrum Realm¡¯s Soul Framework, so they can enter the Simulacrum Realm as well.


    Abilities:


    Spiritual Reality ¨C Consciousness immersion.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the members of the Soul Framework the ability to immerse their consciousnesses partially or fully into the Simulacrum Realm. Doing so will allow them to experience the artificial sensations and visuals of the Simulacrum Realm, seeing the Layer of Imagination and its imaginary structures.</li>


    </ul>


    Spiritual Network ¨C Overlapping webs of thought.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the User the ability to register souls with the Soul Framework through contact with the User¡¯s spiritual energy.</li>


    <li>Allows members of the Soul Framework to register other souls with the Soul Framework, with permission from the User. This is completed by artificially recreating the User¡¯s spiritual signature and transferring it to the new soul through contact with the Soul Framework member¡¯s spiritual energy.</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    Contact¡­ with my spiritual energy? And this skill works using the spiritual realm?


    She read it. And reread it. Then hesitantly, she rifled through her soul to locate all the people, items and objects that had come in contact with her spiritual energy.


    Then Lucille laughed. She laughed and laughed.


    The Hero of Light hadn¡¯t ruined Earth just because he had made the mistake of trusting the Supreme Institutions. He had willingly gone to the Supreme Institutions, lured by their promises of fame, fortune and strength, and sacrificed Earth¡¯s freedom for it. That sickening man had always pretended to be regretful for the destruction of Earth, acting like he had been unaware that his actions would lead to it becoming the wasteland that it had and manipulating himself into believing he was innocent, but Lucy knew every single reason why Earth was ruined that day.


    And she knew how many billions of people died because of the Hero¡¯s greed.


    The Hero of Light desired fame and favour from people. He wanted to be Earth¡¯s Hero. It was one of the single desires that the Hero would sacrifice nearly anything to achieve. Just so he would stop being the pathetic, poor, invisible young man in a random apartment in the United States to the man who was the saviour of Earth in the new age of the System, the most prosperous era of scientific and magical advancement.


    Lucy now had a way of taking that very thing from him. No, she wouldn¡¯t steal his position. She was no hero.


    But she could let Earth save itself and prove to Conlan Griffin that he was as useless to Earth¡­ as he had been before he received his status of ¡®Hero of Light¡¯.

 Chapter 50 (1 of 2) Interlude – The Secret Plan to Sneak into the Commission.

    ¡°I just cannot believe my ears. You¡¯re so stupid.¡±


    Within an expensive private estate in the Capital City of the Eternal Empire, on the Aeternus plane, three people had been learning to live alongside each other. Outside the estate, twenty guards dressed in golden armour patrolled the area.


    In one particular room, a bedroom, an interesting sight could be seen. Sitting on a bed in a rumpled, untucked, and oversized white shirt, was a young boy, who barely looked like he could be a teen. His thick dark brown hair fell to his shoulders on either side of his pale face, and his dark eyes gazed dully through a long fringe at the figure opposite him with utmost derision. The young boy was unhealthily pale with dark bags under his eyes making him look extremely tired. His facial features were completely unremarkable, a strong contrast to the figure opposite him.


    His features were so impossibly unremarkable that it was almost like his appearance had been designed to ensure he drew the least amount of attention as feasibly possible. As if his appearance was purely for the very purpose of preventing anybody from noticing him or remembering him unless they met with him frequently.


    ¡°I am related to the most idiotic individual in the world,¡± Raegan Verdon announced with his arms crossed. ¡°Our dead parents are probably sobbing in their graves to know that their Prophetess of Fate is an imbecile. I¡¯m ashamed to be your brother.¡±


    Annaliese Verdon, the Prophetess of Fate, and Raegan¡¯s older sister, winced. Raegan had been released from his comatose state two months ago, and after another month of recovering his strength, her brother now had enough energy to berate her on all of her choices of September, which had been his topic of choice for the last few weeks. ¡°Um, Raegan-¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t Raegan me, Anna,¡± he stated crossly. ¡°Your decision to accept the help of the Commission Head was reckless and stupid. You even listened to the advice of a complete stranger when entering into a System contract with one of the Supreme Institutions! How na?ve and airheaded can you possibly be?¡±


    ¡°But she saved you-¡±


    ¡°So? You had no idea what she would request for doing that. What if she held me hostage to control you? You¡¯re aware that she¡¯s not what she looks like, and your Fate essence didn¡¯t even affect her. You had no idea what her true motivations could¡¯ve been,¡± Raegan rebuked.


    Annaliese frowned. ¡°Without accepting Lucille¡¯s help, you could¡¯ve died.¡±


    ¡°Then you should¡¯ve let me die,¡± Raegan replied without hesitation.


    The Prophetess stared at her brother, aghast. ¡°Raegan, is that what you really think?¡±


    The young boy on the bed pulled up his legs to prop up his chin on them, looking unhappy. ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, I want to live as much as the next person. But we both know that when it comes to who the Empire will value more¡­ it¡¯s your life, not mine. It¡¯s clear that I¡¯m a liability to you.¡± He glanced out of the window next to them. ¡°Whatever the Citadel knows about my abilities, they don¡¯t want me near them, and would sooner kill me than risk you becoming confrontational towards them. I¡¯m the reason they made us stay in this estate in the city instead of heading to Pedestal.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯m perfectly fine with that!¡± Annaliese exclaimed, hands on her hips. ¡°I don¡¯t want to go to Pedestal and be stuck in those towers all day. The Capital City is interesting enough!¡±


    ¡°You just want the teleport arrays to be easily available for your plans,¡± Raegan pointed out.


    Annaliese looked away sheepishly. ¡°Um¡­ no¡­¡±


    Raegan sighed and frowned at her. ¡°These plans of yours are just as reckless and stupid as the decisions you made with the Commission Head. You shouldn¡¯t do it.¡±


    When Raegan woke up, Annaliese discovered that he hadn¡¯t been unconscious during his time in the coma. Raegan had been able to hear and see everything around him in a limited radius due to learning to sense spiritual energy, so Annaliese, who had been emotional, had told the comatose Raegan everything about Lucy when he was in the hospital at Gilded Seat. Annaliese hadn¡¯t needed to explain anything to him about her interactions with the Aurelian Commission Head.


    Which was a good thing, as they were now under certain¡­ restrictions on what they could say to each other before their new guardian decided that what he had heard was important enough to be told to the Sages.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine,¡± Annaliese replied confidently.


    ¡°Says the person who nearly threw a stool leg at the Aurelian Commission Head last time she was left in charge of anything,¡± her brother snarked.


    The girl opened and shut her mouth. ¡°Th-That- I never did that!¡±


    ¡°You picked it up when that ¡®Lucille¡¯ woman came into our house, acting like it was a weapon,¡± Raegan said, stretching his arms above his head.


    ¡°B-But¡­ well, it doesn¡¯t matter. She wasn¡¯t offended,¡± Annaliese stated, crossing her arms.


    ¡°Sure, whatever.¡± Raegan rolled his eyes. ¡°But again, your plans are idiotic. Just give up on them and work on helping us avoid the Citadel¡¯s political messes.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not idiotic!¡± Annaliese argued, feeling insulted. ¡°I thought them through carefully, and I still think it¡¯s perfectly fine of me to carry them out.¡±


    Raegan pretended to look away and itch his ear. ¡°Hm? I feel like I just heard someone belonging to the lowest IQ percentile talk to me, but I must¡¯ve been hearing things because there¡¯s no way someone that dumb exists.¡±


    Annaliese narrowed her eyes at her brother. ¡°Hey.¡±


    Raegan turned back to her. ¡°Anna, do you think my issue here is just because you want to go off somewhere to find out someone¡¯s real age? No, my issue is that with our current restrictions, wherever you go, I have to go too. I can¡¯t leave you.¡±


    She blinked. ¡°I know that.¡±


    Raegan glared at her. ¡°Then did you think for one second that I might not want to follow you everywhere?!¡±


    Annaliese held her chin up proudly. ¡°As your older sister, I¡¯m responsible for you. You will go where I go.¡±


    Her brother groaned and fell back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. After Annaliese had a short moment basking in her verbal victory over Raegan, he sat back up and crossed his legs on the bed.


    ¡°So, when where you going to go to that plane again?¡± he asked. ¡°January?¡±


    ¡°February,¡± she replied with a smile and a shake of her head. The fact that Raegan was now open to discussing it meant that he had probably given up persuading her against going.


    Raegan yawned and grabbed a pillow to put on his lap. ¡°Why February? I thought you¡¯d be jumping up to run over there as soon as the three-month mark ticked over.¡±


    Annaliese hesitated. ¡°Er¡­ I did ask, but the Sages said January was too early without prior warning. And while I could¡¯ve pushed because the five-day break is in my contract,¡± she added, ¡±I figured it would be best if I just listened to them. I wouldn¡¯t want to make them suspicious!¡±


    ¡°Which means now I¡¯m getting caught up in your dull scheme to go pester some woman,¡± Raegan complained.


    ¡°Yep.¡± Annaliese nodded with her hands on her hips. ¡°In February, we¡¯re going to go to the Aurelian Commission¡¯s Headquarters to meet with the Commission Head and stay there for five days!¡±


    The two siblings flinched when the door of the bedroom suddenly slammed open, revealing an armoured figure standing in the doorway. His steel grey eyes gazed at the two teens with suspicion, with his face framed by wild blonde hair.


    ¡°I believe I just heard something I find strongly disagreeable.¡± Jasten Albrecht walked forward to stand in front of the Prophetess and her brother. ¡°¡¯Meet with the Commission Head¡¯?¡±


    The two siblings stared at the Rank-5 Paladin who had been given the position of their private guard and had watched over them for the past few months. They traded glances.


    Raegan laid back down on the bed with the pillow under his head. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m tired. Leave me alone so I can get some more rest.¡±


    ¡°And, uh, I will go back to studying the ceremonies of the Citadel-¡±


    The greatsword-wielding Paladin¡¯s firm grip on her shoulder prevented Annaliese from taking another step out of the door. He sat her back down on the bed and then yanked the pillow out from under Raegan¡¯s head. The boy groaned as the Paladin pulled on Raegan¡¯s arms to sit him upright. Then Sir Albrecht dragged a chair near the bed in front of them and sat down on it with his arms crossed.


    ¡°Tell me what you¡¯re planning,¡± he ordered sternly.


    Annaliese looked at the ground and fidgeted while Raegan kicked one leg up on the bed with nonchalance, inspecting the wall beside him. Albrecht narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°As your private guard, I have authority over all your travel. You will be going nowhere without my permission,¡± he said.


    The dark-haired boy on the bed just rolled his eyes while Annaliese raised her gaze to the Paladin and then tilted her chin up, crossing her arms as she mimicked his body language.


    ¡°The Prophetess has five days¡¯ worth of time every month to spend however she wishes, as long as it does not put her in danger,¡± Annaliese said smugly, reciting the lines on her contract, which just so happened to be the lines Jasten Albrecht had allowed to be written. ¡°You can¡¯t stop me, Sir Albrecht.¡±


    The steel-eyed man¡¯s expression twitched. During his time as the private guard of these two siblings, he had come to realise¡­ the girl before him had a lot more attitude than her first impression made him believe. And when it came to her brother¡­


    He leaned forward in his chair. ¡°Prophetess Verdon, your safety is my highest priority. I cannot and will not let you go near someone that could put you in danger.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t be in danger,¡± Annaliese argued stubbornly. ¡°I¡¯ll be perfectly fine.¡±


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Sir Albrecht rubbed his temples. ¡°I¡¯m the private guard of both of you. I can¡¯t leave you or your brother.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why he¡¯s coming with me!¡± Annaliese explained cheerily. She looked at her brother. ¡°Isn¡¯t that right, Raegan?¡±


    The boy, who had been pretending to be unrelated to the conversation, glanced between Annaliese¡¯s upbeat look and the solemn face of Sir Jasten Albrecht with a frown. Eventually, he clicked his tongue. ¡°Yeah, sure, that had been my plan. At least going to the Commission sounds like more fun than hanging around a bunch of middle-aged men who all have egos more blatant and louder than their golden armour-¡±


    Raegan made muffled noises as a hand from the girl beside him covered his mouth. Annaliese turned to the Paladin opposite them with a bright smile. ¡°See?¡±


    Sir Albrecht wearily looked from one sibling to the other. ¡°The Sages won¡¯t like this.¡±


    ¡°Which is why I¡¯ve already gone to the Great Sage and gotten his permission,¡± Annaliese replied smugly.


    Both Sir Albrecht and Raegan focused their attention on her. ¡°You asked him?¡± Raegan said.


    Annaliese nodded. ¡°Yep. I think he said yes because of political reasons.¡± She tapped on her chin as she tried to remember her meeting with Gidelis Annador. ¡°He mentioned something about growing closer to the Commission Head and her aide especially, but I didn¡¯t catch most of it.¡±


    Sir Albrecht rubbed his face. ¡°Have you organised a date with him?¡±


    ¡°The first week of February,¡± Annaliese said with a nod.


    The Paladin let out a long sigh, running a gauntleted hand through his hair. ¡°I am very against you and your brother going to the Commission, Prophetess Verdon. As your assigned guardian, I would like you to reconsider your plan of meeting with the Aurelian Commission Head.¡±


    Annaliese blinked. ¡°Wait, not going to the Commission? Just meeting with Lucille?¡±


    Jasten Albrecht frowned and crossed his armoured arms. ¡°The Commission Head¡¯s intentions are unknown and any rumours about her must be considered false. My experience with her when you signed the System contract shows that she¡¯s not the puppet leader the rest of the central nobility and even Citadel believe she is.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ when you picked me up?¡± Annaliese hesitated. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know why she was acting like that. She isn¡¯t like that when you meet her personally. At least, she didn¡¯t act that way towards me when I stayed there.¡±


    The Paladin scratched his beard, looking contemplative and pensive. Annaliese smiled. ¡°And even if you don¡¯t want us to go, you don¡¯t have a choice! The Prophetess gets to use her five days however she pleases.¡±


    He ran a hand down his face and sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s¡­ leave this topic for another time. There¡¯s something else I had originally come up here for.¡± He turned his gaze to the dark-haired boy sitting on the bed. ¡°Raegan, I received a report from one of the patrolling guards that you tasked them with retrieving a book you said you had misplaced.¡±


    Sir Albrecht crossed his arms with a frown. ¡°The guard finally found it.¡±


    Raegan shrugged. ¡°Great. Did you need to come to my room to tell me this?¡±


    The Paladin narrowed his eyes at the boy. ¡°The guard found the book on the tallest roof of the estate.¡±


    The boy yawned. ¡°That¡¯s a strange spot. I wonder why it was up there.¡±


    Jasten Albrecht scowled. ¡°Raegan, the Paladins of the Citadel are not servants for you to give meaningless tasks to waste their time. Their job is to protect you. I¡¯ve received complaints from them five times this week regarding your ¡®requests¡¯.¡±


    Raegan rolled his eyes. ¡°So what? I¡¯m stuck here and bored. Unless you¡¯re going to find something more entertaining for me to do, then you¡¯ll just have to put up with me.¡±


    ¡°When we go to the Commission you won¡¯t be bored anymore!¡± Annaliese piped up.


    Sir Albrecht switched his glare to the Prophetess. ¡°I still haven¡¯t said yes to that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s in my contract, so I can do whatever I want.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, your contract, not mine,¡± Raegan interrupted. ¡°So, I don¡¯t need to go.¡±


    Annaliese firmly shook her head. ¡°Of course you do!¡±


    ¡°Why would I?¡±


    ¡°Because I said so!¡±


    ¡°And why should I listen to you?¡± Raegan replied to Annaliese.


    ¡°Because I¡¯m the older sibling.¡±


    Jasten Albrecht groaned and buried his head in his hands as Annaliese and Raegan began to bicker, tired from having to put up with the two siblings the last few months. He was given a break when they heard footsteps approaching the bedroom¡¯s open door.


    Another Paladin stuck his head through the doorway. ¡°Sir, another noble of the Empire has come, requesting to meet the Prophetess.¡±


    Sir Albrecht gave the Paladin a weary look, then stood up. ¡°Thank you for informing me. I¡¯ll go deal with it.¡±


    The Paladin nodded and left, and just as Jasten Albrecht went to step outside the door, he turned around with his eyes narrowed and pointed at the two siblings. ¡°Just so you know, I¡¯m not done with you two yet. We will continue our discussion about the Aurelian Commission at a later date, where we will come to a final decision about this.¡± Then he shut the door behind him and marched off, preparing himself to deal with some more annoying politics.


    The two siblings glanced at the door, then at each other. Raegan shrugged. ¡°So, when we go to the Commission, are you just going to randomly waltz in without permission? I can¡¯t see that going down well with the Sages, with how much they¡¯ve been trying to ¡®educate¡¯ you on proper noble etiquette.¡± He laid back down on the bed with his hands behind his head. ¡°And I thought you said that Lucille woman would be against you returning.¡±


    Annaliese grinned. ¡°I¡¯m planning on asking her secretary.¡±


    Raegan lifted his head slightly to raise an eyebrow at his sister. ¡°Secretary? The Commission Head doesn¡¯t have a secretary. Do you mean aide?¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Annaliese blinked, then nodded. ¡°Aide, yes, that¡¯s what I meant. Anyway, I¡¯m going to write a letter to Vincent Evisenhardt.¡±


    ¡°Why him?¡±


    ¡°Because he was quite friendly to me last time, and I remember him complaining to me a few times about Lucy.¡± Annaliese thought about it. ¡°He might like a way to get back at her, so I think we can make a deal.¡± She smiled. ¡°And because he¡¯s her aide, I only have to send a letter to him for him to make the decision. He¡¯s responsible for organising all the meetings and events the Commission head goes to.¡±


    Raegan let out a yawn. ¡°Putting those lessons about noble positions and jobs to use I see. Well, if you want to get Sir Albrecht to agree to it, I suggest writing a letter to this Vincent guy in secret so you can show him the response. Sir Albrecht would probably let us go if you prove that everything has already been organised.¡±


    Annaliese¡¯s eyes brightened and she nodded enthusiastically at the idea before she hesitated and eyed her brother with suspicion. ¡°But why are you suggesting this to me? I thought you said you didn¡¯t want to go?¡±


    Raegan frowned. ¡°Yeah, but¡­ ugh.¡± He sat up. ¡°I guess it¡¯s true that the boredom has been getting to me. I¡¯m not allowed to begin learning magic until the Sages find a teacher they¡¯re satisfied with, and there are only so many repetitive books I can get the Paladins to find me so I can read. There¡¯s also¡­¡± he trailed off, hesitating as he took in Annaliese¡¯s curious expression. He looked away.


    ¡°Raegan? Why did you stop talking?¡± Annaliese asked.


    ¡°Well¡­ I¡­¡± He crossed his arms. ¡°I need to see who this Lucille woman is for my own eyes, so I know she hasn¡¯t been trying to manipulate you for some reason. Your descriptions make her sound untrustworthy,¡± he muttered.


    Annaliese blinked before she smiled. She leaned forward to pat Raegan on the head. ¡°Are you trying to be protective of me?¡±


    He went slightly pink and swatted away her hand. ¡°No. Shut up.¡±


    Annaliese laughed as her brother scowled, and then she stood up, ready to go find a pen and paper to write her letter. She looked down at the boy on the bed. ¡°Are you going to sleep some more? You¡¯re looking very tired.¡±


    Raegan went to answer but yawned instead. He shook his head and then grabbed a pillow to put under him as he laid back down. ¡°¡­ yeah. I¡¯ll see you for dinner.¡±


    ¡°Have a nice nap.¡± Annaliese retrieved a pen, envelope, and thick sheet of parchment from a chest of drawers in the room, then set to work writing it. Once she was done, she tucked it away and then sat on the end of the bed as she watched her sleeping brother.


    Raegan had turned 13 in October, but he didn¡¯t look it. Short and skinny for his age, he barely looked eleven, and the constant bags under his eyes brought about by his tiredness, an aftereffect of his condition, revealed his poor level of health.


    Both Annaliese and Raegan had to mature quickly when they were in their village, but while she tried to keep an outlook on life that saw the good in things, Raegan¡­ often didn¡¯t. And he could be quite willing to see people he thought had an unfair advantage suffer. But Annaliese hoped that maybe things would change if he met with Lucy, especially as Lucille seemed to know a bit about his ability.


    That was her main reason for wanting to return to the Commission. Because whatever his ability was, whatever the Sages were trying so hard to control¡­ they didn¡¯t want either of them to know about it.


    And Annaliese trusted the woman who had been willing to share information about herself and the world with her more over the Sages who kept trying to shield the eyes of Annaliese and Raegan, keeping them in the dark so they would be controlled.


    <hr>


    A blonde-haired man in a grey suit walked up to the door in front of him. He knocked on the door.


    There was no answer.


    The man tried again, this time a bit louder. There was still no answer.


    He frowned and looked around a bit, before blinking when he noticed the small brass button beside the door. He shook his head wryly and pressed it, which triggered a mana-circle that made a sound to alert the residents of the place. He waited.


    Then he scowled and pressed the button several times. The crystal clear chime of the circle rang out several times, but nobody responded.


    He gripped the handle of the door and shook it roughly. ¡°Marellen! Come and open this blighted door! I¡¯m here to pick you up!¡±


    A muffled voice was soon heard through the door. ¡°Huh? Wait, Efratel? It¡¯s you? Uh, hang on, I was just-¡±


    The sound of hurried footsteps and a sudden thunk sounded before the door slowly creaked open to reveal a sheepish-looking navy-haired mage. ¡°I apologise, I thought you were one of the professors.¡±


    Efratel gave his cousin a flat look. ¡°You mean to tell me that when professors come looking for you, you ignore them like you did just then for me?¡±


    The awkward look on Marellen¡¯s face said it all. Efratel sighed. ¡°Well, come and let me in already. We need to go in ten minutes.¡±


    Marellen stepped back to let Efratel in, then headed over to the table covered in loose documents and paper sprawled everywhere. He continued rifling through the mess of pages, trying to find something.


    Efratel stepped over a tipped chest of drawers filled to the brim with miscellaneous magical items and gizmos, eyeing everything with distaste. ¡°It seems my suggestion to purchase more magical equipment was not thought through properly. You do realise that when you go to the Aeonic plane you¡¯ll have to clean all this up?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll just buy more dimensional items,¡± Marellen replied offhandedly, bending down to look under the table in case the notebook he was looking for was buried under the paper down there.


    Efratel rolled his eyes. ¡°And then you¡¯ll have another problem trying to remember which magical item you placed your belongings in.¡± He came closer and raised an eyebrow as he watched Marellen crawl on his hands and knees under the table. ¡°What are you looking for, anyway?¡±


    ¡°Uh, well, it¡¯s a notebook containing my¡­ hang on, just wait a second¡­¡± Marellen reached forward to pull out a thick, heavy book from under a large pile of loose-leaf paper. He smiled as he stood back up and placed the book, with its pages nearly falling out, onto the table. ¡°Here it is. It contains all my questions for Roa about her application of ice and fire magic and how she manages to dual manipulate them.¡±


    Efratel came forward to look at the book and stared when he saw that the book was several inches thick. ¡°Marellen, this entire book has all your questions for her?¡±


    The navy-haired mage nodded without an ounce of shame.


    Efratel scowled and snatched the book off the table. ¡°No, we are not wasting her time during the meeting today by having her listen to all your complicated questions! This meeting is to discuss the expedition!¡±


    Marellen¡¯s eyes widened and he hastily climbed over stacks of paper to try to get to Efratel, who was walking over to deposit the book in a bin. ¡°No, no, no, no, no- don¡¯t do that! I spent ages documenting all my observations and queries!¡±


    ¡°Then you should¡¯ve spent your time doing something more worthwhile,¡± Efratel retorted. He ruthlessly dropped the book in the bin and turned around to face Marellen, dusting his palms. Efratel smiled calmly. ¡°Now, a coach is waiting outside the Academic Residence block to pick us up. It¡¯s time for you to meet your fellow expedition members.¡±


    ¡°No, but I-¡±


    Efratel grabbed Marellen¡¯s wrist and pulled him out the front door before Marellen could retrieve the book from the bin. Many mages within the building stared at the strange sight of a blonde-haired man dragging his struggling cousin through the residential section of the most illustrious education facility in the Empire.


    ¡­


    ¡°You¡¯re still mad at me?¡± Efratel said, slightly bemused.


    Marellen ignored him, only the sounds of a hastily moving pen scrawling words on loose-leaf paper to be heard within the carriage.


    Efratel smirked. ¡°What a shame, we¡¯re already here. You can¡¯t write down more questions.¡±


    Marellen raised his eyes to glare at his cousin right at the same time the coachman opened the door.


    Efratel clapped his hands cheerily. ¡°Come on, out you go! I booked an expensive restaurant for this, you know!¡±


    Marellen was roughly shoved out the door by Efratel, nearly stumbling down the coach steps. With a scowl on his face, the navy-haired mage pulled back the hood of his cloak that had fallen over his eyes and blew some of his hair out of his face. He dusted himself off as Efratel planted his hands on his hips and looked about.


    ¡°Now, I have tried some Heavenly Realm cuisine for a business dinner one time, but it wasn¡¯t at an establishment as luxurious as this,¡± Efratel explained as Marellen came up beside him. ¡°That said, I booked us a private room and all the food here is made with alternatives to spiritual food so foreigners like us can enjoy their food.¡±


    The blonde-haired man gestured to the building before them. ¡°So, there shouldn¡¯t be any trouble if we make a few cultural mistakes. Let¡¯s head in.¡±


    They walked under the colourful archway covered in flowering vines, the words ¡®Mystical Paradise Lotus Teahouse¡¯ spelled out across it in wavering symbols. The two cousins made their way past many other members of the nobility and upper-class members of all realms. Instead of taking their place in a long line to the left, they went straight to the right to speak with a woman dressed in flowing white and lilac robes. She was standing behind a lectern of some kind with a large scroll in hand. She looked up when she saw them approaching.


    Efratel withdrew a jade pendant from his pocket and placed it in front of her. ¡°Good afternoon, miss,¡± he said with a smile. ¡°I believe the East Azure Gate Pavilion has been assigned for the private use of Efratel Vadel and his company?¡±


    She took the pendant and released a soft green glow from her palms that made Marellen and Efratel watch her curiously. She nodded after a moment. ¡°Yes, that has been arranged. I will call over your host.¡± She closed her eyes. ¡°Please wait a moment.¡±


    Marellen and Efratel glanced at each other as she went quiet, and then blinked as a new woman made her appearance. With dark hair pinned in a bun behind her head and pink eyes, the young girl who appeared in her late teens came forward and bowed to them. She had her hands clasped in front of her and was dressed in a flowing dress patterned with shifting leaves and flowers.


    ¡°Greetings, my lords,¡± she said with a calm smile on her face. She straightened up and placed a palm on her chest. ¡°I am Lei Liqin. It is my honour to be your host during your time here at the Mystical Paradise Lotus Teahouse.¡±


    Efratel dipped his head politely. ¡°I am sure we¡¯ll enjoy ourselves while in your company, Miss Lei.¡±


    She nodded again and turned around with a gesture to them to follow her. ¡°Please, follow me. The others are waiting for you.¡±


    Efratel and Marellen followed her past small tables supporting pots of hot tea, walking around the edge of the main building¡¯s atrium. She led them across a bridge with glistening blue waters on either side. Efratel had to drag Marellen away when he started trying to cast spells to inspect the illusion formation hiding the views of the rest of the Capital City from them.


    She turned around and bowed to them when they came to the building made of red stone at the end of the bridge. ¡°This is the East Azure Gate Pavilion. Please make yourselves comfortable. I will call for the servants in half an hour, where we will present you with your dishes.¡±


    Efratel and Marellen observed the decorative flower-patterned paper room partitions in front of them. They moved one aside to enter the room and¡­


    ¡°Hey! They¡¯re finally here!¡±


    They glanced in the direction of the familiar voice and saw Garthe, Larena and Roa sitting at a low table. Garthe was waving them over with a grin on his face.


    Efratel smiled and walked over, but quickly dragged Marellen back when the mage tried to take up a seat next to Roa no doubt to pester her with questions. The mage glared at him as they sat down on the cushions on the floor.


    ¡°Have we kept you waiting for too long?¡± Efratel asked.


    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ve been stuck here waiting for ages-¡± Garthe coughed as Larena jabbed a sharp elbow into his side.


    She turned back to Efratel with a smile. ¡°Ignore him. We¡¯ve only been here for around ten minutes. Roa was just asking for my advice about selecting gear for exploring planes in the Mystical Realm.¡±


    Efratel blinked and turned to the snow elf, who was watching everything with a very faint smile on her lips. ¡°Have you faced difficulties with your equipment?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°Not at all. However, it occurred to me that the mana on planes of the Mystical Realm does not have the same harsh, wild qualities of that of the Beast Realm,¡± she explained. ¡°I wished to know how that may influence the maintenance and selection of gear for when we go to the Sundown Continent plane shard.¡±


    Efratel nodded in understanding, but all of a sudden Marellen stood up and stared at them all.


    ¡°Wait, wait, wait,¡± he said. ¡°Roa, Garthe, Larena, you all plan to accept going to the plane shard without even knowing who the Aurelian Commission Head is?¡±


    The others traded glances. Marellen¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­ you know who they are?¡±


    There was a tense silence. Then Garthe crossed his arms and nodded solemnly. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s true. We know who they are.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­¡±


    ¡°The Aurelian Commission Head is secretly¡­¡± Garthe drew his words out for effect and then spread his arms with grandiosity. ¡°Archmage Merkenia Alichanteu!¡±


    Marellen¡¯s eyes widened with shock. ¡°Really?¡±

 Chapter 50 (2 of 2) Interlude – The Secret Plan to Sneak into the Commission.

    Marellen¡¯s eyes widened with shock. ¡°Really?¡±


    Then Marellen hesitated. ¡°No, wait, that can¡¯t be-¡± He stopped talking as all the others started letting out muffled laughs and then he sat back down with a scowl. ¡°Stop messing with me. Do you guys really not know who the Aurelian Commission Head is?¡±


    ¡°I searched for information about them to discover their name, and I can say with certainty that I have never met them,¡± Roa said calmly.


    Marellen looked at her. ¡°What was their name?¡±


    ¡°Pardon me, but I seem to have forgotten.¡±


    Marellen stared at Roa, trying to make sure she wasn¡¯t fooling him again, but nothing could be read from her expression. He sighed and his shoulders slumped.


    ¡°I just- whatever then.¡± He sighed again. ¡°Let¡¯s move on to what Efratel wants to discuss with you all.¡±


    Efratel smirked but nodded. ¡°Well then, let me begin by stating our reason for coming to this fine establishment today.¡± He spread his hands. ¡°Several weeks ago, Marellen received a private invitation to explore the recently discovered Sundown Continent plane shard of the Greater Allbright Empire plane shard.¡±


    Efratel raised four fingers. ¡°Including him, this invitation allows four people to investigate the Sundown Continent plane shard and retrieve artifacts from the plane. I hope for the other invitees to be you three.¡± He pointed at the three opposite him. ¡°Roa, Garthe and Larena.¡±


    They listened intently as he continued explaining, ¡°I have been permitted to use as much as I want from the Founder¡¯s Vault to finance this trip.¡± He smirked and crossed his arms. ¡°That, of course, means paying the hiring fee for two mercenaries and outfitting you with whatever items are needed for you to have the maximum performance during this expedition.¡±


    Garthe eagerly raised a hand, his question making Larena roll her eyes. ¡°Do we get to keep the items after this?¡±


    Efratel smiled cheerfully. ¡°You may continue to use the items for as long as you are employed by the Aurelian Commission Head.¡±


    Garthe clicked his tongue and leaned back with his arms crossed. ¡°Stingy.¡±


    Efratel shook his head wryly, then took out a long, rolled-up piece of paper from his dimensional item. He spread it out and placed it in the middle of the table for them to see. The others leaned forward curiously as he gestured to it.


    ¡°This here is a rough map of the Sundown Continent plane shard,¡± he said. ¡°From what the Grand-mage of Earth responsible for mapping the plane shard could determine, there are five main areas where artifacts could be centralised.¡±


    He pointed to the south of the crescent-shaped continent. ¡°Down here is the capital city of the vassal kingdom that ruled the continent. As the location where the continent¡¯s military force used to be the strongest, all the most powerful combat artifacts will likely be here. The competition between noble parties will also be strongest here.¡±


    He pointed to the circle of islands to the west of the continent, situated between the tips of the crescent. ¡°Over here is where the naval force of the Allbright Empire was stationed for strategic purposes. As another location for the continent¡¯s military, the competition will also be fierce here. I¡¯ve heard rumours about a descendant of the Is?rnelghen Duchy planning on going over there too.¡±


    He pointed to the east, the middle of the crescent¡¯s curve. ¡°Here is where the highest quantity of artifacts can be found. It¡¯s filled with wilderness, forests, the occasional city, and small towns, so while the artifacts won¡¯t be powerful, they will be numerous, due to the many household items turned artifacts here.¡± Efratel shrugged. ¡°If you guys were exploring this plane for purely monetary reasons, then this might¡¯ve been an option.¡±


    He pointed to the north, the very tip of the crescent. ¡°But here¡¯s where you¡¯ll be heading. Just like the All-Aeon Athenaeum, the main magic faction of the Allbright Empire was a separate body from the Imperial power. They had their facilities up here, away from the rest of the continent. Here, they studied the environment of the continent and undertook secret research.¡± Efratel straightened up. ¡°In this place, you¡¯ll also have the least danger of confrontation with other expeditionaries.¡±


    Larena held her chin, thinking deeply. ¡°A research facility¡­ but if this is the case, we might retain fewer artifacts in the end¡­¡±


    Efratel nodded. ¡°The All-Aeon Athenaeum has the most interest in the artifacts in this area. They have high research and historical value, and they also wish to obtain magical records within the facility, so it¡¯s unlikely you¡¯ll be able to keep as many artifacts compared to if we found them in the military areas.¡± Then he raised an eyebrow. ¡°But the entire purpose for coming to this plane was to study the natural magical phenomena. The artifacts were only a bonus reward.¡±


    Then he smirked. ¡°But I wouldn¡¯t want you all to be taken advantage of by the Artificers, so I¡¯ve negotiated a fixed ratio of 70% of all artifacts with research value to go to the Athenaeum, and the rest is ours. And I got the artificer responsible for selecting artifacts to put it down in writing which artifacts the Artificers want exactly.¡±


    He held three fingers up. ¡°The priority in this order is dimensional artifacts, syntax translation artifacts, and spell construction artifacts. Anything that falls outside of those categories can be part of your 30%, and if you find more, then some in those categories may even go to you.¡± Efratel shrugged. ¡°And of course, during the expedition, you can use any of those artifacts however you wish, as long as they won¡¯t be consumed with their use.¡±


    He leaned forward again to point at the location again. ¡°The research facility, from what limited information the preliminary expeditionaries could find, was set up to analyse and predict the occurrence of natural mana phenomena on the island. The information and magical records in the facility are just as important to us as any artifacts.¡±


    ¡°Studying natural mana phenomena¡­¡± Marellen murmured. He glanced at Efratel. ¡°What did they call their magical arts?¡±


    ¡°They called themselves Mystic Channelers,¡± Efratel explained. ¡°They could be likened to druids of today, who take their power from the environments around them, but the Mystic Channelers had an understanding of runes and used them to alter their environments to strengthen themselves.¡±


    He looked down at the map again. ¡°They could even create primitive forms of summoning circles using geomancy to come in contact with undead, spirits and demons. They were quite powerful for an Old Era form of magic practitioners. From what we know they were well-versed in cross-realm communication too.¡±


    ¡°Wait, are there still natives there?¡± Garthe suddenly asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m too comfortable with fighting them if they¡¯re still on their home plane.¡±


    Efratel shook his head. ¡°No, there¡¯s no native sapient race on the plane.¡± He moved his finger across the map to point to a blackened section between the magic facility¡¯s location and the central east area of the crescent. ¡°The continent suffered a catastrophic event where a wight somehow crossed into the Mystical Realm.¡±


    The others winced. ¡°That¡¯s the highest tier of evil spirit,¡± Garthe muttered.


    ¡°As you can no doubt guess, all the souls of the people on the continent were taken back through the portal and turned into enslaved ghosts,¡± Efratel said with a grimace. ¡°If it was today, the Vigils wouldn¡¯t have let that wight past its Sector let alone Tartarus¡¯s realm borders, but this was possibly hundreds of thousands of years ago when inter-realm transportation was an extreme rarity compared to the vast size of Tartarus.¡± He sighed.


    Efratel shook his head to get his thoughts in order. ¡°Anyway, the arrival of the wight released a huge quantity of death mana into this section of the land, isolating the research facility from the rest of the continent,¡± he explained. ¡°As is what occurs with the blight spell, the land took on the geography of Tartarus, so now it¡¯s a death trap crawling with haunts and spectres.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± Larena raised an eyebrow curiously. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that mean it would be filled with vestiges though?¡±


    Efratel shrugged. ¡°Possibly. The Black Order has several members of its necromancer department going there. But they¡¯re all Rank-4s, so you guys would probably die if that¡¯s the strength they think is needed for there.¡±


    ¡°Hang on, if we¡¯re talking about stuff like vestiges,¡± Garthe spoke up, ¡°then wouldn¡¯t there be a chance of Heretic items forming there? A research facility is the best place for Dungeons to form.¡±


    ¡°That would be up to you to find out,¡± Efratel said with a grin. ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere near that plane, after all.¡± Then he hesitated. ¡°If you find Heretic items though¡­ please tell me you won¡¯t use them¡­¡±


    Garthe shook his head. ¡°Definitely not. I¡¯m not that stupid.¡± He smirked. ¡°But they fetch a pretty good price in the black market.¡±


    Efratel let out a slight laugh. ¡°Yes, well, the Athenaeum doesn¡¯t want anything to do with Heretic items, so if you can manage to keep yourself uncontaminated by monster essence then I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be fine to take the profits of selling the Heretic items.¡±


    Marellen scratched his chin. ¡°Heretic items? Hm¡­ I wonder how monster essence interacts with the elements¡­¡±


    Efratel stared at his cousin. ¡°No! You are not going to collect Heretic items to study!¡±


    ¡°Excuse me.¡±


    They all looked up from the map when they heard the voice. Lei Liqin had returned.


    The girl bowed and gestured with one hand to the five servants carrying dishes beside her. ¡°Your dishes have arrived.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Efratel replied.


    The servants walked forward to deposit the dishes on the table and one of them who was carrying a large pot releasing steam stepped up to fill all their cups. After they had finished, they retreated to the side to cater to any of their needs, while Lei Liqin sat down on a large cushion near the pavilion¡¯s edge and brought out an elegant lute. She began playing it while they ate their meal.


    Well, they tried to. Three members of the table were having difficulty with their cutlery.


    ¡°I am struggling to find a feasible method of wielding these unique tools for eating,¡± Roa said, holding a delicately engraved chopstick up to inspect.


    Garthe shrugged and stabbed one straight down, skewering a piece of steamed fish on the end. ¡°I dom¡¯t shee the problem,¡± he said after shoving the meat into his mouth.


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    Larena shot her brother a flat look as he continued demonstrating the manners ¨C or lack thereof ¨C of an adventurer. She sighed and used the chopsticks normally to eat.


    Efratel raised an eyebrow. ¡°You know how to use them?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve tried some of the meals of a few of my fellow mercenaries who came from the Heavenly Realm. All of them had given up their spirit roots to wield mana instead, however, so I never learnt much about spiritual energy from them.¡±


    ¡°The uniqueness of the realm¡¯s utensils is very interesting,¡± Marellen said, turning his ceramic soup spoon. ¡°They design so many tools for different purposes I¡¯ve never even thought of.¡± He put some soup in it and tilted it to try to watch the liquid trail down the channel of the handle before Efratel snatched it away with a scowl.


    ¡°Stop that and eat your food properly,¡± he scolded.


    ¡°The Mystical Realm¡¯s cutlery is available on the table,¡± Lei Liqin called out with a smile.


    Roa switched her chopsticks for a fork but both Efratel and Larena had to take away the chopsticks and soup spoons from Garthe and Marellen to force them to eat properly. Garthe clicked his tongue while Marellen attempted to claim the soup spoon back from his cousin.


    The rest of their meal was relatively peaceful, and by the end of it, everyone had enjoyed their meal.


    Efratel stood up. ¡°So, while the fine details still need to be worked out¡­¡± He smiled at them all. ¡°Does everyone wish to go to the Sundown Continent plane shard?¡±


    The others traded eye contact, and then Garthe smirked. ¡°Definitely. This sounds like the most fun I¡¯ll ever have.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t say no to good employment,¡± Larena added.


    ¡°This sounds like a highly interesting experience,¡± Roa said. ¡°It would be remiss of me to pass over this opportunity.¡±


    The rest of them looked at Marellen. Efratel raised an eyebrow at his cousin who had shrunk down to avoid the gazes. ¡°Well then, Marellen. What do you say? Do you plan on disappointing everyone by rejecting the expedition to the Old Era plane?¡± Efratel smirked and crossed his arms. ¡°This is your last chance to back out of the expedition.¡±


    Marellen stayed silent, glancing between them all. Then he threw his hands in the air with exasperation and defeat. ¡°Alright, fine! I¡¯ll go! Let¡¯s get this expedition over and done with!¡±


    Everyone else grinned, and for the rest of the meeting, they discussed the equipment, supplies and arrangements that needed to be made.


    ¡­


    -A few hours later-


    A young woman appearing in her late teens calmly walked through the Mystical Paradise Lotus Teahouse, her long dress trailing behind her. In her arms was a decorated lute and her soft green qi freely floated around her. Several of the servants she passed by in the hallway stopped to bow to her but she paid them no notice.


    The dark-haired girl with pink eyes began climbing a staircase and pulled out a fine key when she stopped in front of a door painted with blossom emblems. She unlocked it and walked inside, placing her lute on a stand in a little alcove. Then she turned to what appeared to be a wall with a painting hanging from it. Pressing her palms against it, the wall clicked and she slid it aside to reveal a hidden room. She stepped inside and closed the hidden door behind her.


    She kneeled on the floor and withdrew a rectangular jade pendant carved with characters on the front. The young woman inserted her spiritual energy into the jade, letting the carvings glow with green light until the spiritual energy projected itself into the air.


    Another woman appeared in the projection, but her face was hidden behind a white veil. Dark green eyes and lavender hair were the only identifying features about her.


    ¡°Liqin, why are you contacting me?¡±


    Lei Liqin bowed her head respectfully. ¡°Master. I have found several individuals connected to the person Sect Master Leng wished for us to discover more about.¡±


    The woman in the projection fell silent, then nodded slowly. ¡°Let me hear the details.¡±


    ¡°Just after noonday, three men and two women met in the East Azure Gate Pavilion of our Sect¡¯s Mystical Paradise Lotus Teahouse,¡± Lei Liqin reported calmly. ¡°The strongest individual among them, while seemed to have some level of spiritual attainment, was only Rank-3 and so I was easily able to listen to their conversations with my Rank-5 spiritual sense.¡±


    Her master nodded. ¡°What did you hear?¡±


    ¡°It seems four of the five plan to participate in the Sundown Continent plane shard¡¯s expedition to study the phenomenon of the material realms¡¯ ¡®mana¡¯. The fifth was responsible for organising the meeting and does not appear to have any notable combat capabilities.¡±


    The lavender-haired woman let out a quiet hum. ¡°The Sundown Continent plane shard¡­ do you have any more details?¡±


    Lei Liqin nodded. ¡°They intend on visiting the plane¡¯s north buildings and ruins. It seems obtaining magical artifacts is not their main goal.¡±


    ¡°Do you have their identities?¡±


    ¡°Marellen Vadel, one of two sponsored mages of the Aurelian Commission Head. He was the one who received the expedition invitation and is part of the All-Aeon Athenaeum. Roa Winteridge is the second sponsored mage, a snow-elf belonging to the Mystical Ream¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild,¡± Lei Liqin reported. ¡°Larena and Garthe Barbosas, two siblings. Larena Barbosas is a capable member of the Black Hand Mercenary Guild¡¯s Shadow Blade Division. Garthe Barbosas has a reputation for causing trouble but so far has not shown any particularly important characteristics.¡±


    Her master nodded. ¡°And who is the fifth?¡±


    ¡°Efratel Vadel. The manager of Marellen Vadel and Roa Winteridge, who acts on behalf of the Aurelian Commission Head to relay her messages. He has no intention of going to the Old Era plane, and so once they leave to go on the expedition, contact between the Aurelian Commission Head and the party will be infrequent.¡±


    ¡°So if Elder Luo wishes to act, that would be the best potential time for her¡­¡± the veiled woman murmured.


    Lei Liqin only lowered her head. Neither of them spoke for a while as the sounds of tapping fingers came through her master¡¯s side. Finally, the lavender-haired woman nodded and gave Lei Liqin a dismissive wave.


    ¡°I will consider this matter before reporting to Elder Luo,¡± the woman said. ¡°If that is all, you may return to your duties. Thank you for informing me of this, Liqin.¡±


    Lei Liqin bowed her head and the projection shut off. Her jade pendant dimmed and she placed it within her sleeve. Then Lei Liqin calmly left the hidden room and returned to her duties as a host for customers of the Mystical Paradise Lotus Pavilion.


    <hr>


    A colossal iron ship crested the waves of the Distorted Depths, unbarred by any obstacles. In the ship¡¯s library, a strange sight could be seen.


    Hands behind her head and her legs crossed, a woman with indigo-blue streaked wild black hair had her eyes closed, resting during her limited break time. In ordinary circumstances, this wouldn¡¯t be a strange sight, however¡­


    ¡­ she was resting on top of a bookshelf. Clearly, the luxury of a soft bed was too much for her. Still, it didn¡¯t seem to faze her as she continued to lie there with her eyes closed, seeming for all the world completely at peace.


    That was until the sound of footsteps echoed through the silent library, making her open her ice-blue eyes. She sighed and sat up to look down at the ground.


    Below was the figure of a sea-green-haired young man, frowning as he looked around with his hands on his hips. She contemplated what to do before slowly standing up and walking along the top of the bookshelves with her arms spread out to help her balance.


    Caspian Wharifin scratched his head. ¡°Where is she now? For the last three times, anytime Ross asks me to get her she¡¯s been nowhere to be found,¡± he said with confusion.


    Adrianna kept moving slowly, trying to prevent her heavy boots from making much sound. Her attempts at remaining unseen were foiled when the boat suddenly tilted in the storm and she fell onto her face. Barely managing to stop herself from cursing, she awkwardly tried to stand back up on top of the bookshelf.


    Caspian heard the sound and turned around to see her. He stared. ¡°¡­ Adrianna, why are you up there?¡±


    She glanced at him for a few seconds, then ignored him as she continued walking across the top of the bookshelves.


    Caspian followed her, still looking up with confusion on his face. ¡°Of all the weird places I could find you, why are you now on top of the bookshelves? Were you doing that thing where you pretend you¡¯re asleep again? Because you could just use your bed if that¡¯s the case.¡±


    She rolled her eyes and didn¡¯t reply as she made it to the end of the shelves. She hopped down and marched off, Caspian quickening his pace to walk beside her. ¡°Whatever your problem is, I have a message from Ross for you. He wants you-¡±


    She turned around to stare at him, making him stop in his tracks. Then she scowled and Caspian blinked as she summoned her indigo illusion mana. Her form disappeared and he was left gazing at what appeared to be nothing.


    Caspian¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Did you just use your invisibility spell to run away?! Hey!¡±


    He looked around but could see no sign of the woman. Then he heard the sound of a door open on the opposite side of the library and he turned to see Adrianna shut the door after her. He stared incredulously at the door.


    ¡°Is she avoiding me?¡±


    ¡­


    Before a mirror, a curly-haired woman with icy eyes gazed wearily at her reflection. She rubbed her eyes tiredly and walked out of the bathroom.


    She wanted coffee.


    Normally her consciousnesses were merged in the mornings, so the effects of coffee on her mind impacted her Alter-Ego¡¯s consciousness too, but due to a series of¡­ difficult events during the End-Of-Year Banquet, she was trying to keep her soul as stable as possible. That meant she had completely separated her Alter-Ego¡¯s consciousness from her main body¡¯s, and had to deal with a reduced lack of clarity in her mind this last month, as the Distorted Depths Navy didn¡¯t stock caffeinated goods among their supplies.


    However, the clarity could also be due to the lack of mental constructs in her soul. Which was an issue she¡¯d have to work on soon.


    She went back to the women¡¯s quarters and took down her Elite Officer uniform from its hook on the wall. She pulled it on over her tank top and then put on her boots. After that, she walked past the few other Officers still asleep in the room and walked out into one of the hallways of the warship.


    The lack of any caffeine wasn¡¯t the real reason why Adrianna was so tired though. That had something to do with the one in charge of all the Officers on the ship.


    Still, her mood these last few days hadn¡¯t been great, so she decided that avoiding Caspian and Ross ¨C Specifically Ross and his complaining ¨C was the best thing to do to keep her sanity intact.


    She walked upstairs to exit onto the main deck, ignoring the light shower of rain falling from overhead. She walked up to a man with brown hair in his early thirties using a spyglass to watch the ocean horizon.


    ¡°Good morning, Officer Mawelsteff.¡±


    The man briefly put his spyglass down to glance at her and return her greeting with a nod, then went back to watching the choppy sea. ¡°Mornin¡¯ Riftmire. Beautiful weather today!¡±


    She looked up at the grey clouds. ¡°In a normal region, I¡¯d be saying that this weather is terrible, but looking at what we typically get in the Distorted Depths I¡¯d have to agree with you.¡±


    He chuckled. ¡°Normal region? Do you mean a region with sunshine and blue sky and stuff? Those are just a myth.¡± He put down his spyglass to look at her. ¡°Ross has been going on about how he needs you for something though.¡±


    Mawelsteff raised an eyebrow when he noticed how her expression cooled slightly. ¡°What, have you really been avoiding him?¡±


    ¡°Between the Commander¡¯s night lessons for my job as Squad Leader and the verbal tirade of my Senior Officer, I haven¡¯t been feeling up to much conversation with the man,¡± she replied dryly.


    He smirked. ¡°That¡¯ll do it. Well, go tell Caspian you don¡¯t have anything personal against him because the boy¡¯s been thinking his future superior now hates him.¡±


    ¡°I doubt he believes that.¡±


    Mawelsteff clicked his tongue. ¡°You get my point.¡±


    He returned to watching the horizon and she left, walking across the main deck to climb up stairs that led to the forecastle of the ship. She breathed in the sea air and watched the view for a while, looking for any signs of monsters. She spent a few minutes there before turning around and heading back down the stairs to go below deck again.


    While there might be no need for combat yet, she still had her duties to perform.


    Adrianna walked through two large open doors to enter the training hall, a massive room that echoed with shouts and the sounds of combat. She ignored the sparring and training Officers to head over to the side of the hall with targets and open areas for her to practice her magic.


    Searching her Origin Skill, she sifted through the layers of information to find the models and blueprints for constructs. She selected a small one and condensed her spiritual energy to form a small orb of spiritual information, containing all the details, characteristics, skills, and forms of her monster. She released it into the air in front of her.


    The information core was invisible and intangible for nearly everyone. Only those capable of perceiving the spiritual realm would be able to detect the sphere of spiritual energy. She released her illusion mana to swallow the orb where it sucked it up and the body of the creature snapped into place.


    Adrianna held out her palm and the black swallow monster landed on it. It flew off again and she watched it circle her.


    She had copied all her completed constructs and her construct designing methodology over to her second consciousness to store in her Origin Skill. It was to ensure none of the knowledge would be lost when the two consciousnesses were disconnected. However, it meant that when it came to creating new constructs, she didn¡¯t have the processing ability of her main consciousness¡¯s mental constructs. She needed to be careful to ensure her magical ability wasn¡¯t impacted by the disconnected consciousnesses.


    She inwardly groaned when she detected two men approaching her through her perception field. Adrianna turned around to face an annoyed-looking Ross and a weary-looking Caspian.


    ¡°I have spent way too much of my time sending Caspian to look for you only for you to be nowhere to be found,¡± Ross said.


    She gazed wordlessly at him, then went back to manipulating the sparrow. He scowled.


    ¡°My question is why has she been avoiding us this entire time?¡± Caspian asked, watching her with his arms crossed.


    She sighed and turned around after disintegrating her construct. ¡°What do you want with me?¡±


    Ross rolled his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s not me that wants you. It¡¯s the Commander.¡±


    She marginally raised an eyebrow. ¡°The Commander? If he wanted me then why didn¡¯t he call for me using the message item?¡±


    Ross shrugged. ¡°I have no clue. But he did say it wasn¡¯t urgent and could happen any day, which is the only reason I haven¡¯t been trying too hard to find you.¡± He turned around and waved for her to follow him. ¡°Anyway, now that you¡¯re finally responding, come with me to his office.¡±


    She walked behind as he suddenly pointed to Caspian, who had turned to walk away. ¡°You too, Wharifin. The Commander wanted you both.¡±


    Caspian turned back and raised an eyebrow. ¡°Me too?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Both of you. Now follow me.¡±


    ¡­


    Ross opened the door of Commander Arkenast¡¯s office and held it open for them. Adrianna and Caspian went inside as Ross left and shut the door, where the battle-scarred dirty-blonde-haired man behind a desk looked up and waved to them with a toothy grin.


    ¡°Well, if it isn¡¯t my two future Dawnlight sailors! And Stanhope told me you had been missing in action these last few days, Riftmire.¡± He smirked. ¡°Any particular reason why you decided today would be the day to show up?¡±


    ¡°I gave up trying to make up for the lack of rest I¡¯ve had at night, Sir,¡± she replied dryly.


    He grinned and stood up behind his desk. ¡°Is that so? But Riftmire, there¡¯s an important reason why I¡¯ve been pushing you so hard recently. It¡¯s also related to what I wanted to call you both here today.¡±


    He pulled out a drawer of the desk and grabbed two small metal objects, one gold and one silver. Then he placed them on the desk with a clack. ¡°Come closer, both of you.¡±


    Adrianna and Caspian walked forward. Caspian looked at the two plaques on the desk curiously. ¡°Captain¡­ and¡­ Vice-Captain¡­¡± His eyes widened. ¡°Wait¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Commander Arkenast crossed his arms with a smirk. ¡°Riftmire, you have shown exemplary performance this last month. When the Dawnlight sets sail in February, you¡¯ll be instated as its Captain instead of Squad Leader.¡± He looked at Caspian. ¡°And Caspian, you have shown your worth many times before today. You¡¯ll be placed as her Vice-Captain straight away.¡±


    The Commander placed the two nameplates into the hands of Adrianna and Caspian before walking over to a cupboard in his office. He pulled out two coats, one trimmed with gold and the other with silver, before throwing them over to them. Then the Commander took out a gold-trimmed navy blue hat and walked over to place it on Adrianna¡¯s head.


    ¡°Congratulations, Captain Adrianna Riftmire and Vice-Captain Caspian Wharifin, on your promotions,¡± he said cheerily. He walked back over to his desk to sit down. ¡°I don¡¯t believe in wasting time when it comes to promoting people. If you¡¯ve shown your ability, you get the spot. No delays.¡±


    Commander Arkenast pulled out a small box from his coat pocket. ¡°But there¡¯s something I like to offer every one of my new Captains. A rite of passage, if you will.¡±


    He smirked and held out the box of cigars. ¡°Would you like to try one, Riftmire? They''re a luxury brand made exclusively for the military. It¡¯s hard to get your hands on them outside of here.¡± He grinned and offered the box to Caspian. ¡°And you can have one too, if you like, Wharifin. Although, last time I offered, you told me they made you gag.¡±


    Caspian quickly shook his head. ¡°No thank you, sir,¡± he stated firmly. He looked at Adrianna. ¡°And Adrianna, I suggest you don¡¯t bother because those cigars are really strong.¡±


    She gazed silently at the box for a moment, then took one. A flicker of fire mana appeared at the end of her finger and she lit the end of it. She took a draught of the cigar.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind it,¡± she said after a moment. She studied the smoking cigar. ¡°I think¡­ I might need these during the next few years.¡±


    Caspian stared at her while Commander Arkenast tilted his head with a strange smile. ¡°Riftmire, that¡¯s not a good thing.¡±


    She didn¡¯t answer and he just shook his head wryly. ¡°Well, if you do plan on making them a regular expense, be prepared to spend a lot on them. A year¡¯s worth of these cigars is about 10% of a Captain¡¯s annual wage.¡±


    She had stopped using the cigars when they brought back too many memories of her time in the Navy, but¡­


    ¡­ if all those painful times were going to play out differently, then maybe it would be fine to try them again.

 Chapter 51 (1 of 2) A Nightmare Made Manifest.

    -Earth, present-day ¨C or a month and one week after Lucille¡¯s disappearance-


    The blankets were warm and cosy. Even when the sunlight shone through his apartment window, he pulled the covers over his head and tried to block out the demands of the day, trying to ignore the constant sense of doom he had felt for the last month and a bit, ever since he discovered that she had disappeared-


    The world¡¯s most dreaded and annoying sound rang out: his alarm. He sighed and shifted the blankets so he could look at the green device on his wrist.


    A holographic screen was projected into the air by his holowatch, showing a bright red digital clock face that throbbed in time with the alarm. The glow shone through his eyelids and blankets, not even allowing him to block out the sound for a few more moments. He tapped the projection and groaned as he sat up, rubbing his eyes blearily. Then he got up and walked past the automatic sliding door to enter his bathroom.


    A tired face with bags under its eyes and messy blonde hair gazed back. It was not a face that suggested that he¡¯d have an easy workday. He walked out of the bathroom and pressed a button next to what appeared to be a decorative dark wood wall. The wall split in two to reveal his wardrobe. He changed into his trousers and shirt, then slipped on the suit jacket.


    When he had put on shoes and collected everything he needed to, he walked out into his kitchen and living room, got himself some coffee, and then sat down on one of the sunken lounges. He rested his head against the couch.


    Stephen Lawrence was severely regretting his past actions. Like a sword hanging over his head, the memories of his interactions with that girl just over a month ago were a constant cause for stress over these weeks. While nothing had come from it and it seemed no information about his failed negotiation with the Goldcroft heir had leaked, her disappearance now meant he was one of many suspects in the disappearance case dubbed by the international media as the ¡®First Major Failure of the World Government Since the Hijacking of the Showpiece Aeroplane Prototype at the New York Esper Generation Aeronautics Convention¡¯.


    In fact, Stephen recalled that had something to do with the missing Goldcroft heir too¡­


    He shook his head with a sigh and stood up, his coffee finished. It was time he headed to work. He grabbed his briefcase off the coffee table and headed out the door.


    ¡­


    The glass doors of his level of the apartment slid open and he walked out the front, standing beside a few others who were waiting for their local form of public transport. He rubbed his eyes to accustom himself to the neon views of modern London and tried to avoid looking at the several feet drop to the ground below his level.


    Airships flew overhead, covered in fluorescent billboards with advertisements for the newest esper celebrities. Stephen heard a loud bang down the road and rolled his eyes when he saw a figure surrounded by drones, frustrated that someone had chosen his street to do a movie shoot. He checked his holowatch for the time and waited for another five minutes.


    Then a slight electrical hum steadily grew closer and a hovering metal container covered in strips of neon lighting approached their apartment¡¯s waiting bay at high speeds. It abruptly slowed to reveal a long train levitating far above the ground, windows letting him see the many people inside.


    Stephen stepped aside to allow several people to get off the carriage closest to him through the train¡¯s glass doors that had slid up, and then he hopped onto the Anti-Gravity Vehicular Connective Passenger Car Train, or ¡®Anti-Grav¡¯ as everyone referred to it. He stood beside one of the train¡¯s windows and tapped on his holowatch to bring up a broadcast and the latest news on a Network page to entertain himself during the trip. The audio connected with his earpiece so he didn¡¯t bother anyone around him.


    ¡°-and the search for the missing young awakeners of July continues, with Medallion CEO Marvin Goldcroft sparing no expense to find traces of his missing great-niece, Lucille Goldcroft. The World Government has kept their lips sealed unusually tight these last few weeks, and our journalists are currently still trying to gain access to the Esper Union to interview a few Agents right at the core of the issue-¡±


    He stared at the broadcast and then with a quick tap of his finger he changed the channel. He internally sighed when the next projected broadcast had nothing to do with the disappearance event.


    This disappearance thing has been haunting me for weeks with no end in sight. The only hint I managed to glean about all this is that Marvin Goldcroft seems to have submitted some strange clue or evidence to the Government.


    He shook his head and refocused his attention on the new channel.


    ¡°-the conflict between the Fringe exploration teams and the Esper Union reached its peak this last week when the Fringe Special Forces unveiled the existence of a fifth S-grade Rift within the Fringe¡¯s central zone. While the rising star Rift exploration teams of the Union keep campaigning for access to these supposed treasure troves of resources, the FSF has refused the Esper Union any access to their facilities and the central zones of the Fringes.¡±


    Stephen continued watching the channel as the Anti-Grav shot past towering skyscrapers and circled the city, following along the path of the World Government British Division Branch¡¯s sky rings above them. He avoided looking outside when the Anti-Grav did its dizzying move of twisting upside down to navigate through a tighter street. The motion dampers inside the train meant he didn¡¯t feel the movement, but the sight outside could still be nauseating.


    ¡°-with all the members of the FSF adamantly stating that entry of the Fringe central zones will be the death of all the Esper Union¡¯s newest upcoming espers. We¡¯ll now show a segment of the interview with Matthew Whitlock, the Chief Executive of the mercenary Fringe Special Forces.¡±


    The broadcast depicted an image of a young, pretty journalist standing next to a brown-haired man in his late thirties behind a podium. The man was dressed from the neck down in a dark exo-armour with red light escaping the segments of the black metal. On his chest was a glowing orb of the same colour, protected by a crystal plate.


    ¡°Mr Whitlock, what do you consider your strongest reason for refusing the entry of the Esper Union¡¯s Tyro Teams?¡±


    The man leaned forward to place his armoured palms on the table, looking stern. ¡°My strongest reason? You¡¯ve all asked me this time and time again, and I always reply with this: I will not be responsible for the death of those kids.¡±


    ¡°But you could you explain in more detail what you mean by their ¡®death¡¯?¡±


    ¡°I assume you don¡¯t want me to go into the definition of ¡®death¡¯.¡± A dark smirk appeared on his face. ¡°Then I¡¯ll be frank. You city people, safe in your havens of technology and no monsters, have no idea what horrors lay beyond the borders of the Fringes,¡± he growled.


    He pointed at the crowd. ¡°It¡¯s 2073 and everyone agrees Earth is entering its best-ever era. Technology is advancing at rapid speeds, a self-sustaining outpost has been built on Mars, and the fascinating ¡®abilities¡¯ we are now all born with have fused with every aspect of our lives. But we¡¯re still not safe.¡±


    He slammed his armoured hands on the podium. ¡°Radiation, global warming, rising sea levels, acid rain. We¡¯re responsible for so many disasters. But all of you have forgotten what our greatest crime was.¡± He raised his hands in the air. ¡°Twenty-six states of America turned into radioactive wasteland! Two-thirds of Russia turned into a freezing atomic hell for all of eternity! Half of China gone! We lost four billion of the world¡¯s population, reducing us to the eight billion we have today!¡±


    He jabbed a finger at them. ¡°When the Rifts came, it was like we were given a second chance. Abilities that allowed us to heal the earth, and a clean, free energy that completely erased all coal plants. But you know what else it gave us? Monsters.¡±


    Matthew Whitlock¡¯s face was dark. ¡°Monsters are cunning, malicious entities. Most of you have never even seen one in person. But monsters adapted, accustomed themselves to the radioactive energies of the Fringes when humans couldn¡¯t, and now we have lost part of the earth to them. Maybe forever. And whose fault was this?¡± He spread his hands. ¡°Us. Humanity.¡±


    He pointed at them all again. ¡°The Tyro Teams are young and filled with vigour. But they¡¯re ignorant of the real world outside the biodomes of the cities. It will be slaughter for them.¡± He let out a bark of laughter and gestured to himself. ¡°Even I need to be fully covered by this exo-armour at all times when outside the facilities in the Fringes. The enhanced radioactivity would cook me alive without it.¡±


    ¡°But Mr Whitlock, one of the arguments presented by the Esper Union has been that while they are volunteering to aid the FSF, your platoons are mercenary forces, aren¡¯t they? They¡¯re arguing that it would be more beneficial for the World Government to use them instead of employing the FSF and wasting such a high budget on them.¡±


    ¡°That just proves they are as ignorant as I believe,¡± he stated shortly. ¡°The World Government is employing us so it¡¯s our lives and not the many lives of their inexperienced new espers that are being lost in the Fringes. We do the hard work, while they get to play their fancy battle games in those simulated arenas of theirs for sport, doing their part in society as being our precious little celebrities.¡±


    Stephen¡¯s holowatch buzzed as a notification to alert him that the Anti-Grav was pulling up to his stop sounded. He shut off the channel and the Network pages he was browsing, then hoisted his briefcase up. The glass doors of his carriage slid up and he quickly stepped over the gap between the bay¡¯s edge and the train¡¯s carriage.


    The World Government advertised that the forcefield technology built into the train made it impossible for anyone to fall through the gap and down to the ground of the city below, but he wasn¡¯t taking any risks. Especially as he knew some of the engineers who had worked on the train personally.


    He moved to the side and followed the several hundred other people off the train. Many people walked into the carriages and with the hum of electricity, the Anti-Grav sped off again. Stephen sighed and used a moment to take in the appearance of the building before him.


    The Esper Union was one of the most influential departments of the World Government. As an Elixir Agent, he worked for them, helping to distribute the powerful awakening elixirs to those the Esper Union believed had the highest potential. The towering skyscraper before him was made of white metal, one singular spire pointed directly up at the sky as two other structures coiled around it to form a double helix. A vibrant beam of neon purple light constantly pulsed from the top of the skyscraper, projecting the news and statuses of the most powerful and famous espers in the Union into the air.


    Overshadowing the Esper Union was the dark body of the World Government¡¯s branch headquarters behind it. The cylindrical structure was surrounded by three progressively larger rotating rings of black metal, the ¡®sky rings¡¯ as they were called, which artificially controlled the weather and environment of London City. From what he could see, the glow emanating from the rings appeared to be a dark blue. Stephen supposed that the citizens of London felt nostalgic for the country¡¯s natural weather and voted for dreary drizzle on the night before¡¯s poll.


    He shook his head and walked through the pointed archway of the Esper Union. A fluorescent green wall appeared before him to block his path and he put his arm forward to let his holowatch contact the wall. The randomly generated quick response code projection on his watch was scanned by the wall and a gap opened up to let him past, allowing him into the main lobby of the Esper Union building.


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    His holowatch connected with the network of the building and the lines on the ground lit up to lead him to his destination within the building. He followed the lines, barely even looking at them as he tracked his memorised path to the nearest lift.


    Stephen stepped onto the platform and the glass walls of the lift slid down. Without him even needing to press a button, his holowatch automatically controlled the lift to take him to his level. He suppressed a yawn as he sped past the many stories of the building.


    Then he frowned when the lift stopped on a level that wasn¡¯t his usual workplace. He stepped out and looked at his holowatch to find out where he was.


    ¡°The Esper Union Inspection Office?¡± he murmured.


    The lines on the floor lit up again, so while feeling unsure, he followed them through the level. His worry and confusion grew when he noticed quite a few members of the World Government branch headquarters were there, discussing various details with the white-uniformed Esper Union employees.


    He relaxed slightly when he saw a familiar face ¨C Ray Moore, his team leader.


    The black-haired man looked up and waved to him when he saw Stephen. ¡°Morning, Steve.¡±


    ¡°Ray, do you have any idea why I was led here?¡± Stephen asked, putting his briefcase on a table as he looked around with a frown. ¡°There wasn¡¯t any message left for me on my holowatch.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ yeah, that.¡± Ray grimaced. ¡°You know how the government has been dealing with media issues because of all those people who disappeared last month? Well, the witness interviews are finishing up.¡±


    Stephen stared at him. ¡°But I thought they had finished those last week?¡±


    Ray sighed. ¡°Well, it seems they want to do one last interview of each of the central witnesses before moving on to looking at alternative reasons for the disappearances.¡±


    I barely got through the first one with them discovering the negotiation, but now a second one has sprung up?


    Stephen checked his holowatch for the time. ¡°When is mine scheduled?¡±


    Before Ray could answer, a stern-looking woman with glasses, wearing a black uniform and glasses, walked up to them, a briefcase in her hand. Following behind was a young man with short white hair. He wore an ear cuff that featured the signature logo of the Esper Union¡¯s espers.


    ¡°Is this him?¡± the woman asked Ray. Ray nodded and she turned to Stephen. ¡°Stephen Lawrence, I need to ask you a few questions regarding the Lucille Goldcroft case. Follow me to the sound block room.¡±


    The woman turned on her heels and swiftly walked away, the young man beside her. Stephen grimaced and picked up his briefcase as Ray walked beside him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she looks harsh but I know her,¡± Ray said with a smirk. ¡°If she doesn¡¯t want to lose access to the Esper Union lounge beverage maker then she won¡¯t go too hard on you.¡±


    The woman turned to shoot Ray a flat look but pressed a button to open a door that led into a glass-walled room. ¡°We¡¯re here,¡± she said.


    Stephen followed the woman and the white-haired man in. The white-haired man pressed a button on the inside of the room, turning the clear walls into frosted glass and subsequently blocking anyone from looking in, or him from looking out.


    The woman walked over to the table in the centre of the room and gestured to the seat opposite her. ¡°Sit there.¡±


    Stephen did so, putting his case down as the white-haired young man stood behind the woman. The silence in the room was deafening.


    The woman placed her briefcase on the table and opened it, taking out several folders. She flipped through them and took a pen out of her pocket. ¡°Right then, Mr Lawrence. Introductions first. I am Sabrina Hills, a member of the World Government¡¯s investigation division,¡± she said.


    She placed down the folders and gestured to the young man behind her. ¡°And this here is Zachary Dawson, who will be responsible for detecting if you lie using his ability. Have you met him before?¡±


    Stephen raised an eyebrow. ¡°I don¡¯t think I have, no.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± she stated curtly. ¡°That means there will be no reason for him to cover for any lies.¡±


    She opened up the folder in front of her. ¡°Let¡¯s begin with the basic information. Stephen Lawrence, age 32 years. Your parents belonged to the middle class and were able to afford a C-ranked elixir for you to awaken with.¡±


    Stephen nodded.


    Sabrina gave him a dull look. ¡°Verbal replies please, Mr Lawrence.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s correct,¡± he said, feeling awkward. The eyes of the young man behind Sabrina glowed green for a brief moment.


    She flipped to the next page. ¡°Your ability was determined to be a rare Pre-ordinate type, which earned you a scholarship to go to a prestigious university in the United States. You returned to England when you were 23 and then joined the Esper Union as an employee.¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡± Stephen nodded.


    Sabrina Hills steepled her fingers as she looked at him. ¡°Describe the basic characteristics of your ability, Mr Lawrence.¡±


    ¡°My ability enables me to detect potential opportunities for myself,¡± he explained. ¡°People, events, news, media, and text can all trigger it. When I take advantage of the opportunity, my benefits are vastly increased past what a person would normally receive.¡±


    ¡°But this ability still has limits.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± He nodded. ¡°Some opportunities I cannot take advantage of with my current means, and provide opportunities that don¡¯t apply to my needs right now. And I only receive the benefits when I correctly take advantage of the opportunity. If I purposely try to take advantage of the opportunity and fail to use the opportunity as my ability wants me to¡­ the backlash can be pretty big.¡± He suppressed a grimace at that thought.


    The most recent example would be the case with the Goldcroft heir. I assumed the opportunity was to gain her financial support without needing to give her my X-ranked elixir, but clearly, that was not what the world decided would happen.


    Sabrina looked at the white-haired man and he nodded. She turned back to Stephen. ¡°Then we¡¯ll move on to the case at hand.¡±


    She flipped to the next page of her folder. ¡°Stephen Lawrence, how well did you know Lucille Goldcroft before you met her?¡±


    He blinked. ¡°I barely knew her at all, besides the rumours in the media. We only met once.¡±


    ¡°Tell me the rumours,¡± Sabrina Hills said, using her pen to scribble down notes.


    ¡°That Marvin Goldcroft doesn¡¯t intend on letting her inherit Medallion, she was responsible for the destruction of a major shopping centre, and that she hates being part of a family in charge of business,¡± he listed. ¡°I think I¡¯ve also heard that she¡¯s been publicly called a sociopath by a few major doctors.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Sabrina kept writing. ¡°What was your purpose for meeting with her on the 1<sup>st</sup> of July?¡±


    ¡°To offer her a high-tier awakening elixir,¡± he replied, being careful with his words. ¡°I wished to negotiate a deal with her in exchange for the elixir.¡±


    Sabrina Hills shuffled the pages and looked up at him. ¡°What tier of elixir did you give her?¡±


    He hesitated for a moment and her eyes narrowed. He quickly came up with an answer. ¡°I had originally intended to only give her the S-tiered elixir, but Lucille Goldcroft persuaded me to give her the X-tier elixir instead.¡±


    The woman studied him and he hoped with all the fibres of his being that she wouldn¡¯t ask how the Goldcroft heir had persuaded him. But she didn¡¯t say anything, allowing Stephen to let out a sigh of relief.


    ¡°We¡¯ll move on from the specifics of the elixir itself considering it seemed to have no relation to which individuals disappeared during July,¡± she said. ¡°Instead, Stephen Lawrence¡­ did Lucille Goldcroft say anything unusual to you before you departed from her study?¡±


    He gazed at her, confused. ¡°Unusual? In what way?¡±


    She went silent, watching him with no expression on her face. She traded glances with the white-haired young man and then let out a short sigh. ¡°Stephen Lawrence, what I¡¯m about to tell you is strictly confidential and must not be shared with anyone. The only reason I am telling this to you is because you are an important core witness of this case.¡± She leaned forward and intertwined her fingers, looking solemn. ¡°Marvin Goldcroft has submitted a letter to the World Government that we¡¯ve proven was written by Lucille Goldcroft. As for the contents¡­¡±


    Sabrina Hills leaned back. ¡°It appears Lucille Goldcroft was aware of what would happen to her before the disappearance event occurred.¡±


    Stephen felt his eyes widened. ¡°What? But- How?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°We don¡¯t know.¡± She pointed at him. ¡°That is why we need you to help us by telling us any information you can. Is there anything that struck you in her actions or words that day as particularly strange or noteworthy?¡±


    Stephen frowned and crossed his arms as he considered it. This has nothing to do with his failed negotiation anymore. ¡°There¡¯s one detail I can think of¡­ actually, maybe two.¡±


    Sabrina nodded and gestured for him to continue.


    ¡°Lucille Goldcroft seemed to be aware of the characteristics of the X-ranked elixir because she specifically mentioned the colour to me.¡±


    ¡°What was the context of the conversation?¡± she asked, listening carefully.


    He racked his brain for a truthful-ish answer. ¡°I- uh, when the topic of the conversation was the difference between the two elixirs I made a comment about how as a young woman she might not have known much about the X-ranked elixir,¡± he answered awkwardly. It wasn¡¯t a perfect answer but the woman only nodded and continued writing.


    ¡°And what was the other detail you noticed?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± He rubbed his neck with a slight frown. ¡°This is only my personal judgement and from what I¡¯ve seen of the few videos and pieces of media about her, but¡­ she was unusually expressive when we met.¡±


    The scratching of the pen against paper stopped and Sabrina looked up. ¡°Expressive?¡±


    Stephen nodded. ¡°All the images and videos on the Network depict her as very emotionless and neutral most of the time. I haven¡¯t seen a single picture of her showing any sort of smile, anger, excitement, or any strong emotion. But when we met, she was sarcastic, smiled a lot, her tone was joking and occasionally she acted slightly smug.¡± He shrugged. ¡°I guess it¡¯s just proof that rumours about her aren¡¯t very accurate.¡±


    Sabrina Hills didn¡¯t respond, tapping her hands against the table in thought. ¡°That matches up with the observations Marvin Goldcroft and his secretary made¡­¡± she murmured.


    Stephen blinked. ¡°Sorry?¡±


    She shook her head and after writing one last line on her page ¨C which looked suspiciously like ¡®Possession?¡¯ to him ¨C she stood up from her chair. Sabrina nodded to him. ¡°Thank you for your time, Mr Lawrence. It¡¯s unlikely we¡¯ll see each other again any time soon, but if you recall any additional details, please drop by the World Government to report to us.¡±


    ¡°¡­Yes?¡± Stephen stared for a moment before he realised the interview was over. ¡°Ah, yes, I will. I hope this case is resolved soon, Ms Hills.¡±


    ¡°As do I.¡± She gave him one last nod before opening the door and leaving. Stephen picked up his briefcase and exited the room, which had its walls turned back to normal clear glass.


    His team leader walked up to him. ¡°See? She wasn¡¯t so bad,¡± Ray said with a smile.


    ¡°It was still more nerve-wracking having her interview me than the other man a few weeks ago.¡± Stephen sighed.


    Ray patted him on the shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s all done and dusted now, so let¡¯s get a move on and head up to the lounge to get our free fine dining experience for lunch, all paid for by our organisation,¡± he said with a wink.


    Stephen followed after him, his thoughts still on the interview and his experience with Lucille Goldcroft in July. He shook his head and followed his outgoing team leader and the lines on the floor to go back to the lift.


    Then he stopped in his tracks as he spotted someone he instantly recognised on the other side of the room, one of the most famous individuals in the world. Dressed in a white suit and red tie with white sideburns and black hair, Marvin Goldcroft was talking to a man Stephen knew to be the head of the Esper Union. Sabrina Hills walked up to Marvin and said something.


    Stephen froze when Marvin Goldcroft glanced his way, but the man barely looked at him for a second before returning to his conversation.


    Ray glanced over his shoulder to see what Stephen was looking at. ¡°Why are you watching them, Steve? You cross paths with celebrities in this building every day. And besides, you know the Union head knows Marvin Goldcroft.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just say after last month I¡¯ve been feeling a bit awkward when the topic of Medallion comes up,¡± Stephen muttered.


    Ray shot him a look but continued walking. ¡°Maybe a fancy meal will take your mind off things.¡±


    ¡­


    His team leader gave Stephen the rest of the day off to let him destress. Stephen gladly took the opportunity and headed back home to his apartment where he instantly sat down on his soft lounge, breathing a deep sigh of relief. He glanced at his holowatch to check the time.


    There¡¯s nothing I want to do and it¡¯s Friday, so I¡¯ll just take a nap. This day has been tiring.


    As his consciousness slipped away from the waking world, he felt his right-hand tingle slightly. His last thought as he left the waking world was that something¡­ didn¡¯t feel quite right¡­


    ¡­


    ¡°Agent Lawrence?¡±


    His eyes snapped open as he was pulled back to alertness, the disturbingly familiar voice disrupting his sleep. He breathed heavily as he looked around and frowned when he realised where he was.


    Roof-to-floor windows, a high viewpoint of London city, black walls, afternoon sunlight streaming in¡­


    ¡°Agent Lawrence, is everything alright?¡±


    The voice drew his attention back to where he was sitting and he stared at the familiar figure sitting directly across from him behind a familiar desk.


    Wrapped in a black shin-length trench coat, wearing heavy black boots and a black turtleneck was a young woman no older than eighteen. Her long straight hair was black and she had a fringe that reached her eyebrows. She was sitting sideways in her desk chair, her legs swung over one armrest and her back against another. Two strangely-coloured dark blue eyes gazed at him with what seemed to be slight worry.


    ¡°Agent Lawrence, you seemed to be a bit dazed.¡±


    ¡°I- uh, no, I¡¯m fine, sorry. I just lost concentration for a second there,¡± he lied, answering her so he had more time to work out what was going on.


    The girl who seemed to be Lucille Goldcroft blinked and then smiled. ¡°That¡¯s good then. I was worried something had gone wrong. This is the first time I¡¯m using this specific application of it, after all.¡±


    Unsure what she was talking about, he nodded weakly.


    Lucille hummed and twisted her chair slightly to face him better. ¡°Well then, Agent Lawrence, if you have nothing you¡¯d like to discuss then how about I move on to the reason for you being here today?¡±


    He gazed blankly at her until she tilted her head and he realised she wanted an answer from him. ¡°Um, yes, yes! The reason for being here today, let¡¯s discuss that.¡±


    Lucille quirked an eyebrow at his response, making him wince, but she moved on.


    Is this¡­ a dream? I don¡¯t think remember ever having a lucid dream before¡­ but of all the people my subconsciousness could put in a dream, why did it have to be her?


    ¡°The topic of the conversation today is your willingness to agree to be my loyal and devoted helper for the rest of eternity, hereon and out!¡± she announced, spreading her arms.


    He stared at her, so she added, ¡°That was a joke.¡±


    Lucy sat up straight. ¡°What we are here to discuss is your ability to aid me for the next coming months,¡± she stated seriously. Then she smirked. ¡°This is because I have the power to ruin your reputation, social life, employment and standing through the use of my recorded footage of our deal.¡±


    Stephen didn¡¯t respond and only gazed wordlessly at her for a while. He looked around the room. It was a perfect replica of the study he had visited on the first of July and the amount of detail that had been recreated was extremely high, to say the least. He didn¡¯t know his own mind could conjure something that accurate.


    Stephen got up out of his chair and headed over to the window. Lucille tilted her head. ¡°Agent Lawrence?¡±


    The view of London was also accurate. The sunlight glinted of the glass and metal and the sky rings of the World Government¡¯s branch headquarters could be seen overhead. It was almost enough for him to believe he had been transported back to that study in the Medallion skyscraper five weeks ago.


    He walked over to the door of the study and placed a hand on the doorknob.


    ¡°Ah, Agent Lawrence, I wouldn¡¯t do that if I were you. Only a small portion of my consciousness has been slowed down to adjust to the time of the Cosmic Realm so you¡¯ll find that the scenery outside the door is-¡±


    He swiftly opened it to step out and stared at the view of an endless white expanse, with no end in sight. He leaned to look over the edge of the doorway but there was no London, no corridor, no person, place, or thing to be seen. It only descended into apparent nothingness. He glanced back over his shoulder, but the study was still there. Lucille was sitting at her desk, her head tilted as she watched him.


    If this was a dream, then all he had to do was wake up.


    Taking a deep breath to ready himself, he crouched, and launched his body into the air to jump down¡­


    ¡­ when he tripped over the edge of the doorway and fell flat on his face. The floor of the space wasn¡¯t miles below, but level with his own feet.


    ¡°I could have told you that the layer of imagination had no depth, you know,¡± a voice called out from the room behind him with amusement.


    He groaned as he stood back up and gave the girl behind him a weary look. Then he tried to shut the door of the study. It closed, leaving only a door floating in mid-air.


    He opened it again. Lucille Goldcroft was still there, behind her desk.


    He closed it. Then opened it. She was still there. Nothing had changed.


    Lucille huffed. ¡°This is getting tiring. Fine then. If the game is up, then I may as well remove it all.¡±


    With a snap of her fingers, the room and door disappeared, making Stephen stumble. A few seconds later she reappeared in the empty space, still sitting in her revolving desk chair behind her desk. She gestured to the chair opposite her. ¡°Sit.¡±


    He slowly sat back down as Lucy intertwined her fingers and studied him expressionlessly. Then she smiled. ¡°Stephen Lawrence, I have a proposition. I want your help.¡± She smirked. ¡°And I know you¡¯ll give it to me.¡±


    He stayed silent. When he next spoke, it was not a reply to what she had said. ¡°This is a dream, isn¡¯t it?¡± He gestured to her. ¡°You¡¯re not real.¡±


    She tilted her head.


    He gestured to the room. ¡°All of this isn¡¯t real.¡± He pointed at her again. ¡°I don¡¯t who you are or what you¡¯re planning, but you¡¯re not Lucille Goldcroft. I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re some person who¡¯s awakened an ability relating to dreams and wants to mess with me.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Any moment now I¡¯ll wake up, and there¡¯ll be nothing you can do about it.¡±


    Lucille gained a strange smile. ¡°You believe this is a dream?¡±


    Stephen didn¡¯t say anything. She hummed and then shrugged. ¡°Well, that¡¯s understandable. Perhaps if I was in your situation I¡¯d believe the same, although in my case¡­ dreams are impossible.¡±


    She abruptly stood up, making him flinch. ¡°Then I¡¯ll prove that this isn¡¯t some dream,¡± she said brightly. ¡°I¡¯ll give you irrefutable proof in real life that I¡¯m capable of more than just giving you nightmares.¡± She spread her arms. ¡°So, Stephen Lawrence, when you wake up, look down at your hand. And when you see that cube, break it.¡±


    She clapped her hands together. ¡°Enjoy your sleep.¡±


    With a sense of relief, Stephen Lawrence felt his mind slip back into the darkness of sleep as the world disintegrated around him, believing it all to be a dream because he knew there was no way someone could affect him in his own house.

 Chapter 51 (2 of 2) A Nightmare Made Manifest.

    It was 9 o''clock. He stared at the semi-translucent golden cube rotating in mid-air above his right palm. His fingers fell right through it, and he couldn¡¯t interact. It glimmered in sync with the golden cube symbol that hovered above the surface of his skin on the back of his right hand.


    He moved his palm one way, and the cube followed. He moved it another way, and the cube followed. He had been doing this for the last hour, ever since he woke up.


    Stephen decided the only way he could stop panicking about the strange object that didn¡¯t seem to exist was by completely ignoring it and not choosing to try to break it. Not that he knew how to do that, as it didn¡¯t seem like he could touch it.


    He got changed, had breakfast, tuned into his favourite esper combat show with his holographic projector in the centre of his lounge, then sat down with a mug of coffee to relax and take his mind off the weird dream and new parasitic ¨C or maybe symbiotic? ¨C cube that refused to detach itself from the space near his hand.


    ¡°Agent Lawrence, when are you going to break it?¡±


    He spat out his coffee and whipped his head to stare at the semi-translucent figure of Lucille Goldcroft who seemed to be reclining on his couch with her legs kicked up. She shrugged and scattered into specks of light, almost as if nobody had been there at all.


    ¡°I was just asking.¡±


    He continued staring at the spot for a long while, intently listening to see if she would say anything else. He hesitantly looked down at the cube hovering above his palm. If this wasn¡¯t a hallucination¡­


    He stopped moving, thinking deeply. Then with gritted teeth, he reached out with his other hand to ¡®grab¡¯ the cube and squeezed. The illusory sound of shattering glass sounded as the cube fractured into gold light and he felt some sort of vague pulling sensation on his mind.


    Instinctually sensing he could make a choice here, he relaxed and allowed it to pull his consciousness away. When he next opened his eyes he was back in Lucille Goldcroft¡¯s study in the Medallion skyscraper, sitting in front of her as she watched him with a smirk.


    ¡°There, that wasn¡¯t so hard, was it?¡± she asked.


    He gazed wearily at her. ¡°¡­you¡¯re really Lucille Goldcroft?¡±


    Her smirk widened. ¡°Is there anyone else you know with my name?¡±


    He looked around the room again. ¡°Where are we?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re in a simulated space of the spiritual realm¡¯s layer of imagination,¡± Lucy said, which clarified nothing for Stephen. ¡°It¡¯s part of the ability I awakened relating to the mind. I believe I¡¯d be classified as a ¡®psychic¡¯ by the World Government¡¯s terms.¡±


    He gazed dully at her. ¡°Psychics are a myth.¡±


    ¡°And yet here I am,¡± she replied nonchalantly. Lucille looked around. ¡°However, you seem to be much more accepting of the situation now, so¡­ let me change things up a little.¡±


    She snapped her fingers and the world bent and morphed around her. Wallpapered beige walls and a golden chandelier swung above them, a luxurious leather armchair becoming his seat and a second chair forming behind him. To the left, he could see a tall window with views of gorgeous flower gardens below. Silk cushions sat on the windowsill and curtains of red velvet hung from above, tied with golden ropes.


    The desk in front of him changed into an expensive, dark wood, parchment and fine fountain pens placed neatly on top, and the carved wood table sat on a carpet of dark purple. The d¨¦cor was something he¡¯d expect to see in a museum, not¡­ in a modern house.


    ¡°Where are we?¡± he asked, turning back to Lucille¡­ until he saw her and stared.


    ¡°In a simulated representation of my physical body¡¯s current whereabouts. My study in my new house,¡± she said with a smile.


    He stared at the black half-mask covering the right side of her face, the golden sash and leather corset she wore, the grey ascot and her vibrantly violet left eye. ¡°And¡­ why do you look like that?¡±


    ¡°Because this is a simulated representation of my physical body¡¯s current appearance.¡± She smirked. Before Stephen could say anything, she clapped her gloved hands together. ¡°Anyway, now that you have a better handle on yourself, it¡¯s time we seriously discuss my proposition. However, you can return your consciousness to your body at any time you wish, Agent Lawrence,¡± she explained. ¡°Although this works both ways. I can call your consciousness here at any time.¡±


    He could sense the strange feeling of both his real body and this¡­ simulated body or whatever and their sensations at the same time, so he just nodded.


    ¡°But¡­ where are you?¡± he asked hesitantly, still confused about why she was showing him this place, and her reasons for calling him here.


    ¡°Where indeed,¡± she replied with a smile, standing up from her own armchair. ¡°The most important of questions for those interested in the case of the disappearing youth on Earth last month. But it will be easier to show you.¡±


    She walked over and he leaned back when she reached out her hand near his head. ¡°I haven¡¯t transferred memories using my Origin Skill as an intermediary though, so just to be safe¡­¡± Her index finger touched his forehead. ¡°Remember to breathe, Agent Lawrence.¡±


    His mind exploded with thoughts, memories, information, and sensations. Hundreds of years of knowledge flowed through his mind and he tried to retain even a small fraction of those memories within his mind. His heart beat frantically as he became aware of things he shouldn¡¯t know yet: Magic, demons, beasts, wraiths, warriors, mages, dragons, immortals ¨C skills, powers, empires, realms, dimensions, Earth, Events, a System, the Tower-


    He woke up on his couch in his house, feeling breathless and with a pounding headache. He quickly checked his hand and sighed when he saw the strange glowing cube icon was still there.


    Wondering what to do, Stephen tried to focus on the icon, willing himself to return. His mind was quickly sucked away and he found himself in the leather armchair again.


    ¡°Clearly, my warning to breathe was ineffective,¡± Lucille said dryly.


    ¡°What did you just show me?¡± he asked hurriedly, his mind still filled with visions of battle, titanic behemoths, and glowing runes.


    Lucille smirked. ¡°Where I am. And context for the proposition.¡± She leaned forward and grinned. ¡°Which I know you will accept, because I have leverage over you. Remember, Agent Lawrence?¡± She spread her arms wide. ¡°This is blackmail.¡±


    He gazed wearily at her and then rubbed his eyes. ¡°I- okay, please explain things to me. But first¡­¡± He held up his right hand. ¡°Is this new tattoo a permanent thing? I don¡¯t think tattoos are part of the Esper Union¡¯s code of conduct for employees.¡±


    Lucy let out a light laugh. ¡°Oh, no. Only people who I¡¯ve brought into this space can see that mark on you. You¡¯ll still be allowed to be an elite Elixir Agent. In fact, my plans for you involve continuing your work and getting close to the more powerful people on Earth¡­¡±


    <hr>


    Stephen Lawrence¡¯s form disappeared as he left the Simulacrum Realm, leaving Lucille alone. She sighed and kicked her feet up on the desk, closing her eyes as she relaxed for a moment.


    She estimated it would take about two weeks before Stephen would accept what she had shown him. The good thing was she could accelerate time in this space, so she could possibly cut that down to a few days as he spent his time in the Simulacrum Realm taking in all he had learnt. Two weeks on Earth was the equivalent of two and a half months for her, and she didn¡¯t want to waste a second when only 47 weeks were remaining on Earth until the System arrived.


    She pulled up the first subskill of her Origin Skill.


    [Sub-skill: Omnipresent Soul Framework | Type: Soul/Realm ]


    Desc: All souls interact with the spiritual realm. All souls receive from and send information into the spiritual realm through their thoughts. This skill allows the User to register souls with the Simulacrum Realm¡¯s Soul Framework, so they can enter the Simulacrum Realm as well.


    Abilities:


    Spiritual Reality ¨C Consciousness immersion.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the members of the Soul Framework the ability to immerse their consciousnesses partially or fully into the Simulacrum Realm. Doing so will allow them to experience the artificial sensations and visuals of the Simulacrum Realm, seeing the Layer of Imagination and its imaginary structures.</li>


    </ul>


    Spiritual Network ¨C Overlapping webs of thought.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the User the ability to register souls with the Soul Framework through contact with the User¡¯s spiritual energy.</li>


    <li>Allows members of the Soul Framework to register other souls with the Soul Framework, with permission from the User. This is completed by artificially recreating the User¡¯s spiritual signature and transferring it to the new soul through contact with the Soul Framework member¡¯s spiritual energy.</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    Congratulations, Stephen Lawrence, on becoming the first member of my Omnipresent Soul Framework. I knew that spiritual marker would have a use someday.


    The last thing she had done when she met Stephen Lawrence was brand his soul with a slight bit of her own spiritual signature, just in case. And now she was able to contact Earth while still being in another realm.


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Operation Super Schemers of the Secret System Club had begun. The second person on the list to be inducted into her future group of powerful politicians and businessmen: her great-uncle.


    He would probably squeeze as many privileges and benefits out of her as he could for agreeing to her plans, just to make her pay for all the stress she had put him through while growing up. It was a small price to pay.


    But there was someone else who¡¯d become a member of the soul framework first. Someone who was particularly whiny and whingy, complaining that he wanted to join her VR sandbox game too as he sat on top of her study¡¯s desk. So clearly she had to purposely ruin his expectations.


    She focused on the strands of her spiritual energy in Scytale¡¯s soul, put there by the bond between them, and her Origin Skill activated, pulling his consciousness into the Simulacrum Realm. It was so smooth the serpent didn¡¯t even notice.


    Really. He literally didn¡¯t notice.


    ¡°Come on, just show me!¡± he complained, flapping his wings on her simulated table.


    ¡°But what if I don¡¯t want to?¡± she said, looking at her gloved hand.


    He clicked his tongue. ¡°You are the Tower¡¯s worst bond! You gained a skill that allows you to do whatever you want and you¡¯re not letting me join in the fun?¡±


    ¡°Who knows what disasters you¡¯ll make my constructs go through.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that like you don¡¯t enjoy a bit of destruction every once in a while too! I¡¯m not even asking to control the skill! I just want to see it!¡±


    She shrugged, pretending to sift through pages of Commission documents, which actually had completely illegible gibberish written on them.


    Scytale jumped off the table and used his mana to open the door. ¡°I¡¯m telling Vincent that you¡¯re not letting me see your skill!¡±


    ¡°As you wish,¡± she replied with amusement.


    Scytale proudly moved through the doorway, his wings spread wide with self-righteous indignation. ¡°Vincent! Lucy¡¯s being mean¡­ to¡­ me¡­¡­¡­¡±


    Silence abounded as Lucy waited patiently for her bond to return. A silver snake with his wings tucked close crept back into the room.


    ¡°Lucy, I think the Dragon Sovereign sneezed or something because Vincent and¡­ uh, a bunch of stuff have been turned into System limbo paint.¡±


    They had an intense stare-off. Scytale slowly narrowed his golden eyes at her while Lucy just cocked an eyebrow. The silence continued.


    ¡°I was right the first time! You are the Tower¡¯s worst bond!¡± Scytale suddenly exclaimed, rearing up to flap his wings.


    ¡°I thought you were going to complain to Vincent,¡± Lucy stated smugly, crossing her arms. ¡°Go on, Scytale, go find Vincent.¡±


    ¡°How do you expect me to do that when the System decided it wanted lesser races to burn their eyeballs today!¡±


    She smiled. ¡°You can leave whenever you want, though. So if you did really want to go find Vincent, then you could.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I doubt I could explain all this to him.¡± Scytale looked around the fake study. ¡°Would you even try to bring him here anyway?¡±


    Lucille considered it. ¡°Maybe eventually. But for now, I don¡¯t think I will.¡± She smirked. ¡°Last time I tried to discuss my Origin Skill he freaked out so I doubt that will be an easy conversation to have now that it¡¯s fixed.¡±


    ¡°Well, now that I¡¯m here, show me what you can do!¡±


    Lucy stood up and the room around them both disintegrated to reveal the white space. Lucille hummed and crossed her arms. ¡°What should I make¡­ hmm¡­¡± She blinked as an idea came to mind.


    Colour bled into the white space around them and Scytale looked around as metallic walls formed. Panels of high-tech controls and switches appeared on the plates and a steel walkway was placed under Scytale¡¯s scales and her boots. The cylindrical tunnel slowly rotated around them as advanced technology glimmered with different colours. There was one last thing Lucy needed to add to make it realistic.


    Her boots slowly lifted off the walkway and Lucy and Scytale found themselves in zero gravity, slowly floating in the chamber.


    ¡°A recreation of one of your old starship¡¯s chambers, huh? This feels nostalgic.¡±


    ¡°And I spent so much time and effort on it too,¡± she grumbled. ¡°I assembled that thing from the bottom up, and now it¡¯s completely gone, not a trace remaining. The technology to rebuild it won¡¯t even be available for another century and a half.¡±


    ¡°I know. I¡¯ve probably heard the equivalent of years¡¯ worth of your bragging about your starship.¡± Scytale tried to flap his wings to move but they made no impact on his momentum. He freewheeled through space. ¡°Ugh. This is giving me flashbacks to Stage 10.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m finding this quite enjoyable,¡± Lucy said, acting like she was lying on a bed.


    ¡°Alright, this is cool and all, but can we do something else please?¡±


    She smirked and dropped herself back onto the walkway. The chamber disappeared and she was left standing in the white space again, although Scytale¡­ he was still floating.


    ¡°Uh¡­ Lucy?¡±


    She studied him for a moment before grabbing onto the tip of his tail and treating him like a balloon as she walked forward. ¡°So, in the short term, I can¡¯t imagine my Origin Skill being very useful for us. But when it comes to increasing our communication and information abilities, the benefits the skill provides are immeasurable.¡±


    ¡°Lucy, this isn¡¯t what I meant by doing something else.¡±


    The space morphed again to become a copy of her bedroom in the Aurelian Commission. A four-poster bed with velvet pillows, two wide and tall glass windows with cushioned windowsills, a walk-in wardrobe to the left and an ensuite behind her¡­


    She walked up to the bed and sat down on it. Then she pushed Scytale up into the air.


    ¡°I also have a few vague plans relating to what the Simulacrum Realm could be used for in the future. From what I can tell, the skill does enhance my computational and simulation ability for spellcasting, but unlike with the Manifestor¡¯s Cuboid Energy Matrix, spellcasting simulation is not its primary function or purpose.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great and all, but¡­ ugh!¡± Scytale flapped his wings and wriggled his body, trying to gain control over his endless spinning. ¡°I know I have wings, but I¡¯m not a sky beast yet! I like my land still!¡±


    Lucy smirked and he was dropped onto the centre of the bed. He rolled over so his wings were no longer in awkward positions. He slithered over to her. ¡°So, future plans?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°It will depend on what abilities my Origin Skill retains when it loses its status of a System skill, but I plan to take advantage of the cross-realm communication feature to set something up.¡±


    ¡°But set what up?¡±


    Lucy hesitated. Scytale narrowed his eyes and poked their bond to find out.


    Then his eyes widened. ¡°Lucy, you are insane!¡±


    She scowled. ¡°Scytale-¡± Then she paused as she realised the emotions coming through the bond weren¡¯t what she expected.


    ¡°You¡¯re crazy! Absolutely crazy!¡± he exclaimed excitedly. ¡°You¡¯ll be only one person setting up the entire Tower¡¯s information revolution! I can¡¯t believe you plan to recreate the Network with the Simul-¡±


    With a snap of her fingers, Scytale could no longer use his mental telepathy. She narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°Have you learnt to mind your words now?¡±


    He stuck his tongue out and flickered it once she let him speak again. ¡°But there¡¯s nobody here to hear me besides you.¡±


    She sent him a flat look. ¡°Does that mean you would¡¯ve stayed silent if I had told you this in our real bodies?¡±


    Scytale turned his head to avoid eye contact. Lucille rolled her eyes. ¡°As I said, my plans are vague and all dependent on what abilities I¡¯ll still have access to in a few years. The first stages of the Network construction won¡¯t begin until I can return to Earth either. It would be better for you to put it out of your mind.¡±


    Scytale sent across the mental impression of a clicked tongue. ¡°Oh well. Still, it sounds exciting. Almost exciting as me getting my human body back in a few days.¡± He raised himself and flapped his wings. ¡°I¡¯ll have fingers and hands, Lucy! Imagine that, limbs with actual dextrous digits attached!¡±


    She huffed a laugh. ¡°I apologise for not understanding your enthusiasm.¡±


    ¡°Still, it¡¯s a little bit sad that your Origin Skill isn¡¯t going to be immediately helpful for fighting,¡± Scytale complained. ¡°That means all of it rests on you getting a good second main skill.¡±


    He came beside her. ¡°What exactly are you planning on getting for it, anyway? A mana manipulation one?¡±


    Lucy nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve considered it, and while it would be good for me to gain a main skill that increases my ability to wield Apophis and Ouroboros¡­ I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be proficient in them soon enough for that to be a worthwhile investment.¡±


    She looked at her hands. ¡°I¡¯ll be going for a skill that takes full advantage of my atmospheric mana manipulation.¡±


    Scytale nodded. ¡°Are you planning on trying to artificially give yourself an affinity for all six essential elements like that Marellen mage you met?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°No. While I won¡¯t gain the elemental boosts to my spells by having affinities, I want to permanently keep my no-element affinity. At least¡­ until much later.¡±


    Her bond looked around the bedroom again. ¡°What else can you do with this place?¡±


    Lucille considered it, holding her chin. She hummed in thought and then pointed straight ahead with one gloved finger. ¡°Well¡­¡±


    The wall of her bedroom disappeared to reveal the white space beyond. Then, like pillars of toy blocks rapidly being assembled by invisible hands, the white space began to take on the form of a modern city filled with busy traffic. The walls and furniture of the bedroom turned to clear glass and slowly rose, allowing Lucy and Scytale to see the city from above.


    Scytale jumped off the bed and snuck over to the edge of the room to look down. ¡°How is there so much going on? I think I can even see fake people down there.¡±


    ¡°My second subskill states that the quantity of my spiritual power affects my ability to manipulate the Simulacrum,¡± Lucy replied, standing up to walk over to him. ¡°But I can also set up constructs that run without my input. My spiritual power is responsible for creating the original details, but if I create enough constructs that link to each other, then the chain reactions can continue without putting stress on my mind.¡±


    She smiled wryly. ¡°Essentially, I have the sandbox VR, but not the algorithms or computer behind it. It¡¯s my job to design a computer inside here.¡±


    ¡°Your Origin Skill also said that it takes its logic from the consciousness of everyone though, right?¡± Scytale asked. ¡°Would that mean you can just create a bunch of possible events to test out in here?¡±


    Lucy nodded. ¡°Absolutely. I can even speed up time in here by making the Simulacrum Realm respond to my accelerated thoughts.¡± She grinned. ¡°So, I¡¯m going to need you to be my sparring partner, Scytale.¡±


    He stared at her, then flapped his wings excitedly. ¡°Wait, we can train for ages in here?! So it will be useful for helping you learn to fight!¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°There are still limitations though. For instance, I won¡¯t be able to study scenarios where I¡¯ve chosen an alternative main skill to my current one.¡± Lucille looked down at the city. ¡°Because it¡¯s our consciousnesses it brings in here, the Simulacrum can only replicate our physical body¡¯s current skills. And if I increase our ¡®stats¡¯ in here, we don¡¯t actually gain strength outside.¡±


    Then she hesitated. ¡°Unless I choose to create¡­ a virtual reality simulator within the Simulacrum with different laws. And as this is a System skill, I could continue to make simulations¡­ within simulations¡­ within simulations¡­¡±


    Scytale gave her a blank look.


    Lucy sighed. ¡°This is like literally thinking about thinking. I¡¯ll drop this train of thought.¡±


    They fell silent, just watching the city in peace as night fell, letting the buildings light up with brilliant neon lights. Then a silvery winged snake turned to her. ¡°So¡­ this is just a stray thought, but¡­ if it brings consciousnesses into here¡­ then couldn¡¯t you bring your second consciousness into here?¡±


    Lucy glanced at him, then at the city. After a moment, she opened her Status to look at the Simulacrum Realm and Alter-Ego skills. Then she focused on the Alter-Ego¡¯s consciousness.


    A notification sounded out for her.


    [Error: Only the equivalent of one main consciousness of the user of Total Realm Mastery may reside within the Simulacrum Realm at any one time]


    She shook her head with a wry smile. ¡°It seems I can¡¯t. But the wording of the warning is interesting¡­¡± She crossed her arms and tapped her foot against the ground. ¡°Equivalent of one main consciousness? I suppose that explains why I was able to leave only a section of my consciousness slowed down to Earth¡¯s time in the Simulacrum. That means if I segmented part of my consciousness into smaller sections then I¡¯d be able to work on different parts of the Simulacrum at different times¡­ and my second consciousness could possibly come in here if none of my original consciousness is inside because the System seems to count the Alter-Ego as a user of Total Realm Mastery too¡­¡±


    Lucy looked at her bond and raised an eyebrow. ¡°Why did you ask such a strange question in the first place?¡±


    He flickered his tongue. ¡°The thing you said about the Simulacrum only replicating our bodies¡¯ current strength made me wonder if you could end up sparring with your Alter-Ego in here.¡±


    She considered it with a strange expression. Eventually, she shook her head. ¡°I can¡¯t think of a single reason why I¡¯d need to do that. Although¡­¡± She thought about it further. ¡°I wonder if the similarities between the two Origin Skills would allow me to design spells in here and send them over for my Alter-Ego to use¡­¡±


    Lucille sat down next to Scytale. ¡°Food for thought I suppose. I imagine this skill will end up being used for a lot of things. From helping me visualise items I want to construct, to functioning as a literal mind palace, to helping me use my abilities¡­¡± She hummed. ¡°While I doubt this skill will have an active role in helping me defeat the hero, a part of my consciousness will likely always be working in here in the background.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget there was that other special line in your skill.¡±


    Lucy instantly knew what he was talking about. ¡°Imaginary creations currently cannot influence the physical realms,¡± she recited. ¡°The System emphasised that line on the skill page, and has been careful to mention that it cannot currently influence them.¡± She crossed her arms. ¡°I¡¯m curious as to what the prerequisites for enabling that are¡­ and what my skill will do once that function is enabled¡­¡±


    Scytale opened his mouth to yawn. ¡°Are you still sure you don¡¯t want to bring Vincent and anyone else in here? You¡¯re already planning on making some secret society on Earth, what if you lean into it and make an exclusive club for the entire Tower?¡±


    Lucille shook her finger at him. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that this is still my Origin Skill,¡± she reminded him. ¡°I don¡¯t want to bring anyone in here who could potentially turn out to be hostile and reveal all the secrets in the Simulacrum.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but Vincent? Hostile?¡±


    She smirked. ¡°If I brought Vincent in here he¡¯d probably believe I¡¯d just want to take advantage of the time dilation to give him more work.¡±


    ¡°But that is your fault for creating trust issues between you!¡± Scytale looked at the city beneath them again. ¡°Still, while this skill is really powerful¡­ I¡¯m a bit worried.¡±


    She didn¡¯t reply, but she knew what he meant.


    ¡°First you had that strange mirror appear in your Tutorial, then you found out your Status was glitched, you received a freaky mask¡­ then you got a System skill for your first main skill, the Authorizer and System contract thing has popped up and now this? A System skill for your own Origin Skill, something that¡¯s supposed to be a very private and personal ability?¡±


    Scytale shook his head. ¡°What does it want with you?¡±


    Lucille sighed. ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll have to find out over time. But¡­ so far, it seems I¡¯m valuable to the System. As long as I keep it that way, I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll get through it.¡± She looked at her bond and smirked. ¡°Hurry up and get a good class soon so you can fight off any angry Demon Emperors, Scytale.¡±


    He reared up and hissed. ¡°Don¡¯t use me as a shield against him!¡±


    She just grinned and soon afterwards, they left the Simulacrum Realm so Lucy could continue doing work.


    Three days later Scytale became an advanced beast.

 Chapter 52 (1 of 2) Hexadic Essence Absorption.

    ¡°Luuuuucy!¡±


    Lucille sighed and put down her cup of coffee on the table in her living room. The door of the room which had been left slightly ajar was suddenly pushed forward. She shot the silver amphiptere a flat look as he hurriedly came around the edge of the couch to climb onto the table and flare his wings before her.


    ¡°My ascension is ending!¡± he proclaimed, his nose held high in the air.


    Lucy could sense that his mana was uncontrollably roiling around within him, ready to burst out at any point. She rolled her eyes. ¡°And you chose to suppress your advancement just so you could come in here and do a dramatic reveal?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    She sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s see it, then.¡±


    He snickered, climbed off the table, and then the mana within him suddenly burst out, making Lucy shut off her perception field so she wouldn¡¯t be forced to process all the information. His coils thickened and lengthened, growing longer and longer, and his broad white-gold wings grew even larger, nearly reaching the height of Lucy¡¯s shoulders when she was standing.


    His silver scales grew thicker and sturdy, giving him more protection, and the horns on his head gained sharper tips as they too lengthened. He groaned and twisted up as the skin just below his pair of wings began to bunch and bulge. A crunch sounded and a second pair of sharp-edged white-gold wings burst out from his flesh, two-thirds the span and height of his first pair.


    ¡°Ow¡­ that was not pleasant.¡±


    He shuddered and tried to ignore his slight bleeding as he turned to her and flared his wings again. ¡°Voil¨¤! I now have two marvellous pairs of flying equipment!¡±


    She glanced at his body which was as thick as her two fists pressed together. ¡°And you¡¯ve reached ten metres like Skulker was.¡±


    ¡°I am no longer the midget of my enclave!¡± Then Scytale flapped his large wings, making Lucy squint as the wind brushed her face. ¡°But wait! The best bit is yet to come!¡±


    A golden glow shone from him and his body shrunk. ¡°I now have a human-¡±


    The force of a heavy blanket slamming into him stopped his words and bowled him over. He coughed and tried to pull off the blanket smothering his face. ¡°Lucy, what did you just-¡±


    Lucy crossed her arms and looked at him with utter disdain. ¡°Scytale, you¡¯re naked.¡±


    Scytale managed to stick his head out from under the blanket, revealing the face of a young boy. Once he realised what was covering him, he stuck his tongue out. ¡°But I don¡¯t wear anything in my beast form and I never hear you complaining.¡±


    She rolled her eyes. ¡°Yes, but magical beasts have an anatomy that allows them to hide what they wish to not be seen.¡± She sighed and inspected his appearance more closely. ¡°The Caladrius bloodline has definitely drastically affected your appearance.¡±


    Sitting on the floor with a blanket on his lap was a boy with messy, metallic-looking silver hair. While quite long near his neck, the rest of his hair was shorter. Lucy assumed that was because he intended to wear his hair in a ponytail like he had in the past.


    Scytale¡¯s human form in the past was very different. With hair that was a metallic black sheen tinged with dark green, and indigo eyes, he had features that were the same as the members of his enclave when they were in their human forms. The Scytale before her now had two golden eyes with black slits for pupils.


    And there was another change. She tilted her head as she studied him, falling silent.


    ¡°What is it? Are you admiring my spectacular appearance?¡± he said smugly. He tied the blanket around himself and moved to stand up. ¡°Now that I have a human form I need to go show Vincent and-¡±


    He stopped moving to stare at his hands. He looked down at himself and spun around. ¡°What¡­¡±


    Lucy smirked as he put his hands up to his face and widened his eyes. ¡°No, hang on, wait a second¡­¡± A look of panic appeared on his face. ¡°Lucy, Lucy, can you show me what I look like through the bond?¡±


    She sent her vision through and he froze up with shock.


    ¡°Aww, you¡¯re so little,¡± she said with a grin.


    Standing before her was someone who appeared to be¡­ a thirteen-year-old boy.


    ¡°No!!!¡± He put his hands on his head. ¡°Why do I look like a kid?!? At the very least I should look like a fifteen-year-old, not¡­ this!¡±


    ¡°It seems the fate of being the midget of your clan has not removed itself from you yet,¡± Lucille said with amusement.


    He scowled, but it didn¡¯t look very threatening on his young face. ¡°The System has something against me, I swear. I didn¡¯t look this young when I reached advanced rank in the last timeline!¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°I recall you telling me that you were twenty when you originally reached advanced rank, so I assume you¡¯ll just grow out of your current appearance in a few years.¡±


    He crossed his arms with a frown. ¡°I hope so. I don¡¯t want to appear like a little kid for everyone.¡±


    She held her chin as she observed him again. ¡°What about your partial form?¡±


    ¡°My partial form?¡± He hesitated. ¡°I didn¡¯t think much about it until you mentioned it, but if this is what I look like now, I don¡¯t hold high hopes for the partial form¡­¡± He sighed in defeat. ¡°Oh well.¡±


    The glow of light mana reappeared and coalesced to form two pairs of wide white-gold wings on his back. His arms from the elbows to his hands became covered in silver scales like plate metal and he gained sharp claws on the end of his fingers. Scales formed to cover his legs from the knees down as well, and long feathers extended from his ears. Seven silver horns sprang from his forehead, almost as if he was wearing a crown.


    Lucille tilted her head from side to side with a smirk on her face as he glared at her. ¡°Look, you¡¯re so adorably fluffy.¡±


    He looked down at himself and sighed. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing I never plan to use my partial form for combat.¡±


    Lucy took out her pocket watch and checked the time. ¡°Well, return to your beast form so we can go out.¡±


    Scytale shook his head firmly. ¡°I promised myself I wouldn¡¯t leave my human form for two weeks when I finally got it!¡±


    She shot him a flat look as she stood up. ¡°Scytale, you are not going out with your human form until you get some decent clothes on. Just have fun using your wings to fly while we head to a store in Gilded Seat.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah.¡± He thought about it and then nodded. ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll do that and then I get to show off to Vincent and the rest!¡±


    ¡­


    Lucy walked through one of the corridors of the Commission Headquarters, planning on taking a carriage that she had organised to a store to find clothes for her bond. She entered the main lobby of the Headquarters and in the distance, Vincent barely managed to notice her leaving.


    ¡°Lucille? Lucille, wait a second.¡± He sped up his pace to reach her and narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°Where are you going?¡±


    In silent response to his question, with a flat look on her face, she raised her cane and pointed up. Vincent looked up¡­ to see a silver snake hurtling through the air and using his wings to do tricks while flying.


    ¡°Wheeeeeeee¡­¡± He bumped into a chandelier and veered off course to crash into a wall. ¡°Ouch!¡±


    ¡°Scytale has finished his advancement and became an advanced rank beast a few minutes ago,¡± Lucy stated flatly. ¡°We¡¯re going out to buy him some clothes for his human form.¡±


    Vincent and Lucy watched the snake shake his head and flap his wings again to launch himself from the floor once more. He spun through the air and the blast from his wings sent several pages of the documents belonging to the staff member below him flying.


    ¡°¡­I see,¡± Vincent replied, not knowing what to say.


    A loud clang sounded as the amphiptere managed to ram into a chandelier again and became tangled within its chains. The chandelier slowly rocked back and forth.


    ¡°Maybe it would be best if you left quickly¡­¡± Vincent remarked dryly.


    Lucille just sighed.


    ¡­


    Scytale sat across from her in the carriage with his arms crossed smugly. He had chosen to wear something fancy because he was ¡®the grand Count of Commissioning¡¯s Bond¡¯ and so was wearing a long-sleeved white dress shirt, black pants and a¡­ blue tie of all things. Except he refused to wear it properly so it hung loosely around his neck.


    ¡°You know, I always found these kind of outfits super snobbish and uppity, but now that I¡¯m wearing one myself¡­¡± He placed a hand on his chin and nodded. ¡°I¡¯m quite the looker, aren¡¯t I?¡±


    Lucille raised her eyes from the document in front of her to gaze dully at her bond. ¡°Scytale, you cannot honestly expect me to treat anything you say seriously when you look like that.¡±


    He glared at her. ¡°It¡¯s not my fault I look thirteen! Do you have anything other than barbs and backhanded compliments to make? I don¡¯t know, maybe praising me for changing my outfit for once?¡±


    Scytale¡¯s attire in the past had consisted of¡­ tracksuit pants, t-shirts, and hoodies. He never even bothered to change when it came to formal events.


    Lucy rolled her eyes. ¡°Yes, yes, congratulations on now looking like a semi-functioning member of society. If you fixed your tie I could even award you the title of a fully functioning member of society.¡±


    Scytale nodded proudly. ¡°Thank you,¡± he said, completely disregarding her second sentence.


    The carriage pulled to a stop and the coachman opened the carriage door. Lucy and Scytale walked down the steps and then entered the Headquarters.


    Vincent was behind the desks, talking to one of the clerks. He looked up and noticed Lucy, so he nodded to the clerk and walked out from behind the desks to come over to them.


    He stopped to stare when he saw Scytale. After a second, he adjusted his glasses. ¡°I thought you said you were fifteen.¡±


    ¡°And I am!¡± Scytale complained loudly. ¡°I thought now that I¡¯m an advanced beast that I¡¯d be free of my small body, but look!¡± He gestured at himself. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be a thirteen-year-old kid!¡±


    Vincent shook his head wryly. ¡°The voice is the same as I know, so I assume you are Lucy¡¯s bond and not some child posing as Scytale. I had almost wondered if Lucille had adopted someone today.¡±


    Lucy¡¯s deadpan stare presented Vincent the opportunity to know a lot about what she thought of that idea, but Scytale placed his hands on his hips. ¡°There is no way I¡¯d ever let her by my mother.¡±


    ¡°And I wouldn¡¯t want a child as poorly behaved as you,¡± she replied back, narrowing her eyes at him.


    ¡°Where are you off to next?¡± Vincent asked curiously.


    Lucy thought for a moment. ¡°Well, we had planned to select our Aspects and main skills once Scytale had a human form, but before that¡­¡±


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Scytale gave them both a broad grin. ¡°It¡¯s time to reveal my glorious form to that commoner crafter!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Seeeedric!¡±


    The brown-haired young man pushed up his goggles and turned around to study them with his arms crossed. He gazed sceptically at Scytale. ¡°Who¡¯s the midget?¡±


    Lucy smirked at the look of outrage that appeared on Scytale¡¯s face. She could sense he felt the urge to flap his wings¡­ not that he had any right now.


    ¡°Excuse me?!¡± he exclaimed, indignant. ¡°I am not that small! I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m taller than average for what a thirteen-year-old kid would look like¡­ actually, I¡¯m certain I¡¯m taller than average for a thirteen-year-old kid! You take that back!¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Scytale.¡± Sedric turned back to his workbench. ¡°No wonder your voice sounded so irritating.¡± He glanced over his shoulder. ¡°Interesting to know you lied about your age, though.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t lie about my age,¡± Scytale replied grumpily, crossing his arms. ¡°I just look like this because I¡¯m small for my clan.¡±


    ¡°Whatever you say¡­¡± Sedric said, clearly not believing him. Then he turned back to them and raised an eyebrow. ¡°But if you¡¯re an advanced beast now, then shouldn¡¯t you have gotten two more wings or something?¡± He smirked. ¡°Go on, prove that you¡¯re not afraid of heights.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll eat your words soon.¡± A glow of light appeared and Scytale returned to his true form. Lucy was feeling very glad that she had bought the item that allowed him to change out of his clothes quickly.


    Scytale slithered up to Sedric, who backed away slightly when he saw Scytale¡¯s size.


    ¡°See! Another pair of marvellous wings!¡± Scytale flapped them to show off, rustling some of the pages of paper in Sedric¡¯s workshop.


    ¡°Yeah, but that doesn¡¯t necessarily mean you can fly with them,¡± Sedric pointed out.


    Scytale stuck out his tongue and then his body began to shrink as he purposely returned himself to his original metre-long length. ¡°I¡¯ll show you.¡±


    He spread his two pairs of white-gold wings out and then launched himself off the table, doing a loop as he snickered while in the air. ¡°I told you you¡¯ll eat your words! See, I can fly easily, there¡¯s no problem.¡±


    Sedric clicked his tongue with annoyance while Lucille rolled her eyes. ¡°Scytale, we need to get going and head to the Obelisk now.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Scytale flew down to the table and slid to a halt. ¡°But I was going to show Hargrave my new appearance.¡±


    Lucy raised an eyebrow at the odd answer but shook her head. ¡°Hargrave has left the Headquarters to purchase some equipment. He won¡¯t be back for a while.¡±


    ¡°Awww, and I wanted to brag a bit more.¡± He jumped onto the floor and quickly returned to his human form. ¡°I guess we better get started then.¡±


    Lucy nodded and they both left Sedric¡¯s workshop, prepared to finally select their main skills and Aspects so they could begin to grow stronger in the Tower.


    ¡­


    Lucille glanced at the snake in human form beside her. ¡°Ready to select your main skills?¡±


    Scytale grinned. ¡°You bet.¡± He looked at the Obelisk in front of them. ¡°Should I go first? Working out what we should do for you is going to take some time.¡±


    Lucy nodded. Scytale was perfectly capable of choosing his Aspects and skills. There were over 80 years between their first and second bonds, and he had managed to become the ¡®World-Ender¡¯, so he knew what he was doing.


    ¡°I hope you get good classes,¡± Lucy said as he walked towards the Obelisk.


    He nodded and stepped through. Lucy didn¡¯t even wait a second as Scytale returned, time having been frozen inside the Obelisk.


    ¡°Did you get lucky?¡± she asked before she saw the frown on his face. ¡°Scytale, is something wrong?¡±


    He hesitated as he came closer. Then he sighed and grabbed her wrist to pull her into the Obelisk. ¡°Not wrong exactly, but¡­ come with me, I need your brains for this.¡±


    They went back through the Obelisk and appeared in the transparent box, miles above Gilded Seat. Lucy formed two chairs with her will as Scytale began to open up screens.


    ¡°So, what seems to be the issue?¡± she asked him.


    ¡°Well, I think I know what Aspects and main skills I want, but¡­¡± He tapped on two screen. ¡°Actually, let me just show you my default Aspect first.¡±


    [Scytale¡¯s Aspects {1/6}:


    Bloodline Sync]


    [Aspect: Bloodline Sync | Type: Bloodline/Individual]


    Prerequisites:


    <ul>


    <li>Have a hybrid magical beast bloodline.</li>


    </ul>


    Desc: Very rarely is a beast from two subraces born with such equal lineage. You have gained the ability to use both parts of your bloodlines, neither overpowering the other. Your potential is limitless.


    Bonuses:


    <ul>


    <li>Unless the User wishes to gain full bloodline purity in one bloodline, neither bloodline will reach more than or less than 50% bloodline purity.</li>


    <li>Enhances the User¡¯s ability to detect snake-type and bird-type beasts. Resistance to bloodline suppression from either species is increased due to the two bloodlines.</li>


    <li>Allows the User to switch which race other magical beasts sense them to be when they are in human form, and allows them to somewhat mask their bloodline presence from either beast subrace.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    Lucy hummed. ¡°So, the Aspect from your third Title is the default Aspect. While I doubt you¡¯ll be able to mask yourself from beasts with Superior advancement or greater, this may be useful when it comes to the Caladrius.¡±


    He nodded and collapsed the screen. ¡°Yeah. I don¡¯t want to get caught up in Caladrius-snake politics.¡± He shuddered.


    Lucille glanced at him. ¡°What about your main skills?¡±


    Scytale avoided eye contact. ¡°Uh¡­ so, because of my new affinity¡­ I decided I might try to follow a standard class path for magical beasts.¡±


    She raised an eyebrow. Typically, when a magical beast had bloodline spells they weren¡¯t entirely happy with, what they would do was gain a mage class to enhance their skill set. Their innate elemental affinity made it very beneficial for them to do so, even if a Light Mage class was only Uncommon rarity, but this was Scytale they were talking about. That was way too much of a normal choice for him.


    ¡°Who are you and what did you do with Scytale?¡±


    He stuck his tongue out at her. ¡°Anyway, I want the Light Mage main skill to be my first main skill,¡± he said, turning back to the screen.


    Lucy nodded. ¡°Even if it won¡¯t give you powerful skills yet, it will be a good foundational skill to later rework into a light element focused attack skill. The rarity can be sorted out through merging with your second class.¡±


    Scytale nodded. ¡°So that¡¯s what I planned with this one. But when it came to the other class options¡­¡± He opened another screen and Lucy leaned to the side to look.


    [User Scytale¡¯s Class Selection Options]


    Main Skill Slots: 2


    Classes:


    [Class: Light Mage | Type: Runic/Elemental]


    Rarity: Uncommon


    Prerequisites: Lesser light affinity or higher.


    [Desc: [Collapsed]]


    [Class: Illusion Mage | Type: Runic/Elemental]


    Rarity: Rare


    Prerequisites: Lesser illusion affinity or higher.


    [Desc: [Collapsed]]


    [Class: Sky Battler | Type: Melee/Flight]


    Rarity: Rare


    Prerequisites: Flying magical beast subrace.


    [Desc: [Collapsed]]


    [Class: Bloodlust Berserker | Type: Spiritual/Killing Intent]


    Rarity: Rare


    Prerequisites: Strong killing intent.


    [Desc: [Collapsed]]


    [Class: Scaled Defender | Type: Melee/Defensive]


    Rarity: Common


    Prerequisites: Scaled beast subrace.


    [Desc: [Collapsed]]


    [Class: Assassination Serpent | Melee/Elemental]


    Rarity: Rare


    Prerequisites: Serpent beast subrace. Lesser Illusion affinity or higher.


    [Desc: [Collapsed]]


    [Class: Guardian of the Elemental Bastion | Type: Defensive/Force]


    Rarity: Rare


    Prerequisites: Size enhancement ability. Natural Heroic Power. Nonmortal race.


    [Desc: [Collapsed]]


    []


    Lucille carefully read all the names of the seven classes offered by the System. She paused slightly when she saw the Bloodlust Berserker class, but it was when she read the prerequisites of the last one that she raised an eyebrow. ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. That.¡± Scytale crossed his arms and nodded. ¡°Have you got any idea what that¡¯s supposed to be about?¡±


    Lucy shot him a flat look. ¡°Scytale, you haven¡¯t even let me read the description yet.¡±


    He gasped with mock shock. ¡°Lucille Goldcroft has something she doesn¡¯t know?!¡±


    She whacked the back of his head. ¡°Stop messing around and show me if you want your questions answered.¡±


    He snickered and tapped on the [Collapsed] button. The description unfurled.


    [Class: Guardian of the Elemental Bastion | Type: Defensive/Buffer]


    Rarity: Rare


    Prerequisites: Size enhancement ability. Natural Heroic Power. Nonmortal race.


    [Desc: This class makes use of the Heroic Power manipulation techniques of the ancient Titans to create an Armament that passively defends against attacks when activated. The Armament fuses with the User¡¯s body to provide complete protection and grants DEF values.]


    Lucille crossed her arms and tapped her fingers against an arm, thinking. ¡°Can I have a look at the Bloodlust Berserker class?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Sure thing.¡± Scytale nodded and opened it up for her.


    [Class: Bloodlust Berserker | Type: Spiritual/Killing Intent]


    Rarity: Rare


    Prerequisites: Strong killing intent.


    [Desc: This class uses the strong killing intent of the User to enhance their attacks. It grants them additional SATK each Class Tier and enhances the effect of their skills. The stronger the killing intent of the User, the greater the enhancement. Be warned, however, as an unstable mind may lead to the User descending into a frenzy with this skill.]


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Lucy held her chin in contemplation as she considered the two classes. ¡°I assume these two would be the two you¡¯d prefer to choose between?¡±


    Her bond nodded. ¡°And the Bastion skill is the one I like better because of the DEF it would give me, but I wouldn¡¯t have a clue how it could impact me.¡±


    Lucy gestured to the screen. ¡°Well, I will point out that while the Bloodlust Berserker says that you¡¯ll be stronger when your killing intent is stronger, the class itself is only Rare. That means it¡¯s not an infinite advancement and there would still be limiters placed by the System on how much you could enhance your abilities.¡±


    Scytale groaned. ¡°But then the Bastion skill makes it sound like the Heroic Armament used there is different, yet it doesn¡¯t explain how it¡¯s different. Is it just an older version of Heroic Armaments?¡± He looked at Lucy. ¡°Have you heard anything about this?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°My knowledge of the Titans is more historical. Not being able to use killing intent myself, I never cared much about their mana-arts.¡± Then Lucille paused for a moment. ¡°Wait¡­ mana-arts.¡± She pointed to the screen. ¡°Because your bloodline gave you Heroic Power, you never used a Heroic mana-art to gain it. That must be the benefit of the skill.¡±


    ¡°So I can use the Heroic Armament straight away?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I believe so,¡± she replied, reading the description again. ¡°The prerequisites described suggest this is a ¡®traditional¡¯ or ¡®authentic¡¯ method of using Heroic Power.¡± Lucille tilted her head at the screen. ¡°It may be possible that others will find it hard to identify it as a Heroic Armament.¡±


    ¡°Then that¡¯s good!¡± Scytale said. ¡°No Caladrius or Glory Pantheon Champions stalking me! I can show off my Heroic Power whenever I want!¡±


    She sighed. ¡°No, you can¡¯t. But Scytale, your class options will change once you select your first main skill,¡± she reminded him. ¡°It¡¯s possible you won¡¯t want this skill after you select the Light Mage class.¡± Then Lucy raised an eyebrow. ¡°Unless you want this Bastion class instead of the mage class?¡±


    The snake in human form glanced between the classes. Then he shook his head. ¡°Nope. As much as it¡¯s rarer than the Light Mage class, getting working abilities is more important.¡±


    He pressed on the [Light Mage] class. ¡°Light Mage it is.¡±


    [You have selected the Class: Light Mage for your first main skill slot. Do you wish to proceed? Yes/No]


    Scytale pressed [Yes] and then the Obelisk cube brightened for a second.


    [Gained Primary Skill: Apprentice Light Mage¡¯s Compendium (Tier I)]


    [Gained Apprentice Light Mage¡¯s Aspect (Tier I)]


    [Class detected for User Scytale. Use Class Tier +1? Yes/No]


    Scytale paused when he saw the notification. Then he grinned and pressed [No]. ¡°No way in hell am I doing that until I¡¯ve merged my classes.¡±


    Lucy smirked. ¡°Good call.¡± She gestured to the screens. ¡°Let¡¯s see the skill and Aspect, then.¡±


    Her bond pulled them both up.


    [Primary Skill: Apprentice Mage of Light¡¯s Compendium | Type: Runic/Elemental ]


    Rarity: Uncommon


    Tier: I


    Desc: The essential element of light is considered the element of protection and healing. It can save the dying, strengthen the warrior, and kill the evil. It erases the dark places and allows all to see again. This User has begun to explore the possibilities of light and all it brings, choosing to turn runes of light into a feature of their very own mana pool.


    Subskills:


    Runic Model: Light ¨C The crystallisation of modern rune theory come to fruition.


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the User the Apprentice Light Mage Aspect (Tier I).</li>


    <li>Grants the User a light element runic model that increases in complexity as User adds more runes to it. Current progress: 1% towards intermediate level.</li>


    </ul>


    Luminescent Spell Tome ¨C The most important part of being a mage.


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the User access to the following spells based on current runes in runic model: Minor Heal, Minor Light Beam, Lesser Strength Blessing, Lesser Dark Dispersion.</li>


    <li>Grants the User access to the basic runic theorem knowledge of an apprentice mage.</li>


    </ul>


    Subskill slots:


    <ul>


    <li>[Empty]</li>


    <li>[Empty]</li>


    <li>[Empty]</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    [Aspect: Apprentice Light Mage Aspect | Type: Class/Elemental]


    Tier: I


    Prerequisites:


    <ul>


    <li>Mage of Light¡¯s Compendium Main Skill</li>


    </ul>


    Desc: Light and dark are the two rarest essential elements. Their unique abilities make them stand out among the six, granting powerful buffs, or powerful debuffs. You have chosen to use light and will learn to shine among the crowd.


    Bonuses:


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the User +1% INT and WIS at Tier I. Increases by +1% per Class Tier.</li>


    <li>Grants the User a multiplier to light element spell effectiveness dependent on the User¡¯s elemental affinity. Current multiplier: 75%.</li>


    <li>Grants the User +5 INT and WIS at Tier I. Increases by +5 per Class Tier.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    Lucille counted on her fingers. ¡°That¡¯s two out of six Aspects selected. With your current light affinity, the mage class was worth it.¡±


    Scytale pulled up the Class Selection page again. ¡°Time for number two.¡±


    [User Scytale¡¯s Class Selection Options]


    Main Skill Slots: 1


    Classes:


    Main Skill 1 Classes:


    [Class: Light Mage]


    [Unavailable]


    [Class: Illusion Mage]


    [Collapsed]


    [Class: Sky Battler]


    [Collapsed]


    [Class: Bloodlust Berserker]


    [Collapsed]


    [Class: Scaled Defender]


    [Collapsed]


    [Class: Assassination Serpent]


    [Collapsed]


    [Class: Guardian of the Elemental Bastion]


    [Unavailable]


    [New!] Main Skill 2 Classes:


    [Class: Bestial Brightmage | Type: Mana/Elemental]


    Rarity: Rare


    Prerequisites: Magical beast race, Lesser light affinity or higher, Light Mage Class.


    [Desc: [Collapsed]]


    [Class: Beguiling Mirage Weaver | Type: Charm/Elemental]


    Rarity: Rare


    Prerequisites: CHAR stat of 10 or higher, Lesser illusion affinity or higher.


    [Desc: [Collapsed]]


    [Class: Guardian of the Luminescent Bastion | Type: Defensive/Buffer]


    Rarity: Epic


    Prerequisites: Elemental type class, Greater level affinity for light or higher. Guardian of the Elemental Bastion unlocked.


    [Desc: [Collapsed]]


    []


    Scytale¡¯s eyes flew wide open. ¡°What?! What does it mean, unavailable?! How can me selecting a Light Mage class make it unavailable?!? System! I demand an answer! Let me speak to your manag-¡±


    ¡°Scytale.¡± Lucille firmly fixed a hand on the top of his head and tilted his head down. ¡°Read.¡±


    ¡°What? Why should I read anything right now! All I see is a bunch of crappy Rare classes and one¡­ Epic¡­¡­¡± The words died in his mouth.


    Lucy removed her hand from his head with a roll of her eyes. ¡°Scytale, you now have an even better class available.¡±


    ¡°Er¡­¡± He awkwardly pressed on the description. ¡°Let me just check to make sure it¡¯s alright...¡±


    [Class: Guardian of the Luminescent Bastion | Type: Defensive/Buffer]


    Rarity: Epic


    Prerequisites: Elemental type class, Lesser level affinity for light or higher. Guardian of the Elemental Bastion unlocked.


    [Desc: This class makes use of the Heroic Power manipulation techniques of the ancient Titans to create an Armament that passively defends against attacks when activated. The Armament fuses with the User¡¯s body to provide complete protection and grants DEF values. Due to the affinity of the User being light, the Armament passively heals its wearer while used.]


    ¡°Yeah, okay, fine, I shouldn¡¯t have complained,¡± Scytale grumbled. Then he jabbed a finger at the description. ¡°But why did it only provide me the light element version instead of the illusion version too? I¡¯d much prefer to have a Heroic Armament made out of the element I¡¯m more familiar with.¡±


    Lucille raised an eyebrow. ¡°That¡¯s because illusion element Heroic Weapons and Armaments don¡¯t exist.¡±


    Scytale turned to stare at her. ¡°Wait, really?¡±


    ¡°The illusion element is naturally a highly unstable element,¡± she explained, gesturing to the screen. ¡°It¡¯s composed of all the unstable transitional mana types, such as water to fire or fire to the earth, and so can¡¯t remain in the stable state that Heroic Power demands of it. The characteristics of illusion mana are the only reason I am even able to mimic monster mana, after all.¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡± Scytale thought about it. ¡°So the illusion element has identity crisis issues. Guess the Guardian of the Luminescent Bastion it is.¡±


    He tapped on the skill.


    [You have selected the Class: Guardian of the Luminescent Bastion for your second main skill slot. Do you wish to proceed? Yes/No]


    Scytale pressed [Yes] and then the Obelisk cube brightened a second time.


    [Gained Primary Skill: Bulwark of the Luminescent Bastion (Tier I)


    [Gained Luminescent Bastion Aspect (Tier I)]


    [Class detected for User Scytale. Use Class Tier +1? Yes/No]


    He rolled his eyes and swiftly pressed [No] again. Then he opened up the skill and Aspect to check them out.


    [Primary Skill: Bulwark of the Luminescent Bastion| Type: Defensive/Buffer ]


    Rarity: Epic


    Tier: I


    Desc: Heroic Power is known as the power of the mortal races. But the ruling race of the giants, the Titans, wield massive armaments and weapons made of this miraculous strength. As a titanic being yourself, you may follow the path of the Titans of old, possibly learning to wield Heroic Power¡­ as if it were part of your own skin and bones.


    Subskills:


    Bastion of Protection ¨C A shield wielded only for yourself.


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the User the Luminescent Bastion Aspect (Tier I).</li>


    <li>Grants the User the ability to strengthen their body with Heroic Power. Heroic Power becomes fused with the User¡¯s body to become a light element Colossus Armament. HP regen x3 for the duration of the Colossus Armament.</li>


    </ul>


    Bodily Aegis ¨C Skin, flesh, and bones of steel.


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the User DEF values based on strength of Colossus Armament. Strength of Armament can be increased by spending mana on it. Strength of Armament decreases as mana used to active Armament is consumed. Every 10 MP spent on Armament grants +20 DEF. 5 MP is consumed every minute of Colossus Armament activation. Maximum DEF: 5000.</li>


    </ul>


    Subskill slots:


    <ul>


    <li>[empty]</li>


    <li>[empty]</li>


    <li>[empty]</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    [Aspect: Luminescent Bastion | Type: Class/Defensive]


    Tier: I


    Prerequisites:


    <ul>


    <li>Bulwark of the Luminescent Bastion Main Skill</li>


    </ul>


    Desc: Titans, a race nearing the dragons in size. Every Discipline of Glory Pantheon has an honorary Titan Mythos, and defeating them rewards a warrior with their mana-art. You chose to follow the ancient ways when Heroic Power was just as much a power of the body as any limb.


    Bonuses:


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the User +5% to DEF and CON at Class Tier I. Increases by +5% per Class Tier.</li>


    <li>Grants the User the ability to form a light element Colossus Armament. DEF and CON multipliers are boosted by x2 when Armament is activated.</li>


    <li>Grants the User +6 to DEF and CON at Tier I. Increases by +6 per Class Tier.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    Scytale let out a low whistle. ¡°¡­wow. And cool, a Colossus Armament. That sounds awesome.¡±


    Lucille studied the descriptions. ¡°¡­I think the only way to see how well the skill performs is to test it.¡± She looked at her bond. ¡°And do you have the rest of the Aspects planned out?¡±


    He smirked. ¡°Yep.¡± He opened up the Aspect selection list and quickly scrolled to the section that had Primal Descendency as a requirement. ¡°I found this Coiled Power Aspect when I was advanced level last time, but didn¡¯t get it until much later. And I also found this cool Lightspeed Sky Predator Aspect.¡±


    [Aspect: Coiled Power | Type: Bloodline/Defensive]


    Prerequisites:


    <ul>


    <li>Primal descendency from a serpent Primal Beast.</li>


    </ul>


    Desc: Those lucky enough to have primal descendancy stand out from among the many subraces. Their physical size and advanced strength make it hard for them to find competition among the other races. As a serpent beast, take this strength and prepare to slay your prey.


    Bonuses:


    <ul>


    <li>Enhances the User¡¯s STR when in combat. STR multiplier +3% for every attack made during battle. Max multiplier: 150%. This effect also applies to CON when the User is in their Primal Descendant form.</li>


    <li>Grants the User DEF values based on 5% of their CON. DEF values x2 when in their Primal Descendant form.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    [Aspect: Lightspeed Sky Predator | Type: Bloodline/Elemental]


    Prerequisites:


    <ul>


    <li>Primal descendancy from a bird Primal Beast.</li>


    <li>Light element affinity.</li>


    </ul>


    Desc: Those lucky enough to have primal descendancy stand out from among the many subraces. Their physical size and advanced strength make it hard for them to find competition among the other races. As a beast of flight, take this power and rule the skies.


    Bonuses:


    <ul>


    <li>Enhances the User¡¯s AGI when using light element spells and skills in combat. AGI multiplier +5% for every light element spell or skill cast during battle. Max multiplier: 200%. This effect also applies to DEX when the User is in their Primal Descendant form to enhance flight.</li>


    <li>Enhances the User¡¯s thinking speed in combat. Amplifies thinking speed by 150%.</li>


    <li>Increases the User¡¯s resistance to slowing debuffs.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    Scytale shrugged. ¡°The rest were just miscellaneous Aspects like ¡®Enhanced scale strength¡¯ or ¡®Sharper fangs¡¯. Only these stood out to me.¡± He selected them both.


    [Gained Aspect: Coiled Power]


    [Gained Aspect: Lightspeed Sky Predator]

 Chapter 52 (2 of 2) Hexadic Essence Absorption.

    Lucille raised an eyebrow. ¡°But what about your sixth Aspect?¡±


    ¡°For that one¡­¡± Her bond gained an evil grin and opened up the Class Selection screen again. He tapped on the Bloodlust Berserker class.


    [You have no Main Skill slots left. Do you wish to deconstruct the Bloodlust Berserker Class into a Side Class? This will grant one Secondary Skill of the same rarity as the Class and one Aspect with a limited selection of bonuses from the Bloodlust Berserker Class Aspect.


    Yes/No


    Warning: Deconstruction of this Class will result in the Class becoming unavailable for all future Main Skills.]


    Lucille watched him curiously as he pressed [Yes] and gained the secondary skill and Aspect. Then he opened them up.


    [Gained Secondary Skill: Bestial Bloodlust]


    [Gained Aspect: Bestial Bloodlust Berserker Aspect]


    [Secondary Skill: Bestial Bloodlust | Type: Spiritual/Killing Intent]


    Rarity: Rare


    Desc: The power to imbue a sense of doom in your enemies can be an immense boon. You may send them weak at the knees, strike fear into their hearts, or knock them unconscious. Take care you do not lose yourself in your bloodlust.


    Ability:


    Bloody Intent ¨C Violent malice revealed in mana.


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the User the ability to enhance their skills with killing intent to inflict additional ATK. Mana cost x3 for enhanced skills.</li>


    <li>Maximum bloodlust enhancement increases by +5% per each additional Class Tier. Current enhancement is dependent on the quantity and strength of killing intent. Enhancement: 110%/110%.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    [Aspect: Bestial Bloodlust Berserker Aspect | Type: Side Class/Killing Intent]


    Prerequisites:


    <ul>


    <li>Strong killing intent</li>


    <li>Beast subrace</li>


    </ul>


    Desc: The Beast Realm follows the rule of kill or be killed. Ferocious monsters and warring beast clans fight daily to survive. While you did not wish to fully immerse yourself in your bloodlust, you still wished to make it part of your power.


    Bonuses:


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the User additional SATK when using killing intent. +3% SATK at Class Tier I. Increases by +3% per Class Tier.</li>


    <li>Heightens the emotions and battlelust of the User the longer their killing intent is imbued into their attacks. The User is at risk of losing control of themselves if their mental state is too unstable.</li>


    <li>Grants the User the Bestial Bloodlust Secondary Skill.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    The snake in human form smirked. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m smart? Now I can add this skill to the Light Mage primary skill and because it¡¯s a higher rarity Side Class skill-¡±


    ¡°-the primary skill will always evolve,¡± Lucy finished, thinking. ¡°But you need to collect two other skills to put in the subskill slots before that will happen.¡±


    He hesitated. ¡°Well, yeah, but¡­¡± He gestured to the screen. ¡°Come on, aren¡¯t I smart? We both know how much killing intent I have!¡±


    ¡°Scytale, I have zero clue how much killing intent you have,¡± Lucy stated flatly. ¡°I can¡¯t sense any of it.¡±


    He clicked his tongue. ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant¡­¡± He shook his head and looked around the cube. ¡°So, uh¡­ do you mind if I leave while you do your skill and Aspect selection stuff? Because I¡¯m pretty sure you have it all worked out and anything you tell me will be too technical for me to make sense of¡­¡±


    She huffed a laugh. ¡°Go on, do what you want. You just want time to feel like it¡¯s passing quicker so you can use your new abilities.¡±


    ¡°Yep!¡± he replied, unabashed. Then he paused and shot her a serious look. ¡°But Lucy, do you think you have a plan? Are you going to learn to fight with the daggers?¡±


    Lucille smiled wryly. ¡°With the Simulacrum, I think I might just be able to use them. But as for a plan¡­¡± She smirked. ¡°You¡¯ll just have to wait and see.¡±


    ¡­


    With Scytale gone, Lucille went expressionless and looked at the screens in front of her. She stretched her hands out in front of her and then sighed as she placed them on the armrests of the materialised couch. Then she extended her spiritual energy out to begin manipulating the screens.


    The first thing she did was bring up both the Aspect selection screen and the Main Skill selection screen. She selected [No] for the prompt that asked her if she wanted to select a class.


    [Lucille Goldcroft¡¯s Aspects {0/6}:


    None]


    [Main Skill Selection]


    [Available Primary Skill: Half-Beast Assimilation (Altered)]


    Desc: This is a customised version of the typical Beast bonding ability given by the System. Almost a brand-new skill, this one skips years of relationship trials to tightly bind a willing beast to yourself with a far thicker bond than most can achieve in decades.


    Info: Accepting this main skill occupies one primary skill slot, and gives you the Morph, Unity, and Perfect Harmonisation subskills]


    []


    Only one main skill was apparently ¡®available¡¯ for her, the skill she declined when she had bonded Scytale a few months prior. But with a strong spike of spiritual energy sent through the main skill selection screen, it fractured and shattered to reveal the grey-toned User skill selection.


    [Complete Authorisation: Main Skill Selection]


    There was no such thing as a ¡®User¡¯ Aspect selection, so she scrolled through the normal Aspect selection list, just having all Aspects available to her. Well, nearly all. Some, such as Scytale¡¯s Lightspeed Sky Predator Aspect, were unavailable for her purely because of biological compatibility. She had no wings for the ability to enhance, and so it was redundant. Other Aspects that enhanced bloodline characteristics were also redundant.


    Lucille had decided that her second main skill would involve mana manipulation. This was because mana and magic manipulation were her core strengths, regardless of her current limitations. It would grant her something to rely on while she was learning to use the daggers. And¡­ as much as the idea felt strange to her, it seemed she may end up as some kind of spellblade, someone who uses spells to enhance their physical abilities in battle. With Apophis and Ouroboros¡¯s extraordinarily high strength, it would be an utter waste for her to disregard them. She needed their abilities to gain stats as well, so if she could evolve the weapons, then maybe something truly special would be born.


    The two weapons¡­ both because of their connection to major events in the past, and the method by which they gained their abilities, gave Lucy a sense of comfort, in a way. They represented her core strength of knowledge and everything she had learned in the past timeline. They were one of the first secrets she had discovered in the new timeline, and if she had to somehow change what she had been doing for the last 231 years¡­ she wanted to give the weapons a chance.


    But when it came to mana-arts and attack skills, she was completely incapable of using them. Killing intent allowed mana to briefly gain enhanced strength and impact when used, often allowing the mana to have effects that she couldn¡¯t possibly mimic. Such as battle aura and weapon aura. Those enhanced their user¡¯s stats and attack by insane amounts due to the influence killing intent had on mana, but wasn¡¯t replicable with normal spells unless they were very powerful or highly costly.


    And she could forget about attack abilities from the Heavenly Realm. The strongest ones used intent and sword intent, weapon intent, they were all forms of killing intent. Just more refined. If she was unable to comprehend killing intent then how was she supposed to understand how a blade worked? And comprehending ¡®Daos¡¯ was only for those who had spiritual roots.


    All of this meant she couldn¡¯t ever be a traditional warrior, nor fight like then. Any of the powerful abilities that she might have a chance of gaining access to in Glory Pantheon wouldn¡¯t work for her at all. Her combat path had to be made entirely from scratch. As an Archmage, physical combat wasn¡¯t something she needed to care about, but this time it was different.


    She had already done some deep thinking and planning into this, however, and first had another job to do. She needed to get rid of her main weakness and a potential issue when it came to manipulating the Simulacrum.


    She used her will to apply a ¡®Soul¡¯ filter to all the Aspects. The strongest ones arranged themselves at the top and she clicked on the first one she could find that wasn¡¯t biologically incompatible and was suited for her purposes.


    [Aspect: Celestial Dragon¡¯s Palace of the Soul | Type: Bloodline/Soul]


    Prerequisites:


    <ul>


    <li>Celestial dragon bloodline of 90% purity or greater.</li>


    </ul>


    Desc: The mighty dragons have three lineages. The Celestial Dragons are the lineage of the Heavenly Realm, the sovereigns of the sky. As a pure bloodline member of this powerful race, you gain the fortified mind and soul of your ancestors.


    Bonuses:


    <ul>


    <li>Strengthens the User¡¯s soul against outside forces. +200% Soul Defence.</li>


    <li>Internally stabilises the User¡¯s soul, granting them immunity to soul backlash from any soul manipulation technique. +400% Soul Stability.</li>


    <li>Greatly improves the User¡¯s memory retainment and clarity of mind. +50% to Soul Performance.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    She couldn¡¯t care less about the memory retainment and clarity of mind effect, but the bonuses above would be crucial in allowing her to safely use her soul and possibly the Simulacrum. There were other soul Aspects she checked, but the better ones were cultivation Aspects and while ¡®Myriad Power Nascent Soul Talent Aspect¡¯ sounded great, it required a dantian and spirit root, so you could argue that that was another biological incompatibility.


    Then she hesitated for a moment, having second thoughts that perhaps she could put it off until the next rank, but it would be another weakness if she didn¡¯t resolve it now. She searched through the ¡®Physique¡¯ type Aspects to find ones that boosted her CON. She would never be a tank, and instead of taking advantage of the CON multiplier, she only wanted to ensure she reduced the stats spent on CON to make up for her unusable free stat points. The CON would help provide her minimum protection against force damage.


    Many of the Physique Aspects had effects related to the earth element or had the disadvantage of slowing her movement speed, so she skipped all of those. She couldn¡¯t afford to have any debuff effect in her Aspects. She found herself having to ignore every beast Aspect due to not having the scales and fur for them. She finally found one after getting an idea from Scytale¡¯s Bastion skill.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    [Aspect: Adamantine Body and Bones | Type: Bloodline/Physique]


    Prerequisites:


    <ul>


    <li>Titan bloodline of 10% or greater AND/OR</li>


    <li>The Adamantine Bones Constitution.</li>


    </ul>


    Desc: The Titans are the largest race of the Mystical Realm. Famed for their aid in the establishment of the Glory Pantheon, the Eternal Empire treats these colossal beings with great respect. As a descendant of these beings, whether someone with a strong share of their bloodline or one who has gained the Adamantine Bone Constitution, a trace of their heritage, you now walk in their footsteps.


    Bonuses:


    <ul>


    <li>Massively enhances the bodily constitution of the User. Skin strength, bone density, muscle strength and stress resistance are all enhanced.</li>


    <li>Grants the User a stat ratio effect of x3 to the CON stat. Current CON value:</li>


    <li>Grants the User the ability to gain STR from a percentage of their unamplified CON. 25% of the CON stat is added to the STR stat.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    Since the effects were purely given by the System instead of an enhancement of the bloodline benefits, she could use this without the prerequisites. There had been another Titan Aspect that amplified her CON by a large amount, but she picked this one over the other when she saw the STR boost.


    The CON-boosting Aspect was to ensure her body didn¡¯t suffer because of her soul power. She was sick of getting nosebleeds from a slight movement of spiritual energy. The STR was just a bonus, but she¡¯d take it. With her CON improved, hopefully, she¡¯d never need to worry about overusing her soul again. And for her ultimate plan for gaining power, the higher her CON, the safer.


    With the two Aspect pages open for her to find the details again, she turned her eyes to the other Aspects and the Main Skill Selection screen. What was essential to her now was gaining Aspects and a main skill that had strong synergy and would allow her to create some sort of battle style that completely removed the need for killing-intent-based attack skills, but didn¡¯t severely limit what actions she could take in battle either.


    In her plan for her abilities, she eventually wanted a way to allow some spells to get through her ¡®anti-spell¡¯ forcefield, but she could afford to prioritise that later. Lucille believed that her best bet lay in the Constitution Aspects. The Constitution Aspects wouldn¡¯t grant her a Constitution, but the Aspects would have effects that the System gave as additional benefits.


    As for the main skill, however¡­ That might require her to make some alterations to the skill. Main skills that weren¡¯t part of classes were usually custom-created by Users, and nearly always by those who had reached Rank-5 so they understood conceptual manipulation. For those who already had strong classes, what they needed was skills to fill the gaps rather than purely more stats. Each Rank had a maximum stat cap, after all.


    Lucy knew she wouldn¡¯t find a powerful high-tier main skill that fully suited her purposes, so she¡¯d have to take an existing main skill and alter it. She had experience with altering skills, but as a Rank-1 the System might place limitations on her skill-altering abilities. So an Aspect that would enhance her ability to alter skills, for her second and any future main skills, would be a worthwhile investment. She set part of her mind to sort through the best skill moulding Aspects she knew of.


    As someone who couldn¡¯t just follow the path of a traditional mage due to not having a runic model in her mana pool or mage class, her INT and WIS were going to suffer because of it. Lucille wasn¡¯t ready to just completely give up on magic with her main body when it was her biggest strength, so she searched for the best mana and magic Aspects.


    That gave her two remaining Aspects to form a synergy with her next main skill. She also hadn¡¯t ignored the fact that she wanted an ability that could wield all the essential elements, and planned to somehow incorporate her no-elemental affinity into everything. She needed to keep her no-elemental affinity until¡­ she could replace it with something more powerful.


    Lucy shook her head and sighed. Making plans for that occasion was far beyond her means right now, and she had work to do. Her plan for her combat abilities was to find some way to use her atmospheric mana manipulation in an adaptive skill that affected her stats.


    However, her desire to use all elements formed the foundation of her abilities. Searching through the Constitution Aspects she found several of the best ones she knew of that involved all the essential elements.


    [Aspect: Cyclic Elemental Transformation | Type: Constitution/Elemental]


    [Collapsed]


    [Aspect: Elemental Explosion Amplification | Type: Constitution/Elemental]


    [Collapsed]


    [Aspect: Ordered Essential Affinities | Type: Constitution/Elemental]


    [Collapsed]


    She had a feeling that Marellen might have that last Aspect. But none of them quite had the effects she needed. None of them except¡­ the one that belonged to one of the most volatile Constitutions she knew of. Her real choice.


    [Aspect: Hexadic Essence Absorption | Type: Constitution/Elemental]


    Prerequisites:


    <ul>


    <li>Have the Hexadic Essence Absorption Constitution</li>


    <li>Have a total MP below 10000</li>


    </ul>


    Desc: While a rare few are blessed with stable affinities for the six essential elements, some face the difficulty of having bodies that constantly absorb the elements to conflict with their affinities. At times the elements within grant them strength, but often they grant them pain instead. Learn to survive the conflict within your body and turn this power into strength.


    Bonuses:


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the User the ability to absorb elemental mana into their body. Maximum saturation is 70% for any one element. Current Element Saturation Levels:</li>


    <li>Grants the User a temporary stat amplification and bonus stats depending on the quantity and type of the elements within the User¡¯s body. Use of this stat amplification will reduce the level of the element in the User¡¯s body over time. Amplification is equal to the saturation ratio of the correlating element.</li>


    <li>Elements boost the following Stats: Earth = CON, Fire = STR, Wind = AGI, Water = DEX, Dark = INT, Light = WIS.</li>


    <li>Grants the User the effect of the product of the element amplification and the corresponding stat becoming additional bonus stats. This applies to all the elements at any one point in time. Current Additional Bonus Stats:</li>


    </ul>


    []


    She had heard of the Hexadic Essence Absorption Constitution, but only in medical papers. Most researchers of the Athenaeum had concluded that the Constitution was a mutated version of the prior six element Constitutions Lucille had looked at earlier, only in this one, because the User¡¯s elemental affinities were always unstable, their bodies constantly required healing to prevent them from breaking down due to the conflicting mana.


    Lucille didn¡¯t have the Constitution, so her body had neither the unstable affinities nor the ability to absorb mana that would conflict with her affinities¡­ but this Aspect would grant her an absorption ability for elements. If she could prevent herself from gaining any affinity, then she would never be at risk of elemental conflict in her body¡­


    She pulled up another Aspect she was looking at to compare the two.


    [Aspect: Null Attribute Physique Type 3-E8| Type: Affinity/Suspended]


    Prerequisites:


    <ul>


    <li>No elemental affinity.</li>


    </ul>


    Desc: Null Attribute Affinity is a rare phenomenon that occurs when an individual fails to absorb any elemental mana during their time as an embryo and first fifteen years of life, and is most commonly found in those of the Cosmic Realm. Null Attribute Affinity has no benefits on its own, however, when the individual contacts a large amount of an element, they are very likely to absorb it all and obtain a Major or even Superior affinity for the element. This Aspect will disrupt the body¡¯s attempt to gain elemental affinities.


    Warning: This Aspect will permanently remove all possibility of gaining an elemental affinity unless overpowered by the User being forcefully granted an affinity.


    Bonuses:


    <ul>


    <li>Permanently fixes the User¡¯s elemental affinity ratio for all elements as 0%.</li>


    <li>Enhances the User¡¯s control over non-elemental and arcane mana. +100% to control.</li>


    <li>Grants the User immunity to all elemental suppression effects.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    Suspended¡­ so the System doesn¡¯t allow anyone to gain this Aspect currently. Not that that¡¯s a barrier for me.


    The immunity to elemental suppression effects was something that would be extremely valuable if she managed to incorporate the Hexadic Essence Absorption Aspect into something. That would prevent her from facing severe weakness when she was placed in an area with strong elements opposing her highest elemental saturation.


    And as for how she would control her elemental saturation to suit her purposes¡­


    That brought her to the final missing piece of the puzzle.


    [Available Primary Skill: Essential Mana Conduit]


    Desc: This main skill was created by a grandmaster golem craftsman when he wanted to gain control over the elements inside his vehicular golem. The User forcefully gains control over all elements without mana signatures that have entered their field of influence, and their mana pool becomes indistinguishable from the mana outside their body.


    Info: Accepting this primary skill occupies one main skill slot, and grants the User the Field of Mana Mastery and Elemental Conduit subskills.]


    She wasn¡¯t able to see any more details, but¡­ she knew that the skill could work. It allowed mana and the elements to enter and leave her body with extreme ease and passively granted all the mana within her field of influence her mana signature. It was possible she could justify her atmospheric mana manipulation as being an effect of the main skill. It was also a manipulation skill that didn¡¯t necessarily need runes and did not need heart circles or runic constructs.


    As spells didn¡¯t work on her and just disintegrated as well, then that mana would allow her to boost her stats with the Hexadic Essence Absorption Aspect¡­


    But while she could control all the elements in a radius around her, there was no guarantee there would be enough of the element she needed at the time to boost her stats to the level she wanted. Not unless she could change the mana from one element to another.


    The idea she had thought of earlier was brought to mind, and she pulled up a screen that showed the only available secondary skill she had chosen to leave be. Lucille finalised everything.


    [You have selected the Primary Skill: Essential Mana Conduit. You have 1 main skill slot remaining. If you select this primary skill, you may not gain a class until Rank-2. Do you wish to proceed? Yes/No]


    Lucy didn¡¯t hesitate and pressed [Yes]. Besides the three motes of light within her chest, all circling the sphere that was her Origin Skill, a new one formed, the same size as the one that contained her Alter-Ego main skill. There was no mana in the Obelisk cube and so she couldn¡¯t yet feel the effects of her skill, but she would soon.


    She glanced at the other Aspects, and quickly affirmed the order she needed to select them in again.


    She chose the Celestial Dragon¡¯s Palace of the Soul and the Adamantine Body and Bones Aspects first, obtaining their benefits.


    [Gained Aspect: Celestial Dragon¡¯s Palace of the Soul]


    [Gained Aspect: Adamantine Body and Bones]


    Lucille sighed as she felt her mind become more structured, and her thought strands stopped fraying and splintering into distracted pieces. But the second Aspect allowed her to feel a slight increase in the tension of her skin. While none of the stats visibly changed the User, different stat ¡®stages¡¯ could have physical impacts.


    She shook her head and selected the Null Attribute Physique Type 3-E8 Aspect. She needed to choose it before the Hexadic Essence Absorption to ensure nothing about her body would change.


    [Gained Aspect: Null Attribute Physique Type 3-E8]


    While she didn¡¯t feel anything like she had with the other Aspects, she knew it was at work, fixing her no-elemental affinity into place.


    Instead of selecting the Hexadic Essence Absorption Aspect though, she brought up two other Aspects. The mana manipulation improvement one, and the skill moulding one.


    [Aspect: Beloved Child of Mana | Type: Constitution/Mana]


    Prerequisites:


    <ul>


    <li>Child of Mana Constitution.</li>


    <li>Naturally high ability to manipulate mana.</li>


    <li>Unusually high density of mana in the body since birth.</li>


    </ul>


    Desc: The Mystical Realm has ancient tales of their most powerful Archmagus and Archwizards. Their fierce Mythos and Sorcerers. But to join the pinnacle existences, the ability to manipulate mana is crucial. You have been given a great blessing. Use it wisely.


    Bonuses:


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the User increased compatibility with all elements of mana regardless of personal affinity. Effect is equivalent to +15% affinity in any element.</li>


    <li>Increases internal mana flow and external mana speed. +50% to both.</li>


    <li>Increases the resistance of the User¡¯s spells to interruption. +25% interruption resistance.</li>


    <li>Grants the User¡¯s elemental spells increased resistance to spells of the opposite elements. +50% to elemental resistance.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    [Aspect: Cognitive Codex of Reminiscence| Type: Mental/Mana]


    Prerequisites:


    <ul>


    <li>A mage class at advanced level or greater or a wizard class of the 5<sup>th</sup> circle or greater.</li>


    <li>SPRT value of at least 100.</li>


    <li>The creation of one custom secondary skill or greater.</li>


    </ul>


    Desc: The mind of a mage is their most important tool. It contains their knowledge, the records of all their runic studies, and their most powerful mana manipulation techniques. These memories can be further wielded in other ways if the User dares to search themselves.


    Bonuses:


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the User +10% INT and +10% WIS.</li>


    <li>Grants the User the Codex of Reminiscence Secondary Skill.</li>


    <li>Grants the User Memory Transubstantiate Secondary Skill. Transubstantiate chances increase by x3 per Rank. Current chances: 6.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    Both were mana-related Aspects, although the second Aspect had an interesting story to it. In the past, a very¡­ prideful Archmagus had told her to select the Cognitive Codex of Reminiscence because it was a staple Aspect of many Archmages and wizards.


    She had ignored his advice because she was petty and didn¡¯t want to listen to any uppity mages of the Athenaeum. But now she was selecting it for a completely different purpose, so there was no way that Archmagus could be credited with her using this as one of her first Aspects. Definitely not.


    She had looked up the effects of the secondary skills belonging to the Aspect, and they would be highly useful for her. The Memory Transubstantiate skill was the skill moulding ability, but it also allowed her to form secondary skills based on her memories. As she needed many skills to alter her main skills, that would be a promising ability.


    The Codex of Reminiscence allowed her to store information and memories in the skill in exchange for bonus INT and WIS. While she had her atmospheric mana manipulation, she needed enough mana to use Apophis and Ouroboros. Plus, with her new main skill, being able to take her internal mana resources and turn them into elemental mana to boost her stats when there was a deficiency of elemental mana around her would be valuable.


    She selected both of the Aspects, putting her at 5 out of 6 Aspects selected.


    [Gained Aspect: Beloved Child of Mana]


    [Gained Aspect: Cognitive Codex of Reminiscence]


    [Gained Secondary Skill: Codex of Reminiscence]


    [Gained Secondary Skill: Memory Transubstantiate]


    She turned to the last Aspect. With this Aspect, she would be fully devoted to learning to fight as a spellblade¡­ although one with very strange weapons. She¡¯d control elemental mana to change her stat amplification at different times, gaining brief increases in STR, CON, or AGI that would replace the brief stat increases others gained from activating attack skills such as battle aura.


    She wasn¡¯t quite sure what kind of spells she could incorporate into her fighting style, but with the Simulacrum she¡¯d be able to compute them in the back of her mind and summon them into action nearly instantly. She would be able to use more powerful spells than most spellblades could with her spiritual power.


    Lucille finally clicked on the Hexadic Essence Absorption Aspect.


    [Gained Aspect: Hexadic Essence Absorption]


    [Lucille Goldcroft¡¯s Aspects {6/6}:


    Celestial Dragon¡¯s Palace of the Soul


    Adamantine Body and Bones


    Null Attribute Physique Type 3-E8


    Beloved Child of Mana


    Cognitive Codex of Reminiscence


    Hexadic Essence Absorption Constitution]


    She was now set. The last thing she needed to do was use her stat potions and pick up one other skill. After that, she would leave the Obelisk, gain a few manipulation spells that she could alter the main skill with, and then¡­ Lucy would show Scytale what her new fighting style was.


    ¡­


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re fine with me doing this? I mean, last time you ended up crashing into the floor, so¡­¡±


    Scytale and Lucille were standing in the centre of the Commission Headquarters¡¯ training room. She had asked him to use his human form to spar with her, keeping his strength low. Scytale didn¡¯t believe in the slightest that she¡¯d manage to do anything to him.


    In response to her bond, Lucille shrugged. ¡°If all I¡¯ve done fails me at this point, then I¡¯d rather be attacked by you in a controlled environment where it¡¯s unlikely I¡¯ll die.¡±


    ¡°If you say so¡­¡± Scytale bent slightly at the knees in preparation to run and grinned. ¡°Ready?¡±


    Lucy smirked in return. ¡°Attack me.¡±


    A gold aura enveloped him as he dashed towards her, fist clenched in preparation for a punch. Scytale had a smug smirk on his face, ¡®aware¡¯ she wouldn¡¯t be able to defend. Lucille didn¡¯t dodge and let the blow hit her abdomen. She sensed the earth mana disperse slightly when he made contact.


    Scytale hesitated. ¡°Wait, your CON shouldn¡¯t be high enough to-¡±


    He flinched as a cloud of white mana surrounded them both for a second. Before he could even blink Lucy swiftly knocked over his legs and hoisted him up by the waist.


    Scytale¡¯s expression became strange. ¡°What are you-¡±


    The white mana instantaneously became a searing blaze of red fire and Lucy threw him across the room to crash into a wall. He coughed and then stood back up, mostly unharmed.


    He raised an eyebrow at her. ¡°Lucy, what in the realms was that?¡±


    Lucy smugly dusted off her palms. ¡°That, my dear friend, was the effect of my Unique rarity main skill, Essence Transmutation Conduit.¡± She gained a broad grin. ¡°And my ability to enhance my stats whenever I want.¡±

 Chapter 53 (1 of 2) Lucy wants to throw a chair.

    -An hour earlier-


    [Status: ]


    Name: Lucille Goldcroft (Lvl. 1????????????????7?????????????)


    Age: 18y


    Race: Human


    HP: 4450/4450 {+68/5m}


    MP: 1100/1100 {+110/5m}


    Stats:


    Free Stat Points: 115


    STR: &???????????7???????????2???????????? (33)(+10) SPRT: 7000


    CON: _??????????????????2??????&????????????????????7????????? (29)(+58) MENT:65


    AGI: *???????????????????2?????????????????)?????????????9?????????????????????? (43) CHAR: 5???????????????^???????????????????????7???????????????????


    DEX: 1??????????????????????????????????5???????????????????????????????????!??????????????????????3?????????????????????????????? (25) CHP: -???????????????????????????????????


    INT: 3?????????@????????????2???????????????9??????????? (21)(+2) HRP: -?????????????????????????????


    WIS: N??????????????????????????3?????????????????????????????????$?????????????????????????????8??????????? (10)(+1)


    [Origin Skill: Simulacrum Realm | Type: System/Spiritual/Realm


    Desc: [Collapsed]


    Subskills: [Collapsed]


    Awakening: 100%. ]


    Skills:


    Primary Skills:


    [Alter-Ego]


    [Essential Mana Conduit]


    Secondary Skills:


    [Mark of the Primordial Demon ]


    [Energy Anomaly Automated Indication ]


    [Codex of Reminiscence]


    [Memory Transubstantiate]


    [Greater Illusion Manipulation]


    []


    Lucille¡¯s Status was still a mess. It had gotten even messier with the bonus stats, but at least that proved she now had some levels of strength. She could choose to hide the bonus stats and just add them to the stat totals with a bit of will manipulation, but this way she¡¯d be able to see the impacts of her new abilities.


    She had received the equivalent of 120 stat points through potions. She was still slightly weak due to missing out on the first 30 free stat points all humans received, but that was a small issue. She had added the stat potion stats and the eleven stats Ouroboros had collected during her and Scytale¡¯s levelling session the month prior, so now it was time for her to alter her Essential Mana Conduit main skill. To do that, she needed to use the ¡®Influence¡¯ of other skills and add it to the main skill.


    Influence as a concept was¡­ difficult to explain at best. The simplest definition was that ¡®Influence¡¯ was a denser or more complex form of spiritual energy that contained information. Everyone in the Tower had ¡®Core Influence¡¯, or Influence that contained unique information about the individual. It was this ¡®Core Influence¡¯ that composed a User¡¯s Origin Skill.


    Only the System could alter Origin Skill and consequently Core Influence, but when it came to all the other skills in the System besides System skills, then a User could alter them as long as they knew how. To alter a skill, the Influence within the skill needed to be substituted with outside Influence.


    That was why a primary skill required skills to be added to its subskill slots to tier up or evolve. Lucy was going to manually change her skill, however. To do that, she needed to gain the right strength and type of skills to make the Essential Mana Conduit skill suit her purposes. Luckily her brand new ¡®Beloved Child of Mana¡¯ Aspect would make things much easier, now that she could see the description of her new main skill..


    Standing in the middle of the training room, she stretched out an arm and pointed a finger at the distant wall. She closed her eyes and visualised the image of a flame.


    Her internal mana near the tip of her finger gained a fiery hue, and then the fire mana nearby collected into an orb at the end of her finger. The miniature fireball crackled and popped.


    Unlike when Lucille had gained the manipulation skill for the illusion element, she was purposely taking this very slow. For the same reasons as she had explained to Scytale why his light manipulation was only ¡®Lesser¡¯ but his illusion manipulation was ¡®Greater¡¯, the essential elements were slightly harder to gain greater manipulation skills in. Manipulating an artificial element was far easier than manipulating a fundamental force of nature, after all.


    She couldn¡¯t brute force it with elemental runes, either, because the System wouldn¡¯t give her a greater elemental manipulation skill if she used runes as a crutch. Her +15% fake elemental affinity from her Beloved Child of Mana Aspect made things far easier than if she had tried to do this before gaining the Aspect.


    She could sense that the tiny orb of fire mana was enough for her to gain a Common rarity minor fire manipulation skill, but a Common skill contained nowhere near enough Influence to alter a primary skill. She suppressed the notification and began to move the orb around her in a circle. Making sure she wasn¡¯t using the abilities of her Essential Mana Conduit skill, she used the atmospheric fire mana to add to the orb.


    She could feel the strange tension around her as a lesser elemental skill was on the brink of forming, but almost as if it could feel her desire to enhance it, it didn¡¯t announce itself. Then she used her spiritual energy to project the image of what she wanted onto the fire mana orb. It thinned and extended, turning into an arrow, and then more mana streamed into shape to form a bow.


    Lucille grasped the bow in one hand and the arrow in another, slowly pulled back, shot the flaming arrow towards the mana lamp on the wall and¡­


    The arrow exploded against the wall five metres from where she had wanted it to land.


    [Available Secondary Skill: Greater Fire Manipulation]


    Lucy rolled her eyes when she saw where it ended up.


    Well, I was never an archer to begin with.


    The fiery bow in her hands scattered and she tapped on the notification to select it before it disappeared and she would have to go to the Obelisk to find it again.


    [Gained Secondary Skill: Greater Fire Manipulation]


    Lucy used her new main skill to push away the fire mana around her to make her next steps easier. Repeating similar processes with wind, earth, and water, she gained the greater manipulation skills for the four elements when she managed to turn them into varying forms. There were only two more elements she needed to collect.


    This time, Lucille made her internal mana take on the characteristics of bright light, attracting one of the elements present in fewer quantities around her. A small orb of yellow light formed on her palm and she manipulated it into smaller specks to swirl around her. She merged all the specks back into one orb again, and heard the notification.


    [Available Secondary Skill: Greater Light Manipulation]


    After selecting it she pushed aside the light mana and then visualised inky darkness, her mana turning black. Through her perception, she watched the strange sight of the dark mana being pulled out of her shadow towards her hand. Wanting to do something creative since it was the last manipulation skill she needed, she continued to gather dark mana until she had enough. Lucy used her spiritual energy to twist it into a long shape until floating in the air in front of her was a replica of her bond¡¯s intermediate form, wings and all.


    [Available Secondary Skill: Greater Dark Manipulation]


    She smirked when she heard the notification and ruthlessly shattered the model of Scytale, gaining her last manipulation skill.


    [Gained Secondary Skill: Greater Light Manipulation]


    [Gained Secondary Skill: Greater Dark Manipulation]


    With all six elemental manipulation skills gained, she sat down on the floor and closed her eyes. Focusing on herself with her spiritual energy, she could sense the sphere of her Origin Skill, the two smaller orbs representing her primary skills, and the eleven motes of light that were her secondary skills.


    Lucille concentrated on her Essential Mana Conduit skill and with her spiritual energy she was able to search through all the information contained in the skill¡¯s Influence to find what she needed to add, and what she needed to remove.


    So, the skill was already created using the six essential element manipulation skills as a basis, but as I¡¯ll be changing the way they¡¯re used in the skill, I¡¯ll need the replacement Influence available in my copies of the manipulation skills. But it didn¡¯t use an arcane manipulation skill in its construction, so it doesn¡¯t give me the ability to freely control non-elemental mana¡­ hm¡­


    She inspected the skill¡¯s information and brought up the skill description to check again.


    As non-elemental mana is the most common mana available, I¡¯ll want to have the ability to change it into elemental mana. Non-elemental mana is the only mana the illusion element can¡¯t mimic, so that will be something I need the Influence of the other elemental skills to affect.


    Lucy inspected the Influence of her other manipulation skills.


    I believe I have nearly all I need to reconstruct the skill, but I¡¯ll also need an arcane manipulation skill.


    Attempting to keep her mental image completely free of thoughts of the elements, she visualised shockwaves and other force-related phenomena. The nearly-invisible, transparent non-elemental mana gravitated towards her where it gained a silvery-white hue, becoming her signature brand of arcane mana. Not wanting to waste too much time, she shaped it into a cube and tested it by throwing it against the ground. It bounced and she heard the notification.


    [Available Secondary Skill: Greater Arcane Manipulation]


    After clicking on it, she was ready. Lucille set about reconstructing her second main skill, using the concepts and Influence in different ways and substituting for the Influence of her manipulation skills. While the System didn¡¯t allow her to strengthen a skill using Influence reconstruction, nor did she have enough Influence from the Rare manipulation skills to possibly strengthen it, she was able to alter the purpose of the Essential Mana Conduit and the future path the skill would take.


    She had leftover Influence remaining, but there wasn¡¯t quite enough information for them to automatically reconstitute back into lower rarity skills. In an attempt at experimentation, she used her bond with her weapons to send the Influence over to her black dagger. As she expected, Apophis sent the Influence over to Ouroboros who used it for¡­ something. She would check what had happened later.


    Even with her accelerated thoughts, it took well over an hour before she was satisfied with her modifications. The finally, she pressed her will down on the main skill and locked it into place. The alterations became permanent and her skill was fundamentally changed.


    [Epic Primary Skill: Essential Mana Conduit has evolved to become Unique Primary Skill: Essence Transmutation Conduit]


    Feeling anticipatory, she opened up the skill description¡­


    And smiled.


    ¡­


    [Primary Skill: Essence Transmutation Conduit | Type: Elemental/Radius ]


    Rarity: Unique


    Desc: This Main Skill was created with a very specific purpose in mind. The creator intended for this skill to allow him greater control of the elemental ratios around him in his vehicular golem. You have taken this skill and fundamentally altered it to affect not only the mana around you but also the runes from spells that enter your field of influence and the elements themselves. This skill¡¯s potential is indeterminable as the User has made preparations to alter the skill again at a later date, and so has been given a new rarity.


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    Subskills:


    Field of Transmutation Mastery ¨C An authority over all mana within your presence.


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the User the ability to control all mana around them by branding their mana signature on mana within a certain radius. Radius is dependent on the size of their field of influence and limited by the density of mana in their field of influence.</li>


    <li>Grants the User the ability to gain limited control over spells cast on them by rebranding the mana with their mana signature.</li>


    </ul>


    Transmutation Conduit ¨C Internal and external elemental harmony and disharmony.


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the User the ability to freely move controlled external mana within their body, and internal mana outside of their body. As long as all mana within the radius has the User¡¯s mana signature, this skill treats all mana the same.</li>


    <li>Grants the User the ability to transmute mana from one kind to another.</li>


    </ul>


    Skill slots:


    <ul>


    <li>[Empty]</li>


    <li>[Empty]</li>


    <li>[Empty]</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    Scytale was sitting on the floor next to her as he read her skill information. He turned to her. ¡°So this is the main skill you picked?¡±


    Lucille shook her head. ¡°I chose one that gave me the ability to merge my mana pool with the mana within my field of influence, but this is the fully modified version.¡± She pointed at the subskill information. ¡°I had to accept some limitations in return for my modifications. The size of the radius will be much smaller because the more mana within my field of influence, the smaller the radius I can control.¡±


    ¡°But if you have a ton of mana near you then what¡¯s the problem?¡± Scytale said with slight confusion.


    ¡°The problem is that I won¡¯t be able to use my control over the spells cast on me to redirect them and use them on others,¡± Lucy explained, gesturing to the second point in ¡®Field of Transmutation Mastery¡¯. ¡°Because I¡¯ve set the skill up so I can choose to gain control over spells cast on me before they hit my ¡®anti-spell¡¯ forcefield, I can now receive buffs as long as I sustain them myself.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but that doesn¡¯t make it impossible for you to redirect them, right?¡± he asked sceptically.


    She shot him a flat look. ¡°Scytale, you know how much spiritual energy I have. Ordinarily, my field of influence would be massive.¡± Lucy pointed at the screen again. ¡°While the reduction in the field of influence isn¡¯t high enough that I¡¯ll be limited to only a very specific amount of mana around me at any one time, there is a maximum limit I¡¯ll reach eventually. Spells take up a massive quota of that mana density and if my radius of manipulation is so reduced that the caster is no longer within it, then I can¡¯t redirect the spell back to them.¡±


    Scytale glanced between the screen and her, then shrugged. ¡°Your point? Everyone has some sort of limitation in their main skills, Lucy. You can completely ruin any mage¡¯s spell and use the mana to enhance your own stats. While not perfect in your eyes, that is so utterly overpowered in my view that I almost find it unfair.¡±


    ¡°Says the snake who got access to a Titan-exclusive Heroic Power Aspect,¡± she retorted. Lucy shook her head. ¡°I suppose my point is that this skill still has room for improvement. The Unique rarity doesn¡¯t represent strength. It only reveals that the skill is the first of its kind and shares very few similarities with any other primary skill. I intend to alter it later on.¡±


    Her bond nodded. ¡°I caught that part of your skill¡¯s description. Where do you plan on taking the skill?¡±


    Lucy crossed her arms. ¡°The first thing I need to improve is the lack of automation with the skill. I need to enhance its adaptive features so it will grant me better protection against skills and not just spells.¡± She hummed in thought. ¡°I also want it to gain features that passively control my elemental saturation. It would be nice if the skill could permanently enhance my physical abilities like true mana-arts do¡­¡±


    Scytale stretched his arms above his head. ¡°Yeah, well, you do you. I¡¯m nowhere near the stage of creating my own main skills yet, so good luck strengthening it I guess. I¡¯m going to have lunch¡­¡± He grinned. ¡°¡­and eat stat-boosting foods.¡±


    Lucille shook her head wryly. ¡°I see that has been your main goal these last few weeks. I suppose it is time for lunch.¡± She stood up from the ground and smirked at the silver-haired snake in human form. ¡°Don¡¯t believe I won¡¯t ask you for another spar later on, however.¡±


    Scytale smirked back. ¡°I¡¯ll be looking forward to it.¡±


    ¡­


    The rest of the afternoon was pretty peaceful. Scytale had gone to terrorize Sedric like normal, and Lucille and Vincent were busy finishing up the last remaining paperwork before he headed to one of Alichanteu¡¯s auction houses in Gilded Seat. Why?


    Because it was finally time for all the useless garbage in the Founder¡¯s Vault to be thrown out. Or at least traded for crowns.


    Lucy wasn¡¯t going, partly because she didn¡¯t want to, and partly because this was an event that would give Vincent some time to shine as the ¡®real Faction Head¡¯. The auction would last a week, with Vincent commuting to and from Headquarters to keep her up to date on what was happening. It would still be a few weeks until Lucille and Scytale would be able to leave Gilded Seat to level up ¨C Gilded Seat didn¡¯t have any Dungeons ¨C but she was content for now to just increase her stats through what she ate until then.


    ¡°¡­I¡¯m finally done,¡± Vincent said with a sigh. He stood up from his armchair and table and walked over to pass Lucille a stack of documents. ¡°Here are the last of the records needed for the Commission about the auction. I should probably head off now.¡±


    Lucy nodded and scanned them before placing them back down. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to pass these to Jacques to file while you and Caius prepare for the auction.¡± She raised an eyebrow. ¡°Doesn¡¯t the auction begin at seven?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but I need to check that the venue has been prepared,¡± Vincent replied, checking his wristwatch for the time. ¡°Many nobility from outside the Commission will be here tonight, and the slightest error could cause a conflict between the different forces.¡±


    ¡°Do I need to give you a higher wage to increase your enthusiasm for the event?¡± Lucy asked with a smirk.


    Vincent chuckled. ¡°As a member of the main lineage of a County, I have never needed money.¡±


    Lucille hummed. ¡°But was that your money or the County¡¯s? Do you even have money that isn¡¯t an allowance given by the County vassals?¡±


    Vincent opened his mouth to respond then hesitated. Lucille watched with amusement as his expression changed several times. It appeared Vincent had never thought of that question.


    ¡°I see we have a true child of nobility here,¡± she said with a grin. ¡°You¡¯ve never considered that some people need to work for their income?¡±


    Vincent gave her a flat look. ¡°And I see you¡¯re enjoying messing with me again.¡± He shook his head and turned away. ¡°I¡¯ll take my leave then.¡±


    ¡°See you tomorrow.¡±


    Vincent shut the door after giving her a wave. Lucille completed the rest of her own paperwork before standing up and stretching. She wanted to begin gaining strength soon, but she doubted she¡¯d be able to level until February. Right now, there was a promise to a certain crafter which she intended to fulfil. But she also wanted to discover why her bond had seemingly dragged along their resident red-haired ex-mercenary to the workshop as well.


    ¡­


    ¡°I¡¯m saying that your workshop would look better if it was painted pink!¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Sedric exclaimed incredulously, staring at the snake in human form sitting on his workbench. ¡°Why in the realms would I ever paint the walls of my workshop pink?!¡±


    ¡°To make it less bland!¡± Scytale replied, gesturing to the room around them. ¡°Look! All I see is dull grey walls and dull brown benches and shelves! If it was painted pink then I¡¯d be able to see some character in this place.¡±


    ¡°And I don¡¯t understand why I¡¯d need to care about my workshop having ¡®character¡¯,¡± Sedric said with his arms crossed. ¡°This is a professional workplace, and as a professional crafter, I shouldn¡¯t need my walls to be painted pink.¡±


    ¡°Professional?¡± Scytale pointed to a large open chest filled with miscellaneous failed creations. ¡°You call that the work of a professional?¡±


    The brown-haired crafter glanced at the objects and looked away. ¡°W-Well, I- those were my prototypes.¡±


    ¡°Prototypes? Then where¡¯s the archetypes?¡±


    ¡°Arche- there¡¯s no such thing as an archetype in crafting.¡±


    ¡°Of course there is! If you have the prototypes being the bad copy, then the archetypes are the good copy.¡±


    ¡°No, an archetype means something perfect. You don¡¯t ¡®make¡¯ archetypes in crafting.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re admitting you¡¯ve never made anything better than a prototype?¡±


    ¡°Ye- No!¡±


    Lucille opened the door of the workshop and walked down the steps, sighing when she took in the view of Scytale and Sedric bickering over the next niggling stone on the roadside Scytale had managed to conjure up.


    Sitting on a stool with his arms crossed, a bench away from Sedric and Scytale, was Hargrave. He was looking quite frustrated as he watched the two arguing. Lucy didn¡¯t know why he didn¡¯t just speak up if he had an issue, but she supposed she was going to find out soon.


    Somehow, the ¡®conversation¡¯ topic had returned to the colour of Sedric¡¯s walls by the time her boots touched the floor.


    ¡°Your workshop has just as much personality as you,¡± Scytale said loudly. ¡°It just oozes an anti-social, unwelcoming vibe.¡±


    ¡°¡­what¡¯s a vibe? You know what, never mind.¡± Sedric shook his head and narrowed his eyes at the snake. ¡°This is the real point you¡¯re making, isn¡¯t it? Is this another one of your schemes to drag me outside of the workshop because I¡¯m being ¡®anti-social¡¯?¡±


    ¡°As Lucy¡¯s bond it is my responsibility to cover for any work she¡¯s too busy to do herself,¡± Scytale stated proudly.


    ¡°No, you¡¯re doing this to irritate me,¡± Sedric argued.


    ¡°The two are not mutually exclusive.¡±


    Sedric groaned as Lucille arrived at the bottom of the stairs. Behind her, she saw Hargrave seemed to be relieved by her arrival, although he appeared slightly awkward too.


    ¡°You know what, if you don¡¯t get out, then I¡¯m going to go to Lucille and complain about your interruptions myself!¡± Sedric said with finality.


    Scytale shrugged. ¡°Sure. Hey, why don¡¯t you do it now?¡± And then he pointed at Lucy.


    Sedric slowly turned to see her, standing with her arms crossed behind him. Before he could say anything, Scytale spoke up again, ¡°Hey Lucy, what do you think about Sedric painting his walls pink?¡±


    Sedric whipped his head back to glare at the grinning snake, but Lucille walked up to the workbench and studied the diagrams Sedric had been drawing. ¡°If Sedric wishes to express his hidden inner personality through such a flashy colour then who am I to stop him?¡±


    Sedric turned back to her, looking incredulous, but she added, ¡°However, I would offer him five times the wage he currently has to risk tipping said bucket of pink paint over your wings and scales while you¡¯re asleep. Your reaction would be entertaining.¡±


    Scytale narrowed his eyes at her but Sedric scowled. ¡°Whose side are you on?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m on no one''s side but my own because I¡¯m equally against both of your ideas,¡± Lucy stated calmly. She picked up a large piece of paper with item sketches to look at it before placing it down again and glancing up. ¡°But will either of you care to explain why you¡¯re all gathered in here?¡±


    ¡°Ah, well, you see, I was following Jacques to see if I could shock him with my new appearance when I came across Hargrave. He wanted me to check with you about something, so I led the way to your study until I met Sedric outside his workshop and he suddenly suggested the insane idea of painting his workshop¡¯s walls pink-¡±


    Sedric turned to stare at the snake. ¡°Hang on, I wasn¡¯t the one to-¡±


    Lucille felt an eyebrow twitch as the two immature individuals in front of her began to bicker again. She considered interrupting them once more but decided it wasn¡¯t worth the effort. Lucy briefly attempted to investigate Scytale¡¯s memories to find out what the ex-mercenary behind her wanted but to her annoyance, she found that her bond hadn¡¯t even bothered to properly listen to Hargrave before dragging him along to pick a fight with Sedric.


    Lucy turned on her heels and walked over to Hargrave, who seemed slightly on edge to receive her attention.


    ¡°It appears unlikely that I¡¯ll ever get a clear answer out of those two, so maybe it would be best for me to hear it from you,¡± she said dryly.


    He glanced between her and the arguing snake and crafter and let out a sigh. ¡°¡­I was originally going to ask your bond if you had time to spare or were too busy. He told me to follow him¡­ and ended up taking me down here¡­¡±


    She sent a flat look over her shoulder at the loud silver-haired boy sitting on the workbench, but he either didn¡¯t notice or just ignored it. She turned back to Hargrave. ¡°From here on after, I suggest you never ask Scytale something unless you can¡¯t find me in my study,¡± she said. ¡°The worst answer I could give you is that I need a few more minutes before we can talk.¡±


    He grimaced and nodded slightly. Lucy raised an eyebrow. ¡°So what was it you wanted to discuss with me?¡±


    ¡°¡­I wanted to find somewhere to advance my levels further, especially after I¡¯ve bought new equipment these last few weeks. But I-¡±


    ¡°-doubt that Lucille would actually listen to you if you requested me to be fired.¡±


    ¡°She so would! Well, okay, maybe not, but she¡¯d at least consider it 10% seriously before giving me an answer.¡±


    ¡°10%? Are you sure that¡¯s not an overstatement?¡±


    Hargrave and Lucy¡¯s conversation was interrupted by the renewed argument coming from the other side of the room. She glanced sideways at Hargrave as the red-haired man raised his head to look at the roof and ran a hand down his face in silent anguish.


    ¡°Hargrave, if they¡¯re being too loud, please don¡¯t try to be polite and avoid talking over them,¡± Lucille said drolly. ¡°They¡¯re not worth that level of respect.¡±


    The grimace and frustrated look on the man¡¯s face made her suspect that maybe the issue was something else. She glanced between him and the other two and then quirked an eyebrow. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you think it¡¯s easier to just wait for them to stop talking before requesting anything?¡±


    He stared at her like a deer caught in headlights.


    Lucy narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°Hargrave, that is the worst idea I¡¯ve ever heard. I know for a fact that Scytale has been down here for an hour already, which means you¡¯ve been here for an hour already. Do you really think they¡¯re actually going to shut up anytime soon?¡±


    ¡°¡­I was going to interrupt them before you came here,¡± he said, although it sounded weak to Lucy¡¯s ears.


    She rolled her eyes. ¡°Right. Well, to return to what you were saying-¡±


    ¡°-when it comes down to it all, you can¡¯t fly but I can, so I am still superior to you!¡±


    Lucille spun around and pointed a gloved finger at the speaker. A white orb was summoned to the tip of her finger and shot out to slam into Scytale¡¯s forehead. He opened his mouth to shout in surprise¡­ but nothing came out. He opened and shut his mouth soundlessly.


    Sedric nervously glanced at her as she smiled brightly, placed a finger on her lips, and then slowly drew the finger along her neck. He gulped and she turned back to Hargrave with her smile still in place.


    ¡°As you were saying, Hargrave?¡±


    Hargrave watched her unsurely before finally replying, ¡°I had heard that nobles from outside of the Commission were arriving in Gilded Seat this week so I wanted to know when I should leave¡­ if I¡¯m allowed to¡­¡±


    Lucille gave him a dismissive wave of her hand. ¡°Of course you¡¯re allowed to leave, nothing in the contract states that you must report to me before going anywhere. But as for the nobles¡­¡± She thought about it and nodded. ¡°Some will stay after the auction to arrange meetings with various other nobles so to be on the safe side, I¡¯d suggest waiting here for another two weeks. I believe you¡¯d be safe from the last week of January onwards.¡±


    Hargrave nodded. He stood up from the stool and froze up slightly as he registered her gaze. ¡°¡­uh, if you don¡¯t need me for anything, I¡¯ll be¡­¡±


    Lucy sighed. ¡°Hargrave, I just told you that you don¡¯t need permission from me to go anywhere.¡±


    ¡°¡­right.¡± He awkwardly walked past her and headed up the stairs of the workshop.


    Once he had gone, she turned back to the snake and crafter at the other bench. Her eyes were narrowed. ¡°Now then¡­¡±


    Sedric stood nervously beside the workbench while Scytale gestured wildly to his mouth, glaring at her. She ignored her bond as she walked forward and turned to Sedric. ¡°The real reason why I wanted to come down here was to talk to you, Sedric.¡±


    He blinked. ¡°Wait, me?¡± Then his expression stiffened. ¡°Uh, I didn¡¯t intentionally talk- I mean, am I allowed to talk now?¡±


    Lucille let out a long sigh. ¡°Yes, Sedric, you¡¯re allowed to talk.¡±


    He shifted awkwardly as he waited for her to continue talking. She pressed her gloved fingers to her temples, rubbing them, before finally beginning to discuss what she wanted to do. ¡°I came down here because of what I¡¯ve promised you.¡±


    Sedric stared at her.


    Lucy facepalmed. ¡°¡­you¡¯ve forgotten all about it, haven¡¯t you.¡± She shook her head. ¡°Sedric, wasn¡¯t it you who complained you were bored and wanted to craft items?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ I think? ¡­maybe? Wait¡­¡± His eyes widened. ¡°You have an item you want me to craft?¡±


    ¡°Not only one.¡± Lucille opened her dimensional bag and withdrew three large scrolls. She put them on a table and placed a hand on top of them. ¡°I have here the blueprints for three items I want you to craft.¡±


    Sedric eagerly came up to the workbench and watched as she unfurled them. He raised an eyebrow as he saw the diagrams. ¡°These are¡­?¡±


    ¡°A blueprint for a pair of customised sheaths, a belt that uses the arcane mana-circles I taught you, and this final one¡­¡± She unfurled the largest scroll. ¡°¡­is an amplification arm guard.¡±


    He studied the blueprints and then pulled back when he saw the complexity of the last item. ¡°That is far above my current knowledge.¡±


    Lucy nodded. ¡°I¡¯m aware. I¡¯m expecting the arm guard to be a project that lasts three months or longer. That will be what I¡¯ll focus on helping you with after you create the other two items.¡±


    Sedric frowned slightly but returned to looking at the diagrams for the sheaths and the belt. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ slightly confused about what the purpose of the sheaths is.¡±


    In response, Lucille unsheathed Apophis and Ouroboros and let them roam around the room. Sedric watched with an eyebrow raised as she gestured to the two levitating daggers.


    ¡°You may not be aware of this yet, but I have two sentient weapons,¡± she began to explain. ¡°The black one, Apophis, is a demonic weapon but Ouroboros, the white one, is a spirit weapon.¡± She placed a hand on the sheath blueprint. ¡°These two items are intended to allow my two weapons to refill their mana pools passively when sheathed.¡±


    Sedric nodded and looked down at the blueprint again. ¡°That makes more sense. I was wondering why some sort of mana circuit was incorporated into the sheaths to absorb mana¡­¡±


    ¡°And as for the belt,¡± Lucy said, pointing to its blueprint. ¡°That is to help reflect the physical force of projectiles and weaponised attacks sent my way. As you can see, the gem on the buckle will be responsible for containing the mana-circle you¡¯re familiar with. It also drains the mana around me to function.¡±


    Sedric nodded thoughtfully, but then they heard a voice in their heads.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried you¡¯re making everything too reliant on your new skill, Lucy?¡±


    They turned to look at the silver-haired snake in human form sitting on the workbench with his arms crossed. He narrowed his gold slitted eyes. ¡°What? Did you think I¡¯d just stay silent forever? I may have a silencing spell on me right now, but that doesn¡¯t mean my mental transmission is gone!¡±


    Then Scytale looked at Lucy. ¡°But can you please remove that now? It¡¯s getting annoying.¡±


    She sighed and snapped her fingers. He grinned and jumped off the table. ¡°There, that¡¯s much better!¡±


    ¡°Just stay quiet, would you?¡± she asked wearily. ¡°The belt design has a function to toggle the energy repulsion mana-circle, so I don¡¯t need to worry about it draining the atmospheric mana when I don¡¯t want it to. And there¡¯s no convenient way to store enough mana for the device on only a belt.¡± She turned back to Sedric. ¡°The belt itself is additionally made out of a dark element leather so it has a mild force reduction effect applied too.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Sedric¡¯s gaze moved over to the final and most complex diagram. ¡°But what does that one do?¡±


    ¡°Well, it-¡±


    [Initiating Communication Channel with User Lucille Goldcroft]


    Lucille stiffened up as she received that notification and her eyes went wide. Scytale saw the notification too and paled. He reverted to his serpent form and flew upstairs.


    Lucille suddenly whirled around and dashed for the stairs as well.


    ¡°Huh? Hey, wait, where are you going?¡± Sedric called out.


    ¡°Something happened. I¡¯ll talk to you later.¡±


    The door of the workshop slammed shut behind her and quickly walked the path to her study, feeling apprehensive.


    It hasn¡¯t been a month yet. Why does he want to contact me now?

 Chapter 53 (2 of 2) Lucy wants to throw a chair.

    [Message from User ############ ###########-#########: You will come alone to the Aethereal Palace on the 15<sup>th</sup> of next month and every second month thereafter. This is an order, not a request.]


    [Communication Channel has closed]


    Sitting at her desk in her study, Lucille stared at the blue message for a long time. A very long time. The late afternoon sun slowly filled the room as she gazed expressionlessly at the message.


    Then her expression twitched and she buried her head in her hands.


    Lucy wanted to throw a chair. Or maybe not a chair specifically. Just some item that would feel sufficiently satisfying to destroy. Something that would allow her to return to being a fully functioning person after having to deal with the message in front of her.


    She slowly raised her head to glance at the message, somehow hoping her memory of the message''s contents was wrong. It wasn¡¯t wrong. The message was still there and still hadn¡¯t changed. She dismissed the notification and groaned as she tilted her head back to look at the roof.


    The System wants to see me dead, doesn¡¯t it?


    If this wasn¡¯t a death sentence, she didn¡¯t know what was. Meeting with the equivalent of the Demon Emperor¡¯s incognito mode every second month? And the first month this would happen was February?


    It was almost like he was disregarding the fact that she had to visit his main body in person during March and September as well, so in fact, there would be two periods in a year of three months that she would meet him multiple months in a row. Forget twice a year being something she had to fear, she would now be treading on eggshells eight out of twelve months in the year.


    What was the entire purpose of giving her that communication Status Modifier if this was what he was going to make her do?!


    Judging by how quickly he shut down the communication channel though, it seemed he didn¡¯t plan on leaving her time to answer. That might explain the unusual lack of concrete restrictions in the System contract that she would¡¯ve expected from someone as close to and loyal to the System as he was. He may just want as little to do with her as possible. At least this meeting in a month meant she could discuss her original intentions for wanting to meet with him.


    She rubbed her face, thinking of what to do, but eventually decided to focus on something else. She couldn¡¯t do anything about the order, and she wasn¡¯t about to try. Normally she didn¡¯t like to procrastinate and leave her problems for later, but¡­


    ¡­her problem wasn¡¯t solvable with her current means. Even if she had made plans to enter conflict with a destiny-distorting Hero who would have at least double if not more so stats than any other person of his Rank, she still knew that attempting to go against a higher race, a Paragon Anomaly, and a Realm Ruler, would lead to a fate possibly worse than death.


    She only hoped he wouldn¡¯t continue to be hostile when they would meet so regularly. Yes, it was the person who was the issue, and not the contract.


    She didn¡¯t want the timeline to be ruined or the realms to be destroyed any more than the System did, so if it thought one of her plans would be dangerous for the timeline, then she was happy to change it. She welcomed the information because she knew that she was incapable of fully understanding the ramifications of each butterfly effect she triggered. If she could mitigate the worst results by collaborating with the System, then she¡¯d be accepting. She couldn¡¯t enjoy life it the reality was destroyed, right?


    Even if the System contract was a heavy-handed way of going about it, the ¡®System¡¯ wasn¡¯t exactly a living, human entity now, was it? They were never in a position to be equal in the first place.


    She¡¯d much rather collaborate with the System itself rather than go through the Authorizer now that she knew who he was. The System she knew about. She knew how the Association Limiter worked, and how its effects weren¡¯t a result of memory manipulation but something similar to an info lock. She could guess why exactly it was so keen on limiting her actions. But if the Archduke was angry enough to kill her, and didn¡¯t, then¡­


    She tapped her fingers on the desk as she thought deeply, an idea having struck her. Maybe if she could work out what restrictions the Authorizer was under, then she might be able to negotiate a new type of status quo with him¡­


    They didn¡¯t need to like each other. They only needed to be able to work with each other. Because she knew that once the Millennium Chapter was over, and he reached the 250-year mark, he¡¯d ¡®die¡¯ or disappear and wouldn¡¯t wake for the next few thousand years. She wasn¡¯t quite sure what would happen to the Archduke clone skill, but she assumed that all depended on whether the ¡®Archduke¡¯ was a soul clone or simply a second body¡­


    She¡¯d need to work this out, as well as determine what restrictions the Authorizer was under. The personality the Archduke was known for didn¡¯t match up with what the Demon Emperor had, so it was possible that she wouldn¡¯t be dealing with the personality that wanted to kill her all the time. On the other hand, that meant that maybe it was the soul clone and not the main body of the Demon Emperor that was under restrictions not to kill her¡­


    But now she had continued to think about the meeting, even when she had told herself to stop, so it was time for her to fully move on to something else. She got up from her chair and headed to her room.


    ¡­


    Let¡¯s try this again. Do you know what this is for?


    Happiness.


    What is it?


    Strength. Power!


    How do I use it?


    Big Power!


    Can you please put more effort into your description?


    Power! Enemies! Kill!


    ¡­no, I know you can¡¯t kill anybody with this.


    Make Power! Then Kill!


    This is hopeless. Alright, Ouroboros, you¡¯ve heard what I¡¯ve been trying to talk to Apophis about. Do you know how to use it?


    Happiness. Confirmation.


    Can you describe how to use it?


    Together. Strong.


    So I add it to something?


    Happiness. Confirmation.


    Does it strengthen you?


    Confusion. Doubt.


    Let¡¯s assume not for now. Does it strengthen me?


    Hesitance. Confirmation? Thought¡­ doubt. Mistake.


    Second guessing yourself? Maybe¡­ Was my question too broad?


    Thought. Confirmation.


    Well, if it¡¯s made from Influence¡­ does it strengthen my skills?


    Skill?


    My abilities.


    Ability?


    ¡­my abilities that don¡¯t use my body.


    Magic?


    Not quite.


    What was sent to Lucille by Ouroboros was a parcel of different concepts and complicated information that even with her multiple thought strands took some time for her to work out what exactly her spirit weapon was trying to say.


    My¡­ /Not-Magic/Half-Soul/Not-Body/Orbs/?


    She supposed that was the best description for a skill made of Influence from something that didn¡¯t exactly have any way of interacting with the world besides their spiritual energy, skills, and physical blade.


    That¡¯s it. Can I add it to that?


    Confirmation! ¡­doubt. /Small-Orbs/Not-Big-Orbs/Not-Bigger-Orbs/Not-Biggest-Orb/


    Lucy counted for a moment.


    So¡­ not my Origin Skill, not my primary skills, not my secondary skills¡­ you haven¡¯t seen what a tertiary skill looks like, so¡­ skill shards. I can add this to skill shards?


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    /Small-Orbs/ Skill Shards?


    Yes, the name the System chose for the /Small-Orbs/ is skill shard.


    Add! Skill Shard!


    Thank you, Ouroboros. Good girl.


    Happiness.


    Someone interjected.


    Power! Attack!


    ¡­thank you for your contribution too, Apophis.


    Pride!


    Lucille sighed and lay back on her bed. She held up the strange glowing grey object the size of a pea that the Influence she gave Ouroboros had turned into.


    [Entity Name: -null- | Type: Incomplete/Influence]


    Desc: A piece of miscellaneous Influence. It was generated through unusual means, and the number of potential uses for this item is unknown. Concepts and information have been erased and so will have no outcome on the strength of a skill when added]


    Nothing but its type and a description. Even the name was reduced to the placeholder. It seemed the leftover Influence from her skills had turned into a fascinating object.


    I¡¯d love to study it, but I can¡¯t manipulate pure Influence at my Rank. It also says there is no conceptual information contained within this item, so I doubt there would be much I could discover about this.


    In actual fact, Lucy probably could¡¯ve discovered most of what she had been told by Ouroboros herself. However, she wanted to see how far the two souls had developed. She could say that she was pleased with their progress and while they liked to revert to concepts to pass their messages along, she had no issue with that and they would likely only change that habit when they started communicating with others.


    They hadn¡¯t expressed any desire to send spiritual messages to anyone outside of Lucy and Scytale just yet, however. And their messages to Scytale consisted of questions regarding whether they as ¡®snake-swords¡¯ like he was a ¡®snake¡¯ would get wings too. The answer to that was no.


    On the surface, it seemed like Ouroboros was the smarter one, but both weapons had the same knowledge and intelligence. It was just that¡­ as a demon, Apophis didn¡¯t care about anything outside of his interests, nor was he afraid of consequences. Ouroboros had a more placid personality and was willing to help.


    Lucy wondered what to do with the small item between her fingers as she held it up to the light.


    Ouroboros. This was stored in your skill, so can you reabsorb it?


    Test.


    She raised her white dagger and held the -null- Influence near the weapon.


    Doubt. Negative.


    But you were able to store it before.


    Liquid.


    Lucy made a face at the strange response. The weapon souls had been learning about the states of matter a few weeks ago, but¡­


    Oh. This is ¡®solid¡¯, but it was ¡®liquid¡¯ in your skill?


    Confirmation. Happiness.


    So the ¡®crystallisation¡¯ of the Influence meant that now it had turned into a physical object, Ouroboros could no longer store it. She wondered how that worked when it and skill shards were a facet of Ouroboros¡¯s skill.


    What if I try ¡®adding¡¯ it though?


    Thought. Confusion.


    So you don¡¯t know. Well, I suppose we try it then.


    She pulled up Ouroboros¡¯s Rebirth from Death skill to see her skill shards.


    [Skill: Rebirth From Death | Type: Influence/Spirit ]


    Desc: In times past in an unknown world, the mythology of an ancient empire was spread to other continents and underwent a reformation. Now of another form, the deity represented the cyclic nature of life and death, and all within. A confluence with this mythology and spiritual energy has led to the bestowment of a ______¡¯s resonance blessing upon this weapon, taking on the forces of Order¡¯s pinnacle.


    Abilities:


    Cyclic Reforming ¨C The strength of one becomes another¡¯s.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to obtain the spiritual energy of those killed by its soul twin. {Only active when used alongside Twin Souls: Chaos}</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to reconstitute skills from the energy of those slain by its soul twin and pass them to its User. Collected Skill Shards: (5/10) Lesser Formicidae Skill Shard.</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to merge skill shards to form new tertiary or secondary skills. Limitations apply.</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to reconstitute stats from the energy of those slain by its soul twin and pass them to its User. Stat gain maximum: 50% of Rank Total.</li>


    </ul>


    Ordered Origin ¨C Order became power.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to shield its User from damage up to the total of its active ATK, MATK and SATK. Shield resets when its User receives unshielded damage the equivalent of what was negated.</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to absorb damage up to its active ATK using its User¡¯s equivalent MP, while shield is active. Absorbed damage can be reflected partially or completely. Current absorbed damage: 20 ATK.</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    She still had no idea what a Lesser Formicidae skill would do, but maybe with this new ¡®-null-¡® Influence something might change. She held it to Ouroboros again.


    Try ¡®adding¡¯ this for me.


    She could feel Ouroboros¡¯s mind thrum with concentration and the dagger gained its bright blue aura. Then notifications appeared as the already pea-sized glowing orb shrank in size.


    [Gained Lesser Formicidae Skill Shard x1]


    [Gained Lesser Formicidae Skill Shard x1]


    [Gained Lesser Formicidae Skill Shard x1]


    [Gained Lesser Formicidae Skill Shard x1]


    [Gained Lesser Formicidae Skill Shard x1]


    It disappeared into nothing, but on Ouroboros¡¯s skill page, she now had ¡®Collected Skills: Lesser Formicidae Skill¡¯ as well.


    Thank you for that, Ouroboros.


    Happiness.


    Lucille placed the dagger on the bed beside her and sat up. It seemed the leftover Influence could be used to replicate the Influence of a skill shard and reduce the amount of one type of monster she needed to slay. If there came a time when she killed a strong and unique monster, and wanted to gain its skill, then it would be best for her to save a lot of Influence in case she didn¡¯t have the skill shards.


    But now, she wanted to see what this ¡®Lesser Formicidae¡¯ skill could do.


    Please transfer this ¡®Orb¡¯ Ouroboros.


    The weapon eagerly did so, and a notification appeared. Then she raised an eyebrow.


    [Gained Tertiary Skill: Lesser Formicidae Skill]


    [Error: Incompatibility of Influence detected. Foreign Influence contains malignant concepts dangerous for User Lucille Goldcroft. Withdrawing sample Influence for System Records and substituting for compatible Influence¡­]


    [Uncommon Tertiary Skill: Lesser Formicidae Skill has evolved to become Uncommon Tertiary Skill: Energy Field Detection]


    ¡­that seemed like a very strange ability to come from an ant, but Lucy was aware that mundane ants navigated using magnetic fields. She supposed the magical variant might have more advanced sensing capabilities.


    She opened her Status and selected the skill.


    [Tertiary Skill: Energy Field Detection | Type: Perception/Monster ]


    Rarity: Uncommon


    Desc: Gained through the slaying of Lesser Formicidae, this enhances the User¡¯s ability to detect the mundane energies around them.


    Effects:


    <ul>


    <li>+5% to energy and mana detection.</li>


    <li>Provides slight increase to the User¡¯s ability to sense energy transformations in a small radius.</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    It was very unique. It made her wonder though, if the skills given by Ouroboros would be somewhat like a gamble, where you didn¡¯t know if the skill you gained would be useful or not. Still, this skill could evolve and become a secondary skill. She didn¡¯t know for sure what impact these ¡®monster¡¯ type skills would have on her skillset in the long run, but skills were skills. She would take as many as could get because she knew she would need a lot.


    That brought her to what else she wanted to do while in her room.


    [Secondary Skill: Codex of Reminiscence | Type: Mental/Mana ]


    Rarity: Epic


    Desc: The mental abilities of a mage enable them to create mighty spells and study cryptic texts. Use this skill to turn the boon of the mind into¡­ a boon of magic.


    Ability:


    Records of the Arcane ¨C Knowledge is the ultimate power.


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the User the ability to store information in this skill. Bonus INT stats and INT amplification are given based on the quality and quantity of information stored in the skill. Max information quantity increases each Rank. Current information storage: 0%/100%.</li>


    <li>Information can be switched out to attempt to gain better benefits every 24 hours. This cooldown is shared with Lost Lore.</li>


    </ul>


    Lost Lore ¨C Forgotten memories resurfaced.


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the User the ability to store memories in this skill. Bonus WIS and WIS amplification are given based on the importance and value of memories. Max memory slots increase by 3 per Rank. Current memory slots filled: 0/6.</li>


    <li>Memories can be switched out to attempt to gain better benefits every 24 hours. This cooldown is shared with Records of the Arcane.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    [Secondary Skill: Memory Transubstantiate | Type: Mental/Mana ]


    Rarity: Epic


    Desc: Some memories are lost in the annals of time and the mind, but the few still remembered may carry worth beyond just the mundane. Use this skill to transform your memories into something substantial, a new tool you may use in your quest for power.


    Ability:


    Transubstantiate ¨C A birth and creation of a new power.


    <ul>


    <li>Allows the User to consume Transubstantiate chances to turn a memory into a new skill. Rarity of the skill is dependent on importance and value of memory.</li>


    </ul>


    Skill Analysis ¨C Wielder of influence.


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the User an increased ability to mould and alter skills. This does not apply to Class skills.</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    She needed to test what kind of information and memories would give her the greatest bonuses. Was it complicated, high-level knowledge, or were the memories supposed to be deep and impactful parts of her life?


    Which memories would become the best skills? Was a ¡®valuable¡¯ memory something valuable according to her or the System?


    As she was limited to a max amount of Transubstantiate chances, and didn¡¯t want to waste any of them, she decided to test out the Codex of Reminiscence first. Deciding to put her knowledge of arcane mana into the skill, something she was decently proficient in but had never been her focus, she watched the information gauge slowly tick up to 5%/100%.


    And it was really slow. It took ten minutes to earn a single percentage in maximum information. When she stopped she received some notifications.


    [Granted +10 INT and +2% INT to User Lucille Goldcroft through Codex of Reminiscence]


    With that additional bonus, she now had 40 stats in INT, and 2000 MP. She hummed as she considered what memory to place in the Codex of Reminiscence and settled on her first time flying at Rank-4.


    [Granted +15 WIS and +3% WIS to User Lucille Goldcroft through Codex of Reminiscence]


    That seemed to be quite an important memory, although she didn¡¯t think it was one of the most valuable memories she had. But she now had a WIS of 35 and MP regeneration of 350 over five minutes. Once she gained over 100 WIS, her MP regen would be measured in single minutes.


    It was now time for the last skill. Memory Transubstantiate. She thought for a long time about what memory she would use, and what could be helpful to her right now. There were some obvious ones, such as the memory of her first death, or even her last death, but¡­


    Perhaps it would be fitting if her first use of the skill was based on the memories of when she cast her very first spell.


    ¡­¡­¡­.


    ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s that simple?¡±


    The retired adventurer opposite her shrugged. ¡°Sure. As long as you have a clear idea of what the spell is supposed to do, as well as know the shape of the rune, then anyone can generate an element with a rune.¡± He leaned forward to throw another stick onto the campfire between them. ¡°It¡¯s only the real talents that can string multiple together to create a low-ranked spell. If you can do that, you might want to consider becoming a mage.¡±


    She couldn¡¯t deny that the possibility of using magic fascinated her. It was something well-known about on Earth, but it was only in pop culture, and even Otherworld type ability users on Earth didn¡¯t have such a standardised and wide-spread method of abilities. She was always interested in the newest technology on Earth, and this ¡®magic¡¯ was a brand new technology she had never seen.


    She had yet to meet someone who knew much about spiritual energy, but if her Origin Skill would help her learn magic too¡­


    ¡°Do you know any runes?¡±


    The adventurer blinked. ¡°Me? I mean, maybe if I put my mind to it, but if it¡¯s runes you¡¯re interested in¡­¡±


    She watched curiously as he placed his arm into a white hole that had appeared in thin air.


    He withdrew an old, weather-beaten book and held it out to her. ¡°Here. A standard manual is given when you join the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. Mine¡¯s out of date and I haven¡¯t touched it for the last ten years so you might as well take it. It has a few emergency spells and runes written inside for those who have a bit of talent for casting.¡±


    She quickly flipped to the section and studied the book, fully absorbed in its contents.


    The retired adventurer she had been working for poked the fire with a stick. ¡°Don¡¯t feel too bad if you don¡¯t get it right the first time. Even the best mages have spent hours before managing to cast their first ru-¡±


    The warm glow of light stopped the words in his mouth. He stared at the small flame hovering above her palm, fuelled by the single glowing rune below it.


    ¡°Well girl, colour me surprised. You might have the makings of a genius mage after all.¡±


    She didn¡¯t respond and looked down at the book. It was unnervingly simple. The runes were letters and words, the specific syntax and keywords used. The frames were the blocks of code. The spell was the program.


    Her Origin Skill allowed her to easily replicate all the runes of the spell, and the mana-circle appeared, slowly rotating above her palm. The adventurer¡¯s eyes widened.


    She recalled a line of her Origin Skill. If it was the power of the mind that made magic work¡­ then did magic only exist because people thought it did?


    ¡°Do you have any more material I could read?¡±


    The mouth of the retired adventurer opened and closed. He rubbed his chin as he stared at her, and then shook his head wryly. ¡°You know what girl, I take back my words. You¡¯re no genius mage. You¡¯re a future Archmage in the making. If you don¡¯t take a mage class then it will be a crime against the realms itself. I¡¯ll take you over to the city¡¯s library and let you have a look.¡±


    Magic had stoked her curiosity. Now she was curious as to why the Mystical Realm seemed to have ¡®magic¡¯, and the other realms had concepts from Earth too¡­


    ¡­¡­¡­.


    Lucille opened her eyes and smiled when she saw her new skill.


    It seems I chose well.


    [Secondary Skill: Prodigious Archmage¡¯s First Steps | Type: Magic/Runic]


    Rarity: Epic


    Desc: A skill borne from the memories of Lucille Goldcroft¡¯s first steps along the path of magic. It contains the emotions and experiences of an Archmage early in their magic career.


    Abilities:


    Self-Taught Spellcraft Initiate ¨C A wielder of magic¡¯s might.


    <ul>


    <li>Reduces the cast time of the User¡¯s elemental spells by 25%</li>


    <li>Increases stability of the User¡¯s runes by 50% when attempting to cast newly created magic.</li>


    <li>Low-ranked spells cost 30% less MP than before.</li>


    </ul>


    Observer of Beasts and Monsters


    <ul>


    <li>Enhances the ability of the User to analyse the conceptual information of bloodline magic in magical beasts and monsters. User gains a small chance of partially comprehending the conceptual information of bloodline spells when this ability is used.</li>


    <li>Increases the ability of the User to bestow conceptual information on spells they cast. The spell runes will be automatically altered, enabling the creation of more unique spells.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    <hr>


    ¡°¡­and you can tick that one off the list now. Send it to the craftsmen zone to be sent through to the Blue Song March on the 37<sup>th</sup> Minor Kingdom¡¯s plane.¡±


    The employee of the Commission bowed, a clipboard held in his arms. ¡°As you wish, Sir Evisenhardt.¡±


    The silver-haired man instructing him looked down at his own clipboard. ¡°Now, the next item that will be sold is a mana crystal statue paid to the Founder¡¯s Vault five hundred years ago¡­ has Sir Alichanteu faced any problems on the auction stage?¡±


    ¡°No sir. Sir Alichanteu has been fine.¡± The servant snuck a look at Vincent¡¯s face and pushed a bit further, ¡°The other nobles seem to have taken to him. It seems they believe he¡¯s quite capable.¡±


    Vincent waved the man off dismissively, fully able to see the royal blue badge with a symbol of three coins on the man¡¯s chest. ¡°Please do as I asked.¡±


    ¡°¡­yes sir.¡±


    Once the staff member was gone, Vincent rubbed his neck and twisted it to relieve his tiredness. He frowned as he walked down one of the corridors of the auction house, flipping through the pages to check how much more was on the list.


    ¡°Lucy wasn¡¯t joking when she said there was a lot, was she¡­¡± he muttered. He heard footsteps approaching and sighed as he held the clipboard. He fixed a polite smile on his face as the nobility down the corridor came up to him.


    ¡°Sir Evisenhardt! I¡¯m glad to have run into you,¡± a Baron Vincent identified as belonging to the Aeternus plane said. ¡°I would just like to say that this auction has been wonderful! I never expected such antiques to be stored within the Founder¡¯s Vault!¡±


    Vincent shifted his glasses as he nodded with a calm smile. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯ve enjoyed it, Baron Serford. I believe we were all surprised when we gained access to the Vault¡¯s contents.¡±


    The man with greying hair laughed. ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure your excellent persuasion caused the Commission Head to allow you entry.¡±


    Lucille had never taken him inside the Vault, because she had only rapidly clicked on the Faction Settings of the Vault and dumped all the objects in the rooms of the fortieth floor for him and the Commission staff to deal with. But the Baron didn¡¯t need to know that.


    ¡°If you¡¯ll excuse me, Baron Serford, I must continue to check on the staff and their tasks,¡± Vincent said politely but with firmness.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± The man hesitated, looking disappointed, but nodded and stepped aside to let Vincent pass. ¡°Yes, of course, Sir Evisenhardt. Do take care.¡±


    Vincent nodded and walked past with quick steps, hoping to look busy enough that no other nobility would approach him. He rounded a corner and internally groaned as he came face to face with another noble.


    The blonde-haired man blinked and gave him a bow. ¡°Sir Evisenhardt. I had been looking for you. I am Vetas Lightwick, a high-ranking healer of the Citadel.¡±


    Vincent paused and took in the white and gold clothes of the man. ¡°I didn¡¯t realise the Citadel of Fate had sent a representative to participate in the auction. I would¡¯ve made arrangements to meet with you sooner, Sir Lightwick.¡±


    The man smiled and shook his head. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary Sir Evisenhardt. I arrived only to deliver a letter.¡±


    His response made Vincent confused. ¡°A letter?¡±


    Vetas Lightwick withdrew an envelope of white parchment with a gold seal on the front. ¡°Please, take this.¡±


    With a slight frown, Vincent accepted it. He turned it over on his palm. ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°I have completed my duty, so I must bid you farewell now, Sir Evisenhardt,¡± Vetas said with another bow. ¡°Please excuse me.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ as you wish¡­¡± Vincent watched the man leave with confusion, and then looked down at the letter in his hand. He tucked his clipboard under one arm and leaned his back against a wall as he opened it.


    Once he read the contents, he gained a broad grin. Chuckling, he placed the letter in his suit pocket and then carried on walking.


    It seemed he needed to write a letter once he got back to the Commission. He couldn¡¯t do it yet, but he already had in mind the first few sentences of what he would write.


    It was something like¡­


    I have received your reply, Annaliese.


    I would like to say on behalf of the Aurelian Commission and the Commission Head that we would greatly welcome your stay, and I am perfectly willing to help you in your endeavours to enjoy your time at the Aurelian Commission¡¯s Headquarters during the first week of February¡­

 Chapter 54 (1 of 2) The Institute of Nomological Augmentation.

    -Last week of January-


    ¡°And¡­ that should be the last of them.¡±


    A sea-green-haired young man ticked off the name on a list as he shut the lid on the box he had been inspecting. Inside had been monster scales, ready to be shipped off to the crafters who made the weapons and equipment for the military.


    With his list in hand, he walked up to the dark-haired man directing a few others in the warehouse. The man had a scowl on his face as he scrabbled down words on his clipboard.


    ¡°Sir.¡±


    The man didn¡¯t hear, his scowl intensifying.


    ¡°Officer Stanhope, sir.¡±


    Ross looked up and saw him. ¡°Oh, Wharifin. Is something the matter?¡±


    ¡°The inventory check for this row has been completed,¡± Caspian said with a salute.


    Ross sighed and bumped the back of his head against the wall. ¡°Thank goodness. That¡¯s one load off my shoulders. Only five more rows to go.¡± He scowled at the other Officers checking the warehouse contents, who avoided eye contact. ¡°If only everyone else could be as efficient at working as you.¡± Ross pulled back his sleeve to check his wristwatch. ¡°You¡¯ve finished your work early, so there¡¯s nothing more for you to do. Enjoy the rest of the day.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir.¡± Caspian nodded and put down the list next to several other documents stacked up on a box nearby. He went to leave but before he could, Ross called out one last time.


    ¡°Oh, and you might want to head to the east recreation room in the main command building,¡± Ross commented offhandedly. ¡°I heard someone¡¯s been waiting for you.¡±


    Caspian raised an eyebrow at the strange statement but nodded and walked through the warehouse¡¯s double doors. He blinked and squinted as the sun beamed into his eyes, and then he headed in the direction of the ramps that would lead to the third layer of the fortress.


    Someone has been waiting for me? Who could it be?


    ¡­


    Caspian stretched as he walked through the corridors of the command building, views of the calm sea visible from the windows. They had returned to the fortress at the end of the second last week of January, and soon it would be time for him and Adrianna to become leaders of the Dawnlight¡¯s crew. The crew would officially ¡®form¡¯ this week, however, with their sailing beginning in February.


    He was quite curious about the members of the training camp Adrianna went to, as they sounded unique from what Ross and Adrianna said a few months ago.


    Caspian paused slightly as he detected the presence of someone near the edge of the corner he was about to turn. He moved aside slightly so he wouldn¡¯t bump into them when he turned the corner, but¡­


    ¡°Boo!¡±


    He flinched as the person jumped out from behind the corner. He stared at the figure of a young woman with dark blue, shoulder-length wavy hair and dark blue eyes.


    ¡°Wait, Maeva?!¡± he asked, stunned.


    The woman known as Maeva Winrich grinned and placed her hands on her hips. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Squad Leader.¡±


    Caspian smiled. ¡°I¡¯m no longer a Squad Leader now. It¡¯s been a while.¡± He held out his arms to give her a quick hug which she returned and then pulled back. ¡°Is it just you?¡± he asked curiously.


    The woman smirked and grabbed his wrist. ¡°Come and see for yourself.¡± She pulled him along the hallway and threw open the door in front of them. ¡°Look who¡¯s here!¡±


    Opening the door revealed four other people, two men and two women. Leaning against the small recreational room¡¯s wall was a young man with dark straight hair, his eyes a murky green and a smirk on his face. Blue-green demonic script wound its way up his arms and neck. Sitting in a chair was a lanky young man with grey hair that fell over his eyes. He nodded calmly to Caspian.


    One of the women waved to Caspian. She had dirty-blonde hair plaited into a thick braid that went past her waist, while the fourth person, a woman with platinum blonde hair and bright blue eyes beamed.


    ¡°Our new Vice Captain has finally shown up!¡± Maeva said, pushing Caspian forward with a light shove to his shoulder. She grinned as the others stood up to greet him.


    ¡°Congratulations on the promotion, Caspian,¡± the platinum blonde-haired woman told him.


    Caspian gave her a nod. ¡°Thank you, Charlene.¡±


    The man with demonic script came forward and slung an arm across his shoulders. ¡°You¡¯ve risen so quickly, hm? And yet I see by your badge that you¡¯re not our Captain.¡±


    Caspian hesitated. ¡°Ah¡­ She won¡¯t be back for another few hours yet. She¡¯s on the Commander¡¯s warship still.¡±


    ¡°Oh? She?¡± the half-demon next to him said with surprise.


    The woman with the long braid clicked her tongue. ¡°Don¡¯t start up with the whole ¡®I need to test her before I take a woman as my superior¡¯ thing, Lynell. The last time you said something like that the only female Commander in the Distorted Depths happened to be in the fortress and beat you black and blue.¡±


    ¡®Lynell¡¯ scowled. ¡°I¡¯m not foolish. I would carefully observe her strength before suggesting a duel.¡±


    The woman with a braid raised an eyebrow. ¡°You still want to fight her?¡±


    ¡°Well, no ordinary person should be allowed to order around me, a member of the Sea Demon Baervad Clan-¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Maeva suddenly clapped her hands. ¡°Everyone shut up and follow Silenis¡¯s lead by sitting down. You¡¯ll make him and Charlene feel left out if you keep sticking to your little circle.¡± Then she elbowed Caspian. ¡°Although that doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯re letting you off talking about the person who is going to be our new Captain.¡±


    Caspian smiled wryly as they all sat down in armchairs in the room. ¡°Why don¡¯t we begin with what you all did these last few months?¡±


    ¡°Us? Psh.¡± Maeva waved her hand. ¡°Nothing grand happened to me. I had to deal with all the whiny noble brats that the Main Army Battalion sent down to the northern fortress for training. Good thing the Commander there put all those spoilt kids in their places quickly enough. If I had to pick my favourite Commander, it would probably be her, the Siren Wail Fortress Commander.¡±


    ¡°The one that beat Lynell black and blue?¡± the woman with a braid asked with a smirk.


    Maeva grinned. ¡°Yes Dais, that¡¯s the one.¡±


    ¡°If we¡¯re talking about new superiors, guess who¡¯s going to be in charge of our tasks when Commander Arkenast is busy?¡± Caspian asked with a smile.


    They all gave him curious looks. ¡°It¡¯s someone we know?¡± Charlene asked.


    ¡°Our very own resident complainer gets to be stuck with the people he had to deal with for all of October last year,¡± Caspian said with a chuckle.


    Maeva laughed. ¡°Ross? Him? Really? I can¡¯t tell if this is more of a punishment for him or us.¡±


    ¡°I had heard he was promoted to Head Officer,¡± Silenis, the man with grey hair, said quietly.


    ¡°Yes, but what about this mysterious new Captain of ours?¡± Dais replied, leaning forward on her chair. ¡°If she became the Squad Leader of her cohort and got promoted so quickly then she must be an amazing warrior, right?¡±


    Caspian rubbed his neck. ¡°Well¡­ she¡¯s an illusion mage.¡±


    ¡°No way¡­¡± Maeva shot him a sceptical look. ¡°You¡¯re telling me an illusion mage is who Commander Arkenast thinks is the best Captain for the Dawnlight? You know how high his standards are!¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s her ability you¡¯re wondering about, there¡¯s no problem there,¡± Caspian responded with a weak smile. ¡°She has¡­ very unique magic. She¡¯ll no doubt be the strongest among our crewmates.¡±


    Maeva¡¯s smile dimmed slightly when she saw his expression but Dais¡¯s interjection moved the conversation along before she could ask anything, which made him grateful.


    ¡°Oh, by the way, Caspian, have you met any of our new Captain¡¯s cohort members?¡± Dais asked excitedly.


    Caspian blinked. ¡°I haven¡¯t, no. I¡¯ve been busy working with Ross to check all the warehouses. Have they begun to arrive?¡±


    ¡°Well, I saw a few young men and women who had their Elite Officer uniforms, but I know everyone in the fortress their age and rank, and I knew none of them,¡± Dais explained. ¡°Three of them I spoke two, some people from the Heavenly Realm. The two guys seemed kind of snobbish but the girl had quite the outgoing personality. She seemed fun.¡±


    ¡°Wait, was that the Sect heir from the Vast Longevity Flowing Glacier Sect who¡¯s going to be here temporarily?¡± Maeva said, looking at Dais. ¡°I met her too. Her claims of defeating a King ranked monster during her time on the Dawnlight were hilarious to listen to, but she didn¡¯t seem to care about the laughter of the people around her so I think she was playing it up on purpose.¡±


    Caspian hesitated. ¡°I¡­ think that¡¯s the girl that said Ross was more stubborn than Profound Blue Swallow¡¯s constant bad luck.¡±


    Dais broke into a laugh. ¡°Alright, she¡¯s my new favourite person.¡±


    ¡°This talk of new members may be interesting, but I am still interested to know more about our superior,¡± Lynell said, crossing his arms. ¡°Surely you can at least tell us her name, can you not, Caspian?¡±


    Caspian sighed but answered, ¡°It¡¯s Adrianna Riftmire.¡±


    ¡°Cool name,¡± Dais commented. ¡°What does she look like?¡±


    ¡°Er¡­ Well, she¡¯s tall, has pale blue eyes, really curly hair¡­¡± He hesitated as he considered how to explain the hair. ¡°And it¡¯s¡­ glowing hair. It¡¯s mostly black but because of her illusion affinity it becomes purple and dark blue sometimes.¡±


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Oooh, fancy.¡± Maeva smirked. ¡°Is she hot?¡±


    Caspian shot her an odd look. ¡°If you¡¯re trying to get me to say something specific, then I can only say yes, she could be considered very pretty, but she¡¯s taller than me.¡±


    The blue-haired woman clicked her tongue. ¡°Not interested in someone taller? And here I thought we¡¯d have some gossip.¡±


    ¡°She also seems to like Commander Arkenast¡¯s brand of cigars¡­¡± Caspian muttered. He shuddered. ¡°The memory of the taste is bad enough for me.¡±


    ¡°What is her temperament?¡± Silenis asked in a low voice.


    Caspian gained a strange expression as he considered how to answer. ¡°Well, she¡¯s very good at commanding attention¡­ and she works efficiently¡­¡± He thought about it for a bit longer and then decided to take the easy path. ¡°I¡¯ll let you guys decide what to think of her yourself.¡±


    They all clicked their tongues or gave him annoyed looks but he just shrugged. Then the grey-haired Silenis looked at Charlene. ¡°I believe I saw someone with gold eyes among the new Officers.¡±


    Charlene blinked, and her eyes widened. ¡°Someone else with a light affinity is joining the crew? But I would¡¯ve heard if someone else from the Citadel was coming.¡±


    Silenis shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think he was from the Citadel.¡±


    Maeva looked at them all and grinned. ¡°How about we go find these new crew members and introduce ourselves? Time to show them all what real Officers of the Distorted Depths are like!¡±


    They traded glances. Caspian couldn¡¯t deny he felt curious. ¡°Well, Ross said he¡¯d call us later to discuss the crew, but it can¡¯t hurt to introduce ourselves now.¡±


    Maeva got up from her chair. ¡°It¡¯s settled then. Time to go find our cute junior Officers and see what they¡¯re like.¡±


    <hr>


    A young man with brown hair a gold eyes took a deep breath of the salty sea air. Following behind him were two young women, one with short, fiery red hair and another with long dark brown hair.


    ¡°I guess now we find out what our groups are and split up¡­¡± Catherine said with a sigh. ¡°I doubt they¡¯d put us in the same group together. But I¡¯ll make sure to keep in contact with you, Conlan.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just wait and see what squads we¡¯ve been placed in,¡± Conlan replied calmly, a smile on his face. ¡°Who knows? Maybe we¡¯re in a squad together.¡±


    ¡°I hope that will be the case,¡± Liliana said, following close behind. ¡°It will be far easier to work with those we know.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Oh, hey! Everyone¡¯s over there!¡± Catherine said, pointing to all the people gathered in front of the main command building.


    They could see Ruel Deirvetch, Palin Zoc¡¯uraghets, Wilden Leutia, Drew Baxtimer, Noirel Arventiel, Zhang Meng, Liao Tengfei and Zhang Mingxia all loitering around the front.


    ¡°Who are they with?¡± Liliana asked curiously.


    Conlan studied the group and realised there were more people than just their cohort members. But¡­ he recognised them all. They were his past crewmates.


    One individual with sea-green hair stuck out to him and Conlan¡¯s steps slowed. He watched the young man chatting with the others cautiously.


    ¡­Caspian Wharifin. He¡­ was always Adrianna¡¯s closest companion¡­


    Conlan clenched his fists as they walked towards the group.


    I know there¡¯s nothing between them, but her trust in him and his constant position by her side will become an issue. I need to ensure I become who she relies on during this time in the Navy and not him¡­


    His abilities are useful though, so I can¡¯t get rid of him. Neither am I willing to take up a position as her second in command. I don¡¯t want to be her ¡®subordinate¡¯. Caspian will need to stay for now. I¡¯ll work on slowly increasing my importance in the crew.


    The others noticed Conlan¡¯s group of three as they approached. ¡°Hey, guys. I see we¡¯ve all returned from our holiday. But who are these new people?¡± he asked brightly.


    A man with straight black hair and demonic script smirked and stepped forward to block Conlan¡¯s path. ¡°We¡¯re you¡¯re new Senior Officers, cadet. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll enjoy working together these next few years.¡±


    Conlan narrowed his eyes at the antagonistic half-demon, but before anything could happen Maeva Winrich ran out from behind him to grab Liliana¡¯s hands in her own.


    ¡°Yes! Another water affinity manipulator!¡± she exclaimed, looking unusually enthusiastic for some reason. ¡°Caspian doesn¡¯t count because he cheats with his bloodline, so I¡¯m glad I have a junior who uses my affinity now! And a girl too!¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ um¡­ hi?¡± Liliana asked hesitantly. ¡°Who might you be?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Maeva, a healer,¡± Maeva said with a smirk. She turned back to pull Charlene forward as well. ¡°Along with Charlene here, who''s a healer-in-training of the Citadel.¡±


    Catherine came up beside Liliana with wide eyes. ¡°Citadel?¡±


    ¡°There are many of us trainees in the realms, so please don¡¯t treat me as someone special,¡± Charlene said with a smile. ¡°I¡¯m not even considered a professional healer by the Citadel yet.¡± Charlene then looked at Conlan and walked up to him. ¡°But sir, I can tell you have an affinity for light like me. Do you have any connections to the Citadel?¡±


    It was good Charlene was showing interest in his affinity. He could use her connections to the Supreme Institution to gain the support of the Citadel¡­ although he¡¯d have to ensure she didn¡¯t end up wasting her life in an attempt to ¡®save¡¯ him in this timeline before he could use her¡­


    ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Conlan replied with a smile. ¡°My world is small and doesn¡¯t know much about the Supreme Institutions.¡±


    Liliana and Catherine exchanged knowing looks behind him, but Charlene blinked in surprise. ¡°I see¡­ many people choose to use elixirs to gain the light affinity, but you must have it naturally. I assume you¡¯re a warrior, judging by the sword?¡±


    Conlan looked down at his new Epic blade he had gained from a Dungeon and smiled. ¡°Yes. Technically I¡¯m a warrior manipulator but my strengths lean more to the physical aspects.¡±


    Charlene nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll be interested to see how you use your abilities during our time as fellow Officers.¡±


    ¡°Who are these guys, Charlene?¡±


    Conlan, Catherine and Liliana looked up as a new voice was heard. Caspian Wharifin was walking over, looking at them curiously.


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± Maeva turned to them. ¡°We haven¡¯t heard your names yet.¡±


    Conlan gestured to himself. ¡°I¡¯m Conlan Griffin, and these two are Liliana Mason and Catherine Sherwood.¡±


    The two girls waved. Caspian glanced between them. ¡°Did you all come from the elite training camp last year?¡±


    They nodded. Caspian placed his hands on his hips with a smile. ¡°Well then, I¡¯m glad to meet you all. My name is Caspian Wharifin and¡­¡± He glanced over his shoulder to look at the others and turned back to them. ¡°I won¡¯t say too much yet, but you can expect to see a lot more of me in the future.¡±


    The girls behind Conlan looked curious but everyone became distracted when a dark-haired man stepped out of the main command building. Officer Stanhope, their instructor during the training camp, looked around with a slight frown on his face but sighed and cupped his hands to his mouth. ¡°Members of the elite training camp last year, get in line and follow me!¡±


    Noirel Arventiel, Zhang Mingxia, and the others quickly came over. Conlan and the two girls moved over as well, but Officer Stanhope narrowed his eyes when he spotted Caspian and his companions. ¡°What are you people doing here?¡±


    ¡°We wanted to see our new juniors!¡± Maeva replied with a grin.


    Officer Stanhope eyed them suspiciously but sighed and gestured to them to follow. ¡°You five should come too. I would¡¯ve sent for you anyway.¡± Then he suddenly pointed at Caspian. ¡°Wharifin, go fetch your stuff.¡±


    The sea-green-haired man blinked. ¡°My stuff? Oh!¡± He quickly walked off, disappearing into the building.


    The elite training camp members gave Caspian and his group curious looks but Conlan ignored them. Officer Stanhope marched onward to lead them through the main command building.


    He took everyone through the building out to a small training ground outside the building. Then Officer Stanhope checked his watch. ¡°Wharifin will be back soon when I will expect you all to be in orderly lines.¡± He pointed at Maeva and the other Officers. ¡°You guys form your own line. Until then, you may all talk amongst yourselves.¡±


    The Officer retreated to the side, hands held behind his back. They began to talk amongst themselves.


    ¡°Is this Caspian Wharifin guy important?¡± Catherine asked in hushed whispers. ¡°He seems around our age though. Maybe he¡¯s a Squad Leader of one of the squads some people here are going to enter?¡±


    ¡°Adrianna was going to become a Squad Leader too, wasn¡¯t she?¡± Liliana looked around. ¡°The only person from the training camp who¡¯s not here is her.¡±


    Catherine rolled her eyes. ¡°Yeah well, nobody misses her. Hopefully it stays that way.¡±


    Conlan watched Catherine carefully for a moment.


    If she keeps being so hostile to Adrianna, she might be an issue for my plans. But she doesn¡¯t seem to like making me angry, so if I show her that I dislike defiance towards Adrianna then she¡¯ll probably listen. That will make her even more antagonistic towards Adrianna and ensure she will be willing to leave the Navy with me when the time comes¡­


    A few minutes later, the sound of footsteps could be heard. Caspian Wharifin walked into the training ground, only this time, he was wearing a silver-trimmed navy blue coat. A silver plaque shone on his coat chest pocket. He walked up to stand beside Officer Stanhope.


    The dark-haired former instructor stepped forward to face them all. They got into lines.


    ¡°Once every fifty years, a special crew is formed with Elite Officers that have come from the elite cadet training camps,¡± Officer Stanhope announced. ¡°Instead of splitting the former cadets into different squads across the region, you will instead be the crew of a special ship called the M.W.S. Dawnlight that is stationed here at White Squall Fortress.¡±


    Officer Stanhope walked towards them. ¡°The members of this crew from the most recent training camp are as follows: Noirel Arventiel. Drew Baxtimer. Ruel Deirvetch. Conlan Griffin.¡±


    He walked past their lines. ¡°Liao Tengfei. Wilden Leutia. Liliana Mason. Catherine Sherwood.¡± He came up to the last three in their line. ¡°Zhang Meng. Zhang Mingxia. Palin Zoc¡¯uraghets.¡±


    The dark-haired man placed his hands behind his back. ¡°You will all be the crew of the M.W.S. Dawnlight, and unlike the times this ship had a crew in earlier years, you will be placed under the command of a Captain instead of a Squad Leader.¡±


    Conlan¡¯s eyes widened and he traded glances with the cohort members but then Officer Stanhope walked over to the line formed by five other people. ¡°Lynell Baervad. Charlene Junem. Dais Twyla. Silenis Vima. Maeva Winrich.¡±


    They all saluted. Officer Stanhope turned to face Conlan¡¯s row again. ¡°These five Elite Officers from elite training camps in prior years will be joining the crew. As those with more experience than you, I expect you to listen to their advice and guidance and learn from them.¡±


    Everyone watched as the dark-haired man walked back up to the front and placed a hand on the shoulder of the sea-green-haired young man up there. ¡°And this person here is your new Vice Captain, Caspian Wharifin.¡±


    Caspian nodded seriously and stepped forward. ¡°As you have heard, my name is Caspian Wharifin and I am the new Vice Captain of the M.W.S. Dawnlight. I¡¯m a water elementalist who specialises in information and reconnaissance due to being a Demi-Atlantean.¡± He placed a hand on his chest to perform an Empire salute. ¡°I will do my best to lead you as my new subordinates.¡±


    Officer Stanhope nodded. ¡°And I will be responsible for managing your operations and tasks on behalf of Commander Arkenast.¡± He checked his wristwatch. ¡°The Commander¡¯s warship has only just returned so your new Captain might only become available tomorrow, but-¡±


    ¡°Have I arrived late?¡± an indifferent female voice interrupted.


    Officer Stanhope blinked when he saw the speaker and then shook his head. ¡°No, you¡¯ve arrived just in time.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±


    Everyone including Conlan stared at the tall woman who made her appearance, wearing a gold-trimmed navy blue coat and hat with a staff gripped in her hand. She walked forward to stand at the front.


    ¡°The Commander requested your presence, Head Officer Stanhope. I can take it from here,¡± she stated coolly.


    The dark-haired man nodded and walked off the training grounds as the woman with pale blue eyes faced them. Her wild glowing hair moved in the wind as she placed her free hand behind her back.


    ¡°Most of you know who I am, but for those who don¡¯t, my name is Adrianna Riftmire, and I am the new Captain of the M.W.S. Dawnlight,¡± she announced. She calmly gazed at the stunned faces of the elite training camp¡¯s former cadets and the surprised looks of Caspian Wharifin¡¯s fellow Officers.


    ¡°There will be time for introductions and familiarising ourselves with each other later, but¡­¡± She narrowed her eyes for a brief second and then placed her staff in front of her. ¡°A hierarchy is best formed when a clear difference in power is established. As your new Captain, it is my responsibility to know the abilities and powers of my subordinates so I can best lead you on the battlefield.¡±


    All the former cadets quickly stepped back and got into combat-ready positions as illusion mana rushed out of her and pooled together. They stared with wide eyes as a ghastly construct of grey slimy flesh and distorted limbs appeared, three times larger than the one she had used at the training camp. Caspian Wharifin grimaced and stepped off the training grounds.


    Adrianna slammed her staff down and an overbearing presence descended on them through the monster as indigo radiance shone from the staff¡¯s powerful stone. A cold smirk formed on her lips.


    ¡°Everyone must¡¯ve been working hard to become stronger in the three months I haven¡¯t seen you all, so how about we see how much your abilities have improved?¡±


    <hr>


    In a dark, dim room, a brown-haired young man was snickering to himself. He was kneeling as he searched through a large open chest, pocketing objects here and there. The only light to be found was the light seeping through the edge of the door behind him, and the small blue flame crackling in the antique mana lamp sitting in an alcove on the opposite side of the room.


    The door slammed open and he flinched. He sprang up and spun around to see a woman with black hair gazing at him with narrowed eyes.


    ¡°Garthe Barbosas¡­¡± she said in a low, threatening voice. ¡°So, here you were¡­¡±


    Garthe slowly stepped back and drew his spear, standing in front of the chest as if to protect it. ¡°Larena, you shouldn¡¯t be here.¡±


    Her eyes narrowed further and she took a step, but Garthe aimed his spear tip at her chest.


    ¡°Stay back, vixen!¡±


    Larena stared at him, her mouth open. ¡°Vixen?!¡± she exclaimed angrily.


    ¡°What else could you be, besides a vixen?¡± Garthe announced, crossing his arms. ¡°You¡¯ve come to steal my bounty, harassing your brother for his chest of goods all so you can become the winner of the bet! You said you¡¯d take the north corridor, not the west!¡±


    She looked away. ¡°There were no rules that prevented one of us from heading to another person¡¯s corridor once our own are cleared out.¡±


    ¡°Just admit that you couldn¡¯t find anything!¡±


    She scowled and tried to take a step forward, but Garthe pointed his spear at her again. ¡°Halt! You shall not take another step! These treasures are mine, and mine alone!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m your sister!¡±


    ¡°So?¡± Garthe said with contempt. ¡°Noble siblings fight over treasure all the time. That¡¯s no reason to share my stuff with you.¡±


    Larena clicked her tongue. ¡°The chest is huge. There should be enough to give me a few items and still have plenty left over.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d sooner be judged by the Death Monarch¡¯s Ninety-Nine than hand my artifacts over to you!¡± Garthe stated with his hands on his hips.


    ¡°What artifacts could be so precious that you¡¯d sooner die than give me any?!¡±


    ¡°Ah, here you both are.¡±


    The two siblings stopped arguing as a snow-elf stopped in front of the open door. In her arms were five dimensional bags, all of them bulging. ¡°We informed Marellen that we would be back before the hour. We need to head back to camp.¡±


    Larena and Garthe looked at what Roa held in her arms, traded glances, and then sighed in synchronised disappointment.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just pack up the rest of these artifacts first,¡± Garthe said, kneeling again.


    Once all the chest¡¯s contents were stored away, they followed the path back through the many corridors of the underground research facility to their campsite. Roa held out her hand to open a gap in the protective barrier set up by an artifact, and the three of them stepped through. The gap closed behind them, sealing the perception of monsters outside but unfortunately sealing the perception of them inside as well, and they walked up to the largest tent in the camp.


    Sitting on the ground with all sorts of metallic tools whirring with glowing runes was a navy-haired mage, stacks of research papers and scattered sketched diagrams around him. His gold-framed glasses were slightly crooked as he muttered to himself, rapidly writing down notes and randomly selecting different items to activate and test, ¡°If I could just find a water element phenomenon to study, then it would allow me to complete the final formula to compute this frame and certify my natural harmony theorem¡­ but inside this facility, there are no phenomena as they¡¯re all above the surface of the plane¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey! Magic addict! We¡¯re back!¡± Garthe said.


    Marellen flinched and looked up. He shifted his glasses and blinked in surprise. ¡°You¡¯re back soon.¡±


    ¡°Marellen, it has been over 55 minutes since we had left,¡± Roa informed him.


    Marellen looked down at a clock magical item near him. ¡°Ah¡­ it seems I lost track of time¡­¡±


    ¡°So we could¡¯ve continued looking for artifacts?¡± Larena asked sourly, planting her hands on her hips.


    Garthe smirked, making her glare at him, but Roa walked forward to deposit the dimensional bags with the rest of their collection in Marellen¡¯s research tent. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t do for us to spend additional time separated.¡± She walked over to Marellen. ¡°It just so happens that I discovered a peculiar underground lake while exploring the facility¡¯s east. The mana was quite strong and I didn¡¯t want to accidentally cross paths with a Dungeon so I didn¡¯t investigate further, but the room around the lake was of artificial design.¡±


    ¡°Sounds cool. Maybe we can head there eventually,¡± Garthe commented. He stored his artifact collection with the rest of them and stretched his arms above his head. ¡°I¡¯m ready for a nice stew though, so let¡¯s think about this later.¡±


    ¡°¡­underground lake?¡± Marellen murmured.


    Larena and Roa followed Garthe to the centre of the camp where a large mana-powered stove was lit. Larena sat down on a small stool to stretch her legs before the heated stove. ¡°I¡¯m feeling quite hungry myself.¡± She looked over her shoulder. ¡°Hey Marellen, are you coming over?¡±


    ¡°Er¡­ yeah, in a bit,¡± he replied, sounding distracted.


    Larena shrugged and looked at Roa. ¡°You seemed to come back with quite the bounty. Those dimensional bags must¡¯ve had at least a hundred artifacts in each one.¡±


    ¡°I came across the magical material and elixir storehouse for the facility,¡± Roa said with a faint smile. ¡°None of them were particularly rare elixirs or materials, but their mana densities were very high.¡±


    Garthe let out a whistle. ¡°So not artifacts, but still great stuff. Maybe Marellen will be able to brew us up something fancy with his alchemist skills. What do you say to that, Marellen?¡±


    There was no response. Garthe frowned and looked over his shoulder. ¡°Marellen?¡±


    Silence. Garthe traded unsure looks with the others and stood up. ¡°Just wait a moment. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s just caught up in his magic stuff again.¡±


    He walked into the tent. ¡°Hey Marellen, Roa was just saying that she found¡­ nice¡­ materials¡­¡­¡±


    Garthe stopped speaking. After a few moments, he walked back out to look at the others. His face was pale as he gave them an awkward smile. ¡°Do¡­ either of you know where Marellen is?¡±


    Marellen was no longer at the campsite.

 Chapter 54 (2 of 2) The Institute of Nomological Augmentation.

    A navy-haired mage peered through his glasses as he held the large map in front of him. He looked from left to right, trying to make sense of where he was.


    Roa went to the east side of the facility¡­ didn¡¯t she?


    Marellen looked up and then down the corridor in front of him. But¡­ did she keep going east, or change direction along the way?


    He scratched his head with a frown. Also, why can¡¯t I see any crossroads on the map?


    He looked around again, confused. He twisted the map, trying to see what the problem was. After a moment of hesitation, he turned it upside down.


    ¡°¡­it seemed I was reading it wrong,¡± he muttered. Marellen tucked the map into the inside pocket of his dark blue coat and took a left turn.


    The walls of the research facility they had been exploring were cold blue-grey stone, but the tiled floor was made of a strong magical ceramic. There were occasional places where the walls and tiles had been cracked, as well as massive containment doors that were off their hinges, but the facility was very well preserved. Marellen assumed that was because of the metal veins running through the walls that functioned as a primitive mana circuit, warding the entire facility with protective enchantments.


    While Marellen was curious about what was powering the nameless facility, he had bigger fish to fry. An underground lake with high-density mana? Clearly that was a water element natural mana phenomenon. It had a high chance of being the breakthrough he needed to finally complete his basic theorem on elemental harmony.


    But that meant he needed to find the lake first. Not a particularly easy task when he didn¡¯t exactly know the way there. Still, he had a compass that could direct him to the plane¡¯s east, so he supposed he¡¯d find his way there eventually.


    He continued navigating the slightly damaged hallways, his staff in hand. Marellen occasionally stopped to inspect some unusual runes on walls, determining their meaning, but he carried on moving. His boots left footprints on the dusty floor.


    When the corridor he was walking down turned, he was faced with the hallway abruptly cutting off. A deep chasm had formed, splitting the floor and walls from the right to the left. It appeared that some sort of earthquake had formed the rift.


    Marellen crossed his arms as he considered what to do.


    I feel like a chasm separating the underground lake from the rest of the facility would¡¯ve been something Roa would mentioned. Did I make a mistake earlier? Maybe I was supposed to find the lake by going through one of the doors?


    He looked back, thinking, and then knelt to peer down the chasm.


    Is... there an end to this chasm? I can¡¯t make out what¡¯s down there. Should I find out?


    Marellen looked around.


    It¡¯s an underground lake, so¡­ the further underground the better?


    Marellen stood back up. He pointed his staff at the chasm and white runes began to form around its end.


    ¡°Wind Spirit¡¯s Descension.¡±


    Wind mana enveloped him as a white mana-circle formed at the end of his staff. A replica mana-circle created under his feet, he stepped forward and allowed his spell to slowly lower him down. It took several minutes before he finally saw the ground. When he got to the bottom he alighted off the mana-circle and shattered it.


    It was hard to see in the gloom, so Marellen pointed his staff again.


    ¡°Star of Brilliance.¡±


    A yellow orb of light, powered by the runes arrayed in the centre of the orb, coalesced, and floated up to hover in front of him. Marellen began to navigate the rectangle-shaped room.


    ¡°Metal¡­ cupboards?¡± He curiously walked up to what looked like a metal cabinet of some kind, only reaching up to his waist in height with a slanted top. A thick layer of dust coated everything in sight, and he ran a hand across the surface of the cabinet to see what was underneath.


    He blinked when he discovered that the slanted top was completely smooth and made of a layer of glass placed on a black surface. He leaned closer to look, the light of his elemental spell reflecting off the glass, but he couldn¡¯t make anything out. He rubbed his neck, confused.


    Marellen walked along the length of the room, trying to see how many of these strange cabinets there were, and he discovered that one entire wall of the room was lined with them, occupying one of the two longest sides of the room.


    Opposite the cabinets on the other side of the room was a wall plated in strange panels of the same glass-covered black surface, as tall as him.


    Do these¡­ panels do something when activated? Actually, why isn¡¯t there any power in this room? The rest of the facility has been powered somewhat.


    Marellen walked along the wall of the waist-high cabinets, trying to find a switch. None of the cabinets opened, so they weren¡¯t storage containers, but he still didn¡¯t know what their purpose was so he stuck with calling them cabinets. He shifted the light orb slightly to get a better look and paused as he realised the black wall behind the cabinets was also slanted.


    He reached out to touch the wall made of glass as he discovered, and then took a step back. Marellen moved his orb up to the top of the room so he could see the shape of the place.


    The room is wider at the base but narrower at the top, and the glass is slanting inward¡­ wait.


    He quickly walked forward and tried to shine his orb through the glass wall.


    This is¡­ a window. I¡¯m in some kind of observation room. I just can¡¯t see out because there¡¯s no power out there.


    Marellen looked around again. Is this a control room of some kind? Like the control mechanisms for the Archives? If this is a control room then maybe I can find a way to activate the mana circuits down here.


    He raised his staff and summoned his dark blue arcane mana.


    If none of the materials here block out mana then I should be able to do this.


    ¡°Arcane Examination: Location-based Model.¡±


    The arcane spell emitted several rapid pulses of mana, sending out a wave that allowed Marellen to recreate a map of the room inside his head. Ridges and nodes on the surfaces of the room were immediately made clear to him and he nodded. Following his new mental map, he walked over to the back left corner of the room and saw that one of the cupboards set into the wall had a handle for him to grip.


    Marellen grabbed it and pulled. The hinges caked with stone dust creaked and Marellen managed to pull open the stiff door. He was faced with a glittering wall of metal wires glowing with colours of all the elements, as well as a large bronze disc sitting in the centre of them all. Runes were engraved around the edge of the bronze disc and another one of the strange glass-covered black plaques sat in the face of the disc.


    Marellen nodded to himself when he saw the glow. Good, there¡¯s still power here. This section of the facility must¡¯ve been cut off from the main mana circuit.


    Seeing a bronze lever below the disc, Marellen placed his hand on it and pulled it down¡­


    ¡­only to yelp and jump a metre high as a burst of crackling gold mana shot out and zapped his hand. He flinched back and stared at his trembling hand, still shaking after being shocked.


    What madman would use lightning mana in a mana circuit? What purpose would that serve? Arcane mana works in mana circuits perfectly! Surely these Mystic Channelers knew enough about magic to know lightning mana is far more dangerous than arcane mana?


    He scowled as he rubbed his hand and then sighed as he used his other hand to push up his skewed glasses. Marellen blinked and came closer to the open cupboard when he noticed that the black plaque set in the face of the bronze disc was now covered in glowing red symbols, all the runic engravings of the bronze disc likewise glowing.


    Oh? Are these glass-covered surfaces able to be interacted with? Are they an Old Era alternative to the Archive¡¯s projections? Like some sort of man-made Status Screen?


    But Marellen didn¡¯t know what the symbols meant, so he opened up his dimensional bag attached to his belt and searched through it. Pulling out a ring large enough to be a bracelet, he placed it over the top of the glass-covered plaque where it stuck in place. Then a screen of arcane mana formed within the ring and the symbols and words of ancient languages rapidly scrolled past.


    If All-Aeon Athenaeum says we can use their artifacts while on the plane, then I won¡¯t stop myself.


    The scrolling slowed to a stop, and a line of blue text formed on the screen of the ring, translating the message on the plaque.


    ¡°¡­Authorization required to activate the power in the Institute of Nomological Augmentation¡¯s Centre for Interdimensional Navigation,¡± Marellen read. He raised an eyebrow. It seemed he had discovered the name of the research facility they were in. Efratel had explained that the ¡®Mystic Channelers¡¯ used the power of mana around them to strengthen themselves, so he could understand why the facility was named as such.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    But ¡®Interdimensional Navigation¡¯? Did that mean this place had nothing to do with the underground lake?


    Marellen suppressed a groan but shook his head. If he could interact with the plaques here, then maybe he could find directions to where he wanted to go.


    He slipped a finger under the ring and attempted to tap the glass-covered plaque. The red symbols were replaced with new ones, and his artifact was activated again to translate the language. A new line of text appeared, reading, ¡®Master Channeler Authority required. Please present the six keys to begin Authorization¡¯.


    Six runes appeared on the outside ring of the bronze disc. Marellen hesitated a moment when he saw what runes they were, then slowly inserted mana of the six essential elements. The symbols changed again and new text was generated by the ring.


    ¡®The six keys have been presented. The Institute gives its regards to you, Master Channeler.¡¯


    Marellen facepalmed. It appeared that no matter the era or generational gap, self-absorbed magic wielders would always find a way to create a recognition system that relied on the lesser castes being too untalented to possibly comprehend their technology. He had seen it in the Academy with professors who sealed away their test answers using spells they deemed ¡®more advanced¡¯ than any student could understand.


    He sighed and tapped on the plaque to see what was next. The text changed again.


    ¡®Please configure the corresponding runes to unseal the desired levels of the Institution¡¯.


    Marellen inserted his elemental mana into the disc and nodded to himself.


    I see, so I add one or more elements together to reroute power to the correct location. I understand why it needs someone with all six essential elements to do this. I also need to manipulate the other elements to ensure they don¡¯t activate the runes while I¡¯m trying to configure a combination.


    He leaned his staff against a cupboard and calculated how many combinations there were.


    So that is¡­ 64 subsets. I¡¯ll assume the empty set doesn¡¯t count as I would¡¯ve already obtained that configuration, so I¡¯ll work my way through all the elemental combinations and check the plaque to see what places I¡¯ve unsealed or not¡­ eventually I¡¯m bound to gain power here, right?


    <hr>


    ¡°Uh, Larena, are you certain he headed to the underground lake?¡±


    The trio left behind by Marellen¡¯s sudden escapade were sprinting down the corridors, looking for their rogue navy-haired party member. Roa was panting as she ran behind the two warriors, her speed-enhancing spell barely enough to allow her to keep up.


    Larena growled as she jumped over a wide crack in the floor and continued running. ¡°Of course I¡¯m certain Garthe. I heard him muttering under his breath about water when we left our artifacts with him! Did that blighted mage not think about the rest of his party members at all?!¡±


    ¡°I must apologise. I shouldn¡¯t have been so free with the information about the lake,¡± Roa said through heavy breathing.


    Larena gave Roa a weary look. ¡°No, don¡¯t blame yourself, Roa. This isn¡¯t your fault.¡± She scowled. ¡°This is Marellen¡¯s fault, and Marellen¡¯s fault only. If he doesn¡¯t show some regret for his actions after this then I¡¯m going to tie him to a post and keep him there for the rest of this trip.¡±


    They kept running for a while until Roa suddenly stopped. Larena looked back. ¡°Roa? What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°We have arrived at the entrance to the lake,¡± she announced. She pointed her fire-gem-topped staff at a pair of large iron doors. One of them had fallen off its hinges and collapsed on the ground, leaving the room open.


    Larena and Garthe glanced at each other and then nodded. They followed the snow elf into the room which opened up into a large white hall. Roa took them past rooms with broken walls of what once were protective transparent barriers.


    ¡°¡­I hope this wasn¡¯t a containment place for monsters because I¡¯d hate to know where they¡¯ve all gone if it was,¡± Garthe muttered.


    ¡°The artifacts I discovered in this section of the facility suggest it was a zone for testing their magical arts and not containment,¡± Roa replied, walking briskly to the very end of the hall. She swung the two doors at the end of the hall open. ¡°If Marellen has indeed gone where you believe he has, then we should find him very soon.¡±


    They quickly walked down the hallway, the sounds of their boots hitting the floor tiles echoing down. The roof above them was arched like a tunnel, and a single door with a grate over its window was at the end. The mana lamp above the door glowed blue.


    Roa pointed to the door. ¡°He should be beyond this door. The room containing the underground lake is large, but not overly so. We should be capable of finding him using detection spells or similar.¡±


    The siblings nodded and Garthe stepped forward to grab the handle. He pulled it back and let the two women through.


    They stepped out into the dimly lit hall, where the promised lake was sitting in the centre. The floor of the hall was rough, natural rock, but overhead they could see mana lamps and pillars holding up the roof. Larena tried to peer through the gloom to see what was on the other side of the lake.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see Marellen,¡± she told them.


    Roa lifted her staff. ¡°Let me create some light.¡± A red runic circle arranged itself above the end of her staff and a twisting orange flame appeared. They began to walk around the lake.


    ¡°Hey Marellen!¡± Garthe called out, cupping his hands around his mouth. ¡°Marellen! Marellen?¡±


    His calls echoed out across the hall but nobody replied. Larena frowned and concentrated on her senses, but she couldn¡¯t detect the navy-haired mage¡¯s presence or mana. She turned to Roa.


    ¡°Is this the only path to the underground lake? Maybe he accidentally took a turn somewhere else,¡± Larena asked, looking worried.


    Roa frowned slightly and took out her compass. The arrow was pointing in the general direction of the east, but now and then the arrow spun wildly as if it was being disrupted by something.


    ¡°It seems the plane shard¡¯s mana storms are disrupting the natural mana fields,¡± Roa murmured, watching the arrow rapidly turn. ¡°We did not face this issue earlier. It appears the plane shard has begun to experience a new symptom of its eventual death.¡±


    Larena scowled and paced on the spot. After a moment of thinking, she looked at Roa. ¡°Roa, would you be able to cast a large-scale detection spell? The mana cost may be high, but locating Marellen is the priority right now.¡±


    The elf nodded. A wave of her staff sent out pulses of fire and ice mana. A few minutes later, she lowered her staff and shook her head. ¡°Marellen is not here.¡±


    Larena whirled around and stormed back to the door of the hall. ¡°Let¡¯s go. We need to quickly find Marellen and get back to our campsite before we lose track of where we-¡±


    Their eyes widened as the floor trembled, sending ripples across the surface of the formerly smooth lake. Stone dust fell from the ceiling and the mana lamps above flashed rapidly.


    ¡°Cover your heads!¡± Larena shouted.


    They all ducked and placed their hands over their heads, curling up into balls. Small stones and stone dust continued to fall as the rumbling increased in intensity. Then suddenly, it all stopped.


    They waited in silence for a few more minutes before Garthe slowly stood up. ¡°Is it over?¡±


    Larena and Roa slowly stood up as well. ¡°¡­let¡¯s hope it is,¡± Larena finally replied.


    They quickly worked over to the door they entered from. Larena grabbed the door handle and pushed¡­ but nothing happened. She leaned heavily against the door to force it open, but it didn¡¯t budge.


    ¡°The lamp above the door appears to have turned off,¡± Roa commented, pointing above the doorway. ¡°The trembling from earlier may have disrupted the mana lines.¡±


    ¡°Dammit!¡± Larena kicked the door, and while her Rank-3 strength left a small dent, it wasn¡¯t enough. ¡°What do we do now?¡±


    They all paused as they began to hear the rushing of water and looked behind them. Garthe slowly raised his hand to point at the lake. ¡°Uh¡­ the water level seems to be lowering¡­¡±


    They walked forward to the lake''s edge to see that the bottom of the lake had split into two halves, slowly pulling apart on mechanical beams. The water poured through into the deep pit below, so dark they could barely see the bottom. Then a circle shape began to glow and suddenly began to ascend from the bottom of the pit. As it approached them, they realised it was a large bronze platform powered by an array of runes engraved around it.


    When it became level with the floor of the hall they stepped back. A translucent walkway stretched out from the platform to meet the edge of the lake. They traded glances.


    ¡°Do we¡­ just¡­ step on it or what?¡± Garthe asked.


    In response, Roa summoned an orb of ice. She shot it at the platform and it didn¡¯t wobble in the slightest. ¡°It appears capable of supporting our weight.¡±


    They exchanged glances. Larena placed a hand on the hilt of her sword. ¡°I say we go on the platform. If the water leads to somewhere else, then maybe we can find Marellen there. He¡¯s looking for this lake, after all.¡±


    Garthe and Roa nodded, and followed her across the walkway. It disappeared behind them and once they were standing on the bronze platform, it slowly began to descend.


    Then the rumbling began again and their eyes widened as the runes on their platform flickered. All light within the hall shut off, and their platform fell into the darkness.


    <hr>


    -A few minutes earlier-


    ¡°Not this one either? Hm¡­¡±


    The bronze disc within the metal cupboard thrummed with power, but almost as soon as it activated it was shut off again. Miscellaneous information about all the sectors that were unsealed scrolled past on the artifact screen, including lists of when visitors had last arrived for each place. Marellen kept going through the possible combinations, trying to find the correct zone.


    The monster containment sector¡­ it says the power is already on for that place. Let¡¯s¡­ keep it on for now¡­


    He tried the next configuration and his ring translated the symbols on the plaque.


    ¡®Disguised Lake Entranceway for the Centre of Interdimensional Navigation¡¯? Is that where the lake is supposed to be?


    Marellen activated the combination, but he only heard rumbling sounds overhead. He shrugged and switched it off again.


    Next configuration¡­ Lake Entranceway Platform Activation¡­ that does¡­ nothing for me.


    He deactivated that combination again too. He heard something that sounded like a large object falling in water outside the dark window, but as he still couldn¡¯t see anything, he ignored it and kept testing the element combinations.


    Half a dozen tests later, he heard the thrum of power within his room and the roof mana lamps switched on. Marellen smiled.


    Then the rest of the room lit up and his eyes widened as he saw the many different glowing symbols and lines of data scrolling across what were originally black surfaces, all of it protected by the glass covers. After grabbing the translation artifact he hesitantly walked over to one of the ¡®cabinets¡¯ which seemed to be a control unit for various functions. He placed a finger on a slider symbol and swiped up. He watched, fascinated as it followed his finger and he moved it.


    Then he flinched back as the loud buzzing of activated mana shook the room and brilliant light shone through the slanted glass window. Light from the mana lamps outside flooded the place and he could finally see what exactly the control room was observing.


    Outside of the control room was an enormous cavern with walls covered in pitch-black crystals. And right in the centre of the cavern was a perfectly circular underground lake, the surface of the special water glinting with black light. Marellen rushed to the door of the control room, eager to investigate the properties of the natural mana phenomena¡¯s strange water-


    -when he realised something was floating on the surface of the water. Actually, there were three somethings. Three suspiciously humanoid somethings.


    He quickly ran to the window to get a better look. One of the figures raised their head, drawn by the bright light coming from the control room, and narrowed their eyes when she spotted him.


    Marellen stiffened and gulped when he realised that Larena, Garthe and Roa were currently trying to swim through the strange water to make it to the lake''s edge. He hastily pressed on the interactable glass-covered plaques and translated text with his artifact to find an option that could help them.


    ¡°No, not this one, not this one either¡­ where are the controls relating to the lake? Ah, here, the ¡®Lake of Stagnating Strength¡¯? Is that its name? Wait, I don¡¯t have time for this!¡±


    He saw a bright red button under the symbols that named the lake, hesitated for a moment, and then tapped it. A loud sound of rushing water echoed throughout the chamber and he looked up to see what was happening.


    He paled as he saw the massive whirlpool that had formed in the centre of the lake and began to press even more buttons in his panic. ¡°No, no, no! How do I stop this? This isn¡¯t what I wanted!¡±


    Just when his party members were approaching the centre of the whirlpool a loud clang resounded throughout the cavern, and the whirlpool stopped. Three metal gates around the lake opened up and the water began to stream through the channels. Marellen had another issue on hand now: to save some of the mana phenomenon¡¯s water before it was gone for good.


    He slammed the door of the control room open and dashed down the metal steps leading down faster than he thought he had ever gone before. Sprinting for the channel, he withdrew a vial from his cloak pocket and plunged his hand into the channel, just catching the last of the water. He held his treasure up with glee.


    ¡°Yes! Haha! Now I can finally finish my theorem and-¡±


    ¡°And what, Marellen?¡±


    He stiffened as he felt a tight grip on his shoulder. He turned around to see a very bedraggled Larena with a dark smile on her lips accompanied by the two equally bedraggled-looking Garthe and Roa.


    Marellen began to tremble slightly as Larena spoke again.


    ¡°Do tell me just what was so important that we needed to survive a whirlpool for you to obtain your precious sample of water?¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°-so with this final piece of the puzzle, I can finally verify that the Hexadic Mage Form is correct, and a perfectly equal ratio of the six essential elements will result in a self-sustaining, perpetuating elemental spell. Now I just need to analyse the elemental properties of this natural phenomenon and-¡±


    Larena buried her head in her hands as the mage continued to ramble on about his magic. They were sitting on a couple of boulders in the cavern of the lake, and they had attempted to interrogate Marellen and obtain an apology from him for his reckless behaviour.


    Instead, they received a barrage of words that only made sense to the mage who strung them together. Even Roa was looking at him with a mixture of mild confusion and pity.


    Eventually, Larena stood up and whacked the mage across the top of his head. ¡°Marellen, just shut up, would you? I didn¡¯t mean for you to explain how important that water was! Nobody cares!¡±


    Marellen blinked, nonplussed. ¡°Then¡­ why did you ask?¡±


    Larena groaned as Garthe chuckled slightly and Roa shook her head. Larena placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at the mage. ¡°Marellen, you just blindly ran out of the camp without telling a single one of us where you went, all to find a powerful natural phenomenon to study! You didn¡¯t even think to consider how dangerous the phenomena could¡¯ve been?! I¡¯m stunned the vial you placed the water in didn¡¯t melt!¡±


    Marellen grimaced as Larena continued to yell at him. ¡°We. Are. Your. Party. Members! Everything any of us do needs to be discussed as a group, especially when it comes to splitting up! The only reason we split up earlier was because we weren¡¯t going to go far away from the camp!¡±


    She sighed and rubbed her temples. ¡°Look, I can understand that you¡¯re still not used to working in a team. But common sense should still apply! You should¡¯ve at least taken either me or Garthe to help you with our physical abilities if needed!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ sorry, Larena, I-¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re damn well right you should be sorry! We spent several hours looking for you reckless mage! And don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t see you messing with something up there! I know you were responsible for the whirlpool! In fact, I reckon you were responsible for our platform collapsing too!¡±


    It was another half hour later that Larena finally stopped berating Marellen. When she had calmed down and the navy-haired mage was sheepishly avoiding eye contact, Larena frowned and looked around.


    ¡°But didn¡¯t Efratel say that the research facility we¡¯re exploring only had five levels? Why is there another level down here?¡±


    ¡°The Institute of Nomological Augmentation.¡±


    They turned to stare at Marellen. He gestured to the control room set into the side of the cavern. ¡°That¡¯s what the research facility is called.¡±


    ¡°You managed to locate information about our location?¡± Roa asked.


    The navy-haired mage nodded. ¡°The ¡®Mystic Channelers¡¯ had some sort of hierarchy where someone with all essential elements was considered a ¡®Master Channeler¡¯. I was able to find out how to divert power to different locations in the institute by configuring elemental mana combinations.¡±


    ¡°So you can control this place,¡± Garthe mused with a hand on his chin.


    Marellen rubbed his neck. ¡°Control is not really the right word. I¡¯m able to access the permissions for the ¡®Centre of Dimensional Navigation¡¯ as they used to call this level. I think there might be levels below this as well.¡±


    Larena tapped her fingers against her arm, thinking. She glanced at Marellen. ¡°What¡¯s so different about this level that you didn¡¯t find anything to control on the upper levels?¡±


    He thought deeply for a moment. ¡°The magitech that I¡¯ve seen so far here seems to be more advanced than the levels above. We might be in a secret zone of the institute. When I was controlling the power distribution, it told me that I had unsealed the ¡®Disguised Lake Entranceway, which¡­¡± He looked away awkwardly. ¡°¡­seems to match up with how you described you entered this place¡­ and then I turned the power off for that place¡­¡±


    Larena narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms with a huff, but Roa let out a quiet hum.


    ¡°Then I believe we should make this our next zone of exploration,¡± the snow elf said. ¡°While we haven¡¯t mapped out the entire floor above, it is better that we gain the lead on exploring a place undiscovered by even the Athenaeum¡¯s preliminary expeditionaries. If the magitech is advanced further than on the levels above as you said, Marellen, then perhaps there may be greater rewards down here.¡±


    ¡°Oooh, treasure,¡± Garthe said with a grin, rubbing his hands together greedily. ¡°I like the sound of that.¡±


    Larena rolled her eyes at her brother but nodded in response to Roa. ¡°I agree. Then let¡¯s head back up and rest for tonight so we can pack up our campsite and head down here again tomorrow.¡±


    They all stood up from the boulders and followed Marellen back into the control room. He cast a wind spell to lift them all and take them back to the corridor with the rift.


    But he had one thought on his mind as they walked back to camp.


    When I found the combination for the central control sector on the lowest level of the Centre of Dimensional Navigation¡­ why did it say that the last registered visitor visited that place a month before the Athenaeum discovered the facility?

 Chapter 55 (1 of 2) A Paladin, a Prophetess and a Perpetually Angsty Kid-

    Lucille leaned back and kicked her boots onto her desk. She placed her gloved hands behind her head, feeling content. She had completed the paperwork needed for the transfer of all the sold vault items, and now finally had some time that she could spend with Scytale to go out and level up.


    She was annoyed that they had wasted an entire month, but it couldn¡¯t be helped. She had her position as the Head of the Aurelian Commission and Scytale was still testing out his new abilities. He had improved at flying¡­


    ¡­somewhat.


    But with only eleven months of the year left, she needed to increase her strength as quickly as possible. That meant she wouldn¡¯t be taking the easy path. Lucy would be going to the most difficult Dungeons for her and Scytale, earning as much xp as they could. Anytime they left the Headquarters to do something, business or not, would ideally be when they¡¯d also kill monsters to strengthen themselves.


    She hadn¡¯t been idle though. Lucy opened her Status to check her stats.


    [Status: ]


    Name: Lucille Goldcroft (Lvl. 1????????????????7?????????????)


    Age: 18y


    Race: Human


    HP: 5850/5850 {+76/1m}


    MP: 1100/1100 {+110/5m}


    Stats:


    Free Stat Points: 115


    [Bonuses: +78 CON, +10 STR, +14 INT, +13 WIS]


    STR: &???????????7???????????2???????????? (43)(+10) SPRT: 7000


    CON: _??????????????????2??????&????????????????????7????????? (39)(+78) MENT:65


    AGI: *???????????????????2?????????????????)?????????????9?????????????????????? (53) CHAR: 5???????????????^???????????????????????7???????????????????


    DEX: 1??????????????????????????????????5???????????????????????????????????!??????????????????????3?????????????????????????????? (30) CHP: -???????????????????????????????????


    INT: 3?????????@????????????2???????????????9??????????? (63)(+14) HRP: -?????????????????????????????


    WIS: N??????????????????????????3?????????????????????????????????$?????????????????????????????8??????????? (41)(+13)


    [Origin Skill: Simulacrum Realm | Type: System/Spiritual/Realm


    Desc: [Collapsed]


    Subskills: [Collapsed]


    Awakening: 100%. ]


    Skills:


    Primary Skills:


    [Alter-Ego]


    [Essence Transmutation Conduit]


    Secondary Skills:


    [Mark of the Primordial Demon ]


    [Energy Anomaly Automated Indication ]


    [Codex of Reminiscence]


    [Memory Transubstantiate]


    [Prodigious Archmage¡¯s First Steps]


    Tertiary Skills:


    [Energy Field Detection]


    []


    Over the month, she worked to increase her INT and WIS using the Codex of Reminiscence skill. She didn¡¯t try to use the Memory Transubstantiate skill again, because the skill creation chances were far too valuable, but she had filled 25% of the information count to obtain another 27 points in INT and filled 3/6 of the memory slots to gain 11 more points in WIS. She also obtained multiplier bonuses, with an additional 13% in INT and 22% in WIS on top of the base +10% the Aspect gave to both stats.


    Lucille had also gained 40 stats just from eating stat-boosting foods, which was nearly a full twelfth of the maximum stat gain from foods for Rank-1. As she could only gain up to 25% of the Rank total from eating food, she could keep going at this pace and gain 548 stats by the end of the year.


    Scytale hadn¡¯t gained any stats, because, with his recent bloodline advancement, he was being careful until his bloodline had settled. That only meant he was eating the food that took far longer to provide him boosts and would take at least another month or two to gain the benefits. He was enjoying the taste of human food for the first time in a while.


    Lucy had considered attempting to gain some skills while the month was going on, but to gain skills, she needed to satisfy the prerequisites for them, as well as perform a relevant activity to gain it and be aware of what she wanted to gain. Combat skills would be gained in combat, and while athletic skills could be an option¡­


    ¡­she didn¡¯t fancy running laps around the Commission¡¯s gardens for everyone to watch. Besides, the type of running skill she wanted would need to be suited for cross-country and hiking, and she wasn¡¯t about to get that from running laps in the tame, cultivated lands of the Headquarters gardens.


    But now she was free, so she stood up from her desk and stretched. She grabbed her cane and walked out the door, heading towards the direction of her living room. On the way there, she met her aide.


    Vincent blinked as she walked near him. ¡°Where are you going?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to find Scytale and head to a Dungeon to level up,¡± she replied, taking a step past him. ¡°I finished my work, so there¡¯s no need for me to-¡±


    ¡°Finished your work? No, you haven¡¯t,¡± Vincent said, placing a hand on her shoulder to stop her moving. ¡°There¡¯s still more to be done.¡±


    Lucille turned around and raised an eyebrow at him. ¡°What work?¡±


    Vincent grinned. ¡°Entertaining visitors, of course!¡±


    She gave him a sceptical look. ¡°Isn¡¯t that your job Vincent? As my aide and the ¡®real Faction Head¡¯?¡±


    He adjusted his half-moon glasses and smirked. ¡°These visitors are special. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to handle them on my own.¡±


    She narrowed her eyes with suspicion but eventually sighed and then pinched her nose bridge. ¡°I- okay, who are they? I can¡¯t perceive anybody special in the main lobby.¡±


    Vincent smiled and shook his head. ¡°They¡¯re waiting in the west entranceway.¡±


    Lucy frowned. ¡°The west entranceway? But why would they enter through¡­¡± She saw who the visitors were and froze in place with wide eyes.


    Vincent¡¯s smile slowly grew wider as she raised her head to stare at him. The seconds ticked by.


    Lucy spun on her heels and marched the opposite way. ¡°You know what, it seems I do have paperwork left to complete after all. I¡¯ll be unavailable for the next five hours, so please tell our guests to visit on another-¡±


    A firm grip on her shoulder stopped her from walking. She gave her aide a long-suffering look as he grinned maliciously.


    ¡°Oh no, I can¡¯t possibly deal with visitors from a Supreme Institution on my own. No, only the Aurelian Commission Head can resolve this extremely dangerous political situation.¡±


    ¡­


    The hallway was filled with silence. Five figures stood within it, three on one side and two on the other. Facing each other were two young women, one with long, straight black hair, and another with wavy golden locks. Behind the blonde-haired girl were two others, a surly-looking boy and a tall Paladin with wild hair and steel grey eyes, watching the girls warily.


    The blonde-haired girl stood with her arms crossed, her chin smugly tilted up. The dark-haired woman had her hands on her hips, gazing silently at the young girl.


    Then Lucy smiled brightly and clasped her hands together. ¡°Wow! It¡¯s been such a long time since we last saw each other! I am so happy to see you!¡± Her smile widened further as her tone became as dry as cardboard. ¡°Un. For. Tun. Ate. Ly, as the Head of the Aurelian Commission, I am very busy, and so do not have the time to entertain you as guests.¡± She whirled around and waved a hand to them. ¡°Please, make yourself comfortable in my absence, and leave as soon as you desire. I am sure my aide will be a fitting replacement for a host while I stay in my study doing very hard, difficult tasks that require complete peace and serenity. Farewell.¡± Then she walked off.


    Prophetess Annaliese Verdon pointed a finger at Lucy. ¡°Is the Aurelian Commission Head going to offend the Supreme Institution of the Citadel of Fate by turning away their esteemed Prophetess?¡± she asked haughtily.


    Lucille stiffened up slightly and the hallway was filled with pin-drop silence. Then she angrily turned around and glared daggers at the young girl. ¡°Oh, how astoundingly wily you are! Did you spend the entire four months after we met brainstorming that excuse?!¡±


    Annaliese nodded proudly. ¡°Yep.¡±


    The young boy next to her facepalmed while Jasten Albrecht watched them interact with a mixture of wariness and confusion. Lucy ignored them both to give Annaliese a look of disgust.


    ¡°Why would you even come here? Nobody wants to deal with you, and you¡¯re trespassing on Commission property.¡± She made shooing gestures. ¡°Go on, be off with you. Get out and leave me alone.¡±


    ¡°I am not trespassing!¡± Annaliese said with afront. ¡°I came here in a very legal way!¡± She looked at the Paladin on her left. ¡°Isn¡¯t that right, Sir Albrecht?¡±


    Jasten Albrecht gave the girl a strange look but Lucy rolled her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s illegal if you came here without permission.¡±


    ¡°And I got permission,¡± Annaliese stubbornly replied, crossing her arms.


    Lucy gave her a flat look. ¡°Oh really? From whom? Because I sure didn¡¯t- wait.¡± She turned to stare at the smirking silver-haired man behind her. ¡°Vincent?!¡±


    He shrugged. ¡°You¡¯ve met her before, so I saw no harm in letting her come here again.¡±


    Lucille stared incredulously at her aide as he looked to the side. Annaliese glanced between them before pushing the brown-haired young boy next to her in front.


    ¡°Lucy, I have someone I want to introduce. Or¡­¡± She hesitated for a moment. ¡°Maybe technically, you¡¯ve already met?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think her having seen me on my deathbed counts as a ¡®meeting¡¯ Anna,¡± the boy snarked. He turned his dark eyes to Lucille and frowned.


    Annaliese shoved him forward again. ¡°Anyway, Lucy, this is Raegan Verdon, my younger brother. Raegan is very thankful you saved him.¡±


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    The boy scowled and didn¡¯t say anything. The Prophetess narrowed her eyes at her uncooperative little brother. ¡°I said, Raegan is very thankful you saved him.¡± She glared at her brother when he avoided eye contact.


    Lucille silently studied the boy with dark circles around his eyes for a moment. Then she walked forward. ¡°I suppose a proper introduction wouldn¡¯t hurt.¡± She held out a gloved hand for him to shake. ¡°Lucille Goldcroft. My current occupation is being the newest target of your sister¡¯s pestering.¡±


    Raegan eyed her hand suspiciously but accepted it. Annaliese watched them shake hands with narrowed eyes. ¡°How come my brother gets better treatment than me?¡±


    Lucy shot the Prophetess a flat look and gestured to Raegan. ¡°Because, unlike you, I can see he had no say in the matter when it came to your plan to locate me in my Faction. So he deserves more of my respect due to both of us suffering because of you.¡±


    That seemed to make Raegan smirk a little but Annaliese crossed her arms with a huff. ¡°I came all this way to be treated like this? Well, not that I didn¡¯t expect it, but¡­¡± She shook her head and blinked. ¡°Where¡¯s Scytale? I expected him to be around you.¡±


    Sir Albrecht frowned and looked at the blonde-haired girl. ¡°Prophetess Verdon, who¡¯s-¡±


    ¡°I hear someone hath summoned the great Scytale! It is I, the majestical majestic beast of majesty and- oh?¡± A silver-haired boy with gold eyes stuck his head around the corner. ¡°Annaliese? You¡¯re here?¡±


    Annaliese blinked back. ¡°Scytale?¡± After a moment of hesitation, she tilted her head. ¡°Why do you look like a kid?¡±


    The snake in human form clicked his tongue and walked forward to stand beside Lucy. ¡°I¡¯m fifteen! My human form just looks small because I¡¯m small for my enclave!¡±


    Annaliese glanced at her brother. ¡°Raegan, that¡¯s like you.¡±


    Raegan gave his sister an incredulous look. ¡°How can you compare my height due to a disease and malnutrition to being naturally short?¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± Scytale paused when he saw Raegan. ¡°Who¡­ is this?¡±


    A strange tension formed between the two boys as they observed each other. They both began to narrow their eyes, feeling a budding sense of competition-


    ¡°So Lucy, are you going to let us stay?¡± Annaliese asked expectantly.


    Lucille glanced wearily between Annaliese, Raegan, Scytale and Sir Albrecht, then threw her hands in the air. ¡°Just- whatever, do what you want. I give up.¡±


    Annaliese grinned as she eagerly followed after Lucy, who turned and walked back to the lift. Lucille rubbed her temples as she tried and failed to ignore the ceaseless chatter coming from the girl to her right as the lift took them to the fortieth floor.


    ¡°Lucy, have you finally reached Rank-1, or are you still Rank-0? If you have reached the next rank, I¡¯m really curious to know what class you picked,¡± Annaliese said, following close behind her. ¡°You¡¯d know many great skills and classes. Did you become a mage? I remember last time you said you didn¡¯t have a mage class.¡±


    ¡°My second main skill is called the Essence Transmutation Conduit,¡± Lucy replied wearily, walking to her living room. ¡°It allows me to control all mana in a radius around me.¡±


    Annaliese watched her curiously as Lucille opened the door of her living room. ¡°Does that mean you can control Fate when it enters that radius too?¡±


    Lucy shook her head as she sat down on a couch. ¡°High-level elements require an understanding of the concepts within them too, so I can¡¯t freely wield those. A high-level element¡¯s essence needs to be anchored in the User¡¯s body.¡± She placed her brass jug on the table along with some cups, and set about pouring a drink for herself.


    Vincent, Scytale, Raegan and Sir Albrecht filed into the room. The Paladin took up a post guarding the door of the room, but the other three sat down on the couches.


    Annaliese looked over her shoulder to talk to her private guard. ¡°Sir Albrecht? Is that true?¡±


    The Paladin glanced at Lucille then slowly nodded. ¡°To use a high-level element, a shard of the essence must crystalise within you.¡± He placed a gauntlet on his chest. ¡°As a Paladin, I am allowed to wield the essence of Fate and the light-space element of Radiance.¡±


    Annaliese gained a confused look. ¡°Radiance?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the purple thing he uses to teleport to us when we try to sneak out of the estate they keep us imprisoned in,¡± Raegan explained, casually reaching out to pour a drink for himself as the steel-eyed Paladin scowled at him. The boy frowned and peered inside the jug to see why nothing was coming out. He raised his head to stare at Lucy. Lucy ignored him to sip her own drink.


    Annaliese looked at her brother. ¡°You mean when he gets all those gold and purple sparkles?¡±


    Raegan lifted the jug up and tilted it upside down, thumping the bottom of the artifact. ¡°Yep,¡± he said, as Jasten Albrecht¡¯s expression twitched.


    Scytale noticed what Raegan was trying to do and smirked. He stood up from his spot beside Lucy to slowly creep over and whisper something into the boy¡¯s ear. Raegan raised an eyebrow and passed the snake the jug while Annaliese turned back to Lucy.


    ¡°But what type of class does that main skill come from?¡± she asked.


    Lucille rolled her eyes. ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll just tell you, Miss Prophetess? I¡¯m not about to give my class secrets away to a high-ranking member of a Supreme Institution.¡±


    Annaliese pouted. ¡°You met me before I went to the Citadel! What happened to all the valuable time we spent together, the relationship we formed?¡±


    ¡°I knew you for a week,¡± Lucy stated with contempt. ¡°A relationship with me isn¡¯t something you should be bringing up either, as the one who leveraged her connection to the Citadel to force me to let her into this building. If you¡¯re going to bring politics into this situation, then I¡¯m free to justify my actions through politics too.¡±


    Annaliese clicked her tongue. ¡°Not even a hint?¡±


    Vincent, sitting beside Lucy on the other side of her, placed his cup of tea on the coffee table. ¡°Even if you managed to hear an explanation of her abilities from Lucille, I highly doubt it would be worth the effort of teasing it out of her, Miss Verdon.¡± He smiled wryly. ¡°I could barely make heads or tails of it myself.¡±


    Annaliese narrowed her eyes but flinched when her brother suddenly let out a loud yelp. They all turned to stare at the dark-haired boy who was shivering violently, his clothes completely soaked through with ice-cold water.


    The culprit, the golden-eyed snake in human form standing next to him, snickered with the brass evidence of his misconduct still held upside down over Raegan¡¯s head.


    Lucille¡¯s eyes widened and she slammed her hands on the table. ¡°Scytale!¡±


    The wicked snake burst out laughing as Raegan stared at him. Then the boy abruptly stood up with a scowl and charged towards the snake. Scytale dodged the attempted tackle and sped off towards the door of the room. ¡°Catch me if you can!¡± As he left, his form shifted to become his winged serpent body.


    Raegan chased after him, angrily shouting, ¡°Come back here you filthy beast!¡±


    Jasten Albrecht rushed to the doorway. ¡°Hey! Raegan!¡± There was no response, leaving a scowl on the face of the Paladin.


    Lucille¡¯s eyes narrowed dangerously and she stood up, prepared to go marching off to retrieve her bond. ¡°That blighted snake¡­¡±


    Vincent stood up and held a hand in front of her. ¡°Let me go after them.¡± He gestured to the Paladin near the doorway. ¡°I know Sir Albrecht can¡¯t leave Miss Verdon unattended, and Miss Verdon¡¯s reason to come here was to see you.¡±


    Lucy considered and then sat back down with a sigh. ¡°Fine. Tell the staff that Scytale is banned from eating any natural treasures for the next week though.¡±


    Vincent smiled and walked to the door of the living room. He nodded politely to Sir Albrecht, who nodded back, and then left. The silence in the room was slightly awkward.


    Lucille poured herself another drink and twisted herself to kick her legs up on the couch. ¡°We may as well discuss what you wish now that you¡¯re here. But first, I have my own question.¡± She raised an eyebrow at the blonde-haired girl. ¡°How were you even able to come here?¡±


    Annaliese smiled. ¡°The Great Sage let me. He wants me to forge closer ties with the Commission as I know you when most of the Empire¡¯s nobility don¡¯t.¡±


    Lucy stared at her for a few seconds until she ran a hand down her face. ¡°Of course it¡¯s that decrepit old fool Gidelis Annador¡¯s fault. I should¡¯ve known the crafty relic would¡¯ve tried to involve himself with the Commission.¡±


    Jasten Albrecht narrowed his eyes. ¡°Even if you¡¯re the Aurelian Commission Head, I cannot accept blatant disrespect of the Great Sage in front of the Prophetess. Apologise now or-¡±


    He stiffened as Lucy jabbed a finger at him. ¡°Like you actually care what I say about the Great Sage. You don¡¯t need to bother putting up the ¡®loyal knight¡¯ act because I couldn¡¯t care less about trying to play along. It¡¯s not like you will ever repeat my words to the Sages in the first place.¡±


    He stared incredulously at her as Annaliese glanced between them. ¡°Why are you so sure Sir Albrecht won¡¯t say anything?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Lucille picked up her coffee and blew on it. ¡°Because it¡¯s a bother. All it will do is stir up political drama that he doesn¡¯t want to be part of, and what the Sages don¡¯t know won¡¯t hurt them.¡± She shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m certain he felt relief at being able to escape the confines of Citadel politics to come here, even if he pretends otherwise. If the Sages see him too content with his job they¡¯ll change it to something worse.¡±


    Sir Albrecht stared at her with wide eyes.


    Annaliese hummed. ¡°That¡­ makes a lot of sense, actually. Sir Albrecht only complains when we¡¯re around other Paladins. But the way you¡¯re describing him, it almost sounds as if you know-¡± Annaliese paused as a strong suspicion formed. She abruptly narrowed her eyes at Lucy.


    Lucy smirked, aware of what Annaliese suspected. She calmly sipped her coffee and pretended not to notice the blonde-haired girl¡¯s gaze as Annaliese¡¯s eyes slowly narrowed with even more suspicion.


    ¡°Prophetess Verdon, I can say with certainty that I have no recollection whatsoever of having met Count Goldcroft before the day of your officiation,¡± Jasten Albrecht said with a frown, obviously having picked up on the conversation thread somewhat. His brows furrowed as he looked at Lucy. ¡°And please stop talking about me as if I¡¯m not here.¡±


    Annaliese ignored him, continuing to watch Lucille suspiciously. Lucy smiled and placed down her cup of coffee.


    ¡®Your suspicions are correct. I met Jasten Albrecht several times in the past.¡¯


    Annaliese opened her mouth, then shut it again. Sir Albrecht watched them both with confusion.


    ¡®As for what our relationship was¡­¡¯ Lucy smirked. ¡®Enemies.¡¯


    Annaliese stared at her as the Paladin behind her continued to watch on with confusion. When Lucy didn¡¯t do anything but take another sip of her drink, Annaliese glanced between the blonde-haired Paladin and Lucille. Eventually, she shook her head. ¡°Well, Lucy, I have a really important question I want to ask you!¡± she said, leaning forward on the couch.


    Lucille raised an eyebrow. ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°How old are you?¡±


    Lucy gazed silently at the Prophetess, who was focused intently on her. Then Lucille shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve already told you this. I¡¯m eighteen.¡±


    Annaliese groaned and bumped the back of her head against the couch. ¡°No! That¡¯s not what I meant.¡±


    ¡°Then please explain to me what other possible meaning your words hold,¡± Lucy stated calmly.


    Annaliese glared at her, but when she didn¡¯t reply, Lucy placed down her coffee and stretched.


    ¡°Well, if there¡¯s nothing else you wish to say to me right now, then please make yourself acquainted with your assigned room,¡± Lucille said, standing up and walking towards the door. ¡°I have work to do.¡±


    ¡°What kind of work?¡± the girl asked curiously.


    Lucy slowly turned around and narrowed her eyes at Annaliese. ¡°Why, it just so happens that because a certain Prophetess decided to visit the Commission today that I now have to send out letters to Ravimoux and Chavaret to ensure the safety of the Citadel¡¯s precious High Oracle.¡±


    Annaliese sheepishly looked away. ¡°But I have Sir Albrecht here to protect me.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but I still need to strengthen the regular guard to make it appear that I¡¯ve done something.¡± Lucille opened her pocket watch to check the time.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t Vincent supposed to be the one who acts like he¡¯s in charge?¡±


    Lucy rolled her eyes and shut the pocket watch. ¡°My apologies, I meant make it appear that Vincent has done something.¡±


    The wary Jasten Albrecht stepped to the side to let Lucille past. But just before she left the living room, she looked back and raised an eyebrow. ¡°Oh, and your brother has already begun to enjoy his lunch on the rooftop garden. You may want to join him.¡±


    Then the door clicked shut and left Annaliese and her guard alone in the room. Annaliese traded glances with Sir Albrecht.


    ¡­


    A blonde-haired girl hummed as she walked down the hallways of the Aurelian Commission¡¯s Headquarters. Wearing a simple but elegant white dress, she stopped to look out of the windows every few seconds.


    The stern-looking Paladin behind her followed closely behind. ¡°Prophetess Verdon.¡±


    Annaliese spun to face the front and calmly continued walking, pretending to ignore her guard.


    Jasten Albrecht scowled. ¡°Prophetess Verdon.¡±


    Annaliese placed her hands behind her back and whistled a song.


    The blonde-haired guard sighed. ¡°Prophetess Annaliese Verdon!¡±


    Annaliese turned to face him with a slight frown. ¡°It¡¯s Annaliese.¡±


    Jasten Albrecht narrowed his eyes. ¡°Prophetess Verdon, I am not repeating this discussion. I have made my intent to refuse all form of using your name informally quite clear.¡± The Paladin sighed and placed his hands on his hips. ¡°Prophetess, please reconsider your decision to stay here for five days.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Annaliese turned back around and walked off, her head held up proudly. ¡°The Prophetess is allowed five days each month to spend however she wishes.¡±


    ¡°I know. I¡¯m not asking you to give up your five days of free time,¡± Sir Albrecht said, marching after the girl. ¡°I want you to think more deeply about whether it¡¯s wise to grow closer to Lucille Goldcroft.¡±


    ¡°But the Great Sage wants me to be close to her,¡± Annaliese replied, glancing at him.


    The Paladin went silent for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice was very low and solemn. ¡°Annaliese Verdon, this is not my request as a member of the Citadel.¡± He walked forward and leaned down so they were eye level. ¡°This is my request as your private guard of the last four months.¡± He straightened up and crossed his arms as he waited for her response.


    Annaliese looked down at the floor. ¡°I¡­ didn¡¯t think you were taking that job too seriously.¡±


    Jasten Albrecht sighed and ran a hand through his hair. ¡°Of course I would take the job of being the Prophetess¡¯s private guard seriously. I would be executed in front of the entire Empire if I let anything happen to you.¡± He looked down at her again. ¡°And I¡¯m not callous or ¡®standoffish¡¯ enough as your brother describes the Paladins to let harm come to two teenagers.¡±


    Annaliese awkwardly scratched her neck as he walked back to his position behind her. They walked for a bit longer until the blonde-haired girl suddenly looked back. ¡°Sir Albrecht, are you scared of Lucille?¡±


    Jasten Albrecht stared back. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ asking me, a Rank-5, if I¡¯m scared of- no, scared isn¡¯t the word.¡± He shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m uneasy. Lucille Goldcroft does not have the demeanour of either a puppet leader or a teenager. It¡¯s clear she¡¯s fooling the entire Empire about herself.¡±


    Annaliese blinked. ¡°So it¡¯s true you don¡¯t like the Sages and politics?¡±


    He opened his mouth, then closed it again. He let out a quiet groan as he ran a gauntleted hand down his face. ¡°Who¡¯d ever have thought this trip would give me so much grief,¡± he muttered. ¡°Yes, Lucille Goldcroft somehow managed to see my motivations, yes l don¡¯t have the best impression of the Sages, and yes, I try to avoid Citadel politics whenever I am able.¡± He narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°Don¡¯t expect that just because I say this that my actions regarding your safety will change. My personal likes and dislikes will not affect my ability to be professional.¡±


    Annaliese seemed to think about his answer for a few seconds. Then she grinned broadly, surprising him. ¡°Sir Albrecht, let me tell you something. The real reason why I came here with Raegan is so we can find out what the Great Sage and Sages are hiding form us, and let Raegan learn how to use his abilities!¡±


    The Paladin¡¯s eyes went wide as he stared at the beaming girl. Then he scowled. ¡°Prophetess Verdon, why are you telling me this? You do realise that as your private guard, I¡¯m now required to take you and your brother back to the Sages and report this to them?¡± He narrowed his eyes. ¡°If you¡¯re trying to get me into trouble with the Sages by faking your intentions, then I¡¯m not falling for it.¡±


    Annaliese crossed her arms smugly. ¡°You can¡¯t take me back. If you do, then I can tell them how much you dislike them too.¡± She grinned. ¡°I have blackmail material. So, you either support me and my brother¡¯s stay here at the Commission, or we both get in trouble with the Sages.¡±


    Jasten Albrecht buried his head in his hands. ¡°You two brats, I swear¡­¡± He pinched his nose bridge and then threw up his hands. ¡°Fine. Have it your way. But if anything happens, I¡¯m taking you back, threat of losing my job or not.¡±


    Annaliese smiled and continued walking, letting the exasperated Paladin follow her.


    Then Sir Albrecht¡¯s footsteps paused. ¡°You said you wanted the Commission Head¡¯s help with your brother¡¯s abilities,¡± he stated. ¡°You¡¯re not here out of gratitude for saving your brother¡¯s life.¡± He stepped forward and frowned at her. ¡°Lucille Goldcroft said something to you. You trust her because of that, and believe she has information that¡¯s valuable for your brother.¡± He took another step forward and placed two armoured hands on Annaliese¡¯s shoulders.


    ¡°Prophetess Verdon.¡± He leaned down and narrowed his eyes with suspicion. ¡°What has she told you?¡±


    ¡°Er¡­¡± Flustered, Annaliese tried to step back but his grip kept her in place. ¡°No, she didn¡¯t say anything-¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me. I know that the Commission Head removed all Citadel healers from around your brother for a reason back then.¡± He scowled. ¡°What did she tell you, Prophetess?¡±


    Annaliese frantically rummaged through her brain, looking for an excuse. ¡°I- I don¡¯t feel comfortable telling you.¡±


    Jasten Albrecht gazed at her with incredulity. ¡°Me?¡±


    ¡°You remind me of the Sages. I don¡¯t feel comfortable telling someone so old.¡±


    Stunned, the Paladin¡¯s grip loosened, and Annaliese wriggled out. She ran off as Sir Albrecht registered her escape and stormed after her.


    ¡°Prophetess Verdon, I am not old! I¡¯ve barely turned thirty-two! How can I possibly remind you of the Sages?!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re in your thirties, so you¡¯re middle-aged!¡±


    ¡°M-Middle-aged?! Hey!¡±


    Lucy decided to pull away her spiritual perception at that point. She had determined both the Prophetess and Jasten Albrecht¡¯s motivations and intentions for coming to the Commission. She wasn¡¯t convinced that the ¡®real¡¯ reason Annaliese wanted to visit her was just because of her brother¡¯s abilities as opposed to feeling annoyed that Lucille never wanted to meet again.


    While Lucille made her complaints about this arrangement clear, she¡­ had guessed that this would happen. She would prefer if it hadn¡¯t, but now that it had, she would work to ensure her plans weren¡¯t impacted by the Prophetess¡¯s visit. It was a good thing that Jasten Albrecht had become the Prophetess¡¯s private guard, because it meant Lucy understood him and how he would act.


    It was a strange turn of events that he had become Annaliese¡¯s private guard, however, in Lucy¡¯s opinion. In the past timeline, the Prophetess and the later Templar had a¡­ twisted relationship. Now that Lucy knew Jasten Albrecht had been with the Templar of High Justice when they were going to collect the Prophetess, she knew why, but¡­


    ¡­she wondered how Annaliese would react in this timeline if she was aware that their guardian had let her brother die.

 Chapter 55 (2 of 2) A Paladin, a Prophetess and a Perpetually Angsty Kid-

    ¡°Lucy, did you finish all your paperwork?¡± a young girl completely free of any sort of responsibility asked the weary woman in front of her.


    Lucille gazed flatly at the wilfully ignorant source of her issues, but the girl didn¡¯t pick up on it. Lucy sighed and pulled out a chair from the dining table. ¡°Just sit down already, would you?¡±


    Annaliese grinned and pulled out a chair directly opposite from her. The Paladin behind her moved to take up a post directly behind the Prophetess¡­ until Lucy pointed at him and shook her head.


    ¡°Sir Albrecht, please don¡¯t go against your precious ward¡¯s intentions by ruining the atmosphere of this meal with your disdainful attitude,¡± she said, smiling brightly. ¡°As the Aurelian Commission Head, I don¡¯t wish to gain a reputation among the nobility that the highest-ranking Paladin of Pledge wouldn¡¯t even eat at my table.¡±


    He narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°There will be no such thing. It is my duty to guard the Prophetess and her brother. I am not here to partake in the formalities of-¡±


    ¡°Sir Albrecht, stop being so rude to Lucille and sit down!¡± Annaliese interrupted, frowning at him.


    He raised an eyebrow at his ward. ¡°This isn¡¯t about rudeness. I¡¯m your guard and-¡±


    ¡°You said you¡¯d support my stay here, so do that and stop making things difficult,¡± Annaliese retorted. She pointed at the chair next to her. ¡°As the Prophetess of Fate, I command you to sit.¡±


    The wild-haired man rolled his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not mandated to obey you, Prophetess Verdon.¡± Despite him saying that, he begrudgingly pulled out a chair and sat down with his arms crossed. He looked across the table, narrowed his eyes at Lucille and jabbed an armoured finger at her. ¡°This isn¡¯t because of you. I¡¯m only doing this because of my ward.¡±


    Lucille hid her smirk behind a sip of tea but clearly, he still caught it, because he scowled. Before any comments could be made, the door of the dining room opened to let in Lucy¡¯s slightly tired-looking aide, and the Prophetess¡¯s scowling younger brother, who marched up to the chair beside Annaliese and sat on it. He crossed his arms, mirroring the Paladin on the other side of Annaliese.


    Vincent pulled up a chair beside Lucy.


    ¡°That blighted snake has been driving me insane!¡± Raegan suddenly exclaimed. ¡°Everywhere I go, he appears behind me to cast a flashy magic spell and shock me! Or trip me, or throw something random like a pillow at me, or send me going around in circles trying to find the exits!¡±


    Lucy sent a questioning look at the silver-haired man next to her. Vincent sighed. ¡°I have tried to question Scytale on his motives for antagonising Mr Verdon here, but he has avoided the question at every turn. The most I have been able to gain from him is that ¡®we¡¯ll find out later¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Am I a test subject or something?!¡± Raegan stood up and slammed his hands on the table. ¡°Why is it me who gets picked on? In fact, why do you keep such an irritating beast around you in the first place?!¡± he said, pointing at Lucy.


    ¡°Short of him being my bond there is little reason otherwise that I tolerate his presence, yes,¡± she replied dryly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be mean to Scytale, Raegan,¡± Annaliese said with a frown.


    He whipped his head to the side to glare at her. ¡°Are you siding with him over me now!? Really?! Can you honestly say that in all the time you spent here last year, that you didn¡¯t find him annoying even just a little bit?!¡±


    ¡°Er¡­¡± Annaliese hesitated. ¡°That¡¯s not¡­¡± She coughed and snuck a look at Lucy. ¡°Maybe¡­ he can be hard to handle sometimes¡­¡±


    Lucille rolled her eyes. ¡°There is not a soul in existence that does not find Scytale to be incredibly irritating, and if there is someone who declares themselves immune to the flood of trash coming from my bond¡¯s mouth, then they must be even more annoying than him by several magnitudes.¡±


    ¡°Yes, well, I¡¯d still like an explanation about why he¡¯s decided I¡¯m his target for no reason,¡± Raegan muttered. ¡°We hadn¡¯t even met before today.¡±


    Lucille had her suspicions as to what Scytale was testing, and she was admittedly very curious too¡­ but the way her bond had gone about it was utterly stupid and did not make up for whatever information they¡¯d gain through this. As someone without a hint of interest in scientific methodology, Scytale decided the easiest way to find out what he wanted was to push the individual of interest into a situation where they were completely clueless as to what was going on and mess with them until Scytale realises it¡¯s not working.


    And of course, there was no way Scytale was willing to just ask what he wanted to know. That wouldn¡¯t be very fun.


    Raegan scowled at Lucy. ¡°Well, Commission Head? Are you planning on explaining things to me or are you going to hide everything and use only the slightest bit of misconstrued information to lead me on like you did with Annaliese?¡±


    Annaliese stared at him, aghast, but the Paladin behind her fixed his gaze on the boy and slowly narrowed his eyes. Lucille opened her mouth to answer¡­


    ¡°The Great Serpent King Scytale is coming! Make way for His Majesty!¡±


    ¡­when she got interrupted and decided to let the culprit do the explaining.


    Raegan stood up and glared at the silver-haired boy. ¡°You!¡±


    Scytale proudly walked into the dining room and paused when he saw them all watching him. He nodded and walked over to take a seat at the head of the table. ¡°I see my loyal retainers are patiently waiting for their lord. Please, be at ease.¡±


    Lucille pointed her finger at the snake and wordlessly shot an arcane force ball at him. Scytale fell out of his chair with a yelp and crashed to the ground.


    ¡°What was that for?!¡± he shouted as he glared at her from over the edge of the table.


    ¡°That was to remind you of your place and to remove you from that chair,¡± Lucille stated calmly. She took a sip of her drink. ¡°The food is placed in the centre of the dining table. How do you expect to get any food over there? And before you say it, no, your ¡®retainers¡¯ won¡¯t pass you any.¡±


    ¡°Ugh. Fine,¡± Scytale grumbled as he stood up and walked over to sit next to Lucy. ¡°Can¡¯t you give me a break? I¡¯ve been running myself ragged these last few hours!¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell everyone why you ¡®ran yourself ragged¡¯?¡± Raegan hissed through clenched teeth.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Scytale stared at him, then at the others. He averted his eyes. ¡°Nah¡­ it¡¯s not that important¡­ in fact, why don¡¯t we ask Annaliese what she¡¯s been doing these last few months!¡±


    Annaliese opened her mouth but Raegan interrupted her. ¡°You poured freezing cold water over me, led me through a massive garden and got that spirit mad at me, and then stole half my lunch! What is it that you have against me?!¡±


    Lucy narrowed her eyes at her bond but Scytale just shrugged and leaned back in his chair. ¡°It¡¯s the Commission¡¯s introductory event. We welcome every visitor to the Headquarters that way.¡±


    ¡°Scytale, please don¡¯t let rumours spread that the Aurelian Commission¡¯s members are insane,¡± Vincent commented dryly. ¡°We do not greet our guests that way at all.¡±


    ¡°So then why was I treated that way?!¡± Raegan asked with anger.


    Scytale gazed at the food and rubbed his hands together. ¡°Mmm, I can¡¯t wait for dinner! Oh, Lucy.¡± He turned to her. ¡°Where¡¯s Hargrave? I haven¡¯t seen him around for ages.¡±


    She raised an eyebrow at the snake. ¡°He left last week to increase his strength. He has five months until he needs to defeat his first draconic monster.¡±


    ¡°Awww, and I wanted to let him meet Annaliese too-¡±


    ¡°Stop changing the subject you blighted snake!¡±


    They turned back to gaze at Raegan after his outburst. He sat there, glaring at Scytale as Annaliese looked at him with astonishment.


    ¡°Raegan, I¡¯ve never seen you be this angry at somebody for so long,¡± she told him. ¡°Normally your anger dies out after a few hours.¡±


    Raegan frowned. ¡°But this time is different,¡± he muttered.


    ¡°I would¡¯ve thought your brother had also inherited the ability to hold a grudge as you did,¡± Lucy wryly said to Annaliese. ¡°Only a few hours seem like an extremely short time compared to the person who painstakingly waited five months before she could come to bother me again.¡±


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t-¡± The Prophetess hesitated, and looked away. ¡°That¡­ wasn¡¯t necessarily because I held a grudge¡­¡± She quickly shook her head. ¡°Anyway, most of the time the people who irritate Raegan get preoccupied with other issues so they can¡¯t continue fighting.¡±


    Lucille raised an eyebrow. ¡°Other¡­ issues?¡±


    The blonde-haired girl nodded. ¡°When we were at the orphanage most of the kids who picked on him ended up tripping over and getting small scratches. Another shop owner in the town tried to cheat him and lost their customers to the much younger and nicer competitor business owner across the road.¡± Annaliese continued thinking. ¡°Actually¡­ I don¡¯t recall anyone being hostile to Raegan for more than a week. One person who tried to shove Raegan onto a busy road broke their leg two hours later¡­¡± Her words slowed as a strange expression crossed her face.


    All of them turned to stare at the dark-haired boy sitting next to his sister. Raegan averted eye contact.


    ¡°Um¡­ Raegan¡­¡± Annaliese began.


    He continued to look away from the table. Jasten Albrecht shot the boy a dull look as Lucille gazed flatly at Raegan. Vincent looked at all of them with confusion and Scytale covered his mouth to hide his muffled snickers. The silence drew longer.


    Raegan eventually turned away with a scowl. ¡°What are you all looking at? You can¡¯t prove anything, and besides¡­¡± He looked down at Annaliese¡¯s full plate and snatched food off of it, to her shock. ¡°It¡¯s lunch time isn¡¯t it? Shut up and start eating.¡±


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°But why are you eating off my plate?!¡± Annaliese exclaimed, flabbergasted.


    ¡°To shee if it¡¯sh good enouf,¡± Raegan said with his mouth full.


    Sir Albrecht gave the boy an odd look, but Lucy raised an eyebrow. ¡°I don¡¯t believe I¡¯m suicidal enough to dare poison the Prophetess in front of her Rank-5 personal guard. Additionally, I believe it was Sir Albrecht¡¯s job to test both of your food for poison before you eat it.¡±


    Raegan paused and raised his eyes to stare at her.


    Then Lucille looked down at his plate, which seemed to have sections missing. Her perception field revealed the boy¡¯s stuffed pockets.


    ¡°Alternatively, if you find the meals here at the Commission¡¯s Headquarters that tasty, then we can leave you with the recipe when you return to your estate,¡± Lucy added.


    He flinched when the Paladin on the other side of Annaliese leaned back and saw the pockets. Sir Albrecht ran a hand down his face. ¡°You¡­ stole food from the Aurelian Commission Head¡¯s table¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, the Aurelian Commission Head¡¯s table, also known as Lucille Goldcroft, who just so happens to be the woman opposite that you didn¡¯t want to share a meal with,¡± Lucille said to the Paladin with a bright smile.


    He shot her a glare but Annaliese stalled any comment by whacking the back of Raegan¡¯s head.


    ¡°Don¡¯t put food in your pockets! That¡¯s disgusting,¡± she reprimanded him.


    Raegan rolled his eyes. ¡°So? The food at the estate tastes like garbage. Even if it went in my pockets, it¡¯s sure to taste better than the slop at home.¡±


    Annaliese opened her mouth, hesitated, then shut it again. ¡°¡­hmm¡­¡± was what she eventually chose to reply with.


    ¡°Raegan, don¡¯t speak about the estate like that to-¡±


    ¡°What, are you really going to say I¡¯m wrong?¡± Raegan said, frowning at Jasten Albrecht.


    All words from the blonde-haired guard were halted, and he grimaced. Sir Albrecht looked down at the table. ¡°The food provided to us by the Citadel is powerful and rich in mana. Powerful¡­¡± He grimaced again. ¡°But tasteless.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and the few times there is taste it¡¯s like an explosion of mouldy food enters my mouth,¡± Raegan complained. ¡°Whoever taught that cook to put fire-element fish with mud-element cabbage should be fired. Oh wait-¡± He turned to glare at the Paladin. ¡°Firing him is your job, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Jasten Albrecht gazed wearily at the boy. ¡°I don¡¯t have the authority to make that decision. The Sages are responsible for placing people around you two.¡±


    ¡°You mean responsible for putting spies around us,¡± Raegan snarked.


    The Paladin fell silent, glanced at Annaliese, and then sighed. He didn¡¯t reply.


    ¡°It seems we¡¯ll have to ask our chef for the dishes¡¯ recipes,¡± Vincent said with a smile. ¡°But please don¡¯t steal Miss Verdon¡¯s food. You can just ask for seconds.¡±


    Raegan looked between Vincent and the food. Then he clicked his tongue and stabbed his fork into his food. ¡°You better give me those recipes.¡±


    The conversation in the room changed to peaceful silence as everyone ate their meal. Lucy snatched away the extra stat-boosting foods from her bond¡¯s plate, making him glare at her, but the rest of the meal was mostly enjoyable.


    ¡°I still want an explanation about why your bond decided to dump a jug of icy water on me,¡± Raegan said once he was finished, crossing his arms with a scowl.


    ¡°I would appreciate an explanation as well,¡± Sir Albrecht added, frowning at Lucille. ¡°This is highly disrespectful to the Prophetess and her brother.¡±


    Scytale turned to stare at Lucy. She gave him a sharp jab in the side with her elbow. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. You¡¯re the one at fault here.¡±


    The snake in human form clicked his tongue and kicked his feet up onto the edge of the chair. ¡°Fineeee. Annaliese, last time you were here you told us about our weird anti-Fate stuff, right?¡±


    Annaliese blinked at the unexpected mention but didn¡¯t have a chance to reply as Scytale continued, ¡°And you worked out that Lucy is some weird anomaly that¡¯s ¡¯dead to fate¡¯ or something. But I still have no clue what my anti-Fate thing does for me.¡± He shrugged and pointed to Raegan. ¡°It would be too suspicious if I came up to Annaliese and asked about it, so curious about her brother¡¯s extra anti-Fate thing going on, I grabbed his attention. I had heard from Lucy that his abilities probably work against those he has a problem with.¡±


    Scytale grinned at Lucille. ¡°So, I went and did an amazing experiment without any of your help, Lucy! I helped test his abilities just as Annaliese wanted! Aren¡¯t I wonderful?¡±


    Jasten Albrecht stood up and glared at her as Lucille buried her head in her hands.


    ¡°Aurelian Commission Head, please explain your bond¡¯s statement,¡± the Paladin requested.


    Lucille lowered her hands to pinch her nose bridge as she glowered at the snake to her right. Scytale whistled nonchalantly and looked away.


    Lucy glanced back at the angry Paladin and sighed. She turned back to him and picked up her drink to take a sip. ¡°Before I say anything, Sir Albrecht, none of what my bond did was arranged before today. Annaliese¡¯s intent to gain my help when it comes to her brother¡¯s abilities was new to me as well.¡±


    ¡°Then how did you know about it?¡± he said through gritted teeth.


    Lucy sent a flat look at her bond, who ignored it to pick up a bread roll from the table. She rubbed her temples before finally answering. ¡°Jasten Albrecht, to answer your question I need to tell you an important part of my abilities. Can I ask you to try to avoid telling anyone else unless absolutely necessary?¡±


    He frowned at her. ¡°I have no reason to reveal this unless it¡¯s a danger to the Prophetess, her brother, or the Citadel¡¯s existence on a large scale.¡±


    Lucille nodded and intertwined her fingers. ¡°Well then, Sir Jasten Albrecht. My core strength is my vast spiritual energy.¡± She tilted her head at him with a smirk. ¡°That means I was able to hear your entire conversation with Miss Prophetess here after my departure.¡±


    ¡°Wait.¡± Before Sir Albrecht could reply, Raegan interrupted with a finger raised. ¡°Does that mean you can hear and see everything around you like you¡¯re physically there? Like, a massive map of everything going on all in your head?¡±


    Lucille nodded with a smile. ¡°It seems you¡¯re familiar with it.¡±


    Raegan stared silently at her for a few seconds. He looked down at the table, then up at her. ¡°Alright, you¡¯re innocent. I¡¯ll save you from Sir Albrecht¡¯s anger.¡±


    The Paladin scowled at the boy. ¡°Raegan, this conversation doesn¡¯t involve-¡±


    ¡°Of course it involves me!¡± Raegan complained, crossing his arms. ¡°Have you ever experienced seeing and hearing everything everyone is doing around you without being able to shut it off? Have you? No, because you don¡¯t use much spiritual energy but I do, because I was left on my bed without any sense of sight or touch for ages!¡±


    He pointed a finger at Lucille. ¡°I never wanted to know that much about everyone around me but I do.¡± He turned back to the Paladin. ¡°So, as a fellow victim of this curse, I say you shouldn¡¯t get mad at something she has no control over. It¡¯s not like you could do anything once you found out about her spiritual energy thing anyway because it was your fault for not being more careful where you said stuff!¡±


    Then Raegan narrowed his eyes at Lucy. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean I trust her though.¡±


    Sir Albrecht stared at the boy, then tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling with anguish. ¡°This job is the curse¡­¡± he muttered. He sat back down and ran an armoured hand down his face. ¡°Let¡¯s move on.¡± He looked sternly at Lucy. ¡°Have their sleeping quarters been arranged?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Their rooms are next to each other for you to guard them.¡±


    He sighed. ¡°Good. If that¡¯s the case¡­¡± He stood up and placed a hand on one of each siblings¡¯ shoulders. ¡°Then these two will retire for the night.¡±


    The two teenagers stared at their guardian with horror. ¡°What?! No, you can¡¯t do that!¡± Raegan shouted.


    ¡°As the Prophetess of Fate, I- wait, wait, Sir Albrecht, I wasn¡¯t done talking!¡±


    The Paladin hoisted both siblings up by their arms and began to drag them off as they kicked and yelled. He looked back at Vincent. ¡°Where¡­¡±


    ¡°The staff member outside the door will inform you of the location of their rooms,¡± Vincent said with a smile.


    Sir Albrecht nodded thankfully and marched off, taking with him the two other ¡®uninvited guests¡¯ of Lucille. The door of the dining room shut, leaving only three people left.


    After a few minutes of silence, Lucy slowly turned her head to smile brightly at the silver-haired man on her left. ¡°Now, my dearest, most wonderful, spectacular aide~. I think we need to have a looong discussion.¡±


    Vincent beamed and stood up. He pushed his chair in and gave her an Empire salute. ¡°I believe I¡¯ll retire for the night too, esteemed Count Goldcroft. Take care until we meet again tomorrow, my lady.¡±


    ¡°Vincent, don¡¯t you da-¡±


    He walked off at a fast pace, leaving Lucy standing up at the table with a scowl on her face.


    ¡°Well, that didn¡¯t work,¡± Scytale commented cheerfully, taking another bite of his bread roll.


    Lucille slowly turned to stare at him.


    Scytale looked up from his food and flinched when he saw her gaze. He looked away and quickly stood up from the table. ¡°Actually, you know what, I¡¯m still a bit tired after my bloodline advancement. I think I¡¯ll head off to the living room and take a na-¡±


    A lightning-quick arcane spell wrapped him up in immaterial chains and he yelped as he collapsed to the ground, struggling futilely. He watched with despair as Lucille walked closer. She crouched down with a gentle smile on her face.


    ¡°Scytale, I¡¯m not ready for you to leave just yet.¡±


    She may not have been able to talk to the main cause of the problem but she sure as hell could take her frustration out on the second primary cause of her problems.


    ¡­


    A few hours later, around midnight, Lucille sighed and pushed her completed paperwork away on the desk. She rested the back of her head against the armchair.


    Instead of getting a break to level up, she now had to babysit a teenage girl who was far too curious and trusting for her own good. Politically speaking, having the Prophetess of Fate on her side was a major boon. Even though the Sages regulated all usage of her Fate essence, just being known as on good terms with one of the most famous figures in the Empire would make many people want to form connections with Vincent who was known to ¡®control¡¯ her.


    And Scytale still hadn¡¯t collected the two secondary skills needed to tier up or evolve his first primary skill. So, it wasn¡¯t like they could instantly go and increase their strength. But it was still incredibly annoying to have Annaliese¡¯s sudden visit thrust upon her. The fact this had even occurred didn¡¯t bode well for the future either¡­


    Lucille was mostly just annoyed about all the additional paperwork. Just when she felt that things were finally progressing, she got stuck in the Commission¡¯s Headquarters for what seemed to be the next five days.


    She rubbed her neck to relieve the tiredness and stood up from the desk. She decided to have a bath in her room for a change, to relax herself.


    Sometime later she was sitting in the tub of hot water, the psychedelic magical bubbles frothing up the water¡¯s surface and drifting about. Lucille dunked her head under the water to wet her hair and she resurfaced again. Then she held out a hand.


    With a slight nudge to her second main skill, all the bubbles gravitated towards her hand, her manipulation of the water element controlling them. Then, strongly imposing her will on the bubbles, they scattered with the sound of crackling and minute floating embers replaced the locations of the bubbles. A second later, the embers burst into showers of brilliant gold sparks.


    The Essence Transmutation Conduit granted her a deep-seated sense of the presence of all the elements in her vicinity. It was different from her spiritual perception, which granted her a general awareness of them all. With her main skill, the mana all felt intrinsically connected to her, an extension of her mind that required little to no thought to move. In that same fashion, the speed at which she could change one element to another was near instant. Using the illusion element in her main skill was an excellent decision. All the mana in her vicinity was in this strange state where it was only whatever she chose at any one point in time.


    She knew she¡¯d be in a contest over the mana around her when another User used a spell or skill near her. She wouldn¡¯t be able to control any skills as they would have Influence she couldn¡¯t manipulate, but for spells that only had the spiritual energy signature of the mage, Lucy could dominate them as long as her MENT was higher than the opposition.


    Lucille could think of numerous ways she could improve the skill, however. She wanted to know the elemental integrity of the elements around her as they would give hints about when a User was going to use a spell or skill, and she also wanted to incorporate some way of the elements in her vicinity automatically balancing themselves to suppress her enemies in combat with their contrasting elements.


    At the very least, Lucy planned on adding all four of those Rare-level skills of Saufren Lestial¡¯s she had contemplated gaining. She had several skill books to use, and perfecting her second main skill was a useful way of spending her time for the next five days.


    However, the arrival of Annaliese¡¯s brother and his main skill reminded Lucille of a certain mage currently exploring the Sundown Continent plane shard. Efratel was giving her frequent updates on the well-being of her sponsored party, although information transfer had slowed after the party had entered the research facility on the plane shard.


    Lucy didn¡¯t recall any information about the Sundown Continent plane shard in the past timeline, so she could only presume there was nothing particularly interesting or dangerous there. Not dangerous in the sense it wouldn¡¯t affect her plans for the Hero. Marellen and his party may still have difficulties, but Lucy doubted anything major would go wrong with both the Raven¡¯s Wing and the past ¨C and possibly future ¨C Sovereign Sorceress of Frostfire on their side.


    Lucille hadn¡¯t quite decided how she was going to interact with the snow elf, especially considering she was aware the elf¡¯s lineage granted her spiritual energy and the ability to see Lucy¡¯s soul age¡­


    But she still had a few months before they would meet, so all she would do for the moment was breed goodwill in the snow elf by supporting Trisroa Vel-Winteridge¡¯s adventures.


    ¡°Hey, Lucy! Are you done yet?!¡±


    Lucy sighed and looked up at the roof as she heard the voice of a painfully annoying magical beast that happened to be her bond. She stepped out of the bath and pulled on a bathrobe as she replied, ¡°Just wait a few minutes.¡±


    Once she was dressed again she walked over to the door of her bedroom and opened it to reveal a golden-eyed boy with sticks in his hair and smudged dirt marks on his clothes and skin. He wore a scowl on his face.


    Lucy crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe. ¡°Did Ashale¡®viaf let you go or did you run away from him before finishing your tasks?¡±


    Scytale glared at her. ¡°I finished everything. You¡¯re a worse demon than the Demon Emperor for making my punishment being working for that spirit.¡±


    Lucille rolled her eyes as she stepped away from the doorway to let her bond past. ¡°It was either that or being made to work for Sedric for the rest of the week.¡±


    Scytale shuddered as he walked over to her ensuite. ¡°No way. That crafter would torment me more than that vindictive rose spirit.¡± He walked into the bathroom, leaving the door open, and grabbed a face towel to wet under the tap.


    ¡°Why are you using the towel in my bathroom? Go to your own room,¡± Lucy complained.


    Scytale used the towel to rub his face clean of the mud and stopped to stick his tongue out at her. ¡°No, because I want to be petty and use your stuff after what you put me through.¡±


    Lucille narrowed her eyes at her bond as he walked out of the ensuite to sit down on her bed. He reverted to his serpent form and flapped his wings as he got comfortable.


    ¡°And why are you now on my bed?¡± she asked dryly.


    ¡°Because I¡¯m 90% sure that Annaliese¡¯s brother found some insects and worms to put in my bed once he found out where my room was.¡± Scytale shook his head as he let out a yawn. ¡°He¡¯s like Annaliese¡¯s opposite in every way. I don¡¯t know how two blood-related siblings can be so different.¡±


    Lucy huffed and sat down on her bed. ¡°Yes, well, if he had lived to adulthood in the past timeline then I¡¯m sure we would¡¯ve heard quite a few things about him. Not necessarily good things either.¡±


    ¡°What are your plans for tomorrow?¡± Scytale asked, rolling upside down.


    Lucille laid back on her bed. ¡°Avoid any blonde-haired girls and find a way to give Vincent overtime.¡±


    ¡°You really don¡¯t want to have to deal with her, do you?¡±


    Lucy¡¯s expression went flat. ¡°I don¡¯t have much experience with overly curious teenagers and would rather spend my time doing more worthwhile things than entertaining them.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you use this chance to get some experience now?¡±


    She tilted her head back to stare at the amphiptere. ¡°You have as much experience as me. Why don¡¯t you entertain the two kids for the rest of the week?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you forgetting, Lucy?¡± Scytale flickered his tongue playfully. ¡°I¡¯m one of those teenagers too.¡±


    She scowled. ¡°Don¡¯t remind me of your earlier fun or else you¡¯ll be stuck with Ashale¡¯viaf for the next month too.¡±


    Scytale shut up.


    Lucy sighed and rolled over to climb onto the bed more. ¡°There will be more attention on me after Annaliese¡¯s visit. I would prefer to have as few limitations on our actions as possible when we¡¯re already treading a thin line when it comes to the Hero, the Empire, and the Authorizer.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be utterly useless when it comes to the Demon Emperor but if the Hero comes after you then I¡¯ll be sure to support you wholeheartedly!¡± Scytale replied blithely.


    Lucille ran a hand down her face. ¡°Helpful as always, I see.¡±


    ¡°I try.¡±


    She didn¡¯t deign to respond and just gazed at the roof. ¡°Vincent is getting my share of the work this week.¡±


    Scytale yawned again. ¡°I thought you did all your work already, which is why you¡¯re annoyed.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll make something up for him to do.¡± Lucy sat back up and flicked the head of her bond. ¡°Anyway, get up. You¡¯re not sleeping in my room tonight.¡±


    Scytale pretended to snore. She grabbed his tail and dragged him to the edge of the bed.


    ¡°Ack- alright, alright! Sheesh, be more patient.¡± He jumped off and turned to face her. ¡°What are you going to do about Raegan though?¡±


    Lucy went silent. Her voice was quiet when she replied, ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know yet. But maybe if Annaliese ends up visiting us often¡­ then nothing bad will happen.¡±


    When a User¡¯s Origin Skill was born from their personality then she had to wonder why Raegan earned the ability to grant other people misery.

 Chapter 56 (1 of 2) The Time Travelling Lucille (And Snake)

    ¡°Luuucccyyyy, how old are youuuuu?¡±


    A dark-haired woman ignored the whiny voice of the Prophetess sitting on the couch opposite her. Lucille sipped her coffee and continued to read the documents she was holding.


    Behind Annaliese was Sir Albrecht, standing guard with a look of confusion and bemusement on his face as he listened to the whinges of his ward for the past half hour.


    ¡°Lucy, stop ignoring me!¡±


    Lucy rested the back of her head against the couch with a sigh. ¡°I¡¯ve told you this already. I¡¯m eighteen. I turn nineteen in five months.¡±


    ¡°But you know that¡¯s not what I mean!¡±


    Sir Albrecht frowned at the girl. ¡°Prophetess Annaliese, please stop bothering the Aurelian Commission Head with this question. She has given you an answer, and I can sense no lies in it.¡±


    ¡°But she hasn¡¯t given me a real answer!¡± Annaliese exclaimed, jumping up from the couch to lean on the coffee table.


    ¡°I am a Rank-5 Paladin. I find it unlikely that you¡¯re familiar enough with the light element to detect lies as well as I can,¡± Jasten Albrecht replied blandly.


    ¡°Then how come she¡¯s still lying then!¡± she argued.


    The Paladin sighed. ¡°In these circumstances, the logical conclusion would be to think she is not lying.¡±


    Annaliese hesitated. ¡°Well¡­ okay, she¡¯s not really lying, but I know she¡¯s not being fully truthful either.¡±


    Her personal guard just shook his head with exasperation. Lucille continued to calmly drink her coffee until the Prophetess¡¯s attention returned to her.


    ¡°I am still very sure you¡¯ve been treating me as a little kid,¡± Annaliese complained with a frown. ¡°I don¡¯t like that at all.¡±


    ¡°If you came from my world then you¡¯d still be considered a child,¡± Lucy commented.


    Annaliese blinked. ¡°Your world?¡±


    Lucy ignored her and continued to read her paperwork. The blonde-haired girl scowled. ¡°All you¡¯ve done is brush me off and ignore me all day! Why do you keep treating me like this!¡±


    Lucille sighed and put down her coffee to gaze wearily at the girl. ¡°Because, Miss Prophetess, you came to the Commission¡¯s Headquarters and disrupted my carefully planned schedule.¡±


    Annaliese jabbed a finger at Lucy. ¡°Annaliese!¡±


    Lucy gave her a dull look as the Prophetess placed her hands on her hips. ¡°I haven¡¯t heard you call me by my first name once yet, during September and since I came here! No more Miss Prophetess, my name is Annaliese!¡±


    Lucille raised an eyebrow and returned to flicking through her documents. ¡°Fine. Annaliese then. It doesn¡¯t change the fact that you came here to pester me about whether I¡¯ve been treating you as a child or not.¡±


    Annaliese frowned and crossed her arms. ¡°I finally got you to say my first name but your reaction was disappointing.¡±


    Lucy rolled her eyes and didn¡¯t reply. Annaliese narrowed her eyes and kicked her feet up onto the edge of the couch, to her guard¡¯s annoyance. She silently watched Lucy with irritation until someone else came to Lucy¡¯s living room.


    ¡°Is Lucy-watching any more interesting than it was an hour ago?¡± a snake in human form said as he stuck his head through the doorway. ¡°For me, watching Lucy is the most mind-numbingly boring experience imaginable because she shows as much emotion as you would expect a statue to.¡±


    Lucy shot her bond a flat look but Annaliese turned to Scytale.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Vincent and Raegan?¡± she asked curiously. ¡°I thought they were with you.¡±


    ¡°Define ¡®with¡¯.¡± Scytale sat down next to Lucille. ¡°Raegan dragged Vincent somewhere, likely to interrogate him about Lucy and me, so I came over to see what was happening.¡± He looked around. ¡°Not much, it seems.¡±


    Annaliese nodded. She shot Lucy a glare and then turned back to Scytale. ¡°She¡¯s not telling me how old she is.¡±


    Scytale glanced at Lucy and then smirked. ¡°Hey Annaliese, I never got to tell you this last time, but¡­¡± He stood up and walked behind Lucy to point at her. ¡°I¡¯m like Lucy.¡±


    Annaliese blinked, nonplussed. She looked between them both. ¡°Like¡­ her¡­?¡± She kept staring at them both for a few seconds, until her eyes suddenly widened. ¡°Wait, you mean-¡±


    Scytale grinned as realisation dawned for the girl. Lucille tilted her head back to give the snake a flat look but he ignored it.


    ¡°Then¡­¡± Annaliese gazed expectantly at the snake. ¡°How old are you both?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re¡­¡± Scytale stuck his tongue out. ¡°Not telling.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s mean!¡±


    Scytale smirked and looked at Lucy as the Prophetess glared at him. ¡°But Lucy, aren¡¯t you forgetting something? Or should I say, someone?¡±


    Lucy raises an eyebrow. Scytale leaned against the back of the couch. ¡°There was one more person who Annaliese met last year. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be positively overjoyed to see her again!¡±


    Lucille stared at him as Annaliese let out an ¡®Oh!¡¯ of realisation. ¡°Sedric is still here, right? Has he made any progress with his crafting?¡±


    Lucy glanced between Scytale, Annaliese, and the bemused Jasten Albrecht. She placed her coffee and paperwork on the table, and then stood up, grabbing her cane. ¡°You know what, let¡¯s visit Sedric.¡±


    ¡°Now?¡± Annaliese asked with surprise.


    ¡°Now. Any paperwork can be left for later. This is more important.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Sedric! Open up! There¡¯s someone who wants to see you!¡± Lucy yelled, knocking on his door.


    ¡°What ridiculous thing¡­¡± The sound of someone cursing as they fumbled with metal objects echoed into the hallway. Footsteps sounded until the door opened to reveal a grease-coated young man with a ponytail. ¡°There¡¯s nobody who would come to see me, stop being so-¡±


    Sedric stared when he saw Annaliese, aghast. ¡°Why is she here?!¡±


    Lucille planted her hands on her hips and gave him a look of contempt as she pointed over her shoulder. ¡°Because if I have to deal with her this week, then you have to deal with her too.¡±


    The brown-haired crafter moved to shut the door. ¡°I am a very busy craftsmen and don¡¯t have time to deal with nosy young girls.¡±


    Lucy¡¯s hands stopped the door from closing and she narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°Busy my foot. You haven¡¯t even ordered the materials needed for those items yet.¡±


    He gritted his teeth as he pushed the doorknob, entering a contest of strength with Lucy. The mana around her flared orange as she used her second main skill to enhance her strength by 70%.


    ¡°I. Don¡¯t. Want. To. Be. Bothered,¡± Sedric hissed, pushing against the door to hold it closed.


    ¡°And I didn¡¯t either, but look what happened,¡± Lucy replied in a dry voice, steadily overpowering the crafter and his low STR.


    A sharp kick to the door sent both Sedric and Lucille stumbling as it gave way. Scytale grinned and pushed past them to enter the room. ¡°We¡¯ll be out of your hair in no time. It¡¯s not like one of us will randomly throw a jug of water all over your work, will we?¡±


    Sedric gave the snake a strange look until another voice called out, ¡°Like you can talk!¡±


    They all turned to see a grumpy-looking Raegan marching forward, Vincent following with a helpless smile on his face.


    ¡°Look! It¡¯s my test subject!¡± Scytale said with a grin.


    Raegan glared at him. ¡°Don¡¯t call me that!¡±


    The snake snickered as the Paladin behind Annaliese ran a hand down his face.


    Annaliese looked between them all and scowled at Sedric and Lucy. ¡°Stop arguing like I¡¯m not here! You¡¯re making me feel really unwanted!¡±


    Sedric sighed and turned to the girl. ¡°Yes, yes, hi, hello. Now that the greetings are out of the way, please return to¡­ wherever it is you came from, Annaliese.¡±


    Annaliese crossed her arms and tilted her chin up. ¡°You will address me as ¡®Prophetess Verdon¡¯.¡±


    Jasten Albrecht shot her an incredulous look but Sedric gave her a look of disdain. ¡°Yeah, sure, Lady Prophetess Verdon Miss or whatever, I don¡¯t care, just leave me be.¡±


    Annaliese went to nod with a smile, then hesitated with her mouth open. She shut it, and then frowned. ¡°That¡­ didn¡¯t feel right somehow.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because he was being sarcastic, Anna,¡± Raegan said with derision.


    Annaliese¡¯s eyes widened and she glared at the crafter. ¡°Hey!¡±


    Raegan rolled his eyes with a groan.


    Scytale looked at them all, including the bemused Vincent, and shrugged. He turned to walk down into the workshop. ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to see what rubbish our resident crafter has cooked up now. Feel free to join me.¡±


    Sedric whirled around to glower at the serpent and follow him down. ¡°It is not rubbish!¡±


    Lucille sighed and walked down the stairs, intending on limiting the worst of her bond¡¯s mischief. Annaliese, Raegan, Vincent and Sir Albrecht traded glances. Raegan stepped forward first, followed by Annaliese, leaving the two men behind to shrug and likewise follow them down.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°And here you can see the spectacular view of our crafter¡¯s aptly named ¡®box of rubbish¡¯, where he puts all his non-archetypal items inside, in other words every item because nothing he had made is better than a prototype-¡±


    ¡°It is not named the ¡®box of rubbish¡¯!¡± Sedric interrupted Scytale. ¡°I crafted those to get a handle on the basic concepts Lucille taught me about.¡±


    ¡°So Lucy still teaches you about magic?¡± Annaliese asked curiously.


    ¡°Yup. Still as painfully conceited about it as well.¡± Sedric walked over to his bench to continue working on the items. ¡°She just loooves to laud her knowledge over me.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re going to lie, don¡¯t do it in the presence of two people who have light element lie detection skills,¡± Lucille replied dryly.


    Sedric coughed and pretended to ignore them as he fiddled with a metal case of some kind.


    Lucy walked closer as the others either looked around the workshop or sat down on some of the stools near the workbenches.


    ¡°Which item have you made the most progress on so far?¡± she asked, inspecting the items.


    Sedric flicked down one of the glass circles on his goggles, then raised a strip of leather to inspect it. ¡°The belt. Because of those mana-circles you¡¯ve taught me about, the creation process is going much quicker for that. I still have no clue how to put spells into gemstones though.¡±


    Scytale picked up a random object from the table and tossed it up and down. ¡°What about the sheath things?¡±


    Sedric scowled and snatched it back. ¡°I¡¯m struggling a bit more for those. I think I need to see the daggers to know how I should link the recharge mana circuit in them.¡±


    Raegan, who had walked over to the corner of the room containing the chest full of Sedric¡¯s failed creations and was sifting through them, looked back. ¡°Daggers?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re snake-swords actually,¡± Scytale said with a grin.


    Lucy shot the snake a glare as Annaliese walked over to her. ¡°You have weapons? I thought you were a mage though, Lucy.¡±


    Lucille sighed and pulled back her violet suit jacket to show the two sheaths. ¡°I have two extendable weapons that have dagger dormant forms.¡± She looked down at them as Apophis started vibrating. ¡°They¡¯re also sentient. Apophis, even if I let you out there aren¡¯t any windows for you to smash.¡±


    There was a delay, before the black weapon began to vibrate again. Lucy narrowed her eyes at it but relented and took both weapons out. They hovered over Sedric¡¯s workbench, glowing their respective vibrant sky blue and malevolent red.


    Annaliese stepped closer and held out a hand to try to tap Apophis. ¡°Sentient?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± Lucy stopped her by holding out a gloved hand. ¡°Last time someone tried to touch Apophis they got bitten by his snake ornament.¡±


    Coincidentally, the black metallic snake with ruby eyes opened its jaws in a soundless hiss. Lucille sighed and gestured to the two weapons. ¡°This one here is my demonic weapon Apophis, a lover of all things destruction related. This other one is Ouroboros, my spirit weapon and the calmest one of the two.¡± Lucy sent the weapons a flat look. ¡°Of course, as a weapon herself, Ouroboros still enjoys her fair bit of destruction.¡±


    Sedric held his chin as he studied them. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ not too sure how you expect me to make sheaths for them with the attitude that demonic weapon is showing. I don¡¯t want to get bitten.¡±


    Lucy rolled her eyes. ¡°Yes, well, I¡¯m sure the fact it means I¡¯ll finally be going out and levelling up will make him more patient.¡±


    ¡°Lucy, I thought using a demonic weapon was really dangerous,¡± Annaliese said with worry. ¡°I¡¯ve heard they make you go insane.¡±


    ¡°Only if your soul isn¡¯t strong enough to withstand the weapon¡¯s bloodlust.¡± Lucille gestured to Apophis, who was beginning to roam around the room. ¡°A normal demonic weapon isn¡¯t sentient, and doesn¡¯t have a soul inside of it. Those kind of weapons are made from demonic beast and plant materials. The chaotic demonic energies are extraordinarily hard to wield without a demonic bloodline.¡±


    Lucille walked over to the daggers. Ouroboros floated up and circled her. ¡°I have a strong soul due to my spiritual energy, and my bond with Ouroboros here prevents the demonic and spiritual energy balance from being upset.¡± She turned around and shrugged. ¡°The souls inside of the weapons also wield the weapons¡¯ abilities far better than I ever could.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, cool weapons and all, but I¡¯m wondering what the heck this thing is,¡± Raegan said. He held up a pair of weird gauntlets with spikes on the knuckles. ¡°What do these things do, inject drugs into the people you punch? It¡¯s stupid.¡±


    Sedric scowled. ¡°Who¡¯s the kid?¡±


    ¡°My brother.¡± Annaliese planted her hands on her hips and frowned at Raegan. ¡°But Raegan, that¡¯s rude. Just because something might be true, doesn¡¯t mean you should say it.¡±


    Sedric stared incredulously at her. ¡°Hey!¡±


    Lucy smirked but glanced at Sir Albrecht, who was studying the two floating daggers. It appeared they appealed to his interests as a warrior.


    ¡°Both are snake-swords?¡± the Paladin asked, stepping closer.


    ¡°They came from an inheritance trial. They¡¯re made to be used together,¡± Lucille explained.


    ¡°And have you made any progress learning how to use them?¡± Vincent asked.


    She sighed and looked at the two daggers. ¡°No. It will take some time.¡±


    Jasten Albrecht rubbed his chin. ¡°The possibility that the Sword Major Discipline has several serpentine or whip-sword mana-arts exists. The Dagger Discipline may be able to instruct you on how to use them in their dormant form.¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, their abilities only show their strength when in their true forms,¡± Lucy said with a shake of her head.


    ¡°Oh, Lucille.¡± Sedric glanced over his shoulder at her, the diagrams of the sheaths on the bench before him. ¡°You never got around to explaining what that amplifier arm guard was for.¡±


    Lucille picked up Apophis. ¡°Stat enhancement. The details are complex so I¡¯ll inform you of them another time.¡±


    ¡®Anticipation. Hesitance.¡¯


    Lucy looked over as she heard Ouroboros¡¯s thoughts. She watched as the silver snake ornament unwound itself from the blade¡¯s handle and moved towards Annaliese.


    ¡®Greet.¡¯


    Annaliese blinked. Then she tilted her head. ¡°Hello¡­?¡±


    The dagger¡¯s blue aura brightened.


    ¡®Happiness! Pride! Satisfaction.¡¯


    Ouroboros floated near Lucy.


    ¡®Expectance.¡¯


    Lucy huffed a laugh and picked up the blade. ¡°Yes, good job.¡± She sheathed the two weapons and turned back to the others. ¡°Ouroboros is proud to have sent her first message to someone other than me or Scytale.¡±


    ¡°It seems they must be natural souls, to sound so young,¡± Sir Albrecht mused.


    Lucille nodded. ¡°Their souls were formed with the completion of the weapons. Neither were demons or spirits before they gained awareness.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ they¡¯re kids?¡± Annaliese asked with surprise.


    ¡°Mostly correct. Their souls are much older than any of ours, but they haven¡¯t had the opportunity to gain increased awareness until I bonded them,¡± Lucy explained.


    Annaliese glanced at the two sheaths curiously. ¡°So¡­ you¡¯re going to learn to fight with them? I thought you used magic though.¡±


    Lucille smiled and placed a hand on the pommel of Apophis. ¡°I intend on being a spellblade. Someone who wields weapons and uses magic in battle.¡±


    ¡°Is there anything great about a spellblade?¡± Raegan came up to the workbench with one of Sedric¡¯s items in hand. ¡°Sounds like a normal warrior who just does more complicated stuff than usual.¡±


    Sir Albrecht shook his head, drawing everybody¡¯s attention. ¡°Spellblades are rare, even when counting Glory Pantheon¡¯s members. Before the assimilation of the realm, they could be found in greater numbers, but¡­¡± The Paladin glanced at Lucy. ¡°They have been largely replaced by the existence of warrior manipulators, those who dual class with a melee and elementalist class.¡±


    ¡°I recall hearing of spellblades among the Empire¡¯s Battalions,¡± Vincent commented, giving the blonde-haired man a curious look.


    Sir Albrecht shook his head again. ¡°Battlemages of the battalions must be familiar with armed combat as well as magical combat. The younger members often call themselves ¡®spellblades¡¯, ¡®spellswords¡¯ or ¡®magic swordsmen¡¯ in reference to the times before the System, but they cannot be considered true spellblades as their spells aren¡¯t used to enhance physical abilities.¡±


    The Paladin gestured to Lucy. ¡°With the existence of skills to accompany mana-arts, and sometimes replace mana-arts in the case of those not part of Glory Pantheon, the usefulness of a ¡®spellblade¡¯ is largely debatable.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t intend on becoming fully focused on being a spellblade,¡± Lucille said with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s hard to determine whether ¡®spellblade¡¯ is even the right term for me. I just wish to find an alternative to locating possibly nonexistent battle skills for my two snake-swords.¡±


    Raegan let out a short laugh. ¡°What¡¯s so special about those daggers? I bet every three out of five warriors has a dagger on hand all the time!¡±


    Lucy eyed the boy, and then took out Apophis. She let the blade lengthen as it gained its bloody aura and it slowly rotated with a mechanical hum.


    Raegan flinched as the levitating blade drifted near and looked away. ¡°Uh, yeah, okay, never seen one of those before.¡±


    Sedric stared at Apophis. ¡°And you told me you weren¡¯t sadistic.¡±


    Lucille glared at the crafter as Scytale snickered. She sighed and put the blade away. ¡°At the end of the day, I¡¯ll need to use spells and skills compatible with both a demonic and spirit weapon,¡± she said. ¡°Even among Glory Pantheon Mythos and Champions, you¡¯d be hard pressed to find someone with either of those kinds of weapons. A ¡®spellblade¡¯ is currently the best definition for what I am and easiest path for me to take regarding the usage of my blades.¡±


    ¡°But what reason is there for the Aurelian Commission Head to need to become a spellblade?¡± Jasten Albrecht asked with a frown.


    Vincent narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°Yes, Lucille, I was also wondering that. Just how much combat do you think you¡¯ll be doing?¡±


    She sent her aide a flat look. ¡°I intend on at least reaching the maximum level for Rank-3 by the beginning of the Millennium Chapter. While unlikely, it¡¯s best to be prepared in case I end up on the battlefield.¡±


    ¡°I highly doubt such a situation will occur,¡± Sir Albrecht replied.


    Lucy shrugged. ¡°So be it. As a noble, it is still better for me to be stronger than weaker.¡±


    Annaliese looked at her private guard. ¡°Sir Albrecht, is there a way for me to become stronger too?¡±


    He gave the blonde-haired girl a strange look. ¡°No, Prophetess Verdon. As a Unique class wielder, you can neither gain levels nor fighting abilities.¡±


    She pouted. ¡°But why?¡±


    The Paladin sighed. ¡°It is my job to defend against anything that could harm you, Prophetess. While your abilities may be limited now, once you pass the Primarch¡¯s Trials then you will gain more strength, although you¡¯ll never be a combatant.¡±


    Annaliese frowned but looked at her brother. ¡°What about Raegan?¡±


    The Paladin hesitated as he glanced at the other people in the room, including the curious Vincent. He went silent as he considered how to phrase his words. ¡°The Citadel¡­ doesn¡¯t know what abilities your brother will have. His Constitution has indicated he has the potential to become a skilled magic user, however.¡±


    Sedric scoffed and returned to his work. ¡°I¡¯d be surprised if the Citadel has any way of knowing the future Origin Skill of a ten-year-old kid.¡±


    Raegan glared at him. ¡°I¡¯m thirteen!¡±


    ¡°Thirteen, ten, who cares. You¡¯re still a kid.¡±


    Lucille narrowed her eyes at Sedric in warning and he froze up and shut his mouth. She rubbed her temples as she considered what she would do if Sir Albrecht revealed to the Sages that her private crafter was being disrespectful to the Prophetess¡¯s brother.


    Scytale propped his chin up on the table as he looked at the object in Raegan¡¯s hand. ¡°What have you got there anyways, Raegan?¡±


    Raegan glared at the snake. ¡°I never said you could call me Raegan.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ my test subject?¡±


    The boy scowled as Lucille facepalmed. Raegan turned away from the snake and held up the object. ¡°I have no clue what this is. I just picked the crappiest item I could because it looked funny.¡±


    Sedric glared at the boy and grabbed the item out of Raegan¡¯s hands. ¡°Give that back.¡± He frowned as he turned the item in his leather-gloved hands. ¡°This is actually one of my working items, but my skills have improved since I made it so I didn¡¯t bother to leave it around.¡±


    Lucille stepped closer to have a look. She glanced at him. ¡°Was this based off of the very first blueprint I gave you last year?¡±


    Sedric rubbed his neck, looking awkward. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ surprised you could even tell what it was. I tried to copy the part that used the results of an Arcane Scan spell to show an illusion-element replica of the object.¡± He shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not familiar enough with the illusion element to do much else.¡±


    Lucy hummed as she inspected the object Sedric had placed on the workbench.


    He¡¯s made further progress than I expected. It seems the amplification arm guard might take less time to create than I first thought.


    She turned to face him. ¡°The device that blueprint is for will be essential to the creation of the amplification arm guard, so it¡¯s probably been very beneficial for you to have created this item.¡±


    ¡°Ugggh, Lucy, stop praising him,¡± Scytale complained. ¡°It feels wrong to hear that coming from your mouth.¡±


    Sedric glowered at the snake. ¡°So I can¡¯t receive praise now?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    Lucy sighed and walked away as the snake and crafter began to bicker again. Vincent shook his head wryly while Annaliese looked around at all the gadgets on Sedric¡¯s workbench. Lucy noted, with some amusement, that her Paladin guard held her back from looking at some of them. It seems Sir Albrecht wasn¡¯t particularly trusting of Sedric¡¯s crafting abilities.


    Vincent checked his watch. ¡°It appears that I might need to return to my work,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s been too long since I last met with the staff.¡±


    Lucy nodded to him. ¡°I¡¯ll see you later.¡±


    He nodded to both her and Sir Albrecht, then walked up the workshop stairs.


    Lucille took out her pocket watch to check the time. ¡°I believe it should be time for lunch. It¡¯s been set up on the roof for today, so in around five minutes we-¡±


    Scytale switched to his serpent form with a flash of gold light and flapped his wings to quickly fly to the top of the stairs. Lucy expression went cold, well aware he intended to eat food he was banned from this week.


    She grabbed her cane, which she had leant against a workbench, and charged up the stairs. ¡°Scytale, you are not getting away with eating them!¡±


    She shut the door behind her, leaving Raegan, Annaliese, Sedric, and Sir Albrecht in the room together. Raegan glanced between them all, narrowed his eyes, then dashed up the stairs as well.


    Sir Albrecht turned to stare at the boy. ¡°Wait, Raegan, you shouldn¡¯t be leaving without-¡±


    He was interrupted by Annaliese picking up a box of gemstones from Sedric¡¯s workbench.


    ¡°Sedric, as the Prophetess of Fate, I command you to make me some expensive jewellery with this!¡±


    ¡°No way. First, that was bought with Lucille¡¯s money, secondly, I¡¯m her crafter and her crafter only, and thirdly, why would you deserve me crafting jewellery for you? ¡­in fact, doesn¡¯t the Citadel only wear gold jewellery with clear or yellow gems? Not these other colours?¡±


    ¡°T-that¡¯s beside the point. And what do you mean why would I deserve you crafting something for me! You¡¯re not that special!¡±


    ¡°Excuse me, I¡¯m a Legendary crafter!¡±


    Jasten Albrecht sighed as he listened to the Prophetess bicker with Sedric. He frowned in the direction of where Raegan went, but decided that dealing with his other ward¡¯s argument was priority.


    ¡­


    Chasing after her bond, and unsuccessfully catching up to him, Lucille walked the hallways of the Commission¡¯s Headquarters, heading towards the nearest lift to the rooftop. Through her perception field, a small boy with dark hair and bags under his eyes stalked her, hiding behind corridor corners in an attempt to skirt her vision. He had to know that she had spiritual perception, but maybe he didn¡¯t think hers was very large.


    Wondering what to do, she eventually took a path into a large central living room. She stepped to the side of the doorway and waited for her little follower to enter the room.


    Raegan, with a serious look on his face, slowly stepped into the living room. Then he frowned. ¡°Where did she-¡±


    ¡°Behind you.¡±


    Raegan yelped and jumped a mile as he started. He whirled around to see her gazing at him with her arms crossed.


    ¡°Now, what exactly are you up to?¡± Lucy asked in a dry voice. ¡°You know the way to the rooftop gardens, so I highly doubt you¡¯re looking for my bond.¡±


    He frowned at her.


    Lucille cocked an eyebrow. ¡°May I remind you that it was you who followed me here, so the one needing an explanation in this situation is me?¡±


    Raegan stayed silent. Lucy gazed at him for a while longer before she huffed and turned around to continue walking. ¡°If you¡¯re not going to reply, then I¡¯ll be on my way.¡±


    ¡°What do you want with Anna?¡±


    Lucy glanced over her shoulder with an eyebrow raised.


    Raegan scowled and crossed his arms. ¡°You heard me. What do you want with Anna, Annaliese, my sister, the Prophetess. She¡¯s been stuck on visiting you again ever since she left the Commission¡¯s Headquarters. It stinks of something fishy.¡±


    Lucy sighed and continued walking. ¡°I recall mentioning, quite clearly and several times, that it was your sister who wanted to see me again and not the other way around.¡±


    Raegan narrowed his eyes at her and followed after her. ¡°Then why does she want to see you again so badly?¡±


    ¡°Because she bears a grudge against me for potentially treating her as a youngster,¡± Lucille stated blandly. ¡°That, and she believes I know some way of understanding your abilities.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah? And how much do you really know about me? I doubt it¡¯s enough.¡±


    Lucille stopped walking. Then she slowly turned around. She narrowed her eyes and leaned forward so her eyes were level with Raegan¡¯s. He stepped back.


    ¡°How much do I know? I wonder¡­¡± Lucy tilted her head. ¡°The antithesis, the ancient enemy of the Citadel of Fate. The people around you have their fate and fortune drained, their lives descend into misery as all prosperity leaves them. Your sister and the people who meet you might be fooled, but I know the truth.¡±


    She poked his chest. ¡°An Origin Skill is born from someone¡¯s experiences, talents and personality. The culmination of their life before they awaken. The ability to ruin other people¡¯s lives must be something the individual deeply desires and wishes to accomplish. They say the antithesis is far more mature than others of their age due to their experiences.¡±


    Lucille straightened up and crossed her arms as she gazed expressionlessly at Raegan. ¡°I heard that a boy who picked on you fell into the river. Did you feel a sense of satisfaction seeing those who demeaned you suffer? That man who broke his leg, did you feel a sense of justice to know it was your ability that gave him pain?¡± She took a step closer, placed her hands on her hips, and lowered her head to face him again. ¡°Raegan Verdon, did you think you could fool me?¡±


    The boy had stayed silent the entire time as Lucy stated her observations. He didn¡¯t say a word.


    Then suddenly, a vicious, lopsided smirk appeared on his face. ¡°I¡¯ll admit, the river incident was an accident and the first time I used my abilities, but that man who broke his leg?¡± His smirk became cruel, in a way that appeared alien on his young face. ¡°I heard his screams and felt that all my efforts leading up to that point had been worth it.¡±


    Lucy straightened up and clicked her tongue with a look of disdain. ¡°Look at you. Not cute at all. You don¡¯t even try to hide your foul personality.¡±


    The dark-haired boy gave a wide shrug. ¡°What do I care? Should I keep a fake smile on my face like all the Citadel members who want me dead? I¡¯d rather kill myself than be like them.¡±


    ¡°Ha.¡± Lucille shook her head and turned away. ¡°Polar opposites indeed. Scytale was right. Does Annaliese know what her brother is really like?¡±


    ¡°She might have suspicions, but it doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Raegan replied with gritted teeth. ¡°She¡¯s too trusting, so I¡¯ll be the one who makes sure she keeps smiling. I¡¯d gladly die if it means she¡¯ll survive.¡±


    Raegan marched up to her. ¡°You know I know everything you told Annaliese right? Then you should know what happened to her after I was gone. Listen.¡± He grabbed onto her jacket and glared at her. ¡°If anything happens to her because of your actions then I don¡¯t care how immune you are to her and my abilities¡­¡± His expression went dark. ¡°I will make you pay.¡±

 Chapter 56 (2 of 2) The Time Travelling Lucille (And Snake)

    Lucille gazed coldly at the boy. She grabbed his wrists and pulled his hands off of her clothes. ¡°No, Raegan Verdon, you listen to me.¡± She poked him in the chest and pushed him back. ¡°You owe your life to me. I saved you, fully aware of what you are, and what you could become.¡± She took a step forward. ¡°That means that your actions from now on, anything you do, is my responsibility. Raegan Verdon, do not make me regret saving you.¡±


    Raegan looked uncomfortable with her statement. Lucy stepped back and sighed, wondering if she had said too much to someone who was still a thirteen-year-old boy. She shook her head and turned around.


    ¡°That said, I find it hard to believe that anything you plan to do will manage to get by Jasten Albrecht. He seems to have caught on to the real you.¡±


    Raegan scoffed and followed after her. ¡°Like he could stop me.¡± He followed her in silence for a while, seemingly preoccupied by something. Eventually, he spoke again. ¡°And what about you? Are you the wondrous saint my sister has been fooled into thinking you are, or do you have other intentions under that guise?¡±


    Lucy paused for a moment, then gave the boy an odd look. ¡°Do you think I became the Aurelian Commission Head and an Honorary Count by being ¡®a saint¡¯ as you put it?¡±


    That seemed to amuse Raegan, as he smirked and sped up his pace to walk alongside her. ¡°That was one thing I never understood. For all Annaliese complained and praised you, not once did she say anything that could hint at what you want, why you¡¯re here, or why I needed to be saved.¡±


    ¡°Then I suppose you¡¯ll just have to observe me and find out,¡± she replied.


    Raegan shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to be able to learn much when we¡¯ll never see each other again after this week.¡±


    Lucy highly doubted that they¡¯d never see each other again, but she wasn¡¯t about to put ideas in the Prophetess¡¯s head through her brother. But Lucille stopped and checked her pocket watch for the time.


    ¡°The others will be going to the rooftop to have lunch soon.¡± She gazed at Raegan and studied him silently for a bit. Then she stuck out a white-gloved hand.


    Raegan raised an eyebrow. ¡°What¡¯s this for?¡±


    ¡°To propose a deal.¡± Lucille grinned and leaned down to look into his eyes. ¡°You get to watch me to make sure I¡¯m not involving Annaliese in some scheme, and I¡¯ll observe you closely and stop you from taking the wrong path.¡±


    Raegan gazed at her hand for a moment, then grabbed it with a smirk. ¡°If you think you can stop me, you¡¯re welcome to try.¡± He shook her hand and let go.


    Lucy turned back around and straightened her jacket. ¡°We¡¯ll see. But first, it¡¯s lunch time.¡±


    ¡­


    -Several days later-


    ¡°Are you ready?¡±


    ¡°As ready as I¡¯ll ever be,¡± Lucille muttered.


    ¡°Go, Lucy, go!¡±


    Lucy gazed wearily in the direction of her overly enthusiastic cheering squad, consisting of one single Prophetess. They were in the training room on the 38<sup>th</sup> floor, accompanied by Annaliese, Raegan, Sir Albrecht, and Sedric, who had been unwillingly dragged there by her bond.


    Scytale was facing her, ready to begin their first proper spar. He looked at their audience. ¡°Hey, Raegan! Where¡¯s my cheer squad?¡±


    The dark-haired boy gave the snake a look of utter disgust. Scytale shook his head and turned back to Lucy. ¡°Alright, so, today¡¯s aim is to get some skills for me, right?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Then you can tier up your class before we go to a Dungeon.¡±


    ¡°Gotcha.¡± Scytale crouched down. ¡°How big can I go?¡±


    ¡°Please stick with only a factor of two. You¡¯ll be too big to fight effectively in this room otherwise,¡± Lucille replied.


    ¡°Aww. Alright.¡± With a flash of gold, his body swelled and gained two massive wings. His thick silver body writhed with taught muscles as he got ready to begin the fight. ¡°Time to bring out your weapons.¡±


    Lucy grimaced and unsheathed Apophis and Ouroboros. The two snake-swords rippled with their respective auras, the dichotomy of peaceful spirit power and chaotic, tense demonic power conflicting. She didn¡¯t extend them out very far, just another half-metre past their original length.


    ¡°Lucy, I don¡¯t really know how to go easy on anyone, so¡­¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°Don¡¯t go easy on me. Anybody out there wouldn¡¯t hesitate to attack me with all their effort.¡±


    ¡°What does he mean, ¡®I don¡¯t know how to go easy on anyone,¡¯?¡± Sedric said with contempt. ¡°He¡¯s a fifteen-year-old whose only talent is bragging!¡±


    Scytale narrowed his eyes at the crafter while Lucy rolled hers. ¡°Scytale, ignore him. Let¡¯s get back on track.¡±


    She raised Apophis and pointed it at her bond. ¡°On the count of three, attack.¡± Lucy readied herself. ¡°One¡­ two¡­¡±


    She leapt forward. ¡°Three!¡±


    Scytale gained a serpentine grin and swung his massive tail at her. Lucy switched her absorbed mana to wind mana, boosting her AGI to allow her to jump over the scaly limb. The AGI increase wasn¡¯t instant, however, so she had to dive into a roll to barely dodge the blast of light shot by her bond.


    ¡°Ha! Feel my awesome power!¡± Scytale exclaimed, quickly leaning too far into his job as Lucy¡¯s opposition.


    ¡°I felt nothing because you missed,¡± Lucille retorted, stepping back to gain some distance from the snake.


    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m just going slow to let you get used to it.¡± He beat his wings, attempting to use the window to destabilise Lucy¡¯s footing.


    She narrowed her eyes and dashed forward, stretching out a hand.


    ¡°Earthen Shield!¡±


    The brown mana-circle manifested in front of her and a semi-translucent wall of rocky brown mana formed to block Scytale¡¯s next strike. The shield shattered instantaneously, but it gave her enough time to swing Apophis and whip the sword against Scytale as it extended.


    The demonic weapon collided with Scytale¡¯s wings, sending his golden haze of light mana into chaotic disarray, but Scytale flared his wings and flapped them, flying up.


    Apophis was wrenched out of Lucy¡¯s grip and then Scytale flew straight back down, diving for the ground. He slammed into the ground and the room shuddered.


    ¡°One skill down! I don¡¯t think I need a secondary skill to help me ram things better but I¡¯ll take it.¡±


    He turned to face Lucy. ¡°Now then¡­¡± He opened his four wings wide and indigo mana billowed out of him. ¡°You should¡¯ve used Ouroboros!¡±


    Lucy¡¯s eyes widened and she swung Ouroboros to intercept the illusion mana. The demonic power distortion of Apophis gave Scytale some difficulty, but he managed to summon ten illusory fireballs to fling at Lucy.


    ¡°¡­illusion mimicry?¡± Jasten Albrecht muttered.


    Annaliese turned to her guard. ¡°Sir Albrecht? Is something wrong?¡±


    The wild-haired Paladin frowned. ¡°A fifteen-year-old shouldn¡¯t have the skills to use that advanced illusion technique.¡±


    Annaliese blinked, confused, but then smiled and nodded. ¡°My friends are special.¡±


    He shot her an exasperated look. ¡°This is not that easily explained.¡±


    A flash of sky-blue light brought their attention back to the fight. Ouroboros¡¯s shield had activated to defend against the bombardment of fireballs. The mana was sucked into the shield and Lucy ran forward again, trying to use her spiritual telekinesis to disentangle Apophis from Scytale¡¯s wings. The only benefit of the lost weapon was that Scytale was having difficulty casting his spells properly.


    ¡°Ugh, of course it would be my bond who gained the realms¡¯ most annoying weapon.¡± The silvery snake wriggled and writhed, trying to dislodge the rotating blade from his wings. Apophis fell to the ground and Scytale used his mouth to grab the handle, ignoring the sparks of abrasive demonic energy that conflicted against his scales. He tossed the blade back near Lucy. ¡°Don¡¯t lose it again. No enemy is going to be as nice as me and chuck you back your weapon.¡±


    Lucille rolled her eyes. ¡°Thank you, Mr State-The-Obvious.¡± Apophis retracted back into his base longsword form and white mana billowed around her. Her AGI had finished being enhanced, but it was slowly lowering as the elemental ratios within her body automatically stabilised.


    To take advantage of her full 70% enhancement, she used the spare wind mana around her to cast a spell of the wind element that enhanced her speed further. She dashed forward and twisted her body to avoid the whip-like motion of Scytale¡¯s tail. Her perception field tracked the position of her bond, the tensing of his muscles, and the movement of his mana.


    Apophis should¡¯ve been draining his mana, but Scytale is acting like he doesn¡¯t feel a thing. Which is likely. The dunce wouldn¡¯t feel a blade through his spine if the adrenaline rush was strong enough.


    She looked up and watched the tip of Scytale¡¯s wings move.


    In 0.23 seconds he¡¯ll move them again. Let¡¯s try Ouroboros this time.


    Intending for Ouroboros to chain down the flapping wings and restrict Scytale¡¯s movement, she jumped over his tail and swung the silver blade. Ouroboros extended as she focused on her spiritual telekinesis to move the blade correctly-


    Scytale¡¯s tail suddenly swung into her side with immense force and slammed her into a wall of the room. Lucy spluttered from the force of the blow, a sharp ache forming along her ribs.


    [-2000 HP]


    [HP: 3850/5850]


    ¡°Woohoo! Two skills down! And nice, a skill to strengthen my whipping ability. This is way more helpful than- wait, Lucy?¡±


    She groaned and let the two blades fall out of her hands. Touching her stomach, a shallow but long cut left by the serrated edges of Scytale¡¯s scales left her hand covered in blood.


    ¡°Not again! Here let me heal you-¡± Scytale shrunk and flew over. He skidded to a stop and released his golden light mana. Annaliese was rushing over behind him.


    ¡°Lucy, Lucy, the spell isn¡¯t working, how do I-¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡± An arcane orb slamming into Scytale¡¯s face quickly cut off any more words. Lucille put one hand to a temple as she sighed and rested her head against the back of the wall. ¡°I have a headache, and you¡¯re making things worse. Let go of your control over the spell.¡±


    ¡°What do you- oh. Ooooh.¡±


    Scytale¡¯s elemental spell deformed slightly as his mana signature was erased, but it quickly snapped back into place as Lucy obtained control of the mana. The yellow light flowed towards her wounds.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    [+50 HP]


    [+50 HP]


    [+50 HP]


    [+50 H¡­]


    Lucille opened her dimensional bag to take out a high-grade health potion. She swallowed it, repairing her wounds instantly.


    [+10,000 HP]


    [HP: 5850/5850]


    ¡°Lucy! Are you alright?!¡±


    Lucy raised her eyes to see the worried Annaliese quickly rushing over. An exasperated Sir Albrecht was marching over too, followed by both Raegan and Sedric, who looked like they didn¡¯t know what to do with themselves. Lucille sighed and sheathed Apophis and Ouroboros before standing up, using the wall to support herself.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Lucy replied, waving off the Prophetess¡¯s attempts to help her up. ¡°The potion already healed me, I¡¯m just dealing with the phantom pain left behind when a wound heals too quickly.¡± Lucille straightened up and stretched, then crossed her arms to face her winged bond on the ground. ¡°If this is how you¡¯re going to react when you get a new skill I¡¯d be worried for the allies around you on the battlefield.¡±


    Scytale sheepishly avoided eye contact. ¡°Uh¡­ sorry. I got a bit too excited there.¡±


    Lucy rolled her eyes and then winced from the sensation of the act. She frowned as she rubbed her neck. ¡°I can¡¯t say I¡¯m too happy about my own performance.¡±


    ¡°That was amazing for a first time fighter!¡± Annaliese said, coming between Lucy and Scytale. Then she hesitated. ¡°Or at least¡­ I think it was amazing?¡± She turned to look at her private guard. ¡°Sir Albrecht?¡±


    Jasten Albrecht was looking at Lucille with a frown, deep in thought. She cocked an eyebrow. ¡°Is the mighty personal Paladin of the Prophetess of Fate too high a status to bother judging the combat ability of mere middle nobility like me?¡±


    Annaliese frowned at him. ¡°Sir Albrecht, please.¡±


    He shot the Prophetess an exasperated glance, gave Lucy a flat one, but sighed and scratched the back of his head. ¡°Your technical ability is highly advanced. So advanced that I was questioning what I was looking at.¡± He crossed his arms and frowned. ¡°But you think for too long before executing your attacks. You also don¡¯t use simple attacks like slashing often enough. You¡¯re bad at keeping the innate rhythm of your attacks going.¡±


    Lucy looked down at her blades.


    Well, as a battlemage, I¡¯m more used to releasing singular powerful spells. But what kind of ¡®simple¡¯ attacks could I even use with these snake-swords?


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what constitutes a ¡®simple¡¯ attack when it comes to me my two weapons,¡± she replied.


    He shook his head. ¡°And I can¡¯t help you with that, unfortunately. I¡¯ve never seen weapons like yours either.¡±


    Lucille sighed and nodded. ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll have to find out on my own.¡± She pulled out her pocket watch to check the time. ¡°I¡¯ll need to return to work soon, so I think we should leave it here, and¡­¡± She looked up and narrowed her eyes. ¡°What exactly do you two think you¡¯re doing?¡±


    Sedric and Raegan were glaring at each other. It was only when Scytale, Sir Albrecht and Annaliese turned to face them as well did they notice the eyes on them.


    ¡°He started it!¡± Raegan announced, pointing at the crafter.


    Sedric gave the boy an incredulous look. ¡°Excuse me, started what?!¡±


    The dark-haired boy shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I just wanted to put the blame on you first.¡±


    Sedric scowled as Lucy rubbed her temples. The crafter crossed his arms. ¡°Every time I try to take a step forward to leave this place I trip, or stumble, or stub my toe.¡±


    ¡°And how is that my fault?¡± Raegan asked with a smirk.


    Sedric threw his hands up. ¡°I have no idea, but you always have that smug grin on your face, so I know you¡¯re doing something!¡±


    Lucy tilted her head as she watched them argue.


    Raegan has better control over his ability than I expected. Even those with high elemental affinity don¡¯t gain such an accurate ability to manifest their Origin Skill¡¯s effects. Maybe I¡¯ll use the shard to analyse his incomplete Origin Skill at a later date with his permission.


    But she was getting annoyed by their fighting, so she loudly clapped her hands together. ¡°Alright. Sedric, stop fighting with Raegan. He¡¯s the Prophetess of Fate¡¯s younger brother, so you can¡¯t treat him as just anyone.¡±


    Raegan¡¯s smirk grew wider as Sedric scowled, but then the next words Lucille spoke made Raegan scowl too.


    ¡°And why are you picking a fight with a little kid in the first place, Sedric? I thought you were above that.¡±


    ¡°Hey! I¡¯m not that young!¡± Raegan angrily exclaimed.


    Sedric snickered as Lucy turned around and headed towards the door. ¡°I¡¯ll see you all later. I have work to do.¡±


    ¡­


    The scratching of a pen against paper filled Lucy¡¯s study. The turning of the room¡¯s doorknob made her look up with a raised eyebrow, as she knew exactly who was outside her door this late at night.


    ¡°Hey Lucy, get to bed!¡± Scytale said, sticking his head through the doorway. ¡°It¡¯s late.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Lucille leaned back and crossed her arms. ¡°Then tell me, Scytale. Why are you still awake?¡±


    Her bond placed his hands on his hips. ¡°I¡¯m responsible enough to go to bed when I want. I don¡¯t need you to tell me off for staying awake.¡±


    ¡°Yet you happen to be ignoring the fact that the Scytale I know loves his sleep,¡± Lucy replied dryly. ¡°There could only be one reason why you¡¯re still up. Who did you choose to prank, Sedric or Raegan?¡±


    He sheepishly looked away. ¡°I didn¡¯t prank anyone.¡±


    Lucille rolled her eyes and stood up from the desk. ¡°Be careful that the price you pay for messing with them isn¡¯t more than you bargained for.¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah, whatever.¡± He walked with his hands behind his head as he followed Lucy through the hallway. ¡°By the way, what Dungeon do you have in mind for us?¡±


    Lucy shot the snake a smirk. ¡°Well, as one of only three time travellers, we need to take advantage of our knowledge, right?¡±


    Scytale blinked and lowered his arms curiously. They went into her living room where they sat down on a couch. ¡°Are you thinking of somewhere special?¡±


    ¡°If you mean I¡¯m going to let us take credit for the discovery of another Ancient Dungeon then yes,¡± Lucy said with a grin.


    His eyes widened. ¡°Wait, are you planning on doing a Quest?¡±


    ¡°Not just that.¡± Lucille opened up her dimensional bag to retrieve her brass jug. ¡°Ravimoux can help us with a throwaway identity, so we can access the Adventurer¡¯s Guild¡¯s Faction Quests and the System¡¯s Quests at the same time.¡± She poured a drink of tea and raised the cup with a shrug. ¡°We¡¯ll also earn a percentage of the experience of all those who complete the System Quests derived from our initial Dungeon Discovery Quest. We could be earning xp from this months from now.¡±


    ¡°But aren¡¯t you part of the Commission?¡± Scytale asked, confused.


    Lucy held up her pocket watch. ¡°This grants me Total Faction Authority of the Aurelian Commission. I¡¯m a member of the Commission purely because I hold this item.¡± She shrugged again. ¡°Nobody bothers to check if I have selected the ¡®Member of the Aurelian Commission¡¯ Title when I have absolute proof of my identity right here.¡± After taking a sip, she placed her cup down. ¡°But I won¡¯t be able to use this trick very often. Which is why Ravimoux will help me with my plan.¡±


    ¡°What do they get out of it though?¡± her bond asked.


    Lucy cocked an eyebrow. ¡°Only the Commission gaining the earliest access and information on the location of this Ancient Dungeon before anyone else, and exclusive right to share knowledge of this with Guilds they choose.¡± She smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve already given Ravimoux hints that I knew of this place from before my ¡®reincarnation¡¯ as they believe, so they think there¡¯s a strong chance of this being a Dungeon. But we know it is one without a doubt.¡±


    She gestured to the room¡¯s window. ¡°They bought the land and so according to Empire law, they get to control which Guilds can access the Dungeon. It¡¯s on a Minor plane so the kingdom¡¯s laws can¡¯t restrict the Counties much, and the land price is also so cheap that it¡¯s hardly anything for Ravimoux to buy it.¡±


    Lucy shrugged and crossed her arms. ¡°We get priority over all artifacts and special resources obtained from the Dungeon.¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡± Scytale thought for a moment. ¡°Which Dungeon is this? Ancient Dungeons are pretty rare, with only several hundred across the entire realm. We also need to make sure the Hero doesn¡¯t get suspicious because of us finding it.¡±


    Lucille nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve already considered that. The Dungeon we¡¯ll be heading to becomes found within the next two months. It was also on a Minor plane, so it took several years for news to spread to the central Empire. As luck would have it, this Dungeon entered the possession of the Commission in the past too, so this change shouldn¡¯t be big enough to cause alarm.¡± Lucy picked up her drink again. ¡°But this Dungeon wasn¡¯t known for its artifacts and items. It was known for being the secret base of a school of earth elementalists from many millennia ago,¡± she said with a smirk. ¡°We¡¯re looking at one of the single largest collections of powerful gemstones in the entire Empire.¡±


    Scytale let out a whistle. ¡°Sedric is going to be happy. But why a Dungeon full of mana crystals and gemstones?¡± he asked. ¡°Neither of us are the best at killing golems or whatever lies in that kind of Dungeon.¡±


    Lucy drank the rest of her tea and placed the cup down. ¡°Because both Sedric and I will eventually need powerful gemstones for crafting, developing the airships will require gemstones, and as a Dungeon delved purely for its raw resources, the Hero won¡¯t consider conquering this Dungeon until he has formed his Guild,¡± she explained. ¡°He wants items, weapons, armour, and treasure that can personally benefit him right now. There may be a chance he¡¯ll become interested in the Dungeon in the future, but¡­¡± She gave her bond a smirk. ¡°Just because I decline selling the Dungeon, doesn¡¯t mean Deus Ex Machina will automatically consider me an enemy.¡±


    ¡°Oooh, so this is about him.¡± Scytale nodded. ¡°I get it now. Because Ancient Dungeons disguise themselves as weak Dungeons too, it won¡¯t be that hard at the start either.¡± He raised his arms above his head to stretch. ¡°Well, we better head to the Obelisk sooner than later then. I need to tier up my class, and you wanted to get those last skills from Sauf-¡±


    Scytale stopped talking when he felt a sense of urgency flow through their bond from Lucy. Lucille had placed a gloved finger against her lips to shush him. She frowned and looked in the direction of the sitting room¡¯s door.


    Her bond blinked. ¡°Lucy? Why are you-¡±


    The doorknob turned and the door slowly creaked open. A white-clad figure with wavy blonde hair stuck her head in, peeking around the edge-


    -and then flinched when faced with the stares of both Lucy and Scytale. The door slammed shut, leaving the room in silence.


    Lucille and Scytale traded glances. Barely suppressing a groan, Lucy rubbed her temples, then rested the back of her head against the couch. With a sigh, she said, ¡°Annaliese, it¡¯s too late to hide. You may as well come in.¡±


    The door opened again and the Prophetess sheepishly stepped in. With a pillow held in one arm, the door clicked shut behind her. She held it close and sat down on the couch opposite Lucy.


    ¡°I- uh, wanted to get a glass of water from the kitchen,¡± Annaliese said.


    Scytale shook his head as Lucy rolled her eyes. ¡°Annaliese, Scytale has a lie detection skill, and I ensured your room had a private kitchen. You¡¯ve also passed at least five smaller kitchens on the way to this room. I saw you skulking along the hallways the entire time.¡±


    Annaliese shrunk down on the couch. ¡°I¡­ had a nightmare¡­?¡±


    The look of utter disdain that appeared on the face of Lucy made the girl go pink and she angrily put the pillow down on her lap. ¡°Alright, so I came here to find you! So what?! You shouldn¡¯t make me feel bad about that!¡±


    ¡°It was all you that made you feel bad about that,¡± Lucille pointed out.


    The blonde-haired girl glared at her. ¡°No, it was you!¡±


    Lucy raised an eyebrow. ¡°Do I need to go find Sir Albrecht to send you back to bed?¡±


    Annaliese scowled, but Scytale let out a yawn. ¡°Leave her alone, Lucy. If you keep going then Annaliese¡¯s shouts will wake up everyone else.¡±


    Lucille narrowed her eyes at her bond. ¡°It seems someone else needs to be sent to bed.¡±


    Scytale hurriedly covered his mouth to hide his yawn. ¡°No, no, I¡¯m fine, perfectly fine.¡±


    Lucy huffed but leaned back on the couch. She sighed and gestured to the Prophetess. ¡°Any particular reason why you came here late at night instead of the day? We might¡¯ve possibly been asleep already.¡±


    Annaliese gained a slightly awkward look. ¡°Well¡­ I thought that maybe I could talk to you without Sir Albrecht overhearing¡­¡±


    Lucy glanced in the direction of the door as she could sense with her perception field that a very tired and cross-looking Paladin was marching towards her living room. She sent Annaliese a flat look. ¡°You failed to consider the fact that a Rank-5 Paladin, someone with an Ancient class, doesn¡¯t even need to sleep for three whole months.¡±


    The blonde-haired girl stared at her. Then she buried her head into the pillow. ¡°¡­he¡¯s coming here, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    Lucille nodded silently. Annaliese groaned and Lucy raised an eyebrow at her. ¡°Why did you bring the pillow with you?¡±


    The girl frowned and tucked the pillow under her chin. ¡°It¡¯s comfy.¡±


    ¡°Yup. The Commission¡¯s pillows are great,¡± Scytale replied, laying back on the couch with a pillow of his own under his head.


    Lucille shook her head wryly. ¡°If you say so. But I¡¯m still curious as to what you wanted to discuss with me.¡±


    Annaliese hesitated. She looked at the door, then at Lucy. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ do you really not want to see me again?¡±


    Lucy gazed silently at her for a moment, and then sighed. ¡°Look, Annaliese. You¡¯re one of the most famous figures of a Supreme Institution known for destroying kingdoms with only a twist of Fate essence. It¡¯s risky, for both you and me, to see each other.¡±


    The Prophetess opened her mouth, then closed it. She looked upset, but then a very stupid snake decided to open his mouth.


    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to what she says, Annaliese. Lucy already expected you to come back and has made heaps of plans to stop politics stuff from happening so you can keep coming here all you want-¡±


    ¡°Scytale!¡± Lucy interrupted, glaring at him.


    The silver-haired boy shifted back into his serpent form and hastily sped towards the kitchen. ¡°I¡¯ll see you later!¡±


    Lucille ran a hand down her face as Annaliese¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You knew I¡¯d come back?¡±


    Lucy gazed wearily at the girl. ¡°¡­what will you do if I say yes?¡±


    Annaliese beamed. ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to use that knowledge so I can find out all your secrets, like your age!¡±


    ¡°My tip is to start with Vincent if that¡¯s your goal. He knows almost as much as you do about Lucy,¡± the incredibly idiotic serpent interjected, sticking his snout around the kitchen doorway.


    Lucy¡¯s eyes widened and she stormed after the snake. ¡°That¡¯s it! I¡¯ve had it with you!¡± Arcane Ball spells spun above her palms as she chased Scytale around the room. ¡°Get back here, you foul loose-tongued beast, so I can finally knock some sense into you!¡±


    ¡°Those won¡¯t knock sense into me, they¡¯ll knock my brains out!¡±


    ¡°You think you have more than one puny, pitiful excuse for a thinking organ in there?!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a turn of phrase!¡±


    Annaliese smiled as she watched them argue, amused by Lucille¡¯s reaction. Both Lucy and Scytale ran out into the kitchen, leaving her alone. Annaliese stood up, prepared to follow them, but¡­


    ¡­an armoured hand clamped down on her shoulder. She yelped and nervously looked back to see the scowling face of Sir Jasten Albrecht gazing at her.


    ¡°You, young girl, are coming with me.¡±


    It seemed the Prophetess had her own enemy to run away from.


    <hr>


    -The next day-


    A blonde-haired girl walked through the hallways of the Commission, with Sir Albrecht and her brother following behind. She nervously glanced at the Paladin now and then, making his eyes narrow with suspicion, but nothing happened for a while as they headed to where they¡¯d be having lunch.


    Something finally occurred when they crossed paths with a snake in human form casually whistling as he walked. Scytale stopped and grinned when he saw them.


    ¡°It¡¯s the Prophetess, her guard, and my wonderful test subject! I¡¯m so glad to see you again, especially you, Raegan!¡±


    Raegan scowled and quickly turned to take another corridor. ¡°I¡¯m not dealing with him.¡±


    Sir Albrecht frowned and glanced between his two wards. He sighed and followed Raegan. ¡°Raegan, you can¡¯t just walk off without me. Come back here.¡± He turned and pointed to Annaliese. ¡°You stay here for a moment.¡±


    She nodded with a smile. ¡°Yes, Sir Albrecht!¡±


    The Paladin walked off, looking for Raegan, and Scytale let out several ¡®tuts¡¯ as he shook his head.


    ¡°Am I that scary?¡± the snake asked.


    Annaliese glanced to the side where Jasten Albrecht had walked off, then quickly ran up to Scytale. She cupped a hand around her mouth as she leaned to whisper into his ear. ¡°Scytale, can I ask you for a favour? Could you please go make Raegan angry so he chases you and distracts Sir Albrecht for a bit?¡±


    Scytale blinked and then smirked. He gave her a thumbs up. ¡°No worries. I was going to do that anyway!¡± He ran off after Raegan and Sir Albrecht.


    ¡°That¡¯s good!¡± Annaliese called out. Then she hesitated. ¡°At least I think that¡¯s good.¡± She looked around to make sure nobody was near and then set off on a walk. ¡°Now, where would Vincent be¡­¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Vincent!¡±


    The silver-haired man with a stack of papers in his arms blinked and turned around when he heard her voice. He shifted his silver half-moon glasses as he saw her. ¡°Miss Verdon? Shouldn¡¯t you be with your guard?¡±


    ¡°Sir Albrecht went after my brother, so he can¡¯t right now,¡± Annaliese casually explained, walking beside him.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± Vincent eyed her unsurely. ¡°But now there¡¯s nobody to attend you, Miss Verdon.¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°Then you¡¯ll just have to attend me for now.¡±


    He gave her a bemused look but shook his head wryly and continued walking. ¡°I won¡¯t be able to stay with you for long, however. I need to pass these to Lucille in a few minutes.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± Annaliese said with a nod.


    They walked in comfortable silence for a while as Annaliese pondered over what to say. Eventually, she began with, ¡°On the topic of Lucille¡­ I wanted to talk to you about her for a moment.¡±


    Vincent paused and shot her an odd look. ¡°About Lucille? That is¡­ an interesting request. I¡¯m not quite sure how I can help you with that.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ Scytale told me you know as much about her as I do, sort of,¡± Annaliese explained. ¡°I wanted to know what you thought about her secret.¡±


    The silver-haired man¡¯s steps slowed to a complete stop. He turned to face her, regarding her silently. Then he smirked. ¡°I will say that is a discussion I am very interested to have. There¡¯s only one Lucille, after all, and her secret is¡­ one of the rarer kinds among the realms.¡±


    Annaliese smiled. ¡°Maybe even the rarest.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡± Vincent nodded. He gave her a curious look. ¡°When did Lucy tell you about it?¡±


    Annaliese hummed in thought. ¡°She never really tried to hide it. Now that I think back, there were many clues that could point to her identity.¡±


    Vincent chuckled and began walking again. ¡°Yes, she has always presented herself in a very distinct way.¡±


    Annaliese, feeling happy that she could talk to Vincent about Lucy, walked with him. ¡°It explains how she knows so much too! I feel like any time I ask a question she always has an answer.¡±


    ¡°Well, she seemed to have an interesting work history at least,¡± Vincent commented. ¡°A professor of the Academy and a former mercenary¡­¡±


    ¡°Professor? Wasn¡¯t she an Admiral?¡± Annaliese asked with confusion.


    Vincent stopped to stare at her. ¡°Sorry? An Admiral? And Admiral of what?¡±


    ¡°The Distorted Depths! That was when she became a battlemage!¡± Annaliese replied. Then she hesitated and tilted her head. ¡°Did¡­ she never tell you that? Actually, I never heard that she was a professor or mercenary¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­no, she never told me she was a former Admiral¡­¡± Vincent muttered.


    Their conversation stopped for a minute as they walked in silence. Vincent had a pensive expression, and the atmosphere didn¡¯t feel quite right. Annaliese shook her head and decided to change the subject slightly. ¡°But I can¡¯t believe there¡¯s even two of them! Scytale only told me recently that he¡¯s the same!¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, Lucy¡¯s bond informed me that it was his young body influencing his actions that made him seem immature,¡± Vincent recalled. ¡°They make quite the pair.¡±


    ¡°That explains a lot! Still, I¡¯d like to know what kind of things they¡¯ve seen,¡± Annaliese mused. ¡°It must be pretty amazing.¡±


    Vincent cocked an eyebrow at her. ¡°It could hardly be much different from now, can it? The Empire has stayed the same for millennia.¡±


    Annaliese quickly shook her head. ¡°Yes, but they even know the outcome of the Millennium Chapter! I thought only I as the Prophetess should know that.¡±


    Vincent stopped on the spot. It was so abrupt that Annaliese continued past him for a second before blinking and realising he wasn¡¯t moving. She turned to face him. ¡°Vincent?¡±


    Vincent gazed at her strangely. ¡°Miss Verdon, how could Lucy possibly¡­¡± He hesitated, then frowned and held his chin. He looked back up. ¡°Miss Verdon, are there¡­ any more details about Lucy that I might possibly not know, such as the Admiral information?¡±


    Annaliese blinked, feeling confused, but thought about it. ¡°Uh¡­ well¡­ because she¡¯s ¡®dead¡¯ to Fate, that was the whole reason why I never knew she was coming?¡± she answered hesitantly. ¡°She even expected it, which allowed her to use her knowledge to guess the Paladins wouldn¡¯t pick me up until a week later. The ¡®secret¡¯ is the entire reason why my brother could be saved.¡±


    Vincent went silent again. ¡°I¡­ have the distinct feeling, Miss Verdon, that the secrets we both think we know about Lucille are not the same,¡± he replied quietly.


    Annaliese didn¡¯t know how to respond. They stayed silent, until Vincent coughed and gestured to her with his free hand. ¡°Then¡­ let¡¯s share our ¡®secrets¡¯ to see what we¡¯re both talking about. You go first, and I¡¯ll tell you mine straight after. We should do it while your guard isn¡¯t here.¡±


    Annaliese nodded. ¡°I¡¯m talking about the fact she¡¯s a time traveller of course! She came back from the future, which is how she found me! Isn¡¯t that what she told you?¡± She registered the blank stare from Vincent and tilted her head hesitantly. ¡°Was¡­ that not what she told you? What about your ¡®secret¡¯?¡±


    ¡°I believe my ¡®secret¡¯ is a lot less interesting than yours, Miss Verdon,¡± Vincent slowly replied in a tight voice. He adjusted his glasses as he continued to stare at her.


    ¡°Umm¡­¡± Annaliese blinked. ¡°Then what did she tell you?¡±


    ¡°¡­that she¡¯s two hundred and forty-nine years old.¡±


    They continued staring at each other for a few more minutes. Then Annaliese looked down the hallway she came from, looked at the hallway leading towards Lucille¡¯s office, and looked back at Vincent.


    And then she turned bright red with anger. ¡°I knew she was treating me as a kid!¡± She picked up her dress and began running down the hallway. ¡°Lucille!¡±


    Vincent glanced down at the documents in his arms, then swiftly threw them over one shoulder. He stormed off after Annaliese with a dark look on his face as he muttered, ¡°I want to see how she¡¯ll try to explain herself this time.¡±

 Chapter 57 (1 of 2) The Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis

    Lucille went expressionless as two pairs of hurried footsteps approached her study door. They stalled for a moment as they were barred by the locked door.


    Lucy fixed a calm smile on her face and straightened up, returning to her work as the jingle of keys sounded, indicating an unlocked door. The door was slammed open and a girl with long blonde hair burst in.


    ¡°Lucy!¡±


    Lucille rubbed her neck as she heard the loud sound but ignored the girl. Annaliese scowled and Vincent walked in, eyes narrowed at Lucy. ¡°Is the great time traveller enjoying herself today?¡±


    ¡°What in the realms are you talking about, Vincent?¡± Lucy replied without looking up.


    ¡°Lucy! Why didn¡¯t you tell me you¡¯re over two hundred!¡± Annaliese exclaimed. Then she frowned. ¡°No, I know why you didn¡¯t tell me. It¡¯s all because you thought I was too immature to deal with, isn¡¯t it? I bet the real reason why you didn¡¯t want me to come back is because I¡¯m bothersome!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m more interested in discussing Lucille¡¯s other unique characteristic,¡± Vincent interjected in a dry voice. He came in front of the desk. ¡°A woman who has seen more than two hundred years of the future must have some very special plans in store for the present.¡±


    Lucy smiled brightly at her aide as he narrowed his eyes back, but Annaliese hit Lucille¡¯s desk to draw her attention. ¡°Lucy, stop ignoring us and answer!¡±


    Lucille looked between the two. She let out a short sigh and then spread her arms. ¡°This would make a fascinating subject to study.¡±


    Her audience gave her indescribably strange looks as she continued, ¡°One girl is shocked that a girl who appears only two years older than her is many more years older than she thought, while you, Vincent, are more preoccupied with the concept of me having obtained knowledge of and seen events that occur later than the present. Is it the difference in social class? The difference in age?¡±


    Vincent scowled at her as she held her chin. ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s a symptom of the commoner-nobility divide, or in fact, derived from the difference in abilities between you. Annaliese is the Prophetess of Fate, so her familiarity with the idea of pre-knowledge must be higher than-¡±


    ¡°Lucy, stop avoiding the subject!¡± Annaliese interrupted.


    ¡°That was what I was going to say as well,¡± Vincent stated with a flat voice. He rapped a hand on Lucy¡¯s desk. ¡°Count ¡®Time traveller¡¯ Goldcroft, I would appreciate a quick response before I go fetch your bond and bring him into this.¡±


    Lucille shrugged. ¡°Time travel is impossible, Vincent. I can¡¯t physically be any sort of individual from the future, as the System wouldn¡¯t let anyone ruin what it has set up.¡±


    Vincent narrowed his eyes. ¡°You appear to be discounting the possibility of you coming from a similar timeline set in the future, and only being transferred to your eighteen-year-old self in this timeline.¡±


    ¡°I-¡± After hearing Vincent mention timelines, she tilted her head and eyed him strangely. ¡°You know about timelines?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°A discussion with Melissa Evisenhardt resulted in me learning about them just before the debut.¡±


    ¡°Before the debut? But- wait.¡± Lucille held up a hand to stall any more words from him. ¡°Melissa knew my age before she met me. If I assume correctly that you hinted to her of my age¡­¡± Lucy narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°Did you ask about time travelling soon after talking about me?¡±


    Vincent opened his mouth and then hesitated. ¡°I¡­ er, yes. Is that important?¡±


    Lucy stared at him for a moment longer and then ran a hand down her face.


    Of all the ways someone would discover it¡­


    He flinched as Lucy jabbed a finger at him. ¡°Vincent, this means you were, in fact, the entire reason why Melissa Evisenhardt decided to take an interest in me. With such a quick change of topic to the existence of timelines, what conclusion do you think she has made?¡±


    He thought about it with a strange expression. ¡°Well¡­¡± He suddenly shook his head. ¡°Let¡¯s¡­ return to the topic. Is that a confession to your true status?¡±


    Lucy rolled her eyes. ¡°Why do you suddenly believe I¡¯m a time traveller? You¡¯ve dismissed it so many times before.¡±


    Vincent sighed and placed his hands on his hips. ¡°One too many details don¡¯t add up. The fact you have no elemental affinity before and now, that somehow Scytale is a similar soul age to you too, and that of all the people to have become the new Head of the Aurelian Commission¡­¡± He gave her a pointed look. ¡°It was you. Someone with an agenda.¡± Then he shrugged. ¡°Eventually, I decided that I¡¯d keep an open mind and act on the basis that you could know the future if I discovered one more detail that pointed to that conclusion.¡±


    Lucille gazed expressionlessly at him again, but then smiled brightly and spread her arms. ¡°You¡¯ve got me, congratulations Vincent! Yes, I come from the future. I hope you¡¯re happy with the knowledge.¡±


    Vincent crossed his arms as he eyed her with hesitation, seemingly wondering what to do now she had admitted it.


    Annaliese looked between the two of them, having difficulty following the conversation. The Prophetess leaned forward and pointed at Lucy.


    ¡°Anyway, Lucille,¡± she began. ¡°You¡¯re really two hundred and fifty?¡±


    ¡°Two hundred and forty-nine,¡± Lucy corrected. ¡°I was two hundred and forty-eight years and nine months before my return. I returned to my seventeen and nine-months-old self, so I simultaneously had my two hundred and forty-ninth and eighteenth birthday at the same time.¡±


    Annaliese thought about that. Then she shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s too confusing. But if you¡¯re that old, why don¡¯t you speak like old people?¡± she asked curiously.


    Lucy stared incredulously at her. ¡°Annaliese, please remember that while I¡¯m mentally much older than you, I was still born only two years prior. I am part of the same generation as you.¡±


    ¡°Yet you treat Sedric, Scytale and Miss Verdon as if they were far younger than you,¡± Vincent stated dryly.


    ¡°And they are!¡± Lucy argued, making him surprised. ¡°Can you imagine what it¡¯s like to return to your younger body and see everyone you knew acting so immaturely? It¡¯s a new form of mental torture, I swear.¡± She crossed her arms and scowled. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t revealed my age to the Counties, I would¡¯ve been stuck being treated like a youngster for the next ten or twenty years. I may have lived far longer than the two of you, but ten years is still a long time for me.¡±


    Annaliese and Vincent stared at her. Then Annaliese shrugged. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you reach two-hundred and fifty?¡±


    Lucy opened her mouth to respond, but Vincent replied instead.


    ¡°If dying sent you back somehow¡­ then that person who killed you and you said you killed as well could still be alive,¡± Vincent mused, holding his chin. ¡°Although the possibility exists that he hasn¡¯t even been born yet¡­¡± He saw Lucille¡¯s expressionless face and narrowed his eyes. ¡°No. He¡¯s still alive, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    Annaliese looked between them both with wide eyes. ¡°Huh? Lucy was killed?¡±


    Vincent didn¡¯t say anything and continued to watch Lucille. Lucille turned away with a frown. ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about it.¡±


    Vincent looked unsettled by her response, but Annaliese continued to look between them both with confusion. When nobody said anything, she clapped her hands to draw their attention. ¡°So, Lucy, no more lying to me, okay?¡±


    Lucy sent the blonde-haired girl a flat look. ¡°You have no understanding of the implications of my words, do you?¡± Lucille sighed and rubbed her neck. ¡°We need to cut this conversation short. Sir Albrecht will soon be able to hear us with his Rank-5 senses.¡±


    Annaliese paled slightly. ¡°Uh oh.¡± She quickly spun around and ran towards the door. ¡°I- uh, I might see you at dinner, Lucy!¡± Then she ran off, hoping to avoid meeting with Sir Albrecht for a few minutes longer.


    In the silence of the study, Vincent turned to Lucille. ¡°Does this mean I¡¯ll receive more comprehensive explanations of your actions?¡±


    Lucy glanced at him, then continued to write on her documents. ¡°I did expect you to eventually gain suspicions of what I am, but certainly not after only five months of knowing me.¡± She dropped the pen and intertwined her fingers. ¡°That said, I will endeavour to¡­ clarify my behaviour from now on.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°That¡¯s all I want for now. I¡¯m willing to wait to ask about what will happen.¡± Then he gave her a serious look. ¡°But if you still intend to ¡®save¡¯ your world as you told me¡­ can I ask why it was destroyed in the future?¡±


    Lucille fell silent, tapping her gloved fingers against the desk. Then she spoke slowly, ¡°My world studied alloys of mundane and magical materials. After careful research, we discovered something that made us incredibly valuable for the Supreme Institutions.¡±


    And threatening to them.


    Earth, when the Cosmic Realm was assimilated, became known for its ¡®Anti-Magic¡¯.


    ¡­


    ¡°Goodbye, Lucy!¡±


    Lucille gazed wearily at the cheerfully waving Prophetess, accompanied by the tired-looking Jasten Albrecht and frowning Raegan. Vincent and Scytale were standing behind Lucy, watching the guests leave with smiles and grins respectively.


    ¡°I really enjoyed staying here!¡± Annaliese said, smiling. ¡°It was lots of fun!¡±


    ¡°¡­that¡¯s good,¡± Lucy said with a sigh.


    ¡°Hey Raegan, watch out for those evil Paladins,¡± Scytale called with a smirk.


    The boy scowled and Sir Albrecht gave the snake a flat look. The Paladin adjusted his greatsword on his back and nodded to Lucille. ¡°Thank you for your hospitality, Count Goldcroft. I will be sure to bring back good words of your treatment to the Great Sage.¡±


    Lucille nodded. ¡°May Escalon¡¯s great will shield you.¡±


    ¡°¡­yes, may it shield you too,¡± the Paladin replied, watching her solemnly. He turned around and glanced at his wards. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    They walked down the side entrance hallway, heading for the door. When they were nearly at the exit, Annaliese spun around and waved her hand. ¡°I look forward to seeing you again next month!¡±


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    The Paladin and young boy on either side of her whipped their heads to the side to stare at the cheerful Prophetess, realising what her words meant.


    Lucille shook her head and turned around, walking away as an argument began to form among the three behind her. Vincent and Scytale walked alongside Lucy and followed her to the lift.


    ¡°That was an eventful week,¡± Vincent commented with a smirk.


    She shot him a weary look and sighed. ¡°I foresee a great deal of stress in the coming year.¡±


    ¡°Nah, you¡¯ll be fine,¡± Scytale said with a grin. ¡°Just make sure to avoid any scheming Sages and- oh look!¡±


    Vincent and Lucille blinked when faced with another tall individual, a spear strapped to his back. The scarlet-haired ex-mercenary looked up and paused when he saw them. ¡°¡­I just returned from a Battlefield Event, so I was heading up to the fortieth floor, but¡­¡± Hargrave looked between them all. ¡°Has¡­ something important happened while I was gone?¡±


    Lucy stared at Hargrave, but then shook her head and continued past him. The red-haired man gazed at her with bemusement as she walked off. ¡°Why¡­¡±


    As Scytale and Vincent approached, Scytale stopped to pat Hargrave on the shoulder. ¡°Let¡¯s just say you missed a lot.¡± He smirked.


    And he left Hargrave wondering who the young boy was.


    ¡­


    Vincent parted ways with them and Lucy and Scytale left to go to her living room. She sat down with a sigh and poured herself a cup of coffee as Scytale lounged on the couch.


    ¡°So¡­¡± he began, ¡°What next? Do we just jump up and head to the Dungeon?¡±


    Lucille shook her head. ¡°Not yet. During the time Annaliese was here, I ended up organising two meetings. It won¡¯t take more than four hours to resolve, after which we can finally find the Dungeon.¡±


    ¡°Well, if so¡­¡± Scytale sat back up and stretched. ¡°Should I go to the Obelisk and deal with my class merging? I want to make sure I get my class up to Epic before we begin levelling.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°That sounds like an acceptable plan. I need to leave the Commission Headquarters too, so we may as well do that now.¡±


    ¡°Righty-o.¡± Scytale stood up. ¡°Time to go!¡±


    ¡­


    After informing Vincent of their plans, Lucy and Scytale took a carriage. Lucille got off first to let the carriage take Scytale to the nearest Obelisk, while she looked up at the tall building in front of her.


    Made of tree trunks twisted through magic to form a building, wood mana emanated from the structure. Out of curiosity, Lucy attempted to control some of the wood mana that had entered her radius of control.


    Hm¡­ so I can¡¯t control the wood mana itself, but I can disintegrate it into earth, water, and light mana. I suppose altering my skill to control mid-level elements is another thing to do, although being able to disintegrate mid-level elements is still valuable.


    She stepped into the building, the roof covered in emeralds carved into the shape of leaves, and many magical plants on all sides of her. She walked up to a staff member behind a desk.


    ¡°Reservation for Count Lucille Goldcroft on the highest floor,¡± she ordered, holding up her pocket watch.


    The staff member flinched and hastily stood up, holding out a hand to lead the way. He took her through the building into a small dome-shaped area, where the short-range teleportation circle lit up under their feet. Lucille walked out onto the rooftop of the building, shaded by massive leaves.


    The Ancestral Oak of Plenty was a restaurant chain owned by a clan of wood elves. With food that was produced on the plane of Glenheim in their own domain, it was considered quite a luxurious place to eat, although the food served wasn¡¯t always to the tastes of those who dined there.


    ¡­in Earth terms, it was a vegan and ¡®all-organic¡¯ restaurant. Still, the food served was all from magical plants, so they functioned as far better meat substitutes due to their marvellous flavours compared to the chemical varieties from Earth.


    That reminds me of the FSF. The World Government¡¯s provisions for them were¡­ of interesting taste, to say the least. I wonder how Matthew is doing¡­


    She gained a slight smirk as they walked up several stairs to a raised platform.


    His squad will be completely paranoid after not seeing me for a year. I always enjoyed sneaking into their base in the Fringes. Maybe I should add Matthew to the list of potential ¡®Super Schemer¡¯ club members.


    A better club name should probably be found first though.


    The staff member she was following pointed to a green door. ¡°Your room is here.¡±


    Lucille nodded and he stood to the side of her and the one individual in front of the door.


    With fiery red curly hair that cascaded past her waist and a bronze Halberd gleaming on her armoured back, the 25-year-old woman nodded to Lucy. ¡°Faction Head. It¡¯s good to see I wasn¡¯t too early.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯m glad to see I wasn¡¯t late,¡± Lucille replied with a smile. ¡°Have you eaten here before, Lady Chavaret?¡±


    The woman shook her head. ¡°Rosaline is fine. I¡¯ve never been good with formalities.¡± Rosaline looked at the door. ¡°I haven¡¯t eaten here, but I¡¯ve heard unique things about it.¡±


    Lucy nodded and opened the door. ¡°I haven¡¯t eaten here before either. It will be a new experience for us both.¡±


    They entered through the door, revealing a small balcony that showed a pleasant view of Gilded Seat. They drew up a chair on either side of the table. Their waiter patiently stood behind Rosaline.


    They took some time to order their meals and then the waiter left.


    Rosaline fixed a serious gaze on Lucy. ¡°Please excuse me for being impatient, but I would like to discuss our reason for meeting here today as soon as possible.¡±


    Lucille nodded and intertwined her fingers. ¡°I take it you¡¯ve read the details in my letters.¡±


    ¡°Multiple times,¡± Rosaline replied with a nod. ¡°You wish for me to take my legion of the Mercenary Army to a region of the Beast Realm on an expedition.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. But not just any region.¡± Lucy tapped her fingers on the table. ¡°Are you familiar with Anomalous regions?¡±


    Rosaline held her chin in thought. ¡°The name is familiar, but I don¡¯t know the details.¡±


    ¡°An ¡®Anomalous region¡¯ is a region that does not form on the outskirts of the Beast Realm as a frontier region, but anywhere within the main body of the realm,¡± Lucy explained. ¡°They grow with far quicker speed than any normal region of the Beast Realm, and push apart the regions around them to expand. But they have one more important detail.¡±


    ¡°An Anomalous region is a region that somehow failed to form properly in its pocket dimension,¡± Lucy continued. ¡°The chaotic mana gave way to monster essence, and so Anomalous regions are filled to the brim with monsters. Each Anomalous region has, at minimum, five Aberrations within its borders.¡±


    ¡°Monsters stronger than King¡­¡± Rosaline murmured.


    Lucille nodded. ¡°As such, these regions contain hundreds of thousands of Lairs. They are the only places with such a high density of Realm Events. The experience and System rewards you may obtain from such a region is uncountable.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m curious.¡± Rosaline leaned forward to look at Lucy. ¡°Which particular ¡®Anomalous region¡¯ do you want us to explore?¡±


    Instead of answering straight away, Lucille retrieved a large scroll from her dimensional bag. She unfurled it to reveal a map of several specific regions of the Beast Realm. She pointed to the one painted dark green alongside a slightly larger region painted red.


    ¡°The region I want you to take your legion to is called the Soul-Swallowing Swamp Anomalous Region.¡± Lucille pointed to the green region on the map. Then she pointed to the red region beside it. ¡°It¡¯s located next to the capital region of the fox subrace, the Spirit Seer Region, where the Kitsune are.¡±


    ¡°Kitsune?¡± Rosaline raised an eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯ve heard they have a small population and only one enclave in their capital region.¡±


    Lucille nodded. ¡°They¡¯re not known for their power. However, their enclave is a major trading point. The Kitsune are unique among the subraces of the Beast Realm in that they don¡¯t try to restrict their bloodline royalty to only those with pure magical beast lineage. The demon beast and soul beast foxes of the Demon and Heavenly Realm have both chosen to vassalize themselves and mingle with the Kitsune and so short of the Dragon, Phoenix and possibly Fenrir regions, this enclave has the most inter-realm trade.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so this ties into your plans for the Commission to do more trade with the Beast Realm,¡± Rosaline mused. ¡°The Dragons, Phoenixes and Fenrirs have too many factions and forces involved in their trading, but as the Kitsune tends to trade only between the fox races, the Commission¡¯s mortal race goods may be valuable.¡±


    ¡°But as is the rule with the Beast Realm, you must prove yourself before a Supreme enclave will take you seriously. Which is where you and your legion come in,¡± Lucy said, pointing at the warrior. ¡°Wiping out a large amount of the Lairs in the Soul-Swallowing Swap Anomalous Region will reduce the size of the Anomalous region and increase the size of the Kitsune¡¯s. The Commission does not need the land, but the Kitsune would benefit from the region growing.¡±


    ¡°I see now.¡± Rosaline gave Lucy a vicious grin. ¡°No politics, no contracts, just pure force, and power to prove ourselves and gain access to their enclave¡¯s trade. And my legion becomes strengthened by the rewards and experience from the Lairs. I like this plan very much.¡± Rosaline stood up and gave Lucille a salute. ¡°Count Goldcroft, I am willing to take my legion to the Soul-Swallowing Swamp Region on your request.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Lucy nodded. ¡°Please be warned that you may be stationed in the Beast Realm for several years or longer.¡±


    Rosaline nodded seriously. ¡°I have no issues with that. Chavaret won¡¯t be participating in the Tournaments of Glory Pantheon for several battle seasons, nor do we expect any large war before the Millennium Chapter that might need my legion¡¯s forces.¡±


    Lucille smiled. ¡°Then let¡¯s eat our meal and discuss the details further, so you may leave for the region soon.¡±


    They ate lunch, and then Rosaline soon departed. Lucy stretched and waited patiently on the balcony as her second guest of the day walked onto the balcony.


    ¡°Oh, am I late?¡± Jacques Rouzet asked, blinking as he saw Lucy at the table.


    ¡°No, I just met someone here before you,¡± she explained, shaking her head. She gestured to the seat Rosaline had been in with a gloved palm. ¡°Please sit, and don¡¯t hold back from ordering something. I¡¯ve just eaten, but I can¡¯t send you away from this place without treating you at the very least.¡±


    ¡°Yes, well, when I heard Caius got to eat here two months ago, I might have been¡­ a little jealous.¡± Jacques smirked and sat down as the waiter approached. ¡°But I understand the logic in Vincent sending me to talk to the crafters of the craftsmen zone instead.¡± He shot her a look. ¡°Which seems to be related to what you called me here for.¡±


    Lucy smiled and ordered a drink from the waiter for herself. ¡°How have my group of crafters been settling in?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re very comfortable with working in a private workshop of the craftsmen zone for now,¡± Jacques informed her as the waiter left. Lucille had set the ponytailed man in charge of her newly employed crafters. ¡°They all came from the zone, so they¡¯re familiar with it. But they all want to prove their skills as soon as possible.¡±


    Lucy smirked. ¡°And how is that coming along?¡±


    Jacques grinned. ¡°Sir Artair quickly put us in contact with those neutral crafter clans of Alichanteu. Sir Arwen, when he heard, became eager to do his part and connected us with a few of the crafter clans outside of the Commission who may be interested in working on the trains with us as well. They¡¯re very happy to agree to a secrecy contract in exchange for their crafters eventually being released from the Commission¡¯s employment, as that¡¯s a rare benefit,¡± he explained.


    Lucille hummed. ¡°Artair has connections to the neutral faction of Alichanteu, even though they don¡¯t support him as heir¡­ they must feel their responsibility to hide the existence of the airships more important.¡± She glanced at Jacques and he smirked and clasped his hands over his ears.


    ¡°I heard nothing, and anything I did hear I¡¯ve forgotten already,¡± he said.


    She grinned and then opened up her dimensional bag to retrieve a folder. ¡°Let¡¯s move on to your situation. Have you come to a conclusion about my proposition?¡±


    Jacques nodded. ¡°Mostly, but just to clear up a few details, I¡¯d like to run through it again.¡±


    With a nod, she leaned her chin on her hand. ¡°What do you wish to know?¡±


    ¡°So, you want me to set up a commoner commerce¡­ union? Something that¡¯s like a Faction but not?¡± he asked.


    ¡°There is the possibility of it eventually becoming a Faction in the future, but for now, I want it to be an alliance of commoner merchants,¡± she explained. ¡°The reasons for this are complex, but essentially, I wish to create more competition in several cities of Alichanteu. This will improve the development of products for the market, as well as drive up wages and employment standards. The noble merchants out there need some pressure as they¡¯ve been a bit too lax for the last century.¡±


    Jacques pointed at himself. ¡°But using me, a noble.¡±


    Lucy raised an eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯ve been informed that you tend to prefer the mannerisms of commoners over proclaiming yourself a noble.¡±


    He gave her a sheepish grin. She shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not faulting you for wanting to have their lifestyle. But in this instance, you can be a far better bridge than any other noble of the Commission. After all, I¡¯ve heard quite a few of your friends are the children of the commoner merchants I want to join this union.¡±


    Jacques stared at her, surprised. ¡°Ooooh¡­ yeah, that makes more sense now¡­¡±


    Lucille handed over the folder. ¡°All the official details of your task are in here. Any transportation fees will be covered by me, and you¡¯ll be regularly commuting to and from Headquarters to visit the union¡¯s cities. Remember, you¡¯re only a bridge, not the leader.¡±


    He nodded and stood up, then gave her a short bow. ¡°I will do as you wish, Faction Head.¡±


    Lucy nodded. ¡°Make sure to ask me or Vincent whenever there¡¯s a problem. We¡¯ll involve ourselves to ensure the nobles don¡¯t try anything too big. Additionally, watch out for Olden and Radical.¡± She paused for a moment and gave him a serious look. ¡°The Dissenters too.¡±


    He gave her a surprised look but nodded seriously. ¡°I will.¡±


    The door to their balcony opened up, and the waiter appeared with Lucille¡¯s drink and Jacques¡¯s lunch in hand. He sat back down and Lucy took a sip of the fruit tea.


    ¡°But anyway, I saw Scytale in his human form the other day,¡± Jacques said with a grin. ¡°He was busy talking to the Prophetess, but he sure is a striking figure, with his silver hair and gold eyes. What kind of abilities did he go for?¡±


    Lucy smiled and took some time to discuss their new ¡®classes¡¯ and plans. Once they had finished, they both left the building.


    Lucille got into the carriage Scytale had used to go to the Obelisk, to find her bond eating an ice cream inside.


    In response to her odd look, Scytale shrugged. ¡°What? I haven¡¯t had any since we returned. Did you expect me to do nothing while waiting for you?¡±


    She shook her head wordlessly and sat opposite him. Lucy checked her pocket watch as Scytale eyed her curiously. ¡°So, where to next?¡±


    ¡°We check in with Vincent, get changed into something more appropriate, and then¡­¡± Lucille looked up and smirked. ¡°We go to the Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis.¡±


    ¡­


    The marble ground beneath their feet glowed with violet runes as the teleportation array slowly dimmed, allowing them to step off the array and into the Ascendant City of New Syna. The constant mana they had been surrounded by the entire time they were on the Gilded Dome plane had faded, to be replaced by small flickers of coloured mana, few and far between. It was a stark contrast to the atmosphere of the Gilded Dome plane.


    ¡°Yeesh. I am so glad we didn¡¯t start on one of these planes,¡± Scytale said, following Lucille out of the way of the teleportation array users. ¡°The lack of mana feels disgusting.¡± He tapped a foot on the stones beneath their shoes. ¡°Plus, it feels like the slightest bit of magic would punch a hole straight down to the plane source.¡±


    ¡°The Sparsewood Forest plane isn¡¯t that weak,¡± Lucy replied, looking around as they moved through the city. The plane¡¯s lower strength was reflected in the use of many mundane methods of transport and building construction. The materials that paved the roads were low in magical density, and the weaker horse and oxen low-ranked beasts pulled carts and carriages. Items seen used by the people were a low rarity. ¡°On a Minor plane, a Rank-1 would typically have the ability to wipe out a small-sized town if they tried.¡±


    Lucille took a turn, Scytale following close behind. She glanced at him. ¡°Besides, we¡¯re both under level 20. There will be no ¡®punching down to the plane source¡¯ yet.¡± The road widened and they came face to face with the south city gates. ¡°You know planar destruction isn¡¯t available until Rank-6 anyway.¡±


    ¡°You get my point though,¡± Scytale complained. He walked beside her as Lucy nodded to a gatekeeping guard, exiting the city. ¡°How far is this Dungeon if we can walk on foot, anyway?¡±


    ¡°Not very. You could say it¡¯s in an ¡®abandoned land¡¯ of New Syna City,¡± she explained. She gestured to the land before them, a wide flat area with only a few trees and shrubs. There wasn¡¯t a creature in sight. ¡°The history of this place is pretty common. A war occurred, and a kingdom was flattened. The Ascendant City was named New Syna in remembrance of the old kingdom of Synadis that was here, many millennia ago.¡±


    Scytale raised an eyebrow. ¡°But what about the whole adventurer stuff going on? Don¡¯t we need to check in with them first?¡±


    She shot him an odd look. ¡°Have you been to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild before?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡± Her bond shrugged.


    Lucy let out a huff and continued walking out onto the wasteland. ¡°I see. Well, what do you think would happen if we go marching into their branch headquarters, demanding to be given a Dungeon Quest because we know where one is?¡±


    Scytale went to open his mouth, but Lucy continued before he could answer, ¡°The local Guilds would chain us up and torture us for our information. What we need to do is find this Dungeon first so the Dungeon Discovery Quest is triggered, as the Adventurer¡¯s Guild will protect us from the other Guilds. We¡¯ll become too valuable as they¡¯ll want to get on our good sides to find the Dungeon.¡±


    Lucille pointed ahead. ¡°As such, we find the Dungeon, trigger the Quest, delve into it until we get what we need, then officially register the Dungeon with the Adventurer¡¯s Guild so we automatically receive their Quest rewards.¡±


    ¡°Alright then,¡± Scytale replied. He stretched his arms above him, eager to move. ¡°Where is this mysterious Dungeon?¡±


    Lucy looked down at the ground. ¡°Right about¡­ here.¡±


    Scytale looked down and only saw dirt and stone. He raised an eyebrow. ¡°Lucy, there¡¯s nothing-¡±


    His eyes widened as a blaze of fire mana flared out from Lucy and she stamped a foot into the ground. The ground immediately cracked open to form a large hole and Lucy and Scytale tumbled down. Her bond let out muffled curses as he quickly morphed into his beast form.


    ¡°A little warning would be nice!¡±


    The mana around Lucille turned white and a mana-circle spun beneath her feet. Scytale flew down as the spell slowed her fall, allowing her to have a gentle landing. She let the mana around her turn to light mana and light up the place around her. Scytale did the same with his light-element bestial aura and looked around.


    ¡°Okay¡­ so I¡¯m seeing a lot of what looks like crystal walls and marble floors. There are also weird crystal vases on pedestals in places. Pretty fancy,¡± he said. Then he looked up. ¡°Fancy roof too. Did you say this place used to belong to a bunch of earth elementalists?¡±


    They both watched as a small ding made a System message¡¯s existence known.


    [Mystical Realm Event: Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis]


    [Exploration Progress +0.1%]


    [New! Exploration Progress: 0.1%]


    Then Scytale flinched as a second loud notification sounded. Scytale saw the message and excitedly flapped his wings. ¡°Hey Lucy, this is an Ancient Dungeon! I just got the Dungeon Discovery Quest, and¡­¡± His words died as he felt a mix of strange emotions from Lucille. He turned to her. ¡°Uh¡­ Lucy?¡±


    Lucille looked at her bond. ¡°Did you say you received the Quest notification?¡±


    He nodded, while she hummed slightly.


    ¡°Interesting¡­ it appears I might not be able to begin Quests,¡± she said.

 Chapter 57 (2 of 2) The Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis

    Scytale stared at her. ¡°Um¡­ could you explain? What¡¯s happening?¡±


    ¡°Share User Lucille Goldcroft¡¯s notifications with User Scytale,¡± Lucy announced.


    The blue screen of chaotic messages unfurled in Scytale¡¯s sight.


    [User Lucille Goldcroft has discovered the Ancient Dungeon: Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis.]


    [Do you wish to accept the Realm Quest: Ancient Dungeon Discover-]


    [Error: User is ineligible for Quests]


    [User Lucille Goldcroft has discovered the Ancient Dungeon: Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis.]


    [Do you wish to accept the Realm Quest: Ancient Dungeon Discover-]


    [Error: User is ineligible for Quests]


    [User Lucille Goldcroft has discovered the Ancient Dungeon: Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis.]


    [Do you wish to accept the Realm Quest: Ancient Dungeon Discover-]


    [Error: User is ineligible for Quests]


    Scytale watched the messages repeat. ¡°¡­huh? Wait, wait, wait.¡± He turned back to his human form and touched Lucy¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Let me try this.¡±


    [User Scytale wishes to share Realm Quest: Ancient Dungeon Discovery with User Lucille Goldcroft. Do you wish to accept? Rewards will be split equally.


    Yes/No]


    Lucille pressed on [Yes] and a series of messages cascaded down her vision.


    [User Lucille Goldcroft has accepted the Realm Quest: Ancient Dungeon Discovery]


    [Quest Log: ]


    Main Quest (Rank-2: Demon Realm):


    <ul>


    <li>Complete Stages 11-20 In the Demon Realm to reach Rank-2</li>


    </ul>


    Rewards: Rank-2 status, Lvl cap increased to 299, Main skill slot +1, Class Tier cap +3, Aspect cap +3, Class Tier +1, 1000xp, Main Quest (Rank-3: Tartarus Realm) Unlocked. Failure: N/A


    <ul>


    <li>In the Demon Realm, slay a demon at Intermediate or greater strength, and return to Obelisk alive 48 hours after its defeat.</li>


    </ul>


    Rewards: Stages 11-15 Unlocked, 2500 xp, Crystalline Token +1. Failure: N/A


    General


    <ul>


    <li>Resist the demonic aura of a demon without being affected by mental influences for 30 seconds or longer.</li>


    </ul>


    Rewards: Stages 16-20 Unlocked, Demon Resistor Title. Failure: N/A


    Class


    <ul>


    <li>N/A</li>


    </ul>


    Faction


    <ul>


    <li>N/A</li>


    </ul>


    Realm Quest - Ancient Dungeon Discovery Tier I (Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis):


    <ul>


    <li>Investigate the first three zones of the Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis:


    <ul>


    <li>Determine the main element of the Dungeon: INCOMPLETE</li>


    <li>Defeat three zone bosses: INCOMPLETE</li>


    <li>Locate the main hall of the Dungeon: INCOMPLETE</li>


    </ul>


    </li>


    </ul>


    Rewards: +4000 xp, Crystalline Token +2, Ancient Skill Book x2, Stat Potions (+10) x4, Faction Command (Ancient), Ancient Dungeon Discoverer Title x2, Successor of Synadis Title x2, Origin Skill Primer (+5%) x2, Realm Quest ¨C Ancient Dungeon Discovery Tier II (Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis) Unlocked, Realm Sub-Quests ¨C Ancient Dungeon Exploration Tier I (Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis) Unlocked.


    Failure: Realm Announcement of Ancient Dungeon, Permanent removal of Dusky Undercroft Dungeon Realm Quest from any User¡¯s Quest Log.


    Time Limit: 13:23:42


    Personal


    <ul>


    <li>Explore the realms of the Tower as pioneers for Earth. Unlimited Resurrections during this period.</li>


    </ul>


    Reward: Forerunner Title, Home Realm Permissions, Class Rarity ^1. Time Limit: 4:4:11:19:22:39


    [ ]


    Scytale let out a sigh of relief. ¡°It does work. And here I was, worried for nothing.¡± He turned to look at Lucy. ¡°See, you can receive Quests. You were completely wrong!¡±


    She raised an eyebrow at him. ¡°I said I can¡¯t ¡®begin¡¯ Quests, not that I can¡¯t receive them.¡±


    Scytale screwed up his face, thinking. Then he rolled his eyes. ¡°Fine, whatever. Anyway, why do you think all those errors popped up?¡±


    Lucille narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. ¡°I¡¯d assume it would be somehow due to my broken Status, but¡­¡± She shot her Quest Log another look. ¡°I may need to bring this up with the Authorizer.¡±


    Scytale shuddered and stiffly turned away, walking into the gloom. ¡°I¡¯ll leave that part to you then, ¡®cos you¡¯re so familiar with the System and stuff.¡±


    She rolled her eyes and walked behind him, analysing everything with her perception field. At the same time, she was using her Origin Skill to recreate a 3D model of the Dungeon. She planned on implementing it in an illusion spell so Sedric could craft a holographic map item for the Commission¡¯s explorers, to increase her portion of the profits.


    Scytale navigated through the Dungeon, prepared to be the ¡®tank¡¯ of their party. He glanced at his bond. ¡°Even if you say the Hero won¡¯t care about this too much, the rewards for finishing this Quest are pretty hefty. Like, an Ancient rarity Faction Command? Surely that would be valuable. Anyone who makes a Guild using that could end up being in the top ten of their realm in a year or two!¡±


    Lucille shook her head. ¡°Do you think the Hero would stop at a mere Ancient Dungeon?¡± She walked forward past Scytale, who had stopped to stare at her. ¡°No, he¡¯ll be aiming for a Faction Command of the next rarity.¡±


    ¡°¡­do you have any plans to prevent that?¡± her bond asked.


    Lucy looked back and smirked. ¡°I won¡¯t stop it, but what I can do is leave appropriate hints that will lead him to aim above his pay grade when it comes to a specific Dungeon.¡± She gained a wicked grin. ¡°Surely the great Hero of Light can easily defeat an Aberration before Rank-6?¡±


    Scytale snickered. ¡°Oh, that will be fun. He¡¯ll probably be questioning if that Faction Command was worth it in the end.¡± Scytale looked at his Quest Log. ¡°But we have two whole weeks to do this Quest, and you want us to do it in three days?¡±


    ¡°The normal situation that occurs when a User locates an Ancient Dungeon is to sell the information or report it to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild,¡± Lucy explained. They paused before a branching corridor and Lucille added, ¡°The System accounts for this to give people enough time to search it. Guilds often use the first Quest to gain a comprehensive map of the first few zones so their members can get a head start on the exploration of them.¡±


    Scytale nodded and went to take another step but Lucy held out her hand. ¡°Wait.¡±


    Summoning a bright red fireball with a spell, she threw it onto the crossroads before them. They spread their arms to steady themselves as the floor rumbled and the floor of the crossroads crumbled to pieces, falling into a pit. The sound of something with very heavy footsteps echoed up the hole, only a small flicker of light seen below.


    ¡°Uh huh¡­¡± Scytale leaned forward to look. ¡°I¡¯m going to take a guess that this hole would¡¯ve sent us to the very bottom layer of the Dungeon.¡±


    Lucy ignored the hole and gestured to him. ¡°Come on, this way.¡±


    With a quick change of form for Scytale and a weak wind-element spell for Lucille, they hopped over the newly formed chasm and walked down another dark hallway. The ground sealed back up behind them, almost as if there had been nothing.


    [Mystical Realm Event: Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis]


    [Exploration Progress +0.05%]


    [New! Exploration Progress: 0.15%]


    ¡°Sheesh, this is taking forever. Wasn¡¯t it something like each 1% is a separate layer of the Dungeon?¡± the silver amphiptere asked as he flew in front.


    ¡°For Ancient Dungeons, yes,¡± she replied. Her two snake-swords thrummed eagerly in their sheaths. ¡°We can expect to achieve 1% by the end of our trip. But first¡­¡± Lucille took out Apophis and Ouroboros, making Scytale instantly react and activate his Primal Descendant form to the largest size it could in the hallway.


    The sound of chittering and stone clacking against stone was heard as 10-15 crystal scarab-beetle look-alikes the height of small dogs rounded the corner and noticed Lucy and Scytale. Their mineral pincers clicked angrily.


    [Lesser Quartzite Beetle Spawn - Lvl. 15]


    [HP: 2500/2500 {+50 HP/5m}]


    [Lesser Quartzite Beetle Spawn - Lvl. 16]


    [Lesser Quartzite Beetle Spawn - Lvl. 14]


    [Lesser Quartzite Beetle Spawn - Lvl. 17]


    [Lesser Quartzite Beetle Spawn - Lvl. 18]


    [Lesser Quartzite Beetle Spawn ¨C Lv¡­¡­.]


    [Lesser Quartzite Bee¡­¡­.]


    [Lesser Quartz¡­.]


    ¡°¡­we¡¯ve got company.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Another wave coming in five minutes!¡±


    ¡°Got it!¡±


    Silvery coils rippling with power slammed into a line of monsters. Their crystallised carcasses shattered under the force, spraying shards everywhere.


    Lucy whipped out with Ouroboros to destroy the jagged crystal shards the beetles sent flying towards her, then used Apophis to smash the bugs apart.


    She ran over to Scytale to regroup once the wave had been killed.


    [User Lucille Goldcroft has slain Lesser Quartzite Beetle Spawn ¨C Lvl. 18]


    [User Lucille Goldcroft has slain Lesser Quartzite Beetle Spawn x8]


    [+1386 xp]


    [Level Up! x9]


    [+9 levels]


    [+45 Free stat points]


    [User has reached Level 26]


    [Xp: 25/167]


    ¡°What¡¯s your level right now?¡± she asked her bond, facing the opposite way to deal with the monsters soon to come from behind.


    ¡°34.¡± He glanced back at her. ¡°How are you handling this?¡±


    ¡°With the help of Apophis and Ouroboros, fairly well,¡± she replied. ¡°But we¡¯ll need to find a safe spot for me to transfer the stats I gained from the monsters over.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good that you can gain stats from the monsters to increase your strength before the next layers otherwise this could¡¯ve been impossible,¡± Scytale said, his golden mana regenerating his health with a spell. ¡°Not for me, obviously, but for you, sure.¡±


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    She narrowed her eyes. ¡°Yes. The monsters have weak CON but high INT due to being crystalline creatures, and I¡¯m not immune to monster skills.¡± She shook her head. ¡°One glass cannon against a hundred, it seems.¡± She shifted her weapons. ¡°Let¡¯s go again.¡±


    The monsters rounded the corners behind Lucille and in front of Scytale, chittering loudly. Behind each of the two groups were two massive beetles three times the size of the others.


    [Lesser Quartzite Beetle Prince ¨C Lvl. 30]


    [HP: 5000/5000 {+71 HP/1m}]


    [Lesser Quartzite Beetle Prince ¨C Lvl. 30]


    [HP: 5000/5000 {+71 HP/1m}]


    ¡°We¡¯ll need to handle the two Beetle Princes together,¡± Lucy said. Arcane force orbs manifested from dark blue mana-circles around her as she prepared to attack the first line of monsters.


    ¡°Roger that.¡± Scytale flared his wings and hissed at the creatures. ¡°Come and meet your doom!¡±


    They leapt forward, sending attacks towards their respective enemies. Arcane orbs dashed the weakest monsters while Apophis¡¯s segments gradually pulverised the limbs and protective exoskeletons of the quartzite beetles.


    The Beetle Prince facing Lucy let out a loud screeching sound, and the three Level 20 beetles near him summoned a glimmering cloud of mana. Lucille hastily retracted Apophis, extended Ouroboros and cast her own Earthen Barrier to defend against the bombardment.


    Three massive crystalline shards formed in mid-air and were sent flying towards her. The sky-blue shield summoned by Ouroboros protected her from the worst of it, as did her spell, but the jagged pieces that sprayed afterwards left small cuts in her skin, making Lucy wince.


    [-49 HP]


    [-23 HP]


    [-67 HP]


    [-14 HP]


    ¡°Are you alright Lucy?¡± Scytale called out with worry, sensing the pain through her bond.


    She didn¡¯t bother to nod, sending her confirmation through the bond, and ran towards the monsters while they were recovering from the large attack. The air around her flared red as she increased her strength, and then she slammed Ouroboros down with all her might. The flat sides of the blade crushed them completely.


    [User Lucille Goldcroft has slain Lesser Quartzite Beetle Spawn x3]


    The Beetle Prince screeched in anger and glowed silver. Lucy hastily changed the elements around her to wind, and she cast a wind spell to speed up as her AGI rapidly increased. Behind her, the Beetle Prince spread its crystalline wings and lifted from the ground.


    It didn¡¯t fly towards her, but instead, its silver-tinged monster essence released rays of light. Crystal formations grew from the ground wherever the light touched with the sound of cracking. A ray hit Lucille and she stumbled as her left leg was encased in crystal. She tried to dislodge it with earth and fire mana, but the crystal absorbed the mana and Lucy could detect it overcharging itself. If it absorbed too much more, it would explode.


    ¡°Scytale!¡±


    Her winged bond looked back and nodded when he sensed her message. Briefly sending a few beams of light towards his enemies to create space, he flew back. Then he increased his size as much as he could in the hallway and crushed the crystal with his jaws.


    The crystal released mana and Lucille was quick to return it to her own body, enhancing her stats.


    Then they both paused as two screeches sounded. In front and behind them, the two Beetle Princes had lifted off the ground and flared their wings. Scytale spread his own wings and shielded Lucille with his body as the crystalising rays shone down again.


    ¡°You have a higher resistance to it?¡± Lucy asked, surveying the area to prepare for their next move.


    ¡°Kinda. My second main skill is doing well, but my defence values aren¡¯t enough for it all,¡± her bond replied, hissing at the beetle closest to him.


    Lucille quickly pulled open Ouroboros¡¯s Status and glanced at her bond. ¡°Just ten more points of damage and Ouroboros is ready to reflect it.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Scytale whipped the end of his tail towards Lucy, the bright blue shield appearing to absorb his attack. ¡°Guess I¡¯ll do the honours then.¡±


    Lucille smirked when she saw the two massive beetles had stopped flying. ¡°Their mana is low. Scytale, now¡¯s the time.¡±


    He shrunk down and flew out of her way.


    Lucille extended Ouroboros and used the second activation of Rebirth from Death. ¡°Ordered Origin!¡±


    The blade rapidly lengthened and coiled around Lucy as if to form a dome. Jagged lightning-like strikes of blue mana beamed out of the hemispherical blade and shot into the two beetles. They let out screeches of pain as their translucent bodies turned blue and gained thread-like cracks running through their bodies.


    [-150 Damage]


    [-2250 Damage]


    [-100 Damage]


    [-150 Damage]


    [-2250 Damage]


    [-100 Damage]


    The attack, including the additional SATK and MATK from Ouroboros, sheared off more than half of the health of both beetles, and Lucille dashed forward with Apophis prepared, a grin on her face. ¡°Let¡¯s finish them off!¡±


    The pulverising black blade was sent out, shattering the Beetle Prince, while Scytale¡¯s vicious light-element strike laced with bloodlust decimated the other. Crystal shards lay in pieces around them as they took a breather.


    ¡°¡­is that the final wave?¡± Scytale asked when he had recovered from the effort.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Lucille replied, bending down to inspect one of the Beetle Prince¡¯s shards.


    [User Lucille Goldcroft has slain Lesser Quartzite Beetle Prince ¨C Lvl. 30]


    [+811 xp]


    [+410 xp]


    [Level Up! x7]


    [+7 levels]


    [+35 Free stat points]


    [User has reached Level 33]


    [Xp: 5/192]


    [Apophis: +24 xp]


    [Xp: 139/145]


    [Ouroboros: +24 xp]


    [Xp: 139/145]


    She glanced at the notifications. ¡°I¡¯m Level 33 now. What about you?¡±


    ¡°40. Not as much experience for me because of Ouroboros¡¯s whopping huge attack.¡± Scytale morphed into his human form and walked over as she continued inspecting the shards. ¡°But y¡¯know¡­ the fact you have to rely on Ouroboros to get stats instead of levels has a plus I can see¡­¡±


    She raised an eyebrow as he gestured to her. ¡°I mean, the skill description of Rebirth from Death just says you can only gain half of the Rank Max, right? There¡¯s no limitations as to when you get those stats.¡± Scytale placed his hands on his hips. ¡°I say you go find a really weak Dungeon or Lair or something, kill hundreds of weak monsters, and boost your stats high before people with classes can catch up to you.¡±


    Lucy hummed as she held her chin. ¡°I have considered this, but¡­¡± She looked at the ground. ¡°I believe that the energy Ouroboros obtains from monsters may not be enough to enhance my stats when I¡¯m at higher Ranks and levels. Or I may need an increased quantity of monster essence to achieve the same effect¡­¡±


    Scytale shrugged. ¡°If it doesn¡¯t work, oh well. But it would be great if you could gain a hundred-plus stats before anyone else.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll test it out. But¡­¡± She looked at the new notification that had appeared.


    [Mystical Realm Event: Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis]


    [Exploration Progress +0.05%]


    [New! Exploration Progress: 0.2%]


    She smirked and walked forward. ¡°We¡¯ll find somewhere for me to transfer the stats and then slay the ruling monster of this zone.¡±


    ¡­


    They looked up at the tree with large glowing fronds extending over their heads. Underneath the protection of its leaves, countless luminous flowers and small plants were blooming across the cracked tiles of the floor.


    Scytale let out a whistle as he sat down on the mossy ground. ¡°Nice, a Purifying Palm. Those future Guilders who will come down here will be over the moon.¡±


    Lucille sat down next to him with a nod. Dungeons didn¡¯t really have official ¡®safe spots¡¯ within because the System couldn¡¯t control monsters, who had decaying or even no souls. But Dungeons still had natural enemies, such as the tree behind them. The Purifying Palm took monster essence and reverted it to natural elemental harmony, preventing monsters from coming close. The plants searched out monster essence for their sustenance, making Dungeons a lucky place for them to grow, if a seed somehow entered. The Purifying Palm also secreted a sap that worked as a health potion.


    She opened up Ouroboros¡¯s skill to see the collected stats.


    [Skill: Rebirth From Death | Type: Influence/Spirit ]


    Desc: In times past in an unknown world, the mythology of an ancient empire was spread to other continents and underwent a reformation. Now of another form, the deity represented the cyclic nature of life and death, and all within. A confluence with this mythology and spiritual energy has led to the bestowment of a ______¡¯s resonance blessing upon this weapon, taking on the forces of Order¡¯s pinnacle.


    Abilities:


    Cyclic Reforming ¨C The strength of one becomes another¡¯s.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to obtain the spiritual energy of those killed by its soul twin. {Only active when used alongside Twin Souls: Chaos}</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to reconstitute skills from the energy of those slain by its soul twin and pass them to its User. Collected Skill Shards: (5/10) Lesser Quartzite Beetle Spawn, (1/5) Lesser Quartzite Beetle Prince.</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to merge skill shards to form new tertiary or secondary skills. Limitations apply. Collected Skills: Lesser Quartzite Beetle Spawn Skill x2, Lesser Quartzite Beetle Prince Skill x1.</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to reconstitute stats from the energy of those slain by its soul twin and pass them to its User. Stat gain maximum: 50% of Rank Total. {Temporarily Stored Stats: x3 CON, x5 STR, x8 AGI, x16 INT, x12 WIS, x2 DEX}</li>


    </ul>


    Ordered Origin ¨C Order became power.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to shield its User from damage up to the total of its active ATK, MATK and SATK. Shield resets when its User receives unshielded damage the equivalent of what was negated.</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to absorb damage up to its active ATK using its User¡¯s equivalent MP, while shield is active. Absorbed damage can be reflected partially or completely. Current absorbed damage:</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    ¡°46 stats total¡­¡± Lucy mused. ¡°Some monsters must¡¯ve given me additional stats when they died.¡±


    ¡°Or you got stats from monsters you helped me kill,¡± Scytale pointed out.


    ¡°That too.¡± Lucille impressed her will for the stats to be transferred on Ouroboros.


    [Transferred x3 CON, x5 STR, x8 AGI, x16 INT, x12 WIS, x2 DEX to User Lucille Goldcroft from The Serpent¡¯s Form: Ouroboros]


    ¡°The type of monster definitely affects what stats you get,¡± Scytale commented, leaning to take a look at her screen. ¡°All the beetles were magic-focused, so you got tons of INT and WIS.¡±


    Lucille stood up and stretched. ¡°Then if I do end up doing as you suggested, I need to be careful about what monsters I kill before the max is reached.¡± She looked around and then down at Scytale again. ¡°Ready? I don¡¯t plan on transferring the skills over just yet.¡±


    He nodded and switched into his serpent form. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    They walked away from the Purifying Palm, Scytale following Lucy and her spiritual perception. She turned a corner and they stepped into a wide corridor, more ornate and decorated than anything they had seen in the other hallways. As they walked down, crystal orbs set in alcoves on either side of them lit up.


    ¡°Dramatic much?¡± Scytale said. He grew in size and flapped his wings in front of Lucy. ¡°Huzzah, it is I! Scytale! The mighty World-Ender! Hear ye, hear ye, your lord is arriving! Beware, foul Dungeon!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably a remnant of the earth elementalists that built this place,¡± Lucille commented offhandedly, ignoring her bond. ¡°I imagine their egos were quite large.¡±


    Scytale shot her a disgruntled look for walking past him but shrunk and continued to fly by her side. ¡°You¡¯re no fun. But I¡¯ve been wondering something.¡± He flew to the ground and slithered beside her. ¡°How do we go and tell the System what the Dungeon¡¯s element is? I mean, with all this crystal and gemstone around, I can tell it¡¯s earth as the crystal isn¡¯t glass, but¡­¡±


    Lucille glanced at him, then continued walking. ¡°The Dungeon¡¯s ¡®element¡¯ will be revealed with the first Heretic item that drops.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ urgh, yuck. Okay.¡± He flapped his wings and flew up again. ¡°And the central hall?¡±


    She hummed. ¡°Likely in the second zone. Three zones make up a layer of the Dungeon, so the central hall will be placed in the middle of the zone.¡±


    He nodded, and their conversation lapsed into anticipatory silence. They eventually approached two large double doors made of coloured crystal, frosted to prevent anyone from seeing in. Scytale enlarged his form as Lucille increased her STR, and they traded glances. They nodded and then pushed the doors wide open.


    [Mystical Realm Event: Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis]


    [Exploration Progress +0.09%]


    [New! Exploration Progress: 0.29%]


    Inside was a massive hall, filled with bedazzling rays of mana-powered light beaming through the domed crystal roof. Fake stars were embedded in the crystal of the ceiling, with ten yellow gemstone pillars evenly spaced around the edges of the circular room. The multitude of colours created a kaleidoscopic scenery.


    In the centre of the room was an ornate sculpture, ten metres high. Carved with runes, the enormous bejewelled beetle stayed perfectly still, not making a sound. Nobody would think that the exquisite sculpture was a monster in disguise.


    ¡°¡­okay, how did the Dungeon end up conjuring that?¡± Scytale asked sceptically. ¡°Surely these old earth elementalists didn¡¯t just make fancy beetle statues all day?¡±


    ¡°The Prism Bug is a real monster species,¡± Lucy replied quietly as they watched the still monster. ¡°It¡¯s just a monster with the mid-level element of glass, and the emperor variant is a particularly large kind. The Dungeon builds upon the materials of its domain and generates more constructions that resemble the original. It¡¯s an attempt at luring the races into thinking this is still the same building. Of course, not being something with a soul, everything it constructs will always contain distinct incongruities.¡±


    They fell silent, sharing their battle plans through their bond. Lucille used the ¡®Shard of Totality¡¯ to see its HP.


    [Dungeon Scion: Lesser Emperor Prism Bug ¨C Lvl. 50]


    [HP: 9000 {+95/1m}


    ¡®Not much health¡­¡¯ Scytale sent through the bond, not wanting to use his mental transmission when they were so close.


    Then the Emperor Prism Bug has greater magical ability, just like all the other beetles we¡¯ve fought.


    Sending one last message to Scytale, they both took up positions on either side of the room, in front and behind the beetle. Then with shared understanding, Lucille dashed towards the monster and swung Apophis around the beetle, preventing it from flying.


    The monster let out a horrendous screech and struggled fiercely. Lucille drew upon the fire mana to keep her hold on Apophis, but it was difficult. She was relying on Scytale for the next part, as she wouldn¡¯t manage for much longer.


    Enhancing his size far larger than he had been before, the open space of the hall giving him freedom, Scytale hissed and flapped his wings. Baring his fangs wide he lunged at the Prism Bug, gouging out shards of its translucent body. A sound like fingernails against a chalkboard was heard as the beetle screamed.


    Lucy brought out Ouroboros and tried to get a hit in where she could, being careful to avoid entangling Scytale. The jagged edges of the Emperor Prism Bug¡¯s damaged carcass created bleeding serrations across Scytale¡¯s scales, but he ignored it.


    But Lucille knew that the Emperor Prism Bug wasn¡¯t strongest when it was in its current form. Scytale gripped the monster tighter, keeping pressure on it, until the beetle began to get antsy and less violent. Instead, it was devoting all its efforts to trying to escape Scytale¡¯s coils.


    The change happened when the monster¡¯s body appeared to fracture from the inside out. Lucille dashed forward as she shouted, ¡°Now!¡±


    Scytale abandoned the bug to activate his Lightspeed Sky Predator Aspect, zooming over to the doors with immense speed. Just as he did so, the Emperor Prism Bug exploded into thousands of shards, each a miniature replica of itself.


    [Dungeon Scion: Lesser Emperor Prism Bug Splinter x900]


    They flew towards the doors, aiming to get out.


    The doors slammed shut as Scytale pulled it closed and turned to face the many enemies. They hesitated for a second as their escape route was removed, and Lucille took advantage of the opportunity to whip Apophis straight through the centre of the crystal cloud. The demonic aura razed half of the bugs immediately, their clear corpses forming a carpet of diamond-like shards.


    Enraged by the loss of power, the living bugs turned a brilliant white, sending needle-like rays of power towards their two attackers. Scytale¡¯s DEF blocked most of it, and Ouroboros¡¯s shield aided Lucy, but the bugs were already beginning their next attack.


    Reforming back into five separate Emperor Prism Bugs, three smaller ones and two larger ones, the three attacked Lucille and the two Scytale.


    Pushed apart by the onslaught, Lucy and Scytale fought their own enemies. A well-timed fireball allowed Lucille to devastate one of the clones, but her lack of defence made itself clear when a crystal shard managed to gouge a deep line down her forearm. Lucy quickly turned her sense of pain in the arm off, not wanting to be hindered by the sensation, and set to work casting a light spell on herself to heal, running from her two pursuers.


    She ducked behind golden pillars and ornaments, buying time for her to recover her strength, as well as slowly change all her mana to earth mana. A pained cry alerted her to the death of one of Scytale¡¯s attackers, and she could see he was nearly finished with the other two. If she didn¡¯t want to fall behind, she needed to get rid of the two Prism Bugs behind her.


    She rolled out of the way as the top half of the ornamental cabinet she had been behind was instantaneously decimated by a beam of power from both of her attackers. She spun around and pointed a black-gloved finger between them, both of them perfectly positioned right next to each other¡­ just as she had arranged.


    ¡°Gravitational Point.¡±


    The earth spell lifted the broken stone, crystal, and metal clumps around her and within the hall, then attracted them towards the glowing circle of earth mana between the two monsters. Slow at first, the mana-rich crystals were consumed by the spell to fuel it and everything gathered speed. Lucille dashed back from the spell that was gathering momentum, gradually crushing everything within it into itself. The two Emperor Prism Bug clones ¨C the first things attracted by the spell ¨C struggled to extract themselves but failed, becoming squashed together and crushed under the weight of everything.


    It all ended when two loud screams sounded, the earthen sphere suddenly collapsing inward¡­ and then there was silence.


    A final cry sounded as Scytale¡¯s foe was vanquished, and then, the promised notifications arrived.


    [Users Lucille Goldcroft and Scytale have slain Lesser Emperor Prism Bug ¨C Lvl. 50]


    [Dungeon Scion Lesser Emperor Prism Bug of the Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis has been killed]


    [Exploration Progress +0.04%]


    [New! Exploration Progress: 0.33%]


    [+953 XP]


    [Level Up!]


    [+1 level]


    [+5 Free stat points]


    [Level Up!]


    [+1 level]


    [+5 Free stat points]


    [Level Up!]


    [+1 level]


    [+5 Free stat points]


    [Level Up!]


    [+1 level]


    [+5 Free stat points]


    [User has reached Level 37]


    [Xp: 163/208]


    [Apophis: +202 XP]


    [Apophis has reached Level 22]


    [Xp: 48/151]


    [Ouroboros: +202 XP]


    [Ouroboros has reached Level 22]


    [Xp: 48/151]


    [Realm Quest - Ancient Dungeon Discovery Tier I (Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis):]


    <ul>


    <li>Investigate the first three zones of the Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis:


    <ul>


    <li>Determine the main element of the Dungeon: INCOMPLETE</li>


    <li>Defeat three zone bosses: INCOMPLETE (1/3)</li>


    <li>Locate the main hall of the Dungeon: INCOMPLETE]</li>


    </ul>


    </li>


    </ul>


    Lucille took a flask out of her dimensional bag and had a long sip of water. She wiped her mouth and looked at the ground as Scytale came over.


    ¡°First zone, done and dusted!¡± he announced proudly, returning to his human form. He followed her gaze. ¡°Oh, have you found something?¡±


    She gestured for him to stay back as the ground began to bubble with an ugly, frothy brown-green miasma. Releasing a putrid stench, the monstrous mist gathered together and congealed into an object as long as Lucy was tall.


    Made of a sickly green crystal, glowing green liquid of the same colour seeped out of a long rod, bubbling and frothing. Covering a flesh-like rot-scented orb the size of a fist were uncountable dark green live beetles, burrowing into the orb and buzzing around it on spread wings. Connecting the orb to the rod were four brown beetles that looked like the Prism Bug they had fought earlier. Dull stones instead of eyes gleamed in their eye sockets, that bright green liquid flowing from their bodies.


    Instinctually, the name of the weapon echoed in Lucille and Scytale¡¯s minds.


    ~The Infested Sceptre of Weeping Stone~


    [Realm Quest - Ancient Dungeon Discovery Tier I (Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis):]


    <ul>


    <li>Investigate the first three zones of the Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis:


    <ul>


    <li>Determine the main element of the Dungeon: COMPLETE (Earth)</li>


    <li>Defeat three zone bosses: INCOMPLETE (1/3)</li>


    <li>Locate the main hall of the Dungeon: INCOMPLETE]</li>


    </ul>


    </li>


    </ul>


    Lucy narrowed her eyes and gestured to the weapon. ¡°And this here¡­ is the promised Heretic weapon. One of the few things capable of turning the humanoid races into abhorred monstrosities, and causing them to destroy their souls.¡±

 Chapter 58 (1 of 2) Lucille’s methods of releasing pent-up frustration are not to be imitated.

    Lucy and Scytale eyed the sickeningly pulsating sceptre for a few more seconds before Scytale shrugged and walked away. ¡°Well, you¡¯re the one with the dimension item. Your job to lug it around.¡±


    She shot him a flat look but cast an arcane spell to raise the item, being careful not to touch it. It went into the bag without her having even bothered to inspect its item sheet. Nothing good had ever come to a person who had used even the weakest of Heretic items.


    Scytale absent-mindedly kicked a piece of crystal, sending it skidding across the damaged floor. ¡°So, what now? Find the entrance to the next zone and onward we go?¡±


    Lucille smirked and shook her head. ¡°Not yet. Now¡­ it¡¯s time to try something else.¡±


    She sat down on the ground and Scytale curiously copied her. She opened Ouroboros¡¯s skill information.


    [Skill: Rebirth From Death | Type: Influence/Spirit ]


    Desc: In times past in an unknown world, the mythology of an ancient empire was spread to other continents and underwent a reformation. Now of another form, the deity represented the cyclic nature of life and death, and all within. A confluence with this mythology and spiritual energy has led to the bestowment of a ______¡¯s resonance blessing upon this weapon, taking on the forces of Order¡¯s pinnacle.


    Abilities:


    Cyclic Reforming ¨C The strength of one becomes another¡¯s.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to obtain the spiritual energy of those killed by its soul twin. {Only active when used alongside Twin Souls: Chaos}</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to reconstitute skills from the energy of those slain by its soul twin and pass them to its User. Collected Skill Shards: (5/10) Lesser Quartzite Beetle Spawn, (1/5) Lesser Quartzite Beetle Prince, Lesser Emperor Prism Bug Skill (1/5).</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to merge skill shards to form new tertiary or secondary skills. Limitations apply. Collected Skills: Lesser Quartzite Beetle Spawn Skill x2, Lesser Quartzite Beetle Prince Skill x1, Lesser Emperor Prism Bug Skill x1.</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to reconstitute stats from the energy of those slain by its soul twin and pass them to its User. Stat gain maximum: 50% of Rank Total. {Temporarily Stored Stats: x1 DEX, x2 INT}</li>


    </ul>


    Ordered Origin ¨C Order became power.


    <ul>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to shield its User from damage up to the total of its active ATK, MATK and SATK. Shield resets when its User receives unshielded damage the equivalent of what was negated.</li>


    <li>Gives the weapon the ability to absorb damage up to its active ATK using its User¡¯s equivalent MP, while shield is active. Absorbed damage can be reflected partially or completely. Current absorbed damage:</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    The first thing she did was transfer the three stats she had obtained by killing the Dungeon Scion. Then Lucy tapped on Ouroboros¡¯s pommel. ¡°Your time to shine. Show me what you can do and merge those skill shards.¡±


    The silvery dagger let out a loud ringing sound as its blue aura glowed. Then a notification that Lucille hadn¡¯t seen before appeared.


    [Soulbound weapon The Serpent¡¯s Form: Ouroboros has merged all collected skill shards to form the new Tertiary Skill: Prism Property Identifier]


    [Tertiary Skill: Prism Property Identifier | Type: Material/Analysis]


    Rarity: Uncommon


    Desc: A new skill, formed through unusual means. This skill allows the User to gain an understanding of the properties of any low-strength crystal they hold, enabling them to utilise the crystal in crafting more easily.


    Ability:


    Crystal Identification ¨C Observe the facets and faces of its clarity.


    <ul>


    <li>Allows the User to familiarise themself with the properties of a weak prism crystal they touch. The stronger the crystal or mineral, the more difficult it is to gain an understanding of.</li>


    <li>+2% to earth mana detection.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    ¡°Interesting¡­¡± Lucille mused. ¡°This skill would likely be more valuable for Sedric than me right now, however.¡±


    Scytale squinted at the skill. ¡°It¡¯s pretty low quality.¡±


    She flicked the side of his head with a finger. ¡°And we both have low-quality strength right now too. Don¡¯t act like a choosing beggar at only Rank-1.¡±


    Lucy tapped on Ouroboros again. ¡°Please transfer the other skills now, Ouroboros.¡±


    The dagger happily acquiesced, and the new notifications appeared.


    [Gained Tertiary Skill: Lesser Quartzite Beetle Spawn Skill]


    [Error: Incompatibility of Influence detected. Foreign Influence contains malignant concepts dangerous for User Lucille Goldcroft. Withdrawing sample Influence for System Records and substituting for compatible Influence¡­]


    [Common Tertiary Skill: Lesser Quartzite Beetle Spawn Skill has evolved to become Common Tertiary Skill: Quartz Locator]


    [Gained Tertiary Skill: Lesser Quartzite Beetle Prince Skill]


    [Error: Incompatibility of Influence detected. Foreign Influence contains malignant concepts dangerous for User Lucille Goldcroft. Withdrawing sample Influence for System Records and substituting for compatible Influence¡­]


    [Uncommon Tertiary Skill: Lesser Quartzite Beetle Prince Skill has evolved to become Uncommon Tertiary Skill: Magical Material Radar]


    [Gained Secondary Skill: Lesser Emperor Prism Bug Skill]


    [Error: Incompatibility of Influence detected. Foreign Influence contains malignant concepts dangerous for User Lucille Goldcroft. Withdrawing sample Influence for System Records and substituting for compatible Influence¡­]


    [Uncommon Secondary Skill: Lesser Emperor Prism Bug Skill has evolved to become Uncommon Secondary Skill: Crystal-Imbued Mana Control]


    [Detected compatibility between skills: Prism Property Identifier, Quartz Locator, Magical Material Radar, and Crystal-Imbued Mana Control. Merge skills? Yes/No]


    Lucille raised an eyebrow and traded glances with her bond. Then she pressed [Yes].


    [Gained Secondary Skill: Gemstone Processor ¨C Spell Imbuement]


    [Secondary Skill: Gemstone Processor ¨C Spell Imbuement | Type: Material/Runic]


    Rarity: Rare


    Desc: A new skill, formed through unusual means. This skill allows the User to imbue spells within gemstones as crafters do, but by taking the spell they cast and forcing the gem to replicate it internally instead of assembling the runes inside one by one. The demerits of this are that these gemstone spells become unalterable and can only be erased, although they are semi-permanent archives that require only mana to cast the spell within.


    Abilities:


    Spell Transferal ¨C Oceans of mana within the prizes of the earth.


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the User the ability to transfer their spells within their field of influence into a gemstone with rarity, size, and power enough to contain the spell. This ability only works on spells with the User¡¯s mana signature.</li>


    <li>Grants the User the ability to sense the power and capability of gemstones within their field of influence, and when a spell is cast, determine appropriate gemstones to contain it.</li>


    </ul>


    Forced Imbuement ¨C Bend the crystal¡¯s power to your will.


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the User the ability to forcefully imbue spells of any element within any gemstone, even with elemental limitations. Power and/or effect of the spell may be altered.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    Scytale tilted his head, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. ¡°Uh¡­ cool skill? I guess? But why would you even use it if you can¡¯t alter the runes inside the gemstone? At least I can see how you got this skill from all the crystal beetle skills, with their INT focus and all¡­¡±


    But his words trailed off as he sensed the strange satisfaction and anticipation coming from Lucy. ¡°Let me guess¡­ I¡¯m missing something again¡­¡±


    She smirked and closed the skill sheet. ¡°Scytale, how does my second main skill work?¡±


    ¡°You change the elements to enhance your stats,¡± he replied, not getting her point.


    ¡°Yes, but I also rebrand spells near me and take control of them,¡± Lucy said, standing up and beginning to pace back and forth. ¡°Scytale, with this skill I can permanently steal unique spells.¡±


    He rolled his eyes. ¡°You have perfect memory.¡±


    ¡°Of course I know that,¡± Lucille stated flatly, shooting him a look. ¡°But do you think any random mage is allowed to cast the precious inherited magic of the powerful mage schools and noble families without consequence? But you still haven¡¯t recalled my most recent Epic skill.¡±


    She placed a hand behind her back but held one up for Scytale, still pacing. ¡°I have a small chance of comprehending the conceptual information in magical beast and monster skills. Additionally, I can imbue conceptual information into my magic to create entirely new spells.¡±


    Lucy stopped and spread her arms in front of her bond with an excited grin on her face. ¡°Do you understand what that means? That¡¯s directly giving the spell an effect and having the runes manipulate themselves to create the desired effect. The laws of magic themselves will conform to my wishes.¡±


    She pointed at her bond. ¡°New runes, Scytale. New lesser, greater¡­ and even Superior runes when I mimic a Grand-mage¡¯s Grand spell. In other words, creating as many Glyphs as I want ¨C an Archmage¡¯s runic model.¡± Lucille paused to give Scytale a serious look. ¡°Ordinarily, these new runes would likely dissipate once the spell was finished, only appearing once and then never again as they¡¯d be temporary. Even if I tried to replicate the same situation, or attempted to reform the same runes, the environment wouldn¡¯t be the same. You and I both know how much conceptual manipulation is dependent on time and place.¡±


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Then she crossed her arms. ¡°But I can now store these temporary, custom spells, meaning they¡¯ll be part of the realm permanently.¡± She smirked at her bond. ¡°And not only that, but my conceptual imbuement will also enhance the spells used by those Archmages, making them better and preventing them from trying to go after my life for using their magic. By studying the way these new spells form, I can create the perfect ones for being a ¡®spellblade¡¯, as well as create ones that could be wonderful for accessories. In fact, I might even be able to create spells that imitate artifact spells.¡±


    Then Lucille fell silent all of a sudden. She tapped a foot against the ground and hummed. ¡°But if I can already mimic the magic of beasts, monsters, and humans¡­ there¡¯s no reason to stop only at that, is there?¡±


    She abruptly turned to face the two closed front doors of the room, her gaze becoming unfocused. Scytale sighed and shut off his connection to her mind, wanting to avoid the headache. Lucille¡¯s thoughts whirred at high speeds in her head as she analysed what exactly this meant for her plans. With her Origin Skill, she had already set up simulations for her to visualise what she wanted to do.


    Then she turned back around and smiled at her bond. ¡°Scytale, I think I finally know what path I truly want to take in this timeline.¡± She gestured to him to follow, placed her hands behind her back, and walked towards a seemingly blank wall of the circular room. ¡°With the freedom I have in altering my main skills, my second main skill will become the best ¡®Mage¡¯ class anyone could ever have.¡±


    Scytale stood up and followed her as she pressed a hand against the wall. ¡°Then, for my next main skill¡­ I think I might become the best ¡®Crafter¡¯.¡± Then Lucille smirked and pressed on a part of the wall, inserting her mana. The bricks and wall shifted to reveal a hidden hallway with glowing blue mana lamps, decorated by black metal.


    ¡°But before I get ahead of myself too much, how about we finish this Quest?¡± she asked cheerily, gesturing to the uncovered open doorway.


    Scytale placed his hands on his hips, feeling slightly exasperated, but shook his head wryly and followed her in. ¡°And so, what is your next step in becoming the best ¡®Mage¡¯?¡±


    She calmly walked forward. ¡°To gain the ability to comprehend spirit, demonic, death and draconic magic while avoiding the eyes of the nobles and powerful clans. Luckily, I already had a way of doing exactly that.¡± Lucy gained a dark smile and glanced at her bond. ¡°It would be a shame if I didn¡¯t explore the underworld when I have the backing of the largest force within it, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡­


    They walked through the dim hallway, metal grates for doors on either side. The floor was made of dark wood, and the brick around them was closer to black than grey. Scytale tried to peer through the grates and see what was beyond, but he could only see a dark hallway like they were in that continued into the darkness.


    ¡°Was this the actual dungeon before the monster arrived?¡± Scytale wondered aloud.


    ¡°I believe it was a high-security zone of the building,¡± Lucy replied, carefully analysing her perception field to see if there was anything interesting around them. There wasn¡¯t, so they continued walking in the dimly lit corridor. They eventually came before a large pair of doors made of wood and metal, the emblem of a howling wolf engraved on both.


    Lucy looked at her bond. ¡°The creatures in here aren¡¯t immediately dangerous, but-¡±


    Scytale heard ¡®not immediately dangerous¡¯ and ignored the rest of her words, pushing the doors open. He walked ahead into a large hall, podiums and long luxurious tables arranged to form a circle on tiered platforms. On pedestals around the place were glossy black wolf statues, and beneath one of the raised platforms was a larger black wolf, its dull eyes glinting menacingly.


    ¡°Did those ancient fogies have some sort of senate?¡± Scytale changed to his serpent form to fly up to the tallest podium on a series of steps, then returned to his human body and leaned his hands on the wood. ¡°Why is this place so huge?¡±


    His voice had a slight reverberation to it, and when Scytale heard it he grinned. He cupped his hands around his mouth as Lucy¡¯s expression went serious and she began to march up the stairs. ¡°Scytale, if you do that-¡±


    ¡°Hey! Can anybody hearrrrr meeeeee?¡±


    Scytale snickered as he heard the echoes but Lucille¡¯s eyes widened and she unsheathed her two blades. ¡°Scytale! Get down! You activated them!¡±


    He paused as he heard the urgency in her voice. ¡°Woke¡­ them? Woke what? I don¡¯t see-¡±


    The grating of stone resounded as the large wolf statue in the centre of the room slowly shifted, its moving creaking. It shook itself awake and then raised its head to look at Scytale and Lucille behind the podium. Then it let out a vicious snarl and pointed its snout to the ceiling to howl.


    The twenty smaller wolf statues around the room woke up and joined in with the howling. Lucy and Scytale grimaced as grates releasing strong magical power descended down to block the entrances and exits. The lead wolf growled and they gathered to prowl around the base of the stairs, waiting to move.


    ¡°I never sensed them with my killing intent!¡± Scytale hissed just before he changed to his serpent form.


    Lucille narrowed her eyes at the wolves crowding the base of their platform. ¡°That¡¯s because they¡¯re not monsters themselves. They¡¯re golems.¡±


    [Obsidian Wolf Golem ¨C Lvl. 35]


    [HP: 7500 {+87 HP/1m}]


    [Obsidian Wolf Golem ¨C Lvl. 32]


    [Obsidian Wolf Golem ¨C Lvl. 37]


    [Obsidian Wolf Golem ¨C Lvl. 38]


    [Obsidian Wolf Golem ¨C Lvl. 35]


    [Obsidian Wolf Golem ¨C Lvl. 42]


    [Obsidian Wolf Gol¡­.]


    Scytale activated his Primal Descendant form. ¡°Then what¡¯s our plan of attack with these guys?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean ¡®our¡¯ plan of attack?¡± Lucy fixed a stare on her bond. ¡°I¡¯m not dealing with these guys. You are.¡±


    He stared back. ¡°¡­huh?¡±


    She gestured to the growling wolves. ¡°Whose fault do you think it was that they woke up? Besides, these are golems made of the strongest volcanic glass. My STR will barely leave a dint in them.¡± She made shooing motions. ¡°So go on, be off with you. Weren¡¯t you complaining about me stealing the experience earlier?¡±


    ¡°But I wasn¡¯t¡­¡± His words withered as Lucille narrowed her eyes and he quickly flew up. ¡°Ugh¡­ alright, alright!¡± He flew to the top of the hall and hissed as he spread his white-gold wings. ¡°Okay, puppies, bring it on!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Firebolt.¡±


    The flickering pillar of fire smashed against the hard bodies of the wolf golems, barely damaging their hp in the slightest. Lucy clicked her tongue and readied herself to cast another spell as Scytale hissed and sent the wolves flying into a wall. They shook themselves and leapt from their positions against the wall, re-joining the fray.


    ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t plan on helping!¡± Scytale yelled as he rammed his tail into the lead wolf.


    ¡°I¡¯m not. Did you not see how little damage I did to them?¡± Lucille held up her hand as a new low-ranked mana-circle assembled itself before her fingertips. ¡°But I decided now would be best to test out my Prodigious Archmage¡¯s First Steps skill.¡±


    She narrowed her eyes at the black golems. ¡°The mana cost to create fire hot enough to hurt them will be too high¡­ then I should try to make them brittle through cold.¡±


    The mana-circle glowed ice blue as it gained several more layers, becoming an intermediate spell. She pulled upon the force of one of the glimmering spheres of energy within her body and impressed her will upon the spell.


    ¡®Break¡¯.


    The structure of the mana-circle deformed slightly before it gained a rigid, glassy appearance. The runes were altered, becoming unfamiliar to even Lucy herself. She smirked and named her new spell.


    ¡°Frigid Flash.¡±


    The mana-circle activated, sending out a beam of blue light. The beam exploded out when it touched the ground, coating the surrounds in a solid sheet of ice. The weaker golems¡¯ joints creaked as their movements slowed, and spiderweb-like veins of white frost crawled up their limbs.


    Scytale didn¡¯t hesitate and lashed out, whipping his tail through the golems, and shattering their bodies. The frosted black pieces of obsidian sprayed across the ground, reducing the number of enemies to only ten.


    [+534 XP]


    [Level Up!]


    [+1 level]


    [+5 Free stat points]


    [Level Up!]


    [+1 level]


    [+5 Free stat points]


    [Level Up!]


    [+1 level]


    [+5 Free stat points]


    [User has reached Level 40]


    [Xp: 61/220]


    [Apophis: +27 XP]


    [Xp: 75/151]


    [Ouroboros: +27 XP]


    [Xp: 75/151]


    ¡°Hey! You stole my xp again!¡±


    Her expression went flat. ¡°Did you want these monsters killed today or next year?¡±


    Scytale grumbled, rolling out of the way of the lead wolf¡¯s leap attack. ¡°I wasn¡¯t that slow¡­ fine, I¡¯ll speed up.¡±


    The colour of his light gold mana became richer and darker, almost solid. Slowly covering his wings, the feathers gained what looked like metal tips, enabling them to shred anything they touched.


    ¡°Is that your Colossus Armament?¡± Lucille called down, watching him curiously.


    ¡°Yeah, but I¡¯ve got no idea why it decided to protect my wings of all things. They need, like, the least protection.¡± He flew up and did a barrel roll as he dived down, the serrated wing tips leaving deep gouges in the stone of the golems. ¡°I¡¯ll still need to follow that merging plan I came up with a few months ago.¡±


    Lucille leaned against the podium and shrugged, crossing her arms. ¡°Well, hurry up the fight. I¡¯m waiting.¡±


    He shot her a glare then yelped as a wolf bit down on the tip of his tail while he was distracted. He sent the wolf flying as Lucy smirked.


    ¡°These damn wolves¡­ if I still had my Rank-7 strength they¡¯d incinerate in my mere presence!¡±


    Lucille checked her gloves with nonchalance. ¡°If I still had my Rank-7 strength I would¡¯ve curb-stomped the Hero on day one.¡± She pointed at him. ¡°Anyway, quite complaining so we can complete the next part of our quest.¡±


    ¡­


    [Mystical Realm Event: Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis]


    [Exploration Progress +0.07%]


    [New! Exploration Progress: 0.58%]


    Scytale breathed heavily as the decimated remains of the golems lay around him. Lucille casually hummed as she walked down the stairs and placed her hands on her hips, surveying the area. ¡°It was about time. Did you get the experience you want?¡±


    Scytale shot her a flat look, and then his body glowed gold as he returned to his human form. He sat down on the ground with a groan and held out a hand to Lucy. ¡°Can I have my water flask, please?¡±


    She took it out of her dimensional bag and tossed him it. He took a few large gulps before placing it down on the ground and sighing. He looked up at the ceiling. ¡°Next time¡­ please don¡¯t just leave it to me¡­¡±


    She smiled brightly and stepped closer. Scytale tilted his head back to gaze strangely at her. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Scytale.¡± She leaned forward and narrowed her eyes. ¡°Next time¡­ listen to me before you act. Is that clear?¡±


    ¡°¡­yes,¡± he said hesitantly, feeling a minute sense of threat for some reason.


    Lucy straightened back up and walked away. ¡°We can rest when we get to the main hall. Time to move for now.¡±


    With a groan, he got up and started following her again. The grates in front of the exits had been removed with the sound of grinding gears, allowing them to step through the large double doors on the opposite side of the room they had entered. They once again found themselves in a long dark hallway with dim lighting.


    Scytale warily watched any small statue or animal-shaped ornament they walked past. ¡°Now I¡¯m never going to trust a statue again.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d suggest you turn your observations to any chests we come across,¡± Lucy said with amusement. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t want your hand to be bitten off by a mimic, would you?¡±


    He turned to stare at her. ¡°There are mimics in here?¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°Maybe, maybe not.¡±


    He scowled as she continued walking with a grin on her face. They discussed a few more things before coming to a branching path, another hallway intersecting with theirs. Scytale shielded his eyes and narrowed them, trying to guess where to go. ¡°Do we take the right or left? ¡­I think I heard that you¡¯re supposed to always follow the right path when lost in a cave¡­¡±


    ¡°Neither.¡± Lucille, instead of turning a corner, walked up to one of the blue flickering mana lamps resting on a dark metal sconce. Placing her gloved hand around it, she pulled it down with a sharp yank. The sconce tilted down like a lever and they stepped back as the wall in front of them rapidly disassembled to reveal a wide, well-lit hallway with orange flames set in alcoves.


    Lucy gestured to the hallway. ¡°This way to the main hall.¡±


    After a bit more walking, the hallway finally gave way to a hall with an arched roof, and massive chandeliers of polished steel swinging from the ceiling. Eight tall pillars covered in many precious gemstones sat around the hall, and the floor was tiered so that the centre of the hall was the lowest point in it.


    [Realm Quest - Ancient Dungeon Discovery Tier I (Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis):


    <ul>


    <li>Investigate the first three zones of the Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis:


    <ul>


    <li>Determine the main element of the Dungeon: COMPLETE (Earth)</li>


    <li>Defeat three zone bosses: INCOMPLETE (1/3)</li>


    <li>Locate the main hall of the Dungeon: COMPLETE]</li>


    </ul>


    </li>


    </ul>


    Scytale made a move to run over to one of the pillars¡­ until he sheepishly glanced at Lucy for the go-ahead. She raised an eyebrow but nodded and he grinned as he ran to the column and brushed his hands over the jewels.


    ¡°Lucy, look at all the gemstones! They must have amazing purity,¡± he exclaimed, leaning forward to put an eye up to a stone. ¡°Is this what you came for?¡±


    She smirked and walked up to the column. ¡°This main hall is also the original ¡®forum¡¯ of the fortress academy the earth elementalists ran. Each small door will take you to staircases that lead to the first of every ten levels, but the Dungeon will only let you access them if you¡¯ve proved you have the strength to defeat the other levels¡­¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± her bond asked curiously.


    Lucy hummed as she studied the engravings on the column. ¡°Because the Dungeon doesn¡¯t want to let you strengthen yourself by sending its weaker monsters towards you again, and knows only the stronger scions have a chance of defeating you.¡±


    Scytale smirked. ¡°So it¡¯s scared of us.¡±


    Lucy whacked the back of his head. ¡°It will be if we¡¯ve cleared more levels. But right now, it¡¯s probably waiting in greedy anticipation for more reckless humanoids to come running into here for it to devour.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so the pitiful Guilders we give this Dungeon to,¡± Scytale said with a sagely nod. ¡°It¡¯s all coming together.¡±


    She rolled her eyes and turned around, heading back towards the door they came from. Scytale dashed up the stairs to walk beside her. ¡°So¡­ is this the place where all our infinite riches will come from? They¡¯ll just take down the gem pillars on repeat?¡±


    ¡°Here, and on the levels below,¡± Lucy replied offhandedly, not paying him much attention. ¡°They¡¯ll remove precious metals from walls, ornaments, and just about anything because the Dungeon will then recreate it once they¡¯re gone.¡± She frowned slightly and looked at one of the onyx gems decorating a sconce. ¡°The Commission might face pressure from the major noble clans of the Athenaeum to hand the land over to them.¡±


    Scytale nodded and then paused as a thought struck him. ¡°Wait, do you own this land yet?¡±


    Lucille smirked and shot him a look. ¡°Ravimoux has already purchased this place on my behalf. Our next step after leaving the Dungeon is to go find their messenger waiting for me in the city, and let them go inform Ravimoux to start taking control of the Dungeon.¡±


    ¡°Nice.¡± Scytale rolled his shoulders as they returned to the crossroads they were at. ¡°So, what¡¯s the next baddie we have to face?¡±


    Lucille gestured for him to follow with a nod and led him to a door. She pushed it open to show him the massive wolf larger than them both with fur as dark as night, breathing slowly as it slept on the ground.


    ¡°Now we face a real monster, but one with fur just as strong as the golems from earlier.¡±


    [Dungeon Scion: Nox Caninus Stone-Fur Wolf ¨C Lvl. 50]


    [HP: 10,000 {+100 HP/1m}]

 Chapter 58 (2 of 2) Lucille’s methods of releasing pent-up frustration are not to be imitated.

    ¡°Take this you filthy mutt!¡±


    The killing-intent laced beam of light shot into the wolf¡¯s eyes, making it howl in pain. Lucille used the moment to slam Ouroboros against the ground, shaking the floor and causing the beast to lose its footing.


    Scytale bared his fangs and ripped into the hide of the monster, its fur already covered in numerous bleeding wounds from their earlier clashes. This time, Scytale finally managed to get his fangs deep into the wolf¡¯s neck. He coiled his body around the beast as the wolf howled and cried, thrashing about to dislodge the amphiptere.


    Scytale tightened his grip around the wolf, slowly crushing it. After a long few minutes of effort, the monster finally collapsed to the ground, dead.


    [+720 XP]


    [Level Up!]


    [+1 level]


    [+5 Free stat points]


    [Level Up!]


    [+1 level]


    [+5 Free stat points]


    [Level Up!]


    [+1 level]


    [+5 Free stat points]


    [Level Up!]


    [+1 level]


    [+5 Free stat points]


    [User has reached Level 41]


    [Xp: 26/225]


    [Apophis: +32 XP]


    [Xp: 80/151]


    [Ouroboros: +32 XP]


    [Xp: 80/151]


    [Realm Quest - Ancient Dungeon Discovery Tier I (Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis):]


    <ul>


    <li>Investigate the first three zones of the Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis:


    <ul>


    <li>Determine the main element of the Dungeon: COMPLETE (Earth)</li>


    <li>Defeat three zone bosses: INCOMPLETE (2/3)</li>


    <li>Locate the main hall of the Dungeon: COMPLETE]</li>


    </ul>


    </li>


    </ul>


    [Mystical Realm Event: Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis]


    [Exploration Progress +0.08%]


    [New! Exploration Progress: 0.66%]


    Lucy glanced at the notifications.


    I earned half of the experience¡­ and my blades have been taking 10% of my total experience each.


    In front of her, her bond turned back into a human and raised a fist. ¡°Woohoo! Done and dusted! Only one more left to go!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your level?¡± Lucille asked.


    He turned back around, revealing that the monster¡¯s sticky blood had gotten over his face and hair. He grinned. ¡°49! After the last guy, I¡¯ll have passed the 50 mark.¡±


    Lucy studied his appearance expressionlessly for a moment. Then she raised a hand and abruptly cast a water ball spell at her bond, splashing him in the face with water.


    Scytale coughed and spluttered, staring at her incredulously. ¡°What- why did you do that?!¡±


    ¡°Because I¡¯m not having my bond walk around like he¡¯s a serial killer,¡± Lucy said with disdain. She walked up to the corpse of the monster.


    Scytale sighed as he plucked at his soaked shirt but stood next to her. ¡°Is this guy going to turn into a Heretic item too?¡±


    Lucy shook her head. ¡°Doesn¡¯t appear like it. Heretic items are quite rare, so it would be unlikely for the Dungeon to create another one after the first zone when the first scion or boss slayed in a Dungeon is a guaranteed Heretic item.¡± She studied the monster''s corpse for a moment longer and then transferred it into her dimensional bag. ¡°The first version of a monster slain in a Dungeon is always higher quality than the subsequent versions slain, as the Dungeon devotes less mana to them. The hide of this monster may be useful for my future magical gear.¡±


    ¡°Hey, we¡¯re looting monster corpses!¡± Scytale said. ¡°Now it feels like we¡¯re real adventurers!¡±


    Lucy smiled and glanced at her bond. ¡°Is there any equipment you want made?¡±


    He blinked. ¡°For me?¡± Scytale frowned as he considered it. ¡°I can¡¯t really think of anything, besides maybe buying a dimensional bag for myself¡­¡± He thought for a moment longer and then shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll get back to you if there¡¯s something I want.¡±


    She nodded and then started moving. ¡°Let¡¯s go then. It¡¯s time for the last zone.¡±


    As they approached the platform the wolf had been lying on, a tall oak door emerged from the stone wall in front of them. Lucille turned the doorknob and they were led into the next zone. This time, however, was a bit different.


    They stared at the flourishing indoor garden before their eyes, releasing waves of wood and earth mana. The plants climbed up the walls and columns, making the place appear overgrown. Patches of tall grass spread across the ground and all the plants sparkled with a gem-like quality to them, some of them translucent. But with Lucy¡¯s perception, she could detect the microscopic monster essence coating everything in sight. Artificial light streamed from mana lamps placed above glass to look like skylights.


    [Mystical Realm Event: Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis]


    [Exploration Progress +0.17%]


    [New! Exploration Progress: 0.83%]


    ¡°¡­those are carnivorous plants, aren¡¯t they,¡± Scytale said.


    Lucille gave her bond a flat look. ¡°Tell me, Scytale, why would you ever think that monstrous plants would be carnivorous?¡±


    He rolled his eyes. ¡°Okay, yes, I should¡¯ve thought through my words better.¡± He gestured to the sparkling flora. ¡°What I actually want to know is if you could enlighten me about what specific, colourful way I will die if I touch them.¡±


    ¡°I could,¡± she replied calmly. He glared at her, making her smirk. ¡°If you touch any of the plants here they¡¯ll explode into thousands of crystal fragments, stabbing you a million times over. You won¡¯t die instantly, but you¡¯ll lose health over time from the bleeding, and when you eventually succumb to your condition the plants will absorb your flesh and blood.¡±


    She hummed as she surveyed the room. ¡°Rather tame for a monster, as most magical plants have basic self-defence methods like this, but that¡¯s discounting the symbiotic relationship the plant has with another species of monster.¡± She gestured to the humanoid snake. ¡°Stay put for a second.¡±


    Lucy unsheathed Apophis and directed the blade to hover in the centre of the room as she raised a hand and stretched it out. ¡°Arcane Barricade.¡±


    A dark blue translucent dome emerged from her spell, protecting the two of them on all sides. Scytale gave her a curious look as she smiled and sent her intent through to her demonic weapon. ¡°Alright, Apophis. Let loose.¡±


    The malevolent blood-red aura glowed intensely as the half-segments spun widely around the main body of the weapon. With excitement, Apophis thrashed around, sending his blade shattering into the plants on all sides.


    A sound burst out as the monstrous flora exploded into thousands of shards as light as air, sharp enough to rend someone¡¯s lungs with just a breath. The explosions continued as the force of one plant exploding caused a chain reaction, the monstrous plantation so thick in the room that everything was connected. They waited behind the arcane spell until they could no longer hear the explosions echoing through the door at the end of the room, nor were there any more sparkling shards floating in the air. Lucy disintegrated the barrier.


    She gestured to the glittering ground with a gloved hand. ¡°Scytale, how confident are you in the soles of your boots?¡±


    He lifted a foot to check and then raised an eyebrow at her. ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡±


    Lucy smirked and walked down some small stairs to step onto the crystal-covered ground. ¡°Then I suppose you¡¯ll be able to test them.¡±


    He carefully stepped onto the ground with her and she walked forward to view her levitating weapon. Apophis had reverted to his dagger form but Lucy still clicked her tongue. ¡°You¡¯re covered in them. Wind would be a bad idea right now, so water it is.¡±


    After casting a low-ranked water spell, Lucy sheathed Apophis and continued to tread carefully on the ground. With awkward steps, Scytale followed, stopping to check the soles of his boots now and then. It was after some time that Scytale finally said something.


    ¡°So¡­¡± he began. ¡°You mentioned these plants have a symbiotic relationship with¡­ another kind of monster.¡±


    Lucy nodded and then made a ¡®hush¡¯ gesture to him with a finger on her lips. She switched to mental communication.


    Yes. But we¡¯ll be getting close to where they are, so we need to keep quiet. I suggest walking a tad slower.


    Lucille dropped to a slight crouch and Scytale followed her lead, walking in a straight path to enter through the open doorway at the end into the next room. The rich purple carpet was coated in tiny slivers of crystal, ready to pierce any who made the slightest mistake.


    [Mystical Realm Event: Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis]


    [Exploration Progress +0.07%]


    [New! Exploration Progress: 0.90%]


    Scytale winced as the shards crushed under his boots, the sound of their footsteps the only thing to be heard in the deathly silent room. At the other end of the room was a tall ornate chair, seated on a raised platform. It appeared like a throne of some sort. Embroidered silk curtains hung from the walls as decorations.


    Lucy¡¯s bond stiffened up when he detected the presence of the other monsters.


    ¡®Hey, Lucy, can you show me what those are? They feel like¡­¡¯


    She sent through what she could see in her perception field and he hesitated.


    ¡®Ah¡­ yay. I hate spiders.¡¯


    Lucille suddenly froze. Scytale, stay very still. They¡¯re moving.


    He paused and tried to see the monsters. The snake nearly flinched when he heard the sound of skittering, and twenty milky white spiders emerged from behind the draping silk, crawling across the shard-covered carpet. He slowed his breathing and tried not to move.


    Lucy sent across information on the monsters. They¡¯re blind, but the hairs on their legs can detect vibrations. Also, these are the babies.


    Scytale blinked. ¡®Then where¡¯s the mother?¡¯


    Behind the throne.


    He slowly raised his eyes and at first, he couldn¡¯t see anything. Scytale almost wondered if the spider was using an illusion but then discarded the thought as his eye bloodline ability would see through it. Then the monster moved and he realised the giant spider was completely transparent, lying flat against the wallpaper.


    And it was slowly crawling upwards, climbing onto the roof.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    ¡®Lucy, I don¡¯t think we should stay still anymore.¡¯


    She sent him her agreement, but neither of them moved, still trying to plan their next moves as the spider queen crawled across the roof. Then it opened its pincers and Scytale¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°Lucy, move!¡±


    With Lucille¡¯s AGI barely catching up to her and Scytale¡¯s perception, she raised Ouroboros to deflect the attack of the monster. Instead of venom, a sharp, needle-thin piece of glass shot out of its mouth, hitting Ouroboros directly in the middle. The force of attack nearly pushed Lucy back but she kept her footing. The sound of glass shattering was heard behind her and she glanced at Scytale to see him deflecting the attacks of the young spiders with his wings, already having reverted to his true form.


    ¡°Lucy, I can¡¯t use my Primal Descendant skill in this room. This place is too small. Do you think we can lure it elsewhere?¡±


    ¡°Unlikely right now,¡± she said as she twisted her body to avoid the next attack of the spider queen. ¡°Dungeon Scions are usually very territorial of their rooms. The entrance to the next level is guarded by them, after all. The only way would be to find something their instincts value more than the room.¡± Using the shard in her eye she obtained its information.


    [Dungeon Scion: Fractured Jungle Spider Mother ¨C Lvl. 55]


    [HP: 11000/11000 {+104 HP/1m}]


    ¡°Ugh¡­ that¡¯s my Aspect bonuses out for the count. Not to mention my CON and STR boosts.¡± He swung his tail and slammed five of the baby spiders into a wall where they shattered.


    Lucy tested the monster by swinging Ouroboros at it but the spider only hissed and leapt to the wall closest to her. Scytale pushed in front of Lucy and flared his wings, hissing at the creature in return to get it to back off.


    Instead, the spider raised its abdomen and used its spinnerets to shoot a strand of thick sticky web at the wrist Lucille was using to wield Ouroboros. Lucy couldn¡¯t dodge and tried to switch her mana to fire to burn the spider silk. The silk didn¡¯t do anything but heat up, and it was at risk of burning Lucy if she increased the heat further.


    Scytale shot a beam of light mana at the silk but that was also ineffective. The spider queen used its legs to begin dragging Lucy closer, and Lucy gritted her teeth, trying to pull back on the thread as she twisted her wrist.


    Lucy¡¯s silvery bond bared his fangs at the spider, aiming to get it to loosen its grip, but the spider chittered and increased its pulling. Lucille winced at the abrasion but didn¡¯t stop moving her hand.


    ¡°Lucy, if I threaten it too much it¡¯s going to yank your wrist off,¡± Scytale said in a tight voice. ¡°If it doesn¡¯t, then you¡¯ll be sent face-first into the shards on the ground.¡±


    Lucy tried to saw off the silk with Apophis¡¯s serrated edges but the spider hissed and pulled on her again. It raised its abdomen, prepared to shoot silk at Lucille again.


    ¡°Scytale, just attack!¡± Lucy shouted.


    ¡°But-¡±


    ¡°Now!¡±


    He didn¡¯t waste time saying anything else and launched himself at the monster. It let out a foul scream as the serpent bowled it over. Scytale flinched at the brief shot of pain he sensed Lucy feel but when he spared a second to check her condition he saw she was still standing.


    ¡®What-¡¯


    Not now. Keep her distracted. I have something else I need to do.


    Scytale decided to leave it in her hands as he fought the monster. Its translucent body was filled with foul monster essence, the miasma gushing out of the minute cracks in its exoskeleton.


    Lucy took one last look at her bond¡¯s situation before dashing into a side corridor, heading in a straight line to her destination. She used Apophis to deal with the many baby spiders on the walls and underfoot, and the further into the hallway she went, the thicker the white silk coating the building. Lucille stopped when she came before a glowing sack the size of her head, attached to the wall with the thickest silk of the spider queen. Hundreds of weak baby spiders the size of her little finger were rushing out of the sack, but she knew their mandibles were too weak to pierce her skin.


    She used Apophis to slice across the top of the egg sack, then plunged her black-gloved hand in, ignoring the slime and spider legs. She withdrew a small object and once she had pocketed it, she severed the egg sack from the wall, catching it in the same hand she severed it with by letting the blade levitate. Then she ran back to the main room with Apophis behind her to see Scytale getting thrown against the throne, the spider queen now missing two legs.


    He coughed as he shook his head and flapped his wings, getting back up. ¡°You sure can pack a punch when you try, huh? And¡­ Lucy?¡± He looked at what she had in her hand. ¡°What is-¡±


    She didn¡¯t stop to listen, instead running past the spider and Scytale to the back of the room, a few paces away from the doorway. She held up the egg sack for the spider queen. ¡°This is yours, isn¡¯t it? Your foul eight-legged spawn? They look as beautiful as their mother.¡±


    The spider queen clicked its mandibles, unable to see what Lucy was doing. Lucille squeezed the sack, half-formed and newly-hatched spiders falling out. She gained a vicious grin. ¡°Are you just going to sit there and wait while I destroy this?¡±


    The spider queen let out a horrid screech and ran towards her, front legs reaching out for the sack. Lucy threw the sack into the room behind her with tiny spiders spraying everywhere at the same time as she sent a message to Scytale.


    The spider queen picked up the egg sack and rapidly shredded it with its legs and mandibles, uncaring about the many young it was killing in the process. The silk and slime fell to the ground in one ugly mess as the spider failed to find what it was looking for, and it screamed with anger as it turned around.


    Then it was faced with the enlarged form of Scytale, Colossus Armament and Aspects all released.


    ¡°You forgot about me that quickly?¡±


    The scales instantly tipped in their favour when Scytale could use his full size in the first room. Scytale swung his massive tail and slammed the spider into the wall where it let out a pained screech, its transparent form turning brown as its cracked body released green miasma. But it didn¡¯t give up. All the miasma was leached from its body as it summoned a massive glass star above its head, ready to send out needle-like shards in a massive area-of-effect attack that even Scytale, with his exhausted mana, and Lucy, with her low defence, would struggle to block.


    But then Lucille raised the green glowing orb that had been within the egg sack earlier and squeezed it, causing it to let out cracking noises. The spell above the head of the spider queen dissipated as it rounded on her with another hiss. It waited for Lucy¡¯s move, in fear of the orb breaking.


    Then Lucy ruthlessly shattered it and the spider queen screeched, reforming its miasma into a massive spear directed at her. Just as the attack was about to be cast, Scytale flew up and dived at the monster, using his full force to ram it into the ground. Another ruthless dig of his fangs into its neck severed its head from its body, and then its limbs finally stopped twitching.


    [+985 XP]


    [Level Up!]


    [+1 level]


    [+5 Free stat points]


    [Level Up!]


    [+1 level]


    [+5 Free stat points]


    [Level Up!]


    [+1 level]


    [+5 Free stat points]


    [Level Up!]


    [+1 level]


    [+5 Free stat points]


    [User has reached Level 45]


    [Xp: 84/253]


    [Apophis: +50 XP]


    [Xp: 130/151]


    [Ouroboros: +50 XP]


    [Xp: 130/151]


    [Realm Quest - Ancient Dungeon Discovery Tier I (Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis): COMPLETE]


    <ul>


    <li>Investigate the first three zones of the Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis:


    <ul>


    <li>Determine the main element of the Dungeon: COMPLETE (Earth)</li>


    <li>Defeat three zone bosses: COMPLETE (3/3)</li>


    <li>Locate the main hall of the Dungeon: COMPLETE]</li>


    </ul>


    </li>


    </ul>


    [Rewards: +2000 xp, Crystalline Token +1, Ancient Skill Book, Stat Potions (+10) x2, Ancient Dungeon Discoverer Title x1, Successor of Synadis Title x1, Origin Skill Primer (+5%) x1]


    [+2000 XP]


    [Level Up! x7]


    [+7 levels]


    [+35 Free stat points]


    [User has reached Level 52]


    [Xp: 272/280]


    [User has new rewards (8) available:                                                                                                 ]


    Realm Quest ¨C Ancient Dungeon Discovery Tier I (Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis):


    <ul>


    <li>Crystalline Token x1</li>


    <li>Skill Book - Successor of The Kingdom of Jewels (Ancient) x1</li>


    <li>Ancient Dungeon Discover (Ancient) Title x1</li>


    <li>Successor of Synadis (Epic) Title x1</li>


    <li>Origin Skill Primer (+5%) x1</li>


    </ul>


    []


    [Realm Quest ¨C Ancient Dungeon Discovery Tier II (Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis) Unlocked]


    [Realm Sub-Quests ¨C Ancient Dungeon Exploration Tier I (Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis) Unlocked]


    Lucille didn¡¯t bother to focus on the messages much, just sitting down on the only part of the ground not covered by crystals with a sigh. Scytale came and sat next to her in his human form. She glanced at him. ¡°Do you want my Origin Skill Primer?¡±


    He stared at her. ¡°Uh¡­ don¡¯t you need that?¡±


    Lucy shook her head. ¡°No. because my Origin Skill is a ¡®System Skill¡¯, it¡¯s unalterable by any means, even increasing its awakening rate. It¡¯s already in its best possible state, so I won¡¯t benefit from it.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­yes, I¡¯ll take it. Thanks,¡± he said with surprise.


    She nodded and fell silent again. They both sat there and recovered from the fight. After a few minutes, Lucille opened her dimensional bag and retrieved a healing potion, then dumped it on her left hand.


    Scytale raised an eyebrow. ¡°Why are you doing that?¡±


    ¡°To heal my wrist.¡± She waited a second for the glow to die down, and then flexed it, testing its ability. ¡°I broke it.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ broke it? Was that because of the spider silk?¡± He stared at her as she nodded. Then he groaned. ¡°Wow¡­ breaking your wrist to escape the silk? Ruthless as always, huh¡­¡± Then he shuddered. ¡°Although, not as ruthless as the spider queen. Did you see how she shredded that egg sack? It was like she didn¡¯t even care about her kids!¡±


    Lucy gave him a shake of her head. ¡°That¡¯s because she didn¡¯t. Her young function as her soldiers and food. If they didn¡¯t become strong enough then she¡¯d eat them.¡±


    Scytale made a gagging motion. ¡°Yuck, a cannibal too. Nothing could get worse than that.¡± He shot his bond a curious look. ¡°What was the strange green thing though?¡±


    She gestured to the carpet of shattered plants in front of her. ¡°The symbiotic relationship the spiders have with this colony of monstrous plants is one that helps the spider reproduce. Because this monstrous plant is a colony, it only produces one fruit.¡± She put her hands behind her head and laid back. ¡°Most of the spider queen¡¯s offspring can¡¯t become a ¡®queen¡¯, but when the spider queen places an egg within the plant¡¯s fruit, the spider egg has enough nutrients to develop into a new ¡®queen¡¯ like if bee larvae receive royal jelly.¡±


    Scytale considered it. ¡°So¡­ she couldn¡¯t care less about the rest of her eggs but liked her ¡®princess¡¯ egg?¡±


    Lucy raised an eyebrow at him. ¡°When the princess egg is ready to hatch, the spider queen consumes the fruit, the egg still within, to increase her strength.¡±


    He stared at her with a disgusted look on his face. ¡°¡­eww¡­ and¡­ that¡¯s awful.¡±


    Lucille closed her eyes. ¡°No monster has normal habits. All of them are distorted versions of the real things, replicas of the worst aspects of life.¡± She opened her eyes and frowned slightly. ¡°Someone who¡¯d discard their newborn children for personal gain¡­¡± She sighed and sat up.


    Scytale glanced at her. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just reminded of the nobility I¡¯ll have to deal with again once we return,¡± she replied, looking at her formerly injured left hand. ¡°This brief respite has been nice.¡±


    Scytale gained a look of horror. ¡°You¡¯re being¡­ emotional. Something is dreadfully wrong right now, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    She shot him an amused look. ¡°Scytale, do you know what day it is today?¡±


    He cocked an eyebrow. ¡°The twelfth?¡±


    Lucille smirked and stood up. ¡°So you know. I¡¯ll see if you can remember by the end of the day, but first¡­ it¡¯s time to meet up with the messenger from Ravimoux to receive our new identities.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Lucinda Silverhearth and¡­ Sky? From the Beast Realm?¡± the receptionist asked, looking at their letters and the Faction screens in front of her.


    Lucy smiled brightly as Scytale turned to stare at her.


    ¡®Lucinda and Sky?¡¯


    Shut up. I¡¯m busy.


    ¡®Honestly, Lucy, the one thing about you that will never change is your laziness when it comes to naming stuff.¡¯


    Didn¡¯t I just tell you to shut up?


    The receptionist raised her eyes to give Scytale a sceptical look. ¡°He looks a bit too young to be a User.¡±


    Lucy¡¯s smile widened and she patted the scowling Scytale on his head. ¡°He just comes from a beast subrace known for their small size.¡±


    The receptionist continued looking at them both for a second longer before she shrugged. ¡°I guess it¡¯s not my place to question it. Well then, can I ask you what you came here to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild for?¡± She scribbled something down on a piece of paper, waiting for their answer.


    Lucille glanced at the surrounding adventurers seated at tables drinking. She smirked and leaned an arm against the bench. ¡°I would like to report the discovery of a new Dungeon.¡±


    The scratching of the receptionist¡¯s pen paused as she stopped to look at them. ¡°¡­what rarity?¡±


    ¡°Ancient.¡±


    All sounds in the Guild hall stopped as everyone turned to stare at Lucy. The receptionist gazed with wide eyes at Lucy, then coughed to regain composure. ¡°There will be consequences for lying about this to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, I must remind you. If you¡¯ve really found an undiscovered Dungeon, please make sure you have the Quest in your Quest Log and-¡±


    ¡°I have the Quest. And I¡¯ve completed the first Dungeon Discovery Quest,¡± Lucille stated with a serious expression.


    As the receptionist stared at her she showed her notifications, taking care to hide the rewards so they wouldn¡¯t know exactly what she had earned.


    [Realm Quest - Ancient Dungeon Discovery Tier I (Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis): COMPLETE]


    <ul>


    <li>Investigate the first three zones of the Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis:


    <ul>


    <li>Determine the main element of the Dungeon: COMPLETE (Earth)</li>


    <li>Defeat three zone bosses: COMPLETE (3/3)</li>


    </ul>


    </li>


    </ul>


    Locate the main hall of the Dungeon: COMPLETE]


    The hall read the notification in silence. Then suddenly, an uproar sounded, adventurers and Guilders yelling at each other in the din. Flustered, the receptionist hastily opened draws and looked around the desk for paper and pens.


    Scytale sent Lucy a message. ¡®Lucy, there¡¯s-¡¯


    I know. But I won¡¯t let him bring me outside of the Obelisk¡¯s anti-combat range. He can¡¯t do anything.


    ¡°I- um¡­ please wait a moment while I go find the Vice Guildmaster,¡± the receptionist finally replied, turning around to take the stairs to the upper floor.


    ¡°A Vice Guildmaster shouldn¡¯t keep such a special guest waiting,¡± a new voice interjected. An armoured hand was placed on Lucille¡¯s shoulder as a tall man with brown hair smirked at the receptionist. ¡°An Ancient Dungeon in New Syna is something that needs a higher authority¡¯s attention.¡±


    The receptionist became awkward. The man in heavy plate armour narrowed his eyes at the woman. ¡°Unless the Guildmaster is unavailable?¡±


    The receptionist couldn¡¯t reply, her eyes darting between Lucy and the armoured man. The man then placed his other hand on Lucy¡¯s shoulder to steer her away. ¡°Then as the Guildmaster of the Ice Crow Guild, the strongest Guild in the city, I think I¡¯ll entertain the special guest for a while.¡± His smirk became wider. ¡°After all, a mere receptionist can¡¯t force her to stay¡­ unless you want to try.¡±


    The receptionist hesitated, but grimaced and stepped back, lowering her head. The threat was evident.


    The Ice Crow Guildmaster took his hands off Lucille¡¯s shoulders when she brushed them off and she turned around. She tilted her head with a slight smile on her lips. ¡°And who might you be?¡±


    He chuckled. ¡°How rude of me. I forgot to introduce myself.¡± He placed a hand on his chest and bowed his head slightly. ¡°Ivan Ironsworn, the Guildmaster of the Ice Crow Guild, one of the ten strongest Guilds on the plane.¡± He straightened up, ran a hand through his hair and winked at Lucy. ¡°Is this how I¡¯m supposed to do this, my lady?¡±


    Lucy¡¯s smile widened. He even has brown hair¡­ oh, he reminds me so much of Griffin. I detest him already.


    She held her chin with one hand, studying him with her wide smile still in place. ¡°Why do you call me ¡®Lady¡¯?¡±


    Ivan smirked. ¡°I¡¯ve met many nobles, and even among them, your mannerisms paint who you truly are clear as day.¡±


    ¡°Well then, Guildmaster Ironsworn¡­¡± Lucille gave him a bright smile and spread her gloved hands. ¡°Where do you wish to take me?¡±


    A satisfied smile appeared on the Guilder¡¯s face as if he was now confident he had her full interest. ¡°I want the opportunity to¡­ discuss your recent adventures in a quieter space.¡± He looked around and then gestured to her. ¡°May I invite you to our Guild¡¯s branch in New Syna? I believe what you¡¯ll hear from us will be¡­ worthwhile,¡± he stressed.


    Scytale frowned and looked at Lucille. ¡®This might be bad¡­¡¯


    Then he paused when he saw the brief cold look in her eyes before she replied to the Guilder, ¡°I¡¯m very interested in this discussion, Guildmaster Ironsworn.¡±


    Scytale, I¡¯ve decided.


    ¡®Decided what?¡¯


    That I¡¯ll enjoy myself one last time before we head back. I won¡¯t be able to have a break like this for some time, so I¡¯ll make sure my remaining stress is gone before the end of the week.


    She looked back and gave her bond a strange smile.


    Because in three days I¡¯m going to have to meet with His Grace, Stolas Septamere Eterial.


    ¡­


    Lucille propped her chin up against the couch¡¯s armrest with a lazy smile on her lips. Ivan Ironsworn sat opposite her with one leg crossed over the other. Scytale sat next to her, still frowning at the Guildmaster.


    ¡°I apologise for the poor hospitality,¡± Ivan Ironsworn began, gesturing to her. ¡°Our central Headquarters has a much finer sitting room for visitors, but in this backwards place¡­¡± He eyed the room with distaste and shook his head.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind it,¡± Lucy replied. ¡°I have some experience with staying in rougher places. I had to gain the confidence to work as an adventurer somehow.¡±


    Ivan Ironsworn leaned forward, looking at her curiously. ¡°So you are an adventurer?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Lucille straightened up, her expression becoming slightly more serious to let the Guildmaster know she wasn¡¯t up for more small talk. ¡°Please forgive me for being frank, but I want to know what exactly you propose regarding the Dungeon. I¡¯m on a time limit before I must return to my estate.¡±


    The Guilder looked like he wanted to say more but he nodded, leaning back on the couch. ¡°Yes, as you wish.¡± He gave her a solemn nod. ¡°On behalf of the Ice Crow Guild, I want to request the location of the Ancient Dungeon and any information you have on it, as well as gain exclusive access to the Realm Quests of the Dungeon.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re being too greedy?¡± Lucy said, tilting her head.


    His smirk became arrogant as he crossed his arms. ¡°My lady, we¡¯re one of the top ten strongest Guilds of a Minor Kingdom.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re negotiating with a noble of the Aeternus plane.¡±


    ¡°¡­what?¡±


    Lucille narrowed her eyes as her smile widened. ¡°Sir Ironsworn, I said, you are negotiating with a noble of the Aeternus plane.¡±


    He studied her carefully and narrowed his own eyes. ¡°¡­can you prove that statement?¡±


    Her smile became dark. ¡°I don¡¯t need to. Because I never intended on taking your deal in the first place.¡± She stood up from the couch and brushed herself off, Scytale standing up as well. ¡°We¡¯ll take our leave.¡±


    Ivan Ironsworn stood up, a hand gripping the pommel of his sheathed longsword. A vein twitched in his right temple as he stepped closer, looking down at her. ¡°Lucinda Silverhearth, leaving this room would be a very bad idea.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ really?¡± She turned around with a calm smile on her face, not phased in the slightest. ¡°Letting me leave right now might be a very bad idea for you, yes, Isak Ironsworn.¡±


    His eyes widened and he withdrew his blade, pointing it at them both. ¡°How-¡±


    ¡°-Did I know you were an imposter and someone who had murdered his twin brother to take over his position?¡± Lucy said cheerfully, hands held behind her back. ¡°It¡¯s simple. I had Ravimoux do a background check on important figures in the town. And you were one of them.¡±


    ¡°Ravimoux¡­¡± ¡®Isak¡¯ murmured. Then his eyes widened. ¡°The Black County?¡±


    Lucille clicked her tongue and shook her head. ¡°Time¡¯s up. You see, if you were truly the Rank-5 Ivan Ironsworn, then maybe you could¡¯ve detected the presence of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild Guildmaster in the room behind us.¡± She sighed lightly and gave him a ¡®sad¡¯ smile. ¡°Unfortunately, you were, and are only, someone at the peak of Rank-4. Strong, yes, but not strong enough.¡±


    The door opened behind them and a tall blond man in his early forties stepped in. He surveyed the situation with a strange expression. ¡°I¡­ was detected by a Rank-1¡­ who I¡¯ve never met in my entire life.¡±


    ¡°Ah, Branch Guildmaster Rosen.¡± Lucy tilted her head back and gave him a bright smile. ¡°Just the man I was looking for. After you¡¯ve dealt with this man, I don¡¯t suppose we could have a discussion?¡± Her smile widened to become a smirk. ¡°Concerning the Adventurer¡¯s Guild¡¯s involvement with my new Dungeon.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°-we still need at least a month to sort out the paperwork and organise plans with the City Lord, so you might not begin to receive the experience from the Sub-Quests until a month or so later,¡± the receptionist explained. She handed them over forms as a Quest Log hovered in front of both Lucy and Scytale. ¡°But you¡¯ve been given the Adventurer¡¯s Guild Quest. You¡¯re set to go.¡±


    Lucy nodded. ¡°Thank you for your time.¡±


    Now that the final part of the journey was complete, they headed back to the teleportation array they came from, linked to the Gilded Dome plane with the help of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild Guildmaster.


    Lucille and Scytale stepped out into the array dome of the Athenaeum, breathing in the rich mana of the Great plane shard.


    Scytale looked at his bond. ¡°Guess the next thing to do is work out how you¡¯re going to explain your trip to the Aethereal Palace in three days to Vincent, huh?¡±


    Lucy was about to reply but stiffened up as a presence walked closer to them. Standing before them with his arms crossed was a certain silver-haired aide, his silver eyes narrowed at them both.


    ¡°I was waiting here because you said that you¡¯d return at this time but¡­¡± He glanced at Scytale and then scowled at Lucy. ¡°Yes, I am very interested to know how you¡¯re going to explain that to me, Lucille.¡±

 Chapter 59 (1 of 2) The Formless of the House of Wordless Observers.

    The wood creaked underfoot as the sun shone down on the ship. The warmth was quite a respite from the chill morning air ¨C slightly damp and containing the sharp tang of salt. A brown-haired man with gold eyes stretched as he stepped onto the main deck, the deck moving beneath him.


    A woman¡¯s voice called his name, drawing his attention.


    ¡°Hey! Morning¡­ Conlan!¡± A woman with dark blue hair next to the ship¡¯s edge was waving to him. Then she hesitated. ¡°I got it right this time, didn¡¯t I?¡±


    Conlan smiled and nodded.


    ¡°Yes! Gah, I can¡¯t believe I got your name wrong yesterday,¡± Maeva Winrich muttered, crossing her arms. She shook her head. ¡°So embarrassing.¡± She gestured to him with a curious look on her face. ¡°Why are you up so early?¡±


    ¡°Why are you?¡± Conlan replied.


    She clicked her tongue. ¡°Don¡¯t throw my question back at me. I¡¯m up because anywhere with the water element rejuvenates me.¡±


    Conlan chuckled and came up beside her, watching the choppy ocean. ¡°As a warrior, my CON is high, so I get up early. Are there any others awake?¡±


    Maeva gestured to the foredeck with a tilt of her head. ¡°Sure. The Sect girl, your archer friend and Caspian are all up. Must be the water element, or water-aligned abilities in the cultivator girl¡¯s case.¡± She gained a strange expression and looked up at the main mast. ¡°There¡¯s also¡­¡±


    Conlan blinked when he noticed the wild-haired figure sitting on the topsail beam, her luminescent curly hair drifting in the wind. She wasn¡¯t wearing her Captain coat.


    Maeva pointed to Adrianna. ¡°She was out here before even me. I have no idea why she¡¯s up there of all places.¡±


    Conlan studied Adrianna as she sat up there. Instead of her Elite Officer uniform, she was dressed in a white shirt with her sleeves rolled up just as he had seen her wear in the past so often before.


    She was always an early riser. I think she¡¯s just a light sleeper. Also¡­


    He frowned when he saw the object she was holding in her hand, a small trail of dark smoke drifting from it.


    She¡¯s¡­ smoking cigars already?


    He hesitated for a moment. That¡­ that can¡¯t be a good thing, right?


    He was brought out of his thoughts by a nudge from Maeva. ¡°Have you got anything you could share about this new Captain of ours? We¡¯ve known her for two weeks yet I still can¡¯t work her out.¡±


    Conlan smirked and crossed his arms. He now had his first opportunity to begin to move the crew¡¯s opinions. If he could make them side with him¡­ then he¡¯d have a party he knew like the back of his hand for his future Guild.


    And he could ensure it was him who Adrianna relied on and not anyone else. He didn¡¯t need to care about Catherine. She and his other party members had followed him with little effort on his part, so he was sure events would turn out the same, with them being his loyal Guild members once again.


    Only Adrianna was an issue. She had never paid anyone special attention. Anyone but her Vice-Captain and Liliana. Even when he tried to prove he could be useful to her, she dismissed him as just another member of the Dawnlight.


    It made him so mad to be treated like that when he was the Hero of Light. He wanted to be her equal- no, more than equal. They were even the same age, but it was she who became the leader of the crew and not him. Still, she never removed him from the crew even when his attempts to prove himself went awry, so he knew he was important to her somehow.


    But now he needed to become the one person keeping the crew together, instead of her in this timeline. And to do that, he would use her antisocial personality to gain the goodwill of the crew. She was always going to end up pushing away the rest of the crew, so how could it hurt for him to use that for himself?


    ¡°Adrianna Riftmire is¡­ a difficult person,¡± he slowly replied, keeping his voice quiet with an awkward smile on his face. ¡°She doesn¡¯t like to talk to people much. But she¡¯s an excellent mage.¡±


    Maeva scoffed. ¡°Tell me something I don¡¯t know. I was there when she beat you lot to within an inch of your lives.¡±


    Seems I¡¯ll need to try a bit harder. Maeva was one of the most confrontational towards me in the past.


    ¡°Oh¡­ what I mean to say, is that our group of former cadets¡­¡± He gave her a small smile. ¡°Most of us don¡¯t have the best impression of her.¡±


    Maeva raised an eyebrow but they were interrupted when a short figure came up the stairs onto the deck. With wispy ash-coloured hair and large brown eyes, the crew¡¯s resident half-fae hovered above the deck, ready to take up her post as the lookout.


    Noirel Arventiel flew up to the bird¡¯s nest¡­ and then flew back down a few seconds later, looking slightly pale. She saw Conlan and Maeva and frowned. ¡°Thee couldst''ve toldeth me the lady wast there¡­¡± she muttered.


    Maeva cocked an eyebrow. ¡°I didn¡¯t even know you cared our Captain was up there.¡±


    Noirel turned her head away. ¡°The false one maketh me uncomf''rtable.¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t heard you call her that before,¡± Conlan replied in a bright voice. He recognised the nickname the half-fae had for Adrianna and had never discovered why Noirel called her ¡®the false one¡¯ in the past timeline for¡­ certain reasons. ¡°Is there a reason why she seems ¡®false¡¯ to you?¡±


    Instead of answering him, Noirel scowled. ¡°I wont¡¯eth answer thy queries, distorter. Thy character is worse than the false one.¡± She glanced around and looked at Maeva. ¡°I''ll taketh mine own leaveth and inspect the quarterdeck. I shalt warn thee the distorter hides a character yond coequal the vilest slime spawn would avoid.¡±


    And with that, she flew up and left them. Maeva gazed strangely at the leaving half-fae. ¡°What was all that about? False one? Distorter?¡±


    Conlan smiled awkwardly. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know.¡±


    So even in the new timeline, I¡¯m still the ¡®distorter¡¯. And she won¡¯t tell me why because it¡¯s her fae heritage acting up. I bet she doesn¡¯t even know herself.


    Conlan paused and looked at the ground, a hand on his chin as he thought.


    Only Noirel called me that. Only Noirel and¡­ that man I met in Tartarus. I think it was when I was chasing down a clue I thought would lead me to Adrianna during that time she pretended to be dead, and then I killed that woman to erase my tracks when it turned out to be a red herring.


    He frowned slightly.


    He used death mana, but looked human so¡­ wasn¡¯t he a wraith? The strongest race in Tartarus, one of the death race? The fae and the wraiths are so far apart that it¡¯s very strange I got called a ¡®distorter¡¯ by both of them. It might be best if I try to follow up on this ¡®distorter¡¯ thing in this timeline. But Noirel has now gone and messed up the progress with Maeva¡­


    He sighed. Oh well. I¡¯ll try again another time.


    Conlan glanced in the direction of the Captain¡¯s room and smirked.


    I have something more important to do anyway.


    Maeva and Conlan nearly jumped when the hatch to the lower floors¡¯ stairs slammed open, and three figures came marching out. The one in the lead, a young dark-haired girl dressed in flowing white and blue robes, planted her hands on her hips and looked around. Behind her were two weary-looking men, both wearing the Elite Officer naval uniform.


    ¡°It appears our fellow Officers do not share our enthusiasm for the morning!¡± the girl proclaimed. ¡°It is of no consequence. We will instil motivation in our crewmembers and aid them using the morning exercise techniques of our Sect!¡±


    ¡°Senior Sister Mingxia, you¡¯re being very loud,¡± Liao Tengfei said with a groan, placing a finger in his ear. ¡°We don¡¯t need to be up this early.¡±


    Zhang Mingxia tsked and turned away from her Sect members. ¡°Clearly you¡¯re lacking discipline, Junior Brother Tengfei. I will lower my voice for now, but we will address this in the future.¡±


    A brief grimace appeared on the narrow-eyed man¡¯s face, but he sighed and readjusted his uniform¡¯s collar. The scarred man beside him, Zhang Meng, leaned against the main mast with his arms crossed, silently watching everything.


    Zhang Mingxia turned to Conlan and Maeva. ¡°I had seen you were awake with my spiritual sense. The spiritual energies above deck are pleasant at this time of day.¡±


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure how useful ¡®pleasant spiritual energies¡¯ are for a water-element healer like me,¡± Maeva replied with a slight smile.


    Zhang Mingxia blinked and then fell silent as if to contemplate Maeva¡¯s words. She nodded after a moment. ¡°Indeed, you are not a cultivator. But I am sure it must nourish your soul in some way.¡± She looked around the deck again and turned back to them. ¡°And what have you been conversing about this morning? I was too preoccupied with my two junior brothers to concentrate on the conversation.¡±


    Maeva gained a strange expression. ¡°But you weren¡¯t even here. Why would you be listening to our conversation?¡±


    Before the Sect heir could say anything Conlan interjected, ¡°A cultivator like Officer Zhang has spiritual sense. She can hear almost anything on this ship.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Zhang Mingxia nodded. Then she turned around and looked up at Adrianna, still sitting on the topsail beam. She returned to looking at them with her dark blue eyes. ¡°Except in situations when my spiritual sense is reflected by other spiritual energy, as is the case with our Captain.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Maeva raised an eyebrow, her curiosity piqued. She glanced up at the curly-haired woman above them. ¡°You know, our conversation had been about this new Captain of ours. I was asking what Conlan here thought about her. What does the great heir of the Vast Longevity Flowing Glacier Sect think?¡±


    ¡°Of Adrianna Riftmire?¡± Zhang Mingxia looked up at the subject of their conversation. ¡°She is¡­ a unique person to work with.¡± Then she looked at them again and shrugged. ¡°However, it has been three months since we last met, and so the former cadets and my own feelings regarding her have been quieted somewhat.¡±


    Maeva crossed her arms. ¡°What, did you lot dislike her or something?¡±


    Zhang Mingxia¡¯s expression became slightly awkward. ¡°For the Commander of White Squall Fortress to show such obvious interest in another cadet of similar age¡­ I cannot deny that the relationship between the other cadets and Adrianna Riftmire was strained, including myself. But we have all had time to calm ourselves after the events of the training camp and I hope we all show more maturity than before.¡± She gestured to herself. ¡°I have made progress in the temperance of my spirit as my art has instructed me, and should not focus on the failings of the mind and heart at my current stage.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± Maeva held her chin. ¡°So, what you¡¯re saying is you lot used to have friction between you and our Captain.¡± She gave the cultivator the side eye. ¡°And you¡¯re all fine with her now?¡±


    ¡°From what I¡¯ve overheard our fellow crew members say, yes.¡± Then Mingxia glanced at Conlan, who had been staying silent to watch how the Sect heir and Maeva¡¯s discussion played out. ¡°Everyone except that spear-wielding friend of yours. Officer Sherwood seems to still be quite vocal about her opinions of Adrianna Riftmire.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ well¡­¡± Conlan smiled. ¡°Catherine does have quite the hot-headed personality. It must be because of the fire element.¡±


    They were startled when they heard the sounds of heavy boots hitting the deck. They looked back to see that Adrianna had dropped from the topsail beam, using a spell to slow her fall, and was marching across the deck with that pace of hers that made it seem like the only emotion she knew was anger. She paused for a moment to look at them.


    ¡°If you have the spare time to discuss me amongst yourselves then you have the spare time to prepare for the day ahead.¡± Adrianna looked out into the ocean. ¡°Vice-Captain Wharifin informed me that a storm will occur in four hours.¡±


    With that, she walked back into her cabin, shutting the door behind her.


    They exchanged glances. Zhang Mingxia turned around and walked away. ¡°I shall awaken the rest of our fellow crew members. We have yet to have weather dangerous enough that our Vice Captain feels the need to warn us.¡±


    Maeva sighed. ¡°She has a point. I¡¯ll do an inventory check of the medical supplies.¡±


    She walked off, leaving Conlan alone. He watched as Noirel flew up to the bird¡¯s nest, and then he looked around, wondering what to do.


    I¡¯m getting impatient, waiting for the real monsters to come out so we can start levelling. But if a storm is going to be happening today¡­


    He glanced at the Captain¡¯s cabin.


    Then maybe I¡¯ll have an opportunity for that later.


    ¡­


    ¡°Quartermaster Vima, turn to starboard! We¡¯ll capsize if we hit these upcoming waves head-on!¡±


    The grey-haired Silenis Vima saluted and followed Adrianna¡¯s orders, spinning the wheel. Conlan watched as the woman marched down the slick steps to address the crew at the front of the ship.


    Then Conlan gazed out over the choppy seas, watching the vague forms of monsters in the distance clash among the waves.


    The sensation of the rocking boat is bringing back all sorts of nostalgia.


    He heard the sound of a breeze and glanced back to see Noirel Arventiel descending from the bird¡¯s nest, walking towards the forecastle. He knew that as the lookout, Noirel only descended when she had something important to tell them all. He rushed down the steps and climbed up the forecastle stairs to see what Noirel wanted to report.


    Adrianna was busy discussing something with her Vice-Captain and the healer from the Citadel, Charlene Junem, so the half-fae awkwardly loitered behind their Captain, clearly wondering what to say.


    ¡°I beg thee excuse me¡­ Riftmire¡­¡± Noirel fidgeted. ¡°Ah, Captain¡­¡±


    Adrianna stopped to turn around, ignoring Conlan who was watching. The icy-eyed woman tilted her head when the ashy-haired girl didn¡¯t speak. ¡°What is it, Arventiel? It must be important if you came to speak to me.¡±


    The half-fae grimaced. ¡°I did sight monsters in the way of our ship. We''ll cross paths with those folk if ''t be true we keepeth heading this way.¡±


    Adrianna frowned, looking out at the sea.


    Caspian glanced at her. ¡°Commander Arkenast ordered for us to avoid combat for now. We¡¯ll have to take a detour.¡±


    She acknowledged his words with a nod, holding her chin. Adrianna looked at Noirel. ¡°Tell this to Quartermaster Vima. He¡¯ll change the ship¡¯s direction accordingly.¡±


    The half-fae quickly did as told, eager to get away from Adrianna. Just as Adrianna was about to say something to Caspian, Conlan decided to give his input.


    ¡°Captain, I don¡¯t think we need to avoid the monsters,¡± he said, getting their attention. ¡°The island the Commander requested us to visit is covered in Lairs. We¡¯ll end up meeting them either way.¡±


    ¡°Commander Arkenast ordered for us to avoid combat,¡± Adrianna stated blandly, ignoring him to grab a spyglass from her belt and look at the sea. ¡°We won¡¯t be going against his orders.¡±


    Conlan shook his head. ¡°But are his intentions and his orders the same thing?¡± He smirked and gestured to them. ¡°It¡¯s nearly impossible for us to avoid combat when we¡¯re heading directly to the nests of the monsters. Yet the Commander ordered us to go there anyway. I think he wants us to fight them.¡±


    Caspian and Charlene nodded thoughtfully, thinking about his words. Adrianna didn¡¯t look at him as she replied, ¡°The Commander has ordered us to avoid combat. We will be following his orders.¡±


    Conlan¡¯s smirk grew wider. ¡°But it would be the perfect timing. We¡¯ve had sailing without difficulty for the past two weeks, so something has to change. Something unexpected, so the crew will be faced with their first challenge.¡± He pointed at the rest of the ship behind him. ¡°He wants to know how we¡¯ll react when we have to go against his orders.¡±


    The two beside Adrianna were frowning slightly, looking uncomfortable. But it wasn¡¯t their opinions he cared about. Adrianna slowly turned around to fix an icy stare on him.


    ¡°Griffin,¡± she said with a cold voice. ¡°Go get my staff from my cabin. I have a feeling I¡¯ll be needing it soon.¡±


    Conlan expected her to send him away somehow. But how she chose to send him away¡­ he couldn¡¯t believe his luck. He stared at her for a second.


    This¡­ isn¡¯t a trap, right? Such a coincidence is¡­ no, she wouldn¡¯t know what I¡¯m looking for yet. And her spiritual perception at her current strength doesn¡¯t extend to the cabin. This is just a heaven-sent gift.


    Adrianna narrowed her eyes when he didn¡¯t move. ¡°Griffin. I gave you an order.¡±


    ¡°My apologies, Captain.¡± He saluted. ¡°I¡¯ll do ask you asked.¡±


    He tried to hide his eagerness as he walked down the stairs, too excited to notice the lingering icy gaze behind him. He walked across the main deck and opened the Captain¡¯s cabin door, shutting it behind him. He registered the position of her staff, and then ignored it, rushing over to Adrianna¡¯s desk. He studied the legs and tabletop, looking for a latch or button of some kind.


    A secret note is sealed within this desk. I saw her find it at the last minute, but she kicked me out of her cabin. Something important must be written on it.


    There was always the possibility that it wasn¡¯t anything important, but¡­


    His hands brushed across the indent in the wood and he smiled. Found it.


    Pressing on the underside of the desk released a small panel of wood, the promised paper resting on top. He quickly scanned the message.


    Major Kingdom¡­ Fernfall Estate¡­ fallen dukedom? What is¡­ this? Why would it be inside this desk?


    His eyes caught one line of the letter, and he nodded.


    I see, so this was a message an Officer left for the noble who would become the Dawnlight¡¯s Captain that decade. I don¡¯t know why they never found this letter, but¡­


    He stuffed the letter into his pocket after replacing the panel and snatched Adrianna¡¯s staff from its spot against the wall.


    I can study it later. I can¡¯t spend any more time here or else it will seem suspicious.


    But as he walked across the ship¡¯s deck, one sentence from the letter remained in his memory.


    The ¡®Possible resting place of the Legendary Sword Gaisgeach¡¯.


    <hr>


    Opposite Lucille, a silver-haired man with half-moon glasses was frowning, his arms crossed as he pondered her response. The room was silent¡­ save for the snoring of her bond in his human form beside her. Not that he was truly asleep. He was just pretending to avoid her aide¡¯s wrath.


    Vincent raised his eyes. ¡°On the 15<sup>th</sup> of every month?¡±


    Lucy shook her head. ¡°On the 15<sup>th</sup> of every second month. February, April, June, August, October, December.¡±


    ¡°And it¡¯s non-negotiable?¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°As I said, I only received his letter telling me to do this. Until I meet him again, nothing can be done about this.¡± Lucille sighed. ¡°And I¡¯m not prepared to go against the Archduke¡¯s wishes when you already know he doesn¡¯t hold a favourable attitude towards me.¡±


    Vincent frowned further. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me about this earlier? We could¡¯ve discussed this trip.¡±


    Lucy scoffed. ¡°I apologise, but the time I had originally planned to set aside for us to discuss this was this week. Instead, the time I was planning on using to increase my strength was taken up by entertaining two teenagers and their overly suspicious guard.¡±


    He narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°Oh, so this is my fault now?¡±


    ¡°Somewhat, but no,¡± Lucy replied calmly, leaning forward on the couch to pour a cup of coffee for herself. ¡°This is Annaliese¡¯s fault. I blame her for everything.¡±


    He pinched his nose bridge as she enjoyed her steaming mug of coffee, relaxing after their strenuous journey.


    ¡°But meeting the Archduke in person every second month, alone is just¡­¡± Vincent groaned and gave her a weary look. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have resolved this with your ¡®future knowledge¡¯ or similar?¡±


    ¡°Ha. This problem stems from my use of my ¡®future knowledge¡¯,¡± Lucy said with a self-derisive chuckle.


    Vincent narrowed his eyes abruptly. ¡°Lucille, if you think I¡¯m going to ignore that statement right now then you¡¯d be very, very wrong.¡± He sat up straighter and crossed his arms. ¡°In fact, I had planned on asking to discuss your past in greater detail once you returned from the Dungeon. I was busy, so I let you do what you wanted, but¡­¡± He gave her a serious look. ¡°This isn¡¯t a topic we can keep avoiding forever.¡±


    Lucille placed down her cup and closed her eyes. ¡°I know. But you need to understand that while you may be very curious, for me, my past isn¡¯t interesting because it¡¯s my past. The present is more immediately important to me, especially resolving the situation with the Archduke.¡± She opened her eyes and ran her fingers through her fringe. ¡°As for how my ¡®future knowledge¡¯ relates to the Archduke¡­¡± She grimaced. ¡°As a noble, you¡¯re likely aware that the powerful noble clans have ways of detecting when somebody knows something they shouldn¡¯t. I know a secret of the Archduke, and he¡¯s aware I know. So he wants to keep me around him to ensure I can¡¯t do anything with his secret.¡±


    ¡°And said secret you won¡¯t tell me about because you don¡¯t want to put me in ¡®danger¡¯,¡± Vincent said dryly, referencing what she had told him after the banquet.


    Lucy shrugged. ¡°Look, we can either move onto my past or ¡®future knowledge¡¯ or whatever you wish to call it, or remain stuck on discussing the anxiety-inducing situation of the Archduke. Which would you rather do?¡±


    He scowled. ¡°You, Lucille Goldcroft, are very crafty and good at avoiding the topic.¡±


    She smirked. ¡°I try.¡±


    He sighed and rested his head against the couch, looking tired. Lucy helped herself to her mug of coffee again and kicked her feet up onto the coffee table. Vincent gave her a dull look but seemed like he couldn¡¯t be bothered to complain about it.


    After a minute of him frowning and scratching his neck, Vincent finally decided to move on. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to continue talking about the Archduke, then will you share some details about your past with me?¡±


    Lucille eyed him expressionlessly for a moment. Then she huffed and crossed one leg over the other. ¡°I suppose. But I need to inform you that most of my life wasn¡¯t the highly exciting adventure you believe it to be. For roughly 150 years, I was a researcher and nothing more.¡±


    He raised an eyebrow. ¡°Then how do you explain Miss Verdon¡¯s comments about being an Admiral?¡±


    ¡°I was an Admiral. For a total of twenty years.¡± She sipped her coffee. ¡°I quit at the age of 43.¡±


    ¡°Why did you quit?¡± Vincent asked curiously.


    Lucy smirked. ¡°Because I was sick of the sea and wanted to see more of the Empire. I loved magic, not the military.¡±


    Actually, it was because¡­ the Hero requested I leave the Navy and join his party. That was when I realised I would never escape him as long as I remained in the Distorted Depths. I also wanted Caspian to take his own path but¡­ that didn¡¯t turn out well.


    She pointed at him. ¡°That was when I chose to become a professor of the Academy. After that, I stayed on the Aeonic plane for some time.¡±


    ¡°The Athenaeum¡­¡± her aide murmured. Then he blinked as he realised something. ¡°That was why you told me you didn¡¯t need to go back to the Athenaeum, wasn¡¯t it? Because you know not just the records they have, but the records of the next two centuries and a half too.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°As such, there¡¯s no benefit to me being part of the Athenaeum.¡± Then she narrowed her eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t believe the Athenaeum would survive placing me as the student of one of their Archmages either.¡±


    Vincent rubbed his chin, deep in thought. Then he raised an eyebrow at her. ¡°You¡¯ve met me before.¡±


    She tilted her head as he crossed his arms. ¡°That was why you picked me as your aide. You know me.¡±


    Vincent frowned. ¡°How did you know me? What was our relationship?¡±


    Feeling amused at his reaction, Lucy hummed and pretended to think. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ well, we had a very unique relationship, and not one most people have with each other¡­¡±


    Her smirk widened as his expression changed while he tried to figure out what she meant. She decided to put him out of his misery by spreading her arms in a wide shrug. ¡°We met about three times at three separate Empire banquets. We shook hands once. That¡¯s about it.¡±


    He stared at her disbelievingly. Lucille grinned. ¡°Vincent, why would we ever need to converse more than that? I¡¯m commoner born and from an undiscovered plane. The only way I¡¯d ever need to interact with the Aurelian Commission is purely for politeness sake.¡±


    The silver-haired man scowled. ¡°You said you¡¯d reveal some details about your past. You did not state that you expected me to have to extract details from you every time I ask a question.¡±


    ¡°Honestly, Vincent, this should be expected by now,¡± Lucy said with an innocent look on her face. ¡°What kind of person do you think I am? You should know me better.¡±


    He sighed in defeat as she smiled, returning to her cup of coffee. On the other end of the couch, a golden-eyed boy shifted and hesitantly cracked open an eye to sneak a look at them.


    ¡°So, uh¡­ you¡¯re not going to argue about the Archduke thing?¡±


    Vincent gave the snake a flat look as Lucy rolled her eyes.


    ¡°The Archduke situation will be discussed at a later date,¡± Vincent stated dryly. Then he glanced at Lucy. ¡°But I¡¯m more interested to know what you plan on doing during the days leading up to your trip to the Aethereal Palace.¡±


    Lucille paused and placed down her mug of coffee. Scytale, confused by her reaction, looked at her thoughts and then his eyes widened.


    Lucy intertwined her fingers and glanced at Vincent. ¡°Well, I thought it might be best to begin setting up the framework for our ¡®internal affairs department¡¯. To do that, I intend to gain the help of a very special organisation. I¡¯m not going to use Ravimoux.¡±


    Thinking about the one other person she called a true ¡®friend¡¯ in the past timeline, she gave Vincent a strange smile. ¡°Have you ever heard of the House of Wordless Observers?¡±


    There was only one force that could be considered the real ruler of the underworld. And it wasn¡¯t Ravimoux.

 Chapter 59 (2 of 2) The Formless of the House of Wordless Observers.

    ¡°No!¡±


    Lucille gazed dully at her bond as he crossed his arms in front of him in an ¡®X¡¯ and shook his head. ¡°No way in hell. I¡¯m not coming.¡±


    She sighed. ¡°Scytale-¡±


    ¡°No matter what you say, I¡¯m not coming!¡± he exclaimed. ¡°You said you had unfinished business to resolve, and I pointed out that it doesn¡¯t include me. That¡¯s it. End of story. I¡¯m staying out of this.¡±


    Lucy rolled her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not even meeting him. It will be another few months-¡±


    ¡°Nope, don¡¯t care, not listening!¡± Scytale interrupted, sticking his fingers in his ears. ¡°Lalala, I can¡¯t heaaar youuuuuu!¡±


    Lucy¡¯s expression twitched as she crossed her arms. Pinching her nose bridge, she decided to change the topic. ¡°Fine then. But I planned on getting the rest of Saufren Lestial¡¯s skills while I¡¯m out. You¡¯re not curious?¡±


    A slight grimace appeared on Scytale¡¯s face as he kept his fingers in his ears. It was clear he was contemplating dropping the ¡®not listening¡¯ act or not. Eventually, he lowered them and gave her a wary look. ¡°You¡¯ll do that first?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°I will. And then I¡¯ll start my plan.¡±


    He frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be a part of it.¡±


    Lucille raised an eyebrow at him. ¡°Scytale, have you even met one of them before?¡±


    The snake hesitated. ¡°I¡­ uh, well¡­ isn¡¯t their whole thing that even if I had, I wouldn¡¯t know it?¡±


    She smirked and placed her hands on her hips. ¡°Yes. So I don¡¯t understand why you¡¯re reacting so badly.¡±


    He scratched his neck and looked away. ¡°Let¡¯s just say the whole idea of visiting one of, if not the most ancient organisation among the realms, and the most famous that even the Mystical Realm has myths about them dating back before the System, to organise a deal, sits wrong with me.¡±


    Lucy cocked an eyebrow, staying silent as she studied her bond. Then she grinned. ¡°Oh, I see what this is. You¡¯re scared.¡±


    He glared at her. ¡°I¡¯m not.¡±


    Her grin grew wider and she turned around, walking away from him. ¡°You don¡¯t need to be so afraid. I never planned on taking you inside with me.¡±


    The serpent in human form hesitated. ¡°You didn¡¯t?¡±


    She glanced back with an eyebrow raised. ¡°Do you believe you have anything useful to add during the negotiation?¡±


    ¡°¡­probably not.¡±


    ¡°Then there¡¯s your answer.¡± She pulled out her pocket watch to check the time and then put it away. ¡°We need to get going. The sooner the negotiation begins, the sooner I can get this done, and I¡¯ll be much less restricted to staying at the Headquarters.¡±


    Scytale sighed and followed her. ¡°I guess we should just get this over with.¡±


    They soon left the Commission, getting into the carriage Lucy had asked for. They were taken to the tall Obelisk and Lucy quickly opened up the Complete Authorisation: Skill Selection ¨C Rare once they were in. In her hand were three small white tokens, the Rare skill books she had retrieved from the Founder¡¯s vault.


    Lucille opened up the introductory descriptions of the skills and shared them with Scytale.


    [Available Secondary Skill: Elemental Integrity Verification]


    Desc: This secondary skill was created by the first Archmage Saufren Lestial to identify the mana ratios around him and calculate the changes in the elements.


    Info: Accepting this skill grants the ability Integrity Identifier.]


    [Available Secondary Skill: Environmental Analysis Var. 3]


    Desc: This secondary skill was created by the first Archmage Saufren Lestial to analyse the materials and natural treasures in his surroundings. This skill does not function as an Inspection skill, however, but only provides chemical and physical property information.


    Info: Accepting this skill grants the abilities Ecological Perception and Effectual Estimation: Environment.]


    [Available Secondary Skill: Chaotic Usurpation Perspective]


    Desc: This secondary skill was created by the first Archmage Saufren Lestial to detect the unstable energies around him and see the overlap of the spiritual realm and the physical realms. Plane source mana and other energy types are more easily identified using this skill.


    Info: Accepting this skill grants the ability Disruption Detection.]


    Scytale, in his shrunken serpent form on Lucy¡¯s shoulders, tilted his head at the screens. ¡°I don¡¯t know, Lucy¡­ all of these seem like something you can do with your spiritual energy anyway. Like, seeing the spiritual realm? What help is that going to give you?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°I¡¯m aware that most of these skills will be redundant for me¡­ if I was using them as standalone skills.¡± She gestured to the screen. ¡°But I¡¯m using these for my Essence Transmutation Conduit. I can¡¯t create the Influence I need until the much higher Ranks, so what I¡¯m doing is collecting the skills with the Influence needed to upgrade my main skill in the right direction.¡±


    ¡°So then¡­ what are you planning to do with these?¡±


    Lucille crossed her arms, a slight smile on her face. ¡°Scytale, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to create a Domain for a long time.¡±


    He turned his head to stare at her. ¡°You¡­ argh, of course, there would be a massive catch to the System taking on all the load and improving an already OP Origin Skill! No, this is bad! A Domain can make or break a fight! Without being able to change the environment to your advantage, you-¡±


    ¡°Which is why I¡¯m going to make all my main skills Domain-like skills.¡±


    ¡°-and if someone uses a Domain skill on you, it might negate your Field of Transmutational Master- wait, what?¡±


    Lucille smirked and pointed to Apophis and Ouroboros. ¡°We established that with my two blades, I¡¯ll end up being someone who excels at area-of-effect damage. I can do more if I wanted, but you know I¡¯m not the type of person to be a support mage.¡± She gestured to the screen again. ¡°But my Essence Transmutation Conduit already gives me control over internal and external mana within a certain radius. If I can go further to control the environment and battlefield around me¡­ then I can improve my chances of success.¡± Lucy raised an eyebrow at her bond. ¡°I¡¯m someone who uses what''s around me to my advantage, remember? My skillset relies on manipulation.¡±


    Scytale flicked his tail. ¡°But where would you ever find skills that can change environments like Domains? A Domain is when you force your Origin Skill¡¯s characteristics onto the world around you. Someone needs to have a very good understanding of their Origin Skill, which is why you won¡¯t be able to create a Domain.¡± He glanced at her. ¡°You¡¯d need to have a complete understanding of the System itself to use your System Origin Skill.¡±


    Then Scytale turned his head back to the screen and hissed. ¡°Actually, how unfair is that! You should sue the System for that restriction! It even took control of your Origin Skill, how ridiculous.¡±


    Lucy just hummed. Scytale narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°Why are you not angry about this? Don¡¯t tell me you know something I don¡¯t?¡±


    Lucille drew out her hum with a smirk. He narrowed his eyes further until she grinned. ¡°Well, let¡¯s just say that the reason why I intend on making all my skills area-of-effect-based is because that might end up being very similar to how my future Domain works.¡± She looked at the screen and held her chin thoughtfully. ¡°After all, I can only think of one reason why the System emphasised that line of all things¡­¡±


    Scytale was clearly still confused, but she shook her head and pointed to the screen again. ¡°Never mind. Essentially, I believe I should adjust my skills now to work with my Origin Skill in the future. To return to your question about how I¡¯ll make my main skills similar to Origin Skill Domains¡­¡± Lucille tilted her head at him. ¡°Have you ever seen a Sorcerer use their Elemental Embodiment?¡±


    He thought for a moment. ¡°Is that the thing where they end up looking half like their contracted spirit and summon their Spirit King¡¯s spirit realm territory to the physical realms? Once or twice. I fought with a Fire Sorcerer and felt like I got teleported to the Demon Realm for a second.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s what I need to study,¡± Lucy said, pointing at him. ¡°Spirit Magic. Something every mage and wizard in the past has failed to replicate, but I might have a chance. If I can gain a spirit ¨C and potentially demonic ¨C magic comprehension skill like Prodigious Archmage¡¯s First Steps¡­¡± She paused as a thought came to her. ¡°Or evolve Prodigious Archmage with a spirit-related skill, then I¡¯ll understand how their magic works. And then I can find skills with the Influence to reproduce the feat of environmental alteration.¡±


    She internally sighed as Scytale went a bit cross-eyed, clearly struggling to understand her. ¡°It seems this is too complicated for you.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ no, well¡­ I understood a bit¡­¡± He gestured to the screen with his snout. ¡°If you need spirit skills¡­ can you just go kill a spirit with Apophis to get it?¡± He let out a low hissing laugh. ¡°Hey, we even have a spirit at home for you to try it on! When we get back, I¡¯ll go find Ashale¡¯viaf and-¡±


    She whacked his head. ¡°No.¡± Lucy looked back at the screen. ¡°Firstly, that would make me a murderer, and secondly, I want a high-rarity spirit skill to see if it evolves Prodigious Archmage¡¯s First Steps. I don¡¯t want to gamble on Rebirth from Death for that.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯ll use one of the vault¡¯s skill books?¡±


    ¡°Potentially. Or the rewards from the Stages.¡± She closed the screens before her. ¡°But I¡¯ll select these skills and consider how to best use them with my main skill before taking that step.¡±


    [Gained Secondary Skill: Elemental Integrity Verification]


    [Gained Secondary Skill: Environmental Analysis Var. 3]


    [Gained Secondary Skill: Chaotic Usurpation Perspective]


    Lucy then placed Scytale down and crossed her arms. ¡°There¡¯s another situation for us to deal with, however.¡± Reaching into her dimensional bag, she withdrew a token. This one, unlike the other tokens, which were small enough to rest on the ends of her fingers, could fit in her palm. It wasn¡¯t white, but instead a tarnished bronze. Engravings of an ancient language were written around the edges, too small to read, but recognisable to Lucille as the language of the Kingdom of Synadis they found in the Dungeon. On her palm was the Ancient-rarity skill book containing the skill they received as a reward: The Successor of the Kingdom of Jewels.


    Lucille smiled and raised an eyebrow at her bond. ¡°Do you want to use yours?¡±


    He eyed the skill book token, hesitating. ¡°An Ancient skill¡­ look, it¡¯s probably super powerful, but what good will a skill about jewels do for me? The Dungeon formed in a base of earth elementalists. My affinities are light and illusion.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°And you wouldn¡¯t want to have difficulty gaining other lower rarity skills because this skill was made with some of them.¡± Lucy looked down at the skill book token. ¡°As for me¡­ hmm¡­¡±


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Scytale moved closer and lifted his head to nudge the token. ¡°It¡¯s probably fine for you to get it, though. You can deconstruct it for Influence and feed all the stuff you don¡¯t want to Ouroboros.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Lucille considered it, wondering what to do. ¡°It likely won¡¯t be useful for me now, but when I get my third main skill¡­¡± She looked down at the token and then closed her hand around it. ¡°I¡¯ll make the smart decision and check the System¡¯s introductory description for it.¡±


    Scytale nodded. ¡°Oh, yeah, do that first.¡±


    Bringing up the Skill Selection ¨C Ancient screen, she impressed her will upon it and it shattered to reform into a flickering grey-white screen of Complete Authorisation: Skill Selection ¨C Ancient.


    Using her spiritual energy to filter for the right one, she selected it.


    [Unavailable Secondary Skill: The Successor of the Kingdom of Jewels]


    Desc: This secondary skill was rewarded to the two discoverers of the Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis. Drawing upon the ancient renown of the earth elementalists who lived in the building, this skill allows the user to have a supreme comprehension of the innate properties of any crystalline material, and regardless of their elemental affinity, precious stones respond to their every will.


    Info: Accepting this skill grants the abilities Crystal Consonance, Mana Preservation, Gemstone Generation and Mineral Malleability]


    Lucy carefully read the description and nodded to herself. ¡°I¡¯ve made my decision. I won¡¯t accept this skill yet.¡±


    Scytale tilted his head. ¡°Yet?¡±


    ¡°Yet.¡± She picked him up and put him back on her shoulders, ready to leave the Obelisk. ¡°Without a crafter class, main skill, or any intention to begin devoting my time to crafting right now, this skill has no use for me. It would only be useful to those with the earth affinity who wish to specialise in crystal-type abilities, or for crafters.¡±


    ¡°Yup, guess that sorts itself out then. I don¡¯t want that skill. You can take my skill book and do what you want with it.¡±


    Lucy smirked. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll give it to Sedric as a present.¡±


    ¡°Except that! I¡¯m not giving anything to that guy for free!¡± Then Scytale paused and lowered his head to give her a look. ¡°Why is a present the first thing that comes to mind? You¡¯re not the type to give anything away for free either unless it¡¯s for a special reason.¡±


    Lucille grinned at him. ¡°Well, you see, I was thinking of a birthday present. I asked Sedric when he would be turning twenty-two, and found out a very interesting detail. It turns out that he was born on April the 1<sup>st</sup>.¡±


    Then she paused and held her chin, saying one last thing before they left. ¡°Vincent¡¯s birthday will be coming up before then, however. He was born on February the 28<sup>th</sup>.¡±


    ¡­


    In his human form, a snake with gold eyes gazed warily at the small building they were standing in front of. It was a normal-looking caf¨¦, with two stories and a shopfront. It was on the corner of a main road full of shops, and people walked past it without directing a single glance at it. The paintwork was bright and tasteful, but not especially noteworthy among the many shops on the road. It looked just like any other caf¨¦ or restaurant, another place where someone was making a living by running it.


    The only thing of note was the sign out the front saying ¡®Open¡¯, and the one next to it indicating the operating times, with the shop closing at 4:00. Scytale turned to look at the dark-haired woman next to him.


    ¡°Here?¡±


    ¡°Yup,¡± she replied, a calm smile on her face as she watched the place.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°This place?!¡±


    ¡°Scytale, I believe I have told you twice already, that yes, this is where I will find them.¡±


    He stared at the building and then turned back to her. ¡°You sure?¡±


    Lucy cocked an eyebrow at him. ¡°Doesn¡¯t fit your understanding of ¡®a secret gathering point for what is probably the oldest assassin and information guild in existence¡¯?¡±


    He crossed his arms and gazed at the building with a strange expression. ¡°There¡¯s not enough black.¡±


    Lucille shook her head wryly. ¡°An underworld organisation as long-lived as them isn¡¯t going to put up as blatant a sign as that to say, ¡®We¡¯re an underworld organisation¡¯.¡±


    ¡°But then where¡¯s the undead?¡± Scytale asked with confusion.


    She smirked and stepped forward. ¡°Oh, they¡¯re around. But they won¡¯t stay near us living who can detect them.¡± Lucy gave her bond a small wave. ¡°Just stay outside in the alleyway or similar. I don¡¯t know how long I¡¯ll be, but if it¡¯s dark and I still haven¡¯t come out, then go tell Vincent.¡±


    ¡°I really don¡¯t like this¡­¡± he muttered. He sighed and walked over to the alleyway to lean against a wall with his arms crossed, prepared to wait for her to leave.


    Lucille took one last glance at the building and hummed as she opened the door with a smile, a bell ringing to inform those within of her entrance. A few people sitting at tables looked up, probably because she arrived only five minutes before the closing time. She sat down at one of the small circular tables and opened the menu curiously.


    A minute later, a man in his mid-30s came up to her, wearing a black bowtie and white shirt. It seemed like he was the owner because there was nobody else behind the counter, and no one else was dressed like him. With an annoyed look, he placed a hand on the table and sighed.


    ¡°Is there something you would like to order?¡± he asked wearily. ¡°If there is, please let it be simple. I wanted to close up shop on time today.¡±


    She raised her eyes and observed him. With lustreless dark hair tied in a ponytail behind his head, a dark beard, dark eyes, and unnaturally pale skin, he looked unusual. But he could pass for human¡­ which he did. Currently. Maybe when the lights in the room were off he¡¯d have a harder time hiding it. As would all the people in the room.


    ¡°Some fireberry tea, please,¡± she said with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s been getting cooler.¡±


    He rolled his eyes. ¡°Fireberry tea, sure. If you¡¯ll excuse me, I¡¯ll continue preparing to close.¡±


    Lucy eyed him curiously as he walked back over to the counter.


    I wonder if his organisation has a customer service department. It would be amusing to see what would happen if I filed a complaint.


    He soon came back with her tea, which she enjoyed quietly as the sun lowered on the horizon outside. Customers began leaving, and soon it was just him and her. He walked up to the door to switch the sign to ¡®Closed¡¯ and walked up to her with a frown on his face.


    ¡°It¡¯s past four. We¡¯re closed.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± She smiled at him and then looked out the window.


    He narrowed his eyes. ¡°I see you¡¯ve finished your tea already.¡±


    She didn¡¯t say anything and just tapped her white-gloved hands against the table.


    The caf¨¦ owner scowled and placed his hands on the table. ¡°Look here, Miss. The caf¨¦ is closed. It¡¯s time for you to leave. There¡¯s nothing more here for you to do.¡±


    She blinked and looked back at him. ¡°But what about the meeting?¡±


    His dark expression didn¡¯t change. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re playing at now, but there¡¯s no meeting here. Nothing is happening after four.¡±


    Lucille widened her eyes. ¡°You mean to tell me that the House of Wordless Observers doesn¡¯t have a secret meeting at their rendezvous point in the middle of the night?¡±


    The tense silence was almost palpable as they gazed at each other, him leaning against the table, and her sitting in her chair with one leg crossed over the other, her calm smile still present. Then, slowly, he straightened back up and crossed his arms.


    ¡°It appears I¡¯ve made a mistake,¡± he said quietly. ¡°The moment I noticed you looking at this building I should¡¯ve moved.¡±


    ¡°On the contrary, the real mistake would''ve been making a move then,¡± Lucy replied casually. ¡°After all, you only would¡¯ve drawn attention to this hidden location, Nares Raislef¡­¡± Then she narrowed her eyes and smirked. ¡°Or should I say, Kozza-¡±


    Five ice-cold metal tips pressed against her neck before she could finish her sentence. She let her smile widen and didn¡¯t glance at the blades pointed at her neck as she finished, ¡°-zan.¡±


    ¡®Kozzazan¡¯ gazed at her without expression. Then he spoke, ¡°You guys. Step back.¡±


    The black-dressed men and women, the former ¡®customers¡¯ of the caf¨¦ Lucy had seen, all exchanged hesitant looks. ¡°But Sir-¡±


    ¡°I said step back!¡± Kozzazan shouted, his eyes still fixed on Lucy.


    As the other people slowly retreated, Lucille nodded and put a gloved hand up to her ascot to fix its position. ¡°Your boss is much smarter than you. Or maybe he just has a better memory?¡± She tilted her head with an amused smile. ¡°Surely it¡¯s not so easy to forget me. It¡¯s only been five months since I arrived. Unless the Formless of the House of Wordless Observers doesn¡¯t know who I am?¡± She let out a short laugh. ¡°No, that would be ridiculous.¡±


    ¡°Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft.¡±


    Everyone in the room looked at Kozzazan as he said her name, frowning. ¡°The new Head of the Aurelian Commission. You arrived in the Beast Realm on the 2<sup>nd</sup> of July in the Violet Luminosity Jungle region, where you spent a few days before heading to the Supreme enclave of the Truth-Seizing Serpents. There you bonded with Scytale, a hybrid magical beast of the serpent and bird subraces.¡±


    Kozzazan frowned further and began to pace a little as Lucy stayed sitting at her table, her fingers intertwined as she rested them on her knee.


    ¡°You came to the Aurelian Commission with the Founder¡¯s token of inheritance in the first week of September. During your brief time as Aurelian Commission Head, you employed the thirteenth grandson of Count Evisenhardt as your aide, made connections with the Citadel of Fate¡¯s Prophetess, hired a crafter with Legendary rarity, and had a private meeting with the Emperor and Archduke during the end-of-year banquet.¡±


    Kozzazan suddenly stopped and turned back to Lucy, staring at her. ¡°And you know of the House of Wordless Observers. That could be explained by Ravimoux, but¡­¡± He came closer and narrowed his eyes. ¡°You know my real name.¡±


    Lucille didn¡¯t say anything for a moment as she smiled at him. Then she clasped her hands together near her face. ¡°You know me very well. I¡¯m impressed. I bet you might even know where I went at the end of September.¡±


    The man didn¡¯t say anything and only frowned further.


    Lucy spread her arms and shrugged, her cane held in one hand. ¡°Well, I hope his tale has revealed to you all why you can¡¯t get rid of me. The Formless and the House of Wordless Observers excel at removing victims silently.¡± She grinned and tilted her head. ¡°I didn¡¯t arrive here silently. I left documents detailing my plans and told people where I was going and what I¡¯d do. You¡¯ll be leaving traces if you kill me now¡­ which is the one thing your lord has ordered you not to do.¡±


    The room fell silent again as the black-cloaked people exchanged looks. Lucille took the opportunity to observe their outfits in more detail.


    Their faces ¨C while Lucy knew who they were due to her spiritual perception ¨C were hidden by the cowls of their pitch-black cloaks, and nothing about their figures could be seen save for their heights. Whether they were male or female, young or old, nothing was identifiable. Their cloaks appeared to be made of a thick dark mist that curled and coiled around their booted feet, fading into the shadows. It was thick and didn¡¯t have the same appearance as dark mana. The scent of something bitter and cold filled the air, and their presence felt wrong somehow like it was averse to her very nature.


    Lucille knew that the sensation she felt was death mana.


    Kozzazan suddenly stepped forward. He looked at the figures hidden within their dark hoods. ¡°Everyone, leave.¡±


    The figures exchanged looks but bowed and backed away. Their forms disappeared into mist, and soon even that was gone.


    With a grunt, Kozzazan pulled out the chair opposite her and sat down in it. He crossed his arms and gazed at her. ¡°What do you want? If you want to kill yourself then there are easier ways to do it than trying to blackmail the House. I could even kill you now if you want.¡±


    Lucille shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m not suicidal. And I don¡¯t intend on blackmailing the House.¡±


    He frowned and plunged his hand into a white circle in mid-air, withdrawing a metal flask. He uncapped it and gulped the contents down, wiping his mouth once he was done. After that, Kozzazan sat up and gestured to her. ¡°I¡¯ve told you what I know about you, so isn¡¯t it fairer if you tell me what you know about me?¡±


    She smiled and leaned forward, propping her chin up on the table. ¡°Kozzazan, three hundred years old and someone who has been a member of the Court¡¯s Formless for two hundred and fifty years. You formed as a shade, the lowest level member of the death race, but showed the talent to advance. When you were a hundred you became a phantom, and when you reach five hundred, you will likely achieve becoming a wraith.¡±


    She sat back and shrugged. ¡°I know you¡¯ve worked here for twenty years, using your abilities to prevent passers-by from noticing or finding interest in your ¡®caf¨¦¡¯, the place where all Formless assigned to this plane meet up. Unfortunately, those who know there is something special about the place are immune to that taboo spell.¡± Lucille gestured to herself. ¡°Like me.¡±


    Kozzazan eyed her warily. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    Lucy smiled. ¡°Do you want me to know more about you?¡±


    ¡°Ha.¡± He shook his head. The man, or phantom as he truly was, fell silent, a contemplative look on his face as he furrowed his brows. Eventually, he sighed and returned his dark gaze to her. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to try to blackmail the House with knowledge of this location, what is it that you want?¡±


    In response, Lucille took out a bound folder from her dimensional bag. She placed it on the table, pointing at it with one gloved finger. ¡°That,¡± she began, a smirk on her face, ¡°Is my proposition for the House of Wordless Observers. I want to ask the Formless to help me set up an internal affairs department within my Faction, one that will allow me to investigate the nobles under my leadership without their knowledge.¡±


    Kozzazan picked up the folder and flicked through it. He gave her a sceptical look. ¡°You said you didn¡¯t want to blackmail the House. Why do you think we¡¯ll agree?¡±


    Lucille fell silent, her face expressionless. When she spoke again, her voice was solemn. ¡°The Malediction Society.¡±


    Kozzazan looked up with wide eyes. ¡°How¡­¡±


    ¡°Every century, an organisation that uses Heretic items will always form,¡± Lucy interrupted, her expression still serious. ¡°As is the role your lord decided you would play, the ¡®Wordless Observers¡¯ must stay out of the politics of the Empire in exchange for being able to do whatever it takes to ensure the races aren¡¯t destroyed by the unknown horrors.¡±


    She pointed at the folder he was holding. ¡°The House always ends up eradicating any Heretic organisation before they end up causing too much devastation to the stability of the Tower. But this time, Olden found the iteration of the organisation, ¡®Malediction Society¡¯, first.¡± She crossed her arms with a slight frown on her face. ¡°Directly acting against Malediction Society will go against the agreement the House made with the first Emperor of the Eternal Empire after the System assimilated the realm due to their connections to Olden. I want to work with the House of Wordless Observers to destroy the Malediction Society.¡±


    Kozzazan¡¯s expression became tense, and he put the folder down to rub his temples. He looked up again. ¡°Do you have something against the Malediction Society?¡±


    Lucille¡¯s expression went cold. ¡°Do I need a reason to detest those who treat humans and even the other races as their objects? The Malediction Society forces their debtors into inescapable contracts where they must fuse with Heretic items and become ¡®Hosts¡¯, living weapons of mass destruction.¡± Her face darkened. ¡°Besides the fact that leaving the power in their hands is too dangerous, the existence of high-rarity Heretic items that have consumed the strength of their Hosts will end up disastrous for the realms. Malediction Society needs to be erased.¡±


    Kozzazan furrowed his brows again but leaned back in his chair as he studied her. They waited like that for quite a few minutes, with her gazing calmly at him, and him watching her carefully. The sun continued to set outside the shop, the light steadily growing a deeper orange by the moment. As time ticked by, Lucy¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change, and neither did Kozzazan¡¯s. Then he sighed and stood up from the chair.


    ¡°Excuse me for a moment,¡± he said. He stood up at walked to a corner of the room, pacing around. Kozzazan closed his eyes as thick black death mana coiled around him, the bitter scent returning.


    Lucille studied him with anticipation as his brows twitched, a concentrated look forming on his face. When he opened his eyes again, they were pitch black, the corneas dark.


    ¡°The Court will send an envoy to meet with you,¡± Kozzazan announced, his voice low and uncanny.


    Lucy stared at him, wondering if she heard him correctly. She gripped her cane.


    ¡°Ugh.¡± Then the dark-haired phantom shook his head. ¡°I hate channelling.¡± He sat back down on the chair and took a swig of his flask once more. Then he gestured to her with it. ¡°You heard that. You don¡¯t need me anymore. One of the top ¨C probably Vessel ¨C will come to meet you.¡±


    Lucille opened her mouth, hesitated, and then closed it again. She coughed and then stood up. ¡°Do you know when they¡¯ll visit me?¡±


    ¡°Whenever and wherever you wish,¡± he replied, shrugging.


    She nodded. ¡°If it is possible then, I¡¯d like to arrange a meeting with the envoy for tomorrow evening, at the Aurelian Commission, around five.¡±


    Kozzazan gave her a wave. ¡°I¡¯ll tell them.¡± He narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°Now, are you going to leave?¡±


    Lucy smiled and placed a fist against her chest to give him the Empire¡¯s salute. She lowered her head. ¡°Thank you for your time, Kozzazan of the Formless. If we be in your lord¡¯s favour then may we meet again.¡±


    He rolled his eyes. ¡°I hope we don¡¯t.¡± He stood up and began walking over to the counter. Kozzazan glanced back. ¡°You¡¯re playing a very dangerous game, Lucille Goldcroft. It would¡¯ve been safer for you to pretend you don¡¯t know anything.¡±


    Lucille studied him for a second and then smiled. She gave him a wide shrug. ¡°I don¡¯t like taking the safe path. And¡­ I have a debt I want to repay. I¡¯ll end up being involved with the House of Wordless Observers eventually.¡±


    He frowned at her but turned away. ¡°Those who are involved with us don¡¯t have a happy end.¡± Kozzazan walked through a doorway that opened up to stairs to the second story, clearly ending the conversation.


    Lucy looked around once more, shook her head, and then walked towards the door. She stepped out, the bell ringing behind her, and glanced at the alleyway where Scytale was waiting. Instead of going to him right away, she turned around and looked at the caf¨¦ she had come from.


    There was nothing. Or in fact, it appeared like a normal two-story home set on the corner of a street. No caf¨¦ was there, only a door and two windows on the upper story. The building was dark and uninviting.


    It¡¯s true that I never knew Kozzazan. He was just a name on a piece of paper that that person had given me. He told me that it was useless, so I could read it if I wished.


    But¡­ the Court wants to contact me so soon? I expected it to take some time before one of the ninety-nine would show direct interest in me. And Vessel¡­


    She turned away and began walking to where her bond was.


    He¡¯s the Court¡¯s method of congregating in the other realms. Their conduit for communication. The entire Court will be present to listen to my plans.


    She took a breath and released it.


    It will be another month and a half before I meet him. And then I¡¯ll repay my debt. After that, we¡¯ll go our separate ways, with only our connections to the House of Wordless Observers.


    As she approached, Scytale looked up and saw her. He stopped leaning against the wall and walked towards her. ¡°Is everything all good?¡±


    Lucille nodded and changed direction to walk towards their carriage. ¡°An envoy will be sent to the Commission tomorrow evening, where I¡¯ll negotiate with them.¡±


    He shot her a look. ¡°You¡¯ll have a pretty full day tomorrow, won¡¯t you?¡±


    Lucy just gave him a wry smile.


    ¡­


    -A day later-


    She gazed up at the colossal structure of blue and white stone, sky-blue wards made of Aether forming a protective dome across the sky. Straightening up her gloves nervously, Lucille placed a foot on the first step.


    It was the 15<sup>th</sup> of February, and the day she would once again meet Archduke Stolas Septamere Eterial¡­ the incognito Demon Emperor and the one existence bound so thoroughly to the System that he would never be able to defy its will: the Authorizer.

 Chapter 60 (1 of 2) The Judge of Tartarus and an Authorizer regretting his life choices.

    -A few minutes earlier-


    The carriage climbed up the cobbled road, paved with polished marble and lined with luxurious flora. Fences made of light blue metal lead the way up the small mountain, where the towering Aethereal Palace sat on top, overlooking the City of the Cerulean Duchy.


    Lucille was riding in the carriage sent by the Archduke to head to the Aethereal Palace. Sitting on a mountain with the city sprawled out beneath, the palace looked peaceful and serene with its colours and the protective shields glinting as they covered it. Another Aether ward was extending from the palace, covering the entire city. If Lucy hadn¡¯t known his true identity, then the sight before her would be enjoyable.


    As it was, she couldn¡¯t stop comparing it to the Daemonium Palace Stronghold and the demon she knew was ruling over them both. The cities were so starkly different that she was trying to reconcile them with their ruler. She supposed the City of the Cerulean Duchy was just evidence that the person the realms knew as the Primordial Demon was a capable ruler¡­ when he wanted to be.


    Unlike a normal Duchy palace, there was very little traffic going into or out of the estate. She had spotted only three other carriages on her trip up the mountain, most belonging to the servants and workers. Lucille knew that the military barracks were kept on the other side of the city, which could reduce some traffic, but it was still strangely quiet along the cobbled road. However, the Aethereal Duchy was known to be the most closed-off and isolated Duchy.


    The ornate coach she was in rolled up to the gates, and the towering silver barrier slowly rose to let the carriage in. They moved past the front gardens, magical plants present that were even more powerful than the ones at the Commission¡¯s Headquarters. It took another twenty minutes before the carriage pulled to a stop at the front door.


    The first of many stressful meetings was about to begin.


    ¡­


    A servant was waiting for her near the front door, so she followed his lead through the main entrance. As she didn¡¯t dare to expand her perception field, she devoted her mental energy to observing her surroundings. Decorated more lavishly than the Aethereal Estate in the Capital, it was still unusually simplistic for a noble building. It bore many similarities to the Daemonium Palace, which only had enough to showcase the Demon Emperor¡¯s power without being excessive.


    In fact¡­ the Aethereal Palace was way too similar. A strange sensation of d¨¦j¨¤ vu assaulted her as she followed the servant, realising that the placement of corridors and rooms was nearly the same as the Demon Emperor¡¯s palace.


    Is he actually picky about his home or too apathetic to bother to change anything? Well, if nobody ever normally survives meeting the Demon Emperor¡­ then the Archduke wouldn¡¯t need to worry about anyone noticing the similarities.


    The servant bowed and opened a door to a room that contained several lounges and a low table. She nodded and sat down, prepared to wait, but wondering just how long she¡¯d have to wait before the Archduke visited. Luckily, it turned out that the reason why she was directed to a waiting room was for an entirely different purpose.


    ¡°¡­Count Goldcroft?¡±


    The room of the door opened again to reveal the very bemused and surprised face of Count Daymar Bentsen. He was wearing a simpler suit compared to the luxurious one he wore during the banquet, obviously because he was working as the Archduke¡¯s aide.


    Lucille stood up and bowed, a fist placed against her chest. ¡°Good morning, Count Bentsen. It is a pleasure to see you again.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± He put a fist up to his mouth and coughed, stepping into the room. ¡°Ah, yes, the same to you as well.¡± He shut the door behind him, approaching her with a look of confusion. ¡°I must say, I am incredibly surprised to see you here. Most nobility can¡¯t enter through the gates without the Archduke¡¯s explicit permission. Is there some urgent situation or emergency you¡¯ve come to speak to us about?¡±


    She blinked. Has he forgotten?


    Lucy shook her head with a smile. ¡°Not at all. I was picked up by one of the Duchy¡¯s carriages, which was why I was able to pass the gates. I¡¯ve just come for the first regular meeting that was arranged with His Grace.¡±


    The Count stared at her. ¡°¡­His Grace? A regular meeting? With him?¡±


    She tilted her head, feeling mildly confused herself. He¡¯s the Archduke¡¯s aide, surely he- no, maybe...


    ¡°¡­did His Grace not inform you that a meeting between him and me on the fifteenth of every second month had been arranged?¡±


    Count Bentsen continued staring at her and then turned his head to stare at what was presumably the direction of the Archduke. ¡°It appears¡­ he hasn¡¯t.¡± An unusual expression flickered across his face before he turned back to her and dipped his head. ¡°Please excuse me for a moment, Count Goldcroft.¡±


    Lucy nodded and sat back down as he left the room. Around ten minutes later, he returned, looking slightly frustrated. When the Count saw her looking he hid his expression with a smile. ¡°I apologise, I just needed to check something. You are very welcome to come to the Aethereal Palace. I will take you to the Archduke.¡±


    Lucille stood up and followed Count Bentsen as he walked through the hallways, leading her to a circular room at the end of a corridor. They walked in and he pressed a button on the wall, revealing the room to be an elevator as a mana-circle manifested beneath their feet, rising higher.


    Lucille glanced at the Count. ¡°Will you be joining us for the meeting?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, I will be preoccupied with my other tasks, so I won¡¯t,¡± he replied with a shake of his head. ¡°But I¡¯ll send a servant to provide you with refreshments and your noon meal.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Not in a dining hall?¡± she asked curiously.


    The Count¡¯s expression became slightly awkward. ¡°He¡­ ah, His Grace prefers to eat in his study. He doesn¡¯t like to leave that part of the palace often.¡±


    The conversation was halted as the lift slowed, and Count Bentsen stepped out. They continued walking until they reached a pair of white double doors at the end of a hallway. The Count gestured to the doors. ¡°Here is His Grace¡¯s study.¡±


    The brown-haired man rapped his hand against a door. ¡°Your Grace, I have brought Count Goldcroft of the Aurelian Commission.¡±


    ¡°You may enter,¡± a low voice replied, sounding indifferent.


    Count Bentsen opened the doors and walked in, Lucille following close behind. What awaited them was a room with blue wallpaper, and darker blue silk curtains framing the two tall windows, one opposite the doors and one to Lucy¡¯s left. Behind her in the left corner of the room was a fireplace of white brick, pale blue magical flames flickering within with seemingly no fuel. A white and blue rug covered the floor and directly in front of Lucy and the Count was a pair of two couches parallel to the wall behind them, no table between them.


    On the other side of the couches was a desk made of dark lacquered wood, fine carvings decorating it on all sides. A black inkwell sat on the table next to some stacks of paper and a stationery box containing assorted colours of luxurious rollerball pens.


    And behind the desk sat a tall, white-haired individual wearing a blue outfit, a slight frown on his face as he read the formal documents of his Duchy. He didn¡¯t look up when he heard them enter. ¡°You may return to your tasks, Bentsen,¡± the Archduke ordered. One of the two large windows of the room formed a backdrop behind him.


    Count Bentsen bowed and after sending one last look at Lucille, withdrew from the room and shut the doors.


    Lucy was left standing in the tense silence as two people who did not want to have anything to do with each other were alone in a room together. Turning off her expression regulator, she stayed quiet and still, with her hands behind her back, waiting for the Archduke to begin the conversation.


    When the Archduke had finally finished reading through all the documents, he placed them back on the table. He looked up¡­ revealing his eyes to be that same ruby-red she had seen on him when they last met.


    He already wants to kill me, I see. What a brilliant start.


    ¡°Are you going to keep employing the pathetic practices of this Empire¡¯s mortal ¡®nobility¡¯ in observing me at every turn as if I was some foreign creature,¡± the Archduke began coldly, ¡°Or are you going to depart from that stupidity and sit down so we may get this foul ordeal over and done with?¡±


    Lucy bowed her head and sat down on the couch facing him. ¡°My apologies, Your Grace. I didn¡¯t wish to interrupt you.¡±


    ¡°And I didn¡¯t bring you here to listen to your excuses,¡± he said icily. The Archduke waved a hand and the white circle of a dimensional skill appeared, allowing him to withdraw several pages from within. He read through them with a slight frown. ¡°There is very little I desire to address, but I¡¯m mandated to listen to your queries, so speak now or you won¡¯t have another opportunity until the month after next.¡±


    Something about that statement sounded strange to Lucy.


    The month after next? April? But we have to meet in March too.


    She slowly nodded, beginning to discuss the issue she faced with Scytale. ¡°I recently attempted to gain a Realm Quest by exploring an Ancient Dungeon with my bond, and¡­¡± Her words trailed off and she stared as the Archduke seemed to look at something in the air in front of him, slightly to the left of her. He returned his ruby gaze to her when she went quiet. ¡°What is it, Goldcroft? Continue.¡±


    She pushed aside her thoughts on his actions, describing her problem. ¡°I discovered that without the help of my bond in sharing the Quest, I can¡¯t gain Quests. Is this something that can be resolved?¡±


    Instead of answering, the Archduke continued to read what Lucille highly suspected was a notification from¡­ someone. The Archduke¡¯s cold expression slowly darkened when he saw what it said and his voice was bitter and abrasive when he spoke again, ¡°Quests are the System¡¯s method of manipulating the races into following through specific actions. Only fully understood, known variables would work with this method of control. As such, you,¡± he continued in a low voice, turning his malevolent eyes to her, ¡°Are disabled from receiving Quests as an unknown, uncontrollable variable. The only way for you to receive them is when the System can use another soul port or the Obelisk to bestow them on you.¡±


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Lucille absorbed the information, accelerating her mind to fully understand what he meant. A thought occurred to her. ¡°Do you mean to say any person, place or thing that is capable of connecting to the System itself?¡±


    He narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°If you understand that, then you shouldn¡¯t bother to ask again.¡±


    ¡°Would that mean the System intended for you to give me Quests?¡±


    The Archduke glanced at the notification to his right and his expression cooled. ¡°Is there anything else you need to discuss, Goldcroft?¡±


    And he just outright brushed me off¡­


    She paused for a second. A contract with vague terms, the System trying to use incentives to control me and a demon who doesn¡¯t want anything to do with me¡­ is the contract just¡­ unfinished¡­?


    Lucy thought up something to discuss before the Archduke became impatient. ¡°I also wanted to discuss my¡­ ah, original reason for arranging a meeting with you last year,¡± she informed him.


    He tilted his head slightly as he stared at her with his cold gaze. ¡°Yes, when I received that delightful letter before the annual banquet.¡±


    She prevented herself from sighing at his response and continued, ¡°I revealed this to Count Bentsen, but I had wanted to organise closer ties with the Aethereal Duchy.¡±


    ¡°With¡­ the... Aethereal Duchy,¡± he repeated, a faint look of disdain forming on his face.


    Yes, yes, you want nothing to do with me. Don¡¯t worry, the feeling is mutual.


    ¡°Not personally,¡± she explained, beginning to become exhausted by being so careful when selecting her words. ¡°Between the Aurelian Commission and the Duchy. Both forces are part of the neutral faction, but due to the Aethereal Duchy¡¯s younger age, the ties are few and unstable.¡± She gestured to the window on her left. ¡°The Aethereal Duchy is known to be one of the centres for inter-realm trade. It would be beneficial for the Commission and the Duchy to grow closer.¡±


    The Archduke glanced at the documents in his hands, scanning them. He placed one of them on the desk and gave her a dismissive wave. ¡°You may arrange that with my aide.¡±


    Lucille nodded, feeling calmer now that the two main issues had been resolved. But now that some more questions about the contract had been raised, she was wondering how many questions she could ask¡­ and how she could sort out the potential issues. She had something else she wanted to ask first, however.


    ¡°You Grace¡­¡±


    He looked up with a cold gaze as she tried to ask her question. ¡°I would like to discuss our arranged meet-¡±


    ¡°The meetings are unnegotiable,¡± he stated shortly, frowning at her.


    Lucy winced. ¡°But, Your Grace-¡±


    ¡°I said they are unnegotiable,¡± he growled. He directed a glare at whatever new notification he had received and scowled. ¡°If they were negotiable, then I can assure you that we never would have seen each other again.¡±


    She suppressed a sigh and rubbed her temples, fearing this. So he has no choice either. What to do¡­


    ¡°Then¡­¡± Lucille considered moving on but felt that she had to return to the topic. ¡°Can I ask if everything that was written on the contract is accurate? That there are no other conditions?¡±


    He didn¡¯t say anything and just stared at her, nearly unblinkingly. Lucy began to realise that behaviour was very characteristic of his main body too, which was a higher race, a superior form of being. The only known higher races, the Paragon Anomalies, didn¡¯t need to blink, eat, sleep, drink or breathe. Part of her mind wondered whether the ¡®Archduke¡¯ was actually fully human or not.


    When he hadn¡¯t said anything, she tried again, ¡°If the contract isn¡¯t complete-¡±


    ¡°Silence.¡±


    She went quiet when faced with the Archduke¡¯s scowl. Blue Aether swam about him and formed crystallised fractals, manifestations of his power. Lucy knew that hidden beneath would be the red-black chaos of demonic power.


    ¡°We will not speak of the contract again. If you do¡­¡± His aura began to grow stronger until suddenly, a knocking on the door sounded.


    ¡°Your Grace, may we come in?¡±


    The Archduke¡¯s aura and ruby-coloured eyes faded as quickly as they appeared, leaving neon-blue irises in their place. He frowned at the door. ¡°Bentsen, why have you come back?¡±


    ¡°To bring your guest lunch, Your Grace.¡± The door opened and Count Bentsen smiled as he gestured to the trolley that was being pushed by a servant. ¡°It¡¯s already past lunch, in fact.¡±


    The Archduke narrowed his eyes at the man. ¡°I did not ask for someone to serve Goldcroft a meal.¡±


    Count Bentsen¡¯s smile widened. ¡°As your aide, it is my responsibility to make arrangements for things that Your Grace might have¡­ forgotten.¡± He glanced between Lucy and the Archduke, a curious look appearing on his face before he bowed and left the study.


    The white-haired individual behind the desk scowled in the direction of the door. ¡°Meddlesome¡­ ha.¡± He shook his head and then glared at Lucy. ¡°Eat silently or you¡¯ll never eat again.¡±


    Staying silent, she slowly nodded and ate her meal as quickly as she could without disturbing the Archduke, who had gone back to reading the pages from his dimensional skill and ignored her. The fact he was ignoring her was far better for Lucy¡¯s mental well-being, in her opinion.


    While somewhat curious about what the Archduke was reading, suspecting it to be his updated plans for the cycle and the Tower as he had only brought it out when she entered, she didn¡¯t think he¡¯d respond favourably if she tried to look at it. Instead, once she had finished eating and had drunk the tea provided, she stood up and bowed to him.


    ¡°Your Grace, is there anything else you wish to discuss today?¡±


    He looked up from his papers and tapped his hands against the desk, clearly thinking. Then the Archduke shook his head. ¡°No. As I stated at the beginning, there is little I desire to discuss with you. The only thing I require is for you to avoid influencing these members of Olden when you work with the Wordless Observers to eradicate the Malediction Society.¡±


    He held out a page and she stood up, taking it from him. She wasn¡¯t surprised he knew about her plans for the Malediction Society, but¡­


    ¡°Your Grace, is there nothing else you want me to do?¡± she asked, checking to make sure she didn¡¯t go against the contract until they next met. ¡°The contract stated that I¡¯d have to prioritise your orders when it came to the preservation of the timeline.¡±


    The Archduke looked up from the desk to stare silently at her, making her wonder if she said anything strange. He finally replied, ¡°Goldcroft, I do not care what pathetic nobles you¡¯ve decided to slaughter or what egotistical warrior you accidentally upset. It¡¯s none of my business, nor do I want to involve myself with you any more than necessary. It is extremely unpleasant.¡± He glanced down at the documents on his desk and then back up at her. ¡°Neither should you involve yourself any more with me, for the same reasons.¡±


    The incognito Demon Emperor crossed his arms and pointed to the page she was holding. ¡°Now, as arranged, we won¡¯t see each other until April, and I won¡¯t respond to any attempts to contact me. Take that, do as I said, and leave my house.¡± He picked up a rollerball pen, dipped it in an inkwell, and returned to writing on the Duchy¡¯s forms, seemingly intent on ignoring any further conversation.


    Lucille stared at him, feeling a sense of frustration, nervousness, and resignation. It seemed that she, once again, would have to be the bearer of bad news to the Demon Emperor.


    He¡¯s totally forgotten about the demonic contract, hasn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°Your Grace.¡±


    He didn¡¯t respond.


    ¡°My apologies, but Your Grace.¡±


    The Archduke looked up with a scowl. ¡°What is it now, Goldcroft? I told you to leave.¡±


    She sighed. ¡°We won¡¯t be only meeting each other in two months, Your Grace. We need to meet again in March.¡± Lucy pulled off a glove and showed him the black mark on her left palm. ¡°We still have the demonic contract, remember? We need to meet every six months.¡±


    He stared at her with eyes that had turned back to ruby red, staying completely still and silent. He didn¡¯t even blink.


    Lucille rubbed her neck, feeling his gaze boring into her. She was almost wondering if she needed to say something more, but¡­


    Suddenly the Archduke moved and ran a hand down his face. ¡°Blight.¡±


    Lucy nearly rolled her eyes at the response. He just loves the sight of me, doesn¡¯t he?


    He jabbed a finger at her and then pointed at the doors with a scowl. ¡°Get out. I don¡¯t want to see you for a second longer than I have to.¡±


    Lucy didn¡¯t waste a moment and turned around, walking towards the door. She shut it behind her, turned her expression regulator back on, and would¡¯ve grinned at finally being out of his presence if she didn¡¯t suspect he could still see her. She walked quickly along the hallway, following the path she memorised to the elevator and front door. On the bottom level, she turned a corner and crossed paths with Count Bentsen.


    The Count paused and smiled at her. ¡°Are you leaving already, Count Goldcroft?¡±


    She nodded and politely dipped her head as she saluted. ¡°Indeed. I don¡¯t want to take up the Archduke¡¯s precious time any longer. It¡¯s enough that we will meet every second month.¡±


    ¡°¡­yes, it¡¯s curious how you managed to get him to agree to that.¡± Count Bentsen eyed her with a strange look, holding his chin.


    She glanced behind her back and returned to him with a slight smile. ¡°I can assure you it was a surprise that he extended the offer too.¡± Lucille bowed once more. ¡°I need to be off, Count Bentsen. If you¡¯ll excuse me, I will return to the carriage.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Take care, Count Goldcroft.¡±


    With that response, she continued walking and minutes later, descended the steps of the Aethereal Palace¡¯s front entrance. When the carriage had finally left the gates, she allowed herself to expand her perception field and she sat sideways along a bench, her face expressionless. Lucille went into deep thought.


    He really is completely restricted in his actions. As the one direct method of interacting with the realms that the System has, the Authorizer will obey every order. It makes me curious about why he accepted such an arrangement, but¡­ he can¡¯t kill me.


    And the System planned on using Quests to grant me rewards.


    She glanced out the window and smiled.


    I was right. The System still doesn¡¯t know what happened in the last timeline and wants to stay on my good side. The only reason I¡¯m facing issues is because of its Authorizer, who¡­ seems to be angry at me because of what I told him when we formed the demonic contract.


    Lucille closed her eyes and smirked, placing her hands behind her head.


    Well then, Demon Emperor Vitis Imperatoris-Daemonium. Let¡¯s see how long it will take before you decide I¡¯m worth putting in a bit more effort to interact with. We¡¯re both stuck with this contract together, unwanted from both sides, so unless that anger of yours manages to override your apathy¡­ then you¡¯re going to find yourself frustrated and irritated for a very long time.


    <hr>


    In a finely decorated room, where Lucille had been standing only moments before, a white-haired individual with neon-blue eyes was sitting behind a desk. His elbows were on the table, his fingers were steepled, and he was resting his nose bridge against his hands. A conversation that was going to go nowhere was about to begin.


    ¡°Dion.¡±


    [Don¡¯t ¡®Dion¡¯ me! I warned you that you wouldn¡¯t be getting out of meeting her in person, so you have nothing you can say to me!]


    The incognito Demon Emperor glared at the notification but it only flickered and changed to show something else.


    [Whose fault do you think this all is? No, I¡¯ll answer that. It¡¯s yours because you were too lazy to set up the System contract properly! You only left the broadest and vaguest restrictions so there would be no loopholes and shunted it onto Goldcroft, planning on never using the Communication Modifier ever!]


    The Archduke narrowed his eyes at the notification but a loud voice objected to whatever his thoughts were.


    [No, I explained that I don¡¯t know anything else about the past timeline, and no, we aren¡¯t just going to force Goldcroft to tell it all! All this power of yours has gone to your head, I swear. You think you can just kill, torture, or force your way through problems-]


    The white-haired individual leaned back in his chair and pinched his nose bridge as the voice continued to berate him.


    [-but let me use this as proof that just because you¡¯re angry doesn¡¯t mean you can ignore everything! Or sleep through everything! And don¡¯t even think of blaming me for the demonic contract thing. I offered for you to either meet her six months in a row and then nothing more, or every second month. You took the deal yourself.]


    Realising the fruitlessness of his efforts, the Archduke grabbed a rollerball pen and tried to return to his work. The voice was having none of it.


    [So now you¡¯re going to try to ignore me too, huh? Yeah, I¡¯m sure that¡¯ll work out for you. Just like how you pretty much showed how lazy you are with the contract to Goldcroft. She¡¯s a smart one, so you¡¯re definitely screwed. I¡¯ll be here, waiting, and laughing at your suffering. Go on, ignore me while I enjoy your future difficulties.]


    The Archduke rubbed his temples as his connection with the System faded, only a mild headache remaining. After a moment, he sighed and snapped his fingers, sending a message to his aide. Daymar Bentsen entered his study only a few minutes later.


    ¡°You called, Your Grace?¡±


    The Archduke stood up and faced the window, his hands held behind his back. He frowned as he watched the small blue carriage in the distance descend the mountainside, entering the city.


    ¡°Cancel the Malediction Entrapment Plan and alert our allies to the changes.¡±


    Count Bentsen¡¯s eyes widened, stunned. ¡°Can¡­ Can I ask why, Your Grace?¡±


    The Archduke¡¯s indifferent gaze passed over his subordinate as he looked over his shoulder.


    ¡°Because another force will be making a move, and if we don¡¯t remove our pieces¡­ they¡¯ll be decimated in the House¡¯s collateral damage.¡±


    <hr>


    With a sigh, Lucille stepped through the doors of her living room, shrugging off her jacket. Inside the room were two people, Vincent and Scytale. They looked up when she entered.


    ¡°Oh, she¡¯s alive. We can stop caring about her now,¡± Scytale said, reclining back on the couch.


    Vincent nodded to her as she sat down. ¡°I see you have returned. Were there any complications?¡±


    ¡°No, however, I did discover that the ride to the Aethereal Palace is quite pleasant,¡± she responded, leaning forward to reach for the brass jug on the table. She looked at her aide. ¡°The Archduke gave me permission to discuss the relationship between the Duchy and the Commission with Count Bentsen, so I might put you in contact with him.¡±


    Vincent raised an eyebrow. ¡°Then is there any more reason for you to meet with the Archduke?¡±


    She sighed and shook her head. ¡°I will still have to visit him. But it¡¯s possible it won¡¯t end up being that bad.¡± She glanced at the two of them. ¡°What brings both of you to this room? Normally you¡¯d be in my study, Vincent.¡±


    Scytale smirked and spread his arms. ¡°I have been regaling him with our wondrous adventures in the dangerous, exotic Dungeon of Synadis. He must understand our power and immense might!¡±


    ¡°Your bond has been informing me of the Dungeon¡¯s characteristics,¡± Vincent replied. ¡°I wanted to hear his first-hand report on the location before I allow Ravimoux to do anything.¡± Then he narrowed his eyes at Lucy. ¡°Although, Ravimoux has revealed to me that the Ice Crow Guild has been demanding reparations for the unfair conviction of their Guild Leader, which I¡¯ve heard had something to do with you.¡±


    Lucy rolled her eyes. ¡°I revealed that the Guild Leader was a fake. I assume there were Guild politics ongoing that meant several knew that the Guild Leader was fake, and now they¡¯re trying to recoup from the loss before the other Guilds take advantage of the chaos.¡± She waved a hand. ¡°Ignore them. They¡¯re only a Guild of a Minor plane.¡±


    He nodded as Scytale sat up. ¡°So, what are your plans for the next two weeks?¡± The snake turned to Vincent and grinned. ¡°Maybe a birthday party for your aide?¡±


    Vincent gave him a confused look. ¡°A birthday party? But I¡¯m not-¡±


    Lucy shook her head. ¡°Scytale¡¯s making a joke because he knows the way my world celebrates birthdays is different. He¡¯s aware it¡¯s not the year of your third decade, so there wouldn¡¯t be any birthday celebration for you.¡±


    Her aide raised an eyebrow curiously. ¡°Then how does your world celebrate birthdays?¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°We just do it every year.¡±


    Vincent blinked. ¡°Every single year? Surely that¡¯s too often.¡±


    ¡°It would be if people in my world didn¡¯t have a limited lifespan.¡± Lucille picked up a cup of tea she had poured and sipped from it. ¡°With our current medical technology, they can live up to around one hundred and thirty years, but rarely further.¡±


    His eyes widened. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ extremely short.¡±


    Lucy sipped her tea again. ¡°That will change with the introduction to the System, though. Lifespan has never been an issue for me, nor something I¡¯ve ever considered deeply.¡±


    She pulled out her pocket watch to check the time. ¡°Nearly five¡­ I might leave you both for now. There was something I wanted to ask Sedric to make.¡±


    Vincent chuckled. ¡°He¡¯s been stuck in his workshop even more since you gave him those tasks. At least he¡¯s enjoying himself.¡±


    Lucy stood up and grabbed her suit jacket from the couch armrest, pulling it back on. She nodded to them both and left, walking down the hallways of the Commission. The entire time, she kept her eyes on her pocket watch, watching it tick closer to five. When it did so, her body shuddered as the sensation of a cold wind swept through the entire building.


    Aware that her visitor had finally arrived, she sped up her pace, heading towards their location. As she moved, she could see that the staff members she passed were frozen still, mid-way through their tasks, with their limbs wrapped in many thick black chains. Lucille ignored them and opened the door of the sitting room used for meeting with guests on the fortieth floor.


    Standing in the centre of the room was a figure around her height. They had their back turned, inspecting a painting on one of the walls. From their shoulders down they were covered in a black silk robe, the sleeves and train long and dragging against the ground. When she approached the figure turned around to reveal a young black-haired boy in his mid-teens with childish looks. He would¡¯ve been comparatively normal in appearance if it weren¡¯t for his irises and corneas being pitch black. He smiled when he saw her.


    Lucille bowed with a hand on her chest. ¡°It is my honour to meet you, Vessel of the Ninety-Nine. I am Lucille Goldcroft of the Aurelian Commission.¡±

 Chapter 60 (2 of 2) The Judge of Tartarus and an Authorizer regretting his life choices.

    The boy studied her in silence for a moment, his smile still present. Then he nodded.


    Lucy took that as him accepting her greeting and she straightened up, gesturing to a couch. ¡°Please, take a seat.¡±


    Vessel nodded and sat on a couch opposite hers.


    She sat down and crossed one leg over the other, placing her intertwined fingers on her knee. She smiled at the boy. ¡°To my understanding, nothing else needs to happen, but is there anything you want me to arrange for the meeting?¡±


    The dark-haired boy¡¯s smile grew wider and he tilted his head slightly. He opened his mouth to speak¡­


    ¡°No use asking the boy, girl. He¡¯s as mute as an elf who broke the fae speech pacts.¡±


    An old, refined masculine voice echoed in the room, resonating within her head. Thick death mana began to billow out of the eyes, mouth, and ears of the boy, spreading across half the room. Some of the death mana solidified to form the vague figure of a standing, robed man with a long beard in front of Vessel¡¯s couch. A hood covered the top of his head.


    Vessel stayed still, sitting on the couch with a smile as if nothing had happened. The new figure stroked his beard as he observed Lucille, darkness forming a wall of mist behind them.


    ¡°The Court requires nothing more. A Vessel is all we have ever needed, and all we will ever need.¡± He let out a hum as he placed a hand behind his back. ¡°But never has the Court convened to converse with a lone individual. With our long history, it is no mean feat to introduce us to a new situation."


    Lucille smiled and dipped her head. ¡°Then I hope this meeting is worthwhile, Death Sage Udotior of the Eradication Towers.¡±


    The figure¡¯s hand dropped from his beard as he fixed his gaze on her. ¡°Oh?¡±


    Before he could say anything else, a light, musical laughter sang through the room. More death mana pooled to coalesce into the form of a uniquely dressed woman, holding a fan. Her long flowing hair reached the ground and upon her head was a headdress that appeared to have a deer¡¯s skull with antlers on top. As with the other figure, everything about her was pitch-black but pointed ears extended from either side of her head.


    ¡°To see Udotior surprised after two hundred thousand years, what a delight.¡± The woman faced Lucille and smiled as she closed her fan. ¡°This day is sure to be enjoyable. Tell me, child, do you perhaps know who I am?¡±


    ¡°Pale Lady Acalypha of the Sleeping Lake,¡± Lucy calmly replied. ¡°I¡¯ve read many books containing your story.¡± She nodded to Death Sage Udotior. ¡°As have I read about you, Lord Udotior.¡±


    Acalypha laughed again as the Death Sage chuckled. The elven figure opened her fan and waved it. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sure you have, child. Perhaps a few mentioned how I tempted the Fae King of Winter and stole his power of darkness? Or perhaps how I was tasked to summon an Ice Spirit Queen by a ruler and instead destroyed his kingdom?¡±


    Lucy smiled. ¡°There may have been. Although I was more interested in your prowess in understanding fae and spirit magic.¡±


    ¡°Aha, a researcher.¡± The Death Sage nodded. ¡°I like your kind. Yes, let us move on from discussing the trifling details of Acalypha¡¯s mortal past and converse about the wonders of magic¡­¡±


    ¡°¡¯Trifling¡¯? How insulting.¡± Acalypha waved her fan and shook her head. ¡°It is my mortal past I am most well-known for, Udotior. It is only fair that I correct a few details the Mystical Realm has misconstrued while I have the chance.¡± She looked at Lucy. ¡°The Winter Fae King offered me the power first but tricked me and I couldn¡¯t obtain it. As such, I slayed him and gained the title of ¡®The Fae Damned Elven Sorceress¡¯. Besides, the Fae King wasn¡¯t even my type.¡±


    Acalypha paused and added something else. ¡°Although, I will admit to destroying that kingdom. The prince of the foreign kingdom was aesthetically pleasing and it would¡¯ve been a shame if the bloodline died out.¡±


    ¡°Bah. You and your superficial whims.¡± Death Sage Udotior turned to Lucy. ¡°It is just as I said, trifling. Surely you can see that?¡±


    ¡°Are you still time-wasting, or can the meeting begin?¡± a low voice rumbled. A third figure materialised from the death mana, tall and broad-shouldered and wearing heavy plate armour over his whole body. Between his hands was a menacing black sword, planted on the ground. ¡°The rest of us must listen to your petty bickering as you¡¯re both taking advantage of the materialisation. Your voices can be heard by our host without a visual representative.¡±


    ¡°But what poor substitute for true interaction would that be, Gylbarde?¡± Acalypha said with mock astonishment. ¡°It would be a dishonour for the Court to treat our host in such a way.¡±


    ¡°Come now, Gylbarde,¡± Death Sage Udotior appealed, spreading his hands. ¡°It is not often that we meet individuals of the Mystical Realm in person¡­ well, at least in a way we can see and hear them, and they us. Let us have our fun.¡±


    The Death Knight Lord of the Legion of the Abandoned, as Lucille knew he was, Gylbarde, eyed them both and then huffed. ¡°Take as little time as possible. It would be a disgrace for you to keep our lord waiting if he were here.¡± The armoured figure dematerialised.


    Acalypha snapped her fan shut and shook her head. ¡°Our lord is too busy to participate in these matters, and neither should any disturb him. Have no fear that he may join us, child,¡± she said to Lucy.


    Lucille nodded, not expecting in the slightest that the Court¡¯s ruler would participate. His status was too high. But in place of the Death Knight Gylbarde, another figure appeared. This time, their limbs were thin and skeletal, their body covered in tattered robes that showed signs of once being luxurious. A broken crown rested upon its bony head and hollow eye sockets gazed at Lucy.


    The lich chuckled, a scratchy, eerie sound. ¡°You should''ve told me our host was so well versed in the matters of the soul, Udotior. I would¡¯ve arrived to greet her sooner if I had.¡± The skeletal figure placed a bony hand on his chest and bowed. ¡°Skok''shilaadh, Lich King of the Blighted. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Count Goldcroft.¡± The lich then looked at the two other Court members. ¡°Unfortunately, I manifested to inform you two that the Court is ready to begin. I will have to ask you both to demanifest.¡±


    Acalypha and Death Sage Udotior both nodded and turned to Lucy.


    ¡°Then I will say my farewells. It is unlikely that we will have time afterwards to make conversation, but if the opportunity arises in the future, then I will gladly discuss my studies of fae and spirit magic with you,¡± Acalypha said to Lucy, curtseying. She disappeared with a scatter of death mana.


    Death Sage Udotior dipped his head. ¡°A pleasure, Lucille Goldcroft.¡± He too disappeared, leaving only the Lich King in their wake.


    Lich King Skok''shilaadh clasped his hands behind his back and began to pace in front of Lucy, death mana trailing from his body. ¡°The Court convening to speak to a singular individual is uncommon, to say the least, and so there are no formalities we can follow in this situation. Therefore, on behalf of the Court as one of its senior members,¡± he told her, ¡°I will begin by asking for your introduction.¡±


    Lucille stood up and bowed as she had for Vessel, fully meaning the respect her position was meant to show. She straightened up. ¡°My name is Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft. I am the current Head of the Aurelian Commission, the largest merchant Faction of the Mystical Realm,¡± she informed him. ¡°I come from an unassimilated world, and while I am physically eighteen years old, my soul age is approaching two hundred and fifty this July.¡±


    The Lich King nodded, accepting her introduction. ¡°As we have known. Now, it was a very large surprise to hear from one of our many thousands of captains for the Formless¡­ what was his name?¡± A whisper sounded through the death mana and Skok''shilaadh raised a bony finger. ¡°-Kozzazan, yes. Thank you, Thyrekon ¨C that one of our hideouts had apparently been compromised by a girl. One that knew his name and intended to work with us.¡±


    He tilted his head as he stopped to look at her, the eyeless voids of his skull boring into her. ¡°As such, we want to ask you where exactly you learnt-¡± His immaterial body locked up, completely still. Lucy blinked as he turned his head to study her for a few seconds, seemingly for no reason. Eventually, he murmured, ¡°¡­no, I won¡¯t. Instead, I¡¯d rather move on to what you wish to do to the Malediction Society.¡±


    All of a sudden, a cold wind seemed to blow as many whispers filled the room, echoing out from Vessel, who sat on the couch. The lich shook his head. ¡°Silence amongst you, please. As the chosen representative I have made the decision not to ask. We will discuss this later.¡± He turned back to her. ¡°My apologies. As I stated, we want to know how you will aid us when it comes to that Heretic cesspit.¡±


    Lucille nodded and finally began to discuss her plan in detail. Many of the minor aspects were regarding the exchange of information, but the main theme of her plan was that she would use her political leverage to affect the Olden nobles the Wordless Observers couldn¡¯t, or remove the support of the Olden nobles from the Malediction Society. When the nobles were essentially no longer connected to that branch of the Society, then the Wordless Observers would make their move to destroy the branch. It would be a long process before the entire Malediction Society could be destroyed, as Lucy had to keep gaining strength and working her way up to eventually cut off the Malediction Society¡¯s connection to the high-level nobility, such as Dukes and Marquesses.


    After the main points had been clarified, the room descended into ghostly whispers and murmurs. Lich King Skok''shilaadh waited silently as the Court discussed her proposition. One voice echoed out louder than the others.


    ¡°I request to speak, Skok¡¯shilaadh.¡±


    The lich nodded. ¡°Permitted, Reznor.¡±


    The death mana in the room fused to form a tall, lanky figure. Their hair was tied behind their head and they looked normal, if it weren¡¯t for the faint scar-like marks on either side of their mouth that indicated it opened far wider than it should ¨C they were a ghoul.


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The ghoul turned to face Lucille. ¡°In return for your aid, you wish for the House to use our private dimensions and resources to train those you select to become part of this ¡®internal affairs¡¯ department. I take it you understand how unconventional that is?¡±


    She nodded. It would extend further than just simply teaching the internal affairs members a few skills. They would be taught the abilities and methods of an organisation that had existed for close to a million years.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare ask for even one skill exclusive to the Formless to be taught to the members,¡± she replied, dipping her head. ¡°I only wish for the basic methodologies of the lowest ranked Formless and ability to cover their tracks to be taught to them.¡±


    Reznor held his chin, seemingly eyeing her in contemplation. The whispers and murmurs of the other Ninety-Nine being channelled by Vessel sounded to Lucy as positive, but it wasn¡¯t a sure thing yet.


    The whispers slowly quietened as Lich King Skok¡¯shilaadh glanced at Reznor. ¡°You have yet to leave, Reznor. Is there another point you would like to address?¡±


    ¡°Indeed. An issue I cannot seem to find a way to resolve, so if Count Goldcroft could provide some clarity on this then I would be appreciative.¡± Reznor paced with his hands behind his back as he revealed his thoughts to them all. ¡°While you refrained from asking her this,¡± he said, nodding to the lich, ¡°As another senior member of the Court, I feel it mandatory to comment on it. Lucille Goldcroft.¡±


    He paused his pacing and gazed solemnly at her. ¡°Skok¡¯shilaadh briefly mentioned the distinct inability of the Court to determine the origin of your knowledge. I must ask this: why should we, the Court, allow your subordinates and by extension, you, to know more about our internal operations when you have already demonstrated yourself to be a risk factor for the House of Wordless Observers?¡±


    A short moment of silence occurred before the Court¡¯s whispers began again, talking amongst themselves. Lucy nodded, ready to accept that she might not be able to follow through with the plans for the internal affairs department.


    ¡°I understand your concerns, Lord Reznor. Unfortunately, I do not have an answer for you unless binding pacts or oaths are involved, which I don¡¯t want to do,¡± she replied.


    Reznor nodded. ¡°Thank you for your honesty, Count Goldcroft. In that case, I believe the Court may need a considerable length of time to consider this.¡± He turned to the Lich King beside him. ¡°Don¡¯t you agree, Skok-¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this an interesting event?¡±


    Lucille¡¯s eyes widened and she froze as the new, low voice resounded throughout the room. Unlike the voices of the other members of the Court, this voice resonated with the very mana in the air, as if the world itself was listening to the individual¡¯s every word. The dark death mana of the room deepened and thickened, becoming nearly palpable.


    And Lucy was inwardly panicking when she heard the voice.


    I-what, what is he doing here for?! Why would he- would this affect the meeting in a few months? It shouldn¡¯t, but it depends on his reasons for joining in on the Court¡­


    ¡°¡­my lord,¡± Lich King Skok¡¯shilaadh murmured. He disappeared, as did Reznor, leaving the lone Vessel on the couch, surrounded by black fog.


    ¡°I hope the conversation has all been pleasant,¡± the voice cheerfully commented, warping the death mana in the room. There was an inexplicably opaque element to the sound of the voice as if a ward preventing any from understanding his true meaning was present.


    ¡°It has been very enjoyable, my lord,¡± the elven voice Lucy recognised as Acalypha¡¯s said. ¡°Reznor has only brought up the issue of Count Goldcroft¡¯s source of knowledge.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    Lucille held her breath as she instinctively felt the perception of the being focusing on her, the same sensation of complete disparity in predatorial hierarchy she felt when the Demon Emperor pressured her with his power.


    Gentle amusement could be heard in the unknown individual¡¯s voice. ¡°I¡¯m slightly curious, Lucille Goldcroft. You seem to have reacted strangely when you heard me speak. Tell me, do you know who I am?¡±


    Lucille carefully nodded and lowered her head. ¡°You are the Realm Ruler, the Judge of Tartarus and the Patriarch of all wraiths¡­¡± She took another breath and released it slowly. ¡°The Monarch of Death, Azaexabelath.¡±


    An uproar sounded amidst the death mana, the Ninety-Nine expressing varying levels of shock, doubt, and curiosity. The many whispers continued until the new voice spoke again.


    ¡°Please, Court of the Ninety-Nine. I understand that you have questions, but the time for them to be answered is not today.¡±


    Silence descended upon them, until with a cough, one of the voices Lucy heard before spoke.


    ¡°We apologise, my lord. It is unbefitting of us to make such a fuss,¡± Gylbarde said. ¡°But if you have come to witness this meeting, I must ask on behalf of the Court: have you chosen to be our Judge this day?¡±


    Lucille waited expectantly for the Death Monarch to reply, as did the rest of the Court.


    Death Monarch Azaexabelath made a sound of recognition. ¡°Hmm¡­ indeed, there was a reason for me to make my presence known¡­ Lucille Goldcroft.¡±


    She stiffened for a moment when he addressed her and then bowed her head. ¡°Yes, your lordship.¡±


    ¡°The myths and legends in the Mystical Realm about the Court and myself are divided and conflicting. Some paint us as mythological figures responsible for punishing the mortals who have committed the most heinous crimes, while others depict us as a group with unknown and potentially disastrous motives for the realms,¡± the Death Monarch announced. ¡°Despite this, you chose to trust us to educate the members of your organisation and bring retribution upon the Malediction Society. Do you understand why we are sceptical, for lack of a better word?¡±


    She nodded her head. ¡°The Court and the wraiths of Tartarus have been involved in the history of the Mystical Realm for aeons. The powerful individuals of the Mystical Realm go on to become figures of Tartarus, with some having been chosen to become your Ninety-Nine, and wraiths have been spreading their tales across the planes,¡± she replied. ¡°However, the rumours about your potentially disastrous motives stem from knowledge that has been destroyed with the planes they were on. The only fact that has remained consistent over the millennia is that when mortals cannot fight against their adversary, the House steps in.¡±


    Lucille lowered her head again. ¡°For this reason, I believe the Court to be amicable towards mortals of the Mystical Realm, or at least neutral towards them.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± the Death Monarch mused. ¡°But I must address the fact that you are the leader of a powerful organisation, Lucille Goldcroft, at least by the Mystical Realm¡¯s standards. You have the County of Ravimoux under your leadership. Could you not have relied on them to educate your staff, or move against the Malediction Society?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°No, sir. To achieve my goals, the internal affairs members must be separate from the powers of the Commission. As for the Malediction Society¡­ Ravimoux cannot handle them. The House of Wordless Observers is needed.¡±


    ¡°But why are we needed?¡±


    Lucy blinked. ¡°The House of Wordless Observers and the Court has always been needed. To prevent the mortal horrors of the past who have become undead from acting out against the Mystical Realm, to prevent the Empire from being excessively greedy, and to root out the corruption of the realms that might result in the Tower being embroiled in war on all sides. It is only because of the House of Wordless Observers that the Empire has lasted so long.¡±


    ¡°You are correct, and I feel pleased to hear that a mortal understands what we have done for them,¡± the Death Monarch responded, his voice still calm and collected. ¡°But that is not truly what I am asking. I want to know why you, Lucille Goldcroft, believe we are needed.¡±


    Lucille opened her mouth and then closed it again. It finally occurred to her that this was what the Death Monarch had been leading up to with his questions. There was something about her personally that made him curious enough to involve himself in the meeting. And if she wasn¡¯t careful, then her words could have unintended consequences.


    She could only answer as truthfully as she could.


    ¡°The realms have always been chaotic,¡± she slowly replied. ¡°The Tower introduces the assimilated realms to a new realm every hundred thousand years, broadening their minds when faced with the new cultures and lives of the new Users. And now, a realm has accustomed itself to the Tower¡¯s way of life so quickly that the System needs to reveal another one.¡± She breathed in and shuddered. ¡°But nothing, nothing seen in the realms yet has prepared anyone for what will be coming in the next century. Not even those who have seen the ancient disasters of the past will expect what will come when the ancient monstrosities resurface. Not even the Paragon Anomalies themselves.¡±


    Muffled murmuring occurred amongst the Court members again, but Death Monarch Azaexabelath spoke over them, ¡°You believe that outside of the Realm Rulers that you know what fate lies ahead for the Tower better than anyone else?¡±


    Lucille hesitated for a moment. ¡°I would not dare place myself as an equal in knowledge to the Paragon Anomalies in your presence,¡± she carefully stated, ¡°But if I was to answer... then yes, I believe I know what will happen better than anyone else alive under the higher races.¡±


    Frenzied mutterings broke out as Court members spoke over each other, arguing about whether she was being arrogant or she knew something they didn¡¯t.


    ¡°¡­equal in knowledge to the Paragon Anomalies¡­¡± Lich King Skok¡¯shilaadh murmured.


    Then the mutterings halted when a low chuckle was heard. The air vibrated with the sound of the Death Monarch¡¯s amusement. ¡°What will happen¡­ I see.¡±


    The Court went silent as the Death Monarch broke out into loud laughter, the death mana in the room trembling. His laughter continued for some time, and it was only when he began to stop that someone said something.


    ¡°¡­my lord?¡± Reznor muttered.


    ¡°How entertaining. And curious.¡± The Death Monarch¡¯s perception focused on Lucy once again. ¡°You, Lucille Goldcroft, are a highly intriguing individual. Very well then.¡±


    With a tone that commanded attention, the Death Monarch announced, ¡°The proposal from Count Goldcroft shall proceed. Accept all her terms, and support her if she requests for more aid. Do not hesitate to convene once more if she believes she has something important or urgent to inform you of. This is my verdict as Judge of the Court of Tartarus.¡±


    ¡°We accept your will and obey,¡± the voices of the Court of Ninety-Nine replied respectfully.


    The tone of the Death Monarch¡¯s voice returned to being light-hearted and relaxed. ¡°Good. I hope this order doesn¡¯t cause you all too much issue. You¡¯ve likely all been wondering if your ruler had finally gone insane,¡± he said jokingly.


    ¡°How dare we think such a thing, your lordship,¡± an unknown voice called out.


    ¡°Ah, but I know every little thought running throughout all of your heads. Don¡¯t think you can fool me,¡± the Death Monarch said teasingly. His perception became fixed on Lucille once more. ¡°I hope this conclusion satisfies you, Lucille Goldcroft. Is there any other matter you would like to address?¡±


    ¡°Not at all.¡± She stood up and bowed respectfully. ¡°I thank you for honouring me with your presence and verdict, Lord Azaexabelath. It is said that you have not conversed with a mortal since the beginning of the Empire.¡±


    ¡°I will neither confirm nor deny that statement,¡± he replied cheerfully. His tone became slightly more serious. ¡°Take care, Lucille Goldcroft, that you don¡¯t attempt to alter the realm¡¯s path too much. I believe the resistance will be much greater than you think.¡±


    Her eyes widened for a brief moment but she bowed her head. ¡°I will heed your warning, Lord Azaexabelath.¡±


    ¡°It will do you good if you do.¡± There was a moment where a few murmurs were exchanged, and then Death Monarch Azaexabelath spoke again, his commanding tone returned. ¡°I must now return to watching over the realm. It has been enjoyable to be in your presence once again, my Court. It has been some time since we have gathered for such a pleasant purpose, but now we must disperse. As of this moment, I announce this meeting adjourned!¡±


    A frightfully cold gale blew through the room, sending the curtains rippling. The death mana surrounding Vessel was blown away, disappearing instantly. Slowly, the gale died down, leaving only Lucille and Vessel in the room together.


    With a smile, Vessel stood up, dipped his head to Lucy, and turned to go.


    ¡°Vessel, please wait a moment,¡± Lucy called out.


    The boy turned around curiously, revealing his eyes to have become a normal brown on white corneas. He blinked as she dropped an object into his hand.


    She smiled and gestured to the dark square on his palm. ¡°It¡¯s a sweet called liquorice. You eat it.¡±


    He tilted his head at her, making Lucy grin. ¡°It¡¯s made with a dark element plant. I believe you might like it due to your Constitution as the Vessel. Think of it as my reward for coming out all this way to meet me.¡±


    He curiously held it up, and after a moment¡¯s hesitation, he placed it in his mouth. Then his eyes brightened and he nodded.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll understand that as your thank you,¡± Lucy said with a smile. ¡°Take care.¡±


    He stepped back and gave her a big wave as he scattered into black mist, disappearing from the room. The minute chill she had been feeling ever since she entered the room went away, and with her perception, she saw all the staff of the Commission lose their chains and awaken from their stupor. With barely a few blinks, they returned to their tasks, as if nothing had ever happened.


    Checking to see if anybody had noticed anything, she nodded to herself and then left the sitting room, heading for Sedric¡¯s workshop so she had an alibi. It wasn¡¯t that she wanted to hide what she had done from Vincent, as she had already told him what she planned on doing in vague terms, but¡­


    Well, it would be a task to explain what had happened. So she didn¡¯t plan on explaining it at all.


    Lucy opened the door of the workshop and walked down the stairs, glancing at Sedric as he worked at his bench. All of a sudden, he laughed and raised his arms up.


    ¡°I did it!¡±


    Lucy raised an eyebrow. ¡°Did what, exactly?¡±


    Sedric lifted his goggles and turned around. He nodded when he saw her, seemingly unfazed by her presence. ¡°Lucille, great timing. Come look at this.¡±


    When she got to the bottom of the stairs she curiously walked over, his workbench littered with all sorts of metal contraptions and jewels. Self-made lamps lit up his bench, allowing him to see what he was making better.


    Sedric excitedly pointed to the largest gem on his bench. ¡°I finally managed to put a spell inside a gemstone! I can now make the rest of the belt!¡±


    Lucy raised an eyebrow and picked it up. She tilted in under the light, observing the miniature mana-circle inside, made of dark blue mana. She looked at Sedric. ¡°Using the energy repulsion spells I taught you?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°I only managed to do it with a single-layered mana-circle, but I did it.¡±


    Lucille smiled. ¡°Well done. It seems you¡¯ll progress quicker than I thought.¡± She turned back to the table and noticed with amusement that Sedric clenched his fist with a grin behind her. She opened her dimensional bag and took out a new rolled-up piece of parchment. Spreading it, Lucy showed Sedric another blueprint.


    ¡°You also had good timing. I have another item I want you to make.¡±


    He hesitated. ¡°¡­another?¡±


    She smirked. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this will be simpler than the other three. You could make it in a day if you tried. It¡¯s an accessory to disguise my voice.¡±


    Sedric cocked an eyebrow. ¡°You need something like that?¡±


    ¡°Technically, I don¡¯t, because I can do that through my own efforts. But it¡¯s better to be safer than sorry.¡±


    He glanced at the diagram, studying it to see its complexity. He eventually shrugged. ¡°Sure, I guess. When do you want it by?¡±


    Lucy hesitated and then grimaced. ¡°Ideally before March begins.¡±


    Sedric blinked. ¡°Before March? Why?¡±


    ¡°Because we¡¯ll both be dealing with a certain Prophetess again,¡± Lucille replied dryly. ¡°Unless you believe you can find a way to avoid her for the entire five days, you won¡¯t have a moment of peace long enough to create the item.¡±


    He considered it and then sighed. ¡°Yeah¡­ okay.¡± He sighed and turned around. Then Sedric glanced back. ¡°By the way, I¡¯ve been studying the armguard blueprint, and I¡¯ve been wondering¡­ does the stat amplification allow you to increase your strength above the Rank cap?¡±


    Lucille paused to stare at him. Then she smiled. ¡°You¡¯ve definitely made more progress than I expected. Yes, you¡¯re correct.¡± She gave him a wide shrug. ¡°But unless you have the capability to constantly use the equivalent of multiple extremely delicate and small accessories all at the same time, you¡¯ll struggle to even activate it.¡±


    ¡°Nah, never intended to make on for myself, it¡¯s just¡­¡± He hesitated, seemingly struggling to find the words to say. Eventually, he took a breath, and asked, ¡°Did the Dissenters teach you how to make this?¡±


    Lucille gazed silently at him for a long time. She sighed and placed a hand on her hip. ¡°Sedric, we¡¯ve known each other for five months now. Do you still believe that I¡¯m a member of the Dawn Dissenters?¡±


    Sedric gave her a sheepish grin and rubbed his neck. ¡°No, not really. But I had to ask again, just to make sure.¡±


    She nodded and turned away, climbing the stairs.


    Sedric watched her with surprise and slight confusion. ¡°You¡¯re not going to ask me anything?¡±


    Lucille glanced back and then shook her head. ¡°Your connections to them don¡¯t affect our arrangement. And besides¡­ I can already guess why you¡¯re so wary of me being a Dissenter. I do not doubt that once they find the inheritor of the Runestarred Arcane Inaugurator class they¡¯ll attempt to take you to the Coalition.¡±


    She left Sedric¡¯s workshop, leaving him contemplating her words. Lucy considered what she would do for the next two weeks before Annaliese arrived again.


    I¡¯ll need to send out offers to join the internal affairs department. I¡¯ll ask Vincent to organise some candidates. It¡¯s going to be a tiring two weeks¡­

 Chapter 61 (1 of 2) The Blood Patriarch meets his Ultimate Enemy – Extroverted Teenage Girls.

    A red-haired man with amber eyes frowned as he walked through the hallways of the Aurelian Commission, gazing at the ground in thought. Many of the staff gave him looks because he was a man wearing armour walking through the building, but he ignored them. Hargrave looked up when he heard voices and paused when he saw two people standing outside one of the doors.


    ¡°Is this the finalised list?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± a dark-haired woman replied. She shook her head at the man with red-tipped silver hair. ¡°We¡¯ll be adding to it as we go. However, these are all the members of the distant family lines of the nobles under the Commission who Vincent and I believe would suit the position for now.¡±


    The man dipped his head and pocketed the piece of paper in his hand. ¡°I¡¯ll send out the offers. You¡¯ll need to be careful about spies though, Lucille.¡±


    She waved him off dismissively. ¡°There won¡¯t be any problems with that. I have Ravimoux and¡­ let¡¯s just say that I garnered the help of a group who excel at sifting out unwanted individuals.¡±


    The silver and red-haired man looked curious but nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll scout for any more suitable talents too.¡± He walked off, leaving the woman alone.


    Then the dark-haired woman turned to face Hargrave. ¡°Good Morning, Hargrave. Were you satisfied with your trip?¡±


    Hargrave sighed and rubbed his neck. ¡°Two Guilds were bickering over the Northward Direwolf Dungeon. It would¡¯ve drawn too much attention if I slipped in.¡± He shook his head. ¡°I achieved my levelling goals on the way so all it meant was that it was a pain to get onto a teleportation array when it was being used by all the Guilders. A Guild war was probably about to happen.¡±


    The Commission Head nodded, walking up to him. She walked past and gestured for him to follow, which after hesitating slightly, he did.


    ¡°You¡¯ve reached Level 150, haven¡¯t you?¡± she asked casually.


    He stared at her. ¡°¡­how did you know that?¡±


    She quirked an eyebrow at him. ¡°I can tell from your aura. You¡¯re approaching the density that most people who wield battle aura have. I assume that as someone with strong connections to Glory Pantheon that battle aura is an ability you use as well.¡±


    Hargrave frowned. ¡°Have you seen many with battle aura?¡±


    The young woman smirked. ¡°Yes. Very many. It¡¯s a shame I won¡¯t be able to wield it. A defence and attack multiplier would be very valuable. I¡¯ll just have to find alternatives.¡±


    He paused as he remembered her force ball a few weeks ago. ¡°Aren¡¯t you a mage?¡±


    A long-suffering look passed across her face before she sighed and pulled back her suit jacket. He blinked when he saw the two sheaths, one black-handled and the other white-handled.


    ¡°I¡¯m a spellblade,¡± she stated blandly. ¡°Well, that¡¯s the best description for me at least. Magic is my main strength but I carry these two daggers around.¡±


    Something about the weapons caught Hargrave¡¯s eye and he narrowed his eyes at the weapons, studying them closely. After a moment, he raised an eyebrow. ¡°Is that¡­ a demonic weapon?¡±


    ¡°Ah, this?¡± The Commission Head unsheathed the black, serrated-edged dagger and smiled. ¡°Yes, it is. This is Apophis.¡± Hargrave stared as the black serpent ornament began to slither. ¡°My sapient demonic weapon.¡±


    Lucille Goldcroft gestured to the other one still in its sheath, where Hargrave could see another serpent ornament had unwound itself to inspect him. ¡°And this one is Ouroboros, my sapient spirit weapon.¡±


    ¡°Those are¡­ rare weapons,¡± he slowly replied, feeling stunned. It also made him recall her proposition to find evolution items for his own demonic weapon. Maybe she knew what she was talking about.


    The Commission Head sheathed her black dagger and nodded, walking onwards once more. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯d be more familiar with demonic weapons yourself, however. After all, you own a demonic Origin spear. Maybe I should ask for some tips,¡± she remarked casually.


    Me? Give her tips? I¡­ what could I teach a young User who only just became Rank-1 two months ago? Wouldn¡¯t I accidentally kill her?


    ¡°That¡¯s probably not the best idea¡­¡± he muttered. ¡°My demonic spear is specialised in utter devastation, and it might just finally shatter the floor of the training room.¡±


    She huffed a laugh in response, but as Hargrave thought about their conversation, he realised she had said something he hadn¡¯t picked up on at first.


    Lucille Goldcroft blinked and glanced behind her when she noticed he had stopped. ¡°Hargrave? Is something the matter?¡±


    He gazed at her with mild confusion. ¡°What did you say about my weapon earlier?¡±


    She cocked an eyebrow. ¡°That I should ask you for some tips because you wield one?¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°No, you said something else. Instead of a demonic weapon, you called it¡­¡±


    ¡°A demonic Origin spear?¡± she asked, looking just as confused as he felt. ¡°But that¡¯s what it is, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°I- no, it¡¯s not!¡± Hargrave crossed his arms, feeling like something was amiss. ¡°It¡¯s not an Origin weapon at all. Nobody would¡¯ve let me wield it for the past seven years if they knew it was an Origin weapon. It¡¯s just a normal demonic weapon.¡±


    Lucille Goldcroft tilted her head, scrutinizing him with that piercingly vibrant violet eye of hers. Feeling like she was seeing some aspect of him he didn¡¯t know about, he watched as she held her hands behind her back and tapped a foot against the ground, looking deep in thought.


    Hargrave didn¡¯t know what she was thinking so deeply about but he sighed and scratched his head. ¡°I- look, I hope you believing my spear was an Origin weapon isn¡¯t one of the main reasons you offered the contract. Because I¡¯m telling you now, it¡¯s not that powerful.¡±


    The Commission Head looked up, staring at him as if he had said something strange. She glanced down the hallway, and then raised a finger. ¡°I think, Hargrave, that it would be best if we return to your favourite location.¡±


    ¡°¡­my favourite location?¡±


    ¡°Yes, your favourite location.¡± She crossed her arms and nodded. ¡°The place where we will find the answer to all, the Headquarters¡¯ Library.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°It should be right¡­ yes, here it is.¡± The dark-haired young woman reached her hand up on the ladder and gripped a large heavy tome, a second, even larger tome tucked under her left arm. She glanced down at the floor and hummed, likely thinking of how to get down.


    ¡°¡­do you want a hand?¡±


    ¡°No, not to worry.¡±


    Hargrave watched as the books in her arms slowly floated up without the presence of mana. She climbed down the ladder and walked off, the books floating behind her.


    ¡°Commission Head¡­¡±


    She glanced back, and he paused for a moment, wondering if he should ask this question, but he pushed onward. ¡°Why do you act like that?¡±


    Lucille Goldcroft blinked. ¡°Like what?¡±


    He frowned and crossed his arms. ¡°Like¡­ you¡¯re always exaggerating your actions.¡± He gestured to the bookshelf. ¡°You have spiritual perception. You knew for certain that the book you needed was there, yet you pretended to not know that.¡±


    The dark-haired girl tilted her head at him, a strange smile on her lips. Then she smirked and turned away, walking towards a table in the Library. ¡°You¡¯re very observant. Hargrave, did you know that ever since I came to the Aurelian Commission, you¡¯re the first person to point that out?¡±


    She placed the tomes on the dark wood, swept the dust off the covers and began to flick through them, searching for specific pages. ¡°You¡¯re right. I knew exactly where that book was, and didn¡¯t need to comment on it. In fact, you saw me use telekinesis. I didn¡¯t even need to climb that ladder to obtain the volume.¡±


    She leaned forward to read the small font of a page when she had finished turning them up. ¡°But I¡¯ve noticed that people ¨C humans, especially ¨C react badly when someone shows behaviour or a lack of behaviour that doesn¡¯t fit their expectations. I could remove all redundant actions and motions. But if I want others to feel as if they can understand me¡­¡± She glanced over her shoulder at him. ¡°Then it¡¯s best I play into their expectations.¡±


    She straightened up and placed a finger on the book. ¡°There. I¡¯ve found it. Written in ¡®The Complete Compendium of All Origin Items, Weapons and Oddities: The Realms¡¯ Most Potent Treasures¡¯ is a description of a demonic Origin spear of the name Ruinous Eolith of Infliction.¡± Lucille Goldcroft crossed her arms, looking almost smug. ¡°I knew my information wasn¡¯t wrong.¡±


    He warily walked up to the table and narrowed his eyes as he inspected the passage and image. It looked very similar, uncannily similar, but¡­ ¡°My weapon doesn¡¯t have the ¡®Origin¡¯ prefix and is called Scarlet-Stained Eolith,¡± he stated.


    ¡°But is your weapon evolvable?¡± The Commission Head asked, smirking.


    He hesitated. ¡°¡­yes.¡±


    ¡°And it¡¯s not sentient?¡¯


    He glanced between her and the book and then frowned.


    Lucille Goldcroft grinned and pointed to the other book. ¡°This volume contains a list of all known demonic weapons. It¡¯s a few centuries out of date, but here it describes Eolith. A demonic Origin weapon that caused havoc in the Demon Realm when it was formed, with multiple demon clans fighting over its ownership. Eventually, a Demon Duchy obtained its partially weakened form and gave the weapon as a tribute to the Demon Emperor, where it¡­¡± She paused and focused on a line. ¡°Where it¡­ remained in the Daemonium Palace ever since?¡±


    ¡°¡­Commission Head, is something wrong?¡±


    She blinked and shook her head. ¡°Oh, no. I was just thinking about the implications of a treasure in the Daemonium Palace being offered as a System reward. But regardless.¡± Lucille Goldcroft pointed at him. ¡°You received it as a Quest reward, didn¡¯t you? It¡¯s not truly evolvable. Instead, it¡¯s returning to its truth strength.¡±


    Hargrave rubbed his neck, feeling a headache beginning to form. ¡°Why do I feel like my life has become even more dangerous only after I met you?¡±


    The dark-haired girl smirked and gave him a wide shrug. ¡°I can assure you, Sir Mythos Slayer, that your life would¡¯ve been plenty dangerous without me.¡±


    Stolen novel; please report.


    ¡°Don¡¯t-¡± He ran a hand down his face. ¡°Don¡¯t call me that.¡±


    ¡°As you wish¡­¡± Lucille Goldcroft grinned. ¡°¡­Sir Mythos Slayer.¡±


    He sighed as she walked away while humming, clearly enjoying picking on him or mocking him, or¡­ he wasn¡¯t quite sure.


    She glanced back. ¡°There is still something I¡¯d like to discuss with you, Hargrave, so if you¡¯re willing to walk around without removing your armour for just a while longer, would you please come with me?¡±


    He nodded and followed because he didn¡¯t have anything to do either way. He glanced back at the Library behind them, thinking about the books on Eolith. ¡°Am I allowed to borrow some books from here?¡±


    ¡°Books like the Origin item compendium and Myths and Lore?¡± she asked as if she could read his mind. ¡°Do as you wish. Just ensure the books are placed on the tables in the Library once you¡¯re done with them so Ashale¡¯viaf doesn¡¯t chase you for them.¡±


    They stepped into the lift and Hargrave took one last look at the Library before the doors closed. He turned to Lucille. ¡°I noticed the guardian spirit¡¯s presence wasn¡¯t here.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Ashale¡¯viaf is doing his monthly renewal of the Commission¡¯s gardens with his spirit magic, so he had to reabsorb his incarnation for a few days to ensure he has enough mana to cast the magic. So no need to fear him overhearing us today,¡± she said cheerily, clearly referring to what he had asked last time they went to the Library.


    He rubbed his neck, feeling awkward, as she smirked at him. The lift opened and Lucille Goldcroft stepped out, with Hargrave close behind.


    ¡°Now, what I wished to discuss with you¡­¡± she began, leading him to her living room and sitting down after taking off her jacket.


    He paid close attention as she crossed one leg over the other and relaxed on the couch.


    ¡°You said you were facing difficulties with the Dungeon you went to this weekend,¡± the Commission Head stated, gesturing to him. ¡°I aided you in finding Dungeons where Glory Pantheon and Ducal forces were sparse, but the stats from levelling aren¡¯t the only thing you need to gain to increase your strength.¡± She propped her chin up against the armrest and gave him a lazy smile. ¡°Hargrave, how would you like to explore a newly discovered Ancient Dungeon?¡±


    Hargrave stared at her. ¡°¡­sorry? An Ancient Dungeon?¡±


    In response, Lucille pointed to something above her head. Hargrave looked and his eyes widened when he saw what was floating there.


    [Title: Ancient Dungeon Discoverer]


    ¡°Scytale and I had a little bit of an adventure when we went to increase our levels,¡± she said with a smile. ¡°The land is owned by the Commission and plans are already being made to organise an expansion of the city to become a Dungeon city. However, it will be a few months before it¡¯s publicly announced and so¡­¡± She leaned forward and smirked. ¡°I think it would be the perfect place for you to level up. An unexplored powerful Dungeon owned by me, the Commission Head.¡±


    Then Lucille Goldcroft leaned back and shrugged. ¡°Of course, my whole spiel around alternative resources to stats was because I intend on sharing My Tier II Dungeon Exploration Quest with you. Scytale and I can¡¯t complete that with our current strength, but I want access to the rich gemstone resources sooner rather than later.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± He covered his mouth with a hand, thinking. ¡°You mean you¡¯re willing to let me have the Quest rewards?¡±


    The dark-haired woman shrugged. ¡°The next stage of the Quest rewards Origin Skill primers. Scytale is a magical beast, so primers aren¡¯t necessary for him, and I¡­¡± She smirked and crossed her arms. ¡°Anyway, we¡¯re both willing to let you gain the Titles and our share of the Origin Skill primers in exchange for taking us along when you go there the first time.¡±


    Hargrave opened his mouth, then closed it as he stared at her. ¡°Take¡­ you along?¡±


    ¡°Yes, take Scytale and me along.¡± She grinned at him. ¡°Is the former successor of the General of Blazing Iron not up to the task?¡±


    ¡°¡­it¡¯s not about whether I¡¯m up to the task.¡± He ran a hand through his hair, frowning at the table between them. ¡°But¡­ just us three? Alone? I¡¯m not¡­¡± He looked up. ¡°How can you be willing to trust that I won¡¯t do something to you?¡±


    The Commission Head cocked an eyebrow. ¡°I didn¡¯t realise our roles had reversed so quickly, Hargrave. I thought you were the one who shouldn¡¯t be comfortable with being alone in my presence.¡±


    Hargrave nearly glared at her, feeling frustrated at the lack of answer, but sighed and rubbed his face. ¡°I¡¯ll need some time to think about this.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Even if you accepted right now, we wouldn¡¯t be able to leave until I found some time to escape my work. Take all the time you need. You can be certain that it will still be another two to three weeks before we can go at minimum.¡± Then she frowned and crossed her arms. ¡°Definitely not this upcoming week, that¡¯s certain.¡±


    ¡°Is something going to happen next week?¡± he asked, finding her reaction unusual.


    Lucille Goldcroft glanced at him, tapping her fingers against her couch¡¯s armrest. ¡°Some¡­ troublesome visitors will be coming after this week, to put it simply,¡± she told him. ¡°Interact, avoid or ignore them if you want, but that might be a task, knowing their¡­ personalities.¡±


    Before he could ask further, she gave him a dismissive wave. ¡°Nothing bad will happen though. And none of them know who you are. Put up with them for only five days and then they¡¯ll be gone.¡±


    Hargrave hesitated. ¡°But¡­ who-¡±


    ¡°Just wait a few more days and you¡¯ll find out.¡± Lucille Goldcroft stood up, stretching. ¡°I hope you¡¯ll excuse me, but I need to find Vincent and return to my work. If you want to ask more questions about the Dungeon, then my bond could tell you. He discovered it with me.¡± She gave him one last glance. ¡°Have you accustomed yourself to the Commission these past few months?¡±


    ¡°¡­I haven¡¯t had any problems, no,¡± he replied.


    It¡¯s been¡­ very relaxing staying at the Commission¡¯s Headquarters. Too relaxing. The peace is making me restless. It feels ¡­wrong, to stay somewhere for so long without fighting anyone.


    The Commission Head nodded. ¡°Good. I had heard that for the most part, you have been avoiding the others, so I wanted to make sure everything was fine.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ that¡¯s because-¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have much reason to interact with them,¡± Lucille Goldcroft stated as if she could see right through him. ¡°I understand interacting with Scytale would make for¡­ a considerably fruitless endeavour, as he doesn¡¯t have much to share with you that would give you anything besides a headache, but Sedric may be willing to craft accessories for you.¡± She shrugged. ¡°We have a non-exclusive contract between us so if you pay him or collect the right materials he¡¯ll probably be enthusiastic. He enjoys crafting more than anything.¡±


    He had heard that Sedric was a Legendary crafter, although an inexperienced one. If the woman in front of him was suggesting it then it might be a good idea.


    Hargrave stood up from the couch as Lucille Goldcroft walked towards the door.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll be off,¡± she said. He nodded as she shut the door behind her, but then she opened it and stuck her head back in. ¡°Also, Hargrave¡­ how long are you going to keep calling me Commission Head for?¡±


    She shut the door again as he was left considering that question himself, because with how he had been avoiding her and the others¡­ he still didn¡¯t know enough about this strange girl, especially if he was going to be in a party with her in a few weeks.


    ¡­


    After removing his armour in his room, Hargrave went and retrieved the books on Eolith and about the ¡®Blood Patriarch¡¯. With the books in hand, he wondered whether he should just read them in his room, but decided a different location might be nice for a change.


    Stepping into a living room where no staff were around and looked empty, he placed the books down on a table and sat down on a couch. Just when he reached for the top book, a loud crunch stopped him in his tracks. He hesitated when he heard the noise and focused on his senses to find out where it was coming from.


    When he detected the presence making the noise, he gained a strange expression, got down on his hands and knees, and peered under the couch. He stared when he saw the culprit.


    ¡°¡­Scytale?¡±


    The silvery snake flinched when he heard the sound and started moving to face him, his tail curled around what looked like several pieces of fruit. One of them was missing a chunk. ¡°I-I swear, I wasn¡¯t eating them! I was just¡­ saving them for later! Yeah, that¡¯s it- oh.¡± Scytale paused when he saw who had spoken. ¡°It¡¯s you, Hargrave. And here I was thinking it was Lucy.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure my voice sounds nothing like your bond¡¯s,¡± Hargrave replied, feeling bemused.


    ¡°Yeah, well¡­ Vincent, Sedric, or Lucy, any of them would be bad news.¡± Keeping his tail wrapped around the food, he slithered out from under the couch and stuck his snout near Hargrave. ¡°But you wouldn¡¯t rat me out like them, would you Hargrave? Because you¡¯re nice like that.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think ¡®nice¡¯ is the right term-¡±


    ¡°So you agree? Cool, cool, cool.¡±


    Hargrave got onto his knees as the amphiptere wriggled his way out and then expanded to his normal advanced-rank size. With golden light, a silver-haired boy appeared in the snake¡¯s place. Scytale reached under the couch to grab his bounty and sat there on the ground, cross-legged, with the food on his lap.


    ¡°Anyway, what brings you to the distant lands of ¡®outside Lucy¡¯s perception¡¯?¡± Scytale said, gesturing grandly to the room they were in.


    Hargrave sighed and got up, sitting back on the couch. ¡°The Commission Head showed me some books that proved my demonic spear isn¡¯t as normal as I thought it was.¡± He grimaced. ¡°Apparently, it¡¯s an Origin weapon.¡±


    ¡°Huh, so it¡¯s not just your Origin Skill that¡¯s unfairly overpowered?¡± the snake asked, picking up his half-eaten apple and biting into it. ¡°Your weapon too? I definitely need to get around to suing the System one of these days.¡±


    Giving the amphiptere a strange look when he said, ¡®suing the System¡¯, Hargrave then shook his head and reached into the white circle he had summoned that represented his dimensional skill. Out came his black and red spear Eolith, which he had cleaned earlier when removing his armour.


    Hargrave held the spearhead close and inspected it, mentally comparing it with the image of the spear he remembered in the book. He leaned forward to flip the book open to the page on Eolith. ¡°This book is pretty useful though,¡± he muttered. ¡°Information on the different abilities Eolith held depending on its strength¡­¡±


    ¡°Nasty looking spikes you¡¯ve got there on the end of it,¡± Scytale commented, leaning on one arm as he licked his fingers.


    ¡°Ha¡­¡± Hargrave let out a short, bitter laugh for a second before putting down the spear. ¡°Well, my weapon¡¯s appearance played a large part in my infamy. A blood manipulator wielding a demonic spear that looks like this¡­¡±


    Hargrave¡¯s words trailed off when Scytale burst into laughter. He gazed at the snake with confusion as the humanoid serpent clutched his belly and leaned forward, still laughing. The silver-haired boy hit his fist against the ground as he breathed in and out, wheezing.


    ¡°Man, if you think your weapon is bad, then just wait until you see Lucy¡¯s!¡± he said, snickering. ¡°On the scale of ¡®Cringy Edgelord¡¯ to ¡®Underworld Mastermind¡¯, her one is like, full-on enemy of the whole Tower!¡±


    ¡°¡­weren¡¯t her weapons just daggers?¡±


    The snake shook a finger at him. ¡°Nah, you haven¡¯t seen their real form. Both are endlessly-expanding snake-sword that can make mincemeat out of people, especially Apophis.¡±


    Hargrave struggled to picture that as Scytale shrugged. ¡°She¡¯ll be annoyed if you try to ask her to show you, but if you come along to the Dungeon, you¡¯ll see.¡±


    Hargrave crossed his arms and frowned. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ still undecided about that.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be fun if you do come along.¡± Scytale bit into another fruit. ¡°But I have natural treasures to finish before Lucy becomes suspicious of the fact I¡¯m outside her perception, so if you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯m going to eat the rest of these.¡±


    Hargrave nodded and got up. ¡°Then I¡¯ll-¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± Scytale tilted his head. ¡°Are you leaving? I didn¡¯t say I wanted you gone though. I don¡¯t care if you stay in here to read.¡±


    The red-haired man hesitated. ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be done with these fairly quick. There¡¯s no point in leaving.¡± Scytale stuffed one in his mouth. ¡°I had shomethin¡¯ I wan¡¯ed to ashk you abou¡¯d too.¡±


    ¡­the thought of staying in the same room as the Commission Head¡¯s bond, who he didn¡¯t know too well, made him feel awkward, but the thought of leaving and making it obvious he wanted to avoid the snake also felt awkward. Hargrave sighed and sat back down, then opened his books to read.


    Sometime close to half an hour later, Scytale stretched and stood up to sit on the couch next to Hargrave. Hargrave¡­ hadn¡¯t exactly been able to read all he wanted as the sound of the serpent¡¯s eating had been too distracting, but he wasn¡¯t going to mention it.


    ¡°Right¡­ so.¡± Scytale pointed at him. ¡°You still want to read or can I ask my question?¡±


    Hargrave put down the book. ¡°You¡­ can ask your question, I guess.¡±


    The snake placed his hands behind his back and leaned back on the couch. ¡°Alright then. I guess I¡¯ll go ahead.¡± He gestured vaguely in Hargrave¡¯s direction. ¡°As someone who was¡­ I don¡¯t know, Glory Pantheon-aligned, you got taught about Heroic arts, right?¡±


    Hargrave frowned as he studied the snake. ¡°I never received the General¡¯s mana art, let alone a Heroic art. If I had, then I would still be the General of Blazing Iron¡¯s heir,¡± he stated, feeling irritated for some reason.


    ¡°Oh, no, I knew that.¡± The snake waved him off. ¡°Nah, I just meant if you got told some information that the common plebs outside of the Pantheon don¡¯t know.¡± He gestured to himself. ¡°I mean, you have to know more than me.¡±


    Hargrave leaned back and crossed his arms. He scratched his head with one hand. ¡°¡­I might know something, but I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s enough to answer your questions,¡± he slowly replied.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t know, you don¡¯t know. I just thought I might check.¡± Scytale crossed his legs on the couch and turned to face Hargrave. ¡°If¡­ hypothetically, someone¡­ not human, managed to gain Heroic power and formed a defensive armament that wasn¡¯t technically a Heroic Armament¡­ how would they increase its power?¡±


    Hargrave stared at the snake. ¡°¡­ if someone not human gained Heroic power and formed a defensive armament that wasn¡¯t a Heroic armament.¡±


    Scytale nodded. ¡°Hypothetically.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Hargrave sighed and rubbed his face. ¡°Scytale, how do you honestly expect me to answer a question about such an improbable situation?¡±


    The humanoid amphiptere clicked his tongue. ¡°Okay, fine, forget about the whole ¡®non-human¡¯ thing. Let¡¯s say someone got a point of Heroic power without having a Heroic art. How would they turn it into an armament, gain more Heroic power, or increase their armament¡¯s strength?¡±


    Hargrave gazed dubiously at him. ¡°You need a Heroic art to form Heroic power. It¡¯s impossible without one.¡±


    ¡°Urgh¡­ what I¡¯m trying to say is¡­¡± Scytale scratched his head and then sighed. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s start from the basics. What makes a mana art different from a Heroic art? Is a Heroic art just a better version of a mana art?¡±


    Hargrave held his chin, thinking. ¡°These questions¡­ are easier to answer. And no, a Heroic art is not a better version of a mana art. The two serve different purposes.¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡± Scytale blinked. ¡°But all the people who practice Heroic arts are always treated as just super special mana art users.¡±


    ¡°That is because a Heroic art can¡¯t function without the mana art component,¡± Hargrave said with a nod. ¡°The difference between a Heroic art and a mana art is that one is for increasing the basic physical abilities of a warrior. Their internal mana enhances their speed, strength, and other factors while increasing the elemental mana available for use. But if someone has enough elemental mana within their body, then theoretically, they may be able to create a Heroic Weapon or Armament.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so a mana art is like, the minimum requirement for a Heroic Weapon or Armament,¡± the snake said, thinking. ¡°I guess that makes sense. They¡¯re supposed to be made out of elemental mana. But then what¡¯s a Heroic art?¡±


    ¡°A Heroic art is a set of techniques, information and mana manipulation skills that teach a warrior how to complete the necessary requirements to form Heroic power and a weapon or armament from it,¡± Hargrave explained. ¡°As each clan that has a Heroic art has different traditions and methods of going about it, the abilities the weapons and armaments gain differ greatly from clan to clan. And due to Heroic Weapon and Armament obtainment being¡­ unpredictable, even Champions and Mythos within the same clan have different abilities.¡±


    Scytale raised an eyebrow. ¡°Unpredictable¡­ how?¡±


    Hargrave considered how to phrase it. ¡°In a mana art¡¯s case, the warrior is taking mana from outside and storing it in his body, before slowly converting it all into his own,¡± he said, raising one finger. Then he raised a second. ¡°In a Heroic art¡¯s case, the warrior is taking their carefully prepared internal power, their Heroic power, and using external forces to set the Heroic power into a fixed form.¡±


    Hargrave leaned back on the couch. ¡°The way they do this is through achieving ¡®feats¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Feats? That¡¯s a strange name for an ability,¡± Scytale replied, looking sceptical.


    ¡°That¡¯s because it¡¯s not an ability. They must prove their abilities on the battlefield and achieve ¡®feats¡¯ before their weapon or armament consolidates.¡±


    Scytale stared at him. ¡°¡­hm?¡± He leaned forward, focusing intently on Hargrave. ¡°You mean¡­ it has nothing to do with mana? They¡­ what, act flashily, kill someone important while everyone is watching and then bam! They get a fancy weapon or breastplate or something?¡±


    Hargrave regarded the snake with mild bemusement. ¡°I haven¡¯t heard anyone put it in such vague terms before, but that is roughly how it works. The exact feat required is different for each Heroic art, and the feats for weapons compared to armaments are also different. There is an element of mana manipulation involved, however.¡± He spread his hands. ¡°A warrior must create their ¡®Mythos¡¯. That¡¯s where the name comes from, for those who have managed to create all the basic weapons and armaments of their Heroic art.¡±


    ¡°So¡­¡± The serpent thought for a moment. ¡°Would someone with high CHAR, charm skills or attention-drawing skills be better at getting these ¡®feats¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Potentially, but I wouldn¡¯t know,¡± Hargrave said.


    ¡°Okay then¡­¡± Scytale held his chin, nodding to himself, and then pointed at Hargrave. ¡°Imagine, for a second, that¡­ due to being a Primal Descendant or something that I- that a magical beast could ¡®inherit¡¯ feats because their bloodline is super epic or whatever. How would they make an armament out of that?¡± As an afterthought, Scytale added, ¡°All hypothetically, of course.¡±


    It finally clicked for Hargrave. He studied the snake solemnly. ¡°¡­Scytale, you¡¯re not hiding what you mean as well as you think.¡±


    The snake in human form stared at him for a second, and then groaned as he ran a hand through his hair. ¡°I was never the one who was good at these kinds of things. I should¡¯ve gotten Lucy¡¯s help¡­¡± He muttered. He sighed and spread his hands. ¡°Look, my second bloodline ended up giving me a point in Heroic power and I have a skill that can create something similar to a Heroic Armament. I want to know how I could get more Heroic power to strengthen it.¡±


    Hargrave frowned, rubbing his chin. He hesitated slightly, and then asked, ¡°Could I see it?¡±


    Scytale shrugged. ¡°I suppose.¡± Then he transformed into his winged snake form with a golden glow.


    The winged snake spread his pale gold wings, allowing Hargrave to see the dark gold metallic plates forming over his wing tips. Scytale flared his wings and flapped them a few times to show off. ¡°Tada! Well, it¡¯s nothing much to look at right now. Ideally, I want an armament that covers my body instead of my wings. It enhances my DEF and health regen so it¡¯s great for my role as a self-buffing tank.¡± Then Scytale sheepishly lowered his head. ¡°Uh¡­ well, not a self-buffing tank right now. I need to talk to Lucy about what light element spells to learn. But anyway, I¡¯m hard to damage!¡±


    ¡°¡­it¡¯s a peculiar armament,¡± Hargrave murmured, inspecting the plates. ¡°It seems to have some way of conforming to your form. The usual Heroic Armaments are very restricted in their shapes.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, my skill description said something about the armament becoming closer to a part of my body than anything.¡± Scytale flapped his wings again and glanced at them himself. ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not even a Heroic Armament. My skill called it a ¡®Colossus Armament¡¯ because it¡¯s normally a titan skill.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Hargrave considered the serpent¡¯s words. He was actually very curious about the amphiptere¡¯s abilities and Heroic power, as well as whatever this ¡®Colossus Armament¡¯ was¡­


    ¡­maybe a discussion with the snake would be worth having if they were going to end up exploring the Ancient Dungeon together.

 Chapter 61 (2 of 2) The Blood Patriarch meets his Ultimate Enemy – Extroverted Teenage Girls.

    -A few days later-


    Putting away his spear in his dimensional skill, Hargrave stretched and walked through the hallway, returning from the training room. In an effort to help Scytale understand his abilities better, and out of his own curiosity, they had been sparring a little the past few days. He had obviously held back his strength, but Scytale was actually a highly competent fighter for his age.


    ¡­extremely competent. And that killing intent¡­ he almost wanted to ask the amphiptere more about it, but as someone who had high killing intent himself, he knew it wouldn¡¯t be a pleasant discussion.


    It gave him something to do and was better exercise than just training by himself, however, so Hargrave thought he might continue to fight with the snake, as long as Scytale was willing.


    He had met the Commission Head once during the past few days and asked if she was fine with him fighting her bond and the fact Scytale had revealed his Heroic power to him, but Lucille Goldcroft had only replied that it was far better for them all if Hargrave managed to reduce the snake¡¯s inexhaustible energy somewhat. He couldn¡¯t help but agree.


    And Scytale¡¯s only comment on sharing information about Heroic power even if it was dangerous for him was ¡®The enemy of my enemy is my sworn brother by marriage or something like that¡¯. Hargrave had a feeling the snake might¡¯ve been referring to how he had essentially been exiled from Glory Pantheon, but he wasn¡¯t sure.


    Still, he had one last book on Eolith to finish. Lucille Goldcroft had promised that soon items like skill books and other rarer System rewards would be bought by her, so he considered what to do for the next few days. He turned the corner to enter the hallway that led to his room and¡­


    ¡°-so I¡¯m planning on asking Lucy!¡±


    ¡°Prophetess Verdon, it is highly irresponsible to ask someone whose motives are unknown to study your brother¡¯s abilities.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and who said I wanted her to look at my abilities anyway?¡±


    ¡°Raegan, you don¡¯t get a say, because I¡¯m the older sibling.¡±


    ¡°Hey-¡±


    "Oh? Sir Albrecht, there¡¯s someone else here.¡±


    Hargrave stared when faced with the strange trio of a grey-eyed bearded man dressed in golden plate armour, a blonde, wavy-haired girl in elegant, white flowy robes, and a young dark-haired and dark-eyed boy in a dress shirt and pants.


    Hargrave stood awkwardly as the girl with golden eyes tilted her head at him, studying him curiously. ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°¡­Hargrave,¡± he slowly replied, watching them, and the man he identified as a Paladin, warily.


    ¡°Hargrave? Hargrave who?¡± Then the girl paused and shook her head. ¡°Actually, never mind. Do you know Lucy? What¡¯s your relationship?¡±


    ¡°¡­the Commission Head? I do¡­ there¡¯s a contract between us,¡± Hargrave said, wondering why that was important.


    The girl smiled. ¡°So you¡¯re like Sedric?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ suppose? But I¡¯m not a craft-¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you, Hargrave!¡± the girl exclaimed happily. She stuck her hand out. ¡°I¡¯m Annaliese!¡±


    Hargrave hesitantly shook it as the Paladin next to her shot her a look of frustration.


    ¡°You should be introducing yourself as Prophetess Annaliese Verdon if you want to tell them your first name,¡± the blonde-haired man reprimanded. ¡°And you¡¯re supposed to be curtseying.¡±


    ¡°¡­Prophetess?¡± Hargrave¡¯s eyes widened as he registered the title. ¡°From the Citadel of Fate?¡± After a long moment of silence where he hesitated, he said, ¡°I¡­ haven¡¯t had any contact with a member of the Citadel before so I¡¯m not sure how I¡¯m supposed to act.¡±


    ¡°That reaction!¡±


    Hargrave became startled when the apparent Prophetess pointed at him. She grinned. ¡°That¡¯s a refreshing reaction. I¡¯m so sick of people bowing when they see me.¡±


    Hargrave opened his mouth to reply but became stunned when the girl suddenly grabbed his wrist and pulled him behind her. ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s go find Lucy!¡± she said, intent on taking him along.


    He sent a wide-eyed look towards the Paladin for help, but the man just spread his hands and shrugged, as if he was helpless to aid him. The boy only rolled his eyes and followed the blonde-haired girl and Paladin as Hargrave was forcefully abducted(?) by the esteemed High Oracle of the Citadel of Fate.


    <hr>


    The door of a dark-haired woman¡¯s living room opened, revealing the presence of one smug-looking Prophetess, an exasperated guard, her grumpy brother, and a very confused ex-mercenary.


    Annaliese let go of Hargrave¡¯s arm and placed her hands on her hips. ¡°I am here, Lucy!¡±


    Holding a cup of coffee, Lucille gazed dully at the girl. ¡°Indeed,¡± she remarked dryly. ¡°And with plans to disturb my peace once again, no doubt.¡±


    The girl grinned and casually took a seat opposite Lucy, Raegan sitting next to her. Jasten Albrecht sighed and stood near the door as Hargrave stared at them, clearly feeling uncomfortable with the new arrangement. He hesitated and then grabbed a chair from near the table in the room to drag it over and sit between the two couches.


    Annaliese glanced at the figure lying on the couch next to Lucy. ¡°You look tired, Scytale.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Me?¡± Scytale, who was lying on his stomach with his arms and head hanging over the end of the couch, turned to look at her. ¡°Eh¡­ maybe a bit. I was fighting with Hargrave.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Annaliese glanced at the red-haired man on the side, who was avoiding eye contact. ¡°Do you fight often?¡± She looked between Lucy, Scytale, and Hargrave. ¡°Also¡­ why is Hargrave here? I didn¡¯t see him last time.¡±


    ¡°¡­last time?¡± Hargrave said, looking confused.


    ¡°The day you saw Scytale in his human form for the first time was the day they left,¡± Lucy replied to him. She raised an eyebrow at Annaliese. ¡°He¡¯s been here for the last few months. He was away this time last month.¡± She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at the Prophetess. ¡°Also, it¡¯s between me and Hargrave why he is here. Unless he wants to share, it¡¯s none of your business.¡±


    Annaliese clicked her tongue and looked away. ¡°I was just curious.¡±


    Lucille rolled her eyes. ¡°Yes, well, take your curiosity elsewhere.¡±


    The girl pouted but looked around the room. ¡°Where¡¯s Vincent? Is he busy?¡±


    In response, Lucy pointed directly behind her. ¡°He¡¯s right there.¡±


    Annaliese turned around. ¡°Huh?¡±


    She blinked when faced with the silver-haired man standing in the doorway, looking a bit bemused.


    ¡°Did someone mention me?¡± Vincent asked.


    ¡°No, she was just wondering where you were,¡± Lucy replied, sipping her coffee.


    ¡°Ah.¡± He nodded, taking the other chair from beside the table and sitting on the opposite side of the table to Hargrave. ¡°I was with my secretaries. That, and also¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, Lucille, Vincent said you had something to tell me, so what-¡±


    They all looked at the ponytailed crafter who had just walked in, still wearing his leather gloves. Sedric stared at them, looked around, and then swiftly turned to leave.


    Lucille narrowed her eyes and stretched out a hand. The door slammed shut with her spiritual telekinesis and Sedric turned around to scowl at her.


    ¡°Hi, Sedric!¡± Annaliese said, smiling.


    He shot her a weary look. ¡°¡­hi.¡± Seemingly accepting his fate, he walked over to Scytale and gave the snake a shove. ¡°Oi, move over so I have somewhere to sit.¡±


    Scytale let out a loud groan but reluctantly moved so Sedric could sit on the end.


    ¡°Um¡­ could I ask why I¡¯m here?¡± Hargrave reluctantly spoke up.


    Lucy cocked an eyebrow at him. ¡°Because Miss Prophetess dragged you here, obviously.¡± She smiled brightly. ¡°You could leave, and make the situation awkward, if you wish?¡±


    The red-haired man grimaced and crossed his arms. Lucille narrowed her eyes, wondering if she had found his weakness, while her bond looked around and placed his hands on his hips.


    ¡°Wow, this is the most crowded this place has been.¡± He looked at Vincent. ¡°If they arrived last week we could¡¯ve had a birthday party for you, Vincent!¡±


    The silver-haired aide raised an eyebrow but Annaliese became surprised and looked at Vincent. ¡°Did you have your birthday last week?¡±


    ¡°I turned twenty-eight. So, no, we wouldn¡¯t have had a celebration for me, as it wasn¡¯t my thirtieth,¡± he stated dryly.


    Scytale clicked his tongue. ¡°You¡¯re getting old. Look, your hair is even grey with age!¡±


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Vincent shot Lucy¡¯s bond a flat look as Raegan leaned back to look at the man¡¯s hair. ¡°Why is his hair that colour, anyway?¡±


    ¡°My hair?¡± Vincent raised a strand to inspect it. ¡°All main bloodline members of the Evisenhardt County have silver hair and eyes. It¡¯s due to our inherited metal elemental affinity and Constitution.¡±


    Raegan looked slightly curious but the Prophetess¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°A metal affinity? Isn¡¯t that a mid-level element? I didn¡¯t realise you had such a rare element!¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ well, my elemental manipulation skills aren¡¯t that spectacular, so I never wanted to pursue a career related to my affinity,¡± Vincent remarked. He shrugged. ¡°I may be born with a rare affinity but that doesn¡¯t mean I have the talent to use it. My family¡¯s metal has very niche purposes too.¡±


    Annaliese frowned, confused. ¡°Metal?¡±


    ¡°Oh, right, I¡¯ve heard about that because some clans can summon metals with good crafting qualities.¡± Sedric nodded. ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯ve got a Constitution, right? They¡¯re pretty common with those who have metal affinities because often metal element wielders have an inherited talent to manipulate only a specific type of metal.¡±


    Annaliese tilted her head. ¡°So then¡­ what metal does the Silver County manipulate?¡±


    There was silence. They all turned to stare at the golden-haired girl, who didn¡¯t recognise what she had said. Annaliese blinked, registering the gazes. ¡°Did I say something wrong?¡±


    ¡°¡­I must say, in all my life, this is the first time I¡¯ve received that sort of question,¡± Vincent stated, appearing dumbfounded.


    Scytale snickered, while Sedric crossed his arms to give the girl a dubious look. ¡°Annaliese, it¡¯s the Evisenhardt County. Even I can guess what they manipulate.¡±


    Annaliese glared at the crafter. ¡°Don¡¯t be mean. Maybe it¡¯s just because I¡¯m not familiar enough with them.¡±


    ¡°They run the banks! Money! Coins! Is it that hard? It¡¯s even in their hair!¡± Sedric asked, stunned.


    She frowned in concentration and then shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t get it.¡±


    At the back of the room, Jasten Albrecht ran a hand down his face. Hargrave was giving the girl strange looks.


    Raegan rolled his eyes. ¡°Here, I¡¯ll tell you, Anna.¡± The boy turned to face her. ¡°They manipulate black iron,¡± he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.


    She gazed at him with surprise. ¡°Really?¡±


    Raegan groaned and hit his forehead. ¡°No!¡±


    Feeling a slight bit of pity for the girl, Lucille sighed and pointed to her. ¡°Annaliese. Think about what you asked earlier, and then say it again, but really, really slowly,¡± she told her wearily.


    Annaliese thought about it. ¡°I only asked what metal does the Silver¡­ County¡­¡­¡± Her words trailed off and several of them all collectively facepalmed. The blonde-haired girl¡¯s face gradually flushed pink and she buried her head in her hands. ¡°¡­Lucy, do you have a hole I can hide myself in?¡±


    ¡°Why, there¡¯s always the front door of the Aurelian Commission¡¯s Headquarters to exit through,¡± Lucille replied with a smirk.


    The girl looked up and glared at her. Hargrave looked between them all.


    ¡°If you came here last month¡­¡± he slowly began, ¡°Then why are you here again?¡±


    ¡°Because we¡¯re going to come here every month!¡± Annaliese said with a broad grin.


    Sir Albrecht scowled. ¡°No, we¡¯re not.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m inclined to believe your Prophetess on this matter over you, Sir Albrecht, considering your apparent successfulness ¨C or unsuccessfulness ¨C in preventing her from returning here,¡± Lucy noted dryly.


    The Paladin shot her a weary look as Hargrave rubbed his neck. ¡°¡­it seems we¡¯ll end up seeing each other again,¡± the red-haired man replied. Then a scary thought seemed to have struck him as he turned to Lucy with wide eyes. ¡°Did you tell me that they would be here for five days?¡±


    ¡°I get five days a month to do as I please, so I¡¯ve chosen to come here!¡± Annaliese told him, nodding. She beamed. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet another one of Lucy¡¯s friends.¡±


    Hargrave stared at her. ¡°I- what? Friends? But I-¡±


    Sedric pointed at her. ¡°Hey, are you including me in this ¡®friends¡¯ thing? Because I¡¯d rather change my class to become a janitor if I had to become known as her ¡®friend¡¯,¡± he said snarkily.


    Lucy sipped her coffee as Annaliese turned to him with surprise. ¡°But aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s my employer,¡± he replied stubbornly, crossing his arms.


    Lucille rolled her eyes as Annaliese gave him a sceptical look. ¡°You don¡¯t act like you think of her as your employer.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what normal employer would let their subordinate make such junk,¡± Raegan scoffed.


    Sedric scowled and then scowled deeper as Scytale patted him on the head. ¡°Careful, he¡¯s fragile. If you tell him the truth you might hurt his feelings,¡± the snake said.


    ¡°I do have to stand up for Sedric in this instance to say that I have noticed an improvement in his crafting abilities these last few months,¡± Vincent commented. Sedric blinked with surprise at Vincent¡¯s statement, but then the silver-haired man hesitated. ¡°I¡­ think. I can recognise the structural components of his creations now.¡±


    Sedric sighed and slumped on the couch. ¡°Give me a break. Most crafters have plenty of blueprints to work with. Accessory classes are rare and I¡¯m learning everything from scratch.¡± He frowned. ¡°What good are skills if they don¡¯t tell me all I need to know anyway?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re facing a very common problem when it comes to inherited classes,¡± Lucille commented, placing down her cup. ¡°Those who have worked to merge their classes have also studied extensively so they can obtain skills relating to their knowledge. Inheritance of a class means you don¡¯t have that knowledge to begin with, besides what your class lets you know.¡±


    He frowned and crossed his arms. ¡°So I¡¯ll never be better than the person who made the class?¡±


    Lucy shook her head. ¡°You have the potential to improve your class beyond what your predecessor managed to obtain, but you need to overcome the hurdle of incomplete knowledge first.¡±


    ¡°You should be glad you¡¯ve got your class!¡± Annaliese said, planting her hands on her hips. ¡°All my class does is make people lucky, and the Sages always tell me what to do anyway!¡±


    Jasten Albrecht sighed. ¡°That¡¯s the mid-level element of fortune, Prophetess Verdon. Fate allows you to increase the chances of specific outcomes occurring.¡±


    She blinked and looked behind her. ¡°Is it¡­ that different?¡±


    Raegan rolled his eyes. ¡°Obviously. Someone could be lucky, but that doesn¡¯t mean they¡¯re any more likely to succeed a King, right? The Sages can change the path of someone¡¯s life completely.¡± He held up his hand to look at it. ¡°I know because I can tell when the fortune around me changes compared to Fate. I do something different to Fate compared to fortune, but I¡¯m not sure what.¡± He covered his mouth as he yawned. ¡°But Fate can still make someone luckier if that¡¯s all you wanted to do.¡±


    The Paladin in the back frowned at the boy. ¡°Raegan¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, I shouldn¡¯t be discussing my abilities with others. Who cares.¡± Raegan pointed at Lucy. ¡°She already knows what I am, and probably knows more than you, Sir Albrecht, so until you can stop my sister from coming here each month then you may as well give up.¡±


    ¡°Hang on¡­ luck?¡± Sedric turned to stare at the boy, realising an important fact. ¡°You can mess with luck?¡± He stood up and slammed his hands on the coffee table, glaring at the kid. ¡°That means you did make me trip over and have all those accidents last month! I knew it!¡±


    ¡°Prove it,¡± Raegan stated smugly.


    Lucille sighed and leaned back on the couch as the two began to fight. She pinched her nose bridge when Scytale smirked and joined in too, taking jabs at both of them. Vincent and Annaliese looked content to just watch them bicker, looking amused, while the Paladin in the back seemed resigned to listening to the argument.


    Hargrave, as always, still didn¡¯t seem to know what he was doing there.


    Lucy decided that she would pour herself another cup of coffee because she knew, that once again, it would be a very long five days.


    ¡­


    -The next day-


    Lucille sat cross-legged on the floor of the living room, away from the couches. On the floor in front of her were thirty small white tokens. The two largest, roughly half the size of her palm, sat in the centre. Six slightly smaller tokens sat in a ring around those, then nine around them, and finally, thirteen of the smallest, barely the size of a bead, sat in the outermost circle.


    She tapped her fingers against her arm as she studied them, thinking deeply.


    The door opened to reveal a blonde-haired girl peeking in. Seeing that Lucy didn¡¯t appear too busy, Annaliese came over and crouched opposite Lucille. Jasten Albrecht silently stood guard near the doorway.


    The blonde-haired girl picked up one of the smaller tokens and squinted at it, trying to work out what it was. ¡°Hey, Lucy, what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m trying to figure out what skills I should gain through my skill books,¡± Lucille replied, still studying the tokens. ¡°Some will have to go to tiering up my skill, but due to a specific reason, I only want an opportunity to evolve my skills through the subskill slots.¡±


    The ¡®Unique¡¯ rarity of my second main skill won¡¯t change, but its ¡®capacity¡¯ will increase, allowing me to strengthen and increase its abilities with more Influence. I have no linked Aspects for the tiers to provide me with any benefit.


    Annaliese let out a hum, sitting down on the ground too. ¡°Then what are these tokens for?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re skill books.¡±


    Annaliese stared at her, then at the bead-sized object in her hand. She shakily placed it down, as if she would break it. ¡°I-I thought skill books were¡­ well, books!¡±


    In response, Lucy picked up one of the two biggest ones and pressed it. A light blue holographic projection of a blank book hovered above it before the book shut on its own and disappeared. ¡°They¡¯re only usable in Obelisks,¡± Lucy explained, placing the token down. ¡°But as you saw briefly, the System does have a reason for naming them ¡®skill books¡¯.¡±


    Annaliese frowned and pulled her knees up. ¡°Sir Albrecht and the Sages told me I can¡¯t get skills.¡±


    Lucille shook her head. ¡°Unfortunately, no. As a holder of the Prophetess of Fate Unique class, you can¡¯t level up or complete the Stages, and while you can still have a ¡®Rank¡¯, it only increases when you unlock your other main skills.¡±


    Annaliese looked grumpy. ¡°Is it only the Prophetess who has to deal with this or are all Unique classes like this?¡±


    ¡°The Eternal Empire¡¯s Emperor is also restricted, but he still has combat abilities that he retains from before he becomes Emperor,¡± Lucy stated calmly. ¡°The Prophetess of Fate class is just a non-combatant class with only support capabilities.¡±


    Lucy¡¯s response made the girl scowl, but Annaliese shuffled closer to look at the skill books.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re thinking of what skills to get?¡± the Prophetess asked curiously.


    Lucille hummed as she inspected one of the two largest tokens. ¡°I have two Epic and six Rare skill books to use, as well as more than twenty combined uncommon and common ones. The only question is though¡­ what skills?¡±


    Annaliese¡¯s eyes brightened and she clapped her hands together. ¡°Ooh! If you have Epic skill books you could get those really amazing skills like sending out massive blasts of ice, o-or maybe a teleportation one like the Radiance abilities Sir Albrecht uses-¡±


    Lucy shot her an amused look but shook her head. ¡°Spatial fusion element skills are only available from Legendary onwards. And I don¡¯t need to use a skill to create blasts of ice when I can do that with magic.¡±


    ¡°¡­.oh.¡± Annaliese slumped. She leaned back on her arms, looking somewhat lost. ¡°Then¡­ what are you planning on doing?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm, well¡­¡± Lucille tapped her fingers against her arm. ¡°I want to improve my combat abilities and cover for any basic weaknesses. Maybe I should work on gaining a movement ability¡­¡± The door of the living room creaked open and they looked up to see a golden-eyed snake in human form sneaking into the room.


    Scytale placed a finger on his lips to shush them as he crept behind the couch they were beside and warily peaked over, looking at the door.


    ¡°If you can¡¯t think of anything, then you could get a nice stealth skill for me with those skill books,¡± he whispered to Lucy, still watching the door. ¡°I might need one very soon.¡±


    Lucille shot him a flat look as Annaliese blinked. ¡°Are you hiding from someone?¡±


    ¡°Shhhhh!¡± he hissed, making her hastily cover her mouth. He carefully glanced back at the door and released a sigh of relief to see nobody had opened it. ¡°Sedric got mad at me for no reason and now he¡¯s ganging up with Raegan to find me,¡± the snake told them.


    ¡°No¡­ reason¡­¡± Lucy repeated dryly.


    He avoided eye contact. ¡°Maybe I interrupted Sedric when he was getting to the important part of making an item and it broke¡­ but it wasn¡¯t my fault!¡±


    Scytale and Annaliese flinched as the door slammed open to reveal a scowling Sedric and Raegan in the hallway. Raegan pointed at the couch. ¡°He¡¯s there!¡±


    Scytale hastily shuffled back to hide behind Lucy, looking over her shoulder. ¡°If you want to get to me, you¡¯re going to have to go through her first!¡±


    Lucille whacked the back of her bond¡¯s head as the other two approached. ¡°That is not how the saying goes.¡±


    He stuck his tongue out at her as he rubbed his head. Then he yelped as Sedric grabbed him and dragged him away by one arm.


    Raegan grabbed the other arm and they took him over to the double doors of the kitchen. Sedric pulled out what seemed to be a cord of braided metal, a clasp with a single jewel on the front. They raised the snake¡¯s hands above his head and tied him to the door handles.


    ¡°Uh¡­ what¡¯s this?¡± Scytale asked, eyeing his new handcuffs with suspicion.


    Raegan looked at Sedric. ¡°Will he be able to escape if he turns into his serpent form?¡±


    ¡°Not likely. I enchanted the braid with a shrinking and growing enchantment, so if he changes size it will too,¡± Sedric replied, crossing his arms.


    The dark-haired boy smirked and crouched, poking Scytale¡¯s cheek. ¡°Someone is in a bit of a situation, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°Hang on, don¡¯t do this! Let me out!¡± Scytale yelled.


    Sedric ignored them both to walk back to the living room¡¯s entrance. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m going to continue crafting in peace.¡± He glanced back and narrowed his eyes at Raegan. ¡°This truce is now over.¡±


    Raegan rolled his eyes as Sedric left and then gained a wicked grin as he spotted Scytale trying to wriggle free of his enchanted metal ropes. He stood up and then left the room, clearly having a scheme in mind. Scytale watched him leave nervously, and when the dark-haired boy was gone, he turned to Lucy with wide eyes for help.


    ¡°Hey, Lucy! My one and only bond! Won¡¯t you lend me a hand?!¡±


    Lucille uncrossed her legs and then lounged sideways across the ground, propping her head up with one arm. She lazily tossed a skill book token up and down and pretended not to hear the noisy snake¡¯s pleas.


    ¡°Lucy! Don¡¯t you have it in you to help me?! I¡¯m about to be tortured!¡± Scytale struggled and kicked fruitlessly, going nowhere. ¡°I. Really. Need. These. Chains. Off!¡± He sagged as he breathed heavily, out of breath and still no closer to escaping. Then he thrashed around again with renewed strength. ¡°I knew you were just a cold-hearted psychopath! Have you no sympathy?! What about the hundred and fifty years we spent together!¡±


    Annaliese tilted her head, slightly confused by the number. ¡°A hundred and fifty?¡±


    Lucy ignored her bond to hum and roll onto her back, an arm behind her head as she held the skill book token up to the light. ¡°Maybe I should try¡­ a few other skills?¡±


    After all, it¡¯s not just the Aspects of the other races I can use. That doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯d be able to use demonic, necromantic or spirit magic without the corresponding demonic power, death mana or a unique spirit talent though¡­


    ¡°Argh! Is that really that important right now, Lucy?!¡± Scytale complained, still trying to escape.


    She turned her head to give her bond a look with an eyebrow raised. ¡°That is what I had come in here to contemplate originally.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m this close to being murder-¡±


    The door of the living room opened again to reveal the smirking Raegan with a large clear jug of water in his hand. He had gone the long way to enter the kitchen as Scytale was blocking the first entrance, and so was now holding the fruit of his efforts.


    ¡°Do you have any idea what this is, Scytale?¡± Raegan asked with an air of smug self-confidence.


    Scytale eyed the jug full of what looked like water, hesitating for a moment, and then he realised. He shivered and tried to shuffle up against the door, away from Raegan. ¡°I¡¯m a snake, we¡¯re cold-blooded creatures! It¡¯s bad for our health if we get too cold!¡±


    Raegan just snickered and marched closer, raising the jug above the snake¡¯s head. ¡°Too bad for you¡­¡± He grinned. ¡°You¡¯re just a human right now.¡± And he dumped the jug of ice-cold water all over the golden-eyed boy¡¯s head.


    Scytale, not wanting Raegan to get away with his revenge so easily, decided to retaliate in the most annoying way possible. He let out the loudest scream he possibly could.


    Raegan grimaced as he clasped his hands over his ears, Annaliese and Lucy winced, and Jasten Albrecht scowled at the snake. The sound of rushing footsteps was heard as the door opened to reveal a worried-looking Vincent.


    ¡°Is everything alright? I thought I just heard Scytale¡­ scream¡­¡± He took in the appearance of the shivering, soaked-to-the-skin humanoid snake, the jug in Raegan¡¯s hand, and sighed. ¡°I see. I¡¯ll just return to my work then.¡±


    As he went to turn around another person with red hair poked their head in, looking very confused. ¡°What just¡­¡± Hargrave stared at the bedraggled Scytale. ¡°¡­are you okay, Scytale?¡±


    ¡°Of course he is, he just wanted to ensure everybody could hear how distressing being soaked with chilled water was,¡± Lucille stated dryly. ¡°Please, continue what you were doing Hargrave, and ignore all sounds coming from Scytale¡¯s mouth from now on. Ninety per cent of the time, it will be useless information, I can promise you.¡±


    ¡°Hey! What about the last ten per cent!¡± he pointed out.


    Lucy waved her bond off. ¡°Then we¡¯ll aim to give you a decent burial.¡±


    Hargrave slowly nodded as the snake scowled at her, and made a move to leave the room, until Annaliese suddenly said, ¡°Why doesn¡¯t Hargrave help you with your skills, Lucy? If he fought with Scytale then he must know something!¡±


    Lucy considered it and nodded. ¡°Actually, that¡¯s a good idea. Never mind that, Hargrave. Come pull up a chair and sit near us,¡± she told him, pointing to a spot on the ground near Annaliese and her.


    ¡°I¡­ what? Skills?¡± he asked, confused.


    ¡°Lucy has tons of skill books to use up!¡± Annaliese happily informed him. ¡°She wants to know what she should get with them!¡±


    ¡°But how am I supposed to¡­¡±


    Annaliese stood up and once again grabbed his wrist to pull him over. ¡°Come on, this way!¡±


    Lucy smirked as the ex-mercenary and future Prismatic Dragon Ruler sat down with them, still very bewildered about the situation. She closed her eyes and laid down her head on her arms as they began their conversation, Scytale and Raegan bickering in the corner of the room.


    All in all, the second day of Annaliese¡¯s second visit was actually quite pleasant.


    But Lucille wasn¡¯t going to admit that to anyone.

 Chapter 62 (1 of 2) A new norm of the Aurelian Commission.

    Standing before a mirror, Lucille rubbed her face with water. In just a moment, she would get changed and begin her day, but just as she put down the face towel she was using to dry her face¡­


    [Initiating Communication Channel with User Lucille Goldcroft]


    She stared at the message with a strange expression, finding it absurd that the Authorizer would have any reason to talk to her with the communication Status Modifier. The Demon Emperor and her were already going to meet in the last week of March, as was in their demonic contract, so there shouldn¡¯t be any reason to contact each other.


    The notification appeared, and she cocked an eyebrow when she saw the message.


    [Message from User ############ ###########-#########: I¡¯ll be unavailable in the last week of March. Come another time. And don¡¯t you dare come after the fifteenth because if I have to put up with you visiting me twice within a timeframe shorter than a month I¡¯ll-]


    [Communication Channel has closed]


    That guy is so temperamental.


    It seemed that the realisation that Lucy had to revisit him in March had triggered his anger again. She didn''t know how he managed to keep such a pleasant and calm demeanour when dealing with anyone with his Archduke clone.


    Maybe he had a split personality¡ªone personality for interacting with others, and another for interacting with only her. Of course, the personality for interacting with her utterly detested her.


    Lucy shook her head and left her bathroom. She had already told Vincent that she needed to leave the week after for reasons relating to Ravimoux, and her aide had agreed with her plans, so she¡¯d just take a detour on the way.


    An inter-dimensional detour. Through the Demon Realm and Daemonium Palace Stronghold. And stopping for an hour or two to deal with a Demon Emperor who wanted her dead.


    ¡­she wouldn¡¯t be getting one relaxing day this week at all.


    After getting changed, she left her room and entered the hallways of the Commission.


    She opened the door of her living room and walked in. Sitting on her couch was Vincent, who was drinking a cup of tea.


    He glanced back and raised an eyebrow. ¡°Decided against an early start today?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be needing my rest this week,¡± she replied. Lucy walked over to her kitchen doors, looked down, and planted her hands on her hips. ¡°Scytale.¡±


    Snoozing on the ground, a braided metal rope keeping his wings and body trapped, was a silvery snake. Lucille clapped once to wake the serpent up.


    ¡°Huh? Wha?¡± He blinked blearily and shook his head when he saw who woke him. ¡°Ugh, Lucy, wake me up more gently.¡±


    ¡°I recall you had managed to free yourself from the confines of Sedric¡¯s item last night so how come I find you trapped here again?¡± she asked, raising an eyebrow.


    With a yawn, the snake shifted into his human form. ¡°Raegan and Sedric got into a fight, I tried to break it up, but things happened and now I¡¯m here again.¡±


    The correct interpretation being that Scytale had added fuel to the fire and the fire decided to gang up on him to burn his ego down.


    ¡°I see.¡± Lucy rolled her eyes and crouched to unlock the cuffs. With the correct complex application of her mana, the clasp unlocked, allowing the cuffs to fall to the ground.


    Scytale rubbed his wrists and stretched. ¡°Much better.¡±


    ¡°Lucy¡­¡±


    They glanced back as a sleepy voice was heard. The door opened to reveal a blonde-haired girl with messy bed hair, rubbing her eyes to get rid of the sleep dust. She was wearing a white nightrobe and was still holding her pillow as she stepped in. ¡°What¡¯s for breakfast?¡±


    ¡°Breakfast?¡± Scytale sat up straighter. ¡°Oooh, I like that word. Yes, Lucy, what¡¯s for breakfast?¡±


    Before Lucille could answer, loud heavy footsteps could be heard marching down the hallway, and then the door slammed open. Jasten Albrecht glared at the girl and grabbed her arm to pull her out. ¡°The Prophetess of Fate does not greet people in her nightwear, especially if just to ask to eat!¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m hungry, Sir Albrecht! You don¡¯t understand because a Rank-5 like you doesn¡¯t need that much food or drink anymore!¡±


    ¡°Oh, I can assure you that I will be drinking plenty the moment I get a break from dealing with you two, and it will not be water!¡±


    Their arguing became distant, leaving the living room in silence. The three of them exchanged amused looks until a third person stuck their head in. Raegan narrowed his eyes at them. ¡°Hey, is the kitchen in here stocked or has Scytale eaten everything already?¡±


    Lucy let out a sigh as Vincent chuckled. She shook her head wryly. ¡°It seems I¡¯ll need to ask the staff to bring everyone¡¯s morning meal here.¡±


    ¡­


    Lucille was sipping coffee when her living room door was opened again to reveal a properly dressed Annaliese. She marched over to the couches to sit next to Lucy as another individual slowly entered the room.


    ¡°¡­why did you bring me here, Prophet-¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Annaliese!¡± she interrupted, pointing at the speaker.


    Hargrave gazed at her with bemusement. ¡°I can¡¯t just¡­ call the Prophetess of Fate by her first name.¡±


    The Headquarters¡¯ local Paladin nodded appreciatively as he walked forward to cross his arms in front of Annaliese. ¡°That¡¯s common sense. Unfortunately, it looks like someone still needs to learn what common sense entails.¡± He narrowed his eyes at the blonde-haired girl.


    Annaliese looked away. ¡°Aren¡¯t we having food?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s over here on this table and the coffee table,¡± Lucy called out, pointing to the tables.


    The Prophetess¡¯s eyes brightened and she ran over. ¡°Yay! Breakfast!¡±


    Jasten Albrecht ran a gauntleted hand through his wild hair, looking very weary and exasperated by the girl¡¯s behaviour. Raegan was already eating a bowl of fruit covered in mounds of cream and sugar. He seemed to have enjoyed the lack of the Paladin¡¯s supervision when it came to his eating habits.


    Lucille gave Sir Albrecht a side-eye. ¡°Do you still think being their guard is better than dealing with the Sages?¡±


    He shot her a flat look, but instead of ignoring her or acting irritated that she had brought up something she knew about him, he just sighed. ¡°Look, they¡¯re not bad kids¡­ well, the Prophetess isn¡¯t ¨C but when I joined the Citadel as an apprentice knight, I did not expect, several years later, to be the guardian of two teenage orphans, and essentially become their parental figure.¡± He shuddered slightly. ¡°Especially not at thirty-two.¡±


    The Paladin frowned and crossed his arms. ¡°But this is still better than being involved in the destruction of another noble house or kingdom.¡±


    In her perception field, Lucy could see Raegan watching them intently, likely eavesdropping. She turned to the bearded man. ¡°They would probably give you less trouble if they fully trusted you. But with your first introduction to the ¡®Antithesis¡¯ and the role he plays¡­¡± She turned away and shrugged as she walked off. ¡°If you let that slip you may face many difficulties.¡±


    Jasten Albrecht watched her solemnly as she went over to the main table. Lucy stopped to give Raegan a pointed look, making him hastily avert eye contact.


    Hargrave crossed his arms, watching everything with a strange expression. ¡°Commission Head¡­ was I brought here to have breakfast?¡±


    In the middle of picking up a bread roll, she glanced back and raised an eyebrow. ¡°How would I know? The one who abducted you is over there, not here.¡± She pointed at Annaliese.


    ¡°Ab¡­ducted?¡± He saw who she was pointing at. ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± Annaliese, with a mouth full of berries from her breakfast of fruit, blinked when faced with the attention. ¡°Oh, Ham¡¯gave?¡± She chewed and swallowed before smiling. ¡°I came across him and wanted him to enjoy breakfast with us too! He¡¯s one of your friends, right Lucy?¡±


    Hargrave shook his head. ¡°No, that¡¯s not-¡±


    ¡°So, why did a staff member tell me to come here now?¡± Sedric stuck his head in the room. ¡°Uhuh. Food is the reason, I guess.¡± Not yet wearing his leather apron and gloves, he walked in and picked up a slice of buttered bread, then sat down on the couch. ¡°Well, Lucille probably won¡¯t let me leave so I may as well enjoy myself.¡±


    ¡°Please be careful how you phrase your words, Sedric,¡± Lucy replied wryly. ¡°You almost made it sound like you believe I want you in my presence.¡±


    He looked over his shoulder at her with a mildly disgusted expression, but Annaliese, who had finished her meal, walked up to a certain red-haired ex-mercenary.


    ¡°You¡¯re really tall, Hargrave,¡± she began cheerfully. ¡°And if you fought Scytale, then you must be strong. What kind of job do you have?¡±


    He gazed hesitantly at her. Annaliese¡¯s eyes brightened as an idea came to her and she continued talking before Hargrave could answer, ¡°Were you a knight maybe? Or a guard of some kind? Perhaps a Guilder or adventurer?¡±


    Hargrave shot Lucy a glance for help. She smirked and leaned against the couch, curious about how this was going to play out.


    Then Annaliese paused and frowned slightly. ¡°Although, maybe you don¡¯t have the right element for those jobs? And do you even wield a weapon?¡± She blinked at Hargrave, deeply curious.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    He took a step back and she stepped forward, waiting for his answer. Shooting Lucille a frustrated look when it became clear the Prophetess wasn¡¯t going to back off, he sighed and rubbed the back of his head. ¡°I¡­ have an affinity for blood. And I wield a spear.¡± He crossed his arms, not wanting to say more. ¡°I¡¯ve done many different jobs,¡± he finished firmly.


    Annaliese narrowed her eyes. ¡°What kind of jobs?¡±


    Hargrave sighed again. ¡°Jobs like fighting p- I mean, things¡­¡± he awkwardly corrected himself, likely realising telling a sixteen-year-old that he used to kill people for a living wasn¡¯t a great idea.


    The girl tilted her head. ¡°Monsters?¡±


    ¡°¡­yes, I¡¯ve killed monsters.¡±


    Annaliese nodded like she had expected that response all along and sat back down. Hargrave breathed a sigh of relief that the girl had stopped asking questions, and after looking around to see that everyone was occupied, awkwardly took a bread roll off the table and sat on a couch.


    A few minutes later, Vincent, who had been enjoying his meal silently, checked his wristwatch. ¡°It appears it¡¯s time for me to begin my work. The crafters we plan to employ for a project have arrived, as well as some potential future employees, so¡­¡± He turned to Lucy. ¡°What do you plan to do?¡±


    She hummed, looked around, and then nodded. ¡°As much as you are supposed to be my replacement, I can¡¯t avoid meeting the employees or craftsmen.¡± She grabbed her cane that was leaning against a couch and walked over to the door. ¡°I¡¯ll meet them with you.¡±


    Vincent nodded and followed, but then a certain blonde-haired girl¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°Wait, if Lucy¡¯s gone, then what are we supposed to do?!¡± Annaliese exclaimed.


    Lucille and Vincent traded glances and then shrugged. They shut the door of the living room behind them.


    ¡­


    ¡°-and from what I could tell, the majority of them seem willing to accept the contract,¡± Caius reported to Lucy as she sat behind her desk. ¡°As expected, their primary aim of accepting the job offer was to become part of the Commission¡¯s central powers due to their inability to involve themselves in their clans¡¯ central politics.¡±


    She nodded thoughtfully, reading the letters of those who accepted the requests for them to come to the Commission¡¯s Headquarters so Lucy and Vincent could see if they were fit to become part of her internal affairs department. ¡°And the crafters of the clans?¡±


    Caius bowed. ¡°They were very intrigued by the concept of a ¡®train¡¯, and showed excitement and ambition at the prospect of being involved in the implementation of such an innovative machine.¡±


    ¡°If we¡¯re on the topic of trains, Lucille¡­¡± Jacques walked in and placed some forms on Lucy¡¯s desk with a smirk. ¡°I showed the preliminary plans of the train to Alichanteu¡¯s crafting nobility clans and they requested to know more details. Additionally, they asked to meet the one who designed the plans in person.¡±


    She raised an eyebrow. ¡°And your response?¡±


    The ponytailed man shrugged. ¡°I said they were part of the Commission and I would contact them to let them know if a meeting could be arranged, but besides that, I didn¡¯t leak a thing.¡± Then Jacques hesitated. ¡°Although¡­ I¡¯m worried there might be complications¡­¡±


    Lucy, who had been writing something down, looked up. ¡°Complications?¡±


    ¡°The, uh, leading crafter of those clans is a dwarf,¡± Jacques replied. ¡°I only showed him the train¡¯s rough plans as you requested and didn¡¯t have time to discuss the reason for the vehicle or its logistical purpose, so he may think someone got their hands on blueprints of a dwarven railway fortress,¡± he explained.


    ¡°Ah, so he believes someone may have illegally acquired the blueprints for a moving fortress,¡± she mused. Lucille nodded. ¡°Next time you meet, inform him and his clan members of the purpose of this train. I¡¯ll explain the operations of the train when we meet in person so he will understand that the mechanisms are completely different.¡±


    Jacques and Caius nodded, but then Vincent walked in, adjusting his glasses as he looked at a letter in his hand. ¡°Lucy, I¡¯ve just received word that Count Ravimoux intends on meeting you when you go to the Black Lily Casino,¡± he told her. ¡°The courier didn¡¯t provide any explanation as to why he was coming.¡±


    She took the letter from it, and after unsealing it with a small knife, she read the message. After a moment, she held her chin with one white-gloved hand. ¡°He wants to discuss the internal affairs department and my plans for it.¡±


    Vincent frowned. ¡°Is he against the creation of this department?¡±


    She hummed and re-read the letter. ¡°It doesn¡¯t appear so. He says he also wishes to discuss something else, although his comments on the internal affairs department are related to the organisation involved.¡±


    ¡°I see. Ravimoux does know of this obscure organisation that I have never heard of in my entire life,¡± Vincent remarked dryly.


    Lucy sighed and put down the letter. ¡°Yes, Vincent, they exist. Now, what else do we have on the agenda for today?¡±


    He walked forward to pass over a second, opened envelope. ¡°Just some requests from nobles allied with the Citadel asking to meet the Prophetess. I declined, obviously.¡± Then he paused and looked at Jacques. ¡°Jacques, has progress been made with the Counties¡¯ reports on the profitability of the competition?¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Jacques nodded. ¡°Evisenhardt and Chavaret said that so far, it looks like it would be very beneficial if it ran this year as well, although they can¡¯t yet estimate the long-term profits as no nobles are confident enough yet in the Commission¡¯s claims to run this annually.¡±


    ¡°Alichanteu and Ravimoux have very different reports,¡± Caius spoke up. ¡°Alichanteu gained a 15% increase in the number of crafters employed by them in the craftsmen zone, which is the largest they¡¯ve obtained in a single year. Ravimoux has reported an increase in the number of spies, as well as an increase in the total number of different clans, forces and Factions interested in the Aurelian Commission.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s to be expected. A new leader, new plans, and new movements, as well as the Prophetess of Fate coming here,¡± Lucille stated. ¡°But I¡¯m glad to know that the Counties deem the competition a success and wish to do it again.¡±


    She took another look at the documents in front of her. ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, then let¡¯s disperse to deal with our duties.¡±


    Caius and Jacques dipped their heads and left, and Vincent held up the documents in his hands. ¡°I¡¯ll take these contracts over to the internal affairs department members after reading through Ravimoux¡¯s report about the background of these members.¡±


    After Lucille nodded, he left the study too. She signed her name on one last page before standing up and taking her jacket off the back of her chair. She pulled it on and then left as she hummed a tune.


    Now, shall we see what the former-timeline Templar of High Justice wants with me?


    ¡°Sir Jasten Albrecht.¡±


    The wild and blond-haired man who was leaning against a wall with his arms crossed, looked up. His brows were creased and he looked worried, or perhaps apprehensive about something. He sighed and ran a gauntleted hand through his hair when he saw her. ¡°So you came out.¡±


    Lucille nodded as she approached him. ¡°I may have to return to my work later in the afternoon, but currently, I¡¯m free.¡± She smiled and tilted her head at him. ¡°Free to converse with you, as I presume was what you wanted.¡±


    His frown deepened as she hummed and looked around. ¡°Are your two wards not nearby?¡±


    He glanced down the corridor behind her and then returned his steel-grey gaze to her. ¡°They¡¯re within my senses,¡± he stated curtly.


    ¡°I see.¡± Her smile widened and she turned around, a hand held behind her back. She gestured to him with the other. ¡°Then will you care to be my escort temporarily, Sir Albrecht?¡±


    He eyed her warily but silently followed her, matching his pace to hers. He was only a few steps away as they walked through the empty hallways of the Commission¡¯s Headquarters. She had purposely chosen to walk along the hallways free of people, and she was sure the Paladin behind her was aware of that.


    Sometime along the way, she stopped to look at a large enchanted painting. With potent alchemical paints forming the surface of the artwork, several figures in the comprehensive battle scene appeared to be moving, with red clouds drifting across the background. Lucille clasped both her hands behind her back. ¡°There¡¯s nobody around, Sir Albrecht.¡±


    The Paladin didn¡¯t reply, so she turned around and smirked at him. ¡°Well, come on, I don¡¯t have all day. What did you want to discuss?¡±


    He crossed his arms as he studied her, his face expressionless. Then slowly, he replied, ¡°You¡¯re now acting like you did when you first met me.¡±


    ¡°Ha, yes.¡± Lucy crossed her own arms and tilted her head again, still smirking. ¡°I act this way around people whose motives and intentions are unknown so my motives and intentions are just as vague. Of course, I do just enjoy seeing the faces of people who attempt to understand me.¡± Her smile dimmed somewhat. ¡°In your case, however, I can¡¯t say I¡¯m enjoying it, as you still haven¡¯t told me your question.¡±


    He narrowed his eyes and then sighed. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll ask my question. Lucille Goldcroft.¡± He leaned forward, his face solemn. ¡°What is Raegan?¡±


    His question was¡­ unexpected. Even for Lucy. She stared at him for a moment. Then she put a fist up to her mouth and coughed. ¡°I¡­ well, he¡¯s human.¡±


    The flat look she earned made her roll her eyes and wave him off. ¡°I was caught somewhat off guard, just wait a moment. I know what you¡¯re asking. But what makes you think I know the answer?¡± she asked with a raised eyebrow, pointing at herself. ¡°I have mentioned the ¡®antithesis¡¯ before, but do you believe even I could know something that the Sages seem to have buried so deeply over the ages?¡±


    Jasten Albrecht shook his head. ¡°You know more than me. And that¡¯s enough for me to want to find out what it is that you know.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± Lucille studied him with narrowed eyes and then leaned against the wall. ¡°Sir Albrecht, I know what little I¡¯ve managed to hypothesize from the ancient records kept in the highest tower of Pedestal. Nothing more than that.¡±


    ¡°And how do you know what is kept in the highest tower of Pedestal?¡± he asked with suspicion.


    ¡°I snuck into the Great Sage¡¯s inherited personal library and read everything in there,¡± she stated blandly.


    He stared at her. ¡°What-¡±


    ¡°Why, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Lucy tilted her head. ¡°Are you confused why I¡¯m telling you this? Not to worry, you can¡¯t prove I ever entered. I¡¯m sure you haven¡¯t heard any rumours about the Great Sage¡¯s quarters being compromised, so even if you told them something¡­ if nothing was found then you¡¯d be treated as an idiot.¡± She spread her arms and shrugged. ¡°Are you still willing to hear what I have to say when you can¡¯t verify the source?¡±


    The Paladin scowled. ¡°Stop trying to side-track me and get to the point. Yes, I want to know what you think about the boy.¡±


    Lucille smirked and got up from the wall. ¡°Then I¡¯ll answer. But keep in mind that all I say is only based on theories and very sparse and limited information.¡± She began walking again and he followed.


    ¡°Higher elements should not, in fact, be called ¡®elements¡¯ at all,¡± Lucy began, to the man¡¯s clear confusion at the unrelated topic. ¡°They¡¯re compound forces and concepts bound together to become unique energies. So unique that any Higher element is supposed to be used only by its creator.¡± She glanced over her shoulder at him. ¡°A Higher element is strongest when used by its creator because only the creator has the right conceptual understanding of the element to use it to the peak of its power. Every Paragon Anomaly has their own Higher element that no one else can use.¡±


    She stopped to look out a window. ¡°Higher elements don¡¯t necessarily involve the essential elements or mid-level elements at all. The Death Monarch¡¯s Styx essence is made from death mana, not elemental mana. But Fate essence is made from only light mana and concepts.¡± Lucy pointed at him. ¡°Let¡¯s assume for now that the System treats Annaliese as having the qualities and conceptual understanding to wield Fate essence as if she created the element. There could be several reasons for that, but they¡¯re not relevant right now.¡±


    She spread her hands. ¡°Then how can Raegan possibly negate a Higher element with his own power?¡± Lucy held up a finger for the Paladin behind her as she began to walk again. ¡°That brings me to another fact about Higher elements. Sometimes, the Higher elements either naturally find their place in the function of the realms, or have such specific purposes that the realms allow them to exist without severe limitations. Powerful Higher elements, however¡­¡± She stopped and turned to face him with a grin. ¡°For them to exist, their contrasting, opposite, or dichotomous element must exist. Another Higher element with power equal to them.¡±


    She smiled and spread her hands again. ¡°I can¡¯t say for sure, and nobody could prove it, but if the realms and the System believe ¡®Fate¡¯ to break the natural balance of the reality¡­¡± Lucy smirked. ¡°Then the balancing factor must exist too. In this instance, it¡¯s Raegan. He might have the power of an unknown Higher element that functions as ¡®Anti-Fate¡¯.¡±


    Lucille shrugged. ¡°As for how that element works¡­ I don¡¯t know. But the Sages know that if Raegan manages to ¡®bestow¡¯ his element on others, as the creator of Fate essence did, which resulted in the formation of the Citadel of Fate, then he won¡¯t just be a threat to the Citadel on his own.¡± She narrowed her eyes. ¡°He could manage to create a force with the power to contradict the Citadel.¡±


    With that ending statement, the hallway was left in complete silence. Jasten Albrecht had a solemn look on his face as he held his chin, gazing at the floor while deep in thought. Lucille watched him consider this without an expression on her face.


    Then Lucy clapped her hands, drawing his attention. ¡°I could also be totally wrong about this all and Raegan just has the ability to grant really bad luck,¡± she remarked casually as if everything was perfectly fine. ¡°I¡¯d suggest you forget everything I just said and go back to being the tired Paladin who has to deal with two difficult teenagers.¡± She smirked coldly. ¡°Who knows, if the Sages detect you know something then that might be it for your career¡­ and possibly life.¡±


    Instead of seeming particularly upset or worried, he looked up and gave her an irritated look. ¡°I¡¯m not insane enough to attempt something like asking for a pay rise because of this,¡± he told her.


    Lucy grinned. ¡°If you do end up asking them, please invite me to watch. I¡¯d love to know how they¡¯d react.¡±


    He rolled his eyes as he stepped back, looking ready to leave. After giving her a brief glance, he held his chin, thought for a moment, and watched her seriously. ¡°Lucille Goldcroft¡­ you were upset on the day the Prophetess left the Commission last year. Your reaction then seems at odds with your personality.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ that.¡± She sighed and looked away. ¡°The last time someone bowed to me like that wasn¡¯t because of very pleasant circumstances. It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s not relevant anymore.¡±


    When a young girl with such a large burden as her bows to you and thanks you for saving the realms while sobbing her heart out after you had just destroyed half of the origin plane of her Institution¡­


    ¡­even someone like Lucille couldn¡¯t help but be impacted.


    ¡­


    ¡°I win!¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± A humanoid snake with silver hair rubbed his chin as he inspected the cards on the floor, feeling sceptical that the girl¡¯s claims were correct.


    The blonde-haired girl in question was grinning with her hands held up in the air, clearly feeling triumphant and sure of her victory.


    The third member of their card game, her dark-haired brother, was also eyeing her cards dubiously. He glanced at his own pile, compared them with hers, and narrowed his eyes. ¡°Didn¡¯t we say that usage of abilities was forbidden, Anna?¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± she exclaimed, horrified that Raegan would even accuse her of something like that. ¡°I didn¡¯t use my powers at all! This was all because of my skill!¡± She looked behind her. ¡°Isn¡¯t that right, Hargrave?¡±


    The scarlet-haired ex-mercenary sitting on a chair didn¡¯t respond, flipping a page of his book over. Annaliese poked him. ¡°Hey, Hargrave! I wasn¡¯t cheating, was I?¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± He blinked and looked down. ¡°Sorry, did you need me for something? I haven¡¯t been paying attention for the last hour¡­¡±


    Annaliese scowled as the two boys snickered. She turned back and crossed her arms with a huff. ¡°Anyway, I didn¡¯t cheat. You¡¯re just sore I won four of the last five rounds.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I feel like Raegan¡¯s got a point,¡± Scytale said, trying to stack his cards to make a house. ¡°I mean, I taught you both this game today, so it¡¯s pretty unlikely for you to win so often without an element of magical hocus pocus floating around.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, what he said. You used too much¡­¡± Raegan paused and gestured vaguely with his hands. ¡°Hocus pocus or whatever.¡±


    Scytale crossed his arms and nodded sagely. ¡°Yes. Annaliese, if you keep this up, I¡¯m not sure how we can ever play card games together again. I mean, if you¡¯re just going to keep cheating every time¡­¡±


    Raegan clicked his tongue. ¡°I don¡¯t want a cheat for a sister.¡±


    ¡°I said I¡¯m not a cheat!¡± she replied, looking hurt. ¡°And why would it matter if I cheated, because both of you¡­¡± She hesitated as a thought struck her, and then her eyes widened. She angrily slammed her hands down on the floor. ¡°You¡¯re both immune to my abilities! I can¡¯t even cheat anyway! You¡¯re both just trying to make me believe I¡¯m in the wrong!¡±


    The two boys looked away and pretended to be distracted as she got angrier. When it got to the stage that Raegan had to plug his ears with his fingers to block the noise, Scytale waved at her to get her attention.


    ¡°Okay, okay, yes, I¡¯m sorry about the cheat thing,¡± he sighed, sitting up straight. ¡°We were both kidding.¡± Then he narrowed his eyes and raised a finger. ¡°But I will not kid about discussing our points.¡±


    Annaliese hesitated. ¡°Points?¡±


    Scytale nodded firmly. ¡°Yes. This game involves points. I¡¯ve been keeping a tally, and now have the final results.¡±


    She narrowed her eyes at him with suspicion. ¡°I think you¡¯re lying again.¡±


    ¡°What? Of course not.¡± He turned to Raegan. ¡°You¡¯ve heard me mention the points system before, haven¡¯t you Raegan? This time it¡¯s real, definitely.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± The dark-haired boy looked over his shoulder, from where he had been trying to stack leftover snack biscuits on Sedric¡¯s forehead, who was in fact asleep on the couch behind them. ¡°Uh, yeah, sure. Points system. I remember that.¡±


    ¡°See?¡± Scytale turned back to Annaliese. ¡°The points system works based on a bunch of things, and the goal is to get the most. You earn points for tons of stuff, such as being the quickest, being the loudest, being the most handsome-¡±


    ¡°Wait, why would being handsome-¡±


    ¡°-and so on and so on.¡± Scytale spread his arms grandly. ¡°So, I will now reveal our final scores! In third place, with negative fifty points, is Annaliese-¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°I see you¡¯ve been enjoying yourselves.¡±


    The feminine voice made them look over to see Lucille approaching them. She leaned forward to see what game they were playing. Then she gained a strange expression.


    Scytale flinched and averted eye-contact as she gave him an accusatory look. ¡°Scytale, you¡¯re scoring a Go Fish game?¡±


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m being creative and making things more fun!¡± he tried to justify himself. ¡°And it¡¯s not Go Fish, it¡¯s a new one I came up with myself. It¡¯s called ¡®Go Atlantean¡¯.¡±


    Lucy¡¯s expression became weirder, but Raegan cocked an eyebrow. ¡°Hang on, you definitely called this game ¡®Go Fish¡¯ when you explained it to us.¡±


    The snake grinned sheepishly. ¡°Oops, my mistake. Let¡¯s pretend it was called ¡®Go Atlantean¡¯ from the very start then.¡±


    Lucy rolled her eyes and sat down on the couch.


    Annaliese blinked and looked at her. ¡°Lucy, why don¡¯t you join us?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m much more interested in seeing what this amazing ¡®Go Fish¡¯ variant with a scoring system is and how it is played,¡± Lucille replied dryly. Then she tilted her head as an idea struck her. ¡°Although¡­¡±


    She slid off the couch and joined their circle. She collected all the cards, shuffled them, and dealt them out. With a smirk, she held up one card. ¡°How about I teach you another game? It¡¯s one of my favourites.¡±


    She passed them their piles and gained an evil grin. ¡°It¡¯s called ¡®Mao¡¯.¡±

 Chapter 62 (2 of 2) A new norm of the Aurelian Commission.

    A brown-haired man with a ponytail and strange goggles pushed up on his head had his arms crossed, gazing dubiously at the silver-haired boy in front of him.


    The boy was fiddling with a strange device that went around his neck, trying to get it into a comfortable position. ¡°Is it on properly?¡± Scytale asked, ready to begin his first day of work as being Sedric¡¯s test subject. ¡°I can¡¯t say I¡¯m too fond of wearing a choker. Aren¡¯t you being quite discriminatory, telling a magical beast to wear a collar around their neck?¡±


    Sedric narrowed his eyes. ¡°This was made for Lucille, not you. You¡¯re just testing it out.¡± He pointed to the device. ¡°Anyway, turn it on.¡±


    Scytale pressed the blue gemstone button in the centre of the item, making the gem glow. He coughed and tried to speak. ¡°Attention, attention, this is Captain Scytale speaking.¡±


    He blinked when the sound that came out of his throat wasn¡¯t himself but a distorted voice where only the words were distinguishable. Low and monotone, most would assume the speaker was male, except the voice was so modified that it could be either a man¡¯s or a woman¡¯s.


    Scytale spoke again. ¡°Is this how it works? Am I supposed to sound like I have a throat infection?¡±


    Sedric rubbed his chin as he walked around the snake, eyeing the item. ¡°When I asked for more details the other day, Lucille said she only needed it to mask her voice, not necessarily change it, so this should be fine. Not sure why she¡¯d need to disguise her voice though.¡±


    ¡°Probably to mess with whoever becomes her next enemy,¡± Scytale replied, turning the device off. He unclipped it at the back and put it back in Sedric¡¯s outstretched hand. ¡°From what I gleaned it has something to do with Ravimoux and the black market, but it¡¯s still a bit vague for me.¡±


    Scytale stretched his arms above his head and turned to walk up the stairs. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be off to see what the others are doing. They¡¯re all up in her living room.¡± He glanced back. ¡°Are you coming?¡±


    Sedric paused and then moved over to his workshop, flipping down a magnification ring on his goggles. ¡°Unlikely. I have these other items I need to craft for Lucille.¡±


    The snake shrugged and walked away. ¡°Suit yourself. But I¡¯m sure everyone would enjoy it if you came along too.¡±


    The door of the workshop closed, leaving Sedric to his own devices. He flipped the magnification glass back up and turned to look at the door. ¡°Enjoy it if I came along¡­ yeah right.¡± He went back to working on the items, fiddling with pieces of metal and engraving runes. A moment later he glanced back at the door. ¡°But what¡¯s so interesting that they¡¯re all up there again today?¡±


    He crossed his arms and frowned at the door, steadily getting more annoyed. ¡°Dammit, I just need to work on this and not think about them. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s nothing anyway,¡± he muttered.


    ¡­


    Several people in Lucy¡¯s living room looked up when the door of the room opened to reveal an awkward Sedric, slowly peeking into the room. His leather apron, gloves and goggles were gone, showing that he intended on staying for a while.


    Scytale, who was sitting on the back of one of the couches, widened his eyes. ¡°Hey, you did come!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well¡­¡± The crafter scratched the back of his head. ¡°I just came to see what all the fuss was about. I didn¡¯t really plan on staying¡­¡±


    Scytale wasn¡¯t fooled and smirked. ¡°You were feeling left out.¡±


    Sedric glared at him. ¡°No, I wasn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Suuuuure¡­¡± Scytale drawled, his grin getting wider.


    ¡°Do you want me here or not?¡± Sedric said through gritted teeth.


    The snake snickered but gestured for him to come over. Sedric sighed but sat down on the couch and glanced at the others there. ¡°What have you been doing?¡±


    Lucille looked up from the page she was reading. ¡°As you can see in my case, nothing much. But Annaliese and Raegan are arguing over who gets the last chocolate that the staff brought in.¡± She pointed over her shoulder, allowing Sedric to see them both.


    ¡°Uhuh¡­¡± he replied.


    Scytale looked at Lucy. ¡°Also, the voice item thing Sedric made seems to be functional. You must be shocked to hear that, I¡¯m sure.¡±


    Sedric scowled at the snake but Lucy shook her head. ¡°Not particularly. That item was easily within his capabilities.¡±


    A victorious cry sounded out as the blonde-haired girl behind them clenched her trophy in her hand. Her little brother clicked her tongue, looking annoyed.


    Annaliese quickly stuffed it in her mouth to prevent her brother from having any chance of taking it back from her, and then smugly walked over to the couches to sit down.


    ¡°I reign supreme as queen of chocolate,¡± she stated proudly.


    ¡°Whatever, Your Majesty. Just shove over so I can sit,¡± Raegan replied, pushing her. He collapsed onto the couch next to her with a groan. ¡°This place needs more couches.¡±


    ¡°Yes, well, my personal living room was not made for additional regular visitors,¡± Lucy remarked dryly.


    Scytale snickered. ¡°Oh yeah, definitely. Lucy, wanting to have friends over? No way.¡± He gestured to her. ¡°This workaholic has subordinates or acquaintances. Although in Sedric¡¯s case¡­¡± He held his chin as he pondered it and nodded. ¡°Maybe a student. Just a really grumpy one.¡±


    ¡°What? Me? A student of her?¡± Sedric asked, looking disgusted.


    ¡°You must know Lucy really well, with how long you¡¯ve been bonded for,¡± Annaliese said, looking curious. ¡°I¡¯m always surprised by the fact Lucy has a bond.¡±


    The humanoid snake framed his face with his hands and smirked. ¡°You don¡¯t believe that the spoilsport over there could ever be bonded to such an intelligent, charismatic, amazing magical beast like me?¡±


    The door of the living room opened and Vincent stuck his head in. ¡°I would like to say that personally, I struggle to comprehend how Lucille would ever bond with someone who seems to revel in avoiding any possible opportunity to work at all times of the day,¡± he said with amusement.


    ¡°Let me just say that his demand avoidance characteristics were not obvious until after we bonded,¡± Lucy said flatly.


    ¡°Why are you even still with him?¡± Raegan asked, raising an eyebrow with scepticism.


    Hargrave, who was still reading like he had been the day before, looked up from his book, apparently finding the topic worth listening to.


    Scytale shrugged and reached for a glass of water on the table between the couches. ¡°I deigned to grace her with my presence. Plus, she¡¯s always had tons of money.¡±


    Lucille rolled her eyes. ¡°He said it himself. He follows me around for my money. And he¡¯s good at being a distraction for enemies. He¡¯s my one-User-fits-all cannon-fodder.¡±


    Scytale went to give a large nod with the glass in his hand but then registered her last statement and glared at her. Lucy picked up her mug of coffee from the table, and Annaliese leaned forward to gaze intently at the two of them.


    ¡°What¡¯s your relationship exactly?¡± she asked, her eyes narrowed. ¡°You¡¯ve been bonded for a long time, right? I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a normal friendship.¡± A suspicious look formed in her eyes. ¡°Is there something more between you?¡±


    Scytale spat out his sip of water and broke into a coughing fit, thumping his chest. Lucille, halfway through drinking her coffee, gained an expression that was like she had bitten into a lemon. She held up a hand to halt any more words as she swallowed her coffee, took a deep breath, and then let it out.


    ¡°I believe I¡¯ve just heard something deeply repulsive, so excuse me if I take some time to recover,¡± she replied weakly.


    Scytale looked behind him. ¡°Hey, Sir Albrecht! Does becoming the Prophetess of Fate come with a large dose of insanity? Because I think your Prophetess has gone more than a little cuckoo over here.¡±


    Annaliese glared at the snake and crossed her arms. ¡°I was only asking a question.¡±


    ¡°A question only someone who was insane would ask!¡± the snake exclaimed incredulously.


    Sedric cocked an eyebrow. ¡°Annaliese, I have to agree with Scytale on this one. I don¡¯t see it one little bit.¡±


    Vincent adjusted his glasses as he peered at the girl with mild bemusement. ¡°I must say, Miss Verdon, that I can¡¯t understand what gave you the impression that something lay between those two.¡±


    The blonde-haired girl sighed. ¡°I didn¡¯t really think that was the case. It¡¯s just¡­ if someone spent nearly all their life being bonded, they can¡¯t have a normal relationship.¡± She frowned. ¡°At least¡­ I don¡¯t think they can...¡±


    Lucille and Scytale traded eye-contact, their eyebrows raised. Lucy turned to the girl. ¡°Annaliese, we¡¯ve only been bonded for seven months.¡±


    The Prophetess hesitated. ¡°What? But¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ve only been bonded since Lucy became a User in July,¡± Scytale stressed.


    Annaliese blinked, confused. She went to open her mouth to speak again¡­


    ¡­and then Raegan slapped his hand over her mouth instead. ¡°Just shut up and stop being difficult for them, alright?¡± he said, looking mildly irritated. ¡°Drop the subject.¡±


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    Vincent coughed, likely to move the topic along and prevent Sedric, Hargrave, and Jasten Albrecht from dwelling on the Prophetess¡¯s words too much. He gestured to Scytale. ¡°I haven¡¯t heard the tale of how you two met. I believe that would be worth discussing.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I heard a bit about that from him, but not the whole thing,¡± Sedric said with a nod.


    Scytale smirked and spread his arms. ¡°Well then, it seems I simply must reveal my past to you all. Listen closely, my friends, about the journey of the youngest grandson of the Truth-Seizing Serpent Matriarch and his grand quest to leave the confines of his enclave¡­¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Bye Lucy!¡±


    Lucy gave the blonde-haired girl a weary smile as she placed her hands on her hips, watching the trio leave the Commission once more. Beside her was Vincent, Scytale, Sedric and Hargrave as well, who ended up being dragged by the Prophetess to join in on the farewell.


    Annaliese came up to Lucy and held out her arms. Lucy stared at her and took a step back. ¡°No, I¡¯m not-¡± She groaned as the girl hugged her, clearly not caring about her personal feelings.


    Annaliese gave the slightly surprised but smiling Scytale a hug too, and then stopped in front of Sedric. He narrowed her eyes and she narrowed her eyes back. Then she turned away and ignored him, walking over to Hargrave.


    The Prophetess frowned slightly. ¡°I¡¯d give you a hug but it would be awkward with your height.¡±


    Hargrave, clearly feeling extremely awkward and not knowing what to say, just stayed frozen on the spot. ¡°I¡­ please don¡¯t.¡±


    The blonde-haired girl beamed, and after waving to Vincent and saying goodbye to him, she walked over to her brother and Sir Albrecht.


    Lucille smirked and waved at the Paladin. ¡°I suppose we¡¯ll be seeing each other again in April too.¡±


    The blond-haired man sighed, pinching his nose bridge. Raegan rolled his eyes and turned around. ¡°Let¡¯s just get going already, Anna. If you stay then you¡¯ll never leave.¡±


    With one last goodbye to them all, she walked over to Sir Albrecht and Raegan and left. The other five were left in the silence.


    ¡°¡­they¡¯ll come here every month, huh,¡± Sedric said.


    Hargrave ran a hand down his face. ¡°Please no.¡±


    Vincent shook his head wryly, and the five of them returned to the lift that would take them to the fortieth floor of the Aurelian Commission¡¯s Headquarters.


    ¡­


    ¡°Will you be long?¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be,¡± she replied to her aide, adjusting her gloves. She was wearing her violet suit jacket, cane, the full ensemble, all ready for her meeting with Count Ravimoux. Her trip to another plane''s black market auction after visiting the Demon Emperor would occur a few days later, but she needed to arrange something with the black market first.


    With her cane in hand, Lucille gave Vincent a wave and turned to leave. ¡°If I¡¯m not back before evening, send a messenger to find out what happened. Other than that, I¡¯ll see you later.¡±


    He nodded as she left the Commission, heading towards her carriage. Once in, she calmly sat on one of the benches and waited for when she would arrive at the Black Lily Casino of Ravimoux.


    The carriage soon pulled to a stop, allowing her to step out. A servant waited near the door and bowed when she came close, ready to guide her to the Count. Following him up the stairs at the end of the busy main hall, she was led to the private VIP lounge of the Count.


    Standing by a window of dark tinted glass was the tall man with slicked-back black hair, his arms crossed as he looked out the window. When he heard her come in he glanced at her with his dark-green eyes, looking solemn for a brief moment. Then he smiled and nodded to the servant. ¡°You may go.¡±


    Now alone with Count Ravimoux, that strangely serious look quickly crossed his face again before he dipped his head to Lucille. ¡°We haven¡¯t met since the banquet, Miss Goldcroft.¡± He smirked. ¡°Or perhaps I should say¡­ Count Goldcroft.¡±


    ¡°Titles mean nothing if they don¡¯t grant benefits,¡± she replied with a smile. She nodded back. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to see you again, Count Ravimoux.¡±


    ¡°¡­yes, the same to you too.¡± He regarded her silently for a moment and then gestured to her with one hand. ¡°Now, I understand that asking to meet with you was unexpected and sudden, but I hope you¡¯ll excuse my abrupt request. I believe it¡¯s time for us to have a certain discussion, however.¡±


    Lucille tilted her head curiously as he stepped away from the windowsill. Then he pulled back the sleeve of his right arm, revealing the thick, coiling black tattoo she had seen when they had met for the first time.


    Count Ravimoux held up his arm, allowing her to see that the densely packed dark-element runic script was shifting and changing. A malevolent aura emanated from it.


    ¡°This must be a strange question to begin with, but I¡¯m curious¡­¡± Count Ravimoux smiled as he gazed at her. ¡°Do you know what this is?¡±


    Lucy blinked, watching the runes alter themselves again and again. After thinking, she inserted mana into her right eye, revealing the true form of the spell engraved into his flesh.


    Shaped like a howling wolf head attached to his arm, a cloud of hostile black runes shifted and morphed around the Count¡¯s arm, screaming with wrath and fury. Lucy smiled back. ¡°I have yet to see one of those in person, considering how rare they are, but Count Ravimoux¡­ are you perhaps afflicted by a sentient curse?¡±


    He chuckled, flexing his arm as he watched it. ¡°You¡¯re well educated. Indeed, this is a sentient curse. A volatile, near-uncontrollable force of violent emotions and the dark element forced into something reminiscent of pseudo-intelligence.¡± His smile became dark. ¡°There is a fascinating story behind how I obtained it. Do you wish to listen?¡±


    She nodded, following him as he walked back over to the window. Count Ravimoux pulled his sleeve back down and looked at the city below.


    ¡°You must be familiar with the tale that I killed all my siblings to ascend to Count,¡± he began. He glanced at her. ¡°That¡¯s correct, and I won¡¯t pretend I wasn¡¯t at fault. But I¡¯d like you to know that it was a bloody succession battle. If I didn¡¯t kill them, I would be killed instead. Because the man in control, my father, desired there to be only one victor.¡±


    He watched his hand as the curse curled around his fingers. ¡°So I killed, and killed, and killed. The first time I killed a sibling I was only twelve. They were prepared to strangle me in my sleep, so I stabbed them. Nine years ago, I killed my last sibling.¡± He turned around and smirked as he spread his hands. ¡°With that last bloody task complete, I decided I no longer cared about the succession. I resolved myself to kill my father, whether that would bar me from my inheritance or not. And as I stabbed my blade into his heart, do you know what I saw?¡±


    Count Ravimoux narrowed his eyes at Lucy. ¡°A wide smile. My father looked the happiest he had ever been, and he laughed, stating that his dream had finally been achieved. I discovered what he meant only a few seconds later.¡± He held up his cursed hand. ¡°This curse, branded onto my body. A bloodline Constitution passed down through the Ravimoux lineage, but one that had lost strength. And to renew its strength¡­¡± He shrugged. ¡°I needed to kill every direct blood-related family member. So, I had never escaped my father¡¯s control over me even after his death. I still played right into his hand.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Lucille mused, observing the curse on his arm. She gestured to him. ¡°But Count Ravimoux, I can¡¯t help but wonder why exactly you¡¯ve chosen to tell me this today. It feels very abrupt, as you stated earlier.¡±


    ¡°Well, you see, Count Goldcroft¡­¡± A strange smile formed on his face as he stretched out his arm as if to show her again. ¡°For the last nine years, this has been my weapon. And I have yet to lose a fight with it.¡±


    And then the howling wolfen curse enlarged and shot towards her.


    Lucy¡¯s eyes widened and she dived to the side, dodging the attack. Crashing into the wall, the wolf snarled and turned to face her. Lucille unsheathed Ouroboros but didn¡¯t bother to attack the curse, knowing that the blade wouldn¡¯t affect the mass of energy.


    Switching the elemental mana around her to light, she quickly cast a weak curse-removal spell, but the curse only growled and shattered it as it flew past. She changed her mana to wind mana and charged at Count Ravimoux with Ouroboros in her hand. He calmly withdrew a large knife from within his coat and blocked her attack.


    But what Lucy wanted to do wasn¡¯t attack him with her dagger. Count Ravimoux¡¯s eyes widened and he dropped to the ground, wheezing when faced with her soul pressure.


    The air rippled like water as she slowly walked forward, the force pushing down on the Count multiplying each second. Lucille smiled widely and crouched as the Count looked up, struggling to breathe. She placed her dagger edge under his chin.


    ¡°Regulus Fardevrio Ravimoux,¡± she stated casually, still smiling. ¡°What exactly did you just attempt?¡±


    Regulus Ravimoux gained a bitter smirk. ¡°So, it was always impossible for me to win against your soul power. But¡­ I knew what I saw wasn¡¯t wrong.¡± His expression went cold. ¡°Lucille Goldcroft, what kind of mass murderer of the past were you, to be able to hide your killing intent so well? How many thousands have you slaughtered?¡±


    She tilted her head, watching him with interest. ¡°Mass murderer and killing intent¡­ it appears you¡¯ve had some hypotheses about me for a while now, but to only discuss it now and in such a violent fashion¡­¡± She paused, and then her lips parted in a wide grin. ¡°Ah. This is about the Wordless Observers, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    The dark-haired man shuddered. ¡°An organisation filled with ancient creatures, many from the Mystical Realm¡¯s distant past. Each member of the Ninety-Nine has tales told about them in this realm, as they were a core part of the realm¡¯s history epochs ago.¡± He fixed his dark green eyes on her, his expression solemn. ¡°Yet you, a single individual, arranged a meeting with them and even succeeded in negotiating for their aid.¡± He glanced down at his hand. ¡°The other Counties wouldn¡¯t know or even understand, but Ravimoux has strong connections to the House of Wordless Observers.¡±


    Regulus Ravimoux looked back up at her. ¡°Lucille Goldcroft, I want to know who you are and what you plan for the Aurelian Commission.¡±


    Lucy blinked. ¡°Oh¡­ you believe I¡¯m one of them.¡± She covered her mouth and chuckled, finding the situation amusing. ¡°I can see how you arrived at that conclusion. Someone with a soul age older than her body, a distinct lack of detectable killing intent suggesting a past of many killings, and someone who can arrange a meeting with Vessel of the Court of Ninety-Nine.¡±


    Lucille grinned and pointed to her dagger, still under his chin. ¡°Count Ravimoux, I¡¯m going to remove this. You understand what will happen if you make a wrong move, right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s said that attempting the same thing more than once while expecting a different result is a sign of insanity, and I don¡¯t think I¡¯m insane yet,¡± he said, almost sounding amused but still unsure.


    ¡°Good.¡± Lucy took away the dagger and stood up.


    Count Ravimoux put a hand to his throat, rubbing it with a strange expression. ¡°Do you mean to say you are not a party affiliated with the House of Wordless Observers?¡±


    Lucy shook her head with a smile. ¡°I¡¯m not. I was not alive during the time of even a single one of them before they became undead. I was born well and truly within the modern age of the Empire.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± he mused, watching her closely. He narrowed his eyes. ¡°And the killing intent?¡±


    ¡°That¡­ well, it¡¯s difficult to explain.¡± Lucille held her chin, thinking, before giving him a shrug. ¡°You could say it¡¯s one of my few¡­ defects. I am physically incapable of emitting, gaining, or sensing killing intent. Of course, as a mage in the past, that never affected me but¡­¡± She gestured to her daggers. ¡°As you can see, my inability to emit or detect killing intent will now be more clear to others.¡±


    The dark-haired Count held his hands behind his back as he began to pace. ¡°¡­and the House?¡±


    ¡°I was scared out of my wits when I met them,¡± she stated flatly. ¡°I¡¯m good at masking my own emotions, but not even I can remain fully calm in front of existences who each have histories of destroying multiple planes. I only had limited knowledge of how to contact them, and I planned to gain their interest somehow.¡± She shook her head. ¡°I doubt I would¡¯ve been in danger if it failed, but they would¡¯ve kept a closer eye on me.¡±


    He contemplated her words with a hand on his chin, looking pensive. Then he slowly nodded. ¡°I will trust your words for now, Count Goldcroft.¡±


    Lucy smirked and placed a hand on her hip. ¡°Could you enlighten me as to what you were going to do if you found out I was connected to the House?¡±


    He laughed and shook his head. ¡°I was going to determine whether I should spend all my County¡¯s resources supporting you, or whether I should jump ship before the Commission collapses from being the scapegoat for whatever nefarious plan you might¡¯ve had.¡±


    Lucille spread her hands. ¡°I would like to say not to worry that the Commission will collapse. I intend on letting it continue for as long as it possibly can. It¡¯s too useful.¡±


    ¡°Useful¡­ hm. Well.¡± Count Ravimoux placed a hand on his chest and bowed. ¡°Please forgive my behaviour towards you today, Count Goldcroft.¡±


    She grinned. ¡°But are you sorry?¡±


    He smirked. ¡°No. I don¡¯t regret it, because it needed to be done. But please indulge me in my formalities.¡±


    She chuckled and nodded. ¡°I forgive you. But please don¡¯t try this on me again. I¡¯d prefer it if we just had a discussion.¡±


    Count Ravimoux held out his hand for her to shake. ¡°Then I¡¯ll return to my duties and sort out the matter of the Ancient Dungeon. And I would never find fault in you successfully negotiating a deal with an organisation more powerful than Ravimoux. Please deal with the internal affairs however you need, but for now, my subordinates will ensure nothing goes wrong as you enter the black market.¡±


    She shook the hand. ¡°Thank you. It won¡¯t be a long trip. Take care until we next see each other, Count Ravimoux.¡±


    With a final goodbye, he left the VIP room, and she did as well. As she walked down a small staircase, following one of the Count¡¯s subordinates, she considered the man¡¯s misunderstanding.


    A member of the House of Wordless Observers¡­ well, I suppose it¡¯s not the strangest association someone has made about me.


    ¡­


    The Ravimoux subordinate, wearing the black mask with a snarling wolf design, passed her a cloak and a full-face mask. ¡°Please put these on, and never take them off while within the pocket dimension.¡±


    She nodded, doing as he asked. It was strange to be wearing two masks, but she would barely be an hour within the dimension, so she ignored it.


    Two other staff wearing full black outfits walked over to a wall to pull apart the black silk curtain, hiding an ornate silver doorway from view. The door was open, revealing a kaleidoscopic view of pulsating violet mana, forming a circular portal into a void of pitch-black darkness. Following the subordinate¡¯s lead, she stepped foot into the portal, feeling the intense vertigo that always followed spatial magic.


    When she appeared on the other side of a doorway of the same design, what was before her was a sprawling marketplace, full of loud people and haphazard stalls. The permanent buildings that lined the marketplace rows were exquisite and sold expensive products and services.


    Some rough-looking mercenaries or other groups didn¡¯t bother to use the cloaks and masks, likely because they were proud of their strength and believed they had nothing to hide, but at least two-thirds of the people there were using disguises of some sort. In fact, quite a few wore disguises in the fashion of a masquerade ball, a way of showcasing their riches and status while hiding their identities. The sky above was pitch black, not a star in sight.


    Lucille ignored the vendors hawking their wares, only one location in mind. With the subordinate of Ravimoux still following, she retrieved the voice-disguising item that Sedric had made from inside her dimensional bag and put it on. Then she walked towards one of the largest multi-story buildings within the dimension.


    Made entirely of black brick, the building didn¡¯t even have a sign to indicate what it was for. It wasn¡¯t a shopfront, made clear by the lack of windows on the bottom story, but many people walked in and out. She headed inside, her boots stepping onto the rich red velvet carpet, and she walked up to a desk of dark lacquered wood.


    The woman behind the desk, dressed in a revealing black dress and black domino mask, smiled. ¡°What service would you like us to provide today? Do you wish to submit a job, or perhaps¡­ join us?¡±


    ¡°I want to create an identity,¡± Lucy replied, her voice distorted and monotone.


    The sound of the disguised voice only seemed to surprise the woman for a brief second, and then she smiled wider. ¡°I see. So the Black Night will have another member today. I hope we can provide what you seek.¡± She took out a small silver amulet and bowed, passing it to Lucy. ¡°Please go down the right corridor, where someone will meet with you.¡±


    Without a word, Lucille turned away and walked down the extravagant hallway, artifacts, and items on display. There was only one door and it was at the end of the hallway, so Lucy opened it and took a seat on one of the scarlet lounges inside.


    Five minutes later, a man wearing a white half-mask and black suit walked in, bowing to her. ¡°Welcome to the Black Night. The gathering point for mercenaries, assassins, thieves, and all who wish to have a task completed, and wish to complete a task. I have been informed that you wish to join us.¡±


    ¡°That is correct. I came here to arrange an identity,¡± Lucille replied.


    The man showed no sign of her voice surprising him and just nodded. ¡°If you already know about identities, then I presume you¡¯re familiar with our process for taking on commissions. Then I will cut to the chase.¡± He took out a sheet of paper and a black feather pen, then placed it on the table between the couches. ¡°All you need to do is sign this with your ¡®Identity¡¯ name and provide a class type, and the contract will come into effect. Any time you don the mantle of your identity, you will be bound by the contract, but without the mantle, you are free, excluding the secrecy clauses of the commission you took.¡±


    She picked up the paper and pen, scanning the contract to ensure it didn¡¯t have any caveats. Then she swiftly wrote her ¡®Identity¡¯ name down, as well as her fake class type. She stood up and passed the contract back to him.


    The man smiled and bowed again more deeply this time. ¡°You are now a member of the Black Night Union. You may arrange a disguise with our boutiques, or register a disguise you have already with the Union.¡±


    ¡°Get someone to take me to the boutique,¡± Lucille stated curtly, already knowing what she planned to do.


    ¡°I will warn you that our services are costly,¡± the man said with a smirk.


    ¡°And I can afford it.¡±


    He chuckled and gestured to the door with a hand. ¡°I will do as you asked. The Black Night looks forward to seeing your capabilities.¡±


    With that, Lucille left, leaving the man alone in the room.


    He picked up the contract, reading the details she put down. ¡°A dark magician? How rare¡­ and¡­¡±


    Written above the line intended for Lucy¡¯s identity name was ¡®Jinx¡¯.

 Chapter 63 (1 of 2) [Insert Generic Complaint About The Demon Emperor Here]

    ¡°Open Obelisk Directory.¡±


    [Directory: ]


    <ol>


    <li>Beast Realm</li>


    <li>Demon Realm</li>


    <li>Tartarus Realm</li>


    <li>Mystical Realm</li>


    <li>Heavenly Realm</li>


    </ol>


    [ ]


    Floating before Lucille was a familiar screen, faintly glowing with sky-blue light behind its white text. She gazed wearily at the selection options and pinched her nose bridge.


    ¡°Take me to¡­¡± she began, sighing. ¡°¡­the Daemonium Palace Stronghold in The Demon Emperor¡¯s Dominium.¡±


    [Directory ¨C Demon Realm ]


    Dominium selection:


    <ol>


    <li>The Demon Emperor¡¯s Dominium</li>


    </ol>


    Stronghold selection:


    <ul>


    <li>The Daemonium Palace Stronghold</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    [Confirm selection? Yes/No]


    Rubbing her face, she held back a grimace and pressed on [Yes]. Her body was whisked away as she prepared herself to meet with the Demon Emperor for the ¡®first time¡¯ in six months.


    ¡­


    ¡°Good morning! Or evening. As I recall saying before, the time in the Demon Realm is rather difficult for me to determine,¡± Lucy said with a cheery smile.


    The two demon gatekeepers whom she had met last time she went to the palace were there again, staring at her like she was insane. Which, in the common person¡¯s eye, she probably was, as she was returning to the Daemonium Palace after surviving a trip there six months ago.


    Lucille clasped her hands together, her smile bright. ¡°Do we need to re-enact the scene from back then, or will you let me pass without difficulty?¡±


    The Ashveil demon with grey hair sighed and stepped away, allowing her to walk through. The other winged demon had a frown on his face but also allowed her to go through. She nodded and began her climb up the many stairs to the Daemonium Palace.


    With her new stats, the climb was shortened from half an hour to fifteen minutes, and she entered through the open doors of the colossal building. Her perception field was shrunk again, so she wouldn¡¯t tempt death any more than she was by visiting a murderous Demon Emperor, but she could detect the omnipresent demonic power of the Primordial Demon, the red tides of energy rolling around as if a gargantuan thundercloud filled the building.


    As she hadn¡¯t been sent any message by anyone, she presumed she was to head in the direction of the room where she and the Demon Emperor had met last time. She walked through the hallways, keeping a calm and measured pace, because she didn¡¯t want to upset the Demon Emperor by running late, but she really didn¡¯t want to have to see him any earlier than she had to.


    She blinked when another pair of footsteps echoed down the marble-floored hallways, approaching the intersecting corridors she was heading towards. Lucy turned the corner and quickly stepped back when a large pair of black leathery wings buffeted her.


    The individual the wings belonged to let out a startled yelp, dropping a few pages from the stack of documents in their hands. They quickly snapped their fingers to cause the pages to float up, resettling neatly in their arms. Then they turned their attention to the person who they happened to walk into.


    Demon Duchess Lilith Al¡¯Abyssus, the ruler of all Abyssal demons and the one with the title of the Ancient Temptress stared at Lucille with wide eyes.


    Lucy quickly bowed to the demoness. ¡°My apologies, Duchess Al¡¯Abyssus. I should¡¯ve considered the fact that you would be incapable of sensing me within the presence of His Majesty.¡±


    The raven-haired demoness continued to stare at her, utterly flabbergasted by her presence for some reason. Still wearing the same revealing leather outfit Lucy had seen her in last time, her skin swam with frantically shifting pitch-black demonic script. Her emotions were quite literally being shown on her skin, allowing Lucy to know just how stunned she was by Lucille¡¯s presence.


    Lucille tilted her head. ¡°Duchess Lilith Al¡¯Abyssus?¡±


    The demoness blinked, and her eyes widened further. ¡°Why are you here again?!¡± she asked with shock, broken out of her trance.


    ¡­something about this situation was giving Lucy a deep sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu, but she didn¡¯t dwell on it as Lilith shook her head, holding up a hand to pause Lucy.


    ¡°Never mind, that¡¯s not important. Instead¡­¡± She eyed Lucille as if she were some peculiar insect that had managed to survive being crushed under her heel thrice. ¡°How are you even still alive?¡±


    ¡°¡­am I supposed to be dead for some reason?¡± Lucy asked quizzically.


    ¡°Supposed to? I don¡¯t know,¡± Lilith stated flatly. ¡°But anyone else who has tried to trespass here died before I could meet them beforehand.¡± She looked over her shoulder. ¡°He¡¯s not asleep already, is he? He still has three more hours¡¯ worth of work to do. If he decides to sleep and push his work off for one more day I swear I¡¯m finally going to resign this time¡­¡±


    Lilith flinched when met with Lucy¡¯s strange gaze. ¡°Ahem¡­¡± the demon woman coughed. ¡°Pretend you didn¡¯t hear that.¡±


    Lilith put a hand up to her forehead for a brief moment, looking exasperated, before she straightened up. ¡°Yes, well, even if by some miracle he hasn¡¯t killed you yet, you technically are trespassing, and the punishment for that is death¡­¡± She narrowed her dark eyes at Lucy. ¡°Although, perhaps it would be more worthwhile taking you back to my Stronghold to study you if you¡¯ve survived so far¡­¡± She shook her head. ¡°Anyway, please provide me with an adequate reason for being in the Daemonium Palace or I¡¯ll have to make an example of you.¡±


    Lucille finally realised why she was feeling such an intense sensation of d¨¦j¨¤ vu. She gazed wearily at the demon Duchess. ¡°He hasn¡¯t told you about our contract, has he?¡±


    When Lilith heard Lucy¡¯s response, she paused and studied Lucy closely. After a few seconds, she let out a long sigh. ¡°It seems not. Not to worry, I¡¯m familiar with His Majesty¡¯s manner. Perhaps you can enlighten me about the details of this ¡®contract¡¯ as I take you to his study.¡±


    Lucille did so, informing her that she¡¯d be going to the Daemonium Palace and meeting with the Demon Emperor every six months to discuss the cycle. Internally, Lucy was comparing the situation to that of Count Bentsen when she visited the Aethereal Palace.


    So he didn¡¯t tell her either¡­ was it because he wanted to hide it or for another reason? It couldn¡¯t be that he just didn¡¯t want to bother telling either of them¡­ could it?


    Instead of taking her to the room she had met the Demon Emperor in last time, Lilith walked right past it and down the hallway. Lucy was taken up a flight of stairs before they stopped in front of a large pair of black wooden doors, a wide open hall directly in front. Lilith coughed and rapped the back of her hand against the door.


    ¡°Count Lucille Goldcroft is here, my lord.¡±


    ¡°Enter,¡± the familiar low voice replied.


    Lilith opened the doors and bowed as she entered, letting Lucille pass. Then the demoness swiftly shut the door, leaving only Lucy and the individual behind the single desk in the room.


    The individual with long pitch-black hair was seated behind a desk just as luxurious as the one he used at the Aethereal Palace, or possibly more so. Unlike the last time she had seen him in person, he was dressed in a scarlet imperial jacket, adorned with gold, on top of a dark high-necked shirt of some kind. A blood-red cape sat across his shoulders and fell to the ground, golden epaulettes on either side.


    The Demon Emperor Imperatoris-Daemonium raised his large ruby-red irises from the page before him to look up at Lucille. Then they began to glow with malevolent bloody light.


    Lucy turned off her expression regulator as she stood up straight, her gloved hands held behind her back. Thoughts about the glow coming from his eyes ran through her head.


    So¡­ his eyes only glow when he wants to kill someone? Or he¡¯s feeling some intense emotion of some kind? That¡¯s a little¡­ no, actually, that is very freaky.


    Because his glowing eyes meant just the mere sight of seeing her in his presence triggered a powerful feeling of wrath in him.


    Lucille bowed to the Demon Emperor. ¡°As requested, I have come before the fifteenth. I hope my arrival doesn¡¯t cause you any difficulty, Your Majesty.¡±


    ¡°You are standing before me,¡± he stated harshly. ¡°That in itself is a difficulty for me. Don¡¯t give me such ridiculous pleasantries, Goldcroft.¡±


    She bowed again. ¡°I apologise, Your Majesty.¡±


    Her response only made him scowl. ¡°Enough.¡± He pointed at one of the two couches in the room, positioned just like the ones in his study in the Aethereal Duchy. ¡°Sit. I don¡¯t want your constant gaze distracting me from my work.¡±


    Lucy sat down, inwardly sighing. It seemed that arriving so early in the month only made his mood worse¡­ not that she thought it would¡¯ve been particularly better after then. Although, that reminded her of something else she planned to ask the Demon Emperor while there.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°Your Majesty, I know that meeting bi-annually was a clause in our contract,¡± she began, keeping her tone polite. ¡°But I didn¡¯t know the exact time of month was an alterable detail.¡±


    ¡°I expected that I would eventually be unavailable,¡± he replied indifferently, signing a form of some kind. ¡°I arranged the contract so we had to meet in March and September, but the time was unspecified. If I failed to meet with you in the last week of September or March then the contract would¡¯ve been broken.¡±


    Lucy blinked. ¡°Would a broken contract affect you too, Your Majesty?¡±


    The look on his face when he glanced at her told her he didn¡¯t think highly of her mental faculties. ¡°Don¡¯t be moronic.¡±


    She prevented herself from sighing once more. As pleasant a person as always¡­


    ¡°Well then, Your Majesty,¡± she said with a cough. ¡°Is there anything you would like to discuss with me?¡±


    The Demon Emperor glared at her, and Lucy nearly rolled her eyes. ¡°What I meant to say was is there anything you intend to discuss with me.¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately.¡± He looked at the page he was reading with a frown and then placed it down. ¡°Your little stunt last year with the Commission¡¯s Competition drew the Athenaeum¡¯s attention, but with the discovery of the Ancient Dungeon, several Athenaeum clan nuisances have become interested in the flow of power within the Commission.¡±


    She stared at him, slightly surprised that he was willing to inform her of that. She dipped her head. ¡°Thank you for the warning, Your Majesty.¡±


    ¡°I gave you no such thing,¡± he responded coldly. ¡°My motivations for telling you that were so you would do something to clean up your mess. I have enough to resolve in this timeline without solving your problems too.¡± He looked down, paused, and then looked back up at her. ¡°Let me rescind my statement. This is a warning. A warning to deal with those nobles¡­¡± He narrowed his eyes. ¡°Or I¡¯ll personally deal with you.¡±


    I¡¯d like to see you try.


    Lucy was glad she had turned off her expression regulator because if it was still on then she¡¯d be struggling to suppress the twitching of an eyebrow. Something about the way the demon in front of her treated her so dismissively made her very irritated.


    Luckily, she wasn¡¯t so easy to anger and was prepared to wait a few more months before dragging the truth about the contract out from this demon. She wasn¡¯t anything if not patient.


    ¡­still, the thought of putting up with him eight months out of twelve in a year made her feel a sense of despair.


    ¡°Could I please have a list of those who you deem ¡®nuisances¡¯?¡± she asked calmly.


    ¡°Tell Lilith to do it next time you meet,¡± he stated coolly.


    I¡¯m feeling a bit of pity for Lilith right now. Funny, I never thought I¡¯d be feeling sorry for someone of her status, the one known to the realms as the Queen of Succubi.


    ¡°As you wish,¡± she replied. ¡°Is there anything else you intend to discuss?¡±


    He opened his mouth to reply when the doors opened behind Lucille. The Abyssal Duchess mentioned only moments before walked in, carrying a stack of documents.


    ¡°My apologies for interrupting you both. Your Majesty, here is the work that wasn¡¯t completed this past week,¡± the demoness said, walking towards the Demon Emperor. ¡°It¡¯s been gathering dust while you¡¯ve been asleep, so please complete it this time.¡±


    Lucy watched with a slight bit of schadenfreude as he glared at Lilith and the pile in her arms, which then turned to an outright scowl as she placed them on his desk. The demoness didn¡¯t seem fazed and ignored his expression as she bowed and left the room.


    ¡°What was that about sleep she mentioned, Your Majesty?¡± Lucy asked lightly.


    ¡°Nothing. Mind your own business.¡± He snatched the top document off the pile and scanned it, frowning. He let out a short sigh as he placed it back on top and glanced at Lucille. ¡°I¡¯ve been informed that you intend to attempt the first sabotage of a Malediction Society branch today. You need to know that several temporary allies of my Duchy¡¯s forces will be in the vicinity of the branch you wish to destroy.¡±


    She nodded, internally taking note of the way he referred to the Aethereal Duchy. ¡°Then I suppose you wish for me to avoid affecting them when I attack the bran-¡±


    ¡°Quiet. I hadn¡¯t finished,¡± he ordered coldly. He frowned at the page on the top of the pile again. ¡°On the contrary, I want you to ensure they are dealt as much damage as possible. They¡¯re an unpleasant lot, a borrowed force and loose ends need to be tied. While it wouldn¡¯t affect me, a link to those forces could create additional difficulties in the future so-¡±


    The Demon Emperor¡¯s words trailed off as he glanced at a line on the page at the top of the pile once again and then took it. He furrowed his brows and then tapped his fingers against the desk. ¡°¡­as I was saying, you need to eradicate them while you have the chance,¡± he continued, still distracted somewhat. ¡°If a moral dilemma is what prevents you from doing so, then you do not need to care about them. In many respects they are just as bad as the society you aim to dest-¡±


    The Demon Emperor stopped again to scowl at the document in his hand. He flipped it over to read the other side and then grabbed the next page on the pile to compare.


    Lucille watched him cautiously, not sure what could be important enough for the demon in front of her to be reacting like that. ¡°Your Majesty¡­?¡±


    He ignored her, still scowling at the page. Lucy decided to remain silent in case she made him angry again.


    ¡­except as the minutes ticked by, he only looked more and more annoyed. Lucy didn¡¯t think that would be good for her if it continued. ¡°Your Majesty, is something the matter?¡±


    ¡°Be quiet,¡± he growled, not looking at her. ¡°I don¡¯t want to waste any air talking to you. Look for yourself to satisfy your curiosity, just so you¡¯re not tempted to speak again.¡±


    Lucille hesitated, considering what to do, and then awkwardly stood up from the couch. She slowly walked near his desk and stood slightly behind him to read the page.


    ¡°Strong evidence has been obtained that indicates the Heartflame Guild of the 3<sup>rd</sup> Major Kingdom has allied with a noble faction of the Kingdom to push out the Dark Tower¡¯s wizards from a newly discovered unranked plane with many mines¡­¡± Lucy murmured, reciting what was written. She gazed wearily at the Demon Emperor. ¡°And the reason why a Guild thinks they have the power to go against the Athenaeum¡¯s wizards is?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re stupidly trusting in the backing of the Light Tower,¡± the demon stated blandly. ¡°It¡¯s the Citadel¡¯s doing. You should be aware already that the Light Tower has long been a force with strong ties to those Fate distorters.¡± He glared at the page again.


    So some half-witted Sage has decided that they need to reattempt spreading the propaganda of ¡®light good dark bad¡¯ to up their status in the Institution.


    Lucille pinched her nose bridge, already knowing that the reason why those nobles were against the dark wizards was that they were ignorant morons who thought their little plane was the most powerful thing since magic was discovered. They were likely greedy for the gemstones and precious metals in the mines too, so the ¡®evil¡¯ nature of the dark wizards meant they thought they had a justification for the act.


    Lucy put a fist to her mouth and coughed. ¡°Is this something related to the chaos of the cycle?¡±


    He gave her a look, his eyes still glowing, but finally replied, ¡°If the Guild hadn¡¯t involved themselves, then they¡¯d be able to benefit my plans at a later date. Now, they can only be crushed by the retaliation of the Dark Tower and the Light Tower will sit still after receiving that warning from the dark wizards.¡± He narrowed his eyes at the pile of documents. ¡°The Dark Tower and Light Tower have always been at odds, but they restrict each other. I can¡¯t have them interacting with each other before the Chapter.¡±


    Whatever the Demon Emperor saw would happen with his Disorder essence, it clearly wasn¡¯t good enough for him. Lucille nodded. ¡°I see. Your Majesty, I have another question.¡±


    He glared at her. ¡°What.¡±


    Lucy bowed slightly. ¡°Do you plan to give this task to me?¡±


    The Demon Emperor stared at her as if he had just witnessed a frog speak. ¡°Give this task to you.¡±


    Lucille blinked and straightened up when she heard his tone of voice. ¡°Is handing it to me not the logical conclusion?¡±


    A mildly incredulous and very, very disdainful expression appeared on his face as he continued staring at her. ¡°What in the Origin Reality¡¯s name has made you think I would ever think of you, let alone assign you a task?¡±


    Lucy stared back, beginning to realise just how difficult it was to be around this demon.


    I said he was being dismissive, but really. To not even think of the fact that I met him in this palace for the very purpose of doing this?


    She suppressed a sigh again and peeled off the glove on her left hand to show him the mark. ¡°Your Majesty, the demonic contract we signed was made for this reason. Excluding the fact that the System contract means I must follow your requests when it comes to maintaining the physical integrity and safety of the timeline, I came to the Daemonium Palace this time last year, purely to request you involve me in your plans for the cycle.¡± Lucille bowed again. ¡°I believed that I was to collaborate with you when it comes to altering the time-¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡± With a scowl on his face again, he looked between her hand and the information he held. Then, with an inhumanely swift and fluid movement, he threw it at her, nearly too quick for her to catch it. He propped his chin up on his arm as he narrowed his malevolent red eyes at her. ¡°How would you resolve this.¡±


    Quickly scanning it once more so she didn¡¯t get any of the details wrong, she nodded to herself. ¡°You told me that several All-Aeon Athenaeum nobility have become dangerously interested in the Aurelian Commission. If I leverage my control over the newly discovered Ancient Dungeon and its mineral resources, I¡¯m sure the Dark Tower will be willing to negotiate.¡± She traced one of the lines with her finger. ¡°Especially if the Commission permits them to choose the location for a new Wizard Tower in the plans for the Dungeon City. The Commission has already bought New Syna, after all.¡±


    He continued staring at her for a few seconds, not blinking. ¡°Do that then,¡± he stated sharply. With barely a movement of his hand, Lucille suddenly found herself sitting on the couch again, facing him. On the table in front of her was the report on the Heartflame Guild, blank pages, an inkwell, and a pen. She picked up the pen, prepared to begin writing out her plans for the Demon Emperor, but then he spoke again.


    ¡°Also¡­¡± He snapped his fingers and some of the pile of documents on his desk teleported onto her table. ¡°Work on those too.¡±


    She eyed the pile, held back a sigh, and lowered her head. ¡°As you wish, Your Majesty.¡±


    When I said I¡¯d help, I did not mean paperwork.


    The black-haired demon proceeded to ignore her and continue his work, but Lucy narrowed her eyes at her pile and glanced between his and hers.


    Also¡­ did he just give me more than half of the stack?


    She kept her complaints to herself and began working, speedily going through the workload even in the absence of her spiritual perception to instantly absorb the papers¡¯ contents. Having gotten over her nerves once she could see that while angry, the Demon Emperor wasn¡¯t going to kill her, Lucille found that the time she spent in his study was quite peaceful and uneventful.


    That was¡­ until the Demon Emperor raised his glowing eyes to glare at something invisible to her, hovering to his right.


    <hr>


    [Well, well, well! What do we have here? Is someone finally managing to get along?]


    The Demon Emperor narrowed his eyes at the floating blue box, but whatever internal response he had was completely ignored by the voice that echoed in his head.


    [All thanks to paperwork! Ah, the joys of finding a competent person to complete your paperwork for you! It breaks all barriers, doesn¡¯t it? Even the scary Demon Emperor is willing to set aside his anger in return for gaining an efficient subordinate!]


    The red-eyed demon scowled but the voice was, as usual, undeterred.


    [Look at her, such neat handwriting and with such speed, too. She reminds me of someone. Someone else I know who is a master at paperwork. Who could it be, hm?]


    The Demon Emperor gripped the edge of his desk.


    [Could it be¡­ you? Could it be that she¡¯s just as good as you? Yes! No¡­ wait!]


    He pinched his nose bridge as the voice continued.


    [Like hell she¡¯s as good as you! She¡¯s ten times better! She doesn¡¯t waste her time sleeping all day, hoping that her aide won¡¯t wake her ¨C she¡¯s up at the crack of dawn, getting things done! Unlike you, who avoids doing work with every fibre of your being, and an existence that doesn¡¯t even need a physical body yet always manifests one just for the sake of sleeping! I swear, if something ever happens to you, your replacement Authorizer is going to be-]


    <hr>


    He''s probably talking to¡­ that.


    Lucy shot the Demon Emperor a glance, but he was distracted, still looking at the notification he seemed to see. Not that he would be unaware she was watching him. While demonic power didn¡¯t quite have the same deep-level analytical abilities that spiritual energy had, he was still capable of seeing on all sides of him.


    And he was a ¡®higher race¡¯, a lifeform on a completely different level to her. Every single one of his motions, such as the strange pauses he made, or the exact and fluid movements when he wrote, were starkly different to any other person she had met and hinted at his appearance showing only a small part of what he truly was.


    She had only met one other person like him, but¡­ well, all of this was to say that what she saw him as would never be the truth. She knew that in his true form, he had wings, too. Everything he did was slowed down and purposely shown so she could see him as an individual instead of some terrifying force of energy. Her lower race senses wouldn¡¯t be able to detect his movements otherwise.


    And that terrifying force of energy, who had mana so dense he could form a physical body at any moment he pleased, seemed to be talking to an even more terrifying thing.


    I¡­ really want to know what he¡¯s discussing with that ent- I mean, with the¡­


    She shook her head, trying to move on from her thoughts before she got killed or the Demon Emperor was told what she was thinking. The demon glanced at her when she moved but ignored her again.


    Argh, I¡¯m curious. Being able to have a one-on-one conversation with them¡­ I should be focusing on this and getting out of here.


    She sighed and got to work, attempting to distract herself from her curiosity. She still had more to do after she finished the work for the Demon Emperor and knew it would be a very, very long day.


    ¡­


    ¡°Here is my plan to resolve the issue of the Dark Tower and the Heartflame Guild. Unfortunately, I wasn¡¯t able to complete all of the other allocated paperwork, but as my tasks relating to the Malediction Society are waiting, I thought it might be best to request leave now,¡± Lucy said with a bow.


    He frowned at the small pile of work remaining on her table but sighed and dismissed her with a wave. ¡°Yes, get out. Good riddance.¡±


    With one last bow, she briskly turned away and left his study. Standing outside was the Abyssal Duchess Lilith, waiting with several more documents in hand.


    ¡°Duchess Al¡¯Abyssus,¡± Lucy began, bowing to the demoness. ¡°I was told by His Majesty to ask you for a list of Athenaeum nobles becoming too interested in the Aurelian Commission.¡±


    Lilith nodded. ¡°I have the list for you here. His Majesty sent me to fetch it.¡± The demoness passed Lucy the page, who scanned it. ¡°Also¡­¡± She studied Lucille. ¡°I recall you saying this earlier as well, but¡­ you¡¯re calling me Duchess Al¡¯Abyssus.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ yes.¡± Lucille nodded. ¡°If you would prefer that I didn¡¯t then that¡¯s fine, but considering we¡¯re going to be seeing each other at least a few more times before the Millennium Chapter, it assumed it would be best to clarify things.¡± She gained a wry smirk. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Duchess Al¡¯Abyssus. Your position as His Majesty¡¯s ¡®special person¡¯ is well and truly safe.¡±


    Lilith gave her a long-suffering look before sighing and nodding. ¡°Yes, I suppose that would be best. We¡¯ll see each other again in six months then, Count Goldcroft.¡± She smirked coldly. ¡°If you survive.¡±


    Lucy shrugged. ¡°I was able to survive meeting the Demon Emperor and managed to do it again today. I have no doubt I¡¯ll be fine.¡± She bowed one last time. ¡°Farewell, Duchess.¡±


    Lilith eyed her as she walked away, but shook her head and headed inside the study. Lucille quickly made her way through the palace, not stopping to admire the d¨¦cor or treasures on display. She made it to the bottom of the stairs, walked straight past the staring demon guards with a cheery wave, and headed straight for the Daemonium Palace Stronghold¡¯s Obelisk.


    She had once again survived meeting the Demon Emperor. Now that she had that on her resume, she doubted any Malediction Society member would ever compare.

 Chapter 63 (2 of 2) [Insert Generic Complaint About The Demon Emperor Here]

    -In a Minor Kingdom of the Eternal Empire-


    The bright hall was filled with loud chattering and laughter, sconces letting off a warm glow along the edges of the room. Individuals of all races wearing exquisite gowns and suits mingled with each other, every one of their faces covered by a mask. The hall was filled with many tiers of seats, the VIPs sitting up in the highest private rooms.


    The stage out the front was hidden by draping scarlet curtains, the spotlights yet to be activated. Then suddenly, one by one, the mana lamps in the hall shut off, causing the room to descend into darkness. Loud voices turned to hushed whispers as the crimson curtains began to slowly pull back on their hooks.


    The charged hum of mana was released as the multi-coloured lights flooded the stage with light. A man wearing a mask like all the others, a cane in his hand, walked casually across the stage and then bowed in front of all the assembled nobles.


    ¡°Esteemed ladies and gentlemen!¡± he began, his tone commanding attention. ¡°It brings me great joy to see you all gathered here once again. Very few forces deal in the trade of such¡­ exotic goods as us, but your endless support nearly brings me to tears. But I digress. You have not come here to hear this.¡±


    He straightened up and spread his arms. ¡°Welcome, one and all, to the Midnight Auction, a monthly event that only the most prestigious of personnel may attend!¡±


    The crowd in the auction hall clapped, all excited to know what wares the auctioneer would be revealing that night. The man bowed once more and gestured to the side.


    ¡°Now, as I¡¯m aware that it is not truly I that you have come here to see, let me show you a small¡­ teaser of what we have in store for you today,¡± he said with a smirk. He walked to the side as three masked men wheeled carts onto the stage, all of them covered by scarlet silk.


    The auctioneer walked up to the first one and threw off the silk with a flourish. Inside a mana barrier-protected glass case was a delicate headpiece of twisted, thorny obsidian vines that writhed and slithered. A dark crimson liquid seeped from the Heretic item and soaked its resting pillow.


    ¡°The Dark Coronet of Eternal Rest! Those who give this to a Host will have a subordinate who can cast a powerful sleep curse on your enemies,¡± the auctioneer proudly exclaimed, gesturing to the ominous diadem. ¡°The possibilities are endless, and this coronet has just been removed from its previous Host, who had managed to bring the item¡¯s rarity to Ancient!¡±


    As the crowd quietly discussed the item amongst themselves, he removed the cover of the next item, placed within a tall case. A suit of rusted, dull armour revealed itself, spots of what seemed to be dried bloodstains spoiling its surface. The joints of the armour appeared to be encased in hardened grey stone as if the armour had been sealed in stone for millennia.


    ¡°Here we have a Rare suit of armour of the earth element, the entire set to be sold as one!¡± the auctioneer announced. ¡°It may appear bland and its rarity is low, but looks can be deceiving for this,¡± he said, pointing at the item, ¡°Is one of the fabled impenetrable suits of armour from the Unbarred Dungeon of the Iron Mace!¡±


    Excited whispers were let out as the auctioneer switched to pointing at the audience. ¡°That very same Ancient Dungeon on the Aeternus plane! These Heretic armour sets are famous for being impenetrable from the lowest rarity, with their qualities only becoming more pronounced as the Heretic item¡¯s Host assimilates with it! Find a talented earth-element Host for this suit of armour, and you have yourself the closest version to the perfect bodyguard you can get in this realm!¡±


    The auctioneer slowly walked up to the last hidden item, even taller than the previous ones. Leaning his cane against the back wall so he could grip the silk sheet with both hands, he yanked it off and discarded the sheet at his feet.


    Gasps of astonishment escaped the mouths of the nobles as chained to a pillar was a masculine figure of intimidating height, a blindfold tied around his head. What drew their attention though, was the pair of draconic wings folded behind him and the two scarlet horns that curled around his ears. From the neck down, he was covered in scale armour that glowed with orange light, heat warping the air around him. The one important feature of him was that in the centre of his chest, a vertical, moving orange eye was present.


    A thick tail that extended from him was lashed to the pillar, and both of his clawed hands were chained to the handle of a massive greatsword nearly his own width, and over half his height. A bloodshot, orange, slitted eye was built into the hilt of the greatsword, darting around to peer at everything. The blade of the greatsword was jagged and serrated, crafted out of reddish, metallic material. Thin glowing orange veins spread throughout the blade and hilt of the weapon. Segments of the blade twitched and shifted, giving the impression it was a living creature.


    As the crowd broke into frenzied talk the auctioneer roared with excited laughter and threw out a hand to gesture to the creature. ¡°Yes! Here we have not just the Heretic weapon, but the partially transformed Host of a draconic Heretic weapon of the fire element as well!¡± A vicious grin appeared on the face of the auctioneer as he continued to reveal details about the Heretic item behind him with what sounded like glee. ¡°With the Host and the weapon having already been bound and cultivated for ten years, this Host has reached the peak of his strength and has a full ten years left before his body is consumed by the Ancient Heretic blade!¡±


    The auctioneer held a hand behind his back as he began to pace in front of the audience, his cane in the other hand. ¡°Obtained from a slain Monstrous Fire Wyvern, this Hellflame Blade of Incineration will only take another five years of being with its Host before it evolves and becomes a Legendary Heretic item.¡± He smirked again. ¡°Its Host here, the infamous Cursed of Wyvern Wrath, will be on his last legs when that time comes, but he will be a valuable weapon to commence an attack against your enemies before his eventual annihilation.¡±


    He stepped forward and held his arms out to the audience. ¡°But please, please, these are our pride and joy! We can¡¯t allow these to be sold just yet. You must wait for the finale.¡±


    As the audience let out sighs of disappointment, he bowed and smiled. ¡°And do not forget, dear ladies and gentlemen, that the Midnight Auction¡¯s ¡®Secret item¡¯ will still be auctioned off at the end of tonight, as we do each month. And I swear by my reputation that it will be an even greater surprise than what has been shown so far. So now, enjoy the event, and wait for the perfect time to place your bids.¡±


    He stood up, turned around, and walked away from the front of the stage as the curtains began to close. The nobles quickly began to discuss what was shown that night as the lights turned back on while the first event of the auction was prepared on stage.


    ¡­


    Commission: Sabotage Fesh Greywater¡¯s plans at the Midnight Auction of Vaulten City on the 7<sup>th </sup>of March.


    Details: The second-in-line heir of Duke Greywater in the Windswept Kingdom intends to increase his reputation and connections by performing an act that will place the representative of the Midnight Auction in his debt, as well as demonstrate his abilities to the assembled nobility at the auction. A staged scene will be performed where the mystery item of the Midnight Auction will be replaced by a fake. The heir will then reveal that the item is fake, breeding distrust among the nobles there.


    To place the representative in his ¡®debt¡¯, the heir will explain that he captured the thief who created the fake, and will return the real item to the representative.


    Task: Do what is needed to ruin the scheme of the 2<sup>nd</sup> heir¡ªadditional rewards for degrading his reputation as well.


    A figure wearing a hooded black coat tilted their head at the letter in their hands and then placed it into their coat pocket. They crossed their arms and leaned against a wall as they looked around at the underground room.


    Several other cloaked men and possible women with unknown identities sat in the room, none of them talking to each other. They all looked up when the door to the room opened and a scarred-looking man with a battleaxe on his back marched in.


    ¡°Alright folks,¡± he began curtly, standing with his armoured hands on his hips. ¡°I don¡¯t care what jobs you lot have, I don¡¯t care if you end up stabbing each other the moment I leave. It¡¯s not my place to question what tasks you¡¯ve got. My only job is to get your lot into the auction house above our heads.¡±


    Several of the people in the room looked at the roof as the man crossed his arms. ¡°Our dark Guild has seven rooms like these within the underground of the city. An event like the Midnight Auction will be teeming with thieves, assassins, and anyone else like you guys.¡± He turned around to walk back to the door and glanced over his shoulder. ¡°We¡¯ve been hired by the Black Night to ensure you can all get in, and those of you who survive can get out.¡±


    He turned around and faced them again. ¡°One last warning. The guys above already know about your schemes because if you didn¡¯t know, an attack on the Midnight Auction is launched every month.¡± He gained a vicious grin. ¡°Welcome to Vaulten City underworld¡¯s favourite day of the month: the night of chaos.¡±


    He turned around and pointed up. ¡°When you hear the first fireball being launched above then you know it¡¯s time to move. Take one step out of here before then and the wards in the walls will kill you instantly.¡± He opened the door. ¡°That¡¯s it from me. Good luck, because you¡¯ll need it.¡±


    The door clicked shut behind him, leaving the room in silence. People traded wary looks, their distrust of each other plain to see. As the seconds ticked by in the tense silence, a loud scoff was heard as one of the masked figures walked towards the door.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to go and get a head start on you guys. No so-called ¡®wards¡¯ are going to stop a Rank-4 assassin like me,¡± the man said, opening the door.


    No sooner had he placed one foot on the other side of the doorframe did he let out a horrifying scream. Scarlet flames burst out on his feet and rapidly climbed up to encompass him in fire. The man was entirely consumed and fell to the ground, only a pile of ashes.


    Off to the side, a masked man among a group of three snickered. ¡°Good riddance. I hated the guy. Heard he was on his last resurrection too.¡±


    Due to the man finally speaking, the trio began to make small talk. Everyone else in the room made idle chatter with their ¡®colleagues¡¯ too, mostly discussing which different tasks everyone planned to do.


    But one figure remained silent, not moving from their position, leaning against the wall.


    It became close to half an hour after the guilder had walked in that a resounding boom shook the room. Several of the weaker individuals stumbled because of the unexpected shock, but everyone else began to file out of the room. Several used their dark-element abilities to transfer themselves.


    The figure leaning against the wall was the last one to leave. They straightened up and walked towards the door with steady, measured steps.


    Internally, Lucy smirked. Her actions would probably ruin the plans of all those Black Night Union members.


    ¡­


    Two uniformed waiters bowed and opened the door of the private room overlooking the auction hall. Lucille didn¡¯t acknowledge them as she walked in and sat down in one of the two armchairs, a small circular table positioned between them.


    ¡°One of us will be outside your door if you need us, my lord,¡± a waiter said.


    Lucy gave them a dismissive wave without turning around, keeping her eyes on the stage. The staff shut the door to the room, leaving her in peace. Lucille glanced behind her and then returned her attention to the auction.


    I don¡¯t have the AGI to sneak around without being caught, nor do I have the STR to get into a fight with some random assassin or thief. I had to spend a bit of money to get this private room, but that¡¯s no issue. I practically earn ten times that amount each second.


    She crossed one leg over the other and reclined in her chair as she waited for the core event to start. Eyeing the ¡®goods¡¯ with distaste, she instead decided to analyse all the gathered nobility to see which ones she needed to make the biggest impression on.


    Minor plane noble, Minor plane noble, rich commoner, Major plane lower nobility¡­ ah, so the Aeternus nobles decided to sit in that row.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Lucy smirked and placed her hands behind her head.


    Now it¡¯s just a waiting game until the main piece of this event is revealed. But in the meantime¡­


    When the auctioneer on the stage began to call out the bids, Lucille raised her bidder number, not even bothering to look at what it was she was bidding for. More bids were called out, but she kept putting her sign up. The cursed item that was being shown ¨C not a Heretic item, for those would come out later ¨C was ¡®sold¡¯ to her. Then she did the same for the next item.


    And then the next item. And the one after that.


    As the night continued, whispers began to break out among the audience about who was the bidder in her private room. Of course, nobody could see who she was, due to her Black Night-made¡­ disguise, but even her outfit was an object of discussion.


    She was, in fact, wearing a thick black leather vest with a deep hood over her head, dark pants, dark boots, and a pitch-black jester mask with a twisted grin on its face. While she had fun designing the outfit, it was common for members of the Black Night Union to wear outfits with particular themes, which was why they were called ¡®identities¡¯. It was a form of brand recognition for the organisation.


    The night continued on, and Lucille didn¡¯t stop placing bids on everything. The Midnight Auction demanded a down payment be made before being allowed to place bids on anything, just so they knew that a potential buyer had the financial capability to uphold their end of the deal.


    Lucy had gone and deposited a crystalline token from the start, so there would be no problems there. She might never gain the token back, as she didn¡¯t intend to buy anything there that night, but what she¡¯d gain in the House¡¯s support made up for whatever physical asset she could have bought with the money.


    She had noticed, however, that a few people in one of the private rooms on the other side of the auction hall were paying close attention to her. Many eyes were on Lucille, but they weren¡¯t looking at anything besides the auctioneer and her. She showed no sign of noticing their excessive attention and continued placing bids.


    That would be Ducal Lord Fesh Greywater and his contingent of vassal nobility. They¡¯re probably discussing my possible origins and wondering if my actions will affect their plan or not. It will¡­ but not in the way they expect.


    Soon, the Heretic items appeared on the stage. Lucy didn¡¯t cease her bidding, even when the staff told her that the other nobles in the private rooms had sent messengers to negotiate with her. She ignored them all.


    It was amusing to watch the auctioneer¡¯s expression during the event, however. At the start, he seemed overjoyed that she had been buying almost everything at more than it was worth, but with fewer and fewer people attempting to outbid her, his happiness was dwindling. Especially as the more expensive items were about to be shown.


    The third stage of the event came to a close with once again, everything being sold to her. Several nobles had already begun to leave the hall, muttering complaints about higher nobility and their coffers. Even the three items shown at the very start went to Lucy.


    With a tight smile, the auctioneer clasped his hands together. ¡°Now, now, it¡¯s still not quite the end of the auction. Please, stay for just one last item. After all, it is time for the reveal of the Midnight Auction¡¯s famed object: our mystery item!¡±


    Several of the leaving nobility weren¡¯t swayed, but most, with their curiosities piqued, decided to turn around and head back to their chairs. The auctioneer bowed. ¡°Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. I¡¯d hate to leave you all empty-handed, so let me at least satisfy your thirst for knowledge,¡± he said, shooting Lucy a glance.


    He straightened back up and spread his arms. ¡°Now, let me present: The Mystery Item!¡±


    The crowd clapped as five staff entered the stage, wheeling a large decorative cart into the centre. Inside of the massive rune-engraved glass case on the cart was a closed book, its leather-bound cover writhing and wiggling. The auctioneer flicked the wall of the case and the book flipped open, rising. Then it began to ram itself into the sides of the case. Ominous dark green, distorted runes rose from its pages and hurled themselves at the glass walls, smashing themselves to pieces against the crystal cage.


    The auctioneer grinned as he gestured to the case, the audience¡¯s faces showing shock. ¡°This is the Grimoire of Befoulment! One of the rare Heretic items that can be used by mages and wizards, this object magnifies the effects of spells by twelve times!¡±


    His grin became vicious as he spread his arms before the crowd. ¡°Now, who will be the first to bid?!¡±


    The audience fell silent as all eyes turned to Lucy, sitting behind the glass in her private room. Instead of raising her sign, she crossed her arms and tilted her head.


    The seconds ticked by, and when she made no move, one noble slowly raised their number. ¡°320 rose crowns!¡±


    The auctioneer pointed at him. ¡°The Grimoire of Befoulment going for 320 rose crowns! Is there anyone who wants to outbid number 43?!¡±


    Chaos broke out as they all hastily bid, wanting to gain such a powerful item. Signs were raised each second as the number of crystal tokens the Heretic item was going for slowly rose. The nobles in Fesh Greywater¡¯s room began to talk amongst each other, pointing at the auctioneer and the door of their room.


    Lucy knew at that point it was time for her to make her move. Before the prince stood up and said anything, she stood up herself and walked over to the glass front of the room.


    Analysing the composition of the magical glass in front of her, she quickly worked out what spell would shatter the material. An advanced spell spun in front of her fingertips, and toxic green flames shot out of the mana-circle to sweep across the glass. The blast made everyone below quickly look up and the window crumbled into a foul-smelling black ash, leaving a hole as large as her.


    The auctioneer looked up at her as well, the fierce bidding competition slowly dying. Lucille crossed her arms and leaned against the melted edge of the glass, looking down at the stunned audience.


    ¡°Well, well, well,¡± she began, her voice distorting uncannily due to the item around her neck. The mana-circle hovering behind her head allowed her voice to echo loudly across the hall. ¡°What do we have here? It seems the nobility of this plane are more blind than I ever could have expected.¡±


    ¡°¡­sir,¡± the auctioneer began, clearly unsure how to address the situation. ¡°Is there a reason you have interrupted the auction by damaging the auction hall¡¯s property?¡±


    ¡°A¡­ reason?¡± She slowly straightened up and placed her hands behind her back. She leaned forward to look down at the auctioneer over the edge. ¡°Do you mean to tell me, that the representative of the Malediction Society in Vaulten City himself, is also so blind as to attempt to sell us fake goods without knowing?¡±


    Whispers broke out among the nobles. The auctioneer stared at her. ¡°F¡­F-Fake goods?¡± Astounded, he gestured around him. ¡°Where in the realms are these ¡®fake goods¡¯ you say I¡¯m selling?¡±


    Lucy snickered, a hand covering her mouth, and she pointed to the grimoire in the glass case. ¡°Over there of course. Your ¡®amazing¡¯ mystery item.¡±


    The auctioneer scowled. ¡°Sir, I will have to ask the auction house¡¯s guards to escort you out if you keep up this pretence.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t believe me? Hm¡­¡± After pretending to think, Lucy jumped down and landed on the closest aisle. She turned around to face the nobles as she walked backwards down the carpeted stairs, her arms spread wide as she directed her words to the observers. ¡°Because I am such a loyal customer of this business, I¡¯m willing to prove my case personally.¡± She turned back around and gave the auctioneer a deep bow. ¡°With the representative¡¯s permission, of course.¡±


    The auctioneer narrowed his eyes at Lucille but then nodded and stepped to the side. ¡°It is better we get this farce over and done with to put the fears of the auction house¡¯s precious customers to rest. Very well then.¡±


    Lucy raised an index finger. ¡°Ah, but I¡¯m not done.¡± She turned back around to face the audience. ¡°I intend to dispel the illusion with a spell of my own. What if someone claims that the purpose of my spell is more¡­ nefarious than I state?¡± She suddenly turned to point a finger directly at the Ducal Lord¡¯s private room, much to their shock and suspicion. ¡°I have heard that Lord Greywater has decided to grace this event with his presence.¡±


    Lucille gave a deep bow in the lord¡¯s direction. ¡°Please, could I request that Lord Greywater send a member of his cohort to verify the effects of my spell? I wouldn¡¯t want the worth of my words to be ruined by betraying anyone¡¯s trust.¡±


    Whispers spread throughout the room. The blonde-haired figure sitting in the main armchair in the lord¡¯s private room, the presumed Lord Greywater, studied her cautiously, then turned to speak to a bearded man in robes beside him.


    A few moments later, that same bearded man walked down the aisles of the hall to politely dip his head at Lucy, a staff in hand. ¡°Lord Greywater has accepted your request,¡± he stated. ¡°I am High-mage Ruven Ladebearer, a manipulator of illusion and water.¡±


    Lucy nodded and dipped her head in return. She gestured to herself. ¡°I am only known as Jinx, sire. Just one of many who aspire to be distinguishable among the Empire¡¯s many esteemed personages.¡±


    He must be the one who cast the illusion spell.


    ¡°¡­I see,¡± the High-mage replied, eyeing her carefully. He gestured to the auctioneer, her and the glass case. ¡°Well, if it is fine with all parties involved, may we see this spell of yours, Lord ¡®Jinx¡¯?¡±


    The auctioneer nodded, so Lucy climbed up the steps of the stage and stood before it. ¡°As you wish. Please inspect my spell to ensure it is the Advanced-level ¡®Unveiling Arrow¡¯ I claim it to be.¡±


    The High-mage nodded, so she raised two black leather-gloved hands, five silver rings on each finger. The indigo mist of illusion mana swirled about her feet and collected into the multi-layered runic circle in front of her face, the size of a pair of double doors. She glanced back at the mage. ¡°Do you recognise this as the standard spellform of Unveiling Arrow?¡±


    The High-mage walked up the stairs and narrowed his eyes at the spell, inspecting it carefully. He took a long time, and Lucy knew it was his attempt at causing her to drop the spell when she couldn¡¯t sustain it any longer. Unfortunately, her mental power meant that she could cast five hundred of these levels of spells concurrently without breaking a sweat.


    After all, that was what was required to cast Grand spells.


    With a slight sigh, the High-mage backed off and nodded. ¡°That is the Athenaeum-standard spellform I¡¯m familiar with, yes.¡± He turned to the auctioneer. ¡°I am satisfied that it will have the described effect when cast.¡±


    Internally, Lucy was grinning. She knew what type of spell was needed to dispel that level of illusion, and both she and the High-mage were aware that Unveiling Arrow wasn¡¯t enough. That was the only reason why the High-mage had yet to accuse her of trying to cast a different spell on the item. But she wanted him there for another reason.


    ¡°Good.¡± The auctioneer gestured to the glass case. ¡°Then, ¡®Lord Jinx¡¯, I request you cast Unveiling Arrow and reveal the truth to us all!¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. Unveiling Arrow!¡±


    The indigo arrow as thick as her arm, made of intertwined runes that emerged from the layers of the giant mana-circle, shot out at the glass case. It dashed against the case, its effects seemingly rendered null.


    Behind her, the High-mage smirked and shook his head, prepared to walk back to Lord Greywater, but then shouts and exclamations rose from the audience behind him. He whirled around and paled as he saw the empty case, the so-called ¡®grimoire¡¯ nowhere to be seen. Then he slowly turned to stare directly at Lucille, whose expression couldn¡¯t be seen behind the grinning jester mask.


    Lucy never wanted to dispel the illusion with magic. She only needed to be close enough to gain control of the illusion with her Field of Transmutational Mastery. While the illusion mana couldn¡¯t escape the cage¡­ all she did was present the illusion of ¡®nothing¡¯.


    Clearly panicking, the High-mage thrust his staff in her direction and began summoning mists of water mana. The auctioneer noticed and let out a shout. ¡°Guards!¡±


    Armoured men suddenly appeared and pointed their weapons at the High-mage, the threat obvious. The auctioneer placed a hand on Lucy¡¯s shoulder as he gestured to the men and audience. ¡°Guards, search everyone and everywhere for the true Grimoire of Befoulment! It must be within the city, if not the hall!¡± He pointed at the audience. ¡°Whoever finds the Grimoire of Befoulment may choose one item from our vault!¡±


    Excited murmurs spread throughout the hall as all the combat-capable nobility stood up and ran off to search for the thief once the guards hadn¡¯t found the grimoire on them. The auctioneer leaned close to Lucy¡¯s ear to whisper, ¡°I don¡¯t what it is you want, but I will at least thank you for bringing this scheme to my attention.¡±


    Lucille tilted her head at the masked man, one violet eye visible through the eye holes in her mask. ¡°Thank me? Oh no, you shouldn¡¯t do that.¡± She brushed off his hand and calmly descended the steps of the stage under his wary gaze. ¡°I did, after all, remove your last lifeline.¡±


    She scanned her perception to see who was closest to the location of the real grimoire. Then she smirked and sent a spiritual transmission to them.


    ¡®Are you brave enough to sneak into Lord Greywater¡¯s carriage to find the grimoire?¡¯


    The man she sent the message to flinched when they heard the message and looked around warily. After hesitating for a second, he peered around a nearby house¡¯s wall to see the carriages lined up in the dark street. With a bit of luck, he snuck past the guards who were casually chatting and peeked through the glass. He grinned.


    Lucille returned her focus to her physical location now that someone had found it, and casually began to walk back up the aisle.


    The auctioneer frowned. ¡°Where are you going?¡± he called out.


    She waved goodbye without turning around. ¡°Back to my room, where I can enjoy watching the rest of this show play out.¡±


    Easily jumping back up to her private room with her AGI, she ¡®returned to her armchair¡¯. In reality, she had cast an illusion to make it appear that she was there, while she disguised herself and decided to leave before the Duke of Greywater¡¯s second son decided to chase after her for revenge. When she was a comfortable distance away, she removed the illusion and ran for the teleportation array.


    As she stood on it and was whisked away to the Gilded Dome plane, she heard the sounds of fighting coming from the direction of the underworld district. She smiled, knowing that all the other members of the Black Night Union were taking advantage of the chaos that broke out when the Heretic item¡¯s location was revealed.


    Hopefully, the Midnight Auction ruined its reputation among the other nobility, and the second son of the Duke of Greywater. Without those Olden members, the House should be free to act.


    Then she blinked as part of her consciousness in her Origin Skill received a very panicked message from a certain elixir Agent. She smirked and activated her skill as she discovered what was happening.


    <hr>


    ¡°Argh!¡±


    Stephen Lawrence let out a pained groan as he was thrown against a wall. He twisted as he tried to remove the ropes around his hands while listening to find out where he was. A tight blindfold covered his eyes, preventing him from seeing anything. His earpiece and holowatch had both been removed and likely disposed of by whoever held him captive.


    He winced when a hand roughly grabbed his hair and pulled his head upright.


    ¡°Quit moving if you want to leave here unscathed,¡± the voice hissed.


    Stephen gulped and shakily nodded his head as the hand let go. He stayed still, only hearing the sound of approaching footsteps coming from directly in front of him. He strained to catch the muffled whispers that could be heard a few steps away but they were too quiet. He flinched when the voice spoke again.


    ¡°Alright. Get up, you.¡±


    A strong grip on his arm yanked him upright and he tried not to trip as he was pulled over to the side. A shove sent him stumbling back to collapse into a chair and he breathed heavily, feeling very anxious about what would happen to him. ¡°W-Who are you?¡± he asked, licking his dry lips. ¡°What do you want with me? I¡¯m not that high up in the Esper Union, I swear I don¡¯t know an-¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡±


    The blonde-haired agent let out a gasp of pain as something that felt like a sharp boot heel kicked his side. He doubled over, wheezing.


    A new voice interjected, clicking its tongue. ¡°Now, now, Agent Lawrence here is an important guest. We can¡¯t have his speaking abilities be marred before we learn anything.¡±


    Something about the voice felt vaguely familiar to Stephen.


    I swear I¡¯ve heard it before, but not recently. Where could I- wait.


    His eyes involuntarily widened. Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s-


    The new voice went cold. ¡°Take off his blindfold.¡±


    A pair of hands reached out to untie the black strip of fabric and Stephen blinked as his eyes adjusted to the blinding light coming from the ceiling lamp in the otherwise dark room. The first person he registered was a well-built man wearing a mask that covered the bottom half of his face. Then he stared at the man in the beige suit with dark hair and greying sideburns, a red tie around his neck as he sat down on a leather armchair.


    ¡°Let me introduce myself to you, Agent Stephen Lawrence,¡± the man began. ¡°My name is Marvin Goldcroft, the great uncle of the woman you handed that X-ranked elixir to.¡± He leaned forward and narrowed his eyes. ¡°And I¡¯m here to interrogate you on why we¡¯ve heard multiple reports of someone at your address accessing my niece¡¯s digital accounts.¡±


    Stephen gazed wearily between Marvin Goldcroft and the man next to him, feeling like this was something that he should¡¯ve known was going to happen. He licked his cracked lips and took a deep breath, attempting to pull upon his connection to the ¡®Simulacrum¡¯ as Lucille Goldcroft called it to gain her help.


    ¡°I understand. But before we begin, I want to state that everything I¡¯ve done since September has been with her permission¡­¡±


    ¡­


    The man in the beige suit frowned as he stared at the glowing golden cube only Stephen and he could see. The third man was gazing at them both with utter confusion.


    ¡°So, uh¡­ now that I proved to you what I said is true, can I go back home now?¡± Stephen asked weakly.


    The owner of Medallion shot him a disdainful look as the other man scowled at him. ¡°Absolutely not, Lawrence. Not until I test this¡­ ¡®Simulacrum Cube¡¯ or whatever you called it.¡±


    He swiftly gripped it in his hand to crush it, and Stephen let out a sigh as he pulled upon his connection to Lucille¡¯s ability. They were mentally summoned to the blank white space, leaving behind an even more confused witness.


    Marvin Goldcroft and Stephen appeared in the space together. The owner of Medallion looked around with a frown while Stephen coughed awkwardly.


    ¡°As I explained, this is the mental space of her ability. I don¡¯t know how it works.¡±


    The stern man looked at him. ¡°Where is she?¡±


    ¡°Well, she said she¡¯d be-¡±


    ¡°Ding!¡±


    They flinched and stared at the dark-haired young woman who had appeared while making such a strange sound. Dressed in her black trench coat, Lucille Goldcroft didn¡¯t look at Stephen and only stared at Marvin. Then a bright smile appeared on her face.


    ¡°Welcome to the Simulacrum, my mental simulation ability,¡± she stated with a strangely monotone voice. ¡°Here is where I will be able to communicate with any individuals from Earth. It is a pleasure to welcome you to this new inter-realm association.¡±


    Marvin frowned at her. ¡°Lucille-¡±


    ¡°-this brings a close to my pre-recorded message,¡± she said, as they continued to stare at her. ¡°If you need to contact me, please state the keyword ¡®Help¡¯ within the next ten seconds.¡±


    The two men exchanged glances. ¡°¡­uh, help?¡± Stephen hesitantly responded.


    ¡°Beep boop.¡± Lucille blinked. ¡°Sorry, the contact command has yet to be initialised. Please try again at a later date.¡±


    The Medallion CEO continued to stare at her, flabbergasted. ¡°Lucille, what on earth are you-¡±


    ¡°As you did not say ¡®help'', I will be ending this pre-recorded message,¡± she stated. ¡°Enjoy the scenery if you wish, or take your leave whenever you desire. Goodbye.¡±


    And then she was whisked away into white light. The two men stared at the spot where she had been standing, then raised their eyes to gaze at the space around them. It was utterly blank, with no landmark in sight.


    Marvin turned to Stephen. ¡°Is she actually able to leave pre-recorded messages in this place?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ wouldn¡¯t have a clue,¡± Stephen replied, feeling just as confused. ¡°She told me she¡¯d come here to sort something out, but never mentioned anything like this¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, also, Agent Lawrence. Before I forget.¡± Lucille Goldcroft abruptly appeared again, looking only at Stephen this time. ¡°It¡¯s your job to explain everything to my stuck-up relative over there. I don¡¯t want to have to deal with Marvin right now so I¡¯d appreciate you doing that on my behalf.¡±


    Stephen¡¯s eyes widened but then Marvin stormed forward with a scowl. ¡°Lucille!¡±


    She turned to stare at her great uncle, then smiled brightly again. ¡°Beep boop.¡±


    Then she disappeared once more.


    The blonde-haired agent ran a hand down his face as the owner of Medallion continued gazing at the spot she had been, his expression dark. Marvin Goldcroft slowly turned to Stephen.


    ¡°You better explain everything and anything she has told you, or else I will be sending you both to the FSF for correctional training once she returns,¡± the man said with a cold smirk.


    Stephen gulped.


    I have to explain this to him on my own¡­ and hope he believes me? Oh, I never should¡¯ve gotten involved with Medallion¡­

 Chapter 64 (1 of 2) The Adventures of Super Magic Addict and his very exasperated friends.

    Buried under thick covers, a muffled snore leaked from the sleeping bag. A mop of messy hair covered the exit of the temporary bed, preventing anyone from seeing who was inside.


    Standing around the sleeping individual were three people¡ªa mercenary, an adventurer, and¡­ an elf. The two women, the mercenary and the elf had their hands on their hips, while the adventurer was smirking as they all looked down at the sleeping bag.


    Garthe used a foot to nudge the sleeping bag. Marellen only snored louder.


    ¡°Yup, he¡¯s out for the count,¡± the green-eyed adventurer stated with a grin on his face.


    ¡°I did remind him of our tasks for today, but once again it seems he prioritised his study late at night over getting a good rest,¡± Roa commented, eyeing the mage with mild bemusement.


    Larena cracked her knuckles and leaned from side to side, warming up. ¡°Alright. Time to get the day in motion.¡±


    She walked forward, raised a foot, and positioned it near the mage¡¯s side. ¡°Geeeeeeet¡­¡± She kicked him. ¡°Up!¡±


    The force of her kick sent Marellen and the sleeping bag tumbling, rolling quickly to come to a stop when blocked by the tent wall. The tent shuddered, and then Marellen sat bolt-upright, eyes wide and messy hair skewed in all directions. ¡°Huh? Wha? Where¡­ what?¡±


    ¡°Time to get up, lazy bones!¡± Garthe called out. ¡°We were supposed to leave two hours ago!¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Marellen rubbed his eyes and awkwardly felt around the ground, looking for something. ¡°Okay, I just¡­ where are my glasses?¡±


    Larena walked up to unceremoniously drop the gold-framed glasses on his lap.


    He stared blankly at them, not registering what they were for a moment. ¡°Ah¡­¡± The navy-haired mage finally put them on and blinked a few times, getting used to the view. He peered up at them. ¡°So¡­ we were meant to leave two minutes ago, did you say?¡±


    ¡°Two hours ago,¡± Larena stated with her hands on her hips, unimpressed.


    ¡°Right, two hours ago,¡± he replied sheepishly. ¡°I¡­ must¡¯ve been tired.¡±


    The raven-haired woman rolled her eyes as she turned to leave the tent. ¡°Yeah, well, you¡¯re banned from late-night experiments until you get your sleeping schedule back in order.¡±


    Marellen¡¯s eyes widened with horror. ¡°What?! No experiments?! But-¡±


    ¡°You can complain about it after you get ready,¡± Larena said with a glance back. ¡°You¡¯ve got ten minutes to pack everything up, or else you¡¯re banned from any more experiments for the rest of the trip.¡±


    Garthe snickered and Roa wryly shook her head as they left, leaving Marellen grumbling as hastily extracted himself from his bedding. ¡°Banning me from my experiments¡­ not even my uncle managed to do that¡­¡±


    He sighed as he gazed at the messy tent, feeling overwhelmed at the thought of packing it all up. ¡°I wish the Athenaeum had invented dimensional bags that could just suck everything up and then place everything exactly how it was when I take it out¡­¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Okay, Marellen. Do your powerful mage thing!¡±


    Marellen glanced over his shoulder to give Garthe a weary look but sighed and placed a hand on the metal in front of him. Having spent the last week trying to locate the central zone of the hidden facility levels Marellen had accidentally discovered, they were now standing before two massive vault-like doors three times their height, the most likely entrance to their goal. A massive central gear of some kind sat in the centre, the engraved runes dim and unpowered.


    Marellen closed his eyes as he concentrated on directing elemental mana to the six different spherical orbs that were evenly placed around the central cog. Slowly, the cog began to rotate, glowing mana lines spreading out from the orbs to create vein-like patterns across the doors.


    They all stepped back and with the sound of pistons releasing, the two doors swung outward, revealing a dark room. They tried to see through the darkness, but all they saw was the faint glint of light reflecting off of metal.


    Then clinical white light flooded the room with the sound of electrical buzzing, revealing a wide-open domed hall, a strange fountain-like object in the centre. Seven different hallways branched off of the hall, including their own. They traded glances.


    ¡°Looks empty enough. I guess we head in?¡± Garthe asked.


    Larena nodded and stepped forward to lead the others in. Their footsteps echoed in the hall, and the floor was made of polished metal. Above their heads, artificial light streamed through panes of glass to create the impression of skylights.


    ¡°This place is rather refreshing to be in after the darkness of the former floors,¡± Roa remarked, looking up at the ceiling.


    Larena raised an eyebrow as they approached the ¡®fountain¡¯, a strange waist-high pool of liquid that looked like water. A large black metallic cube sat in the centre of the pool, runic engravings covering it on all sides. ¡°What in the realms is this thing though?¡±


    Marellen held his chin as he leaned forward to inspect the liquid. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but-¡± His and Roa¡¯s eyes widened as they felt the rush of mana and they quickly moved away. ¡°Get back!¡±


    The two warriors withdrew their weapons as Marellen and Roa also held their staffs, prepared to cast spells at any moment. The runes on the cube slowly lit up, and sudden rays of light burst out from it. They hastily blinked, trying to see what had happened. Then they hesitated as they saw the three-metre-tall glowing rectangle hovering above the cube, covered in strange symbology. Most of the lines of symbols were glowing red, but a few glowed bright blue.


    ¡°Uh¡­ is that it?¡± Garthe asked.


    Marellen and Roa glanced at each other. ¡°It appears to be,¡± Roa replied.


    Larena slowly walked forward to try to touch the rectangle. Her hand went straight through it. ¡°It¡¯s clearly not an attack.¡± She tried to walk around to see what was on the back and paused as the rectangle turned to face her.


    Garthe cocked an eyebrow. ¡°Is it following you?¡± He walked forward and they all became surprised when the rectangle turned to face him, but only enough that both Larena and Garthe could see the front. Garthe began to walk so that he and Larena were on opposite sides of the fountain. ¡°Oh¡­ wait. I think it¡¯s two-dimensional. Everything on this side is flipped.¡±


    Marellen walked forward, using his Mana Sight skill to see what the rectangle was composed of. ¡°This is only made of illusion mana. And¡­ hm?¡± He held his chin as he inspected the symbols. ¡°I recognise these symbols. They¡¯re the language of the plane.¡±


    Roa looked at him curiously. ¡°Do you mean to say you understand what it says?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t, but the translation artifact might work.¡± Marellen took out the ring artifact he had used when they discovered the floors and held it up to his eye, trying to see what it said. ¡°Okay, so the text at the top says, ¡®Welcome to the Institute of Nomological Augmentation¡¯s Centre for Interdimensional Navigation. The text under each red sentence says¡­ ¡®Offline¡¯, whatever that means. Under each blue sentence, it says ¡®Online¡¯. And¡­¡± He tilted his head. ¡°The bottom half of the rectangle is¡­ a map?¡±


    They went silent as they contemplated what that meant. Then Garthe gained a strange expression. ¡°Marellen, are you saying we¡¯re all freaking out over a sign?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ yes. This appears to be a sign listing the different areas of the Institute,¡± the navy-haired mage replied awkwardly.


    Roa shook her head with amusement. ¡°We still have yet to become used to the wonders of this facility, it seems.¡±


    Garthe let out a groan. ¡°Stupid ancient societies with their weird technology.¡± He turned to look at his sister. ¡°This reminds me of last week when Larena had a panic attack because a door opened on its own. She thought something was going to escape and attack us but it turns out the door just opens on its own for whoever walks past.¡±


    The dark-haired woman scowled. ¡°Shut up.¡± She sighed as she looked at the glowing sign, and then turned to Marellen. ¡°Well, if we now know what this is, where do you suppose we go, Marellen?¡±


    The mage thought for a moment. ¡°Out of the seven hallways, only three have the ¡®Online¡¯ status. I have a theory about what that means, but to test it, we need to check one of the ¡®Offline¡¯ doorways first.¡± He began walking in the direction of the closest ¡®Offline¡¯ hallway and stopped before a door. Placing his hand on it, he tried to use his elemental mana to unseal it as he did with the other one, but¡­ nothing happened. Marellen let out a hum and walked back to the others. ¡°Only the ¡®Online¡¯ doors can be opened right now because according to the map, the door we entered through is ¡®Online¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Larena looked at the sign. ¡°We¡¯ll need to find some way to access the other hallways, but first¡­ Marellen, how do the other levels come into play?¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± He nodded as he returned to them. ¡°The sign says the hallways take us to different elevators that only have access to one level each. We just came from the ¡®General Operations¡¯ level, which explains all the desks and meeting rooms.¡±


    The other three stared at him. ¡°Marellen, we have spent a month navigating this level,¡± Roa stated. ¡°You mean to say that we have barely explored a 7<sup>th</sup> of this ¡®Centre¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Er, well¡­¡± He rubbed his neck. ¡°We haven¡¯t exactly been taking a linear path to find this place. I think we went down a few staircases, accidentally fell through a chasm or two, climbed up a tunnel¡­¡± Marellen looked around. ¡°We probably will recognise some areas of the levels when we go to them.¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Larena sighed. ¡°Okay. Time to decide which of these other two ¡®Online¡¯ levels to go to first.¡± She pointed at the mage. ¡°Could you translate their names for us?¡±


    Marellen reactivated his translation artifact. ¡°The first ¡®Online¡¯ level is called¡­ Dimensional Archives. I think that¡¯s where they store their knowledge.¡±


    Larena frowned. ¡°So, filled with complex books that can only be read with translation artifacts. What¡¯s the next one?¡±


    ¡°Er¡­ ¡®Item and Material Stockroom¡¯.¡±


    ¡°¡­huh?¡±


    They all ignored Garthe¡¯s sound of incomprehension.


    Roa gazed at the ground in thought. ¡°Is a ¡®stockroom¡¯ not a word for a storage room?¡±


    Marellen nodded. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s a level that stores all the stuff they need so the people on the upper levels of the Institute don¡¯t interact much with them.¡±


    Larena crossed her arms, considering what to do. Then she nodded. ¡°Alright then. A vote. Who wants us to check out this stockroom and hope there¡¯s something more interesting than blank paper in there, and who wants to go and steal from a library? Everyone in favour of the first raise your hand.¡±


    They all raised their hands, including Marellen. Roa gave him a surprised look. ¡°You do not wish to access their texts?¡±


    Marellen shook his head. ¡°While mage is my main class, I¡¯m also an alchemist. I¡¯d love to see what unique materials they have down here. Books can always be read once we¡¯ve left the plane.¡± Then he shrugged. ¡°And besides, ancient magic can¡¯t be cast by anyone who was born after the magic¡¯s era, so the books might be useless. Artifacts are so valuable because they contain ancient magic that can¡¯t be cast anymore.¡±


    Garthe smirked and rubbed his hands together. ¡°Let¡¯s hope this stockroom has more artifacts.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s decided then.¡± Larena nodded and gestured to Marellen. ¡°We¡¯ll go to this stockroom level. Marellen, please lead the way.¡±


    Marellen nodded in return and walked in the direction of the doors leading to the stockroom level. ¡°Maybe we¡¯ll find some more interesting items to study.¡±


    ¡­


    The bronze disc-shaped platform they were on finally stopped, allowing them to step off into a long hallway. Weapons at the ready, they slowly approached five doors in a circular room at the end of the hallway. Marellen raised his artifact to translate the signs above the doors.


    ¡°It looks like you¡¯re in luck, Garthe,¡± the navy-haired mage said. ¡°This room on the far left is called the ¡®Upcoming Investigation Subject Storage¡¯. I¡¯m pretty sure the subjects they¡¯re talking about are artifacts.¡±


    ¡°What are we waiting for?¡± Garthe asked with a wicked grin. ¡°Let¡¯s head on in!¡± He ran forward to yank the door open and dashed inside.


    Marellen¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Wait, Garthe-¡± He paused as he felt a hand on his shoulder.


    ¡°No use calling him back now,¡± Larena said, running past. ¡°Let¡¯s catch up with him before he steals all the artifact- I mean, before he gets himself killed.¡±


    She likewise disappeared inside, leaving Marellen and Roa standing outside. Roa raised an eyebrow at him as she passed the navy-haired mage. ¡°Try to keep in mind that this is how we felt when you disappeared, Marellen.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Marellen was left standing there awkwardly. He sighed and followed them in.


    On the other side of the door was an enormous warehouse, filled with shelves that nearly reached the ceiling. Marellen blinked as he found himself beside the three others on a small platform, raised several metres above the ground. Stairs were on either side of the platform, which Garthe quickly noticed. He ran down them to start exploring the massive space.


    Larena frowned at her brother. ¡°Garthe!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t ¡®Garthe¡¯ me, you just don¡¯t want to lose the collection bet agai- woah.¡± He came to a screeching halt as hundreds of thin red beams of light shot out, forming a wall between him and the rest of the warehouse. Raising an eyebrow as the others came up beside him, Garthe activated his own Mana Sight to see what was going on. ¡°The light¡­ isn¡¯t made of mana? It¡¯s just mundane?¡±


    Larena cocked an eyebrow. ¡°A bit excessive for a decoration.¡±


    Roa frowned slightly. ¡°I believe it to be best if we stand back. I do not believe a facility as advanced as this would utilise this light for simply decorative purposes.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re too cautious, Roa.¡± Garthe went to take a step forward and cross the red light beams. ¡°I bet that nothing will happen even when-¡±


    A blaring alarm sounded as the red beams of light all focused on Garthe. Mechanical whirring could be heard as Garthe froze in place, unsure what to do. ¡°Uh, okay, so maybe ¡®nothing¡¯ isn¡¯t exactly-¡±


    The walls of the warehouse slid aside to reveal barricades of metal tubes, all aimed at Garthe. Multiple fireballs shot out from the tubes and the others hastily wielded their weapons, the two mages of the party summoning barriers of earth and ice. They gritted their teeth as the bombardment continued.


    ¡°How do we turn this off?!¡± Larena shouted.


    ¡°I don¡¯t-¡± Something familiar caught Marellen¡¯s eye and he shifted his barrier. ¡°Roa, please protect them for a few more seconds!¡±


    Marellen rushed out from their group, shielding himself with spells. He ran over to the wall where a metal cabinet like the one he had used at the entrance to the Centre for Inter-Dimensional Navigation was, and yanked it open. Summoning his elemental mana, he quickly worked the system, trying to remember the right combination.


    ¡°Marellen, the barrier won¡¯t hold out much longer!¡± Roa yelled.


    ¡°I know, I¡¯m almost¡­¡± His mana locked into place. ¡°There!¡±


    The warehouse suddenly fell into pitch-black darkness, all mechanisms and systems shut down due to the lack of power. Marellen heaved a sigh of relief as he cast his Star of Brilliance spell and walked back over to the others, where Roa had summoned an orb of fire for light.


    ¡°I managed to reroute the power,¡± Marellen explained. ¡°But that just means that if there are any dangerous artifacts in this place, then their seals might¡¯ve been released.¡± He shuddered as a thought came to him. ¡°Maybe Heretic items are here too.¡±


    ¡°Then we have to tread more carefully,¡± Larena said. She fixed a stare on Garthe. ¡°Very carefully.¡±


    ¡°Fine, yes, I know this was my fault,¡± he grumbled. He hoisted his spear and pointed ahead. ¡°So, can we finally go check out these artifacts?¡±


    Larena held out her sword and nodded. ¡°Yes. But we¡¯ll go slowly.¡±


    ¡­


    They spent half an hour walking past the shelves, looking at anything that caught their interest. Unfortunately, a lot of what was on the shelves was magical materials that had lost their energy, or items that no longer functioned. It was only when they walked past the area of the warehouse with the tall shelves that they found where the artifacts were.


    Placed within glass cases on evenly-spaced pedestals, the strange objects were arranged in neat rows, each labelled by words engraved into the glass. What made them pause, however, was that some cases¡­ had been shattered, and no artifacts were left resting on the silk pillows within.


    ¡°¡­it looks like someone came in here and stole a bunch of stuff, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Garthe said. ¡°I guess everyone was in a panic to survive when the wight crossed over.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡± Roa paused when she saw Marellen¡¯s frown. ¡°Marellen? Is something the matter?¡±


    ¡°Oh, uh¡­ no, not really,¡± the navy-haired mage replied. He shook his head to distract himself from his thoughts about the mysterious visitor he discovered a month ago. ¡°Let¡¯s see what these signs say- oh, look, one of the shattered cases still has an artifact inside!¡±


    The others shook their heads wryly at how quickly Marellen had gotten distracted. Marellen lowered his head to eye the strange ornate box on the red pillow. ¡°It¡¯s quite large for an artifact. What does the label say¡­ oh.¡± He scratched his head when he saw that the glass where the engraved name should¡¯ve been was destroyed. ¡°I guess we won¡¯t be finding out what they named this one then.¡±


    Marellen went to pick it up as the others came closer.


    ¡°What did I say earlier about being careful, Marellen?¡± Larena asked as she gave him a flat look.


    ¡°Not to worry, very few artifacts are dangerous to their wielders unless used incorrectly.¡± The mage picked up the box, noticing the metal clasp on the front, the metallic finery covering its surface, and the four legs extending from the bottom. ¡°This looks like a jewellery casket.¡±


    Garthe came closer and whistled. ¡°Solid gold, too. I wonder how that thing became an artifact.¡±


    Marellen checked the clasp on the front to see if it had a lock. It did, but when he looked down at the pillow he noticed a small key with a ruby embedded in its end. Shrugging, he inserted the key into the keyhole and went to turn it when-


    [Warning: This object consumes Stats when used. Do you want to proceed? Yes/No]


    He hesitated when he saw the notification. Then he noticed that the others were staring at the exact same notification too.


    Larena took another look at the box and then snatched it out of Marellen¡¯s hands. ¡°Let¡¯s put that away and never touch it again,¡± she said as she placed it back down on its pillow.


    ¡°But¡­¡± Marellen frowned, reaching for the box again. ¡°Just because it consumes stats, doesn¡¯t necessarily mean it¡¯s dangerous. If I study it I can-¡±


    ¡°No. Pick something else to study and leave the probably cursed item alone.¡± Larena grabbed him by the collar and dragged him away. ¡°Look, there¡¯s a fancy glowing globe that looks like an atlas over here. I¡¯m sure an incredibly smart mage like you can discover something about this.¡±


    Marellen groaned as the others pulled him along but sighed and accepted not being able to study the artifact. With the power for the warehouse rerouted and protective measures disabled, the two warriors in their group helped by smashing the unbroken glass cases to access the artifacts inside. Storing them in dimensional bags, they worked methodically, taking artifacts from one section at a time.


    Then Marellen blinked as his foot bumped into an object on the ground. He looked down and paused when he saw the very familiar, solid gold box. ¡°Uh¡­ is it just me or is this the same casket we saw earlier?¡±


    The others looked back and frowned when they saw the artifact. Garthe walked forward to pick it up, shaking it and rotating it in his hands to check for himself. ¡°Looks like it. But where¡¯s the key?¡±


    They looked around but couldn¡¯t see it. Roa eventually shook her head. ¡°It is no use to us if it doesn¡¯t have a key, regardless of its ability to consume stats or not. Let us leave it there and-¡±


    ¡°¡­Roa, wait a second.¡± Larena walked forward with a strange expression and reached up to the snow elf¡¯s bun. ¡°And¡­ there.¡±


    Roa stared as a golden key embedded with a ruby returned with Larena¡¯s hand. The raven-haired mercenary held it up to their light spells to study it. ¡°Unless Garthe or Marellen has played a prank on you, I don¡¯t think this somehow ended up in your hair because of us.¡±


    They all eyed the key and gold casket. Larena threw the key near the box and turned around. ¡°Ignore it. We have other artifacts to collect.¡±


    They continued collecting artifacts, until five minutes later¡­


    ¡°Not again!¡±


    They turned to look in the direction of Marellen, who was staring at the golden casket on top of another artifact¡¯s case. They came over and gazed at the box with strange expressions.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Larena looked around. ¡°Who has the key now?¡±


    Roa checked her bun, and Marellen his pockets, but neither of them had it. Garthe scowled as he took out a small key from his shirt pocket. ¡°No chance that you could melt this creepy box and key with fire, could you Roa?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°An artifact such as these from an Old Era plane would only be able to be destroyed by the most powerful of Archmagi.¡±


    Garthe sighed. ¡°Go figure.¡± He threw the key over his shoulder, not bothering to look where it went, and marched off. ¡°I bet if we just ignore that box then it will stop following us. Let¡¯s get the rest of these artifacts!¡±


    ¡­


    The lights in the warehouse turned back on as Marellen routed the power back. He walked back up the stairs to the platform where everyone else was. Larena placed her hands on her hips as she looked around. ¡°We¡¯re done here, right?¡±


    They all nodded. Garthe grinned. ¡°See? I told you if we ignored it then it would leave us alone!¡±


    Larena sighed. ¡°Yes. Well, time to head back up and set up camp in the level with the fountain.¡±


    With all the artifacts stored, they left the warehouse, walking back into the hallway. But even as they left, Marellen couldn¡¯t help absentmindedly fiddling with the ruby-embedded key in his pocket, thinking about the golden box that was sitting in his dimensional bag to be taken with them out of the plane.


    <hr>


    Lucille was smiling brightly. She was in the Simulacrum Realm of her Origin Skill, in her simulated study. Her fingers steepled as she rested them against her desk, she waited patiently for the individual opposite her to speak.


    Sitting there with his arms crossed was a man in his early sixties, wearing his trademark red tie and beige suit. He was frowning as he watched Lucy, tapping his fingers against his arm.


    ¡°Before anything else,¡± Marvin Goldcroft began, his expression serious. ¡°I would just like to ask you one thing.¡± He gained an incredulous look as he gazed at his great-niece. ¡°Medallion stocks for my birthday present?¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°I was bored and wanted to test the World Government¡¯s age recognition systems. Obviously, they failed miserably, because I was still able to purchase them while being a minor.¡±


    ¡°Great, so it wasn¡¯t even a gift you put thorough thought into,¡± he muttered. The owner of Medallion sighed and ran a hand through his hair. ¡°I¡¯ve been bombarded by requests from the investors to know what chaos you intend to cause this time, so they can know what businesses to pull out of when your nefarious scheme inevitably activates.¡± Marvin gazed solemnly at her. ¡°But I don¡¯t think the chaos Lawrence believes will occur next year can be blamed on you.¡±


    ¡°On the contrary, I am here to mitigate the chaos,¡± Lucy replied, picking up a pen to point it at him.


    ¡°Yes, so I¡¯ve heard.¡± He gazed at her with a complicated expression before shaking his head. ¡°Well, please enlighten me about these ¡®memories¡¯ of yours that Lawrence states he¡¯s seen, just so I can stop considering him to be some very imaginative madman.¡±


    Lucille smirked and reached forward to tap her uncle¡¯s forehead. ¡°Please breathe, Marvin.¡±


    Her uncle¡¯s eyes widened as the thoughts and pieces of information were sent across, informing him of all of the realms¡¯ cultures, nations, technology, and details of the ¡®System¡¯. When she pulled back he clutched at his head, gritting his teeth as he tried to process what she had shown him.


    ¡°Marvin. This isn¡¯t some elaborate prank this time,¡± she stated seriously. ¡°Earth¡¯s continued existence might be on the line here.¡±


    ¡°¡­yet you¡¯ve shown me that this ¡®System¡¯ protects civilizations,¡± he said, breathing heavily. ¡°If you believe you¡¯re trying to prevent Earth from being destroyed, then there¡¯s something else you¡¯re not telling me.¡±


    She stayed silent as Marvin recovered, letting out a sigh as he leaned back in the chair. ¡°I¡­ need some time to process all this before I can make arrangements, Lucille.¡±


    Lucy nodded. ¡°I expected as much. You can contact me whenever you need through your connection to the Simulacrum. But it¡¯s probably best we cut our meeting short for now, as I¡¯m going to be preoccupied in my physical body soon.¡±


    ¡°¡­yes.¡± Marvin stood up, not yet aware that he didn¡¯t need to ¡®leave¡¯ her study to return to his body. Then he studied her solemnly. ¡°You¡¯ve never done anything without a reason, Lucille, but while I don¡¯t know much about this ¡®Tower¡¯ and ¡®System¡¯¡­ I hope you know what you¡¯re doing. Don¡¯t get yourself killed.¡±


    Lucille smiled. ¡°See you later, Marvin.¡±


    ¡­


    Lucy blinked and opened her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she stretched her arms and sat up, looking around. When she spotted who she was looking for she smiled and got out of her sleeping bag. ¡°Good morning, Hargrave.¡±


    The scarlet-haired mercenary looked over his shoulder to see her approaching. ¡°It¡¯s not even dawn yet. You should stay asleep.¡±


    ¡°And I told you that I¡¯m a light sleeper. You should¡¯ve taken me up on my offer to be on the second watch.¡± She walked over to where he was sitting, his spear on his lap, and then sat down next to him. ¡°Any thoughts about the Dungeon so far?¡±


    ¡°Not particularly, but¡­¡± Hargrave paused to study her silently.


    Lucy tilted her head. ¡°Is something the matter?¡±


    He frowned, sighed, and then shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not important.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± She eyed him curiously but shrugged and leaned back on her arms. ¡°Have Scytale and I been much trouble to take through the Dungeon?¡±


    ¡°¡­less than I expected.¡± Hargrave gained a strange expression as he looked at her. ¡°You react to conflict the same way many experienced fighters do and make decisions that always tip the battle¡¯s balance in our favour. But¡­ you are definitely inexperienced at physical combat. I also haven¡¯t seen you use any skills that look like combat skills.¡±


    ¡°Yes, well¡­¡± Lucille let out a sigh. ¡°I won¡¯t be using those for a long time. I did plan on gaining skills to enhance my combat ability before this Dungeon trip, but I¡¯m still indecisive which path I should take.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s also¡­¡± Hargrave hesitated, as if to say something else and shook his head. ¡°Never mind. Scytale is¡­ nearly your exact opposite. He is incredibly adept at physical fights, but it¡¯s almost like he¡¯s still getting used to his magical abilities. Although, he reads the flow of battle just as well as you do¡­¡±


    Ah, I think I know what Hargrave is curious about. I might have to address that if we fight alongside each other more often.


    Lucy smiled. ¡°Scytale only awakened his light-element bloodline around a year ago. Before that, he only used illusion.¡±


    ¡°¡­right, that makes a bit of sense. Still, his ability to access Heroic Power¡­¡± He shot her an odd look. ¡°You make a strange pair.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re the only ones like us in the world, that¡¯s for sure.¡± Lucy stood back up and stretched. ¡°Well then, I¡¯m going to have breakfast, but are you sure you don¡¯t want to catch a few more hours of sleep before the day begins?¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°Suit yourself.¡± She got up and walked back to her sleeping bag. ¡°I¡¯ll get you something to eat too.¡±

 Chapter 64 (2 of 2) The Adventures of Super Magic Addict and his very exasperated friends.

    ¡°Alright! Huh? Why are you guys just sitting on the floor doing nothing? Let¡¯s go!¡±


    Lucille shot the humanoid snake a flat look as even Hargrave looked at the serpent with mild exasperation. Lucy held up the fruit natural treasure in her hand. ¡°If you want to skip breakfast, then sure, we can leave now.¡±


    Scytale¡¯s expression froze and he hastily ran over to sit down. ¡°No, no, I can be patient. Gimme.¡± He snatched the food from her hand as if fearing she¡¯d withdraw it, making her roll her eyes.


    But it was true that they needed to move soon, so Lucy closed her eyes to concentrate on what she saw in her perception field. She opened up the Tier II Realm Quest to check what objectives they had already completed.


    [Realm Quest - Ancient Dungeon Discovery Tier II (Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis):]


    <ul>


    <li>Investigate the first three zones of the Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis:


    <ul>


    <li>Kill 50 monsters on the second level of the Dungeon: COMPLETE (50/50)</li>


    <li>Defeat the three zone bosses of the second level: INCOMPLETE (2/3)</li>


    <li>Kill a zone boss with an attack of its element: INCOMPLETE]</li>


    </ul>


    </li>


    </ul>


    Hargrave¡¯s only affinity is blood and I don¡¯t think he¡¯s ever tried to use the other elements, and as a magical beast, Scytale is incapable of using any element outside of light and illusion. Illusion earth magic wouldn¡¯t count to complete the last task.


    That leaves it up to me.


    She closed the Quest Log and returned her attention to the other members of her party. It was clear the Dungeon either recognised them or recognised Hargrave¡¯s higher level because it hadn¡¯t sent nearly as many monsters after them when they progressed through the explored areas. That meant when it came to the unexplored level, they were faced with hordes of higher-level creatures.


    Lucy and Scytale didn¡¯t gain more than one or two levels during the time they had been with Hargrave. Mostly because he had the highest contribution, so he gained a lot of their experience. They hadn¡¯t come down there for experience anyway, and with the Adventurer Quest rewards entering her and her bond¡¯s pockets soon, they didn¡¯t have a problem. What they were doing was taking the time to get used to their abilities better, with Hargrave to help them if the danger got too high.


    As for Hargrave¡­ she watched Scytale ask the scarlet-haired man about the combat abilities of Glory Pantheon. Lucille had a very strong suspicion that Hargrave wasn¡¯t that interested in the Quest rewards, but rather in them. She understood why, and couldn¡¯t care less what he discovered as long as he didn¡¯t decide she was to be included in his revenge.


    He was a man that even the Hero couldn¡¯t defeat without the aid of hundreds of Guilds.


    Although, he won¡¯t be considered a ¡®man¡¯ for much longer. In three months he¡¯ll become a magical beast with a draconic bloodline. At least¡­ I think he¡¯ll be a magical beast. I¡¯m not sure if his skill means he¡¯ll only take on their appearance and abilities or whether he¡¯ll go through biological changes too.


    She shook her head and stood up as Scytale began to try to argue with Hargrave. The ex-mercenary was rather compliant and didn¡¯t respond in the way the snake wanted, making her bond try to poke at him more. It was a useless endeavour.


    ¡°Have you finished your food?¡± she asked the snake.


    Scytale blinked and looked up at her, and then nodded. ¡°Yup. Ready to go and finish up this level!¡±


    Lucy glanced at the third member of their group. ¡°And you, Hargrave?¡±


    He stood up, his spear in hand. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    She nodded and closed her eyes, concentrating on her spiritual energy. With a quick manipulation of the power, their camp was packed and stored in her dimensional bag. After that, they left the shade of the purifying palm they were under, ready to face the next Dungeon Scion.


    ¡­


    Scytale whistled as they walked through the damp cellar-like rooms, feeling relaxed after Lucy had told them that she couldn¡¯t detect any monsters approaching them. Hargrave was still wary, yet to completely trust in her perception¡¯s strength, but he wasn¡¯t as cautious as he was when they first began delving. Lucy studied the status pages of her weapons as they walked.


    ¡°Apophis excels at draining the power of his enemies¡­¡± she murmured. She glanced at Hargrave. ¡°Hargrave, are you familiar with combat styles that are built on the ability to sap an enemy of their power?¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­¡± The red-haired man furrowed his brows slightly as he considered it. ¡°To a certain extent, yes. My own blood manipulation abilities steal blood away from the people I¡¯ve wounded, which allows me to further enhance my attacks.¡± He shot her a look. ¡°Is this something related to you?¡±


    She nodded, taking care to step over the fallen stone pillar in front of her. ¡°My demonic blade can absorb energy from those around me, and power both weapons with it. But I¡¯m not certain whether that changes how I should fight.¡±


    ¡°Normally, I¡¯d say that for your situation, it would help you win protracted battles, but¡­¡± Hargrave studied her. ¡°That might not be best when it comes to your abilities.¡±


    ¡°Slow and steady isn¡¯t my forte,¡± she said with slight amusement. Lucy closed the screens and sighed. ¡°I¡¯m closer to knowing what type of movement skill I want, but still unsure how to make it applicable to combat.¡± Then she frowned. ¡°I¡¯ll need to begin doing lots of athletic activities to gain the tertiary skills.¡±


    For some reason, her response made Hargrave give her a strange look. ¡°But Commission Head, aren¡¯t you-¡±


    ¡°Oh, sorry Hargrave.¡± She unsheathed her two blades and held them out. ¡°We¡¯ve got incoming in the form of flying bat monsters. We¡¯ll have to continue this discussion later.¡±


    He gripped his spear and got into a stance, but he wasn¡¯t going to attack unless Lucy and Scytale couldn¡¯t deal with the difficulty. Scytale hissed as he turned into his Primal Descendant form while Lucille warped her mana around the two swords, planning on trying something new.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see if this has any effect,¡± she said, narrowing her eyes.


    The monsters screeched as they flew around the corner, their thick black fur fused with jagged stone shards that could rend flesh. The six giant bats screamed and dived at them.


    [Lesser Monstrous Cavern Bat ¨C Lvl. 87]


    [Lesser Monstrous Cavern Bat ¨C Lvl. 90]


    [Lesser Monstrous Cavern Bat ¨C Lvl. 85]


    [Lesser Monstrous Cavern Ba¡­¡­¡­..]


    [Lesser Monstrous Cavern¡­¡­]


    [Lesser Monstrous Ca¡­]


    Lucille accelerated her thoughts for one split second so she could see if anything would stop her attack, and then she extended Apophis. Encasing the long spinning blade in hissing flames of fire mana, Lucy swung the blade from side to side, catching three of the bats in their side and slamming into the room wall. Besides the normal additional damage from Apophis¡¯s half-segments, extra damage was added because of the searing wounds left behind by the heated weapon.


    The damage was better than she expected, but she had to grimace and let the flames die, feeling physically and mentally drained.


    No, the mana consumption is way too high for something that reduces the fire mana and consequently STR of my own body. I can¡¯t keep the stat amplification while the manipulation is ongoing.


    The burnt bats picked themselves up from the wall and flew at her with another screech. She withdrew Apophis and lengthened Ouroboros this time for greater accuracy, as the bats weren¡¯t close enough now for her to injure them all.


    The other three uninjured bats had flown after Scytale, instinctually sensing he was weaker than Hargrave. Scytale hadn¡¯t been lax on the trip and had learnt a few buffs from Lucy, enabling him to enhance himself to an extent.


    Casting an ice spell on the closest bat with the hopes of slowing it down, she wielded Ouroboros¡¯s oscillating body to strike at its shoulder, putting its wing out of action. It screeched as it hit the ground but before she could kill it the other two attacked at the same time.


    Ouroboros snapped back into place, just in time to uncurl and form the reflective dome of her shield skill. The rays of reflected damage she had conserved during the last few days burst out with sky-blue light and pierced through the bodies of the beasts. She was careful to redirect the attack from her party members, to deal more damage to the monsters and to prevent them from getting hurt.


    The wounded monster bats tried to fly at her again. Even the one with the injured wing could still attack her, their CON too high for her to deal sufficient damage. Even though she seemed to have the upper hand at the start¡­ if she didn¡¯t have the power to back up her attacks, then it would all be for nothing. A frustrated hiss behind her made her glance at her bond.


    ¡°These stupid things! They¡¯re like flies! But¡­ really big flies! Flies that bite!¡± He swatted one away with his tail but it didn¡¯t do anything to the bat besides cause it to fly back to him. ¡°Crap, my mana is being drained too quickly from the Colossus Armament. Hargrave!¡±


    Lucille rolled her eyes at the dramatic cries of the snake, while Hargrave calmly nodded and walked forward with his spear. His amber eyes glowed red as he raised it and crimson blood mana manifested to coil around the weapon.


    The red-haired man gripped the spear above his head and threw it, punching fist-sized holes through three of the bats attacking Lucy in one go. In his other hand, a duplicate spear of blood appeared. He ran forward and then jumped, skewering a bat in the air and then he snatched the demonic spear that had returned to him. The blood spear shattered into splinter-shaped drops of scarlet liquid, taken from the blood of the skewered bat, which with barely a gesture from Hargrave bombarded the two remaining bats. Dealt multiple high-pressure attacks from the drops, they collapsed to the ground with what looked like multiple bullet wounds.


    [User Hargrave has slain Lesser Monstrous Cavern Bat ¨C Lvl. 87]


    [User Hargrave has slain Lesser Monstrous Cavern Bat ¨C Lvl. 90]


    [User Hargrave has slain Lesser Monstrous Cavern Bat ¨C Lvl. 85]


    [User Hargrave has slain Lesser Monstrous Cavern B¡­..]


    [User Hargrave has slain Lesser Monstrous Cav¡­...]


    [User Hargrave has slain Lesser M¡­..]


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    [+24 xp]


    Lucy shook her head wryly.


    The System didn¡¯t even bother to show me the experience of Apophis and Ouroboros. He has to have impeccable control over the blood element to create a blood weapon as strong as that. A true ¡®Patriarch of Blood¡¯ indeed.


    She was shaken from her musings when a strange noise came from the winged serpent of the group. Scytale was twisting his head back and forth, trying to inspect his white-gold wings to see the extent of the bloodstains on his feathers.


    ¡°Nooo! My beautiful feathers! My precious plumes! They¡¯ve been dyed with the disgusting bodily fluids of those horrendous monsters! And now that there¡¯s blood mana mixed into them I can¡¯t even get rid of it with my light element bestial aura!¡±


    Hargrave hesitated, looking awkward. ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯m sorry, I should¡¯ve-¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare apologise for making sure Scytale got out of there alive.¡± Lucy walked past the nonplussed red-haired man to whack the back of her bond¡¯s head, who had turned back into his human form. ¡°And quit pretending to make such a fuss about blood. I didn¡¯t see you caring about it last time we were here, so don¡¯t bring it up now.¡±


    The snake clicked his tongue. ¡°Let me have my theatrics! You always get to be showy and draw attention, why can¡¯t I get to complain about my wings getting dirt-¡± His words were interrupted by a splash of water from the spell Lucy had cast at him to clean off the blood, making him cough and splutter.


    As Lucille walked past Hargrave, she jerked a thumb in her bond¡¯s direction and cocked an eyebrow at the man. ¡°I told you, didn¡¯t I? He rarely has anything important to say.¡±


    ¡°¡­hmm,¡± he replied, eyeing the snake with bemusement.


    Lucy stretched her arms above her head, relieving them of the tension they had been under during the fight. She gestured to the doorway ahead of the other two. ¡°Shall we continue?¡±


    They nodded and began following her again through the tunnel, the stone floor slick with water trickling down from the walls. With only an hour¡¯s journey left until they reached the boss''s room, Lucille decided to continue discussing her movement skill with Hargrave.


    ¡°I recall you were about to say something before the monsters interrupted us,¡± she said to him, looking at him curiously. ¡°If you can remember, I¡¯d like to know what it is you were going to say. As an experienced warrior, I¡¯m sure you have a far better idea of how to gain better movement skills than I do.¡±


    ¡°Oh, well¡­¡± He gave her a strange look for some reason. ¡°I was remembering what you told me about how you always act a certain way to play into other people¡¯s expectations even when you don¡¯t need to. I originally thought that a skill that did that explained why your movements are highly exact, but if you¡¯re saying that¡¯s not because of a skill¡­¡±


    Lucille froze on the spot, staring at him. It was only after Hargrave took another step that he noticed her reaction. ¡°¡­Commission Head?¡±


    Scytale cocked an eyebrow at her and checked her thoughts to see what was wrong. Then he threw his head back and laughed.


    Lucy quickly gained a scowl and glared at her bond, but he leaned on his knees as he continued laughing. ¡°The genius Lucille Goldcroft never considered the fact that she¡¯s been using a movement ability this entire time! Oh, how funny is that? She¡¯s been irritated this entire time thinking about how to make this work without using battle skills, and then all it takes is someone who does use battle skills and killing intent to point out she¡¯s been doing something similar all along!¡±


    ¡°Scytale just shut it.¡± She frowned and rubbed her temples as she considered it. ¡°I suppose my mental constructs that maximise the efficiency of my actions could count as a form of movement enhancement ability, but as I¡¯ve never gained a skill because of it, it didn¡¯t occur to me¡­¡± Lucy placed a hand on her chin as she began to pace in deep thought. ¡°After all, it¡¯s something I¡¯ve built up over time through very small increments. Changing my pace, learning how to breathe better, planning the procedure for each of my motions before they¡¯re carried out¡­¡±


    Just as Scytale was planning on stepping forward to take her out of her thoughts she snapped her fingers and smiled. ¡°This will be far better than what I had originally planned. I¡¯m familiar with it and it only needs the metaphysical enhancement from influence to ensure the efficiency of my movements is amplified beyond what I can do with my mind.¡± She turned to the confused Hargrave. ¡°Thank you for bringing this to my attention, although I¡¯m sure you¡¯re still very confused as to why I¡¯m reacting this way.¡±


    ¡°¡­you could say that,¡± he said with bemusement.


    Lucy nodded. ¡°Right.¡± She smirked and turned back towards the doorway, beginning to walk again. ¡°I¡¯ll have to use your help to realise this skill.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll- wait, my help?¡±


    Hargrave stared at her as she happily continued forward, feeling much more content now she could see a path forward. ¡°No time for that discussion now. We have a Dungeon Scion to kill and a Quest to finish.¡± Her smirk grew wider. ¡°But before we do anything, we¡¯ll need to deal with these intruders I¡¯ve just spotted with my perception field. And this time, it¡¯s the human kind.¡±


    ¡­


    They walked as silently as they could through the hallways, not knowing what type of abilities the party ahead had. All Lucy knew was that they weren¡¯t allowed to be in the Dungeon yet. They were illegal entrants. Then Scytale sent her a mental message.


    ¡®I¡¯m pretty sure you could¡¯ve dealt some decent damage to those bats from all the stats Ouroboros has been collecting from these high-level monsters.¡¯


    Possibly, but the stat collection ability of my blades is something I don¡¯t want to reveal just yet. It wasn¡¯t what we originally came here for anyway.


    ¡®That¡¯s not to say it isn¡¯t a massive bonus.¡¯


    Well¡­


    She had been gaining a significant amount of physical stats on the last level. She supposed that anything she had even the slightest part in attacking allowed Ouroboros to drain the stats of the dead creature. But Apophis could also drain the mana and spiritual energy of those she was fighting, so did Ouroboros¡¯s ability to reconstitute stats and skills from those she killed to use the same drain element of the demonic weapon¡¯s skills?


    If she could get an item that allowed Apophis to transfer the drained mana to Ouroboros, it might allow her spiritual weapon to gain skill shards from anyone she fought. It was a small possibility, but it was there.


    It was something to think about later. They had approached the final room before the boss room and now had to consider how they would deal with the adventurer party of three within that room, fighting the final boss of the level.


    ¡°So, from what I can see¡­¡± Lucille raised her fingers to count on them. ¡°There are three men and one woman, four people total. The woman is a fire mage, two of the men are warrior-manipulators, one fire and one earth, and the third man is a rogue with the dark element. As for the Dungeon Scion, it¡¯s another bat. They¡¯ve got it down to half its health.¡±


    ¡°Can you estimate their average levels?¡± Hargrave asked seriously.


    She hummed as she analysed their auras. ¡°Roughly Level 80. The boss is Level 90.¡±


    Scytale glared at the door separating them from the room beyond. ¡°Great, so if they kill that thing then we¡¯ll have to wait.. what, three days until the Scion reforms? All our work to get through the Dungeon quickly will be ruined and we¡¯ll have to wait to finish the Quest.¡± He frowned slightly. ¡°How did they get past us without us finding them either?¡±


    ¡°They probably took the path of most stupidity and used an item to dig down here,¡± she replied dryly. ¡°Now that the Dungeon knows of that weakness, they won¡¯t be able to repeat the process, nor escape without fighting their way back through the upper level.¡±


    ¡°¡­what do you want to do about them?¡± Hargrave asked.


    Lucille smirked and spread her arms in a shrug. ¡°We¡¯ll wait and see. When the monster¡¯s health gets low enough, I¡¯ll cast an earth spell and steal their kill.¡± She glanced at the door. ¡°I think they want to obtain the first kill Adventurer Quest reward.¡±


    Scytale grinned. ¡°And then what? We attack?¡±


    Lucy crossed her arms and leaned against a nearby wall. ¡°Only if they don¡¯t regret their actions. Scytale.¡± She gave him a wide smile. ¡°Leave this one to me.¡±


    He snickered and shook his head. ¡°As you wish.¡±


    Her eyes moved over to Hargrave, who was looking uncomfortable. She had her suspicions as to why he was acting that way, with him likely knowing how the adventurers would react and what would need to be done.


    But Lucy hadn¡¯t enjoyed relying on him for protection the last few days, so if there was one thing she wanted to do, it was to prove that Hargrave didn¡¯t need to step in when it came to her specialty: the races.


    ¡­


    ¡°Ravelle! It¡¯s your chance!¡± shouted the fire warrior.


    The red-haired fire mage smirked and raised her staff. ¡°Flamebolt!¡±


    The coiling beam of fire rushed towards the giant monstrous bat, its body covered in numerous gashes. With a powerful roar of heated energy, it looked like it would turn the beast to ash right there on the spot.


    But then a cool, female voice sounded out behind the party. ¡°Arcane Blockade.¡±


    The hexagonal blue shield that appeared in front of the Dungeon Scion absorbed the impact, its runes glowing red. The shield fractured, revealing that the spell didn¡¯t manage to hit the bat.


    The female mage and two warriors turned to see a young woman with dark hair and one strange violently violet eye watching them, the other hidden behind a mask. The woman raised a black-gloved hand to point at the beast.


    ¡°Mountainous Descent.¡±


    Earth mana beamed from the ten-layered spell she cast, directed to the air above the monster. They watched as a jagged boulder of stone formed above the beast, and with the woman pointing a single finger downwards, the colossal rock smashed into the Dungeon Scion. They stared at the smashed, bloody remains of rock and beast as the earth mana rocks dissipated back into pure energy.


    [Users Lucille Goldcroft has slain Lesser Monstrous Cavern Bat Leader ¨C Lvl. 90]


    [Dungeon Scion Lesser Monstrous Cavern Bat Leader of the Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis has been killed]


    [Exploration Progress +0.05%]


    [New! Exploration Progress: 2%]


    The room descended into silence as the party took in the appearance of Lucille. She smiled and tilted her head when met with their gazes.


    The leader of the party, the fire-element warrior, scowled and looked around for the rogue among them. ¡°Hey, Skail! Oi! You were supposed to be on the alert for any more monsters or people here!¡± He scowled deeper when there was no response. ¡°Skail?!¡±


    The party¡¯s attention was drawn when the sound of two more pairs of footsteps was heard from behind Lucille. A young boy with gold, slitted eyes and a tall, well-built man with choppy and uneven red hair walked in, a spear in his right hand. Lying across the man¡¯s shoulders was a third person, dressed in dark gear and unconscious. Hargrave dropped the man to the ground where he slumped, eyes rolling into the back of his head.


    ¡°Lucy, I dealt with the rogue! I can¡¯t carry him in my human form or snake form though so I got Hargrave to help!¡± Scytale yelled.


    Lucille smirked and placed a hand on her hip as the rest of the party members slowly turned to look at her. She withdrew Apophis and lazily spun the dagger in the air and caught it again, waiting for the enemy party to say something.


    The brown-haired fire warrior stepped forward, frowning at her. ¡°Who are you lot?¡±


    Lucy smiled wider. ¡°Who are you?¡±


    The fire mage shot her a glare as the warrior frowned again. The second warrior, the user of the earth element, was just studying her solemnly.


    ¡°Fine then. If you won¡¯t answer me¡­¡± He raised his sword and pointed it at her. ¡°What do you want? You¡¯ve already stolen the first kill reward. No Heretic item has formed. There should be nothing else worth doing in here.¡±


    ¡°What do I want?¡± Lucy narrowed her eyes. ¡°I want to know what you are doing in this Dungeon.¡±


    The red-haired woman scoffed as the man in the front rolled his eyes. ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? The same reason as you.¡±


    Lucille smiled. ¡°Ah, then let me clarify. What I want to know is why you four are standing in my Dungeon. That I discovered and now own.¡±


    ¡°A little girl like you claims to ¡®own¡¯ this Dungeon?¡± the fire mage mimicked mockingly.


    Lucy spared barely a millisecond to give the woman an odd look before returning to smile at the other two men.


    Why is she being so confrontational? We don¡¯t even know each other.


    ¡­is she being antagonistic because I blocked her spell and cast a better one? Ugh, fire mages and their overwhelming need for attitude adjustments.


    At the front, the earth warrior with a greatsword walked up to the other man and whispered into his ear. The fire warrior suddenly looked solemn as he gave her another scrutinizing look.


    It seems one of them is well-informed. That earthen warrior must be aware of the details of the Dungeon discovery.


    ¡°Well then, ladies and gentlemen, it seems I should make myself clear.¡± Lucille bowed low, a smirk on her face. ¡°My name is Lucille Goldcroft, the owner of the land and Dungeon on which you stand.¡± She straightened up and with her smirk still present, she spread her arms. ¡°And I want you trespassers to leave my private property.¡± Her smile went cold. ¡°Now.¡±


    The two men exchanged glances but the woman burst out laughing. Flipping her hair, the fire mage sauntered up to Lucy and smiled as she looked down at her.


    Lucille didn¡¯t say anything and watched as the woman crossed her arms with a vicious grin on her face. ¡°What a cute little noble girl. You must¡¯ve only been a User for less than three years! I like your attitude.¡±


    The fire mage turned away and walked back to her group. ¡°Unfortunately, you need to get a handle on reality.¡± She glanced back, looked at Hargrave, and winked. ¡°How about you ditch those two kids and come join us over here? I¡¯ll make it worth your time.¡±


    Lucy didn¡¯t look behind her as she had her perception field, but she nearly burst out laughing when she saw the look of utter disgust that briefly crossed his face.


    The fire mage stared at Hargrave, not expecting that reaction at all.


    Lucy smirked, making the woman glare at her. ¡°So, will you leave, or not?¡±


    The two warriors wordlessly held out their weapons once the fire mage was behind them. Lucille clicked her tongue. ¡°So be it. All you, attack.¡±


    Hargrave¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Commission Head, wait-¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a limit to arrogance, whether you own this Dungeon or not.¡± The fire warrior stepped closer. ¡°I¡¯ll take you on.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear me?¡± Lucille grinned as she extended Ouroboros, the snake-sword¡¯s blade coiled around her. ¡°I told you. I¡¯ll fight all of you.¡±


    Then she dashed forward before they could respond. Ouroboros multiplied in length and width as Lucy whipped the sword towards them. The blade rippled with a force that the two warriors could barely defend against, gritting their teeth as they used the flat of their blades to avoid being beheaded.


    The fire mage at the back yelped and ducked down, Ouroboros slicing her staff clean in half.


    Lucy¡¯s smirk was wicked when she saw that. ¡°Oh dear, the little fire mage lost her magical stick? Whatever will she do? I hope you¡¯re not the type of mage who relies on their items to cast. Wouldn¡¯t that mean you¡¯re defenceless?¡±


    The mage paled but the warrior of the fire element charged forward with a yell and swung his sword down. Lucille quickened her thoughts to analyse what moves she needed to take and took one step to the side. At the same time, she withdrew Apophis with her other hand to ram the end of the dagger into the man¡¯s side. She knew she wouldn¡¯t have had the time to stab him properly.


    The greatsword wielder of earth ran up behind her and rammed his blade into the earth, casting a skill as jagged rocks spat up from the ground and headed towards her. Without turning around, she assembled a spell with her mind and calmly spoke, ¡°Arcane Barrier.¡±


    The skill crashed into the shield and the warrior gritted his teeth as he forced the earth through the spell. But by that time Lucy had already taken a few steps out of the firing line, aiming to stab the longsword warrior with Apophis¡¯s dagger blade.


    The fire warrior¡¯s STR was too high and he swiftly knocked the demonic blade from her grip. She didn¡¯t even stop to register it because she knew she wouldn¡¯t win a test of strength if their blades clashed.


    If they stopped to look, they¡¯d notice all of their stats are much higher than mine. They¡¯re just panicking because they¡¯re faced with an unfamiliar weapon. I need to manipulate the order of events to weaken them.


    Purposely letting her eyes wander over to the fire mage, she changed her body language to suggest she planned on attacking the mage, who was physically the weakest. She knew they wouldn¡¯t think twice about it because the mage was the easier target and due to the antagonism of the woman earlier Lucy had a motive to attack her.


    Then a cry sounded as Apophis in his longsword form slashed the arm of the greatsword wielder. Startled, the fire warrior looked back and his eyes widened. She had wanted to attack the fire warrior as his attacks were more intense, but something had made the fire warrior hesitate slightly and hold back from stabbing out again. Inwardly, Lucy clicked her tongue.


    It¡¯s my killing intent. He noticed I wasn¡¯t showing any intent to kill the mage. But I can¡¯t show any intent anyway so he was caught off guard by the other guy getting injured.


    Now tasked with deflecting Apophis¡¯s strikes, incapable of actually incapacitating the blade in any way, the greatsword warrior was occupied and couldn¡¯t team up with his party members against Lucille. She swung at the two warriors with Ouroboros again, shortening the blade slightly to give her greater accuracy, but both warriors easily dodged the attack.


    Lucy pretended to ignore the fire mage so she could fight the party leader, but the woman in the distance narrowed her eyes and held her arm out. Five orange balls of fire launched themselves towards Lucy, who didn¡¯t even react when she blocked them with another spell, this time cast without bothering to say the name.


    Lucille glanced back and smirked. ¡°Are you even a true mage? A physical combatant just blocked your spells twice. You¡¯re quite pathetic.¡±


    The woman¡¯s face went red with anger and she summoned more fireballs this time, seemingly intent on proving Lucy wrong. Lucille casually leaned to the side to dodge most of the fireballs and the fire-enhanced slashing attack of the fire warrior, and what she didn¡¯t dodge she blocked with the flat section of Ouroboros¡¯s longsword form.


    Keen to move onto the next stage, Lucille reverted Ouroboros to her dagger form and dashed towards the earth warrior. She ignored the man chasing her from behind and reached up with her free right hand. Apophis suddenly opened up into his spinning half-segment form, cutting across the earth warrior¡¯s face and making him step back in pain. Blinded by the blood flowing down his face, he couldn¡¯t react when Lucy grabbed Apophis¡¯s handle and turned him back into a dagger. Lucille held the serrated edge against the man¡¯s neck and faced the other two.


    ¡°Cease your attacks or I¡¯ll kill this man!¡± she shouted.

 Chapter 65 (1 of 2) Step aside, Thaumaturgy. Dramaturgy is the best power.

    The fire warrior hesitated for a brief moment when he saw the knife against his party member¡¯s neck, but without wasting a second the fire mage summoned a giant fireball to shoot at Lucy in the rare moment she was standing still. The longsword warrior¡¯s eyes widened as Lucy abandoned the man in her grasp and enhanced her AGI with wind mana to dash off to the side.


    The earth warrior screamed in pain as fire consumed his body. The greatsword fell from his grip as he dropped to the ground, rolling about while trying to put out the flames.


    Lucy shook her head. ¡°What a cruel woman. Burning is one of the worst ways to d- whoops!¡± She jumped up high to dodge the blade slashed at her feet. Doing a frontflip as she turned to face the last warrior, she smiled wide with her two blades back in both of her hands.


    With only a silent mental command, both weapons extended and the warrior quickly backed away when faced with the two snake-swords violently writhing and twisting in a large zone around her. Lucy straightened up and pointed at him with the handle of Apophis. ¡°Are you quite finished?¡±


    ¡®Lucy, the earth guy is trying to get to the exit.¡¯


    Ignore him. Maybe humanity will fare better with at least one more surviving multi-cellular brain in their midst.


    With a vicious growl, the man facing her gritted his teeth and charged forward, his blade encased in a fiery aura. Instead of dodging Lucy crossed the handguards of the two weapons to catch his sword in the centre. They disengaged with the clang of metal and Lucille released Apophis as she grasped Ouroboros¡¯s handle with both hands and swung down. Doing what she predicted, the man deflected the attack again but instead of slowing her momentum, she kicked off the ground and let go of the spirit weapon.


    Recalling her final spar with the Commander, she flipped over him while pulling down the levitating Apophis¡¯s handle with her. When she spun around to face him the weapon he clashed against wasn¡¯t Ouroboros anymore but the malevolent demonic blade, whirring menacingly.


    Unprepared for such a quick weapon change, he hastily held his longsword up but hissed through his clenched teeth as numerous minor cuts were made by the spinning half-segments. Lucy¡¯s smile widened as their exchanges sped up, her dodging most if not all of his attacks and their clashes not lasting long enough for her to be pushed back by his higher STR.


    I think I¡¯m getting the hang of it. The autonomous movement of my weapons needed to be used more frequently. Also, the potential movement skill idea is coming together.


    Actually, I¡¯m not treating this as combat at all. I use my mental constructs to play with enemies and trick people, but I¡¯m beginning to consider battle the same way. It¡¯s enjoyable to perform dramatic motions in a fight and fool my attackers. This is dangerous. I¡¯m beginning to like combat against the races far more than defeating monsters.


    The sound of another roaring fireball refocused her attention on the battle and she gestured with her free right hand to defend against the spell. Having regained some mana after the earlier large spell, the fire mage had re-joined the fight.


    ¡°Look out! If you¡¯re not careful, your fire mage over there just might incinerate you too!¡± she said with malicious glee, stabbing out with Apophis in his longsword form.


    The warrior frowned in the mage¡¯s direction but didn¡¯t fall for the taunt, keeping his attention on Lucy.


    The issue is¡­  I¡¯m getting tired. I guess it¡¯s time to finish this.


    ¡°Well then, it¡¯s been fun, but¡­¡± She pulled down the handle of Apophis and then lengthened him as much as she could. Pushing her mana into the blade to enhance the damaging effects of the demonic aura, she also increased the weapon¡¯s width. With Apophis still tightly coiled close to her body, Lucille gained a lopsided smirk as she tilted her head at him. ¡°I think it¡¯s time for this farce to end.¡±


    He hastily backpedalled as Apophis uncoiled at a rapid speed, ready to shred anything in his path. With a mechanical sound, the two blades spun outward, one clockwise and the other counter-clockwise. He agitatedly tried to deflect the black and silver blades, but they continued to push him back until he was up against the wall. The fire mage woman at the back laid down on the floor and covered her head, trying to avoid the blades.


    The fire warrior twisted his head, trying to avoid touching the weapons in the limited space there was left, but all it took was the end of Ouroboros to come past for the spirit weapon to flick its tip and slash his neck. He collapsed to the ground, clutching at his throat dripping with blood, and then stopped moving. He was dead.


    Then Lucille¡¯s eyes widened as the sound of rushing fire approached and she spun to cast a shield and protect herself from the fireball. With a pale face, she stared at the fire mage who was now standing, a new staff in her hand.


    The woman smirked. ¡°I can see it. You don¡¯t have much mana left, if at all.¡± The woman gestured with her head in the direction of the two men near the entrance. Scytale was watching the developing events with interest, while Hargrave was looking worried. He had noticed Lucy¡¯s mana fatigue as well. ¡°And it¡¯s obvious that those two aren¡¯t going to help you, with how they¡¯ve been standing on the sidelines this whole time.¡±


    The fire mage pointed the staff at Lucy. It was releasing an aura stronger than the previous times. ¡°Firebolt!¡±


    Lucille clenched her teeth and mustered the energy to cast an arcane barrier. The spells clashed, negating each other.


    The woman¡¯s smile widened. ¡°Firebolt! Firebolt!¡±


    The colour drained from Lucy¡¯s face as she tried to defend herself again. Her barriers shuddered when faced with the force of the advanced spells, wavering as if they would disappear. But they held and protected Lucille once again.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to see you try to block this one!¡± the woman shouted with viciousness. ¡°Inferno Bolt!¡±


    The whirling spire of flames shot towards Lucy. Hastily scampering back, she held her two weapons in their longsword forms and tried to block the attack. ¡°No! Please! I don¡¯t have any mana left! I can¡¯t-¡±


    ¡°Firebolt! Firebolt! Firebolt!¡±


    ¡°No! Don¡¯t!¡±


    No shields were formed and the spells crashed into Lucille as she screamed. ¡°No! No, no!¡± She continued to say ¡®no¡¯, but slowly the fire mage realised something was off. ¡°No, no, no, no, ¡­.oh dear. No¡­¡±


    The flames cleared to show Lucille was perfectly fine, not a hair singed. And she had a hand wrapped around her stomach as she tried to stifle her laughter with her other hand. ¡°No, no, no, this is too funny. Way too funny. I always wanted to try something like this.¡± She straightened up when faced with the stares of both the fire mage and Hargrave. ¡°You truly thought you had me there, didn¡¯t you? How cute. Adorable, really.¡±


    With only Apophis¡¯s dagger form in her hand, Lucille calmly walked forward with a casual smile on her face.


    The fire mage¡¯s face paled with fear and she raised her staff again. ¡°Firebolt! Fireball!¡±


    Lucy swept a hand through the spells when they were close and they disappeared, fizzling out of existence. She continued forward as the mage cast more spells.


    ¡°Fireball!¡±


    The next spell dashed itself to pieces against the air before Lucille¡¯s arm, not a mark left behind.


    Letting out a roar of frustration, the mage summoned eight fireballs, putting in all her effort.


    ¡°Fireball Bombardment!¡±


    Lucy stopped walking forward and held her hands behind her back, a look of innocent curiosity on her face, as if she was intrigued to know what would happen if they hit her.


    All eight landed on her at the same time and dissolved. Red fire mana swirled uselessly around her. Lucille looked down at her clothes and dusted herself off. ¡°Oh, is this¡­ ash?¡± She pretended to pick something off herself and then shrugged. ¡°No, I was mistaken. It¡¯s merely lint.¡±


    Utterly stupefied that her most powerful attacks had been ineffective against Lucy, the red-haired mage was woken out of her shocked state by Lucy¡¯s words and hastily ran back, looking for an exit. ¡°No¡­ no! I surrender! I won¡¯t do anything else, I swear! I¡¯m happy to leave in peace and never come here again!¡±


    Lucille continued to walk forward with Apophis in her grip, her carefree smile still present. When the woman brandished her staff and swung it at Lucy, she caught it in her hand and then wrenched it from her grip. Before the mage could react, Lucille swiftly kicked her into the stone wall behind where she spluttered, her head hitting the back wall with a thump.


    She watched Lucy fearfully as the dark-haired woman leaned down and placed Apophis under the fire mage¡¯s chin. ¡°I heard the other party member I killed call you ¡®Ravelle¡¯. Well then, Ravelle. I can¡¯t make any promises that I¡¯ll remember you, but you can die content with the knowledge that your death was justified and due to a mistake on your own part, not mine.¡±


    But before Lucy killed her, she paused and withdrew the weapon slightly. ¡°But I do want to ask¡­ do you have any resurrections left?¡±


    The woman blinked with incomprehension before her eyes widened and she smiled. ¡°Yes¡­ that¡¯s right. If you kill me now, I swear to get revenge! And chase after you for the rest of my life! So just let me leave and¡­ I¡­ urk¡­¡± Her words trailed off as she stared at the bejewelled black dagger plunged into her heart.


    ¡°Oh, that was the wrong answer.¡±


    As blood flowed from her wound she raised her eyes to stare at Lucille, who leaned close to her ear to whisper, ¡°You see, I was going to let you live if you said no.¡±


    The woman slumped sideways, her gaze going distant and unfocused as the life bled out of her. Lucille yanked the dagger free with a spurt of blood and spun around with a smile on her face.


    Then she blinked when she saw Hargrave and Scytale a few steps behind, a look of bemusement on the face of the former and a mix of mild exasperation and amusement on the latter.


    ¡°Got that out of your system, Lucy?¡± Scytale asked.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Her eyes drifted to the dissipating bodies of the two adventurers, clearly resurrecting at the last Obelisk they visited. ¡°I suppose so, yes. It was quite different from defeating monsters.¡± Lucy looked at Hargrave, who was studying her silently with his arms crossed. ¡°Is something the matter?¡±


    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ I was thinking about why I often feel that your manner is off-putting and that you¡¯re hiding something,¡± he replied. ¡°I guess I feel relieved.¡±


    His frankness surprised her, but his last statement surprised her even more. She tilted her head curiously. ¡°Relieved?¡±


    ¡°Relieved to know that the reason why I¡¯m wary of you isn¡¯t for the reasons I thought,¡± he said with a strange expression.


    She stared at him, but then her thoughts were broken by the loud laughter to her right. Lucy glared at the snickering snake she unfortunately called her bond, then sighed as she shook her head. ¡°Let¡¯s finish up here so we can return to the Commission. I need to begin discussing the external debut with Vincent, and I also want to begin gaining my movement abilities.¡±


    Scytale nodded as Hargrave silently followed her out of the room. She spared a glance for the unconscious rogue but decided he wasn¡¯t worth dealing with, so they left, looking forward to the comforts of the Aurelian Commission Headquarters.


    ¡°Lucille¡­¡± Hargrave began, making her look back. ¡°I recall you said something about getting my help for the movement skill?¡±


    ¡°Surely introducing a third member to your spars wouldn¡¯t be difficult for future Sir Mythos Slayer,¡± Lucy said with amusement. ¡°Only three of us fight in the Commission.¡±


    ¡°I-¡± He frowned at her. ¡°Don¡¯t call me that.¡±


    She pointed at him. ¡°I¡¯ll stop calling you that if you help me gain my skill.¡±


    Hargrave ran a hand down his face and eyed her sourly, clearly not appreciating the manipulation.


    She smirked. ¡°I¡¯m kidding. Would Blood Patriarch be better?¡±


    ¡°No it would not,¡± he muttered. He let out a sigh. ¡°I can help you with the skill, sure. Sparring with Scytale was mostly to stave off boredom anyway.¡±


    Lucille glanced at him but kept moving forward. ¡°It seems I¡¯ll have to ask you to come with me more often.¡±


    Hargrave gave her a confused look. Then Lucille spun around to face him, a smirk on her face as she spread her arms. ¡°But we have something more important to address. You called me Lucille!¡±


    Hargrave went silent as he saw her expression. Then suddenly, before she could react, he threw his spear and it barely avoided her cheek. She looked behind her to see it buried in a wall.


    ¡°There was a spider,¡± the ex-mercenary stated.


    ¡°A¡­ spider¡­¡± Lucy smirked and turned back around. ¡°I see. Sure, a spider. Sure.¡±


    She kept her words to herself as she watched the red-haired man awkwardly rub the back of his neck. Feeling amused, she shook her head and decided to discuss something else with her group. Scytale had no problems coming up with pointless topics to talk about.


    It seems he reacts very interestingly to embarrassment. I should probably stop teasing him as much.


    Giving him one last look before they entered the main hall of the level, she opened the door in front of them that would take them back to the surface.


    But just like with Vincent, he acts so differently from the Prismatic Dragon Ruler I met. That individual was¡­ for lack of a better term, someone who was waiting for death.


    She sighed quietly. The others didn¡¯t notice.


    It¡¯s not up to me to tell him to change his path but¡­ well, it¡¯s clear the past timeline brought out the worst in most of us.


    <hr>


    ¡°-and I¡¯m saying it would be way more fun if Hargrave came along for all of our fights!¡±


    ¡°So you can dive into danger as much as you want and rely on him to save you if things go south? Don¡¯t be daft, Scytale. Besides, you¡¯d never level up.¡±


    ¡°¡­I¡¯ll decline your offer, Scytale.¡±


    ¡°Tsk. Now you¡¯ve made Hargrave reject my suggestion.¡±


    A silver-haired man with half-moon glasses looked up from the table covered in documents he was working on. Vincent adjusted his glasses as he realised that Lucille, Scytale and Hargrave had returned from their trip to the Dungeon. ¡°It seems you haven¡¯t had any issues,¡± he remarked as they entered the living room.


    Lucille only stopped to nod and unsheathe her two blades to place them on the table. She turned around and walked back out the door as Hargrave sat down and Scytale left for the kitchen. ¡°It went well, even if there were complications at the end. But I have an objective to aim for with my abilities. Also¡­¡± She tilted her head back to give him another look. ¡°Once I¡¯ve had a shower and changed I¡¯d like to begin discussing the external debut, Vincent.¡±


    He gazed at her with mild despair, then sighed and nodded. ¡°As you wish.¡± He watched his superior leave and then turned to the other two men in the room. ¡°Complications?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well, things will definitely become more complicated for those guys, but not her,¡± Scytale replied, casually dropping a magical berry into his mouth. He had returned from the kitchen with a bowl of them.


    ¡°¡­¡¯those guys¡¯?¡± Vincent turned to Hargrave in hopes of a better explanation.


    The red-haired man hesitated for a moment before crossing his arms, grimacing. ¡°It¡¯s better not to ask.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Still feeling unsure, Vincent looked down at the pages sprawled in front of him and began to reshuffle them into neat piles. ¡°Then I suppose the second level of the Dungeon is cleared. I¡¯ll have to discuss the city planning with Alichanteu.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Finding a brand new Ancient Dungeon and giving it to the Commission practically for free. Honestly, I feel like either Lucille isn¡¯t aware of the impacts of her actions or she just doesn¡¯t care.¡±


    Scytale shrugged, kicking his feet onto the couch. ¡°She doesn¡¯t care. She has enough money to do whatever she wants so she doesn¡¯t want to waste time that could be spent on other things.¡± He went to drop another berry in his mouth.


    Vincent eyed the humanoid serpent. ¡°Then I assume she doesn¡¯t care about the consequences of parading around with her half-Caladrius bond either,¡± he replied wryly.


    Scytale¡¯s eyes widened and he coughed as he began to choke on his food. Hitting his chest, it was only after a few seconds that his throat was cleared and he could give Vincent a shocked look. ¡°You knew?¡±


    ¡°Well, it would be unbefitting of the Commission Head¡¯s aide to be unaware of the details surrounding her acquaintances,¡± the silver-haired man said offhandedly. ¡°The fact you grew another pair of wings and called yourself a member of the ¡®Truth-Seizing Serpent Clan¡¯ clued me into your true bloodline, however. It¡¯s not often that a hybrid purposely chooses to identify with only one clan when their bloodline is perfectly balanced.¡±


    The snake groaned and leaned back on the couch. ¡°Why does Lucy always keep the smart ones around her? She told me to keep it a secret but what does she expect me to do when everyone works it out for themselves?!¡±


    Hargrave slightly raised an eyebrow. ¡°Why would your Caladrius bloodline need to be hidden?¡±


    Vincent glanced at the man. ¡°The only light element Caladrius bloodline is the Sanctity Caladrius bloodline, on the level of a ducal lineage of the bird beasts. Yet Scytale was born to a serpent clan in a frontier region.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s politics,¡± Scytale stated sourly for the confused spearman. ¡°Bird and beast snakes hate each other. I¡¯m a precious descendant of the Sanctity Caladrius but I was also born to their enemies.¡± He shrugged and put his hands behind his head. ¡°If the Hydras knew I existed then they¡¯d use me to involve my clan in their Central Battlefield wars. To hell with that.¡±


    Hargrave gave Vincent an odd look. ¡°Have you ¡®noble bloodlines¡¯ not learnt to stop having kids with the wrong person yet?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll be pleased to know that yes, nobility of the Empire are usually not so stupid as to have children they¡¯ll know are under the threat of being killed,¡± Vincent responded dryly. Then he rubbed his nose bridge as he glanced at Scytale. ¡°But magical beasts are known for being¡­ ah, freer with their seed than most races.¡±


    ¡°Look, our ruling subrace is the Regal Dragon bloodline, all known for being lustful arrogant jerks,¡± the snake retorted. ¡°What do you expect? A big family is even a status symbol among Beast Kings.¡±


    The other two men considered his words with strange expressions. ¡°Scytale, when you get older, please move out of the Commission headquarters,¡± Vincent said. ¡°We¡¯re not having hundreds of snakelets grow up here.¡±


    Scytale shuddered. ¡°Oh no, no kids for me. Nope. Never. I want to be completely free of responsibility for my entire life.¡±


    ¡°Yes, well, you better leave my sitting room and get changed before I decide to make you responsible for the debut preparations,¡± a woman¡¯s voice replied, dripping with sarcasm.


    Scytale flinched and quickly stood up as he saw Lucy¡¯s piercing gaze. She was standing in the doorway with her arms crossed.


    ¡°Yep, yep, I¡¯m off, see you, goodbye!¡± He pushed past his bond to head to his room.


    As he left she gave him a flat look but shook her head and stepped forward. ¡°Unfortunately, I¡¯ll have to interrupt your conversation. Please excuse me as I borrow Vincent, Hargrave,¡± the woman told the man.


    Hargrave nodded and walked to the door. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I have something to do anyway.¡±


    Lucille raised an eyebrow. ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to talk to Sedric.¡±


    The dark-haired blinked, evidence that she was surprised. Vincent didn¡¯t attach as much importance to the relationship between the fortieth-floor residents and the ex-mercenary as Lucille seemed to and only nodded as he put away the remaining documents.


    Hargrave left them and Lucille took up a seat opposite Vincent. ¡°I apologise for leaving this discussion for so long. I¡¯m sure you must¡¯ve been aching to get this second debut underway.¡±


    ¡°Ha, ha,¡± Vincent remarked dryly. He shook his head and sighed as the woman opposite pulled out several thick folders of paper, clearly already having worked out the details. He pulled the closest one towards him and casually flipped through it. ¡°Any major details of note?¡±


    ¡°I intend on inviting a large portion of Heavenly Realm clans,¡± she replied, making him look up. ¡°As the third stage of our Commission restructuring project requires more inter-realm trade, setting up the pathways for negotiation early will be profitable.¡±


    Why does Lucille want this inter-realm trading to occur so badly?


    ¡­should I ask her?


    He placed down the folder. ¡°Lucille, is there a particular reason why you want to facilitate inter-realm trading? Being a member of the Mystical Realm, there are few resources elsewhere that you¡¯d need.¡±


    ¡°When interests get tied up in specific ways, depending on the situation it can prevent the worst outcome.¡± She continued writing on the pages before her. ¡°There isn¡¯t any specific reason, no, but if I wish to develop unique technology then I¡¯d like to use the methods of the other realms.¡±


    He hummed as he picked up the next folder to read. ¡°Did you spend much time in the other realms?¡±


    Lucille glanced up at him but returned to her work. ¡°I¡¯ve spent roughly the equivalent of a decade in each realm at the least, but a third of my life I lived in the Mystical Realm. That¡¯s discounting any accelerated time in pocket dimensions.¡±


    Vincent nodded at the answer, but then something she said made him hesitate. ¡°¡­pocket dimensions? Wait, Lucille, if you spent time working under a time dilation then how old would that actually make you?¡±


    She cocked an eyebrow but smirked. ¡°Not telling.¡± Lucy pointed to the table with a pen. ¡°To return to the task at hand, I¡¯ll need you to work with the other Counties and form an estimate for the overall budget of the event.¡±


    He sighed and scratched his head as he scanned the folder in his hands. ¡°If I allow the Counties to choose to invite select clans they have close ties with, we can use that as an excuse for them to finance part of the event¡­¡±


    <hr>


    ¡°Seeeedriiiiic¡­¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°But I haven¡¯t even asked anything yet!¡± Scytale exclaimed.


    The ponytailed crafter pushed up his goggles and slowly turned around to stare at the humanoid snake. ¡°Does it matter? I¡¯m not going to like what you say anyway, so why bother to listen?¡±


    Scytale narrowed his eyes at Sedric. ¡°What if I brought something valuable for you to study?¡±


    Sedric raised an eyebrow. ¡°But did you?¡±


    The golden-eyed snake clicked his tongue and looked away.


    Sedric rolled his eyes and turned back to his workbench. ¡°There. So, if you could leave and not bother me anymore¡­ thanks.¡±


    ¡°Yeah right. I¡¯m not leaving yet.¡± Scytale changed into his serpent form and flew onto the workbench. ¡°I¡¯m bored and Lucy¡¯s talking about business stuff with Vincent, so the only way to entertain myself is to visit you.¡±


    The crafter rubbed his temples, suppressing his irritation. ¡°Go find that other redhead guy Lucy keeps on this floor! After spending nearly a week with him shouldn¡¯t you be able to hang out with him?¡±


    ¡°Hargrave?¡± Scytale blinked and shook his head. ¡°Nah, he¡¯s probably busy cleaning his spear or armour or something like that.¡±


    ¡°Did someone mention me?¡±


    Scytale and Sedric looked up to see the subject of their conversation walking down the stairs of Sedric¡¯s workshop. Sedric cocked an eyebrow while Scytale raised himself higher and flapped his wings.


    ¡°Speaking about you, not to you! Also, why are you even in here?¡± He gestured to Sedric with his head. ¡°Sedric doesn¡¯t have anything worth stealing yet, so come back in a few hundred years.¡±


    Hargrave gazed wearily at the winged snake. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ not here to steal anything.¡±


    Sedric turned to scowl at Scytale. ¡°Wait, are you implying that it will take me hundreds of years to become a decent crafter?¡±


    ¡°You said it first, not me!¡±


    ¡°So that was what you meant!¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re going to argue, could you please do it after I¡¯ve talked to Sedric?¡± Hargrave interrupted with his arms crossed.


    Giving the man slightly sheepish looks, Scytale avoided eye contact and Sedric coughed into his fist. ¡°Uh¡­ sure. It was Scytale¡¯s fault anyway.¡±


    ¡°Hey-¡±


    ¡°So what is it you want to talk to me about?¡± Sedric said over the snake. ¡°I can¡¯t help you with anything Lucille can¡¯t, just so you know. I¡¯m not a member of this Faction so I don¡¯t have any power in the Commission.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not related to the Aurelian Commission, but¡­¡± Hargrave gave the brown-haired man a curious look as he approached the workbench. ¡°Not a member of the Commission?¡±


    ¡°Yup.¡± Sedric grabbed a gem glowing with runes off of the table and flipped down a lens on his goggles to inspect it. ¡°Non-exclusive personal contract with Lucille, something something, access to anything in the vault, something something, etcetera etcetera. I¡¯m employed by her personally but am technically allowed to create stuff for whoever I want. Not that I could be bothered finding other people to craft stuff for.¡±


    ¡°So she formed a personal contract with you too,¡± Hargrave murmured. ¡°But based on access to the resources of the vault as well. Isn¡¯t she worried about draining its contents?¡±


    Scytale started snickering as he held up one of the many gadgets on the workbench with his tail, messing around with it. Sedric paused what he was doing and gained a strange expression. ¡°Uh¡­ well, no, not really. She said ¡®I could start a Guild with the power of the top ten Guilds in the 1<sup>st</sup> ranked Major Kingdom and run it for fifty years¡¯. I have a feeling that anything regarding her comprehension of money isn¡¯t for us normal people to try to understand.¡±


    Hargrave seemed to consider it but shook his head, returning to his reason for being there. ¡°I came down here to discuss crafting items for me. Lucille said that you might be open to it, as long as I provide the resources or finance.¡±


    Sedric blinked. ¡°Huh. Well, I mean¡­ it¡¯s probably an opportunity for me to develop my skills, but besides enchanting I¡¯m not at the level of a standard crafter yet. My Legendary class isn¡¯t all powerful. Any reason you wanted to come to me for it?¡±


    ¡°Your inexperience isn¡¯t an issue. I want to spend some time working out what type of items would be useful for me,¡± Hargrave said with a shake of his head. ¡°Getting items of my element can be¡­ difficult.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your element?¡± Sedric asked with an eyebrow raised.


    ¡°It¡¯s pretty obvious. Just look at his hair and you¡¯ll know it.¡± Scytale yawned as he coiled up on the bench. ¡°He¡¯s a blood manipulator.¡±


    Sedric glanced between Scytale and Hargrave with an odd look on his face. ¡°Just out of curiosity¡­ what¡¯s your profession?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Hargrave hesitated and then frowned. ¡°I was¡­ a mercenary. But I¡¯ve quit.¡±


    Sedric rolled his eyes. ¡°Of course. I should¡¯ve expected that. No blood element user decides to get a normal job, they must go for the ones that pay them for killing people. Why didn¡¯t you choose to become a healer or doctor? The blood element has healing properties- wait.¡± He placed a hand on his chin as he considered it with a strange expression. ¡°No, it would be much more creepy if you were a doctor. Hm, what else? A crafter? No, that wouldn¡¯t work¡­¡±


    Hargrave gazed dully at Sedric and then shook his head. ¡°We were talking about making items for me.¡±


    ¡°Ah, right.¡± The crafter nodded. ¡°If you¡¯re a blood manipulator then it makes sense why you¡¯d need something more customised. But you do know I¡¯m only an accessory craftsman?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m aware,¡± Hargrave replied. ¡°Does this mean you¡¯re willing to craft stuff for me?¡±


    ¡°Sure. It gives me something to do and¡­¡± Sedric raised an eyebrow and pointed at him. ¡°While I¡¯m inexperienced at making the body of items, I can actually enchant stuff pretty well. My Legendary class improves my capabilities massively.¡± He frowned and crossed his arms. ¡°Lucille just wants me to craft weird stuff all the time. Every single item frame has to be custom-made for her.¡±


    Then Sedric gestured to the red-haired man again. ¡°But as you went on that trip to the Dungeon with Lucille and Scytale here, can I take a guess that you¡¯ll want items for combat?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Hargrave said with a nod.


    ¡°Good. Because that I can do.¡± Sedric walked over to a bookshelf in his workshop and took down a thick book. Flipping through its pages, he put it back on the shelf and took down a second one. When he saw its contents he nodded and walked back over to the bench, cleared some space with his hand and dropped the book down. ¡°Ordinarily most crafters wouldn¡¯t have access to blood runes, but Lucille allowed me to buy compilations of runes for each of the essential elements and most of the mid-level ones, minus a few like glamour and such.¡±


    Hargrave looked at the book with interest as the crafter flipped through it. Then he blinked as Sedric flipped out multiple layers of the page, showing that there were multiple tabs that folded out. When he finished flipping out all the tabs, the page had expanded to become a massive diagram of multiple crafting blood runes and spell examples. It covered half his bench.


    ¡°Now, these are all the current runes I can use, of which I can make around fifty spells, as well as alter them slightly if you need specific effects,¡± Sedric explained. ¡°Come over here to have a look and see what ones you¡¯d like in an item¡­¡±

 Chapter 65 (2 of 2) Step aside, Thaumaturgy. Dramaturgy is the best power.

    So, the main components of my soul constructs¡­


    Lucille was lying on her bed, eyes closed as she theorised on how to make a movement ability relating to her incredible self-control. Because she learnt to use her soul to control her body over many years, it was clear that the System didn¡¯t consider it a ¡®skill¡¯ for her to gain then, and she also hadn¡¯t been trying to gain any specific ability for that.


    But now she was wondering if she could get a skill centred around fine control and calculated actions. She was sure it existed somehow, but performing the right actions to gain it would be the problem. Lucy had considered using a Memory Transubstantiate chance, but she didn¡¯t have a singular ¡®memory¡¯ to base it on. As such, her only option was to analyse the parts of her mental constructs she wanted the skill to assimilate.


    The issue is some of the mental constructs don¡¯t serve the purpose of only aiding my movements. Those will have to be incorporated into the skill, but I don¡¯t want them to change the effects of the skill to become something I don¡¯t need. Should I look into using the Epic skill books? But I¡¯m not sure they¡¯ll end up fusing to become my ideal skill.


    She sighed and sat up.


    I¡¯m not sure Hargrave can help me with this anymore. I almost regret asking him. Oh well.


    Stretching her arms above her bed, Lucy slid off and opened the door of her room. Dressed in simpler clothes that were easy to walk around and do athletic activity in, she headed to the training room with Apophis and Ouroboros in their sheaths.


    Maybe it would be more useful to ponder ways of getting Vincent to accept me leaving the Commission on March 30<sup>th</sup>. With everything that happened regarding the Court¡­ it¡¯s best if I meet him sooner than later.


    Lucille took a deep breath and shuddered.


    How many years will it have been? 170? Regardless, I never expected we would have the opportunity to meet again. I just hope I can repay my debt.


    She pushed the doors of the training room open and walked in, receiving the gazes of one scarlet-haired ex-mercenary and her bond, who was sitting on the ground cross-legged, his back against a wall.


    ¡°What do you want me to do?¡± Hargrave asked, getting straight to the point.


    Lucy unsheathed her blades and got into a stance. ¡°Fight me. With enough power to push me but not enough to defeat me. I¡¯m going to see just how much it takes for the System to acknowledge what I¡¯m doing as a supernatural ability.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Hargrave withdrew his demonic spear and gripped it tightly, ready for combat. ¡°Then if you want to focus on your movements, you should only use the dagger forms of your weapons.¡± He narrowed his eyes and crouched. ¡°You won¡¯t have the leeway to try any fancy tricks while fighting me.¡±


    Then he dashed forward without warning. Lucy raised her two daggers to block his downward strike, but he quickly pulled the spear back in preparation to thrust it at her.


    Lucille went expressionless as she heightened her thoughts to plan exactly what she was going to do. She had heard that concentrating on the order of moves was a bad habit for a warrior, but she wasn¡¯t a normal combatant. Any time she fought someone she needed to have a goal and use everything she had to achieve it.


    She smiled widely. Hargrave narrowed his eyes at her expression but then she spun out of the way and spread her arms.


    ¡°Hargrave, why did you accept my request to fight so quickly? Shouldn¡¯t you of all people be more wary?¡±


    He frowned but swung his spear towards her side. She leaned back slightly as the blade barely missed her and then threw one of her daggers up and down in a lazy manner.


    ¡°Silence? Has that been your answer to the General of Blazing Iron all these years? To everyone around him?¡± Her eyes widened with mock curiosity. ¡°You accepted their orders because you never declined. But what if you had? Would you have needed to abandon your class and power?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see how this is relevant,¡± he said, swinging out at her again. ¡°You wanted me to help you, so stop talking and start fighting.¡±


    ¡°Ah, but those are the same thing to me. A fight can be exchanged through words as well as through the clashing of blades,¡± she replied light-heartedly. ¡°But of course, a lowly mercenary like you wouldn¡¯t know anything.¡±


    The spear shot past her cheek, drawing blood. Hargrave was scowling as the spear cut into the hard stone floor. ¡°I said to shut up and start fighting,¡± he growled.


    Lucille put a hand up to her cheek and looked at the blood on her fingers. ¡°Hmm¡­ yes, that¡¯s much better. Hargrave¡­¡± Her expression became slightly more serious as she gazed at him. ¡°You¡¯re not pushing me enough.¡±


    His scowl slowly disappeared, but he was still frowning at her. ¡°Angering me is a dangerous way to get me to push you. I don¡¯t want to be responsible for severely injuring the Aurelian Commission Head.¡±


    She pointed Apophis at him. ¡°That¡¯s up for me to decide. Don¡¯t pretend you know me well enough to choose how much I can take.¡± Lucy spread her arms wide again, an ¡®open¡¯ gesture that left her seemingly unguarded. ¡°Now, the ¡®lowly mercenary¡¯ should start attacking the noble woman in front of him, or else he¡¯ll never be able to kill the General of Blazing Iron.¡±


    His expression became solemn but he raised his spear again. ¡°Attack me first this time.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± She blinked at the strange request but smiled. ¡°As you wish then.¡±


    If he wants to know what I¡¯m capable of then I¡¯ll show him.


    She dashed forward, two blades ready. He held up his spear to sweep away her attack but she sidestepped and spun around, attempting to get behind him. He didn¡¯t give her the opportunity and followed her movements closely.


    While Lucy could¡¯ve done more, she was testing to see how he reacted to what she was doing. She was easily capable of reading his body language and it was clear to her that while he was using a bit more strength than he had started with, he was underestimating her and still treating her as if she was a new warrior. He didn¡¯t know what her mental constructs were capable of.


    With her thoughts sped up, she wanted to find a way to completely surprise him, either by showing more talent than he thought she was capable of or fighting in a way utterly unfamiliar to him. For that, she needed to adjust to his combat style.


    I recognise most of his more powerful moves as skills taught by the Major Spear Discipline. His general style is rough but practical and made for killing. Aiming for obvious weaknesses and relying on personal strength instead of feints and trickery to overpower the enemy. In many ways, we¡¯re complete opposites.


    She waited until Hargrave showed some signs of impatience and sped up to sweep his spear around him and force her away from approaching his back. Analysing the trajectory of his weapon, she ensured she was only far enough away to just be out of reach, as if she had dodged through sheer luck. The way she made her eyes widen slightly and stumble back a step added to the effect.


    Hargrave didn¡¯t hesitate and struck out, but once again she ¡®barely dodged¡¯ and tripped in a way that she could duck under the weapon. She rolled out of the way and sprung back up.


    ¡°What are you doing? You shouldn¡¯t mess around while in a fight,¡± he growled, running forward with a powerful burst of strength, and trying to grab her arm when his attack missed a third time.


    ¡°I¡¯m just- woah!¡± She dived to the ground as she passed his outstretched hand, hastily standing back up again. ¡°Careful! I still can¡¯t fight well!¡±


    Hargrave narrowed his eyes at her but didn¡¯t relent. It was obvious he didn¡¯t believe her because he had seen her fight the three adventurers only two days prior. ¡°Are you playing a practical joke?¡±


    ¡°Not at all-¡± She twisted her body as the pointed blade went by again, and she eyed his wrist. ¡°I¡¯m only trying to discover my own pace.¡±


    She struck out at his arm with Ouroboros and he deflected it, having already seen where she was aiming for. But he hadn¡¯t foreseen that she would duck down and try to stab his abdomen with her other blade.


    Now positioned for him to strike her over the head, he tried to do just that, but she slipped past the spear¡¯s staff to come face to face with him. She blinked as if she hadn¡¯t expected that. ¡°Um¡­ hello?¡±


    With a strange expression he tried to knock her back with the staff but she danced out of his path and taunted him, one hand gesturing for him to come close while she leaned forward with the other behind her back.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we move things along a little?¡± Lucy said with a smirk. ¡°It¡¯s much more underwhelming to fight the Spearmaster of Eolith than I expected.¡±


    ¡°¡­you¡¯ll regret saying that.¡± Suddenly, the air whistled as he shot towards her, his speed nearly having doubled. ¡°You¡¯re not prepared for my strength if you don¡¯t learn to dodge better.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? My dodging has been perfectly fine.¡± She tilted her head to the side as the blade pierced the air where her head had just been. ¡°See? No excess movements. You need to put a little more effort into it.¡± She placed a hand behind her back. ¡°I¡¯ll even give you a handicap.¡±


    He scowled and thrust the demonic spear at her with incredible strength. ¡°You¡¯re too confident for someone who was tripping over their own feet!¡±


    Lucille whistled as she jumped with her legs tucked up, both hands behind her back. He swung the spear and she turned slightly to let it bypass her. When he tried to kick her she hopped onto one foot and then the other, pretending to wobble slightly when she put a foot down.


    He threw the spear directly at her and she stumbled back several steps, bending over backwards as the spear shot over her. She straightened back up and smiled brightly. ¡°You missed.¡±


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    A cold smile appeared on Hargrave¡¯s face as he held out his hand and the spear returned to him, pulled back by his scarlet blood mana. ¡°Fine. If you won¡¯t take this seriously, then I will. I hope a Level 50 is prepared to fight against the full strength of a former peak Rank-4.¡±


    Her smile stiffened slightly.


    Uh oh¡­ did I irritate him a bit too much?


    He gripped his spear tight and she knew it was her moment to run. Turning around and dashing for the far wall, she could hear his heavy footsteps running after her as well as see him. He caught up to her in barely a few seconds and cut through the air, the crackling sound of demonic energy right behind her.


    She ducked under the blade¡¯s path but instead of continuing to run, she jumped up and whirled around, a wide smile on her face. Her expression made him pause, but not for long.


    With her accelerated thoughts she already knew how he¡¯d react and aimed for his face with Apophis¡¯s blade. Being able to detect the tensing of his muscles at a moment¡¯s notice, when she saw his shoulder shift she knew what he¡¯d do. In one deft movement, she threw Apophis up instead of stabbing his face and when Hargrave grabbed her wrist just before she hit, he blinked when met with the empty hand.


    The sudden movement of her left hand with Ouroboros made him drop her wrist and she slipped under his arm that had shifted Eolith after falling for her feint with her spirit weapon.


    Hargrave whirled around just in time to see her catch Apophis¡¯s blade between two of her fingers and toss the dagger in the air to grab it by the handle instead. With a grin on her face she threw herself back into battle against him.


    ¡°Do you dislike my manipulation? But this is how all the noble vassals of the General would¡¯ve acted. Talking behind your back, debating your right to successorship¡­¡± Her strikes were deflected with his spear¡¯s staff, and she spun around to do a backhanded stab. He sidestepped it and nearly cut her feet off, but she jumped over the weapon. ¡°You should be familiar with it. Maybe it would¡¯ve helped you to learn it for yourself.¡±


    ¡°So I could be like them and be their puppet?¡± Hargrave hissed, spinning Eolith above his head to attack her with a downward blow. ¡°Being on the battlefield is simple. You either live or die. At least I only had myself to care about.¡±


    Lucille tilted her head as she skirted around the edge of his spear again. ¡°Did you never have someone you wanted to protect?¡±


    He gained a concentrated frown as he tossed the spear at her again, which she turned out of the way of. ¡°I think I cared about my mother at some point¡­ but she¡¯s now dead. She probably would¡¯ve ended up like that eventually. I don¡¯t intend to die though.¡±


    ¡°Did you plan to kill her?¡± Lucy asked abruptly.


    Hargrave narrowed his eyes at her but didn¡¯t answer. He struck out at her neck and she ducked down, appearing in front of him.


    ¡°It¡¯s obvious, really. You were the future ¡®Blood Patriarch¡¯ and she knew what you would likely become. It would¡¯ve been easy for her to kill the son who ¡®trusted¡¯ her.¡± She crossed her blades to hold back the overhead strike of the demonic weapon and stepped to the side as it crashed through to the ground, leaving the stone marred. ¡°She may have been scared, or just didn¡¯t want you to suffer.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter anymore.¡± He stepped back and pointed his spear at her. ¡°Have you finally finished observing me? Or do I need to wait longer for you to use me as a way to demonstrate this ¡®supernatural ability¡¯?¡±


    Lucille smiled and ran back a few steps.


    So he knew what I was doing all along. And because he promised to help me, he let me do what I wanted. Hargrave keeps to his word too strongly.


    How did a man like him end up becoming the most wanted individual in all the realms?


    No, she knew why. It was because the entire Tower was greedy for his dragon heart, the only one the dragons had given permission for them to obtain. He was never a person to them all, but a resource, a precious treasure trove of normally unobtainable power.


    If only they knew what his amber eyes really represented then¡­ but that was probably why the leaders of the Empire wanted him to die.


    She bolted towards him, each of her steps carefully calculated with the right pace, strength, and speed. When he was about to lift his spear to attack her, Lucy threw both her blades in the air and dived to the ground. Using one hand she launched herself into the air with a flip, catching the two daggers by their handles again.


    She fell towards Hargrave and he lifted his spear with both hands to block the double strikes of her blades. Lucille threw Apophis again and let the demonic weapon levitate for a moment as she used her right hand to push her up from the spear and flip over him to face his back. She attacked him from behind with Ouroboros as Apophis flew back into her hand.


    Hargrave spun around and knocked her attack away, then stabbed towards her chest. Lucy jumped up and landed on the pole of his spear. He pulled it back instantly and she dropped into a roll on the ground, trying to get to his side.


    Her movements became quicker and more active as she clashed with Hargrave, trying to overwhelm him with the frequency of her attacks as she knew her STR wouldn¡¯t hold a candle to his. Twisting, leaning, turning, she always barely avoided his strikes, being as efficient with her motions as possible.


    Her breathing became more difficult to control as they fought, Hargrave beginning to match his pace with hers. He was slowly detecting the mechanical, procedural pattern to her moves.


    A change in my breathing patterns, a twitch of a finger, the slight movement of a foot, all of it can and will clue him into my next action. I need to mask as much of my movements as possible while fighting. Acting clumsy partially worked, but on anyone I met it would only ever work once. Hargrave had already seen how I fought the other day.


    Other thought strands in her head whirred with battle calculations.


    97 degree angle with my arm in 0.2 seconds. 0.18 seconds. 0.16 seconds¡­


    If he counterattacks with an overhead blow, based on my position in 0.3 seconds I¡¯ll sidestep it. Otherwise, I¡¯ll jump. I need to add an unpredictable element to my actions to reset the status quo.


    Her energy was quickly draining as she tried to keep up with Hargrave, who had sped up even more. And she was sure he was only barely using half his Rank-1 strength, if even that.


    The climax of the battle occurred when a thrust with his empty right hand caught her off-guard with its speed and nearly grabbed her face.


    The black half-mask covering the right side of her face came free in Hargrave¡¯s grip and he stared at the rotating golden magic circle in her right eye, his spear pointed at her neck. Then he flinched as cold metal brushed against his skin and he looked down to see the extended Ouroboros had circled his own neck.


    ¡°Tie?¡± Lucy asked innocently.


    Ouroboros retracted and he rubbed his neck with an unreadable expression as he gazed at her. Lucille stretched her hands above her head and turned around to walk over to Scytale, who was looking slightly annoyed at being ignored for so long.


    [Available Secondary Skill: Soul Cipher Orchestrator of Affray ¨C Histrionic Dramatourgos]


    Lucille paused when she saw the skill notification and smiled.


    It worked. And with such a long name, it¡¯s likely Ancient rarity or greater. But Dramatourgos? Isn¡¯t that the origin word for Dramaturge?


    ¡°I gained the skill. And it¡¯s likely Ancient,¡± she told Scytale with a grin. She glanced over her shoulder at Hargrave. ¡°Thank you for your help. I need to analyse my new skill to see what it does and¡­¡± Her words trailed off when she saw the ex-mercenary¡¯s expression.


    ¡°Where are you going? We¡¯re not done yet.¡± Jagged blood stars spun around him as he gripped his spear with a vicious smirk on his face. A bloody aura encased his demonic spear and body as he whirled Eolith and planted it on the ground. ¡°I told you to only use the dagger forms of your weapons. You cheated, and I¡¯m not comfortable calling it a tie.¡±


    He pointed his spear at her. ¡°So bring out your snake-swords and fight against my blood manipulation in a rematch.¡± Hargrave¡¯s smirk grew wider. ¡°Or better yet, have your bond join in and face me at my full power. I¡¯m not ready to leave it like this.¡±


    Lucille gazed wearily at the riled-up scarlet-haired man and considered running for the door.


    Oh¡­ great. He¡¯s a battle addict.


    Scytale sprung to his feet and shifted to his snake form with a serpentine grin. ¡°Absolutely! I¡¯ve been bored watching Lucy!¡±


    She facepalmed and selected the skill, not having a chance to read it as she threw herself into the fight. Her demonic and spirit weapons cut through the weapons of blood Hargrave launched at her while clashing his spear against Scytale¡¯s hard wings.


    I seem to have gotten myself in trouble by bringing Hargrave to the Commission. Oh well, I¡¯ll check the description later. I want to see if it will have a direct impact on my performance from the start.


    ¡­


    Lucille lay on the stone floor of the training room with her limbs spread out in a star, breathing heavily as she looked up at the roof. Her weapons weren¡¯t in their sheaths and were instead drifting off into the far corners of the room to inspect places, but she couldn¡¯t bring herself to care.


    Beside her, Scytale shifted into his human form and sat down on the floor with a groan. He winced as his muscles stretched and leaned back on his arms to gaze at the roof. He glanced at Lucy after a moment. ¡°Tired?¡±


    ¡°I am utterly exhausted,¡± she said with a sigh. ¡°I haven¡¯t felt like this since the Beast Realm¡¯s stages, and even then I was refreshed between levels. But this time I wasn¡¯t even given a break between fights.¡±


    They both tilted their heads back to eye the ex-mercenary calmly storing his weapon and gearing. Looking annoyingly content and satisfied, he brought out a flask of water to take a drink.


    ¡°If I ever ask Hargrave to spar with me please remind me of this incident,¡± Lucy muttered darkly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see your problem. I thought the fight was great,¡± Scytale replied with a smirk.


    She glared at him and rolled her eyes when he started snickering. Summoning some strength, she brought up her Status page and selected her new skill, anticipating its effects.


    [Secondary Skill: Soul Cipher Orchestrator of Affray ¨C Histrionic Dramatourgos | Type: Control/Enhancement]


    Rarity: Ancient


    Desc: Hark! The Orchestrator of Affray has awoken! Machinations upon machinations within their mind, they entrap and ensnare those who dare contend with them. Their aims and objectives hidden until the foretold pristine, serendipitous moment and on that day shall their adversaries dance into their open hand. Come, Orchestrator, and set the stage for the greatest play in the realms.


    Abilities:


    Regisseur of Warfare ¨C Dance of blades and blood.


    <ul>


    <li>Greatly increases evasion ability in proportion to current DEX and AGI. This effect may be amplified depending on the stage of Pentad Acts: Expositionary, Rise, Climax, Fall, and Resolve.</li>


    <li>Grants the User the ability to link mana control to the soul and manipulate their body through the mind instead of biologically. This allows for greater precision and sync between the mind and body.</li>


    </ul>


    Pentad Acts: Expositionary, Rise, Climax, Fall, and Resolve ¨C Immerse yourself in theatrics.


    <ul>


    <li>User may ¡®stage¡¯ the beginning of Acts per contender or conflict, and gain buffs as the Acts progress. User may cancel an Act at any moment but receive a month-long cooldown before the Act may be restaged for that contender/conflict.</li>


    <li>Act 1 - Expositionary: User¡¯s ability to analyse the abilities and body language of contenders is enhanced. +10% Bonus to AGI once Act is activated.</li>


    <li>Act 2 - Rise: User gains a +10% Bonus to STR as well as the buffs of Expositionary once Act is activated. Majorly masks the actions of the User to prevent contender(s) from guessing their actions during the event.</li>


    <li>Act 3 - Climax: Skilfully executed moves apply a buff to all movements to enhance future move accuracy and effect. The more efficient and impactful the moves, the higher the buff. Buff can stack a maximum of ten times during Climax. Current Buff: 0%/100%.</li>


    <li>Act 4 - Fall: If User defeats contender then Fall may be activated. Doubles previous buffs and adds +10% CON to protect them from attacks after defeat of contender. This Act may last for 1 hour before deactivating and triggering Resolve.</li>


    <li>Act 5 - Resolve: User gains the option to renew the Acts, starting at Act 1, if contender remains alive or conflict unfinished by this point in time. All buffs are reset and return to Expositionary, but buffs double in effect. May be repeated for a max of x5 enhancement to buffs.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    Scytale leaned to the side to see her screen and let out a whistle. ¡°That is one looong Secondary Skill.¡± He looked down at her. ¡°I think you just opened up a new class out there somewhere.¡±


    ¡°Probably. But if I didn¡¯t get a skill at least this powerful I¡¯d be wondering what all my years of effort were worth,¡± she said with a smile. ¡°And this skill doesn¡¯t specify what exactly a ¡®conflict¡¯ or ¡®defeat¡¯ is. If it relies purely on my own perspective of events¡­ then this could be incredibly valuable.¡± She sat up and looked at her two intelligent weapons floating up near the roof. ¡°Please come down now, Apophis and Ouroboros.¡±


    The blades silently slunk near her so she could sheath them. Ouroboros was content as always but Apophis was unusually placid. Lucy assumed that was because he had enjoyed the fight.


    Hargrave approached with an intrigued look on his face. ¡°They¡¯re very intelligent.¡±


    ¡°Intelligent, yes. Mature, no.¡± With a slight groan, Lucille got up onto her feet and sighed as she stretched her stiff limbs. ¡°Now that I have my skill, I¡¯m going to be confined to the armchair in my study for the rest of the month dealing with the debut arrangements. We hope to launch it in June.¡± She shot the scarlet-haired man a pointed look. ¡°It goes without saying that you should be as far away from Gilded Seat as possible around that time.¡±


    He nodded solemnly but then she smirked. ¡°You likely would¡¯ve wanted to leave regardless of the debut. Your first draconic monster hunt is scheduled for that month.¡±


    He blinked with surprise as she turned away and hummed. ¡°Now to get changed, and then to start working on the debut invitation list¡­¡±


    <hr>


    ¡°Prophetess Verdon! I have a message for you!¡±


    A blonde, wavy-haired girl dressed in a long trailing white dress paused when she heard the sound of the call and looked behind her. Her steely-eyed personal guard did the same, eyeing the approaching healer with mild suspicion.


    The high-ranking female healer, her position indicated by the five-pointed diadem on her head, curtseyed to them both. ¡°His Eminence the Great Sage Gidelis Annador has requested your presence. He has something he wishes to speak to you about.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ I see. Well, if it is the Great Sage¡¯s request then I must listen to him.¡± Annaliese smiled and nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll go there straight away. Please return to your tasks.¡±


    The woman nodded and walked away, leaving Annaliese and Sir Albrecht standing side by side. Annaliese scowled. ¡°I thought it was my break time!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no such thing as a ¡®break time¡¯ when it comes to the Citadel, Prophetess,¡± Jasten Albrecht replied wearily. ¡°You are expected to be available for any of the Sages at any point in time.¡±


    She shot him a sour look. ¡°Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s unfair?¡±


    ¡°Whether I find it unfair or not, it doesn¡¯t matter,¡± he replied blandly. ¡°I had the same experience with the Sages as the highest-ranked Paladin. They ¡®need¡¯ you at their beck and call at every moment.¡±


    ¡°Selfish jer-¡± An armoured hand quickly cut Annaliese off.


    ¡°Stop trying to get yourself locked up for eternity,¡± Jasten said with exasperation.


    She stuck her tongue out at him and walked off. ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s go see what the ¡®Great¡¯ Sage wants from us.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Ah, my dear Annaliese! Come in, come in,¡± the bearded Sage said with a genial smile.


    Annaliese ¡®beamed¡¯ ¨C although she really wanted to glare at him ¨C and walked into his study. ¡°Sir Annador! I heard you wanted to see me!¡±


    He chuckled as he stroked his long white beard. ¡°Straight to the point, I see. There¡¯s no need to be impatient.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re a very busy person,¡± Annaliese said with an innocent look on her face. ¡°I don¡¯t want to take up your time.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ true, I¡¯m a bit busy.¡± Gidelis Annador glanced at his desk and shook his head. ¡°But not busy enough to not make time for our only Prophetess.¡± He sat down in a chair opposite the one Annaliese had sat in and glanced at the Paladin behind her. ¡°And how has our Prophetess been faring in your eyes, Sir Albrecht? Has your position as her personal guard sat well with you?¡±


    Jasten Albrecht nodded solemnly. ¡°She has been as enthusiastic and lively an individual as ever. How could I dare to complain about our Prophetess of Fate?¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± the Sage mused, continuing to stroke his beard. In his right hand was the five-pointed Radiance Staff, a symbol of the Great Sage of the Citadel. ¡°That is good to hear.¡±


    ¡°Sir Annador, I¡¯m really curious to know why you wanted to see me,¡± Annaliese said.


    ¡°Of course, I will tell you now,¡± the old man said with a hint of amusement. ¡°It pertains to your visit to the Aurelian Commission next month.¡±


    The blonde-haired girl hesitated. ¡°Do you¡­ not want me to go?¡±


    ¡°Oh no,¡± the Great Sage replied, shaking his head. ¡°Quite the contrary. I wish to ask you if you could request Commission Head Lucille Goldcroft to allow a subdivision of the Citadel to move to Gilded Seat on my behalf.¡±


    Annaliese blinked, and then nodded. ¡°Oh! Yes, I can do that.¡± Then she paused. ¡°Although¡­ Lucy always gets her aide to agree before she does anything. She seems to look up to him and rely on him a lot.¡±


    ¡°¡­a trusted associate I see.¡± Gidelis Annador dipped his head. ¡°I merely wish for you to suggest this to Count Goldcroft as you are a close friend of hers. If it happens then I will be pleased, but if it doesn¡¯t then no harm done.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll see if she agrees!¡± the girl replied brightly. ¡°Was there anything else?¡±


    Great Sage Annador chuckled and stood up as he shook his head. ¡°No, you may leave and enjoy the rest of your day. I¡¯ve heard you¡¯ve been making great progress in learning the art of Fate manipulation, and hope to see the efforts of your study soon.¡±


    ¡°I hope you can see it soon too,¡± she said cheerily. Standing up, she held her dress out and curtseyed. ¡°It was an honour to speak with Your Eminence, Great Sage Annador.¡±


    He nodded and Annaliese and her guard left his study, walking back the way they came. It was a relatively silent and uneventful walk until Annaliese suddenly stopped on the spot.


    Jasten Albrecht raised an eyebrow. ¡°Prophetess?¡±


    She looked over her shoulder with a nervous expression. ¡°Sir Albrecht¡­ how will I get Lucy to agree?¡±


    He shook his head wryly and patted her shoulder in sympathy as they continued walking, taking the nearest exit to the teleportation array that could take them back to their estate where Raegan was.

 Chapter 66 (1 of 2) A Nostalgic Reunion.

    ¡°Captain!¡±


    A woman with wild, curly hair raised her eyes to look at the door of her cabin. After a moment of contemplation, she ignored the knocking and continued to inspect the map of the Distorted Depths on her desk.


    ¡°M.W.S. Dawnlight Captain Riftmire! It¡¯s your Vice Captain!¡±


    She stuck a finger in her ear and moved a miniature model ship across the map, several models of various large sea creatures placed elsewhere. The knocking on the door intensified.


    ¡°Oh Supreme Navy Captain Adrianna, if you don¡¯t answer I¡¯m going to get Ruel to pick your lock!¡±


    She spared a moment to roll her eyes in a rare show of emotion and then suppressed a sigh as she stood up, pulling down her gold-trimmed coat from a hook to put on. The woman with ice-blue eyes walked over to the door and swung it open.


    Standing in front of her was a frowning sea-green-haired young man, his translucent eartips glowing with pale cyan light. ¡°So our great Captain finally deigns to grace us with her presence,¡± Caspian stated sarcastically.


    ¡°If that¡¯s all you wanted to say, I¡¯ll be returning to my work.¡± Adrianna tried to shut the door but Caspian was quick to push back.


    ¡°Oh no, no, no. You don¡¯t get off that easily.¡± He managed to force the door open and crossed his arms, narrowing his green eyes at her. ¡°Adrianna, we¡¯ll arrive at White Squall Fortress in half an hour.¡±


    ¡°¡­so?¡± She gave him a mild look of disdain. ¡°Quartermaster Vima is well prepared and has been an excellent steerer. I was already aware of when we would arrive.¡±


    ¡°¡¯So¡¯?! What do you mean, ¡®so¡¯?!¡± Caspian grabbed her wrist and tried to pull her outside. ¡°You are going to help me with our crew¡¯s status reports and check up on our crewmates with me!¡±


    ¡°My job as Captain is to lead the crew, not to-¡±


    ¡°Does it look like I care?¡± he asked, shooting her a withering look. ¡°Don¡¯t pretend you can hide how little you¡¯ve interacted with everyone else from me. To repeat what you said, your job is to lead your crew, so you need to get out there and talk to them more!¡±


    ¡°Wharifin, I don¡¯t-¡±


    ¡°No!¡±


    Adrianna watched him with mild frustration as he dragged her across the main deck, heading for the forecastle deck at the front of the ship.


    It seems he¡¯s more willing to speak his mind compared to the last timeline. Was resolving things with him so early a mistake?


    ¡°First job is to deal with whatever is going on between you and Noirel,¡± the demi-Atlantean muttered, letting go of her wrist to plant his hands on his hips as he stood beside the main mast. He looked up and whistled, sticking two fingers in his mouth. ¡°Oi! Arventiel!¡±


    Adrianna could see in her perception skill that the half-fae had glanced down and quickly ignored them when she spotted Adrianna, but Caspian frowned.


    ¡°Can she not hear me? Fine, I¡¯ll leave her for afterwards.¡± He looked around and nodded when he spotted a woman with dark blue hair near the front. ¡°Maeva can be the first then.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing between me and Arventiel,¡± Adrianna said with a sigh. ¡°Her fae heritage is giving her difficulties but it¡¯s nothing that can be changed.¡±


    ¡°I understand that much, but I want to know what exactly about her heritage is making her so scared of you,¡± Caspian argued.


    Internally, Adrianna was in disagreement with that statement. I don¡¯t need Arventiel calling me ¡®the false one¡¯ near him right now. Although it might be amusing to see Griffin trying to redirect the conversation when they discuss his ¡®Distorter¡¯ status.


    ¡°Hey, Maeva!¡± Caspian called out, waving his hands. ¡°You busy?¡±


    The blue-haired healer blinked and turned away from her conversation partner, who happened to be Liliana. Maeva shook her head. ¡°Not really, no. I was just talking about water element healing effects with Liliana.¡±


    Caspian nodded to Liliana as they both approached. ¡°Hi there. I may as well talk to you too if you¡¯re both here.¡±


    ¡°Good afternoon, Vice Captain!¡± the archer said with a smile.


    ¡°A talk?¡± Maeva asked curiously.


    ¡°More like a survey. I just want a status update on how everyone has been dealing with the tasks and teamwork on the Dawnlight these last few weeks.¡± Caspian took out a notebook and pen from his dimensional skill. ¡°If it¡¯s fine with you both, can I ask you at the same time? Unless you want your answers to be hidden from anyone else.¡±


    Maeva smirked. ¡°Cool, secrets. I don¡¯t have anything interesting but maybe our local archer does?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything that exciting,¡± Liliana replied with a slight smile.


    Caspian wryly shook his head. ¡°I need to ask you the questions first. Alright, first up: What tasks have you found the easiest while being a crewmember of the Dawnlight?¡±


    ¡°Healing,¡± Maeva said with a grin. ¡°Because I haven¡¯t had to heal anyone yet.¡±


    Caspian shot her a flat look. ¡°That doesn¡¯t count.¡±


    ¡°Acting as a lookout to give Noirel a break has been pretty enjoyable and simple,¡± Liliana told him. ¡°The view is nice up there.¡±


    ¡°I suppose that would be your vision-enhancing archery skills helping you out there,¡± Caspian murmured as he wrote it down.


    ¡°Ugh, I guess I¡¯ll give you another answer.¡± Maeva placed her hands behind her head as she thought about it and then smiled. ¡°Being the cook. Everyone seemed to enjoy my dishes too.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re great at cooking seafood,¡± Caspian agreed. ¡°Okay, next question is- Captain, what are you doing?!¡±


    Adrianna had her spyglass out as she stood on the bowsprit, the long pointed beam of wood at the front of the ship. She scanned the seas, looking for anything interesting. ¡°I¡¯m keeping an eye out while I wait for you to finish. If I have to be out of my cabin I¡¯d rather be doing something useful.¡±


    ¡°That-¡± Caspian stared at her. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to pay attention to the answers of our crewmates!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t recall that being in my terms of employment as ¡®Captain¡¯.¡±


    ¡°You get on my nerves so badly,¡± he hissed. He started when he saw her about to continue walking along the bowsprit and ran over to drag her down. ¡°Get back here!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Now that our Captain has returned to the discussion,¡± Caspian said with a pointed glare at the curly-haired woman next to him. ¡°Can I know what class-related needs either of you might have? In terms of strengthening yourselves on our trips.¡± He looked down at the notebook again. ¡°We can¡¯t have any of us falling behind in strength by not being able to slaughter monsters 24 hours of the day.¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­ well, I¡¯m a healer, so I level up by healing. But considering my second class is a water elementalist class, I can still level up by using my practising the forms of my water element abilities,¡± Maeva mused. She looked at the woman next to her. ¡°How about you, Liliana? You haven¡¯t had many things to shoot.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a warrior manipulator, so I¡¯m in the same boat,¡± the archer said with a smile. ¡°While my elementalist class is focused on being used with long-range weapons, making better water arrows can help me level up. It¡¯s just on the slower side.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Caspian scribbled something down and shut the book. ¡°All of us elementalists are sorted out then. I just need to make sure I ask Ross- er, Head Officer Stanhope for permission to bring aboard the Navy¡¯s elementalist training manuals. They help make levelling more efficient when you¡¯re not killing stuff.¡±


    Caspian nodded to Maeva and Liliana. ¡°Thanks, girls. If Arventiel comes down, could you please tell her I want to talk?¡±


    ¡°Sure thing, Caspian,¡± Maeva said with a nod.


    ¡°Cool. Alright, onto the next- hey! Adrianna!¡± He sped after the tall woman when he noticed her walking away from the trio. ¡°Where in the realms do you think you¡¯re going?! We still have more-¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you see that I¡¯m heading towards our other crewmates?¡± she asked in a flat voice tinged with mild irritation. ¡°It¡¯s Baxtimer and Deirvetch.¡± Adrianna¡¯s eyes narrowed at them. ¡°And they¡¯re bickering over something stupid.¡±


    Her Vice Captain raised an eyebrow and placed a hand over his eyes to peer at the two men on the other side of the forecastle deck. The short, freckled Ruel Deirvetch had his hands planted on his hips as he glared at Drew Baxtimer, who was smirking with his hands crossed.


    ¡°I am not going to do your chores for you, Drew,¡± Ruel stated crossly. ¡°I¡¯ve had enough trouble with the mess Conlan left me this morning, but now you want me to take on your job of cleaning up the shared dorm too?¡±


    ¡°Is my subordinate going to disobey his lord now?¡± Drew asked smugly.


    Ruel groaned and placed two hands on his head. ¡°Look, I may be a member of one of your clan¡¯s vassal families, but we¡¯re still just crewmates here! And besides, before we came to the Navy you never tried to make me do your chores!¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ maybe I never wanted to put my subordinate to good use before this?¡±


    ¡°Argh!¡±


    ¡°Good afternoon, you two.¡± Caspian approached and gave them a curious look. ¡°Did I hear something about Officer Griffin causing issues?¡±


    Drew shrugged and gestured to Ruel. ¡°Problems for him, not me.¡±


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Ruel sighed and ran a hand through his hair. ¡°Nothing major, just¡­ he was responsible for washing the breakfast dishes. I came in at lunch to find most of them still fairly dirty and one or two even smashed.¡±


    Caspian scratched his head. ¡°That¡­ hm, well, maybe he¡¯s just bad at doing dishes. I¡¯ll see if I can arrange for that task to be swapped with someone else if it happens again.¡±


    Adrianna glanced at Caspian, having a very different opinion about Griffin¡¯s actions.


    He¡¯s probably trying to show he¡¯s bad at general chores so he doesn¡¯t end up doing them a lot. I wish I could assign him to be responsible for the whole crew¡¯s tasks, but¡­


    She shook her head, and Caspian glanced back at her. ¡°Captain?¡±


    She didn¡¯t answer and looked out at the sea, ignoring him.


    Caspian rolled his eyes and returned to the other two men. ¡°Right, well¡­ fortunately or unfortunately, I¡¯m mandated to report any abuse of external status within the Navy to our superiors.¡± He gave Drew a helpless shrug. ¡°So even if you really wanted to, you can¡¯t force Ruel to do your chores without the risk of getting in trouble.¡±


    The red-haired man clicked his tongue. ¡°That¡¯s a shame.¡±


    ¡°Hey, what do you mean, fortunately ¡®or¡¯ unfortunately?¡± Ruel asked with suspicion.


    Caspian smiled but didn¡¯t address the query. ¡°Okay then¡­ as we¡¯ve mostly discussed chores and Officer Griffin causing a ¡®problem¡¯ already, I¡¯ll skip straight to asking about levelling and class requirements. No need for this to be too in-depth.¡± He looked up at the young men. ¡°What would I need to stock the ship with for our next trip if you were both going to keep gaining levels or improving your abilities?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s easy for me.¡± Ruel crossed his arms. ¡°Just mechanical gizmos and stuff. Preferably get me to upgrade some of the smaller things on the ship.¡±


    ¡°Right. Your second class is magic engineer. That¡¯s why R- Officer Stanhope told me to assign you to the warship engine deck often,¡± Caspian said with a nod. ¡°And you, Drew?¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­¡± Drew frowned, leaning against the edge of the ship. ¡°Not too sure. All my class stuff is combat-orientated.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ well¡­¡± Caspian tapped his chin with a pen and nodded. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll request permission for you to access some of the Navy¡¯s stronger skill manuals. If you can¡¯t improve your level then strengthening your other abilities will be best. Unless your clan bans you from learning other skills?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡± Drew shrugged. ¡°Any clan abilities get fed into my first class which was made using a path of progression. I¡¯m free to learn anything as long as I don¡¯t touch my clan class.¡±


    ¡°Then that¡¯s all sorted.¡± Caspian wrote that down and turned to Adrianna. ¡°Onto the next crewmate.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Captain Riftmire. Caspian.¡±


    Adrianna and the sea-green-haired young man looked up to see Silenis Vima gazing at them with one hand on the steering wheel. They had been walking up the stairs of the quarterdeck to talk to the metal element Quartermaster. Technically, the job of the helmsman, the one who steered the ship, could go to anyone as it wasn¡¯t a hard job, but Silenis was tasked with it because as the Quartermaster he was skilled in navigating the seas and charting paths. Often when he didn¡¯t have the task Caspian would steer the ship.


    Silenis pointed to the front of the ship. ¡°We¡¯re nearly there.¡±


    Adrianna and Caspian looked behind them. ¡°It seems I¡¯ll have to cut short my interviews for now,¡± the demi-Atlantean said with a sigh.


    ¡°Officer Liao told me what you were doing,¡± Silenis calmly replied as he slightly turned the wheel. ¡°Levelling isn¡¯t an issue for me because Quartermaster is my second class. All I need to do is continue my normal work.¡±


    ¡°Right, you always wanted to work in the Navy,¡± Caspian said with a nod. ¡°I guess all that¡¯s left is¡­¡± He turned to Adrianna. ¡°You, Captain. And then Griffin.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a mage. Learning and practising spells allow me to level up,¡± she stated coolly. ¡°I don¡¯t care what chores I¡¯ve had to do nor have I had any issue with some. There, now you can go interview Griffin while I-¡±


    But he had already grabbed her wrist to drag her down the stairs. ¡°Nope. I expected that response, but I¡¯m not having it. We¡¯ll visit everyone, together.¡±


    ¡°Arventiel is still avoiding us,¡± Adrianna replied flatly.


    Caspian rolled his eyes. ¡°Forget about her. We¡¯re still going to visit Griffin.¡±


    They walked down the main deck¡¯s stairs and headed for the medium-sized rec room on the floor directly below the deck. Several others were there, including Zhang Mingxia and her company, Charlene Junem, Catherine Sherwood, Palin Zoc¡¯uraghets and Wilden Leutia. Conlan Griffin was also standing near a porthole, chatting with them.


    He glanced their way when Caspian waved to them.


    ¡°Officer Griffin, could you come over here for a second?¡± Caspian called. ¡°We have a few things to ask you.¡±


    The golden-eyed man looked curious, his eyes lingering on Adrianna for just a moment too long, but nodded and walked over. ¡°Our reclusive Captain and her Vice Captain both want to speak to me?¡± Conlan replied casually. ¡°Have I done something wrong?¡±


    Caspian smiled. ¡°Not at all. I¡¯m just doing some interviews and you¡¯re the last one. Besides Arventiel.¡±


    ¡°Ah, right. I heard about that from the others.¡± Conlan¡¯s eyes strayed to the silent curly-haired woman beside them. ¡°And our Captain is here¡­ because¡­?¡±


    Adrianna didn¡¯t bother to respond and looked out a porthole window, which made an unusual look pass over Conlan¡¯s face for a brief moment, but Caspian sighed. ¡°She¡¯s here because I told her to be. As you can see, she¡¯s being uncooperative because of that.¡±


    Adrianna shot her immediate subordinate a flat look but Conlan nodded. ¡°I see.¡± He looked between them. ¡°You two seem pretty close.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not,¡± Caspian and Adrianna said in sync. They turned to stare at each other.


    ¡°¡­right.¡± Conlan gave them a slightly tight smile. ¡°So, the questions?¡±


    Caspian huffed and took out his notebook. ¡°Yes, questions. To begin with, any problems with chores?¡±


    Conlan briefly discussed the work and levelling with Caspian. Because Conlan didn¡¯t have any non-combat classes ¨C Adrianna knew all of his main skills belonged to his Unique ¡®Hero of Light¡¯ class ¨C Caspian reached the same conclusion he had for Drew and just decided to ask for greater access to the Navy¡¯s special skills for Conlan.


    Adrianna was sure Conlan was perfectly satisfied to be able to gain the Navy¡¯s exclusive skills that wouldn¡¯t be available once he left. He could level up at any time but skills were rare.


    ¡°That should be it for the questions,¡± Caspian said, shutting the notebook. ¡°We¡¯ll arrive at White Squall Fortress very soon and get to put our feet on dry land. Come to me whenever you think you have an issue, either on this ship or while in the Fortress.¡±


    ¡°Sure. Although¡­ I am curious about something¡­¡± Conlan shot Adrianna a look. ¡°How did you get your rank so quickly, Captain? I thought you were going to be a Squad Leader for a while first, even if you were assigned to command the M. W. S. Dawnlight.¡±


    The dark-haired woman¡¯s brows slightly creased as she looked at him, but slowly replied, ¡°I stayed at White Squall Fortress after the training camp. Commander Arkenast decided I was worthy of the promotion after the three months.¡±


    ¡°¡­you stayed¡­ at White Squall Fortress¡­¡± Conlan opened and closed his mouth, gazing at her with slight confusion. Then a thought seemed to have struck him as he stiffened slightly and then gave a large nod, a bright smile on his face. ¡°I see. You must¡¯ve wanted to prove yourself to the Commander.¡±


    As I expected, he thinks my decision had something to do with him. Egotistical as always.


    ¡­at least this way he might wait a few more weeks before beginning his ultimate aim of isolating me from everyone else and making me dependent on him.


    Adrianna turned away and walked towards the door. ¡°Don¡¯t pretend to know my motives.¡±


    Conlan chuckled as if he ¡®knew¡¯ he was correct. ¡°If you say so, Adrianna.¡±


    She glanced over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes coldly at him. ¡°Don¡¯t call me that.¡±


    Conlan rubbed his neck, clearly pretending to be feeling sheepish, but Caspian sighed. ¡°You know Adrianna, you¡¯d be much more likeable if you let others be more casual around you.¡±


    She ignored him and walked up the stairs to the main deck. Caspian groaned and followed after her. ¡°At least wait to hear the rest of what I¡¯m saying before ditching me!¡±


    Conlan watched them leave, frowning when he had heard the informal way Caspian spoke to Adrianna.


    ¡­


    A tall curly-haired woman rapped her knuckles on the front of a door. Standing beside her patiently was a sea-green-haired young man.


    The door swung open to reveal a dark-haired man in the Elite Officer uniform, appearing in his late twenties. ¡°You¡¯re here,¡± Ross Stanhope said. He let them in so they could stand in front of a large desk, the blonde-haired man who usually sat behind it standing up and looking out of the window that formed his normal backdrop.


    ¡°Captain Adrianna Riftmire and Vice Captain Caspian Wharifin of M.W.S. Dawnlight, reporting for duty,¡± Adrianna calmly replied with her hands behind her back. ¡°We have docked the Dawnlight and returned from our trip.¡±


    Caspian didn¡¯t say anything and held the same posture as they waited for the Commander to speak.


    ¡°Riftmire, Wharifin, very good.¡± Commander Arkenast turned around and crossed his arms as he leaned against the window. ¡°Anything interesting happen on this trip?¡±


    ¡°There was an incident where one of our subordinates tried to persuade the rest of the crew that we should¡¯ve taken a route that would lead us into battle against the local monsters,¡± Adrianna replied, ¡°But that was resolved and we never fought against them.¡±


    The burly battle-scarred man raised an eyebrow. ¡°Was this related to the Scavenger¡¯s Drought Isle?¡±


    ¡°Yes sir.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Riftmire.¡± Commander Arkenast tilted his head with a strange smile on his lips. ¡°What if I told you to visit that island because I wanted the crew to enter combat for the first time?¡±


    ¡°I expected as much. And that was the reasoning the crewmate provided,¡± she told him. ¡°But there were still other options and we shouldn¡¯t be quick to choose combat if we could do something else. Also, the way our crewmate went about it undermined both my authority and that of Wharifin¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± The Commander looked at Caspian. ¡°What do you think, Wharifin?¡±


    ¡°Er¡­¡± Caspian hesitated as he thought about it and rubbed his neck awkwardly. ¡°It didn¡¯t occur to me at the time because everyone is pretty casual on the ship, but it was a bit¡­ rude of him to try to get others to agree with his opinions like that.¡±


    ¡°The word you¡¯re looking for isn¡¯t ¡®rude¡¯ but arrogant,¡± Commander Arkenast said with a stern look. ¡°You may be a very companionable person for your crewmembers but it¡¯s true you don¡¯t deal well with formalities and gaps in status. But Riftmire here isn¡¯t like that and can spot the issues you miss.¡±


    Then the battle-scarred man rubbed his chin. ¡°Who was it, anyway? It wasn¡¯t Baervad acting up again, was it? That half-demon has always had issues respecting the positions of the Naval Officers¡­¡±


    ¡°Officer Lynell Baervad has been cooperative since the first spar,¡± Adrianna stated. ¡°In this instance, it was Conlan Griffin, one of the cadets from my training camp.¡±


    ¡°Conlan¡­ Griffin¡­ Conlan¡­ Griffin¡­¡± Commander Merrow Arkenast frowned. ¡°The name is familiar but I can¡¯t quite put a face to it yet¡­¡± He turned to the silent Ross who was standing in the back of the room. ¡°A reminder, Stanhope?¡±


    ¡°He was the light-element swordsman,¡± Ross Stanhope informed the man. ¡°The one with gold eyes and is quite close friends with Officer Sherwood and Officer Mason.¡±


    ¡°Officer¡­ Sherwood¡­ wait. Is he that¡­ other boy we had discussions about?¡± the Commander asked seriously.


    Ross nodded silently. The Commander frowned deeper and crossed his arms. ¡°Hmm¡­ that¡¯s an interesting development.¡±


    Adrianna and Caspian traded looks.


    ¡°Commander sir,¡± Caspian spoke up. ¡°Is there something about Officer Griffin that has you concerned? If it¡¯s related to my job as Vice Captain then I¡¯d like to know, if possible.¡±


    I¡¯m glad I don¡¯t have to be the first to bring it up. This way Griffin can¡¯t link the conversation back to me if someone says something.


    ¡°Ha¡­ well, it¡¯s not the issue you think there is,¡± The Commander said with a chuckle. ¡°Stanhope and I just agree that the boy doesn¡¯t have the temperament to be a member of the Navy.¡±


    Caspian blinked. ¡°Sorry, sir? Temperament?¡±


    Ross walked forward and shook his head for Caspian. ¡°It¡¯s been a few months, so he may have changed, but we noticed that he was concealing much of his strength during the training camp. In the military, you need to know what all your comrades are capable of and vice versa to ensure there is trust in the group.¡± Ross glanced at the Commander. ¡°The type of manipulation Griffin showed is¡­ undesirable for such a cohesive unit as the Navy. A normal Officer who showed tendencies like that would be disciplined, but as a member of the Elite Cadet Training Camp, things were a bit different.¡±


    Commander Arkenast waved his hand. ¡°Don¡¯t focus on our words too much. Conlan Griffin might show a different attitude now. Just be careful that he doesn¡¯t gain more power among your crewmembers.¡± He glanced at Ross. ¡°That¡¯s all we need to discuss for the moment, I think. Tomorrow I¡¯ll call for you both again, but for now, I¡¯ll let you both leave.¡±


    He gained a wicked grin. ¡°Your next trip will be the first time you fight against monsters.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t scare them too much, Commander,¡± Ross said. He placed a hand on each of their shoulders and turned them away. ¡°Now, I need to hear a more in-depth report of your time out at sea and check to see what needs to be restocked, so if you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯m going to take you to my office for the next hour or so¡­¡±


    <hr>


    ¡°¡­are you sure you¡¯ll be fine?¡±


    ¡°Yep!¡±


    ¡°Are you absolutely certain?¡±


    ¡°Ugh, I¡¯ve told you already Lucy, we¡¯ll be okay! Won¡¯t we, Sedric? Hargrave?¡±


    The four of them were standing in the main lobby of the Aurelian Commission Headquarters. Lucille had her hands on her hips as she was dressed quite unusually that day. She was wearing the clothes she entered the Tower in, her black boots, black turtleneck, black pants, and black trench coat.


    Opposite Lucy were three individuals, Scytale, Sedric and¡­. Hargrave. Who was looking very bemused about the whole situation.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Lucille studied them with mild scepticism. ¡°You haven¡¯t been out of the Commission yet without me coming at least halfway, Scytale. I feel like you¡¯ll only get into trouble.¡±


    ¡°And I think you just want to ruin my- I mean our fun,¡± the snake snarked. ¡°Go off and visit-uh, do whatever it is you want to do and leave us be.¡±


    Lucy smirked and crossed her arms. ¡°I¡¯ll ask once more, just to make sure. Are you sure you don¡¯t want to come with me?¡±


    Scytale narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°No. Whatever you¡¯re going to do has nothing to do with me, and can¡¯t you see?¡± He gestured around himself. ¡°We already have plans.¡±


    Lucille glanced at the scarlet-haired man in their midst and raised an eyebrow. ¡°Hargrave doesn¡¯t look like he knows what¡¯s going on, though.¡±


    The ex-mercenary sighed. ¡°Scytale came into my room and dragged me to the main lobby, claiming we had an important task to do before I got a word in edgewise.¡± He ran a hand through his hair, looking exasperated. ¡°And I still don¡¯t know where these two plan to go.¡±


    She hummed. ¡°So, will you return to your room instead?¡±


    ¡°Nah, come with us! It¡¯ll be fun!¡± Scytale said. Then he hesitated. ¡°Well, more exciting than staying cooped up in the Commission¡¯s Headquarters all day. There¡¯s only so much flaunting of wealth you can take before your eyes feel like they¡¯re bleeding.¡±


    ¡°¡­I haven¡¯t had that problem yet.¡± Hargrave the snake a bemused look and then shook his head, looking resigned. ¡°I¡¯ll follow them. It might be more productive than spending another day reading or training and I might have the opportunity to prevent them from getting into whatever trouble they¡¯re bound to come across.¡±


    ¡°I feel more comfortable leaving them in your capable hands,¡± Lucy replied wryly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t get what the fuss is about. It¡¯s impossible that anything will happen to us." Sedric rolled his eyes. ¡°We¡¯re only going to-¡±


    ¡°Shhh!¡± Scytale covered the crafter¡¯s mouth as he hissed at him. ¡°Don¡¯t ruin the surprise for him.¡±


    Sedric shot the snake an odd look. ¡°But you-¡±


    ¡°If you want to make it back for dinner, then you best leave now,¡± Lucille reminded them. She took out her pocket watch to check the time for herself. ¡°As I should too. I have to do a certain amount of¡­ investigation, considering I don¡¯t know the exact place I¡¯m supposed to go to.¡±


    Sedric gave her a strange look. ¡°Then how will you know what to do?¡±


    ¡°My acquaintance told me the suburb and features of his home, so I¡¯ll make do.¡± She put away the pocket watch and gave them a wave. ¡°Be quick and don¡¯t get yourselves in trouble. Hargrave, I¡¯m relying on you to drag them back if something happens.¡±


    ¡°We know, mum,¡± Scytale said sarcastically.


    Lucy rolled her eyes and walked away, leaving the front doors of the Headquarters¡¯ main lobby to use a carriage to go to the closest teleportation array. In actuality, she planned on going ahead to wait a small distance away from their location to ensure everything was alright. She knew where they planned to go.


    Once she was in the carriage she told the coachman to drive slowly through the streets so she could keep her perception field open. Scytale knew what she was doing and was mildly irritated but ultimately decided to get on with his trip. He turned to the others.


    ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s get moving!¡± he said with his hands on his hips.


    ¡°Are we taking a carriage?¡± Hargrave asked seriously.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t need to,¡± Sedric said as he walked in front. ¡°We can just take a short-distance teleport array. Lucille is going to another plane but we¡¯re still going to be in Gilded Seat.¡±


    Hargrave shrugged and followed the crafter, who wasn¡¯t wearing his apron or gloves. Scytale walked beside Sedric with a grin on his face. They left the lobby and entered the busy streets.


    ¡°Why did you ask to go visit there though, Scytale?¡± Sedric asked with mild confusion. ¡°I was just going to use Lucille¡¯s help to get the Commission staff to do something about it.¡±


    ¡°Because I¡¯m bored!¡± Scytale said with self-righteous indignation as if that was the most horrific injustice in all the realms. ¡°Lucy is going off to do her own thing, and I don¡¯t want to just nag Hargrave to fight all day like some needy attention-seeking brat! I¡¯m older than I look. Any stuff I used to do I can¡¯t do now, and I¡¯m too low rank for Lucy to trust me to go out on my own!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but that doesn¡¯t answer my question,¡± Sedric pointed out. ¡°I want to know why you want to go to this specific location.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s because Lucy got to go but I didn¡¯t,¡± the humanoid snake said with a shrug. ¡°And anything she gets to do I want to do too. Unless I don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ why aren¡¯t you going with Lucille now?¡± Sedric asked suspiciously.


    ¡°Because in this instance¡­¡± Scytale paused for effect. ¡°I don¡¯t want to go.¡±


    Sedric rolled his eyes and continued walking past the multitude of different people and races on the streets. ¡°You¡¯ve seen Lucille¡¯s memories, so you obviously know there¡¯s nothing interesting there.¡±


    Hargrave, who had been staying silent as he tried to guess where they were going from the two young men¡¯s conversation, walked forward with a frown. ¡°If you¡¯ve only been bonded for less than a year then you shouldn¡¯t have the ability to share memories yet.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Oh¡­¡± Scytale glanced over his shoulder and looked away. ¡°Lucy is skilled at soul magic so she manipulated our bond to make it stronger.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°Anyway, we¡¯re here!¡± Scytale abruptly announced. ¡°Behold! Gaze upon the spectacular past abode of our dear crafter here and be in awe of his former living conditions!¡±


    Sedric facepalmed as the noisy snake spun around and held his arms out grandly. ¡°Marvel at the splendidly grimy glass, the rotten wood walls!¡±


    Sedric scowled. ¡°Oi, you-¡±


    Hargrave stared at the horrendously rickety, dark wooden building before them. ¡°¡­huh?¡±

 Chapter 66 (2 of 2) A Nostalgic Reunion.

    ¡°Sedric, is this really-¡± Hargrave stopped to cough as dust fell from the roof above them due to their footsteps. ¡°¡­your house?¡± he finished weakly.


    Scytale was curiously inspecting the shelves as Sedric sighed and walked behind the front benchtop. ¡°It is. Lucille met me here a few months ago and offered me the opportunity to become her crafter. I eventually accepted.¡±


    The ponytailed man scratched his neck. ¡°I haven¡¯t bothered to collect any of my stuff from here yet because she can buy me better stuff, but I thought I might finally check it all to see if there¡¯s anything I want to keep. I was going to just ask Lucille to find someone to bring it all to me, but¡­¡± He directed a stare at the innocuous snake sneakily playing with the random gadgets around the place. ¡°Someone said he wanted to come here.¡±


    Hargrave looked around with his arms crossed, his head bent slightly so he could fit in the room. ¡°But why did you live¡­ here?¡± Then he hesitated. ¡°Unless¡­ you weren¡¯t able to find someplace better to live¡­¡±


    ¡°Look, this place may be decrepit, but I wasn¡¯t that broke,¡± Sedric stated flatly. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have been in the upper end of society, but with the money and resources left to me, I still could¡¯ve been part of the average to lower part of the middle class.¡± He frowned as he looked around. ¡°My grandfather¡­ the guy who left this place and the Legendary class to me was just more than a little not right in the head.¡±


    Sedric marched up the stairs to go find the rest of his stuff. ¡°Wait down there. I won¡¯t be long.¡±


    Scytale obviously wasn¡¯t going to listen so he turned into his shrunken serpent form and flew up the stairs. ¡°Woo! Secret hunting! Let¡¯s go!¡±


    ¡°What? No- hey! Scytale?! I told you to stay down there!¡±


    ¡°Neener neener ner ner! You can¡¯t catch me!¡±


    Hargrave seemed to hesitate over listening to Sedric and respecting his wishes to stay on the first floor, or following them to ensure nothing happened to them. After a brief moment, he walked around the bench and came to the foot of the sunken stairs, eyeing them warily as if wondering whether they¡¯d hold his weight. For Sedric it was fine, but those stairs weren¡¯t exactly made to hold an over 100kg mercenary.


    Upstairs, Sedric was busy trying to drag a certain amphiptere out of his box of random jewellery bits that he kept on hand to enchant.


    ¡°Oooh, shiny. Are these pearls real?¡± The winged snake flicked his tongue near the large white beads and promptly hissed at them. ¡°Bah. They¡¯re fakes! I always knew you were a fraud, Sedric!¡±


    The crafter gave the snake an unimpressed look as he grabbed Scytale¡¯s silver tail and tried to pull him out of the large chest. ¡°I was kind of trying to make a living. An enchanted necklace made of real pearls would be worth more than what my clients would buy it for. Now, get out so I can start packing this stuff into my dimensional skill and additional dimensional bags Lucille gave me.¡±


    Scytale flapped his large white-gold wings, obnoxiously causing small gems and beads to spray everywhere. Sedric covered his head to avoid being showered in the things.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to! I¡¯m now the guardian beast of this treasure trove, and I claim this lair as my own.¡± He turned around and flared his wings once Sedric lost his grip on the tail. ¡°What is a mere crafter going to do when faced with the Great Scytale now, hm? I¡¯ll only release my lair if you defeat me in fair combat!¡±


    Sedric stared incredulously. ¡°I¡¯m a crafter for goodness sake! How am I supposed to defeat you in ¡®fair combat¡¯?!¡±


    Scytale shuffled his wings in an approximation of a shrug as if to say, ¡®Not my problem¡¯. Around his neck hung a thick heavy gold chain he had snuck on and a ¡®crown¡¯ in the form of a ruby-encrusted ring sat on his head. ¡°Life is just unfair sometimes.¡±


    ¡°Do not give me tha-¡±


    A loud crash and muffled curse startled the snake and crafter.


    ¡°Blighted-¡±


    They looked behind them to find the source of the noise and Sedric quickly dashed over to the doorway to peer around it. He stared when he saw what had happened.


    Scytale snuck around Sedric¡¯s feet to see, his precious adornments still present, and let out a fake whistle with his mental transmission. ¡°Seems like your building isn¡¯t exactly up to code, Sedric. Hey Hargrave, you alright down there? Did any splinters get through your thick skin?¡±


    The scarlet-haired man shot Scytale a flat look at the wording but sighed and shook his head. He was sitting on the ground on a pile of collapsed stairs with brooms and other cleaning supplies surrounding him as it was obvious he had fallen into the room under the stairwell. He dusted his palms and then stood up, brushing wood chips, sawdust and other bits and pieces out of his hair¡­ or tried to at least. His expression darkened as he tried to extract them from his messy hair only to find more a few seconds later.


    The irritation got to him and he roughly ruffled his hair, trying to shake all the chips out. When he finally threw his head back to get his hair out of his face it was sticking up in twenty thousand places it shouldn¡¯t be, making him scowl.


    ¡°Uh¡­ Hargrave?¡± Sedric called down.


    ¡°It¡¯s- I¡¯m fine,¡± the man said with another sigh. He placed his hands on his hips and looked around. ¡°Was this the cleaning cupboard?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I didn¡¯t even plan on going in there,¡± Sedric said with a strange expression. He leaned over the edge to see how far of a drop there was. ¡°But now I¡¯m wondering how we¡¯re going to get down.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? It¡¯s easy!¡± Scytale jumped down with his wings spread and glided to the ground next to Hargrave. He turned around and flapped his wings proudly. ¡°See? All a superior species needs to do is use their natural talents. Oh, that¡¯s right, I forgot you¡¯re only a puny, pathetic mortal Sedric.¡±


    Sedric glared at him. ¡°Why do you pick on me all the time?! Hargrave hasn¡¯t got wings either!¡±


    Scytale turned to look at the tall ex-mercenary as if considering it for a second. He turned back to Sedric. ¡°Nah, he¡¯s going to end up with wings soon enough, so he¡¯s okay in my books.¡±


    ¡°What? Why would Hargrave gain wings?¡±


    ¡°Because he¡¯s going to-¡± Scytale¡¯s words were interrupted by a very cross ex-mercenary picking him up and holding his head so the snake could see Hargrave¡¯s amber eyes staring at him. The snake hesitated. ¡°I mean, he might-¡±


    ¡°Scytale,¡± Hargrave growled.


    The amphiptere shut up. He coughed and flapped his wings as he wriggled out of Hargrave¡¯s grasp and flew to the floor. ¡°Hargrave can fight but you can¡¯t, so he¡¯s just better than you. Anyhow, need help getting down?¡±


    Sedric frowned and looked down at them. The stairs had completely collapsed from the third highest step downwards, so he was trapped. He looked behind him and groaned. ¡°Just¡­ let me pack up the rest of my stuff and then we can work this out. If I go down there I¡¯m never coming back up here again.¡±


    The other two nodded as he left, spending around fifteen minutes to put everything away. When Sedric came back he stared at the odd sight of a winged snake thrashing about on the ground as Hargrave kept a booted foot on one of the floorboards, his arms crossed. ¡°¡­what are you doing?¡± the crafter asked.


    ¡°Let. Me. Open. Secret. Door! I. Want. Secret!¡± Scytale complained.


    A second look allowed Sedric to see that the snake had actually wound part of his body around a large metal ring bolted to the ground and was trying to use his wings to pull on it. Hargrave was keeping his foot firmly on the floor, preventing the snake from accessing whatever it was that he wanted to open.


    ¡°Scytale found what looks to be another door down here, but I didn¡¯t want to let him open it without your permission,¡± Hargrave stated flatly.


    ¡°¡­thanks for that.¡± Sedric frowned as he glanced at the square door and then looked around for a way to climb down. ¡°But¡­ I didn¡¯t know the cleaning cupboard had a trapdoor. It must¡¯ve been hidden behind the supplies.¡±


    ¡°See Hargrave? There¡¯s a secret here!¡± Scytale said, stopping his motions to look up at the scarlet-haired man. ¡°That¡¯s why you need to let me open it! I can even taste the mystery in the air right now!¡± He flickered his tongue.


    Hargrave sighed, not bothering to respond to the snake¡¯s words. He didn¡¯t remove his foot, causing Scytale to mimic the sound of clicking his tongue and transform into his human form. He groaned as he tried to pull on the ring but couldn¡¯t do a thing.


    ¡°Hargrave, how heavy are you? As a magical beast opening this thing should be a piece of cake for me!¡± The humanoid snake paused and then pointed at the ex-mercenary. ¡°Actually, this whole thing is your fault in the first place! The stairs broke because you tried to climb them, didn¡¯t you?!¡±


    Hargrave rubbed his temples and ignored Scytale¡¯s attempts to argue with him. They paused and looked up at the top of the broken stairs when they heard a strangely high-pitched scream.


    Sedric was frantically moving his feet as he tried to look for a foothold, only his hands gripping the edge of the stairs. He yelled when his grip started slipping and then he dropped to the first floor, landing on his back. He let out a pained groan.


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Scytale walked over and then crouched, raising an eyebrow at him. ¡°Wow, Sedric. I didn¡¯t know you had such a high vocal range. You could learn to mimic girls¡¯ voices if you practice some more.¡±


    ¡°Shut up,¡± Sedric muttered darkly. He rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself up with a grunt. When he finally got onto his feet he brushed the dust off of him and looked at the floor. ¡°Alright. Point me to this ¡®secret door¡¯ or whatever.¡±


    Hargrave stepped off of the square floorboard and Scytale backed away, allowing Sedric to see the silver ring bolted to the trapdoor.


    Sedric kneeled near it and inspected the hoop, noticing the metal rings with perpendicular rotation around the hoop¡¯s length. He smirked and let it drop to the ground, then turned to Scytale. ¡°Ha, you wouldn¡¯t have been able to open it even if Hargrave let you. It¡¯s got a lock mechanism on the loop, fooling you into thinking it¡¯s just a normal metal handle.¡±


    ¡°I already knew that. I¡¯m not stupid,¡± Scytale said.


    Sedric narrowed his eyes at the snake. ¡°Then why did you act so dramatically before?¡±


    ¡°To make things more interesting,¡± Scytale replied with a shrug.


    Sedric rolled his eyes and turned back to the loop to pick it up, fiddling with the mechanism. The rings lined up to form an acronym of his class name, ¡®Runestarred Arcane Inaugurator¡¯, and then glowed blue as it activated. A click sounded and the door lifted slightly, revealing it was unlocked.


    ¡°That was quick,¡± Scytale said with surprise.


    ¡°It¡¯s my grandfather¡¯s work. He put these locks on all his stuff because supposedly he had never told anyone his class name. Even I only found out when I inherited the class.¡± Sedric frowned. ¡°Lucille somehow still knew it though.¡±


    The humanoid snake looked away and whistled, making Sedric glare at him, but then the crafter sighed and lifted the door. He pulled a small boxy item out of his pocket and pressed a button that made it glow with bright light. He threw it down, nodding when he saw the distance to the ground and the ladder, then climbed down. ¡°Time to see what new mess my gramps left for me.¡±


    Scytale changed to his snake form to fly down and follow Sedric in. Hargrave crouched outside the entrance and looked down, waiting patiently.


    Sedric raised an eyebrow as he saw the workbenches filled with strange rusty gadgets and corkboards pinned with plans and documents of some kind. On one wall the only thing visible was a lever behind a clear case that seemed to be locked. A skull symbol was on the top of the case.


    Scytale narrowed his slitted eyes at the wall. ¡°I want to pull that lever.¡±


    ¡°You will touch nothing.¡± Sedric went up to a workbench and picked up what looked like a half-finished item, holding it up close to his eye. ¡°Dammit. I wish I brought my goggles.¡±


    ¡°Why would you want those ugly things? To look like a fly for eternity? Just get some new fancy magnifying glass or something.¡±


    ¡°They may have a terrible design but they¡¯re actually an artifact,¡± Sedric retorted, placing the object back down. He kneeled to look under the workbench and see if there was anything else there then stood back up to turn around. ¡°I can¡¯t make heads or tails of what this stuff is. I knew my grandfather was half-mad before he even found me but it¡¯s like each item here is a fusion of twenty different blueprints in whatever order he wanted-¡±


    ¡°Everything alright?¡±


    ¡°Eeep!¡±


    Sedric jumped and placed a hand on his racing heart as he stared at the intimidating man with scarlet hair in front of him, his amber eyes flashing ominously in the darkness. ¡°Hargrave?! You scared the crap out of me!¡± Sedric exclaimed. ¡°Why do you have to have such creepy-looking eyes in the dark?!¡±


    Hargrave frowned and put a hand up to his face. ¡°My eyes¡­?¡±


    ¡°Hey, leave Hargrave alone and come check out the corkboards,¡± Scytale interrupted. He gestured to one of them with his tail. ¡°I¡¯d like to say that for a magical beast I¡¯m well above average in literary ability, but is this stuff just crafter gobbledygook that common plebs like me can¡¯t understand?¡±


    Sedric walked past Hargrave and crossed his arms as he looked up at the blueprints, diagrams and sketches, a slight frown on his face. ¡°¡­I can¡¯t read this either,¡± he finally replied.


    ¡°Oh great, so it¡¯s not just me who¡¯s stupid. Wait a second, most of Lucy¡¯s blueprints you can¡¯t read anyway! What use is knowing that you can¡¯t read this?!¡±


    ¡°-but I recognise the symbols,¡± Sedric continued. ¡°My grandfather wrote everything crafting related in this text. As a kid, he just told me it was a different language, but the System translates all languages of Users so I¡¯m pretty sure this is in code or something.¡±


    ¡°Blegh, you useless crafter. You should¡¯ve learnt all your grandfather¡¯s secrets while he was still alive! What good is being the grandson of a Legendary crafter if you don¡¯t¡­ wait.¡± Scytale stared at one of the diagrams on the board, and then switched his gaze to another one. He jumped off the bench and turned around, changing into his human form.


    Sedric cocked an eyebrow. ¡°Scytale?¡±


    The humanoid snake gained an unusual look on his face for a moment before he turned to look at the pictures pinned to the second wall. He leaned down to look at one of the items on the benches. ¡°¡­don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± he muttered.


    Sedric rolled his eyes. ¡°If this is just another one of your attempts at being dramatic, please don¡¯t bother.¡±


    Scytale coughed and turned around. ¡°Uh¡­ anyway, if this is all in code, then I suggest going to Lucy about it. She¡¯s good at working out this sort of thing.¡±


    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll do that.¡± Sedric looked around again. ¡°She¡¯d have a better idea of what half the things in here are used for.¡± He grabbed the dimensional bag attached to his belt and rolled his shoulders, getting ready to pack it all away. ¡°Move out of the way so I can collect all this stuff.¡±


    ¡°Sure thing¡­¡± Scytale¡¯s words trailed off as something small and shiny caught his eye. Realising what it was, he quickly snatched it and put his hands in his pockets.


    Sedric glanced over his shoulder with suspicion at the snake¡¯s silence. ¡°Scytale, what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Oh, nothing, nothing~¡± The silver-haired boy began to slowly gravitate towards the wall with the lever.


    Hargrave eyed the snake warily as Sedric returned to putting everything away. Once he was finally done he paused when he heard the evil snickers coming from a certain snake. Sedric spun around to stare at the boy who had managed to unlock the glass case of the lever with a key.


    ¡°Muhahaha! I have unsealed the weapon of mass destruction!¡± Scytale grinned wickedly.


    Sedric scowled. ¡°Scytale, don¡¯t you dare-¡±


    ¡°Or you¡¯ll do what?¡± Scytale asked smugly, propping his chin up with his elbow resting on the block the lever was sticking out of.


    ¡°Hargrave!¡± Sedric hissed.


    Hargrave slowly began to move, ready to pull the snake away but then Scytale placed a finger on the lever. ¡°Hargrave, if you move, then I¡¯ll really push it!¡± he said with malicious glee.


    Hargrave scowled as well and Scytale burst out laughing. ¡°Come off it, do you guys really believe I¡¯d push something this suspicious? It¡¯s almost screaming ¡®death trap, here I am¡¯-¡±


    Scytale¡¯s elbow slipped and pushed the lever down with a click. His grin froze. ¡°¡­oops.¡±


    The other two stared at him in silent shock until the whole house began to rumble. Hargrave¡¯s eyes widened and he pulled Sedric under a desk as Scytale enlarged himself and covered them all with his wings. ¡°Watch out!¡±


    The roof caved in on them as the whole house collapsed.


    ¡­


    Three pairs of coughs sounded as ceramic roof tiles and planks of rotten wood were pushed away to reveal a scarlet-haired man, a ponytailed crafter, and one silver-haired young boy with hair sticking up at off angles. Scytale heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°Thank goodness we¡¯re all safe.¡±


    Hargrave and Sedric slowly turned to stare at him. Scytale blinked back. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°You destroyed my house,¡± Sedric stated.


    Scytale thought about it for a moment. ¡°It needed to be put out of its misery anyway.¡±


    ¡°Scytale, you destroyed my house!¡±


    The humanoid snake yawned. ¡°Man, I¡¯m tired. Must¡¯ve been because of all that effort I put into pushing the lever.¡±


    Sedric¡¯s expression slowly became unnervingly calm. Scytale flinched when he saw the crafter¡¯s face.


    ¡°I am going to kill you,¡± Sedric said.


    Scytale didn¡¯t waste a moment and changed out of his human form to fly down the street. Sedric scrambled out of the rubble and bolted after the snake at full speed.


    ¡°That¡¯s it! That was the last straw, Scytale! Come here so I can throttle you and regain some peace of mind!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll decline your generous offer, but thank you! Also, why aren¡¯t you questioning why your house had a self-destruct lever?!¡±


    ¡°The self-destruct lever that you pushed!¡±


    ¡°Minor details!¡±


    Hargrave looked around at the devastation and shook his head, getting up from the rubble. After checking to see if anyone was around, he shrugged and began to follow after Sedric and Scytale at a leisurely pace, likely aware that they¡¯d tire out before long.


    Feeling highly amused, Lucy finally removed her perception field from them and stepped onto the teleportation array that would take her to the first unranked plane she would visit since her return. But she received an interesting message from her bond before she left.


    ¡®Hey, when were you going to tell me that Sedric¡¯s the literal grandson of a rebel organisation leader?!¡¯


    She didn¡¯t look back as the world twisted and bent around her.


    It seems that the things they found in Sedric¡¯s basement were a lot more incriminating than I first thought. But it serves Scytale right for all those times he ignored my explanations.


    ¡­


    Lucille propped her chin up as she watched the town¡¯s traffic pass underneath her balcony in the late afternoon. She stirred her tea and took a sip as she raised her eyes to look at the dark green pine forest outside the town, growing from rolling hills.


    Now, I doubt it would work if I went around asking for a place like that, as he¡¯s very protective of his children, but if he¡¯s interested enough in me then he¡¯ll find some way to lead me to him. He¡¯ll already be aware that I¡¯m in this town, after all.


    She sighed and looked up at the sky.


    If I assume the appearance he likes to use reflects the position he holds then what I¡¯m looking for should be¡­ a manor. I suppose it¡¯s unlikely someone of his status would choose to live in an ordinary building, even with his approachable personality.


    She shook her head and stood up from the table on the balcony, her tea finished.


    I have no reason to draw this out, so I¡¯ll let him know I want to meet him as soon as possible. Then we¡¯ll go our separate ways and never meet again.


    Lucille descended the stairs and made it to the bottom story of the caf¨¦. After thanking the owner she placed her hands behind her back and whistled, walking through the streets. Soon she discovered someone was following her, although¡­ it wasn¡¯t anyone connected to the person she came to meet.


    ¡°Lady!¡±


    Hearing the call, Lucy stopped and let the young boy run up to her. His clothes were scuffed, he had dirt on his face, and he only appeared ten years old, but he wasn¡¯t overly skinny or injured in places, so he was being treated well. She leaned down so she could listen to him.


    ¡°Are you a visitor from another kingdom?¡± the boy asked brightly. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen clothes like yours before!¡±


    ¡°You could say that,¡± Lucille said with a smile. ¡°I¡¯m just visiting the town for a day. But if things go well then I might stay here longer.¡±


    ¡°I can be your tour guide if you wish! I know how to get around the town!¡± Then he fiddled with his hands. ¡°Although¡­ I¡¯d like to be paid if I can¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ well, unfortunately, I don¡¯t really need a tour guide. But,¡± she said, before the boy became too disappointed. ¡°I¡¯m thinking of buying a house in this town, so if you can take me to someone who might know the best places then I¡¯ll happily follow you.¡± She took a bronze crown out of her dimensional bag and tossed it to him. ¡°And that¡¯s half of your payment.¡±


    The boy grinned. ¡°Yeah! I mean, right this way, Lady!¡±


    Lucy followed the bubbly boy, who began to tell her about all the people he knew, their problems, every sketchy alley, which nobles liked people and which didn¡¯t, the food they had for breakfast a fortnight ago and any other random detail that flitted through his scatterbrained head. They almost went past their stop until the boy recognised the place and pointed to the medium-sized building in front.


    ¡°Here we are! Lots of people come to this place if they want to know something,¡± the boy explained. ¡°Many people come here if you want to buy a house, too. They might know about a place for you.¡±


    ¡°Well then, thank you very much, young sir.¡± She smiled and threw him the second coin. ¡°Your second payment.¡±


    ¡°I hope you decide to live here!¡± he replied happily, running off into some alleyway to brag about his gains to his friends.


    Lucy turned back to the building and hummed, then walked inside. A bell above the door announced her arrival and a man walked through a back door to meet her at the desk. ¡°Ah, a new face. Haven¡¯t had one of those here for a while,¡± he said with surprise.


    ¡°I was referred here by a young boy,¡± Lucille explained. ¡°I wanted to see if I could buy a house in this town.¡±


    ¡°Well, I might know something,¡± the man mused. He gestured for her to follow him to one side of the desk as he flipped open a book and scanned it. ¡°Here¡¯s where I have a list of all the places the people I know are selling, so tell me if something catches your eye.¡±


    Lucy waited patiently and treated the man as if she were a real customer. After a while, she tapped her fingers against the desk. ¡°It¡¯s unfortunate that there¡¯s no house in the forest. It seems like nobody lives there judging by all the houses you have listed here.¡±


    ¡°The forest?¡± He looked up with a strange expression. ¡°Technically there is, I guess, but it¡¯s not for sale nor would I sell it to anyone. It¡¯s a good hour walk away from the town, with no clear path and would probably collapse if a bird landed on its roof.¡±


    She raised an eyebrow. ¡°Is the view good from where the house is? I can¡¯t think of any other reason why they¡¯d build it so far from other people.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a manor,¡± he corrected. ¡°And I remember it having a good view, but the last time I went there was fifteen years ago when I was hanging out with teenage friends who all wanted to see if the rumour that it was haunted was true, so¡­ I can¡¯t say I have up to date info.¡± He pointed out the front window of the shop, straight ahead. ¡°It¡¯s that way from what I remember. You could check it out if you want. Everyone in this town considers visiting the manor as a sort of ¡®rite of passage¡¯ of some kind.¡± He smirked. ¡°Who knows, if you do buy a house here then you might be accepted here sooner because of that.¡±


    She smiled. ¡°I have fancied the idea of a nice walk in the forest ever since I came here. I might just do that. But first¡­¡± She placed a handful of silver crowns on the bench. ¡°Payment for your time.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°A pleasure, my Lady.¡±


    After saying goodbye, she took a deep breath and began walking in the direction he mentioned. She was somewhat curious to know what the life of her ¡®acquaintance¡¯ was like before the time when she had met him.


    ¡­


    Passing through a section of tall trees and undergrowth, she looked up and paused when she saw the large clearing ahead. Her perception field had been turned off for politeness¡¯ sake.


    The manor was sitting at the end of a long road with neat hedges on either side. It didn¡¯t look abandoned in the slightest, and was made of dark wood and brick. Smoke was escaping the chimneys on the roof. It looked like it had three floors and possibly an attic. A wooden fence bordered the manor, its gate opposite her.


    When she stepped onto the road and walked down it a bit, she spotted the figure of a young girl at the opposite end of the road, wearing her blonde hair in pigtails. She was in a pink dress and had her feet on the lowest section of the fence so she could see over it. She froze slightly when she made eye contact with Lucy and then jumped down to run to the manor. Then she opened one of the two double doors, slipped inside, and shut it.


    That was one of his kids, I assume. She¡¯s rather brave for someone who was supposed to have never seen a stranger approaching the manor in her entire life.


    Lucille paused when a second figure opened the front door and leaned against the banister with his arms crossed, observing her. Knowing that this was the person she had come to meet, she kept walking towards the manor at a casual pace. When she came to the closed gate she gave him a smile and a wave.


    He blinked and then seemed to chuckle. With a gesture of his hand, the gate unlatched and swung open.


    I take it that¡¯s permission to enter.


    She stepped onto the neatly cut grass lawn and approached the man. When she came to the front steps she placed a hand on her chest in an Empire salute.


    ¡°Good afternoon, sir,¡± she said calmly.


    He tilted his head and smiled. ¡°Good afternoon to you too, young lady. It¡¯s a surprise to see you here. We don¡¯t get many guests at this manor.¡±


    Lucy smiled back and nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t want to bother you for long. But is it possible I may discuss something with you? I believe it¡¯s important for you to hear.¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t even heard your name yet though,¡± he said with slight amusement. Then he walked down the stairs. ¡°But where are my manners? I haven¡¯t introduced myself either.¡± He placed a hand on his chest and bowed slightly. ¡°My name is Lucius Erebus Farrow.¡±


    Lucy held out a gloved hand for him to shake. ¡°¡­I¡¯m Lucille,¡± she replied with a smile. She didn¡¯t need to give him her full name, and¡­ she wanted to make it clear that she was here for reasons unrelated to her identity.


    Lucy took a moment to observe Lucius Erebus Farrow, one of her few ¡®friends¡¯ outside of subordinates that she knew in the former timeline.

 Chapter 67 (1 of 2) Future rainbow dragon’s much-needed haircut.

    Speeding up her thoughts after he had straightened up, she matched his characteristics to the man she had met in the past timeline. With slightly wavy dark hair that had no shine and an eye colour so dark it was nearly black, ¡®Lucius¡¯ appeared to be a man in his mid-30s with an average height. Just as she recalled, his high-society outfit was impeccably clean and tidy. His hair was stylishly combed back, and his fingernails were neatly and perfectly trimmed.


    One of the most striking features about him, however, was that while he had facial features that would make him conventionally attractive in a normal situation, he couldn¡¯t be called handsome at all. That was because his skin had an unhealthy pale grey tone that emphasised the shadows under his eyes and made him appear extremely ill.


    Essentially, Lucius looked like he was on his deathbed. But that was normal for anyone of his race, as well as the lustreless hair. He was a wraith.


    Well, Lucy supposed he technically wasn¡¯t a ¡®wraith¡¯, but he shared so many similar characteristics to them and his race¡¯s true name had never been discovered that everyone just said he was a wraith. Lucius had never bothered to correct anybody on the matter so considering him as being a ¡®wraith¡¯ was for the best, in her opinion.


    He had never bothered to correct anybody but her. But that memory was in the category of ¡®Scytale demands memory erasure¡¯.


    So he really did use that name before I met him, just as he told me. He probably finds it amusing it use a name that means ¡®light¡¯ when he¡¯s a resident of the darkest place in the realms. Maybe my parents shared the same humour as him by calling me ¡®Lucille¡¯ when I have black hair.


    ¡°A pleasure to meet you, Miss Lucille,¡± Lucius said as he shook her hand. ¡°Do come in and¡­ mind the children, please.¡±


    She followed him into the manor, looking around curiously, and she instantly heard the sound of many young kids laughing and yelling. The inside of the manor¡¯s first floor had a few paintings and polished wooden cupboards, but none of it was extremely expensive or rare looking. All of it was tasteful in design. The floorboards of the floor were old and worn, but still polished and well looked after.


    Lucius held out an arm to stop her as excited squealing sounded. Several pairs of quick footsteps sounded and three young boys, all below twelve, came running towards them down the hallway. One of the kids tripped and fell on his face, but got up quickly while rubbing his nose.


    ¡°Boys! No running in the hallway!¡± Lucius called before they went past.


    The boys skidded to a stop and shuffled guiltily. ¡°Sorry, Director Farrow,¡± one of them said.


    Lucius sighed wryly but gestured for them to keep going. They laughed and sped off, forgetting about the rule to not run in the hallways near-instantly.


    ¡°Director¡­?¡± Lucy commented with interest.


    ¡°Orphanage Director. This manor is an orphanage.¡± Lucius gave her an intrigued look. ¡°I would¡¯ve thought you would be aware of this if you came here.¡±


    She hummed as she looked around. ¡°I knew what you did here but not quite the relationship you have with these children.¡±


    ¡°¡­I see. Curious.¡± He eyed her with a smile for a moment longer and then turned away to open the double doors of a room. He held an arm out for her and she entered, but he didn¡¯t shut the doors straight away.


    Lucille paused when she noticed the figure of a sleeping girl on one of the two couches in the room. Dressed in lilac clothes with curly brown hair, she snored quietly.


    Lucius clicked his tongue and slipped his hands under her arms to gently lift her up. ¡°Mabel, you¡¯re not supposed to sleep in this room.¡±


    ¡°¡­sorry, Uncle Lucius.¡± The young girl who looked around seven rubbed her eyes blearily and then stopped to gaze at Lucy. ¡°You¡¯re weird.¡±


    Lucy raised an eyebrow. ¡°That¡¯s an interesting conversation starter.¡±


    Lucius sighed. ¡°I apologise for her behaviour, Miss Lucille.¡±


    Lucille hummed and tilted her head at the girl, taking note of her dark blue, nearly indigo eyes. ¡°Do you like sleeping a lot?¡±


    ¡°I like dreaming. Not sleeping that much,¡± the girl said, sliding off the couch.


    ¡°Then you should hope for an illusion affinity,¡± Lucy said with a smile. ¡°Then you can create your own dreams.¡±


    The girl stopped and tilted her head. ¡°Is that what you did?¡±


    ¡°No. Unfortunately, I can¡¯t dream,¡± Lucy replied.


    The girl frowned. ¡°You¡¯re really weird.¡±


    ¡°Alright now, Mabel. That¡¯s enough. Go and play with the others.¡± Lucius gently pushed her out the door and shut it behind her. He turned around and walked over to the couch opposite Lucy. ¡°Care for a drink of tea?¡±


    ¡°My apologies, but I decline. I don¡¯t expect to be here for long enough to enjoy it,¡± she replied politely.


    ¡°That¡¯s a shame indeed.¡± Lucius sat down with one leg crossed over the other. He rested his hands on his knees as he smiled at her. ¡°Well then, Miss Lucille. For what matter have you come out all this way to see me for?¡±


    Lucille clasped her hands together to steady them as she focused intently on the Tartarus resident before her. ¡°Director Farrow, in thirty days an unexpected incident will occur when a Ducal Prince of the Solarmane Duchy will destroy this kingdom in a fit of rage.¡± She gazed solemnly at him. ¡°And this orphanage will be destroyed with it.¡±


    The dark-haired wraith in front of her slowly tapped his fingers against the armrest of his couch. Then, slightly tilting his head, Lucius observed her with a mildly strange expression. ¡°Miss Lucille, are you¡­ threatening me?¡±


    Lucille stared back, opened her mouth, and then shut it again. She put a fist to her mouth and coughed as she held up her other hand to stall him. ¡°N-No, sir. Please forgive me for saying this, but¡­¡± She hesitated for a moment and then continued, ¡°I¡¯d prefer not to be thought of as a person stupid enough to threaten someone of your especially unique and powerful status.¡±


    Lucius blinked, looking surprised, and then a broad smile spread across his face as he tilted his head back and laughed. ¡°Of course, I apologise for insulting your intelligence,¡± he replied through chuckles.


    Inwardly, Lucy sighed in relief.


    As quick to laugh as always, I see. I¡¯m glad he found my answer amusing.


    ¡°W-well,¡± Lucius said, still trying to stop laughing. ¡°I think I might need a better explanation then, if you would, young lady.¡±


    ¡°The kingdom this town is in will be destroyed in a freak accident caused by a Solarmane Ducal Prince,¡± Lucille explained. ¡°It isn¡¯t something that will be easy to prevent as the Prince is already on this plane. One of the failures of his supporters is revealed and¡­ he decides to kill everything around him to release his anger.¡±


    ¡°¡­I see.¡± Lucius continued to tap his fingers on the armrest. ¡°In a normal situation, you wouldn¡¯t have to inform me of this, Miss Lucille.¡±


    ¡°¡­not even you can predict the actions of a powerful noble when they are overcome by emotion,¡± Lucille replied. ¡°It is an event that shouldn¡¯t happen but will anyway. The individual who will reveal this to the Ducal Prince is another powerful descendent of high nobility who is already beside the Prince. He intends to reveal this purposely to sabotage the Prince¡¯s reputation. Killing this ¡®friend¡¯ of the Prince is impossible¡­ because it will go against your non-interference vow.¡±


    Lucius covered his mouth with his hand, thinking. ¡°¡­thank you for warning me. Truly.¡± He gave her an odd smile. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to go through the effort to tell me this in person, however.¡±


    He watched curiously as in response, she reached into her dimensional bag and withdrew a slip of expensive paper, her name signed on it with mana-imbued violet ink. Lucy held it out for him and he leaned forward to take it with interest.


    ¡°This is¡­ a cheque?¡± He raised an eyebrow. ¡°Miss Lucille?¡±


    ¡°What I really came here for is not to inform you of the kingdom¡¯s possible destruction, but to request that¡­¡± She coughed and gestured to the paper, ¡°¡­I pay for the land you will move this manor to.¡±


    He tilted his head and Lucille clasped her hands together. ¡°I predicted that even with the knowledge of how to prevent the nation¡¯s destruction, you¡¯d still want to relocate the orphanage. The new land will still be in your name or the name of your subordinates but I want to at least find a way to aid you¡­ and all those that live in this building.¡±


    Lucius held his chin as he observed the cheque. ¡°But why would you want to do such a thing?¡±


    Lucille took a deep breath. ¡°Because I owe a debt that I want to repay.¡±


    He looked up with an eyebrow raised but smiled slightly. ¡°I don¡¯t recall having any mortal debtors in this era. Any that are alive, at least. The last time some claimed they owed me a debt was¡­¡± The wraith looked to the side thoughtfully. ¡°Two million years ago?¡±


    ¡°Yet it is a debt that exists all the same,¡± Lucille firmly stated.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± His eyes strayed back to her. ¡°Telling me of the tragedy about to befall this nation should be more than enough to repay this ¡®debt¡¯, however.¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°I respectfully disagree. My interference in this issue will directly result in this nation surviving, but only through your hand, rendering this as a poor substitute for repayment.¡± Lucy gazed intently at him. ¡°You¡¯re not someone who would let a nation¡¯s history and proof of existence fall into the abyss so easily.¡±


    ¡°¡­it seems you know me well. Yes, the knowledge of life should not be left incomplete by the forgotten,¡± Lucius remarked quietly.


    Lucy knew that was his favourite saying and dipped her head. ¡°I know you don¡¯t need even the slightest amount of help from me, but I still wish to aid you somehow. Even if you consider this ¡®debt¡¯ as already repaid¡­¡± She smiled slightly. ¡°I still would like to be somewhat selfish and satisfy my own conscience.¡±


    He huffed a laugh. ¡°I feel somewhat lost. If you want this so dearly then I suppose I¡¯ll have to allow the saviour of our manor this one small action, no matter how much I feel it to be insufficient.¡± He stood up and smiled at her. ¡°You¡¯re a very intriguing individual, Miss Lucille.¡± He paused and quirked an eyebrow. ¡°Have I told you this before?¡±


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± she said with a smile.


    Lucius smirked and waved the cheque. ¡°I¡¯ll keep this with me until my side has had its affairs settled and returned to its normal order. Do you plan to use your¡­ ¡®status¡¯ to resolve this?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± She shook her head. ¡°I have more than enough with my rewards from the Tutorial.¡±


    ¡°It sounds like you performed well in the Tutorial.¡± Lucius raised his hand to check the onyx bejewelled wristwatch he had on his wrist. ¡°The evening meal of the children is about to begin. I could stay here and discuss things further with you if you wish, but I haven¡¯t informed them I won¡¯t be dining with them tonight and they become rather disappointed when I must take leave abruptly.¡±


    Lucille stood up. ¡°No, I¡¯ll decline. I need to return home and I never intended to stay here for long.¡± She gave him a bow. ¡°Thank you for taking the time to hear my request and accepting it, sir.¡±


    ¡°No, it was a pleasure to meet you, Lucille Goldcroft.¡± He smiled and held out his hand for her to shake. ¡°Take care on your way back.¡±


    She shook it and with a nod turned to leave the room¡¯s open doors.


    ¡°Oh, but if you think I can consider purchasing the new location for the manor as enough to repay this ¡®debt¡¯¡­ you¡¯d be wrong,¡± Lucius called out.


    Lucy glanced back at him to see him cross his arms.


    ¡°I might be the one in your debt now, young lady,¡± he said with a smile.


    ¡°¡­and again, I still disagree,¡¯ she replied, feeling amused. ¡°Goodbye, Director Farrow.¡±


    With that, she left him alone in the room and traced her steps back to the front door. It was only when she had left the manor and walked all the way back to the end of the road in the clearing that she turned around to give the manor one last look. She could still see Lucius standing on the front steps, watching her with a smile. The edges of the manor gradually faded into darkness and in a few seconds, the entire building was gone, hedges, road, and all. Only a strangely large empty clearing was left, and she released a sigh as she headed back into the forest.


    That¡¯s that then. I hope I managed to resolve his biggest regret now.


    At least this time she wasn¡¯t half-dead from the Hero¡¯s attack when she met him.


    <hr>


    In the gardens of the manor that had faded from Lucille¡¯s view, on the opposite side of where she had seen, a man with dark slightly wavy hair and a sickly-looking complexion hummed a tune as he walked, his hands held behind his back. Behind him, slightly to his left, was a vaguely humanoid figure of dark curling black mist, a bitter and cold aura emanating out from it.


    A baritone male voice echoed out from the figure who was following Lucius. ¡°Do you believe that girl?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ yes, I do,¡± Lucius replied with a smile on his face, not looking at the figure. ¡°When you¡¯ve lived as long as I have then it¡¯s easy to pick out the liars from the madmen, and the madmen from the sane. Lucille Goldcroft told me what she believes to be the truth, and I trust her perception.¡±


    The wraith chuckled as they approached the fence barring the estate from the dark forest surrounding the manor. ¡°But for a Ducal Prince of Solarmane to destroy this kingdom in a fit of rage¡­ my, how bold. I haven¡¯t seen another with that sort of temperament born to the Empire¡¯s Duchies for a few millennia.¡± His voice sounded amused, but it carried an underlying tone that would¡¯ve put anyone else on edge if they were around them.


    Even the misty figure slowed his movements as if feeling a subtle threat. ¡°¡­my lord, are you angry?¡±


    Lucius turned around and the figure flinched at his expression. The humanoid shadow dropped to the ground on one knee and lowered his head, not daring to look up.


    ¡°Eidolon, few have managed to make me feel this way since before the last World Tree Renewal,¡± Lucius said with a wide smile, spreading his arms. ¡°Very few indeed. I think I may handle this particular youth personally.¡±


    The figure shuddered slightly but lowered his head further. ¡°May you achieve all you wish.¡±


    ¡°Oh, my wish was that I never had to make this move in the first place.¡± Lucius turned back around and rested his hands on the fence. ¡°But this is how it turned out. Just imagining what would¡¯ve happened without Lucille Goldcroft¡¯s warning¡­¡± He fell silent, leaving the figure nervously waiting. ¡°Eidolon,¡± Lucius finished, his voice filled with incredible ice. ¡°Begin the preparations.¡±


    ¡°As my lord desires!¡±


    The shadowy figure disappeared, leaving Lucius alone in his silent garden. The cool wind blew through the grass and plants as the wraith turned around and observed his manor.


    The Reality became unstable a few months ago. Lucille Goldcroft must have had something to do with it. But it seems there¡¯s a greater threat she fears, to even consider coming to me. Although the reasons behind that seem to be complicated.


    She really is quite the oddity. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be satisfied until I manage to meet her in person again. I haven¡¯t been this curious about an individual ever since I met him all those years ago.


    He leaned his back against the fence as he thought back to his meeting with Lucille.


    And feeling his presence branded on her hand¡­ the realms are going to be in turmoil soon if even he decided to involve himself with a mortal. I wish I could¡¯ve had a longer discussion with her.


    He smirked and looked behind him as the red sun began to set.


    Oh well. There will be plenty of opportunities to do that later.


    ¡­and when the time comes I¡¯ll be able to discover what relationship my ¡®past self¡¯ had with her in the former timeline.


    <hr>


    It was the day after Lucy¡¯s trip to visit Lucius. Due to the work she had to catch up on, she didn¡¯t have the opportunity to talk to Hargrave, Sedric and Scytale after their outing, but with it being the first of April, someone else was due to arrive.


    Scytale was still demanding an explanation about the coded diagrams he had recognised as the Dawn Dissenter¡¯s text though, so she opened the door of the crafter¡¯s workshop and descended the stairs.


    Scytale, Sedric and Hargrave were all standing around the largest workbench in the centre of the room, which at the moment was covered in all the stuff they found in Sedric¡¯s basement. But they weren¡¯t looking at any of those strange objects. They were inspecting a pair of brown leather gloves that rested on a box on the table.


    Sedric narrowed his eyes at the gloves. ¡°What are these?¡±


    ¡°A birthday present,¡± Scytale replied, sitting on the bench in his snake form.


    Sedric gave the snake a suspicious look but slowly reached a hand forward to pinch the opening of one of the gloves and lift it up, inspecting it. The high-quality leather had a glossy sheen, but several metal buttons, almost like tacks on a leather armchair, ran down the sides of the glove. Thin metal circuitry spread outward from the cog-shaped disc embedded in the back of the glove. Sedric observed them for a moment before he came to a conclusion.


    ¡°These are cursed, aren¡¯t they.¡±


    ¡°No, they¡¯re not!¡± Scytale exclaimed with indignation. ¡°I found these in the Founder¡¯s vault and thought you might like them, that¡¯s all! Not everything I do is a prank!¡±


    Sedric still looked wary as Lucy walked forward and smirked. ¡°No need to worry this time. I permitted him to take them out of the vault. These magical gloves aren¡¯t cursed.¡±


    ¡°I feel like I need to be suspicious of everything your bond hands me,¡± the crafter muttered. Then he blinked and gave her an expectant look. ¡°Actually, Lucille¡­ could you teach me to recognise cursed items?¡±


    ¡°Nooo, don¡¯t do it Lucy! You¡¯ll ruin my future fun!¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± She smiled and approached the workbench. ¡°Maybe. But for the moment, I¡¯m more interested in investigating these ¡®coded diagrams¡¯ you discovered.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°So¡­ you cracked the code yet?¡± Sedric asked, raising an eyebrow. Behind him, Hargrave was sitting on a stool and Scytale had his head stuck in some random box, fishing objects out.


    ¡°Yes. I know what these say,¡± she replied, holding a page in her hand.


    ¡°Really?¡± The crafter¡¯s eyes widened with surprise and after hesitating, he came closer and peered at the page. ¡°Then¡­ what¡¯s on it?¡±


    ¡°Standard instructions to create several core mechanical components of the Coalition¡¯s tech,¡± Lucy explained. ¡°I¡¯ve seen replicas of these in the Coalition¡¯s facilities.¡±


    He frowned. ¡°So it¡¯s nothing special?¡±


    Scytale glanced up to shoot the crafter a look of disdain. ¡°Sedric, how stupid do you have to be? You know the Coalition doesn¡¯t let just anyone know the secrets of their machinery.¡±


    Sedric glared at the snake but Lucille smiled. ¡°Scytale¡¯s right. These are highly compact engines that only the master craftsmen or higher know how to make.¡± She put the page down and tapped her fingers thoughtfully on the page. ¡°Not to mention that there¡¯s an additional requirement of being a member of the Dawn Dissenters before you¡¯re allowed to learn how to craft these.¡±


    Sedric stared at her. ¡°¡­what?¡±


    Hargrave frowned. ¡°What¡¯s the Dawn Dissenters?¡±


    Lucy hummed. ¡°Just a secretive paramilitary force that is the hidden weapon of the Emperor and his strongest Radical supporters. As long as you¡¯re not fooled by their claims of freeing the Empire from being a monarchy, you can go about your life and probably not know you¡¯ve ever met them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a very simple way of describing- wait, what was that about the Emperor?¡± Sedric continued staring at her. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard that before.¡±


    Lucille glanced over her shoulder at him, gave him one long blink and then proceeded to ignore him. ¡°It seems that Sedric here is the grandson of one of the more powerful members of the Dawn Dissenters.¡±


    Sedric scowled as she continued, ¡°I assumed as such due to him bearing a Legendary class built on the foundations of a magic engineer, but this suggests if the Coalition and by extension, the Dawn Dissenters discover that an inheritor of the class exists then they¡¯ll want to bring him back.¡± Lucy shrugged. ¡°They don¡¯t have a claim to owning the path of progression for the class as it was created by Sedric¡¯s grandfather, however, so besides having some annoying would-be solicitors stalk him his whole life, Sedric should be fine.¡±


    Lucille glanced back at him. ¡°They¡¯ll certainly attempt to break off your contract if and when they find out you exist. In this instance, our contract being non-exclusive means they can¡¯t resort to drastic measures to distance us.¡±


    Sedric groaned and placed his hands on his head. ¡°I don¡¯t want to get mixed up in this! And I definitely don¡¯t want to have to take on ¡®students¡¯ or something to teach my class to. Not that I know how.¡± He crossed his arms and frowned. ¡°If I join the coalition I won¡¯t be able to make what I want either.¡±


    Lucille leaned against the workbench. ¡°Sedric, all you have to do is trust that I know how to deal with them. I suspected this as soon as you mentioned the ¡®Dawn Dissenters¡¯ to me and have been controlling the flow of information as well as I can.¡± She spread her gloved hands. ¡°I have enough power to prevent them from taking you against your will.¡±


    Sedric studied her carefully and then sighed. He rubbed his neck. ¡°..uh, thanks.¡± He turned to the blueprints and diagrams on the table. ¡°But what do I do about all these? I can¡¯t even read them.¡±


    Lucy hummed as she looked at them over her shoulder. ¡°As I know the cipher for the code, I can potentially find an item of some kind to place the cipher in. That way you¡¯ll be able to translate it all to study.¡±


    ¡°Study?¡± Sedric gained a worried frown. ¡°But if all this technology is kept hidden by the Coalition¡­ wouldn¡¯t it be dangerous for me to learn it?¡±


    Lucille pointed at him. ¡°If your grandfather was paranoid enough to design a way to destroy the evidence of his connection to the Dawn Dissenters, yet didn¡¯t destroy it before his death, then we have to assume he wanted you to learn this.¡±


    ¡°Hold up.¡± Sedric raised his hands to pause her. ¡°Before you get the wrong impression, we didn¡¯t have much ¡®familial love¡¯ between us, alright? He kept me fed and clothed under the guise of his ¡®apprentice¡¯ but I was barely a glorified servant. He heard that his estranged son and daughter-in-law had died, so he brought me along on his travels.¡± He glanced at the diagrams again. ¡°The only possible reason he could¡¯ve wanted me to learn these is so I would become another fanatical member of the Dawn Dissenters like he was.¡±


    Lucille raised an eyebrow. ¡°None of your words prove my statement wrong, Sedric.¡±


    Sedric screwed up his face as he thought about it, but clicked his tongue and turned away. ¡°So this is all just that crackpot old fool¡¯s scheme.¡±


    ¡°No need to feel too upset. He likely wanted to ¡®convert¡¯ you to the Dawn Dissenters before he died, but life foiled that plan. You now have the ability to do whatever you wish with the knowledge of this technology,¡± Lucy commented.


    Sedric gazed at her with wide eyes and then turned to look at the basement goods, a wicked grin growing on his face.


    ¡°Ah, but I would advise against spreading these blueprints around freely. If the Dawn Dissenters feel threatened they will remove the threat, regardless of your ¡®Legendary¡¯ status,¡± she warned.


    He flinched and rubbed his neck. ¡°¡­there goes my plans of petty revenge.¡±


    ¡°Not so petty if you get killed for it,¡± Scytale replied sarcastically. ¡°Why would you bother trying to get revenge on a dead person anyway?¡±


    Sedric, predictably, glared at the snake and rushed over to pull him away from the chest of items. ¡°Go away. Those are mine.¡±


    ¡°Who says?¡±


    ¡°Me. The person who made and owns them.¡±


    ¡°Nuhuh! Lucy owns those items because they were made using her money!¡±


    ¡°W-Well¡­¡±


    ¡°You can continue arguing later,¡± Lucille interrupted. ¡°As it is, three people are looking for us that we need to interact with before our lives become more complicated.¡±


    Sedric gave her a strange look. ¡°¡¯We¡¯?¡±


    Lucille¡¯s gaze went flat and she just pointed at the workshop door. Sedric flinched when the door was suddenly thrown open to slam against the wall, revealing a blonde-haired girl with her hands on her hips.


    ¡°I¡¯ve found you! Look, the Prophetess of Fate has returned!¡± Annaliese smugly announced.


    Lucy ran a hand down her face. ¡°Great, Scytale has rubbed off on her¡­¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Lucy! Show me your magic!¡±


    Lucille ignored the girl and continued walking to her study, holding documents in her arms.


    ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to know what magic you can do ever since I found out you used illusions. Could you show me? Please?¡±


    Lucy opened the door of her study and walked up to her desk to deposit the files down.


    ¡°Pleeeeeeaaaaaasssseeeeee-¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡± Lucy hit the top of Annaliese¡¯s head with a thick book, making the Prophetess belatedly duck and rub her sore head, looking upset.


    ¡°That was mean,¡± the girl said with a pout.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± Lucy stated blandly. She turned to look at the steely-eyed guard leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed. ¡°Are you going to apprehend me for inflicting physical harm against your ward?¡±


    ¡°Physical harm?¡± Jasten Albrecht smirked and raised an eyebrow. ¡°I couldn¡¯t dare to apprehend the Aurelian Commission Head unless convincing evidence was collected against her. Annaliese, do you have a witness to this act of ¡®physical harm¡¯?¡±


    Annaliese glared at them both. ¡°What have I done for you to be annoying like this?!¡±


    ¡°Bothering me when I have work to do,¡± Lucille replied dryly. ¡°Unfortunately, Annaliese, while you may have decided that the Aurelian Commission is your place of choice on your break, I can¡¯t summon entertainment into your life at any time of the day. I have a job that needs doing.¡±


    Annaliese narrowed her eyes. ¡°Then why don¡¯t you make Vincent do it? He¡¯s there to help you, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°I believe I would die of being overworked if I did Lucille¡¯s share too,¡± a voice interjected.


    Sir Albrecht looked over his shoulder to see Lucy¡¯s silver-haired aide.


    ¡°Excuse me, Sir Albrecht,¡± Vincent stated politely.


    The Paladin moved out of the way to let Vincent enter through the doorway with more documents in his hands. He placed them neatly on the table near his own armchair and turned to the Prophetess. ¡°Lucille already does more work than me even when she¡¯s spent half the day on another plane,¡± he said with amusement.


    ¡°You¡¯ve heard it from Vincent yourself.¡± Lucy placed her gloved hands on Annaliese¡¯s shoulders and turned her around to gently push her out the door. ¡°I¡¯m not saying you won¡¯t see me today, but just give me a bit of time to deal with my work.¡±


    The blonde-haired girl groaned but had the door shut behind her after her guard had stepped through. Annaliese pouted and stormed off down a hallway in the direction of Lucille¡¯s living room.


    Jasten Albrecht turned his head, paying attention to the actions of his other ward in Sedric¡¯s workshop, but he followed the annoyed Prophetess to the living room. Then Annaliese marched over to one of the two couches and slumped on it. She rolled onto her stomach sideways with a pillow under her head.


    Annaliese noticed that another person was in the room and blinked when she saw Hargrave sitting opposite her, reading a book. ¡°Oh, hello Hargrave. I didn¡¯t see you.¡±


    The scarlet-haired man looked up. ¡°Hello, Prophetess.¡±


    Annaliese frowned. ¡°It¡¯s An-¡±


    Jasten Albrecht covered her mouth before she could say anything. ¡°It¡¯s not.¡±


    She turned her glare to the Paladin and then sighed, placing her chin on the pillow. She watched Hargrave silently as he returned to his book, and then she tilted her head. She sat up with the pillow on her lap and studied him.


    ¡°Hargrave¡­¡± she began hesitantly. ¡°Why do you have a piece of wood stuck in your hair?¡±


    ¡°A piece of- wait.¡± He looked up and narrowed his eyes. ¡°Where?¡±


    Annaliese pointed. ¡°In your braid. I see other bits too.¡±


    Hargrave scowled and put the book down to try to shake out the splinters.


    The blonde-haired Prophetess tilted her head. ¡°Um¡­ do you need a little help?¡¯


    ¡°No, no, it¡¯s¡­ no, I¡¯m fine,¡± Hargrave declined, glaring at one of his braids that he held in his hand. It had been more than twelve hours yet the evidence of the stairs¡¯ destruction was still present.


    Annaliese studied his hair with a strange expression. ¡°Your haircut is¡­ really uneven. And why is one braid longer than the other? Is it your preference?¡±


    He gave her a slightly exasperated look. ¡°No, it¡¯s not my preference. It¡¯s just¡­ how it ended up.¡±


    Annaliese hummed, having an idea. She glanced at one of the chest of drawers in the room and then back at him. ¡°Hargrave, are you sure you don¡¯t need help with your hair?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ no, I¡¯m sure I don¡¯t,¡± he replied firmly.


    Annaliese stood up. ¡°Are you absolutely certain? I think I can help you a lot if you just let me!¡±


    ¡°¡­no thank you,¡± Hargrave replied warily, feeling somewhat threatened by the girl¡¯s sudden enthusiasm.


    ¡°No, I can definitely help you! I¡¯m sure if I look in one of these drawers, I¡¯ll find a pair. Just wait right there¡­¡±


    Hargrave slowly got up from the couch, planning on leaving quickly and quietly as Jasten Albrecht watched with one eyebrow raised. Then footsteps behind Hargrave made him freeze and he turned around to see a certain blonde-haired Prophetess menacingly holding a pair of scissors.


    ¡°Hargrave.¡± Annaliese narrowed her eyes and snipped the two blades. ¡°Sit.¡±

 Chapter 67 (2 of 2) Future rainbow dragon’s much-needed haircut.

    ¡°Prophetess, could you please-¡±


    ¡°Call me Annaliese and maybe I¡¯ll stop.¡±


    ¡°¡­Annaliese?¡±


    The Prophetess smiled and leaned forward over the back of the couch so Hargrave could see her face. ¡°Sorry. I lied. I won¡¯t stop.¡±


    Hargrave¡¯s expression twitched as the girl continued to hum, holding a comb in one hand and the pair of scissors in the other. Annaliese would comb his hair and then shorten it, evening up the ends of the thick red mop that was the hair on his head. Some knotted pieces of hair that she had cut off fell onto his neck and he rolled his shoulders in an attempt to get rid of the itchy feeling.


    Annaliese whacked the back of his head with the comb. ¡°I said no moving!¡±


    He frowned and tried to shake his head to remove the fallen hair. ¡°It¡¯s uncomfortable.¡±


    ¡°Yes, and I¡¯m uncomfortable too. Uncomfortable with the idea of seeing your atrocious hairstyle for a second longer!¡± the Prophetess exclaimed, grabbing the sides of his head to keep it in place.


    Several snickers sounded on the other side of the room and Hargrave pinched his nose bridge. He raised his eyes to give the three people sitting on the opposite couch a resentful look.


    Sedric, Scytale and Raegan had all come to the living room and were treating his haircut as an entertaining show. Scytale grinned and leaned forward. ¡°That¡¯s an awful lot of trust you¡¯re placing in Annaliese and her ability to safely hold those scissors. What made you think she¡¯d be a good hairstylist anyway?¡±


    ¡°Nothing made me think that,¡± Hargrave muttered. ¡°I had wanted to get away from her and her scissors.¡±


    Raegan nodded sagely. ¡°A wise move, if one that failed.¡±


    ¡°Hey! When have you ever seen me have an accident with scissors?¡± Annaliese interrupted, pointing the pair at her brother. ¡°The reason why I¡¯m doing this for Hargrave is because I have experience cutting your hair for the last ten years!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and they were all ugly haircuts,¡± Raegan snarked.


    Annaliese narrowed her eyes at her brother. ¡°Sir Albrecht, do you think I could request permission from the Sages to visit the Kingdom of Shifting Sands? I heard they often have shaved heads if they don¡¯t wear turbans and someone seems to want to go bald for a change.¡±


    Raegan flinched and hastily put his hands up to his hair as Jasten wryly shook his head. ¡°Unlikely, Prophetess Verdon.¡±


    Annaliese clicked her tongue as her comb caught on another knot. ¡°But why is your haircut so terrible, Hargrave?! Anyone with a pair of even the bluntest scissors could cut a straight line in their hair, but all your hair at the back of your head is really short, but near your neck, it¡¯s super long!¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t use a pair of scissors. I used my demonic spear-¡±


    ¡°A spear?!¡± Annaliese leaned her hands on the back of the couch as she stared at him, aghast. ¡°Why would you cut your hair with a spear?!¡±


    Hargrave sighed. ¡°My hair was too long. It was annoying me.¡±


    She jabbed a finger at the side of his head. ¡°But you left your braids uneven when you could¡¯ve fixed them!¡±


    ¡°I¡­ wasn¡¯t in a time or place where I could afford to try to make my hair neater,¡± he replied. ¡°And I don¡¯t care about my hair anyway.¡±


    ¡°Well I do,¡± Annaliese announced with her arms crossed. ¡°So you¡¯re going to sit perfectly still for the rest of this haircut and not complain one little bit. Understood?¡±


    Hargrave sighed again and tried to rest his head against the back of the couch in resignation but was then pushed forward by Annaliese who needed to finish off the back of his head.


    ¡°I was going to cut it shorter but it feels like every. Little. Bit. I. Cut. Off,¡± she said through gritted teeth, snipping sections of wayward hair, ¡°Refuses to sit neatly! So I¡¯m only going to cut it to slightly above your shoulders so the weight of your hair makes it lay flatter.¡± Annaliese hesitated, looking nervous. ¡°I hope it will, at least.¡± She shook her head. ¡°But never mind! Back to work!¡±


    Hargrave let out a barely suppressed groan as she continued to cut away the uneven sections of his hair, making it look less haphazard and more intentional. Annaliese tried several times to find a way to make his hair neater but had to give up. A haircut can only go so far when it comes to thick hair that doesn¡¯t like to lie flat.


    Lucille decided to enter the living room when his haircut was nearly done and leaned against the couch¡¯s armrest, observing the ex-mercenary.


    ¡°What an interesting spectacle this is,¡± she finally commented. ¡°Annaliese¡¯s handy work is certainly an improvement.¡±


    In actual fact¡­ yes, I don¡¯t think he received a haircut in the last timeline until the time I met him and likely afterwards as well. I recall him having the same uneven style when we first met. That¡¯s funny. Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft, the amazing time traveller, whose greatest feat was getting the Prismatic Dragon Ruler to get a haircut in the new timeline.


    Hargrave shot Lucy a weary look but Annaliese beamed. ¡°See? You should¡¯ve believed in me from the start, Hargrave.¡± She walked around the couch to stand in front of him and raised her hands to make one last cut. Part of one of the braids on the side of his head came away in Annaliese¡¯s hand and she held it up with a grin, showing how she had finally straightened up the braids.


    Hargrave ran a hand through his freshly cut hair, looking bemused. ¡°I have no way of seeing myself yet though, so how can I know if my hair looks better?¡±


    ¡°I can assure you that you look terrible!¡± Raegan called out. Scytale leaned close to whisper something in his ear and the three of them, including Sedric, got up from the couch.


    Annaliese narrowed her eyes at her brother as Lucille huffed a laugh and walked around to face Hargrave. ¡°Let me help you.¡±


    With a snap of her white-gloved fingers, an orb of indigo mana coalesced. She spread her palms and the orb stretched and flattened, becoming a thin sheet. With a second snap, it turned silver and allowed Hargrave to see his reflection.


    He scratched his head as he looked at himself, a strange expression on his face. ¡°I¡­ guess it looks better.¡±


    ¡°Of course it does,¡± Annaliese replied crossly. ¡°You looked like you had crawled out of the woods!¡±


    Hargrave sighed and shook his head. ¡°Thank you, Lucille. You can put away the mirror now.¡±


    With Lucy¡¯s Essence Transmutation Conduit, the illusion mana scattered as quickly as it had been summoned. Controlling the nearby wind mana, she ignored the way Hargrave flinched and swept up all his fallen hair into a floating ball in the air. Then she incinerated it with fire.


    ¡°Are you done with your work yet, Lucy?¡± Annaliese asked brightly.


    Lucy shot her an amused look but shook her head and sat down next to Hargrave. ¡°No, not yet. But I decided to take a break as it is time for our afternoon meal.¡±


    Annaliese blinked. ¡°It is?¡±


    Anything Lucille could¡¯ve said was stopped by the loud sounds of crunching coming from their left. They looked to see one crafter and two young boys walking back into the room from the kitchen, food stuffed in their cheeks and filling their arms.


    They paused when they saw Lucy, Annaliese, Hargrave, and Sir Albrecht staring at them. Scytale held up a glowing fruit natural treasure that was releasing tantalising waves of mana. ¡°Want some?¡± Then he pointed at Raegan. ¡°Although, you¡¯re going to want to act fast, Annaliese. Raegan¡¯s eaten half the kitchen¡¯s chocolate stock already.¡±


    She angrily stood up. ¡°He did what?!¡±


    Lucy rolled her eyes as Jasten Albrecht let out a weary sigh, predicting a loud bout of arguing to soon occur.


    ¡­


    ¡°Luuuuccccyyyyy¡­.¡±


    Lucille¡¯s expression twitched and she placed her file down to stare at the girl opposite her. ¡°Annaliese, you do realise this was the exact reason why I didn¡¯t want you coming back to the Aurelian Commission? I have a job.¡±


    The blonde-haired Prophetess rolled onto her back and threw her pillow in the air, catching it again every few seconds. She was lying on a couch. ¡°But when I first came here you promised me that you¡¯d show me your magic!¡±


    Lucy suppressed a groan as she pinched her nose bridge. ¡°Let¡¯s say I did ¡®promise¡¯ you that and that it wasn¡¯t in the context of ¡®eventually I can show you if you ask before you leave¡¯.¡± She jabbed a finger towards her work. ¡°Why do you think now is a good time to nag me about it?! Just go and find Scytale and your brother to annoy, or Sedric.¡± Lucy snatched a pen off of the table and went to work on the files. ¡°I¡¯d even suggest Hargrave if not for the fact you¡¯ve already bothered him today.¡±


    ¡°¡­what¡­?¡±


    Lucy and Annaliese looked at the open doorway to see a very confused scarlet-haired man eyeing them warily as he stood by the door. It seemed he had been passing by.


    Lucy gave him a dismissive wave. ¡°Ignore us. We¡¯re talking about you, not to you.¡±


    Hargrave continued staring at them for a second longer before he slowly backed away and left, likely planning on finding some location in the Commission¡¯s Headquarters as far away from the Prophetess as possible.


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Annaliese clicked her tongue and rolled onto her side. ¡°But you¡¯re the only girl here! I don¡¯t want to hang out with guys all the time. And my brother will be there. I don¡¯t want to be anywhere near him.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah? Well I don¡¯t want to near you either!¡±


    Raegan walked into the room while shooting his sister a glare. He walked over to the table.


    Annaliese narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°Why do you care?¡± he retorted. He grabbed something off of the table. ¡°I¡¯m just getting my jacket.¡±


    ¡°Raegan, can you convince Lucy to let me see her magic?¡± the Prophetess complained. ¡°She¡¯s not showing me it.¡±


    He frowned at her. ¡°Why would you ask her that? It¡¯s not like you could see it anyway.¡±


    She blinked. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Annaliese can¡¯t see what?¡± A humanoid snake stuck his head through the kitchen doorway.


    Lucy narrowed her eyes, knowing that her bond had taken another door to bypass her living room so he could access the kitchen, but Raegan shrugged.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? She has no pupils, therefore she can¡¯t see.¡±


    They all turned to stare at the girl, including Jasten Albrecht sitting in a corner. They gained strange expressions. Lucille thought about it.


    Is he talking about her eye colour? I suppose without looking closely her eyes look completely gold but¡­


    Scytale burst out laughing as Annaliese put her hands to her face, horrified. ¡°I have pupils!¡±


    ¡°Really? Because I can¡¯t see them.¡± Raegan pointed to her with a look of disdain. ¡°All I see is that creepy thousand-yard stare of yours.¡± He pretended to shudder. ¡°I feel like you¡¯re seeing through my soul.¡±


    Annaliese glared at him and then turned to Lucy. ¡°I have pupils, don¡¯t I? Tell him he¡¯s wrong, Lucy!¡±


    ¡°Annaliese has pupils,¡± Lucille replied calmly. But before the blonde-haired girl¡¯s expression could brighten, Lucy smirked and continued, ¡°However, they¡¯re barely a shade darker than her irises so she does have this look about her that makes her seem either blind or not particularly right in the head.¡±


    The Prophetess pouted and hugged her knees. ¡°You guys are mean.¡±


    Raegan just smirked evilly as Scytale continued to laugh. Lucy sighed wryly and stood up, patting the girl on the head. ¡°Alright. I can¡¯t do more than half an hour, but I¡¯ll show you a little bit of this magic of mine.¡±


    Annaliese¡¯s eyes widened as she gazed at Lucy. ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Hurry up and follow me, or else it will only be fifteen minutes.¡±


    The girl hastily got off the couch and walked after Lucille. ¡°I¡¯m coming! Just wait a moment, I¡¯m coming!¡±


    With a slight sigh, Sir Albrecht stood up and followed them out of the room. Raegan and Scytale were left alone together and Scytale rubbed his chin. ¡°Y¡¯know, did Annaliese always have gold eyes? I feel like the Citadel would¡¯ve kidnapped someone with her level of light element affinity way before she turned sixteen.¡±


    Raegan crossed his arms. ¡°She didn¡¯t have gold eyes until a month before her birthday. She had green eyes.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Scytale narrowed his eyes at Raegan with suspicion. ¡°Does that mean your eyes will turn red when you get your Origin Skill?¡±


    Raegan gave the snake a weird look. ¡°What? Why would they turn red?¡±


    ¡°Well, obviously only a demon could have such a foul personality,¡± Scytale said with a thoughtful nod. Then he let out a long hum and eyed the roof in mock thought. ¡°Or maybe you could be a shade or phantom? Will your eyes turn black? They¡¯re pretty deranged too because they don¡¯t really know what it¡¯s like to die¡­¡±


    Annaliese¡¯s younger brother scoffed, rolled his eyes, and walked off, ignoring the snake.


    Scytale blinked and followed after him. ¡°Hey, where are you going? We still haven¡¯t worked this out! What if you¡¯re actually an Abyssal demon in disguise, or an undead-eating ghoul? Eurgh, that would be really creepy. Or maybe a- Raegan? Hey, Raegan, are you listening? Raaaaaeeeegaaaaan¡­..¡±


    ¡­.


    ¡°Now, what to show you¡­ hm.¡± Lucille stood with a gloved hand on her chin and the other on her hip while the others sat on the ground a few metres away. They were in the training room, the only place with enough space for any spell Lucy cast to be easily seen.


    The ¡®others¡¯ consisted of Annaliese, Sedric, Raegan, and Scytale, while Sir Albrecht watched on from the side. Sedric had been dragged there by both of the younger boys who claimed he needed further education in magic if he wanted to be a better crafter.


    Not that either of them had the right to say that with both of their extremely lacking mental resources on magic.


    Lucy paused and turned to look at them. ¡°Annaliese, you wanted to know why I chose to¡­ study illusion magic in particular, am I correct?¡±


    The Prophetess nodded. ¡°Yeah! And I also don¡¯t see you using it much.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because it¡¯s not particularly needed in my day-to-day life, but¡­¡± Lucille hummed and spread her hands, transforming the elemental mana around her to indigo blue mist. It swirled into an orb hovering above her palms. Then she snapped both of her fingers and the mana flowed near the air around her waist, condensing to form something solid.


    The others watched as brown bled into the solid shape. Sedric frowned while Annaliese and Raegan stared. ¡°Um¡­ Lucy¡­¡± Annaliese began hesitantly, a look of confusion on her face. ¡°Is that¡­ a table?¡±


    Lucille smiled. ¡°Yep.¡±


    ¡°¡­why are you showing us the illusion of a table?¡±


    ¡°Because this¡­¡± Lucy pointed at it. ¡°¡­is my illusion magic specialty.¡±


    ¡°What, making fake tables?¡± Sedric said with his arms crossed. ¡°I guess it looks realistic, but all you¡¯d have to do is throw something at the table and it will pass right through.¡±


    Lucille didn¡¯t respond and instead placed two hands on the table to lift herself up to sit on it. She just gazed at them with a smirk on her face.


    ¡°What-¡± Sedric jumped up. ¡°Uh- no, that¡¯s not how illusion magic is supposed to work.¡± He walked over to the table and crouched, looking under it and scrutinizing its surface as if to look for flaws. He touched it with his fingers and his expression became more flabbergasted as he realised it even had the texture and faint scent of wood.


    Annaliese stood up and ran over. ¡°I want to see!¡± She tried to push herself onto the table and instead hit her nose against the wood. She frowned and pulled away, rubbing her nose. ¡°Ow¡­¡±


    Raegan rolled his eyes. ¡°I bet she made the illusion mana disappear when she took the table out of her bag.¡±


    Lucy wordlessly snapped her fingers and Sedric stumbled back as the wood became softer and shinier, while the table lengthened. Annaliese tumbled forward and found herself hanging upside down on the front edge of a couch. The Prophetess blinked. ¡°When you said magic, this isn¡¯t what I expected¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, this is just a demonstration of the basic functions of my magic,¡± Lucille said with a smile. ¡°I never used it this way as it was just a waste of mana.¡±


    Jasten Albrecht had his brow furrowed as he gazed at the couch Lucy was now sitting on. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ using elemental manipulation right now, aren¡¯t you? You haven¡¯t used any runes yet.¡±


    ¡°Not yet. But I will now.¡± Lucille stood up and pointed a finger at the distant wall of the training room. At the same time, the couch disappeared into swirling illusion mana, making Annaliese fall to the ground. The blonde-haired girl shook her hair out of her face and gave Lucy a resentful look.


    Indigo runes began to arrange themselves a metre away from her finger in the air, the largest mana-circles structuring themselves first as progressively smaller mana-circles were layered beyond it. A seven-layered illusion spell had appeared by the time Lucille narrowed her eyes and called out, ¡°Monstrous Manifestation: Direwolf.¡±


    Sedric and Annaliese yelped and ran back as a growling black-furred beast leapt out from the centre of the largest mana-circle and prowled around Lucy. Its jaws were twisted into a vicious snarl, the muscles contorted into positions that seemed off in some uncanny way. The bulging tendons on its muscled legs stood out, giving it a ghastly, violent appearance.


    Jasten Albrecht marched forward to shield Annaliese with his greatsword, but Sedric stared at the beast with a pale face. ¡°A¡­ a monster?! But-¡±


    Annaliese nervously peeked out from behind the blade to watch the direwolf move around Lucy. ¡°Was it summoned?¡±


    ¡°Summoning rituals require carefully prepared catalysts and specifically attuned locations,¡± Jasten Albrecht refuted. He narrowed his eyes at the creature. ¡°Something is wrong with its life essence. It¡¯s not cohesive or¡­ real enough somehow. And¡­¡± He paused as a thought struck him. ¡°No killing intent?¡±


    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t use killing intent, so obviously neither would my creations,¡± Lucille replied. She smiled as she gestured to the wolf with a finger and it came up to her, allowing her to raise a hand to stroke its back that was higher than her head.


    Sir Albrecht¡¯s eyes flew wide open as he realised what her magic could really do. Annaliese ducked under his arm and he made no move to drag her back. The Prophetess slowly walked closer to the monstrous construct.


    ¡°Will it¡­ attack?¡± she asked hesitantly.


    ¡°No. Look.¡± Lucy walked to the front of the direwolf and gestured to its eyes. Then she slowly moved a finger across its line of sight. It didn¡¯t move a muscle, staying completely still in one spot as it growled and its body moved with its breathing. ¡°It¡¯s not fixing its gaze on anything, and you can see that its eyes don¡¯t show any of the malice a real monster would have. This direwolf-¡± She smirked and placed a hand on either side of its head. ¡°-is a puppet.¡±


    Any of Annaliese¡¯s wariness evaporated and she dashed up to the beast, walking around it to admire the construct. She put a hand up to its back to pet it and frowned. ¡°Its fur isn¡¯t soft at all. It feels bristly and stiff.¡±


    ¡°A direwolf monster has no need for soft fur. Only domesticated animals have soft fur as they were bred for that characteristic,¡± Lucy explained. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t bother to assign my constructs that characteristic because they¡¯re not sentient ¡®pets¡¯ of any sort. Also, monsters are typically rather repulsive to look at.¡±


    ¡°But does that mean you can make soft and cuddly animals too?¡± Annaliese asked curiously.


    Lucille studied her for a moment and then shook her head as with a snap of her fingers, the direwolf disappeared. ¡°I¡¯m not creating a fluffy monster just to be your stuffed toy.¡±


    The Prophetess glared at her. ¡°That¡¯s not my plan.¡±


    ¡°Wait, wait, wait, Lucille.¡± Sedric held his hands up. ¡°This goes against all my knowledge of illusion magic. With the table, I thought you might¡¯ve included wood mana, and it felt almost like that¡­ but I¡¯m pretty sure it was still illusion mana at that stage. But you made the couch and¡­ the monster¡­¡±


    He gave her a slightly exasperated look. ¡°Are you going to explain it or just show off the magic to Annaliese?¡±


    Lucy smirked and held her hands behind her back. ¡°If you want an explanation, I can spare some time to give one. A fair warning, however: it will be a complex discussion. Our Prophetess here might not be up for it.¡±


    ¡°Hey! I¡¯m smart enough. I¡¯ll understand it!¡± the girl complained.


    ¡°Well then, follow me. I¡¯d prefer to sit down for this part. And¡­¡± Lucy glanced at her bond. ¡°Are you coming too?¡±


    Scytale considered it with a strange expression and then stood up. ¡°Eh, what the hell. Sure, I¡¯ll come, if only so I get to see their reactions.¡±


    Raegan gave the snake a suspicious look but followed her too. They went back to her living room.


    ¡­


    ¡°So then¡­ to begin with, I want to ask a question: what is magic?¡± Lucy asked.


    Annaliese narrowed her eyes and Lucy shook her head. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m aware I asked you that the first time you came here, but this time I¡¯m serious. I want to know what is the common definition you understand to be magic.¡±


    Sedric frowned slightly. ¡°If you¡¯re only talking about runic magic¡­ it¡¯s a structure that creates an effect when mana manipulation is used to create runes.¡±


    Lucy nodded. ¡°And that¡¯s true. So then is that all I need to do to cast a spell? Just arrange the runes with the mana?¡±


    Annaliese blinked. ¡°That¡¯s right, isn¡¯t it? I¡¯ve never heard of any other steps when casting magic.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll ask a second question. How do you cast a rune?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Raegan gestured vaguely. ¡°You, uh, think about the shape of the rune.¡±


    Lucille turned to Sedric. ¡°Do you have another answer?¡±


    Sedric held his chin, then scowled at her. ¡°I bet this is a trick question.¡±


    She smirked. ¡°Not quite. I¡¯ll speed up my explanation if it¡¯s bothering you though.¡± Lucy pointed her index finger up and a small flame appeared above the tip of her finger. ¡°I¡¯ll really, really simplify this for you. When you¡¯re only using elemental manipulation to do small tasks like this, you ¡®envision¡¯ the element. The purpose of the element and its effect. I can¡¯t generate a flame without thinking of fire.¡±


    ¡°What has that got to do with your magic, though?¡± Sedric asked sceptically.


    Lucille spread her hands. ¡°I alter the input for my magic to use all of your ¡®envisionment¡¯ instead of mine and directly create a more material effect as the output.¡±


    They all stared blankly at her. ¡°¡­huh?¡±


    She huffed a laugh and leaned back in her seat. ¡°When you cast any spell, you¡¯re subconsciously using small particles of spiritual energy that is often called ¡®will¡¯ to instil your imagined result into the spell.¡±


    ¡°¡­and skills?¡± Jasten Albrecht muttered quietly, clearly following along in some way.


    She smiled and nodded at him. ¡°While spells use mana as the fuel to power them and runes to shape their effects, skills are already shaped into effects by the Influence¡¯s concepts within them, its ¡®envisionment¡¯. Will actives skills and sometimes alternative resources can power skills based on the Influence.¡±


    Lucille turned back to the others. ¡°What I meant to say is that the mind shapes mana and magic. It¡¯s even mentioned in the Fundamental Theorems that the power of the mind grants mana a more ¡®material¡¯ effect.¡±


    She smirked and pointed two fingers at the three of them. ¡°In summary, my monsters only exist because your minds think my monsters exist.¡±


    Sedric and Raegan¡¯s faces screwed up while Annaliese groaned and covered her face. ¡°I don¡¯t get it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re ¡­ what, ¡®stealing¡¯ our envisionment?¡± Sedric asked hesitantly. ¡°But¡­ how can you control what we ¡®envision¡¯? I definitely wasn¡¯t thinking of monsters before you magicked that one up.¡±


    Lucille rested her chin on her hand, leaning her elbow against the armrest of the couch. ¡°I told you this would be complicated.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare try to stop now,¡± Raegan said crossly. ¡°We¡¯re not that dumb.¡±


    Lucy eyed the boy but shrugged and then pointed up. ¡°Watch.¡±


    They looked up and blinked as a small white sphere the size of a tennis ball appeared. It had a semi-translucent surface but internally, they could see what appeared to be tiny mechanisms of cogs and gears slowly rotating within. ¡°This is an illusion that depicts what contains my ¡®illusionary constructs¡¯,¡± Lucille began.


    She leaned forward and shifted the orb so they could look at it closer. ¡°Normally, this orb is completely invisible, intangible, and only detectable by those who can see the spiritual realm. It resides in the spiritual realm when I create it because it is entirely composed of spiritual energy. This small orb houses every piece of information I have about my direwolf construct. What it looks like, its abilities, and even how it is supposed to act. But right now, it is utterly useless.¡±


    She hummed and placed a hand on her chin as she looked to the side. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t understand a term like ¡®broadcast¡¯, would you¡­¡± Lucille paused when an idea struck her and she snapped her fingers again. An illusion spread to make the room seem to be filled with waist-high pale white water.


    ¡°I see the spiritual realm as an infinite pool of water,¡± Lucy told them. ¡°This pool of water is never completely still, because it¡¯s filled with souls. Wherever a soul is, they release ripples into this pool that are ¡®thoughts¡¯. Some can detect these surface thoughts and ¡®read your mind¡¯ so to speak. But souls also detect ripples from other souls.¡±


    She pointed to her illusionary spiritual orb. ¡°This releases spiritual particles that mimic the ripples of souls but instead pretend to be a ¡®monster¡¯s soul while also releasing the details to all the souls who can detect it. Your mind subconsciously picks up on the spiritual information in this orb and concludes ¡®There¡¯s a monster there¡¯. I can also do this with objects, such as the table and couch, because objects retain some level of spiritual information too.¡±


    Raegan pressed a finger to each temple. ¡°So basically¡­ because you¡¯ve fooled our minds into thinking that a monster is there¡­ it actually becomes a monster?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not real, obviously, but yes,¡± Lucy replied. ¡°And this still consumes my own mana to form the physical body of the monster. It also only works because the illusion element can mimic any element, allowing the monster to conform to the perception of everyone around it. Due to the combined power of multiple people believing in the existence of a monster, it gains a physical, tangible body.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s crazy,¡± Sedric said, looking stupefied. ¡°How is that even magic anymore? I-It¡¯s like¡­ some strange ability to make anything you want exist.¡±


    ¡°But Sedric¡­¡± Lucille leaned forward with a grin on her face. ¡°All magic works like this.¡± She smirked and spread her hands before they could argue. ¡°I¡¯ve described the spiritual realm as an infinite pool of liquid, and this liquid needs to have ¡®depth¡¯ to it. Where does all the spiritual energy from people¡¯s thoughts go? Into this ¡®pool¡¯.¡±


    The spiritual realm and spiritual energy orb illusion disappeared as she conjured an illusion of a simple fireball spell model. ¡°People¡¯s ideologies, thoughts and concepts constantly enter the pool of the spiritual realm. Mana draws upon the spiritual realm as spiritual energy is what controls it, so when enough people have a certain way of thinking¡­ it defines how mana can be used.¡±


    Lucille spread her hands. ¡°I¡¯ve termed this ¡®Collective Conceptual Ideology¡¯ after a phrase I¡¯ve found in my studies, but essentially, everyone¡¯s ideas over the years gradually shift the way magic works as society changes, because the most recent layer of the spiritual realm has different ideologies. And so, because everyone has a certain ¡®perception¡¯ of how magic works, just like they ¡®perceive¡¯ my monster constructs¡­¡± She shrugged. ¡°We have the modern magic of today. Normal magic just draws upon the pre-existing pool of common understanding while my constructs stimulate it first to manifest a specific creature.¡±


    ¡°Ha. So you¡¯re telling me that the magic we have now only works because of how we think it works,¡± Raegan stated mockingly.


    ¡°I have proof,¡± Lucy replied calmly. ¡°I¡¯ve even discussed it with Sedric here before.¡±


    ¡°¡­me?¡± Sedric frowned. ¡°Where in the realms would you have discussed this with me¡­¡±


    Lucille smirked. ¡°Artifacts. The only known way of using ¡®ancient magic¡¯ that we have today.¡±


    The three opposite her fell completely silent. Even the steely-eyed Paladin behind Annaliese was holding his chin in deep thought.


    ¡°¡­you have got to be kidding me,¡± Sedric muttered in disbelief.

 Chapter 68 (1 of 2) A day trip to the Capital City Imperialius Aeternia.

    ¡°I told you that artifacts need to be over a thousand years old, didn¡¯t I?¡± Lucy said with slight glee at their reactions. ¡°Using a pocket dimension is cheating, in a way, but essentially the ¡®Collective Conceptual Ideology¡¯ of the spiritual realm needs to change enough for these artifacts to become more than just ordinary magic items. Their magic needs to become ¡®unusable¡¯. And¡­ do you want even more proof?¡±


    Sedric and Raegan hesitated but Annaliese nodded quickly. ¡°I don¡¯t get all of this, but you¡¯re saying magic can change based on how we think?¡± She crossed her arms and frowned. ¡°If so, I want as much proof as possible.¡±


    ¡°Alright then.¡± Lucy crossed one leg over the other. ¡°The living proof we have is an Archmagus or the Archmagi. Archmages who have lived in excess of twenty thousand years and who can no longer pass on their magical knowledge because for some ¡®unknown¡¯ reason¡­ nobody can use magic like them anymore.¡±


    ¡°That would be because¡­ their understanding of magic is different?¡± Raegan hesitantly replied.


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Lucille nodded. ¡°But magic doesn¡¯t just randomly become unusable for those who were alive at the time of magic functioning differently. They can still access that layer of information in the spiritual realm. They just can¡¯t share that knowledge. And not all their knowledge is irrelevant for today¡¯s society.¡±


    Lucy shrugged. ¡°The change in how magic works is a gradual shift. It takes a full thousand years for a weak artifact to develop, let alone one capable of using true ancient magic. Most Archmagi have several unique spells that will die with them if they are killed, but beyond that, they can use any modern magic as well.¡±


    ¡°How do you know all this, Lucy?¡± Annaliese asked with confusion. ¡°Nobody has mentioned anything like this to me. Is this taught to mages and nobody else knows?¡±


    Lucille shook her head. ¡°The Athenaeum Archmagi keep this quiet. If it became widely known that magic can change, I expect many noble mage clans would launch a campaign to strictly control the development of society and limit the creation of new inventions, creating some¡­ dystopian empire or similar.¡± She frowned slightly at the idea. ¡°No, they don¡¯t know, but the oldest Archwizards and Archmagi know. And they¡¯re not against it. Magic has improved from what it used to be.¡±


    She hummed as she placed a hand on her chin. ¡°At the very least, Saufren Lestial, the father of modern magecraft, runecraft, and magic, must¡¯ve been aware of ¡®Collective Conceptual Ideology¡¯ to some extent, because he managed to spread the use of three-dimensional runes across the Mystical Realm and form an entirely new pathway of creating runic constructs.¡± Lucy smiled at them. ¡°It became a form of magic that was far easier and safer to learn than wizardry and could quickly enable the first nations at the dawn of this era to fight against monsters.¡±


    ¡°¡­and where did you learn all this?¡± Jasten Albrecht asked solemnly.


    Lucy placed a finger on her lips. ¡°That¡¯s a secret. But considering the evidence I provided¡­ don¡¯t you think it all makes sense?¡±


    Slight groans came from the three people on the couch as they tried to consider it. Lucy wryly shook her head and stood up. ¡°Anyway, it seems to be time for dinner. I suggest you ponder over my words at a later date, or at least regain energy before thinking on it any further.¡±


    She shut the door of the living room behind her and whistled with her hands behind her back, feeling amused at the reactions she had received while explaining the sum of her research over the centuries. Her pace slowed slightly as a thought came to her.


    It¡¯s a good thing I haven¡¯t even brought up Primal Beasts and Primarchs yet¡­ imagine discovering that your myths can bring forth terrifying creatures through ¡®Conceptual Coalescence¡¯ too¡­ oh well. I¡¯m sure one of them will ask about Primarchs eventually, considering what the Citadel houses in Pedestal.


    And if they live long enough they¡¯ll see them in person too.


    ¡­


    They didn¡¯t return to the topic of magic for their later conversations. It seemed Sedric, Raegan and Annaliese had their hands full just trying to accept what she had told them. One question she did receive from Jasten Albrecht was whether she used her ¡®monster magic¡¯ often. She informed him that she didn¡¯t and wouldn¡¯t be using it very frequently in the future at all.


    Her capabilities had clearly perplexed him which made him ask her that question, but all she had told him was that her ¡®monster magic¡¯ was only a surface-level application of her knowledge of the relationship between the spiritual realm and mana, which was true. She stopped using her illusory constructs not because they weren¡¯t powerful, but because at the time they weren¡¯t needed any more.


    The fact her illusory constructs worked only proved to herself that the line in her original Origin Skill of ¡®The borders between imaginary and real are blurred¡¯ meant what she thought it did. Due to her responsibilities in the Navy and complications with the Hero, however, she didn¡¯t gain the ability to pursue her theories until much later.


    It was only then that the applications of her knowledge grew¡­ larger in scale. But none of that information applied to her in the present.


    Her guests and her bond were occupied for the rest of the evening and for most of the later week, so she had been free to meet up with Vincent and discuss her intention to let the dark wizards build a branch of their Dark Tower in New Syna City. They had also spent some time discussing the external debut that was to be held in late June.


    Vincent seemed to be panicking at the idea somewhat. Potentially, the concept of having to navigate the political minefield of who to invite and who not to, while also avoiding offending anyone by inviting their enemies gave him a certain amount of stress. Lucille didn¡¯t think he needed to care because she was going to arrange all the invitations.


    Lucy thought it might do him some good to get out of the Aurelian Commission¡¯s Headquarters for a change, but the first issue was getting him to actually leave the building. Technically it was his workplace and where he was being employed, but as someone she considered a friend she didn¡¯t want him to think she was pushing off her work onto him just so she could spend time with the others instead.


    Luckily, she knew what kind of bait would be interesting enough to make him leave the Headquarters. Time travelling bait.


    A large part of her plan was because she knew Vincent wouldn¡¯t let her out of his sight if he knew she was going somewhere unrelated to the Commission, but she could hide that under the guise of giving him a break.


    Sedric won¡¯t want to go because he¡¯ll want to catch up on all the crafting he missed, but¡­ would Hargrave be interested?


    She placed her hands behind her head as she laid down on her couch, the living room silent and empty for a change. Sometimes she wasn¡¯t quite sure what to do with the ex-mercenary. She didn¡¯t want to risk upsetting him in any way, and neither did she want to give Hargrave even the slightest hint as to why she wanted the contract with him in case he became curious about the Hero.


    But Lucy also recognised that the man staying at the Commission¡¯s Headquarters was¡­ very different from the one she had met in the past. It was clear that the current Hargrave had never had much normal interaction with others, while the one she had met¡­ well, he hadn¡¯t had normal interaction with others either. The only similarity was that she hadn¡¯t been killed yet in this timeline or the other because of the oath he had made to not kill anyone else on his quest for vengeance ¨C as long as they didn¡¯t attack him first.


    That oath was why he had been uncomfortable when they met the adventurers in the Dungeon, and was the main reason she hadn¡¯t asked him to fight them.


    Lucy sighed and took off her mask, then closed her eyes. She couldn¡¯t be bothered to relocate to her bedroom and she still had much to think about regarding the ¡®outing¡¯ she planned for her, Scytale and Vincent to go on. She¡¯d ask Hargrave if he wanted to come, if only because he wasn¡¯t the type to pry about her sources of information if it didn¡¯t involve him.


    Hargrave could be considered one of the easiest individuals for her to interact with if it weren¡¯t for the fact that he planned a very violent, bloody murder of the General of Blazing Iron. But that was none of her business.


    The sudden awakening of several individuals in her perception field and their suspicious movements made her frown slightly and open her eyes. Lucille slipped the half-mask back on and sat up, then turned to stare at the door of her room. She slowly narrowed her eyes.


    Now where do those three think they¡¯re going at this time of night?


    ¡­


    ¡°Scytale, are you going to tell us where-¡±


    ¡°Shh!¡± he hissed. He gestured to the two people behind him and peered through the glass door, looking into a room filled with flourishing magical plants. Annaliese and Raegan looked around cautiously.


    ¡°I think he¡¯s asleep, but I can¡¯t be sure,¡± Scytale whispered, slowly pushing the door open. ¡°Try not to step on any sticks or dried leaves. I just discovered this biome recently but it¡¯s not too far away, so we should be able to make this trip quick.¡±


    ¡°But where are we going?¡± Annaliese asked quietly. ¡°You told us it was cool, but¡­¡± She was in her white nightrobe and holding a pillow.


    Surprisingly, Raegan was holding one too. He followed beside her while rubbing his eyes tiredly. Raegan opened his mouth to yawn. ¡°This better be worth staying up past twelve.¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s worth it. Maybe worth enough for your Paladin guard to accept us sneaking about.¡± Scytale hesitated. ¡°Well¡­ okay, probably not. He¡¯s too stuck up. But hey, you¡¯ll probably think it¡¯s worth the punishment!¡±


    Annaliese hugged herself in the slightly cool night air while Raegan shuddered. ¡°Don¡¯t remind us of Sir Albrecht¡¯s future punishment otherwise we¡¯ll run away and hide ourselves in our rooms before he finds out.¡±


    ¡°Too late.¡± Scytale pointed out the window of the glass biome so they could see an armoured man walking past the rose bushes of the gardens. He was making a beeline straight for the Pavilion, which was where they were. ¡°Better enjoy the experience while you¡¯re here.¡±


    With slightly wide eyes from staring at the Paladin, the two siblings nodded nervously and awkwardly followed after Scytale.


    ¡°Alright¡­¡± the humanoid snake began, narrowing his slitted gold eyes at the new door in front of them. Annaliese and Raegan tried to peer through the glass, but this time the glass was tinted too dark for them to see inside.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    The amphiptere walked forward to place a hand on the door. ¡°I haven¡¯t been inside yet, but I know what¡¯s in here, and you¡¯re going to be amazed for sure. The only issue is making sure Ashale¡¯viaf doesn¡¯t find us but I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be-¡±


    Scytale stiffened up when he detected the scent of roses and hastily yanked the door open. ¡°Get in! Quick! Or else all of this will be for nothing!¡±


    ¡°O-Okay¡­¡± Annaliese ran inside and Raegan went in too. But he turned around to see what Scytale was doing.


    ¡°Ashale¡¯viaf¡­¡± the snake hissed through clenched teeth.


    Standing a few metres away from them was a scowling man with white hair that faded to pink, and bright pink eyes. His white robes trimmed with gold were still present but curled around his limbs and sprouting from the ground around him were vibrant green vines covered in blossoming large roses of either luxurious pink¡­ or deep scarlet. Smaller vines climbed into his hair and his skin turned partially translucent to reveal the patterns of flowering vines underneath.


    ¡°So even in the night I¡¯m not protected from your foul misadventures,¡± the spirit replied darkly.


    ¡°Hey, who said I came here because of you!¡± Scytale complained, as if he was disgusted at the idea of him thinking of the spirit for one second. Then he coughed and raised his hands to get into his best ¡®martial arts pose¡¯. ¡°I- uh, I mean, you sully my reputation with your twisted lies, demon! I come here for the clean and pure purpose of admiring the scenery and artistic placement of your exotic flora!¡±


    Ashale¡¯viaf sighed and raised his hands. ¡°I¡¯ll just get this over and done with and drag all of you out. I¡¯ve known you for long enough that I¡¯m aware it¡¯s a waste of time trying to argue. Stay still and you won¡¯t touch the thorns-¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± Scytale shouted.


    The plant spirit frowned and the strange urgency in the snake¡¯s voice. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°W-Well, I¡­¡± Scytale scratched his neck and shrugged sheepishly. ¡°Look, I¡¯ve already been told multiple times by Lucy not to eat any natural treasures and even I wouldn¡¯t risk it so soon after becoming an advanced beast. I¡­ just wanted to show Annaliese and Raegan the illusion biome,¡± he finished awkwardly.


    Ashale¡¯viaf raised his eyes to the ajar door behind Scytale, which Raegan was peering out of. ¡°It¡¯s risky for humans to be close to powerful magical treasures without protection.¡±


    ¡°Of course I know that, but illusion plants aren¡¯t an issue,¡± the snake argued. ¡°They only have effects like creating, well, illusions, and sending someone asleep to dream. Compared to fire or light plants, these are harmless.¡± Scytale pointed out the window of the Pavilion. ¡°My bond and Sir Albrecht will be coming to get us soon, anyway. We won¡¯t cause any trouble.¡±


    Ashale¡¯viaf considered it with a frown, but eventually let out a sigh of resignation and turned around. ¡°Don¡¯t touch anything.¡±


    He disappeared as he walked away, leaving Scytale to release his own sigh of relief and turn to the door. ¡°Right then. Raegan, move aside please so I can get in too.¡±


    The dark-eyed boy did so and Scytale walked into the new biome. He shut the door behind him and let out an admiring whistle as he scanned the large glass-roofed room. ¡°Just as awesome as I thought it would be. This nearly feels like home.¡±


    Filing the entire night-time biome room were powerful illusion magical plants of all kinds. Their leaves, flowers and fruits released neon hues of indigo, violet, blue and green. In the centre of the room was a large willow tree with trailing branches that glittered with blue and violet. The bark shimmered and swirled as the glowing sap of the plant shone through its wood.


    An artificial creek of water with fluorescent water plants of several kinds, such as water lilies, flowed near the large roots of the tree and past the waist-high dark grass that glowed cyan when touched by wind or movement. Annaliese was staring up at the willow tree with a look of wonder on her face.


    ¡°It¡¯s so pretty,¡± she murmured.


    Scytale smirked and walked closer. ¡°Yep. Illusion plants only release light in the dark, so the night is the best time to see what they look like. Some say they like light-element plants more when it comes to the beauty of their light-emitting properties, but¡­¡± He smiled as he sat down on the ground in the tall grass. ¡°I love the variance in illusion plants¡¯ colours more.¡±


    Annaliese sat down next to him with the pillow on her lap, and then Raegan followed suit on the other side of Scytale. He looked at the snake. ¡°You said this reminds you of your home.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, my enclave in the Beast Realm.¡± Scytale put his hands down and lay down in the grass, gazing up at the stars seen through the glass above the willow tree. ¡°The Truth-Seizing Serpents live in a region filled with illusion plants, and nearly all the beasts there have illusion affinities. I¡¯m probably a special case with how I like illusion plants so much, though. I didn¡¯t get to see the jungle outside the enclave until I escaped, and then¡­¡±


    ¡°You ended up in danger and Lucy took you back to your family, didn¡¯t she?¡± Annaliese supplied.


    Scytale nodded. ¡°After that, I¡­ didn¡¯t try to leave the enclave again. Not until I had become an adva-¡± He hesitated as a thought struck him about the possible observation of Ashale¡¯viaf and their resident Paladin, and he shook his head. ¡°Uh, well, I won¡¯t say anything else but that¡¯s the gist of it.¡±


    Raegan brow furrowed slightly. ¡°Feels a bit weird that you were so eager to get out and then just¡­ stopped being eager all of a sudden.¡±


    ¡°¡­it has to do with Lucy, but¡­ it¡¯s complicated.¡±


    The conversation lapsed into silence for a while as they enjoyed the scene. Then Annaliese turned her head to face the humanoid snake between her and her brother. ¡°Scytale, can you tell me more about your home and the Beast Realm? I haven¡¯t heard much about the other realms and¡­ because I don¡¯t need to do stages, I doubt I¡¯ll get to visit them¡­¡±


    Scytale grinned. ¡°Sure. Let me describe the amazing Supreme Enclave of the Truth-Seizing Serpents, the most powerful beasts in the Violet Luminosity Jungle region¡­¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Those brats¡­¡± a surly Paladin muttered as he marched up to the Pavilion. He paused when he saw the figure of Lucille looking up at the rooftop gardens with her hands in her pockets. ¡°You¡¯re here too?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I had to ensure my bond wouldn¡¯t commit arson or some more destructive crime,¡± she replied sarcastically. ¡°This must¡¯ve been what they began to plan after your Prophetess finally stopped nagging me to show her magic.¡±


    ¡°¡­she¡¯s very curious about abilities,¡± Jasten Albrecht said thoughtfully. ¡°It might have something to do with her own sealed abilities and incapability to gain others.¡±


    Lucy gave him a side-eye. ¡°I understand if you wish to refrain from discussing this with me, but would you be willing to tell me of her progress in the matter of her restricted abilities?¡±


    ¡°That?¡± Sir Albrecht frowned as he crossed his arms but slowly nodded. ¡°It¡¯s nothing special in her case. Every Prophetess only has access to half their main skills until they complete the trial. With her current progress¡­ I estimate she¡¯ll be ready in another eighteen months.¡±


    She hummed. ¡°Is that quick?¡±


    He raised an eyebrow. ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡±


    ¡°I think you¡¯ll find that I am still innately a member of the races, Sir Albrecht,¡± Lucille remarked wryly. ¡°I don¡¯t know everything.¡±


    He gave her a slight chuckle. ¡°It¡¯s very quick. Probably because the Great Sage has to prepare for the Millennium Chapter and he believes her¡­ personality enables her to fulfil the role of Prophetess easier than those of the previous years.¡±


    ¡°In this context, I presume role means ¡®figurehead¡¯,¡± Lucille noted dryly. He stayed silent and she returned her gaze to the rooftop gardens. ¡°He may come to regret that assumption.¡±


    Lucy eventually shook her head and gestured to the man beside her. ¡°Well, I suggest we enter if you wish to get your wards back to the main building by a reasonable time. I think they¡¯d be¡­ appreciative if you didn¡¯t interrupt them so quickly, however.¡±


    ¡°What is that supposed to mean?¡± he asked with a frown.


    She smirked and just walked in, leaving the Paladin to let out a frustrated sigh and follow her. She led him to the tinted glass biome that housed the illusion element plants and opened the door.


    Jasten Albrecht paused when he saw the mesmerising scenery inside, but didn¡¯t let that prevent him from immediately identifying the location of his two wayward wards. He marched over, the sound of his golden armour revealing his presence instantly.


    The three teenagers glanced his way and quickly sat up. Scytale stuck his tongue out when he made eye contact with Lucy, making her roll her eyes, while Annaliese stood awkwardly, holding her pillow.


    Raegan looked to the side and pretended to ignore the Paladin.


    Jasten Albrecht frowned at them both, took a glance at the area around them and then turned around with a shake of his head. ¡°It¡¯s far too late. Let¡¯s head back to the building so you can get a good night¡¯s sleep before we leave tomorrow.¡±


    Raegan and Annaliese exchanged surprised and slightly suspicious looks but didn¡¯t say anything and followed their guard. Scytale stood up and walked over to Lucy.


    ¡°Hey, can you tell Ashale¡¯viaf to hand over ownership of this place to me?¡± he asked with a smirk. ¡°It¡¯s too awesome to belong to him.¡±


    In response, she whacked the back of his head and grabbed his arm. ¡°No. And even if you were manipulating the illusion essence to avoid them both the entire time they were in the biome, it was still hazardous for you to expose the Prophetess of Fate and her brother to hallucinogenic substances.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I was feeding them magical mushrooms or something¡­¡± He flinched when faced with Lucy¡¯s cold stare.


    She sighed and turned away from him as they left the biome and headed back to the stairs that would take them to the first floor of the Pavilion. ¡°Just¡­ ask me for some advice about that kind of thing before you go, alright? My Essence Transmutation Conduit would be useful for that, and it¡¯s unfair for Annaliese and Raegan to not know the risks that were there.¡±


    ¡°¡­ugh, okay, fine.¡± Scytale switched to his winged serpent form in a flash of golden light and flew onto her shoulders. ¡°I guess it¡¯s not like you¡¯d ever have problems with hallucinations, considering your immunity to dream illusions.¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°If you can¡¯t dream, then you can¡¯t see or use dreams.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Scytale! Take us to that place again next time we come!¡± Annaliese called out.


    Scytale flinched away from Lucy¡¯s stare at waved. ¡°Maybe if you¡¯re lucky.¡±


    The Prophetess nodded happily and then turned to look at a scarlet-haired man with his arms crossed. ¡°Hargrave.¡± Annaliese narrowed her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t let your hair get that bad again or else I¡¯m going to come after you with scissors again.¡±


    He eyed her warily and slowly took a step back. ¡°¡­I¡¯ll make sure it doesn¡¯t grow longer.¡±


    ¡°Stop scaring Hargrave and leave us,¡± Lucille said, gesturing to the girl. ¡°Don¡¯t keep your brother and Sir Albrecht waiting.¡±


    ¡°Hargrave? Scared?¡± Annaliese blinked, confused, but shrugged and gave them one last wave. ¡°I¡¯ll see you next month! Thanks for letting me stay again!¡±


    With that, she ran off to meet with Jasten Albrecht and Raegan by the entrance. Lucy crossed her arms, satisfied, and then turned to walk away.


    ¡°Sedric didn¡¯t come out of his workshop to say goodbye so I¡¯m going to go annoy him as punishment!¡± Scytale exclaimed. ¡°See you later!¡±


    Hargrave and Lucy watched the snake take another route to go to the workshop. Hargrave frowned. ¡°¡­are all teenagers supposed to be like this? I don¡¯t remember being so¡­ pushy and loud ten years ago¡­¡±


    Lucy turned to give Hargrave a strange look.


    The ex-mercenary raised an eyebrow. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Hargrave, you do know I¡¯m a teenager too, right? I¡¯m eighteen.¡±


    He stared at her.


    ¡°¡­you didn¡¯t? Did you not ask someone?¡±


    Hargrave opened his mouth, hesitated, and then grimaced as he closed it.


    Lucille shook her head wryly and continued walking. ¡°Suffice to say that no, not all teenagers are like them. But I suppose I can¡¯t be considered a normal example.¡±


    She left him there, holding his chin as he gazed at the ground. ¡°I think I remember hearing her age from someone¡­ but eighteen?¡± He looked up to see her turn a corner and disappear from view. ¡°¡­where does an eighteen-year-old like her come from?¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Sir, the curator of the Gilded Dome Hall wishes to request further adjustments to the reconstruction plans,¡± a staff member of the Headquarters reported with a bow.


    The silver-haired man standing at a desk with papers in his hands frowned and shifted his glasses to read a new page. ¡°I believe he requested the same thing only three days ago.¡±


    ¡°¡­he did, yes.¡±


    Vincent pressed a hand to his temples. ¡°Fine. Go and tell Curator Velous that I¡¯m prepared to arrange a meeting with him, but any arrangements made during that meeting will not be changed again unless in dire circumstances.¡±


    ¡°I will do as you say, Sir Evisenhardt.¡± The staff member turned around to open the door of the study, and then paused when he came face to face with Lucille. She tilted her head and he bowed before walking past her.


    ¡°The curator again?¡± she asked as she entered her study.


    ¡°Ha. Yes.¡± Vincent sighed and rubbed the back of his neck as he scanned the pages laid out before him on the table. ¡°That man has been in charge of the Dome Hall¡¯s facilities for the last twenty years and now that the organisation that officially owns the building wishes to make changes, he¡¯s panicking and feeling defensive of his position.¡±


    Lucy hummed and walked forward to see what he was reading. ¡°I see. We can¡¯t have someone so inflexible if we plan to host the competition annually. I suggest you use the meeting as a warning as well as a way to motivate him to be more compliant.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t usually like to threaten people but in this instance, I might need to,¡± Vincent replied dryly. He raised an eyebrow as he looked at her. ¡°And what brings you here? Did you plan to complete more work as soon as Miss Verdon and her cohort had left? You may need to control your workaholic tendencies.¡±


    Lucy smirked and crossed her arms as she leaned against her desk. ¡°Scytale and I are going somewhere.¡±


    Vincent paused and gave her a strange look. ¡°Going to a Dungeon so abruptly? You told me you had completed your movement skill so there was no need to be overly anxious about increasing your strength. Not that I have the right to stop you both if you want to go. How long a trip will this be?¡±


    Lucille shook her head. ¡°We¡¯re not going to a Dungeon.¡±


    ¡°Oh, are you meeting with Count Ravimoux again? In that case, I under-¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not going somewhere related to the Commission,¡± she interrupted.


    Vincent raised his eyes from the page he was holding to stare at her. After a moment, he took off his half-moon glasses and let them hang around his neck. ¡°¡­like September?¡±


    She nodded. He let out a slight sigh and rubbed his face. ¡°Can I know where?¡±


    ¡°Nope,¡± she stated brightly.


    He glared at her. ¡°If you¡¯re going to respond that way, don¡¯t sound so happy.¡± He glanced between her and the desk with a frown on his face. ¡°Will it be dangerous?¡±


    ¡°I doubt it. I¡¯ll have Scytale and I plan on bringing Hargrave if he wants to come,¡± Lucy explained.


    Vincent narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°So you¡¯re willing to tell Hargrave where you¡¯re going but not me.¡± He rolled his eyes and turned away. ¡°Suit yourself then. I¡¯ll be here, sorting out this blighted debut work.¡±


    ¡°Vincent, do you want to come?¡± she asked seriously.


    Her silver-haired aide didn¡¯t seem to register what she had said for a second. Then he turned around and blinked. ¡°I- what? Come with you?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Do you want to come with me?¡± Lucille repeated. ¡°This isn¡¯t some sort of joke. I¡¯m offering you the opportunity to come along with us.¡±


    Vincent stared at her again. ¡°I¡­ well¡­¡± He scratched the back of his head. ¡°Why are you going on this trip in the first place?¡±


    ¡°Time travel related stuff,¡± Lucy said with a smirk. ¡°I have something I want to gain, as well as an event I want to prevent.¡±


    ¡°¡­hmm.¡±


    Lucille could see he was tempted by the way he kept looking between her and his work. Then he let out a long sigh and shook his head. ¡°I can¡¯t. Not when all these plans need to be made. Maybe if the debut affairs were already in motion, then I could take a break, but¡­¡± He grimaced. ¡°I don¡¯t believe I should right now.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Lucille leaned on her cane with one arm as she studied her aide. Then she looked in the direction of a certain secretary she knew was wandering the Commission¡¯s rooms. ¡°In other, unrelated news, I happened to hear Jacques proclaiming rather confidently and boldly about how ¡®cushy¡¯ his job is and the low workload he has. This will have no impact on your final decision to remain here or come with me, I¡¯m sure.¡±


    The silver-eyed man slowly turned to look in the same direction. He stared at it for a while, and then slowly narrowed his eyes. ¡°On second thought¡­ I might come after all,¡± he muttered. Vincent grabbed his outer coat off the back of his armchair and stormed over to the door where he threw it open.


    Lucy followed him while feeling amused. Vincent stopped next to the first of his subordinates they passed and jabbed a finger at them. ¡°Tell Jacques that he¡¯s been allocated the rest of my work for the day,¡± Vincent ordered harshly. Then he continued to storm off, leaving a very nonplussed staff member in his wake.


    ¡°You seem a bit impatient, Vincent,¡± Lucille remarked wryly.


    ¡°As it seems someone thinks lightly of his job, I-¡± Vincent hesitated halfway through his next step and then turned around to face her with a look of mild confusion. ¡°Why did you refuse to tell me where you were going if you planned on inviting me?¡±


    Lucy raised an eyebrow. ¡°It should be obvious. I wanted to keep it a surprise.¡±


    He opened and shut his mouth, and then shook his head in amused resignation. ¡°Indeed, it should¡¯ve been obvious. Oh well.¡± Vincent straightened up his coat and glanced at her. ¡°Shall we find the rest of your entourage and visit this mysterious location, then?¡±


    She smirked. ¡°Sure.¡±

 Chapter 68 (2 of 2) A day trip to the Capital City Imperialius Aeternia.

    ¡°Hey Sedric, me and Lucy are going somewhere. Do you want to-¡±


    ¡°Go away you blighted snake.¡±


    The door of the workshop slammed shut. Scytale turned around to face Lucy and Vincent. ¡°I tried,¡± he said with a shrug.


    Lucille rolled her eyes. ¡°Hardly ¡®tried¡¯. You could¡¯ve given him some hint as to where we were going.¡±


    ¡°I was just doing what you did to Vincent,¡± her bond argued.


    ¡°Vincent¡¯s a special case,¡± Lucy replied with her arms crossed.


    The silver-haired man narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°What exactly do you mean by, ¡®special case¡¯?¡±


    Lucy walked off and ignored her cross aide as she began to make her way to the main lobby. ¡°Well, if Sedric doesn¡¯t think spending time with us is worthwhile, then he misses out. We¡¯ll get to visit a prestigious location on the Aeternus plane in his stead and-¡± She paused as she spotted a certain ex-mercenary with scarlet hair walking down a corridor and walked up to him. ¡°Ah, just the man I was looking for. Hargrave!¡±


    Hargrave paused and blinked when he spotted her. ¡°¡­Lucille? Do you need me for something?¡±


    ¡°Not need you, per se, but¡­¡± She tilted her head as she looked up at him. ¡°Have you made any plans for today?¡±


    ¡°No, not really,¡± he replied, looking confused.


    ¡°Then would you like to come with us to the Aeternus plane?¡± Lucy asked with a smile.


    ¡°The¡­ Aeternus plane?¡± Hargrave repeated.


    Lucille nodded and gestured to the others. ¡°I intend to visit a specific location in Imperialius Aeternia. While I understand you may not wish to because of your¡­ identity, I doubt the people who could recognise you will be wandering the outer streets we¡¯re going to go to.¡±


    Hargrave crossed his arms as he considered it. ¡°¡­there was something I wanted to deal with in the Capital,¡± he slowly replied.


    Lucy blinked.


    He doesn¡¯t seem to want to explain. Is it related to his revenge? Then¡­


    ¡°Perhaps we should split up once we arrive at the city,¡± she suggested. ¡°If you don¡¯t think your task will take too much time then we should enjoy a meal after we¡¯re all done.¡±


    Hargrave nodded. ¡°We could do that.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Lucille clapped her hands together. ¡°Then you should go get anything you need and we¡¯ll meet in the main lobby before using a planar teleportation array.¡±


    ¡­


    They stepped out of the violet kilometre-wide teleportation array of the Capital City and had to take a moment to accustom themselves to the overwhelming density of mana on the plane. The air itself felt like it was a multitude of times stronger than a stone on the Gilded Dome plane.


    Those with only mana sight skills wouldn¡¯t be able to detect it, but with her perception field, Lucille could sense the chaotic auras of mana-enhanced demonic power, gloomy death mana, bestial presence, and intent-filled Qis of different colours. The only thing she didn¡¯t detect¡­


    ¡­was the stark unified sensation of esper abilities, abilities that were fusions of mana and concept-imbued spiritual energy that gave them strict functions, but also made them go against normal laws. Once Earth began to explore the realms, she was sure that would change, but¡­ Earth was only a very small population of the Cosmic Realm. Small, but important.


    ¡°Lucille, will we need to take a coach?¡± Vincent asked.


    She hummed and looked around once they were out of the way of the other people. Hargrave was wearing what almost looked like a leather duffle coat, Vincent was wearing his normal travel coat and Scytale was bracing the cold with the fearlessness of a magical beast with rocks for brains.


    ¡°We will, but it would make sense to take one with Hargrave.¡± She turned to the scarlet-haired man next to her. ¡°What district of the western sector are you heading to?¡±


    ¡°Red Drake District,¡± he informed her.


    Lucille nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll be heading to the Brass Bell District, so we may as well take a coach together and drop you off when we pass by.¡±


    Red Drake District¡­ a district of Guilds and guilder lodging. Is he planning on meeting with some of his contacts?


    Hargrave didn¡¯t reply besides giving her a nod and they followed her to where they could hire a carriage. After the payment, they all sat in the four-man coach. Scytale had changed into his shrunken serpent form to make things easier space-wise.


    ¡°So¡­ you going to tell Vincent what¡¯s so special about this place we¡¯re going to?¡± her winged bond asked from his place on the windowsill. ¡°I¡¯d kinda like to know the full gist of it all too.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I would appreciate that,¡± Vincent replied dryly.


    Lucy smirked and crossed one leg over the other. ¡°Well, this time we¡¯re going somewhere more¡­ standard. We¡¯re going to an artifact shop.¡±


    Vincent paused as the implications of why Lucy would want to go to a place with artifacts came to mind. ¡°Is there something important there?¡±


    ¡°Two things, yes,¡± she said. ¡°And both are linked. Unfortunately, the owner of this shop is a bit eccentric, so I can¡¯t simply ¡®purchase¡¯ what I want. From what I¡¯ve heard we need to go through a test or trial of sorts before we can obtain the artifact.¡±


    ¡°How important is this artifact for you to come all the way to this plane for it?¡± Hargrave asked.


    Lucy smiled. ¡°It¡¯s not amazingly powerful but it is rare. The owner doesn¡¯t know what he¡¯s holding onto.¡±


    Vincent held his chin. ¡°I presume this store must be semi-famous to be placed in the prosperous Brass Bell District filled with craftsmen. Would I have heard of it?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Most likely. It¡¯s called the Artifice Exchange of Warlock Mazdor.¡±


    Her aide¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°That place? I suppose if you were going to go anywhere for rare artifacts, that would be the best location, but¡­¡± He gave her an odd look. ¡°I¡¯ve heard Mazdor is especially picky about which artifacts he lets go and what he¡¯s repaid with.¡±


    ¡°¡­warlock?¡± Hargrave muttered.


    ¡°Yep, those same guys who are the guy version of witches. Summoning demons, gaining demonic plants and materials from them, doing rituals for power¡­¡± Scytale opened his mouth to yawn. ¡°I¡¯ve heard plenty about this Mazdor guy though. He¡¯s one of the strongest known warlocks but he couldn¡¯t care less about anything besides collecting artifacts.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s rumoured to have a duplication artifact, which is why he allows himself to sell or exchange his artifacts,¡± Lucille interjected. ¡°I don¡¯t intend to exchange anything with him today. Just remove something that could potentially blossom into catastrophe, as well obtain an unusual treasure that few would recognise.¡±


    Hargrave frowned at her. ¡°You¡¯re always very cryptic.¡±


    Scytale began to laugh while Vincent chuckled. Lucy sighed and propped her chin up with her elbow against the windowsill. ¡°It would be difficult to explain anything right now. Once we meet up in the afternoon for lunch, then I can discuss it and perhaps show you.¡± The thought of lunch made her realise something and she straightened up. ¡°Speaking of which, shall we decide where we¡¯re going to have our meal? Unless your task will take too long, Hargrave?¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°No, it will be quick.¡±


    Lucy smiled. ¡°Then let¡¯s decide where to go¡­ it would be a shame if we didn¡¯t get to enjoy some more expensive food on our trip out here, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡­


    The coach pulled up to the central plaza of the Red Drake District, and after Hargrave pulled out a small object which he activated to change his hair and eye colour, he stepped out of the carriage. He pulled up the hood of his coat and was just about to walk away when Lucy¡¯s call made him pause.


    ¡°Hargrave, wait just a moment.¡± Lucille opened her dimensional bag to withdraw a roughly plum-sized gemstone of greyish-blue and held it up. ¡°First time trying this¡­ let¡¯s see if it works,¡± she murmured. She held out another hand and an indigo-blue spell formed. With a twist of her Gemstone Processor skill, it was sucked inside and sat in the gemstone, slowly rotating. She gestured to the watching ex-mercenary. ¡°Here.¡±


    He came forward to hesitantly take it just as she inserted her mana. He blinked when illusion mana suddenly surrounded him, altering the appearance of his clothes, his hairstyle, and his facial features to some extent. The colour faded to reveal an unfamiliar person.


    Lucy crossed her arms with satisfaction. ¡°That should mask your appearance better. The spell will last half an hour, after which you can recast it by using the gemstone again. It should give you the same appearance as now.¡±


    Hargrave looked down at the stone that appeared very small in his hands, then looked up at her. ¡°¡­thank you for the help.¡±


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°It was the least I could do.¡± She gestured for him to leave. ¡°Off you go then. Don¡¯t get mixed up in any trouble or else you won¡¯t be able to enjoy a fancy lunch.¡±


    He looked slightly amused as he shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ll be careful. See you later.¡±


    The door of the coach shut and it began to roll down the street, taking them to their next location.


    ¡°Do you have any interest in explaining what this rare artifact you want is?¡± Vincent asked.


    She smirked and shook her head. ¡°Absolutely not.¡±


    He let out a sigh. ¡°As expected.¡±


    They made small talk for the rest of the trip as the coach continued to travel. Scytale pretended to sleep so he wouldn¡¯t have to participate in their conversation, which was mostly about work. It was nearly half an hour later when the coach pulled to a stop again in front of a busy street of shops.


    Lucy, Scytale and Vincent got out and looked up at the building before them. It was taller than it was wide, with what looked like three stories and a shopfront filled with whirring magical devices. A slanted signboard that read ¡®Artifice Exchange of Warlock Mazdor¡¯ hung above the doorway. It looked like it might fall on their heads at any moment. There wasn¡¯t an incredible amount of people entering the building, but there were still a few now and then who either left or entered it, showing that it was an established shop.


    Vincent observed it with bemusement. ¡°For a shop of a famous warlock, it¡¯s rather¡­¡±


    ¡°Not what you had in mind, I take it,¡± Lucy remarked. She pulled her gloves on tighter and walked forward. ¡°Wait until you see the inside before you make up your mind.¡±


    The three of them ¨C Scytale in his human form ¨C stepped through the doorway, when their entrance was announced by the magical chime above their head. Vincent¡¯s eyes widened as they found themselves in a massive tiered hall with balconies and edges that allowed them to see up to the domed roof, and anyone on the top story to see to the bottom. Magical mechanisms flew through the air, as well as Archive orbs of many of the mages in the shop.


    Close to the front counter was a large bronze birdcage filled with metal birds that looked like cranes, their wings engraved with sharp-edged characters of the Heavenly Realm. Large clear orbs containing miniature images of cranes sat in the centre of their chests. It seemed they were spiritual artifacts or treasures, instead of magical artifacts, and were powered by soul beast cores.


    One wall on the bottom floor was covered in a multitude of different clocks, some with hundreds of small faces, while some measured time in strange runic languages. Metal mana was present in large quantities throughout the hall, but so were all the six essential elements and even many of the mid-level ones. Warlock Mazdor wasn¡¯t a famed collector for no reason.


    ¡°Where is the artifact you want?¡± Vincent asked quietly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget I¡¯m here for two reasons,¡± she reminded him. ¡°But it¡¯s on the second story. That¡¯s where he keeps his ¡®enigmas¡¯, the artifacts he allows people to gain if they complete certain trials.¡±


    They walked up the stairs that were bordered by a curved banister. The spatially expanded hall almost appeared like it had been carved using wood magic. Everything had an organic formation to it that seemed almost unnatural. Lucille headed towards one wall that was set up almost as if it were an art exhibit. The artifacts sat on pedestals or hung from the wall and had plaques that listed their names and effects. But for these¡­ most of their effects were unknown.


    A separator of golden cord prevented them from coming closer to the artifacts, but next to the items were signs that detailed what trials needed to be completed for each, as well as instructions to request for Warlock Mazdor to be present before the trials were attempted. While the trials for each were different, they all had the underlying theme of investigating the effects and rules of the mysterious artifacts.


    Lucy continued to walk past the displayed artifacts, past the golden chalice with endless liquid, past a bouquet of silver lilies that wilted if anyone got close, past an empty scabbard that didn¡¯t fit any sword¡­


    She came to a stop in front of the last artifact. Placed on a shelf on the wall was a bronze tube with multiple perpendicular rings. The tube itself wasn¡¯t what she had come for, but what was inside. The tube was only a mechanical seal.


    Vincent and Scytale arrived behind her. ¡°Is this it?¡± her aide asked.


    ¡°Indeed it is. This is why I came here,¡± she said with a smile.


    Vincent observed the metal seal warily and then turned to her with mild confusion. ¡°I take it you want what is within, but¡­ you called this a problem as well?¡±


    She crossed her arms and tapped her fingers against an arm thoughtfully. ¡°To be more accurate, it¡¯s not what lies within the seal that is the problem, but what has chosen the artifact to be its host. But you¡¯ll see what I mean very shortly.¡±


    She turned to face the stairs and the two men behind her glanced at what she was looking at. Surprised, they took in the appearance of a grizzled man with greying black hair. But what was surprising wasn¡¯t his age or hair.


    From his right shoulder down, his limb was replaced by a red, muscled arm that ended in sharp claws within a bronze gauntlet. A twisted and cracked horn curled up from his left temple, and his left eye was instead an artificial glass orb that mimicked the appearance of an eyeball. He wore a leather belt around his waist covered in pouches and bags that held dark feathers, animal claws, small bones and even teeth. He took one step on the second level and it was clear even his legs had changed because the heavy metal clunk pointed them to the right mechanical leg made of cogs and gears in return for a normal foot.


    If the transformed arm and twisted horn didn¡¯t make his semi-demonic nature apparent, then the glowing blood-red demonic script crawling up his arms and face did. The man grunted as he limped closer and glanced at what Lucille was observing.


    ¡°Interested in the Scroll of Endless Enslaved, are you?¡± he said with a rough voice.


    Lucille placed a hand on her chest and bowed. ¡°Warlock Mazdor. It is a pleasure to meet the owner of this establishment.¡± She turned back to the metal tube on the shelf. ¡°It intrigues me, yes. I can admit that.¡± She raised an eyebrow at him. ¡°No chance you¡¯d be willing to part with this over a few crystal tokens?¡±


    He barked a harsh laugh and shook his head, gesturing to the entire hall. ¡°Miss, if I needed more money then I wouldn¡¯t be running this place. The number of nobles I¡¯ve had try to use money to solve things¡­¡± He narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°If your next step is force, then you¡¯d best believe I¡¯ll be showing you what a ¡®warlock¡¯ is today.¡±


    Lucy shook her head. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that. I only thought I¡¯d try my luck.¡± She turned back to the artifact and hummed. ¡°I can¡¯t help but notice that this is the only artifact displayed without information about a trial. Does that mean it¡¯s impossible to gain it for myself?¡±


    ¡°No, but compared to my other artifacts¡­ I think the trial is too brutish,¡± Mazdor replied.


    Lucy and the others glanced at him curiously. ¡°Brutish?¡± she repeated.


    ¡°Well, the only way to deal with the ¡®endless enslaved¡¯ is to kill them all,¡± he said with another harsh laugh. ¡°Haven¡¯t worked out how to stop them coming myself, so I assume the only way is to beat enough of them up to exhaust the thing. Don¡¯t have time for that, and it would reflect badly on my shop to have such a trial otherwise I¡¯d have a bunch of ignorant warriors coming in here to test their luck.¡±


    Lucille went silent as she pondered over what to do, looking at the tube again.


    ¡°You said something about this being a scroll?¡± Vincent asked.


    ¡°I suppose you wouldn¡¯t know when it¡¯s all sealed up like that.¡± The warlock gestured to the seal with his clawed arm. ¡°It¡¯s a scroll with a fancy painting on it. The picture moves when the scroll gets opened up, and then the ¡®endless enslaved¡¯ start pouring out. Ugly things, they are,¡± he spat with distaste. ¡°I¡¯d think them monsters if it weren¡¯t for their endless nature and the fact they¡¯re part of the scroll.¡±


    Lucille glanced at him.


    They¡¯re not part of the scroll, but I suppose if he hasn¡¯t been able to get close to the artifact because of the endless enslaved, then he wouldn¡¯t know what the scroll really does.


    ¡°I want to take the trial,¡± she announced.


    They all turned to look at her. ¡°You sure, Miss? I don¡¯t feel much strength from you,¡± the warlock said with scepticism.


    Lucy pulled back her violet suit jacket to show him her sheathed daggers. ¡°I won¡¯t claim to be the most practised fighter, but I have wielded these against people before.¡± She gestured to the scroll. ¡°And besides, the artifact responds to the strength level of the opposition, doesn¡¯t it? The weaker I am, the weaker the force thrown at me.¡±


    Mazdor narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°You¡¯ve heard about this trial from some other, haven¡¯t you?¡± He glanced at the sealed scroll and sighed. ¡°Alright. I guess I¡¯ll let you at it. But not here.¡±


    He unlinked the rope separator and walked up to the shelf to carefully take the metal tube down. With the sealed artifact in his grip, he walked with his uneven gait towards the stairs to the next level. He pointed at them. ¡°Follow me.¡±


    He limped up the stairs, dragging his metal leg behind him. They followed until he made it to the third floor and then walked off towards one lone door set into a wall. The wall had a long window in it that allowed people to see inside the room, which looked to have its walls covered by protective wards of all sorts.


    Mazdor took out a large bundle of keys from one of his bags and unlocked the door. ¡°You two stay outside and watch unless you plan on taking the trial with her,¡± he told them. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t suggest it, considering that¡¯ll just increase the difficulty.¡±


    Scytale and Vincent watched through the window as Lucy was led inside. The warlock walked over to one wall with a couple of strange hooks in it, and he placed the metal tube on top. Then he walked back outside and locked the door behind her.


    ¡°I¡¯ll activate the mechanism to undo the seal whenever you say go, okay girl?¡± he stated, the glass muffling his voice.


    Lucille shrugged off her jacket and flung it off to the side so it wouldn¡¯t get damaged. Then she unsheathed her two daggers. ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±


    Mazdor clicked his tongue. ¡°I¡¯ll warn you, it¡¯s messy. Don¡¯t complain if you get dirty.¡± He pulled out a metal plate from one of his pockets and pushed the small round button with a click.


    Lucy kept her eyes firmly on the scroll¡¯s container as one by one, the rings began to rotate until they all lined up and its runes glowed. Releasing the sound of clanking metal, the tube split in half lengthwise and folded up and down to reveal the white parchment curled up within. A mechanical arm within the seal latched onto one end of the scroll and tilted it vertical, and then slowly unravelled it to reveal a horizontally orientated image.


    The painting seemed to be in shades of grey and black and looked like it depicted a room full of furniture covered in black cloth veils as if protecting it. The vague shape of an armchair and a table could be seen underneath the shadowy fabric, as well as the outline of a picture frame hanging on the wall, but even the walls were covered in drapes. It was like someone had covered up the room in memorial of something, to keep it undamaged but unseen.


    That was until the ¡®cloth¡¯ moved to reveal that it wasn¡¯t fabric, but a thick, tar-like liquid without shine. Slowly slipping off the walls and furniture, it pooled on the dark carpet of the room.


    And then it began to spill over the edge of the painting into the room.


    Lucille lengthened her two snake-swords and let them hover around her, guarding against any surprise attacks as she analysed her Soul Cipher Orchestrator of Affray skill.


    Do the Acts only apply to enemies or does a conflict encompass an ¡®event¡¯? Is it possible to stack the buffs so I have bonuses from the ¡®event¡¯ as well as the enemies? And what if I¡¯m fighting multiple enemies? Can I focus the Acts on independent enemies too?


    With her thoughts sped up, she concentrated on the feedback she felt when applying her skill to her present situation. She could feel that somehow there was a way to make what she wanted to do happen, but if she tried it now it would fail. As the black liquid slowly clumped together, even as more continued to flow out of the painting, she kept testing her skill¡¯s reactions to her thoughts. Then she realised what was needed.


    Oh, as it¡¯s my skill it¡¯s responding to my own thoughts. I need to have a ¡®goal¡¯ for this conflict. Something that when I obtain defines the ¡®climax¡¯ of the fight.


    She slowed part of her consciousness to real-time as the black liquid thickened and solidified. Soon it fused and formed three vaguely humanoid creatures of dripping black sludge. The liquid continued to fall out of the picture, but its rate had slowed down. It seemed she had to fight.


    Considering what I know about this artifact, let¡¯s make it that my goal is to make it to the scroll without any of the ¡®enslaved¡¯ landing a hit on me.


    The sphere of Influence within her chest flickered briefly as something settled in her mind as if she had made an oath with all her being. Her movements and reflexes quickened as the +10% AGI boost activated, while her ability to analyse the actions of the creatures grew stronger. She tried to apply the effect to the lone enemy in front of her, and then to her goal of obtaining the artifact for herself.


    Lucy winced as the static-like strain pressed down on her mind and her skin felt rigid and tight. She felt shackled in a way, even though she had gained a full +30% to her AGI.


    It seems triple stacking is the limit for me. It¡¯s probably to do with my CON or perhaps stat cap. The stat cap only exists to prevent Users¡¯ bodies from breaking down, so when people go beyond it¡­ I¡¯m not beyond it yet, but I definitely don¡¯t have a large enough ¡®capacity¡¯ with my low level to put up with the stacking.


    She cancelled the Expositionary for the lone enemy, even though she knew she¡¯d have a month-long cooldown for it. But she planned on defeating them all today.


    Regisseur of Warfare will give me enough evasion ability. In fact¡­


    Changing her mind about how she was going to deal with the creatures, she retracted Apophis and Ouroboros and sheathed them.


    I¡¯m not going to attack them at all.


    The mana surrounding her turned white as her AGI was enhanced by her wind mana. She dashed towards the three black creatures who were standing twenty metres away.


    Horrific roars that sounded like the bubbling of molten tar sounded from their gaping mouths as the three creatures stumbled towards her. They were slow, but the substance dripping from them left black scorch marks on the ground, showing its corrosive power.


    When she got close to the first creature, thick droplets of liquid sprayed out towards her. She swiftly moved out of the way and ducked under the delayed outstretched claw of the sludge monster.


    Lucy continued dashing forward and weaved past the multiple attacks of the three creatures. She pulled to a stop when a fourth sludge monster congealed from the pooled liquid, right in front of the painting. Then a fifth and sixth formed.


    Gurgles echoed from the creatures again as one clumsily lunged forward. She leapt over its thrust and dived into a roll to avoid the stumbling grasp of the one next to it. Then the three she had passed came up behind her to surround her.


    It doesn¡¯t know what I¡¯m trying to do yet. I need to get it to create a breakpoint when it works out that our goals temporarily align.


    The ring around her shrunk as the monsters moved towards her. Just as they were going to do a combined lunge and grapple her, she triggered her second Act to enhance her STR by +20% due to the stacked Acts and forced her strength into her legs.


    Lucille shot up as she jumped high enough to nearly touch the roof. The sludge monsters were waiting eagerly below, but when she fell she expertly cast an arcane spell at just the right moment to bound off the solid platform and escape the circle.


    She dashed back to lure the creatures away from the scroll and they flung thousands of corrosive drops at her in a long-range attack.


    More liquid poured out of the painting as it was clear more monsters were about to form. She bolted around the edges of the room as they limply trudged towards her. Half of the floor was covered in corrosive black liquid, making it dangerous for her to cross through that zone.


    When the monsters were finally a sufficient distance away from the scroll, she amplified her AGI to its absolute possible max, casting a speed enhancement spell at the same time. She shot towards the scroll by dashing straight through the centre of the monsters, with her third Act of Climax giving her an incredibly precise ability to avoid their attacks.


    Warlock Mazdor¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Hey! What are you doing, you insane girl?!¡±


    Just as she was only a metre away from the scroll, the liquid near its base congregated and became the bottom half of an incompletely formed sludge monster.


    But as if whatever pseudo-sentience was within the scroll had finally registered what she was doing, the incomplete monster collapsed back into a pool. Her arm plunged into the black and grey painting. Every monster in the room collapsed onto the ground at the same time.


    The warlock cursed and fumbled with the keys to hastily unlock the door. When it swung open and he stumbled inside, he paused.


    Lucille had withdrawn her arm from the painting, and something was held in her grip. It was a solid black inkwell and a feather pen.


    Then the black liquid clumped together and crept towards her. Lucy gritted her teeth in a strange grin as sludge poured out of the painting nonstop and gravitated towards her. Matte liquid overflowed from the inkwell and began to encase her hand.


    ¡°Warlock Mazdor, could I request your help with dealing with this Heretical parasite,¡± Lucy stressed.


    Mazdor started as he realised what was happening and he quickly limped towards her. Sparing a second to analyse the liquid steadily climbing up Lucille¡¯s arm, he summoned a short, twisted staff of dark wood from his dimensional skill and snatched a fang emitting malevolent demonic power from a pouch.


    He pointed the staff at the sludge and opened his mouth, but what came out wasn¡¯t the name of a spell in Imperial Common but the guttural, esoteric tones of the demonic tongue.


    Red and black demonic sigils manifested in a circle on the floor around Lucille as he yelled the demonic spell¡¯s name.


    With a crash, the sludge was expelled from her arm and the inkwell and pen pair were thrown against the nearest wall. The black liquid tried to clump together again but Mazdor growled, ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t.¡±


    This time without the aid of demonic materials, he wielded his staff to call out, ¡°Gravitational Suppression Seal: Quake!¡±

 Chapter 1000000000 – The End

    She narrowed her eyes at the man who kneeled down in front of her. The man with golden eyes and brown hair ran a gold-armour-plated hand through his hair and shot her a winning smile. Then he opened up the small box in his hands to reveal the contents. A small, golden ring embedded with an amethyst.


    ¡°Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft,¡± Conlan Griffin began with a smirk. ¡°Will you marry me?¡±


    ¡­


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Lucy woke up in a cold sweat while clutching her chest, breathing heavily. She slowly sat up on the couch and stared at her hands.


    I¡­ can¡¯t dream though¡­


    [Oh, that was just me testing out the new Stage modifications and seeing if I could bring you into it. Don¡¯t worry, you were only part of my experiment.]


    She turned to stare at the strange notification that accompanied the unfamiliar, or actually familiar voice.


    [Right, I haven¡¯t introduced myself. I¡¯m-]


    The words were interrupted as a black mask was sent sailing through the holographic box.


    And thus Lucy changed her revenge target from the Hero of Light to the entity known as Dionsifade, the P.S.C. of the entire Origin Reality until the day she managed to wipe out that thing from existence.

 Chapter 69 (1 of 2) The Painted Room.

    The violet and grey hue of the earth-space fusion element Quake filled the room, and the building shuddered with the force of the powerful element. An enormous array encompassed the room and then shrunk down, dragging all the residual liquid with it. The warlock forced the substance into a compressed ball that was far smaller than what the amount of liquid could physically take, the space element bending rules to create an impossibly strong seal.


    The sludge could be seen squirming inside the spherical array, but Warlock Mazdor limped forward to levitate the array up and squint at the tar-like substance.


    ¡°Filthy monster, hiding in my own shop,¡± he spat. ¡°Should¡¯ve known no ordinary artifact would do something like that.¡±


    ¡°I thought the point of this shop was that no artifact in here is ordinary,¡± Lucille replied with a smirk. She glanced at the scroll that was still mounted on the wall and began to walk over to it.


    He shot her a flat look and then sighed, scratching his head as he studied the Heretic item. ¡°No wonder I couldn¡¯t work out the scroll. I¡¯m one of the better-known appraisers, but this thing has always given me a headache,¡± he muttered. He turned to face her and raised a bushy eyebrow. ¡°And what in the realms are you doing now, girl?¡±


    Lucy took the scroll down from the wall, rolled it up, and then waved it at him. ¡°The prize for completing the trial is the artifact, correct? So I just want to claim my prize.¡±


    The warlock frowned. ¡°Girl, you know just as well as me that the scroll does nil without the Heretic item. It¡¯s not an artifact, it¡¯s only an- wait.¡± He squinted at the scroll and then glanced between it and the sealed inkwell. Then he narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re a cunning one, ey?¡±


    Lucille only smiled and spread her gloved hands, the scroll gripped in one. ¡°I¡¯ve heard rumours that you have a powerful artifact capable of duplication. Why don¡¯t you use it on the scroll now that you know what it does?¡±


    ¡°Bah. Don¡¯t mock me.¡± He waved her off. ¡°You can¡¯t duplicate something like that. Court, how blind must I have been to miss that¡­¡± Warlock Mazdor shook his head. ¡°No, I keep my word, regardless of my reputation as an affiliate of demons. Go take your prize and get out of my sight.¡±


    Lucy picked up her jacket that had miraculously remained untouched by sludge in the far corner of the room and bowed. ¡°Thank you for your time, Warlock Mazdor. If I come across any unique artifacts you¡¯ll be the first I come to for appraisal or exchange.¡±


    ¡°Keep those rotten noble pleasantries to yourself,¡± he stated shortly. He crossed his demonic script-covered arms. ¡°Show me I can believe you through actions, not words.¡±


    She bowed one final time with a smile and walked out of the room with the scroll in hand. Humming slightly, she was follows by her aide and bond.


    ¡°That was¡­ well, confusing,¡± Vincent began. ¡°All this for a painted scroll?¡±


    ¡°I told you I came here for an artifact and I never lied,¡± she replied as they left the spatially-expanded shop. ¡°There¡¯s no such thing as a monster with spatial powers, is there?¡±


    ¡°¡­spatial?¡± Vincent parroted with bemusement.


    Scytale stuck his head near Lucy to check out the artifact. ¡°Hey, would that be considered a tent if it¡¯s made of canvas?¡±


    Lucille pretended to consider it as Vincent finally realised what they were talking about. ¡°Lucille, is this a dimensional artifact?!¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± She smirked and waved the item. ¡°One of the few in circulation outside of the Athenaeum. But before I explain this object and its relevance to us, how about we meet up with our former mercenary friend?¡±


    She looked in one direction as she observed something with her spiritual perception field. ¡°It seems Hargrave may have gotten a little too motivated when completing his task.¡±


    <hr>


    Still the bottom of the rung if this is the rubbish he employs. Some think their backing will solve all problems if their personal strength doesn¡¯t.


    Hargrave sat on a bar stool as he observed the results of his actions. Laying on the floor were thirty-odd groaning men, some bleeding from cuts and gashes on their arms and faces. Blood seeped into and stained the worn wooden floorboards that were covered in scratches from the fight. Smashed tables and stools with broken legs lay on their sides.


    Insulting their weak underworld Guild wasn¡¯t technically attacking them first. Unless his words had been hurtful enough to wound them mentally as well.


    ¡­if he attacked them with words instead of physically, did that mean he had broken his oath? He didn¡¯t think his words had enough power to permanently impact someone though.


    Why am I even considering this? I¡¯m the one who made the oath. I get to decide what the context is.


    Hargrave rubbed his temples and stood up with a sigh, grabbing his leather-wrapped spear from the counter. He rolled his shoulders as he walked towards the stairs that he knew would take him to the person whom he had come to find.


    Time to have him repay his debt, and if he doesn¡¯t do it willingly¡­ it will be paid in blood.


    He pulled the hood of his coat further over his head to hide his face in the shadows as he marched up the stairs. He ignored all the other landings that took him to other floors as he knew the Guild had thrown all their forces at him once they realised they weren¡¯t winning against him. Hargrave finally came to a stop in front of a study with a plaque titled ¡®Guildmaster¡¯ on its front door. He glanced at the doorknob and didn¡¯t bother to test if it was locked but instead gripped his demonic spear and thrust it into the door.


    Ordinarily, materials on the Aeternus plane couldn¡¯t be broken so easily by a Rank-1 like him, but he wasn¡¯t an ordinary Rank-1. And the underworld Guild he had barged into was the equivalent of insects feasting on the leftovers of vultures, so their building would have the strength of insects too. It was probably made from the cheap materials of an unranked plane.


    Eolith punched straight through the door and when he yanked his spear back out, the door collapsed inward, splinters flying everywhere. He kicked the shattered door down with one boot and stormed into the study. Then he raised his spear to point it directly at the brown-haired man sitting calmly at his desk.


    ¡°Thriesen,¡± Hargrave growled.


    Armoured from he shoulders down in steel plate metal, the man sitting at the desk had his gauntleted fingers intertwined. He raised his eyes to look at Hargrave, revealing that one of them was shut tight by the twisted scar marring it.


    ¡°You call me by my last name with familiarity, but I don¡¯t recognise your voice,¡± ¡®Thriesen¡¯ replied casually. ¡°And you¡¯re also threatening me. Did I kill all your friends and family? Don¡¯t worry, if you want compensation I can afford the price.¡±


    ¡°Ha.¡± A dark smirk appeared on Hargrave¡¯s face. ¡°So my debtor wishes to play dumb.¡±


    Inwardly, he was surprised.


    This illusion masks my voice too? That¡¯s¡­ much more powerful than I imagined. The Commission Head¡¯s capabilities keep growing more mysterious.


    ¡°Debt¡­¡± Thriesen narrowed his eyes at Hargrave. ¡°Interesting. I don¡¯t recall owing any debts to Rank-1s.¡±


    With lightning-fast movements, Hargrave snapped his spear back to his side and instead slammed his fist onto the desk between them. It split in two as his hand cleaved right through the wood as if it were clay. At the same time, he deactivated his disguise artifact and shattered the illusion to reveal his blood-coloured hair and amber eyes tinged with red-hued killing intent.


    ¡°So now I¡¯m a mere Rank-1,¡± Hargrave stated with a bloodthirsty grin. ¡°Condescending at every turn, Thriesen. I¡¯m glad to see you haven¡¯t changed.¡±


    As soon as he saw those amber eyes Thriesen leapt up with a pale face and backed away. ¡°L-Lord Einar?! Everyone¡¯s heard you¡¯ve died!¡±


    So that¡¯s how my former master decided to make this play out, huh? Claim the original successor is dead so the new one has no barriers to his ascension? At least it plays in my favour.


    ¡°Dead¡­¡± Hargrave retracted his killing intent and walked up to the Guildmaster. Height wise, he towered over the man. ¡°That would be convenient for you, wouldn¡¯t it? Because I saved your life at the risk of my own. And you swore to follow me from then on.¡±


    His amber gaze went cold. ¡°You seem to have been living well from selling the treasure hoard I found.¡±


    Thriesen gulped and shook his head. ¡°I-I always knew you¡¯d be back, Lord Einar! There was no way the famed Spear-Fiend of Blood would just be dead! I can hand over half of the treasure right now, if you want, although if you could give me some time to withdraw the assets from the other branches-¡±


    ¡°Shut it.¡± Hargrave punched the wall next to the man¡¯s head, scowling. ¡°I didn¡¯t come here for money.¡± He lowered his hand and held it out, then narrowed his eyes. ¡°The key. Give it.¡±


    Eyes locked on Hargrave, Thriesen slowly summoned his dimensional skill and withdrew a small silver key from it. Then he placed it in Hargrave¡¯s hand.


    Hargrave held it up to check it was the right one and then glanced at the Guildmaster. ¡°And the ledgers.¡±


    Guildmaster Thriesen withdrew the bound folder and gave it to Hargrave. As soon as he had done so, Hargrave walked away and leaned against the windowsill to read them. He ignored the other man in the room as he scanned them, his spear tucked in the crook of his arm.


    Thriesen coughed and walked around the room to be on the opposite side, directly facing Hargrave. ¡°Lord Einar, I mean it when I say I¡¯m glad you¡¯re alive. I mean, you¡¯re the saviour of my life! If someone like you could be killed on an ordinary mercenary commission then I¡­¡±


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    Hargrave continued to show no reaction to his words, making him trail off. Thriesen slowly became less fearful the longer Hargrave stayed by the window without moving, and gave him a scrutinising look. ¡°But if you didn¡¯t die, then you must¡¯ve escaped while being severely weakened. May I ask how your power weakened so much? Perhaps I could-¡±


    The scarlet-haired man finally looked up to fix a silent, cold stare on the Guildmaster. Thriesen shut up. Hargrave returned to reading the documents and when he had finally finished, he summoned his own dimensional skill he earned at Level 100 to put away the key and ledgers. Then he gripped his demonic spear and walked towards the door.


    ¡°Lord Einar, you know¡­ did I ever tell you how much I hated how you do that?¡±


    Hargrave whirled around and wielded Eolith just in time to deflect the heavy blow from the longsword Thriesen had withdrawn.


    ¡°Always ignoring me, not even paying me the slightest bit of attention even when I had sworn to serve you.¡± Guildmaster Thriesen had a vicious smirk on his face. ¡°Was the orphan from the underworld too much of a bother for you to bring along?¡± He charged forward to bring his sword down in an overhead blow.


    Hargrave was expressionless as he swung his demonic spear to divert the blade¡¯s direction. It glanced off the metal staff of Eolith and Thriesen gritted his teeth.


    ¡°You gave me control over all the treasure you gained, and I finally thought you considered me useful. But it was just a task you didn¡¯t want to do yourself. You never wanted me to become a true vassal.¡± Thriesen scowled as he swung his sword again. ¡°I heard that you¡¯re commoner-born, but I guess being the disciple of a great Ducal Mythos went to your head.¡±


    Hargrave frowned slightly but didn¡¯t reply as he continued to calmly defend. A strange smile appeared on the Guildmaster¡¯s face.


    ¡°But while you¡¯ve been ignoring me¡­ I finally made something of myself. I formed a Guild on the Aeternus plane.¡± The warrior¡¯s eyes grew wide with ecstatic glee. ¡°And you¡¯re now right before me, the weakest I¡¯ve ever seen you!¡±


    Hargrave became startled when the Guildmaster suddenly attacked in a frenzy, the strength and power behind each of his slashes far greater than before and enough to contend with Hargrave¡¯s own strength.


    No, he was stronger.


    ¡°Did you think I¡¯d remain at the bottom forever?¡± Thriesen shouted as he slashed down on the spear staff gripped in both Hargrave¡¯s hands. ¡°Was I that pathetic that you didn¡¯t think I was capable of becoming more?!¡±


    I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d get so angry. What kind of relationship did he think we had? I knew him for a week.


    Churning demonic power warped around Eolith as Hargrave readied his Origin weapon for a more intense strike. Rings of rippling blood mana manifested around its staff end as he decided to use his spearmaster abilities honed through over fourteen years on the battlefield.


    But in response to his powerful attack, Thriesen summoned his own metal-element sword aura and locked blades with him.


    ¡°So this is the limit of the former successor cultivated by the General,¡± Thriesen spat. ¡°All the resources poured into you and you can only fight on par with me.¡±


    His words instantly stoked burning hot wrath in Hargrave and he scowled as thick red killing intent surrounded him. Enhanced by its similar nature to the deathly intent, his blood mana surrounded him because a dense aura of bloodlust that made his armour and weapon look drenched in blood.


    ¡°Do not claim that the General was responsible for my skills,¡± Hargrave growled through gritted teeth. ¡°That man who I barely saw twice a year is little more than the devastator of my life.¡±


    Then he threw his blood-empowered spear at Thriesen. The Guildmaster barely raised his blade to block the attack at the last moment and he slid back several steps. Before he could react, Hargrave was already in front of him with Eolith back in his hand, and a sharp kick from him sent the man to the ground.


    ¡°Thriesen. You wanted fame and power so much that you now hate me for not bestowing you with it. Well, now I¡¯m going to grant your wish.¡± Hargrave narrowed his red-hued eyes at the man and gripped his spear. ¡°I¡¯ll give you fame by dying at the hands of the infamous hellbeast of the Selwood clan.¡±


    Hargrave used every ounce of his power to plunge Eolith downward, and Thriesen let out an anguished cry of pain as his chest plate buckled inward. But he didn¡¯t die instantly. Instead, the building shuddered as the floor collapsed, sending him to the next level. Then he smashed through the second floor too until he finally slammed into the ground floor, leaving a crater of broken wood and blood. With that final impact, his eyes rolled up into his head and his rent chest plate revealed his stabbed, shredded heart.


    Hargrave winced.


    I¡­ got too mad. I didn¡¯t even question to see if he had any resurrections left. But¡­


    He waited thirty seconds to see if the body would disappear, but nothing happened. He breathed a sigh of relief and then jumped down. He had gotten what he came for and killed the main witness.


    But once he had dropped down, he remained in a crouch as he stared at the surroundings. The shattered bar stools and tables, the gouges in the worn wood floor¡­


    There were more gouges and more destruction. And everything was covered in another layer of fresh blood. He slowly stood up and then stiffened as another figure walked into the room.


    ¡°Now, to leave before Vincent wonders what¡¯s taking so long and comes in¡­¡± the familiar dark-haired woman murmured. Then she looked up and blinked her one visible violet eye at him. ¡°Oh, Hargrave. It seems you¡¯re done.¡±


    ¡°What¡­¡± He stared as he took in her missing jacket, the two strange blades hovering near her, and the blood splattered on her face and staining both her white gloves and her dark leather vest. ¡°Lucille¡­?¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± She looked down at herself. ¡°Ah, I suppose you¡¯ve never seen these clothes get dirty. But the same goes for me.¡± She snapped her finger and the blood on her face slipped off of her to the ground, although her clothes were still slightly stained. She tilted her head. ¡°Better?¡±


    He blinked once, then twice, and then put a hand to his head as he waved the other. ¡°Uh¡­ quite frankly, no, this is not better!¡± He gazed at her with stupefaction. ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°Would you rather it be Annaliese?¡± she asked brightly.


    Hargrave scowled. ¡°I¡¯m really not in the mood to play word games with you.¡±


    The Commission Head clicked her tongue. ¡°That¡¯s no fun.¡± She shook her head and spread her hands. ¡°To be succinct, I found a rather incriminating basement to this Guild.¡±


    He narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°And the guilders?¡±


    ¡°Dead or very very unconscious,¡± she stated blithely. ¡°The latter is in said incriminating basement.¡±


    Hargrave groaned and ran a hand down his face. ¡°Lucille, I¡­ could I please have a straight answer about what you are doing here? I know we never specifically talked about this, but¡­ this is my business and my business alone.¡± He crossed his arms and gazed solemnly at her. ¡°And you told me yourself that being involved with me is politically bad for you.¡±


    Lucille watched him silently for a moment and then seemed to sigh. ¡°Here.¡±


    Hargrave blinked when she threw him a rolled-up tube of paper. He opened it to look and his expression grew grave. ¡°¡­this is a bounty poster. For me.¡±


    ¡°The basement was where they kept all information regarding their underworld dealings,¡± Lucille explained seriously. ¡°And the poster that was listed as ¡®top priority¡¯ was this one. This Guild knew about you being alive and were looking for possible leads on your location.¡± She raised her eyes to the ceiling. ¡°I can only assume that once ¡®Guildmaster Thriesen¡¯ discovered who you were, he planned to reveal this to the Solarmane Duchy.¡±


    The poster in his hands crumpled as he squeezed his fists. ¡°I knew I was right not to trust him,¡± he growled. ¡°That was why I didn¡¯t bother to take him with me in the first place. I wasn¡¯t going to trust the oath of a stranger, even if I saved their life.¡± Hargrave frowned and looked down at the body by his feet. ¡°But he acted so strangely. What good would it do him to follow me to the battlefield? He¡¯d be killed within a week.¡±


    Slight laughter coming from the young woman opposite him made him give her a strange look.


    ¡°It seems you don¡¯t understand the minds of people with ambition,¡± Lucille said with amusement. ¡°He must¡¯ve been the type of man who would do anything to become close to those in a position of power. You were a strong warrior with connections to Glory Pantheon and the Solarmane Duchy, and you had yet to gain a group of supporters.¡± She shrugged. ¡°He would¡¯ve thought you were the perfect person to get close to and benefit from your success.¡±


    Hargrave furrowed his brow as he gazed at the corpse, but shook his head. ¡°What did you do with the guilders that are still alive?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± She looked down at the floor and then raised an eyebrow at him. ¡°The ones that are alive know nothing about ¡®Einar the Spear-fiend of Blood¡¯. The ones that aren¡¯t¡­ I checked to see if they had resurrections left. As an underworld dark Guild, their lives were adequately risky and so they didn¡¯t.¡± She tapped on her chin with a finger. ¡°Of course, I checked to ensure the ones I removed were worthy of death. Those who weren¡¯t¡­ may unfortunately suffer from a bout of amnesia for the next few months as a side effect of meeting me.¡±


    ¡°Only a side effect or the intended effect?¡± Hargrave asked with narrowed eyes.


    Lucille smirked. ¡°I reserve the right to remain silent.¡±


    He sighed and scratched the back of his head. ¡°Does anything need to be done with them?¡±


    ¡°No. They¡¯re tied up right now, but I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll get out on their own. We can leave them there,¡± she replied. ¡°The only issue may be that this Guild was subordinated to a larger dark Guild, so we should get out of here quickly. I stole some specific key documents and planted other evidence to disguise the fact an individual was responsible for this and that it wasn¡¯t related to an underworld conflict.¡± Lucille paused to consider her words. ¡°I suppose the fact you¡¯re wanted would mean this is an underworld conflict, but I¡¯m sure you know what I mean.¡±


    The Commission Head then turned to the body of Thriesen. ¡°However, just to be safe¡­ let me disguise his wounds slightly.¡± She pointed a gloved finger and summoned a mana-circle that shot out a hissing ball of flames. Once the body was sufficiently charred, she shattered the spell.


    Hargrave took one last glance at the corpse and turned away. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Lucille almost nodded but then she blinked and quickly walked up to him. ¡°Wait, Hargrave. I think you should really let me get rid of that blood on you before-¡± She froze up and her eyes went wide, making Hargrave frown at her.


    ¡°Lucille, what¡¯s wr-¡±


    ¡°Er, Vincent, I¡¯m sure everything is perfectly fine. You don¡¯t need to-¡±


    ¡°I know enough to be aware that Lucille is using you to distract me, Scytale. No, I am entering, whether you want me to or not.¡± The front door of the Guild swung open. ¡°Lucille, what¡¯s taking you so¡­¡±


    The silver-haired man who had just entered the room stared as he took in the appearance of broken furniture, blood-stained clothing and weapons in Hargrave and Lucille held, and all the clear evidence of violence in the room. Vincent blanched.


    ¡°Just what in the realm¡¯s name happened here, and why are both of you covered in blood?!¡±


    Hargrave and Lucille exchanged looks. Hargrave began to feel slightly apprehensive.


    I wonder how the Commission Head plans to hide this¡­


    <hr>


    ¡°Imperialius Aeternia is always very busy, isn¡¯t it?¡± Lucy announced brightly. ¡°There¡¯s a hundred thousand people in this block alone. We should be glad we have the wonders of spatial expansion magic.¡±


    The carriage was only filled with awkward silence as the scarlet-haired ex-mercenary to her left and the winged snake on the windowsill to her right avoided making eye contact with Vincent, who was glaring directly at her. That sentence was the first anyone had spoken since they entered the coach and they were nearly back to the teleportation array.


    Vincent went to open his mouth, but¡­


    ¡°Before you say anything, it was his fault,¡± she interrupted, pointing at Hargrave.


    Hargrave flinched and gazed at her with a look of betrayal, then stared at her aide with mild panic.


    Vincent frowned at the man but returned to glaring at her. ¡°Unlike Hargrave, who has had a past occupation in violence, you are the Aurelian Commission Head.¡±


    ¡°And the Aurelian Commission Head has very lethal weapons,¡± she argued.


    The silver-haired man scowled. ¡°You¡¯ve been Rank-1 for a few months.¡±


    ¡°Three and a half is more than a few.¡±


    Vincent pressed two hands to his temples as he tried to deal with the infuriating woman before him. ¡°Lucille, could I please have an explanation?¡±


    She whistled and looked out the window. Vincent turned to the man sitting next to her. ¡°Or you, Hargrave?¡±


    Hargrave opened and closed his mouth as if trying to find the words to respond.


    After a few seconds of a silent stare-off between him and Vincent, Lucy¡¯s aide sighed and buried his head in his hands. ¡°Never mind.¡±


    Lucille studied her aide in silence as the coach continued to take them to the planar array. She crossed her arms. ¡°Vincent, I¡¯ll only tell you anything if it¡¯s with Hargrave¡¯s permission because this has to do with him.¡±


    Hargrave shot her an exasperated look which made her quirk an eyebrow. ¡°What? I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t cover for you in this instance. You devastated a Guild and Vincent saw the evidence. What am I supposed to say?¡±


    He rubbed his face, looking frustrated. ¡°¡­but you involved yourself.¡±


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you the one who claimed what happened in there was your business alone?¡± she retorted. ¡°And I only involved myself to tie up your loose ends. You never planned on making sure those guilders were dealt with, did you?¡±


    Hargrave grimaced and remained silent, proving her right. She rolled her eyes. ¡°Case in point. So, unless you begin the conversation first, I refuse to try to explain this to Vincent.¡±


    The scarlet-haired man rubbed his neck as a look of hesitation and slight worry warred on his face. The fact he was even considering it surprised Lucy, as she didn¡¯t expect him to be willing to disclose his origins in any way.


    Then Hargrave sighed and crossed his arms. ¡°My last name is¡­ Einar,¡± he stated seriously.


    The carriage fell silent as Lucy and Scytale stared at him, while Vincent furrowed his brow and tried to ponder the meaning of him revealing his last name. ¡°¡­I faintly recognise it, but it doesn¡¯t belong to any noble clan that I¡¯m aware of.¡±


    ¡°I was an orphan who was educated to be adopted and become a successor,¡± Hargrave explained. ¡°I don¡¯t come from any clan, although I used to¡­ work for one.¡±


    Lucille decided to tap a finger against the bench and subtly cast a sound barrier spell to be careful.


    Vincent held his chin as he gazed at the carriage floor, looking pensive. He glanced up. ¡°So¡­your identity is politically sensitive?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ yes, that¡¯s probably the best way to put it,¡± Hargrave replied hesitantly. ¡°Although ¡®politically sensitive¡¯ might not be the right term when I have a bounty on my head set by an Aeternus Duchy.¡±


    ¡°¡­did you just say¡­ Duchy? Aeternus Duchy?¡± Vincent asked, his eyes going wide. His gaze flicked between Hargrave and Lucy.


    Lucille propped her chin up and gazed silently at her aide. She looked at Hargrave to see if he was going to say anymore, but it looked like he was caught by indecision and couldn¡¯t decide what to say. She let out a sigh. ¡°Vincent, you know of the Selwood clan of Glory Pantheon, correct? The one that General Flarion Selwood-Solarmane of Blazing Iron belongs to. Do you know about his disciple?¡±


    Vincent raised an eyebrow. ¡°The one who hasn¡¯t been seen among the nobility for the last six years? I know of him. Many members of Glory Pantheon have given him the dishonourable title of the General¡¯s ¡®Bloody Butcher¡¯ because of his job being a mercenary on battlefields to further the General¡¯s agendas. I¡¯ve heard rumours that he¡¯s very capable even with the Mythos of the Spear Discipline doubting the General will officialise his successorship, but I¡¯ve never seen the man myself.¡± He frowned. ¡°But what has that got to do with this topic?¡±


    Lucy gazed dully at her aide while Hargrave buried his head in his hands. Muffled snickering from the winged serpent to her left filled the coach until Scytale couldn¡¯t take it anymore and burst out laughing.


    ¡°Hey Hargrave, if you ask nicely then maybe Ashale¡¯viaf would be willing to dig a hole in the garden for you to bury yourself in!¡±


    Hargrave shot the snake a sour look as Vincent glanced between them, perplexed. ¡°Why are you mentioning Hargrave? He doesn¡¯t have anything to do with¡­ this¡­¡± Vincent¡¯s expression froze on his face as his words trailed off, a very awkward and unfortunately quite real possibility coming to mind.


    Lucille clasped her hands together and smiled brightly. ¡°Vincent, have you ever heard the name of this ¡®Bloody Butcher¡¯ before? If you haven¡¯t, I can inform you.¡±


    ¡°Er¡­¡± Vincent hesitated when he saw her expression. ¡°¡­no, no, I think I¡¯m aware. It might be best to discuss this another time-¡±


    ¡°The ¡®Bloody Butcher¡¯ of the General, the hellbeast of the Selwood clan and the infamous Spear-Fiend of Blood is named Einar,¡± Lucy stated flatly. She gestured to Hargrave with two white-gloved hands. ¡°Let me reintroduce you to the Spearmaster of the demonic weapon Eolith, a famous manipulator of the blood element and the ex-disciple of the Mythos Epsilon of Blazing Iron: Hargrave Einar, also known as one of the Commission¡¯s current residents.¡±


    The awkward silence in the carriage was even worse than it had been after they had left the Guild, except this time it was broken by the muffled guffaws coming from Lucille¡¯s bond. Vincent stared at Lucy, then at Hargrave. ¡°¡­I see. Then¡­ uh, Hargrave, I sincerely apologise for how careless I was with my words,¡± Vincent said with a bow.


    Hargrave gazed wearily at the aide and let out a sigh as he straightened up in his seat. ¡°Just¡­ never mind. It¡¯s not like you were claiming I suited those titles. You were just telling Lucille what the rumours were.¡±


    ¡°¡­right,¡± Vincent replied awkwardly.


    The carriage descended into silence again before Lucy clapped her hands together. ¡°Well, now that that¡¯s clarified, I will now say that Hargrave needed to retrieve a key of some kind,¡± she began cheerily. ¡°A key to what, I don¡¯t know, so we¡¯ll have to hope that he will eventually be willing to explain.¡±


    Lucy, Vincent and Scytale turned to stare at Hargrave.


    ¡°¡­you¡¯re curious about the key?¡± the scarlet-haired mercenary asked with slight bemusement. He activated his dimensional skill to take out a small silver key and show it to them. ¡°This is the key to a vault where I store my valuable belongings.¡±

 Chapter 69 (2 of 2) The Painted Room

    Hargrave put the key away. ¡°I gave Thriesen the key and told him to keep it safe from everyone, including anyone connected to the General in case I needed some funds independent from them. I expected him to use some of it for himself, but there is still more than half of the funds left.¡±


    Lucille raised an eyebrow. ¡°Hargrave, haven¡¯t I given you practically unlimited access to the Founder¡¯s vault, my finance?¡±


    ¡°You have, but the vault contains my collection of armour, weapons and magical items too,¡± he said. ¡°Because Sedric doesn¡¯t need anything in the way of money, I thought he might like to study all the items I have.¡±


    ¡°¡­this is because of Sedric?¡± Vincent asked with surprise.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Hargrave frowned and scratched the back of his head. ¡°I wanted to prevent the General from getting his hands on those resources. It may not be him exactly, but possibly one of his vassals, or¡­¡± He gave them a slight shrug. ¡°I can¡¯t remember off the top of my head what items are in there, so if I have anything useful like artifacts then I want to check it out.¡±


    ¡°Did you need to destroy a Guild to obtain that key?¡± Lucy asked dryly.


    Hargrave hesitated. ¡°¡­I only incited the guilders because they didn¡¯t want to bring me to the Guildmaster. I thought defeating them all was just quicker.¡±


    Lucille rolled her eyes as Vincent gazed strangely at him.


    Scytale nodded sagely. ¡°Violence is definitely the answer in that situation.¡±


    ¡°Leaving my disagreements on that topic aside,¡± Lucy replied, ¡°It would¡¯ve been best for you to inform me of your plans before doing something like that. Your manner of fighting, element and weapon are not exactly prone to anonymity and it would be better to rely on someone else to deal with your tracks.¡± She raised an eyebrow. ¡°I don¡¯t tend to ask many questions, Hargrave. And I also have Ravimoux purposely trying to hide your existence in the Commission.¡±


    ¡°I know, but¡­¡± He grimaced. ¡°I¡¯m not used to working with others.¡±


    Lucy sighed and leaned against the side of the carriage. ¡°I can tell. Well, we¡¯re almost to the array, so let¡¯s leave the topic of your politically volatile identity alone so we can return home.¡±


    The others nodded as the coach pulled to a stop and they were let out. But just before the enormous glowing violet rings of mana took them back to the Gilded Dome plane, Vincent turned to stare at Lucy and Hargrave. ¡°Wait, you still haven¡¯t explained why Hargrave has a bounty on his head from an Eternal Duchy!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±


    Lucille and Scytale were in her living room. Lucy had her feet kicked up on the coffee table as she studied the scroll spread out in her hands. The image of the room painted on it, which now revealed itself to be an exquisitely decorated antique sitting room itself, was looking far more welcoming since the Heretic item had been expelled from it.


    Scytale clicked his tongue and tried to reach for the scroll, but Lucille pulled it away.


    ¡°Come on, let me see it!¡± he complained. ¡°You haven¡¯t let me near it for the entire three hours we¡¯ve been back!¡±


    ¡°Because you plan on jumping straight inside and doing who knows what without my permission,¡± she stated calmly. ¡°If this artifact contained one Heretic item, it could possibly contain more.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll just fight them,¡± her bond retorted.


    She shot him a flat look. ¡°Become the new world record for Host possessed by the most Heretic items more likely.¡± Lucy returned her gaze to the item in her hands. ¡°This artifact is at most Ancient ranked, however, so I doubt there is room for more than one Heretic item in here. The lack of mana would starve it.¡±


    Scytale reached for the scroll again. ¡°So I can go in?¡±


    She swatted his hand away. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Did I hear someone mention an artifact?¡±


    Lucy and Scytale looked back to see a ponytailed young man walk into the room. Sedric wasn¡¯t wearing his gloves or apron as he sat down opposite them with his arms crossed.


    ¡°I finally get what you mean about artifacts having impossible-to-understand magic,¡± Sedric stated with a frown. ¡°How does one single chair have the ability to grant you ten times your mana without even having storage for the mana? There aren¡¯t any gemstones and the increase to your mana pool is dependent on the person, so it¡¯s not just a simple infusion.¡±


    ¡°A chair?¡± Lucy asked with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°One of the artifacts Hargrave had,¡± he explained. ¡°If I sit on it I have access to ten times my mana pool for half an hour. But because my WIS doesn¡¯t increase, I don¡¯t have much control over the mana and it¡¯s not that great for crafting.¡±


    ¡°Yes, well, in the instance of the chair, I doubt someone intended for it to grant someone that effect,¡± Lucille replied, spreading out her scroll on the coffee table. ¡°It probably developed that ability over the long years of mana infusion interacting with residual spiritual energy stored in or near the item. And the cooldown makes it clear it doesn¡¯t have an infinite source of mana.¡±


    Sedric leaned forward to inspect the scroll. ¡°Is this what you brought back from the Capital?¡±


    She nodded as Scytale clicked his tongue. ¡°Yeah, and she¡¯s not letting me look inside it.¡±


    ¡°Look¡­ inside? Inside what?¡± Sedric frowned and stood up to see the painting better. ¡°The scroll is already open.¡±


    ¡°Inside the painting. It¡¯s a dimensional artifact.¡± Scytale threw his hands up in a show of frustration. ¡°And what¡¯s the use of having a dimensional artifact if you¡¯re not allowed to enter it? She just wants to ruin my fun!¡±


    Lucille sighed. ¡°I want to check that nothing dangerous is within. When we first found this artifact it housed a Heretic item,¡± she informed Sedric. ¡°I¡¯d prefer not to let my notably irresponsible bond in here before I¡¯ve determined its contents.¡±


    Sedric glanced at the grumpy humanoid snake and nodded. ¡°Yeah, I can see that.¡± He sat back down. ¡°Then what are you going to do?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Lucy tapped on her chin as she hummed, considering it. ¡°Hargrave could be an option, but I want to give him some time after today¡­¡± She stood up to shrug off her suit jacket and straightened out her gloves. ¡°I suppose I have no choice. I¡¯ll enter it myself.¡±


    Sedric gained a strange expression but Scytale jumped up and slammed his hands on the coffee table. ¡°What?! That¡¯s not fair! You said I couldn¡¯t go!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s simple, really. I have the larger and more comprehensive spiritual perception, so I can obtain data far quicker than you.¡± She placed both her hands on the painting. ¡°Time to see what this artifact contains.¡±


    She pushed her hands into the artwork and felt the strange sensation of thick layers of oil paints brushing past her. Then she tumbled onto a hard wooden floor of a dimly lit room, her fall echoing loudly. Lucille shook her head and dusted herself off as she stood up and turned around to face her entrance.


    She cocked an eyebrow when she saw her entrance because what was before her wasn¡¯t another wall-mounted painting like she expected, but a window. It had a windowsill complete with pillows, and she could see Scytale and Sedric peering down at the scroll to see what she was doing.


    Then something in her perception field caught her attention and she looked up.


    Ah¡­ this¡­ might be a problem.


    Above her and to her right, on the slanted wall was another room, with all the furniture upside down. But to her left, a second slanted wall existed with more furniture fixed to it. A third existed behind her too.


    Dimensional items were made using plane sources, so when it came to a dimensional item that had naturally become an artifact¡­ it frequently resulted in abstruse geometry bearing only a vague resemblance to the structure of the main realms.


    The space within the scroll had four ¡®rooms¡¯ arranged in a four-faced pyramidal shape, and all of them had furniture on the walls as well as floors. Essentially, there was no ¡®bottom¡¯ or ¡®top¡¯ to this pyramid as it was a tetrahedron. The only thing this place had was a ¡®centre¡¯, the middle room. And Lucy decided she wanted to head there first.


    Ignoring the scowling of her bond peering through the ¡®window¡¯ and enjoying the blissful silence that occurred due to noise being unable to enter the pocket dimension, she walked towards what appeared to be a large metal hatch in the wall that was out of frame for Sedric and Scytale. Lucille placed a hand on the hatch to infuse it with her mana and it slid open with the sound of rusted gears.


    I¡¯ll need to do something about that. Maybe Sedric would enjoy fixing this place up for me.


    Now that it was open, she stepped inside to find herself in the central room of the pyramid. Four walkways directed to the centre extended from hatches on the other two walls. She turned around to observe the walls of the room as she slowly walked towards the centre.


    It was vastly different in aesthetic to the room depicted on the scroll. Metal gears larger than herself linked with dimly glowing metal levers and mechanisms. The edges of the brass plates covering the walls dully glowed orange.


    Sedric would certainly be interested in this place. A combination of mechanical constructs with incomprehensible dimensional phenomena. I¡¯m curious to know where this artifact came from, as it¡¯s clear from its geometry that it wasn¡¯t purposely made this way. Someone had created the dimensional item with mechanical elements originally.


    She turned to look at the bronze pyramid the size of her head levitating in the very centre of the room, sitting upside down. The walkway led her right to it, and she could see four rune-engraved discs placed in the centre of each of the pyramid¡¯s faces.


    I assumed the description for this item would be quite standard so I didn¡¯t try to inspect its item sheet beforehand, but now I believe it would be better to do that as soon as I exit this place. But there is something I want to try first.


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    She placed her hands on the disc facing her and rotated it. The disc lit up, and the gears and cogs covering the wall directly behind her slowly began to rotate with the sound of clanking.


    Lucy smiled when she saw what had happened in her spiritual perception.


    So that rotates the room. But what if I¡­


    She grabbed the levitating bronze pyramid and rotated it so a new disc was facing her. Once the runes on all sides of the pyramid began to glow, she heard the grinding of metal accompanied by the wind-like noise that indicated spatial energies were moving.


    Then it all fell silent and the disc stopped emitting light. She turned around to walk back along the walkway she came from. When she exited the hatch, what was before her was an entirely different room. But the window showing the wide-eyed Sedric and Scytale was still there. Except this time, a ladder led up to it.


    Humming contentedly, she walked to the ladder and climbed up. Once she was at the top, she got onto the windowsill. Then she jumped through the window.


    Her vision spun and then she found herself standing between Sedric and Scytale, facing the couch instead of the scroll. She turned around to look at the painting, which now depicted the room she was in, except from the perspective of the window at the top of the ladder. She was sure it had been very confusing for Scytale and Sedric.


    ¡°Well, that was enlightening,¡± she stated.


    ¡°What was?!¡± Scytale exclaimed. ¡°We just saw you disappear and then the entire room turned upside down! And then it became a new room altogether! We understand nothing.¡±


    Lucy smirked and sat down on the couch. ¡°Let me show you what is inside the artifact.¡±


    With a wave of her hand, her Field of Transmutational Mastery summoned illusion mana around her. The manipulation of her mana allowed it to condense and create a model of the entire pocket dimension she had found herself in.


    Scytale and Sedric squinted at the model, taking in the image of three pyramidal rooms on the base, one at the very top, and a reversed pyramid in the centre. Her illusion model left the walls translucent to give them a cross-section view of the internal elements.


    ¡°This is the space within,¡± she began. She pointed a white-gloved finger at the minuscule bronze pyramid replica hovering in the very centre of the model. ¡°And this is the control for the space. When I rotated one of the discs on this central control structure¡­¡±


    A room on one of the outermost corners of the base rotated itself so one of the sides became the new floor. ¡°I control which face of the room becomes the new ¡®floor¡¯. And when I rotate the entire pyramid¡­¡±


    The four outermost rooms disconnected from the central room and travelled in a circular motion around the upside pyramid in the centre. Once the process was complete, it was clear that all the rooms had travelled to connect to the hatch one room over.


    ¡°The room you see shown in the scroll now was the room only one hatch over from the original,¡± Lucy informed them. ¡°I assume whichever way I rotate the central pyramid is whichever way the rooms rotate in position. In this way, you could say that this pocket dimension has a total of sixteen independent ¡®floors¡¯, if you count one gravitational alignment as a single floor.¡±


    Her bond glanced between the illusion and her. Then Scytale gave a large nod. ¡°Yup. We still know nothing.¡±


    Sedric looked down at the scroll. ¡°The new room is¡­ a workshop? Or library? ¡­storehouse?¡±


    ¡°All of those, essentially.¡± Lucille gestured to the illusion. ¡°Whoever crafted the original dimensional item fused it with many mechanisms. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if this was a Coalition-made item.¡± She propped her chin up with her elbow on the couch armrest. ¡°I may employ your help to perform maintenance on some parts of this pocket dimension at a later date, Sedric.¡± Then she paused and raised a finger. ¡°Actually, I¡¯ll need to employ your help anyway. I want to change the frame of the item.¡±


    ¡°¡­frame? What do you- wait.¡± Sedric glanced at the painting and then stared at her with wide eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you want me to craft a new body for the dimensional artifact?!¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± she said, raising an eyebrow. ¡°The pocket dimensional is already formed and has had its artifact properties set. The only part of the artifact with magical ability¡­¡± She pointed at the painting section of the scroll. ¡°Is the artwork itself. We can make as many alterations to the artifact as we want as long as the dimensional connection between the Mystical Realm and the pocket dimension is not interrupted.¡±


    ¡°No, no, no, no.¡± Sedric crossed his arms in the shape of an X and quickly shook his head. ¡°No, I know exactly how risky it is to play around with dimensional items and artifacts. One wrong move and everything within the pocket dimension gets shredded into dust. Even the dimension disappears. I¡¯m not going to be responsible for anything to do with this artifact!¡±


    ¡°Who cares if it gets destroyed? I can just find another dimensional artifact,¡± she replied with nonchalance. ¡°And I never said I¡¯d leave the dimensional part up to you. That will be my job.¡±


    ¡°Your job?¡± Sedric eyed her sceptically. ¡°Aren¡¯t you eighteen? What experience would you have with dimensional items?¡±


    Lucy shot him a flat look. ¡°Who is the person who teaches you magical engineering every week?¡±


    He scratched the back of his head. ¡°I know there¡¯s that, but, well¡­¡± He fell silent with a frown on his face, watching the painting. ¡°¡­you even know about dimensional items too? I feel like everything you know isn¡¯t something an eighteen-year-old should know.¡±


    ¡°I can only say that if you doubt my abilities, then just watch,¡± she replied.


    Sedric rolled his eyes. ¡°Sure, whatever. That still doesn¡¯t tell me why you know all this. Also, wasn¡¯t this artifact important or something?¡± he asked with confusion. ¡°You went all the way to the Capital to get this artifact, but you can just replace it with anything?¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Lucy blinked. ¡°No, the artifact isn¡¯t that important. It¡¯s going to be used as little more than Scytale and my housing on our levelling trips. I needed to do something about the Heretic item within it before that got out of hand.¡±


    And now that the Heretic item has been dealt with, ¡®Durell Quicklash¡¯ won¡¯t become a Host of the item. The Hero no longer has the ability to place that powerful earth mage in his debt by saving him.


    ¡°But how did you know there was a Heretic item inside of it?¡± Sedric asked suspiciously. ¡°Actually, how did you know that a dimensional artifact was in that store at all?¡±


    ¡°Luck,¡± she stated calmly. She stood up from the couch.


    ¡°Luck,¡± he repeated with incredulity.


    ¡°Mmhmm. But don¡¯t you have a job to do? I thought my belt was almost finished,¡± she said to him.


    ¡°It is, but¡­¡± Sedric paused and scowled at her. ¡°Hey, I asked a question here! Stop trying to side-track me. I want an explanation about your weird behaviour and knowledge!¡±


    ¡°Ha, Lucy will never answer you,¡± Scytale said with a smirk. ¡°She thrives when she confuses everyone else.¡±


    Sedric turned to stare at the golden-eyed snake. ¡°You¡¯re also weird. I found out from Hargrave that someone who¡¯s been bonded for only six months shouldn¡¯t even be able to send messages or see memories, yet you¡¯ve claimed you can do both!¡±


    Scytale avoided eye contact. ¡°Uh¡­ well, I¡¯m just special-¡±


    ¡°Special? Yeah, you¡¯re definitely special in the head. I can give you that.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t twist my words! That wasn¡¯t what I meant!¡±


    The banter from Sedric and Scytale was interrupted when the door of the living room was opened to reveal Vincent. The silver-haired man was looking somewhat pale and a bit worried as he took a step forward and stopped before Lucy.


    ¡°Lucille, could I please have a word with you?¡± he asked anxiously. ¡°It¡¯s about Hargrave.¡±


    She blinked and quickly checked her perception field, but Hargrave was fine. He was reading in his room.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Hargrave?¡± she said, raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°Nothing is wrong with him, it¡¯s just¡­¡± He grimaced and ran a hand through his hair. ¡°¡­I just read some reports I requested Ravimoux to send me. He¡¯s¡­ a lot more than you told me about.¡±


    Lucy glanced back to check what the other two in the room were doing, but as soon as it was obvious Vincent only wanted to talk to Lucille, Sedric and Scytale began to bicker again. She turned back to her aide and nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s go to my study.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°A wanted order placed by the Major Spear Discipline for Einar, the Spear-Fiend of Blood. In possession of a powerful demonic weapon and known to be extremely dangerous in close to medium-ranged combat,¡± Vincent read off the document in his hands. He placed it down and rifled through some others before picking up a second. ¡°Single-handedly defeated all Dungeon Scions of the Ancient Southern Dearth Dungeon before obtaining his weapon as a Quest reward from the System. Destroyed a whole Guild overnight at the behest of the General of Blazing Iron. Among the casualties were several Rank-5s, while Einar himself is Rank-4.¡±


    Vincent looked up to gaze at Lucy with slightly wide eyes. ¡°Lucy, why is this man in the Aurelian Commission?! I¡¯d understand if you wanted to build a party of competent individuals around you for when you¡¯re levelling, but of all the people you chose, it had to be him. Although I can tell he¡¯s a decent individual to be around, this person is-¡±


    ¡°Vincent.¡± Lucy raised a hand to pause him. ¡°Stop panicking.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Vincent trailed off and then coughed into his fist. ¡°My apologies. I lost my composure.¡± He hesitated and then narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because I saw the both of you covered from head to toe in blood only a few hours prior.¡±


    She tilted her head. ¡°You say that like it¡¯s something strange, but for your information, that situation was quite common for me.¡±


    He gazed at her with a mildly bemused look on his face before shaking his head. ¡°¡­of course. You were a mercenary and Admiral in the past¡­ or, well, future, I suppose, weren¡¯t you?¡± Vincent sighed and looked down at the page in his hand again. ¡°The one thing Ravimoux hasn¡¯t been able to determine is why he has a bounty on his head.¡±


    Lucy shrugged as she walked up to the armchair behind her desk and sat down. ¡°Succession issues. Hargrave was valuable to the General because of his martial talent, but he lacked the backing to be considered a true potential candidate for the General¡¯s inheriting Champion. He needed to have the approval of the other Spear Mythos too but because of his status as an orphan, he wasn¡¯t accepted.¡±


    ¡°¡­and I suppose you know this because of¡­ whatever you learnt about him in the ¡®past¡¯.¡± Vincent placed the page down and crossed his arms. ¡°His appearance matches the bounty poster so I know it¡¯s him, but why is he only referred to as ¡®Einar¡¯ in all these records?¡±


    She twirled a pen and kicked her boots up onto her desk. ¡°It¡¯s possible he just never told them his first name.¡±


    Vincent gave her a strange look. ¡°How can someone be a successor of the General of Blazing Iron for sixteen years without ever telling anyone their first name? He¡­ what, never had the right opportunity to bring it up in a conversation for over a decade?¡±


    Lucy glanced briefly at the door to her study.


    Should I tell him that Hargrave is standing right outside this study and can hear him?


    ¡­no, I won¡¯t. It will be amusing to see both of their reactions.


    ¡°He likely didn¡¯t think it was too important,¡± she replied to her aide. ¡°In case you haven¡¯t noticed, Hargrave isn¡¯t someone you could consider especially extroverted, nor is he one to start a conversation first.¡±


    ¡°Yes, he hardly talks unless you speak directly to him,¡± Vincent muttered. ¡°He assumes that if someone is speaking they¡¯re referring to anyone else but him. How does someone last until their mid-twenties without learning to ask for anything?¡±


    Vincent spread his arms. ¡°Hargrave Einar, mighty slayer of men slayers and all that.¡± He rolled his eyes. ¡°But I¡¯ll take a bet that if the enemy challenged him to ask for a glass of water at a restaurant he¡¯d surrender on the spot.¡±


    ¡°Pfft.¡±


    The silver-haired aide blinked and cocked an eyebrow when he heard the small sound of laughter that managed to escape Lucy¡¯s mouth as she attempted to muffle it. ¡°Lucille?¡±


    ¡°It¡­ it¡¯s nothing.¡± She covered her mouth and gave him a dismissive wave. ¡°Carry on, don¡¯t mind me.¡±


    ¡°Carry on with what?¡± Vincent shook his head and turned to face her. ¡°At least I know that if he ever does turn against you or the Commission, I only need to inform the General of Blazing Iron that he fears Annaliese Verdon more than anything else and that the General should just throw him to the Prophetess of Fate to get the man to give in in an instant-¡±


    ¡°¡­throw me to the Prophetess of Fate?¡±


    Vincent flinched and spun around to be met with the amber stare of the Aurelian Commission¡¯s resident ex-mercenary. Hargrave was right behind him, having snuck into the study when Lucy called for him with her spiritual transmission.


    Lucille couldn¡¯t help herself and burst out laughing when she saw the awkward stare-off between the two men.


    Vincent whirled around to glare at her. ¡°You knew he was there?!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d think you would¡¯ve been more prepared for this kind of situation, considering the event when we met with your two secretaries for the first time,¡± she said with amusement.


    Her aide¡¯s scowl intensified. ¡°Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft, sometimes you really get on my nerves.¡±


    ¡°Oooh, scary.¡± She placed a hand on her mouth and widened her eyes in mock shock. ¡°You used my full name.¡±


    Vincent buried his head in his hands in response, leaving Hargrave staring at them both. The scarlet-haired man¡¯s face held a mix of confusion, bemusement, incredulity and outright wonder that let Lucille know he wasn¡¯t sure what he was supposed to respond with or even if he should respond in the first place.


    She gestured to Hargrave. ¡°Come and sit down. It would be better for us to begin this conversation so we can forget about my aide¡¯s slip of tongue.¡±


    ¡°¡­right.¡± Hargrave gave Vincent one last perplexed look before sitting in an armchair opposite her desk and next to Vincent¡¯s. ¡°Also¡­¡± He frowned at her. ¡°What was that about being a mercenary and Admiral?¡±


    ¡°Metaphorical mercenary and metaphorical Admiral,¡± she dutifully informed him.


    Hargrave stared at her. ¡°How can you be a metaphorical Adm-¡±


    ¡°Well then!¡± Lucy began cheerily, clasping her hands together. ¡°Due to the volatile nature of your political identity, Hargrave, I assumed it would be best for you to take the stage and explain yourself to my aide instead of me. You don¡¯t have to, but we have¡­¡± She opened her pocket watch to check the time and snapped it shut with a click. ¡°¡­approximately two hours before dinner during which we are able to stay seated here. But don¡¯t worry, Vincent and I are prepared to stay here for as long as needed for you to work up the courage to discuss your motives.¡±


    Vincent narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°When did I say I was prepared to stay here for two hours straight?¡±


    ¡°Just then,¡± Lucy replied calmly. ¡°You said it in your question.¡±


    Her aide scowled as she took her feet off her desk and propped her chin up instead. Lucille tilted her head at the ex-mercenary opposite her. ¡°Your response, Hargrave?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ what? Wait¡­¡± Hargrave held up a hand to pause her and rubbed his face. ¡°Are you asking me to¡­ explain why I have a bounty on my head?¡±


    ¡°No, not quite.¡± She spread her arms and shrugged. ¡°More accurately, I want you to explain to my particularly nosey aide what exactly your plans for the future are and why you need my help to achieve them.¡±


    Hargrave fell silent and crossed his arms. He frowned in thought.


    ¡°Honestly Lucy, this isn¡¯t necessary,¡± Vincent said with exasperation. ¡°I let my fears get the better of me, yes, but you don¡¯t need to purposely bring him here just to answer my questions. A vague explanation would be all that¡¯s needed.¡±


    ¡°You mean a vague explanation like he intends to become a living dragon vastly more powerful than the General¡¯s new dragon-blooded noble successor and kill the General in an act of twisted irony and poetic justice?¡± she asked innocently.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Vincent gained a strange expression. ¡°I beg your pardon, what?¡±


    Hargrave stared at her. ¡°What¡­¡±


    Lucy blinked. ¡°Hm? Did I say something?¡±


    Hargrave continued to stare incredulously at her as Vincent¡¯s expression changed multiple times. The aide tried to absorb the information from her statement and when he finally registered it he changed his stare from his superior to the man next to her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but did you say that Hargrave wants to kill the General?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°You forgot the twisted irony and poetic justice part.¡±


    Vincent ran a hand down his face. ¡°I thought you said you wanted to lead the Commission to success, not get it eradicated by an Eternal Duchy.¡±


    ¡°Not to worry, we¡¯ve already agreed that we¡¯ll break off ties once it gets to the stage that he¡¯s ready to complete his revenge,¡± Lucille replied casually. ¡°And because the bloodline and source purifier allows him to gain draconic bloodlines without slaying True Dragons, he won¡¯t have a public bounty on his head for a long while. The current wanted poster for him has only been issued through underworld groups as he has yet to commit any crime worth a wanted poster.¡±


    Lucy paused and pointed a finger at Hargrave. ¡°Don¡¯t go committing any crimes and collecting wanted posters, please. That will make my life even more difficult than it already is.¡±


    ¡°No, this isn¡¯t-¡± Hargrave stood up and slammed his hands on her desk. ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell me to come here so I could reveal what I wanted myself?!¡± he asked, looking slightly agitated.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ well, almost. I lied slightly at the start.¡± Lucille leaned her chin on her hands and narrowed her eyes at the mercenary. ¡°Hargrave. Don¡¯t try something like what happened with the Guild today again without discussing it with me first. Otherwise, I¡¯ll reveal information about you without discussing it with you first. Like now.¡±


    Hargrave paused and frowned. ¡°¡­is this¡­ a punishment for earlier?¡± he asked hesitantly.


    ¡°No. I wouldn¡¯t dare try to ¡®punish¡¯ the Blood Patriarch,¡± she said with mild amusement. ¡°But I am warning you. Because the more you act out like that, the more you inadvertently reveal. And like today with Vincent, I can¡¯t hide everything.¡±


    ¡°¡­I see.¡± Hargrave slowly lowered himself back into the seat. ¡°That¡­ makes sense. Sorry.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s done is done. This can just be a learning lesson for both you and my aide,¡± Lucy replied.


    ¡°Wait, why is it a learning lesson for me too?¡± Vincent asked with confusion.


    She spared him a brief glance and proceeded to ignore him, to his irritation. ¡°Anyway, I have a dimensional artifact to continue analysing, so I¡¯ll take my leave. You can discuss your motives between yourselves, or come look at the artifact with me.¡±


    Vincent rubbed his temples and looked at Hargrave. ¡°Hargrave, would you be willing to answer some of my questions?¡±


    Hargrave considered it and slowly nodded. ¡°I am.¡±


    ¡°Very good.¡± Lucille stood up and walked towards the door. ¡°And just so you know, I never do things without being certain in my decision. So Hargrave? Vincent?¡± She looked over her shoulder. ¡°I never believed either of your identities would be a problem.¡±


    And with that, she left the study.


    ¡­


    -Eight days later-


    Lucy thought about what to do about the situation before her. Then hesitantly, and with a fair amount of nervousness, she moved a white-gloved finger to tap the cheek of the individual on the couch. She swiftly withdrew her hand.


    The incognito Demon Emperor opened his neon-blue eyes with a frown. He paused when he instantly detected someone else was nearby and turned his gaze to her. He gazed unblinkingly at her. ¡°Did you just poke me?¡±


    ¡°It was the wind,¡± she answered reflexively.

 Chapter 70 (1 of 2) A Useful(?) Authorizer (debatable)(needs discussion)

    -Minutes before-


    ¡°Good morning, Count Bentsen.¡±


    The brown-haired aide of the Archduke looked up and blinked with surprise when he saw Lucille heading towards him. ¡°Count Goldcroft! I nearly forgot you were due to visit today!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure it would be far easier on us both if I didn¡¯t have to come, but we must respect the wishes of the Archduke,¡± she replied with a smile. ¡°Have you been busy?¡±


    He chuckled and gestured to the stack of documents in his arms. ¡°Yes, quite. For the Duchies, it¡¯s busy at all times of the year.¡±


    Lucy nodded. ¡°Then I¡¯ll leave you to your work.¡± She looked in the direction of the owner of the palace¡¯s study. ¡°Is the Archduke in?¡±


    Count Bentsen hesitated. ¡°He is, but¡­¡± He frowned in thought for a moment and returned to a smile for her. ¡°He wouldn¡¯t be busy at the moment so even if there is no response when you knock, you should be free to enter his study.¡±


    She raised an eyebrow.


    Does the Archduke frequently not answer when someone knocks on his door? Thinking about his personality¡­


    I could see him doing that, yes.


    ¡°I see. Then farewell for the moment, Count Bentsen,¡± she said with a bow.


    ¡°Farewell to you too, Count Goldcroft,¡± the Archduke¡¯s aide replied.


    She swiftly turned on her heels and headed towards the direction of the stairs that would take her to the next floor. She ignored the bowing servants on the way and only stopped when faced with the two blue doors of the Archduke¡¯s room.


    She rapped the back of her hand on the door. ¡°Your Grace, it¡¯s Count Goldcroft. We¡¯re set to meet again today.¡±


    As Count Bentsen had told her, there was no answer. She raised an eyebrow. ¡°Your Grace? Archduke Eterial?¡±


    There was still no response. After a slight moment of hesitation, she slowly turned the doorknob and pushed the door forward to enter the room as quietly as she could.


    Lucy frowned. She wasn¡¯t using her spiritual perception in the mansion as the Archduke could no doubt detect it, which meant she could only use her eyes to locate the white-haired incognito Demon Emperor.


    He¡¯s not behind his desk. Then where is¡­ hm?


    She paused when she saw the brilliant white hair trailing over the edge of a couch armrest. Slowly moving around, she stopped when she saw that the Archduke was lying down on the couch with his feet kicked up and his eyes closed. He breathed slowly.


    With his abilities he could definitely be able to detect I¡¯m here, so either he¡¯s ignoring me or cannot detect me for some reason. The first is the more likely situation, but¡­


    She walked around to sit on the couch opposite the silent Archduke. Lucille tilted her head.


    Is he asleep? In his main body I can only presume that he¡¯d be passively aware of my presence because he¡¯s a higher race, but if his Alter-Ego is part or mostly human¡­ maybe he can still go unconscious?


    But even Rank-5 humans never entered a state of complete unawareness of their surroundings the rare times they do sleep. Not unless they were extraordinarily deep sleepers who have learnt to ignore any sensory input whatsoever.


    Thinking for a moment, she withdrew a pen from her dimensional bag and dropped it on the floor. It let out a dull thump as it hit the blue carpet. There was no response from the Archduke.


    This might be an issue. I don¡¯t want to be stuck here waiting for him to wake up, because who knows how long that will take?


    She supposed he could still be ignoring her. She glanced around the room, looking for something she could do that would make him acknowledge her presence. An idea came to mind, but it made her hesitate.


    If he gets mad then I might be in danger. But I can¡¯t see another way to go about it.


    Lucy slowly and carefully walked over to his desk. Glancing up to check he had yet to open his eyes, she slowly placed a gloved hand on the handle of a drawer and pulled it out. There was still no response, even when she pretended to rifle through the documents within.


    Really? Not even now? Hm¡­


    Her eyes drifted over to the empty fireplace in the room. Lucy walked over, grabbed the metal poker by the fire grate and hit it against the metal. A loud ringing noise sounded out but there wasn¡¯t even a flinch from the individual lying on the couch. Lucy let out a sigh.


    I¡¯m nearly in awe at his ability to remain so completely unaware of his surroundings. Is this a skill he learnt to ignore his subordinates? But what should I do?


    She walked back over to sit down on the empty couch and narrowed her eyes as she studied him. The Archduke had both hands behind his head and his legs crossed as he lay down on the couch. His expression was peaceful and there wasn¡¯t so much as a twitch of an eyelid to indicate he knew she was watching.


    Should I¡­ shake him awake? But I don¡¯t want to touch him¡­ I don¡¯t think he¡¯d take kindly to being awoken with a fire poker though.


    Slightly nervous, Lucille stood up and walked closer. She kneeled on one knee, her face level with his.


    Isn¡¯t whatever entity is his master going to wake him up?


    Lucy waited there for a few more minutes. Soon it became obvious that nothing was going to change and she ran a hand down her face.


    I hope I don¡¯t die from this.


    Very hesitantly, she stretched forward a finger to tap the white-haired incognito Demon Emperor¡¯s cheek. She snatched her hand back near-instantly just as his eyelids twitched and he opened his eyes with a frown.


    The Archduke rubbed his face as he pushed himself up with one arm, and then his body stiffened as he noticed she was there. He slowly turned to stare at her and remained silent for a few seconds. ¡°Did you just poke me?¡±


    ¡°It was the wind,¡± she answered on reflex.


    The silence in the room was deafening. His Grace only continued to stare at her, and she stared back. Neither of them moved.


    His neon-blue gaze bore into her like he was so utterly astounded at her audacity that he forgot he wanted to kill her at the moment. Which he probably had.


    The silence drew longer as the only sound in the room was the slight breeze coming from the windows rustling the curtains. When it became clear that she would either speak first or have to wait until the incognito Demon Emperor remembered his opinion of her, she coughed into her first.


    ¡°Your Grace, as it¡¯s the fifteenth, I arrived to meet with you again. Your aide gave me permission to enter your study if you didn¡¯t reply,¡± she explained awkwardly. ¡°As we¡¯re both busy individuals and I have something I¡¯d like to request, it might be best for us to begin our meeting straight away,¡±


    The Archduke frowned in the direction of his study¡¯s door but let out a slight sigh. ¡°Yes, yes, we can begin it.¡± He gave her a mild look of disgust when he noticed how close they were and waved her off. ¡°Get back.¡±


    Lucy didn¡¯t need to be told twice and sprung up to sit down on the opposite couch. The Archduke stood up and walked over to his desk to sit down at it with a frown. He pulled open a drawer ¨C coincidentally the drawer that Lucy had mock-rifled through ¨C and paused when he saw the contents had shifted places.


    ¡°¡­Your Grace, is something the matter?¡± she slowly asked.


    Instead of replying he briefly glanced at her, and then slowly narrowed his eyes at the door to his room. He ignored her and returned to pulling out files from his desk.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Does he suspect someone other than me touched them? Who- oh. Sorry, Count Bentsen.


    I hope the Demon Emperor¡¯s ¡®master¡¯ decides not to reveal the truth to him.


    The white-haired individual behind the desk eventually looked up and held out a thick stack of pages for her. ¡°Do these first, Goldcroft. Then we can discuss your request.¡±


    She eyed the pages but stood up and took them off him. Then she wordlessly retrieved a pen from her dimensional bag to begin working on them.


    It appears due to my work efficiency, he¡¯s willing to put up with my presence without scowling at me every few seconds. It¡¯s better than him wanting to kill me every month, I suppose.


    The first few reports were swiftly scanned and edited before anything happened. Lucille was glad she had her mental constructs to analyse the information as it allowed her to quickly bring herself up to speed on the issues mentioned in the reports and resolve them.


    It likely made it easier that she couldn¡¯t afford to add any of her own political bias when dealing with the Duchy¡¯s work in case her soul was destroyed by a Demon Emperor or possibly the System itself, so all she had to do was do mundane work.


    It was when she came to the fifth report, one that required substantially more writing than the others, that the shuffle of pages behind her alerted her to the fact that the Archduke had placed down his work and was staring at her.


    ¡°Goldcroft. Stop making so much noise,¡± he ordered harshly.


    ¡°Noise?¡± She looked over her shoulder. ¡°Do you mean the sound of the paper?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± He frowned at her. ¡°It¡¯s your pen. The scratching is irritating.¡±


    ¡°¡­I see. Then I¡¯ll endeavour to work quieter.¡± Lucille put her pen to her paper once more and continued writing.


    Barely thirty seconds later the Archduke spoke up again with a scowl, ¡°Goldcroft. I told you to stop making noise.¡±


    ¡°But I¡­¡± Her words died in her mouth when she saw his narrowed eyes and she suppressed a sigh. ¡°Yes, Your Grace.¡±


    She placed the tip of her pen against the paper.


    ¡°Goldcroft.¡±


    She drew a single line, the pen barely making a whisper as it slid across the page.


    ¡°Goldcroft.¡±


    Lucy let the pen fall onto the couch in frustration and she turned to stare at the incognito Demon Emperor. ¡°My apologies, Your Grace. It seems this pen is too poor quality for your noble ears. Could I request I borrow one of yours?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± he stated coldly.


    She prevented her expression from twitching. ¡°Then could I please leave for a moment to obtain a pen from one of the servants?¡±


    ¡°No. You are to stay here. I¡¯ll not have you wandering the Aethereal Palace doing whatever you please.¡±


    System contract be damned, I will devote all my efforts after the Hero is gone into killing this demon if he keeps this up.


    ¡°Then I suppose this pen will have to make do,¡± she said with a very tight, fake smile. It was even more obvious that it was fake because she had turned her expression regulator off as she normally did around him. She returned to work and tried to ignore the icy gaze coming from the individual behind her.


    Lucy blinked when the pen in her hand suddenly disappeared. She turned around to see the Archduke holding it in his hand. He observed it coldly and then made eye contact with her. Then he crushed the pen into dust.


    She eyed the dust of her former writing utensil but instead of showing any anger she gained a wide smile. ¡°It seems my pen was too weak for someone of your strength to use, Your Grace. It¡¯s unfortunate that now that pen is gone, I can¡¯t help you with your work anymore. That is unless you refrain from attempting to teleport- I mean use, this pen.¡±


    She held up the new pen she had withdrawn from her dimensional bag. He scowled at her.


    Lucille was feeling a small amount of satisfaction at her ¡®victory¡¯ when she was able to complete the rest of the paperwork without interruption. She knew that he was already adept at ignoring irritations, and he eventually stopped glaring at her to complete his own work. Although, the teleportation ability he used made her thoughtful.


    That¡¯s an ability of his main body. He¡¯s a demon, or a type of ¡®dimensional existence¡¯, and only the Paragon Anomalies are known to have teleportation abilities. As an Aether manipulator, he wouldn¡¯t use a spatial element either. He must have access to his main body¡¯s powers somehow but in that case¡­ if his Alter-Ego is a demon then how has he managed to hide his demonic power for so long?


    Finally, after two hours, she had completed her allocated work. Lucille stood up to sit on the couch directly opposite the incognito Demon Emperor so she could talk to him properly. The Archduke didn¡¯t like that idea, because he gave her a dull look as she crossed one leg over the other and rested both her hands on her knee.


    ¡°My work has been done. How is yours going?¡± she asked politely.


    He glanced at the pile on his desk. ¡°As mind-numbingly tedious as always,¡± he muttered. The Archduke shook his head and pushed his work aside. ¡°It¡¯s irrelevant. What annoying ¡®request¡¯ do you have for me?¡± He narrowed his neon-blue eyes at her. ¡°I warn you, anything relating to the contract cannot be changed and I will refuse to discuss it.¡±


    ¡°Not to worry, it¡¯s not about the contract,¡± Lucy replied brightly. ¡°What I want to request is your aid in gaining access to a specific Old Era plane.¡±


    He tilted his head slightly. ¡°You want me to¡­ use my authority to send you there?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a particularly important plane for the Athenaeum,¡± she explained. ¡°There¡¯s a person or, well, a creature I want to make contact with while there. Nearly all Athenaeum factioneers can go to that plane if they wish but as the Commission is unaffiliated with All-Aeon Athenaeum, it would be hard for them to allow me entry. They¡¯d question my motives too much.¡±


    ¡°I question your motives,¡± the Archduke stated icily.


    ¡°There is some there I believe will be a useful resource and weapon for the Mystical Realm,¡± she stated. ¡°In the original timeline, misunderstandings ensued and they were destroyed. As they are the only one left of their kind to my knowledge, I want to allow them to survive this time.¡±


    ¡°Useful resource¡­ on an Old Era plane.¡± The Archduke glanced off to the side where Lucy assumed he had received a notification of some sort. He paused to read it and then turned back to her. ¡°Fine. What plane is it?¡±


    ¡°The Ruby City plane.¡±


    ¡°Never heard of it,¡± he replied. The Archduke frowned as he looked down at his desk and then he fell silent. His brows furrowed with concentration and then he sighed. He gave her a wave. ¡°I¡¯ve ordered my aide to apply for access. You¡¯ll have access within the next 24 hours, and the access will last 24 hours.¡±


    Lucille stared at him. ¡°Do you mean¡­ you¡¯ve ordered it¡­ now? As in, just then?¡±


    ¡°Obviously,¡± he stated shortly.


    She hesitated and coughed into her fist. ¡°I was expecting it to be¡­ in half a month or so, not exactly this week¡­ I wanted time to prepare for the trip¡­¡±


    He narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°You¡¯re asking me to take back the order? Even after I¡¯ve already been polite enough to listen to and fulfil your request?¡± The Archduke scowled at her. ¡°Goldcroft, do you want to make me mad?¡±


    ¡°¡­no, Your Grace.¡± Lucy hesitated for one more second before quickly standing up and giving him a low bow. ¡°Thank you for accepting my request, Your Grace. If there is nothing else you want to discuss, I¡¯ll take my leave and get out of your hair.¡±


    She turned around, ready to leave, but then he spoke up.


    ¡°Stop there, Goldcroft.¡±


    ¡°¡­is there a problem, Your Grace?¡± She turned around and then paused when she saw him pointing to the thick stack of pages on his desk.


    ¡°Take these to Bentsen,¡± the Archduke ordered sternly. When he saw she didn¡¯t move instantly, his gaze grew colder. ¡°Take them, Goldcroft.¡±


    Lucy hid her sigh. ¡°Yes, Your Grace.¡± She walked forward to place them into her arms and turned away. She walked back to the double doors, opened them, and¡­


    She stiffened as she registered there was a solid invisible object in the air before her head. Anyone else would find it nearly impossible to detect but with the shard in her right eye, almost every hidden ability could be seen by her.


    In the open doorway, placed at exactly the point that she could hit her head on it when she walked out, was an Aether barrier. Lucille looked over her shoulder to gaze wearily at the culprit.


    If the incognito Demon Emperor was disappointed she hadn¡¯t hit her head, he didn¡¯t show it. The white-haired individual only tilted his head as he silently watched her with that cold stare of his.


    Lucy decided against saying anything and turned back to the doorway. She ducked under the invisible Aether barrier and pretended that nothing was the problem as she shut the door behind her. Then she set out to find the Archduke¡¯s aide. All while thinking about the actions of the building¡¯s owner.


    The Archduke tried to make me hit my head on an Aether barrier when I left the room.


    That is¡­ unbelievably petty. Is that person really the ancient ruler of the Demon Realm?


    Lucille shook her head and continued to walk down the finely decorated hallways of the Aethereal Palace. After stopping a servant to ask for directions, she was led to the study of Count Bentsen. She knocked on the door and announced her presence.


    ¡°Count Bentsen? It¡¯s Count Goldcroft. The Archduke requested I pass some documents onto you,¡± she stated.


    The door was quickly opened by the brown-haired man who stopped to frown at what she was holding. ¡°What is he doing giving you a job like that? That should be left to the servants,¡± he muttered.


    Lucy gave him a slightly tight smile. ¡°If the Archduke requests for me to do this, then who am I to refuse? I¡¯d rather not face his anger if I tried to argue.¡±


    Count Bentsen paused to raise his eyes and study her. ¡°¡­yes, that could cause quite the issue for you.¡± He shook his head and held out his arms. ¡°Well, let me take these off of you to put away and I¡¯ll walk you to the entrance.¡±


    Lucille blinked. ¡°Walk me to the entrance? Oh, thank you for the offer, but there¡¯s really no reason for you to-¡±


    ¡°No, no, I insist. It¡¯s the least I could do to make up for my lord¡¯s lacking manners,¡± he replied cheerfully.


    ¡°¡­lacking?¡±


    Count Bentsen walked past her as if he didn¡¯t hear her, so she stopped thinking about that slip of tongue and followed him. In the back of her head she was feeling nervous that a certain light-mode Demon Emperor would suddenly appear to scowl at them for talking behind his back.


    ¡°Count Goldcroft, it seems you¡¯re aware of the Archduke¡¯s real personality,¡± the Count abruptly stated.


    She stared at him, and then slowly turned around to stare down the hallway behind them. She gave the Archduke¡¯s aide a wide-eyed look.


    Count Bentsen blinked at her reaction and then smiled. ¡°Oh, not to worry. He can¡¯t hear us. His Grace doesn¡¯t like to spread his senses too far as it bothers him.¡±


    ¡°¡­I see,¡± she slowly replied. Lucille let out a long sigh. ¡°Then yes, I am aware that he has a much more¡­ prickly nature than he shows outside of this palace.¡±


    ¡°I see you used much tamer words to describe his atrocious personality than I would,¡± the Count replied cheerily.


    Lucy prevented a strange expression from forming on her voice when she heard the Count call the Archduke¡¯s personality ¡®atrocious¡¯. She schooled it into a calm, neutral smile instead and walked beside the Count without reply.


    Count Bentsen chuckled as he held his hands behind his back. ¡°Very few people know that the Archduke actually considers most others as irrelevant and shows little emotion. Or¡­ normally.¡± For some reason, he gave her a side eye. ¡°Even anger is different compared to his usual.¡±


    ¡­I¡¯m not sure I know where this is going.


    ¡°After you left during that first meeting we discovered we had our differences,¡± she said carefully.


    ¡°Even so¡­¡± He fell silent for a moment and his smile dimmed slightly. Count Bentsen stopped walking and turned to face her directly. ¡°Count Lucille Goldcroft, the Archduke isn¡¯t as¡­ happy a person as he presents himself,¡± he stated seriously. ¡°He avoids the servants, barely meets with me more than once a day, and as you likely saw when you entered his room¡­ anytime he¡¯s not working is spent sleeping. He doesn¡¯t have any interests, hobbies, or passions. Every day is spent doing exactly the same thing.¡±


    He crossed his arms and studied her. ¡°But for some reason with you, it¡¯s different. He shows emotion.¡±


    Oh¡­ no, no, no, no.


    ¡°Count Bentsen¡­ I think you¡¯re very mistaken about our relationship,¡± she told him wearily. ¡°The Archduke hates me.¡±


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t,¡± the Count replied firmly. He shook his head. ¡°His Grace can¡¯t be bothered to deal with everyday life, never mind mustering up the energy to feel hatred for anyone longer than a few seconds. Maybe he¡¯s mad at you now, but soon he¡¯ll remember he detests putting effort into anything, including feeling emotions,¡± Count Bentsen stated with strange confidence. ¡°If he hated you then he would¡¯ve already begun to give you a slow, torturous death in the most humiliating and degrading way possible.¡±


    Lucille hesitated.


    That¡¯s¡­ okay, maybe I should give Count Bentsen more credit. He wasn¡¯t going where I thought he was. And he seems to be very familiar with the personality of the Archduke.


    ¡°I just wanted to ask that whatever it is you¡¯ve been doing¡­ keep doing it,¡± Count Bentsen finished. He raised an eyebrow. ¡°This isn¡¯t meant to be a short-term thing, is it?¡±


    Lucy shook her head. ¡°No. Our meetings are planned to last up to at least the Millennium Chapter.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Good.¡± Before he could say anything more, a servant quickly came up to him and said something to him. The Count frowned, sighed, and gave her an apologetic bow. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Count Goldcroft. I¡¯ve been summoned by my lord. It seems I won¡¯t be able to fulfil my promise to escort you to the door.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not an issue,¡± Lucy replied with a smile. ¡°Take care, Count Bentsen.¡±


    ¡°You too, Count Goldcroft. It was a pleasure to meet again.¡± Giving her one last bow, he turned around and walked off.


    Lucille watched him leave and then headed off towards the main entrance. Her mind was busy contemplating the words of the Archduke¡¯s aide.


    I still think he has a misunderstanding of what our relationship is like, but¡­ it¡¯s not as bad as I thought. But¡­


    She turned around to stare in the direction of the leaving Count.


    I¡¯m ninety nine per cent sure he just called the Demon Emperor depressed.


    Something about that concept filled her with wonder and made her feel incredibly amused.


    The Demon Emperor just got called depressed by his aide. And Count Bentsen said it to me, someone who he wants to kill. This is¡­ hilarious.


    I want to tell him. Should I do it next time we meet?


    She raised her eyes to the roof, feeling conflicted.


    I really, really want to tell the Archduke that his aide just called him depressed so I can see his response. But I¡¯m more likely to get killed.


    She pinched her nose bridge and turned back around with a sigh.


    No, forget it. I¡¯m not ready to die yet. Maybe when the contract is nearly up I¡¯ll have the confidence to reveal that to him.


    Lucy found out two months later that when it came to the Demon Emperor she had pretty bad impulse control.


    <hr>


    [Alectis¡­ that was really petty.]


    The incognito Demon Emperor ignored the sound echoing in his head and continued to fill out his forms.


    [Like, so, so, so, so petty. Unbelievably so.]


    A slight sigh left the Archduke but he tried his hardest to continue working.


    [Come on, what person would believe me if I told them that the Primordial Demon, a Paragon Anomaly, ruler of the most hostile realm and someone rumoured to be stronger than both the Dragon Sovereign and the Death Monarch was annoyed by a girl less than 0.01% of his age so he tried to make her slam her head against a barrier?! How absurd does that sound?!]


    The Archduke dropped his pen and looked to the side to give the hovering notification box a dull look, but the voice was relentless.


    [Do you have the maturity of an eight-year-old?! No wonder your aide considers you so troublesome to deal with! And don¡¯t forget me! I have to put up with a non-compliant demon who thinks sleeping is the next best thing after¡­ nothing, actually! You have no sense of responsibility!]


    The white-haired Alter-Ego of the Demon Emperor covered his face with a hand and rested the back of his head against his chair, but the voice still had more to say.


    [And don¡¯t think I¡¯m going to let your sleeping habits fly in the years leading up to the Millennium Chapter. Nuh uh. If you don¡¯t start getting on top of your work then I¡¯m going to employ the use of Lucille to start interrupting you every day-]

 Chapter 70 (2 of 2) A Useful(?) Authorizer (debatable)(needs discussion)

    A young boy was lying sprawled out on the upholstered cough, a snore escaping his mouth. His silvery hair was haphazardly spread across the furniture¡¯s cushions and one arm lackadaisically hung off the couch.


    The door to the room burst open and Lucille marched in. ¡°Scytale, time to get up! We need to go!¡±


    The humanoid snake sprung to his feet, his hands held in a pose ready for combat. ¡°Huh? Wha? Enemies? Where?¡±


    Lucy sighed and shook her head as she walked over to the table in the room. ¡°There aren¡¯t any enemies, Scytale.¡±


    ¡°No¡­ enemies¡­¡± He blinked his eyes blearily and then gave her a lazy salute as he collapsed back onto the couch. ¡°Aye aye, Cap¡¯ain.¡± He promptly continued to snore once more.


    After grabbing the scroll off of the table, she walked back over to her bond and rammed the heel of her boot into his side. ¡°Get up.¡±


    ¡°Owowowow!¡± Scytale groaned as he curled into a fetal position, clutching his stomach. ¡°Why are you so violent today? Did you get annoyed by the Demon Emperor again?¡±


    ¡°No. Although, he¡¯s partially the problem.¡± She took out her pocket watch to check the time. ¡°I got his help to access a specific Old Era plane I wanted to visit, but he didn¡¯t bother to check with me about what time I wanted to go there. I¡¯ll only have access for the next twenty-four hours and I was informed the Athenaeum had already processed the request, and I don¡¯t want to waste a second.¡±


    Her bond sat up and ditched the injured act to stretch his arms above his head. He let out a yawn. ¡°Alright. Will there be fighting?¡±


    Lucille shook her head as she placed things like her brass jug artifact and other miscellaneous items in the living room into her dimensional bag. ¡°Not much. We¡¯ll likely still come across monsters as we¡¯re going to a Dungeon, but I¡¯ll just sweep them all away with a powerful spell if it¡¯s needed.¡± She entered the kitchen and kneeled to open up a cabinet within.


    ¡°A Dungeon? Really?¡± Scytale stood up and crossed his arms. ¡°I mean, I¡¯ll never complain about a fight but why a Dungeon again?¡±


    ¡°Calling it a real Dungeon is debatable. But you¡¯ll find out soon enough.¡± She stood up, walked into the living room, and then pointed at the snake. ¡°Go and get changed into something better for adventuring. This will hopefully take less than twelve hours, but we can never be sure. I¡¯m heading to my room to get changed as well.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah. Whatever.¡± He walked off with an eye roll. ¡°It¡¯s not my money paying for these clothes so why should I be worried about getting them ruined?¡±


    Lucy narrowed her eyes at him but he ignored her and left the room. She let out a slight sigh and headed off to her own room. She picked up a leather belt from her bedside table.


    Time to see the quality of Sedric¡¯s work.


    Once she was ready, they met again half an hour later in one of the hallways. Scytale followed her as they walked through the Commission¡¯s Headquarters.


    ¡°So¡­ what¡¯s the game plan?¡± he said. ¡°Are you going to do the invisibility trick again? It won¡¯t work as well without me to distract him though.¡±


    Lucy gave her bond a strange look. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°You know¡­ sneaking through the Commission¡¯s gardens, avoiding the staff¡­¡± Scytale shrugged. ¡°How are we going to go about it?¡±


    She cocked an eyebrow. ¡°Scytale, I have no idea what you mean. Why are we sneaking anywhere?¡±


    ¡°To avoid Vincent of course!¡± he exclaimed. ¡°This will end up being a second secret trip, won¡¯t it? We need to escape the Commission before he finds out what we¡¯re planning.¡±


    ¡°¡­excuse me?¡±


    Scytale flinched when he heard the familiar voice and Lucy sighed as she turned around to face her scowling aide. Vincent had his arms crossed and was scowling at them after he had just turned an intersecting corner.


    ¡°May I ask just what exactly you¡¯re trying to hide from me?¡± he asked crossly.


    Lucille whacked her bond over the head. ¡°Nothing. This idiot serpent here didn¡¯t realise I was walking towards my study with the exact intention of talking to you about this.¡± She placed her hands on her hips as she looked at her aide. ¡°I wanted to ask the Archduke for help in accessing a specific Old Era plane owned by All-Aeon Athenaeum, but he accepted and arranged permission sooner than I expected.¡±


    Lucy shook her head. ¡°I only have twenty-four hours to access this plane and I didn¡¯t want to anger him by asking him to change the access date.¡±


    ¡°¡­I see.¡± Vincent frowned and crossed his arms. ¡°I would prefer if you took someone else with you, however. Possibly Hargrave?¡±


    ¡°As much as we¡¯ve been in a Dungeon together before, he¡¯s not officially a guard of mine,¡± she replied. ¡°I¡¯m willing to let him come to places alongside me more frequently, but this trip is too sudden for me to accept requesting him to come.¡± Lucy shrugged. ¡°With luck, it won¡¯t take more than a few hours. I know the location on the plane I want to go to and the task will hopefully be very quick to complete.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Vincent ran a hand through his hair and sighed. ¡°I suppose I don¡¯t have anything to say in this situation.¡± He gave her a suspicious look. ¡°This isn¡¯t another thing you want to hide from me, is it?¡±


    She smirked. ¡°No. But as we¡¯re in a rush, I¡¯d prefer to explain it once we¡¯re back. It will be easier to explain it then too.¡±


    He slowly nodded. ¡°Then I wish you a safe journey. Don¡¯t get into any trouble.¡±


    Lucy turned around and gave him a small wave as she walked off. ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± Next to her, Scytale changed into his serpent form and flew onto her shoulders.


    Vincent departed behind them and they soon made it to the entrance lobby of the building.


    ¡®So, what¡¯s the name of this oh-so mysterious Dungeon?¡¯


    Well, it¡¯s called the Grotto of the Metal Heart Dungeon. And what makes it special is that¡­ it¡¯s intelligent.


    ¡­


    ¡°Count Lucille Goldcroft¡­¡± The stern middle-aged mage behind the desk scanned the documents she had picked up from the Pioneer division of All-Aeon Athenaeum on the Aeonic plane. He looked up to study the winged serpent on her shoulders with suspicion. ¡°And the snake?¡±


    ¡°A bond,¡± she replied with a calm smile. ¡°To my knowledge, Athenaeum regulations state that they¡¯re treated the same as the individual.¡±


    He gave her documents one last look before sighing and stamping them with a dark purple seal emitting rays of mana. ¡°Alright. You may leave the Pioneer branch on this plane and explore any part of the Ruby City plane that you wish.¡± He handed over a small hourglass hanging from a necklace and pointed to it. ¡°That will tell you how much time you have before you need to return. Athenaeum regulations require you to be present in the Pioneer Hall half an hour before the teleportation time.¡±


    The mage narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°Remember, you must return before it¡¯s time for teleportation.¡±


    Lucille gave him a wave as she walked away. ¡°Yes, yes, I remember. Good day and farewell to you, sir mage.¡±


    ¡­


    The streets of the ¡®Ruby City¡¯ were very quiet. Besides the few mages stationed in the city to continue researching the plane, all the buildings were empty. They were perfectly preserved and made of a pale red semi-translucent stone, which was where the city presumably earned its name of ¡®Ruby City¡¯, but they were abandoned. Even the Pioneer Hall was just the repurposed outer hall of the city.


    The further into the city they walked, however, the more devastated and demolished the structures became. Scytale, who was back in his human form, paused and squatted to inspect the ground. ¡°Hey, uh¡­ Lucy?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Is it just me or is the ground sloping downward?¡±


    In response, she smirked and pointed at the sky. ¡°Why don¡¯t you change your form and take a look for yourself?¡±


    He considered it with his eyes narrowed at her, clearly suspicious of her motives. Then with the glow of golden light, he changed into his true-sized amphiptere form and flew up into the sky.


    He let out a slight woot of excitement at being able to fly so high and with his full 10-metre-long form and then soared up. He flapped his wings to stall his flight for a moment and observe the city below.


    ¡°¡­woah.¡±


    The Ruby City had seemingly collapsed inward at the very centre as if some giant had punched the city square with all their might. The effect of the impact could be seen in how the entire city had sunk into the ground in the very centre, sloping the marble roads. Scytale could see traces of shockwaves in the multiple rings of shattered buildings every hundred metres. He flew back to his bond and landed on the ground in his human form.


    ¡°This whole place is completely messed up,¡± he stated, looking slightly stunned. ¡°Who ticked off a Titan?¡±


    ¡°I believe what actually occurred was that a plane shard struck the city,¡± Lucy replied. She walked up to a mound of rubble and climbed on top to observe the city. The ground after the point where she was standing declined sharply for a few metres, forming a cliff. ¡°The impact left a crater in the centre and destabilised the city. All the inhabitants were dead before that happened, though.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯m guessing that this ¡®intelligent¡¯ Dungeon lies in the middle?¡± her bond asked, raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°Indeed. Because it arrived with the plane shard,¡± Lucille informed him. She walked up to the cliff ledge and coated her hands and feet in a layer of earth mana to mould the stone into hand and footholds as she climbed down.


    Scytale turned to stare at the impact crater in the centre of the city. ¡°¡­an alien Dungeon?¡±


    She huffed a laugh as she jumped down onto the wall of a building that was slanted. Its walls were fused with its foundation and so the building hadn¡¯t slipped into the deep crater below. She walked up the slanted wall and leaned over the rooftop edge to look down. ¡°If you equated the situation to Earth then yes, the plane shard would be the meteorite containing a foreign inhabitant. The Dungeon Core left the plane shard before the Athenaeum got their hands on it and can be found in the tunnels below the city.¡± She turned around to look up at her bond on the cliff edge. ¡°Anyway, get down here so you can help me if I accidentally fall.¡±


    ¡°Just grow wings like I did!¡± Scytale regained his serpentine body and white-gold wings and flew down to land on the building beside her. ¡°The power of flight solves many problems.¡±


    ¡°I think you have a clear bias, bird-brain-¡±


    ¡°Hey-¡±


    ¡°-but wings would be too bulky for a human like me,¡± Lucy continued. She looked over the edge again. ¡°I could either do this the long way or the short way. The long way would be safer, but the short way might be fun¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the short way?¡±


    Lucille blinked and turned to face her bond. Then she smiled and spread her arms. ¡°Scytale. Catch me if this doesn¡¯t work.¡±


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Scytale¡¯s slitted eyes flew open. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re not going to-¡±


    Lucy took one step and fell backwards off the building. The wind whistled past her as she shot towards the centre ground of the crater head-first. The diamond embedded in the front of her belt glowed with dark blue light.


    ¡°Hey! You psycho bond! What in the seven realms do you think you¡¯re doing?!¡± Scytale shouted as he flew after her.


    Her smile only grew wider. Scytale summoned all his mana to try to catch up to her but when she only had a couple of metres left before she hit the ground, he was still a few centimetres away.


    ¡°Lucy!¡±


    Instead of a crash, there was nothing. Lucille¡¯s fall was brought to a halt barely a metre above the rocky ground, and she stayed there in mid-air for a few seconds. The glow on her belt died down and she finally dropped to the ground. She sat up as Scytale landed on the ground beside her.


    ¡°Well, that was exciting,¡± she finally said.


    Scytale narrowed his eyes at her for a minute or two before he turned around and spread his wings in preparation to fly off. ¡°That¡¯s it. I¡¯m done. See you back at the Headquarters. I¡¯m going to go find someone else who actually explains things to hang out with.¡±


    ¡°Stop sulking and get back here.¡± She grasped his tail and dragged him back as she smirked. ¡°I wanted to use the force repulsion spell on the belt. I had already analysed the item with my spiritual energy to ensure Sedric¡¯s work was up to standard.¡±


    ¡°I wasted like, a bajillion points of mana!¡± he complained, flapping his wings indignantly. ¡°What if you got attacked after this, huh?!¡±


    Lucy crossed her arms. ¡°That won¡¯t happen. And this is your fault for being lazy and not bothering to check my plans for yourself. I can¡¯t explain everything to you all the time.¡±


    Scytale turned away from her while grumbling to himself. ¡°Dumb annoying bond, always picking on me.¡± He raised himself higher to look around. ¡°So... the tunnels, right?¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Lucille nodded and got to her feet. ¡°We go in, make contact, and¡­¡± Something caught her attention and she turned around.


    Scytale blinked when he saw the ornate marble and gold archway set into the side of the crater, with polished steps leading into the darkness. Runes of an ancient dialect of the Empire gleamed along the entranceway¡¯s frame. It looked brand-new, compared to everything else in the destroyed city around them.


    ¡°Uh¡­ was that always there?¡± Scytale asked with suspicion. ¡°I swear I didn¡¯t see that when flying down here. Then again, I was preoccupied with trying to catch you before you became red paint¡­¡±


    Lucille smiled and stepped towards the archway. ¡°It looks like our mysterious Dungeon is as interested to meet us as we are to meet it. It¡¯s time for us to go in.¡±


    As she took her first step in, she swiftly suppressed all System notifications alerting her to this ¡®Grotto of the Metal Heart Dungeon¡¯. She wouldn¡¯t be killing any monsters today.


    <hr>


    One had appeared again. The malignant orb smaller than its own facsimile by a factor of ten had spawned in one of its testing chambers. A normal and intended occurrence, as it showed its energy diversion pipes were functional. The last time an orb had spawned outside of its material domain it had cost it an estimated 34 cycles of the sun to resolve. It was glad it didn¡¯t have to bother with that again.


    It pondered what to do with the new orb. The orbs had been decreasing in number over the past fifty cycles and so this new one would be a valuable resource until it expanded its material domain once more. The presence of mana-borne humans on the western side of the plane meant it was facing difficulties expanding in a way that wouldn¡¯t alert them.


    The Lore-Base of {REDACTED} suggested that these humans had ancestral connections to its former plane but testing had proven that they were ignorant of its own existence, and its purpose.


    Not that I truly know my own purpose either.


    It returned its perception to the newly spawned orb. The Lore-Base it had access to alerted it that these orbs were what it had been created to consume, control, and imitate, but the past {1.46 x 10^8} cycles had long since been enough for it to understand that they were very different. Still, the orb could be consumed for energy that would allow it to either expand, perform tests on its own spawned {Monsters}, or it could let the orb absorb some of its energy to see if it would generate new {Monster} types for it to subsume and recreate.


    Once it checked its priority list though, it made its decision and consumed the orb. It needed to expand and due to the ratios of elemental mana near the orb at the time of its spawning, it had a very small possibility of becoming an undocumented monster type. Its core thrummed with the glow of power as it rerouted its energy pipes to divert the misty energy the orb had turned into. Then it stored the energy in its metallic core.


    Two foreign entities on the edge of its perception immediately attracted it¡¯s attention when it realised they weren¡¯t {Monsters}. One appeared to be a human female with a somewhat weak presence, but the other¡­


    A¡­ {Magical Beast)?


    It was an existence from a foreign dimension. The Lore-Base had records of these mundane creature mimics crossing into the Main Dimension from elsewhere, and apparently its creators had theorised that these beasts came from another dimension on scale with the Main Dimension, but it had never seen one in person.


    I thought the {World Tree Renewal} so many cycles ago would¡¯ve disturbed the dimensional fabric too much for the foreign dimension entities to cross over.


    Yet cross-referencing with the Lore-Base alerted him to the fact that the human-like female next to the {Magical Beast} was also a foreign dimensional entity. She didn¡¯t have an affinity for any of the essential elements.


    It wanted to study them. And¡­ the Lore-Base let it know that the magic-borne humans it had detected in the outer city borders wouldn¡¯t treat it with the respect due for a creation of the {REDACTED}, whatever that meant. But it wanted to communicate with these foreign entities. It had no memories of true communication, even with its creators, as it was just one of many produced by them.


    And I want to put my bipedal mimicry projection to use for the first time!


    Ignoring the warnings of its Lore-Base ¨C it had already learnt that the knowledge stored in the Lore-Base wasn¡¯t always useful for the current era ¨C it opened an entrance to the first of its many floors. It hoped to bring them further into its perception so it could potentially listen to or translate the conversation between the foreigners.


    Surprisingly, the foreigners didn¡¯t seem that wary¡­ or the female didn¡¯t, at least. The {Magical Beast} kept flickering its tongue in a possible instinctual attempt to sense danger. Not that it would work on an artificial construct such as itself.


    Anticipating the knowledge these entities would bring it so it could update its Lore-Base, it tried to scan them with its perception. It paused when it was rebuffed by a force emanating from the female. That same force rebuffed its attempts to scan the {Magical Beast} only a few nanoseconds later.


    Nothing has negated my perception before. The Lore-Base tells me that can happen if¡­


    It became giddy with a new emotion it quickly categorised: excitement. The female had extrasensory perception! That was a force that even its creators, important researchers of {REDACTED}, discovered months before the {World Tree Renewal}. It needed to know more.


    Then it gained a slight sense of worry as its Lore-Base informed it of what the potential reactions of someone it had scanned could be. It studied them to see if the female or {Magical Beast} was mad.


    All they had done was stop to discuss¡­ something. It didn¡¯t know what yet as they were conversing in a language somewhat unfamiliar to it. It was a variation of the {REDACTED}¡¯s tongue, but many words had no apparent phonetical descendancy from the {REDACTED}¡¯s language.


    But it could understand the {Magical Beast}. It seemed the creature spoke using a formal of information transferal over extrasensory perception. It focused on the creature¡¯s words.


    ¡°You¡¯re really sure there was nothing hostile about the fact it tried to search your soul? That sounds extremely sketchy to me.¡±


    ¡®Soul¡¯. It stored that knowledge in its Lore-Base. The {Magical Beast} knew the source of the extrasensory perception. Not even its creators had stored that information in its Lore-Base, although that may have been purposeful.


    The female replied in calm, clear tones that suggested she came from a position of education. It quickly tried to match the syllables to the phonetics of the {REDACTED}¡¯s common tongue but was making slow progress.


    Then a strange feeling overcame it for a moment. The entire dimension of the plane seemed to distort when faced with an inexplicable power and then snapped back into its normal. It was left pondering over the sensation.


    It became shocked when it realised it could now understand the female, because she was speaking in the exact {REDACTED}¡¯s tongue.


    ¡°-so don¡¯t panic, Scytale. It¡¯s just a curious child.¡±


    Child? The stage between infant and adolescent in the bipedal mortal races? I want to know why she is classifying me as that. Her biology informs me that she is only just past adolescence herself, while the cycles I have lived would far outlive her.


    ¡°Curious child¡­ you give the dumbest descriptions to stuff that can kill us. And don¡¯t pretend you can¡¯t see how it¡¯s eavesdropping on us too.¡±


    So the {Magical Beast} also has extrasensory perception. But why didn¡¯t he use it?


    The female shrugged and continued walking. ¡°That¡¯s normal for anyone with spiritual perception. I don¡¯t blame it. But let¡¯s continue heading in. I want to speak to the owner of this domain sooner rather than later.¡±


    ¡­speak? To it? The female wanted to communicate! She knew it was intelligent! This was a major discovery.


    It immediately abandoned all plans of testing their strength using its {Monsters} and instead altered its material domain to allow them easier entrance to where its perception was stronger. It listened keenly as the two foreigners continued to talk amongst themselves.


    ¡°Would this so-called intelligent Dungeon even understand you?¡± the {Magical Beast} asked with scepticism. ¡°If it comes from an Old Era plane then it wouldn¡¯t be able to translate modern languages. There aren¡¯t any Obelisks on this plane either so it wouldn¡¯t have a System port to translate words.¡±


    System? Obelisk? It appears he¡¯s using them in a context I¡¯m unfamiliar with. Do they have something to do with that strange force I felt?


    ¡°We¡¯re close enough to its core for the System to have already activated,¡± the female replied casually. ¡°I presume that after or during the time we¡¯ve spoken to it that it will gain a Status. Besides, I¡¯m speaking in Imperial Common instead of English so that before it gains a System port it might be able to understand some of my words.¡±


    ¡°If you say so¡­¡± The {Magical Beast} looked around. ¡°Is it going to talk to us anytime soon?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± The female tapped on her chin and then smirked as she placed her hands on her hips. ¡°Well, we need to ask the owner of this domain first. Artificial Dungeon, do you want to communicate yet?¡±


    It was being addressed. Indecisiveness struck it for half a microsecond before it made its decision. It gathered its energy and rerouted it through the nearest pipe to the foreigners. Then it activated its projection, speaking in the {REDACTED} common.


    ¡°Greetings.¡±


    <hr>


    Lucille and Scytale watched as light mana began to form into a vaguely humanoid shape five metres away from them. Then the image gradually began to gain facial features and definition until its skin had been painted a silvery-grey tone.


    The young male figure that appeared to be made out of solid steel gazed unblinkingly at them.


    ¡°Greetings.¡±


    Scytale stared at it. ¡°Uh¡­ hi?¡±


    Lucy gave the projection a wave and smile. ¡°Hello. Do you have a name?¡±


    ¡°I am known as a Miasma Containment and Redistribution Unit, or an M.C.R.U,¡± the projection stated robotically. The projection showed no signs of life and didn¡¯t blink or change the position of its eyes. It appeared like a statue.


    Lucy tilted her head. ¡°But do you have an identifying label?¡±


    The projection didn¡¯t immediately respond. ¡°¡­My serial code is 345.293.874.021-¡±


    ¡°Oh, sorry to interrupt, but that wasn¡¯t what I meant,¡± Lucy interjected with a hand held up. ¡°In this era, artificial existences such as yourself are very uncommon, and so any individual capable of communicating on equal terms with another is given a proper noun as a label. In the case of a name or serial code as long as yours, we¡¯d give each other a shortened or ¡®Nickname¡¯.¡±


    The artificial Dungeon seemed to think. ¡°Who determines these labels?¡±


    ¡°A ¡®relative¡¯,¡± she replied. ¡°In this era, the bond of a magical beast is also part of this definition and can hand out names.¡±


    ¡°Relative: a biologically, legally or informally close sapient individual that one has close ties to,¡± the Dungeon recited. ¡°You are the first individual to converse with me since the end of the last era. That would make you my closest sapient individual, would it not?¡±


    Lucille blinked with slight surprise but shook her head. ¡°Names are not normally given to mature individuals.¡±


    ¡°You called me a ¡®child¡¯ previously,¡± the Dungeon pointed out.


    She huffed a laugh. ¡°I did, but in this context, you can¡¯t be considered a child. But I think there are more important things to talk about.¡± Lucy pointed at the projection. ¡°I¡¯m sure you have lots of questions, but if I answer them all, then we might be stuck here for months. So how about we restrict it to two each and then negotiate from there?¡±


    ¡°I need clarification on whether that counts as your first question. And I also request to be able to ask further questions in the event I need additional clarification from your first answer,¡± it stated.


    Scytale let out a groan. ¡°Two peas in a pod, the both of you. Why can¡¯t I be around normal people for once?¡±


    Lucy shot her bond an exasperated look and waved to him to move. ¡°Go and explore the other parts of the Dungeon if you¡¯re only going to complain about this. I¡¯m sure our new friend here won¡¯t mind if you investigate its wonderful domain.¡±


    ¡°I would like to know what a Magical Beast from a foreign dimension thinks of my design,¡± the artificial Dungeon spoke. ¡°But I request to know if the Magical Beast will ask me three questions too, and if so, whether that rhetorical question counts.¡±


    ¡°No, his question doesn¡¯t count,¡± Lucy said with amusement. ¡°My bond only came because he was curious about you, but he has no other motives in that empty brain of his. You can ignore him and his questions until we¡¯re done.¡±


    ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t listen to her! She¡¯s trying to trip you up!¡± Scytale yelled.


    The projection showed no change in expression. ¡°Based on the level of communication the humanoid female among you both has shown compared to the Magical beast, I will assume that I should pay more attention to the female¡¯s words instead of the beast¡¯s.¡±


    Scytale clicked his tongue. ¡°The one time I actually shut up, this is what happens.¡±


    Lucy pointed at the winged snake. ¡°Go on, be off with you.¡±


    The white-gold winged serpent grumbled as he flew off to explore the other rooms of the Dungeon. She turned back to the projection.


    ¡°While it¡¯s entertaining to talk to you, I think we need to set some ground rules about these questions before we start,¡± she began. Lucille held up a finger. ¡°Unless either you or I begin our question with: ¡®This is my allocated question¡¯, we won¡¯t count it as one of the questions. It¡¯s up to the individual to decide whether we answer, however. And secondly¡­¡± She raised a second finger. ¡°I hope for this exchange to be equal, but if we must, we both reserve the right to not answer a question, in return for allowing the other the possibility to ask another. Are these terms acceptable?¡±


    ¡°If I understand correctly, because you did not state ¡®This is my allocated question¡¯, then your question is up to me to answer, to which I will say I find the terms acceptable,¡± the artificial Dungeon responded. ¡°Could I ask the first question?¡±


    ¡°You may,¡± she replied with a smile.


    ¡°Then this is my allocated question: How did foreign dimension entities such as yourselves access the Main Dimension?¡±


    ¡°Ah. Well, that¡¯s because roughly a hundred thousand years ago, multiple realms or ¡®Main Dimensions¡¯ as you refer to them gained the ability to contact and transfer between them through a construct named the ¡®System¡¯,¡± Lucille explained. ¡°This System is capable of translating all languages and everyone gains access to special abilities.¡±


    ¡°¡­I want to ask more, but¡­¡± The Dungeon¡¯s projection was still expressionless. ¡°What is your question?¡±


    She smiled. ¡°This is my allocated question: Would you be willing to organise a deal with me so you can see what the world outside this plane looks like?¡±


    The Dungeon fell silent for a good minute or two. ¡°¡­depends on the terms of the deal but yes, I would. Then this is my second allocated question: do you intend to kill me?¡±


    Lucille shook her head. ¡°No. You¡¯re a rare existence with unique capabilities and someone who could be a valuable resource if you learnt more about the new era. I want to organise a deal with you to allow you to see what lies outside this plane in the other realms, while you use your Dungeon-like capabilities to help generate materials for me. If you were killed, it wouldn¡¯t benefit me as much as if this deal occurred.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m immensely curious about this deal.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯m willing to discuss it in depth with you,¡± Lucy said with a smile. ¡°But before that, I have one last question to ask, and this is my allocated question.¡± Her expression went serious. ¡°Could you please show me your core?¡±


    The projection wavered slightly, the first show of emotion from the ¡®Miasma Containment and Redistribution Device¡¯ yet. ¡°The core is the most important part of my domain. Why must you see it?¡±


    ¡°Because to adequately express my intentions to you, I need to be close enough to see your core,¡± she replied calmly. ¡°And it¡¯s important because in the event you accept my deal and I want to relocate you to a younger plane with more potential and resources, I need to know if it¡¯s possible.¡±


    ¡°¡­relocate? To a new plane?¡± The projection wavered again. ¡°Intermediate? Or Advanced? Higher Order M.C.R.Us were cleared to be placed on higher planes but not my model. Will it have more Monster varieties? Will there be more resources to consume and study?¡± Its words flowed out at a rapid pace. It seemed almost¡­ excited.


    Lucy tilted her head. ¡°That depends. Would you be capable of dimensional expansion like true powerful Dungeons if you gained enough power?¡±


    ¡°Possible. But it may take a few thousand years without more powerful Dungeons to consume.¡±


    She grinned. ¡°I own land where an Ancient Dungeon can be found. If you permit me to design a few of your higher levels, then I¡¯ll let you take over it. This Ancient Dungeon is on a Minor plane.¡±


    ¡°Minor? Minor plane? The third strongest plane rank?¡± The projection completely disintegrated until the artificial Dungeon caught itself and reformed it. ¡°I¡¯ll show you my core. Take these stairs.¡±


    The stone a few metres away from Lucy¡¯s feet split open to reveal a series of steps descending into darkness. She called over Scytale as she nodded for the Dungeon. ¡°I¡¯ll do that then.¡± She smiled again. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to seeing the technology of the nation that¡¯s the predecessor of the Eternal Empire.¡±


    The projection disappeared as she began to walk down the stairs. She was soon accompanied by Scytale who flew down to meet her.


    ¡°So, what did I miss?¡±


    ¡°Nothing much. We¡¯re just heading towards its core,¡± she replied.


    ¡°Okay, cool, its core¡­ wait.¡± He stared at her. ¡°The Dungeon¡¯s core? The place where its boss monster is supposed to be?¡±


    Lucy blinked as if she hadn¡¯t considered that. ¡°There¡¯s a point. I wonder whether this artificial Dungeon has a boss monster or not.¡±


    ¡°That is not the point!¡± Scytale exclaimed. ¡°You¡¯re heading into danger right now!¡±


    ¡°I highly doubt that.¡±


    ¡°Argh! Stop being so over-confident and just listen to- huh?¡±


    The overwhelmingly bright warm glow of light emanating from the room at the bottom of the stairs distracted him and they exited the staircase to see a massive underground chamber plated with metal. Tunnels of thick steel plating ran to and from the centre of the chamber, in which a giant metal ball the height and width of five men levitated. Interconnected sheets of metal clinked and ground as the outer shell of the ball constantly morphed and restructured itself as flows of six-coloured mana rushed through the pipes into its centre. The metal orb beat mechanically as if it were the heart of the plane itself.


    The faint presence felt coming from the projection of the artificial ¡®Dungeon¡¯ was much stronger now, and the reason why the ¡®Dungeon¡¯ showed itself as having metal for skin was made all the more clearer to them. They could feel its attention focused on them, filled with intense curiosity, anticipation, and caution. The mind that they could feel with their spiritual energy was very similar to the two daggers in a way ¨C immature and emotionally undeveloped, but carrying characteristics like intelligence and strange inhuman senses that only an artificial soul could have.


    Scytale stared at the core.


    ¡°That¡¯s a golem.¡±


    ¡°It is,¡± Lucy replied with a calm smile.


    He turned to stare at her. ¡°I thought you said this was a Dungeon?¡±


    ¡°I did,¡± she said, her smile growing wider.


    ¡°Then what the heck is this thing?!?!¡±

 Chapter 71 (1 of 2) Scavenger’s Drought Isle.

    ¡°How in the realms is this monstrosity of metal and mana a filthy Dungeon?!¡± Scytale yelled. ¡°Those¡­ tubes or whatever they are make it look like some giant octopus instead of the result of an artifact gone haywire!¡±


    Lucille walked forward to the edge of the little viewing platform they were on and gestured to the beating golem core before them. ¡°In function, this construct performs the role of a Dungeon. But it is, in fact, a sentient large-scale inorganic form golem ¨C essentially a mechanical object that has gained a soul like Apophis and Ouroboros here. And as the golem core has been on an Old Era plane for so long, the core became an artifact.¡± She turned to face the core. ¡°It was made for the pure function of replacing Dungeons by consuming them and becoming a controllable force in their stead. To my knowledge, this is the only one left.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ how did you find out about it?¡± her bond asked warily.


    It was actually the mages on the plane who discovered it first. The golem needed to expand its artificial Dungeon domain but when it came near the locations in the city the mages were studying, they attacked it to eradicate it. It was only after it was destroyed that they realised what it was and lamented the wasted potential it held.


    ¡®Huh¡­¡¯


    ¡°Now, I know that we have both asked our two questions,¡± she addressed the golem, ¡°But I have one last request to make. May I touch your core?¡±


    ¡°A peculiar request. Usually, I should assume you mean to harm me if you wish to be so close to my core, considering my role as an artificial Dungeon, but you don¡¯t have the strength to break my metal shielding.¡± The golem¡¯s voice was louder and made the room shake with power. The golem was much, much more powerful than its questions and interactions had suggested.


    ¡°I intend to initiate something like a spiritual bond through an intermediary,¡± she stated seriously. ¡°With it, I will be able to communicate with you regardless of dimensional boundaries and what realm I am in. You can also receive any information I send you, and I can receive any information you send me too. And finally, this will allow you to see a realistic model of what the world outside looks like even when you are physically immobile due to your core.¡±


    The golem didn¡¯t hesitate. ¡°I will let you touch my core, if this is what¡¯s necessary for your plan to relocate me.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°It is.¡±


    The room rumbled as one of the hundreds of metal pipes moved to position itself as a walkway between their platform and the core.


    ¡°Please begin. I want to see what the outside is like in this era.¡±


    Lucy slowly walked forward with Scytale following her closely. She made it to the core, where she could feel the waves of dense mana brushing against her skin. Scytale shuddered as his beast senses detected the immense force. He inched back.


    ¡°I¡­ think I¡¯ll have to stay away for the moment, Lucy.¡±


    ¡°If you need to.¡± She looked over her shoulder. ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, I¡¯m fine. Amazing, actually. I¡¯m just¡­¡± He swayed from side to side with his eyes closed. ¡°Feeling a little sleepy¡­¡±


    She reached down and pinched a feather to pull on and wake him up. ¡°Turn into your human form.¡±


    ¡°Maybe¡­ in a moment¡­¡±


    ¡°Scytale, I¡¯m not hauling your ten-metre-long body away from the golem core,¡± Lucy stated flatly. ¡°Turn back into your human form.¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± With the glow of golden light, he turned into a young boy sitting cross-legged on the ground. ¡°Okay¡­ I still feel it, but not as much¡­¡±


    Lucy turned back to the core. ¡°We¡¯ll be out of here soon.¡± She unpeeled a black glove and placed her hand on the surface of the cool metal. The vibrating core trembled beneath her skin, with unimaginable amounts of force constantly cycling in the artificial heart. Lucille closed her eyes and activated her Omnipresent Soul Framework subskill of her Origin Skill as she infused spiritual energy into the core.


    Her energy came in contact with the unusual soul within, forming a channel between its consciousness and the Simulacrum Realm. Both of their minds were taken into the blank space.


    The golem¡¯s consciousness showed itself as the same humanoid figure of its projection. Presumably, the male figure was the spirit body of the core. Without its domain senses to perceive the immaterial space around it, its eyes moved to observe the bleached realm.


    ¡°These senses¡­ are¡­ peculiar. And this place?¡±


    ¡°I have yet to obtain accurate data on how you perceive the world, so unfortunately you¡¯ll have to rely on my perspective as a humanoid instead,¡± she replied with a smile. ¡°As for this space, it is a private sector I control of the ¡®spiritual realm¡¯. The spiritual realm is an immaterial¡­ strata of all Main Dimensions that contains and transfers spiritual energy, the power of the soul.¡±


    ¡°You said this would enable me to see what the new era is like?¡±


    In response, she snapped her fingers. The golem¡¯s eyes involuntarily widened as it took in the simulated paved ground and the multitude of buildings. Above their heads, a spectacular golden dome-shaped array spun, and in the distance, a massive mansion built of marble and gold stood above all other structures.


    ¡°As we aren¡¯t physically on my current plane of residence, I can¡¯t use my spiritual perception to synchronise the residents with this city and form models of ¡®people¡¯,¡± Lucy stated. ¡°But this is a recreation of the Gilded Dome plane and its city, the Gilded Seat. That mansion in the distance is my organisation¡¯s headquarters and my home.¡±


    The golem didn¡¯t immediately reply as it took in the view. Then it slowly turned to face her. ¡°There is¡­ so much I wish to ask.¡±


    ¡°I know. And I have a solution.¡± Another snap of her fingers caused the fake sun in the distance to start quickly moving across the sky. It disappeared under the horizon to be replaced by a moon, but then dawn came and with it, the sun arose. The simulation rapidly cycled through day and night.


    Lucy smirked. ¡°I¡¯ve synched the simulation to the current time dilation of the Simulacrum realm. All I need is to accelerate our minds and we can discuss many things.¡±


    ¡°I am in¡­ awe.¡± The golem stared at the sun and moon frequenting the sky and then turned to her. ¡°I fear I don¡¯t have enough knowledge of worth to be able to ask all my questions, however.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s check.¡± The world around them crumbled into small white crystals, which began to coalesce in the centre. They both watched as an immense tower formed in the centre and then rows upon rows of shelves spread out from its base.


    Lucy gestured to it with both hands. ¡°As the Simulacrum Realm uses the power of the mind, the quickest way to share information would be the mind, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± she asked with a smile. ¡°This is the first major construct of my Simulacrum Realm. It¡¯s a work in progress, but it should be good enough for our purposes. I assume with a mind as ancient and unique as yours, you have plenty of ability to manipulate multiple thought paths, so¡­¡±


    She walked over to an empty shelf and placed a hand on it. ¡°You may retrieve as much knowledge from my ¡®Database¡¯ as you can transfer into it.¡±


    ¡°¡­ ¡®Database¡¯?¡± Something about the word seemed to connect with the golem and it walked forward, then carefully placed a hand on the same shelf, as if it were cautious about how to move its body. ¡°Then I will try to transfer and retrieve as much as I can before you go.¡±


    ¡°Not even by then. We can both access the Simulacrum Realm from whatever plane or realm we are within,¡± she added with a grin.


    ¡­


    ¡°We have escaped from the wacko Dungeon¡­ golem¡­ thing!¡± Scytale exclaimed as they left the archway, soaring into the sky with exuberance.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand what your problem with it is,¡± Lucy replied conversationally. ¡°It¡¯s far better than dealing with another mindless, irrationally hostile Dungeon core.¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah, but¡­¡± He considered and then looped back around to fly by her side. ¡°Look, you know how I get with stuff that just doesn¡¯t make sense. I¡¯ve lived my whole life knowing that it¡¯s impossible to control monster essence and then you just go ahead and casually shatter my worldview. I¡¯d prefer if that didn¡¯t have to happen every few weeks!¡±


    Lucille narrowed her eyes at her bond. ¡°So you¡¯d rather live your life in ignorance for the rest of eternity?¡±


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Yup,¡± he said, unabashed.


    She rolled her eyes and checked the miniature hourglass in her necklace¡¯s pendant. ¡°Time to head back to Gilded Seat and explain to Vincent what exactly we just met. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be intrigued by the prospect of building a Dungeon city within the confines of the Dungeon as well as outside of it.¡±


    ¡°Sure, if you can convince him this M.C¡­ whatever thing actually exists,¡± Scytale argued.


    ¡°I¡¯ll make do.¡±


    They spent another hour making the return trip through the city after Lucy had finally managed to climb to the top of the crater, and then once they had returned the timekeeping necklace and signed some paperwork, they were set to take a teleportation array to the Aeonic plane where they would then catch one back to Gilded Seat.


    ¡°Still, it¡¯s good to see that you¡¯re finally putting your Origin Skill to use,¡± Scytale brought up as they passed the multitude of mages on the Athenaeum¡¯s origin plane. ¡°It¡¯s always felt to me like you have tons of ideas of how to use it but all of them require the Tower to be in a different time period than it is now.¡±


    She nodded to her bond, who was riding on her shoulders. ¡°I feel relatively safe sharing the Simulacrum Realm¡¯s existence with the Dungeon golem because it is aware that if its existence becomes known, it might be locked up in the Athenaeum to be studied for the rest of time.¡± Lucy smirked. ¡°Using the Simulacrum Realm to analyse all its properties is a far more efficient way to go about it.¡±


    Scytale sent his agreement across the bond and then the conversation naturally came to a close. Once they were on a teleportation array and waiting for it to activate, he raised his head to look at her with his gold, slitted eyes. ¡°And how is it going for you with your crewmates? Is everything going smoothly over there?¡±


    Lucy paused to check the second conscious in her mind, which essentially felt to her like another one of her main thought strands. ¡°Let¡¯s just say¡­ it could be going better right at this moment.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­¡± Scytale went silent as he received her experiences from over in the Distorted Depths. Then he blinked when he felt her body stop moving for a second. ¡°Lucy? Is something wrong?¡±


    She watched the group of four people and their navy-haired member disappear into the crowd and then shook her head with a smile. ¡°No, never mind.¡±


    The teleportation array lit up with intensely violet light and began to send them across the Mystical Realm. The navy-haired figure looked back as the brown-haired member of his party talked about sleeping in a proper bed for the first time in a while.


    ¡°Marellen?¡± Roa said quizzically.


    Marellen kept watching the empty teleportation for a few more minutes with a slight frown. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ nothing. I just thought I saw someone I recognized.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps you are just tired,¡± Roa suggested. ¡°It would be best for us to head to the Artificers and register these artifacts as soon as possible so that we may all take a well-deserved rest.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ yeah¡­ artifacts.¡± He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly as he followed after the others. ¡°Registering those, yeah¡­¡±


    <hr>


    ¡°What are you¡­ Captain!¡±


    The curly-haired woman stormed along the ship deck, heading directly towards her cabin. A somewhat flustered Caspian ran after her when he noticed she was walking off.


    ¡°Captain? Captain!¡±


    Adrianna continued to ignore him with a dark look on her face as she flung her cabin door open. She marched inside and yanked her gold-trimmed coat and hat off the hooks on the walls, then pulled them on.


    ¡°Captain Adrianna Riftmire!¡± Caspian said with exasperation as he arrived at her front door, slightly out of breath. ¡°What exactly is going on? One second you were just standing beside me as we watched the others take the dinghies to the island and the next moment you were acting like someone had died!¡±


    ¡°Someone will be if I don¡¯t act soon,¡± she stated curtly, taking her staff from the wall ¨C a reward from the Commander after she had become a Captain. She walked back over to the door and gestured to her Vice Captain with a sharp tilt of the head. ¡°Move.¡±


    He stepped aside with a frustrated sigh and she stormed back out onto the deck slick with water. She arrived back on the forecastle deck where Zhang Mingxia, the other two men who accompanied her, Liliana, Silenis Vima and Maeva Winrich were present.


    ¡°Captain Riftmire, Vice Captain Wharifin¡­ is something wrong?¡± Lilliana asked with worry. When Adrianna didn¡¯t reply but only took out her spyglass to scan the island¡¯s beach, she archer turned to Caspian. ¡°The Captain looks angry.¡±


    ¡°Why the hell would I know?¡± Caspian muttered. ¡°She doesn¡¯t explain anything to anyone, let alone me. All she said was that someone might die soon.¡±


    The other crewmembers¡¯ eyes widened. ¡°What?¡± Lillian asked.


    They became startled when Adrianna suddenly collapsed her spyglass and put it back onto her belt. She turned to face them, her normally emotionless face solemn. ¡°Baxtimer¡¯s group entered the eastern side of the island and came in contact with the Scion¡¯s strongest descendants.¡±


    ¡°You ordered them to avoid the eastern side, did you not?¡± Mingxia asked with confusion.


    ¡°I did,¡± Adrianna growled. ¡°But some people don¡¯t seem to believe me when I say they¡¯re not strong enough to contend with those monsters. I never say things without a reason.¡± She faced the waters again with a slight frown and then handed her spyglass to Caspian. ¡°Stay here and keep a watch out for when Griffin¡¯s group returns. I¡¯m going to retrieve Baxtimer¡¯s group.¡±


    ¡°What?! But- alone?!¡± His eyes widened. ¡°But Captain, what about the ship?!¡±


    ¡°The others will be enough to man it.¡± She marched over to the edge of the ship and held out her staff.


    ¡°Then¡­ take me at least,¡± Caspian argued.


    Adrianna let out a long sigh.


    What is with his insistence on always coming with me? Is he not aware that his strengths lie in reconnaissance and information gathering?


    ¡°Can you fly, Caspian?¡± she stated blandly.


    He blinked. ¡°I¡­ what?¡±


    She pointed her staff at the ocean and with the cry and electrically-charged force of lightning, an illusionary monstrous sky eagle formed. ¡°I said, can you fly?¡± she repeated.


    Caspian hesitated as he eyed the eagle. ¡°¡­no. But-¡±


    ¡°Then there is no ¡®but¡¯. I¡¯m going alone.¡± She used an arm to jump over the edge of the ship onto the back of the eagle.


    ¡°Take Zhang Mingxia then!¡± Caspian yelled over the sound of the wind.


    Adrianna gave her a dubious look. ¡°Zhang Mingxia is a cultivator, a user of spiritual energy. Her effectiveness against monsters with mana is reduced and her strengths lie in reconnaissance at the moment like you.¡±


    ¡°So, we wouldn¡¯t need two people who have perception abilities on this ship, would we?¡± he argued. ¡°If you need someone who can fight, then she¡¯ll be more useful than me.¡±


    ¡°Captain Riftmire, I wish to participate in the rescue mission,¡± Zhang Mingxia spoke up, approaching them from behind Caspian. ¡°I am aware that the arts of my honoured Sect may not have as strong an effect as they would in the Heavenly Realm, but even so, please do not underestimate their capability.¡±


    Adrianna frowned as she considered it. Zhang Mingxia walked up to the edge of the ship. ¡°I was sent here by my Sect to become familiar with the other realms and their military capabilities. I wish to complete the role.¡±


    Adrianna pinched her nose bridge and then waved at the Sect heir. ¡°Fine. Jump on.¡±


    The only reason she accepted was because Caspian looked like he was ready to jump if she declined. Now that she had accepted, Caspian gave a satisfied nod and backed off. ¡°I¡¯ll check with Arventiel to find out what she can spot from the bird¡¯s nest. Good luck and stay safe, Zhang, Captain.¡±


    Zhang Mingxia leapt over the edge and touched down on the eagle¡¯s back. With perfect balance, she crouched down just behind Adrianna. ¡°What will we do first, Captain?¡±


    ¡°First, we¡¯ll fly around the eastern side to inspect the situation of Baxtimer¡¯s group in greater detail,¡± Adrianna replied indifferently. Lightning crackled in the air around them as the eagle beat its wings and began to fly. She narrowed her eyes. ¡°And then we¡¯ll go see why Officer Griffin has directed his group to the eastern side too.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Captain, I can perceive Officer Baxtimer¡¯s entourage,¡± Zhang Mingxia announced. She pointed her tasselled sword at the group of five below. ¡°Officer Baxtimer, Baervad, Deirvetch, Zoc¡¯uraghets and Leutia seem to be residing in a cave to escape the senses of the monsters.¡±


    ¡°I can see them too,¡± Adrianna replied. She frowned slightly when she noticed the condition of Wilden Leutia, the necromancer. ¡°Leutia has a deep injury on his left shoulder, and the others have wounds of varying risk-levels too.¡± She clicked her tongue. ¡°This is why I told them to stay back from the eastern side. Junem is with Griffin¡¯s group.¡±


    ¡°But did you not state that Officer Griffin¡¯s group is navigating towards the direction of the Azure Dragon too?¡± Mingxia stated. ¡°Charlene Junem may be able to aid their recovery.¡±


    ¡°If Officer Griffin is heading towards the east of the island, it¡¯s not because he knows they¡¯re there and wants to save them,¡± Adrianna stated coldly.


    Zhang Mingxia paused and observed Adrianna. ¡°You appear certain of that.¡±


    Adrianna didn¡¯t reply and instead just crossed her arms. The two women fell silent as they watched the monsters search the tropical flora and terrain for the intruders.


    ¡°Will we retrieve Baxtimer¡¯s group?¡± Mingxia finally asked.


    Adrianna considered it and then turned to gaze at the cultivator.


    Zhang Mingxia blinked. ¡°Captain?¡±


    ¡°Officer Zhang, I will land on the beach below and give you the opportunity to lead Baxtimer¡¯s group back to the Dawnlight,¡± Adrianna stated. ¡°Due to Wilden Leutia¡¯s dark-element affinity, Charlene Junem¡¯s healing will be rendered ineffective. It will be safer for the group to be healed by Winrich when they return to the ship.¡± She turned back to observe the monsters. ¡°I¡¯ll stay here and watch Griffin¡¯s group.¡±


    ¡°¡­will you be alright without me?¡± the Sect heir asked cautiously.


    Adrianna gave her a dismissive wave. ¡°I won¡¯t need to participate in combat unless Griffin¡¯s group lands themselves in trouble, or the monsters need to be distracted to stop them from following you.¡± She gave the cultivator a serious look. ¡°If you do this well, then I¡¯ll ignore your limitations regarding spiritual energy and consider placing you in a position of team leadership more frequently. It¡¯s clear now that none of Baxtimer¡¯s group can be trusted to lead effectively.¡±


    Mingxia¡¯s eyes widened and she gave Adrianna an Empire salute. ¡°I¡­ will try my best, Captain. Please let me attempt this mission.¡±


    Adrianna directed the eagle construct with a gesture of her finger and the construct swooped down to the sandy ground. Zhang Mingxia leapt off and didn¡¯t look back as she headed for the cave the others were in, using her spiritual senses to avoid all the monsters. Adrianna flew the eagle above the mountain base where Griffin, Charlene Junem, Dais Twyla and Catherine Sherwood were.


    Is he seriously trying to obtain that water-element natural treasure from the ruins? What does he plan to do with it?


    Win Caspian over? No, I don¡¯t think Griffin is willing to fake being Caspian¡¯s friend. Then is he trying to win Maeva over?


    That was understandable. Maeva disliked Griffin quite a bit after his first few attention-seeking stunts and detested him by the end of their first two years together. But she was arguably the closest person in the past to Adrianna after Caspian, so it made sense he¡¯d want to stay on her good side for now. In fact, out of all her crewmates¡­ Maeva was the only one she visited once Adrianna had quit the navy. Even Caspian¡­ Adrianna had avoided.


    That was a mistake and something she severely regretted.


    Her ponderings on Maeva Winrich brought to mind the strongest and most impactful memory she had of the woman ¨C the second last time they had ever met.


    ¡­¡­¡­..


    ¡°So? What is it? Why did you request for us to visit?¡± she asked, still wearing the dark cloak she had returned from doing her underworld affairs in. She leaned against the doorway with her arms crossed as she observed the dark-blue-haired woman sitting by the bench.


    Maeva Winrich raised her eyes from where she had been silently staring at the wood in front of her. ¡°¡­Adrianna.¡±


    ¡°Hi, Maeva. I came, just like you said. What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Maeva didn¡¯t say anything at first, but then she got up from the chair and walked towards her. Then her pace sped up and the woman dashed forward to grab the front of her shirt.


    ¡°What have you done to my friend?!¡± Maeva hissed.


    She gazed coldly down at the blue-haired and blue-eyed woman, whose grip trembled with rage.


    ¡°Telling me that he¡¯s going to kill you and that you were to blame for everything-¡± Maeva¡¯s eyes widened with distress. ¡°I told you to help him, not¡­ not¡­¡±


    She took advantage of the woman¡¯s lapse to rip the healer¡¯s hands off of her clothes and shove her back. Maeva winced as her back hit the hard edge of the table and then froze as their eyes met level-to-level.


    ¡°Help him? Yes, you did tell me to do that,¡± she growled. ¡°But you never told me that Caspian was this close to-¡± Something in her prevented her from letting the words slip out, and Maeva gazed at her with slight apprehension.


    ¡°Adrianna? Caspian was¡­ what? What¡¯s wrong with Caspian?¡± Maeva asked worriedly.


    She shoved her former crewmate away and rubbed her eyes. ¡°You don¡¯t¡­ know¡­¡± She shuddered as she took a deep breath and then sat down on a chair near the table. Her eyes strayed over to where she saw a half-empty bottle sitting and considered trying to use it, but gave up because she knew her Superior illusion affinity prevented her from getting intoxicated through magical substances.


    She crossed her arms and leaned them on the bench. ¡°¡­look, Maeva,¡± she began, her throat feeling dry. ¡°When I entered his room, it was a mess. But worst of all was that he held a jagged shard of glass covered in his own blood in his fist. There was nobody else in the room. We can only guess what would¡¯ve happened if I was a moment too late.¡±


    Maeva¡¯s face drained of colour and she shakily pulled up a seat next to her. ¡°D-Does- i-is that his last one?¡±


    She shot her former subordinate a darkly amused look. ¡°Resurrections only activate when someone wants to live, Maeva.¡±


    Maeva went silent and so did she. ¡°What¡­ are you going to do now?¡± Maeva eventually asked.


    She sighed and tilted her head back to look at the roof. ¡°Keep going and I hope he eventually finds something else to live for, I suppose. But he needs a second pillar now that I¡¯ve chosen this path. Make sure you keep in contact with him, Maeva.¡±


    ¡°¡­Captain, you¡¯ll break him,¡± Maeva whispered.


    She smirked and stood up. ¡°You can¡¯t break what¡¯s already broken. Why do you think I even lasted this long?¡±


    Her former crewmate looked confused but she didn¡¯t stop to explain herself and walked towards the door. ¡°I¡¯ll see you sometime¡­ eventually. In case you urgently need to contact me, you can go through Ravimoux. I¡¯m working with Regulus Ravimoux to follow up on some leads that may have something to do with the Distorted Depth¡¯s¡­ inhabitant.¡±


    Maeva quickly stood up and followed her to the door. ¡°Capt- I mean, Adrianna, wait up.¡±


    She turned around to see her former crewmate.


    ¡°Adrianna, isn¡¯t there any way we could change this?¡± Maeva pleaded. ¡°Confess to Caspian and find some way to help him, or talk things out¡­ all of the crew believed the rumours that you had finally died. Even I did until Caspian spoke to me.¡±


    ¡°¡­I don¡¯t think so, Maeva. And even if there was another way¡­¡± She gave her a slightly strange, and bitter, smile. ¡°I still would¡¯ve chosen to do it like this.¡±


    ¡°¡­why?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because¡­¡± She looked behind her and then turned back to her ex-subordinate one last time. ¡°If I stay around anyone else I care about for any longer, you¡¯ll all be hurt too.¡±


    Maeva looked pained. ¡°Captain¡­ none of what happened was your fault.¡±


    ¡°¡­thank you, Maeva. But¡­¡± Her expression went cold. ¡°I know whose fault this is. And I am going to kill him. You always wondered why I never got rid of him at the first chance I had, but that was because¡­ I failed to kill him the first time. I wanted to ensure I did it correctly the next.¡±


    Maeva stared at her, but then smiled bitterly and shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ll see you later, Captain.¡±


    ¡°Ex-Officer Winrich¡­ stay safe,¡± she said. Then she turned around and didn¡¯t look back to see the woman watching her go.


    She pulled the hood of her cloak down and narrowed her eyes.


    ¡°I wonder if the Court of Ninety-Nine would know what a ¡®Distorter¡¯ is¡­¡±

 Chapter 71 (2 of 2) Scavenger’s Drought Isle.

    ¡°Conlan, where are we going?¡±


    The man with golden eyes paused to look back at his redhead and green-eyed follower.


    Catherine had a slight grin on her face. ¡°I¡¯ve been itching to fight some monster scum the moment we got on this island.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not here for monsters,¡± he said with a smirk. ¡°We¡¯re here for treasure.¡±


    ¡°Oooh, treasure?¡± Catherine¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°I like the sound of that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not the kind of treasure we could use ourselves,¡± he warned her. ¡°Magical beasts don¡¯t tend to use items, so what we¡¯ll find is a ¡®natural treasure¡¯.¡±


    Catherine screwed up her face as she thought about it. ¡°So one of those crazy powerful plants or stones from this realm? ¡®Kay then. Not a weapon, but it¡¯s still treasure.¡± She shot him a curious look. ¡°What do you want something like that for? And why do you know it¡¯s over here?¡±


    ¡°If we hand over the treasure to our Captain then she might be more happy with us,¡± he replied casually. ¡°And shouldn¡¯t it be obvious that the centre of the lair is where the monsters keep their most powerful treasures?¡±


    ¡°I guess, but¡­¡± Catherine seemed to give up thinking and just shrugged. ¡°Whatever you say, Con. Not sure why you want Captain stuck-up to like you but if that¡¯s what you want I¡¯ll go through with it.¡±


    Conlan paused for a moment and then kept moving. ¡°If our Captain is happy with us, won¡¯t she let us do what we want more?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it trust you need for that? Not just her ¡®liking¡¯ is?¡± Cathy asked, confused.


    ¡°I want both.¡±


    She scoffed. ¡°Yeah, well I know for sure that doing this won¡¯t get on her good side.¡±


    Conlan smirked again. ¡°It¡¯s fine. No matter what I do, she¡¯ll never get rid of me.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know where you get your confidence from.¡± Catherine shook her head with mild exasperation.


    She never kicked me off the crew the last time around, so why should I assume she¡¯ll do it now? It¡¯s why even though she pretended to never give me an inkling of attention, I knew I was important to her somehow.


    She just loves playing hard to get. Which is why I¡¯m going to get her to snap out of her prickly attitude towards me as quickly as possible in this timeline.


    Conlan crouched as he approached the tropical fern undergrowth and gestured for Catherine to do the same. He placed a finger on his lips. ¡°We need to be quiet now. I can sense monsters nearby.¡±


    ¡°Woah, I still can¡¯t sense them!¡± Cathy said, looking impressed. ¡°How do you have such good senses?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a natural talent,¡± Conlan replied with a calm smile.


    The sound of moving bushes to their right pricked their ears and they turned to see two women heading their way. One was the dirty-blonde-haired Dais Twyla with a thick braid going down her back. Something about her eyes looked slightly crazed and a little wild, and a low growl was escaping her lips.


    Charlene Junem carefully followed Dais, a small levitating orb floating near her that functioned as a catalyst ¨C a replacement for a staff.


    ¡°I smell them,¡± Dais growled when she met up with Conlan and Catherine.


    ¡°How many are guarding it?¡± he asked in a low voice.


    ¡°Three¡­ no, maybe four,¡± she muttered. ¡°The Scion is asleep, but not deeply. If one of its descendants gets close enough to warn it, it will wake up and wreak havoc on the island.¡± The tendons in her hands went taut as she gripped the ground with them, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on the stony beach in front of them.


    Conlan gave her a side-eye. ¡°You seem on edge.¡±


    ¡°I smelt blood,¡± she spat. ¡°Human blood. One of our crew-members got injured. It¡¯s a weak presence. They¡¯ll get preyed upon easily.¡±


    ¡°Injured¡­¡± Conlan frowned and looked back to see the tropical jungle-covered mountain, but he couldn¡¯t spot anything from his distance. ¡°They must¡¯ve been close if you detected their scent.¡±


    Dais didn¡¯t say anything but let out a guttural sound in her throat.


    ¡°Hey, if they¡¯re hurt then shouldn¡¯t we do something?¡± Catherine asked with slight shock. ¡°Help them back to the ship or something?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ no, that would be a bad idea,¡± Conlan replied with a slight smile. ¡°Not with Dais how she is right now.¡±


    Catherine blinked and studied the woman. ¡°¡­Dais?¡±


    Dais seemed to be suppressing something because she was still staring at the opening that led out to the beach.


    ¡°Ah, I forgot that most of you wouldn¡¯t know this, because Conlan mentioned it so casually to me,¡± Charlene mentioned with surprise. ¡°Cathy, Dais isn¡¯t fully human. She¡¯s actually a-¡±


    Conlan raised a hand and everybody fell silent. ¡°Shhh. They¡¯re coming closer.¡±


    They all listened intently for the telltale sign of footsteps that would indicate a monster approaching them. Soon the sound of breaking twigs and ferns being pushed aside made it to them.


    Dais turned to give Conlan a wide stare and he nodded. ¡°Go.¡±


    With a roar, the blonde-haired woman¡¯s body sprouted fur and bones restructured themselves into a bipedal shape. The giant wolf that appeared in her place let out a howl and bounded off onto the beach.


    ¡°Nobody interrupt while she fights that monster in her wolf form,¡± Conlan ordered. ¡°We¡¯re going to make a break for the cove and enter the main cavern through the underwater tunnel. On the count of three.¡±


    He held up his hand. ¡°One. Two. ¡­..Three.¡±


    All three of them sprung up and dashed for the opening. When they made it to the beach they dodged the many boulders and sea life encrusted rocks, heading for the bend in the path ahead of them.


    They ran past the scene of Dais battling five smaller turtle-like creatures with parasitic coral and barnacles attached to their shells, and mouths filled with natural teeth-like lumps of bone. She was showing no problem as she grabbed one in her jaws and threw it against a nearby rock wall. The shell of the turtle monster cracked.


    ¡°Dais is doing well, so ignore her and keep yelling!¡± Conlan shouted.


    They kept running, nearly to the cove. When they rounded the bend they had to stop because there was no visible cave entrance except for a small opening where the rock face met with the water.


    ¡°Jump,¡± Conlan ordered. ¡°We need to go into the water to access the cave.¡±


    ¡°¡­Conlan, are you sure about this?¡± Charlene asked with worry.


    Before he could reply, Catherine placed her spear into its holder on her back. ¡°I trust him. I¡¯ll go first.¡±


    She jumped in with a loud splash and swam for the small opening. Her head disappeared from view as she went under to enter the cave.


    Charlene eyed the water hesitantly.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go after you,¡± Conlan told her.


    She took a deep breath and then jumped in, swimming for the cave.


    Conlan spared a glance behind him to check on Dais, who was running towards him in her wolf form. He nodded when he saw the destroyed remains of the monsters and dived into the cold water himself.


    He shot towards the opening and his head broke the water¡¯s surface on the inside of the cave. In front of him, Catherine and Charlene were just climbing out of the water.


    He swam to the edge of the water and clambered out, water sliding off the waterproof material of his uniform. Rippling reflections of the water¡¯s surface coated the roof and his footsteps and splashes echoed dully.


    ¡°All good?¡± he asked the girls.


    Charlene rang the water out of her hair while Catherine gave him a thumbs up with a big grin on her face. ¡°A-Okay!¡±


    ¡°Right then.¡± He looked around the cave that echoed with the slightest vibration. ¡°I¡¯ll go on ahead to scout out the area beyond this while you two wait for Dais here-¡±


    The sound of a gasp escaping from someone interrupted him and he turned around to see Dais Twyla climbing out of the small pool that connected with the sea. Her braid was messed up and unravelling, and blood washed off her uniform to dye the pool red.


    ¡°Are you injured?¡± Charlene asked her, holding up her hands in preparation to cast a healing spell.


    ¡°Nope. Ah, wait.¡± Dais spat out a globule of blood onto the cave floor and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. ¡°Got a nasty cut on the inside of my mouth during the fight. It¡¯ll heal in fifty seconds, tops.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never had the chance to heal you, you know,¡± Charlene said with a smile. ¡°Your monster lineage regenerates you too quickly.¡±


    ¡°Nothing to be jealous of when you¡¯ve got to fight strange cravings every time I use my wolf form.¡± Dais piled her long braid up on her head and tied it into a haphazard bun with a bit of twine she had on hand. ¡°Alright, are we done with the chit chat or are we going to head deeper in?¡±


    Conlan nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s go. Dais, you guard the rear, while I¡¯ll lead from the front.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    With Conlan in front, Charlene and Catherine in the middle, and Dais at the back, they began to walk through the wide open tunnel that led deeper into the cave system.


    The redhead behind Conlan frowned slightly. ¡°Monster?¡±


    ¡°Werewolf,¡± he informed Cathy. ¡°The only group who have a monster bloodline.¡±


    Her vivid green eyes widened. ¡°Wait, werewolves exist?!¡± She paused to consider it. ¡°What about vampires?¡±


    Charlene blinked and turned to Catherine. ¡°Vampires? You mean those of the Evernight March?¡±


    Catherine looked stunned. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it¡­ even vampires are real.¡± She hesitated and abruptly narrowed her eyes at Charlene. ¡°Do they sparkle in the sunlight?¡±


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°I¡­ what?¡± The healer looked utterly confused. ¡°No? Why would they sparkle?¡±


    ¡°Ha, take that, stupid book series, the bane of my teenage years!¡± Catherine yelled, startling the woman. ¡°I always told my friends it was a dumb concept!¡±


    Conlan nearly facepalmed but was distracted when the tunnel suddenly opened out to an enormous cavern. Based on their location, he could estimate that they were directly under the main mountain of the island.


    In the centre of the cavern was a giant monstrous turtle, with a powerful aura emanating from it. Blue light gleamed from its dark green scales and their eyes were attracted to the source. A conch shell the size of their heads was emitting the light, and was positioned right next to the enormous eye of the monster¡¯s head, resting on the damp surface of the cave floor.


    ¡°¡­that¡¯s our goal,¡± Conlan whispered to the others.


    ¡°¡­how do we get it?¡± Charlene quietly asked.


    ¡°Let me think¡­¡± Conlan crouched and studied the position of the conch, looking out for any other monsters near the Monster King Scion.


    ¡°I feel like there¡¯s a better plan than using the natural treasure to lure the other monsters out,¡± Dais Twyla grumbled. ¡°Captain Riftmire told us to not take unnecessary risks, and I¡¯m pretty sure this is considered an ¡®unnecessary risk¡¯.¡±


    Well, that¡¯s because, in truth, I just want the natural treasure. If we bring this back to White Squall Fortress, Adrianna will be accredited with the success and our crew can take on more important jobs. I want to move my plans along.


    ¡°We¡¯re here now,¡± Conlan replied. ¡°If this succeeds, our job will end up being much easier when the time comes for the ship¡¯s cannons to activate.¡±


    Dais frowned. ¡°I guess¡­¡±


    ¡°If there are no more questions¡­ then here¡¯s the plan.¡± Conlan turned around and pointed to Charlene. ¡°You need to stay by the entrance. We can¡¯t risk our healer becoming injured and you don¡¯t have the AGI to sneak the conch out from under the Scion¡¯s nose.¡±


    Charlene Junem nodded as he turned to Catherine. ¡°Cathy, I want you to be the one to steal the conch away from the monster. You have the highest AGI out of all of us.¡±


    In truth, I have double her AGI, but I can¡¯t let that get found out when they all think I¡¯m a warrior with high CON and STR.


    ¡°Dais, I need you to head back and guard the pool to make sure no monsters spring up behind us,¡± he said.


    Dais narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°Don¡¯t give me orders, Griffin. It¡¯s clear that Sherwood is your friend and Charlene has never been the outspoken one, so I get why she hasn¡¯t said anything, but you are not our official Squad Leader.¡±


    Her attitude irritated him but he forced himself to dip his head apologetically. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m just used to being the head of a party when I go adventuring.¡± He gave her as sincere a smile as he could manage while being frustrated at her. ¡°Could you please guard our rear by the pool?¡±


    The werewolf woman rolled her eyes. ¡°Fine.¡±


    He clenched his fist but let out a short sigh instead of commenting on her statement. ¡°And I¡¯m going to guard the other exit over there,¡± he said, pointing, ¡°To ensure nothing gets out. Let¡¯s get into our places.¡±


    The three women dispersed, with Charlene waiting near the tunnel, Dais walking back to watch the pool, and Catherine cautiously walking forward to wait closer by the conch. She crouched behind a pile of boulders covered in bleached barnacles.


    Conlan crept over to the other exit and when he was in position, he gave Cathy a firm nod.


    Catherine took a deep breath and then bolted out from behind the boulders, making a break for the conch. She scooped it up and dashed back in the direction of Charlene and the tunnel.


    Good, she¡¯ll make it-


    Conlan¡¯s eyes widened. Oh no.


    The monstrous turtle¡¯s eye snapped open and fixed itself on Catherine. The redhead was unaware and held the conch high to show it off to Charlene. She grinned. ¡°Look, I got it!¡±


    Charlene¡¯s face paled when she saw the turtle was awake and then the creature raised its head skyward and bellowed out a roar. The cave shook with enough force to dislodge many of the stalactite structures on the roof and they rained down on the cave floor like barbed hail.


    Catherine glanced over her shoulder and went white as a sheet as a stalactite pierced the floor only inches away from where she had been.


    ¡°Throw it to me and keep going!¡± Conlan shouted from across the cave.


    The redhead spared him a glance and nodded, chucking the conch at him. She and Charlene ran into the tunnel to meet up with Dais.


    After he caught it, Conlan, now alone in the cave, watched the turtle to see if it would notice him. The monster had keen senses and whipped its head back to stare at him. It let out another roar and startled moving over to him, its flippers sending shocks throughout the room every time they collided with the floor.


    He didn¡¯t waste a second and dashed down the tunnel, hoping to find an entrance to the beach before the monstrous turtle Scion caught up. He came to a stop when fifty-odd lesser monster descendants stumbled down the tunnel from the opposite direction. He glanced back and could see the giant monstrous turtle trying to reach its long neck into the tunnel, its body too big to fit.


    He was struck with indecisiveness over what to do.


    Should I ditch the conch? But I don¡¯t want to lose it after all the effort I went through to get it¡­ and even if I try to distract them with it, they¡¯ll probably catch up to me anyway. It¡¯s not worth it.


    A new tremor shot through the floor and he was thrown against the back wall when a powerful force of some kind blasted through the tunnel¡¯s side. He coughed and waved his hand to clear the dust and soon noticed that an entrance to the outside had been blown open. He ran out and slowed slightly when he saw a familiar lightning-coated eagle fly over him.


    Wait, she had created that construct this early on?! I never knew that!


    But it doesn¡¯t matter. Did she use a spell to create a new tunnel for me? Ha, if she truly never cared then she would¡¯ve left me for dead.


    He smirked but couldn¡¯t stall for any longer. He brought out his sword to cut away any jungle vines and ferns that blocked his path and made for the beach, hoping to meet up with Catherine, Charlene, and Dais.


    Something whistled past his ear and he dived into a bush, just in time to avoid the flaming hot molten stone that shot past him. He looked back to see the swarm of monsters that were escaping the hole in the mountain being pelted with spells of fire and metal mana, letting out cries of pain as their bodies exploded into monster miasma.


    He looked up and saw the lightning eagle surrounded by a flock of molten orange birds. Their feathers rained down on the turtles, eradicating them by the dozens.


    Monstrous Stymphalian constructs? A bit exotic but if it works, it works, I guess. Was Adrianna keeping an eye out for me?


    The thought filled him with satisfaction but then he spotted Catherine, Charlene, and Dais on the beach, running away from a second swarm of monstrous lesser turtles that were being bombarded with molten bronze feathers.


    Oh, so she was just keeping an eye out for our group in general. Always doing her job as Captain. Well, I never really expected her to be on the lookout for me specifically just yet.


    Several turtles of the monster swarm behind him managed to separate from the main swarm that was facing the strongest attacks and shuffled after him. Nearly nipping at his heels, he made a split-second decision to dive into a roll to quickly roll down the short slope onto the beach. He sprung up and dashed after his other group members, ending up even closer to their chasing monster swarm than they had been.


    The monster swarm that was exiting the hole in the mountain merged with the second swarm on the beach and combined, they let out an ear-splitting cry that nearly tripped him up as he kept running. He did trip and fall on his face when a furious quake shot through the entire island.


    The side of the mountain shattered and sent a landslide cascading down to the beach as the turtle Scion broke through the cavern roof. Its mana-infused bellow made Conlan¡¯s ears ring and his balance was off as picked himself up from the beach and kept on going.


    He met up with the other three when they slowed after finding themselves before a steep slope where the beach fell away to form a cliff face. White-peaked waves crashed against the sandstone and slowly eroded the beach where they were standing.


    ¡°The¡­ tide¡­ is rising¡­¡± Charlene said through deep breaths, leaning her hands on her knees.


    ¡°All this for a stupid shell,¡± Dais muttered.


    Conlan winced.


    Crap, she¡¯s not going to like me from now on. This might end up making things harder in the long run.


    But that wasn¡¯t his priority then. The monster stampede was catching up and they clearly were the main predators when it came to the water. If they entered, they would be killed within seconds.


    Conlan turned around to watch the stampede approach and the other three did the same. They all slowly backed up, but their boots were sinking into the water-logged sand as the sea began to splash against the shoes.


    ¡°Conlan¡­ what do we do?¡± Catherine asked nervously.


    ¡°Conlan? You¡¯re really going to Griffin again in a situation like this?¡± Dais said angrily. ¡°You need to think for yourself! Whose plan was it to get that seashell in the first place?! It was his! All his! Does he even still have that stupid shell with him!¡±


    ¡°I-¡± He put a hand into his pocket and his expression froze as he realised it fell out when the blast occurred.


    Dais noticed his reaction and barked a short laugh. ¡°We didn¡¯t even get the damn shell in the end! Well folks, I hope you¡¯re all ready to experience your first death. It¡¯s not an enjoyable experience, I can tell you that.¡±


    No¡­ no. I can¡¯t die here. I¡¯ll lose 100 levels and will need another six months before I¡¯ll get my strength back. I can¡¯t let that happen.


    He brought out his sword. Dais smirked at him. ¡°You plan to die an honourable death by fighting ¡®til your last breath?¡±


    He gritted his teeth and ignored her aggravating statements as he charged forward. He activated his incomplete battle aura and sword aura, fully intent on using all of his power to escape the situation. Just as his sword split the skull of the first monster-


    A pack of giant wolves bounded out of the jungle and tackled the monstrous turtles. They looked up to see Adrianna jump down from her Sky Eagle and hold out her staff. Indigo mana floated around her and the star-like streaks in her curly hair glowed with bright light.


    ¡°Get on,¡± she said in a frigid voice.


    ¡°¡­do you want us to get on the eagle?¡± Charlene asked hesitantly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like to repeat myself,¡± Adrianna stated coldly. ¡°If you wish to die here and waste a resurrection, then be my guest, but I won¡¯t let a liability back into the crew.¡±


    Charlene and Dais quickly climbed onto the back of illusionary construct, but Catherine was pale.


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t like heights,¡± she stammered.


    Adrianna turned to stare at her. ¡°Then Sherwood, you have a choice. Either get on my eagle and deal with a height that can be ignored by just closing your eyes, or get mauled and eaten alive by the swarm of monsters greedily eyeing your flesh only ten metres away from us. You have ten seconds to make your decision.¡±


    Catherine closed her mouth and climbed onto the eagle. She stumbled slightly when the monster construct rose but she was caught by Charlene and Dais who both grabbed her arms to steady her.


    Adrianna turned to narrow her eyes at Conlan. ¡°Griffin, get on the construct.¡±


    ¡°¡­Captain, I want to stay here and fight with you,¡± he argued.


    Her gaze went cold. ¡°No. Get on the eagle¡¯s back.¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°Captain, even if you have your constructs, your CON still wouldn¡¯t be high. Let me stay beside you and protect you in case anything goes-¡±


    ¡°Elite Officer Conlan Griffin,¡± she stated, her intimidating ice-blue eyes gazing at him with a look that said she wouldn¡¯t take no for an answer. ¡°Get on my illusory construct and leave here before I kill you here myself for disobeying my orders.¡±


    Conlan went silent as he studied her and then let out a short sigh. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll listen, but only because it¡¯s you, Captain.¡± He smirked at her. ¡°You¡¯re the only one I¡¯ll obey in this crew.¡±


    Her brow creased as she gazed at him but he walked past her and climbed onto the back of the eagle. When he had done that, Adrianna jumped up herself and the eagle shot into the sky.


    ¡°Captain, I smelt human blood when we were outside the cave,¡± Dais Twyla informed her. ¡°The other team might be in trouble. We didn¡¯t try to find them at the time because my bloodlust was heightened by the scent and we didn¡¯t want to risk anything.¡±


    ¡°Officer Zhang Mingxia has already led them back to the ship on my orders,¡± Adrianna replied apathetically. ¡°Due to Wilden Leutia having an affinity for the dark element, it was best for them to be healed by Winrich.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me this whole mission was a failure then,¡± Catherine said grumpily. ¡°What was all that effort to get the conch for if the other group had to go back too?¡±


    Adrianna turned to stare at her and Conlan winced, as he hadn¡¯t want the tall woman to know about the natural treasure yet. But before she could say anything, a massive mana-infused roar escaped from the mouth of the turtle Scion, aimed at them.


    Adrianna spun around and pointed her staff at the monster. A mana-circle three times her height formed at the end of the staff and her signature cry of the Monstrous Drake King sounded out, clashing and conflicting with the call. The Sky Eagle¡¯s illusory form distorted slightly but restabilized itself before anything could happen.


    Several lines of semi-translucent scales on the Scion¡¯s neck glowed bright green as a force built within its throat. It opened its mouth and shot a ball of sizzling acid at them.


    Dais and the other two girls stepped back but Adrianna swung her staff to the side and deflected the attack with an illusory tentacle that had manifested from her mana. She pointed her staff at the sea below and her Morphic Kraken appeared from the waves, its mouth filled with rotating blade-like teeth screaming at the monsters. It was only a third of the monstrous turtle Scion¡¯s height but it was enough to keep it distracted.


    ¡°¡­I¡¯m glad you¡¯re our leader, Captain Riftmire,¡± Charlene said with a pale face. ¡°None of us would¡¯ve been able to deal with an attack like that. If it wasn¡¯t for you, we might have died there.¡±


    Adrianna frowned slightly as she watched her construct battle the Scion. Conlan could tell her mana consumption was high because her kraken¡¯s limbs and body were being destroyed and reformed at a rapid rate.


    ¡°This Scion is stubborn,¡± Adrianna murmured. ¡°It didn¡¯t let Griffin go even when he dropped the conch. The Dawnlight will be chased all the way back to the Fortress if we don¡¯t end it here.¡±


    Conlan paused to stare at her. She knew I had the conch?


    Adrianna¡¯s kraken was completely dissolved by the acid of the monstrous turtle and instead of reforming it, she snapped her fingers and the illusion mana returned to her. The speed of the Sky Eagle picked up as she enhanced its power. ¡°As soon as you get back to the ship, heal your injuries and prepare to man the ship within the first half hour,¡± Adrianna ordered. ¡°We¡¯re going to be in for an exhaustive trip back to the Fortress where we aim to kill this Scion while keeping everyone safe. Junem, heal this group when we-¡±


    Something caught her attention and she turned back to observe the island. Conlan and the others did the same and they were just in time to see a fiery force decimate the rest of the mountain. The monstrous turtle Scion screamed with pain as tons of stone landed on its back and half-buried it under the weight of the destroyed landmass.


    Rounding the edge of the island was the M.W.S. Dawnlight. Zhang Mingxia and Caspian were waving from the forecastle deck, mouthing something. Conlan presumed Adrianna could detect what they were saying because she turned to them.


    ¡°Change of plans. The main cannons of the Dawnlight dealt a heavy blow to the Scion,¡± she stated coolly. ¡°We¡¯ll fight the entire battle in the waters of Scavenger¡¯s Drought Isle. Junem, you¡¯ll have little time to heal these three when we get back to the ship. Spend the time firing the cannons and obeying Quartermaster Vima¡¯s instructions instead.¡±


    The light-element healer nodded and the Sky Eagle let out a cry as it shot towards their ship.


    Adrianna jumped down as soon as the eagle was close enough and pointed to Maeva. ¡°Winrich. Catch.¡±


    The blue-haired woman blinked and stared as a large glowing blue conch shell landed in her hands. Conlan¡¯s eyes widened.


    She got the conch?!


    Adrianna glanced at Zhang Mingxia and marched over. ¡°You brought the ship over?¡±


    ¡°I perceived the awakening of the Scion just as we were leaving the island, Captain,¡± the Sect heir replied calmly. ¡°Vice Captain Wharifin agreed that we should reinforce you.¡±


    The wild-haired woman nodded. ¡°Well done.¡± She walked off and left the stunned cultivator to her own devices. Instead, she stormed up the stairs of the forecastle deck and pointed with her staff.


    ¡°Everyone, man the cannons!¡± she shouted. ¡°By tonight, we¡¯ll be returning with the head of our first slain Monster King descendant!¡±


    The rest of the crew let out cheers and ran to their positions. Conlan clenched his fists but did the same.


    ¡®Well done¡¯ she says. ¡®Well done¡¯, but not to me. Not that I want her praise.


    He gained a dark smirk and fired his cannon at the vile monster giant on the island.


    After all, all I want is for our positions to be reversed. For her to be desiring the attention of the most powerful Guildmaster and User in the Tower.


    <hr>


    The door to his room unlocked with a click and he flung it open. The navy-haired mage trudged into his messy apartment and slumped in the chair behind his desk. He tilted his head back to sigh.


    Then five seconds later he was rummaging in his dimensional items for a specific artifact. He carefully placed the solid gold jewellery casket on the table and its ruby-encrusted key right next to it. Then he brought out a large magnification glassware item to study the engravings and language written on the artifact in greater detail.


    ¡°Now, let me see if these are translatable runes¡­¡±


    He jumped as his front door burst open and four other people marched in.


    ¡°There! Caught in the act!¡± Garthe shouted, pointing a finger at the golden box.


    Marellen¡¯s eyes widened and he snatched the casket and key to scamper back against the wall. ¡°What are you doing in my house?!?¡±


    ¡°That would be me,¡± a blonde-haired man replied, casually raising a hand as he peeked out from behind Garthe. ¡°I had already planned for us to meet at your house once you got back.¡±


    A snow elf with silvery-white hair and turquoise eyes came forward to give the navy-haired mage a judgemental look. ¡°So it is true. You did bring that artifact with you.¡±


    ¡°Cursed item more likely,¡± Larena muttered.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s my cursed item,¡± Marellen stated shortly. ¡°If you went and told the Artificers about it then our whole group would get in trouble for hiding artifacts from them.¡±


    Larena groaned and ran a hand down her face as Efratel walked up to the desk to give the casket a curious look. ¡°Perhaps you could show our sponsor when we visit them.¡±


    Marellen paused. ¡°Sponsor?¡±


    ¡°A visit?¡± Roa asked with interest.


    Efratel nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve been in touch while you were gone. It¡¯s officially scheduled for July.¡±


    ¡°Three months¡­¡± Roa mused. ¡°It feels too long.¡±


    The Commission manager shrugged. ¡°They have a debut planned out and we¡¯d be heading to the Commission at the same time as a bunch of powerful nobles, so it¡¯s best for us to wait.¡± He gave them a wry smirk. ¡°We might end up meeting Archmage Merkenia otherwise.¡±


    Larena, Garthe, Roa and Marellen all considered it. They gained uneasy expressions.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I¡¯ll stick with waiting a few more months.¡± Garthe sat down cross-legged on the ground after clearing himself a space. ¡°So, our plans for the meantime?¡±


    ¡°Technically, you¡¯re all free to do as you please, but if you wish you may return to the Allbright plane shard,¡± Efratel informed them as he leaned against Marellen¡¯s desk.


    Garthe scratched the back of his head. ¡°Well¡­ I kinda want to take the examination for entering the Black Hand, actually¡­¡±


    Larena stared at her brother. ¡°What? You finally want to do it after so long?¡±


    He clicked his tongue. ¡°I just thought I¡¯d get around to it, that¡¯s all.¡±


    Larena turned back to Efratel. ¡°I should probably complete some more work for the Black Hand too.¡±


    ¡°So, going back to the Old Era plane as a party is off-limits then,¡± Efratel said, crossing off a sentence on a small notepad.


    ¡°I, for one, would not mind continuing to party with Marellen,¡± Roa announced. ¡°The few times we were able to collaborate together to study artifacts and magic, I felt myself making much more progress than usual. If we could continue to study together it may be worthwhile.¡±


    Efratel turned to his cousin. ¡°Marellen? What do you say about that?¡±


    ¡°Eh? Oh, um¡­¡± The navy-haired mage blinked. ¡°That¡¯s fine with me, yeah. But where do we go? Roa isn¡¯t a mage of the Athenaeum so she can¡¯t stay on this plane for long.¡±


    Roa turned back to Efratel. ¡°Is it against the rules for us to return to the Sundown continent plane shard?¡±


    ¡°No, but¡­¡± He hesitated and then sighed. ¡°It¡¯s not the safest, but I guess you have experience with the plane now.¡±


    Roa nodded. ¡°There is much I wish to have studied in depth that we could not due to time constraints and Larena and Garthe. Marellen and I care much less about monetary value and I believe the facilities there would still allow us to have a successful time researching artifacts.¡± She gestured to the casket still gripped by Marellen. ¡°Such as that.¡±


    They all turned to gaze warily at the casket like it might grow teeth and limbs at any moment, but it didn¡¯t do anything. Efratel shook his head. ¡°Alright then. That¡¯s all sorted. Now, to divvy up the remaining artifacts into what are your rewards, and what will be sent to the Commission Head¡­¡±


    <hr>


    ¡°We want to go to the Demon Realm,¡± Lucille stated.


    Vincent stared at them. ¡°¡­what?¡±

 Chapter 72 (1 of 2) An Exploration Into The Demonic.

    ¡°We want to go to the Demon Realm,¡± Lucille stated.


    Vincent stared at them. ¡°¡­what?¡±


    Scytale turned to stare at her from his position on the floor. ¡°We do?¡±


    She looked down. ¡°We do.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ wait, wait.¡± Vincent raised his hands to pause her and pinched his nose bridge. ¡°You want to go to the¡­ Demon Realm of all places? Why there?¡±


    ¡°Stages,¡± she replied succinctly. ¡°We completed them all at the end of last year, but I¡¯d prefer to break it up a little this time. It¡¯s draining to complete them all at once.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ I see¡­¡± Vincent considered it and held his chin. ¡°So you wouldn¡¯t be leaving the confines of the Obelisk you teleported to and there isn¡¯t any danger for you.¡±


    Lucy shook her head. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t even leave the no-combat zone of the Obelisk.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ I suppose that¡¯s fine¡­¡± He glanced at her. ¡°Do you plan on leaving right now?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± She thought about it. ¡°Maybe in an hour. Just enough time to get our affairs in order and then we can go.¡±


    Vincent looked down at her bond. ¡°I noticed that you didn¡¯t seem to be aware of Lucille¡¯s plans. Do you plan on going too?¡±


    Scytale closed his eyes as he thought about it, and then shuffled his wings in the approximation of a shrug. ¡°Sure. Haven¡¯t decided yet whether I want to complete my Stages with her, but I¡¯ve been itching to let lose for a while now. Hargrave¡¯s been busy so I haven¡¯t gotten my energy out for a bit.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s more efficient for us to go to the Demon Realm at the same time, especially in case something goes wrong,¡± Lucy stated. ¡°I plan to only complete the first three stages of the Demon Realm before returning. It will also give me the chance to accustom myself to my newer abilities while in there.¡±


    Her aide nodded again. ¡°Then I will leave you two to it. Take care while there.¡±


    She smirked and waved a hand as she turned around. ¡°Bye, Vincent.¡±


    Once they had left the study, Scytale flew onto her shoulders. ¡°You freaked me out for a second there! What were you doing, suddenly mentioning the Demon Realm like that?¡±


    ¡°There is only one reason why I¡¯d mention the Demon Realm when it isn¡¯t September or March,¡± Lucille replied. ¡°The Stages. Although¡­¡± She tapped a finger against her chin as she thought about it. ¡°I suppose in the future I might make an arrangement with a member of the demonic nobility clans and need to go there for other purposes¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and I bet that¡¯s what Vincent was having a panic attack about.¡± Scytale flapped his wings. ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s get a move on to the Obelisk so we can fight!¡±


    ¡­


    Barely a second after they had appeared outside their chosen Obelisk, a nerve-wracking presence descended on them. Lucy froze on the spot as the dense waves of demonic power rolled over them. The attention of a certain individual could be felt studying them, looking for something. Then almost as quickly as it had come, the presence was gone.


    Lucille shuddered as she released her pent-up breath while Scytale ran up to her in his human form.


    ¡°Lucy, what was that?!¡± he exclaimed, his face pale. ¡°That- that didn¡¯t even feel like a demon! It felt like¡­ the whole realm was watching me or something!¡±


    ¡°¡­that would be my dearest friend and contractor,¡± she said with a dark smile and sarcasm dripping from her voice. ¡°It seems the Demon Emperor was feeling very suspicious about our reasons for being here.¡±


    Scytale stared at her as his face drained of colour, releasing just who had observed them. ¡°¡­why is he gone now?¡±


    Lucy straightened up and looked around. ¡°Because he was told why we¡¯re here, presumably.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Scytale looked around as well. ¡°You know, I¡¯m kinda wondering that myself, actually. I can¡¯t say I¡¯ve been to the Demon Realm much, but¡­¡± He scratched his head. ¡°Where are we?¡±


    ¡°Well, I could give you a uselessly long name that wouldn¡¯t even be the right pronunciation because this place is so backwater that nobody has bothered to translate the name yet,¡± she replied casually, ¡°But I don¡¯t think that¡¯s what you want.¡±


    He glared at her. ¡°Yeah nah, that¡¯s not what I want.¡±


    Lucille hummed and walked off in one direction. ¡°We¡¯re just in a very weak Stronghold and Dominion of the Demon Realm.¡±


    ¡°I can see that, but why?¡± he stressed, walking beside her.


    Lucy raised an eyebrow at her snake bond. ¡°Because we have two Quests to do before we can unlock Stages 11 to 13.¡±


    ¡°¡­Quests? Wait a second¡­¡± Scytale tapped on the Quest Log he had brought up and scanned it. His face screwed up. ¡°Argh, I forgot about those! Slay a demon at intermediate rank or greater? This is going to be a pain.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, nothing could be more painful than you being my bond,¡± Lucy said with a smirk.


    He ignored her and closed the Quest Log. ¡°For Stages 16 to 20 we need to resist the demonic aura of a demon for half a minute or so, which is kinda dumb because killing an actual demon would be harder than that.¡±


    Lucille shook her head. ¡°For those without points in SPRT, they¡¯d have a lot of trouble remaining unaffect-¡±


    [General Quest: COMPLETED]


    Resist the demonic aura of a demon without being affected by mental influences for 30 seconds or longer.


    [Rewards: Stages 16-20 Unlocked, Demon Resistor Title]


    They stared at the notification that they had both received in sync. Scytale turned to her. ¡°¡­was that because of the Demon Emperor? Wait, no, that¡¯s not it.¡± He narrowed his eyes at the screen. ¡°Only you¡¯re immune to mental influences, not me. I still felt like I was going to go crazy when I felt his presence.¡±


    Lucy gained a strange expression. ¡°I think, Scytale, that because we have SPRT and our experiences from the last timeline¡­ we¡¯ve just ignored all the presences of every demon in this Stronghold and so we completed the Quest.¡±


    They both considered it. Eventually, Scytale threw his hands up and walked off. ¡°Let¡¯s just take the freebie and get on with the second Queeeeee¡­¡± His words trailed off and he spun around to face her. ¡°You lied to Vincent. You planned on fighting a demon from the start, so we have to leave the no-combat zone.¡±


    Lucy smiled sweetly at her bond. ¡°Yes. And Scytale¡­ you know what will happen if you tell him, don¡¯t you?¡± She slowly drew a line across her neck.


    He shivered and whirled back around. ¡°Yeah, yeah, I get it. Time to go find some random cockroach demon bug and squash it to get this Quest over and done with.¡±


    ¡°Cockroach demon bugs would only be lesser level,¡± Lucille pointed out.


    Scytale groaned. ¡°You know what I meant!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Great, so the Stronghold you picked just had to be next to a swamp,¡± a silvery winged snake complained.


    ¡°Stop whining, would you?¡± Lucy said with irritation. ¡°If this is about your feathers again I¡¯m going to smack you one.¡±


    They were in, as Scytale stated, a swamp. A mangrove swamp, if only one that had determined that fuchsia and khaki suited the trunk, roots and leaves of plants better than plain green. Lucille sensed a twisted root snaking its way towards her submerged right foot and she swiftly sliced it off with Apophis¡¯s longsword form.


    ¡°But they''re marvellous! Look! I swear they glow!¡± He flapped them proudly.


    Lucy rolled her eyes. ¡°Isn¡¯t it interesting that you went from bragging about your scales to bragging about your wings in this timeline,¡± she retorted. A vine-covered floating log with suspiciously active moss on its surface floated in front of her and she carefully nudged it away with Ouroboros.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°You¡¯re just salty that you don¡¯t have wings to brag about.¡±


    She let out a resigned sigh and moved her feet through the murky grey-green water to climb up the slope in front of them. Scytale, who had been swimming using his tail, flew himself onto the land which was barely higher than the water level. He shook his wings to get the water and bits of parasitic demonic moss out of them.


    Lucy planted her hands on her hips and looked around. ¡°Alright. Intermediate demon. No point killing anything stronger if we don¡¯t have to.¡±


    Scytale sent across his impression of a clicked tongue. ¡°Come on, don¡¯t be a chicken! Go outside the box, do something more! Make something of your life and take risks!¡±


    Lucy didn¡¯t look at him as she inspected the vine clinging to her boot. ¡°And congratulations, the honour of the first sacrificial offering to the Ancient Daemon abomination of the demonic marsh goes to Scytale.¡±


    ¡°Bah. Alright, you win. Intermediate it is. Not that I thought we should kill an advanced demon beast for real.¡± He raised himself higher to look around. ¡°Where be our pitiful target?¡±


    ¡°Right about¡­¡± Lucy pointed up. ¡°There.¡±


    Scytale looked up at the giant raven-like bird with solid red eyes and squinted. ¡°Okay¡­ and how do we get it down here, where we can fight it?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that,¡± she replied in a low voice, Apophis and Ouroboros held in each hand. ¡°Because it¡¯s heading straight towards us.¡±


    Scytale¡¯s eyes widened and he flew away just as the demonic bird screeched and dive-bombed towards them. Lucy dived to the side and sprung back up to see the bird chasing after her bond.


    ¡°Bird! Bird! There¡¯s a bird! It¡¯s after me!¡± he yelled. ¡°Get away! Shoo, shoo! Do I need to attach zip ties to my head feathers or something?!¡±


    ¡°¡­zip ties?¡± Lucy said questioningly.


    The snake ignored her as he flew across the swamp, dodging the mangrove roots that shot out of the sludge in an attempt to grab him. ¡°Be gone, filthy bird! Go find another poor demonic creature for sustenance, because I¡¯m not a demon beast!¡±


    ¡°I would like to remind you that you are also part ¡®filthy bird¡¯,¡± Lucille remarked with amusement.


    ¡°Are you just going to stand there and watch or are you going to help me?!¡±


    She smirked but pointed a gloved finger at the bird. She could only use her internal mana due to the lack of mana in the realm, but as she was only using elemental manipulation¡­ the more she compressed her mana, the more powerful it would be.


    She activated her Prodigious Archmage¡¯s First Steps skill as she stated the name of her new spell: ¡°Explosive Compression Shot.¡±


    The bullet-sized heavily condensed orb of fire mana shot away, aiming right for the raven¡¯s left eye, and piercing it. Scytale yelped and twisted out of the way when the demon beast burst into glowing embers, sizzling as they landed in the water.


    A single stray speck of hot ash landed on one of his wings and he let out a shriek as he dived into the water. ¡°Hot! Hot hot hot hot hot hot hot-¡± He resurfaced and spat out a mouthful of swamp muck. ¡°Blergh. Alright, I¡¯m good now.¡± Scytale turned his head from side to side. ¡°But where¡¯s my notification of the Quest completion?¡±


    Lucy gave him a disdainful look. ¡°Why would the snake who ran away with his tail between his legs be considered by the System as having contributed to the death of the demonic bird?¡±


    Scytale hesitated. ¡°Snakes¡­ don¡¯t have legs.¡±


    She paused to consider it and raised a finger. ¡°Right. Because you¡¯re Scytale: a flying tail.¡±


    Her bond groaned and flapped his wings to fly out of the swamp and back to Lucy. ¡°Fine, whatever. You got the notification though, right?¡±


    Lucy paused to glance at the message.


    [General Quest: COMPLETED]


    In the Demon Realm, slay a demon at Intermediate or greater strength, and return to Obelisk alive 48 hours after its defeat.


    [Rewards: Stages 11-15 Unlocked, 3000 xp, Crystalline Token +1]


    [+3000 xp]


    [Level Up! x10]


    [+10 levels]


    [+50 Free stat points]


    [User has reached Level 72]


    [Xp: 32/416]


    She frowned at the notification. ¡°Another fifty useless stat points to add to my ever-growing collection.¡±


    ¡°Hey! No way are you going to complain about levelling up from the Quest completion when I didn¡¯t get my Quest completed!¡± Scytale exclaimed.


    ¡°Ha,¡± Lucy stated flatly. She rolled her eyes and walked off. ¡°Come on, this way if you want to get this Quest over and done with.¡±


    ¡°Wait, there¡¯s another creature in this place?¡± He looked from side to side. ¡°How come I don¡¯t see it?¡±


    ¡°Because¡­¡± She placed a boot against the trunk of the nearest mangrove tree and plunged Apophis into the damp wood. The demonic blade cut away at the tree to reveal a deep green, pulsating, slightly luminescent beating heart in its centre. ¡°It¡¯s hidden in plain sight.¡±


    Scytale eyed the heart with suspicion. ¡°Evil demonic beast plant thing¡­ why didn¡¯t you just kill one of these earlier?¡±


    She looked to the side. He switched his suspicion to her. ¡°Lucy¡­?¡±


    ¡°The demonic bird was a threat and¡­ it¡¯s not important right now,¡± Lucille replied, dismissing the question with a wave of her hand. ¡°Come on, kill it.¡±


    He eyed her warily for a bit longer but turned back to the heart. Scytale summoned a spike of light mana and plunged it into the heart. The ground shuddered as the roots of the mangrove below them shrivelled up and died with an ear-piercing scream. The tree wilted, making them back away as it fell into the water with a splash.


    ¡°That was dramatic,¡± Scytale said. He turned to his bond. ¡°So, time to head to¡­¡±


    It was only when he had turned away fully did he realise that Lucy was making a break for the exit of the swamp with her AGI enhanced as high as possible. His golden eyes widened as the ground rumbled and mangrove roots shot through the muddy bottom layer of the swamp to attempt to grab him.


    Scytale flapped his wings as hard as he possibly could to chase after his bond. ¡°Hey! You set me up! You knew that the other trees would retaliate when it was killed!¡±


    ¡°You have wings, not me, so you¡¯re the best bait, Mr. Sanctity Caladrius hybrid!¡± she shouted back.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bring my stupid dad¡¯s family into this!¡± Scytale flew up to get out of the attack range of the mangroves. ¡°Grrr, fine! I¡¯ll be your bait and fly back to the Stronghold! You owe me after this!¡±


    As he zoomed off Lucy shook her head. ¡°What I owe him can¡¯t hold a candle to everything he owes me, whether financial or otherwise.¡±


    ¡­


    Lucy returned to the Obelisk to find her bond lying face down on the pavement in his human form, breathing heavily. Even the demons seemed to be eyeing him strangely and avoiding him. She walked up to him and he wearily looked up when her appearance cast a shadow over him.


    Lucille tilted her head. ¡°I find it hard to believe that the short trip back from the swamp was that strenuous.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ got chased¡­ by a flock of demonic ravens¡­¡± he said, panting.


    She raised an eyebrow. ¡°I see? Well, time to get up so we can complete the first three stages of the Demon Realm.¡±


    He groaned as he picked himself up and trudged after her. Lucy hummed. ¡°Have you decided whether you want to complete the Stages alongside me?¡±


    ¡°¡­yeah, I guess I¡¯m interested to see what it would be like with two of us.¡± He stretched his arms above his head. ¡°We¡¯ve both already done the Stages in the past, so mixing it up a little this time might make it more fun.¡± Scytale shot her an odd look. ¡°But why are you so willing to do them with me? I would¡¯ve thought that I would mess up all your plans or whatever.¡±


    She turned to give her bond a serious look. ¡°I think our events with the Beast Realm¡¯s Stages have shown us that we might be facing unknown circumstances this time in the stages. In which case, I¡¯d rather do them alongside you.¡±


    Scytale considered it and nodded. ¡°Makes sense.¡±


    They came to the Obelisk and looked up at the towering black glossy structure. Lucille tugged on the wrists of her gloves to pull them on tighter. ¡°Time to enter the unknown and dangerous world of the Demon Realm.¡±


    ¡°Do you have to be so dramatic?¡± Scytale complained before she could step in. ¡°And we¡¯re also already in the Demon Realm.¡±


    She shot her bond a nasty look.


    ¡­


    [Do you want to begin the Stages in Team Mode or Solo Mode?]


    [Team Mode/Solo Mode]


    ¡°Huh, never saw that notification before,¡± Scytale said with surprise.


    ¡°If you entered into an Obelisk while alone, then of course you were never given this option,¡± Lucy replied. ¡°You can¡¯t form a team of only one.¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay. Sure.¡± Scytale raised an eyebrow. ¡°What¡¯s the deal with this whole ¡®Team¡¯ vs. ¡®Solo Mode¡¯ anyway? Are there changes?¡±


    ¡°Some, but not many.¡± Lucille tapped on [Yes] and they were brought to the System limbo space anyone goes to before the stages begin. ¡°We¡¯ll still have one Main Objective that we must collaborate to achieve together, but our Sub-Objectives will be individualised. We can¡¯t complete the other¡¯s Sub-objective for them.¡±


    ¡°What, so we get completely different Sub-Objectives from each other each time?¡± he asked, confused.


    She shook her head. ¡°Not always. Sometimes we¡¯ll have the same objectives. They just have to be completed twice, once for each person. Because of this, we don¡¯t have to be paired for all the following stages too.¡± She looked at him. ¡°Are you ready?¡±


    Scytale cracked his knuckles. ¡°Time to get this show underway.¡±


    Lucy smirked and brought out the stage selection screen.


    [Welcome to the S.T.A.G.E.S!]


    Available S.T.A.G.E.S (Demon Realm):


    Completion Rate: 0%


    Stage 11: The Escape from Cressilin Stronghold (UNLOCKED)


    Stage 12: LOCKED


    Stage 13: LOCKED


    Stage 14: LOCKED


    Stage 15: LOCKED


    Stage 16: LOCKED


    Stage 17: LOCKED


    Stage 18: LOCKED


    Stage 19: LOCKED


    Stage 20: LOCKED


    [Please complete Stage 11 to proceed to the next stage]


    With no hesitation, she pressed on Stage 11, and they were transported into a dark echoing corridor with only torchlights in each of their hands to see by. Lucille spread her perception, making sure to keep it muted so no demons would detect her, while Scytale studied their location. The metal grates barring each sectioned-off zone of the cool hallway showed they were in a traditional imprisonment dungeon.


    [S.T.A.G.E.S | Stage 11: The Escape from Cressilin Stronghold]


    A pair of lost individuals who fell for a demon¡¯s trickery and were captured by Demon Viscount Cressilin when reverse-summoned to this realm, you share a secret. That this capture and kidnapping to the Demon Realm was all planned by the human Marquess you are loyal to and are determined to give Cressilin¡¯s most valuable treasure to.


    The Marquess shares a demonic pact with Demon Count Valdin, in the Stronghold two weeks travel through the demonic woods west of here. There you will be able to use the dimensional channel left by the Count¡¯s semi-permanent summoning pentagram to return to the human world.


    Survive the pursuit of Viscount Cressilin¡¯s forces and bring back the treasure to Count Valdin¡¯s Stronghold, and prove your capability to your lord.


    [Collapse]


    Main Quest (Rank-2: Demon Realm) Overall Objective:


    <ul>


    <li>Last two weeks while being pursued by forces so that the stolen treasure you carry can be placed on the summoning ritual along with yourselves.</li>


    </ul>


    Sub-Objectives ¨C Stage 11:


    Compulsory:


    <ul>


    <li>Escape Viscount Cressilin¡¯s Stronghold and enter the woods without alerting any guards.</li>


    </ul>


    Optional:


    <ul>


    <li>Locate a weapon.</li>


    <li>Stock up on supplies.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    [Completion Rate: 0%]


    ¡°I remember this now,¡± Scytale said with a grin. ¡°Man, that was fun, messing up all the demon guards here and running away. Brings back memories of simpler times, like when my bond hadn¡¯t formed a contract with one of the most dangerous Paragon Anomalies in the Tower!¡±


    Lucy sighed. ¡°Well, we can¡¯t use that strategy this time. My compulsory objective is to enter the woods without alerting any guards.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­ that¡¯s different.¡± Scytale looked at his Stage objectives. ¡°Our Main Objectives are the same, but my compulsory objective is just to find a weapon.¡± He gained a strange expression. ¡°Me? A weapon? I¡¯m a snake. What snake uses a weapon?¡±


    She thought about it as they continued to carefully make their way down the dungeon hallway. ¡°Maybe something like highly flammable oil or something would apply in this context. One of my optional objectives is to find a weapon, so at least that matches up.¡±


    ¡°Oh, wait.¡± Scytale squinted at his screen and then gave her a sheepish grin. ¡°Sorry, my compulsory objective is to steal a bunch of gold from this place. Locating a weapon is an optional objective.¡±


    Lucille rolled her eyes. ¡°I see.¡± She shook her head and gestured to him to follow. ¡°Time to get a move on then, if we want to gather this gold before they find out we¡¯re ¡®no longer¡¯ in our cells. Not that we were in there to begin with.¡± She looked around. ¡°Ordinarily, this would be the time spent searching for the secret tunnels to escape the Stronghold but as I already know where to find that, let¡¯s complete the optional objectives first.¡± Lucy looked at her bond. ¡°Split up?¡±


    He nodded, and with that, they dispersed. Lucy went to collect the supplies such as satchels with water and food from various locations such as the guardrooms, where a quick sleep spell knocked out most of them. Her completion rate had already ticked up by 1% and when she met up with her bond again, the completion rate was 2%.


    ¡°Here. Catch,¡± he said.


    Lucille caught the two dagger sheaths and raised an eyebrow as she strapped them on. Apophis and Ouroboros floated out of the sheaths to circle her. ¡°So these are the ¡®weapons¡¯ the System wants me to find?¡±


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Locate a weapon.]


    [Completion Rate: +1%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 3%]


    ¡°I guess.¡± Scytale shrugged and pulled out what looked to be a small vial and darts. ¡°Found these in a room. These demon guards sure were demented, playing darts with their captives and poisoning the ends.¡±


    She glanced at the completion rate again. ¡°Did you have one or two optional objectives?¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°Just one.¡±


    ¡°Good. That means we only need to find some more gold and then get out of here.¡± Lucy scanned her perception for where some money could be found. ¡°This will be unconventional, but¡­¡± She looked at her bond. ¡°Have you ever played a game of spoons before?¡±


    ¡°¡­no?¡± he replied questioningly.


    Lucy smirked and gestured for him to follow. ¡°Then maybe if I can find a deck of cards, we can busy ourselves during the two weeks playing that game with all the cutlery we¡¯re going to be carrying with us.¡±


    ¡­


    Lucy slowly removed a brick from the wall and stepped aside to let her bond peer in. Scytale was in his serpent form and resting on her hands, which left him up to the hole. Inside was the kitchen of the Stronghold, with the gold and silver cutlery being arranged on plates and dishes to be taken out to tables.


    He turned to look at her. ¡°So I¡­ what, hang from the roof like I¡¯m in some sort of spy movie and grab a golden spoon in my mouth?¡±


    ¡°Yup,¡± she replied brightly.


    He stared at her for a couple more second and then shuffled his wings in a shrug. ¡°Sounds fun. Help me up.¡±


    With Scytale still in her hands, she put her hands through the hole and helped him up onto the rafters of the kitchen. His scales slid soundlessly across the wood and when he was positioned just above the dishes and cutlery, he wound his tail around the rafter and slowly slithered off of it to hang down. Scytale chose the opportune moment to pick one up in his mouth and climb back up. When he was on the rafters, he flapped his wings boisterously and sent her a mental message.


    ¡®Muhaha, I did it! First try! Future special agent Scytale in the making right here!¡¯


    Lucy¡¯s eyes widened when the rafters began to creak and all of a sudden Scytale came crashing to the ground, landing on top of the dishes and cutlery. Smashed plates and ringing metal sounded out, causing all the demonic servants to turn around and stare at him.


    Scytale froze up. ¡°Uh oh¡­¡±


    Lucille facepalmed as the servants and chefs all ran out of the building to alert the guards outside. With the failure of her compulsory objective, the System limbo came back into view around them, evidence that the stage had reset. She turned to stare at the culprit.


    ¡°Um¡­ take two?¡± he asked innocently.


    Lucy felt her expression twitch as she realised just how trying completing the stages alongside her irresponsible serpent bond would be.

 Chapter 72 (2 of 2) An Exploration Into The Demonic.

    ¡°The right!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not taking the right,¡± Lucy said with disdain. ¡°We¡¯re taking the left.¡±


    ¡°But the right would be quicker!¡± Scytale argued.


    ¡°Quicker if you mean a quicker way to end up in the jaws of a demonic beast,¡± she stated sarcastically.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be fine,¡± he replied dismissively.


    ¡°We will not,¡± she stressed. ¡°The right is more dangerous by almost ten times.¡±


    ¡°Have more faith. We¡¯re both former Rank-7s, this should be a piece of cake for us,¡± Scytale said.


    ¡°Let me emphasize the former in that statement,¡± Lucille retorted. ¡°If we go along with whatever hair-brained scheme you have in mind to cheat Stage 12, I have no doubt that it will result in us being at the worst possible disadvantage for the following stage.¡±


    ¡°You underestimate the mind of the great Truth-Seizing World-Ender,¡± Scytale replied haughtily. ¡°For I know a way that will allow us to navigate the treacherous terrain of the forest, fool all its residents and-¡±


    ¡°You plan on antagonizing the Demon Beast Lord that¡¯s near Count Valdin¡¯s Stronghold and get it to destroy both Strongholds so everyone will ignore us, don¡¯t you?¡± Lucy stated flatly.


    Scytale stared at her. ¡°How do you know that?¡±


    Lucy put a hand to her forehead. ¡°Because I¡¯m your literal bond, you stupid snake! I can see your thoughts!¡± Then she pointed at him. ¡°Don¡¯t forget you told me how you passed the stages the last time, too¡­¡± She registered the blank look on his face and narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°You¡¯ve forgotten this. I bet you don¡¯t have any memories of the stages outside of that one event.¡±


    He hesitated. ¡°Uh¡­ no?¡±


    She glared at him and he looked away. ¡°Scytale, put aside the fact you¡¯re just impatient to finish the stages and think for one second,¡± she said with exasperation. ¡°We¡¯re aiming for a perfect completion rate for each stage. The System may offer magical beasts more combat-related sub-objectives, but with us doing these stages together, we can¡¯t afford to ruin our chances of completing some sub-objectives in the later stages.¡±


    Lucy turned around and looked down at the branching path before them with a slight frown on her face. ¡°We could always do a total reset of the stages if we hit a wall, but that defeats the purpose of coming out here to do these first three.¡±


    Scytale closed his eyes and held his chin as he let out a long hum, as if he was posing to help him think better. Not that a single cohesive thought actually passed through the pea-sized brain of Lucy¡¯s bond, in her very biased opinion.


    The snake in human form snapped his fingers when he opened his gold eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve got it.¡± He turned to face the slope with her, looking out at the two ¡®paths¡¯: the steep incline down through the darker sections of the demonic woods, or a winding path that traced the outline of the Dominion, putting them in the main site of conflict between the two demon nobilities¡¯ fiefdoms. ¡°Let¡¯s just make our own path!¡±


    Lucille gazed dully at him. ¡°What-¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the simplest way to resolve this, right?¡± her bond continued, ignoring her interruption. ¡°It¡¯s not like we can die here and we¡¯ve already moved onto the second stage of the Demon Realm. You think the System¡¯s going to throw us a few curveballs anyway, so let¡¯s just go all in and explore uncharted lands. If we¡¯re both dealing with new stuff they¡¯ll be less arguments.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s an insane idea,¡± Lucy stated. She looked down at the slope and scowled. ¡°I hate that it makes sense.¡±


    Scytale had a smug grin on her face that made her feel mildly irritated, but he had enough self-preservation instinct to not discuss it further and only shrugged. ¡°If we go by the logic of this stage, we¡¯re not supposed to know the geography of the Dominion as we¡¯re ¡®foreigners¡¯. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve got the whole place mapped out in your stupidly powerful mind, so what do you think? Is it possible?¡±


    Lucille crossed her arms as she looked down at the valley, thinking deeply. Eventually she answered, ¡°It¡¯s possible.¡±


    ¡°Righty-o! Let¡¯s go then!¡± Scytale exclaimed. He stepped forward to begin taking a straight path through thick forest flora, but a firm hand on his shoulder stopped that.


    ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t. Not yet.¡± Lucy turned him around and pointed at the skies above. ¡°Look.¡±


    Circling above the treetops were several red-eyed birds, looking awfully similar to the demonic raven that had attacked Scytale in the swamp. He scowled.


    ¡°Those birds report to the Viscount. If we don¡¯t get rid of those spies, they¡¯ll know where we¡¯re going,¡± Lucille stated.


    Scytale narrowed his eyes and clenched a fist. ¡°Alright. Time for a rematch, birds.¡±


    He changed into his winged serpent form and shot into the sky.


    ¡°Don¡¯t use too much mana or you¡¯ll attract attention!¡± Lucy called out. A mental response from her bond informed her that he had heard her, and she watched as he lashed out with his fangs to shred and tear at the wings of the demon beasts. Their bodies disintegrated into red light as they released pained cries in their last moments.


    Lucille diverted her focus to scanning the next few kilometres of the Dominion and comparing it with their stage objectives.


    [S.T.A.G.E.S | Stage 12: Blackbrook Woods]


    Strongholds are the only locations that bear a resemblance to civilization in this damned realm. But you have been chased away from a Stronghold into the deadly woods outside of its borders, so what safety do you have?


    None. But ahead you will have a choice: to take a path, one that leads to where you may find Count Valdin¡¯s forces on the borders of Viscount Cressilin¡¯s domain, or to navigate the treacherous woods to find the main base of the Count. Both have their trials, and both have their advantages: support or time.


    But you must find this branching path in your future first before you can make your decision, for the subordinates of the demonic Viscount are still tracking you and are out for blood. Run fast, realm travellers.


    [Collapse]


    Main Quest (Rank-2: Demon Realm) Overall Objective:


    <ul>


    <li>Last two weeks while being pursued by forces so that the stolen treasure you carry can be placed on the summoning ritual along with yourselves.</li>


    </ul>


    Sub-Objectives ¨C Stage 12:


    Compulsory:


    <ul>


    <li>Find the branching path in the Blackbrook Woods before Viscount Cressilin¡¯s forces catch up with you. (COMPLETED)</li>


    </ul>


    Optional:


    <ul>


    <li>Slay one of Viscount Cressilin¡¯s trackers.</li>


    <li>Traverse at least a quarter of the Blackbrook Woods before the next stage.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    [Completion Rate: 16%]


    Lucy looked up and sent a message to her bond.


    Scytale, are there any more raven demon beasts left? If so, please bring one down. Alive.


    ¡®Ugh. There¡¯s one more, but it will be a pain to catch alive.¡¯


    Please do it anyway.


    A mixture of incoherent thoughts, most likely complaints, was sent to her through the bond but Scytale swooped and dived. The raven screeched and dodged his fangs but Scytale rammed into it with his body. As they tumbled through the air, he wrapped his body around the bird and managed to right himself, then fly back over with the raven.


    ¡°Here¡¯s one live piece of Kentucky fried chicken.¡± He waited until Lucy had a firm grip on neck of the demon beast before he unravelled himself.


    She ignored him to instead plunge Apophis into the neck of the bird. It went limp in her hand and then scattered into red light and Scytale flapped his wings indignantly.


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Slay one of Viscount Cressilin¡¯s trackers.]


    [Completion Rate: +1%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 18%]


    ¡°Hey, what was the point of keeping it alive if you were just going to kill it?! Give me back my effort!¡±


    ¡°My optional sub-objective,¡± Lucy replied. ¡°You probably had a similar objective because we were already at a 17% Completion Rate before I killed this. 6% between us for both of us arriving at this point, and another 1% each for killing a tracker.¡±


    ¡°Fiiiine.¡± Scytale turned to look down the slope. ¡°So¡­ do we start heading down this ¡®third path¡¯ then?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡­


    The ¡®third path¡¯ they took was the most direct route to the next Stronghold, but also the least easy to traverse. While the other two paths had light trails worn into the ground as a guide, Lucille and Scytale had to make their way through the woods with no guiding landmarks in sight. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Lucy had memorised nearly the entire Dominion from her repeated attempts in the past at surviving the murderous demon beasts, it would¡¯ve been hard for them to know where to go. There was no north, south, east or west in the Demon Realm, nor stars to navigate by.


    The left path would¡¯ve taken them past the conflict zones of the two demon nobilities¡¯ armies on the outer edges of the woods, while the right path would¡¯ve taken them deep into the valley with only one exit, and was where the most dangerous demon beasts lived. The path they were taking now followed along the top mountain edge of the valley, with two steep slopes on either side of a hundred-metre-wide strip of land.


    A loud slap behind her alerted her to the fact Scytale had just squished a very large bug between his hands. He looked at the red stains on his palms with disgust. ¡°Demonic mosquitos. Worst creatures to ever exist.¡±


    Lucy stopped cutting her way through tall bushes with her blades and glanced back to eye the red marks. ¡°Insects don¡¯t have red blood. They must¡¯ve drank some from somewhere.¡±


    Scytale¡¯s eyes widened and he spun around, looking for bites on himself. ¡°They bit me?! Crap, I¡¯ll itch for days. Where is it, where is the mark?!¡±


    She shook her head wryly. ¡°You¡¯re fine. Come on, we need to speed up the pace so we have enough time in the later stages in case we get lost.¡±


    ¡°Like that¡¯s possible with you,¡± Scytale said.


    ¡°There¡¯s a chance we¡¯d be in danger if I used too large of a perception field,¡± Lucy replied lightly. ¡°Demons are spiritual creatures and are much more adept at sensing the spiritual energies than magical beasts.¡±


    He groaned. ¡°What good are you if you can¡¯t even use your all-powerful perception to cheat your way through this? I only brought you here because of your hacks, you know!¡±


    Lucy slowly turned around to narrow her eyes at her bond. ¡°You brought me here? That¡¯s very, very incorrect, Scytale.¡±


    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not,¡± he argued. ¡°I could¡¯ve just ditched you and done things the same way as last time but nooo, someone was getting scared and so I benevolently allowed her to accompany me on my journey to epicness-¡±


    ¡°You joined me because we assumed the stages in this timeline would be different,¡± she stated flatly.


    ¡°Yeah, but do you believe my stages would be different?¡± Scytale exclaimed. ¡°No, no you don¡¯t. Because I already had a difference in my Beast Realm stages. It¡¯s only because of your stages that I tagged along.¡±


    Her expression twitched. ¡°But there¡¯s still a possibility that things might have changed for you, so it¡¯s more efficient for us to-¡± Her eyes widened as she detected a shadow crossing the trees in a more distant part of her perception field and she pulled Scytale into a bush with her. ¡°Hide!¡±


    They both fell silent as they lay there on the ground, as still as possible. The flying beast overhead flew off in the direction of the left path, a rider on its back. As she was still unsure how strong the senses of the demon beast and its rider were, she spoke mentally to her bond.


    That demon and demon beast is likely looking for us. I don¡¯t think they expected us to be taking this route as they¡¯re going over to the left side, but we have to be careful.


    Scytale slowly nodded and they crept out of the bush. Or tried to as instead, Scytale stiffened up. He looked down at his ankle to see a tendril of the bush had wrapped around his ankle. He scowled as he tried to shake it off. ¡°Stupid demon bush. Get lost!¡±


    He yelped when it stuck red thorns into his skin. ¡°Ow! That hurts!¡± The amphiptere morphed into his beast form so the thorns couldn¡¯t pierce his scales but realised that was a terrible mistake when more thorny tendrils snuck out. He quickly became tangled up and began to panic as he moved over to the nearby edge of the mountain. ¡°Lucy, help!¡±


    Lucille frowned and knelt to slice the tendrils off with Ouroboros but then a shadow reappeared in the nearby treetops. She hastily tried to hide behind the bush even while trying to cut her bond out, but when tendrils started to inch towards her hair and arms she knew her hiding place was no longer safe. Her legs were hanging off of the small ledge of the mountain as she cut through the thickest stem of the tendrils.


    Both Scytale and Lucy¡¯s eyes widened as the tendril snapped back with uncanny force and the backlash pushed them off the edge. They began to slide down the steep surface of the mountain, on the left side instead of the right which would¡¯ve led them into the dangerous valley.


    Lucille fumbled with her daggers and tried to stab them into the rockface covered in crooked twisted black and red trees growing at right angles, but with the thorn vines wrapped around Scytale getting caught on her clothes, she was being dragged down before the blades could catch. Whip-like branches struck her face as she continued to gain momentum while going down the slope. Soon the fact that the slope turned into a cliff face became noticeable in her spiritual perception and she tried to find and possible way of stopping herself.


    One thick, gnarled tree with no leaves and wood so black it looked burnt stood out to her as the most likely one capable of holding her weight, and she extended her blades with the hopes of getting them to catch onto the tree.


    Her body crashed through the outer branches with ease and gave way with no resistance. Thick sticks snapped the few times she grabbed them until she managed to lodge Apophis sideways in a y-branching point. She gritted her teeth as her grip began to fail, with no other branch in reach of her left hand to haul herself up. The tree extended over the cliff face to show a dizzying drop below.


    The fall had finally managed to cut off the worst of the thorn vines from Scytale¡¯s body and he slithered up to wind his body around her wrist, the dagger handle, and the branch. She let out a sigh of relief when she was no longer in danger of falling, her bond using himself as a handcuff of sorts to tie her to the tree. ¡°Thanks.¡±


    Scytale tilted his head as he watched her swing below. ¡°Do you need help, or¡­? I¡¯m not sure if my body can actually carry you yet, or if I can fly while you¡¯re on my back.¡±


    ¡°No, I think I have an idea.¡± She used her free left hand to unsheathe Ouroboros and let the sentient weapon levitate. The dagger extended into its longsword form and then snake-sword form. The handle went under her feet as the other segments enlarged and spread out to form footholds.


    Scytale carefully released her and she touched down gently on the handle of Ouroboros. With her hands spread out on either side, she carefully stepped over a wide gap onto the next segment, which wavered lightly under her foot. A few more steps onto the segments allowed her to make her way to the area of thicker, unbroken branches in the tree and she pushed herself onto it with both hands on the branch near her waist.


    Lucille thought about what to do for a moment and then focused on her Soul Cipher Orchestrator of Affray skill. She jumped up to catch a branch with both hands and swung herself up. She caught the next with the momentum and then used a series of intersecting branches as footholds to climb her way up, hopping from branch to branch.


    Scytale slithered after her, exercising his innate talents as a tree snake as he wrapped around one branch and then the other. She made it to the gnarled trunk of the tree and bounced on the balls of her feet, testing the tree¡¯s strength and her body¡¯s own response to the sensation.


    ¡°Hye, don¡¯t get overconfident,¡± Scytale warned. ¡°You might have decent AGI now, but you should still be careful this high up.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m testing my balance,¡± she explained as she switched to one foot, focusing on her spatial awareness. ¡°The new secondary skill is definitely showing its origins as being created from my technique of controlling my body. My balance is nigh-on impeccable with how I can use ¡®strings¡¯ of mana to control my limbs and posture.¡±


    Lucy held out her hand and Ouroboros landed in her grip. She sunk the end of the longsword into the tree slightly and pushed herself up onto the round pommel of the blade. ¡°Watch.¡± Holding out her arms, she suddenly jumped as if to do a front flip and instead did a handstand on the end of the upright pommel, one hand placed over the other.


    Scytale eyed her curiously as she slowly raised one hand and did a one-armed handstand. ¡°With just my own body control and constructs, my mind would eventually fray, my muscles would give out and I¡¯d fall, but with the Soul Cipher Orchestrator I can almost maintain this indefinitely.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­ cool, I guess.¡± Scytale gestured to the steep slope above them with his nose. ¡°But it¡¯s probably time to begin the eternal climb of doom.¡±


    She flipped onto the tree trunk and pulled Ouroboros out. Sheathing both her daggers, she began to walk down the black trunk to the rocky slope the tree was rooted to. She paused when something interesting appeared in her perception.


    ¡°Uh¡­ Lucy? What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Lucille didn¡¯t reply and instead observed the cracked surface in front of her. She rapped her knuckles against the stone and a dull echo sounded out.


    ¡°¡­wait, what?¡±


    ¡°Curious,¡± she muttered. She gripped the handle of Apophis tightly and then slashed the demonic weapon with all her might. It cleaved the stone before her face and she shielded her eyes from the stone shards, while Scytale shielded himself with his wings. Lucy removed her hand when the stone dust cleared up, revealing a hollow inside of the stone.


    They exchanged looks. Scytale gestured to the hole with his head. ¡°Want me to take a look?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°I detect plant life inside.¡±


    Lucille raised Scytale up on her palms to let him stick his head in the hole. He looked from side to side. ¡°Just wait a moment so my eyes can adjust and- woah.¡±


    He fell silent, then pulled his head back. ¡°Yeah¡­ I think you¡¯ve got to keep digging. You need to see this.¡±


    Lucy slashed the rock again, sending chunks of stone deeper inside the hole and falling of an unseen ledge into who knows where, and then she did it once again for good measure. Not wishing to destroy the roots anchoring the tree to the slope in case they needed to return to it for some reason, she squeezed herself through the gap to find herself on what looked like an extension of the black tree trunk, except this one had branches covered in glowing green leaves extending from it.


    Lucy walked out onto the trunk with Scytale behind her as she looked down and then stopped in her tracks.


    The inside of the mountain was completely hollow, containing a massive chasm. And paradoxically, trees and bushes covered the rock walls of the chasm all the way to the bottom, where an underground river with liquid that reminded Lucy of a lava lamp flowed down. The demonic bird cries and other beast sounds echoed throughout the chasm, revealing that it contained just as much life as the mountains and valley outside did.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I don¡¯t recall hearing about this before,¡± Scytale said.


    ¡°It has to have been discovered by someone, however,¡± Lucy mused. ¡°Perhaps it doesn¡¯t have an exit that would allow us to leave close to Count Valdin¡¯s Stronghold.¡± She looked down. ¡°Still, I always wondered why this Dominion in the stages was comparatively normal when it comes to areas of the Demon Realm. Now I know it¡¯s just the same as any other part of the Demon Realm ¨C illogical, nonsensical geography.¡±


    ¡°So¡­¡± Scytale looked down. ¡°What do we do?¡±


    Lucille considered it for a short moment and then turned to face him. ¡°We expected there to be changes for our stages now. This might be part of it, it might not. But we wanted to explore uncharted lands, didn¡¯t we?¡± She glanced down again. ¡°At least climbing down might be marginally easier than climbing back up.¡±


    Scytale raised his golden eyes to the ceiling to take in the view of a bunch of pointed stalactites dripping phosphorescent fluid onto the few plants that extended out that far. He shuddered. ¡°Not a fan of the idea of climbing up. Okay then, downwards and onwards it is.¡±


    ¡­


    The trees and plants inside of the mountain chasm seemed to be thriving better than the ones on the outside because they made for very sturdy footholds even with the acute angles of the chasm walls. Lucy climbed down at a steady pace, the extended 180-degree tree trunks almost forming stairs with how simple they were to climb down. Scytale seemed to be having fun using his tail to swing off of branches and the ends of trees while using his two pairs of wings to fly to any location that caught his interest. Of course, the chasm wasn¡¯t without its dangers.


    Lucille leaned back to avoid the screaming demonic lemur beast that leapt from its tree and fell into the chasm when it missed her by a hair. She continued with ease.


    ¡°This is a far more interesting journey than I expected for a second try of all the Demon Realm stages,¡± she began conversationally.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Scytale said sceptically. ¡°I remember having fun when I took the right path in the last timeline.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but your definition of ¡®fun¡¯ consists of satisfying your adrenaline addiction and sufficiently violent deaths for your pursuers by the end of it all,¡± she replied. ¡°While there is a time and place for chaos, now is not it. Not until we find out what the System wants from us in this timeline¡¯s stages.¡±


    ¡°Just ask the Demon Emperor!¡± Scytale complained. He let himself free-fall from the tree high above her and then righted himself to land on her branch. ¡°Isn¡¯t that what your stupid contract is for in the first place?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s for the System to determine what I want, not the other way around,¡± she reminded him. ¡°It wasn¡¯t exactly a willing arrangement on my side.¡±


    ¡°Ugh. It¡¯s been what, nearly five months now since the Banquet? Haven¡¯t you sorted things out with that cranky ancient terror yet? I feel like that sort of thing is something that should¡¯ve happened already.¡±


    Her expression grew strange at the statement of ¡®cranky ancient terror¡¯ but she shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for when he loses some of his anger. After the last meeting with him¡­ I decided I¡¯d probably do something about it when we next meet.¡±


    ¡°You mean¡­ in June?¡± He flew onto her shoulders and studied her closely.


    Lucille glanced at him. ¡°Yes.¡±


    Scytale observed her silently and then nodded his head with solemnity. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to come to your funeral.¡±


    She rolled her eyes and shoved him off. ¡°We¡¯re almost at the bottom, so go fly down and inspect things for me before I jump down.¡±


    ¡°What am I, a servant?¡± he grumbled, but he still flew down to the soft grass at the bottom. He looked up and flapped his wings. ¡°All good!¡±


    Lucille nodded and then backed up slightly. Then she ran down the branch and leapt off the edge to avoid getting caught by branches on her trip down. The gemstone on her belt glowed dark blue as her energy repulsion shield spells activated and stalled her fall a metre above the ground. She touched down on the grass and knelt to look at it, running her hands through it. ¡°Nice texture.¡±


    ¡°If I wasn¡¯t sure that this was all a giant man-eating trap for magical serpent beasts and humans I¡¯d be tempted to sleep here.¡± Scytale slithered along the grass as he headed deeper into the chasm in front of her, aiming to inspect the river. ¡°Come on, time to explore!¡±


    ¡°Wait. Not just yet.¡± Lucy put up a hand and glanced at the notification that had appeared.


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Traverse at least a quarter of the Blackbrook Woods before the next stage.]


    [Completion Rate: +1%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 20%]


    [Stage 12 complete. Transferring Users¡­]


    ¡°Let¡¯s continue this in the next stage,¡± she explained.


    ¡­


    [S.T.A.G.E.S | Stage 13: Haven of the Heathen]


    Loyal subordinates of your Marquess on your home world. That is what you¡¯ve pretended to be all this time so you could grow close to the Marquess and obtain access to his resources. But you both secretly never came here to get the Marquess a reward¡­ no, you were looking for traces. Traces that would lead you to find a greater secret than any explorer of the Demon Realm before.


    The Marquess intended to betray you all along, and you knew this. But all was to find the secret you¡¯ve long known about. And you just found the entrance.


    Navigate this chasm and find the tunnel. For your future is changing fast, in ways not even the Primordial Demon could expect.


    [Collapse]


    Main Quest (Rank-2: Demon Realm) Overall Objective:


    <ul>


    <li>Last two weeks while being pursued by forces so that the stolen treasure you carry can be placed on the summoning ritual along with yourselves.</li>


    </ul>


    Sub-Objectives ¨C Stage 13:


    Compulsory:


    <ul>


    <li>Find the tunnel opening.</li>


    </ul>


    Optional:


    <ul>


    <li>Obtain a water sample of the Blackbrook.</li>


    </ul>


    HIDDEN:


    <ul>


    <li> </li>


    </ul>


    []


    [Completion Rate: 20%]


    Lucille and Scytale silently studied the Stage 13 description. Scytale, in his human form, nodded sagely. ¡°Yep, we¡¯re done for. All of our past knowledge should be thrown out! The System is changing everything up. We may as well be going in blind now.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous. Our main objective hasn¡¯t changed, see?¡± Lucy pointed at the line on the screen. ¡°Clearly we still have to head for Count Valdin¡¯s Stronghold. The process we do it by might just be different. That¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah. I still think we¡¯re going to die, like, a bajillion times.¡± Scytale paused for a second and then a wicked grin formed on his face. ¡°Hey, we may as well start now!¡±


    Lucy stared at him. ¡°What-¡±


    The humanoid snake bolted for the glowing orange river¡¯s edge and jumped in. ¡°Geronimo!¡±


    Lucille¡¯s eyes widened and she stretched out a hand. ¡°Don¡¯t-¡±


    A pained scream escaped from her bond and the world around them fizzled out. The System limbo returned and Lucy saw her bond just lying there on the ground, panting.


    ¡°I have a regret,¡± he stated. ¡°Potentially many, but at this moment, I can only think of one.¡±


    ¡°You could¡¯ve just asked and I would¡¯ve told you it¡¯s a type of acid,¡± Lucille said with exasperation. ¡°One with a very high temperature, at that.¡±


    ¡°Well, you only live once and all that¡­ wait, that doesn¡¯t work in this context.¡± He paused to think about it. ¡°You only live as many times as you die?¡±


    Lucy suppressed a groan and tapped on a screen to send them back. ¡°Stop trying to kill yourself for the thrill of it or else I¡¯ll lock you up in the Library with Ashale¡¯viaf whenever I need to go somewhere.¡±


    He shuddered and looked at her with horror. ¡°What kind of demented mind do you have to think of such a horrible concept? Sealing me in with only that spirit and thick books for company¡­¡±


    ¡°Please, just shut up,¡± she said wearily. They returned to having grass underfoot and this time, Scytale walked beside her as she slowly approached the luminous river.


    ¡°A sample¡­¡± she mused. She turned to look at her bond. ¡°Scytale, do you have the ¡®treasure¡¯ on you?¡±


    ¡°Treasure?¡± he repeated, confused. Then he blinked. ¡°Oh, wait.¡± He reached into a satchel on him that stored the poison and darts and handed her a silver goblet. ¡°Here you go.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± She studied the goblet for a moment and then dipped the cup half of the item into the pool. Being careful not to get any acid on herself, she scooped up some of the liquid and watched as it slowly turned black inside of the cup.


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Obtain a water sample of the Blackbrook.]


    [Completion Rate: +1%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 21%]


    ¡°Was wondering why this whole place is called ¡®Blackbrook¡¯ when there¡¯s no brook,¡± Scytale said with surprise. ¡°Guess we know now, huh.¡±


    Lucy stood up and tested the abilities of the goblet by tipping it upside down again. Nothing escaped and she threw the goblet back to her bond for him to store.


    He eyed the goblet with caution and let out a sigh of relief when the black substance didn¡¯t leak into his satchel. He followed Lucy as she walked alongside the river.


    ¡°What does the goblet do again?¡± Scytale asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± she replied calmly. ¡°I never cared much because from what I discovered, the Marquess intends to use the goblet in a complex scheme to poison a political rival.¡±


    ¡°Uh huh¡­¡± Scytale said.


    Lucy glanced at him. ¡°That was my sub-objective, if that wasn¡¯t obvious. Do you have any unique sub-objectives to complete?¡±


    He glanced at the screen. ¡°Um¡­ no, no optional sub-objectives, actually. Just the compulsory one to find the tunnel.¡±


    ¡°¡­I see,¡± Lucy said. She pointed ahead. ¡°Well, here¡¯s your opportunity to complete it. Because if that semi-circle of demonic script on the wall doesn¡¯t scream ¡®secret tunnel¡¯ to you, then I don¡¯t know what will.¡±


    ¡°¡­demonic script?¡± Scytale blinked and stared at the flat wall of polished black stone, engraved with eight dull glowing red demonic symbols arranged in a semi-circle.


    [Sub-Objective Complete:


    Find the tunnel opening.]


    [Completion Rate: +1%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 27%]


    ¡°Oh, okay, cool. Totally not menacing and likely to kill me if I touch it, not at all.¡± He glanced at Lucy when she walked past. ¡°What are you doing now?¡±


    Lucy walked up to the wall and considered what to do. Normally for a demonic seal like the one before her, she¡¯d use demonic materials to deactivate it, but she didn¡¯t have any on her. The only source of demonic power she had was Apophis, but her dagger didn¡¯t have any demonic sigils, so the only option left was¡­ she looked down at her left hand, unpeeled the glove and then placed her hand on the wall.


    Rings of red demonic script expanded outwards across the wall and were absorbed into the eight large symbols. They lit up with a brilliant red glow as some of the glossy polished stone seemed to melt away and liquidize. She stepped away as an archway leading into pitch-black darkness was revealed.


    [HIDDEN Sub-Objective Complete:


    Unseal the tunnel entrance.]


    [Completion Rate: +3%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 30%]


    [Stage 13 complete. Transferring Users¡­]


    ¡°¡­let¡¯s leave the exploration of this tunnel for our next visit here,¡± Lucy slowly stated.


    ¡­


    Lucy and Scytale split up once they reached the Aurelian Commission Headquarters again. She walked into her sitting room as her bond left for his own bedroom. Vincent was sitting inside, reading documents. He looked up.


    ¡°Ah, you¡¯ve returned. A successful trip?¡± he asked politely.


    ¡°A¡­ unique one,¡± Lucy replied. ¡°I chose to complete the stages in a team with Scytale. Whether that was a mistake remains to be seen.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I could see why you¡¯d think that,¡± he said with amusement. ¡°By the way, the Alichanteu craftsmen have been very eager to talk to you and-¡±


    ¡°Sir Evisenhardt, Count Goldcroft. Please excuse my interruption.¡±


    The call of a dark-haired and dark-eyed staff member made them look up and glance at the open doorway. The woman was standing there, holding a black envelope in her hands. ¡°I have a letter for you, Count Goldcroft.¡±


    ¡°¡­Count?¡± Vincent narrowed his eyes at the woman.


    Lucy stared at the woman for two seconds before hurriedly standing up and taking the letter from her. Lucille opened the letter and her eyes widened while Vincent frowned. The woman walked off.


    ¡°Why is that staff member calling you ¡®Count¡¯? The correct etiquette would be ¡®Commission Head¡¯,¡± Vincent stated crossly. Then he frowned. ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t recall ever seeing that person before. Who¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not important,¡± Lucy said. ¡°What is important is¡­¡± She fell silent again.


    Vincent raised an eyebrow. ¡°Is?¡±


    When she didn¡¯t reply he stood up from the couch and walked over. He gave the letter in her hands a curious look. ¡°What is that?¡±


    ¡°An invitation.¡± She replaced the black paper with silver ink back in its black envelope.


    ¡°To¡­ what exactly?¡± Vincent asked, still curious.


    ¡°An invitation to celebrate in a couple of weeks time, the relocation of¡­ an orphanage.¡± She gave the envelope in her hands one last look and then placed it in her suit jacket pocket. ¡°It would be a lie if I were to say this was unexpected, but for this to be so soon¡­¡± The corner of her lips quirked up in a strange smile but she turned away and sat down on the couch. ¡°You were saying something about the Alichanteu craftsmen?¡±


    Vincent blinked. ¡°Ah, yes.¡± He adjusted his glasses and sat down opposite her. ¡°The leading member of the neutral faction, a member of a dwarven clan, will be arriving for the external debut and plans to stay a while afterwards to discuss the ¡®trains¡¯ and potentially the airships¡­.¡±

 Chapter 73 (1 of 2) The Age of Locomotives.

    A dark-haired figure was lying sideways on a couch. His eyes were closed, his chin was propped up with his elbow on the armrest, and he was dressed in a black silk dressing gown and silk pants. A slight frown was on his face.


    The Demon Emperor spoke. ¡°Dion. I can¡¯t sleep.¡±


    [Why are you mentioning this to me? I¡¯ve done nothing. Even if I had done something to you, then you would¡¯ve known, because that¡¯s the relationship between you and me.]


    ¡°I¡¯m not referring to that.¡± The Demon Emperor rubbed his eyes. ¡°Dion, there has never been a time when I could not sleep, for any reason. What has changed?¡±


    [In my opinion, if you¡¯re staying awake for longer, that¡¯s a good thing. You¡¯re a higher race, you don¡¯t truly need to sleep.]


    The demon on the couch only gazed at the notification without expression. ¡°Dion.¡±


    [Fine, I¡¯ll check for you. Why is it that you only speak up first when you have something to ask me? Sit there and don¡¯t do anything, not that you would ever want to purposely move from your couch if you could help it.]


    The Demon Emperor didn¡¯t reply as the scan went through him. The voice in his head fell silent, making him cross his arms and lean back slightly. ¡°What is it?¡±


    [You¡¯re normally asleep at this time] the voice abruptly stated.


    ¡°¡­yes,¡± the Demon Emperor replied slowly.


    [And in your Archduke clone too.]


    ¡°¡­Indeed.¡±


    The voice burst out laughing. [I only said it in jest but I didn¡¯t expect it would have this much of an impact! Oh, this is hilarious. I guess getting kicked out of your habits of the last hundreds of thousands of years messed you up big time. Sorry, this isn¡¯t going to stop happening for a while.]


    The Demon Emperor frowned. ¡°What¡¯s causing my inability to sleep?¡±


    [Nope, not telling you. I don¡¯t want to be complicit in a¡­ well, it¡¯s a secret] the echoey voice said blithely.


    The demon on the couch scowled and sat up. ¡°Dion.¡±


    [Nononono no, don¡¯t be so fixed on this. How about you use your newfound insomnia to get a head start on the backlog of work you have piled up? Now there¡¯s a smart idea.]


    ¡°Dion!¡±


    The laughter of the unusual voice was the only reply to the Demon Emperor¡¯s shout of anger.


    <hr>


    The room was tense. All the members of the Commission were gathered in the meeting hall, feeling nervous as the silver-haired man who was in charge of them read the plans for the debut they had spent many sleepless nights coming up with. Their nervousness, however, was the fact that the man with half-moon glasses was staying completely silent and expressionless as he read their proposals.


    Eventually, he spoke up, ¡°Is this everything?¡±


    The representatives for each of the Counties exchanged glances. Vincent narrowed his eyes. ¡°I asked if this was everything.¡±


    ¡°¡­yes, sir,¡± one of them finally replied.


    Vincent took one last look at the documents and threw them onto the ground as he walked off. ¡°Burn the lot and start again.¡±


    Their eyes all widened and they followed after him. ¡°But sir, this is the result of a major collaboration between the four Counties! If we just throw this all away, the subordinates will lose motivation and-¡±


    ¡°¡¯The¡¯ subordinates?¡± Vincent whirled around to glare at them. ¡°Don¡¯t you mean your subordinates?! You are supposed to be the leaders of the Commission¡¯s employees, and what you have demonstrated here today is that you cannot lead.¡± He gestured to the papers on the ground with a look of disgust. ¡°Do you even understand how high the labour cost to supply every single invitee with a personal servant would be? Are you volunteering yourselves for that position too?¡±


    The representatives who were relatives of the Counties themselves and in charge of entire floors of employees, coughed into their fists, looking away.


    ¡°And the budget estimations for the debut¡­¡± Vincent¡¯s expression grew colder. ¡°It is utterly detestable that you think because this is being financed with the Founder¡¯s vault that a budget that high is acceptable. You all seem to be forgetting that a portion of the Founder¡¯s vault is to be invested in the Commission¡¯s Counties themselves.¡± He jabbed a finger at them. ¡°You will be damaging the Counties¡¯ future prospects by wasting money now. In fact¡­¡±


    Vincent gestured to the entire hall with a hand. ¡°For every crown I find estimated into the final budget that I determine to be wasteful, will be taken out of all the managers¡¯ monthly wages!¡± he shouted.


    Gasps and hastily exchanged whispers floated amongst the lower ranked subordinates, but the managers of the floors went deathly pale. A few laughs echoed from the back of the hall but then went silent as Vincent turned to face them.


    ¡°And don¡¯t think I haven¡¯t been aware of the highly unacceptable reports of employees meeting with Citadel-allied nobility every week!¡± he yelled. ¡°Especially those who visit the fortieth floor. All visitations of Citadel forces are banned during the first week of every month, or at any time the Prophetess visits!¡±


    The whispers from the noble staff in the room disappeared, while the commoners kept talking amongst themselves. That eventually stopped too when they noticed Vincent had gone silent and was staring at them all.¡±


    ¡°Why have none of you moved yet?¡± he hissed. ¡°You have a whole debut to replan! You there!¡± He pointed at someone standing off to the side, who flinched. ¡°I said to burn the proposals. Go find a fireplace and do that!¡±


    The man stiffened and warily shifted his gaze to the head managers behind Vincent, who were gesturing at him not to do it. Vincent noticed and turned on them.


    ¡°You want to go against my orders?¡± he barked. ¡°Fine. I order all records of the debut proposals to be destroyed and redone from scratch. From the bottom up.¡±


    Vincent¡¯s expression looked utterly stormy. ¡°And anyone who doesn¡¯t move in the next thirty seconds is getting fired.¡±


    Time seemed to stop for a second until all at one, they all got up and ran for the doors. The man Vincent had pointed to earlier dived for the ground to gather all the documents and run off to find the nearest lit fireplace.


    Vincent walked out of the room while yelling instructions to random people who crossed his path. Anyone who didn¡¯t know what to do gave him a wide north so they wouldn¡¯t end up as the next target of his anger.


    ¡­


    Three people were standing on a balcony overlooking the room. One of them was a dark-haired woman who had her hand on her chin, watching everything that happened with an intense look on her face, as if this was the most interesting spectacle she had seen in her entire life.


    Lucille turned to Jacques and Caius. ¡°Has he ever acted like this before?¡±


    ¡°What, who? Vincent?¡± Jacques raised an eyebrow. ¡°All the time when we were kids. Whenever we had to work together for something related to Evisenhardt, we¡¯d all draw lots and whoever got the short stick would be stuck with him.¡± The blond ponytailed main shuddered. ¡°He¡¯s the worst kind of perfectionist, the one who is ready to redo everything if he sees even the slightest mistake.¡±


    ¡°Have you never seen him like this?¡± Caius asked curiously.


    ¡°No, I haven¡¯t,¡± she replied with interest. ¡°Not once have I seen him lose his temper like this.¡±


    Jacques rolled his eyes. ¡°Yeah, well, we all joked that everyone within the County would be fired if Vincent ever inherited it.¡±


    It seems the mystery of why Vincent earned the title of ¡®Dictator¡¯ has been resolved.


    ¡°If you¡¯ve never seen him like this then I suppose it¡¯s just a testament to your good working ability,¡± Caius said with a smile.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± She tapped on her chin and then turned to walk down the nearest stairs. ¡°I¡¯d like to discuss Vincent¡¯s past behaviour some more, but unfortunately, I need to catch up with him.¡±


    ¡°If you make him even more angry, then keep the collateral damage out of my way,¡± Jacques warned.


    Caius shook his head but Lucy didn¡¯t respond. She descended the stairs with light steps and followed after her aide.


    ¡°Vincent!¡± she called out.


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    The silver-haired man stopped and turned around to face her with a scowl. ¡°If this is about an update for the debut, then I¡¯ll have to inform you that there has been a major change in plans and the final proposal has been delayed.¡±


    ¡°Oh no, it¡¯s not about that at all,¡± Lucy said with a smile.


    ¡°Good, because I don¡¯t want to have to redo my share of the work too,¡± he retorted sharply. He turned away and kept storming off while she walked beside him. ¡°Spending a full quarter of the budget you allocated me for the five years on this debut? It¡¯s going to last five days total! I¡¯ll have to ask for donations from the nobility attending if we were to finance everything like that.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Lucy mused. ¡°But I wanted to-¡±


    ¡°I want to go ahead and do a purge of all employees who aren¡¯t committed to doing actual work, but with the debut coming up we need all the staff we can get,¡± Vincent continued Cheryl, as if he hadn¡¯t heard her response. ¡°That internal affairs division you¡¯re close to finalising will be very helpful in the coming years, I¡¯m sure.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but-¡±


    ¡°I know you said they would be a force that responds to only your direct orders, but if you could lend them to me I¡¯ll be sure to root out the useless among us in this building!¡± he continued with anger in his voice. ¡°The Commission is long overdue a restructuring of its operations and standards. I want to set them straight right away!¡±


    Lucy stopped walking and Vincent didn¡¯t even realise it as he continued to voice his complaints and passionate concerns about everything the Commission was doing wrong. She glanced at the closest door, and when she became certain that Vincent wasn¡¯t paying attention, she made a swift exit.


    ¡°And I- Lucille?¡± The silver-haired aide glanced at his side to see she was missing and turned around. ¡°Where did you-¡±


    A stout balding man entered the hallway and Vincent became distracted when he saw the familiar face. ¡°Oh yes, and I have a complaint to share with you, Gordon Merst.¡±


    Lucy glanced around the doorway edge to make sure he had gone and shook her head.


    I just wanted to tell him that I was leaving the Headquarters to meet with the Alichanteu craftsmen clans, but with his strange mood it would be best for me to just leave now.


    I wonder how long he¡¯ll carry on like this for?


    ¡­


    Expertly using her perception field to avoid the nobles who wanted to meet with her after hearing she had arrived at the craftsmen district, Lucille arrived in front of one of the largest buildings in the craftsmen zone. It was one of the few permanent buildings in the place and was roughly five stories tall. It had two large metal doors on the front, looking a lot like a hangar of some kind. It was the building that had originally been used to house the components of the ¡®Gold Dome¡¯ of the plane before it was put into operation with its large arrays engraved onto district-sized metal plates.


    She didn¡¯t stop to observe it any longer and instead walked up the stairs on the outside of the building so she could take a side entrance. She knew she would enter the second story of the building and¡­


    ¡­she wanted to leave an impression. Unlike the rest of the Empire, she couldn¡¯t have the crafters underestimating her ability. So she needed to prove that she was more than the eighteen-year-old girl she appeared to be.


    With her signature violet suit jacket on and her cane in hand, she unlocked the side door with the keys she had obtained from the district gatekeeper and entered. The walls of the building laid bare the mana lines and other primitive forms of power sources that the Empire used, allowing her to see the insulation and structural supports within.


    She entered the main part of the second story through another door and found herself on top of a balcony that allowed her to see straight to the bottom floor. A small crowd was gathered below.


    Lucille hummed and looked around for something specific. She smiled when she saw it and walked over to the banister bordering the balcony on the next wall of the room. Dark purple violet curtains covered it and descended to the ground below, hiding part of the room from the sight of the crowd.


    She paused when two voices rang out among the crowd.


    ¡°-a movin¡¯ fortress, I¡¯m sure!¡± the gruff voice announced. The figure it responded to was short, with burly arms and a plaited dark brown beard. A runic tattoo of some kind was branded on the left side of his face.


    The blond-haired young man sighed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t help you sir. I¡¯ve never seen a moving fortress to compare.¡±


    The dwarf clicked his tongue and placed his hands on his hips. ¡°Is this girl going to show up? I only came here because it was the orders of Vincent Evisenhardt, but I detest the idea of dealing with a delusional young un¡¯s whims just because she was fooled by someone with stolen goods.¡±


    ¡°What a fascinating conversation you seem to be having down there!¡± Lucille called to them. ¡°But please, could I know who this young girl is? I don¡¯t recall permitting anyone else to enter this building.¡±


    The argument fell silent as all the crafters below, consisting of the crafters she had employed after the competition and the Alichanteu clans, looked up and gazed silently at her.


    Lucy tilted her head. ¡°My apologies, did I surprise you all?¡±


    ¡°¡­you must be Count Goldcroft,¡± the dwarf in the lead said.


    Lucille grinned and propped her chin up as she leaned against the banister. ¡°Indeed. My name is Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft. I look forward to working with all you many crafters of great capability and renown.¡± She tilted her head again. ¡°But I¡¯m still curious about this ¡®young girl¡¯ you spoke about.¡±


    The dwarf gained a strange expression as he continued to gaze at her. The other crafters, including a few other dwarves, exchanged looks.


    Lucy blinked and clasped her gloved hands together. ¡°Ah, were you perhaps referring to me?¡± She let out a tut and shook her head. ¡°How am I supposed to know that, when you never called me by my titles of ¡®Commission Head¡¯ or ¡®Count¡¯?¡± She smirked and her eyes narrowed as she sat sideways on the banister, holding her cane with a hand placed on either end. ¡°It¡¯s a little demeaning to refer to the leader of the largest merchant organisation in the Tower as a mere ¡®young girl¡¯, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    The leading dwarf stayed silent for a while longer, but then he bowed to her with a sigh. ¡°Please accept my apologies, Count Goldcroft. I will make sure to be stricter with my words in the future.¡± He straightened up and narrowed his eyes at her. ¡®But Count Goldcroft, us dwarves a rough folk. My clan might be considered nobles in the Empire, but the ways of your people don¡¯t sit well with us for too long.¡±


    ¡°There is a time and place for informality, yes, but I¡¯d prefer it not to be when we have yet to complete our introductions.¡± She swung two legs over the banister to sit on it. ¡°I still have yet to learn your name, sir.¡±


    The brown-haired dwarf bowed. ¡°Clanlord Dorelmaeg Krovehearth, milady. All dwarven clans of the Alichanteu are my vassals.¡±


    ¡°A pleasure to meet you, Clanlord Krovehearth,¡± Lucy said with a smile. She spread her arms, her cane held in one hand. ¡°And a pleasure to meet all of you as well. Some of you will have already seen me at the competition last year, but for all those who haven¡¯t, I am the Commission Head and the one directly in charge of overseeing the construction of the ¡®train¡¯ and¡­ well, I¡¯ll save the other details for later.¡±


    Lucille crossed one leg over the other and rested her hands on her knees with a smirk on her face. ¡°Now, I believe the discussion you were having earlier, Clanlord Krovehearth, between yourself and Sir Sameul O¡¯Dearvy was related to the similarities between the plans I showed you and the ¡®moving fortresses¡¯ owned by Rocht¡¯guardes?¡±


    ¡°¡­yes.¡± Krovehearth crossed his arms with a frown on his face. It was obvious he was slightly less confident about his statement of the blueprints being stolen than he was before she turned up. ¡°The design of this ¡®train¡¯ vehicle is far too similar to the fortresses of our empire. As a resident of Rocht¡¯guardes, my clan and my vassals won¡¯t help you with making this, even if you try to force us.¡± His expression became solemn. ¡°And I formally request for you to hand over the person responsible for the leak so he can be dealt with by the Elder Council.¡±


    ¡°Person? Ah¡­ well, I¡¯ll have to sorely disappoint you then.¡± Lucy¡¯s smirk grew wider. ¡°Perhaps it could be considered my fault for not revealing more of the train¡¯s internal components, but I didn¡¯t want anything to slip out, you see. But the ¡®train¡¯ doesn¡¯t use any dwarven technology.¡±


    ¡°Any?¡± The dwarves all exchanged sceptical looks.


    With a grin, Lucille got back onto the balcony and then placed a foot on the banister. ¡°Please look carefully once I reveal what lies beneath these curtains, because it took a great deal of effort to complete this,¡± she announced proudly. ¡°I¡¯ll show you what a ¡®train¡¯ really is.¡±


    With one swift movement, she hooked the end of her cane under the dark purple velvet curtain and swept it off. It fell to the ground to reveal an enormous magical blueprint, enchanted to show an engine with pistons and wheels rolling and multi-coloured steam escaping from valves. All the crafters stepped forward to look up at the designs, their eyes growing wider as they realised how it worked.


    ¡°This is what I have termed a ¡®locomotive¡¯,¡± Lucy began, taking her foot down to walk over to the next curtain. ¡°It¡¯s a mechanical engine capable of hauling large transport containers behind it, on routes predetermined by metal guide rails, or ¡®train tracks¡¯. And¡­¡±


    She hooked her cane underneath the next curtain and walked along the balcony, taking down all the curtains that followed after the wall-sized blueprint of the locomotive to reveal many blueprints of different models of carriages that hooked up to the locomotive to form the entire train. ¡°These blueprints are life-sized and to-scale renditions of what I hope for you to aid me in creating.¡±


    ¡°¡­to scale?¡± Krovehearth walked forward and squinted at the figures and data scrawled onto the blueprint as labels for the components. ¡°It¡¯s true that I don¡¯t recognise this technology, and there aren¡¯t any dwarven runes¡­¡±


    Lucy crossed her arms and leaned against the guard rail again. ¡°If you ask Mr. O¡¯Dearvy, I¡¯m sure he could explain the concepts of this construct.¡±


    ¡°O¡¯Dearvy¡­¡± The brown-haired dwarf recognised the name and turned to the blonde-haired young man looking at the main engine of the locomotive with wide eyes. ¡°Boy?¡±


    ¡°I- uh, well, that might be giving me too much credit, Commission Head,¡± Sameul replied sheepishly. He rubbed his neck. ¡°But¡­ this seems a lot like the device I created for the competition. Not that I had such a large-scale construction in mind, but¡­¡± He pointed to the engine. ¡°This builds upon the concepts of my device, right? About turning mechanical energy into mana through steam?¡±


    Lucy smirked and leapt over the banister using one hand. She landed on the ground floor and pointed at him with the cane. ¡°Correct. And a form of this locomotive can be built that runs on only coal and steam.¡± She turned to face the hanging blueprints that wrapped around the centre of the ground floor, like some famous art exhibit. ¡°But there is no value in avoiding the usage of mana in this situation.¡± Lucille glanced at Dorelmaeg Krovehearth. ¡°Clanlord Krovehearth, are you satisfied that this was not designed using stolen Rocht¡¯guardes technology?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± The dwarf, who just barely came up to her shoulders in height, turned around to see the entire design of the train, with its carriages in full view. ¡°This is truly to scale?¡±


    ¡°Indeed,¡± Lucy said. ¡°And another factor you should consider is that this train is to be used above ground as well as below it. In fact, it will only be below ground in populated areas such as cities and Gilded Seat to conserve space. This train will also only have strong shielding arrays and minimal weapons, to only fend off monsters if they become too curious.¡± She shrugged. ¡°This train isn¡¯t a weapon like the moving fortresses, which are built to defend against monsters when you dwarves go on your mining expeditions. This is supposed to be a commercialised and hopefully common method of transport for the everyday civilian.¡±


    Krovehearth stepped back to take it all in. He turned around to discuss the train with his fellow dwarves, who were all gesturing wildly to the train with excitement in their voices as they spoke of the merits of the construction.


    Lucille remained standing off to the side with a calm smile on her lips, both her gloved hands resting on the end of her cane. Sameul walked up to her and stood beside her.


    ¡°I apologise if I¡¯m being too bold, but¡­¡± He gave her an intense look. ¡°I¡¯m very, very curious to know who the inventor of this ¡®train¡¯ is. Especially their way of using mechanical and magical forces to create a feasible and inexpensive transport method.¡± He placed his hands on his hips and gazed up at the animated diagram. ¡°I read a few of the notes that listed what metals this could be made of, and¡­ it blows my mind to think even mundane metals could be used to build this.¡± Sameul shook his head. ¡°The Coalition¡¯s puppets and engines still need magical materials to work well, but this¡­¡±


    ¡°The inventor? Well, all I can say is that you¡¯ve met them,¡± Lucy remarked wryly.


    ¡°Met them? Who¡­ wait.¡± Sameul hesitated. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s him? Your personal crafter?¡±


    Lucy gave him a deadpan look that made him scratch his head. ¡°No, it is not Sedric, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re asking,¡± she stated dully.


    ¡°Huh¡­ then who¡­?¡± Sameul asked, confused.


    She smirked and gave him a wave as she walked forward, able to tell that the dwarves were finishing up their discussion. ¡°All I¡¯ll say is that you¡¯ve met them. I¡¯ll leave it at that.¡±


    Dorelmaeg Krovehearth turned around as she approached. She leaned on her cane in a relaxed manner as she smiled at him. ¡°So, your conclusion?¡±


    ¡°Alright, Count. We¡¯ll help you with this ¡®train¡¯,¡± Krovehearth stated shortly. He held out a hand with a few silver rings on it for her to shake. ¡°This seems interesting, but no bringing dwarven tech into this, alright?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dream of it,¡± she replied as she shook her head. Her eyes narrowed as she smirked. ¡°However, Clanlord Krovehearth, there is another more private discussion I wish to have with you. Something to do with a certain form of air transport?¡±


    His expression grew serious. ¡°¡­I see.¡± He turned around to face his clansmen and vassals. ¡°The Krovehearth Clan will take on this job, fellows! It¡¯s interesting and unique, and we all know that we dwarves are suckers for new magitech. Go study those blueprints so when I can come back, we can start crafting the first prototype as soon as possible!¡±


    They let out cheers of affirmation and walked forward to study the blueprints, chatting with the other crafters as well, who were very curious to discuss magitech with the dwarves, known for their exquisite crafting capabilities and metallurgy.


    Krovehearth turned back to Lucy. ¡°Is there a private room for us to chat?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± She nodded and gestured to the nearest stairs. ¡°This way please, Clanlord Krovehearth.¡±


    ¡­


    The room they chose to meet in wasn¡¯t in any way fancy or decorated. The walls were still as bare as ever, and the window that showed a view of the craftsmen¡¯s district outside was shielded by plain wooden shutters. A table was resting on its side inside the room and she walked forward to lift it up. Then she leaned against it, resting her cane on the table.


    ¡°I¡¯ll cut to the chase as I know dwarves don¡¯t like beating around the bush,¡± she began seriously. ¡°I want to know the progress on the airships and involve myself in their development if possible.¡±


    ¡°As I expected¡­ what does the Commission Head want to do with the airships?¡± he asked, brown eyes focused intently on her.


    ¡°Nothing right now,¡± she replied calmly. ¡°But I believe I can hasten the development of them¡­ both using the resources of the Founder¡¯s vault and by my own knowledge.¡±


    ¡°Knowledge¡­¡± He narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°That reminds me. You told us that we¡¯d meet with the inventor of this ¡®train¡¯ today. Where are they?¡±


    She smirked and propped her chin up with her elbow on the table. ¡°Where do you think?¡±


    He frowned at her and then glanced at the door to the room. ¡°Where does the concept of this ¡®train¡¯ come from?¡±


    ¡°My home world,¡± Lucy stated with a smile. ¡°I don¡¯t claim for it to be an original concept. I wouldn¡¯t dare to do that when the moving fortresses exist, anyway. But this form of train is now unused and outdated in my home world. We prefer to use a form of flight transport instead.¡±


    The word ¡®flight¡¯ refocused his attention on her. ¡°Your home world has developed air transport vehicles?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Which is why I think I can contribute to the development of these airships.¡±


    Krovehearth sighed and ran a hand through his hair. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ discuss this with the other clans working on the airships and see if they¡¯ll let you onto the plane.¡±


    Lucy nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t want to intrude too much on your workspace.¡± She pulled out her pocket watch and checked the time. ¡°Now, while I¡¯d love to discuss the technical aspects of the train with all of you crafters, I¡¯m a rather busy person and we have an important visitor at the Commission this time of week. If you¡¯ll excuse me, Clanlord Krovehearth, I must return to the Headquarters.¡±


    He slowly nodded. ¡°You¡¯re an¡­ interesting person, Count Goldcroft. It makes me wonder where a young girl like you learnt how to design something like that train.¡± He held out his hand. ¡°Give Vincent Evisenhardt my regards when you return.¡±


    ¡°Will do. And also¡­¡± As she grabbed his hand to shake, she smirked and let him sense part of her soul presence. His eyes widened and he backpedalled as she waved goodbye to him with a bright smile. ¡°Your first mistake was assuming I¡¯m just a young girl, Clanlord Krovehearth. Until next time.¡±


    With that, she left the room and returned to the side door that would lead her outside. She let out a sigh as she looked up.


    So, what has Annaliese got up to while I¡¯ve been gone? It¡¯s something involving my bond, I can tell that much.

 Chapter 73 (2 of 2) The Age of Locomotives.

    ¡°Scytale!¡±


    The snake, who was curled up below the table in Lucille¡¯s living room, lazily opened one eye to peer at the blonde-haired girl who had marched into the room. Her blond guard was leaning against the back wall in his normal position. ¡°Hi, Annaliese. Back again?¡±


    She placed her hands on her hips. ¡°Where is Lucy? I know she¡¯s been avoiding me! I haven¡¯t been able to find her all day!¡±


    ¡°Sure says something about someone¡¯s ego when their first thought, if they can¡¯t find someone, is that they must be avoiding them¡­¡± Scytale muttered. He coughed and moved on before Annaliese registered what he had said. ¡°Lucy isn¡¯t even in the Commission Headquarters. She¡¯s busy doing important noble-y work where she either screws someone over or ends up embarrassing someone so they become completely compliant.¡± He opened his mouth to yawn. ¡°Eh, it¡¯s probably both.¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­ she¡¯s not here at all?¡± Annaliese asked, stunned. When Scytale nodded she frowned and sat down on the ground, wrapping her arms around her knees. ¡°But then how can I ask what I need to?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s on her way back, so just be patient, but¡­¡± The amphiptere tilted his head. ¡°Do you have something important to ask? Like a request? Not sure what you¡¯d need Lucy for when you¡¯re the oh-so-mighty Prophetess of the Citadel and all that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s about¡­ politics¡­. I think¡­¡± She hesitated. ¡°I didn¡¯t bring it up last time because I was wondering how to discuss it, but I need to talk to Lucy before the Great Sage does something¡­¡±


    ¡°Urgh, it¡¯s to do with the Great Sage? Never mind, I don¡¯t want to help you.¡± He turned away and pretended to go back to sleep.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Annaliese scowled. ¡°Don¡¯t be mean about it!¡±


    ¡°¡­fiiiiine.¡± With a sigh, he turned back around and raised himself to tilt his head at her. ¡°So, what politically icky thing do you need Lucy for?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Annaliese straightened out her legs and flattened her dress. ¡°Gidelis Annador wants me to persuade Lucy to allow a subdivision of the Citadel to be built here.¡±


    ¡°Stretching out his greedy hands to access this goldmine of a city too, I see.¡± Scytale flickered his tongue. ¡°He¡¯s got to know that Lucy isn¡¯t ¡®allowed¡¯ to do anything without Vincent¡¯s permission though, right? I mean, that¡¯s the whole impression Lucy has purposely tried to give everyone.¡±


    The Prophetess nodded. ¡°He just wants me to discuss it. I think he wants to see whether Vincent is going to do anything.¡±


    ¡°Huh. Well, if Vincent had his way, everyone from other planes, realms and Factions would be kicked out of Gilded Seat so he doesn¡¯t have to deal with any politically volatile situations.¡± The winged snake shrugged.


    The blonde-haired girl blinked. ¡°Even me?¡±


    ¡°Yup. Sedric and Hargrave too. Sedric is a Legendary crafter and Hargrave is¡­ well¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­is Hargrave important somehow?¡± she asked with suspicion.


    The snake let out a fake cough and hastily turned away to avoid her even more suspicious gaze. ¡°N-Now now, it¡¯s not up to me to reveal other people¡¯s secrets. Let¡¯s return to you needing Lucy to accept your request.¡± He paused to consider something. ¡°Does she need to accept your request? Or will the Great Old Fart- I mean, Sage be happy with just a ¡®no¡¯?¡±


    Annaliese nearly grinned when she heard Scytale¡¯s slip with his words but shook his head. ¡°The thing is¡­ I¡¯ve kind of put it off for nearly two months¡­ and if he waited all this time to find out Lucy eventually said no, I¡¯m worried it will make him annoyed at Lucy.¡±


    Scytale gave her a big nod and then flapped his wings boisterously. ¡°Well, lucky for you, I am the majestic bond of the Aurelian Commission Head, and I have access to her innermost thoughts. I can assure you that Lucy in all her scheming capability has already planned on organising something like this, so you can go ahead and filch off her immensely rich coffers all you want!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±


    Annaliese and Scytale turned around to see a dark-haired woman walk in, a strange expression on her face as she gazed at her bond. ¡°Why would I ever give her money and what for?¡±


    Annaliese stood up. ¡°Lucy! You¡¯re back!¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am.¡± Lucille sat down on her couch with a sigh and reached for the brass jug on the table. She poured herself a cup of coffee and sipped it before raising an eyebrow at the Prophetess who sat opposite her. ¡°It seems you have a request to make to me, something involving my finances?¡±


    Annaliese thought for a moment and became confused. She turned to the snake who had switched to his humanoid form and decided to sit on the edge of the coffee table. ¡°Scytale, why would it be money I¡¯d need from Lucy?¡±


    ¡°Before you ask my bond anything, I¡¯d rather be informed about what this request is,¡± Lucille interrupted.


    The Paladin leaning against the back wall straightened up and walked forward. ¡°Commission Head, it may be best if I explain the situation,¡± Jasten Albrecht interjected.


    Lucy smirked. ¡°Ah, so this is something involving the Citadel instead of just a selfish request of the young girl sitting opposite me.¡±


    Annaliese glared at her. ¡°Why are you picking on me right after seeing me for the first time this month?¡±


    ¡°¡­young girl? Count Goldcroft¡­¡± Jasten gave her a strange look. ¡°Aren¡¯t you only two years older than the Prophetess?¡±


    Lucy gazed dully at the armoured man while Annaliese blinked and then slowly grinned. Scytale burst out laughing and Lucille shot her bond a glare. She pressed a gloved hand to her temple. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ not¡­ never mind.¡± She sighed, shook her head, and gestured to the Paladin. ¡°What are the details surrounding this request?¡±


    Sir Albrecht nodded and came up beside Annaliese. ¡°His Eminence Great Sage Gidelis Annador tasked Prophetess Verdon with requesting that a subdivision of the Citadel be built in Gilded Seat.¡±


    Lucy blinked. ¡°Ah. I see.¡± She raised an eyebrow and glanced at the blonde-haired girl next to him. ¡°I only caught the tail-end of your conversation in my perception field, but¡­ nearly two months since he asked this? I doubt that you were actually using that whole time to think about how to approach me with this. You forgot to ask me last time, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Er¡­ no¡­¡± Annaliese sheepishly avoided eye contact.


    Lucy smirked and crossed her arms as she leaned back in her seat. ¡°As luck would have it, I had envisioned a request like this being put forward eventually. It¡¯s surprising timing, however, considering that my external debut will be in late June. But perhaps he wants to use my debut as an opportunity to demonstrate how the Citadel has ¡®ties¡¯ with the Commission.¡± She scoffed and rolled her eyes. ¡°Non-existent ties. The Aurelian Commission is neutral, and we like to avoid any forces with close connections to Olden like the Citadel of Fate.¡±


    ¡°But aren¡¯t I considered a ¡®tie¡¯ you have with the Citadel?¡± Annaliese asked while pointing at herself.


    Lucy considered it for a moment as she studied the girl. She gave her a dismissive wave of the hand. ¡°You have no agency or political know-how whatsoever, so you¡¯re irrelevant.¡±


    Annaliese pouted as Lucille placed a hand on her chin and hummed. ¡°But the question now would be where the subdivision would go¡­¡± She paused and turned to her bond. ¡°Also, Scytale. It wouldn¡¯t be finance that Annaliese would need from me. It¡¯d be real estate.¡±


    Scytale shrugged. ¡°Whatever. Do you actually own any land on Gilded Seat that you can decide to place the Citadel on? Or does this fall under the ¡®Counties will make it happen¡¯ category?¡±


    ¡°Of course I own land on Gilded Seat. I¡¯m the Aurelian Commission Head.¡± She snapped her fingers just as the door to the living room opened, and a servant came in with several rolled-up pieces of parchment in hand. He bowed as he placed them on the coffee table beside Scytale then retreated from the room.


    Lucille leaned forward to pick one up and unfurled it to reveal it was a map of Gilded Seat, with all the districts labelled and named. She tapped on her chin as she studied it. ¡°I¡¯ve already informed you that the Founder¡¯s vault contained many types of assets, correct? From the beginning of the establishment of the Commission, a vast portion of all districts on Gilded Seat have been under the management of the Headquarters, with their land deeds stored in the vault.¡±


    Annaliese stood up to sit next to Lucy and watch her observe the map. Lucy tilted her head and traced a finger along one row of districts. ¡°The Amber River District is well-known for its gorgeous scenery and design, so from that point of view it would befit a subdivision of the Citadel of Fate, but it was also called ¡®Amber River¡¯ because it¡¯s a district for casinos and taverns where betting is highly popular¡­¡± She raised her eyes to watch the Paladin opposite them and quickly shook her head. ¡°No, not that district.¡±


    Jasten Albrecht coughed into his armoured fist and looked away, but Annaliese blinked. ¡°What has betting got to do with the Citadel of Fate?¡±


    Lucy smirked and poked her forehead. ¡°Why don¡¯t you think for a moment about how it would be a bad idea for a Supreme Institution known for its Fate and fortune manipulation and greedy members to be beside a location where vast quantities of money flow?¡±


    The confused Prophetess screwed up her face as she thought about it, but Lucy continued to study the map. ¡°Truthfully, the entire plane is a city, so just about any district in the central sector would be fine for the subdivision. It will also depend on how large a subdivision the Great Sage wants to establish on the plane. As the Aurelian Commission Head, I need to consider how large a foreign militant base I can allow on this plane¡­¡±


    ¡°It will be a subdivision of Protection,¡± Sir Albrecht pointed out.


    Lucy shook her head as she rolled up her map and opened a second one to view. ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t doubt it. But healers are a valuable resource to the Citadel and will come hand-in-hand with a contingent of rather powerful knights and possibly Paladins. True militant subdivision or not, no subdivision of the Citadel of Fate is ever defenceless.¡±


    She rolled up the second map in her hands and reached for the third. ¡°Not when even the weakest knight can draw upon their Thaumaturgic connection to the Primarch of Fate, Escalon.¡±


    Sir Albrecht went silent with a slight frown on his face, which was surprisingly mirrored by the Prophetess in their midst. ¡°Does Escalon even exist? I¡¯ve never seen him.¡±


    Lucy paused and gave the Prophetess a strange look.


    Annaliese blinked. ¡°What?¡±


    Lucille exchanged a look with the silent Paladin opposite her and turned back to Annaliese. ¡°It,¡± Lucy stated blandly. ¡°It¡¯s not a ¡®he¡¯, but an ¡®it¡¯. And yes, it exists. I find it difficult to believe that you haven¡¯t been taught about the only surviving Primarch of the Mystical Realm during this era.¡±


    ¡°¡­it?¡± Annaliese asked quizzically. ¡°Wait, are the myths of him- I mean, it being the first light element spirit true?¡±


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Lucy sighed and shot Jasten Albrecht a frown. ¡°Escalon isn¡¯t a light spirit. Contrary to the ¡®myths¡¯ and propaganda of the Citadel, Escalon isn¡¯t the first ¡®ray of light¡¯ to land on a plane and given humanoid form when it became an elemental. Escalon is a construct of concepts and light mana, formed through ¡®Conceptual Coalescence¡¯ and the beliefs of mortals about him from the era before the Empire.¡± She shook her head and returned to scanning the third map. ¡°Escalon is merely a weapon used by the Citadel to grant themselves greater authority over the light element than most due to their Thaumaturgic arts allowing them to connect with it.¡±


    Jasten Albrecht narrowed his eyes at Lucy. ¡°You should not demean the Primarch of Fate by referring to him as an ¡®it¡¯ and calling him a mere weapon, Commission Head.¡±


    ¡°But am I wrong?¡± she argued. ¡°¡¯He¡¯ is only a force of condensed elemental power bound by strict rules and laws. As the highest-ranked Paladin, you must be able to summon an incarnation of him with your Penultimate skill. The ¡®mind¡¯ you may feel isn¡¯t something that belongs to a living thing.¡±


    Sir Albrecht crossed his arms with a pensive look on his face, but didn¡¯t refute her words. Lucy turned back to Annaliese and studied her for a second. ¡°You know what a religion is, right?¡±


    Annaliese nodded. ¡°Of course. I heard in the past many people worshipped the Season Court Kings and Queens, dragons and even the Death Monarch.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Lucille sighed and leaned back in her seat. ¡°And you recall what I discussed about magic and how my illusion magic works last month, correct?¡±


    Annaliese screwed up her nose. ¡°You mean when you told me that everything I¡¯ve ever known about mana and magic is all because we make it up in our head, yes, I remember that,¡± she stated flatly.


    Lucy raised a finger. ¡°Ah, Collective Conceptual Ideology doesn¡¯t affect mana, only magic. The mysterious energy of the material realms will always exist and have certain rules.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± the blonde-haired girl retorted. ¡°What has this got to do with Escalon?¡±


    ¡°Well, if a group of people begin to have a firm belief in something existing that formerly hadn¡¯t¡­ then it¡¯s possible for it to form through a process called ¡®Conceptual Coalescence¡¯,¡± Lucy informed her. ¡°Nearly all the ¡®Great Beings¡¯ are formed through that process, but Escalon is the only Great Being native to the Mystical Realm.¡±


    ¡°Great¡­ being¡­?¡± Annaliese¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Wait, you mean like Primals?!?¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡± Lucille nodded. ¡°Escalon formed when a group of people began to believe in the existence of an extremely powerful light elemental who granted healing and protection abilities to strong warriors who formed a connection with him. Thaumaturgy works by Paladins, such as Sir Albrecht here¡­¡± She gestured to the man. ¡°Forming Heroic Power and practising a special art that generates a Thaumaturgic bond with the Primarch. They can then summon incarnations of the Primarch, and I¡¯ve been told that when they use their spatial element Radiance ability, they gain Escalon¡¯s wings.¡±


    Lucy spread her hands. ¡°Escalon has slowly become more powerful and changed slightly over the ages, but he is the only Primarch of the Mystical Realm that still exists, if there were any others, to begin with. This is because the Citadel quickly roots out and disproves the existence of any other powerful ¡®imaginary¡¯ existences when a belief system in other parts of the Mystical Realm forms that has a chance of creating a Primarch.¡± She pointed at Annaliese. ¡°You need to understand that because Primarchs are essentially something else created by the minds of mortals and the spiritual realm, they also get impacted by the gradual shift in Collective Conceptual Ideology.¡±


    Her expression became slightly serious. ¡°For all that the Eternal Empire might have complaints about the Citadel, the one thing they can be praised for is keeping their beliefs and practices the same for hundreds upon thousands of millennia. This is the only way that ¡®Escalon¡¯ has been able to uphold its image of a protector of mortals and saving force for so long. The Sages know how Escalon works and quickly eradicate all ¡®factions¡¯ of different beliefs that might form in the Citadel, because in the event that Escalon¡¯s strict rules of behaviour break¡­ that might shatter its mind and make it go insane. Then all the planes might be in danger.¡±


    Then Lucille smiled brightly. ¡°But the fact that the ¡®Prophetess¡¯ class apparently doesn¡¯t need a connection with Escalon is very interesting, Sir Albrecht. This might mean that the Unique Prophetess of Fate class has no connections to the Citadel at all.¡±


    The steely-eyed Paladin gazed solemnly at her. ¡°¡­Commission Head, is there a specific answer you want to hear from me? Because I don¡¯t think I can give you what you want.¡±


    Lucy smirked and wryly shook her head. ¡°No, there¡¯s no need to respond. I already expected as much.¡± She crossed one leg over the other and lifted the map in her hands higher. ¡°But now that I¡¯ve shattered your worldview once again, I think it¡¯s time to return to the original topic of where we¡¯re going to be placing this Citadel subdivision.¡±


    Annaliese pressed her hands to her temples on either side of a head, looking like she was trying to get rid of a headache. Eventually, she shook her head and leaned near Lucy¡¯s shoulder to peer at the map. ¡°Lucy¡­ how many types of Great Beings are there? Because now I¡¯ve heard of Primals and Primarchs, and I remember hearing that the Realm Rulers are also Great Beings¡­¡±


    Lucille nodded absentmindedly. ¡°There¡¯s five. Primal beasts, Primarchs, Higher Races ¨C which are the Great Being forms of most of the humanoid races and are fully sapient, and then there are Ancient Daemons¡­¡±


    ¡°Ancient Daemons?¡± Annaliese blinked.


    ¡°It¡¯s very, very uncommon to hear about them let alone meet one,¡± Lucy explained. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll talk about Ancient Daemons another day. But there¡¯s also¡­¡± She fell silent and closed the map in her hands. She frowned slightly and shook her head. ¡°Never mind.¡±


    Annaliese narrowed her eyes. ¡°Lucy, don¡¯t avoid the subject.¡±


    Instead of replying, Lucille looked over the back of the couch and opened the door of the sitting room with her spiritual telekinesis. ¡°You three, you may as well come in. I know you¡¯ve been standing outside and could overhear our conversation for the last half hour.¡±


    The dark shadows she could see on the wall of the outside hallway flinched, and then two awkward faces of Sedric and Raegan could be seen peeking in.


    ¡°I¡­ uh, couldn¡¯t find the right time to enter,¡± Sedric replied sheepishly.


    Raegan was just eyeing Lucy with a curious look in his eyes but a frown on his face, like he wasn¡¯t willing to admit he was interested.


    Lucy raised an eyebrow. ¡°Hargrave?¡±


    The face of the red-haired man soon joined the other two. ¡°I was only waiting outside because of these two,¡± he said with a bemused look on his face. ¡°But I didn¡¯t really expect to hear those details about the Primarch of Fate today.¡±


    Lucille smirked and pointed at him. ¡°Also, I should mention this: the Primarch of Fate shouldn¡¯t be called the Primarch of Fate because no Primarch has authority over Higher elements.¡±


    ¡°¡­huh.¡±


    Scytale nodded proudly. ¡°Welcome to the ¡®mind blown by Lucy club¡¯, everybody!¡±


    ¡°My life is a lie,¡± Annaliese complained. When Lucille only shrugged, she pouted and looked at the map in the dark-haired girl¡¯s hands again. ¡°How much of Gilded Seat are you in charge of? When I just see a bunch of rectangles on a map, I can¡¯t really picture it in my head.¡±


    ¡°Out of the 214 districts in Gilded Seat, I own 79,¡± Lucy explained.


    Annaliese considered it. ¡°So¡­ a lot?¡±


    Lucy huffed a laugh and closed the map. ¡°I¡®m struggling to form a cohesive mental image as well. It seems like I¡¯m going to have to survey the land myself.¡±


    Scytale raised his hand in the air. ¡°Ooh! Bring me, bring me!¡±


    She raised an eyebrow at her strangely eager bond. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because I¡¯m bored!¡± he announced loudly. ¡°Also, I want to bring Annaliese and everyone else because it sounds fun.¡±


    ¡°Fun,¡± Lucy repeated dryly.


    Sedric seemed to consider it while Raegan raised a hand. ¡°I vote in favour of leaving this exhibit of extravagance.¡±


    Lucy sighed and glanced at the Paladin among them. ¡°Sir Albrecht?¡±


    He scratched his beard pensively. ¡°Hmm¡­ it¡­ should be fine¡­¡±


    Lucy shook her head and pulled out her pocket watch to check the time. ¡°It¡¯s just about lunchtime, so I suppose we may as well eat out today¡­¡± She looked around. ¡°Who¡¯s coming?¡±


    Scytale raised a hand high, as did Annaliese. Raegan did the same, and Sedric also copied, although he stayed at the back as if to hide it from the others. Hargrave hesitated and tried to back away into the hallway, but Annaliese spun around and gazed at him with expectant eyes. ¡°Are you coming too, Hargrave?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± The words died in his mouth when faced with the intensity of her gaze and he ran a hand down his face. ¡°Fine¡­ I¡¯ll come¡­¡±


    ¡°Come where?¡± Vincent stuck his head around the doorway and blinked when he saw everybody was inside. ¡°Oh, good afternoon, everyone. Has Lucille been discussing anything interesting?¡±


    ¡°Vincent, come with us to buy a house!¡± Scytale ordered.


    Vincent stared at him. ¡°I beg your pardon?¡±


    ¡°What my bond means to say is that our local Prophetess has just officially requested on behalf of the Great Sage for me to allow a subdivision of the Citadel to be stationed in Gilded Seat,¡± Lucy informed him dryly. ¡°We are about to inspect some of the districts I own, and Scytale wants to know if you wish to come.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Vincent checked his wristwatch. ¡°I have time, if we¡¯re back before mid-afternoon.¡±


    ¡°I see. That settles it then.¡± Lucy stood up and grabbed her cane from where it was leaning against the coffee table. ¡°Then, everybody¡­ should we go out today?¡±


    ¡­


    A total of eight people with very colourful personalities could be seen walking down the streets of Gilded Seat by the citizens of the plane. One thing that confused them, however, was why a Paladin of a Supreme Institution had apparently joined them.


    Annaliese was under an illusion spell cast by Lucy and had brown hair and blue eyes.


    ¡°So which of these do you own?¡± she curiously asked Lucille.


    ¡°Be patient. I¡¯m taking you to a place where we can get a good view of it all.¡± Lucy paused when they came up to the multi-storied building seemingly made out of living trees. ¡°Here. The Ancient Oak of Plenty. It¡¯s a restaurant with a decent view of the districts, so I decided here would be best to have a meal.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s so pretty!¡± Annaliese exclaimed, looking up at the large fronds overshadowing them.


    Lucille swiftly walked inside and gestured to one of the waiters. She took her pocket watch out of a pocket and hung it in front of him. ¡°Private room for eight.¡±


    The man quickly bowed and gestured down the main hall. ¡°This way, Commission Head.¡±


    ¡°What is this place?¡± Raegan said, narrowing his eyes at everything around them. ¡°Some druid¡¯s happy society or something?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a restaurant. Just one owned by elves,¡± Lucy replied. She pointed with her cane as she walked up the stairs. ¡°We¡¯ll have our meal up there.¡±


    Once they got to the top of the stairs, the members of Lucy¡¯s entourage all blinked to readjust themselves to the bright sunlight shining down through the glass roof. They were on the rooftop, where a long table grown out of wood was placed. They slowly took up seats on the high-backed chairs sprouting from the ground, except for Annaliese, who an over to the nearest balcony, much to her guard¡¯s frustration.


    ¡°This is¡­ uh, green,¡± Sedric said with surprise. Leafy vines covered the four pillars holding up the pane of glass above them.


    Lucille sat down at one end of the table and spread her gloved hands. ¡°Considering we journeyed out here in the context of finding the best land for the construction of a Protection subdivision, I picked the best building for us to view my properties.¡± She gestured to the table, which had menus made of fine parchment and gold lettering. ¡°Go ahead and order whatever you want.¡± She smirked and crossed her arms. ¡°I won¡¯t make you pay this time.¡±


    ¡°This time?¡± Sedric asked incredulously. ¡°You mean the person with near infinite money isn¡¯t willing to just pay for our meals any other time?¡±


    Lucy pointed at herself. ¡°My money.¡±


    ¡°That you didn¡¯t work for,¡± Vincent noted dryly. ¡°Additionally, I recall you poking fun at my finances as a son of the Evisenhardt County, but similarities between our two circumstances can be seen.¡±


    She looked away and whistled.


    Annaliese, who had only just been dragged back from the balcony by Sir Albrecht, pointed at the scenery. ¡°So¡­ what do you own, Lucy?¡±


    Lucille poured herself a cup of water from one of the jugs on the table and closed her eyes as she sipped it. ¡°All of it.¡±


    ¡°¡­all?¡±


    Lucy got up from the chair and walked over to the balcony. She observed the view with a hand on her chin for a moment, before pointing to the Aurelian Commission Headquarters in the distance. ¡°This district is nearly everything you see across the road from there¡­¡± She moved her finger across the horizon to point at the System Obelisk in the distance. ¡°¡­to there. And that is one of the 79 districts under my jurisdiction.¡±


    Annaliese stared at everything with wide eyes, and then slowly turned to stare at Lucy. ¡°Lucy, you might as well be a queen!¡± she exclaimed.


    Lucille scoffed and returned to her seat. ¡°Hardly. I live in the same building that¡¯s the office for most Commission employees.¡±


    ¡°The Headquarters is a mansion though!¡± the blonde-haired girl argued.


    ¡°It¡¯s an office complex,¡± Lucy stated flatly. ¡°Just one with unusually expensive d¨¦cor on many floors.¡±


    ¡°Look, Annaliese, you¡¯re not going to win this one,¡± Scytale interrupted as he reached for one of the fruits left in a bowl on the table. ¡°Lucy¡¯s salty because in her home world, she also lived in a building where many people worked. Just on a higher floor.¡± He casually juggled multiple fruits as he thought about it. ¡°I think she told me it was floor¡­ 165?¡±


    ¡°It was 166,¡± she informed him.


    Scytale snickered and placed the food back down. ¡°Just five hundred off from being six six six. I always knew you were evil.¡±


    Lucille sighed and turned away to look at the many buildings stretching out to the horizon. Smoke with many spectacular colours billowed out of chimneys, while mages and cultivators flew about in the sky.


    ¡°Well, if we¡¯re to return to the topic of what land the subdivision should be built on, I should remind you that we need to consider the future ¡®train station¡¯ placement as well,¡± Vincent stated.


    They all ignored the waiters as they entered the room to take their menus, which they had used the provided pens to circle their choices on. Lucy nodded thoughtfully. ¡°True. Now that the crafters will begin the construction of the prototypes, the transportation lines should be worked out.¡±


    ¡°What the heck are ¡®trains¡¯?¡± Raegan asked, raising an eyebrow.


    Lucy snapped her fingers and the boy stared at the projection of the long mechanical construct she had summoned, as long as the entire table. ¡°A form of transport that doesn¡¯t use magical beasts,¡± she explained. ¡°It¡¯s based off of a technology on my home plane.¡±


    Annaliese sat down next to Lucy at the table. ¡°How different is your home plane from the Empire?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Lucy considered it, tilting her head, then smiled. ¡°Very. But I won¡¯t talk about it now.¡±


    ¡°Awww,¡± the girl whined.


    ¡°It feels like there¡¯s a ton of stuff you could do with all that land though, Lucy,¡± Scytale spoke up.


    Vincent adjusted his glasses as he looked out over the balcony. ¡°The land deeds have been stored in the Founder¡¯s vault for many years, so there has been little we could do with the districts by Empire law. But it might be profitable to use it for something.¡±


    ¡°Wait, let me think.¡± Scytale closed his eyes and pretended to consider something. ¡°Public transport¡­ train station¡­ busy¡­ lots of empty space¡­ I got it!¡± He opened his eyes and pointed two fingers at Lucy. ¡°Shopping mall! Right next to the train station!¡±


    She raised an eyebrow. ¡°I suppose that would be possible, but-¡±


    ¡°You could add a movie cinema to the top floor!¡± he interrupted, getting eager for some reason. ¡°Introduce the realms to the concept of visual entertainment!¡±


    ¡°Illusions exist,¡± Lucy pointed out.


    ¡°Yeah, but nobody uses them for fun.¡± The humanoid snake spread his hands out. ¡°Come see the spectacular movie, the Chronicles of the Truth-Seizing World-Ender! You could even invent popcorn and coke, just to make it really authentic.¡±


    She considered it with a hand on her chin. ¡°A dish like popcorn already exists in a Minor plane.¡±


    Scytale hesitated. ¡°Well¡­ fine, steal the recipe from them or employ them in the cinema or something. But they don¡¯t have coke here yet.¡±


    Sedric leaned near Hargrave. ¡°Isn¡¯t coke a type of fuel that you burn?¡± he asked quietly.


    Hargrave gave the snake a bemused look. ¡°That¡¯s what I thought too, but they seem to think it can be turned into a drink somehow.¡±


    The amphiptere heard what they were discussing and waved a hand at them. ¡°Okay, coke is the nickname, but it¡¯s actually called cola.¡±


    Raegan gave the snake a disdainful look as waiters arrived to give them their dishes. ¡°Speak real words, please. The rest of us normal people feel oppressed by your insanity.¡±


    Scytale smirked and crossed his arms as he looked at his bond. ¡°And because I suggested this amazing idea to you, I should receive 90% of all profits from the mall.¡±


    She paused and then pointed at him. ¡°Now, I could give you credit for coming up with the idea of implementing a shopping complex, but that¡¯s going too far.¡±


    He clicked his tongue. ¡°Fine. 90% of all profits of the top five stories.¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, 90% of the profits of the cinema?¡±


    ¡°Make it 2% and I might agree.¡±


    ¡°70%.¡±


    ¡°2%.¡±


    ¡°50%?¡±


    ¡°2%.¡±


    ¡°25%?¡±


    ¡°2%.¡±


    ¡°Okay, my last offer: 5%.¡±


    ¡°1%.¡±


    He stood up and pointed at her. ¡°That¡¯s less than you said before!¡±


    She shrugged with a smirk on her face. ¡°You¡¯re talking to a merchant and heir of a business conglomerate here, Scytale. Take the opportunity given to you when it comes.¡±


    ¡°Shopping ¡®mall¡¯? ¡®Cin-em-a¡¯?¡± Annaliese looked between them both. ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    Lucy shook her head with a wry smile. ¡°Nothing important. I don¡¯t intend to start constructing this ¡®shopping mall¡¯ for a few years if I end up doing it at all.¡±


    ¡°What, you¡¯re not going to use my idea?¡± Scytale complained. ¡°I thought it was genius!¡±


    She rolled her eyes. ¡°There¡¯s no way you¡¯d be willing to own shares in the shopping centre, Scytale. You just want to laze around and running a cinema would require paperwork.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± He nodded. ¡°Right. I don¡¯t want to do any work. Nope, no siree.¡±


    ¡°We have another issue here, however,¡± Lucy announced. She turned to the Prophetess. ¡°You need to select the block where the subdivision will be built.¡±


    Annaliese stared at her. ¡°Wait, me?!¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Lucy leaned her hand on her chin with a lazy smile. ¡°This is my gift as the Aurelian Commission Head to the Prophetess of Fate. I have no connection with the Great Sage, so I wouldn¡¯t be gifting the land to him. No, it¡¯s up to you to choose where it should go.¡± She gestured to the land before them. ¡°Take your pick. I took us to this restaurant because I already intend on allowing the Citadel to build a subdivision here, but the exact lot of land is your decision to make.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Annaliese directed her stare to Jasten Albrecht. ¡°Could you help me, Sir Albrecht?¡± She glanced back at Lucy. ¡°Is that allowed?¡±


    Lucille shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s your decision, not mine.¡±


    Annaliese slowly nodded while Sedric crossed his arms and scowled. ¡°You know, if you have this much land, then why don¡¯t you compensate me for my house by building me a new one? It¡¯s your bond who destroyed my house, after all.¡±


    Lucy raised an eyebrow, and Raegan¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°You destroyed his house already? That¡¯s a step up from your past fights.¡±


    ¡°Scytale will compensate you with the money he earns from his cinema,¡± Lucy replied calmly.


    Scytale stared at her and then raised his hands in surrender when Sedric stood up and leaned forward to eye the snake with scepticism. ¡°Oh really? Then Scytale, you better tell me more about this ¡®cinema¡¯ thing.¡±


    Lucille closed her eyes and drank the rest of her water as the others began to watch Scytale make excuses. She glanced over the balcony and absent-mindedly touched a hand to the black letter inside her suit jacket. She smiled and refocused her attention on the conversation.


    A visit to Lucius¡¯s manor in a week¡­ I wonder how it will go.

 Chapter 74 (1 of 2) No. 132 of the Anonymity Mausoleum

    ¡°A subordinate of a noble.¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°An Artificer?¡±


    ¡°Incorrect.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ ah. I¡¯ve got it. You were an alchemist.¡±


    Lucille glanced up from the pages in her hands to give her aide a raised eyebrow. ¡°Vincent, have I ever brewed a single potion or elixir in front of you?¡±


    ¡°No, but¡­¡± The silver-haired man frowned and leaned back on the opposite couch with his arms crossed. ¡°Not an alchemist then¡­ I¡¯m struggling to come up with ideas besides a mercenary and member of the Athenaeum, but you said you didn¡¯t return to those jobs¡­¡±


    She smirked and didn¡¯t reply as she continued to do her work as Aurelian Commission Head. Vincent was attempting to make her reveal what occupation she held besides the ones she had mentioned to both him and Annaliese. There was a large part of her past, notably the last 150 years of her life, that she hadn¡¯t discussed with either of them.


    ¡°Not to say that I can¡¯t brew a potion,¡± she replied calmly. ¡°But I¡¯m not an alchemist by any official means.¡±


    ¡°Even able to brew potions¡­ you¡¯re a strange individual, Lucille.¡± Vincent rubbed his chin, seemingly stuck. ¡°You have so much knowledge so you must¡¯ve spent a great deal of time researching, but in what occupation I can¡¯t seem to work out. I wonder why you of all people returned to the past, as you say¡­¡± He paused as a thought he had yet to consider struck him. ¡°Why did you return to the past, Lucy? ¡­you didn¡¯t do it through a spell, did you?¡±


    Lucy rolled her eyes. ¡°Anyone who could cast a spell capable of time travel wouldn¡¯t be human, Vincent. Simply put, I don¡¯t know how I returned to the past ¨C or at least to a timeline set in the past. I just know it happened at the moment of my death.¡±


    ¡°In a way that affected Scytale too, so it had something to do with your soul attack¡­ or your bond with him,¡± he pointed out.


    ¡°Possibly. But I wouldn¡¯t know how.¡± She continued reading her work and pointedly ignored looking at her aide any longer, showing she had no intention of continuing to discuss it. He sighed and leaned back when a servant of the floor opened the door of the living room and bowed to them.


    ¡°I have a letter from Sir Rouzet, Commission Head, Sire Evisenhardt,¡± the girl announced respectfully.


    Adjusting his half-moon glasses, Vincent took the letter and opened it up as the servant left the room. He placed a hand on his chin as he pondered the contents. ¡°It appears Jacques has managed to arrange a meeting with the leaders of his future merchant union, but he wants me to be present for the discussion. It¡¯s good to see he¡¯s managed to come this far already without our aid.¡±


    Lucy looked up. ¡°Will you be accepting his request?¡±


    Vincent nodded and pocketed the letter. ¡°I should meet up with the merchants eventually, and there¡¯s no time better than the present. I¡¯ll visit him when I make my rounds to the Counties during these next few days.¡±


    ¡°Ah. There was that.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be away from the Commission for a couple of days.¡± He stood up and grabbed his coat off the back of the couch and then turned to her. ¡°You need to get around to visiting the four Counties as well.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°After the external debut, as I told them last time we met.¡±


    Vincent nodded back and walked towards the door. ¡°Good. Anyway, Lucille, I want to return home to prepare for my trip. I stayed to see Miss Verdon and her brother off, but I should get going.¡±


    Lucy waved goodbye. ¡°I¡¯ll see you in a few days.¡±


    He dipped his head to her. ¡°You too.¡±


    She watched with a cheery smile as he closed the door and left. She waited patiently for him to gather the documents he needed to bring from her study and check in with Caius and a few of the other managers in charge of his plans for the debut.


    As soon as he took his first step out the front door she sprang up and dashed to her bedroom to change. Her cane remained in its position on her bed while she grabbed her trench coat and walked back out at a brisk pace. She picked a route that avoided the staff members and the only person she ran into happened to be her winged bond.


    Scytale, in all his extreme boredom that had formed as soon as Annaliese left after her five-day stay, was hurtling down the long corridors of the Commission with his wings tucked close to his sides.


    ¡°Wheeeee- oh, wait! Lucy- ow!¡±


    He noticed her quick speed and tried to change his path but ended up ramming into the doorframe between them. He shook his head to get rid of the headache and flapped his wings as he flew in front of her.


    ¡°Where are you going? In your Earth outfit as well,¡± he asked with confusion.


    She waved the black envelope she had in her grasp in front of him. ¡°Visiting Lucius. I want to take the chance now that Vincent is gone.¡± She raised an eyebrow. ¡°Do you want to finally come meet him?¡±


    Scytale gazed blankly at her for all of two seconds before whirling around and shooting down the hallway again. ¡°Bye, see you next year! Or maybe never!¡±


    She narrowed her eyes as he flew off and cupped her hands around her mouth. ¡°I don¡¯t see any Sanctity Caladrius here! Only a chicken!¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡±


    Lucy smirked and took the quickest route to an uninhabited side exit of the Headquarters. When she was finally outside, she walked down a few streets to access the nearest teleportation array dome. Then she lined up and waited normally, just to avoid drawing attention.


    The magical signboard above flashed with a list of planes that could be accessed at different times. As Lucille was heading to a Minor Kingdom, she needed to visit one of the Major planes first and then she could locate a teleportation array to one of the 108 Minor Kingdoms.


    It¡¯s a good thing Vincent would¡¯ve used his noble status to bypass the line or else he might¡¯ve seen me here. I don¡¯t think he would¡¯ve taken the idea of me casually visiting a Paragon Anomaly very well.


    ¡­


    The realm of Tartarus was known for its unusual residences with paradoxical natures, existences capable of utilising ¡®death¡¯ mana, the opposite of the elemental mana used by most mortals in the Mystical Realm. It was also the only realm known for being nearly entirely composed of people with souls from other realms. The only people truly native to the realm were the shades, phantoms and wraiths that were of the ¡®death race¡¯ just like the mysterious individual known as the Judge of Tartarus. Not undead because they never had souls from the other realms, to begin with, yet composed entirely of the energy of death, they were an abnormality.


    Often the strongest members of the death race would go on to become Vigils or ¡®Wardens¡¯ of Tartarus, responsible for being the people of authority in the different levels of Tartarus known as ¡®Sectors¡¯. Tartarus was, as the name suggested, a prison for the worst undead to be born from souls of the Mystical Realm.


    Some of the undead who did not show hostile and violent traits to the living, but were ''merely'' extremely powerful and ancient, were offered to join Tartarus¡¯s ¡®Court¡¯, a governing force containing the most powerful ninety-nine individuals within the realm of undead. Every single one of them had myths and tales of them spoken about in the Mystical Realm, of their lives before they became undead and afterwards. Yet they all showed complete and utter subservience to their supreme ruler, whom they considered wise and knowledgeable beyond all doubt.


    But while no concrete tales about the Judge of Tartarus existed, and the Mystical Realm only knew of his existence due to the words of the death race and tales the ninety-nine brought back to the realm of magic, this figure delighted in spending his time wandering the Mystical Realm and learning about the lives of the mortals, who he would never completely understand but continually entered his realm whenever they died.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    He watched empires rise and fall through the ages, with possibly many empires on par or even greater in strength than the Eternal Empire existing and being destroyed by the cataclysms that were wrought upon them. The Judge of Tartarus could be considered the one individual most highly regarded by mortals because of his knowledge of them, but the one person who would forever never understand them because he was never from the world of the living, to begin with.


    That individual was cooking Lucy lunch in his kitchen.


    ¡°Miss Lucille, would you prefer to have one egg or two with your meal?¡± Lucius called out.


    They were in his section of the manor, in his sitting room that bordered the kitchen. Lucius was behind the kitchen countertop and wasn¡¯t wearing his vest. His sleeves were rolled up and plates were spread out in front of him. He seemed to be enjoying himself as he cooked, but Lucius could be described as happy all the time, so Lucy didn¡¯t know if cooking had anything to do with it.


    ¡°I still don¡¯t know what you¡¯re making me, but¡­ one egg is fine,¡± she replied with a smile.


    ¡°One egg¡­ I see¡­¡± Lucius turned back around to pick an egg up from the basket on the bench behind him. He whistled as he returned to making whatever it was that he planned for their lunch.


    Lucille stayed silent and continued drinking the tea Lucius had offered her. They were alone, save for the one little girl with brown hair and lavender clothes sitting on the carpeted floor in front of her. It was the little girl that had been sleeping in the sitting room Lucius had brought Lucy to the last time she had been at the manor.


    ¡°Uncle Lucius, I want two eggs, please,¡± the girl asked. She was busy drawing on a piece of paper with thick coloured pencils. Even Lucy, who could see what she was drawing with her perception field, had no idea what the little girl was trying to depict.


    ¡°Mabel, I don¡¯t recall saying I¡¯d make your lunch too,¡± Lucius said with a wry voice. ¡°You should go eat with the others in the dining hall.¡±


    ¡°But that second plate is mine, isn¡¯t it?¡± Mabel pointed at the plate in question.


    Lucius smiled and shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re too perceptive. Oh well, two eggs it is.¡±


    He grabbed the two eggs and added them to a pot of boiling water. After a few minutes, he was finished and placed two dishes on the table in front of Lucille¡¯s couch ¨C one in front of Lucy, and another on the opposite side for the girl to sit at.


    Mabel stood up with her drawing in hand and sat down on the high-backed chair opposite Lucy. Lucius sat down in the armchair between them both. ¡°Please enjoy. I haven¡¯t had the chance to cook for someone in a¡­ while.¡±


    Lucy raised an eyebrow. ¡°You don¡¯t intend to eat?¡±


    Lucius smiled and gave her a light shrug. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware, but I don¡¯t require any sustenance. Don¡¯t worry, I gain enough enjoyment out of having others eat my meals.¡±


    ¡°With this young lady here, I don¡¯t think you¡¯d have to worry about that, Director Farrow,¡± Lucy replied with a smirk.


    ¡°Yes, well¡­¡± Lucius looked at Mabel¡¯s picture. ¡°What is that you have drawn, dear Mabel?¡±


    The brown-haired girl, with her mouth stuffed full of food, pointed at Lucy. ¡°It¡¯s her.¡±


    Lucius raised his eyebrows. ¡°Oh?¡±


    Mabel slipped off her chair and walked around the table to hand the picture to Lucy. Lucille took it off her and studied it.


    On one side of the page was a drawing of what looked like a group of three kids, circles above their heads filled with colourful squiggles and abstract shapes. On the other side, Lucy could only guess was her, because the person drawn had been coloured in with only black pencil. Her fringe and long hair were drawn in a fashion that made her look as if it was made of spiky black straw. One purple eye could be seen while the other side of her face had no features. She had no circle above her head.


    Mabel pointed at Lucy¡¯s mask. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s under that so I couldn¡¯t draw anything.¡±


    ¡°This?¡± Lucille took off her mask to show the girl her golden eye. ¡°My eye¡¯s a different colour. That¡¯s all.¡± She noticed Lucius was watching her with interest and she pointed at it for him. ¡°Just out of curiosity¡­ you wouldn¡¯t know what this is, would you?¡±


    Lucius smiled widely. ¡°My apologies, but I¡¯m clueless in this matter. It seems you are ever more the peculiarity, Miss Lucille.¡±


    Lucy stared at him.


    Even he doesn¡¯t know? There goes my theory of this ¡®Shard of Totality¡¯ being a realm fragment¡­


    ¡°Ah, but even if I don¡¯t know what the foreign object in your eye is, you shouldn¡¯t be too surprised,¡± Lucius added. ¡°A single realm is vast, and this Tower has many of them. I find myself learning more each day. However, returning to the topic at hand¡­¡± He gestured to the girl who had returned to her chair to continue stuffing her face. ¡°Mabel, would you mind explaining that picture to us both? Otherwise, I fear my guest might end up leaving here feeling rather perplexed.¡±


    ¡°These are normal people,¡± the girl stated blandly as she pointed to the drawn trio with circles above their heads. ¡°That¡¯s what their dreams look like. It floats around inside of them and makes them colourful.¡± Mabel pointed at Lucy. ¡°You don¡¯t have a circle. Some people don¡¯t have a lot inside their circles. Adults are like that. Uncle Lucius is like that. But you don¡¯t have a circle at all. You¡¯re weird.¡±


    Lucius frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t be rude, Mabel.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Lucille observed the girl with interest. ¡°It seems you have a very high affinity for the dream subset of illusion magic, Miss Mabel. Do you know why I don¡¯t have any circle above my head?¡±


    Mabel screwed up her button nose as she tried to think about it. ¡°You don¡¯t know how to dream?¡± she concluded.


    ¡°In my entire life, I¡¯ve never dreamt once,¡± Lucy stated calmly. She pushed the picture back across the table to the little girl. ¡°I¡¯m slightly jealous. Whenever I¡¯ve tried to cast dream magic it¡¯s never worked. You could become an impressive illusion mage in the future.¡±


    Mabel seemed to think hard about it. ¡°Will I get to sleep a lot so I can dream?¡±


    Lucille huffed a laugh. ¡°Possibly. You might be able to cast spells on yourself so you can dream more.¡±


    The girl nodded thoughtfully and then sat down on the floor next to her pencils.


    ¡°Mabel, why don¡¯t you take your coloured pencils and paper outside with the others?¡± Lucius suggested. ¡°I want to talk to Miss Lucille for a moment.¡±


    ¡°Mm¡­ okay.¡± The girl in the lavender dress stood up with pencils and paper in hand and then walked up to Lucy. She stared at Lucille for a second and then turned to Lucius. ¡°Is she just called Lucille? Will she come here a lot?¡±


    ¡°It depends on Miss Lucille,¡± Lucius said. ¡°And Miss Lucille introduced herself as only Lucille, so that is what I¡¯ll call her unless things change.¡±


    Lucy propped her chin up with her elbow on the table. ¡°You can call me Lucy if you want, Mabel.¡±


    The girl narrowed her eyes at Lucy. ¡°Then why doesn¡¯t Uncle Lucius call you Lucy too?¡±


    Lucy gained a slight grin as she raised her fork and pointed at him. ¡°Director Farrow can call me Lucy too if he wants.¡±


    ¡°Ah, but that wouldn¡¯t be fair now, would it?¡± Lucius said with a smirk. ¡°You still call me Director Farrow, so if I were to call you by a nickname, then you must at least refer to me by my first name.¡±


    Lucy sighed and leaned back with her arms crossed, a smile on her face. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll call you Lucius.¡±


    Lucius nodded with satisfaction while Mabel looked between them. ¡°I changed my mind. Uncle Lucius is just as weird as you.¡±


    Lucius raised an eyebrow at the girl and shooed her off. ¡°Run along now and continue drawing, or go play with the others. I don¡¯t mind a visit now and then, but you shouldn¡¯t pester me when I have a guest.¡±


    Mabel stuck her tongue out at him and ran off like he said, shutting the door behind her. They were left alone in silence for a couple of seconds before Lucius tilted his head at her. ¡°Now, while I did want this to be a pleasant meeting between us today, I do have several things to discuss. First and foremost would be¡­ the Heretic item from the Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis. I¡¯ve been informed you still have it.¡± His expression grew slightly serious. ¡°If so, would you please pass it to me?¡±


    Lucille nodded and opened her dimensional bag. Without reaching her hands inside, she used her spiritual energy to lift the Infested Sceptre of Weeping Stone out of the bag. It floated near Lucius, who stood up and calmly picked it up.


    The cold, bitter mist of death mana drifted out of his palms as it encompassed the rod. The monstrous sceptre let out a sound akin to a freakish scream as it crumbled into harmless, grey dust. The dust fell to the ground and was then blown under the door cracks by a wind that seemingly appeared from nowhere.


    Lucius dusted his palms with a satisfied smile. ¡°There. One less Heretic abomination in the realms. Ah.¡± He raised a finger. ¡°Not to say that I didn¡¯t believe you would adequately destroy this¡­ sceptre, Lucille, but as a wielder of death mana I am the best solution for permanently erasing a Heretic item.¡±


    Lucy looked down at the floor where no traces of the disgusting weapon remained. ¡°I¡¯m always awed by the ease death mana can destroy something like that.¡±


    ¡°Yes, well, death is the antithesis of all life, whether it be twisted life or not.¡± Lucius sat back down in his armchair and crossed one leg over the other, his hands resting on his lap. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be pleased to know that all the Heretic items at the event you infiltrated have been destroyed too, and any Hosts at that event killed.¡±


    ¡°None of them were capable of being saved?¡± she asked solemnly.


    Lucius gave her a dark smile. ¡°I¡¯m no saviour of men, Lucille. A Heretic abomination is an abomination, whether the were former mortals or other monstrosities. However¡­¡± He looked to the side and snapped his fingers, a roll of what looked like a newspaper appearing in his hand with a brief fog of death mana. ¡°The three Hosts that were there at that event, including the wielder of the draconic Heretical blade, were all criminals, or so I¡¯m told. Particularly unpleasant kinds. Don¡¯t fret that my Formless gave them an unworthy death.¡±


    He opened up the newspaper and passed it to her. ¡°Here. I believe you may find this interesting.¡±


    Lucy, very curious that Lucius had decided to pass her a newspaper of all things, curiously took it and scanned the page. She instantly spotted what he wanted to show her. ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°Quite curious, isn¡¯t it?¡± Lucius said with a smile. ¡°That a clear image of the Aurelian Commission Head is printed on the front of a newspaper being spread in a Minor Kingdom. If this were a newspaper from the Gilded Dome plane, then perhaps I wouldn¡¯t give it heed, but¡­¡±


    ¡°Someone has purposely been spreading my appearance around in a Minor Kingdom instead of the Major Kingdoms or Aeternus plane,¡± she mused. ¡°An attempt to increase the popularity and influence of their own news agency, or possibly something more sinister¡­¡± She glanced at Lucius. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t happen to know who is behind this, would you?¡±


    Lucius smirked and Lucy blinked. Then she shook her head wryly as she realised just how ridiculous her statement sounded. ¡°Never mind. Of course you would know who¡¯s behind this. And if you¡¯re warning me about this, then it¡¯s something political in nature. What I mean to ask is if you are willing to tell me who is behind this?¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± He rested his chin on his hand. ¡°Would it interest you to know that a force of the Heavenly Realm is behind this?¡±


    Lucille stared at him. ¡°The Heavenly Realm? That is¡­ very interesting, yes. Thank you for that.¡± She frowned and looked down at the newspaper. ¡°¡­Heavenly Realm politics so soon?¡±


    Lucius leaned back in his armchair and closed his eyes. ¡°Do you wish to know more?¡±


    ¡°¡­no, I wouldn¡¯t want to trouble you more about this,¡± she replied with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ll accept the help you¡¯ve offered so far, but I won¡¯t take any more. Thank you, however.¡±


    ¡°I see. And here I thought I would have a chance to repay you for what you did for us,¡± he said with a sigh.


    Lucy raised an eyebrow. ¡°Repay me? I told you about the Ducal Prince to repay you.¡±


    ¡°You must be lying, because I don¡¯t remember anything,¡± he responded teasingly. ¡°I¡¯m quite proud of my memory, I¡¯ll have you know. If I don¡¯t recall it then it must have simply not happened.¡±


    She tilted her head. ¡°Lucius, if that logic applied to real life then many things would¡¯ve ¡®simply not happened¡¯.¡±


    He gave her a slight grin. ¡°True. But that is not really your point, is it? And besides, if we¡¯ve all ¡®returned¡¯ then any debts you owe people must have been erased too.¡± He twirled a finger in the air. ¡°New beginnings, and all that.¡±


    ¡°If I begin to believe everything that has formerly happened has no more meaning, then I might find myself going insane.¡± Lucy glanced up at the ceiling. ¡°Lucius, do you know what a ¡®distorter¡¯ is?¡±


    He gave her a curious look. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I do, no. A distorter could mean many things. Someone with political machinations, a person who twists words¡­ even the Sages of the Citadel have often been called the distorters of Fate. But if you¡¯re talking about a person or existence that has the title of ¡®distorter¡¯, then I¡¯ll have to claim that I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Lucy blinked and straightened up to give him an odd look.


    Lucius hummed and raised an eyebrow when he saw her reaction. ¡°I¡¯ll take it that was not the response you were expecting?¡±


    ¡°Simply put, no, it wasn¡¯t.¡± Lucy turned to face him slightly. ¡°You were the one who told me what a ¡®distorter¡¯ was anyway. Or at least insinuated it to me.¡±


    ¡°¡­I see. Then I can draw several conclusions.¡± He stood up, rolled down his sleeves and walked over to the kitchen bench to pull his vest back on. ¡°I must¡¯ve discovered what this ¡®distorter¡¯ existence was between the present equivalent and whenever it was that I told you this and discovered this by happenstance¡­ or it was instinctual knowledge that came to me when I located this ¡®distorter¡¯.¡±


    Lucy stood up from her chair. ¡°Instinctual?¡± she asked curiously.


    He glanced at her and smiled. ¡°It sounds like something that would come out of the mouth of a magical beast, but it is surprisingly common for me as a ¡®higher race¡¯. Some things are just discovered in a way that the lower races would never understand.¡±


    He gestured to the door of the sitting room. ¡°But how about we take a walk in the manor¡¯s gardens? I want to see how well the kids have learnt to care for my plants.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s do that.¡± She followed him over to the door and he politely let her through first. Then she followed beside him as he led her to the garden entrance. ¡°Have they accustomed themselves to the new location well?¡±


    Lucius gave her a strange smile, making her realise something. ¡°They don¡¯t know anything has changed, do they?¡±


    ¡°I chose a forest very similar to our past home,¡± he replied casually. ¡°I¡¯ve grown to enjoy the serenity of the woods.¡±


    They walked up to the back door to the garden, but Lucius stopped just before the door and turned to her. ¡°Now, Lucille, you might not think much of what you did by warning me,¡± he began seriously, ¡°But I truly want to do¡­ something to make up for it. So I must ask: would you like me to do something about that?¡± And he pointed at her left hand.


    Lucy looked down at the hand that the mark of her demonic contract was branded on and she glanced back up and smiled. ¡°No, I¡¯ll be fine. This was my own decision. And¡­¡± With a snap of her fingers, white-blue translucent chains manifested around her limbs, revealing the System Contract she was bound by. ¡°It will make things complicated,¡± she replied with a smirk.


    Lucius blinked but smiled and turned back around. He pushed the two doors open. ¡°Well, if that¡¯s your decision. But if you change your mind, I¡¯m willing to remove it. Both contracts.¡±

 Chapter 74 (2 of 2) No. 132 of the Anonymity Mausoleum

    ¡°And I went like thiiiiish and logged¡­. lobbed¡­ lopped off his head!¡±


    The speaker, who had one foot on the bar table, clumsily swung his hand outward, spilling some of the liquid in his tankard over the edging with a loud slosh. It landed on the head of one of the men seated on a bar stool who angrily swatted the man on the leg but returned to drowning in his liquor.


    The man on the table didn¡¯t care and stumbled down from the bench, spilling the rest of his ale in the process as he gestured to his laughing audience. ¡°And that ish the taaaale of Gaaawen the Great¡­¡±


    ¡°Darthmond!¡±


    The clear voice cut through the rowdy bar atmosphere and drew everyone¡¯s attention. The brown-haired man in his mid-thirties whom it was directed to gazed blankly in the direction of the voice. ¡°Huuuh?¡±


    The armoured man, who wore a crest of a mercenary Guild on his chestplate, jabbed a thumb over his shoulder at the tavern entrance. ¡°Abigor wants to chat. He¡¯s waiting outside.¡±


    The other drunk mercenaries in the room started talking amongst themselves in quiet voices, but ¡®Gawen¡¯ slowly blinked once and then a drunken, lopsided smirk appeared on his face as he gave the speaker a lazy salute. ¡°Aye aye, siiir Vice Captain-o. Gawen the Great will be out just as soon as I finish thi¡­¡± He squinted at his tankard when he realised it was empty. ¡°Oi, who switched out me¡¯ drink?¡±


    A nearby mercenary cupped his hands around his mouth to call out to him. ¡°It was Sein!¡±


    ¡®Sein¡¯, the man across from the mercenary, shot the man a dirty look at the false accusation.


    Gawen turned his squint to the man, who he barely saw through his blurred vision, and raised a wobbly hand to point at him. ¡°I¡¯ll get you back for thish, Sein. Juuust you wait¡­¡±


    ¡°Darthmond, don¡¯t make Abigor wait any longer,¡± the armoured man said with a cold voice.


    ¡°Yeah yeah, whatever the mighty Guild Leader says¡­¡± Gawen threw the tankard back at the bar to the barkeeper who caught it with their good reflexes, and then stumbled out of the tavern door to follow the armoured man out.


    He was led to a darker alleyway far from the tavern, where a man looking like he was in his late twenties with long, dark grey hair was leaning against a wall with his arms crossed. Behind him were two other men with cruel smirks on their faces, not that Gawen noticed through his intoxication.


    ¡°Abigooor!¡± Gawen exclaimed with his hands held out when he saw the man. ¡°To what do I owe the plesh¡­ plers¡­¡± After trying to sound out the word for a while, he gave up and changed tactics. ¡°The honour of meeting here tonight!¡± He gave them a clumsy attempt at a bow.


    As Gawen approached, ¡®Abigor¡¯, the man with long hair shoved him back with his nose wrinkled in distaste at the man¡¯s scent. ¡°No reason, really. I just wanted a chat.¡±


    ¡°A chat? With me?¡± Gawen tried to come up with a coherent guess at what the man wanted through the drunken fog in his brain, but his limited last few undrunk brain cells didn¡¯t want to cooperate so he just shrugged. ¡°Alright¡­ what about?¡±


    ¡°I just wanted to say, you did a really good job during the expedition,¡± Abigor said with a fake smile. ¡°Very well done. My Guild advanced very far in our Dungeon conquest thanks to the efforts of your little merc party.¡±


    ¡°Well ¡®tanks a lot for that. If that¡¯s all, I¡¯ll be returning to¡­¡± Just as Gawen turned around to walk back to the tavern, the armoured mercenary who has brought him there and the two men behind Abigor pointed their weapons at him. ¡°Uh¡­ what is thish?¡±


    ¡°Darthmond, how would you like to join my Guild?¡± Abigor continued, walking around the drunk man with his hands behind his back. ¡°I can promise you a high position in it.¡±


    ¡°Heh. You¡¯ve asked thish before and you know my answer.¡± Gawen smirked and placed his hands on his hips with drunken confidence. ¡°I don¡¯t need no stinkin¡¯ Guild. You quit my party to make thish Guild but we¡¯ve done just fine, haven¡¯t we? Even made a name for myself these past six¡­ or seben?¡± He tried to count on his fingers. ¡°Er¡­ years¡­ ¡®round that.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re making a mistake, Darthmond,¡± Abigor said through gritted teeth.


    ¡°Mishtakes, smishtakes.¡± Gawen waved a hand. ¡°Made plenty in my life, but none have got me dead ye-¡± He spluttered as pain sprouted from within him and he looked down to see a blade poking through his gut. He tried to look over his shoulder. ¡°You¡­¡±


    The merc remained cold-faced and inexpressive as the blade remained stuck through his back. Abigor smirked and gripped Gawen¡¯s face with a hand. ¡°Then I suppose this will be the first. I know you¡¯ve got resurrections, so just take a break for a few years and try to recover that hundred levels you lost as I take my Guild to greater heights.¡± He leaned close to whisper with a twisted grin, ¡°You might have difficulty doing that when the rest of your party members have already joined my Guild, though.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Gawen collapsed to the ground when the mercenary behind him took the blade out. The last thing he saw as he bled out onto the stony ground and his body was turned into white light was the four men laughing and mocking him, then walking away without a second look at the death they caused.


    ¡­


    Blighted, my head is killing me. How badly did I screw up this time?


    In the gloom of the early morning, a man walked away from the Obelisk plaza, rubbing his temples. He paused when he saw the state of his outfit and cautiously put a sleeve to his nose to smell the strange damp spot on it. Gawen pulled back when his nostrils were assaulted by something that reminded him of a mix between the love child of whiskey and vinegar that had been left in the open air for a month.


    Bleurgh, that reeks! Wait, I recognise that smell¡­ isn¡¯t that the cheap drink I¡¯d always buy from my local bar two centuries ago?


    Mind-splitting pain wracked him as he grabbed his head, a pounding migraine forming.


    Two¡­ centuries ago? What am I on about¡­?


    It took a minute or two of deep breaths for the pain to recede before Gawn was comfortable with straightening up and taking unstable steps in the direction of his home. Deep-seated tiredness suddenly formed and he found himself dragging his feet.


    I¡­ just need to lie down and¡­ hope I sober up by the morning.


    Half an hour later, he stumbled into a home he vaguely recognised as his own. He drew a deep breath as a slender-framed blonde woman hurriedly ran into the room when she heard the front door opening. She paused when she saw who had entered.


    ¡°Gawen?¡± she exclaimed, running up to him. She wrinkled her nose when she saw the state of his clothes and backed up a little. ¡°Where have you been?! It¡¯s nearly four in the morning! No, don¡¯t answer that.¡± She put a hand up to her forehead. ¡°You¡¯ve obviously been drinking this entire time. Did I really marry such a pathetic excuse for a man?¡±


    ¡°¡­Elayne?¡± He stared at the woman before him, feeling like something was very, very wrong. Elayne was¡­ his ex-wife. He hadn¡¯t thought about her for over two centuries, but now she was here again calling herself his wife. ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    No¡­ what am I thinking? Elayne has always been my wife¡­ hasn¡¯t she? She¡¯d never leave me¡­ I think.


    The migraine returned with full force and he let out a groan as he stumbled, nearly falling onto the ground. Elayne rushed forward to support him and take him to their bedroom.


    ¡°Why am I here? Because I live here!¡± Elayne retorted. She helped him sit down on the bed and clicked her tongue as she looked at him with disapproval and something else noticed. Contempt and disgust. ¡°Just¡­ get to bed. Something¡¯s wrong but it can wait until tomorrow. We both need some sleep.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ yeah.¡± He rolled onto the bed and let out a sigh as he gazed at the roof. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll¡­ go to sleep.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Elayne walked over to the other side of the bed and got in, then rolled over so her back was facing him. ¡°Don¡¯t complain to me about your hangover tomorrow.¡±


    He didn¡¯t reply and just rubbed his temples as the headache ate away at his remaining mental energy. Gawen knew he¡¯d have a lot to think about in the morning, but for now, he just closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.


    ¡­


    Gawen had woken up. The sun was high in the sky, and he sat at a table on the balcony of his second story as he drank the herbal tea Elayne had given him for his headache. His fingers tapped a rhythmic pattern on the table as things were finally starting to make sense.


    The final message the System gave me¡­ ¡®Zerum¡¯ had died. Yeah, that was it. That¡¯s why I¡¯m here.


    He frowned and scratched his beard as he tried to consider his plans for the immediate future.


    Selling the property and belongings should take about a week to get done if I¡¯m smart. I¡¯ll need to stay off Abigor and his stooges¡¯ radar until then. Then I can leave the plane and get a fresh start.


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    But¡­ what do I do then? I was told I¡¯m basically free to go and correct any of my past mistakes until I meet Zerum again and return to Anonymity¡­


    His hand brushed past the unmarred skin of his face under his rough stubble and he pulled back his hand to stare at his calloused, thick palms. There were a few nicks and scratches here and there, as was common in his profession, but no traces of the scarred monster he had become in later years. Not that he had ever minded his appearance at that point.


    He knew his old appearance was considered quite handsome with his rugged, chiselled looks. That was probably why Elayne even married him, to begin with. But look what happened and who she ditched him for as soon as he lost those hundred levels and dropped to Rank-3.


    Should I kill him again? Eh, nah. Not worth the hassle.


    He stretched his arms above his head and yawned, then leaned back in his seat to watch the sky.


    Haven¡¯t been back in the Mystical Realm for¡­ probably fifty years. Oh, yeah, Cosmic Realm¡¯s not opened yet. Dammit, I wanted to have fun in an EX sim for a bit after my last mission.


    A thought struck him and he straightened up to narrow his eyes suspiciously at the world around him.


    This whole ¡®return¡¯ thing isn¡¯t some prank by the research department, is it? Put me into a hyper-realistic illusion sim and treat me as a guinea pig while they change things around me?


    Gawen considered but eventually shook his head.


    Nope. Elrotior roped me in last time so he could win some stupid bet of his, but I know I never would¡¯ve accepted something like this. There¡¯s always the possibility that one of the crazies from the department put me in here by force though¡­ guess I¡¯ll find out eventually.


    ¡­hm? Now that I think about it, I¡¯m pretty sure Elrotior died around this time too. Off by a month or two, I think. He mentioned it was before my death. Didn¡¯t the System say the memories would be triggered by the use of a resurrection for those who were alive during this time?


    He gazed blankly at the table before him and then stood up to go inside and grab a pen and paper. He scrawled a quick note along the lines of ¡®We need to talk ¨C signed, Gawen¡¯, and stuffed it into the envelope. Then he sprung back up to run downstairs and pull up the floorboard where he kept a secret stash of his wage.


    Planned on using it as an anniversary gift for Elayne last time around, but like hell that¡¯s going to happen again. That witch can go and kill herself in some hole where I¡¯ll never see her again.


    With his pouch of rose crowns safely stored and the letter in his other hand, he rushed out to the nearest teleportation array so he could use the courier service to deliver his letter. Luckily, Elrotior had been one of the few friends and members of Anonymity he knew before joining the organisation, so he had the address memorised.


    He turned around to look back at his house.


    Now there¡¯s only one thing left to do.


    ¡­


    ¡°¡­Gawen? What are you doing here? Why aren¡¯t you at work?¡±


    Instead of pretending it was said out of worry for him instead of anxiousness for their week¡¯s pay, Gawen didn¡¯t instantly look at his ¡®wife¡¯ and downed the rest of his second cup of elderberry tea. He finally turned to face her with a serious expression. ¡°Elayne, I want a divorce.¡±


    ¡°¡­what? Gawen, what¡¯s gotten into you?¡± She walked up to him with a frown and tried to touch his face to check his condition. ¡°Asking for a divorce all of a sudden¡­ has all that alcohol finally addled your brain?¡±


    He avoided her touch and swatted her hand away. ¡°Don¡¯t act dumb, Elayne. This is what you wanted first, wasn¡¯t it? You were planning on bringing this up by the end of the month anyway.¡±


    She stared at him. ¡°You-¡±


    Gawen sighed and ran a hand down his face, just wanting the frustrating ordeal to be over and done with as soon as possible. ¡°Look, I¡­ I know about the kid. It¡¯s not mine, is it?¡±


    She instantly moved to cover her stomach. ¡°H-How did you-¡±


    ¡°Not important. Who was it?¡± She didn¡¯t respond and he crossed his arms. ¡°Abigor? No, that¡¯s not important either.¡± He waved a hand after he registered her frozen-stiff expression, proof that he had been right with his guess. ¡°Neither of us wants to continue, so let¡¯s just get it over and done with, right?¡± He narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°You¡¯ll want to be reunited with your darling lover as soon as possible to tell him he¡¯s a father.¡±


    ¡­


    -One week later-


    Gawen had left his former house, reading the slip of paper the courier had returned with. He was dressed in his ensemble of leather and steel merc gear, and his greatsword was strapped to his back. He smiled when he read his friend¡¯s response and pocketed the letter.


    Most, if not all of their shared assets had gone to him. Partially because his ex-wife had unfounded confidence that Abigor would provide for her and take her in, so didn¡¯t care about the house when she was going to be the ¡®wife of a Guildmaster¡¯, but it was really because the judge had taken pity on him by the end. The case was in his favour, and he just wanted out as soon as possible, so at the end of it all he had enough money to live a decent life on a Minor or Major plane for a couple of years, at the very least.


    The next step was to meet up with his friend and colleague, and then he could work things out from there.


    Little more than an hour later, he had arrived at a familiar shady-looking inn outside of the safe zone of the Obelisk where he and Elrotior had frequented. He walked inside, ignoring the glares and scrutinising looks from the equally shady residents of the inn. He knew that it was just par for the course when dealing with these parts.


    Gawen marched up to a table for two people where one lone hooded man was sitting, a longbow on his back. The cowl of his cloak was deep and he sat silently at the table, looking like he wouldn¡¯t speak to anyone. Grey hair could be seen poking out from underneath and brown eyes gazed piercingly at Gawen.


    Gawen jerked his head in the direction of the inn door. ¡°We take this outside?¡±


    The cloaked archer gazed at Gawen for one second and silently nodded. He stood up and both men walked towards the entrance, neither looking at the other.


    One of the onlookers nudged his partner at the table. ¡°That rando¡¯s going to get skewered by Hawkesh over there. Poor thing.¡±


    The cloaked archer turned back to gaze silently at the speaker, who flinched and tried to avoid notice by downing the rest of his tankard. The bow-wielding man turned back to the door entrance and went outside with Gawen. They both walked off into an uninhabited alleyway and then Gawen turned around to stare at the man.


    The cloaked archer threw off his hood and stared back. Neither said a word.


    A bird cried in the distance as the silence drew on. The tense staring contest continued for another minute or so.


    Finally, Gawen made the first move. He quickly walked up to the man with ash-grey hair and gazed solemnly at him.


    ¡°No. 132 of the Anonymity Mausoleum stands before you,¡± he began sharply. ¡°State your address, the reason for being here and the passage phrase.¡±


    The grey-haired man instantly saluted. ¡°No. 204 stands before you. I¡¯m here because I received a letter from an annoying old companion and have no blighted clue what to do otherwise. Passage phrase of Anonymity: Leave no traces but trace all traces, if you find a member of End, kill them, and if you accidentally poke a Paragon Anomaly in the wrong spot¡­ you¡¯re on your own, so good luck.¡±


    The two men continued staring at each other, with Gawen¡¯s expression twitching. Then at the same time, they burst out laughing and doubled over, clutching their stomachs.


    ¡°W-When¡­ When was the last time one of us had to say the passage phrase?¡± Gawen began, wheezing as he tried to wipe away his tears.


    ¡°Beats me, but I had nearly forgotten about that last part.¡± The man Gawen knew as Elrotior let out a loud sigh and placed his hands on his hips. ¡°We probably looked so stupid, standing there for nearly five minutes just staring at each other. It¡¯s a little freaky to see your old appearance.¡± Elrotior smirked. ¡°Not that you were much of a pretty sight in your old age. Maybe this is an improvement.¡±


    ¡°Bah, shove off you sorry excuse of a friend.¡± Gawen breathed out and finally straightened up. Then he smirked and walked up to his old friend. ¡°So, when did you remember?¡±


    ¡°¡¯bout a month or so, I reckon.¡± Elrotior walked beside him as they began to catch up on their past events. ¡°Can¡¯t say it was fun having to kill all those pesky money handlers for the nobles in the area. Only good thing about people thinking I was dead in the past was that nobody wanted my money.¡±


    ¡°Ha, so we¡¯re in a contest of who had it worse, are we?¡± Gawen replied with a smirk. ¡°Guess who was the first person I met after my resurrection: my dear ex-wife.¡±


    ¡°Wow, Elayne? Really? That witch? Didn¡¯t I swear I¡¯d give her hell if I ever saw her again?¡± Elrotior mused.


    Gawen sent him a flat look. ¡°And how were you expecting to do that?¡±


    ¡°Ehhh, you know¡­¡± The archer shimmied his hands. ¡°Chat her up a little, gain her affection and trust¡­ and then when she thinks she¡¯s found the love of her life I¡¯ll betray her and send her spiralling into a hell of her own making.¡±


    ¡°Pfft.¡± Gawen scoffed. ¡°You overestimate your appearance.¡±


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not just the appearance that makes a man.¡± Elrotior gestured to himself. ¡°It¡¯s the charm. I may have nothing to my name, but I am a noble.¡±


    ¡°Sure, sure.¡± Gawen looked around and glanced at his friend. ¡°So, what do you say we do? I¡¯m pretty much homeless at the moment so if you¡¯ve got a place to bunk then I might have to head there.¡±


    ¡°Couch it is for you then, my old friend.¡± Elrotior whistled as he walked. ¡°I guess we head to my place and talk things out. Oh, want to catch a drink before we go?¡±


    Gawen gagged. ¡°Nope. Sorry, but when I woke up I had the worst headache and the taste of Old Blue¡¯s Hookberry liquor was still in my mouth.¡±


    ¡°Yuck, you had that kind of taste?¡± Elrotior gave him a disgusted look. ¡°That stuff is vile. Cheap, nasty and putrid.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well, some people can¡¯t afford to have fine wine when they want to get drunk, Mr. Fallen Noble.¡±


    ¡°That was a low blow,¡± Elrotior complained.


    Gawen chuckled and slapped his friend on the back before slinging an arm across his shoulders. ¡°Anyway, take me to this nice roost of yours so I can finally get a good night¡¯s rest. I¡¯ve had barely any sleep because I¡¯ve been lying awake wondering if that witch was going to stab me in the middle of the night.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Oi, Gawen. Get up.¡±


    ¡°Mumble mumble¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey.¡±


    A hard boot was roughly shoved into the man¡¯s side and Gawen rolled over on the couch, a thin blanket covering him. ¡°Yeah, just¡­ five more¡­ minutes¡­¡± He promptly began to snore again.


    ¡°Come on, really?¡± Elrotior clicked his tongue and looked around for something to motivate him. He saw his fire poker, still slightly warm from when he stoked the fire, and gained an evil grin. The grey-haired man snatched the metal rod and swiftly whacked the red-hot end against his guest¡¯s thigh.


    ¡°Owowow!¡± Gawen shot bolt upright and gave his friend a dirty look, rubbing the spot on his leg that still burned with searing pain. ¡°That hurt.¡±


    ¡°Rise and shine, sleeping beauty. It¡¯s a quarter ¡®til noon and we have a big day ahead of us.¡± Elrotior pushed his friend¡¯s legs off one side of the couch and lounged on the end instead. ¡°First question of the day. Where do you think we go from here?¡±


    ¡°Hm. Well. I¡¯ve been thinking.¡± Gawen frowned and turned to sit straight on the couch. He glanced at Elrotior. ¡°The memory unseal mechanism was supposed to happen when we died in the reset timeline, right? So the System could do whatever wacky crap it loves and stuff our old memories in our brains. Or fuse our souls or¡­ whatever it needed to do."


    "Yup. That¡¯s about it,¡± Elrotior said, pulling out a cigar to light it with a single magical ember blazing from his fingertip.


    ¡°Obviously some of Anonymity won¡¯t have even been born yet, and the System will give them their memories as soon as they awaken their Origin Skills, but¡­¡± Gawen crossed his arms. ¡°Should we search for the other members of Anonymity?¡±


    ¡°Not ¡®shupposed to mess up the timeline,¡± Elrotior said past the cigar in his mouth, busy using his hands to polish the pale wood of his longbow.


    ¡°Yeah, I get it. The System doesn¡¯t want us messing with Zerum¡¯s plans, and neither do I want to. They¡¯re our boss,¡± Gawen replied, shaking his head. ¡°What I mean is searching for the ones we know the identities of, killing them to get them to resurrect with their memories in-tact, and then keeping an eye out for any major changes in the timeline that will likely point us to Zerum. Hey, if we find a way to access the Mausoleum sooner then all the better.¡±


    ¡°Hm. You have a point. And I know the real identities of two of the numbers,¡± Elrotior mused.


    Gawen¡¯s eyes widened, surprised. ¡°Really? Who? I only know your true identity and appearance.¡±


    Elrotior took a draught of his cigar and smirked as he blew it out. ¡°Nope, you know about the first guy too. Everyone in the Tower knew who this member of Anonymity was. His true form didn¡¯t exactly allow him to hide it very well.¡±


    ¡°Everyone? There is no way that¡¯s possib- wait.¡± Gawen stared at his friend like he was staring at a maniac. ¡°Y-You¡¯re not thinking of Thirteen right now, are you?¡±


    Elrotior winked and did finger guns at Gawen. ¡°You betcha I am. Anonymity¡¯s favourite member, No. 13. The Black Dragon.¡±


    ¡°Margotharel?! Are you crazy?!¡± Gawen burst out. ¡°Do you know how insanely dangerous the black dragon will be without his memories?! Not to mention his obnoxious personality back then¡­¡± Gawen frowned and rubbed the back of his neck. ¡°No, scratch that. He was obnoxious and infuriating after he joined Anonymity too.¡±


    ¡°Look, I never said we had to kill him first,¡± Elrotior retorted. ¡°I¡¯m not suicidal. And I also mentioned I know who another guy is: No. 57.¡±


    Gawen thought hard to recall that person. He thought long and hard. Eventually¡­ ¡°Nope, don¡¯t know him at all.¡±


    ¡°That guy would probably be happy to hear that then. His whole ¡®shtick¡¯ is about remaining undercover and avoiding the limelight.¡± Elrotior shrugged. ¡°His name is Lester, no last name. He works as a spymaster for a dark guild right now. Only know this because I heard about him while doing my assassin work. Don¡¯t underestimate him, though. He¡¯s one sketchy guy, but he¡¯s a smart sketchy guy. He¡¯s got the brains we need to go alongside our brawn.¡±


    ¡°Hey, who says I don¡¯t have any brains?¡± Gawen complained.


    Elrotior pointed at himself. ¡°Me. I say this from being your long-time friend, too. Anyway, I say we go find Lester and see if we can kill him.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, okay. Sounds like a plan.¡± Gawen paused as he realised something. ¡°Wait¡­ what about Riftmire?¡±


    Elrotior paused mid-draught of his cigar and raised an eyebrow. ¡°What about Riftmire?¡±


    ¡°Y¡¯know, letting her in on all¡­ this.¡± Gawen gestured vaguely to themselves. ¡°While she wasn¡¯t an official member, we all saw her enough to be familiar with her, and we¡¯re all against the distorter and what he means for the realms. Hell, if I didn¡¯t know I¡¯d stand no chance I¡¯d go over there right now and punch the living daylights out of him.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Elrotior smothered his cigar using his couch armrest. ¡°Riftmire wasn¡¯t a real member of Anonymity, and only worked with us because we had a common goal. Namely, ¡®not letting the realms get destroyed by some idiot¡¯s hero complex mixed with secret terrorist organisations¡¯. I don¡¯t reckon the System would give her any memories back, especially because right now, she¡¯s acting as a good distraction for the distorter.¡±


    ¡°Sad, but true.¡± Gawen sighed. ¡°No Riftmire then. Things probably wouldn¡¯t go well for us if we tried to kill her, anyhow. She¡¯s got a nasty temper for someone who acts like nearly everyone in Anonymity is invisible.¡±


    ¡°Welp, if we¡¯re going to go hunt down Lester, I need to get some things ready.¡± Elrotior leaned on his knees to get up and dusted his palms. ¡°Restock on weapons, buy some spare strings for my bow¡­ that sort of thing. We¡¯re going to be in for a real wild ride.¡±


    Gawen frowned. ¡°Is Lester going to be hard to kill?¡±


    Elrotior chuckled. ¡°Oh, killing Lester is going to be the easy part. The hard part will be finding him. He¡¯s not a spymaster for nothing, and one interesting detail I found out about him is that he¡¯s an illegitimate child of the big seven. An heir to Genest, the Eternal Duchy of the Dark Element.¡± Elrotior gained a ferocious grin. ¡°Thankfully, he¡¯s a pretty weak individual, so I¡¯m going to be having loads of fun getting payback on him for that time he threw me into a lethal mission all because he needed to deal with ¡®politics¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ a grudge. I see.¡± Gawen raised an eyebrow. ¡°I take it you¡¯ll want me to leave the last hit to you?¡±


    ¡°Definitely.¡± Elrotior cracked his knuckles and gained a dark smirk. ¡°Because if there¡¯s one thing about Lester I know, it¡¯s that anything we do to him, he¡¯s already done worse. Much, much worse.¡±

 Chapter 75 (1 of 2) A Nefarious Gathering + Authorizer Regretting Life Choices Ver. 2

    A stern-looking man with greying sideburns and dark hair rubbed his temples. He was sitting at a circular table that contained a strange black box in the centre. There were four armchairs around the table, three of which were occupied. Besides the first man on his right was a pasty-looking man in his 50s, staring off blankly out of the window of the skyscraper floor they were in. On the man¡¯s right was a blonde-haired man in his early thirties, rubbing the back of his neck as he gazed at the table.


    The black panels sectioning off the room from the rest of the floor slid apart to reveal a bearded man in a black suit. A white and purple emblem was embroidered on his pocket, depicting the signature design of the double-helix Esper Union tower. He had a solemn expression as he walked up to the table. The panels slid closed behind him.


    ¡°When you told me that something major had occurred, I was not thinking along the lines of a potential alien invasion being in the near future,¡± the unfamiliar man stated flatly.


    Marvin Goldcroft didn¡¯t address the statement. ¡°You¡¯re late, Harold.¡±


    Harold McGuire, the president of the Esper Union, frowned at the conglomerate owner opposite him, but Marvin swiftly moved on, waving at the empty chair. ¡°Never mind, we have better things to discuss. Harold, take a seat so we can begin the discussion.¡±


    The brown-haired man sighed but sat down in the armchair and looked at the other two. ¡°Fine then, Marvin. I know who your secretary is, so why don¡¯t you introduce me to this other individual?¡± He gestured to the blonde-haired man.


    Marvin rifled through the documents in the drawer he pulled from the table. ¡°I told you to read the whole message about this meeting.¡±


    ¡°I- look.¡± Harold pinched his nose bridge. ¡°I did. But as the president of the Esper Union¡¯s British Branch, there still needs to be some formality when I meet new people.¡±


    Marvin clicked his tongue and ignored the president as he turned to his secretary, Max Stallen. ¡°Max, where did I put the USB stick?¡±


    The middle-aged man continued to gaze blankly out the window. Marvin frowned and rapped his knuckles on the table. ¡°Maximillian!¡±


    ¡°Huh? Wha? Ah, right. USB stick.¡± The CEO¡¯s shout brought Stallen back to alertness and he fished through his suit pocket to retrieve the small device. ¡°You gave it to me for safekeeping, sir. Here it is.¡±


    ¡°Right, I forgot about that,¡± Marvin muttered. He took the USB stick and plugged it into a port on the table.


    Harold raised an eyebrow at Stallen when he noticed the man had returned to gazing out of the window with a thousand-yard stare. ¡°Marvin, I¡¯m a little concerned about your subordinate¡¯s state of mind. He was like this when we met yesterday as well.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s fine,¡± Marvin stated shortly. Blue lights danced across the black metal table to form a keypad, which he quickly accessed. ¡°He¡¯s just dealing with the after-effects of learning about my niece¡¯s adventures yesterday morning.¡±


    ¡°¡­ah. You didn¡¯t tell him earlier?¡±


    ¡°Stallen faces severe anxiety issues combined with choice paralysis so I took it upon myself to fast-track his recovery by dragging him along to the meeting,¡± Marvin stated curtly. ¡°But we¡¯re getting off-topic. Harold, have you understood all the memories and read everything I sent you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but I would still like to know who our fourth member is,¡± Harold retorted.


    ¡°Uh¡­ sir¡­¡± The blonde-haired man slowly raised a hand. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ one of your employees. Stephen Lawrence, an Elixir Agent. I was sent to deliver Lucille Goldcroft her elixir in July.¡±


    Harold paused and studied Stephen in greater detail. ¡°¡­yes, I faintly remember seeing your profile when the disappearances came up. I recall you were a key witness and potential suspect in the case.¡±


    Stephen grimaced. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s correct.¡±


    ¡°Quit yapping Harold,¡± Marvin stated sharply. ¡°This isn¡¯t some happy meet-up event with your precious celebrities and politician chums. Earth might be going to hell in less than a year and if that happens you can bet I¡¯ll be blaming you for it with my last dying breaths.¡±


    Harold scowled. ¡°Why did I ever let myself reach a first-name basis with you?¡±


    ¡°My money,¡± Marvin stated blandly.


    The three other men stared at him, but Marvin ignored them and pressed one final button on the table. The black box in the centre began to buzz and a blue laser display began to shine from it. The four men watched as a holographic projection formed in the centre of the table above their heads, showing data and details.


    ¡°I should¡¯ve mentioned this before, but¡­¡± Harold glanced at Marvin. ¡°USB? That ancient technology?¡±


    ¡°Far better security than the Network,¡± Marvin replied with his arms crossed. He watched the files open up on the hologram in front of them. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t trust the Network¡¯s security for one second.¡±


    The president nodded as Stephen Lawrence turned to look at the CEO. ¡°Sir, what did you want to discuss today?¡±


    Marvin moved a hand through the projection and one of the files was magnified for them. ¡°The reason why I called this meeting was to discuss our plans to deal with the arrival of the ¡®System¡¯ next year in July,¡± he began solemnly. ¡°Everyone here is connected to my niece¡¯s ¡®Simulacrum¡¯ ability and has the memories. Only Stephen Lawrence and I have met her in the Simulacrum.¡±


    ¡°So this connection to the ¡®Simulacrum¡¯ doesn¡¯t need direct contact with the ability user,¡± Harold mused. ¡°An ability that can propagate¡­ I know plenty of people who would like to research her.¡±


    ¡°Firstly, my niece is not becoming a research subject,¡± Marvin said while pointing at the man. ¡°Secondly, that is not my point. Harold, you gained access to the Simulacrum because Stallen, who had been given access from me, gave you access when you met yesterday to discuss this meeting. I have been able to determine that you must willingly grant access, just as Lucille told me. That means we can and need to decide who we let know about the incoming System and Tower, and when.¡±


    Stephen¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You plan on telling more people about this?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Marvin frowned. ¡°This was my niece¡¯s idea first, however. The reason why she got Stephen to access her accounts was to draw my attention and make it easier for me to believe because he knows details that not even I know.¡±


    ¡°I have begun to understand the main concept of this plan,¡± Harold replied with a nod. ¡°But will your niece have an active role in this plan?¡±


    Marvin enlarged a file on the projection with his hand. ¡°She will. She plans to organise regular meetings among the major politicians, businessmen and scientific minds on Earth. The meetings will be to prove what she says is the truth, and to give us as much information as possible so we can prepare for this event on a global scale. But only the key figures essential to her plan will know about the System and Tower from the very beginning. The purpose of this secret ¡®mind organisation¡¯ is to be hidden until she reveals it to everyone herself.¡±


    Stallen and Stephen stayed quiet as the ones with less power in the situation, but Harold tapped his hands rhythmically on the table. ¡°The most powerful figure you want to know about this?¡±


    ¡°Edison Williams.¡±


    Harold went silent. Stephen and Stallen turned to stare at Marvin.


    ¡°T-The President of the World Government?¡± Stephen asked nervously.


    Marvin didn¡¯t immediately respond and checked his holowatch. ¡°Williams is the only one with enough power to move the politicians into action on a global scale. He¡¯s the only one with enough dirt on all of them to get them to move too. Whether we let him know about this or not, he has the most powerful Metacognitive ability users under his authority, so he¡¯ll find out about this eventually. If we let him know now, we¡¯ll have fewer issues later on.¡±


    ¡°And how do you suppose we get Williams to connect to this¡­ ¡®Simulacrum¡¯?¡± Harold asked seriously. ¡°Even you can¡¯t just organise a private meeting with the World Government President whenever you want.¡±


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Marvin straightened his red tie and brought up a new file on the hologram. ¡°I¡¯m going to be hosting a charity that ¡®aims¡¯ to locate the thousand missing youth on Earth. As this is a global situation, Williams will be more likely to attend. If he doesn¡¯t, then we¡¯ll have to take it slow and work on spreading the Simulacrum access to those around him.¡±


    ¡°A charity.¡± Harold rolled his eyes. ¡°Taking advantage of the fact that you know where your niece really is to host a public relations event, I see.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous.¡± Marvin shot him a look of disdain. ¡°Even if I didn¡¯t know where my niece was, I¡¯d still host this event. A businessman should never give up an opportunity.¡±


    Harold let out a long sigh as he ran a hand down his face, and Stephen and Stallen just awkwardly glanced between the two men. Stephen coughed and raised a hand. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ still not sure how we¡¯re actually going to prove to these people that the ¡®System¡¯ and ¡®Tower¡¯ exists. Memories can be fabricated and¡­ using an ability that can access their mind isn¡¯t very good at building trust.¡±


    ¡°Lucille has already taken care of that,¡± Marvin stated curtly. ¡°How, I don¡¯t know. But she told me she has a vast amount of knowledge about the natural disasters, energy phenomena and rift events that will occur during the next year. I believe she mentioned something like ¡®Planetary Simulation Viewer¡¯. But never mind that.¡±


    Marvin stood up and tapped a finger on the table to draw their attention. ¡°Everyone here will need to be at this charity, and we need to carefully select which targets to transfer this ¡®Simulacrum¡¯ access to. Today we¡¯ll go over the most valuable individuals for our cause, and then we¡¯ll discuss how to arrange regular meetings using the Simulacrum¡­¡±


    <hr>


    Lucille whistled as she approached the front of the Aethereal Palace with her hands behind her back. June had been relatively peaceful, as she had received a letter from Annaliese saying the girl couldn¡¯t come during that month due to the Great Sage reacting enthusiastically to the news that Lucy would allow a subdivision of Protection in Gilded Seat. Annaliese was now overloaded with the Sages asking questions and keeping her preoccupied, and so ¡®unfortunately¡¯ for Lucille, she wouldn¡¯t be meeting the Prophetess that month.


    That suited Lucy perfectly as she had the external debut that was to occur in late June, with incredible amounts of politicking to do. She also intended to search for Malediction Society members during the debut, and Lucy didn¡¯t need a bunch of nobles arriving early just so they might have a chance to chat with the Prophetess and receive some of her Fate essence.


    As Lucy approached the door, a strange smirk appeared on her face, and she was let in by the two doorkeepers on either side. It was finally time for her to make her stance clear to the Demon Emperor and see if something about the contract could finally be done.


    If it couldn¡¯t¡­ well, she¡¯d eventually find some sort of blackmail material on him. She was nothing if not observant.


    ¡­


    ¡°Your aide called you depressed.¡±


    A white-haired incognito Demon Emperor raised his neon-blue eyes from his paperwork to gaze dully at the dark-haired woman standing opposite him, likely wondering what rot she was spewing now.


    Lucille stared back with wide eyes and pointed at the door behind her. ¡°Count Bentsen said you sleep too much and you¡¯re always annoyed or uncaring. He also told me I was allowed to come in here and poke you awake whenever I want.¡±


    The Archduke continued gazing at her for a couple of more seconds. Then he slowly leaned to the side to direct his gaze to the pair of double doors. Lucy assumed he was trying to think of an excuse to finally fire his aide. He turned his dull stare back to her.


    ¡°That last part was paraphrased, obviously,¡± she added.


    He stayed silent for a moment and then intertwined his fingers to rest them on the desk. ¡°¡­and what possessed you to say this to me?¡± he began slowly.


    That¡¯s rich, coming from a demon.


    Lucy blinked innocently. ¡°I thought that you¡¯d like to know if a subordinate was talking about you behind your back. Imagine if rumours began to spread to other nobles of the Aeternus plane that the well-mannered and suspiciously cheerful Archduke was secretly a cranky standoffish tyrant who overworks his subordinates? Better to nip them in the bud and kill them all now!¡±


    The white-haired demon in front of her didn¡¯t reply immediately and instead narrowed his eyes. ¡°Interestingly, I have noticed you¡¯ve become bolder throughout the course of the year,¡± he stated with a voice filled with ice. ¡°It is almost as if you¡¯ve forgotten who exactly I am and why we are meeting here to begin with.¡±


    ¡°Your Grace, we¡¯re meeting here because of the damned contract you made me sign,¡± Lucy replied sweetly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I haven¡¯t forgotten that fact.¡±


    His irises gained a bloody hue, revealing his willingness to kill her right there and then, and his expression grew colder. ¡°You really are doing this on purpose.¡±


    ¡°Hm? On purpose? What do you mean?¡± Lucy tilted her head and leaned against the couch. ¡°Your Grace, I¡¯m not sure I understand.¡±


    ¡°Ha.¡± It sounded like a laugh, but his expression was just as frigid as ever. ¡°Lucille Goldcroft, there has always been one thing that has irritated me about you.¡± His hands gripped the edge of the wood of his desk and cracked it. ¡°Why is it that whenever I reveal any hint of just how much I wish to eradicate you, you only act to infuriate me even more? Why is it that you show no reaction to my bloodlust?¡±


    ¡°...your killing intent?¡± She paused and then shrugged. ¡°I can¡¯t feel anything.¡±


    The Archduke slowly rose from his chair. ¡°Goldcroft, are you mocking me?¡±


    Maybe¡­ I should stop now. Why is he standing up?


    ¡°N-No, I mean¡­¡± Lucille coughed into her first. ¡°I¡¯m incapable of perceiving killing intent of any kind. I can¡¯t sense it at all. So even if you say that you get angry when I ignore your bloodlust, I can¡¯t just-¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t recall asking that, Goldcroft,¡± he hissed through gritted teeth.


    ¡­uh oh.


    ¡°M-my apologies, Your Grace-¡±


    A loud crash made her flinch as his desk was thrown against the side wall before her accelerated thoughts and perception could even pick up on anything. Pages fluttered to the ground and pens rolled across the ground as the angry white-haired demon marched up to her. She jumped back as he shoved the couch over with one hand and it fell to the ground mere inches from her feet. With a one long stride he stepped over and gripped her suit jacket as he lowered his face to meet her eyes.


    ¡°You are walking a very fine line here, Goldcroft,¡± he whispered. ¡°If you get out of my sight within the next ten seconds then maybe I won¡¯t kill you. If you don¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­then you¡¯ll kill me?¡± she finished quietly.


    He gazed coldly at her when she replied but before he responded, Lucille grabbed his other hand and placed it on her neck. ¡°Then Your Majesty¡­ kill me,¡± she stated expressionlessly.


    The Archduke stared at her. ¡°What-¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this what you wanted to do ever since our first meeting?¡± she continued, not blinking as she gazed into his eyes. ¡°Well? Can¡¯t you do it? I¡¯m sure I¡¯ve angered you enough to kill me. So why aren¡¯t you doing it?¡±


    His face showed no change in expression besides the slight twitch of one of his eyebrows, which quickly turned into a scowl when Lucy gained a strange smile. ¡°Or perhaps¡­ you can¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°I can,¡± he hissed.


    ¡°You can? Really?¡± Lucille tilted her head. ¡°But¡­ Your Majesty. I think you¡¯re lying.¡±


    She dropped her hand from his wrist and his hand fell away from her neck when it was no longer held in place. Lucy smirked and leaned against the second, untouched couch behind her. ¡°Surely there are other things you can do to threaten me into submission, though. Physical pain? Mental domination? Are you not allowed to do that either?¡±


    He didn¡¯t say anything as he continued to stare expressionlessly at her. The fake smirk on Lucy¡¯s face disappeared as she turned her expression regulator off again.


    ¡°¡­you¡¯re not allowed to harm me in any way then. I see.¡± Lucille walked up to the Archduke and ignored his towering height. Her expression just as cold as his, she looked up and gazed intently at him. ¡°Your Majesty, I want the System contract to be altered.¡±


    ¡°¡­all of this just because of that?¡± He barked a harsh laugh and turned away to walk over to the desk. ¡°No.¡±


    Lucy was undeterred and followed. ¡°I know it can be altered by you because you were the one to give it to me. You were also able to give me that strange orb that allows us to communicate through the System.¡±


    He ignored her and just snapped his fingers. The desk teleported back to its spot in front of the window, with the pages and stationary neatly laid on top. Even the damage done to the desk earlier was repaired. The toppled couch was likewise fixed and Lucy followed him back over to his desk.


    ¡°I¡¯ll correct myself then. I want the contract to be completed.¡±


    The incognito Demon Emperor paused just as he was about to sit down and stared unblinkingly at her. ¡°It¡¯s as completed as it can be.¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty, I am supposed to receive Quests from you with rewards in return for helping you prevent the realms from falling into total war and annihilation,¡± Lucy stated with irritation. ¡°This is not the collaborative agreement I¡¯m sure the contract was intended to be.¡±


    He narrowed his eyes at her. They were still ruby red. ¡°Don¡¯t presume to know what the contract was intended for.¡±


    Lucille crossed her arms as she gazed at him with wide eyes. ¡°And don¡¯t presume I¡¯m as useless as you seem to think I am, Ancient Daemon.¡±


    It happened before she could even react. His gloved hands were around her neck again and she was kneeling on the ground with the air kicked out of her. She couldn¡¯t speak due to the immense pressure descending on her.


    The Demon Emperor, because it was clear to Lucy that there was no ¡®second personality¡¯ or ¡®second consciousness¡¯ being used alongside his Alter-Ego, was staring at her with maddened wide eyes. Nothing could be seen on his face and he gazed silently at her.


    ¡°Y-Y-¡± She tried to say his title but struggled to gain air as she could feel herself being choked. The mark on her left hand burned.


    ¡°I am not as lowly as an Ancient Daemon. You know nothing, mortal.¡± he threatened quietly.


    Then before she could blink she let out a gasp as her body crashed into the back wall of the room. Her body was wracked with pain as she drew in deep breaths and shuddered. She wiped her mouth to get rid of the blood from where she bit her lip and looked up at the white-haired demon.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t treat me with the proper respect next time we meet, our blood pact will be terminated and terms regarding this ¡®Hero of Light¡¯ will be rendered null and void,¡± he informed her with indifference as if he hadn¡¯t just attacked her. He straightened his gloves and pointed at the exit. ¡°Leave. Now.¡±


    She shakily got up and rubbed the back of her neck. Dammit, the demonic contract is important. His Disorder essence is the best counter to the ¡®Causality-distorting¡¯ abilities of the Hero. We¡¯re really at a stalemate now. I need his help, and he can¡¯t harm me in any way.


    ¡°Fine then, Your Majesty,¡± she replied with a voice dripping with acidity. ¡°I hope we¡¯ll be able to meet with cooled heads two months from now. And I wish that the rest of your day is just as lovely as this meeting.¡± She walked towards the door and paused to glance back at the disguised demon standing in the centre of the room. ¡°I don¡¯t know how you expect to survive the following four years if this is how our meetings always turn out.¡± She left, shutting the door behind her.


    <hr>


    The Archduke was still standing in the centre of his room half an hour after Lucille had left. His arms were crossed and he was scowling at the door.


    ¡°¡­blighted woman.¡±


    [Careful now. You¡¯ll start sounding like those misogynist members of Olden if you keep speaking in such generalities!]


    He pinched his nose bridge and began to head back to his armchair behind the desk until the voice inside his head said something else.


    [But really, you do need to learn to cool your head. I know you wouldn¡¯t want to listen to Lucille Goldcroft ever, but she¡¯s right this time. I mean, the whole reason why you¡¯re angry at her is because you found out that all the stressful work that you¡¯re doing right now was already completed in the former timeline and just got erased! How is Lucy supposed to do anything about that?]


    The white-haired Demon Emperor frowned at the notification box hovering before his face. He took another step towards his desk.


    [It¡¯s not like she had any control over whether the timeline would reset once she died, right? She¡¯s the completely wrong target for your anger!]


    ¡°Then who would be at fault for this?¡± the Archduke muttered.


    [Well, if you think about it, the only thing that could''ve possibly had the power to rewrite the timeline would¡¯ve been me, right? So in fact, it¡¯s all my fault you have to repeat all your work!]


    The Archduke stared at the notification box.


    [Essentially Alectis, stop blaming Lucy for all this and instead blame- oh.]


    The Archduke continued to stare at the notification box.


    [Uh, wait, that wasn¡¯t really- hey, I don¡¯t remember doing that so it doesn¡¯t count, right?!]


    Silence was the only response.


    [¡­is it too late to say sorry?]


    <hr>


    ¡®Not as lowly as an Ancient Daemon¡¯¡­ did I get it wrong? I thought he was technically an Ancient Daemon because that was the only way that ¡®Tiamat¡¯ and her mate would¡¯ve been able to be ¡®severed¡¯ by him as they¡¯re primal beasts, one of the enemies of Ancient Daemons¡­ but then what is he?


    Lucille rubbed her temples and rested her head against the back of the carriage.


    You know what, forget it. I don¡¯t want to think about him for a second longer. I¡¯ve had enough of Mr. Grumpy for the rest of the millennium, let alone two months. Let¡¯s just think about something else.


    The carriage pulled up to the Aurelian Commission Headquarters and Lucy checked her pocket watch.


    I need to meet with Hargrave before Vincent abducts me to discuss the debut for the rest of the day.


    To anyone else, it would¡¯ve looked like Lucy was very, very suicidal. Antagonising the Demon Emperor like that, trying to provoke him¡­ but it was all a way of ensuring that he wouldn¡¯t just ignore her. The Archduke had the power to just brush off her requests and complaints whenever he wanted and only reply to what he cared about. But by making him angry, she could ensure his indifference broke and that he¡¯d take her seriously.


    That didn¡¯t stop Scytale from screaming in her head the whole week before she visited him that what she was doing was a very, very bad idea. In this circumstance¡­ maybe her bond was right.


    But she now had something else to discuss with someone, as a certain wanted ex-mercenary had just walked into her hallway. She gestured to him. ¡°Hargrave, could you come with me for a second, please?¡±


    He paused when he heard her and nodded, then hesitated when he glanced at her neck. ¡°Is that¡­ a bruise?¡±


    ¡°It is, but never mind.¡± She waved a hand to dismiss the question and gazed seriously at him. ¡°Hargrave, are you ready to hunt your first draconic monster?¡±

 Chapter 75 (2 of 2) A Nefarious Gathering + Authorizer Regretting Life Choices Ver. 2

    Hargrave turned the bronze canister in his hands, looking at the runes that had lit up after Lucille had turned it on. He glanced at her. ¡°This is the item you showed me when we first met.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°The bloodline extraction device. The first thing you need to do after you kill the draconic monster is plunge that needle into its heart¡­¡± She mimicked the gesture with her hands. ¡°¡­and extract the bloodline.¡±


    ¡°¡­I see.¡± Hargrave opened his dimensional skill to take out the large head-sized orb. ¡°And what do I do with this?¡±


    ¡°Once you¡¯ve extracted the bloodline¡­¡± Lucy made a slicing motion across her neck. ¡°Use your spear and cut the heart out. Don¡¯t damage the heart itself or else the mana will escape quicker. Put the heart straight into the containment orb and take it to the fortress.¡±


    He frowned. ¡°Fortress?¡±


    Lucille nodded. ¡°It¡¯s an Ascendant City fortress owned by the Empire. There are quite a few like that in the regions close to the Distorted Depths. Powerful monster hunters often participate in auctions that the fortresses host that grant them the right to kill powerful scions and other creatures that come their way. I¡¯ll have you know, I paid quite a high price to purchase the bounty of the water element draconic beast.¡±


    Hargrave¡¯s expression grew serious. ¡°I¡¯ll make it up to you.¡±


    Lucy rolled her eyes and dismissed his statement with a wave of her hand. ¡°Don¡¯t be too uptight about trying to pay me back. You won¡¯t be able to do that any time soon, I can assure you.¡±


    He looked slightly uncomfortable but Lucille just glanced at her pocket watch. ¡°Anyway, the reason why you need to head to the fortress is because only they have the mana lines to hook up to and power the Source and Bloodline Containment and Purifier.¡± She pointed at him. ¡°I¡¯ve already commissioned a magic engineer to create a transportable plate adapter for the device to rest on that will be compatible with all modern runes in mana lines and it¡¯s finished, so you shouldn¡¯t have any problem beginning the purification straight away. As for what you do after it¡¯s purified¡­ I don¡¯t know. I suppose you¡¯ll have to trust your instincts.¡±


    Hargrave looked down at his hand and clenched his fist. He narrowed his amber eyes at her. ¡°What type of monster will I be killing?¡±


    Lucy smirked. ¡°Well, one of the highlights of becoming a dragon would be the wings, right? So I can¡¯t just let you kill something as boring as a drake for your first draconic monster. Have you ever heard of a zilant?¡±


    ¡­


    Hargrave was quick to pack his things and leave for the fortress after the discussion. He was eager to begin taking the first real steps towards his revenge, and while he was a quiet individual most of the time, Lucy knew his determination to kill the General of Blazing Iron had never waned for a single second.


    All going well, Hargrave would return by next week having become a magical beast who could use draconic water magic.


    Actually, that¡¯s something I should consider. Hargrave will be my best way of studying the properties of draconic magic and learning to imitate it with my own skills. Draconic magic is slightly different from normal bloodline magic, after all.


    Claiming that I support him becoming a True Dragon because I want to study his abilities is likely a way to reduce his suspicions too, as it makes sense. He¡¯ll be unfamiliar with his new abilities too, so he might like for me to study them.


    As for her determination to get the Demon Emperor to change up the contract¡­ she sighed and ran a hand down her face. Her only saving grace was that there were two full months before she had to see him again in August. Not that she could relax, because the 16<sup>th</sup> of June, the next day, was officially the start date of the debut. And she had an important task to do.


    Lucille took off her half-mask and took an unusual object out of her dimensional bag. She held up the disc-shaped reflective plate attached to a handle and focused on her right eye.


    The mirror shattered. Lucy¡¯s expression twitched.


    Of course, it wouldn¡¯t just let me do that. And here I hoped I could use it to see the item sheet of the ¡®Shard of Totality¡¯. Oh well.


    She moved the broken pieces of the mirror into her bag and lay down on the couch with her hands behind her head. Lucy closed her eyes.


    If the shard has truly ¡®fused¡¯ with me, then I should be able to control what it reveals to me to a certain extent. I checked the System Repository before I left for the Aethereal Duchy to see if a title exists for those who join the Malediction Society, and it does, so I should be able to locate any members of the society with the shard. I suppose Lucius¡¯s subordinates could always just tell me who out of the people coming to my debut is part of the society, but this way I can know their Statuses as well¡­


    The question now is what to do with myself. Hargrave is gone, Sedric is absorbed in his crafting as always, and Vincent is busy with the final preparations for the debut, but this close to the debut I can¡¯t be seen ordering the staff around¡­


    She sighed and sat back up. Ravimoux was looking into a faction of the Heavenly Realm spreading details about her around, and over on the Beast Realm¡¯s side, she was doing fine. ¡®Fine¡¯ as in doing a ton of paperwork because of the reckless actions of her subordinates. The only highlight of the situation was that she could punish the Hero without putting suspicion on herself.


    The Hero was on janitor duty for the month.


    Idly taking out her two weapons from their sheaths, Apophis and Ouroboros floated around the room, nudging different objects at random. After the debut, she was set to visit the four Duchies on the Aeternus plane, and she could ask Count Donovan Chavaret to analyse the blades and see what evolution materials they might need. Unlike normal Users, sentient weapons only gained new abilities when they evolved.


    Lucille focused on the cloudy white sphere within her chest that symbolised her connection to the spiritual realm and sent her consciousness into the Simulacrum Realm. She appeared in the last spot she had been, which was the ¡®Database¡¯, a vast space full of towering shelves that contained crystals that represented memories or information.


    She transferred her consciousness over to another section where one of the few ¡®people¡¯ aware of her Origin Skill¡¯s ability was standing by a long low table it had created.


    ¡°I¡¯m considering what the ideal layout would be for a city full of humanoid residents within my domain,¡± the M.C.R.U stated, not looking at her as she approached it from behind. ¡°The Realm Mastery permissions you gave me have been exceedingly useful to visualise my next steps. I would like to know if as a humanoid yourself, you find these theoretical conditions acceptable.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± She approached the table, which showed a diorama of several levels the artificial Dungeon intended to make. She raised an eyebrow when she saw the underground lake model in one section. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯ll be able to generate the materials needed for some of these levels?¡±


    ¡°I have recorded the material synthesis for many Dungeons that have formed within my domain and have assimilated their abilities. I am sure the Ancient Dungeon will be able to complete the material synthesis capabilities I am missing.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± Lucy leaned forward to look at the main Dungeon City level it had constructed and pointed at the multi-story buildings. ¡°A creative use of space, but residents of most of the realms would feel enclosed and trapped due to not being used to high-rise buildings. The presence of structures intended for humanoid residence would also likely breed discomfort among any adventurers and probably won¡¯t have the desired effect.¡±


    ¡°Noted.¡± The M.C.R.U. didn¡¯t take its eyes from the table. ¡°Do you have a suggestion for a replacement?¡±


    ¡°The races are adaptive creatures,¡± Lucy said with a shrug. ¡°They¡¯ll create homes themselves. I suggest ensuring a large amount of miasma-purifying plantation is in the zones you dedicate to long-term residence, and then most adventurers will create homes for themselves. If you don¡¯t like their chosen aesthetics, you can slowly alter buildings over a long time. Dungeons are known for being able to take characteristics from existing structures.¡±


    The section of the table depicting a large circular cavern with walls covered in luscious plants surrounding a ring of tall buildings unravelled on the table, and the artificial Dungeon replaced it with a model of the cavern before buildings were added. ¡°I¡¯ll consider that idea thoroughly.¡±


    Lucy nodded. ¡°This is still your own ¡®territory¡¯, so to speak, so I¡¯m only making suggestions. It¡¯s still up to you what you want to do with your domain. Although, I came here because I¡¯m curious about something¡­¡± She smiled. ¡°Have you decided on a name?¡±


    ¡°Sphere.¡±


    Lucille paused. ¡°¡­Sphere?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    She stayed silent for a few more seconds and then shrugged. ¡°Sphere it is then. I¡¯ll call you that from now on.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. Also, I believe your magical beast bond by the name of Scytale is requesting your attention.¡±


    Lucy sighed. ¡°I know. I¡¯m just choosing to ignore him.¡±


    ¡°He has told me that he is threatening to tell Sedric you offered to give him a three-month holiday if you don¡¯t respond.¡±


    Her expression twitched. ¡°I know.¡± She ran a hand down her face. ¡°I¡¯ll take my leave now, Sphere. I look forward to seeing what you¡¯ll do once you become an Ancient Dungeon.¡±


    ¡°As do I.¡±


    The fake scenery of the Simulacrum Realm melted away as she opened her eyes on the couch. What greeted her was the sight of Scytale dangling from the chandelier above. But not only Scytale. Apophis and Ouroboros were also dangling from the chandelier, and the three of them had gotten twisted and jumbled up. Scytale struggled futilely to disentangle himself from the hanging ornament.


    ¡°Help! Lucy! I¡¯m stuck!¡±


    ¡°Then just turn into your human form,¡± she stated dully.


    ¡°But then I¡¯ll fall!¡±


    ¡°Yes. And as a User with a defence-boosting ability at Epic rarity, I suggest you suck it up and brace for the non-existent impact.¡±


    ¡°You are the most unsympathetic person I¡¯ve ever met, I swear,¡± he whined. His body glowed golden for a brief second and then a silver-haired boy faceplanted onto the ground. He got onto his knees and rubbed his red nose. ¡°Ow.¡±


    ¡°So.¡± Lucy leaned her chin on her hand as she gazed dubiously at her bond. ¡°What exactly did you want from me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m bored!¡± he announced.


    ¡°¡­and you came to me because?¡±


    ¡°Fight me!¡±


    Silence reigned in the room. Lucy¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change. Scytale clicked his tongue. ¡°Don¡¯t be like that. You don¡¯t have anything to do, so let¡¯s spar!¡±


    ¡°Just go bother Sedric or Ashale¡¯viaf or something,¡± she replied with disdain. ¡°Don¡¯t come to me for something so petty.¡±


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to!¡± he complained. Scytale crossed his arms. ¡°Look, Hargrave has gone off to slay a draconic monster of some kind, and I want to see if I can get a few combat skills. So, let¡¯s go and fight it out.¡±


    Lucille let out a long, drawn-out sigh and dropped her hand from her chin. ¡°Maybe I should officially hire Hargrave as your sparring partner.¡±


    ¡°Nah, it¡¯ll get boring real quick if I only fight him.¡± The humanoid snake got up from the floor and clapped his hands. ¡°Right then! Time to get off your behind and get to work! You wanted to get used to your Ancient skill, didn¡¯t you? And your Prodigious Archmage¡¯s First Steps.¡± Scytale shrugged. ¡°Out of any magical beast, you know me best, so if there was going to be bloodline magic you could imitate it would be mine. I bet my Incongruity Inversion would be great for your Jinx identity.¡±


    Lucy rubbed her temples and looked up at the two weapons which were still tied around the chandeliers prongs. Shaking her head in resignation, she snapped her fingers and Apophis and Ouroboros turned back into daggers to fly into her hands. She pulled off her violet suit jacket and opened the door of her room. ¡°Fine then. It might make me relax before the debut tomorrow, at the very least.¡±


    Lucille glanced back and smirked. ¡°But if it¡¯s more sparring partners you want, then you might enjoy meeting the people I¡¯m going to invite after the debut. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be just as curious about you.¡±


    <hr>


    ¡°Adrianna, are you done with those?¡±


    The woman with curly dark hair looked up to gaze silently at the Vice Captain standing in front of her desk. Caspian blinked when she pushed the pages away from her and let out a sigh.


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll take them to Officer Stanhope¡¯s office myself.¡± She got up from the table and pulled on her gold-trimmed coat that had slipped off one shoulder. Then Adrianna swung the door open and marched off with the stack of pages in hand.


    ¡°You know, Adrianna¡­¡± Caspian sped up his pace to match hers. ¡°The others have been asking when we¡¯re going to set out again.¡±


    She didn¡¯t look at him. ¡°It¡¯s barely been three days since we returned from the seas.¡±


    ¡°Well, they¡¯re all just getting bored, I guess.¡± Caspian stuck his hands in his pockets as they both turned a corner and passed the other Officers in the hall. ¡°As crewmembers of the Dawnlight, we get separate lodging, but without anything to do with ourselves we just feel¡­ tense all the time.¡±


    Adrianna raised a hand to turn the door''s doorknob in front of them. ¡°I¡¯ll discuss this with the Commander and Officer Stanhope.¡±


    Caspian looked surprised when she glanced back at him because he hadn¡¯t gone in. ¡°I¡­ didn¡¯t think you¡¯d agree.¡±


    She huffed and walked in. ¡°Even dealing with our melting pot of a crew is better than piles of paperwork. But¡­¡± She placed the pile on the desk and looked from side to side. Then Adrianna turned around. ¡°Stanhope¡¯s not in.¡±


    Caspian looked around the room and then gave her a large nod. ¡°Good. Let¡¯s make our exit before he comes back to give us more of his paperwork.¡±


    She rolled her eyes but followed him out. Both on the same wavelength of some kind, they took a path to the outer wall of the main command building to look at White Squall Fortress from the tallest point. The wind was bitterly cold and Adrianna wrapped her coat around her as they walked along the top.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to ask¡­ have you considered new crewmembers yet?¡± Caspian said as they walked along the top of the wall.


    ¡°¡­somewhat. I plan on requesting the Commander to transfer some after the ice storm period,¡± Adrianna replied.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be best to request them beforehand so risks are minimised?¡±


    Adrianna turned to look at her Vice Captain. ¡°Wharifin, this crew has been in effect since February. It¡¯s now halfway through June. That¡¯s roughly four and a half months.¡± She faced the fortress wall and glanced down, taking in the view of towering waves crashing violently against the cliff face below. ¡°If we¡¯re going to be taking new members, I want at least eight months of us working alongside them before we test the Dawnlight against the most dangerous three months of the Distorted Depths.¡±


    Caspian leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. ¡°I guess that makes sense.¡± He narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°There is no way it could just be that you want to avoid dealing with new people, is there?¡±


    She didn¡¯t bother to react and turned around to walk back down the stairs of the main command building¡¯s top level.


    The sea-green-haired young man behind her rolled his eyes but followed her. She didn¡¯t know why he was always so keen to visit her, but she supposed it wasn¡¯t so bad to talk to one of the few people who knew her real personality.


    ¡°So, Captain,¡± he stressed with a bit of sarcasm. ¡°What do you plan on doing now?¡±


    In response, Adrianna stretched out her hand and opened her dimensional skill. Her indigo-topped staff was summoned to her hand and her eyes narrowed slightly. ¡°As all our crewmates have healed and have enough energy to want to return to the job, I should take it upon myself to help them release their excess energy and discuss just what exactly they all did wrong.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°No, no, Liliana. When you want to create a specific shape with your water mana, you have to attempt to use gestures too. It¡¯s not enough to have a specific name for your elemental spell in mind,¡± Maeva explained. The water-element healer stretched out her hands and narrowed her eyes with concentration. ¡°For example, you want to try something like this!¡±


    A torrent of water shot out of her palms and smashed into the man with close-cropped red hair only a few metres away. Drew Baxtimer coughed and spluttered and gave Maeva a look of incredulity. ¡°Hey! If you¡¯re going to aim for someone then go and aim for Ruel over there!¡± He pointed at the short man.


    Maeva gave Drew a wink, but Ruel sent Drew a particularly rude gesture with his hands. ¡°You¡¯re just salty because I¡¯m winning.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m salty because I got doused in water,¡± Drew retorted.


    ¡°Probably salt water then.¡±


    ¡°Look here, shorty-¡±


    Liliana blinked and glanced at Maeva. ¡°But I¡¯m not using any kind of mana art. Why would gestures matter?¡±


    ¡°They always matter,¡± Maeva said with a shrug. ¡°Even for me, whose combat capabilities reach the extent of waking everyone up with a cold shower. Just something about how it helps with visualisation.¡±


    Their conversation was interrupted when everyone in the training hall heard the sound of a door opening on the other hand. Adrianna marched in while holding her staff, with Caspian behind her.


    The woman with indigo-streaked black hair stopped a few metres away and looked around. ¡°I see you¡¯re all here.¡±


    ¡°What an honour! Our mighty Captain Riftmire has deigned to grace us with her presence today,¡± Lynell Baervad interjected. The half-demon had a lazy smirk on his face as he crossed his arms, but a quick kick to the shin by Dais Twyla sent him stumbling forward to whirl around and glare at the werewolf woman.


    Dais scratched one ear and whistled casually as Adrianna came closer. Their Captain set her staff leaning against the nearest wall and then stood before them with her hands behind her back.


    ¡°Officers. Fall in line,¡± she ordered curtly.


    Barely a second of hesitation passed before two lines were formed of all the crewmembers of the Dawnlight. Adrianna studied them silently for a moment and then paced between them. ¡°I am here to discuss our first battle against a Scion of a Monster King.¡±


    She stopped behind them and turned to face them. Her eyes narrowed coldly. ¡°It went horrendously.¡±


    The crewmates shared looks of resignation but stayed still until Adrianna said something else. ¡°However, taking in the circumstances of our battle against the Scion being unplanned, I will say that the level of teamwork in battle was acceptable.¡±


    Maeva and Liliana seemed to glance at each other in surprise but then winced when they saw Adrianna scowling at two specific groups. ¡°What was unacceptable was that not one, but both squads assigned to explore the island disobeyed my strict instructions to stay away from the monsters¡¯ nest.¡±


    Adrianna shook her head. ¡°And we were only able to deal the Scion a heavy blow due to Officer Zhang Mingxia¡¯s observation skills. If she hadn¡¯t taken the opportune moment to alert Vice Captain Wharifin to the situation, we would¡¯ve lost all chance to strike the Scion with our cannons. The most powerful asset of the crew is our ship. Not our abilities.¡±


    A wave of her hand caused her staff to fly into it. Adrianna pointed it at them. ¡°But it is obvious to me that very few of you are willing to participate in formal naval combat. As such, I¡¯ll ensure that all of you are prepared for any situation similar to the one we just experienced.¡±


    She slammed the end of her staff against the ground and everyone flinched as the scene of the training hall changed. They whirled around and stared as an illusion of the tropical jungle exactly the same as the one on the island appeared.


    Then the snapping of twigs made them jump and they looked to see one of Adrianna¡¯s illusion constructs approaching. Only this time, it was a version of the monstrous turtle Scion they had faced on the island.


    ¡°Because you were so confident in defeating this creature when on the island instead of from our ship, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll love the opportunity to re-attempt the battle,¡± she informed them with indifference. She gestured to several of them. "Wharifin, Officer Zhang, Winrich, and all others who were on the ship while the others antagonised the Scion. Stay back from the battle.¡±


    They wordlessly did so, leaving Griffin and Baervad¡¯s groups in front of the turtle. Adrianna gained a slight, cold smirk. ¡°Let¡¯s see how long it will take for you to defeat it with your own strength.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Help meeee!¡±


    Barely a glance was spared for Wilden Leutia, the long-haired necromancer who hurtled over their heads, as the others faced the onslaught of the monstrous turtle. Palin Zoc¡¯uraghets gritted his teeth and summoned his whirlwind of sand as he leaned on his falchion to push him back onto his feet. ¡°Captain, do you think the others could support us in battle now?¡± he asked quietly. ¡°I think you¡¯ve made your point clear.¡±


    Adrianna glanced at him and then at the others still battling the monster. ¡°Does everyone else agree?¡±


    Weary nods were given in return and Adrianna turned to the others behind her. ¡°Officer Mason. You may join the battle.¡± She turned back to her illusory construct. ¡°For every minute my construct remains undefeated, I¡¯ll allow another member to join the fight. But for every additional person who joins you, that is one more week you¡¯re not allowed to use a stat-boosting elixir from our allocated stock.¡±


    Caspian let out a sigh as the people in the fight stumbled. Catherine Sherwood turned around to stare at her. ¡°Wait, did you say we¡¯re getting stat-boosting elixirs?!¡±


    Adrianna marginally raised an eyebrow. ¡°Did I fail to mention that? The Commander allocated stat-boosting and affinity-enhancing elixirs for us as a reward for our victorious battle and for obtaining a rare natural treasure. They¡¯re the higher quality ones too, usually used only by the Captains.¡± Her eyes narrowed. ¡°But as I said, none of you will get to use them for a week because Officer Mason joined in to fight. And¡­¡± She pointed at Zhang Mingxia. ¡°That makes two weeks now because Officer Zhang is going to help you too.¡±


    Zhang Mingxia smirked and dashed into the fight, while Catherine groaned and threw her hands up. ¡°Captain! That¡¯s not fair!¡±


    Adrianna gestured to her illusory construct with a hand and the turtle¡¯s tail swatted Catherine over the head, slamming her into the fake sandy ground. ¡°Sherwood. Shut up and fight.¡±


    Caspian came up to her to whisper into her ear, ¡°Adrianna, the elixirs won¡¯t be arriving for a couple more weeks anyway.¡±


    ¡°I already knew that,¡± she stated calmly. ¡°Which is why I¡¯m using it as motivation.¡±


    Caspian rolled his eyes and backed off as Maeva began to snicker beside him, having heard their conversation. ¡°That¡¯s a bit sneaky, Captain. I know Lynell is going to be annoyed beyond belief when he finds out about that.¡±


    ¡°¡­I have to say, your capabilities continue to surprise me, Captain Riftmire,¡± Silenis Vima interjected quietly. ¡°Both as our leader and as a mage. Did you have a military background before this?¡±


    If terrorising Mathew Whitlock and his subordinates over in the Fringes every couple of months counts.


    ¡°Not formally,¡± she replied coolly. Adrianna pointed her staff at the half-fae hovering above the fight. ¡°Arventiel. Join in.¡±


    The ashy-haired girl who looked like she was in her mid-teens stared at Adrianna and hesitantly pointed at herself.


    Ruel Deirvetch looked over his shoulder as he cast another bolt of lava at the monster illusion. ¡°Hey, Captain, if you¡¯re going to extend our punishment by another week, could you at least let one of the better fighters to join in-¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t recall giving you permission to dictate anything,¡± Adrianna retorted sharply. ¡°And Deirvetch¡­¡±


    The freckled man yelped as a globule of acid landed mere inches from his feet.


    ¡°Don¡¯t dismiss your crewmates¡¯ capabilities so easily,¡± she warned. ¡°Arventiel would¡¯ve been able to drag you away from that attack if you accepted her aid. Speaking of which¡­ yes, Arventiel, I ordered you to fight. So fight.¡±


    The half-fae warily flew near the turtle and attempted to distract its head while the others continued to aim for the weak points in its shell openings. While the construct wasn¡¯t as large as the Scion they faced, they hadn¡¯t needed to be within squashing distance of its flippers the last time.


    As the battle continued, Adrianna dissolved the illusion of the jungle around them to sustain the illusory construct. It ended with all of the crewmates of the Dawnlight lying on the ground, panting as she approached them and looked down.


    ¡°Any lessons learnt today?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ challenge¡­ the Scion¡­¡± Drew Baxtimer said through deep breaths, raising his hand in the air and letting it fall back down.


    Adrianna raised an eyebrow. ¡°And?¡±


    Catherine groaned as she lay on her stomach. ¡°Obey your orders¡­¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Adrianna put her staff away in the dimensional skill and walked off. ¡°I¡¯m going to discuss our next task with Head Officer Stanhope. I suggest you all become used to sparring with the crewmembers whom you are less familiar with the capabilities of.¡±


    She ignored the gaze of a certain golden-eyed following her and shut the door of the training room behind her. Then she sighed and rested her head against the door.


    Everything seemed fine today, but¡­ I heard Griffin got into an argument with Deirvetch the other day. He¡¯s beginning to try to form factions within our crew. I¡¯ll need to introduce new members as soon as possible next year to stall him for a while longer.


    <hr>


    -A few days later-


    A scarlet-haired man placed a hand over his eyes to peer through the trees, looking for his target. In the distance, just climbing out of a valley, was the scaled creature the Commission Head had hired people to direct towards the fortress he was standing on.


    Hargrave gripped his demonic spear which he had unravelled the leather from, and marched towards the edge of the wall. He walked up to one of the guards manning the outpost. ¡°Is it time?¡± he asked seriously.


    ¡°Sure is.¡± The man nodded, and Hargrave didn¡¯t waste a moment as he pushed himself over the edge of the wall with one hand and dropped to the next level. He bolted down the stairs as the man cupped his hands around his mouth to call out, ¡°Keep the body intact if you can! Draconic monsters are worth a mint!¡±


    I already planned on doing that. I don¡¯t want the relationship between Lucille and me to continue to be so unequal.


    Even if he had accepted her help, Hargrave still had his pride. He didn¡¯t like relying on anyone else too much.


    He leapt down from the final level of the fortress outpost and landed on the ground of the thick forest, covered in large fallen leaves. Already armoured, he was finally going to take his first step to achieve his revenge. Hargrave¡¯s amber eyes glinted in the dark of the forest as he looked out for the signs of the approaching draconic monster.


    A cool, gloomy aura washed over him and he whirled around, looking for the source. He glanced up and spotted the giant being gazing down at him from in the tall branches of the trees.


    The ¡®Zilant¡¯ as Lucille had called it, was a winged creature with only two legs. Stagnant water dripped off its dull grey-blue scales and the spines along its neck raised as it hissed at him with hostility. Ugly green veins bulged and pulsed along its wings.


    I¡¯m glad my form will change as I absorb more draconic bloodlines because I¡¯m not sure I¡¯d want to have that appearance.


    Hargrave stayed still as he gazed unblinkingly at the monstrous beast, the air filled with tension. Water that let off a frosty chill dripped from the monster and splashed the leaves and ground near him, but he didn¡¯t flinch.


    Then the zilant roared and dropped from the tree. Hargrave knew that it was time. With a furious shout, he summoned his aura of blood mana and killing intent and launched himself at the monster, the violet energies swirling around Eolith like a storm.


    Jagged stars of blood sliced through the scales of the monster as they tumbled to the ground and devolved into a series of frenzied attacks. Blood streamed from the wounds of the monster, strengthening him and restoring his energy as the fight continued.


    The zilant released an attack of freezing cold water from its mouth, activating the lesser dragon breath it had access to through its bloodline. Hargrave jumped up to dodge the attack and sent his spear into the beast¡¯s eye. The zilant let out a roar of pain as Eolith returned to his hand, but the thrust hadn¡¯t been powerful enough to shred its brain.


    Hargrave tightened his grip around the spear¡¯s staff and crouched as he prepared to attack again. He was prepared to do anything to defeat the monster in front of him.


    ¡­


    Eight hours later, bloodied and covered in open wounds, he dug through the layers of twisted flesh and muscle protecting the vile beast¡¯s heart from the outside. Eolith cut through the last layer of muscle to reveal the dark heart of the Level 250 draconic monster, gleaming with obsidian beauty. It was releasing streams of green-brown murky monster miasma.


    Hargrave took the canister and plunged it into the heart, then carefully withdrew the heart essence, not wanting to lose a drop. It withdrew with a sickening slurp and he grimaced as he eyed the boiling monster blood in the tube, but he stored it away safely. Then he set to work severing the heart from the connective tendons and muscles around it. It was only after the heart was in the containment orb that he let himself relax and stumble out of the red tunnel he had carved.


    On the other side were the soldiers and adventurers of the outpost, waiting for the go-ahead to begin carving up the monster. He nodded wearily and stepped back as they dashed towards the corpse, greedy looks on their faces.


    A few of the people standing in the back whispered amongst themselves and shot him scrutinizing looks, but the dark and violent look on his blood-covered face after spending eight hours fighting the monster seemed to quickly make them back off. Hargrave walked towards the fortress and didn¡¯t bother taking a shower before heading to where the device that could purify the bloodline and heart was.


    A little while later, when he could sense that the bloodline and heart were safe, he told the soldiers to shut down the device and he took the canister and heart out. He walked back to his room and sat down on the floor, frowning and the two items in his hands.


    Now¡­ how do I do this¡­


    He studied the canister and made up his mind. The needle tip plunged into his heart and he gritted his teeth to withstand the pain. His blood element healing capabilities prevented it from being lethal, and he could push the bloodline essence into his body. His veins burned and roiled with power as the heart blood clashed against his human life essence, but a brief activation of his Origin Skill caused the bloodline to instantly calm down and stay dormant in his blood.


    Hargrave took a deep breath and took the heart out of the clear orb. Now a pure scarlet red, it was larger than his own head, and he had no idea how to absorb it.


    Do I¡­ eat it?


    It seemed his instincts as the ¡®Blood Patriarch¡¯ solved that problem for him though. Without his intent, his blood mana burst out of him and he detected traces of draconic essence mingled in the mana. It shot into the draconic beast heart and the magical beast source seemed to disintegrate into small particles. His body reabsorbed his mana and he toppled over as his body was suddenly beset with pain on all sides, internally and without.


    His vision went red as the pain intensified and his heart beat painfully against his ribcage. The powerful mana coursed through his veins, showing him just how fragile his humanity was. And it made him all the more determined to control the power within him.


    Yes, this is the power I need. The power of a dragon. But it¡¯s not enough not yet.


    He narrowed his eyes and his expression grew solemn as he thought about the future.


    I¡¯ll only be satisfied when I have the power of all six elements on my side.

 Chapter 76.... not.

    Sorry. I caught a bad cold with all the usual symptoms - blocked ears, sore throat, blocked nose, shivers, headache, lack of taste -


    Actually, I probably have covid. Oh well.


    So, I''ll be late on the chapter! And the last of my exams are coming up on Wednesday and Thursday, so I probably can''t post anything until Friday, if I want to be fair to my patrons.


    In other news, I''ll be entirely free after Wednesday next week. I''m not sure I''ll be able to instantly go to three chapters a week, that seems a bit ambitious after not posting anything for a while. And I have completed the Glossary information on the Demon Realm! I just need to go along and add it... but not yet.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Anyway, I''m alive, if feeling like dying a bit after not having been sick for six months, and don''t plan on stopping my writing. Just wait a bit longer before Lucy and her adventures return!


    P.S. I have belatedly realised that my exams did not happen in the week following my semester end, but rather two weeks after it, and so I took a break an entire week or two earlier than I should''ve :/


    It was too late by the time I checked my schedule as my break had already begun

 Chapter 76 (1 of 2) Nobles doing noble stuff.

    ¡°Lucille, it¡¯s time we head to Gilded Dome Hall and- what are you doing?¡±


    Vincent stared at her as she looked at herself in the mirror, a pensive expression on her face.


    Lucy was wearing very different clothes than normal. As this would be the biggest event she attended revolving around her, she was wearing a formal violet ceremonial embroidered cloak that sat on one of her shoulders, nearly reaching the ground. Two ornamental sheaths had been made for her snake swords, and the pocket watch, the token of her status as Head of the Aurelian Commission, was sitting in a pocket left of the cloak. Black silk gloves with gold trimming covered her hands and her outer vest was her signature violet colour, but with fleur-de-li reminiscent patterns embroidered on panels along the sides. She turned to look at her aide.


    ¡°Vincent, I feel like I¡¯m metamorphosing into something I hate,¡± she announced with a strange expression. ¡°These clothes are ostentatious even by my standards. Will I soon begin to degrade every commoner I come across?¡±


    He gave her a deadpan stare and then let out a long sigh. ¡°Are you ready to leave, Lucille?¡±


    She smirked. ¡°Yes. Let¡¯s go pick up my wayward bond.¡±


    Vincent nodded and then paused as he seemed to remember something. With a smile, he retrieved a long thin object from his dimensional skill and handed it to her. ¡°You can¡¯t forget a ceremonial version of this too.¡±


    Lucy blinked and took the thin object made of glossy black wood. A round orb of gold was on the top, and she could see small engravings of runes along its length. ¡°Vincent¡­ did you get a new cane made for me?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re only allowed to use this one at formal events,¡± he replied with a smirk. He crossed his arms and gestured to it. ¡°It¡¯s a magic item. Try out the spell within.¡±


    Lucy raised an eyebrow but hit the cane against the ground as she infused her mana into it. She blinked as light flooded the room and she looked up to see she was standing directly under a light source of some kind. Then she looked down and saw that the light formed a circle. She turned to give her aide a bemused look. ¡°Did you get a cane that can summon a spotlight for me?¡±


    He shrugged, the smirk still on his face. ¡°It feels like something you¡¯d find a way to make happen eventually. It does have a purpose, however. At debuts, nobles typically have some spell cast to grab attention when they make their entrance for the first time. I guessed that this might satisfy the requirement.¡±


    Lucille looked down at the cane and tapped it against the ground to turn off the spell. She grinned at her aide and walked towards the door. ¡°It¡¯s a well-chosen gift. I¡¯ll have to think of something for you.¡±


    Vincent raised an eyebrow and followed after her. ¡°There¡¯s not any reason to do that-¡±


    Lucy shook a finger at him. ¡°Vincent, don¡¯t forget. This is technically your debut too. I heard that when you became an adult you passed on a debut last time, but this will be when you are formally introduced as my aide.¡±


    He considered it. ¡°Hmm¡­¡±


    ¡°But a gift is something to think about later.¡± Lucy gestured to the hallway exit with her cane. ¡°It¡¯s time to extract my serpent tagalong from his hiding place.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°No! You can¡¯t make me!¡±


    ¡°Scytale. Get. Out,¡± Lucy said through gritted teeth, trying to pull her bond out by his tail. He had spread his wings wide to prevent her from pulling him out of the cabinet he had been hiding in.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to go!¡±


    ¡°Stop being so ridiculous,¡± Lucille said with exasperation, dropping the tail when she discovered it wouldn¡¯t be so easy to get him out. ¡°You haven¡¯t shown up to any formal event yet, even though everyone knows I have a winged serpent bond. I don¡¯t need nosy nobles suspecting something is wrong and poking into your background, just to discover details about your bloodline.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯ll be boring!¡±


    Lucille crouched down in front of the kitchen cupboard he was inside, Vincent watching their interaction with wry amusement. ¡°There will be food.¡±


    Scytale hesitated. ¡°¡­I¡¯m full.¡±


    The dull stares he got from both Lucy and Vincent made him click his tongue. ¡°Alright! Fine! I¡¯d gladly eat fancy noble food. But I¡¯m not someone who can deal with nobles very well. Nor stay silent when I need to.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m marginally impressed by your self-awareness,¡± Vincent commented with amusement.


    Scytale hissed at him while Lucy sighed and straightened up. ¡°Caius and Jacques will be there. I¡¯m sure you and Jacques will be on the same wavelength when it comes to dealing with noble formalities. But you need to meet the other two Counts.¡±


    ¡°You mean uptight old farts who have more money than they know what to do with-¡±


    He flinched away when faced with Lucy¡¯s cold stare. ¡°Scytale,¡± she threatened. ¡°You¡¯re going. The Empire¡¯s nobility isn¡¯t stupid enough to not understand that a young magical beast like you will struggle with formalities. Just stay silent when important topics come up, and show common decency. I can deal with the rest.¡±


    ¡°Hey! I¡¯m not a young magical beast! I¡¯m over two hundred years old!¡± he exclaimed.


    Lucille ran a hand down her face. ¡°Why is that the detail you focus on¡­ whatever.¡± With an expert application of her Soul Cipher Ancient skill, she deftly caught the snake by the neck and pulled him out of the cupboard.


    The silvery amphiptere let out choking noises in his usual dramatic fashion but slumped when he was finally extracted and placed on the ground. Scytale morphed into his human form and let out a loud groan. ¡°Ugh. I guess I have no choice.¡±


    ¡°Correct. And I see you¡¯ve already changed into a formal outfit, so you knew your struggles would be futile.¡± Lucille walked out of the kitchen without a look back and headed for the direction of the entrance. ¡°You only need to turn up for the first and last day. Besides that, you¡¯re free to gallivant in Ashale¡¯viaf¡¯s gardens all you want.¡±


    He raised his head to look at her. ¡°Wait, are you going to tell the spirit that I¡¯m allowed anywhere within the Pavilion¡¯s gardens?¡±


    She shot him a withering look, making him scowl. ¡°Of course not. Stingy, stupid bond-¡±


    ¡°Quit complaining and get moving.¡± She grabbed his arm and dragged him out the door. ¡°While arriving late to the debut may befit the character I¡¯ve tried to reveal I have to the Empire, on this occasion, I don¡¯t want to do that.¡±


    ¡­


    A strange set of d¨¦j¨¤ vu settled on Lucy and Vincent as they stood before the two closed double doors, waiting for the announcement for her to enter. Guards of the four Counties stood on either side, and Vincent fiddled with the button on his cuffs. He looked somewhat more relaxed than the first debut, however.


    ¡°This feels familiar,¡± he muttered.


    Lucille held her chin and observed what little she could see on the other side of the doors with her perception field. Scytale was on her shoulders. ¡°The Gilded Dome Hall is a more exquisite establishment than the Aurelian Commission¡¯s Headquarters, and so by that fact, I could assume they have an even more exquisite staircase handrail to slide down.¡±


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Vincent stared at her. ¡°Don¡¯t-¡±


    Before he could finish his sentence, a servant came up to them and bowed, signalling that it was time for them to enter the hall. Vincent narrowed his eyes at Lucille and held out his hand for her.


    She eyed his hand with mild disdain, making him narrow his eyes even further. She clicked her tongue and reluctantly placed a palm on his hand to allow him to escort her. The doors swung wide open and they appeared on top of a balcony overlooking the crowd of nobles below.


    The doorkeepers standing beside the pair of double doors shouted out in sync, ¡°Please welcome Sir Vincent Evisenhardt, the Head of the Aurelian Commission¡¯s compeer magical beast bond Scytale, and the Head of the Aurelian Commission herself: Count Lucille Goldcroft!¡±


    Claps broke out among the audience, consisting of many groups, and even forces of the different realms. While the large noble clans of the Aeternus plane didn¡¯t visit in person, she was still an Honorary Count of a decently powerful Faction of the Aeternus plane. Representatives sent in place of the other members of the neutral faction of the Empire were sent in place of the clans¡¯ bloodline members. With their entrance made, Lucille was satisfied to pull away from Vincent¡¯s outstretched hand, much to his irritation.


    ¡°Could you not be a little more patient?¡± he hissed quietly as they began to walk down the stairs to the side of the balcony.


    She turned to stare at him. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you want to hold my hand? I may be mentally older than you, but I don¡¯t want to hold your hand and pull you along as if I¡¯m your parent-¡±


    ¡°Now is not the time,¡± he muttered, walking close behind.


    They touched down on the polished floor and were drawn into the group of the Counts and their descendants.


    Count Ravimoux smirked and raised a dark glass of wine as a toast to her. ¡°Congratulations, Count Lucille. While you have been our Head for a number of months now, I feel congratulations are still in order for reaching the stage of such a big event being organised for you.¡± He shot her a wink. ¡°With a slight bit of help from us Counts, of course.¡±


    ¡°Propaganda control can hardly be considered true help, Regulus.¡± Count Chavaret walked forward and gave her a nod. ¡°It has been some time, Count Goldcroft.¡±


    ¡°It has indeed.¡± Count Evisenhardt, the bearded silver-haired man whom she hadn¡¯t seen since before the Empire¡¯s banquet, came and gave her a slight bow. ¡°I hope my lacking grandson has been of help to you.¡±


    Vincent¡¯s expression was weary as his grandfather eyed him with suspicion, but Lucy smiled brightly because of the nearby eavesdroppers. ¡°I¡¯ve barely had to do anything with him around! He may as well be the real Commission Head.¡±


    Count Sevastian Evisenhardt chuckled, while the two Alichanteu heirs tried to approach. Arwen Alichanteu, Artair¡¯s younger half-brother, boldly came forward and stuck his hand out to greet her with conceited self-assurance that only a haughty young noble could have. ¡°I also haven¡¯t seen you for some time. I¡¯ve been waiting eagerly for an invitation to the Headquarters but have yet to-¡±


    The blue and brown-haired young man was cut off by Count Ravimoux, who slung an arm across Lucille¡¯s shoulders and turned her away to face several approaching noble representatives, acting as if he hadn¡¯t heard Arwen. ¡°Ah, Count Goldcroft! Let me introduce you to these firm acquaintances of mine. We¡¯ve had many dealings with the Viscounties of the southern side of the Aeternus plane, so I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll see them again in the future.¡±


    She smiled and nodded as they exchanged pleasantries with her and Vincent. On her shoulders, Scytale raised his head and turned it to give her a side-eye.


    ¡®Hey, so, uh¡­ can I go now?¡¯


    Fine. Just don¡¯t ignore any nobles if they look important.


    ¡®Gotcha. Avoid the snobby ones so I don¡¯t poke their egos the wrong way.¡¯


    Lucy released a mental sigh as her bond flew down from her shoulders and changed into his human form. He was heading directly towards the section of the hall set aside for the food, uncaring about the fact that he was the only individual there planning on eating so early. Then he froze as his path was blocked by the two other Commission Counts.


    ¡°You would be the rumoured Scytale then,¡± Count Evisenhardt remarked. He stuck his hand out. ¡°Sevastian Edgar Evisenhardt, I¡¯m sure you know.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ right.¡± Scytale shook the man¡¯s hand and then paused when another one appeared.


    ¡°Donovan Raymond Chavaret,¡± Count Chavaret stated gruffly. He firmly shook Scytale¡¯s hand and gave him a scrutinizing look. ¡°And advanced beast at fifteen when you started as an intermediate beast¡­ You¡¯re fairly talented.¡±


    All plans to push past them and make it to the food were abandoned when Scytale heard the man praising him. He planted his hands on his hips and tilted his chin up proudly. ¡°Yup! Primal Descendent here too, so I become massive in my true form. I bet when I reach Rank-3 I could wipe the whole Demon Realm out alone in the Millennium Chapter. Future Beast King right here.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± Count Chavaret mused with a strange expression. ¡°Then I suppose we should be glad that our Commission head has such a capable bond beside her.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ yeah. Capable. That¡¯s my middle name. Alongside my second middle name beginning with ¡®R¡¯. Which stands for responsible.¡± Scytale leaned to the side to look around the man and then pointed two fingers at him. ¡°So what dishes here do you think I should try first? I¡¯m thinking of the marinated Dark Field Ox but I also think the roasted Heavenly Realm-style Red Duck sounds delish.¡±


    The Counts traded bemused looks. ¡°Perhaps the garlic Glass Lobster might appeal to you too?¡± Count Evisenhardt suggested.


    Scytale gagged and shook his head. ¡°Thanks but no thanks. Never was one for seafood.¡± He glanced at the table behind them again and nodded. ¡°You know what, I see Jacques over there. I think I might ask for his advice.¡±


    The Counts turned around as Scytale walked past them, but then the humanoid snake stopped and looked back to give them both finger guns. ¡°Alright, nice convo we had there! Cool chat! See you around sometime then, guys!¡± He ran off in the direction of the ponytailed blonde-haired man.


    ¡°¡­has Ravimoux released any details about how our new Commission Head met her bond?¡± Count Evisenhardt asked with confusion.


    ¡°The most I know is that he is a member of the Supreme Enclave of the region Lucille Goldcroft first found herself in¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­I see.¡±


    They stared after the humanoid snake as Scytale began to have a very animated discussion with Jacques over which cuisine was tastiest out of those supplied, but the Counts eventually shook their heads and returned to where Lucille and Vincent were.


    Off in the distance, Lucy noticed two individuals, who were in fact the Viscount and Baron she had met at her last debut, heading their way. Nearly rolling her eyes, she gestured to them with a tilt of her head to get her aide¡¯s attention and Vincent nodded. The two of them walked off, leaving the Viscount of the Kingdom of Shifting Sands and the Baron of the Aeternus plane very disappointed.


    ¡­


    This is so dreadfully boring. All I¡¯m supposed to do on the first day is greet people, so they all come up to me and give me their congratulations, they bow, I bow, we split up, new nobles come forward and the cycle repeats, ad infinitum. Is Scytale enjoying himself any more than I am?


    Lucy¡¯s gaze went flat as she sipped her wine, sitting at the head of the table with the most powerful noble representatives.


    Scytale is¡­ drunk.


    The idiotic snake had somehow managed to get his hands on some of the alcoholic beverages being handed out to the adults. She supposed that was always going to happen, as he was one of, if not the only individual under the age of sixteen there, so he would have readily available access to liquor.


    Actually¡­ I believe we calculated that Scytale hatched on either the fourth or fifth of December. Which would mean he¡¯s become sixteen.


    But then it was debatable whether his birthday was the day his egg was laid, or when he hatched from it. She shook her head and narrowed her eyes as she focused on the nobles with her shard, prepared to begin storing away their information. With a bit of manipulation of her will, she could quickly detect only the members of the Malediction Society. Lucille mentally archived the details of those she spotted, adding to her list of people the Commission needed to cut off contact from.


    From a merchant perspective, it would be foolish to cut off contact with them, but I know that the Formless will eventually act to remove them. It¡¯s better to cut our losses now, regardless of their ethically and morally questionable actions.


    One, two¡­ isn¡¯t that a prince of a Minor plane? He¡¯s not going to be succeeding his father anytime soon now. Four, five¡­ oh?


    Unrelated to the Malediction Society, another figure caught her attention. With long dark blue hair and appearing in his late thirties, the cloaked mage walked towards her with other members of the All-Aeon Athenaeum in tow.


    The mage came and bowed in front of her. ¡°Count Goldcroft. It is a pleasure to meet you. Unfortunately, I was preoccupied at the Empire¡¯s End-of-year banquet and couldn¡¯t meet you, but I have taken the chance to rectify it this time. I am the Pristine Archmage, Merkenia Alichanteu.¡±


    Lucy blinked and smiled widely at him. ¡°I¡¯ve heard about you. Aren¡¯t you the most talented descendant of Alichanteu in centuries? Your water affinity is supposed to be one of the strongest.¡±


    He chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ve long since left my family to pursue the wonders of magic. Ah, let me introduce you to my fellow pursuers of magical knowledge-¡± He gestured to the men and women behind him and they all told her their names.


    Lucille nodded cheerfully until Archmage Merkenia eyed her and then looked around. ¡°I¡¯ve been somewhat curious¡­ are the rumours that you have been sponsoring a vassal mage of the Blue County true?¡±


    Ah. So he wants to know about Marellen.


    ¡°Are you referring to Marellen Vadel?¡± she asked excitedly. ¡°He¡¯s very inventive with his magic. I met him when I first went to the Beast Realm. He was one of the first true mages I had ever met!¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve tried many times to make him my student, but he¡¯s never accepted,¡± the man said with a sigh. ¡°And¡­ did you meet his cousin?¡±


    ¡°¡­cousin? Ah, Efratel?¡± She blinked, pretending to be ignorant. ¡°Yes, but only at the debut for the Commission. It was my aide who informed me that they had been cousins.¡±


    I¡¯m glad I organised this cover story with Efratel so the Archmage doesn¡¯t become suspicious that I know something.


    ¡°Ah, so you¡¯re not familiar with him besides them being cousins.¡± The Archmage nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that the young sir Vadel has been exploring an Old Era plane under your sponsorship. Would I be able to hear the details? I¡¯ve always been curious to know how the younger generations of my former Faction have been faring.¡±


    ¡°I think¡­¡± Lucy looked over her shoulder and pointed at Vincent. ¡°My aide converses with Efratel Vadel more frequently than I do. You might have better luck asking him. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t know much besides what artifacts they discovered.¡±


    The Archmage nodded. ¡°Then I¡¯ll do that.¡± He dipped his head. ¡°Thank you for your time, Count Goldcroft.¡±


    As he left, Lucy felt herself relax slightly and leaned against the pillar. She took another sip of her drink and walked off, planning on dragging her bond away from the new bottle he was opening.


    Scytale, due to being a magical beast, digested alcohol very easily and had little to no tolerance, although he sobered up quickly. So it was better in the long run for him to avoid it altogether, especially when surrounded by scheming nobles who would love to hear some juicy secrets about the Aurelian Commission Head from her bond. She was sure the only reason he was drinking in the first place was just to stop being bored.


    ¡­


    ¡°Hey, psst! Sedric!¡±


    The brown-haired crafter looked up from his workbench and squinted at the bottle the humanoid snake in his workshop was holding up proudly. ¡°What is that?¡±


    ¡°Hehehe¡­¡± Scytale stumbled forward, nearly tripping over his feet, and placed his trophy on the bench. ¡°I stole it from Gilded Dome Hall! Aren¡¯t I awesome?¡±


    Sedric picked the bottle up and tilted it, eyeing the labels with scepticism. ¡°This is five hundred-year-old wine, Scytale. Would Lucille be fine with you taking this?¡±


    ¡°Who cares what she thinks.¡± Scytale sent Sedric a dismissive wave and sat on the bench. ¡°The debut hall has enough to spare anywaaaayyyy¡­¡±


    Sedric raised an eyebrow at the snake on his bench. ¡°Scytale¡­ are you drunk?¡±


    The snake, who has transformed back to his beast form, let his head and upper body hang languidly over the edge. ¡°Nooooo¡­.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re definitely drunk,¡± Sedric stated flatly.


    ¡°I¡¯m not drunk!¡± he shouted with indignance. ¡°I¡¯m just incoxit¡­ tincoxit¡­ intoxicated. Yeah, that thing.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the same¡­ you know what, never mind.¡± Sedric sighed and placed the bottle on the bench. ¡°So what did you bring it here for? To show off?¡±


    ¡°So you can get drunk too!¡±


    ¡°I thought you said you weren¡¯t drunk,¡± Sedric snarked.


    ¡°I¡¯m not drunk, you are!¡±


    ¡°Riiiiight¡­¡±


    Sedric studied the bottle and then shrugged, uncorking it. He took a sip and nearly gagged. ¡°Bleurgh. It¡¯s so strong. Do nobles really drink this?¡±


    The only response he got was snoring from the snake, who had fallen asleep. He shot Scytale a disgruntled look, glanced at the bottle again, and after a moment of hesitation, took a gulp.


    An hour later, Lucy walked into the workshop to gaze dully at the crafter and snake snoring on the floor. Scytale was curled around the bottle and Sedric was hugging them both. She sighed and left the room.


    When she returned to her living room, she sat down on the couch opposite Vincent.


    ¡°All alcohol is banned from this floor,¡± she announced.


    Vincent looked up from the document he was holding. ¡°Not a drinker yourself?¡±


    ¡°No. Due to my lack of elemental affinity, I can¡¯t become intoxicated on any mana-imbued substances.¡± Lucy closed her eyes and lay down on the couch. ¡°Perhaps it would be possible with mundane alcohol, but I¡¯ve never tried it.¡±


    ¡°I suppose that for someone who must regularly drink when among nobility, that¡¯s a useful skill,¡± Vincent mused. ¡°But are you ready to discuss how the first night went?¡±


    She gave him a flat look and sighed. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s time to decide what nobles we choose to make deals with and what nobles to avoid during the next week.¡±

 Chapter 76 (2 of 2) Nobles doing noble stuff.

    ¡°Count Goldcroft, my lady, I must say, that I am undeniably impressed.¡± The haughty noble in his mid-thirties gestured to her with a gloved hand and then placed it on his chin with a smirk. ¡°For one rumoured to have been born into the common caste, you are shockingly well-accustomed to the ways of our nobles. Why, I almost thought you were a high-born member of the Empire such as myself!¡±


    Lucy masked her boredom behind a bright smile that suggested not a word of the degrading hidden meanings of the man before her had been realised. ¡°I¡¯m honoured that you find my performance satisfactory, sir. My aide has been a great deal of help when finding adequate tutors for me.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± he replied with a polite smile.


    As if I¡¯d ever let the Counties give me ¡®tutors¡¯. All they did was pay off a few educators so they would provide fall statements that they taught me. They were willing to do so for the credit they¡¯d receive anyway.


    ¡°I apologise sir, but I must go back to my aide¡¯s side,¡± she stated cheerily. ¡°I¡¯m not allowed to be away from him for more than half an hour.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Count Goldcroft.¡± The main with greyish-red hair smirked slightly as she tried to move away. ¡°I¡¯ll commend your aide for being so protective of his young superior, but¡­ don¡¯t you think that¡¯s a bit strict? You are his superior, not the other way around.¡± He winked at her. ¡°As a descendant of a March myself, I¡¯ll give you a tip on how to act as a true noble. You must command your subordinates, not the other way around.¡±


    She blinked at him.


    What does this idiot think he¡¯s doing? Is he seriously trying to start trouble here?


    ¡­no, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s it. He must be one of those types who like seeing chaos and drama.


    Well, the easiest way to deal with him is to use my default plan: brush off his words with cheerful ignorance.


    ¡°Sir Evisenhardt is my friend and I trust him,¡± she stated brightly. ¡°I really must go now, sir. Thank you for the pleasant conversation.¡±


    Then she walked off, leaving the man gazing at her like she was a few cards short of a deck.


    Now, I need to actually go find Vincent because that man will cause trouble if he sees me talking to someone so soon after I left him. Where is- ah.


    Conveniently, Vincent seemed to be finishing up his conversation and smiled politely at the Barons who bowed to him and backed away. She sped up to meet with him before another noble met with him first.


    Vincent looked up to see her approaching and almost looked slightly relieved. She could tell by how the polite smile he used for all nobles became more sincere. Then when he saw eyes on them his smile returned to being the fake one.


    He picked up a glass of weak liquor of some kind from a nearby servant¡¯s tray and sipped it as he walked towards her. ¡°We¡¯ll be heading to the dining hall soon. I suggest you stay beside me until then.¡±


    Lucy nodded and then with a quick glance to see who was watching, she tapped a finger on the top of her cane. A sound-cancelling arcane barrier spread out within her ¡®Field of Transmutational Mastery¡¯, but with her ability to disguise all her mana as external atmospheric mana, nobody would suspect she did it. They would assume Vincent used an item with that kind of spell himself, as it was a common thing for nobility to do when anyone at Rank-1 had heightened senses.


    ¡°A wise idea, but most of the nobility here have keen observation skills when it comes to lip reading,¡± Vincent warned.


    Normally she would¡¯ve raised an eyebrow, but to keep up her image she just smiled. ¡°Not to worry. I mixed a little bit of illusion nana into that so anyone watching the o much won¡¯t be able to guess what we¡¯re saying.¡±


    ¡°Cautious as always.¡± Vincent pushed up his glasses and tilted his head in the direction of the man she had been talking to. ¡°And him?¡±


    ¡°Someone who only came along to see what the fuss was about,¡± she stated flatly. ¡°He¡¯s the representative of a March but not a main descendant, so he¡¯s just enjoying the party and trying to start drama.¡±


    Vincent nodded and Lucy smirked. ¡°And how have you been enjoying yourself, sir ¡®Puppet master¡¯?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡± He nearly sighed but caught himself before any of their onlookers could notice and just crossed his arms with a fake smile on his face. ¡°If another noble brings up that darned Dungeon of yours¡­¡±


    Lucille blinked. ¡°Ah. Yes, I suppose that would be something of interest for them. Who in particular?¡±


    Vincent glanced over his shoulder and pointed at them with a vague gesture. ¡°Citadel allies, including Light Tower wizards. I¡¯ve heard that the Light Tower is no longer pushing for them to take over the Dark Tower¡¯s role on that plane you mentioned. As if that would do anything.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Lucy observed them for a moment and turned back to her aide. ¡°Even if they hadn¡¯t been confrontational with the Dark Tower, I still never would¡¯ve gave them an offer to form a Tower in the City of New Syna.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Vincent asked curiously.


    Lucy shrugged. ¡°The Dark Tower and Black Order have necromancers. The Light Tower doesn¡¯t. Death mana is the best for eradicating monsters.¡±


    Vincent looked surprised but nodded. ¡°So, it was for mostly practical reasons. That makes sense. I have to admit that most nobles are rather biased to using necromancers purely because of their close ties with the Tartarus Realm, but considering the Ancient Dungeon is a resource source and not something to increase military might like other Dungeons, using their strength would be best.¡±


    Lucy adjusted her shoulder cloak. ¡°In the end, one of the most common gemstones I spotted in that Dungeon had been onyx, a dark element gem. The Dark Tower and their adjacent factions were best suited for the place.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ oh.¡± Vincent saw something and quickly put a hand on her shoulder to hurry her away. ¡°It¡¯s a bit early, but I think we should head to the dining hall. I see someone that I don¡¯t want to have to deal with.¡±


    Lucille noticed a dark-haired man in his early 50s looking rather frustrated as he failed to catch up to them. ¡°A member of the Valenzest March?¡±


    ¡°First born son of the Marquess,¡± Vincent replied in a low voice. ¡°He¡¯s a member of the neutral faction, so I can¡¯t just dismiss him, but his reasons for approaching are about marriage talks involving a child of his.¡±


    Lucy, now out of sight of the rest of the nobles as they walked down a hallway of the Gilded Dome Hall, raised an eyebrow at her aide. ¡°Who? Is it a woman? Does the March want to give one of their daughters to you?¡±


    ¡°Ha, no, it¡¯s not about me, it¡¯s¡­¡± His voice trailed off and he shot her a very panicked look. ¡°Wait- that¡¯s a possibility now, isn¡¯t it? Women wanting my hand in marriage? And my ambitious mother would even encourage it to happen.¡± He pressed a hand to his temples and then coughed into his fist as he shook his head. ¡°No, it was actually about his second son to you.¡±


    Lucy stared at him as he smirked. But when she continued to stare at him, Vincent gained a strange expression. ¡°Lucille? You¡¯re not acting quite how I expected.¡±


    She stopped walking and let out a short laugh. ¡°His second son? The one who will run away next year with his commoner lover and become a famous general of the army? Look, if he wants to marry me to his second son, he can try, but the love struck fool would rather abandon his title than ditch the love of his life for someone he had never met.¡±


    It was now Vincent¡¯s turn to stare at her. ¡°Carfen Valenzest hasn¡¯t had¡­ any lovers¡­¡± He sounded slightly unsure.


    Lucy smirked and shook her head as she walked over to the stairs that would take them to the next floor. ¡°I was never involved with nobility at this time originally, but I recall hearing how he and his lover had been courting for over three years before he ran away with her to elope. That man kept such a pristine reputation that nobody expected it and could respond when it happened.¡±


    She turned around to shrug at her dumbfounded aide, her new cane still gripped in one hand. ¡°Eventually, the Marquess decided to allow one of the March¡¯s vassals to adopt the woman, and so they lived a happy life afterwards while being accepted back into the family. The only reason I know this was because it was discussed for many years to come.¡±


    Vincent stayed silent but then walked up the steps to catch up to her. ¡°Lucille, you have perfect memory, don¡¯t you?¡± he asked with suspicion.


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    ¡°Yes,¡± she replied with a wry smile.


    ¡°How many secrets of nobles here do you remember that got revealed in the¡­ past,¡± he said slowly.


    ¡°Curious, are you?¡± She gained a slightly evil grin and walked over to the balcony so they could see a view of the entire ballroom below. She pointed at one young noble off in the distance. ¡°That man there? The heir of one of the Counts attending this event? He¡¯s an illegitimate son. The Count claims that his son is the offspring of his deceased first wife, but he¡¯s actually just a replacement. The Count doesn¡¯t want his other wives knowing that the son of his first wife died.¡±


    ¡°¡­huh.¡±


    Lucille moved her finger to point at a woman off to the sidelines. ¡°That granddaughter of a Marquess will be married to a descendant of the Duchies and get a divorce two years later.¡± She shifted her finger again, this time to point at a burly solemn man in gleaming armour, someone affiliated with Glory Pantheon. ¡°That man¡¯s title is the ¡®Undefeatable¡¯, but eventually the truth about how he bribed or killed all the people who saw him be defeated by any other warriors will be revealed.¡±


    She placed a gloved hand on her chin. ¡°Those of Glory Pantheon tend to comfort themselves with the idea that they¡¯re ¡®better¡¯ than the common noble because of their adherence to the honour codes of the Pantheon, but in truth, they¡¯re still nobles like any other.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it wasn¡¯t all talk when you said you¡¯d be capable of leading this Faction,¡± Vincent muttered, coming up beside her. ¡°You certainly have enough blackmail to masquerade as a true noble.¡±


    ¡°Ah, but blackmail is only useful if the event has already occurred. I can¡¯t blackmail someone based on a future that might never come to pass.¡± She ran a hand along the banister as she looked down and narrowed her eyes slightly. ¡°Although, I suppose it¡¯s a benefit to me that you believe my ¡®time traveller¡¯ status because you¡¯re willing to act on my unfounded knowledge.¡±


    Vincent glanced at her and placed his hands behind his back. ¡°Do you know any important details about the Aurelian Commission?¡±


    She considered it and observed him for a slight moment.


    It would probably be detrimental if I revealed that he eventually became the Count of Evisenhardt. Not because he¡¯d abandon his position as my aide, but because he¡¯d panic over the responsibility he might end up with.


    ¡°Your eldest brother, Lysander, became the next Count,¡± she informed him.


    Vincent rolled his eyes. ¡°I could expect that much. No matter how much my other siblings might desire the position, Lysander is still the most favoured descendant among the vassals. But¡­ not my father?¡± he asked seriously, likely worrying about what could¡¯ve caused his father to refuse the title and pass it down.


    ¡°Haraldus stayed healthy until the time of my passing, from what I recall,¡± she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. ¡°I believe it was a personal decision of his to let Lysander instead of himself become the next Count. Likely due to his three wives.¡±


    ¡°¡­ah.¡± Vincent gained a strange expression. ¡°Yes, I could imagine the hostility between my mother and Genevieve becoming stronger if my mother became the Countess. Lysander is commendably firm on only having one wife.¡±


    Lucy nodded and tapped the banister. ¡°But¡­ knowing what I do now about the influence of Olden and Radical within the Commission, it may have also been a way to prevent the forces backing his wives from taking over Evisenhardt,¡± she stated quietly.


    His expression became solemn, but Lucille shook her head and continued walking. ¡°Regardless, the Counties always stayed on good terms and remained successful until the end. Their only fault was perhaps that they didn¡¯t involve themselves with the Heavenly Realm sooner, so they failed to play a major role in the times after the Millennium Chapter.¡±


    ¡°Then I assume you¡¯re here to correct that,¡± he said with amusement. He blinked and looked down at the ballroom below, just before they took another side exit to make their way to the dining hall. ¡°That reminds me. Tonight will be the time for you to greet the visitors from the other realms and lesser empires.¡±


    She nodded and they walked into the new hall, where a long table sat overlooking several other round tables set out for the guests. ¡°Any of particular importance?¡±


    ¡°Well, a few of the weaker 1<sup>st</sup> Rate Sects came to visit, there are a couple of half-demons from a clan that is allied with Ravimoux, an elven and dwarven representative from each of those two empires and¡­¡± He hesitated and shot her an odd look. ¡°Did you know a Vigil of Tartarus that you wanted to invite?¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± She blinked and walked over to the tall, wide window that overlooked the ballroom. ¡°Where?¡±


    Vincent gestured in the direction of a man with long hair tied behind his head, stubbornly ignoring the attempts of the nobility nearby to make conversation with him.


    Lucy smirked. ¡°Is his name Nares Raislef?¡±


    Or ¡®Kozzozan¡¯, to be more accurate.


    ¡°So you do know him,¡± Vincent replied.


    ¡°In passing.¡± She took another look at the phantom, dressed in the standard black and silver uniform of the Tartarus Vigils, then turned away from the window. ¡°Remember that organisation, the ¡®House of Wordless Observers¡¯ I mentioned? He¡¯s part of them.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so now you finally tell me that this organisation you negotiated with is connected to Tartarus,¡± her aide stated flatly.


    Lucille didn¡¯t bother to show a reaction to his words as she walked over to the long table and took up a seat in the very centre. He pulled up a seat on her right.


    ¡°The Vigils are far more pleasant to deal with than undead because they¡¯re technically more similar to elementals, just elementals composed of death mana,¡± she explained. ¡°Don¡¯t feel pressured to give that phantom too much attention. I can assure you he¡¯s only here due to the commands of his superiors, and that he¡¯d much rather be at home right now.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ if you say so.¡± The sound of the doors opening to show a couple of people filing into the room, along with servants ready to wait on them, showed that it was time for dinner to begin. Vincent straightened up and fixed his polite smile on his face. ¡°It seems our break from the frivolities of nobility has come to an end.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°-and this beautiful silk has been handcrafted by the finest of my artisans!¡± Viscount Naram Eil-Mlimar, the rotund and jovial dark-skinned man from the Tua¡¯Cethla Kingdom Lucy and Vincent had crossed paths with several times before, bowed before the long table Lucille sat at with the Counts. His fingers adorned with precious stones gestured to the boxes overflowing with silks.


    Lucille was receiving the gifts given to her as a congratulations for her debut. The majority of the gifts were attempts to flatter the Counts and Vincent rather than her, but there were still quite a few interesting trinkets.


    One item Lucy did not find appealing, however, was a set of embroidery needles, magical thread and cloth for her to practice haberdashery. She didn¡¯t know a single noble woman who did that as a hobby, but apparently one old-fashioned wife of a noble thought it a good gift for a ¡®young noble¡¯ such as her. As a Count, Lucy would not be sitting there doing normal ¡®ladylike¡¯ things.


    Scytale was in his serpent form and coiled up on the chair to her left. He seemed like he was basking in the attention. Several exotic natural treasures cultivated in the private gardens of nobles had been given to him. Truthfully, there wasn¡¯t much besides natural treasures that a magical beast needed as gifts.


    One thing that was valuable was the gift of the dwarven representative of Rocht¡¯guardes. He had brought along one of their chief craftsmen and were willing to let him remain in her employ for the next ten years. She presumed that word about her locomotive transport had been leaked somehow, and because the Aurelian Commission was the centre for commerce and many craftsmen, many dwarf clans wanted to build closer relations with the Faction.


    Vincent put a hand on her shoulder. ¡°Count Goldcroft, are you pleased with all these gifts?¡± he asked.


    Lucy nodded. ¡°Oh, definitely. This is more than I ever imagined I would be given. I thank you all for the splendid gifts.¡±


    The Viscount bowed and backed away as servants came forward to collect the chests of silks and transport them to where the other gifts were held. Vincent rose from his seat and raised a glass in the air, a smile fixed on his face. ¡°On behalf of my lady, I would like to thank you all for attending, as I thanked you one the day you arrived. But I cannot leave this meal here without calling to your attention the visitors from the other realms who have graced us with their presence. While the Empire might be a mighty power in the Tower, these realms have their powers to rule them.¡±


    He sat down, and the doors at the end of the dining hall opened to reveal a man in his late thirties with flowing green-gold robes and an ornamental hairpiece in his topknot. He walked forward as servants behind him carried a platform covered in treasures that released the unique auras of spiritual qi.


    ¡°It is my honour to meet the new Head of the Aurelian Commission,¡± the man began haughtily. He clasped his hands together and bowed slightly. ¡°I am Sect Elder Guo Jiang of the Seven Earthly Instruments Sect. I come with gifts for your prosperity and to share with you some of the many wonders of the Heavenly Realm.¡± He gestured to the front of the platform, which was covered in an assortment of unique instruments. He selected a long, narrow tube of bamboo with a delicate tassel hanging off of it and bowed again while holding it out.


    ¡°As is in our name, our Sect is well known for their craftsmanship of fine tools of melody,¡± he continued calmly. ¡°This one here has been named the Spring Wind Dao Jade Bamboo Dizi, a five-star Dao Treasure.¡±


    The audience began to whisper, while Lucy made a show of widening her eyes. Vincent held his chin. ¡°A Dao Artifact¡­ one of your craftsmen imbued the power of their Dao into this item?¡±


    Guo Jiang bowed again, still holding the item. ¡°It is the most valuable of our gifts. If we could be so honoured, may the Aurelian Commission Head wish to test this item herself?¡±


    Lucille pretended to open her mouth to reply, but then hesitated and looked at Vincent. Vincent nodded and she got up from her chair to walk down from the raised platform of the dining table and stand before the man. Sect Elder Guo Jiang passed it to her, looking calm and indifferent.


    Lucy studied the exquisitely carved instrument. It may look like a normal gift, but she knew why they had given her a Dao Treasure as a present.


    All I need to do is scan it briefly with my spiritual energy and¡­ there.


    As someone who didn¡¯t have a spiritual root, she couldn¡¯t analyse the power of the Dao imbued within to discover the effects of the item. They claimed it had the power of the ¡®Spring Wind Dao¡¯, a Minor Dao that reflected the power of a seasonal wind, but the purpose of the Dao had yet to be identified.


    Lucille sped up her thoughts to use a copy of the treasure in her Simulacrum Realm and inwardly smirked once she discovered its effects.


    Playing this treasure pacifies the emotions of the user and listeners¡­ a normal-sounding effect, if it weren¡¯t for the fact that the traces of the Dao linger in the listener¡¯s soul. A skilled manipulator of the Dao could utilise the remnants of their qi in unprotected souls and influence their actions.


    And a wood-element First Rate Sect? They no doubt have connections with the Profound Emergent Jade Lotus Sect. I might need to look into this.


    ¡°How¡­ do I play it?¡± she asked expectantly.


    Guo Jiang walked closer and gestured to the holes along the dizi. ¡°This is a wind instrument. You blow lightly into the largest opening and cover the holes along its length to influence the notes.¡±


    She put it up to her mouth and closed her eyes as she pretended to struggle with producing a sound. Then after a second, a low breathy note came out. She lowered it and looked at it with wonder.


    Guo Jiang bowed. ¡°It appears you must be naturally talented, Count Goldcroft. I¡¯m sure a tutor in the art of playing the Dizi would allow your talent to flourish.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a beautiful instrument.¡± She placed it back onto the platform and ran up the stairs to sit next to Vincent again.


    Her aide adjusted his glasses and nodded to the Sect Elder. ¡°Guo Jiang of the Seven Earthly Instruments Sect, this is a wonderful gift. Perhaps the Commission should purchase several instruments from your Sect for the orchestras of the Counties.¡±


    ¡°It is only a small gift.¡± The Sect Elder bowed one last time and backed away. Lucy¡¯s eyes were narrowed slightly as she watched him leave.


    While the Heavenly Realm flute equivalent had the ability to influence people¡¯s actions, it wasn¡¯t an innately harmful gift. Dao Treasures were usually crafted to become the Life Treasure of the cultivator who used it, a way for them to use their learned Daos more frequently and reduce the strain on their cultivation bases. In the event that another obtained the Dao Treasure crafted by someone else, they¡¯d use the treasure to attempt to comprehend the Dao of its crafter as well as glean insights to further their own comprehension.


    If this was the Heavenly Realm, it would actually be a very valuable gift, because a senior cultivator had bestowed their Dao in a way that could allow a young cultivator to make quick progress from following their footsteps. But this was the Mystical Realm, where none of them had a way to comprehend the Dao, and few had the powerful souls that could protect against the qi¡¯s effect.


    If the item¡¯s effect gets revealed, they can claim it was a small misstep on their behalf due to the normal value of the item, and if I ended up using it more frequently they have a possible way of influencing me and the people around me. What makes this complicated is that this could possibly have connections to Leng Xiuying. She¡¯s one of the few outside the Aurelian Commission who know my soul age. She also knows I have an incredibly powerful soul for someone who came from the Mystical Realm.


    If this was a result of the Sect Leader¡¯s machinations, was she trying to send Lucille a message, or search out more information about her? It could be that she was suspicious that Lucy might¡¯ve been a reincarnated cultivator. Reincarnation was certainly a more frequent occurrence for cultivators than mages and wizards. And if Lucy had somehow found a way to use magic and the abilities of the Heavenly Realm at the same time¡­ she¡¯d be the most valuable asset for either realm, and a reason for war between them.


    What I don¡¯t get is why Leng Xiuying would be interested in me that much. Their Sect is the fifth-ranked Heavenly Sect, the weakest of the five. Their Sect is known for being the most peaceable and non-competitive of the five, with a focus on pill alchemy, music and the Four Great Arts for comprehending the Daos.


    Lucy had never had much interaction with the Heavenly Sects. She had spent her fair share of time in the Heavenly Realm, but it was because of her curiosity about its past and why they had demon beasts when demons were supposed to be native to only the Demon Realm. She had also been curious about its cosmological structure, as the Heavenly Realm has structurally segmented into one large realm, the true ¡®Heavenly Realm¡¯, with the Earthly and Mortal Realms below that for cultivators to ascend through.


    She idly tapped a finger on the table and ignored Vincent¡¯s strange looks as others came forward to present their gifts.


    Someone has been spreading my image throughout a Minor Plane. The Profound Emergent Jade Lotus Sect owns many tea houses, auction houses and restaurants. They have the most control over propaganda and social image control.


    ¡­it seems things are getting complicated. I might end up advancing my plans for the Heavenly Realm sooner than I thought.


    But not before the debut was over and she could meet with Efratel, Marellen, Garthe and Larena again. And meet the future Sovereign Sorceress of Frostfire in person for the first time.

 Chapter 77 (1 of 2) How to thwart a plot to seek attention.

    "¡­so now I''d like to invite Marvin Goldcroft the CEO of the largest corporation in the world, Medallion, to come up to the podium and give his words on this tragedy that has afflicted us."


    Harold McGuire stepped away from the podium and walked over to the row of seats to the side. A large crowd of journalists and news reporters were spread out before their stage, but none of the individuals on the stage let it phase them. As he saw down, he patted the CEO on the shoulder and sent him a serious look.


    Marvin nodded slightly and walked up to the podium. He adjusted his tie and coughed into his fist before placing two hands on the podium. "These past few months have been the hardest time of my life," he began solemnly. "I am known for being the founder of Medallion. I''ve been called a miracle-working entrepreneur, some places have even cited me as a genius. But while building up my business has had its fair share of problems¡­ it is nothing compared to the fear of what unknown fate one of my few remaining family members has received."


    Mutters began to break out among the reporters, but Marvin coughed again and straightened up. "Lucille is my great niece. She''s the daughter of my brother''s son, and we have raised her since she''s been five. There have been many rumours spread among the business world that she is not up to standard to follow in my footsteps, but let me tell you now." He narrowed his eyes at the journalists and broadcast crew. "Never have I considered letting anyone else take over Medallion when I retire." He shook his head sadly. "I only wish that I said this to the world before her disappearance. She is family, someone with incredible intellect, and I can only say that I believe in my great niece that she will be found-"


    ''It''s rare to hear you praising me, Marvin. Please, do it more.''


    Shut up.


    He stopped himself from rubbing his temples when the dryly sarcastic voice of his niece echoed in his head. Her ability or ''Origin Skill'' as she called it seemed to be very versatile and allowed her to establish a mental communication channel with him, but even if she couldn''t actually see his thoughts, he didn''t appreciate her frequent comments on his decisions regarding the spreading of the Simulacrum Realm access throughout Earth.


    "-whether it be because she finds a way to send a message, or the capable forces of the Esper Union that are working tirelessly to find out how a thousand members of the biodomes disappeared without notice." He sent Harold a polite nod for good measure and turned back to the crowd. "I will spare no expense to find my niece and the missing members of our youthful generation. It is due to this fact that I am here to announce that the search for the missing thousand will be fully funded by me!"


    An uproar sounded throughout the crowd and the journalists and reporters tried to push forward to send their hovering drone microphones closer to him, attached with speakers to shout their questions louder than the competition. An electric blue hexagonal energy shield rebuffed them all, causing them to be pushed back several metres.


    "That is what I wanted to say," Marvin finished solemnly. "But before I step away from the podium, I would like to present to you our most honoured guest here today, the one in the centre of all of the World Government''s actions: The World Government President, Edison Williams."


    Whispers broke out as a man walked onto the stage, flanked on each side by two well-built bodyguards fully armoured in Exosuits, cores of power glowing in their centres. The man appearing in his early 40s was wearing a black suit and his dark hair combed back. Edison Williams smiled calmly and took Marvin''s outstretched hand to shake.


    "I would like to discuss a few things with you later," Edison said in a low voice near Marvin''s ear, in a way that prevented any camera from getting a clear recording of his mouth.


    "¡­yes, as would I," Marvin replied, but he imperceptibly gripped the President''s hand tighter before they let go. He felt the strangely cool rush of what his great niece called spiritual power'' as he saw the mark briefly appear on the man''s hand, invisible to anyone but him. Marvin pulled away and stood beside the President as Edison William walked forward.


    Is it done?


    ''Yes. Edison Williams has been given access to the Simulacrum Realm. Very soon you''ll be having a meeting in the realm between you, him and Harold to discuss the implications of my ability and the proof of the coming of the Tower.''


    "Marvin Goldcroft''s actions will be a support for many grieving families over the coming days, I''m sure," Williams said as he glanced at Marvin. He smiled at the audience and spread his hands. "I''m honoured to be invited to such an important event. Before I give my speech, however, I would like to request for you, Marvin Goldcroft, to open the Missing Thousand Charity Event."


    Marvin walked forward with a nod and placed his hands flat on the podium. "As the owner of Medallion and one of the many affected by the disappearance of a thousand of our young adults," he shouted grandly. "I thank you all for coming, and-"


    <hr>


    "-wish you all enjoy yourselves at this spectacular event to honour this new era of the Aurelian Commission," Lucille finished, holding out a glass of wine and smiling brightly at the guests. Polite claps resounded from the people sitting at the long table and she sat down, placing her glass back in its spot.


    After she had said that, the important guests at the private luncheon event began to have discussions. As she was the ''central'' figure of the debut, she had to sit at the end of most importance with Vincent and the three Counts on her right. Opposite them were the highest-ranked guests who had come to the debut ¨C distant Duchy relatives, Marquesses, and such. Of course, as Vincent was the ''true'' Commission Head, it meant none of them wanted to talk to her because clearly she had nothing important to say.


    Vincent wasn''t actually placed directly on her right, however. That spot was reserved for her ungrateful bond. Scytale seemed to be enjoying his food, although looks of distaste were sent his way by the ''sophisticated'' nobles opposite him. Scytale had never cared about anyone else''s opinions, whether it be racial discrimination or judgment of his nonexistent eating manners.


    When he had finished eating the entirety of his apple-shaped natural treasure, including the core ¨C she was disgusted by that fact ¨C he crossed his arms and glanced at her.


    ''I''m bored. Can I leave?''


    No.


    ''But nobody is even talking to us! Vincent''s doing fine on his own, so let''s just retire for the day and head back to the Headquarters-''


    Not happening. I''m the ''host'' of this event. I can''t leave a table filled with the most important allies of the Commission.


    ''But what about meeee-''


    You''re my bond so you stay here.


    ''I bet you only want me to stay so I suffer along with you.''


    Well¡­


    ''I knew it!''


    She hid a smirk when she heard her bond''s mental cries of injustice behind a sip of her drink and absentmindedly scanned the guests at the table, using the ''Shard'' to pay extra close attention to the several who had connections to the Malediction Society. She wouldn''t be able to kill them and she was sure Lucius''s subordinates already knew of their identities, but the aim was to weaken the Malediction Society''s connections to Olden and any other major political faction so that when it finally went under, it wouldn''t affect the Empire too drastically.


    Now that Lucille had officially had her first debut in front of the entire Empire, then the nobles would finally start either supporting her or directly confronting her. The Commission was a neutral force with major financial power that they could wield more freely compared to other forces like the Duchies and Marches. She had expected some to begin acting on their plots already, but it was nearing the end of the month and the guests were set to leave in three days.


    ''Is Annaliese going to come next month?''


    I believe so. I haven''t sent her any letters due to the possibility of it getting intercepted while this event is ongoing, and for that same reason I think Jasten Albrecht hasn''t allowed Annaliese to send any letters to us. But it''s been two months since Annaliese saw us and she''ll want to complain about it to us.


    ''Yay, at least things will be entertaining around here.''


    Entertaining¡­ you could say that. The fortieth floor will be very busy next week.


    ''?''


    Lucy politely nodded when Vincent gestured to her for some reason relating to the discussion he was having with the noble opposite him and placed a forkful of food in her mouth as she considered how many people were going to be there.


    Me, Scytale, Sedric, Hargrave, Annaliese, Sir Albrecht, Raegan, Marellen, Trisroa, Larena, Garthe¡­ and Vincent if you ignore the fact he lives in his estate in the evenings. A full twelve people. Will I be able to get a break?


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Maybe she should do a Hargrave and run off to another plane to slaughter monsters and avoid socialising. Unfortunately, she had more responsibilities than the wanted ex-mercenary. Which included the luncheon she was currently participating in.


    The luncheon would be a meal with all the most important nobles, but during afternoon tea, Lucy would be having her first formal meal without Vincent by her side during the debut. The reason for that was because, for her plans to work, Vincent needed an opportunity to talk with the titled nobles alone. That left her in charge of running afternoon tea in the Pavilion for all the untitled nobles of ''her age''.


    So she would be stuck with a bunch of hormonal teenagers and haughty young noble brats in the afternoon. Her only comfort was that Scytale would always be worse than any of them. Which wasn''t much of a comfort when she thought about it.


    Her great-uncle was doing well with the charity event. He always was one to take advantage of any opportunity to increase his reputation and influence. The fact he knew where she was and could control how much effort to put into the event was extremely beneficial for him.


    As Harold McGuire and Stephen Lawrence had also attended, many people had been branded with spiritual energy and given access to the Simulacrum Realm due to the copious amounts of hand-shaking that occurred. The Simulacrum Realm was like a type of highly infectious spiritual disease or virus, spreading through physical contact and utterly invulnerable to any kind of medicine.


    And my ultimate goal will be to infect all the realms, allowing me to create an omnipresent communication system that will only be noticed by the people infected when it''s already too late.


    ''Wow, evil much?''


    How is it evil? I''m going to be providing free internet access to every sapient thing in existence.


    ''Knowledge corrupts!''


    Ah, so you must be completely incorrupt as you''re the most unknowledgeable creature to ever live.


    ''Yeah- no, wait.''


    Why are we discussing this again?


    ''Because we''re both bored!''


    She quietly clicked her tongue in a way that wouldn''t be heard by anybody nearby and leaned back in her chair. Count Ravimoux shot her a smirk and a knowing look, likely feeling the same as her about the entire situation. Lucille finished the rest of her glass and held it out to a nearby servant for them to top it out.


    The sooner this debut is over, the sooner I can visit the Counties and do something interesting for a change.


    ¡­


    "Lady Goldcroft."


    Lucille ignored the call and instead watched the other young nobility seated at the circular tables of the Gilded Dome Hall''s gardens. She knew that someone had said her name, obviously, but the way they had chosen to go about irritated her.


    "Lady Goldcroft? Lady Goldcroft, can you hear me?"


    Lucy prevented herself from sighing and instead turned to blink innocently at the young blonde-haired woman in her early twenties. A luxurious scarlet dress adorned the woman''s figure and she held a fancy fan.


    "I apologise, I didn''t register you speaking to me due to the unfamiliar title," Lucy replied pleasantly.


    "Ah, of course." The woman hid her smirk behind her fan. "You haven''t been among the noble class for very long now, so of course you''d be unaccustomed to the title of ''Lady''."


    "Hm? Oh no, it wasn''t that." Lucille shook her head and returned to watching an animated conversation another table was having about the estimated winners of the upcoming Glory Pantheon Championship.


    "Then would you care to enlighten me?" The woman casually sat in the seat next to Lucy ¨C a stupid decision considering who it belonged to ¨C and closed her fan.


    Lucy glanced back. "I''m a titled noble, so my title would be ''Count Goldcroft'' before being called ''Lady Goldcroft''." She pretended to hesitate. "Or am I allowed to refer to other titled nobles as ''lady'' or ''lord''? I''m still not sure about noble etiquette¡­"


    The woman narrowed her eyes while smiling. "Oh no, you mustn''t do that. I sincerely apologise for confusing you. Referring to you as ''Lady Goldcroft'' was a mistake on my part."


    "Ah." Lucy nodded once, then blinked and turned back to the lady. "Excuse me, but I don''t recall who you are. What family were you part of again?"


    A look of mild irritation crossed the blonde-haired woman''s face but she still replied, "I am the fourth daughter of the Weatherby Dukedom of the 16<sup>th</sup> Major Kingdom, Sheralis Weatherby, Count Goldcroft."


    "A pleasure to talk to you." Lucille glanced at the chair the woman was sitting on. "But that seat is taken, so you may have to stand if you wish to continue this conversat-"


    "Hey, Lucy! Have you tried the raspberry pie yet? It tastes great with a truckload of cream on- wait, who are you?"


    Scytale stared at the random noble sitting in his seat. A piece of half-eaten pie was still in his bare hand, earning him a look of contempt from the noblewoman.


    "And who might you be?" Lady Weatherby tapped on her chin with the fan and narrowed her eyes at Lucy''s bond, not knowing she was making a mistake. "Clearly you''re one of the lower nobles the Count here has gracefully allowed to attend this event. Eating in such a vulgar manner¡­" She studied Scytale and then smirked slightly. She leant forward to see Scytale''s eyes better. "However, now that I see you closer¡­ you seem to have a high affinity for the light element. If you''re a member of the Citadel then I give you my deepest apologies."


    "Uh¡­ no, not a member of the Citadel, sorry. Just someone who wants his seat back, which you are sitting on." Scytale signalled to Lucy with his eyes sending across a message vaguely equivalent to ''Who the heck is this delusional crackpot?'' .


    "Ha. Your seat." Lady Weatherby smirked derisively and turned to Lucy. "Count Goldcroft, could I request that you enlighten us both as to who this seat belongs to?"


    Lucille took one look at the chair and pointed at the noblewoman. "Lady Weatherby, please get off his seat."


    She stared at Lucy in astonishment which quickly turned to anger. She pointed her fan at Scytale. "My apologies, your ladyship, but I should get off for him?"


    "Yep. That''s my seat. Shove off old woman," Scytale said with a yawn, standing next to Lucy after putting his pie on Lucy''s empty plate on the small table in front of her.


    The blonde-haired woman''s face tinged pink. "Excuse me?!"


    Scytale winked at her and then morphed into his serpent form with the glow of his golden aura. He slithered onto Lucille''s shoulders and tilted his feathered head at the woman while Lucy gave him a side eye.


    "You''d think that by being your compeer bond that I''d get better treatment, but nooo, I''m still just a common pleb with poor manners," he complained.


    Lucy decided to take advantage of the moment to frown at the woman. "Lady Weatherby, I don''t like seeing my bond be treated with such disrespect. It might be best for you to leave now."


    With a huff, the noblewoman stood up and walked off. Scytale flew onto his chair and returned to his human form to stuff the remnants of his pie into his pie hole. "So, was I good pest control? Do I get a pay rise?"


    "A pay rise from what?" Lucy asked dryly. "We haven''t established any wages for you."


    Scytale pressed his index finger and thumb together in the ''OK'' sign. "I accept incentives in the form of food."


    She rolled her eyes but sighed wryly and leaned back in her chair. "It''s clear that the only discussions people wish to have with me are related to their parents'' political wishes and a desire to know my weaknesses and political alignments. I can tell that they''re all begging to know why the Counties didn''t just replace me with someone else to be a puppet head and allowed the actual inheritor of the pocket watch to stay in power."


    "Huh. Well, good luck sorting that out," her bond replied with the sort of nonchalance that could only come from taking no responsibility whatsoever for anything. "Anyway, while I haven''t met them yet, I spotted those two Alichanteu brat- I mean heirs over on the other side of the garden clearing. Might want to check that out."


    "Hmm¡­" Lucy glanced at the other nearby tables, but all of those conversations were pleasant, for the most part. She nodded and grabbed her cane from where it was leaning against the table. "Let''s go see what petty arguments those half-brothers have decided to begin."


    They walked over to the other side of the clearing and lo and behold, Artair and Arwen were facing each other. Many nobles were watching the confrontation, and they cleared out of the way when they saw her coming. The two half-brothers didn''t seem to notice and kept gazing at each other.


    Arwen, the younger of the two with brown hair, had a smirk on his face with his arms crossed. "It has been a while since we''ve seen each other, dear brother. You''ve been busy holing yourself up in our father''s study these last few months."


    "As the oldest heir of Alichanteu, it is my duty to take up part of our father''s responsibilities," Artair calmly replied.


    "Yes, well¡­" Arwen''s smirk grew wider. "I''m sure if one of us was acknowledged as the successor, Count Goldcroft would be able to provide our County aid. As it is, we''re facing significant losses by being at this standstill."


    "¡­our County still remains prosperous." Artair eyed his brother with suspicion. "Is there a reason why you want to bring this up, Arwen?"


    "The County vassals are getting tired of waiting." Arwen narrowed his eyes and approached his taller older brother. "External influence might be the deciding factor that can allow a new successor to be chosen."


    Artair frowned even more. "Arwen, this is not a conversation to be held in this sitting. Even more importantly, the Aurelian Commission is part of the neutral faction. We will not let ''external influences'' affect the inheritance processes we''ve carried over millennia," he stated solemnly.


    Lucille walked closer and the sound of her footsteps alerted the two half-brothers to her arrival. She smiled and leaned heavily on her cane as Scytale observed them curiously next to her. "Yes, this talk of ''outside influences'' feels very arbitrary. What need does the Commission have for others to control what we do?"


    Artair looked slightly apprehensive to see her again and bowed stiffly. Arwen gave her a flattering bow. "Count Goldcroft. What an honour it is to see you again. I have been waiting patiently for the day an invitation to visit you would come my way, and I was delighted to receive your invitation to this marvellous¡­" His words died off as he saw her bright, very fake smile.


    "It''s a pleasure to see you both again. We haven''t seen each other since the last debut," she replied calmly.


    Arwen smirked and glanced at Scytale next to her. "You seem to be very close to the individual beside you, Count Goldcroft. Would you care to introduce him to me?"


    "You mean introduce him to you both," she stressed with another fake smile.


    "¡­yes, that''s what I meant."


    Lucy placed a hand on Scytale''s shoulder. "Well, this here is-"


    Scytale walked forward and raised a palm. "Yo. My name''s Scytale. I''m her snake," he said while pointing to Lucy. Once he had done that he placed his hands behind his head and walked off. "Alright, I''m going off to have more snacks. The food here is great."


    Lucille gave her bond a dull look as he left the crowd of nobles, all sporting strange expressions. "¡­he would be my compeer bond," she finished dryly.


    Arwen smiled. "I see. Then I''ll have to endeavour to talk with your bond more frequently."


    "Yeah, sure, whatever!" Scytale called back.


    Lucille checked her gloves and glanced at Arwen. "The reason why I came over here was because I was curious, Sir Arwen. Who exactly where these ''external influences'' you mentioned?"


    Artair grimaced as Arwen gained a confident grin and straightened up. It was clear he was becoming cocky due to the attention he was receiving. "As, well, I was thinking that because we have so many prestigious personnel here today, that it may be worthwhile to hear their statements about the competence of my brother and I-"


    Arwen droned on but he didn''t notice the way Lucy stiffened up for a brief moment as a strange, uninvited individual entered her perception field and watched them all from a nearby hedge.


    ''Uh, Lucy-''


    I can sense them. Hostility level?


    ''No killing intent at all.''


    A plot for reputation or distraction then. But who for? ¡­.ah.


    One of the youngest sons of a Major Kingdom Duke had withdrawn a hidden dagger from his sleeve and had it carefully hidden from view. A quick message from Scytale informed her that he had no killing intent towards her or the intruder.


    ''What do you think their plan is?''


    A test to see if I''m hiding anything, and a way to make the Commission owe them a favour. They''re going to stage an attack against me and ''save'' me.


    ''Do we let them?''


    No. If they want to see if I''m hiding anything, then I just need to reveal something to side track them. When the intruder launches their attack, we retaliate with full force. Bonus points for making the dukedom descendant admit to their plot.


    ''Got it. I''ll change into my serpent form now. He seems pretty close to attacking, so just give me the go ahead.''


    Lucille focused intently on the body language of the ducal young lord and some of his vassals, who were clearly aware of the plot. As the intruder in the back shifted on the spot slightly, Lucy slowly put a hand to where Ouroboros was.


    "-so I''m sure this will be the motivation Alichanteu needs to appoint a successor. Don''t you agree, Count Goldcroft?" Arwen blinked. "Count Goldcroft? Is something wro-"


    Now!


    Instead of responding she whirled around and unsheathed her spirit weapon. The silvery-white blade activated its shield skill and cured into a dome around her. The black-cloaked intruder''s longsword bounced off the shield with a loud clang and pushed them back. Her sudden reaction made the ducal young lord behind her hesitate as he hadn''t been as quick as her to defend.


    Lucy didn''t stop at just defending and pulled out Apophis. The demonic snake-sword crackled with violent power above her head and shattered the ground in front of the attacker''s feet. They hastily backpedalled and she saw them make brief eye contact with the ducal young lord. Some message must''ve been passed because the attacker turned around and activated some sort of speed skill to escape, clearly abandoning the scheme.


    30-metres of magically armoured winged snake slammed into him and bowled him over as Scytale''s Lightspeed Sky Predator Aspect enhanced his speed drastically. Scytale hissed and wrapped his tail around the intruder as they struggled futilely to escape his coils. Scytale covered the attacker with his wings to keep them enclosed.


    "I have them, Lucy!"


    Lucy stayed silent for a couple of seconds, acting as if she was frozen. Then she whirled around with a mock look of panic on her face and looked to the stunned young nobles for help. "Someone get a servant, quick! There has just been an attack at the event, and we need to inform the Counties!" She ran up to a nearby waiter and shook him, trying to look as nervous as possible. "Can you go find Vincent for me? He needs to come here as fast as possible. Preferably with Count Chavaret and Count Ravimoux too. They''re in charge of the security for this event."


    "I- uh, Sir Evisenhardt?" the servant asked, still shocked by what had happened. "Yes, I''ll go get him. Stay safe, Commission Head."


    He ran away, leaving Lucy to breath out a sigh of relief. She turned around and blinked when she saw the stares of the nobles, who were still looking at the ominous Apophis next to the oscillating Ouroboros near her. "Ah." She scratched her cheek and tried to look sheepish. "Did the Counties never tell anyone I could fight? They should''ve. It''s the only reason why I''m still the Commission Head, after all¡­"

 Chapter 77 (2 of 2) How to thwart a plot to seek attention.

    Lucille leaned out of her living room window, watching the last noble who had come for the event leave the Headquarters. Many of them met with her afterwards for business and other matters, but it was now time for the last of them to leave. As soon as they took their first step out of the garden gates¡­


    Lucille slammed the shutters of the window closed and whirled around. ¡°And good riddance! I intend to avoid all nobles for the next month as best as I can!¡±


    Vincent, who was sitting on a couch, raised an eyebrow and pointed at himself. ¡°I¡¯m a noble too.¡±


    ¡°Yes. So please vacate my living quarters and stay away from the Commission for the following month, Vincent,¡± she replied cheerily.


    He rolled his eyes as she walked forward to sit down on the couch with a smirk. Scytale was nearby, fiddling with some strange puzzle box toy a noble had gifted her as a present. She didn¡¯t know why he bothered. It would be a fruitless endeavour for someone of Scytale¡¯s brain size to attempt the puzzle.


    As she expected, he scowled and threw the puzzle box against the opposite side of the room. It bounced back and he ducked to dodge the flying object. ¡°Those things are stupid. ¡®Amazing treasure inside¡¯, yeah right.¡± He stood up and leaned his arms on the back of Lucy¡¯s couch. ¡°Anyway, Annaliese coming tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°She should be,¡± Lucy said as she checked her pocket watch. ¡°Ideally, I would¡¯ve told her to come slightly later so I have time to discuss things with the sponsored party, but¡­¡± She sighed and snapped the watch shut. ¡°I assumed she would find a way to visit me anyway. I¡¯ll just have to tell her to not bother the party members.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right¡­¡± Scytale jumped over the couch and landed next to her. ¡°Lucy, what are you going to do about Trisroa?¡±


    She opened her mouth to reply but Vincent interrupted with a hand on his chin. ¡°The elf you¡¯re sponsoring who has dual affinities? Is there something important about¡­¡± He paused as he recalled the first conversation they had about the elven mage and stared at Lucy. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that she¡¯s another figure like Hargrave that you wanted to make a connection with?¡±


    ¡°She was never wanted or a criminal, if that is what you¡¯re asking.¡± Lucille picked up a cup to sip some coffee she poured for herself. ¡°But she was a highly powerful figure, yes. She became a sorceress later in life, but if she chooses to remain a mage this time, then I won¡¯t interfere.¡±


    ¡°Why do you even need to ¡®gather¡¯ these sorts of people?¡± Vincent asked with a bemused look on his face. ¡°You saved Raegan, organised a contract with Hargrave, and you¡¯ve also sponsored someone who has the potential to become an amazing magic wielder?¡±


    Lucy hummed and studied the depths of her drink ¡°To keep them away from certain¡­ people.¡±


    Vincent narrowed his eyes. ¡°People?¡±


    ¡°Yes, people.¡± She closed her eyes and took another sip. ¡°I¡¯m not just supporting those with amazing talent, Vincent. If I wanted to do that, then there is a whole host of individuals I could support, from successors who became the future lords of their fiefdoms, to cultivators who have hidden Physiques that only get revealed later. The people I¡¯m supporting now, however, are those who can reach even greater heights if the events of their past pay out differently.¡±


    Vincent crossed his arms and thought about it. ¡°Does that include Marellen Vadel? Was he an impressive mage last time?¡±


    ¡°Hm? Marellen?¡± She looked up from her coffee and blinked. ¡°Oh, no. I had never heard of him before I met him in this timeline. I¡¯m almost certain he died before he could reach Rank-3.¡±


    ¡°I- then why are you sponsoring him?¡± Vincent asked with mild exasperation. It seemed like he felt her answers conflicted.


    Lucille smirked and rested her chin on her hand. ¡°Vincent, I¡¯ve long accepted the fact that not everything I knew in the past will be the same. If I sponsor one talent, then it¡¯s possible that someone with greater talent that I¡¯ve been expecting won¡¯t reach their full potential. Sometimes, people just need the right opportunities, and what I¡¯m doing right now is changing the opportunities.¡±


    Vincent pinched his nose bridge. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll just accept that I can¡¯t understand your mental processes as I always do.¡± He sighed and adjusted his tie as he stood up from the couch, then glanced at her. ¡°I need to talk the Gilded Dome Hall curator about the clean up measures. I¡¯ll see you in a bit.¡±


    She nodded and raised an eyebrow at her bond, who had walked over to pick up the puzzle cube. ¡°And what are you doing, Scytale?¡±


    ¡°Going to see if Sedric knows his way around this stupid thing,¡± he muttered sourly.


    ¡°You may end up feeling more irritated in the event he solves it,¡± she remarked dryly.


    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m smarter than that.¡° he pointed at his head and grinned. ¡°See, if Sedric doesn¡¯t get it to open, I can gloat about how he can¡¯t do it either, but if he does open it, I get whatever is inside because I¡¯m not going to tell him there¡¯s something in here. Win-win, see?¡±


    She shook her head and finished the rest of her coffee. ¡°Suit yourself. Don¡¯t annoy him if he¡¯s crafting, however.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, later, goodbye.¡±


    He changed into his serpent form and flew out the door with the box in his mouth, leaving Lucille in peace. She hummed and stood up to walk over to the window, looking out.


    It seems our ex-mercenary friend has returned. Should I greet him?


    ¡­


    Lucille walked into the side lobby that she knew Hargrave had entered, waiting for him. Then something about him caught her notice and she turned to stare down the hall he was walking.


    Honestly, I should¡¯ve expected this, but¡­


    Hargrave appeared around the corner, scratching his head. He looked up and blinked when he saw her. ¡°Oh, hello, Lucille.¡±


    ¡°¡­yes, welcome back Hargrave. You look¡­¡± She didn¡¯t finished her sentence and tilted her head.


    Hargrave gained a confused look. ¡°Has something about me changed?¡±


    Has he not seen a mirror yet?


    Hargrave¡¯s haircut, courtesy of Annaliese, was still the same, and nothing about his facial features had changed. His hair and eyes though¡­


    Several thick sections of his formerly blood-red hair had turned to a deep blue, and fragments of the same colouration had appeared in his amber eyes like splinters of other gems were mixed in. She could detect the powerful draconic bestial presence cloaking him like a suit of armour, but she couldn¡¯t draw her attention away from his new hair colour.


    He looked like a parrot. Specifically, a macaw.


    ¡°¡­nothing of consequence,¡± she eventually replied. ¡°Was your trip successful?¡±


    Hargrave looked down at his hand and clenched his fist. ¡°I feel¡­ much more powerful. And my race has changed,¡± he told her. ¡°Although, the System has kept my original race as a human on my Status. It¡¯s tagged dragon beast onto the end of it.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± she replied with a smile. ¡°I already received notice from the people stationed at the outpost that they¡¯ll be sending the bounty of the fallen draconic monster over, but I¡¯d like to check the Source and Bloodline Containment and Purifier to see if damage has been done to its internal mana circuits.¡±


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    He nodded and opened up his dimensional skill to pass her the source container sphere and the bloodline canister. Lucille held up the canister to inspect the lingering traces of purified blood still on it, and then she glanced at him. ¡°No complications with the purification of the bloodline and dragon heart?¡±


    Hargrave shook his head. ¡°I overcame the residual will of the monster.¡±


    So, in other words, he struggled fiercely and managed to erase the will of the monster after a long trying time, because he¡¯s not someone who would ever admit to facing difficulty.


    ¡°Very good. Once you¡¯ve had some time to rest, I might ask to see the new draconic bloodline magic you can use.¡± Lucille smiled at him. ¡°That was one of the reasons for me to form a contract with you in the first place.¡±


    He blinked, surprised, but Lucy waved the canister as she turned around. ¡°I¡¯ll take these to the vault for safekeeping. We never know what might happen if word somehow managed to leak out that you have successfully gained a bloodline using this device.¡±


    ¡°¡­right.¡± He nodded solemnly, Eolith still gripped in his left hand.


    ¡°Ah.¡± Lucy paused as a thought came to mind and she turned around. ¡°Five unique individuals will be arriving at the Commission tomorrow. I intend to allow them to stay for a while. They consist of two mercenaries and two mages that I¡¯ve been sponsoring, as well as their manager.¡±


    Hargrave hesitated. ¡°¡­mercenaries?¡±


    ¡°Larena Barbosas and her brother, Garthe,¡± she informed him. ¡°Larena is a member of the Black Hand¡¯s Shadow Blade Division, known as the Raven¡¯s Wing. She wields a longsword and has affinities for dark and water.¡±


    He thought about it for a while and shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t recall ever meeting her.¡±


    Lucy nodded. ¡°Good. She won¡¯t have any reason to suspect who you are either, because you¡¯re now a ¡®magical beast¡¯ ¨C or at least virtually indistinguishable from one. Just avoid using any abilities you¡¯ve learnt from Glory Pantheon and you¡¯ll be fine.¡± She glanced over her shoulder and then smirked at him. ¡°I think Scytale wants to meet up with you. He wants to know what it¡¯s like for you to become a magical beast, and he¡¯s been itching to fight someone for a while. Use him as your training dummy when you need to test out your bloodline magic.¡±


    ¡°Ha¡­¡± Hargrave wryly shook his head, making Lucy blink as she realised he seemed to be amused by that. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll go help him loosen up in a few hours.¡±


    She smiled and turned back around to walk off. ¡°Anyway, the reason why I was informing you of those guests is just so you know not to be too awkward around them. They¡¯re all pretty easy people to be around, even the elven mage. You can relax.¡±


    ¡­


    Once Hargrave had stored Eolith and his armour away, he ended up heading to Lucille¡¯s living room because that was where Scytale most likely was. Scytale had been lounging sideways on one of the couches and raised a hand with his eyes closed to point at Hargrave.


    ¡°Let me guess¡­ judging from the footsteps and the draconic presence I feel¡­ it¡¯s Hargrave, right?¡±


    ¡°Lucille would¡¯ve told you that,¡± Hargrave stated, not fooled for one second.


    Scytale clicked his tongue and sat up as he opened his eyes. ¡°Come on, you don¡¯t believe that I might¡¯ve guessed that on my-¡± He stared at Hargrave when he saw the man¡¯s new appearance.


    Hargrave frowned. ¡°What are you doing? Lucille reacted like that too. Is there something on my face?¡±


    Scytale stood up with wide eyes and leaned to the side to shout out the door. ¡°Hey, Vincent! Who let the tropical bird in?!¡±


    ¡°¡­tropical bird?¡±


    Scytale turned back to Hargrave and jabbed a finger at him. ¡°I¡¯m talking about you, of course! You already had this horrendously uneven haircut, to begin with, and now you look like you¡¯re ready to sprout feathers at any second. Never did I imagine you¡¯d end up with blue hair!¡±


    ¡°I- what? Blue hair? Excuse me?¡± Hargrave was utterly bewildered.


    ¡°Are you blind?¡± Scytale asked, stunned. ¡°Did you not see yourself in a mirror or reflection in a shop or something on the way here?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­ wait.¡± The ex-mercenary turned magical beast hastily looked around. ¡°Is there a mirror or something around here?¡±


    ¡°I can do better than that.¡± Scytale smirked and snapped his fingers. His illusion mana appeared and turned into a reflective surface for the man, just as Lucy could do. ¡°Come take a look at your new makeover, future dragon guy.¡±


    Hargrave frowned and bent slightly to see himself in the illusory mirror. He stared when he saw the sections of his hair that had turned solid blue, giving his hair a patchy look reminiscent of the plumage of parrots. ¡°What in the realms¡­?¡±


    ¡°I mean, as magical beasts our appearances are strongly affected by our affinities,¡± Scytale said, walking around Hargrave to see the man as he looked into the mirror. ¡°So I get why you¡¯ve got blue hair and blue in your eyes now. It¡¯s because of your new water affinity. But wow.¡± Scytale burst out laughing and doubled over, clutching his stomach. ¡°Red and blue hair? Really? Hey Hargrave, can you make a bird noise?¡± He cupped his hands around his mouth. ¡°Like this ¨C Caw Caw!¡±


    Hargrave scowled and lifted up part of his freshly dyed hair, only to drop it again. ¡°I- but I don¡¯t want this!¡±


    Scytale blinked and straightened up. ¡°What, you actually care what you look like? I didn¡¯t expect you to have much opinion about that, looking at how long you left your hair before Annaliese finally fixed it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not so much the colour, it¡¯s just¡­¡± Hargrave squinted at the mirror and then sighed, crossing his arms.


    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­?¡± Scytale prompted.


    Hargrave scratched the back of his neck. ¡°This¡­ will make me¡­ stand out more.¡±


    Scytale gazed blankly at Hargrave. ¡°You¡¯re kidding me,¡± he stated flatly. ¡°You¡¯re worried about standing out more?¡±


    Hargrave frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t see a problem with that. I have a bounty on my head.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not the fact that you don¡¯t want to be noticed that¡¯s the issue, but¡­¡± Scytale continued staring at him for a moment longer and then quickly shook his head and gestured to Hargrave. ¡°Hargrave, buddy, not standing out for you was a lost cause from the very beginning! You¡¯re a six-foot-six built-like-a-titan mercenary with a shocking hairstyle the colour of fresh blood and you wield a spear that anyone can tell with just a glance that it¡¯s straight from the depths of hell itself! A bit of blue in your hair is the least of your problems.¡±


    Hargrave hesitated. ¡°¡­okay, but¡­¡± He scowled as he glanced at the mirror again. ¡°I still don¡¯t like this.¡±


    ¡°Welp, time to toughen up.¡± Scytale patted him on the shoulder and disintegrated the mirror as he sat back down. ¡°The more draconic bloodlines and affinities you collect, the more your appearance will change. You¡¯re going to end up with bona fide rainbow hair by the end of this!¡±


    Hargrave buried his head in his hands. ¡°¡­dammit.¡±


    Scytale shrugged with a cheeky grin on his face. ¡°A small price to pay for the power you want.¡±


    The scarlet ¨C and now blue-haired man ran a hand down his face. ¡°This is why Lucille was staring at me when we met today, wasn¡¯t it? And she told me this was ¡®nothing of consequence¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Hargrave, I highly doubt that you would¡¯ve chosen to abandon the power of a dragon just because you discovered that your hair colour would change,¡± a woman¡¯s wry voice spoke up.


    Scytale and Hargrave glanced back to see Lucy walking into the room with a smirk on her face. She sat down on the opposite end of Hargrave¡¯s couch, and soon a silver-haired aide walked in.


    Vincent paused and gained a strange expression when he saw Hargrave. ¡°Hargrave, you look¡­ different.¡±


    Hargrave could only give him a resentful look and then sighed as he rested his head in his hands again.


    Vincent eyed the man with bemusement as he sat down next to Scytale. He studied Hargrave. ¡°So, you really did become a magical beast instead of a dragon-blooded?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ complicated,¡± Hargrave replied slowly. ¡°I think I¡¯m technically still a ¡®human¡¯, but I can become a magical beast at will.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Vincent observed his new appearance for a moment longer and then shook his head. ¡°Well, at least this is another confirmation that Lucille hasn¡¯t gone senile in her old-¡± He shut his mouth when faced with Lucy¡¯s cold smile.


    ¡°I forgot to mention this to you, Vincent, but unfortunately you¡¯ll have to stay here overnight to finish some work for me,¡± she informed him sweetly. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind the late notice.¡±


    Hargrave glanced between them both with incomprehension. ¡°How can Lucille be going senile when she¡¯s younger than both of us?¡±


    Lucy narrowed her eyes at her aide as Vincent chuckled and shook his head. The silver-haired man took off his glasses to clean them with a cloth. ¡°You still have a lot to learn about this Commission Head here. I recall hearing that you intended to break off contact when seven years were up?¡±


    Hargrave fell silent as a strange look crossed his face. ¡°¡­around then, yes. Six and a half years left now, I guess.¡±


    ¡°Time will go by quicker than you expect,¡± Lucy stated. ¡°Don¡¯t rush to gain more bloodlines too soon.¡±


    Scytale snorted. ¡°Lucy, you¡¯re really sounding your age right now.¡±


    She shot her bond a glare as Vincent muffled his chuckles. Lucy sighed and rested her chin on her hand. ¡°Well, for what it¡¯s worth, I hope you¡¯ve been enjoying your stay here,¡± she said to Hargrave. ¡°I think the new hair colour suits you. You look less like a hardened murderer out for blood at all times of the day and more like a talented warrior of Glory Pantheon.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if that was supposed to be a compliment,¡± Hargrave said, looking bemused.


    ¡°Sure it was.¡± Scytale stuck his thumbs up. ¡°And you¡¯ll look ten times as good when you get your rainbow hair!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s-¡± Hargrave glared at the snake. ¡°I¡¯m going to end up with rainbow hair.¡±


    ¡°You will.¡±


    ¡°I will not.¡±


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯ve been a magical beast for my whole life, and you¡¯ve been a magical beast look-a-like for what, twelve hours? As a magical beast I¡¯m positive that you¡¯re going to end up with rainbow hair.¡±


    Hargrave groaned and rubbed his temples. He was saved from having to deal with anything else out of Scytale¡¯s mouth by a fifth member walking into the room.


    ¡°I came to see what all the fuss was about, but-¡± Sedric took one look at Hargrave¡¯s hair and then turned to the others. ¡°Has Annaliese snuck in here and dyed that guy¡¯s hair when I haven¡¯t noticed? That or he caught some strange disease that colours people¡¯s hair. Is that a thing?¡±


    Hargrave seemed to give up as he rested the back of his head against the couch, to Luc, Scytale and Vincent¡¯s amusement. Lucy smirked and stood up. ¡°No, Annaliese will be coming tomorrow. You should hear what happened from the mouth of the man himself. But I need to take my leave for a while.¡±


    Scytale cocked an eyebrow as he watched her walk past Sedric. ¡°Where are you going?¡±


    She gained a slightly evil grin. ¡°Oh, just to meet some acquaintances of mine. I¡¯ll introduce you to them soon.¡±


    <hr>


    A group of five people stood before the intimidating marble and gold mansion. Two of the individuals were feeling much more overwhelmed than the other three.


    ¡°I feel nervous,¡± Marellen muttered as he brought his staff closer. ¡°I still remember that the Commission Head knew about Archmage Merkenia. What do they want from us?¡±


    ¡°Eh~ I don¡¯t know. Probably just chat, catch a drink-¡± Garthe casually replied.


    Marellen gave him an incredulous look. ¡°The Aurelian Commission Head would want to ¡®catch a drink¡¯ with us?¡±


    ¡°I for one am ready to meet our mysterious sponsor,¡± Roa announced. ¡°She sounds like an intriguing individual and I wish to know her plans for us.¡±


    Marellen turned to stare at the elf. ¡°She?¡±


    Roa quickly looked away and began walking forward. ¡°Please lead us to them, if you would, Efratel.¡±


    The blonde-haired manager grinned and stepped out in front. ¡°Of course. Right this way, everyone! We¡¯ll all be going straight up to the fortieth floor, the living quarters of the Commission Head.¡±


    They walked into the side lobby until they found a lift and Efratel took out a black card embedded with a purple gemstone. Access was quickly verified and the lift shot up, taking them to the highest floor. He pocketed the card as they stepped out of the lift.


    ¡°Now, while you¡¯d be unfamiliar with them, Roa, you don¡¯t need to worry too much about formalities,¡± Efratel began cheerily. ¡°I¡¯ve had them tell me that they prefer for their first name to be used and as at least four of us are familiar with them before they became the Aurelian Commission Head, there is no need to stand on ceremony.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, ¡®four of us¡¯?¡± Marellen stressed.


    The other four turned to stare at him, and then swiftly turned away. ¡°Are we close yet, Efratel?¡± Larena asked.


    ¡°We should be right about¡­ there we go. Here.¡± Efratel knocked on the door of the study. ¡°Count Goldcroft, this is Efratel Vadel. I have brought your sponsored party.¡±


    ¡°Come in,¡± the woman¡¯s voice replied.


    Marellen gained a strange expression, but Efratel pushed open the doors. They entered and then took in the appearance of the young girl sitting behind the desk with her boots kicked up on top. In her white-gloved hands was a gold-tipped cane, and her suit pants were as violently violet as her one visible eye. Her black hair reached halfway down her back and her fringe obscured her eyebrows, while a leather-like mask covered the right side of her face.


    The woman took her boots off the desk and stood up, still holding her cane. She gestured broadly to them with a wide smile on her face. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Larena, Garthe, and Marellen. You too, Efratel. And¡­¡± She dipped her head in the surprised Roa¡¯s direction. ¡°A pleasure to meet you, Roa Winteridge.¡±


    There was silence for a few seconds as Garthe gained a broad grin and Larena smirked, but Marellen simply raised his hand and pointed while staring at her. ¡°You!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Lucille smirked and pointed at herself. ¡°Me.¡±

 Chapter 78 (1 of 2) Casket of Boons or Casket of Curses.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Me.¡±


    The room stayed silent after Lucille had said that. They all took in Marellen¡¯s reaction with amusement. The navy-haired mage was wide-eyed with gold glasses askew, looking utterly flabbergasted.


    Then Marellen hesitated. ¡°Uh¡­ what was your name again?¡±


    Lucy blinked as Efratel ran a hand down his face and the others let out wry sighs. Trisroa watched Lucy with curiosity but didn¡¯t look like she wanted to talk yet.


    Lucille shook her head with a smirk and held up her pocket watch. ¡°My name is Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft, the new Head of the Aurelian Commission. Also, the individual you met before your trip to the Permafrost Glacial Abode Region.¡± She placed the watch on her desk and leaned on her cane as her smirk grew wider. ¡°Your cousin has been informing me of all your interesting worries about who has been sponsoring you and your group.¡±


    ¡°B-But- no, wait- uh¡­¡± Marellen placed two fingers to his temples and closed his eyes as he frowned. ¡°So¡­ you sent Efratel that letter, you were the one who arranged for me to have an unlimited budget in the Athenaeum¡­ and the one who sent me that skill book?¡±


    Lucy grinned and leaned against her desk. ¡°Yes. And just so you know, the only reason why I know what happened between you and Archmage Merkenia was because I was suspicious of why you two were in such a backwater region of the Beast Realm. Out of curiosity, I ended up using Ravimoux¡¯s forces to discover your ordeal, and, well¡­¡± She shrugged. ¡°The rest is history.¡±


    Marellen gazed dully at her for a couple of seconds and then slumped while letting out a long sigh. ¡°I feel like the months I¡¯ve spent worrying about this have all been wasted.¡±


    ¡°They have,¡± Lucy calmly replied. She spread her arms and gestured to them all. ¡°But now that we have finally reached this point, I suggest we sit down to discuss all of our past ventures.¡± She nodded to Trisroa. ¡°And I want to talk more with the one member of your party I¡¯m unfamiliar with.¡±


    ¡°Yet I hear you¡¯re well informed about my affinities and family,¡± Roa replied, marginally raising an eyebrow at Lucille. It seemed she was searching for something.


    Lucy tilted her head. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I be well informed about those I intend to sponsor? If you wish to ask something I will oblige, but for now¡­¡± She turned back to the others and grinned. ¡°Let¡¯s head to one of my sitting rooms.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°-and that was how I ended up deciding to sponsor Efratel and Marellen,¡± Lucille finished, looking at her gloves. She had just told them her side of the story after she became Commission Head and met with Efratel.


    Larena raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms as she sat next to her brother, who was enjoying a muffin that had been brought out as a snack. ¡°That¡¯s a high amount of coincidences leading up to this point.¡±


    ¡°It is what it is.¡± Lucy shrugged. ¡°Becoming the Aurelian Commission Head suited my purposes, so that¡¯s the path I chose.¡±


    Marellen gained a confused look on his face. ¡°Purposes?¡±


    ¡°That is¡­¡± Lucy placed a gloved finger on her lips. ¡°A secret.¡±


    ¡°So, around a quarter to zero per cent of all that made sense to me,¡± Garthe interjected, licking his fingers free of muffin crumbs. ¡°But you¡¯re now Rank-1, right? You were only Rank-0 when we met. And that¡­¡± He pointed at the sheath sticking out from under her suit jacket. ¡°Is a weapon.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes. Another two little things I picked up during the Inheritance Trials.¡± Lucille took out the disguised snake-swords, letting her visitors watch curiously as the daggers levitated. ¡°Twin spirit and demonic weapons. The black one is Apophis and the white one is Ouroboros.¡±


    Garthe squinted at the blades and Larena let out a hum. ¡°So¡­ you¡¯re not a mage?¡±


    Lucy opened her mouth to reply but Marellen looked at Larena. ¡°She has to be though, right? Efratel told me she made quite a few suggestions about how I could improve my understanding of the elements. It was because of her we went to an Old Era plane.¡±


    ¡°No, no, no, at the very start when we first met her she was able to avoid the pursuit of an entire city¡¯s guards for five minutes,¡± Garthe argued. ¡°No mage I know could do that.¡±


    Lucy cocked an eyebrow. ¡°I-¡±


    ¡°I was considering the possibility of her being a unique variant of the sorcerer class,¡± Roa mused. ¡°Granted, I¡¯ve never seen a sorcerer capable of contracting both a spirit and a demon due to the two races being so oppositional in nature, but it would explain the high quantity of spiritual energy you described her as having. Perhaps weapon souls operate on different mechanisms. Ah, perhaps she¡¯s a summoner?¡±


    ¡°The person you¡¯re theorising about the abilities of is sitting right before you,¡± Lucille interrupted, feeling slightly amused. ¡°To a certain extent, all of you are right. As of right now, I¡¯m a spellblade. I know magic but have no runic model and my combat abilities consist of a mixture of spell casting and physical combat. And I don¡¯t have any contracts with either of my two weapon souls, only ¡®bonds¡¯, so no, I¡¯m not a sorcerer or summoner.¡± She looked down at Apophis, who appeared to be trying to sever one of Garthe¡¯s bootlaces. ¡°My high spiritual energy is what enables me to bond to both weapons, however.¡±


    ¡°I remember now,¡± Larena smirked and gestured to Roa. ¡°We found out you lied to us about your spiritual energy. That¡¯s a bit mean of you.¡±


    Lucy blinked. ¡°Lied? In what way?¡±


    Roa spoke up, ¡°I only informed Larena after the tale of their meeting with you had been shared that the number of SPRT points you suggested to be able to manipulate that quantity of objects was false. To manipulate so many objects, your SPRT power must have been far higher.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± Lucille nodded and raised a finger. ¡°Technically speaking, I never intended to lie. You all know I had spiritual energy manipulation before Rank-1, let alone Rank-3, which is when I¡¯m supposed to access it. You could say I obtained a benefit regarding my spiritual energy density due to my innate talent, so one point of my SPRT equates to more than a point of one of yours.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ somewhat curious as to why you ever chose a path of increased spiritual energy,¡± Roa replied. ¡°It isn¡¯t standard for anyone except possibly sorcerers outside of cultivators.¡±


    ¡°Well, perfect memory is always a boon,¡± Lucy said with a grin. ¡°But I¡¯m excellent at multitasking.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, Lucille. Now that our first meeting has been mentioned¡­¡± Efratel gestured to her, looking curious. ¡°I recall you said you were in the Violet Luminosity Jungle Region to meet an acquaintance?¡±


    Lucille gained a wide smile. ¡°Right. I did say that. Well, if you¡¯re curious, he¡¯s-¡±


    ¡°Why do I smell food? Aha! Lucy! You¡¯re eating without m- oh.¡± Scytale blinked when he saw the gazes of the others on him and turned to leave the room. ¡°Never mind, do your thing.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t tell if your moments of entrance are opportune or disadvantageous.¡± With a flick of her finger, a gust of wind mana shut the door in front of him and pushed him over to her couch. He fell onto it with a grunt and ran a hand through his ruffled hair, looking disgruntled.


    ¡°This here¡­¡± Lucille gestured to him for the others. ¡°¡­is my bond, Scytale. He¡¯s also a descendant of the Supreme Enclave of the Violet Luminosity Jungle Region.¡±


    Scytale immediately grinned when he realised he was receiving attention. He raised a hand. ¡°Yo.¡± He turned to Lucy. ¡°Who are these guys?¡±


    Lucille frowned at the humanoid snake. ¡°Do you have the memory of a goldfish? I told you before breakfast that I¡¯d be meeting with the group I met before I bonded you.¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡± Scytale waved to them again. ¡°Yeah, anyway, I¡¯m her bond. I¡¯m a winged snake. You guys got names?¡±


    Efratel placed a hand on his chin. ¡°I vaguely recall the rumours about the Aurelian Commission Head¡¯s bond¡­ regardless, I am Efratel Vadel.¡± He placed a hand on Marellen¡¯s shoulder and pointed to the snow elf beside the mage. ¡°My younger cousin, Marellen Vadel, and Roa Winteridge. And these two¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Larena,¡± the woman with dark hair replied with a smile. Garthe grinned and pointed at himself. ¡°Garthe here. The old crone¡¯s brother.¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Larena turned to stare at her brother. ¡°Excuse me?!¡±


    He whistled and pretended to ignore her as the others shot him mildly amused looks. Scytale nodded and kicked his feet up on the small table in the middle of them all. ¡°Cool. Anyway, if you couldn¡¯t tell, I¡¯m the real brains behind this whole operation. Telling nobles what to do, organising events, making more money than I can use, all that sort of thing? Lucy did none of it.¡±


    Lucy gazed silently at her bond for one second and slapped the back of his head. He let out a pained shout when his forehead slammed into the table and he glared at her.


    ¡°Ignore him,¡± she continued dryly. ¡°He¡¯s irrelevant. What we should be discussing is what you plan to do while staying here.¡±


    The others exchanged glances. ¡°Is it something important?¡± Marellen asked.


    ¡°On the contrary, it¡¯s nothing important. I never made any specific plans for what you¡¯ll be doing in the first place.¡± Lucille spread her palms. ¡°I wanted to discuss your visit to the Sundown Continent plane shard, yes, and inspect the artifacts, but besides that, I can¡¯t say I ever intended for there to be much. The Aurelian Commission Headquarters is just the safest place for you to consolidate what you received from your trip out of the gaze of other Commission nobility, including Archmage Merkenia.¡±


    Lucille gestured to the door. ¡°Feel free to use what we have here, however. Getting custom equipment might be a worthwhile endeavour, and there¡¯s a training facility in this building. I¡¯m sure my¡­ other guests will keep you entertained at least.¡±


    ¡°You have others here?¡± Larena said with curiosity.


    ¡°My private crafter, another singular individual I¡¯m sponsoring, and¡­¡± She hesitated for a second. ¡°A group of three with strong connections to the Citadel. A girl and her brother, with their guard. They¡¯re harmless for the most part. She¡¯ll only be here for five days, starting tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll all enjoy having some time to relax,¡± Efratel replied with a smile. ¡°We¡¯ll introduce ourselves to your other guests. We¡¯re the newcomers here.¡±


    ¡°You can do that, but don¡¯t feel too pressured. My crafter and my other sponsored individual like to keep to themselves,¡± Lucy explained. ¡°They¡¯ll just be surprised to see you all.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± They all looked at Marellen as he raised a hand. ¡°Do you possibly have stuff like¡­ books on magic, and¡­ alchemical supplies?¡±


    Lucy leaned her chin on her hand and smiled. ¡°You have free access to every book in the Commission¡¯s Library. Just make sure to return them before Ashale¡¯viaf ¨C the Headquarters¡¯ guardian spirit ¨C becomes annoyed. And all you have to do is show one of these-¡± She held up her black access card embedded with an amethyst. ¡°-to buy whatever you wish in Gilded Seat.¡±


    They stared at her as she pulled out four of the cards and threw them across the room to each of them. She narrowed her eyes and smirked as she pointed at the two mercenaries. ¡°Also, Larena and Garthe ¨C you need to return your cards when you leave my employ.¡±


    ¡°But why?!¡± Garthe exclaimed, making Larena shoot him a dirty look.


    Lucy smiled brightly. ¡°Because you will only have access to all my finances during the duration of your exclusive employment under me. Just like Marellen, Efratel and Tris- I mean, Roa will have access to these cards as long as I sponsor them.¡±


    Garthe clicked his tongue, looking annoyed, but cheered up when he studied the gemstone sparkling in the card. ¡°So¡­ we can buy whatever we want here? Hmm¡­.¡±


    Lucille narrowed her eyes at him again. ¡°The more you spend, the harder I¡¯ll make you work for it, Garthe Barbosas. I¡¯ll ignore anything you spend this week as additional payment for your aid when exploring the Sundown Continent plane shard, but after this week I¡¯ll be requiring you to do tasks if I consider the amount excessive.¡±


    He flinched and pocketed the card. ¡°I¡¯ll be on my best behaviour, oh honourable Count Goldcroft! You have nothing to worry about!¡±


    Larena stretched her arms above her head and looked at Lucy. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be rude, but could we check out our rooms soon? I¡¯d like to put my stuff away before we do anything else.¡±


    Lucille nodded and checked the time on her pocket watch. ¡°Not a problem. I have work to do as well, so I won¡¯t keep you five any longer. Scytale, do you want to show them where they¡¯ll be staying?¡±


    ¡°I guess. I want to know about this ¡®Old Era¡¯ plane they visited too.¡± He jumped up and pointed over his shoulder. ¡°Alright, folks! Follow me to your new suites, where you can feast your eyes on the most luxury you¡¯d have ever seen in your entire lives!¡±


    ¡°¡­that¡¯s probably true,¡± Marellen muttered as he stood up. The others did the same, and Lucy walked over to a side door.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see you all for dinner. I don¡¯t think my other two guests will be eating with us, but you can at least meet my aide.¡± Lucille waved goodbye to them and walked out.


    Her attention, however, was on Trisroa Vel-Winteridge and her deathly pale look as she left the room. Lucille smirked and placed her hands behind her back.


    I never intended to hide my soul age from her, because I can¡¯t. A prodigy in both spiritual energy manipulation and magic, she would easily be able to tell my soul is distinctly different from anyone else¡¯s. However, I hope that my soul will pique her curiosity enough that she¡¯ll want to stay beside me just to know who I am.


    We¡¯re both researchers of magic, after all. I know how she thinks.


    Trisroa continued staring at the place where Lucy had been and then turned to face Efratel. ¡°How old is Lucille Goldcroft supposed to be?¡±


    ¡°Hm? Oh.¡± Efratel blinked and looked at her. ¡°Late teens I think? I know her demeanour isn¡¯t that of a normal young adult, but it¡¯s not entirely impossible for a member of the nobility.¡±


    ¡°¡­late teens.¡± Roa took a deep breath and shook her head as she walked past the blonde-haired man. ¡°It seems I¡¯ll have to observe our enigmatic sponsor a bit longer, then. She is certainly¡­ not what she appears.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Lucille looked up at the roof as she absent-mindedly held her hands behind her head, with her black boots kicked up onto her lacquered desk. ¡°Vincent.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you to talk to me.¡± Vincent pushed aside his pages and looked at his superior as she sat behind her desk. ¡°You¡¯re acting like something is on your mind. What is it?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Lucy dropped a hand from behind her head to pick up a pen and spin it between her fingertips. ¡°It occurred to me that today, the 2<sup>nd</sup> of July, is the day I turn nineteen. Additionally, my soul is turning two-hundred-and-fifty years old.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Vincent blinked, slightly taken aback by her nonchalant attitude. He adjusted his glasses and crossed his arms. ¡°I suppose your own birthdays aren¡¯t as important when you¡¯ve lived through over two centuries of them.¡±


    ¡°Correct. But what has actually been on my mind is that it¡¯s been exactly 365 days since I was teleported into the Tutorial.¡± The pen abruptly stopped spinning and she dropped it back on her desk. Lucille clicked her tongue, feeling slightly irritated. ¡°Why did I have to die only fifteen months away from my 250<sup>th</sup>? Now I¡¯ll forever be annoyed at dying at such a stupid age. If I was going to be killed, the other person should at least show common decency and give me a meaningful date to die on.¡±


    ¡°¡­I¡¯m not sure I understand why that is a priority, but I feel like not dying at all should be preferred,¡± Vincent commented in a dry tone. He raised a silver eyebrow at her. ¡°You tend to speak of yourself dying very lightly, Lucille. I understand as an Ascendant you would¡¯ve died a few times before, but¡­ even when you knew your last death would be ¡®permanent¡¯, regardless of you returning to the past afterwards?¡±


    She considered it and gained a slight smirk. ¡°To a certain extent, when you have people trying to kill you, it becomes a game of who can cause the most damage to the other person and their goals before one of you dies. I had long accepted that I would eventually die in the past, with the path I was treading. The fact I¡¯m in my young body again just means I¡¯ve resolved myself to die less stupidly.¡±


    Vincent gave her a strange look. ¡°Why do you think your death was ¡®stupid¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Maybe ¡®pathetic¡¯ would be the more correct term.¡± Lucille tapped her fingers against her desk in a rhythmic pattern. ¡°The person who killed me couldn¡¯t even manage to give me a clean and quick end because of my accelerated thoughts and own strength, so I took matters into my own hands. It was a bonus that I was able to kill him at the same time.¡± Before Vincent could register what she actually meant, she clapped her hands and stood up from her desk. ¡°But Vincent, discussing my death is a rather morbid topic to speak of when it¡¯s my birthday, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°¡­right, Sorr- no, wait.¡± He narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°You brought it up first.¡±


    ¡°No I didn¡¯t, and if I did, you can¡¯t prove it.¡± Lucille pulled on her violet suit jacket and grabbed her cane as she walked towards the door of the study. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m going to see why all my guests on the fortieth floor seem to have assembled in my living room. In fact, I don¡¯t recall ever showing my five new guests where my living room is.¡±


    ¡°Wait, Sedric and Hargrave are with Efratel Vadel¡¯s group?¡± Vincent asked as he stood up and followed her out of the study. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Scytale is there as well. He¡¯d likely be the culprit,¡± she replied in a dull voice. Then she paused for a second and sighed as three new presences were felt in her perception field as they arrived on the fortieth floor. ¡°Oh great. The Prophetess and her company are now here too.¡±


    ¡­


    Two men were standing side-by-side with their arms crossed. One was shorter than the other, with dark hair tied in a ponytail at the back of his neck, and the other with blood-red uneven hair with sections of deep royal blue spread throughout.


    Sedric and Hargrave exchanged bewildered looks.


    ¡°Hargrave, was it?¡± Larena asked as she observed the man. ¡°Is it possible you were a mercenary? Your movements belong to someone who¡¯s been trained. But¡­ no, I feel a draconic presence from you¡­ a draconic magical beast? Who wields a weapon?¡±


    ¡°¡­that¡¯s right,¡± Hargrave replied slowly, looking like he wanted to step back from the overly interested woman.


    Meanwhile, Sedric was having his own issues.


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re not cursed?¡± Marellen asked seriously as he walked around the crafter, studying him.


    Sedric placed his hands on his head and groaned. ¡°I¡¯m telling you that no, I¡¯m not cursed! Why do you think I¡¯m cursed in the first place?!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen someone who causes this type of response in my skill before,¡± Marellen replied, watching the elements on his palm disintegrate and disperse with interest. ¡°It¡¯s like cause and effect has been rewritten to ensure only the unlucky outcomes occur. But this trait needs to recharge so it¡¯s not constant. Have you had more accidents lately? Like tripping over objects more often or making mistakes with your crafting?¡±


    ¡°Now that I think about it¡­¡± Sedric frowned but quickly shook his head. ¡°I- no, this is ridiculous. Next, you¡¯ll be like one of those blighted members of Prosperity, telling me I have to pay a fee of seven hundred rose crowns just to temporarily revert my bad luck.¡±


    Marellen blinked. ¡°What? No, it¡¯s nothing like that-¡±


    ¡°Did you say Sedric has been¡­ ¡®cursed¡¯ to have bad luck?¡±


    Everyone else in the room looked back to see Lucille walking in with Vincent. Lucy came up to Sedric and Marellen and tilted her head curiously as she saw the elemental mana shifting about on the navy-haired mage¡¯s palm. ¡°Somehow he occasionally faces periods of bad luck?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what I¡¯m saying!¡± Marellen nodded enthusiastically when he realised he found someone else who was accepting of the idea. ¡°Using the skill book you gave me- ah, do you know how the skill works?¡±


    Lucille nodded. ¡°I¡¯m familiar with the principles. It tracks pathways of cause and effect by analysing changes in the elements. These changes are being influenced while around Sedric, I presume?¡±


    Marellen seemed to become excited as he moved his hand to let her have a closer look. ¡°Yes, see here: I¡¯ve worked out the standard for elemental abnormalities around people can be anywhere from 0.0007-0.0091% depending on their connection to the Citadel of Fate, but it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve ever seen someone who faces so many detrimental elemental abnormalities in a short time. It was only this morning that your crafter seemed to be fine, but two hours later his bad luck had activated. And then only five minutes later his luck was completely normal again. The cycle has repeated multiple times today.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve been spying on me?!¡± Sedric asked with incredulity.


    Marellen didn¡¯t hear him at all and continued explaining to Lucy, ¡°If this is how the elements are acting around him, then I can only guess how badly affected by mundane forces he is. The only explanation I have for this is that someone can do this, but if so, who, and how? It¡¯s unlike any ability I¡¯ve ever seen before. This can¡¯t belong to the Sages.¡±


    Lucille briefly inserted mana into the Shard of Totality to see the spiritual realm and analyse the concepts and spiritual energies near Sedric, and then she gained a slight smirk as her suspicions were proven correct. ¡°You¡¯re in luck then. You¡¯ll get to meet the culprit very, very soon.¡± Scytale, having interest in her thoughts for a rare moment, seemed to start internally laughing to himself after he saw her thoughts.


    ¡°You know who did this to your crafter?¡± Marellen asked with surprise.


    ¡°Stop discussing me like I¡¯m not here!¡± Sedric angrily exclaimed.


    Any response was delayed by the opening of the living room door by a certain blonde-haired boisterous Prophetess who dashed into the room, to both her brother and her guard¡¯s frustration. ¡°Lucy! The Sages are so mean! I was stuck granting Fate essence to hundreds of stinking old nobles for weeks and- who are you guys?¡±


    Annaliese stopped on the spot as she realised five individuals unfamiliar to her were in the room. Sir Jasten Albrecht and Raegan walked in, eyeing the five figures with suspicion.


    ¡°Let me introduce you to Marellen and Efratel Vadel, Larena and Garthe Barbosas, and Roa Vel-Winteridge,¡± Lucy said with a smile, walking forward. ¡°They¡¯re a party of talented people I¡¯ve been sponsoring and have recently returned from a trip to an Old Era plane. They¡¯ll be staying here for a couple of weeks.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± Annaliese smiled and came forward to curtsey, showing off the new etiquette skills she had learnt. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you all. I¡¯m Annaliese Verdon, and this is my brother Raegan and guard, Jasten Albrecht-¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Marellen looked down at his disassembling elemental spell, then between Sedric and Raegan. His eyes widened. ¡°Wait a second¡­¡±


    Raegan squinted at the mage when Marellen pointed at him and then Sedric. ¡°Is it possible that¡­ you put the bad luck curse on him?¡±


    Raegan glanced at Sedric and then smirked as he crossed his arms. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    ¡°Bad luck curse?¡± Annaliese and Sir Albrecht turned to look at the boy, but Sedric, his mind was ticking away and connecting the dots.


    ¡°Wait¡­ I tripped over a lot when you visited for the first time¡­ and I¡¯ve been having this problem ever since I met you¡­¡± He paused as he recalled something. ¡°Didn¡¯t Scytale say you had some weird ¡®anti-Fate¡¯ thing going on? Something like¡­ bad luck?¡±


    The room went silent as most of them exchanged confused looks, while Sir Albrecht clued on and gave Raegan a dull look. Sedric¡¯s eyes widened with anger. ¡°Hey! Raegan! Did you curse me?!?¡±


    Scytale walked up to Lucy as Raegan and Sedric began to bicker and nudged her with his elbow. ¡°Looks like the next five days will be pretty exciting, huh?¡±


    ¡°It seems so,¡± she said with amusement. She thought back to the most recent letter she received from Efratel.


    And I¡¯m very curious to know more about this ¡®stalker artifact¡¯ Efratel claims can consume stats¡­

 Chapter 78 (2 of 2) Casket of Boons or Casket of Curses.

    ¡°So.¡± Sedric slammed his cup of water down on the table they were sitting at for lunch. He glared at Raegan. ¡°You going to tell me what you did to me or just sit there acting innocent forever?¡±


    ¡°If I never did anything¡­¡± Raegan spun his fork and stabbed it into his steak. ¡°Then I don¡¯t need to tell you anything, do I? I¡¯m not sure why you happen to believe Scytale¡¯s nonsense claims of me being able to grant bad luck all of a sudden, but-¡±


    ¡°Even as I watch you now, it¡¯s so fascinating,¡± the mage next to him mused as he studied the boy.


    Raegan gave Marellen an irritated look and tried to ignore him. ¡°As I was saying, Scytale is a liar so-¡±


    ¡°Are you doing this intentionally? Or is this a passive effect of your presence?¡± Marellen continued, eyes wide as he watched Raegan do something as simple as raise his fork. ¡°No, I don¡¯t believe you¡¯re granting people ill fortune. But what is it that you¡¯re doing? It¡¯s clear you¡¯re not using any element I¡¯m familiar with and certainly not the light element.¡±


    Raegan scowled and turned to look at Lucy. ¡°Hey! Lucille! Can you do something about this creep? I¡¯m not an object to be studied!¡±


    ¡°His name is Marellen,¡± Lucy replied calmly. She smiled. ¡°When we first met, Marellen had been gambling on which event would become the Millennium Chapter this millennium to study Fate and fortune. Did anything come from that, Marellen?¡±


    Marellen tried to cast a spell to analyse the properties of one of Raegan¡¯s hairs and the boy quickly swatted away the mage¡¯s hand with a scowl. ¡°Quit it!¡±


    Efratel clapped his hands to grab the navy-haired mage¡¯s attention. ¡°Marellen! Lucille is talking to you!¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± Marellen looked up and blinked.


    Garthe pointed at Lucy. ¡°She wants to know if you made money from gambling back when she met you, Marellen.¡±


    ¡°Ah, that.¡± Marellen nodded. ¡°Yes, I did. I placed my bets on your choices and ended up receiving part of the prize the next day. I ended up spending it all on alchemical reagents the next day¡­¡±


    Efratel rolled his eyes as Larena smirked and crossed her arms. ¡°I heard you told the Vadel cousins you were a time traveller, Lucille. Supposedly, that was how you knew what to bet on.¡±


    Roa turned to gaze seriously at Lucy, looking interested to know her answer. At the same time, Vincent broke into a coughing fit as his water went down the wrong pipe and Annaliese and Raegan exchanged looks. Jasten Albrecht had raised a bushy eyebrow, looking very sceptical.


    Scytale laughed until Lucille elbowed him and then shrugged. ¡°Just call me Lucy. And I may have told them that, yes. Is there something you want to know?¡±


    Larena grinned and propped her chin up. ¡°Does the time traveling Count Goldcroft have any pieces of wisdom to share with us?¡±


    It¡¯s clear she¡¯s not taking me seriously, which is good. I should play into her expectation of it being a joke. I never exactly expected so many people to be here to learn what I jokingly told Marellen and Efratel.


    Lucy hummed and raised her eyes to the roof in mock thought. After a moment, she nodded and steepled her fingers on the table as she gazed solemnly at Larena. ¡°Within five years, the Duchies will be usurped as the most powerful fiefdoms in the Empire.¡±


    Larena narrowed her eyes and smiled. ¡°Oh? And who will usurp them?¡±


    ¡°The Aurelian Commission. Headed by me,¡± Lucille stated calmly. She raised a gloved finger. ¡°Also, invest in shops that sell fire element goods. The demand for them is going to increase.¡±


    The others stared at her for a few seconds and then Garthe laughed. ¡°Right, right. We¡¯ll be sure to do that,¡± he said through chuckles.


    ¡°I am still waiting for an answer about how Raegan managed to make me unlucky,¡± Sedric said grumpily.


    ¡°Oh, fine!¡± Raegan said, suddenly standing up. ¡°You want to know how I made you unlucky?¡± He smirked and pointed to his heart as Sir Albrecht buried his head in his hands. ¡°Because I¡¯m Annaliese¡¯s nemesis, okay! If she can make people lucky and change their Fate as the Prophetess, then I can reverse everything she and the Sages can do.¡±


    ¡°¡­Prophetess?¡±


    Lucy sighed and shot Scytale a flat look as he gained a broad grin, most likely because this time it wasn¡¯t him who got anyone in trouble. The mercenaries, Trisroa, Marellen and Efratel turned to stare at Annaliese.


    The blonde-haired girl smiled and waved. ¡°Oh, I forgot to mention. I¡¯m the Prophetess.¡±


    Everyone but Marellen stared at her, disbelievingly, but the navy-haired mage sprung up and grabbed her hands. ¡°Prophetess Verdon, as a friend of Lucille¡¯s, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re willing to do many favours for her, right? My interests lie in studying the effect of magic on cause and effect and as Lucille¡¯s sponsored mage, I¡¯m sure she¡¯d love an opportunity to help me strengthen my abilities. If you could offer me the chance to study-¡±


    ¡°I may be your sponsor, but stop using my name for your personal interests,¡± Lucy said with mild exasperation.


    Sir Albrecht got up and dragged Marellen away by his collar with a flat look on his face, then plonked the mage back onto his seat. ¡°Do not approach the Prophetess without her and my explicit permission,¡± he warned.


    Raegan groaned and kicked his feet onto his chair. ¡°Look, this is what always happens when anyone finds out my sister is the Prophetess. I thought this discussion was supposed to be about me and my abilities. She can get all the attention she wants from other nobles. I¡¯d even say yes to your request to study my abilities if you just ask me!¡±


    Marellen froze and turned to stare at the dark-haired boy. ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Er¡­¡± Raegan hesitated when he saw the mage¡¯s excited expression. ¡°You know what, maybe I¡¯ve changed my mind¡­¡±


    ¡°I have to admit, I¡¯m very curious about your abilities myself,¡± Lucy said with a hand on her chin. ¡°I have my doubts that your ability purely grants people bad luck, especially if you¡¯re supposed to have powers on par with the Prophetess. That has to be a reason why the Citadel branded you as their ¡®antithesis¡¯ for all these years.¡±


    Garthe screwed up his face and leaned to the side to whisper into his sister''s ear, ¡°Do you have any idea what they¡¯re on about? Antithesis? Abilities on par with the Prophetess?¡±


    Larena shook her head. ¡°No clue.¡± She turned to look at Sir Albrecht, who had sat back down next to Annaliese across from them. ¡°Are we allowed to be hearing this?¡±


    Jasten Albrecht gazed down at his empty plate, his expression twitching. The cup in his armoured hand shattered and then he just ran a gauntleted hand down his face. ¡°Raegan¡¯s position in the Citadel is¡­ ambiguous. The Sages haven¡¯t come to a consensus, so I¡¯ll just have to assume everyone at this table has enough motivation to live that words won¡¯t be spilt.¡± He shot Lucy a disgruntled look. ¡°It doesn¡¯t help that I¡¯ve received an order from the Great Sage to accept all of Count Goldcroft¡¯s requests that do not harm the Prophetess or her brother¡­¡±


    Lucille paused when she overheard that and then smiled. She rested her chin on her steepled hands. ¡°Really? Interesting. It seems that granting the Citadel permission to build a branch of Protection in Gilded Seat made them see me favourably¡­ or maybe as just a pushover.¡± She gained a slightly evil grin. ¡°After all, to them, I¡¯m just a na?ve girl barely two years older than Annaliese, aren¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°Oh! Lucy!¡± Annaliese interjected with cheerfulness, not caring that she was completely diverting the conversation topic. ¡°When is your birthday?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Lucy blinked. ¡°Today.¡±


    Annaliese glared at her. ¡°I¡¯m trying to ask a serious question.¡±


    ¡°Uh, Miss Verdon, I feel mandated to inform you¡­¡± Vincent lowered his raised hand when eyes were on him and removed his glasses with a sigh. ¡°¡­that prior to your arrival, Lucille told me that this morning she had, in fact, turned nineteen and that her birthday was the 2<sup>nd</sup> of July.¡±


    ¡°¡­huh,¡± Annaliese said, stunned. Then her eyes widened with panic. ¡°Wait, I didn¡¯t get a birthday present!¡±


    Lucy raised an eyebrow. ¡°Why bother with a present? I can buy anything I want. Unless your gift is unlimited access to all of the Citadel of Fate¡¯s secret records, then I don¡¯t feel inclined to accept anything.¡±


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Annaliese paused and her expression fell. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t think I can give you that.¡±


    Lucy smirked and shook her head. ¡°I was only joking. Sir Albrecht knows I¡¯ve already read all their secret records, anyway.¡±


    They all turned to stare at Sir Albrecht who sent her a weary look. ¡°I never claimed I believed you.¡±


    ¡°Believe it or not, I have nothing to prove to you.¡± Lucille rested one hand over the other and directed a grin to Raegan. ¡°Raegan, how much do you know about your own abilities?¡±


    Raegan looked at her with suspicion, but answered reluctantly, ¡°Only as much as I¡¯ve seen when I use it sometimes. I won¡¯t get to see my Status until I¡¯m sixteen.¡±


    ¡°I see. Well then.¡± Lucille leaned forward and smirked as she tapped on the table in front of him. ¡°Would you be willing to give Marellen and me two hours of your time today to do some experiments? We only need to record some basic data and then you¡¯ll be free to go.¡±


    Raegan gave the excited mage next to him a disgusted look. ¡°¡­him too?¡±


    ¡°I believe this will be the first time Marellen will have first-hand experience with Fate and fortune abilities, and I¡¯m sure it will be¡­ enlightening.¡± Lucille spread her palms and leaned back in her chair at the head of the table. ¡°You¡¯re free to decline, but considering you¡¯ve expressed interest in being a more active participant in the politics around your sister, this may be worthwhile.¡±


    The dark-haired boy swept aside his fringe and frowned. A second later he jabbed a thumb of his shoulder in the direction of the Paladin at their table. ¡°What about that?¡±


    ¡°I have a name, Raegan,¡± Jasten Albrecht stated flatly. ¡°And it is not ¡®that¡¯.¡±


    Raegan blew the armoured man a raspberry as Lucy nodded. ¡°Anything Marellen or I discover will be shared with your ward¡­ if you permit it.¡±


    Raegan crossed his arms and could clearly be seen thinking about it as his nose screwed up. He looked between Marellen, his guard and Lucille, before throwing his arms up and then digging into the rest of his lunch. ¡°Fine. Do whatever you want. Only two hours though and you will tell me what you find out.¡±


    ¡°Of course, Young Master Verdon,¡± Lucy said with a bright smile.


    He shuddered and gave her an aghast look while his sister next to him clapped her hands together. ¡°Isn¡¯t this great, Raegan?¡± Annaliese asked. ¡°Lucy¡¯s the smartest person I know!¡±


    The boy rolled his eyes. ¡°You only know Sir Albrecht and myself outside of those in the Commission, so the bar for being ¡®smart¡¯ isn¡¯t very high.¡±


    Lucy cocked an eyebrow but Raegan wordlessly pointed to the humanoid snake next to her. She turned her eyes to her bond to see Scytale sitting upside down in his chair with his legs hanging over the back, throwing knives into the ceiling where they lodged themselves. She swiftly pushed Scytale¡¯s chair over and he yelped as he fell to the ground next to Garthe.


    ¡°This is all cool and all, but I still have this blighted ¡®bad luck curse¡¯ on me!¡± Sedric exclaimed, slamming his hands on the table.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a curse, it¡¯s a hex,¡± Raegan argued.


    Sedric glared at the boy. ¡°All I hear is a confession of guilt.¡±


    ¡°Okay then, please remove the ¡®hex¡¯, Raegan,¡± Lucille interjected. ¡°He is my private crafter and it will be an issue if his work quality is impacted by his bad luck.¡±


    Raegan rolled his eyes and poked Sedric¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Fine. There, it¡¯s done.¡±


    Sedric frowned as he looked down at his hands. ¡°I don¡¯t feel any different.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± A mana-circle spun above Marellen¡¯s palm and he blinked as he shifted his gold-framed circular glasses. ¡°I¡¯m not sensing the same instability in my elemental harmony model. I would guess that this means you¡¯re no longer affected.¡±


    ¡°An ability to cause bad luck without using fortune or Fate essence¡­¡± Vincent mused with a strange expression. ¡°I feel like my worldview was never this large before I met you, Lucille.¡±


    ¡°Hopefully, any changes in your worldview will be taken as a benefit by you,¡± she replied with a smile.


    ¡°Speaking of changes¡­ what happened to him?¡±


    They all glanced at the Prophetess at their table, who was pointing to the man directly opposite her.


    Hargrave stilled and hesitated when he saw the attention on him ¨C attention he had so far managed to avoid by remaining silent. ¡°¡­me?¡±


    ¡°I worked so hard to give you a decent haircut and then you go and dye your hair blue,¡± Annaliese replied, grumpily crossing her arms. ¡°If you were going to change your hair colour, then you should¡¯ve dyed it all blue! Why is it still mostly red?¡±


    ¡°This¡­ wasn¡¯t intentional.¡± Hargrave grimaced as he picked up a lock of his hair and then dropped it with a sigh. ¡°It¡¯s an effect of¡­ gaining a water affinity.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ Sir Albrecht?¡± Annaliese blinked at the blonde-haired Paladin. ¡°Is something wrong?¡±


    Lucy quietly sipped her tea as the Paladin studied Hargrave, who was plainly emitting draconic presence, a stark difference from when they last met.


    Well, Hargrave¡¯s change wouldn¡¯t have been able to get by Jasten Albrecht. He did become one of the twelve Templars.


    ¡°Hargrave¡­ did you become a dragon-blooded?¡± Sir Albrecht asked, his tone unsure.


    Something about the word ¡®dragon-blooded¡¯ made a dark look briefly pass across Hargrave¡¯s face, but he caught himself when he glanced at Lucy, who was slowly shaking her head. Hargrave scratched the back of his neck with a frown. ¡°I¡­ yes. I gained a water-element draconic beast bloodline.¡±


    Sedric raised an eyebrow. ¡°Hold on a moment. I definitely heard Scytale say you were-¡± He yelped when a white-gloved hand pinched him and twisted to the side to see Lucy pull back her hand. She looked away as he glared at her.


    Lucille glanced at the mercenaries and two mages, who were exchanging looks. Larena shook her head, which seemed to silence any remarks from the rest of them as they all nodded.


    Larena was quick to notice me warning Sedric and they all followed her lead. It seems she has a well-honed habit of avoiding trouble when she can. She¡¯s smart.


    Annaliese had wide eyes as she stared at Hargrave, clearly waiting for him to explain. Hargrave awkwardly looked away and avoided eye contact.


    The conversation lapped into silence until they all finished the rest of their meals and then Marellen blinked as something occurred to him. He reached into the satchel under his dark blue cloak. ¡°Oh, right. Efratel said that he told you about the strange artifact we found on the Sundown Continent plane shard, Lucy. I brought it along to show-¡±


    ¡°No, what are you doing, Marellen?!¡± Larena growled, getting up from the seat. ¡°Don¡¯t carry cursed items on you! What if Lucy and the others got hurt?!¡±


    Cursed items couldn¡¯t affect me due to the spells contained within, but Larena wouldn¡¯t know that.


    ¡°But I-¡±


    ¡°No buts!¡± Larena threatened.


    ¡°Uh¡­ okay¡­¡± Marellen slowly placed the golden casket on the table and slid its ruby key next to it. ¡°But I just wanted to show Lucy this¡­¡±


    Lucille stood up from the table, looking at the casket with curiosity as she walked around to Marellen¡¯s side of the table. Marellen stood up and gestured to the artifact.


    ¡°This artifact kept following us around but none of us wanted to test it due to the System warnings that came with it,¡± he explained. The navy-haired mage held up a finger. ¡°Stay here and watch the casket. You¡¯ll see what I mean.¡±


    Marellen walked over to the door of the dining room and exited. They all watched to see when the casket would move. It didn¡¯t. A couple of minutes later, Marellen re-entered the room with a frown. ¡°Why didn¡¯t anything happen? It¡¯s been following me around ever since we first found it. Roa even tried to melt it with fire and it still turned up on my table unharmed only a few seconds later.¡±


    Lucy tapped a finger on the top of the casket and then picked up the ruby-studded key to inspect it. She glanced at Marellen. ¡°I want to try a little experiment. Just wait a few minutes. I¡¯ll return with a dimensional artifact to test if it can escape dimensional boundaries as well.¡±


    They watched as Lucy left the room, but then they all jumped and turned to stare as Lucy entered, holding the finery-covered casket in her white-gloved hands. ¡°Ah, so this was the phenomenon you were referring to. Indeed, I saw it reappear in my spiritual perception on the shelf closest to me as soon as I rounded a corner.¡±


    ¡°Why did it work for you and not me?¡± Marellen asked, dumbfounded.


    Lucille hummed as she turned the casket in her hands, then sat it on the dining table. ¡°Were there any details about this artifact in the records of the Institute for Nomological Augmentation?¡±


    ¡°There were no details supplied with the artifact,¡± Roa interjected as she approached. ¡°Even the label for the artifact had been wiped away in the destruction of the protective cases.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ well, if this artifact was held in a secret facility on the plane, and the Allbright empire had the capabilities to explore other planes¡­¡± Lucille smirked and placed a hand on the lid of the casket. ¡°Then the possibility exists that this is far older than any of the other artifacts you brought back from the Sundown Continent plane shard. Potentially as old to the plane shard as that Old Era plane is to us.¡± She shrugged. ¡°With access to plenty of mana and hundreds of millennia, the powers of artifact can only be imagined.¡±


    Lucy straightened out her glove sleeves and picked up the key. ¡°But I¡¯m curious to know what this System message is, so I think I might test it.¡±


    Roa tried to hold out a hand to stop her. ¡°Count Goldcroft, I don¡¯t believe that would be the wisest idea. We still have yet to discover what this artifact uses stat points for and-¡±


    The words died in her mouth as the notification sprang up.


    [Warning: This object consumes Stats when used. Do you want to proceed? Yes/No]


    Lucille only glanced at the notification for a second and then a click sounded when the key turned in the lock. The top of the casket opened to reveal inky black darkness with no bottom in sight within the jewellery box.


    ¡°Artifacts require a minute input of mana to activate regardless of buttons and the like, so I knew nothing would occur,¡± Lucy explained to all the observers. She leaned against the table and crossed her arms, tapping her fingers against her forearm. ¡°An artifact that consumes stat points, however¡­ I have to say that I¡¯ve never heard of such a thing. Stat points are a refined form of System ¡®Influence¡¯, the energy that composes our skills and few forces ever learnt to manipulate spiritual information¡­ this lends support to my theory that this is an artifact from at least the era before last. Only such a long-lived artifact could have developed the abilities to adjust to its new environments as time goes by.¡±


    Lucy tilted her head and remained silent for a minute, thinking about what to do, but then she smirked and put a hand up to the right side of her face. She took off her black half-mask and ignored the stares of her guests as she gazed at the artifact on the table with her ¡®Shard of Totality¡¯.


    [Artifact ¨C Type: Jewellery Box                                                                                                                         ]


    Name: ???¡¯s Casket of Boons


    Rarity: Legendary - Forbidden


    MP: ¡Þ/¡Þ


    Desc:


    An indestructible box of mysteries. Nobody knows where this artifact came from or who created it, but it was surely not made for the purpose it now holds. Time has left it utterly removed from whatever its original form was. This casket allows the Keyholder to make an exchange ¨C The Keyholder will sacrifice a portion of their strength in return for a ¡®boon¡¯. This boon will take on a fixed form of becoming whatever the Keyholder needs the most from the time they first use the artifact. The detriment of this is that once a Keyholder has been chosen, any who use this artifact, including the Keyholder themselves, may no longer obtain a boon of any other form until a new Keyholder is chosen.


    Abilities:


    Exchange of Needs ¨C Originally a magical item crafted only for one individual who needed it most, it has kept this trait over its lifetime. It will forever search out the Keyholder that can wield it to its fullest potential.


    <ul>


    <li>Artifact is incapable of becoming lost. The artifact will always appear on people¡¯s personage or within their luggage to meet with the Keyholder it has selected. As the key is a component of the artifact, the casket can teleport to wherever the key is and vice-versa.</li>


    <li>Keyholder will be selected. The Keyholder cannot be changed unless willingly be the Keyholder themselves, or the Keyholder dies. Other individuals may still use the artifact to gain a ¡®boon¡¯ in the form of the Keyholder¡¯s need if given the key by the Keyholder.</li>


    </ul>


    Law of Equivalent Exchange ¨C This artifact may grant you what you require the most yet it will always demand a sacrifice worthy of its boon.


    <ul>


    <li>The artifact will take from the Keyholder a form of power to exchange it for another ability or enhancement the Keyholder needs. Requirements are that the matter or energy of the boon is composed of the same matter or energy of the sacrifice, that the Keyholder can provide the artifact with the sacrifice at the time of its first usage, and that the Keyholder can provide enough sacrifice to either obtain portions of the boon dependent on the quantity of sacrifice, or a large amount of the boon if a large amount is provided.</li>


    <li>Grants the artifact the ability to activate when the key is rotated 360 degrees.</li>


    </ul>


    Forbidden Artifact ¨C A rarity granted to only the most dangerous of items. The System warns the User that this artifact can potentially affect the User¡¯s Status and abilities in ways outside of its control. Be careful that you do not ruin yourself with it.


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the artifact immunity to the abilities of any other artifact or ability of a member of the races. It is impossible to alter the boons granted by this artifact without using the artifact itself.</li>


    </ul>


    [                                                                                                                                                                   ]


    Lucy stared at the description of the artifact, and then her face split into a broad grin. She twisted the key in the lock another semi-circle until it returned to its original position, and then she let go. The others watched warily as a metallic tune reminiscent of a music box sounded, and then a plate rose up from the depths of the inky hole inside. It clicked into place as a small figure the length of Lucille¡¯s index finger slowed its rotation on the plate.


    Lucy leaned close to the casket with Marellen watching curiously by her side, and they both studied the figure of a hooded, masked man holding up a pair of miniature scales. Two flattened bowls sat on either side of the plate, making it clear that they were supposed to represent the sides of the scales.


    ¡°How fascinating¡­¡± Marellen murmured.


    ¡°The ¡®boon¡¯ is something I need the most,¡± Lucy mused. She smirked and placed a finger on one of the empty bowls. ¡°Then I need to see what this artifact deems an ability I need the most.¡±


    As soon as she touched the bowl, incredibly small particles that appeared like glowing white dust flowed into the dish and sat on the bottom. She watched her Status as five free stat points were taken away.


    The particles disappeared, sinking into the bowl. And then, with the sound of a chime, the scales held by the figure tilted to the opposite side. A small glowing orb similar to the unattributed Influence that Ouroboros had generated formed for her, and she picked up the crystalised form of pure Influence. Her eyes widened when the Shard of Totality activated to give her its description.


    [Aspect Bestowment]


    Info: A unique Status modifier that grants one stack of ¡®Bestowment¡¯ to an Aspect, multiplying its effects by x1.25. Each additional stack of Bestowment adds +1.25 to the enhancement. A maximum of ten stacks can be granted per Aspect. Multiple Aspect Bestowments are needed to upgrade to a 2<sup>nd</sup> grade Bestowment Enhancement]


    ¡­if only there was a way to give her sponsored party a pay rise when they already had unlimited budgets.

 Chapter 79 (1 of 2) In which Raegan is abducted by two(?) magic fanatics.

    ¡°Are you sure that artifact is safe?¡± a blonde-haired girl asked worriedly.


    Lucille smiled and closed the lid of the casket. The ¡®Aspect Bestowment¡¯ disappeared in her hands and appeared in a list next to her Status, stored for her to use later. ¡°For some people, it would be very beneficial. I believe I¡¯m going to be using this artifact a few times if¡­¡± She turned to look at the members of her sponsored party. ¡°Do you mind if I keep this?¡±


    Marellen looked hesitant but Roa shook her head and swiftly backed away. ¡°All artifacts we collected during our expedition that the Athenaeum has not taken away are yours, Count Goldcroft. I¡¯m sure you will be far more responsible with the artifact than Marellen.¡±


    ¡°Er¡­ Lucille¡­¡± the navy-haired mage spoke up, getting her attention. ¡°Do you know what the artifact is?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I do,¡± Lucy replied with a smile. She tapped her cheek underneath her right eye. ¡°In a way, you could say that I''ve become an appraiser due to the shard of an object within my eye. I¡¯m capable of viewing the Item Sheet.¡±


    Marellen¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Does that mean you could appraise all the artifacts we have? No, wait.¡± He approached the casket and gestured to it. ¡°What does it do?¡±


    Lucille placed a hand on top of the casket. ¡°This ¡®Forbidden¡¯ Legendary artifact consumes a small portion of my power and exchanges it for another form of power that it deems I ¡®need¡¯ the most. It¡¯s likely that due to the arrival of the System, it has accommodated our Statuses and arranged for stat points to be the ¡®power¡¯ it takes.¡±


    Lucy pulled out the ruby key and the casket locked shut by itself. ¡°And it seems to select a ¡®Keyholder¡¯ whenever it loses its former Keyholder. This Keyholder is the individual who needs this artifact the most. I can only assume that I have been selected as its Keyholder because it teleported to my side and not yours today. I can give up ownership, but I don¡¯t think I can select its next owner.¡±


    The others stared at her. Lucy blinked and then let out a small ¡®Ah¡¯ when she realised what was wrong. She held the casket up. ¡°Have you all never seen a Legendary artifact before?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m more shocked by the casualness you¡¯re treating that artifact with,¡± Efratel replied.


    ¡°Legendary artifacts are supposed to be¡­ uncommon, Lucille,¡± Hargrave said.


    Vincent eyed the casket slightly warily and pushed up his glasses. ¡°You also said it carries the ¡®Forbidden¡¯ rarity prefix ¨C It might not be a cursed item but it is certainly dangerous.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s only dangerous if I use it the wrong way. I¡¯m intelligent enough to refrain from abusing it.¡± Lucille placed the casket in her dimensional bag and looked at Annaliese, Raegan and Sir Albrecht. ¡°The fact that the Aurelian Commission Head has obtained a Legendary Forbidden artifact is something that needs to be kept secret, so¡­ please don¡¯t inform the Citadel of this.¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t!¡± Annaliese replied confidently. Then she hesitated as she realised she wasn¡¯t the one in control of the situation and looked at the blonde-haired Paladin next to her. ¡°Uh¡­ right, Sir Albrecht?¡±


    ¡°Ahhh¡­¡± Jasten Albrecht let out a long sigh as he covered his face with a hand, leaning against the table. He threw his hands up. ¡°If the Sages don¡¯t ask, they don¡¯t get told. Fine. I¡¯m nothing if not good at skirting around their lie-detection skills.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Lucy grinned and leaned on the table. ¡°Life will be less difficult for you if you keep your mouth shut, Sir Paladin.¡±


    Albrecht frowned at her. ¡°I don¡¯t need you to tell me that.¡±


    ¡°True.¡± Lucille spun around and pointed at both Raegan and Marellen. ¡°But you two¡­ I think it¡¯s time we begin our research, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡­


    Raegan narrowed his eyes at the coin on his palm. ¡°Is this really it?¡±


    ¡°We need to calculate the standard probabilities with and without your ability to influence things,¡± Lucy commented as she scrawled things down on a piece of paper. Marellen was looking over her shoulder and reading what she was writing with interest.


    She stepped back and pointed to a glowing ring on the floor of the training hall that she had drawn out with illusion mana. ¡°Stand there please.¡±


    ¡°¡­okay?¡± Raegan walked over and turned the coin over. His face screwed up. ¡°Are you seriously treating a rose crown as pocket change?¡±


    Lucille looked up. ¡°What? That was all I had on hand.¡±


    The boy rolled his eyes and Lucy pointed to him. ¡°Okay, Raegan. Toss the coin on the count of three. One¡­ two¡­ three.¡±


    The reddish-gold piece of metal flew through the air and landed about a meter away from Raegan. Before he could say anything, Lucy had run over and begun to draw lines with illusion mana, calculating the exact distance the coin landed from him.


    Marellen blinked when he looked at the symbols she was drawing. ¡°Lucille, what are you drawing? I¡¯m not familiar with these symbols.¡±


    Lucille glanced between the page and floating symbols, distracted. ¡°Velocity and angular momentum, among other things. I need to gain a set of median values for Raegan¡¯s coin tosses to compare it with his actions when he intentionally affects the outcome with his ability. I intend to use myself as a control set of values because Annaliese has already explained that I¡¯m immune to Fate and fortune essences.¡± She blinked as an idea came to her and she snapped her fingers. ¡°There. The symbols should now be in Imperial Common. It might take a bit of time to understand the formulas.¡±


    Lucy picked the coin up and threw it back at Raegan. ¡°Alright, Raegan. Let¡¯s do this again. Ideally, we need to repeat this set about fifty times and then-¡± She realised something and then frowned at her scrawled pages. ¡°Blight. I forgot to check the gravity acceleration constant for the plane. I¡¯ve been working while basing it on my home world¡¯s standard.¡±


    The navy-haired mage¡¯s eyes widened and brown elemental earth mana swirled above his hand before arranging itself into a mana-circle. He shifted his gold glasses and showed the result to Lucy. ¡°9.87 meters per second squared on this Gilded Dome plane, apparently.¡±


    She paused to look at his spell then glanced at him. Lucille put down her page and began writing words in the air with illusion mana. ¡°Marellen, do you think you could cast these spells to check a few other variables for me while I work on analysing Raegan¡¯s coin tosses?¡±


    The mage studied the new spell diagrams with intense curiosity and nodded excitedly. ¡°I always welcome the chance to learn new spells.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Lucy nodded and checked the results of Raegan¡¯s newest coin toss. ¡°We have a lot of calculations to make to work out what exactly is going on with Raegan¡¯s abilities.¡±


    They worked swiftly, documenting different details and factors with spells and calculations. When the two-hour mark ticked over, they only let Raegan go so they could continue discussing theories. The more time went by, the more it was clear that Marellen was in his element.


    Meanwhile, the peanut gallery was staring at them like they were animals in a zoo.


    ¡°It¡¯s only when I¡¯m seeing Lucille like this do I remember she¡¯s a mage,¡± Vincent said with bemusement. He was standing with Sedric, Annaliese, Roa and Scytale. The others had gone to different places.


    ¡°Yeaaaap.¡± Scytale leaned against the smooth stone wall with his arms crossed. ¡°Probably best to leave them alone for a while¡­ they¡¯ll snap out of their trance. Eventually.¡±


    Annaliese turned to look at Roa. ¡°You don¡¯t want to join them?¡±


    Roa gave the girl an odd look. ¡°Not every mage is like Marellen. I certainly prefer to strengthen my spellcraft by applying it to battle. It is for that very reason that I have never entertained the possibility of joining the Athenaeum.¡±


    ¡°If those two aren¡¯t finishing up soon, then I may as well leave.¡± Sedric turned around and gave them a short wave. ¡°Bye.¡±


    Vincent glanced at Scytale. ¡°Is Lucille really not going to be done for a while?¡±


    ¡°She has no plans of finishing at the moment.¡± The humanoid snake shrugged and followed Sedric out of the door. ¡°I say just leave her and let her get it out of her system.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°I believe I know how Raegan¡¯s ability works,¡± Lucy announced early the next morning.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Anyone interested was gathered in front of her in the training room because Raegan had said he didn¡¯t care who heard about his abilities. That meant everyone because someone who could cause bad luck was interesting to them all.


    They were all staring at the mage sleeping on the fall, surrounded by pages, next to her. Lucy glanced down to see Marellen near her boot and nudged him awake. ¡°Hey, Marellen. You don¡¯t want to tell them what we found out?¡±


    Snoring was her only response. Lucille shrugged and pulled Raegan out in front of them. ¡°Our conclusion was that Raegan doesn¡¯t have the ability to create bad luck at all,¡± she claimed.


    Raegan gave her a dull look. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure that someone breaking their leg when I use my ability on them counts as ¡®bad luck¡¯.¡±


    Lucy raised a finger. ¡°Not if that was just an act of the realm reversing the influence of Fate and fortune essences.¡±


    ¡°Lucy, what can Raegan do?¡± Annaliese asked. ¡°I hope it¡¯s useful.¡±


    Lucille shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s usefulness is what you make of it. Raegan here has made very good use of it by instinctually reverting the effects of Fate and fortune on those affected by it, but for others, it may seem a completely useless ability. That¡¯s because contrary to my prediction, Raegan doesn¡¯t have the power of a unique Higher element, but erases Higher elements when he chooses.¡±


    Raegan swatted her hand off his shoulder. ¡°Get to the point and stop trying to sound mysterious, okay? We didn¡¯t do this just so you could get an ego boost.¡±


    ¡°What Lucille is trying to say is that¡­ you¡­ have the ability to nullify Higher elements¡­¡±


    They looked down to see Marellen pulling himself up with the help of a table. He let out a sigh as he leaned against it. ¡°That means Fate.¡±


    Raegan squinted at him. ¡°How does that help me trip people over?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t quite understand it either until Lucille explained,¡± Marellen said with a shake of his head.


    Lucy gestured around them. ¡°Nearly everyone who is part of the Eternal Empire knows of the Citadel of Fate. Due to the existence of Fate essence, entire kingdoms and planes can have Fate, as well as individuals. When an individual gains more Fate, greater opportunities become open to them. The Sages and members of Providence have the ability to ¡®limit¡¯ someone¡¯s Fate to ensure some outcomes are more probable.¡±


    She pointed at them each. ¡°Because of the existence of the Higher element of Fate, each one of you has been affected by Fate at some point in your lives. Just being born into a powerful noble family could grant you higher Fate. But Raegan can ¡®delete¡¯ or ¡®erase¡¯ artificially gained Fate and luck.¡± Lucille crossed her arms and looked at Raegan. ¡°This manifests itself as bad luck in Raegan¡¯s case, as the opportunities he deletes are random. Big and small opportunities can be erased, so your bad luck is usually a mixture of not obtaining the winning numbers for a lottery, as well as accidentally stubbing your toe on a corner.¡±


    Sir Albrecht walked forward. ¡°You claim this also impacts other Higher elements, yet we have yet to see evidence of this. What is your explanation?¡± he asked solemnly.


    Marellen raised a hand to answer before Lucy could. ¡°That would be because while the impact of his abilities on other Higher elements has not been tested, we believe it will have a lesser effect than it does on Fate essence. That¡¯s because we theorise it will disintegrate Higher elements such as Nature into its elements of wood, water, light and earth with not much reduction in strength of the attack. For Fate essence, which is only composed of light mana and concepts, the effect is much stronger.¡±


    ¡°As for why Raegan can influence the fortune mid-level element¡­ that¡¯s a separate issue.¡± Lucille took out a strange orb-shaped crystal from her dimensional bag and held it out for Raegan. ¡°If you would, Raegan. I know we¡¯ve already done it, but just to show the others¡­¡±


    The dark-haired boy rolled his eyes and placed a hand on the orb. It lit up with a glow that slowly faded until what could be seen within was a grey-coloured mote.


    ¡°While Raegan doesn¡¯t have an elemental affinity for fortune, his aptitude for fortune-affecting hexes and the fortune element is high,¡± Lucy explained. ¡°It¡¯s likely his undeveloped Origin Skill has been causing issues regarding his affinity.¡±


    Raegan raised an eyebrow. ¡°So I can¡¯t gain an affinity? What, does that mean I have no affinity now?¡±


    Lucy shook her head. ¡°No, from what we could tell you have a Major affinity for the dark element, a Minor affinity for the earth element and varying low ratios of the other four. You¡¯re just innately talented at affecting fortune-altering effects, which is a different talent to your ¡®Fate nullification¡¯ ability.¡±


    Annaliese¡¯s face screwed up. ¡°I don¡¯t get any of this.¡±


    Jasten Albrecht held his chin in contemplation. ¡°Is there a way for him to prevent his Fate erasure abilities from occurring? All the Paladins around the Prophetess and her brother have to have their Fate refreshed by Prophetess Verdon on a regular basis.¡±


    ¡°Why would I want to help those egotistical jerks?¡± Raegan argued with disdain.


    Lucy ignored him as Sir Albrecht glared at the boy. ¡°I doubt he will be able to do anything until the time of his Origin Skill awakening draws closer,¡± she replied. ¡°He has gained this ability as a contrasting force against the element of Fate to balance the energies of the realm. It¡¯s possible that when he awakens his Origin Skill, he¡¯ll be able to determine when and where his ability is needed most.¡±


    Annaliese glanced between Lucy and her brother. ¡°Will it be¡­ dangerous for him?¡± she asked with slight worry.


    Lucille raised an eyebrow and glanced at the dark-haired boy. ¡°Only if he¡¯s stupid with his abilities. His erasure abilities are nigh-on untraceable, so the only way he could find himself in danger is if he leaves obvious traces separate from his abilities. That, and he should avoid telling the Sages or any other noble who asks so they can¡¯t use him as a scapegoat.¡±


    The rest of them all looked at Raegan, looking pensive. Raegan glared at them all in return.


    ¡°You guys are one crazy pair of siblings,¡± Scytale announced with his arms crossed. ¡°What are the odds of you guys being related? The enemy of the Citadel and his sister as the Prophetess.¡±


    ¡°I feel like it¡¯s more surprising that Lucille met up with these two,¡± Marellen noted. ¡°It seems she¡¯s been involved in all manner of interesting things since we split up last year.¡±


    Lucy smirked and pointed at him. ¡°That¡¯s what time travel knowledge does.¡±


    Marellen¡¯s eyes widened as he stared at her while she walked off and out of the room. ¡°Alright, I need to get back to work. I¡¯ll see you guys later.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Show me your wings!¡± Annaliese exclaimed, sitting next to the flustered ex-mercenary with expectant eyes.


    Hargrave choked on his water and stopped to cough as he placed the cup back down. ¡°I¡¯m sorry? Wings?¡± he asked weakly.


    ¡°You¡¯re a dragon-blooded, right?¡± the blonde-haired girl replied, leaning forward. ¡°A first generation beastman. Your hair colour can¡¯t be the only thing that has changed!¡±


    A winged snake snickered as he flapped his wings and landed on the couch opposite them. ¡°Go on, Hargrave. Show her your fabulous new form. Not the big one though, I don¡¯t think you¡¯d fit in this room.¡±


    Hargrave hesitated and looked up as if he only just realised that as a dragon beast, he had a beast body too. Lucy, who was in her study listening to their conversation, was 90% sure that the man only wanted to obtain the power of a dragon for physical enhancement and to show the General of Blazing Iron when he completed his revenge.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Hargrave looked down at his hands and then at Scytale. ¡°How do I do this?¡±


    Scytale shifted into his human form and then smirked as he pointed at himself. ¡°Imagine yourself gaining the features of a dragon. Don¡¯t imagine what a dragon looks like, or else you¡¯ll¡­ well, you know.¡±


    ¡°¡­okay.¡± Hargrave rubbed his temples, clearly attempting to do what the snake had said. He flinched when large scaly blue wings sprouted from his shoulder blades and he sprang up, with Annaliese barely managing to duck beneath the new appendages. Something hit the coffee table and he whirled around, then stared when he couldn¡¯t see what had made the noise.


    ¡°Hargrave! You have a tail!¡±


    At the Prophetess¡¯s astonished outburst, his eyes widened and he looked over his shoulder to see the royal blue scaly limb swaying back and forth. He went to grab his hair and then froze as his hands touched something hard and heavy near his ears. Slowly running his calloused fingers against the rough surface, he realised that he was touching curled¡­ horns.


    Scytale burst out laughing at the man¡¯s apparent distress and struggled to wipe the tears from his eyes as he summoned illusion mana to be Hargrave¡¯s mirror.


    Hargrave blanched when faced with his new appearance.


    ¡°I-If¡­ you want to change back¡­¡± Scytale said, having collapsed to the floor. ¡°Just¡­ uh, think of them turning into mana and disappearing. It¡¯s close enough to what actually happens.¡±


    Hargrave didn¡¯t immediately register what the humanoid amphiptere had said as he remained staring at his reflection. It was only when the impromptu mirror disappeared that he regained awareness and let out a visible sigh of relief when the wings, horns and tail managed to disappear.


    ¡°I am never using the partial form ever again,¡± he muttered quietly as he sat back down.


    For some reason, Scytale began to laugh again. ¡°O-Oh, this is amazing. Who¡¯d ever think that the Prismat¡­¡± He stopped himself when a warning came through from Lucy, then he coughed and continued, ¡°That you¡¯d be most afraid of your own new appearance. Wouldn¡¯t it be a bonus for you? Normal members of the mortal races can¡¯t fly until Rank-4 anyway, and I¡¯m sure you felt the strength boost.¡±


    ¡°I am still never using it,¡± Hargrave hissed.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, sure.¡± Scytale put his hands behind his head once he got back onto the couch and kicked his feet up. ¡°Don¡¯t come running back to me asking for tips on being a magical beast when all your hundreds of enemies come chasing after you.¡±


    ¡°Enemies? For who? Hargrave?¡± Annaliese looked at the man next to her. ¡°Why would you have enemies Hargrave?¡±


    Hargrave scowled at the snake who avoided eye contact and then scratched the back of his head when he noticed Annaliese¡¯s gaze. ¡°I¡­ no, I don¡¯t have any enemies. I was just a¡­ normal adventurer.¡±


    Scytale raised an eyebrow and Lucy realised that Hargrave was trying to hide his past profession from the girl for some reason.


    Lucille straightened the pages on her desk and spun her pen as she considered the man¡¯s motives.


    He seems to attach importance to Annaliese in some way. I wonder why¡­


    ¡­is it because she was the first to introduce him to the rest of my friends?


    <hr>


    Another day in the Mystical Realm. My junior sisters would be shocked to hear the kind of work a successor of the Vast Longevity Glacier Sect is doing.


    The girl with long dark hair and deep blue eyes straightened up, having completed her footwork practices for the morning. Zhang Mingxia sheathed her longsword and walked back inside the women¡¯s dormitories of the building allocated to the Dawnlight¡¯s crewmembers. When she found her room she picked up the Officer uniform on her bed and studied it uneasily.


    She had never worn the uniform because, unlike her other crewmates, she was a temporary Officer and was there for political reasons. She was never required to wear the navy blue and black form-fitting uniform, so she continued wearing her dresses woven from spiritual Ice Silk. She had considered the protection from her Sect wear to be strong enough, but with the complications of mana in the Beast Realm¡­


    Mingxia decided that she¡¯d change into her uniform for the first time as Captain Riftmire had seemingly decided to make her a Squad Leader in the long term. When the pants, boots and outerwear were on, she plucked at the long-sleeved clothes, worried about their immodesty and how they clung tightly to her frame.


    She picked up her longsword and twisted as she looked at herself, wondering where to tie the sash that acted as its sheath.


    ¡°Mingxia! Are you in?¡±


    The Sect heir looked up when the call sounded out. She knew who it was and walked over to the door to open it. Liliana was standing in front and blinked when she saw her.


    ¡°You¡¯re trying the uniform on today?¡± the brown-haired woman asked curiously.


    Mingxia coughed and looked away. ¡°I saw it fitting to attempt to follow the customs of the Navy as the Captain has seen fit to bestow me with greater authority. I know I am ill-suited to these types of wear, but I-¡±


    ¡°You look great!¡± Liliana replied with a smile. ¡°It makes you look more mature. I think it¡¯s a good idea to wear it now that you¡¯re going to become the leader of some of us whenever we explore islands and fight.¡±


    ¡°I-I see¡­¡± Zhang Mingxia pushed past her friend and continued walking without looking back. ¡°Where is our Captain? I have been told I must report to her today and she cannot be found within my spiritual sense.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± Liliana thought about it and pointed up. ¡°I think she¡¯s in her office on the top floor? I saw her there earlier this morning.¡±


    Zhang Mingxia nodded. ¡°I thank you for this information.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to be so formal,¡± Liliana said with a grin. She grabbed Mingxia¡¯s wrist and pulled her along. ¡°Let¡¯s go find Caspian ¨C I think he¡¯s heading up there too.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Here.¡±


    Zhang Mingxia and Palin Zoc¡¯uraghets caught the small bronze objects sent their way and blinked when they saw they were badges with the title ¡®Squad Leader¡¯ on the front.


    Adrianna crossed her arms and leaned her back against her desk. ¡°That¡¯s all I needed you for. You¡¯re free to go.¡±


    ¡°...is this all there is to our promotions?¡± Mingxia asked hesitantly.


    The icy-blue eyed woman marginally raised an eyebrow. ¡°Did you want me to stand on ceremony and pin that to your chest? Give you a pat on the shoulder too?¡±


    Mingxia paused when the strange image came to mind and quickly shook her head. She saluted. ¡°No, Captain. Thank you for this honour. I¡¯ll do my best to meet your expectations.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Adrianna waved them off with a hand and walked behind her desk. ¡°Go and finish your preparations for the departure at three today and meet your squads. I¡¯ll discuss your jobs in more detail tomorrow when we¡¯re on the boat and-¡±


    ¡°Captain Riftmire.¡± The dark-skinned Palin Zoc¡¯uraghets saluted and dipped his head respectfully. ¡°I would like to decline this promotion to Squad Leader and give it to someone who desires it more than me.¡±


    Caspian, who was leaning against a wall behind them, gave the man a look of surprise, but Adrianna paused before she sat down and gave Zoc¡¯uraghets an unreadable look. ¡°And who would this person be?¡±


    ¡°Conlan Griffin, Captain,¡± he replied. ¡°In our team battle training drills, Griffin has shown greater leadership and combat ability than I. I believe he would be a better fit for the position if you granted him the opportunity to make up for his first mistake.¡±


    Adrianna tapped her fingers on the desk as she watched the man silently. ¡°Is this his request to you?¡±


    Zoc¡¯uraghets shook his head. ¡°No. But he has a variant of pseudo-battle aura and sword aura. I feel it would be a waste to not utilise his talents more.¡±


    Adrianna looked out the window and Zhang Mingxia stared as the cold woman¡¯s lips tilted up in a strange smirk. ¡°I guess that to fail you need to have opportunities to make mistakes¡­¡± their Captain murmured. She sat down at her desk and waved to him. ¡°I¡¯ll consider it and get back to you by the end of this month. If you¡¯re still willing to give up your position and Griffin has demonstrated his willingness to make up for his errors, then I¡¯ll transfer the position.¡±


    Adrianna looked between them both. ¡°If that is all, then I¡¯ll continue my work. Please go down and check in with your squad members.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Captain!¡± They both saluted and left her room, splitting up when they reached the first change in hallways.


    Zhang Mingxia¡¯s brow creased slightly as she thought back to her experiences with Conlan Griffin.


    It may be true that he is above average in strength among our crewmates, but my soul art always acts strangely around him. Not as if he has explicitly bad intentions, but¡­ that his intentions are harmful to someone else on the ship.

 Chapter 79 (2 of 2) In which Raegan is abducted by two(?) magic fanatics.

    ¡°Squad Leader Zhang Mingxia reporting for duty, Captain!¡± the Sect Heir announced loudly. Palin Zoc¡¯uraghets stood calmly beside her.


    Adrianna gazed dully at her. ¡°Do you have to be like that?¡±


    Mingxia blinked. ¡°I apologise for not understanding what you mean, Captain Riftmire. Like what?¡±


    ¡°Acting so energetically this early in the morning,¡± Adrianna replied with a sigh, standing up from behind her desk in her cabin. ¡°Do you think I want to have to deal with you right now? ¡­no, forget it. Let¡¯s just get a move on.¡± The woman with streaked curly dark hair pulled on her coat and walked out the door.


    Zhang Mingxia turned wordlessly to Caspian leaning against the wall to her left, looking for an explanation.


    Caspian groaned and straightened up to follow after his superior. ¡°Ignore the Captain, Zhang. She always makes an effort to complain about her tasks but she ends up completing them to perfection.¡± Caspian held the door out for Mingxia and Palin. ¡°She doesn¡¯t have anything against you, she just has something against the whole Tower.¡±


    ¡°¡­as you say, Vice Captain.¡±


    They followed her out onto the main deck. Adrianna took out her spyglass and scanned the horizon before turning back to them as she tucked it into her belt.


    ¡°Have you heard anything from Head Officer Stanhope about our task for this trip?¡± she asked seriously.


    Mingxia shook her head but Palin saluted. ¡°I¡¯ve heard sparse details of the need to cull a few species of monsters in the outer fringes of the central zone,¡± he informed them. ¡°But I wasn¡¯t able to hear enough about whether that was our task for this trip.¡±


    Adrianna nodded and walked over to the stairs of the forecastle. She sat on the bottom step and gestured to them to sit down on the barrels and other crates nearby. ¡°The Distorted Depths¡¯ Navy culls monsters on a strict ten-year rotation schedule. This is to prevent the more difficult monster species from gathering too much strength but also to allow some species to gain enough strength for their materials to be valuable.¡± The woman reached into her dimensional skill and withdrew a piece of rolled-up parchment.


    She spread it on the deck boards and placed a small canteen on top to hold it into place. Palin, Mingxia and Caspian leaned forward to look at the map, which also depicted a diagram of the monster they would be eradicating.


    ¡°A¡­ flying fish?¡± Caspian asked with one eyebrow raised.


    ¡°Sword-Edge Wind Fish is the name of the kind we¡¯ll be hunting,¡± Adrianna replied as she lit a cigar and placed the end in her mouth. ¡°They hunt in schools but don¡¯t aim for large prey, so they hardly ever target the magic warships of the Navy. Additionally, their agility means that attempts to ambush their home Lair islands have been met with difficulty. The Commander said their instinct to flee is particularly strong.¡±


    ¡°And yet the M.W.S. Dawnlight has the agility and strength to chase or escape these airborne predators,¡± Zhang Mingxia mused as she studied the map, taking note of the razor-thin edges of their fins. ¡°They do not sound like a threat to the Navy, I have noticed.¡±


    Adrianna leaned back and took a puff of her cigar. ¡°They¡¯re barely more than a slight annoyance to the fleets when major combat occurs due to their tendency to steal away kills and monster cores. Now that the Dawnlight has set sail again, the Commander has told Wharifin and me that he¡¯s looking forward to fighting without being interrupted by those opportunists.¡± A slight huff escaped her lips as she crossed her arms. ¡°Apparently, the scales are used as glitter on many noblewomen¡¯s dresses when they¡¯re ground down too.¡±


    ¡°How will we approach this task, Captain?¡± Palin asked seriously.


    Adrianna glanced at him and then gestured to Caspian. The demi-Atlantean took out a duplicate map of the archipelago on the White Squall Fortress¡¯s side of the Distorted Depths, this one annotated in red pen.


    ¡°The Captain and I have been discussing using this opportunity to test the crew against some of the other monsters in the areas bordering the central waters,¡± he told them, tracing a circle around the island labelled ¡®Sword-Edge Wind Fish¡¯. ¡°We¡¯ve both agreed that we¡¯d like to accustom the crew to combat with monsters on the crew¡¯s own terms, but we didn¡¯t want to do anything without talking about this with you two. You¡¯ll be the ones responsible for leading the fights against the monsters.¡±


    Palin opened her mouth but Adrianna pointed at him before he could say anything. ¡°Yes, we know you¡¯d prefer to give the position to someone else. Unfortunately, all of Wharifin¡¯s colleagues were Squad Leaders themselves before coming here and my task is to give everyone experience. And I¡¯m undecided about Griffin.¡±


    Zhang Mingxia glanced at the outlined path on the map and pointed to the islands surrounding the flying fish island. ¡°If we are to lead our crewmates into battle, I suggest granting us the opportunity to enhance our strength through levels utilising these less protected monster species. Our inexperience will cause fewer issues if we have the strength to make up for it.¡±


    Caspian nodded thoughtfully while Adrianna looked at the ocean behind her. ¡°The System will impose penalties on experience gain if we only attack monsters that are easy to slaughter. We¡¯ll adjust our course for that if you need, but gather information from the crew to determine what order we should target the Lairs in to limit the penalties.¡±


    Mingxia looked up. ¡°Gather information from the crew?¡±


    Caspian nodded. ¡°Some of us, like Ruel, can throw elemental spells and cause devastating damage to the enemy frontlines with that method. But others like Dais fight through purely melee. The Captain and I will still be here to discuss anything you might need to about fighting the monsters, but you need to organise these plans with your squads yourselves.¡±


    Zhang Mingxia and Palin Zoc¡¯uraghets trades looks. ¡°Then I suppose we begin that now?¡± Mingxia asked.


    Adrianna gestured to the stairs descending to the lower decks behind them. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s time to wake up the others, anyway. Arventiel needs to get some rest.¡±


    They all looked up to see the half-fae in the crow¡¯s nest, barely able to keep levitating in the air through her sleepiness.


    ¡°Captain Riftmire, I have been somewhat curious¡­¡± Mingxia glanced at the curly-haired woman. ¡°Are you aware of the reason why she calls you the ¡®false one¡¯? It feels as though all reasons for her fear of you stem from that.¡±


    Adrianna frowned slightly but stood up and didn¡¯t address the question. ¡°Stop asking about irrelevant details. It¡¯s likely just her fae instincts responding to my Superior illusion affinity.¡±


    Mingxia narrowed her eyes.


    But I have already asked Noirel Arventiel that, having come to the same conclusion myself. She has told me that it is not so.


    ¡°Arventiel called Griffin something like a ¡®Distortionist¡¯ or similar too, didn¡¯t she?¡± Palin mused.


    ¡°Yes, ¡®Distorter¡¯,¡± Mingxia agreed.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like a good title,¡± Caspian said with mild bemusement. ¡°Then again, ¡®false one¡¯ doesn¡¯t sound the greatest either. Maybe Noirel has nicknames for everyone she keeps secret and only mentions the ones for Adrianna and Conlan.¡±


    Palin stood up and straightened out his uniform¡¯s sleeves before walking off. ¡°I¡¯ll go wake the men. Officer Zhang, you should wake the women.¡±


    ¡°I will do as you suggested.¡± Mingxia stood up and waved to Caspian. ¡°I foresee that I will want to discuss things further with you about our tasks, Vice Captain. Could you leave an opening in your schedule for us to meet again today?¡±


    Stolen story; please report.


    Caspian smirked and crossed his arms. ¡°Cathy still hasn¡¯t managed to get you to stop being so formal. Maybe we should give Ruel the task instead.¡±


    She smiled and shook her head. ¡°If he can persuade my fellow disciples then perhaps he would have a chance to persuade me as well. However, that remains to be seen.¡± She saluted to Caspian. ¡°I shall wake the women of our crew up, Vice Captain Wharifin.¡±


    He waved goodbye to her and Mingxia smiled as she descended the steps.


    The longer I spend among my crewmates, the more I feel ill-suited to the life of a successor to my clan and Sect. Nonetheless, the differences between them and I are still clear. I only wish that¡­ part of this life would stay with me when I return to my realm¡­


    <hr>


    I can feel that Griffin¡¯s up to something, but what I don¡¯t know¡­


    Adrianna frowned as she put away her spyglass and spun the wheel. Silenis Vima was busy charting their designated path in the map room below deck, so she had the responsibility of steering for the morning. Her gaze caught on the three people she had talked to this morning but then she refocused her attention on the horizon.


    Arventiel¡¯s reaction to me is making the crew curious. I¡¯ll need to talk with her about this before she begins to reveal a bit more to the rest of the crew and create difficulties.


    She inwardly sighed as Zhang Mingxia began to walk up the steps to the quarterdeck. The cultivator never seemed to run out of conversation topics. Adrianna sometimes wondered if she should¡¯ve worked harder to ignore the girl, but she hadn¡¯t thought it would be an issue because Zhang Mingxia and her company ended up leaving them at the end of the year for unknown reasons. That choice was coming back to bite her because now the Sect heir seemed to think she made a good conversation partner.


    ¡°Captain, am I disturbing you?¡± the girl asked with a calm smile.


    Adrianna stared at her and then turned away to look at the horizon again. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then I will have to apologise beforehand,¡± the Sect heir claimed without an ounce of shame. ¡°I wanted to ask you something.¡±


    Adrianna¡¯s expression twitched and she tried to avoid looking at Zhang Mingxia as the cultivator stood next to her.


    ¡°Officer Zoc¡¯uraghets has a sensible and collected character so I understand your reasons for selecting him as one of our Squad Leaders,¡± Zhang Mingxia began with her hands held behind her back. ¡°However, I cannot help my curiosity about why you selected me as a Squad Leader.¡±


    Adrianna glanced at her with a slight frown and tilted the wheel slightly to use the headwind to speed up their sailing. ¡°I thought it should be obvious. You¡¯re here to learn about the Navy of the Mystical Realm and our interactions with the Beast Realm. I¡¯m required to provide you with the opportunity to gain experience in leading others.¡±


    ¡°That may be so, yet would it not suit you better to select a member of the Mystical Realm?¡± Zhang Mingxia asked curiously. ¡°You were the one to inform me of my inability to utilise spiritual energy to deal significant damage to the monstrous creatures in the realms of magic.¡±


    ¡°You mean when you tried to make Stanhope give you a different sparring partner but your tantrum didn¡¯t work?¡± Adrianna stated flatly.


    Zhang Mingxia¡¯s expression froze and she turned away to cough. ¡°I was¡­ young and immature, but-¡±


    ¡°You think you¡¯ve gained that much maturity in barely seven months?¡± Adrianna asked dubiously. Zhang Mingxia avoided her gaze and Adrianna gained a brief smirk before it disappeared. ¡°You¡¯re overthinking this. You¡¯ve demonstrated that out of the members of our cadet camp, you¡¯re genuine about wanting to fulfil your responsibilities. You also know what is required of a member of the military. That¡¯s enough to make you a Squad Leader.¡±


    Zhang Mingxia narrowed her eyes at Adrianna, clearly not believing that it was such a simple reason. Adrianna hadn¡¯t exactly lied per se, but¡­


    The cultivator sighed and gave her a salute. ¡°As you say, Captain. I presume that even if I press here, you would refuse to answer. You¡¯re that kind of person.¡± She turned around and began to descend the stairs, but looked back to say one more thing. ¡°Although, Captain Riftmire¡­ I must say that I am impressed by your impeccable soul control. If you were a cultivator, I¡¯m sure my own Sect would wish to take you on as a disciple.¡±


    Adrianna eyed her with mild suspicion. ¡°And what is that supposed to mean?¡±


    Zhang Mingxia blinked. ¡°It was a sincere compliment. I didn¡¯t mean anything else outside of that.¡±


    She left Adrianna to her own devices, guiding the M.W.S. Dawnlight through the frigid, cold grey waters of the Distorted Depths.


    Impeccable soul control¡­ ah, she must¡¯ve reached a new level in the cultivation of her Soul Art. The Longevity Vast Glacier Sect is known for being the Sect with the strongest Soul Arts and Scriptures. Is she able to perceive my surface-level emotions now?


    There had never been a time that Zhang Mingxia had approached her like that in the past, though. She looked through her memories to think of what the difference could¡¯ve been, and¡­


    My strongest emotions during that first year of being in charge of the Dawnlight were¡­ fear and anxiety. I didn¡¯t want any of them to find out my secrets and I was already treading a fine line by showing the talent I had.


    There was also Griffin. After I saw him survive my first attempt to kill him, even if he didn¡¯t know about my involvement, I didn¡¯t kick him out because I wanted to observe him. I was on edge the entire time to make sure Griffin didn¡¯t think I was showing him any specific attention¡­


    Adrianna sighed and pressed a hand to her temples.


    After that first attempt, he gained strength at an exponential rate. I had my suspicions about why I was able to gain strength at an unnatural rate, but he was an anomaly. My Origin Skill excels at analysing cause and effect but he defies all their laws.


    And then I discovered that any attempts to harm him only served to strengthen him¡­


    Her fingers twitched on the steering wheel when the subject of her thoughts himself walked out onto the main deck. As was his habit, the first thing he did each morning was search for where she was. He eventually found her behind the wheel and smiled and waved, but she ignored him as she always did.


    A burst of fierce wind rushed over the ship and she ran a hand through her messed-up hair in an attempt to get it back into its normal position.


    I was originally thinking about Zhang Mingxia. I shouldn¡¯t think about Griffin any more than I have to.


    Consistently, ever since the crew was officially formed, Zhang Mingxia had been approaching her everyday to talk to her. It wasn¡¯t a major issue, but Zhang Mingxia wasn¡¯t in any of Adrianna¡¯s plans and she intended for it to remain that way.


    Zhang Mingxia was a short-term member of the crew and in comparison to the others, Adrianna didn¡¯t actually know much about the Sect heir. She wasn¡¯t aware of any of the girl¡¯s past. The real reason why Adrianna had selected Zhang Mingxia to be a Squad Leader was actually that the girl was a ¡®neutral¡¯ force that never got pulled into Griffin¡¯s crappy orbit.


    Adrianna didn¡¯t want to interact with her other crewmates very much because she expected them to leave and join Griffin¡¯s Guild when he created it. As for why she was going to allow that¡­


    Griffin¡¯s ability to distort events meant that the people who joined him would be protected by his abilities and benefit because of it. She was perfectly happy to ruin the members of Griffin¡¯s Guild who weren¡¯t part of her original crew, but she wanted the members of her crew to stay safe.


    The true reason behind her actions in the Navy was to ensure that Griffin¡¯s worse personality traits could be revealed and plant the seed of conflict within his forces but let the crew benefit from being his ¡®allies¡¯ for as long as possible. She had confidence Griffin would find a way to screw things up on his own as he had done the exact same thing in the past, and she had her way of planting ticking timebombs to spice things up.


    So, her role in this timeline would be to ensure they survived and had enough friction with Griffin to face issues when the time for the Millennium Chapter came around. Because any of her crewmates who began to confront Griffin had the risk of being deemed ¡®enemies¡¯ by his Origin Skill and Class. That would spell disaster for them.


    And if she was going to get the revenge she wanted, Griffin needed to place his trust in the crew before they all abandoned him.


    It¡¯s fine. Griffin will probably stay here for another year and a half before leaving to create his Guild. I can enjoy this peace for a while longer before doing anything.


    ¡­she still had to deal with that annoyingly outgoing Sect heir, though. Adrianna looked at Zhang Mingxia and then clicked her tongue. Silenis Vima soon arrived on the quarterdeck and took the wheel from her with a calm nod.


    Then Adrianna walked down the steps with her coat loosely slung over one shoulder, ready to look for her equally annoying second-in-command.


    I need to sort things out with Arventiel¡­


    ¡­


    ¡°During the fights, you can either choose to join Officer Zoc¡¯uraghets group, with officer Griffin being part of them or my group, commanded by Officer Zhang Mingxia,¡± Adrianna informed the half-fae coolly. ¡°Take your pick.¡±


    The ashy-haired girl was staring at her with a pale face and wide eyes. She looked like she might faint. ¡°I-I need to be part of the same squad as the Distorter?¡± she stammered.


    Adrianna tilted her head with her arms crossed. ¡°Or with me, the one you claim is the ¡®false one¡¯.¡±


    Noirel Arventiel took a step back from her and Caspian, who was watching from the side. ¡°I don¡¯t want to do either!¡±


    Adrianna narrowed her eyes. ¡°You are required to be part of a group, Arventiel. As a member of this crew, you need to be led by someone, and that can either be Zoc¡¯uraghets or Zhang Mingxia. Unfortunately or fortunately, Griffin and I are in two separate groups. Would you rather be in a group with both of us? I could arrange that.¡±


    The half-fae¡¯s face paled even more and she quickly shook her head. ¡°No, I¡¯ll choose. Between the distorter and the false one¡­¡± She hesitated for a moment and then grimaced. ¡°¡­I¡¯ll join your group, Captain Riftmire.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Adrianna turned on her heels and marched off. ¡°Stop bringing up anymore of this ¡®false one¡¯ business. I don¡¯t care about your opinions of me but I am still your Captain.¡±


    Arventiel slowly nodded as Caspian walked after Adrianna, having to jog a little to catch up to her pace. ¡°Adrianna, are you not curious why she calls you that at all?¡± Caspian asked.


    ¡°No. I already know why she calls me that,¡± Adrianna replied indifferently.


    Caspian¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Really? What¡¯s the reason then?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t recall that being any of your business.¡±


    He scowled and acting on impulse swept a leg out to try to kick her chin. She didn¡¯t even react and continued walking. Caspian¡¯s expression twitched and he walked over to the edge of the ship.


    Adrianna looked back. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°What am I doing? I¡¯m sulking!¡± Caspian angrily exclaimed, leaning his arms on the edge of the ship.


    ¡°¡­okay,¡± Adrianna said with a strange expression. She came up beside him. ¡°Why exactly are you sulking?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I wonder why!¡± Caspian shouted with indignance, looking incredibly irate. ¡°I have a ridiculous superior who refuses to call me by my first name, she just loves to keep me in ignorance, and she does whatever she pleases while expecting me to do whatever she tells me to!¡± He buried his head in his arms. ¡°I might just quit, I swear.¡±


    Adrianna studied him for a brief moment and then she placed a palm on his head. Caspian stiffened.


    ¡°There there,¡± she said tonelessly while patting him.


    ¡°What-¡± Caspian stared at her with wide eyes.


    ¡°Or at least that¡¯s how I think I¡¯m supposed to treat someone shorter than me.¡± And with that, Adrianna walked off.


    Caspian shouted after her with anger, ¡°Hey!¡±


    ¡­


    Caspian rested his head on the table he was sitting at. ¡°And then she just pats my head, saying ¡®There there¡¯, and claims she did it because I¡¯m shorter than her!¡±


    His conversation partner, Maeva, smirked and patted him on the head. ¡°There there.¡±


    He looked up and glared at her. ¡°Not you too!¡±


    Maeva paused when she felt his hair and walked forward to ruffle it. ¡°Your hair has a really interesting texture. It¡¯s surprisingly soft and fluffy.¡±


    He groaned and swatted away her hand. ¡°I¡¯m not some pet for you to pat!¡±


    ¡°Can I come in?¡±


    Caspian looked up and glared at the speaker when he heard the familiar voice. ¡°No.¡±


    Ignoring his response, Adrianna walked down the stairs below the main deck and pulled up a chair near a porthold. ¡°I¡¯m coming in anyway.¡±


    ¡°Why did you ask me if you were going to ignore me?¡± Caspian retorted.


    Adrianna marginally raised an eyebrow at him. ¡°I¡¯m the Captain of this ship. I can go anywhere I please. I was only asking for politeness¡¯ sake.¡±


    Caspian slammed his head on the table again. ¡°I haaateee youuu¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what Ross tells the Commander everyday yet I hear he still hasn¡¯t quit,¡± Adrianna replied while looking out of the porthole.


    Her Vice Captain just groaned as Maeva smirked and patted him on the head again. ¡°There there, Vice Captain. Things will get better soon.¡±


    ¡°Stop treating me like a kid!¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re younger than me, Caspian.¡±


    ¡°Argh!¡±

 Chapter 80 (1 of 2) Reconciliation != Cooperation

    The polished marble floors let out a dull echo as Lucille¡¯s boots walked across them. In the absence of anyone else nearby, her expression was cold and devoid of emotion.


    This wasn¡¯t just because she had turned off her expression regulator as she normally did when going there, but because it accurately expressed her emotions about being in that place. Unfortunately, her Transmutational Conduit picked up on the presence of another person¡¯s mana nearby ¨C as she didn¡¯t use her spiritual energy within the Archduke¡¯s presence ¨C and so she had to turn her expression regulator back on and become her normal calm, happy self.


    The sound of the footsteps approaching her was recognisable, so she paused for a bit but then continued walking. She peeked around the corner and then blinked when faced with the view of Count Bentsen frowning at the pages in his hands. Other officials of the Ducal Palace were standing nearby, looking nervous.


    Count Daymar Bentsen sighed and passed the pages back to the subordinates. ¡°This will do for now. Don¡¯t go to His Grace with them, just pass them to me when they¡¯re finalised.¡±


    The two officials slowly nodded and swiftly walked off. Count Bentsen turned around and stopped when he saw Lucille there.


    ¡°Count Goldcroft. It¡¯s a pleasure to see you again,¡± he said with a weary smile.


    ¡°The same to you. You look¡­¡± She tilted her head. ¡°Tired, Count.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± He glanced behind him and then carefully approached. He bent to talk into her ear. ¡°I¡¯ll only warn you because you know¡­ what he¡¯s like, but His Grace hasn¡¯t been in a good mood for a while now. He¡¯s been distracted and gazing off into mid-air whenever I see him.¡± He stepped back and dipped his head to her. ¡°Use this information as you see fit. I only ask you don¡¯t irritate him¡­ for the good of everyone in the Aethereal Palace.¡±


    He walked off, leaving Lucy to gaze after him in thought.


    Mid-air? That sounds like system notifications. And of course, he¡¯s in a bad mood. He¡¯s always in a bad mood.


    She shook her head and took the flight of steps to the Archduke¡¯s floor where his study was.


    She paused in front of the two blue-painted doors and considered how she was going to go about entering this time. Eventually, Lucille shrugged and pushed them both open with two hands.


    ¡°Your Grace!¡± she began with obnoxious cheerfulness. She walked forward and leaned her hands on the back of the couch facing his desk. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since we last met! I hope you haven¡¯t missed me too much, because I certainly have not missed you!¡±


    He gazed silently at her for a long while, but in a shocking turn of events, he barely showed a reaction besides letting out a slight sigh and returning to his work.


    Lucy stared at him.


    No killing intent? Is he seriously not mad at me anymore? I thought he¡¯d still be angry, if not even more furious at me for my actions two months ago.


    The Archduke suddenly turned his head to glare at something off to his left. His eyes turned a bloody crimson. He didn¡¯t seem to care that she saw his actions in the slightest.


    ¡­ah.


    The only other explanation she could think of was that¡­


    ¡­he found someone else he was more angry at than her.


    For some reason, the Archduke clicked his tongue and scratched his ear as if to rid himself of an irritating noise. His crimson gaze faded as he glanced at her and then indifferently pointed at the couch as he scanned a new page. ¡°Well? Are you going to sit, Goldcroft?¡±


    She watched him for a second longer and suppressed a huff as she walked around to sit down on the couch with her arms crossed.


    It doesn¡¯t matter what his reasons are for not being angry at me anymore. It seems this might be the first step towards having a more cooperative relationship, so I¡¯ll take what I can get. Maybe I¡¯ll have the chance to bring up the contract.


    ¡°So, Your Excellency, what is on the agenda today?¡± she asked in an upbeat voice.


    He gave her a slightly dubious look. ¡°Excellency?¡±


    ¡°That is the title afforded to an Archduke, isn¡¯t it?¡± Lucille replied. ¡°Or do you prefer Your Grace? If so, then I can call you by your preferred-¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care what you call me. Don¡¯t speak to me at all if you can help it.¡± The white-haired incognito Demon Emperor tapped a pile on his desk and it teleported in front of her.


    Lucy refrained from rolling her eyes and picked up the pile. ¡°Ah, the month after the mid-annual merchant consolidation month. I suppose this is something to do with the ties between the Commission and your Duchy, Your Grace? With the tribute reports having been submitted to the Empire, the merchants will be rushing to arrange deals as early in the new business semester as possible.¡±


    ¡°If you know, then work,¡± he stated curtly.


    Lucy was used to that response by now and set to work reading the proposals. It seemed they were submitted by government officials of the Duchy and they all had to do with the Aurelian Commission, so he just left them for when she could arrive to sort them out herself.


    Some of the proposals made her hesitate and she looked up at the Archduke. ¡°Would you permit me to go to Count Bentsen and request information on these reports? I want to know the selection criteria for the proposals that were rejected before these were gathered.¡±


    He tilted his head at her and then blinked. ¡°It¡¯s done. He¡¯s coming here instead.¡±


    ¡­that was not what I asked.


    The doors behind her opened to reveal the brown-haired Count with several binders in hand. He glanced between them curiously. ¡°Your Grace, you called for me?¡±


    The Archduke pointed at Lucy, who sighed. ¡°I requested to meet with you to know the selection criteria for these business proposals. Instead, His Grace summoned you.¡± She smiled brightly before silently mouthing, ¡®Sorry¡¯.


    Count Bentsen paused and then smirked. He deposited one of the binders in front of her and then turned to the Archduke. ¡°I see. Then I will make good use of this opportunity to pass these highly important, urgent documents to Your Grace as it is a rare occasion that you send for me.¡±


    The Archduke scowled as the work was placed on his desk but the Count let out a chuckle. ¡°Even as your aide, I often wonder what makes you so busy. Why, often I come to your office with urgent work and yet I find the doors locked and not a sound to be heard inside! It¡¯s almost like you become deaf to my words!¡±


    The superior and subordinate had a stare-off as the Count smiled brightly and the Archduke¡¯s expression twitched.


    Lucy held her chin as she looked between the two of them and then shrugged. She picked up the binder with the selection criteria. ¡°Thank you for retrieving this for me, Count Bentsen. I know as a member of a different Faction that it¡¯s a great deal of trust that you¡¯re placing in me, letting me read these documents.¡±


    He smiled and showed as he walked towards the exit doors. ¡°Not a problem, my lady. Not a problem at all.¡± He shut the doors behind him, leaving the Archduke and Lucy alone once more.


    It was her expectation that after the hour of nothing occurring between them, she could determine that because the Archduke had finally lost his anger towards her, they could cooperate to achieve her aims, but that expectation was proven a senseless hope when the Archduke stopped working and began to stare at her as she finished up her work. It was getting on her nerves too, as he didn¡¯t show any other reaction when she made eye contact with him.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    It was when she had finished writing the last line that his neon blue eyes narrowed. She stood up, shook the pages so they fell into a neat pile, and then walked forward to place them on the white-haired incognito demon¡¯s desk. ¡°It appears I¡¯ve finished early today,¡± she began pleasantly. ¡°It may take some time for you to work through the rest of your documents, but I¡¯m sure that as the Archduke you¡¯re familiar with doing this quantity of work each day.¡±


    Archduke Stolas seemed to frown slightly but Lucille stepped back and lightly shrugged. ¡°Of course, I have to return to my work once I leave the Aethereal Palace. I do quite a lot too, Your Grace. I usually wake up at six and return to bed after midnight. Is your schedule similar to mine?¡±


    He glanced at her and then sent her a dismissive wave as he picked up a scarlet pen. ¡°Why should I reveal this to you?¡±


    ¡°No reason. Only minor curiosity on my part.¡± She tapped on her chin as she looked behind herself to see the exit, then glanced at the Archduke. ¡°Considering that I came across you sleeping during the middle of the day, I have been wondering if Your Grace may¡­ have the trait of wishing to avoid work wherever you can.¡± She smirked slightly and placed a hand on his desk. ¡°It would explain the long periods of rest you seem to take in between each cycle.¡±


    He narrowed his eyes. ¡°Goldcroft, if you have something to say, then say it. I don¡¯t have the patience to play your games.¡±


    She lost her smile and snapped her fingers. A projection of the terms of their shared System Contract appeared above her gloved palm. ¡°The contract. Please finish it.¡±


    He studied the projection and let out a sigh. ¡°I¡¯m not doing that.¡±


    She placed both her hands on his desk. ¡°Your Grace, I¡¯m not asking for much. I just want the clause about Quests to be added. It would benefit you too if you gave me an incentive that would make me more motivated to achieve the intention of your goals and not just the written word of them.¡±


    The white-haired individual intertwined his fingers and rested them on the desk. ¡°I am not required to give you anything, Goldcroft. May I remind you that our first contract to aid your revenge against the ¡®Hero of Light¡¯ is still in effect? But that only applies to my main body.¡± He tilted his head. ¡°As the ¡®Archduke¡¯, I am not required to do anything.¡±


    Lucille narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°Then why do you not inform me of any of your plans for this timeline? There have to have been many changes you¡¯ve made now that you know how it turned out. And I¡¯m sure there is information you need from me about the past timeline.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need you for anything,¡± he retorted coldly. ¡°And I am not doing anything about the contract.¡±


    ¡°Then will the contract ever change?¡± she asked quietly.


    He frowned but some notification made him click his tongue. ¡°¡­not now at least,¡± he said as he dipped the red pen in an inkwell.


    Lucy watched him for a moment and then huffed. ¡°Fine. It¡¯s a better answer than I was expecting, anyway. Well then, Your Excellency, as I¡¯ve finished my work I¡¯ll take my leave and-¡±


    ¡°Wait.¡± Something about his gaze became sharp as he stared at her. He scanned the room and pointed to a high cupboard directly behind her on the other side of the couch. ¡°Go get me a second inkwell from that cupboard.¡±


    She turned around to see where he was pointing and looked back with a marginally raised eyebrow. ¡°¡­that cupboard, Your Grace?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like repeating myself.¡± He rested his chin on his hand and gestured to it again. ¡°Fetch it, Goldcroft.¡±


    After a moment of consideration, she walked around the couch and came to a stop in front of the cupboard. It was attached to the ceiling above a packed bookshelf.


    Lucille hesitated. She glanced back. ¡°¡­Your Grace, are you sure it¡¯s this cupboard?¡±


    He rolled his eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve told you this already.¡±


    ¡°Well, yes, but¡­¡± She looked at the cupboard and then at him again. ¡°I can¡¯t reach it.¡±


    He didn¡¯t say anything besides tilt his head, so she continued to explain, ¡°I barely even reach your shoulders, Your Grace, and this was clearly built for a person of your height. My fingertips won¡¯t clear even the bottommost floor of the cupboard.¡±


    He continued to remain silent so she gestured to it. ¡°And¡­ I¡¯m not sure if you¡¯re aware of this yet, Sir, but I can¡¯t cast spells in your presence. Your affinity means non-elemental mana is the most dominant mana type in your vicinity and you also have high authority over it. I require domination of mana nearby with my skillset so¡­ I can¡¯t use magic to obtain the inkwell. But you can teleport objects.¡±


    She glanced back when she still received no reply. ¡°Your Grace?¡±


    He crossed his arms and leaned back. ¡°I fail to see your point, Goldcroft,¡± he said with mild disdain.


    Lucy stared at him. She stared at the cupboard, then at him again.


    This sonuva- he¡¯s doing this on purpose. He¡¯s irritated that I¡¯ve finished my work before him so he¡¯s intentionally giving me this troublesome task as petty payback. ¡®Fail to see your point¡¯, yeah right. What he really wants to say is ¡®That¡¯s your problem, not mine¡¯.


    This time she scowled without care for whether he was watching.


    That¡¯s it. It¡¯s settled. This damned demon will never be getting another moment of peace whenever I visit. He can¡¯t kill me and we¡¯re bound by a contract, so I have nothing to fear. I¡¯ll make him rue the day he decided to think of me as an easy target.


    Lucille marched off towards the side of the couch and swung her boot against it. It made a dull thump.


    ¡°¡­Goldcroft, what are you doing to my property?¡± the Archduke asked with suspicion.


    She turned to him and beamed, making him frown. ¡°Why, I¡¯m problem-solving!¡± she replied brightly. ¡°If I can¡¯t reach it and must use magic, then I obviously need something to stand on to reach the cupboard. I¡¯m testing to see if this is fixed to the ground or not.¡±


    ¡°¡­it¡¯s not, but-¡± His words were interrupted by a sharp squeak as the couch slid across the ground. Lucy paused and looked at him, while he scowled. ¡°Don¡¯t.¡±


    She picked up one edge of the couch and happily began pushing it as an ear-piercing screeeeech sounded as it slid from its position. Whenever it caught on the edge of a rug or similar, she would put in the effort to stop completely and veeeery slowly push the couch to ¡®not damage the precious belongings of His Grace¡¯. That was what she told the Archduke as he glowered at her.


    ¡°Goldcroft, put that do-¡±


    Another screech sounded. She blinked innocently as she lowered it slightly and turned to him. ¡°My apologies, did you say something?¡±


    ¡°I said to put that down-¡±


    It screeched again. She covered her mouth with mock shock as he angrily stood up. ¡°Sorry, that was a mistake.¡±


    His expression twitched and he finally snapped his fingers. The couch teleported back to its original position. ¡°Don¡¯t use the couch,¡± he warned.


    ¡°Not the couch? Then¡­¡± She pretended to look around for another chair and then her eyes fell on his armchair.


    The Archduke scowled and sat back down on the armchair. She clicked her tongue and walked over to the bookshelf. ¡°Fine then. I¡¯ll use this.¡±


    The incognito Demon Emperor¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°And just what do you think you¡¯re doing now, Goldcroft?¡±


    ¡°Making a ladder.¡± She grabbed a stack of books and ¡®carefully¡¯ threw them onto the couch. ¡°I won¡¯t have any footing to climb if I don¡¯t remove these. By the way, Your Grace, do you actually read these? I feel like it¡¯s more likely that these are only here to give your study the appearance of an important place. One of these might be empt- oh.¡±


    Their eyes fell on one of the books that landed open, revealing blank white pages. Lucy gained a faint smirk. ¡°I see, Your Grace. You put as much effort into decorating your study as you do your work!¡±


    He glared at her as she hummed contentedly, removing the last books from the shelf. Then she placed a boot firmly on the bottommost shelf and hoisted herself up. ¡°There. Now, what do we have here¡­¡± She opened the cupboard and her gaze went flat when she saw that what was inside was not inkwells. She hopped down from the bookshelf and gave the Archduke a tight smile. ¡°Surprisingly, it appears the inkwells aren¡¯t within this cupboard, Your Grace. Do you happen to know where they might be?¡±


    The corner of his lips twitched slightly as if he wanted to smirk and he pulled out a drawer of his desk. One small black glass pot was taken out and placed on his desk. ¡°It appears I must¡¯ve forgotten they were here.¡±


    She watched the inkwell for a moment and then looked up at him with wide eyes. ¡°Your Grace, are you suffering memory loss?¡±


    He frowned. ¡°What?¡±


    Lucy covered her mouth in ¡®worry¡¯. ¡°I hope not. Memory loss is a key symptom of dementia, after all.¡±


    The Archduke¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Are you claiming that I have dementia?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± She looked to the side. ¡°It¡¯s known to occur in individuals who have progressed considerably in age. Considering your long history, it wouldn¡¯t be unexpected that your memory would finally be failing you after all these year-¡±


    Something shot past her cheek and stuck itself in the wall behind the empty bookshelf.


    ¡°Goldcroft. Shut. Up,¡± he growled.


    A wet substance trickled down her cheek and she pulled away her hand to observe the fresh blood dying her gloves. Lucille observed it curiously and then turned around to see a blue ballpoint pen sticking out of the wall. It was one of the pens he had in a stationary box on his table.


    Lucy took the pen out of the wall with a bit of effort and noticed it was perfectly unharmed. She whirled around and waved the pen cheerfully. ¡°Thank you for the free pen, Your Grace! I can¡¯t believe you gave me such an honour as your own pen for a gift!¡±


    ¡°What? No.¡± He scowled and gestured to her. ¡°Give it here.¡±


    She held it against her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Your Grace. I¡¯ll make sure it will remain unharmed. I¡¯ll use your gift every day and ensure it¡¯s in perfect condition every hour.¡±


    ¡°I- When did I ever say I was giving you that pen as a gift?¡± he said with mild incredulity. ¡°Goldcroft, I said to give it back.¡±


    She clicked her tongue and walked to his desk. Before she placed it in his outstretched hand, she raised a finger. ¡°Your Grace, if you feel like I may be burdened by receiving a gift so freely from you, then I can buy it from you.¡±


    ¡°Goldcroft.¡± His eyes narrowed dangerously. ¡°The pen.¡±


    Lucy rolled her eyes and slowly passed her hand over the table where the red pen he had been using lay next to his documents. She placed the blue pen in his hand and retracted her hand. ¡°Happy, your grace?¡± she replied pleasantly.


    He shot her a flat look and then pointed at the exit. ¡°Take your leave now, Goldcroft.¡±


    Her smile grew wider and she gave him a low bow that made him frown because she never acted so respectfully. ¡°As you wish, Your Excellency. I dearly look forward to our next meeting.¡± She straightened up and saluted him. ¡°May the Eternal Emperor¡¯s favour be with you.¡±


    A look of incredulity passed over his face again as she left with a slight bounce in her step, inwardly smirking. The Demon Emperor himself didn¡¯t need any favour from the Emperor of the Eternal Empire. She met with Count Bentsen in passing and made polite talk with him, before finally departing.


    It was only when she was safely in her carriage at the bottom of the Aethereal Palace¡¯s hill that she grinned and took the ruby red ballpoint pen out of her dimensional bag to admire it.


    It¡¯s fine. I like this colour better anyway.


    <hr>


    [There, that wasn¡¯t so hard, was it? Not everything that annoys you needs to die]


    The Archduke shot the message an annoyed look but returned from his position by the window and sat down in his armchair. He reached forward for the pen he had been using and¡­


    ¡­paused when he realised it was no longer on his desk. His perception, which he normally kept closed off, expanded and he discovered it was no longer in the Aethereal Palace at all. He turned to stare at the door of his room and slowly narrowed his eyes.


    [Ha! That will teach you not to keep your perception active just because it irritates you!]


    The Archduke scowled as the culprit immediately became obvious and he sprung up to march over to the window and slam his hands on the windowsill. In the distance, a small blue carriage engraved with the white crest of the Aethereal Duchy was close to leaving the Palace gates. His fingers twitched slightly as he raised them but¡­


    [Are you going to use your almighty powers of teleportation to teleport that girl back here with your pen? That would be petty, Alectis. Really petty.]


    He glared at the notification, but it bobbed as if enjoying his anger.


    [And how are you going to prove that she took the pen in the first place?]


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to prove anything,¡± he hissed.


    [Really? Are you going to threaten her? But she already knows you can¡¯t kill her. And she¡¯s smart. She¡¯s aware of me. So what are you going to do?]


    ¡°I¡­¡± He hesitated and then realised that he didn¡¯t know how he was going to resolve it.


    [And why are you so upset about a pen anyway? I thought you didn¡¯t care about material objects. You have another pen exactly the same colour.]


    ¡°¡­it¡¯s my pen.¡±


    [Wow, isn¡¯t this a sight? The scary Demon Emperor getting annoyed because a girl took off with one of his pens. What are you, six?]


    He scowled at the notification and then sat back down. ¡°I¡¯m not going to threaten her to get the pen back.¡±


    [Yeah, well, you don¡¯t want to kill her anymore anyway. Now you¡¯re going to have to find some other way to resolve the contract conflict. You might have to¡­ shock! Horror! Astonishment! Get along with her!]


    ¡°Over my dead body.¡± The incognito Demon Emperor got back to work, but a sense of annoyance couldn¡¯t help but surge whenever his gaze fell on the blue pen in his hand.


    <hr>


    ¡°Lucille, here are the- oh?¡± Vincent blinked when he noticed the way she was smirking at the object in her hands. He came closer and pushed up his glasses to peer at the red pen. ¡°That¡¯s an expensive-looking pen, Lucy. Where did you get it?¡± He frowned as he observed it for longer. ¡°I don¡¯t think we have any pens of that style within the Commission. Knowing you and myself, we¡¯d both think of it as a waste.¡±


    ¡°This is a trophy,¡± she announced proudly.


    ¡°A trophy?¡± Vincent asked with mild confusion.


    ¡°Yes. A trophy obtained from the treacherous dragon¡¯s den itself.¡± Her smirk grew wider as she dipped the pen in an inkwell to refill it and then began to use it to complete the paperwork Vincent brought it. ¡°I risked my life for this, you should know.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ see?¡± Vincent still looked bemused but walked around the desk to begin explaining the new records she was reading. ¡°This is some things to keep in mind when visiting the Counties. Noticeably, Clanlord Krovehearth has requested to be your personal guide for three days during your stay in the Alichanteu¡¯s domain. This can only be because he intends to invite you to the plane that the airships are being constructed on¡­¡±

 Chapter 80 (2 of 2) Reconciliation != Cooperation

    ¡°Is this the one?¡± Lucille¡¯s bond asked as he squinted at the crimson writing utensil, peeking over the edge of her desk.


    Lucy nodded with her arms crossed. ¡°This is the pen I stole from the Archduke.¡±


    ¡°It practically oozes villainy,¡± Scytale said as he picked it up. ¡°Nothing screams ¡®pen of a demon¡¯ more than the colour of fresh blood.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be a pen of a vampire?¡± Lucille pointed out.


    Scytale considered it and shrugged. He picked the pen up and tossed it in the air. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. You sure you¡¯re not going to get killed for taking this?¡±


    ¡°Please.¡± She gave him a dismissive wave and sat down in her armchair. ¡°If he was going to kill me, then he would¡¯ve done it before now. At most, he¡¯ll be mildly irritated by me.¡± Lucy took the pen back from Scytale to stow away in her desk and then raised an eyebrow. ¡°Considering his new ambivalent attitude towards me, should I take you along next time?¡±


    Scytale turned into his beast form with a flash of gold mana and dived underneath Vincent¡¯s armchair. ¡°Nope! No, thank you! I will ceaselessly continue to perform the role of your humble freeloader!¡±


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t you worry. I have plenty of tasks for you to complete in the coming years once you¡¯ve gained strength.¡± She pulled out her pocket watch, checking the time. ¡°In approximately five seconds¡­¡±


    Scytale stuck his head out from beneath the chair as a notification chimed for them both in sync.


    [Realm Sub-Quest - Ancient Dungeon Exploration Tier IV (Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis): COMPLETE]


    <ul>


    <li>Synadis Monster Slayer IV:


    <ul>


    <li>Defeat 2000 monsters in the Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis: COMPLETE (2000/2000)</li>


    <li>Slay 30 Zone Bosses: COMPLETE (30/30)</li>


    </ul>


    </li>


    <li>Synadis Treasure Hunter IV:


    <ul>


    <li>Obtain Epic materials x100 in the Dungeon: COMPLETE (100/100)</li>


    <li>Obtain Legendary material x1 in the Dungeon: COMPLETE ]</li>


    </ul>


    </li>


    </ul>


    [Rewards: +2000 xp (Ancient Dungeon Discovery bonus applied), Blank Common Skill Book]


    [Realm Sub-Quest - Ancient Dungeon Exploration Tier V (Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis) Unlocked]


    [Faction Quest ¨C Adventurer¡¯s Guild Ancient Dungeon Exploration (Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis) Monthly Report]


    + 1000 xp


    Crystalline token x2]


    [+3750 xp]


    [Level Up! x7]


    [+7 levels]


    [+35 Free stat points]


    [User has reached Level 87]


    [Xp: 128/549]


    Scytale sat on her desk once he had turned back to his human form. ¡°4k-ish experience? Shouldn¡¯t we be receiving more?¡±


    Lucille shook her head as she studied the notifications. ¡°Not necessarily. We haven¡¯t been contributing to the Dungeon exploration, so this is as much as the System will allow us to gain. Many of those monsters wouldn¡¯t even be at our level.¡± She tapped her fingers thoughtfully against the desk. ¡°At this stage, it would be more profitable for us to begin killing monsters above level 70 purely for the experience gain¡­¡±


    Scytale clicked his tongue. ¡°Pathetic. It¡¯s eighty or up!¡±


    ¡°Not possible in my case.¡± Lucy frowned as she glanced at her Status screen. She collapsed the notifications and stood up. ¡°My strength won¡¯t be enough.¡±


    ¡°Uh...¡± He crossed his arms. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you had a solution to that ages ago?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Lucille smirked. ¡°Sedric should¡¯ve almost finished it, so yes.¡± She walked up to her bond and gestured for him to get off the table. ¡°Scytale, come down for a bit.¡±


    ¡°Okay?¡± He raised an eyebrow and jumped off. He blinked as Lucy used her hands to gauge their height difference. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°I think¡­ yes.¡± Lucy stepped back. ¡°You¡¯ve grown around four centimetres taller. You¡¯re approaching the height of the average 14-year-old.¡±


    His expression brightened and then he scowled. ¡°Why am I happy about this? It just proves I¡¯m still short for my age.¡±


    Lucy smiled and turned around to leave her study. ¡°You¡¯ll get there eventually. But back to what I was saying about our levels, it¡¯s been half a year and we¡¯re still ten levels away from the halfway mark of Rank-1. While we can complete the stages and unlock our third main skills before reaching the level cap for Rank-1, I don¡¯t want to build up too much of a level ¡®debt¡¯.¡±


    ¡°You were complaining about your lacking stats,¡± Scytale said in response, following her out of her room.


    ¡°Yes, which means my priority right now is thinking about my ¡®stat debt¡¯ instead of level debt.¡± They ignored the bowing servants they passed as Lucille continued to explain, ¡°The Casket of Boons artifact will be valuable, but I can¡¯t rely on only the item. I don¡¯t have Aspects that can take advantage of its abilities to their highest potential yet either.¡±


    ¡°I bet you could do something crazy with that Titan Aspect of yours, but¡­¡± Scytale looked around. ¡°Where are we going?¡±


    ¡°Where else? To pick up my final items from Sedric,¡± she replied with a smile.


    They entered the hallway that the crafter¡¯s workshop was in but came to a stop when they heard loud crashes from behind the reinforced door. They exchanged glances with eyebrows raised and Lucy walked forward, swiftly opening the door to enter the top floor of the workshop.


    A spray of ice shards made them cough and splutter, and they realised a massive wall of ice had extended up from the floor in front of their faces. Lucille walked forward and leaned over the railing. ¡°Roa? What¡¯s going on?¡±


    The snow elf mage, who had a faint scowl on her normally cold face, looked up and then pointed at Sedric and a certain navy-haired mage.


    Sedric was hastily grabbing an assortment of glowing gems from the table, pulling them away from Marellen. Magical sparks were flying across the floor and random pieces of furniture burst into blue flames that disappeared barely a millisecond afterwards.


    ¡°Hey, mage! Look at the mess you¡¯ve made!¡± Sedric shouted.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened to cause some of the gemstones you hold to explode, but I sincerely apologise. I only want to observe those spellcraft models within the jewels in closer detail, as they appear to be wholly distinct from any magical school I¡¯m familiar with-¡±


    ¡°Quit your jabbering! I don¡¯t care!¡± Sedric shoved the gems into a chest and slammed it shut before he sat down on it with his arms crossed. He scowled at Marellen. ¡°The mana in this room has gone completely haywire! Some of my instruments might¡¯ve been destroyed! How are you going to compensate me?!¡±


    ¡°Compensation for a room you don¡¯t own, Sedric?¡± Lucille spoke up in a dry voice.


    He flinched and looked up the flight of stairs to see her descending. Scytale was sitting up on the top level, his legs dangling over the railing.


    She placed her hands on her hips and scanned the chaotic happenings around her. Then she sighed and waved a hand. Her spiritual energy forcefully reverted all the mana into a calm state, and she used her Transmutational Mana Conduit to change the mana ratios so there was less chance of another explosion. Lucy glanced behind her to look at Roa. ¡°That wall is there¡­ because¡­?¡±


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    Roa was looking somewhat wary, likely because she felt the change in the mana and possibly spiritual energy, but she still replied, ¡°To protect the rest of the room against the conflicting mana. I was worried the structural supports of the staircase would fail against the force of the mana.¡±


    Lucille nodded. ¡°Thank you for that.¡± She turned back to the two young men. ¡°So, now that we¡¯re all no longer in danger of having another rogue fireball sent our way, do either of you mind explaining what occurred here?¡±


    Marellen, as if he hadn¡¯t heard her, quickly came up to her and peered at her through his round gold spectacles. ¡°Lucille, how did you control all that environmental mana so effortlessly? And you converted the elements so seamlessly too! If you could spare the time, I¡¯d love to have a discussion about-¡±


    ¡°No way, mage guy.¡± Sedric glared at Marellen and pointed at him. ¡°You don¡¯t get to change the topic and run off. No, I¡¯ll tell you what¡¯s going on here, Lucille.¡± He stood up and turned around to unlatch the chest. Taking out one of the glowing gemstones, he walked up to the nearest bench and placed it in the centre. ¡°Your ¡®precious mage¡¯ was trying to steal one of these,¡± he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.


    Lucille raised an eyebrow when she recognised the gemstone as one of the gems she had passed to Sedric after fiddling with it using her Gemstone Processor skill. She turned to Marellen. ¡°Marellen, if you wanted to study this, then you could¡¯ve just come to me. I can create one of these any time I want.¡±


    The navy-haired mage looked star-struck. ¡°You made this?! This wasn¡¯t a gemstone containing ancient magic?!¡±


    With a strange smile, she picked the gemstone up and compared it to the shattered shards of one she picked up from the ground. ¡°These contain a customised version of the spells I wanted Sedric to use in one of the items he¡¯s made for me. Although from what I can see, these are only the prototypes for testing.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well¡­¡± Sedric scratched the back of his head. ¡°I¡¯ve already finished that armguard you wanted with the good versions in it. These are just the leftovers.¡±


    The clacking of heeled boots on the workshop floor drew their attention and they looked back to see Trisroa approaching the workbench. She studied the gemstone Lucy had placed back down with a frown. ¡°Is the spell contained within this precious stone¡­ truly a spell?¡±


    Lucy smirked. ¡°It¡¯s been modified by a skill of mine. I could¡¯ve used the original for the same purpose, but¡­ my modified spells are more powerful and unique. It would be hard for any individual to nullify them.¡± She turned back to Sedric. ¡°If the gemstones are in the item¡­ then shall I take it as being finished?¡±


    Sedric nodded. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll bring it out.¡± He walked up the stairs and left the workshop, making her raise an eyebrow.


    ¡°Commission Head¡­ there has been something about you that I am curious about,¡± Roa said.


    Lucille turned to her with interest. ¡°Oh? About me?¡±


    ¡°I have received word that you wield two weapons, but the way you exercised your abilities earlier suggests you are highly familiar with magic,¡± the snow elf explained. She gestured to the gemstone on the workbench. ¡°Even more so with how you have gained a skill to alter magic in such a fashion. You must be familiar with spellcraft.¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡± Lucy smiled and leaned against the workbench. Trisroa walked around to face her. ¡°I know how to cast spells, yes. You could call me more of a spell blade.¡±


    ¡°¡­and your control of environmental mana?¡± Roa asked unsurely.


    ¡°It¡¯s not environmental mana.¡± Lucille snapped her fingers and thousands of minuscule sparks of light mana showered down to be swallowed by shadows. ¡°My mana passively flows through the air around me, so I can externalise any element I want. To control that haywire magic from earlier, I just needed to brand it with my spiritual signature.¡±


    Roa blinked. ¡°Oh¡­ so it wasn¡¯t a manifestation of your domain?¡±


    Lucy grinned, knowing what the elf had been thinking. ¡°Roa, I¡¯m Rank-1. It¡¯s impossible for me to have a domain already.¡±


    Roa hesitated and opened her mouth to say something else, but Sedric re-entered the workshop with a protective case held in his arms.


    ¡°It took a bit of time because this was in my room, but here it is,¡± he said with a sigh as he placed it on the table in front of Lucy.


    ¡°Your room?¡± Lucille asked.


    Sedric shrugged. ¡°This is the most complex item I¡¯ve ever worked on for you, so I kept it in my room to observe and ensure everything was in working order.¡±


    ¡°Oooh, what is it, what is it?¡± a boisterous voice interrupted. Scytale slid down the staircase railing and changed into his snake form to fly onto the table. ¡°Is it powerful? Wait, never mind. This is Sedric we¡¯re talking about.¡±


    Sedric scowled, but Lucille tapped on the case before he could reply and slid it towards him. ¡°It¡¯s tradition for the crafter to introduce their masterpiece to the one who commissioned it personally.¡±


    He hesitated and then nodded. Sedric unclasped the two locks on either side of the custom-made brass case. Inside were two armguards cast out of interlocking black metal gears, decorated by gold along the edges. Beneath the armguards were a pair of black leather gloves releasing strong dark element mana into the surroundings, intended to be put on beneath the metal. Seven slots were arranged in a spiral around the armguards, a gold mana circuit connecting them all. In each slot of a different shape was a different kind of gemstone, corresponding to the six essential elements. The only difference was the two violet gemstones in the inner wrist section of the armguards. Each gem contained a slowly rotating spell.


    Lucille took the leather gloves from Sedric with a smile on her face and put them on after removing her white pair. Then, grabbing one of the armguards, she placed her forearm into it. Sedric helped her by pushing a button and the gears spun and locked to snap the armguard tightly in place. She repeated the step with the other one.


    ¡°They fit¡­ right?¡± Sedric asked carefully.


    ¡°They fit perfectly. The shock-absorption effect of the dark element gloves probably contributes to that,¡± she replied.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m glad you got me that leather from a Scion,¡± he said with a sigh. ¡°Because we can¡¯t have the armguards shattering on you, they¡¯re designed to have the impact pass to your hands. The gloves should help protect you against that, but I can¡¯t be sure until they¡¯re used in combat.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Lucy tapped on the violet gemstones in her inner wrists. ¡°And are these functional?¡±


    ¡°They should be, but¡­¡± Sedric gave her a strange look. ¡°Where in the realms did you learn spatial spells? I don¡¯t know a single crafter who¡¯s not a mage who has access to spatial spells¡­ actually, I thought they were only ever used in staffs!¡±


    ¡°Ideally, these should be tested, but¡­¡± Lucy let out a sigh while Sedric glared at her for ignoring his question. ¡°Due to how the armguard works, all these precious stones are disposable objects. The emergency teleportation spell and spatial lock spell in these stones have to be used very carefully.¡±


    Scytale flew onto her shoulders and squinted at the glowing gems on the armguards. ¡°How exactly does this thing increase your strength?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Lucille looked at her armguards, then at the nearby wall. She glanced at Sedric. ¡°To enhance one stat I¡¯m supposed to activate a pair, correct?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Yeah, both gems of the same element. And you can only have a maximum of three stats ¨C or six gems ¨C activated.¡±


    ¡°Alright then.¡± The scarlet gemstones on her armguards gleamed with the force of fire as she prepared to throw a punch at the wall. ¡°Time to see if the custom magic was worth it.¡±


    Lucille approached the wall and pulled back her hand. The wind whistled past her ears as she sent her fist flying ¨C and slammed it into the wall. Stone crushed beneath her hand and when she stepped back, everybody stared at the small crater left in the wall.


    ¡°Hey, this is my workshop!¡± Sedric complained.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Scytale jumped off the table and turned back into a human. He pointed at Lucy¡¯s fist. ¡°You¡¯re bleeding, Lucy.¡±


    The dark element leather glove was slowly repairing itself over torn skin and visible bone. Her fresh blood was dripping onto the ground. Lucy tilted her head and tried to uncurl her fingers, but they wouldn¡¯t respond. Her hand was broken.


    ¡°So it would seem,¡± she replied with nonchalance.


    Scytale facepalmed as Marellen, Roa and Sedric stared at her. Lucy just shrugged under their gazes and took a healing potion out of her dimensional bag. After downing it in one gulp, the broken flesh of her fist knitted itself back together and she stretched her hands out for the others. ¡°See? All done. I should¡¯ve activated the earth element set as well as the fire set for CON.¡±


    Scytale put a hand on his hip. ¡°So¡­ did it have the result you wanted?¡±


    She smiled as she began unclasping the armguards and peeling off the gloves. ¡°Yes. My stats have been enhanced massively.¡±


    Scytale, I don¡¯t want to reveal it to them yet, but¡­ this didn¡¯t just give me additional stats. The spells that I modified with my skill have multiplied my stats by two times.


    Scytale froze.


    ¡®¡­you can only have three stats amplified at any one time though, right?¡¯


    Yes. And these gemstones will shatter sooner the more frequently I activate the amplification. These Epic-grade gemstones will last me two months. But if I use Ancient or higher¡­ the multiplication bonus will increase, as will their lifespan.


    ¡°Lucille, are you going to find someone to fix my wall?¡± Sedric asked.


    ¡°Why? It¡¯s not like you¡¯ve ever cared about your d¨¦cor,¡± she replied, packing the armguards back into their case.


    Sedric gestured vaguely to the damaged wall. ¡°Even I don¡¯t want to work in a structurally compromised room, okay?¡±


    She waved him off. ¡°Fine, fine. I¡¯ll get someone to fix this place.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± He crossed his arms and nodded with satisfaction until a thought hit him. ¡°Did you want to see your other finished item?¡±


    Lucille turned to him and raised an eyebrow. ¡°The sheaths? They¡¯re done?¡±


    ¡°Sure, let me just¡­¡± Sedric walked over to a locked cabinet which he unlocked and brought out two dagger sheaths, one black with blue gems and the other silver with red gems. ¡°I made sure they¡¯d fit onto the belt I made you too.¡±


    Lucy picked one up and tapped on it. The metal rang with a sound as clear as a bell. She withdrew Apophis and Ouroboros to let the snake-swords inspect their new ¡®homes¡¯. ¡°These are made to passively recharge my weapons¡¯ mana?¡±


    Sedric nodded and walked closer to point to them. ¡°Yes, but because making mana-conductive sheaths for weapons that only rely on atmospheric mana is pretty simple, I took it upon myself to add some modifications. Which, uh, I hope is fine with you.¡±


    Lucy nodded and gestured to him to give him the go-ahead to explain.


    ¡°So¡­ I heard a bit from Scytale, but your demonic blade can drain mana, right?¡± Sedric gestured to the sheaths. ¡°With the mana storage of the sheaths, excess mana can be put in there for the weapons to use at a later time. Also, the storage is shared across both sheaths, so if the demonic blade drains mana, your spirit blade can use it too.¡±


    Lucille stared at him, then at the sheaths.


    Sedric¡­ doesn¡¯t know about the stat gain effect of my weapons. So he couldn¡¯t have known that this would mean that Ouroboros could reconstitute stats and skills when I¡¯m not fighting¡­


    ¡°That is¡­ more useful than you¡¯d expect, Sedric,¡± Lucy replied after a moment. ¡°Well done.¡±


    He scratched his neck. ¡°Uh¡­ thanks.¡±


    A navy-haired mage, who had been suspiciously silent for some time, approached to observe the two weapons with wide eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that these are¡­ sentient?¡±


    Roa placed a hand on her chin and narrowed her eyes. ¡°So it would seem¡­ but a demon and a spirit with no enmity towards each other¡­¡±


    ¡°Their origins are¡­ unique.¡± Lucy picked the sheaths up from the workbench and began to attach them to her belt. ¡°I¡¯ll use these right away, Sedric. It looks like I¡¯ll have to come up with something else for you to do now.¡±


    He crossed his arms. ¡°I¡¯ll look forward to it.¡±


    ¡°Right then. I¡¯ll take my leave.¡± With Scytale in tow, she walked back up the stairs and said goodbye. It was when she entered her living room that a familiar but unexpected presence was outside her door.


    ¡°Count Goldcroft, it is me,¡± Roa called out.


    Lucille tilted her head. ¡°Come in.¡±


    The snow elf walked forward with a slightly complicated expression on her face. She clasped her hands and dipped her head at Lucy. ¡°I would like to have a discussion with you, if you can spare the time.¡±


    Lucy considered it and looked over at her bond, who was stuffing his face with food.


    ¡°What?¡± Scytale asked with a frown.


    She sighed and pointed at the door. ¡°Please leave for the moment, Scytale.¡±


    He glared at her and put another scone in his mouth. ¡°Why? I know everything you¡¯re going to talk to her about. I should be fine if I stay to hear-¡± The flat look on Lucy¡¯s face stalled the rest of his words and he scowled as he stood up with the plate of snacks in his arms. ¡°Fine, I can tell when I¡¯m not wanted.¡±


    Lucille rolled her eyes and then the door shut, leaving her alone with Trisroa, who sat down on the couch opposite Lucy.


    ¡°Commission Head Goldcroft, I came because I have a question to ask you,¡± the snow elf began solemnly. ¡°What do you know of me, outside of my affinities?¡±


    Lucy smirked. ¡°Hmm¡­ you¡¯re a daughter of a distant lineage of the Vel-Winteridge Duchy on Glenheim, there are multiple rumours surrounding your bloodline due to your unusual pairing of affinities and¡­¡± She grinned. ¡°You¡¯re the ex-fianc¨¦ of Elven Prince Mid¨¢rn.¡±


    Trisroa gained a very slight bitter smile. ¡°You know my past well, it seems. Even about the prince who so cruelly abandoned me when my Origin Skill awakened and rumours began to abound of my heritage.¡±


    ¡°Those who can¡¯t see past bloodline to perceive only talent are worthless fools,¡± Lucy claimed with a shrug. ¡°As your new superior, I will do my best to ensure that the life you live outside of Glenheim will be more fulfilling than in that stuffy environment.¡±


    ¡°¡­thank you for your kind words.¡± Roa clasped her hands together and leaned forward. ¡°Then I wish to ask another question¡­ why do the elements of mana as well as their spirits avoid you?¡±


    Lucy smirked again. ¡°There is a simple answer, Trisroa. Simply put, I was born unfavoured by elemental mana. I have no elemental affinity and therefore am avoided by them all. Any contract I tried to form in the past has failed too.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ your weapons?¡±


    Lucy placed a hand on the pommels of Apophis and Ouroboros. ¡°I named these two, and neither one of them have affinities. It¡¯s quite possible they attained that nature because I was the one who named them.¡±


    ¡°My final question is¡­¡± The elf¡¯s cold face grew more solemn. ¡°How old are you?¡±

 Chapter 81 (1 of 2) Lucille used magic distraction. It was very effective.

    ¡°How old are you?¡±


    Lucy tilted her head. Not because she was surprised at the question, but because the Trisroa she had heard about wouldn¡¯t have asked her so frankly. Lucille never knew her personally, but¡­


    She was supposedly a rather closed-off and cautious individual. She would¡¯ve ensured that her hypothesis was correct before approaching me about it, and while approaching me she¡¯d have something prepared in case I see her as a threat to remove.


    ¡°I thought it was common knowledge that I¡¯ve yet to turn twenty. I¡¯m still nineteen at the moment,¡± Lucy replied nonchalantly.


    Trisroa studied her silently and frowned. ¡°I am not referring to your biological age. I want to know your mental age.¡±


    Lucy smirked and leaned back. ¡°Well, I¡¯m certainly more mature than Scytale, so I must be at least mentally older than him.¡±


    ¡°That is¡­ not what I meant.¡±


    Lucille blinked, pretending to be ignorant. ¡°You¡¯re not talking about my maturity?¡±


    The snow elf eyed her suspiciously. ¡°Do you mean to say you are unaware of the characteristics of your soul?¡±


    Lucy looked down at herself. ¡°I have a unique talent for the soul if that¡¯s what you¡¯re wondering about. I¡¯m no cultivator though, so if that¡¯s what you¡¯ve heard, you¡¯re wrong. But how does this relate to my age?¡±


    ¡°I- No, that¡¯s not¡­¡± The elf hesitated, looking perplexed. ¡°Maybe I¡¯m not entirely certain what I¡¯m asking myself¡­¡±


    Lucy studied her, mildly confused. Trisroa wasn¡¯t one to approach someone without evidence. She had been the Vice-Guildmaster of the Hero¡¯s Guild in the past and was their strategist. With her years of experience, she led some of the most powerful Users in the Tower into battle against worse creatures than Aberrants and ¨C


    Trisroa is younger than Marellen right now. She¡¯s not the Frostfire Sorceress of the past.


    She hadn¡¯t faced nearly enough trials to gain the cunning and indifference of her future self. Nor did she need it yet.


    Lucy hummed and crossed her arms, with Roa looking on oddly.


    She wanted to meet me because she was curious about me. Roa only became fixed on the topic of my age because of intellectual curiosity. This snow elf finds me a puzzle to figure out.


    Lucille smirked slightly.


    Then to keep her distracted, I should add another layer of complexity to the equation.


    ¡°It seems like you might need more time to think about what you want to discuss with me,¡± she noted calmly. ¡°I suggest sitting tight for the moment. We haven¡¯t known each other for nearly long enough to discuss our Origin Skills with each other.¡±


    ¡°¡­indeed.¡± Trisroa sighed as she stood up and dipped her head. ¡°I apologise for coming to meet you. I¡¯ve jumped to a conclusion about a detail I should research before addressing it.¡±


    She¡¯s not apologising for prying into my secrets, but coming here without verifiable proof. Truly a mage, through and through.


    Roa turned to leave Lucy¡¯s living room but paused when Lucille clicked her tongue and waved her back over. ¡°Don¡¯t leave just yet. It would be a waste for us to split up so soon after having this rare opportunity to converse. You are the only member of Marellen¡¯s party I didn¡¯t meet beforehand, after all.¡±


    Roa raised a white eyebrow. ¡°But what shall we discuss? I have not considered anything else we could discuss.¡±


    Lucy stood up and smiled, picking her cane off the coffee table. ¡°What else besides magic? Personally, I wish to ask about your knowledge of spirit magic. I have an interest in it because of my spirit weapon.¡±


    ¡°I am a mage, a wielder of logical mortal-made phenomena,¡± Roa refuted. ¡°I intentionally avoided taking the path of a sorcerer and spirit summoner due to my adversity to the incomprehensible nature of fae and spirits.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s perfect then!¡± Lucille remarked cheerfully. ¡°What better way to learn about it than through the perspective of another mage?¡± She walked past the blank-faced snow elf and hooked her cane around her arm, dragging her along. ¡°Let¡¯s take a walk as we discuss it. I¡¯m sure it would interest you to see the streets of Gilded Seat. I would also like to check on the construction of the Protection subdivision I authorised.¡±


    ¡°But I¡­¡±


    The bemused elf¡¯s words trailed off as she was pulled along by Lucille. A smirk never fell from Lucy¡¯s face because she knew exactly what she was doing ¨C pulling the elf into her flow of events to keep her from thinking too much about Lucille¡¯s soul.


    I¡¯m not prepared to let any member of Marellen¡¯s party learn I¡¯m a time traveller yet. I can¡¯t risk Trisroa learning this.


    Because out of all of the Hero¡¯s past party members, there was no doubt that he¡¯d do anything to contact Roa again, regardless of her current motivations.


    ¡­


    ¡°Fascinating, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Roa peered at the glass orb filled with psychedelic mana and marginally raised an eyebrow. ¡°I see nothing extraordinary about this low-rarity elemental detector.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. It¡¯s fascinating how such a poor-quality item managed to land in a shop owned by the Commission.¡± Lucy tossed the item back onto its shelf. The shopkeeper winced as the two women left the store, leaving the other customers to judge the items suspiciously. ¡°I¡¯ll have to arrange for an investigation into the current suppliers for the Commission¡¯s stores. For a magical item shop on the main street, it¡¯s severely lacking.¡±


    Roa shook her head and followed behind as Lucy scanned the outside, thinking of where to go next. ¡°Does the Commission own all the shops in Gilded Seat?¡±


    ¡°All? No. But certainly all the ones on this street,¡± Lucy replied. She stopped when she noticed two people and narrowed her eyes as she gazed at them. She pulled on the sleeve of the elven woman next to her and pointed across the road. ¡°Look, your two friends seem to be putting their positions as my employees to excellent use.¡±


    Roa spotted the Barbosas siblings laughing amongst several armoured warriors standing outside of a Chavaret-owned armoury shop. Garthe was pointing at the three-coin insignia on his shirt with an obnoxiously broad grin.


    ¡°Ah. Bragging once again,¡± Roa stated dully.


    Lucy glanced at them once more and then shrugged, walking away with Trisroa beside her. ¡°I¡¯ll just have to ensure he works for his benefits.¡± She looked at the elven woman. ¡°Moving on ¨C spirit magic.¡±


    ¡°What would you like to know first?¡± Roa replied politely.


    ¡°How was the Pale Lady of the Sleeping Lake able to become an undead while retaining her spirit magic?¡± Lucy asked abruptly. ¡°I believed that due to spirits being existences most in tune with nature, they¡¯d be averse to death mana, but it¡¯s well known that she managed to keep her power of Eternal Rest that she stole from the Winter King when she became an undead.¡±


    ¡°The¡­ the P-Pale Lady?¡± Roa stiffened up slightly. Her pace sped up, revealing her hidden nervousness. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be referring to¡­ to the Queen of the Banshees, Cl¨ªodhna?¡±


    ¡°That is the name the fae refer to her with, yes,¡± Lucy continued brightly. ¡°Acalypha, the Fae Damned Elven Sorceress. You seem uncomfortable?¡±


    ¡°She is¡­ a forbidden name in Glenheim.¡± The elf fell silent as she walked beside Lucy, thinking over her words. Eventually, she replied, ¡°Acalypha was technically a spirit guardian before she became a banshee of Tartarus.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes. If she had the gift of Eternal Rest from the Winter King, she would¡¯ve been part of the Unseelie Court when she returned from the spirit realm to become a¡­ what was it again?¡± Lucy contemplated as she tapped on her chin with a gloved finger.


    ¡°Fomorian,¡± Trisroa supplied, her arms crossed. ¡°That is the name for the Unseelie version of a former mortal who returned from the spirit realm and chose to become a fae after being a spirit. A choice only mortals may have, as true spirits have no connection to the mortal realms, unlike fae.¡±


    ¡°As opposed to the Tuath D¨¦ of the Seelie Courts,¡± Lucy noted. ¡°But then a banshee?¡±


    ¡°Due to being ¡®Fae Damned¡¯ after slaying the Winter King, Acalypha never gained any fae magic unique to her when becoming a fae,¡± Roa continued slowly. ¡°As such, ¡®Eternal Rest¡¯ was her only spirit magic after becoming a fae and-¡±


    ¡°¡­Eternal Rest kills someone, preserving their body to appear as if they are merely asleep,¡± Lucille finished. ¡°So, her aptitude for death-related magic caused her to learn how to use death mana, where she became a Sluagh of Tartarus instead of her former race of bean-sidhe.¡±


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Roa nodded. ¡°Yes, a Sluagh. ¡®Evil spirits¡¯ that aren¡¯t ghosts or spectres and who can wield death mana.¡±


    Lucy lightly clicked her tongue. ¡°So it was a coincidence. That¡¯s unfortunate. I wished to know how she combined an ability intended for mana with the death mana of Tartarus.¡±


    ¡°Do you have a reason to know such a thing?¡± Roa asked with a frown. ¡°Acalypha was exiled from all the courts and is the sworn enemy of spirits and fae alike.¡±


    Lucille glanced at the elf but just smirked. ¡°I have both a spirit weapon and a demon weapon. I¡¯m curious about all applications of their abilities.¡±


    So, if I wanted to materialise the element I¡¯m thinking of at Rank-3, I¡¯d need an Unseelie or Fomorian ability. Something that would go against nature for long enough that something impossible will be conceptualised¡­ would Winter work?


    But Lucy¡¯s priority for spirit magic was to find a way to include it in her second main skill so that she could defend against and reflect it like spellcraft.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m satisfied with that much for now,¡± she announced, speeding up. ¡°But this makes me curious¡­ why have you not formed a contract with a fire or ice spirit? Or even faerie?¡±


    Roa shook her head. ¡°I do not desire to become a sorceress or summoner. I would detest having to rely on others for strength.¡±


    Lucy glanced back and cocked an eyebrow. ¡°The highest tier of contract may require you to give up your runic model and magecraft, but couldn¡¯t you form a low-tier contract with them? The spirits themselves don¡¯t even need to be powerful. A contract like that would enhance your affinities¡¯ strength.¡±


    ¡°I had not considered it,¡± Roa announced with surprising straightforwardness. ¡°In Glenheim, a contract with a spirit or fae is synonymous with sorcery. I wished to avoid all relations to the world of sorcery expected by my peers.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d suggest you put some thought into it,¡± Lucy suggested. ¡°Mages and wizards frequently visit Glenheim in hopes of forming a contract with a spirit because of the basic magic enhancements it gives you. Human mages aren¡¯t looked down on by elvenkind, are they? The only benchmark of significant status in Glenheim is a contract with a powerful spirit of some kind.¡± Lucille shot her a knowing look. ¡°If you ever want to be able to hold your head high in Glenheim, you can compromise without forsaking your passion.¡±


    The snow elf looked awkward, so Lucille shook her head and changed the topic. ¡°I was only making a suggestion, as I don¡¯t want to see you become a sorcerer either. But I think it¡¯s time for us to do something else.¡± She walked into a store and came up to a shelf, studying the items displayed. ¡°Roa, if you had obtained a dimensional artifact made of cloth and wanted to change its body, what would you choose?¡±


    The elven woman looked surprised and glanced at Lucy to check if she was serious, then held her chin as she considered it. ¡°Cloth is a difficult material. If this item was to be used when travelling, I¡¯d have to disguise it somehow. This would be easiest if the object the cloth became was mundane in appearance.¡±


    ¡°I agree.¡± Lucille picked up a pouch made of leather before placing it back down. ¡°But it can¡¯t be too large or conspicuous. However, the larger the frame, the more stably anchored the dimension would be to the artifact. Even better would be if this object could be locked somehow as an added security measure.¡±


    ¡°An item made of cloth yet still fairly large, that can be locked, and mundane enough to not draw attention,¡± Roa summarised. ¡°With that much, it will be difficult to find something to it your preferences.¡±


    Lucille shook her head and planted her hands on her hips. ¡°No, there is still one aspect that must be considered above all else. Even if I compromise on the other elements, this one element must not be compromised.¡±


    Trisroa eyed her curiously. ¡°And what would that be?¡±


    Lucy raised a finger. ¡°Aesthetics,¡± she stated seriously.


    ¡°¡­aesthetics?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m not going to go around with an item if it doesn¡¯t have style.¡± Lucy looked around but then her gaze landed on a specific object carried by someone. She smirked. ¡°And I think I found what I want my dimensional artifact to become. Roa, do you think turning the fabric dimensional artifact into the lining of an antique briefcase would work?¡±


    <hr>


    ¡°Ha! Take that, you violent, heavy as a truck, stupidly tall mercenary!¡± a silver-haired snake shouted as he sent a punch flying towards his opponent¡¯s face.


    The red and blue-haired man grabbed Scytale¡¯s fist with a strange expression, then swept his feet out from under him with his spear. ¡°What¡¯s a truck?¡±


    Scytale groaned from his spot on the floor and sat up. ¡°It¡¯s like a carriage but one that drives on its own. It¡¯s on Lucy¡¯s home world.¡± He squinted at his opponent. ¡°By the way, blue doesn¡¯t suit you. You look weird.¡±


    Hargrave eyed him strangely for one more moment and then shook his head as he walked off to the side to undo his armour. ¡°I prefer my hair this way. I don¡¯t match my bounty poster image anymore.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well you look like one of those wannabe esper kids from Lucy¡¯s world!¡± Scytale argued, pushing himself off the floor. ¡°At least it¡¯s natural in your case.¡± He began to snicker to himself. ¡°Forget the Spear-Fiend, time for everyone to be scared of Attack Parrot! Those who see his striking hair will be defeated before they know it as they fall to the ground laughing!¡±


    Hargrave sighed and proceeded to ignore the snake as he stowed away his armour and spear. He walked towards the exit of the hall, Scytale tagging along.


    ¡°Is that enough for you?¡± the man asked as he glanced at Scytale.


    ¡°I guess.¡± Scytale yawned and shifted into his snake form so he could twirl in the air and do fancy tricks. ¡°I just wanted to brush up on my hand-to-hand combat, not that I think I¡¯ll need it anytime soon.¡±


    ¡°Scytale¡­ you gained a human form in January,¡± Hargrave replied. ¡°Where would you have time to learn hand-to-hand combat before this?¡±


    The amphiptere stopped spinning through the air and turned around to stare at Hargrave while he flew backwards. He coughed and turned back to fly off so that Hargrave couldn¡¯t press.


    Hargrave shook his head, expecting that response, and continued on his way to Sedric¡¯s workshop, which he was sure Scytale was heading. Then something set off his senses and he frowned. He stayed still and looked around as he worked out what he was sensing that made him feel like something was off.


    He slowly kept walking and then stopped when he noticed Scytale was on the ground, looking up. He looked up and didn¡¯t see anything. ¡°Scytale?¡±


    ¡°Did you feel that too?¡±


    Hargrave nodded, his expression solemn as he realised that if even Scytale could sense it, then something was definitely wrong. ¡°The mana hasn¡¯t been disturbed in the Commission, so it can¡¯t be attributed to Marellen or Sedric doing something.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s because the person isn¡¯t using mana¡­¡±


    Hargrave fixed a stare on Scytale and dropped to a crouch. ¡°Person?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, uh¡­ I¡¯m not as good as Lucy at doing this, but just let me¡­¡± Scytale swayed from side to side a little as something swept over the floor, making Hargrave shiver as he sensed the spiritual perception of the serpent brush over his soul. ¡°Okay, so¡­ yep. We¡¯ve got an intruder.¡±


    Hargrave silently withdrew his spear from his dimensional skill. ¡°Location, strength and characteristics.¡±


    ¡°The floor below us, the strength of a dry twig, and shady as hell with all those black robes covering him,¡± Scytale announced.


    ¡°¡­dry twig?¡± Hargrave asked, confused.


    The serpent shuffled his wings in a shrug. ¡°No joke. I¡¯m ninety per cent certain that all his stats went into stealth because his cultivation level feels around¡­ early Spirit Reflection? Maybe peak Nascent Soul. Something like that.¡±


    Hargrave racked his memories for the cultivation stages of the Heavenly Realm. ¡°Above Level 150. So, a cultivator¡­¡±


    Scytale nodded and looked up again. ¡°Yeah. Lucy knew that something funny was going on with their lot and her, but this is the first time one of them snuck in here. It might have something to do with that flute thing she got as a gift, but I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Hargrave slowly nodded, tightening his grip on his spear. ¡°Do we kill them?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ I don¡¯t-¡± Scytale paused as a message was sent through his bond with Lucille. ¡°Lucy says we need to go and make sure Sedric is safe. The intruder is making a beeline for the nearest stairwell to his workshop and we can¡¯t have them using him as a hostage.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got it.¡± Hargrave shifted to change the distribution of his weight. ¡°What about the others?¡±


    ¡°The Barbosas siblings are out, Lucy is with Roa, Marellen is at a caf¨¦ with Efratel, and Vincent is off the premises.¡±


    ¡°So we only need to consider ourselves. Alright then.¡± Hargrave glanced at Scytale. ¡°Ready?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡­


    Scytale and Hargrave crept around the corners of hallways, aware that they could be caught in a confrontation now that the intruder was on their floor. The snake had enlarged his form but cloaked the two of them in his invisibility spell. It was clear that something was definitely wrong when as more time went by, they still hadn¡¯t met another servant of the Commission.


    The intruder had yet to enter Scytale¡¯s perception, but if it did, that meant he was too close. Scytale¡¯s perception was only the length of one hallway and they needed the intruder to be as far away as possible.


    ¡°Are you sure he¡¯s heading this way and hasn¡¯t taken a route to search the Commission Head¡¯s quarters?¡± Hargrave asked in a hushed voice.


    ¡°Certain.¡± Scytale let out a soft hiss. ¡°My spiritual perception may be small, but the sense of smell of a magical beast is never weak. I can tell he¡¯s approaching.¡±


    ¡°He didn¡¯t disguise his scent?¡±


    Scytale and Hargrave stiffened up as they heard voices, but a look through the closest window revealed it was only some people on the balcony several stories below.


    ¡°He couldn¡¯t. I recognise the scent. He¡¯s using a type of powder that prevents spiritual beings detecting him for a limited amount of time. It¡¯s a costly and rare Seven-Star Xuan-Grade substance. I reckon it¡¯s to avoid attracting Ashale¡¯viaf¡¯s attention.¡±


    Hargrave nodded. They kept silent until they entered the hallway of Sedric¡¯s workshop. Trading looks, they approached the door and slowly entered. When the door locked behind them, they dashed down the stairs.


    Sedric frowned when he heard them enter and looked up. ¡°Really? Both of you? Let me have some peace for an hour or two, please-¡± He yelped as he was hauled off his feet by Hargrave and then pushed under a table. Hargrave slid next to him. ¡°What the hell are you-¡±


    ¡°Sedric, I know your opinions of me, but you need to take me seriously in this instant,¡± Scytale hissed as he guarded their little hiding spot. ¡°There¡¯s an unknown intruder on this floor and he¡¯s heading this way. Lucy knows but won¡¯t be here for another ten minutes.¡±


    Sedric stared at him. His gaze slowly drifted to Hargrave, who nodded. ¡°It¡¯s true. They¡¯re a cultivator, so spells can¡¯t detect them easily.¡±


    ¡°The good thing is that Hargrave or I could easily kill them,¡± Scytale grumbled. ¡°Bad news is that this guy is probably from some hidden assassin Sect and they¡¯re a hired hand. He¡¯ll kill himself if caught and is willing to die for his goals.¡±


    Sedric gulped and shakily backed up into the wall. ¡°O-Okay¡­ what do we do?¡±


    Hargrave and Scytale looked at each other. ¡°Nothing for now,¡± Hargrave replied solemnly. ¡°We don¡¯t know if they want to find you or if they¡¯re just scouting out the Headquarters. It¡¯s possible they intend to kill a target in this building.¡±


    Scytale hissed. ¡°I know that whoever they are, they waited until Lucille left the building before doing this. That means they know part of her true abilities.¡±


    Sedric winced. ¡°This is for real, isn¡¯t it? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve heard you call her Lucille¡­ ever.¡±


    Scytale rolled his eyes, but the crafter seemed to shrug off his fear for a second and began looking around, pulling the closest chests and boxes towards himself.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Trying to be helpful. I know I can¡¯t do anything in a fight, but I¡¯m not completely useless. Here.¡± He threw Hargrave a small ball of coiled-up wire mesh with a button on the front. ¡°This is a trap I made. It will wrap the target up in a net made of metal. And this¡­¡± He placed a brass canister of¡­ something in Hargrave¡¯s hand. ¡°I was thinking of what I could use to defend myself one day and had the idea of a device that could spray stuff in people¡¯s eyes. That one¡¯s full of pepper.¡±


    Scytale glanced back. ¡°Wow, reinventing the wheel, huh? Never thought I¡¯d get to see the day that magitech pepper spray was made.¡±


    Sedric raised an eyebrow. ¡°What?¡±


    The soft sound of footsteps outside the workshop made them still and Hargrave covered Sedric¡¯s mouth up. The door handle slowly turned and Scytale reacted on instinct. He enlarged his body and activated his camouflage spell and Incongruity Inversion, pouring most of his mana into the later of them. The two men under the table were hidden by his outstretched wings that blended in with the background.


    The intruder crept down the stairs with light footsteps. When he was at the bottom, the air rippled slightly, revealing the activation of his spiritual sense. Scytale spread his spiritual power to cover Hargrave and Sedric, whose weak souls would hopefully be shielded by his own. The silence was tense when the intruder slowly turned to scan their section of the room, and Scytale waited as he trusted in the effect of his Incongruity Inversion to work.


    Eventually, the man took a small jade pendant out of his pocket and it lit up with a green glow. The air pulsed once as the spiritual message was sent out, and then the man swiftly ran up the stairs. The door shut behind him.


    The three of them didn¡¯t move an inch until Scytale finally nodded, the man having exited his perception. Sedric let out a long sigh, pressing his hands to his chest. ¡°I felt like my heart was about to explode.¡±


    Hargrave patted his shoulder. ¡°You did very well for someone unused to these experiences.¡± He looked at Scytale. ¡°What was that about?¡±


    Scytale continued watching the door for a second longer, and then he shrunk with a golden glow. He turned into his human form and sat cross-legged in front of them. ¡°A bloodline spell called Incongruity Inversion. It makes the watcher pass over minor mistakes in illusions and stuff. I used it to make sure he glossed over the spiritual signature of someone here when Sedric is a crafter with no knowledge of the soul.¡±


    Sedric crossed his arms with a grimace. ¡°So¡­ what now?¡±


    Scytale shrugged and leaned on his arms. ¡°We wait, I guess. Lucy knows where he is and she¡¯ll get back to us with any info. But I doubt that even she can get anything out of him.¡±


    <hr>


    The black-clocked man silently snuck past the porters of the Commission responsible for delivery and crept into the back of a work coach. With a mental message to the coachman, the coach set off, taking a detour through the quieter and less frequented alleyways of Gilded Seat.


    The sudden flare of orange light seared the eyes of the coachman and startled the horses. The coach toppled over as its base exploded into flames. The cloaked intruder stumbled out while coughing and quickly looked around for his enemies.


    The smoke scattered to reveal the form of a white-haired elven mage holding out an ash-grey staff topped with a flaming stone, her elegant face frozen in icy indifference.


    Beside her, a dark-haired woman with one violently violet eye and a black mask held in one of her hands slowly stepped forward. She tilted her head at him, the magic array in her right eye slowly rotating. ¡°How interesting. I never expected the Five Heavenly Sects out of all the factions of the Tower to be interested in me.¡±


    The figure stiffened and then prepared to run. As soon as the first motion to move was made, ice-encased his feet to the ground and he gritted his teeth as he toppled backwards, burning pain in his lower legs. Two shards of razor-sharp had shot through his shins and pinned him to the ground.


    The dark-haired woman marched up to him expressionlessly and kicked him hard in the chest. She leaned forward and placed the blade of a pitch-black serrated dagger next to his neck. ¡°Who was it?¡± she asked coldly.


    Instead of answering, a wild grin appeared on the intruder¡¯s face and his veins began to bulge. Hissing energies pooled out of his body as his foundation collapsed, willing dissolved to grant him a quick death. A vein on his neck bulged and burst, spraying blood everywhere. The figure collapsed.


    Roa walked up to Lucille and studied the figure. Lucy knelt and placed two fingers near his nose to feel for breathing. ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡± She stepped back up and used her cane to slide his shirt up, revealing the black tattoo of a serpent above his left hip. She frowned.


    ¡°Someone you recognise?¡± Roa asked.


    ¡°No.¡± Lucy whirled around and swiftly walked in the direction of Ravimoux¡¯s Black Lily Casino. ¡°Come with me. A certain Count has a lot to answer for right now.¡±


    Trisroa wordlessly nodded and followed her, only stopping when Lucy paused and took one look back at the body. Lucille absentmindedly tapped the spot on her left hand where her contractual sigil was burned in, thinking of the person who offered to remove it.


    It¡¯s about time I pay another visit, isn¡¯t it?

 Chapter 81 (2 of 2) Lucille used magic distraction. It was very effective.

    The dark-haired man in front of Lucille gave her a deep bow. ¡°I will personally rectify this oversight with my own hands. I give you my sincerest apologies that such an incident occurred to a guest under your care.¡±


    Lucy didn¡¯t immediately reply to Count Ravimoux as he straightened up. Trisroa was standing behind Lucy¡¯s couch to her right. It seemed she had taken it upon herself to act the part of an escorting mage.


    Count Regulus Ravimoux sighed and straightened his ascot. ¡°If there is anything more you would like me to do for you, I will take it upon myself to-¡±


    ¡°The intruder waited until I had left the building to trespass,¡± Lucille interrupted.


    Count Ravimoux narrowed his dark green eyes and slowly nodded. ¡°We have a traitor.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but that¡¯s not the important part.¡± Lucy looked to the side, her face expressionless. ¡°Ruling out the Counts and the others at our first meeting, I can count on my hands the number of people aware of my spiritual perception.¡±


    ¡°That-¡± The words died in his mouth as he realised that she meant that they entered when she couldn¡¯t detect them with her perception, and he frowned as he held his chin. ¡°¡­there is no possibility that they discovered it recently?¡±


    Lucy sighed and shook her head as she rested it on the back of the couch. ¡°My bond told me that the powdered substance the intruder carried on him prevents soul beasts from sensing him with their spiritual sense. As a spiritual being as well, Ashale¡¯viaf wasn¡¯t able to detect him. A Seven-Star Heaven-grade substance like that is costly and difficult to prepare as it requires months of refining. They were prepared.¡±


    Count Ravimoux ran a hand through his hair. ¡°And he killed himself when you caught him. Any recognisable features?¡±


    Lucille pointed down. ¡°A tattoo. Above his hip.¡±


    That attracted his attention. He leaned forward, studying her seriously. ¡°Please describe it.¡±


    She traced a pattern in the air. ¡°A pitch-black snake with the character for ¡®Silence¡¯ drawn on its head.¡±


    The Count stared at her and then scowled. ¡°Blighted cultivators-¡±


    Lucy checked her pocket watch. ¡°The most powerful hidden espionage Sect subordinated to the Heavenly Sects got put to this task, so it will be extremely difficult to track this back to its origin.¡±


    ¡°But not impossible.¡± Count Ravimoux narrowed his eyes as he gazed at the floor, then suddenly stood up. ¡°Once my subordinates have reclaimed the body, we will do our best to track any and all clues. It¡¯s one thing for it to be a spy from the Empire, but a powerful force of the Heavenly Realm¡­ this could become a major diplomatic issue.¡±


    She put away her pocket watch and stood up. ¡°It won¡¯t. Not until they attack me directly. As of yet, we still don¡¯t know their full intentions.¡± Lucy looked over her shoulder at the door. ¡°Nor why they would act so boldly when they know the high likelihood of getting caught¡­¡± She turned back to him. ¡°I¡¯ll take my leave. I have somewhere I need to go to check up on something related to this, and I¡¯ll inform you of the information once I get it.¡±


    Count Ravimoux raised an eyebrow. ¡°Somewhere related to this? You don¡¯t need guarding, do you?¡±


    Lucille shot him a wry look. ¡°Not a single guard of the Commission could protect me against the Wordless Observers, Count Ravimoux.¡±


    He stiffened when he heard the unexpected name of the infamous organisation out of her mouth, and then hurriedly coughed as he stepped away. ¡°Of course, of course. I will¡­ leave you to your business.¡± He bowed and backed out of the room, leaving Lucy and Roa alone.


    Lucille shook her head and walked out. ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡±


    ¡°Wordless Observers?¡± Roa repeated, curiosity plain in her voice.


    Lucy gave her a dismissive wave. ¡°Their talents lie in martial prowess.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± When the elven mage heard that they weren¡¯t related to magic, she nodded, all interest waning.


    If there was one thing Lucille appreciated about most wielders of magic, it was their tendency to refrain from asking about subjects not related to magic.


    ¡­


    A long-haired man with thick leather gloves and strange goggles above his eyes stared at Lucille, who was sheathing her two snake-swords. He nudged the silver-haired magical beast beside him. ¡°She¡¯s angry, isn¡¯t she.¡±


    Scytale slowly nodded. ¡°Someone¡¯s going to die this week,¡± he whispered back. ¡°But it¡¯s not going to be me and Hargrave is too strong so you¡¯re the only option,¡± he added in a normal voice.


    ¡°Hang on, this whole thing is a problem because I was in danger of getting killed-¡±


    ¡°Is she really planning on going after the cultivators who intruded?¡± Hargrave asked with a frown.


    ¡°Hm? Oh. Nah.¡± Scytale glanced at him. ¡°She¡¯s just going out to meet a friend.¡±


    Sedric, Hargrave and even Roa on the other side of the room turned to stare at him. ¡°¡­friend?¡± Hargrave repeated.


    ¡°Lucille has friends?¡± Sedric asked, looking stunned. ¡°I thought she only knew the people who stick around the Commission. Like us.¡±


    Hargrave tilted his head, hesitating. ¡°¡­where does she get the time to meet people when she¡¯s always working?¡±


    Scytale shrugged. ¡°She makes the time. The real reason she¡¯s meeting the guy is because he knows a bit about this whole cultivator thing though, so she wouldn¡¯t have gone to meet him ordinarily.¡±


    Lucy let out a long sigh. ¡°Could all of you please stop commentating on my motivations as if I¡¯m some spectacle?¡± She pointed at Hargrave. ¡°Hargrave, I don¡¯t have any authority to order you around, but if you could just make sure nothing happens to Sedric or the others while I¡¯m gone, I¡¯d be grateful.¡±


    The blue and red-haired man nodded. ¡°I planned on doing that even if you hadn¡¯t asked.¡±


    ¡°Hey, am I really that weak in all of your eyes?¡± Sedric complained. He scowled when they all gave him sceptical looks. ¡°Oi!¡±


    Lucy ignored his question and walked towards the lift. ¡°I¡¯ll be back before dinner. Sedric, ensure that you brief Vincent on what happened when he asks where I¡¯ve gone. Marellen, Efratel, Garthe and Larena will be back soon, so tell them they¡¯re not to leave the Commission again until I get back.¡±


    ¡°Who are you to order us around?¡± Scytale argued.


    ¡°The person who pays for every aspect of each of your living expenses,¡± she retorted flatly. She glanced at her watch. ¡°I¡¯ll get going. I¡¯ve wasted enough time as is.¡±


    The others watched her take the lift and traded looks. The silence was broken soon after by Scytale gaining an evil grin. ¡°So¡­ I know of a certain spirit who¡¯s just landed himself in a lot of trouble with this intruder business. Anyone up to interrogating him with me?¡±


    ¡­


    In a flourishing peaceful garden, a man with dark wavy hair was humming as he clipped a bush with gardening shears. He stepped back and placed his hands on his hips as he observed his handiwork with satisfaction.


    The vague form of a shadowy humanoid materialised behind him and a monotone, baritone voice spoke out, ¡°My lord.¡±


    Lucius didn¡¯t immediately reply as he studied his sculpted bush, and then he turned to his subordinate. ¡°Eidolon, what is your opinion of the artistic elements of this sculpture?¡±


    No facial features could be seen on the misty figure¡¯s head, but the slow turn of the head to face the bush, and then face Lucius again accurately portrayed the owner¡¯s literal blank-faced reaction. ¡°¡­what?¡±


    Lucius held his chin as if he were pondering over a complex puzzle that had fooled sages throughout all of time. ¡°Is the horn too pointy for a cerapter? Mortal books portray horned Pegasi as elegant, noble creatures in contrast to the fierce beasts of war the horse beast ruling race truly is, but I don¡¯t want to ruin any of my children¡¯s dreams. Should I make it less sharp in appearance?¡±


    The figure remained silent. There were only three possibilities when it came to a question like this ¨C it was a test, he was being messed with, or Lucius was sincerely asking a question to get another point of view.


    Because two impossibly ancient creatures materialised from the energy of death didn¡¯t have much affinity with living plants shaped into fantasy creatures for the joy of small mortal children.


    ¡°¡­I think if you removed the fanged teeth it may appeal to the children more, my lord,¡± Eidolon hesitantly suggested.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Lucius considered it deeply. ¡°Perhaps. Even if it is anatomically correct, it may be too scary for them.¡± He blinked and turned to look at his subordinate with what looked like innocent curiosity on his face. ¡°Eidolon, do you find this scary? Is that why you suggested I remove the fangs?¡±


    ¡°¡­no, my lord.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I understand.¡± Lucius patted Eidolon¡¯s shoulder in comfort. ¡°Pointy teeth can be scary for even a being of death such as yourself. Even when you¡¯re capable of destroying this plane with just a mere thought, we all have something we¡¯re ¡®deathly¡¯ afraid of. Like spiders. Or snakes.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    It was now clear that Lucius was just messing with him, but Eidolon couldn¡¯t say anything to the ruler of his realm.


    Lucius turned back to his bush sculpture and removed his gardening gloves with a calm smile on his face. ¡°So, what did you come here for, my chief advisor?¡±


    ¡°The girl who negotiated a deal with us has come again. But I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware of that.¡±


    Lucius¡¯s movements slowed, then hastened again. ¡°Yes. I would say you can let her in, but¡­¡± He looked over his shoulder. ¡°It seems my guest has let herself in already.¡±


    Eidolon¡¯s form disappeared as Lucille turned a corner of the rows of hedge bushes and then stopped when she saw Lucius. She approached him and then paused when she saw his life-sized topiary work.


    ¡°Do you like it? It¡¯s a cerapter,¡± he asked pleasantly. ¡°It¡¯s taken the better part of the hour to complete this.¡±


    Lucy stared at it for a moment longer. ¡°That¡¯s a helhest,¡± she stated.


    Lucius looked between her and the bush. ¡°Really?¡±


    She pointed at the stub at the front, revealing a missing leg. ¡°It¡¯s three-legged and I can see through its ribs. This is an equine undead.¡±


    Lucius tilted his head. ¡°But it has wings and a horn.¡±


    ¡°The wings are skeletal and the horn is jagged and crooked, looking more like a deformity than any natural occurrence,¡± she told him with mild exasperation.


    ¡°Harsh. But accurate.¡± The bush crumbled into ashy dust which flew away in the breeze. Lucius dusted his palms and smiled. ¡°I was always going to kill it. That species of magical plant is poisonous, and I can¡¯t risk something like that being in the garden my children play in.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Lucy eyed the pile of ash and then slightly shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ll take it that I¡¯m not interrupting anything important then?¡±


    ¡°Well, it was my scheduled day for gardening. I only get a chance to tend to my garden once a fortnight. But¡­¡± Lucius glanced behind him at what looked like nothing. He grabbed the gardening shears off the top of a flat hedge bush. ¡°Eidolon.¡±


    Lucy blinked when the shadowy figure appeared.


    ¡°¡­my lord.¡±


    ¡°Eidolon, use this chance to gain a hobby,¡± Lucius remarked cheerfully. He placed the gardening shears in his subordinate¡¯s vague hands and stepped back. ¡°I have one final bush that needs sculpting, but it seems I¡¯ll be busy. I¡¯m sure my favourite subordinate will meet his master¡¯s expectations and surprise me with his topiary skills when I return.¡±


    Lucius turned around and walked off with Lucy following after him, glancing back at the shadowy figure. The figure lifted the shears and snipped them, watching how they worked.


    ¡°When you said his name is Eidolon¡­¡± Lucille began slowly.


    ¡°Yes, he¡¯s Eidolon, my chief advisor and ruling Regent of the Tartarus Realm,¡± Lucius replied brightly. ¡°He¡¯s always been obedient, but seems to make it his life¡¯s work to be incapable of developing a sense of humour.¡±


    Lucy glanced around her. There were signs of other bushes having been sculpted into mythical creatures, all of them expertly made. It seemed only that the so-called ¡®cerapter¡¯ was the exception. ¡°So¡­ gardening.¡±


    ¡°I thought I might try my hand at something I hadn¡¯t done in a while,¡± Lucius commented offhandedly. ¡°Perhaps I¡¯ll attempt painting tomorrow.¡± He raised an eyebrow at her. ¡°But while you know me as the master of the Tower¡¯s most powerful information agency, I must say that not even I expected your visit today.¡±


    ¡°Really? Even though you were the one to warn me about the Heavenly Realm¡¯s involvement in the first place?¡± she asked doubtfully.


    He raised a finger. ¡°Ah, then I must say that I did expect your visit. Just not necessarily today. Those ignorant ones have been trying all sorts of moves for a while, so it was going to happen eventually.¡±


    Lucius led her inside to his quarters and they both sat down on the armchairs of his living room. He picked up a book on the table next to him and set about reading it.


    Lucille, aware of the high mental faculties of a Paragon Anomaly and how they could do a million things while having a conversation, wasn¡¯t offended. She was the one who arrived unannounced. Instead, she opened her dimensional bag and took out her brass jug and a mug to pour herself some coffee. Lucius didn¡¯t comment on it.


    ¡°Hm. Why do mortal male authors consistently write such ill-conceived female characters?¡± he suddenly asked, making Lucy cough and swallow her drink before giving him an odd look. Lucius turned the book to show her the cover, revealing it to be some poor-quality fiction novel ¨C the type where the main character ends up being surrounded by a preposterous quantity of wives, partners and concubines. ¡°In all my time, I have never seen a woman such as these who has been born into prosperity willing to elope with an unfaithful, lower-class man.¡±


    Lucius tilted his head. ¡°Not to say that they don¡¯t exist, but surely it¡¯s an impossibility for so many of them to be born in one world that all happened to meet this one male mortal.¡±


    ¡°The simple answer would be that it¡¯s wish fulfilment for the author,¡± Lucy answered with mild bemusement.


    ¡°Then how come these are being sold in bookstores if it was purely the author¡¯s fantasy?¡±


    Lucy rubbed her temples. ¡°Because the author knows others have the same impossible daydreams and they will read his story.¡±


    Lucius propped his chin up. ¡°Then that would mean he has intelligence high enough to use his talents, and by that estimation, he would know how to write intelligent female characters.¡±


    ¡°But then his stories wouldn¡¯t appeal to those who have those daydreams,¡± Lucy refuted. ¡°Is there a particular reason why you¡¯re asking me this? I¡¯m sure it¡¯s something simple enough for you to understand.¡±


    Lucius smiled. ¡°You see, I can draw quite a few parallels between this novel and your own situation.¡±


    Lucy stared at him as he continued, ¡°The main character of this novel, while martially talented, also shows greed in substantial amounts and continually travelled to ¡®collect¡¯ women of varying fame and aesthetics. This is very common among young masters of the Heavenly Realm.¡±


    Her eyes widened when he pointed at her. ¡°Imagine then, that a powerful young master of a Heavenly Sect heard rumours of an attractive young lady who has gained significant financial power in the Eternal Empire. A marriage between the Aurelian Commission and their Sect would certainly bring fortune and-¡±


    ¡°You have to be joking!¡± she interrupted, staring at him with horror. ¡°Please tell me you¡¯re not being serious, because if that is actually the reason why the Heavenly Realm is trying to involve itself with me then I¡­¡± Her words trailed off and she narrowed her eyes at him.


    Lucius calmly gazed back. Then he smirked. ¡°I¡¯m not serious.¡±


    She buried her head in her hands and tried very hard to focus on what the consequences of punching the Death Monarch in his smug face would be.


    He chuckled and crossed one leg over the other, looking relaxed. ¡°Suffice to say that none have yet to see you as a potential partner in an arranged marriage. That¡¯s not to say that you don¡¯t have an issue on your hands,¡± he continued seriously. ¡°From what I¡¯ve seen and heard, no concrete plans regarding you have been made. But I highly recommend you keep an eye on the relationship between the Archduke and the Heavenly Sects.¡±


    She paused and looked up. ¡°The¡­ Archduke? I¡¯ve never heard of there being an issue between them, though¡­ the Emperor has been very pleased with how smoothly the peace treaties have been implemented.¡±


    ¡°Archduke and not Aethereal Duchy,¡± he stated, shaking his head. ¡°Or should I say, Stolas Septamere Eterial. And I doubt that if you asked him, you¡¯d get an answer ¨C because he wouldn¡¯t know this.¡±


    Lucille frowned and rubbed her temples. Lucius eyed her and shrugged. ¡°As I said, no concrete plans have been made. This means the people around you are in no immediate danger. You¡¯ll become a scapegoat if you¡¯re not careful, however.¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­¡± Lucy sighed. ¡°Thank you for your help. You didn¡¯t need to answer me when I turned up uninvited either.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense.¡± He waved her off. ¡°Turn up whenever you wish. I enjoy your visits and our conversations.¡± Lucius paused and narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°As a Realm Ruler, I order you to continue to visit me. You¡¯re not allowed to cut off all contact if the Malediction Society is dealt with.¡±


    She huffed a short laugh and crossed her arms. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll keep visiting.¡±


    He gave her a satisfied nod and stood up from his chair. ¡°Right. Now, I wish to see how well my chief advisor has done sculpting my last hedge bush, so if you wish to stay longer to see the results, you may.¡±


    ¡°No, I won¡¯t take up your time any longer.¡± She gave him a bow. ¡°Thank you once again.¡±


    ¡°It is nothing,¡± Lucius said with a smile.


    And for him, it probably was. Lucius walked her to the front door and they said their goodbyes. But just as Lucille reached the front gate, Lucius, who was standing on the top step in front of the front doors, said something.


    ¡°Lucille, how familiar are you with the Heavenly-Demonic War before the Heavenly Realm¡¯s assimilation?¡±


    Lucy glanced back and stared. Her expression began to twitch. ¡°Unfortunately, more familiar than I want to be right now,¡± she stated stiffly.


    Lucius chuckled. ¡°You have my sympathy.¡±


    She slowly nodded and shut the gate. Lucius went back inside, and Lucy stayed staring at the gate in silence.


    Then she scowled and kicked the gate. Her foot was rebounded with immense force and she stumbled back and landed on the ground as an automatic protective dome over the estate formed. The burst of faint laughter she heard coming from inside the manor revealed that Lucius had seen her epic failure.


    This blighted demon is causing me trouble even when it doesn¡¯t involve me.


    What am I supposed to think when he mentions ¡®Archduke¡¯ and Heavenly-Demonic War in the same conversation?!?


    ¡­


    Instead of returning straight away to the Commission, she went to a caf¨¦ to cool her head for a bit. When she finally returned, she went straight to her room and lay down on her bed, staring at the roof.


    He said the Archduke doesn¡¯t know about¡­ whatever the issue is yet and actual conflict hasn¡¯t occurred, so it¡¯s probably a situation of the Heavenly Realm having minor clues but not understanding anything yet.


    It¡¯s possible it may only be one Sect that¡¯s the issue too. I can¡¯t imagine Leng Xiuying would¡¯ve given away information about me to the other Sect Leaders too easily.


    She threw an arm over her face and sighed.


    And Lucius helped me once again, even if it wasn¡¯t as much as last time. I don¡¯t like feeling indebted.


    But it was quite possible that she¡¯d never be able to rid herself of her debt to him for her entire life.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    Thick, bitter mist. Gnarled burnt trees whipped at her cloak and robes as she flew past. She should¡¯ve chosen a better place to hide, but it wasn¡¯t worth regretting. The Hero had found her too fast for her to make use of her location anyway.


    She landed behind the ruins of an ancient necropolis palace of some kind and pulled her black cloak further over her disguised hair ¨C illusion mana that even the Hero couldn¡¯t see past had giving her short auburn hair and emerald green eyes.


    After she had faked her death on an expedition, she had never expected the Hero to be so relentless in finding her. She never believed he would truly think she had managed to die there, but one small misstep, and now he thought her current identity had clues to where ¡®Adrianna Riftmire¡¯ had gone.


    But it was now far more dangerous for her to be someone else other than Adrianna Riftmire right now.


    Her blood ran cold when a beam of light blasted through the necropolis¡¯s rubble, generating a massive sinkhole that dragged everything within it, including her. Her mana was split between maintaining the illusion of her current appearance that had been damaged by the attack as well as pushing out the continuously damaging effects of the death mana in the environment, so she couldn¡¯t fly right then.


    She gripped onto the edge of the sinkhole¡¯s cliff and began to haul herself up. Then a gleaming blade planted itself in the ground only inches away from her fingertips.


    The Hero crouched and gave her a mocking smirk. ¡°It seems I¡¯ve caught you, little thief.¡±


    She glared at him. ¡°I¡¯m no thief.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you are. You are if I say you are.¡± The Hero narrowed his piercing, cold gold eyes at her. ¡°But that may change if I hear the words I need to from you.¡± He gripped her throat and pulled her up. ¡°Where is Adrianna Riftmire?¡± he hissed.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know who that is,¡± she retorted. She spat on him.


    The Hero hoisted her up and threw her against the ground. He kneeled down on her back, the blade of his sword close enough to her neck that she could feel its coolness.


    ¡°That was the wrong answer,¡± he stated coldly. ¡°I¡¯ll only give you one more chance, otherwise I¡¯ll throw you into this pit and you¡¯ll never be seen again.¡± He leaned close and his voice gained a menacing, cruel tone. ¡°And I won¡¯t stop there. Rumours say you¡¯re working to feed your family. Well, if word gets out of your ¡®betrayal¡¯¡­ your family will have more worries to deal with over what food they can eat that night.¡±


    She didn¡¯t have a family, but that didn¡¯t make his words any less sickening. The Hero tightened his grip on her neck. ¡°So, what will you say?¡±


    She stayed silent for a moment, then smiled widely. ¡°Go to hell.¡±


    He removed his hand from her neck with indifference. ¡°So be it.¡± Instead of kicking her into the sinkhole like she expected, he plunged his blade into her. She coughed up blood as she stared at him.


    The Hero smirked. ¡°Just for that extra bit of pain on your way down to the bowels of death. This is what you get for lying to me.¡±


    Then he kicked her off. Or¡­ tried to.


    Something else stopped her from rolling off the cliff. Wincing through the pain, she noticed the outline of a man cloaked in pitch-black robes from his shoulders down. The grey pallor of his skin and the bitter black mist coiling around him made it clear that he was a member of the strongest race of Tartarus. A wraith.


    The Hero scowled. ¡°Who are you?¡±


    The robed figure didn¡¯t answer and instead looked down. He glanced between the Hero and her.


    ¡°So¡­ you¡¯re the Distorter in the Tower,¡± the wraith said.


    The Hero raised his sword and pointed it at the wraith. ¡°Distorter? What¡­ no, who are you? Why is a wraith, a member of the death race getting involved in mortal business?¡±


    ¡°Mortal business?¡± The wraith blinked and looked down at her, then chuckled. ¡°This goes far beyond pure mortal business, boy.¡±


    An immense force shoved the Hero back. The unidentified wraith flew above where the Hero was lying, breathing heavily as he glared at the wraith.


    ¡°As a price for your arrogance, I¡¯ll be taking one of your lives,¡± the wraith stated cheerfully. ¡°Don¡¯t hate me too much, you have more than you ever should¡¯ve had.¡±


    The wraith only pointed one finger at the Hero, and then a jet-black spear shot into the Hero¡¯s chest. He instantly burst into black mist, and his proud armour and weapons turned to mere particles.


    With a snap of his fingers, she found herself in a new place, on a cold pale marble floor and in an open-roofed temple of sorts with stormy skies in shades of only white, black and grey. Clutching at her open, bleeding wound, she rolled onto her knees and looked up to see the wraith sitting on a throne of solid black metal above a staircase formed of ivory. Bronze pillars topped with black flames lined both sides of the throne room hallway.


    ¡°Now,¡± the wraith began calmly, his smile pleasant but his dark eyes unnervingly deep. ¡°I will offer you one chance to explain why Adrianna Riftmire, who everyone thought was dead, entered my realm and led the Hero of Light to one of the bottommost layers of Tartarus. If you answer well, I¡¯ll reward you with the opportunity to ask me a question of my own.¡±


    She answered. After contemplating her answer, he nodded. ¡°I see. I understand. I¡¯ll grant you the opportunity to ask a question of your own.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ okay.¡± She grimaced as she released her illusion, and placed a hand on her injured chest as she looked up at the oldest being in the Tower.


    ¡°Death Monarch Azaexabelath, do you have any idea¡­ what I am?¡±

 Chapter 82 (1 of 2) Paladin’s puzzlement.

    Slightly off-tune whistling floated through the carriage. A dark-haired boy frowned and put his hands over his ears. ¡°Annaliese, can you shut up? You¡¯re hurting my ears.¡±


    The blonde-haired girl shot her brother an annoyed look. ¡°Why? What¡¯s wrong with my whistling? I think it¡¯s perfectly fine.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s worse than when you sing,¡± he replied with disdain. ¡°I get that you¡¯re happy that we¡¯re finally back at the Commission, but I don¡¯t share your enthusiasm.¡±


    Annaliese gave Raegan a surprised look. ¡°You don¡¯t like coming here?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s better than being stuck at our house I guess¡­¡± He hesitated and then jabbed a finger at her. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. I just said I¡¯m not as excited as you are.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Annaliese let out another whistle and then smiled. ¡°Maybe if you say please then I¡¯ll stop.¡±


    Raegan narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°Fine, your noble ¡®Prophetess-ness¡¯. Please.¡±


    ¡°Say it like you mean it.¡±


    He groaned. ¡°Please.¡±


    Annaliese blinked. ¡°I didn¡¯t hear you. Could you repeat that?¡±


    Raegan buried his head in his hands. ¡°Please.¡±


    His sister grinned. ¡°Nope.¡± Then she returned to whistling.


    Raegan scowled and the tired guardian of the two teenagers let out a sigh. ¡°Stop annoying Raegan, Prophetess Verdon. We are barely five minutes from the mansion, so I think it would be simple enough to sit in peace for only several minutes more.¡±


    The Prophetess blew him a raspberry but huffed and looked out the window.


    Jasten Albrecht rubbed his temples and then paused to stare at his armoured hand, realising that behaviour was becoming a frequent habit.


    ¡­he still sometimes wondered what the Great Sage saw in him to place those two troublemakers under his responsibility.


    ¡­


    ¡°Lucy!¡±


    The look of resignation on the face of the Aurelian Commission Head made Jasten feel a sense of commiseration oddly similar to his self-pity. While he had his suspicions and scepticisms about the strange young woman, he could understand her desire for peace when she ran an organisation as large as the Commission.


    ¡°I see you have returned,¡± Lucille Goldcroft stated blandly.


    Annaliese blinked. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I?¡±


    Jasten raised an eyebrow when Lucille gave him an unreadable look.


    ¡°¡­I suppose I expected things to be different after recent events,¡± she replied. ¡°If you¡¯re here, the Citadel must¡¯ve not heard anything important. Never mind.¡± She turned on her heels and walked off. ¡°Scytale¡¯s been messing around in the sitting room with Garthe and Larena if you want to see him.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s go!¡± Annaliese went to grab Lucille¡¯s hand and drag her off.


    Lucille gently removed it and shook her head. ¡°No, I have work to do. You¡¯ll see me at dinner.¡±


    ¡°Awww¡­¡± The Prophetess looked briefly disappointed until she spotted the red and blue-haired figure of Hargrave coming out of a room. She regained her energy and picked up her skirt to run after him, who had flinched and tried to back away before she noticed him. ¡°Hargrave! You need to tell me how you got your bloodline!¡±


    ¡°And she¡¯s off,¡± Raegan stated. He looked around and then shrugged, heading in the direction of Lucille¡¯s quarters. ¡°I¡¯m going to go mess with whatever game they¡¯re playing. It¡¯ll keep me entertained I guess.¡±


    Jasten automatically began to follow after Annaliese until Lucille walked up to him and snapped her fingers. A silencing spell of some kind was cast, preventing anyone from hearing their conversation.


    ¡°Sir Albrecht, I need to speak to you,¡± she began seriously. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯d like for us to go in the room next to your Prophetess and Hargrave to speak privately.¡±


    He looked in the direction of his ward, who could be easily seen in his mana sight. Jasten nodded¡­ because it was about time he asked the young woman in front of him something as well.


    ¡­


    ¡°I hope you¡¯ll excuse me for not offering you a drink as is customary when having an important discussion, but I didn¡¯t intend for this to last long,¡± Lucille said, sitting down on the couch opposite him.


    He frowned and crossed his arms, not liking how this was beginning. ¡°This does not appear to be a normal conversation, Count Goldcroft.¡±


    She crossed one leg over the other and rested her gloved hands in her lap. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve noticed I¡­ haven¡¯t particularly welcoming towards you. The reasons for that are numerous, but I apologise for that.¡±


    He stared when she gave him a slight bow, wondering what scheme she was up to now. For Jasten, it had been easier knowing she was confrontational because then he didn¡¯t have to pretend to be friendly. ¡°¡­why apologise now?¡± he asked suspiciously.


    Lucille Goldcroft sighed. ¡°Because I need a favour or¡­ information from you. I need to ask: why did you bring Annaliese here after what happened?¡±


    ¡°¡­what happened?¡±


    She waved a hand. ¡°It¡¯s not great for the Aurelian Commission head to spell this out, but I¡¯m referring to the intruder that came here two weeks ago. They slipped past our defences and entered my floor, nearly coming in contact with Sedric.¡±


    ¡°I have no recollection of hearing of this,¡± he refuted. ¡°If I had, it would¡¯ve been due to the Sages informing me, and they undoubtedly would¡¯ve withheld the Prophetess from returning here so soon.¡± Jasten scowled. ¡°If this is true then I need to discuss this with them when we return.¡±


    It was Lucille Goldcroft¡¯s turn to stare. ¡°But the Citadel has one of the widest-reaching information networks in the realm. They must¡¯ve told you something, especially if it¡¯s regarding cul-¡± She didn¡¯t finish her sentence and furrowed her brow, holding her chin with a hand.


    ¡°¡­Count Goldcroft?¡±


    She blinked and then shook her head. ¡°Ah¡­ if you haven¡¯t heard about it then there¡¯s nothing more we can do. I¡¯m sorry for requesting to speak about something so minor.¡±


    Something was definitely going on that Jasten needed to find out more about, but he didn¡¯t want to get mixed up in any complicated situations. ¡°Why is it so important that you know why the Prophetess returned? Others would take this as a sign of trust from the Great Sage,¡± he pointed out.


    ¡°What? No, that¡¯s ridiculous.¡± Lucille Goldcroft firmly shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s far better for Annaliese to stay near the protection of her private guards. Raegan too. It¡¯s too risky for those two to be here right now.¡±


    ¡°And I don¡¯t understand why you care.¡± Jasten leaned forward, observing her solemnly. ¡°If your dislike towards Prophetess Verdon¡¯s monthly visits is true and not a scheme, then you would¡¯ve pushed her away more firmly. But if this is a scheme to draw her closer to your side, then you would risk having her be here so soon after¡­ whatever event happened with this ¡®intruder¡¯.¡± He narrowed his steel-grey eyes. ¡°Your actions don¡¯t reflect your attitude.¡±


    Lucille stayed silent. Then she tilted her head. ¡°Are you an idiot?¡±


    ¡°¡­what?¡±


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°What person in their right mind would be willing to let two high-profile teenagers return to where someone may harm them?¡± she asked with disdain, gesturing to the wall behind her where Annaliese was on the other side. ¡°She¡¯s just a sixteen-year-old girl, not even mentioning her brother, so why would I let them happily prance around the Commission? I¡¯ll end up in even more trouble if something occurs to them while under my protection.¡±


    She¡¯s not treating them like members of her generation.


    ¡°If you¡¯re doing this to protect them, explain your dislike of their visits,¡± Jasten retorted.


    ¡°Because I need to work,¡± Lucille argued back. ¡°I have a job to perform as the Aurelian Commission Head. Just like how even though everything is perfectly fine here, you¡¯re not willing to abandon your post beside Annaliese for even a minute.¡± She scoffed and gave him a dismissive wave. ¡°You should¡¯ve noticed I¡¯ve given up trying to prevent her from coming here. All I¡¯m doing now is keeping her distracted through my other guests so she doesn¡¯t get into trouble.¡±


    She stood up, and Jasten Albrecht did the same. ¡°¡­then what changed?¡± he asked quietly.


    Lucille frowned as she looked at him and then shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m just¡­ taking responsibility for introducing her to the truth of her situation. It¡¯s too late to let her and her brother remain in ignorance.¡±


    Before he could respond, she opened the door to where Hargrave and Annaliese were outside. After a brief discussion with Annaliese complaining about Hargrave¡¯s reluctance to answer her, they set off. Soon, Annaliese and Hargrave were walking ahead again ¨C the one-sided conversation being fully carried out by the energetic Prophetess.


    ¡°Still, I would¡¯ve thought that the Sages would¡¯ve sent one of their own to meet with me,¡± Lucille murmured beside Jasten. ¡°Knowing what they would about my knowledge of Raegan and my ¡®anti-fate¡¯ physiology¡­¡±


    ¡°Why would they know anything about that?¡± Jasten interrupted, overhearing her. ¡°The Prophetess and her brother wouldn¡¯t have told the Sages.¡±


    ¡°But there¡¯s still you,¡± Lucille said with mild bemusement.


    ¡°Me? I haven¡¯t said a thing.¡± He shook his head. ¡°It would make things complicated and they wouldn¡¯t believe me unless I pushed. It¡¯s too bothersome to deal with complex situations like that and I can¡¯t protect the Prophetess and her brother to the best of my ability in those situations.¡±


    Lucille stared at him for a second and then smirked. ¡°You seem to care more about those two than I thought. Hiding things from the Sages so that you can perform your job better¡­ I suppose only the highest-ranked Paladin can think of things like that.¡±


    He coughed lightly.


    Lucille shrugged and walked off. ¡°I guess the Paladin who gained his title by conquering a city for the Citadel through crawling through its sewers must have a particularly creative mind.¡±


    Jasten stiffened and walked forward to place a gauntleted hand on her shoulder. ¡°How do you know about that?¡± he asked in a low voice. ¡°The Sages hid that fact because they deemed it ¡®dishonourable¡¯.¡±


    ¡°I know just like how you heard me say I snuck into the Great Sage¡¯s library,¡± she replied blithely. ¡°And you might want to stop discussing this.¡±


    ¡°Lucy?¡± The Prophetess looked back. ¡°What are you talking about with Sir Albrecht?¡±


    The Paladin scowled as Lucille smiled brightly. ¡°Nothing. Just discussing the logistics of the new Protection Subdivision.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± Finding the answer sufficiently boring, Annaliese nodded and returned to chatting with Hargrave.


    Jasten Albrecht scowled deeper when Lucy patted his shoulder and grinned. ¡°Cheer up, Sir Albrecht. As long as you keep doing what you have, I won¡¯t reveal anything.¡±


    <hr>


    Lucille absent-mindedly spun her pocket watch around her finger by its chain as she read the book in her hands, lying down on the couch. It was a geographical compendium of some of the lesser-known regions of the Beast Realm. Her plans for each of the Counties were progressing, but she needed to take the next step relating to Chavaret.


    When the Dark Wizards of the Dark Tower arrived, several members of the Violet Order would visit with them to discuss the private dimension with Count Ravimoux. Evisenhardt was busy working to strengthen the Commission¡¯s authority among central nobility and its Aeternus families, while the dwarven craftsmen had begun to build the first prototype mana engines for the locomotives.


    But only the Spirit Seer region of the Kitsune wasn¡¯t enough for her plans for that realm. And she needed to access the Beast Realm without the military might of Chavaret¡¯s mercenary legions to back her up.


    ¡°What are you doing, Lucy?¡± Annaliese asked curiously. She was sitting at a table, playing cards against Raegan, Hargrave, Marellen and Roa. It seemed the magical card set artifact that Marellen¡¯s party had brought back from the Sundown Continent was giving them plenty of entertainment. Raegan was sitting there with bright pink hair, trying to peek at his sister¡¯s hand.


    ¡°I am considering which region of the Beast Realm to visit,¡± Lucy replied, flipping a page. ¡°I need to establish ties with another region¡¯s enclaves, but if they¡¯re too strong, their pride will make it difficult to trade with them. They can¡¯t be weak either, however, as they¡¯ll become our protectors when transporting goods convoys through the realm.¡±


    ¡°Sounds complicated.¡± Annaliese placed a card down and punched the air. ¡°Two scores of four!¡± The air above her head lit up with magical fireworks as she won the round and eagerly took a card from each of the other players¡¯ hands.


    ¡°Could you not form alliances through trade with several dispersed but independent enclaves?¡± Roa spoke up. She calmly placed her card down and skipped Annaliese¡¯s next turn. ¡°You will gain a greater variety of natural resources.¡±


    Lucy shook her head. ¡°No. Even with the Commission¡¯s size, we don¡¯t have the manpower to reach across zones as expansive and treacherous as the regions of the Beast Realm. I need us to form ties with an independent, large Supreme Enclave that will command all the surrounding enclaves to support the deal.¡± She frowned and closed the book. ¡°However, I also need to consider what resources the Commission has available to trade. All of this would be sorted if I just formed connections with an emerging powerful clan. Preferably a young one.¡±


    ¡°You mean like my clan?¡± The sound of paper hitting her couch above her head drew her attention and she looked across the room to see Scytale concentrating with his tongue sticking out of his mouth. He threw another paper plane and watched as it lazily slid to a stop on the floor, a good metre away from her couch.


    Scytale flopped on his couch with a groan and gave up. ¡°All these other nobles get bonds from Supreme Enclaves just so they can trade and stuff, but you¡¯re the first bond I¡¯ve ever heard of who are barely interested in their bond¡¯s Supreme Clan.¡± He sat up as he held his chin pensively. ¡°Hey, Lucy? Could you buy the Supreme Serpent¡¯s Silent City for me?¡±


    Lucy paused as she realised where her bond was going with this. She sat up too. ¡°I suppose if the City Lord accepted my offer of joining the Commission. Why?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Scytale twirled a finger in the air. ¡°People began to know about my home because of you, right? Lots of people are going to start heading there when they know about my Ancient Clan. It¡¯s the only city close enough to my enclave for it to be worth it, so if you just went and bought the place, you¡¯d be good.¡± He shrugged and leaned back. ¡°I¡¯ll admit that it¡¯s being selfish on my part. If anyone discovers who I am, they could use the city to threaten my clan. It¡¯d be better if you just bought it first.¡±


    She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. ¡°But I thought you promised Verdilast that you wouldn¡¯t return until you reached Rank-3 at the very least.¡±


    ¡°Eh.¡± He waved off her answer. ¡°I¡¯ll be visiting the city, not the enclave.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Lucy considered it and then rested her chin on her hand. ¡°Is there a condition you have in mind for essentially granting me full control over all your enclave¡¯s imports and exports?¡±


    Scytale opened his mouth to say no, but then an idea came to mind and he grinned wickedly. ¡°Actually, yeah.¡± He jabbed his two thumbs at himself. ¡°Transfer the City Lord title to me.¡±


    ¡°To you?!¡± Annaliese abruptly spoke up, forgetting about the game in her astonishment. The others turned around to hear the snake explain himself.


    ¡°Yep. Always wanted a fancy title of some kind.¡± Scytale smirked. ¡°City Lord sounds like a good starting point.¡±


    Lucy wryly shook her head. ¡°But you don¡¯t actually want to rule it, I take it.¡± She thought for a bit longer and then nodded. ¡°Alright. If we can convince the City Lord to sell the city to the Commission, I¡¯ll give you the City Lord title and appoint the present City Lord as Governor. There¡¯s no benefit to inciting hostility by replacing the current capable leader with someone unfamiliar.¡±


    ¡°Nice!¡± Scytale lifted his hands to cheer and then dropped back on the couch. ¡°It¡¯s not a noble title, but I get bragging rights, so it¡¯s good enough.¡±


    ¡°While I¡¯m at it, I may as well purchase all the other cities in the Violet Luminosity Jungle region,¡± Lucille commented offhandedly. ¡°That way all the trade routes will be under my control, including the connecting borders. With the Supreme Enclave backing me, there¡¯ll be little complaint.¡±


    Scytale frowned. ¡°Hey, wait a minute. That¡¯s going to diminish the value of my own!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a frontier region, Scytale.¡± Lucy shrugged. ¡°You¡¯ll be one of five City Lords anyway.¡± She opened her dimensional bag and began taking out leaflets of paper and ballpoint pens. ¡°If I want to monopolise an entire region, I¡¯ll need to put effort into this. The first would be constructing efficient routes to the enclave itself with monster-repelling materials, and then expanding the Supreme Serpent¡¯s Silent City into the Capital¡­ I¡¯ll need to put aside crystalline tokens for the upgrades.¡±


    Scytale clicked his tongue and pulled a pillow over his eyes. ¡°Just tell me when you¡¯re ready to go there. I won¡¯t miss the chance to be back in my home realm.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Lucille nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll take you and Sedric in about a week.¡±


    Her serpent bond paused. ¡°That¡¯s soon¡­ no, wait. Why Sedric?¡±


    Lucy glanced at the five playing card games and smiled. ¡°It will be good for Sedric to learn to select the best materials himself. He¡¯s going to be working on my artifact in a couple of weeks.¡±


    Roa and Marellen paused and then traded looks. ¡°Lucille, do you need protection?¡± Trisroa asked. ¡°Marellen and I would be willing to come, if only to visit that particular region once more. It is always spectacular to study the wild mana of the Beast Realm.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Lucy narrowed her eyes at them. ¡°Would you two be opposed to re-exploring the location of the avalanche afterwards?¡±


    They slowly shook their heads. ¡°If Larena and Garthe are willing to come, then we want to check it out,¡± Marellen said.


    ¡°That¡¯s sorted then.¡± Lucy gave a satisfied nod.


    ¡°Lucy! Can we come to?¡± Annaliese asked brightly.


    Her guard sent her a flat look as Lucy gave her a deadpan stare. ¡°No.¡±


    The girl pouted as Raegan snatched the victory from her while she was distracted. ¡°Ha! Take that, Anna, with your cheating Fate powers! I win this game!¡±


    ¡°I believe you are mistaken, young master Raegan,¡± Roa calmly replied. She placed down her entire hand. ¡°For I have a full run.¡±


    The boy¡¯s face fell and Annaliese began to laugh.


    ¡°Right, well¡­¡± Lucille checked her pocket watch. ¡°I¡¯ll update Vincent on our plans for the following week. Sedric too, although that shall be kept until last minute so he doesn¡¯t have time to protest.¡±


    ¡°Oh, wait! Lucy, Lucy!¡± Annaliese jumped up and ran over to hook Lucy¡¯s arm in her own. She pulled her out the door. ¡°Let¡¯s go together! I want to hear more about your magic.¡±


    Lucille sighed as she was dragged along by the girl barely more than 5% of her age. ¡°As you wish. I¡¯m not sure how explaining it this time will make it any clearer for you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get it eventually. Hearing you talk to Marellen and Roa about magic makes me want to learn how to use my Fate essence better!¡±


    ¡­


    It was midnight when Lucille heard the knocking on her balcony window. With a strange expression, she slid off her bed where she had been sitting while reading and then stood in front of the glass door. She crossed her arms.


    The dark-haired phantom dressed in black clothes to mask his identity scowled and started gripping the door handle. The glass pane rattled with force but didn¡¯t budge.


    After a silent staring contest, Lucy stepped forward to open the balcony door.


    ¡°Could the honourable Count Goldcroft allow me to enter her room and relay a message?¡± Kozzazan asked sarcastically. Said message seemed to be the black envelope in his coat pocket.


    ¡°If you¡¯re irritated about your peaceful day job being disturbed to be the point of contact between the House and me, then take it out on your superiors,¡± she stated blandly. She stepped back to let him in. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re the suspicious figure climbing up to the fortieth floor to enter the private quarters of the Aurelian Commission Head.¡±


    Grumbling to himself, the phantom took out the letter and passed it to her. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. ¡°Do you think you can deal with demons?¡±


    She paused midway through cutting the envelope open with a letter opener and looked up. ¡°Demons?¡±


    He gestured to the city outside. ¡°Some fool got himself possessed and now the demon¡¯s parading around the Malediction cesspit, with collecting Heretic items having become his new obsession. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware of demons and their fixations on things.¡±


    ¡°They can be loosely described as a collection of sociopaths and psychopaths, yes,¡± she replied, unfolding the letter. Uniquely, she couldn¡¯t use her spiritual perception to scan-read the letter before taking it out. ¡°And the solution is to deal with the root cause in the Demon Realm?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Kozzazan crossed his arms and frowned. ¡°The Mystical Realm is fine, but¡­ we have strict orders to not enter the Demon Realm unless necessary. For some reason, there¡¯s someone among the higher-ups who believes you¡¯ll be heading there and have a chance to deal them a devastating blow on our behalf.¡±


    ¡°¡­I see.¡± Lucille folded the letter, put it back into the envelope, and both crumbled into dust, never to be seen again. ¡°But what¡¯s this about ¡®liquorice¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Er¡­¡± He hesitated. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Apparently a superior wants you to bring some of this liquorice stuff with you the next time you visit them. The information I was given mentioned ¡®one of their children liking it¡¯.¡±


    I didn¡¯t know Vessel was part of the orphanage. I had heard from him that once one of them turns sixteen, they never meet again.


    Lucy smirked. ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do. About both the Demon Realm and the liquorice.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Kozzazan walked out onto the balcony and began climbing over the edge. ¡°I¡¯ll see you around sometime, Count Goldcroft. Please take as much time as possible before calling me to deliver any messages.¡±


    With that, he left, and Lucy returned to her bed. She cleared away the documents on top of it to consider the new task she had.


    Lucius¡­ wants me to ask the Demon Emperor for permission to let some of his forces eradicate the demons supporting Malediction. Does he even know what relationship we have?


    She placed her hands behind her head and closed her eyes.


    Well, if I can give a satisfyingly convincing reason as to why this will preserve the integrity of the Tower and its realms, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll let anything happen. As long as he doesn¡¯t have to do it himself.


    The following month would be September, nearly a full year since she had met the ruling demon for the first time.

 Chapter 82 (2 of 2) Paladin’s puzzlement.

    Lucille flicked through the pages and looked up at the man opposite her. ¡°This is everything?¡±


    Count Ravimoux bowed his head. ¡°Everything we could obtain since the ¡®attack¡¯.¡±


    She pondered the contents for a moment longer and then placed the pages on her desk. ¡°It¡¯s more than I expected. I appreciate you coming person to pass the information on the intruder to me.¡±


    ¡°Truthfully, I have another matter to discuss,¡± The Count replied. ¡°But¡­¡±


    He looked at the door, which opened to reveal a certain Prophetess accompanied by Sir Albrecht.


    ¡°Lucy, Sedric is asking to discuss the Beast Realm trip and- oh.¡± She blinked when she noticed the Count. ¡°Sorry, were you busy?¡±


    The dark-haired man observed Annaliese and then smiled. Placing a hand on his chest, he bowed respectfully. ¡°Count Regulus Ravimoux, my lady Prophetess. It is an honour to meet the one closest to our mutual friend. I lead one of the Commission¡¯s four Counties.¡±


    ¡°Friend?¡± Annaliese looked at Lucy with surprise.


    Lucy just raised an eyebrow at the Count, making him smirk. He straightened up and gave the Prophetess a relaxed shrug. ¡°Well, our acquaintanceship is certainly stronger than that of the other Counts. As such, I believe the term ¡®friends¡¯ should apply to us, no?¡±


    ¡°Whatever you say.¡± Lucille sighed and turned to Annaliese. ¡°Tell Sedric I¡¯ll meet with him after this. And before he asked ¨C no, he doesn¡¯t have a choice. He¡¯s coming with me.¡±


    Annaliese nodded and left Lucy¡¯s study. Once again left alone, Lucille turned to Count Ravimoux. ¡°Another matter?¡±


    ¡°Yes. That of your visits to the four Counties,¡± he replied with a nod. He gestured to the spare armchair. ¡°May I?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Lucy sat behind her desk and rested her intertwined fingers on her lap as she listened closely to what he had to say.


    Count Ravimoux gestured to the pages on her desk. ¡°As of yet, the agenda of the intruder and the force or forces behind them is indeterminable. Nobody has come forward to take advantage of this lapse in our defences, so we¡¯ve decided to hide news of it for now. Because of this, your visit to the Beast Realm and hopefully our Counties will go on unimpeded.¡±


    Lucy nodded thoughtfully. ¡°The vassals and family branches must be getting increasingly curious about me since the attack at the external debut. Otherwise, I you wouldn¡¯t have come forward to push me like this.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Count Evisenhardt and Count Chavaret requested for me to bring the topic up with you,¡± he agreed. ¡°They never would have done this without your expressed desire to visit us, though.¡±


    Lucy rested her chin on her hand. ¡°Have you three decided which County I¡¯m to visit first? I don¡¯t have a preference.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Well¡­¡± Count Ravimoux held his chin as he considered it. ¡°As the more affluent County among us, Evisenhardt will wish to have time to formally prepare for your visit. Their County is the closest to the Capital City and requires certain traditions due to that status. Count Chavaret only wishes to meet so that he may study your weapons¡­ do you wish to visit my County?¡± he asked with a strange smirk.


    ¡°I heard that Ravimoux had no fiefdom on the Aeternus plane,¡± she pointed out with a quirk of an eyebrow. ¡°Unless you have some grand secret to reveal to me?¡±


    ¡°Ha, there¡¯s no such thing,¡± he chuckled. ¡°I could always invite you to the ancestral estate, but I haven¡¯t been there for several years, so there wouldn¡¯t be much meaning.¡± The Count nodded to himself. ¡°I will organise for Alichanteu to welcome you first. That will limit the opportunities for their factions to employ schemes.¡±


    ¡°Any news about that?¡±


    ¡°About Radical and Olden?¡± Count Ravimoux questioned. ¡°Nothing major. Their ambivalent attitude is making me wary, considering the recent intrusion event, but there¡¯s nothing to be done if they haven¡¯t shown any moves. Although, I must ask.¡± He tilted his head. ¡°Do you truly mean for Sir Rouzet¡¯s city to be the first to undergo redevelopment?¡±


    Lucille smirked and crossed her arms. ¡°I¡¯ve seen that he¡¯s more capable than he appears. He¡¯s got the perfect disposition, attitude and status to rub the factions wrongly, and redeveloping his city first will give him a good test.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Count Ravimoux glanced behind himself and then nodded to her. ¡°Alichanteu it will be, then. I¡¯ll get back to you with the week once it¡¯s decided. I should be taking my leave now.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll contact you soon,¡± Lucy replied politely. Then she had a thought and raised a hand to stop him. ¡°Ah, could you relay my request to Vincent to purchase a chain called the Magisterial Treasure Emporium? It¡¯s a chain of stores that has expanded into the frontier regions of the Beast Realm which I think may be useful for my purposes.¡±


    ¡°Sounds interesting,¡± Count Ravimoux replied with a wicked smirk, no doubt aware of what had occurred between her and the store. With a bow, he shut the door behind him, leaving her to sigh and kick her legs onto her desk.


    I want to go somewhere and level up. Will I be able to do that more next year?


    Something on the edges of her perception field caught her attention and she rolled her eyes.


    Time to deal with Sedric¡¯s complaints. I¡¯ll add him to the list of ¡®people who need to develop social skills¡¯, after Hargrave.


    ¡­


    ¡°-and I¡¯ve never worked with raw materials before. So yeah, I just don¡¯t see how I could be of any help,¡± Sedric argued with his hands on his hips. ¡°I bet those mages of yours would be more help¡­ hey, are you even listening to me?¡±


    Lucy gazed off to the side with her arms crossed, idly watching her bond cajole Raegan into another plan to prank Ashale¡¯viaf.


    Is there anything else I should purchase while I¡¯m in the Violet Luminosity Jungle Region? Maybe Hargrave would appreciate access to water natural treasures¡­


    ¡°Hello? Am I talking to a brick wall?¡±


    ¡­but water natural resources in an illusion region would be more expensive and of lower quality than what it¡¯s worth. I¡¯m also unsure how his bloodline advancement works as a former human. Scytale said he can¡¯t be considered in the realms of an advanced or superior beast but closer to something in between.


    Sedric narrowed his eyes at her, thinking. ¡°Time for me to start looking for employment under the Coalition instead, I think,¡± he suddenly announced.


    Lucy whacked him on the top of his head with her cane. ¡°Don¡¯t give me such an unbelievable lie if you¡¯re going to speak falsehoods. Also, I still haven¡¯t changed my decision about bringing you.¡± She walked over to her couch as the crafter glared at her, one hand pointing at her and the other rubbing his sore head.


    ¡°So you were listening!¡± he complained. He marched over and sat on a nearby seat, scowling. ¡°At least give me several day¡¯s warning! Annaliese told me you decided on this only yesterday!¡±


    ¡°It was an arbitrary decision,¡± Lucille replied as she sipped her coffee.


    Sedric gripped his hair. ¡°Look, I just don¡¯t want to go anywhere with that darned snake!¡±


    They both glanced at the silver-haired teenage boy, who had successfully gripped Raegan in a headlock. Scytale looked up. ¡°Hm? Did someone mention me?¡±


    ¡°He is the most irritating person to exist,¡± Sedric muttered.


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    Lucy shrugged. ¡°True.¡±


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t lie!¡± Scytale said, pointing at Sedric. ¡°Just the other day you were telling me how much you loved me and never wanted me to leave!¡±


    Sedric stared. ¡°What-¡±


    ¡°Awwww, how sweet,¡± Raegan snarked.


    Sedric scowled and jabbed a finger at him. ¡°You shut up.¡±


    Lucille sighed and sat her coffee down. ¡°I¡¯ll stop him from bothering you too much. You forget, Sedric, that this trip to the Beast Realm won¡¯t be more than a single-day event for us three. Obelisk teleports are instant. It¡¯s only Marellen, Roa and the other two who will be staying for a week.¡±


    He stared at her. ¡°Really? But¡­¡± He slowly turned to look in the direction of a certain Prophetess who was lying on a couch, reading a book.


    Annaliese shiftily looked away. ¡°I-I may have gotten the details wrong when I told him more about what you said¡­¡±


    ¡°Ugh.¡± Sedric buried his head in his hands. ¡°That makes me feel better then. Having to go everywhere with that snake¡­¡±


    ¡°You say that like you don¡¯t already deal with him every day,¡± Lucy pointed out. ¡°I don¡¯t understand the problem here.¡±


    He considered it with a strange expression. ¡°I¡­ huh.¡±


    Lucy watched him and then stood up with a huff. ¡°If that¡¯s the end of this issue, I¡¯m going to see Hargrave. You two over there, don¡¯t antagonise Ashale¡¯viaf anymore,¡± she warned, pointing at her bond and Raegan.


    Scytale pulled down an eyelid and stuck out his tongue to mock her with a stupid face. Raegan just scoffed.


    ¡­


    With unusual swiftness and dexterity for a man of his build and height, the ex-mercenary swung his demonic spear through the air while cloaked in his new draconic aura. It cut through the air like thunder and when the sound of footsteps approached, he whirled around and pointed his spear at the newcomer.


    ¡°Impressive moves. Nice and flashy,¡± Lucille remarked dryly. She put a hand on Eolith and pushed it away. ¡°However, I¡¯d prefer it if you didn¡¯t aim your weapon at my throat as your blade is uncovered, unlike the first time we met.¡±


    He stiffened as memories of that event threatened to overwhelm him, and then Hargrave hurriedly pulled back the spear. ¡°¡­is there something you need to tell me?¡±


    ¡°In a way.¡± She tilted her head. ¡°Do you know what¡¯s happening?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°You¡¯re going to the Beast Realm with the others.¡± Hargrave turned to the side and held out his spear to practice his forms again. ¡°To purchase the cities in Scytale¡¯s home region.¡±


    ¡°Good, you know.¡± Lucy nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll be back by roughly nine at night, but if I¡¯m late then don¡¯t-¡±


    ¡°Departing at eight in the morning and then splitting from the sponsored party,¡± he murmured, throwing his spear at the opposite side of the training room. It plunged into the white stone wall and then shot back to him with a gesture of his hand.


    Lucy raised an eyebrow. ¡°You¡¯re unusually well-informed-¡±


    ¡°The Supreme Serpent¡¯s Silent City in the Violet Luminosity Jungle Region.¡± He punctuated his statement by spinning the spear in his hands but then Hargrave paused when he noticed Lucy¡¯s gaze.


    She held her chin as she observed him. ¡°Hargrave¡­¡± Lucy began. ¡°Is something wrong?¡±


    ¡°Wrong? Ah¡­ no.¡± He blinked, looking distracted. ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± she pressed, almost certain there was something on his mind. ¡°This isn¡¯t like you. You didn¡¯t notice me until I was already close. You¡¯re acting off and seem to be focusing on my excursion a little too much.¡±


    ¡°Maybe¡­¡± Hargrave looked down at his hand and frowned. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ not too sure what might be the matter myself. It doesn¡¯t feel like anything is different¡­¡±


    Lucille pressed a hand to her temples, feeling frustrated at the quantity of emotionally underdeveloped individuals running around her. ¡°Tell me if you work out what¡¯s the problem, okay Hargrave?¡± she ordered, pointing at him. ¡°If you keep acting like this when another intruder appears, who knows what will happen.¡±


    That seemed to make him react and he straightened up. He nodded solemnly. ¡°I¡¯ll get over this soon.¡±


    I doubt it. If emotions were that easy, I would¡¯ve chosen to abandon my revenge and make ¡®Adrianna¡¯ not exist in this timeline.


    Truthfully, revenge against the Hero wasn¡¯t the only reason why she needed to be close to him.


    Lucy left the training room and placed her hands behind her back, feeling a bit weary after everything that had occurred and what needed to happen. Her mind was busy planning how to persuade the Demon Emperor to let the House of Wordless Observers infiltrate the Demon Realm and eradicate the Malediction supporters, busy working out whether he would even care to refuse her in the first place and busy thinking of how she could obtain a demonic spellcraft-related skill during the fight. It was her best opportunity to obtain one.


    Now she had Hargrave and whatever was going on with him to deal with too. And keeping in contact with the members of Ravimoux the Count had employed to covertly guard Marellen¡¯s party when they investigated the location of the avalanche.


    At least she wasn¡¯t Vincent. He had hardly seen her at all that week due to all the nobles requesting to meet with him. The few hours before midnight were the only times they met to catch up.


    I¡¯d almost feel sorry for him if I didn¡¯t know he worked better under pressure. He seems to be enjoying himself in that strange, work-obsessed way of his. But what to do about Hargrave¡­


    A blonde-haired figure snooping around rooms of the Commission while trying to hide from her guard caught Lucy¡¯s attention. Lucille slowly narrowed her eyes.


    Operation Prophetess Sleeper Agent begins.


    She quietly walked up to the girl and placed her hands on her shoulders. Annaliese yelped and spun around, only to let out a sigh of relief when she saw who it was.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you, Lucy!¡± she replied, a hand on her chest to calm her heartbeat. ¡°You scared me!¡±


    Lucy smirked but then shook her head and grasped the Prophetess¡¯s shoulders again. ¡°Annaliese. I have a very important task for you,¡± Lucille began seriously.


    Annaliese blinked and then excitement seemed to make her eyes gleam. ¡°Really? An important task for me?¡± she asked in a hushed voice.


    ¡°Very.¡± Lucy nodded and leaned forward to whisper into her ear, ¡°I need you to go talk to Hargrave and find out what he¡¯s hiding from me. Here¡¯s what you¡¯ll do¡­¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°He¡¯s moping because he feels left out,¡± Annaliese announced half an hour later. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure he really wanted to go with everyone to the Beast Realm so he was waiting to be asked, but nobody did.¡±


    Lucy stared at the girl. Then she groaned and ran a hand down her face. ¡°Really? He¡¯s upset about that?¡±


    ¡°Hargrave doesn¡¯t know he¡¯s upset about that, though.¡± Annaliese leaned forward to pick up a jam biscuit. ¡°He did mention something about how he promised to ¡®make it up to you¡¯ and thought you might need protection after the intruder incident, whatever that is.¡±


    Lucille pinched her nose bridge.


    Is he only experiencing ¡®normal¡¯ relationships for the first time after coming here? Not that contractual relationships can be considered normal.


    I¡¯m more impressed that Annaliese was able to get that kind of reasonable answer out of him. I suppose that goes to show what happens when someone with high EQ meets someone with EQ in the negatives.


    She paused and shot the Prophetess a sceptical look.


    Does Annaliese actually have high EQ? I always thought of her as the type of person to make things worse with misunderstandings. If she has high EQ, then how much of her naivety and personality is an act?


    Lucy watched as the girl tried to lick the jam off her fingers at the irritation of Sir Albrecht, who demanded she clean them properly using a handkerchief. She facepalmed.


    Annaliese, put on an act? I must be ridiculously exhausted. She just has a way with people, and Hargrave is exceptionally weak to her. That has to be it.


    ¡°The reason why I didn¡¯t choose to bring Hargrave was because it was going to be a short trip,¡± Lucy said, crossing her arms. ¡°Hargrave has his own goals and I don¡¯t want to take away opportunities for him to obtain them. That includes taking away his time.¡±


    Annaliese tucked her knees under her chin. ¡°Hmm¡­ I don¡¯t know what these goals are, but they must be super important if you think so, Lucy. He¡¯s still upset though. Did you say you have a contract with him too?¡±


    ¡°I did, yes.¡±


    ¡°Then maybe he feels abandoned,¡± the blonde-haired girl suggested, poking one of the glowing natural treasures in the fruit bowl on the table. ¡°Like he¡¯s not useful to you because you didn¡¯t ask him to guard you like when you went to the Dungeon.¡±


    ¡°Well, even I have figured that out now, but¡­¡± Lucy gave the girl a deadpan look. ¡°Hargrave isn¡¯t some sad little puppy I abandoned in the rain. He¡¯s a fully grown adult man who can knock both of us out before we realise it.¡±


    Annaliese blinked, then suddenly covered her mouth to stifle the noises coming out of it. Lucy raised an eyebrow as the Prophetess suddenly threw her head back and began laughing.


    ¡°And what is the matter with you?¡± Lucille asked.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m just¡­ pfft.¡± Annaliese descended into laughter again. ¡°I¡¯m imagining Hargrave with his wings out, looking all droopy and sad. I think it would fit him.¡±


    ¡°If you say so,¡± Lucy said with scepticism. ¡°I don¡¯t see how that imagery fits a warrior who wields a demonic spear but suit yourself.¡±


    Annaliese grinned. ¡°You know, the more I get to know him, the more I see him as just a big teddy bear!¡±


    ¡°A what?¡±


    Hargrave, king of inopportune moments, entered the room just in time to hear that description. Annaliese glanced back and then quickly turned away. ¡°Nothing.¡±


    ¡°Hargrave, next time you want to go somewhere, just ask,¡± Lucille casually told him while straightening out her gloves. ¡°I was trying to be considerate of your plans by not requesting you to follow me, but if that¡¯s what you want...¡±


    Hargrave stared at her. ¡°How¡­¡±


    Lucy pointed at Annaliese. The girl shot Lucy a dirty look for the betrayal and then beamed at Hargrave. ¡°You never told me not to tell her, so I answered her questions!¡±


    ¡°Did you put her up to this¡­?¡± Hargrave slowly asked Lucy. Lucy looked away.


    ¡°That¡¯s not important!¡± Annaliese interrupted. She pointed at the scarlet and blue-haired man. ¡°Hargrave. Lucille was only trying to be nice by not asking you, so don¡¯t be upset anymore, okay? No more sulking!¡±


    ¡°But¡­ I wasn¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°No more sulking!¡± Annaliese stated crossly.


    ¡°I¡­¡± He scratched the back of his neck. ¡°Okay¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m off to find my bond,¡± Lucy said as she stood up from the couch. ¡°I have to make sure he¡¯s not up to anything disastrous.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll come too!¡± Anneliese stood up, making Jasten Albrecht in the back of the room sigh and stop leaning against the wall.


    Hargrave hesitated, and then slowly began to follow them. ¡°I¡­ guess I¡¯ll come along.¡±


    Lucille shrugged. ¡°They¡¯re in the Pavilion¡¯s biomes. This will be a good time for you to learn to sense natural treasures, Hargrave.¡±


    He nodded and the four of them left, beginning the search for one mischievous serpent and the second angsty tagalong.


    <hr>


    A stern-looking man with white sideburns and a red tie scanned the holographic reports shown in front of him. He shut the projection down and looked opposite at the blonde-haired man in his early thirties. ¡°No contact from Williams yet?¡±


    ¡°Edison Williams hasn¡¯t contacted Lucille, no,¡± Stephen Lawrence awkwardly replied. He shuffled in his seat, still not used to talking so frequently with Marvin Goldcroft.


    ¡°She told me he¡¯ll be in contact soon,¡± Marvin murmured, frowning slightly. He shook his head and straightened up. ¡°Rumours?¡±


    ¡°No rumours about this ¡®Simulacrum¡¯ have been heard yet, sir,¡± Stephen said. ¡°Harold McGuire¡¯s plan to cut off the pathways of communication between people who¡¯ve received the ¡®sign¡¯ worked, from what we can tell. Even with some of the memories Lucille showed us, they haven¡¯t been able to confirm if there¡¯s anything unusual or supernatural about them.¡±


    ¡°A traceless ability¡­¡± Marvin huffed. ¡°My niece is luckier than she deserves. For her to gain that sort of ability.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Has Lucille requested for you to do anything recently?¡±


    Stephen shook his head. ¡°She says everything is progressing well. We just need to keep planning for the reveal in two months where they¡¯ll all be gathered without notice.¡± He rubbed his neck. ¡°For that plan to work though, we need Edison Williams to contact us¡­¡±


    ¡°He¡¯ll be wary, knowing some power has been activated on him without any of his guards or energy shields protecting him against it,¡± Marvin remarked, pulling up another projection to read. ¡°As the World Government President, Williams was also one of the strongest ability users when the rift catastrophe occurred. His ability to summon the weapons of mythical gods is incredibly strong, but Lucille¡¯s ability pierced the invisible armour he always has summoned.¡±


    ¡°¡­she¡¯s an incredible girl,¡± Stephen carefully replied.


    Marvin huffed and crossed his arms. ¡°Obviously. She¡¯s my niece and the only heir of me and my brother, an entrepreneur who built this empire from scratch after changing our last names.¡± He looked off to the side in reminiscence. ¡°She¡¯s always been special, ever since my brother¡¯s son and his wife showed her to us for the first¡­¡± His words trailed off and his brow lowered in concentration.


    ¡°Sir?¡±


    Marvin tapped his fingers against his desk in mild agitation.


    ¡°¡­sir?¡± Stephen carefully repeated.


    ¡°Hm? Oh, right.¡± Marvin turned back to him. ¡°My¡­ nephew? My nephew and his wife turned up with her and we soon learnt she was a genius.¡±


    Stephen rubbed his chin, wondering if it was okay to ask something he wanted to know. ¡°Sir, why did she always have such rumours about her incapability, then?¡±


    Marvin waved his question off with a dismissive scoff. ¡°Her doing, of course. Not out of dislike for me or Medallion, however. My no-good brother tried to push his duties onto her so she acted to prevent his subordinates from allowing it.¡± Marvin smirked. ¡°First time I got a good laugh at my brother¡¯s expense in a long while.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you seem to have a good family dynamic,¡± Stephen said with surprise.


    Marvin stood up and turned around to gaze out at the view of the World Government¡¯s sky-rings projecting news and broadcasts into the atmosphere. Images of the missing thousand, including his niece, were shown up there, interspersed among the numerous advertisements and posters of esper celebrities.


    ¡°Good family dynamic¡­ and here I thought we didn¡¯t,¡± Marvin murmured. ¡°I didn¡¯t think she could show emotions until we met again in the Simulacrum¡­¡±

 Chapter 83 (1 of 2) A skulking acquaintance.

    ¡°Create a party with the name: Commission¡¯s Ambassadors,¡± Lucille announced in front of Gilded Seat¡¯s Obelisk.


    [Party Created: Commission¡¯s Ambassadors. Do you wish to invite Users to join? Yes/No]


    She pressed on [Yes] as a brown-haired crafter eyed her sceptically.


    ¡°Ambassadors? Us?¡± Sedric said.


    ¡°Officially, that¡¯s what we are. Representatives on behalf of the Aurelian Commission,¡± she replied. She swiped at a notification that had popped up. ¡°Anyway, you two accept this so if anyone uses an Inspection skill on you guys, they¡¯ll know you¡¯re with me.¡±


    The party invite appeared in front of Sedric and Scytale. Scytale shrugged and accepted it while Sedric let out a long sigh. ¡°Are we going then?¡±


    Lucy nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s go into the Obelisk. Sedric, as I told you earlier, you need to specifically say ¡®Take me to the Supreme Serpent¡¯s Silent City in the Violet Luminosity Jungle Region of the Beast Realm.¡±


    He looked away. ¡°I really don¡¯t want to use one of my realm teleports for this.¡±


    Lucille pinched her nose bridge. ¡°Sedric, when was the last time you went to another realm? You¡¯re Rank-2, so was it when you did the Demon Realm¡¯s Stages?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± He hesitated. ¡°Maybe¡­ I was seventeen¡­¡±


    ¡°So, five years ago,¡± Lucy stated flatly. ¡°That would mean you have nearly eighty realm teleports saved up, including the ones you gained the year before. If you aren¡¯t going to use them for this, what will you use them for?¡±


    Sedric smugly raised a finger. ¡°I used them for teleporting between Obelisks in the Mystical Realm. Sometimes I couldn¡¯t afford the teleportation arrays, in case you weren¡¯t aware, Commission Head.¡±


    She placed her hands on her hips. ¡°Ignoring that abominable waste of realm teleports only to move planes,¡± she replied dryly, ¡°How many teleports do you have left?¡±


    He paused as if considering coming up with a fake answer. Then he slumped as he sighed, the big rucksack containing his crafting equipment weighing him down. ¡°Sixty¡­¡±


    Lucy gave him a flat look and then turned around. ¡°I see. Then we¡¯ll see you on the other side, Sedric.¡±


    ¡°Sure, sure,¡± he grumbled, following after Lucy and Scytale.


    She appeared with her bond beside her, but Sedric had been taken to his private Obelisk space by the System. Lucille looked at Scytale. ¡°Just making sure¡­ but do you really want this City Lord title?¡±


    He pretended to consider it. ¡°Yup,¡± he said. ¡°I mean, I¡¯ll probably forget I have it after a while but it¡¯ll be fun to brag about. And I can always give it to you or something if I want to.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± she sighed. She shook her head and prepared to go to the Beast Realm. ¡°Don¡¯t cause any trouble. And make sure to use your illusion abilities to appear as a Truth-Seizing Serpent.¡±


    He looked down at himself. ¡°Right, I should probably do something about my human form too.¡± He snapped his fingers and suddenly black-green chromatic colour bled into his formerly silver hair. Instead of the brilliant gold it used to be, his eyes became a luminous, large indigo that pulsated uncannily. Ordinarily, he wouldn¡¯t be able to cast any spell within the Obelisk, but using internal illusion mana to change his features was closer to a biological ability as an illusion serpent.


    ¡°You¡¯re nearly unrecognisable from your former timeline self,¡± Lucy said with approval. Then she smirked. ¡°Of course, you¡¯re much shorter than you were then.¡±


    Scytale glared at her. ¡°Just take us to the Beast Realm already!¡±


    ¡°As you wish.¡± With the command relayed to the System, their bodies splintered into white light and they reformed across endless space in the new realm.


    ¡­


    Sedric stared at the humanoid snake next to Lucille. ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°I know, I understand.¡± Scytale held his chin and nodded sagely. ¡°When I look in the mirror, sometimes my handsomeness surprises even me.¡±


    The crafter scowled. ¡°Never mind. Maybe my question should be why does your bond look so creepy?¡± He shuddered. ¡°Those eyes are way too similar to Lucy¡¯s.¡±


    Lucy narrowed her eyes at him while Scytale stuck his tongue out. ¡°This is what all Truth-Seizing Serpents look like in their human forms. I¡¯m just making sure I won¡¯t stand out. And my eyes are way cooler than Lucy¡¯s! She only has one eye like that anyway!¡±


    Lucille sighed and turned around to face the rest of the plaza. ¡°Before we head to the City Lord¡¯s manor, I want to look around a bit and inspect the situation. It¡¯s always better to get first-hand information before an important discussion.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Sedric gripped the straps of his rucksack and glanced at the mixture of brick and wood buildings, colourful silks draped over balconies and doorsteps. He followed Lucy as she went towards the marketplace. ¡°This place¡­ looks kind of weird. There aren¡¯t any magic engine carriages and they use beasts to pull the coaches, but I see a ton of decent-quality equipment.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a simple case of viability trumping efficiency,¡± Lucy replied, ducking under the tusks of a massive horned beast covered in bags of supplies. ¡°You could buy a magic engine carriage to use in the city, but there wouldn¡¯t be many workshops that could service it. Replacement parts and alchemical components would be hard to come by, and the specially bred low-ranked beasts here have been trained to be useful in combat as well. A magic engine can¡¯t protect its owner.¡±


    She put a hand over her eyes and peered up. ¡°It¡¯s more crowded here than before. Taller buildings have been constructed too. News of the Supreme Enclave has spread to the surrounding regions.¡± Lucy placed her hands behind her back and hummed. ¡°But just news can¡¯t have caused this response. The enclave must¡¯ve made formal contact with the City Lord.¡±


    She ignored the rude yawning coming from her bond when Sedric stopped, becoming distracted by an interesting array of leather hides hanging up from ropes outside a storefront. ¡°These are¡­ only a few days old? But the tanning process is supposed to take at least a month.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because the dense mana of the Beast Realm preserves their strength,¡± Lucy explained, walking up to him. ¡°The leather we obtain in the Mystical Realm has had its mana slowly leached out the longer it remains in stock. While mana attracts mana, that rule only applies depending on a certain mana ratio per cubic metre.¡±


    ¡°Stop nerding out on me, you two,¡± Scytale complained.


    Sedric thought about it, completely ignoring the snake. ¡°So these only seem a few days old because the leather I¡¯m used to obtaining has partially lost its strength.¡±


    Lucille nodded and turned away as he followed. ¡°Correct, but sometimes it needs to lose its mana before it can be used. Dense mana will strengthen its properties such as hardness and firmness, but the leather is unworkable during that time.¡±


    She took out her pocket watch. ¡°We have around two hours before I need to visit the manor. Let¡¯s look around for anything of interest in the meantime, primarily materials for the new frame of my dimension artifact.¡± She held up a finger. ¡°Just for this day only, though¡­ if there is anything else you see of interest, then I¡¯ll buy it for you.¡±


    ¡°Okay, but¡­¡± Sedric frowned and glanced around. ¡°I don¡¯t get why you think this place will have what we need. The most common element here is illusion, which doesn¡¯t have anything to do with space mana.¡±


    ¡°We need some way of disguising my dimension when I open my briefcase, don¡¯t we?¡± Lucy asked while tilting her head. ¡°I don¡¯t want just anyone opening the case and having access to the dimension. Not to mention I¡¯d like it to have camouflage properties when I need to leave it alone for a while.¡±


    ¡°I guess¡­¡± He shrugged. ¡°Fine then. I¡¯ll head into the leather shop to see if they have any good materials for the outside. You¡¯ll be able to find me, right?¡±


    She smirked and crossed her arms. ¡°I¡¯ll always be watching.¡±


    Sedric scoffed. ¡°Whatever. See you later.¡±


    He left them alone, while Scytale turned to his bond. ¡°What are we going to do?¡±


    ¡°Us?¡± Lucille smiled and spread her hands. ¡°I¡¯m going to resolve some unfinished business I have with someone. Do you want to come along?¡±


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°¡­does it involve ruining someone¡¯s life?¡± Scytale asked with suspicion.


    She grinned. ¡°Potentially.¡±


    He grinned back. ¡°Count me in!¡±


    ¡­


    Opposite a low building with the opulent gold on royal-blue sign spelling out ¡®Abbott Everett¡¯s Magisterial Treasure Emporium¡¯, Lucy and Scytale stood leaning against a wall. Lucy was spinning her pocket watch by its chain, whistling as she observed the bony figure bumbling around the shop. ¡°I¡¯m impressed he¡¯s still well enough to work. I thought he might¡¯ve gained some kind of deadly heart condition after his incident with me.¡±


    ¡°Did you have anything to do with him in the former timeline?¡± Scytale asked with an eyebrow raised. ¡°Is there any real reason why you want to keep picking on him?¡±


    She blinked at him. ¡°Does there have to be?¡± When Lucy saw his dull look she smirked and shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m tying up loose ends. It would be best to displace a witness to the fact that Larena and Garthe were here just before the avalanche. They¡¯re passing through here to go back to the Permafrost Glacial Abode Region and investigate the destroyed convoy.¡± Lucy nodded in Abbot Everett¡¯s direction. ¡°He has the highest chance of recognising them."


    Scytale screwed up his nose, trying to understand her actions. ¡°¡­why now? Shouldn¡¯t you have done this earlier?¡±


    ¡°Nope. I could¡¯ve asked Ravimoux, but an assassination or sudden death would¡¯ve been suspicious so close to the avalanche.¡± Lucy shook her head. ¡°I just need him out of here before he sees the mercenaries again. More eyes are on me now after the two debuts. I need to take extra care with my actions.¡±


    ¡°Such as coming out here all alone without a guard from the Commission?¡± Scytale pointed out. ¡°I don¡¯t get why the Counties allow that.¡±


    She raised an eyebrow. ¡°If I couldn¡¯t prove I can protect myself without relying on their aide, I couldn¡¯t have proved myself as someone worthy to lead them. What reincarnated Archmage needs a few little Rank-4s to tag along when I¡¯m going out for petty errands?¡± She put a hand up to her face and took of her characteristic half-mask.


    Ravimoux always has hidden guards nearby for me, Scytale.


    ¡®Oh¡­.¡¯


    A distant chime alerted them to the fact that Everett¡¯s few remaining customers had left. With a smirk on her face, Lucy walked forward and confidently entered the shop.


    ¡°Good day to you, sir,¡± she announced brightly, drawing his surly gaze. ¡°Do you take returns?¡±


    His scrutinizing gaze took in the brilliance of her clothing¡¯s colours and the fine materials they were made out of. The balding man¡¯s face broke out in a slimy smile as he recognised her status and bowed deeply. ¡°That is not among our policies, lady, but for someone of your status I may be able to make an exception.¡± He winked.


    Off to the side, Lucy¡¯s use of an invisibility cast on Scytale was undetectable by the mana circles as she controlled the atmospheric mana with her Transmutation Mastery


    Has he forgotten me so soon? No, I should be understanding of his advanced age. He¡¯s someone who never attempted to defeat the Demon Realm¡¯s stages and wasted his life away, so his mind must be failing. Plus, I thought this might happen if I took off my mask.


    ¡°You see, quite some time ago, more than a year, I purchased a large quantity of objects from this establishment,¡± she continued amiably. ¡°I never put them to their proper use though, so I felt sorry for keeping them on my person any longer when other excellent warriors may require them.¡±


    Abbott frowned when he heard ¡®large quantity¡¯. ¡°If too many objects need to be returned, you may have better luck going to another branch store. This store doesn¡¯t keep that much capital on hand,¡± he replied, giving her a strained smile.


    Lucy narrowed her eyes. ¡°After I wasted an Obelisk teleport to come here? Tell me, sir, how you¡¯ll compensate me for the realm transfer if I go to another branch?¡±


    His pandering expression shifted into a grimace. ¡°As you wish, my lady, I¡¯ll allow you to return what we can afford.¡±


    She huffed and marched forward up to the counter. ¡°Yes, you will. Come have a look at these.¡± Lucille began to pull out the items one by one. ¡°These items have been barely used, so I¡¯m sure they have resale value. Here, this is an extendable rope I obtained to climb high cliffs. As you can see, no fraying can be seen. And this water flask hasn¡¯t a speck of rust!¡±


    Something about Everett¡¯s expression became increasingly strange as she placed a magically protected bag on the counter and pulled more items out of it. ¡°And here¡¯s a wire net I bought to trap any monsters that may fancy me as a meal. And this¡­¡± She pulled out another ten items until only one remained.


    ¡°And I have one final object that I would like to see if you¡¯re willing to purchase,¡± she murmured in a low voice. ¡°Because you see, this used to be wielded by a famed Mythos of Glory Pantheon. I¡¯m certain that only the Magisterial Treasure Emporium can deal with such a high-profile object.¡±


    Out of her dimensional bag, she withdrew a bronze dagger, with a gaudy sapphire the size of a pigeon¡¯s egg fitted in the handguard. She slowly lowered it onto the counter, waiting ¡®eagerly¡¯ for his response.


    Abbott Everett¡¯s face slowly turned mottled purple, and then bright red. His pale hand roughly swept aside all the items on the countertop and pointed his knobbly cane at her.


    ¡°Are you mocking me?!¡± he shouted, drawing looks from others just outside the shop. ¡°Where does it say ¡®owned by a Mythos¡¯ in its item description? My shop is not somewhere for you to mess about with your foolhardy antics! Unless you prove to me which Mythos owned this object, I¡¯ll call the city guard on you!¡±


    ¡°But sir, I can¡¯t do that.¡± Lucy leaned forward to whisper, ¡°It¡¯ll ruin the weapon¡¯s power if I tell you.¡±


    ¡°How utterly ridiculous,¡± he stated curtly. ¡°There is no power at all to be found within that glorified butter knife.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Lucille stepped back and made a show of admiring the light glinting off of its surface. ¡°I could¡¯ve sworn that was what you told me when I bought it, though.¡±


    ¡°I have no memory of you,¡± he retorted sharply. ¡°Leave this place before I use my system-given authority to force you from my shop.¡±


    She shrugged and dropped the knife on the ground. ¡°Oh well. This was about as much as I expected for our reunion. You can keep all the trash I left in your shop. It was yours to begin with.¡±


    Lucy walked out before the storekeeper could reply and instead turned a corner to walk into an alleyway out of sight of the Magisterial Treasure Emporium. She lowered her hand near the ground to allow her bond to slither up her arm, where she removed the invisibility spell from her bond. Scytale swayed to let the keys hanging from the ring around his neck jangle.


    ¡°The serpentine thief extraordinaire, the Great Scytale, has returned with the old fogey¡¯s keys,¡± he announced proudly. ¡°For I am a master of decept-¡±


    ¡°Give me those.¡± Lucy pulled the keyring off her bond¡¯s neck and held them up to observe them. ¡°Good. I can use these when I meet with the City Lord later.¡±


    ¡°Hey! Where¡¯s my thanks!¡± Scytale said with injustice. ¡°That was my reward, not yours!¡±


    ¡°And who distracted him? Never mind.¡± She set her bond back down so he could revert to his human form. ¡°You¡¯re just being as obnoxious as always.¡±


    Scytale sat on the ground, gazing sourly at her. ¡°When I become City Lord, I¡¯m going to imprison you,¡± he complained.


    ¡°You can try.¡± Lucille pocketed the keys and walked off. ¡°I want to see if there are any souvenirs that the others might like.¡± She looked back and contemplated her bond¡¯s attitude and normal behaviour. ¡°Scytale, I give you permission to free-roam the city until it¡¯s time to meet the City Lord.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± He stared at her to make sure she was telling the truth and then he bolted upright. ¡°Nice!¡± He held his hands out. ¡°Money please.¡±


    Lucy shot him a flat look and then rolled her eyes as she fished out a rose crown, enough for whatever it was he wanted to buy. ¡°Don¡¯t cause trouble.¡±


    ¡°You know me, when have I ever caused trouble~¡± He ran off down the alley, where she knew he was already searching for food.


    She shook her head and sighed. Then she spread her perception field to find the first place she wanted to go. Lucille nodded to herself after a moment.


    If souvenirs are what it takes to stop the future Prismatic Dragon Ruler from sulking, then it¡¯s a small price to pay.


    Annaliese would whine if she didn¡¯t get anything, wouldn¡¯t she?


    ¡­


    Two guards in full-body armour protected a dark oak door, a blue crest on their chestplates. They looked up when they heard heavy footsteps marching towards them. They quickly bowed. ¡°Captain McGarrod.¡±


    ¡°Let me in,¡± he growled, flipping his visor up. ¡°The Lord called for me, didn¡¯t he?¡±


    They obediently opened the door and stood to the side as the City Guard Captain marched in.


    ¡°Beric!¡± Captain McGarrod shouted, walking up to a table and slamming his armoured hands on it. ¡°Please reconsider the selling of the City Lord! We don¡¯t know what these people will do!¡±


    The City Lord, the swarthy bearded man sitting in the chair opposite McGarrod, frowned and placed down the page he was reading. ¡°How disrespectful, Darvis McGarrod! Kneel down this instant!¡±


    Caught off guard by the normally easy-going City Lord¡¯s apparent change in temperament, he got down on one knee and lowered his head. ¡°I-I apologise. I was overly emotional.¡±


    ¡°In the first place, nothing has been decided yet. You shouldn¡¯t have panicked.¡± The City Lord looked down at the page in his hand and then dipped his head in the direction of the windowsill. ¡°And you¡¯re disrespecting my honoured guest. If I hadn¡¯t known you were acquainted, I would''ve had to order your punishment.¡±


    The City Lord stood up from his chair and walked over to the window. He bowed to the figure there. ¡°I give you my sincerest apologies for this incident, Commission Head. I don¡¯t know who leaked the information.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. As you said, we¡¯re acquainted.¡±


    Darvis McGarrod looked up and his eyes widened as he saw the dark-haired young woman waving to him.


    ¡°Hi Darvis,¡± Lucille told him brightly, a green-black mottled snake with indigo eyes resting on her shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s been a while.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it,¡± Darvis began, looking dumbfounded. His helmet rested on the floor beside his chair. ¡°Aurelian Commission Head. Of all the possibilities¡­¡±


    Lucy calmly sipped her drink and placed the teacup down. ¡°I became Aurelian Commission Head after meeting you, so don¡¯t think I intentionally fooled you.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ see¡­¡± Darvis looked at Scytale, who was sitting cross-legged in his own chair. ¡°And¡­ you must be her bond I saw last time. You¡¯re definitely a Truth-Seizing Serpent.¡±


    Scytale gave him a thumbs-up while a cookie was stuffed in his mouth.


    Darvis turned to Lucy. ¡°But this talk about purchasing the City Lord title? Is this true?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to expand the Commission''s services into the Beast Realm for some time now,¡± she explained. She gestured to her bond. ¡°He was the one who suggested for us to come here, though. And he¡¯s the one who wants the City Lord title. Not me.¡±


    Scytale swallowed and then nodded. ¡°Yep. I figured that if someone was going to be a City Lord between us, then I wanted to be the City Lord of the place closest to my enclave.¡±


    ¡°Would your enclave appreciate someone as young as you being their neighbouring city¡¯s lord?¡± the City Lord queried.


    ¡°Not a problem.¡± Scytale shrugged. ¡°I have a higher status than most of them. I¡¯m the only grandson of the Truth-Seizing Matriarch.¡±


    Darvis and the City Lord stared at him, and then at each other. The City Lord turned to Lucy. ¡°Do you mind if we¡­¡±


    She nodded. ¡°You can go ask them if this is true. We don¡¯t have anything to hide.¡±


    ¡°Then if it¡¯s for the purposes of improving relations between us and the Supreme Enclave, this would be a good move,¡± Darvis murmured. He frowned. ¡°But I don¡¯t like the idea of you giving up everything our fathers worked so hard to build here, Beric. This city has only seen its second genera-¡±


    The City Lord pushed the page he had been reading over to Darvis. ¡°This is the proposed contract, Darvis. Finish that thought after seeing this.¡±


    Darvis picked it up and scanned it. Slowly his eyes grew wider and he lowered it to stare at Lucy and Scytale. ¡°Governor¡­?¡±


    ¡°This contract will be signed before the City Lord title is transferred, obviously,¡± Lucy replied nonchalantly. ¡°Benefits you¡¯ll have are the support of the Aurelian Commission Head herself, access to a chain of a franchise that will supply high-quality items to your adventurers, and you¡¯ll have a direct route of contact with the Supreme Enclave through Scytale. A decent opportunity, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°May I ask what this chain is?¡± the City Lord spoke up.


    Lucille leaned back and gave them a wide shrug. ¡°I received the official receipt of the purchase of the Magisterial Treasure Emporium yesterday morning. Granted, I have some cleaning up to do of the business, but it¡¯ll soon be up to the standards I outlined.¡±


    Both Darvis and the City Lord began to smile, but then a thought dawned on them and they exchanged bitter looks. ¡°It might not be possible to obtain Everett¡¯s store,¡± the City Lord said.


    Lucy tilted her head. ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°This Ascendent City is still¡­ relatively new,¡± the City Lord began slowly. ¡°Our laws are rapidly developing, but at the same time can¡¯t be changed easily. While Everett is an employee of the Magisterial Treasure Emporium, he purchased the building under his own name and the shop is run under his own name instead of that of the Magisterial Treasure Emporium. That is often the standard in frontier regions of the Beast Realm.¡±


    The City Lord sighed. ¡°As such, unless he hands over the keys to his shop himself, you won¡¯t-¡±


    ¡°These keys?¡± Lucille held up the keyring and let it dangle for the two men.


    They stared at it. Darvis slowly raised a shaky finger to point at them. ¡°A-Are those-¡±


    City Lord Beric coughed. ¡°I apologise, Commission Head, but without an official reason for you to have those I can¡¯t authorise the change of ownership-¡±


    ¡°I got these in exchange for returning an item I purchased,¡± Lucy said with a broad smile. ¡°You can even head to his shop to see the item yourselves. Both of you will be familiar with it, especially you, City Lord. I recall a story of your son selling it to Everett.¡±


    ¡°The bronze dagger?¡± Darvis murmured.


    The City Lord glanced between them. ¡°Will that excuse work?¡±


    ¡°Why of course!¡± Lucy replied, blinkingly innocently. ¡°Even the owner of the Magisterial Treasure Emporium has recognised Abbot Everett¡¯s method of exchanging one item of merchandise for another. While the shop was registered under his name, as you say, the Magisterial Treasure Emporium still owns rights to the shop, and they¡¯ve authorised this trade.¡±


    Darvis burst out laughing as the City Lord smiled. ¡°I see. Then I¡¯ll have to summon my head of law and officialise the exchange. Then the last matter is¡­¡±


    The four of them looked down at the contract. With one last nod, City Lord Beric picked up a pen and signed it. The magical contract glowed as the deal was sealed. He stood up and held his hand out to Lucille. ¡°I look forward to our future cooperation, Aurelian Commission Head,¡± he said as she shook it. ¡°And¡­¡± He turned to Scytale and dipped his head. ¡°I look forward to serving you as the Supreme Serpent¡¯s Silent City¡¯s Governor, City Lord Scytale.¡±


    Scytale grinned and instead gave him a fist bump. ¡°I like the sound of that title. Just keep doing what you¡¯ve been doing and everything will be fine.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯d best take my leave,¡± Lucy replied, nodding to the two men. ¡°I have other places to be.¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, where are you intending to go?¡± the City Lord asked politely.


    Lucille looked back and smirked. ¡°Well, I have another four cities in this region to buy. Only then can I claim I ¡®own¡¯ the region.¡±


    Darvis smirked. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to stay for a little longer to see the illegal resident of your shop be evicted?¡±


    Lucy considered it and turned back. ¡°On second thought, I can spare the time.¡±

 Chapter 83 (2 of 2) A skulking acquaintance.

    ¡°No! Unhand me, you low-born ruffians! I swear, once I meet that Captain of yours I will demand for him to fire you-¡±


    The two city guards dragged Abbot Everett out in front of the shop in full view of all the curious observers. He tripped when they threw him to the ground and he ended up laying sprawled at the feet of another armoured guard. He looked up as Darvis McGarrod lifted his visor with a vicious grin and kneeled before the old man.


    ¡°Getting a taste of your own medicine, eh? Well, that¡¯s karma for you.¡± Darvis straightened up and then unfurled a long scroll. ¡°Listen up, all you folks!¡± He shouted, drawing the large crowd¡¯s attention. ¡°You¡¯ll be witness to the City Lord¡¯s command! Abbot Everett, you have ignored the Lord¡¯s command to exit the premises of this shop! What do you say to this?¡±


    ¡°Bah. Nobody can force me out of my own shop.¡± Everett shakily stood back up and turned around to walk back inside. ¡°Just tell me how much I have to pay and move on.¡±


    Darvis glanced at Lucy to his side. ¡°Your move.¡±


    She snapped her fingers with a calm smile on her face, and just as Everett was about to enter the shop, a thick white-blue wall of System authority materialised in front of him. He slammed into it and landed on his bottom.


    ¡°As the new owner of the Magisterial Treasure Emporium, I¡¯ll be taking back this shop,¡± Lucille stated pleasantly. ¡°Also, you¡¯re fired for business malpractice.¡±


    He turned around and went red as he recognised her, as she had put her mask back on. Lucy took a rose crown out of her pocket and threw it at him. ¡°I¡¯ll give you that as severance pay.¡±


    ¡°Ah, let me give it to him, Commission Head.¡± Darvis walked forward and smirked. He picked the coin up and crouched near Everett again. ¡°Here, a rose crown. Quite generous, don¡¯t you think? Only¡­¡± He held the coin up. ¡°We need to take away the worth of the items you scammed off of people too. So, that young orphan five years back¡­ his item was worth 10 silver crowns¡­ and the young lady¡¯s family inheritance was worth a hundred silver crowns¡­¡± He continued listing the people out, until the remaining value had dropped. ¡°Oh, look at that. All your severance pay is gone. How sad.¡±


    Darvis stood up as Everett glared at him and passed the coin pack to Lucille. ¡°Here, as a thank you for your efforts.¡±


    She smirked and casually tossed the coin as she glanced at Everett. ¡°We seem quite cruel from an outsider¡¯s point of view, don¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Darvis scoffed. ¡°He¡¯s lined his pockets more than enough to keep him going until he finds a decent job in this City. We haven¡¯t taken away his house.¡±


    Lucy nodded. ¡°It¡¯s time I leave then. I have to go meet up with some people.¡±


    Darvis held out his hands. ¡°Good luck. I look forward to the changes the city will undergo with you sponsoring us.¡±


    She took it to shake and then stepped back.


    ¡°Will I be seeing you again?¡± Darvis asked with an eyebrow raised.


    ¡°Maybe when I come to check on the enclave once I¡¯m Rank-3,¡± Lucy replied with a smile. ¡°Until we meet again.¡±


    With that, they departed. Lucy had left the keys in the City Lord¡¯s hands to pass them onto the next shopkeeper there, and the only thing left to do was meet with Marellen¡¯s party. She walked a little further down the main street until she came face to face with Sedric and Scytale.


    ¡°Took you long enough,¡± Sedric complained.


    ¡°Have you found any materials you believe will be useful?¡± she asked, not inclined to respond to his attitude.


    ¡°Yeah. I should be able to do something with them.¡± Sedric nodded down the street. ¡°Is it time for dinner?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Let¡¯s meet with the others.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°So that old guy finally got kicked out?¡± Garthe asked with a grin.


    Lucy smirked and shrugged. ¡°He still lives in the city, but it¡¯s up to luck whether he¡¯ll be able to get employment here.¡±


    ¡°Lucy,¡± Roa politely interjected. Lucy had made them all use her nickname to ensure it was that tad harder for interested third parties to find out about the avalanche investigation.


    Lucille looked around and nodded when she saw that the number of people in the inn had gone down significantly, as it was still a work night. She snapped her fingers and the silencing barrier was cast on them all. She steepled her fingers and leaned forward. ¡°Is everyone prepared to return to the Permafrost Glacial Abode Region?¡± she asked with a smile.


    The others traded glances and nodded. ¡°Do we have to bring any evidence back with us?¡± Larena asked seriously.


    Lucy shook her head. ¡°No, I trust your testimonies. You were all victims of the attack, so you don¡¯t have a reason to hide the truth. This is an internal Commission conflict as well, so being caught with evidence could backfire.¡±


    ¡°Hey, Lucy.¡± Scytale walked up to their table. ¡°Could I sit this one out? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll contribute much. Sedric¡¯s distracted with his crafting upstairs too.¡±


    She waved him off. ¡°Away you go. You¡¯re officially an adult, Scytale. You don¡¯t have to ask me about every little thing.¡±


    ¡°Cool. Bye.¡± He left the inn.


    Lucille leaned back in her chair, tapping on the table. ¡°Marellen, your task will be to confirm the mana signature of the Merkenia. It may have faded too much, but in the Beast Realm, it¡¯s much more likely that the mana signature will persist. And I want you to confirm it at the source too. That means climbing the mountain to find the point where it was cast.¡±


    She pointed at Roa. ¡°You were the most sensitive to the mana of the convoy, correct? I need you to locate all the items and determine their characteristics. Once Marellen returns from the mountain with Garthe, he¡¯ll help you document their details.¡±


    Lucy spread her hands. ¡°And then you¡¯ll be responsible for restoring it to how it was before you dug up the convoy. It doesn¡¯t need to be perfect, because very few people have the perfect memory I have,¡± she said with a smirk. ¡°But just enough for it to appear undisturbed at first glance.¡±


    ¡°But what if the site has been disturbed since the avalanche?¡± Larena pointed out. ¡°For instance, they dug up all the items to take back.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine too.¡± Lucille shrugged. ¡°It means the items were too important for them to take a loss. Then we¡¯ll have another clue to track.¡±


    Garthe tossed his fork and caught it. ¡°Are we looking for something in particular? Like, a hint at what the Archmage was trying to do?¡±


    Lucy shook her head. ¡°Not at this stage, at least. I¡¯ll have to do some investigation on my side, and then I might need you to follow up on some information. We don¡¯t know enough yet for that.¡±


    ¡°If the items have research purposes¡­¡± Marellen spoke up hesitantly.


    The others gave him dull looks while Lucy observed him. Then she gave him a bright smile. ¡°You may keep them if you wish. But I hope you know that will be your neck and the neck of your party on the line, not mine.¡± She raised her chin in mock pride and pointed to herself. ¡°I am the Aurelian Commission Head, and so I¡¯m valuable. But you four are mere raffle in comparison. Who do you think they¡¯ll kill first?¡±


    Marellen shrunk down. ¡°Okay¡­ that was a bad idea¡­¡±


    ¡°Do you have any apprehensions about the mountain climb you¡¯d like to make clear?¡± Lucy asked him. ¡°You haven¡¯t said anything about it yet, but I don¡¯t want to pressure you into something you feel incapable of doing.¡±


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    He blinked and shook his head. ¡°Oh, no. I¡¯ve nearly reached Level 299 and will soon be Rank-3, so I¡¯ve been considering this as a kind of trial for me to undergo before Rank-3.¡±


    Lucille blinked. ¡°Rank-3? You¡¯ve made more progress than expected.¡± She looked at Roa and Garthe. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, what about you two?¡±


    ¡°I have reached the maximum level for Rank-2 before arriving at the Commission,¡± Roa announced calmly. ¡°I have been working to consolidate my gains through evolving my skills. I presume that when you give Marellen leave to go to the Tartarus Realm, I may go as well to advance my Rank.¡±


    ¡°Max level for me too,¡± Garthe said while raising a hand. ¡°Larena¡¯s been stingy and won¡¯t let me Rank up.¡±


    Larena rolled her eyes and Lucy hummed. ¡°Then perhaps September will be when you should go.¡± She paused and gestured to them. ¡°Ensure you have familiarity with expelling elements outside of your affinity from your body. When in Tartarus, you need to continually push the death mana out of your bodies to survive.¡±


    It must be because of all their combat with monsters on the Sundown Continent plane shard. This makes me miss having a class, as they gain additional experience from combat. I guess I¡¯ll have to start putting the Casket of Boons to work.


    They glanced at each other and nodded. Lucy considered something else and leaned forward. ¡°You all have access to my finances, but none of you have the authority to purchase skills at noble auctions. Are there any known skills you¡¯d like me to buy for you?¡±


    Surprised, they slowly began voicing what they were interested in. Their discussion continued for a while.


    <hr>


    ¡°Three for ten bronze crowns,¡± the stall owner offered.


    ¡°Eight bronze crowns,¡± Scytale shot back.


    The stall owner slowly narrowed her eyes. ¡°Nine bronze crowns.¡±


    ¡°Okay, how about this ¨C five for thirteen bronze crowns,¡± he countered.


    The stall owner considered it and then smiled. ¡°Fine. Five it is.¡±


    He handed over five skewers of meat which Scytale gleefully took and thanked the man for. Then he wandered into the marketplace, looking for somewhere to enjoy them. He spotted two Truth-Seizing Serpents in human forms in front of a stall, arguing about why the storekeeper wouldn¡¯t give them a cut of roast me in exchange for the low-grade natural treasure plant they had.


    Would it be fine to help them? Probably. Their bloodline purity is pretty weak, so they might live in the outskirts of the enclave and don¡¯t know me.


    He walked up to them and tapped the male of the two on the shoulder. ¡°Hey, guys. Humans use these things called ¡®crowns¡¯ to trade.¡± Scytale held up one for them.


    The male blinked his indigo eyes and gave him a grateful nod. ¡°Any idea where we could get these ¡®crowns¡¯?¡±


    Scytale pointed across the marketplace at a vendor who was trading monster parts and natural treasures for money. ¡°Those types of humans will give you crowns for treasures. Some humans still trade in natural treasures and materials, but they¡¯re the crafters. Humans can¡¯t eat natural treasures.¡±


    The couple thanked him and walked off to exchange their bounty, and Scytale wandered for a while, enjoying the scene of the city he spent time in when he was younger. He spotted one of his clan sneak a snack off of a shelf while cloaked in their invisibility bloodline magic in their serpent form and slither off into the shadows of an alleyway.


    Scytale rolled his eyes.


    Whenever a clan gets introduced to a human city for the first time, they always forget they¡¯re not allowed to go around in their beast forms. Not even if they¡¯re an intermediate beast- wait, intermediate?


    He leaned back to peek into the alleyway and stared at the serpent who was munching away on their meal. It was definitely an intermediate beast of the Truth-Seizing Serpents, and clearly a kid too. Adult Truth-Seizing Serpents would be too big to fit in the alleys, even with Incongruity Inversion.


    Kids aren¡¯t supposed to be in human cities. What are they doing here?


    He hesitated and looked around for any hapless parents looking for their missing child, but nobody from his clan was in sight. Scytale grimaced as he scratched the back of his head, considering what to do, and then let out a groan.


    I can¡¯t leave them there. They¡¯re still a member of my family.


    He threw his finished skewers aside and ran into the dark alley. ¡°Psst! Hey!¡± he called out to the young serpent, crouching down behind them.


    The serpent yelped and spun around to stare at Scytale.


    ¡°What are you doing here?!¡± Scytale hissed, glancing behind him. ¡°Forget that, stop stealing from people! Don¡¯t you know how much trouble you¡¯ll be in if the enclave hears you¡¯ve been stealing from humans?! If this blows up too much, the city might not want to trade with us anymore!¡±


    ¡°But I was hungry!¡± the young serpent exclaimed with indignance, his voice unnervingly familiar to Scytale. ¡°What was I supposed to do? I don¡¯t have any money because I don¡¯t have pockets!¡±


    Scytale froze when he realised who was in front of him. ¡°Wait, Skulker?¡±


    The snake hesitated. ¡°Do I know you?¡±


    ¡°¡­it¡¯s Scytale, as in formerly Glimmer.¡± Scytale mentally facepalmed as he should¡¯ve recognised Skulker from his magic signature alone, but the thought didn¡¯t cross his mind because he never expected to meet someone he knew.


    ¡°Don¡¯t lie!¡± Skulker yelled, hissing at Scytale. ¡°Glim- Scytale wouldn¡¯t look like you, his hair and eyes would be-¡±


    ¡°Would be what?¡± Scytale rolled his eyes when the younger snake backpedalled, realising he shouldn¡¯t be saying anything. He sighed. ¡°I disguised myself with illusion mana, because I can¡¯t be seen going around with my normal appearance.¡± Scytale passed a hand over his face and showed how his eyes briefly flickered gold. ¡°There, see?¡±


    ¡°¡­you¡¯re really Scytale?¡± Skulker blinked and then raised his snout haughtily. ¡°I-I knew it was you all along! I was just fooling you and-¡± He let out a gasp and quickly wound himself around Scytale¡¯s foot. ¡°Scytale! Scytale! You¡¯ve need to help me! Dad worked out I snuck into the city and now he¡¯s here looking for me! I saw him! Please, you have to help me sneak back out!¡±


    ¡°Verdilast is here?¡± Scytale looked back and then tried to shake Skulker off his foot. ¡°I¡¯d say you deserve what¡¯s coming for you. I just caught you stealing.¡±


    ¡°But this time I¡¯ll really die! Come on, you¡¯ve GOT to help me!¡± Skulker thrashed around frantically. ¡°I¡¯ve been a really good boy and kept your secret all this time. I only wanted to see how humans lived! Please, help me just this once!¡±


    Scytale hesitated and was about to refuse when-


    ¡°There! That¡¯s the snake who stole from me!¡± a voice cried out.


    They spun around to see a tall woman with a rolling pin in her hand, gesturing to Skulker with it. On either side of her were two city guards.


    The guards looked at each other. ¡°The boy is another one of their clan, ain¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°Must be in on it,¡± the other grunted. He pulled out his sword. ¡°Stay right where you are and don¡¯t move!¡±


    Skulker went wide-eyed and stared at Scytale. ¡°If Dad hears of this, I¡¯ll never be able to leave the enclave for the rest of my life!¡±


    After a split second of thinking, Scytale gritted his teeth and picked up Skulker. He speed down the other end of the alley with the shouts of the guards close behind.


    ¡°Forget Verdilast, Lucy¡¯s going to kill me after she hears about this,¡± Scytale muttered. ¡°My first act as City Lord is to help a thief because he¡¯s my distant relative. And why are you so damn heavy?!¡±


    ¡°Wait, Lucy¡¯s here?!¡±


    Scytale shot Skulker a withering look. ¡°Do you think she¡¯ll be happy to see you after all of this mess?¡±


    ¡°¡­oh.¡± The young snake sagged.


    Scytale took a sharp turn, putting Skulker on the ground in the process. ¡°Why did you even think you could sneak into the city? You do realise that every single Truth-Seizing Serpent is immune to our illusion bloodline spells? I could instantly see you stealing from that shop.¡±


    ¡°What! Our invisibility spells don¡¯t work on members of our clan?!¡± Skulker yelled in shock.


    ¡°What do you think our eyes are for?¡± Scytale grumbled, ducking low under a hanging strip of silk. ¡°We can see through any illusion. The only clan who are better at using illusions than us are the nine-tails, and they¡¯re a royal bloodline.¡±


    ¡°¡­but I¡¯ve used invisibility so many times to sneak past my grandparents!¡±


    ¡°Obviously they were pretending to be unaware.¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡±


    Scytale skidded to a stop when a third guard dashed out to cut them off at the pass. Skulker slowly pulled back and then tried to lunge at the guard.


    Scytale hastily pulled the snake away. ¡°What in the realms do you think you¡¯re doing?!¡±


    ¡°Attacking a threat!¡±


    ¡°We do not attack a human in a human city!¡± Scytale argued back. The guard made a move to grab them and Scytale looked around for the nearest exit. He grabbed Skulker by the neck ¨C who made a choking sound ¨C and leapt onto the canopy of a shop. He threw Skulker on top of the building and jumped up after him.


    Skulker raised his tail to look at it and let out a sob. ¡°I think I have a bruise.¡±


    ¡°Small price to pay for freedom.¡± Scytale dragged the snake behind him and climbed onto the next rooftop. He looked around, trying to come up with a plan to escape their situation.


    Skulker let out a whine. ¡°See, this is why I want to have wings like you! Then I could fly anywhere I want and nobody could catch me.¡±


    Scytale stared at him. Skulker blinked. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a plan, but it¡¯s going to look really dumb¡­¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Weee! We¡¯re flying!¡±


    ¡°Stop making noise or you¡¯ll draw attention to us!¡± Scytale told him.


    Scytale, still using illusion mana to disguise his body as a normal Truth-Seizing Serpent, had turned into his serpent form and wrapped himself around Skulker, lifting him into the air with the force of his two pairs of wings ¨C wings which were invisible to anyone else.


    With Skulker being 20 metres long and Scytale needing to increase his size to 30 metres just to lift the massive snake, they were both flying in the sky as one tangled, inelegant mess.


    ¡°I swear this has been the dumbest thing I¡¯ve ever done!¡± Scytale complained, trying to haul Skulker over to the distant city walls. ¡°I knew it. Snakes should never fly! Not unless they have spectacular wings to show off, and my wings are invisible right now!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s too late for that! I just want to eradicate this from my memory as soon as possible,¡± Scytale grumbled. His body shimmered and then matched the colour of the air. ¡°There, I used my invisibility magic to hide me, so nobody can see me. You should do the same.¡±


    ¡°Um, okay. By the way, Scytale, is that a bir-¡±


    ¡°And if you get put in charge of babysitting your siblings until you become an advanced beast, you¡¯ll have deserved it!¡± Scytale yelled, ignoring his younger companion.


    ¡°Scytale, it looks like there¡¯s a bird heading-¡±


    ¡°If by chance you happen to meet Lucy before we leave this city, you will tell her nothing, you hear me? Understood?¡±


    ¡°I understand but the bird is-¡±


    ¡°No buts! I¡¯ll never be able to touch a natural treasure again if she knows about this! While usually I don¡¯t care, I will excersize my one right of mental privacy to prevent her from knowing what happened today! She¡¯ll definitely mock me for this stupid plan, I just know it!¡±


    ¡°Scytale!¡±


    ¡°Ugh. Fine, Skulker. What is it?¡± Scytale looked down onto to notice Skulker was looking in a different direction altogether.


    ¡°There¡¯s a bird right ahead that we¡¯re about to crash into!¡±


    Scytale looked up and noticed the colourful bird of paradise lookalike, then hastily attempted a dive to get out of its flight path. Unfortunately, the bird tried to do the same.


    They both slammed into each other and were sent tumbling through the air, the invisibility spells flickering out of existence. Scytale wriggled and squirmed, trying to let go of Skulker so he could fly again.


    ¡°Skulker, let me go already!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the one hanging onto me!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t fly like this and- look out!¡±


    Scytale¡¯s yell made the people below look up and let out shouts of shock before they quickly ran out of the way. The two snakes slammed into one of the shops below, smashing it to pieces and leaving a small crater in the pavement.


    With groans, they slowly got up and shook their heads to remove the disorientation. Then Scytale stiffened when he realised where they had landed.


    ¡°Huh? Scytale? What¡¯s wro¡­. Oh.¡± Skulker noticed the five guards and one woman with a rolling pin staring at them. He looked down to see the remains¡­ of the shop he had stolen from.


    ¡°Skulker, I give up,¡± Scytale said in a dead voice. ¡°Any bruises and injuries we receive because of Lucy or Verdilast will be nothing compared to the eternal shame that comes with this failure.¡±


    Skulker let out a sob.


    ¡­


    ¡°Haaaa¡­..¡± A dark-haired woman let out a long sigh, standing in front of a cell while she pinched her nose bridge. Standing behind her were the City Lord and Darvis, both with strange expressions on their faces.


    In the cell was Scytale in his human form, manacled and sitting on the stone floor with his back against the wall, and Skulker, crying quietly in a corner while inside a single handcuff that was too big for him.


    ¡°Is this the part where we explain?¡± Scytale sheepishly spoke up.


    Lucy didn¡¯t answer and just glanced at Skulker as he let out another sob. ¡°Does he even realise he can slip out of the handcuffs?¡±


    Scytale glanced at the crying snake and shrugged. ¡°Probably not. But he¡¯s resigned to his fate ever since he heard Verdilast is coming.¡±


    Lucille rubbed her temples and turned around. ¡°How much do we owe the shopkeeper?¡±


    ¡°¡­three hundred silver crowns should cut it,¡± the City Lord replied.


    She passed him a rose crown. ¡°Tell her to keep the change as an apology for the scarring this event has caused.¡± She turned back to the two snakes. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to say. You two seem to understand how stupid you both were, otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t have stayed here.¡±


    ¡°¡­yeah. We¡¯re taking responsibility.¡± Scytale glanced at Skulker. ¡°Uh, Lucy, do you think you could put in a good word about Skulker to Verdilast for me?¡±


    The pitying look she gave him made him wince. ¡°Not happening, huh? Figures¡­¡±

 Chapter 84 (1 of 2) The aftermath of mischief.

    "I am¡­ very sorry I can''t stay and talk any longer, but I really have to go-"


    "Verdilast." Lucille held out a hand to pause the dark-haired man in front of her. "It''s fine. We didn''t expect to meet any members of the enclave anyway."


    Skulker''s father, Verdilast, was standing in front of Lucy, Scytale and Sedric. His long straight hair was tied behind his head like most members of the serpent clans favoured, and slung over his shoulder was the moping Skulker. It seemed he had rushed to the city after discovering Skulker had gone missing, and as the leader of the Truth-Seizing Serpents Warborne, he couldn''t be away from his station for long.


    Verdilast sighed and then looked at Scytale. "I thought you said you wouldn''t return until you were Rank-3."


    "I only returned to the city, not the enclave, so it doesn''t count," Scytale stated smugly.


    Verdilast shook his head. "I see. I''ll have to tell the Matriarch about your City Lord title now." He glanced behind him and looked back. "I''m glad to see you''re both faring well. Until we meet again."


    They waved as he left, dragging his son with him. Sedric, with his arms crossed behind Lucy and Scytale, gave them bemused looks. "So¡­ is that a relative of yours, Scytale?"


    "I think?" Scytale hesitated and then turned around to face Sedric. He raised three fingers. "I''m pretty sure he''s my cousin, three times removed."


    Sedric screwed up his nose and tried to work out what that meant. "So¡­ he''s part of the same generation as your great-grandparents?"


    Scytale shook his head. "Same generation as my great-grandnieces and nephews."


    Sedric stared at him. Then he turned to stare at Lucy and pointed wordlessly at her bond. "Isn''t he sixteen?"


    "Scytale is the grandson of the Truth-Seizing Matriarch," she explained. "Verdilast is the grandson of one of Scytale''s first cousins."


    "Of course, I don''t go around calling my relatives ''grandnieces'' and ''grandnephews'' or anything along those lines," Scytale said, walking off with his hands behind his head. "It''d be weird. Half of them are off fighting in the Central Battlefield Region anyway, and I haven''t even met some."


    "¡­right." Sedric hoisted his rucksack up higher and followed him, with Lucille coming along too.


    Lucy glanced at the crafter. "Sedric, do you think you''ve found everything needed to craft the artifact''s new body?"


    He considered it and slowly nodded. "There are just a few components I need back at home but I should be able to begin."


    Lucy observed him for a moment. "Home? Hm¡­"


    Sedric narrowed his eyes at her. "What, is there something wrong with what I said?"


    "Not at all." She smiled brightly. "I''m just wondering what will happen once you finally craft the item I need from you and we go our separate ways. Would Annaliese cause a riot when our contract ends?"


    He hesitated and then his eyes went wide. "Don''t tell me you''re kicking me out soon?! Never mind, I''m not interested in your fancy item anymore! Not at all!"


    Lucy smirked as Sedric tried futilely to get her to respond to his questions. She idly touched the letters in her pocket ¨C all of them replies from the four other City Lords who accepted the sponsorship of the Aurelian Commission without her even needing to visit.


    I''ll have to organise another trip to the Beast Realm. Sometime early next year?


    ¡­hm. I wonder how Rosaline is doing with the Kitsune.


    ¡­


    "¡­what?"


    Hargrave stared at the blue dew-drop-shaped crystal she had put in his hand.


    "It''s a souvenir," she replied nonchalantly. She took out an ornate silver pen and walked over towards Vincent on her couch, who was watching curiously.


    "Thank you, but¡­" Hargrave raised the crystal and squinted at it. "What do I do with it?"


    Lucy pointed at the half-asleep winged snake on the floor. "I don''t know. Ask him." She put the pen on the table in front of Vincent. "And this is yours."


    "And this is?" He picked it up and eyed it curiously.


    "A pen that doesn''t need to be refilled," she replied with a smile. "Considering you noticed my trophy¡­" Lucy took out the red pen she ''borrowed'' from the Archduke and spun it, "I figured you might like a new fancy pen for yourself."


    Vincent shook his head, amused. "Well, thank you very much." He looked at Sedric on her other couch, busy observing the scroll artifact. "I hear you had a profitable trip?"


    "I have obtained the rulership authority of every city in Scytale''s home region," Lucille announced. Then she paused and shot Scytale a dull look. "Except for the one closest to my bond''s enclave. But we both know that he''s going to push off any decision-making onto me."


    Vincent nodded and then held up an envelope. "Ah, by the way, I''ve received word that Miss Verdon and her brother won''t be returning this month. The reason the Sages provided was the events regarding the intruder after the debut."


    "That''s a shame. For Annaliese I mean," Lucy commented offhandedly.


    I need the time to consider what to do about the Wordless Observers'' request for the Demon Realm. I''ll have enough on my plate with the Demon Emperor.


    That last thought made her hesitate and sneakily glance back at Vincent.


    He''s not going to become suspicious when I leave again this time is he? It will be only one or two weeks earlier than last year¡­ maybe I should use Roa to organise an alibi. She won''t ask too many questions.


    And she had another task to do relating to that party. She waved to her aide. "I''ll be in my room if you need me. I''m going to take a break after returning from the Beast Realm."


    "As you wish." Vincent nodded and stood up. "I''ll return to my work."


    She left Hargrave, who was hesitating over whether to wake the not-really-asleep Scytale, and Sedric, who was still absorbed in his study of the dimension artifact. When she had returned to her room, she took out her two daggers to let them roam around and then lay down on the bed, one arm behind her head.


    Lucille opened up a few key sections of her Status page.


    [Lucille Goldcroft''s Aspects {6/6}:


    Celestial Dragon''s Palace of the Soul


    Adamantine Body and Bones


    Beloved Child of Mana


    Null Attribute Physique Type 3-E8


    Cognitive Codex of Reminiscence


    Hexadic Essence Absorption Constitution


    Casket of Boon''s Bestowments: 1]


    She thought about which one to choose first and then selected one that was bound to surprise Scytale when he discussed the changes with her.


    [Aspect: Null Attribute Physique Type 3-E8| Type: Affinity/Suspended]


    Prerequisites:


    <ul>


    <li>No elemental affinity.</li>


    </ul>


    Desc: [Collapsed]


    Warning: This Aspect will permanently remove all possibility of gaining an elemental affinity unless overpowered by the User being forcefully granted an affinity.


    Bonuses:


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    <ul>


    <li>Permanently fixes the User''s elemental affinity ratio for all elements as 0%.</li>


    <li>Enhances the User''s control over non-elemental and arcane mana. +100% to control.</li>


    <li>Grants the User immunity to all elemental suppression effects.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    Then, wondering how it could be used, she tapped on the Bestowment option at the bottom of her Aspect list.


    [Aspect Bestowment]


    Info: A unique Status modifier that grants one stack of ''Bestowment'' to an Aspect, multiplying its effects by x1.25. Each additional stack of Bestowment adds +1.25 to the enhancement. A maximum of ten stacks can be granted per Aspect. Multiple Aspect Bestowments are needed to upgrade to a 2<sup>nd</sup> grade Bestowment Enhancement]


    The System recognises the Bestowment as a legitimate Status modifier because the Casket of Boons altered itself to exchange pure, condensed System influence for other System functions. So, if it acts like all normal System functions¡­


    "Apply ''Aspect Bestowment'' to Null Attribute Physique Type 3-E8," she announced to the air.


    [Warning: Unsanctioned alteration of Status utilising foreign quasi-C?????????@???????u?????????????5??????????????a?????????????L?????????????????????1?????????????????????t???????????????y???????????????????? ??????????????????? detected. This may have permanent and irrevocable consequences for the User (This includes the enhancement of dangerous Aspect side-effects). Do you wish to proceed? Yes/No]


    What''s the use in asking me this? With my ''no-interaction'' glitch, I''m already outside the System''s jurisdiction.


    She selected [Yes].


    [Confirmation: Yes/No]


    She selected [Yes] a second time.


    [Final Confirmation: Yes/No]


    Lucille frowned, not enjoying how many times it had asked her. She pressed down hard on [Yes].


    [Confirmation accepted. Applying Status modifier¡­]


    [ERROR. ERROR. Impossible use of quasi-C?????????@???????u?????????????5??????????????a?????????????L?????????????????????1?????????????????????t???????????????y???????????????????? ??????????????????? detected. Source: N0#-(Exception637:?) Mortal: Lower Race. Contacting Sub-System Authority¡­.]


    [Data submitted by Authority P---- S----- C------------. Calculating relevance¡­]


    Lucy sat up.


    [Data transferred. Source Redefined: Forbidden Legendary Artifact ¨C Casket of Boons. Estimating potential casual interruption¡­. Estimated. Artifact use sanctioned.]


    [One (1) Aspect Bestowment has been applied to Null Attribute Physique Type 3-E8]


    Lucille, after staring at the fading notifications for a long time, clicked on the altered Aspect.


    [1<sup>st</sup> Grade Aspect: Null Attribute Physique Type 3-E8| Type: Affinity/Suspended]


    1<sup>st</sup> Grade (0/2): 1.25 Bestowment Enhancement


    Desc: [Collapsed]


    Warning: This Aspect will permanently remove all possibility of gaining an elemental affinity unless overpowered by the User being forcefully granted an affinity.


    Bonuses:


    <ul>


    <li>Permanently fixes the User''s elemental affinity ratio for all elements as 0%.</li>


    <li>Enhances the User''s control over non-elemental and arcane mana. +125% to control.</li>


    <li>Grants the User immunity to all elemental suppression effects.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    The System has deleted the ''prerequisites'' information and replaced it with this ''Multiplier'' category. That''s an understandable choice. None of the prerequisites ever applied to me in the first place, so it was useless information.


    But those notifications¡­


    Lucy hesitated and then sighed as she lay back down.


    I can understand the messages, but didn''t that¡­ entity¡­ say they were keeping an eye on me? Why are they helping me? Unless¡­


    Her gaze went flat.


    Is this an apology for everything their damned Authorizer has done? They probably know what I need to ask the Demon Emperor about.


    ¡­no, maybe it''s just apologising for its own actions. If I think about it, the Demon Emperor never wanted anything to do with me in the first place, so¡­


    ¡­it was this entity that wanted me to sign that System Contract. Have I been too judgemental of the Demon Emperor/Archduke?


    Lucille considered it and then scoffed.


    Nope, he''s still a jerk.


    She rubbed her temples and decided to move on to looking at her Aspect.


    The reason why she selected the Aspect that maintained her lack of elemental affinity was because it was the safest one for her to modify. Multiplying zero by anything always equalled zero, so it wouldn''t harm her null elemental affinity.


    And the end result was that even if something did happen to her null elemental affinity¡­ her plans involved forcefully removing the Aspect anyway. If it broke now, then she''d just have to be slightly more careful.


    The enhanced arcane mana control has been very helpful, though, so it''d be a shame if it left.


    Lucille was left pondering how the enhancement worked, however.


    What happens when it''s applied to the Cognitive Codex of Reminiscence? Are the quantity of bonuses obtained from putting my information into the Aspect amplified by the multiplier? Is it just the value of the bonuses which is multiplied?


    And what about the Hexadic Essence Absorption Constitution? The warning mentioned that the side-effects get enhanced too¡­ will the elemental conflicts become great enough to injure me, even when I have no affinity?


    Celestial Dragon''s Palace of the Soul is one I have to be careful of too. In the Heavenly Realm, there are risks that occur when the soul is out of balance with the body, with the spirit, soul and body needing to be in equilibrium for the individual to safely progress. That''s not just for a cultivation context but can be seen when I try to stack the Acts of my Ancient skill. My body can''t withstand the pressure without increased stats.


    It seemed she had to be careful about which Aspect she enhanced more than the others. It was possible that due to the power of the Aspects she had selected¡­


    ¡­that this ''Casket of Boons'' was a double-edged sword. She couldn''t select all her future Aspects based on the enhancement ability of the artifact. The Casket was a tool, but not her sole path.


    That was fine. Lucille had made all her plans without knowledge of the artifact. The artifact was just a bonus.


    But now she had a task to do. She sat up on the bed and stretched her arms above her, then smirked as she received the gold jewellery box from her dimensional bag. It was time for her to upgrade each of her Aspects and see how much of a difference the ''Bestowments'' made.


    <hr>


    Two rows of young adults dressed in black and navy blue uniforms stood up straight, hands behind their backs. A burly blond-haired man marched in front of them.


    "Today''s a special day!" Commander Merrow Arkenast stated with a grin. He stopped in the middle and crossed his scarred arms. He glanced to the side. "Why don''t you guess why today is such a great day, Stanhope?"


    "Because they''ll depart and get away from you?" Ross deadpanned.


    Everyone stared at him. The lacking Head Officer saluted the Commander. "It''s time for them to enter the Central Zone for the first time," he announced loudly as if to brush over what he had just said.


    "Yes, that''s right, young Officers!" The Commander said to the crew, ignoring Ross. "I have decided to let you go through your first major rite of passage before being considered a real crew ¨C completing a mission in the Central Zone of the Distorted Depths."


    A sea-green-haired young man raised a hand. "Sir?"


    Commander Arkenast pointed at him. "Yes, Wharifin!"


    "If that''s our first rite of passage to be a real crew¡­" Caspian gazed warily at the man. "Then what are the others?"


    "Well, the second rite of passage is slaying your first Monster King, your third is slaying your first Aberrant, and¡­" The Commander gained a vicious grin. "The fourth and final rite is attending the yearly military ceremony in the Eternal Empire''s Capital. The most dangerous and treacherous task of them all. But that''s neither here nor there."


    Commander Arkenast pointed at the tall, curly-haired woman standing at the very front. "Captain Riftmire, tell me, what task has your crew been given?"


    "We must retrieve the flag flying above the crow''s nest on the Iron Wolf, a warship shipwrecked on the eastern side of Nereid''s Wail Isle," Adrianna announced indifferently.


    "That''s correct." The Commander nodded and began to pace back and forth again. "Every fifty years, when the Dawnlight must set sail again, the crew is given the order to bring back something from the Iron Wolf. Once it was a spyglass. Another time it was an entire cannon." He whirled around and pointed at them. "But the flag flying high with our Navy''s coat of arms has yet to be taken!"


    They stood silently, listening for every detail the Commander could give. And Commander Arkenast did not let them down.


    The blond-haired man''s scarred face grew solemn as he watched them. "I''ll tell you now. If you go with your current strength, you will die. Every last one of you. That is why you''re going to be given two whole months to retrieve the flag ¨C so that all of you can increase your strength and develop for the final battle." He smirked and stepped back. "And there will be a battle. Because that island is where the strongest Aberrant in the Distorted Depths sleeps."


    Their faces drained of colour when they heard that. The Commander gave them one last cheery wave and turned to leave. "That''s all from me! And yes. You''ll depart today."


    With Ross behind him, he left, leaving Adrianna alone with her crew. Adrianna turned to face them, but after a quick look, she only walked off, leaving them with questions. Caspian raised an eyebrow and followed her.


    "Adrianna, aren''t you going to begin discussing our plans with the crew?" he asked, walking quickly to match her pace.


    "I didn''t hear about the Nereid''s Wail Isle," she muttered, her brow slightly furrowed.


    "Huh? But didn''t you meet with the Commander last week to discuss this?" he asked her, confused. "And while the others will be scared, we both know that the island isn''t as dangerous as the Commander made it out to be. When he said that the Aberrant was asleep, he meant that nearly nothing could wake it up. It''s been asleep for centuries." He blinked. "Unless you haven''t heard that yet? That makes sense. I heard it because of my Senior Officers¡­"


    "No, I know that the Aberrant is asleep," she said with a sigh. "It''s¡­ I''m fine, Wharifin. You can begin discussing this with the crew."


    He squinted at her. "Uh¡­ no. No, you''re not fine. I can tell you''re on edge about something."


    "How? Barely anyone can read my emotions," she stated dully.


    Caspian rolled his eyes. "Let''s just say I''m perceptive." He glanced behind himself and narrowed his eyes when he saw Griffin laughing and having a loud discussion. "What''s got him in such a good mood?" He turned back to her. "Look, if you really think you''re fine, then I know I''m not going to be able to get anything out of you. I''ll go check on what Conlan''s doing with the crew. Just¡­ be back in an hour or so to talk to them, okay?"


    Adrianna gave him a slow nod, and Caspian left. In the distance, she saw Griffin watch them and look away before either Adrianna or Caspian could make eye contact. She scowled and marched off, out of sight of them all.


    The Central Zone isn''t the issue. It occurred in the same month as last timeline, so things are progressing well. The problem is the task he has given us.


    Adrianna had heard from the Commander that he planned to send them to the Central Zone, and while it was slightly earlier than before, the crew were slightly more advanced in their progress than before. She had no issues with that.


    Maybe it was her own¡­ arrogance, or stupidity, or something ¨C but she had expected Commander Arkenast to assign them the same task or a similar difficulty task as he had in the past.


    Not the task he had assigned them as a final test before promoting her to Commander.


    She held her chin, thinking deeply.


    No, he can''t be planning on promoting me to Commander yet. That''s absurd. It hasn''t even been a full year since I became Captain. I need to have at least three ships under my command to be a Commander, but I haven''t even obtained one new crewmate yet. He needs to step down too and he hasn''t begun any of those arrangements.


    So then¡­ what is he doing?


    The most logical answer was that he wanted to see if their success in obtaining the natural treasure and killing the Scion hadn''t been a fluke and was real, but if that was the goal, then he wouldn''t have given them what was essentially a stealth mission. It was possible that he wanted to recreate the test with the Scion because Griffin''s actions meant that it didn''t proceed as Adrianna had wanted, but using a trip to the Central Zone to recreate that?


    As for Griffin, he was probably overjoyed because he considered it a sign of her becoming Commander soon. He wouldn''t have any issues facing the stronger monsters, being the Hero of Light and all, but he didn''t spare a thought for his crewmates. Griffin was always¡­


    Her thoughts froze as the newest most likely answer occurred to her. She looked around the corner and glanced at the brown-haired man next to Liliana and Catherine.


    Come to think of it, Palin has still been asking me to give the Squad Leader title to Griffin instead. He tries to hide it, but I can see he''s already been won over by him.


    Should I give him the ''opportunity'' to prove himself to the Commander? At the very least, his class will ensure the crew survives in the long run.


    She huffed and walked back out, ready to begin the discussion. It would be a long two months.


    If he''s going to reap the benefits of my position, then he should be prepared to take the blame for my failures, shouldn''t he?


    <hr>


    "You must be so sad, not being able to go with them and escape from me," the burly man said with a wry grin.


    Ross Stanhope stood still, dutifully gazing past the Commander and concentrating on the view of the ocean behind his desk. "You called for me, Sir?"


    "Tsk." Commander Arkenast placed his chin on his hand and narrowed his eyes at his subordinate, but Ross didn''t react. The Commander shrugged and leaned back. A week ago, when you asked me why I gave them this particular task, I said I''d answer you after I spoke to them. I called you here to answer your question."


    Commander Arkenast stood up and faced the window with his hands behind his back. "Adrianna Riftmire is a great Captain. She''d likely be a great Admiral¡­ and she''ll be a great Commander."


    "But sir¡­ you''re the Commander," Ross pointed out with confusion.


    Merrow Arkenast looked back with a stern expression. "Stanhope. She will be a great Commander."


    Ross stared and then gave him a salute. "I see you''ve chosen. I should learn to treat her as my new superior then."


    "Don''t be so hasty to get rid of me, Stanhope," The Commander chuckled. He turned back around and sat down. "Riftmire is responsible. That''s good, but you can''t go overboard. She believes that since I''ve placed these people under her, it''s her responsibility to make them thrive. In some cases, it''s true." He intertwined his fingers. "But when it comes to some people, it''s not. I want Riftmire to kick those ''types of people'' out of her own will. And the only way to do that is show her what the future will look like with those types of people under her command."


    "I have a suspicion that it''s not people plural that you''re referring to," Ross stated dryly.


    Commander Arkenast smirked and shrugged. "If, after all this, she still sees some use in hi- in them, I''ll accept it. They''re not my direct subordinate, after all. Surely she knows them better than me. But¡­ I''ll make this little opportunity for the rest of her crewmates to see. Maybe peer pressure will do it."


    Ross saluted the Commander. "My thanks for clearing that up for me, sir."


    The Commander gave him a dismissive wave and crossed his arms. "And I also want to see my successor struggle a bit more before I leave. I feel a little jealous of my old colleagues who trained their successors up for centuries and saw all sides of them, so I want to see a little bit more about Riftmire."


    Ross gazed wearily at the man. "Sir¡­ why do you always ruin peoples'' impression of you just when it improves?"


    The blond-haired man laughed.

 Chapter 84 (2 of 2) The aftermath of mischief.

    ¡°Run it by me one last time,¡± Lucille said, tapping on the table she and her guest were sitting at.


    Kozzazan nodded and put down his cup of coffee. It seemed he had taken a liking to the drink.


    The two of them were sitting at a small table in Lucy¡¯s large bedroom. It was before seven when none of the others would be up and about yet, so it allowed them to meet in privacy, even if that was while she was wearing her pyjamas and a dressing gown.


    ¡°Five members of the House will be dispatched to go with you to the demon clan part of the Malediction Society,¡± he stated smoothly, repeating the information he had memorised. ¡°They want your presence as they deal with the clan so you can act as a witness, to ensure they only did what they said they would. The demon clan they¡¯ll attack are vassals of the Infernal Dukedom.¡±


    Lucy paused her tapping. ¡°The largest demon Duchy¡­ their rank?¡±


    ¡°Demon Count,¡± Kozzazan replied.


    ¡°Hm¡­ strong enough to be a considerable threat. No wonder the House of Wordless Observers wants to cut off this demon clan¡¯s support.¡± Lucy sighed and swept her hair over her shoulder. ¡°That means the five coming will be true wraiths instead of shades or phantoms. Their leader would have to be a 1<sup>st</sup> Sector Vigil to command a group to enter another realm.¡±


    Kozzazan silently nodded. That immediately showed Lucy that she was wrong because he normally would¡¯ve made a rude remark such as ¡®of course¡¯ or ¡®obviously¡¯.


    ¡°It¡¯s a member of the Court, then. Who is it?¡± she asked pointedly.


    The dark-haired man grimaced and rubbed his neck. ¡°I wasn¡¯t meant to say anything unless you specifically asked¡­ urgh. It¡¯s¡­ the Tainted Peony Blademistress.¡±


    Lucille crossed her arms, thinking deeply. ¡°The Blood Lord Rouge Ellsinore?¡±


    ¡°One of the three undead vampires of the Court of Ninety-Nine, yes.¡± He nodded. ¡°She¡¯s part of the Marquis of The Hunt¡¯s faction.¡±


    ¡°I thought all members of the Court supported the Death Monarch,¡± Lucy said, raising an eyebrow.


    Kozzazan quickly shook his head. ¡°They¡¯re all undyingly-¡± He hesitated at the turn of phrase. ¡°¡­ceaselessly loyal to him and his authority. But they all have different definitions of what they consider ¡®loyal acts¡¯. The Marquis of The Hunt¡¯s faction is notably composed of former mortals and involves itself the most in politics,¡± he explained.


    The Marquis of The Hunt, the ghoul I saw last time. Reznor. He was the one to show the most scepticism of my intentions. Reznor must want to place someone nearby to observe me and see if I¡¯m worth working with.


    Lucy nodded as she continued thinking.


    I do know of a very hostile force within the Court to all those who are mortals. They¡¯ll be the only group I can¡¯t work with due to their preconceived notions of my capabilities. Gylbarde, the Dark Night of the Legion of the Abandoned, is one of them. Working with a force made of politically inclined former humans and others will be beneficial, considering my status as a Count of the Empire.


    ¡°I see. Will Lady Ellsinore require anything of me?¡± she asked.


    Kozzazan dipped his head. ¡°I haven¡¯t heard anything about that, so if she has decided on something, I wouldn¡¯t know. Even knowing about the movements of 1<sup>st</sup> Sector Vigils and¡­ a member of the Court is...¡± He shuddered. ¡°¡­more than a low-ranked Captain of the Wordless Observers should know.¡±


    It appeared that discussing the most powerful members of his organisation so freely was draining for him. Lucille nodded and stood up from her chair, pushing it in. ¡°Thank you for your time, Kozzazan. I appreciate it, even if I know you were ordered to answer all my questions,¡± she said with a wry look.


    With inhuman agility befitting his race, he slid into the shadows and reappeared near her balcony. ¡°I¡¯ll take my leave now if I have your permission, Count Goldcroft.¡±


    She shook her head in amusement. ¡°Off you go. Do you really hate being in my presence that-¡±


    In the next breath, he had completely left her spiritual perception. Lucy rolled her eyes and went over to her walk-in wardrobe to find her clothes for the day. She was anticipating the finished result of Sedric¡¯s treasure hunt in the Supreme Serpent¡¯s Silent City.


    ¡­


    A silver-haired boy with slitted eyes flopped over the back of the couch, squinting at the door. He rolled back around and elbowed the woman next to him. ¡°Didn¡¯t Sedric say he¡¯d be done today?¡±


    Lucille checked her pocket watch. ¡°Perhaps he realised it¡¯s missing something and requires more time to complete it. I¡¯d rather have a finished piece than an artifact that requires me to return it to him for frequent adjustments.¡± She snapped it shut. ¡°Oh well. As I¡¯m busy, I don¡¯t have time to wait for him. I¡¯ll return to my stud-¡±


    ¡°W-w-wait, wait, wait, wait-¡± The door of the living room burst open as the Commission¡¯s resident crafter stumbled in, holding the brass-embellished briefcase with two hands. He sat it down on the coffee table and then leaned against it, taking a deep breath. ¡°I-I¡¯m done. You can take a look now.¡±


    Lucy eyed his flushed face from running there with the artifact, the way his eyes quickly flicked from her to the briefcase and back, the nervous tension in how he kept touching the tools on his belt and determined he seemed to be very eager to show off his modifications. She felt the urge to be a slight bit mean to him.


    ¡°Thank you, Sedric. I¡¯ll put it in my room and return to working in my study,¡± she replied sweetly.


    He hesitated. ¡°You¡­ You¡¯re not going to check it out?¡±


    Lucille raised an eyebrow. ¡°Why would I do that? I already know what¡¯s inside the artifact¡¯s pocket dimension.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but¡­¡± Sedric groaned and rubbed his neck. ¡°I¡¯ve added some¡­ stuff¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure I¡¯m intelligent enough to work it out at the moment when I need to use it.¡± She pretended to get up to pick the briefcase up, but Sedric blocked her way.


    ¡°I still think you should let me demonstrate its abilities to you,¡± he stubbornly argued. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say it¡¯s tradition for the crafter to offer the item to its new owner?¡±


    Lucy smirked and crossed her arms. ¡°Sedric, that rule applies to those who made the item. All you did was take an existing artifact and put it inside of something.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t doubt your abilities to make this a highly useful item, though, which is why I plan to use it as soon as I need to without demonstration,¡± she continued, casually walking up to the briefcase and picking it up by the handle. She looked back and noted Sedric¡¯s twitching expression, indicating his frustration. ¡°Are you not happy that I trust your abilities that much?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not the problem!¡± Sedric let out a groan and placed his hands on his head.


    ¡°Lucy, I just want to see what¡¯s changed, so could you put it down?¡± Scytale spoke up.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± She glanced at her bond and then pointed at Sedric. ¡°Only if Sedric promises that whatever changes he¡¯s made are worth me pushing my work off for.¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± Sedric replied with indignance.


    She narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°Really?¡±


    He opened his mouth to confirm it, and then hesitated, thinking about the consequences of showing her a ¡®boring¡¯ artifact.


    Lucy shrugged and put the briefcase on the table again. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll wait for you to show it to me. But be prepared for what will happen if it¡¯s not interesting enough.¡±


    Sedric grimaced and then coughed into his fist. He gestured to the case. ¡°As you wanted, I used the canvas of the scroll to create the inner layer of the case. Instead of being a painting, it¡¯s now the exterior layer of the cushioning inside the briefcase. Just like normal locked briefcases, this one only opens to the mana of those registered with it and¡­¡±


    He placed a hand on the embellished dark leather cover. Brass gears inlaid into the case whirred until it opened with a click. The two halves folded out, letting Lucy and Scytale see that the upper compartment contained custom-made pockets for her belt, sheaths, and even her mask and cane. The bottom compartment, however, showed¡­


    ¡­the normal contents of a case. Sedric had filled it with some blankets from one of the rooms to demonstrate.


    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Lucille raised an eyebrow and walked closer when she realised she wasn¡¯t looking at an illusion, but she could still sense the illusion mana. She pressed a hand down, but none of the blankets could be pushed through to the pocket dimension. Removing the blankets, she stepped back and became curious when she noticed a replica of the artifact¡¯s painting on the inner layer of the briefcase. She looked to Sedric for an explanation. ¡°This is¡­?¡±


    ¡°I did use an illusion mana-circle inside, but here it¡¯s only to project the painting onto this layer of canvas, just to make it seem like it¡¯s an aesthetic choice,¡± he told her. ¡°But watch this.¡±


    He flicked a tiny lever hidden behind the upper compartment¡¯s pockets, and the sound of whirring began. The cogs in the briefcase spun until they came to a swift stop, revealing that the lower compartment slid back and revealed the dimensional artifact painting. ¡°I built-¡±


    ¡°You built a false compartment that can physically store items so I don¡¯t have to risk someone discovering the dimension behind an illusion of a compartment,¡± Lucy interrupted, a hand on her chin as she gazed at the case in thought. ¡°This means that I can store objects for easy access, as well as enter the dimension within. A very interesting solution.¡±


    Sedric scowled and crossed his arms. ¡°¡­that was what I was going to say.¡± He sighed and looked away. ¡°Should¡¯ve guessed you¡¯d work it out with just a glance.¡±


    ¡°But to create a mechanism that works across two different dimensions at the same time, even if it¡¯s only a pocket dimension, you would need to use specific spatial mana-circles, most of which require complex calculations,¡± Lucy mused. She looked at Sedric. ¡°How did you do it?¡±


    He blinked. ¡°The mechanism? Oh. I, ah, used the¡­ ¡®underused¡¯ part of my class a bit. The magic engineering stuff.¡± Sedric sighed. ¡°That and a bit of the stuff my grandfather left for me. As for the mana-circle, you remember you gave me a collection of books with crafting mana-circles from all the elements, right?¡±


    Lucille nodded. ¡°But I never expected you to learn how to use them. Even Grandmaster crafters are careful when it comes to using spatial magic with machines when they can get past the complexity,¡± she warned.


    Sedric pinched his nose bridge. ¡°Tell me about it. That book was a headache to read, and I bet I only got a tenth of it.¡± He shook his head after shooting Scytale a dirty look, who was noisily sipping fruit juice through a straw. ¡°No, I got that mage, Marellen, and his elf girlfriend-¡±


    Scytale¡¯s fruit juice went down the wrong pipe and he spat it out, gasping for breath. Lucy stared at him. ¡°Girlfriend?¡±


    ¡°What, they¡¯re not a couple? They¡¯re always hanging out together though,¡± Sedric said with suspicion after seeing their reactions.


    ¡°¡­I¡¯m sure that¡¯s just them bonding over magical theory,¡± she replied, but inwardly, she was feeling bemused.


    Sedric¡¯s not the most socially adept, so whatever I hear from him can be taken with a grain of salt, but them being a couple? I mean, I¡¯m not against it- no, actually, I¡¯m all for it, considering the man Trisroa Vel-Winteridge¡¯s loyalties lay with last time, but the thought of his party members leaving because they find someone else is¡­ not a concept that occurred to me.


    Maybe I should facilitate this for the others? Lucille Goldcroft, Matchmaker Supreme. Foiling the Hero¡¯s plans with the power of romance, one party member at a time.


    On the couch, Scytale burst into guffaws. Lucy sighed and rubbed her temples.


    I can¡¯t consider it even as a joke. Besides, me? Knowing about romance? Scytale has more knowledge than me on that subject.


    ¡°Lucille? Is everything okay?¡± Sedric asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± She gave him a wave to let him continue. ¡°Marellen and Roa¡¯s help?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. So, because I didn¡¯t get the terminology, I asked them for some help.¡± He gestured to the room¡¯s door. ¡°In the end, they got interested in what I was doing so they spent a few days in my workshop with me, getting these spatial mana-circles to work in the jewels. The result is that.¡± Sedric pointed at the case. ¡°I only used the simplest mana-transfer circle because dimensionally transferring matter is way beyond me, and after applying what I learnt from Sameul O¡¯Dearvy about mana turning into mechanical energy and vice-versa¡­¡± He spread his hands. ¡°Hey presto! I got it working.¡±


    Lucy hummed. ¡°I can tell there¡¯s a second illusion mana-circle in there, however.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes.¡± Sedric pressed a button, and an illusion appeared to mask the contents of the upper compartment. ¡°Just to, you know, protect stuff like your mask, watch, cane, and so on.¡± He stepped back and crossed his arms. ¡°It took way too long, I had to scratch several prototypes, and there¡¯s probably a simpler solution to the engineering behind it out there, but at the end of the day, I¡¯m very happy with my work,¡± he finished with a grin. He hesitated when he saw her staring at him. ¡°¡­Lucille? What is it?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± She walked around the type, leaning forward to study the case. ¡°Passible craftsmanship¡­ decently creative design solutions¡­¡±


    He stiffened up when her gaze returned to him. Lucy stayed silent for a couple more seconds, just to make him that more nervous, and-


    She gave him two thumbs up and grinned. ¡°Very well done, Sedric. And to think that all I said was I wanted a briefcase with illusion spells.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well¡­¡± He rubbed his neck, looking awkward from the unexpected praise. ¡°It was, uh, nothing.¡±


    Scytale, always willing to ruin the moment, cupped his hands around his mouth. ¡°You still suck for being a so-called Legendary crafter!¡±


    Sedric¡¯s expression went cold and he dashed towards Lucy¡¯s bond. Scytale vaulted over the couch and sped out the door, Sedric following close behind. The two immature individuals left Lucille alone, who shook her head and walked closer to the table to admire her new dimensional artifact.


    He¡¯s come a lot further than I first expected. I¡¯m sure if he ever realised how unusual it is for an accessory craftsman to use spatial spells, let alone be capable of altering an artifact when normally only Artificers can do that, his progress would fall behind as he became overconfident. Right now, his competitive attitude is the motivating factor to improve, but I¡¯ll tell him about his talent when he gains a new motivation. Competitiveness can only last for so long.


    It was also possible that with Scytale around, Sedric would never lose his sense of rivalry to finally prove how good he was to the snake.


    Scytale, a good influence on someone. Who¡¯d have ever thought?


    She shook her head again and sat back down. From even the items he was crafting, to his method of going about it like asking Marellen and Trisroa for help, Sedric had greatly improved. He was very different from the rebellious and dismissive young man she had met a year earlier. For a brief moment, Lucille wondered if she had changed, but dismissed the idea because she knew that a year wasn¡¯t enough for someone her age to change. Her soul constructs tracked her personality characteristics and could tell that nothing was different. The people around her, however, were a different situation.


    Vincent had become more confident as her aide, Annaliese had become bolder, Raegan ¨C well, he wasn¡¯t on his deathbed anymore. Trisroa seemed to view her favourably, if only as an enigma to study, and had yet to meet the Hero. Hargrave was less wary of her and had begun to enjoy the company of the others¡­. However, sometimes she felt he still overthought a lot of her actions. Scytale seemed to be on a path towards gaining even greater strength.


    The people around her had all changed slightly, and mostly in positive ways. But was positive personal growth in the people around her enough to support her schemes against the Hero who would spell danger for someone even faintly acquainted with his enemies? Lucille didn¡¯t know.


    That was why she couldn¡¯t ever tell the people around her of the Hero, because if by some small chance, he began to consider ¡®Lucille Goldcroft¡¯ as his enemy¡­ the people around her would suffer for it in ways nobody could control. Not even the System.


    She had thought about it once before and thought about it again, but she wasn¡¯t happy to be back again. In the past, she had a group of people to confide in who wouldn¡¯t have their lives ruined due to the Hero¡¯s attention, but that group didn¡¯t exist anymore. Some of them didn¡¯t exist anymore. They weren¡¯t exactly friends, but at least she felt like she had a place to belong, a place she and Scytale had built for themselves.


    Now, it was just her and her bond. She was sincerely grateful that for whatever reason, the System let Scytale be beside her in the new timeline. Otherwise, she would truly, truly be without hope. She went without contact with people for years before they came across each other again by complete coincidence.


    Now it was just her and him against the Hero and the forces of the new timeline. Difficult, but not impossible.


    Because Lucille knew ¡®Conlan Griffin¡¯. She knew every single one of his personality flaws and weak points. But her enemy was ¡®The Hero¡¯ and the one behind him.


    ¡­


    ¡°-and so based on my theory of elemental harmony and causal impact, I¡¯ve concluded that the laws of the element of space lie outside of the elemental laws of the six essential elements!¡± a navy-haired mage proclaimed passionately.


    Beside him was a sighing snow elf, while in front of him were three others. Two were the Barbosas siblings, playing a game of cards while giving Marellen half-hearted ¡®Mhm¡¯ and ¡®I see¡¯ ¡®s.


    The third was Hargrave, sitting on a couch while polishing his demonic Origin weapon. He put Eolith down for a moment. ¡°Outside?¡±


    The others winced, as they knew that a slight bit of encouragement was all the mage needed. Marellen swiftly pointed his staff at Hargrave, who blinked.


    ¡°Exactly!¡± Marellen exclaimed. He pulled back his staff and put a hand behind his back as he mused out loud to the others, pacing back and forth. ¡°If the six essential elements are all that¡¯s needed to create elemental harmony, then space mana must have a different purpose than the other elements. Wizards and Archmages cannot be using it to its full potential! But what other purposes could exist?¡± He placed a hand on his chin a gave a large nod. ¡°No, this isn¡¯t my speciality. That will be for other researchers to discover. I should be creating hypotheses about the role of spatial mana in elemental harmony. I need to see if there are examples in other phenomena of the realms-¡±


    Hargrave stared at the mage as he began his crazed mutterings. Garthe looked over his shoulder and waved Roa over. ¡°Roa! C¡¯mere and place your bet on how long it¡¯ll last this time!¡±


    Roa glanced at Marellen and then let out a light scoff. ¡°I do not partake in ¡®betting¡¯ or gambling of any sort. It is a waste of well-earned income. I especially do not partake in gambling when it is at the expense of another.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be waging our chores instead of money!¡± Garthe stage-whispered.


    Roa hesitated. ¡°¡­do not think you can sway me with such promises, but¡­ which chores?¡±


    ¡°The tax reports for our Guilds,¡± he said with a cheeky grin.


    The elven mage considered it. ¡°I failed to mention that I have no experience in ¡®placing bets¡¯ and so any opinions I have of gambling are that of preconceived notions gained from other¡¯s biased opinions,¡± she announced, sitting down next to them. ¡°I believe Marellen will be interrupted before the hour is up.¡±


    ¡°Really? Final chance to change your mind~¡± Garthe smirked and scribbled down a note saying, ¡®One Adventurer¡¯s Guild Tax Report from Roa¡¯. ¡°Then it¡¯s final. Larena bet an hour and a half, I bet three hours, while you¡¯ve bet he¡¯ll be interrupted before the hour is done. Get ready to do my paperwork, girls.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be insane, Garthe, if you think I¡¯d ever do your paperwork-¡±


    ¡°Overconfidence has caused many a warrior to fall in Glenheim, Garthe.¡±


    They looked up when they noticed Marellen had stopped pacing. The navy-haired young man snapped his fingers. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s it! Yin and Yang!¡±


    ¡°Yeng and what now?¡± Garthe repeated.


    ¡°No, Yin and Yang! The negative and positive energies found in the Heavenly Realm! It makes perfect sense!¡± Marellen renewed his pacing. ¡°They are part of the cycle but exist as independent energies too. You can have Yin wood and fire, but Yang wood and fire as well. It¡¯s just like spatial fusion elements ¨C Ruination for fire and space, Maelstrom for water and space, Cloudburst for wind and space, Quake for earth and space, and finally Radiance for light and space. They¡¯re fusion elements that use the Yin¡­ or possibly Yang, of the positive and negative elements!¡±


    Then he frowned and rubbed his chin. ¡°But if that is the case, what element contrasts to the space element? It has to occur naturally, or else my theory falls apart, but I don¡¯t know of any element with the same properties as space¡­¡±


    ¡°Have you considered that like space mana, it always exists, but we naturally wield it as the ¡®Yang¡¯ version of our elements?¡± a new voice asked lightly. ¡°I think the theoretical element of ¡®time¡¯ fits that description.¡± Lucy poked her head in. ¡°What are we up to in here?¡±


    Marellen froze to the spot, but Garthe just rolled his eyes. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you know already? Wha- hey!¡± He stared at the two other women as they dumped their ¡®bets¡¯ on top of his lap.


    ¡°I believe that is my victory, Garthe Barbosas,¡± Roa announced slightly haughtily. ¡°Enjoy submitting my tax report to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡±


    Larena stood up and walked off with a shrug. ¡°I came second, so you get my share of the work too.¡±


    ¡°That is not how it works!¡± he yelled, pointing at her. Garthe pointed to Roa as well. ¡°And we never established what the rules of the bet actually were, so this doesn¡¯t count, I say! Hey! Are you listening?!¡±


    ¡°Chaotic as usual, I see,¡± Lucy stated flatly. She walked in and crossed her arms as she followed Hargrave¡¯s gaze over to the muttering mage.


    ¡°I¡¯d heard rumours, but¡­ nobody uses a dark-space fusion element, huh¡­¡± Hargrave murmured.


    Lucille looked at him and nodded, while Marellen looked up and stared at Hargrave. Then Marellen groaned and ran a hand down his face. ¡°I¡¯d forgotten about that! If no dark-space fusion element exists, then space can¡¯t be the Mystical Realm¡¯s version of Yin or Yang. Maybe if¡­ no, but-¡±


    ¡°Were you curious about the space fusion elements, Hargrave?¡± Lucy asked.


    He nodded. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have been able to do it with only my blood element, but now that I have an affinity for water, I¡¯ve been wondering if it was possible. I¡¯d like to use space fusion elements for all the essential elements too.¡±


    Lucille shook her head. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t hold onto hope for that. Space fusion elements are powerful, yes, but at the cost of the user having only one space element ever. Each of the space fusion elements essentially grants the user only one single effect, and¡­¡± She turned to him. ¡°Well, if you manage to obtain a small portion of space essence within you to materialise a space fusion element, can you imagine how dangerous it would be for your body to have each of those elements within you?¡±


    Hargrave considered it and nodded with a grimace.


    ¡°There¡¯s a reason why any space element ability has only ever been a Penultimate warrior ability or a Grand Spell,¡± Lucy warned. ¡°They are the most catastrophic of abilities to be found in all the Mystical Realm.¡±


    He sighed and leaned back. ¡°It would be a useful tool for my rev- for my goals.¡±


    Lucille smirked. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry about that. You¡¯re no longer classed as just part of the Mystical Realm now. Draconic magic is easily on par or far exceeds spatial abilities.¡±


    Hargrave gained a look of deep contemplation after he heard that, but Marellen had quickly rushed up to Lucy.


    ¡°You know the most about elemental laws out of anyone I¡¯ve ever met,¡± he began hurriedly. ¡°Please tell me, is it true that a dark-space element doesn¡¯t exist?¡±


    She raised an eyebrow and observed him but then smirked and shook her head. ¡°No, that¡¯s not true. It exists. Ironically, it¡¯s one of the most common naturally occurring space fusion elements. Most members of the Violet Order and Spatial Tower know about it, but they can¡¯t do anything about it. It¡¯s not something that can be wielded by mortals.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ common?¡± Marellen hesitated. ¡°How common? And where is it?¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s everywhere. We¡¯re surrounded by it on all sides.¡± Lucy¡¯s smirk grew wider as she raised her hands. ¡°We¡¯d never see it, but in this infinite realm, it¡¯s more common than the planes. What is the largest and most destructive natural phenomena in the entire realm, capable of destroying planes in the blink of an eye?¡±


    ¡°Destroying planes¡­¡± Marellen paled. ¡°But that¡¯s¡­¡± His words trailed off and he furrowed his brow. ¡°But¡­ has nobody been able to wield it? What about nonmortals?¡±


    Lucille tilted her head as she thought about it, and then turned to leave the room. ¡°Someone was able to come close. It was barely a phantom, little more than an illusion of it, really. Someone in the past.¡±


    Someone in another timeline, we might say.

 Chapter 85 (1 of 2) The daemonic sin of slothfulness.

    Two young women were standing out in front of Gilded Seat¡¯s Obelisk, the towering structure of polished black metal.


    ¡°Do you recall the plan?¡± the dark-haired one said.


    ¡°If Sir Vincent asks, we were both at the largest magical item store in Gilded Seat,¡± the snow elf replied calmly. ¡°You wanted to see if the Commission has a possibility as competitors using the Magisterial Treasure Emporium, while I wanted to view their purchasable books on magic and equipment. Afterwards, we had our afternoon meal at a well-known establishment, then returned to inspecting other shops.¡± She looked down at the indigo crystal in her hand. ¡°When ¡®we¡¯ are together, I shall activate the spell within this crystal to summon an illusion of you to fool observers.¡±


    Lucille nodded. ¡°Good. You should be fine then.¡± She pointed at the gem. ¡°I¡¯d prefer if you didn¡¯t break that. I can imagine it coming in handy in the future.¡±


    Considering I worked all night to make a custom spell that can recreate my illusory constructs in spell form, I¡¯d rather not lose all that progress.


    ¡°There may be one detail I am somewhat curious about,¡± Roa mentioned. ¡°I am wondering why you have gone to such great lengths to mask your departure from the plane, even hiding it from your aide. From what I have seen, you both trust each other a great deal.¡±


    Lucy looked over her shoulder to view the tall mansion appearing over the horizon. She turned back and smirked. ¡°I will be visiting the Demon Realm in an attempt to obtain a skill that allows me to partially use demonic script.¡±


    Trisroa¡¯s eyes widened and she opened her mouth to say something, but Lucy stalled her with a hand.


    ¡°I¡¯m not forming a contract with a demon or something like that,¡± Lucy told her. ¡°I¡¯ve learned that there is an opportunity for me to gain that skill somewhere.¡± She pointed over her shoulder. ¡°Vincent will try to either get someone else to follow me, or follow me himself. That¡¯s too much trouble.¡±


    Roa paused to consider it. ¡°As a fellow scholar of magic, I can understand your interest. While I won¡¯t ever connect with demons as I don¡¯t want to be ostracised from my home plane, would you be able to share what you¡¯ve learnt of their magical path in return for today?¡±


    Lucille grinned. ¡°Of course.¡± She gave the Commission one last look and then waved goodbye to the elven mage. ¡°I¡¯ll be off. Even if you¡¯re doing this as a favour for me, I hope you enjoy yourself.¡±


    The snow elf dipped her head. ¡°I can see your spiritual strength, so I believe you¡¯ll be fine. But even so, take care.¡±


    After that, Lucy left Roa and entered the Obelisk. Her two snake swords were sheathed on either side of her belt in preparation for visiting the demon clan¡¯s Stronghold after she went to the Daemonium Palace. And in her dimensional bag, she had the outfit of a certain other identity of hers¡­


    She couldn¡¯t leave immortal demon witnesses to the Aurelian Commission Head being involved in their destruction. Lucille had actually wanted to bring her briefcase, but it wasn¡¯t practical for short trips, so she decided to only bring it for trips of several days or more.


    Reciting her location of choice as she had done six months prior, her physical form was turned into white light and she disappeared from within the confines of the Obelisk space.


    ¡­


    The first thing Lucille noticed after she went up the hellish climb of the front stairs, was the presence of multiple weaker demons.


    ¡®Weaker¡¯ was still enough to kill her with a sneeze, but compared to the Demon Emperor, they were barely mentionable. With her perception field shut down as she always did when visiting, she could only rely on her Field of Transmutational Mastery to detect people. It wasn¡¯t that hard when one of the demons she sensed had the energy density of fifty thousand nuclear bombs. While suppressed.


    ¡°He did what?¡± a feminine voice hissed with bloodcurdling eeriness.


    Lucille slowly stepped into the corridor past the throne room and crossed her arms as she observed the situation.


    Abyssal Duchess Lilith Iona al¡¯Abyssus was smiling coldly in all her demon glory. Leathery black wings outstretched, pitch-black demonic script coiling about her limbs, demonic energies leeching out of her into the surrounding air, curved goat-like horns¡­


    Three weaker demons were grovelling on the floor in front of her, shivering violently under her terrifying presence.


    ¡°I see. Then I¡¯ll have to resolve this myself,¡± Lilith announced with a gentle, melodious voice. She spun around on her heels and stopped when she saw Lucy. ¡°Ah¡­ well¡­¡± The demoness thought for a moment and the gave her a dismissive wave before walking past. ¡°It¡¯ll probably be fine to go find him.¡±


    The Abyssal Duchess marched out the door and then flew off, her speed creating a massive boom that shook the building. Lucille turned back to look at the other three demons, who were awkwardly getting up from the floor.


    She made eye contact with one of them and then, almost by a former agreement, they went completely different paths and didn¡¯t speak to each other.


    If they tried something on her after the spectacle it would just be embarrassing, and as the only human allowed in the Daemonium Palace, nobody, not even Lucy knew what status she held.


    I am curious what could¡¯ve occurred to make Lilith so angry. The Demonic Dragon Duke of Draco Bestia is supposed to have a short temper, not her.


    In the end, Lucille shrugged and followed the path she remembered to the study. It had nothing to do with her and it was best to avoid the Demon Duchess¡¯s attention.


    She knocked on the double doors. ¡°Your Majesty, may I come in?¡±


    There was no response, but Lucy just rolled her eyes and opened the door. She peeked in and¡­ she sighed when faced with a strong sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu.


    ¡­


    Looking at the Demon Emperor lying on the only couch with his eyes closed and wearing his black silk dressing gown, Lucille couldn¡¯t help thinking that he looked an awful lot like a marble statue.


    This wasn¡¯t some compliment of his appearance or anything. He literally looked like a statue because he didn¡¯t breathe. And to someone used to normal human colouration skin, the combination of alabaster skin and blood-red irises was truthfully more than a little freaky.


    She was sitting on the floor cross-legged, and she had propped her chin up and watched him, resigned to her fate of staying there until he decided to move first. She wanted to test something, anyway.


    This brings me back to the few conversations I had with Lucius about the biology of a higher race. They don¡¯t need to eat, they don¡¯t need to drink, don¡¯t need to breathe, don¡¯t need to sleep- clearly, that doesn¡¯t prevent the specimen in front of me from doing the latter, though. Lucius said that ¡®biology¡¯ isn¡¯t a word that suited them because they don¡¯t have ¡®true¡¯ organs.


    Although, I¡¯m pretty sure this demon is just trying to avoid the reality of interacting with me. I understand the sentiment, but if he could ignore me while sitting anywhere but the only available couch in the room, I¡¯d appreciate it. Should I steal his armchair?


    She also couldn¡¯t help but note that the Demon Emperor, one of the few existences capable of true teleportation, chose to sleep on his couch instead of bothering to move himself to his bedroom. It wouldn¡¯t even take a thought and he¡¯d be there.


    If he¡¯s this lazy, then I don¡¯t think he really tried to test me when I met him for the first time. He¡¯s not the kind of person to do that. So then, why was he wear¡­ don¡¯t tell me¡­


    ¡­it would match his personality though.


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Her focus on analysing the mysterious and nonsensical motivations of the being in front of her was such that she nearly flinched when his hand finally moved to rub his neck as he sat up with a sigh.


    His brow creased as he sensed her presence and he turned his malevolent ruby eyes to her, on the carpet. He gazed at her as if he was begrudging her very existence.


    ¡°If I¡¯ve sat here for half an hour while you¡¯ve been asleep, does that count towards our bi-annual contractual meetings, and if so, may I leave now?¡± Lucille asked pleasantly.


    He squinted at her due to the undertones of snide in her voice, but after thinking about it, he whipped his head to the side to read some notification with rather offensive levels of enthusiasm. His expression darkened. ¡°It doesn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­dammit.¡±


    He narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°Hey.¡±


    Lucy blinked. ¡°My apologies, Your Majesty. Did I say something?¡±


    The Demon Emperor scowled but didn¡¯t seem to have it in him to start an argument with her just yet. He sighed and then looked down at himself. With a wave of his hand, his formal ensemble of imperial jacket with epaulettes on the shoulders of a long cloak formed. He glanced up and frowned when he saw she was still watching him. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°There has been something I¡¯m curious about,¡± Lucy began, tilting her head. ¡°When we first met, you arrived while wearing the same dressing gown you had on before. At first, I thought you were testing my attitude towards disrespect, but now I don¡¯t know what to think. Why did you wear such casual clothing when meeting me?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡± He gazed at her like she was stupid. ¡°You woke me up.¡±


    He stood up and walked over to his desk as Lucy continued to stare at him with utter disbelief.


    I was right! My soul power would¡¯ve woken him up as soon as I entered the Dominion, so¡­ he really was just too lazy to get changed! I can¡¯t believe this guy!


    She slowly stood up and walked over to the couch.


    Should I give up all hopes of him changing the System Contract? No, actually, this is much better. He¡¯ll be too apathetic to get revenge if I ever do something wrong. Letting wraiths infiltrate the Demon Realm? He¡¯ll be asleep. Destroy a Stronghold? He¡¯ll be glad he has fewer demon clans to deal with. Summon an Eldritch abomination and wipe out all of humanity in the Mystical Realm? I bet he¡¯d be delighted!


    This was, of course, excluding the existence of the ¡®entity¡¯ behind him, one thought strand dutifully reminded her, but Lucille was too absorbed in the depths of her sarcasm to care. She sat on the couch and stared at the ceiling.


    The Demon Emperor picked up his pen as he searched through his documents, but then stopped. ¡°Where is the Abyssal Duchess?¡±


    See, there he goes again. Asking me because he can¡¯t be bothered to find out himself, even though he¡¯s the one mentally connected to her.


    ¡°She seemed angry, but the most I heard was that ¡®he¡¯ had done something, whatever that means,¡± she replied indifferently. ¡°Perhaps you¡¯d have better luck asking her yourself.¡±


    One of his eyebrows twitched but he did as she had said. When he received the message he huffed and pulled out a drawer to grab an inkwell. ¡°Damage control. One of her descendants was caught seducing the heir of a Major Kingdom that has close ties to the Abyssal Duchy.¡±


    How kind of him to explain without me asking first. Is he sick?


    ¡°I see.¡± Lucille placed an arm on the back of the couch and looked over at him. ¡°I have an important request to make, Your Majesty. It¡¯s about the House of Wordless Observers.¡±


    The Demon Emperor paused for a second and then put a pen to a page to start working. ¡°State your request.¡±


    ¡°The House wishes to destroy a Demon County under the Infernal Demons who have been supporting the Malediction Society,¡± she explained solemnly. ¡°They¡¯ve asked that I pass their request to freely enter and exit the realm for the duration of the attack to you on their behalf. Their contingent has the Tainted Peony Blademistress with them too.¡±


    He glanced up at her and crossed his arms. ¡°I haven¡¯t ever forbidden a member of Tartarus from entering my realm. That includes the Court and Wordless Observers. Undead frequently come here for research.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just relaying what they asked,¡± she replied with a shrug. ¡°There has to be at least one reason why they haven¡¯t decided to just enter without your explicit permission. It could be something to do with their ruler, as the House and Court are directly under his leadership.¡±


    The Demon Emperor gazed unblinkingly at her, which she knew by now meant either she had said something he considered strange, or he was busy thinking of something unusual. He looked down and continued writing. ¡°There¡¯s nothing.¡±


    So there is something. Maybe I should poke Lucius next time we meet. I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be entertaining to hear about the Demon Emperor from another Paragon Anomaly.


    ¡°Would it trouble you to get your response in writing? I want to do things conventionally,¡± she asked calmly.


    He glared at her for asking such an obvious question but clicked his tongue and set about writing the permission form. He stamped it with his seal ¨C a shape vaguely reminiscent of an ¡®A¡¯ formed from two interlocking Vs ¨C and teleported it onto the far side of the table in front of her.


    Lucille didn¡¯t hide her dull stare but he didn¡¯t react, so she wordlessly stood up to retrieve it. She stuck it in her dimensional bag for safekeeping and then walked over to stand in front of his desk.


    He gave her a tired look. ¡°What.¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty, I will be destroying a Stronghold alongside the representatives of Tartarus, but¡­ due to my ¡®condition¡¯, I can¡¯t obtain rewards from Quests unless someone else grants them to me.¡± Her voice was cheerful, but she was expressionless. She placed her hands behind her back. ¡°I believe the Authorizer of the Tower has the same duty to be fair as the System imposes on itself.¡±


    He leaned back, looking suspicious. ¡°You¡¯re going to bring up the System Contract again.¡±


    Lucy felt like smirking. ¡°On the contrary, I won¡¯t. But I do want you to reward me with something I need for conquering the Stronghold.¡±


    ¡°Why should I ¡®reward¡¯ you for something you chose to do of your own will?¡± he stated dryly.


    ¡°Because my efforts to act as a mediator between you and the people from Tartarus are beneficial to the System.¡± She placed her hands on the edge of his desk and narrowed her eyes. ¡°And because this will determine if I¡¯m willing to continue doing this sort of thing for you in the future.¡±


    He scowled and opened his mouth but Lucille interrupted him before he could say anything. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m aware that ¡®I have to follow all orders given by the Authorizer relating to the preservation of the timeline¡¯. But that contract said, ¡®the Authorizer¡¯. Not a name.¡±


    She tilted her head. ¡°The reason for that is more than symbolic, isn¡¯t it? You are only the ¡®Authorizer¡¯ when given a direct order because it would be too much power for a Realm Ruler to hold. Which means, technically, I only have to follow orders explicitly given by¡­ well, not you.¡±


    His expression twitched, proving that she was right. Lucy straightened up and crossed her arms. ¡°But relations between you and the Tartarus Realm have nothing to do with ¡®the preservation of the timeline¡¯.¡± She gave him a wide shrug. ¡°Because, to my knowledge, the Court and the House still had nothing to do with you in the former timeline. This negotiation on their behalf may benefit the three tenets of the System, but it has nothing to do with our contracts, demonic or System.¡±


    She pointed at herself. ¡°Additionally, you haven¡¯t been ordered to give me any true orders, have you? From my very first interaction with the System at the Inheritance Trials, it has already been proven that it¡¯s taking a watch-and-wait stance. If I¡¯m correct¡­¡± Lucille gave him a meaningful look. ¡°This contract was never supposed to last longer than a couple of years, because the System only needed enough time to fully analyse my personality and make a predictive model. Was the informal end date after the Millennium Chapter?¡±


    The Demon Emperor continued to stare at her, not saying a thing. Whatever notifications he was receiving, it was clear he didn¡¯t want to admit she knew everything.


    ¡°Let¡¯s put an end to all this, Your Majesty. I have two conditions.¡± Lucille leaned forward and pointed at his work. ¡°One single line added to the contract. The System Contract will end at the same time as the Millennium Chapter. That¡¯s all that¡¯s needed, and I will never annoy you about the contract again.¡±


    ¡°¡­one line?¡± He put the pen down and intertwined his fingers, thinking about it. The seconds ticked by in the tense atmosphere, until he finally sighed. ¡°Fine.¡±


    He flicked his finger up and Lucille stilled as the cool sensation of the System Contract being summoned surrounded her. The floating white book appeared between them, and the Demon Emperor grabbed it. Blue text spooled onto the very last page.


    ¡°Ah, and please add that the Authorizer and all associated identities will not kill Lucille Goldcroft during or after the contract unless she breaches one of the Reality integrity protection measures,¡± she interjected.


    ¡°¡­why are you aware of those?¡± he asked sceptically.


    She blinked. ¡°Do you care enough to listen to my explanation?¡±


    He considered it. ¡°No,¡± he stated curtly. ¡°I take it that was your second condition.¡±


    Lucy shook her head. ¡°No, my second condition isn¡¯t related to the contract.¡±


    The demon in front of her scowled. ¡°Goldcroft¡­¡±


    ¡°Is there a problem? It¡¯s only an extra sentence added using a conjunction.¡± Lucille shrugged. ¡°Besides, I took great care to phrase it so that it would use as few words as possible for your sake. See, ¡®breaches the protection measures¡¯. Isn¡¯t that much better than listing out another fifty terms of when I can be killed?¡±


    He narrowed his ruby-red eyes at her, possibly sensing the mockery hidden in her sentence. He shook his head and shut the contract with a snap of his fingers. ¡°Never mind. Just¡­ don¡¯t bring the contract up once more. This second condition is?¡±


    ¡°Please reward me with a skill after I conquer the Stronghold,¡± Lucy asked brightly. ¡°Experience isn¡¯t valuable enough for me right now, and I don¡¯t have a class. As such, skills are more important to me right now.¡±


    He pinched his nose bridge. ¡°Fine.¡± The Demon Emperor looked up and gave her a flat stare. ¡°Is that all, Goldcroft?¡±


    Lucy clasped her hands together and gave him a low bow. ¡°Thank you for your time, Your Majesty, the one and only Demon Emperor. If you will it, I shall see myself out of your study and return to my lowly position in the Mystical Realm. After meeting with the Tartarus Realm representatives, of course.¡±


    He scowled. ¡°If that is all, Goldcroft, then leave.¡±


    Lucy didn¡¯t say another word and swiftly left his room. She felt quite pleased with herself for managing to reach this point.


    Would you look at that? I¡¯ve finally broken the Demon Emperor¡¯s stubborn streak. I have definitive proof that we no longer need to be involved after the Millennium Chapter. Now I just have to deal with him for¡­


    She counted up the remaining months and rolled her eyes.


    Even if I¡¯ve lived a while, that¡¯s more time than I want to spend with him. Oh well. Maybe if he¡¯s lucky, I won¡¯t annoy him too much during this time. But I still need to get revenge for the way he treated me when we met at the Empire¡¯s Banquet.


    Whistling with her hands behind her back, she found the descension of the steps to be almost enjoyable, even if it took half an hour. But it was when she placed a foot on the very last step¡­


    ¡­that she found herself teleported to the very beginning of the stairs, right at the front doors of the Daemonium Palace. She turned around and stared at the building.


    Was he that irritated by my good mood that he decided to be petty and make me do the walk again?!?!


    ¡­


    Lucille recalled the rendezvous point instructions and took the winding route suggested by the Wordless Observers to access it. Nobody was outside the building, but she slowly pushed the unlocked door open.


    The unusually placid souls of the death race made themselves known to her senses, but she calmly raised her hands in silent surrender when an alien soul brushed up against hers. A blade as cold as ice pressed against her neck.


    ¡°Thy nameth and occupation,¡± the low, cool female voice announced. Her tone commanded respect and attention, while tinged with a strange ancient dialect like the ones the Fae spoke in. It revealed her age and era, when people spoke the same language as the Fae.


    ¡°Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft, the Aurelian Commission Head,¡± Lucy replied politely.


    After a pause, the person retracted their blade. ¡°Maketh thy acquaintance.¡±


    Lucille turned around and got down on one knee. ¡°My Lady, it is my greatest honour to meet with the Ruby Blade Queen herself, who slayed an army of ten thousand in one day. I hold great pride in that a member of the Court visited me themselves.¡±


    ¡°Curious. Usually, someone speaks of mine own heritage before aught else,¡± the vampire replied.


    ¡°Who doesn¡¯t know that you are the granddaughter of the original Blood Patriarch himself?¡± Lucy looked up and smiled. ¡°But the achievements of the individual should be mentioned first when praising them.¡±


    Lucille took in the appearance of the ancient vampire sword master for the first time. With ghostly pale skin marbled by blue veins and sanguine irises studying her expressionlessly, there was no doubt that she was the apex predator of all creatures with blood in their veins. She didn¡¯t breathe nor did her heart beat, no doubt due to her nature as an undead.


    Rouge Ellsinore had a long, raven pixie cut with a singular ruby ornament on a chain hanging from an earlobe. Her lips were painted blood red, and she wore a black tailcoat trimmed with silver embroidery on top of a white ruffle blouse. On her right hip was the sheath of a thin rapier. Her gloved hand rested on the rapier¡¯s pommel. Her body showed not a single sign of life.


    ¡°Hast the master of daemons permitted it?¡± Ellsinore asked.


    Lucy withdrew the permission form and handed it to her. The sword master nodded.


    ¡°I wisheth to maketh haste,¡± the vampire announced. ¡°We shall leaveth anon.¡±


    Lucy didn¡¯t question how the member of the Court was going to take her to a distant Dominion, thousands of kilometres away from the Daemonium Palace Stronghold, but just stood up and brushed herself off.


    Ellsinore raised a single hand and a dome of red mist formed around all of them, a total of six people. Lucille stiffened up as she felt them cross megametres in a mere instant. She looked down to find them all floating above a castle surrounded by a glowing violet moat.


    Lucy paused when she noticed the vampire was staring at her. ¡°My Lady? she asked politely.


    ¡°Our lord is as wise as he is mighty, but the matter of the Blood Patriarch is not his domain,¡± Ellsinore announced loudly. ¡°Cometh, alloweth us duel to seeth if it be true thee has''t the strength did need to conquer this stronghold alongside us, and if it be true this cycleth''s blood patriarch deserves thee by his side.¡±


    ¡­Judging by the wary looks of the other four wraiths, Lucy didn¡¯t think this had been in the script.

 Chapter 85 (2 of 2) The daemonic sin of slothfulness.

    ¡°¡­before we even begin to contemplate this ¡®duel¡¯, I¡¯d like to correct the notion of me being ¡®beside¡¯ Hargrave Einar,¡± Lucille said, backing away from Rouge Ellsinore and taking out the two daggers. ¡°He has followed my requests, for the most part. If you wouldn¡¯t consider me his superior, at least consider me his equal.¡±


    ¡°Ha.¡± The ancient vampire smirked coldly. ¡°Thee claimeth to beest the equal of the Blood Patriarch of this cycle¡­ with the bloodline he holds anon?¡±


    ¡°¡­so that is the reason why you¡¯re interested in Hargrave. I see.¡± Lucy straightened up and pointed Apophis at her. ¡°If you think that I¡¯m supporting him because of that, you¡¯d be very wrong. I¡¯d still support him regardless.¡±


    Ellsinore tilted her head. ¡°I seeth thee speaketh the truth. But we has''t tarried too longeth.  Proveth yourself, or Rivenwyard Cruor shall force his hand.¡± She unsheathed her rapier.


    ¡°¡­Cruor? The first True Vampire?¡± Lucy¡¯s eyes momentarily widened when she realised that the first vampire after the Blood Patriarch was paying Hargrave attention. The only issue was¡­ that she didn¡¯t know if this was something that happened in the former timeline or not.


    At the end of the day¡­ it doesn¡¯t change anything. Ellsinore is speaking as if Cruor wants to protect Hargrave, not kill him. But Hargrave has become too essential to my plans. I can¡¯t let him leave.


    ¡°Will the Stronghold below see our battle?¡± Lucy asked, looking down. They were hovering in the air by the powerful ancient vampire¡¯s abilities.


    Rouge Ellsinore pointed to one of the wraiths. They all crouched down and from the middle of their location outward, a sphere of black formed, pushing past them and encasing them. No sooner than it had spread out, it disappeared from view. Lucy blinked because she couldn¡¯t sense the wall even with her perception field.


    Ellsinore stamped her foot down and a disk of bloody many was spat out below them. Esoteric runes of death mana slowly rotated in rings within the crimson ground.


    ¡°None of the living may seeth past the Underworld Boundary,¡± the vampiress proclaimed. ¡°Attacketh me or I shalt maketh the first move.¡±


    Lucille smiled and gave her an extravagant bow. ¡°Then I hope to meet the Tainted Peony Blademistress¡¯s expectations.¡±


    A golden light pulsed out of Lucy.


    Soul Cypher Orchestrator Of Affray: Set the first stage as the Dominion, with the fall of the demon clan being the goal.


    A golden light pulsed out of Lucy.


    Set the second stage as within the confines of the Underworld Boundary, with surprising the vampire as the goal.


    The light doubled in strength before fading. Lucille stretched out Ouroboros and swung her arm as if to warm up¡­ but then she disappeared in a cloud of wind mana and struck at Ellsinore.


    Ellsinore barely raised a hand, and yet Ouroboros was deflected off of the rapier¡¯s pommel. Lucy attempted a backslash with Apophis but the vampiress leaned back and Lucy lost momentum as she shot past.


    ¡°Thee has¡¯t passable counterattack arts for one who hast wielded blades for little more than the year,¡± Rouge Ellsinore stated indifferently.


    Compared to a bulkier opponent, or even a younger one, Rouge Ellsinore could be considered one of the worst matchups for Lucille. That was because her combat style of focusing on agility and trickery were similar, yet the vampire had more experience.


    She also had more mana, stronger control, and¡­ more soul power. Even if numerically, Lucy may have more, the pure density and concentration of the undead¡¯s soul due to her incomprehensible age meant that the most Lucy could do was possibly break her mental defences for one millisecond, soon to be recovered. When the undead persisted by forcefully maintaining the lifespan of their constantly burning ¡®soul flames¡¯ which attempted to erase them at every moment, their mental strength was impossibly strong.


    ¡°Shall thee continueth with this farce? I knoweth these art not thy weapons'' true visage.¡±


    ¡°As you wish.¡± Lucy leapt back and extended her snake-swords on either side. She swiftly swung Ouroboros at the vampiress and it whistled through the air like a whip, but Ellsinore caught the end of the sword in her hand.


    Ouroboros rippled as a sheen of fiery mana flowed down her length, but by that stage Ellsinore had already flung the white snake-sword back at Lucy. Ouroboros snapped back into her longsword form before it hit her wielder.


    Lucy stilled as Ellsinore spooled into flowing blood mana and reformed over her shoulder, the smell of iron thick. Lucille flipped over and pointed Apophis at her.


    ¡°I seeth. Thee did sacrifice the mana of thy major art to replaceth it with the artificial strength of those gauntlets.¡± Rouge tilted her head. ¡°Thee trusteth thy magical armaments.¡±


    ¡°Are you against my use of items?¡± Lucille pushed mana and spiritual energy into Apophis, thickening his demonic aura of chaos. ¡°If you do, I understand. I didn¡¯t want to rely on them either.¡±


    ¡°Nay. A tool is a tool.¡± Lucy lashed out but Ellsinore appeared in front of her face, bloody eyes boring into her. ¡°But thee''d beest foolish to bethink yond the movement of the mana of the elements can escapeth mine own senses.¡±


    Ouroboros sliced through the midsection of the rapier-wielding sword master but the clone only splattered into blood that sunk into the sanguine platform.


    That confirms what type of ability she¡¯s using right now. Should I agitate her a little?


    Lucy cast her snake swords aside and let them hover around her in a clockwise and counter-clockwise direction, shielding her while she raised her arms above her. Searingly-bright golden light formed between her palms and then spread out to become an all-encompassing mana-circle.


    ¡°Sunlit Undeath Erasure,¡± she announced, eyes narrowed as she smirked. She lowered her wrists and the five helical beams bored into the blood mana platform they were standing on.


    The wraiths frowned a little when the light mana touched them, but the beams punched a hole into the centre of the platform where Ellsinore stood. She didn¡¯t move.


    The light mana scattered and Lucille took back Apophis and Ouroboros, both turning back into swords. She waited silently for the ancient vampire¡¯s response.


    ¡°Doth thee taketh me for a fool?¡± Rouge Ellsinore murmured in an icy voice, barely above a whisper. Her bloody orbs widened in frigid wrath and she appeared before Lucy to grab her neck and raise her.


    ¡°Thee attempted to useth a purification ritual on me, an ancientest of blood-drinkers, of life-devourers?¡± Face still frozen in icy anger, Rouge Ellsinore¡¯s glove disappeared and she bit down on her index finger. Blood welled from the puncture wounds of her fangs and then with one long, black-painted nail, she scored a line along Lucille¡¯s cheekbone.


    The vampire¡¯s blood seeped into Lucy¡¯s bloodstream and her body locked up as the blood fought for control.


    ¡°Beest thankful, mortal, yond upon mine own death I nay longer can maketh thee mine own thrall.  But as a Blood Lord, I holdeth more power than mine own living brethren.¡± Rouge Ellsinore slowly tilted her head, expressionless. ¡°And when mine blood reaches thine heart¡­¡±


    Something caused the vampire¡¯s words to trail off and she frowned slightly. Lucille was expecting that and she let her soul power out with full force.


    Rouge Ellsinore stared at her. ¡°You-¡± She paused as the bloody platform below them rumbled. It slowly split into two floating platforms, a smaller one for Lucy, and a larger one for Ellsinore and the other wraiths. As the seconds passed, mana from the other platform was slowly pulled away and merged into Lucille¡¯s.


    The time she spent converting her own mana and gradually replacing the blood mana of the vampire¡¯s domain wasn¡¯t wasted, as her Essential Transmutation Conduit had acted to maintain partial control of the ability. This wouldn¡¯t have worked if the vampire¡¯s skill was anything other than a mana-based spell.


    ¡°We appear to be at an impasse,¡± Lucy announced, smirking as she raised her hands. ¡°With the inability of an undead to regenerate the elements of living mana, you¡¯ve spent a large amount of time gaining your precious blood mana, haven¡¯t you?¡± She placed her hands on her hips and leaned forward with a knowing grin. ¡°But if this continues, your precious blood mana will become fully converted to other elements, and do you really want that?¡±


    Rouge Ellsinore frowned and looked down. ¡°Doth thee bethink this is more than a mere speck of mine own mana?¡±


    ¡°No. The amount of mana you¡¯re using may not even be a thousandth of your mana pool.¡± Lucille shook her head and shrugged. ¡°But are you really willing to permanently waste your blood mana on what amounts to barely a petty spar, at the end of the day? A the very least, it won¡¯t leave a good taste in your mouth. This is a few centuries of effort wasted.¡±


    The vampire crossed her arms, but after a moment of consideration, she huffed and sheathed her rapier. ¡°I doth concede.¡± She narrowed her eyes at Lucy. ¡°Do not bethink this thy victory.¡±


    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    ¡°I would never.¡± Lucy smiled. ¡°I¡¯m far better at making the consequences of fighting me greater than the benefits of defeating me. As such, I¡¯d appreciate it if you judged my merit based on my mental talents and wit rather than physical capabilities.¡±


    Rouge Ellsinore became solemn. ¡°Thee can¡¯t avoideth all battles in such a fashion. If thee kneweth what lay above¡­¡±


    ¡°I do know,¡± Lucille interrupted. She placed two hands on the pommels of the weapons she had now sheathed. ¡°And that is why I¡¯m using these two.¡±


    Rouge clicked her tongue and waved a gloved hand at her. ¡°Restore me mine own domain, and we shalt leaveth it here.¡± She glanced at Lucy. ¡°But thy blood is¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you curious?¡± Lucille tilted her head and put a hand on her cheek. Her white gloves came away fresh with blood. ¡°If you want to, I could give you some of my spilt blood. But I seem to recall that undead vampires can¡¯t strengthen themselves with the blood of different people.¡±


    Rouge Ellsinore went silent. ¡°Art thee alone?¡±


    Lucy blinked and then nodded. ¡°You won¡¯t find anyone else remotely similar to me.¡±


    ¡°Then I shall refuse.¡± The ancient vampire glanced at a wraith and they wordlessly nodded. The four raised their hands and the spherical wall of the Underworld Boundary appeared, before shrinking back down and disappearing.


    The mana forming Lucille¡¯s platform scattered when she relinquished control of it, and it converted to arcane mana that refilled her internal mana pool. She didn¡¯t fall, still held in the air by the Blood Lord¡¯s power, above the Demon Stronghold.


    ¡°T¡¯is timeth for us to beginneth our mission,¡± Rouge announced. ¡°We shall striketh from within the centre of their mighty fortress.¡±


    ¡°Before we start¡­¡± Lucy pointed to her unusually slow-healing cheek when the wraiths and vampiress glanced at her. ¡°Can you do something about the traces of your blood mana still in my body? I have enough trust in your loyalty to Lu- I mean, the Death Monarch that I don¡¯t believe you¡¯d take over my body in the middle of the night, but I¡¯d prefer for the possibility to be removed.¡±


    Ellsinore glanced at her, and the beginnings of a smirk tugged at her lips as she looked away. ¡°Treateth it as quid pro quo for thy daringness in stealing the mana of an ancient Blood Lord. If it be true thee beest as close to this Blood Patriarch as thee claimeth, he shalt aid you.¡±


    ¡°I see. Helpful,¡± Lucy replied dryly.


    Rouge Ellsinore shook her head wryly. ¡°T¡¯is not without reasoneth I doth this. The traces of mine own mana shall beest mine own gift to the young Blood Patriarch. As is this, on behalf of another.¡±


    She threw Lucille a fist-sized object, and when Lucy caught it, she realised in her hand was a heavy ruby locket with a thick silver chain. It smelt of dry blood and didn¡¯t have the vitality of an item with living blood mana inside it, which she thought they¡¯d give Hargrave, if they gave anything.


    ¡°I¡¯ll hand it to him, but I¡¯m not sure it¡¯s really his style,¡± Lucy remarked, holding it up to study it. ¡°Perhaps some cufflinks or something less ostentatious would be better, for future reference.¡±


    The undead vampire was not amused. ¡°T¡¯is a conduit to mine predecessor. T¡¯is not a mere ornament.¡± She turned back to the castle below. ¡°Silence, now. We shalt descend.¡±


    They began to move down as Lucy considered the words of the female vampire, putting the locket away and taking out another black object.


    A conduit¡­ some sort of communication device for Hargrave. This test was likely all on Rivenwyard Cruor¡¯s orders, her ¡®predecessor¡¯ and father. He may be trying to see if Hargrave is willing to learn from him instead of following me.


    She sighed and put on Jinx¡¯s mask, dark mana leeching out of it and coiling around her to cloak her in the outfit of the disguise.


    He¡¯s loyal to Lucius though, so I doubt he wants to ruin my plans. He probably¡­ feels a slight sense of responsibility towards Hargrave. Maybe to protect him against his conceited and ambitious descendants.


    Rouge Ellsinore snapped her fingers and they all found themselves in the centre of the Stronghold. Demons let out cries of alarm when she pointed up and a dome of scarlet mana burst from her fingertips, sealing the city¡¯s entire population within its borders.


    ¡°Intruders! Identify yourselves!¡± a demon guard snarled, his aura growing intense, uncontrollable and filled with bloodlust.


    ¡°Why, us?¡± Lucille asked with a blithe voice. ¡°Oh deary me, you seem to be a little na?ve! Let me help you open your eyes.¡±


    She spun around and gestured to the wraiths within their thick death mana, pulling out chain-scythes and other rare weapons in preparation for the battle. ¡°If the ambassadors of Death have appeared before us, what else shall they do but herald Death!¡±


    She laughed and stepped back with her arms spread out. ¡°Come one, come all, and enjoy this night of crimson beneath bloody skies!¡±


    ¡­


    The wraiths acted quickly, only killing the demons on their hit list. As members of the oldest intelligence organisation in the Tower, they had no need to waste time killing every demon in the Stronghold. By not being ruthless, it would draw attention to the fact that it wasn¡¯t another demon clan who destroyed the clan, but wraiths didn¡¯t need to worry about attention. They had the backing of one of, if not the most ancient existence in the Tower and have never fought a losing battle once.


    The stronger demons recognised Rouge Ellsinore as the more important individual they needed to defeat first, to unseal the Stronghold and call for reinforcements from allies, but all of their attacks shattered uselessly against her body and the blood mana dome. As time went by, the exclusiveness of the wraiths¡¯ attacks could be seen, and bystander demons avoided helping the demons of the targeted clan. Nobody wanted to get on the bad side of actual wraiths, after all. Especially not ones wearing the 1<sup>st</sup> Sector Vigil badges.


    Meanwhile, Lucy was playing up the maniacal wild card, making eye-catching moves in front of the largest concentrations of people but not actually doing anything substantial. It was harder for a group like the Malediction Society to attach motive and pattern to her actions if she acted insane. Showing that she had connections to wraiths from Tartarus also prevented her from seeming like an easy target, because the Malediction Society was bound to want to eradicate an unpredictable enemy.


    Lucille strutted along the top of a wall, casually dodging the long-range attacks of the demon clan¡¯s guards. She whistled as she hopped down and the tower her attackers were at exploded from the force of a wraith¡¯s attack.


    Apophis was angrily buzzing in his sheath, eager to join in on the fun. But she couldn¡¯t be caught wielding such a noticeable weapon as ¡®Jinx¡¯.


    Is there something more I can do? What if I use my watch for the first time?


    She ducked under a doorway and spread her perception to make sure nobody was coming her way. Then, Lucy pushed mana into her pocket watch, watching the topaz arrow slowly spin.


    Show me where the treasure vault is.


    The topaz embedded in the arrow glowed gold and the arrow swung around to point in the right direction. A translucent replica formed above it to even point at the angle where it could be found. The arrow pointed towards the central tower.


    With the guards distracted and the core members of the Demon Count¡¯s family attempting to use a hidden tunnel to escape, Lucy was free to raid the Stronghold¡¯s vault. She swiftly took paths and hidden passageways she spotted in her perception until she found herself in front of a pair of black metal doors, an ominous demonic seal burned into its surface.


    Translating this¡­ well, that¡¯s boring. It only requires mana at certain key points. Any decent demonologist of the other races could open this with their mana.


    With a quick succession of taps, the vault opened up. She glanced indifferently at the piles of weak natural treasures and items, all useless to her.


    These would be valuable to demons who need the mana to strengthen their lineages, but not me. I should only take the items I can¡¯t get anywhere else.


    At the back of the room was where the useful objects were. Demonic materials, parts of demon beasts, several demonic weapons-


    I recall hearing that a demonic weapon can be strengthened by consuming other demonic weapons. I promised Hargrave to find ways of unsealing his demonic Origin weapon¡¯s strength, and it¡¯s far past the time when he should¡¯ve upgraded it to Ancient.


    With a bit of telekinesis, they were all sucked into her dimensional bag. She looked around and took out a few plain sacks to fill with weak items, planning on using them for something else. Lucille stopped when she noticed the red crystal hovering above a pedestal in the centre of the room.


    That is¡­ the Stronghold Crystal. Ordinarily, if a non-demon touched it, they¡¯d receive an award for conquering the Stronghold, and complete a Realm Quest. The Demon Lord would receive the penalty of decreased Auctoritas, while the non-demons would get teleported outside of the city so the Demon Lord couldn¡¯t attack them.


    She placed a hand on the crystal and rolled her eyes when nothing happened.


    Go figure. But I¡¯m taking this with me.


    She picked up the head-sized crystal and tucked it under one arm, walking out while dragging the sacks of items behind her. She made it to the castle¡¯s parapet overlooking the Stronghold¡¯s city square, and magnified her voice with a spell while calling out, ¡°Hello, one and all! Demonesses and Demons, I bring wonderful gifts!¡±


    The people below looked out, and she placed the crystal down to pick up a sack and pour the contents over the wall. The demons cried out when they realised the items had mana and hastily scrambled to collect them. Fights and brawls began to break out when the last sack was emptied.


    ¡°This is a reward for being such a wonderful audience of our night of death and blood!¡± Lucy shouted, her voice disguised by her mask. ¡°A grand spectacle it has been, has it not?¡±


    She looked down and placed her hands on her hips when she noticed them all ignoring her and still bickering over the magical objects. Lucille clicked her tongue and raised the red crystal high. ¡°Up here!¡±


    One demon noticed and audibly gasped while pointing at it. ¡°That¡¯s-!¡±


    ¡°How is she holding it?¡± another murmured.


    ¡°Did you all think that was the last of it?¡± Lucy announced cheerily, tucking the crystal back under her arm. ¡°This is the grand prize for whoever completes one teensy little task for me, with no additional cost!¡±


    ¡°What task?!¡± one called out.


    ¡°Yeah, what do we need to do?¡± another shouted.


    Lucille raised a finger in front of the expectant gazes. ¡°Whoever brings the Count of this Stronghold ¨C alive, mind you ¨C in front of the wraiths, will receive the Stronghold Crystal and consequently the entirety of this Stronghold!¡±


    Excited whispers rustled around but someone else yelled back, ¡°What if the death race finds the Count first?¡±


    Lucy pondered it with a finger on her chin, and then nonchalantly shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll settle for the next highest ranked. Countess or heir, I don¡¯t care which. But time¡¯s a-ticking! Hurry hurry, or the person next to you might be your new lord!¡±


    The demons glanced at each other, and then the crowd dispersed as they sped off in different directions. Rouge Ellsinore high above gave her an approving nod, and Lucy swung her legs over the parapet to watch the show play out below. She let out a slight sigh, eager for when Scytale would arrive to complete the next three Stages with her afterwards.


    ¡­


    In the Count¡¯s throne room, Rouge Ellsinore sat on the throne, the four wraiths lined up on either side. Lucille stood next to the vampire, acting the part of the subservient tag-a-long.


    A demon with long black hair and crimson eyes marched in with an arrogant smirk. He threw the dishevelled Demon Count at Rouge¡¯s feet. ¡°I have found the Count. I request the Stronghold Crystal.¡±


    Ellsinore nodded to Lucy and she bowed, before throwing the crystal at the demon. ¡°The vault where it sits is upstairs. You better hurry, or else someone may try to kill you before you can claim ownership of the Stronghold,¡± she warned.


    The arrogant smirk on his face slipped a little and he hurried off. Absorbing the Auctoritas of a Stronghold wasn¡¯t as easy a task as she made it sound near the city square.


    With a gesture from Ellsinore, a wraith walked forward to place a hand on the Count¡¯s forehead. An ebony rose tattoo bloomed out and the eyes rolled up into his head. He collapsed and his body shimmered with red, before disappearing, leaving only his luxurious clothes behind.


    ¡°Go forth,¡± Rouge Ellsinore ordered. Two wraiths nodded and disappeared from the throne room, searching out the members of the Demon County who had been marked with the Black Soul brand. They would repeatedly hunt them down until they degenerated into mindless demon beasts, and if any regained sapience and tried to join the Malediction Society again, the cycle would repeat, for their very souls had been marked for death.


    Rouge Ellsinore had sealed the room from anyone else entering and turned to Lucy. ¡°Thee may removeth thy disguise.¡±


    The Jinx mask was taken off, along with the black outfit of the identity, and stored away. Lucille bowed to the ancient vampire. ¡°That will be all then, I take it? You also said you¡¯d send me back to another Stronghold so I could meet up with my bond.¡±


    ¡°I didst.¡± Ellsinore nodded. ¡°Cometh with me to the Stronghold centre and I shalt taketh thee.¡±


    Lucy calmly followed the vampire out of the Stronghold, most of the demons in the Stronghold having left to spread the news of the clan¡¯s destruction. Rouge Ellsinore turned around and placed a hand on Lucille¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Thee hast been invaluable. I shalt seeth to it that Cruor learns of thy worth, even-¡±


    An overwhelming, soul-grating presence washed over them and forced them to the ground. Lucille groaned and stood up, noting with some confusion that the vampiress wasn¡¯t able to get up under the pressure.


    Why am I less affect-


    The Stronghold thundered and a tall demon with pitch-black hair and scarlet red royal clothes appeared in front of Lucille and Rouge. If the vampire wasn¡¯t already undead, Lucy would¡¯ve thought she¡¯d turn even paler.


    Lucille stared at the figure before them. ¡°Wha- Your Majesty-¡±


    The brief touch of a firm grip on her shoulder, and the world was spinning until she found herself in an entirely new place. A warm fire crackled in a fireplace, and luxurious carpets covered the floor. She froze on the spot when she noticed the demon who looked like a man in his late 40s, with salt-and-pepper, combed black hair and beard, and fiery eyes lit up with seven flaming embers in each.


    ¡°You explain it,¡± the Demon Emperor stated shortly. He turned around and Lucy rushed over to him.


    ¡°Wait- wait- wait- Your Majesty!¡±


    He glanced back with a frown just before he opened the dark oak door to leave, and Lucille let out a groan.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re forgetting one thing, Your Majesty?¡± she asked weakly.


    He considered it with a slight tilt of his head. ¡°Ah.¡± Through the vision of her Shard of Totality, she saw the small nebulous formation of Influence coalesce above his fingertip and then shoot into her chest when he pointed at her. ¡°That should satisfy you now.¡±


    [Gained Secondary Skill: Reward]


    He didn¡¯t even bother to name it properly. At least it¡¯s Epic- wait, no! I wanted him to explain why I¡¯m here!


    It was too late. The infuriating demon had already disappeared. Lucy placed her hands on her head, pulled at her hair and let out a quiet hiss of frustration, staring off into space.


    A slight cough sounded out behind her and she whirled around with a bright smile on her face. She got down on one knee and bowed deeply before the demon standing by the stained glass window, saluting him with one hand on her chest.


    ¡°It is my greatest honour and a gift beyond gifts to be in the presence of you, Your Grace, the patriarch of the most powerful Demon Duchy in the Demon Realm. Common pleasantries dictate I¡¯m supposed to ask to what do I owe the pleasure of being called here, but due to the circumstances of my arrival, I shall refrain from that.¡± She looked up at him and smiled, her eyes narrowed and gently curved like crescent moons. ¡°But I would at least like to say well met, Your Grace. I am Count Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft, the Head of the Aurelian Commission.¡±


    ¡°¡­I see. Well met indeed, Count Goldcroft.¡±


    If he wasn¡¯t already a demon, Lucille would¡¯ve dearly loved to ask the Demon Emperor what possessed him to dump her directly in front of Reighdorlan Decarabria Nefas Infernalis, the Infernal Demon Duke, ruler of the second largest Dominion after the Demon Emperor¡­


    ¡­and the superior of the vassal Demon County she had just destroyed with the aid of only four wraiths from Tartarus and an ancient undead Blood Lord.

 Chapter 86 (1 of 2) She In Her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance.

    A man in his late twenties clicked his tongue when reading the page before him. He put the page down and looked at the door of the room.


    ¡°When is Lucille returning?¡± Vincent murmured. He flinched when the door creaked open.


    ¡°Hey, Vincent!¡± a humanoid snake said, poking his head around the doorway.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you, Scytale.¡± Vincent sighed and picked a pen up. ¡°Is it important? If it isn¡¯t, I¡¯d like to finish this lot of work first.¡±


    ¡°Well.. kinda, kinda not.¡±


    Vincent rubbed his neck and rolled his eyes. ¡°Never mind. Just tell me.¡±


    ¡°I wanted to say I¡¯d be meeting up with Lucy if you need to know why we could be out longer than normal,¡± Scytale said, raising a hand.


    ¡°Oh¡­ I suppose that makes sense.¡± Vincent nodded as Scytale ducked back out of the room. Then Vincent blinked. ¡°But wait, Scytale! Where are you going?¡±


    Scytale poked his head back in. ¡°The Demon Realm!¡± Before Vincent could reply, he raised a finger. ¡°To complete our next three Stages!¡± The amphiptere ran off.


    Vincent slumped as he let out a sigh, sitting in the armchair. ¡°That scared me for a moment.¡± He went silent and then frowned as a thought occurred to him. ¡°Didn¡¯t Lucille have her escapade around this time last year?¡±


    He looked up, narrowed his eyes at the door, and then saw his remaining work. Vincent groaned. ¡°I think I¡¯ll finish this and ask Marellen what ¡®Paragon Anomalies¡¯ are¡­¡±


    <hr>


    Lucille stirred the cup of glowing orange liquid with a spoon and sipped it, closing her eyes. ¡°This tea is quite a delicacy. Demonic Firemane, did you say?¡±


    ¡°Yes, a specialty from one of the Marches under the Infernal Duchy¡¯s rule.¡± Duke Reighdorlan Nefas Infernalis walked over and sat opposite her with his arms crossed. ¡°But I believe it would be time for you to explain what connection you have with the newly destroyed County,¡± he stated solemnly. The seven flames within his irises, each representing one of the Flames of Sin of his clan, burned viciously.


    She placed the cup down and bowed deeply in her chair. ¡°I was only the middleman between His Majesty and the representatives of the House of Wordless Observers. I relayed their words to him and he gave them written permission to freely enter and exit any Dominion of this Realm during the period of the mission.¡±


    ¡°The House¡­¡± The Infernal Duke scratched his beard. ¡°What have they done to provoke them?¡±


    ¡°Support the Malediction Society, Your Grace,¡± Lucy replied respectfully. ¡°As I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware, it is the ongoing goal of the Court and the House to eradicate Heretic items.¡±


    ¡°But why have they involved themselves with the Demon Realm now?¡± The Duke said, leaning forward.


    Lucy dipped her head and placed a hand on her chest. ¡°Because I reached out to them, Your Grace. They wish to use my ties to His Majesty.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ which brings me to my next question.¡± The Infernal Duke stood up and flicked his wrist.


    Lucille flew out of her chair and was pinned against the back wall. She stayed still as the powerful demon approached. One pair of the flames in his eyes grew brighter than the others until the ominous deep purple flames flickered in both of his irises.


    ¡°Who are you, that I should believe your words without proof?¡± The purple Flames of Luxuria flickered around his body, one of the seven Flames of Sin. The flames, capable of ordering someone to do anything when used, licked at her skin when he placed a hand on her neck. ¡°Tell me the truth: why should I value what you say?¡±


    Instead of reacting as he expected, Lucille smiled and rebuffed the demonic ability with her spiritual energy. She dropped to the ground and stood up while brushing herself off. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be too hasty to pressure someone, Your Grace. You might make a mistake if you¡¯re not careful.¡±


    He narrowed his eyes at her, the seven flames returning only to switch to the vivid red Flames of Ira. ¡°Oh?¡±


    The power of Wrath burned around him until Lucy held up her left hand to show him the glowing demonic pact. ¡°I¡¯m the only contractor of the Demon Emperor,¡± she stated nonchalantly. ¡°That¡¯s also why he decided to dump me in your study.¡±


    He stared at the sigil and then at her. ¡°When¡­¡±


    ¡°Did the Abyssal Duchess not tell you about me?¡± Lucy asked, raising an eyebrow as she pulled her glove back on.


    Duke Nefas Infernalis scoffed and walked over to a window. ¡°That ancient witch wouldn¡¯t give me the time of day if it benefited me in the slightest.¡± He glanced back at her and frowned. ¡°I suppose you have no reason to lie if you¡¯re his contractor¡­ not that I¡¯d be able to force the truth out of you with the powers His Majesty has bestowed on you¡­¡±


    ¡°The contract didn¡¯t give me any powers. My immunity to your abilities was an effect of my soulbound weapons,¡± Lucille told him while checking her pocket watch.


    ¡°Hm¡­¡± He tilted his head. ¡°And why would you reveal this to me?¡±


    Lucy smirked and gave him a bow. ¡°Why, as we are both fellow subordinates of His Majesty, we should have a relationship of understanding between us. Besides¡­¡± She got on one knee and saluted him while grinning. ¡°A humble, lowly mortal Count such as I wouldn¡¯t dare to play tricks on the mighty Infernal Duke. That would be inconceivably disrespectful!¡±


    The dark-haired demon chuckled and held out a gloved hand to her, politely pulling her back up. ¡°I¡¯m beginning to find myself liking you, Lucille Goldcroft. What a shame that there isn¡¯t much opportunity for us to meet like this.¡±


    ¡°Opportunity? I see¡­¡± Lucille glanced at the door and then shot him a wry look. ¡°There happened to be a deal I wanted to suggest to the Abyssal Duchess, considering that the contract with His Majesty included a condition that the Demon Duchies wouldn¡¯t interfere with the Commission¡¯s deals in the Demon Realm.¡± She spread her hands wide. ¡°But with the Demon Duke of the largest Ducal clan in the Demon Realm right in front of me, how dare I consider going to another Demon Duchy?¡±


    ¡°Curious.¡± The Infernal Duke smirked. ¡°So then, what grand proposition did you plan on making to dear Lilith?¡±


    Lucy¡¯s smile widened and she dipped her head. ¡°Well, there have been some ongoing plans to turn the Black County¡¯s black market dimensions into a space where the races are equal and freer amongst each other while in secrecy. This would, of course, eventually require the backing of a powerful demon clan¡­¡±


    ¡­


    [Secondary Skill: Reward | Type: Demonic/Lexicon                               ]


    Rarity: Ancient


    Desc: Not many are brave enough to request a reward from the Demon Emperor himself. Nor do many have the sheer audacity to do so. Most consider surviving a meeting with him their reward. You¡¯re a living miracle, in more ways than one.


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    Kudos to you for finally getting A########### to do something for a change, I guess.


    Abilities:


    Polyhistor of Daemons ¨C A genius scholar of the Great Beings.


    <ul>


    <li>Due to the User¡¯s expertise in a multitude of areas regarding the Great Beings, this has amplified the skill to grant them the ability to understand Ancient Daemon traces and sigils.</li>


    </ul>


    Demonologist of the P?????????????????????????r?????????????????????????1??????????????m?????????????????0??????????????G?????????????????????????3?????????????????N???????????????????????1???????????????+????????????????????????r??????????? - Sorry. Can¡¯t let you see that.


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the User the ability to use memorised characters of the demonic script to cast demonic spells. User cannot verbally speak demonic spells but may use other mediums.</li>


    <li>User may further their capabilities as their comprehension of demonic script grows.</li>


    </ul>


    [                                                                                                                                                                                        ]


    It occurred with my Origin Skill too, but that¡­ ¡®entity¡¯ is definitely communicating to me through skills and such. I thought they were supposed to remain impartial?


    Not that they seemed very impartial when it came to their Authorizer. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have had to deal with such an unfair contract in the first place.


    Did they remove that title because it¡¯s related to the Demon Emperor? But they mentioned Ancient Daemons in the line above just fine. Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s more than just the enemy of Primarchs like all Ancient Daemons-


    ¡°Heeeeey! Luuuuucy! Over heeeeeere!¡±


    She sighed and turned around to face her obnoxious bond, pushing through the crowd to get to her. He let out a groan when he arrived.


    ¡°How unfair is it that as soon as I arrive, I get told to teleport to another Stronghold entirely?¡± Scytale complained, panting with his hands on his knees. ¡°What the hell happened for you to be in the capital city of the Infernal Duchy?¡±


    ¡°Demon Emperor. That¡¯s what happened.¡± Lucille looked behind them and then grabbed her bond¡¯s wrist to take him over to the Obelisk they were nearby. ¡°You have the teleports to spare, anyway.¡±


    They stepped through the black archway and found themselves in the Obelisk cube, hovering above the Stronghold.


    [Do you want to continue the Stages in Team Mode or Solo Mode?]


    [Team Mode/Solo Mode]


    Scytale hit [Team Mode] without bothering to talk to her. ¡°Time to get this thing rolling! I want to see what¡¯s on the other side of that tunnel!¡±


    Lucy raised an eyebrow. ¡°I would¡¯ve thought you had forgotten about that.¡±


    He squinted at her. ¡°I¡¯m not that scatterbrained.¡±


    She shrugged as they were teleported into the System limbo and the Stage selection list came up.


    [Welcome to the S.T.A.G.E.S!]


    Available S.T.A.G.E.S (Demon Realm):


    Completion Rate: 0%


    Stage 11: The Escape from Cressilin Stronghold (COMPLETED)


    Stage 12: Blackbrook Woods (COMPLETED)


    Stage 13: Haven of the Heathen (COMPLETED)


    Stage 14: Ancient Daemon Seal (UNLOCKED)


    Stage 15: LOCKED


    Stage 16: LOCKED


    Stage 17: LOCKED


    Stage 18: LOCKED


    Stage 19: LOCKED


    Stage 20: LOCKED


    [Please complete Stage 14 to proceed to the next stage.]


    Lucy¡¯s gaze went flat as she saw the name of the next stage. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll like where this is going,¡± she stated flatly.


    ¡°What¡¯s the problem? You¡¯ve had tooons of experience with ye olde abominations like these.¡± Scytale put his hands behind his head. ¡°True, we never interacted with the demon kind specifically, what with their role as being enemies of Primarchs and avoiding the poor mortals and whatnot, but we¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    She sighed and spun around to put her hands on his shoulders. ¡°Scytale. What Rank were we last time we met an incarnation of a Great Being?¡±


    ¡°What kind of question is that? We were Rank¡­. 7¡­¡± His words trailed off and he began to look slightly sheepish as their reality dawned on him. Then he shook his head. ¡°Nah, we¡¯re still good. Even after the Cosmic Realm, the Demon Realm never had to deal with them. The System has been protecting us from all the big tough guys from day one.¡±


    ¡°And what time period do you think your Beast Realm Stages were set in?¡± she said in a deadpan voice.


    ¡°Obviously that¡¯s-¡±


    ¡°Before the Tower assimilation. So, with all the Stages presumably being the same, there is no unidentifiable force of extraterrestrial origins to save the day and protect our souls from becoming Ancient Daemon sacrificial food.¡± Lucy turned back to the list, looking pensive.


    Scytale screwed up his nose while thinking. ¡°Do Ancient Daemons¡­ use souls as food?¡±


    Lucille shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. As you said, we¡¯ve never really interacted with them. The chaotic forces of nature they are, they just spontaneously arrived whenever an incarnation was around and began fighting them. Nobody knows if you can communicate with them in the first place.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but¡­¡± Scytale leaned his elbow on Lucy¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell me that the big bad Demon Emperor is an Ancient Daemon? You can obviously speak to him.¡±


    ¡°Like I said, I just don¡¯t know,¡± Lucille replied with a sigh. ¡°I thought he might¡¯ve been, but when he brought it up in one of our meetings he got angry, and then my new skill is weird¡­¡± She shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ll do some research on Ancient Daemons once we leave here if it¡¯s relevant to me and my contract with the Demon Emperor. It might be a little easier now that I¡¯ve made that agreement with the Infernal Duke¡­¡±


    ¡°Sure, but¡­¡± Scytale tapped on Stage 14. ¡°Let¡¯s get this show on the road!¡±


    ¡­


    [S.T.A.G.E.S | Stage 14: Ancient Daemon Seal]


    You have found the first of many clues to locating your objective. But what you do not know is that your journey is far from over. For what you seek has been sealed away¡­ for the protection of the world above. Are you prepared to face the consequences of your thirst for knowledge?


    You may forever abandon hope of returning to your home realm if you continue.


    [Collapse]


    Main Quest (Rank-2: Demon Realm) Overall Objective:


    <ul>


    <li>Last two weeks while being pursued by forces so that the stolen treasure you carry can be placed on the summoning ritual along with yourselves.</li>


    </ul>


    Sub-Objectives ¨C Stage 11:


    Compulsory:


    <ul>


    <li>Locate the ruins.</li>


    </ul>


    Optional:


    <ul>


    <li>Document the timeline.</li>


    <li>Determine the true identity of the Ancient Daemon.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    [Completion Rate: 30%]


    ¡°Oh great, it¡¯s not even being subtle anymore. There is an Ancient Daemon down here,¡± Lucy stated dryly.


    ¡°What in the realms is a ¡®Regolith¡¯?¡± Scytale asked.


    ¡°A layer above the bedrock.¡± She glanced at her bond. ¡°This is relevant to us because?¡±


    ¡°I have to¡­ analyse the composition of the regolith?¡± he read with confusion.


    Scytale looked at her, and Lucille sighed. ¡°It seems I¡¯ll be doing the analysing. Remember that our identities in the Stages are researchers, so we get a lot of tasks like this.¡±


    ¡°What possessed the System to think that I would make a good researcher?¡± Scytale asked with incredulity.


    ¡°But we suspected that the System made changes to our Stages because of me this time around, didn¡¯t we?¡± Lucy walked forward, into the doorway under the eight demonic signs. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get a move on.¡±


    The tunnel was surrounded by walls of glassy black stone, as if a river had flowed down for thousands of years, carving out a path. It was clear by the chiselled steps they were walking down that it wasn¡¯t wholly natural, however. Or could it be considered natural when Ancient Daemons were almost part of the realm itself?


    It soon got too dark for them to see much without getting annoyed, so Lucille summoned a small orb of light to hover above her finger. As they descended, she traced her fingers along an interesting pattern of repeating characters that appeared the entire way down the tunnel.


    ¡°So¡­ who made this kind of place?¡± Scytale wondered aloud, clearly expecting an answer of some kind from her.


    ¡°How should I know? I¡¯m not a demon,¡± Lucy retorted.


    ¡°Ugh, why has your seemingly endless knowledge begun to fail us only now!¡± he complained, stomping loudly down the stairs. ¡°Do you not know anything about this place? Really? Not even a guess?¡±


    ¡°Look, Scytale.¡± Lucille sighed and increased the glow of the light to see further. ¡°I¡¯ve spent much less time in the Demon Realm compared to the other realms. I snuck into the Daemonium Palace¡¯s Crypt during my first long-term stay, and that was mostly to understand the demonic language better.¡±


    She paused for a moment when the edge of a step crumbled slightly and then continued moving. ¡°That was before I began to explore the older places of the Cosmic Realm. Eventually, I found out more about the current Demon Emperor and¡­ internally swore off investigating more about him.¡± Lucy frowned. ¡°It didn¡¯t help me to do that. I would¡¯ve researched about them if I knew he was the Authorizer.¡±


    Scytale crossed his arms. ¡°Okay, but¡­ if you were to guess, who made these?¡±


    ¡°My guess is that they come with the Ancient Daemon.¡± Lucy landed on the last step and stopped to investigate a demonic rune engraved on a slightly different wall. ¡°Like Primarchs. The ¡®ruins¡¯ it wants us to investigate bear characteristics similar to the places the demon frequented in their lower race life before becoming an Ancient Daemon.¡±


    [Sub-Objective complete: Locate the Ruins]


    [Completion Rate +2%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 32%]


    Scytale stumbled. ¡°Wait, demons can become Ancient Daemons?¡±


    She turned around. ¡°You didn¡¯t know that? Well, it¡¯s only demons at the same power level as the Demon Dukes who also manage to obtain-¡±


    Something caught Lucille¡¯s eye and she went over to a wall just before a wide opening. Scytale raised an eyebrow and followed her in, to where a large life-sized statue sat in the middle of the room. Rings of uncanny demonic script, eerily different yet with some similarities to the normal script, were engraved into the floor around the statue¡¯s base.


    Scytale whistled when he saw the statue. ¡°Someone had a type when they carved her out. Wait, you said it came with the Ancient Daemon. Does that mean this is the ideal type of the Ancient Daemon? I can appreciate their taste.¡±


    Lucy looked over her shoulder to give her bond a flat look and then observed the statue. The curvy woman was cloaked in only a single sheet that wrapped around her and covered her head. Her hair fell to her feet, and her wrists and ankles were adorned with antiquated bracelets. Demonic script wrapped around her skin and dipped down from her neck to her chest and over her breasts. It probably covered her whole body.


    Lucy walked over and crouched to read the inscription at the base of the statue. ¡°When translated, this can roughly read as ¡®She In Her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance¡¯. Not very descriptive, but then again, not many Ancient Daemon titles are.¡±


    Scytale looked around. He scratched his head. ¡°Where¡¯s the notification for having found her true name, if this is the Ancient Daemon?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just the title she received upon becoming an Ancient Daemon.¡± Lucille stood up and looked around, then walked over to a wall with engraved imagery. It looked like the panorama spanned the entirety of the circular room¡¯s walls. ¡°We need to work out what her actual name could¡¯ve been.¡±


    ¡°Not True Name, I hope,¡± Scytale asked suspiciously.


    ¡°No, just her common name.¡± Lucy traced the fire pattern the young demoness was casting with her hands and compared it to the picture of the flames on the signboard of the palace in the background. ¡°It looks like she was an Infernal Demon. She¡¯s using the Flames of Ira, so she came from a family branch that specialised in the Wrath abilities.¡±


    Scytale looked at the woman and nodded. ¡°Her title says she wears scarlet, so¡­ yep, I can see that. She also ¡®Blesses with Vengeance¡¯. I can¡¯t see that being the ability of the Luxuria branch. They¡¯re too interested in seducing poor plebs.¡±


    ¡°Nefas Infernalis as the last name, an Ira derivative for her middle name,¡± Lucy mused, walking over to the next scene where the demoness was burning an entire army. ¡°There are three possible middle names for female demons that were Ira derivatives. But first name¡­¡±


    The last scene had her ascension to Ancient Daemon. A strange orb was held in her hands, and the scene depicted her stuck in a mid-way point between the form of the Ancient Dameon statue and her original body. Lucille tilted her head when she noticed there were minuscule characters engraved across the forehead of the reflection of the demoness in the orb.


    ¡°Hellawes Irada Nefas Infernalis. Hellawes Iradian Nefas Infernalis,¡± Lucy stated out loud. ¡°Hellawes Irandes¡­ Nefas Infernalis.¡±


    The grey statue in the centre of the room glowed with blood light. The sheet she was wrapped in bloomed with colour until the pale grey skin of the statue demoness was wrapped in crimson¡­ or scarlet, robes.


    [Sub-Objective Complete: Determine the true identity of the Ancient Daemon.]


    [Completion Rate: +2%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 34%]


    Lucille looked at Scytale. ¡°That was easy, wasn¡¯t it? Now I just need to write down her most important life events on paper¡­¡±

 Chapter 86 (2 of 2) She In Her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance.

    [S.T.A.G.E.S | Stage 15: Fragment of Chaos]


    How shall you be recorded in the annals of dimensional explorers without evidence of your discovery? You have obtained knowledge of the truth, but you¡¯re not finished here yet.


    It is the goal of researchers to make use of their knowledge, so leave your permanent mark on this chaotic and hostile realm![Collapse]


    Main Quest (Rank-2: Demon Realm) Overall Objective:


    <ul>


    <li>Last two weeks while being pursued by forces so that the stolen treasure you carry can be placed on the summoning ritual along with yourselves.</li>


    </ul>


    Sub-Objectives ¨C Stage 11:


    Compulsory:


    <ul>


    <li>Locate the exit of the Blackbrook Cavern.</li>


    </ul>


    Optional:


    <ul>


    <li>Obtain the vessel fragment of She In Her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    [Completion Rate: 40%]


    Lucille¡¯s gaze was weary as she read the optional objective. ¡°It¡¯s official. The System wants to torment me with horrors far beyond my current capabilities.¡± She ran a hand down her face. ¡°A fragment of its vessel¡­ I don¡¯t like the sound of that. Not one bit.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ you know what this ¡®vessel¡¯ is?¡± Scytale asked.


    She glanced at him and shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of it. But I have to assume it¡¯s a ¡®conduit¡¯ to the Ancient Daemon in some way or another. It likely has something to do with how they¡¯re connected to the Demon Realm.¡±


    Lucy placed her hands behind her back and began pacing, musing over the new information. ¡°If it¡¯s supposed to be a channel or conduit to the realms¡­¡± She gestured to her bond. ¡°The Primals have channels to the magical beasts by virtue of their ¡®bloodlines¡¯, but Primarchs don¡¯t work that way. Their ¡®channels¡¯ are their connections to the minds of those who draw on their abilities, calling down their incarnations and such with Thaumaturgy. Then you have the Paragon Anomalies, but their classification is ¡®higher race¡¯ and draws upon connections to concepts. I¡¯m not certain as to what their conduit is. They might exist without ones.¡±


    She looked up in thought. ¡°Ancient Daemons don¡¯t channel through lineages because the randomness of a demon¡¯s abilities can be easily seen, but the only instance I¡¯ve seen where Great Beings have been so rooted in the physical realm is the Chthons of Tartarus, and they¡¯re the ¡®Sectors¡¯ that the Vigils categorise themselves as. Looking at the pattern, the conduit method of Ancient Daemons should be completely different from other Great Beings.¡±


    Lucille paused as an idea came to mind. ¡°Unless these ¡®Ancient Daemon¡¯ Seals are only important because they¡¯re where an object related to them has physically formed, rather than this entire room being evidence of their connection to the realm.¡±


    Scytale screwed up his nose. ¡°I don¡¯t really get it, but¡­¡± He pointed at something in the middle of the room. ¡°Would that count as an ¡®object¡¯?¡±


    Their eyes fell upon the statue of the Ancient Daemon formerly known as Hellawes Nefas Infernalis. After her name had been called by Lucy in the prior stage, the colour of her robes was slowly leeching away once more to return to normal stone. They walked closer to study the tall statue.


    ¡°The demonic power here is certainly stronger, but I can¡¯t say whether this is the ¡®vessel¡¯ mentioned,¡± Lucille remarked.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s our best bet.¡± The humanoid snake sat on the block the statue was resting on. ¡°It¡¯s not like we could see the energies of a Great Being with our strength anyway. Only Rank-7s have a chance of that.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but¡­¡± Lucille tapped on her mask. ¡°I can see Influence with the Shard, remember? It may let me see this too.¡±


    Her bond considered it with a frown. ¡°But¡­ it can also see the System. And you said that sensation wasn¡¯t very nice.¡±


    Lucille sighed and crossed her arms. ¡°The Shard of Totality has¡­ shall I say, ¡®levels¡¯ to it. I could see into the spiritual realm, but then I could also see the System Influence that composed other people¡¯s Status information, and then finally go beyond that to perceive the impossible metaphysical forces of the System which resides within the esoteric anti-dimensional boundaries of the ¡®Tower¡¯.¡± Lucy dismissively waved her hand. ¡°The Tower is still nothing more than a glorified elevator shaft in my opinion, but that¡¯s off-topic.¡±


    She planted her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at the statue. ¡°I understand what you¡¯re worried about because with us being in one of the ¡®Stages¡¯ right now, a construct on par with the System, Tower, Malkisofret¡¯s Mansion and such, I could see the Stages and hurt myself. But that¡¯s if I try too hard. I¡¯m confident I can control it.¡±


    He threw up his hands and backed away. ¡°Look, it¡¯s your decision, not mine. The System altered your Stages for this, so it probably assumes you¡¯ll use the Shard. We just don¡¯t know what the consequences of doing this are, that¡¯s all.¡±


    Lucy removed her mask and watched the statue. She circled to its front, and when she felt that she had readied her mind enough to attempt observing the power of a Great Being, she focused on the Shard, gradually increasing the mana and spiritual energy flow to it.


    The first thing she noticed was that the statue was luminous. Demonic power had completely filled it to the brim and flowed out of it. It was practically a bottomless well of demonic power¡­ which made a lot of sense to Lucille, considering she knew that Strongholds could only be built near where Ancient Daemon Seals were.


    Her focus increased as she wanted to look past what spiritual perception could see.


    The Lucille was hit by the alien sensations of impossibly white light trapped within a bottomless abyss of blackness, coiling around each other in a disorderly vortex that paradoxically seemed to grow larger and smaller simultaneously around a hollowed out core of reddest red. And words, sights, and sounds whispered out of the vortex, impressing upon her the past, present and future of an ageless daemonic being who swam in and out of the continuum and metaphysical realms, their entirety condensed into the amalgamation of cause and effect, Influence and a more powerful energy used only by the Constructs. Their very being existing for one purpose, to oppose those of Pandemonium and answer to their master, their creator, their progenitor, both the same and alien from them who was call-


    Lucille stumbled as not even a nanosecond after she had breached the layer had she shut off the Shard. She crashed to the floor as Scytale ran forward to support her. Lucy fumbled with her mask and swept away the blood coating her cheek as she slid the mask back on. Scytale wordlessly took out a towel for her which she used to stem her bloody nose.


    ¡°And that is strike two for Lucy, never to use the Shard again,¡± Scytale announced smugly.


    She shot him a flat look and removed the damp towel from her face. Lucy mopped up the blood from her bleeding right eye too. ¡°A vessel is a wholly inadequate term to describe what it is. A chain or fetter would be more accurate. It¡¯s also¡­ artificial.¡±


    Scytale blinked. ¡°What? Did someone seal the Ancient Daemon here? Who?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ know.¡± She had her suspicions, but it wasn¡¯t relevant to their situation. Lucille stood up, walked around and put an ungloved palm on the back of the statue. ¡°What I do know is that this is the object we¡¯re looking for and that I made a severe miscalculation when attempting to glimpse the Ancient Daemon¡¯s power.¡± She let out a humourless laugh. ¡°I didn¡¯t consider that the Stages can recreate the ability of a Great Being to exist regardless of time and space. I was overwhelmed by the entirety of the Ancient Daemon¡¯s past, present and future.¡±


    Lucy shook her head. ¡°I can only say that my soul power is what allowed me to survive. And even though the Stages tried to recreate it¡­¡± She shuddered slightly. ¡°This is barely more than an illusion of an Ancient Daemon Seal and vessel. It¡¯s an artificial, simulated and superficial model of what the real thing is like.¡±


    ¡°¡­yeah, uh, I might ask you to keep the memories of that away from me.¡± He walked forward and stood beside her. ¡°So, what do we do?¡±


    ¡°Well, I noted that the vessel is incomplete.¡± Lucy ran her fingers over the statue¡¯s back until she felt something give. A round stone plate popped out, to reveal the interior of the statue to be solid, red, foggy crystal, except for the spherical hole in the centre. Lucy observed the cut of the crystal around the edges and hummed. ¡°This must be how Stronghold Crystals are made. Taken out of the vessel. Curious.¡±


    Scytale peered in and glanced at her. ¡°Just cut a part out with the daggers?¡±


    ¡°Probably. Let me cut into it with Apophis-¡± The black dagger rebounded off an invisible barrier and sunk into the stone behind them. Lucy looked back and stared. ¡°¡­I¡¯ll get him back and try again.¡±


    Lucille walked over to pull out her dagger, but Scytale reached forward out of curiosity to touch the crystal. His hand wasn¡¯t rebounded and the crystal made a soft clink when he flicked it. ¡°For some reason I can touch it, though.¡±


    She paused and looked back. ¡°Really?¡± Lucy sheathed Apophis and tried to touch it, but her hand was flung back. She blinked at her palm. ¡°I¡¯m the problem? Why?¡± She put both hands near the glowing red crystal and attempted to push past the invisible barrier. ¡°Hm? It¡¯s reacting to my left hand more.¡±


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Lucy pulled back her left hand¡¯s glove to see that the Mark of the Primordial Demon had reemerged and was glinting with red, black and white light. She flexed her fingers and hid the mark again, but when she put it near the statue, it was blocked, sometimes with burning pain. She sighed and put her gloves back on. ¡°That stupid Demon Emperor is giving me problems in simulations too.¡±


    ¡°Mystery solved then?¡±


    ¡°Not at all. But at least I know you can touch it,¡± she replied.


    Scytale glanced between her and the statue and held out his hand. ¡°Pass me Apophis. I¡¯m not exactly the clawed kind of beast, so I¡¯ll need something sharper than fingernails to get a chunk out.¡±


    She passed him her demonic weapon and he set to work wedging the serrated blade in the back of the statue. With a bit of effort, a finger-sized piece was excavated and he picked it up. Scytale winced and looked down at the crystal in his hands. ¡°I¡­ think there¡¯s something wrong with me. I don¡¯t feel quite right-¡±


    ¡°Give me that.¡± She snatched it from him before he had held it for even half a second and raised it to observe it. Lucille glanced at his hands. ¡°I believe you could get past the barrier because you¡¯re a Primal Descendant, and Primals are antagonistic to Ancient Daemons. However, you¡¯re not a Primal yourself, so even a piece as weak as this will still harm you. Look, you have small serrations all over your hands.¡±


    He moved his fingers and hissed as beads of blood formed along the small cuts. Golden light mana welled up as he quickly healed himself. ¡°Ouch. That¡¯s nasty.¡±


    Lucy grabbed one of his hands to inspect it. ¡°Is your mana chaotic?¡±


    ¡°No, there isn¡¯t any leftover demonic power,¡± Scytale replied.


    [Sub-Objective Complete: Obtain the vessel fragment of She In Her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance. ]


    [Completion Rate: +6%]


    [New! Completion Rate: 46%]


    ¡°Was your optional objective the same as mine?¡± Lucy asked, putting away the crystal shard for safekeeping.


    ¡°Yep. I got the completion notification.¡± He nodded.


    Lucille stretched her arms above her head and gestured for him to follow. ¡°Time to get out of here then. If the System is asking us to locate an exit to this cavern, then I have a feeling it doesn¡¯t want us going through the same way we entered.¡±


    They walked back out of the tunnel. When they left, some slight trembling of the ground made Lucy narrow her eyes and look back, but it stopped shortly afterwards.


    ¡°Something wrong?¡± Scytale put his hands on his hips.


    ¡°No¡­¡± She turned back and marched on ahead. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°To find this exit, I say we should follow the Blackbrook upstream and-¡± The words died in Scytale¡¯s mouth as he stared at his bond, who was walking ahead without stopping to listen to him.


    ¡°Of course, we¡¯re going upstream. Downstream only leads deeper underground.¡± Lucy trekked across the large boulders by the pebbled riverbed, leaving Scytale to his own devices.


    ¡°I was going to say¡­¡± He changed into his snake form and flew up to her to give her a side-eye. ¡°¡­that I remember seeing this brook outside of the cavern when I did the Stages last time, so I know upstream leads to outside somewhere,¡± he finished sourly. ¡°Do you always have to take credit for everything?¡±


    ¡°Credit should go to those who deserve it,¡± she replied haughtily. Scytale flew close and nipped her arm. Lucy swatted him away. ¡°Don¡¯t bite me.¡±


    He blew her a mental raspberry. ¡°I¡¯m going to fly ahead to check what¡¯s there.¡±


    Left alone for the moment, Lucille used the time to fully absorb the memory of what she had seen and store it in a safe way that wouldn¡¯t induce a migraine every time she remembered it. The other part of her mind was stealthy scanning their surroundings for threats. She had to be careful because stronger enemies would be more sensitive to her soul power.


    ¡°Help! I¡¯m stuck! Stuck!¡±


    Her expression twitched when she saw the situation of her bond and she bolted around the bend in the acidic brook, unsheathing both snake swords. Lucille found herself below a massive spider web that her bond had gotten caught in. He was violently thrashing around, trying to dislodge his wings.


    ¡°This spider web silk feels so grimy! Ugh, help me get it off, please! I can tell it¡¯ll be stuck in my feathers for the rest of the Stages!¡±


    ¡°..have you ever heard the saying that where there¡¯s smoke, there¡¯s fire?¡± Lucy asked dryly.


    Scytale stopped to squint at her. ¡°Obviously, but what has that got to do with any¡­¡± A sudden tremble across the spider web caused his body to stiffen up.


    ¡°Yes, well, where there is spider silk¡­¡± Lucille pointed up, fixing her gaze on the gargantuan blood-red arachnid tentatively climbing down from the ceiling onto its web. ¡°¡­there¡¯s a spider.¡±


    The noisy snake¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°Why do I always have to meet these nasty bugs?! First the Dungeon, now this! Give me a good cockroach to stomp on any day!¡±


    ¡°Arachnids aren¡¯t bugs,¡± she reminded him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care! Tell me how to get out of this situation!¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Lucille looked up and veeery slowly began to back away. The dark eight orbs of the scarlet spider gazed soullessly at both her and the stupid snake caught in its web. ¡°As a general rule, demon beasts prefer to keep their prey alive to the last minute. This is because the bodies of dead demons disappear when they get reformed in another part of the realm. So, it wants to poison you while you¡¯re still alive so it can absorb your demonic power as mundane spiders absorb the liquified bodies of their prey.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a demon! Also, how does that help me?!¡±


    ¡°The only way to get it to ignore you is if you seem dead. Arachnids generally have poor eyesight, so to prevent them from detecting the vibrations from their webs¡­ you need to remain quiet and very, very still.¡± Her voice dropped to a whisper.


    Scytale¡¯s body locked up as harsh spider hairs brushed against him, a leg coming way too close for comfort. His own 30-metre-length body was nothing compared to the monstrosity hovering above him.


    ¡°Uh¡­. What is it-¡±


    Scytale, I said to stay silent. Use the bond if you need to.


    ¡°But why the bond-¡±


    Do you want to stop yourself from getting eaten by this thing or not?


    He didn¡¯t retort and stayed utterly still and silent.


    ¡­until the spider¡¯s mandibles clicked right next to his tail and he yelped at the top of his lungs.


    ¡°Ew ew ew! Lucy, I swear I can see saliva dripping from those fangs. It¡¯s going to get on my scales and feather-¡±


    ¡°Scytale you idiot! It¡¯s a demon beast! Its demonic silk can pick up on the spiritual energy of your mental transmission!¡± Lucille yelled as her eyes went wide.


    The spider chattered and hissed right at that moment and spat a globule of thick black sludge at Scytale. The winged snake wriggled with all his might to escape the thick web, until the sharp barb on one of the legs of the spider severed the weakened thread and he tumbled away. He hastily tried to shrug off the silk as the two of them ran ¨C or slithered ¨C away from the angered arachnid.


    ¡°It was a mistake to do the stages with you,¡± Lucy muttered darkly, ducking behind a column of fern-covered stone. The spider chittered angrily and ran up the side of the cavern to get a better vantage point.


    Rocks dislodged by the mammoth demon beast began falling from above and they sped off, stones tumbling into the hissing and bubbling river alongside them.


    ¡°It was an accident! I never wanted to be caught in that mess!¡±


    ¡°Does it seem like I care? You were too careless!¡±


    ¡°Not as careless as when you tried to use the Shard to- look! The river is coming out of a tunnel!¡±


    Lucy noticed it at the same time as he did and ran towards it. The demon beast above them spotted them making a beeline for the tunnel opening smaller than it could fit through and screeched wildly. It continued crawling across the slowly lowering cavern ceiling.


    The demon spider made it to the opening before they did and waited menacingly above the exit, rocks falling all around them.


    ¡°We just need to make a break for it,¡± Lucille said while taking deep breaths. ¡°I¡¯ll use Ouroboros to shield us against its venom, so ignore it and go.¡±


    Scytale narrowed his slitted eyes at the beast above them. ¡°Y¡¯know, I think I¡¯ve got the perfect shot to attack it right now¡­¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not worth it. We¡¯ve almost made it so let¡¯s just-¡±


    A bolt of light mana shot out and hit the spider right in the middle of its back. The cavern wall rumbled and it fell down¡­ with them right below it.


    Lucy¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Scytale!¡±


    The world faded to white.


    ¡­


    ¡°Uh¡­ okay, fine. I confess.¡± Scytale raised his hands in surrender. ¡°I purposely antagonised the spider by yelling. It was a dumb move, I get it. I just thought I felt a little give from the silk and wanted to break it.¡±


    Lucy didn¡¯t remove the hand pressing down on her nose bridge within the endless confines of the System limbo space.


    ¡°But how could I have known the exit was right there!¡± he argued, gesturing with his hands. ¡°If I knew we were so close then I wouldn¡¯t have ¨C¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t have what, Scytale?¡± she hissed.


    Scytale shut his mouth, his self-preservation instinct ¨C regarding Lucy ¨C very belatedly kicking in.


    Lucille took a deep breath to calm herself, and then fixed a bright smile on her face. ¡°One more Stage. One. More. Stage. That¡¯s all we need to do for today! That¡¯s right. I¡¯ll be rid of you after redoing Stage 15 and then taking this last Stage.¡±


    She tapped on Stage 15 and they were whisked away back to the Ancient Daemon Seal room. A small comfort was the pain that Scytale had to go through again to get the fragment.


    ¡­


    [S.T.A.G.E.S | Stage 16: Propagation of Chaos¡¯s Influence]


    Oh poor weak denizens of the other realms, you have unleashed a catastrophe on the Dominion with your actions. For how could ones such as yourselves dare to fracture the vessel of the Ancient Daemon? A being magnitudes more powerful than you carved Stronghold Crystals from Her vessel, but you relied on pure luck.


    In the wake of your path, Her fetters have loosened and called Her back to the realm. She will be infuriated to hear of what has been taken from Her. The Stronghold ruler of the Stronghold you have been heading towards has been alerted to the shattering of his crystal, and their forces have been thrown into disarray.


    But you have a more immediate problem on your hands. After all, this daemonic paradise under the mountain has only thrived due to Her power. With Her unleashed¡­


    ¡­you must escape before the mountain range collapses on you.


    [Collapse]


    Main Quest (Rank-2: Demon Realm) Overall Objective:


    <ul>


    <li>Last two weeks while being pursued by forces so that the stolen treasure you carry can be placed on the summoning ritual along with yourselves.</li>


    </ul>


    Sub-Objectives ¨C Stage 11:


    Compulsory:


    <ul>


    <li>Escape the collapsing mountain range.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    [Completion Rate: 50%]


    Lucille and Scytale traded glances. Lucy only said one word: ¡°Run.¡±


    Before they had crossed their first ten metres, the land below them began to rumble and they charged up the steep slope whose base they had emerged from. The cave behind them crumbled, forever blocking that path, and the acidic river that flowed into it began to pool, the beginnings of a new lake forming.


    The earth below their feet began to rise and crack, forming ridges. Scytale grasped Lucy¡¯s wrist and pulled her over to his side before they were pushed apart. Both of their enhanced AGIs were beyond helpful as they leapt from one shattering rock face to another, landslides forming along the valley walls on either side. It was almost as if the destruction was following them¡­ and them alone.


    They continued to run like that for several more minutes, Scytale remaining in his human form to help Lucy when she needed it. Her shirt pocket began to glow and she pulled out the vessel fragment to see the chaotic light emitting from it.


    ¡°Is it attracted to the collapsed cavern?¡± Scytale yelled over the sound of crashing trees and howling demon beasts.


    ¡°We need to put some space between us and the cavern, or else we won¡¯t be able to get ahead.¡± Lucy nodded to her bond and threw him the shard.


    Scytale ignored the pain caused by it and put it in his mouth. With a flash of light, he returned to his true form and flew up into the sky, flying at a slightly different angle to attract the destruction away from Lucille.


    The collapsing of the valley seemed to stop as other mountains turned into rubble in Scytale¡¯s wake. With the opportunity now available to get to the next zone, she focused on following the path she remembered to the Stronghold, her bond with Scytale an effective beacon for him to meet up with her again.


    Ten minutes later she burst through the gates of the Stronghold, to the shouts of surprise of the citizens. As a high-ranked guard marched forward to meet her, she slowed to a stop while breathing heavily and raised the golden cup from her bag into the air.


    ¡°I have what your Lord desired,¡± she finally announced.


    <hr>


    ¡°Paragon Anomalies¡­?¡± Marellen frowned slightly and rubbed his chin. ¡°That sounds faintly familiar¡­ where have I heard that term¡­¡±


    ¡°Please recall where you heard it, if at all possible,¡± Vincent requested politely. ¡°It¡¯s important.¡±


    ¡°Let me see¡­¡± Marellen tapped on his head with a pen, pacing around the room he had been given for his magical experiments. ¡°Paragon Anomalies¡­ anomalies¡­ scholars like to use that term in the Athenaeum¡­¡±


    Like lightning had struck him he whirled around and pointed at Vincent with the pen. ¡°Aha! You¡¯re talking about the Realm Rulers!¡±


    Vincent stared at him. ¡°¡­what.¡±


    ¡°Yes, now I remember!¡± Marellen crossed his arms and nodded thoughtfully. ¡°Paragon Anomalies is a term I¡¯ve seen recorded in the journals of a few System Scholars. It¡¯s something used by the System and the scholars tried to appeal for the Athenaeum to use that designation, as it¡¯s not correct to call those beings ¡®Realm Rulers¡¯ when the Celestial Cardinal Beasts and the World Tree don¡¯t rule their realms. It wasn¡¯t accepted, but System Scholars still use that term today.¡±


    The navy-haired mage blinked when he noticed Vincent¡¯s reaction. ¡°Hm? Is something wrong? You look like you¡¯ve seen a ghost.¡±


    ¡°N-No, everything is fine. Thank you for the information.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome, but if you don¡¯t mind, could I ask what prompted the quest-¡±


    Vincent shut the door on Marellen and stiffly walked away, not even hearing the young man¡¯s request.


    Lucille calls the Realm Rulers¡­ Paragon Anomalies. She was saying she met with a Realm Ruler last year.


    He ruminated over that thought for a minute until he firmly put it out of his mind and gave a large nod.


    No, some things aren¡¯t worth finding out. This time, I¡¯m willing to live in ignorance. Realm Rulers are above my pay grade.


    Content to never bring up the matter of September again, Vincent whistled, not quite realising how much he was imitating Lucy at the moment, and made his way to the Headquarters¡¯ exit, looking forward to a much-needed break in his home, away from the residence of Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft.

 Chapter 87 (1 of 2) The Tumultuous Past of the Goldcroft Heir.

    A certain crafter stuck his head around a doorway, eyes narrowed. ¡°Where¡¯s the snake?¡±


    Lucille didn¡¯t look up and pulled the next page forward. ¡°Why do you care?¡±


    ¡°For the last week he hasn¡¯t come to bother me once. I can¡¯t help being suspicious.¡±  Sedric walked forward and dumped a metal case on her desk, containing her armguards. ¡°I¡¯ve finished fine tuning these. Your suggestions helped a lot.¡±


    ¡°Good. And for your information, the snake is busy suffering through his chores under the watchful eye of the guardian spirit,¡± Lucy stressed.


    Sedric crossed his arms. ¡°He¡¯s getting punished? Why?¡±


    She put down her work and intertwined her fingers. Lucy rested her chin on them and smiled brightly. ¡°For sabotaging a Stage when close to completion, not just once, but twice after I warned him after the first Stage.¡±


    He flinched back. ¡°Yeah, that would do it.¡± Sedric hesitated and gave her an odd look. ¡°Are you going to be dealing with this¡­ situation any time soon?¡±


    Lucy leaned back and spun a pen. ¡°Why, what ¡®situation¡¯ could you possibly mean?¡±


    Sedric wordlessly gestured with both arms to the blonde-haired girl glaring at Lucy, looking around the doorframe into the room.


    Lucille turned her gaze to the angry Prophetess, and nodded. ¡°Ah, Annaliese. I didn¡¯t see you there.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t lie!¡± Annaliese replied, scowling. ¡°I¡¯ve been here for the last ten minutes! You¡¯re just ignoring me!¡±


    ¡°Your evidence?¡±


    The girl jabbed a finger at the arcane barrier completely covering the entrance of the study. Sedric, not being the one the barrier was protecting against, had been free to enter. Annaliese glared at her. ¡°Why does this barrier only prevent me from entering?!¡±


    Lucille considered it with a hand on her chin. After a long pause, she raised a finger. ¡°¡­You¡¯re unlucky.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the Prophetess of Fate!¡±


    ¡°¡­Count Goldcroft, I need to check on the Prophetess¡¯s brother, but for that I need the Prophetess to relocate,¡± Sir Albrecht spoke up wearily. He was standing behind his ward.


    Lucy sighed and waved a hand, causing the barrier to disintegrate. ¡°Fine. But Annaliese, keep in mind that I¡¯m quite busy, don¡¯t do anything that might disrupt my-¡±


    Annaliese rushed forward and nearly pushed Lucille out of the armchair in an attempt to give her a hug.


    Lucy groaned. ¡°I knew this was going to happen¡­¡±


    ¡°How can you be so mean when I haven¡¯t seen you for two months?¡± Annaliese complained, looking up at Lucille.


    Lucy gazed silently at her for a second and then pushed her off to get up from the chair. She rolled her eyes and sighed when as she was leaving her study, the girl followed after her.


    ¡°Tell me what¡¯s been happening while I¡¯ve been gone! You went on an adventure without me again, didn¡¯t you?¡± Annaliese asked with suspicion.


    Lucille spotted a potential distraction and grabbed the Prophetess by the shoulders, spun her around to face another corridor, then pushed her over to the aide that had just come across them. ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask Vincent all about the events of the past two months?¡± she suggested cheerily. ¡°I¡¯m sure he has the time to spare for you.¡±


    Vincent blinked and pushed up his glasses. ¡°Actually, Lucille, I¡¯m just heading off to meet with a merchant of Chavaret-¡±


    ¡°See? He has plenty of time. Go ask him.¡± With that, Lucy walked off.


    Annaliese blinked and then turned around to go after her. ¡°But I don¡¯t want to talk to Vincent.¡±


    Vincent raised an eyebrow and pointed at himself as the others walked off. Lucy stopped on the spot as an idea came to mind. She turned to face Annaliese, and then snapped her fingers.


    Annaliese¡¯s eyes widened as the invisibility spell Lucy had cast activated and hid her form view. ¡°Wait! No!¡±


    Lucy felt that it was a sad day that the former Admiral of the Distorted Depths had to run from a girl more than ten times younger than her.


    ¡­


    ¡°Get someone to send these over to Jacques,¡± Lucy ordered the silver and red-haired man before her. Caius bowed and walked off as she turned around and saw her full sponsored party. Garthe and Larena were standing behind Marellen and Trisroa.


    Lucille took one look at them and nodded. ¡°You¡¯ve heard from Vincent, I see. Come with me. We¡¯ll talk in another room.¡±


    Once they were in a lounge away from any accidental eavesdroppers in the form of servants, they sat down and Lucy crossed one leg over the other. ¡°As Vincent has told you, Ravimoux did in fact follow up on your leads regarding the magical items and artifacts you uncovered.¡±


    ¡°Does that mean something interesting was¡­ found?¡± Garthe asked with confusion. ¡°I don¡¯t understand how us saying that most of the artifacts had been made using Ancient-ranked Jade Rosewood meant anything.¡±


    ¡°Of course it meant something. We now know to investigate the Earldom of Kleur ¨¦meraude in the Everlasting Evenfall Mountains Major Kingdom.¡± Lucy beamed as she leaned her chin on her hands. ¡°Jade Rosewood, while valuable, is not particularly rare, unless it comes to the Kleur ¨¦meraude Earldom which managed to cultivate a variety capable of reaching Ancient ranked.¡± She spread her hands. ¡°Curiously, Alichanteu were not responsibly for importing it to the Beast Realm. They were, however, in charge of exporting it to the Mystical Realm after the handover.¡±


    ¡°This is important, because¡­?¡± Larena spoke up.


    Lucille raised a finger. ¡°The ones who obtained the Jade Rosewood were actually vassals of Chavaret. Ravimoux additionally uncovered that a woman of an Alichanteu clan had married into the vassal clan of Chavaret. This woman¡¯s son is now the Lord of the Chavaret noble clan, meaning that this noble family has been covertly taken over to organise this deal in secrecy.¡±


    ¡°Yet from all this I can only see one issue. Who were the buyers of this ¡®Jade Rosewood¡¯?¡± Roa mused.


    Lucy smirked and leaned back. ¡°That¡¯s the most important part. It turns out that quite frequently, cultivators of the wood phase tend to purchase Jade Rosewood to study when comprehending their Daos. While a magical material, they can still glean unique insights they wouldn¡¯t be able to obtain from spiritual materials.¡±


    Marellen frowned, rubbing his chin. ¡°But why did Archmage Merkenia Alichanteu  sabotage the convoy? Is it possible that he was actually¡­ trying to protect Alichanteu from being incriminated by their association to cultivators? But is that something that¡¯s incriminating?¡±


    Garthe raised an eyebrow. ¡°Couldn¡¯t it just be to hide evidence because things were getting risky or something? A cultivator just snuck into the Commission too.¡±


    Larena shook her head. ¡°Lucille hadn¡¯t joined the Commission yet back then.¡±


    Lucy nodded. ¡°And from my discussions with the Counts, I discovered they were unaware of this subterfuge, so minimal risk existed.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s Archmage Merkenia though, it makes sense he destroyed items that would help cultivators,¡± Marellen said with a thoughtful nod. ¡°He¡¯s married to a member of the Medolin Duchy, so he¡¯s definitely part of Olden. Olden hates cultivators and still wants the Empire to go to war against them and conquer that realm. It¡¯s why they support the Citadel, who fight against Diviners.¡±


    Lucille had a different opinion.


    I¡¯m not so sure about that. It seems they¡¯re forgetting the fact that this avalanche wasn¡¯t supposed to happen. It was only a response to some unknown emergency situation.


    She leaned back and crossed her arms, gazing at the roof in thought.


    This faction hates these guys, this faction likes these guys¡­ politics can¡¯t be summed up so simply. Anything can persuade someone to work with their enemies for a common goal, if only for a moment. All the enemy has to do in extreme cases¡­ is keep their identity hidden.


    The faction behind this is important, yes, but in this situation the ¡®goal¡¯ is much higher priority so we can guess at how many factions are involved. Working conventionally by finding the major faction first is how this¡¯ll have to proceed, however.


    ¡°We seem to heading towards an irrelevant subject,¡± Roa announced. She fixed an intent gaze Lucy. ¡°Would I be correct in suspecting that you called us here not to discuss theories you have already considered, but to inform us of a plan?¡±


    Lucille smiled and leaned forward. ¡°Radical, Olden, or whoever, it doesn¡¯t matter. Yet. All we need to do is set a trap and we can discover the second main force involved here.¡±


    ¡°Second?¡± Larena asked.


    ¡°The cultivators are the first, obviously.¡± Lucy shrugged. ¡°As for the specific Sect, it doesn¡¯t matter yet. I have strong suspicions, but nothing I can do much about now. However, as fortune ¨C or misfortune ¨C would have it, an intruder from the Heavenly Realm appeared a month ago, and the Commission Head has expressed a vested interest in discovering the person behind this.¡±


    She pointed at them. ¡°With the chaotic nature of the Commission right now, Counties eliminating spies left right and centre, guess who will be a little antsy to ensure all evidence of their association with cultivators is fully gone? Whoever it is, they¡¯ll be the ones who return to the site of the avalanche and erase the final traces of potential proof. And we¡¯ll be ready and waiting.¡±


    Larena and Garthe traded vindictive smirks. Marellen nodded enthusiastically, probably enjoying the ¡®puzzle¡¯ of the situation.


    ¡°And how shall we lie in wait for them?¡± Roa asked solemnly, looking very intrigued by the plan.


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    ¡°We need to keep the spotlight on me and Vincent,¡± Lucille replied, pressing her fingertips together. ¡°In the second half of October, Vincent and I will be visiting Alichanteu and their vassals to meet with their craftsmen, the first of several visits to all the Counties. They wouldn¡¯t dare attempt anything on us while everyone is focused on our presence, but it will be an opportunity to undertake other covert operations that appear unrelated to our presence there. Alichanteu is big enough that even with the eyes of the other Counties on them, their weaker vassals still have free movement.¡±


    ¡°Operations such as removing all of the incriminating Jade Rosewood,¡± Larena added.


    Lucy nodded. ¡°Exactly.¡±


    ¡°I believe they would still have reservations with our presence in the Commission,¡± Roa pointed out with a faint frown. ¡°Our party of four are the only remaining witnesses of that event, so we present a risk. From their perspective, if we give the Counties some clue that make them suspicious right when they wish to visit the Beast Realm¡­¡±


    ¡°Which is why I¡¯m removing you all from the Commission for the next month.¡± Lucille smirked and placed four envelopes on the coffee table between them. She slid them across. ¡°Do you recall our discussion about sending you to Tartarus? It¡¯s now October instead of September, but take the opportunity to complete the Stages and Rank up so that you can come back, stronger than ever before.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not going to take a full month to do the Stages, though,¡± Garthe replied. ¡°Maybe two weeks I could understand, given the general Quests we need to do to unlock the Stages, but a whole month?¡±


    Lucille leaned relaxedly against the back of the couch. ¡°I¡¯m not one to waste an opportunity. Inside those four envelopes are the locations of four different members of Tartarus I want you to visit. I want you to extend an invitation to a meeting about Ravimoux¡¯s new black market plans in the near future. Each one of you has a different individual, so yes, you will have to split up. They¡¯re the members of Tartarus I think each of you will get along with the most.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were so familiar with people from Tartarus,¡± Larena said with surprise. She pulled out the letter in her envelope out of curiosity and tilted her head at the names. ¡°I have two people here.¡±


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re already a Rank-3, so you don¡¯t need to prepare for the Stages.¡± Lucy straightened her gloves. ¡°Also, I¡¯ve given you all a full month because these individuals of Tartarus tend to like their little¡­ pranks.¡±


    ¡°¡­pranks,¡± Roa repeated with suspicion.


    ¡°Trials, if you will. They like to test mortals and consider it a kind of hobby in a way. I have faith you¡¯ll pass the trials without too much difficulty.¡± Lucille smiled and gave them a light shrug. ¡°It¡¯s this, or bloodthirsty monstrous undead who want to kill you. When it comes to Tartarus, if you find an undead who doesn¡¯t want to kill you, you take what you can get.¡±


    She steepled her fingers. ¡°So, are you all up for the task?¡±


    They traded looks, and if by unanimous agreement, they all nodded firmly and pocketed the envelopes. ¡°We¡¯ll be sure to be back by November,¡± Marellen said.


    ¡°Good.¡± Lucille got up from the couch and headed towards the door. ¡°Take the week to prepare everything you need. Get outfitted in equipment specially made to help against death mana, learn the skills I bought-¡±


    ¡°You got the skills already?! Awesome!¡± Garthe jumped out and ran out of the room, leaving the others gazing after him with exasperation.


    As Marellen and Larena left, Trisroa dipped her head to Lucy. ¡°We will¡­ do as you say.¡±


    Lucille was left alone in the living room. While she was aware of the young girl still attempting to find her, she took the brief moment of spare time she had to check up on another unique ¡®person¡¯.


    She immersed herself in the fake senses of her Simulacrum Realm and blinked when instead of the infinite, endless white expanse, she was in a flourishing jungle.


    ¡°I recall mentioning that the Dungeon you¡¯ll be assimilating is one filled with precious gems and stone walls,¡± Lucille announced aloud with bemusement.


    ¡°I have been experimenting with the stores of monster types I have in my Lore-Base, both flora and fauna. Come, follow the path made from luminescent moss.¡±


    The voice of the artificial Dungeon echoed out and Lucy curiously walked along the small trail, underneath massive roots and past stacks of flat fungi. The earth bent beneath her as ¡®Sphere¡¯ pulled her past the long trail and right to where it wanted her to be.


    Lucy let out an observant hum when she appeared in front of a raised walkway in the centre of the jungle, leading towards a pyramidal structure of some kind. Its aesthetics suggested it was like the ancient ruins found on Old Era planes, if they had been perfectly preserved from the time of their heyday.


    ¡°Very¡­ rustic,¡± she announced, planting her hands on her hips.


    ¡°Do you appreciate my utilisation of Sky Bender Vines to generate the illusion of outside?¡± The physical representation of the Dungeon appeared next to her. While still metallic in skin tone, the Dungeon had progressed well in making its appearance look more human. The green eyes had gained the spark of intelligence behind them, and instead of a magical projection, it appeared it had created some kind of metal vessel to use as a body. Perhaps it could be said¡­ that it had created another golem to puppet.


    Lucy looked up. ¡°It¡¯s very well done. I could imagine people living here for longer amounts of time with a ceiling like that.¡± She glanced at its body again. ¡°I see you have plans to make physical contact with your delvers.¡±


    ¡°I understand your reasoning for not informing the Eternal Empire of my existence. I have no desire to be enslaved to consume Dungeons and generate materials to satiate their desires.¡± The M.C.R.U turned to look at its creation. ¡°However, I still wish to communicate with the delvers and study them. For that, I designed this vessel to appear as a ¡®sentient golem¡¯ who can communicate with them on equal terms.¡±


    Lucy held her chin and studied it. ¡°Equal terms might be a stretch. The Empire is not as progressive as it seems on the outset. Sentient golems still find it hard to be treated as free thinking beings, unless they¡¯re on the plane of the Metal-Borne Coalition.¡±


    ¡°That is why I tried to appear as visually human as possible.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°A wise choice.¡± Lucille glanced at the structure before them. ¡°Do you plan to build this in your new location?¡±


    ¡°I am undecided, as I have yet to come up with a reason to create this outside of aesthetical purposes,¡± it replied robotically.


    ¡°If there is one thing about delvers I know, it¡¯s that they love any sort of structure like this,¡± Lucy said with a smirk. ¡°It makes them believe there are valuable treasures inside. You could use this to challenge the adventurers who are greater threats.¡± She turned back to it. ¡°Have you decided on what your fake ¡®Boss Monster¡¯ will be?¡±


    The artificial Dungeon nodded. ¡°It is my current appearance. It is made of metal mana and monster essence.¡±


    Lucy blinked and took in its appearance again. ¡°I see¡­¡± She looked around once more and then nodded to it. ¡°I¡¯ll set aside some time to have a longer discussion with you. While I can accelerate the time in here, that requires a bit of concentration, so I¡¯d prefer to do that when I have free time.¡±


    Before she left, Sphere said something else. ¡°Your bond came to me earlier and proposed a plan that will enable you to increase your combat capabilities.¡±


    She looked back and raised an eyebrow. ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°He told me that with your control over this artificial realm, any construct you make will be too predictable to give you a worthy challenge. I believe I could rectify this.¡± It waved a hand and gestured to the jungle. ¡°Now that I have joined the realm, my knowledge of monsters and their abilities can be mimicked by the realm. As long as you restrict your own immersion in the realm, I could create monsters here and-¡±


    ¡°-I could accelerate time while I fight them,¡± she finished, thinking deeply. ¡°I had originally discussed this with my bond when I first gained my complete Origin Skill, but because every creature I manifested here I¡¯d know the battle patterns and abilities like the back of my hand, I knew it would be difficult to challenge myself. Scytale has been¡­ unexpectedly helpful.¡±


    Lucille looked up at Sphere. ¡°And you¡¯re okay with doing this for me?¡±


    ¡°Stronger capabilities for you mean less risk and an earlier date for my transferal to the Minor plane,¡± it stated like it was obvious. ¡°Currently, you are my backer. Any improvement to your strength will be beneficial to me as we are in a relationship of equals.¡±


    She raised an eyebrow. ¡°Really.¡±


    ¡°There is also¡­ something¡­ else.¡± It was almost like the artificial Dungeon hesitated before continuing, ¡°I have developed a kind of emotion towards you. From my time watching the events of when you first discovered this emotion, I have determined that I feel ¡®gratitude¡¯. It motivates me to offer you more and greater cost to me for some unknown reason relating to your deal with me.¡±


    Lucy smiled. ¡°That would do it. Just do focus too hard on trying to pay me back for anything. You still haven¡¯t seen how great a help you will be for me in the future.¡±


    When she had returned her consciousness to her body, an idea popped up. One that resolved a large problem she had been considering.


    If I want to create a version of Earth¡¯s Network for the Tower, then I¡¯ll have to make the Simulacrum access propagate in a way that can¡¯t be traced back to me. That could be through Sphere¡¯s spiritual energy coming in contact with the delvers souls. But as for making it propagate outside of the Dungeon¡­


    She paused and then smirked.


    What if I enlist the help of Ravimoux to begin spreading a few rumours that a ¡®secret¡¯ city can be accessed by people with the Simulacrum brand they gained in the Synadis Dungeon? Nothing can be taken out of the Simulacrum Realm, obviously, but if Sphere and I create a zone here that has an amazing appearance as well as experiences such as food and other benefits others will want to enjoy¡­ maybe I could make it a repository for some special information about the future and could subtly begin spreading word around through the Simulacrum too¡­


    With the virtual city only being accessed by people who had been to the Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis, people will be more likely to visit the Dungeon city when it forms, and the Simulacrum brand will be spread outside when the visitors leave, trying to prove the location¡¯s existence.


    And nothing would spread rumours like wildfire more than the Streisand Effect. Where calling something a secret¡­ makes people more curious about what¡¯s hidden.


    It seems I¡¯ll have to make amendments to the black market plan and include it over there too. I have to be careful, though. If this ¡®secret city¡¯ phenomenon becomes too common place in locations owned by the Commission, it¡¯ll draw suspicion.


    The fastest way for it to spread to the Aeternus plane would be for the Dark Wizards to become interested in the secret city and begin treating it as an asset. Old Era information, maybe a few records with some of the advanced magical theories I discovered¡­


    There were many avenues for this venture. If she brought in the time dilation aspect too, the possibilities were endless. Unfortunately, she had to continue her musings later. She had a needy guest to attend to.


    ¡°Lucy! Why didn¡¯t you tell me you went to the Beast Realm?!¡± Annaliese complained, running into the room. ¡°You got Hargrave a present too! What about me? Did you get me anything?!¡±


    Lucy noticed the appearance of a silvery winged snake on the girl¡¯s shoulders and narrowed her eyes at the bond who was shirking his chores. Scytale avoided eye contact.


    ¡°Hey! Stop ignoring me!¡± Annaliese planted her hands on the coffee table. Raegan and Sir Albrecht followed and sat down on the couch behind her.


    With slow, methodical movements, Lucy reached into her dimensional bag and took out a decorative hair comb. Knowing the Prophetess¡¯s favour of wearing her hair half up, she had bought the accessory. But she didn¡¯t want to hand it over so easily.


    Annaliese¡¯s face brightened. ¡°Is that for me?¡±


    Lucille put the hair comb in her own hair. ¡°It¡¯s for me,¡± she stated calmly.


    The room went silent save for the snake who had burst out into loud laughter and tumbled off of the girl¡¯s shoulders. With a golden glow, Scytale turned into a human and clutched his stomach as he kept laughing.


    Then there was a thunk as the hair ornament slid out of Lucy¡¯s dead straight hair and hit the carpet. She looked down with a strange expression until Scytale¡¯s laughter was renewed. Lucy glared at the snake. ¡°Quit laughing at my expense. As much as the appearance of me wearing something in my hair looks amusing to you, I don¡¯t find it quite so amusing.¡±


    Lucy wordlessly passed the gift over to Annaliese, who eagerly took it and admired the ability of the spell within to change the item¡¯s colour on her whim. Then she blinked and gave Lucille a curious look. ¡°You never wear hair ornaments? I mean, I guessed that, but not even in the past?¡±


    ¡°In case you didn¡¯t see it, my hair is very texture-less,¡± Lucy stated flatly. ¡°I have, of course, tried to tie my hair up in the past because long hair is annoying, but any hair ties I use slide off within the hour.¡±


    ¡°I once joked that her slippery hair and personality must be why we get along,¡± Scytale added with a grin.


    ¡°Huh,¡± Annaliese said with surprise. She looked down at the comb and turned to Lucy. ¡°So¡­ this is mine?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Just get it checked by Sir Albrecht so none of the Sages have an opportunity to make me take the fall for a supposed assassination attempt,¡± Lucy replied dismissively.


    ¡°They wouldn¡¯t do something like that,¡± Annaliese said, looking confused.


    Sir Albrecht looked like he wanted to refute her answer, until Annaliese continued, ¡°If they wanted you to be falsely accused then they would¡¯ve used their allies to pressure the Counties and force the Princes with government positions to say you¡¯re guilty regardless of any proof because they¡¯re lazy.¡±


    Lucille raised her eyebrows. ¡°That¡¯s oddly specific.¡±


    The Prophetess shrugged. ¡°I overheard their plans to do that to a Dukedom of a Major Plane.¡±


    As the blonde-haired girl hummed and positioned the comb while asking her brother if she was doing it right, Lucy exchanged strange looks with Jasten Albrecht. The Paladin sighed and shook his head as he took the comb off of the girl to check for danger.


    ¡°Hey Raegan¡­.¡± Scytale smirked. ¡°I got you something too.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need your junk,¡± Raegan replied. He crossed his arms. ¡°I¡¯ve heard from Sedric about the cursed item you gave him.¡±


    ¡°Where would I have gotten a cursed item in the Beast Realm?¡± Scytale shook his head. ¡°Nope, it¡¯s not that. But I¡¯m pretty sure you¡¯ll like it. Aren¡¯t you curious?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± The dark-haired boy turned away.


    ¡°Even if it¡¯s a weapon¡­?¡± Scytale stressed as his smirk grew wider.


    Raegan hesitated but remained firm in his conviction to not give in. ¡°I¡¯m not interested.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a shame.¡± Scytale shrugged and pulled out a small knife, running a finger over the edge to test its sharpness. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll have to find a use for this trapped knife myself. Using poison isn¡¯t really my thing, but if it¡¯s a weapon like this with a secret channel to store poison, it¡¯ll be cool just to have, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve changed my mind.¡± Raegan stormed over and tried to grab the knife from him. ¡°I¡¯ll take that gift, thank you very much. You don¡¯t fight with weapons anyway, so it¡¯s useless to you.¡±


    ¡°Nope, you said you didn¡¯t want it!¡±


    As they began bickering over it, Sir Albrecht frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t like the idea of Raegan having a weapon on his person that enables his¡­ tendencies¡­¡±


    Lucy shot the Paladin a look. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s killing small creatures or something?¡±


    Raegan heard them and clicked his tongue. ¡°Why would I kill animals? They live pitiful enough lives already. No, it¡¯s only enjoyable and satisfying when someone high up takes a big fall." His grin grew vicious. "Like one of the Light Tower wizards from All-Aeon Athenaeum who visit to study me¡­ when can I get the chance to try out being the Antithesis for real on them?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Annaliese marched over and whacked the back of her brothers head. ¡°What have I told you about that attitude?! That¡¯s bad, Raegan!¡±


    ¡°At least Annaliese has a good head on her shoulders,¡± Lucy remarked with bemusement.


    ¡°Only come up with plans to ruin the Sages and rude nobles who order me to give them  Fate!¡± Annaliese ordered, wagging a finger at him. ¡°Just because they¡¯re powerful doesn¡¯t mean they¡¯re mean! You should be trying to ruin the villains if you¡¯re the enemy of the Citadel!¡±


    Lucille gazed at the sibling duo with incredulity. She turned to face their guard. ¡°You¡¯re terrible at parenting!¡±


    ¡°P-Parenting?!¡± Jasten stared at her with the same level of shock and horror. ¡°I¡¯m thirty two!¡±


    ¡°No, no, both of you are missing the big picture.¡± Scytale nodded sagely and lifted his chin up as he raised a finger in front of the siblings. ¡°You¡¯re being too obvious! The most important thing when you¡¯re trying to screw someone over is to keep it subtle. Don¡¯t let anyone know what you plan to do, even your friends!¡±


    ¡°Forget the distorter, everybody in the Headquarters will be the death of me this time around,¡± Lucy muttered too low for them to hear. The Paladin sent her a quizzical look but it was obvious he didn¡¯t understand any part of the picture. Lucille took out her jug artifact to pour herself some coffee and began sipping it. ¡°So, Annaliese. I hope you and your brother don¡¯t plan on putting these plans of ruining the Sages into action within the next century.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have any plans to do that,¡± Raegan scoffed. ¡°But if the right opportunity comes along¡­ well¡­¡±


    ¡°And what kind of opportunity would this be?¡± Lucy took another sip.


    ¡°When your plans of Realm Domination succeed!¡± Annaliese announced.


    The coffee went down the wrong pipe and Lucy spluttered. Scytale grinned.


    ¡°¡­I have no plans of ¡®Realm Domination¡¯ as you put it, and even if I did, I¡¯d have to be a lot stupider than I am right now to proceed with something like that,¡± Lucille finally retorted. ¡°I am a leader of a merchant organisation, let alone a member of the Empire¡¯s nobility. Treason that would be, and I¡¯d rather live, thank you very much.¡±


    The siblings stared at her until they turned to each other. ¡°She didn¡¯t fall for it, did she?¡± Annaliese asked Raegan.


    He shook his head. ¡°I told you. You wouldn¡¯t get her to tell us her plans that easily.¡±


    Lucy sighed and put her coffee down, feeling tired after dealing with the two sibling¡¯s antics. ¡°Anyway, a belated happy 17<sup>th</sup> birthday to you, Annaliese, considering we couldn¡¯t meet last month.¡±


    Annaliese beamed. ¡°Thanks!¡± She sent Scytale a sneaky look. ¡°Scytale told me in your home world you celebrate birthdays and give each other presents every year though¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t push your luck. You got that hair comb from me, that¡¯s enough.¡± Lucy stood up and snatched the knife that the boys were bickering over. She passed it to Jasten. ¡°Sir Albrecht can keep hold of this and control when you have it while you stay here. I¡¯m not having any of us get poisoned because you thought it would be funny, Raegan.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that! ¡­.probably!¡±


    ¡°Sometimes, I wonder how you can be so unfazed by his personality,¡± Sir Albrecht muttered as she passed.


    I lived in the Death Monarch¡¯s private dimension for five years while dealing with his humour. I think I can deal with a twisted little kid.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just say I have experience with people who have morbid humour,¡± she stated dryly. ¡°I¡¯m going to have dinner. Stay here and come up with conspiracies about my plans all you want, but I want food.¡±


    Scytale, Raegan and Annaliese glanced at each other, then stood up and followed her. If there was one thing everybody enjoyed about the Headquarters, it was that their chefs were the best.

 Chapter 87 (2 of 2) The Tumultuous Past of the Goldcroft Heir.

    -4 days later-


    [Secondary Skill: Reward | Type: Demonic/Lexicon                               ]


    Rarity: Ancient


    Desc: Not many are brave enough to request a reward from the Demon Emperor himself. Nor do many have the sheer audacity to do so. Most consider surviving a meeting with him their reward. You¡¯re a living miracle, in more ways than one.


    Kudos to you for finally getting A########### to do something for a change, I guess.


    Abilities:


    Polyhistor of Daemons ¨C A genius scholar of the Great Beings.


    <ul>


    <li>Due to the User¡¯s expertise in a multitude of areas regarding the Great Beings, this has amplified the skill to grant them the ability to understand Ancient Daemon traces and sigils.</li>


    </ul>


    Demonologist of the P?????????????????????????r?????????????????????????1??????????????m?????????????????0??????????????G?????????????????????????3?????????????????N???????????????????????1???????????????+????????????????????????r??????????? - Sorry. Can¡¯t let you see that.


    <ul>


    <li>Grants the User the ability to use memorised characters of the demonic script to cast demonic spells. User cannot verbally speak demonic spells but may use other mediums.</li>


    <li>User may further their capabilities as their comprehension of demonic script grows.</li>


    </ul>


    [                                                                                                                                                                                        ]


    In the training hall, Lucy crossed her arms, pondering over her new skill. She stretched out a hand in preparation to cast her first demonic spell and-


    ¡°So, what spell are you going to cast first? Tell me!¡± Scytale eagerly interrupted. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor.


    ¡°You are supposed to be hauling clipped leaves to the western entrance for disposable,¡± Lucy replied without looking at her bond.


    ¡°Fat chance.¡± Scytale gestured to her. ¡°Have some enthusiasm outside of your dumb ¡®academic¡¯ curiosity! You might just be the very first non-demon to cast demonic spells! And I¡¯m not talking about witches or warlocks here.¡±


    She sighed. ¡°Just¡­ don¡¯t tell the others. I deal with enough of Annaliese¡¯s curiosity, let alone the two magic addicts under my roof.¡±


    ¡°Not including yourself?¡± he asked cheekily.


    She gave him a pointed glare before shaking her head. Lucille refocused on her skill. ¡°I¡¯m about to begin. Don¡¯t blink or else you¡¯ll miss it.¡±


    Scytale nodded and watched intently. As this was her first time casting a demonic spell, she put most of her focus into activating the skill itself so she knew what to do. Lucy summoned the characters of a weak demonic spell she knew to mind, and infused her mana into the skill. She waited expectantly.


    Nothing happened.


    ¡°Uh¡­ now, I¡¯m pretty sure I never blinked that whole time!¡± Scytale said. ¡°Is that it?! What did it even do?!¡±


    ¡°Curious.¡± Lucille looked at her left palm where the mark of her pact with the Demon Emperor was glowing ominously. ¡°I had thought that this pact may enable me to cast the spells due to the demonic power present in here, but I assumed incorrectly. In fact, it didn¡¯t even register as demonic power to the skill.¡± She took the glove tucked into her belt and pulled it on to hide the mark. ¡°I suppose that the demonic power of the Demon Emperor is just on another level compared to normal demons. It doesn¡¯t even count as the same energy.¡±


    Scytale clicked his tongue. ¡°Did the Demon Emperor scam you or something? The skill is useless now! Until you merge it with your Essential Transmutational Conduit and redirect demonic magic I guess¡­¡±


    ¡°I never intended to use the skill separately in the first place. I always only ever wanted it for my Primary Skill. But¡­¡± The malevolent black dagger she always kept on her person was taken out. Lucy held up Apophis, and the ornament snakes its way around her wrist to face her on eye-level. ¡°What do you think? Would you like to test it?¡±


    Want.


    His ornament¡¯s ruby eyes glowed.


    ¡°If you agree, then¡­¡± Lucille pointed him at the opposing wall of the training hall. ¡°This feels like a ridiculous skill name to say out loud, but Reward!¡±


    A beam of roiling red energy blast out from the curved dagger and shattered against the wall. Lucy stumbled back from the reflected shock of the impact and quickly cut the mana off from Apophis. ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡±


    Apophis¡¯s demonic power quietened, but not before a furious ball of black-tipped blood red flames expanded from the wall, blanketing the surrounding stone in flame-shaped burn marks. Lucy could feel that her skin had become clammy from the sudden lack of mana, as if she had overexerted herself without eating anything for a few hours. She put away the dagger and turned away from the wall.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to think of how I¡¯ll explain the demonic power in the burn marks when Vincent inevitably comes to investigate,¡± she remarked. She sat down next to Scytale and pulled out her Status¡­ and that of Apophis.


    [Status:                                                                      ]


    Name: Lucille Goldcroft (Lvl. 8???9???????)


    Age: 18y


    Race: Human


    HP: 52800/52800    {+229/1m}


    MP: 1/18850   {+2200/1m}


    Stats:


    Free Stat Points: 409


    [Bonuses: +704 CON, +129 STR, +122 INT, +65 WIS]


    STR: &???????????7???????????2????????????     (352)(+704)                SPRT: 7000


    CON: _??????????????????2??????&????????????????????7????????? (516)(+129)               MENT:65


    AGI: *???????????????????2?????????????????)?????????????9??????????????????????    (277)                              CHAR: 5???????????????^???????????????????????7???????????????????


    DEX: 1??????????????????????????????????5???????????????????????????????????!??????????????????????3??????????????????????????????    (202)                             CHP: -???????????????????????????????????


    INT: 3?????????@????????????2???????????????9???????????  (255)(+122)                HRP: -?????????????????????????????


    WIS: N??????????????????????????3?????????????????????????????????$?????????????????????????????8???????????  (155)(+65)


    [Origin Skill: Simulacrum Realm | Type: System/Spiritual/Realm


    Desc: [Collapsed]


    Subskills: [Collapsed]


    Awakening: 100%.                                                                 ]


    Skills:


    Primary Skills:


    [Alter-Ego]


    [Essence Transmutation Conduit]


    Secondary Skills:


    [Mark of the Primordial Demon                              ]


    [Energy Anomaly Automated Indication            ]


    [Elemental Integrity Verification]


    [Environmental Analysis Var. 3]


    [Chaotic Usurpation Perspective]


    [Codex of Reminiscence]


    [Memory Transubstantiate]


    [Prodigious Archmage¡¯s First Steps]


    [Gemstone Processor ¨C Spell Imbuement]


    [Soul Cipher Orchestrator of Affray ¨C Histrionic Dramatourgos]


    [Reward]


    Tertiary Skills:


    [Energy Field Detection]


    []


    As her Status got invariably more complex, with the Aspect Enhancements on top, the System reverted her Status to its original every time she applied a new stack to her Aspects. It was likely some confluence between the Influence of the Casket of Boons and the System interacting, but it was more effort than it was worth reimplementing her modifications. Lucy was considering leaving the changes the next time it happened¡­ but not yet.


    Just over 450 stats of her Status came from the food she had consumed, but in total her Status was still under less than half of the maximum for a Rank-1, which was 4920 including Aspect multipliers. That was not the case for the other Ranks. Because Rank-1 consisted of levels 11-199, it was close to two hundred levels worth of stats in one Rank.


    It made it very clear to her though that while she wanted her CON to be high, it was far ahead of the others. That wasn¡¯t intentional. It was because the stats she had obtained from the Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis were all CON-adjacent due to the minerals and metals the monsters used in their bodies. And while she had worked hard on her Codex of Reminiscence to gain more INT and WIS¡­


    The amount of mana it took to cast the small demonic spell was horrendous. And one look at Apophis¡¯s Status showed it didn¡¯t even take just her own mana.


    [Status:                                                              ]


    Name: The Serpent¡¯s Fang: Apophis (Lvl. 68)


    Race: Demonic Weapon


    Rarity: Forbidden - Epic (Evolvable)


    MP: 1/2140


    Stats:


    ATK: 2340


    MATK: 780


    SATK: 780


    CHP: 1


    Skills:


    <ul>


    <li>Burning Blood-Feud</li>


    <li>Twin Souls: Chaos</li>


    </ul>


    [                                                                           ]


    Compared to her own mana, it wasn¡¯t much, but considering a living weapon sustained its life on the energies of its soul and mana, it was a massive drain on Apophis. The light of the blade¡¯s demonic aura glowed dimly.


    She put him down and sighed. ¡°I will definitely not be able to cast demonic spells whenever I want. While an invaluable skill¡­ it¡¯s not practical. Not unless you¡¯re an Archmage.¡±


    Lucille studied the burn marks in the distance. ¡°Although¡­ I never intended for it to be that big. I wanted to cast a spell roughly the strength of an intermediate fireball. The power I intended was amplified by ten times.¡±


    She looked down at Apophis. ¡°It seems your skill name of ¡®Burning Blood-Feud¡¯ meant more than I originally supposed. You seem to have an aptitude for flame-related demonic abilities.¡±


    Scytale whistled and picked the curved dagger up. ¡°Does this mean we know what kind of ability you¡¯re going to get when you next evolve?¡±


    ¡°Quite possibly we do. But in hindsight, maybe we should¡¯ve expected this.¡± She pointed at the black sun insignia engraved on the diamond-shaped ruby on Apophis¡¯s pommel. ¡°A ¡®sun¡¯ is one of the first things that come to mind when heat and light are mentioned. Going by their contrasting qualities too¡­¡± Lucy hummed as she looked at Ouroboros. ¡°I¡¯d say Ouroboros has qualities of water. The moon and water are frequently linked.¡±


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Guess you¡¯ll need to talk to Count Chavaret about how to evolve them,¡± Scytale said, resting his chin on his hand. ¡°When was it that you would be going to the Chavaret place? January?¡±


    ¡°Yes, then.¡± She stood up and stretched. ¡°We only have two months left in the year, however, so it¡¯s not that far away.¡±


    ¡°You have the end of year Banquet thing to prepare for though.¡± Her bond put his hands behind his head and laid on his back. ¡°That¡¯ll keep you busy.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Oh, no.¡± Lucille shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t plan to go to the Banquet this year. With the involvement of the Heavenly Realm and my strong suspicions that all of this has something to do with Sect Leader Leng Xiuying mean it won¡¯t be for the best to go there this time. I don¡¯t want the truth of my relationship with the Counties being leaked just yet. Ideally, it¡¯d only start leaking a little before the Millennium Chapter.¡±


    ¡°Well, currently you have the Prodigious Archmage¡¯s First Steps, which allows you to mimic monster and bloodline magic,¡± Scytale counted. ¡°And now you have this dumb sounding ¡®Reward¡¯ skill for demonic spells. That means you have death mana and spirit magic to learn now, right?¡±


    Scytale pointed at her. ¡°Do we get to spend November hunting for the perfect spirit magic on Glenheim? It might be nice to finish of the year that way. Get some levelling in too. Isn¡¯t there a Legendary Dungeon on that plane?¡±


    ¡°A Legendary Dungeon might be too much, but¡­¡± Lucy started walking towards the exit. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it. As long as nothing goes wrong this month.¡±


    The humanoid snake stood up and walked up to her. ¡°There¡¯s another reason why I¡¯m mentioning Glenheim though, Lucy,¡± he added in a low voice. ¡°The Spring Queen releases some of the Dew of Lake Daiana within the next six months. I thought you might like to buy it for¡­ you know, him.¡±


    Lucy paused when she heard the name of the substance that passively purified monster essence around the individual and was used to make potent protective amulets. It was a substance given to the Eternal Empire by Glenheim as their yearly tribute. Very rarely was the dew given out to anyone who wasn¡¯t a royal. Even the Duchies needed to buy it from the Eterial royal family.


    She turned to stare at him. ¡°I¡¯m impressed you remembered that information from the past, Scytale.¡±


    He scratched his neck. ¡°I¡­ well, uh, didn¡¯t. It was something I heard being discussed at the debut a few months back. I just thought you might like to know about it¡­ this time.¡±


    Lucille pondered it. ¡°As he grows stronger, the amulet would lose its effectiveness, which makes it less beneficial as his symptoms grow stronger with his power. It would be better if it could be combined with another purifying substance¡­¡±


    ¡°Purifying substances? The most famous one I know of is in the Sanctum of Purity, but I assume you would¡¯ve considered that.¡± Vincent, who had just found them, glanced between them. ¡°Did either of you hear a strange sound, like a fireball exploding? I was coming over here to investigate.¡± He noticed that the door of the training hall was only a few metres away and narrowed his eyes. ¡°Was it you two?¡±


    They looked at each other and shook their heads in sync. ¡°Nope,¡± the replied.


    ¡°¡­really?¡± Vincent still looked suspicious, but shrugged. ¡°I suppose if both of you aren¡¯t admitting to it, then you must be telling the truth. It may have just been Marellen again.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, definitely Marellen,¡± Scytale said, snickering.


    Lucy rolled her eyes and walked off with the two behind her.


    ¡°Anyway, I was searching for you both because Annaliese wishes to say her goodbyes,¡± Vincent informed them, passing the binder he had in one hand to a nearby servant.


    ¡°I know. We¡¯re heading there now,¡± Lucy said. They took a lift and walked until they found themselves in one of the side entrances, where Raegan, Annaliese and Sir Albrecht were. Marellen¡¯s party and the unwilling Sedric had been hauled along, as well as Hargrave. The ex-mercenary was stubbornly pretending not to hear the Prophetess¡¯s pleas to show her his wings again.


    ¡°You took your sweet time,¡± Raegan snarked.


    ¡°You say that as if you¡¯re unhappy, but I know you just don¡¯t want to admit you¡¯d rather be here than at the estate, so you¡¯re perfectly fine with staying here a few more minutes,¡± Lucy stated flatly. The boy shut his mouth and looked away.


    ¡°Lucy!¡± Annaliese pouted. ¡°Tell Jasten he¡¯s being mean! He¡¯s not letting us stay here longer!¡±


    ¡°My job would be on the line if I did that, Prophetess Verdon,¡± Sir Albrecht replied wearily.


    The girl jabbed a finger at him. ¡°It¡¯s Annaliese!¡±


    ¡°Miss Verdon, are you still having this argument with your guarding Paladin?¡± Vincent commented with bemusement.


    She scowled at the aide. ¡°Yes, because I¡¯m in the right! Speaking of which¡­ Vincent! Stop calling me Miss Verdon!¡±


    Vincent looked away. ¡°I couldn¡¯t possibly-¡±


    ¡°Do you want me to start revealing everything you¡¯ve told me about Lucy to her?¡± Annaliese asked smugly.


    Lucy stared at her, then at her aide. ¡°Excuse me? What¡¯s this about me?¡±


    ¡°¡­I feel honoured to be close enough to call you by your first name, Annaliese,¡± Vincent replied, looking defeated.


    Annaliese nodded, proud of herself. She ran up to Lucille. ¡°It¡¯s time to say goodbye again.¡± She spread her arms.


    Lucy eyed her with distaste. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Awww. Aren¡¯t we friends?¡±


    ¡°The matter of our relationship has nothing to do with my dislike of physical affection. As such, goodbye Annaliese and please be off-¡± Lucille¡¯s expression twitched when the girl hugged her regardless and she extracted herself from the girl¡¯s grip. ¡°Get off!¡±


    When Annaliese finally let go she gave them a cheery wave and left as swiftly as she had arrived. Lucy gazed dully after them until they were out of the view, then she whirled around to give her aide a bright smile. ¡°What¡¯s this about telling Annaliese about me, Vincent?¡±


    Vincent gazed at her with a bitter smile, as if seeing his work life about to get much worse.


    ¡­


    ¡°So you really never told her to give me hugs or anything remotely similar?¡± Lucy asked suspiciously. They were in her living room.


    Vincent quickly shook his head. ¡°No, never. It seems to be something she decided upon herself. The fact you never seem to outwardly flinch or be repulsed by the show of affection probably doesn¡¯t help that fact though.¡±


    She pinched her nose bridge. Vincent went silent for a moment until he held his chin and tilted his head. ¡°Pardon me for asking if this is too personal, but are you averse to touch? I never took you for a hugger, but surely you could avoid it if it bothered you that much.¡±


    ¡®I¡¯m not¡­ exactly averse to it.¡± Lucy looked at her hands. ¡°I don¡¯t gain the same emotional response from it as others do.¡± She gained a wry smile. ¡°It probably doesn¡¯t help that the last time I was hugged by someone would¡¯ve been 162 years ago. It wasn¡¯t¡­ an entirely enjoyable experience.¡±


    ¡°Not enjoyable?¡± Vincent asked, quirking an eyebrow.


    ¡°Yes, well, when a grown man is sobbing while clinging to you it¡¯s not fun,¡± Lucy replied flatly. ¡°Not when you know you¡¯re the reason for him acting like that, anyway.¡±


    Vincent gained a strange expression. ¡°Who in the realms?¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± She glanced at him. ¡°My former Vice Admiral.¡± She turned away to shrug off her suit jacket and take off the two sheaths on her belt. ¡°He¡¯s a demi-Atlantean. That is why I was discussing purifying substances with Scytale earlier. By the way, I hadn¡¯t actually considered the Sanctum of Purity in Atlantea yet, so take credit for the suggestion,¡± she pointed out. ¡°While I try, I can¡¯t possibly consider something from every angle.¡±


    But Vincent didn¡¯t look like he had heard the last part. He was busy counting something. ¡°You were¡­ 88. Didn¡¯t you say you quit the Navy at 40? What happened?¡± He paused as he saw her expressionless face. ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me anything if you don¡¯t want to.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine.¡± She shook her head and sat down on the couch. ¡°It¡¯s ancient history, and history that won¡¯t ever come to pass again anyway. All things considered, it had ended on a surprisingly positive note.¡± Lucille looked up at the roof. ¡°You¡¯re aware that my unique magic is to create illusory monsters, correct? As a demi-Atlantean, he has adverse effects to any and all monsters. Events forced us to stick beside each other, but we started out from the wrong foot to begin with.¡±


    Lucy twirled a finger with an air of casual indifference. ¡°You may not know this, but I was very famous on my home world. I¡¯d like to say that at least 70% of the population had heard of me. There were other people from my world in the Navy, and I didn¡¯t want any of them to learn I was in any way connected to their world. So, I put up a mask.¡±


    She crossed her arms. ¡°If I had perfected my mask a bit better, than maybe the relationship between me and my Vice Capt- my Vice Admiral might¡¯ve remained strictly professional. As it was, I couldn¡¯t hide the fact I felt responsible for him, and his sensitivity to the emotions of others meant he could see I was hiding a lot more turmoil and fear behind my cold mask.¡± Lucy sighed. ¡°Then it all came crashing down as the rest of my crew, including the people from my home world, began to place more trust in me. I was their leader, but I had to remain distant from all the people I had learnt to care about for fear they¡¯d discover more about me than I wanted them to know.¡±


    She looked away and rested her chin on her hand. ¡°Skip a few years after a disaster in my fifteenth year of the Navy, one that involved a great loss of lives, and when I quit my job as Admiral my Vice Admiral had to quit along with me, as was the custom. Instead of keeping in contact with him and the remaining crew, I retreated far from the Distorted Depths and joined the Athenaeum Academy as a professor. Unfortunately, when¡­ someone¡­ from my past came to find me again, I decided to fake my death.¡±


    Vincent remained completely silent. Scytale had snuck into the room at one point, but when he heard them he quietly by passed them and entered the kitchen.


    Lucy clasped her hands together. ¡°News got back to my former Vice Admiral before I could address the issue. In the wake of everything that had transpired, he blamed himself and thought that it was his job to keep us all together.¡± She gained a lopsided smirk. ¡°I decided to give him something worth living for. All he needed was someone else to blame instead of himself. I¡¯m quite a good actor, and had learnt how to hide my emotions from those around me¡­ and even myself. He never suspected I was lying. In some ways it hurt¡­ but I didn¡¯t deserve to think about that.¡±


    She held up a hand, looking at her fingers. ¡°For twenty-five years he tried to find me. When I was 83, it finally clicked for him what was happening, with a bit of prodding from our mutual friend. I didn¡¯t visit him at that time though. I wanted¡­ to make sure he had found something else to live for.¡±


    Lucille chuckled self-derisively. ¡°I¡¯ll always regret never being able to attend his wedding, but when I was 88 and finally mustered up the courage to see him again. I visited him, we made up, and then I left.¡± She spread her hands. ¡°We never met each other again after that. We went our separate ways, and I was satisfied with seeing that he had a family.¡±


    The room stayed silent. Lucy smirked and leaned back. ¡°So, how was it? Was it an anticlimactic ending? Most happy endings are often like that.¡±


    ¡°¡­is it happy if you never saw each other again?¡± Vincent asked with a frown.


    ¡°Why not?¡± She shrugged. ¡°I had always held regrets about not being able to protect my crew the way I wanted. You see me as someone always being productive and constructive, but the truth is that I¡¯m far better at destroying and annihilating things than creating them. Everywhere I went I left a¡­ void behind of what was once there. By leaving I was at least able to protect one of the people closest to me.¡±


    ¡°That feels too harsh,¡± Vincent argued.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, I enjoy destroying things.¡± Lucille¡¯s smirk grew wider. ¡°It wasn¡¯t for no reason that many people called me a psychopath before I arrived in the Tower. And I made that ¡®void¡¯ into something more useful. Permanently sealing away and destroying things that even a ¡®Hero¡¯ could never do good with.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve lived¡­ an eventful life,¡± Vincent slowly replied.


    ¡°Ha. But that wasn¡¯t even half of my lifetime.¡± Lucy stood up and walked over to the window. ¡°Vincent, if you can, please find out when the next auction of crystals from the Sanctum of Purity are. For an Atlantean, they¡¯re the best way to limit the effects of monsters on them.¡±


    ¡°The royal family of Atlantea only accepts crystalline tokens at the auction, and the Founder¡¯s vault doesn¡¯t have any as they¡¯re all consumed to improve the Faction,¡± he carefully refuted.


    She waved him off. ¡°I¡¯ll pay for it personally. I have close to a thousand crystal tokens in spare pocket money, and I¡¯m prepared to use it all.¡±


    Vincent stood up, nodded with a bow, and left the room. Lucille leaned her arms on the windowsill.


    At the end of the day, if her identity as the Goldcroft heir had been revealed, it wouldn¡¯t have been a catastrophe. Her fear stemmed from other reasons. Reasons that she never wanted her two remaining family members to hear about.


    ¡­¡­..


    ¡°Maeva. I¡¯ve been thinking this for the last two years out of the twenty I¡¯ve been hunting her, but¡­¡± The sea-green-haired man buried his head into his arms, a bottle clenched in one fist. ¡°I don¡¯t see the point anymore.¡±


    The woman touched his arm. ¡°Does this mean you¡¯re considering¡­ the same things as before she visited?¡±


    He raised his eyes to look at her. ¡°Where did you hear¡­ no, I was probably too obvious.¡± He chuckled derisively and lowered his head back down. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t know anything anymore. I¡¯ve met with all the rest of us who are still alive and well, and every single one of them have told me that I¡¯m being ridiculous. That there¡¯s no way that Adrianna Riftmire could have purposely caused all this strife when she nearly permanently died trying to shield us from the fragment. It makes sense, but¡­¡±


    He lifted his head and pulled at his hair. ¡°Why would she tell me it was her doing then?! Did she really want to cut off all contact with me?!? From all of us?! For some reason, that almost feels like¡­ it would hurt more than if she had betrayed us¡­¡±


    Maeva¡¯s hand gripped his arm tightly for one moment, almost enough to bruise him. She quickly relaxed and pulled her hand away. She was trembling slightly. ¡°Caspian, have you ever considered¡­ that¡­ this was all her plan?¡±


    ¡°A plan¡­ to make me feel like the worst man alive? Someone who has tried multiple times to kill his former friend and Captain?¡± he replied with a bitter laugh.


    ¡°Realms beyond, Caspian, listen to me!¡± Maeva gripped his shoulders. ¡°Captain is one of the smartest and most powerful people any of us have ever met. But she has her weaknesses. I can¡¯t¡­ I can¡¯t see you keep going around in circles like this any longer. Captain would never want any of us to die, so how desperate do you think she was to see you like that?!¡±


    Caspian stared at her with bloodshot eyes. They began to water and he rubbed them furiously. ¡°I am¡­ I¡¯m really the worst person alive.¡± He let out a short, laugh and clumsily stood up, pulling on his coat. ¡°I-I need to go, Maeva. I need to find her.¡±


    He ran out the door, leaving it wide open and letting the howling wide and rain in. The blue-haired woman stood up to close it, then she turned around to gaze at the hooded figure who had just walked downstairs with reproach. ¡°Are you going to blame me for what I just did?¡±


    She, the hooded figure leaning against the wall, let out a long sigh. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t done it, then¡­ I was going to do it. This has dragged out for too long.¡±


    ¡°You said that the last few times you¡¯ve been here,¡± Maeva muttered. She walked up to the table and slumped in a seat. ¡°Will you let him find you?¡±


    ¡°¡­not ¡­yet.¡± She looked at the door her former Vice Admiral had left through. ¡°He still hasn¡¯t found something else to live for. Until that happens¡­¡±


    ¡°And how long will that take?¡± Maeva asked.


    She remained silent. Maeva huffed and looked away. ¡°As long as it takes, huh.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep updating you with letters.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already told you to stop sending me letters,¡± Maeva retorted. ¡°You know I hate you, Captain.¡±


    ¡°Yet you reply to my letters all the same.¡±


    Maeva took a swig of a bottle and buried her head in her arms. ¡°Dammit.¡±


    ¡­


    It was quaint and pleasant. The house bordered a calm forest, and rolling green hills stretched out in front of it. Smoke was escaping the stout chimney on top of the red brick roof.


    She had chosen to come wearing dark blue pants and a navy long-sleeved top. She hadn¡¯t touched her uniform again after she quit, but she wanted to wear something¡­ similar¡­ so he could recognise her. Not that anyone could misremember someone with hair quite as outlandish as hers.


    She stiffened up when the door of the house a few hundred metres away opened up, and a man with familiar sea green hair walked out. He scanned the view with a hand over his eyes and seemed to smile as he breathed in the fresh air. Then his eyes fell on her.


    There was a tense moment when their eyes locked. After a moment of hesitation, she slowly began to keep walking. The man seemed likewise hesitant as he remained standing at the doorway. Then he walked forward too.


    Not a word was said between them until they were a metre away from each other.


    ¡°¡­hello, Captain,¡± Caspian said.


    ¡°I¡¯m not Captain of anybody anymore, Wharifin.¡±


    ¡°Force of habit, I suppose.¡± He gave her a wry smile that slowly faded, and then he stared at her.


    The silence grew awkward and she put a hand to her neck to rub it. She looked away. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ sorry, Caspi-¡± Her words were halted when Caspian wrapped her in a hug, tears trailing down his cheeks. Completely stunned by the situation, her body locked up and she couldn¡¯t do or say anything.


    Sensing her discomfort, Caspian let out a choked laugh in between sobs. ¡°I-It¡¯s okay, Captain. You don¡¯t have to do anything. Just a moment longer.¡±


    A moment was all it was, and he pulled away, still having his hands on either side of her shoulders. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it. Have¡­ have you been well?¡±


    She glanced behind her and gave a slight shrug. ¡°As well as I can be. I¡¯ve recently been investigating the ancient past of the Demon Realm. It¡¯s been an¡­ interesting experience.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± Caspian smiled and then started as if shocked. ¡°Ah- um, do you want to come inside? Can I get you anything? Tea, or coffee- I know how you used to say you liked it, and I¡¯ve garnered a taste for it too over the years. I¡¯ll introduce you to my kids and-¡± His stopped speaking when he was her expressionless face. ¡°You¡¯re not staying,¡± he stated.


    She shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m leaving the Mystical Realm, Caspian. I won¡¯t be back here for a very long time.¡±


    He scratched his head and looked at the ground, likely not wanting to say goodbye so soon.


    She put a hand on his shoulder and turned him to face his house. ¡°Go home to your family, Caspian. My place isn¡¯t in this realm, or the Beast Realm, or the Demon Realm, and I find myself wondering if even Earth is my home either. But this realm is your home.¡±


    He opened his mouth to argue but one exasperated look from her as she crossed her arms shut him up. ¡°Caspian, your wife of five years has just seen her grown husband crying over an unfamiliar woman while you came running to me, leaving her with no explanation. Go back and explain this to her.¡± She pointed at the slim blonde woman holding an infant as a toddler clung to her dress, standing in front of the house.


    ¡°You still don¡¯t have any delicacy after all these years,¡± he replied with amusement. He glanced back and gave her a bitter smile. ¡°Could I at least have my kids meet you?¡±


    She hesitated. ¡°I-¡± But if this was the last request from a friend she¡¯d never see again¡­ she could at least fulfil this. She slowly nodded. ¡°¡­show me them.¡±


    Caspian smiled and began walking back over to his house, with her following behind. ¡°Well, the oldest is Derin, while our youngest is called Ariane¡­¡±

 Chapter 88 (1 of 2) Before all hell breaks loose.

    Lucille held up the dull, enchantingly ominous pendant. The ruby locket didn¡¯t respond to any of her prodding, both mana and spiritual energy unable to penetrate it. If it held mana, it was impossibly solid and held in place by a will magnitudes more powerful than hers.


    Her attempts to use the Shard of Totality didn¡¯t do much either, because there was nothing much to reveal. It was exactly as Rouge Ellsinore had said ¨C that it was a means of communication between Hargrave and the first True Vampire.


    And his locket also happened to be a cursed item that would forcefully enslave the wielder using the mana within and turn them into a living thrall. The item was a master and slave pair, with the one intended for Hargrave being a slave locket.


    Hargrave being the Blood Patriarch and ruler over all blood and blood mana, it wasn¡¯t a possibility for him to be enslaved, so all that remained was the ability of the ¡®master¡¯ to communicate with the thrall. She supposed an item like that could be seen as a trinket or souvenir of some kind by others who saw him, as it would be obvious to see that Hargrave wasn¡¯t a thrall. This class of magical brainwashing and enslavement was easily spotted, as the victim¡¯s eyes turned red, their mana became chaotic and unstable, and as their bodies were disconnected from their minds, they acted little more as semi-sapient zombies.


    Thralls, the lowest class of vampire, were created with the blood of a stronger vampire and the brainwashing wore off unless regular blood infusions were done. If Hargrave walked around with the locket that was clearly the slave locket, but it didn¡¯t affect him, it would be seen as broken or the mana had been consumed. As a slave locket it prevented any vampires from wanting to take it from him too. Lucy knew only fifty slave lockets and three master lockets were ever crafted, but one master locket and half the slave lockets had been destroyed.


    The master-slave lockets were famous items with the ability to make and control a thrall from a long distance ¨C very valuable for the current members of Vampyreus. What noble would dislike making another noble their pawn? Especially when the lockets could cause someone to spill their secrets.


    Still, thrall enslavement was imperfect, just as any other enslavement magic was imperfect. The only kind of enslavement Lucy knew to be almost perfect was soul slaves, a terrible ability used by the Heavenly Realm.


    For all that I dislike the System Contract, it is nowhere near as invasive as the sensation of your own soul being defiled.


    ¡°I heard you wanted to speak with me, Lucille?¡± Hargrave asked, looking around the doorframe.


    ¡°Yes. Come in, I have something to give you.¡± When the scarlet and blue-haired man sat opposite her she put the locket on the table. ¡°I¡¯ll begin with telling you this: an undead vampire passed this to me, requesting I give it to you.¡±


    Hargrave stared at the item, then at her. ¡°Why... why me?¡±


    ¡°Because you¡¯re the Blood Patriarch.¡±


    His eyes widened. ¡°The vampires discovered that? How? Didn¡¯t you say it would be dangerous for them to know about me-¡±


    ¡°Hargrave.¡± She held up a hand to pause him. ¡°Firstly, I never spoke to them or anyone about your Blood Patriarch status, so this was done on their own. Secondly, the undead vampires of Tartarus are a very different political force than that of the Evernight March of Vampyreus.¡± Lucille shook her head. ¡°The last name Vampyreus has never once applied to the undead vampires who requested I pass this on because they gained the Marquess fief millennia after they became undead. Vampyreus isn¡¯t directly descended from any of them. And thirdly, they know this because they¡¯re part of an information organisation more capable than Ravimoux.¡±


    Lucy crossed her arms and leaned back. ¡°As for why they met with me, I¡¯ve been working with their organisation exactly because I know their capabilities. This request came as a shock to me too.¡±


    Hargrave considered it. ¡°I... believe I understand now. That must¡¯ve been why you were meeting with a phantom several times. He must¡¯ve reported my presence to them.¡±


    Lucille narrowed her eyes and looked out of the window behind her. ¡°It seems I¡¯ll have to report to someone about his lacking stealth skills.¡± She sighed and turned back. ¡°But yes, we have a collaborative relationship. It¡¯s not up to me to make the decision of whether you should use the item or not, but what I do know is that it¡¯ll allow the leader of the undead vampires to talk to you. Theoretically, that should be the only thing it does.¡±


    Lucy hesitated. ¡°However, the abilities of someone that old are still difficult for me to estimate, so he might be able to do something more. But as the Blood Patriarch, you still hold authority over blood mana, so he shouldn¡¯t be able to do much.¡± She pointed at the locket. ¡°Do what you want with this. I don¡¯t have the power nor the desire to withhold it from you.¡±


    ¡°...if you were in my position, what would you do?¡± he slowly asked.


    Should I take his request for advice as a sign he trusts me a little more?


    ¡°If I was in your position, I would use it, no doubt about it,¡± she stated blandly. ¡°We¡¯re talking about the oldest group of vampires in the Tower today. The information they might have is worth any risk. Additionally, because of the theoretical control over blood mana I¡¯d have, it¡¯s very unlikely they could pose a threat to me, besides their death mana. The Eternal Empire would retaliate when their nobility detected the presence of such powerful undead in the Mystical Realm too, so it¡¯s unlikely any harm could come to me if they decided to visit in person.¡±


    Lucy raised an eyebrow. ¡°Does that satisfy your curiosity?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°It does. Thank you.¡± Hargrave looked down at the locket and then picked it up to hang around his neck. ¡°I¡¯m not sure when or how the communication will activate, so I¡¯ll wear this until I speak with the vampire.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s smart.¡± Lucille picked up a cup of coffee on the table to sip. ¡°I heard you¡¯re planning to visit a Dungeon to level up. With the Barbosas¡¯, Roa and Marellen gone, the Headquarters will feel somewhat empty.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure Annaliese¡¯s return next month will keep you occupied,¡± he replied.


    She rolled her eyes and put the drink down. Lucy stood up and picked up her cane. ¡°Every time I see her again, I have to wonder what went through the minds of the Sages to let her keep coming here. I hope they don¡¯t plan to invite me to the Imperialius branch of the Citadel.¡± She shuddered.


    ¡°Fate... hm.¡± Hargrave frowned and absentmindedly ran a hand over the locket he was wearing. ¡°I hadn¡¯t considered the effects of Fate for my future revenge. If the General of Blazing Iron has a significant quantity of fate and the backing of a Sage, my plans may fail.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be worried as those with potential and power naturally have high Fate, and only the diviners of the Heavenly Realm take it from you.¡± She raised a finger. ¡°But when Annaliese next comes, I¡¯m sure you could ask her about your Fate. She¡¯s forbidden from using her Fate essence to enhance anyone¡¯s Fate without the Sages permission, but reading your Fate would be fine. It¡¯s her natural ability to read Fate.¡±


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°I might do that then.¡± He glanced at the door and stood up. ¡°I might go top up my supplies in preparation for my trip. I¡¯ll tell you what happens if the vampire contacts me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s your private business, not mine.¡± Lucy shook her head and raised her hands. ¡°I have a good relationship with their organisation, but if it¡¯s not something important for me to know, then it¡¯ll be easier for you to avoid discussing it.¡±


    ¡°...I see.¡± Hargrave nodded and left her living room. He noticed Trisroa standing outside of the room and acknowledged her with a dip of his head.


    ¡°Interesting pendant. It does not quite look to me something that suits him, however,¡± the snow elf mused as she came in. ¡°I hear that you have come to finish our deal?¡±


    Lucille smiled and held her hands slightly apart, Apophis held in one of them. Black demonic sigils formed a vortex of chaotic red energy between her gloves. ¡°You were curious about what ability I¡¯d gain from the Demon Realm, correct?¡±


    Roa¡¯s eyes widened and she rushed forward, crouching slightly to inspect the demonic spell in the formation. ¡°Fascinating... yet I have heard that it is nigh on impossible to cast true demonic spells without chanting the demon tongue. But you cannot possibly be drawing on a demonic lineage for an ability, as you have no descendency from them.¡±


    The elven mage¡¯s eyes widened as a thought came to her. ¡°Your high spiritual power and ability to cast demonic magic... is it a possibility that one of your classes pertains to witchcraft-¡±


    ¡°Wildly incorrect.¡± Lucy grinned and collapsed the spell. Apophis¡¯s scarlet glow returned as he used his energy draining ability to recover the lost mana and demonic power. ¡°And believe it or not, a witchcraft class can¡¯t be gained using the System unless you have a very faint demonic lineage. Same goes for warlocks.¡±


    ¡°Intriguing...¡± Roa murmured. She stood up and politely bowed. ¡°Forgive me for lack of decorum. All magics fascinate me to no end.¡± She sat down with her staff on her lap and gestured to Lucy. ¡°Will you reveal the tale of how you gained this ability?¡±


    ¡°Hmm...¡± Lucy pondered it and smiled slightly as she concocted a feasible story that interspersed a few white lies and half-truths, implying that her skill was a reward for conquering a Stronghold instead of from the Demon Emperor himself.


    Trisroa enthusiastically absorbed the information and the conversation quickly led onto what Lucy discovered about Ancient Daemon seals in her Stages...


    ...


    Lucy knocked on the dark wood door. When she waited for a couple of minutes but nothing happened, she knocked again, slightly louder.


    The door opened to reveal the face of a 12-year-old boy. He looked her up and down and backed up slightly, peeking around the doorway. ¡°...who are you?¡±


    ¡°Is Lucius in?¡± she asked calmly.


    ¡°Lucius...¡± His face scrunched up as he tried to puzzle out who she meant.


    ¡°Director Farrow,¡± she informed him.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Realisation dawned and he nodded his head. ¡°I think he¡¯s in his study... but do you know him?¡±


    Lucy smiled. ¡°I¡¯m a friend. Mabel knows me too. You could check with her if you want.¡±


    The boy thought about it and quickly ran off, looking for the other member of the orphanage. When he returned, the girl was trailing behind. She saw Lucille and nodded. ¡°That¡¯s Lucy. I can go back to playing now, right?¡±


    She walked off before either of them could reply. The boy shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll take you to Director Farrow.¡±


    He did as he had said and left her to knock on the door and push it open. Lucius was sitting on a windowsill while reading the bundle of letters in his hands. Thin-framed reading glasses were perched on the end of his nose.


    ¡°Ah, Lucille. Feel free to sit down while I finish these off,¡± Lucius said with a quick glance.


    Lucy took off her trench coat and folded it over her arm as she sat down in an armchair opposite his desk. ¡°I wonder what will happen to the eyesight of the lower races if even the Death Monarch has to wear glasses. I take it that it¡¯s another one of your whims.¡±


    The dark-haired man took off his black glasses and held them up. ¡°Do they suit me? I could never extract a sincere answer from my regent, but I¡¯ve had the habit of wearing them for the last hundred millennia. Just another method I use to tie myself to the ways of the lower races around me.¡±


    Lucy considered it. ¡°They suit you to some degree, but I can¡¯t help but consider it a futile effort when your relatively young appearance is taken into account. I suppose the fact you wear them as reading glasses helps that.¡±


    ¡°Ah, but if I chose to use an appearance that reflected my age, I fear I¡¯d be bonier than the liches under my command,¡± Lucius refuted. ¡°That look wouldn¡¯t be conducive for my role as a guardian for my children.¡±


    ¡°Well, regardless.¡± Lucy raised an eyebrow. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of letters. Have you been busy?¡±


    It looked like he was going to say no, but then he paused, looked at her, and his eyebrows shot up. ¡°Now that I think about it... because of this arrangement between you and my little Court, many of the Ninety-Nine have increased their efforts in reaching out to me. They are always capable of talking to me whenever they choose, of course, but they all keep to the master-servant with much more strictness than I find satisfactory.¡±


    Lucy¡¯s expression twitched slightly as she knew what exact ability and trait of his he was referring to when he mentioned communicating anywhere in the realm. It stemmed from a much more terrifying secret than most would expect, relating to the middle name he chose for himself. She looked away. ¡°It would be hard for any member of Tartarus to treat the being that has existed over many epochs and World Tree Renewal Apocalypses.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Lucius held his chin and smirked. ¡°Yet you seem capable of it.¡±


    ¡°You can thank my ignorant former self for that.¡± Lucille shook her head and then took out a large bag from her dimensional pouch. ¡°I brought the liquorice you were interested in.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Lucius grabbed the bag from her and took one out to try it. He tilted his head. ¡°An interesting sweet. I¡¯ll use this as a reward for my children when they¡¯ve behaved.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m curious.¡± Lucy leaned her chin on her hand. ¡°Why did you choose to run an orphanage in the first place? The death race are as far removed from mortals as dragons are from non-magical reptiles. This is while discounting the fact that a ruler of the realm of death chose to care for mortal children in a completely different realm.¡±


    Lucius blinked. ¡°Have I not told you this before?¡±


    She fell silent. ¡°...when we met, besides being told of your orphanage, I wasn¡¯t in a position to be able to question you about that sensitive topic.¡±


    As a mortal, I wasn¡¯t feeling very confident asking the Death Monarch about the orphanage he ran that was destroyed by other mortals.


    ¡°Ah...¡± He smiled bitterly. ¡°I doubt I would¡¯ve minded, but I likely appreciated the thought behind it.¡± He looked out the window, glanced at her, then winked. He put a finger on his lips. ¡°That will be a secret for now.¡±


    ¡°Your scheme to make me continue visiting, I see,¡± Lucy said with a smirk. ¡°Speaking of which, I came to inform you that I won¡¯t be able to visit until next year.¡±


    She blinked when Lucius just stared at her. ¡°Is something wrong, Lucius?¡±


    ¡°No... it will be fine.¡± He let out a short sigh then faced her directly with a wide smile. ¡°You¡¯ve piqued my curiosity now, however. Miss Goldcroft, could you deign to explain how our fates became so intertwined? I don¡¯t see that occurring in a fashion like most others make friends.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not as spectacular as you think.¡± Lucy stood up and shrugged. ¡°You saved my life. I was still injured, so you let me recuperate in your dimension. There is little more I can say about how our relationship developed.¡±


    He rubbed his chin. ¡°Saved your life... that implies a powerful enemy had injured you and I needed to hide you while you healed. From our prior conversations, I¡¯ll presume it was this ¡®Distorter¡¯. If I assigned him such a label, he must surely have been a terrible threat to the realms.¡± Lucius spun around to face the window and picked up a pen to write a letter. ¡°Tell me of their characteristics, and I¡¯ll send someone to deal with them immediately-¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t,¡± Lucy refused.


    Lucius turned back. ¡°He¡¯s not just a mortal threat, is he though? I don¡¯t see myself saving you from anyone but someone with large reaching impacts for his actions.¡±


    She shook her head.


    He let out a hum and narrowed his eyes. ¡°Can¡¯t or shouldn¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t.¡± Lucille hesitated as she considered how to frame her reply. ¡°You¡¯re aware of the Ten Students, right?¡±


    Lucius stared at her again for a long time, then clicked his tongue. ¡°Drat. And here I thought this was finally my chance...¡±


    ¡°Chance of what?¡± She raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Nothing.¡± He smiled brightly and then sat down at his desk. ¡°My curiosity has yet to be satisfied, though, so please, let¡¯s continue our conversation so I know what conversations we had in the past.¡±


    ¡°I can say that the first few weren¡¯t as relaxed as these ones,¡± Lucy said with a slight laugh. ¡°But as you wish. As someone fascinated by the connections between my realm and the others, I liked to ask about the unusually specific qualities of the races and the name of Tartarus...¡±


    ...


    Lucille glanced at a wall clock. ¡°I¡¯d best be going. I have to meet with Archduke Eterial today.¡±


    Lucius paused for a fraction of a second. ¡°...today?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the fifteenth, so I need to go.¡± Lucy gave him a slight bow. ¡°I enjoyed today. I look forward to our next meeting, as I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll miss them in the coming months.¡±


    He smiled and gave her a wave. ¡°I enjoyed this too. Have a safe trip.¡±


    When she had left his smile disappeared. He turned to what looked like empty air. ¡°Eidolon.¡±


    ¡°Judging by his actions in the last month, he is prepared to reveal his intentions to her today.¡± The ruling regent of Tartarus appeared in his misty form, kneeling on one knee.


    ¡°Her schedule states she will be visiting the Alichanteu County a week later.¡±


    ¡°Yet she¡¯ll feel pressured, causing her to leave earlier. This will grant them a significant advantage when they begin their plan, as they remain unawares of her spiritual abilities,¡± Lucius murmured. He clicked his tongue and frowned. ¡°What does that demon think he¡¯s doing, passing the responsibility to her.¡± He sighed and looked up at the roof. ¡°Although I doubt this is his plan. He doesn¡¯t like to rely on others, as much as he wishes to limit his work. It must be the doing of that master of his.¡±


    Lucius stood up from his chair. ¡°Not that I truly know the Demon Emperor that well, considering we only met once.¡± He walked over to the window and put his hands on the windowsill, watching Lucy leave through the woods. ¡°Perhaps this¡¯ll be a good learning opportunity for her. While I understand her cautiousness, she hasn¡¯t been proactive enough. My words of the consequences of altering the timeline being greater than she expected was advice to strengthen her standing, not mask herself even further.¡±


    ¡°Do you wish us to resolve this for her?¡±


    ¡°We will do no such thing. I¡¯m not that benevolent, even when it comes to repaying debts. I only offered to remove this Distorter as a test for her and because I¡¯m curious about them myself.¡± Lucius smirked and walked over to his subordinate to pat his shoulder. ¡°The House of Wordless Observers should take care not to offend a girl like that by needlessly interfering either. We won¡¯t be gaining true gratitude from her from that, even if she pretends otherwise.¡±


    ¡°...I feel I must remind you, milord, that Lucille Goldcroft is not a child, physically or mentally.¡±


    Lucius smiled widely. ¡°Everyone is a child until they prove to me that the corruption of the worlds has transformed them. You should know that, Eidolon.¡±

 Chapter 88 (2 of 2) Before all hell breaks loose.

    ¡°Hell no! No way!¡± Scytale crossed his arms in front of him to form an ¡®X¡¯. ¡°Why would I need to go to the Cerulean City? No, you can deal with the grumpy Archduke on your own.¡±


    ¡°Do you seriously think I¡¯m stupid enough to let the Archduke meet you?¡± Lucille hooked an arm around his and dragged him forward. ¡°All I want you to do is do a little poking around near the embassies of the Heavenly Sects and see if you can find any leads.¡± He was far too strong as he strained against her, and she sighed while planting her hands on her hips. ¡°I¡¯m still lost as to why Lucius says this has something to do with the Demon Emperor¡¯s incognito mode clone while he is unaware. Surely he would¡¯ve been told already.¡±


    ¡°Maybe the *thing* behind him doesn¡¯t think it¡¯s important enough,¡± her bond pointed out. ¡°I¡¯m actually getting the picture that Demon Emperus Grumpyus doesn¡¯t like that thing too much.¡±


    ¡°Which doesn¡¯t make sense, because he would¡¯ve consented to the relationship to serve them as his master,¡± she murmured. ¡°The role of the ¡®Authorizer¡¯ is important enough that it needs all parties to be fully willing participants.¡±


    ¡°If you say so.¡± Scytale shrugged and spun around. ¡°I¡¯m going to find out what Sedric is up to-¡±


    ¡°No you¡¯re not.¡± Lucy renewed her dragging. ¡°This way, O¡¯ slippery serpent.¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°You stay out here,¡± Lucille ordered, pointing at the ground. ¡°Capiche?¡±


    He glared at the sky blue carriage that had stopped right in front of the bottom of the hill to let him out. ¡°Why bother to bring me all the way out here?!¡±


    ¡°Because I forgot you needed to be dropped off earlier. Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me¡­¡± Lucy stepped into the carriage and shut the door. It began to roll onwards.


    ¡°You have perfect memory!¡± The humanoid serpent exclaimed with indignance. He scowled as the coach left, and he turned around to face the city. ¡°What in the seven realms am I even supposed to do?¡±


    His face screwed up as he tried to think. ¡°Okay, so¡­ Heavenly Sects¡­ intruders¡­ plots¡­¡± Scytale scratched his head and shrugged. ¡°Nope, I don¡¯t want to think anymore than I have to, and definitely not when I didn¡¯t even want to help Lucy with this.¡±


    He looked around and nodded to himself. ¡°This is about cultivators, right? So first step would be to find a cultivator! Easy peasy!¡±


    ¡­


    With the doorkeepers politely bowing to her, she walked through the double doors three times her height and entered the main hall of the Aethereal Palace. After a while, she noticed the unusual sight of the incognito Demon Emperor talking to his aide outside of his study.


    Count Daymar Bentsen was the first to notice her. ¡°Oh! Your Grace, it seems Count Goldcroft has arrived. Perhaps we should leave this conversation for another time.¡±


    The Archduke gave her a flat stare, shook his head with a sigh, and walked away. The Count gave Lucille an apologetic smile.


    After giving the brown-haired man her greetings, she followed after the Archduke and eventually made it to his side. It was obvious he was walking quickly to avoid her, but she didn¡¯t care how fast she had to walk. ¡°Your Excellency, I hope you have had a productive week!¡±


    He didn¡¯t answer and swung open the doors of his study. Instead of only on his desk like usual, some of his work was on the table in front of the couch. The Archduke chose to sit down on the very end of the couch instead of his armchair. ¡°The snake...?¡±


    Lucy blinked and realised he was talking about Scytale. ¡°My bond. If you dislike my personality, I¡¯m certain he¡¯ll infuriate you even more,¡± she assured him. ¡°I could call him here if you want to see him regardless.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± He sighed and waved a hand at her. ¡°Sit down already. We have something important to discuss.¡±


    Not once had he spoken like this before. Lucille sat on the opposite end of the couch and waited for him to begin.


    The incognito Demon Emperor firstly crossed his arms and studied her. ¡°How far have you progressed with your technological development plans?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m scheduled to visit Alichanteu after this week,¡± she informed him, resting her hands on her lap. ¡°My aide¡¯s second secretary has been making progress in a Minor plane¡¯s city with involving his merchant union in the city¡¯s politics and regulations, but it will be another six months before I can profit from that. The dwarven clans of Alichanteu have arranged to create a prototype before the end of this year, but as for establishing a technological development department under my lead... I wanted to wait until preparations for the black market dimension had been finalised.¡±


    Lucille paused and gave him a look. ¡°Do you want me to halt those plans? I can, but I¡¯d need some sort of explanation that I can provide the involved parties with-¡±


    ¡°Refrain from making assumptions, Goldcroft,¡± he answered curtly. The white-haired man picked up a page to scan it. ¡°If you accelerate those plans, I am prepared to shield you and the Commission as the Archduke.¡±


    ¡°Shield me? As the Archduke?¡± She stared, not expecting him to suggest that. ¡°That would mean you¡¯re prepared to use your connections and vassals so I can produce technology without Olden and Radical involving themselves?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Your point?¡± he asked blandly.


    Lucy put a hand to her head. ¡°I... don¡¯t see a reason for you to do this, Your Grace. No-one else knows of our arrangement so the Aethereal Duchy and Aurelian Commission appear to have no connection on the outset. Introducing technology as simple as trains doesn¡¯t seem to be related to your aims of protecting the timeline¡¯s integrity...¡±


    He put the page down and clasped his hands together. ¡°The Commission working with the Aethereal Duchy to research and develop technology would provide us the reason to meet so often and for me to aid the Commission,¡± he explained. ¡°Additionally, the System has noticed... an oversight.¡±


    The System shouldn¡¯t be capable of having ¡®oversights¡¯. She tilted her head. ¡°How?¡±


    The Archduke pointed at her. ¡°Why do you think you have been brought to the Tower?¡±


    She had considered that question many times in her past. Lucille placed a hand on her chest. ¡°Because of my connections to this place.¡±


    He frowned. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what connections you speak of, but that is the not the answer.¡± Stolas Eterial looked at a notification he received. ¡°The System cannot do an omnific scan until the Tower assimilates a realm or forerunners are called to the Tower, if that information answers any questions you have.¡±


    She paused. ¡°I thought all the realms were already part of the Tower, just... sealed off until they¡¯re needed.¡±


    He raised an eyebrow. ¡°I do not mean the Main Dimensions. I¡¯m referring to assimilation of the beings within the realms. You should know about that prerequisite if you come from the Cosmic Realm.¡±


    Lucy considered it and nodded.


    Not everyone is granted a soul port at the same time as the Tower gains a realm. For the ¡®splintered¡¯ realms of the Mystical, Heavenly and Cosmic Realm, each planet, lesser realm and plane must be individually assimilated. So the System called forerunners to the Tower before it could scan everyone on Earth.


    ...the Hero must¡¯ve been let in because the System couldn¡¯t yet see his Origin Skill.


    ¡°So then I must assume I was to be the Hero¡¯s nemesis from the very being, as it became obvious that only I had a chance against him in the past timeline,¡± she concluded.


    ¡°...no, that¡¯s not it.¡± The Archduke crossed his arms, looking almost perturbed. ¡°For a forerunner to be chosen, they must satisfy all conditions of a very strict criteria. The Hero of Light has been determined to satisfy none of the criteria except youth.¡±


    Lucille stared at him. ¡°None?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s subpar when it comes to natural wit, talent, charisma, manipulation ability, empathy, appearance, ambition, as well as potential. The System chooses outliers as forerunners, so even if he had been severely deficient in one of these, he may have been an option.¡± He shook his head. ¡°As it stands, it¡¯s clear that he wasn¡¯t able to become a forerunner because he was outstanding in any aspect. He is... not mediocre, but little more than average.¡±


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    A wide smirk split Lucy¡¯s face. The disguised Demon Emperor eyed her oddly. ¡°I don¡¯t see how this is amusing.¡±


    ¡°Of course not. That would mean you have a sense of humour.¡± She gave him a dismissive wave, ignoring his glare, and placed a hand on her chin. ¡°I¡¯m just satisfied to know my conclusion about him has been proven correct.¡± Lucille slowly lowered her hand when she realised that she had been chosen as a forerunner for an altogether entirely different reason. ¡°So. Is it my unique disposition towards soul power? Yet the System wouldn¡¯t have known that at the time... my intelligence? My appearance?¡±


    Lucy put a gloved hand on her cheek. ¡°It has to be those. I wouldn¡¯t have had the Hero gaining an inferiority complex towards me yet so obsessed with me if I had neither of those things,¡± she announced faux proudly.


    Her audience gazed dully at her. ¡°It was your wisdom, Goldcroft. Your wisdom and your knowledge. Unlike many of the forerunners under observation, you had the foresight to adapt to any of your circumstances on Earth, excel while under those circumstances, and carve a path for yourself. Intelligence is useless in the Tower filled with non-human races magnitudes more intelligent than the average human.¡± He shook his head. ¡°You were chosen because you had the highest chance of creating a lasting impact that was beneficial for the realms.¡± He pointed at her. ¡°Advancing the Tower¡¯s societal, technological and magical status was the very thing you were brought here to do.¡±


    She went silent as she gazed at him for a while. ¡°Well that failed spectacularly then, didn¡¯t it?¡± she replied blithely. ¡°I had an impact, but I won¡¯t claim it was beneficial!¡±


    The Archduke ignored her mocking statement. ¡°In the prior timeline, you claimed Earth was destroyed because of the Hero and the Supreme Institutions. Earth was a high value trophy for all the forces of the Tower because of its advanced magical technology mixed with anti-mana mundane abilities.¡± He passed a stack of pages to her. ¡°Reducing the value of Earth by releasing those technologies early would¡¯ve been the chosen measure to prevent its destruction, but you were otherwise occupied with keeping the Hero occupied. The conclusion is that the System chose to sacrifice Earth by letting you distract the Hero. Without that distraction, he undoubtedly would¡¯ve ruined the realms themselves rather than a single planet. I am sure he went on to cause more damage that you have yet to reveal.¡±


    ¡°My home world is a ¡®single¡¯ planet...¡± she repeated darkly.


    He eyed her sceptically. ¡°Are you angered that Earth was sacrificed?¡±


    ¡°Angered?¡± She closed her eyes. ¡°No. I know more than anyone that it¡¯s the people and not the ground under our feet that matters. And they called on Tartarus themselves. Earth¡¯s attitude did not land them in a good position when the Eternal Empire commanded they join the Empire as a vassal kingdom.¡±


    Lucy looked down at the stack. ¡°What are these?¡±


    ¡°Variations of several proposals I tasked my vassals with creating,¡± the Archduke commented lazily. ¡°I presumed the type of technology you¡¯d be researching first and told them of it. Sort through them yourself and dispose of the ones you didn¡¯t intend to proceed with or wish to develop at a later date.¡±


    ¡°I see... I¡¯ll work quickly to set up the facilities for these projects.¡± She pulled the top one off the stack and glanced at the one underneath. ¡°If I was to be fair, I would offer some of these projects to Ravimoux, but Ravimoux still hasn¡¯t managed to establish a black market in the Aethereal Duchy.¡± Lucy looked up and glanced at him. ¡°It would certainly speed things along if Regulus Ravimoux gained access to here.¡±


    The incognito Demon Emperor, who had closed his eyes, opened them and furrowed his brow. He sat up and held his chin. ¡°It would be an advantage to me if the Ravimoux County established a black market here...¡± He grabbed a page and scrawled down a note, before handing it to her. ¡°Here, official permission for Count Ravimoux to establish a black market here.¡±


    She eyed the note with curiosity. ¡°But... why?¡±


    ¡°Olden and Radical have been digging around, looking for a weakness. It¡¯s better to give them a decoy before they purposely plant evidence to give me a false weakness,¡± he explained. ¡°Having a black market pop up in my formerly ¡®pristine¡¯ Duchy is a detail they¡¯d jump at to use at a later date.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re bound to suspect you¡¯re using it to distract them,¡± Lucy mused, putting the note away.


    ¡°We¡¯ll both know that it¡¯s a decoy, but they¡¯ll have no choice but to keep track of it,¡± the Archduke murmured, closing his eyes again. ¡°And they¡¯ll refrain from doing anything about it because they¡¯ll want to use it for a crucial moment when it matters most...¡±


    ¡°Cunning. Please notify me when Olden or Radical will be attacking the black market of Ravimoux though,¡± she remarked. Lucy didn¡¯t hear a response so she assumed he was ignoring her, and just continued sorting the proposals into piles. She paused when one document had an uncommon seal on it. ¡°Your Grace, I believe Count Bentsen made a mistake. This is indeed a proposal for the Commission, but it involves a tri-way deal with a house of lesser royalty, so it¡¯s not something I can involve myself with in yet.¡±


    There was no response, so she glanced at the other end of the couch. ¡°Your Excellency?¡±


    Lucy froze up when she realised that the Archduke had his eyes closed, and the only sign he was alive was the slow moving of his chest as he breathed. Her expression twitched. ¡°Your Grace?¡±


    With silence being her only answer, she stood up and walked towards him, grabbing one of his private documents next to him. He didn¡¯t move, even when she snapped her fingers.


    The Archduke and individual responsible for governing the lives of close to a billion members of his Duchy, had fallen asleep with her right next to him, leaving the rest of the work to her alone.


    That¡¯s it. I am done. I am going to retaliate, and I swear if he complains to me about this that he¡¯ll never see me again-


    Lucille quickly looked around and noticed his stationary. A plan began brewing in her mind as she glanced at the sleeping disguised demon. If she was going to get away with her revenge, she needed to do something to balance the frustration-to-mildly-bemused ratio so that he¡¯d have no justification to punish her.


    He should thank me considering I¡¯m going to be doing all his work. I doubt there are any nobles as nice as me in the Empire.


    ...


    There was a knock on the study doors. ¡°Your Grace?¡±


    ¡°You can come in, Count Bentsen,¡± Lucy called out.


    The brown-haired Count opened the door and stopped when he saw her sitting relaxedly in the Archduke¡¯s armchair, smiling from ear to ear with the scarlet pen she had ¡®borrowed¡¯ from him two months prior in her hand. ¡°Is something the matter?¡±


    ¡°I- wha- Count Goldcroft, what is the meaning of this?!¡± he asked, stunned.


    She shrugged. ¡°He fell asleep, so I kindly took it upon myself to continue his work for him.¡± Lucille smiled brightly. ¡°He would¡¯ve made me do his work if he was awake.¡±


    ¡°But... this... this isn¡¯t appropriate,¡± the Count repeated, dumbfounded. ¡°A Count doing His Grace¡¯s work... not even one of his vassals...¡±


    ¡°I am not suicidal enough to fraudulently apply the seal of the Archduke on anything,¡± she replied blandly. ¡°I only used the copier item he has here and wrote my proposed answers on the duplicates, to be used if he finds them appropriate.¡± She gestured to the sleeping white-haired man. ¡°If you wish me to stop, feel free to wake up the sleeping ¡®demon¡¯ yourself.¡±


    Lucy definitely did not take enjoyment out of the joke she made.


    Count Bentsen grimaced and dipped his head to her. ¡°I¡¯ll accept. Just... don¡¯t use the seal for anything... it¡¯s made to kill anyone who touches it who¡¯s not me or His Grace...¡±


    ...


    A humanoid snake was whistling as he walked through the streets. He had given up after meeting the first cultivator he came across and decided he¡¯d just fudge his way through explaining how much ¡®work¡¯ he did to his bond. Lucy was bound to immediately know he hadn¡¯t done anything, but that was a problem for future Scytale.


    Present Scytale was enjoying himself to his hearts content, being away from his bond-


    ¡°Honourable sir, would you spare me some change to buy a piece of bread?¡±


    Scytale hesitated when he heard an old voice calling out to him. He turned to see a man wearing fraying brown robes with weathered, sunspot-covered skin across his nose bridge beneath his narrow eyes. The man¡¯s skin looked paper-thin with age and the bushy hair on his head and beard was scraggly and haphazard. A long scar stretched from above his right eyebrow across his nose.


    ¡°Uh... I¡¯m broke,¡± Scytale replied awkwardly.


    ¡°Surely a serpentine beast as powerful as yourself has something to spare a poor mortal,¡± the man said, bowing deeply.


    ¡°Nope, I¡¯m really broke. My bond has all our money on her and-¡± Scytale squinted at him. ¡°Hey, how did you know I was a serpent beast? Only other magical beasts should be able to sense that right away.¡±


    ¡°A minor talent gained through my lifetime,¡± the man replied respectfully.


    ¡°Huh.¡± Scytale looked at himself, turned his pockets inside out and shrugged. ¡°Nope, I¡¯ve really got nothing right now. Nothing but- oh, wait.¡± At the bottom of his shirt pocket he took out a small ruby and put it in the man¡¯s hands. ¡°My bond was messing around with spells and I grabbed one without thinking.¡± He gave the man a thumbs up. ¡°Turn it in for money or something. Lucy can buy a bunch more so it doesn¡¯t matter if I miss this bit.¡±


    The old man fell silent for a minute, and just as Scytale was about to wave a hand in front of him to test if he was still aware, the beard man threw back his head and laughed. ¡°Honoured sir, the carefreeness in how you act with others is a trait I am most jealous of! I only wish to live a life as calm as yours!¡±


    ¡°Uh, my life hasn¡¯t been all that calm, what with all the eldritch abominations and stuff-¡±


    ¡°Honoured sir, let me grant you a small gift for this interaction I have been most delighted to have.¡± The old man grasped Scytale¡¯s hands in his own and smiled gently. ¡°Please, hear the words of this old man and let me divine a small element of your future I see. It is most entertaining I wish to share it with someone.¡±


    ¡°...sure, I guess?¡± Scytale replied. ¡°What¡¯s going to happen?¡±


    The old man smiled wider, the glowing characters of a spiritual divination art being cast on Scytale¡¯s hand. ¡°I see a powerful winged beast wearing armour of the ancient most behemoths. Heralded as the empyrean sky beast, you will surely outshine any and all beasts below the dragons.¡±


    Scytale cocked an eyebrow. ¡°I already knew I¡¯d get that strong though.¡±


    The old man calmly shook his head. ¡°There is still more. Mine energies perceive... a young man, barely more than a child. A child of mine own realm, born from the weakest city in the weakest realm. And...¡± He closed his eyes and hummed. ¡°This boy has... a unique destiny. The one born with the destiny of the Strange Star, an unpredictable celestial body that obeys the forces of chaos. The boy with the name of the sword.¡±


    ¡°...are you saying his name means the sharpness of a sword? Like, ¡®Feng¡¯? Do you realise how little that narrows it down?¡± Scytale sighed and ran a hand down his face. ¡°Every man and his dog is called Feng in the Heavenly Realm! If a parent has even the slightest wish for their son to become a warrior they¡¯ll just go ahead and choose to name them the most common name in the-¡±


    He hesitated when he realised the old man was gone. Scytale rolled his eyes and walked off. ¡°Stupid cultivators and their smooth exits.¡±


    He walked for a while until he met his bond on the sidewalk. Lucy dragged him in the direction of the teleportation array. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s the rush?¡±


    ¡°We might be dead in half an hour so I want to leave the Aeternus plane within the next five minutes,¡± she replied in an upbeat voice. ¡°If we die, just know that you have never lost the position of most infuriating acquaintance in my heart for as long as I have lived.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, thanks,¡± he grumbled. She shoved him onto the array and they waited patiently as the violet energies began to fill their vision. ¡°What did you do now?¡±


    ¡°Stole all his pens,¡± she replied calmly. ¡°That¡¯s most of what happened.¡±


    Scytale stared at her. ¡°What else did you do?¡±


    Lucy stared at him and smiled brightly. Scytale knew she wasn¡¯t going to tell him anything.


    ¡°And how about you,¡± she continued conversationally. ¡°Did you find any leads?¡±


    ¡°Nah. Only this weirdo old man who told me my ¡®future¡¯ after I gave him a pity gem,¡± Scytale said with nonchalance.


    Lucille paused. ¡°...did this man happen to have a long scar on his face that stretched from his right eye to his nose?¡±


    Scytale stared at her. ¡°How did you know?¡±


    His bond gained a look of horror. ¡°I cannot believe you just met with the Old Man Hao. You do realise that every person he¡¯s involved himself with has ended up creating chaos in the Heavenly Realm?¡±


    He smirked. ¡°Not a problem. He just told me I¡¯d get overpowered and meet this other random guy from the Heavenly Realm.¡±


    Lucille put a hand on her forehead. ¡°Great, one of the most powerful cultivators in the Heavenly Realm has divined that my bond of all people is going to wreck so much havoc even he thinks it worth it to tell him...¡±


    <hr>


    A white-haired man with neon blue eyes was staring at his desk while standing behind it. He looked around the room to find the work he left before falling asleep, but it was gone.


    The Archduke¡¯s aide walked in and paused. ¡°Ah, Your Grace. If you¡¯re looking for Count Goldcroft, she left. She completed all your work for you. I, uh... permitted it,¡± he replied sheepishly.


    The Archduke frowned. ¡°Goldcroft isn¡¯t one to do that for no reason. She wasn¡¯t being ¡®nice¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Well...¡± Count Bentsen looked around. ¡°Whatever she¡¯s done can¡¯t have been too destructive, or else we would¡¯ve noticed it...¡±


    The Archduke noticed something and frowned harder. He picked up the stationary container. ¡°My pens. Where are they?¡±


    They stared at each other. The Archduke narrowed his eyes. ¡°She stole my pens.¡±


    ¡°...at least your inkwells are all intact!¡± the Count said, forcing a laugh into his voice. His voice died off. ¡°...but there weren¡¯t that many inkwells when she was working in here.¡±


    Something made the Archduke decided to pick up an inkwell and completely tip it upside down. It didn¡¯t have a stopper yet nothing except a single, small drop of black ink splattered onto the desk and spattered his jacket. He looked across the room and saw the high cupboard where he had kept all his inkwells was open and empty.


    ¡°If the inkwells... are empty and here...¡± Count Bentsen hesitated. ¡°Then... where did the ink go?¡±


    The Archduke looked down at his desk of drawers and stared. He opened the first drawer. Then he opened the next drawer. He got down on one knee and quickly opened the rest of them. He lowered his head to check underneath the desk and was blank-faced when he saw the black ink seeping through the desk and down the sides, onto the carpet.


    Count Bentsen slowly approached and kneeled down next to him and could finally see the result of Lucille¡¯s handiwork ¨C Every. Single. Drawer.. was filled to the brim with ink.


    ¡°...I¡¯ll call for a servant to clean this up.¡± Count Bentsen carefully retreated, leaving the Archduke alone.


    After a solid fifteen minutes of staring, the incognito Demon Emperor slowly stood up and raised his eyes to the ceiling.


    [So... you still sure you can¡¯t be bothered to kill her?]


    An uncharacteristic, twisted smirk spread across his face, but his blue eyes glittered with wrath.


    ¡°If she doesn¡¯t fear my anger, then I¡¯ll throw her to the wolves at the Banquet. Goldcroft should hope she¡¯s smart enough to work her way out of a scandal.¡±


    He roughly swept all the inkwells onto the floor next to his desk where they shattered, and marched out of his study.

 Chapter 89 (1 of 2) Kidnapped.

    ¡°Hard to starboard!¡± a curly-haired woman roared over the sound of the wind. The M.W.S Dawnlight¡¯s deck was slick with hail and freezing rain. ¡°We¡¯re going to anchor down in the cove!¡±


    ¡°Captain, these are shallow waters-¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not as shallow as you think! The reef here is projecting an illusion to repel large creatures from getting near! The empty water in my perception still extends for another fifty metres down up ahead!¡± Adrianna paused for a second and then shouted, ¡°Halt!¡±


    Quartermaster Vima spun the wheel to twist the rudder, cutting off the boat¡¯s momentum. Adrianna pointed at Zhang Mingxia and Catherine Sherwood. ¡°Hoist the sails!¡±


    She spun to face the anchor windlass. ¡°Deirvetch! Lower the anchor!¡±


    Normally the freckled young man would complain about his mundane tasks, but tensions were high that day. Ruel did it wordlessly, cloth wound tight around his hands to help him grip the slippery, ice-cold chain.


    Wind whipped ceaselessly as the warship finally stilled. A small comfort in the circumstances of their weather was that the waves weren¡¯t as bad this close to a shore.


    Everyone on deck gazed silently at the island¡¯s sheer cliffs in the distance. A conical mountain rose in the middle and a wreck of a ship sat on the very top of the overhang above the cove. There was a steep incline from the island centre to the tip of the structure. The ship balanced precariously, but the tattered flag of the Distorted Depth¡¯s Navy flew in the wind high above.


    ¡°...when the Commander revealed to us that we must ascend the mainmast of the wreck to obtain the flag, I had not been picturing such a perilous climb,¡± Zhang Mingxia murmured.


    Adrianna suppressed a sigh as she gazed at the shipwreck of her past before she became a Commander. That time hadn¡¯t been as simple as collecting the flag.


    They had to haul the entire wreck behind them to White Squall Fortress.


    She exchanged looks with Caspian and he nodded. As he left to collect the map of the island from her cabin, she turned to the others. ¡°All of you. Meeting room. Now.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Let me begin by dissuading your notions of letting Arventiel fly up there and collect the flag,¡± Adrianna stated curtly, leaning on the long table with the detailed map in front of her. ¡°Mason, tell them what you could see with your Hawk-Eye Archer Skill.¡±


    ¡°...I saw many winged beasts flying around and below the shipwreck,¡± the brown-haired woman began carefully. ¡°It looks like a nest.¡±


    ¡°Gargoyles.¡±


    Everyone looked at Dais Twyla who had spoken up.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard stories about a Lair of gargoyles having formed up there, in the cave systems within the overhang,¡± the Werewolf explained. ¡°Apparently, they spread their influence to include the wreck.¡±¡±


    Adrianna looked at the map. ¡°Baxtimer, what can you tell us about gargoyles? They were in the monstiary I ordered everyone to study. If you can¡¯t answer, I¡¯ll tell you all myself.¡±


    ¡°Uh, me?¡± The red-haired man looked confused at being called on, but he began, ¡°They, uh, are made of stone and stuff. So, they¡¯re earth element guys. I think they lay eggs in high places too and they¡¯re territorial, so, maybe... don¡¯t get near the eggs unless you¡¯re suicidal.¡±


    ¡°And why should we be wary of them especially?¡± Adrianna asked, crossing her arms.


    ¡°Because... most of us aren¡¯t good at smashing stone? Half of us use water to fight, but at least three of us can use fire- no, wait.¡± Drew held up a finger on each hand. ¡°If we send all our fire guys up there, we could accidentally burn the ship and flag, or possibly cause the overhang to fall if we create a big explosion.¡±


    She gazed at him for just long enough to make him nervous and then nodded. ¡°Good enough.¡± Adrianna tapped on the map. ¡°We can¡¯t use highly impactful attacks. This requires finesse and awareness of your surroundings. Get in quickly, and out quickly. No melee attacks that will upset the boat¡¯s balance, no loud skills that will wake up the entire flock. Understood?¡±


    There were nods. Wilden Leutia, the necromancer, awkwardly raised a hand. ¡°Captain... we don¡¯t have to do anything, do we?¡±


    ¡°Of course we do.¡± She turned around to peer out the foggy porthole. The island overhang formed an ominous backdrop against the turbulent sky. ¡°Everyone left on the ship will have to protect it against the natural mana phenomenon that occurs.¡±


    Adrianna frowned as the saw the ice coating the top of the conical mountain. ¡°It goes through cycles, with a period of three months having erratic explosions and flash freezing, all coming from this island. Unfortunately, this month falls within that period.¡± She turned back, giving them all a solemn look. ¡°We¡¯ll have to act quick. We¡¯ll be fine if we get caught in a week flash freeze, but the stronger ones will generate impenetrable icebergs around us and lock us in for the next few days where we¡¯re at risk of meeting Scions of the Aberrant who can alert it.¡±


    They gave her terse nods.


    ¡°Captain. Who shall be the one in charge of the team going to reclaim the flag?¡± Zhang Mingxia asked cooly.


    Adrianna looked around the room. ¡°I recall informing you all that I wouldn¡¯t be sharing that until the time comes.¡±


    There was shifty glances among them. She shook her head. ¡°I guess this is close enough.¡± Adrianna paced back and forth with her hands behind her back. ¡°Officer Zhang Mingxia, I cannot send you because when it comes to earth element monsters, mana to break their defences is essential.¡±


    The cultivator successor nodded in agreement.


    ¡°However, it would reflect badly on the Empire¡¯s Distorted Depths Navy if I stopped your company from participating in this major milestone, so whoever I select as Squad Leader will have to choose between you, Zhang Meng, and Liao Tengfei.¡± She stopped to look around. ¡°Baxtimer, Sherwood and Deirvetch have the highest chance of blasting through the protection of the Gargoyles, but as discussed prior, you three could also endanger the team.¡±


    Catherine scowled and opened her mouth to retort, but Liliana covered the redhead¡¯s mouth and shook her head. The green-eyed spearwoman huffed and crossed her arms.


    ¡°Zoc¡¯uraghets.¡± Adrianna turned to face the man from the Tua¡¯Cethla Kingdom with blond hair. ¡°As you are part of minor nobility, I thought it best to give you a leadership role in preparation for when you return to your clan, but as you don¡¯t want the position...¡± She sighed. ¡°I can¡¯t have an unwilling leader for this job. You won¡¯t be a Squad Leader after this. Therefore, the one in charge of this task-¡±


    ¡°A question, Captain Riftmire.¡± Silenis Vima stepped forward. ¡°You won¡¯t be taking up the leadership task? I recall you having a flying illusion familiar.¡±


    ¡°My Illusionary Constructs?¡± Adrianna shook her head. ¡°Monsters are territorial. You¡¯ve seen how my constructs often anger the enemies. Unfamiliar, somewhat powerful monsters drawing close to the Aberrant¡¯s territory will be too risky.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so you are still capable of doing the task yourself if you have too?¡± the grey-haired man asked.


    She marginally raised an eyebrow. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be Captain of the M.W.S. Dawnlight if I wasn¡¯t capable of at least that.¡±


    Silenis was always a unique person in the past. It¡¯s almost amusing to see him trying to test me again. Come to think of it, because he kept to himself so much, I never heard what happened to him after I left the Navy. He always stayed under my command, for some reason.


    Maybe I should put some effort into keeping him by my side during the next few years. He was never drawn over to Griffin and I don¡¯t think Griffin ever learnt to appreciate Silenis¡¯s value when he was so blinded by my title as Captain, Commander, Admiral and what not.


    ¡°Regardless, I¡¯ll be protecting the ship against the mana phenomenon,¡± she said, turning back to the rest of them. ¡°As for the team...¡±


    Adrianna rubbed her neck to attempt to relieve herself of the headache that was beginning to form. Her eyes fell on a certain gold-eyed man, and anger bubbled up inside her when she saw his wide grin.


    ¡°Officer Conlan Griffin, you have three days to select your team from those aboard the ship,¡± she stated curtly, turning on her heels and marching up the stairs. ¡°Be careful with your decisions. The success of this trip relies on your abilities.¡±


    Caspian blinked and switched his gaze from the steps to the crew, then to the steps again. He turned around and followed after his Adrianna. ¡°Hang on, Captain, you can¡¯t just end the conversation there-¡±


    The room remained quiet for a second, then Drew Baxtimer planted his hands on his hips and laughed. ¡°Hey, we¡¯re dealing with someone who can already use Battle and Sword Aura at Rank-1! We¡¯ll pass this mission with flying colours!¡±


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    The new Squad Leader smirked and slung an arm across Catherine¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Hey, Drew, Cathy, Liliana. Can I talk to you for a bit?¡±


    The three shared looks and followed him. Those remaining in the meeting room rolled their eyes and wandered off. Dais Twyla in particular scoffed at the show.


    Adrianna knew that the Hero would be making his first big mistake with the group he chose... because stealing the glory was not how friendships continued, whether someone did it intentionally or not.


    She had experienced that first hand. Often the people you saved didn¡¯t appreciate it if you never communicated how bad the situation was.


    ...


    -Two days later-


    Palin Zoc¡¯uraghets saluted the curly-haired woman standing on the forecastle deck, looking out a spyglass. ¡°You called for me, Captain?¡±


    ¡°I did.¡± Adrianna hopped down and slipped the spyglass into her belt. She crossed her arms and gazed coldly at him. ¡°I hope you understand that I¡¯m disappointed in you, Officer.¡±


    The man did nothing but dip his head. It was clear he knew he was at fault.


    ¡°I can understand not wishing to do a role because of lack of confidence. This is not your situation. Your files state that you wish to enter the line of succession for your clan, which leadership roles would contribute greatly. You requested I remove the position multiple times.¡± Adrianna turned around and raised the brim of her hat to peer up at the overhang towering above. ¡°Military positions I¡¯ve chosen for people aren¡¯t a ¡®currency¡¯ that can be traded around at will, Zoc¡¯uraghets, but you seem to be aware of that.¡±


    She looked back to study him. ¡°What did Griffin offer you in return for giving up the position and suggesting him? I¡¯m finding it difficult to understand what a nameless commoner could grant someone with your ambition. Please, enlighten me.¡±


    ¡°...he¡¯s a powerful warrior of the light element who can use both Battle Aura and Sword Aura,¡± he answered. ¡°My clan has been beset by monster waves from the dark-element Dungeon bordering our territory for centuries, so while we¡¯re a strong warrior clan, we haven¡¯t been able to develop. Griffin is the best alternative to Paladins of Glory Pantheon, which I have neither the finance nor reputation to request to conquer the Legendary Dungeon in the centre of our plane. It¡¯s my hope that when he grows stronger he can defeat it for us all.¡±


    ¡°Have you formed a contract?¡±


    ¡°The warriors of my clan never break a promise.¡± Palin placed a hand on his chest. ¡°We have no need for a contract.¡±


    Clearly he mistakenly believes Griffin will honour that promise. If it¡¯s not to that man¡¯s benefit, he¡¯s willing to break any promise.


    ¡°The Dungeon you¡¯re talking about is the Canyon of the Black Sun Dungeon, correct?¡± Adrianna asked. ¡°The one with thousands of those draconic monsters called Wyrms. If it¡¯s a dark Dungeon, are there any dark element wyrms?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s that Dungeon, but...¡± The Officer hesitated. ¡°The dark element monsters found there are monstrous Sphynxes that guard the Sun Palace. It¡¯s only Earth Wyrms that live in the canyon.¡±


    Not dark... that¡¯s a shame. I thought I had found a dark-element dragon bloodline for Hargrave. But then again, if it was a Dungeon that spat out dark-element draconic beast bloodlines all the time, the Crumbling Ruins plane would be much higher ranked among Major Kingdoms due to its value.


    I wonder if I could leverage my connections to Annaliese to get Jasten Albrecht to conquer the Dungeon... Hargrave could gain an earth element bloodline from there too, although he seems to have his sights set on a fire bloodline this time around so I won¡¯t take it away from him again-


    ¡°May I ask why you¡¯re curious?¡± Palin Zoc¡¯uraghets asked slowly. ¡°It couldn¡¯t be that... you¡¯re interested conquering the Dungeon because of your constructs?¡±


    She gave him a silent stare. She knew why he was asking. He obviously thought that with her going too, there was a much higher chance of something being done about the Dungeon. Unfortunately, she had to disappoint.


    ¡°Zoc¡¯uraghets, after your actions in refusing my goodwill where I granted the opportunity to be a Squad Leader, I don¡¯t believe you¡¯re in any position to presume help from me,¡± Adrianna replied indifferently. ¡°I gave you that chance and you wasted it. I won¡¯t be offering the opportunity again.¡±


    ¡°Of course, my apologies.¡± He bowed and backed away, looking awkward.


    ¡®Adrianna Riftmire¡¯ may have no interest in that Dungeon, but Lucille Goldcroft does. It¡¯s an opportunity to undermine the Hero¡¯s plans in a way he could never expect.


    The risk would be that he¡¯d take more notice of her real identity, but she already had a plan to give him proof that her ascendancy to Commission Head was a butterfly effect of his own actions.


    As the demi-Atlantean of their crew approached, Zoc¡¯uraghets looked up at the overhang. ¡°Captain Riftmire, could I ask why you let Officer Griffin¡¯s team leave a day earlier than you first said? I would¡¯ve thought you¡¯d force them to stay and prepare longer.¡±


    ¡°Officer Griffin seemed sure of his plans, so who am I to order the new Squad Leader and his team to take extra caution when they clearly want otherwise?¡± she stated lightly, a hint of mockery in her voice. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have selected Griffin if he hadn¡¯t had the strength needed though, so we¡¯ll just have to see how it goes.¡±


    ¡°If we¡¯re talking about Griffin, I can¡¯t believe he didn¡¯t take the extra healing potions I offered!¡± Caspian complained, marching up to them. ¡°What does he mean, ¡®They¡¯ll only weigh him down¡¯! Does he want to meet the Judge of Tartarus in the flesh?¡±


    If only Caspian and even Griffin knew that he already had...


    ¡°We need to move.¡± Adrianna swept up her staff that had been leaning against the ship¡¯s side wall and stormed over to the other end of the ship. ¡°Everyone! At the ready! Griffin and his team are about to alert the Gargoyles. Be prepared for them to notice our presence.¡±


    ¡°Hey Captain, how could you know that-¡±


    Thousands of ear-rending screeches sounded in unison. Lynell Baervad grimaced as he was knocked off balance, clapping his hands to his ears. Adrianna only gave him a flat stare. ¡°Less talk, more movement.¡±


    She shoved her spyglass into the half-demon¡¯s hands with a curt order to keep an eye on Griffin and then slammed her staff end onto the centre of the warship deck. ¡°Catastrophic Phenomena Sensor: Ice Element!¡±


    A barrier of fractal glyphs exploded out, increasing in size until the edges of the dome were just out of sight. Adrianna sighed and ran the back of her hand against her forehead, feeling drained. ¡°That should do for the moment.¡± She walked off, ignoring the stares of everyone else. ¡°I¡¯ll be in my cabin. Don¡¯t call for me unless it¡¯s urgent.¡±


    Confused gazes focused on Caspian and he gave them a weak smile. ¡°She, uh... cast a barrier to alert us off the ice eruption an hour before it happens. It¡¯ll be maintained until she needs the mana for something else...¡±


    ¡°An impressive example of spellcraft, yet it brings a question to mind.¡± Mingxia gained a faint frown as she viewed the pale grey island, its peaks capped with blue ice and snow. ¡°Does our Captain believe we are in danger?¡±


    ¡°I asked her when she told me she was going to be doing this, but...¡± Caspian put his hands on his hips, gazing at the ship perched on the overhang. ¡°All she said was that ¡®anything can happen around ¡®him¡¯¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Hmm...¡± Zhang Mingxia watched the six dots in the distance trek up the slanted overhang, her eyes focused on the one in the lead the most.


    <hr>


    ¡°We¡¯ve almost made it to the base of the overhang, guys!¡± Conlan called out, looking back at his team. ¡°Liao, put some more effort into those cultivator legs of yours!¡±


    The man who delighted in bringing his fan to every occasion, including the trek they were on, glared at Conlan. ¡°My talents are in the spiritual arts, not in the base plebeian act of cultivating my martial prowess and gaining unduly levels of hulk-¡±


    ¡°Someone still has the energy to talk!¡± Catherine interrupted cheerily, hopping past Liao Tengfei with cat-like nimbleness. ¡°This reminds me of all the hikes I went on with my dad.¡±


    Liliana just smiled. Drew grinned and chased after Catherine, his competitive spirit ignited. At the very back was Charlene Junem, the healer. She was struggling with the climb and stopped to breathe heavily, leaning against a rock with a pale face.


    Conlan saw it as a moment to gain brownie points with her. In case something went wrong... well, it was always good to have someone as selfless as her on hand.


    ¡°Charlene... is everything okay?¡± he asked, kneeling down with a worried look on his face. ¡°If I¡¯ve been pushing you too hard, I apologise. How long a break do you need? Half an hour? An hour?¡±


    Catherine stuck her head out from behind him with a frown. ¡°The Captain only gave us three hours to get back, you know...¡±


    Conlan just smiled at Charlene, waiting for her answer and ignoring Catherine. He knew she was only jealous of the attention he was giving another girl, but Catherine didn¡¯t need any coddling with her personality. He could treat her however he wanted and she¡¯d still like him.


    ¡°N-No, half an hour is too much,¡± Charlene said, hastily waving her hands. ¡°I... I think I¡¯m alright. Let¡¯s keep going.¡±


    ¡°Only if you¡¯re sure you¡¯re fine-¡±


    ¡°She said she¡¯s fine, so she¡¯s fine!¡± Catherine said. She stormed up to Conlan and grabbed his arm, irritation on her face.


    Conlan smirked, shrugged, and walked up to the front again. He glanced at Liliana.


    Does she... like me yet? This was around the time I could tell she had begun gaining feelings for me... but if things turn out like last time-


    The thought made him pause but he quickly put it out of mind.


    That was my one mistake, and I have enough experience to not repeat it again. No, we¡¯ll stay as only friends.


    Although it worries me that she¡¯s changed enough to not seem interested in me...


    Maybe I should make her like me more, just to prevent changes happening that I don¡¯t know about.


    ¡°Griffin, watch out!¡±


    Drew held out an arm to stop Conlan from sliding on a pile of rocks and losing his footing. He sent the man a grateful nod and continued walking. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m just busy thinking of strategies for the fight.¡±


    ¡°Well, you better start using those strategies quick, because there¡¯s a gargoyle heading our way!¡± Catherine yelled.


    They all looked up to see the stout, knobbly kneed monster clumsily flap its wings. Bulging eyes and a fixed snarl on its face screamed violence. Fangs sprung up from under its curled lips. It spotted the six of them and let out a screech which soon turned out to be an alarm call. The ground beneath their feet began to rumble as the horde was summoned, letting out thundering roars.


    ¡°Everyone, draw your weapons.¡± Conlan lifted up his longsword and narrowed his eyes at the approaching enemies. ¡°Our first fight has started.¡±


    ...


    ¡°How many more of that group remaining?¡± Conlan yelled over the sound of ringing metal and collapsing stone. He blocked the jagged claws aiming for his neck with the handle and slammed the pommel of the blade into the monster¡¯s eye. It screamed out in pain and tripped over the narrow ledge, shattering into pieces on the sharp rocks below.


    ¡°Liao just killed the last one! It¡¯ll be a few more minutes until the next batch arrive!¡± Liliana replied, taking an arrow and notching it in her longbow. Blue water mana swam about its tip in preparation for a high-pressured attack.


    ¡°Great! Let¡¯s get a move on!¡± Conlan shouted. ¡°We¡¯ll aim for the base of the ship!¡±


    ¡°The base of the ship?! I most certainly will not be aiming for such a distant location when I am already under immense stress-¡±


    ¡°Ready? Go!¡± They bolted forward with Conlan¡¯s command, leaving Liao Tengfei in the dust. His eyes widened with anger but he picked up his dusty oriental robes and tried to keep up.


    ¡°The gargoyles are readying an attack!¡± Liliana called out.


    Conlan looked up and gritted his teeth. ¡°Back up!¡±


    The group skidded to a stop as corrosive acid melted away the stone mere inches from their feet. The stony monsters circled them in the sky, ready to fire at them as soon as they took another step.


    ¡°What do we do?¡± Charlene asked in a hushed voice.


    Conlan looked from side to side and nodded to himself. He turned around. ¡°The five of you, stand in a defensive formation with Liliana and Charlene at the back.¡±


    ¡°What are you going to do, Conlan? Where are you going?¡± Catherine spoke up.


    ¡°Me?¡± He smirked and rolled his shoulders. ¡°I¡¯m going to go get that flag.¡±


    Their eyes widened and shouts of disagreement sounded, but he was already off. Conlan summoned his pseudo-Battle Aura, the aura having been strengthened as he practiced it. His speed shot up and he dodged the barrage of attacks from the ferocious gargoyles.


    One last sprint and he was able to touch the rotten wood of the wreck. The wood was soft enough that his fingers splintered the planks on touch and he dug them in to grip onto the ship wall and clamber up. He hauled himself over the side but dived into a barrel roll to avoid the jagged stone shard peppering the deck right where he had been.


    More flocks of gargoyles climbed out from below the deck and cabins where their nests had been, but Conlan dashed for the mainmast and gripped the threadbare rope. It barely held his weight and the beams creaked as he used two hands to climb up the rope, struggling to get to the crow¡¯s nest.


    A shudder ran through the boat and he looked around, trying to find the source of the force. He had thought that the Lair Boss has arrived, but the gargoyles had been thrown into a frenzy, hastily trying to fly away from... something. Conlan lifted his eyes and grimaced as he saw the spray of ice bursting from the mountain. It was erupting, and one he had focused on his senses... he could tell it would be a massive eruption. The mana pressure was building higher and higher, so tense he could almost feel it on his skin.


    Below, his team had clearly felt it because they were looking flustered. The only thing he could do was get the flag down.


    Conlan scrambled up to the crow¡¯s nest and sliced through the damp, rotten wood of the flag pole. He snatched the flag but there was no time to celebrate. The ship below his feet began to tilt and he leapt off of the crow¡¯s nest.


    He ducked into a roll to break his fall just as a second series of tremors rumbled through the overhang. With a massive creak and the screeches of the gargoyles within, the severely damaged wreck slid over the edge and tumbled into the ocean below, sending towering waves sky high.


    Conlan ran past the others with the flag clenched in his fist above his head. ¡°Quick! We need to get out of here now!¡±


    There wasn¡¯t a word of complaint. They scrambled down sharp rocks and avoided icy shrapnel as fist sized hail pelted the island. The mana felt like it would explode any second.


    Then the ice volcano finally erupted. White light blinded them for a few second and when the thick mist cleared, it was like the entire ocean had turned to frosted glass. Massive waves were locked in position with no room to move, and the M.W.S. Dawnlight was sealed in by solid sheets of ice.


    Drew frowned as he heard a quiet rumble and turned around to see an avalanche descending on them. "Conlan!"


    Conlan spun around just in time to see the snow crash into them. They tumbled down the grey slope slick with frost.


    Instead of jagged rocks, they landed on cool scales. The six opened their eyes to find themselves on the back of a bronze wyvern with smoke escaping from its nostrils.


    A roar attracted their attention and they saw a second wyvern blazing the ice in front of the Dawnlight with the fire from its mouth. The powerful mana engines on either side of the ship were ablaze, shunting the ice plates fractured by the attacks of the crew.


    The bronze wyvern disappeared when they flew over the ship and they safely dropped to the deck. Conlan smirked and walked forward to show Adrianna the flag. ¡°Captain Riftmire, I have returned with the flag.¡±


    Something about her reaction made him pause. It almost looked like she was amused, but there was no reason for her to be amused. He followed her gaze and frowned when he saw the unsatisfied looks of his team members, either eyeing him with envy or embarrassedly turning their eyes from the gazes of the rest of the crew.


    ¡°Congratulations, Officer Griffin¡¯s team. I¡¯m sure you all worked together to collaboratively bring the flag back to the ship,¡± Adrianna stated, making Catherine turn red and Liliana look away. ¡°You¡¯ll all receive an equal reward when we return to the Fortress.¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t do anything...¡± Charlene murmured.


    Adrianna walked off like she hadn¡¯t heard it. ¡°If any of you still have mana left, help us at the front of the ship. We have many more miles of ice to melt through.¡±


    And more than enough time for Griffin¡¯s team to stew on their apparent ¡®uselessness¡¯ to him.

 Chapter 89 (2 of 2) Kidnapped.

    The sky was dark and cloudy, no sign of the stars above. There was no moonlight to see by. It was the night hours when all underworld activities would begin, instigating chaos in society under the cover of secrecy.


    Two black-cloaked figures sat on opposite rooftops, the cowls of their robes covering their faces. One of them nodded to the other and they stood up. The two leapt over unstable beams and smoky chimneys.


    The one in the lead motioned for the other to stop, and they crouched down under the shadows of a balcony. Their backs faced a solid wall as they looked down and saw a group of four people stalking the grimy alleyways, approaching the bridge walkway they were standing on either side of. Low voices littered the tense air as the group talked to each other, but it was only mundane musings.


    One of the cloaked figures accidentally dislodged a piece of gravel and it flew over the edge, letting out a deafening knock in the silence of the night. The group stilled and became wary.


    One of them cautiously approached the building and looked at the ground. He spotted the pebble and looked up.


    The cloaked figures pressed their backs against the wall, barely breathing. The group member below eventually shook his head and went back to the other three. ¡°¡®Twas only a stone. Reckon it was a bird.¡±


    ¡°Got us riled up for no reason,¡± one of the others grumbled. They began to move again.


    ¡°Guildmaster¡¯s meeting with Sky Blaze¡¯s Guildmaster, huh?¡± one brought up after the tension had died.


    ¡°Yeah, and all the vassal Guildmasters have to be there too. For some dramatic show of power or something, I don¡¯t know,¡± the leader complained. ¡°Point is, nearly everyone will have to show up.¡±


    ¡°Bah. Like a warmongering Guild from the 1<sup>st</sup> Major Kingdom would give a crown about our lot,¡± another snorted. ¡°Splinter¡¯s Guildmaster can¡¯t see the woods for the trees.¡±


    ¡°Keep it down,¡± the leader ordered. ¡°We don¡¯t know who could be listening-¡±


    A whisper of the wind was the only sign they were under attack. In one moment they had been patrolling the streets as usual, and then in the next the member at the back was left with the shaft of an arrow poking out the other side of his head.


    He let out a faint groan as the others spun around in alarm and then his body burst out into white flames. His body instantly crumbled into white dust which picked up in the wind and filled the air around them, creating a smoke screen.


    The remaining three fumbled for their weapons in panic. The leader let out a roar when he saw the glint of metal on the rooftops. ¡°The enemies are above-¡±


    The ground beneath him buckled as one of the cloaked attackers leapt to the ground with the full force of his strength. He swung the massive greatsword he gripped with two hands and the leader grimaced as he raised his long sword to defend himself.


    The force of the swing smashed him into the side of a building, leaving a crater. The other two tried to stab the greatsword-wielder from behind but a shower of five arrows all shot at the same time made them shout in alarm and raise their swords to shield themselves. The arrows that hit the stony ground turned the mineral to dust wherever they landed.


    ¡°Identify yourself!¡± one shouted as he charged forward. The cloaked figure slammed his heavy boot into the man¡¯s abdomen, crushing his organs and sending him flying. The man died instantly.


    The last uninjured man, save for the lone arrow that had pierced his foot and pinned him into place, trembled. He looked over to see what had become of their leader and paled as he saw the mangled mess peppered with arrows, still stuck to the building.


    ¡°I-I surrender!¡± the black-haired man screamed in fear. ¡°I don¡¯t know who you are, but I¡¯m willing to do-¡±


    ¡°Your name. What is it?¡± the assailant growled.


    ¡°M-my name? I-It¡¯s Durain W-¡±


    Wind whistled, and then the man¡¯s head hit the ground with a sickening splat. The cloaked figure remained staring at the body for a moment and then threw back his hood with anger.


    ¡°Dammit, Elrotior, it¡¯s not this guy either!¡± Gawen roared, reaching the limits of his patience. ¡°You said he has to be in this group, without fail! We¡¯ve wasted a whole week doing this and for what? Nil! Nada! Any longer and it won¡¯t be this Lester guy¡¯s neck I¡¯m wringing but yours!¡±


    ¡°Calm down, my old friend.¡± The ash-element archer landed softly next to the body and lowered his cowl. ¡°It¡¯s a minor miscalculation, that¡¯s all. We¡¯ll regroup back at our hideout and then consider-¡±


    ¡°¡®Miscalculation¡¯? We¡¯re not blighted Charter readers here. Don¡¯t use that jargon on me. We¡¯re a bunch of empty-brained meat-heads whose only talent is stabbing people in the right places!¡±


    Elrotior Hawkesh calmly raised a hand. ¡°And shooting them in the right places.¡±


    ¡°Forget places, for now we¡¯re not even killing the right people.¡± Gawen frowned and planted a hand on his hip, the other on the pommel of the greatsword half buried in the ground. ¡°Let¡¯s backtrack a little. Why is this not working?¡±


    ¡°Well, my first guess is that No. 57 caught onto the fact he¡¯s our target.¡± Elrotior approached the severed head and lifted up a piece of the hair. ¡°Look, this guy¡¯s got the height, build and hair colour of Lester. I¡¯d bet all my Mausoleum Credits that he was intentionally sent as a decoy.¡±


    ¡°Okay then, if he knows we want to kill him¡­¡± Gawen gestured roughly at the dead bodies scattered around. ¡°What do we do? And how do you know he has black hair when all Anonymity members are disguised, anyway? It¡¯s our whole gimmick, what with the name and everything.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s from the Genest Duchy, remember? It¡¯s impossible for him to not have black hair when he has such a strong affinity for the dark element,¡± Elrotior reminded him.


    ¡°Whatever you say.¡± Gawen raised an eyebrow. ¡°You¡¯ve been rather determined to track down this particular colleague of ours instead of anyone else. I¡¯m pretty sure you have another agenda here.¡±


    The archer looked away. ¡°You¡¯re delusional.¡±


    Gawen scoffed. He pulled his hood back down. ¡°We need to get back before any of these fodder resurrect and raise the alarm.¡±


    Elrotior nodded and pulled his hood down too. ¡°Especially after the ruckus you made. Did you want the entire city to wake up?¡±


    ¡°Give me a break,¡± Gawen grumbled, speeding up into a run as Elrotior ran alongside him. ¡°I¡¯m a greatsword-wielding berserker, finesse and subtly aren¡¯t really my ¡®expertise¡¯.¡±


    ¡°I was actually referring to that epic failure of yours in keeping silent on the rooftops. I pity the poor stone you sent to its doom.¡±


    ¡°Oh, shut up!¡±


    ¡­


    The archer of the duo opened up the shabby hatch to the secret room of a warehouse they had been living in and pulled himself up. ¡°Home sweet home.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t say I missed this dump.¡± Gawen grunted and hauled himself up after throwing his sword in. The room he entered was barely high enough for him to stand without bumping his head on anything. ¡°Remind me why we chose here of all places?¡±


    ¡°Because ideally, we were only going to stay here for the night but¡­¡±


    ¡°But your brilliant plan didn¡¯t work,¡± Gawen retorted. He sat down and pulled his blade onto his lap to begin cleaning. ¡°Maybe we¡¯ve been approaching this the wrong way. We don¡¯t have the information network of Anonymity to rely on, so why don¡¯t you actually explain more about this Lester guy and his abilities?¡±


    Elrotior shrugged and took off his cloak. ¡°Lester is around twenty nine right now. He has affinities for dark and wind and acts as the spymaster of the Splinter dark Guild. To everyone else he¡¯s the Vice Guildmaster of a vassal Guild of Splinter.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and what does a ¡®spymaster¡¯ do?¡± Gawen said, pulling out a flask to take a swig.


    ¡°Track clues, keep in contact with all the spies in other Guilds, that sort of thing.¡± The archer pulled out a sack with feathers, smooth wooden poles and metal arrowheads. He began to fletch the poles. ¡°He pretty much just stayed locked up in Sentinel without doing anything besides receive reports.¡±


    ¡°Dark and wind, huh? How does he use it?¡±


    ¡°He manipulates people by their shadows. He has no combat strength on his own.¡±


    Gawen clicked his tongue. ¡°Nasty.¡± He frowned at the dirty rag he clutched and swiped away the last of the blood before stuffing it back into a nearby rucksack. ¡°Okay then, Elrotior. You know I¡¯m not one to just sit around when there are people to be killed. So here¡¯s how it¡¯s going to play out.¡± He jabbed a finger at his friend. ¡°Those guilders were talking about some meet up between Splinter¡¯s Guildmaster and another dude. According to them, Lester is likely to be there too. I say we create a distraction and pretend to kidnap him, but kill him in the chaos. No Guildmaster is willing to have their ¡®top secret spy¡¯ alive in the hands of their enemies so we¡¯re more likely to survive if we do that. The Guildmaster will assume he can find Lester at the Obelisk.¡±


    Gawen leaned on his hand. ¡°Is there any weakness you remember about him? Any at all? Even if it¡¯s the smallest thing, we might be able to use it.¡±


    Elrotior considered it for a long time. He gained a strange expression. ¡°There is¡­ one thing I remember about him¡­ I once heard a rumour that when he was around this old, he was still deathly afraid of a certain creature¡­¡±


    ¡°What creature?¡±


    Elrotior winced and told him. They stared at each other. ¡°¡­I think it has to do with a childhood trauma of his,¡± the archer finally said.


    Gawen shook his head. ¡°You sicko. Alright, you get the¡­ special goods, while I¡¯ll go fetch the materials for the distraction.¡±


    Elrotior cocked an eyebrow. ¡°What kind of distraction are you going for?¡±


    Gawen smirked and pressed his fists together. ¡°I thought about going for something a little Ol¡¯ fashioned. How about a falling chandelier?¡±


    <hr>


    A pasty, weak looking man stood calmly beside a second taller man in the Guild Hall of Splinter. Twenty other men stood in a semi-circle at the back of the hall alongside them, the Guildmasters with their Vice Guildmasters. The red and black haired Guildmaster of Splinter sat on an ostentatious chair on a raised platform in the centre. It was clearly a shallow show of power.


    The pale man with lanky dark hair and a sideswept fringe turned to face the other man when he spoke. ¡°Vice Guildmaster Rugen, have the arrangements been made?¡±


    ¡®Rugen¡¯ gave him a thin smile. ¡°Of course, sir.¡± He lowered his voice to a whisper. ¡°Sky Blaze¡¯s Second Captain has confirmed the date of our little¡­ meeting. You can soon start building up the Guild¡¯s strength so that we can overtake Splinter. We can¡¯t be satisfied with the position of second ranked.¡±


    His superior chuckled. ¡°Of course we can¡¯t.¡±


    Inwardly, ¡®Rugen¡¯ mocked the man¡¯s ideals.


    Overtake Splinter with his wit? He still hasn¡¯t caught on to the fact I was placed here by Splinter¡¯s Guildmaster himself. This is all a scheme to gain blackmail material on Sky Blaze and the second ranked Guild if the deal goes awry.


    What a pathetic man. There is nothing I hate more than stupid people with ambition. Ambition is only deserved by those with the ability to act on it.


    He straightened his collar up and widened his ever-present smile. ¡®Rugen¡¯ had been commanded not to stir up anything and he would never go against his master¡¯s orders.


    All his powers had been bound by the contract grafted into his mana, after all. But he didn¡¯t have the strength to refuse at the time, so he had no regrets. Either he¡¯ll work his way into a position of power so strong not even the Guildmaster of Splinter could take it from him¡­ or he¡¯ll arrive at a day he could backstab the Guildmaster and make that prestige his own.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Today would be one of the biggest steps in proving his loyalty to the Guildmaster of Splinter. As long as nothing went wrong-


    The sound of marching echoed down the Guild hall. Everyone, including the many guilders lining the hall to represent the power of the Guilds, straightened up with their heads held high. They wouldn¡¯t bow down to any other Guild, even if it was one from the 1<sup>st</sup> Major Kingdom.


    ¡®Rugen¡¯ held his hands behind his back, his smile fixed in place. According to the intelligence his spies had brought him, everything was perfect.


    The Vice Guildmaster of Sky Blaze approached first, two flaming red and white banners held up on either side of him. ¡°Guild Splinter of the 7<sup>th</sup> Major Kingdom-¡±


    The gentle chiming of glass was heard overhead, likely coming from the overhanging glass chandelier. ¡®Rugen¡¯ was a bit confused and mildly suspicious of the sound, but nobody looked up for fear of disrespecting their guests.


    Then the chain above broke. The chandelier smashed into the floor between the Sky Blaze guilders and the Splinter Guildmaster.


    A look of pure wrath formed on the face of the Splinter Guildmaster, chilling the subordinates to the bone.


    Not ¡®Rugen¡¯, however. He felt intense irritation that his plans had been disrupted.


    What idiot chose now? Do they seriously think they can get away from over a hundred guilders? And Sky Blaze is a Guild from the Gold-Dias Conquerors Kingdom...


    Then a thought struck him like a lightening bolt.


    No, that¡¯s not the important fact here. If Sky Blaze had any intentions to create a conflict between our guilds under the guise of an alliance as we estimated was likely, the Vice Guildmaster won¡¯t hesitate to blame Splinter-


    He spun to look at their guests but it was chaos. The Vice Guildmaster of Sky Blaze pointed his sword at Splinter¡¯s Guildmaster and roared, ¡°The Guilds of the Kingdom of the Hidden Black Star have returned our grace with hostility and violence! We shall not let them get away with us! Attack men! Show them the power of Sky Blaze!¡±


    The guilders of Sky Blaze dashed forward and crossed swords with anyone they came across. Cries of fury and hasty excuses were made, but Sky Blaze didn¡¯t relent. It was clear they came to Splinter for the very purpose of attacking them.


    ¡®Rugen¡¯ clicked his tongue and spun around. He marched over to the Guildmaster of Splinter, ignoring the cries of his ¡®superior¡¯ to support him.


    ¡°Sir, you need to leave,¡± ¡®Rugen¡¯ said in a low voice. ¡°I¡¯ve analysed their strength and the odds aren¡¯t good. The strongest members of Splinter will be decimated here and we¡¯ll truly be helpless if you don¡¯t command our remaining forces to attack.¡±


    ¡°I am the Guildmaster of Splinter! I will not retreat! Don¡¯t argue with me, Rugen,¡± the man threatened, approaching ¡®Rugen¡¯ menacingly. ¡°I may have given you authority due to your bloodline and wit, but don¡¯t forget it was I who gave it to you in the first place.¡± He held his fist up, an ominous black chain manifesting between ¡®Rugen¡¯ and his hand. ¡°You are nothing without me.¡±


    ¡°...yes sir.¡±


    The Guildmaster marched off with his mace, ready to enter the fray. ¡®Rugen¡¯s smile fell and he scowled.


    How I wish I could stab him in the back right now... but there¡¯s no telling if he¡¯ll permanently disable my abilities when he sees my betrayal. I can¡¯t leave the hall without his permission either.


    He still had to do something to salvage the situation though. It wouldn¡¯t do for him to fall out of the Guildmaster¡¯s favour just because he caught him at the wrong moment. ¡®Rugen¡¯ pointed at a few nearby guilders trying to avoid the battle. They were too weak be anything but cannon fodder. ¡°You lot. I understand your desire to stay out of the fight, but your necks will be on the line if you don¡¯t do something.¡±


    They glanced nervously at each other. ¡°Then¡­ what do we do?¡±


    He pointed above. ¡°Someone sabotaged the chandelier, and it will be up to you to discover who it was. I need you to be as quick as possible so we can end this batt-¡±


    ¡°No need to look for us,¡± a man¡¯s low voice called out from above and ¡®Rugen¡¯ flinched when a cloaked figure dropped from the rafters to land right next to him. He hauled a heavy greatsword behind him, carving grooves in the floor.


    ¡°Identify yourself!¡± ¡®Rugen¡¯ shouted, pointing at him with the rapier he carried around for self defence. He needed to stall until the Guildmaster of Splinter noticed the situation-


    ¡°Yeah, how ¡®bout no.¡± The cloaked figure turned to the four guilders who were originally tasked to locate the saboteurs, then swung his massive blade. It knocked them back all at once.


    The crash alerted the nearby fighters and the cloaked figure clicked his tongue. ¡°Need to get out of here quick.¡±


    He rapidly stormed towards ¡®Rugen¡¯ but fell back when violent dark mana surged from ¡®Rugen¡¯s shadow to creep towards him. ¡®Rugen¡¯ gave him a bright smile. ¡°I¡¯m not as defenceless as-¡±


    ¡°Elrotior!¡± the man shouted.


    ¡®Rugen¡¯ couldn¡¯t even look up before long, narrow things of some kind fell on his head. The sound of breaking glass nearby alerted him to the fact that a jar had been thrown down, but his body stiffened up when he felt the hundreds of legs touching his bare skin.


    T-There¡¯s no way¡­


    He nervously lowered his eyes and blanched when he saw the many black centipedes crawling around on the floor. His thoughts began to cloud and his heart beat painfully in his chest.


    N-no, think, think. These people can¡¯t have done this by accident¡­ they clearly k-know my weakness, but¡­ how? Anyone whose seen me react is dead-


    ¡°Hurry up!¡± a voice called out from above.


    The cloaked figure looked up and nodded. ¡°On it.¡±


    ¡®Rugen¡¯ willed his limbs to move but they remained locked up as ticklish legs brushed his skin, leaving him helpless as the much taller man grabbed him by the waist and threw him over the shoulder. The figure thundered towards a side exit as guilders congregated to form a wall to block him.


    ¡°Get out of the way you morons!¡± The figure shouted. He barreled through the centre with a heavy shove form his shoulder and broke through to the other side.


    The adrenaline of the situation began to wake ¡®Rugen¡¯ up from his fugue but he couldn¡¯t do anything as his kidnapper bounded up stairs and leapt onto a nearby building¡¯s roof from a balcony. His knees bent to soften the flow and then he was off again, jumping down into an alleyway with his bounty still hanging over one shoulder.


    ¡®Rugen¡¯ became dizzy from the motion and struggled to keep track of the direction they came from. Eventually, the man crashed through a window and threw ¡®Rugen¡¯ onto a well-prepared room.


    The cloaked figure drew the black curtains closed and before ¡®Rugen¡¯ could even think about escaping, he was trussed up and tied to a chair. He stayed still for a moment, catching his breath and considering his situation.


    The cloaked man grunted as he took a stool and dragged it in front of ¡®Rugen¡¯. He flopped down on it and looked like he was studying his captive, from what could be seen of his eyes under the hood.


    ¡°So, spymaster, ey? Does it pay well?¡±


    ¡­he knew he was a spymaster. Clearly he knew who he was a spymaster for too. ¡®Rugen¡¯ licked his cracked lips and gave him a strained smile, feeling only slightly better now that the terrible arthropods had fallen off. ¡°Not as much as you¡¯d think.¡±


    He¡¯s too relaxed, talking to me about my job when Splinter will soon to be on his tail to look for me. This is vastly more dangerous than I ever anticipated.


    The cloaked man clicked his tongue and put his hands behind his head. ¡°You gave us quite a run for our money this past week. How many hapless clones of yours do you have prepared to sacrifice at a moment¡¯s notice?¡±


    ¡®Rugen¡¯s thoughts froze. He was caught completely off guard by the statement. ¡°That was you?¡± he said, stunned. ¡°You were the anonymous attacks of our patrols this past week?¡±


    ¡°Yup,¡± was the man¡¯s reply. ¡°Honestly way too much of a bother. We should¡¯ve given up on you and gone to find someone else long ago.¡±


    ¡°You can always give up now,¡± ¡®Rugen¡¯ suggested, rapidly trying to understand the intentions of his kidnappers.


    As he expected, the man just laughed. ¡°Nah. Someone would kill me if I let you go now.¡±


    Could he be lying about the attacks? He doesn¡¯t have a reason too, though. The attackers of the patrols lacked any secrecy and were more of a minor annoyance, really. I just thought they were enemies of my current ¡®superior¡¯. He tends to make a lot.


    ¡°What do you want to do with me?¡± he finally asked.


    The man tilted his head slightly like he was going to respond, but then a flapping noise made them both look at the window to see a man cursing as he tried to drop down, his legs getting tangling up in the curtains. Eventually he fell into the room and sent the other cloaked figure a glare. ¡°Gawen, you moron! Why did you block the only entrance into this place?¡±


    ¡°What, did you seriously expect me to keep the window open and show everyone that we have someone in here, tied to a chair?¡± the presumed ¡®Gawen¡¯ retorted. ¡°They¡¯re not going to assume it¡¯s a willing arrangement, I can tell you that.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have time for your complaints.¡± The other man straightened up and ¡®Rugen¡¯ finally identified it as the voice he had heard above him after the jar of those¡­ abominations fell on him. ¡°We¡¯ve got him?¡±


    Gawen shrugged and gestured to ¡®Rugen¡¯. ¡°Look, he¡¯s your target. Check for yourself.¡±


    The second cloaked figure threw back his hood to reveal chiseled features and grey hair and eyes. He crouched down to study ¡®Rugen¡¯ and then an evil grin spread across his face. ¡°Got you now, you slippery slime spawn.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ he¡¯s the one?¡± Gawen asked.


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯d know that greasy smile from anywhere, even with the mask he always wore over his eyes.¡± The grey-haired man straightened up and crossed his arms. ¡°Lester, Lester, Lester¡­ Lester Genest. What a situation you¡¯ve gotten yourself into now. How does it feel to be so helpless, so utterly powerless?¡±


    What!!? How- Why- Where did they learn that name?! Don¡¯t tell me¡­ are they from the Ever-Present Shadow Duchy?! Did the Duchy finally realise I exist?! It would make sense, no wonder they don¡¯t care about the Guilds-


    ¡°Sounding like a real villain there, Elrotior,¡± Gawen snorted.


    ¡°Hush.¡± ¡®Elrotior¡¯ tapped on Gawen¡¯s shoulder to get him to stand up and then took the stool for himself. He smirked at Lester¡¯s confusion. ¡°Lester, do you know me? You owe me a great debt. So big that I¡¯d be a shame if it was never paid back, truthfully.¡±


    Lester blinked, his thoughts of the Duchy fading.


    What... this is... personal? There have been some people I¡¯ve offended in the past but...


    He squinted at this ¡®Elrotior¡¯ person. It didn¡¯t make any sense. He had never seen this person before. Someone with grey hair would be easily remembered.


    ¡°I fear you have the wrong person,¡± Lester began amicably. ¡°I have never seen you in my entire life, and I¡¯m certainly not this ¡®Lester Genest¡¯ person. I don¡¯t recall the Ever-Present Shadow Duchy ever having someone like that among them, and I¡¯d know as a spymaster.¡± He gave them a pleasant smile, hiding all traces of his former shock. ¡°Perhaps we could come to an agreement. You let me go, and I will utilise my resources to locate this ¡®Lester¡¯-¡±


    ¡°Shut your trap.¡± Elrotior lifted his leg and slammed his foot against the back of the chair, right next to Lester¡¯s face. ¡°I already know who you are, so we can stop with the pretence. I have a vendetta against you and I¡¯ll get my reckoning, Lester Genest, No. 57 and Genest¡¯s Wayward Puppeteer.¡±


    Lester could feel the question mark forming above his head. Gawen raised a hand. ¡°That hasn¡¯t happened yet.¡±


    Elrotior looked back at the bearded man, then at Lester, and rolled his eyes. He took his foot down and paced the room. ¡°...anyway, my point is... you will repay that debt! You hear me?!¡± he yelled, waving a finger at Lester.


    ¡°As you seem so sure of who I am, perhaps you could enlighten me as to what I did to wrong you,¡± Lester pried.


    Elrotior stopped to stare at him, then a scowl formed on his face. He stalked closer and grabbed Lester by the neck. ¡°You want to know what you did? Truly?¡±


    His expression twitched with anger and then he threw his hands up. ¡°I lost more than half of my saved Mausoleum Credits because of you! All because of that stupid wager! You¡¯re No. 57 for the realm¡¯s sake, your wage is far higher than mine but nooo, you just has to pick on me, someone 150 ranks below you!¡± The grey-haired man put his hands on his head with clear distress. ¡°I was saving up for access to more of that element¡¯s essence too! Argh, I¡¯m still frustrated thinking about all I lost!¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute, Elrotior.¡± Gawen came closer and crossed his arms. ¡°You¡¯re telling me we went after this guy in particular because of a bet you lost?¡±


    ¡°Shut up. This has nothing to do with you.¡±


    ¡°Nothing to do with me? We could¡¯ve been levelling up and collecting all sorts of artifacts during this time but you wanted to find this guy in particular because you¡¯re a sore loser!¡±


    Lester was dumbfounded.


    Excuse me? This is all because of some ¡®bet¡¯ I made in the past? They¡¯re not part of some organisation that wants me dead? But when are they going to stop arguing-


    ¡°So? It¡¯s a new timeline, Gawen. Get with the times. We¡¯re here to fix our regrets and gain better opportunities-¡±


    ¡°No, we¡¯re here because Zerum apparently died before they could realise the System¡¯s ultimate goal and it needs our help to support them with the Hero aware of the future-¡±


    Heavy footsteps outside the room¡¯s bolted door made everyone stop. Something slammed against the thick wood and an axe-head poked through the cracks. After one more blow the door shattered to pieces and armoured guilders forced their way in.


    Lester made eye contact with the leading guilder as Gawen and Elrotior exchanged looks.


    ¡°Oh. No! The. Guilders. Have. Arrived!¡± Gawen shouted in stilted tones, dramatically jumping back. ¡°What. Should. We. Do?¡±


    ¡°Psst. Gawen,¡± Elrotior hissed. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be my boss. That was my line, remember?¡±


    Lester gazed strangely at them.


    What is this pathetic attempt at acting? Even my own Guildmaster could do better than them.


    ¡°Ah.¡± The bearded man blinked and then nodded. He slowly pulled out his greatsword and flexed his arms. ¡°Now I remember. Our. Command. Was. To. Take. Rugen. Alive!¡± He lunged forward to slash the ropes binding Lester to take him away.


    Lester paled because he knew that this was the worst situation possible... and he had no resurrections left, which the Guildmaster knew it. He stared wide-eyed as the guilder took one look at how Gawen was about to grab Lester and pull him out of the window, then nodded to the archer by his side.


    With one swift movement an arrow was sent flying, and Lester stumbled to the ground, the projectile in his heart. Warm blood began to flow from his back and chest.


    ¡°Catch them!¡± the guilder commanded.


    Lester lay there with sensation slowly draining from his body to be replaced by icy cold. He watched his two kidnappers throw apart the curtains and leap out of the window as the fog slowly clouded his mind.


    His last thought as his consciousness faded was...


    Why oh why did it have to be those two blighted morons who were responsible for my death?!


    ...


    A man reformed from fractured white light in front of the towering Obelisk. He frowned slightly as the remnants of a migraine faded, but then he straightened up and brushed himself down. He hummed as he looked around.


    It appears the memory restoration mechanism the System bestowed on us has worked. This is certainly the City I worked in for many years as a spymaster before the Guild was ultimately destroyed and I killed my controller, and it looks nothing like it did two hundred years later. Only...


    Lester rubbed his temples as a surge of confusion welled in him.


    I recall hearing that death was how we earned our memories back in the new timeline, but I never died during this time period, so how...


    His thoughts came to a stop as several conflicting and very recent memories appeared. Lester turned around and gained a tight smile when he saw two people he could only presume were his colleagues in another life.


    ¡°There he is!¡± the bearded man said, elbowing his friend. They ran up to him and leant on their knees, panting. ¡°Sorry, had to get those guilders off our tails before we came here.¡± He wiped the sweat on his brow away and straightened up, planting his hands on his hips. ¡°So... remember everything?¡±


    Lester smirked. ¡°No. 132 of the field ¡®researcher¡¯ department, Gawen Darthmond. You were hired because of your exceptional combat abilities and unconventional use of the glass element alongside your class of Berserker. As was the case with many of our field researchers, you tended to prefer the exhilaration of violence instead of academic discovery.¡±


    Gawen stared at him then turned to the scowling man beside him. ¡°He¡¯s one of those pretentious guys who arrange our missions, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    Lester turned to the grey-haired archer and beamed. ¡°And how could I forget Elrotior Hawkesh! No. 204, the Eye of Ash. How delighted I am to see you once more! We had such an.... entertaining acquaintance.¡±


    Elrotior¡¯s expression darkened and then he stormed forward. ¡°I¡¯m going to kill him again. I hate that smug look on his face.¡±


    ¡°We literally just managed to get his memories back, Elrotior-¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t stop me Gawen! Who knows when I¡¯ll get the chance to beat him up!¡±


    ¡°Ah, that would be a bit of an issue if you killed me.¡± Lester calmly plucked some lint from his suit. ¡°You see, I only resurrected this time because of the System¡¯s graciousness, but if I died again it will be permanent.¡±


    Gawen gave Elrotior a pointed look and the archer slumped. ¡°I¡¯m going to hate having to deal with this blighted snob.¡±


    ¡°Should¡¯ve thought of that before you got me killed!¡± Lester replied brightly.


    ...


    ¡°I see.¡± Lester sipped the tea he somehow managed to procure, to Gawen and Elrotior¡¯s confoundment. He took a small spoon and stirred up the tea leaves at the bottom. They were in a hotel room and had ditched their former clothes in a faraway alley. ¡°I had first thought that you chose me due to my extensive knowledge of the true identities of our colleagues due to my position within the intelligence department, yet I suppose that foresight is too much for men of your ilk.¡±


    Elrotior clenched his fist while Gawen just laughed. ¡°I only know the real names of two guys in Anonymity, and one of those was Elrotior here. It was all this guy¡¯s decision to find you.¡±


    ¡°Hmm...¡± Lester put his cup down and crossed his arms. ¡°And this other individual?¡±


    ¡°For a ¡®spymaster¡¯ you¡¯re not very smart, are you?¡± Elrotior mocked. ¡°If you thought for a moment then you¡¯d know who he is automatically. I¡¯ll give you a hint: He¡¯s the loudest of our members.¡±


    Lester ignored Elrotior. ¡°If it¡¯s someone that everyone, regardless of our ranks would know, then you must be referring to the Black Dragon Margotharel. He was never... subtle about his identity, true.¡± He lifted his cup to take another sip.


    ¡°Yep, that¡¯s the one,¡± Gawen confirmed. ¡°Which is why he¡¯s our next target to kill.¡±


    Lester spat out his drink and stared at the two men. ¡°You cannot be serious.¡±


    Gawen shrugged while Elrotior scoffed. ¡°Of course we¡¯re serious. It took centuries for us to be strong enough for Anonymity to scout us. We¡¯re useless as is.¡±


    ¡°If we have his help then we can go find the other top ranking members to help us,¡± Gawen added. ¡°Excluding people like No. 1 and No. 2, of course. Sentinel is in the Cosmic Realm and No. 2¡¯s plane won¡¯t be discovered for a hundred years at least.¡±


    ¡°No. 1 and No. 2 chose not to return to their former positions in this timeline, as such they¡¯re in Anonymity¡¯s facilities and private dimension,¡± Lester refuted.


    Elrotior gave Lester an odd look. ¡°Sentinel I can understand because he¡¯s a Mechadroid who basically became our base and can¡¯t just leave, but No. 2? Isn¡¯t he... you know, a danger to everyone without Zerum to supply the essence transfusions?¡±


    ¡°He entered a chrono-capsule to soothe the bloodthirst of his unstable Aberrant-half but...¡± Lester shook his head. ¡°He¡¯s desperate to never return to that facility on the Old Era plane. He¡¯d rather risk losing his sanity and mortality than go back.¡±


    They stayed silent for a while, the thought that for some, the new timeline wasn¡¯t really a blessing occupying their thoughts. Lester sighed and refocused on the conversation. ¡°As for Margotharel... I can understand the merit. He¡¯s likely our only powerful member at this time, other than No. 5.¡±


    ¡°No. 5 is...¡± Gawen snapped his fingers. ¡°The Arcane mage? The most powerful magic engineer in the Tower? Not that anybody but Anonymity knew his talents though...¡±


    ¡°At the present, however, he¡¯ll be on the Aeonic plane completing his studies,¡± Lester said. ¡°Defeating a being as powerful as the Black Dragon is more probable than sneaking onto the Aeonic plane to kidnap a prized student.¡±


    Elrotior nodded. ¡°Is it settled then? We¡¯ll lure Margotharel into a trap and kill him?¡±


    The three exchanged looks and gained self-pitying gazes as the thought of the gruelling, almost masochistic training they had to go through surfaced. ¡°We¡¯re going to need to all be at least Rank-4 before we challenge him,¡± Gawen said with amusement.


    Lester sighed. ¡°Levelling was always tedious for me, but needs must. However, first...¡± He smiled and gripped a woven chain of dark mana that manifested from his chest. His hand became black as he yanked on it and the chain shattered. He chuckled to himself. ¡°If only my younger self knew the level of domination Genest¡¯s bloodline had over the dark element in the past... the Guildmaster of Splinter never could¡¯ve expected that I¡¯d turn the tables on him so soon.¡± He grinned with malicious glee. ¡°A black magic contract broken when both are still alive is rather dangerous for those involved, you see. It¡¯s rather coincidental that out of all elements, the dark element is the best at reflecting curses, hexes and wounds on the other though.¡±


    Gawen eyed the dark-haired man¡¯s killing intent slowly seeping from his mana. ¡°I think...¡± he began slowly. ¡°That the three of us will get along better than expected.¡±


    <hr>


    -On a low ranked plane owned by Alichanteu-


    The messenger bowed deeply with a pale complexion as an intense atmosphere built in the room. The woman he had given his message to was strangely still and silent, so he risked looking up.


    ¡°What,¡± Lucille began without any expression, ¡°Do you mean, Sedric Ferin has been kidnapped?¡±

 Chapter 90 (1 of 2) The Consequences of Playing It Safe.

    -Two hours earlier-


    ¡°What made you decide to leave for Alichanteu early?¡± Vincent asked curiously. ¡°We¡¯ve left three days before we had told Alichanteu we were going to leave.¡±


    Lucille looked out the window. ¡°An... opportunity. The Archduke was interested in my apparent plans to develop new magic engineering products and redevelop cities.¡± She looked at her aide. ¡°An information network as large as a Duchy¡¯s is bound to know what we¡¯re up to. He¡¯s willing to distract Olden and Radical for us if we can get finished products out on the market sooner.¡±


    That¡¯s the gist of it, anyway.


    Vincent looked pensive as he held his chin. ¡°Does he want a share of the profits... or want to control us somehow?¡±


    Lucy shook her head. ¡°In my opinion, having him become invested in this venture is beneficial. He¡¯ll be liable if it goes wrong and could grant us access to resources money can¡¯t buy. But...¡± She leaned back in the coach and crossed her arms. ¡°He doesn¡¯t seem to want to involve himself personally. As such, this agreement is informal... but an informal agreement with an Eterial Duke can sometimes be as valuable as a formal one.¡±


    Vincent nodded, satisfied with her answer. The third member of their group yawned and used his tail to rub the dust out of his eyes.


    ¡°Are we there yet?¡±


    Lucy sighed. ¡°No.¡±


    Scytale waited for a second. ¡°How about now?¡±


    She rolled her eyes. ¡°Fine, I get it. You¡¯re annoyed that I haven¡¯t told you where we¡¯re going.¡± She gestured to the window. ¡°As Count Ravimoux has been staying at the Black Lily because of our plans in the Beast Realm, I was able to get in contact with him so he could organise a secret meeting with Clanlord Krovehearth. It¡¯s for that exact reason I chose to take a normal carriage instead of calling for one from Alichanteu.¡± Lucille grinned. ¡°Nobody would expect us to be talking to the low-ranked crafters instead of a high-ranking noble of Alichanteu.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d hardly consider the dwarves ¡®low-ranked¡¯,¡± Vincent pointed out.


    ¡°On their own plane, sure. But if they didn¡¯t have the power to demonstrate their authority, the nobles would abuse their services to no end.¡± Lucy shrugged. ¡°Non-combat classes are looked down on. It doesn¡¯t help that it takes many years before a crafter becomes proficient enough to craft viable weapons either.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, Sedric¡¯s Legendary class has accelerated his learning progress many times,¡± the silver-haired man opposite her mused. ¡°He¡¯s been with us for little over a year yet you even entrusted him with your dimensional artifact.¡±


    ¡°Ah, that actually has nothing to do with his class,¡± Lucille replied. ¡°I was surprised to hear it too, but his class doesn¡¯t have any effects to boost the rarity of an item once it¡¯s completed. Anything he crafts, outside of his skills enhancing his capabilities, are all a product of his knowledge and expertise.¡±


    Vincent blinked. ¡°Does that mean¡­ Sedric is a genius?¡±


    ¡°Or he has a brilliant teacher,¡± she replied smugly.


    Scytale blew a raspberry in mockery while her aide shook his head. ¡°I suppose that¡¯s one possibility.¡± He propped his chin up. ¡°Speaking of crafting, what kind of crafting class do you want? You told me you weren¡¯t an alchemist.¡±


    Lucy hummed and looked outside. ¡°My crafting specialties lie in technology from my home world, so it would be hard to come by any of the tools needed. I¡¯m considering gaining a class that will help me develop the machinery I used to then build items. As for what I specialised in¡­ I don¡¯t suppose ¡®Hyperdimensional Originator¡¯ means anything to you, does it?¡±


    Vincent shook his head just as the coach pulled to a stop. Lucy swung the doors open, Vincent having stopped bothering to escort her out long ago, and Scytale flew out to land on top of her head.


    ¡°This feels nostalgic,¡± Vincent murmured.


    They were standing in front of what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse. The sense of nostalgia likely came from the decrepit state of the building before them, with windows boarded up and covered in grime.


    ¡°A bit like Sedric¡¯s old home, isn¡¯t it?¡± Lucy mentioned lightly.


    Vincent looked down at her. ¡°Where is this? Are you expecting to meet someone here?¡±


    Lucy glanced at him with a smile, blinking innocently. ¡°I have no idea. I only received the message to come here and nothing else. I can only assume it¡¯s to meet Clanlord Krovehearth.¡±


    Vincent frowned. ¡°They didn¡¯t give you any assurance? Lucille, I don¡¯t think this is a very good idea. For all we know it wasn¡¯t even his crafting faction who called us here. What if one of the Aeternus nobility wishes to extort you for-¡±


    He was interrupted by the load sound of clanging coming from within the warehouse. He eyed the building unsurely as Lucy walked forward and pushed the doors open.


    ¡°On Vengad¡¯s beard, if Krovehearth don¡¯t sort out the handlers around this place and hire normal-height people, I¡¯m going to retire,¡± a stout individual grumbled, rubbing the top of his head. With a thick black beard and heavy hammer hanging from his belted waist, the four-foot dwarf heard their footsteps and eyed them under bushy eyebrows. ¡°Who- oh. It¡¯s yer lot.¡±


    Lucille took note of the wooden crate lying at the dwarf¡¯s feet and realised he had tried to get it down from a ¡®high¡¯ shelf. She recognised him as one of the dwarves who visited with Krovehearth last time.


    ¡°May ask if we arrived at the correct location? And what would be your name, sir?¡± she asked while politely holding a hand out to help him to his feet.


    The dwarf grunted as he hauled himself up and then brushed himself down. ¡°Just call me Durang.¡± He crossed his arms as he inspected Vincent and Scytale, then waved them off and spun around. ¡°Right. Good thing you lot appeared now because the array is powered up to go off in a couple of minutes or so.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad my timing was on point then.¡± Lucille bent to pick up the violet crystal nestled within blankets in the fallen crate and held it out to him. ¡°I take it this was what you were looking for?¡±


    ¡°My thanks.¡± He grabbed it and held it up, flicking a finger at it, listening to the clear tones of the prism ringing. ¡°Can¡¯t have the coordinates messing up mid-magic. Wouldn¡¯t want to land ourselves in a void storm now, would we?¡±


    The previous planar crystal, an incredibly rare object that allowed small-scale, semi-permanent teleportation arrays to be set up within a few days compared to the permanent ones which required months, gleamed as the runes within lit up. Durang nodded with satisfaction and marched over to another room in the warehouse.


    ¡°Any of you got planar sickness? Nothin much we can do ¡®bout that now, of course, but Krovehearth could lend a hand at least.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine here, and neither of my companions get it,¡± Lucy replied.


    Vincent hesitated. ¡°Hold on, Lucille. Planar sickness is only gained when someone goes to another plane-¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Durang slammed the crystal into the carved floor where a teleportation array instantly manifested around them. ¡°We¡¯ll be jumpin¡¯ through a few of those things.¡±


    Intense mana built and the world spun before they found themselves in another room. They didn¡¯t have time to observe it though before Durang rushed them all into another teleportation array and activated a second one. This process repeated itself another three times before they finally fell out of the fading array and landed on a cold metal floor.


    ¡°Count Goldcroft, I am glad you could make it,¡± a dwarf announced grandly in front of them with his arms spread. Clanlord Krovehearth nodded to his subordinate. ¡°Thank you for your work, Durang.¡±


    ¡°Was nothin much.¡± Durang pointed a thumb over his shoulder. ¡°Am I free to go join the others?¡±


    Krovehearth waved him off. ¡°If it¡¯s work you want, then do as you want.¡±


    ¡°Fine with me.¡± The dwarf wandered off, leaving Krovehearth with the three of them.


    ¡°Where is¡­ ugh.¡± Vincent stumbled as the disorientation of the new plane made him dizzy. It was a lot like decompression sickness, with the sudden rise from an area of stronger mana to light mana affecting him. ¡°Is this a Minor Kingdom?¡±


    ¡°Incorrect,¡± Krovehearth refuted. ¡°This is a detached unranked plane known only to the Counts and under Alichanteu¡¯s command. At the moment, their best craftsman has full control over who may enter.¡± He stuck out his hand for Vincent to shake. ¡°A pleasure to meet you, Evisenhardt aide of the Commission Head. It came as a surprise that Count Goldcroft stated she trusted you enough to allow you to come.¡±


    ¡°¡­then I suppose I should take care not to betray the trust my liege and the lead craftsman has in in me.¡± Vincent shook his hand and looked around. ¡°But where are we?¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ¡°A low-ranked plane can¡¯t have mana this strong.¡± Scytale flickered his tongue from his position on the floor and morphed into his human form. ¡°This is all artificially gathered, huh.¡±


    Krovehearth nodded, stroking his beard. ¡°This plane has remained unnamed to prevent any record of it entering the Counties¡¯ files, but yes. We have five mana attractor machines here, gathering mana by the power of their elemental vortexes to saturate the Mechanised Shipyard.¡±


    Vincent adjusted his glasses. ¡°Shipyard?¡±


    The dwarf lord glanced at him and gestured for the three to follow. ¡°Come this way.¡±


    They followed him through the heavily shielded hall, lines of neon mana flowing through channels where they split into their respective elements along the walls. They arrived before two bronze doors, a mechanical clock in the centre. Krovehearth knocked five times on the centre of the door and the hands began to spin. With the sound of clanking, the rolled apart to reveal an enormous hall filled with the sounds and sights of heavy machinery and steam.


    Hundreds of people, the majority from the different dwarves subraces, all worked on, in or around the machines, climbing up shafts and hammering away at burnished structures. The four of them stumbled back as a huge gust of steam blew in their faces, clearing to reveal the vehicle on the far side of the room.


    As big as the Commission Headquarters, if not larger, the airborne ship hovered a hundred metres above the brass floor. The beast of metal shook the room with the vibrations of its engine, with a relatively flat top and steeply arched hull. The brass aircraft carrier lookalike was a mere skeleton of what it was supposed to be, though.


    The hull was only half assembled with metal beams creating the general structure of the front of the hull. Beneath two mana-powered wing jets on either side of the ship were massive leather wings that oscillated in a staggered pattern, keeping it afloat. The wings on the left side of the airship were still bare though, and Lucille could see that many of the major components of the ship had been taken out and placed in other areas of the hall for the crafters to work on. It presented the image of a mammoth beast being carved up and butchered for its materials.


    ¡°This is our greatest pride,¡± Krovehearth announced. ¡°Built from all our resources on the topic of flying machines and planar navigation ships, the Commission has worked alongside our clans of Rocht¡¯guardes for over a millennia.¡±


    The Commission had been ambitious, Lucille could grant them that. That ship looked like it could hold ten thousand people if it was completed. When she discovered that the Commission was invested in recreating the airships of old just as the Supreme Institutions wanted to, she had expected airships suited for short-distance flights, from one plane to another that was in visible distance.


    If they had constructed something this large from the beginning... they had access to resources about the airships on par with the Institutions. The only Supreme Institution that Lucy expected to be capable of having an airship this large would be the Eternal Empire, and even then that would be by utilising the remains of the Dawnbreaker ship on their origin plane. Vincent and Scytale were staring at the machine in silence.


    ¡°I am utterly impressed,¡± Lucy replied sincerely. ¡°For you to come this far in merely a thousand years, compared to the hundreds of thousands the Institutions had¡­ the Commission couldn¡¯t have orchestrated this alone, could they?¡±


    Krovehearth became solemn. ¡°True that. You must¡¯ve noticed how many of our clansmen work here, yes? Rocht¡¯guardes wouldn¡¯t have allowed so many of our craftsmen outside its borders if it weren¡¯t for-¡±


    ¡°Leave ¡®em to me, Dorelmaeg. I should be the one to teach them this.¡±


    They all looked at the new grey-haired individual who approached them on a cane, his silvery beard and streaked with grey. Beneath his thick beard and melded with the wrinkly, sun-baked skin of the ancient dwarf was the metallic sheen of a runic tattoo, covering half of his face and his eye.


    Krovehearth hurriedly bowed. ¡°Grandmaster Thargas Burlbrihir.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, lad. No need for that sorta thing.¡± The dwarf stroked his beard as he observed Lucy, Vincent and Scytale. ¡°It has been some time since the Commission last had a leader. I am pleased that the new Commission head is just as interesting as Lockhart was.¡±


    Standing before Lucy was an elder dwarf, veritable royalty of the dwarven race. A grandmaster craftsmen of the dwarves, an elder dwarf nonetheless, was someone of extremely high status within Rocht¡¯guardes. Lucille had not been expecting someone of that calibre to be working on the project.


    She bowed. ¡°It is a great honour to greet one of the high-clans. May this meeting lead to a future as powerful as the blade crafted under your guidance.¡±


    Burlbrihir laughed. ¡°Heard about our customs, have ya? No fear, I never stuck to those sayings, considering my own tendency to ruin any weapon I dare craft.¡± He stepped closer and squinted at the pocket watch chain hanging out of Lucy¡¯s suit pocket. ¡°May I?¡±


    She passed him the object and he held it up. Burlbrihir clicked his tongue. ¡°Never understood why this scrappy trinket ended up becoming the symbol of the Commission. Good to see that Ashale¡¯viaf kept it in good order.¡±


    He tossed it back and stepped away. ¡°Come with me and I¡¯ll tell you about the arrangement between our clans and the Commission.¡±


    Krovehearth bowed again and left to visit some of his clansmen in another location. Scytale flew off in his amphiptere form, more interested in inspecting the incomplete ship from above.


    ¡°It¡¯s not just yer Eternal Empire that wants to fly above the void storms,¡± the ancient dwarf began, his cane ringing against the metal floor of the shipyard with every step. ¡°All the empires... or ¡®lesser empires¡¯ as you humans call them, preposterous name that they are-¡± He spun around and hit his cane on the floor. ¡°Wish to fly through the realm as the great ones of our past did. Truth is, according to our records, humans made airships first. That¡¯s why they dominated the realm and conquered all the other races. The Eternal Empire wants to relive the glory of that old empire again.¡±


    ¡°That old empire? I thought it was the Eternal Empire who conquered the lesser empires,¡± Vincent said with suspicion.


    Burlbrihir chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re far too na?ve, young lad. The Eternal Empire is only ruling from the backs of long-dead giants.¡±


    Giants such as the empire who created Dawnbreaker and M.C.R.U, for example.


    But Lucy kept that knowledge to herself. She hummed and gestured to the airship¡¯s incomplete jets with her cane. ¡°So this airship was built by Rocht¡¯guardes, with the Commission only acting as a cover-up so the Empire doesn¡¯t become suspicious?¡±


    ¡°Bah.¡± Burlbrihir waved her question off. ¡°We¡¯re not that superficial. Us dwarven kind prefer solid ground, so we¡¯re not as obsessed with airships as humans. But the opportunity to work on such a powerful machine...¡± He grinned, showing uneven teeth. ¡°Craftsmen are willing to abandon everything for their passions. Rocht¡¯guardes lets us crafters work on the Commission¡¯s ship but cuts off all business ties. Officially, we¡¯re not allowed to craft any saleable products for the Commission.¡±


    Lucille held her chin to think.


    I need to look at the original agreement contract... it has to be in the vault somewhere. If we ¡®loan¡¯ trains and locomotives to other organisations, does that count as a saleable product? I didn¡¯t want to abuse dwarven craft too much either, or else it won¡¯t be easily replicable with human skills. Their metallurgical racial ability, for example.


    ¡°Are you forbidden from working on any other kind of vehicle?¡± she asked, glancing at the massive components being worked on by other dwarves.


    The grandmaster craftsmen next to her gave her a subtle look. ¡°I know why yeh askin¡¯. Those ¡®trains¡¯ of yours sure would turn this Empire upside down.¡± He fell silent for a while, and Lucy didn¡¯t push. Vincent followed politely from behind.


    ¡°Tell me, girl. What are these ¡®trains¡¯ really for?¡± Burlbrihir asked gruffly.


    Lucy blinked and her grin grew wide. ¡°As near to total control over the Empire¡¯s logistics as possible. I want Gilded Seat to have enough authority to stand as equals to the Seven Eternal Duchies so that whether we¡¯re neutral, Imperialists, Radical or Olden, none of that matters anymore.¡±


    Lucille gave him a brilliant smile as her words made the ancient crafter¡¯s eyes grow wide. ¡°Gilded Seat needs to become so deeply rooted in the Empire that eventually¡­ we have the potential to become the fifth Supreme Institution.¡±


    ¡°¡­Supreme Institution?¡± The tone of his voice held disbelief, until he belted out a deep belly roar of laughter. ¡°Ambitious aren¡¯t ya?! Though the future wielder of a battalion of airships has that right, I dare say.¡± He took one look at the airship and nodded when he turned back to her. ¡°Alright. Lemme hear more ¡®bout these trains of yours. Us dwarves will want to work on something new for a change, anyway. And did I hear from the Counts that your home world has flying machines of this kind?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve even managed to extend our reaches into the close void space around our world, to a limited extent. My¡­ ¡®clan¡¯ developed some of them,¡± Lucy stressed, making his eyes light up.


    They wandered off, while Vincent stayed in place, staring at Lucy while aghast. ¡°Fifth Supreme Institution?! What is she doing, saying something that could be taken as Crimes of Sedition in a room full of people?!¡± Then he hesitated. ¡°Although¡­ compared to a Duchy, we are in a unique position where we can involve ourselves with any plane or force without backlash¡­¡± He shook his head before he could begin to realistically consider the possibility.


    ¡°Sedition would the least of her crimes,¡± a humanoid snake blurted out next to him.


    Vincent jumped. ¡°Ack! Oh, Scytale. Don¡¯t sneak up on me,¡± he sighed. ¡°I¡¯m feeling nervous about how many people might¡¯ve heard her.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be worried,¡± Scytale said with a shrug. ¡°Apparently all these guys live eat and breathe on this plane. They¡¯ve got it good, too. As plane full of crafters mean they¡¯ve built some pretty impressive homes and facilities for themselves.¡± He looked up and whistled. ¡°That tower shaped like a tree with a glass dome at the top would make me feel right at home. Too bad it¡¯s the Grandmaster¡¯s house.¡±


    ¡°I thought dwarves hate heights,¡± Vincent said, confused.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s just the home for the Astrarium they built.¡± The amphiptere shrugged again. ¡°The Grandmaster built it up there for when it gets added to the ship.¡±


    ¡°Those rare planar navigation machines¡­¡± Vincent murmured. ¡°I bet Marellen would love to inspect one of those. Too bad for him, he¡¯s in Tartarus finishing his stages right now.¡±


    ¡°Hargrave¡¯s gone somewhere to fight too,¡± Scytale added. ¡°Without Annaliese¡¯s group, it¡¯s just the four of us agai-¡±


    An ear-piercingly loud alarm sounded from behind them and they spun around to see four large doors in the distance, each with an emblem of the four Counties. A red crystal above the black door was releasing a violent light that shuttered on and off with the alarm.


    The door swung open to reveal a black-cloaked man who stumbled in, breathing heavily.


    Lucy, Scytale and Vincent ran over, Krovehearth and Burlbrihir cautiously approaching too.


    ¡°¡­Ravimoux?¡± Lucy said with a frown, recognising the mask the man wore. He shakily raised a hand to acknowledge her words but didn¡¯t say anything, panting as he leant on his knees.


    ¡°That array should only be used by Ravimoux when there¡¯s an emergency,¡± Krovehearth informed them, marching forward. ¡°What urgent message must you send us?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s... been.... a break-in...¡± The man took a deep breath and knelled down formerly, his head bowed to Lucille. ¡°It appears to be the work of mages... or wizards. This was an inside job, because they targeted the locations they knew didn¡¯t have magic arrays for Ashale¡¯viaf to control.¡±


    Vincent frowned. ¡°Even the Commission head¡¯s bedroom is protected, so where...¡±


    ¡°The workshops,¡± Lucy interrupted, instantly knowing the issue. ¡°Sedric can¡¯t craft if the arrays activate while he¡¯s working.¡± Her face grew solemn. ¡°What happened to him?¡±


    ¡°That is what else I must tell you.¡± The assassin from Ravimoux dipped his head respectfully. ¡°The Legendary crafter Sedric Ferin has been kidnapped.¡±


    ...


    She asked again, and he explained this situation in more detail. Lucy paced with her hands behind her back as Scytale and Vincent watched with worry.


    A massive mana explosion had triggered when Sedric had left his workshop, blasting a hole through the walls of the fortieth floor. Spatial magic had been used, which Ravimoux identified as Radiance ¨C an important detail ¨C and a group of unidentified magic users entered the Commission. Ashale¡¯viaf kept them at bay while maintaining the structural integrity of the building with his roots but there was a fire-element wielder of Ruination who spatially decimated part of his barricade. None of the staff had the strength to stop him and he entered with single-minded purpose to forcefully take Sedric Ferin out. The witnesses claimed they last saw Sedric leave with a bag over his head and his hands in manacles.


    ¡°They used teleportation...¡± Vincent muttered.


    Scytale was uncharacteristically solemn and looked at his bond. ¡°Who is it, Lucy?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t say for sure. The Heavenly Sects have been acting suspicious, but this was the act of mana users.¡± She pinched her nose bridge then looked at the other two dwarves nearby. ¡°I won¡¯t be able to tell until I see the destruction for myself.¡±


    Krovehearth and Burlbrihir exchanged looks and nodded. ¡°You should spare any effort to reclaim a craftsmen of the Legendary calibre,¡± Burlbrihir said. ¡°We take no offense.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± She bowed deeply and pointed at Scytale and Vincent. ¡°You two go on ahead.¡± Lucille was serious as she turned to Burlbrihir. ¡°Is your Astrarium functional?


    The grandmaster craftsman nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll take you there.¡±


    ...


    The wreckage was immense. True to the messenger¡¯s words, a hole the height of five men had been blast through the Headquarters¡¯ fortieth floor, collapsing several layers of walls in between the outside and the inside. Thick green stems had woven themselves into an organic replacement, and the incarnation of Ashale¡¯viaf could be seen talking with the servants.


    Lucille ignored the plaster crunching under her boots and walked up to Count Ravimoux. ¡°Which one?¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t it be obvious?¡± He gestured to the young woman kneeling on the floor, her hands tied behind her back and held in place by two armoured guards from Chavaret. Her clothes hadn¡¯t been spared by the impact, and her eyes darted around fearfully.


    Lucille studied the girl expressionlessly and then gained a wide grin. ¡°Sally Meyers, wasn¡¯t it? It¡¯s such a shame that this is how you chose to end your career with us.¡±


    ¡°Y-You remember me?¡± the girl asked, stunned. ¡°How? I¡¯m just a normal member of the Commission...¡±


    ¡°How couldn¡¯t I? We met when my exclusive crafter arrived at the Commission for the first time,¡± Lucy said, beaming. ¡°I do hope Sedric is doing well while with your backers.¡± She kneeled down with a benign smile on her face... then gripped the girls chin, her fingers digging into skin. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have caused all this trouble just because of a little favour from the Dawn Dissenters, hm? You seemed dissatisfied with your position as a commoner.¡±


    The involuntary relaxing of the girl¡¯s tense muscles and blank stare alerted Lucy to the fact she was off the mark. Lucille swiftly stood up and brushed her hands, walking away from the girl. ¡°Clueless. Then she wouldn¡¯t be from Radical either.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know a single Light Wizard from Radical, Miss Goldcroft,¡± Count Ravimoux interjected.


    She glanced at him. ¡°So the verdict¡¯s out?¡±


    He gestured to their captive. ¡°Radiance is the biggest clue, but this woman holds something too. I don¡¯t have a smidgen of light affinity so all I can do is detect the traces on her, but I¡¯m sure you could analyse her affliction.¡±


    Lucy placed a hand on the girl¡¯s shoulder and sent a spike of spiritual energy into her body. She narrowed her eyes. ¡°This is the work of the Light Tower. They cast a charm spell on her.¡± Lucille stepped back and crossed her arms. ¡°Not enough to be obvious brainwashing as it relies on the initial seed of willingness to be in the target, but it enhances the individual¡¯s motivation to achieve the caster¡¯s task. This girl is hardly without guilt.¡±


    An eerie smile appeared on her face as she held out her cane and tilted Salley Meyers¡¯ chin up. ¡°Listen here. You can spill everything you know now, or you can wait until I extract it from you bit by agonising bit. And I will be able to learn it from you if all you do is sit there and breath. I am very good at analysing someone¡¯s behaviour.¡±


    Her voice dropped to a whisper. ¡°Surely you heard from those wizards that I can see your thoughts if I so choose to, right? After all, that¡¯s why you chose a time when I was leaving the Commission to place a mana bomb in Sedric¡¯s workshop.¡±


    Lucille gained a smile that showed just a little bit too much of her perfect teeth to be normal. ¡°Have you heard of a soul bomb? I¡¯m very adept at those. I¡¯m sure I could utilise that knowledge if it comes to it during out little talk...¡±

 Chapter 90 (2 of 2) The Consequences of Playing It Safe.

    The girl spilled everything with hardly any prompting. It was clear she was merely a pawn to the wizards of the Light Tower, for whatever reason they kidnapped Sedric.


    Sally Meyers herself only placed the item in Sedric¡¯s workshop at the behest of her distant Baron uncle, someone who promised to bring her into his household and make her a noble if she completed the task. It was the girl¡¯s assigned task that day to check the mana lock on the door of Sedric¡¯s workshop, and for that task she had an amulet that would let her inside. The end result was the explosion and the wizards stationed nearby sensing the mana disruption, then taking advantage of the chaos with their Radiance abilities to teleport inside while the protection arrays were disabled.


    There were many things to look into, including where on the plane the wizards had teleported from, who owned the building the light wizards had teleported from, identifying the assailants and determining if the warriors who accompanied them were hired help or from other clans.


    Because of this, a small meeting was held between Lucille, Vincent, Scytale and Count Ravimoux in the Black Lily Casino. Due to the Headquarters¡¯ wards being compromised, it was unsafe for them to reside there. Lucy had put all her belongings into her briefcase as she didn¡¯t expect to be returning to the Headquarters for a few days at least.


    Regulus Ravimoux broke the silence. ¡°I sent messengers to the other Counts when I sent a messenger to the unnamed plane,¡± he explained. ¡°I refrained from informing Alichanteu of this incident, but I¡¯ll inform them if you wish me to, Count Goldcroft.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s better to leave them in the dark right now,¡± Lucy said, expressionless as she looked at the ground in thought. ¡°We don¡¯t want to complicate things.¡±


    ¡°Could this create a rift between you and Alichanteu¡¯s central members?¡± Vincent asked with a frown. ¡°Olden might see that as a weakness to exploit.¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°They can only accept that I¡¯m not comfortable with telling anyone below the Alichanteu Count of the incident. All we need to do is mention the situation that occurred in the Permafrost Glacial Abode Region.¡± She traded looks with the two men. ¡°You¡¯re both aware of how this could be connected, yes?¡±


    Count Ravimoux nodded. ¡°A distraction, for the very same reason you set the Alichanteu visit to be this week. I doubt they knew you¡¯re aware of the Permafrost Glacial Abode Region convoy, so this was done to cause a little chaos at the Commission, and possible delay your visit to Alichanteu¡¯s County.¡± He held his chin. ¡°Maybe Olden discovered the black market dimension plans... No. That can¡¯t be it, I¡¯d know if someone betrayed me. Regardless, this is likely a hostage situation for Radical. We all know Sedric Ferin¡¯s background so Olden may want to use him against Radical and the Dawn Dissenters. Radical would want Sedric so their faction can gain your support -  and by extension the Commission¡¯s...¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Lucille stood up and walked over to a window. ¡°I believe the ones behind this are aware that we set a trap in the Permafrost Glacial Abode Region.¡± She turned around and narrowed her eyes. ¡°This isn¡¯t Olden¡¯s doing.¡±


    Count Ravimoux looked surprised and Vincent nodded. The aide crossed his arms. ¡°I expected as much.¡±


    The dark-haired Count gazed at Vincent with confusion. ¡°Am I missing something here?¡±


    ¡°Well...¡± Vincent snuck Lucy a look. ¡°You could say that we... have experience with magic users wanting to do rash things...¡±


    ¡°Marellen Vadel is an... interesting personage, but it appears he¡¯s taught Vincent that not everything has to be about politics,¡± Lucille remarked dryly. ¡°The rash actions of the Light Tower wizards are the attitudes of arrogant men who want to get something done as quickly as possible. Sedric is no longer on this plane, correct? He was taken somewhere for a purpose. If it was a hostage situation, they would¡¯ve stayed in Gilded Seat and demanded that both the Commission and Radical come forward as public stunt for all who might be watching, to make Radical and a major player of the Neutral faction submit before Olden. That is how Olden works.¡±


    Lucy shrugged and sat back down. ¡°I can¡¯t confirm anything, but Sedric is valuable to them for some reason. I suppose this would be Olden¡¯s doing if you looked at it generally, but that¡¯s only because the Light Tower is associated with Olden.¡±


    Count Ravimoux sighed and rubbed his temples. ¡°Then who...?¡±


    ¡°Come on, even I can guess where Lucy is going with this,¡± Scytale piped up. ¡°Who¡¯s the one group outside of the Empire that know Lucy¡¯s real age?¡±


    Vincent¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me... Leng Xiuying? This is her doing?¡±


    ¡°Not her,¡± Lucille refuted. ¡°A Sect Leader of the most ¡®peaceful¡¯ Sect can¡¯t be seen sabotaging one of the Eternal Empire¡¯s major forces. The group behind this even involved the best information and assassin Sect in the Heavenly Realm, which is only done by someone with many connections to the underworld. That¡¯s not to say Leng Xiuying never told someone else.¡± She sighed and ran a hand through her fringe. ¡°Whoever it is, they¡¯re a part of the Profound Emergent Jade Lotus Sect. Everything from the Jade Rosewood found in the convoy to the traces of Dao left in their gift for me point to that Sect. But for whatever reason, they¡¯re not blatantly hostile nor trying to use me.¡±


    She scowled. ¡°I¡¯m being tested by them. If that weren¡¯t enough, they¡¯ve switched to using the people around me. They¡¯re made an enemy of me now, not an ally. I won¡¯t stand for this.¡±


    The others fell silent. Count Ravimoux¡¯s eyes narrowed coldly.


    ¡°So¡­ what next?¡± Scytale spoke up.


    Lucy stood and began to pace. ¡°Finding out where Sedric is. His safety is my responsibility, and I need to ensure he¡¯ll come back unharmed.¡±


    Vincent looked at the man seated next to him. ¡°Count Ravimoux, have your subordinates reported back?¡±


    The dark-haired man clicked his tongue. ¡°We haven¡¯t located them. We¡¯ve only been looking into the planar arrays but not a lot of progress has been made.¡±


    ¡°Then how do we find out where Sedric has gone?¡± Vincent groaned. ¡°He¡¯s not even on the same plane for us to use a spell to track! None of us can cast Grand Spells to find what plane he is on¡­¡±


    ¡°It would be a ton easier if we could just talk to Sedric-¡± Scytale¡¯s words died off and he looked at Lucy.


    Lucille had already known a while ago what she had to do. The only issue was explaining it to Vincent.


    ¡®Wait, wait, time out! I demand a private meeting!¡¯ Scytale yelled mentally, eyes going wide.


    Luce brought herself and her bond into the Simulacrum Realm, accelerating their consciousnesses so they had time to talk.


    They were in the replica of her room in the Headquarters, overlooking the Simulacrum¡¯s model of Gilded Seat. Lucille swung her legs over the shorn away section of the room, buildings directly below her feet.


    ¡°You¡¯re actually planning on using the Simulacrum Realm to contact Sedric?!¡± the humanoid snake asked, shock on his features. ¡°You¡¯re willing to reveal it?¡±


    ¡°An ability that can contact people no matter the distance or realm is exceptionally rare, yes¡­¡± Lucille shook her head. ¡°But it¡¯s not a combat ability. And that is what matters to anyone who leaks the information. I¡¯m not planning on revealing everything, and¡­¡± She looked down. ¡°This may be a good lead into discussing the ¡®secret dimension¡¯ for the Dusky Undercroft Dungeon and how it ties into the black market dimension.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ but¡­¡± Scytale hesitated. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I feel like Vincent could start making a few weird connections once he learns of this¡­¡±


    Lucy didn¡¯t react. ¡°That sounds like it¡¯d be interesting.¡±If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    She snapped her fingers and their consciousnesses were returned to real time. Lucille faced Vincent and Count Ravimoux. ¡°I can contact Sedric.¡±


    Vincent stared at her. ¡°How?¡±


    Scytale and her both glanced at the dark-haired Count. Regulus Ravimoux clued on and gave them a wry smile. ¡°All of a sudden, I recall I had something to discuss with my subordinates.¡± He left the room and only stuck an arm back in to wave. ¡°I won¡¯t be far.¡±


    Vincent coughed into his fist. ¡°Er¡­ are you comfortable with revealing what you meant now?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s simple. I can use my Origin Skill to contact Sedric.¡± She sat back down with her arms crossed. ¡°My Origin Skill is linked to the spiritual realm so I can mentally communicate with anyone regardless of distant and dimensional barriers.¡±


    He stared at her. ¡°Wha¡­¡±


    Lucy raised an eyebrow. ¡°Is there a problem?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have an ability related to soul magic¡­ or magic in general?¡± he asked, flabbergasted.


    She blinked and then cupped her face with her gloved hands. ¡°Any supposed Origin Skill-level ability I demonstrate regarding the soul or magic is all pure talent, unfortunately. So you can¡¯t even blame your lacking intellect on luck.¡±


    Vincent frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t believe this is the time to be making jokes like that.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t joking, but never mind. You¡¯re right.¡± Lucy stood up and checked her pocket watch. ¡°I¡¯ll contact Sedric to learn about his situation and denied he can lead us to where he is. I don¡¯t expect us to be able to do that today however, and so¡­¡±


    She traded glances with Scytale and he nodded. ¡°We should complete the rest of the stages and reach Rank-2.¡±


    Vincent looked between them. ¡°¡­now?¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t be gone for more than an hour. Time doesn¡¯t pass in the stages,¡± Lucy reminded him. ¡°I want to receive the stat potions from the stage completion rewards and our next main skills.¡±


    Vincent sighed and pushed up his glasses. ¡°I understand.¡± He stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll keep the details vague for Count Ravimoux. But¡­ the Alichanteu visit is in two and a half days, Lucille.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± She tapped her fingers on the armrest of the couch. ¡°We¡¯re on a time limit. There is one thing I agree with Count Ravimoux on, and that¡¯s that someone in Alichanteu wants to delay us. So, we need to betray their expectations and turn up to see what they wanted to hide.¡±


    Her aide nodded and they gave her a small frown. ¡°You¡¯re planning on finding Sedric in person?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t trust anyone else to consider him valuable enough to prioritise,¡± she stated flatly. ¡°I like Count Ravimoux as a person, but putting Sedric¡¯s safety into his hands isn¡¯t something I want to do.¡±


    ¡°...it would likely be a great help if Hargrave was here to assist you,¡± Vincent murmured. He blinked as a thought came to him. ¡°Is it only Sedric you can contact for some reason?¡±


    Lucille shook her head. ¡°Anyone who has come in contact with my spiritual energy can be contacted. I know what you¡¯re going to ask, but I won¡¯t do that.¡±


    He frowned. ¡°Why not? Hargrave has shown plenty of times he¡¯s willing to help you if you need it. Especially for something as important as this.¡±


    ¡°At this current stage, Hargrave¡¯s only goal is revenge,¡± Lucy stated blandly. ¡°Unless he acknowledges that his resolve has changed, I don¡¯t want to bring him into this.¡± She crossed her arms and looked away. ¡°He made an oath to never harm anyone who doesn¡¯t try to harm him first, so his usefulness for this is debatable.¡±


    They were all aware that even without Hargrave fighting, he could help them a lot, but Vincent clearly saw she had other reasons to not ask Hargrave to come.


    ...it was actually because she had felt the traces of a vampire¡¯s blood mana in his amulet acting up before he left and she didn¡¯t want to endanger anyone around her by calling him back. She trusted Hargrave to deal with it himself, but that didn¡¯t mean she would be stupid and not take preventative measures.


    Vincent sighed and took off his glasses to clean the lenses. ¡°Then what about the four you sent to Tartarus? I¡¯m sure that this would lie within the jurisdiction of working for you.¡±


    Lucy considered it and nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll call them back. They should have completed their Rank-Ups and tasks, anyway.¡±


    ¡°Good. Then...¡± Vincent checked his wrist watch. ¡°I need to contact Count Chavaret and my grandfather once I speak to Count Ravimoux. Once you¡¯ve spoken to Sedric and shared the details with us, head to the Demon Realm and come back quick, please. We don¡¯t need our Commission Head going missing too.¡±


    ¡°Hey, what about the Commission Head¡¯s bond going missing?¡± Scytale complained. ¡°Does nobody care about me?¡±


    Vincent ignored the snake to walk out the VIP lounge. Lucille walked over to the windowsill and sat on its edge. ¡°I think it¡¯s time to see how our crafter is going over on the other side of this fiasco.¡±


    <hr>


    In small room, furnished with only thick mattress, workbench and the bare minimum tools needed for a crafter to complete their work, a brown-haired man was asleep. One arm was flung over the side of the bed as a soft snore escaped him. Ugly metal goggles were slowly slipping off his head and he was still wearing a leather apron.


    ¡®....edric.¡¯


    He snored louder.


    ¡®Sedric?¡¯


    ¡°...mhmMm... I¡¯m not sleeping, I swear...¡± he mumbled.


    ¡®Sedric, now is not the time to be asleep.¡¯


    ¡°Shut up, Lucille...¡± Sedric rolled over and buried his head in a pillow. ¡°Why are you even in my bedroom to begin with......?¡±


    Something about that statement felt strange but he couldn¡¯t ruminate on it as the voice of the enigmatic woman he called his boss grew louder.


    ¡®You moron, Sedric! Get up! You¡¯ve just been kidnapped for heaven¡¯s sake, don¡¯t you think this requires some urgency?!¡¯


    The sudden shout in his head made him jump and he accidentally fell out of bed, his back on the cold stone floor. He groaned as he shakily sat up, feeling the ache in his whole body. Sedric took off the goggles that had been slowly entangling themselves in his hair and looked around. ¡°Uh... Lucille? Where are you?¡±


    ¡®Look under your bed.¡¯


    Sedric¡¯s eyes went wide and he stood up, then whirled around to check his bed. His expression went flat when he saw what he had been sleeping on.


    ¡®I can¡¯t believe you fell for that. You were sleeping on only a mattress.¡¯


    ¡°I thought you said this requires urgency,¡± he bit back.


    ¡®Unlike you, I can multi task, and make a fool out of you at the same time as saving your sorry backside.¡¯


    Sedric rolled his eyes and then frowned, crossing his arms. ¡°For real this time. Where are you?¡±


    ¡®Not here. Check your hand.¡¯


    His eyes narrowed. Sedric could almost see the eye roll that came with the heavy sigh in his mind.


    ¡®This isn¡¯t another joke. Look at your right hand.¡¯


    ¡°Do I need to take my glove off or-¡± His voice faded as he saw the glowing golden symbol that hovered over the back of his hand, regardless of his gloves. It had the shape of a tesseract and no matter what angle he turned his arm at, it was visible. ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡®Simply put, it¡¯s the mark that appears on those I choose to strengthen my Origin Skill¡¯s effect on. If it weren¡¯t for the situation I never would¡¯ve done this, but at least it allows us to have direct mental communication with one another. Only those I¡¯ve done the same to can see this mark on you and vice versa.¡¯


    ¡°Origin Skill?¡± Lucille¡¯s Origin Skill... he was very curious, but he understood it wasn¡¯t the time to ask questions-


    Sedric immediately disregarded that thought when he realised something. ¡°How did you know I wasn¡¯t on a proper bed when you¡¯re not here?¡±


    ¡®I... set up a construct through my Origin Skill that projects the vision of who I¡¯m connected to onto my own senses.¡¯


    Sedric wrapped his arms about himself and shuddered. ¡°That¡¯s creepy. You can see what I¡¯m seeing?¡±


    ¡®Do you want to return home or not?¡¯


    He quickly sat down on the mattress and shut his mouth. Not for long though. ¡°Uh... I don¡¯t want to be impatient or anything, but when are you guys going to come get me? This wizards make me feel glad we only have magic freak Marellen at the Commission, and I never thought I¡¯d be saying that,¡± he complained.


    ¡®We have a very minor problem with that, Sedric. You see... we don¡¯t know where you are.¡¯


    He paused. ¡°...what?¡±


    ¡®Well, you were kidnapped, and then taken off-plane. The wizards of the Light Tower could¡¯ve taken you any which way. It¡¯s unlikely you¡¯re even on the Aeternus plane, which means there are thousands of planes you could be on.¡¯


    He ran a hand down his face. ¡°...right. But the wizards never told me anything about this place either.¡±


    ¡®Let¡¯s begin by finding out why they wanted you here in the first place. Is there something they want you to work on?¡¯


    ¡°Uh... yeah, actually. Wait a sec.¡± Sedric stood up and walked over to the workbench in his room. He pulled out a drawer and held out a strange six-sided mechanism of some kind. Primitive mana-lines flowed to and from six gems of the essential elements. ¡°They passed me this to study in my own time when I¡¯m not allowed in the main room of this... place. The main room is some big control centre of some kind, I think this object is supposed to control the whole building but they can¡¯t get it to unlock for some reason.¡±


    ¡®Do you know how it works?¡¯


    ¡°I mean...¡± He held it up and shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure you just need someone who can control all six gems at once to use it, so of course none of the wizards here could use it, being so prideful of their lone affinities for light. I can¡¯t use it either for the record, my class only deals in arcane mana unless I use runes. Runes don¡¯t work with this clunky bit of tech ¨C I think it¡¯s an artifact.¡±


    ¡®Have you told them this?¡¯


    ¡°Not yet.¡±


    ¡®Good. Don¡¯t, so you can stall for time. Ask for equipment to do all the standard tests like I taught you regarding artifacts when you redesigned my dimension artifact. As much as it might infuriate you, you need to act submissive to the wizards. They don¡¯t expect anything from you, and you want to keep it that way.¡¯


    ¡°Alright.¡± Sedric sighed and flopped back down on his bed. ¡°What else?¡±


    ¡®Are there any distinct characteristics about this place you could tell me? There is very little I can observe just through your senses.¡¯


    ¡°Hm.¡± He crossed his arms. ¡°The mana is a bit weird. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s just this building or something, but it feels stagnant. No, stagnant isn¡¯t the right word, it¡¯s...¡± Sedric thought for a moment. ¡°Sluggish. It feels very old and immoveable, like it¡¯s been here for so long that nothing can change it. It¡¯s also very intense, like... strong enough to be a Major plane, but unlike all the other planes I¡¯ve visited, the mana here is completely different.¡±


    ¡®Would you be able to use your mana sight skills on the mana here?¡¯


    He pulled on the force of his skill and observed the mana around him. Sluggish was definitely the correct descriptor, as the mana was so dense as to be slow moving but very deep in tone.


    ¡®Huh. It looks like you¡¯re on an Old Era plane. That¡¯s... interesting.¡¯


    ¡°Old Era... huh? Like the one Marellen went to?¡± Sedric asked, feeling confused.


    ¡®Yes. I need to tell Vincent and Ravimoux this.¡¯


    Lucille fell silent for a moment before speaking again. ¡®Just focus on the symbol and you can contact me whenever. I trust you¡¯ll be fine. I need to contact Marellen and the others before we can try to find you in earnest. Scytale and I are heading to the Demon Realm to reach Rank-2 before we come find you.¡¯


    Sedric¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°You¡¯re coming to get me in person?¡±


    ¡®Do you think I¡¯ll stand for wizards kidnapping my personal crafter and getting away with it? Of course we¡¯re coming. I don¡¯t think anyone else has the intellect to find you in the first place.¡¯


    With that, he felt her presence leave his mind. Sedric rolled his eyes but was truthfully feeling quite happy. He looked down at the mechanism still held in his hands.


    I¡¯m pretty sure Marellen would be able to use this...


    <hr>


    A silver-haired man ran a hand through his hair and sighed as he looked out the window. Vincent shook his head and walked down the halls of the Black Lily Casino. He felt out of place in the building, up in the higher levels were only the more powerful nobility went to have private gambling matches and meetings. Lucille and Scytale had left for the Obelisk.


    One of Ravimoux¡¯s servants came up to him, looking nervous. ¡°Sir Evisenhardt... three people have arrived at the Casino saying they were guests of yours...¡±


    Vincent scoffed. ¡°I don¡¯t have any guests. Turn them away.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m... afraid we can¡¯t do that. We don¡¯t have the ability to refuse members of a Supreme Institution.¡±


    Vincent frowned. ¡°What?¡±


    ...


    Vincent threw the room¡¯s doors open and stared when he saw the golden-eyed and golden-haired girl sitting next to her surly younger brother and the despondent Paladin, his head buried in his hands.


    Annaliese beamed. ¡°Hello, Vincent?¡±


    ¡°W-What?¡± Vincent asked, stunned. ¡°W-Why?¡±


    Annaliese grinned and rested her chin on her hand. ¡°Sedric has gone missing, right?¡±


    ¡°How-¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, how?¡± Annaliese asked innocently. ¡°I¡¯m the Prophetess. I receive prophecies.¡± She smiled brightly. ¡°And I know Lucille will need us... because Raegan¡¯s hex can help us track Sedric down.¡±

 Chapter 91 (1 of 2) Vengeance in heart, death in hand.

    Demonic flames hailed down from above, shattering the rough stone used as pavement in the Stronghold. Whenever a fireball came near a demon, they yawned and made a shield from their powers. The attack faded harmlessly against their arm. The whole city was acting like this was a daily occurrence.


    Because it was. This was how demons usually spent their days. Casually defending against rival demon clans or beating up other demons for petty trifles. It was not an environment any normal mortal could survive.


    With a pop a humanoid snake landed next to Lucille. He blinked, looked at the sky, then the city, and spun around. ¡°Huh? Wha? Where am I? Who am I?¡± He squinted at the fresh wave of attacks falling over the city wall. ¡°I feel like I¡¯ve been here before- wait. Is this¡­ Florida?¡±


    Lucy ignored her bond¡¯s stupid remarks to open up the Stage 17 page. ¡°It seems you were teleported beside me so we can begin the seventeenth stage together. This¡¯ll be useful to know if we continue completing our stages alongside each other.¡±


    [S.T.A.G.E.S | Stage 17: Sieged City of Count Valdin]


    The end is in sight! You have arrived at Demon Count Valdin¡¯s Dominium. With his forces to protect you both, you will be safe and sound.... supposedly.


    The Stronghold you arrived at is already under bombardment by Viscount Cressilin¡¯s army. With the Stronghold under siege, the demons who can begin the reverse summoning are preoccupied. You must resolve the situation. But with the Count missing... how?


    [Collapse]


    Main Quest (Rank-2: Demon Realm) Overall Objective:


    <ul>


    <li>Last two weeks while being pursued by forces so that the stolen treasure you carry can be placed on the summoning ritual along with yourselves.</li>


    </ul>


    Sub-Objectives ¨C Stage 11:


    Compulsory:


    <ul>


    <li>Find the Count.</li>


    </ul>


    Optional:


    <ul>


    <li>Discover the Countess¡¯s motives.</li>


    <li>Discover Young Master Valdin¡¯s motives.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    [Completion Rate: 60%]


    ¡°Chalice, human?¡±


    Lucille and Scytale looked up when they heard the guttural voice speaking. In front of them was a bulky armoured demon with fangs protruding from his bottom lip. A mane of black fur for hair showed the demon¡¯s strong beast lineage.


    Lucy nodded, walking past him and ignoring his outstretched claw. She had just burst through the city gates before they left the stages. ¡°Ah, yes. I have the item your lord needs for his deal with my human lord. Mighty demon, please take me to this Stronghold¡¯s ruler.¡±


    The demon gave her a wicked smile that showed his jagged teeth. ¡°Address. This. Lord Berkza,¡± he growled, pointing at himself. He crossed his burly arms and tilted his chin up proudly.


    Lucy, in all seriousness, was quite impressed by his Imperial Common. This was prior to the System, so there was no automatic translation. It was rare for an Intermediate Demon to come across a human for them to soul read and gain their knowledge.


    She gave him a deep bow, pushing Scytale¡¯s head down as well. It was more difficulty than it was worth trying to crush the ego of a meat head like the one in front of her, so a bit of flattery would go a long way. ¡°I understand, Mighty Lord Berkza. May I humbly request to meet with the Stronghold¡¯s ruler?¡±


    The demon made a satisfied huff and turned around. ¡°Follow,¡± he barked.


    Scytale shot her a sour look which she ignored, and they followed the demon twice their height to the Stronghold fortress. The demon grunted as he ducked his head to enter and then stiffened up. Lucy and Scytale leaned around him to see what he was looking at.


    A demoness with glossy black tresses and dark purple eyes sauntered up to Berkza.


    ¡°What do we have here, Berkza?¡± Her eyes glittered as she traced a circle on the fearful demon¡¯s chest, then she reached up to turn his face to look at her. ¡°Where might you be taking these two precious guests?¡±


    He stammered out a syllable in the demonic tongue but Lucille walked forward to interject. ¡°Lord Berkza? Would she be the ruler of the Stronghold you were taking me to?¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± The demoness¡¯s eyes narrowed coldly. ¡°You were taking them to see the Stronghold¡¯s ruler, ¡®Lord¡¯ Berkza?¡± She gave Lucy and Scytale a wide smile and spread her dress in a slight curtsy. ¡°Well, you¡¯ve finally found me.¡± She gave the demon guard a malicious smile. ¡°I see now. You were taking them to see me, weren¡¯t you?¡±


    The demon trembled as she lowered her voice to a whisper. ¡°Weren¡¯t you?¡±


    Berkza shakily nodded. She patted his arm with a satisfied smirk. ¡°Good boy. Yes, I am the master of the Stronghold. None should forget that,¡± she purred. ¡°Off you go now.¡±


    The demon guard practically ran off to escape the demoness. She watched him with narrowed eyes then turned to Lucy and smiled pleasantly. ¡°But where are my manners. I am Countess Amoria. My husband is... otherwise indisposed, so for the meantime I am in charge of this place.¡± She placed a hand on her cheek and tilted her head as her eyes glowed. ¡°As you can see, we can¡¯t afford you the comfort a Marquess¡¯s delegates deserve right now, but may I at least offer you a respite from the journey?¡±


    ¡°That would be much appreciated,¡± Lucy said with a calm smile.


    Amoria snapped her fingers. ¡°Make yourselves comfortable while here. Young man, would you be willing to deliver that beautiful cup into my hands?¡±


    Scytale opened his mouth and then the sclera of his eyes glazed over with a purple hue. ¡°...sure, I guess. Why not?¡±


    Lucille watched him expressionlessly as he took the chalice from her hands and walked over to the demoness. She picked up the chalice in her long-nailed pale hands and raised it up to inspect. ¡°A miraculous treasure. I will be sure to keep this safe until my husband¡¯s scholars return from the frontlines.¡± She casually waved them goodbye.


    Lucy didn¡¯t say anything as she and Scytale walked the hallways of the castle, and it was only when they entered her room that she sat down on the bed and crossed her arms.


    ¡°Yuck!¡± Scytale shuddered and wrapped his arms around himself. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you told me to let her lust powers touch me like that! To even go as far as using my illusion abilities to change my eye colour?¡±


    ¡°I was being cautious. With our soul bond there¡¯s no way you could be affected. But you know that¡¯s not the problem right now.¡±


    ¡°Uh... yeah...¡± He hesitated. ¡°Wasn¡¯t the Demon Count supposed to be perfectly fine right now? I don¡¯t remember Count Valdin being much of a plot point in the Stages at all...¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how your stages went, but...¡± Lucy held her chin. ¡°At this current time, my sub objectives were related to sneaking through the Cressilin Army¡¯s camp for reconnaissance.¡±


    Her bond shrugged. ¡°Mine was just to kill them all.¡± He paused to consider it for a moment and then grinned. ¡°Hey, my only sub objective after this stage was to sabotage the army. Doesn¡¯t that mean I can do it again?¡±


    She gave him a flat look. ¡°And how exactly are you planning to do that? Didn¡¯t you trap the army in a ravine after they chased you the whole way in the mountain range and rolled boulders onto them last time?¡± She pointed out of the window, showing the flat fields of red grey waist-high grass surrounding them on all sides outside the city walls. ¡°Point me to the nearest boulder and I will gladly accompany as your loyal partner in crime.¡±


    He scowled. ¡°Fine, I get your point.¡± He scratched his head. ¡°So... what do we do?¡±


    Lucille stood up walked over to the window. ¡°You will stay here and do nothing. You¡¯re supposed to be suffering the effects of Amoria¡¯s Luxuria and be pining for her. As such, let me work out what these ¡®factions¡¯ are.¡±


    Scytale followed her and raised an eyebrow. ¡°Are you trying to sneak past the guards the Countess placed in front of our door? How will you go undetected?¡±


    Lucy pulled out a black jester mask and waved it. Scytale stared. ¡°You brought that?¡±


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Why not? It doesn¡¯t only have uses in the real world.¡± She slipped it onto her face and dark mana spooled out to cloak her in Jinx¡¯s outfit. ¡°Something with a disassociation enchantment has many applications.¡±


    A brief flash of gold appeared as she activated her Dramatourgos skill, deftly climbing onto balustrades and up gutters. Her mana senses were enough to detect nearby demons as none of them were being careful to hide their strength. As for detecting her... meh. None of the demons were on high alert for someone with her soul power so they likely wouldn¡¯t pick up on her spiritual energy unless they were really focused for some reason. They could always restart the stage if there was a problem.


    She found a balcony to slip in through that was far from any observers. Lucy didn¡¯t want to risk any demons noticing too much mana usage, so as she cast an invisibility spell, she made sure her Field of Transmutational Mastery didn¡¯t let a speck of mana escape past a few inches away from her skin.


    It was very focus intensive, but for Lucille, it was barely noticeable. What was noticeable was how easily the mana cycled into and out of her body and mana pool. It was almost like the skill intended for the mana to work that way in the first place.


    Marellen kept talking about the cycle of elemental harmony¡­ I wonder whether my second primary skill can gain a strong passive effect if I add in this cyclic behaviour.


    She had many paths she could take to advance that skill, but as for what she wanted¡­ it needed to be the pinnacle mana manipulation skill. That was the only way what she wanted to cast would appear exactly as she intended.


    That¡¯s not too important right now, when I have to focus on what will be my third main skill.


    And instead of building it up form the basics like her second main skill¡­ she was going to go for the top and study the components from there. She wasn¡¯t a user learning about Influence for the first time. With the Shard of Totality to analyse anything, it would be a waste for her not to strive for the best.


    Her thinly spread spiritual energy to avoid demons detecting her located several presences in a room. There was a guard in front, but he had his eyes closed as he leant against the wall.


    Lucille noticed a nearby door with a high chance of leading to the same room and took the different entrance. The small hallway opened up to the room, but... wide curtains seemed to shield it from view. That was for the best. She snuck alongside the wall behind the curtains and climbed onto the windowsill that the curtains presumably hid. Blending with the shadows, she could see over the curtain bracket.


    Four demons sat on plush red couches, drinking wine and surrounded by scantily-dressed demonesses. Three of the demons were clearly treating the dark-haired one with greater respect.


    ¡°That worthless wench, Amoria...¡± The dark-haired demon spat off to the side and scoffed. ¡°Does she truly believe the demons of my city will accept her as this Stronghold¡¯s master just because she killed my mother to get the position?¡±


    ¡°They would never, Young Master Valdin,¡± a grey-haired demon flattered.


    Lord Valdin rolled his eyes, aware of the tricks of his subordinates.


    The other two exchanged glances and one placed down a wine glass. ¡°Would it not be better for you to work with Counte-¡± He froze when faced with the dark-haired demon¡¯s cold smile and hurriedly coughed. ¡°...Lady Amoria for the time being? Count Valdin hasn¡¯t left the crystal room nor responded to our messengers since he revealed he must urgently visit the Stronghold Core.¡±


    ¡°Never,¡± Lord Valdin spat.


    The grey-haired demon who tried to butter up to him gave him a sneaky look. ¡°Do you wish for revenge for your mother, my lord? If so, this humble Rexen shall-¡±


    The sound of shattering and sudden screams filled the room. Rexen let out strangulated chokes, staring at his clawed hands once they came back dripping with fresh blood after he touched his neck ¨C his blood. He raised his eyes to stare at the noble demon who flung a shard of a wine glass through his neck and then keeled over, dead, frightening the demoness beside him. His body disintegrated into red particles, quickly disappearing with a snap of Lord Valdin¡¯s fingers.


    ¡°I am sure neither of you two are as idiotic as to imagine me having the pathetic, mortal emotion of familial affection towards my predecessors?¡± Lord Valdin said with a smile.


    One of them quickly shook their head as the other, the one who had suggested that the young master work with Amoria, politely bowed. ¡°Your loyal servants find themselves remarkably perplexed by your hostile attitude to the Count¡¯s current wife, my lord.¡±


    The dark-haired demon seemed to like that form of speech better and his smile widened. He held out a new wine glass to the demoness waiting on him and she refilled it for him. He lifted it to the light to admire. ¡°When I slay my father and succeed him as a far more powerful Count, I¡¯ll detest viewing the name of that feral Infernal in our lineage records as my ¡®mother¡¯. That self-serving vile vixen who believes us to be below her, even when she is barely capable of wielding the precious Flames of Lust... I want to see her beneath me before I become Count.¡±


    Lucille found that this discussion solved a lot of her questions. It made sense that the level of factional conflict in the city wasn¡¯t that in depth, because it wouldn¡¯t be able to be resolved in only four more Stages.


    At least I know I can use them against each other if I must... I¡¯ll need to find an opportunity to greet this young master and get him to back me-


    Her plans were cut short when Lord Valdin let out a bark of laughter. ¡°My dearest father failed his duties as the Count of Valdin when he accepted that Infernal as his new wife. It only cemented my resolve to supplant him when he negotiated with lowly humans. When I find that mortal and her bond, I¡¯ll force them to reveal the coordinates and order the scholars to create the transportation array.¡± He gained a bloodthirsty smirk. ¡°My first achievement after becoming Count will be to conquer the so-called human ¡®Marquess¡¯s fief and take it for the County.¡±


    [+4% Completion Rate]


    [New! Completion Rate: 64%]


    Ah... he¡¯s a bigot. Time to give up that plan then.


    She quickly ducked behind the curtains when someone knocked on the door opposite her. The demons all turned their eyes to the door when Lord Valdin ordered for them to come in.


    Berkza came scrambling in a fell to the ground in front of Lord Valdin, trembling. ¡°M-My lord. The two realm travellers have a-arrived in the Stronghold.¡±


    Lord Valdin¡¯s bloodthirsty smile widened and he stood up. ¡°Perfect timing. The I shall play the role of a benevolent host for the time being. Lead me to them and-¡±


    ¡°P-Please forgive me, sire! C-Countess Amoria came upon them first.¡±


    Lord Valdin kept smiling for a moment longer and then it faded. ¡°...ah.¡±


    A sickening wet slick sound sailed through the air and Berkza¡¯s eyes glazed over as his head slid from his neck. Both head and body toppled over to become meandering demonic power.


    The demonic aura of the young master of the Valdin County roiled with fury but had a keen, cool sharpness proving he hadn¡¯t lost his rationale. The maidservants clutched their chests while their eyes bulged from the pressure. He straightened up his vest and marched out of the room.


    ...that would be my que to leave. I need to go find Scytale, but first I need to check on Amoria and see what she¡¯s doing. Because if Berkza is over here, it means she¡¯s doing something else.


    Lucille left the room. The door slid shut without a sound. Expertly avoiding anyone, she found a staircase and ascended it, looking for where the typical placement of a demon Countess¡¯s quarters would be. She slipped past the low-ranking maidservants and found herself in a luxurious boudoir with patterned wallpaper when she used a dumb waiter. But the demoness was nowhere in sight.


    Scattered flecks of light shone from behind a velvet room separator and Lucy snuck behind it. She paused when the figure of Countess Amoria was there, kneeling in front of a small mounted mirror as she brushed her hair. Lucy returned to hiding behind a corner and waited.


    ¡°Yes, yes, I know. Not to worry, nobody will expect a thing,¡± Amoria demurely spoke to seemingly no one. ¡°They can¡¯t see you. Even if one of my servants entered, they would see me fixing my appearance. A mere servant wouldn¡¯t dare question me.¡±


    There was silence as whoever she was speaking to replied, and Amoria sighed. ¡°Really, when will you begin to trust me?¡± There was silence and then she chuckled. ¡°As I expected. But it would be foolish for you to believe my words at face value. Nonetheless, I speak the truth.¡±


    Lucille strained to catch the Countess¡¯s words as she lowered her voice.


    ¡°I could feel it! Every fibre of my body sang with euphoria when I felt her presence!¡± Amoria whispered with passion. ¡°The Ancient Daemon of this Dominium has been unsealed! Everyone else remains unaware, but this Daemon... they were of the Infernalis lineage! Of course I could sense it!¡±


    Lucy began to feel a strong sense of impending doom.


    An exuberant laugh escaped from Amoria. ¡°Yes! You felt it too! With their arrival, Infernals shall rule over all the lineages! Who could have ever imagined I¡¯d find something so miraculous out here!¡± The maniacal tone faded from her voice as she regained normality. ¡°But they can¡¯t descend yet. The Count of Valdin has retreated to the Stronghold¡¯s centre and is not responding. If I am to call the Ancient Daemon here, I must know their name and Epithet. And I must know why they have turned to observe the Demon Realm.¡±


    [+3% Completion Rate]


    [New! Completion Rate: 67%]


    Amoria chuckled. ¡°I believe it has everything to do with our two foreign guests. I only need to question them, and...¡± She went silent and her voice became louder. ¡°This artifact from the human realm is reacting to the presence of mana you say? Aha, then it must be because of my little... guest.¡±


    Lucy spun around as Amoria shoved the partition aside. The Infernal demoness smirked and gestured to Lucy, purple Luxuria drifting from her body. ¡°Come here and remove your mask.¡±


    The Luxuria touched Lucy, but... nothing happened. Lucille waited for the demoness to try something else but Amoria stared in shock.


    Does... she not have any form of attack? Really? She inherited one of the Flames of Sin and yet she¡¯s that useless?


    Lucy tilted her head but shrugged and ran off. Amoria yelled for guards to catch Lucy but they lost track of her as she wove through the Stronghold¡¯s chaotic structure. She climbed out a window and swung from a balcony railing to land in their room.


    Scytale raised an eyebrow. ¡°You look like you¡¯re in a rush.¡±


    ¡°Look like? I am.¡± Lucy pocketed her mask and ran to the door. ¡°No time to explain. We need to get out of here right now. We have to find the Count and leave the Stronghold.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Alright...¡± Scytale shattered the door with a kick and shoved into the guard, winding him. They dashed off, taking the most efficient route to the centre of the Stronghold and ignoring the surprised exclamations of the servants and guards.


    The two of them screeched to a halt when they ran into Lord Valdin.


    ¡°Oh? Aren¡¯t you...¡± He smiled and spread his arms. ¡°The two realm travellers my father summoned? A pleasure to meet you, I am the Count¡¯s heir. But why the rush? It appears as if you¡¯re heading somew-¡±


    Lucy ignored him and ran past. Scytale slammed his head into the floor and leapt over him to catch up to his bond.


    ¡°Still no time to explain?¡± the amphiptere asked, turning into his serpent form to fly alongside her.


    ¡°Neither Countess Amoria nor the young master can be our allies,¡± Lucy stated shortly. ¡°The young master wants us dead because we¡¯re too far ¡®below¡¯ him, and Amoria wants to call the Ancient Daemon here.¡±


    ¡°Uhuh.¡± Scytale flickered his tongue. ¡°Why is calling the Ancient Daemon here a bad thing? Besides the exponentially much higher chance of us ending up dead, of course.¡±


    ¡°Amoria needs us because we¡¯re the Ancient Daemon¡¯s targets. We¡¯re how she can control it. And...¡± Lucy stopped speaking to abruptly turn a corner. They halted in front of a massive door covered in demonic sigils. ¡°If the Ancient Daemon descends, we can¡¯t teleport out of this realm. The dimensional fabric will be too disturbed.¡±


    ¡°...got it.¡± Scytale flew to the ground. ¡°How are we going to get inside?¡±


    ¡°We brute force it.¡± Lucille placed her left hand on the door and forced her mana through it, uncaring about their presences becoming homing beacons for the demons. ¡°Primal Descendent, you need to back me up. I repel Ancient Daemon energies but without your Primal bloodline to create a breach, I can¡¯t force it open.¡±


    Scytale gave her a serpentine grin. His bestial aura released intense light as he activated his Primal Descendent subskill, tripling his size. He opened his mouth and roared, a beam of light and illusion mana shooting into the door.


    The demonic metal rippled for a fraction of a second but it was enough. The door buckled beneath her hands and then swung open. Scytale and Lucy forced themselves in then slammed the door shut behind them.


    ¡°Right. The Count. Where... oh.¡±


    Lucille turned around to see the blazing fire engulfing the Stronghold crystal. Or... what remained of it. It had shattered into a million shards and the humanoid figure behind the pedestal was screaming in agony, trying and failing to put out the flames. His skin was burning off, smoke was coming from his body and his clothes had long since disappeared, but he couldn¡¯t die. The large crystal shard in his frozen-stiff hands regularly released brilliant red light that healed him, and then the flames charred his new body again.


    Lucy frowned and raised Apophis. Controlling her strength, her Reward skill blast a beam of black demonic power which ripped the final largest remains of the crystal apart, including the Count¡¯s shard. Finally, the flames could consume him fully and he crumbled into a pile of ash.


    Scytale, in his human form, approached with a strange expression. ¡°...ash?¡±


    ¡°Demons have strong mentalities because of their volatile energy, but not even they are immune to immense mental trauma.¡± Lucille crouched to look at the ashes as they faded. ¡°Instead of losing part of his power, his entire True Body has been scattered to the four corners of the Demon Realm. He¡¯ll only recover his True Demon ego when a demon beast that has inherited part of his True Body assimilates the power of all the other fragments of his True Body.¡±


    ¡°...isn¡¯t the Demon Realm basically infinite though? That¡¯s possible?¡±


    Lucy just glanced at Scytale and it was enough to answer his question. She stood up and turned to the pedestal. ¡°His Auctoritas was being rapidly consumed to protect him, but that same crystal his Auctoritas was manifested from was part of the Ancient Daemon¡¯s vessel. It healed and cursed him at the same time.¡±


    [+3% Completion Rate]


    [New! Completion Rate: 70%]


    Scytale crossed his arms. ¡°I have no idea where the stages are going now. What do you think?¡±


    Lucille went to say something but then the new arrival caught her eye.


    Countess Amoria had entered the crystal room and was smiling from ear to ear.


    [Stage 17 Complete. Transferring Users¡­]


    ¡°...I don¡¯t know either, but I have a feeling it involves more Great Beings than I want to deal with,¡± Lucille replied.

 Chapter 91 (2 of 2) Vengeance in heart, death in hand.

    [S.T.A.G.E.S | Stage 18: Daemon¡¯s Descension]


    The Count is dead, his heir wants to kill you, and the Countess has her own agenda. None will let you leave. How will you return to the Marquess?


    That¡¯s a question for later. First, you need to escape the Stronghold, but that is easier said than done when Cressilin¡¯s Army still wages war on the city. You need to make a choice: Escape the city and live... or stop Amoria. Unfortunately, it¡¯s too late for the latter.


    [Collapse]


    Main Quest (Rank-2: Demon Realm) Overall Objective:


    <ul>


    <li>Last two weeks while being pursued by forces so that the stolen treasure you carry can be placed on the summoning ritual along with yourselves.</li>


    </ul>


    Sub-Objectives ¨C Stage 11:


    Compulsory:


    <ul>


    <li>Leave the Stronghold before She In Her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance descends.</li>


    </ul>


    Optional:


    <ul>


    <li>Sabotage Cressilin¡¯s army.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    [Completion Rate: 70%]


    They returned to the Stronghold¡¯s crystal core room, right when Amoria had entered. Lucy shared her plans with Scytale and he agreed with enthusiasm.


    ¡°Fascinating... I¡¯m rather curious how two outsiders managed to break into the core room while the Count had sealed it.¡± Her long nails gored a line into the pedestal¡¯s basin. Something had happened to grant her more physical strength than she had when threatening Lucille earlier.  ¡°But that is of no consequence. I offer a truce.¡±


    ¡°A truce?¡± Lucille smiled and crossed her arms. ¡°What reason would we need a truce, Countess Amoria? We are the guests of the Count. Did you plan to kill us?¡±


    The demoness inspected her gloved fingers. ¡°Count Valdin has lost his Auctoritas. You may not know because you¡¯re realm travellers, but every demon in the Stronghold felt his end.¡± Amoria gave them a wicked smile, showing her sharp incisors. ¡°Everyone in this Dominion can become the new Lord of the Stronghold. The city has descended into chaos.¡±


    ¡°So?¡± Lucy raised an eyebrow. ¡°What has that got to do with us?¡±


    ¡°Well, I happen to be aware that there is no more crystal core here because of the being you two angered,¡± Amoria stressed. She stretched out a hand, as if to offer a handshake. ¡°Show me what it is that caught the Ancient Daemon¡¯s attention and I¡¯ll let you leave this Dominion.¡±


    ¡°Not return us to our realm?¡± Lucy pried.


    The demoness chuckled lightly. ¡°Let me keep that card for the time being. For the first matter, how about we negotiate a contract? Your safe passage in return for-¡±


    ¡°Amoria Nefas Infernalis!¡± a demon¡¯s voice roared. ¡°As the new Count of Valdin I order you to come before me!¡±


    Amoria clicked her tongue and glanced back with a frown. ¡°Stupid boy¡­ he doesn¡¯t understand that this whole Stronghold is slated to collapse within the next few hours.¡± She turned back to Lucy and Scytale. ¡°What do you say? I can protect you from the Stronghold¡¯s destruction and from my stepson.¡±


    ¡°Amoria! I will force my entry unless you reply!¡± Lord Valdin shouted.


    Lucy looked at Scytale, who was still pretending to be enamoured by Amoria when in her presence, and carefully placed the vessel shard in his hands. ¡°Fine. Could you tell me how you plan to use it?¡±


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t hurt, I suppose,¡± Amoria mused as Scytale slowly approached her with the fragment. She stretched out her hand to take it from the ¡®enamoured¡¯ Scytale¡­


    The dented door of the core room shattered as Lord Valdin and his supporters barged into the room.


    That was the distraction Lucy and Scytale needed. Scytale grinned and lobbed the vessel fragment at the Valdin heir. ¡°Catch!¡±


    Out of reflex the demon snatched the easily caught object and frowned at it.


    Amoria turned on Scytale and glared at him. ¡°You!¡±


    Neither Scytale or Lucy wasted a moment and made a break for the exit. Amoria looked like she wanted to chase them, but the fragment was the higher priority. None of the other demons cared about the actions of Lucille and Scytale, considering they didn¡¯t have the ability to claim the Stronghold in the first place.


    Shouts and booms sounded behind Lucy and her bond as they navigated the Stronghold to access the main entrance. The weak servants scrambled in fear and they blended in with the escaping occupants, winding up in the city square.


    They took a breather when they ended up there, far enough away for them to avoid the cross fire.


    ¡°We escape now, right?¡± Scytale said, looking around to make sure no demons had any ideas about them. ¡°The Stages said were too late to stop Amoria. Even I know that the System is telling us we have no chance.¡±


    Lucy didn¡¯t immediately answer and looked at her left hand. The pact sigil gleamed a glossy black, and refused her attempts to hide it. She pulled her glove back on. ¡°As we voluntarily chose to give Amoria the fragment, the Ancient Daemon will descend regardless of the vessel. I wanted to avoid this, but it seems like the System wants me to create a realm-transfer demonic circle to complete our objectives.¡±


    She looked up at the sky, the clouds forming an uncanny vortex with the eye of the storm encompassing the city. Luminous orange flickered in the clouds¡­ a colour Lucille had never seen in the Demon Realm¡¯s skies. ¡°Amoria said we had a couple of hours until the Stronghold collapses, correct?¡±


    Lucy gave her bond a wry look. ¡°What do you think of this plan?¡±


    Scytale saw her thoughts and gained an evil grin.


    ...


    [Sub-Objective Complete: Leave the Stronghold before She In Her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance descends.]


    [+6% Completion Rate]


    [New! Completion Rate: 76%]


    Scytale ignored the message as he hauled a sack over his shoulder. Something squirmed inside. He trudged through the chest-height grass towards the encampment of Viscount Cressilin¡¯s Army.


    Scytale parted the grass in front of him with one hand and entered a clearing. His boots stepped on twigs, snapping them and alerting the two demon scouts to his position.


    They turned on him and raised their weapons. ¡°Who are you?¡± a demonite soldier snarled.


    ¡°One of the two realm travellers who work for Count Valdin.¡± With that response, the two demons raised their weapons higher, but Scytale smirked. ¡°You¡¯ll regret it if you attack me now. I want to bargain with your leader.¡±


    With that statement, he dropped the sack on the ground and opened the bag. There, tied up and gagged was Lucille, glaring at her bond and the two demons.


    ¡°My partner and the chalice in return for safe passage back to the human realm,¡± Scytale said with a smirk.


    The two soldiers traded looks. Just as one was about to lunge forward and attack Scytale, planning on taking credit for the capture of the two of them, Scytale shot up in size as he activated his Primal Descendent beast form and bared his arm-length fangs at them both.Stolen novel; please report.


    ¡°I won¡¯t hesitate to kill you two weaklings myself,¡± he threatened. ¡°Take me to your general, or I¡¯ll take myself there.¡±


    Nervously, the demons nodded and backed off. Scytale reverted to his human form and pulled the sack around Lucy again, hauling her over his shoulder.


    One of demons followed behind Scytale, still pointing his weapon at him. He was lead by the other one to the encampment. Any demon Scytale made eye contact with snarled at him or spat on the ground, but Scytale couldn¡¯t care less.


    The leading demon approached the tallest tent. ¡°The serpent realm traveller wishes to meet with the General.¡±


    ¡°Bring him in,¡± a voice boomed.


    The demon lifted the tent flap to let Scytale and enter, then the two of them politely backed away and quickly left. Scytale remained standing on the rug in the centre of the room. He dumped the sack next to him and then¡­


    Lucille sprang up from it with the ropes lying untied on the bottom of the sack. The gag lay dangling from her neck and she casually ripped it off.


    ¡°An honour to meet the general in charge of Viscount Cressilin¡¯s forces,¡± she began, giving him a flamboyant bow. The General¡¯s most powerful soldiers stood on either side of his chair, eyeing her with disdain and scepticism.


    The General, a scarred, burly demon with ram horns on his head slammed the but of his war-axe on the compacted hard floor. Sparks of demonic power crackled from its tip. ¡°For daring to scheme against me, you have one sentence to persuade me not to kill you here and now. Make it worth my time.¡±


    At Lucy¡¯s hinting, Scytale kneeled along with her. ¡°Count Valdin is dead and the Dominion lies unclaimed,¡± she answered curtly.


    The demon general narrowed his dark eyes at her. Everyone waited tensely for his answer, and then he nodded. ¡°You are permitted to continue.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, your lordship.¡± Lucy looked up. ¡°The Stronghold is divided amongst themselves. Countess Amoria is in conflict with the heir over who can gain the Auctoritas. The realm transfer circle is nowhere in sight and the demons who could send us back won¡¯t do anything without orders from the new Count.¡±


    ¡°Continue,¡± was the brusque answer.


    ¡°Forgive me for making assumptions, but from what I understand the chalice we stole was only a pretext for Cressilin¡¯s war against Valdin,¡± Lucille politely replied. ¡°The actual item wasn¡¯t important for Cressilin because demons can¡¯t be harmed by normal poison.¡±


    The General tapped his clawed fingers against the armrest. ¡°You want us to give up the chase for you in return for entering the battle for the Dominion.¡± He bared his teeth. ¡°Amusing. You think we¡¯d spare all this effort to find you for a mere goblet?¡±


    Lucy lowered her head. ¡°I don¡¯t. If you claim the Dominion... I¡¯ll be the mediator for a discussion between my human lord and the Viscount. The Marquess will be willing to partner with a demon clan powerful enough to overtake the Valdin Dominion.¡±


    That was the core issue. Lucille and Scytale weren¡¯t being chased for only the chalice. Viscount Cressilin wanted to become the new contractor of the Marquess. Without Lucy and Scytale, he wouldn¡¯t have a chance of contacting the Marquess. Ordinarily, this became a twist in the latter stages when one of the objectives was to use the chalice as bait for the army, and then it was revealed that the chalice held no importance, but with the way the stages were playing out... Lucille had abandoned all thoughts of sticking to the original ¡®plot¡¯.


    The General of Cressilin¡¯s army fell silent to consider the deal. Lucille patiently waited for him to make his decision, already sure of what he would choose.


    The General stood up and marched forward. He gripped Lucy¡¯s wrist and yanked her up. Heat burned from his hand to hers. ¡°A contract,¡± he barked. ¡°You will stay in this tent until I return victorious.¡± He gave her a vicious grin. ¡°If I die, you will die also.¡±


    He only let go of her wrist when she gave him a slow, shaky nod, pale and wide-eyed.


    He left the tent with a sweep of his cape. ¡°Prepare for battle!¡± he yelled. Armoured boots thundered across the ground as the army prepared to storm the Stronghold.


    Scytale frowned at Lucy. ¡°Are you okay? Now what do we do? That contract stops us from escaping the Ancient Daemon¡¯s descent-¡±


    A healthy tone returned to Lucille¡¯s skin as she stood up and brushed herself off. ¡°We have no time to waste. As soon as the army leaves we need to gain distance.¡±


    ¡°What about the contract?¡±


    Lucy wordlessly raised her hand to show him the contract mark burned into her skin, forming a bracelet. As he watched, the demonic sigils flaked off and unravelled, disappearing. The Demon Emperor¡¯s sigil gleamed red.


    ¡°Huh.¡± Scytale followed her out of the tent. They stood at the edge, watching the army march towards the city. ¡°The General won¡¯t notice?¡±


    ¡°He will eventually. Which is why we need to move right now. But first...¡± Lucille went over to a large tent, blatantly ignoring the protective demonic wards. She scanned the shelves inside and began taking materials harvested from demonic plants or beasts, then stuffing them into the sack she had brought back from the General¡¯s tent. On one shelf was a few bottles of what looked like demon beast blood and she took that too.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Lucille held out the sack for her bond, who begrudgingly took it. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Aren¡¯t we too relaxed?¡±


    Lucy, who had her eyes closed as she lay on the grass at the top of the hill, didn¡¯t move. ¡°Of course not. We have nothing to do until the results are achieved.¡±


    Scytale slipped into his serpent form and snuck over to her. ¡°Fine. I¡¯m bored. Is there anything else I can do?¡±


    ¡°Wait for the light show to start.¡±


    ¡°Light show?¡±


    A flash of lightning appeared in the vortex clouds above and Lucy sat up. ¡°The sky of the Demon Realm only changes when a powerful demon has appeared.¡±


    They watched as the lightning flashed with the orange and red clouds, illuminating a dark shape within.


    Scytale squinted as he saw the shape move. ¡°Wait...¡±


    They stilled as pained roars sounded from the demon city below. As they watched with steadily widening eyes, an enormous demonic pentagram formed above the Stronghold. Red streams of energy flew up from the city streets to coalesce into a giant orb that overshadowed the city.


    ¡°Did all those demons...¡±


    ¡°Amoria sacrificed them to fuel the descension,¡± Lucille replied to Scytale¡¯s unfinished question. ¡°And the army were consumed in the ritual.¡±


    The ball of demonic energy shot up through the vortex of clouds above just as the notification sounded for them both.


    [Sub-Objective Complete: Sabotage Cressilin¡¯s Army.]


    [+4% Completion Rate]


    [New! Completion Rate: 80%]


    [Transferring Users.....]


    ...


    [S.T.A.G.E.S | Stage 19: Hellawes Irandes Nefas Infernalis]


    The first arrival of an Ancient Daemon to the Demon Realm in 200 millennia has occurred as a consequence of your misguided curiosity. Every demon within the realm has felt Her arrival. Cressilin¡¯s army has been consumed to fuel Her descension and Amoria used the vessel fragment as a conduit to host the Daemon¡¯s power.


    Did you truly believe... She In Her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance descended merely from her vessel being damaged? You saw the vessel for what it was. It was a fetter, binding Her to the space between realms. You¡¯ve attracted attention beyond your qualifications.


    You¡¯ll answer to this realm¡¯s Rulers if you don¡¯t take responsibility for your actions.


    [Collapse]


    Main Quest (Rank-2: Demon Realm) Overall Objective:


    <ul>


    <li>Last two weeks while being pursued by forces so that the stolen treasure you carry can be placed on the summoning ritual along with yourselves.</li>


    </ul>


    Sub-Objectives ¨C Stage 11:


    Compulsory:


    <ul>


    <li>Sever the bond between Amoria and She In her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance to return the Ancient Daemon from whence She came.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    [Completion Rate: 80%]


    There were few times that the System gave no optional objectives, but if it did, it meant they had a much more difficult compulsory objective.


    Lucille and Scytale weren¡¯t left with much time to ruminate on their objective though, because the swirling vortex of fiery clouds started circling at a higher speed. The hill they were on shuddered as demonic power screamed at them with intensity, a beacon of red light radiating from the Stronghold. The remains of the city collapsed into marble and stone chunks which melded with the ground.


    The vortex above began to rotate faster and faster, winds roaring with full force. The rumbling clouds began to lower towards the ground. The earth thundered and swelled within the city, rising to meet with the cloud fall.


    The new mountain and the storm tornado briefly touched... and the entire realm flashed as the energy around them grew heavier. It was as if... they were no longer surrounded by demonic power at all.


    Mist rolled down from the skies to cloak the mountain of red rock. The new born mountain gained valleys and gorges, cliffs and faces as a pattern was carved out of it. The tall red grass surrounding the city flowed over the mountain to become robes. The fiery clouds that had touched down became flowing locks. The valleys and gorges were the shape and form of the body of the Ancient Daemon¡¯s incarnation.


    An inhuman, transcendental woman draped in scarlet robes, hair of flowing red and with eyes of solid, burning embers replaced what there had been of the realm¡¯s natural phenomena. She remained as still as the statue that mirrored her, except for one difference ¨C her demonic script was nowhere in sight, leaving pure white unblemished skin in its place. Each of her finger tips were large enough to cover the hill Lucy and Scytale stood on.


    Slowly, as they watched, she turned her glowing eyes to gaze at them.


    ¡°Lucy, why aren¡¯t we leaving?¡± Scytale hissed, feeling immensely nervous under the watch of the Great Being, a creature so far removed from them they had no way of comprehending if communication was possible.


    ¡°Where to?¡± Lucille replied with a tight smile, looking pale herself. ¡°Omnipresence is one of the most minor abilities of a being that lives in a non-Euclidean realm.¡± Even though she said that, Lucy was unsheathing Apophis and Ouroboros.


    A small speck in the distance drew their attention. With a flaming aura, the humanoid figure rose up and floated around eye-level with the Ancient Daemon. The figure pointed directly at their hill and Hellawes closed her eyes.


    Dirt shifted beneath them and they found themselves being raised up on the palm of the colossal being. Her incarnation reconstructed itself before their eyes and they looked back to see the Daemoness within the city walls had crumbled into a sea of ash.


    Scytale tried and failed to bite the hand of Hellawes, his fangs doing nothing to Her marble-like skin. ¡°Crap, Lucy! What do we do?¡±


    ¡°The System wouldn¡¯t give us an impossible task, let me think...¡± Lucy sped up her thoughts and tried to consider as many avenues as possible. ¡°We have no chance against an incarnation right now. Then if we¡¯re not meant to fight it-¡±


    Light laughter sounded overhead and they looked up to see Amoria sitting on the other hand of the Ancient Daemon as if it were her throne. ¡°Quite a spectacle, isn¡¯t it? I don¡¯t recall humans having their Primarchs at their beck and call.¡±


    ¡°I have to remind you of why you were able to call the Ancient Daemon here,¡± Lucy said through smirk, stealing glances at the incarnation which kept Her pupil-less gaze on them, completely indifferent.


    ¡°As a matter of fact, that is exactly what made me so curious about you two. Ordinarily, I would have no need for you after She descended, but...¡± Amoria tilted her head as she elegantly crossed one leg over the other. ¡°Tell me, what did you do to instigate her descent? I so dearly want to know.¡±


    What Amoria had said was right. Ordinarily, the demoness wouldn¡¯t care about them. Something else was at play here. Unfortunately... Lucille didn¡¯t know why the Ancient Daemon descended either. Normally she would¡¯ve thought it was just a situation that the System forced to occur to test them, but the situation was so completely removed from anything she was used to when it came to the Stages that all she could rely on was improvisation.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Lucy stated blandly. ¡°I¡¯m not a demon. How would I know the mind of an Ancient Daemon when even its descendants don¡¯t know.¡±


    Amoria frowned. ¡°You must.¡±


    Lucille shook her head. ¡°Could it be because my bond is a Primal Descendant?¡±


    ¡°Of course not,¡± Amoria scoffed. ¡°I can tell it¡¯s you that-¡± She shut up.


    ¡°It¡¯s me that what?¡± Lucy pushed.


    Amoria narrowed her eyes and then sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t have time for this. Fine then. I¡¯ll tie up any loose ends here.¡± She snapped her fingers. ¡°Hellawes dear, could you do the honours?¡±


    Nothing happened. Not even a flicker of a response crossed the indifferent Ancient Daemon¡¯s face.


    Scytale saw the look of anger on Amoria¡¯s face and gained a serpentine grin. ¡°Oooh, you can¡¯t control Her at all, can you? Beck and call, yeah right.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it myself then,¡± Amoria hissed. She stood up and raised her hands. Two orange fireballs formed above either one. ¡°Even if the Ancient Daemon is being uncooperative, I still have the power gained from our connection.¡±


    Scytale reared up and hissed as he grew to his Primal Descendant size. He launched himself from Hellawes¡¯ hand and flew towards Amoria, light gathering in his mouth to fire at the demoness.


    Lucille pointed an index finger at Amoria and summoned her own mana, creating a jagged ice shard to pierce through the fiery flames of Ira¡¯s power. As it was only a way to test the demoness¡¯s capabilities, it didn¡¯t have much force behind it, but Amoria smirked.


    She flicked a finger... and a flaming shard hit Lucille¡¯s chest. The world went white as she was instantly killed, sending them both to the empty limbo space.


    Scytale gave her a flat look as Lucy sighed and ran a hand through her fringe. ¡°This isn¡¯t going to be easy.¡±


    A demoness borrowing the reflective abilities of an Ancient Daemon would be quite the difficult target.

 Chapter 92 (1 of 2) Albrecht’s Agenda.

    For the tenth time, the world exploded into white light. A noisy snake threw his hands in the air. ¡°Me this time?! I call hacks. Aren¡¯t I supposed to be a descendant of one of the Ancient Daemon¡¯s all powerful enemies?¡±


    ¡°Ancient Daemons are stronger than Primals though,¡± Lucille commented absentmindedly.


    He stared at her. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Ancient Daemons use their cunning to trap Primals as well as their great strength, so a mere descendant of Primals wouldn¡¯t have an advantage against them.¡± Lucy paced back and forth in the System space. ¡°This isn¡¯t working. Everything we¡¯ve tried has failed.¡±


    Scytale flopped on the ground and stared up at the white ¡®sky¡¯. ¡°What happened to our cheaty time-traveller knowledge? I demand a refund, System! Why send us back in time in the first place if we don¡¯t get to breeze through everything?!¡±


    Lucy ignored her bond¡¯s outburst. ¡°Let¡¯s go over what we¡¯ve learnt so far. Amoria still only has access to her innate Luxuria powers and her Ira powers that she gained through the bond with Hellawes.¡± She tapped her fingers against her arm. ¡°Ira grants the wielder immense physical and magical might for a limited time, but with her connection to Hellawes, we can only assume that time frame has been extended indefinitely.¡±


    ¡°Great. Absolutely wonderful,¡± Scytale replied sarcastically.


    ¡°Th easiest way to defeat Amoria would be to sever her bond with Hellawes, but that is exactly the objective of the Stage and what we can¡¯t do.¡± Lucy sat down on the ground. ¡°We don¡¯t have an abilities that could sever the metaphysical connection between them, as it uses powers we don¡¯t have access to at our Rank. Unless the System wishes to test if we can achieve that, but I¡¯m sure it¡¯s gathered enough information on us to know we can¡¯t do that.¡±


    Scytale rolled onto his stomach and lay with his cheek pressed against the floor. ¡°This is depressing. Can¡¯t you talk about its weaknesses... or at least our advantages?¡±


    They had tried several methods against Amoria and the demoness¡¯s silent backer. One of the first things Lucy did was try to use Ouroboros¡¯s reflective shield against Amoria. It worked, to an extent, and Amoria wasn¡¯t able to copy the spirit weapon¡¯s abilities, but apart from shielding Lucy a few times it didn¡¯t do much.


    Lucille had used the Shard to see what was going on with Amoria too, and they discovered the Ancient Daemon¡¯s powers would eventually be too much for the demoness, and she¡¯d die from the connection... but it was only eventually. The one time they attempted to stall for as long as possible, the Ancient Daemon used some kind of ability that wiped the entire Dominion off the face of the Demon Realm. They died before any connection between Amoria and Hellawes could be severed.


    Lucy and Scytale assumed that was the System¡¯s way of saying don¡¯t even try, so they gave up that idea.


    And Lucille had obviously tested out her ¡®Reward¡¯ skill from the Demon Emperor several times, but Hellawes was immune to demonic spells, which extended to Amoria.


    ¡°Amoria isn¡¯t really using true ¡®Ira¡¯ powers though,¡± Lucille¡¯s bond pointed out. ¡°She can cast these fireball demonic spells, true, but she hasn¡¯t shown any other kind of magic besides turning your spells into her own. Couldn¡¯t you curse yourself or something?¡±


    Lucy gave her bond a look of disdain. ¡°Then Amoria would simply not reflect my curse and would let me suffer from my own actions.¡± She put a hand on her chin. ¡°There¡¯s also the possibility that she can¡¯t reflect anything not directed at her too.¡±


    ¡°There has to be some way the System wants you to do this.¡± Her bond sat up. ¡°Forget about Sedric¡¯s armguards and the daggers. What abilities do you have that would help? I¡¯m able to keep Amoria occupied for a bit as you¡¯ve seen, but eventually I get drained.¡± Scytale rolled his eyes. ¡°I think the whole ¡®fighting a fragment of an ancient creature massively more powerful than the strongest Rank-5¡¯ is more than you bargained for when you said you wanted to learn to fight with the daggers.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not really fighting against She In Her Scarlet Raiment at all. The Ancient Daemon doesn¡¯t seem to be participating actively in any form,¡± Lucy refuted. ¡°And I don¡¯t have any useful skills because I¡¯ve been collecting ones to use for my main ski....¡± She trailed off, then looked at her bond. ¡°Do you recall seeing what Amoria did with the vessel fragment?¡±


    ¡°...hm?¡± Scytale didn¡¯t look up from where he was playing around with illusion mana to create images.


    Lucille narrowed her eyes. ¡°Scytale. Where did Amoria put the vessel fragment?¡±


    He looked up to think about it and shook his head. ¡°No clue. Maybe she broke it. You didn¡¯t see anything?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m trying to avoid giving Amoria the idea of having a direct conflict between our souls,¡± she explained. ¡°With the Ancient Daemon we¡¯d be sure to get decimated. So as my perception field is restricted, no.¡±


    Scytale squinted at her as he stayed silent. Then he stood up and brushed off his knees. ¡°You have a plan, right? Then let¡¯s go again. This isn¡¯t even the very last Stage yet we¡¯re getting stuck here.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Lucy stood up and raised her hand to tap on Stage 19. ¡°Forget about attacking and concentrate on locating the fragment. If it¡¯s not broken, we might be able to do something.¡±


    ...


    [S.T.A.G.E.S | Stage 19: Hellawes Irandes Nefas Infernalis]


    The first arrival of an Ancient Daemon to the Demon Realm in 200 millennia has occurred as a consequence of your misguided curiosity. Every demon within the realm has felt Her arrival. Cressilin¡¯s army has been consumed to fuel Her descension and Amoria used the vessel fragment as a conduit to host the Daemon¡¯s power.


    Did you truly believe... She In Her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance descended merely from her vessel being damaged? You saw the vessel for what it was. It was a fetter, binding Her to the space between realms. You¡¯ve attracted attention beyond your qualifications.


    You¡¯ll answer to this realm¡¯s Rulers if you don¡¯t take responsibility for your actions.


    [Collapse]


    Main Quest (Rank-2: Demon Realm) Overall Objective:


    <ul>


    <li>Last two weeks while being pursued by forces so that the stolen treasure you carry can be placed on the summoning ritual along with yourselves.</li>


    </ul>


    Sub-Objectives ¨C Stage 11:


    Compulsory:


    <ul>


    <li>Sever the bond between Amoria and She In her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance to return the Ancient Daemon from whence She came.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    [Completion Rate: 80%]


    They watched silently as the Ancient Daemon formed its incarnation out of the Demon Realm again. Amoria was merely a speck they could barely see with their mana enhanced vision, but from the looks of it... she wasn¡¯t holding the fragment. If the vessel fragment was still in the Stronghold, they couldn¡¯t do anything. It was too late to assume that though.


    Massive cupped hands moulded out of their crumbling hill raised them up and they were once again in the giant Daemoness¡¯s presence. Amoria smirked from her position on the other hand. ¡°Quite a spectacle, isn¡¯t it? I don¡¯t recall humans having their Primarchs at their-¡±


    ¡°Realms, be quiet!¡± Scytale¡¯s tail slammed into the demoness and knocked her off the hand. ¡°Listening to your voice on repeat is a form of torture, I swear.¡±


    Amoria snarled and flung red fireballs at the flying snake, her nails elongated into claws. Lucy gave Scytale a mental thumbs up as she scanned the Ancient Daemon, having a theory about the incarnation.


    She paused slightly when she noticed a change in the Ancient Daemon.


    Is it just me or is she looking at me? She has no pupils so unless she moves her head I can¡¯t...


    Utilising arcane mana, Lucy built a walkway off the hand and watched it. Just being in the Great Being incarnation¡¯s presence was stifling, as it felt like the realm¡¯s gravity was concentrated on their lone Dominion, but she had accustomed herself to it. What she hadn¡¯t accustomed herself to was seeing the shifting of the Great Being¡¯s hair when she stepped just a bit too far.


    Well, if this isn¡¯t creepy. I don¡¯t have time for this though.


    She stepped back onto the hand and spread her perception to encompass Hellawes. Scytale was achieving his task of distracting Amoria and taking her away from her colossal support.


    The vessel is a fetter to chain the Ancient Daemon to a location on a physical realm. Otherwise its powers would rage rampant across the entire Demon Realm¡¯s time-space continuum. That means if the incarnation is only appearing in the location Amoria chooses...


    A minuscule glint of red and Lucy knew she was on the right track.


    There!


    The Ancient Daemon was wearing a circlet of black metal, but embedded in the centre was a tiny red gem. It was nearly invisible, but Lucille saw it.


    She quickly made arcane platforms beneath her feet and ran up them to reach the Daemon¡¯s forehead. Scytale was still faring well, so she put a hand up to the gem to take it out... and then a swell of immense heat flooded through her, burning her nerves before the sensation could reach her brain.


    Next thing she knew she was lying on the floor of the System space.


    Scytale stared blank-faced into space and then whirled on her with anger. ¡°Really?!¡±


    Lucille raised a hand without getting up. ¡°So... I found the vessel fragment.¡±


    ¡°And got us killed again!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I expected that we¡¯d need at least one more try to pass this Stage.¡±


    ¡°Well I didn¡¯t!¡± Scytale scowled. ¡°This better be the last time.¡±


    ¡°Work hard to make it the last one.¡± Lucille tapped on Stage 19.


    ...


    ¡°Quite a spectacle, isn¡¯t -¡±


    ¡°SHUT UP!¡±


    Lucille ignored the sounds of snake-on-demon violence behind her and quickly climbed to the Ancient Daemon¡¯s forehead. She unsheathed Ouroboros to deploy the shield and dug the white snake-sword¡¯s tip into the circlet. The vessel fragment was pried free with a peal of thunder. The circlet crumbled away and the destruction soon spread to the physical form of the colossal Daemoness. Her marble-like hands gave out beneath Lucy¡¯s feet.


    Amoria heard the sound of falling sand and her eyes widened with anger when she saw Hellawes¡¯ form disappearing. That didn¡¯t mean the Ancient Daemon¡¯s descension had stopped.


    Before the demoness could fly over to Lucy, Scytale slammed into her and knocked her out of the sky. She screeched with frustration and released her demonic aura in a powerful roar of scarlet energy. Flaming wings of fiery demonic power coalesced behind her shoulder blades and she rammed into Scytale with greater force than he had used. He let out a hiss of pain.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Lucille only gave part of her attention to slow her fall with a weightless wind mana spell, and clasped the vessel fragment tightly in her hands. Two small spheres of Influence spun within her internal space, being called on to work their magic on the small crystal.


    Spells of any element, right? It never said they had to be human spells. And by this stage ¡®Reward¡¯ must¡¯ve counted the Stages as increasing my comprehension of demonic power and demons.


    She narrowed her eyes as the Rare and Ancient rarity skills grated against each other, their rarities and origins at odds with each other.


    Gemstone Processor and Reward both involve conceptual manipulation. They have to. One was from a monster and the other from a demon who directly materialised it to give to me.


    No, they need something bridge the gap between rarities. This is ridiculous- I¡¯ll brute force it with Prodigious Archmage¡¯s First Steps. Epic is good enough.


    Scytale sent her a frenzied warning that Amoria has slipped past him and was flying towards her, but she was too absorbed in what she was doing as she fell. An element of it was her own personality ¨C she was just too fascinated in Great Beings to give up her chance to make a major discovery about them.


    Ancient Daemons were extremely elusive for reasons she never found out, and here she was... directly in front of an incarnation. It wasn¡¯t something that could happen in the modern day.


    She increased the depth of her spiritual perception in an attempt to discover more about the vessel fragment and why her skills just weren¡¯t clicking when... for lack of a better term, it was like the entire realm rippled. No, it wasn¡¯t the realm. It was the Stage.


    Hellawes¡¯ face morphed out of the ground below Lucille to watch her, but Lucy had to ignore it. In a few seconds Amoria would reach her and she needed to do something ¨C she was on the cusp, the brink of something. Lucille could feel it.


    [Warning: Destabilisation of Stage has occurred for unknown reasons. Cease all actions and wait for self-repair mechanisms to commence-]


    She wasn¡¯t sure that the System would allow whatever breach in the S.T.A.G.E.S¡¯ infrastructure to occur again if they died there. A slight ringing, as if she had tinnitus, reverberated through her and Lucille clued onto what was happening. Pressure began to build in the air.


    [ERROR. ERROR. CONCEPTUAL BREACH IN THE S.T.A.G.E.S¡¯ 19TH SIMULATION SUBSTRUCTURE DETECTED. PRE-EMPTIVE RESET OF 19<sup>TH</sup> STAGE OCCURRING IN 10... 9...]


    She used her will to pierce into her three active skills at the same time and like a burst dam the orbs¡¯ intangible shells shattered. Their Influence merged together when the tips of Amoria¡¯s demon claws brushed her back. The vessel fragment in Lucille¡¯s hands turned solid black.


    [8... 7.... 6....]


    Lucy convulsed and chocked on blood when black claws sprouted from her chest. She looked back to see Amoria behind her. But the demoness¡¯s face was drained of colour. ¡°What-¡±


    [5... 4...]


    The black vessel fragment exploded in Lucille¡¯s hands. The orange luminous clouds above their heads turned black. The whole Dominion¡¯s sky turned black.


    [3...]


    The edge¡¯s of Lucy¡¯s vision dimmed and her spell cut out. She began to plummet at the same time as Amoria, who¡¯s own wings were gone.


    [2...]


    [Objective Complete: Sever the bond between Amoria and She In her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance to return the Ancient Daemon from whence She came.]


    [+10% Completion Rate]


    [1...]


    [New! Completion Rate: 90%]


    [Transferring Users.....]


    Lucille let out a gasp as air flooded into her restored lungs. Scytale rushed over. ¡°Cutting it a bit close don¡¯t you think?!-¡±


    [PSC Intervention Measures Activating. Immediately sending Users Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft and Scytale to the following Stage: Stage 20 ¨C {ERROR}]


    ¡°What?!¡±


    Lucille felt a deep seated weariness set in. They weren¡¯t done yet.


    ...


    [S.T.A.G.E.S | Stage 20: Victorious Return of the Realm Travellers]


    Congratulations! You returned the chalice to Count Valdin and defeated the army of Cressilin Viscounty. While you faced your difficulties, you overcame them with your wit and strength. The Realm of Demons has been conquered by mortals. The Marquess will reward you greatly.


    Return to your realm and present your prize to your lord.


    [Collapse]


    Main Quest (Rank-2: Demon Realm) Overall Objective:


    <ul>


    <li>Last two weeks while being pursued by forces so that the stolen treasure you carry can be placed on the summoning ritual along with yourselves.</li>


    </ul>


    Sub-Objectives ¨C Stage 11:


    Compulsory:


    <ul>


    <li>Activate the summoning return ritual and return.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    Scytale stared at the Stage information. He took a deep breath, turned away, rubbed his eyes, then looked back. His face screwed up and he spun around to face Lucy.


    ¡°Tell me that¡¯s not the default Stage 20 information, because I feel like I¡¯m finally going insane! These whole Stages have felt like a fever dream, but this!¡± He jabbed a finger at the neon blue screen ¨C ¡°Is the final nail in the coffin!¡±


    Lucy didn¡¯t answer. That was because she was preoccupied with what she felt in the space her skills were. She touched her sternum, almost feeling a phantom ache.


    I am an idiot.


    ¡°I am an idiot,¡± she announced.


    ¡°You already sent that thought through the bond,¡± he pointed out. ¡°Tell me, why are you an idiot?¡±


    She put a hand to her forehead and grimaced. ¡°I just created a new skill.¡±


    Scytale crossed his arms, looking unamused. ¡°Do you want me to praise you for that?¡±


    ¡°The problem is I did it in an environment purposely simulated to reflect the time before the System assimilated the realm,¡± Lucille continued. ¡°So... that shouldn¡¯t have been possible. But I brute forced it by using my Authority, which... must¡¯ve substantially increased because of my System contract with the Authorizer.¡±


    Her bond¡¯s reaction didn¡¯t assuage her worries. He yawned. ¡°So what?¡±


    ¡°I made a skill in an environment where I can¡¯t even tell what it is and consumed the three skills I was going to upgrade my Conduit main skill with,¡± she stated flatly. ¡°I may have destroyed all my plans for the near-future... and our way of getting Sedric back.¡±


    Scytale stared at her. He looked up, down, left and right.


    Lucille cocked an eyebrow. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Looking for someone who speaks Lucillian.¡±


    She sighed and turned away. ¡°Come one. We need to set up this pentagram before the Stage throws its worst at us.¡±


    Scytale grumbled but trudged after her as she found a location with even terrain. The shattered chunks of the Ancient Daemon¡¯s temporary body remained around them, looking like blood red stones.


    Lucille avoided them the best she could as she didn¡¯t want the intense energy she felt radiating off them to influence the summoning pentagram.


    She emptied the sack of materials ¨C that Scytale had miraculously managed to protect ¨C onto the ground and set to work arranging them in a way to draw power from them. The demon beast blood was utilised to draw the sigils and everything else needed to take them across realms. In some ways the demonic ritual was easier than mortal magic because it didn¡¯t have the added layer of structural shape to impact its result, unlike mana-circles and arrays. It was only easy because of her extensive knowledge of demonic script though.


    The Dominion was eerily silent. It was likely that every creature that could move had left as soon as they could before the Ancient Daemon could descend completely. It certainly made the mindless demon creatures smarter than Lucille and Scytale.


    It was an hour or two later than Lucy began to feel uneasy and stood up to look around. ¡°You¡¯ve been keeping watch... right?¡±


    Scytale nodded. ¡°You asked earlier but there still hasn¡¯t been a change. I¡¯m not sure what you want me to see.¡±


    ¡°Seeing nothing different is... a good sign.¡±


    I think.


    Either something was going to go wrong when they used the ritual, or they were under a time limit and for some reason they couldn¡¯t see any signs of it. Lucille shook her head and got back to finishing the rest of the lines of sigils. She was re-drawing the summoning ritual she had seen in the first timeline.


    Eventually, it was time. Lucille spread her senses to try to see anything, but nothing of importance stood out. She prepared herself and took out Apophis. The dagger was plunged into the centre of the ritual to be the conduit. The demonic snake-sword rapidly lengthened and writhed around them as red energy crackled down its length to surge into the pentagram.


    The air warped as if looking through rippling water and they felt electrifying power surround them. It was at that moment that Lucille noticed the horizon.


    ¡°Calling the rulers of the realm here wasn¡¯t an idle threat, I see.¡± She chuckled darkly.


    Giant clouds of grey dust grew larger and larger on all sides, forming a circle around the Dominion. Flashes and tinges of power bled through as hundreds of thousands of demons prepared to battle thundered across the ground on their chosen mounts, vicious demon beasts of the Lord level or higher.


    Scytale inched back as the ground grew brighter. ¡°Uh... we should be fine, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but I strongly suspect they¡¯re not here for us,¡± Lucy replied expressionlessly.


    Four specks in the distance shot up and zipped straight to the edges of hill they were on, gazing coldly down at them from above. An androgynous demon with long black tresses and black leathery wings, a demoness with scarlet hair and eyes, a female demon with mottled red and black dragon wings with horns curled over her head, a male demon whose image distorted every few seconds so it was hard to see his appearance...


    ¡°Are they...¡±


    ¡°Demon Dukes. Yes,¡± Lucille whispered.


    Scytale slowly crouched, prepared to battle at a moment¡¯s notice. ¡°What are they waiting for?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I want to-¡±


    The ground rumbled below them as a gravitational presence descended on them, the air heavy with immovable energies. Lucy¡¯s eyes widened and she traded knowing looks with her bond, before the hill was cleft in two and a colossal marble-white arm reached up to grasp them both. The glowing eyes of Hellawes Irandes Nefas Infernalis bored into them as her body began to emerge from the earth, but before her hands could close around them completely...


    A powerful shout echoed across the realm and they looked up to see a crown-wearing white-haired demon in full blood-red plate armour glaring at the Ancient Daemon as he floated in the sky. Behind him, hundreds of white-haired demons with gold demonic script charged forward in black metal chariots pulled by winged demonic warhorses.


    An emperor? But he¡¯s not-


    With one bellow from the crown-wearing demon, his legion of charioteers pointed their weapons at the sky and beamed their energy into it.


    The realm seemed to shatter as one flash of red lightning smashed into Hellawes. She let out a blood-curdling screech as her body rapidly disassembled, the clouds taking back their essence that was used to form her hair, the earth melding with the curves and outline of her body once more.


    The last thing Lucille and Scytale saw was the wrathful, pupilless eyes of the Ancient Daemon fixed on them as she swallowed back up by the realm, one outstretched arm turned to stone in permanent evidence of her defeat, and then when they blinked they were tumbling onto a stone floor.


    Lucy felt a terrible sense of dread.


    This... no, this was too easy.


    ¡°The chalice, the chalice!¡± a frail man yelled, stumbling towards them. Robed figures near them quickly backed away and bowed respectfully. ¡°Did you get the chalice?!¡±


    ¡°Why is this old codger going on about the stupid cup?¡± Scytale groaned as he reached into the sack. He threw it onto the ground and it clattered noisily. ¡°Here¡¯s your stupid chalice, Marquess.¡±


    ¡°Ha.. haha! Hahaha!¡± The old man¡¯s eyes lit up with glee as he picked the chalice up. Then he looked at them. He turned to a nearby armoured knight and his expression went cold. ¡°Kill them.¡±


    Scytale¡¯s face froze. ¡°What.¡±


    The knight severed both of their necks from their bodies in one motion, and before their consciousness faded, they could see the messages of the Stage completion.


    [...jective... plete... ]


    [...+10%]


    [Transferring-]


    That last System message looked like it stopped halfway.


    ...


    ¡°I forgot about that bit!¡± Scytale yelled. ¡°After all we did, the Marquess goes and kills us anyway! I guess it¡¯s the System¡¯s way of telling us that humans are no better than demons in the end-¡±


    ¡°Scytale!¡± Lucille hissed through clenched teeth. ¡°We¡¯re not in the System space!¡±


    He stopped and looked around. His face blanched when he saw they were floating miles above what seemed to be... a flat, motionless lake of scarlet liquid, as rich in colour as blood. No, it was blood. Broken ruins littered the lake in few places. From the distant edges of the pool to everywhere the eye could see, grey clouds existed. Faint flashes of orange appeared but it was all hidden behind thick cloud.


    Both of them felt chilled to the bone when the lake of blood rippled to reveal a pupilless orange eye as large as the whole Dominion they had been in emerge from the liquid. Streams and rivers of blood slid off white skin until the titanic face of She In Her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance gazed silently at them. Her perfectly sculpted lips were pale and bloodless, and her wavy tresses that had been made from fiery clouds were now formed of glossy rivers of dark blood, flowing into the lake with the sounds of rushing water. It was the only sound in the silent space.


    This manifestation was marginally closer in size to what a real Ancient Daemon would be like. Where an entire dimension... only served to be enough for her face.


    [The Incarnation of She In Her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance is wrathful.]


    A blood red notification appeared in front of them both. It was not a message from the System.


    [The Incarnation of She In Her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance cannot sense her true body.]


    [The Incarnation of She In Her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance demands to be taken back to the Origin Reality.]


    They stayed silent in the dimensional space of the incarnation. Lucille eventually cleared her throat and raised her voice. ¡°We¡¯re still in the Origin Reality.¡±


    Orange orbs gazed at them as if she was looking past their very souls.


    [The Incarnation of She In Her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance acknowledges your words as the truth.]


    [The Incarnation of She In Her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance notices the artificial nature of this Simulated Reality.]


    [The Incarnation of She In Her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance is thinking.]


    Scytale gave his bond a thumbs up. Lucille gave him a weary look.


    [The Incarnation of She In Her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance demands to be taken back to the real world]


    ¡°...we don¡¯t know how to do that,¡± Lucy said.


    [The Incarnation of She In Her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance does not like your answer.]


    [The Incarnation of She In Her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance grows furious as she is aware this Simulated Reality exists only for you two abnormalities.]


    [The Incarnation of She In Her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance threatens to shred and absorb their souls if they do not return her to her main body]


    Lucille coughed. ¡°We can¡¯t return you to your main body... because you don¡¯t have one. Your incarnation exists only for this simulation... so none of the other realms have been fully simulated.¡±


    Something happened. The sound of rushing blood stopped. The flowing blood that formed her hair froze and stilled.


    [The Incarnation of She In Her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance acknowledges your words as the truth.]


    [The Incarnation of She In Her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance grows furious... because she acknowledges your words as the truth.]


    [The Incarnation of She In Her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance is wrathful]


    And like the heralding of the apocalypse, the blood world shattered. Fragments of alien knowledge, chaotic images, swirling energies floated past. The rushing of blood and roaring of fire sounded as She In Her Scarlet Raiment¡¯s titanic face slowly raised itself from the lake of blood, sheets of liquid falling from her immaculate body as if it were clothes. Her colossal face approached and Lucy and Scytale stumbled back.


    She opened her bloodless lips and moved forward. Her mouth closed around them to swallow them whole-


    [Terminating Ancient Daemon sequence.]


    This time, it was truly, truly the end. The world turned white... and stayed that way.


    [Main Objective Complete]


    [New! Completion Rate: 100%]


    [Calculating¡­]


    [Calculating¡­]


    [Users have completed all Sub-Objectives and gained a MAX Completion Rate]


    [Users have gained new rewards! Please check your notifications]


    [Main Quest (Rank 1: Demon Realm): COMPLETED]


    Complete Stages 11-20 In the Demon Realm to reach Rank-2.


    [Rewards: Rank-2 Status, Lvl cap increased to 299, Main skill slot +1, Class Tier cap +3, Aspect cap +3, Class Tier +1, 5000xp, Main Quest (Rank-3: Tartarus Realm) Unlocked]


    [User has gained Rank-2 Status]


    [User has unlocked levels 200-299]


    [User has gained Main Skill Slot +1]


    [User has gained Class Tier Cap +3]


    [User has gained Aspect Cap +3]


    [User has gained Class Tier +3]


    [Alert: No Class detected for User Lucille Goldcroft]


    [Withholding Reward: Class Tier +3 until Class is detected in User Lucille Goldcroft]


    Scytale snickered as Lucille rolled her eyes. She shook her head and focused on seeing the other notifications.


    [Level Up! x10]


    [+10 levels]


    [+50 Free stat points]


    [User has reached Level 99]


    [Xp: 52/710]


    [Main Quest (Rank-2: Tartarus Realm) Unlocked]


    ¡°Now I really have to wonder how the System is going to mess up those Stages when I know Lucius in person,¡± Lucille murmured.


    Scytale glared at her. ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear the word ¡®Stage¡¯ out of your mouth for another year.¡±


    [User has new rewards (6) available: ]


    Demon Realm Stages (Completion Rate: MAX):


    <ul>


    <li>Unattributed Stat Potions (+5) x20</li>


    <li>Unattributed Stat Potions (+10) x40</li>


    <li>Resurrection x1 (Lucille)</li>


    <li>Resurrection x1 (Scytale)</li>


    <li>Blank Skill book (Ancient) x2</li>


    <li>Blank Skill Book (Epic) x2</li>


    <li>Blank Skill Book (Rare) x2</li>


    <li>20 Crystalline Tokens</li>


    </ul>


    Bonus:


    <ul>


    <li>[Skill: Indefinite Design ¨C Anti-Reactive Transitional State Malleability]</li>


    </ul>


    [ ]


    When they saw the bonus reward, they traded looks.


    ¡°....why is it giving you a skill when you just made a new one?¡± Scytale asked.


    Lucille went to answer and then paused. ¡°Ah. Because the Stages are only a simulation, I still have my three old skills. I suppose... this is the skill I created.¡±


    He tapped on the reward list. ¡°Let¡¯s see what you got then. This is obviously going to you.¡±


    [Gained New Secondary Skill: Indefinite Design ¨C Anti-Reactive Transitional State Malleability]


    [Secondary Skill: Indefinite Design ¨C Anti-Reactive Transitional State Malleability]


    Rarity: Legendary


    Desc: An impossibility conceived through the coincidental alignment of multiple near-impossibilities. This skill was never created in Reality, but has been attributed to Lucille Goldcroft for her synthesisation of this within a simulation. In the Origin Reality, this skill would never have formed. It¡¯s likely that only a time-traveller with conceptual manipulation abilities, extremely high Authority, and materialisation of this in an artificial mimicry of the realms could realise this.


    Abilities:


    Concrete Conceptualisation ¨C Mana turned to matter.


    <ul>


    <li>Allows the User to materialise a finalised product by consuming the appropriate resources used for its construction. Item remains in an indefinite, non-physical state until User finalises its creation. Cannot create non-mundane items.</li>


    </ul>


    Practical Application ¨C Expertise to be used.


    <ul>


    <li>Allows the User¡¯s knowledge to expand the items able to be materialised using this ability. User must have knowledge of material properties, physics, energy laws, chemical interactions, and other properties to be able to craft item. Includes crafting methods and techniques.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    Lucille stared as she read the description and abilities.


    ¡°I think I might know what kind of crafting skill I¡¯ll be creating using this.¡±

 Chapter 92 (2 of 2) Albrecht’s Agenda.

    ¡°You know, I think we should take a step back.¡± Scytale crossed his arms and nodded to himself. They had left the Stages and were standing in the Obelisk space above the Stronghold they had originally come to. ¡°Explain everything from the start.¡± He squinted at his bond and pointed to her. ¡°If we¡¯re going to be going on a mission to steal Sedric back from the Light Tower wizards, I¡¯m going to need to know exactly how this skill will help you.¡±


    Lucille resigned herself to explaining. It wasn¡¯t like they didn¡¯t have time in the frozen space of the Obelisk. ¡°Fine. What exactly are you confused about? I created a skill while in my simulated body, so I technically never created a real skill. But the System considered it a great enough feat that they awarded me that skill for a bonus reward.¡± Lucy glanced at the skill description. ¡°That has happened for others, on occasion. I¡¯ve only heard it happen with those who achieved 100% completion though.¡±


    ¡°Okay, but what is all...¡± He gestured vaguely to the end of the first subskill. ¡°...this, about not being able to create magical materials?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure I can change that eventually,¡± Lucy replied lightly. ¡°Creating magical materials straight from mana is easier than creating purely non-magical materials, because magical material emissions are just a case of solid mana particles reverting to their original energy state over time. The Influence within the skill was likely only enough to focus on powering that one function.¡±


    ¡°But how did you get the skill?¡± Scytale scratched his head. ¡°I was busy fighting Amoria so I don¡¯t know what happened.¡±


    Lucy planted her hands on her hips and began bringing up the User Skill Selection list. She wasn¡¯t going to select one just yet, but she wanted to start looking. ¡°I was actually attempting to use my Gemstone Processor skill on the vessel fragment. I assumed that the double utilisation of Prodigious Archmage¡¯s First Steps and Reward would do something. Prodigious Archmage because it would generate a spell from my objective, and Reward to make it a demonic spell.¡±


    ¡°And then?¡±


    Lucy gained a thoughtful look. ¡°The System began sending messages that some kind of destabilisation had occurred. I decided to use the chance when I had it, in case a repeat of the Stages wouldn¡¯t allow it to happen again.¡±


    Her bond clicked his tongue. ¡°I can¡¯t make heads or tails of this. Why did the destabilisation even occur in the first place? Neither of us are anywhere near the power needed to destabilise it. Hey, the Stages were fully functional when we were undergoing our Rank-7 Stages so we didn¡¯t even have the strength then to do anything!¡±


    She stared at Scytale.


    He stared back. ¡°You¡¯re doing the thing. What did you do wrong?¡±


    Lucy put a hand to head and hesitated, realising the only possible answer in their situation. ¡°I... failed to account for one of my major differences in this timeline.¡±


    ¡°Then spit it out already!¡± Scytale angrily replied.


    She wordlessly pointed at her right eye. They both went silent.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t use this in the Beast Realm Stages,¡± Lucy stated. ¡°But I used this on the Ancient Daemon¡¯s statue a few Stages ago. This might¡¯ve all began then.¡± She put a hand on her chin as she pondered this train of thought longer. ¡°In fact, it¡¯s possible that the Ancient Daemon¡¯s attention landed on us due to the use of the Shard of Totality. This... may or may not be beneficial.¡±


    She had been unable to use the shard in the Beast Stages at all. At the time, she assumed it was the System¡¯s doing, but she also failed to account for what her Rank-ups would do. Lucille had told Count Ravimoux she expected her body to adapt to the shard as she ranked-up, but her tale of the shard fusing with her body might¡¯ve been more accurate than she thought. The abilities of the Shard had long since expanded past simply observing mana, spiritual energy, and User¡¯s information.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like the idea of an unknown object changing my capabilities,¡± Lucy said. ¡°My only solace is that the System likely knows what this is, because it was never brought up between myself and the Authorizer.¡± She paused as a scary thought came to mind. ¡°Unless it¡¯s unobservable to the System just like the Hero.¡±


    She was broken out of her thoughts when Scytale pushed his face past the holographic Skill Selection page between them.


    ¡°How did you end up with this skill though? A magical spell skill, crafting skill and demon skill don¡¯t exactly scream ¡®Transitional State Malleability¡¯ to me, whatever that means,¡± he asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to assume it was because of the type of Influence that the skill formed out of.¡± She closed the skill information and focused on only the Skill Selection page. ¡°It still would¡¯ve been spiritual information particles, but it was... ¡®false Influence¡¯ or whatever mimics skills in the Stages. It¡¯s like I took a fundamental part of the Stage creation process out of the Stages and turned it into a skill, considering the mental design aspect of it bears resemblance to the Stage simulations.¡±


    She crossed her arms and gave her bond a serious look. ¡°We¡¯re now Rank-2. What class do you want to select next?¡±


    Scytale rubbed his neck and gave her a sheepish grin. ¡°I... kind of want an illusion class this time.¡±


    Lucille raised an eyebrow. ¡°Not a melee beast class or direct improvement to your physical combat abilities? I would¡¯ve thought STR improvements would be high on your list.¡±


    ¡°My Primal Descendent subskill seems to be doing well enough with that, but...¡± He crossed his arms. ¡°I want more mana. I can regenerate as long as I have mana, and I know I already have that light mage class, but I want to use my illusion magic more. I¡¯m still better at using illusion magic, even if my Caladrius bloodline gives me high talent for light.¡±


    Lucille considered it and sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t have a say over your choices. I only suggest you work hard to increase its rarity soon.¡±


    He grinned and gave her a thumbs up. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I took an illusion mage class around here last timeline.¡± Scytale pointed at the Skill Selection screen. ¡°What are you going to do though?¡±


    She took one last look at the screen and tapped on one.


    [Available Primary Skill: Transient Formation]


    Desc: This main skill was a skill created as a byproduct of a craftsman attempting to create a weapon made entirely out of their arcane mana, not unlike a Heroic Weapon. They failed due to a misguided and misinformed attempt to utilise their crafting knowledge to design the weapon. They created a skill that generates an environment for crafting temporary mana constructs, but never obtained the weapon itself. The craftsman rejected the offer of this skill to create another one from scratch. Power and flexibility scales with DEX.


    Info: Accepting this primary skill occupies one main skill slot, and grants the User the Arcane Workshop and Substance Fusion subskills.]


    Scytale squinted at it. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡± Lucille turned away from the skill description and set to work finding the Aspects she wanted. ¡°Pick your Aspects, then we¡¯ll leave. I need to make some preparations,¡± she added, selecting three for herself.


    [Aspect: Prototype Construction Exchange| Type: Sealing/Attribute]


    Prerequisites:


    <ul>


    <li>Crafting Class</li>


    <li>Combat Class</li>


    </ul>


    Desc: Occasionally, there will be a time that the User needs one stat more than all the others. In this instance, it¡¯s Dexterity.


    Bonuses:


    <ul>


    <li>Increases DEX by 50% of the User¡¯s highest default stat. All innate special stats do not count.</li>


    <li>Grants the User the ability to multiplicatively enhance their DEX by sealing away all physical stats. Ability may be cancelled at any point, but ability gains a two-week cooldown.</li>


    </ul>


    []Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    [Aspect: Dimensional Entity ¨C Realm Fabric Dissector| Type: Spiritual/Spatial]


    Prerequisites:


    <ul>


    <li>Demon, spirit, fae or soul beast lineage</li>


    <li>SPRT > 1000</li>


    </ul>


    Desc: Some Users with thin lineage of the spiritual non-mortal races find it difficult to sense the spiritual and magical leylines between realms and dimensions. This enables those without this innate ability to sense spatial interference in the realms and dimensions, as long as their minds can comprehend it.


    Bonuses:


    <ul>


    <li>Enhances User¡¯s ability to detect traces of space mana.</li>


    <li>Grants the User interdimensional and intradimensional spatial awareness through the use of the spiritual realm. Allows them to perceive their location in the spatial strata of realms.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    [Aspect: Connective Energy Wireframe Moderator| Type: Mana/Mechanical]


    Prerequisites:


    <ul>


    <li>SPRT > 200</li>


    <li>Atmospheric Mana Manipulation</li>


    </ul>


    Desc: The mind is limited in its capacity to multi-task. If one has both a grimoire and staff, they cannot use both. This Aspect allows the User to connect to multiple artifacts and items at the same time, deftly using the mana round them to activate any objects within their Field of Influence.


    Bonuses:


    <ul>


    <li>Passively creates a mana net connected to the User¡¯s mana signature to control all branded items within their control zone.</li>


    <li>Links all items and artifacts through the use of the mana net. Effects of selected objects may apply to compatible objects and enhance their effects.</li>


    </ul>


    []


    ¡°I can sort of understand the first and third Aspects, but why do you need the second one?¡± Scytale asked when he saw her selections.


    ¡°Finding Sedric when he¡¯s on another plane will be difficult. Besides, I wouldn¡¯t pass up the opportunity to experience a new sense.¡± Lucille turned her neck to relieve stress and stretched her arms. ¡°When you¡¯re done, let¡¯s go.¡±


    ...


    Four people sitting in the Black Lily¡¯s VIP lounge flinched when they heard an argument between two familiar voices right outside their door. The silver-haired man among them quietly sipped his drink, expecting a new argument to soon occur once his boss steps through the door.


    ¡°Do you really underestimate me that much?! I was a genius of bloodline enhancement in the past! I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll reach Superior-ranked next year!¡±


    ¡°But your priority should be obtaining more strength now, then you can gain the Superiority of Species Aspect after you¡¯re Rank-3! Leaving one Aspect slot empty right now is just daft, Scytale.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah? What about you, leaving all three Aspect slots empty until you reached Rank-1!¡±


    ¡°My situation was differen-¡±


    ¡°Hm? Lucy? Why¡¯d you stop?¡±


    Vincent sighed as the door was slammed open.


    Lucille marched inside. She narrowed her eyes at Annaliese and her two companions. ¡°Get out.¡±


    Annaliese stood up. ¡°Lucille, I know about Sedric and I-¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care if you know what happened to Sedric.¡± Lucille swept up the bronze jug she had left behind to interrupt their relaxation and pointed at the door. ¡°This is no time for the seventeen-year-old Prophetess of Fate to be on Gilded Dome plane. Return to the Aeternus plane and work on staying safely holed up if you want to help.¡±


    The Prophetess slammed her hands on the table. ¡°I can be useful! I know it was the Light Tower who kidnapped Sedric!¡±


    Lucille¡¯s face was cold and expressionless. ¡°You¡¯ll have to try harder than that to convince me. As it happens, I know it was them too. You can¡¯t use your Fate essence on any of us by mandate of the Sages, and in case you hadn¡¯t noticed the giant hole in the side of the Headquarters on your way here, we are in no way prepared to house the living symbol of one of the Supreme Institutions.¡± Lucy picked up her suit jacket she had left draped over a couch and packed it away into her dimensional bag. ¡°You may want to help, but right now you¡¯re doing more harm than good-¡±


    ¡°But did you know that it was because of the Protection sub-division here that the light wizards could kidnap Sedric?¡± Annaliese argued.


    Lucy slowly turned around. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Protection hid them and their hired men here,¡± Annaliese retorted. ¡°Besides that, I¡¯m not going to help you until you promise we can stay.¡±


    ¡°Then how do you know this?¡± Lucille stressed. ¡°Annaliese, the fact someone let you in on this plane meant they intentionally wanted you to become mixed up in this. It¡¯s possible they might have ill intentions for-¡±


    ¡°If the person who told us this did have bad intentions, we¡¯d be in a ton of trouble.¡± Raegan slowly stood up and walked towards them. He crossed his arms. ¡°It was Sir Albrecht who told us this.¡±


    And as always, Jasten Albrecht was an enigma to Lucille. She could never understand his motives. She glanced at the blonde-haired man, who was frowning deeply at them with a distracted look in his eyes.


    Lucy turned to look at Vincent, who slightly shook his head, informing her that he hadn¡¯t known about this either. Lucille sighed and ran a hand through her fringe. ¡°Sir Jasten Albrecht, if I could have a word?¡±


    He glanced at his two wards and nodded. The Paladin followed her out to another room, where she spun around and gazed expressionlessly at him.


    ¡°If this is your attempt to ¡®discover¡¯ what I¡¯m planning, by involving those two-¡±


    He coughed lightly to interrupt her. ¡°I was... well, requested to do this, Count Goldcroft. Closer to ordered.¡±


    She slightly tilted her head. ¡°By who?¡±


    ¡°A royal.¡±


    She continued staring at him. ¡°You¡¯re a member of Radical,¡± she stated.


    Albrecht grimaced and rubbed the back of his head, his metal gauntlets chinking. ¡°No, I¡¯m not. But I can understand why it appears that way.¡±


    ¡°Someone as careful as you wouldn¡¯t act out like this alone. Yet informing me of who worked to hide the Light Tower wizards is clearly in conflict with the Sages desires ¨C who are clearly behind this,¡± Lucille continued coldly. ¡°As such, there¡¯s only one more faction that would have the power to plant a spy in a Supreme Institution.¡±


    He frowned. ¡°I¡¯m not a spy.¡±


    She scoffed and looked away. ¡°Sure. I suppose telling Radical about all my interactions with the Prophetess is slightly more favourable than revealing it to the Sages. Is Radical cultivating Raegan into their own hidden weapon, corroding the Citadel from the inside?¡±


    ¡°I am not a spy!¡± He marched closer and glared at her. ¡°I have done nothing to put those two in harm¡¯s way. I may be a Paladin, but I hold my duties as their guard as the highest priority. I will not have two innocent kids¡¯ blood on my hands!¡±


    ¡°Yet you¡¯re fine with one¡¯s,¡± Lucille replied quietly.


    He stiffened and fell silent. Angry blue eyes gazed at her but he didn¡¯t say anything. He couldn¡¯t.


    She turned away and paced, holding her arms against herself. ¡°You accompanied Rolland Louveste to the Prophetess¡¯s location and watched as she succumbed to grief, her only brother about to die any minute. You didn¡¯t move, though. If you had, you may have been struck down by Louveste where you stood, or worse, demoted! Even though a Rank-5 Prodigy such as yourself surely has a life or two to spare, an innocent boy¡¯s life was clearly worth less than your title.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make this about my title,¡± Jasten Albrecht said through gritted teeth. ¡°I couldn¡¯t care less about being a ¡®Paladin¡¯.¡±


    ¡°The fact remains that you never stepped forward to be the guard Annaliese and Raegan truly needed.¡± Lucille turned back to face him with wide eyes. ¡°Was it a relief, to see me help them? Did it comfort the small seed of guilt beginning to sprout? Not enough, clearly. Otherwise you wouldn¡¯t have stepped forward to take on the position of their private guard afterwards.¡±


    The Paladin¡¯s mouth twisted in a sardonic smirk. ¡°I don¡¯t believe it takes a genius  to assume all of that. But is there a point to all this mockery? I¡¯m failing to see where you want to take this.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because while it¡¯s strange that I know this, it¡¯s not strange that someone else in particular knows this.¡± Lucille gave him a sweet smile. ¡°How much have you interacted with Rolland Louveste these days?¡±


    He flinched but then looked away with a sigh. He spotted a couch in the room and marched over to sit down in it. ¡°How did you figure that out? I didn¡¯t think I gave anything away.¡±


    ¡°A blind shot in the dark, perhaps?¡± Lucille replied.


    She wasn¡¯t lying. There wasn¡¯t much she knew about Jasten Albrecht, and the times they had met in the past, they were always fighting. Lucy had always disguised everything about herself, from her voice to her gender. She chose the Templar of High Justice as he was Albrecht¡¯s most notable enemy in the past.


    Jasten ran a gauntleted hand through his hair. ¡°The former Commander of my contingent... he left the Citadel and works for the royal I mentioned. I... owe him a great debt.¡± He crossed his arms. ¡°I owed him a great debt. He chose to use my debt for this. Involving the Prophetess in this and... involving you.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± The dots were quickly being connected in Lucille¡¯s mind, but she wasn¡¯t smiling. She walked forward and leaned down slightly so Jasten Albrecht couldn¡¯t avoid her gaze. ¡°You¡¯ve rid yourself of one debt, but did you think that would be the end of it?¡±


    He grimaced and stood up. ¡°You¡¯re referring to the fact I listened to Radical instead of the Sages. Do you want me to owe you something too?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a fool enough to believe only a debt to someone could move someone of your calibre.¡± She calmly inspected a speck of dirt on the fingertips of her gloves. ¡°There has to be another reason why Rolland Louveste¡¯s knowledge of your decision regarding Raegan is a threat. I¡¯d hazard a guess that Radical knows Louveste is going to do something with this knowledge.¡± Lucy tilted her head as she observed him. ¡°Louveste is not the only leak you have to consider, however.¡±


    ¡°I was informed that the Templar of High Justice plans to reveal I was one of the chosen observers of the Prophetess before she met you. Normally the observers¡¯ identities must be hidden, but if he reveals this it will place blame on me for not retrieving the Prophetess before you were involved,¡± he stated solemnly. ¡°The Sages will also suspect I have ulterior motives as being the two siblings¡¯ guard, and I won¡¯t be able to protect them any longer.¡±


    ¡°Your guilt must be especially strong if you want to stay by their sides at any cost,¡± Lucy remarked dryly.


    Albrecht¡¯s expression grew grave and he placed a hand on his chest. ¡°It no longer has anything to do with my conscience. I sincerely believe that out of anyone in the Citadel... I am the best choice for their guardian. I can¡¯t trust anyone but myself.¡±


    Lucille stared when he kneeled down before her.


    ¡°That is why I don¡¯t want the siblings to know the part I played in Raegan¡¯s near death ¨C until I¡¯m ready to tell them,¡± he said sternly, his hand still on his chestplate. ¡°So, Count Lucille Goldcroft, I request that you refrain from telling them my intentions, and that you aid my attempts to protect them until they can shoulder burdens themselves.¡±


    She studied him for a while. ¡°I just said I want to hold you accountable for involving Annaliese and Raegan in Radical¡¯s scheme against me, yet you¡¯re proceeding with a asking a request from me. You accept owing me a debt?¡±


    ¡°Anything less than the lives of my wards or myself I will accept, if you desire it,¡± he confirmed.


    She pressed a hand against her temple. ¡°Fine. I don¡¯t know what I want to request from you, though. I suppose I¡¯ll have to use it for something worthwhile.¡±


    Jasten blinked. ¡°I assumed you already had something in mind.¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t use my debts without adequate thought behind them.¡± She held her chin as she pondered what to do next and then sighed. ¡°Using Annaliese and Raegan for your scheming with Radical is one thing, but bringing them here? Now?¡±


    Jasten shook his head. ¡°The Sages don¡¯t know we¡¯re here. It was Annaliese¡¯s clause in her contract that she has to be allowed anywhere that enabled me to use it as a pretext to bring them here and tell you that this was Radical¡¯s doing.¡±


    ¡°Aha, so this royal from Radical wants me to owe them a favour,¡± Lucy stated dryly. ¡°If they knew me better, they¡¯d realise involving two teenagers in deadly politics is not how to get on my good side. But I suppose this means you haven¡¯t been telling Radical about me either?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve told you I¡¯m not a spy,¡± he replied wearily.


    Lucille glanced at the door behind him. ¡°I¡¯ll believe you for now. I still don¡¯t know why Annaliese was so adamant on visiting us now, but I can afford to hear her out now.¡±


    As she walked forward to open the door and leave, Jasten spoke up. ¡°I believe Raegan is the more important of the two regarding your crafter¡¯s kidnapping.¡±


    She glanced back with surprise. ¡°Raegan? But-¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not too late, are we?!¡±


    Lucille and the Paladin stopped when they heard the nervous voice of a navy-haired young man. They blinked when faced with Marellen, Roa, and the mercenary siblings, looking rushed.


    ¡°Would an attack on the Commission¡¯s Headquarters not be something worth informing us of when urgently summoning us back through that unusual ability of yours?¡± Trisroa said, sounding slightly miffed.


    Lucille gave them a slight smile. ¡°...sorry. Receiving my summons in such a fashion would be shocking, I suppose.¡± She pushed the door of Black Lily¡¯s VIP lounge open to usher them in. ¡°Let¡¯s get to work discussing what needs to happen. Because I will bring Sedric back here, whether the Light Tower wizards like it or not.¡±

 Chapter 93 (1 of 2) Lucy Gang... Assemble!

    Lucille¡¯s sponsored party had differing expressions on their faces when they heard of Sedric¡¯s kidnapping. Larena and Garthe looked ready to head out and throw fists with the first person they saw at any moment, Marellen was strangely distracted, and Roa¡¯s gaze held a frosty anger that didn¡¯t show on her face.


    ¡°Do they have no shame? Choosing to kidnap the weakest of us?¡± the elf stated coldly.


    ¡°Maybe we should be glad that they chose Sedric as their target, otherwise we¡¯d have to assume they were strong enough enemies to hold a stronger person hostage,¡± Vincent murmured.


    ¡°There is no doubt that the Light Tower are enemies we must not underestimate, but¡­¡± Lucy tapped her fingers on the armrest of her chair. ¡°Their ties to Citadel have stunted their growth, for lack of a better word. Athenaeum keeps them in check due to their ties and the Citadel doesn¡¯t want a separate light element force growing to powerful, so they¡¯re arguably the weakest Tower in All-Aeon Athenaeum.¡± She sighed. ¡°That doesn¡¯t stop them from having far more Rank-5s than we¡¯re prepared to deal with. It takes a considerable amount of effort to survive the increasingly lengthy periods of the Mystical and Heavenly Realm Stages, which is why the quantity of higher Ranks drastically drops each rank.¡±


    ¡°How difficult is it?¡± Annaliese asked curiously.


    Lucille glanced at her. ¡°I¡¯m not sure that¡¯s important right now, but if you must know, the first twenty Stages are irregular. Tartarus¡¯s Stages last about a year, the Mystical Realm¡¯s last ten years, and the Heavenly Realm¡¯s lasts a century.¡±


    Annaliese stared at her, then at Jasten. ¡°Does that mean you¡¯re not really thirty-two?!¡±


    ¡°I have few memories of those Stages, Prophetess Verdon,¡± Sir Albrecht politely refuted. ¡°The Stages passed in somewhat of a dream-like fugue, so only key experiences are retained. It¡¯s still mentally exhausting however, so it takes time for people to arrive at Rank-5. I am fully aware while in the Stages and experience the fugue afterwards.¡±


    Lucille rapped her knuckles on her armrest. ¡°This is not helping us with finding Sedric.¡±


    Annaliese shrunk down, chastised. ¡°Sorry¡­¡±


    ¡°Just¡­ try to keep on topic now.¡± After a moment of thinking, Lucy directed her body to face the three from the Citadel of Fate. ¡°Sir Albrecht had a word with me, and while I dislike it, I have accepted that you want to be part of this operation. As such, I need to know why you came here so I can include you if the opportunity arises.¡±


    The Prophetess¡¯s eyes brightened and she quickly turned to look at her brother. ¡°Tell her!¡±


    Raegan sighed and raised a hand. ¡°The¡­ hex is still on Sedric. So I could probably sense him¡­ if we¡¯re on the same plane.¡±


    They all stared at him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know whether I like the implications of that statement, but that¡¯s certainly valuable to know,¡± Lucy eventually replied.


    Raegan clicked his tongue. ¡°Sedric isn¡¯t still being affected by bad luck or anything, that¡¯s all gone. It¡¯s just that¡­. Maybe it¡¯s a little harder to get rid of my ability than I pretended.¡±


    ¡°So, you can remotely activate your hex,¡± Lucy stated flatly.


    The boy¡¯s lips twitched as if he wanted to hide a smirk, so he quickly avoided eye contact.


    ¡°Lucille said we don¡¯t know which plane Sedric is on though, right?¡± Marellen spoke up for the first time.


    Lucille didn¡¯t know what had made him so zoned out, but she sighed and nodded. ¡°If we end up using Raegan¡¯s aid, he would have to come with us to whichever plane we visit.¡±


    They looked at Sir Albrecht. He nodded. ¡°Due to the... orders I received, I¡¯m required to be at the conflict site between the Light Tower and all of you.¡±


    Lucy blinked when she felt a thin strand of spiritual energy touch hers and heard Jasten¡¯s voice.


    ¡®This... royal planted evidence of a Sage abusing their power to hand the Prophetess over to the Tower for a limited time, which is how they will explain her absence. The Citadel needs evidence of me being near the Tower wizards to ensure everything works out.¡¯


    It was a risky plan as it meant Jasten¡¯s testimony must correlate exactly with the forces of Radical, even with the Sage attempting all sorts of methods to prove his innocence. But Lucy knew Albrecht was capable of that much, so she nodded, accepting that she¡¯d be bringing the Verdons and their guard to the plane. That didn¡¯t mean she¡¯d allow them to enter the facility where Sedric was being held. If the plane was too large for her to scan with her spiritual perception while remaining undetected, Raegan would be helpful.


    ¡°Would the Founder¡¯s inheritance token come in handy in this situation, Lucille?¡± Vincent asked thoughtfully. ¡°It may be able to help us pinpoint the plane through use of several directional observations.¡±


    ¡°What? How on earth would it¡­ oh.¡± Lucy realised that Vincent likely didn¡¯t understand how unlikely that would be. ¡°Through triangulation? That¡¯s not possible. Proximity of the Old Era plane to us has no bearing on teleportation arrays needed to get there.¡±


    Vincent frowned as Trisroa gave Lucy a sceptical look. ¡°Did you not state that you had visited a Astrarium? Then if you utilised your pocket watch to identify two directions of which had differing angular-¡±


    ¡°Firstly, you are vastly underestimating the mana cost of locating Sedric when he could be thousands of planes away,¡± Lucille interrupted by holding a gloved hand up. ¡°Secondly, Astrariums do not show geographical proximity between planes. How could they? We don¡¯t know what planes are closest or farthest to us. Perhaps the navigators of the Old Eras would, when boarding their airships. They could possibly create a true map for skyfaring, but not us.¡±


    ¡°Then what are Astrariums for?¡± Marellen asked, eyes burning with curiosity.


    Lucille glanced at him and resigned herself to demonstrating for them. If they had a better understanding of her dilemma, they might be able to come up with useful suggestions. She spread her palms and indigo mana pooled out of her. Not just because it was illusion mana, but because it was the colour of an Astrarium¡¯s projection.


    Composed of violet discs set at perpendicular angles to each other, a gold glowing label marked the centre core of the projection, called ¡®Aionios¡¯. At regular intervals along these giant mana-circle look alike were a multitude of many smaller animalistic shapes, all labelled with various mythological titles of those famed in old.


    Lucille used her fingers to expand one section of a circle¡¯s perimeter, revealing something that looked a lot like the section of a zodiac circle. Tapping on one ¡®animal¡¯ revealed it to be a singular 3-dimensional constellation comprised of thousands of smaller silver and gold cores. Thin webbing of violet lines connected these cores to create the border of the animal.


    Lucy pointed at the eye of the beast they were looking at, reminiscent of a lion, and pulled up its label. ¡°Does anyone find this name familiar?¡±


    ¡°¡­Scoria,¡± Vincent sounded out. ¡°I can¡¯t quite place¡­¡±


    ¡°I know! I know!¡±


    Lucy glanced at the excited Marellen and ignored his waving hand. ¡°Does anyone else recognise this name?¡±


    ¡°That appears to be the name of the Gilded Dome plane¡¯s Demistar,¡± Trisroa announced calmly.


    ¡°Correct. Each golden core on this polygonal constellation represents a Demistar, and each silver core represents a moon.¡± Lucille pulled back from the constellation and returned the projection to its original state.


    ¡°Then what are the lines between the stars and moons?¡± Annaliese piped up. ¡°Are they just to connect the dots?¡±


    ¡°Me! Me!¡±


    Lucille gazed flatly at the navy-haired mage who was almost bouncing in his seat. ¡°Fine. Marellen, would you answer Annaliese¡¯s question?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re astral pathways. Planar arrays use them when transporting people between planes,¡± he answered, his words rushing out. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen an Astrarium so I could never visualise the dimensional connections between Demistars, but I see now that an Astrarium is just a visualisation tool! This Astrarium you saw must have been crafted by the School of Myths, a faction of Astrologers that organise the stellar bodies into constellations. This has made me interested in observing the Astrariums of the School of the World Tree and the School of Runic Macroscopy to-¡±


    ¡°Before Marellen continues his tangent,¡± Lucille interrupted. ¡°Yes, the Violet Order and Space Tower create planar arrays and follow the connections between the Demistars to link planes together. As such, while Astrologers have created this theoretical map of the Mystical Realm, it doesn¡¯t reflect distance. Only ease of teleportation, as a stronger connection between Demistars is depicted as shorter astral pathways.¡±Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    The others sat in confused silence but Lucille snapped her fingers. ¡°We don¡¯t have time to converse on magical topics. Marellen, keep your tangents to yourself. For all we know Sedric might be killed by those Tower wizards after they¡¯re done with him.¡±


    ¡°...Lucy, does Sedric have enough resurrections left?¡± Scytale spoke up in an uncharacteristically solemn voice.


    She looked back and frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Even if he did, he¡¯d be teleported to the nearest Obelisk... so the light wizards could kill him again.¡±


    Larena and Garthe exchanged looks. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you contact him in the same way you asked us four?¡±


    ¡°I could¡­¡±


    ¡°Huh? Lucille can contact Sedric?¡± Annaliese interrupted, looking between them with confusion.


    ¡°Not important right now.¡± Lucy pointed at the mercenary siblings. ¡°Yes, I can contact him. Give me a moment.¡±


    Sedric, how many resurrections do you have left?


    There was a delay before the young man replied, sounding slightly distracted, ¡®¡­Lucille? Uh, where is this coming from?¡¯


    We need to know how many times we can fail before you¡¯ll be gone for good.


    ¡®That doesn¡¯t sound reassuring¡­ I¡¯ve never died before though, so-.¡¯


    Alright, thanks. That¡¯s all I need to know. Lucille was going to end the conversation but something caught her attention about Sedric¡¯s surroundings. What are you doing, exactly?


    ¡®I got told to crack this ancient artifact, but nothing I¡¯m doing is making it work. As you said, I¡¯m stalling for time, but it only responds to elemental mana and as an engineer that uses arcane mana I can¡¯t get it to do anything besides glow when I pour potions on it-¡¯


    The ¡®artifact¡¯ in question gave Lucy pause. She had seen it once before, but after taking a second glance, it was more unique than she first realised. It emitted an aura distinct from any artifact she had seen before. She suspected it wasn¡¯t only an artifact.


    Sedric, this doesn¡¯t have any internal mechanisms, does it? The mana lines don¡¯t seem to serve much purpose.


    ¡®You could tell that quickly? Yeah, you¡¯re right. My skills can¡¯t do anything to it. It¡¯s hardly even an accessory.¡¯


    What is it supposed to be?


    ¡®I think it¡¯s a brooch? Or a badge of some kind.¡¯


    Lucille wasn¡¯t surprised Sedric didn¡¯t know what he had on hand. But she supposed it would be a good learning experience for when he¡¯d eventually create... the ultimate item she had brought him to the Commission for.


    Sedric. I think you have a Wonder item on your hands.


    ¡®A Wonder what?¡¯


    A Wonder item. Like Ouroboros. I think those mana lines are purely ornamental. This brooch isn¡¯t a true magical item.


    ¡®Wait, what? What is it then? Hello? Hey, explain!¡¯


    She disconnected her mind from the Simulacrum, preoccupied with her new discovery. If it was a Wonder item owned by the Light Tower...


    She absent mindedly created a replica of it with her mana and studied the projection in the air. The others stared at it, and after a moment Lucy turned to leave the room. ¡°Excuse me. I need to go ask someone to collect a book from the Commission¡¯s library. It appears Sedric got his hands on a Wonder item so I need to check the Empire¡¯s compendiums on the topic to see which one they have-¡±


    ¡°Uh... Lucille...¡±


    The shaky voice of a navy-haired mage called after her, so she turned around to give Marellen a pointed look, warning him not to ask questions about the item right now.


    But his wide-eyed look he exchanged with Roa and the Barbosas siblings hinted at something else. Marellen swallowed and pointed at the projection.


    ¡°I think we might know what Old Era plane Sedric is on.¡±


    As they explained, the calm smile on Lucy¡¯s face grew wider, but it wasn¡¯t pleasant. Her chilling expression made the group avoid eye contact when they had finished.


    ...


    ¡°So you¡¯re ninety nine percent certain...¡± Scytale began, ¡°That that brooch or badge that Sedric is working on... looks like the logo of this ¡®Institute of Nomological Augmentation¡¯?¡±


    ¡°To be exact, it bears a striking resemblance to the Centre of Dimensional Navigation,¡± Marellen replied uneasily. ¡°Also... out of all of us, I was the only one who could operate the facility and it was because of these special control units that needed all six essential elements.¡± The mage scratched his neck. ¡°It looks too small for what I¡¯m thinking, but if it was larger... it could likely be a master key for the entire Institute. That is... if those six gems work how I believe they might.¡±


    The room remained silent. They waited for Lucille to say something... but she hadn¡¯t responded for a while. Her only movement was the rhythmic tapping of her fingers against an armrest.


    ¡°This is... good though, right?¡± Annaliese hesitantly spoke up. ¡°We know what plane Sedric might be on. Marellen and Roa have even been to the building before. That¡¯s a really lucky coincidence!¡±


    She flinched when Lucy¡¯s cold voice sounded.


    ¡°Nothing is a coincidence.¡± Lucy stood up from her chair, expressionless. ¡°The person responsible for this knew I have Marellen and his party¡¯s knowledge of the Institute. They want me to become involved somehow. And then Radical wishes Sir Albrecht to be involved in this too.¡±


    She took another look around. ¡°At this point in time, the Sundown Continent shard is the most likely location for Sedric, if what Marellen says is accurate. Once Ravimoux can confirm for me whether the possibility of him being on that plane shard exists, then...¡± Lucille paused when she saw Annaliese watching her with a strangely dazed look on the girl¡¯s face. ¡°...we¡¯ll go there.¡±


    As soon as she stopped speaking, Annaliese¡¯s daze disappeared instantly and the light returned to her eyes.


    Lucille tilted her head. ¡°Annaliese, is there something you wanted to say?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± The blonde-haired girl blinked, seemingly unaware of her earlier reaction. ¡°N-No, I don¡¯t think so...¡±


    ¡°Would it not be more likely that Sedric is on a plane under the Light Tower¡¯s jurisdiction?¡± Vincent said with a frown.


    Lucy shook her head. ¡°Not if they want to keep Sedric¡¯s existence out of sight of Radica...¡± Her words trailed off when she caught Annaliese staring at Vincent with a scowl.


    ¡°...dumb idea,¡± the girl muttered.


    Lucille walked forward and snapped her fingers in front of the girl¡¯s face. ¡°Annaliese.¡±


    ¡°Wha?¡± The girl flinched back, returned to alertness. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Lucy put her hands on her hips and observed the Prophetess in their midst. The others gave them odd looks, nobody else noticing the girl¡¯s strange behaviour. Nobody but... Jasten Albrecht, who looked like he wanted to say something, but was keeping quiet.


    ¡°...you were saying the Light Tower wanted to hide Sedric from Radical for some reason, right?¡± Marellen brought up. ¡°If so, then I definitely think it would make sense for Sedric to be on the Sundown Continent shard. The plane shard was afflicted by a death mana related cataclysm so it wouldn¡¯t be unusual for Light Wizards to be there. Especially if they want to steal some of the Black Order¡¯s credit, who went after the vestiges in the spectre-afflicted areas.¡±


    Lucille looked back to see what reaction Annaliese would have to his statement, and lo and behold, she beamed, looking elated. Lucy shook her head and absentmindedly patted the girl on the head before walking back to her seat, ignoring the girl¡¯s stunned state.


    It appears our Prophetess hasn¡¯t yet learned to tell when she¡¯s sensing whether someone is making the right choice or not.


    ¡°I¡¯ve made a decision. If Ravimoux doesn¡¯t get back to me with news in the next two hours, we¡¯ll go to the Institute of Nomological Augmentation regardless,¡± Lucille announced. ¡°We need to decide who¡¯s coming.¡±


    There were several surprised glances but the others began to discuss it. Garthe crossed his arms, looking sceptical. ¡°Look, with all those artifacts Marellen gave the head expedition leader for the plane shard, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll let Marellen back through to the plane, but the three of us again, with a bunch of new additions in tow? No way.¡±


    Lucy dismissed his objection with a wave. ¡°That¡¯s the least of our problems. Marellen¡¯s going to be our chauffeur.¡±


    Marellen blinked and pointed at himself. ¡°Me?¡±


    ¡°Yep. You. So don¡¯t chicken out on me because you¡¯re essential to my plan.¡± Lucille stood up and walked over to the doorway. ¡°I need to go collect some important... materials before we go, so I¡¯ll be in my room. I trust all of you to make responsible decisions about your own wellbeing. Also...¡± She looked back. ¡°Sir Albrecht, Annaliese, could I discuss something with you both?¡±


    The Prophetess and her guard glanced at each other.


    ...


    ¡°You said you received a prophecy when I arrived,¡± Lucille started, her arms crossed as she leaned against a wall. ¡°Was that just a lie to make me let you stay?¡±


    Annaliese quickly shook her head. ¡°No! I did receive a prophecy. I knew something had happened to Sedric.¡±


    Lucy raised an eyebrow. ¡°Maybe I¡¯m wrong, but I believed that true prophecies were rather rare, for all you¡¯re called a ¡®Prophetess¡¯. Another prophecy on the level of the Millennium Chapter, about Sedric nonetheless?¡±


    Annaliese wrinkled her nose with slight confusion, but Sir Albrecht stepped forward.


    ¡°There is a reason the Prophetess of Fate holds the honorary title of High Oracle, Count Goldcroft,¡± Jasten said. ¡°Prophesying is the Prophetess¡¯s most famous ability, but much like oracles and seers, she can perceive events occurring during the present and the near future.¡± He looked down at his ward. ¡°It¡¯s believed to only occur with people the Prophetess has a strong attachment too, however. This passive ability doesn¡¯t interfere with Fate, so the Citadel cannot ¡®control¡¯ this element of her powers.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t like the Demon King Vs Hero War Prophecy at all,¡± Annaliese informed her. ¡°That prophecy had... a timeline. Like a play, I saw everything happen and couldn¡¯t interact with anything.¡± She frowned slightly. ¡°This time was like quick flashes and sights. I saw Sedric next to a bunch of wizards, but it was only when I told Sir Albrecht this that he revealed what the light wizards planned.¡±


    Lucille hummed. ¡°Did you see anything else?¡±


    Annaliese thought for a bit. ¡°I think I saw... lightning?¡± she answered unsurely. ¡°But it wasn¡¯t coming from the sky. It went everywhere and was made of small bolts. And the last thing I saw was this weird glowing cube thing...¡± She held up her hands to show its rough size, ¡°About this big, and blue. It was translucent and floated above a round black table, but kept folding in on itself.¡±


    That almost sounds like she¡¯s describing the Simulacrum¡¯s tesseract emblem. But blue? The Simulacrum Realm¡¯s is golden.


    ¡°Was it an illusion?¡± Lucy mused aloud.


    Surprisingly, Annaliese shook her head. ¡°I saw someone pick it up and carry it away. The vision didn¡¯t show what they looked like though.¡±


    ¡°Ah. So it was a physical object.¡± Lucille placed a hand on her chin. ¡°I¡¯ll have to keep a look out for this object if you received a vision about it. And lightning that didn¡¯t come from the sky...¡±


    Is she talking about electricity? That¡¯s... not impossible, but if she is, the implications are mildly worrying...


    No, it should be fine. The breach is ancient history, and nobody from the Mystical Realm came in contact with those signals before the Cosmic Realm¡¯s assimilation.


    Lucille patted Annaliese on the shoulder and turned to leave. ¡°Thanks. I won¡¯t make a habit of relying on you for these ¡®visions¡¯ though.¡±


    The blonde-haired girl frowned. ¡°Why?¡±


    Lucy looked back. ¡°One reason is that we¡¯ve already established my ¡®dead¡¯ Fate, and...¡± She shrugged and pulled on the suit jacket she had slung over one arm. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be much of a friend if I acted like the Sages.¡±


    <hr>


    I¡¯m on edge.


    Hargrave could feel that something wasn¡¯t right. That was abnormal.


    Typically he felt on edge at the Commission when he was supposed to be ¡®relaxing¡¯, not when he was doing what he had learnt to do his entire life. Fight.


    The scrape of metal against a tree branch alerted him to the location of his last remaining assailant. He whirled around and smacked the tree with the shaft of his spear.


    The jolt upset the assailant¡¯s balance and Hargrave leapt off the ground. The short moment he was airborne he appeared behind the bowman and severed the man¡¯s neck in one swift moment. The head flew off as the rest of his body disintegrated into white light. Hargrave dropped to a crouch when he landed and sprang back up. He twisted the knotted muscles in his neck.


    Something is definitely wrong.


    It was still hard for him to reconcile the fact he was now a magical beast. A draconic beast. Yet the tensing of his neck with even the slightest sound was an obvious indicator of how high strung he was. His newly strengthened instincts suspected whatever was happening would soon involve him.


    He fiddled with the heavy chain of the red vampire amulet as he took a moment to consider his current state. Hargrave took a chance when he ventured into the Guild¡¯s hunting territory, but it was essential for him to know much better he could fight against other humans now.


    ...the occasional reappearance of scales on his limbs whenever he accidentally saw his reflection did annoy him a little, though.


    The amulet felt warm as he slipped it back under his shirt and continued venturing deeper into the Guild¡¯s territory. Hargrave was mildly curious to know what impressive treasure they were trying to protect, but most of him didn¡¯t really care.


    He was too busy trying to suppress his instincts to find a tall landmark to defend against the invisible threats.


    That¡¯s a decent hill. If it had a cliff face or two I could stay there for a while...


    He scowled when his instincts surged again and threw a punch at a nearby tree out of anger. The wood dented with a crack that sent the tree toppling over. And it had only just been yesterday that he overcame his urges to defend that cave from the Guilders...


    Hargrave sighed and swept his unruly hair out of his face, before setting off once more.


    This must be because I¡¯ve spent too much time at the Commission. I¡¯ve grown lax. I should put more distance between myself and the others so I can more locations to strengthen myself...


    I¡¯m just a murderer, in the end. I shouldn¡¯t bring anyone else into my self-destructive plans.


    Although this amulet was beginning to feel really warm...


    Hargrave frowned and pulled out the ominous jewel, glittering with scarlet beauty. He nearly dropped it when he began to see real drops of blood collect on its surface.


    He did drop it when the droplets began to levitate but even with his instincts warning him of every threat, he was far too slow to avoid them as they shot into his forehead.


    Hargrave opened his eyes to a world of red and spun around, wielding Eolith in preparation for any threat. The slight sigh behind him caused him to swing the demonic spear around and point it at the source.


    He gritted his teeth when the tip of his violent weapon was caught between only two pale bloodless fingers of the slim man before him. The spear trembled in his grip and he had to steady himself when the man collapsed into a pool of blood that rippled and fused with the scarlet floor.


    More ripples spread out and Hargrave whirled around to stare as a ruby throne rose from the glossy red floor. The unfamiliar man, with long straight hair and eyes of blood red sat on it, one knee over the other and a look of haughty indifference on his face.


    ¡°Cease thy antics, child. Thee won''t beest killed by me h''re the present day,¡± he announced coolly.


    Hargrave only straightened up slightly, but he wasn¡¯t ready to abandon his defences so readily. He could sense nothing about the inhuman being in front of him. ¡°Rivenwyard Cruor.¡±


    ¡°That I am. But prithee, honour mine own queries. Wherefore hath I found thee here, wallowing in thy moral dilemmas rather than assisting mine own lord''s newest fascination?¡±

 Chapter 93 (2 of 2) Lucy Gang... Assemble!

    ¡°That I am. But prithee, honour mine own queries. Wherefore hath I found thee here, wallowing in thy moral dilemmas rather than assisting mine own lord''s newest fascination?¡±


    Hargrave... had no clue what the ancient vampire was talking about. Not just because of his abstruse vocabulary, but ¡®lord¡¯? ¡®Fascination¡¯? ¡®Moral dilemma¡¯?


    Hargrave didn¡¯t have context for the above so he shook his head and readied his spear again. ¡°What do you want from me? I have no connection to vampires.¡±


    ¡°¡¯Tis true,¡± Cruor agreed, much to Hargrave¡¯s surprise. ¡°Thou art the blood dominator of this cycle, but thou art merely a youth to us.¡±


    Hargrave was still wary. ¡°...then why did you want to contact me so badly? The Commission is unrelated to my business. If you wanted to meet with me...¡± He scowled, his face darkening. ¡°...then you should¡¯ve sent someone to me instead of scheming to use others.¡±


    The vampire¡¯s indifferent morphed into mild bemusement. ¡°Thee believeth I hath used Goldcroft to message thee? Thou art inverting the importance I lodge on the two of you- ah.¡± He paused and raised a finger while still seated on his sanguine throne. ¡°I understandeth.  This misconception wast on Goldcroft''s behalf.¡± Rivenwyard Cruor reclined back. ¡°Thee presume I hath reached out to Goldcroft to contact thee.¡±


    Hargrave frowned. ¡°Is there anything you could do about how you speak? I feel like I¡¯m talking to a fae.¡±


    ¡°A fae? I wanteth not to beest associated with the likes of those folk.  Very well then.¡± Cruor snapped his fingers and the throne melted into the glossy blood floor. His body unravelled into spools of blood and he reformed beside Hargrave, who whirled to face him with Eolith.


    ¡°Pray, cease brandishing that most nefarious lance. It appears we shall struggle to engage in a civil discourse whilst you wield such a violent instrument,¡± Cruor suddenly announced from behind him, swiftly plucking Eolith from Hargrave¡¯s hands and dropping it onto the ground. It sunk into the blood, disappearing from sight.


    Hargrave gritted his teeth in frustration, but some unseen force shoved him back. Instead of falling down, however, he landed in a chair. He blinked.


    Cruor went to sit down and a chair formed from the floor beneath him. He crossed one leg over the other. ¡°I daresay this could foster a more tranquil discourse,¡± Rivenwyard began. He rested his hands on his knee and tilted his head. ¡°Having not conversed with a mortal in countless millennia ¨C or prior mortal in your case, I fear my manner of speaking may seem somewhat archaic in comparison to contemporary vernacular. Nevertheless, it is of little consequence. A minor refinement to my translation faculties, and we are poised to commence.¡±


    Hargrave still felt he had a lot to say about the vampire¡¯s language, but he held his peace. He looked around with narrowed eyes. ¡°Where¡¯s Eolith?¡±


    Cruor gave him a half-hearted wave. ¡°The infernal lance resides securely within my dwelling. I shall return it to you, should you depart from here with civility.¡±


    Hargrave glared at him, but crossed his arms. ¡°Let¡¯s begin this ¡®discussion¡¯, then. What did you want from me?¡±


    ¡°How remarkably bold of you to presume that I, the original vampire, might desire to obtain some intangible item of value with you; though, given the present circumstances, it is rather understandable,¡± Rivenwyard replied dryly. ¡°In response to your inquiry, I wished to make your acquaintance.¡±


    ¡°...that¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°And I shall endeavour to foster a more enduring correspondence with you, if it pleases, though that may be deferred. You see, contrary to what you and Goldcroft presume, my priorities lay not upon you, but rather upon her,¡± Cruor stressed. ¡°You are but a potential liaison to me that may indeed prove advantageous.¡±


    He stared. ¡°Wait... why is Lucille so important?¡±


    ¡°It is a rarity for my sovereign to forge a connection with another. Such is the nature of politics¡ªan earnest desire to make your acquaintance, should you find yourself in need of my assistance,¡± the vampire replied simply.  ¡°Should Goldcroft hold me in high regard, the chances of my lord doing the same will certainly rise.¡±


    Hargrave didn¡¯t believe him. ¡°So Lucille knows this ¡®lord¡¯ of yours? Didn¡¯t you say you hadn¡¯t spoken to a mortal in years? Why would this lord speak to mortals yet not you?¡±


    ¡°The mysterious yet benevolent nature of my lord is a quality beyond my imitation,¡± Cruor said with a strange look on his face. ¡°He possesses a commendable compassion, yet he bestows his affections uniformly upon his adherents, observing our conflicts akin to a guardian surveying the playful squabbles of children. He extends his explicit favour neither to myself nor to my brethren.¡± Rivenwyard shook his head. ¡°Do not presume I am the sole perpetrator of such endeavours. I have been informed that Acalypha attempted to confer with the winter elf dispatched to Tartarus at the behest of Goldcroft, but alas, was thwarted by her political adversaries.¡±


    Who¡¯s Acalypha? ...maybe I should bring this up with Lucille when I return.


    Hargrave felt a headache burgeoning and held his nose bridge. ¡°Well, you¡¯ve met me now, haven¡¯t you? Is that all? Could I please leave now?¡± He hesitated as he recalled the convoluted question the vampire had asked him at the start. ¡°Actually, what was that about helping Lucille?¡±


    ¡°I found myself rather intrigued as to why a personage of your martial prowess and strength is not accompanying Goldcroft as she embarks upon her perilous undertaking,¡± Rivenwyard announced lightly. ¡°One would assume that a spearmaster of your distinction would be an esteemed asset to her entourage; however, it appears she holds a differing opinion.¡±


    The vampire looked off to the side, a hand on his chin. His scarlet hair looked like blood as it framed his face. ¡°To entangle oneself within the intricate politics of the Eternal Empire, amidst its Citadel of Fate and the wizards of light, will undoubtedly yield disastrous repercussions, irrespective of the worth of the abducted artisan...¡±


    Hargrave stood up. ¡°Lucille¡¯s in danger?¡±


    ¡°Danger... potentially,¡± Cruor replied casually, taking no note of Hargrave¡¯s wary expression. ¡°Should she be negligent, that is. I hold my lord''s judgement in high esteem and thus have faith in her abilities.¡±


    The ancient vampire grew solemn and faced Hargrave directly. ¡°Yet, what relevance does this hold for you? You have a Guild to vanquish. Undoubtedly, Goldcroft has forsaken you due to your inexperience with your draconic manifestation? Were you not undermining this Guild owing to their affiliations with a patron of the General of Blazing Iron?¡±


    ¡°...I need to go.¡± Hargrave stood up and looked around.


    Rivenwyard Cruor narrowed his blood red eyes. ¡°Without so much as a farewell utterance?¡± He scoffed and stood up. The chairs dissolved. ¡°Very well. It seems there is much to ponder. I shall reserve the remainder of our discourse for another occasion.¡±


    A snap of his fingers, and a portal to the outside appeared next to Hargrave. Just before he took a step, Cruor spoke up one last time.


    ¡°Patriarch, lend me your ear,¡± he spoke seriously.  ¡°Your fortitude resides in lineage, and not the essence of mere mortals. The Patriarch of Blood may hail from humanity, yet you transcend the human realm. Unleash the power you have fervently sought.¡±


    Before Hargrave had even stepped through the portal the world began to change. ¡°Wait! What about Eolith?¡±


    ¡°What purpose serves my fabrication of a spear for your grasp whilst you vacate from my mind¡¯s realm?¡±


    Hargrave blinked once and then saw that he had returned to the spot he was last at. He looked up... and the sun hadn¡¯t even changed position.


    That was... all an illusion Cruor created in his mind? I wasn¡¯t taken anywhere? So, all of it happened so quickly that barely any time passed...


    The thought of such unattainable power existing, beyond what a Rank-5 like the General could do made him feel slightly uncomfortable but he put it out of his mind and spun around.


    Firstly I need to go back to the Commission and find out what happened. Then I need to have a proper discussion with Lucille about her reasons for not contacting me, because I know she¡¯s not stupid enough to keep me out of this.


    She hid it for some other reason.


    <hr>


    ¡°-so due to the fact that they entered the Aeonic plane through Aeternus, it is not impossible Sedric Ferin is held captive on an Old Era plane. Our spies have not located Sedric Ferin travelling through any of the Major Plane teleportation arrays on the Aeternus plane,¡± Lucille finished reading. She calmly closed the letter and returned it to its black envelope. ¡°There we have it. Sedric was taken to All-Aeon Athenaeum. The fact they took him to All-Aeon Athenaeum meant either they planned for him to stay hidden on the Aeonic plane ¨C a risky endeavour with Radical¡¯s spies about ¨C or take him to another plane.¡±


    Lucy looked up and spread her hands. ¡°You can¡¯t access lesser plane planar arrays unless they¡¯re on the private estate of nobility, which means if Sedric is so sure about the mana feeling substantially different ¨C he¡¯s probably on an Old Era plane.¡±The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°How do you explain the Sundown Continent shard¡¯s potential links?¡± Vincent asked.


    She clasped her gloved hands behind her back and gazed out of the window. The others watched her pensively.


    ¡°My summary of the situation is this,¡± Lucille began, her voice cold and dry. ¡°Four forces are involved in this, not including the Commission. The first, and weakest player in the situation is Radical. Radical is aware of Sedric¡¯s background and his links to the Dawn Dissenters, an organisation closely related to them. They want me to owe them a debt by both aiding my reclamation of my crafter, as well as implicitly giving me ¡®permission¡¯ to keep using the services of someone they believe should be part of their Faction.¡± She turned around and paced the room. ¡°Radical hasn¡¯t acted sooner because they feel confident with Sedric as a card to hold over me. This resulted in Olden using it to their advantage and capturing Sedric before he could meet anyone from Radical.¡±


    ¡°This second player would be ¡®Olden¡¯ then,¡± Jasten Albrecht grunted.


    She gave him a nod. ¡°I¡¯ll include the Citadel as part of Olden in this situation, as the Citadel¡¯s opportunistic tendencies are well known. With Olden being the most powerful faction in the Empire, the Citadel are Olden¡¯s allies. For now.¡± Lucy crossed her arms and stopped pacing. ¡°Olden arranged for Sedric to be taken by the Light Tower instead of some other more experienced crafter. I believe this is likely because they discovered his links to the Dawn Dissenters ¨C a result of Radical¡¯s overconfidence. As for when they began to take notice of Sedric-¡±


    ¡°...Alichanteu?¡± Vincent murmured with a frown.


    Scytale screwed up his nose. ¡°When did Alichanteu mess with Sedric?¡±


    ¡°There was an altercation involving him and a supporter of Arwen Alichanteu, the second heir of the Blue County, during the crafter competition I arranged,¡± Lucy stated. ¡°I and the other Counties have sufficient reason to believe that through Arwen, Alichanteu has been compromised by Olden. This would¡¯ve gotten back to them, and when they did a little research about Sedric, his past may have come to light.¡±


    Raegan, who had gotten his hands on biscuits and was eating them with his sister, pointed at her. ¡°The third guys are?¡±


    ¡°The Light Tower.¡±


    Trisroa frowned, leaning against a wall. ¡°Would they not be considered an adherer of Olden?¡±


    Lucille shook her head. ¡°They¡¯re the second weakest player in this game. The Light Tower was only a tool to take Sedric to the Sundown Continent plane shard. They don¡¯t know the significance of kidnapping Sedric, and will be used as a scapegoat when Radical inevitably brings this ordeal to light.¡±


    ¡°But aren¡¯t the Light Tower a group of powerful light wizards?¡± Annaliese spoke up with wide eyes. ¡°They would just sit back and let that happen?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t get that part either,¡± Garthe said, raising a hand.


    ¡°Often people outside of the Athenaeum have the misconception that the Light Tower is powerful because of its connections to the Citadel, and the fact it¡¯s a Wizard Tower, but the contrary is actually true,¡± Lucy informed them while raising a finger. ¡°The Citadel became close to them not because they were profitable but because they wanted to limit their influence. It would be bad for the Citadel¡¯s monopoly on healers if the Light Tower and Yellow Order started becoming powerful. The Citadel¡¯s influence on the Tower resulted in the rest of All-Aeon Athenaeum doubling the pressure. As such, the Light Tower is the weakest Wizard Tower in the Athenaeum. The Citadel is not strictly Olden or any other faction ¨C it has different motives altogether.¡±


    Two people still hadn¡¯t spoken up. Larena didn¡¯t look like she had anything to offer, but Marellen was looking perplexed. His brow furrowed in confusion and he looked up. ¡°Lucille, I don¡¯t understand who the fourth faction could be.¡±


    Lucy scowled. ¡°That would be the Profound Emergent Jade Lotus Sect. And I think they and Olden are working together.¡±


    Vincent blinked and opened his mouth to say something, but he hesitated, frowned, and pulled back.


    ¡°Don¡¯t... Olden and cultivators hate each other?¡± Annaliese awkwardly spoke up. ¡°Cultivators don¡¯t even live in the Mystical Realm...¡±


    ¡°The Wood Heavenly Sect is also known for its passive stance,¡± Larena noted. ¡°Unless they discovered something interesting about the Commission, then I don¡¯t see...¡±


    ¡°I am the valuable thing they discovered,¡± Lucille interrupted.


    All eyes landed on her and she ran a hand through her fringe in response to their expressions. ¡°Something related to my soul that the Sect Leader may have discovered during last year¡¯s end-of-year Banquet.¡±


    Realisation dawned for Vincent, and even Roa¡¯s eyes widened a bit, but Raegan and Annaliese didn¡¯t seem to quite understand. Marellen, Garthe, Larena and Sir Albrecht were obviously completely lost.


    It¡¯s likely better for me to reveal this now, as most of the people here know my age. Now that Jasten has revealed he¡¯s not loyal to the Citadel, I¡¯ll be able to make him slightly less wary of me, something needed for this trip. Marellen... I can¡¯t imagine the magic addict causing troubles with this information. He¡¯ll just want to know what spells I know. Roa already has suspicions. I¡¯ll just have to come up with an excuse about why I hid the truth from her earlier. The only issue are the two mercenaries.


    Lucy stayed silent as she considered it. Eventually she turned to Larena and Garthe and sighed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but could you two please leave the room for a few minutes? We won¡¯t be long.¡±


    I¡¯ll forcefully change the topic after they¡¯re gone if we have to.


    Larena raised an eyebrow but smirked. Garthe looked outraged. ¡°What?! That¡¯s unfair! You¡¯re sharing a big secret aren¡¯t you?! I want to hear it too! Don¡¯t you trust us yet- wait, Larena, what are you- Hey! Let go of me!¡±


    Larena dragged her brother out by his arm and shut the door behind them.


    The room remained silent until Vincent spoke up, ¡°If Garthe is reacting like that he can¡¯t be too offended...¡±


    Lucy coughed lightly to bring their attention to her. ¡°While I look like an eighteen-year-old... I¡¯m 250 years old.¡±


    The ones who were originally in the dark stared at her. Everyone else watched their reactions closely.


    Roa¡¯s eyes widened, but then her expression became frosty as she narrowed her eyes. Marellen continued to stare at her.


    Jasten... he scowled. ¡°I knew you weren¡¯t no damned kid!¡± He rubbed his neck and looked away. ¡°I suppose that¡¯s more likely than an Aberration posing as a human...¡± he muttered under his breath.


    Lucille magnanimously chose to ignore the Paladin comparing her to a literal monster and smiled brightly. ¡°As such, I could imagine the Heavenly Sect becoming interested in me and suspecting I¡¯m the first cultivator who managed to reincarnate in the Mystical Realm while still wielding my soul cultivation foundation.¡±


    She could just tell Marellen was opening his mouth to bombard her with a barrage of questions, so she fired off a silencing spell and the mage¡¯s mouth opened and shut noiselessly like a gaping fish. ¡°I¡¯m not, just so you all know.¡±


    Lucy cupped her hands around her mouth. ¡°Larena and Garthe, you can enter.¡±


    A short moment later and the nosier of the two mercenaries burst in. He squinted as he looked around and then glared at them. ¡°Show more emotion! How do you expect me to suss out what Lucy¡¯s secret is like this?¡±


    The others mostly ignored him, looking at Lucy because she had raised a finger. ¡°There is one detail that this theory doesn¡¯t cover though, and it¡¯s the fact that the Sect was involved in the Commission before I joined it.¡±


    ¡°As such while the Profound Emergent Jade Lotus Sect is more actively involving itself in the Commission¡­¡± Vincent supplied.


    ¡°¡­it has always intended to become central to the political affairs of the Aurelian Commission,¡± Trisroa finished. ¡°Then how deep does this treacherous pit go?¡±


    ¡°A question to be answered another day,¡± Lucille sighed. ¡°The¡­ organisation I¡¯m in contact with responsible for arranging an internal affairs department has told me it¡¯s close to finalising who it wants from the members of the Commission. That¡¯ll likely aid us in the coming years.¡± She shook her head. ¡°Regardless, the Sect won¡¯t interfere directly when we visit the Sundown Continent. Therefore we come to the final question.¡±


    Lucille looked around. ¡°Who¡¯s coming to the Sundown Continent plane shard?¡±


    There was silence. The others exchanged meaningful looks and nodded.


    Lucy¡¯s aide stood up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. ¡°I believe it was everyone¡¯s intention to come along, Lucille,¡± Vincent said with a smile.


    She narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°Everyone?¡±


    He nodded. She didn¡¯t reply as she thought about it.


    ¡°Yeah, if Raegan didn¡¯t want to save Sedric then he wouldn¡¯t have told us he could track him with the hex!¡± Annaliese revealed while beaming.


    Raegan went pink. ¡°Anna!¡±


    The clueless girl blinked and gave her brother a confused look. ¡°What? Was that not it?¡±


    He groaned and buried his face in his hands. Annaliese didn¡¯t seem to understand the boy didn¡¯t want others to think he liked being around any of them.


    ¡°I assume you are not opposed to our choice?¡± Roa asked carefully.


    Lucille glanced at her and shook her head. She looked down at her pocket watch. ¡°If that¡¯s the case¡­ we need to make preparations now. Everyone get packing. We¡¯re leaving in two hours. And Vincent¡­¡± Her expression became grave. ¡°We need to have a private discussion about the ¡®future¡¯.¡±


    Vincent became solemn as soon as he understood her hidden meaning.


    ¡­


    ¡°Do you suspect there¡¯s a link between what happened to Sedric and your timeline?¡± Vincent began, getting straight to the point.


    ¡°Well, a kidnapping didn¡¯t occur now, to my knowledge,¡± Lucy said with dark amusement. The others had left the room, while Scytale was lounging on the couch behind them. ¡°But it brought me to question the events around the Commission a couple of decades from now.¡±


    Vincent looked pensive. ¡°¡­about the Commission? This doesn¡¯t sound positive.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m talking about its destruction,¡± she replied lightly.


    Vincent sighed and rubbed his temples. ¡°Of course you were hiding a disastrous secret like this¡­¡±


    ¡°Or more like the disestablishment of the Commission.¡± Lucille crossed her arms and tapped a gloved hand against an arm. ¡°I wasn¡¯t involved in the Empire¡¯s politics around that time, but from what I know the Counties remained on good terms and the disestablishment occurred smoothly. Which means someone with a great deal of power facilitated its early dissolution to prevent his power facing too many losses.¡±


    ¡°¡®His?¡¯ Do you mean¡­¡±


    ¡°Eternal Emperor Rodrigue Eterial,¡± Lucille announced. ¡°Of course, this only speculation, but the Commission was his idea at the early years of his rule. Perhaps the Commission became too unreliable and fractured to serve its purposes anymore.¡±


    Vincent paced the room in deep thought, taking her words seriously. ¡°And you never suspected this because while Olden and Radical involving themselves in the Commission is unfavourable but expected, a Heavenly Sect involving themselves is extremely dangerous. That means they¡¯re influencing a core force of the Aeternus plane, the centre of the Empire¡¯s power.¡±


    That was what Lucy appreciated about Vincent the most. He could set aside his curiosities to work with the information given when it mattered most.


    ¡°This means we need to tread much more carefully when it comes to the Heavenly Realm,¡± Lucy said. ¡°Now that I know they might¡¯ve have been one of the reasons why the Commission was dissolved, I can¡¯t let them succeed. Regardless of whether they¡¯re a Heavenly Sect or not.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡± Her aide nodded. ¡°After this trip I¡¯ll meet with Count Ravimoux to arrange countermeasures.¡±


    His reference to his own trip to the Sundown Continent shard made her fall silent.


    ¡°Are you sure about coming? I¡¯m not going to say you¡¯d be useless, because I¡¯m sure we could use your intellect, but...¡± She grew serious. ¡°Vincent, I¡¯m going to retrieve Sedric because it was my involvement that put him in this situation. I wouldn¡¯t take a choice away from someone who wants it, but it¡¯s not mandatory for you to come. You¡¯re not a fighter, and if I hadn¡¯t entered the Commission you would end up fine, even if the Commission fell.¡±


    Vincent observed her and smiled. ¡°I believed the whole point of me coming for such a swift trip was to deceive Olden¡¯s spies so that Ravimoux could uncover them in the Permafrost Glacial Abode Region?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but there are other ways we could keep them unawares-¡±


    ¡°Ways which won¡¯t be necessary.¡± He held up a hand and shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not stupid. I¡¯ll stay back with Sir Albrecht and the Verdon siblings. And I have my own reasons for doing this.¡±


    She raised an eyebrow. ¡°What, so you can spy on me?¡±


    ¡°Not this time.¡± He coughed lightly and looked away. ¡°My position as your aide has been more profitable than I expected. With my administration class, I¡¯ve nearly reached the max level for Rank-2.¡±


    Lucille blinked. ¡°Oh. Congratulations. Then is it the experience boost from being distantly part of a battle you want?¡±


    He nodded and Lucy paused. ¡°If you¡¯re so eager to reach the maximum level for Rank-2, that must mean you want to become a Rank-3. You do know why non-combat Rank-3s and higher are so rare... correct?¡±


    Vincent grimaced slightly. ¡°I¡¯m sure Tartarus¡¯ Stages will be an ordeal. It was an immense struggle in Rank-1 and 2. But I believe only someone of a Rank-3¡¯s calibre would be suited as the aide of the Aurelian Commission Head,¡± he stated seriously.


    Lucille put her hands on her hips as she looked at him but she smirked and turned to walk towards the door. ¡°Suit yourself. You might want to look into that underutilised metal affinity of yours if you think you might reach Rank-4 or 5.¡±


    ¡°My expectations are low,¡± he muttered. But Vincent followed her out regardless.


    ...


    -A few hours later-


    Lines of mages and wizards with staffs in hand and heavy bags levitated off the ground above wind spells in the grand hall. In the distance, the bright luminous glow of violet space mana lit up the massive building. A navy-haired mage shifted agitatedly as he clutched a large case in his hands.


    ¡°Next... oh! Marellen Vadel!¡± the greying wizard behind the desk said with surprise. ¡°Eager to return to this plane so soon? I would¡¯ve thought that with that hefty load of artifacts you brought to Grand-mage Deflasar Sulfest you would be sitting in the profits for a few years at the very least!¡±


    ¡°Oh, I, um...¡± Marellen gave him an awkward smile. ¡°Can¡¯t help it. There was so much to study on the Sundown Continent plane shard that I couldn¡¯t wait to get back.¡±


    The wizard chuckled and gave him a nod. ¡°Well, who wouldn¡¯t take advantage of a Grand-mage¡¯s permission to return whenever you want? No other noble contributed so much to the Artificers and Athenaeum! Greedy upstarts, the lot of them, I tell ¡®ya,¡± he grumbled. The wizard elbowed Marellen and gave him a wink. ¡°And don¡¯t think I don¡¯t see that large case right there. Stocked to the brim with dimension bags, isn¡¯t it? Don¡¯t forget about poor ol¡¯ Barthem here when you come back, alright?¡±


    ¡°...I¡¯ll let you have an artifact if I find any more,¡± Marellen replied weakly.


    ¡°Ah, but don¡¯t let yourself think I¡¯m pressuring you or anything.¡± The wizard winked and pressed a brass button to open up a gate of mana-circles. ¡°Off you go. Not as many heading there this month, so you¡¯ll get the VIP speed treatment!¡±


    Marellen barely remembered to give him a nod before he rushed off and shifted nervously while waiting on the planar array. The five minutes felt like an eternity, but eventually the violet light distorted his vision and he felt the realm bend around him. The next thing he knew, he was standing in a mostly-empty temporary camp town set up for the explorers near the north of the plane shard.


    He rushed off and didn¡¯t look back until he was a couple of miles away from the camp. Then he quickly placed the briefcase down and undid the clasps.


    ¡°We¡¯re here,¡± he whispered, cupping his mouth to help the sound travel down.


    Straight black hair emerged from the briefcase and Lucille popped out, looking around with a hand over her eyes to take in the view. ¡°See, I told you it¡¯d be simple.¡±


    A brown-haired boy soon emerged from the case and stopped as soon as he got out. Lucy looked back. ¡°So, are we right? I know what my guess is.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Raegan said with a frown. ¡°Sedric is definitely here. And I can tell he¡¯s really deep underground too.¡±