《Shadow's Hand》


 Shadows Hand

    It was common knowledge that a deck of cards had 52 cards.


    There were 4 types of suits: Diamonds, Clubs, Hearts, and Spades. Each suit comprised 13 ranks, going from Ace to 10, followed by Jack, Queen, and King.


    And within a poker table, each player was dealt two cards with the dealer showing 5 different types of cards on the table.


    The goal of a poker game was to get the best hand utilizing the two cards that were dealt to the player¡¯s hand.


    At the moment, the board already had 5 cards revealed on the board: Spades of 9, 10, J, Q, and a Diamond 2.


    The chance of getting a straight flush was quite high and a chance of a royal straight flush was also on the board.


    ¡°Hey, staller, are you done with your nonsense already?¡± Suddenly, a bearded man with fancy accessories clad all around him shouted in an annoyed tone.


    ¡°You kept rambling on a deck of cards here and there, but not making a move. I¡¯ll call the floor to have you kicked out for stalling!¡± He continued.


    Amidst the threat, the dealer who sat at the center of the poker table had no choice but to intervene as well.


    ¡°Mister Damien Pearce, please make your move within 30 seconds.¡± The dealer turned to the left side and warned the suited man.


    The suited man¡¯s hair was black, with a pair of glasses. He was rather composed and exuded an aura of confidence despite being warned.


    ¡°Ah, it appears that Mister Howie is afraid that I might back out from the hand and wanted to warn me not to fold.¡± Damien chuckled.


    His eyes gazed at the bearded man, otherwise known as Howie, a filthy rich trader.


    ¡°Hmph, so you¡¯re going to fold after talking big earlier?¡± Howie rolled his eyes with an unamused expression. ¡°And here I thought I actually got to enjoy some fun. But it¡¯s just another person who talks big but has nothing to back it up.¡±


    ¡°Haha, there¡¯s no need for provocation. I¡¯ve said all those to warn you that the pot is already 500,000 dollars and I still have a remaining 2 million dollars. It¡¯s not wise for you to lose more to me.¡± Damien shook his head and pushed all his remaining chips.


    ¡°I bet all in.¡± He then said and flashed a grin.


    However, the moment he called all in, Howie suddenly slammed his palm on the table.


    He wasn¡¯t infuriated or anything, but rather, he was exhilarated.


    ¡°Hahaha, that¡¯s why youngsters like you, who don¡¯t understand the world, should stay home and drink milk!¡± Howie snickered.


    ¡°Now I may not have an Ace of Spades, but I do have this lovely card to complete the highest straight flush.¡± He then revealed one of his hidden cards: the spades of King.


    After saying his piece, Howie easily pushed all his chips on the table without hesitation. Victory was his.


    With him holding the King of Spades, it effectively combined with the Spades of 9, 10, J, and Q for a straight flush. Additionally, there was no way for his opponent to have a better hand that could beat him.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Quads can¡¯t beat a straight flush, and by the off chance, Damien got the 8 of Spades, it would still be a weaker straight flush.


    ¡°The winner is¡­¡± With that in mind, the dealer was about to announce the winner of this hand to be Howie, until he was interrupted.


    ¡°Hold up,¡± Damien raised his hand and stopped the dealer from being too hasty with his action.


    ¡°Huh? What kind of crap are you trying to pull?¡± Howie raised an eyebrow, and almost immediately, two men in black behind him were ready to pull their guns out to point at Damien.


    ¡°If you want to back up now, then you must be joking.¡± He warned solemnly.


    ¡°No, why would I back up?¡± Unfazed by the atmosphere, Damien curled his lips upward. ¡°It¡¯s just that Mister Howie¡¯s age is probably affecting his memory. You forgot that the game we play isn¡¯t regular poker, but a game of Shadow¡¯s Hand.¡±


    Initially confused, Howie thought the man had gone insane and was spouting nonsense to not lose his wealth. However, his eyes then widened when he witnessed Damien flipping his card over.


    The first card revealed was a Joker.


    ¡°Huh¡­ What''s going on?¡± Feeling nervous, Howie¡¯s expression turned ugly with the second revelation.


    It was as if time had slowed down immensely when Damien flipped over a second Joker.


    The dealer became stunned and astonished by the hand.


    ¡°D-Double Joker¡­¡± He stuttered, their mouth left agape. ¡°M-Mister Damien had won this hand with a Royal Straight Flush!¡±


    ¡°Impossible!¡± Instantly, Howie slammed his palm once again. Except this time, he wasn¡¯t exhilarated, but rather enraged.


    With two Jokers in hand, that was essentially guaranteed the highest winning combination no matter what was shown on the board.


    And just like that, Damien¡¯s hand was essentially an Ace of Spades and King of Spades.


    Meanwhile, Damien casually stood up, fixed his tie, and smiled lightly.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I was telling you the information from earlier, Mister Howie. A deck of cards has 52 cards, but not in Shadow¡¯s Hand, where Jokers are in the play.¡± He said.


    Howie bit his lips tightly in frustration.


    The chances of someone being dealt two Jokers in one hand were even lower than the chance of getting a Royal Straight Flush. He couldn¡¯t have known that his beliefs and confidence in holding the trump King of Spades would be his undoing.


    ¡°Thank you for your money, Mister Howie. I¡¯ll gladly use them with care.¡± Damien mused and walked away.


    Sometime later, he exchanged the chips for money and rushed toward the restroom. He went to one of the stalls and locked the door. There, he began changing his outfit, as well as trashing his glasses and tearing off a face mask.


    ¡®Heh, that old man is probably raging and ready to retaliate. The mission is quite successful.¡¯ Damien thought.


    After a swift transformation, he now appeared like a completely different person and exited the casino through the front door while carrying a black briefcase filled with cash.


    The nighttime was dark and it was raining heavily, but there were many men in black running amok.


    They each had an earpiece and were communicating. Soon, they dashed away to the backdoor area, almost as if they were trying to chase after someone.


    He remained completely nonchalant and walked away at a steady pace. Even when some of the men in black brushed past him, none of them suspected anything.


    ¡®Villains all have one thing in mind and that they believe everyone is sneaky like them.¡¯ Damien knew Howie would play dirty in the end and would get his people to snatch his money back.


    However, Howie would never anticipate that not only was he unafraid of the retaliation. He was also bossy enough to walk through the front door like nothing ever happened. The more nonchalant and relaxed he looked, the more the people Howie hired would ignore him.


    Why was that?


    The suspicious one feared being caught, but the confident or innocent one never feared being caught. Such a common mindset was relatively easy to think about, but people just tend to overthink and believe there were many big-brain actions involved.


    Ignoring the rain pouring down on him, drenching his new suits and hair, Damien went to the street, ignoring all the cameras.


    The cameras might be capturing his face, but his face was already a different one from what Howie recognized.


    As he turned to the hidden alley, ready to use the underground tunnel to flee the scene, something shiny and shimmering caught his attention.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Damien was intrigued, but rationality told him otherwise to not check what it was. Thus, he decided to ignore it, but never did he anticipate the shiny object would suddenly fly to him.


    Alarmed, Damien hurriedly tried to dodge, but to no avail.


    As the shiny object changed its trajectory to follow through his sudden shift of movement, Damien was able to take a glimpse of it.


    ¡®A card-shaped?¡¯ He was confused by the situation.


    Unfortunately, there was not much else to comprehend when the shiny object penetrated him and integrated itself into his body, and for a moment, nothing special happened.


    ¡°Eh, did I hallucinate after drinking some wine?¡±


    He quickly checked his body and vision to ensure everything was alright. ¡®A card penetrated me but nothing happened? Was I that paranoid?¡¯


    But in the next second, he felt a sudden thump near his chest. His eyes started to bleed and soon, he found his strength leaving him.


    His consciousness was drifting away, and before he lost his vision completely, he saw a Joker laughing.


    ¡°A Joker laughing at me? Who is pulling such a prank?¡± He murmured, feeling an intense heat that threatened to consume him whole. The heat forced him to be unable to think or see anything further.


    ¡®I was so careful though.¡¯ Filled with regrets, Damien fainted on the spot. Heavy rain continuously poured down on him.

 Velgrave

    Pitter Patter


    As the heavy rain continued to pour down for an unknown amount of time, daylight finally shone brightly at an alley.


    In the alley, a man dressed in a suit finally began to show signs of movement. Their limbs started to twitch for a while, and before long, the man¡¯s eyes slowly opened.


    ¡°Ungh, damn it. That pain and heat was killing me.¡± Damien gritted his teeth, still feeling the residue of the burning effect. What was shocking enough was that his eyes felt clarity like never before.


    ¡°Was my vision always this perfect?¡± He muttered in disbelief.


    Suddenly, a horrible recollection nearly stunned him on the spot. He tried his best to compose himself, but he was definitely positive about one thing.


    ¡®My eyes were definitely bleeding heavily. But my vision didn¡¯t worsen but became greater?¡¯ His body shivered uncontrollably at the mysterious events that occurred to him.


    First, there was a shiny object penetrating his body. Second, there was a Joker laughing. And finally, his vision became crystal clear. Not to mention, his body felt lighter than before.


    ¡°Right, my money.¡± He exclaimed and turned to the side, only to notice a different type of briefcase was next to him.


    The briefcase wasn¡¯t colored black, but was of brown color. Not to mention, the design and texture of it were unfamiliar to him. It didn¡¯t even appear to be filled to the brim.


    He had a bad premonition, and sure enough, it came true the moment he opened the briefcase. There was no cash stored inside, and only some paperwork.


    A dazed look could be seen on Damien¡¯s face.


    ¡®Did I get robbed and taunted?¡¯ He wondered. He browsed through the paperwork and his confusion only increased further.


    [Velgrave: 3 victims so far. Killer(s) on the loose. Possible Transcendent involved.]


    ¡®Killers on the loose? Transcendent? What kind of nonsense is this?¡¯ The wording listed in the paperwork made zero sense.


    He got up and patted his clothes, shaking off some of the excess water from the rain. It was only then he realized his clothes also happened to be changed.


    His suit vanished, and what he wore appeared to be a long coat type. The situation continued to baffle him.


    ¡°Ugh, let¡¯s just leave through the tunnel¡ª¡± Damien paused when he noticed the discreet underground tunnel was no longer present. ¡°Ah, someone must have played a dirty prank on me.¡±


    Without needing further investigation, Damien was positive that he was ambushed and the shiny object must have been an injection shot of some sort. Otherwise, how could it have made him feel an excruciating amount of pain, followed by a loss of consciousness?


    The only grateful part was that it appeared the enemy didn¡¯t wish to take his life. They simply toyed with him, changed his outfit, and snatched all of his hard-earned money from the scums.


    ¡®Well, money lost could be earned.¡¯ Damien thought. He wasn¡¯t going to rant and throw a fit when none of those actions would salvage the situation.


    Nevertheless, that didn¡¯t mean he was going to forgive whoever did this to him.


    ¡®Leaving me alive is going to be their biggest mistake.¡¯ He placed all the paperwork back in the briefcase and held it tightly. Although dangerous, he was going to retrace his steps and inspect the possible flaws in his route.


    Yet the moment he exited the hidden alley and was blinded by the daylight, Damien¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. ¡°W-Where the hell am I?¡±


    What greeted him wasn¡¯t the familiar streets, but a completely new environment. The streets were filled with people in unique clothes and carriages pulled by some lion-creature beast. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Amidst Damien¡¯s confusion, nearby people who spotted him held an astonished look before sidestepping to walk around him.


    In response, Damien scratched his head and wondered if these pedestrians were wary of him.


    He attempted to do a small test and step into the center of the street. Sure enough, the people quickly avoided him like a plague.


    Startled and alarmed, he wanted to ask one of them about the situation but got distracted. Mainly because there was a more unbelievable scene happening. He witnessed some people floating¡ª no, it was more accurate that these people were flying in the sky.


    His mouth was left agape at the spectacular sight.


    ¡®Am I in some kind of a fantasy genre television show as an extra?¡¯ He wondered, searching for the green screen and the exit door. Additionally, he wanted to find the film crew. After all, such magical elements were impossible to exist.


    Naturally, Damien knew he was just deceiving himself and was using it as a coping mechanism to avoid reality.


    Whatever mystery incident that occurred to him last night, had inadvertently transferred him to another dimension. There was no other possible explanation.


    ¡®I¡¯ll need to understand the geography here.¡¯ Damien recollected his thought process and set up a few objectives.


    Crying over spilled milk was equivalent to wasting time. So rather than doing that, he needed to ensure his information and knowledge were up to par. Otherwise, he won¡¯t even know how he might meet his demise.


    Since he required some geographical knowledge of his current location, Damien decided to ask the people on the street.


    He chose a person and asked, ¡°Do you know where this place is?¡±


    Almost immediately, the person¡¯s face turned pale white. His mouth was trembling and his eyes seemed to have lost some color.


    ¡°Oh dear, that person got involved with a Transcendent Investigator?¡±


    ¡°Shush, you want to be taken in detainment and never see the daylight?¡±


    As the nearby passerby noticed this scene, they quickly hastened their speed and fled the street. Within the blink of an eye, the originally crowded street turned somewhat desolate, with only very few people who had no choice but to cross this street.


    Meanwhile, the most bewildered of them all was none other than Damien.


    ¡®Transcendent Investigator? Who is that?¡¯ He was startled and had a feeling they were talking about him. However, that didn¡¯t make any sense to him. All he did was stop a person and attempt to ask for their location.


    Why in the world would the person react as if they were a criminal who got caught?


    ¡°I-Investigator¡­ Please don¡¯t toy with my heart. We¡¯re at Velgrave City, a city of Tatum Kingdom.¡±


    ¡°A city of the Tatum Kingdom, Velgrave?¡± Confused, Damien slightly tilted his head. He was trying to comprehend if there was ever such a location in his memory.


    Amidst his silence pondering, the person who was stopped by him could no longer endure further. Their legs were shaking heavily and they plopped to the floor.


    ¡°Investigator, is there anything you need from me?¡± They asked anxiously.


    ¡°Point me the direction that has a general map of this location,¡± Damien demanded. Since the other party was visibly afraid of him, then he might as well exert some dominance to get what he wanted.


    Sure enough, the person seemed to be relieved of what appeared to be doomsday and they hurriedly gave all the directions explicitly to him.


    Afterward, the person bowed and excused themselves.


    When Damien witnessed how scared the person ran away, he furrowed his brow in response. ¡®So many magical elements at present but they are afraid of me?¡¯


    He shook his head and proceeded to turn toward the North direction. The streets were all labeled quite neatly with the VN being in front.


    VN 32th street, fifth avenue


    VN was an acronym for Velgrave North.


    It was confusing at first, but once Damien got used to the street naming, he became accustomed to it.


    There were five stages of acceptance: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.


    He had already gone through denial and skipped over the other three to acceptance. By now, he already accepted that he might be in another dimension or realm.


    ¡°Too many unknown variables.¡± He murmured. In an equation to solve the unknown variables, one must do it step by step without trying to skim through it.


    The first unknown variable was his change of location.


    The second unknown variable was the pile of paperwork in the unfamiliar briefcase.


    The third unknown variable was the meaning of Transcendent.


    Finally, the last unknown variable was the status and identity of a Transcendent Investigator.


    Four different unknown variables, each one more complicated than the previous one.


    ¡®If I knew this would be the outcome for gambling, then I would have stopped when I won big and called it a day.¡¯ Damien lamented inwardly.

 Transcendent Investigator

    Having accepted his fate, Damien finally arrived at VN 25th Street of Eighth Avenue.


    This was considered the central plaza and the most populous area for the people. It also happened to be the one where Damien could obtain a geographical map of the world, especially the landscape of Velgrave.


    Although Damien wished to stay lowkey and inconspicuous, the truth was that his foreign clothes seemed to attract a lot of attention.


    Frequently, there would be people widening their eyes in shock and fear, whereas there would also be some gossiping from afar.


    However, the most common words within their gossip were: criminal, investigator, TI, and danger.


    TI had initially caught Damien off-guard until he connected the dots with TI being an acronym for Transcendent Investigator. Simultaneously, he also believed his foreign clothes must have been the symbolization of a TI.


    Unfortunately, he was unable to find a different set of clothes to change into.


    As for trying to buy some new clothes, that was even more difficult. Not only was he feared by many when he approached them, but the currency they used wasn¡¯t in dollars either.


    They used the typical old-fashioned coin style and they are ranked from lowest to highest value: bronze, silver, gold, and platinum.


    ¡®This clothes might be a hindrance, but it¡¯s still good enough to scare people into giving me some free money.¡¯ Damien smirked.


    His vision and clarity improved tremendously. Thus, he was able to spot some bad individuals but not terrible enough to be labeled as criminals.


    Bad individuals such as pickpockets, whom he easily noticed from afar and rushed to them.


    Sure enough, these common pickpockets were frightened so badly and coughed up the money they stole from others. Since they were that afraid, Damien took the chance to ask about the currency in exchange for letting them off the hook.


    Naturally, they quickly fell for the bait and agreed. He only had the appearance of what they claimed him to be. But he didn¡¯t even have the authorization, much less an idea of what he could do.


    Therefore, he managed to obtain some wealth and a brief understanding of the hierarchy structure in Velgrave.


    As Damien glanced around, he finally noticed a board that had the layout of Velgrave. He hastened his steps and arrived just before it.


    Similar to previous incidents, when he approached the board closer, the nearby people who spotted him, quickly stepped to the side.


    Their eyes were mixed with wariness and nervousness.


    ¡°Am I that horrifying?¡± Damien suddenly turned his attention to one of them and questioned.


    ¡°N-No, Sir Investigator.,¡± The unlucky individual had no choice but to shake their head frantically. It was clear that they were unwilling to be mistaken as a troublemaker or criminal whatsoever.


    ¡°If I¡¯m not horrifying, then why have you retreated on your steps so far?¡± Damien raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°It¡¯s out of respect.¡± The person responded. ¡°We dare not intrude in your business and thus, sidestepped to give you all the space Sir Investigator requires.¡±


    Their response was overly similar to the ones he had gotten so far. It was the equivalent of someone copying their buddy¡¯s homework and pasting it into their paper as their own. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Despite Damien wanting to question further, he knew doing so would expose his false identity. Therefore, he dared not press the matter and simply waved his hand to dismiss the person.


    ¡®I should really purchase some new clothes after memorizing the city¡¯s layout.¡¯ He thought. The clothes themselves were a great barrier to deflect incoming troubles, but they also deflected tons of valuable information.


    A double-edged clothes¡ª one might say.


    Sometime later, without anyone to disturb his memorization, Damien managed to comprehend the city¡¯s layout.


    It wasn¡¯t too difficult either, with the middle and upper regions of the city to be quite linear. The only problematic part was the lower region, as well as the so-called slum or poor area.


    ¡°The slums have too many turns and corners.¡± He mumbled. Additionally, he suspected there to be hidden passages in between these turns as well.


    He highly doubted the city¡¯s layout to be extremely precise, but it was definitely eighty percent accurate, at the very least.


    ¡°Sir Investigator, he¡¯s over there. I¡¯ve told you that I didn¡¯t lie to you.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s really him. Consider yourself lucky.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Sir Investigator.¡±


    While Damien was deep in his thoughts, a commotion could be heard, and the crowd soon gasped in shock when they realized the source.


    ¡°Oh dear lord, it¡¯s three Transcendent Investigators. Are they here to catch a criminal?¡±


    ¡°Jeez, this is the middle region though. How could those people escape over here?¡±


    As the crowd started gasping, they watched as the three people¡ª one woman and two men, quickly walked toward and arrived behind Damien.


    Just when the crowd thought Damien was in trouble, one of them took off their hat and sighed in relief.


    ¡°Investigator Damien, we¡¯ve finally found you.¡± They said and continued, ¡°The crime scene is still untouched and we have been waiting for you the whole night. We thought something had happened to you.¡±


    ¡°I think you got the wrong person,¡± Damien responded calmly. But silently, he was panicking inside. He had been posing and allowing others to mistake him as the Transcendent Investigator. Yet now the real deal was here. He got to escape fast and avoid being caught.


    Unfortunately, the moment he tried to slip through the crack and flee, he was blocked by the other two people.


    ¡°Investigator Damien, please stop joking around.¡± A woman said in an exhausted tone. ¡°I know you don¡¯t think much of us since we¡¯re only in the Ninth Order, but you should still take this matter seriously.


    ¡®Ninth Order?¡¯ Confused, Damien gazed at the woman. She had short brown hair, her eyes were of almond shape, her height was around 5 feet 6, but more specifically he paid attention to the insignia pinned in her clothes. Indeed, the number 9 was engraved in it. Realizing that, he took a look at his insignia which displayed the number 7.


    Based on their tone of speech and cautiousness, it appeared that the lower the number, the higher their authority was.


    However, the most astonishing part was that these people seemed to know him.


    Investigator Damien¡ª that would have been the correct form of address if he was actually an investigator.


    Without further ado, Damien had no choice but to continue his act. He grinned and said, ¡°Hmm, since you know who I am. Let¡¯s hear how much you know about me. Based on your response, I will decide whether to take a look at the crime scene or not. Also, make sure to introduce yourself first.¡±


    ¡°Very well, Investigator Damien. I¡¯m Jasmine, a Ninth Order TI, based on Velgrave. We have been informed that Investigator Damien, a Seventh Order TI, would be in charge of the case and that we have to serve you. Investigator Damien is the youngest Seventh Order TI due to his extensive investigation skills and ability to capture even the most slippery Transcendent criminals.¡±


    The woman, otherwise identified as Jasmine, reported solemnly. Her tone held a revered tone, but her expression depicted the opposite.


    It could be assumed that Damien¡¯s antics and conduct so far had disappointed her, but she dared not voice it aloud.


    Shortly after Jasmine¡¯s report, Damien did the same and inquired about the other two men.


    They were respectively in the Ninth Order as well, with the names Lucas and Kyle. Both of them were similar in height, around 5 feet 7, and had the identical short black hair. In addition, their reports were technically the same as Jasmine¡¯s, which made Damien rather baffled.


    After all, they even provided proof with a picture of him and his data on their tablet. His face and name were the same, along with a list of past achievements he made which he got no clue about accomplishing.


    ¡®They really perceive me as the authentic one.¡¯ Damien knitted his brows. He had unintentionally realized there was another unknown variable in the equation: his presence.

 Discovery of Ability

    ¡°This tablet data isn¡¯t bad,¡± Damien commented after swindling the tablet that Jasmine was using.


    The tablet was quite modern in terms of features¡ª a surprise to him.


    Based on the aesthetic and theme of the buildings around, Damien deduced it to be some 1800s, but that was incorrect. They only got the view of the 1800s, but with the presence of magical elements, it could no longer be considered the same.


    Similar but not identical.


    According to Jasmine¡¯s words from his questioning, the tablet was a device engineered by the Ace Path of an Engineer.


    ¡®Ace Path. It seems like there¡¯s more to it than the term Transcendent.¡¯ Damien was exhausted. There was too much new information to condense and absorb.


    ¡°The tablet is a handy tool for all TI, so I¡¯m sure Investigator Damien already knows about it.¡± Jasmine smiled bitterly. ¡°I hope that Investigator Damien can stop testing us. We didn¡¯t graduate from the academy and received our licenses through the backdoor.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I suppose you must have some skills if you¡¯re assigned to me.¡± Damien nodded and reluctantly returned the tablet to her.


    The tablet contained the information that he required, but there were so many restrictions. When he attempted to search for some details, it required authentication and authorization.


    From there, he thought that maybe he could pass the verification attributed to these three TIs having mistaken him for some bigshot. Alas, reality was cruel and it showed that he failed.


    ¡®If all TIs have their own version of the tablet, then where did mine go?¡¯ Damien had recalled the things in his briefcase, and there was no such tablet.


    This was the most infuriating part. The one time he discovered he could obtain information, but couldn¡¯t because it was not in his possession.


    ¡°Anyway, can we now make a move to the crime scene, Investigator Damien?¡± Jasmine pleaded.


    ¡°If we don¡¯t investigate soon, then we¡¯re all going to be reprimanded.¡± Lucas chimed in.


    Kyle, on the other hand, simply corrected. ¡°Investigator Damien won¡¯t get reprimanded, but we are most likely going to be demoted or sent to do other trivial tasks in the future.¡±


    It appeared as if they were attempting to guilt-trip Damien into hastening the progress. Unfortunately for them, they made one simple mistake.


    Damien, who was the most confused and lost person here, had zero time to be worried about others. Nevertheless, he still played along because he needed them to resolve his current plight.


    ¡°My tablet isn¡¯t with me, so do get me a new one, Kyle.¡± He instructed and turned to Jasmine. ¡°As for you, lead the way to the crime scene. I guess it¡¯s time to put in some work after finishing my analysis here.¡±


    ¡°Eh, this¡­¡± Kyle was dumbfounded by the instruction.


    ¡°Is there any problem?¡± Damien instantly put on a stern and cold expression. He stared down at Kyle, seemingly warning him to beware of his next words.


    ¡°No, I¡¯ll get it done immediately.¡± Shortly after saying so, Kyle enhanced his leg power and sped away. The speed generated by his legs was so fast that it caused a mini turbulence around the area he had left.


    Damien appeared nonchalant and fine on the surface, but inwardly, he was baffled by the speed.


    ¡®How in the world was that possible?¡¯ The speed that Kyle exerted was definitely abnormal, but what baffled him was the fact that he could perceive his speed.


    Although there was an after-image left behind by Kyle, his eyes managed to vividly capture how and where he went. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°Investigator Damien?¡± Jasmine interrupted when she realized he seemed distracted once again.


    She was truly worried that he might run off to another place again, so she quickly gestured with her hand. ¡°The crime scene is located at the opposite end of where we are. If we rush over there now, we should be there in about 20 minutes.¡±


    When Damien heard the time required to walk over there, he nearly wanted to retract his earlier suggestion.


    He had spent more than an hour wandering and walking to get to his current location. He didn¡¯t even have the time to rest or eat anything along the way.


    ¡®Am I a criminal or an investigator in this setting?¡¯ Even a criminal gets to have their mealtime, so why couldn¡¯t he?


    ¡°Lucas, find some common cuisine in Velgrave and bring them to me,¡± Damien demanded and glanced around the surroundings.


    After a while, he finally spotted a few vacant carriages that were parked at a corner.


    Without a doubt, those carriages were probably waiting to be hired and moved along¡ª a common scene in the old days.


    ¡°Jasmine, go hire a carriage over there in the meantime.¡± He continued.


    ¡°A carriage?¡± Startled, Jasmine¡¯s eyes were colored in disbelief. They had already delayed the investigation for the whole night. Now he even wanted a carriage to travel rather than speeding up to catch back on the lateness?


    ¡®Is this really a Seventh Order TI or an imposter?¡¯ She wondered.


    ¡°What are you idling for?¡± Damien questioned in disdain. ¡°If you wish to stall further from the crime scene, then be my guest. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m in a rush or anything when compared to you low Orders.¡±


    Jasmine frowned in response. She wanted to bring up something to argue, but at the same time, she got nothing. What Damien said was completely right, and she could only obey the command.


    A freshly new Ninth Order TI wanted to command a talented Seventh Order TI around? That would be the biggest joke ever if it was said to someone else.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go rent a carriage. How many people?¡± Jasmine resigned to her fate and inquired about the seats.


    ¡°Just one seat is enough. The three of you could use some exercise since you¡¯re new.¡± Damien replied. He planned on recollecting his thought process, so having any of these authentic TIs in the background would merely hinder him.


    Of course, Jasmine didn¡¯t know about it and simply believed it was another one of those stuck-up yet talented individuals. She even understood that the money used to rent the carriage would be paid by her.


    ¡®Whatever helps in progressing to the crime scene.¡¯ Jasmine thought. Having been an official TI for a few months and working on her very first big case. She had never anticipated that step zero of physically going to a crime scene would be that difficult.


    ¡°Hey, how much is it for a one-person seat carriage?¡± Jasmine asked the numerous people who were standing near the vacant carriages.


    Almost immediately, the people trembled slightly in fear. Without much explanation, they obviously recognized Jasmine¡¯s status, so none dared to accept such a job.


    When Jasmine noticed their body movement, she was rather annoyed. She had to deal with an eccentric Seventh Order TI and was filled with headaches already. Yet these commoners dared to stall her further?


    ¡°I give you a count to 5 and a person better step up. Otherwise, you can kiss your career goodbye and enjoy a meeting with us in a cozy dark room.¡± She softly said.


    ¡°It¡¯s him, Karl. Karl is the person responsible for singular carriage.¡± Within the blink of an eye, Karl¡¯s colleague sold him out.


    Compared to selling a colleague out versus enjoying a cozy dark room with a TI, the choice was clear.


    They all chose the former and gave their silent prayer to Karl, whose expression had turned quite sour from the unexpected betrayal. His eyes darted at them, but could only force a restrained smile to attend to Jasmine.


    ¡°So how much is the fee, Karl?¡± Jasmine questioned.


    ¡°5 bronze coins, and if the distance is too far, it can go up,¡± Karl answered.


    ¡°The destination is VS 23rd Street, Fourth Avenue.¡± She responded coolly.


    ¡°That¡¯s like about 45-55 minutes away?!¡± Karl was startled on the spot. Usually, their carriages only traveled a maximum of 30 minutes distance to ensure their profit of the day remained steady.


    To go any further than 30 minutes was equivalent to losing out on time and money. Others probably believed the earnings might appear higher on the surface when doing long distances.


    However, when accumulated, the result showed that doing multiple smaller distances earned more than doing occasionally long distances.


    ¡°Yeah, what about it?¡± Contrary to Karl¡¯s plight, Jasmine was not one to be bothered about it. Her cold behavior alone made it clear that she refused to hear any complaints.


    And very naturally, her action did not escape Damien''s notice. Although their distance was too far to be able to hear anything, Damien was able to see and listen to them when concentrating.


    ¡®So not only my eyesight but even my hearing ability is enhanced if I concentrate heavily.¡¯ Damien was bewildered by this newfound ability.


    His perception had always been high, but ever since awakening in this unfamiliar place, it seemed to have increased further.

 Velgrave Livery & Transport Co.

    A few minutes had gone by, and Jasmine returned to report. ¡°Investigator Damien, I¡¯ve hired a carriage. They are ready to depart whenever you are.¡±


    ¡°Has Lucas returned yet?¡± Damien questioned her back in response. He was somewhat annoyed as well, given that Jasmine had broken his chain of thought just now.


    Sure enough, Jasmine¡¯s expression turned bitter. She definitely didn¡¯t anticipate Damien was going to wait for her colleague¡¯s return.


    ¡®Isn¡¯t he going to ride on the carriage alone?¡¯ She was baffled. With her speed and her colleagues, they could easily catch up to the carriage even if they were to delay by 10 minutes.


    ¡°I¡¯ve travelled a long time to do an inspection everywhere. Now I¡¯m a bit starving, so do you expect me to continue on with an empty stomach?¡± Damien said coldly when he noticed her baffled look.


    ¡°No, Investigator Damien. It was an oversight on my part.¡± Jasmine bowed and apologized.


    It appeared that the thought of Damien expecting some food to enjoy in the carriage had gone over her mind. After all, what kind of TI would pay more attention to food than catching the criminals?


    Shortly after being subtly reprimanded by Damien, the coachman, Karl arrived with his carriage and saved the awkwardness that Jasmine was facing.


    Coachman Karl got out of his seat and paid his due respect to Damien.


    ¡°Sir, my humble carriage might not be adequate, but I¡¯ll do my best to ensure a smooth journey.¡± Karl bowed and said respectfully. When even the person who had bossed him around earlier was submissive toward Damien, it goes without saying who was the bigger boss here.


    Since Karl wasn¡¯t guilty of any crimes, he addressed Damien by Sir, and not Investigator.


    Although the form was a bit different, the meaning implied behind was tremendous.


    Only fellow investigators, or those involved in a crime whether they were witnesses or suspects, would refer to them as investigators. Otherwise, the normal protocol was to address the man as Sir and the woman as Madam.


    Damien nodded in response and stepped forward. There were some mounting blocks attached to the carriage for ascending, and Damien was quite surprised by the sight.


    From a glance, he could tell the coachman wasn¡¯t wealthy, but the carriage design and material itself was quite luxurious.


    ¡®Hmm, are these carriages rented to these coachmen as a form of business?¡¯ He wondered.


    As he entered the interior of the carriage, he realized there were actually more seatings available despite being labeled as a one-person carriage.


    Since he stood in place to take a few moments to inspect the interior, Jasmine thought the carriage wasn¡¯t to his liking.


    ¡°Is the carriage not suitable?¡± Jasmine stepped forward and asked.


    Meanwhile, the coachman, Karl, felt even more terrified that his carriage wasn¡¯t up to par for someone of Damien¡¯s stature. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡®The company wouldn¡¯t be deducting my pay or punishing me heavily, right?¡¯ Karl was afraid of the possible retaliation from Velgrave Livery & Transport Co.


    Velgrave Livery & Transport Co. was the largest and most reputable carriage rental enterprise in Velgrave City. They specialized in providing high-quality carriages to independent coachmen and businesses.


    However, that was merely the tip of the iceberg. Aside from operating a vast fleet of carriages, they also offered tailored leasing agreements, repair and maintenance services, and exclusive access to premium routes within the city.


    With its centralized headquarters and numerous depots strategically placed throughout Velgrave, it could be said that the company dominates the city¡¯s bustling transport network.


    So if there were an incident in which Karl managed to offend a TI, it goes without saying his career and livelihood was essentially over. To appease the TI, the company wouldn¡¯t even hesitate to throw him away and compensate to resolve the situation.


    That was how fearsome the status of a Transcendent Investigator could be.


    ¡°Please forgive me, Sir.¡± Karl hurriedly bowed and pleaded for mercy.


    His sudden plea of mercy startled Damien slightly, who had no idea what had just gone through Karl¡¯s mind.


    ¡®Forgive him? What did he do?¡¯ Damien wondered. He turned his attention to Jasmine in hopes of understanding the situation. Yet to his dismay, Jasmine seemed rather hostile toward Karl.


    It appeared as if his next choice of word would determine Karl¡¯s fate.


    ¡°Hmm, I was just curious as to when Lucas will return. As a TI, his efficiency is quite questionable.¡± Damien uttered.


    Almost immediately, Jasmine¡¯s body tensed up. She had thought the carriage was unsatisfactory. She was ready to apprehended Karl on the spot, but she never expected Damien was displeased with Lucas instead.


    ¡°I apologize. I¡¯ll get Lucas here right away.¡± Jasmine hurriedly said.


    ¡°Leave it.¡± Damien halted her and proceeded to take his seat. ¡°Who knows if you¡¯re incompetent like your teammate? By the time we get to the crime scene and they don¡¯t appear. Consider themselves off the case.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡± Jasmine nodded.


    Although not visible, it was evident that Jasmine was frightened by the statement. To be kicked out of the case before they even get to investigate anything was equivalent to a death sentence in their career. No one would want someone who got booted out of a case by a Seventh Order.


    The atmosphere turned awkward and tensed as soon as Damien made his decision. Even Karl was baffled on the spot at how the almighty TI would one day feel similar fear.


    ¡°What are you idling for either, Coachman?¡± Damien suddenly questioned when Karl seemed to be in a daze.


    ¡°Sorry, Sir, I¡¯ll get right to it.¡± Snapped out of his daze, Karl swiftly apologized and hopped on to the driver seat. He then pulled on the reins slightly to signal for the monster to advance.


    It was a monster but also not quite due to its heavy resemblance of a horse. It had the features of a horse, with the notable difference being that it had two heads.


    Damien was initially startled by the sight of the monster, but kept a calm expression on the surface. To ensure his act as a TI remained immaculate, he couldn¡¯t afford to ask many questions. These TIs would catch on that he was a fake if he were to act quite abnormally.


    While Damien remained seated inside the carriage, he could finally recollect his thoughts without any interference.


    ¡®It¡¯s clear that the Ninth Order aren¡¯t allowed on the crime scene alone. But how am I supposed to investigate anything when I don¡¯t have a clue of the suspect and victims?¡¯ He pursed his lips, his eyes staring at the window.


    Without his presence, it appeared that the pedestrians in the street returned to normal. Jasmine¡¯s presence was still outside, but Damien was able to detect the change in the pedestrians¡¯ expression.


    They were visibly more relaxed and unburdened without him in the open street. Having thought of that, Damien glanced down at the insignia pinned on his clothes¡ª more specifically, the engraving of the Seventh.


    ¡®Sigh, I want to call it quits already.¡¯ The Seventh engraved on the insignia felt more like a mockery of his current plight than a symbol of status or honor.

 Eliminated

    For the past 15 minutes, the carriage ride had been rather smooth. Damien managed to recollect most of the information he gathered and condensed them.


    Despite this, he was dissatisfied with the information. He was enlightened by the discovery of the tablet used by all TIs. The tablet supposedly contained a ton of profiles and information about the world.


    Without getting his hand on it, there was just that slight itch in Damien''s mind. ''Who made me a Seventh Order but left me completely clueless?''


    Just at this moment, the door on his carriage was knocked.


    "Investigator Damien, he has returned." Jasmine''s voice resounded from outside.


    Immediately, Damien opened the door with a slight smile on his face until he realized who had returned.


    His slight smile quickly faded and was replaced with a darkened expression.


    When the two TIs noticed his change of expression, their bodies shuddered briefly.


    "So it''s Lucas¡ª the great TI, who took his sweet time to deliver food," Damien exclaimed, his eyes piercingly cold.


    He had thought the person to return was Kyle¡ª the one responsible for the tablet. Yet it appeared that the higher the expectation, the greater the disappointment.


    His eyes quickly shifted to the bags of food that Lucas seemed to have brought.


    "Alright, hand it over and remain guard. Jasmine would cover the words I''ve said earlier." He said.


    "Yes," Lucas answered and gave the bag of food to Damien.


    Upon receiving the food, Damien shut the door in a somewhat displeased manner. He wanted to let them understand his displeasure and ensure they wouldn''t bother or interrupt him.


    As Damien wasn''t a picky eater so long as the food was edible, he didn''t care about its appearance. He simply took a few bites to fill up his satiety. While Damien was pondering over how his data seemed to correspond to this place, the journey continued.


    Outside of the carriage though, Lucas was informed and made aware of how close he was to being kicked out of the case.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    "You were lucky to return before the arrival of the crime scene," Jasmine stated.


    Nodding in agreement, Lucas couldn''t imagine that outcome. He didn''t doubt Jasmine''s words one bit. ''This Seventh Order is really unlike the rest that we''ve seen.''


    "Wait, does that mean Kyle is going to be eliminated?" Lucas asked.


    At their current pace, they would soon arrive at the crime scene located at VS 23rd Street in approximately 7-10 minutes. The distance from there to one of the TI''s branches wasn''t close either.


    "I don''t know, but he better use his speed to the maximum if he wants to remain in the team." Jasmine shrugged. She had no energy or leverage to be worried about others when her position was in peril as well.


    Lucas was also on the same page.


    ''I should have asked what type of food Damien wanted in the beginning.'' He thought to himself. He recalled how it took him a long time because he was scrambling everywhere to choose the food that might be suitable for Damien''s taste.


    Time quickly went by, and soon, Coachman Karl halted the carriage.


    "We have arrived, Sir." Karl turned around and reported.


    By now, Lucas and Jasmine''s expression was rather peculiar. After all, Kyle had still not returned. They were patiently waiting for whether or not Damien would proceed with his statement from earlier.


    Nevertheless, Jasmine swiftly opened the door for Damien, who nonchalantly stepped out. His gaze wandered around and when he noticed Kyle was still not in his presence. His mood turned sour.


    However, he didn''t have time to worry about this aspect yet.


    "This isn''t the crime scene," Damien uttered. His surroundings weren''t blocked by obstacles and there were many people still walking around. A crime scene shouldn''t have any non-personnel to be on the premises.


    Sure enough, Jasmine nodded and reported. "The crime scene is off-limit to regular people, so the carriage could only go as far as here."


    At the same time, she wanted to call Damien out for coming to the crime scene via a carriage. But she suppressed her urge.


    Speak less to avoid any further trouble. That was the motto of survival.


    "Sir, may I excuse myself then?" Karl suddenly requested. To be approaching the crime scene where TI was involved. He wanted nothing more than to flee from the scene already.


    Not to mention, he was just a lowly Coachman. His job should have been completed the moment he delivered the customer to their destination.


    Normally, he would have left already, but when the customer was a TI, he needed to provide proper respect.


    Meanwhile, Damien simply gazed at him for a brief second. "No, you may not. You will stay here and await my return when I require you."


    As soon as he made his speech, it was as if a huge boulder had come crashing down on Karl.


    "B-But Sir¡ª"


    Before Karl was able to speak further, he was swiftly cut off by the fierce gaze of Jasmine and Lucas. Their eyes were quite murderous. It was crystal clear about what their intention was.


    With a bittersweet smile, Karl could only accept the situation and park his carriage nearby.


    "Lead the way, Jasmine." Damien didn''t bother himself with that trivial matter. He was more focused on the crime scene and how to swindle his way to survive.


    While Jasmine gladly led the way, Lucas was about to follow behind until he was halted.


    "You stay here, Lucas," Damien instructed. "As soon as Kyle returns with the tablet. Take the tablet and inform him that he''s off the case. I do not allow incompetent people to be working alongside me."


    Almost immediately, both Jasmine and Lucas were horrified.


    ''He really meant his words?'' Their thought process was nearly identical.


    They seriously didn''t think a TI would be kicked off a case just like that.


    "Investigator Damien, not to interrupt. But we can have a fellow police officer wait for Kyle instead of waiting here blindly for him." Lucas suggested.


    As much as he wanted to accomplish the task, he preferred to be in the actual crime scene. Not some TI who had to block the perimeter off from non-personnel.


    "I do not wish to repeat myself," Damien uttered.


    He then turned to Jasmine and questioned, "How long did Lucas take to return from a trivial task?"


    "A little bit over 20 minutes." Answered Jasmine.


    "Then as punishment, he shall wait a little bit over 20 minutes. If Kyle doesn''t return by then, you may come to the crime scene. That is if you''re still needed."


    After saying his piece, Damien signaled for Jasmine to proceed forward.


    As the two strode off, Lucas only had one thing in mind.


    ''That Kyle is really dragging me down.'' His eyes glinted in a fierce light.

 Crime Scene

    As Lucas plays the waiting game for his failure of a colleague to arrive at the scene, his eyes subtly gaze at his other colleague.


    ''You''re so lucky, Jasmine.'' He clicked his tongue in a disgruntled manner. Had it not been for Damien''s calm composure, then Lucas would have suspected the former of having nefarious intent toward Jasmine.


    Naturally, it would have still been far-fetched, considering Damien''s status as a Seventh Order.


    What kind of women can''t he get as a Seventh Order?


    "Ugh, whatever. At least I''m still on the run and not eliminated." Lucas shook his head and walked toward the carriage where Coachman Karl was idling.


    "You, make a signboard with the writing TI Kyle. I''ll be waiting inside the carriage." He ordered. There was no way he would be willing to stand outside and be stared at like some sort of mascot. Damien only ordered him to wait, but never stated where and how.


    Therefore, sitting inside the carriage was still considered waiting as long as he intercepted Kyle. With his ability, Kyle would be dreaming if he could escape his perception.


    Meanwhile, Karl, who had been assigned another duty, raised numerous curses in his mind.


    ''You got ordered by your superior but dared not argue so you ordered me to vent. Serves you right.'' Karl dared not be rude at all to Damien, but the same could not be said for the Ninth Order.


    Indeed, they were feared, but definitely not that terrifying as opposed to a Seventh Order. At best, a Ninth Order could be considered a recent graduate versus a Seventh Order who was a veteran.


    ¡­


    "The foul stench is quite strong," Damien commented. His nose had been sniffing an unpleasant smell ever since approaching the crime scene.


    The carriage stopped just two streets prior to the crime scene, and the more they advanced, the more police officers in fancy uniforms were patrolling around.


    Their eyes were vigilant, and their body postures indicated that they were ready to attack and detain any non-personnel in the vicinity.


    Despite their seemingly cool and detached demeanor, they still bowed their heads slightly whenever they noticed Damien.


    As for Jasmine, they didn''t do much and almost brushed over her in the process.


    From that small gesture of theirs, Damien concluded that the insignia number was significant¡ª even in the police force.


    ''A Ninth Order is feared by regular pedestrians, but not at all in the police force. Interesting.'' There was so much new information Damien needed to keep up with it. He couldn''t afford any possible slip-up.


    Sometime later, Jasmine brought Damien to the house of the crime scene. To be more precise, the house appeared to be a mansion-kind.


    "Quite a big mansion." Damien glanced at the exterior and continued, "Yet only 3 victims found?"


    "Yes, the report said that only 3 victims were found and are registered members of the residency," Jasmine reported.


    "And based on the follow-up reports, it was said that the culprit was not spotted by any surveillance¡ª"


    Just before Jasmine could continue her report, Damien halted her.


    "Enough. The first rule of investigation. Never blindly trust in the report." Damien calmly said.


    "Throw out the reports that we received and start from scratch. Remember, you do not want any bias or judgment made prior." He added, warning her that it was a big taboo in a crime investigation.


    However, the truth was that he didn''t have a single clue of what the case was about. To ensure nothing was suspicious, he decided to throw her off by adding random nonsense.


    Naturally, Jasmine furrowed her brows. It was clear that she didn''t understand what he meant by throwing out the report. Each of the reports was meticulous and done by professionals.


    ''I supposed the Seventh is trying to train me from ground zero.'' She concluded. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    She refused to believe Damien would behave in such a manner if it wasn''t to guide her on the first case. This wasn''t Damien''s first case after all¡ª at least that was what she thought.


    "Understood, I shall open a new note," Jasmine responded. She retrieved her tablet and opened up a new page to record data from scratch.


    "The first clue is the foul stench," Damien said. "Since we have been delayed by a day already, and the crime was said to have happened two days ago. Then it makes sense that the putrefaction stage has already begun."


    The putrefaction stage only starts after the first couple of days when the body begins to smell really bad. The stage itself could last from four to ten days.


    However, the foul stench seemed excessive, which made Damien suspicious of the possible factors involved.


    Meanwhile, Jasmine recorded the statement on her tablet. As she jotted her notes, she suddenly recalled a detail.


    "Um, Investigator Damien, there is something else that is suspicious." She opened her mouth and wished to speak of the details, but was unsure whether she was allowed to.


    After all, Damien did instruct her to throw away any details of the report received from the past days.


    "What is suspicious?" Damien gestured for her to speak.


    "Corpses smell bad during decomposition, but the victims inside had yet to decompose according to the report. Till now, it is reported that the victims still appeared fine before their death." When Jasmine said her finding, she was worried about a scolding.


    What she did was no different than stating Damien''s words were wrong.


    Yet contrary to her expectation, Damien made no comment and simply nodded.


    He then took the lead to enter the mansion and was quickly greeted by a luxurious sight. The interior of the mansion was more intricate and decorative than what the exterior showed.


    The nearby police officers who were assigned to the scene quickly spotted Damien and the insignia on his clothes.


    "Greetings, Seventh Order TI. We are from the division branch code name Skyler, assigned to assist the TI in charge of this case." One of the higher-ranking police officers stepped forward and greeted Damien.


    Despite the greeting though, they were ignored by Damien. It wasn''t that Damien wanted to act cool and nonchalant either, but he was truly distracted by something else.


    ''Why is there a Diamond 3 poker card hovering in the lighting?'' Secretly alarmed, Damien thought he was hallucinating.


    While Damien''s gaze was hovering at the lighting decoration, the police officer who made the greetings became rather awkward.


    It was proper etiquette to greet or even acknowledge somewhat regardless of their position. This was especially true when they were all assigned to solve the complicated case.


    Even a TI would require help from local police officers, so a good connection and relationship was necessary. Otherwise, how is one supposed to work when you''re all alone?


    As the atmosphere gradually grew more tense, Jasmine had no choice but to intervene.


    "Greetings, officer. Please excuse my superior''s behavior." Jasmine calmly said and explained, "My superior is the type to be distracted as soon as he discovers some clues. If interrupted, then the clues might be disorientated."


    With Jasmine personally intervening and explaining the situation, the atmosphere finally returned to normal. She might be a Ninth Order, but a TI nonetheless.


    "Ah, I see¡­" Nodding, the officer didn''t suspect much. It was long known that higher TI was eccentric. It was just that they didn''t expect to encounter one of these traits so early on.


    "I''m Sergeant Eugene, responsible for guiding the TI." The officer introduced himself, as well as their rank. The Sergeant was a rank above the uniformed officer and detective.


    Uniformed officers were those who were assigned to the outside perimeter of the crime scene to prevent any non-personnel from entering the restricted area.


    As for detectives, they were the ones responsible for recording data and noting down the significant details found during the investigation. To summarize, the reports that Jasmine had been constantly repeating came from them.


    Meanwhile, the Sergeant was the person responsible for overseeing these two. It was the first supervisory rank, to say the least.


    "Nice to meet you, Sergeant Eugene. I''m Jasmine, a Ninth Order TI." Jasmine responded. She then glanced around the surroundings and began noting down what she saw.


    When Eugene noticed that she was jotting down notes, he was dumbfounded.


    "Did you find anything suspicious, TI Jasmine?" He asked curiously.


    Eugene was positive that he instructed his team to be extremely thorough with their investigations. Yet based on Jasmine''s action, it seemed like she had spotted something that wasn''t written in the report.


    With that mindset, Eugene was ready to rain hell on his team once they returned to the station. ''How dare they make me look like an incompetent supervisor in front of the TIs!''


    If words were to spread the TIs had to cover up a lot of mistakes from his Skyler Division. Then not only would he be reprimanded by his superior, but his chances of promotion would also slip away.


    How could he forgive anyone who robbed him of such an opportunity?


    The nearby detectives who sensed the displeasure of Eugene quickly felt pressured by the atmosphere.


    A few seconds went by, and Jasmine finished jotting down on her tablet. She turned to Eugene and replied, "Oh, I''m just noting down the things I see from scratch."


    "I-Is that so?" Eugene was surprised. "Were the reports we sent inadequate?"


    "The reports were great. It''s just that I wish to note things down based on my observation without any bias formed from the reports."


    "Tsk, so it''s just a newbie Ninth Order. No wonder she disregarded the detailed reports made by us." Almost immediately, a disgruntled detective snorted coldly. It was clear that they were annoyed by Jasmine''s behavior and how she made it seem like their work was done horribly.


    After all, the reports were all done and revised multiple times to ensure perfection.


    Meanwhile, Jasmine was astonished slightly by the comment made by the detective.


    Even Eugene was rather speechless when one of his detectives decided to make an unsightly remark on a TI. Almost immediately, Eugene had an awkward expression on his face, clearly unsure of what to do or say.


    Was the detective''s word wrong?


    Absolutely not, but that didn''t mean Eugene could agree with it on the surface either. The other party was a TI¡ª even if it was a Ninth Order. Respect should still be given.


    The tension was palpable, and Jasmine understood that Eugene had silently agreed with the detective''s word.


    ''Sigh, to make a clean report is indeed a blatant disrespect to the detective''s work.'' She smiled bitterly.


    The situation simply didn''t allow her to defend herself. A small incident like this could easily fester in an instant and cause a huge political fight between officers and TIs.


    Amidst the dreadful atmosphere, a voice suddenly echoed and attracted everyone''s attention.


    "I was wondering where the foul stench was emitting from, but it seemed to be coming from this source."


    Damien, who had initially been distracted by the Diamond 3 poker card, was interrupted by the detective''s remark. He wanted to inspect further, but the detective''s remark caused the Diamond 3 poker card to blink and subsequently disappear.


    The cause of it was self-explanatory, so Damien was naturally very annoyed and infuriated. That poker card was a clue and a hint of his current predicament. Yet before he could even get to the bottom of it, a mere detective sabotaged and ruined his chance.


    "I didn''t think a detective was this powerful to judge and demean the work habits of a TI. Or am I supposed to take this as a challenge and declaration of war?" Damien continued. His eyes stared down at the detective who made the unsightly remark.


    Although he was distracted, his perception had never changed. He was able to perceive things that occurred even when his eyes weren''t on it.


    This kind of ability was indeed surprising, but there was no point in questioning it.


    "Please do not misunderstand, Seventh Order." Eugene hurriedly rushed forward. "Detective Burke had no malicious intent."


    "No malicious intent?" Damien raised an eyebrow. He then smirked and revealed, "I was the one who told Jasmine to note down in a fresh view, but in your Detective Burke''s eyes. It''s the work of a newbie."


    THUD!


    As soon as Damien revealed he was the one responsible for the action, Eugene felt as if he had been struck with lightning. His steps became uneven.


    ''This is a mistake.'' Eugene realized the severity of the situation and regretted his previous inaction.

 Fury of a TI

    Droplets of sweat began to form on Eugene''s forehead when he realized his detective didn''t insult the Ninth Order.


    But rather the Seventh Order¡ª someone who could easily overturn their entire Skyler Division with a few simple words.


    "What are you still standing there for, Detective Burke?" Eugene turned to Burke and raised his voice.


    "Apologize for your behavior and seek forgiveness!" He then demanded.


    Burke, who didn''t anticipate the Ninth Order''s newbie work to be a command from the Seventh Order, was stupefied. After having been scolded by his supervisor, he snapped out of his daze and swiftly stepped forward.


    He bowed and apologized solemnly. "It was my mistake, Seventh Order. I didn''t have any intention of disrespecting your decision and work."


    "I''m not the person you made the unsightly remark." Damien didn''t even bat an eyelid on him.


    Nodding in understanding, Burke turned his attention to Jasmine and apologized once again.


    Deep down though, Burke felt ashamed and angered by the humiliation he received today.


    All he did was speak up to defend the honor and integrity of their station. Even Eugene had agreed with his remarks¡ª until Damien decided to step in.


    ''Are TIs really that great?'' Burke cursed silently. He was positive that Damien only spoke up to defend his junior''s mistake. He refused to believe such a command could be made by someone in the Seventh Order.


    In hindsight, Burke was disgruntled that the TIs got to defend each other by demeaning others, but their division wasn''t allowed to.


    Jasmine was caught in an awkward position when Burke went to apologize to her.


    She was unsure of whether to accept the apology or not. After all, Damien clearly appeared to be quite displeased with Burke.


    Such a feeling was commonly known as being "sandwiched".


    If she accepted the apology, then her superior, Damien, might be dissatisfied with her. However, if she refused the apology, then the tension between the TI and officers would rise due to her.


    ''Why do I feel jealous of Lucas right now?'' Jasmine wanted nothing more than to have someone pull her out of such a sticky situation.


    Despite her desperate prayer, there was no such thing in this world. She was stuck completely, and Damien also lost interest in her decision.


    The truth was that Damien was willing to let the matter go if Jasmine simply accepted the apology. After all, he didn''t want the matter to fester either, considering he was still unsure of his identity.


    But thanks to Jasmine''s hesitation, Damien mistakenly believed that she was too embarrassed and ashamed to respond.


    ''Who told me to give her such a command to protect my secret? If I don''t take Burke down a notch, then my identity will be suspected.'' Damien sighed inwardly and turned to Burke.


    "A detective who doesn''t know the rules isn''t suited to be at a crime scene¡ªor any in the future. I''m sure Sergeant Eugene would agree with that statement, wouldn''t he?" He declared solemnly.


    Sergeant Eugene was a name he had caught during the introduction between himself and Jasmine, even though his attention had been drawn to the Diamond 3. It wasn''t intentional, but his superior hearing had picked it up nonetheless.


    Eugene pursed his lips before shaking his head in defeat.


    When Burke noticed that kind of reaction, his expression turned rather pale.


    Sure enough, Eugene announced with a determined tone. "Detective Burke tarnished the reputation of a TI with his remarks and shall thus be demoted to a common uniformed officer. He is also barred from being at any crime scene in the future."


    "Sergeant Eugene?" Shouted Burke in disbelief. "How could you just punish me like that?"


    Besides Burke, even the nearby detectives were stupefied by the harsh punishment. It was totally unwarranted. Despite this, none dared to physically voice their complaint.


    After all, they knew Eugene didn''t make the decision on his own will, but in the will of a Seventh Order. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    This was the fury of a TI. A fury capable of destroying one man''s career with a simple statement.


    "I refuse to accept this punishment." Argued Burke when he noticed no one had spoken up on his behalf. He couldn''t believe his colleagues would turn a blind eye completely.


    When his eyes gazed at them, they would all avoid it and pretend to look elsewhere.


    "Are you still going to waste more of my time Sergeant Eugene?" Damien raised his voice, his tone slightly dark. "When did a uniformed officer become qualified to be involved in the investigation? Or was this your Skyler Division specialty?"


    "My apologies." Eugene swiftly excused his inefficiency and turned to two other detectives.


    "Detective Gerald and Detective Sheila, escort the intruded uniform officer away from the crime scene." He ordered solemnly.


    Both Gerald and Sheila glanced at each other briefly before nodding. In a swift manner, they easily detained Burke, who could barely resist after receiving such a shock.


    A few seconds later, Burke was effectively barred from the crime scene. His demotion, as well as his offense in slighting a Seventh Order TI, was rapidly spread across.


    It didn''t take very long for Burke''s plight to be well known. Despite still being a uniform officer, it was clear that he was maligned and isolated by fellow uniform officers.


    Frustrated and feeling humiliated, Burke clenched his fist.


    "TIs are just a bunch of bullies." As he spoke of such a statement while exiting the perimeter, Burke never anticipated his words had been overheard by someone. Someone whom Burke would have never thought to see outside the crime scene perimeter.


    "I''ve just received news that my superior punished an unruly detective, but I didn''t expect the unruly detective to have zero remorse. They even continued to speak badly of us TIs."


    Startled, Burke got goosebumps all over his arms when he felt a sense of deja vu.


    Sure enough, when Burke realized who had just spoken, his eyes turned hazy from the familiar clothes. The clothes resembled none other than the TIs he just spoke badly about.


    Indeed, the person Burke saw was precisely Lucas, who had been ordered to remain outside to wait for Kyle.


    Lucas was already bored out of his mind, so having encountered such a pest, his lips instantly curled upward.


    "You know¡­ I was punished by my superior, the Seventh, as well. But I never dared to speak ill of him¡ªnot even in my thoughts. Do you know why was that" Lucas asked as he approached Burke.


    Before waiting for a response, Lucas continued, his hand conjuring a glowing magic spell. "That''s because he''s a Seventh Order¡ªand my superior. A person who has proven himself worthy and capable of such an act."


    "Nooooo!" Burke screamed in terror, spinning around to flee.


    But without any Transcendent power, Burke was nothing more than an ant in Lucas''s eyes.


    In the blink of an eye, Burke''s very existence vanished¡ªgone from the scene, Velgrave, and perhaps this world entirely.


    Coachman Karl and the nearby uniformed officers didn''t so much as flinch, paying no heed to the spectacle.


    ....


    While Burke''s very existence was wiped out, there was practically zero reaction.


    Lucas casually returned to the inside of the carriage and said, "Let me know when my colleague arrives or not."


    "Yes Sir." Karl nodded in response. Fear was still within his eyes, but there was no sympathy or pity for the deceased Burke. Even he didn''t dare to curse a TI aloud and merely kept it in mind.


    Burke was truly courting death for disrespecting a TI in public¡ªright after his demotion was made known as well. Had Burke remained a detective, then the situation would have been a bit tricky.


    However, a uniformed officer''s death was not a big deal whatsoever. That was especially true if the reason for their death was speaking ill of a TI.


    A TI could legally execute any low-ranking person on the spot as long as they had reasonable clauses. No, in fact, they could just execute them based on speculation regardless if there was evidence or not.


    This was precisely what made people widely feared the TIs.


    Naturally, such a privilege was usually held for the higher-ranked TI. A Ninth Order wasn''t allowed to behave in such a manner unless they had legitimate proof. Or their identity was special enough¡ªas in having a great background or connection within the TIs.


    And in this particular case, Burke provided two great reasons to enable Lucas to act.


    First, Burke publicly spoke ill of the TIs for no reason, and second, it was witnessed by a lot of people.


    Legitimate proof was obtained on the spot, and most importantly, the person that Burke spoke ill of wasn''t just any TI, but a Seventh Order one.


    Such an amateur mistake wouldn''t have occurred if Burke was in his right state of mind. However, to be demoted and lost his career path because of his unsightly remark. It was a big blow to him.


    Eventually, Burke met his demise due to being unable to overcome the adversity.


    The death of Burke was just a small matter in the eyes of many, and no one even bothered to raise a concern. The nearby uniformed officers also chose to turn a blind eye and remained on their duty. So long as they were doing their duty, Lucas wouldn''t be targeting them either.


    While this occurred outside of the crime scene, Damien remained unaware of his cause-and-effect action. He merely wanted to safeguard his identity and authority. His intention was never to take Burke''s life.


    However, the news didn''t take long for it to reach his ears.


    "Investigator Damien, I''ve received a message from Lucas." Jasmine then proceeded to explain the skirmishes that occurred outside.


    When Damien received the news that Burke was killed right after cursing him in public, he was silent.


    His expression on the surface remained unchanged, but deep inside, he was alarmed. ''A human life was lost just like that? And why was her voice so calm and collected?''


    Since Jasmine relayed the news in the presence of Eugene and the remaining detectives, her intention was made clear to them.


    She might not have wished to incur any conflict between them, but that didn''t mean the officers were allowed to insult and smear TI''s name. This was especially so if the TI was of a high rank.


    Damien was their superior, and to insult their superior in public was equivalent to a slap across the face. Had Jasmine and Lucas'' positions were to be swapped, then Jasmine would have done the same thing as well.


    Her fear for Damien was not formed due to the difference in their rankings, but rather by his achievement and the respect she held for him.


    "This is indeed an oversight on my part." Suddenly, Eugene took a step and bowed 90-degree toward Damien.


    "I didn''t expect to have raised an unruly person in my Skyler Division and resulted in today''s disgrace. Please forgive my poor leadership and judgment." He apologized solemnly. Eugene was extremely worried that the matter wouldn''t rest with just Burke''s death, but their entire Skyler Division.


    Never once did Eugene anticipate a detective of his choosing could be so foolish as to publicly shame a high-ranked TI.


    A few minutes had gone by, and Damien remained quiet. The atmosphere was so silent that it actually appeared loud on the surface.


    ''I should have gone further in my punishment against Burke. Even in death, he still caused more trouble for me.'' Eugene was feeling extremely worried that Damien might choose to implicate him and the rest as well.


    Each second seemed no different than a grim reaper hovering their scythe around their neck. It would only require one simple gesture for their neck to be disconnected from the rest of their body.


    With all eyes now on Damien, the latter finally opened his mouth.


    "The mistake was caused by Burke and he had paid the price for it already. There''s no need to worry about anything, Sergeant Eugene." He calmly said and essentially pardoned them.


    ''This world is really living life on the edge.'' He thought to himself. The truth was that he spent a while to reply because he needed to compose himself and remained nonchalant. Just one slip-up from him would incur suspicions and his very life might have ended here on the spot.


    As Eugene breathed a sigh of relief that the incident ended with Burke''s death, Damien was once again distracted.


    ''It appeared again.'' Alarmed, Damien noticed the position and brightness of the Diamond 3 card had shifted. Previously, it was at the top of the lighting, but now it was near a wall decorated with some fancy paintings.


    ''Could it be a clue?'' At this point, Damien refused to believe the reappearance of the Diamond 3 card to be random.


    There must have been some sort of linkage behind it¡ªas well as his presence in this unfamiliar world.


    "Jasmine, keep taking notes and discuss with the fellow detectives for insight. Don''t make any loud noise or distract me in the process unless I call for you." Damien warned and walked toward the decorated wall.


    To prevent a similar situation from occurring, he made sure to warn solemnly so that the Diamond 3 wouldn''t disappear because of external factors.

 Link and Traces

    After Damien emphasized that he did not wish to be disturbed, the crowd at the crime scene nearly went completely silent.


    The situation was no different than a library where everyone must remain quiet or have their tone lowered.


    Although Damien did permit them to discuss the case. Not to mention the fellow detectives, even Jasmine was afraid of accidentally disturbing him in the process.


    Burke was already the greatest example of what would happen if you disturbed Damien''s investigation.


    With that knowledge integrated into their mindset, Eugene glanced at Jasmine with an awkward expression.


    He resorted to using a notepad to write down what he wanted to convey. Similarly Jasmine used her tablet to reply and converse. As their behavior and action was extremely ridiculous, Damien paid no heed to them.


    They all looked like some hilarious people in a comedy sketch, but deep down, Damien knew they could turn into cold and ruthless people in the blink of an eye.


    The moment he slipped up¡ªwas the day he would meet his demise like Burke.


    As Damien approached the wall and inspected the paintings, or more specifically, the painting that the Diamond 3 was constantly illuminating.


    ''Seems like it''s intangible.'' Damien attempted to extend his hand to reach out to the Diamond 3 card.


    But as if it was a ghost-like object, his hand simply passed through the card, causing it to fluctuate a little bit. It appeared glitch and deformed, so he had no choice but to retract his hand.


    With his hand retracted, the Diamond 3 card regained its form and attached itself to the painting.


    The painting depicted a man with a foot stepped on top of a monster corpse. It was a common style of art, but the most notable thing that took his attention was the face of the man. The face was blurred out and dyed in black and red.


    ''Aside from a bit of creepiness, what else is special about it?'' He tilted his head, his brows furrowing. He was not an artistic person, to begin with. Therefore, he couldn''t make heads or tails with just a painting alone.


    He spent the next few minutes trying to identify what was wrong or suspicious about the painting.


    However, he didn''t receive any sort of enlightenment whatsoever. He had thought the flashing Diamond 3 card would somehow react after scrutinizing the painting, but nothing happened. In the end, without any clues, Damien decided to do the unthinkable.


    "Jasmine, bring me a pair of gloves." Damien raised his voice and demanded.


    As much as he wished to extend his hand to touch the frame of the paintings. He wasn''t ignorant enough to leave behind fingerprints, and possibly contamination to the crime scene itself.


    Meanwhile, Jasmine, who had been busy communicating through the use of her tablet, became stunned.


    "A pair of gloves?" Startled, Jasmine quickly darted her eyes at Eugene. She didn''t have an extra pair, much less one suitable for Damien''s size.


    Thankfully, Eugene had an extra pair in his pocket. He retrieved them and handed them over to Jasmine.


    Sometime later, Jasmine brought the gloves over to Damien.


    "Here''s the gloves you requested, Investigator Damien." She said.


    Despite being a request of his, she was still somewhat nervous of disturbing him. After all, she had noted in mind that the painting seemed to be a clue or contained something that attracted his attention.


    ''Investigator spent more than 5 minutes on this painting already. What could I have missed?'' She wondered, unable to figure out the suspicious link between it and the crime scene. Till now, they had yet to physically check on the corpses¡ªmuch less the room of the murder.


    While she was confused by the situation¡ªor the typical conduct of his, Damien continued to be in his own world. He grabbed the gloves and put them on. The smooth fabric of the gloves made it seem like he wasn''t wearing anything.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    "The quality isn''t bad." He commented in an attempt to distract her from comprehending his action.


    With the gloves on, Damien now extended his hand to touch the framework of the painting. When there was no reaction on one side, he proceeded to touch another.


    Finally, without any progress, Damien decided to risk it. He retrieved the painting from the wall and was about to open the protective case.


    "Um, Investigator Damien. Pardon my interruption, but the painting is worth at least 500 gold coins. If you open the protective case, then the value might lower." Jasmine suddenly warned.


    She was unsure of why Damien was so concentrated on the painting. Therefore, she done some researches through her tablet and was astonished to learn of the pricing.


    She had thought it was just some simple painting, but it was actually a famous painting by a famed deceased painter. Its value was 500 gold coins, but if placed in an auction, the value could easily doubled or tripled.


    Although TIs were technically immune to the common laws, ruining a supposed sacred painting or any type of artistic value would bring criticism.


    Meanwhile, Jasmine''s interruption brought light to Damien''s plight.


    "Jasmine, how much did you say this painting is worth?" He remained in position, but his gaze was turned to him.


    His gaze was piercingly sharp, almost as if it was capable of injuring her in the process.


    Nevertheless, Jasmine managed to compose herself after having interacted with him for a while already.


    She took a deep breath and explained the situation. "The painting is worth 500 gold coins after the painter died five years ago. With the painter''s death, their paintings'' value had soared unexpectedly and the one we''re seeing right now is called The Conquered Beast."


    "The Conquered Beast huh." He murmured, his gaze darting back to the painting. As soon as he did, the Diamond 3 card became more visible and clear to him.


    Alarmed, Damien wondered what was the meaning behind it. ''Could it be that this painting is a fake?''


    With that thought, the next second, the Diamond 3 card turned even clearer.


    ''The mansion owner bought a fake?'' When he came to this next thought, the Diamond 3 card seemed to fade slightly.


    Realization quickly dawned upon Damien when this scenario happened.


    "I see¡­ so this is the Link." He muttered with a brief smile.


    The appearance of the Diamond 3 card was indeed mysterious. But with mystery, there had to be a way to solve the mystery.


    Just like how a coin has two sides, the same goes for mystery.


    ''So the appearance of this Diamond 3 card is related to my conjecture into pinpointing the solution.'' Damien glanced at the The Conquered Beast painting.


    The card faded slightly when he thought the mansion owner bought a fake painting. This meant that the mansion owner didn''t buy a fake.


    ''The mansion owner bought a real painting, but this current one is fake. By logical sense, this means the real one had been swapped with a fake.'' He thought.


    Immediately afterward, Damien scrutinized the changes in the Diamond 3 card. Sure enough, its visibility became even more clear.


    "Investigator Damien, did you figure out something?" Jasmine asked softly. She had just explained the value of the painting to him, but he seemed to be distracted once again.


    Truth to be told, she was honestly losing her sanity when dealing with Damien.


    Not only was he constantly distracted, but he was also unpredictable with his commands and questions.


    It was to the point that she wondered if the person in front of her was an importer. However, that would have been impossible, given that he was able to access her tablet and received zero backlashes.


    A few seconds later, Damien stood up and turned to Jasmine. His eyes were cold and there was a lace of anger within it.


    Frightened, Jasmine subconsciously retreated her steps. "I''m sorry for asking too many questions."


    "What are you sorry for?" Damien''s expression returned to normal, completely unaware of his cold aura. "Get the detectives and tell them to start tracking down the black market and any channel where they are selling paintings."


    "Paintings?" Startled, Jasmine raised an eyebrow and turned her attention to the painting. "Is ''The Conquered Beast'' a fake?"


    Nodding, Damien confirmed her speculation. "The actual painting had been swapped, and the killer''s motive of the murder should be related to selling high-value paintings."


    Previously, he had made many speculations to confirm the Diamond 3 card validity. In the end, he came to a conclusion.


    The real painting was indeed purchased by the mansion owner, but it had now been swapped and replaced with a fake.


    His suspicion was confirmed the moment he concluded the painting swap was committed by the culprit, and the Diamond 3 illuminated brightly before flying elsewhere.


    At the moment, Damien was positive that his ability seemed to be equivalent to tracing and the Diamond 3 was the guide.


    ''But the lighting decoration remained a mystery.'' Damien recalled that the Diamond 3 card appeared first in the lighting, but it seemed to be no longer highlighting it.


    If his chain of logic had been correct so far, then it meant that the lighting was no longer viable in the investigation.


    While Damien was back to his deep thinking, Jasmine wasted no time to inform Sergeant Eugene.


    "Sergeant Eugene, the Seventh has figured out a clue," Jasmine reported.


    "A clue?" Alarmed, Eugene was stupefied by Damien''s efficiency. "What kind of clue is it?"


    "The clue is that the painting, The Conquered Beast, had been swapped with a fake. The Seventh has ordered a complete lockdown on the black market activity and any channel relevant to selling the paintings. It''s related highly to the culprit, so do get a move on."


    In the next instance, Eugene pulled out a radio and issued the command without hesitation. There was no need for verification of whether Damien''s statement was correct or wrong. It would have been a joke and a blatant disrespect to Damien''s skill if he delayed or questioned the matter.


    How could a Seventh Order be wrong?


    "Detective Gerald and Detective Sheila, immediately make a thorough search for the authentic painting," Eugene commanded his detectives.


    Detective Gerald nodded and quickly suggested. "I''ll personally head over to lead the team."


    "Very well, then Detective Sheila shall remain here to assist the Investigators." Eugene agreed.


    Shortly after, Eugene, Gerald, and the few detectives left the scene. Despite their intent being well, Jasmine could tell that they left in a hurry to avoid dealing with Damien.


    As for Sheila, she frowned in place. As a woman in the police station, discrimination was extremely common. Thus, to be isolated from them and unanimously assigned to stay at the crime scene was within her expectations.


    After all, if Damien wished to end another detective''s life, it was better for her to be the one than the other detectives.


    "My sympathy to you." Jasmine suddenly said. She could relate to Sheila''s plight, given that she had faced hardship during the academy. In fact, even now, she is facing challenges from fellow Ninth Order TIs.


    "Thanks." Sheila smiled bitterly. Honestly, she was used to being the oddball out anyway. Just that she didn''t expect they were this ruthless enough to leave her to handle a Seventh Order TI.


    Amidst their conversation, they were quickly interrupted by Damien.


    "Jasmine, where''s the corpses?" Damien asked. Previously, his emotion was affected because he received some sort of connection to one of the victims. It was really supernatural and almost frightening, to say the least.


    The experience was equivalent to being in the victim''s perspective. And the victim appeared to be the mansion owner''s wife. Although he had gotten most of the data from Jasmine''s tablet, the situation still horrified him.


    Was he going to lose himself while investigating?


    That was the struggle and debate he had internally. But in the end, Damien decided to find these traces.


    The more unsure and mysterious an incident was¡ªthe better his chance were to figure out his predicament. He had no wish of dying and losing his life in this unfamiliar place.


    "The corpses?" Dumbfounded, Jasmine realized she had yet to inspect the corpses as well, much less where they were.


    "I''ll guide you to it, Investigator." Sheila subsequently stepped in and suggested.


    "You are?" Damien turned his attention to her and browsed through his memory. "Ah, you''re called Sheila. How come you''re the only detective remaining? Where did the rest go?"

 Transcendent Path

    Damien was so distracted that he failed to notice the crime scene only had two people remaining whilst the rest had left.


    Worst of all, they were women. It wasn''t that Damien was against women or anything but with his current demeanor.


    The scene could easily be depicted and mistaken as him wanting to do some insidious intent toward them. After all, he personally sent away two male TIs and now even the male detectives were gone.


    ''Is someone trying to frame me for being a predator?'' It was never too much to be cautious of such a ploy.


    Nevertheless, Sheila didn''t understand the internal turmoil within Damien''s mind and thought it was a misogynist guy again.


    ''This isn''t going well for me.'' Sheila sighed inwardly but kept a professional expression on the surface.


    "The corpses are located at the main crime scene on the 2nd floor." Sheila said and continued, "I shall guide you there."


    "Alright." Damien nodded, completely unaware of her misconception.


    Sometime later, on the 2nd floor, Damien''s nose was ambushed by the foul stench. His brows furrowed from the intense smell.


    Previously, he had been overwhelmingly distracted so his five senses weren''t as alerted. But now that he wished to investigate the corpses, the stenches seemed to have amplified.


    Besides Damien, even Sheila and Jasmine weren''t faring well from the smell.


    "How did the stench intensify this much?" Jasmine covered her nose and asked.


    "Last night, the smell was still bearable. But the forensics didn''t mention anything about the decomposition being this bad." Sheila narrowed her eyes and explained.


    "But why hadn''t the corpses been transferred to the forensics department yet?" Jasmine questioned again.


    "Because if we transfer the corpses, then the lingering magic and traces would also be disrupted." Sheila smiled bitterly in response to such an amateur question.


    When Sheila explained the reason, Jasmine realized how dumb her question was. The Academy never gave them real practical experience on a murder case involving Transcendent.


    All they had was a simulation where everything was controlled and the corpses didn''t emit such foul stench.


    Due to their lack of experience, it truly wasn''t unusual for them to clash with the detectives at the crime scene.


    The detectives were experienced investigators, but their only flaw was unable to conjure magic. Had they been capable of conjuring magic, then they would have become a TI.


    After all, a TI''s main job was never about crime-solving of murder cases. It was about the surveillance of Transcendent and the dangers that lurk in the wilderness.


    Sometime later, they arrived at the room of the murder, and Damien''s eyes narrowed. Three corpses were lay flat on the ground, and each one seemed to have suffered a blunt trauma prior tot their death.


    ''As expected, the Diamond 3 card is here.'' Damien was focused on the sight of the card which hovered at the female corpse.


    In this room, there were a total of three corpses. Two female and one male. The male appeared to be in his 50s. One of the female appeared to be in their 40s and another one to be in her 20s.


    "The deceased male is Carlos Lester, aged 54, a first-class merchant. His wealth alone could make him considered to be a Noble. The older female is aged 45, Olivia Lester, a housewife. The younger female is aged 21, Agatha Lester, a student of Livingston Academy." Sheila reported.


    "Livingston Academy? Isn''t that at another city?" Astonished, Jasmine was stupefied.


    "Yes, Livingston Academy is located at Kodacrest," Sheila answered but found it confusing that she was that surprised. "Everything was recorded in the report we''ve sent previously."


    In response, Jasmine cleared her throat and flashed an awkward expression. Nevertheless, her eyes subtly darted at Damien.


    Instantly, Sheila understood the situation. Without a doubt, she remained unaware of the information because of Damien''s instruction.


    Meanwhile, Damien wasn''t ignorant enough to not notice the change in atmosphere.


    "Jasmine, now that you have been informed. What do you find suspicious?" He hurriedly asked, pretending like an instructor who dictated questions to the students.


    Caught off-guard, Jasmine took a second to compose herself. She racked her brain up and realized what was amiss.


    "Ah, the female student, Agatha is aboard for school. Livingston Academy at Kodacrest is extremely far from Velgrave, but right now it''s still an academy session. By logic, Agatha shouldn''t be present here." Jasmine explained.


    Currently, the academy session was in progress, which meant students shouldn''t be out unless there were special circumstances. This was especially so when the student was living in the dorm which had strict regulations. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Nodding in agreement, Damien turned his gaze to Sheila.


    "Yes, that is correct." Sheila responded and continued, "We already contacted the detectives at Kodacrest to inquire about the situation. Agatha did take a leave of absence to return to Velgrave to celebrate her father''s 55th birthday."


    "Eh, but isn''t the victim only 54?" Jasmine was taken aback.


    "The victim is 54 but about to turn 55. Though he did turn 55 after his death. But on the record, his time of death was aged 54." Damien explained this time and got the gist of the situation.


    While he gave Jasmine a question, he had been testing the theory he figured out earlier. The test was a success, and the Diamond 3 card on Olivia''s corpse also vanished from the scene.


    It was just a pity that the card flew straight up this time, which meant that the clues or hints were no longer at the mansion.


    Nevertheless, Damien received the whole picture of what had occurred during the time of the crime.


    Damien stepped forward, inspected the female corpses, and deduced. "Olivia had signs of being in sexual intercourse prior to her death, but Agatha also had signs of such action. Except, she seemed to be defied and violated after her death."


    "¡­"


    This time, both Sheila and Jasmine widened their eyes in shock.


    "Forensics did mention that both females have signs of being penetrated in their private part, but they had yet to unravel the time of occurrence." Sheila twitched her brows.


    What she meant was that Damien seemed to figure things out that their forensics department had yet to do so.


    That too in a matter of seconds.


    And when Sheila revealed how their investigation had yet to reach such a stage, Jasmine''s eyes turned to a new light as she gazed at Damien.


    ''As expected of the Seventh.'' She thought to herself. Time and time again, she suspected Damien to be an impostor despite having no evidence. However, it became clear that she was merely overthinking.


    With just a few glances, Damien already managed to figure out the gist of the crime occurrence.


    She didn''t even doubt Damien''s statement would be false since he wouldn''t have spoken up without any evidence.


    "The Seventh is indeed amazing." Jasmine clasped her hands and praised.


    "What''s so amazing about it?" Contrary to her expectations, Damien wasn''t happy.


    "A crime occurred under the eyes of police officers and escaped unscathed. There should have been TIs dispatched at Velgrave as well, but even they hadn''t discovered anything until a day had passed. This is a disgrace." He continued, choosing to reprimand them.


    By behaving in such a manner and not conceit, he established the image of an authentic Seventh Order TI.


    A Seventh was feared and highly respected, which should have meant they held more achievement. To act complacent or joyful at discovering something like this would have been suspicious instead.


    Sure enough, the admiration in Jasmine''s eyes seemed to brighten in response.


    "This is indeed our division''s oversight," Sheila admitted. Their inefficiency had resulted in the difficulty of the case.


    "So we now know the culprit had a relationship with the wife, but the daughter was defied post-mortem." Jasmine knitted her brows.


    Since Damien already mentioned the wife had intercourse but the husband didn''t have any signs of such activity. It made sense that the wife was having an affair.


    Based on such chronological order, it was safe to assume the culprit was some vile and disgusting bastard.


    "The culprit didn''t just make love with the wife, but even forced his way on the wife''s daughter after her death. This is definitely in line with some psychotic Transcendent." She continued, feeling infuriated by the situation.


    Meanwhile, Damien remained stoic on the surface. The truth was that he had already experienced what Jasmine said through the lenses of the deceased wife, Olivia.


    He had the supernatural type of action that showed him the scene of Olivia moaning in delight with the culprit who was blurred out completely.


    And during their rendezvous affair, the husband returned early with a somewhat agitated expression as he caught the two.


    From there, the situation took a turn for the worse which ultimately ended up getting Carlos killed. But that wasn''t the end of it when their daughter, Agatha returned from Livingston Academy and witnessed the act.


    The rest of the scene was quite disturbing with the wife regretting her action due to the culprit''s intent to silence them all.


    Once the heat of the crime was committed, it was also at that moment the culprit noticed the allure of Agatha and proceeded to defy her. During the bastardly act, Olivia still had some breathing left. Thus, Damien was able to capture the scene and understand her rage.


    ''Having an affair wasn''t enough, but the man she had it with smuggled their artwork behind their back and even ruined their daughter''s future.'' Damien''s internal emotion was truly affected somewhat.


    These people were unrelated to him. But thanks to the link with Olivia, he felt anger and regret when watching her beloved daughter fall under such a heinous deed.


    ''I''m no saint. I''m just going to do this for my survival.'' Damien ultimately decided to chase this culprit personally. Whatever it was, this case should be a door to his locked and unknown ability.


    The foul stench that had been affecting him vanished ever since the link with Olivia was completed. His clarity also increased further and he felt his body being very light.


    The previous fatigue that was piled up on him also seemed to have healed itself.


    "Investigator Damien, what should we do now?" Sheila asked. "We''ve figured out the crime, but no clue about the culprit."


    "Jasmine, give me your tablet." Rather than responding right away, Damien requested Jasmine''s tablet to browse through some information.


    A few minutes later, Damien finally understood the meaning of the Diamond 3 card. The Diamond suit itself didn''t hold much significance, but the number 3 did.


    Apparently, Transcendent was seriously just a general term for all those with extraordinary magical power. Within the Transcendent, there were different paths that truly separated the classes.


    Ace Path which symbolizes the Ace card, the King Path for Kings, the Queen Path for Queens, the Jack Path for Jacks, and finally, the Number Path.


    Number Path was the most unique given it was separated into multiple sections: numbers 2-4, 5-7, and 8-10.


    Most people who received the blessing of power usually start in the Number Path and slowly ascend in the path. But naturally, there were some minorities who began in the Special Path from the start.


    Special Path being the Ace, King, Queen, and Jack.


    However, that was just the simplification, given that each path specialized in different things and could be subjected to change depending on the user.


    ''So Jasmine is a 6th Path.'' Damien felt a headache from trying to comprehend the sophisticated power level in this world.


    Nevertheless, he was able to confirm that the culprit was categorized in the Number Path as 3rd.


    He took a deep breath, returned the tablet to Jasmine, and stared at Sheila.


    Upon being stared at intensely, Sheila felt her body tense up just from his piercing eyes that seemed to penetrate her inner mind and heart.


    "Sheila, get a list of every registered Transcendent in Velgrave, specifically in the Number Path between 2 to 5. Also, make sure to tell them that not a single bug is allowed to leave the city. Once caught, make sure they are detained on the spot." Damien commanded.


    Although he knew it was the 3rd Path, he couldn''t possibly reveal it without having any proper evidence.


    It would also complicate the matter if they became curious about how he knew.


    "Understood," Sheila saluted and hurriedly left the crime scene to inform her Superior.

 The Unraveling

    Shortly after Sheila made her exit, Jasmine patiently waited for a command.


    "Jasmine, get Lucas over here," Damien demanded. "You can also tell him to forget about Kyle. Since he still hadn''t appeared, then he could forget about showing up anymore."


    Nodding, Jasmine received the command and was about to contact him through the tablet.


    However, she was quickly halted by Damien.


    "I said get him, not contact him." Damien said and continued, "Besides getting him, I also want you to question Coachman Karl about the road within the vicinity. He should know a lot about it as a Coachman."


    "Y-Yes," Anxious, Jasmine failed to realize the intent of Damien and subtly regretted her previous action.


    ''Ugh, his impression of me is definitely lowered now.'' Frustrated, Jasmine was positive she did well piecing the clues together and relaying the story to him.


    However, that small mistake of hers could have just caused all the favorable impressions to vanish into thin air.


    As Jasmine swiftly exited the scene, the only one remaining was Damien.


    After he confirmed there were no more presences, Damien turned his gaze to Olivia.


    He breathed a soft sigh and said, "You''re dead, but I''m sure you can still perceive us and our conversation."


    Silence took over the atmosphere. At a glance, it appeared as if Damien went nuts and was attempting to talk to a dead corpse.


    However, Damien was certain that the corpse was conscious.


    Similar to how the people in this world could conjure magic, any supernatural stuff was positive. Additionally, the constant linking and clues in his investigation were definitely not a coincidence.


    Another few seconds later, there was still no reaction.


    "You can keep pretending, but I supposed I should request an autopsy on your daughter''s corpse. After all, it''s the perfect way to get a clearer idea of what happened, right?" Damien calmly said.


    Autopsy should have been the first thing done whenever there was a corpse in a murder. But because there had been a delay in his arrival, the corpse remained as it was to allow the TIs to spot anything unusual first.


    And now that the investigation part of the corpse was completed. If Damien didn''t intervene further, then the Skyler Division would transfer the corpse to the forensics department for autopsy.


    An autopsy usually involves the dissection of a corpse for a thorough examination to determine the cause and manner of death.


    Sure enough, Olivia''s corpse started to show signs of responding. But rather than the body being resurrected as if it were a zombie, a transparent-like figure appeared instead.


    The transparent-like figure held the same facial appearance and body measurement as Olivia.


    ''Is this what they called a soul?'' Damien thought. Soul was a concept that he had heard about back in his original world, but it had never been confirmed or verified.


    After all, who could see the soul of a person? And even if someone did, they would find it difficult to prove much.


    "As expected of a Seventh Order TI. Your reputation precedes you." The soul, Olivia, said in a bittersweet tone.


    While completely startled by the sight, Damien remained unfazed on the surface.


    "You''re the one who''s been giving me clues secretly, right?" He questioned, completely ignoring her statement.


    Olivia took a moment before responding. "You''re half correct and half wrong. I''m merely a lingering soul who has anger and regret. That will is what allowed me to remain here for the time being. I do not have the power to direct you, but the laws of the world seemed to have permitted me."


    "The laws of the world?"


    "Mhm, as a Transcendent, you receive your power from the laws of the world. You should be aware of this, but somehow, I cannot communicate nor direct any hints to the fellow detectives or TIs except you."


    ''So the laws of the world were what permitted to see the flashing Diamond 3 card.'' Damien was alarmed.


    Did this mean that the laws of the world had already noticed his presence and were watching him constantly?


    Although such information should have been confusing and hard to accept, he didn''t feel such emotion. Rather, he felt as if it was common knowledge that he had long known but forgotten.


    Such a phenomenon was usually equivalent to a comatose patient who woke up with some loss of memory and time may or may cause their lost memory to resurface.


    Shaking his head, Damien decided to not stray off too much.


    "Since you''re capable of communicating with me now, can you direct me to the culprit? Such as showing me his face or describing him?" He asked. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Unfortunately, Damien thought too much. A deceased victim capable of pointing out to you who the culprit was?


    Maybe in the form of a dying message, but definitely not in this type.


    "I cannot reveal anything related to the culprit," Olivia said with much regret. "The laws of the world would restrain me if I tried to reveal any detail of them. I can only pinpoint a thing out to you as a hint."


    "Is that the case with the Diamond 3 card as well?" Damien pressed on.


    Yet contrary to his expectation, Olivia showed a dumbfounded expression.


    "Sorry?" She tilted her head. "The only clue I informed you was the lighting. That bastard transformed¡ª"


    Before Olivia could complete her words, her soul started fluctuating heavily and turning more transparent. It appeared as if she dared to say another word, then she would vanish.


    Meanwhile, Damien was utterly confused.


    "Are you telling me the only hint you gave me was the lighting? You didn''t link your memories with me or bring me over here through the hints?" He asked for confirmation.


    Olivia nodded. "I''m only a soul and completely powerless. I couldn''t even manifest to communicate with you but for some reason. After your threat, there was a mysterious power surging from me, allowing me to manifest."


    Hearing that, Damien regretted asking questions. The more he asked, the more confused and mysterious it became.


    Nevertheless, he still had to question further, but it was just a pity. Olivia''s soul began to fade.


    "I guess this is the limit of my sinful fate. Seventh Order, I know this is shameless of me, but please avenge my deceased daughter. She is innocent." As Olivia said her final piece.


    Fragments of lights scattered from within her body. These fragments of light that were scattering seemed to be dissipating like dust until an unknown phenomenon occurred.


    From within his shadow, a powerful suction force started absorbing all the fragments, startling Damien in the process.


    The fragments of light that originated from Olivia were completely absorbed by him.


    "What the¡­" Alarmed, Damien was rendered speechless. He was utterly clueless as to what just happened.


    How did his shadow absorb the fragments of light?


    Despite this action, nothing seemed to have changed in his body. He didn''t feel nauseous or anything abnormal regarding the absorption.


    "The Laws of the World and the hints. Olivia claimed to have only mentioned the lighting part as a hint." He murmured, feeling more and more perplexed.


    There was no reason for Olivia to lie, given that she was the most eager one to capture the culprit. She had an affair with the culprit, but it ended up with the death of her daughter.


    She didn''t even bother mentioning the husband, which made it evident their relationship was indeed terrible.


    The unknown variables in the equation Damien made up had only increased and not one of the unknown was resolved.


    Nevertheless, he was now made aware that the Laws of the World had been overseeing. It was intangible, but its presence could not be underestimated.


    However, the most alarming matter was that Olivia wasn''t the cause of the Diamond 3 card appearance or the linking that he experienced.


    ''She called me a Transcendent, but what power do I wield?'' Damien furrowed his brows. Till now, he couldn''t sense any type of magical power, but at the same time, he never felt any danger.


    Even now, when he was supposedly facing the soul of a corpse, he didn''t feel danger. He was only astonished and startled by the sight, but nothing related to fear.


    He took a glance at his hand that was covered by the gloves and paused for a second. He wanted to test some common theory out such as making a cut in his hand to see if he had recovery ability.


    "Forget it¡­ I can''t risk injuring myself and end up in a miserable state." In the end, Damien rejected the notion. He only had one life, and using his life to test out some theories wasn''t worth it.


    He took a few minutes to scan around the room. When he discovered nothing new or even a hint, Damien finally shook his head.


    "Looks like that''s all the hint I can gather." He murmured.


    It was surely a bit disappointing that he ended up with more confusing information, but that was just life. No life was easy after all.


    However, the grateful part of his life was that he really wasn''t that eager to return to his original world. The only reason why he wanted to was because this world''s survival rate seemed extremely low.


    Just like how Burke¡ªa detective could easily be demoted and met the end of his life, the same could have occurred to him.


    He merely remained safe due to his acting and avoided any slip-ups. But now it appeared that wasn''t the only thing keeping him safe.


    As Damien shifted his attention to the shadow of his figure, he narrowed his eyes.


    "Are you only going to appear when I''m in danger or if there''s things for you to absorb?" He asked softly. He hoped for some form of reaction at the very least. Given that any reaction meant the unknown shadow was aware of his surroundings and sounds.


    Alas, it was a pity that the shadow remained unresponsive and appeared no different than a regular shadow. Though to be fair, he didn''t hold much hope either.


    If it were that easy, then he wouldn''t have treaded so carefully and even put on a facade upon hearing news of a person''s death.


    Life was indeed very fragile and worthless in this world.


    ¡­


    Time went by, and Jasmine returned with Lucas.


    Upon spotting only these two, Damien''s expression was cold.


    "It seems like I only have two TIs following me around." He uttered, clearly referring to Kyle''s absence as resignation.


    Yet contrary to his words, Jasmine and Lucas didn''t seem to flinch or react to his statement.


    Confused, Damien was sure they would have reacted somewhat.


    Not to mention, their gaze seemed different. It wasn''t the gaze used for admiration or fear, but the one you used for a guilty person.


    ''Was my identity exposed?'' Damien wondered. Nevertheless, he still remained nonchalant and questioned, "Has the city been put on lockdown yet?"


    Despite his question, Jasmine and Lucas took a glance at each other before nodding their head.


    In the next instance, Jasmine propelled herself ahead and apologized, "Sorry, Seventh, but we''re just acting on an order."


    "Please don''t blame us." Lucas chimed in and conjured a powerful spell. The spell illuminated and created a spherical ball. Soon, the spherical ball started to unleash some chains from within it.


    Without a doubt, the spell was some form of lock meant to detain or restrain a person in place.


    By that theory, Jasmine''s action should be equivalent to restricting his movement and preventing him from escaping the range of Lucas'' spell.


    In the blink of an eye, Jasmine constructed an ice wall of barrier that blocked off any open spot. The ground was then covered in ice and Jasmine utilized the environment to skit across to gain momentum.


    A second later, Jasmine was already behind Damien''s back.


    "Do it now, Lucas." She shouted and was about to freeze Damien''s legs.


    Lucas received the signal and was about to launch the chain.


    However, not a moment later, they heard an extremely calm voice.


    "I don''t know which clown gave you such an order, but to act in the crime scene when there are corpses here as well. I supposed whoever was your lecturer back in your academy was blinded." Damien said and snapped his fingers.


    As soon as the snap was heard, the ice environment collapsed in an instant. Jasmine fell in place with the disappearance of her ice field, and Lucas'' spell was subsequently canceled by some abnormal means.


    However, their horror had yet to end when they found their body restricted, unable to move a single limb of theirs.


    While they remained locked in place, Damien calmly turned around and glanced at Jasmine.


    "Care to tell me what you mean by, ''do it now, Lucas?''" He questioned coldly, his eyes flashing in a glinted light.

 A Fake

    Faced with the cold piercing eyes and demeanor of Damien, the breathing from Jasmine became heavy.


    "How was this an impostor?" She muttered in disbelief.


    "What kind of intel did Kyle send and even deceived the higher-ups to give out this suicidal mission?" Lucas also twitched his mouth, feeling extremely frustrated.


    Seven Minutes Ago¡­


    Prior to their return to the crime scene, Jasmine met up with Lucas outside the perimeter.


    "Lucas, the Seventh has ordered for your presence." Jasmine coolly said.


    Startled, Lucas nearly stumbled as he rushed out of the carriage.


    "The Seventh ordered for my presence?" He raised an eyebrow. "But Kyle has yet to return."


    "Doesn''t matter. The Seventh said if he still didn''t appear when I came to pick you up, then he''s considered eliminated." She casually explained.


    Nodding, Lucas didn''t find it suspicious. Incompetence might not be an actual crime, but it definitely was if they were a TI.


    "Alright, let''s not delay the Seventh any longer," Lucas said and fixed his clothes.


    "Wait!"


    However, Lucas didn''t even get the chance to take another step forward when a voice echoed from afar.


    Annoyed, Lucas naturally recognized the voice as he turned around and snorted. "You''re eliminated, Kyle. Your incompetence has dissatisfied the Seventh."


    Indeed, the person was none other than Kyle, who had taken his sweet time to return.


    Kyle panted heavily as he rushed toward the front and blocked off Jasmine and Lucas.


    "Listen to me first." He extended his hands in an attempt to stop them.


    "I''ve returned to the headquarters for the tablet replacement, but the higher-ups said they''ve been communicating smoothly with the Seventh. And just now, I''ve been informed that they had received a message from the Seventh that the culprit was caught by him and that we should get ready for a transfer."


    "What?!" Alarmed, both Lucas and Jasmine''s eyes widened in shock.


    "That''s impossible." Refuted Jasmine.


    "The Seventh never used a tablet to communicate and was investigating the crime scene with me and a detective." She argued, providing evidence to her claim.


    Lucas, however, remained silent because he was not present on the scene to make any comments.


    Meanwhile, Kyle didn''t bothered to use verbal words only and outright revealed the evidence through his tablet. Along with the evidence was the command to capture the impostor at the crime scene.


    "Crap, isn''t this a big scandal for our TI?" Lucas'' eyes widened in disbelief when he saw the evidence.


    "The two of you should quickly capture the impostor. I''m going to scout around the perimeter for the possibility of another accomplice." Kyle shouted. His tone was fast and laced with a hint of panic.


    Naturally, Jasmine and Lucas didn''t find the tone to be abnormal. A TI impostor was definitely going to be a huge scandal. Not to mention, they actually fell for it and behaved so timidly.


    Whenever Lucas recalled how he was played by an impostor, the rage within him surged forward and exploded.


    "Damn it, I was respectful because it''s the Seventh Order, but all this time. It was a fake. I''m going to bash that impostor and torture him good." His eyes flared up and Lucas hurriedly rushed toward the crime scene.


    "Ugh, can''t you wait?" Frustrated, Jasmine had no time to compile the information together and was forced to chase ahead.


    Thus, the two rushed ahead without paying heed to Kyle which brought them to the current present tense.


    With Jasmine and Lucas suppressed and detained in the corner, Damien was exhausted at the sight of these two.


    "So based on a few messages and words from Kyle, the two of you foolishly rush over here to try to detain me?" Damien was truly baffled by their intelligence.


    What kind of Ninth Order TI was this?


    "The permission and command were in the tablet." Lucas bit his lips and said. By now, he had already begun to realize that the person in front of him couldn''t possibly be an impostor.


    They were trained Transcendent after all.


    It would be impossible to take down both of them with such ease if it weren''t an authentic Seventh Order. Not to mention, they would have been killed and silenced by now if it was a real impostor.


    Meanwhile, Jasmine realized why she felt something was amiss. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "Right¡­ the smell from Kyle." Her eyes widened. "Kyle smells different than when he left."


    "What? Are you saying that Kyle was a fake?" Alarmed, Lucas was unable to comprehend the situation.


    As for Damien, he was already emitted a somewhat cold aura when there were traces of Diamond 3 card from these two. It was very faint, but with his increased perception, he was able to see the Diamond 3 before it faded away.


    However, that wasn''t the most alarming matter. It was the fact that his body moved very naturally and he was able to somehow manipulated the shadow power to suppress two authentic Ninth Order TI.


    If it weren''t for that, then he would have been captured and most likely tortured to death under the false accusation.


    Regardless of whether the Kyle they met was a fake or not, Damien was already determined to have their life.


    ''How dare you try to get me killed?'' He was enraged but dared not show it on the surface.


    Just like how in a poker game, the players must retain their poker face to prevent their opponents from reading them. Damien also needed to maintain his poker face and kept calm. Rashness would only result in failures¡ªsimilar to how Lucas and Jasmine ended up in such a miserable sight.


    "I''ll undo your suppression because this matter is getting more complicated," Damien said, but the truth was that he had a feeling his power was running out.


    Rather than allowing them to know his power ran out, he might as well deceive them that he willingly let them free.


    Sure enough, his action worked wonders and the two didn''t suspect much. They were currently holding a guilty and ashamed expression.


    Not only were they deceived by a supposed fake, but they even went against their superior. With this kind of record marked down, they essentially sabotaged their career with their own hands.


    "I don''t know how you managed to graduate. But to not even understand the term reasonable doubt and behave in such a manner is truly astonishing." Damien scolded harshly.


    Having been scolded and reprimanded harshly, both Jasmine and Lucas didn''t even dare to make a sound. Their heads were lowered, clearly ashamed of themselves.


    Reasonable doubt. The term itself was to doubt and verify whether the evidence was sufficient enough to convict a person.


    Aside from Kyle''s one-sided words and some messages. These two didn''t even bother to fact-check the information itself and instead got blinded by rage.


    "If you''re that dissatisfied with my method, then fret not. I''ll allow you to be transferred to another TI instead, Lucas." Damien declared.


    "No, I was wrong. Please don''t transfer me." Lucas panicked and quickly bowed down, his forehead kissing the ground. His previous aggression had long been dispelled and was replaced with fear and submission.


    Damien kept quiet despite Lucas'' posture and turned his attention to Jasmine.


    Instantly, Jasmine followed suit and bowed down as well.


    "I''m more disappointed in you especially, Jasmine," Damien said.


    "Lucas was in the dark somewhat because I barred him from being in the crime scene, but you were with me. If I was an impostor, then tell me why I would bother assisting with the investigation. Even better, why didn''t I try to mislead or misdirect the investigation direction elsewhere?"


    "I have no excuse." Rather than pleading for mercy or apologizing for her actions. Jasmine admitted that there was no excuse as she had screwed up terribly. Had she reacted better, then the outcome would have been different.


    Although she still subtly blamed Lucas for his hotheaded action, she still believed the majority of it was due to her hesitance.


    Unfortunately, Damien was not a soft-hearted individual.


    "Once this case is over, you two will no longer need to follow me. Insubordination, followed by foolishness does not belong in my team." Damien declared.


    Despite having showcased some of his skills, Jasmine still proceeded to make such a judgment and action. That alone was enough proof he needed to realize she was a time bomb.


    A time bomb that could not be tamed.


    Sure enough, Jasmine had anticipated such a response and could only bite her lips. Her eyes naturally held a glare at Lucas, which prompted the latter to feign blindness.


    "Anyway, you''ve said Kyle would scout around the perimeter, but I highly doubt he''s still in the vicinity. Nevertheless, you two shall scout and check if he''s around." Damien ordered.


    He began to realize that traces of the Diamond 3 card would continue to appear as long as it was related to the culprit or the case itself. It was essentially a cheat code used in video games that enabled detective mode and granted players constant hints to solve the mystery.


    Naturally, Damien wasn''t dissatisfied by such hints and gladly welcomed the assistance. There was only so much his brain could function properly before it overloaded.


    Meanwhile, Lucas and Jasmine received the order.


    "I''ll get right to it," Lucas said and swiftly exited the scene.


    Not one to fall behind, Jasmine utilized her mana and propelled herself to get further.


    "What the¡ª" Startled, Lucas gnashed his teeth and used his mana to quickly catch up to her. Both of them knew that the task wouldn''t be able to nullify their offense but at the very least. If they succeeded, it could lessen and possibly reduce their offense.


    However, Damien had long made up his mind. Regardless of whether these two were capable of capturing Kyle or not, they were done. Nothing displeased him more than to have untrustworthy people around him.


    It was also why he preferred to always work alone. After all, anyone could betray him but himself.


    And speaking of himself, Damien turned his attention to the shadow.


    "So you won''t respond to me, but only when I''m in danger huh." He uttered. During the moment when Lucas and Jasmine attacked him, he was truly startled and alarmed. Without any power, he couldn''t have possibly defended himself against their sudden attack.


    Yet it was at that precise moment that he felt a strong connection with the shadow. What happened next was his body seemed to have been controlled by the shadow.


    He was able to move extremely fast and restrained the two in the blink of an eye. By the time he regained control of his body, they were already rendered useless and could not harm him whatsoever.


    The feeling of power and control over fate itself was indeed remarkable. However, he wouldn''t let that kind of development cloud his judgment and emotion.


    A few seconds later, Damien confirmed the Shadow was active but dormant at the same time. Active when his life was in danger, and dormant when his life was safe.


    Although it was somewhat frustrating to be in the dark about this kind of unknown power, Damien could only reluctantly accept the circumstances. At the very least, he could now act with a bit more reassurance.


    ''Lucas and Jasmine are still too green, but Kyle is now the problem. Could it be that he was ambushed after I sent him to do a task by the culprit or was he the culprit or an accomplice the entire time?'' He wondered.


    The chance of Kyle being a culprit or an accomplice was actually quite low if his ability to trace the hints was true.


    Since the time he entered the crime scenes, he had been receiving hints and clues from both the supposed Law of the World and the soul of Olivia.


    Let''s say the possibility was that he met the requirement to receive the hint once he became involved in the crime, then what did it mean for the traces to be locked onto the two TIs.


    Either way, he was certain that they weren''t the culprit, but they were now definitely related to the answer he sought.


    "Ugh, how did playing a game of Shadow''s Hand ended up with me being stuck here?" Damien clicked his tongue and felt annoyed by the situation. He even began to question the intelligence of people here, given that two Ninth Orders could be swindled this badly.

 Velgrave Lockdown

    Shortly after compiling the mysteries and some other information, Damien exited out of the mansion.


    He was soon greeted by the sunlight, and multiple uniformed officers patrolling the vicinity.


    Upon his emergence, a male uniformed officer quickly stepped forward, saluted, and greeted. "Greetings, Investigator. According to your instruction earlier, Velgrave has been placed on lockdown, but there''s been protesting by people since then."


    "Protesting?" Surprised, Damien didn''t anticipate some people would dare to protest against an order passed down by a TI.


    Were they not afraid of the TI''s presence?


    "Who are the protesters and why are they doing so?" Damien questioned.


    "The protesters were of noble status and they stated about their invitation to an event that would be held at Kodacrest."


    ''Kodacrest?'' The city''s name was familiar and it took a second for Damien before he recalled it being the deceased daughter''s academy location.


    "What kind of event was it?" Damien wanted to learn the correlation between the two cities. He refused to believe it was a coincidence.


    Meanwhile, the male uniformed officer remained unaware of the circumstances and simply responded based on what he knew.


    "According to the nobles, the event was a gathering for artistic value and it was essentially a scouting for potential youths. Kodacrest is the heart of the institution, so many nobles wished to have their offspring sent to it."


    "They''re scouting for youths now?" Damien raised an eyebrow. The conversation with Sheila and Jasmine previously clearly mentioned the academy was still in session.


    "Ah, Investigator might not know this, but recently, there''s been an influx of monsters causing turmoil on the public roads and wilderness. The academy decided to start early admission in hopes of training more talented individuals to confront them." The male uniformed officer explained.


    This kind of information and event was naturally insignificant in the eyes of the Seventh. But it was an important event for people of low status and those with barely influence.


    Being admitted to any of the five prestige academies located in Kodacrest was equivalent to having a step into the higher hierarchy.


    Nodding, Damien appreciated the information and realized the murder here might just be the beginning. ''Even a fool could smell the heavy stench of conspiracy being in motion.''


    "Tell them that the lockdown will be in place for as long as the culprit remains. If they wish to complain, then tell them to seek after me." Damien declared.


    "Also, if they want the lockdown to be lifted, then inform them to reveal anything about famous paintings being sold." He added.


    The male uniformed officer nodded as he received the order. He then proceeded to take out his communication device to relay the order.


    "Is there anything else you need, Investigator?"


    "You can stop blocking off the perimeter and only prevent unauthorized entry to the mansion."


    Sometime later, the uniformed officers began to disperse, with only a few remaining on guard at the front and back door of the mansion.


    Although some of them wondered if they had to accompany Damien, they breathed out a sigh of relief when he rejected the notion.


    Naturally, their sense of relief was detected by Damien, but he kept silent on the matter.


    It was better to be feared than loved according to a once famous quote. Being feared last longer and the chances of them trying to pull any trickery against them would be slim.


    With no uniformed officers escorting him, Damien walked out of the premises and spotted Karl from afar.


    Coachman Karl was dozing off on the mounted seat and seemed exhausted.


    However, what caught his attention was the faint Diamond 3 card appearance.


    ''Hmm, did the impostor also interact with him?'' Damien furrowed his brows. As he stepped forward and cleared his throat, he subsequently awakened the fatigued Karl.


    Upon opening his eyes, Coachman Karl was startled by the sight of Damien.


    "G-Greetings Sir!" Coachman Karl hurriedly got off his seat, bowed, and greeted with respect.


    ''He''s still fine. Then doesn''t that mean it''s a real Seventh?'' Karl exclaimed inwardly. He overheard the conversation earlier and knew that the two Ninth Orders had gone ahead to detain him.


    Given that Damien was still unscathed, it made perfect sense that the two Ninth Orders messed up extremely bad. They could either be dead or detained. No matter the result, Karl was glad that he didn''t offend Damien.


    While Karl was relieved that he remained respectful, Damien raised a question.


    "Coachman Karl, do you happen to know any underground tunnel road around the vicinity?"


    "Underground tunnel road?" Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Alarmed, Karl didn''t anticipate a random question out of the blue.


    Nevertheless, he racked his brain and answered, "There''s no underground tunnel road, but there is the sewage system. Usually, the sewer area is unprotected because no one would willingly go under there."


    A sewer was always filled with a foul smell and contained many things that no average human would wish to enter.


    And Karl was quite clever in understanding the meaning behind Damien''s question. By stating that it was unprotected, it meant that anyone could enter the sewer undetected.


    "You''re quite clever to be a mere Coachman." Damien complimented. He had to admit that Karl was quick on the uptake and didn''t bother to waste any time.


    "Thank you." Karl nodded and bit his lips.


    Finally, he put up an awkward smile and suggested. "I can guide you to where the sewer is. Although I don''t venture there, I know where the sewer leads to."


    Without a doubt, Karl knew it was going to be requested soon.


    Rather than waiting and making it seem like he was forced to do the task. He might as well take the initiative and offer to help. At the very least, assisting a TI had its merits.


    Sure enough, Karl made his bet correctly.


    "Good, if you can be the guide and draw a layout of the sewer, then I''ll allow your carriage to be authorized to exit the city," Damien said.


    With Velgrave on lockdown, Karl knew precisely what that reward meant. His carriage was permitted to leave, so any person who hired him would be allowed as well. Since that was the case, then the payment fee would equally be high.


    "Thank you, Sir!" Karl made a 90-degree bow. His determination and motivation to accomplish the task soared to a new height.


    Karl''s expression appeared as if he was high on drugs. After all, this was a breakthrough to earn money from the wealthy nobles.


    As a Coachman, it would be ridiculous to be in the dark of the current news.


    Therefore, he knew about the Kodacrest''s Academy early enrollment event.


    So with the lockdown in place, the wealthy nobles who eagerly wanted to leave the city would do everything in their power to succeed. That means even paying a skyrocketing price was on the table.


    ''The Seventh Order is really a generous person despite his scary demeanor.'' Karl praised silently. Money was king, and anyone who brought them money was god.


    While Karl was determined to do his best, Damien secretly laughed at his behavior.


    By allowing Karl to exit the city, it didn''t cause him anything. All it required was a simple declaration and the people beneath him would oblige.


    However, this simple declaration would return a loyal person who would want to complete the task more flawlessly than him. What a great bargain that was.


    "Lead the way," Damien said.


    "Yes, Sir." Karl nodded but still suggested, "Sir, you should ride the carriage. The closest sewer is around 10 street block."


    Given that sewer was a necessary system but also a disgusted one, they purposely ensured the location of the sewer to be nowhere close to the rich area. Therefore, Damien wasn''t surprised to be informed that the sewer was so far away.


    ''No matter which world you are in. The wealthy always enjoy greater benefits than the poor.'' He sneered inwardly.


    "Very well, do make haste though." Damien went to the carriage and said.


    The culprit or the fake Kyle might have already gone into hiding. It would become problematic by then if the Diamond 3 card completely faded away, preventing him from tracking them down.


    Time quickly went by, and they soon arrived.


    "We''re here, Sir," Karl said and opened the door for Damien.


    Upon exiting the carriage, Damien instantly noticed the street here was quite poor and desolate. To be more accurate, it seemed more like a dark alley¡ªsimilar to the one he had awakened in.


    Not to mention, Damien sensed there were a few people hiding in the shadows.


    "Sir, the sewer location is over there." Karl remained unaware of the presence of others hiding and was wholeheartedly focused on locating the spot. His objective was to complete the task as soon as possible.


    Who knows how long the lockdown will remain for?


    Time was of the essence, so Karl couldn''t afford to miss the golden time of opportunity to offer his ride to the wealthy nobles.


    As he advanced in his steps, the people lurking in the shadows were slowly unsheathing their dagger.


    Just when they were about to strike, one of them suddenly paused, and fear quickly consumed their expression.


    After all, following behind Karl was Damien, who simply darted his eyes casually at the area where the people had taken cover.


    A second later, the sunlight happened to shine on Damien, revealing his outfit for those in hiding. More specifically, the shiny and bright engraving of his insignia nearly blinded these people.


    "Damn, it''s a Seventh Order TI." One of them muttered in shock and disbelief. Their hands quickly sheathed their dagger and hoped to remain quiet.


    Trying to rob a TI? And a Seventh Order on top of that?


    That was the most ridiculous joke ever!


    They only hoped that the TI didn''t sense their presence and unleashed a killing spree. After all, they were low-life people who had the nerve to mess with a TI.


    Who would care about their death or even bother to pursue the matter?


    As they all sweated profusely, Damien remained nonchalant and pointed at a dark spot.


    The dark spot was coincidently the first person who realized they had messed up and sheathed its dagger.


    ''No, he''s just pointing randomly. There''s no way he could see us in the dark, not when we got this item.'' The person refused to believe they were spotted that easily.


    After all, they don''t just rob in the alley without any preparation. They had an item that specifically enhanced one''s stealth. It was very pricey and it was capable of avoiding the monsters'' detection in the wilderness.


    However, their futile expectation was quickly shattered.


    "You in the dark. Stop hiding and come out." Damien calmly said. "Bald head, tall and somewhat skinny. Dressed in ragged clothes and a 27-centimeter-long dagger. If you don''t come out of there now, then we will have a problem."


    With the perfect description of their appearance, the person was startled. They had a moment of wanting to attack but realized it would be foolish.


    Since the TI clearly could detect him, called out his equipment and appearance despite being in the dark. Then it made sense that his other companion was also within the TI''s detection.


    It was just that he got chosen as the unlucky one to be forced to come out.


    His companion also wouldn''t attempt to do anything that might aggravate a TI. After all, only death awaited those who aggravated a TI¡ªespecially a high-order one.


    As they slowly came out from the shadow, Karl nearly received a fright. His body shrieked, and his eyes darted left and right at other dark spots.


    Without needing a genius to spell it out for him, Karl had a feeling there were more people in hiding.


    Frightened, Karl hastily retreated his steps and stood close to Damien, but not too close that might offend or displease him.


    "I-I''m sorry. We didn''t mean to target you." The robber said anxiously.


    "I don''t care about that." Contrary to his belief, Damien had no interest in the robber''s crime.


    He didn''t sense any blood in them as opposed to the culprit he saw through Olivia''s vision and scope. This meant that they hadn''t killed anyone, and only robbed.


    "Tell me whether you have seen someone or something passed by here recently," Damien demanded coldly.


    Meanwhile, the robber was struck in a dilemma.


    ''Someone that pass by here? They would have been robbed by us already.'' He thought to himself. Their first target of the day happened to be a TI.


    How unlucky could they get today?


    Suddenly, the robber happened to recall a peculiar incident.


    "Ah, I don''t know if it''s helpful, but we did see a cat passed by." The robber said with an awkward smile. Animals like cats were extremely common, so no one really paid much attention to it. The robber also knew that but had to say something, lest his head might become detached.


    However, Damien''s curiosity and intrigue piqued. ''A cat huh?''

 Shadow Contract

    Common animals such as birds, cats, and dogs roamed around the street openly. It wouldn''t be a surprise to encounter one of them after each street.


    Yet it was precisely because it was so common that Damien suspected something to be amiss here.


    "When did the cat pass by?" Damien questioned, his eyes piercing cold. "Remember to be precise, especially how long ago and where they went. Or at least, where have you last seen the cat."


    Astonished, the robber held a dumbfounded and dazed expression. To be suddenly asked about a cat on the spot, it would be a miracle if he recalled all the details.


    Maybe if it was someone they had robbed before, then he might have recalled something. But a cat?


    Wasn''t that just toying with him?


    However, based on Damien''s serious and solemn expression. It was crystal clear that this wasn''t a joke.


    "Get out of here and stop hiding. Delaying a TI means death." Unable to recall any of the details, the robber gave up and shouted to his companions to come out.


    They had long been discovered anyway, so continuous hiding wasn''t a solution either. Not to mention, he would rather drag them all down with him than die alone.


    Having been called out by their companion, the other robbers were naturally disgruntled. They dared not slight Damien though as they hurriedly tried to answer his question.


    Thankfully, among them, one happened to be a curious folk and knew where the cat went.


    "It was around 10 or 15 minutes ago. The cat came strolling down here and entered the sewer." They stated and continued, "I was staring at it because the cat seemed very cautious and alerted. It discovered that I was staring at it and meowed at me in a fury manner."


    Nodding, this basically confirmed much of the suspicion in Damien''s mind.


    "Alright, you may all scram. You''re lucky that you haven''t gotten blood in your eyes. Otherwise, death shall be waiting." Damien waved his hand to dismiss them.


    "Thank you, Sir!" Immediately, the robbers quickly thanked him and were about to flee the alley.


    However, one of their companions suddenly had their head chopped off. A small "thud" sound was created, as the robber''s body then plopped to the ground. Their head rolled around for a moment before coming to a halt.


    The sudden death of their companion was so unexpected that some of the robbers nearly fainted.


    "I did say those who had their hands clean are spared, but this person had their hands dyed in red. I''m sure none of you disagree with my judgment, right?" Damien didn''t even turn around when he made his statement.


    Sure enough, it was precisely such a demeanor that induced fear among them.


    "W-We have no objection to the judgment made by Sir." One of them found the courage to respond.


    "Good, then scram for me."


    In the blink of an eye, the robbers all fled with their tails tucked behind. As for their dead companion, none of them dared to bat an eyelid or complain about it.


    The alley was quickly cleared of the robbers, leaving only Karl and Damien.


    Karl''s eyes were focused on the decapitated corpse with a silent expression.


    "Do you feel pity for him?" Damien suddenly asked. He didn''t ask because he was concerned about Karl''s emotions, but whether or not he was suitable for the upcoming task.


    The robber he killed reeked of blood and the Shadow within him seemed eager to devour and absorb him.


    As if that wasn''t enough to convince him, Damien received some of the flashbacks scenes of the killing. Based on that phenomenon, Damien became positive that the shadow within him seemed capable of rewinding incidents.


    Since he had witnessed the scene of the killing and how the victim was feeling at that moment. Damien felt no remorse for killing such a scum.


    Maybe he wouldn''t have killed so easily and hesitated if it were in his previous world. After all, in his original world, murder was a crime regardless of the justification.


    That was just how pathetic the legal system was. No one would pay attention to the victim''s suffering until the victim finally retaliated. Despite the justification for the retaliation, the so-called legal system would punish them instead. Talk about a very flawed system.


    While Damien was somewhat frustrated by his old world''s method, Karl finally responded.


    "It''s not that I felt pity for him, but I felt that he has gotten it off too lightly."


    "Oh, too lightly?"


    Nodding, Karl bit his lips and said, "The world is filled with those who committed crimes simply for pleasure. They did so many atrocities, and all they lost was their worthless life." The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    "It appears that you have a sense of righteousness," Damien commented.


    "Not righteousness." Karl corrected. "Righteous people refused to kill, but I believe killing and torturing is the only way for these people who don''t even deserve to be called human."


    From his eyes, Damien could sense bloodlust. Alas, that bloodlust had always been suppressed and concealed.


    After all, Karl didn''t have a speck of mana in his body, which meant he was unable to conjure any spells.


    ''The world isn''t fair here I guessed.'' Damien thought. To construct a mana core, talent was indeed nice, but it wasn''t a requirement. What was the requirement was having the resources to construct one.


    "If granted an opportunity to become a Transcendent, will you grab that chance and clench tightly?" He suddenly asked, offering him a chance to reshape his life.


    Stunned, Karl''s eyes widened in disbelief. He didn''t even take a second before he went on his knees and kissed his forehead to the ground. Despite the dirtiness in the ground, Karl ignored it and slammed his palms.


    "If granted the opportunity, I will do my best to clutch it tightly and never let go." He exclaimed.


    Looking at his action, Damien''s expression remained stoic. He was casually mentioning it, but he didn''t expect such an overreaction.


    Nevertheless, it proved that Karl could become a good pawn for him in the future if he does help him over this hurdle.


    The only problem was loyalty.


    How could he ensure Karl wouldn''t backstab or change upon being granted power?


    ''Hey, Shadow, do you have any ideas or suggestions?'' Damien tried to communicate with it telepathically, not knowing whether it would work or not.


    While Karl remained in his posture of kneeling, Damien attempted to communicate with the Shadow.


    He indeed wished to have a pawn and build up his forces.


    After all, he had nothing but the empty status in his name. Without actual supporters or pawns to be used, if the status became nullified, Damien would have been in big trouble.


    Despite his eagerness and intent to gather manpower, he was not desperate enough to recruit just anyone.


    This was especially true when he nearly got ambushed by Lucas and Jasmine. The two people who had expressed their reverence toward him easily changed in an instant.


    Given that lesson, Damien would deserve death if he chose to believe or trust anyone else without any guarantee. And when he thought that¡ªit included the Shadow lurking in him.


    Although the Shadow had yet to display any hostility, who was to say it wouldn''t turn against him one day?


    Nothing was ever guaranteed, and nobody could remain forever loyal. The only person that one could trust was none other than themselves.


    However, Damien still inquired about the Shadow because one must learn to adapt to unforeseeable circumstances. Currently, the Shadow was his only safety charm. It might not last, but at the moment, it was protecting him.


    ''If the Shadow wishes to use me, then it would be foolish to not use it to my advantage.'' Damien thought.


    And it appeared that the Shadow was still somewhat submissive to him.


    There was no communication, but Damien''s mind received some information and methods to ensure absolute loyalty.


    ''Shadow Contract. So it''s something akin to a Blood Contract but in another form and term.'' Damien absorbed the knowledge and turned his attention to Karl.


    "I''ll give you a chance to reshape your life, but you must adhere to one thing." He calmly said.


    Stunned, Karl''s body trembled slightly. He had a feeling that he might have an opportunity, but when it became a reality, he was overwhelmed with emotion.


    Slowly, he raised his chin up and glanced at Damien.


    "What must I adhere to?" He asked, his eyes filled with determination. An opportunity to get rid of his low life status and become a Transcendent¡ªeven if it meant being an underling, it would be worth it.


    At the very least, it was better than being a Coachman and constantly lowering his head to everyone as opposed to one person.


    Meanwhile, Damien snapped his fingers, and a Shadow Contract emerged. Wisps of dark, blue, and purple hues seeped from the surface of the contract¡ªintertwining like living shadows.


    Karl''s eyes widened in shock as he felt the intensity of the swirling colors that continued to pulse faintly. It gave him a feeling of eeriness.


    ''What kind of contract is this?'' Karl wondered silently. The contract was suspended in the air, but it appeared distorted as well, almost as if the contract didn''t belong in this world.


    When Damien noticed his inaction, he thought Karl became frightened and had a change of heart. For people who get scared quite easily, Damien had no intention of offering a helping hand to them. After all, it would only become a nuisance and possible trouble in the future.


    ''Looks like I overestimated his desperation.'' He was about to cancel the contract until Karl suddenly stood up.


    "Sorry, Sir, but I''m ignorant and don''t know how to sign the contract. Please guide me." Karl said, his expression firm and determined. There was no hesitation even though it was clear that he was wary of the contract.


    Being wary and cautious was not the same as being afraid and nervous. Wary and cautious was what allowed one to survive, whereas the latter was just the cowardice trait.


    "Before you sign, I must remind you that signing means becoming a pawn of mine. It''s essentially a form of slavery, but also not quite." Damien calmly said.


    The crux of the Shadow Contract was that the other party understood what they were signing up for and was willing. Otherwise, even if they attempted to lie and sign, the contract won''t be in effect.


    That was the power of the Shadow Contract. It was inherently making the other party a shadow of his, and what kind of shadow disobeyed the owner?


    "I am willing, Sir," Karl responded and knelt with one knee. The action was the symbolization of agreeing to serve the other wholeheartedly.


    "Very well." Damien nodded and proceeded to explain the method. The process was similar to the Blood Contract, in which Karl had to dip some of his blood in the contract.


    However, the difference was that part of Karl''s shadow would be absorbed into the contract. Once that occurred, then from there on, he would forever be Damien''s pawn unless Damien freed him.


    After the explanation, Karl bit his finger, only to end up failing to bite it hard enough to bleed.


    "Eh, this is awkward." Karl smiled bitterly.


    Rumors had it that such action was the common one to form a contract, but Karl wondered if it was true. After all, his brain would constantly stop him from intentionally hurting himself through his bite. The force won''t be enough to cause his finger to bleed.


    Nevertheless, Karl darted his eyes at the surroundings and quickly recalled the robber''s corpse. He hastened his pace and rushed over to the corpse, searching for their weapon.


    Soon, he found a rough dagger and made a small cut immediately.


    ''Not bad.'' Watching Karl''s determination to complete the signing of the contract, Damien approved it. The more eager and desperate Karl behaved, the more he felt relieved. Only desperate people would do whatever was necessary to earn the approval.


    Karl''s expression and demeanor underwent a drastic change upon the completion of the contract. There was a small shadow-like card imprinted on his forehead, but it was only visible for a few seconds before it faded away.


    Karl looked down and stared at his hands. For some reason, he felt a surge of power, and the inside of his body seemed to be heating up.


    Meanwhile, Damien watched the process unfold with a stoic expression. ''Karl could now construct a mana core just like that. How powerful is this Shadow Contract?''

 Sewer

    Shortly after the wisps of dark, blue, and purple hues dissipated from the scene, the atmosphere turned solemn.


    Karl seemed to be in a trance momentarily, his eyes closed and he sat down with his legs crossed.


    "I don''t want to be that guy, but if you''re going to test some theory. It''s best to do so after leading me to the sewer." Damien suddenly interrupted. He had no time to be waiting patiently for Karl to finish his thing.


    Startled, Karl snapped out of his daze and realized the current situation. He stood up, bowed, and apologized for being distracted.


    "Yes, Master. I''ll lead the way right away." He then said, referring to Damien as Master. With the contract signed, it was equivalent to being a servant of him. Thus, he believed the form of address must be changed.


    However, he failed to understand that Damien was not the type who wished to seek attention. Although he did make a bunch of flashy orders such as locking down Velgrave or causing a Detective to meet his demise, it was all inevitable.


    He might not like the attention, but that didn''t mean he was afraid of it. As long as it was required to ensure his survival, then he would do it in a heartbeat.


    But the form of address wasn''t anything required.


    "Don''t call me Master in public," Damien warned. "Refer to me as Sir in public and do not reveal the matter of the contract to anyone else. I''m sure you have read the term already before signing it."


    Nodding, Karl swiftly corrected his mistake. "That is correct, Sir."


    "Recite it for me."


    "Yes, Sir."


    The term in the contract was rather simple, to be honest.


    First, he was not allowed to betray Damien in any form whatsoever. Even having thoughts of doing so or having the knowledge of someone attempting to harm Damien but doing nothing about it was still considered betrayal.


    For having the thought of betraying, the pain would be induced upon him, whereas the latter was more severe¡ªpotentially resulting in his death depending on the situation. If he was truly incapable of stopping it, then it wouldn''t be counted as a betrayal as long as he really did his best.


    Second, he was disallowed to divulge the Shadow Contract to anyone unless permitted by Damien himself. If there were ever a circumstance that forced Karl to open his mouth to talk about such content, then he would be eliminated.


    Circumstances such as being interrogated by a Transcendent who could possibly control his mind or invade it to search for information.


    In other words, the second term was a deadly one in which Karl must prevent himself from getting involved in such a situation.


    Finally, the last term was that the Shadow Contract could never be dissolved and shall remain active forever unless Damien dissolved it himself.


    The null of the contract must also be willing by Damien. Otherwise, the contract would remain as it was.


    After reciting the term, Karl waited for Damien''s response.


    "Not bad. With the power of the contract, you are capable of constructing a mana core, but you should probably wait till you get admitted to an academy." Damien calmly said.


    He had no idea of how to construct one and had been informed about the academies. He believed it would be better suited for him to wait until then.


    Meanwhile, Karl''s eyes lit up and his admiration for Damien soared to a new height. Others might not know or take a few minutes to comprehend the meaning, but not for him.


    ''Master is going to recommend me to an academy.'' With a Seventh Order personally making a recommendation, it was almost guaranteed to be accepted.


    Feeling like there was a bright future ahead of him, Karl clenched his fist.


    "The sewer location should be around this path. I''ve heard from my colleagues previously that there was a bad odor smell when they took on a big client." He explained as he walked forward.


    Sometime later, Karl found the opening and was surprised by the manhole cover being slightly shifted. Stunned, he halted his footsteps and knelt down on one knee.


    "Sir, the manhole cover lid seemed to have been opened recently," Karl explained, his eyes narrowing at the disoriented dirt. It was clear that the cover lid had been shifted slightly, so unless it had been moved, the dirt would have aligned perfectly with no gap or oddity in between.


    "Not bad for a Coachman," Damien commented.


    Karl scratched his head awkwardly. He was somewhat embarrassed but proud at the same time.


    Having been a Coachman for so long, he developed the conscious to constantly check around the surroundings. After all, any mishap or abnormal things around could become disastrous. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    There was an incident of a fellow Coachman who failed to pay attention and caused discomfort to the customer. The next day, the Coachman was found dead in a dark alley.


    Although police officers tried to investigate, the clues led to a dead end. As for passing the case to a TI, it was even more impossible. The dead Coachman showed no sign of having a Transcendent involved.


    While Karl was reminded of the past incidents, Damien, on the other hand, was focused on the manhole cover lid.


    ''Scratch mark.'' His eyes narrowed at the three large marks in the lid. With the appearance of the mark, followed by the previous robber''s statement of a cat, he found it hard to not believe the two things were linked together.


    "Open the lid." He commanded.


    "Yes, Sir," Karl heeded the command and mustered his strength to open the lid. However, to his surprise, the lid was surprisingly light. He had thought it would take a lot of strength to open it, but it wasn''t.


    "These lids were embedded with magic to prevent accidental sabotage. How come it''s this light?" Karl''s eyes widened in shock. He stared at his palm and wondered when did he become strong?


    Could it have been the effect of the Shadow Contract?


    But not even a second of joy later, Damien destroyed his fantasy. "Don''t act surprised. The magic was shattered because of the scratch mark. You, who don''t even have any ounce of mana, couldn''t possibly lift it up."


    ...


    Karl''s face turned bright red when he thought the contract had somehow caused his strength to increase tremendously.


    Alas, the reality was harsh, and it was merely because the manhole cover''s magic was shattered already.


    Embarrassed, Karl quickly moved the manhole cover aside and was instantly ambushed by a foul odor emitted from the sewer. The stench was so bad¡ªto the point he nearly vomited on the spot.


    "My colleague really wasn''t lying." He coughed a few times and scooted to the side. Although it was said the bad odor smell was resolved, it appeared that only the surface was cleansed. Within the sewer though, the foul stench actually remained inside.


    While Karl felt like dying from the smell, he became surprised when he shifted his gaze to Damien and noticed the latter was unaffected.


    ''As expected of the Master. This kind of smell is nothing to him.'' Karl thought, feeling ashamed of his behavior.


    In reality, though, Damien was also affected by the stench. It could be said that the stench was worse than the ones at the crime scene. However, he remained composed because there was a tinge of a familiar smell.


    The smell was very faint and hard to distinguish, but Damien was capable of perceiving the difference.


    ''Indeed, the culprit had gone over to the sewer.'' Damien thought. This distinctive smell was the same one that lingered around the crime scene.


    Since the clue led to here, Damien knew he had to personally go through the sewer to investigate. He couldn''t possibly rely on others, given they were more often or not, incompetent.


    "You can head back, Karl. Just tell the guards in the entrance that you had permission to leave from me." Damien calmly said.


    Startled, Karl didn''t expect to be sent away. ''Could it be that Master was displeased by my reaction earlier?''


    The stench was just too strong that he failed to control his emotions. He seriously wanted to do his best to endure and resist, but ultimately failed in the end.


    "Please, Sir." He quickly went on his knees and pleaded, "I can handle this smell. Let me accompany you."


    The opportunity to work with a TI and earn their impression was extremely difficult to gain.


    How could he just give up halfway?


    "Enough, this is also a plan," Damien said, lifted him up, and whispered something to him.


    Upon hearing the task, Karl''s eyes widened. His expression also turned solemn.


    "So, do you get it?" Damien questioned.


    Karl nodded and clenched his fist. "Rest assured, Sir. I''ll accomplish the task."


    "Good, then make haste. And take this insignia to be used as proof." Damien uttered and took off his insignia with the label Seventh.


    A TI insignia was considered sacred and any replication of it was deemed impossible. Therefore, it served as the greatest proof that Karl was under instruction from him once he went to spread the word.


    Without the insignia, it would have been difficult for Karl to convince the police officers otherwise.


    Karl held the insignia with a heavy heart, swearing to protect this sacred item with his life. He proceeded to bow slightly, turned around, and made his exit.


    Gazing at his silhouette, Damien wondered if he could really succeed. Others might treat the insignia as something special, but Damien knew it was just a deterrence for the weak.


    For those who had power or those who couldn''t care less about the consequences, the insignia held little to zero value to them.


    ''The TI are still human at the end of the day.'' Damien thought. Humans¡ªeven when holding power, were still vulnerable and could be defeated or killed.


    He shook his head and no longer bothered to think too far ahead. Whether the TI was something to be idolized or not, would be answered once the case was solved and he could explore the unknown world further.


    His gaze shifted to the opening of the sewer, completely filled in a gloomy and eerie darkness. Despite the supposed darkness, Damien was baffled by the situation. His eyes were able to completely perceive the scene as if it had been illuminated.


    Not only was he able to see the ground level, but he was able to even see the tiny bugs that were crawling around the sewer.


    For some reason, he remained rather calm. Usually, people would have frowned or even be afraid of thinking about venturing the inside of a sewer unless they were a professional.


    ''Maybe something did change within me.'' He placed his hand by his chest, feeling the beating of his heart. It was beating at a normal pace. Yet he still had a sense of loss somewhere.


    In the end, he exhaled slowly and leaped down to the sewer. The impact sent a muted splash through the filth-ridden water, but he paid no heed to it. He didn''t even bother to use the rusty ladder that loomed beside him to climb down.


    Ignoring the rusty ladder, Damien focused his attention on the interior. Without much surprise, the sewer was like a labyrinth of damp. It was filled with moss-covered stone and had its striking feature of arched tunnels that stretched into the supposed darkness.


    Except, there was no darkness in his eyes. However, he could tell the air was thick with the stench of decay. Additionally, he occasionally heard the distant sound of sluggish, murky water that echoed like whispers from something unseen lurking in the depths.


    Damien narrowed his eyes and tried to find any traces of the cat or some human footprint.


    Unfortunately, the environment here made it difficult to trace them down. Most of the traces were either washed away by the sluggish flow of murky water or distorted by the thick layers of moss and grime clinging to the stone.


    ''Are there not going to be the appearance of a Diamond 3 card?'' He wondered silently. It was moments like this when the clues and hints should appear themselves to make things easier for him to resolve.


    Having waited for a few minutes, Damien got the gist of the situation.


    "Okay, maybe the Shadow Contract used up some fuel so now the hints aren''t granted to me." He murmured.

 Monster

    Since this unfamiliar world had something called Mana, which enabled people to use it to conjure magic spells or whatever it was called.


    Damien had a feeling that his hint should be related to the Mana. Maybe the hint appeared because he had the Mana to do so.


    However, he made a contract with Karl, and in return, Karl became eligible to construct the mana core.


    With the basic understanding of mana, Damien had a theory that the Shadow Contract had extracted too much of his mana, prompting him to be unable to utilize them again for hints.


    "It would have been nice if this is some kind of MMOs." Damien sighed softly.


    MMOs were video games where players typically had everything at their disposal to check their status. It was very convenient and allowed them to know whether their health or mana was running low.


    This particular genre of game was extremely popular, and Damien had played them occasionally. Except, he wasn''t some kind of expert like the professional. He was just average with the basic knowledge.


    Either way, it didn''t matter whether he was average or not. Without the hint appearing, Damien could only proceed cautiously. He squinted his eyes, hoping to narrow the scope and search for the tiny details.


    Tiny details were often missed, but also the most crucial in advancing the investigation.


    To investigate or follow a trail, the most important trait required was patience. Only when a person was patient could they notice the details that most people often failed to detect.


    Thus, Damien took his time to search around the area. He made sure to check everything, not missing a single thing.


    ''Hmm, the moss here is a bit disorientated.'' Finally, Damien spotted a few abnormalities. There was moss covered around the wall here, but some of them seemed to have been shifted.


    As he narrowed his eyes and inspected carefully, Damien noticed some scratch marks. The scratch mark wasn''t very visible, most likely because the culprit didn''t use too much strength.


    With that discovery, Damien wondered why there were scratch marks here.


    His doubt was soon answered when he suddenly felt the murky water level rising. It nearly covered up to his legs.


    Thankfully, his outfit seemed to be enchanted with some type of magic. It prevented him from actually having any murky water invade the inside of his outfit and drench him.


    Nevertheless, this scene alone enlightened Damien as to why there were some scratch marks on the moss.


    If it was truly a cat, then with this water level, it would be impossible for them to continue their journey. In other words, they were forced to leap upward and kick on the moss to propel themselves in another direction.


    By that logic, more moss would have some visible scratch marks.


    ''Could it be a morphing spell or a shapeshifter?'' Damien pondered.


    Although both appeared to be the same, there was a difference.


    Shapeshifter was an ability that enabled the caster to change their physical form at will.


    However, morphing was different. It required them to acquire the DNA of the target in order to morph into them, whether it was an animal or human.


    In hindsight, shapeshifters had no limitation as opposed to morphing.


    Damien would prefer to deal with the culprit who had the morphing ability type as opposed to a shapeshifter.


    He leaned more on the possibility of the culprit having a morphing ability, given that they must have morphed into a cat and forced to take the trouble in fleeing through the sewer.


    If the culprit was a shapeshifter, then it would have been way easier to simply transform into another human to flee.


    With that in theory, one thing still didn''t make sense to him.


    Why did the culprit return to the crime scene and attempt to throw suspicion on him?


    Was there even a need to take such a risk? Or could it be that they had no choice but to take such a risk?


    Either way, Damien was determined to track him down and get an answer for it. The answer was linked to his survival, given that some might be targeting him or the original Seventh TI.


    Speaking of the original, Damien saw his reflection through the murky water and was baffled by the facial appearance. The face remained the same and even his physiques didn''t change at all.


    It was completely unimaginable to believe he was occupying someone else body.


    "Ugh, just what kind of situation is this?" Damien murmured and felt exhausted. Amidst his exhaustion from overthinking, his ears suddenly perked up. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Although very faint, Damien heard some splashing noise from afar.


    A few seconds later, the splashing sound started to increase in volume.


    ''At my left.'' Concerned, Damien turned to the left and tried to detect who it was. Some might have wanted him to flee, but based on the sound, Damien determined that whatever it was, their speed had only increased exponentially.


    He wouldn''t be able to flee far before getting caught by the unknown being.


    After all, the murky water level had yet to subside, meaning the water itself would hinder his movement speed. The water might not affect his clothes, but it did affect him and impede his actions.


    As his vision focused up, and the unknown being had advanced further, Damien finally got a clear look at them.


    Indeed, it wasn''t a human. Rather, it was a creature of some reptile¡ªlarge and twisted, its body slick and glistening with the filth of the murky water.


    "A monster in the sewer. How creative." Damien muttered, his face turned solemn.


    He remained in position as he analyzed the monster''s detail and form.


    The creature''s skin was mottled with patches of pale gray and sickly green colored. It had a monstrous form, with its veins pulsing in a dark and poisonous energy.


    Additionally, the creature''s limbs were long for its size. They were covered in some sharp claws that constantly dripped a viscous liquid that smelled like decay.


    ''This should have been the decaying smell that Karl mentioned about his colleague.'' Damien deduced, feeling slightly affected by the stench.


    ...


    A few seconds went by, and the monster finally spotted Damien. They halted their movement and stood just a little bit over 10 meters away from him.


    Composed, Damien didn''t even flinch a bit. He glanced at the monster''s face and was rather stunned by the appearance.


    Their head was disturbingly flat, their eyes sunken and bulbous, glowing with a malevolent red hue. The monster stared at Damien deeply. Their set of fanged, gaping jaws opened wide. It then let out a guttural growl, its tongue flicking out like a serpent''s.


    Any normal person would have panicked by now, but Damien didn''t show signs of panic. He kept a poker face and seemed uninterested in the monster''s action.


    "If you roar again, then I don''t mind slicing you," Damien said. His eyes narrowed and consumed with killing intent.


    Shuddered, the reptile-like monster turned wary. The lack of reaction, followed by a sudden killing intent caused them to wonder if this was a prey or predator.


    However, the monster was unwilling to let the opportunity go. Their body twisted, and their movements were fluid yet jerky as they proceeded to lash out their barbed tail, splashing the murky water.


    The sign was a declaration of war.


    After all, its action was intended to splash Damien with the murky water, only to end up in failure. The murky water couldn''t even penetrate the passive barrier from the outfit he was wearing.


    "Have you seen a cat passed by?" Ignoring the action, Damien instead questioned the monster.


    Although he didn''t know why, he had a strong feeling the monster had intelligence and could comprehend his words.


    Sure enough, the reptile-like monster growled in response and swung its barbed tail toward Damien.


    As his eyes tracked the barbed tail movement, he exhaled through his nose, sighing at its decision.


    ''Monster really wishes to get a beating before complying. It''s just like the behavior of humans.'' He thought. Since the monster clearly had no intention of responding based on the attack, Damien realized he needed to make a move again.


    As the barbed tail hurtled toward him, he sidestepped effortlessly, his movements swift and precise. The tail struck the murky water where he had been standing, sending a ripple through the filth.


    Without wasting a second, Damien surged forward. He extended his hand outward, materializing the power of Shadow.


    The connection between him and the Shadow was quite fascinating, to say the least. Although both couldn''t communicate properly with each other, their connection seemed unshakable¡ªeven if it could be temporary.


    With the power of Shadow, a large hand colored in hues of blue, purple, and darkness appeared from within Damien.


    Alarmed by the gloomy appearance of a large shadow''s hand, the monster reacted instantly. It twisted its body unnaturally, its elongated limbs flexing as it attempted to counterattack. Offense was the best defense!


    It ignored the crisis of the glooming shadow''s hand and instead, lashed out their own clawed hand, aiming to rake across Damien''s chest.


    Unfortunately, Damien wasn''t naive enough to leave an opening. Another Shadow''s hand appeared and deflected it with a sharp parry, sending sparks flying as the hand met claw.


    The creature hissed in frustration, its glowing red eyes narrowing. Then, its throat expanded unexpectedly before spewing a thick, corrosive liquid straight at Damien.


    ''A long-range attack?'' Baffled, Damien didn''t anticipate the reptile monster was capable of doing so.


    He barely tilted his head to avoid the spray. After dodging, his eyes darted to the spot where it landed. The acidic substance sizzled upon contact with the stone walls, eating through the grime and brick-like molten metal.


    "Toxic spit, huh?" Damien muttered, feeling that the monster was quite sneaky. They had such a move all along but didn''t reveal it and chose to go close-combat mode.


    It was clearly saving it for a good opportunity to strike unexpectedly, only to end up failing due to his swift reaction.


    The distance between the two increased once again, and the monster''s eyes glared ferociously at Damien. Without a doubt, it was dissatisfied by its missed attack.


    Meanwhile, Damien stretched his neck and smirked.


    "You should really stop focusing too much on me." He said and snapped his fingers.


    Suddenly, from the shadow of the monster, emerged a large hand.


    The monster barely had any time to react. The massive shadowy hand, wreathed in an eerie mix of blue, purple, and black, descended with crushing force. The impact sent shockwaves rippling through the murky water, splashing filth in every direction.


    A guttural, strangled screech tore from the creature''s throat as it struggled beneath the oppressive weight. Its elongated limbs flailed around, its claws scraping against the stone floor in a desperate attempt to break free.


    Yet, no matter how it twisted and thrashed, the Shadow''s grip was firm and held it down tightly.


    Suppressed and unable to break free, the monster was soon graced with the desolate-looking Damien.


    "Now, are you willing to inform me who sent you over here?" Damien questioned. "I refused to believe there is something as coincidentally encountering a ferocious monster rushing toward my direction."


    Others might have been distracted by the monster''s appearance and fought with their all to confront them. However, he remained focused and was positive that the monster''s objective from the start was him.


    Despite not making much movement or sound, the monster was able to detect and locate his position. As if he would believe it was a coincidence, especially when it failed to detect his Shadow latching onto his.


    The monster''s awareness was clearly on the low-end, which meant it had to be directed or controlled by someone else.


    As for how they did it?


    Damien had no clue. He was not some god who could discern a situation at first glance. If so, then he would have already long found a way to escape or explain his sudden transportation to a whole new world.


    A few seconds later, the monster let out another feral roar, its sunken red eyes glowing with primal fury. Then, its body convulsed violently. A grotesque series of cracks and pops echoed through the sewer as its form began to change once more.


    "Hoh, is this the so-called second phase of a boss fighting?" Amused, Damien applaud its resilience.

 Mana

    Damien couldn''t help but be impressed by the monster''s resilience¡ªit refused to surrender, still struggling fiercely against the restraints in a desperate attempt to break free.


    However, being impressed and happy were two different matters.


    The Shadow''s hand holding it down trembled slightly as the monster''s body bulked up, its sinewy muscles inflating grotesquely beneath its tattered, scaled hide.


    Their thick and bone-like spikes jutted from its back. It was coated in a layer of sickly green venom. Its barbed tail grew longer, twitching ominously.


    Amidst their transformation, Damien wanted to completely suppress it to prevent a successful transformation. He would never understand why anyone would stand still in such a position and allow them to undergo the transformation.


    In a situation like this, the best method was to suppress them effectively before their transformation was completed.


    However, when Damien attempted to control the force of the Shadow''s hand, he felt a strong resistance from both the monster and the Shadow itself.


    His eyes quickly turned cold. ''As expected¡­ the Shadow has a mind of its own.''


    With the clear disobedience from the Shadow''s hand itself, Damien was unable to do anything else but watch the transformation process.


    He had tried to stop it. Alas, he was just a regular human unlike what others addressed him as such.


    Nevertheless, Damien would keep this incident in mind. If there were ever a chance of him gaining power that was completely submissive and in his control. Then he would discard the Shadow within him in a heartbeat.


    A power that could not be controlled by him¡ªwas no power, but a time bomb.


    While Damien was determined with his mindset, the monster''s transformation was near its completion.


    Time went by, and with a surge of newfound strength, the monster let out a guttural snarl and pushed against the Shadow''s grip. The surrounding air trembled as a shockwave of raw force rippled outward, momentarily destabilizing the Shadow''s hand.


    Soon, the monster tore itself free from the suppression and hurriedly distanced itself from Damien. Its eyes filled with wariness as the Shadow''s hand subsequently returned to Damien''s side.


    ''What''s the point of returning to my side when you allowed it to happen?'' Damien was displeased internally but remained nonchalant on the surface. As a veteran poker player, the very basic rule was keeping a poker face no matter what kind of cards were dealt at the table.


    Therefore, he never allowed others to easily read what was on his mind.


    While he kept his emotion inside, the reptile monster, on the other hand, had increased in size. However, the increase in size didn''t seem to affect its movement speed. In fact, their movement speed appeared to have surged.


    With terrifying speed, it suddenly lunged forward, its barbed tail lashing out like a whip. This time, its tail''s movement was faster and more refined.


    ''Too fast.'' Alarmed by the attack speed, Damien barely tilted his body, evading the deadly strike by a hair''s breadth. But the tail didn''t stop. Instead, it curved mid-air, swinging toward him again in a deceptive feint.


    Splash!


    Blood splattered across the tunnel, and Damien''s left arm was slashed.


    Damien clicked his tongue, his brows furrowing slightly as he glanced at the wound. The cut of the wound began to seep out blood, dyeing the concrete floor in red. The pain was sharp but fleeting, given his body had already begun adjusting to the damage.


    However, what concerned him more was the unnatural sting spreading from the cut.


    ''Poison?'' He quickly assessed the sensation creeping through his veins. It wasn''t immediate, but there was definitely something off.


    Since the reptile monster was able to spit out toxic-like substances, it was only logical to believe its barbed tail was laced with some type of poison as well.


    While the situation was starting to get out of hand, especially with the way the Shadow had openly disregarded his safety, Damien realized he had been quite naive. Just because his perception had increased, and had some unknown changes in his body, he became complacent.


    Although he had repeatedly mentioned how he wouldn''t rely on or trust the Shadow, he still ended up over-relying on it for safety.


    Due to his overreliance on the Shadow. It resulted in him being injured, having mistakenly believed the Shadow would tank the damage or deflect it in response.


    ''Phew, what an amateur move I made.'' Damien didn''t curse at the Shadow or the situation. He admitted his fault and understood how it occurred.


    The only grateful part was that he seemed to be able to narrowly keep up with the reptile monster''s movement.


    He was indeed hit and injured, but only because the reptile monster was able to forcefully change the trajectory movement of its barbed tail. Otherwise, he would have dodged the attack and remained unscathed.


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ''If I perceive its body movement better, then I can deduce whether it wanted to feign an attack or not.'' Having kept his distance since their strike landed, Damien made a mental note to pay attention carefully.


    This wasn''t some kind of video game where he would get a second chance, but reality. The slight numbing sensation of pain from his left arm was evidence of such.


    While Damien remained cautious, the reptile monster in the meantime, became more exhilarated than ever.


    Having witnessed its attack was successful, it growled ferociously in joy. Its sunken red eyes gleamed with sadistic satisfaction. Encouraged by the success, it lunged forward again and whipped its barbed tail around like a deadly scythe.


    As the barbed tail threatened to slash at Damien again¡ªthis time, he was more prepared than ever. Rather than micro-dodging the attack, Damien did the unthinkable.


    He did something the reptile monster would never be able to anticipate¡ªhe dashed forward, completely ignoring the danger of the barbed tail.


    Startled, the reptile monster was taken aback by Damien''s sudden aggression.


    It hurriedly tried to shift their position to get a clearer angle, but Damien wasn''t affected by their shifting. Their distance became closer, and the reptile monster''s instinct was warning him to widen the gap.


    Unable to use the barbed tail to threaten Damien away, the reptile monster resorted to spitting out toxic spit.


    "That''s what I''ve been waiting for." Damien suddenly narrowed his eyes, his hand conjuring some mana.


    ...


    Ever since Damien was enlightened by the existence of mana, he had been secretly trying to experience what it was like.


    Although he failed inertially, thanks to the sudden ambush from Jessica and Lucas, he was able to react instinctively in response to the danger.


    From there, he had managed to succeed in conjuring mana despite it being a fluke.


    So, when he forcibly snatched the tablet from Jessica once again. He was actually researching something more about mana and Mana Core.


    It was thanks to the information that enabled him to become knowledgeable and explain some of the theory to Karl.


    Simultaneously, his enlightenment caused him to realize that he really had a Mana Core within his body.


    He never constructed one, but Damien had a feeling that the existence of the Mana Core had something to do with the incident back on Earth.


    The mysterious shining Joker dancing card that had pierced through him. Maybe the piercing was never meant to harm him but was intended to inject him.


    As for what it was precisely, Damien still didn''t have much of an idea and dared not make any conclusion.


    Having learned the lesson that the Shadow resides in him was not under his control nor was it his protector. He would be a foolish man to make any conclusive judgment.


    Nevertheless, that didn''t stop Damien from commencing the current action.


    The weak point of a reptile, or better to say, for all monsters, was definitely the inside of their body. Hence, Damien had been waiting patiently for the moment when the reptile monster would use toxic spit.


    With its mouth opened wide to do the spitting action, it would become the opening that Damien desired.


    And at this moment, Damien''s hand had already begun conjuring mana. It was not some great spells. It was just pure mana, considering he lacked the knowledge to physically form any spells.


    However, what he knew was that when mana goes uncontrollable, it would result in a blast.


    "Have a taste of an explosive powder keg inside your stomach," Damien shouted and launched the mana toward its mouth.


    Simultaneously, the reptile monster managed to launch the toxic spit straight at Damien. Based on their current distance and trajectory, Damien knew he wouldn''t be able to avoid the toxic spit this time.


    Nevertheless, it was a price he was willing to pay in exchange for the reptile monster''s death. Without any actual combat experience, a prolonged battle would only prove difficult for him.


    Much to his surprise though, when Damien tried to shift his body to allow the toxic spit to land at this least vulnerable spot, the Shadow''s hand suddenly emerged.


    Like a shield, the Shadow''s hand used its dorsal side to block the toxic spit from harming him.


    Shocked, both the reptile monster and Damien were confused by its intervention.


    Of course, the reaction from both sides differed. The reptile monster was clearly infuriated whereas Damien remained stoic. He wasn''t thankful or grateful for the Shadow, given that the battle would have been over had it simply obeyed his command.


    Despite the situation, the reptile monster soon felt a surge of foreign substance entering its body. Its eyes widened in horror as it quickly tried to distance itself from Damien and spat out the foreign substance.


    Unfortunately, it was a little bit too late.


    The surge of mana was volatile¡ªuncontrolled, but powerful. It radiated out from deep within the reptile monster, erupting like an uncontrollable force of nature.


    The reptile monster screeched in pain and banged its body everywhere in hopes of containing the explosion.


    However, the explosive force was immense. Mana blasted out in a powerful burst, creating a destructive wave that collided with the inside of the monster''s body. The explosion tore through the creature''s organs, ripping them apart from the inside.


    Its flesh shredded, and its body recoiled as the destructive force spread through it like wildfire.


    "Kreeeeee," The monster groveled in pain, feeling its life force leaking out exponentially. It continued to groan and shuddered, its body constantly shaking as it struggled to stay alive.


    Amidst its painful cries, Damien finally spoke up. "Now, will you answer my question from earlier?"


    The monster shot a hateful glare at Damien. It hissed coldly, its tongue slithering as in a sign of telling him to scram.


    "What a pity. I would have given you a less painful death had you answered." Damien uttered. He was about to conjure another mana and recreate the blast effect, only to be snatched of the opportunity.


    The Shadow from within him surged forward and slammed its palm directly on the reptile monster. Pieces of flesh splattered across the ground, some landing on the nearby walls, and some landing in the murky water.


    Surprisingly though, Damien didn''t get hit at all. It was as if the Shadow had calculated every form of possibility before making its move to kill and consume the reptile monster.


    Although there was no mouth from the Shadow, the reptile monster appeared to have been vacuumed away.


    In the blink of an eye, only the splattered fleshes remained evidence of the reptile monster''s existence. Its deformed body due to the explosion was consumed and vanished from the world.


    Following the consumption, the Shadow returned to its original place, remaining nothing more than just an ordinary shadow.


    Damien''s expression, however, was cold and solemn. He had some form of connection and was able to discern the power of the Shadow seemed to have improved upon consumption.


    Precisely because of that, Damien began to wonder if the Shadow had deliberately allowed the reptile monster to transform and grow stronger. Perhaps the Shadow had intended for it, knowing that only by consuming a more powerful being would its own strength be further enhanced.


    ''If my conjecture was right, then it''s possible that my life would constantly be in near danger but not threatening enough to be killed.'' Damien was appalled by the situation. His eyes shifted to his left arm.


    The left arm, which had been slashed earlier by the reptile monster''s barbed tail, began to show signs of recovery. The Shadow coated the wound, numbing the stinging sensation as it started to heal.

 Trail

    The injuries caused by the reptile monster were recovered in less than a minute.


    Despite the wound appearing to have been poisoned, Damien found it laughable that it was healed so quickly. And it was thanks to the Shadow who had clearly betrayed him earlier that healed his wound.


    Was he supposed to be angry or thankful?


    Or maybe, the Shadow didn''t care about what was on his mindset. Its objective could have been simply to ensure he was healthy to continue to explore for his consumption.


    No matter the case, Damien didn''t appreciate his situation.


    It was the equivalent of having a time bomb next to you¡ªone that you had no idea when it would explode or not. The time bomb could deter the enemies from approaching you, but simultaneously, it was also a danger that could take your life at any given moment.


    Damien wouldn''t know how others would perceive such a scene but for him personally. He would rather discard the time bomb than keep it by his side.


    Just when Damien wondered if he could use mana to extract the Shadow from his body, a bright light suddenly shone at him.


    His eyes squinted to avoid the flashing light. To his horror, when he got a closer look, it was the dancing Joker.


    However, it wasn''t dancing this time. Instead, it was laughing in amusement.


    "Who are you?" Damien shouted, losing his composure for once.


    "Why did you send me here and what is your purpose?" He questioned.


    Alas, he was ignored and the laughing Joker turned into particles. It was as if the Joker only came out to laugh at him and once that was done, it would take its exit.


    Frustrated, Damien could only watch the participles dissipate into tiny dust. Even with his increased perception, he still couldn''t spot the dust.


    He exhaled deeply and could only regulate his emotions.


    Although he didn''t know why the Joker appeared, he felt a strong connection with the Mana Core within his body after its disappearance.


    With a simple thought process, Damien raised a finger up, and soon, a small flame appeared at the fingertip. Feeling the heat intensity yet not having the sensation of being burned, Damien nearly laughed.


    Others struggled to conjure mana, but here he was, capable of making such a move without any actual practice.


    He blew at his fingertip and the flame dissipated, leaving a mini gray smoke residual.


    Suddenly, Damien''s eyes glowed brightly. Before long, he detected some paw footprints that were previously invisible.


    ''This is¡­'' Alarmed, he tried to trace the footprint and realized it was showing a long trail.


    "Is this a detective mode hint?" He mused, shook his head, and made up his mind. Since time was ticking down, and there happened to be a phenomenal scene in front of him. He might as well track the footprint and see where it led to.


    As he cautiously followed the trail, Damien was relieved that there were no more monsters appearing. To be fair, it didn''t make sense how there could be a monster lurking in the sewer.


    The sewer might not be cleaned frequently but it was still cleaned occasionally. Therefore, the people who worked in the sewer would have encountered danger and alerted the authorities.


    Of course, there could also be another possibility. The person who worked in the sewer was in cahoot with the monster. It was either that or they could be working alongside the culprit.


    There were just too many plot holes here that Damien found it hard to believe the authorities were that brain dead to not discover such suspicious activity.


    ''These authorities better not be the slacker type.'' He prayed and hoped that it was just his imagination. The impression he got of them was dedicated and motivated, given their perimeter guarding and swift actions. But then again, it could have also been a show¡ªa facade to deceive him.


    After all, he was the Seventh Order in their eyes despite being a fake.


    In hindsight, he was their ultimate superior, and low-ranking people would always try their best to impress their superior. That was just how reality and life was.


    ¡­


    "So this is where it led." Damien paused his footstep, his chin raised up. He stared at the top which appeared to be another entry point of the sewer. It was concealed by a manhole cover lid, but the footprint happened to stop at the ground level.


    The rusty ladder didn''t even glow at all, which meant the cat didn''t use the ladder.


    In addition, the last ground footprint was visibly more clear.


    "They kicked the ground and propelled themselves upward." Damien was not surprised by such action. To kick the ground to gain momentum for a run or jump was extremely common.


    What was not common was that it was able to leap out of the sewer when the manhole cover lid was all the way at the top.


    Although the distance between the ground and the manhole cover was quite long, Damien could still spot zero traces of abnormality in the manhole cover.


    "They didn''t break the magic this time." He muttered. The previous manhole cover had its magic shattered, but the one he was currently looking at was perfectly normal.


    Without breaking the embedded magic and still somehow escaping, only one possibility remained.


    There was another person from the surface who was able to open the manhole cover without shattering the embedded magic.


    His eyes narrowed and confirmed the murder case in the mansion wasn''t as simple as it appeared.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ''From Olivia''s vision, everything seemed to be sudden. But it''s more like a cover-up for something big.'' Damien clenched his fist.


    He didn''t doubt Olivia''s words. Although she was a soul, he could sense the raw emotion of grief and anger. There was no way she would have attempted to lie and cover for the culprit.


    "Wait a second¡­ if the cat is indeed a person who has a morphing ability. Then could it be the person Olivia had an affair with was changed at the time of the crime?" Realization quickly dawned upon Damien. The complexity of the case had just increased by a large margin.


    ....


    Damien had to stop his thinking momentarily as he tried to compile the information gathered so far.


    First, the murder case at the mansion was supposedly the start of everything.


    There were two unfortunate coincidences that he thought were suspicious. The return of the owner who caught their affair and their daughter who was supposed to be at the academy.


    When they were caught in their affair, the culprit killed the owner to conceal the matter and proceeded to kill the daughter followed by Olivia as well.


    However, the culprit failed to kill Olivia immediately and allowed her to witness a diabolical event of defiling her daughter¡¯s corpse.


    Olivia was shattered internally and failed to comprehend the man she had an affair with could commit such audacity.


    ¡°But what if the man Olivia thought she was making love with was actually another person who used its morphing ability to transform into them?¡± Damien paused at that moment and recalled Lucas and Jessica¡¯s actions.


    The two of them were TIs but still got deceived by a fake Kyle.


    They might have been disappointing TIs, but they still had some ability. If even they were swindled, then it goes to say that an ordinary person like Olivia who merely wanted to enjoy some orgasm would be deceived as well.


    And the culprit was clearly a sex predator and pervert. Their bed performance definitely wouldn¡¯t be terrible.


    Olivia wouldn¡¯t even suspect a thing. She would only feel immense pleasure and happiness from the man she believed she had chosen to have an affair with.


    ¡®The culprit was a horny bastard, but he didn¡¯t make a move until the mansion owner returned.¡¯ Damien narrowed his eyes.


    Why did the mansion owner return early?


    Aside from him, why did the deceased daughter also request a leave of absence?


    From the beginning, these two points were never properly investigated.


    ¡®Detective Sheila didn¡¯t investigate in-depth either. They only fact-check the basic information and didn¡¯t bother thinking much about it.¡¯ He exhaled softly and realized the murder wasn¡¯t committed in the heat of the moment. Rather, it should have been a conspiracy from the start.


    To know why it all began, he needed to understand why the deceased daughter, Agatha chose to return home when the academy was still in session.


    ¡°Looks like there¡¯s more work to do.¡± He stretched his arms and called for the Shadow. Despite its earlier performance, Damien didn¡¯t have much of an option except to use the Shadow to open the manhole cover.


    Luckily, it appeared that the Shadow was in command this time and lunged toward the top.


    In the blink of an eye, the Shadow reached the top and slithered over the manhole cover like a living mist, its darkness coiling tightly around its edges. Wisps of inky blackness seeped into the intricate carvings embedded in the metal, probing the enchantments woven into its surface. Damien remained silent as he witnessed the Shadow¡¯s attempt to open the manhole cover.


    ¡®As hateful as it sounds, the Shadow¡¯s power is really something else.¡¯ He thought.


    The sigils pulsed faintly in resistance, the embedded magic on the manhole cover flaring to push back against the intrusion of the Shadow.


    However, it was undeterred, and the Shadow increased its momentum. A faint, eerie hum vibrated through the air as the Shadow¡¯s influence seeped into the embedded magic, disrupting its integrity. The protective runes flickered erratically, their glow dimming as the spellwork was methodically unraveled.


    Soon, a metallic click echoed through the tunnel, and the manhole cover loosened, a glimmering of light flashing upon the dark tunnel.


    Of course, the dark tunnel was no different than the outside for Damien, who had no trouble with his vision whatsoever.


    With the Shadow moving the manhole cover aside, Damien kicked the ground softly and hoped to launch himself straight to the opening.


    Normally, such a thought would have been crazy, given a regular human¡¯s jump had its limit. Yet in this world, he appeared to be supernatural, capable of even leaping so high in the air.


    A few seconds later, he emerged from the sewer, only to be greeted by the sight of numerous guns pointing at him. The guns appeared to be hand pistols, but Damien detected a faint mana around them.


    ¡®Magic pistol?¡¯ He tilted his head and wondered silently. He wasn¡¯t alarmed or frightened by the guns, given that they were all wearing the same type of uniform.


    Sure enough, it didn¡¯t take long before someone among the crowd stepped forward.


    ¡°Hold your fire.¡± They ordered and hurriedly rushed toward Damien. They saluted respectfully and said. ¡°Apologies for the commotion, Seventh Order.¡±


    Indeed, these people who had their guns pointed at him were uniformed officers.


    However, the person who saluted to him suddenly retrieved a device and asked, ¡°Sorry, Seventh Order, but this is protocol.¡±


    Damien shifted his gaze toward the odd-looking device. It didn¡¯t appear to be some weapon.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± He raised an eyebrow and asked.


    ¡°We found the Ninth Order Kyle fainted at a nearby alley. When he awakened, he mentioned being attacked by the Seventh Order.¡± The person said awkwardly.


    ¡°Hoh, so are you saying I¡¯m the attacker?¡± Damien mused in response.


    ¡°I dare not.¡± The person shook their head. ¡°We¡¯ve received a statement from Ninth Order Lucas and Jasmine that they were deceived by a fake Kyle. It was then determined that there was a Morpher in the city. So protocol had been declared to check everyone.¡±


    Having said that, Damien understood the situation. The uniformed officer still held their guns toward him because they were unsure if he was the authentic Seventh Order or a Morpher in disguise.


    It was quite the irony though, given that he was a fake as well but labeled as the authentic one.


    Nevertheless, based on their reaction and how ready they were.


    It appeared that they had witnessed his action earlier and were already half determined him to be the authentic one. Otherwise, the person in front of him wouldn¡¯t have approached him so closely.


    ¡°Very well, you can do your check. But afterward, I¡¯ll have more orders for you.¡± Damien chose to comply in the end.

 Slavrok

    With Damien giving his consent to check him, the person quickly used the device.


    A few seconds later, the device started beeping and flashing a green light. A sigh of relief soon appeared on their face once it made such an indication.


    "Apologies for the trouble, Seventh Order." The person saluted once again and introduced themselves. "I''m Detective Dexter Nelson, assigned to this area to patrol and search for the Morpher. We''ve detected an intense mana from here earlier and rushed over here."


    Dexter made sure to explain their sudden appearance and the reason for their action. After all, it was never a good look for an officer to point their guns at TI unless there were special circumstances.


    Nodding, Damien wasn''t angry by their action. Instead, he was astounded by their swift action.


    "A Morpher ability is very rare, so we must screen everyone frequently. Also, officers must never go alone no matter the circumstance." He cleared his throat and said.


    "Even if officers must use the bathroom, they must be accompanied. Of course, that means they have to be the same gender."


    "That''s only natural." Dexter received the command. A morphing type of skill was very rare, but they had dealt with such situations before. The city itself was equipped with large defensive formations that blocked off such ability.


    However, it appeared that there were some problems with the formation. Otherwise, the Morpher wouldn''t have been able to get an opportunity to cause mayhem.


    What made it more alarming was the fact that they were able to morph into Damien and attack a Ninth Order TI.


    This was unprecedented.


    In the end, Dexter gritted his teeth, mustered his courage, and asked anxiously. "Pardon my rudeness, Seventh Order. But have you perhaps been knocked unconscious once?"


    "Does it look like I can be knocked out easily?" Damien''s eyes turned cold and questioned.


    Instantly, Dexter shook his head. He refused to believe someone like Damien could have been taken out. If that was the case, then Velgrave''s situation would have increased its alarm to another level.


    What Dexter failed to pick up on was that Damien was already starting to feel a cold sweat.


    ''Morpher gets the chance to morph through the DNA of the person or animal.'' He pondered over the time when he crossed over to this world. He was indeed left in some kind of dark alley without anyone nearby until he got to the main street.


    Could it be that he had been attacked?


    Or was it the original body, who somehow happened to match him completely that was ambushed?


    His head began to hurt when he tried to recall the previous incident, prompting him to stop thinking about it.


    "Since we''ve confirmed the Seventh to be authentic, we shall adhere to your advice and resume our patrol." Dexter bowed and was about to take his exit.


    However, Damien halted him.


    "There''s no need to patrol anymore." He calmly said. "I have a Coachman to set up a trap in the city''s gate to lure them out. Also, you should investigate those who worked in the sewer, especially those assigned here and VS 30th streets."


    VS as in Velgrave South, and the 30th street was the approximate street of the sewer that he had entered. And right now, Damien happened to be at VS 9th streets.


    This meant that he had walked over a distance of at least 21 streets while in the sewer.


    The sewer was connected with many exit points throughout Velgrave, but the Morpher chose to exit from this particular point. Not to mention, they remained undetected and got away scot-free.


    How could Damien not be suspicious?


    Communication devices resembling cell phones were available in this unfamiliar world. In other words, the Morpher must have been informed in advance that the coast was clear to exit.


    While Damien was starting to feel exhausted by the complexity and possible people involved, Dexter remained unaware of his plight and saluted to the order.


    "Understood, I shall inform the other Detectives to follow up on the matter," Dexter said and promptly sent the command over to the other Detectives who were patrolling nearby the area that Damien listed out.


    Sometime later, Damien informed Dexter of the scenes he encountered at the sewer, along with bits of his discovery.


    Naturally, details of the fight scenes and how he figured out the trail were omitted. He was still distrustful of Dexter and their station as a whole. It was just that he lacked the necessary manpower to do all the investigation, so he had no choice but to use them as his assistance.


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    They were free manpower anyway. Only a fool wouldn''t take advantage of them and attempt to do everything by himself.


    Even a hero would be left in shambles if they had to do everything themselves. That was unless they were completely overpowered and the villains were utterly trash.


    "The Seventh''s power is indeed impressive." As soon as Dexter absorbed the information, he became startled and amazed. "To take down a Slavrok all by yourself. A Slavrok capable of transforming is extremely rare."


    Despite his excitement though, Dexter suddenly realized something was amiss.


    "Wait a second¡­ a Slavrok appearing in the sewer?" His eyebrows furrowed and he soon realized the situation wasn''t simple.


    "I see what you mean, Seventh." He bowed his head. Damien didn''t relay the event in the sewer to boast about his achievement. Instead, he was warning and suggesting to him that someone could be plotting a big scheme.


    Slavrok was a known reptile monster that roamed around the swamp and dark areas. However, for them to appear in Velgrave''s Sewer, that was when things became very alarming.


    There was no way monsters could have sneaked in and bypassed the defensive formation engraved in Velgrave City.


    Unless someone inside did something and transported the Slavrok to the sewer.


    Meanwhile, Damien was satisfied by Dexter''s quick-thinking ability to understand his meaning.


    "The Slavrok should have been living in the sewer for weeks already. I was informed that there were incidents of a foul stench emitting from the sewer but it was declared as resolved. You should check on that record." He suggested.


    ...


    Damien didn''t wish to waste too much time on this case nor did he care about the conspiracy that was being plotted.


    All he cared about was his survival and clues about his predicament.


    Therefore, anyone who got in his way was considered an enemy. He would not hesitate to eliminate them if necessary.


    His life had never been rainbow and sunshine. Death was quite common even back in his original world.


    Corpses would appear in some dark alley every few days, and they were all people no one cared about. To simplify, they were like the scum of society.


    Scums who didn''t deserve any attention as they were just parasites. Naturally, Damien was also such a scum as well.


    The only difference was that he wasn''t as foolish as them to allow himself to be a target. Even on the off-chance he did become a target, he had always made sure there was an escape path whenever he made a big action¡ªuntil he encountered the damnable Joker.


    No one could have calculated or predicted a random Joker card would suddenly appear and turn your life upside down!


    As Damien promptly stopped his emotions from going awry, he turned his attention to Dexter.


    "You can get a few people down the sewer and collect the corpse." He said and glanced at the sky. "The culprit should be eager to flee, so let''s make haste over to the City Gate."


    "Yes, Seventh." Dexter saluted and received the order. There wasn''t a need to change their clothes either, given that the culprit must have recognized him already.


    It would have been more suspicious if he were to change his clothes and inadvertently alert the culprit that they were stepping on a trap.


    The thing he least wanted was for the culprit to stay in hiding and stall him further.


    ''The murder happened a few days ago, but they chose to stay. This meant that they still had businesses left to do until now.'' Damien would make sure the culprit regretted their decision by staying for another few days instead of fleeing from the start.


    Sometime later, Damien and Dexter began heading toward the City Gate. Along the way, Dexter was muttering to himself, seemingly trying to piece the clues together.


    The current clues were like a jigsaw puzzle, completely separated and unable to paint a clear picture. Not to mention, there were many missing pieces to complete the puzzle even if they managed to unravel the current clues.


    "This murder case is too peculiar." Dexter twitched his brows and failed to comprehend the reason for the crime.


    At first, it was thought to be a common rape and murder case, but once Damien made his conjecture. The severity and conspiracy behind the case expanded.


    "There''s no need to overthink it." While Dexter was filled with confusion, Damien suddenly commented. "Whatever the motive and action behind it, we''ll capture them. They even dared to target TIs, so it goes to show how daring these criminals are."


    Nodding in agreement, Dexter acknowledged the saying. "You''re right, Seventh. By targeting the TIs, they are simply declaring war against us."


    With Damien''s comment, Dexter no longer thinks much of the case. He regained his focus and proceeded to pave the way for Damien.


    A few minutes later, they arrived at the City Gate. The City Gate was filled with commotion, and many protested against the lockdown order.


    "Why is a TI locking down the city because of a mere criminal?"


    "Even if it''s a Seventh Order, there should be a limit to their authorization. To lock down a city like Velgrave is unprecedented."


    "I respect the TIs and their immense work, but this isn''t a viable solution. The city''s revenue would be down with merchants being blocked and traffic being impeded."


    Most of the shouting was more or less the same. They were displeased and dissatisfied with the lockdown order. But at the same time, they dared not be overly rude in their words. Or more specifically, they didn''t dare to speak ill of the Seventh Order TI.


    The existence of a TI was just a different level. Thus, it didn''t take long before the civilians started to change their target to the uniformed officers.


    "You officers are so incompetent. Not only did you fail to capture the culprit, but you even troubled the TI. Do you have any shame?"


    "I''m of noble status and have a meeting at Kodacrest. Could you afford the consequences of delaying me?"


    As the crowd started to curse at the uniformed officers, many began to gather their courage.


    They weren''t afraid of them¡ªespecially those of noble status. A TI could ignore the nobles, albeit the lower ranks dependent on their ranking order, but the officers couldn''t.


    "Hmph, these people are always the ones to complain about culprits being on the loose, but when we try to do something. They also complain." Dexter had enough of listening and was about to step forward to stop the protest.


    However, he was quickly suppressed and halted by Damien, who shook his head in return.


    "Stay put and wait," Damien said and shifted his attention to an inconspicuous carriage. The commotion was getting louder but the carriage remained still. It was clear to Damien what Karl was thinking about.


    ''This man wants to maximize the profit. Not bad.'' He approved of Karl being patient and not making a move immediately.


    To reel in the big fish, and possibly the one Damien wished to search for, Karl played the waiting game.


    As long as the people in the city believed the lockdown would remain indefinitely, the culprit would soon panic.


    After all, with no one being able to enter and exit, it was equivalent to having the Velgrave being a massive prison cell.


    Not to mention, the nobles and those displeased by the lockdown would also join in to assist the police officers. Of course, it was more so for the TI to ensure their life could return to normal.


    As the commotion continued to fester, with the officers starting to lose control of the situation, Karl knew it was his time to shine.


    ''Can''t disappoint the first mission that Master gave me.'' He thought to himself and leaped on top of his carriage.

 The Pass

    "Let me out! I cannot miss the important event to send my children to a prestigious academy."


    "Please inform the Seventh Order that I wished to seek their leniency. I''m willing to pay for the guarantee."


    "With my noble status, why would I do something as lowly as committing murder? Their dirty love affair that resulted in three deaths has nothing to do with me."


    Just when the situation was starting to get out of hand and the uniformed officers were unable to contain the crowd, a loud voice suddenly echoed, causing the crowd to turn silent.


    "I have the pass to legally leave the city. So who wishes to rent my carriage?"


    The crowd was stupefied by the person''s shout. Aside from their nonsensical claim to be able to leave the city, they were trying to search for customers to rent their carriage.


    "Just who is this crazy lunatic?"


    "Does he take us for a fool?


    Although the nobles were desperate to leave, they weren''t foolish enough to be swindled by a lowly Coachman¡ªmuch less a lunatic one.


    If there was a legal pass, then why would they be sitting ducks here for a long time? They would have used the legal pass to make their exit from the beginning.


    "Officers, why haven''t you arrested the lunatic?" Among the crowd, someone suddenly suggested arresting the latter. It appeared that they were genuinely annoyed by the Coachman, but the officers knew they were simply trying to lessen their manpower.


    With fewer officers around, there could be an opportunity to possibly slip through the crack to exit. After all, there were no TIs present. Even if caught in the future, they could simply pay a large fee as compensation.


    However, it remained true that the Coachman''s words were quite disruptive and could easily cause the crowd to start spouting more nonsense.


    "Uh, just get the Coachman off the top of his carriage, Gilbert." Frustrated by the crowd, one of the uniformed officers had no choice but to comply a little bit. They told his other colleague to do the job while he maintained the crowd here.


    Gilbert knitted their brows slightly upon being told to do the job. ''Why do I always get picked to deal with the crazy one?''


    Despite being very reluctant, Gilbert flashed a smile and nodded his head. He obeyed the order and swiftly made his way to the carriage.


    Upon arriving at the carriage, he raised his hand and pointed at them.


    "You, get down from there¡ª"


    Suddenly, Gilbert found his voice being cut short. It wasn''t that he lost his voice or anything, but it was the fact that he saw an insignia being flashed by the Coachman.


    ''A Seventh TI insignia?'' Startled and alarmed Gilbert swallowed a mouthful of saliva nervously. He was positive that the Coachman was definitely not a TI, but definitely had some connection with the Seventh Order.


    An insignia was one-of-a-kind, specifically designed and crafted for the TI. There was no way a TI would allow their insignia to be snatched away¡ªit was impossible.


    Thus, the only conclusion Gilbert came up with was that the Coachman was under Seventh''s order.


    To confirm his speculation, Gilbert purposely lowered his voice and asked, "Are you perhaps under order by the Seventh?"


    Upon being asked such a question, Karl''s face was somewhat gleeful. When had there ever been an opportunity or day where a uniformed officer would be that polite to him?


    Usually, he would have just been scooted to the side or forced to answer unless he wanted to be detained under suspicion.


    Taking a deep breath, Karl smiled at Gilbert and gently rubbed the insignia.


    "What else? Or did you think I''m capable of snatching it from the Seventh?" He jeered.


    Let''s not even mention that the crime of stealing an insignia was punishable by death. The mere fact that a Seventh could lose their insignia to someone like him was beyond impossible.


    Therefore, Karl was essentially calling Gilbert foolish for raising such a question.


    Gilbert also realized the opposing party must have been speaking the truth.


    ''A Coachman who dared to jeer at an officer must have some backing.'' He thought to himself. Now that he realized Karl was acting under the Seventh''s order, he could only allow him to do whatever he was doing initially and return to his original position.


    When the crowd noticed how Karl continued to chant loudly about auctioning off his carriage for a ride outside the city, they became startled.


    "Huh, the officer didn''t detain or stop him?"


    "Could it be true then?"


    The crowd quickly came up with their own speculation, but most of them aligned with how Karl got permission and could really bring them out of the city despite the lockdown.


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    Meanwhile, Gilbert''s colleague, Jackson, was dumbfounded by the situation.


    "Why did you return like that?" Jackson raised his voice and held a look of dissatisfaction. "Do you know how the crowd would become uncontrollable?"


    Gilbert understood Jackson''s frustration, given he would have reacted the same if he had been unaware of Karl''s situation. Thus, he hurriedly over and whispered to his ear.


    A few moments later, Jackson''s eyes widened in complete shock and surprise. He darted his eyes left and right to check the surroundings. And through some luck, Jackson spotted two individuals from afar.


    ''Detective Dexter and another person?'' Stunned, Jackson noticed how Dexter was being polite and somewhat submissive toward the other person. Since the other person wasn''t a Sergeant and was unfamiliar to him, there could only be one conclusion: the Seventh Order TI.


    ''Damn, so Gilbert''s words are true. The Seventh is present and allowing the commotion to happen.''


    In the blink of an eye, Jackson subtly paved the way away and directed the crowd to focus more on Karl.


    "Auctioning a Pass to leave Velgrave City. Highest money comes first, so feel free to bid." Karl shouted loudly. His shout immediately attracted attention¡ªunlike before, this time, he was taken seriously.


    The crowd wasn''t blind and ignorant to not notice the officers silent approval of the action. In the next instance, numerous shouting of bidding commenced.


    Amidst the commotion, from afar, Damien''s eyes scanned around the crowd. He wasn''t interested in the loudest bidder whatsoever.


    Instead, he was focused on those who were more quiet and inconspicuous.


    ''Come on, drop a high bid or you''ll lose this Pass.'' Damien sneered inwardly.


    ...


    "I bid 1 gold coin."


    "You have the face to bid that low? I bid 3 gold coins. That pass is mine."


    "Tsk, you might as well give up on the event and stay coop up at Velgrave. I''ll bid 5 gold coins."


    As the commotion from the crowd intensified, bidding voices overlapped and overwhelmed one another. Each of the nobles hoped to bid and win the pass from Karl.


    However, they were also unwilling to bid too high. After all, there was a possibility that by the time they obtained the pass, the lockdown would already be lifted.


    They were desperate, but not desperate to lose their mind and rationality to make wise decisions.


    ''These nobles are really not easy to swindle.'' Karl also understood the shrewd nobles were being cautious. He wanted to do something to raise the price further but was afraid of making a mistake as well.


    ''Master said all the bidding money would go to my pocket, but I need to lure out the rat.'' He was worried about the latter.


    Fattening his pocket was definitely nice, but his main mission was to lure the culprit out. Without catching the culprit, the trap that Damien set up would be futile.


    As Karl struggled to maintain the intensity and give them a sense of urgency, Damien also realized the former was lacking experience.


    Karl certainly had the desire and some wits to achieve decent results. Alas, it wasn''t enough to complete the big picture.


    ''Seems like I''ll need to orchestrate something more.'' Damien pursed his lips.


    He turned to Dexter and said, "Go over there and announce the lockdown would remain indefinitely. Say that we''ve discovered a Slavrok in the sewer and the danger level has increased. The pass that Karl is offering is the only ticket to leave."


    Startled, Dexter didn''t expect he would one day become a pauper at work.


    ''I''ll have to help the Coachman to reel in more money¡­'' If Dexter were told he would have to do such a task before being deployed today, then he would have scoffed at them.


    After all, what kind of detective would resort to such means and stoop so low for some gold coins?


    Yet that kind of situation was precisely happening to him. It was also an order from the Seventh, meaning he couldn''t refuse the request.


    "I understand." In the end, Dexter flashed an awkward smile and complied with the command.


    He made sure to exude a detective aura as he approached the crowd.


    "Make way people. Otherwise, I''ll detain you on suspicion that you are related to the case." Dexter exclaimed loudly.


    Almost immediately, the crowd turned around and checked who had the audacity to shout like that. When they came to a realization that it was a Detective, they soon became wary.


    A detective was indeed superior to the uniformed officers in rank, but it wasn''t by much. Yet the fact that Dexter still had the courage to talk about detainment without hesitation meant that he got the backer.


    Sure enough, their speculation was confirmed when Dexter got the attention and declared, "The Seventh has given me an order that the lockdown would remain indefinitely until the crisis is resolved."


    "What? It''s just a murder case of someone who''s not even a noble!"


    "Is there really a need to go to that extreme?"


    "I don''t have any ill will toward the Seventh Order TI but this is too much. If every murder case results in the city lockdown then Velgrave is done."


    Without a doubt, many began voicing their complaints and frustrations toward Dexter. Although they still tried to remain respectful toward the TI, it was clear that their patience was running thin.


    Even a TI had a limit to how far they could behave and act. The city lockdown had already been ongoing for more than half an hour. That alone should have been enough for them to stop the lockdown.


    Naturally, Dexter understood where they were coming from and had no choice but to admit Damien was impressive.


    "Apologies, but this is no longer referring to a murder case. Just earlier, the Seventh was investigating and discovered a Slavrok in the sewer. Though the Slavrok was easily resolved by the Seventh, a monster has inevitably been found in Velgrave." Dexter announced loudly.


    Instantly, the crowd turned silent. Disbelief colored their eyes when they were informed a monster was actually lurking in the sewer.


    A sewer was dirty and almost no one of their status would care about it.


    However, even they knew the sewer was connected with many things. If the monster somehow made their way to the surface and stumbled across their home, then it goes without saying what the outcome would be.


    "Isn''t that more of a reason to let us out of the city until you all clear out any lurking monsters?" Suddenly, someone from the crowd raised a valid point. Since Velgrave had unknown danger, locking the city down was essentially trapping them with the danger.


    Dexter paused for a moment before recollecting his thought process. He hadn''t expected anyone in the crowd to be sharp enough to grasp the key point and question him.


    Nevertheless, he was prepared for an unexpected moment and promptly explained in a roundabout manner.


    "Indeed, but this is the Seventh''s command. I''m sure everyone would respect the Seventh''s decision, right?" Dexter said calmly. The crowd naturally wouldn''t dare to disagree with the judgment and decision made by a TI¡ªespecially a Seventh Order.


    Seeing that the crowd had subsided slightly, Dexter made sure to strike the iron when it was hot.


    "Anyway, the Coachman over there has assisted the Seventh in the case. Therefore, he was granted a Pass to leave the city. Anyone who managed to win the bid of the Pass could leave the city with him."


    As if on cue, Karl noticed Damien''s signal from afar and understood it was time for the finale.


    He jumped down from the carriage and took the center of attention. "That''s right, people. I hold the only pass to bypass the city lockdown. Once you miss this chance, then you''ll regret it for life."


    Thanks to Dexter''s declaration and Karl''s temptation, the crowd was finally hooked¡ªparticularly one group of people.