“Oh, I should also remind you of one more thing, Mr. Rockland.”
Just as this confrontation filled with calculation and testing was about to reach its conclusion and Cecil was preparing to turn and leave, the special envoy from the Seventh Agency's headquarters suddenly stopped.
She tilted her head slightly.
“If, during this cooperation...”
“I ever discover that you have committed any boundary-crossing behavior that violates the Seventh Agency's management regulations for transcendents...”
Cecil's voice was low, yet it carried an unquestionable air of lethal intent.
“Then I apologize.”
“Even if we have reached a cooperative relationship now, I will absolutely not let you off because of it.”
Facing this official parting warning, an innocent smile appeared on Elias’s face.
“Don’t worry, Ms. Investigator!”
His tone was incredibly sincere.
“I am a well-known law-abiding citizen in Hope County. My specialty is rescuing kittens from trees!”
Before Cecil could roll her eyes, Elias’s gaze suddenly became sharp.
“However, Ms. Cecil.”
“As equal partners, I must also remind you of something.”
“I hope that during our cooperation, we can mutually keep all of today's secrets.”
“I do not want Lottie to suffer even the slightest bit of harm because of my affairs.”
Elias stared fixedly into Cecil’s eyes, emphasizing every word.
“Especially, I do not want her to be innocently dragged into this mire because of your Seventh Agency’s messy, ridiculous cases.”
“This is what you personally promised when you used her as a bargaining chip just now.”
“Since a cooperation has been barely managed.”
“I believe that whether it is the high-and-mighty authorities or a free transcendent like me who walks the underground, both sides should strictly abide by the spirit of contract and our promises.”
“If anyone crosses the line...”
Elias didn’t finish the sentence, but the ruthlessness in his eyes said it all.
Cecil looked at the young man who was glib and silver-tongued one moment and bared his fangs for his sister the next.
She remained silent for two seconds.
“Of course.”
Cecil nodded solemnly.
“The Seventh Agency’s credibility is beyond question.”
With that, she flicked her wrist.
“Swoosh—”
A sharp sound of something cutting through the air suddenly rang out!
A small object emitting a faint metallic luster traced a parabola through the air, flying accurately toward Elias.
Elias was quick-eyed and nimble-handed, catching it in his palm.
A cold and heavy sensation spread from his hand.
He opened his palm to look.
It was a metal ball, smaller than his palm.
The surface was carved with complex mysticism runes.
“The Golden Sni...?”
Elias blurted out as he looked at the thing in his hand.
Isn't this exactly like that flying little gold ball from a movie in his previous life?!
“What?”
Ms. Cecil was clearly confused by the specific term.
She frowned slightly, obviously unable to understand Elias’s nonsense.
However, out of a businesslike attitude, she quickly explained:
“That is a supernatural artifact.”
“An Imprinting Orb.”
Cecil pointed at the metal ball in Elias’s hand.
“It contains a Scale Two spell from the mystic pathway—【Summon Familiar】.”
“However, unlike an ordinary Scale Two spell.”
“The spell inside this orb was personally upgraded and sealed by a Scale Five mystic.”
“Therefore, the spiritual familiar it summons can, like a high-level spirit world creature, ignore physical obstacles and cross vast distances to deliver encrypted messages.”
Cecil turned and walked toward the black carriage parked by the roadside.
“If there are urgent matters, or if you discover any unusual clues regarding Wayland Shipping.”
“You can directly inject spirituality into it to establish a one-way contact with me.”
“Alright.”
Good stuff!
Elias tucked the Imprinting Orb into his trench coat pocket and nodded.
“Finally, Mr. Rockland.”
Cecil already had one foot on the carriage step.
She paused, looked back, and the lines of her face softened for a rare moment.
“For the sake of being Charlotte’s brother.”
“Happy Spark Festival.”
With that.
She climbed into the carriage without any hesitation.
“Thanks!”
Elias stood under the streetlamp, waving half-heartedly at the receding carriage.
As the sound of horse hooves faded away, Spark Square returned to complete silence.
“Whew—”
Only after confirming that the Seventh Agency’s carriage had completely vanished from sight did Elias let out a long breath.
The nerves that had been wound tight finally relaxed completely at this moment.
“Spark Festival...”
If it hadn’t been for Cecil’s sudden parting reminder.
He had almost forgotten that tomorrow was the Kingdom of Velen’s annual Spark Festival!
Of course, more importantly...
Digging up John’s grave was also set for tomorrow night!
“Not bad, kid.”
Old Ed, who had been silent for a long time watching Elias’s performance, finally spoke again.
His tone was full of mysterious confidence and self-satisfaction.
“Being able to maintain your composure while facing an official investigator.”
“You’ve really made me proud!”
“Pah!”
Elias immediately got angry hearing this.
“Stop trying to take credit for yourself!”
He began to vent ruthlessly in his mind.
“I won't say who was getting anxious when we were surrounded just now!”
“You were so loud my brain almost exploded!”
“Ahem...”
Old Ed tried to salvage his dignity.
“That was out of an elder's concern for a junior!”
“I was afraid you’d be young and reckless and try to fight the authorities head-on!”
“Oh, thank you so much!”
Elias rolled his eyes hard.
However.
Through this meaningless bickering with Old Ed, the sense of pressure in Elias’s heart from the prolonged high tension gradually eased.
That scene just now.
Even though he had relied on the information gap and his grasp of human nature to be certain that Ms. Cecil’s purpose in finding him was to negotiate cooperation.
His back was still soaked with cold sweat.
What if?
What if that woman was a psychopath who didn’t play by the rules and suddenly went crazy, ordering her men to fire?
Although he had just been promoted to Scale Two today and was indeed feeling a bit confident.
On this empty square, facing a Scale Three elite plus three thugs.
Fighting one against many was certainly not a wise move.
Furthermore!
Ms. Cecil was still holding that lethal metronome in her hand!
That strange containment object.
Elias believed that his current self absolutely could not withstand that thing.
Fortunately, his judgment of Ms. Cecil hadn’t been wrong.
“But then again, this Imprinting Orb is a good thing!”
Old Ed seemed to want to hide his embarrassment, so he quickly changed the subject.
“If you sell this thing on the black market, the price would definitely not be cheap!”
“You saw it that day too.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Elias nodded in deep agreement.
“The manufacturing process for this thing is complex; it’s almost as expensive as those life-saving spell scrolls.”
While chatting with the old geezer in his mind, Elias tightened his trench coat around him.
He left Spark Square and caught a night public carriage at a nearby intersection.
“To the West District.”
The priority now was to get home and check on Charlotte’s situation.
By the time Elias returned home, it was nearly ten o'clock.
The gas lamps in the house were still lit.
Arthur and Charlotte were sitting on the sofa in their pajamas, waiting for him.
After carefully using 【Moon Vision】 to check every corner of the house, not even missing a strand of his sister's hair, and confirming that there was truly nothing unusual.
The heart that had been hanging in Elias’s throat finally settled back into his stomach.
Afterward.
He was forced to endure half an hour of nagging from Arthur and Charlotte.
This day of walking on the edge of life and death finally came to an end.
Elias collapsed like a pile of mud onto his slightly hard single bed.
His eyelids felt as heavy as lead weights.
Almost the instant he closed his eyes, he completely lost consciousness.
...
However.
It felt like only a second had passed.
Elias had just fallen asleep.
When he opened his eyes again, he found that what he saw was not the familiar ceiling of his room.
No.
There was no ceiling at all!
What greeted his eyes.
Was a deep sky as black as thick ink.
There was no starlight.
Even the moon was completely invisible.
However, strange white auroras floated in the sky.
Bringing a touch of light to this world.
“What the hell?!”
Elias was instantly jolted awake by the scene before him!
He discovered with horror that the area he was in was not his bedroom at all.
Instead, it was a grand, ancient ruin!
Everywhere stood high walls made of massive cyan stone bricks.
Although those walls were dilapidated, they still emitted a heart-palpitating pressure.
And on those mottled walls, spherical luminous bodies were scattered.
They emitted a soft light.
As for him.
He was currently sitting on the broken wall of the second floor of the ruins.
A cold wind blew past.
The air was filled with the fresh and pure scent of soil.
This made him, who had been breathing the fresh smog of Hope County lately, almost feel oxygen drunk.
Of course, that was just a stray thought; Elias’s current feeling was an indescribable weirdness.
Following his current perspective, he looked into the distance.
Under the illumination of the white auroras in the sky, he could see a lush green forest and plains in the distance.
It was hard to imagine.
That there was such a place in the Kingdom of Velen that hadn't been touched by any industrial pollution!
But that wasn't what terrified Elias the most.
As "his" perspective slowly and uncontrollably turned.
Elias suddenly looked down.
He discovered with extreme horror!
That he was currently wearing a suit of ancient-looking, pitch-black armor!
And in the center of the breastplate, a lifelike owl was vividly carved!
“This...”
Elias recognized this pattern at a glance!
“Isn't this the owl on the elemental wheel?!”
His pupils shook violently!
This place, this attire, and this fresh air!
Everything, absolutely everything, was wrong to the extreme!
What was even more terrifying!
He tried frantically to move a finger or turn his neck.
Now he knew why it felt weird.
Because he discovered in despair.
That he was completely unable to control this black-armored body!
It was as if he were trapped in a shell that didn't belong to him, forced to watch all this from a first-person perspective.
And yet, he could feel all the senses of this body.
It was as if he had become an existence similar to Old Ed.
But clearly, this knight didn't seem to sense him.
A sense of dread welled up.
Was this a hallucination?
Or a dream?
What kind of new trick is this!
Rate on N.U.
