Chapter Ninety-Seven: Departure

Timing is, indeed, a rather delicate word.

This timing referred to the moment for excavating the lost legacy of the Itel Dynasty.

Or perhaps the moment for uncovering Ernest’s hidden trove. Either way, no one could yet know.

By then, Zhao Xu had also noticed the seven from Roa on the other side of the force barrier. Seeing that he had been speaking calmly with the mage Ryan all along, and that the tension in the air had eased considerably, they simply stood there and watched in silence.

Knowing that the time to depart was drawing near, he said directly, “Since the Association’s top brass already knows about this, there’s no need for me to carry the news back myself, is there?”

Truth be told, Zhao Xu really did not want to get tangled up in this secret too early.

He would gain nothing from it, and all he would get in return was a heap of trouble.

If word of something like this leaked out, anyone on their line of inquiry would become a suspect.

“Huh? You’re overthinking it. I reported this to the Association a month ago. I waited a whole month and nobody came, so I figured they must have known about it already. Besides, you don’t seriously think a mage has to go hire a courier just to pass along a message, do you?”

Zhao Xu only nodded, deciding it was just needless worry on his part.

“Still, there is something I do need to give you.” With that, Mage Ryan pulled a palm-sized booklet from his dimensional bag.

“It contains some of my guesses and analyses regarding that hidden trove. Take it to Antinoya for me, and tell her we’re even.”

After Zhao Xu accepted it, he asked, “Didn’t you already tell the Association all of this?”

By rights, someone of Antinoya’s rank should have known too.

“The Association doesn’t belong only to the Final Scroll.” Ryan’s tone was faint. “She’ll know in the end, certainly, but not necessarily right now. I’m giving her this so she can make her own decision first.”

“Can’t you just contact Antinoya directly?” Zhao Xu asked, surprised.

Though he was a player and could revive even if he died on the way, he should still have been able to deliver the booklet to Antinoya.

But entrusting such a thing to him was still somewhat risky.

Even if the chance of him leaking it was low, it was still a chance. This Mage Ryan, though he had the temperament of a performer, seemed fundamentally like a rather reliable person.

“I decided to tell Antinoya only after I saw you,” Mage Ryan said with a smile.

That gaze of his, as though appraising some object, made Zhao Xu’s skin prickle. He could not help asking, “What does this have to do with me, or with Antinoya?”

Ernest’s hidden trove was certainly tempting, but from what he knew of Antinoya, if something was not hers, she would not even spare it a glance.

“Antinoya will tell you when you get back,” Mage Ryan said, returning to his usual air of mystery.

What Zhao Xu hated most was talking to mages like this. They all loved speaking in riddles, always leaving things hanging with that same cryptic line: you’ll know when the time comes.

“Then let them go, and we’ll be on our way. We’ll seal the entrance afterward,” Zhao Xu said.

“Seal it? Seal nothing. I’ll hide this place later. If you still have the skills, come try your luck. Though, to be honest, you took the wrong path. When you came down from that platform, the road on the left was the one leading to the hidden underground city. But the junk inside had already been taken by the previous band of adventurers, so going there now would be a wasted trip.”

Zhao Xu had not expected that answer. “This isn’t that dungeon?”

“Of course not. This is a base I built myself,” Mage Ryan said.

“But wasn’t there a room outside covered in the names of demon lords, and an altar as well?” Zhao Xu asked, startled.

At the same time, his whole body grew wary. If Mage Ryan could not explain that clearly, then his attitude would change.

To worship a demon lord was not something that could be brushed aside with a casual excuse.

“That altar was set up by my former companions,” Mage Ryan said with a hint of melancholy. “I also used it to observe how they obtained that power, and to study how to sever the connection, so I kept it there. Besides, even if I tore it down, it would only restore itself later. You can report this to the temple afterward; they know about it.”

Hearing that, Zhao Xu swallowed the rest of his questions.

“Oh, right. Who is your Dark One?” Mage Ryan suddenly changed the subject.

“My Dark One?” Zhao Xu had never heard such a question before.

“Antinoya didn’t tell you? When the Final Scroll chooses its inheritors, there is always one in the light and one in the dark. You are the Light Inheritor, which means there must also be a Dark Inheritor.”

Zhao Xu immediately thought of Wang Ningwei, but the idea was dismissed at once. She was not of the Final Scroll.

“Hmm. Take note: these light-and-dark pairs are usually chosen to be very close, yet opposite.”

“What do you mean?”

“It means that if you’re an Earth adventurer, then nine times out of ten, the other one is an Earth adventurer too.” Mage Ryan smiled with a touch of amusement. “Until the day you die, their mission is to protect you.”

The moment Zhao Xu heard that, he did not pay it much mind. He simply refused to believe such a player could exist now.

“All right, you can go now,” Mage Ryan said.

Only then did Zhao Xu realize that his seven companions had already been moved over beside him.

Everyone paused for a beat before reacting, hurriedly raising their weapons to point at Mage Ryan.

“It’s a misunderstanding. There’s an owner here; we broke in by accident. Let’s get out first and explain later,” Zhao Xu said quickly.

After all they had been through, everyone basically trusted Zhao Xu, and they relaxed their grips on their weapons a little.

Only Maple could not help asking Zhao Xu, “What class are you?” as though afraid that the Zhao Xu before her was also an illusion.

Zhao Xu had not expected Maple to stay so clear-headed. She really was quite sharp. He glanced at Mage Ryan and said with annoyance, “Mentor.”

Mage Ryan did not expose him. He remained standing there with elegant poise, waiting for them to leave.

“Then let’s go,” Roa said as well. If this dungeon truly had an owner, then forcing their way in had amounted to suicide. Since the owner was not making a fuss and allowed them to leave with dignity, that was naturally best.

“How do we get around this?”

Zhao Xu looked toward the spot where the rune turret had already vanished and asked Mage Ryan.

“It’s fake. Just walk right through,” Mage Ryan said with a smug grin.

“Fake?” Everyone found that hard to believe.

“How could that be? Those spells clearly—”

Suddenly, a demon statue materialized in the air before them. Then the demon’s head opened its mouth, and a fireball spell seemed about to burst forth.

“Ah!” Startled by the terrifying sight, everyone scattered in panic.

Yet nothing happened.

Only then did Zhao Xu understand. “You were eavesdropping on us. I mentioned the rune turret, and that’s why you used an illusion to make us think there really was one here?”

Seeing that Zhao Xu had hit upon the very point he was most proud of, Mage Ryan laughed smugly. “Exactly. Let this teach you not to speak carelessly while adventuring. As for those spells that seemed to fly toward you, they were all my invisible casting. No help for it—I just happened to have four wands with third-circle spells.”

Zhao Xu shot Ryan a sour look and muttered inwardly that he was nothing but a childish fool. Let Ryan burn through his wands however he liked; the power in Zhao Xu’s staff was not free.

“As for that trapdoor pit, I simply shifted it over from the dungeon on the other side. Pretty slick spell, right? Hahaha. You can go now—I’ve already moved it back.”

Zhao Xu could not be bothered to deal with Mage Ryan any longer. He turned and led his companions away without looking back.

“Hey, hey, you still haven’t told me why you knew I was using an illusion!”

Only after a while did Mage Ryan realize that Zhao Xu had never answered his first question.

“When you used Disjunction, my spell identification didn’t react, so I guessed you weren’t casting at all,” Zhao Xu’s voice drifted back from around the corner.

Mage Ryan’s expression grew dejected, and he thought sourly: So it was just a wild guess. That was the “concealed casting” technique of your Ryan uncle, which can prevent others from identifying spells or countering them.

After a moment, however, his expression turned more grave.

That boy had merely been about to act against him, and he had leveled up on the spot.

Such overwhelming fortune, as though heaven and earth lent him their force, had truly startled him. Otherwise, after being partially exposed, he would not have withdrawn so quickly.

The last party of adventurers he had faced, he had tormented with illusions until they begged on their knees in misery before letting them go.

“Ah well, none of this is mine to worry about. Let the young Miss Antinoya of the Itel family fret over it herself.”

-----------------------------------------------------------

“Ah-choo.”

A lovely young girl in a cloak, paging through books in the Library of Lore under the cover of night, shivered slightly and could not help sneezing.

Yet she read very quickly. One glance was enough for her to turn the page, as though she possessed a perfect memory.

Pinned to the black-haired girl’s robe was a badge enchanted with a ritual granting “Caster Level +1.” Her name was engraved upon it: Aisweihi.