Chapter 33: Jon and Raina

  An elegant middle-aged woman walked through a corridor laden with black stone. The shadows of the flickering torchlight danced on the ground beneath her feet. Her steps were graceful and poised, as though she were a peacock strutting forward in a courtship display. As her backside swayed back and forth, she arrived in front of a wall made of thick, unsculptured, round stone.

  The woman walked up to an enormous boulder in the center of the wall and tapped on it lightly with the tip of her long and slender finger.

  “Little Raina, I thought taking you in as a direct apprentice would give me someone to gossip and play with. Instead, you’ve been holed up in this desolate cave for who knows how long. Won’t you come out and have a nice chat with your Master?”

  The woman was Evelyn, Raina’s Master. She crossed her arms and waited for a response with a bright smile on her face. After waiting for over five minutes, the smile faded and was replaced with a slight frown. How dare this little girl ignore her? However, she was unable to admonish her because the girl was too adorable.

  “If you continue to ignore me, I won’t tell you the new information I just received about that boy named Damon~” Evelyn called out with a playful tone. She continued to wait after saying this, and soon a change occurred.

  The large round boulder began rolling to the side, upon which a burst of frigid air blasted out of the crack. Evelyn remained stock still, but a barely visible green flame roared to life around her body, keeping the biting cold at bay. The boulder continued to roll open slowly, revealing a hidden room.

  The chamber was encased in ice and frost, as though it contained a century-old glacier. Seated in the middle of the room was a petite and beautiful young woman, wearing pale blue robes. She had snow-white hair, as smooth as silk. When she opened her eyes, they glowed with a dark navy radiance for a few seconds before returning to her normal emerald eyes. She was holding her hands in a diamond shape in front of her chest. Between her fingers hovered a small blue flame, wavering with an unsteady light. She slowly brought her palms together, upon which the flame was absorbed into her body through her skin.

  The girl finally looked up and glanced over at Evelyn. She stood up and gave her a small bow.

  “Master.” Raina greeted.

  “You’ve made some great progress since the last time I saw you. Already at the peak of the mid stage Node Awakening realm. Just a bit more and you’ll break through to the late stage. I see the mystic flame you’re nurturing has already grown to the size of a walnut. That’s quite impressive.” Evelyn praised. She was quite satisfied with the cultivation progress of her only direct apprentice, though her personality had a lot to be desired since her grandfather had died.

  “Master, you mentioned Damon. What is the news?” Raina ignored the compliments her Master sent her way and got straight to the point.

  Sigh. Evelyn heaved a deep breath and then said, “You used to be such a cute and obedient girl… Anyway, about that Damon boy, we have confirmed he is at the Assembly.” Evelyn stated.

  “The Verdant Sigil Assembly, huh…” Raina mused to herself, hugging her thin body with one arm and holding her chin with the other. She scuffed the ground with her foot repeatedly as she remained deep in thought.

  “Yep. That’s it for now. It is still unknown how he managed to defeat the Deputy. When I observed him, he definitely did not have the power of a Channel Weaving Auron. Our spy insists that he is now releasing unsteady arcane fluctuations of the early stage Node Awakening realm. But it is of no consequence; I doubt he will be a match for you as long as you keep your guard up. Speaking of which, there is the quinquennial combat tournament coming up, held by the Assembly. Do you want to participate?” Evelyn chattered on as the reticent Raina listened.

  “A tournament… No. I will be unable to kill him during a tournament match. It is better to continue training.” Raina responded with a cold tone. “If that is all, I must return to my cultivation. Thank you for your guidance.” Raina bowed slightly and then turned around to reenter the chamber. The large boulder slowly closed again, preventing any more freezing air from escaping. The surrounding walls had already been covered in a layer of frost, and the two torches closest to the cave had frozen solid. The flame was completely still as it was encased in a block of ice.

  Tch. And I thought this was an opportunity to get closer to my cute little apprentice. But now she feels like a block of ice. Maybe it’s a side effect of the cultivation art I gave her… Who knows? I should go and look for Senior Brother Gabriel. He always makes time for me!

  Evelyn turned around, releasing the green flames flickering around her body. As soon as they disappeared, she immediately felt the cold bite at her bare skin; however, she paid it no heed as she skipped back down the corridor.

  A masked man stood silently in front of a large wooden door. He was situated in a dark basement, the floor, ceiling, and walls made of black stone. There were no torches in this room, causing the area to be blanketed in a heavy darkness. The air was thick and murky, as though even the wind was afraid to approach this area. He could feel an eerie chilliness crawl up his neck, sending shivers down his spine. This feeling was further amplified by the deep guttural roars resounding from the other side of the door. The noise bounced off the basement walls, causing the man to become dizzy due to the cacophony of horrific sounds.

  The roars stopped after a few minutes, and an uncanny silence settled upon the area. The man swallowed hard, his dry tongue struggling to gather even a single drop of saliva to soothe his quivering throat. He clasped his hands tight to stop his arm from trembling. There was nothing he could do for his legs, which were shaking visibly. He could only hope for the door to open quickly so he could complete his report and leave as soon as possible.

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

  The man’s hope was unfounded as the door remained closed for another hour. He was now feeling faint, needing to hold onto the slimy wall with his hand to keep himself standing. Just as he was reaching his limits, the door finally creaked open. A shriveled old man walked out, the rhythmic clacking of his cane echoing within the dark basement. He glanced at the masked man but continued walking and soon disappeared into the darkness.

  The masked man let out his held breath and stroked his chest to try to disperse his fear and anxiety. This place was hell. However, he had his duty to do.

  “Hello? Direct Apprentice Jon, are you there? I have a report for you about the boy named Damon.” The man called out through the open door.

  Suddenly, a grotesque claw pierced through the shadows and tightly grasped the masked man's neck. He yelped in surprise and then struggled to loosen the grip around his throat, but to no avail. However, it did not keep squeezing and only made it hard for him to breathe.

  “Direct Apprentice Jon, I… I have news… Damon… Is at the Assembly… It has… Been confirmed…” The man’s voice leaked out from his mouth in a raspy whisper due to the constriction around his throat.

  “I see. Good. You may go.” A deep monotonous voice rang out from the darkness, upon which the claw released the man’s neck and retreated, vanishing into the shadows once more.

  The man did not hesitate for a second and turned around to flee as quickly as he could. Behind him, he heard an aggravated growl sound out.

  “Fine. I’ll let you have what you want. Just this time. Next time you’ll listen to me.”

  At this moment, the claw once more stabbed forth, piercing directly through the man’s chest. The man’s life seeped away as he watched the deformed hand crush his own heart in front of his very eyes.

  The hand, larger than the paw of a bear, opened up, and a mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth could be seen in the middle of the palm. It began munching on the bloody heart.

  “Feast, little one. Damon managed to slay that Channel Weaving Disciple. We must gather more strength if we are to contend against him.” The deep voice from earlier resounded once more, before the basement returned to silence, except for the sinister sound of chewing and bones breaking.

  Damon awoke from his slumber. The bright morning sunlight beamed in through his open window, illuminating his desk in a white radiance. He had not slept this peacefully in a long while. The previous night, he had stayed back at the tavern, drinking and chatting with Igor and some of his regular drinking companions. It was an enjoyable night, something he had never experienced before. It was especially humorous to watch the other men become sloppy as they drank more, but he did not feel a single buzz.

  Damon stood up and stretched his body like a cat, before walking over and sitting at his desk. On top of his desk sat numerous materials for inscription, laid out neatly and in order. However, he did not begin inscribing immediately.

  “To get the most profit, I’ll need to create as many of those best-selling scrolls as possible. I can also make some scrolls for my own use while I’m at it. Having some obscure scrolls in my possession may aid me in a time of grave danger. However, I do not know the runes for any of these spells, nor do I own any spell scrolls inscribed with them. It looks like I’ll need to go back to performing my custodial duties at the Legacy Hall until I can find the required spellbooks.”

  Damon wrote down a list of the spells he was looking for as a checklist and placed the sheet of normal parchment in his sleeves. He stood up and moved to his bed again for his daily cultivation exercises.

  After completing his morning routine, Damon exited his room, where he discovered someone waiting for him. It was Claire.

  “Hey! Why did you ignore my message from yesterday? I probably sent you a total of 100 messages, and you did not even respond once! How could you do this to me? I thought we were friends!” Claire yelled in frustration and stood there with her arms crossed, tapping her small foot on the ground repeatedly. Her eyebrows were completely furrowed, and her lips made a small hill with how far they poked out from her pout.

  “Oh… That… Look, I haven’t had the chance to look at it! I was spending time with a friend at East Tradehaven and was unable to contact you! I barely managed to come back just before sunrise! See!” Damon hurriedly withdrew his communication orb to show her that the flashing arcane marks persisted as proof of his assertion. Though he had been slightly surprised to see Claire, he was now getting used to her appearing out of nowhere. He did not know how she discovered where he lived, but it made sense because it was Claire.

  “Fine. I guess I can forgive you then. Well, what are you up to today? Want to hang out? We can even do a little duel for combat practice, or you can come and try out the new potions I created yesterday, back at my lab! I promise… No, I can guarantee… Wait. Just come and try the potions! They probably won’t hurt you! At most, it’ll turn you catatonic for a while. I’m trying to create a potion to heal mental injuries!” Claire immediately brightened up, just like the sun in the sky. She was practically bouncing from enthusiasm as she tried to drag Damon to her lab to use him as a test subject.

  “I’m afraid I have to fulfill my mission duties today, Claire. If you want, you can come with me and help me at the Legacy Hall…” As Damon began inviting Claire to join him, she suddenly leaped back several dozen feet in one jump. From a distance, she yelled, “No, no, that’s okay! If that old man Tidus sees me, he’ll give me a spanking! I can’t go anywhere near the Legacy Hall. Well, since it seems like you’re busy, I’ll be off then!”

  Claire turned around and pointed forward before sprinting off.

  Damon stood still, ruminating on what had just happened. It seems I’ve found a weakness… If I ever need to get out of something, I’ll have to use this as an excuse… But why does she seem so afraid of Hall Leader Tidus? Also, an elixir to heal mental injuries? Is that related to the mind path?

  Damon continued to think as he walked over to the Legacy Hall. He arrived after half an hour and entered, where he saw the mess had gotten even worse. He had organized a small section near the entrance to the Hall previously, but now the tomes were scattered all over again. Not a single book remained on that bookshelf.

  Damon was visibly annoyed as he navigated his way through the maze of shelves and arrived at the little table and spiral staircase. He climbed the staircase, where he was greeted again but the chaotic disorder of scattered books, tomes stacked haphazardly in teetering towers, and ancient scrolls crammed in any hole that existed between the books on the shelves.

  Damon sighed as he picked a random corner and began sifting through the nearby books with his Mindsense, beginning to categorize them and place them on an empty bookshelf. He continued with this task, pausing occasionally to riffle through any book that caught his eye. At this moment, he noticed a specific tome wedged in a crack behind a nearby bookshelf. It was an ancient book, bound tightly in thick leather. It looked so old and worn out that the writing was almost illegible. When he saw the markings on the book, his eyes opened wide in surprise.

  “These markings… It’s the ancient language of Master Silas’s era!”

  Jon and Raina have finally appeared! What do you think of their transformations over the years?