[The System has granted you an exclusive skill!]
[Warning: there has been foreign meddling]
[Do you want to accept?]
Zane stared at the holograph in front of him with piqued curiosity. 'Foreign meddling? Do they mean as in meddling or meddling caused by…?'
There were two options in front of him, and he pressed on 'accept.' He wasn't particularly sure as to how it'd end up, but here he was.
[You've gained an exclusive skill!]
[There are no repercussions applied to this skill!]
[Skill in acquisition: Exclusive skill, 'Vide Omnes' lvl ??]
Zane bit his lower lip and recalled that it didn't need any repercussions. That should not be possible, given the fact that nothing was 'free.' There had to be a catch. However, without trying, how would he possibly know?
He triggered the skill.
[
Zane could feel as if his heartbeat had beat out of the ordinary—it made his entire conscience feel shaken. He glanced up and was surprised to see that his vision was more… inverted? The colors were funny, and the moment his eyes set on Rhian, his vision cleared.
[
[Do you want information about
[Y/N]
'Information? Was it a way to view someone's stats?' Zane hesitantly clicked on 'Y.' As he did, another holograph opened in front of him, black, with the words typing themselves out. His eyes widened at the end of it.
[Player Name: Hua Xiaoshi
* pseudo: Rhian Amren
Age: 26
Title: NULL
Statistics: stamina (lvl 6), strength (lvl 7), mana (max opened: 15%), spiritual energy (lvl 12), intelligence (lvl 32)...
Skills: Golden Thread (lvl 5), Celestial Talk (lvl 1), Delirium (B) (lvl 1), Hymn of The Cursed Apostle (lvl 6), Alexithymia (lvl 2)...
Attribute: Executioner (user; till 1st), ␣␣ (??th)...
Stigma: NULL
Watcher: NULL
+ Relation to you: Trusts you to a fair extent.]
Oh well, Zane supposed that was… the answer to the question about Rhian's age. He glanced at the other man, who was following them on his horse, going slow. Could he see this man's information as well? However, a sharp pain made its way to Zane's head, and the information about Rhian was gone.
[Refractory period for the skill: 12:00:00]
'The catch. Although, it's not as bad as I had expected it to be. To be able to read a person's entire information and then wait for just twelve hours to see the next person's information? That wasn't a bad deal at all.' Zane glanced ahead to see the clan's entrance.
He belatedly realized he hadn't been through here at all. He had directly been moved to the imperial training grounds for the disciples. As they entered through the gates, Rhian acted nonchalant, and Zane tried to as well, but there were people staring at him. Maybe it was his face?
He did look foreign, so he wasn't surprised. Although, the man behind him?
Zane glanced back to see him taking fruit baskets and flowers from some of the women who handed them to him. There were some welcoming him, others thanking him. Zane's eyes narrowed at the odd celebration, and he looked ahead.
There was a small patch of grassland where a few kids were playing with a ball, throwing it around and catching it. Zane could feel a little reminiscent at watching them—there was something about the way they interacted that made him uneasy.
In Selvaris, especially in empires like Zhariya or Ellesmere, there was never a moment of joy anywhere. There were some kingdoms that were liberal; however, they were always trying to be overthrown by the empire. Zane supposed he was lucky enough to be born in Dalaznun, one of the resistant dukedoms that stood against the military empire alongside others.
At least… His childhood wasn't so bad.
His thoughts were interrupted when a ball landed next to his foot. He blinked at it, then glanced up to see the kids looking at him awkwardly. However, one of them seemed playful enough, as he shouted. "Gege, can you kick it here?"
Zane had come to realize that 'gege' meant 'older brother' or something close to that. Apparently not all words could be translated to him accurately. Zane glanced at the ball and then sighed. He picked it up with the edge of his foot and kicked it ahead. The boy who had called out to him caught the ball with his foot. "Thank you!" he said.
"Do you think they'll be affected by the trial?" Rhian asked, coming to stand next to him.
"If the war is brought here," Zane murmured, continuing to glance at the kids before he averted his attention towards Rhian.
"What a pity."
"Reality is often a joke."
"Do you want to go see the Sect Leader?"
"What will that bring us?"
Rhian shrugged and turned around. "Tell him that you accidentally killed one of the temple's monsters and now shit is a mess."
"Are you throwing the entire thing on me?" Zane asked, his eyes narrowing as he followed the older man.
Zane followed the other as they trudged through the clan's residential areas. It didn't fail to surprise Zane at the lack of poverty. Everyone seemed to be in a pristine condition; there was no one that was lying on the street and begging. Hell, even the houses were almost alike in design.
When they arrived at the gates of the Royal training grounds, the guards stared him down; however, Rhian passed ahead. "He's with me," Rhian said, and Zane pursed his lips as he followed Rhian inside.
"Are you a prince or something?" he asked.
"'Prince' is the wrong term," Rhian muttered. "What did you want to give me?"
Zane blinked before nodding. "This," he said, conjuring the fetter from his Clandestine Chest. He handed it to Rhian, who stared at the odd locking mechanism.
"What is this, a necklace?" Rhian asked.
Zane sighed. "What sword does the sect leader own?" he asked.
"A Circe."
Zane and Rhian blinked at each other, neither having said anything. However, in front of them was the Sect Leader himself, hiding his face behind a fan—elegant as though it were second nature. "Why, you may ask?"
"Why not?" Rhian asked. "It's not like the 'Circe' has ever been shown to the public eye."
"Some things have to be believed without proof," Hua Huiliang said, bringing the fan to close. "Would you accompany me to the Royal Garden?"
Zane and Rhian exchanged glances. "You aren't going to trap us like last time, no?" Zane asked tentatively.
The older man laughed, the fan opening itself and waving in the air. As if the motion was sly, like the owner itself. "No. Last time was to test you two. I hadn't fathomed that it'd turn into such a mess. Albeit, you have my word for this one."
"It's challenging to take a word from someone who looks like they're plotting my grave," Zane confessed, looking at the latter with apprehension.
"You did kill one of the temple's monsters, didn't you?"
"Is that why we're being invited to the garden? So you can kill us?" Zane asked.
Hua Huiliang's brow raised in amusement. "I was going to congratulate you both. But I suppose none of you have the slightest trust in me, it seems."
Zane sighed, twiddling his fingers with the necklace. The metal was cool, and he wanted to get it away from him. It wasn't because he didn't think the Circe was a bad sword; hell, it was one of the finest. Regardless of that, the longer one held the 'fetter,' the more affinity it felt towards them.
The Circe was a weapon that was of high power; thus, to control it, a person needed more than just their mana. Hence, a 'fetter' was a medium of control, almost like a tag. The golden sun necklace that Hua Huiliang wore was a fetter. It was proof that the man possessed a Circe. Perhaps Rhian didn't know that.
"What do you say? Come?" Hua Huiliang's eyes flashed to their robes. "A bath would be advisable, don't you think?"
'Oh. So that's why they were staring.'
Zane sucked in a long breath. "Fine."
Rhian glanced at him before shrugging.
"Well, that's great." The Sect Leader smiled at them and turned around, walking with one hand behind his back.
When he did, Zane grabbed Rhian's hand and placed the fetter there and began walking ahead.
[
[
[Many
[
Zane rolled his eyes at that message. He knew what she meant. It was something called… 'Fanservice,' where they acted a certain way to catch the attention of Watchers. 'Nope. Not the boat I want to board.'
[
There were many perks of having a sponsor who was part of the 'Bureau.' Most of them were related to being able to control any laws instilled by the System, and the others were selfish perks. Such as mastering diplomacy or managing to get by without paying repercussions. The perks kept increasing depending on the rank of the individual.
Zane wasn't sure of what rank the Contract Administrator was, but considering the fact that she could send direct messages to them, she must be loaded. But if he took the example of the owner of the entire bureau. If that person were to sponsor a player, then not only would they gain access to influence the channels of other bureaus, but they would also gain immense political dominance in real life as well.
'Hypothetically, if Rhian accepted, it would be a good deal for him. So, why wasn't he?'
—
Near the forests of the Zexi River, Sect Leader Lu stopped his sword. His sword brought him to the ground and settled itself in his hand. Lu Huan narrowed his eyes as he looked around the area.
The village that used to reside around this river was no more; in place of it were fires and embers that had caught onto the surrounding haystacks and wooden houses. Zhangwei village was led by a descendant of the Lu Clan.
Lu Huan kept a bemused expression as he walked ahead.
'Sect Leader Hua has called for aid. By the carrier pigeons, it appears that Sect Leader Xue has already reached the recesses. I should be there soon.' Lu Huan walked through the burning village. 'Mei Clan has been destroyed and corrupted by the Shu Clan; thus, if we look into it, we'll only find war prisoners or dying survivors… in this situation, what must one do?'
Lu Huan could smell rotting flesh as he walked further into the village and towards where the village's head resided. He could hear some of his clan's members checking for survivors and the others searching for enemies. Lu Huan couldn't find any mana traces; there were no enemies.
The night blazed on as he finally reached the center of the village. His brows knitted in confusion.
[Your
[Your
[Your
Lu Huan swallowed as he stared at the palace that was in front of him. Zhangwei never built a Jade Palace since they didn't want to be recognized by other clans as descendants of the Lu Clan. So, how?
'This can't be possible…' A single line of worry made its way to his beautiful face. A Jade Palace required the right rituals and the blessings of the Sect Leader to even be readied for use. His lips parted. 'Could it be?'
He turned around. "Everyone—!"
[An Auxiliary Trial has arrived!]
[Auxiliary Trial: Cold Jade Palace
Grade: B
Time Limit: 4 hours
Conditions: Defeat the inverted spirits held within the palace and survive until the time limit is up!
Failure: spirits within the palace will be freed.
Reward: 100,000 species to majority contributors, 50,000 species to secondary contributors; circumvent <5th Main Trial>]
Lu Huan knew better than to fall for that—any shortcut was a risk, especially when it had to do with the [Main Trials].
[Active participants: Shu Meiying, Qin Ru,...]
Lu Huan froze. 'Shu Meiying? What was Sect Leader Shu doing there?'
[Do you want to participate?]
The hologram asked. Lu Huan stared at it. His heart was in his throat—he needed to get his people out of here. 'Did the circumvention mean killing Shu Meiying?' Lu Huan's hands tightened to form fists. 'Lu Clan isn't known to kill. I could ask help from Hua Huiliang—'
[Your
[Warning: there has been interference!]
Before Lu Huan could think, his own people were rushing into the Jade Palace—as if they'd been possessed.
[Your
Lu Huan heard the door snap shut, causing him to quickly unsheathe his sword. The blade of Yin shone brightly. Just then, he could sense a dark mana—something that made the hair on his back stand despite possessing a strong spiritual energy.
There was no way he could figure this ordeal out on his own. Lu Huan was stuck between saving his people or himself. However, he wasn't given time to dwell on the thoughts, as the dark presence loomed over him. Lu Huan quickly used his mana to create a makeshift bird and spoke quickly.
"Warn Hua Huiliang: Lu Clan's reinforcements have been attacked. An unknown Jade Palace has appeared. Shu Meiying—" Lu Huan heard the sound of wind being cut and immediately moved away. "Go," he told the bird, not bothering to watch in what direction it flew.
[Many
[The Main Trial has been updated!]
[Countdown to trial: 24 hours]