Chapter 53: Schedule
"Ask those questions after you finish the lunch, Charles." Eve interrupted his thinking and then started to eat slowly. Only then did Charles remember that Eve hated it when someone spoke when she was eating.
Letting out a grunt, Charles nodded his head and continued to eat.
After a few minutes, Charles finished eating the food and waited for Eve and Saron to finish their meal.
Once they did, he stood up from his seat, took the plate, and went to the kitchen room to place the plate on the sink. Eve and Saron also followed after him and then returned to the reception hall.
As Charles sat on the ornate sofa with a relaxed expression on his face, Saron let out a fake cough and spoke,
"I'm a [Teacher] class mystic. Rank-3 [Lecturer]."
Charles widened his eyes a little and soon nodded his head.
'Looks like she has more secrets than I thought it would be.' He thought for a moment and then asked,
"Why are you staying here with us? Are you here to capture A-035? Or, are you here to protect me and my mother? Or, are you here to watch over us constantly?"
Upon hearing his questions, Saron narrowed her eyes for a second, turned her gaze towards Eve, and then said with a sigh,
"James Nightwind is my close friend and also a good ally to my family. I'm promised him once that I would protect his family members once to repay the kindness. That's the reason I came here hurriedly when I received a message about the kidnapping incident."
'That explains everything.' Charles nodded in understanding and spoke in a polite tone.
"Sorry for doubting your kindness, My Lady."
His polite speech surprised both Eve and Saron. After staying silent for a moment, Saron White curled his lips upward and said while waving her right hand.
"You don't have to apologize for that. If not for your mother's request, I would have told you about my origin earlier." She suddenly paused for a second as she thought of something and asked in curiosity.
"So what's your plan, Charles? How do you plan on capturing A-035?"
A complicated expression appeared on Charles's face as he heard Saron's question. Although Saron told him that she came here to protect them, Charles didn't wholly believe her story. After his transmigration, Charles believed only one person in the whole Edhen World. And that person was Eve Nightwind, aka the real Charles's mother.
As for Bishop Reynolds and Emilia Wilson, Charles knew that both were just acting on their own personal gains. If there were a life and death situation, they wouldn't put their life on their line to save him at all.
Casting those useless thoughts away from his mind, Charles raised his hand, placed it on his chin, and said with a cunning smile on his face,
"I don't have any plan, My Lady. I will improve my strength constantly and leave everything to 'Fate.' If I end up as a lucky one, I will definitely able to capture it before others."
Saron's lips twitched as she heard his excuse and then let out a heavy sigh. She knew that getting some information out of this smart kid's mouth was an impossible task, so she gave up on probing him further and started walking towards her room.
In the meantime, Eve suddenly glanced at him with a smile and gave him a thumbs-up.
Upon seeing her sneaky action, Charles left speechless for a second.
'It seems Saron really is not a trustworthy person.' He thought to himself and then nodded his head.
"Don't worry about her, son." After saying those words, Eve turned around and went to the kitchen.
'Is she not a threat?' Charles rubbed his chin in puzzlement and then spoke.
"I will be going out for two weeks, mom."
"Take care of your health, sweetie." Eve's caring voice came from inside, causing him to be stunned for a moment. It was the first time she spoke to him in a caring tone!
He felt that Eve's voice also contains a hint of sorrow and loneliness.
'Is she worried about her son's safety? Now that I thought about it, she is not even asking about my late arrivals and all. Did she put that much trust in her son's personal strength?' He pondered for a moment and then shook his head.
'Emotions will only obstruct your way. Thankfully, she is not like other overprotective mothers.' He inhaled deeply and stood up from the ornate sofa. After that, he went to his bedroom and rechecked everything. Once he checked everything, he sat on the wooden bed and then shifted his attention to the game interface.
'Today is September 11th and I currently have only 1050 Exp remaining. It is not enough for constructing a single spell model or ranking up my sub-class. It looks like entering Dreamworld again is the only choice for me to gain more Experience points now.' He took a deep breath and thought of the problems when entering the Dreamworld.
'One's imagination is their greatest enemy in the Dreamworld. Other dangers are the dark goblins and the dangerous nightmare creatures like Dark-wolf. Moreover, there is a 'Time' anomaly appearing all over the area. So, I need to make some plans before I enter the Dreamworld…
First, I will enter the Dreamworld and stays there for 2 hours before waking up. Even if there is a 'Time' anomaly, I won't be staying in the Dreamworld for too long.
Second, I won't go out of Riverdale City. If I'm in Riverdale City, I can return to my house and can exit the Dreamworld at any time. The same thing can't be possible if I went to explore the outskirts of Riverdale City.
Lastly, I should never face my imagination creatures. Although I manage to kill the first one quickly, I'm not sure about that next time. Moreover, my imagination is very different from others. The possibility of me creating an overpowered evil character from the anime is also very high.' He wore a grim expression and then took out the 'Nightmare Stone' from his personal cabinet.
He then lay on the wooden bed and closed his eyes for a few seconds. Soon, he felt that his consciousness pulled into a different world and noticed that he had already entered the Dreamworld!
...
Days passed as he explored the Dreamworld using the schedule, and soon it was September 16th.
During the past five days, Charles entered the Dreamworld fifteen times and explored almost every city corner. Due to his better luck, he had encountered the dark goblins four times and earned 2400 Exp points! Although it just a measly amount for him now, Charles didn't felt discouraged. Instead, he thought of how to use these Exp points properly and glanced at the spellbook tab.
Unlike the last time, only seven rows of spells appeared in the spellbook option, causing him to widen his eyes in surprise. Soon, he noticed that each of those spells were corresponding spells of the previously created rank-1 spell models!
He focused his eyes on the [Incinerate] spell name and soon saw six types of corresponding spells of [Incinerate] spell with detailed explanations.
'Anger's Finger, Needle of Fire, Incinerate, Rage Touch, Destruction Arrow, Spear of Chaos.' He stared at the Rank-2 attack spell models for a moment and soon noticed that the [Incinerate] spell model name was among them.
'Is it the upgraded version of [Incinerate] spell?' He raised his eyebrows for a moment and soon nodded in enlightenment.
'3,250 Exp points. It's worth upgrading it now. Moreover, I can only increase the offensive power of the Ember Pistol after constructing my attack spell model.' He muttered inwardly and sat on the tiled floor in his bedroom.
It was already 10 in the morning. Eve had already started doing her divination job in the reception hall, causing Charles a headache. If it was some other work, Charles wouldn't have cared about her job at all and would have argued with her. Sadly, her job was divination. Due to that, she would shout the prophecy-like words and disturb him multiple times like an annoying neighbor.
Heaving a deep sigh, Charles shook his head, zeroed his focus on the upgraded [Incinerate] spell model option, and poured 3250 Exp points using his thoughts.
After that, his consciousness appeared in the small empty space, and he started watching the spell model creation scene.
As his consciousness entered the dark world, he noticed multiple Runal characters started coming out from the empty void and merged with the Rank-1 [Incinerate] spell model. While the system was constructing the spell model, Charles also started to decipher the Runal characters and comprehend the spell model. Time passed as he stayed in the same position and opened his eyes after a long time. He hurriedly took out the pocket watch, checked the time, and soon widened his jade eyes.
It took 13 hours for the system to create a Rank-2 attack spell model!
During the time, Charles also started gaining an in-depth understanding of the upgraded [Incinerate] spell model and became more confident about his fighting abilities now.
He stood up from the cold floor, stretched his hands and legs, and then went near the table. Once he arrived in front of it, he flipped open the silver pocket watch again and glanced at the hands.
'It's already 1 A.M.' He frowned for a moment and soon went downstairs to see if there was anything delicious stored in the Coolkit artifact. To his surprise, Eve stored a plate full of roasted meat, grilled chicken, white bread toast, and bacon in it. Gulping his saliva, Charles took the plate from the Coolkit and went to the dining hall. He then placed the plate in front of the guest seat, took the utensils, sat on the seat comfortably, and started eating it.
He savored the food in silence and then cleaned the plate and other utensils before going upstairs. Following that, he lay on his bed and fell into a deep sleep.
September 17th,
As usual, Charles woke up early in the morning and began to get ready for his departure. Once he freshened himself up, he changed his cloth into a formal black one and then started going through all over the plan.
Once he found out that everything was perfect, he went downstairs, moved to the kitchen, informed Eve about his departure, and left the house silently.
After that, he walked out of Riverdale City, disguised himself as Edith Oliver in the woods, and then returned to Slum Street stealthily. He then moved to the old hut and patiently waited.
After an hour, he heard a knocking sound from outside and smiled.
'He is here.' Charles, aka Edith, activated the 'Mark of Imagination' as he stood up from the stone slab, went near the old wooden door, and opened it with a click from inside. Unlike before, He now wore a ruffled black shirt with a pleated skirt, which covered up to his kneecaps, black brogues shoes, and a unique emerald-gem embedded silver bracelet on his wrist.
A creaky noise echoed from the door as he pulled it inside and stared at the blonde-haired man with a cold look on his face.
In the meantime, Jimmy greeted the woman with a smile and said while peeking at the soft neck,
"You came earlier than I expected, Ms. Edith."
"I came earlier to get more information about this mission, Jimmy Holmes." Charles turned his face serious and said in a calm tone.
"What information do you need?" Jimmy raised his eyebrows and asked cautiously.
"I need information about the employer first. If possible, I want to know who all are accompanying this mission." Charles answered.
"Only our Slithering Rowdy gang leader knows about that information, Miss. If you really want to know, you can accompany me and ask him yourself." Jimmy said after a short deliberation.
"That would be really helpful." Charles nodded his head and waited for him to lead the way.
Meanwhile, Jimmy turned around, took a deep breath, and moved into the nearby dark alley. Charles also followed after him with fast footsteps, and soon both arrived in front of a two-storied brick house.