Chapter 54: Departure
It was old fashioned building with a few thugs stood outside on guard. All of them appeared to be around 30-40 years old and looked stronger. With a single glance, anyone could tell that most of them were Mystics, and they appeared well-equipped.
Charles and Jimmy arrived in front of the porch area and soon met a bald guy with a unique tattoo on his neck area. Unlike other thieves, he was an obese guy and had a bulging belly. A look of surprise appeared on Charles's face as he stared at the strange fish symbol tattoo for a second and soon retracted his gaze.
'He is the believer of Storm.'
His action didn't go unnoticed by the bald man, though. But he revealed his golden teeth, sized Jimmy up and down, and then asked.
"Who is this booty, Jimmy?" His deep-blue eyes glued on Charles's bulging chest as he asked that question.
Noticing his gaze, Jimmy coughed twice and said in a solemn tone,
"Boss Richard, she is also a mystic and came here to ask some questions about the 'Special Mission.'"
"Mystic?" The bald man raised his brows as he still fixed his gaze on the fake melons and soon asked Jimmy in a suppressing voice.
"Just staring at her makes me want to taste her body. How much is she for a single night?"
Upon hearing Richard's words, Jimmy was momentarily at a loss for words. Soon, he let out a fake cough and said wryly.
"Don't joke around, boss."
Richard didn't even respond to Jimmy's words and asked Charles while licking his lips.
"How much is your worth?"
Upon hearing his words, Charles got stunned for a second and soon laughed out loud. Thankfully, he controlled his voice and tuned it more like a woman's laughter through the artifact; otherwise, things would have gone in the wrong way.
His sudden laughter caused the nearby thugs to stare at their boss in puzzlement. Meanwhile, Richard felt something suddenly induced his desire to obtain this woman at all cost and stared at Charles's feminine figure with a lustful gaze. Noticing this, Charles curled his lips up and teased him with a smile.
"If you beat me one on one, I will think about it-."
"Deal." Without even waiting for Charles to finish his sentence, Richard drew his long sword and sprinted towards her at a fast speed.
Charles wasn't surprised by Richard's sudden action. He had already noticed his abnormal behavior and guessed that the Holem's Crown must be using some weird skill to control his emotions.
Charles made a swift hand movement as Richard arrived near him and moved it towards the incoming sword. As Richard's sword was about to bypass his hand and head towards Charles's neck, an olive color coated dagger appeared out of nowhere in his hand and blocked the long sword with a clang.
For a second, Charles felt that his hand was about to tear from the opponent's brutal strength and grew solemn. He didn't get anxious, though. Instead, he took a step back and parried against his sword attacks.
In terms of strength, Charles was slightly below. But in terms of skills and battle experiences, he was way above him. Moreover, the abnormal dexterity gave a massive boost to his hand skills. Both continued to parry for a whole ten minutes and soon separated to take a long breath.
"We are evenly matched," Richard said in a surprised tone.
Charles also nodded his head and spoke highly of Richard.
"You didn't leave an opening for me to give you a shallow wound."
"That's because you are using a dagger. If I used a dagger against your weapon, I wouldn't be able to hold off this long." Richard recalled his weakness and muttered solemnly.
"Do you admit defeat?" Charles didn't miss the opportunity and asked while curling his lips.
"Yes. To show my sincerity, I will wipe your body during your bath and give you a satisfying night." He stated shamelessly with a grin.
"Not going to happen," Charles said calmly, turned his face serious, and then added,
"I'm here to know more information about the new mission."
Upon hearing his words, Richard also turned his expression solemn and then gestured Charles to follow him. When he heard about Edith from Jimmy two weeks ago, he didn't put much thought into it. But after he witnessed the woman's battle strength, he knew that her strength would be beneficial during the upcoming mission.
'Now, our gang also has one abnormal mystic. Edith didn't reveal her full strength yet. Boss Night-Eye said that multiple factions were planning to go to the Unexplored Forest region in a day and asked us to recruit anyone with abnormal strength even if there is a chance of betrayal.' While thinking deeply, he walked past the porch pillars and soon entered his two-storied house.
"We don't know about our employer's real name. But he goes by the nickname 'Red Prince,' and he seemed to have some connection with Arc royal family." He said as he walked on the concrete floor.
"Red Prince?" Charles asked in a surprised tone. If not for the [Trickster] class's clown skill, he would have exposed his shocked face!
'Red Prince... I didn't expect this at all. But why did he reveal his presence now? Who is he?' Charles felt that he had forgotten something essential and began to recall all the past incidents.
'Whom did I miss?... Wait a minute. Arc Royal family? Why haven't I search for the Royal mage from the Royal Capital? Noah said that his employer might be a royal mage at that time. After I killed Noah on the execution platform, I completely forget about that matter. No, that's not my character at all. Why did I forget about that important person? Is it a mind-related ability?...' A solemn look appeared on Charles's face as he raised his hand like a curious person and asked,
"Do you know how many Royal mages are there in the Arc Kingdom?"
His sudden question surprised Richard. He then thought for a moment and replied with a nod.
"There are five Royal Mages in Arc Royal Castle. All of them are above Rank-3 and have a high position in this kingdom. Among the five, Dark Mage Xander is the one who is loved by Citizens of Arc Kingdom and has a great reputation among the masses. If my memory is not wrong, he even came to this city thrice during the past six months and even donated a large amount to Slum Street's Richie Orphanage."
'Hmm? A noble character?' Charles furrowed his thin eyebrows and soon sighed.
'I need to be more careful during this mission.' He thought for a moment and asked Richard.
"Why is the Red Prince going to the Unexplored Forest? Do you know about his purpose?"
Richard went near the iron stool, pulled it a little, sat on it, and then started talking,
"Boss Night-Eye is the one responsible for such matters, Miss. We are just thugs who would follow his footsteps like a flock of sheep. But I do hear from a friend that the 'Red Prince' had found an ancient ruin through divination, and that might be the reason he asked for Boss Night-Eye's help."
'As expected, he is going to the ruin. Hmm, something feels off... What is his plan? Did he found an ancient city ruin through divination? Wait! Divination? It means he has a prediction-like ability. So, does that mean Red-Prince is the Watcher class mystic? But why is he changing his plan? Isn't he after the Holem's Crown? Did he already found out about Holem's Crown? If so, why is he leading us to the Unexplored Forest? What did I miss?...
Wait a sec. The Red Prince must be the one who employed our team to escort him, and there is a high chance that he knew about me! If not, he wouldn't have specifically asked ACES team members to be his guards!' Charles's heart skipped a beat as he thought of a possibility.
'If he plans to lead 'me' to the Unexplored Forest, he will be disappointed. Although he can see Fate's strings to make the predictions, he isn't an omnipotent one in that field. My rank-up must have already startled him greatly and forced him to alter his plans a little. Currently, I'm not Charles, and with this 'Mark of Imagination,' I already fooled Eve a few days ago by asking her to cast the Fate Reader skill on me. So, the chance of him seeing through my disguise is very slim. Hehe, the more I interfere with his plan, the more he will leave clues behind. It won't be long before I find out the real identity of this 'Red-Prince.' Even a mighty elephant would stumble when a mere ant walks into its ears.' Charles walked while showing his sexy back to Richard and sat on the opposite wooden chair with a charming smile on his face.
At that time, his large fake melons bounced abnormally and caused Richard to cross his legs together like a tangled snake to hide a sneaky snake.
Letting out a teasing laugh, Charles also crossed his long smooth legs and then started asking questions about the remaining royal mages. He first asked him about their names, their backgrounds, and their unique appearances. Although Richard told him everything, Charles knew that the information was not enough to discover the real culprit completely. After discussing with Richard for a while, he stood up from his seat, adjusted the black skirt, and then said goodbye to Richard before walking out of the two-storied building.
In the meantime, Jimmy waited at the entrance and soon followed after him. They then entered a dark alley and went to their own house. Charles also returned to the old hut and locked himself in.
…
On 18th September,
A group of 30 Mystics from five different rowdy gangs gathered in front of the Riverdale City entrance and waited for the underworld boss to arrive. Charles, in Edith's appearance, also stood among the group and glanced at the gate with curiousness in his eyes. Unlike others, though, his deep-set jade eyes scanned everyone, and he gathered all the minute details about them.
Meanwhile, Jimmy stood beside him while rubbing his tummy and seemed to be in deep thoughts. Even Charles couldn't confirm that the one who possessed the body was whether Jimmy or the Holem's Crown by his strange immature behavior.
"Boss Night-Eye is on his way with the employer." While he was in muse, Richard raised his hand to attract other mystics' attention and shouted, causing his large belly to shake slightly.
"Are there any other team other than us?" A round-faced good-looking woman, who was in her late twenties, asked him from the crowd. She looked around 175 cm tall, perfect body with a round chest, olive skin, and eyes as dark as the night sky. Her long curly brown hair was rolled up and tied into a knot, and she wore a double-breasted satin blouse, skinny blue jeans, and brown leather shoes.
"I have no idea about that, my dear Nicole. But there must be a secret team of any church accompany our employer, so be careful if you want to look for troubles in the Unexplored Forest." Richard turned his voice into a caring one and said.
"Aye aye, Richard," Nicole responded in a careless tone, and soon her gaze swept past the mystics and landed on a group of five members, who were moving towards them from afar. One was a woman in her 40s with curly black hair and grey eyes, and she wore a grey-colored robe over with a hood attached behind it. Unlike others, she looked more like a confident leader and held a small silver pocket watch in her hand. The other four were men with different attires, and all of them looked around 30-50 years old.
Nicole observed the group for a second and soon saw the underworld boss, Night-Eye. He was a man in his forties with long, loose curly silver hair and big hazel eyes. He had a cold demeanor, above-average height with a strong fit, and broad shoulders, unlike others.
Night-Eye wore a red vest, long black coat, and formal black shoes and appeared more like a perfect gentleman than an underworld evil boss.
Among the group, a long, messy red-haired man in his late fifties caught her attention. Raising her eyebrows, Nicole lifted her hand, pointed her finger at him, and asked,
''Is he our employer?''
Richard, Charles, and others also followed after her gaze and soon observed the red-haired man. He had almond silver eyes, a lean body, and appeared around 174 cm high. He wore a tight black suit, a silver dagger in his waist area, and seemed very pale.
Upon hearing Nicole's question, Richard let out an embarrassing cough and said with an awkward smile,
"He might be the one."
"Might be? Are you not sure?" Nicole's eyebrows arched upward as she glared at him.
"How do I know who is our employer?" Richard grumbled inwardly and then added,
"I'm also staying with you guys all this time, right?"
At this time, Jimmy let out a fake cough to attract others' attention and spoke.
"He is the employer."
His answer surprised everyone. Before others could question him, Jimmy smiled lightly and said,
"I know the other three members. They are from the Life Church and belong to the Life Church's secret organization. That grey-robed woman's name is Emilia, and she is the leader of that group. As for the Baldy and Muscular guy, both are her companions, and all of them must be Rank-2 Mystics."
"That's a lot of information. How do you know about them, Jimmy?" Richard muttered in a surprised tone and soon asked.
"They came to ask about my Unique 'Unluckiness' a few times, boss. If I'm not wrong, there should be another member in that group, but I didn't see him now." Jimmy said in puzzlement as he took out dry bread from his pouch and took a bite. Although he looked calm outside, he got deeply confused by the sudden turn of events.
'Why isn't Charles here? Where did he go? Did his mother foresee something and ask him not to join? Heh, not bad. Thankfully, I expected these types of outcomes and came prepared.' Smiling lightly, he glanced at the star tattoo on his wrist and snickered inside.
It was a forbidden spell tattoo called Mark of Destination.
A few weeks ago, he already put a similar invisible mark on Charles's body and became more confident about his plan. Even if Charles went to hide in another dimension, Jimmy would be able to twist the void itself and pull him from there. Although it was a one-time-use spell, Jimmy felt that it was worth it. Casting those thoughts away from his mind, Jimmy turned his face grim and said.
"We must be careful when they are around."
"Don't even try your thieving tricks on those guys, morons. If you get caught, even I wouldn't able to save you guys." Richard also nodded his head in approval and shouted.
Fortunately, all of them were Mystics and had some knowledge about the strength of Rank-2 Mystics, so they zipped their mouths and nodded silently.
Before long, five members arrived in front of the thug groups, and soon Night-Eye invited Richard and the other four gang leaders privately and discussed a few words with them. After that, the Mystics took their luggage and set out under the order of the gang leaders. Charles also nodded at Richard's orders and silently followed everyone.