Chapter 99: Weakness
Meanwhile, Charles and other kids left the Shade Merchant Company and soon went to Maple Street.
After roaming in the street for a while, Charles soon stopped in front of a Rental Management Company called Easy Flats and rented a house in Orchard Street for one year at the cost of 550 gold coins. When comparing it with other areas, this house was way cheaper in this street. As usual, Jessie was the one who did all the procedures and soon got the house key from the staff member.
After that, Charles didn't stop anywhere and brought them to 11C Orchard Street.
Thirty minutes later, the group arrived in front of a two-storied concrete brick house, which was surrounded by a one-meter tall wooden fence, opened the iron gate, and walked in. The ridge was elevated at the center, and the sides were packed with roof slates.
They walked on the concrete path and soon arrived under the porch. After that, Jesse went near the steel entry door, put the iron key in the key cylinder, and turned it towards the right side.
Once she heard the clanging sound, she placed her other hand on the handle, moved towards the opposite side, and opened the door with a screech.
It was a large house with a kitchen room, dining hall, a reception hall, two bedrooms on each floor with attached bathrooms, one study room on the second floor, and a large underground basement.
Except for Rhea, the other three kids hadn't seen such a large house in their lifetime and started to shout in joy and excitement.
"You can play all you want later. First, we need to clean the house and buy furniture, and utensils for cooking." Charles said in a calm tone while damping their mood and dragged them out.
For the next few hours, they spent their time cleaning the house, brought new furniture like chairs and tables from the nearby shops, and then returned to 50A Harpy Street to get their belongings.
On the way, they also bought cooking utensils like a magic stove, cooker, silver pots, spoons, plates, and so on.
By the time they finished settling everything in the new house, it was already around 7 P.M. In fatigue, the kids went to the bedrooms on the first floor and soon fell into a deep sleep.
…
On the other hand, Charles went to the second floor, arrived in front of the bedroom, and opened it with a push.
He walked in with quiet footsteps, hung the black cane on the cane holder, removed the surcoat, placed it on the study table, and started removing his clothes. Then, he took out a black nightgown from his space ring and wore it.
After that, he went near the cotton bed, sat on it, and soon fell into deep thoughts.
'Everything is going according to my plan. The next thing is about getting information from the informer Leo. Should I use my [Fire Seed] spell on him and learn forcefully? No, I shouldn't. If I did that, I have to kill him later and also have to erase all the clues...'
'This city is not Riverdale, and there is also a possibility that killing him might attract a Historian Class Mystic or Mages. If they use any skill to see through the 'Past,' things will get difficult for me. Killing a slum thug or a gang leader won't attract much attention. But if I kill an informer, I might attract some big shots' attention. Yes, I once heard that these informers are always precious treasures in the eyes of nobles...'
'Moreover, I need to find a way and extract one's particular memory instead of extracting randomly. And, stealing one or two memories from one's mind also won't leave any clue.' Charles suddenly halted his thought as he recalled the moment he met Emilia.
'Wait… At that time, she asked a question and directly learn an answer from me…' His amber eyes suddenly squinted as he made a possible guess.
'Yes, whenever someone asks a person about 'something,' his/her mind will directly think of that 'something' even it is important information. If I use this method, I can actually get the important information from Leo without killing him. This is actually a good idea.' He nodded with a pleasant smile on his face and soon frowned as he thought of another problem.
'What if someone like 'Destiny Lady' appears in front of me and asks me about my main goal to enter the Tower of Elements? Sh*t… If she asks such a question, my mind would think of my main goal instead of other ones and expose my real goal to her in an instant!' His lips trembled in shock as he missed such an important loophole.
'Damn it, this is indeed dangerous. Although I can block my thoughts from leaving the dark space, I'm not sure whether I can block a Rank-4 member's skills from entering the dark space. Truthfully, the dark space is neither in my body nor in my inner world. It is actually a bridge that connects the body and soul and its strength is purely based on one's wisdom power. In a sense, this bridge is the main weakness for everyone.' A grim look appeared on his face.
He soon turned his gaze towards the black cane and asked in confusion.
"Mr. Runeth, am I able to hide a particular memory from a Rank-4 Mystic if they ask any question about it?'
'Hmm? You already found out about that loophole?' The Holem's Crown went silent for a moment.
'Dark Space is not your Inner world, lad. It is the link between your soul aka the inner world and your physical body. There is no shortcut to strengthen it. But-' It purposefully paused for a moment and said in a sly tone.
'I do know of a method that could help you hide a particular thought.'
Charles felt something was off about its tone and soon raised his eyebrows in curious.
'What is it?' He asked.
'You have to split a part of your consciousness, hid it in your inner world, and let it guard the particular memory. Once you have done that, even your true consciousness wouldn't know about that particular memory and can easily fool a Rank-4 Mystic's skills. Humph, even Rank-5 Mystic would feel helpless against such method.'
'Will there be any side effects to my soul? Will it affect my progression?' Charles instantly thought of side effects.
On the other hand, the Holem's Crown let out a chuckle and said in a calm tone.
'If you want to achieve something, you need to be prepared to lose something in return.'
Charles's face went cold in a split moment, and soon he asked in a solemn tone.
'What do I have to sacrifice?' He felt like he was really dealing with a devil.
'Haha, I'm just kidding. In truth, you would gain an extra bonus in this. Once you split a part of your consciousness, you can strengthen it continuously and create an incarnation in a year or two.'
A surprised expression appeared on Charles's face as he raised his hand, placed it on his chin, and nodded his head in enlightenment.
'So, that's how a Mystic creates his/her own Incarnation, huh.'
'Can you tell me how to split a part of my consciousness now?' Charles then curled his lips upward and asked in a grin on his wrinkled old face.