"Alright, alright this much is enough for now. Sir Leone, please open the door. I know the thief's name."
Zeno decides to leave now that he knows the thief's name. After all the task mentioned he had to find only who the thief was.
"Wha..at??? H..how? You just went inside two minutes ago." Leone asks flabbergasted.
He didn't have much expectation for the kid and even thought that the latter was going to steal a few coins from the heap. That's why he lied that an alarm would be triggered if any of the gold were touched even though there was no alarm.
He goes back inside and sees no difference anywhere except for the fact that Zeno was standing closer to the locker.
'Maybe the kid is bluffing. He just went inside, looked around, found nothing and decided to lie about it.' Leone deduces in his mind and gets angry believing it to be true.
"Punk, are you messing with me?" Leone asks, releasing his World Energy wide outwards trying to intimidate Zeno. A wave of energy spans out from him, travelling through the air to hit Zeno and the walls of the vault.
[User's brain is rapidly secreting Catecholamines in response to the energy wave.]
Even though Leone acts meek in front of his Dad, he is nonetheless an Advancer who has reached the Professional tier just above the Novice tier. People belonging to the Novice tier can't execute such an energy wave without possessing a specific skill or trait.
But whatever Leone was doing, didn't have much effect on Zeno's mind as he possesses a trait that is able to resist it.
[<
[Cold Mind has levelled up]
[Cold Mind has levelled up]
As the wave hit him, Zeno felt a sort of heavy pressure land upon him. His brain started to form a rational fear on its own facing an Advancer of higher tier before it was negated by the action of the trait. As a result, he didn't feel intimidated at all. On the contrary, he felt nostalgic as he felt he had heard those same words somewhere before.
He suddenly recalls some of his predecessor's memories in which a young girl is threatening the predecessor Zeno. He freezes for a moment and his mind suddenly flashes from reality to that memory for a moment.
Zeno is younger by two years and is lying down on the ground. A girl with light brown hair, same colour as that of Leone's was kicking from him from above shouting at him with anger.
"Punk, are you messing with me?"
Just after that dialogue, Zeno returns back to reality. He is shocked for another moment by the sudden change but comes to his senses when he understood it was just a flashback.
He notices Leone moving towards him like a gangster coming to beat up a kid. Apparently Leone must have thought he was trying to trick him, Zeno thought.
"No, no.. It's true. Please hear me out."
Zeno requests trying to calm down angered Leone. Leone deciding to give Zeno a chance stops his momentum.
"You really got the name of the thief? How sure are you of it?" Leone asks.
"About 90%." Zeno replies.
Even though his
For a few seconds, Leone doesn't talk. Both him and his father had searched the entire mansion including the servants' quarters for the past two days to not even find a trace. That is why he was still skeptic of Zeno's claim.
"We will continue our talk downstairs with others." Leone suggests.
Both of them exit the vault to go down to the drawing room. On the way, Zeno recalls the flashback he had and remembers when and where he had heard about the Leone Mansion.
"Do you have a sister by the name of Joanna?" Zeno asks remembering the girl in the memory.
"Yes.. she is my one and only sister. Why do you ask?"
"Nothing… nothing in particular." Zeno replies not wanting to talk further about it. Truth is he knew Joanna as much as he knew Syra. If Syra was his predecessor's friend, then Joanna was his female bully.
'It's got nothing to do with me now. Whatever was my predecessor's life disappeared along with him.
If I knew this was one of my predecessor's acquaintance's home, I wouldn't have bothered to come unless it was necessary.
Well, the good thing is, that jolt from before seems to have brought an order to my predecessor's jumbled puzzle of memories.'
Zeno says in his head as he could now recall most of the things about this village from the memories. He follows Leone to the drawing room in order to end the task.
~Drawing room, Leone Mansion~
Mini, Merin, Paul, Sunny and Wayne are sitting together in the wide sofa, facing both Simon and Dorian having an argument.
"Do adults really like to argue that much?" Merin whispers to Paul , seeing their quarrel. She wasn't fond of arguments or quarrel, even if it's between someone else.
"It's better to settle this way rather than fighting it out." Paul answers.
"True."
Wayne, Sunny and Mini replies together.
That is when Leone and Zeno enter the room. Dorian and Simon stop their quarrel and turn their attention to them.
"So, did you get anything? If not, leave the compound. Don't delay the work here." Simon says.
"He says he got the name of the thief." Leone answers in Zeno's stead.
"What?" Even Dorian is amazed to hear that. Utmost he expected some sort of evidence or clue from the site. But to get a name is something else.
"Who is it?" Simon asks. Only the heavens know how much stressed he was due to this bastard of a thief. If he knew who the rascal was, he would make him pay the price.
"Apparently, it's someone named Dinian." Zeno replies.
"How do you know?" Dorian asks, being suspicious.
"I have a skill that helps me deduce things." Zeno replies. He doesn't want to give out Profile's ability. But he has to give a reasonable excuse if they have to believe his words.
Dorian doesn't believe him completely, but now that they have a lead, it would be a waste if he didn't make sure of it.
Both Simon and Dorian leave the room leaving Leone, Zeno and the kids to themselves. After both of them left, Leone was looking at Zeno, still a bit suspicious of him, trying to find how he found the thief's name and also the matter of Joanna.
Zeno, on the other hand tries to not make direct contact with Leone not wanting to make things any difficult.
'Man, I really should have gone for some hunting task. I didn't want to get worked up like before, getting chased by a wild beast.
But this is getting uncomfortable with this boy Leone staring at me.
But getting 20 gold and 100 task points just for finding who some thief is still sweet. I might have to share the gold with the kids, but still it's no bad deal.'
Zeno ponders keeping a straight face But what made things more awkward was the admiring gazes from the others at Leone. It was as if their eyes sparkled as they saw him.
'What's the matter with these five, now?' Zeno asks himself,looking at the group. Even Paul, who is usually the calm one from the group was also looking at Leone with admiration.
'I have seen them look at Adam in the same manner. But is this boy also the same level as him. Let's see.'
Zeno ponders as he turns to look at Leone to use his skill.
'View'
🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲
Name: Leone
Age: 18
Cosmic Grade: 15
Construct Gift: Chains
Inbuilt Skills:
Create Chains Lv 5,
Full Body Bind Lv 2
Tier Skills:
Venomous Prickly Bind Lv 0
Techniques: -None-
Traits: -None-
🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲
'15th grade at the age of 18, pretty good, I think. But still not much better than Adam. Truth be told, the Jeff guy also seemed much stronger comparing the energy vibe.'
Zeno thinks in his head as he withdraws his gaze.
Seeing the kids look at him with eyes of admiration, Leone felt obliged to ask something.
"The five of you, why are you looking at me like that?" Leone asks at last.
Being asked straightforward, they stay silent looking at each other for some time before Paul decides to finally answer in everyone's stead.
"Is it true that you have travelled outside the Village and even visited the capital city?" Paul asks, to which the others look straight at Leone.
Now Zeno kind of understood what it was about. Every kid within the village dreams to get out of the village and to go on an adventure. But that's not possible because of the National Law.
With the wild beasts roaming across the lands, no one can be considered safe if they wish to travel from one place to another. Taking this into consideration, a law was passed by the kingdom to not allow anyone below the age of 18 to travel between the villages untill and unless they have become a Professional tier Advancer.
'In one way I think it's good. In another way, that's some bullsh*t law right there. But it must have its effects too if its still in effect.' Zeno ponders.
"Yes, but it was one time and I couldn't stay for long." Leone answers to Paul's question.
"How was the capital? What did you see there?" Paul asks excited to know about the world outside.
Even though questions were asked consistently, Leone stays silent at first, not wanting to talk much. But after some time, he decides to talk.
"It was good. It was very much fun, different from our life here. There are no sudden Dungeon Breaks or any Beast Horde attacks there.
The World Energy was present abundantly in the surroundings such that it felt like I was swimming in them.
You could see Professional Advancers left and right everywhere you looked. There were Meisters, Grand Meisters and even Skill Elders within the Capital city."
Leone takes a brief stop before continuing.
"I went there thinking I could become someone like them. The Intermediate Academy in the capital accepted students below the age of 15 at Professional tier and allowed to graduate if we could reach Meister level before the age of 25."
"Then why are you here?" Zeno asks in between, curious to know. "You could have tried to become a Meister level Advancer staying there." For all he knows, Leone seems to be staying here, not there in the Capital.
"Because I wasn't good enough, kid. Attaining Cosmic Grade above 10 is not enough of a requirement. I should have broken through the Novice barrier in a proper way.
I rushed through my Advancement using Energy crystals, breaking through the Novice barrier before I turned 15. At first I thought I became strong as any early Professional. But I was wrong.
I couldn't defeat a single Professional Advancer with my ability even though my Gift was combat oriented one."
"Why is that?" Paul asks.
"Because I was a Fake Advancer. All I have is a higher volume of Cosmic Energy and an extra skill from a monster core. I was no different from the common person there.
That's why I quit and decided to stay here, to look after my father's property. At least I would be considered pretty strong here."
Leone states coming to a stop. He didn't want to say all this at first. But since they were insistent on knowing more, Leone decides to tell them to make them prepared for the future.
"Wait a minute, if you are considered strong here, does that mean most of the Advancers in this village are Fake Advancers?" Zeno asks.
"Everyone in our village is a Fake Advancer. Even Sir Dorian who is our village's Head of the Guard, the Principal Adrius, the vice Principal Klaus and every other personnel from both the Academy and the Military guards are all Fake Advancers.
No one here has passed the Novice Barrier the proper way. I don't think no one ever will." Leone replies.
Hearing this fresh set of news, the five of them didn't know how to respond. Mini and Merin weren't concerned enough since they never considered going out of the Village. Sunny was also of the same mindset. He didn't care if he was stronger or weaker than the people outside.
But the same couldn't be said for Wayne and Paul. All their life, they thought, they could become a strong Advancer if they went on accumulating World Energy within themselves. But now when they heard that everyone around them, whom they looked upto was not as strong as they thought and they would also only end up utmost as strong as them, they felt disappointed.
"Don't be disappointed that much. This is not just the case of our village. Our neighbouring villages also don't have any True Advancers to my knowledge.
You can still try to level up your own way if you don't have any other way."
Leone tries to cheer them up which lightens both of their mood a bit.
'Profile, what's your take on this?'
Zeno was also a bit shaken knowing that simply levelling up was not enough. Truth be told, he expected it upto some extent.
[Observing target's expression and his character profile, he can be considered telling the truth.]
[This is a concerning matter. User needs to acquire the path to True Advancement.]
'Why should I do that? I am alright with the way things are going. Except for the fact that there is a parasite living in me, I really don't mind the rest.
Even if I become a Fake Advancer just like them, it must not be that bad.'
[This is a matter that concerns User's future and in a way Profile's future.]
[If at all in the distant future, User wastes his potential becoming a Fake Advancer, User makes himself at risk vulnerable to True Advancers. That cannot be accepted.]
[Anything that can impact User's life is to be considered seriously.]
'Ok fine, fine.' Zeno pacifies Profile and turns to Leone for more information. After all, if there's anyone who should know about this stuff, it must be him.
"So how do we become True Advancers?" Zeno asks. This attracts the depressed Paul's and Wayne's attention.
"The people in the Capital considered that if people can hone their skills to the peak before taking up a monster core, then there is a chance for becoming a True Advancer. As to what it really means, I have no idea." Leone replies.
Just as Leone stops speaking, Simon and Dorian enter the room. Seeing the smile on their faces and a wooden box in Simon's hand, both Zeno and Leone knew the task was a success.
"What's going on? Why is everyone so dull?" Simon asks.
"It's nothing. Tell us what happened." Leone suggests.
Dorian and Simon explain what they have been doing till this time. After both of them left the room, Simon goes to check up on his butler and Dorian goes to check in the Village Registry if there's anyone named Dinian in the Village.
From there, Dorian comes to know that there is a guy with the name Dinian in the Village Registry but he has been missing for 2 months. No one knows where he is.
After that he manages to obtain another piece of information regarding the thief's Gift. It is a Construct Gift with the ability to create keys from World Energy. The suspect must have used his construct key gift's inbuilt skill to unlock the vault and the locker. That is why there were no tool marks on the locker.
When Simon checks up with the butler, no one with the name Dinian turns up in their search at first. But with the help from the picture of Dinian found in the Village Registry, the guards were able to arrest the thief who was pretending to work as a servant under an alias.
"Thanks to you, kid. I was able to obtain my relic back."
Simon compliments as he shows off his so called treasure by taking it from the wooden box.
"Is this the big relic you spoke of, Sir Simon? Looks too small."
Dorian asks, taking the relic from Simon's hand.
To his eyes, it looked like a puzzle cube with a lot of colours. He didn't get what about it was so wonderful that they all had to get worked up about.
Even though relics from the past have been excavated from many ruins, most of it was just junk of no worth. They could be considered collectibles, but that's all.
"This relic is not just any collectible. I got this from our state's Count as a present, when I visited him some time ago. He gave it to me also thinking it was some sort of collectible.
But then I showed it to the
Simon explains why he is treasuring such a thing even though he knows next to nothing about it. Coming from modern earth's time Zeno is not unfamiliar with Collectors and their eccentricities. So he wasn't that surprised at Simon's behaviour as it seemed normal to him.
"So, did you solve it?" Dorian asks, expectantly.
Simon shows a disappointed expression signifying he has not. Dorian too considered it a pity that the puzzle remains unsolved.
"What if I solved it? Can I keep the contents to myself?" Dorian asks half jokingly.
"If you try to take what belongs to me, trust me Dorian, we are going to have some problems."
Surprisingly Simon takes it literally.
"I was just kidding. But seriously, could you at least consider giving me a share if I can crack it."
Dorian still stays tough trying to get something out of it.
"If there's more than 3 things in it, you can take one."
"What if there's more than 10?"
"You still get only one thing. You can try to bargain more but that's all I am willing to give away." Simon gives his final verdict to which Dorian agrees.
Dorian attempts to twist and turn the puzzle all the way he could but to no avail. To him, it felt like an insurmountable task. That's why he decides to give up after twisting and turning it for five minutes.
"Does anyone else think they can open it?" Simon asks. "If you can open it, my offer still stands."
The first one to decline was Leone. He had already given it a try before it was stolen. He had wasted many days trying to find a way to crack it, even trying to blow it up before it was taken back by his father. He knew that if he couldn't do it then, he wouldn't be able to do it now.
The kids weren't also willing to give it a try since they had been stuck here for too long. It was already time for them to leave for their homes if they were still in their classes.
"I think I can solve it."
Zeno blurts outs offering his help. He didn't say it because he was overconfident. It was because he knew what it was and how to solve it.
'It's ….a Rubix Cube. What is so hard about solving it?'
Zeno was already surprised when Simon showed it to them. Even though Profile informed him that this world was the future of the planet earth he knew, there wasn't any evidence to support that claim till now.
"Okay, you may give it a try." Simon takes it from Dorian and gives it to Zeno. "Just know that it may take a while. So don't give up fast."
"Here, it's done."
Zeno says as he solves the rubix cube within 10 seconds.
"That was fast." Paul comments not at all surprised.
"Hhh..how?" Simon also exclaims.
[Use Scanner Vision now.]
Profile suggests in his head.
'Scanner Vision'
Zeno invokes the skill as Profile suggested. He knew the AI must have a reason for asking him to do it.
Dialogue boxes appear above everyone's head in Zeno's vision and the magic within the puzzle unravels in front of his eyes.
[Scanner Vision has levelled up]
[Scanner Vision Lv0 > Scanner Vision Lv1]
[User can now see objects hidden within inter dimensions and storage spaces using
[View has levelled up]
[View Lv0 >> View Lv1]
[User can now view the experience bar of each skill and the status profile of objects within inter dimensions and storage spaces using
[Scan has levelled up]
[Scan Lv0 >> Scan Lv1]
[User can now scan through inter dimensions and space enchantments to copy text manuals using
Zeno's eyes were bombarded by the new appearing dialogue boxes as an yellow glow appears from within the cube which extends outwards to form a transparent tesseract of 1 metre cube floating in space held together by the tiny cubes of the Rubix's cube at the face centres, side edges and the corner edges.
Everyone including Zeno looks flabbergasted at the phenomenon that happened in front of them. They couldn't stop their eyes from bulging and jaws from slacking at the surprise.
"This weirdo is a genius. Is there anything this guy can't do?" Wayne whispers to Paul who was still not out of it.
"Holy Angel in Heaven!! Boy, you are a genius. How did you do that?"
Simon asks, coming out of it. He had given this puzzle to many people he knew including the Principal Adrius. None of them could do it. But now it's solved by a kid his daughter's age.
'It's not that I am clever. I just know how to solve it. Well, not that they need to know.
But this is a pleasant surprise for me as well. At least my skills levelled up somehow which I may need to discuss with Profile later.'
Zeno ponders in his head.
"We can discuss that later. Let's see what's inside."Dorian suggests to Simon.
As Zeno looks inside, he sees the inside of the tesseract filled with junks. There were funny looking metal ores, some jewellery which looked somewhat unappealing but laced with enchantments, some finely cut gemstones which glowed for some reason.
'View'
[64× Orichalcum metal ore
12× Mythril ore
Enchanted Ring (+2 Luck)
61× Enchanted Gemstones (+5 Agility)
Calios Hovering Pen
.
.
.
.
.
. ]
There are too much stuff in there and he doesn't know what to choose. Somehow this all looked both valuable and useless at the same time to Zeno at the moment.
The kids were however drooling when they saw the glittery shining stuff from the heap. Even Dorian was tempted to steal some of it.
"Okay, that's enough drooling. Close it, boy ." Simon turns to Zeno once again. Now that the relic was solved, he doesn't want to make them feel greedy enough.
Zeno didn't know how to do that, but he pushes the smaller cubes inwards to see whether anything changes. Luckily the space with the contents retracts into the cube and the puzzle automatically gets jumbled up again.
"Leone, take Zeno to the vault and let him choose from it. Also reward these kids too." Simon suggests.
Zeno and Leone goes to the vault where Zeno once again opens up the cube and dumps the contents on the floor as suggested by Leone.
"So which one do you want?"
[Choose the Magic Mind Pen]
'Are you sure? That enchantment ring looks good too.'
Zeno couldn't ignore that ring as it had caught his eyes.
[That ring is good for only one more use. That pen however will be perfect match for Profile's abilities]
'Whatever you say buddy.'
"I will take that pen." Zeno grabs the pen from the heap and closes the cube.
"Are you sure?"
Leone suggests. To him, that felt like the cheapest thing from the pile.
"Well, it's alright. It would be helpful if we could get our reward and go home." Zeno replies not wanting to spend any longer here.
"It shall be done Anyway thank you for your help. If it wasn't for you, things wouldn't have ended up this way." Leone says wholeheartedly.
~Time: 4:30 pm, Leone Mansion's Entrance~
Zeno and the kids are going back to their homes after a long afternoon at the mansion. But it wasn't without its rewards.
Instead of the 20 gold coins mentioned in the notice, Simon gave them 60 gold coins for the extra help. That's 10 gold coins each.
It wasn't because Simon was generous. It was as a price for writing down the instructions to solve the cube. Even with the instructions, Leone didn't get much of it. But that's their problem, not his.
"Are you sure, you want to share the gold with us? We just came for the Advancement Technique." Mini asks.
"It's alright. It will take me some time before I can give a copy of that technique. So you all can consider it as an alternative."
Zeno says remembering the deal he made with them. After all that one technique was still more than 100 pages. And he would have to write it all up to give it to them which will take some time.
"This is the first time I am even seeing a gold coin. I can even buy one of those shiny armors in the shops." Sunny comments as he holds the bag of gold coins. He wasn't that much of an adventurous person. To him survival was of importance.
"Don't do that. If one of those thugs from the area ever hear about it, we all may end up getting robbed." Paul advises considering the risk.
"Yeah, those people always take whatever they want." Wayne comments depressed. "That's why I need to get out of this village if there's any chance."
"You all take care, either way. Find somewhere safe to store it. And don't say even a word about it to anyone." Zeno advises considering he was also almost mugged just yesterday night.
Now all that is left is to check out the pen he took from there.
'View' Zeno invokes the skill on the pen.
[Object: Calios Hovering Pen
Rank: Uncommon
Description: The pen allows its user to link his mind to the pen allowing him to control it with his mind using Mana as ink. World Energy can also be used as a substitute.
➕Two modes available: Speech mode & Thought mode
➕Max writing speed of 300 words per minute.
➕Max printing speed of 1 centimetre square per second]
'Yep, I should have chosen the ring'
Zeno ponders regretting his decision.
Just as they are leaving the gate of the mansion, they are stopped by Dorian who was accompanied by Conan and Brien.
"What's the matter? What do you all want?" Zeno asks, surprised. He thought that they all had gone back when he didn't see any of the guards when he came back from the vault.
"Your brother contacted me some minutes ago. He was searching for you in the Academy and he didn't find you there. He then found out you were here from Sir Fleming."
Conan answers as Dorian and Brien stay silent.
"So?"
Zeno asks, still not getting the clear picture.
"He asked us for a favor. That's why we are here to take you to our office and have your Gift registered."
Dorian interjects in between.
"Why does it matter to you people? Why are you listening to him?"
Zeno asks. He could understand if that kid was angry that I left without telling. But why does he have to involve others in this.
"I am not. When I checked the Village Registry today, I just noticed that you still haven't registered your Gift even though you are 8 years old." Dorian replies acting as the Head of the Guard.
"I awakened my Gift just 3 days ago." Zeno says as an excuse.
"Then it's perfect time to have it tested." Dorian once again replies.
"Don't tell me you are just salty that you didn't get enough credit from the rich guy?" Zeno asks, trying to rile Dorian up.
"No. In truth, I am concerned of how you found the thief's name and just wants to make sure you are saying the truth." Dorian replies before turning to the kids. "Rest of you, go back to your homes. You all can meet tomorrow."
"Bye, brother Zeno. We will see you tomorrow."
"Don't forget about the Advancement manual, big guy"
Paul and Wayne from the group bid goodbyes before they all depart for their homes leaving Zeno with the guards.
'I still can't believe that shitty brat sent these goons to find me.'
Zeno ponders in his head as he follows them to the office.
~Time: 5 pm, Military Guard Office~
Zeno arrives with the trio and goes in for the examination for his Gift. But nothing serious as he expected happens.
When they did the examination, the Shortsword Gift and The Abyss fragment didn't show up at all on the screen. Seems like the testing equipment detects only awakened Gifts from the Mindspace. He got worried for nothing.
Sometime after the examination, Zeno receives the documents regarding his Gift's registration.
'Crystal Brain' was the name given to it by the personnels, classified under special category Gifts since they couldn't find much about it. The only information they know about it is from Zeno. That is that it helps him deduce things. But that was enough for formality.
Having a new Gift appear isn't that big of a deal at all in the Dominus Continent. Many new Gifts surface as numerous children are born and awakened each day in the Dominus Continent. The only thing that matters is whether their Gift leaves any impact on their World.
"So I can leave now, right?" Zeno asks Dorian who has been following him till now.
"Your brother will be coming shortly. Why don't you wait till then?" Conan suggests in between.
"Well if he comes, tell him I went home." Zeno says as he aims for the exit door.
He has already spent too much time in the mansion and in here. And he was starting to feel annoyed a little bit. Now that it's evening, it would be better he goes home to take a rest before his mood gets any worse.
Just as leaves the office building and enter the market, he finds himself surrounded by many men from the front.
[Hostiles within surroundings]
"Yeah, I can see that." Zeno answers out aloud annoyed.