"I was here wondering if you are interested in an exchange. You should be low on supplies, yes? All I want is information."
Athelei had made such a proposition and Gusche nodded without saying another word.
And because of that, silence descended. Both parties lost themselves in thought for a moment.
Thinking about how he had encountered Gusche, Athelei felt that the coincidence was uncanny. He rarely had instinctual or gut feelings that led him somewhere as he always followed his whims and curiosity.
'Could it be one of Gusche's abilities?' Athelei thought to himself as he suspected the other skill trees of the Cosmic Interface. A few fairy tales then popped into his mind, 'But it could also be a special artefact too...'
Gusche's piercing gaze suddenly met his in the next moment. Athelei looked into a pair of calm and analytical eyes that seemed to peer into his soul. The unique face he had crafted for himself was left ignored.
"What kind of information do you want?" Gusche's cold voice rang out with a tinge of conviction, making Athelei raise a brow.
Athelei inwardly smiled as he once again scanned the man before him, 'Is this conviction of his because he will always be on the losing end of the transaction? He's quite close to death's door, and thus, no price will be too great? Is that it?'
Thoughts of making a conscious effort to scam the man standing before him passed through Athelei's mind. But in the end, he simply decided to stay true to his original intentions. This would be his first time trading information with a life, after all.
"First, I want to know why you are here," Athelei answered playfully, wishing to satisfy his most immediate curiosities.
Gusche squinted. "I am here for a job."
"A job?" Athelei echoed.
"Yes, a job." Gusche did not elaborate.
"...I see," Athelei shrugged. He did not mind not hearing the answer from Gusche himself.
He had other means to search for his beloved answers...
With such thoughts lingering about, Athelei then opened up an orange Cosmic Interface with his spare Nebula Gem. A wooden glass of water was pulled out and thrown to Gusche.
"Next question; Are you aware of the location of the Nightwalkers?"
Gusche swiftly answered after he had emptied his glass, "South-west. Ogre territory."
Athelei tossed out a fist-sized fruit as he continued, "The Exiled?"
"Random," Gusche answered before taking a bite out of the fruit.
"How about..."
And so, this cycle continued for a few more rounds with Gusche answering every question Athelei threw at him. The angel was pleased with such a question-and-answer encounter as he noted down the skilful manner in which Gusche answered his questions.
'He's withholding just the right amount of information for each question. He also seems to meet my needs every time and directly answers me... Has he gotten a read of my personality in just these few short moments?' Athelei's eyes flashed.
He wanted to poke the beehive a little.
"Who is your employer?"
"The Madame."
"What Rank are you at?"
"Rank 1 Dictator."
"Any other classes?"
"Evolver."
"At what rank?"
"...This should be enough," Gusche finally denied a question as he packed up the food and drink that Athelei had supplied him with, "I have what I need, and I believe you do too, Mister Mist."
With a bow, Gusche backed away, "Until we meet again,"
"...Until we meet again..." Athelei echoed out the farewell, albeit reluctantly.
He then looked into his mental library and grabbed the scroll wherein he had written notes based on Gusche's answers. A little review was in session.
'General area of the Nightwalkers, rumoured high-value kingdom-cities, Orc capital, dead zones, and a volcanic area?' Athelei began dissipating into a fog as he thought, 'Then there's the Tier I Skill, Bide. It was what caused the coincidence that I've been suspecting... I wonder if I should get that Skill next time? But what about Record..? There's also Archive...'
Before Athelei could dive deeper into his indecision, he shook his dissolving head. As he fully became incorporeal, a few wisps had already clung to a man within the darkness of the Baneful Shroud.
The One-eyed Harbinger wasn't going anywhere without him.
It was time for some more stalking.
'...How did I forget about asking for his name?' Athelei suddenly realised. 'It seems like I distracted myself... Next time, that will be the first thing I will ask for...'
.
.
.
Gusche's pace wasn't anything great, especially when compared to Athelei's flight speed.
Hours passed without anything happening, save for Gusche's insanity as he laboriously rambled forward. The One-eyed Harbinger was akin to a zombie, mumbling to himself and twitching erratically every now and then.
It brought back Athelei's memories of Avina— when he first met the man, and when the great seaside city still stood.
The hours turned into days as all Gusche did was eat, sleep and march forward, unceasingly and without any doubt. The rare beast he encountered was slain through a flurry of dagger strikes that would bleed them dry.
On the other hand, Athelei was able to pay a visit to the dungeon room beneath Arabi. He went through a few ancient records while Gusche slept and returned when the man awoke.
Thus, they travelled westward, passing by many earthen pillars and rough terrain. Gusche trudged on without complaint while Athelei spent his spare time studying. He was thinking about the next Mystic Patterns to engrave inside his mind.
The Mystic Pattern circle inside his consciousness was what he was doing research on, as he had been rather inspired by the miraculous effect of Sway on those High Orcs. Of course, the miracle was mainly because of the [Seed of Emotion], but without Athelei's small yet indispensable spark, it would have never happened.
Several Mystic Patterns that exerted control over the mind could be extracted from the circle. Lying beyond Gusche's range of perception, Athelei had used the few beasts he had encountered to test their effects. He also used Inspect to find out more about their names and other miscellaneous data.
There were Mystic Patterns for a variety of different emotions, from anger to sadness, jealousy to pride, and even embarrassment. Some Mystic Patterns dulled those emotions, while others fed the flames. There were also Mystic Patterns that created such emotions from nothing, forcing their targets to feel them without knowing why.
Those Mystic Patterns numbered in the dozens, occupying half of the Mystic Pattern circle. Unsurprisingly, the name of the circle itself was [Seed of Emotion]. From what Athelei could remember, it was the inner circle of the two concentric circles that the robed Ogre Magus had cast.
Athelei's current favourite was the Mystic Pattern, Lull, which could influence people into falling asleep. He had used it on Gusche for a few nights and discovered how the man fell into deeper slumber whenever he used it.
'Incorporating mental disruptions into my abilities seems like fun. I could create a zone wherein every being around me has dulled senses... but I can't help but wonder what other combinations might be like...'
Athelei faced a dilemma as he worried about his future. He was akin to a child not knowing what to be when they grew up.
'I wonder what other powers can be combined with Area at the core of my Artistry? And what would their results be like?'
With such thoughts, Athelei let the days pass by as he stalked Gusche who endlessly inched his way forward in an unchanging environment.
It was only when the seventh day arrived that something different popped up.
'Aha~?' Still drifting around Gusche, Athelei almost voiced out his excitement and blew his cover.
There was a sun-like light in the distance, driving the Baneful Shroud out and bringing illumination to a behemoth-sized kingdom-city composed only of stone brick towers, iron spires, earthen pillars, and marble columns.
The kingdom-city seemed devoid of any life. All he could see were dust particles zipping around convection currents and little pebbles rolling around on top of the kingdom-city's spiralling roads.
That was until Athelei spread out his wisps to map out the area and discovered that the place was actually teeming with life.
'I was right to follow Sir One-eyed Harbinger,' Athelei inwardly chuckled as he mentally wrote an addendum to the information Gusche had given him.
'He never mentioned something like this despite my inquiries.'
He couldn't help but lace his thoughts with sarcasm.
'Tsk, tsk. Humans.'