The Sacred Meditation Technique is one of the best healing techniques in the world. Not only does it heal wounds, but it can also regenerate lost organs. This technique can even eradicate poison and other diseases.
Despite its incredible capabilities, it still has a downside: it can only be used while meditating—staying still in one place. This makes it unusable in battle.
After regenerating his pinky finger that had been lost due to using the Blood Forge Technique, Amon felt hungry. The Sacred Meditation Technique doesn't only consume the user's spiritual energy, but it also burns calories.
Amon got up from his bed and headed for the kitchen. At this time of night, his maids would have already gone to sleep, so receiving their service was out of the question.
However, on his way there, he found the corpse of one of his maid lying in a pool of blood.
"What happened?"
Amon frowned. He didn't like this situation.
Using the Flash Dance Technique, he arrived in front of his maid's sleeping quarters in less than a second. Bursting through the door in haste, he found twenty-nine people there.
'No one is missing. One is dead, and the rest are here. That means the culprit isn't the maids.'
"Young master, is there anything we can assist you with?" one maid asked, awakened by the door slamming open.
"There's an intruder. One of you has already been killed. Quickly wake up and leave this place."
The maids were immediately shocked and scared. Some began to grieve and cry over the loss of their companion. Still, they understood they had to leave quickly as it was no longer safe.
Dressed only in their sleepwear, they followed Amon, trembling and on high alert. Their eyes nervously darted left and right, checking for any signs of the intruder nearby, while their hands held onto each other for comfort.
Throughout the tense journey down the dark hallway, Amon could not spot the culprit.
When they reached the maid's body, one of the maids, who had been a close friend, ran over and embraced the lifeless corpse, crying uncontrollably.
"Don't be too sad. If you take her to the hospital quickly, she can still be brought back to life."
"Is that even possible, young master? I've heard that it's very expensive."
The technology to revive the dead is indeed costly, but only for the poor.
"You won't need to pay. It's one of the benefits you receive as the maids of the Starheir."
The Lucerion Clan treats its servants well to prevent any rebellion.
"Th-thank you."
They continued walking until they reached the front gate.
"I'll only escort you this far. Don't forget to report this to the Blade Guard Order."
"Thank you, young master."
Amon didn't leave right away. He watched as the maids disappeared into the glittering night of the city.
'If the culprit is a professional assassin, they wouldn't let anyone escape.'
A professional assassin wouldn't leave any evidence or witnesses behind. However, if it was an amateur, the opposite would be true.
After waiting for several minutes, Amon could no longer see the maids, and no one had attacked them. In fact, a few people on the street had even cleared the way when they saw them carrying a corpse.
'This means it's an amateur. But who? Roderic, maybe, or could it be Alvis risen from the grave?'
Everyone who dies in this world rises as undead due to the Death God's curse, but this can be prevented by cremation.
Alvis had already died by fire; even if any remnants remained, Amon was confident his maids would have burned him to ashes.
'It's unlikely to be an assassin sent by the Death God or the Arcanor Clan.'
Those two groups would certainly send a professional, not an amateur assassin.
'This must be Roderic's doing.'
Amon pulled out Karyuken from his ring before unsheathing it.
"Even though my palace is the smallest in the city, it's still a palace. It's troublesome to hunt down a single culprit inside here."
He swung Karyuken, creating a wave of fire that surged through the palace. The dark and quiet atmosphere was immediately overwhelmed by the brightness of the fire. The cold air was replaced with heat, and the smell of ashes filled his nostrils.
The culprit, still inside, was horrified by Amon's reckless actions. "Does he have any brains left?!"
Amon is actually the type to keep things that hold sentimental value and nostalgia, but he hadn't spent much time in this palace since his transmigration.
'Besides, I'll have a new palace after I finish my mission.'
With his personality that despises hassle, there was no other reason not to burn down the palace.
Using the Flash Dance Technique, he dashed through the air and reached the palace roof.
Just as his feet landed, a fast, light-like attack surged toward him from below, shattering the roof, but Amon blocked it with his sword.
Amon sneered at the clownish figure below, "Roderic, when did you learn? This attack won't work on me."
Now that Amon was using a martial formula, his body was much stronger. Even when he blocked the Light Sword Technique with one hand, none of his bones were broken—perhaps only his muscles experienced microtrauma.
"Don't be cocky; you're not the only one who's gotten stronger."
"Is that so? Even if that's true, your brain still hasn't gotten any smarter."
"We'll see who's laughing in the end."
Roderic jumped again, and Amon followed suit.
But by the time Amon's feet touched the floor, Roderic was already gone.
"What is this? Hide and seek? Are you serious, in this burning palace?"
Amon walked slowly, trying to detect Roderic's presence.
He then recalled the kind of technique he was missing.
Back when he was in the treasure room, he had been too hungry to remember it.
But now, struggling to detect Roderic, he realized the power he lacked was a detection technique.
If only he had one, he could easily find Roderic; he might not have even been caught off guard by Roderic's sneak attack during the ceremony.
Amon could only shake his head in resignation, hoping he could find a detection technique in the future.
"Roderic, I'm actually really thankful to you, you know? Now I don't have to bother sneaking into your palace to kill you. You've really saved me a lot of time."
After provoking Roderic, Amon stayed silent for several minutes, but to no avail.
'Maybe I need to provoke him more intensely.'
Amon thought of Roderic's ex-fiancée, Xie Mei.
He quickly concocted a lie to enrage Roderic.
"Actually, your ex-fiancée, Xie Mei, and I have been having an affair for a long time. We've even slept together. And did you know? She's quite wild in bed."
Hiding in the shadows, Roderic's eyes widened in fury at this heart-piercing revelation.