Zuxe leaned against the cold floor of his secluded room, staring at the ceiling.
He hadn't tried sneaking out before, but tonight would be different.
His mutation had unlocked a new potential in him, and with it the resolve to act.
He wasn't content with staying confined any longer; he had to meet Cyrus at any cost today.
To meet Cyrus and copy his blessings or any other technique.
According to what he had heard from his siblings, Cyrus had more than one clan-innate technique, which was the first time it had ever happened.
He wasn't still sure if he would be able to copy his blessings or technique due to the success rate still being low.
The key to his plan, however, was timing. His maid, Mira, was a quiet woman, ever diligent in watching over him.
She was a bit cruel, but her loyalty towards the clan was absolute.
She followed the elder's orders without question and made sure that he didn't leave his quarters unless permitted.
Sneaking past her would be a challenge, but he had one advantage—he knew things about the estate that most of the elders, other than the supreme elders or patriarch & matriarch, didn't know.
According to his memories from the game, he knew of a secret route that even the clan elders didn't know existed.
Tonight, after an early dinner, Zuxe feigned exhaustion, sprawling onto his bed with a heavy sigh.
"Fuckers... Can't even give me some of their resources."
Mira, as usual, tidied up the room and prepared to take her post outside his door.
She assumed he'd be too tired after today's training to try anything.
Zuxe awaited, watching through half-closed eyes until the faint sounds of the door sliding open reached his ears.
He sat up quickly, his heart racing.
Now came the tricky part—getting past Mira.
She would undoubtedly check on him during her rounds, but she tended to be less attentive around night; he had observed her patterns for years.
Zuxe pulled on a dark stealth suit he had hidden beneath his bed, which he had bought from the clan market in exchange for healing potions given to him by Nyra while returning from his training, and draped it over his shoulders.
The outskirts of the estate, where his room was situated, were sparsely populated.
Most of the clan members present there didn't detect him, but some who saw him didn't stop him even after seeing him draped in a cloak, as they knew no one dared enough to infiltrate the clan, especially at night.
His body, still adjusting to the changes from the mutation, felt light and agile.
He used the shadows, ducked behind the trees, and avoided the open paths where the main patrol routes were stationed because he knew demon hunters higher than grade seven would instantly spot him if they paid attention to their surroundings.
But it was when they could sense soul essence concentrations in the surroundings, which luckily Zuxe didn't have much to pique their interest.
As he approached the main courtyard that separated the outer grounds from the central area, the amount of people present there decreased.
He slowed down; the tall walls of the main buildings loomed ahead, carved with ancient tapestries that spoke volumes about the clan's history.
In reality, reaching up to here was no surprise, as everyone was allowed to move up to here without any objections, but they weren't allowed to enter the main building without permission.
But his aim from the start wasn't to go straight ahead; instead, he turned west from there, reaching an overwhelmingly beautiful place.
Western Garden.
Reaching the western garden, he approached a shrine and carefully lifted a moss-colored stone slab, which shouldn't be visible to anyone if they didn't know about it or its location.
Doing side quests sure came in handy.
'Hmmm... probably an illusion technique.'
He pondered while stepping ahead to enter an underground tunnel, which was just as he remembered—narrow and unused for centuries.
Taking a deep breath, he lowered himself to enter the tunnel, but all of a sudden he heard a voice out of nowhere.
"KID, WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING?"
A sudden chill ran down his spine, and he felt an immense pressure bearing down on his shoulders, which he was barely able to withstand as he coughed, and blood found its way out from his mouth.
"C-cough-cough-cough."
He slowly turned around and glanced in different directions, only to find no one.
"WHERE ARE YOU LOOKING?"
As more words echoed in his ears, the pressure increased, making him look up in an instant.
There in the night sky, he saw a figure hovering a few meters above the ground, its hands on its waist.
Looking carefully, it was a woman with immense beauty radiating an otherworldly glow seamlessly with the night.
Her long, flowing white hair cascaded around her like a shimmering veil and mahogany eyes catching the faint light of the moon.
She wore a fitted sleeveless top paired with high-waisted shorts that ended above her thighs, and a flowing translucent overlay skirt wrapped around her waist, fluttering gently in the night breeze.
She looked no more than twenty years old.
But Zuxe instantly recognized her...
She was the Arcane guardian of the clan.
In the game, she was the one who oversaw all the matters related to soul essence, techniques, and barriers in the clan, entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining the clan's integrity.
She held as much authority as the clan guardian, overlooking the clan for more than a thousand years.
Not to mention, she was also the one who taught Cyrus everything related to soul essence, from basics to advanced when he grew up in the game.
Zuxe parted his lips slowly and spoke, fear in his voice, "I-I was j-just wandering around and s-somehow stumbled u-upon this slab."
'Please buy it...'
No one spoke till the words sank in, and after a few moments of silence, she spoke.
"KID, IT LOOKS LIKE YOU HAVE TO DIE."
"W-what but w-why?" He muttered as drops of cold sweat cascaded down his face.
"IF YOU HAD TOLD THR TRUTH, I MAY HAVE FORGIVEN YOU, BUT YOU WERE LYING ALL ALONG."
As those words sank in, a realization struck Zuxe, adding to his discomfort.
'Oh right... how would I stumble across it when I shouldn't have known about it or its location due to the illusion technique?'
He pondered, trying to find any other good excuse, but was interjected as she said.
"BUT... IT MAKES ME WONDER, HOW DID YOU FIND IT WHEN EVEN THE ELDERS COULDN'T FIND IT?"
Apparently, the moment Zuxe lifted the slab, the illusion technique lifted, which resulted in her coming here quickly due to the disturbance.
"NEVERTHELESS... NO POINT IN THINKING ABOUT IT NOW, DON'T WORRY; YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS WOULD BE LEFT ALIVE AND YOU WOULDN'T DIE A PAINFUL DEATH SINCE YOU ARE A MEMBER~"
She paused for a moment, as her face curled into that of confusion, and she interrogated.
.
"FROM WHICH FAMILY DO YOU BELONG?"
---
"_"