Chapter 59: Veiled in Mist
The following morning, at dawn.
Within the domed classroom of the Sugg Relic Extraordinary Academy.
Many students were whispering and discussing the large explosion from the previous day.
Evidently, many were aware of the incident.
And some students had purchased today's newspaper.
Gune had also read the newspaper.
A significant portion of it was dedicated to describing his "work of art" from yesterday.
The editor who compiled the newspaper was clearly a master of "sensational headlines."
The headline was, "Massive Explosion! Is this a sign of the destruction of Sugg Relic City by a Cultist of the Evil God?"
Cultist of the Evil God?
What a load of nonsense.
...
In the afternoon.
In Sugg Relic City, the Antu Kang District, where the wealthy and nobles resided, just across the street from Dolan Street, on "Thorny Wood Street."
Three travelers, clad in black robes with their faces heavily concealed, quietly entered the house at number 132.
Upon entering the house and descending into the underground cellar.
The three finally revealed their true appearances.
Lean, handsome faces, pointed ears, and red ear tips.
These three were clearly Blood Ear Elves.
One of them had a rather aged appearance, with some white hair at his temples.
"Lord Xumu, we invited you here this time..." a middle-aged elf said in a low voice.
"A bunch of incompetent fools."
Before the middle-aged elf could finish, the old Blood Ear Elf called Xumu had already rebuked them in a low, stern voice. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried immense authority.
"For thousands of years, we haven't found a way to activate the Sacred Tree Seed."
"And now, we've finally found the source of that terrifying power, the key to activating the Sacred Tree Seed."
"Yet, the Sacred Tree Seed was simply snatched away."
"You couldn't even protect the transport of the Sacred Tree Seed, and the outpost was destroyed along with it. Do you want these humans to follow the twisted passage and invade our homeland?"
The two Blood Ear Elves who were rebuked were ashamed and didn't dare to breathe heavily.
"That individual who acted, regardless of whether they killed our people or stole our Sacred Tree Seed, must not be spared," Xumu said in a low voice.
"Where are Viginio and Isaiah?"
"After learning about the destruction of this outpost and the loss of the Sacred Tree Seed, Lords Viginio and Isaiah immediately came to track the Sacred Tree Seed's whereabouts."
"Lord Viginio arrived around two or three in the morning."
"However..."
The elf paused and continued.
"Lord Viginio's information-gathering abilities failed to track down the perpetrator."
"Failed to track them?" Xumu's eyebrows furrowed.
"Viginio's information perception, if any trace remains, he would surely discover it. How could he not find anything?"
The middle-aged Blood Ear Elf pondered for a moment and quickly explained.
"At that time, Lord Viginio did indeed see the footprint information left by the perpetrator."
"But as soon as he entered the alleyway a few hundred meters away, the trace information mysteriously disappeared."
"Disappeared?"
"Yes, it's clear that the enemy possesses some ability to disrupt tracking."
Listening to the middle-aged Blood Ear Elf's explanation, Xumu felt that things were probably not as simple as he had imagined.
"What about Isaiah? Isaiah's arcane tracking is quite powerful."
"Lord Isaiah's tracking arcane... seems to be ineffective."
"Ineffective? The enemy's interference methods are very strong?" Xumu also calmed his mind at this point.
"From what we know so far, that seems to be the case."
Xumu's eyes narrowed slightly as he pondered.
"This operation was highly secretive, and only a few of our internal personnel knew about it."
"It seems that it's time to investigate those surrenderists within the clan. Perhaps some of them have secretly defected to the Extraordinary Association."
"They actually still believe in the childish joke of joining the Extraordinary Association and becoming one of them."
"Truly... foolish."
"Lord Xumu, the individual who acted is not simple. It's even possible that... they are among those within the clan..." The middle-aged elf didn't elaborate further.
"That's why we invited you to intervene this time."
"With your divination abilities, that enemy will surely be unable to conceal the truth."
"Mm!" Xumu's voice resonated through his nostrils.
The internal conflicts within the clan and the matter of the Sacred Tree Seed were both of great importance.
At this moment, Xumu didn't dwell too much on the responsibility of these Blood Ear Elves.
First, he needed to retrieve the Sacred Tree Seed.
This time, several races accompanied "Lord Barbarian Saint" to Sugg Relic City.
Their goal was the "Terror from the Stars."
Once successful, not only Sugg Relic City, but the entire Northern Continent Empire's expansion towards the Northern Mountains and resource extraction would become a thing of the past.
Warrior wars, Extraordinary wars.
They were about survival, the survival of their Extraordinary races in the Extraordinary Wilderness.
Immediately, Xumu began to make swift arrangements.
First, he used source energy to construct rune barriers to seal the entire house.
Then, he constructed a divination ritual array.
Using the divination array, he could effectively repair the enemy's interference, or even bypass it directly, and find the true answer.
After the divination ritual array was constructed.
The clothes of the several slain Blood Ear Elves were placed within the divination ritual array.
"The truth hidden in the depths of the mist..."
"The culprit of this sin..."
"You will have nowhere to hide..."
As Xumu finished chanting.
Within the array, light gathered.
Xumu's consciousness probed, and within the light, the true face of the enemy was condensed.
However, this time, what Xumu saw was a hazy, gray-white mist.
As if an invisible hand had obscured his vision.
...
In the afternoon, Gune finished school early.
"As the end-of-term graduation season approaches, the number of classes has decreased significantly."
"Some students have even applied for early graduation."
"I'm not in a hurry to graduate. After all, I still need to learn rune analysis from Mentor Olof."
"With fewer classes, I'll have more time to focus on potion brewing."
"Once my potion alchemy workshop is completed, I can start brewing potions on a large scale to earn gold pounds."
"Brewing potions is just one aspect. More importantly, it's about my own strength."
"Spellcaster, that's my foundation."
"Speaking of which, Old Man Cohen said he would take me to learn an extraordinary spell. I wonder what kind of powerful spell it is. I'm quite looking forward to it."
...
After ten minutes, Gune arrived near the entrance of Old Stone Street.
"Over here..."
A carriage parked on the side of the road opened its door, and Old Cohen leaned out.
Gune quickly got into the carriage.
As soon as he entered the carriage, Gune was startled.
"Are there others?"
Before him was a young man of eighteen or nineteen.
The most striking feature of this young man was his golden-blonde short hair.
His facial features were well-proportioned, somewhat ordinary, but the faint, gentle smile on his face, combined with his golden hair, gave him a sunny, gentle, and refreshing aura.
"Golden hair," Gune couldn't help but ponder.
The carriage slowly started moving. The rhythmic sound of the horse's hooves and the carriage wheels hitting the cobblestones created a steady beat.
"This is Alex, a rather talented intermediate alchemist," Old Cohen introduced slowly.
"From now on, he will assist you in potion brewing."
"Currently, he's overseeing the construction of your potion alchemy workshop."
"If you have any questions, you can ask him."
"Hello, Master Gune," the golden-haired young man, Alex, nodded slightly to Gune.
"Hello, Master Alex," Gune responded politely.
(End of Chapter)
He was a young man in his early twenties, with a thin face and a sharp, alert look.
Beside him stood a pretty, well-dressed girl of seventeen or eighteen with a good figure.
Two other young men, seventeen or eighteen, with strong builds, were also present.
"All of you, get out," Rook said, his voice slightly heavy.
Rook's words held authority, and the three individuals immediately rose without hesitation.
They closed the door behind them, and the noise from outside continued unabated.
After sitting down, Rook began to speak.
"Here's all their information, including details about the house they're staying in."
Rook placed a paper bag in front of Gune.
Gune didn't speak but took the paper bag, opened it, and began to browse the information inside.
Gune read quickly, and within two or three minutes, he had a general understanding of the information.
"Good."
With a thought, Gune stored the paper bag and its contents in his storage.
Then, a pouch of gold coins appeared in his hand.
It contained a full sixty gold pounds.
Upon seeing the pouch, Rook managed to suppress his greed.
The moment he took the pouch, Rook's eyebrows twitched slightly.
"There's more than fifty gold pounds in here," he said, looking at Gune.
"Sixty in total," Gune said, his voice devoid of emotion.
"The agreed-upon price was fifty," Rook said, looking at Gune with a hint of amusement.
"The extra ten are to ensure you keep your mouth shut."
Gune stood up and walked towards the exit.
"If you leak a single piece of information, even Old Crow won't be able to protect you."
"Is this Old Cohen's instruction?" Rook asked, looking at Gune's back.
"No, it's mine."
Gune strode away.
Rook watched Gune leave before stroking his chin.
"Boss, that kid is pretty arrogant," one of the burly young men guarding the entrance said with a hint of rebellious aggression.
"Should we teach him a lesson?"
Rook waved his hand.
"Old Crow specifically instructed us to handle this matter properly and not leak any information."
"If I leak information, Old Crow himself might not let me off easy. Besides, I have no intention of leaking anything," Rook shrugged.
"Secondly, if you dare to go after him, you might end up on the losing end. Old Cohen's people are never easy to deal with."
At this point, the pretty girl leaned in and giggled.
"What kind of information is it that makes Old Crow so cautious?"
"Want to know?" Rook smirked, closing the door behind him.
…
In the laboratory, flames rose, and the various documents, including the paper bag, quickly turned to ash.
Gune had already firmly imprinted the information in his mind.
"Six people, possibly eight, all extraordinary individuals, and not weak."
"With my current strength, I might not be able to kill them all."
"But I might also get injured or killed myself. After all, those Blood Ear Elves are incredibly fast."
"To ensure I can kill all those Blood Ear Elves, I need to break through and become a first-order Blood Spellcaster."
"I've prepared everything I need."
"It's time to break through," Gune clenched his fists, thinking to himself.
…
Night had fallen deep.
Within the laboratory, blood mist swirled, and blood energy filled the air.
The thick, bloody smell was nauseating.
But to Gune's senses, it was like the most exquisite delicacy in the world, captivating him.
"Inhale... exhale..."
Gune, deeply inhaling the blood mist, was on the verge of breakthrough.
Extraordinary power had perfectly merged with Gune's body, soul, Source Power, and willpower.
All that remained was the final leap of transformation.
"Ark... Las... Ark... Las..."
A low, murmuring whisper, like a demonic chant, echoed in Gune's ears and resonated in the depths of his soul.
It was impossible to dispel or ignore.
Even Gune, during his breakthrough and ascension, found it difficult to suppress the negative influence of the extraordinary power itself.
Fortunately, Gune's soul was strong enough, his resilience tenacious enough that despite the whispering chant swirling around him, he steadily began the transformation of his body, Source Power, and soul.
(End of Chapter)