"Tsk!"
Alaric snorted after trying and failing to get in touch with Captain Feryn.
"Everything alright?" Selene asked with an expressionless face, drawing the attention of the others to Alaric.
"Yeah... I can't reach Feryn anymore. His communicator seems to be. Either he is not in a good spot or…
"Or he's dead." Caelum completed for him as that would been the most obvious conclusion. After all, they were trying to claim someone's life.
"Exactly…" Alaric nodded.
"What does that mean?" Selene asked for a follow-up. Of course, she knew what being dead meant. What she wanted to know was…
"It means either James had gotten help from some allies or he's become far stronger than a Stellar Attunement level being," Varek replied with a sigh.
"I don't think he could get that powerful so quickly. It's only been a little over a week since…." Maelis didn't complete that sentence either.
"Yeah… But it's better to overestimate him than to underestimate him. We can't fail this time or it will be our heads and that of our houses." Alaric understood what was on the line for him.
"We already know what he looks like. All we have to do is find him and kill him. Even if he has gotten stronger, I doubt he can take all of us on.
"He got lucky with the numbers Feryn had, but not with us," Varek stated, pointing to the hundreds of men standing in a perimeter around them.
"Mm.." Alaric agreed and stored the communicator away.
Sometime later, the grounds trembled for a few seconds before coming to a stop and everyone in the vicinity turned towards the various entrances.
"It's opening…" Varek muttered with excitement in his voice.
The large doors slowly shook as they slid open, revealing a dark interior that appeared to have no light crystals.
The doors completely opened and everyone stared inside without moving forward. Yes, they knew inside was where the main treasures and inheritance were. But they also knew it was a death trap.
Even still, some people wanted to be the first to enter and as a man moved forward to the doors, everyone focused on his actions to see if he'd trigger any traps or be instantly killed right before he entered.
As they watched on, the man arrived right in front of the open entrance and looked up. Above the door and inscribed on a stone was a light warning the man read out loud.
[Not all is as it seems…]
"Whatever…" The man muttered and then entered. The others waited a few seconds and when no screams of pain or wails of death rang out, all hell broke loose.
"Let's get ready to go," Alaric said to his friends and gestured for squad leaders to come forward.
"Split your men into smaller groups and search everywhere once we get inside. But do not engage the target when anyone spots him.
"Send a message and we'll rendezvous at the location."
"Yes, young lord." The leader accepted the command and went to put it in motion. There were a few, however, who would be moving with the heirs for their own safety.
"Okay… Let go."
With that, the group moved towards the entrance. There would be trials and challenges to face for whatever treasures or powerful spells and techniques they find, everyone knew that already.
"Alaric…?" Suddenly, Selene called out to Alaric as she paused briefly.
"Hm? What is it?" Alaric turned around with a curious gaze.
"I want to move alone for a bit and try out my luck," Selene explained with a hand on her hips, oozing the confidence of a prideful noble.
"You sure?" Alaric furrowed his brows and asked.
"Yes…. I understand that our goal is to kill James but we don't need everyone for it. Besides, you can always call for me once you pinpoint his location."
Alaric pondered for a moment and then nodded. "Fine. But you'll be accompanied by one of the men. There's no telling if you'll run into James."
"…." Selene did not respond immediately as she understood the subtle meaning behind the action, but she didn't care much.
'It's not like I have anything to hide at the moment. Besides, accidents tend to happen.' She flashed a small smile before nodding.
"Alright."
"Good," Alaric said and then called for one of the stronger knights to accompany Selene to explore the grounds.
........
"When we venture inside, I want everyone's eyes on the heirs and their actions. Follow them in subtlety and find out James.
"When you do, send a message and we'll all come to you. Remember, we are here to show goodwill. Should he be in trouble and you believe you can help him, don't hesitate."
Kaelen commanded with a stern gaze at him men. As a man under the service of the prince, it was his duty to ensure all his plans come to fruition, no matter what they may be.
"Yes!"
Kaelen nodded and watched as his men entered the building. And only after they were all gone did he move forward.
However, his steps faltered when he sensed a formidable presence behind him and swiftly turned his head back.
'He's dangerous!'
His expression grew sombre just staring at the cloaked figure approaching from the back. The figure's movements were confident and purposeful, knowing exactly how impactful his presence was. Whenever he passed, people turned around and back away the moment he got near them.
*Gulp*
He could tell the man was at the same level as he was, yet his presence felt so heavy. He was a peak Stellar Attunement warrior, but compared to that man, he was but a child!
'Was the Stellar Attunement level always that powerful?' He wondered but there was no answer in sight.
"Out of my way."
Kaelen was so shocked by the man's presence that he forgot the man was coming in his direction and when he heard his deep and almost guttural voice, he instinctively flinched back and got out of the way.
"S-sorry…"
Kaelen muttered in a daze as the figure walked past him. None of his features were visible to him except his tall and masculine figure that couldn't be hidden even with his gear.
'I need to inform the prince. Someone like him could be very useful to him.' He made a decision, despite his instincts telling him to stay away from that man.
Only after the being disappeared into the building did Kaelen let out a sigh of relief and resumed his steps.
...…...
'Tsk! What is wrong with people? Do I have something on myself or what?'
James complained after seeing how people fled whenever he passed by. He wasn't aware himself, but his presence had been growing ever since he came out of that pool.
And until he becomes aware of it, it will continue to push people away. It was just that overbearing.
He subtly looked behind and spotted Thalia walking towards the entrance just like everyone. And she did quite a good job acting.
'Good girl.'
Inside the grounds, James was welcomed to a large open space with columns holding up the ceiling and people sprawled all around looking for hidden doors and stuff.
At the very end of the hall was a giant statue of a being James assumed to be the owner of the inheritance ground. Many people were already there inspecting the giant statue, but no one dared to climb it or such.
"Mm…" James wanted to know who this place belonged to and headed towards that direction and whenever he passed, people made way for him as they stared at his figure with sombre expressions.
"Who's he?"
"Beats me. Have you ever seen someone at his level with that kind of presence?"
"…:"
James caught some of the things the people around him were saying and furrowed his brows lightly.
'Presence?'
He wasn't a stranger to the word, and a few thoughts gave him the reason why everyone was acting that way. He stopped for a moment and looked at his hands.
'But I don't feel any different and it's not like I am purposefully letting my presence out.'
Even if he was doing that, it wasn't anything special. With a room full of people at similar levels, it barely had any effect on anyone.
He closed his eyes for a moment and attempted to draw back whatever aura he was letting off and slowly it began to diminish until it was entirely gone.
'I see…'
When he drew back his aura just now, he literally felt the air around his body rush into his system.
'But why couldn't I tell earlier?'
With so many changes happening to him lately, James needed time and space to sort things out, or else he would be driven into a situation where these changes would bite him in the ass than save him.
After taking care of his aura, he resumed his steps and noticed people ahead weren't scurrying out of his way.
Of course, those who noticed earlier on still kept their eyes on him and decided to stay clear of him.
"Have you heard of that name before?"
"There are many experts who existed that we don't know of. This could be one of them."
James heard the words when he got to the stature and took in its whole features. The statue was made out of stone and had the unknown face of a middle-aged man with short hair and in magician's robes with something like a mask in his hand.
Then he turned to the inscription written on the stage it stood on.
[To see through the veil of others, you must see through yourself— No Name Paragon]
'Indeed, never heard of him before.' He agreed with the words he heard earlier and raised his head to look at the statue once again.
Suddenly…
"AHHHHHHH!"
Everyone heard a loud scream and snapped their heads towards the direction the scream came from.
"NO PLEASE...! DON'T KILL ME.... AHHHH….!"
*SCREECH.....!*
*SCREECH.....!*
Everyone heard the pleading voice and the screech of multiple somethings.
'Shit. Someone triggered something.'