BXBX NOVEL Chapter 109: Things Get More Complicated
To prove his point, the man even directed the group to his storeroom. When they checked, they found loads of empty orbs with no trademark signs on them.
Reyes proceeded to ask several more questions.
A few minutes later...
"Now, the final question. If you answer this correctly, we will let you go."
"Do you promise?" The man asked, still trembling, with snot running from his nose. He looked extremely pitiful. A few years ago, Nox might have felt pity for him. Unfortunately, being around Eve had begun to rub off on him.
"I promise." Reyes crossed his heart. "Where is the alchemist?"
This was the most important question everyone in the room had been waiting to hear. Although the other questions were essential to uncovering the mastermind behind the signal, they couldn\'t help but grow impatient. Now that the critical question had been asked, everyone looked at the man with eager expressions—Nox included.
However, the man fell silent as soon as the question was asked. Everyone looked at him in confusion. He had been responding to every question without hesitation, genuinely valuing his life.
So why stop now?
"Hey, I asked, where is he?" Reyes repeated, thinking the man hadn\'t heard him well the first time.
But the man remained silent, his mouth tightly shut. It was as if he was too afraid to speak, which was strange considering how cooperative he had been.
"Mmmmmm." The man shook his head, his lips still sealed tight. He seemed to be saying, "Not that question, please not that question."
Before their very eyes, the man began to appear paler.
"Hey, is it just me, or is this guy getting slimmer by the second?" Brenda asked, noticing the obvious.
"Are you alright?" Reyes continued, clueless about why the man was trembling and looking more like a corpse with each passing moment. "Hey, I already promised you we\'d let you go if you answered this question. You don\'t have to be scared."
Reyes\' words seemed to work as the man began to calm down. Slowly, life seemed to return to him.
\'I\'m really confused. Does he get slim when he\'s scared?\' Nox thought. It was the first time he had witnessed something like this, but it didn\'t matter as the man seemed ready to speak.
The man sucked in a deep breath and opened his mouth: "He stays in the up—"
BOOM!
As soon as he opened his mouth, the man\'s head exploded in front of everyone, blood splattering on them. Reyes, who was closest to the man, was practically drenched from head to toe, his expression looking extremely annoyed.
"Shit! A self-destruct spell!" Reyes clenched his fists and kicked the lifeless body. "We were so close! Dammit!"
"Whoever this person is, he\'s frightening and has a lot of resources," Hex stated, wiping his face.
It was the first time Nox had heard of a self-destruct spell, so he subconsciously looked at Cormach, who began to explain.
"Self-destruct spells are typically exclusive to those with monster classes, like dark mages, necromancers, and the like. When cast on someone, they bind their soul to the caster\'s will, allowing the caster to set specific commands or conditions. When those conditions are met, the bound person sacrifices themselves," Cormach explained with revulsion in his tone.
"For this guy, it seems the condition was to never reveal the whereabouts of the alchemist who made these orbs... and I\'m pretty sure those filthy dark mages are responsible for this."
From his tone alone, it was clear Cormach had a deep hatred for people with monster classes.
From what Nox knew, monster classes were those that granted users extraordinary abilities but at a terrible cost. They usually included dark mages, necromancers, demonkin, hollow knights, and others. But he didn\'t know if his Beast Tamer class was also part of this monster class.
Thinking about it, he remembered the oath his master Eve had made him take before they began his training.
"Before we begin, I\'d like you to take an oath." A black orb materialized on Eve\'s porcelain palm. "Only a few people know my class in this world. Most of them have died."
"If you don\'t want to be among the \'most,\' I\'d advise you to take this oath stone and swear never to reveal my class until you die."
\'Damn it, she didn\'t cast a self-destruct spell on me, did she?\' In the present, Nox almost trembled at the thought. Eve couldn\'t be that heartless, right... RIGHT?!
"So this guy was merely a pawn?" Nox commented, his face still smeared with blood. He already knew the answer to this question and didn\'t need the others to respond.
Things were beginning to get more complicated. It seemed like getting to the elemental beast was becoming more difficult with each passing second.
\'Without these guys, it would\'ve been even more difficult,\' Nox realized. Joining this guild temporarily was one of the best decisions he had made. How would he have known all these things?
\'And I actually thought I had the highest chance of getting the elemental crystal... just because I have broken skills and talent.\'
After wiping himself clean, Reyes looked at everyone with a dark expression. "Things have become too complicated. Let\'s get out of here and regroup. We have a lot to discuss and not a lot of time to waste."
As they turned to leave, Brenda, who had been quiet all this time, called out to the others.
"Wait. There\'s something else!"
She bent down and retrieved a small piece of parchment from the man\'s now limp hand.
"This was clutched in his hand. It might be a clue," she voiced, bringing the parchment to the others.
The group gathered around, looking at the parchment. On it was a single symbol, dark and ominous. Nox felt a shiver run down his spine as Reyes\' eyes widened in recognition.
"What is it?" Nox whispered. A symbol that could make him shiver and cause the stoic guild master to break his calm exterior was no simple thing.
Reyes\' expression darkened even more. "T-this is the symbol of the Lich Court."