Eluard stood atop a snowy cliff, staring at the large town surrounded by wooden sticks. He was still wearing his set of robe and mask.
Today, he planned to gather information about news of the recent events in the Norva Assili. He can't simply meet up with his juniors without the much-needed details beforehand.
'If it wasn't for the upgrade, I wouldn't even consider doing it like this.'
He was referring to the robe of the magus given to him by the system before. Just like the mask itself, the robe seemed to be evolving together with its user.
[ Robe of the Magus ]
[ The robe of a once renowned wizard. Its versatility has greatly helped its previous owner. ]
[ Special Effect: Adaptive Mechanism ]
[ This robe's functionality depends on the needs of the user. ]
Although the description was very vague, Eluard conducted some tests earlier on a smaller village and returned with successful results.
He was able to conceal his entire presence that not even his breath was felt after exhaling in front of an oblivious passerby. Combined with his magical deterrence skill that concealed his aura, Eluard elusively traveled around under the eyes of everyone.
The robe also noticed the cold environment and became cold-resistant.
Just with this, Eluard verified that the system usually did not want to tell him everything and was left to do research on his own. Of course, this method elated Eluard.
Frankly enough, it urged him to open his mind and not slack like an idiot who fully depended on the system for every action he had to do.
'Now, where do we start gathering information from?'
Eluard had several places in his mind.
First was the market. With the most crowded and busiest places, surely some random passerby would whisper rumors now and then.
He jumped off the high cliff and utilized the wind element through the domain mana synthesis to soften his fall.
Eluard calmly entered the large town, bypassing the guards who were tier 6 anointed knights. This particular scene felt like he was strolling around his backyard.
He wasn't touching the ground and instead, used the wind element again to float in the air.
The robe only covered his body, not the physical tracks he leaves behind when stepping on the snow.
He followed the map and arrived in the market. There were rarely any fish or vegetables sold here. Rather, hides and thick meat coming from both the demonic and magical beasts populated the stalls.
Eluard then utilized the wind element again to eavesdrop on each conversation occurring nearby.
As to how he managed to develop this particular skill?
The paranoid academy master wanted to know how his students felt about him during the earlier days in the academy.
Unsettled on how his students praised him like a god every time they met, Eluard planned to listen on their conversations while he wasn't around. Since being stealthy like an assassin wasn't his forte, he had to resort on other methods instead.
Otherwise, his students would bust his ass.
Luckily, he found a technique in the library named vocal orchestration. Its concept revolved about decoding the vibrations emitted while speaking. The decoding process involves the use of mana before transmitting the information back to the user.
This makes it easy to eavesdrop on conversations even when one was very far away.
The method was also subversive. Unless an alert archmage notices the strange fluctuation of mana in the surroundings, no one would ever be knowledgeable that someone was actually listening in on their conversations.
For Eluard, however, being detected was the least of his worries. His magical deterrence skill could be put to use, making him the most dangerous and stealthy eavesdropper not only in the academy, but in Aludia too.
The overwhelming paranoia motivated Eluard to learn it as quickly as he could. Now, he was reaping the benefits of his efforts in an unexpected manner.
A crowd gathered on the sides and Eluard snooped on them.
"Hey, don't you know? I heard that the Frozen Glades became a dangerous area recently. The magical beasts are amassing to attack the nearby towns and villages!"
"Oh no, my brother lives in the area near that! Do you have any idea why this thing is happening?"
"Actually, it was someone from the Siegfried Clan who knew of this news and spread it around. They said that the divine frost dragon was very angry that someone brutally massacred a nearby den of magical beasts and left no one, even the younglings alive."
"Is the high king going to do something about this?!"
"High King Garron is aware of it and is currently enlisting a great number of warriors to defend our lands!"
Eluard stopped in place and contemplated on the possibility that this was a setup from the Siegfried Clan. The divine frost dragon haven't displayed such aggression over the years but that peace was recently disturbed.
'Or the demonic creatures are the ones directly behind this fa?ade.'
There was no denying of the Otherworld's involvement on this incident. Maybe it was them who antagonized the divine frost dragon and made a scapegoat of the Norva Assili.
The Siegfried Clan would then supplement the plan and finish what the demonic creatures started. And that was murdering High King Garron under the pretense that he died battling against the horde of angry magical beasts.
Eluard also mused that the Siegfried Clan doesn't have the capability to insult the divine frost dragon, forcing the demonic creatures in taking the first step.
'Hmm?'
The map was showing two red dots found near Eluard's position.
'Enemies? Are they demonic creatures?'
He moved around the market and went inside a pub. The loud cheers and people brawling on a large table filled his ears. Fortunately, the robe cancelled the unnecessary noise that was messing with Eluard's focus.
His eyes locked on to the farthest side of the pub, left of him.
There were two cloaked figures whose heads were covered under the shadow of their hoods. Their 'hands' were fitted with gloves and they simply stared at the food the waitress handed over.
Eluard found out that he couldn't eavesdrop on their conversation using the vocal orchestration technique.
'Are they using telepathy?'
He switched his gears and used his eye of fidelity to see their information.
[ Demonic Creature (No-Name) ]
[ Power Level: Marasaka (Lowest Demon) ]
[ Demonic Symbols: 10 ]
[ Type: Caster ]
…
[ Demonic Creature (No-Name) ]
[ Power Level: Marasaka (Lowest Demon) ]
[ Type: Fighter ]
[ Demonic Symbols: 7 ]
This was the result of his eye's analysis. Eluard snorted at the sight of the two demonic creatures doing their best to hide in public.
Demonic creatures were ranked based on the image possessed by their demonic cores. It was then surrounded by various symbols that further enhanced the power of a demonic creature.
The more symbols there were, the more powerful a demonic creature was.
They were also categorized into two, a caster and a fighter, equivalent to the mages and knights in Aludia.
Marasakas were the weakest demonic creatures. They didn't have demonic tails, long dark horns, or wings on their backs. Marasakas weren't also given the freedom to have their own names.
However, they were a force to be reckon with as their strength was comparable to a tier 7 knight or an adept wizard.
'Are they here to scout the events in Norva Assili too?'
The other customers were gossiping about the news in the Frozen Glades. Hearing them, the two demonic creatures nodded at each other before they stood up and left the area.
Eluard followed their trail. He was intrigued on what these two demonic creatures were up to.
One was slightly taller than the other, with a bigger build and menacing aura. The other one was calmer with a hunched back. The staff on its right hand looked ordinary but Eluard knew it was not.
[ Red Demonic Staff (Rare) ]
[ A staff used by demonic casters to gather their demonic power and wreak havoc on the environment. ]
They exited the town and went to a seclusive spot far from the town's entrance. It was situated on a cave under the cliff he jumped earlier. The place was hidden using a magic formation.
"The plan is going well. I wonder why Mahiista is so paranoid that someone would interfere.", the tall demonic creature harrumphed.
"I thought he told you to watch out for the presence of the academy? They already said that that place has come back.", the demonic caster replied.
"Why do we have to fear that academy? I never understood why should we in the first place!", the demonic fighter pumped their fists.
The demonic caster was about to retort when a young man dressed in white wizard robes suddenly appeared in front of them. They were alerted and upped their guard.
Eluard, on the other side, already thought of disposing the two demonic creatures in front of him. He unequipped his robe and mask beforehand.
Since the Otherworld was aware of their presence, there wasn't any point of acting in complete secrecy anymore. However, he has to make sure that they won't be able to measure out the academy's current strength.
What felt off was how their enemies reacted upon knowing that they came back. The demonic creatures seemed lax and carefree.
There were no high-level aggression, invasion, or murdering people. It was different compared to how the books stated their ruthlessness and domineering behavior.
'That doesn't matter now. I'll need to take care of these goons first.'
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