"It's about subjugating the monsters in the Alastall woodland and creating a permanent route from this town to the magic tower and the abandoned tunnel. We must completely subjugate all the monsters in the outer regions of the Alastall woodland before the end of this year. Only then will our territory have a chance to become a habitable land for a living." Abium's words caused everyone to nod in agreement.
"When are we going to start? And, who all are going to partake in that work?" Sarah asked.
"Except for Kuran and Sir Viper, all of us will participate in that mission. From tomorrow onwards, we will start doing the monster subjugations." Abium replied quickly. After that, they discussed a few things about education, population, and other things. But Abium didn't pay much attention to those things for now. He planned to build this town step by step.
'Soon, this town will turn into an independent city.' He smiled inwardly.
A few minutes later, the meeting ended.
As everyone was about to return to their work, Viper suddenly halted his footsteps and asked.
"Young Baron. Did you check that silver ring? What did the elven guy hide in that ring?"
'Ring? Oh! I completely forgot about it.' Abium quickly massaged his forehead and said.
"I completely forgot about that ring, Sir. I will look into it."
"Okay. If it is something dangerous, at least give me some hints. I will take care of these normal tasks." Viper said with a low tone and walked out of the reception hall.
Meanwhile, Abium was slightly startled by Viper's words and soon understood the hidden meaning.
'Should I cast the 'seer's intuition' spell and check before activating that ring?' Abium thought inwardly.
'It's better to be safe than sorry.'
After glancing around to confirm that everyone was out of the room, he closed his eyes and cast the 'seer's intuition' spell while thinking about the level of danger that hooded guy posed.
The next instant, an immeasurable pain appeared in his head and caused him to groan.
Pant! Pant!
'Highly dangerous! That guy must be a dangerous monster. Wait... Is there any danger hidden in this ring?' He wiped the cold sweats on his forehead and pondered what to do with this situation.
He sat on the wooden chair for the next few minutes and pondered deeply. His mind was filled with questions.
'Why is he targeting me? Moreover, Is he an elf? I didn't involve myself with any elf, though. Is the current royal elven family after me?'
Finally, he took a deep breath to calm himself down and started to think about what to do next.
'If I avoid contacting him now, he may use other vulnerable methods. First, I should check if there is any danger inside this silver ring.' Once again, Abium slowly cast the 'Seer's intuition' spell and started to think about any danger hidden in the silver ring.
After two seconds, he slowly breathed a sigh of relief as he noticed neither uneasiness nor any danger sign appeared in his mind.
'Let's see what that hooded elven guy is up to.' He thought inwardly and quickly activated the rune circle in the silver ring.
It began to emit a dim red light the next moment and illuminated the hall.
A cloud of black smoke came out of the silver ring a second later and formed into a black blurry hooded figure. The figure stood at the center of the round wooden table and looked around the surroundings.
'Darkness element?' Abium frowned and soon guessed this must be some sort of long-distance communication spell.
"Who are you?" Abium squinted his eyes sharper and asked in a cold tone.
"I'm a Messenger." A short husky male voice came from the smoky hooded figure, which gave him eerie chills.
'Male? But why did he go on the round way to contact me? Why didn't he directly come to me and ask about his problem? Is he wary of me? No! That's not it. From Viper's tone, this guy seems to be a dangerous one. But I don't understand why he is keeping his guard against me.' Abium narrowed his eyes in suspicion and looked deeply at the blackish hooded figure.
"So, what do you want from me?" Abium asked after a short delay.
"Before that, you should see this." That smoky figure said, raised his cloudy hand, and waved it.
A moment later, another cloud of smoke came out from the silver ring and formed into a circular screen. As Abium looked at the screen, his expression froze. On that screen, a picture, No! A magical video appeared.
The video displayed the moment when he, Lily, and Sara were battling against the demonized Red python branch leader Iskax.
Soon, the video started to distort and was replaced with a new one while showing a complete difference scene. In the second video, Abium noticed that Sara was working with Claude and others and helping everyone.
'How did he capture the video without alerting me? Azolla, do you have any idea?' Hiding his anxiety, Abium asked.
'No idea, kid. But he didn't come near the range of your spiritual scan. Hmm, he seems to be a cautious guy.' Azolla said solemnly.
'Indeed. This guy is also a crafty one.'
Calming his mind, Abium analyzed the hooded shadowy figure's every movement and soon sighed.
"Shall I take this as a threat?" He asked. Although the situation was precarious, he didn't lose his calm.
'His goal is not money. If he had sent this video to the Royal family, he could have already gotten more than ten thousand white gold coins as a reward, but he didn't. Hmm, he appears to have some ulterior motive… Does he need my help? Or is he after something?' Abium started to make possible guesses.
At the same time, the black hooded figure shook his head and started talking.
"As you have guessed, I need a strong person's help. I need a person who is not controlled by fate and could be capable of changing others' fate." His next words caused Abium and even Azolla to be startled deeply.
'Only persons who knew this were two goddesses and us, but how did he figure it out?... Damn it; I acted too carelessly. I must act more cautiously from now on.' Abium fell silent for a second after cursing inwardly.
"So, what do you want from me?" Abium soon snapped out of the shock and asked while showing a vigilant expression. He wasn't afraid of this mysterious guy. But if he didn't show a little vigilance, the enemy might try other means to probe his original strength.
Meanwhile, the black hooded figure seemed to have been pleased by his wariness and started talking.
"I need your help to steal a unique artifact from a treasury. Don't worry; it will be beneficial for both of us. We will talk about it once the last seal is broken." That black figure said while materializing a creepy smile on his face region.
Meanwhile, Abium became shocked inside and began to ponder deeply.
'Hmm, this guy is not a normal one. He even knew about the seals and appeared to be plotting something big. I don't know where these seals are and only heard from the Prince in my past life, but he is talking like everything is under his control. Damn it; it seems I caught the attention of some troublesome person.'
"What will I get in return?" Abium heaved a heavy sigh and asked while knitting his eyebrows.
"Of course, you will get more benefits than me. I will give you some information about the location of a Fire Divinity." The shrouded black figure said in a tempting tone, causing Abium to be more surprised inside.
'Fire Divinity?! Damn it; this guy is just like a devil! But did he have information about the Fire divinity?' Abium was indeed tempted by his words and started to think. However, he didn't know much about divinity and divine power. But he had long realized that those things were the only way to reach the top-level Rank!
'It's the realm of Gods….'
'Ha! Without risks, I won't get anything. Moreover, I need to strengthen myself sooner.'
'Azolla, what do you think about it? Is it worth taking risks?' He asked without hiding the excitement.
'We don't have many options. But you should raise your strength during the next two months. Then, find a way to stop them from breaking the mysterious seals. I have a feeling that those seals are something related to the world's will itself.' Azolla suggested.
'Heh, does that mean you erased the important memories about those seals before the transplantation of your soul core?' Abium paused for a moment and then agreed.
Okay. But I don't know where those seals are, though.'
'Don't think much about it. Agree to this guy's request and act like you decided to cooperate with him. You have a lot of time to prepare, lad.' Azolla deliberated for a moment and added.
'Also, he seems to know nothing about the sacrificial ritual you have offered to the Goddess. He must be thinking of using you. But thankfully, you have already received a divine fragment from a goddess.' Azolla's words caused Abium to calm down a little. After pondering for a few seconds, he took a deep breath and spoke while standing up from the wooden chair.
"I agree to your request. So, how should I contact you?"
"We will meet again after the upcoming Grand Nobles' Gathering." That smoky figure said slyly.
"But isn't that function postponed to September?" Abium wore a startled expression and asked curiously.
"Don't worry; it will change. All the nobles will get this news soon." Once the shadowy figure finished talking, the black smoke dispersed into thin air, leaving Abium alone in the hall. Without hesitation, Abium activated the 'Seer's intuition' spell and thought about the Grand Nobles' Gathering's original date.
Soon, his expression turned into shock as the feeling of 'Right' appeared inside his mind.
'It means the Grand Nobles' Gathering date will change once again!'
'He is not only strong but also capable of manipulating high-class nobles. Now, I wouldn't be surprised if he had some secret ties with the royal family… First, I should do the remaining work and return to the Royal capital while hiding my identity. I have to think of a different solution. I don't like to be played by others like a puppet.' He gave a cold smile, walked out of the reception hall, and soon moved towards his study.