Bloodbound Codex: I Grow Stronger in Secret

The next day, in the Eastern part of Solara, Atlas could be seen standing in front of the same villa belonging to the Rosaria Household.

Yesterday, after everything had been settled inside the Guild, both Atlas and Seraphiel had left the building and gone their separate ways. Seraphiel had seemed like she wanted to follow him all the way to the Inn, but she had also hesitated several times, and in the end, she only turned around after Atlas had completely disappeared from her sight.

Before they parted ways, however, Atlas had remembered the papers Seraphiel had mentioned regarding the hidden place they had discussed earlier. When he brought it up, Seraphiel had reminded him that she would prepare everything necessary, and Atlas had told her that he remembered and would come to the Rosaria Household Villa the following morning. Now, as he had said, he was standing there.

Atlas looked at the large villa for a few moments before lowering his gaze slightly, ’Maybe I will have to put off seeing the Ruins of Eclipse for some other time...otherwise I might be late for the Divine-rank Ruin.’

The thought was not something he wanted, but the timing had become inconvenient. He had originally wanted to see the hidden place as soon as possible, especially since he still didn’t know exactly what was waiting there, but he already had another arrangement today that could not simply be ignored.

As Atlas continued looking at the villa, he also noticed that Kaelion was nowhere around. He had expected that possibility because there were only two reasons he could think of for Kaelion not being here. First - Kaelion had lied about the meeting yesterday, Second - Kaelion simply had no reason to guide him again since Atlas already knew the route into the villa.

’There is no need for him to come again anyway. I already know the way.’

Atlas glanced toward the sky and calculated the remaining time in his head. Only around half an hour remained before he had to meet Himalton and the other members of Asfalon. If he delayed here for too long, he could end up reaching the meeting place late, and he didn’t know whether Himalton’s team would wait for him or simply enter the Ruin according to their original schedule.

’Better to finish this quickly.’, With that thought, Atlas stepped forward once.

His figure vanished from his original position without producing any sound or visible movement.

The next moment, he appeared inside the same chamber where he had previously met Seraphiel and Dravenson. Unlike the previous meeting, however, only Seraphiel was present this time. She was sitting on one of the couches while organizing several documents that had been placed in front of her.

She had clearly been waiting for him.

Atlas didn’t waste time questioning where Dravenson was. He simply walked over and sat down on the couch opposite Seraphiel.

The sudden appearance made Seraphiel lift her head, and for a brief moment, she looked at him before her expression softened slightly. She had expected him to arrive, but she still wasn’t completely used to how easily he could appear without making any sound.

She gathered the papers together and pushed them toward him, ”All the signed documents and the information regarding what the Rosaria Household will receive from this Exploration are written in these papers, Atlas. What I told you yesterday is still the most important part, though.”

Seraphiel tapped one of the pages with her finger before continuing, ”One of the two Divine-rank Relics is what we are mainly after. Nothing else that could come from that place has the same value as a Divine-rank Relic, so you should understand why I considered that the most important benefit when we discussed the agreement yesterday.”

Atlas looked down at the papers for a moment before picking them up.

”Alright.”

He began going through the documents. He still wasn’t able to read everything quickly, but unlike before, his increased Intelligence allowed him to process the words much more efficiently. It didn’t suddenly give him the knowledge or practice of someone who had spent years studying books, so he still needed to read carefully rather than simply glance over the pages.

Seraphiel remained quiet while watching him.

Atlas, meanwhile, continued reading through the documents one page after another, checking exactly what the Rosaria Household would gain and what he would receive from participating in the Exploration. He wanted to make sure there was nothing hidden inside the agreement before giving his final confirmation.

For several minutes, he continued going through the five pages without saying anything. The documents mainly explained the agreement between Atlas and the Rosaria Household, the benefits both sides would receive from the Exploration, and the conditions that had already been discussed between them. Atlas paid particular attention to anything related to what the Rosaria Household could obtain from the Hidden Place, because that was the part he had been concerned about.

After finishing the final page, Atlas lowered the papers slightly and thought, ’Sigh...I was worrying too much. There really isn’t anything valuable there that they are after other than the Divine-rank Relic.’ With that He placed the papers on the glass table between them and looked toward Seraphiel.

”Alright, I understand what the Rosaria Household gets from this and what I get in return, so yes, I will take part in this Exploration, but...”

Atlas stopped speaking for a moment.

Seraphiel’s small smile faded slightly as she looked at him. ”But?”

”I won’t be able to go see the Ruins of Eclipse today because I already have plans. We will have to move the day I see that place to tomorrow instead.” Atlas spoke in his usual calm voice before continuing, ”After I see it, I will decide whether I need to prepare anything or not. If I don’t need to prepare, then I will enter it immediately instead of waiting another day or so.”

He had already made his decision about the matter. There was no reason for him to rush into the Ruins of Eclipse without first seeing the place himself, especially when he had something else scheduled for today. Once he saw the Ruins tomorrow, he would know whether additional preparation was necessary.

Seraphiel remained silent for several moments before letting out a small sigh.

”Sigh...alright. We will do as you say, Atlas.” She looked at him with some curiosity before asking, ”But can I know what these ’plans’ you have today are? I am just curious. If you are willing to postpone something like this because of your plans, then they must be quite important to you.”

Atlas looked at her for a few moments.

He considered whether there was any reason to hide it, but there wasn’t much point. Seraphiel would find out soon enough anyway, especially considering where he was going.

”An Influential Noble family member like You will know soon enough anyways, so keeping it a secret doesn’t really matter.” Atlas answered casually. ”I am going into a Divine-rank Ruin today to clear it. Of course, I won’t be going alone. I joined a team called Asfalon, led by Himalton, who is an SS-rank.”

The moment Atlas finished speaking, Seraphiel’s eyes widened.

She remained completely still for several seconds as she processed what she had just heard. Even after understanding his words, she found it difficult to immediately accept them because of how casually he had said them, ”A-Are you serious?” she finally asked. ”A Divine-rank Ruin is on a completely different level from every other Ruin. Your chances of dying are so hig—”

”Me? Die? Heh.” Atlas interrupted.

His tone changed slightly, causing Seraphiel to stop speaking. Atlas looked directly at her before continuing in a calm but firm voice, ”I am not dying this easily. Not even inside a Divine-rank Ruin. I still have some personal matters to settle before I can say goodbye to this world.”

Seraphiel stared at him without saying anything.

She had heard Atlas speak about his plans before, and she already knew that he had things he wanted to accomplish. However, this was the first time she had heard him speak about them with such certainty. There was no hesitation in his voice, and he did not seem to consider entering a Divine-rank Ruin as a reason to abandon those plans.

After a few seconds, Seraphiel slowly nodded.

Atlas then stood up from the couch and turned toward the exit.

”It is getting late, I have to leave now, Seraphiel. I need to meet the Asfalon team.” He paused briefly before adding, ”Tomorrow will be the day I go see that place first.”

Seraphiel did not stop him...she couldn’t.

She had wanted him to stay a little longer. She had even secretly asked Flora to prepare some delicacies for him, hoping that she could get him to remain in the villa for a while. However, after observing Atlas for these past few days, she already understood that once he decided to leave, convincing him otherwise would be difficult.

So she simply remained seated and watched him leave.

’Just a little more time...I will make you understand everything slowly. And when you finally understand...I...I will...’

The thought stopped halfway. Redness immediately spread across Seraphiel’s face as she covered it with both hands. She had only been thinking about getting Atlas to understand her feelings, yet even imagining what would happen afterward was enough to make her embarrassed.

At the same time, Atlas’s presence suddenly disappeared.

Seraphiel lowered her hands and looked toward the direction he had left from. She could no longer sense him anywhere inside the villa, and after extending her perception further, she realized that his presence had already vanished from the entire Eastern Part of Solara.

Atlas, meanwhile, had already left the villa.

He was now heading toward the meeting place of Asfalon, where he would finally enter one of the most dangerous Ruins in the entire world.

- - -

[A/N: Thanks to God’s Grace I am recovering smoothly guys, While I am still in Hospital Bed, I am way better than before as after the small surgery was successful, that’s why typed two Chapters today, Thank you all for your Kind support!

Need some gifts from you guys to get some more Encouragement]