Eternal Thief

Inside a dimly lit library filled with jade scrolls, and in the center of this library was a jade table, and in the center of this jade table was a crystal ball.

At this moment, a figure suddenly appeared on the empty chair around the jade table. It was Freya. She appeared just like she had in the Thief’s House a moment ago, with the only difference being her mask. It was now crimson and faceless, but a vertical dark eye was etched in its center.

The moment Freya appeared, she fell into thoughts as she arranged all the information and events that took place in this unexpected house meeting. Furthermore, the revelation of Winter and Eva beating her in the house ranks was still vivid in her mind.

‘The Abyss of Wandering Souls…’ A cold glint flashed past her eyes, ‘The Abyssal Architect Thief Eva, also the only one who carries the last name of House Leader, is not just a house flower or spoiled princess; she is a schemer…’

Just thinking about Eva irritated Freya for the first time in a while. Nonetheless, Freya wasn’t someone who would let others pull her strings so easily.

‘Well, the Leader’s decision sure comes as a surprise as well. Everything thought that the Thief House would be divided between Eva and Alina. Winter and I even joked about ‘supporting’ the ‘favorite wife’ behind the scenes, but Leader nipped the bud entirely.

‘Now, the Thief House has become more like an organization than a playhouse, and all the power lies with the Leader still. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought he was manipulating everything while thoroughly keeping everything in check.

‘But in the end, he’s only doing this because he’s afraid we all might start to hinder each other. How annoying; he’s forcing everyone to complete with pure skills and abilities.

‘Then there’s that new member; she’s the strongest among us, and if the new order wasn’t established…well, whatever, I’ll just have to work hard like always…’

Freya’s lips unknowingly rose as fighting intent flashed past her eyes, and a hint of strange warmth washed over her when she thought about how much Ace cared about everyone, not just his lovers.

Furthermore, Eva’s offer suddenly flashed through her mind that the former made to every house member back in the Mortal Sky Heaven before Freya quickly threw it back into her mind.

At this moment, a black talisman with an eye symbol, just like her mask, appeared in her hand, and she activated it before impassively speaking, “No more clues!” The talisman instantly burned thereafter.

Then Freya placed her hand on the crystal ball on the table and poured her spirit Qi into it. The crystal ball shimmered before a static voice rang.

“Spiritual Mark identification confirmed!

“Think about your Secret Words!”

Freya was very familiar with this process as she thought about her ‘secret words’ in her mind, “Evil leads to All-Knowing!”

“Identification Confirmed!

“Secret Level-3 Carrier13,499 welcome!

“Mystery Merits Points: 53,300”

Freya spoke impassively, “I would like to start the promotion mission for the Secret Level-4 Controller!”

“Checking requirements…” The Crystal of Secrets started to flash, and after a few moments, the static voice rang again.

“All requirements have been completed!

“The cost to start the promotion mission to become a Secret Level-4 Controller is 50,000 Mystery Merits Points!

“Please be warned that the promotion mission to become a Controller can only be taken once. If you fail, you will never be able to become a Controller again, and your Secret Level will be stagnated forever!

“Please confirm your check choice by thinking about your secret words!”

Freya thought about her secret words without hesitation, as she already knew about this process.

“Confirmation received!

“50,000 Mystery Merits has been deducted!

“You can choose between three missions. This choice is one time and can never be changed, and this choice will significantly affect your status in the Sea of Secrets, so choose wisely.

“Promotion Mission One: Infiltrate any second-grade sect and steal Ten Level-4 Secrets!

“Promotion Mission Two: Infiltrate any quasi-third grade sect and steal Ten Level-5 Secrets or One Level-6 Secret.

“Promotion Mission Three: Infiltrate a Third Grade Sect/King Sect of ‘Our’ choice, and steal One Secret desire by ‘Us.’

“You have an hour to choose before the first mission will be selected by default.”

“What’s the difference between the first and last two?” Freya casually asked.

“It’s a Level-9 Secret!”

“Heh…” Freya sneered as she had already expected this.

She knew that the third mission was probably the key to joining the headquarters of the Sea of Secrets, while the first mission would make her Branch Controller of a second-grade sect territory like the one she had been affiliated with.

The second mission will make her a Domain Controller, meaning she would be a Controller of the branch in a Quasi-King Sect’s territory or even an upstart King Sect.

However, in both cases, she can either reach Secret Level-6 Guardian Controller or Secret Level-7 Lord Controller, and this will be her status limit within the Sea of Secret, and she would never get another chance to rise further.

But Freya didn’t want that; she wanted to go to the real headquarters of the Sea of Secrets, which controls these branches, and wants to take the entire ancient archive of the Secret of Secrets.

So, without hesitation, “I chose the third mission.”

“Please think about your secret words for confirmation.”

Freya confirmed the next moment. This time, the Crystal of Secrets in front of her suddenly shimmered with blinding light, and then something unexpected happened.

‘Crack…’

Cracks began to surface on the pristine surface of the Crystal of Secrets, which astounded Freya, as she knew that the Crystal of Secrets given to Carriers like her in the second-grade sects’ territories were all Upper Ascension Grade-7 spirit treasures!

So, Freya knew it was done with purpose, and the next moment, the crystal suddenly broke apart like an egg.

But Freya’s eyes widened ever so slightly because the Crystal of Secrets was hollow inside, and she instantly spotted something within the broken crystal.

There was a scarlet jade scroll with a pitch-black eye rune engraved on its surface, and Freya’s expression became solemn as she knew this was the mission she had just chosen.

Furthermore, since her Crystal of Secret has broken, her status as the Carrier13,499 of this branch was voided!