The Assassin's Seven Principles of Manipulation

Chapter 398: Chapter 393 — Plan

’Just as I thought...’

The cavern wasn’t particularly large, measuring roughly fifty meters on each side. However, every inch of its walls and ceiling was covered in brilliant white crystals, their radiant glow illuminating the entire space.

After a long moment of silence, Demorian’s trembling voice echoed in his mind.

”Protégé... I think I’m going to cry. This... this is the happiest day of my life...”

Zephyrion could certainly understand the sentiment. However, unlike the ancestor, he was composed enough to notice something unusual amidst the dazzling sight.

’Wait... all these crystals are connected.’

Firstly, his earlier suspicion had been correct. The crystal he’d touched outside was the only one embedded deeply enough into the wall to connect with those inside the cavern. More importantly, he could see faint streams of his crimson blood essence flowing through the crystals, traveling along their interconnected surfaces before converging towards a single point.

”There.”

At the far end of the cavern stood a raised platform made entirely of crystals, with a small whitish gem hovering above it. As the streams of blood essence reached the gem, its surface briefly glowed crimson before gradually returning to its original color.

Zephyrion frowned slightly.

”What the hell is that?”

”What else? More money, of course!” Demorian replied without missing a beat. ”Now quit standing there and let’s have a closer look!”

Zephyrion hesitated briefly before deciding that a closer examination was indeed necessary. He cautiously approached the platform, stopping just a step away to study the strange object.

The gem was roughly the size of his palm, with a clear, whitish surface and a shape resembling a diamond. It hovered motionlessly above the crystal pedestal, almost like a precious treasure displayed upon a royal throne.

Just as Zephyrion was considering what to do next, Demorian’s voice suddenly came in a low, almost sinister whisper.

”Go on... touch it.”

Zephyrion paused.

’Why don’t you touch it?’

’And how the hell am I supposed to do that, protégé!? I’m a ghost, remember!? Now quit being a pussy and touch the damn thing!’

Zephyrion let out a slow breath, resisting the urge to curse the ancestor. He quickly dismissed the thought and returned his attention to the gem.

’There’s no choice...’

Carefully extending a finger, he brushed its surface and immediately confirmed his suspicion.

’Just as I thought. No elemental essence, no reaction.’

At least the gem wouldn’t suck the life out of him. With that established, he picked up the gem and examined it more closely. Its appearance was remarkably similar to the surrounding crystals, almost as though it were a smaller, more condensed version of them.

’Now, what exactly are you capable of...?’

An idea suddenly occurred to him. Taking a deep breath, Zephyrion carefully released a small amount of metal essence, only to immediately cut off the flow when it began siphoning his essence with terrifying force.

Then, with a little concentration, he tightened his grip on the gem and established a connection through the WorldPulse. A smile spread across his face as the gem suddenly glowed purple, releasing the metal essence it had absorbed.

’Metal ball.’

A ball of metal immediately materialized before him, hovering in silence.

Zephyrion could barely contain his excitement. He’d suspected something like this might be possible, especially after witnessing the alpha’s use of the cystals. As it turned out, the gem wasn’t merely capable of absorbing elemental essence. It could also release what it had stored!

’Excellent. Now, let’s try the others.’

Zephyrion focused on blood, the element he had the least essence of, and watched as the gem took on a reddish glow. However, unlike with metal, he wasn’t able to manifest any blood. Instead, he felt the blood within his body stir slightly in response.

’Not enough blood essence for manifestation, huh?’

He proceeded to experiment with his remaining elements, obtaining similar results. As it turned out, only elements that had crossed vessel rank, Metal, can manifest. By the time he finished, Zephyrion was both thrilled by his discovery and somewhat bewildered.

’How the hell has no one discovered this yet?’

The cavern wasn’t particularly far from Capetown, and considering the countless activities that had taken place in the surrounding region over the decades, it seemed strange that no one had stumbled upon it.

Now that he thought about it, the Gravemaws were equally suspicious. A colony of that size, housing hundreds of such powerful beasts, should have left plenty of signs of its existence. Yet somehow, it had remained hidden until recently.

However, as Zephyrion considered the circumstances more carefully, a possible explanation gradually occurred to him.

’Of course... the Move.’

Whenever the Move occurred, entire landscapes were rearranged, with mountains, forests, and even settlements shifting to completely different locations. It wasn’t unreasonable to assume that the Gravemaws’ cavern, along with these mysterious crystals, had been displaced during the last Move.

And considering that it had happened barely a year ago, with the surrounding territories still struggling to adapt to the changes, it made sense that no one had discovered this place yet.

Having settled that question, Zephyrion returned his attention to the gem. As he studied it, another idea suddenly occurred to him.

’Hold on... this might actually work.’

He reached into the sack hanging from his waist and carefully retrieved the egg, placing it barely an inch away from the gem. Then, establishing his connection once more, he directed the metal essence stored within the gem towards the egg.

The gem immediately flared with purple light, and as the released essence brushed against the egg’s surface, it suddenly gave a faint tremor.

’Good, good. Just what I needed.’

A satisfied smile spread across Zephyrion’s face as he looked between the gem and the egg.

An interesting plan was already beginning to take shape in his mind.

...

About an hour later, Zephyrion was running through the forest bordering the Aerelith Empire. Demorian, who was still sulking over his earlier decision, suddenly spoke up with an indignant scoff.

”Protégé, I’m telling you, it’s not too late to turn back! Void isn’t going anywhere! Let’s go mine that cavern and secure our fortune! Our future sex life is at stake here!”

”Our?”

”Tch, fine, yours! Yours! Happy now!? You just had to rub it in, didn’t you!? Remind this poor old ancestor that he’ll never know the warmth of a woman’s embrace again! Have you no heart!?”

Zephyrion rolled his eyes. ”Are you done? I made the right choice. Once the mission is over, we’ll return for the crystals.”

”And what if some lucky bastard finds them before we get back!? Huh!? What then!? Our fortune, gone! Just like that! Oh, the horror!”

”It’s more than a kilometer underground, buried beneath an enormous pile of rubble. Unless someone decides to dig their own grave, I doubt anyone’s going to find it.”

”Yeah, yeah, but why take the risk!? Why!? Haa, this is killing me! And as if abandoning a mountain of money wasn’t bad enough, you even left the damn egg behind!”

Zephyrion fell silent. In truth, Demorian was right about that. He had indeed left the egg behind in the cavern, but only because he’d discovered an opportunity that was simply too good to pass up.

For one, the gem was far too valuable to risk carrying into enemy territory, especially when he had no idea what he might encounter there. And after discovering its effects on the egg, the thought of leaving it unused for the next two weeks seemed like an even greater waste.

Which was why he’d decided to leave the egg behind and infuse several crystals connected to the gem with his elemental essences, arranging them into a carefully timed program. At predetermined intervals, each crystal would release its stored essence into the network, channeling it towards the gem, which would then transfer it into the egg through the permanent connection he’d established.

If everything worked as intended, the process would continue throughout his absence, potentially accelerating the egg’s awakening.

Considering how busy he’d been lately, Zephyrion rarely had enough time to devote to hatching the egg. Now that he’d stumbled upon such a convenient opportunity, it would have been foolish not to take advantage of it.

Worst case, the egg would be considerably closer to hatching by the time he returned. Best case, it would have already hatched. Either way, he had nothing to lose.

’What’s done is done. Why don’t you act your age for once and stop whining?’

’Oho! Excuse me, protégé!? When have I ever not acted my age!? I’ll have you know I’m a centuries-old sage! A man of wisdom, experience, and impeccable character!’

’Impeccable character? Is that what you call making promises you can’t keep?’

’Huh? What promises? What are you talking about?’

’The arts you promised me. I’m still waiting.’

Demorian immediately broke into a suspiciously loud coughing fit before falling completely silent.

Zephyrion scoffed and shook his head.

’Figures.’

He didn’t bother pressing the matter any further, instead turning his full attention to the path ahead. Gradually, his thoughts settled, and his expression grew cold as he slipped into his usual battle-ready state.

In just a few minutes, he’d be entering the Aerelith Empire.