Descending Into A Novel-Chapter 111:City of Creatures (9)

Chapter 111: 111:City of Creatures (9)

Zachary, Thomas. You mind if we can talk in private?"

He made a small gesture with his fingers behind his back, letting Ellen see it as a signal.

Zachary raised an eyebrow, this was basically the first time Raymond had come to talk to him specifically. Most of the time, they only ever conversed in a group.

"Sure. What’s it about?"

With Ellen dragging the others away, it was just the three of them now.

"This is going to be a bit hard to explain. But we need your help for something."

He took out his phone, opening the gallery with dozens of images and videos all saved. Showing each of them to Zachary and Thomas one by one.

"Me and Ellen found this massive secret laboratory in the city. They’ve been conducting some...illegal experiments. Endangered species, dangerous monsters and...most importantly."

He swiped through the gallery, showing an image of a humanoid figure within a glass cage.

Experimenting on a human would have already been bad enough. But the problem was that it wasn’t a human.

Shown in the photo, very clearly. Were two crimson horns situated on its forehead. Compared to Audrina’s horns which resembled ritualistic blades, these horns resembled goat horns more. 1

Thomas was the first to speak, breaking the silence that was formed from his bombshell statement.

"...demons."

With the blood feud between the two races, Thomas was guaranteed to help. Even if he was still in disguise. Humanity absolutely despised demons. The countless atrocities and crimes committed were enough to fill a thousand books worth of pages.

Even now, they still resided within the human realm (Terra). Causing several problems for humanity constantly. They were a parasite on every race, including themselves.

Zachary’s eyes briefly turned downwards. His pupils focusing on something invisible.

"...I’ll help."

Raymond mentally celebrated, keeping his facial expression still.

"Why can’t we inform the authorities? Why not tell the police or the Mercia Family?"

Both of them turned to look at Thomas, his innocent face still yet to be dirtied by the grime of humanity. Confused on why they didn’t ask the authorities who ruled over Mirovia City, when Zachary had immediately understood the reasoning behind why.

"...Raymond, can you be the one to explain?"

So it was up to him to take away that particular naivety.

He put his hand on Thomas’s shoulder, wearing his best possible look of ’I’m sorry to say this’. It was such an emotional face that any parent who ever had to tell their children about the birds and the bees would cry as they finally found someone experiencing the same crushing feeling.

***

"Noelle, Lucy. I need your help with something."

Noelle’s eyes turned suspicious. Ellen Grace? Asking for help? From her of all people?

"I’ve found evidence of a demon within the city."

Both caught on to the realization hidden in her words immediately. The Mercia Family held total control over the city after all. Such a thing should have never escaped their oversight.

Lucy rubbed her chin,"That’s a serious problem. Seems the Mercia Family isn’t as nice as they make themselves out to be."

Ellen remarked,"Are there any Families like that?"

All three of them were from the relatively better Families, ones that at least maintained some semblance of dignity that they should have had as ’nobles’. Even if the nobility had been abolished ages ago.

But even their families had some issues. The Asteria infighting was notoriously deadly, with backstabbing and betrayal common over the power the Family held in the form of the Astranova Guild. The Floriza Family committed several dark acts to maintain their power, from forced weddings with talented ’commoners’ to raising assassins from the moment they were born. The Grace Family, was an absolute economic powerhouse that owned a monopoly with a conglomerate large enough that even the government was reliant on it.

Safe to say, they knew very well every family had its own fair share of problems. Some more then others.

But the Mercia Family working with or on demons? That was a step too far, a boundary that shouldn’t have been crossed.

"Is instructor Sienna trustworthy?"

"Raymond wants to leave that option as a last resort."

The mage association wasn’t exactly sunshine and rainbows as well, but from what Ellen could remember. Instructor Sienna was actually one of the few good people within the organization.

"So it’s just us in the special class? Have you gotten Lin or Thomas in yet?"

"Raymond’s in charge of that."

So far, every member of the special class was accounted for. With only Audrina being an unknown. She was a demon after all, but she also had to maintain her disguise.

Lucy let out a hum, fiddling around with a bracelet Ellen never realized she had. Her face lost in thought.

"I’ll help. But if the situation ever gets too out of control, then Sienna better be called or I’ll call in for my own reinforcements."

Understandable, she didn’t wish to risk it when her own life was at stake. But now that Lucy was in, it also meant that Cador was in.

That still left Noelle, who was lost in thought with her eyes closed.

"I’ll do it."

The Asteria Family was the most honourable Family after all (according to they themselves). When it came to matters like this, they would naturally act.

***

Zachary quietly closed the door behind him. A complicated look in his eyes as he stared at the wall for a few seconds. Before muttering somethung under his breath.

"System."

[Hero-building System]

Name:

Zachary Golde (LV 76)

Shop:

[press here to show]

Class:

Swordsman (76/100)

Stats:

[press here to show]

Skills:

[press here to show]

Inventory:

[press here to show]

Quest:

[press here to show]

Seeing the familiar golden words, Zachary moved his finger. Pressing the words underneath quest.

Quest:

Become a hero

-Become a hero officially recognized by the public

Become the number one hero (in progress)

-Become the number one hero of all time

Become first place in the academy (in progress)

-Reach first place in the academy

-current position:9th

Destroy the secret laboratory (in progress)

-Destroy the secret laboratory hidden within Mirovia City

---

Since it had issued a quest, Zachary was guaranteed to be on the good side. The system never lied when it came to this. It only ever wanted Zachary to become a hero, and Zachary was perfectly fine with that. It was his own dream as well after all.

One time, Zachary had helped one of his ’friends’. Only for it to be found that he was actually in the wrong, from then on. He fully trusted the system’s judgement when it came to these matters. It had yet to fail him so far.

But the problem was the reward for this new quest...

-Rewards:5 level ups, 25 free stat points, 5 skill points, obtain a skill from Rayleigh Von Mez.

The system was extremely generous with its rewards, a showing of how dangerous this mission was. Especially the last reward, letting him permanently obtain a skill from Raymond of all people—the most talented individual that had ever been born and likely the most that ever will. Someone that was guaranteed to reach the peak, and maybe even break through to the never before seen 11th level. Surpassing the SSS-rank.

Thanks to the system, he had managed to obtain skills from several of his classmates whom he had helped, or beaten up. But he had yet to obtain a skill from anyone in the special class, even when helping them.

The more valuable the target,the harder it was to obtain their skills. So an opportunity to obtain a skill from someone in the special class was something he didn’t want to give up.

Previously, he had copied a skill from Raymond called the Sovereign Impact, a move from a Fighting Style called the Von Mez Fighting Style.

But seeing this quest reward raised several alarming questions.

Raymond...his name wasn’t Raymond Vance. But Rayleigh Von Mez, the same name as the Fighting Style Zachary had copied from him.

Zachary felt a pang of guilt hit him, Raymond had already gotten furious at him for using that move. But now, the system was offering him a permanent ability copied from him.

He had already long deleted that copied skill from Raymond, unaware of how he felt about such a skill. Ashamed at his own actions and how he had simply used it.

It felt wrong, should he really be obtaining something like this? Especially when it was something so private, so secret that he refused to tell anyone?

"System, can I change the rewards for this quest? I do not wish to obtain a skill from Rayleigh Von Mez."

The system never spoke to him, it barely even responded to him. Only communicating via the few words of welcome it extended to him each time he opened the system.

But he knew, it always listened.

[Warning.]

-Changing the reward will result in a lesser amount of rewards in total. Are you sure you wish to proceed?

Zachary had no hesitation,"Yes."

-Rewards:7 level ups, 50 free stat points, 10 skill points, obtain a free skill from the shop worth <25,000 points.

Such a drastic change in the rewards only showed how valuable the opportunity was. Even currently, Zachary only had 17,790 points in the system shop. Yet it was offering him a free skill as long as it was priced under that. As well as double the stats and double the skill points. Plus an extra two levels.

Strangely however, Zachary felt as if a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.

hard to explain the look of Audrina that Im imagining so just google Ascalon from arknights and that&#39;s basically her