Chương 152: Chapter 142-Chosen Files

You know when you're stuck with an impossible challenge before you, and you don't know what to do? What do you do? Hahaha. No, I'm not kidding. I don't have a weird story to relate to this, or at the very least I can't think of one right now. What in the fuck am I supposed to do? I've got the Empress waiting for me outside, and she's as sharp as they come. If I spend even one minute longer than I should, she'll think it's taking far too long for me to go to the bathroom and then she'll send someone.

Then they'll check the bathroom and find that I'm not there. All that to say, I'm fucked! Okay. Don't panic. I can do this. A room filled with filing cabinets and I'm only looking for one file. The Ashfall file. I could pick at random. I'm almost certain that would work. Yeah, that's what I'm going to do. Let's see… Eeny, meeny, miny, moe. Catch a beastkin by the toe. If he hollers, let him go. Eeny, meeny, miny, moe. This one it is.

"CJ, stop!" Blue yells out as my hand stops a mere hair's breadth away from the filing cabinet.

"By the Gods! Blue, you scared the shit out of me," I say in surprise.

"There is magic at work here. If you touch that cabinet, the guards will be alerted," he warns.

"Great, any chance you know how to disarm it? I'm kind of on a time crunch here," I say as I look around the room.

"I might not, but someone else sure does," Blue says with a knowing tone.

"Who?" The yellow gem on The Chosen Blade glimmers before fading.

"Don't look at me," Yellow says.

"You're the strongest magic user amongst us. I'm sure you know how to disable a simple magical alarm," Blue says.

"Although that may be true. Why should I help him? He's breaking into a Palace without a real plan. We should let the consequences of his own actions catch up with him. This may even be a teaching moment," Yellow says with a condescending tone.

"I don't know. I'd rather not learn this particular lesson given that the outcome is death. Also, I'm trying to do a good thing here. I thought that's what you Chosen did, or am I wrong?" I ask as I stare the gem down. With a sigh, the gem alights.

"Fine, but I'm not doing this for you, Vashrin. I'm doing this for the survivors that the Prideborn is hunting down. Don't get used to this. Also, this might hurt," he says as a faint burn pierces through me. Soul Damage Detected. The pain burns deep.

"Are you damaging my soul?" I ask as the sword glows a faint yellow.

"Do you want the magic alarm disabled or not?" Yellow asks with an annoyed tone. Skill <Soul Res. > has removed the Soul Damage.

"Don't worry. With [Soul Res.], this shouldn't do any permanent damage. Although Yellow could've been a bit nicer when doing it," Blue says as a faint outline of magic gathers around the blade and then shatters.

"Keep complaining or search the cabinets. You can't do both," Yellow says as the blade dulls back to its natural black color.

"You obviously don't know me. I can definitely do both," I say as I search the cabinet for the Ashfall files. The pain in my soul moves around like a snake. Like a fucking snake! Do you know how uncomfortable it feels to have something snake-like in your soul? I'll tell you. It fucking sucks big time. I don't care if I'm fighting evil incarnate; I'm never doing that again. Continuing to complain, I flip through the various files until I land on a section called Ashfall.

"BINGO! Now let's see what we got."

"Yes, what do we have?" Cracking the file open, I give a devilish smile. Wait, who said that? Turning to the door, I see a familiar face. Al Bulrick Rigon. What in the hells is he doing here, and how did I not notice him?

"Al, I didn't realize you were in the Palace. Meeting somebody?" I ask as I hide the file behind me.

"You could say that. I must have gotten turned around, though, because I found you instead. I was not aware that you were so close to the Imperial family that they let you into this room," he says with an oddly familiar voice. Why can't I place his voice? Do I know him from somewhere? Is it one of the hundreds of people that I've [Stolen] from? This is really getting on my nerves.

"My closeness with the Imperial family is none of your business, but if you must know what I'm doing. I saw that there was no guard and thought that to be odd. As The Chosen One, I took it upon myself to investigate. Thankfully, everything seems to be on the up and up," I [Lie] as I slip the file into my clothes.

"I am impressed by your vigilance," he says as I walk out of the room. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Thank you. If you'll excuse me, I have to get back to the Empress now," I say as I begin to walk away.

"May I join you part of the way there? I was hoping to speak to you about the Headmaster selection," he says as he follows me.

"I've been meaning to speak to you as well. How is everything going on your end?" I ask as I'm careful not to let the file slip out.

"Well, but I fear that even my efforts will fall short against Mr. Argent. I've already gathered the support of everyone within reason, but his influence has proven difficult to overcome by myself. Do you have any idea on how I could gain the advantage?" Al asks as if leading me to answer.

"I wouldn't worry too much. Call it a Chosen's intuition, but I don't think Alexander is going to be in the running much longer," I say with a devilish smile.

"Oh, is that right? I suppose that makes me feel better."

"Carlos?" the Empress asks with a silky tone.

"Empress, apologies for my tardiness. I got caught up ta-" I turn to see that Al is nowhere to be seen "-king the wrong turn. Turns out I don't know the Palace as well as I thought." Where in the fuck did he go? He was right next to me a second ago, but was gone the next. I really need to learn how people are doing this. Are they teleporting or are they just running really fast around the nearest corner? The second one sounds funnier, so that's the truth I choose to believe in.

"I can understand. The Palace can feel like a maze at times. Let us return to our tea. I brought some tea back from the Meliora Technocracy. I'm sure you would like it," she says as we head outside.

"I would love to," I say as I shift the files to my stomach. +1 CHA Ilota sits on Hopper's bed as I sprawl the file out on the floor. This is how you present important and possibly life-saving information. No real organizing, just dump it out on the floor. What could go wrong?

"You actually got the Ashfall file? I'm surprised. Sure, I was rooting for you, but at the same time I half expected you to come back empty-handed. Guess it pays off to be dating Princess Penelope," he says as he picks up some of the files.

"We're not dating," I correct him as I grab my own stack of papers.

"Oh, of course. How did you really get it?" Ilota asks with a wink.

"I [Stole] it from the Imperial Palace."

"Sure you did. Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me." Hmm. I could correct Ilota or I could not. One is time-intensive. The other is funny. I think I know which one I'm picking.

"So, what exactly are we looking for? I know we're looking for survivors, but is it a specific form or something?" I ask as I flip through the papers.

"Anything and everything that we can get our hands on. For example, from this chain of forms we can tell they weren't able to track down any survivors. They knew that at least one survived due to the burial site, but they gave up the search about a year after the incident due to the lack of leads," he explains.

"If they weren't able to find me, then it's reasonable to assume that there are more survivors out there that went into hiding. Should we look at the census?" I ask as I pull up the long list of residents. Ilota takes the list and looks it over.

"Odd. Your name isn't on this."

"What do you mean?" I ask as I read over his shoulder.

"Exactly what I said. There isn't a single Carlos on this list. What do you think this means?" he asks as he double-checks the file. I facepalm as I shake my head. I'm so stupid. Abrigon! He erased my involvement with Ashfall, but how did he get access to these files without getting caught? Don't get caught up on that. If Abrigon scrubbed my name from the Ashfall files, then he also scrubbed other names. After all, the absence of something is just as telling as its presence.

"Someone has altered these files. Multiple names are missing. I doubt it was the Purists. Some unknown element must be at work," I [Lie].

"That's not good. If we can't rely on the information here, how are we supposed to track down the survivors?" Ilota asks in frustration.

"We'll have to… Wait, look! The day of the attack, a small group of four left to go buy supplies for the festival. If I'm remembering that trip correctly, it would've taken them until nightfall. They could've completely missed the window of the attack," I say with a hint of hope. Ilota looks over the files.

"It's conjecture at best, but we don't have any other leads. Let's see. Two Vashrins, a Magena, and a Human. If Alexander believes any of these people survived, then we have to get to them before he does. Do you know them?"

"I would have to hear their names," I say as he flips through the files.

"Found them. The two Vashrin were Vulix and Zurik. The Magena was Carina Cruz," he lists off.

"I recognize the names. Some of the villagers lived further out, so I never really talked to them, but I heard about them here and there. What about the Human?"

"The Human was Douglas Fromm."

"What did you just say?"

"The Human. His name was Douglas Fromm. Do you know him?" he asks.

"No. I just didn't hear you the first time. Do you think you can find these people now that you have a name?" I [Lie] as I expertly deflect.

"Yeah. At the very least, I can look around. Give me a couple of days, and I'll get back to you," Ilota says as he gathers his notes.

"Wait before you go. I want to try something," I say as I focus on him.

"Okay. A little weird, but go ahead." My mana burns away as I [Gamble] on Ilota being unharmed the next time I see him. I don't know what kind of blowback I might get, but hopefully this can warn me if anything bad happens to him. With a bit of luck, I'll feel a rush of mana the next time I see him.

"There. You're good to go. Stay safe out there," I say as I give him a pat on the back.

"You too. You didn't just curse me, did you?" he jokes.

"No, now get out of here." As Ilota leaves, I look back at the Ashfall files. It must've been a mistake. With careful movements, I pick up the list of possible survivors and read it.

"Douglas Fromm. What in the fuck are you doing on this list, Smelly Doug?"