Chương 64: Five Meters

Velkaris, the dark market. It was late at night, and the market was more bustling than usual. Inside a dimly lit room in one of the houses at the edge of the black market, three cloaked figures stood in front of a mirror. The mirror glowed a dark red; lines pulsed inside it. They twisted into dark shapes, then scattered, repeating the process multiple times. In the end, the lines scattered, breaking into countless dots, then completely disappeared.

"It failed! Damn it all!" The first hooded figure shouted, his voice reverberating across the room.

"Calm down. That was to be expected. Divining a figure as paramount as an otherworldly one isn't something that we could do. Even this relic-grade treasure isn't qualified." Another hooded figure shook his head. The room fell silent at the mention of the "otherworldly one"; none of them spoke for a moment. The last otherworldly one was an earth-shattering existence, triggering a war that shook even the gods.

If their deity hadn't told them that the new otherworldly one was still very weak, they wouldn't have dared investigate him. The first hooded figure forced down his anger.

"So, what should we do now? I've not only sent all thralls within Velkaris to search for any suspicious figures; I've also consulted Night Eye, and no new supreme genius has shown up recently. Prophecy doesn't work. So how are we supposed to find them?" The third figure, who had been silent until now, slowly raised his hand and lowered his hood, exposing a fierce face with a scar running down his right eye, completely blinding it. A few dark scales were visible on his cheek and neck.

He looked at the mirror for a moment before waving his palm, causing the mirror to disappear. Raising his left hand, a simple-looking ring was on his index finger. The ring flashed blue, and the next second, a nine-headed serpent pendant appeared on his palm, which he hung on his neck.

"This is a divine tool personally bestowed by our lord. As long as the otherworldly one appears within 5 meters of it, it will glow." The scarred man slowly said, his voice like sandpaper on stone.

"The issue is that there's only one. Using it to try and find the otherworldly one is almost impossible." The other hooded figure shook his head.

"Well, one thing we know is that the otherworldly one is in Velkaris, and he appeared in the black market yesterday. Do you remember any unusual encounters? Any clue that could point to him?" The scarred man solemnly asked.

"I only remember bumping into a nasty bastard inside a crowd yesterday. If the great serpent's statue hadn't suddenly started glowing, I would have bashed his face in." The first figure shook his head and said. The room fell silent again as the other two looked at the first hooded figure in disbelief. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"By the great serpent…" The second hooded figure muttered.

"What?" The first hooded figure asked with a puzzled expression. The scarred man's face slowly darkened. He clenched his fists, and the next moment…

"Boom!" He punched the first hooded figure in the face, sending him flying into the wall, leaving a giant crater behind.

"Huh?" A few cloaked figures passing by glanced at the house upon hearing the commotion, but they quickly decided that minding their business was the best option, quickly walking away.

"Why did you do that?!" The first hooded figure struggled off the wall and asked with a hint of anger in his voice.

"You moron! Why didn't you inform us of such an important detail?!" The scarred man shouted back, his voice shaking the ceiling. He raised his hand to stop the figure from speaking further, then rubbed his head, trying to soothe his headache.

"The guy you bumped into. Did he have any defining features? Was he with someone else? Did he drop or leave anything behind?" The scarred man took a deep breath and asked. The first hooded figure rubbed his chin and tried to recall.

"He was a male of average height and completely masked, just like any other black market visitor. I think he had a sword? And he was indeed with someone else, but that guy was the same." The hooded figure paused.

"He didn't drop anything." He shook his head.

"Why do you ask?" The scarred man resisted the urge to slap him; he didn't even bother responding. He held the pendant tightly in his hand.

"The only useful information you provided was that he was male and that he had a sword, but still... That isn't useful enough." He shook his head.

"You said he had a companion, right? I guess we can work from that direction." The scarred man said before pulling a compass from his space ring.

"This is the Everlog, an extraordinary rank prophetic magic item. It can point to your desired target as long as you're within 100 meters of him. You'll have to hold it from now on and think of that companion." The scarred man handed the compass to the first hooded figure.

"Starting today, you'll begin with the black market and wander through the streets of Velkaris daily while you hold the log. If you dare to come back without finding that companion, the apostle will skin you alive." The scarred man's voice got even lower.

"This is your chance to redeem yourself. Don't think you can get off lightly after making such a grave mistake because you're also a deacon. If you fail, eternal damnation awaits you." The first hooded figure muttered something under his breath, holding the compass tightly in his palm. He had finally realized that the guy he bumped into could very well be the otherworldly one.

"I won't fail." He muttered before walking towards the door. ….. As the early sun's rays shone on the streets of Velkaris, Kyle and Luke stood in front of a large building on the edge of the outer city.

"This is the entrance of the dungeon? It's different from what I expected." Kyle muttered, a bit surprised. In front of them was a large marble building, spanning a few hundred square meters. It had two large entrances with adventurers coming and going.

"What, you expected a remote cave in some corner of the wilderness?" Luke asked with a faint smile on his face. He turned his head to look at the pristine building with guards standing at the entrance.

"That might be the case for new or undiscovered dungeons, but once one is discovered, as long as it isn't located in a particularly perilous area, a new settlement would soon form around it." The two walked to the end of the line and waited for their turn.

"Velkaris has 3 dungeons: one rank 2 and two rank 1. Only two of them are open to the public; the last one is exclusive to House Thalmont of Velkaris. It's completely off-limits for the public." It didn't take them long to reach the front of the line. After registering their information and entering the building, they walked down a long flight of stairs, soon reaching a large underground entrance. Kyle looked at the vast underground cavern, shining with blue-tinged stalactites, his eyes filled with excitement.

"Welcome to the famous rank 1 dungeon: The Tidehollow."