Chapter 433: The Legend of the Fastest Rise to Power
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 433: The Legend of the Fastest Rise to Power
"Damn it, couldn't you have died a little slower?"
Ariel stared dumbfoundedly at the stranger who had suddenly popped up only to drop dead at lightning speed. She gnashed her teeth in frustration, but there was nothing she could do.
She could only let the melancholy wind ruffle her messy hair.
She just didn't understand.
Had she been cursed by someone lately? Why was she so unlucky?
She hadn't done anything wrong, yet she was being hunted by the Church.
She was just hiding here, gnawing on a piece of black bread to recover some strength, when some guy came out of nowhere, kicked the bucket, and died right in front of her.
And before he died, he’d shoved some random thing into her hands.
What even is this? Is it some kind of trap?
Ariel carefully examined the soot-black, compass-shaped object in her hand, her nerves pulled taut. She wasn't about to let her guard down around something given to her by a stranger. If this thing showed even the slightest sign of acting up, she would—
"Ariel, this is a treasure."
"So there is a problem? Watch me... wait, what did you say?"
Ariel had been about to hurl the black object away, but upon hearing her teacher's words, her fingers reflexively clamped down, clutching the black compass tight.
"A... treasure? What kind of treasure? Is it worth money?"
"I can't say for sure yet; I need to study it a bit. But this is undoubtedly a supreme treasure. Its value is no less than the item you obtained in the ruins."
The teacher's voice was grave.
"No less than the one from the ruins?"
Ariel licked her lips, her heart racing with excitement. Looking at the black compass in her palm again, she suddenly didn't find it so ugly. The irritation from moments ago vanished instantly.
Was she actually lucky instead of unlucky?
Was all her previous misery just a setup for this moment?
To be safe, she still asked, "Is it dangerous?"
"The object itself shouldn't be dangerous for now. But rather than the item itself, you should be more concerned about what it brings with it."
As soon as the teacher finished speaking, Ariel’s heart gave a violent thud.
From the corner of her eye, a smear of blood-red began to bleed across the edge of the deep sky.
At the same time, a terrifying premonition of death swirled through her mind. Her body began to tremble involuntarily, like a traveler seeking shelter from the rain who suddenly encounters a predator returning to its den.
A terrifying existence had arrived!
"Quick! Channel mana into the compass!"
The teacher’s stern voice snapped Ariel out of her tremors. Without a moment's hesitation, she funneled her mana into the black compass as fast as she could.
Instantly, Ariel felt her surroundings grow dim, as if a thin veil had been draped around her.
Through the faint reflection in a nearby gutter, she was shocked to see her entire body shrouded in thick black mist. The mist didn't just hide her form; it completely masked her presence as well.
"Is this what the compass does?"
Ariel jumped as soon as she spoke, realizing her voice had become blurred and unrecognizable, making it impossible to even tell if she was male or female.
"You should say this is one of the compass's functions," her teacher explained, before urging her, "Move, now! Even with the compass's concealment, there's no guarantee it'll hold up at close range. The newcomer is a top-tier expert, at least at the level of a Church Archbishop."
"An Archbishop?"
Ariel shuddered again. Not daring to dally, she dove into the labyrinthine network of narrow alleys.
"Could they be here for this compass?"
"Uncertain. It could also be because of that man from earlier. He wasn't weak—at least a Crown Bearer level."
"A Crown Bearer..."
Ariel felt a dull ache in her teeth.
What was wrong with today?
Usually, you wouldn't see a single Crown Bearer powerhouse, and now two show up at once? And one of them had died right in front of her just like that?
Buy one, get one free? What is this, a department store clearance sale?
She couldn't tell if she was having good luck or bad luck anymore. Regardless, running was the priority. She didn't dare gamble on whether that Archbishop would just slap her to death if he saw her holding a fugitive's belongings.
"But... where am I supposed to run to?"
Ariel was at a loss.
The compass hid her aura and form, but it didn't make her completely invisible. Her current state was still visible to the naked eye—and quite conspicuous at that.
A cloud of black mist... if the Holy City's knights saw this, they'd immediately peg her as a dyed-in-the-wool evil believer and give her a proper taste of the Church's "majesty."
To make matters worse, the streets of the Holy City were currently crawling with solemn-faced knights in polished armor on patrol.
There was hardly any room to maneuver, which was why she had been miserably hiding by the sewers in the first place.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, as Ariel was fretting, she felt the compass grow warm.
She looked down and saw a light flickering on it, seemingly pointing... in a certain direction?
"This is..."
*
"An orphanage?"
Following the compass's guidance, Ariel—who was practically at a dead end—narrowly avoided the knights' searches and cordons, finally arriving before an orphanage located in a remote corner.
Ariel looked around and saw nothing special about the place. She had nearly run into a squad of knights on her way here, but they didn't seem to have noticed anything unusual.
Just as Ariel was hesitating over whether to go inside, the orphanage doors suddenly swung open. A woman in white, expressionless and carrying a lamp, stepped out.
"Sir Knight, as I said, there is nothing unusual here... Who is it?"
Ariel’s heart constricted. She hadn't sensed the woman's approach at all. Although she couldn't feel any mana or fighting spirit from the woman, her years of experience and intuition for danger told her this person was...
"Early Fifth-Tier."
Her teacher silently confirmed her suspicion.
Damn it... I just wanted a place to hide. I didn't escape a tiger's den just to crawl into a wolf's lair!
Ariel was on the verge of tears again, already plotting how to make a quick and elegant exit... but to her surprise, when the woman saw the large mass of black mist standing at her door, she didn't immediately attack to exorcise the "demon."
Instead, her face paled, and she knelt respectfully on the ground.
"...Lord Ghost Shadow! My apologies, I did not realize it was you. Please forgive my insolence."
Ghost Shadow?
Ariel froze, then quickly realized.
She was talking about... that short-lived guy who had died at lightning speed in front of her, right?
Which meant... it looked like this person was his subordinate?
Had the compass brought her straight to that guy's home base?
Ariel remained silent. Although the black mist hid her form so well that even this Fifth-Tier expert couldn't see through it, she didn't dare speak randomly for fear of exposing herself through her speech patterns.
She could only stand there in silence, playing the part of a mysterious expert while silently observing the situation.
The woman didn't seem to find Lord Ghost Shadow's silence unusual.
After asking for forgiveness, she quickly stood up, cast a wary glance at her surroundings, and pushed the door open just enough for someone to pass. She beckoned respectfully to Ariel.
"Lord Ghost Shadow, this is no place for talk. Please, come inside."
"..."
"Hmm? Lord Ghost Shadow?"
Facing the woman's slightly confused gaze, Ariel’s lips twitched. Left with no choice, she stepped forward and followed her inside.
As the door creaked shut behind her, she immediately felt several powerful gazes snap toward her within the quiet orphanage.
These gazes weren't disrespectful; on the contrary, they were extremely reverent.
In an instant, Ariel understood.
Not only had she arrived at the Holy City hideout of that short-lived guy who was being hunted by an Archbishop...
She had now become these people's boss.