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13. Insect Caught in the Spiders Web
🕑 Added 2022-01-14 19:59:11 +0000 UTCImyrll clicked her tongue as she exited Emilia’s room.
‘These Royals love to order us around without having any idea how impossible of a task they are requesting…’
Imyrll arrived at an inn near the university and checked in for the night, tomorrow she would try to catch sight of this assistant professor.
For the next three days Imyrll kept a close watch on the university’s gate, but nobody that she didn’t recognize passed through. She really wished to enter and scout out the place but to the untrained eye the university seemed normal and peaceful enough, but if one looked a little closer…
The two guards standing at the gate had communication stones in their pockets and if one looked really close they had a little tattoo on their wrist showing a small black smiling skull.
Many students were hanging around entrances to buildings or chatting under trees, the majority were just normal students going about their day, but if one looked closer they could see some students with the tattoo and a communication stone occasionally looking around.
Imyrll decided to wait one more day before trying to break into the university, regardless of the risk.
The next day, there was finally something new. A horseless carriage drove up to the university gates and a young man and woman disembarked. Imyrll was sure they were her target. The young man had a tower of books floating beside him, Imyrll estimated it was Psychokinesis of the C or B grade, but it was hard to tell since they were so rare.
Psychokinesis was actually one of the most dangerous and powerful magic schools, but it had so many weaknesses and drawbacks that most avoided it. Since they specialize in support abilities they are often hired by Royals or Nobles for their Telepathy and Clairvoyance skills, but in a fight, they are always targeted first due to their weaker defensive and offensive capabilities.
As the duo approached the guards they waved them in and looked nonchalant about it, but once the two walked past them, they quickly pressed on their communication stones. Every student they passed with the tattoo also pressed on their communication stones.
Sure enough, Imyrll quickly spotted a small group of people that clearly didn’t belong in a university trailing the duo. From their movements, she estimated they were C grade like herself in varying skills.
The young nobleman and women seemed completely ignorant of their surroundings and walked into the public library. An hour later they walked out with a smaller tower of books, Imyrll guessed they were different books from before but couldn't tell from the distance.
They picked up a few days' worth of food from a stall before heading off somewhere in their horseless carriage.
And so the battle began.
Unknown to the duo in the carriage, over 40 people with varying levels of abilities were following them.
This is what Imryll meant when she said their forces were spread thin. She was all alone, but she could see groups of agents that were sticking and working together to take out targets from other groups.
None of the groups were exactly trying to kill each other, but instead, prevent the others from gaining the intel they were after. They would try to distract or hold them back, confuse their senses with illusions. Imryll even saw one unlucky guy tangled up in thorns that shredded his skin.
‘Wow their client must have very deep pockets, even a B grade Druid is here’ Imryll sighed in resignation, she was merely a C grade in Spatial magic. She could pass through walls, which was a very useful ability for her job, but since her grade was too low it produced a humming noise as she passed through.
She also didn’t have access to high-grade spells like teleportation, warp gates, and spatial storage. One of the agents in Queen Kaylessa service is a B grade and can teleport short distances! Imryll was incredibly jealous, but raising to a B grade was no easy feat and required years of practice and inspiration.
The journey to the target's house was only a few minutes, but in that time the number of agents around the carriage had reduced to only 10. Imryll could feel their presence, but not locate their exact whereabouts nor their client's affiliation.
The targets eventually reached the house, Imryll climbed up a tree and kept watch. After a few hours, it started to get dark, and to Imryll surprise, she could no longer detect the other 10 agents' presence.
‘Did they complete their assignments?’
Agents were usually paid by the hour, so clients wouldn't want them to stand around all night to gather intel, that would cost thousands of gold, especially for a group employing mages like that B grade Druid, they were incredibly useful after all.
Imryll was in direct service to Princess Emilia, so she had no hourly pay, much to her displeasure. Sometimes she would work for days at a time and other times she would have nothing to do, unfortunately, she could never go on vacation or have a true rest because Emilia could call on her at any time.
Eventually, the sun started to dip near the horizon, Imryll used the last bit of daylight to scout around and make sure all the other agents had left before she could infiltrate the target's house and gain more information.
***
After returning from the library, Fay made herself some dinner and poured me a glass of wine, which I enjoyed while reading some new books.
My Psychokinesis was still stuck at C+ grade, every school of magic had different requirements to advance the thresholds of different grades, and unfortunately, all information on Psychic magic above C grade was a state secret.
Only by surrendering myself to become a government servant could I access the books and remove the shackles binding me to the C grade. In the game, I only managed to advance Damien's Psychokinesis to a C grade since it wasn't very useful in the game, but now that this was real life the potential of Psychic magic had completely changed.
Hmmmmm
“Fay, go make some tea,” I say suddenly, surprising the girl.
“Tea?” she asked with confusion, I already had a glass of red wine in my hand and Fay didn’t like to drink tea personally.
“We will have a guest arriving soon.”
“Oh? Okay…” she responded with confusion. Who would be visiting this late at night?
‘Time to bluff for my life’
***
Imryll waited till late evening and finally made her move. She quickly ran under the cover of darkness to the house's front door. She carefully peered through the door using her senses but couldn't detect anyone guarding it from the other side.
She pressed her body against the door and activated her spatial magic. Her mana quickly drained to only half of her reserves as her body entered an almost phantom-like state for a second.
The door's matter shuddered as she passed through, causing a humming noise, similar to an insect when they fly past a person's ear. Finally appearing on the other side, she quickly cancelled her skill to save her mana reserves.
The hallway was dark and devoid of people, this was rather weird for a noble estate, usually, there would be guards in the corridors and maids walking around, but it was dead quiet. If not for the light escaping from a door on the upper floor, she would have assumed this house was empty.
Suddenly a door on the upper floor opened, the noble girl walked out and down the stairs, she calmly walked into the back area of the kitchen where drinks are often prepared. Imryll let out a held breath when she confirmed she hadn't come to confront her.
She inspected each room she walked past. The servant's quarters were deserted with just a few personal items left inside as if they had all vanished somewhere and never come back. The kitchen was also mostly dark, but there was a knife on the counter and some cut meat and bread left out. Imryll had witnessed the noble girl purchasing this food earlier today. The noble girl was through a doorway in the back of the kitchen, humming a tune while she brewed some tea.
Imyrll ignored her and continued through the hallway.
The rooms had all been stripped of anything useful, usually noble houses were full of sculptures, art pieces, and monster materials found from the dungeons. ‘Maybe he was low on money?’ she mused in thought.
Imryll quietly ascended the stairs, using a little spatial magic to decrease her weight, so they wouldn't creak. She had to be fast, one of the nobles was likely to have either skills or items that could detect her presence, as she was only a C grade.
She hastily approached the door and put her ear against it, trying to hear any discussion inside, while keeping track of the noble girl's location.
[Welcome little spy]
Imryll eyes went wide as a voice sounded in her head, it was a weird sensation but one she had felt before.
Telepathy.
Before she could escape the door swung wide open with force, revealing a man sitting calmly in a brown leather chair, his wine red suit complemented his blood-red eyes, and his short white hair was casually brushed.
Just as Imryll activated her spatial ability to go through the floor, the man said something that made her freeze in place.
[Oh Imryll what a pleasant surprise! Does Princess Emilia need something from me?]
Comments
XKARNATION
Oh sorry! Completely slipped my mind! Should be unlocked now ;D
Dave_S
Please unlock 14. 12 is already on RR ;)
