Chapter 32: Use of Intelligence stat
Hearing his full name being called by someone he had never had any connections with was something that immediately scared Morden a lot.
He tensed up in his seat while his gaze also simultaneously sharpened; he was ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice.
"Do not be alarmed, Mr. Tales; I only know your name because the world told me," the man called Merlin said with a broad smile.
"The world told you?" Morden muttered.
"Yes, the world told me. They tell me a lot of things."
Though he was still apprehensive about the man in front of him, Morden decided to ease a bit and actually listen since the person had called himself a diviner.
"So, Mr. Merlin, do you know the specifics of the mission?" Morden asked with a scrutinizing gaze.
"No, I don’t. I only know what the world tells me," Merlin responded.
Listening to that response, Morden couldn’t help the side of his mouth twitching while he thought,
’Why does he sound so much like a fraud?’
’I just hope he can help me,’
"The mission specifics are that I need to find someone, but I don’t know anything at all about him; I don’t know his name or how he looks like all I know is how he sounds, and even that I am not sure is real."
Instead of responding immediately, Merlin remained quiet and stared at Morden for a bit, but his thoughts seemed to be somewhere, and he would even nod gently every now and then.
About five minutes went by with the same thing happening over and over, until he finally opened his mouth to respond.
"I shall accept the mission, because the world told me to."
A smile slowly formed on Morden’s face when he had that, finally, Someone willing to accept after every other person left in rage.
"But you should know that I am not helping you; I am only doing what the world tells me to."
’Why does he keep rambling about the world so much,’ he clicked his tongue silently.
"That’s fine; let’s proceed to the other room to inform them the mission has been accepted," Morden answered.
The two of them stood up from their respective seats, and they both exited the room, with Morden being the second person to leave.
"Miss Brenda, thank you for the effort; I have found someone. Mr. Merlin has decided to take up the mission."
The woman called Brenda looked up from her work and smiled a little before handing over some paperwork to Merlin.
"Fill these up to confirm the mission was accepted by you and the organization isn’t responsible for anything and you will have to sign too," she said while looking at Morden.
The two men didn’t hesitate; they took the paperwork, filled out the right information before signing, and then handed it back over.
"That will be all then,"
"Mr. Merlin can return here when the mission is over to collect his rewards, and if he doesn’t, the money will be transferred back to you after a week."
Morden and Merlin shared a nod before walking towards the exit of the building. The two walked in complete silence until they finally arrived at the entrance of the building.
"So, how do we go about it?" Morden asked
"Do not worry, Mr. Tales; I will head back now to do my research, and I will come find you when I am done."
"Do your research? How? Without any clues?"
"Do not worry, Mr. Tales; the World will lead me," Merlin said before turning around to leave, leaving Morden speechless in his spot.
’That man doesn’t seem reliable in any way; there’s something sketchy about him.’
’But I guess it’s worth a try though.’
While he thought, he had already subconsciously started walking back home to wait for the so-called Diviner.
’I also need to make my own preparations,’
The rest of his walk home was peaceful and harmonious, giving Morden a short moment of relief that lasted up until he was about to head inside his house.
"Oh wait, what am I doing?"
’Though this mission has the Bearer’s organization as a Broker, what about if it ends?’
’He said he was going to come find me; if he actually can find me, doesn’t that mean he will know where I live then?’
"I don’t know how he intends to do it, but what if it’s some sort of tracker?"
’That won’t do; I need to be somewhere else when he comes.’
’Which means I need to prepare as soon as possible and get out of here.’
With that thought in mind, Morden rushed upstairs, changed into the same all-black attire he wore two nights ago, and rushed back down.
"Everything else I might need is already with me."
Back outside his house, Morden looked left and right again and again before proceeding to head towards a coffee shop that was on the way to the commercial area.
The coffee shop was a medium-scaled business that had quite an expansive area, so it was perfect for a long wait. Even when Morden arrived and sat down, he wasn’t really noticed by anyone else since they were a bit far away.
’Now that is already gotten over with, I think I need to start thinking of how I am going to counter that man.’
’If Merlin actually manages to find him, how am I going to fight him without falling straight into an illusion?’
’Let me check through my status screen to see if there’s anything there that can help.’
[Name: Morden Tales]
[Race: Human]
[Attributes: The One who Shouldn’t be]
[Innate Ability: Gene Evolution]
[Genetic shards: 3]
[Status: Slightly better but still chaotic (Beware)]
[Total Genetic Slots: 1]
[Occupied Genetic Slots: 1]
[Ability obtained: Boost (Uncommon grade)]
[Strength: 20]
[Speed: 22]
[Durability: 27]
[Intelligence: 20]
[Stat Points: 10]
[In Inventory: Uncommon-grade Genetic Weapon]
Morden realized it has been a while since he actually checked his full status, and now he could already notice great changes.
"The screen has really changed—no timer, nothing about the mission anymore, and the increase in stats I received as a reward has also taken effect."
"Now my lowest stat is Intelligence,"
"Except for making it easier to think, does the intelligence stat actually do anything?" Morden muttered.
"Oh, wait, I think it does."
"I can remember Mona saying something about it being difficult to read my mind now after I arrived from my trial."
"Could that be it?"
"Can higher intelligence cause an increase in mental capacity and fortitude?"
"If it does, then I think I have found the solution."