Chapter 69: Opportunity
These words left Aurelius speechless.
The faintly wronged expression on Selene’s face only made it worse.
Had Priest Mayin’s blow hurt this girl in the head?
Why was she making it sound as though something unspeakable had happened between them?
He was innocent!
Suppressing the countless complaints raging inside his mind, Aurelius sized up Selene, patting his shoulders to clear the fragments of broken metal.
He spoke up.
"What are you doing? Are you tired of living?"
"If I hadn’t recognized you and instinctively held back, you would’ve been burnt to a crisp," he complained, not quite understanding what this woman was thinking.
In response, Selene chuckled.
"Haha. Don’t think that I’m the same as before. What happened in the Sunless Sect’s stronghold helped me unleash my true potential."
"Furthermore, after the Blood Temple learned of what happened, they dismissed the mission and rewarded me greatly instead."
"So... don’t think you can defeat me as easily as before. If you are not careful, you might face a great surprise."
A trace of arrogance flashed across Selene’s face, one that went completely against the nature of an assassin.
Contrasting her current appearance with the one she had displayed when faced with his true self outside the Academy, Aurelius had the urge to tease him.
However, he restrained that impulse.
He glanced at the interface hovering above her head, only to discover that her Level had changed from Level 13 to 18.
Such a rate of progress was astonishing. Especially considering that only a few days had passed since the events of that night.
Unfortunately... Aurelius’ progress was even faster.
’I’ve already reached Rank 2, undergoing a qualitative transformation and upgrading to a Taboo Arcanist.’
’The Alchemist and Class Creator Sub-Classes have further improved my means and boosted my Base Stats.’
’Combined with the skills I’ve collected using Arcane Insight...’
Aurelius made a quick judgement.
It would only take a couple of strikes to defeat the current Selene.
Not only had the gap between them not closed, but it had instead widened even further.
Of course, Aurelius was wiser than to voice these thoughts aloud.
Faced with Selene’s smug expression, he smiled faintly.
"Congratulations! I can sense you’re not far away from Rank 2."
"At that point, you’ll become the most feared Assassin on the northern border."
Selene’s eyes narrowed in happiness, taking the shape of crescent moons.
But she quickly regained her composure.
She let out a sigh.
"I’m still far away from reaching Rank 2. Several months, in fact."
"Moreover, completing the Advancement Ritual will be troublesome. The conditions... are too stringent," Selene shook her head, looking somewhat deflated while thinking about her promotion.
Just as Aurelius was about to comfort her, however, the woman abruptly changed her tune.
The disappointment on her face faded, replaced by seriousness.
After their brief chat, she finally moved on to the reason she summoned him here.
"You should be more careful in the following days. The Blood Temple has informed me that what happened in Baron Murrow’s estate has already become known to the Sun Church and the Church of the Goddess."
"I don’t understand how successful you were in erasing our traces back then. But no matter what, it’s only a matter of time before the churches find further clues."
As she spoke, Selene looked into Aurelius’ eyes.
"The near-descent of the Lost Sun is bound to reach the higher-ups’ ears. The higher-ranking Awakeners will inevitably investigate."
"If they really want to find our identities, they’ll have many ways to do so."
"Thankfully, you’re quite lucky," she added with a rare smile.
"Some change has taken place in Dawn Kingdom lately. All the major organizations are currently busy dealing with its aftermath. Otherwise, your identity might have long been leaked."
Aurelius was not surprised to hear the first part of her words.
He had long suspected something like this would happen, which was also why he was rushing to collect the materials required to craft the Mystery Cloak.
But the latter part of her speech made him raise his eyebrows.
Were the major organizations occupied with something?
At such a time, nonetheless?
It couldn’t be a coincidence.
’Is it about the Players? Have these organizations learned of their existence?’
His eyes narrowed.
Although it hadn’t become obvious so far, Aurelius knew it was only a matter of time before Players were discovered.
At that point, the natives would face a dilemma regarding how to deal with them.
Would the infinitely-respawning Players be tied up and used for research?
Or would they be regarded as the chosen of the Gods?
Aurelius didn’t have an answer to these questions, but it could very well impact his future too.
"Hey. Are you listening to me?"
"How come you’re so scared? Isn’t it just a few churches and several thousand powerful Awakeners?’
A discordant voice snapped Aurelius back to reality.
Selene constantly waved her palm right in front of his face, as though trying to catch his attention.
Seeing him "return", she smiled, as if she had seen through him.
"I didn’t expect you would be so easily scared."
She clicked her tongue.
"A man who chose to fight against the Lost Sun is now trembling in fear. Could it be that everything was a disguise before?" she teased.
For a moment, Aurelius had to wonder whether Selene had met with World_Builder and inherited his abilities to attract hate.
The urge to launch a Fireball at her face briefly flashed through his mind.
Holding his hand back, he shook his head.
"Alright."
"I don’t believe you invited me just to tell me this. You could have sent me a letter if that were the case."
"So, what is it that you really want to talk about?"
That question wiped the smile from Selene’s face. She looked into his eyes.
"You’re right. This is not why I called you over."
"I asked you to come because I have an opportunity for you."
She paused briefly.
"Of course, opportunities are often accompanied by risks. It’s up to you whether you’re willing to bet..."
Her voice lingered in the abandoned building, her tone mysterious.
Aurelius’ interest was instantly piqued.
Her next sentence made his eyes light up.