The Masked Meister looked away from his observation screens and slammed his fist on his desk, knocking over a mug full of writing utensils. Out of frustration, he took off his mask and pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing through the cloth that covered the lower half of his face. Inwardly, he cursed himself for ignoring the tomb for so long. Now it was gone. He needed to know what happened there.

Before checking the recordings, he used sensory magic to make sure nobody was using detection magic of any kind. Luckily, he found none this time. With that out of the way, he pulled up the proceedings recorded from his magic drones.

“Oh? Isn't that the guy who first called me the Masked Meister? How did he end up here? What's his name?” He muttered while shuffling through a stack of papers with blinding speed. “Hmm... Ah, I see. So he's called Liam. A former soldier, is it?”

Curious about how Liam ended up there, the Masked Meister rewound the recordings even further, all the way to the battle with the Colossal Ant Queen. As the events played out before him like a movie, he observed with great interest which grew with each subsequent event. The discovery of the Merediem Crystals especially caught his interest. Since when did such a rare material grow like weeds in that area?

Fast-forwarding through the boring parts, his interest peaked when Liam traveled through the tomb admiring the paintings. Those stories had been lost to history and this former soldier was now the only man to know about it.

During the fight between Liam and Hathor, a sly grin spread across the Masked Meister's lips. The undead soldier actually took it easy on Liam. Then, the lack of greed when deciding what to take from the treasure room! Everything about the guy was perfect, exactly what he had been searching for.

In the throne room, the conversation caught the Masked Meister off guard. He carefully studied the proceedings all the way to end.

“Hmm... Interesting...” The Masked Meister said, sporting a mischievous smile. “To think that old bastard was able to do something like this.”

Chuckling, he stacked all the participant profiles and tapped them on the desk to straighten them. From there, he slid the papers into a drawer and stood while returning his mask to its place.

“Bot, destroy those records,” he commanded as he waltzed toward the door.

While Bot proceeded to enact the order, the Masked Meister pressed a button, opening the steel door. For a while, he wandered the halls in the direction of the Conciliary, the hall of the Council of Elders. Right when he rounded the corner before the hall leading to the Conciliary, a woman called out from behind him.

“You seem to be in a good mood, Sanguis!” She exclaimed.

Grunting, the Masked Meister spun on his heels. “And what business might the beautiful~ Azelia want with a humble man such as myself?” Sanguis asked, bowing elegantly.

“Humble? You? Would be easier to call that pigsty Farland a genius.”

“So,” the Masked Meister spoke, dropping all formality, “what do you want?”

“Can't I talk to my dear brother-in-law without wanting something?”

“Former.”

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“Ah, yes. I forgot,” Azelia replied, putting a finger to her lustrous lips, “she lies in a grave because you let her die.”

“Enough. What do you want?”

“Nothing. You just seemed to be in a good mood, so~, I felt like teasing you a little.”

“If you don't want anything, then I have a meeting to attend,” the Masked Meister said, turning his back on the spiteful woman. Just looking at her sent chills up his spine.

“Seems like you found someone to observe in spite of your neutral management position?” Azelia asked, adopting a more serious tone.

Sanguis halted for a moment but quickly moved on without answering.

“Well, I suppose I'll see you around~, Masked Meister~”

The door to the Conciliary slammed shut behind Sanguis, leaving Azelia by herself. A sigh slipped from her lips as she returned to her study.

* * * * *

Meanwhile, Liam started a campfire using Ignition. Nightfall arrived shortly after. For several minutes, he sat on a log skinning a rabbit. Right when he used a stick to prop it over the flame, a screen popped up without warning.

“The Masked Meister again?” Liam muttered, immediately attempting to dismiss the window without success.

[That's right~. Liam, correct?]

“The hell is this?”

[Direct messaging, I suppose.]

“So you're talking to me and no one else?”

[Correct!] The Masked Meister pointed toward Liam.

Damn... is it because of what the old geezer said? Liam wondered.

[So, let's get right to the point.] The Masked Meister said, dropping all pretenses, surprising Liam with the sudden change of personality. [I'll say this now, but I'm the only one of us that knows what happened to you earlier.]

“Who is 'us'?” Liam inquired. The least he could do while waiting for his meat to cook was get some answers.

[No need to explain right now. Reason I contacted you is because I think we can help each other.]

Liam stared at the masked man. Obviously, he could not trust him.

[Listen. The race you just got turned into? Although I have no idea how Noctis did that, you need to do all you can to keep it secret as long as possible.]

“And why would that be?”

[Lot's of powerful people would want your head.]

“Should've known...”

[Well, basically, the deal I want to make is: you can contact me whenever if you need answers about something, and I'll answer... probably. I'm sure you understand the importance of withholding some information considering your background.]

“In return?”

[Help me with a little something once you are strong enough, no less than level eighty.]

“Sounds suspicious. I feel like I'm getting the raw end of the deal here.”

[Perhaps.]

“Let me beat the shit out of you at some point and I'll call it even.”

[Hahahahaha! Interesting! Well, I have no problem with that, but I think you may change who you want to point your fists at when that time comes.]

“And why is that.”

[I would love to tell you, but if you know too much while you are still weak, you might die. That is something I can't allow with the current situation.]

“What kind of questions will you answer, then?”

[Anything about how the 'system' works, for one. I can also provide you with strategies to overcome powerful opponents when the time comes. Other than that, I'll answer questions about the race you have become, to an extent.]

“That geezer can answer those questions himself when he wakes up again.”

[What do you mean?]

“Don't ask me how, but I can tell he pretty much took up residence in my body.”

[His spirit, you mean?]

“Probably.”

[HAHAHAHAHA! Good! That's even better. Now then, will you accept my offer?]

“As long as I can still beat the shit out of you.”

[Very well. You can contact me through a messaging window. There is a friend list window you can open. I'll be listed there. Oh! In fact, I think I'm the only one there!]

“Yeah, yeah, whatever... Hmm? Are there other windows I should know about?”

[No, not really. At least, none you currently have access to. If that's all, I have a few things to take care of now, so I shall have to bid you adieu~.] The Masked Meister said, returning to his prideful persona. Without waiting for a response, the screen vanished.

“Don't let the door hit you on the way out,” Liam muttered.

'Quite the troublesome fellow, isn't he?'

“And now the annoying geezer shows up...”