Chapter 53: City Museum

[But wouldn't that expose your identity to others? If she somehow reveals your identity to Count Spade, you might get into trouble, lad.]

'She is smart. There is no way she will expose my identity to anyone easily. Even if she did, I'd change my identity in a few days anyway. The main reason I used her name is that I at least want my friends to know that I'm still alive. Chris, Robert, Dante, and Daisy are my only trustworthy friends. They must be worried about me all this time.'

[Tsk, you've grown attached to them. And you became smarter, too.]

'Heh… So, how smart am I when compared to my Teacher Charles?' Raven couldn't help but ask curiously.

[You want to compare yourself with Charles? Humph. You still need 1000 years of experience to reach his smartness and cunning. That sly fox even fooled a God when he was a Rank-4 Wizard. He always acts ten steps ahead and looks for all possibilities of mishaps. And he doesn't hesitate to kill, too.]

'Wow! Even hearing about him gives me goosebumps!' Raven said in an excited tone.

[He is a lone wolf, lad. He never trusts anyone 100% and always acts selfishly.]

'I want to be like him too!' Raven said inwardly and noticed he had already started walking closer to the big mansion.

If he had returned empty-handed, the guards at the entrance would've called him out and inquired about him.

But seeing him carrying a new bag, they ignored him.

On the other hand, Raven continued to walk while moving past many houses and mansions and soon arrived at the Bristol Street Entrance.

"Oh? You are back already?" The muscular police officer noticed his arrival and asked in surprise.

Meanwhile, Raven waved his hand at them and walked closer.

"You returned with a new bag!" The other big-bellied police officer also commented and looked at his bag.

"It's a gift I got from Daisy, sir," Raven responded politely.

"Can we check?" The muscular officer asked while the other officer tried to stop him.

"You can. It's just some new clothes and gifts she prepared for me." Raven opened the leather bag and showed it to them.

"Oh? Is that a potion? Hmm, silvers, too. It seems your friend cares a lot about you." The muscular officer spoke with a smile and waved his hand.

"You should return home quick, lad."

On the other hand, Raven nodded and bid them farewell before walking in the eastern direction.

Within a minute, he disappeared from the police officers' eyes and quietly moved towards the junction.

‘Why do you want me to go to the City Museum?’ Raven asked.

[I want to confirm something. If your luck is good, there is a high possibility that you might get some good ability over there.]

‘Don’t tell me you are after that goblin’s corpse that annihilated Azmar town twenty years ago?’ Raven asked with a frown.

[Do you think a goblin is capable of such a feat?] Zera’s question made him furrow his brows.

‘Didn’t you tell me that there are goblins far stronger than wizards out there?’

[I did tell you that. But most goblins here are being subjugated by the Empire and always kept in check. Goblins do evolve and become far more powerful. When they reach a certain age, they usually grow from normal goblins to shamans or hobgoblins. But even a Rank-1 Goblin shaman isn’t strong enough to eradicate a town alone. Also, don’t you find it strange that no one survived the Azmar town incident? Moreover, there is not much information about what happened then.] Zera paused for a moment and soon added.

[I’m curious about this suspicious goblin. If that goblin can eliminate a whole town with a spell, isn’t it a good opportunity for you to obtain that ability for yourself?]

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Raven was about to say something but soon shut his mouth.

‘It’s better to check it out, indeed.’ Without delay, he arrived at the main road and started walking along its side.

His next destination was Knight Street, another street in Salford Borough. It was where the administrative department, Police Headquarters, County's High Court, City Museum, and various public sector offices were located.

In comparison to Bristol Street, the security measures on Knight Street seemed more lenient.

Raven quietly entered the street road and approached the City Museum.

What surprised him was that he rarely saw any people on this street. They didn't even pay attention to him and minded their own business.

He walked past a few ordinary houses and a police station and finally arrived before a three-story building with a two-meter-tall compound gate encircling it.

Unlike the other buildings, two security guards in black uniforms stood at the entrance gate and seemed to be constantly vigilant.

Before they could notice his presence, Raven activated the 'Shadow Stealth' ability and went into stealth mode.

Then, he cautiously moved towards the compound gate and observed the guards using the monocle.

'Both are Elite rank Walkers! I need to be extra careful.'

He muttered under his breath and quietly jumped into the other side of the compound wall.

After that, he stealthily walked towards the three-story building and soon reached the entrance door.

'It's locked.'

[Of course, it will be. Find another way to enter.] Zera spoke in his head.

Raven nodded and started walking around the building, looking for a way in.

Soon, he reached the backside of the building and noticed a small wooden door entrance. Although it was locked, too, it was a basic locker used in ordinary households.

Raven quietly grabbed the locker and pulled it with full force. The locker was broken with a clanging noise and slowly fell.

[Try to make minimal noise. Elite Walkers’ senses are sharper than normal humans.] Zera warned him.

‘Okay.’

Nodding, he slowly opened the wooden door and entered the gloomy, dark building.

'If not for the 'Night Vision ' skill, I might face many difficulties.' He muttered inwardly and started walking on the long corridor. After walking for a while, he came across rooms filled with old equipment like swords, spears, amulets, armors, etc.,

He soon reached the main hall on the first floor and saw the skeletal remains of rare animals, monsters, and even magical beasts.

After looking around for a while, Raven went upstairs through the bifurcated staircase and looked into the items preserved on the second floor. Unlike the first floor, each item was preserved in separate rooms and even sealed in ice boxes to keep the materials fresh.

He saw some rare plants and unique animal corpses were well preserved in ice cubes.

As he moved further to the right corridor, he finally arrived at the end of the hallway.

'This is the final room on the second floor.' He slowly opened the door and soon saw a humanoid goblin creature frozen in a large ice cube. He also saw some strange magic circles engraved all over the ice cube and was confused.

'Is it some kind of trap magic circles?' Raven cautiously moved closer and asked.

[It looks like they created these magic circles to keep the ice cube from melting.]

'Oh? Is it safe to touch?' Raven asked, noticing another strange thing about the humanoid goblin. Its skin wasn't a normal green one but reddish. It also had a peculiar horn protruding on its forehead and even fang-like teeth.

‘Its outer skin also shows scales…’ As Raven took a closer look, he saw strange gills similar to those of fish in its neck.

[It's not a goblin, lad. It's a blood imp, a type of lesser demon. But why does it have gills and scales? Did it try to evolve into Syreni Demon? From its looks, it died while growing into a unique Demon.] Zera said in confusion.

'A demon?! Are they real?' Raven asked in surprise.

Although history books did not mention demons appearing on the Ivory Island continent, there were many mythology stories of them trying to invade the mainland and causing a catastrophe.

[Don't waste your time. Break the coffin and absorb its bloodline essence. Don’t worry about the sound leaving the room too. This room has a sound-proof array mechanism.] Zera urged him.

'But isn't it an evil being? What if I become a demon after absorbing its bloodline essence?'

[You don't have to worry about it. I have observed that the bloodline devouring system can only extract bloodline essences related to a spell, strength, spirit, vitality, and agility.]

'What about luck?' His question surprised Zera.

[I don't know. We haven't killed any creature with great luck yet. Maybe you might get the answer if you try killing a few more goblin looters.]

'What about affinity?' Raven asked as he tried to punch the ice cube.

[I think it absorbs for itself, lad. Before you were born, the 'devourer thing' had already attached to your soul and was sucking your soul's essence and affinities. That was why you were born with a broken soul and zero affinity for any element. If I hadn't separated that thing and fused it with my system core, you might have either died or been taken over by that guy.]

As Zera explained, Raven punched the ice with full force and broke it into countless pieces.

As the ice broke into many pieces, the frozen blood imp’s corpse also started to reveal itself.

‘This demon isn’t much different from the goblins.’ Raven said and squatted down.

[Now I understand how the town got utterly annihilated. This imp must have created a large-scale sacrificial ritual in the town, and all the people must have sacrificed to the abyss. But to make such a large-scale ritual, this imp must’ve stayed in the town for more than a year in disguise and even made allies with humans to achieve its goal.]

‘B-But how did a demon appear in that town?’ Raven asked.

[How should I know? But all I can tell you now is that this world is connected to the abyss or some other demonic realm. Who knows? You might encounter those demons later, so be prepared for any worst-case scenario.] Zera said.