Chapter 33: The Deceiver.

Adam’s POV

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Base Stat Increases:

* Intelligence (INT): +15

* Wisdom (WIS): +10

* Metalweaving Mastery (MW): +5

* Alchemical Mastery (AM): +5

* HP: +30

* Stamina: +30

* NEP: +100

Special Attributes:

* Nove has now gained full sentience.

* Nove can now hear the User’s thoughts, allowing for near-instant responses.

* Max inventory capacity has increased by 20%.

* Core node slots have been expanded by 2.

I stared at the glowing stats window in front of me, my jaw practically on the floor.

Holy hell.

These were some insane upgrades.

But wait… how does this compare to my previous stats?

As if reading my mind (Which she now can—terrifying), another window popped up.

Base Stats Comparison:

Status:

* HP: 125/125 → 150/150

* NEP: 600/600 → 930/930

* Stamina: 157/180 → 157/235

Base Stats (Unaffected by Core Nodes):

* Strength (STR): 8 (No change)

* Vitality (VIT): 5 (No change)

* Endurance (END): 6 (No change)

* Intelligence (INT): 26 → 41

* Dexterity (DEX): 10 (No change)

* Agility (AGI): 11 (No change)

* Wisdom (WIS): 22 → 32

* Charisma (CHA): 8 (No change)

* Metalweaving Mastery (MW): 5 → 10

* Alchemical Mastery (AM): 32 → 37

Something felt… off.

“Some of the numbers don’t add up,” I muttered.

“Oh, that’s because of stat values,” Nove chimed in, casually interrupting my thoughts, because of course she did. “Your base stats determine status values, but since you keep switching core nodes, your status keeps fluctuating. That’s why you only see a 25 HP increase instead of 30—it’s balancing out based on the system’s calculations.”

Huh. Makes sense, I guess.

But there was something else. Something I absolutely couldn’t ignore.

* Intelligence (INT): 58 (+10 +5 +2)

I exhaled slowly.

Welp.

Looks like my main class has been chosen for me.

It’s Mage time, baby.

I sighed.

Guess I’ll have to start studying books and shit.

I remembered what Nove had told me before—higher base stat values meant it would be harder to increase them further. But since my true INT stat was only 41, it shouldn’t be too painful to keep leveling up.

Right?

…Right?

With my Intelligence stat nearly hitting 60, even a simple fireball would probably land like a meteor or something.

Or at least, that’s what I thought.

“Ah, Adam,” Nove’s soft voice chimed in my head, “there’s no such thing as a ‘fireball spell’ here.”

…Huh?

“You can manipulate elements using different materials or monster parts, but you can’t just convert NEP directly into magic spells.”

Damn. There goes my dream of casually nuking people with fireballs.

Also, Nove’s voice wasn’t robotic anymore—it actually had emotion now, which was… weird, but definitely an upgrade.

“You know I can read your thoughts, right? Is that always how you think?”

Nove said again, making me believe it was going to get annoying just from here on out.

“I’ll try and adapt to your thinking style,” she added, as if reading my frustration.

Yeah, I don’t know if that makes it better or worse.

Anyways, I got out of my bunker bed, took a quick bath, grabbed some food, and finally made my way to Dara’s office.

I pushed open the door, stretching my arms wide as I announced, “Hey guys, I’m bac—”

And then I saw hell.

Dix sat at Dara’s desk, looking like person who had just fought a hundred battles.

“Ad…am…” he croaked, barely clinging to life.

His hands trembled as he held a pen, an endless stack of papers piled beside him. His eyes were hollow. His spirit, broken.

He weakly reached a hand toward me.

“Save… me…”

Then, he collapsed onto the desk.

“Oh, no. I say when we’re done.”

Dara, the eternal tyrant, stood behind him like a merciless executioner.

She pressed a button on a small remote.

Sparks flew.

Dix convulsed violently.

“ABABABBABA—”

His entire body twitched uncontrollably as electricity coursed through him. His health bar visibly plummeted—dropping down by a solid 20% in real-time before Dara finally stopped.

By the time it was over, Dix’s tail and the visible hair under his beret were completely puffed up, tiny sparks still crackling around him.

"Now… back to work—unless you'd prefer more," Dara said, looming over Dix like a housewife who just caught her husband cheating.

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Tears streamed down his face as he shakily picked up his pen and returned to the mountain of paperwork.

Then, Dara’s golden eyes locked onto me.

I stiffened.

“…Sorry for disturbing you,” I mumbled, slowly reaching for the door, inching it closed in the most non-threatening way possible—just in case I was next in line for execution.

Unfortunately, before the door could fully shut, a small, feminine hand suddenly slammed against the frame, fingers digging into the wood.

I screamed like a little girl.

How the hell did she move from behind Dix to the door in less than a second without making a single sound?!

As I mentally recited every prayer I knew, fully bracing myself for whatever unholy wrath Dara was about to unleash—

She… hugged me?

"Adam! You're okay!"

“…Uh.”

I blinked.

“I… I’m not in trouble?”

She pulled back. "Why would you be?"

I quietly pointed at Dix, whose entire body was twitching as he tried—and utterly failed—to scribble something down on a piece of paper.

"Oh, him."

Her warm smile immediately twisted into a cold, hostile glare.

"He spread false information that Batman, the fugitive, might be in this kingdom," she said flatly.

…

Wait. What?!

I turned to Dix, who was now conveniently avoiding my gaze.

"Why… why would you do that?"

Dara sighed. "Some genius was willing to pay him two gold aurens for the tip-off because he heard rumors that the fujitive was here, so he said yes. And now, thanks to him, there are House Luminari soldiers all over the city looking for Batman."

Her frown deepened. "Because of this mess, gathering any information has become ten times harder, and most of the younger spies can't even make enough to pay for food."

Ohhh.

Oh, I see.

“…Adam? Calm down. He’s still your friend,” Nove’s voice echoed in my mind, sensing the sheer murderous intent I was radiating.

I ignored her.

"Dara," I said evenly, keeping my expression blank. "I have some extra health potions with me."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Zap him again. Lethal amount, please."

Her eyes gleamed.

"My pleasure."

"YOU TRAITO—ABABBABABABBABA—!!"

…

With that little issue resolved, we locked Dix inside Dara’s office.

I did leave him a single health potion.

Because I'm not a monster.

We made our way to a terminal, and along the way, Dara briefed me on everything that had happened since I left.

Bram.

The name Hector had shouted before his humiliating defeat—the guy who wanted my stuff.

All of this chaos had started just because I wanted to sell a few core nodes. I’d severely underestimated their value… right up until people were ready to kill me over them. Even an iron wall like Hector had fallen to their power.

Maybe I’d been treating core nodes too simplistically.

"That’s right," Nove’s voice chimed in. "For an easier comparison—you have the ability to create magical rifles, while everyone else is still fumbling with swords and spears."

…

Ohhh.

Wait. Does that mean there are guns in this world?!

"No, not in this world," Nove replied. "I only know about them because you think about them a lot. But… if we have the right materials, I believe I can make one."

…

Okay, pinning that one for later.

For now, let’s talk about Bram.

According to Dara, Bram is a noble—not a high-ranking one, but still someone you don’t want to mess with. Based on what Dix had uncovered, he’d apparently had his eye on me for some time. The exact reason was unclear, but there was one major lead—he might be affiliated with human trafficking.

Hearing that made me feel weird.

Not horrified—just… unsettling.

But before I could dwell on it, we arrived at the terminal. Dara pulled something out of her inventory—a small device, almost like a USB drive—and plugged it in.

“You watch the footage Dix uncovered,” she instructed. “We’ll discuss everything else back in my office. For now, I need to go back—I can’t leave Dix alone for too long.”

I nodded, and with that, she left me alone.

Taking a deep breath, I turned my focus to the video Dix had prepared for me.

It was a compilation of everything he’d uncovered while scouting around. Surveillance footage. Notes. Conversations.

Then, Bram appeared on screen.

A fat, sweating man, running somewhere.

…

Something about him felt weirdly familiar.

Nove’s voice echoed in my head.

"Adam, he’s one of the alchemist shop owners—the one you visited the day before yesterday to check the prices of core nodes."

Ohhh. That’s why he felt familiar.

As I continued watching the footage, I saw Bram running towards a mansion. Dix hadn’t been able to get a great angle, and there was very little audio, but even getting this much footage was already a miracle.

The next few minutes of the video were just Dix sneaking into the mansion using various methods. Honestly, I just skiped over the details—until we got to the important part.

Minutes passed, and then—finally—Bram met with another person.

Unlike Bram, this guy was dressed in high-profile clothing. A noble.

“It seems like he holds even more power than Bram,” Nove noted.

Bram, on the other hand, was practically sweating buckets as he faced the noble.

Even without clear audio, Nove and I could piece together some of the conversation—a combination of lip-reading and guesswork from the faint murmurs.

The conclusion?

Bram was panicking.

He admitted that he had failed to capture me, explaining that Hector and his goons were supposed to do the job. Apparently, I was considered a high-value target—because I had the ability to create core nodes.

"People who can create core nodes are highly sought after," Nove explained. "Most clans will accept them instantly, so outside organizations are always looking to recruit—or steal—them."

That… explained a lot.

Apparently, they hadn't even known for sure that I could make core nodes. But the second they saw me selling them, they immediately made a plan—on the spot—to kidnap me.

That was as much as I could gather from the conversation.

The higher noble lashed out at Bram, furious that Hector and his goons had failed. His orders were clear—Bram had to find and capture me—immediately.

As soon as Bram left, the noble hurried off somewhere.

Dix, ever the shadow, followed him.

And that’s when everything changed.

The noble headed straight for the cellar.

My eyes narrowed as I saw it.

Inside—ten children.

Malnourished. Dirty. Dressed in rags.

They were locked up, trapped behind rusted iron bars.

But the noble?

He didn’t even spare them a glance.

He walked past them and headed straight toward a heavy wooden door at the end of the room. As he stepped inside, he locked it behind him.

Dix took a moment to calm the children, whispering soft reassurances. He told them to be quiet, that he would come back for them soon.

And then—he followed.

From under the door gap, Dix slipped a tiny camera inside.

The footage flickered, and we saw what was inside the room.

It was empty.

Except for A tall mirror, standing ominously next to the wall and some strange contraption attached to its base. And Dozens of magical runes, etched into the floor in intricate patterns—like a ritual setup.

The noble quickly pulled something from his coat.

A large, eerie green gem.

He placed it into the contraption at the mirror’s base.

Immediately, a thick green fog began to rise.

And then—he kneeled.

His back was to the camera, so I couldn’t make out what he was saying.

But then—

Something happened that shook me to my core.

I shot up from my chair as the image in the mirror changed.

Because standing there, clear as day, was her.

A very familiar figure.

A woman with long, wavy blue hair that cascaded over her shoulders like a shimmering waterfall. She held a large staff, adorned with intricate carvings, and her flowing white robes were lined with delicate golden patterns that shimmered faintly in the dim light.

Everything about her radiated an aura of holiness.

But I knew better.

She was a fraud.

The fake goddess. The one who got me here in this world.

"Adam..." Nove’s voice echoed in my head, but I ignored her and focused on the vidoe.

The woman’s lips curled into a gentle smile as she gazed down at the kneeling noble.

"I was waiting for your call, Waldemar," she said, I couldn’t hear her, but Nove was doing an excellent job at lip-reading. "And just in time. I've collected another lost soul in need of… training."

Waldemar, still bowed low, nodded quickly, his posture rigid, his eyes refusing to meet hers.

The goddess tilted her head. "Hmm? What happened?"

Damn it! Why did Waldemar have to be positioned in a way where I couldn’t read his lips?!

After a moment of silence, she sighed. "I see. Core nodes, huh? He could be very useful to us. Spare no effort in capturing him—use whatever means necessary."

I clenched my fists.

Then Waldemar said something else—something that made her frown.

"Ugh, the House Luminari. Just lay low for a little while. They're bound to leave soon. If not, spread some rumors about this ‘Batman’ somewhere else and watch them scurry away."

Huh, If only they knew—the core node maker and Batman himself were both here, listening to every word.

Waldemar nodded again, awaiting further orders.

Then the fake goddess's expression darkened.

"And get the girl as well." Her voice turned icy. "She’s incredibly useful… but feisty. Do not let her escape. And make sure she is thoroughly... educated."

My eyes narrowed, I didn’t like the way she said that.

Before I could process it, the runes on the floor flared to life.

A figure materialized within the glowing circle.

And the second I saw her—

My breath caught in my throat.

My vision blurred with rage.

My fingers trembled at my sides as my voice came out in a whisper, thick with anger and disbelief.

"Lora..."

My sister.

From Earth.