"It's like I'm working alongside ghosts," Fleur muttered, looking about two skulls off from where I actually was.

[[ The best of ghosts. ]]

An orange screen appeared before her, an illusion I projected since even if I spoke aloud, it was unlikely she would hear me.

The Stealthy Pull Tab dangled on a thin silver chain around my neck. Its appearance was nothing remarkable; it was incredibly light and slightly discolored. However, aside from the System's description of its ability to hide my presence visually, it was also evidently doing a decent job masking my presence across the other senses.

[[ Here's what the mana key looks like. ]]

I projected an image of the key to her. I had gone within a few steps of the guard for the System to memorize it to memory.

"Got it." Fleur nodded and crafted the piece of clear mana stone in her hand into the angled shape.

We were currently crouching around the bend to the tower entrance against one of the ivy-covered stone walls.

Unlike in Round 8, we arrived almost two hours early at this location. Two guards were still making the rounds, but they were focused on guarding the area rather than helping The Alchemist move the experiments, which were currently locked up inside the crumbling tower.

Fleur glanced toward Micah, who was sitting against the wall beside her.

Atop his head was a ridiculous-looking gray moth-eaten wool cap. I recognized it from the previous loop as the Cursed Wool Cap that Micah had given me to wear for this occasion. However, in this Round, he needed it more than me.

[ Description: Allows the wearer to blend into the background and lowers noise from their voice and movement. Has a 65% effectiveness. Effectiveness goes down if additional attention is brought to self. ]

[ Warning: The cap is damaged and will cause a migraine headache for the wearer one whole day after wearing it. This adverse effect compounds if the cap is worn multiple days in a row, regardless of the length of time. ]

"This key will be sufficient to get inside, but we'll need to reevaluate the situation once we're inside the tower in case there are any other traps," she told Micah.

Micah nodded, standing up. "I expect so; it'd be strange if there weren't other obstacles. However, at the very least, Ridley hasn't sensed any large fluctuations in mana yet."

I felt my hair stand on end, remembering the previous loop when The Alchemist had unexpectedly made her entrance.

This time around, Ridley's initial role was to help with this operation and then rescue the children from the shoddy orphanage. None of us stood a chance against The Alchemist head-on if she appeared; thus, Ridley's sole role was to work as our lookout and keep an eye out in case she decided to come early—just because she arrived at a particular time in a previous loop didn't mean she would again. The various other Awakened and Aware individuals were sending ripples that I had learned to accept could lead to unexpected eventual outcomes. Even something as minor as the name of the mine from which mana stones were harvested changed in the last Round upon Chase Daylan's followers flocking to the site.

"Ridley, we have the key. Let us know when the coast is clear," Micah spoke into his looking glass.

His expression grew serious, and he motioned his fingers.

"Now, we need to move now," he said, leading the way.

Fleur and I quickly moved after him around the wall's bend and toward the tower's entrance as well.

Even though I was invisible, I felt my heart rate quicken. Having gone around the bend on my own, I knew the guards' movements were hard to predict. They moved about under a pattern that we had yet to be able to crack. It made little sense and followed a logic of its own.

My eyes glanced about the courtyard, overgrown with moss and ivy.

There was no telling if the guard who had just left would turn around and return instead of doing a longer loop around the premises.

However, Fleur wasted no time, efficiently placing the shape into the easy-to-overlook key slot. A soft 'pop' sounded from the door, which propped open slightly. There was no useless movement or hesitation in her work.

She's done this a lot.

I could see why Ridley had recommended her for this operation.

"He's coming back," Micah muttered the message Ridley sent, and we quickly slid inside the tower.

The door closed shut, and not a moment later, I heard the guard's soft footsteps across the broken stone courtyard.

We stood in hushed silence as he paused by the tower and lit a pipe. The stillness had a buzz to it; I could even hear the rhythmic thrum of blood rushing through my veins.

While the guards didn't pose a significant danger in a fight, if they got a chance to signal and instigate The Alchemist to arrive early, we would undoubtedly be in a world of trouble.

Stolen story; please report.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The guard continued his walk until the sound of his steps faded.

"We don't have time to waste. Fleur, did you finish inspecting the room? Are there any traps here?" Micah asked.

Fleur shook her head. "No traps here, but there is one up the stairs."

"Let's move up; I doubt anything worthwhile is stored down here then," Micah said.

Fleur took the lead, cautiously approaching the stairs. She knelt down and extended her hands, channeling her mana. Her fingers glowed with a faint, ethereal light as she manipulated the materials around the second step, revealing something underneath.

"There's a mechanical pressure plate here," Fleur explained, her voice steady. "It could be a deadly trap or a way to send out a secret signal."

Her hand reached into one of her pockets, and she pulled out what appeared to be a broken sword handle, which she first manipulated into the shape of a small ball.

Then, with precise movements, she crafted a small, intricate mechanism from the chunk of metal in her hands. It transformed into a delicate series of gears and levers designed to bypass the pressure plate's trigger.

She carefully inserted the crafted mechanism into the trap, aligning it with the existing components. A soft click confirmed that the trap had been successfully deactivated.

"Trap's neutralized," Fleur said, standing up and beginning her ascend up.

Micah and I walked up the rounded staircase right behind her.

"SCAW!"

We arrived at the bend leading to the second floor. The room was shrouded in darkness, with boarded-up windows, only slivers of bright light peeking through. Cages atop cages crowded the room.

The creature I had seen in Round 8 with the twenty seaweed-like arms was flopped over helplessly in one of the cages. Its child-like eyes gazed toward our direction, likely seeing only Fleur.

"I suppose those are The Alchemists's experiments," Micah noted. "I don't see anything other than those caged creatures here."

[[ I'll put them to sleep. ]]

I produced a response for Micah.

"One moment, Luca." Micah spread both arms to stop me, given that he wasn't sure where I was standing. "Fleur, do you sense any traps in this room?" Micah inquired.

"No, but each of the cages is enforced with black mana stones," she replied. Her focus moved upward. "However, I do sense a stronger reinforcement above."

"Can you get through it?" Micah asked her, lowering his arms. "That's probably where the incriminating documents as to who the buyers are might be."

"Of course."

Fleur went to work while I wandered inside the room to investigate further. I moved between the cages, invisible to the beings trapped in them. My stomach churned seeing the result of The Alchemist's experimentation.

Looking at the size of the eyes and any other perceivable human characteristics, I validated that they were all, indeed, children. For all their current grotesquely and perhaps somewhat beautiful forms, at their core, they hadn't even grown into adulthood.

They're just children.

I grit my teeth.

Longer shelf life and easier to source.

Micah's words echoed in my mind when he explained why The Alchemist utilized kids for her so-called "living art pieces."

I put on a face mask and pulled out a dark yellow potion from my pocket, a concentrated and modified form of mulungu tea, generally utilized as a tea to help relax one's nerves and doze off. However, this variation that Jarvis cultivated included a blend of sacred basil and celestial moringa and was imbued with hemp extract from the ancient Hempwood Groves just south of the Celestial Mountain Range.

I uncorked the vial and swirled the contents, releasing a fine mist into each of the cages.

The plan still included Julius exploding the tower and using the distraction to get the children in the orphanage to safety. However, with this potion, the victims of The Alchemist would die quickly and painlessly in their sleep.

I walked a second round, spraying each of the cages a second time for good measure.

One by one, the creatures in each of the cages started to sway, their eyelids growing heavy. They succumbed to the soothing aroma, falling into a deep, restful sleep.

I watched the seaweed-bird creature close its eyes and rest its head on its cage floor.

I sighed, frustrated.

Was it really the best I could do for them? Put them to sleep for a painless death?

However, given how I had no way of reversing the physical damage these children had endured, in the limited amount of time available to me, this was indeed the best course of action.

Damn it.

I walked back to Micah and Fleur, who appeared ready to move up the stairs.

[[ The snake wasn't here. ]]

"Then it's likely above as well," Micah replied, ushering me to follow up.

The third floor had more light than the first two floors, with one of the tower's windows open and allowing light to flood inside—sunbeams sliced through the dimness, illuminating floating dust particles that floated in the glow. The air was thick with the musty scent of old age, tinged with a hint of mildew and ancient stone.

"Fleur, are you noting any traps or mana-embedded locks here?" Micah asked, his voice echoing softly in the stillness.

"Yes. Many. From here to there." Fleur extended her finger across the eastern part of the tower wall, indicating the shelves of books and scrolls housed hidden mechanisms. "I'll begin working on them."

"Perhaps one of these contains what we need," Micah muttered, following after her.

My attention, however, was drawn to a small cage sitting on the lone desk in the room, positioned directly in the beam of light from the window. Inside, a coiled black snake with deep purple eyes stared back at me, its scales shimmering ominously.

A strange drop formed in my stomach.

Staring at me?

I walked around the room, and the snake's head turned to follow my movements, its gaze unbroken and unnervingly focused.

I moved close up to the small cage, now certain that it could see me.

[[ Apophis? ]]

It felt somewhat silly posing the question, but given that I had experience conversing with a chicken, a snake possessing intelligence and the ability to read, it was hardly out of the scope of possibilities. Especially one that was banished from another realm into this one for causing notable harm and destruction there, and one that the System took the time and care to point out.

I stared at the snake in silence, with just the shuffling of Fleur and Micah working behind me, going through the various documents and scrolls.

Just as I wondered if the System had pulled some grand joke on me, a hiss sounded, and words flowed into my mind.

I haven't heard that name in so long~ And that form of communication—I recognize it. Only Players are familiar with it and use it. Is there a Game taking place in this realm?

Apophis slithered within its cage, moving closer toward me.

Ah~ But you cannot be a Player. You have those eyes. Phoenix eyes. The Awakened are not possible to possess. The rules state that they can pass on the possession to another in the event of a Summoning.

Unless something else is afoot?

I could almost hear the smile through the snake's voice.

Ah~ Well, I've been stuck here for so long the rules may have changed.

I took note of this. Now, I knew at the very least that I wouldn't ever have to worry about my body getting possessed by one of these outsiders after this Game ended.

[[ And who are you to have been banished to this realm for so long? Were you a Player? ]]

Me? A mere Player?

Apophis slithered inside the cage, its hissing reminding me of laughter.

Oh, no~ I was a god—Ruler of Darkness and God of Chaos. I was a Celestial, a deity of my realm until some pest came along and ruined everything.