Backlund, 11:30 p.m.
An alert Charlotte clenched the charm in his hand as he followed closely behind a calm Adryan.
Charlotte wore simple pants along with a white shirt and a gray jacket. And a bucket hat on his head.
While on the other hand, Adryan wore black pants and a brown jacket. He had the hood of his jacket up to hide his red hair.
"Boss where are we going?" Charlotte asked looking alert for anything strange.
Adryan kept his eyes straight ahead and responded.
"You're on the team now, remember? I have to introduce you to the other members."
Charlotte's expression soured momentarily but he quickly recovered.
"So it's like that..." the purple-eyed man muttered more to himself than to Adryan.
He discreetly took out another 2 charms from his pocket and squeezed them into his right hand.
"Could you tell me more about my new teammates Boss?" Charlotte asked curiously.
"He really has to improve how he hides the charms." Flora commented upon seeing the poor attempt the young man made.
Adryan smiled as he answered.
"Of course Charlotte, for now there aren't many of us but that will be solved with time."
"How many exactly Boss?" Charlotte asked with a frown.
"Counting you now we are 5." Adryan answered calmly while Charlotte only nodded slightly.
Charlotte narrowed his eyes slightly.
'I think I overestimated the team a bit if there are so few...' he thought to himself but then shook his head.
As if he could read his mind, Adryan responded.
"You don't have to worry about the strength of the team. We are all Beyonders and very competent, we can protect ourselves."
Given this information, the purple-eyed man was taken by surprise.
"All?" he couldn't help but ask.
Adryan nodded with a smile.
"All."
Charlotte was lost in his thoughts.
'If all the members of the team are Beyonders that's a considerable force...'
'To raise so many Beyonders according to uncle's notes, a lot of money is needed and someone strong to control and guide them...'
He looked at Adryan's back and nodded slightly.
'It makes sense that it would be so having such a monster as a boss. I doubt someone like him would accept someone weak in his team...'
He still remembered the intensity of the flame deep within the etheric body of the man in front of him.
He was sure that if Adryan wanted he could kill him and he couldn't do anything to defend himself.
Knowing this did not scare him, quite the opposite.
It made him much more excited!
'This just makes me want to follow this man even more!' he thought with a shaky smile as he followed Adryan.
Watching out of the corner of his eye what Charlotte was doing, Adryan could only sigh internally as he returned his attention to the front.
'I always get the weirdos...'
...
In the basement of a private warehouse.
Huff* Huff*
Sweat fell from her forehead and her breathing was rough.
Her wavy black-green hair was tied in a ponytail and her bright brown eyes gazed intently at a very tall woman who was looking at her seriously.
"Come on Hazel, if you want to complete the challenge you have to be faster than this." Sasha said with a smile as she took a few steps to the side.
Clink* Clink*
There were small silver bells tied to her waist with a red cord.
Gulping in breaths, Hazel tried to get up but fell to one knee.
"Give me...a...moment..." she said tiredly as she fell to the ground.
At that, Sasha sighed and walked towards the green-haired girl.
"After moving so much you shouldn't sit down, get up and walk." she advised with a smile, her serious expression gone.
Sasha stopped next to Hazel and held out her hand to her.
"Yes Yes, I understand." Hazel said between breaths as she extended her left hand towards Sasha's.
But before touching her, she threw dirt at Sasha's eyes with her right hand while kicking with her left leg at her face.
When she did that, Sasha's expression turned serious, and moving her head to the side she dodged the handful of dirt and with her right arm blocked the kick.
Hazel didn't stop but using her hand as support, she did a 360-degree turn and tried to kick her with her other leg but this time Sasha stepped back and dodged the kick.
Taking advantage of the inertia of her kick, Hazel got up and jumped back several times, and gave Sasha a serious look.
"That was a good move. But you have to be faster than that." Sasha said with a smile at the green-haired girl's dirty trick.
In the Beyonder world, there is no honor so the more dirty tricks you have the better.
At the compliment, Hazel smiled mischievously as she extended her left fist.
"Thanks Sasha but I think you dropped this." she then opened her hand.
Clink* Clink*
Now the little silver bells were in her control.
Sasha just looked at her side and seeing that the bells weren't there she just laughed with a big smile.
"You're getting faster every time, I didn't even see when you took them."
Hazel smiled too but without showing her teeth showing her noble grace.
She tossed the bells to Sasha who caught them with extreme ease with a smile without taking her gaze from Hazel.
"This time it took you 10 minutes. How about we go for 7?" Sasha asked with a smile but before Hazel could say anything, applause rang out.
Clap* Clap* Clap*
"I'm glad to see that you guys are getting along so well, you already look like sisters." Adryan said with a smile as he entered through a hidden door.
"Boss!" "Teacher!"
Sasha and Hazel respectively called, happy to see Adryan but just as they were walking towards him Adryan raised his hand to stop them.
"Wait a minute, we have a guest and I wouldn't want to make him nervous by having so many people around him." he said calmly and the faces of both women lit up in understanding.
The first to speak was Sasha.
"So he accepted?" she asked with a bit of excitement.
Hazel on her side huffed in annoyance as she crossed her arms.
Adryan just smiled as he nodded.
"Ladies, I present to you Charlotte, the new member of the team." He introduced and a suspicious Charlotte also came out of the hidden door.
"Treat him well." he smiled.
Sasha was the first to move. She calmly walked up to Charlotte and held out her hand to him.
"Nice to meet you Charlotte. I'm Sasha Strauss and I'm a Pugilist."
Charlotte listened to the presentation surprised and looked at Sasha as if she had grown another head.
'Did she really tell me her Pathway just like that?' He thought a little stunned but controlling himself he took her hand.
"Charlotte Silk, Mystery Prier." He returned the greeting and Sasha's smile grew.
"I hope we get along very well" she finished with a smile, separating her hand from the purple-eyed man who nodded.
Charlotte turned to look at Hazel who snorted but still reached out to him and held out her hand.
"My name is Hazel, a Marauder."
Charlotte took her hand and nodded.
He then looked around and raising an eyebrow asked.
"Boss, didn't you say that we are five? Where is the missing one?"
"Oh right, Nathan isn't in Backlund right now. If I'm not mistaken the circus should be in Awwa County." Adryan responded calmly as he turned to look at Sasha who nodded in confirmation.
"What is he doing in Awwa County?" Charlotte couldn't help but ask.
"Clowning around and hiding." Adryan responded with a mischievous smile and this confused Charlotte.
Faced with Adryan's attitude, Sasha just rolled her eyes and answered Charlotte's question.
"He's out of Backlund to avoid a few things but he should be back the first week of September."
At that, Charlotte just nodded grateful to the woman.
He wouldn't ask anymore because he still didn't have the confidence to ask those things.
He moved a little to face the three of them and have them in view.
He looked around the training ground and returning his attention to the rest of the team he asked.
"So what do we do now?"
Adryan smiled.
"We will tell you how to digest the potion." When he said that he felt like something was squeezing him hard but he still kept his smile.
"To digest?" Charlotte repeated confused.
Despite feeling like something deep in his body was slowly tightening, Adryan still kept his smile.
He turned to see Sasha and calmly said.
"Sasha, would you do us the honor of explaining the Method and the characteristics to Charlotte?"
The squeeze he felt increased but again Adryan kept his expression without showing any change.
'The pain I felt when resurrecting is greater than that of this useless contract, in comparison, the bite of a mosquito hurts more.' the redhead thought as he leaned against a pillar from the training ground and crossed his arms over his chest.
Sasha nodded with a smile.
"Of course boss, it would be my honor."
Sasha turned to look at Charlotte and her expression turned serious.
'What is this sudden change of personality? Is this really the same smiling woman from before?' Charlotte thought as he unconsciously straightened his back.
Hazel on the other side didn't say anything, she only moved until she was next to Adryan and also leaned against the pillar. Using the same pose as Adryan.
Adryan watched this out of the corner of his eye and couldn't help but feel a little warm inside.
"She may be an arrogant brat but she's still a kid." Flora commented calmly.
And she was right, Hazel had just turned 17 last May.
'This contract is seriously annoying. Shouldn't Hunters Hallow block its influence on me because it affects my soul? Perhaps it broke when I wasn't looking?' The redhead joked a bit but wasted no time in returning to the topic.
'No...I don't think it works like that. I signed the contract at my own will so Hunters Hallow can't do anything. Unless I don't endanger my soul the robe won't work...'
An idea struck him like a bolt of lightning that caused the corners of the redhead's lips to rise slightly.
'And what if I force it to act? Although it is dangerous I can feel that the influence of the contract is not as strong as when I was a Provoker or when I had just advanced to Pyromaniac.'
The redhead could feel that if he advanced to Sequence 5 he could easily break the contract without having to worry too much about the backlash of doing so.
But he wouldn't wait that long, he didn't like having a snake suffocate him for saying something that shouldn't be said.
'When I fully digest the potion I can try to break the contract and force Hunters Hallow to act.'
'Now I can only have an idea of what would happen if I broke it but I'm sure that one of the things that will be hit will be my soul, just what Hunters Hallow protects.'
Adryan's smile turned sharp.
'Now is dangerous because I can feel that the backlash will still be very strong and if I try to break it now it will be a very bad idea... Only by digesting the potion I will be able to bear it and free myself from this crap.'
'Maybe advancing to Conspirator would be safer but that means less chance for Hunters Hallow to active. The best time will be when Pyromaniac is digested...'
With a plan ahead, Adryan looked at Charlotte who was still silent trying to understand what he had said.
He chuckled quietly at this, he pulled back his hood and let his red hair run free.
Running a hand through his hair and feeling its softness, the redhead looked at the young man and said.
"Did you manage to understand what Sasha said or do you need her to repeat it again?"
Charlotte tensed for a few seconds before shaking his head slightly.
"No need... I understood what she said."
"Then what you should focus on now is digesting the potion before advancing to Melee Scholar." Adryan said before turning to Sasha.
"How are you doing with the potion?"
Sasha smirked and raising her arm she flexed it showing her big muscles.
"I'm doing very well boss! At the rate I'm going I should be able to digest it before the end of the year."
"That's good. Good job Sasha." Adryan praised honestly.
"Thanks boss!"
The redhead looked away from the happy Sasha and turned to look at Hazel who was slightly pursing her lips.
"What about you Hazel? How is your potion coming?"
Hazel's expression brightened quite a bit but maintaining her noble grace she only allowed herself to smile.
"Teacher since I've been with you the speed of digestion of the potion has accelerated. This shows me that your teaching methods are vastly superior to Teacher Flora's." Saying that Hazel was silent for a few seconds, as if she had realized that she said something rude to an old person.
The corners of Adryan's lips turned up in amusement.
"Ungrateful brat!" Flora yelled in annoyance at the insult Hazel had unintentionally thrown at her.
Recovering herself, the noble continued as if nothing had happened.
"I'm sure I'll be able to fully digest it in 2 more weeks at the most."
"That's good, good job Hazel." The redhead praised and Hazel beamed proudly.
She then turned to see a thinking Charlotte and smirked at him.
Charlotte, who was still processing the information from earlier, was caught off guard by this and looked at Hazel in confusion but before he could say anything, Adryan spoke.
"How have you been holding up the ravings?"
"Excuse me?" Charlotte asked not understanding.
Adryan just shrugged and said.
"You know. The ravings. The ravings you should be listening to every once in a while from a pervert who likes to whisper in people's ears? Any bells ring?"
Understanding flashed in Charlotte's eyes as he stared at Adryan in astonishment.
"How do you know?!" At Charlotte's outburst, Sasha and Hazel went on guard but Adryan only raised an eyebrow.
"Every Beyonder who has had time in this world knows the specialty of the Mystery Pryer." He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world and Charlotte closed his mouth.
Adryan looked at Sasha and Hazel and with a hand signal, they calmed down.
He looked at Charlotte.
"Let's do this again. How are you doing with the ravings?"
Charlotte looked seriously at Adryan. After a few seconds, he answered.
"I'm holding up fine. It only had come once or twice every two months so far and as long as I ignore it it goes away after about 5 minutes normally."
He continued.
"Do you know what the ravings I'm hearing are?"
Adryan nodded calmly.
"It's not exactly ravings, the correct way to call it would be the whispering of a peeking pervert."
He had said it with extreme naturalness and without importance.
This naturalness quite took everyone present by surprise, much more Charlotte.
"What?" Charlotte asked with a frown, his mind working overtime.
Sasha and Hazel also looked at Adryan not understanding what he said.
Not wanting to upset the young man further, Adryan explained.
"What you are hearing are the whispers of an Evil God."
Charlotte's brain shorted out as did Sasha's and Hazel's.
"An evil God?" Charlotte unconsciously repeated and Adryan nodded.
"More specifically the top of your pathway, he has a habit of whispering and watching the Mystery Pryers in their promotions as well as whispering information to them."
"If you're wondering the answer is no. The knowledge and information he whispers are pure and without any form of corruption, it's just that the way he delivers it is the worst."
"I don't know if you're interested in knowing his name he is called Hidden Sage but I affectionately call him Perverted Whisperer."
The trio was looking at Adryan as if he had gone completely crazy.
That guy had just insulted a God!
And not just one insult but several!
From not using 'He' or 'They' with God and even giving a God a nickname!
"Hey! Just because you're the blessed of a God doesn't give you the right to insult another!" Flora screamed in disbelief.
She only hoped she wouldn't be struck down by lightning in the form of divine retribution for the blasphemy Adryan had just committed.
"An Evil God is still a God, Adryan! You can't just insult them!" Flora yelled and Adryan just shrugged.
The people present took a while to recover and when they did they looked at Adryan with different emotions ranging from surprise, respect, admiration, and disbelief.
Recovering himself, Charlotte asked with some fear.
"Mr. Adryan... What will happen to me when I fail to understand the information from the Hidden Sage?"
He wasn't crazy enough to call a God by the nickname Adryan had given him.
That was dancing with death!
"The usual thing. You'll lose control turning into a monster or you'll die." Adryan said calmly and Charlotte paled.
'Why Uncle would leave me the formula for such a dangerous path! Didn't he know the danger that this Path had?!' Charlotte thought, unable to help but feel betrayed. He lowered his head and clenched his teeth and fists tightly.
Seeing how the young man was, Adryan just sighed and walked up to the young man and placed his hand on his shoulder making him look at him.
"Since you agreed to join this team you will never have to worry about that happening because it never will." he said confidently and Charlotte looked at him in astonishment.
"How would you do that?" He couldn't help but ask that and Adryan smiled.
"Do you believe in any God? Like the Evernight Goddess, Lord of Storms or God of Steam and Machinery, or any of the other 4?"
'Even now he continues to insult the Gods...' Charlotte thought dazedly before shaking his head.
"No Boss. My family has never believed in any God for as long as I can remember and the only times I have prayed to them have been for the making of Charms and rituals."
When he answered he got an idea of what the redhead wanted to do and he looked at him seriously.
"Boss, do you want me to pray to one of the 7 righteous Gods to receive their protection when the Hidden Sage's whispers come?"
At this, Adryan nodded with a soft smile and answered.
"That would be for the best but what will happen is that you will be ignored. The Gods will not help you because you are not useful to them. Why would they help you without receiving anything in return?"
Saying that, Adryan shook his head.
"You can try if you want but exactly what I said will happen."
"At that time you will be alone and waiting for your death for failing to process the information he whispered to you." the redhead said regretfully but then smiled.
"But don't worry. I have the perfect solution to your problem!"
"Which is boss?" Charlotte asked eagerly.
What Adryan had said had scared the hell out of him and now he was afraid of when the next whisper would come.
Could he take it?
Would he survive?
Seeing the clear anxiety Charlotte had, Adryan smiled victoriously within himself.
He used the corner of his eye and watched as Sasha and Hazel were also uncomfortable.
'I really want to know how different a Conspirator is from a Pyromaniac.' Adryan thought, and looking into Charlotte's scared purple eyes, he smiled softly and his gaze relaxed.
He looked at Sasha and Hazel and said calmly and believingly.
"I would like to speak to you about my lord."
The trio looked confused at Adryan who kept his smile.
Long live Gaslighting!
'Is it okay to spread the belief of your God like this?' Flora thought worriedly as she saw what Adryan had done but quickly cut her thoughts short and entered Cogitation.
She would not meddle in God's business.