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nIt was no wonder that the bald leader said that this Mystical Artifact could scare away even Evil Spirits.

nVale could believe him after sensing the demonic aura coming out of it.

nHe immediately closed the treasure box as he recalled how the leader was also quite quick in opening and closing this box. Vale shook his head at this thought as he took a deep breath before entering his Phantasm State…

nAfter doing this, he noticed that his Diving Lightning Spell Light was still dimmed. It means that even after quite some time had passed, he still couldn’t cast the spell.

n‘I wonder how long is the cooldown of this spell.’ Vale silently thought but immediately shifted his attention to his Darkness Manipulation Spell.

nUnlike the Divine Lightning, it has a quick cooldown, so he can use it once again.

nHe swiftly cast the spell and gathered the surrounding Dark Energy to isolate the treasure box.

nHe was afraid that once he opened it again, it would be sensed by some other Arcanists who were passing by.

nAfter being satisfied with the thick darkness around the box, he opened it once again and checked all the items inside.

nAside from the demonic mask, there is also a bundle of cash and pieces of gold coins.

nGold coins weren’t the currency of Millton Kingdom, so they must be from another country or perhaps, it is the currency of the Snake Brotherhood.

nVale chuckled at this random thought as he continued checking the box.

nThere is a small dagger inside, designed quite similarly to the Demonic Mask. The dagger’s sheath had a demonic face on it, and the blade itself was made of black metal.

nVale had no clue what metal it was, but it was certainly heavy. It weighs around 3 kilograms, which was quite surprising for a dagger that is only about 20 cm long.

nVale picked up the dagger and found no issues with it.

nThrough his Phantasm State, he noticed that both the mask and the dagger had a white flame inside, which is quite uncommon for Mystical Artifacts.

nIn the Academy, they taught them how to identify the powers of Mystical Artifacts through the energy that they can see after entering their phantasm state.

nIt may not allow them to determine the exact power that it has, but it would at least give them an idea of where it can be used.

nAs for the white flame he’s seeing, he recalled that it’s actually for summoning…

n‘Summoning Ability? Are these items meant to be used in rituals?’ Vale pondered.

nAnyway, he doesn’t know the side effects of these items so he was hesitant to keep them in his body.

nHe returned them inside the box and only took out the cash inside.

nThe cash was only about 900 zen, which is quite pitiful for a leader of a large organization.

nAt this moment, Vale suddenly felt something off and Yvaine also warned him.

n“We’re being observed.”

n“Yes… I guess my Extrasensory Perception also works, even if I’m not activating it.” Vale muttered as he stood up to be ready.

n“Yvaine, can you see whether you can bring this box inside my shadow?”

n“I can…” Yvaine answered, which surprised Vale for a moment.

nHe wasn’t expecting anything when he asked Yvaine. After all, he had a similar experience with Lotus regarding this matter.

nThen, Vale noticed that Yvaine’s obsidian ring lit up and covered the box before she carried it inside his shadow…

nAfter Yvaine came back, the box was no longer in her hands.

n“How did you do that?” Vale asked curiously.

n“They’re here…” Instead of answering, Yvaine warned Vale again.

nVale also acted as he jumped away from the window.

nBoom!

nA huge humanoid figure suddenly came crashing through the window of his hotel room!

nGraahhh!

nTo Vale’s surprise, it was a Slender Zombie!

nFurthermore, it was wearing various items on its body that made Vale tremble. Whatever these pieces of equipment are, they are certainly made to deal with him!

nThere were Holy Artifacts among them and the others were things he had never seen before.

n“Yvaine! Get back! Don’t get out of my shadow at all costs!”

nHe immediately shouted as he was afraid that Yvaine might die once again. Although he’s powerful now, Vale didn’t want to lose another Dark Spirit to a Slender Zombie!

nAs soon as Yvaine disappeared, Vale also made his move as he decided not to cause more destruction in the hotel room.

nHe didn’t engage in a battle, afraid that he would get entangled for too long. He escaped the place by activating the Nymph Scale, allowing him to have full control of his body. This Artifact is certainly much better than his Nimble Talon in terms of utilizing his strength and agility.

nThud!

nVale landed on the dark alley near the hotel he had rented as he surveyed the surroundings with his Divine Sense…

n“Larkin?” Vale was shocked as he sensed the man’s presence about 30 meters away from him. He probably thought that his Magic Zone wouldn’t reach him as he sat comfortably on the balcony overlooking the mess he had created.

nVale’s expression then turned serious after noticing another person beside Larkin…

nSummoning Arts Practitioner with 9 filled Spell Lights.

nThis feedback from the Divine Sense allowed him to understand what was going on. If he wasn’t mistaken, this summoner was the one who ordered those crows to observe his movement.

nHe’s definitely Larkin’s accomplice!

n‘So he followed me here to take revenge?’ Vale smirked as he ran toward Larkin’s position while the Slender Zombie followed after.

nThis Necromancer was actually a customer of a brothel and wasn’t afraid to create so much trouble.

nVale had to move quickly before the people of the Churches, including the Elite Units of the Twelve Factions, arrived at the scene.

nLarkin realized that Vale had somehow found him, which baffled him for a moment. After all, the Slender Zombie he sent has an item that hides their connection to each other.

nIt means that Phantasm State shouldn’t help Vale locate his presence.

n“Tsk…” Larkin grumbled as he didn’t want to get caught by the Church either.

nIn the end, he signaled to his friend to stop Vale from coming, but in the blink of an eye, three enormous Ghost Hands appeared in front of his face!

n‘So fast?!’

nIt was definitely faster than when they battled before!

nLarkin jumped back and summoned his Phantom Knight to protect him, but it was still too slow!

nThe Ghost Hand grabbed his shoulder, ripping it apart!

n“Aahhhh!” Larkin shouted in pain but he retreated steadily.

nIn the meantime, Larkin’s companion didn’t bother him as he finished his ritual and summoned a beaver with a small branch of redwood in its mouth.

n𝑖.𝘤ℴ𝘮

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