n

n

n

nSouta left the pub and glanced at the system. He had a total of 71 skill points. After integrating the Galaxy Eyes, the number of skill points left in him was 38. He earned another 10 skill points for completing the quest to escape the Council's forces. The rest was earned by completing low-level missions in Athen's Guild and the quest completed by his comrades in his Dark Oculus Legion.

nSo if he completed this mission, he would have enough skill points to unlock and integrate the Star Veins. He already integrated Cosmic Body, Nebula Heart, and Galaxy Eyes, the only one left was the veins that will connect all these parts.

nHe had an idea that once he integrate all the body parts, their effects would synchronize making him more powerful than normal. His base form would experience a huge change so that it will be enough to handle the power of Cosmic Authority: Ophiuchus.

nMaybe, all these body parts were needed to contain the Cosmic Sign. He guessed that none other than these other people would be consumed by the extreme force of the Cosmic Sign.

nSo this mission wasn't just crucial for his circle but for himself too.

nHe checked the improvement of his strength in the past few weeks. The mastery of his Archetype had reached twenty-four percent and he could finally use the fifth form without suffering a backlash. Also, most of the forms that he could use had experienced a huge upgrade. Not just that, he could now use the sixth and seventh forms of the Archetype: Vajra Extremity.

nHis strength had increased in the past few weeks. Not just him, even Alice, Eztein, and Eilish.

nAlice's base form had reached the level of Intermediate Stage of S-rank. Eztein was close to breaking the first shackle while Eilish was approaching Rowan's power level. The power of his team was high and their development was fast.

nSouta walked around the dukedom and he found another pub.

nHe listened to the rumors in different pubs to know if there were any sort of similarities. He also observed the situation of the whole dukedom.

n'It looks like a normal city.' Saya commented.

nHe couldn't help but nod at her answer. The Dukedom of Halbun was normal. People wouldn't expect that there was a strange incident that occurred in this place.

nAfter a few hours of walking around the city, Souta found a street filled with people murmuring to each other. The guards were present so the situation here must be serious.

nHis high senses picked up the topic of their conversation.

n'Oh, it seems that there is another victim here.'

nSouta hide his presence and he jumped on the roof of the houses. He watched the scene from above and saw two guards carrying a corpse of a young man.

nThe young looked like he was in his twenties. He had bite marks on his neck.

n

"What is that...?

"

nBecause of his Galaxy Eyes, Souta saw a strange dark green color energy lingering around the bite marks.

n'Probably cause by some weird skills... I don't understand as it is my first time encountering this type of incident.'

nHe thought before looking around to find the energy related to it in the air.

nHmm...?

nWhat he saw was that the air in this place had a faint energy just like on the bite marks of the young man. It was scattered in the surrounding area slowly blending in the mana.

nProbably some type of camouflage so that people wouldn't be able to find the culprit easily.

n'Even the mana signature of the culprit is gone.' Saya said.

n'Yeah, it's just like Isabella's skill.' Souta nodded seriously.

nIsabella had the God of Hunt legacy. Every time she used her mana, the mana signature that she left in the atmosphere would disappear in just a minute so it will be hard to trace it.

n'That young man died six hours ago so we were too late. The mana signature disappeared too quickly. But we had a lead right now.' Souta said.

nSaya agreed with his words.

n'The faint energy on the young man's neck had the attribute of a curse and water.'

nIt means that he only needed to find a person with curse and water attributes. However, that itself was a problem. There were millions of people here and finding one person with the same attribute will be hard.

nAt the very least, they've confirmed that the culprit was still inside the dukedom. They shouldn't reveal that they were from Athen's Champion or else the culprit would lay low.

nOn the next day...

nSouta, Alice, and Eztein met together. They exchanged the information that they have gathered so far.

n

"The murder happened in a different part of the city so it's hard to know where will it happen next. I don't know if there's another pattern but don't think we could get it on the map.

" Eztein said while looking at the map on the table.

nThere were

"x

" marks on the map indicating the murder case that occurred regarding the case that they were investigating.

n

"Have you investigated the background of the victims?

" Souta asked.

n

"I've learned the background of some of them but not everyone. One day isn't enough for that. The victims are either children, adults, or elders. It feels like it's random and they aren't even related.

" Alice explained.

"Oh, I forgot, someone died yesterday and the victim had a bite mark.

"

n

"I was there yesterday. I couldn't find anything except for the curse and water attribute mana in the corpse.

" Souta said.

n

"This is a place where millions of people live. Some of those people are using basic spells in their daily lives so it's interfering with our senses with all those mana signatures. It's already great that you've sensed the attribute of the corpse.

" Alice said.

n

"I know. I want to know your opinion on this case. How to approach this case without notifying the higher-ups of this dukedom?

" Souta asked.

nHe was sure that if he asked the officials then they would receive support from the noble family but it will be too eye-catching. The culprit will notice them before they found the truth.

n

"Should we lock down the entire dukedom?

" Eztein suggested.

nSouta shook his head and said,

"It will cause a panic. Also, the higher-ups of Athen's Champion think that this case is related to some huge organization. So that's not a good idea as it will easily cause an all-out battle. A lot of people will die in this place.

"

n

"Imagine if an S-rank or higher power level fought here then all the ordinary people here will be caught in the aftershock of the battle,

" Alice said.

n

"I understand. I'm not used to this. When I was working for Union Peace, my priority was always my mission more than the lives of other people.

" Eztein replied.

"Anyway, I think we should continue our investigation boss. How about we investigate the underground? Or nobles? Or the duke's family?

"

nSouta turned silent. He rubbed his chin for a while before he opened his mouth,

"Duke's family... It will be hard to investigate them. The experts in the duke's family could rival us but... we could simply ask the citizens if there are strange things in the duke's family.

"

nHe pinched the bridge of his nose as he recalled the duke family in his previous quest. The unfortunate ending that occurred in that quest.

n

"Then, who's going to investigate the duke's family, boss? If Isabella is with us, she will be perfect for this job. Her stealth skill is simply perfect.

" Eztein said with a sigh.

n

"I'll do it.

" Alice glanced at Souta.

n

"Oh, are you sure?

" Souta asked.

n

"Yes.

" Alice nodded.

n

"Very good. Then, I'll check the other noble families in this place so the underground will be left to you Eztein.

" Souta said as he moved his eyes to Eztein.

n

"Okay, I don't have a problem with it, boss.

"

n

"If we've somehow found the culprit then don't engage immediately. Gather everyone first and we will strike together. Understand?

"

n

"Yes, boss!

"

n

"Yeah.

"

n

"Very well, let's go now.

"

nThe three left separately. They were going to investigate different things.

nIt was dark.

nEztein and Alice were going to rest first but Souta didn't want to rest. He was going to start his investigation this night. It was already their second day in the Dukedom of Halbun yet they still didn't find a solid clue regarding the murder case.

nSouta was walking in the dark alley. He could see one or two thugs in the corner murmuring to each other. They were having some sort of deal.

nHe raised his hand and grabbed his face. His face began to distort and his appearance changed.

nThe ability to control his flesh freely was helpful.

nSouta smiled inwardly and approached a thug.

n

"Huh? Who are you?!

" The thug raised his eyebrows when he saw Souta?

n

"I just want to ask some question.

"

n

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