Free Web NovelChapter 116: Three Shadows
Now Zich understood.
This was not a simple competition.
This was putting himself in front of all the major powers and placing a price on him.
The risk was huge.
The reward was also huge.
The troublesome part was that he did not like being watched by too many people.
And even more troublesome was that many of his summons could not be revealed casually.
Tiamant absolutely could not be used. The moment a dragon appeared, every major faction would start investigating him.
Iron was safer, but only if he limited what it revealed.
Leech and Slimy could be used openly as well, yet overusing them carried its own risks.
The biggest problem was not winning.
It was winning while appearing ordinary.
Arthur looked at him.
"With your performance in the Gold Secret Realm, even if you do not actively register, your name will still appear on the candidate list."
"Can I refuse?"
"You can."
Zich was just about to nod when Arthur added, "But after refusing, the people paying attention to you will only become more numerous."
Those words were a trap. However, they made perfect sense.
A summoner who had just come out alive from the Gold Secret Realm and then refused public selection would only appear even more suspicious.
"This... can’t I catch a break?" Zich sighed softly.
Arthur smiled.
"The path of the strong is usually full of trouble. The first layer is nothing but a training ground for you."
"Alright, I’ll show up."
The meeting was more or less over at this point.
Arthur had everyone prepare for the human side’s small selection, and the specific time would be announced soon. The detailed personal reports from the Gold Secret Realm would be submitted one by one afterward.
Everyone stood up.
Helen walked toward Zich, seemingly wanting to say something.
But Zich spoke first.
"I have something to do."
Helen raised an eyebrow.
"You’re always like this."
"Because I really do have something to do every time."
"For example?"
"Avoiding trouble."
Helen stared at him for a few seconds, then smiled. freёwebnoѵel.com
"See you tomorrow."
"Better if we can’t see each other."
"I’ll take that as anticipation."
Zich did not respond again.
He turned and left the meeting room.
Jayden remained in his seat, coldly watching his back.
That hostility no longer needed to be concealed.
Arthur stood beside the table, looking in the direction Zich had left, his eyes carrying a thoughtful interest.
"Greedy, cautious, dangerous," he said softly.
Arnold heard him.
"What do you think of him?"
Arthur smiled.
"In a chaotic era, people like that usually live the longest."
...
By the time Zich returned to the manor, the city was already wrapped in darkness.
Street lamps illuminated the roads in long stretches of golden light while players and merchants slowly disappeared from the streets.
Most shops had already closed for the night.
Only a few taverns remained lively.
The usually noisy district around the association had become noticeably quieter.
All the way back, he had been thinking about the Chosen Ones Tournament. freёwebnovel.com
At that moment, the manor gate opened.
Zich stepped into the courtyard and suddenly stopped.
The surroundings were very quiet.
But the silence was wrong.
His eyes slowly lowered, looking at the shadow under his feet.
Moonlight and the courtyard lights interlaced across the ground.
Originally, there should have been only his shadow there.
But now, two extra black shadows were overlapping at the edge of his shadow.
Zich’s gaze instantly turned cold.
Someone had entered, and they had bypassed the manor’s defenses.
He did not immediately summon Iron, nor did he call Slimy because the other party had already moved.
The next second, a figure appeared silently in front of him.
His face was covered by black cloth, leaving only a pair of gloomy eyes visible.
The black clad man held two curved daggers, his body slightly lowered, as if he could merge into the shadows on the ground at any moment.
There was no light on the daggers.
But Zich instinctively felt danger.
The person raised their head, their voice hoarse.
"For a newbie like you to get on our radar is really unfortunate. But since you already killed one of ours, it is only right that you pay for your sins."
Zich looked at him, his expression hardly changing, though countless thoughts were racing through his mind as he wondered how this person had remained undetected for so long.
After a moment of silence, he asked in a cold tone.
"Who sent you?"
The night breeze in the courtyard was very quiet, and moonlight fell on the stone path and fountain.
It should have been a very pleasant scene, but now, the air carried a scent that did not belong here.
...Killing intent.
The other party did not answer his question immediately.
"Do I need to repeat myself before I get an answer?" Zich asked, his tone laced with annoyance.
The black clad man finally gave a low laugh.
"You killed our people, and now you still ask who sent me?"
Our people?
Once he heard that again for the second time, something clicked in his mind.
’Failures.’
That strange looking woman he had killed in the difficult dungeon, along with her two companions.
Zich had originally thought this matter would bring trouble, but he had not expected the trouble to come so quickly and enter his manor directly.
"The Failure Organization?" Zich asked.
"So you still remember."
"I have killed quite a few people," Zich said calmly.
"But those with distinctive ugliness leave a deeper impression."
...
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