Chapter 226 (2): Philosopher’s Stone

Charlotte nodded with a smile and shared a few quiet words with her colleagues before stepping out of the meeting room, planning to rest tonight and head to the mission location tomorrow.

Wayne and Veronica followed Silvia back to her office. When Wayne handed the mission document to Silvia, she shook her head and said, “This is your mission. I won’t take part in it. Fifteen days is enough as long as you two don’t play around too much.”

Such as snuggling, flirting, and kissing in front of the auditors.

Wayne nodded, skimming through the document. They were heading to Winster to look for three Philosopher’s Stones. The document was thirty pages long and contained inaccurate information that the two candidates had to filter through to extract the useful information, through which they would find the three missing Philosopher’s Stones.

Veronica peeked over Wayne’s shoulders. “Is this a test for Holy Maiden candidates or detectives? Why is it so troublesome?”

“It’s a test of intelligence to make sure no brainless candidates can go to the next stage.”

Wayne could understand it. Putting the document in an envelope, he planned to return to the Lando Estate to study it overnight with Veronica. Veronica clicked her tongue, guessing his plan. She took the document and started reading on the side.

She would identify and exclude all the wrong answers during the day rather than waiting until the night. The scumbag was not entering her bedroom!

“Master, is there anything else you’d like to warn us about?” Wayne turned to Silvia. “You’ve passed the preliminary selection. What should we pay attention to, and what will be the auditing team’s focus while scoring us?”

“The result doesn’t matter,” Silvia said, recalling her experience. “Fifteen days are enough to ensure that you’ll pass. The challenge is how you perform during the process. If you display excellence in one aspect, be it intelligence or power, the auditing team will take note.”

Her mission had been to crack down on one of Death’s bases. She was young and reckless. Mistaking those acting as Death followers for actual heretics, she beat them all up, thus leaving a deep impression on the auditing team.

She wasn’t going to share such a humiliating experience and damage her image, so she embellished the story and suggested, “A candidate has to show both brawn and brain. Seize the chance to demonstrate your strengths, and you’ll be fine.”

Then she warned, “The known auditors are here already, while the secret ones have yet to make their appearance. Fifteen days later, the two teams will come together to give an overall score. Not a lot of time is left for the secret auditors. I’m guessing that they will create obstacles for you during the mission.”

“Also, Flora has been too quiet, which spells trouble. Be careful and don’t act too close in public.”

Silvia frowned. Flora hadn’t bought the known auditors, and the secret auditors were members of the Order of Nature with devoted faith, who wouldn’t accept bribery. She couldn’t figure out what her fake best friend was planning. Flora wasn’t going to personally seduce Wayne, was she?

How shameless of her to go after a child!

Silvia eyed Wayne for a moment. “Recently, have you met any women who pursued you or even threw themselves at you?”

There were too many!

Mona and Filomina had been especially eager, emptying his reserves so much that he had to cut the portion for Kristen.

Veronica huffed. “Hey, how many are there for you to think for such a long time?”

She knew who it could be. It had to be Vera. Senior Kristen wouldn’t have done that!

“Quiet. I’m trying to think.” Wayne shook his head at Silvia. “Don’t worry, Master. I haven’t gotten intimate with any women outside of Veronica.”

“Ooooh.” Silvia dragged the syllable out, cocking her head at her daughter. Veronica buried her face in the document she was reading as if she hadn’t heard anything.

Silvia coughed twice, once again warning the two of them to control themselves. This was a life-and-death situation, and they should avoid creating a life in the process.

“Oh, Master, the mission target is three Philosopher’s Stones. What’s special about the stones?” Wayne asked curiously.

The Philosopher’s Stones were the masterpiece of alchemy, also known as the fifth element, the transmute stone, the miracle stone, and the magic pill, applicable to anything and everything.

Wayne had read quite a lot of textbooks on magic, including ones on Philosopher’s Stones. Some lauded it, and others disregarded it. However, none actually explained what it was, maintaining the air of mystery.

“Philosopher’s Stone is a myth. I’ve never seen one, but I’ve heard plenty of stories, such as it bringing someone back to life or turning an untalented person into a powerful mage.” Silvia listed the stories she had heard before concluding, “It’s all rumors. Take them with a grain of salt, or you’ll be falling for lies.”

“Then what about the three we’re looking for?”

“They’re fake, of course.”

...Right.

There were a lot of larger-than-life stories about the Philosopher’s Stone, but the experts couldn’t say anything about what it was or where it came from. If Philosopher’s Stone was a hoax, it wouldn’t matter if the three stones were Philosopher’s Stones. If it wasn’t a hoax, such precious divine items wouldn’t be used to test the candidates. To conclude, the three stones had to be fake.

“Go home and pack. You’re setting out tomorrow morning, so remember to go to sleep early tonight. And I do mean

sleep

. Don’t stay up

studying

.”

Head bowed, Veronica left the office with the document in her arms. She didn’t say anything until they were home. She kicked Wayne and said, “It’s your fault that Mother misunderstands us.”

“Then explain to her. Why are you yelling at me?” Wayne muttered. He told Veronica to review the document first. He would go home and pack before meeting up with her tonight.

“Remember to leave the door unlocked for me.”

“Only in your dream. I won’t even leave a window open for you.”

***

Once Wayne was home, he picked a few random clothes and put them in his suitcase, leaving Veryl to take care of the necessities for staying outdoors. Then he made a few calls and said that he would be busy for a while, asking for rain checks.

He went into the sewers and headed straight to Filomina’s manor, having dinner with her and taking the three gems from her. The red, white, and green gems could store three different types of mana. Tentacles reached out of the vertical crack in his chest, taking the gems in.

It was his bag of holding!

It wasn’t big, so it only stored important items such as the antique silver coins and the Ring of Fire Element. He had already exhausted the elements stored in the rings he had acquired before. He kept the Ring of Fire Element only for its looks since it was a spellcasting item, and his affinity with fire elements was too good for him to need it.

“What have I been sleeping with?” Filomina’s eyes twitched when she saw Wayne’s chest split open. She pressed a hand to his chest. “There’s a heartbeat, but do you really have a heart?”

“That’s an ancient god for you. Congratulations on being the first woman to ever bed an ancient god.”

Wayne gave her a thumbs-up. Not only did he look like an ancient god, but he was also the Death Knight, the Darkness Knight, and soon-to-be Sun Knight. Filomina had managed to collect so many faiths by sleeping with one man. How amazing she was.

“Transform again for me,” Filomina urged. She wanted to see her boyfriend’s elven state to replace the mental image of the eldritch horror.

“I can’t say no to you...”

Wayne sighed, following Filomina into her dark domain. Soon, two stunning elves embraced each other.

***

“Why are you so late?”

In the young lady’s mansion in Lando Estate, Veronica was reading the document in her study. She pointed at the clock on the wall. It was ten o’clock at night. The scumbag was always tardy.

“Can’t help it. A black cat intercepted me and led me astray.” Wayne sighed, blaming Monica.

He couldn’t bear to bring up the real reason. It was such a tragic story that he was liable to shed a tear. After learning that Wayne would be away for fifteen days, Filomina, worried that her young boyfriend would mess around outside, got fifteen days' worth out of him.

Thankfully, he hadn’t been milked for nothing. He earned three gems, more or less breaking even.

“Black cat? Monica?”

“Yeah. Let’s not go into that. I’ll study the document and see what correct answers you’ve excluded.” Wayne rubbed his hands together. Since there was only one chair at the desk, he squeezed himself onto the seat. Veronica ended up in his lap.

Speaking of Monica, Wayne had asked Snow about the cat. Snow didn’t know what Monica was, but it found the black cat particularly grating.

The two scumbags met up and discussed it, convinced that Monica was related to the Goddess of Darkness and was here for Twilight Despair, waiting for the real chosen knight to emerge to make itself known.

Being held in Wayne’s arms, Veronica couldn’t stop the butterflies in her stomach. There were so many that they were crashing into each other.

Perhaps it was because she was a typical tsundere blonde, or perhaps she was just born that way; although she and Wayne had kissed and seen each other naked, she still couldn’t help but get bashful whenever they were getting intimate.

“Stop spacing out. There are three Philosopher’s Stones, so there should be three clues leading to them. Why have you identified more than ten? Where did the extra clues come from?”

“I suspect that there are hidden challenges.”

“Why?”

“That’s the case in your diary.”

...Forget my diary. You’re already in a relationship. You should quit.