Chapter 32: The Calm Before the Storm

Raindrops fell freely from the sky, splashing onto the ground into puddles of water. The window was like a wall that separated the indoors from the outdoors into two distinct worlds.

It had been nearly twelve months since the last summer. The weather wasn't particularly cold—at the very least, there was no need to light the fireplace.

Avia sat up in bed as she read through a small notebook filled with densely packed handwriting, graceful and neat. It was far better than Wang Yu's own.

At some point, Avia had adopted Wang Yu's habit of taking notes.

According to her, it was more convenient to record her notes and make calculations this way than using the margins of her magical tomes.

Wang Yu leaned against the wall by the window. He checked the contents of various pouches within his leather armor.

He took a few palm-sized vials from his backpack. Within each vial was a pale green liquid, with some sediment suspended within.

Wang Yu then took a paper packet from his armor, carefully portioned out the red power inside, divided it, and then poured it into the vials. He shook each vial gently.

Soon, the powder began to dissolve into the liquid. He cast a minor spell, producing a small flame that warmed the bottoms of the glass vials at just the right temperature.

As he shook the vials gently, the powder dissolved under the heat of the flame.

The liquid slowly began to change color from green to yellow, then red. It solidified and turned pale until it resembled the color of skin.

Satisfied, Wang Yu snuffed out the flame in his hand and upended the glass vials, having produced several cylindrical, candle-like objects.

"Well? These look like the scented candles used all over this villa, don't they?" Wang Yu was very happy with his success. He showed off his "candles" to Avia, who was still going over her notes.

"They do look almost identical. We should be able to trick everyone easily," Avia replied, having carefully studied the "candles" in Wang Yu's hand.

"I might lack talent in alchemy, but it seems like I have a knack for herbalism, at least." Wang Yu shook his head and began to make more "candles."

"Well, alchemists are a rather proud bunch. They look down on what they consider merely mixing a bunch of random things together and shaking them up. That's why they kicked herbalism out of alchemical studies," Avia remarked. She smiled as she glanced at Wang Yu.

"Aren't you an alchemist yourself?" Wang Yu chatted with Avia as he continued the rote manipulation."

"I'll be the exception," Avia replied.

"Of course you are." Wang Yu nodded.

"How so?" Avia intentionally shifted her gaze away from Wang Yu and into her notebook.

"For one, you're a genius—you're way better than most alchemists. Besides, you don't seem prideful to me. They say that weakness isn't a sin: pride is. All in all, you're full of wonderful qualities!"

Wang Yu spoke earnestly as he placed the "candles" he had prepared into a small metal box.

"Should I be happy about that, I wonder..." Avia sighed softly as she continued to hide her reddened face. Wang Yu's blunt sincerity was very typical of him.

"I'd be happy if I had half your good qualities," Wang Yu replied, smiling.

The convivial atmosphere in the room was very pleasant. If not for the impending conflict and danger they were about to face, it could have been a lovely night—but unfortunately, the events to come wouldn't allow this summer night to remain quite so perfect.

"I'll be scouting around the manor, then. With that spell scroll for Invisibility and my latent ripple ability, I should be able to hide from everyone's sight. Once I swap out these candles and figure out roughly where your mother is, we'll be good to go." Wang Yu continued his preparations as he discussed the plan with Avia.

"Just be careful. My mother should have heard your ripple-transmitted message." Avia set her notebook down.

"It won't be a problem, I'm sure. Next, we'll use meditation to find her through our shared mindscapes. It's a pity we don't have any precise machines for a two-point location spell. Otherwise, we'd be able to identify her exact location with two meditation sessions," Wang Yu said. There would still be some uncertainty in finding Avia's mother with their current plan.

When Wang Yu mentioned "precise machines," Avia paused for a moment, as if she had a question she wanted to ask. In the end, however, she decided to listen quietly.

"If the plan goes smoothly, you'll have to face your uncle alone while I handle those attendants of his. Do you think you'll be alright? That room feels very strange, and it doesn't look as if he intends to leave it."

"It's not a problem. Don't underestimate me, Wang Yu!" Avia puffed up her cheeks and flexed. Surprisingly, her slender arms really were somewhat muscular.

"Not bad—it looks like you really took my advice." Wang Yu raised his eyebrows as he glanced at her arm. He was pleasantly surprised to learn that she had actually been doing some physical exercise.

"Well, you were the one who said that a good magician should be able to run fast, jump high, and be strong—so that even if I don't have any mana, I'll be able to bash an enemy's head in with my staff, like this Rebecca you keep mentioning."

Avia shrugged. She spread her palms to show that she didn't, in fact, have a staff.

"You've done very well. How many magicians would actually have taken that advice to heart?"

He really did mean it as a sincere compliment. A magician with some physical training would be able to handle surprises in combat far better than one without.

He wasn't underestimating Avia; her destructive power was unmatched and far beyond his own, but he occasionally worried about her close-combat abilities.

Knowing that she had trained her body made him feel much more at ease.

Wang Yu had insisted that she learn a number of self-buffing spells like Wind's Blessing, Rock's Will, and Giant's protection. With those spells active, anyone who underestimated her would surely pay a hefty price.

"You noticed how strange that room was, didn't you? From what my ripple ability could discern, there were a few statues hidden within it that emanated a special energy that blocks my connection to the void... some statues of a dark god, perhaps."

Wang Yu steered the topic of conversation back to Decaphon. He had been planning to invoke the Nightblades' name to handle the fallout from his plan, not anticipating that this really might be a matter that concerned the Nightblades after all.

He wasn't sure whether it was good or bad. In general, however, dark gods usually made things far more complicated and chaotic.

"I did sense it, but I'll be fine. If you can take on so many foes, Wang Yu, then I can handle my uncle, with or without a dark god's protection! I won't be the one holding you back."

Avia's void affinity far outstripped Wang Yu's. Her innate talent made her exceptionally capable in all void-related matters, and she had naturally noticed the strange energy in that room.

"Don't worry. If something happens, I'll rush back as quickly as I can to handle it."

Wang Yu waved a hand. He had absolute confidence in Avia's abilities, though they had always fought as a team with Wang Yu up front and Avia attacking from behind. This was the first time they were splitting up.

Wang Yu finished preparing his candles and counted them. There were just enough to cover the entire manor, roughly.

He didn't intend to delay. The rain was ideal for his plan. Tomorrow night would be the start of the storm.

After putting on a waterproof cloak he had prepared in advance and securing the candles to his belt, Wang Yu was ready to set off.

"Avia, let's get moving. Hand me the scroll of Invisibility, please." Wang Yu extended a hand to Avia.

"Alright. "Avia took out the long-lasting scroll of Invisibility that had cost a small fortune. Unlike ordinary scrolls of Invisibility that only lasted half an hour, this one would last six.

She jumped down from the bed and moved to Wang Yu's side, where she hesitated for a few seconds. Instead of handing over the scroll, she leaned into Wang Yu's chest.

Avia closed her eyes and rested her face against his firm chest. The warm skin and solid muscle she could sense gave her a sense of security.

Avia's body was far more delicate than Wang Yu's. He felt as if a small cat had curled up against him—soft, warm, and not heavy at all. It was surprisingly pleasant.

"Wang Yu, thank you so much for everything this past year. You've been a tremendous help. Without you, I'd never have freed myself from the bandits' lair—and now, you're even willing to risk all this danger to help me. I truly can't thank you enough."

She pressed her face against his chest. Her quiet words reached his ears.

Wang Yu had never asked Avia for anything. He was helping her out of the kindness of his heart, and he had taken care of so much for her over their year at the forest academy.

She knew why he had done it: he owed her his life, and had given his word to serve her for an entire year.

Wang Yu was an honest, straightforward person who kept his promises and really did stand by her side for the entire year. He helped her with no hidden motives and always cheered her up with his genuine optimism and directness.

He was always willing to step up, even in such troublesome situations. It was hard not to have feelings for someone like that.

"Hardly, hardly." Wang Yu smiled, patted the young woman on the shoulder, and gave her a thumbs up.

"Trust me—leave those mercenaries and your mother to me." Wang Yu squeezed Avia's hand reassuringly as he headed out the door.

With a flash of light, the scroll activated. Wang Yu's figure vanished.

Avia remained standing. She continued to watch the door even as it closed. His lack of emotional sensitivity—she couldn't help but shake her head in exasperation.

Still, now that he'd gone to such lengths to comfort her, she could hardly let her knight down. She picked up the notebook she'd set down on the bed and resumed studying as she poured her focus into the tasks ahead of her.

Deep down, however, she couldn't help but think that Wang Yu was beyond oblivious. Did he honestly not pick up on anything from her actions earlier?

"Hmm?" One of the "attendants" who had been moving through the villa suddenly sensed something and cocked his head to the side.

"It feels like something just went by. Was it merely my imagination...?" He scratched his head in confusion as he glanced at his surroundings, then turned to leave—only to whirl back around with uncanny speed. He flung several objects outward in a fan-shaped arc. The sound of metal embedding itself into the walls echoed through the corridor.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"Tch... Guess I really am just getting jumpy. It's a shame about the wall, but hey, it's not mine."

He strode over to the wall and considered the metal blades embedded in it. His tone wasn't regretful or apologetic at all—if anything, there was a hint of amusement in it.

After confirming that it was all just a false alarm, the "attendant" left humming.

Wang Yu, crouched by the floor, sighed in relief.

He had been on high alert as he traversed the villa, and had instantly acted the moment he came across the "attendant."

He had instinctively pressed himself against the floor and narrowly dodged the flurry of blades.

He studied how the blades were lodged in the wall. "A strength coefficient of about 0.8... Probably just a regular human, but with specialized training. Troublesome, but manageable in small numbers."

These "attendants" seemed particularly skilled in stealth and subterfuge, with keen instincts and senses. If there were too many of them, Wang Yu wasn't certain that he would be able to handle them all.

He would need to find a way to create favorable conditions to even the odds.

His second-tier scroll of Invisibility would render him undetectable by sight, and his ripple ability, which could nullify any sound he made, would render him undetectable by sound.

Even so, Invisibility was a delicate spell that was easily disrupted.

Even slight motion could cause spatial distortions, and casting any additional spells or magic would dispel the effect immediately.

Wang Yu's control over his ripple ability wasn't fully developed, either. His fine control was lacking, and all he could do for the moment was nullify sound. The breeze that his motion would create and the traces he left in the dust could be noticed.

That was why he had almost been detected earlier—but fortunately, he had been on guard.

Quietly, Wang Yu began to replace the luxurious candles used throughout the hallways with the ones he had made with a special blend of herbs. When lit, the candles would spread a unique scent throughout the villa.

These "attendants" were hardly professional housekeepers, a fact that worked to Wang Yu's advantage. They were less likely to notice changes in the air.

The human sense of smell, facilitated by the nose, had a hard time sensing gradual changes, such as the scent that his candles would release.

The candles contained a modified version of a common herb used for leisure, euphoric powder.

Wang Yu initially thought that it was a drug, given how intensely the patrons at various pubs and taverns reacted to it, but he later discovered that the people of this world had strong physical constitutions that easily allowed them to withstand the herb's effects. The rough-and-tumble folk at those pubs and taverns were all but playacting—the herb itself wasn't particularly potent.

Wang Yu's modified powder was something he had come up with himself after looking up some information from the academy library. His modifications weakened the herb's euphoric properties and enhanced its nerve-paralyzing, muscle-relaxing effects.

He had even occasionally given Avia a little to help her sleep better, though he had no need for it himself—he slept so deeply it was almost unnerving.

As for why he was using it now, his modified powder had two special effects. Firstly, it would numb and relax the muscles of anyone who inhaled it, producing a subtle but powerful effect that worked well on anyone below the level of a knight-in-training.

Secondly, for those who inhaled it, it triggered an urge to seek fresh air outdoors.

The compulsion was low-level, almost imperceptible, but potent in how persistent it was. If these mercenaries weren't absolutely loyal to Decaphon, it could very well lead to some interesting results.

Wang Yu continued to maintain his invisibility as he replaced the candles throughout the mansion. The faint scent began spreading unnoticed.

Wang Yu deliberately avoided the strange room that Decaphon was in. He couldn't quite pinpoint why, but he felt a certain threat from within. For the moment, he intended to stay out just to be safe.

He watched as the "attendants" unknowingly succumbed to the effects of the special candles and allowed himself a brief smile. Tomorrow night, when the storm began in earnest, this scent would be the noose that sealed their fates.

For now, he closed his eyes and focused on his mindscape, which unfolded before him.

He stood upon the mirror-like surface of the lake as the physical world around him receded, leaving only the endless expanse of the lake and the unchanging constellations of stars overhead.

He scanned his surroundings, letting his gaze roam freely across the lake as he searched for his target.

In the distance, a massive castle loomed, a structure that was likely almost as immense as Avia's in her own mindscape. To Wang Yu's sight, however, it appeared rather small, indicating just how far away it was from him.

"I ought to be grateful you're both so talented," he murmured. If Avia's mother weren't a genius, it would be far harder for him to find her mindscape.

With large, steady strides, Wang Yu headed toward the projection of the castle in his mind.

Tonight, silence reigned. Tomorrow, the storm would descend.