Meeting the King

Although Carven Dill looked emotionless, almost like a robot, he was actually much easier to communicate with than Lucian.

He quickly understood what Lister meant and got straight to the point.

"I guarantee you'll be the first to explore this great ruin, and no one else will enter it in the near future."

"All I need is 20% of what you gain from exploring the ruin, plus one additional request."

Kavin did not respond, standing there as though thinking.

Lister's demand for a share of the gains was not particularly convincing.

Most people would agree verbally, then inevitably conceal what they gained from the ruin in all sorts of ways once they had the information. There was no point counting on them to share.

But Lister had a feeling Kavin would not do that. His personality was rigid and methodical, like a robot's, and he seemed like someone who would keep his word. Lister was taking a gamble.

In any case, his current level and strength were not enough to explore the ruin, and he did not have the time to do so either.

More importantly, the ruin was primarily based on alchemical technology. It was a setting where mechanical and esper class holders took center stage.

Lister himself did not have any particularly great need for what was inside.

There was another point: as the main-city ruin explored by all players in Act Four, it was actually astonishingly vast.

Kavin could not explore much of it on his own.

Lister could treat it as doing a favor for a future mechanical powerhouse. These were all reasons he was willing to share the information.

After a long while, Kavin seemed to reach a decision and spoke again.

"I agree, but our agreement is conditional on it being a ruin of the Alchemy Civilization from the previous era, and the ruin must indeed contain a complete main city, as you said. Otherwise, all terms of our cooperation are void."

"I agree!"

Lister held out his right hand. Kavin seemed to have some idea of what the gesture meant, but was somewhat reluctant.

After a moment's hesitation, he finally extended his own hand and shook Lister's.

"The location is southeast of the Kingdom of Lucian, about 2,500 to 3,000 kilometers away. There's a massive canyon there. The canyon and the riverbed beneath it are called the Lost Land, and the ruins of an alchemical city lie hidden beneath the riverbed..."

Once Lister had finished sharing the information, Kavin took a communication stone out of his pocket.

A dedicated guard unit and construction crew soon arrived, as though they had been ready to go at any moment.

Once they reached the site, the guards cleared away the debris from the explosion, and the construction crew quickly repaired the roof.

This wretched place, where disasters and accidents were always happening in the students' eyes, had once again suffered a disaster today, just as expected.

That evening, Lister straightened his clothes and headed toward the royal residence in the City of Bode.

Carven Dill was more efficient than he had imagined.

They had only finished talking that morning, and by evening the message had already been delivered, with Lister summoned to explain matters in person.

The royal residential district was located at the very heart of the City of Bode, a true city within a city.

With the pass the sixth prince had sent someone to deliver, Lister passed unhindered through the Central Council Hall at the front, where quite a few officials were still working overtime.

The farther in he went, the quieter the surroundings became.

"Are you Viscount Merrick, my lord?"

They seemed to have entered the true heart of the royal residential district. An entire row of gray-armored guards stood watch over a special entrance.

A man in a black butler's uniform stood before the guards. The moment he saw Lister, he recognized him.

After Merrick showed his pass, the man led him farther inside.

"Lister."

Outside a palace, Kavin stood quietly, idly turning a peculiar twenty-six-sided alchemical cube in his hands.

When he saw Lister approach, the cube vanished from his hands in an instant.

"Follow me."

The palace interior was not as grand and gilded as he had imagined. On the contrary, it was somewhat plain.

The decor looked old, as though it dated back many decades or even a century.

Portraits hung on both walls. Unsurprisingly, they were probably members of the Kingdom of Lucian's royal family.

Lister followed Kavin into one of the rooms on the second floor.

The room was spacious, and two men were already waiting inside.

One was a feeble old man lying in bed. His hair was gray and sparse, and his gaze seemed somewhat clouded. He wore only a thin gray garment.

With the help of the other man, a stern-faced middle-aged man at his bedside, he now sat up and leaned back against the bed.

The two began by looking Lister over, particularly the middle-aged man, whose gaze held a measure of scrutiny.

At the same time, Lister used the system to scan both of them.

[Level: Lv40]

[Class: Twisted Walker (esper type)]

[Health: 4509/4509]

[Stamina: 1419/1419]

[Attributes: Strength: 40, stamina: 40, intelligence: 40, agility: 40]

[Skills: Twist (B-rank, excellent) Lv31: Distorts the surrounding space to a certain degree, dealing 671-11909 damage. Damage depends on the degree of spatial distortion. Indomitable Heart (B-rank, excellent) Lv40: Increases all resistances and greatly boosts defense for a short time, restoring 20% health. King's Heart (B-rank, excellent) Lv40: Increases allied soldiers' damage, defense, ... for a certain period.]

[Overall evaluation: B-rank]

This was the information for the middle-aged man, the first prince Hughes.

His level was also at the maximum of 40. Of his three main B-rank skills, two had already been maxed out.

He was indeed powerful, and he possessed a rare group buff skill.

Combined with his rather unusual spatial ability, it was no wonder his overall strength was rated B-rank.

The old king in the bed beside him was also level 40, but all his attributes had weakened. Before the second class advancement, class holders had limited lifespans.

Once they reached a certain age, all their physical attributes declined. That was also why the old king had handed over power early; class holders were more sensitive to their own condition and lifespan.

Lister breathed a sigh of relief. Sure enough, exceptional individuals like Kavin were a minority in Act Two after all.

At least the strength of the Lucian Royal Family was in line with Lister's expectations, with the highest overall evaluation being B-rank.

Old King Kerry had now looked away from Lister, his attention focused more on Kavin.

"So you're Dill now?"

Kavin nodded, making no attempt to hide anything.

That was only natural. Given his strength, the royal family were the ones who ought to be wary and afraid.

A Lord Tier mechanist was an army unto himself. Kavin alone could probably wipe out the entire Kingdom of Lucian.

Lord Tier might have sounded only one rank above boss-tier, but the difference in actual strength was like heaven and earth!

"Lucian... is he all right? Does he... does he still come out often?"

"Rarely. Unless I pull him out, he hardly comes out anymore."

At that calm answer, a trace of reluctance and worry appeared on King Kerry's already aged and listless face.

"Father, we can talk about Kavin later. Let's discuss the important matter first."

It seemed the core members of the royal family were all aware of Carven Lucian's situation.

Moreover, the sixth prince had already been fading, and his second personality, Carven Dill, did not like using the Lucian surname either.

No wonder that, in the end, the Lucian Royal Family recognized only five royal family members.

"The turquoise mine?... You decide."

"I'm old. There's no need to come to me about things like this in the future."

King Kerry was not interested in the turquoise. First Prince Hughes Lucian, on the other hand, looked somewhat anxious, clearly placing greater importance on the turquoise mine.