Omen

Several days later.

In the square in front of the granary.

Aaron was doing his daily exercises. The slender Cross Sword danced in his hand as if it weighed nothing.

He had spent these past days trying to contain spiritual energy. Although it always dissipated in the end, it did seem to be doing his body good. His strength and speed had improved once again.

"Or was it the potions I concocted before?"

Aaron wasn't entirely sure, but becoming stronger was undoubtedly a good thing.

"Baron, something's happened!"

Just as Aaron was about to continue, Eight-Fingers came running over, his expression grim as he delivered the report.

"Oh?" Aaron lowered his sword and frowned.

"There's been a murder in the village. Poor Old Kru and his whole family are dead. It looks like outsiders did it..."

Eight-Fingers said.

"Take me to see."

Aaron picked up his sword and had Eight-Fingers lead the way.

In the village, a crowd had gathered outside a thatched cottage, pointing and whispering. Several guards stood watch at the entrance. When they saw Aaron approach, they hurriedly saluted.

Aaron ducked into the cottage. The windows in its mud-plastered walls were tiny, and the interior was dim. A wooden bowl lay overturned, its pea porridge spilled out, and a plate of turnips and carrots was scattered across the floor.

A pool of dark red blood had stained the ground.

"Old Kru and his wife are both dead, along with his daughter... His son wasn't home last night, though, so he escaped unharmed."

Eight-Fingers explained from the side, "There were a lot of perpetrators. They did unspeakable things to Old Kru's wife and daughter, then stole the few things he had..."

Aaron pressed his lips together without a word, gazing at one of the walls.

Three slanted marks marred the wall, like the claw marks of some enormous beast. "Is this a provocation?"

"Yes. This is the Wild Wolf's mark. We can be certain the Wild Wolf Bandit Group did this!" Eight-Fingers wiped the cold sweat from his brow.

The baron had entrusted him with this task and provided him with men, yet not only had he failed to catch the bandits, he had let them run rampant. It was all because he was incompetent!

"A mere bandit dares to provoke a lord?"

Aaron tapped his brow, lost in thought.

At the moment, he had no spiritual energy, and [Danger Perception] only worked in his dreams. Clearly, he couldn't gain any guidance through the mystical arts.

But his habitual caution and meticulous thinking still told him something was wrong.

Just then, a guard hurried over and said something to Eight-Fingers.

Eight-Fingers' face lit up. "Baron, the other side finally left a trail last night. I sent men to track them, and they've picked up their scent..."

Coincidence... More coincidences... It seems reasonable enough, but...

Aaron said, "Let's return to the manor first and gather our men..."

Whatever the case, this band of bandits had some strength. They couldn't be underestimated.

Inside Blackstone Manor.

Aaron left the gathering of men and distribution of weapons to Sanchez and the others. He returned to his bedroom, lay down, and promptly fell asleep.

"Hmm... If falling asleep instantly counts as a skill, I must be at least an expert..."

In the dream world, Aaron muttered to himself.

The next moment, he focused on the sensation of [Danger Perception].

Nothing.

"I've been strengthening my consciousness these past few days, but this ability doesn't seem to have improved much... Of course, it's also possible the danger is still too far away..."

Aaron sighed.

If [Danger Perception] worked in reality, he wouldn't have to go through all this trouble.

For now, he could only visit a branch of the Light of Redemption and wait for someone to pray or perform a sacrifice.

Fortunately, time passed differently in dreams, and the followers were fairly devout, so it wasn't difficult to establish contact.

"Lord... Please forgive my sins!"

Before the altar, Calvin, clad in a black robe, was praying.

He and Rem the Redhead had been captured by Olivia during the previous battle. After they were vetted, Rem, whose evil deeds were too numerous to count, had been executed. But Calvin had prayed before the altar of the Spirit of Void, received the Lord's "blessing," and attained redemption.

Now, when he thought back on what he had done in the cult, it all seemed like a nightmare.

"Calvin..."

Aaron looked around but found no one else praying. Olivia and Lin weren't there either; they seemed to be busy with something.

Since obtaining the Scepter of Flesh, Lin had often gone out to sweep the monsters from Diat City and take in other survivors. It seemed she wanted to bring the city together.

"Fine. Him, then..."

Aaron sent down a thought.

In an instant, Calvin felt the gaze of a great being upon him. Tears filled his eyes, and he fell to his knees in reverence.

He listened intently to something, then finally rose and declared, "Our Lord requires a sacrifice. Dark spiritual energy is the best offering!"

Blackstone Manor.

Aaron awoke and felt the spiritual energy within him. He smiled faintly. "With proper preparation, I can count myself half a transcendent..."

The reason he had asked for "dark" spiritual energy was that the Black Sun—or the sun—seemed to embody the symbolism of divination.

Although any kind of spiritual energy could be used in rituals and divination, "dark" worked best.

"No... That's not right. Perhaps the path represented by the Scarlet Sun works best after all. It is the source of all mysticism, the Creator dwelling in the heavens..."

Aaron's thoughts wandered for a moment. Then he took out a crystal ball and formed a spiritual barrier around himself.

The light in the room dimmed at once. In the candlelight, hazy visions seemed to appear inside the crystal ball.

By now, he had acquired knowledge and Secret Lore from several mystical schools, and his understanding was far from ordinary.

He knew several methods of divination alone, including pendulum divination, crystal-ball divination, numerology, and dream divination.

This time, he used the crystal ball.

"The outcome of this operation!"

"The outcome of this operation!"

"The outcome of this operation!"

As Aaron chanted the divination in the language of another world, he felt the spiritual energy within him rapidly drain away.

The next moment, indistinct whispers seemed to reach his ears.

Beneath the dim candlelight, scenes flickered through the crystal ball.

Among them were the three parallel claw marks representing the Wild Wolf, as well as flames and blood. In the end, everything faded into an unfathomable darkness.

Aaron's expression was cold as he calmly ended the ritual.

Divination did not always produce a clear answer. More often, it offered a collection of symbols, and it was the diviner's duty to interpret them.

"This matter is indeed connected to the Wild Wolf... Fire and blood represent great danger... The final darkness means I might fall into the abyss. A danger that could cost me my life?"

Aaron sneered.

Without any preparation, he was still just an ordinary man, albeit a strong one with slightly better swordsmanship.

If he were ambushed without warning, he could still die!