New Mission

After Fran returned from the Alliance's office, she went back to her house.

She had originally intended to go straight in, but then she discovered that the front door of the house was wide open, and a light gray footprint could be seen extending from the doorway into the house.

Because the mage possessed powerful Mental Power, she was able to see the inexplicable gray footprint. She was certain that neither she nor Iris's shoes were of such poor quality; how could a footprint have left such a mark, as if the color had faded?

Someone else had been here, and might even be inside—this thought flashed through Fran's mind in an instant.

So Fran was well-prepared, first casting a First Order [Enhanced Shield Spell] on herself. If anyone attacked because they saw the First Order shield, her body, which was even stronger than a level two Physical Profession, would teach them a lesson.

She slowly guided the [Heart of Quicksand] with her left hand, pressed it down just before releasing it, and then hid it behind her back.

With her other hand, she immediately unleashed [Elemental Radiance], ready to unleash a barrage of enhanced Greater Fireball if her opponent dared to make a move.

But Fran stopped just two steps from the doorway, because she suddenly realized she had been too reckless.

If this house was merely a residence allocated by an Alchemy School to a member of its own lineage of School, then Fran's preparations were undeniably thorough.

Even against Third Order Mage named ' Lai,' she was confident she could inflict a heavy loss.

But now there are more than just those two factors in her house that would make anyone dare to break in.

Her house also contained Iris's small laboratory, and she remembered that the document was marked "Top Secret."

In that case, wouldn't some external force, or even Fourth Order Mage colluding with someone inside, come to her house...?

Fran immediately took several steps back, but the house still didn't react. Fran then turned her head to make sure the house was still in her field of vision.

At this moment, several mages were also walking on the Ashgold Path. When they saw the magical glow emanating from Fran's hand, they all looked over in surprise.

According to the management principles of the Ashgold Path, magic cannot be used arbitrarily here; violators will be imprisoned.

Especially since Fran seemed to be using some powerful offensive spell, the Mental Power condensed on it made one's heart tremble.

Fran ignored the stares and backed away step by step onto the road until she reached the door of the house opposite, but the house remained silent.

Fran remained vigilant, immediately activating the Sky Dragon Rune on her body, maintaining alertness, and slowly accelerating through the air towards Iris's residence.

Meanwhile, inside Fran's house, Lexi also sensed Fran's movements, which filled her with confusion.

"Isn't this the laboratory location Iris reported? Why did a mage try to come in just now, and then fly away warily after sensing I was inside?"

"And according to regulations, shouldn't the mages in the laboratory be on duty here?"

She scratched her head, still unable to figure it out.

Meanwhile, Fran quickly approached Iris and explained the situation.

After hearing Fran's description, Iris learned that it involved top-secret work, that someone had broken into her room without her knowledge, and that your laboratory was inside...

Fran made these words sound very serious, and it sounded just as Fran had guessed—that a Fourth Order powerhouse from another force had broken in...

Iris knew, of course, that Fran was exaggerating the facts; how could she possibly allow a Fourth Order Profession Holder to break into the Floating City?

This is the territory of mages. If multiple Third Order Mage receive help from this Mage Tower, that Fourth Order Profession Holder will have a hard time leaving.

However, she also remembered that the work she was doing was top secret, and she shouldn't allow anyone else to enter, regardless of their purpose.

So she took this to heart and quickly asked:

Did you see anyone suspicious?

"No, but I think that person might still be inside." Fran only saw the footprints where the person went in, not the footprints where they came out, so she judged that the person might still be inside.

"Then let's go over there now." Iris decided immediately, and even grabbed Fran with one arm, holding her around her waist, and suddenly flew upwards.

Iris's flight speed was much faster than Fran's; it was only ten seconds later when Fran's feet touched the ground again.

However, those ten seconds of dizziness didn't make Fran feel very good either. She shook her head to get rid of the slight vertigo.

Then, after the dizziness subsided, a noise followed, which directly pressured her brain, making it difficult to dispel the dizziness.

At the same time, Fran also felt that the flow of her Mental Power had become much more obscure. The Mental Power that she used to be able to control with ease was now separated by an insurmountable barrier.

She looked at Iris and saw a small toy resembling a music box suddenly appear in front of Iris.

Although Fran couldn't discern the source of the noise, rationally she believed it was made by Iris using the music box Wonder Item.

Indeed, she believed it to be Wonder Item, because the vibrations emanating from that music box were clearly similar to those of Fran's ' Infinite Blood Bottle '.

Meanwhile, Iris's actions weren't over yet. She then pulled a rapier from her sleeve, Fran had no idea how Iris managed to put it in and take it out.

But she also knew that this was the effect of the Wonder Item, and there was nothing more to say about it.

Iris gripped the rapier with both hands in a reverse grip, the tip of which was planted directly into the ground. Then, seemingly due to its excessive sharpness, the rapier dipped downwards with a slight amplitude.

Looking at Iris's figure, Fran suddenly realized that she seemed to be a little too close to Iris. Wouldn't she get caught in the crossfire if a fight broke out?

So when she tried to back away, she felt a pressure that made her unable to move. It was then that Fran realized that everything around her had stopped.

Everything around her stopped; the sunlight ceased to transmit heat, and the breeze no longer carried away the heat from her body.

All of this clearly stemmed from the rapier that Iris had just drawn, which was also a Wonder Item.

"Just don't move, Fran, stay put."

The voice of Iris reached her ears. No matter what Fran wanted to do, she couldn't do it now, because her body was also frozen in place.

And Iris's actions weren't over yet; she could still move within this frozen world, pulling a black cube from her other sleeve.

It was much smaller than the Fran's Cube Fran had in her previous life, which shows how small this cube was.

If Fran hadn't been frozen in place, she would have instinctively swallowed hard, because for the first time, she sensed a terrifying aura emanating from this small cube.

It's as if once it's started, there will be a situation from which it's difficult to escape.

This was something she hadn't experienced while she was frozen in place, nor with that music box Wonder Item.

Iris had almost started the thing, but a voice coming from inside the house slowed her down.

The light curtain that was about to descend from around Fran's house seemed to have stopped halfway, unable to move.

"Don't do anything, Iris, let's talk this over."

After Iris finally understood what had happened from Lexi, she didn't blame Fran, because logically speaking, it seemed to be Fran's fault.

If she hadn't left the laboratory with Fran without permission and hadn't guarded it most of the time, such a major blunder wouldn't have happened.

Fran saw that other people had appeared in the house and then came looking for her, and there was nothing wrong with them.

The only question is why Lexi suddenly came to see her.

Lexi looked at her body and saw a small crack faintly visible below her elbow, which made her sigh softly.

Because of this crack, she will have to sleep for several more years during her next slumber.

Although Lexi was Fourth Order Mage a long time ago, she would never dare to fight Iris after entering the Eternal Shell.

Fighting Third Order Mage is one thing, but if she were to fight Fourth Order Mage, this body would instantly demonstrate its delicate nature.

When the Eternal Shell were designed, they were not intended to allow them to fight against Fourth Order Mage for extended periods using only their physical bodies.

The focus of this body lies solely in eternity.

Lexi collected her thoughts and then showed Iris the relevant documents.

"The project leader for project number XX78XXX9." Iris blinked, knowing this was that top-secret project.

"Iris, I've come to see you because I learned that one of the tasks you were in charge of has been completed."

"But I've never heard of the project manager coming to congratulate me after I completed a task?" Iris asked curiously.

"Of course there's no such tradition. It's just that you completed that device, whose manufacturing process wasn't yet fully mature, on your first attempt, so we need you to provide a detailed report of the experiment at that time..."

Iris turned her head to look at Fran beside her, but Fran remained calm and composed, as if she hadn't heard anything at all and didn't react at all.

"That's fine, but it doesn't seem like you, the person in charge of this project, need to come to me personally, right?"

Anyway, Fran will probably write the report in the end, so it has nothing to do with her. What she's curious about is why Lexi wants to come to her.

"I'm here to get your opinion. If you agree, then you can take charge of an important direction of this project."

"It's about scheduling the Floating City's power system. I want you to be in charge of this. After all, there aren't many Fourth Order Mage like you with available time. Contact the personnel in the motion system at the appropriate time and get the Floating City moving."

Iris looked puzzled. "What kind of job am I being given?"

It wasn't that she thought there was anything wrong with the job, but rather that it was far too important. Even if it didn't involve any specific projects, it was of paramount importance to the entire Floating City.

One wrong move and the Floating City could lose hundreds of thousands or even millions of Gold Coin. Is this the kind of job that can be entrusted to someone like her?

Even if Roderick desperately wanted to bring her back to the Alchemy School, he couldn't possibly entrust her with such an important task at this time, could he?

However, important responsibilities also come with power, and Iris immediately agreed to Lexi's work arrangement.

Fran, standing nearby, lit up when she heard about the job Iris was to take on, seeing it as a good opportunity to gain more information.