Chapter 314

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I walk across the room, passing the buzzing machine with crates of mana crystals by its side.

The wooden boxes filled with pink gems glisten in the morning light.

As I get closer to the stairway that leads down to the first floor, the muffled tones of two men having a conversation hit my ears. The first voice I recognize is the Sector 4 leader that I ran away from previously. He has a happy tone to his words today.

"So what do you think about them? They're the real deal, aren't they? Just like that dagger I have back in the trading office. Genuine Demonic Matter."

He lets out a chuckle and starts to walk around the room, leaving a long pause between his statements.

Using my All-Seeing Eye, I can sense the high-density mana items all over his body.

I slowly step forward, trying to get a better ear on what the response will be. Any clues about the man with an unreadable status will be of great help before I have to confront him. Or better yet, slip in unseen and take him out without any risk to myself or my teammates. By the looks of things, the latter won't be a viable option.

The items the second man wears aren't even showing up in my perception skills; there's an odd barrier between my mind's eye and whatever item or skill protects their identity. All I can do is try to listen.

Still, there's no response, so I creep closer and closer to the stairs.

An electronic voice, full of static, monotone, and extremely low-pitched finally replies.

The scratchy nature of the static makes me wince.

"Yes... these seem to have Demonic properties..."

Even so, his voice is clear, slow, and concise.

It makes my heart start to race.

This is the furthest thing from what I expected to hear from the room down below. There's a long pause before the slow and calculated robotic words escape this person's lips again.

"But they're impure... Replications... Intertwined with Demonic Energy from a mana-born Demon, not from the Abyss..."

The voice stops as the sonar beam behind me sends out another pulse deep into the darkness below the cliff. Then, the Sector 4 Director starts to speak again.

"Well, yes. These were the stones found on this team member from the Vice Region's Elite team. The attack on the City of Solara commissioned to take out the Labyrinth, along with many of the higher-ranking dungeons nearby. They're a fairly good team; once my number 2 comes back, I'd like to see if I can whip any of them into shape to work for me. Ha, I even-"

The monotone voice cuts him off.

"Enough... Chit-chat... I don't care about your plans... Do what you want with them when I leave... You're telling me this woman cleared the Final Floor...?"

There's a pause.

I swallow saliva and listen intently. My heart is racing, and I stay completely still, not wanting to miss a word that comes out of their mouths. There's still no information on this mystery man. The Sector 4 leader replies, with a bit of nerves to his voice now.

"No, apparently a younger man cleared the final floor. He didn't have any items of value on him, so we threw him in the mana-negating cuffs and let number 5 take care of him. You'll get to meet him soon too, but this one here has the stones you're always looking for to aid in your creations, so I assumed you'd like to see her first."

The air falls silent again.

"Yes... Good, good... I wouldn't have made the trip from Sector 2 if there wasn't something worth my while...."

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