"Greetings, Mister Storm Wind. We finally meet face to face," the real Janus greeted. He then extended an open palm at Jack. "Now, if you don't mind."
It took Jack a second to understand the gesture. "Oh, here." He said and took out the glass cube with the Eye of Illios.
"Much appreciated," Janus said.
Jack heard a notification informing him that his quest, Search for the Eye of Illios, had been completed. He received 4,000,000 exp, 80 gold coins, and 6000 knowledge points.
Jack was elated by the generous knowledge points awarded. He would have no problem buying the Glide spell and then some.
The exp points pushed his Brave Swordsmaster to level 56. He received another notification for that which included his attributes increase.
*
HP +200
Stamina +180
Strength +12
Dexterity +18
Intelligence +2
Endurance +10
Reflex +15
Wisdom +5
3 free attribute points
3 free skill points
*
Generally, the total attributes increase was not as high as the Time Sage, but it was still significant compared to the Blade Dancer elite class. One who had gotten a special class and one who had not, their rift would become greater as they leveled up. He was glad that he had gotten the Brave Swordsmaster before he leveled up too far. Now, all that was left was his Beastmaster class.
'Peniel, is there a way to tell if Master had gotten a special class when we last fought him?' Jack asked in his mind.
'He didn't use any skill from a special class, so I think he had not? But it's possible he might have been hiding it,' Peniel replied.
'Or I didn't push him hard enough to make him reveal it,' Jack thought.
After accepting the glass cube, Janus opened it. He cast a rapid six-runes spell and the Eye of Illios floated out from the cube.
'Telekinesis,' Jack thought within. He had seen the Herald of Greed cast the spell before.
Janus guided the Eye of Illios towards a long rod that was sticking out at the center of the hall. The eye slowly lowered itself to the top of the rod. While Janus was doing it, Jack took the chance to use his Inspect.
*
Janus (Mythical Human, Head Minister), level 90
HP: 1,850,000
*
This time he managed to read the information. Probably because this time it was the real person. It seemed that even though someone was past level 75, touching the Eye of Illios directly was still not safe. That's why Janus used the telekinesis spell.
When the Eye of Illios touched the top of the rod, the rod reshaped itself to hold the eye. Rune diagrams on the floor around the rod flickered to life. Janus made a few incantations and energy seemed to drift into the Eye of Illios from the rod. Not long after, the eye seemed to come alive. It became… a real eye.
On top of the rod was now a large glowing eye, and the eye was alive. Its pupil darted around the room as if trying to take in the situation. When the pupil landed on Jack, Jack felt as if something bored into his mind and soul. He felt like an open book, naked, his secrets laid bare. It took some effort before he successfully looked away and cut the connection with the eye.
"Forgive me, I should have warned you to not look directly into its eye," Janus said. "Now, let's test its capability, shall we?"
Janus made another series of incantations. The eye at the center of the room looked upward. A large projection appeared above. Inside this projection was a mass of soldiers. It took Jack a moment to register that the mass of soldiers was not human. They were ethereals.
The image then zoomed out and show the mass to be more than it initially showed. Much more. The army of ethereals was on a field. Neatly arranged in a formation. They were tense, as if ready to receive an attack. The image then panned in the direction of where the ethereal army was facing.
There, another army was shown, but it was a different race. While the ethereal army mostly wore dark and glum armor, this other army wore bright color armor. The image zoomed closer to this other army. Upon closer inspection, Jack could see it was an army of elves. This elven army was advancing towards the ethereal army.
"This… Does it show what happens in Liguritudum?" Jack asked, and then added, "Is it real-time?"
"Yes, and yes," Janus answered.
The two were back to being silent as they watched the elven army continue marching.
When the two armies were close enough, the ethereal army started charging forward as well. Magic and ranged projectiles were being tossed. The front-most soldiers used their defensive skills and spells as they clashed with the enemies. Both armies fought fiercely.
Janus noticed some commotion from the side so he controlled the eye to look in that direction. In the image was shown another army coming from the side and flanking the ethereal army. The new army was formed by ethereals as well. The ethereals were fighting their own kind on the side while they were being pushed by the elves from the front.
"Those must be the rebel prince's army," Jack said.
"You are quite up to date with other country's situations," Janus remarked.
"I have friends there," Jack answered.
Janus waved his hand and the entire image disappeared.
"It takes large energy to use the eye's ability," Janus said when he saw Jack's disappointed expression.
"Do you ask for this item so you can know about the war in Liguritudum?" Jack asked.
"No, we are an independent organization that supports no country. Whoever wins the war matters not to us," Janus replied. He gave Jack a complicated glance before saying, "I originally look for this eye to find out where my mentor, Majus, hid his legacy."
"Oh…"
"But now that I think of it, I think it was a fool's errand. Majus would have had a barrier that prevented even the Eye of Illios from finding his legacy's whereabouts," Janus made a sad mocking laugh.
When Jack didn't say anything, Janus added, "Don't get me wrong. Although I feel it's a pity that the Time Sage legacy is not mine, I don't hold any grudge against you. I think it is fate that the legacy is passed down to an outworlder, and I'm glad it's you instead of another outworlder. Just don't do anything that tarnishes my mentor's name, will you?"
"I will try my best," Jack answered.
Janus nodded. He looked at the inert Eye of Illios. It was now back to its original form. "Well, not that everything is a waste. There is still one other thing I wish to search using this eye."
"Perhaps I can help?" Jack asked. Probably this was why Janus brought him here? To give him another quest? After receiving the 6000 knowledge points, Jack was eager for another quest reward that granted such a sum.
"No, I will look for the item myself this time," Janus said. "As for you, here is the extra reward my other self mentioned on your way here."
A technique book appeared in his hand, which he gave to Jack.
*
Technique Book: Ghost Form (Unique Consumable)
Grant the skill: Ghost Form
Restriction: Archmage, minimum level 50
*
"Aside from that, considering you carry the legacy of our founder, I'm going to give you this title."
Jack heard a notification that he had received a title, Honorary Magi.
"If you use this title when you are in this faction, you no longer need to spend any challenge points when taking the challenges," Janus explained. "Aside from that, during the challenge rounds, you will receive a buff of +10% to damage dealt and damage reduction, +100% MP regeneration speed, and the cooldown of all your spells will be reduced by 30%."
Jack blinked a few times after hearing it. The benefit of no longer needing to use any challenge point already saved him from a lengthy grinding process. Currently, his Order of Magi badge had 384 challenge points. He was ready to go a few rounds in the challenge arena after handing in the Eye of Illios quest. Now, he didn't need to worry about accumulating these points anymore, he could challenge the next stage anytime he wanted with this new title. Additionally, this title even made him stronger during the challenges.
"Tha–Thank you!" Jack stammered after being silent for a while.
Janus smiled. "It is the least I can do for our founder's successor," he said. "Do you want to continue your challenges now? You have become stronger to attempt the next stage, haven't you?"
"I do," Jack answered.
Janus nodded. He pointed to one side of the hall. Jack looked over and found a common-looking wooden door there.
'Was that door there before?' Jack thought.
"That door will take you to the challenge plaza. I wish you luck," Janus said. His attention returned to the Eye of Illios.
"Thank you again, Sir Janus," Jack said. Janus nodded without looking back.
