Souta was in his sitting with monster orbs in his palm. He was slowly guiding the energy inside his body and used it to temper his muscle fibers. Then, he guides his energy and fused the two energy below his abdomen. After that, he carefully guides it around his monster orb.
Since this energy didn't come from him, it would take him some effort to strengthen his monster orb and increase its capacity. One wrong move and he could damage his orb. Luckily, his [Star Veins] were no ordinary veins. It could safely circulate this foreign energy inside his body without damaging his organs. His energy output was a lot better thanks to the [Star Veins].
Best feram was harder to control compared to mana.
Suddenly, he felt someone standing in front of the door. He stopped his training and glanced at it before he said, "What is it?"
It was still four in the morning so why would Torkez come to his room? Unless something important happened.
"Souta, the enjoy of Mine Valley died. We've just heard this news but the envoy's corpse was found five kilometers away from our city. Someone is trying to frame us." Torkez reported.
Souta was dumbstruck when he heard the report. He didn't expect this to happen at all.
After his meeting with the envoy, he arranged a room so that he could stay there for a night. That's what happened.
But he didn't imagine that someone would kill him when he left Ekatoe City to report back to the Governor.
"Where did the incident occur?" Souta asked in a cold tone.
"In the northeast close to lake Nardi," Torkez answered.
Souta wore his equipment and excited the room. He opened the window and flew into the sky. Like a meteorite, he shot through the sky heading in the direction where the incident happened.
Thundering sounds echoed as he flew without hiding his energy. The rumbling sounds woke all the experts in Ekatoe City. They felt Souta's overwhelming aura within the sky above the city but it quickly disappeared.
The death of the envoy was a serious matter that he couldn't ignore. Aside from the people within the city, Souta knew that he hadn't offended the experts of the neighboring cities. If that was the case then maybe... The problem lies within the Mine Valley.
The letter of invitation of the Governor.
That sounds plausible. Maybe the opposing side just wanted him to become a scapegoat as the death of the envoy would surely anger the Governor of Mine Valley.
When Souta arrived at the scene, he saw that there were more than twenty agents of Astros. They were investigating the death of the envoy.
When they saw him, they quickly greeted him with respect.
Souta simply waved his hand and asked, "How is it? Did you find anything?"
"Lord, according to our investigation, Envoy Jeoban died a day ago when he left the city. His body was found by a traveling merchant and the merchant reported it to us." One of the agents reported to him.
Jeoban's carriage was hit by several spells. Then, Jeoban and his guards tried to fight but they were killed easily. They were only one slash on their neck so the battle must have ended quickly. They couldn't even resist the strength of the attackers.
As for the lingering energy, the mana in the atmosphere already washed it. So they couldn't record the energy signature of the attackers. Considering the changes in the density, the lingering energy wouldn't last longer than before. It would dissipate faster so it was probably useless even if they arrive here yesterday.
Souta pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed after hearing the report. He wanted to enjoy the last day of the event but it seems that he wouldn't be able to.
He strode forward and observed the corpses of Jeoban and his guards. Just like what the agents reported, they died from a slash on their neck.
It was a swift and lethal slash.
A frown appeared on his face as he examined the dead bodies. He found that these guards were at Liquefying Realm and they died in one hit. The only experts capable of accomplishing this feat were those at Solidifying Realm. In other words, S-rank.
But what confused him was that the attackers really believed that the Governor would think that he was the one who killed Jeoban. It's easy to guess that Souta was not the killer nor his people. Unless he didn't place the Governor in his eyes but what was the benefit of that? Even if Souta didn't like Jeoban, he wouldn't kill just because of that reason.
At the very least, even if Governor Ray didn't believe it, he would have a bad impression of him.
'It seems that I have to visit Bland City as soon as possible and explain this to the Governor.'
Souta said inwardly while rubbing his chin. He also had to pay attention outside Ekatoe City. This incident wouldn't occur if there were experts patrolling around the land. Previously, he was too focused on the matters about the development of Astros that he ignored everything outside of it.
He turned to the agent beside him and said, "Go back to the city and call Amanda and Franklin here."
"Yes, sir!" The agent saluted before he left hurriedly.
'Souta, I have a bad feeling about this.' Saya suddenly said.
'Huh? What is it? Is there something wrong with the corpses that I failed to notice?' Souta opened his eyes widely. He was confused as his eyes could see everything within these corpses.
'There is no problem with it but... I don't know why or how but my getting restless...' Saya said vaguely. She could hardly explain what she was feeling.
'Okay, I'll your warning in mind.' Souta nodded. He knew that she was right. This incident wasn't small and it involves a far larger picture.
Why did he know? Souta glanced at the system notification.
[You've triggered a Chain Quest!]
He didn't know if he should be happy or not but he would welcome this bunch of skill points and cards. As long as the Chain Quest involves Solidifying Realm and above, the reward was surely cards. As for Normal Quest, even if Shackled Realm was involved, there's no guarantee that he would acquire cards. Only Chain Quest could guarantee it.
Souta glanced at the details of the first quest.
[Unprecedented Child]: Throughout history, a creature was born with ultimate power. He was born to rule and dominate. A natural emperor.
[Assassins] Quest 1: Find the people that killed Envoy Jeoban.
Rewards: 1,000,000 exp, 10 free attribute points, and 5 skill points
The frown on Souta's face grew deeper when he read the quest information. Unprecedented Child? He hasn't heard anything about it in the past.
Souta shook his head before he turned around. Amanda and Franklin were here. It's time to find the killer of Envoy Jeoban. Right now, it's one of the most important things that he should settle.
"Amanda, Franklin, you two will come with me." He said.
Amanda looked at him with a confused expression.
"Don't look at me like that. I haven't found the assassins so we're going to Bland City while investigating the incident." Souta shrugged his shoulders. He added, "We'll visit the cities and towns near the Bland Cities. Then, I'll attend the meeting that the Governor set up. I wanted to know if he knew something regarding this incident. At the very least, he should have an idea about the people that are opposing him."
Amanda and Franklin nodded at his words.
"Still, they sure have guts. They even involved us in this matter." Franklin said while looking at the corpses.
"This will be a chance for us too." Souta smiled before he turned to the agents and said, "Tell Torkez that the three of us will leave now. Also, don't forget to investigate the other cities. If you found any clues about the assassins contact me immediately."
"Yes, sir." The agent saluted.
"What about the festival?" Amanda asked.
"Unfortunately, we'll not attend it." Souta shook his head, "Rest is over, for us. It's time to work."
He planned to rest until the festival was over or the construction of the portal to Athen's Champion but this incident happened. So he had to start working earlier. Fortunately, he triggered a quest so this was a good motivation.
"Let's go."
Souta, Amanda, and Franklin left the site. They flew in the direction of the Mine Valley. On this route, they would find cities and towns before arriving at Bland City. They would start their investigation in those places first.
After they left, some of the agents went back to Ekatoe City. They passed his message to Torkez. In response to this, Torkez mobilized the experts of Astros to investigate the land around the city. He also sent the Noxious Corps to the nearby cities.
The small organizations inside the city felt something. A large group of experts was moving out radiating a powerful aura.
