Death... and me

While Roan was having 'fun' with Puan and the other elders, Rean spent his days going over his theories for new Runes. As mentioned before, he didn't make them as perfect as he did back in Sunkan. Instead, he left multiple flaws, which would be expected of 'new' runes.

Nevertheless, Palaris was truly impressed. "This... Three Into One Current Rune that you came up with is just too useful. It can make up for three paths of Spiritual Energy at once, saving a lot of space and making it a lot more efficient."

Ophele, who was also there, couldn't help but show a dark expression as she thought to herself, 'How can a human be this good? It already far surpasses my level. He's definitely an Earth Peak-Level Formation Master.' 

There was one thing that made her feel better, though. 'Well, at least it's very obvious how much he lacks in Soul Runes. If he was better than me on them, I should just kill myself.'

Rean, oblivious to Ophele's thoughts, laughed after hearing Palaris's words, saying, "Hahaha! That was the idea! However..." 

He then narrowed his eyes as he continued, "It's obviously flawed. In the end, my theories are just that, theories. Look." He then pointed at the runes, adding, "The Rune is leaking Spiritual Energy. Perhaps the material I came up with isn't strong enough, or the construction of the Rune isn't perfect yet. In any case, it can't be used as it is."

Palaris didn't seem to mind, saying in response, "Don't worry. The initial prototype has been made, so we can improve it as time passes. Now, let's work on the Bridge Connection Runes..."

Time passed in a leisurely manner until eventually, Rean received a message from Rean. 'Those idiots finally gave up trying to figure out how to make more High Purity Souls. It seems like they're sending me to the Bloodline Trial Control Formations.'

Rean was taken aback, responding with a hint of optimism, 'Really?! Great! Try to see if you can find Liza and Luna.'

'I know that, idiot. But in any case, I wouldn't be able to take them out right now. We can only hope that there will be enough time for Sister Orb to analyze the Bloodline Trial Control Formations.' Roan replied with an annoyed tone. 'By the way, have you found the Soul Stone Formation already? Does it even exist? If you haven't, I'll have Sister Orb start working on the Bloodline Trial Control Formations first until you discover something.'

Rean nodded in response, saying, 'Alright, let Sister Orb do your thing for now. I haven't found the Soul Stone Formation yet. Well, I do have a plan, though. Once I get some results, I'll let you and Sister Orb hear it.' 

He then changed the topic, telling them, 'By the way, I found a way to let Clad come out without anyone noticing anything different.'

Clad, of course, was Firmel's son. Rean and Roan had brought him along, and he had been inside the jail inside the Dimensional Realm for quite a few days already. 

'What's your plan?' Roan asked.

'There seems to be a new batch of Zasfin workers every week. I'm planning to deliver Clad inside one of them as if he was one of those Zasfins. That way, he can go around and investigate the place. At the same time, we won't need to keep him inside the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm.'

Roan pondered over the idea a bit and found a problem. 'But what if he tells on us? After all, he'll understand where we are and might think it's worth talking about what he knows in exchange for rewards. The poison I had him swallow might not be enough to stop his greed.'

Rean shook his head as he replied, 'Don't worry. I already talked to him and explained the situation. He's a Zasfin under the control of humans. Do you think he'll let others know about such a shameful thing? Chances are that he will be punished or most likely killed because of that. Besides, I let him experiment with the Spiritual Energy in the air by guiding some into the Dimensional Realm. If he isn't an idiot, he should know that his cultivation will progress many times faster as long as he's here and keeps his mouth shut.'

Roan nodded, not trying to interfere anymore. 'Alright, then. But if something goes wrong, it's your responsibility to clean it up.'

'It won't go wrong unless Clad wants to give his side of the Imperial Family even more problems to deal with,' Rean said with a smile.

Rean had been listening to the Zasfins around him and also asked a few questions of his own. Because of his position as Sevinia's protegee, the other Zasfins didn't treat him badly. Well, it was not like they respected him either. Only those who had been helping Palaris, like Ophele, recognized him a little because of his talent in formations. 

Nevertheless, that was enough for Rean to obtain some information about it. Another good thing was that Rean received a token that allowed him to walk around in the place. In fact, it wasn't too uncommon to see human slaves doing chores here and there. Then again, he was one of those that had more liberty. That's how he found about the excavation.

Of course, one thing still puzzled Rean, and Roan also noticed that problem. 'How come they're using Zasfins for the excavation instead of humans?'

Rean nodded, responding, 'I was also curious about it. If I'm not wrong, that's because humans don't have cultivations. I guess the place that needs to be opened needs a lot of Spiritual Energy if they want it.' 

Rean shrugged his shoulders after that, saying, 'Well, Clad will find that out for us.'

Following that, Rean finished another day of formation research with Palaris and his team before he was allowed to move once again. Using that chance, Rean went to the port where the airships arrived and left. Of course, he knew that Spiritual Senses were locked on him all the time, and their owners would immediately stop him if he tried to escape.

Rean didn't mind, though. He just had to be a few decameters away from that ship and use his Spiritual Sense to find a blind spot among the new Zasfin workers. Then, once they came out of the ship, Rean would use the crowd to hide Clad's appearance in between.

'There they come.'