Chapter 196: How do you upgrade everything?

"W-What? You can’t arrest me. I’m the Herald Executioner," Kelsey objected, her face riddled with disbelief, but Kaelen’s Herald, who had issued the arrest, only smiled coldly.

"There are two Heralds here who are witnesses to your crime, and unlike someone here... I didn’t forget to press the record button."

"What? I didn’t forget to press the record button this time, either, so I have evidence as well and just forwarded it to the group chat. If we all petition against her, I’m sure they’ll kick her back into the hellhole she crawled out from." Lysandra’s Herald said with a mischievous giggle as she busied herself with her exclusive system panel.

Kaelen’s expression mirrored that of Kelsey because he was as shocked as she was at the sharp turn of events.

Kelsey had forgotten one crucial thing. They probably loathed her more than they loathed Kaelen, and it wasn’t hard to switch personalities like Lysandra’s Herald had done the moment she had leverage over Kelsey.

If the allegation was as serious as it sounded, then she might be losing her position as the Herald Executioner and, according to what Kaelen had eavesdropped on during the introduction, be sent back to prison for alleged war crimes committed millennia ago to continue her life sentence without parole.

Though Kaelen was still surprised, he heavily doubted Kelsey had a means of watching him through the Eye, which the reward system had upgraded and enhanced.

Kelsey exchanged glances between everyone in the room, and contrary to what anyone expected, she slightly threw her head back and raised a hand to her lips to chuckle in amusement.

Her laughter lasted for a long moment, making the other Heralds frown deeply. When Kelsey finally recovered, she stared at the Heralds in amused disdain.

"I never cut you out to be half as smart as you just displayed," she said, referring to Kaelen’s Herald. "But you’re not wrong. That doesn’t make you right. In my defense, the Eye of Truth I gave Candidate Kaelen Cross here was an item I frequently used in the past, and I, of course, put a tracker in it so I could record the bloodbath I created on the battlefield and spend my free time reliving those moments."

"You mean the war crimes you committed by sacrificing the lives of those who looked up to you for your selfish ideals. You led the strongest warriors of the universe into a slaughterhouse to be killed like cattle, and your decisions resulted in countless lives being lost and the extinction of many races today," Kaelen’s Herald roared.

"Exactly, that’s the one," Kelsey replied as if the entire scenario amused her. "But you see, for some strange reason, the tracker I put in that Eye stopped working the moment Candidate Kaelen Cross here equipped it. That piqued my curiosity, and that is the only reason I’m out here in the first place, not because someone used a loophole to get around the Tower mechanics. That kind of reasoning is accepted and applauded. In case you haven’t realized, following the rules or going against them will only get you killed at some point. You always have to think outside the box if you ever wish to make it to the last floor. After all, that was how I earned this ungrateful universe its independence and made all the lives lost meaningful.

"So, in summary, both Candidate Kaelen Cross and I are not guilty because, if you check carefully, Kaelen no longer has the Eye of Truth I gave him but instead has a Primordial-Tier upgraded version of it," she said as she glanced at him. "That explains why my tracker was disabled right from the start."

She paused, then turned to face Kaelen. "I’m curious how you did it. Y’know, upgrading the Eye of Truth, the Basic Riding Steed, the Common Waystone... Isn’t that what gave you the courage to enter the second floor alone?" Her lips crept up in an ungodly smile.

"I would’ve tricked you into thinking you had committed a great offense, then pressured you to tell me your secret. But then, these fools decided to blow everything up trying to sabotage me." She scoffed and paused, then turned to face the Heralds once more.

"There will be no arrests made and no disciplinary actions taken. And by the way, you have absolutely no right to place me under arrest under any circumstances. I would’ve loved to kill you right now, but it’ll be a hassle to do the paperwork, so I’ll let it slide this once."

The Heralds were frozen on the spot upon hearing her and didn’t dare protest or even breathe a sigh of relief after she let them off the hook.

"The two of you are dismissed," Kelsey added with a wave of her hand, which made the Heralds disappear involuntarily. Then she turned to face Kaelen, who had heard so much that his brain had gone blank from trying to save and process all the new information, especially the details about Kelsey’s backstory.

She didn’t speak immediately and simply stared at Kaelen, sizing him up for a moment. "I’m starting to like you, Kaelen. You’re smart and annoyingly brave and fearless for your own good. That could either get you the crown or the thorn. In my time, I got the thorns. Lots and lots of them, which still sting me to this day," she said metaphorically.

Kaelen didn’t reply immediately. "Can I ask you a question? Were you some kind of general of the universe or something?" he asked without waiting for her approval.

"I’ll answer that if you tell me how you did it."

"Did what?"

"How do you upgrade everything? I would’ve thought it was the Atreus bloodline ability bestowed upon you by your mother, but last time I checked, that isn’t the ability you chose. Even when you had the opportunity to switch abilities, you still didn’t get that one. Yet, you seem to have some kind of golden finger beyond the Tower’s means. This has me thinking that I’ve been looking at it all wrong. What if you’re the true inheritor of the original Atreus bloodline?" She studied Kaelen’s expression carefully. "Honestly, the more I think about it, the more sense it makes that Emir chose to go out of her way and go through all the trouble to marry you."

"It makes sense when you put it that way, and if I’m being honest, I had the same thoughts when we first met... till I realized she was only after my good looks," Kaelen said and shamelessly swept his hair backward.

Kelsey suddenly burst into a fit of amused laughter.

"You’re so corny, but let’s leave it at that. I’ll be watching you more closely from now on. Try not to break any actual rules, Kaelen Cross," she said as she lifted her fingers and snapped.

His door suddenly swung open, and a figure was thrown inside as she disappeared from the spot.

When Kaelen got a closer look at who it was, he realized it was one of the women in his party. The calm one with the loud friend, and from the looks of it, it was obvious what she had been doing before Kelsey exposed her.

The woman lifted herself but froze upon catching Kaelen’s gaze.

"Uhh... Ding-dong dash. You caught me. Can I get a glass of water, please?" she said and forced a smile.