Chapter 395 - 338: Happy to Oblige (2)

Chapter 395: Chapter 338: Happy to Oblige (2)

"From what I can tell, this doesn’t seem to be orchestrated by anyone. Otherwise, there’d be no reason for some Tier Seven and Eighth Tier High-ranking Powerhouses to receive the letter. They wouldn’t be tempted by the trivial benefits it mentions, and they’d very likely intervene. If someone were truly pulling the strings behind the scenes, they would definitely avoid sending letters to High-ranking Powerhouses.

For example, this letter in my hand was actually received by my father. But he’s currently busy preparing for his next Transcendence and can’t get away, so he passed it along to me, making me the recipient..."

"If High-ranking Powerhouses have received the letter, why hasn’t anyone dealt with it?"

Lloyd pressed, a little surprised.

A wry smile touched Little Olga’s lips.

"Perhaps they’re busy. Perhaps they don’t want to assume the risk. Perhaps they see no benefit in it. Or perhaps... not every powerhouse has the will to shelter the weak."

"In that case, let’s go. Even though the letter came to you, I should also qualify as the ’relative’ it’s looking for."

Lloyd volunteered.

"Hm?"

Little Olga’s eyes widened slightly, revealing her pleasant surprise.

Evelor, beside him, grabbed his arm, her voice laced with worry.

"Huh? Yi, you’re going to take that risk? It must be dangerous there, right? No one has ever come back..."

"It’s true there are risks, but we can’t just let it be, can we? What if it lures more people inside and evolves stronger, more dangerous properties? It could even escalate into a full-blown catastrophe. If that happens, our hesitation now will become our future regret."

Lloyd declared righteously. He then patted the back of Evelor’s hand reassuringly.

"As for the danger, I’ll be fine. I actually have a few leads on the true nature of this incident, but I can’t be sure without investigating further. So please, don’t worry. I know my limits...

Since I have the ability and I happened to run into this, I want to be the one to solve it."

His way of thinking had always been the same. Back when he was still weak, he had dared to take on dark forces, bringing only a small kitten to destroy the Orbit they had secretly arranged. Later, he had run off to a remote mountain village to face off against a hexahedral statue. And most recently, he had risked his life to save the archaeological team and Mizkatoke.

Lloyd’s principles had never changed.

This conviction of his had only grown stronger, especially after his ’date’ with his Childhood Sweetheart and his profound understanding of the grim future that awaited.

’This world will only become better if someone steps up to protect it. That’s the only way to have a chance to fight against that dark future.’

Besides, Lloyd wasn’t being blindly reckless. What he’d said to comfort Evelor wasn’t a lie; he truly did have some leads—

’Since this incident isn’t being manipulated from behind the scenes, I can rule out anything related to Manifestation, such as "Stories" or Projections. It’s a purely supernatural anomaly.’

This immediately brought to Lloyd’s mind the phenomena of spatial disturbances and instability.

He was at least seventy percent certain that the flickering Snowstorm Mountain Villa was situated on a node of spatial instability in the physical world.

An area phasing in and out of existence like this was no big deal from Mizkatoke’s perspective. It was especially commonplace during archaeological expeditions. In fact, the Space System Lloyd belonged to specialized in handling such matters.

But on the physical plane, where the overall structure of Space is exceptionally stable and robust, this is a very rare phenomenon, making an investigation essential.

’The worst-case scenario is a ’small leak sinking a great ship’ kind of evolution. If that happens, there’s no telling what might occur...’

’That’s why it can’t be ignored. And this is exactly what a student of the Space System should be doing.’

’The only thing I’m not sure about is the origin of this "uncle’s letter." ’

’Could it be the effect of some kind of Sealed Object—an unrefined version of a Holy Artifact? Or perhaps it’s a change caused by some unique Extraordinary Material?’

’In any case, it should be profitable and worth a look.’

’I don’t need to worry too much about the risks, either. After all, I have quite a few cards up my sleeve.’

’My powerful Twist system; a Projection personally crafted by a Saint; a wide variety of versatile skills; a set of equipment others would consider extravagant; and over 400 points in all my Attributes.’

’And then there are my two most reliable trump cards: Hildina and Elolo.’

But Lloyd, ever the cautious young man who believed in preparing for the worst, turned back to Little Olga and asked:

"You said earlier that not every powerhouse has the will to shelter the weak. So, what about you?"

"With pleasure."

Little Olga replied without a moment’s hesitation. An exceptionally bright smile spread across her face, her admiration for Lloyd clearly growing.

She no longer saw him merely as an important future partner for her father, but as a kindred spirit who shared her ideals.

At the same time, Little Olga believed her father had given her the letter precisely because he hoped she would take charge of the matter—ideally, alongside Lloyd. Otherwise, there would have been no reason for him to have the letter rushed to Radiant City before its expiration date.

He wasn’t even concerned that the risks might affect Lloyd, and by extension, his own Transcendence ceremony. This indicated one of two things: either he trusted the two youngsters had the ability to resolve the situation properly, or he believed this anomalous event was more important than his own ’gamble.’