Chapter 185: Teased

Aurelius glanced at the interface hovering above the hazy silhouette’s head.

[Selene Novaltis—Level 29 Moon Assassin]

Originally, Aurelius wasn’t surprised at all by the other party’s identity. After all, he had come here specifically to meet Selene.

Yet the moment he saw her current Level, he couldn’t help but be shocked.

The last time he had seen her, Selene had just advanced, reaching Level 21.

Yet now, only a few days later, she had already reached Level 29, halfway through Rank 2.

It was impossible not to be shocked.

Eight Levels in only a few days. Even for an Awakener with a powerful background, this speed was rather astonishing.

For a moment, Aurelius couldn’t help but wonder whether Selene also possessed a Player Panel and had thus been making rapid progress.

Although he was full of questions, Aurelius’ movements were honest.

Without any hesitation, he entered the building and watched the black-robed Selene close the door behind him.

Approaching Aurelius, she looked ready to say something.

But before she could do so, Aurelius had already interrupted her.

“What’s going on? Why did you summon me so suddenly?” he asked.

After a brief pause, he continued.

“Moreover, how come your strength has increased so much?”

Under normal circumstances, no Awakener would ask another Awakener such a question. After all, an Awakener’s strength was usually a private matter.

However, even though Aurelius and Selene were not particularly close on the surface, they had gone through several life-and-death experiences together.

Their bond was surprisingly deep.

Therefore, despite facing such an impolite question, Selene showed no dissatisfaction and answered directly.

“Didn’t I tell you last time? The Blood Temple previously recalled me due to my advancement.”

“Besides giving me a mission, I also received certain rewards.”

She pursed her lips.

She didn’t mention what those rewards were.

Yet from the fact that they could help her increase her Level by eight Levels, it was enough to show their value.

Aurelius’ eyes flickered slightly.

He strongly suspected this had something to do with Selene’s identity. Or rather, the identity of her mother.

Otherwise, there was no way an ordinary Blood Temple member would receive such a great investment.

Aurelius kept those thoughts to himself.

Seeing him remain silent without asking any further questions, Selene secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She had been somewhat worried that he would continue questioning her.

Taking this opportunity, she followed up on her earlier words.

“…As for why I asked you to come over today, this has something to do with the mission.”

“Didn’t you ask me for information regarding the Awakener gathering in the capital not long ago? Originally, I thought we would have no chance to cooperate.”

“However, my mission target is actually in the Imperial City. Moreover, they seem to be related to the ancient ruin.”

As Selene continued speaking, Aurelius roughly understood the situation.

According to Selene, each assassin of the Blood Temple had to complete a mission upon their advancement to increase their authority to the corresponding level.

If they did not, their advancement would bring no change to their treatment.

Selene had previously left Blood Sun City to accept that mission. Because of that, she had thought she would have no way to cooperate with Aurelius.

However, something surprising happened.

The mission she received was to assassinate a certain noble who spent most of their time in the capital. The mission duration was three months.

That meant that as long as Selene was willing, she could visit the capital at the same time as Aurelius.

Perhaps they could even enter the ancient ruin together.

“…That’s why I asked you to come. The ancient ruin is supposed to open in a few weeks. I plan to visit the capital soon.”

“I will try to complete the mission before the ancient ruin appears and then wait for your arrival in the city.”

As she spoke, Selene’s eyes flashed with expectation.

There was something she did not say.

If Aurelius was willing to help her, then completing her mission would be many times easier.

More importantly, the benefits she would gain in the ruin would be many times greater.

She had already witnessed Aurelius’ strength and potential in the past.

Now that her strength had gotten stronger, she could sense it even more clearly.

Although she had reached Level 29, the gap between her and Aurelius had not shrunk in the slightest. If anything, it had gotten even larger.

Just by standing in front of him, Selene felt a pressure no weaker than that of the Blood Temple’s Elders.

One had to know that all the Elders were at least Rank 4 Awakeners.

Selene had met several of them before, and she got the feeling that Aurelius was no weaker than them.

Didn’t that mean…

‘Has he already advanced to Rank 4?’ The thought appeared in Selene’s mind, though she didn’t ask.

On the other side, Aurelius did not know what Selene was thinking, nor the many plans she had secretly made in her mind.

Still, based on her shining gem-like eyes, he could roughly guess something.

Unfortunately, she was bound to be disappointed.

‘There is no way I can cooperate openly with Selene inside the ancient ruin. After all, I will most likely have to enter it using my real identity.’

To this day, Selene did not know that Aurelius was the mysterious Awakener with whom she had been cooperating.

If she were to learn about it, who knew how she would react?

More importantly, Selene knew many secrets, secrets which could very well place him in danger.

For this reason alone, Aurelius wished to separate the two identities of “Aurelius” and the “mysterious Awakener.”

The moment that thought arose in his mind, Aurelius had an immature idea.

However, now was not the time to bring it up. He would have to think it further.

He maintained a calm expression and looked at Selene before nodding.

“I don’t know whether we can enter the ancient ruin together. However, I will also be visiting the Imperial City soon. Perhaps we can meet once there and plan further.”

“If there is a chance, I might be able to help you complete the Mission…” Aurelius said casually.

He did not see the faint disappointment in Selene’s eyes when she heard his refusal. But upon hearing that he was willing to help her complete her mission, that disappointment quickly vanished.

A faint smile bloomed on her beautiful face.

“When are you planning to go to the capital? How should we communicate while there?”

“Should we use the same secret code?” Selene asked.

Aurelius shook his head.

He pretended to think for a while and reached into his pocket, using this as cover to retrieve something from inside the System Inventory.

It was a small mirror, about the size of a human palm.

“This is the Communication Mirror,” Aurelius introduced it to Selene.

“It’s a Relic that is usually forged in pairs. One alone is useless. Only multiple of them can play a role,” he said, reaching into another pocket and taking out a second mirror.

“The two Communication Mirrors have a connection. As long as they are within each other’s range, they can communicate from a distance.”

“Everything you write on their surface will be transmitted to the surface of the other.”

As he was speaking, Aurelius handed one of the mirrors to Selene.

Then, he used his finger as a pen and wrote on the other mirror’s surface.

Selene was already surprised by his sudden actions.

When she saw the mirror in her hands tremble and its surface flash, she instinctively looked down.

Upon lowering her head, she was faced with two dots and a parenthesis.

As she tilted the mirror sideways, she noticed that it formed a smiley face.

“:)”

This, combined with Aurelius’ earlier words and actions, made her realize something.

A trace of joy flashed across her face.

For some reason, seeing the simple smiley face made her feel a little amused.

More importantly, it gave rise to an idea. She glanced at Aurelius from the corner of her eye and smiled faintly, like a child ready to play a prank.

Stretching her finger, she also traced it along the mirror.

Soon, a line of text emerged. Not only in her own Communication Mirror, but also in that of Aurelius.

“I’ll be waiting for you in the capital. You better arrive in time; otherwise, I might have to punish you. <3"

Reading this text and sensing the subliminal meaning behind it, Aurelius’ expression froze.

He couldn’t help but become speechless.

Especially when he noticed the smug expression on Selene’s face upon seeing his reaction, he knew she must have used such suggestive words on purpose.

Her victorious smile, which stretched from one ear to the other, was obvious proof of this.

It seemed as though she was really proud to have one-upped Aurelius and to have gotten a reaction out of him, winning in a “confrontation” against him for the first time.

Judging from her expression, she was extremely pleased with herself.

Aurelius stared at the message for a few seconds. Then, he raised his head, looking at Selene’s provocative expression that dared him to reply.

In the end, he shook his head.

‘How childish! Aren’t you supposed to be a ruthless Blood Temple assassin?’

‘It’s no wonder that you were stuck at Rank 1 for so long. You simply lack the demeanor of the strong!’ he complained inwardly.