Novel Full Chapter 384: Tell Me Where
Chapter 384: Tell Me Where
The moon was high, almost reaching it’s peak by the time Razel Acheon circled back to the greenhouse perimeter. His boots left no sound. His coat, lined with subtle enchantments, rustled only when he moved sharply.
He crouched near the stone base where he’d seen the first orb get buried.
The dirt was soft, but not freshly turned.
Whoever planted these had done so carefully.
He slid his fingers across the soil and summoned a faint circle — an Acheon-family scanning rune, designed to seek embedded magic essence pulses beneath surface material.
It lit up.
A ping.
There it was.
He pulled out a slender extraction knife, dug quickly, and retrieved it.
A small orb — polished black with thin silvery etch lines that glowed only faintly in his palm. Not enough to trigger an alarm or draw attention. But enough that his instincts screamed.
It looked like nothing but it felt like something.
Razel narrowed his eyes.
Then slipped it into the Void Key clipped inside his coat — the tiny dimensional storage chamber tucked in somewhere safe. Safe from prying and hungry eyes.
That was the first.
The second and third were easier.
He’d marked the aura threads as he tracked them earlier. Not even complex spells — just hair-thin pulses of mana trailing through the campus. The orbs had been set in a pattern, a curved arc skirting the edges of several buildings.
By the time he retrieved the sixth, Razel was sweating.
Not from exertion.
From discomfort.
Each orb was sealed, silent. Not a single spell signature came from them.
And that was what disturbed him.
He could feel mana inside. But the enchantments were… muffled. Hidden under several layers of neutralized silence.
The orbs weren’t transmitting.
They were waiting.
He stood still, halfway into the shadow of a garden pillar, and glanced back toward the main tower of ElderGlow. “These things might go off anytime soon. I gotta tell the Dean or at least, Lord Terrace. One of them had to know.”
Razel was already running scenarios through his head even as he spoke to himself.
There were twelve in total. He was sure of it.
He’d only taken six.
He left the other six buried exactly where they were.
Before he stepped away, he placed a single chalk mark — enchanted with memory-link glyphs — near each remaining one. Only visible to him. It would allow him to return and track them instantly.
Because truthfully?
He didn’t know if the orbs were a threat.
For all he knew… Dean Godsthorn had ordered their placement himself.
And that meant he needed to tread carefully.
Instead of returning to his assigned guest quarters — which were still within the Dean’s facility, albeit in the eastern section — Razel turned west.
He took the stairs up into to the building and entered the direct hallway that led to the Dean’s private office.
He’d barely crossed the landing when someone else approached from the stairwell.
Tall. Regal. Draped in deep charcoal with silver trim.
Lord Terrace.
They both paused for a beat.
“Razel,” Lord Terrace said.
“Lord Terrace,” Razel returned, giving a polite nod.
The older man studied his face.
“You’re out late.”
“So are you.”
“I’m meeting the Dean.”
Razel looked toward the end of the hallway.
“Same.” Although he was here as a representative of the Acheon family and was equally formidable enough to back his representation with strength which he possessed, he was also well aware that there were levels to whatever was going on.
If Lord Terrace wanted Razel to wait till his own discussion with the Dean ended, he just needed to say the words and Razel would obey his orders immediately.
They walked side by side in silence for a moment.
Then Lord Terrace asked, “Is something wrong?”
Razel didn’t hesitate. “Found something strange buried around the academy. About a dozen objects. Sealed. Enchanted.”
“Traps?”
“Could be. Could be surveillance. Could be more.”
“You removed them?”
“Half. Left the rest to observe.”
Lord Terrace nodded. “Good call.”
They reached the door.
Razel didn’t knock softly.
Bang! Bang!! Bang!!!
He knocked with purpose.
“Enter,” came the deep, unmistakable voice of Dean Godsthorn.
They stepped in.
Godsthorn stood near his wide, polished desk, sleeves rolled to the elbows. His gaze sharpened when he saw Razel, and then narrowed faintly when he spotted Lord Terrace just behind.
“I expected one of you,” he said. “Didn’t think I’d get both.”
“Change of plans,” Razel said. “Urgent ones.”
Godsthorn gestured to the seats, but Razel remained standing.
“I need to show you something.”
Godsthorn’s eyes flicked toward Terrace, then back to Razel. “Go on.”
Razel reached into his coat and poured magic essence along with his will onto the Void Key.
Six black orbs appeared in a slow shimmer, hovering in the air for a moment before dropping gently into a velvet-lined tray on the Dean’s desk.
Each one looked inert.
Unremarkable.
But Dean Godsthorn’s posture changed the moment he saw them.
He stepped forward, picked up the first, and closed his eyes.
Then he inhaled.
Sharply.
“I can sense spatial residue in them,” he murmured.
“Spatial?” Lord Terrace asked, stepping forward.
Godsthorn nodded. “Subtle. But refined. Like the start of a portal, folded in on itself and hidden in waiting.”
Razel’s jaw clenched. “I thought something was wrong. But I couldn’t confirm since well, figuring it out was far beyond my ability.”
Godsthorn wasn’t listening anymore. He was already moving, pacing once as he held the orb like it might wake up at any moment.
“They’re nested. I can feel at least three compression folds within. Possibly four.”
“Can you open one?” Terrace asked.
“I could,” Godsthorn said grimly. “But not without risk. If they’re pressure-bound, they might detonate or trigger remotely once breached.”
Razel’s voice was low. “Then you’ll want the rest.”
Godsthorn turned to him so fast he didn’t blink.
“You know where they are?”
“I marked the locations.”
Godsthorn crossed the room in a blink.
His hand landed on Razel’s shoulder.
Not in panic.
In command.
“Tell me where. Now.”