Chapter 1370: 128. Huggins

After making certain that a certain genius had left behind no flaws whatsoever, Muen fastened the prison lock again with two clicks.

Everything returned to exactly how it had been before he left.

As though nothing had ever happened.

"No matter what, I can't start taking action until I get out of here. For now, I'd better avoid violating the Tower's rules or drawing too much attention. I should use this time to recover my strength."

That old man Douglas had sentenced him to three days of confinement.

It was not particularly long.

He could endure it easily enough.

It also happened to give Muen enough time to rest and carefully finalize his plans for what came next. Once he got out, he could discuss them with Ariel.

"For now, this is all I can do."

Muen lay back down on the cold iron slab of a bed, closed his eyes, and allowed his consciousness to sink into his mental space......

Calling it rest was accurate only for his body.

Mentally......

How could he possibly have time to relax right now?

Especially after someone had only just screwed him over on the mental level. If he did not work harder now, then by the time he really fell into a trap later, it would already be too late.

In that regard, he already had plenty of firsthand experience.

And so......

"Black Book."

Along with the murmur in his mind, Muen raised his head.

Several familiar figures gradually emerged and solidified within the city manifested by his Divine Kingdom, appearing before his eyes one by one.

"All right, then. Who should I favor tonight?"

Muen's gaze shifted as he looked over these old acquaintances one after another.

Some were already extremely familiar.

So familiar that the moment they lifted a hand, Muen knew exactly which direction the next attack would come from.

Others had barely interacted with him from beginning to end, because Muen knew that communicating with them held no meaning whatsoever.

And then there were some relatively familiar faces who had already "stayed" here for quite a long time, yet with whom he had not interacted very much.

After some thought, Muen's gaze finally settled upon a voluptuous figure who had once kept him "thinking of her day and night."

The figure was not complete.

After all, she was not dead yet, and the Black Book's "record" of her had not penetrated all the way into the soul.

But that did nothing to dampen Muen's eagerness.

Whenever he was in a bad mood, he always came here for a round like this.

And even now, after so much time had passed, he had to admit that this woman's allure to him remained as powerful as ever.

So......

"Come on, you old hag of repentance."

Muen rolled his joints, the curve of his lips gradually becoming increasingly twisted.

"Simulation number three hundred and eight......I hope you'll still entertain me as much as you used to this time."

......

......

Knock, knock.

Someone suddenly knocked on the cell door.

Muen opened his eyes.

His unfocused pupils took a moment to adjust before he could distinguish the boundary between reality and illusion.

But instead of immediately opening the door, he pulled out his pocket watch and glanced at it.

"Three days have already passed? That really was fast."

Time always passed quickly when it was full.

Especially when those three days had been occupied by one mental-space battle after another, along with repeated reviews of various details. By the time Muen realized it, his confinement was already completely over.

For him, this could hardly even be considered punishment.

After all, opportunities where no outsiders disturbed him and he could peacefully rest and enjoy battle after battle were honestly rather rare.

If he were not worried that a certain someone might go too long without seeing him, grow concerned, and cause havoc inside the Origin Tower—and if he were not currently standing at the bottom of a pit without even the slightest clue how to climb out—Muen honestly would not have minded staying here for a few more days.

"No one disturbed me during these three days. Other than the magic puppets delivering meals, nobody else came. Looks like that risky contact with my cheap senior brother really didn't leave any traces behind. I can relax for the time being."

Muen stretched.

He quickly withdrew the faint killing intent that had leaked from him during the battle just now, then straightened his clothes and once again became the cold and professional master of the Enhancement School.

At almost exactly the same time, after politely waiting several seconds outside, the person who had been knocking pushed open the cell door.

"Good evening, Master Enmu. Please forgive me for coming a little late."

"Hm?"

The other party's manners were absolutely impeccable.

Yet the moment Muen saw him, his eyes narrowed, and the body that had only just relaxed immediately tensed again.

"Who are you?"

The visitor was not Douglas.

It was a strange man.

The man wore an ordinary mage's robe that could be seen anywhere. He looked completely unremarkable, without a single feature anywhere on his body that would leave a lasting impression at first glance.

But......

How could anyone capable of appearing in a place like this possibly be an ordinary mage?

As the most heavily secured prison in the Origin Tower, combined with the all-encompassing suppression of Divine Sigh, this place contained only madmen and "monsters"!

"Don't be nervous, don't be nervous."

The man repeatedly waved his hands and smiled mildly.

"Why is Master Enmu so tense? It's not as if I'm here to eat you."

"Eat me? Of course not. It's just that meeting a stranger in a place like this tends to inspire some rather unpleasant possibilities......"

Muen tapped his cane.

Power accumulated silently, restrained but ready.

"Who knows? Maybe you're here to escort me to the execution ground. My neck isn't very good, so I probably couldn't handle hanging. I wonder whether I could exchange it for some painless method of dying......say, bleeding to death from a nosebleed while surrounded by beautiful young women."

"Ha! I never imagined that the currently famous Master Enmu would be so humorous in private."

The man clapped his hands.

"Unfortunately, there won't be any beautiful young women next, nor will there be an execution ground. Douglas merely asked me to come and escort you out."

"Tower Master?"

Muen raised an eyebrow, his tone easing slightly.

"Why didn't he come himself?"

"Isn't the answer already in the question? He's the Tower Master."

The man shook his head.

"That old fellow has countless matters to deal with every day. How could he possibly have time to personally handle everything? And I'm not trying to insult you, mind you. It's simply that he genuinely has trouble finding time for little matters like this."

"Is that so?"

Muen raised a hand to his chin and began weighing whether those words were true......

"Hm? This is the Origin Tower. There's no danger here. Why is Master Enmu so guarded?"

The man stared at Muen and suddenly asked curiously:

"Do I really look that much like a bad person?"

"No......not at all."

Muen paused.

Realizing that he had been overly cautious, he immediately forced his body out of that excessively alert state......

Though he still retained a trace of surface-level wariness.

After clearing his throat, he carefully said:

"It isn't directed at you. The environment I grew up in simply wasn't particularly favorable, so I've developed the habit of remaining somewhat cautious in every situation......I'd be the same even if Tower Master himself were standing here. Please don't take offense."

"I see."

The man nodded.

"Understandable. I heard Master Enmu only recently returned to the Tower from outside. It seems you've endured quite a few hardships out there."

"The outside world has no Origin Tower to shelter you from wind and rain, so naturally there are plenty of dangers. But danger also means opportunity."

Muen answered with reserved composure.

"To think that Master Enmu could possess such strength at the young age of only a little over sixty. With a mindset like that, I can see why."

"You're too kind. It's nothing worth mentioning."

"Haha. I rarely praise people."

The man behaved with easy familiarity and directly stepped forward to pat Muen on the shoulder.

Muen hesitated for a moment but did not dodge.

Afterward, the overly familiar man took out a badge and casually tossed it to Muen.

"This is?"

"Take a look. The crest of the Elemental School. Only the head of the school is qualified to carry one. That old bastard gave it to me just now. Surely this is enough to prove who I am?"

"You misunderstand. I never doubted your identity. I was merely curious why Tower Master didn't come himself."

Muen casually felt the crest with his fingers before tossing it back.

There was no need to inspect it carefully.

The fact that the man could produce it at all already explained everything.

"You really are an interesting fellow."

The man extended one hand.

"Elemental School, Huggins Lapton."

"Enhancement School, Enmu."

Muen extended his own hand and shook it.

"Have you heard my name before, Lord Enmu?"

"Hm? Why do you ask?"

"Nothing."

Huggins carefully studied Muen's expression.

"I simply had a vague feeling that you might have heard about me from someone......just a casual question."

"No."

Muen answered truthfully.

There was no point lying about something so easy to expose.

"Sorry. I only recently returned to the Origin Tower, so there is quite a lot of information I'm unfamiliar with."

"No matter."

Huggins suddenly smiled again.

"Not having heard of me isn't necessarily a bad thing. I actually rather like it......"

"After all, doesn't this feeling of meeting for the first time make things more enjoyable?"