Chapter 210: Spy Exchange

Watching the exchange between wariness and curiosity, Talia and Boa, who were seeing this for the first time, stayed silent.

Neither Enzo nor Talia greeted one another, even after exchanging a few glances.

Moon finally decided to unfold his goal. "Did you consider the offer I made last time?" he said casually, crossing his legs.

"Don't get me wrong, we have more than enough to take you down; it's just sad to see a talented person like you playing among scrubs." Moon continued, "Now that you've stopped stalking, you seem to be a decent guy. I will also help you fix that rotten character of yours."

"What's he doing?" Boa leaned closer to Talia and whispered.

Talia reached out for her hand and held it in a wait-a-little gesture.

Dorbish once again lowered his gaze to his cup, deciding to act as if he wasn't there.

As for Zera, he was staring daggers at Moon, who reached out—

Smack~

"Don't look at me like that, you bastard, if you want to keep that eye," Moon said as he smacked him.

Meanwhile, Enzo found himself caught in a fit of laughter.

Moon wasn't bothered; he took a few sips of his tea while Enzo was enjoying his hysteria.

A few seconds in, Enzo wiped the corners of his eyes with his thumb. "Ah, you were really serious."

"Of course, I'm a very serious person," Moon affirmed.

Enzo shook his head. "I will have to decline. Unfortunately, I have different plans," he said with a smile.

"Too bad, too bad." Moon shook his head back. "Ah, right. Is that bitch nearby? Bring him; I want to say hi."

Enzo raised his eyebrow. "Korr?" he asked.

Moon nodded. "That transparent-haired guy too, maybe."

"Lorian isn't in the same branch," Dorbish whispered.

Moon's eyes darted to him, blinking. "For real?"

Dorbish nodded.

"Ah, I forgot then," Moon said dismissively. "Anyway, forget about him; bring that bitch then."

Enzo stood from his seat, leaving the screen hanging for a moment before returning. "I sent someone to bring him," he said.

Moon nodded before his eyes suddenly lit up. "Wanna do something fun?" he asked.

Enzo leaned back. "Interested. Tell me about it."

"It goes like this: I'll send a spy to you and you send a spy to me," Moon said. "We have to give the spy freedom to leak intel and also protect him," he said with a hint of excitement in his eyes.

Instantly—

Cough~

Cough~

Cough~

Dorbish choked on his tea.

Boa was about to jump at Moon at this point; only Talia was holding her back.

Enzo tapped the table. "Quite the interesting take you have, though again, I'll have to decline."

Moon looked disappointed. "See?" He shook his head. "This is the price of working with scrubs."

"Quite sad indeed; it's refreshing, though, that you're only looking for the trial and nothing else," Enzo replied.

"Looking cool is everything; trial comes second." Moon shook his head. "Winning the trial is just a way to become cooler," he added.

Enzo didn't answer; his eyes studied Moon for a long moment before—

Knock~

He heard a knock on his door. "Come in," Enzo said.

Walking through the door, Korr greeted him with a small bow. "You were looking for me, Sir Enzo."

"No, this old friend of yours is the one looking for you," Enzo said.

Korr, not knowing exactly who was looking for him, came forward to the screen, only to see Moon's face before his.

A toothy grin so wide it was almost hideous. "Hey bitch, you living these days comfortably?"

Korr froze for a moment.

Moon shifted his gaze to Enzo. "You're managing him better than I thought; he's not bitching."

"He's improving," Enzo replied casually.

"For a dead guy, he is." Moon nodded; he looked at Korr again. "Wash your neck and wait; I'll find you."

Enzo smiled. "Don't worry, I'll arrange a suitable stage for you."

"Whoever goes back on his word is gay, then," Moon said. He stood and extended his hand to the ring, ending the call.

He drank the last sip of tea left in his cup before waving his hand to the others. "Aight, we good, let's go."

One by one, they started making their way out of Zera's room. Moon paused, looking at Zera. "I tried to keep you around to train the boys." He shrugged helplessly before closing the door behind him.

As soon as they walked out of the dorm, "What was that about?" Talia came closer to Moon, who was speeding ahead, and asked.

Moon pouted for a moment. "I just thought, why not."

"Your bloodlust was all over the room," she retorted.

"Why not? I'm killing him either way." Moon shrugged.

He turned his gaze to her. "Let's arrange for everyone to gather for a meal; don't invite that purple bastard, though," Moon said, before adding, "Well, invite him; he prolly won't come."

Talia ran her fingers through her playful red hair. "Okay, just don't beat him if he comes."

"Can't promise." Moon stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"We'll have to work together for a period of time; we're going to war," Talia advised.

"Wars can end either very fast or super slow," Moon said. "Hope I won't be forced to look at his face for longer than my eyes can bear."

Moon spent the rest of the day going around talking with anyone recognizable to him. He had some tea with Lexie and Nola as well.

He met Barrett and exchanged a few tips regarding handling blades. Moon had used mostly blades his entire life, so he was most familiar with them.

Though Barrett's saber was a little longer than anything Moon had ever used, it still carried the familiarity he was expecting.

He also met Colten just to check how they were getting ready. They were considered his men now, so whether he liked them or not didn't matter much at this point.

Soon, Moon left and started walking by himself again. "How did that bastard bring all these with him to the first trial?" he couldn't help asking.

It was a mess to begin with; everyone said this situation was rather nonsensical.

People were ascending with their aides, partners, knights, and even childhood friends. It had also brought Korr for Moon.

He remembered Samuel's warning when the new wave was yet to arrive; that night he had warned him. Moon remembered when he pointed at his eye.

Moon figured that Samuel knew this by knowing how the first-floor administrator operated. He could bring or trigger this huge wave to make it more likely for Moon to be disposed of.

Death Echo was the keyword to the chessboard.

A huge war where an Echo-unfamiliar ascender, or one who couldn't use his Echo in the first place, was to be targeted and killed easily.

However Moon thought of it, it could only make sense that way.

Which was also one of the reasons Moon was wary of Colten, the one and only ascender in the entire wave who came with an entire group of knights.

In other words, he ascended with his gang.

For what reason would the first-floor administrator bring them all if not to contribute to his death?