CHAPTER 9: THE HIDDEN QUILL

"I know. Let him stabilize his rank first." James chuckled, tilting his head to the right and looking in Nyxrael’s direction as his gaze shifted toward the ground.

The next morning, inside a spacious but modestly decorated room, James woke up early and immediately sensed a familiar aura outside his door.

After rubbing his eyes and stretching his body for a moment, he walked toward the door with his eyes half opened.

As he opened the door, he saw Nyxrael standing in front of the door with a genuine smile. ""Good morning, My Lord. Forgive me for disturbing your rest, but I wished to inform you that I’ve stabilized my rank. I’m ready to depart at any time."

"Woahhh..." James let out a long yawn, covering his mouth with his palm before waving his hand casually. "Don’t do this and act too formal from now on."

He then said while closing the door slowly. ""Let me shower first. We’ll move out after breakfast."

"Understood, My Lord," Nyxrael replied politely.

James then came back and lay down, thinking to himself as his hand made a grabbing gesture a few times. ’It feels weird whenever I wake up and not hold my phone to scroll through social media or read novels in the morning as a routine.’

A few seconds later, the sleepiness came toward him, and he decided to continue his sleep as he thought to himself. ’Why do I feel like I’m forgetting something? Hmmm... Whatever, let’s think about it after I wake up.’

A few hours later...

James woke up once again and took a shower, refreshing himself before going toward the dining room.

When he arrived at the dining room, he realized what he had forgotten

before he went to sleep again.

"Nyx, have you stabilized your rank yet?" James asked nonchalantly.

"Didn’t I already inform you of that, My Lord?" Nyxrael looked at James, squinting his eyes.

"Huh? When?" James asked with a confused expression written on his face.

"A few hours ago. Right before you told me you were going to shower and that we’d depart after breakfast." Nyxrael explained.

James chuckled, waving his hand dismissively. "You must be drunk, Nyx. Anyway, let’s eat first, then we’ll head out."

’Did he... sleepwalk?’ Nyxrael thought to himself.

45 minutes later, they immediately depart after saying goodbye to Earl Edmund and Roland.

Just as they left the manor, Nyxrael informed James through their connection. "My Lord, there’s a rat hiding at a distance. Shall I eliminate them?"

James raised an eyebrow as he looked at Nyxrael, who rode a horse side by side with him. "Oh? How strong are they?"

"Just a Peak Gold Knight, but skilled at hiding."

"Can you remember their aura?"

"Of course. If this rat ever enters my range again, I’ll recognize them instantly." Nyxrael nodded his head.

"Good. Leave them for now." James waved his hand, then smiled viciously as he thought to himself. ’I can’t wait to see what they are going to do when I’m blatantly stepping right on their faces by going to their nest.’

He then looked at Nyxrael again and asked through their connections. "Now that you’ve reached the Epic Knight rank, how strong are you exactly?"

"My current strength should be just slightly weaker than those strong Epic Knights. As for if I were to use my ultimate skill, I’m confident I can kill anyone below Legendary Knight... Unless they’re Peak Epic Knights who could fight above their ranks, like me."

James was pleasantly surprised when he heard it and immediately lost in his thoughts...

The journey was quite long, as they spent around two hours even after borrowing horses from Earl Edmund that were far stronger than the previous one.

When they almost arrived at the city, James slowed down their speed. A few seconds later, James finally saw the sight of the city wall looming overhead, about 30 meters tall.

Above the city gate, there was a statue of a majestic wolf’s head biting a sword and a big plaque with the silver words ’Lycranor City.’

’It’s been a while...’ James thought to himself as he approached the city gate, and when he arrived in front of it, a guard shouted. "Stop! You need to—"

Before the guard could finish his sentence, James just showed his insignia that showed he was from the Steelheart Family, a ducal house that was equal in standing to the Wolfsblade Family.

The guard frowned and thought for a second before letting them in and taking out a jade token.

James didn’t even spare him a glance. He nudged his horse forward and rode straight toward a building marked by a golden eagle emblem.

That place was widely known as a hub of intelligence and secrets—The Hidden Quill. Here, as long as you had the money, information was never out of reach.

Just as he walked inside the place, a middle-aged man in a black suit immediately approached with a respectful smile.

"Young Master James, welcome to the Hidden Quill. What an honor to have you visit us first," He greeted James with a slight bow, then introduced himself. "I’m Gareth, the manager of this branch. It’s a pleasure to meet you."

Ignoring other gazes, James replied with a faint smile. "As expected of the Hidden Quill. You already knew I was coming."

"Hahaha! Of course. When someone from the Steelheart Family enters Lycranor City in such a grand fashion, how could we not notice?" Gareth laughed in response.

James then shook the hand of the manager calmly and spoke. "Let’s talk inside."

"Of course." Gareth nodded and motioned toward a private room, his eyes briefly flicking to Nyxrael before he led the way.

Inside a room, James sat across from the manager with a calm expression.

"I’m here to buy two simple formations." He began.

He then raised a finger. "First, I want information about where the famous artificer currently resides and why he’s in this city."

Raising another finger, James continued. "Second, I want every detail you have on the Wolfsblade Family."