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Chapter 69: The Restless Thief

If it weren’t for Nia distracting the Blood Clan specter just now, things could have turned dangerous for me.

With that thought, Roy’s spirit diminished.

At that moment, Nia reached out, cupping his cheeks with her hands, looking at him with a soft and affectionate gaze.

“I knew you’d come to save me. So I won’t leave you behind.”

Her emerald eyes sparkled with a warmer smile than usual, causing an inexplicable flutter in Roy’s chest.

Nia, feeling his intense gaze, seemed a bit shy, her eyes misting over.

According to the cliché in adventure novels, after a thrilling battle, shouldn’t the male and female leads be sparking some romance?

What if Roy really leans in for a kiss like in the novels?!

Just now, he took a hit from that specter, and it feels like he doesn’t have any strength to resist now!

Ugh, I should have chewed on some mints or something!

Nia was still wrapped up tightly in Roy’s arms, peeking at the boy’s lips from below, secretly swallowing hard.

Just then, the boy shifted.

Nia tensed up all over, yet she opened her lips, but instead of a warm kiss, she received a harsh smack to the head.

“Ouch!”

“Trusting others too easily? Be careful not to get hurt in the future, you silly.”

I don’t treat everyone that way… Nia thought gloomily, rubbing her forehead.

Seeing Roy stand up with no ulterior motives, the once weak girl suddenly found her strength, straightening up and jumping to her feet.

“By the way, was that your ability just now?” Nia could clearly sense her bloodline rising a notch under the rhythm coming from Roy.

“Something like that,” Roy mumbled.

“Who would have thought? No wonder you dared to rush in; you had such a trump card up your sleeve.”

As soon as those words left her mouth, she noticed Roy looking deeply at her.

“I didn’t know that ability would be useful. To be precise, I didn’t know your bloodline could counter that Blood Clan.”

“Ugh…”

Once the boy finished speaking, he started examining the bloodstone.

Nia was momentarily stunned, her heart racing again, sending warmth to her cheeks.

So, he really did risk his life to save me.

Nia covered her increasingly flushed face, grinning foolishly as she stared at the boy’s back.

Meanwhile, Roy returned to the coffin and took down the bloodstone again.

This time, the bloodstone showed no abnormalities.

However, when the bloodstone was removed, the entire church’s secret realm began to tremble.

Clearly, both the specter from earlier and this secret realm depended on the power of the bloodstone for maintenance, indicating the stone’s formidable power.

Before the secret realm collapsed, Roy and Nia retraced their steps back to the master bedroom of the castle.

The portrait was still clear to see, but it had lost some of its original charm, appearing much more ordinary.

At the same time, Andy, who was napping hidden in the wilderness, sensed the cold, sticky, otherworldly pulse coming from the cultists and suddenly opened his eyes.

Following closely were the calls of his subordinates.

“Captain! We’ve got news from over there!”

A thief approached with a dark green, sinister fruit in hand. The fruit had a jagged wooden mouth and dripped foul-smelling slime while speaking, sending shivers down the spines of seasoned thieves used to blood and flesh.

The cultists relied on this to communicate with them from a distance.

That said, it was Andy’s first time receiving their message.

“[Black Claw], your time is running out.”

“What do you mean? I think I’ve said before that you don’t need to meddle in specific tasks.” Andy cast an impatient glance at the fruit.

“The secret realm has vanished, and the adventurers have succeeded.”

Upon hearing this, Andy’s brows finally furrowed.

“I didn’t sense any otherworldly fluctuations, and besides, those adventurers didn’t seem to be gathering treasures.”

The magic potion sourced from the Black Claw Beast had an exceptional ability for sensing powerful presences. Even out of sight, Andy had been monitoring the adventurers’ movements.

Not to mention the tricky traps surely present in the castle; if they really found treasures, those adventurers would have been celebrating with fireballs by now.

“Maybe someone snuck in and took something without making a sound. You’d better hurry; if we don’t get what we want, you won’t get what you want either.”

After hoarsely saying that, the fruit shut its mouth.

The thieves exchanged glances, growing uneasy.

Partnering with cultists was inherently risky, and if they ended up empty-handed, it wouldn’t be worth it at all.

Honestly, Andy didn’t believe that a mere few ranked Eights could sneak by him and quietly overcome the first era’s relic traps, especially since they likely didn’t even know what the relic contained.

But Andy hadn’t forgotten that he wasn’t the only one eyeing the bloodstone.

An A-Rank adventurer, the Sword Demon! That’s someone to be careful of.

He could very well be mixed in with those adventurers!

After a moment of contemplation, Andy made a decisive choice.

“Act tonight.”

“Prioritize the Blood Clan relics, then kill everyone— including those two brats.”

Cultists were, after all, the enemies of humanity.

Since partnering with them would be exposed, they’d have no escape from death anyway; killing one or two nobles would just be an added bonus.

Might as well tie up loose ends to avoid future trouble.

The thieves were no strangers to this kind of work, and upon hearing the orders, they showed no sign of worry, but instead revealed a bloodthirsty excitement.

The vice-captain, Angus, even snorted with red eyes: “Bro! That bitch is mine! I wanna make her pay!”

Andy nodded slowly, granting his brother’s request.

“But brothers, remember. We’re not working for those cultists.”

The leader of the thieves stood up and suddenly threw a dagger, piercing through the filthy fruit.

The cultist was no longer useful.

He looked toward the ancient castle bathed in moonlight, a burning desire igniting in his eyes.

Even if those lunatics weren’t quite right in the head, their power was undeniable. If they craved that treasure, how could he willingly hand it over?

Power should rest in one’s own hands!

From the very beginning, Andy had only one goal!

“Go, boys.”

“That treasure belongs to our thief guild!”

Under the cover of night, the ravenous hyenas began their approach, following the bloody allure.

However, the pierced dark green fruit took everything in and let out a silent sneer.

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That night, the adventurers set up camp amid the ruins of the castle.

Surrounded by warm, bright campfires, they chewed on roasted meat and rations while brewing vegetable stew.

Reid and the others didn’t score anything extra, but considering the Sword Demon brother’s generous tips, this trip wasn’t a waste.

The practical exam indicated the performances of the two students during the mission. Since they had thoroughly explored the castle ruins, the practical exam was, strictly speaking, already finished.

In fact, based on the boys and girls’ performances, it would be hard to find any grounds for deductions, even if one were overly strict.

Setting aside their roles as examiners, Reid and the others relaxed and started chatting with the two.

It’s rare for students, especially girls, to show interest in adventurers, but Nia listened intently, even relentlessly asking questions that allowed a bunch of show-off adventurers to relish the moment.

However, with Nia’s next question, the conversation took a strange turn.

“By the way, shouldn’t there be A-Rank adventurers acting as guarantors during the practical exam? Where’s our guarantor?”

 

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