Chapter 12: Discussion

June 27th, Year 6396, Second Arcane Era.

It was around 9 A.M.

After greeting Hunt at the entrance gate, Charles walked into the dome-shaped building and soon appeared in front of Life Goddess's statue.

After that, he clapped his hand together and recited a 'Prayer of Gratitude' while bowing his head. Meanwhile, a 25-year-old lady in a brown shirt and long black skirt stood near the front pew and looked around at the Church's interior in curious.

"What is a Wisdom Church's Priestess doing here?" A calm yet cold voice came from Saron's right side, causing her to furrow in annoyance. Saron White then turned her head towards the voice and saw a white-haired man, who was around 40 years old, was staring at her in confusion. He wore a golden line embroidered white robe, with a white beret in his right hand, and held a unique golden pocket watch in his other hand.

"Greeting, Bishop Reynolds." Saron greeted him and then gave a slight bow.

"Saron White, is it? I heard a lot about you." Bishop Reynolds walked near her with his calm footsteps and asked with a smile,

"Did you come here to change your b-?"

"Father Reynolds, don't go and hit on other Church's priestess. She isn't your type." Charles interrupted him.

Hearing Charles's words, Reynolds swallowed his next words and glared at him. After that, he snorted coldly and sat on the front pew. Charles didn't mind Bishop Reynolds's cold attitude and sat next to him.

Meanwhile, Saron also went to the second pew and sat behind them.

Nobody said a word for the next few minutes, and they sat in the Church hall in silence. In the meantime, many believers walked past them and offered their prayers to the Life Goddess.

After 10 minutes of long silence, Charles leaned towards Bishop Reynolds and asked in whispers,

"Father Reynolds, are you after one of the Series Artifacts?"

Upon hearing Charles's words, Bishop Reynolds opened his eyes wide and then looked at him in shock and disbelief!

'How did he find out?' He stared into Charles's jade eyes for three seconds and soon calmed down.

'Is it Wisdom Church's interference? No, that's not possible. He must have learned about it from the Riverdale Wisdom Library. That Ethan, did he allow this kid to read everything in the fourth section?'

"It's confidential information." Bishop Reynolds turned his gaze towards the beautiful statue and replied calmly.

"Oh," Charles let out a disappointed sigh and then asked,

"Can I learn more about Life Church's Withering Shadows organization?"

"It's confident-" Bishop Reynolds stopped in halfway and then widened his eyes. He sat there like a statue for the next few seconds and asked while looking deeply into Goddess Nira's blue eyes.

"Why do you want to learn more about our secret organization?"

'Oh? I didn't expect he would listen to my words.' Charles curled his lips upward and spoke like a brave kid,

"I need to get stronger to protect my mother, Father Reynolds. For that, I need an organization's help. Although many private organizations are out there, I felt Churches' secret organizations might be the right choice. As a firm believer of Life, I would never go and seek help from other Churches, so I came here to seek help from you."

Bishop Reynolds nodded his head and spoke after a short pause.

"If you want to join in our 'Withering Shadows,' you have to learn a few things. First, you must never collude with the Chaos Faction in the future. Withering Shadows and other lawful organizations are created to maintain Peace and Harmony in Edhen World. Meanwhile, Chaos Faction organizations are created by foreign gods to create War and Destruction.

Second, Withering Shadows is a Secretive Organization, and it has its own rule like never leak your identity to the public and other few things. You must follow all those rules.

Third, you must never betray your comrade during missions.

Fourth.

Fifth,..,"

Bishop Reynolds continued to spoke about the rules for another 30 minutes and then asked.

"So, do you still want to join our organization?"

Charles sat beside him with a serious face and stared pondering deeply.

'Although it's not a loose organization, its rules are not much of a problem. It's a piece of cake for me to hide my identity as a member of 'Withering Shadows' from the public.'

After thinking deeply for a while, Charles nodded his head and said,

"I agree, Father Reynolds."

Bishop Reynolds nodded his head as he stood up and spoke while giving a sealed letter to him.

"Go to 35 Ivy Street and give this to a guy named Russell. He will tell you more detailed information about our secret organization."

While saying so, he bent his waist a bit and bowed at Goddess's statue. After that, he clicked his tongue in annoyance and went towards the left transept.

"Withering Shadows is not a place for kids, Charles. Your reckless choice will disappoint your mother." Saron White spoke coldly from behind, causing Charles's lips to twitch.

"I'm not a kid anymore, Lady Saron." Charles shook his head, turned his head around, and then asked while looking into Saron's eyes.

"What do you know about those 'Series Artifacts'?"

Upon hearing his words, she smiled while moving her right hand towards his face and flicked her finger on his forehead.

"It's too early for you to learn about those troublesome bunches, Charles. I will tell you once you Rank Up and becomes a 'Fire Weaver'."

"Fire Weaver?" Charles stared at her face in surprise and asked.

"It's the corresponding Class of the Apprentice Fire Mage Class. You will get the Fire Weaver Class Gem when you contribute enough through completing missions. But I'm warning you. Don't consume the Class Gem before you reach the bottleneck. You will turn into a Distorted Shadow."

Upon hearing those familiar words, Charles's eyes widened.

'Distorted Shadows...When a Mystic consumes Class Gem before completely reaching the previous Class's peak stage, he will face a huge backlash. He will lose his rationality and then finally turn into a mindless monster. But that's not a scary thing. His strength will instead rise to a peak state of consumed Class level. He will attack anyone or anything that comes nearby and causes Chaos and Destruction.

It seems there is some connection between the 'Mystic Worlds' game and Edhen World. Class-Gems are the final clue. If I manage to find out the secret behind the Class Gems, I will also get a clue about Earth.' He instantly linked those two.

"I will remember your words." Charles nodded his head and then turned his head around. He then stood up, went near the Life Goddess's statue, and bowed his head.

After that, he straightened his back while turning around and walked on the concrete floors of aisles calmly. Saron White also stood up from her seat and followed after him with hurried footsteps. Both walked out of the Life Church and went back to 45 El Street.

...

After reaching 45 El Street, Charles went inside and then noticed that Eve Nightwind was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did she go?" He asked out loud as he walked into the reception hall. Meanwhile, Saron went to the corner room and locked it from inside. It was the room Eve Nightwind arranged for Saron White.

Charles shook his head and sat on the Ornate Sofa. After that, he closed his eyes and waited for Eve Nightwind.

After five minutes, Saron White opened the corner room door with a click and walked into the reception room.

Charles opened his eyes in confusion and soon widened his eyes a little. Instead of formal clothes, she now wore a red nightshirt and pants.

He glanced at her beautiful curvy body for a second and then closed his eyes.

Meanwhile, Saron went towards the opposite sofa and sat while crossing her soft legs.

"It seems my job as a bodyguard will end soon." She opened her thin lips and said.

"My mother still needs your strength, My Lady." Charles opened his eyes and said calmly.

"Why are you acting like some dangerous villain is after your head?" Saron straightened her back and asked with seriousness.

Charles curled his lips up and asked with a mysterious smile on his face,

"Is he not?"

Confusion and puzzlement crossed Saron's face.

"What do you mean?" She looked into Charles's jade eyes and asked in a dead-serious tone.

A chuckle escaped from his mouth as he heard Saron's question.

"Don't you feel something was off about our situation? Someone is after our heads, and that 'someone' is not acting personally due to some whatever reasons. Let's call him Zero for now. The mysterious 'Zero' can order an Amber Church's higher officer and even manipulate the Riverdale citizens' thoughts. If I'm not wrong, Zero must be some big shot in this kingdom. As for why he is after us? I can only think of one reason. That is Holem's Crown." He said with a calm voice.

"So, is that why you chose to join Withering Shadows?" Saron widened her eyes a little and probed.

Charles nodded his head and added,

"Joining the Withering Shadows is not a bad choice for me. If I join the Withering Shadows, Zero might think twice before he comes for my head. Harming my mother or me will be equal to offending the Life Church itself. Although the enemy seems to be a manipulative and a crafty one, he might not be as bold as me."

Charles's lips arched upward as he said those words.

"He might not be as bold as you?" Saron asked in confusion as she didn't understand his words.

"Would you offend the Goddess of Wealth for 1000 gold coins?" Charles stared into her eyes and asked with a smile.

Saron went silent for a whole three seconds and asked in a serious look,

"Is that true?"

Charles nodded his head and added,

"They forced me. No, I would say the manipulator Zero forced me to sign those documents."

"Oh! I understood your plan now. By joining the Withering Shadow organization, you don't need to rely on money in the future. They will also protect you from dangers. It will be like killing two flies with one slap." Saron nodded her head in enlightenment.

Charles smiled and responded mysteriously,

"I will kill three flies with one slap."

After saying so, he turned his gaze towards the entrance and asked,

"Why are you spying on us, mom?"

"Tsk, did you also get [Perception] skill from your dad?" Eve said from outside and then walked into the house.

Charles stood up and greeted her with a smile.

"Where were you?" He looked at her formal attire and asked in confusion.

"I went to the City Lord's office to get the Diviner Job certificate," Eve said with a heavy sigh and sat on the nearby wooden chair.

'Diviner Job? Is she planning to continue her previous job through official means?' Charles narrowed his eyes and asked as he sat on the sofa.

"How did it go?"

"Thanks to your action, they gave me the cold shoulder and then asked me to get a sign from Ethan Walker. Well, I will have to go and meet him tomorrow." Eve said in a dissatisfied tone and added,

"Don't worry, I'm already a Prognosticator, so he wouldn't dare to play in this matter."

Charles nodded his head and then told his plan on joining Withering Shadows.

After listening for five minutes, Eve heaved a heavy sigh and nodded,

"If Harry is still alive, I would never allow you to join in one of those Church organizations. But, he is no more, and we have to rely on ourselves. Withering Shadows, is it?" Eve frowned deeply and then turned her gaze towards Saron White.

"Lady Saron, can you tell me more about this Withering Shadows?"

Meanwhile, Saron watched their conversation in puzzlement and became startled a little.

'Strange…Why is she acting so calmly? Did she already peek at her son's fate?' A thought crossed her mind.

'That has to be it. Otherwise, Lady Eve wouldn't act calmly like this. What a scary Class. Her son is ruthless and calculative, while his mother is calm and a predictor.'

Calming her mind, Saron looked into her deep-blue eyes and nodded.

…