Agatha already had her idea. Now all she needed was to contact Clyde and arrange a eting.
She just hoped he wasn’t in the middle of a battle right now—that would be troubleso.
If he was fighting, he would definitely ask her to help and she’d be forced to comply. That was sothing she would rather avoid.
With a sigh she leaned back on the chair next to the rchant who sold the Nytherium Core.
She still can see the glow from the artifact pulsed faintly beside her as she pulled out a small tallic black square device from her coat.
She channeled her magic power into it.
The runes etched into the device lit up one by one, forming a connection request.
Minutes passed but nothing happened.
She clicked her tongue, irritated.
"Where the fuck is this guy? Is he really fighting right now?" she muttered, scowling. "Seriously, Clyde..."
Left with no other choice, she waited.
---
anwhile, deep within the ruins of a long-forgotten world, Clyde was mid-hunt with Asqa.
They had separated, each covering several kiloters of terrain, killing monsters with precision and ruthless efficiency.
The stronger they grew, the more essence — Exp — they required. And that ant more killing.
Their current levels far surpassed those of what possible for ordinary mortals making them well into the domain of Celestials.
But the power among Celestials wasn’t linear. One couldn’t just asure strength by numbers. Especially not when they need to fight more than one Celestial at once.
In the midst of his movent, Clyde felt a buzzing sensation from the side of his waist.
He knew the feeling. It was the device Agatha gave him. She was calling.
He grimaced and ignored it, choosing instead to hurl a spear of fire at a hulking armored beast leaping toward him.
But the device buzzed again and again.
With a sigh of frustration, Clyde shot into the sky in a burst of montum, rising above the buildings until he was safely out of reach of any more beasts.
While hovering midair he tapped into the device and channeled a trickle of magic power.
A projection ford before him, revealing Agatha’s calm, unimpressed expression.
"Finally," she said flatly. "Took you long enough."
Clyde scowled. "I was in the middle of killing monsters right now."
"Oh, is that so..."
"Well, I was. What do you want?"
Agatha leaned slightly forward. "I need you to help buy sothing."
Clyde blinked. "What?"
"I’m short on credit," she said. "There’s this artifact I want. Very useful. You owe , rember?"
"I owe you?" he raised an eyebrow. "That debt was situational."
"I don’t care," Agatha replied. "You owe . And you said with your own words to call you if I need sothing. This is also useful for you."
Clyde let out a long breath through his nose. "Hm, alright then."
"Nice," Agatha nodded. "Just get over here. I’ll send you the coordinates."
"Fine."
Agatha smirked faintly. "Alright."
The call ended.
Clyde narrowed his eyes at the fading projection, muttering, "Can’t believe I’m doing this right now..."
Then, with another surge of magic power, he vanished in a blur of light, heading toward the location Agatha had provided.
---
The coordinates Agatha had sent pointed not to a hidden sanctuary but to another Ruin. A world long dead, collapsed in on itself and left suspended in a pocket of broken ti and fractured space. This looks just like the world Clyde and Asqa had just in.
But the strange thing is, no stars shone here and no wind stirred. Only silence and stillness, broken by the occasional rumble of shifting landmasses or the eerie crack of monsters hidden in the darkness.
It was perfect secret eting place like always. No eyes would bother watch them here.
A portal cracked open above a jagged plateau of floating rock. Clyde stepped through, his boots hitting the ground with a soft thud.
He surveyed the surroundings and see twisted terrain littered with the bones of huge monsters, shattered structures, and dry rivers that glowing faintly with leftover magic.
But Agatha wasn’t here yet. so with a grunt, he pulled a bottle of water from his Inventory. He took a few slow gulps, the cold liquid grounding him as he waited.
Monts later, a faint hum split the air. Another portal opened a short distance away and Agatha stepped through. Hercloak fluttering slightly in the still air.
She walked toward him with her arms put inside her pocket, then stopped a few paces away.
"Glad you ca quick."
Clyde nodded once. "Alright. So what’s this job?"
Agatha didn’t waste ti. she said, "There’s a place in another world. It looks almost like a Ruin. Shattered, unstable, but still accessible. Inside it there are three types of resources I need. Crystals called ’Myrraline Shards’, magical plants known as ’Waking Roots’, and sothing called ’Fleshglass Bloom’."
Clyde raised an eyebrow. "Fleshglass?"
"They grow in corrupted zones in that place and look like a blend of transparent bone and bioluminescent petals. Dangerous to harvest but extrely valuable just lik all of them are."
"Alright. And this is all to trade for what?"
"An artifact I need."
"Artifact?" Clyde asaked.
She nodded. "Yes. I checked befeore and these items are rare but still accepted by the market in exchange for Credits. If you gather enough, I can buy the Nytherium Core."
Clyde narrowed his eyes. "What can you tell about this dinsion more?"
Agatha flicked her fingers and a floating projection appeared between them. It showed a fragnting world encased in crimson mist, lightning constantly arcing between floating landmasses.
So areas were teeming with thick jungle, others were deserts of black sand and twisted tal ruins.
"It’s called Fragnt Theta-Nine. It was once a world but instead of a place for Selection Stage it was a testing ground for ancient magical constructs made by so Celestials, before it collapsed. Now it’s just a wild and unstable Ruin. But the things I need still grow there."
"Let guess," Clyde said, rolling his shoulders. "the type of monsters also different?"
"Of course." Agatha nodded.
He sighed. "Fine. Give the list again and the coordinates."
Agatha handed him a shimring disc. "This will guide you to the map aand mark the harvest zones. I’ll open a portal when you’re done."
Clyde tucked the disc into his coat and gave her a look. "You have any new information?"
Agatha paused, her gaze drifting to the ground for a mont. She seed to weigh sothing in her mind before finally speaking.
"There’s nothing else I know," she said.
Clyde tilted his head slightly. "Is that because you don’t know... or because nothing actually happened?"
Her eyes narrowed. "What’s that supposed to an?"
"Just asking," Clyde said with flat tone while watching her expression.
Agatha let out a low sigh and crossed her arms.
"Look. If I had more information, I’d give it to you imdiately and you know that. But this ti, I really don’t. there’s nothing happened in the Bureau even though the higher realms must be in chaos after what you did."
Clyde didn’t say anything. Just nodded curtly.
Agatha nodded as well, then continue explaining about the place Clyde about to go.
"Now, about that Ruin, the place is unstable and hard to read. No one’s been in or out for so long and I only got a little of a report from a scavenger who didn’t even survive long enough to send coordinates back."
Clyde didn’t say anything for a few seconds. His eyes searched her face, looking for cracks in her words. But there were none.
Finally, Clyde gave a small nod. "Alright. I’ll trust you. For now."
Agatha t his eyes and then turned, raising her hand. A glowing circle of magic power ford in the air, spinning open into a wide portal filled with crimson mist and crackling light.
Without another word, Clyde stepped toward it and then vanished into the storm.
Agatha stood there for a few more seconds, her gaze lingering on the rippling space he left behind.
Then, a faint smile crept onto her lips.
"I just need to wait," she murmured. "Once he brings back the materials, I’ll trade them, get the artifact, and I’ll beco stronger."
Her fingers tightened slightly around the edge of her coat. Everything was falling into place.
Another portal spun open beside her, this one shimring with pale blue light instead of red. She stepped through without hesitation, vanishing into the rift.
---
Far away, in a pristine office deep within the Bureau’s headquarter, Morvius sit behind his desk. The glow of holographic monitor flickered before him, showing fragnted glimpses of the surveillance showing Agatha, speaking to Clyde in that hidden Ruin.
Morvius’s jaw clenched. His sharp eyes glared at the projection and a muscle in his temple twitched.
"They spoke like old allies," he growled under his breath.
His hand slamd down onto the desk, sending small tremors through the room.
"She really is the damn traitor."
The word tasted bitter on his tongue.
For a long mont, he just sit there, seething. The air around him grew dense with suppressed magic power.
But then, slowly, he took a deep breath, forcing himself back under control. He couldn’t afford to be reckless.
"I’ll wait," Morvius muttered. "Let her think she’s safe a little longer."
His gaze sharpened as he stared into the fading light.
---
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