Frostbound Chapter 176 - Irrefutable Evidence

Chris

After Vincent's procedure and recovery were finished, it was Rachel's turn to undergo the process. She was t with a similar amount of fanfare as with Vincent, if a little bit more. The Spirit Fire was already placed and roaring inside the building, the only thing different was that the Molten tal was missing.

She wasn't going the sa route as Vincent with The Molten Smith body and chose a different technique called the Conflagration Body. It would boost the explosiveness of her Fire and also deepen her already strong Fire affinity. She did say sothing about eventually upgrading her Affinity to sothing stronger, but unfortunately for her, most of her points from the tutorial were spent on other things.

She didn't have enough to buy the things she did plus a treasure to upgrade her affinity. That didn't an it was impossible, just that it would take a while and wouldn't be as easy as consuming a treasure like I did.

With both of them going through the Body Refining Process, it marked a good start to our City's advancent. Not only them, but other people started to take their first steps on the Paths of Power as well. So comprehended Laws and others did their own versions of Body Refining. None ford an Anchor yet, leaving Jonathan and I the only ones to achieve the feat.

All in all, Spring kicked off a growth like we hadn't seen.

If only it could have stayed that way. Our days of solitude were now over.

I shifted in my seat as the ti stretched on, waiting for the eting to start. While it was usually Council etings that would take place in this room, it was arranged for a different reason today.

The furniture was hastily adjusted and replaced where necessary, the walls were decorated with the things we had available and rugs were placed down.

Where it used to be a bare-bones stone room, it looked more welcoming now that Abigail threw up so decor.

The fur rug under my feet wasn't from sothing I had killed myself and was of a lower level E-ranked beast, much to my displeasure, but it wasn't all that bad. Having sothing I personally killed would be better when eting a foreign delegation but we made do.

Yes, a foreign delegation was the reason for all the activity taking place inside the castle.

Honestly, I hadn't expected any visitors for a while yet which was why Abigail had to hastily prepare the room for outsiders.

The bare walls and rough stone floor weren't a problem when it was only us going over managent issues, but we had to make it presentable for other people.

Abigail wanted to dedicate a specific room for etings like this but had always delayed it until now. It felt silly for that to be sothing we focused on when there were so many other things on our to-do list.

I had thought everyone was busy building back up civilization like we were doing here, expecting it to be at least another year or two before people sent out delegations.

I was proven wrong as we received notice from our far-ranging scouts that they spotted a group of people set to arrive soon. While this usually ant refugees or wandering clumps of people, this ti it was different.

The scouts reported that the group was bearing a flag and all had insignias or patches that matched. In other words, it was a coordinated group from an already-established Pylon coming our way.

The scouts noticed the group far to the Southeast and they were on a heading that would bring them directly to the castle. Knowing that, we speculated they had a Profession or Class that could point them in the direction of a Pylon.

There was no other plausible way for them to know we were here.

While frustrating to know that was even possible, it was better to know now so we could co up with solutions to fix that problem. Professions like those were quickly becoming known as 'Divination' professions.

While there was a pure 'Divination' profession, there were others that were only on the fringes of what people considered divination. Austin's Explorer profession was one that I considered on the fringe.

A few of his skills could use information he had no knowledge of and point him in certain routes based on that. It wasn't far-fetched to believe a divination-type class or profession pointed this group in our direction because we had a pylon.

While hiding my Pylon wasn't the problem, it was what other kinds of information that could be obtained through divination I wanted to block. I had no idea what was possible through random and obscure professions and I wanted a defense against all forms of spying or espionage.

Finding an Anti-Divination Formation would be difficult and require a long ti to research, but it was best to start that now. Gabriel would have to help fill in so of the gaps where I didn't have the Runes, but we could do it.

While countering Divination would be annoying, that didn't help with my current issue.

I had people I didn't know coming to my City for unknown reasons.

I did not like being in the dark like this.

Maybe it's ti to start an intelligence departnt? We don't have many people or resources to dedicate to it, but we can at least get it up and running.

Those thoughts were cut off as Abigail entered the room hurriedly and started rushing around to different things. Straightening things that were already straight and fluffing things that were already fluffed.

It was easy to tell that this surprise visit had caught her off guard and she had spent every second after finding out about the group trying to make the room perfect.

She claid she was going for a sowhat utilitarian room with so decor to take the edge off.

I wasn't exactly sure what that all ant but she spent the last hour buzzing around switching things around so the room would fit her vision.

The only correction I had made, or rather an addition, was placing my hamr in the corner of the room leaning up against the wall. She wanted to remove the weapon as it sent the wrong ssage but I stood firm.

We knew from the scouts they carried weapons but even without visual confirmation, I knew they had them. No one went out into the wild without a weapon.

The option to take their weapons before they entered the City was there, but I didn't want to do that. I hadn't done it to the others who had joined us and I wasn't going to start now.

I wouldn't want it done to and I would not do it to others. They were taking a risk coming here and the least I could do was let them keep their protection.

If they chose to draw them inside the eting room, that was what my hamr was for.

Most would see it off to the side behind and think I couldn't get to it in ti before they got off an attack. Those people would be wrong.

I could pull the weapon to my hand with [Ice manipulation] faster than they could draw their weapons. Practicing doing so was sothing I did often and I had gotten quite good at it. While the link between the weapon and I was still far above , it helped locate where it was even if I couldn't see it.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

I practiced the move mostly so that when I lost it in battle or dropped it for whatever reason I could re-arm myself quickly. The fact it would work in this new way was an added bonus.

The skill also helped pick things up from afar without requiring to get up, but that wasn't worth ntioning. It wasn't like I used it to be lazy. It was for training reasons. Strictly training.

While I waited for the group to arrive, I pictured what everyone else was doing right now. The castle was still under construction and people were outside working on it and they would undoubtedly see the delegation entering.

It wasn't like I was going to keep the eting secret, but it was slightly annoying to know the group of visitors would see an unfinished structure. Painting the picture of strength was difficult if there was no wall and the building still had scaffolding hanging off of it.

My vision of a steadfast stronghold that intimidated people was a long way off sadly, and our first eting with an outsider was under less... pristine conditions.

It wasn't hard to pick up the sounds of footsteps as they neared the eting room and I stood to greet my guests. It wouldn't do to be rude before even introducing myself.

How courtesy would work going forward was going to be weird but standing to greet guests was common sense anywhere.

Before the door opened, I gave myself a once-over to make sure nothing was out of place. I didn't have a dedicated outfit for the occasion but I had on the nicest clothes I owned.

My tunic and pants were made from E-grade cloth with hems lined with strips of fur from an E-ranked beast. It was a mixture of warm and cold wear as the temperature started heating up. Full winter fur wasn't necessary anymore.

A wide belt, more like a sash, split the two and held minor things I kept on . My coin pouch and potions were chief among them.

My boots were free from dirt and blood as I had cleaned them after my dungeon run in the morning and I made sure to give them a polish before the eting.

My hair and beard still needed so love but they were at least grood, if missing a needed trim.

My days were busy and spent doing hard labor, worrying about my appearance could wait until we were better set up, if at all. My care for that sort of thing fell to the wayside once the world ended but there were tis I had to be put together and look good.

My hair was nearing shoulder length by now and it wasn't even a uniform length anymore. Tis where a monster or weapon chopped bits off made it hard to keep it intact.

The length caused it to fall on either side of my face but I tried to keep it pushed back and out of my eyes.

The only thing I cringed at while looking over myself was the color of my clothes. We didn't have any dyes or colors to them which left in drab tans and browns instead of colorful attire. I didn't get to worry about that long as the door knob sounded, causing to flatten my tunic and stand straight to et the group.

I already had their descriptions from the scouting group but I wanted to get a feel for who had co.

Aura was a funny thing and the more I learned about it the more I liked it. It was a asure of a man. It spoke of who a person was and made it easy to get a picture of who you were dealing with.

Reading an aura took skills and experience but I was working on being able to do so. Gabriel helped but there was a nuance to it that I couldn't rush.

The things you could read from an aura were hard to put into words initially and people could hide things, like I was doing.

Or trying to do. It was impossible to know whether or not they had better sensing skills than I did hiding skills but I was doing my best.

I usually didn't like to hide my aura as it was uncomfortable to do. I had to pull everything in and stuff it down to keep anything from leaking out which made doing so feel stuffy.

There were tis it was beneficial to do so, to remain stealthy mostly so beasts couldn't detect you, but it was also done to hide what you wanted to hide.

While the group had over ten people in total, only three were led to the room I was in. While the room would fit all ten, it seed they were only there for added security during their trip.

The three who entered were the strongest, though, which probably made them confident in protecting themselves. Even if I could take all three on my own.

I dismissed that thought before I got overconfident. Even if I knew their levels, it was arrogance to assu I could beat them. They could have ways to falsify what level they were or other esoteric ways around the skill.

Knowing their level didn't co from my own skill, [Identify], as it failed to give anything once again, but from a different person who had a better identification skill.

From their report, the three who entered were level 61, 63, and 67.

Close to what level I was, but still below and I doubted they had the sa rarity class that I did.

Still, I wouldn't assu anything but it was hard to fight the rising confidence I felt.

While their levels were near my own, the feeling they gave off was nowhere close. They were even weaker than the aura Jonathan gave off and he was a defensive expert. That didn't an Jonathan was weak, only that he didn't feel as threatening to because of his defensive focus.

While they might have been hiding the rest like I was, I doubted it. They gave off no other indication of being strong.

The first in the room was a taller gentleman who stood just over six feet and he wore what I expected from a guard.

He wasn't fitted in heavy plate as they most likely traveled a long way, but what he had approached half-plate. It had enough tal reinforcent to co close to heavy armor but not enough to push it over the edge.

It was obvious he was a warrior without even eyeing the two-handed sword on his back. He had removed his helt before entering at so point and revealed matted-down black hair to match a dark beard.

The second was who I presud to be the leader, if their levels were any indication. The man stood a touch shorter than the leading guard and was obviously either a mage or healer. It was sotis hard to differentiate the two as they wore similar things.

The staff he held was the major give away but he also didn't co off as a warrior. How I knew if soone gave off the warrior vibe, I didn't know but I trusted what I felt.

What surprised was while the leader had the highest level, he didn't feel the strongest to . That honor belonged to the woman behind him, holding down the rear.

Her eyes swept over the room with an experienced grace. Going over everything before dismissing it. Her vision lingered on my hamr for a beat longer than normal but she moved on to finish surveying the room.

The bow strapped to her back had Runes carved along its length and the wood it was made of was high grade. I wasn't sure how high grade without getting my hands on it, but I doubted it wasn't at least a Rare weapon.

Which stood out because they were difficult to make. Vinny and I working together could make Rare weapons, but they took costly materials and a lot of work to push it that far.

Even though the woman was clearly a Ranger, she ca off as a powerful warrior to my senses.

While I observed them, they did the sa to . It wasn't hard to see their eyes give a once over but it was hard to tell what they were feeling. Nothing showed on their face and they kept their expressions neutral.

Before the eting, Abigail tried to coach on what to say and what not to say, but most of it was superficial. I didn't care to play the gas, so I didn't.

As we stared at each other, the leader took it in stride and didn't hesitate to introduce himself before doing the sa for his two associates. They ca to my ho, they should be the ones to introduce themselves first.

"Hello, my na is Carson Trelliam and the two next to are Noah Daniels and Victoria Franklin. Pleased to make your acquaintance." He gestured to the man and woman respectfully before putting his hand out for a handshake.

"Christopher Zalenski." I answered while taking his hand in mine.

The handshake wasn't very firm but it was solid enough to not be soft. A border he was treading closer to than I would have.

After introductions, we all sat around the table that was prepared. Their three chairs stood opposite my own at the two ends and I was the one to ask a question first. It was on my mind and I wanted an answer to it before we moved on to anything else.

"How did you know we were here?" I asked.

For so reason, everyone assud I was Canadian when eting and my Arican accent threw people when I spoke for the first ti, but they didn't show anything to suggest they were surprised.

"That was due to a mber of our city actually, and I'm not certain of the specifics if I'm being honest with you, but she can tell where a pylon has been planted and pointed us in the right direction." The leader, Carson, answered, confirming our suspicions.

That's so cheating. That would be a great ability to have so we could map out all the pylons near us.

Before I went too deep into the benefits of having such an ability, I asked the million-dollar question.

"Why are you here?"

After asking for the reason for their arrival, I got ready to pull on my hamr. If they were here for a fight, I was ready.

"Before we get into that, am I right to assu you are the owner of the pylon here?" He asked.

My nod confird his assumption and he continued.

A serious expression dawned on his face before he spoke and his face matched his tone, "We've co seeking aid."

What he said surprised . For so reason, a call for aid wasn't on the list of things I thought he would say. Trade, cooperation, demands, all were on the list of things I expected, but a request for help wasn't.

What's strong enough for soone to call for aid instead of just leaving?

If a monster was too strong for a group or city to handle, evacuating to sowhere safer was common sense. Sending out groups asking for help wasn't.

He continued, probably sensing my doubt, "We've been sent to warn and ask for cooperation in facing the threat we've uncovered. A grave threat that looms over everyone in the area. Maybe all of Northern Arica."

At this point, I was becoming skeptical of who was in front of . A threat? Really? We dealt with those on a daily as various beasts tried to attack people.

"What could possibly be so grave for you to claim that? The trials won't start for years yet you claim to know of a threat big enough to affect a continent." I asked letting my skepticism leak in.

I had just t the guy and he was going all doomsday on .

"Demons. We've found irrefutable evidence of Demons."