Chapter - 17
Thud!
Leo walked out of the audience hall and the heavy oak door slamd shut behind him. And just like that, his "audience" with Lord Caelum was over, and despite him acting all cheeky and smart, he was shown his place. He did not belong there.
But Lord Caelum forgot sothing, Leo did not want to be there as well.
Grendel and the still-unconscious Brena were taken away by one group of guards. Leo, however, got his very own escort. He was escorted by a single servant, an old man.
The man didn’t speak a word the entire way. Not a single one. It was like he was silently conveying the Lord’s words.
’You don’t belong here, and I have been ordered to show you your place."
Leo and the servant walked through the Mansion’s corridors which were really fancy unlike the town he saw on his way to the Lord’s audience. The floor was covered in thick crimson carpets, polished suits of armour were placed in a neat lines on both the sides, and on every corner, the statues of Lord Caelum himself almost made him squint his eyes. Every wall scread, Lord Caeleum was a narcissistic bastard.
But despite all the shine and the glow, except for the statues of Lord Caelum, nothing actually managed to surprise Leo. He wasn’t impressed. He had seen similar castles in gas, and even razed many to the ground. Who knows what the fate of this castle might be?
Eventually, they stopped passing through the fancy and extravagant corridors. The corridors beca darker, torches got fewer, the armours totally vanished, and the air beca a lot dustier.
This part of the mansion looked like it hadn’t been graced by the presence of the Lord for years. Most likely the servants of the mansion and the guests you don’t want others to see get thrown here.
Finally, after 5-10 minutes of zig-zagging through the corridors, the servant stopped in front of a plain wooden door. He opened the door and spoke for the first ti in a flat tone, "Your quarters."
There was no smile, no bow — just those two words.
Walking past the old man, Leo stepped inside the room, and just as he did, the door behind him was shut with a sharp click.
The room was sowhat clean, like how an untouched room would be. The bed was narrow, barely able to let a man sleep, it was hard, and covered with a blanket that blew a gust of sand at his face, the mont he touched it. There was also a wooden chair sat next to a rickety table, a cupboard to keep his stuff. Overall the room was what one could say minimalist and woody.
There was also a tiny, gri-streaked window that opened outside to the ground, but after sunset, it looked more like a graveyard.
Leo let out a soft chuckle, "Wow," he muttered to himself, "The Bastard lord really rolled out the red carpet for ."
He didn’t need a System prompt to tell him what this ant. The ssage from Lord Caelum had already been crystal clear
"You will remain here. Do not wander the keep. When I have need of you, you will be summoned."
In other words, stay put, lapdog.
Leo sat on the bed, testing it. It creaked under his weight and sohow managed to feel even harder than it looked. He glanced around the empty room again and chuckled under his breath. "So this is what VIP treatnt looks like in Auravale. Good to know."
He leaned back against the cold stone wall and stared at the candle’s dim light.
The Lord was keeping him as a sharp tool to use at the right ti. But what the Lord forgot to take into account was that sharp tools can slice through.
Leo dropped his sword onto the table with a dull clank and crashed onto the bed. It felt like he’d just landed on a pile of bricks. He dare not use the blanket.
"Finally so peace," He stared at the ceiling, cracked and every bit as depressing as the rest of the room.
"So much has happened since I arrived in this world. I have saved people, killed people, looted corpses and even t the most influential man in the town." He couldn’t let out a sigh.
"Am I a hero, or a villain?" Leo thought but quickly dismissed that thought.
"Right now I have only one quest," Leo started to plan, "And I don’t have any ti limit on it."
Now it was both a good news and bad news.
No tir ant he wasn’t under the gun. But it also ant if the Lord decided to leave him to rot in this VIP accommodation, he could be stuck here for days, weeks or even months.
Leo had played enough gas to know that sitting around waiting for an NPC to summon you was a bad plan. He needed to move the story forward on his own pace, and his own terms.
He frowned. The problem was that everyone in this damn castle looked like a traitor. Or at least soone who might be involved in the kidnapping for their own gains.
He began listing out his targets, counting them off with a finger each ti.
"Number one is our dear Brena, our lovely unconscious prisoner. She is definitely the key. I need to talk to her fast before soone decides she ’mysteriously disappears’ in custody, or the lord talked to her and she committed suicide."
"Number two has to be that Captain Valerius. Big muscles, small brain. Guy radiates ’I hate outsiders’ energy. Either guilty or just allergic to cool guys."
"Number three is a tough one, but we can’t rule out Lord Bastard or was it Bastard Lord? Well, whatever. But we can’t assu him to be innocent. Way too composed for soone whose daughter almost got kidnapped by a bunch of savage bandits. Could be the puppet master."
"And finally," Leo sighed, "What if it is our pretty Lady herself? She might be playing the victim in front of everyone. But who knows, the father knows the precious daughter is at that age of rebelling."
The situation was risky, but he could feel excitent bubbling in his chest. This wasn’t just fighting non-sensically in a new world and killing non-stop. He gets to put his brain into action.
I get to be my own version of Sherlock.
He stood and stretched, the amulet glinting faintly in the candlelight. "Step one, talk to Brena. Step two, try not to die. Step three... make the most out of it."
"But first..." he said, glancing at the empty room around him, "I need to make preparations."
This was the first ti since arriving in this world that he wasn’t bleeding, fighting, or dodging death. If there was ever a good ti to sort his inventory, this was it.
"Rewards first," Leo thought. And the first item was:
[Item: Body Tempering Pill (Basic)]
[Description: A potent alchemical pill. Upon consumption, it purges impurities from the body and forges the user’s physical vessel.]
[However the process is excruciatingly painful for several hours but grants a permanent boost to all your physical stats by 5.]
Leo’s eyebrows shot up, "Permanent stat boost! Hehehe... That’s OP." Looking at the description, Leo was gleeful.
But the part about "excruciatingly painful for several hours," had him worried.
"Ah, right. The catch," he muttered. "So basically, I swallow this thing, scream my lungs out for hours, and hope nobody stabs while I am busy dying in pain. Huh..."
"System... sotis if you make things easy for , no one will accuse you of bias."
He ntally marked the pill under ’Use When Safe’ and moved on.
Next up it was the Magical fingers skill.
[Skill Acquired: Magical Fingers (Unique) X 3 Tis]
[Description: A gift of exquisite precision and impossible grace. These fingers move as though guided by the rhythm of magic itself, capable of tracing the flow of mana. With this skill you can unlock the most intricate locks, or break the most delicate enchantnts.
Using the Magical fingers on won causes their breath faltering, their hearts quickening and flood gates tend to leak between their legs.
n, on the other hand... tend to feel a sudden, unexplainable urge to excuse themselves — preferably sowhere with good ventilation.]
Leo blinked. "Wait. What?"
He started thinking about possibilities.
Lockpicking? Easy.
Trap disarming? Hell yes.
Enchanting delicate runes later? Definitely.
And then, of course, there was the "other" use the System had so kindly hinted at.
He smirked. "Yeah... I bet this’ll co in handy in multiple ways."
"Alright," he said quietly, a grin tugging at his lips. "Let’s see what kind of trouble I can get into next."
He sat up and grinned mischievously, "Aiva, use the Random Spin."
Ding!
[Spinning the Random Spin]
Just as Leo spoke, a bright holographic wheel appeared in front of Leo and before he could clearly see what was written on the wheel, it started spinning.
It spun fast, making that satisfying click-click-click sound as it blurred through colourful lights like a slot machine.
"Co on, give a jackpot! Daddy needs a win!" Leo muttered.
The wheel slowed, teasing him. It ticked past a gold slot—then another—then finally stopped on a gleaming silver section.
A pleasant chi echoed.
[Congratulations! Reward Acquired: Amulet of Observation (Standard) X 5 Tis]
"Not bad!" Leo said, snatching the item as it materialized midair—a small silver amulet shaped like an eye. It looked unassuming, but the mont he touched it, it gave off a faint hum.
[Item Equipped: Amulet of Keen Observation (Standard)]
[Effect: Passive item. When worn, the user can perceive subtle emotional and physical changes in others: micro-expressions, heart rate, pupil shifts, and even faint emotional scents (fear, lust, deceit). Does not read minds, but works as an advanced lie detector.]
Leo blinked. Then grinned. "Oh, you magnificent bastard," he said, looking up at the invisible System like it was a benevolent trickster god. "You gave a portable lie detector."
Between the Magical Fingers skill and this amulet, he was turning into a one-man show. He could pick locks, disarm traps, read lies, and maybe... just maybe get into more kinds of trouble than ever before. The kind of trouble worth getting into.
He leaned back, tapping the amulet against his chest thoughtfully. "Alright, let’s continue."
He was about to continue sorting his inventory and other rewards when there was a knock echoed on his door.
He turned his attention to the door and gave a helpless smile, "I hope it’s dinner... I don’t want them to move up my assassination attempt."
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Author’s Note:
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