The person speaking was somewhat familiar to Charles, but he couldn’t quite place who it was.
Before he could ask, the other man noticed the confusion on Charles’s face, clearly realizing that Charles didn’t remember him. He took a deep breath and said, “Charles, I am Byron, a senior blacksmith.”
Byron paused for a moment, his expression slightly grim, and continued, “I was once the apprentice of the vice president of the Forging Masters Guild, Jay’s brother-in-law.”
Jay’s brother-in-law?
Hearing this, Charles felt a flicker of recognition. He recalled that Byron was present during his blacksmith certification assessment.
“Oh, it’s you. What do you need from me?” Charles asked.
Byron glanced around at the bustling passersby and said, “This isn’t a good place to talk. Let’s go to the nearby café. I have something important to discuss with you.”
“No need for that, let’s just talk here. If you don’t say anything soon, I’ll be on my way. My time is quite valuable.” Charles replied, frowning. What could be so urgent that it required a quieter location?
Was there any direct connection between him and this Byron that warranted such an important matter?
Byron sighed and said helplessly, “It’s like this. I’m here to apologize on behalf of Jay and hope that you can help him.”
“Help him? Why should I help him? What happened to him?” Charles asked, looking puzzled.
He didn’t have time to concern himself with a minor worker from the Forging Masters Guild.
“Jay has been assigned to the borderlands, where chaos reigns. He might lose his life at any moment.” Byron said, his face displaying just the right mix of sadness and worry.
He continued, “I want to ask you to help plead his case and see if he can be transferred elsewhere.”
Upon hearing this, Charles understood Byron’s intention. He wanted him to go to Xavier, the president of the Forging Masters Guild, to plead for mercy?
Plead for Jay’s sake?
Before Charles could refuse, Byron quickly added, “Don’t reject just yet. I have a deal you can’t refuse!”
Charles felt a bit curious. What kind of deal could he possibly not refuse? He asked, “What kind of deal could I not refuse?”
Byron nodded and lowered his voice, saying to Charles, “I know of a place, just outside the city, on Gourd Mountain, where a piece of orange-quality rare metal is hidden!”
Charles’s eyes lit up. He wanted to enhance his Black Gold Long Knife, and orange-quality rare metal was just the right choice!
No wonder Byron mentioned it, for any blacksmith, high-quality rare metals were indeed enticing.
“So, you mean if I go plead for Jay, you’ll give me that piece of orange-quality rare metal?” Charles asked, feeling tempted.
Byron hesitated before responding, “It’s not quite like that. The rare metal is guarded by a ferocious beast, and my Beast Master skills aren’t strong enough to take it down!”
Some precious alchemy and forging materials are valuable not only to humans but also to those ferocious and mystical beasts. For example, metallic ferocious beasts can absorb high-quality metal materials to enhance their own strength.
“Then, how strong is this ferocious beast?” Charles pressed further.
“A Level Four Beast Master can handle it. I’m only a Level Three Beast Master, so I can’t take down that ferocious beast.” Byron said seriously. As a professional blacksmith, his skills in Beast Mastery were indeed lacking.
Charles pondered, that beast should be a Level Thirty or above ferocious beast, and he could definitely deal with it. He could obtain the orange-quality rare metal and enhance his Black Gold Long Knife.
However, Byron’s next statement made Charles very cautious.
“How about this? I can tell you the location first, and after you get the rare metal, you can help plead for Jay. What do you think?”
Once those words were spoken, Charles instantly calmed down. He feigned curiosity and asked, “Aren’t you afraid that after I obtain the metal, I won’t help Jay?”
Byron replied a bit flustered, “No way! I trust you. As the most famous genius in Calivia, your reputation is more important than a piece of orange-quality rare metal.”
Charles rubbed his chin, “That’s true. Let’s exchange contact information. Once I’m ready in a couple of days, I’ll let you know.”
Byron’s face brightened, and he quickly provided his contact information.
…
Soon, after bidding farewell to Charles, Byron arrived at a secluded alley where someone was waiting for him—it was Level Six Beast Master Winston!
Winston asked anxiously, “So, what did Charles say?”
“He agreed, but we haven’t set a specific time yet!” Byron clenched his fists tightly.
His resentment towards Charles was undiminished, if it weren’t for Charles, he would still be the apprentice of the vice president of the Forging Masters Guild!
As for Jay, Byron harbored the same resentment. The words he spoke about wanting to help Jay were all lies!
Someone like Jay, if assigned to another place, might cause even more trouble, and he would be implicated as well—then he would be done for.
“That’s good enough. The timing doesn’t matter. Charles, this time you’re definitely doomed!” Winston already envisioned the scene of Charles begging for mercy.
He had seen the news today and knew that Charles had the means to threaten a Level Five Beast Master, but so what?
The strength of a Level Six Beast Master is not something a Level Five Beast Master can compare to!
As long as Charles showed any interest in obtaining that piece of orange-quality rare metal, Winston was one hundred percent confident he could kill Charles silently and without a trace!
Whoever it was, as long as Winston suspected them of being involved in Kevin and Thomas’s deaths, he would rather kill the wrong person than let anyone escape!
After eliminating Charles, he would return to Lsengard, and no one from the Miller family or the Smith family would get away!
“My lord, I’ve completed the task you assigned to me, I shouldn’t have any further involvement now, right?” Byron felt a bit scared inside and wanted to end this matter.
To his surprise, Winston did not stop him, instead, he said, “You can back out now, but if you do, you’ll miss the chance to witness Charles’s tragic end.”
Byron recalled his situation, after meeting Charles, he had lost his status as the apprentice of the vice president of the Alchemist Guild, and his wife had been constantly blaming him. All the connections he had built up over the years had gone to waste.
“Fine! I’ll go that day too. I’ll go with Charles, his guard will be down. I want to see him die with my own eyes!” Byron gritted his teeth in agreement.
A barely noticeable smile crept onto Winston’s lips. He would certainly fulfill Byron’s wish, but after Charles’s death, Byron would be next.
He didn’t want to leave any clues that would lead Cyber Academy to investigate— that would be the end for him!
Meanwhile,
After purchasing alchemy materials, Charles was walking back when a tall man with dark yellow skin kept following him.
“The dean, Jamie, has reminded you not to leave the city recently.” the man said in an unusually alluring tone, and the voice was unmistakably Ruby Wang’s.
At first, Charles found it strange how Ruby Wang had transformed from a voluptuous woman into a hulking figure.
He had asked about it, and the other party mentioned it was due to a mystical beast’s special ability. freewebnoveℓ.com
It was probably similar to Mousie’s Mimetic Illusion.
“I recall that I never intended to go out alone.” Charles stated his thoughts.
Ruby Wang seemed puzzled and asked, “But didn’t you just promise him that you would inform him when you had the time?”
“Yes, I’m not going out alone. Facing a potential ambush from the Constellation organization, how could I dare?” Charles’s words left Ruby Wang even more confused.
She responded, “The Constellation organization? Are you saying that Byron is deliberately trying to get you to leave the city?”
“What else could it be? Just a moment ago, he was very concerned about Jay’s well-being, but then he didn’t mention it at all.” Charles continued to explain.
“I said I’d let him know in a couple of days, yet he didn’t seem rushed at all. You have to understand, in two days, Jay might be dead at the border!”
If Byron truly cared about Jay, he would definitely urge Charles to hurry, at the very least, he would try to do something. But he showed no sign of urgency whatsoever.
This made Charles feel a sense of alarm, he immediately concluded that Byron’s goal was to get him out of the city!
However, he didn’t know which faction Byron belonged to—was it the Constellation? Or Winston? Or perhaps Leo?
Charles couldn’t figure it out, nor did he need to. He was well aware that the other party was doomed!
Back at the academy, Charles busied himself with continuing to refine enough powerful pills to help Mia accelerate her growth.
Meanwhile, Ruby Wang went to find Dean Jamie to report the relevant situation and see how to plan their next steps.
Once Charles successfully refined the powerful pills and prepared to head to class for the afternoon, Catherine came to find him.
“Charles, there’s a banquet tonight. I was wondering if you have a suitable formal outfit?” Catherine asked after a moment of hesitation.
“A formal outfit? I don’t think I have one.” Charles replied, feeling a bit strange. Given Catherine’s personality, she would usually just wear whatever to attend a banquet.
She didn’t care about such things at all, outside of combat and training, other matters were completely unimportant to her.
Why was she concerned about formal attire today?
“How convenient! I don’t have anything suitable either. How about we go look for something together after our afternoon class?” Catherine suggested naturally.
Charles nodded in agreement.
The two of them walked towards the classroom, with Catherine lagging slightly behind. She occasionally glanced down at her phone, which displayed a series of search records:
[What does it mean to buy a formal outfit for a guy?]
[How should a girlfriend buy a formal outfit for her boyfriend?]
[Recommended formal outfits for couples]
[The best formal wear shops in Calivia for couples to browse]
…
Catherine, walking behind, was quietly deleting her browsing history. She had just done a simple search once, and then these recommendations popped up. Unable to resist her curiosity, Catherine clicked in.
She ended up watching for an entire afternoon before realizing that she and Charles were not in a romantic relationship!
After thinking for a moment, she paused her scrolling and finally left one recommendation:
[Formal Outfit Recommendations for Couples]!