A middle-aged man wearing glasses stepped out of the crowd. He was the same man who had posted the bounty that Charles encountered at the crossroads.
Behind him was his wife, along with a little girl who looked around ten years old but had a somewhat vacant expression.
“Mr. Charles, I truly thank you for saving my daughter. If it weren’t for you, I really don’t know what I would have done.” The man, who had initially managed to keep his composure, could no longer hold back his emotions as he spoke.
He slowly bent his knees, tears of relief streaming down his face, wanting to express his gratitude before continuing.
Charles couldn’t stand to see others like this, it felt very uncomfortable for him. So he directly pulled the middle-aged man, who was about to kneel, back up and said, “It’s nothing, it’s just good that everything is fine, and you’ve already paid the reward, so no need for this.”
“I know, that piece of metal is nowhere near as precious as my daughter. Mr. Charles, thank you so much!”The man, wearing glasses, seemed to remember something, and carefully reached out his hand to pull his daughter closer.
Charles looked at the little girl, her eyes filled with confusion and fear, mingled with a hint of surrealism, as if the scene before her was a dream.
Slowly extending his hand, Charles gently patted the little girl on the top of her head, speaking very softly, “You’re safe now. Everything that happened was real, and those bad things are over.”
Upon hearing Charles’s words, the little girl began to tremble, and finally burst into tears. She clutched her mother’s shirt tightly, choking on her sobs, “Mom, I miss you so much. I’m scared it’s all a lie, and I’ll wake up and still be there.”
Seeing this, the girl’s parents half-squatted down, and the three of them embraced each other, crying together.
Charles sighed, glancing at Celestine, and walked aside with her to avoid those who wanted to thank him.
“Charles, that little girl is so pitiful. Even now, she thinks she’s dreaming. What on earth happened to her?” Celestine seemed to be affected, her eyes were slightly red as she asked.
“It’s better if you don’t know those things. It’s fine, I’ll remember it.” Charles thought for a moment, he still didn’t want Celestine to know the specifics.
Celestine sensed that Charles’s tone was a bit strange, especially the last part, “I’ll remember it.”
It was filled with emotions she couldn’t quite understand, and an inexplicable charm radiated from Charles.
Celestine couldn’t help herself and reached out to loop her arm through Charles’s.
Noticing that Charles seemed like he wanted to move, she instinctively said, “Don’t move, just wait a moment.”
After saying this, memories of that night flooded her mind, when she had been held by Charles against the wall, and he had said something similar.
Charles was a bit puzzled. He looked at Celestine’s flushed ears, unsure of what had happened,
and after a moment of contemplation, he asked,
“Do you want to come with me to the Forging Masters Guild? I have a few things to take care of there, but if you have other plans…”
Celestine cut him off before he could finish, exclaiming, “No, I’m free!”
“Alright then, let’s go.” With that, Charles led Celestine toward the Forging Masters Guild.
He currently had two pieces of orange-quality rare metal materials, enough to enhance the [black gold long knife] to orange quality.
At that point, his combat ability would see a significant boost!
When faced with various unexpected dangers, the multi-attribute [black gold knife glow] could serve as a trump card.
Inside the Forging Masters Guild,
Charles’s arrival instantly drew the attention of everyone present. The previously bustling hall fell silent in an instant, only to erupt once more into heated discussions.
“Isn’t that Charles? I heard he did something big yesterday, saving the lives of twenty-six children!”
“I heard that too, but it seems more complicated. There are rumors that an eighth-level Beast Master was involved in a battle yesterday!”
“That can’t be true. There are hardly any eighth-level Beast Masters in all of Genosha, how could that be?”
“Exactly! I heard Charles’s Beast Master talent is really extraordinary, it has astonished all the students at Cyber Academy!”
“I just wonder what he’s doing here at the Forging Masters Guild today?”
Once again, he was met with familiar chatter. Charles felt like he was being discussed wherever he went, it was inevitable. He wanted to keep a low profile, but his talent and achievements simply wouldn’t allow it.
“Hello, is President Xavier in? I need to talk to him about something.” Charles brought Celestine directly to the front desk and asked the staff.
The staff at the Forging Masters Guild had a deep impression of Charles, just a few days ago, they received news that Jay, the staff member who had offended Charles, had died at the borderlands!
“Mr. Charles, hello! The president instructed us that you can go directly to his office on the second floor without needing to make an appointment.” The staff replied carefully, their tone very gentle.
Charles nodded and led Celestine up to the second floor.
Seeing this scene, a businessman behind Charles spoke up, “Wait, who is this guy? Why does he get to see the president without an appointment? I’ve come all the way from another country to Genosha and have been waiting for two days, and I still haven’t seen the president! Why does he get to see him right away?”
The staff turned to glance at Charles, noticing that he seemed not to have heard. They sighed in relief and kindly explained,
“That gentleman just now is Charles! His alchemy teacher is a master-level alchemist, even higher than the president’s forging level!”
“A master-level? Are there really master-level alchemists in Genosha?” The businessman’s voice suddenly dropped several octaves as he quietly inquired.
“Of course there are, and Charles’s Beast Mastery teacher is an eighth-level Beast Master!
He is even hailed as a monster of Cyber Academy!” There were many other things about Charles that the staff did not mention.
Instead, they directly suggested that the businessman pull out his phone and search for the information himself.
After learning about all of Charles’s achievements, the businessman took a deep breath, constantly feeling grateful that he hadn’t spoken too loudly just now, hoping Charles hadn’t heard.
Meanwhile, in the office of the president on the second floor of the Forging Masters Guild,
Xavier looked at the two pieces of orange-quality rare metal materials on the table,
and he appeared utterly shocked.
As the president of the Forging Masters Guild, he knew much more than the outside world,
and the more he knew, the more astonished he became!
“Charles, how did you manage this? That organization has been hiding in Calivia for quite some time, yet you pinpointed its location in just two days! You truly are a monster!” Xavier asked, his eyes wide open.
Charles scratched his head and started to explain to Xavier, “It wasn’t that difficult. The locations of the missing children were confirmed, and as long as there’s enough data, their positions can be analyzed.”
“You’re amazing, truly amazing. I’ve never met someone like you. But Charles, you still need to be careful lately and try to stay within Cyber Academy.” Xavier said with concern.
Hearing Xavier’s words, Charles understood that the matter regarding the eighth-level Beast Master from the Constellation organization had not been leaked by Jamie.
“Got it, don’t worry, President. I’m fine.” Charles replied.
Xavier reached out and gathered the two pieces of orange-quality rare metal materials from the table.
He then picked up the [black gold long knife] and said:
“The enhancement process for this knife will take some time. After all, we’re upgrading its quality from purple to orange, which is quite challenging.”
Xavier paused for a moment and continued, “It should be done by tomorrow afternoon. You don’t need to come pick it up, I’ll personally bring it to you.”
“Thank you, President.” Charles said, unsure of what else to say.
Although Xavier had mentioned he was helping Charles enhance the [black gold long knife] for free to fulfill a wish, Charles couldn’t take such kindness for granted.
He could only remember this goodwill in his heart and repay it when he had the chance in the future.
As Charles and Xavier discussed the [black gold long knife], they didn’t notice Celestine standing nearby.
Her mouth was agape, and her expression was one of shock.
What did it mean to upgrade to orange quality? Would Charles’s knife really become an orange-quality weapon?
Moreover, the president of the Forging Masters Guild was personally working on it and would even deliver the weapon to Cyber Academy?
This was all too astonishing for Celestine. She had never even seen a purple-quality weapon, let alone an orange-quality one!
She felt that even the vice president’s top disciple at Aredale Academy, Grace, might not possess a purple-quality weapon!
Her curiosity about Charles intensified, to her, he was always full of mysteries, endlessly captivating.
Unbeknownst to her, her feelings for Charles had already reached a point where they could no longer be hidden or suppressed.
“Alright, President, I’ll be waiting for you tomorrow. Thank you so much.” Charles said.
Xavier waved his hand, clearly unconcerned, and replied, “I won’t see you out. The sooner I start the enhancement, the sooner you’ll get your upgraded long knife.”
Charles nodded and turned to look at Celestine.
He found her gaze distant, unfocused, as if she were deep in thought.
“Okay, we’ve finished everything, we can leave now.” Charles said as he approached Celestine and gently tapped her forehead.
Celestine jolted, snapping out of her daze. She stared intently at Charles and asked, “Charles, how many things are there that I don’t know about you?”
Charles walked toward the exit, replying, “There are still many things you don’t know. Let’s go, I’ll treat you to lunch.”
Celestine’s eyes lit up, and she hurriedly followed him.