“You damned thief! Return my Shadow Source!”
The voice echoed through the shadows, lingering in the air.
Mike looked bewildered and turned to Vladimir, asking seriously, “Did you steal something from him?”
Vladimir shook his head, stating with certainty,
“I didn’t steal anything. It was probablyDracula.”
Dracula snorted and retorted, “Whoever stole the Shadow Source is your grandson!” “Deal!”
Mike slammed his fist into his palm, his face earnest.
“Whoever stole the Shadow Source is my grandson!”
A promise made!
Mike then turned to Vladimir and whispered, “Make a note of that. I just quoted Dracula verbatim. Everything he said has nothing to do with me.”
Vladimir nodded as he scribbled furiously.
“Understood, Master.”
It was Dracula who was going to be in trouble, what did it have to do with him, Vladimir!
“You damned thief, I didn’t realize you were so shameless!”
The Quasi-God of Theft and Shadow, enraged, cursed loudly,
“Fuck you! I can smell the Shadow Source on you. Give it back!”
“Try shouting like that again, I dare you.”
Mike took out the Thunderclap Hammer, his voice cold. “Don’t push your luck.”
This guy was way too arrogant.
Time to teach him a lesson!
The being within the shadows scoffed. “Hah! You’re just a measly level 300 kid. You think I’m afraid of you?”
The next second, a hammer grew larger and larger in his vision.
“Star Pluck!”
“Wind’s Reach!”
Mike accurately struck the being with the Thunderclap Hammer and instantly returned to his original position.
This attack didn’t deal much damage to the enemy.
However, it spoke volumes.
Mike could pinpoint his location and hit him accurately!
This was just a warning.
The next time, it wouldn’t be a simple physical attack, but a powerful strike infused with lightning.
The projection Mike was facing wasn’t actually that strong, only level 899.
Dracula was level 935, and Poseidon’s projection was level 900. Either one could easily handle him.
The being in the shadows relied on concealment as his greatest advantage!
Unfortunately, this advantage was useless against the [Eye of Truth].
After being warned, the Quasi-God of Theft and Shadows’ attitude improved significantly. He was no longer as arrogant as before.
“Stealing is wrong, isn’t it?!”
There was even a hint of pleading in the Quasi-God’s voice.
“Please, just give me back the Shadow Source!”
Failing to threaten, he switched to playing the sympathy card?
Mike said righteously,
“Firstly, you claim the Shadow Source is yours. Do you have any proof? Do you have a purchase record for the Shadow Source? An invoice? Did you report it missing to the authorities immediately?”
The Quasi-God of Theft and Shadows: “???”
Purchase record?
What was that?
This thing had existed since the birth of the universe, where would he get a purchase record! And where would the Quasi-God of Theft, who had been robbed, report the theft?
Even if there was a reporting office in the temple, wouldn’t reporting the theft be like turning himself in?
99.999999% of the theft cases in the temple were his doing. He would be caught red-handed. “Secondly…”
Mike changed his tone, his voice filled with righteous indignation. “The Shadow Source was a gift from a senior I deeply respect.
We have a very good relationship. You’re accusing Shadow Nine without any evidence. How are we going to settle this?”
Silence fell over the space.
Listening to Mike’s words, the Quasi-God of Theft and Shadows tried to calm himself down.
But he couldn’t calm down at all!
“It was that bastard Shadow Nine who stole my Shadow Source!”
The Quasi-God roared. “When I get out of this damn temple, I’m going to steal everything I can from Shadow Nine!”
“Wait, you’re in the temple?”
Mike caught an interesting piece of information and asked curiously,
“Are Poseidon and the others also in the temple?”
“Yes.”
The Quasi-God of Theft and Shadows asked back,
“Why do you ask?”
“Just curious.”
Mike temporarily dropped the topic and continued, “So, Shadow Nine stole the Shadow Source from you? Tell me the details, it’ll make your story more believable.”
At the mention of this topic, the Quasi-God of Theft and Shadows deflated like a punctured balloon, speechless for a moment.
After a while, he mumbled,
“Back then, I wanted to reach level 995 and attain god-level combat power. I had to complete
certain rituals.
The two most crucial rituals were:
One, to fuse with the Shadow Source. Two, to steal the most precious thing from someone
else.”
These two rituals corresponded to the paths of [Shadow] and [Theft] respectively. He had to complete both to break through to level 995.
Hearing this, Mike raised an eyebrow, guessing the rest of the story.
“So, the Shadow Source in Shadow Nine’s hands was given to him by you. You planned to steal
it back, completing both rituals at once, right?”
“That was the plan!”
The Quasi-God of Theft and Shadows emphasized.
His tone was filled with indignation.
“But halfway through the plan, Shadow Nine ran off. He said he had to find some guy named
Ares and never came back!”
Then, the Quasi-God’s tone suddenly changed, a hint of curiosity in his voice. “Did Shadow
Nine find Ares?”
Mike didn’t sense much hostility from him.
Moreover, this guy knew Shadow Nine, they might even be old acquaintances.
So, Mike chose not to hide the answer to this question.
“He did.”
Mike said in the most casual tone,
“One hundred and seventy-one years ago, Ares reached level 1000 and became the Supreme
Being of the human race.”
“Holy crap!” The Quasi-God in the shadows exclaimed, unable to calm down for a long time.
“You’re talking about the owner of that sword from over a hundred years ago, right?”
Mike nodded without thinking. “Yes.”
Through the [Eye of Truth], Mike saw a shadow wiping beads of sweat from its forehead.
He was clearly panicking.
This news was obviously a bit too much for him to handle.
“Then…”
The Quasi-God was still clinging to hope. “Since Shadow Nine found that guy and completed
his task, why didn’t he return to the temple to find me?”
“Shadow Nine wasn’t idle, he had important things to do.”
Mike said seriously,
“Shadow Nine then discovered Apollo and decided to take him as his disciple.”
“Wait… who’s this Apollo?”
The Quasi-God was captivated. It was clear that he was quite concerned about Shadow Nine’s
experiences.
The sudden appearance of Apollo confused him.
Mike said calmly once more,
“Oh, Apollo is the third Supreme Being of the human race.”
“Wow-”
The shadow shrunk into a ball, trembling, and asked timidly, “You’re talking about the one
who lives on the 99th floor, right?”
Compared to the sword-wielding Ares, this Apollo was a being even more feared by the gods.
Mike smiled faintly and nodded.
The shadow fell silent again.
After a while,
a voice came from within the shadow.
“Well… I admit, I was a bit loud earlier, and I shouldn’t have been so rude. I apologize…”