BANG!
Kyle’s hammer hit Bundt’s Shield, and Bundt was pushed back by several meters while he groaned.
“Fuck, this hurts!” Bundt shouted, having learned a new word.
“You’re one to talk!” Kyle shouted. “Your stance didn’t even break!”
“That’s because I’m two levels higher than you!”
“Well, I’m a dwarf. My strength is already higher than a normal Initial Fighter!”
“That’s still an entire level of advantage!” Bundt shouted back.
“Yeah, well, fuck you!” Kyle shouted as he charged forward again.
Bundt hid behind his shield.
Yet, the next moment, his shield suddenly grew in size, as did his body.
The shield was now almost two meters tall, while Bundt was almost three meters tall.
BOOOOM!
Kyle’s hammer hit Bundt’s shield, but Bundt didn’t move an inch.
“There, much easier,” Bundt said with a smile.
Kyle just grumbled.
‘I really need a True Body,’ he thought.
Naturally, as soon as Bundt summoned his True Body, this was no longer a fight.
Kyle lost very quickly, and Gill told them that it was a good fight.
“Seriously,” Bundt said, walking up to Kyle. “Your hammer is scary. If anyone else got hit by this, they would die in an instant. Aren’t you afraid that you will accidentally kill a guy during sparring?”
Kyle snickered. “I only hit you that hard. I know that you can take it.”
“Wow, lucky me,” Bundt said with sarcasm. “By the way, how long have you been here? I feel like you just joined two weeks ago.”
“Six months,” Kyle answered.
“Six months already,” Bundt commented. “Right! You’re no longer the newest member, right?”
“Yep,” Kyle answered. “There are like nine who are newer.”
“You grew quite fast within these six months,” Bundt commented. “You’re almost not useless anymore.”
“That will be 10% of the reward when I investigate something for you next time,” Kyle said.
“I was just joking!” Bundt said.
“Same,” Kyle answered.
The two of them bantered a bit more, and eventually, Gill’s course ended for the day.
Kyle received his feedback and went back to the cafeteria.
He waited a second near the entrance and looked around.
‘No customers today,’ he thought. ‘Well, time to-‘
“Kyle.”
Kyle looked over and saw Wyveria gesturing to him to come closer.
‘Wonder what she wants,’ Kyle thought as he came closer.
Wyveria was currently sitting at a big table with four other people.
Surprisingly, the other four people were men.
“Ace Team got a mission?” Kyle asked, looking at everyone.
“Hi, Kyle!” Bonk shouted, who also sat at the table.
“Hey, Bonk,” Kyle answered with a smile.
At this moment, the Ace Team was gathered at the table, and they were all looking at a stack of papers in front of them.
“Yes, we got a mission,” Wyveria answered, “and it’s a strange one.”
Wyveria moved the stack of papers to Kyle, who read through it.
“I can see that,” Kyle commented.
‘Mass death,’ Kyle thought as he scratched his chin. ‘Vegetation is dying. Beasts are mysteriously starving. Humans feel intense fear when walking close to the affected area.’
‘Even the corpse of a Peak Ferocious Beast was found in the area.’
‘This is serious business. If we don’t find out what’s going on, Starkhold’s economy will be affected. No surprise that this mission went to the Ace Team. Although…’
“This seems more like something the Count should deal with personally,” Kyle said. “This seems too serious.”
The Count was Starkhold’s ruler, and he was one of the two strongest people, the other one being the Chief.
“The Count is deployed, currently,” Wyveria whispered. “This is confidential information.”
Being deployed meant that the Count was on the frontlines in the war against the Winterfire Kingdom.
“What about the Chief?” Kyle asked.
Wyveria sneered. “He said that he doesn’t want to steal our glory.”
‘Yeah, not surprised Wyveria thinks the Chief is lazy.’
“So? Do you know anything about this?” Wyveria asked.
Kyle moved his eyes to the top left corner, which was an established signal for Theodor.
“Dangerous,” Theodor said. “Very dangerous.”
Kyle furrowed his brows. “Do I know what this is about?” he muttered as if he were thinking about something.
“Yes,” Theodor said. “It’s trouble. Tell them it’s about the Cult of Final Fate.”
Kyle raised a brow.
Theodor had mentioned the Cult once, and he had just said that they were a lot of trouble.
Apparently, they had even been problematic centuries ago.
Kyle took a deep breath and put the papers down.
Then, he looked at Wyveria.
“This could be the Cult of Final Fate,” he said.
The mood at the table became more serious.
“I also suspected that,” one of the members of the Ace Team said. “I’m surprised you even know about the Cult.”
“It’s my job to know,” Kyle answered.
“Do you know anything more about this?” Wyveria asked.
“This is standard procedure for them,” Kyle said, repeating Theodor’s words. “They are usually very sneaky and remain hidden, but when they prepare to strike, they suck the Ether out of the surroundings and give it to their Demon Master.”
The people on the table took a deep breath.
A Demon Master.
A Conjurer in the Third Realm.
This was serious.
“All the Ether gets used to summon a Monster that only the Cult has access to. It is called the Devourer. The Devourer is far more powerful than the Demon Master, which naturally means that the Demon Master can’t control it.”
“But they don’t need to,” Kyle added. “The Devourer will seek out the area with the most Ether, which will be Starkhold.”
The people were surprised that Kyle knew that much about the Cult.
Not even they knew about the Devourer.
“Can it be stopped?” Wyveria asked.
“It will stop itself,” Kyle said. “As soon as it reaches its target, it explodes.”
The heart rates of everyone at the table shot through the roof.
If they didn’t stop this, Starkhold would be destroyed?
“Can it be stopped before that happens?” Wyveria asked.
“It will also explode if it is close to death,” Kyle said. “As soon as it is in this world, an explosion will happen. The only thing you can control is where it explodes.”
Kyle was also breathing heavily.
After all, he was also learning about this for the first time.
“How strong is the explosion?” Wyveria asked.
“Most powerful Spell of a Late Grand Sorcerer.”
Everyone on the table fell into silence.
This was a level of power that only Theodor’s strongest Golem, Granite, could unleash.
“So, if we are fighting the Devourer…” one of the members said.
Kyle nodded. “You won’t make it back.”
“This is not something we can deal with.”
“We need to inform the Royal Army immediately.”
“We need a Duke, High-Commander, or an Advisor.”
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