Chapter 150: Hotel
I removed my mask and stored it carefully, resuming my normal appearance as Adrian Blackwood. There was no point maintaining my alternate identity with family subordinates, just in case. I wanted this identity to be completely free from my own identity with no ties.
The sound of approaching footsteps and equipment echoed from the cave entrance, multiple individuals moving.
"Young Master Blackwood?" A commanding voice called out.
"In here," I replied calmly.
The excavation team entered the main chamber, led by a Transcendent-rank captain whose disciplined bearing marked him as professional security. Behind him, a dozen specialized harvesters carried equipment designed for monster material extraction, while additional guards maintained perimeter positions.
The captain stepped into the chamber and froze completely.
His eyes swept across the massacre before him - hundreds of spider corpses carpeting the floor, walls splattered with blood and ichor, the massive bodies of three Transcendent Thornbacks dominating the space. The sheer scale of carnage was overwhelming even for someone with his combat experience.
What made his shock even more profound was the obvious fact that only I stood among the dead.
There was no other bodies, no sign of additional combatants. Just a single young man waiting calmly in the aftermath of total extermination.
The captain’s face showed transparent confusion and dawning realization as he processed the implications. His gaze moved from the corpses to me , then back to the corpses, clearly struggling to reconcile what he was witnessing with what should have been possible.
"Young master..." he began, his voice carrying obvious disbelief. "Did you...never mind."
I walked over and patted him on the shoulder with a casual gesture. "Take care of everything, Captain. Harvest what’s valuable, secure what needs preservation, and dispose of the rest appropriately."
The captain’s expression shifted immediately to one of profound reverence. He straightened his posture and saluted, any trace of scepticism replaced by awed respect.
"Yes, Young Master! It will be handled with utmost efficiency!"
This wasn’t just some random awakener giving orders.
This was the young master of the Blackwood family - the sole inheritor, the future Duke who would someday command their entire duchy. And he had just demonstrated capabilities that would make experienced Transcendent warriors look inadequate by comparison.
The captain turned to his team and began issuing rapid commands, his voice carrying the authority of someone who understood exactly how significant tonight’s operation was.
With the excavation team handling the material harvest, I left the cave and made my way back toward the city. Once I was certain no prying eyes could observe me, I retrieved my mask and placed it back on, resuming the anonymous identity that allowed me to move freely without drawing attention to the Blackwood heir.
The night’s work had been extraordinarily successful. My power had increased dramatically through multiple rank advancements and soul power absorption.
The new Strong Body aspect provided constant defensive enhancement that would prove invaluable in future combat.
The blacksmithing materials from Transcendent beasts - bones, tendons, carapaces, represented resources that money couldn’t easily buy. And the monetary returns from selling processed Thornback materials would generate substantial wealth for the family coffers.
More money was never something to reject, even as the son of a Duke. Wealth translated to influence, resources, and opportunities that pure combat strength alone couldn’t provide. The excavation team would convert tonight’s massacre into tangible financial gains that could fund future projects and acquisitions.
As I walked through the darkened forest paths, my thoughts turned to my father’s mission. I retrieved the Book of Hints from my storage and opened it carefully, focusing my intent on his current status.
New text materialized across the page:
Duke Marcus Blackwood continues travel toward Thornhaven. Combat encounters with scouting beasts eliminated efficiently. Royal-rank footwork technique integration progressing well. Physical condition: excellent. Morale: determined.
Probability of survival: 62%
A genuine smile formed on my face beneath the mask. The survival chance had increased by three percentage points since my last check. That meant my father was actively strengthening himself during the journey, likely through his continued practice with the Royal-rank secret art.
Sixty-two percent wasn’t perfect, but it represented a dramatic improvement from the original five percent death sentence. My intervention had mattered, transforming an impossible situation into one with realistic survival odds.
’Keep getting stronger, Father,’ I thought. ’Come back alive.’
Once inside the city walls, I made my way back toward the academy through the quieter late-night streets.
As I approached the district near the academy gates, my enhanced senses detected two familiar presences ahead. My eyes landed on Kyle and Seraphina standing near the entrance to one of the upscale establishments that catered to wealthy students and young nobles.
They both looked noticeably drunk - not stumbling or incoherent, but carrying the relaxed posture and slightly unfocused gazes that indicated significant alcohol consumption. Given their Elite-rank constitutions and awakened abilities, getting genuinely intoxicated wasn’t easy. It required deliberately suppressing their natural immunity systems to allow the alcohol’s effects to take hold, which meant they’d gone deliberately heavy with their drinking.
My eyes crossed with Kyle’s for a brief moment. I caught the subtle smirk that formed on his face - calculated and deliberate rather than the loose expression of genuine drunkenness.
Without breaking eye contact with me, Kyle casually grabbed Seraphina’s waist and guided her toward a nearby hotel entrance. The gesture was possessive and theatrical, clearly performed for my benefit rather than genuine romantic intent.
I looked at the scene with cold indifference, my expression remaining completely neutral. The transparent attempt at provocation was almost amusing in its childishness.
Kyle was obviously trying to antagonize me by taking my former fiancée to a hotel directly in front of my eyes. The psychological warfare was crude but targeted - attempting to trigger jealousy, anger, or some emotional response that would compromise my judgment.
Ignoring the manufactured scene before me, I continued walking toward the academy without pause or reaction. My pace didn’t change, my expression didn’t shift, and I gave no indication that Kyle’s performance had registered as anything beyond mildly tedious background noise.