Chapter 96: What We Earned [2]
Edgar ignored the question. "I have a few questions."
"I expected as much." She gently folded her hands over her lap. "Go ahead."
"...Who the fuck are you?"
Semele didn’t seem offended by his bluntness. Instead, the corners of her lips curled up slightly.
"I was wondering how long it would take before you asked."
Edgar’s expression remained cold. "I’m not joking."
"I know."
The woman gently brushed a strand of black hair behind her ear.
"I am Semele."
Edgar’s eye twitched.
"You know about the Bell Demon, you know about complex rituals, and you know what my strengths are."
He pulled over a chair and sat down, leaning forward until their faces were only inches apart.
"I’ll ask again...Who are you?"
Semele didn’t move away. If anything, the distance between their faces seemed to amuse her.
Her crimson eyes quietly met Edgar’s without the slightest hint of fear.
For several long seconds, neither of them spoke.
"I can’t tell you," she finally replied.
"But I assure you, I am not here to harm you."
"Then why are you here?" Edgar asked without leaning back.
"Why bother showing up at my Fortress?" Semele’s smile softened ever so slightly. "...Because I was looking for someone."
She slowly rose from her chair.
The hem of her black dress swayed gently as she walked toward Edgar.
She stopped only when her face was barely a finger’s width away from his.
"What you have will always attract dangerous things." Her voice remained gentle. "Be prepared, because I will not be here with you forever."
With those words, she turned and walked away, leaving the boy alone with his thoughts.
"..."
He couldn’t tell whether she had been warning him... or reminding him of something he had yet to discover.
’...What a pain in the ass.’
Edgar grumbled inwardly.
He wanted to tell her to leave, but he had a feeling doing so would only make things worse.
’I just need to find a way to extract information from her.’
With that thought, Edgar walked toward the warehouse.
The moment he stepped inside, dozens of sacks filled with Nightmare Stones greeted him.
Andrew immediately noticed his arrival.
"Young Master!"
The young man hurried over before giving a respectful bow.
"We’ve finished sorting everything."
Edgar nodded. "Show me."
Andrew led him deeper into the warehouse. On one side were neatly stacked White Nightmare Stones.
Each sack was tied tightly and marked with charcoal.
The Green Stones were stored separately inside sturdy wooden crates.
As for the two Yellow Stones, Andrew carefully lifted out a small iron box.
"I didn’t dare leave these with the others."
Edgar opened the lid. Inside lay two thumb-sized dark yellow Nightmare Stones.
Unlike the White and Green ones, faint streams of golden mist drifted within the crystals.
They looked quite different from the last Yellow-grade Stone he had obtained from the lizard commander.
These were noticeably darker, perhaps reflecting the fact that the two commanders had been much stronger.
"...Beautiful."
Edgar picked one up.
The moment it touched his palm, a familiar notification echoed inside his mind.
---
[Grade Yellow Nightmare Stone detected.]
[New Blueprints available.]
---
Edgar’s eyes lit up.
’Wait... this works as well?’
He immediately opened the Blueprint menu.
The familiar blue screen appeared before him.
One after another, new entries materialised.
---
[Spirit Purification Bath – Available]
[Nightmare Detection Beacon – Available]
[Soul Guardian Repair Platform – Available]
---
Edgar rubbed his chin as he looked over the three blueprints provided by the system.
He selected the first one, and information about the Spirit Purification Bath appeared before him.
---
⟨Level 1 Spirit Purification Bath⟩
Can purify the spirit of anyone who bathes in it.
Can eliminate poison, Eternal Night residue, stress, pain, and much more.
Total Cost: 20 Nightmare Stones.
---
’So... it’s just a bath?’
Edgar wondered as he read the vague description.
’No... there’s probably much more to it, just like every other blueprint the system has given me.’
He didn’t dismiss it immediately.
The System had a habit of hiding the true value of its creations behind painfully brief descriptions.
He suddenly remembered the Bell Demon.
Just hearing its laughter had nearly split his head apart.
’Does it remove mental corruption?’
If the Eternal Night could slowly erode a person’s spirit, then a building capable of cleansing it would be priceless.
His thoughts immediately drifted toward another person.
’Hera...’
This could genuinely help the girl whose mind was constantly burdened with negative thoughts.
’Or maybe everyone living here carries some kind of invisible contamination.’
’Well, twenty stones aren’t much anymore, so I might as well build it.’
Edgar slowly nodded before shifting his attention to the next blueprint.
---
⟨Level 1 Nightmare Detection Beacon⟩
A detection structure capable of sensing concentrated Nightmare Energy.
Continuously scans a ten-kilometre radius and warns the owner of approaching Nightmare activity.
Can identify Commander-class Nightmares before they enter the Fortress’s normal detection range.
---
"....."
Edgar read the description twice just to make sure he was reading it right.
A slow smile spread across his face. "...This is exactly what I needed."
Andrew gave him a strange look after seeing him talk to himself, but Edgar didn’t care.
The Headless Nightmare had gathered thousands of corpses before summoning the Bell Demon.
That amount of Nightmare Energy couldn’t possibly go unnoticed by a structure specifically designed to detect it.
"...Good."
Simply knowing an enemy was approaching hours in advance was enough to completely change the outcome of a battle.
His gaze shifted toward the final blueprint.
---
⟨Level 1 Soul Guardian Repair Platform⟩
A specialised platform designed to restore damaged Soul Guardians.
By consuming Nightmare Stones, the platform continuously repairs damaged bodies.
---
’Alright... this will definitely come in handy.’
Edgar was already planning to increase the number of Soul Guardians.
A platform capable of repairing them would undoubtedly become an invaluable asset.
Edgar rubbed his chin and studied the three blueprints for another moment before setting them aside.
"What else did we get?" he asked, looking at Andrew.
"Well, we got some Nightmare Shards and various materials," Andrew replied.
"I’ve kept the bodies of both commanders separate for refinement."
"Bring their bodies to the other ⟨Tower of Souls⟩. I want to check something."
Although confused, Andrew nodded. "Alright."
As the young man walked out of the warehouse, Edgar stared ahead.
"I wonder..." he murmured to himself. "Will I get Commander-ranked Soul Guardians... or not?"