1101 An Unexpected Resolution
Varian understood that he had no chance of resisting her power, whatever it may be. So, instead, he used his sliver powers and channeled them right into his brain.
He already lost his memory once. It's more accurate to say it was sealed off. So, all he had to do now…
"I found them on a corpse in the Inner Space. There was a fierce space storm and I was lucky to get it. The corpse was then blown away and I never found any traces."
"Where exactly?"
Varian frowned and clutched his forehead. His eyes slowly went out of focus and he said. "I don't know…I was kidnapped from my home planet and thrown into a crazy place. I managed to escape, but in the middle of it, my memories are messed up. When I was escaping, I found it in the Inner space of Nexus Empire."
'So, he is indeed taken in by one of those madmen in Nexus.' His words only reaffirmed her initial assessment.
On the other hand, Varian picked Nexus Empire for a specific reason. Since Devas were related to the tribe of Chaos, all their vassals should also be from that area which had now become Nexus Empire. If this woman really inquires about other items, it'd all tie in and make for a more believable case.
The veiled woman's eyes flashed with a glint of annoyance and she waved her hand.
Varian blinked in confusion and looked around for a moment before he came to his senses.
The veiled woman on the other hand lost interest in investigating further. She did find the ring to be special but not that special. If it's gone, it's gone. Her mission was the priority anyway.
"Out of the six materials you're searching for, I will give you three for satisfying my curiosity. I will tell you where the other three are present. Whether you find them or not is up to you." She flipped her hand and three glowing materials appeared in front of Varian.
Fragrance Of Death, a flower born on the death of a billion.
Sands Of Time, any material stained with the extreme power of time.
Equalizer, a liquid metal capable of making two different materials identical for a short period of time.
"You..." Varian was speechless.
Even though all the tribes said these materials weren't very 'precious', it's only relative to the artifacts themselves.
For any province, these were materials that'd cost an arm and leg. Even in Duchy, these items would be sold for sky-high prices and be held only by powerful people.
And this woman was just giving them away for satisfying her curiosity. After brazenly trying to invade his privacy, now this reward.
Varian was suspicious of her motives.
The woman didn't care about his thoughts and stated. "The water of life is rumored to be with a drug lord in Ubiq. The space gem is rare, but the Havoc tribe should have at least three. The crown of elements should be in the treasury of the Duchy."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"What do you think?" The woman looked at him with a casual gaze, signaling that she didn't need a reason to do this. She implied that this was so low for her that she didn't even need a reason.
Varian wasn't so sure. Even though she acted like she didn't care and it made sense that she shouldn't care about these materials at her level, something still felt off.
"I have one question." Varian looked at her with a neutral gaze.
"This isn't an interview." The woman stood up and walked to the exit on the other side.
"How strong are you?"
"Why? You want to call a powerhouse to beat me up?" The woman didn't turn around but asked in a mischievous voice.
Varian's lips twitched and he shook his head. "I want to fight you one day."
A silence settled in the room before it was broken by a peal of loud laughter.
"Pffft, Hahahahaha!" The woman clutched her stomach and laughed.
Until now, she remained so solemn and mysterious that she evoked fear and anxiety. But now, she laughed so carefreely that her previous image was shattered.
Yet, Varian only grew warier of her. He didn't know why but she was so natural that it felt fake. Was he overthinking? Perhaps. But was he sure that she was hiding something about helping him? Absolutely.
"A rank 1 wants to fight me. I don't get that every day." She wiped the corner of her eyes and looked at him like he was an interesting animal in the zoo.
"If you can defeat ten people like Duke of Centaurus at once, you're qualified to fight me."
Duke of Centaurus was Rank 5. Then this woman was at least peak rank 5 or maybe even rank 6.
Varian's head buzzed and he once again wondered why the hell was such a powerhouse lurking in this pitiful Duchy.
"You know what you shouldn't say outside, right? Even if you do, no one will believe you. But you'll pay the price for speaking up." The woman warned in a casual tone and disappeared from his sight.
When Varian learned that she wanted to meet him, he 'leaked' the news for his own safety. Every guest in the Unicorn House knew about this meeting. If something happened to him, then this woman from Infinity Store would be blamed.
'Maybe that's the only reason she didn't think of killing me.'
Perhaps. Perhaps not.
But what's utterly certain was his own weakness. In Varian's defense, he was afraid of poking a hornet's nest by going around and fighting rank 2s.
However, this meeting completely changed his perspective.
The cost of not taking any risks and steadily growing seemed to be greater than taking risks to grow strong fast.
'Then I should start beating up.' Varian's face once again turned into his disguise and he calmly exited the Auction House.
The Drug Lord, the Havoc Pirates, and the Treasury.
'I'll have to fight the first two groups for certain, but they already have a conflict with me. It feels unnatural for the materials to be in their hands…' Varian looked at the Infinity Store in the distance and clenched his fists.
It felt like she was pushing him to fight them for something else.
But what benefit would that give her? And why couldn't she do that herself? What was she even planning?
And even if she did have some other motives, it's true that the three items she gave him were genuine.
Even if it's a try, he had to jump in. He had no other choice.
Varian headed straight to the center of Ubiq's poor side. Hoping she didn't lie, he decided to strike the palace of the drug lord's mafia.
— — — —
In the guard quarters near the palace:
"Hey, hey!" Someone kicked Koa on the back and he came back to his senses from the high.
Angrily turning around, he glared at his colleague. "Why the fuck are you—?"
"Your shift is in ten minutes. Don't be late." The man dropped his armor and jumped onto his bed, slipping into a sweet sleep.
"Fuck! I can't even have a good time in peace." Koa put away the drug packets into his storage ring and started to put on his armor. But his head suddenly grew dizzy and his vision went blank.
Varian silently infiltrated the Drug Lord's Palace.
