Chapter 608: The Truth [1]

A broken node?

Despite my best attempt at trying to keep my face straight, I couldn’t help but raise my brow slightly.

This wasn’t the first time.

’In fact, it’s the second time that they mentioned that something is wrong with my head. How do they know all of this? It shouldn’t be possible. I know that Paimon revealed a few things, but how did they figure everything out from just a few words?’

I immediately grew cautious.

"There’s no need to worry too much. I can understand your concerns, but we’ve got a special method that allows us to determine things like this."

His words made me even more cautious.

There was no way they’d offer something like this to me for free. The catch. Where was the catch?

"There’s no need to worry too much about compensation. I’ve already struck a deal with your Guild Master for that."

"....."

My eyes narrowed.

A few things started to make sense to me now. In particular, the Guild Master’s willingness to allow me to come here. Now, it made a little bit more sense.

But there were still a few things that I was skeptical about.

’Did the Guild Master also know about my situation? Or is it that they told him about my situation and struck a deal in the process?’

The more I thought about it, the more I struggled to comprehend the situation. I knew that I was valuable to the Guild, but the Guild Master wasn’t the type of person who would just help me like that. He was someone who looked for benefits in anything.

’There’s something that someone isn’t telling me.’

"Actually, you don’t need to think too much about it."

The old man’s voice pulled me from my thoughts once more as he poured himself some water. Bringing the cup to his lips, he took a slow sip before continuing, "You may not be aware, but our Guild has spent extensive resources trying to help resolve fractures in nodes. We’ve poured billions of dollars into this project, and for us, this is also a valuable opportunity to test our treatments."

"...Oh."

Things started to make a little bit more sense.

But...

"How did you find out about my condition?"

This was the part that was bothering me the most.

How did they know? Was it truly because of Paimon’s words?

"Mainly from the Congress."

The old man smiled, putting the glass down.

"Outside of that, you also exhibit the most common symptoms that come from a fractured node. We were able to put two and two together, which is why we went ahead and proposed the deal with your Guild Master."

"I see."

Things made a bit more sense.

But nevertheless...

"While I do appreciate your offer, I’d like to reject your help. "

I pressed my hands against the armrests of the chair and pushed myself up.

It would be a lie if I said that I wasn’t tempted by their treatment, but in hindsight, there was no need for me to take it. Yes, I was sick. This much I knew and had long been aware of. However, I had somehow managed to contain my disease.

I knew what I needed to do.

The next goal was to reach the Fifth Order and gain access to the Fifth Order shop and acquire a better cure for my Cognitive Shard. If that failed, I could always ask Paimon.

The options were endless.

There was no need for me to linger here.

Furthermore...

’I don’t have a fragmented node.’

The extent of my ’disease’ was far worse than that.

"We’ve already struck a deal with your Guild Master."

Despite my actions, the old man remained calm. Almost as if he was expecting such an answer from me.

I merely glanced in his direction before shaking my head.

"Then you can cancel that deal. I never agreed to it."

To be honest, the main reason I didn’t want to go through with this was that I had too many secrets to keep. In particular, my true Order. With the system’s help, I had managed to hide it well, but who was to say they wouldn’t uncover it if they examined me closely?

Simply put, it wasn’t worth the risk.

"Are you sure you don’t want to go through with this? If you keep going, the situation will only get worse for you."

"That’s fine. I’m prepared for the consequences."

"....."

The room fell silent for a brief moment. Feeling the gazes of the two on me, I tried to ignore them as I made my way toward the door. But just as I reached it, a figure appeared, stepping in front of me, her dark eyes narrowing slightly.

"You’re going to die at this rate."

"....Really?"

Shock!

Her eyes narrowed further.

"Is your life a joke to you?"

I opened my mouth to reply, but just as the words were about to come out, I found myself pausing.

Life...

I used to care so much about it.

I persisted because I didn’t want to die.

But thinking back about everything that had happened in hell, I suddenly started to question the value of my own life.

How much was my life worth?

Hmm.

Suddenly, I smiled while looking at the girl in front of me.

"Not quite a joke. It’s worth a lot."

A King’s worth.

Liora’s lips parted, her voice just about to leave her lips, but at that moment, the door opened, and a couple of figures stepped in from behind.

In an instant, Liora’s lips shut as her brows furrowed tightly.

I turned my attention towards the two figures that had entered, my head tilting slightly.

"Father."

The woman, who looked quite a lot like Liora, barged into the room while sparing a glance in Liora’s direction. She merely looked at her for a second before turning her attention towards Kaelric.

Following her from behind was a tall gentleman who carried himself with a quiet grace.

"What is the meaning of this, father?!"

The woman’s voice was loud and somewhat obnoxious as she stopped before Kaelric.

"I heard that you’re planning on using the cure that we’ve developed on an outsider! What are you thinking? That’s not something that we should share with outsiders! What if they steal it from us? That’s not..."

Her words soon came to a pause as she finally took notice of me. As her head slowly turned in my direction, I felt something build up in my chest. Staring at her and feeling her gaze made my stomach feel weird.

All of a sudden...

I felt like throwing up.

Something about her made me feel uncomfortable.

’Is she a sort of anomaly?’

"You..."

The woman addressed me for a moment before turning her attention back to her father.

"Is this the guy?"

Kaelric didn’t even look at her. He merely looked in my direction and smiled.

"I do hope that you change your mind. Our offer is sincere. We won’t force you, though. In the chance that you do change your mind, my number is always available."

He then looked at Liora.

"Please escort him back."

"Father!"

The woman continued to protest, but was promptly ignored as Liora escorted me out of the room.

The moment the door closed, I heard the muffled sound of shouting coming from behind. I scratched the back of my head while turning my attention back to Liora, who walked ahead of me.

Then—

"That’s my mother."

Liora quietly spoke without looking back.

"...And my father."