Chapter 325: Chapter 325. Baited
A few walks away from the teleportation gate that would lead to the Swamp Mountains—Vesper’s "mission location"—Kailen’s gaze, ignoring bustling environs, towering sky scrowers, and the noisy sounds of hover vehicles whizzing through the sky from time to time, lingered on a figure standing before the teleportation gate, awaiting his arrival.
Vesper Locke: Red hair, red eyes, chiseled jawline, a handsome face, and a lean, compact physique, in a black Victorian-era kind of suit. This was his usual appearance. He dressed like this wherever he went.
The moment Kailen’s gaze landed on Vesper, the time dilation artifact, hovering before him, confirmed his suspicion that Vesper was a vimodial contractor.
"Looks can really be deceiving. This guy looks like a prince charming straight out of a fairytale," Kailen could not help but mutter to himself.
The moment Vesper spotted Kailen arrive, he took the initiative to greet him.
"Ah, Alchemist Darkhaven. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you!"
Vesper donned the most polite smile in the universe as he greeted Kailen.
Kailen snickered inwardly. "Since you think you are one step ahead of me, it’s better to make you think I’ve fallen for your plan."
Shaking Vesper’s hand and donning an amiable smile, Kailen voiced, with eyes full of "gratitude":
"It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Mr. Councillor. Thank you so much for the benevolence you’ve shown to my society members. Truly, if there’s anything I can do to repay you for your kindness, kindly let me know."
Vesper, and even the vimodial, could sense no pretense in Kailen’s words. His voice, his spatial expression, the look in his eyes, were all sincere.
The time dilation artifact could not help but sigh in amazement at Kailen’s acting prowess.
"Hehe, how about you become an actor? I’m sure you can bag an Oscar one day."
Kailen chuckled and shook his head inwardly at the words of the time dilation artifact.
"See, I told you it will work," the vimodial contractor whispered to Vesper.
"I never doubted you," Vesper inwardly chuckled.
"This fellow is said to repay kindness with kindness and evil for evil. As long as he feels indebted to us for saving his society members, he was naturally bound to show up to return the favor."
This conversation between Vesper and the vimodial took place in just a moment.
Vesper, however, politely replied to Kailen.
"Naturally, it was my duty. I am not someone who tolerates injustice after all. I could not bring myself to let someone harm them."
Kailen played along and nodded in agreement.
Vesper figured Kailen wanted them to proceed quickly with the mission.
Vesper went on to spout some bullshit about needing to harvest a particular alchemical ingredient for a particular product. According to Vesper, the ingredient would lose its function the moment it was plucked from the stalk unless an alchemist with an extremely potent alchemical flame refined it on the spot. Vesper said he was not confident his alchemical flame was strong enough to accomplish this.
He went on to say that this was why he had invited Kailen, a formidable alchemist, for the task. Naturally, Kailen played along again.
Pleased with Kailen’s reception, the duo made their way through the teleportation gate, each carrying their own ruthless thoughts.
Kailen and Vesper appeared in a completely different region.
Just like the name Swamp Mountain hinted, this place was a swamp region teeming with towering mountains, with jagged peaks peering through the misty clouds.
The whole place screamed silence and eeriness.
"Let’s proceed further. According to the map, the ingredient seems to be somewhere in the middle of the swamp region," Vesper said.
Kailen nodded politely. However, a ruthless smirk couldn’t help but play at the edge of his lips, one that disappeared as soon as it appeared.
"Since we are near the teleportation gate, he thinks there’s a risk that when he attacks me, I can escape through the teleportation gate. Therefore, he wants to lure me into the middle of the swamp, where there’s little chance of escaping, and get rid of me there. This guy is really sly. It’s a pity though. He thinks he’s leading me into a trap, but he doesn’t know I’m actually leading him into one."
After several moments of peaceful silence between the two, they finally arrived at the middle region of the swamp, far away from the teleportation gate.
Kailen feigned a confused expression—one that Vesper noticed and smirked at.
Kailen’s gaze darted here and there, as if he was searching for the alchemical ingredient Vesper had mentioned.
"This place is full of water, with no plants in sight. Mr. Councillor, I think the map probably showed us a wrong location. Maybe we have to return."
The moment Kailen said that, Vesper revealed his true colors. A malicious aura suddenly spread throughout the surroundings.
Vesper licked his lips at this moment, his eyes teeming with pure malicious intent towards Kailen.
"You are really stupid for someone they claim to be very cautious and sly."
His whole gentlemanly and kind demeanor had morphed into a crazed one. A large fishing rod appeared in his hands, one he stared at with fanatic glee for a moment. The fishing rod seemed to have been made of blood, pulsing with otherworldly malevolence.
The rod was swung towards Kailen’s direction.
Then, Vesper’s gaze lingered on Kailen, who seemed to be frightened and confused about the sudden outcome of events, before his figure flickered and disappeared from the spot, his target—Kailen—floating a few walks away from him.
When he appeared at where Kailen was previously standing, Kailen had used umbral replacement to disappear from the location.
Kailen Darkhaven had completely disappeared.
Vesper scanned the environs, but there was no sign of Kailen.
Vesper was about to sink into the depths of the water to search for Kailen, thinking that perhaps Kailen had entered the swamp water to disappear.
Instead, a figure that all the councillors of the student council even feared appeared before Vesper—Zarek Atrexia. Alongside him, another fellow had made an appearance—Ethan Revearson, one of the councillors of the student council.
Vesper was extremely shocked, so shocked that he could not process the sight before him.
What the hell was going on?