Chapter 174: Lance Discovers the Poet of Boundless Loves Weird Quirks

Chapter 174: Lance Discovers the Poet of Boundless Love's Weird Quirks

Lance was in the second-floor corridor, preparing to return to the sanctuary to find Hyperion and Frey, but paused when he noticed the castle around him gradually begin to dissolve.

He commented, "Oh my, looks like I won't have to walk after all."

As the castle walls faded away, the glowing radiance of the light of dawn was suddenly swallowed by profound darkness. In the blink of an eye, Lance found himself inside a transparent cabin seemingly enveloped by an eternal starry sky.

A few stars twinkled sparsely, shining brilliantly as if whispering tales spanning eons. There was just enough light to clearly see his surroundings, and he immediately noticed Frey and Hyperion were also here.

This was a wondrous space where reality and the Shadow Realm intertwined, forming a boundary between the two realms. A widening crack quietly appeared on the transparent barrier nearby, leaking wisps of serene purple radiance. Soon, by passing through this small Void Gate, they would be able to return to the real world and to their familiar campus life at Ikerite University.

However, the Shadow Realm's final tally had yet to appear. Based on past experience, Lance and Hyperion knew that if they bypassed too many mechanics during a real Shadow Realm challenge, the post-mission settlement process would take a little longer than usual. No one could say how long the delay would be this time.

Lance smiled at Hyperion and Frey, ready to strike up a conversation. He confidently assured them, "Our rewards this time shouldn't be too shabby. After all, we boosted our score by sacrificing merits."

Hyperion covered her cheeks. In order to ensure she received better rewards, Lance had made her personally activate the Solar Powered Infinite Merit Machine several times. While she was grateful to Lance, she realized that the longer she spent with him, the less chance she had of ever remaining a normal human being.

Frey remarked, "I'm starting to look forward to it."

The enchanted cards Frey carried had all been given to him by his mentor, Sphintus, the dean of the Knights' College. So far, he had only received cards that were Purple and below. The mere thought of potentially acquiring his first Pink or even Orange enchanted card presented him with a happy dilemma. Should he use such a card himself, or sell it for a fortune and take a gamble?

Hyperion said, "Frey, if you were to sell a high grade enchanted card that was perfectly suited to you, Dean Sphintus would never let you off the hook..."

She was, of course, quite familiar with the elderly dean of the Knights' College. After all, he had once been the mentor to Duke Michael Aransar as well. The fact that the old dean had taken a liking to Frey was proof that the young man possessed talent rivaling that of Michael, who was someone who had been hailed as a true all-rounder. ℯ𝕝.

Just as the three of them were chatting casually, information suddenly began to materialize and flicker within that quiet, peculiar space, with a pure white glow scrolling line by line against the surrounding darkness.

[Shadow Realm, Banquet of Sanctuary Villains, has been cleared.]

[Calculations are complete. Now generating evaluation.]

[As Challengers Lance, Hyperion, and Frey entered as a team, team-based scoring applies.]

[During this deduction-style Shadow Realm run that lasted a total of 120 hours, the Challenger team identified the Traitors in 11 hours and 30 minutes and fully uncovered all information in 17 hours and 58 minutes.]

[The team achieved the following milestones:]

[Noble Mentor (SS) — Under your influence, most living beings evolve within a single day. For those unable to evolve naturally, you assist their evolution through alternative means.]

[Villain's Feast (A) — Successfully achieved the Traitors' objectives within this deduction-style Shadow Realm. Rescued and seized control of Viscount Augustine.]

[External Combat Expert (S) — The Traitor fell into your trap and was tormented until battered beyond recognition.]

[Musical Enlightenment (E) — At your request, the Poet of Boundless Love earnestly played the pipe organ, refraining from her usual preference of modifying it into an earth-shattering piece of kitchenware.]

[Vampire Catch-and-Release (SSS) — You sealed and released Viscount Augustine over ten thousand times in total.]

[Conscience (D) — You are a kind-hearted witch. You are the only one acting like a decent human being.]

Lance looked at the light screen and said happily to the other two, "These achievements must be for Hyperion and me."

"...What the heck is that 'Musical Enlightenment' one?" Despite having plenty to complain about, Hyperion found the achievement related to the Poet the most baffling. She then asked out of puzzlement, "Could it be that the Poet had her eye on that pipe organ the whole time?"

Frey nodded, finally understanding the Poet's weird quirks. "No wonder she was always loitering around in the sanctuary and staring at it. I thought she just wanted to play it a bit longer."

It turned out that the fire that had been burning in her eyes wasn't the soul of a musician, but instead the soul of a craftsman.

Lance felt a lingering sense of unease. "I really need to keep a closer eye on my summoned creature from now on. She's too unpredictable. I absolutely cannot let her get near any priceless musical instruments."

The Poet possessed complete self-awareness, yet even Lance couldn't fathom what was going on in her mind. He hadn't expected her to be quite so...unhinged.

If she were to accidentally damage one of the kingdom's priceless, treasured instruments, the liability for any destruction caused by a summoned creature would fall squarely on the summoner. This meant Lance could easily be bankrupted paying for the damages.

As they conversed, the evaluation for their Shadow Realm challenge continued to update.

[Master Detective (SS) — You are a detective possessing both intellect and combat prowess. You leave enemies unable to discern whether you solve cases through brute force or sheer brainpower.]

[Guardian of the Ancient Castle (C) — Thanks to your efficient case-solving, the bedroom doors were not destroyed by the Traitors on the first night. You successfully kept Lichten's Castle intact.]

[Vampire's Boon (S) — Through your efforts, the vampires have achieved an unprecedented evolutionary path: the mummy.]

[Achievement review concluded. Evaluation has been generated.]

[Your presence transformed the nature of this killing game. Compared to you, the two Traitors assigned by the Banquet of Sanctuary Villains seem like mere amateurs.]

[Overall Evaluation: SSS]

[Rank Promotion: Lance (Rank 3 to 4), Hyperion (Rank 4 to 5), Frey (Rank 4 to 5).]

At the very moment the rewards were tallied, all three individuals experienced a breakthrough in rank. Lance even realized that, having just reached Rank 4, he was already not far off from Rank 5.

Challenging a Level 5 Shadow Realm dungeon while at Rank 3 already yielded massive rewards, let alone achieving an SSS rating.

Meanwhile, Frey was experiencing this kind of divine, enlightening empowerment for the first time. He clenched his fists in astonishment.

Lance asked, "How does it feel, Frey?"

Compared to him and Hyperion, Frey was likely the one who would experience the most dramatic changes from the rank-up.

"...Is this Rank 5? If I were to face the Saintess of Destruction one-on-one in a forested environment at night, I could trap and kill her." Frey was certain that, along with the rank advancement, more of his werewolf traits had awakened.

Lance nodded. Even at Rank 4, Frey had possessed strength rivaling that of a normal warrior at Rank 5. Now that he was at Rank 5, Frey's racial bonuses at night made him a force to be reckoned with, even against Rank 6 opponents. This fully erased the gargantuan gap between Ranks 5 and 6. He could arguably be considered the team's strongest combatant at this moment.

[Reward Settlement: Tear of Immortal Glass (Tier 4 Epic Equipment Card), Heart of the Proud Wolf King (Epic grade Material), The Witch's Warm Companionship (Tier 5 Divine Equipment Card).]

Soon, following the appearance of this message, three glowing orbs wreathed in a hazy aura drifted toward them.