Chapter 231: Late-Night Browsing

Moon, since he first heard the orders, had known more than just those ordered to leave would leave.

Some would join their overnight friends on the new side.

Some would think twice about what they should be doing.

Others would drop out entirely, leaving this trial for a new chance, a better chance in the unknown future.

He didn’t linger, nor did he overthink things for once; if anything, he was glad that those who were hesitant had left.

He had also steeled his heart, knowing too well he would see familiar faces soon on the battlefield.

As for Delilah and Ophelia, they were new faces entirely.

It was rather regrettable to lose some competent people, but it was against his way of doing things to force others to stay and fight by his side.

The entire ill-fate between himself and Korr, or the ill-fate of his life entirely, started with a similar trigger.

Moon didn’t want them to be hesitant; he just wanted them to leave if they were waiting for his permission.

"You may leave if you want to; I won’t hold anyone back," he said dismissively, not lingering a second.

"Wait," Delilah, the tender-looking arcanist, called. "This isn’t what we are here for."

Moon paused, skeptically shooting them a glance.

"Actually, Master Lucen forbade many from coming here; he said their chances of surviving don’t exist," she added.

Moon listened without interrupting them.

Ophelia spoke next.

"Master Lucen sent us a message after the defection orders; he said we can choose to leave or support you without holding back anything."

Moon blinked once.

He found himself leaning forward, massaging his forehead.

"Do you guys think a war would allow for half-assed support?" Moon asked, not understanding what they were saying.

Their words sounded ignorant and nonsensical, by all means.

Moon himself was at every battle, squeezing every ounce of strength his body could afford. His Death Echo was a curse, something he couldn’t use rather than something he wasn’t willing to use.

He wasn’t hiding his strength in any way; only the fact that he was an arcanist was hidden.

Everything else was laid bare.

Moon was someone who relied on his skill rather than hidden abilities in most cases.

Ophelia, on the other hand, seemed to realize their conversation was leading to a misunderstanding rather than an agreement.

"Sir Moon, this isn’t what I meant," she said slowly. "Assault Facility has its own items and means of competing with the clans."

Moon’s eyes lit up. He instantly understood.

They had items... Something like the Universal Armor he had once fought against.

Lucen permitted them to use them only today after the orders; he also gave them the freedom to abandon the trial if they wanted to.

"So... Are you staying or leaving?" Moon asked one last time, just to be sure.

Delilah frowned. "We already said we’re staying."

"Cool." Moon gave each of them a thumbs-up before turning around to leave.

Moon was tired, and the deserters gave him peace of mind at last. Though there were others who were still questionable, he decided not to think of it.

He went to his room, placed down his belongings, and took off his armor and shoes.

He lay down on his bed, next to the still-sleeping Mishu without waking him up.

Placing his head on the pillow, Moon heard a peace-inducing purr that felt both familiar and unfamiliar.

As if he had heard it before somewhere but couldn’t remember.

Moon closed his eyes, letting his tired mind finally relax. "I’ll leave our safety in your paws," he whispered last before finally closing his eyes.

Moon slept soundly for the rest of the day, only waking up by the time the sky was dark.

Stretching comfortably in his bed, he had a few plans now that he was awake.

First, he wanted to use the ring to search for some intel.

Ed said he could search topics or events using keywords, and he had something important to search right now.

Necromancers.

Moon spent hours jumping from one topic to another.

Death Orb, or so is the name of the item Necromancers carry to store their Undead and Death Echo.

Necromancers can’t survive Death Echo, and the Tower System doesn’t allow for Death Echo or undead to be stored inside; thus, the orb is used.

The orb perfectly masks all traces of Death inside; no scent could be caught from it.

This now explained why Rowa thought he was an undead rather than a necromancer.

Necromancers can’t have the scent of death radiate off their bodies; only undead can.

She had also checked Moon thoroughly with her piercing eyes; he didn’t have a death orb on him.

Now things started falling into place.

Moon tried to search for the source of the items called Death Orbs, or so the people of the Tower called them.

The items couldn’t be identified by the Tower system, so the name itself might be wrong.

Window after window, Moon couldn’t find any reliable information.

Some stated that it was the result of using undead for the first time; others said it was an item that didn’t belong to the Tower at all.

Others said it was a result of a pact.

"With who?" Moon wondered, but no answer was found.

He still wanted to search for more.

He wanted to see one last thing before he dropped this topic for a later date.

A battle.

Moon wanted to find out how Necromancers fought and how others fought them.

Through his search, Moon found three main factions that seemed to have direct enmity with the necromancers.

First, it was the Merit Order...

The Merit Order is even conscripting individuals from different backgrounds and assigning quests to hunt necromancers or suppress undead.

Second, Assault Facility...

There’s a special undead-hunting group within the facility, which Rowa probably belonged to, or so Moon concluded.

The last was the Church of the Sun...

Which led to a new search... What was that church?

Moon started searching the Church, only to find it was never a religious group.

The church invited certain individuals to its ranks, and the true reason was never stated. Those who were invited were never meant to be strong or useful.

The church never demanded anything from those who belonged there in the first place.

Yet, more importantly.

The church’s true age was unknown; Moon found some claims that it was even older than the Merit Order.

"This doesn’t make any sense." Moon pushed himself up, saying, "How could it be older than these guys running the Tower?" he questioned out loud.

Still, Moon searched for a while longer... he wanted to see what the church actually did, and how they fought necromancers.

Moon clicked the first result, which was also the most recent result.

"A fucking hundred years ago is the most recent?" Moon scratched his head before playing the video.

{Church of the Sun Leader Annihilates Undead Army}

Reading the title, Moon frowned.

The video started playing, and a man was seen flying in the air. Below, an army of undead was marching forward in a place that looked like a populated city.

The bones of the skeletons were of different tones, varying between those of a whiter shade and those of complete blackness.

While other undead looked somewhat different.

The video was taken at a great distance; Moon couldn’t tell even after zooming in on them to spot the exact difference.

Yet, the video was just short... Too short...

For in an instant.

Everything was gone.