by Nikostar A
To distract himself, Alexander got up and looked for the corpse of the head of the discipline department. The old man was lying on the ground not very far from where Alexander appeared. He was not affected by the fact that he had just killed someone; in his past life, Alexander killed countless people.
"Flemming Organization, huh? You should not have acted against me. Once I go to Loha, I will make your life a nightmare."
Alexander kneeled next to the corpse and took out the spatial ring. He then quickly search his body for any kind of useful item but did not find anything. He was tempted to check the spatial ring but he had something else he needed to do before that or else, it would be too late.
Alexander sat next to the corpse as he performed the hand seals of [Phenix, the Medium]. It was a rarely used constellation that strangely did not have a body posture. To invoke its power, the stargazers were forced to use hand seals or its symbol.
The Medium allowed the stargazers to communicate with the dead for a short period of time. The dead would be forced to speak the truth and even reveal their deepest secrets. However, the prerequisite to this was that the person should not have been dead for more than ten minutes. It was a very tight time frame but in this scenario, Alexander fulfilled it.
As his power was activated, the corpse started to glow with a ghastly white halo. A few moments later, the halo condensed in the form of a small ball and floated in front of Alexander.
"Are you the spirit of the head of the discipline department?" asked Alexander as a test.
"Yes." The response was immediate. The rasping voice of the head of the discipline department came out of the small ball. The voice was devoid of any expression and was strangely similar to those used in horror movies.
"Good. Now, tell me the position of the island as we speak," asked Alexander. The first thing he needed to know was where exactly he would appear on Earth. The island was constantly moving but Alexander's guess would be that it generally stayed in the Indian Ocean.
"In the Mozambique Channel. Close to Pemba."
"Where is Pemba?" asked Alexander. He was not very proficient in geography but fortunately, he had Egriss, the Archivist to help. However, in this scenario, he might as well ask the spirit directly.
"It is a city in the North of Mozambique." The spirit's answers were clear and concise. He did not give any details as Alexander wanted.
"Where is the island currently moving to? If it is, at what speed is it moving?"
"Slowly moving North to get out of the Mozambique Channel. About 1km per hour."
"Good!" Alexander smiled. He had obtained the information he needed to escape. He did not need to do anything to run away. He just needed to stay in his space. When he would get out of his pocket dimension, Alexander would reappear at the exact location where he had left Earth.
As the island was moving, it meant that if he returned a little bit later, he would reappear above the ocean, away from the island and all the guards. This was the very reason why Alexander did not spend a lot of time in his Space before. If he did, he might reappear in unexpected places.
Escaping had never been so simple. He would still need to swim back to the coast but with the help of his magic powers, it would not be much of an issue. The real problem was to do it stealthily but as soon as he would return on the firm ground, Alexander would be able to get away easily.
With this out of the way, Alexander asked the spirit, "Were you aware that Aila was the one who hid the herbs in my room?"
"Yes."
"Were you the one who gave her the bag of herbs?" asked Alexander as he furrowed his brows.
"No. But one of the recruits of the Flemming Organization did."
Alexander nodded, he knew Aila must have manipulated the naive young men. However, it did not mean that he would not make them pay.
"Tell me about the Flemming Organization. Where are your hunting grounds located? How many Extreme Spells do you have? Also, tell me about the inner conflicts of the organization!" Alexander asked a series of questions. He needed to know as much as possible about the different organizations.
Afterward, he asked about the situation on Loha. As he had yet to go to Loha at that time in his previous life, Alexander did not know the situation there. Fortunately, the spirit soon revealed that Loha was rather peaceful at the moment. There were a few events going on but they were not very impactful on Alexander's future.
The white ball soon started to dim. It was a sign that the effects of [Phenix, the Medium] were running out. Alexander let go of the constellation and the spirit slowly returned into the corpse.
"Very interesting. I should find a way to go to Loha soon. It is only there, away from the modern weapons, that I will be really safe."
He was no longer concerned about the corpse. When he would return to Earth, he would simply dump it in the ocean. Alexander was only regretting not learning any undead magic. If he did, he might have been able to turn the head of the discipline department into a useful undead.
Only a few minutes have passed since he entered his space. Alexander would still need to wait for a few hours if he wanted to reappear above the ocean.
He looked at the spatial ring in his hands. It had been a while since he held one, Alexander gently rubbed the familiar black gem on the ring. It was the key to the ring's ability to store objects.
Inside the spatial ring, Alexander found a couple of miscellaneous items. There were no special manuals or resources but the ring contained some cash and a small amount of food and water that could last for a whole week. Aside from those, Alexander also found one ancient relic lying in the middle of the spatial ring.
The ancient relic was a petrified eye. It had a creepy appearance and seemed to follow Alexander everywhere. After a quick examination, Alexander discovered that the ancient relic was typically used for scouting. When used, its user would be able to have a panoramic view of his surroundings from above.
"No combat power but it is can still be useful. At worst, I can just sell it," said Alexander.
He sent the petrified eye back in the spatial ring and placed it on his ring finger. "I still need to wait for quite a while. I should rest for a little bit. I don't feel tired right now because of the excitement but as soon as the adrenaline runs out, I will be dead tired. After that, I should just make myself a meal, with the food in the spatial ring, it should not be much of an issue."
Chapter 47: Hidden threat
"Cough Cough Cough!"
Carmen jolted awake and almost hit her head against the nurse looking after her.
"Miss, are you alright? Please be careful, your body is still weak. You need to rest and save your energy." The nurse quickly pushed Carmen back, preventing her from making any rapid movements.
Carmen wore a confused look, she was unfamiliar with this environment but judging by the uniform of the woman in front of her, she could guess that she was at the hospital. The woman had a petite frame; she looked childish and cute but her grip was firm and could force Carmen to lie down.
"Where am I? What exactly happened? How long have I been out?" asked Carmen. She wanted to ask more question but she was suddenly interrupted by a loud series of sneezes.
"Bless you," the nurse casually said. She smiled and covered Carmen with the quilt. "You are still weak, please think about yourself first. I will inform Mr. Shiraq that you woke up."
"Mr. Shiraq?" asked Carmen but the nurse did not listen to her and quietly left the room.
A few moments later, two Caucasian men entered the room with serious expressions. They were both wearing business suits with the insignia of the UN embroidered. They silently closed the door behind them and respectfully nodded at Carmen.
"Miss Ashmore. I am Charles Shiraq, the representative sent by the UN. This is James Kenrick. I apologize for disturbing your rest." Mr. Shiraq was a rather handsome man. He had a peaceful aura and each of his moves carried a form of elegance.
"Tell me what happened."
&nbs
p; "Let me show you," Mr. Shiraq swipe his X-Driver, projecting a small screen in front of Carmen. The scene of the courtroom started to play. Carmen bit her lips; she remembered the events clearly. She could see Alexander suddenly disappear from the courtroom, completely avoiding all the attacks. A few seconds later, he would reappear and counterattack.
Carmen was momentarily blinded by a flash of light as she watched the director of studies activate the ancient relic. She saw herself and the old man both being trapped by the [Ice Coffin] and just a few moments later, Alexander reappeared.
He looked surprised to find them both frozen in ice but he did not even try to attack. Instead, Carmen watched as Alexander quickly grabbed his X-Driver and the beg of recovery herbs. The scene continued and the corpse of the head of the discipline department suddenly vanished.
The camera then zoomed onto Alexander's face as he spoke: "You should enjoy the few years of peace you have left. Three years. That's all the time you have left."
Carmen did not know how to say but her first reaction was to ask, "How is Mr. Andrea? Is he alright?"
Mr. Shiraq smiled quietly, "He is fine but you won't be able to see him for a while. Mr. Andrea was already quite old. The ice element did affect both his skin and his internal organs. He is under close observation in the emergency department. However, he should still be able to survive. Mr. Andrea sacrificed himself to save you. It was a noble act."
Carmen lowered averted her gaze and chose to change the subject. "What happened to Alexander? Was he caught?"
Mr. Shiraq sighed as his expression changed to display his disappointment. "Unfortunately, we have yet to find him. One witness saw him land on a beach close to Pemba but after that, we lost all traces of him. Even the nanobots in his body are no longer responding."
"A witness? How long have I been out already? And what nanobots are you talking about?"
"It has been three days already. We allowed the [Frozen Coffin] to slowly melt by itself to reduce the strain on your body. A warrant for Alexander has already been released all over the world. Two days ago, we received the news that an old fisherman from a small coastal village of Mozambique had seen Alexander. Apparently, he was surfing on the water and jumped on his boat to ask for directions."
Carmen waited for Mr. Shiraq to finish but the latter did not say anything else. "What about the nanobots?" asked Carmen as she frowned.
"Miss. You know that we are closely monitoring the students' movement. We added a few nanobots in each of the weekly Chem-mix they receive. The nanobots are not harmful to them and would be ejected from their body via natural means after a week. The nanobots are just a way to track the student's position and see if they share their Chem-mix.
"We thought about using the signals from the nanobots to track Alexander but surprisingly, we are unable to detect their signal. It can only mean one thing; the organization behind Alexander is also proficient in modern technology. Furthermore, have you seen how the corpse of the head of the discipline department disappeared? No storage device can move such a big object at once. As for how he managed to get away, it is still a complete mystery."
Carmen thought for a moment. Her eyes shifted back to the screen that was replaying the scene of the courtroom over and over again. "What about the message he sent using his X-Driver and the last sentence he said?"
"He contacted his mother. Nothing abnormal but he promised to go and look for her within two years. You don't have to worry, we won't make a move against a poor widow. Our men are looking after her but won't actually intervene unless Alexander shows up. As for the final message, we still have no idea what he is talking about. Maybe it is a threat; the higher-ups are still discussing the steps to take."
Mr. Shiraq's deep blue eyes stared at Carmen for a moment. She shivered. She felt as if the man in front of her was able to read through her deepest secrets.
"Miss. You don't have to worry about finding Alexander. With the arrest warrant, all the organizations are actively looking for him. Instead, you should find a way to pacify the academy. The Five Oceans Palace's elders also went to Kalesha to ask for Alexander but we denied them entry to Earth. The UN will deal with them. You should focus on recovering quickly and taking back your post. With the incident that occurred, I am afraid that the politics of the academy might be shaken a little bit."
Carmen knew what he was talking about. Whenever there were incidents like these, a few people would inevitably end up fired. Even if she was not responsible for the situation and was only following the orders of the higher-ups, she was the one that would have to shoulder most of the blame. It was very likely that she would be demoted.
However, Carmen resolutely looked at the two men in suit and said, "It does not matter. I am tired of all of this."
"What do you mean? We are talking about the post of the headmistress of the academy!"
"I know but I am tired of this. I assume this role for two whole years and I am sick of it. I grew up in a modest family and was always oppressed by others. However, I did not let them bring me down and slowly climbed my way through society. When I was given the post here, I thought I could use my authority to help every student from modest backgrounds."
"I knew very well that the UN was only using me as a tool but I nevertheless accepted. I thought I could change society. Despite the scorn and hate from the talented individuals, I strictly abided by the rules. It is better for a few individuals to suffer for the greater good of the community. But now, I am tired."
"After I recover, I will leave this place and go to Loha. I am a mage but I have never really experienced the wildlife of the world..."
***
"Steve, it has already been more than five days since we've made the request. Where is the student?"
Steve, the rogue mage, respectfully lowered his head as he bit his lips. He could feel an invisible pressure coming from the two old men, weighing on his head.
"Respected Elders. I am sorry. As we are still making the procedures to officially become an organization, we can only make limited movements on Earth. We have yet to find Alexander but I can guarantee that none of the other organizations have found him yet." As he spoke, Steve did not dare to raise his head. He knew the words from these old men would determine his fate.
"Useless! Even with all the resources the Five Oceans Palace gave you, not only did you lose the duels, you are not even able to find one person?" One of the old men said as he gently stroke his long white beard.
"You do realize that without us, the Exil would have never existed! If you do not want your resources to be cut, you better find a way to bring Alexander here. Spread the news that the Exil will welcome him. I don't care if the Exil ends up as a public enemy, just bring me that student alive," continued the second elder. His fiery gaze carefully examined Steve.
The latter shuddered. With a weak voice, he answered, "Distinguished elders, the situation is quite complicated. The UN and all the other organizations are actively looking for Alexander. He has already been labeled as a criminal. If we do recruit him, what will happen to the Exil? Furthermore, how will we even get him through the rift? You know how tight the security checks are. It is impossible to bring him to Loha."
"Without the Five Ocean Palace, the rogue mages would have never united. Now that you became an organization, you plan to betray us? All we ask for is for you to bring Alexander here. If you succeed, all your debts will be wiped off. As for the problem of the rift, we will give you this item."
The second elder took out a small crystal ball from his loose mage robe. "This is an ancient relic of the Five Ocean Palace. When activated, it can imprison one person in it for a minimum of ten days. The prisoner can use his own mana to try to escape but he will need at least ten days. Once Alexander is inside the crystal ball, it should be easy for you to bring him here."
Steve promptly grabbed the crystal ball without raising his head. He was sweating profusely. The mission he was given was extremely hard to accomplish. If the UN
and the six other organizations had failed to find Alexander, how was a newborn organization like the Exil supposed to find him? Nevertheless, he kept his words to himself, not wanting to attract the ire of the two elders.
'D*mn... I am one of the founders but I am always the one who face the heat...'
"I shall report to the other founders. With the crystal ball, I don't see any reason to fail," politely answered Steve. He quickly left the room when he saw the elders wave their hands to dismiss him.
A bitter feeling rose in his heart. Steve did not like the situation. The Exil had indeed relied on the Five Oceans Palace to make a name for itself. They were just a bunch of rogue mages but with the attraction of resources, the mages banded together. The founders knew that accepting the help from an existing force was not different from becoming their servants. However, they still accepted to do so. If they didn't, they would have been forced to quit the path of magic. It was simply too hard to progress without a constant supply of resources.
