Born In Ashes: The Enigma

Knowing that Rudheer was hiding something and that there might be something wrong with the house, Azrael chose not to sleep.

Instead, he sat on the bed and decided to cultivate normally—just like people does in the outside world when they are not inside Eonrift.

Closing his eyes, Azrael focused on his Source Core, located within his heart. Using the method Ashara had taught him, he began simulating his Source Core.

Slowly, the core inside his body began to rotate. As it turned, the surrounding cosmic energy was drawn toward it.

His Source Core compressed the absorbed cosmic energy, and once the compressed energy reached a state where it was slightly liquefied, it released the energy throughout his body.

Although the effect was subtle, Azrael could feel his body becoming stronger as his Source Core absorbed and circulated the surrounding cosmic energy.

Since his Cosmic Energy stat was over 170 points at the time he condensed his Source Core—and the power of his energy was enhanced by 15% due to the third effect of the mid-level Breathing Method—Azrael's Source Core was far stronger than that of others at the same level.

As a result, his cultivation speed was exceptionally fast.

The Apprentice Warrior stage (levels 1 to 10) was the lowest stage of cultivation, and for someone with great talent, advancement in this stage was naturally swift.

Within just two hours, Azrael felt that all of his stat points had increased by an average of 0.2 points.

At the same time, because he had killed many monsters in the forest, he also leveled up—reaching Level 5.

Given his current level of spiritual power, Azrael wouldn't feel much burden even if he didn't sleep the entire night, so he continued cultivating.

Another three hours passed, and his stat points increased a bit more.

At that moment, Azrael suddenly opened his eyes and looked toward the door.

Even while cultivating, he had been using his heightened senses to remain aware of his surroundings.

Through those senses, Azrael had just heard some muffled groans—low and pained, as if someone was suffering.

Without making a sound, he walked over to the door and listened carefully.

'It's not Rudheer…' Azrael concluded after hearing the groans for a few moments.

He focused further, trying to determine the source of the sound.

After listening closely for a while longer, he became certain that it was coming from the second room of the house.

Azrael had already suspected something was wrong with that room, and now, hearing those painful groans only confirmed his suspicions.

'It seems there is someone else in this house besides Rudheer.'

Azrael quietly returned to the bed and sat down again, closing his eyes to resume cultivation.

As for investigating now to see who the other person was, he didn't even consider it.

He didn't yet know what kind of person that was, or how powerful they might be. Venturing out without any concrete information would be reckless.

Besides, from the faint scent he'd detected earlier, it was clear that the room hadn't been opened for a long time, and the person inside most likely hadn't left it recently either.

That meant he could always investigate later.

'I should focus on identifying my target among the three Tower Masters first. Once I am sure of who it is, I can take care of everything else gradually.'

Time passed, and soon the sun rose into the sky.

Azrael stopped cultivating and exited the room.

As he stepped into the living room, he saw Rudheer sitting there, eating meat buns.

Upon seeing Azrael, Rudheer nodded at him and offered some of the buns.

Azrael smiled and shook his head.

"Thanks, but I had some leftover food from yesterday, so I have already eaten."

Knowing something was wrong with the house, there was no way Azrael would eat anything offered by Rudheer.

"Thank you for letting me stay here last night," Azrael said, preparing to leave as he still needed to gather more information about the three towers from other people in the city.

"You are leaving already?" Rudheer asked, surprised as he hadn't expected Azrael to leave so early.

Azrael nodded and explained that he was new to the city and wanted to explore.

Rudheer nodded upon hearing him and handed him a pouch filled with coins.

"That's the money I got after selling your share."

Since all the monsters Azrael killed were absorbed by him as energy, he had deliberately left some monsters only seriously injured, allowing Rudheer to finish them off.

He had asked Rudheer to sell their remains, knowing he would need money to live in the city.

Azrael accepted the coin pouch without refusal and thanked Rudheer again before leaving the house.

After stepping out, Azrael began walking through the city.

At first, he assumed he would need to put in significant effort to gather information about the three towers and their respective Tower Masters.

However, due to the upcoming recruitment event, which was just a day away, many people were openly discussing the towers.

Azrael wandered around, listening to conversations about which tower people wanted to join and why.

From these conversations, he gradually formed a basic understanding of how the general population viewed the towers.

In the afternoon, he stopped by an inn for lunch. After tipping the waiter generously, he received more detailed and clear information about the towers and the people within them.

Moving from one place to another, Azrael spent the entire day gathering intelligence in hopes of finding clues about the Vessel of Corruption among the Tower Masters.

By nightfall, he returned to the same inn where he'd eaten earlier.

He booked a room for the night, and after entering, he collapsed onto the bed and rubbed his face tiredly.

"Now I have a basic understanding of the personalities of the three Tower Masters and the people associated with each tower," He muttered, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully.

"If I combine everything I have learned with my trait that allows me to feel others' emotions, I should be able to sense something when I see those three in person tomorrow."