One-Eyed Monster

Reaching the mountaintop, Qi Liu's mind was far from peaceful. The peak was not a vast space, and there was no trace of Young Master Hustace anywhere in sight.

Young Master Hustace had arranged to meet him at the summit, but his absence hinted at things taking a turn for the worse.

Qi Liu wished he were a Hunter, capable of picking up on the smallest of signs left by the Young Master on the rocks and trees, and then tracking those clues to find him... But reality was inevitably far from his wishes: Qi Liu couldn't become a Hunter. Thus, he could only stand there dazed and confused.

"Did we climb this mountain just to marvel at the view?" Axia continued with his usual tone of mockery. Seeing Qi Liu helpless ignited his impatience once more. In his eyes, Qi Liu was a hindrance, an obstacle in his path. Axia, who aspired to be an Alchemist of the Golden Seats in the Alchemy Workshop, was being ordered around by an unknown servant, and this resentment had to be vented somehow. Though he could never understand why he kept taking orders from this servant.

No one in their small team could likely explain this.

Witch Biggs couldn't explain the reason, because she had always just been tagging along.

Musa also couldn't possibly understand the mystery of it all. He was, at best, a formidable Fighter, but one who was constantly plagued by whether he was useless or not.

As for Qi Liu, he naturally couldn't understand it either, as his actions were mostly guided by an inner voice, the origin of which he still couldn't comprehend.

That voice had never led him astray. That was the one thing Qi Liu could confirm without a doubt.

Take the recent past for instance. In aiding Young Master Hustace to evade Goding and his ilk, the instructions from that inner voice were key in helping the Young Master stage a successful escape by misdirection in the Dusk Market.

When faced with Goding's interrogations in the Lubin Tavern, it was that same voice that directed him to go up the mountain to find the Young Master.

After going up the mountain, he was like a headless fly, rushing about without any direction. Just as his heart was heavy with anxiety, it was this voice again that told him to go to the mountaintop.

Now that he had reached the mountaintop, Qi Liu, as usual, found his mind blank, not knowing what to do next.

He had experienced this state many times. He knew that being anxious would only make his mind more chaotic and the situation worse. Getting flustered would achieve nothing. At this moment, he could only slowly calm himself, empty his mind; patience and endurance were the true treasures for solving problems.

After all, that voice had never deceived him.

Shouldn't he trust that voice?

"'Invisibility Cloak, Invisibility Cloak.' This was a fragment of the voice lingering in Qi Liu's mind."

Qi Liu also knew that this Wizard artifact was one of the important clues to finding Young Master Hustace. If he could make a breakthrough regarding this artifact, perhaps he could smoothly unravel the current mystery.

A Wizard artifact was naturally related to a Wizard's Spellcraft, and their team conveniently had a Wizard among them.

Perhaps this Wizard could unravel the mystery of this key clue, the Invisibility Cloak. Maybe this was the deeper reason why that voice had requested a Wizard to accompany them.

The Yowein Continent believed in Equivalent Exchange. This principle applied to all professions: what one gained corresponded to what one paid. There were no gains without reason, nor losses without cause. Any such gain or loss involved the corresponding Spirit Power's fusion, blending, decomposition, or fission. Even the despised Dark Arts abided by this law of Equivalent Exchange.

Qi Liu's initially blank mind gradually filled, and without realizing it, he already knew which direction to take next...

He was obviously not here on the mountaintop to admire the view. That Alchemist's mockery would certainly not provoke him. As a rare natural-born Politician, forbearance was an essential survival skill.

Besides forbearance, natural-born Politicians also possessed uncommon communication skills. Often, inadvertently, these natural-born Politicians could extract the information they wanted from their target's mouth. Therefore, the Empire's interrogation agencies often had one or two natural-born Politicians in key positions. Legend had it that these natural-born Politician interrogators possessed peculiar eyes capable of discerning truth from lies merely by observing a prisoner's expressions.

Whether Qi Liu possessed such peculiar eyes was of no concern to Great Witch Biggs. She had been a mere observer for so long, mostly terrified of misspeaking. She had lost her title of the 'Omnipotent Great Witch of Gaga County' precisely because she had misspoken.

"'Wizard artifacts are considered dishonorable by many Wizards,' Great Witch Biggs told Qi Liu. She felt Qi Liu had a certain affability; he spoke gently, wasn't overbearing, lacked aggression, and was certainly not like that Alchemist, whose every sentence dripped with sarcasm and whose every glance showed contempt."

"'Senior Wizard, could you please elaborate on the reason?' Qi Liu continued to ask Biggs."

"'Nonsense! Isn't a Crystal Ball a Wizard's artifact?' Axia again directed his verbal attack towards the Great Witch."

"'A Crystal Ball is merely a tool, a Dead Object devoid of Spirit Power. Wizard artifacts, however, are items of exchange infused with Spirit Power and Spellcraft. How could they possibly be compared to mere tools?' the Great Witch responded to Axia unhurriedly. Compared to Axia's arrogance and shamelessness, Biggs was more willing to converse with Qi Liu."

"'It's like I said before about using your eyeballs for Divination. Such Dark Magic is despised by us orthodox Wizards.' Biggs didn't forget to mock Axia a couple of times. She still resented Axia's earlier unprovoked verbal attacks and wouldn't miss an opportunity to strike back."

Axia was so rebuked by Biggs' words that he sucked in several sharp breaths. He suddenly felt that Wizards were all sinister and terrifying, casually gouging out people's eyes. Such a horrifying profession should be abolished! This world should only have one profession, and undoubtedly, Alchemists were the masters of this world; all other professions were mere burdens.

"'Wizards focus more on Spellcraft. Most Wizard artifacts belong to Dark Arts. These Wizard artifacts lead some Wizards to believe they can cast spells without mastering complex incantations, which is a form of opportunism. Therefore, they are despised by orthodox Wizards.'"

"'That Invisibility Cloak you mentioned, although not quite Dark Magic, can't be considered a good tool either,' Witch Biggs continued. At this moment, she seemed transformed, exuding confidence and authority, as if she were once again the 'Omnipotent Great Witch of Gaga County.' No, at this instant, she seemed more like the Chief of the Continent's Wizard Alliance."

"'The Invisibility Cloak allows the user to hide their Spirit Power and traces, but only from non-Wizards. In the eyes of a Wizard, someone wearing an Invisibility Cloak is completely transparent.'"