Passerby Villain In A Wizard World

As far as Ian knew, luck points were very hard to increase. Even for Lyra, who had 550 points of them, there was no increment.

Not everyone was like him, who could snatch others' luck or depend on it.

But Aurora seemed to suddenly have an extra 100 points after making a contract with that Monarch Ulthera.

'Or maybe it is because of the Abyssal Seed? After all, it is indeed an awesome thing.'

Ian guessed while diverting his attention to his consciousness, where two floating objects were seen.

One of them was very small but looked just like the Sigil he saw on Aurora's soul. Undoubtedly, it was the partial essence of that soul contract between Aurora and Ulthera.

It seemed that because he absorbed some of its essence, the contract was reduced to a temporary state.

However, Ian's attention wasn't on that but on the dark, incorporeal threads beside it, which were silently floating around, not as active as before.

Unlike before, when they had been pulsating and writhing with energy, these threads now drifted lazily, barely reacting to his presence.

'Obsession of Ulthera.'

Ian called out while playing around with the threads with his mental power.

This time, after he decided to absorb the threads that connected Aurora to Ulthera, he thought he would just receive some soul essences like before.

But what he got was beyond his expectations.

He could clearly feel the weight within them—a mixture of emotions, will, and something deeper, something fundamental. These weren't just fragments of energy or essence; they were pieces of Ulthera's very existence, remnants of her lingering influence.

'Is it only a memory fragment or does it also contain some rule?'

Ian pondered while scanning them, his mental power gently probing the intangible filaments at a corner.

Then, the moment his consciousness made contact, a surge of information flooded his mind, like an ancient river bursting through a crumbling dam.

There wasn't much info he got, but all of it was related to the VoidBorn Physique and the Abyssal Realm, and there was a little information about Ulthera, the Midnight Empress.

In fact, the reason why he knew the title of Ulthera was also because of this.

After devouring the so-called obsession of hers, what he got in return was her memory, lots of them that he feared it might take him a lot of time to digest.

'Unfortunately, it is just some information.'

Ian lamented while processing the new influx of knowledge. As he digested a new round of information, another strand of the dark, ethereal thread disintegrated, fading into nothingness.

With this, only a few threads remained inside his mind.

'But still, was she really freed from that place just because I called her name? Or rather, because the System did?'

Ian thought.

Just as Ian said to Ulthera that she was paying favors with deceit, he wasn't bluffing or anything.

Instead, after digesting one of the threads, he learned that Ulthera was actually an existence buried in the Endless Graveyard where that entity he witnessed just now, the Gravekeeper, kept guard.

She was just like Ignysyl, a forgotten Monarch, abandoned by fate. He didn't know much, but according to Ulthera, the reason she could appear outside of that Graveyard was because he recalled her name.

Of course, it wasn't that she was fully awakened, but her existence came back from death, releasing her from the clutch of that place.

'Maybe I will know more when I capture Aurora?'

Ian thought while looking at Aurora beside him. After all, when the System gave that quest to capture Aurora, it also said that after completing it, there would be another quest related to Ulthera.

'No, wait a minute...'

'...the System said Whispering Monarch: Ulthera, not the Midnight Empress.'

Then, suddenly, Ian thought of a glaring point he had failed to pay attention to before. Due to the similar name, he had never paid attention to that.

But after knowing the real title of Ulthera, he instantly noticed something off.

'System, show me the Intermediate Chain Quest 2 with all the prompts.'

Ian didn't linger and immediately ordered the system in his mind to show the quest he got after meeting Aurora for the first time.

And as soon as he gave the order, he saw a faint blue panel floating in his mind filled with texts exactly the same as when he got them at Everbright City.

[You decided to bring Aurora with you to the Calvora Continent.]

[Your guts to involve yourself in the affair of a Whispering Monarch: Ulthera have slightly changed the plot.]

[Congratulations! A new quest has been activated.]

[Intermediate Chain Quest 2: Capture Aurora]

[Content Target: Increase the favorability of Aurora and capture her.]

[Reward: ??]

[Note: The quest will be completed after you completely capture Aurora. A new quest will be generated immediately after the completion of this quest.]

'Really, Whispering Monarch: Ulthera, not the Midnight Empress as the memory said.'

Ian's heart skipped a beat as he reeled in this new discovery.

There was no doubt that Ulthera was released from the Graveyard after he recalled her name that day.

And from her obsession, he was sure that her title was Midnight Empress. After all, Ulthera didn't know he could extract even her memory like this, causing her to mislead him intentionally.

'Then, who is the Whispering Monarch: Ulthera?'

Ian was stunned.

If it had been before, he might have thought that both were the same entity. After all, it wasn't surprising for such a powerful figure to have two or more names.

But after learning some information about the Abyss, he knew it was impossible.

This was because the Abyss didn't allow the same entity to have two titles.

In fact, from memory, he knew that titles in the Abyss were basically related to the unique path of each figure in the Abyss and determined their power.

So, Whispering Monarch and Midnight Empress weren't the same, even if their names sounded the same.

Both had different paths of their own and, thus, were different entities.

'Then, did that mean it was really I who invited her out?'

When Ian was suddenly charmed by Ulthera before, he thought it was the System's way of warning him since he had indeed gotten rid of that control inexplicably with the help of that cocoon.

But now he realized, maybe, the System didn't even know that would happen.

"Hey, Ian, are you alright?"

Just when Ian was getting confused, he heard Aurora's concerned voice beside him, causing him to come out of his stupor.

"Do you want to rest?"

It seemed Ian was so overly focused on his monologue that Aurora thought something might have happened.

"Hmm? No, I'm alright. I was just thinking about something."

Ian smiled a little to ease Aurora's worry, getting rid of those thoughts for now.

He decided to think about them when he digested all those threads of memories from Ulthera. There was no way she didn't know of the existence of the Whispering Monarch, so there should be some information.

At least, he was now a little relieved that Aurora was now free from the baggage she was carrying.

"How do you feel now? Are you alright?"

Ian asked Aurora after clearing up his thoughts, appearing as sunny as ever. Even in the darkness of the Abyssal Node, he appeared just as charming to Aurora as they met the first time.

"Umm... I feel good and... light?" Your next read awaits at My Virtual Library Empire

Aurora answered, not realizing what had happened and then automatically attributed everything to her first kiss, causing her to blush a little and avert Ian's gaze.

"Then, that's good. Since you can now practice, you shouldn't waste your time. Although I don't have as much wealth as Lyra said, I still have some spells for you to practice. Let me give them to you after eating Lyra's special dinner."

Ian said as they were now near the kitchen, and he could already smell a delicious aroma from afar.

It seemed Lyra was serious about her promise and indeed did a good job preparing in such a short time.

In fact, although Lyra was from nobility, she had a good cooking talent. And to be honest, Aurora wasn't bad either.

It seemed they had practiced a lot to please him over this month.

"Um... she didn't have to, though."

Aurora also smelled the aroma from afar, causing her to smile a little as she felt that Lyra was affirming her existence beside Ian through this special dinner.

No matter what, she still kind of felt guilty appearing in the middle of them. So, when she was with Ian and Lyra, she consciously always gave them their time, not disturbing them in the middle.

Fortunately, it seemed Lyra came to like her too after this month of getting along.

"Let's go, It seems Ron was also finished preparing. The darkness should fade in a while."

Ian said after noticing that the Silver Gull, which had been still for a while, began to move a little as if preparing to set off.

Honestly, he also didn't like to enjoy the special meal in such a dark place. So, let's wait until they leave this node of the array and truly set foot on the sea outside.