Chapter 222 - Yumi's Plan

Cyril left his house after having his lunch and went to the Association.

Today, he will be exploring the High-Class Arcane World where his help will be required.

"Cyril… You're early." Laura met Cyril on the ground floor and called out to him.

"I still have to check the Divine Chalice and practice with it for a while. Anyway, how was it, Laura? I heard that you completed a total of five explorations just this week. This will be the sixth, right? Are you not getting tired?" Cyril asked as she looked at Laura who was still beaming with charm.

She doesn't look like an Arcane Explorer at all but a model working for a brand.

She appears gorgeous even with her simple dress and light makeup.

"I'm good. It's not like I'm inside the Arcane World for a very long time. It should have an average of 10 hours a day… I'm still new so I need many explorations to get used to it."

Laura replied as she walked together with Cyril to the elevator.

"You didn't bring anything with you? I'm sure you're not only relying on a single Rank-S Artifact, right?" Cyril asked after noticing that she only has one handbag with her.

"Ahh… I left it in my office. Vanessa gave me one when I accepted her offer to conduct several explorations with an elite team."

"What? You have an office here? Why don't I have one?" Cyril asked in surprise.

"Well, maybe I have a better contract? Anyway, just ask her and she'll give you one for sure."

The two chatted for a while. Laura asked for some advice about the explorations and monsters she fought with while Cyril listened and gave her some insight about these monsters.

In the past five days, she fought against Goblins, Spriggans, Orcs, Skeleton Soldiers, Zombies, and the strongest creature she defeated was a Harpy.

Considering that only five days had passed, the elite team assisting her must be the strongest team right now, the Phantom Troupe of the Association.

Since the Sword Trance was previously annihilated, the top three exploration teams were Phantom Troupe, Silver Swords, and New Frontier with a new leader.

Anyway, Cyril wasn't too interested in these teams… He's more interested in the things Laura learned from them.

Luckily, they have two more hours before the exploration and they can still chat about it.

***

"Yumi! I heard that all of your students are in good health now." Vanessa asked her friend in the office.

It has been a while since the two have met.

"Yes… Everyone has already woken up without any issues. Thanks to your help."

"Ahh… You mean the S-Rank who assisted you in the shelter?"

"That's right… I heard that he will be entering a High-Class Arcane World together with your new S-Rank."

"Hey, that's supposed to be classified information."

"Haha! Although I do not have a position of power, I'm still the daughter of the president. I can still do this much." Yumi replied as she chuckled.

Vanessa and Yumi had become friends even before they get to their position.

However, Yumi wouldn't just visit Vanessa without any reason so she died to know that this woman wanted in her office.

"Tell me your request now Yumi. I know I still owe you one so you can ask me a favor."

"Haha… You're right, Vanessa. I just want to speak with Cyril. I want to invite him to become our Arcane Explorer."

Yumi revealed her plan as she looked at her friend with a serious gaze.

"Are you serious? You want to steal our S-Rank Awakened? I'm sure that the secret guild operated by the president already has S-Rank Awakened, right?"

Vanessa asked in confusion. She had never thought that her friend would try to do this to her.

Even if Cyril and the Association have signed a contract, a contract termination fee is certainly something they could afford just to take Cyril with them.

"Yes… There is a guild they are supporting. However, I just wanted to give him another opportunity. I just want to be given a chance to speak with him."

"Haa~ You can speak with Cyril later. They will have an exploration today so I suggest you do it after."

Vanessa knows that Yumi can just visit Cyril in his house to give an offer. However, she didn't do that since it would feel like she was doing something behind her back.

Yumi just came here so she could get her permission and not appear like she's being betrayed by a friend.

"Eh~ I'm already planning to meet him before the exploration…" Yumi sighed but she decided to just accept it.

"I'll be waiting for him then. I heard this is high-class Arcane World Exploration, right? Will it last for several days?"

"It should be completed within two or three days. Right, I just want to say that Cyril still has a final say on this so good luck with your recruitment."

Vanessa said with a weak smile. Currently, her mind is furiously recalling all Cyril's activities within the Association. She wanted to make sure that he wasn't mistreated at all.

***

As the two young ladies were discussing Cyril's matters, he was already testing the Divine Chalice inside a special room.

He's unable to try the Divine Retribution but he can activate the Bless, Holy Ray, and Holy Water of the Rank-S Artifact.

This will allow him to properly calculate the amount of Aura that he will have to use later on. After all, he doesn't just have one Artifact. He has many of them and he has to be knowledgeable enough on how to operate them all.

"Hmm… I only have 10 Aura Recovery Potions with me. They are even Aunt's stock within her shop. I need to find a recipe for it." Cyril muttered after using the Rank-S Artifact's abilities a few times.

He calculated that using two Rank-S Artifacts at the same time will drain his Aura after using less than 8 abilities.

That is too little considering he no longer has Star Garnite Ores as well. In short, he will only have to rely on the 10 potions that he has once he entered the Arcane World.

He can only hope that he wouldn't get to the point that he has to use all of them and that he has a competent team with him that he could rely on.

"Anyway, I'll probably only use Holy Ray and Divine Retribution. If we're up against the mummies, the black sword should be more than enough…"

Cyril muttered as he put the chalice in his bag.

As soon as he came out of the special room, he saw Laura waiting for him and this time, she was already fully equipped and holding the Rank-S Artifact they needed to enter the restricted area within the Arcane World.

"So it's a Rank-S Magic Orb?" Cyril asked.

"Yes… This is actually made from a Basilisk's Eye. It's a very amazing Artifact with many elemental spells."

Laura introduced the orb and mentioned a few of its spells. As expected of a Rank-S Artifact, the strength of the spells wasn't just extremely strong but it also contains several elements. It has fire, water, wind, and earth spells…

Aside from that, it also has one more ability that will allow them to break the restrictions blocking them from entering the tomb, it is a skill called Dispel.

Unlike Magic Seal and Disruptor which stops magic from activating, Dispel removes activated magic which is very useful in their situation.

There are skills similar to Dispel like Magic Jammer, Phenomena Dispersion, and others, however, they are all coming from lower ranks. It means that a Rank-C Dispersion can only remove magic that is on that level or below.

"That's an interesting ability." Cyril muttered as he thought of something.

'Hmm… Can I use this to unseal them…" He mused unsure whether he can use it for Sealed Artifacts as well.

In that way, it would be a lot easier for him to release the Demons. Anyway, he decided to borrow it once they completed the mission.

Soon, the two of them were brought to the conference room so they can meet with the Phantom Troupe which will assist them inside the High-Class Arcane World.

Cyril met their leader, Grant Litt, who is an A-Rank Awakened. He's only 30 years old which is quite younger than what Cyril had expected.

'Wait… Grant Litt?'

Finally, Cyril recalled someone in the Association whom he met in his previous life. As one of the Awakened at the bottom rung of the ladder, he couldn't easily meet strong Awakened working for the Association since they are always in the upper floors.

However, he once worked for this man as a helper when he was 27 years old which is about 9 years from now. It is because his son Awakened as an E-Rank and hired Cyril to be a Helper at that time.

"I remember how he watched the two of us suffer from those zombies… This man is cruel." Cyril didn't have a good memory working for this man but in the end, he still accepted his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Mr.. Grant."