Chapter 280

Chapter 280

Despite the happy sounds of my teammates unlocking their cuffs and slicing through the metal bars of the cell behind me, there's still a major issue to still be solved.

Lydia is missing.

The other presence on this floor that was masked by the cuffs happened to be this bald and bearded old man, not the white-haired katana-wielding mage I expected to see.

My mind races and I activate my enemy detection skill along with my other perception perks to scope out the floors above me. There isn't any sign of her, only more enemies.

I scoff and curse under my breath. The old man speaks as I start to turn away.

"Please, if you would be so kind as to free me too young man."

I look him in the eyes and he stares back with the same cold eyes, now with a glimmer of hope at the back of them. His wrists are bloodied and bruised, but it seems they've healed many times over. There is food and water near the back side of his cell

I respond.

"Why do they keep you around? It seems like you've been locked up for quite a while."

He gulps, giving me the hint of a thin smile.

"Wrong place at the wrong time I suppose."

I scrunch my eyebrows and tighten my lips, questioning his statement.

A loud clang sounds behind me as the last portions of metal bars crack the cement floor and my teammates start walking out. White and green light casts a glow that reflects off the old man's face. Abby is restoring everyone's wounds. I respond, intrigued by the old mans words.

"What for? There's a lot of things that aren't quite adding up here."

He replies.

"I was doing research on the Abyss. That's all it was, unfortunately. A northern section of the city links to the source, a man named number 1 found me while I was doing a few tests. He wanted my data, and I- well- I believe you can infer the rest."

I try to activate my Lie Detector skill, but it doesn't give me any readings. My eyes shift down to the magic-blocking cuffs that must be the cause of the interference. I want to believe what he has to say, but the easy thing to do would be leave him behind and not carry any extra baggage.

My teammates are the only people I care about right now.

Before I make my decision, Maria hugs me from behind.

"I knew you'd come. I knew you'd find a way!"

She's half crying and half laughing. I forget about the old man for a moment and turn around to hug her back.

Abby gives me a smile and mouths a thanks but is still busy working on Fisher's wounds. Arie walks up stretching his arms with a calm expression.

"Thanks for the save, but this is no time to celebrate. You know better than I do, we have a lot of work ahead of us. Not a single one of us is safe, and I don't even know who the enemy is."

I grit my teeth, holding Maria even tighter.

_________________

[Lv. 89]

Active Items:

[NONE]

Active Skills:

Appraisal

_________________

I activate my conceal skill immediately, changing my status to read that of an average level 350 hunter with only swordsmanship and the earth summoning skill that I've shown already. I'm almost positive Appraisal skills not of the special grade can only identify item stats, but its better safe than sorry.

I speak.

"Any suspicious movements and you're dead. Got it?"

He nods as I continue.

"Now, confirm everything you've said to me so far is true."

I point an earth magic imbued index finger that just cut through steel bars at his forhead, but all the man can do is smile.

"Of course it's true. Please, let me lead the way."

His demeanor flips from hopeless to joy-filled and helpful despite the deadly weapon pointed straight at him.

He walks out of the cell and begins making his way to the door at the back of the room. The same light green glows around his body then dissipates just as fast.

The man is no more than 150cm tall, just a bit shorter than Abby. He walks with a limp on his left leg, but the speed at which he hobbles toward the door makes it almost unnoticeable.

He doesn't speak another word before making it to the exit. The 5 of us stand in awkward silence as well. He speaks again while turning back to me.

"The name's Chester by the way. You've saved a stranger's life on a gamble, now I must do the same to pay you back. Please, allow me to help you find your friend."

His eyebrows shift up and down as he is clearly thinking deeply about something while struggling to keep eye contact with me. His attention darts around the room, but the genuine smile stays on his face.

Technically from his perspective, this is true. In reality, I saved him because I'm curious about a few things. What kind of loot this Bossman may be stashing in their office is first on the list... A close second is finding and saving Lydia. Third is one other thing that won't stop lingering in the back of my head. It's the question of what research this old man was doing on the so-called abyss that was so important that he was locked up for not sharing his data.

If I had to make an educated guess, the abyss is the blank energy reading that stretches out from the northern border of the city. This is what I sensed days ago upon our arrival, but haven't gotten a chance yet to check it out.

As odd and awkward as this man may be, he holds the key to many answers I seek.

I reply with a smirk.

"I'm Jay, nice to meet you too."