MMORPG: Rise of the Primordial Godsmith

Chapter 1358: Meeting Mystia Again

”Huu…”

Standing outside the room where Mystia was in, Valyr could not help but let out a long exhale as he sorted out the thoughts lingering in his mind, feeling a bit of nervousness and anticipation from what was to come.

Though he already had faint expectations that she would meddle in the tournament somehow when he talked to her about it, the young man did not really get his hopes up too much.

That train of thought had become even more prevalent when any news of Mystiaʼs actions werenʼt made public throughout the tournament, which left him and everyone else in the unknown until the awarding ceremony itself.

Naturally, hearing from the tournamentʼs announcer that heʼd be able to request an item directly from her left him at a complete loss for words.

After all, when he talked with her about his player identity, he only mentioned the fact that his player self was participating in the tournament in passing.

Although he hoped that Mystia would possibly do something about it to give his player self benefits, he expected her to only extend her actions to give out some elixirs or other items to them at most.

Never in his wildest expectations would he think that the Imperial Alchemist of the Meltierre Empire would personally make a trip to Astella City and distribute the rewards herself.

ʼI wonder if all of that is just an excuse she set up to meet me?ʼ asked Valyr, recalling that he also told Mystia back then that his player self was bound to become a part of the Mystic Plane at some point.

Of course, the young man eventually cut that train of thought short, thinking that it was absurd for someone as reputable as Mystia to leave the empire just for that reason.

If it was in his other self, then it wouldʼve been more understandable. After all, the level of strength he could wield there was more than enough of a reason for Mystia to make a trip.

On the other hand, even though he did have the ability to fight against Rank 4 class holders while still being at Rank 2, such a feat lacked in comparison to what he was able to do in his other identity.

Perhaps it might have attracted Mystiaʼs attention, sure. However, he was certain that it was not to the point that sheʼd personally make a visit to see him.

Clack.

As Valyr continued to dwell in his thoughts for a bit longer, the door to Mystiaʼs room was opened, revealing the last person on the ranking with a smile on his face.

Briefly glancing at the bottle of elixir the man was tightly clutching, the young man was swiftly forced to shift his attention as he heard Mystia call his name.

”You can come in, Ataraxia.”

Taking in a deep breath to calm himself in response, he then went ahead and entered the room, only to be then greeted by the sight of a room with the barest of furnishings.

”Take a seat.” Glancing at the vacant chair placed opposite where Mystia sat, Valyr faintly nodded at her words before making himself comfortable.

”Now then, I suppose you have an idea as to why youʼre here?” By the time the young man finally sat down, Mystia decided to ask the former a question.

”Would it not be for the reward?” asked Valyr as he tried his best to maintain a respectful tone.

Of course, the question also made him think back to his previous train of thought, which he hastily moved to the side for the meantime.

”Well, thatʼs definitely one of the reasons why youʼre here,” said Mystia with a faint nod, only for her expression to turn serious. ”But Iʼm sure you know of the other reason why Iʼm here.”

”…Perhaps mentioning a name would help jog your memory?”

”What name?” Valyr replied, looking at her with curiosity as he continued to act oblivious.

However, when he heard his name leave her mouth, it was at that moment he decided not to ignore it any further.

”Valyr Zeihardt.” Mystia intently looked at Valyrʼs face at those words. ”Does that name ring a bell to you?”

”…If youʼre talking about Teacher, then I think I know why youʼre here,” replied the young man with a sigh, showing no shame in placing his other self on a high pedestal as he quickly made up an excuse.

”Does this perhaps have something to do with the Mystic Plane?”

”Correct.” Mystia smiled at those words, glad that the person in front of her finally stopped beating around the bush. ”However, the reason why Iʼm here is not to drag you to the Mystic Plane by force.”

”Then, what would the reason be…” asked Valyr, only to trail off at the end as he wondered what to call her in his current identity.

In the end, he decided to use a title that he felt was most fitting after taking his connection to her in consideration.

”Grandmaster?”

”…” Hearing herself be called Grandmaster, Mystia briefly went silent as a myriad number of emotions flashed on her face.

In the end, the woman shook her head as she looked at Valyr with a slight shudder. ”Calling me Miss Mystia is fine. Though Grandmaster is an apt way to call me considering our connection, it gives me a lot of goosebumps.”

”In any case, the reason why Iʼm here is to ask about your future plans,” she continued, which caused Valyr to look back at her in confusion.

Realizing that her answer seemed quite vague in terms of context, Mystia decided to clarify herself. ”Well, to be more specific, Iʼm here to ask about your plans now that the current tournament is over.”

”Youʼll be participating in the upcoming Myriad Prodigies Tournament, right?”

Hearing those words, Valyr nodded in response.

Then again, if she didnʼt ask him about that, he would still participate in the tournament regardless.

After all, if the tournament just now already gave him so much rewards, what more would he get from a tournament covering the entire Meltierre Empire?

”That makes things simpler for me, then,” replied Mystia as she sighed in relief, which only caused the young man to look at her with further confusion.

”Were you going to persuade me to participate in the upcoming tournament if I wasnʼt planning to, Miss Mystia?” asked Valyr after that, to which the woman gave him a slightly wry smile.

”I would have definitely tempted you by giving you more elixirs,” she replied, causing the young man to briefly look at her with slightly widened eyes.

”Anyways…” Feeling as if their topic had gone off a tangent, Mystia softly cleared her throat as she steered the topic back to the right direction. ”Thereʼs a reason as to why I ask you about your participation in the upcoming tournament.”

”Iʼm sure youʼve already heard of the ongoing war between the three races, right?”

At those words, Valyr nodded once more.

Heck, heʼd even experienced its cruelty in person!

”Then I donʼt need to explain too much for you to understand whatʼs going on, then,” said Mystia as she nodded back in response. ”Hereʼs the thing. We have orcs working for us in the battlefield as our spies.”

”Though the elves have only joined the fray just recently, weʼve also begun to rope a few of the elves onto our side as well in the form of mutual cooperation.”

”Now, let me ask you this.” Mystia looked at Valyr with a serious expression. ”Do you think the orcs and the elves wouldnʼt use a similar tactic?”

”…” Listening to the question she gave him, the young man began to frown as he knew she wanted him to read between the lines. After all, the two of them were currently far away from the frontlines.

”Wait…” Fortunately, after going through the questions she asked him before talking about the war all of a sudden, it did not take long for Valyr to understand what Mystia was trying to tell him.

”Are you telling me… a spy for the two other races is planning on sabotaging the upcoming tournament by participating?”

”Thatʼs quite possibly the best guess you could ever come up with.” Mystia briefly looked at Valyr with a hint of surprise, only to then let out a bit of laughter.

”Then again, though the idea is similar, the actual execution is different.”

”What I want to tell you is that the empire has a few burning suspicions that one of these spies would be leading one of these upcoming tournaments,” explained Mystia, causing the gears in Valyrʼs mind to turn as he committed every bit of information to memory.

”As you know, the Nine Prodigies of Astella Tournament you just participated in is considered a city-level tournament.”

”On the other hand, the Myriad Prodigies Tournament would be considered a kingdom-level tournament.”

”Though such a tournament would pale in comparison to an empire-level or sovereignty-level tournament, the number of people that would participate in it is at least ten times greater if we were to not limit it.”

”Aside from that, kingdoms are considered by many to be the first few places where true geniuses start to congregate,” she continued, her expression now becoming slightly grim.

”With that, let me ask you another question.”

”On one hand, we have a tournament filled with geniuses. On the other, we have a spy of the other races as its host.”

”If we combine the two together, what do you think will happen?”

”…” At those words, Valyr could only remain silent as he continued to look at Mystia with dread and fear evident in his eyes.