Bloodbound Codex: I Grow Stronger in Secret

Meanwhile, Atlas appeared in a completely different place. The moment he passed through the wall, he felt a soft yet blinding light wash over him before finding himself inside a wooden room. The floor, walls, ceiling, and even every piece of furniture were crafted entirely from polished wood, giving the place a simple yet refined atmosphere.

He slowly looked around as Carial walked straight toward two couches of equal size placed opposite each other. What confused Atlas wasn’t the room itself, but the existence of that strange wall. If passing through it simply led to a room like this, then why was such a bizarre entrance even necessary?

’Is something different here? The spirit energy feels completely normal...then what exactly is different?’

Still thinking, Atlas followed Carial and eventually sat on the couch opposite him. The moment he noticed the confusion in Atlas’s eyes, Carial smiled slightly and spoke, ”You are probably wondering why someone has to pass through that wall just to enter a room that looks this ordinary, aren’t you? I’ll explain, but first...try sensing beyond these wooden walls for a moment.”

Atlas furrowed his brows and immediately extended his senses. The next second his expression stiffened. He tried again, this time more carefully, but the result remained exactly the same. Only then did he look at Carial and ask with a frown, ”How?...I can’t sense anything beyond these wooden walls.”

Carial nodded as if he had expected that reaction. ”Exactly. You cannot perceive anything beyond these walls. The fee for this private room isn’t one platinum coin for nothing. Several High-grade Relics are embedded around this chamber, preventing anyone outside from sensing in, and anyone inside from sensing out.”

Atlas narrowed his eyes again. His curiosity regarding that mysterious wall hadn’t disappeared in the slightest. It was the first time he had encountered something this strange, something that reminded him of the Codex itself. Unable to suppress that curiosity, he asked, ”Then what exactly was that wall?...And are we even still inside the Guild?”

Carial paused for a brief moment before leaning back slightly into the couch, making himself more comfortable. ”Sir Atlas, I don’t mean to sound rude, but we came here to discuss your Relic. How about we focus on that?”

Atlas silently observed him for a moment as his mind quickly pieced everything together. If Carial deliberately diverted the conversation the instant he asked about the wall, then there were only two possibilities. Either he wasn’t permitted to reveal the answer...or he simply couldn’t. After reaching that conclusion, Atlas decided not to press the matter any further. There was little point asking questions that would never be answered.

Without another word, he placed the Relic onto the small wooden table between them. Carial carefully picked it up, observed it through the monocle once again, then finally began speaking.

”This Relic possesses only a single Ability, even though both sides display completely different mechanisms—one side bearing a compass and the other resembling a watch dial.”

Atlas nodded silently as Carial paused, giving him enough time to absorb those words before continuing.

”That Ability is known as Temporal Location Shift, It is, without question, the most outrageous Relic Ability I have witnessed in my entire life. Its function is surprisingly simple...you can literally shift yourself to a location and point in time that you set using this Relic.”

Atlas frowned as he processed those words,

’Shifting from location to location or space...I can understand that. It isn’t too different from Mu-ho or Shadow Shift...but what exactly does shifting through time mean?’

The question genuinely puzzled him. Until obtaining Shadow Shift from the Codex, Atlas hadn’t even understood the concept of Location shifting. He had only learned it by reading the description of that derived ability and experienced it first hand using Mu-ho.

But shifting through time...that was something entirely beyond his understanding. He frowned slightly before asking, ”I understand the part about shifting through location but...” Before he could finish, Carial nodded as if he had expected that exact question. ”I know what is confusing you, and that is precisely the part where this Relic defies common logic.”

”To put it simply...this Relic allows you to return to a point a few seconds into the past. If your Spirit Energy is sufficient, you can even extend that to a full minute, though one minute is the absolute limit of the Relic itself.” Carial finished explaining before looking toward Atlas, whose expression had completely changed.

Today had already become the most unbelievable day of his life, one shocking revelation following another without giving him a moment to process any of them thoroughly. This revelation, however, surpassed everything before it. Atlas’s pupils contracted as his mind froze for a brief second before a single thought echoed inside it.

’How in the world??...Go back into the past? Even if it’s only for a few seconds or a single minute...that alone could completely reverse a battle that was already lost.’

Before he could dwell on it any longer, Carial continued, drawing Atlas’s attention back to him.

”There are three limitations to this Ability. The first is the one I already mentioned—the maximum duration is one minute. The second is its Spirit consumption and the third is it can only take you to past, not the future.”

A brief pause before he continued yet again, ”Reversing even a single second requires an enormous amount of Spirit Energy. To give you a rough estimate...an ordinary S-rank Explorer would only be capable of using it once to travel back a single second before exhausting their entire Spirit reserve.”

Atlas wasn’t surprised by that explanation in the slightest. If an Ability could truly shift through time, then such an overwhelming cost felt perfectly reasonable. After giving a small nod, he asked another question.

”Is there any limit to how many times it can be used?”

Carial smiled before carefully placing the Relic back onto the table.

”None at all, That is another reason why I found this Relic so unbelievable. As long as the user possesses enough Spirit Energy, it can be activated repeatedly. Frankly...if this ever falls into the hands of an SS-rank or an SSS-rank Explorer, they would become almost untouchable.”

Atlas slowly picked the Relic back up, quietly listening without interrupting. His fingers gently traced its surface as he examined both sides once more, a faint fascination hidden beneath his calm expression.

’...I knew it was an extremely high-grade Relic, but now I understand why it was classified as Cataclysm-grade.’

After a brief silence, Carial rose from the couch before speaking once more, ”My explanation ends here, Sir Atlas. My only advice is to register ownership of that Relic immediately. Very few people in this world would willingly part with something like this...unless they happened to be a King or a Queen.”

Atlas stood as well and replied calmly.

”I was planning to register it regardless.”

Carial answered with a small smile before turning toward the same wall through which they had entered. Atlas quietly followed behind him and, just like before, both passed through the seemingly solid wall one after another before reappearing inside the Guild hall.

The moment Atlas stepped back into the Guild, his senses immediately swept across the hall. Nearly everyone who had been gathered there earlier had already disappeared. Only Himalton and the members of the Asfalon Team remained near the entrance, and standing among them was Alberion. Atlas observed them for only a brief moment before arriving at a simple conclusion.

’Looks like Himalton invited him to join the team.’

Putting that thought aside, Atlas walked straight toward the counter. The receptionist had already prepared both his reward and the registration documents, a neatly folded paper waiting beside a pouch containing the promised Platinum Coins.

’So they’re all waiting outside, huh?...They’re going to be disappointed when they realize I won’t be leaving through the front entrance at all.’

After that Atlas took the reward money before handing the Relic over once again, the receptionist brought out another small Relic from beneath the counter and lightly placed it against the circular black Relic for a brief moment. A faint pulse of spirit energy spread between both Relics before she nodded to herself and began writing something on the registration paper, only after finishing every required detail did she finally slide the document aside.

”The ownership has now been officially registered under your name, Sir Atlas.” She spoke before carefully handing the Relic back to him.

Atlas took it without another word and placed it back inside the same transparent spirit bag. After exchanging a few final words with the receptionist, he slowly turned around and let his gaze sweep across the Guild hall once, his black pupils passing over every Explorer still present before finally stopping on Himalton.

Only then did he speak in the same calm, detached voice.

”Now...to whoever is planning to gang up on me to kill me outside the Guild for this Relic...”

He paused for just a brief moment, the corner of his lips curling upward ever so slightly beneath the mask, ”...I have some bad news for you.”

Several Explorers frowned at those words while others instinctively felt something was wrong, but before anyone could understand what he meant, Atlas shifted his gaze toward Himalton.

”I will answer your offer tomorrow, Mr. Himalton...”

A brief silence followed.

Then Atlas quietly uttered two words.

”...Shadow Shift.”

The shadow beneath his feet suddenly darkened into absolute black, spreading around him like liquid darkness before swallowing his entire figure in a single instant.

And the next moment...Atlas vanished completely.

Only a fading ripple remained where he had been standing.

Silence descended over the entire Guild hall.

Even Alberion’s pupils contracted and shook in horror as he stared at the empty spot where Atlas had disappeared, while Himalton and the members of Asfalon remained frozen in place.

No one had sensed where he went and... no one had any way of knowing where he currently could be.