Bloodbound Codex: I Grow Stronger in Secret

The moment Kael saw this, he frowned and stared at the System screen for several seconds, reading the description again as if another line of information might suddenly appear if he looked at it long enough. Nothing changed. There were only two objectives, and neither of them gave him any useful information about what the Human King was actually planning.

’Are you kidding me? What kind of description is this? There is no information here at all! It just vaguely tells me what I have to do, tch, you are being useless now, you know that, dearest System?’ Kael cursed inwardly as he continued staring at the screen.

Normally, a Quest from his System would at least provide him with a clear direction, whether it was locating an object, defeating an enemy, reaching a certain realm, or completing some specific condition. This one was completely different because even the first objective required him to discover something that nobody present seemed to know.

The ultimate goal of the Human King.

Kael glanced toward Azarion’s distant position before looking back at the System screen. He already knew that Azarion had been hiding something for a very long time, but that did not mean discovering the man’s true objective would be simple. The rulers gathered here were some of the strongest individuals in Eliomor, yet even they were still trying to understand what Azarion had done. If they already knew his ultimate goal, the System would have no reason to assign him this Quest in the first place.

The second objective was even more troublesome.

Stop him.

There was no explanation of how he was supposed to do that, no indication of how powerful Azarion would become, and no information about what would happen if he failed. Kael had expected the System to give him an advantage after finally encountering something it could not analyze, but instead, it had handed him a task that seemed to require him to solve the entire situation himself.

He was about to complain again when the System responded.

[Host should look at the Reward closely.]

[That reward is equal to the amount of information and the execution of the Quest itself. Nothing more than that can be provided.]

Kael’s expression changed slightly.

He looked at the final line again.

[Reward: Authority - Copy]

For several seconds, he remained silent.

The frustration on his face slowly disappeared as he examined the words more carefully. He had already seen countless rewards from the System during his time in Eliomor, but this one immediately felt different. The name itself was vague, yet the word ’Authority’ carried enough weight that even Kael understood it was not something the System would normally hand out casually.

’So that’s how you’re playing this.’ A small smile appeared on his lips before it gradually turned into a grin. The Quest was not giving him information because the reward itself was connected to the amount of information he would uncover and the extent to which he completed the Quest. In other words, the System was practically telling him that if he wanted answers, he would have to obtain them himself.

And Kael did not dislike that.

’Now I see. This reward is out of the world...’

His eyes remained fixed on the reward for another moment before he finally shifted his attention away from the System. Whatever Authority—Copy actually was, Kael had a strong feeling that it was something that could fundamentally increase his strength. More importantly, the System had never described a reward in such a way before, which only made him more curious about what kind of authority he would eventually obtain.

However, before Kael could think any further about it, a voice came from the side, ”Although I wouldn’t want to give you people the information about what Azarion’s real intentions are...”

Kael immediately turned his head toward the Dragon Emperor.

Zaakrax had been watching the enormous beam for some time, but his expression had changed slightly. His words had caught everyone’s attention because the rulers had already spent enough time discussing Azarion without reaching a definite conclusion. If Zaakrax actually knew something, then whatever he was about to say could change the entire situation.

Yet the Dragon Emperor did not immediately continue. Instead, he paused and slowly shifted his attention toward his right.

His eyes settled on a seemingly empty section of space.

Kael followed his gaze, and the moment he realized Zaakrax was staring directly at empty air, his curiosity immediately returned. There was nothing visible there, but considering the level of everyone gathered around the beam, Kael knew better than to assume there was actually nobody present, ”I think it’s time you came out, Pope Sylvaris,” Zaakrax said calmly. ”It may be that you heard this as well.”

The air suddenly distorted.

A thin crack appeared in the empty space before widening into a vertical tear, and a figure stepped through it without any hesitation. Kael’s eyes moved toward her immediately.

Sylvaris had changed her usual appearance.

The Pope of the Holy Church was wearing a strapless white gown that extended down to her ankles, leaving her shoulders and upper back exposed while the fitted design followed the shape of her figure more closely than the ceremonial clothing she usually wore.

The dress was elegant rather than heavily decorated, with only subtle patterns along the fabric, and its simplicity made her presence stand out even more. It was noticeably more revealing than what someone holding the position of Pope would normally be expected to wear, yet Sylvaris carried herself with enough composure that the clothing did not make her appear any less authoritative.

Her long hair rested behind her shoulders as she stepped completely out of the spatial tear, and the moment she appeared, her eyes swept across everyone gathered around the beam. There was no surprise on her face. She had clearly been observing the situation before revealing herself.

Kael’s eyes narrowed slightly, ’So she was here the whole time?’

He looked toward Zaakrax again and immediately understood why the Dragon Emperor had called her out. The Pope had probably been watching from somewhere nearby while keeping herself concealed, which meant she had likely heard at least part of their conversation.

Sylvaris finally looked toward Zaakrax, ”You are quite the troublesome individual, Zaakrax.”

Zaakrax merely shrugged, completely unaffected by her words, before giving a small chuckle, ”I’ll take that as a compliment, haha.”

Sylvaris’s expression remained unchanged.

Kael could not help but smile slightly at the exchange. Even after everything that had happened, Zaakrax still had enough composure to joke with an Ancient who had just appeared out of nowhere. More importantly, the fact that Sylvaris had chosen to reveal herself now meant that she considered the information being discussed important enough to stop hiding.

Zaakrax’s smile faded as his attention returned to the enormous beam of Null and Spirit Energy, ”Now, as I was saying, this might already be late, but if I had to say what his real intentions were, it would be...”

He paused and the rulers around him became completely silent.

Even Kael stopped thinking about anything and focused entirely on Zaakrax. The Dragon Emperor looked toward the beam for another moment before finally speaking.

”...merging back all the Continents and ascending as the progenitor of all races.”