Kaelric Halecrest sat behind his desk, his back turned to the large glass window that framed the city's skyline. Towering skyscrapers stretched into the distance behind him, their lights reflecting faintly off the glass, when his voice suddenly echoed across the room.

"You don't need to ask questions. Just do as you're asked. I will hold up my end of the deal if you do so as well."

He ended the call there and then.

Not even a moment later, Jennifer Lance, his private secretary, stepped into the room, her expression already troubled. The concern on her face deepened the instant she noticed Kaelric's expression.

It was one marked by unmistakable fury and irritation, barely restrained, simmering just beneath the surface.

"...Sir."

Her voice wavered as she spoke, hesitant at first, but her words eventually managed to reach him.

He finally took notice of her.

"Jennifer."

"...Sir, I think... I think you're rushing things. I don't think there's a need for you to do something like this. We can take more time to do some proper research before reaching out to him."

"I am doing what I'm doing exactly because I want to make things clearer," Kaelric said, lowering his gaze to stare at the monitor in front of him.

Although the monitor was turned away from her, the assistant could clearly tell what the Guild Master was watching. It was the recording of the Gate incident that had occurred not long ago.

As the Guild Master of the [Obsidian Bastion], part of the big five, and a powerhouse that ruled the entire Central Island, he was naturally aware of what had transpired in Malovia Island, with a couple of Paragons from his Guild.

But he felt odd right now. Staring at the feed, Kaelric couldn't take his gaze away from one particular individual as he stood before the imposing creature.

Alone.

His black hair fluttered silently as he stood face to face with that creature. And yet, he didn't look at all scared.

But that wasn't the part that was odd to him.

Kaelric could still remember the order he had given back then. He had poured an absurd amount of the Guild's resources into the search, chasing faint leads and empty trails. When time passed and nothing came of it, he was left with no choice but to abandon it. His single thread of hope disappeared just like that.

Or at least, that was what he had believed.

Now, staring at the monitor in front of him as the footage replayed once more, Kaelric felt a rush of memories he had long buried surge back to the surface. His thoughts tangled together, old faces and moments resurfacing one after another, as his aged hand slowly reached out toward the screen.

He watched the boy slash down the anomaly that had terrified the entire world. With one smooth movement, he decapitated the anomaly, ending the nightmare that had taken over the world.

His actions were decisive, and his movements were clean.

But it wasn't the way that he killed the anomaly that Kaelric was paying close attention to. It had never been about the way he killed the anomaly.

No...

What Kaelric cared about was something different. That... distinctive appearance of his that closely resembled his own—a younger version of him.

He was so similar, and yet so different.

"Seth Thorne."

Kaelric drew a deep breath, his chest coming to a subtle pause as he tried to quell the rising anger that was fueling deep within his body. The more he looked at the boy, the more the rage grew. His anger wasn't directed at the boy, but towards the individuals who had caused the situation to turn out this way.

To the people who had taken him from his home.

"Jennifer."

Kaelric spoke, his tone as calm as he could possibly try to make it.

"I want Ray and Martha to come to my office as soon as possible. Make sure they come without any complaints. If they have any, then tell them they can find another Guild to work in."

"Understood."

The assistant answered at once, her head lowering for a brief second as she raised it back up to ask, "What about the youngest mistress? Would you—"

"No, there's no need for that."

Kaelric shook his head, his expression regaining some semblance of calm as he managed to quell the rising anger from before.

"The World Congress will be starting soon. I don't want her to get distracted by things that are yet to be confirmed. I'll think about telling her when I'm absolutely certain that it's him."

Reaching the glass cup on his desk with his aged hand, Kaelric took a small sip of his drink before leaning back on the chair and turning back to stare at the scenery below.

"Some say that he did what he did due to luck, but... I have a feeling that the situation is quite different from that. I have a feeling he'll also participate in the Congress. In that case, I'm curious to see how he'll interact with her."

Taking another sip of his drink, Kaelric smiled faintly.

"...I'm really curious indeed."

***

The office I was given was far larger than the one I'd had back at the main Guild. Large windows lined one side of the room, offering a clear view of the city streets far below. There was even air conditioning, a small detail, but one that immediately made the space feel more comfortable.

In many ways, it was better.

But...

"I prefer my old office more."

Pressing the remote to lower the curtains, I sat down on the chair and leaned back.

"I need to hurry up and get my shit together."

Time was ticking, and I had yet to make any meaningful progress with the game update. The ideas were there, and I had already shared them with the others, but with the equipment still back in Malovia, getting things done was quite difficult.

'I've already contacted the Guild Master regarding this matter, and he's already said that he's going to provide me with the equipment, but that'll take some time too. I don't know if I have enough time to spare.'

"Ugh."

Groaning, I took out my laptop and got to work.

Even without the equipment, I could still do some things to make things much easier when heavy programming had to be done.

'Should I try hiring more people?'

It was worth taking into consideration. What I wanted to do now was get the update done quickly before the quest time ran out. I wasn't planning on making money. I could do that later.

Maybe...

"Ah, I don't know. It might take some time to fill them into the project. Might make the entire process even slower than expected."

Groaning, I tried to think of more solutions, but no matter how hard I pushed myself, every idea only made things worse. In the end, I just gave up and continued to do things the hard way.

'I might end up forgoing sleep once more, but I feel like I have to complete this quest at all costs. I don't know what the new feature will be, but I have a feeling that it's going to be extremely important further down the line.'

Taking a deep breath, I cracked my fingers and got to work.

Or at least...

Tried to.

The moment my hands touched the keyboard, a sudden notification rang across my mind.

Ding!

The moment it did, my fingers froze.

'I should've seen it coming.'

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.