"Can't believe we were both thinking about the same thing," Selena said.

Nolan nodded, though quiet. They knew Selena was with him, knew her name, and put her under some kind of hypnosis.

"Do you think we are safe? I mean, if they find out we are trying to piece things together, they would come for us, no?" she asked, leaning back on the chair.

Nolan looked up at her. "They know. They already know we are. Even before you came, they knew I was piecing things together."

"Hell, that's a lot. Now I understand why you were angry about the promotion. The least you want right now is eyes on you," Selena sighed.

"It's all according to their plan," Nolan muttered, steepling his fingers.

"What's that?"

"Us trying to find out," Nolan replied, almost instantly. "I wouldn't want to tell you I have a thousand lives of experience, to know that they want us to piece things together. But... I do."

Selena blinked and let out a frustrated sigh, mumbling, "Speak sense sometimes, mister." Then she said loudly, "That's quite reasonable. They are not leaving clues by mistakes, they are leaving them so they can be found. How did I not see this earlier?"

"Curiosity is one thing. They know how powerful 'the itch to know' is and they are using it. We have been following their script all along," Nolan stated.

Selena nodded. "So the objective is no longer to find out their plan, but break out of it. Make actions out of expectations. Outsmart them. Go beyond scope. But how do we know if what we are going to do is going to work?"

Nolan smirked. "It's just as you said earlier. They will come for us."

She gave an upside down smile, impressed with Nolan's quick thinking, then she uncrossed and crossed her legs again. "And what do we do exactly, to break out of plan?

"You do what you think they would not expect, and watch them."

"And you?"

Nolan looked out the window at the night sky. "I got to Level up."

"What?"

. . . . . .

Meanwhile...

At the guild, someone was moving in the shadows.

Alexander.

"A cold night here," he said, sneaking towards Elite Loretta's office.

His curiosity had brought him here, because he spotted something before going home.

. . .

Earlier...

While everyone in the team went home, Alexander remained in the guild searching for his bag.

"Where did I drop it? If it's not here then I'm sure someone stole it," Alexander muttered, walking towards the Quartz-Core Library.

Just before he entered, Sylvia walked out and tossed the bag to him. "You are quite careless," she said.

"Hehe, don't mind me. Thank you," Alexander replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I heard Nolan's awake," she added.

Alexander nodded.

"I will see him tomorrow then," she muttered, leaving Alexander as he searched the bag.

"Okay, everything's intact," he exhaled in relief, looking up to find Sylvia already gone. He was about to leave as well, when he found Elite Loretta walking towards a building, looking back suspiciously.

"Eh?" Alexander raised a brow. The first thing that came to his mind was Selena, saying the woman was shady, followed by the nods she and Nolan exchanged. He noticed the small exchange between them, but decided to shrug it off.

"What if she is not wrong? Master did not protest when she said that about Elite Loretta. Hmm," Alexander said to himself. "Maybe I can find out something and tell Master."

He then rushed towards the building she disappeared into.

Before reaching the door, he heard footsteps coming closer and he hid behind a pillar. The door swung open and someone else left, but Alexander could not see the person's face.

He was about to move when Elite Loretta walked out, a voice coming from behind her, saying, "About an hour later. Now's not a good time to speak. We may be having bad company."

Hearing that, Alexander quickly left as quietly as he could and went straight home.

But he came back.

. . .

Now...

"I can not help it. I want to know," Alexander muttered, as he tiptoed from building to building. "Aha, there you are. Just in time," he whispered after hiding behind a couple of crates, spotting Elite Loretta as she entered the building and closed the door.

He got up and quickly ran over, opening the door carefully and going in. The hallway stretched, filled with pillars and small doors.

Elite Loretta was still in sight, and he followed her quietly, trying not to make any loud noises.

Elite Loretta suddenly stopped, then she spun around, but the path behind here was empty. "Hmm," she hummed, before turning to continue her walk. "I thought there was someone behind me."

Meanwhile, Alexander was behind one of the pillars, chest heaving. After peeping and confirming she was moving again, he started to follow her once more.

Along the line, she turned back again and he hid. But then, the third time, everything seemed to be going well, until,

"Why are you here?" she said, before stopping, though not looking back.

Alexander felt as if his heart would leave his body any moment now. 'Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe? No it was a bad idea completely.' he thought, frozen in place.

However, when Elite Loretta turned back, there was still no one there. Alexander's body moved at the last second and he managed open a door, where he was now hiding.

Luckily, Elite Loretta just said what she did in order to make whoever was following her know she was aware of their presence, making hiding an option they wouldn't want to pick. She didn't actually know if someone was following her, or if her mind was making her feel unsafe.

"I must be imagining things," she sighed, leaving.

But, before she could go any further, a clattering noise of metal hitting the ground, reached her ears and she turned around, walking back. "Who is it?" she called, her voice echoing in the empty hallway.

Alexander didn't realize he was in a weapon store, until a spear hit the ground, and now he knew he was doomed for sure. "I enjoyed living this long," he whispered, heart trying to pound its way out of his chest.

He heard Elite Loretta opening door after door, her steps getting closer, until... she was there. Her hands hovered over the door knob for a while before she turned it and pushed. Alexander closed his eyes as the light from outside slowly entered the room.

Elite Loretta looked inside the room, a sword clattering to the ground. It was loaded with weapons, unarranged, but there was no one there. "I thought I told Vordd to make sure they arranged all the weapons in the stores. That boy never listens," she said, closing the door and walking away. "I'm late already. I better hurry up."

Alexander slowly opened his eyes and they widened.

"Shh," the person in front of him shushed as they got inside to hide as well.

The footsteps he heard coming close weren't Elite Loretta's at all. They belonged to,

"Liana?" he whispered.

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