Chapter 292: Chapter 269: Tracing with the Soul Contract, an Unshirkable Duty

With a shift in space, Jon and the others returned to where they were before Carina had pulled him into the "painting world"—the ruins beside the warehouse district.

The sky was still dim, and smoke coiled low in the air like a dying python. Yet, the surrounding scene bore witness to the devastating aftershocks of a battle between experts, one mighty enough to shake the entire Empire.

The entire abandoned warehouse district had been pulverized by the force of the spatial transfer. Molten metal and crystallized earth were mixed together, reflecting an eerie sheen.

The remains of the evil-eye lizard and the Flayed Giant Dog, along with the High Tier Mage Nasir Atherton and even Jon’s expensive Mechanical Warhorse, had all vanished without a trace.

But Jon didn’t spare the scene a single thought. Compared to the magnificent battles he had experienced in *Yino*, this was just a minor skirmish.

First, he glanced at the system message log, which was spammed with notifications.

On it, aside from numerous records of the damage he had taken upon entering the so-called "painting world," was a completed random quest.

——

[The Prey’s Fangs (Epic - Time-limited Random Quest), Completed]

[To certain evil beings, your very existence is the ultimate temptation. They grew restless and sent their worldly tendrils to capture you, take you apart, and devour you completely. However, you anticipated all of this. With the help of your mentors and friends, you dragged the enemy into a disadvantageous position and ultimately dealt them a grievous blow.]

[Completion Grade: B, reward multiplier: 2.0]

[Completion Rewards: 400,000 General Experience Points, 20,000 Heta County reputation, 10,000 Sun Church reputation, 2x Random "Justice" Domain Inscriptions (Minimum Rarity: Perfect)]

[Current Heta County reputation Level: Friendly (20,430/30,000)]

——

He had to admit, even though this was another quest against a user of Evil Magic, and he had been a mere spectator for the whole thing, the rewards were much, much higher than those for the [Evil Being’s Advent] quest he’d completed earlier.

In addition to the massive experience and reputation rewards, the random reward this time was actually two Inscriptions—and Perfect Level at a minimum!

Having reaped the benefits of [Multiple Projections], Jon was quite excited. If he got incredibly lucky and pulled an Epic Level Inscription, it would be a massive boost to his personal combat power!

However, now was not the time to sort through his quest rewards. The fallout from this incident was far from over.

A flicker passed through Jon’s eyes before he composed himself and looked to Finian, asking bluntly.

"High Priest, can you use this woman to find the one who escaped?"

Finian, who had been examining the unconscious Carina, instinctively glanced up at Jon when he heard his question. The young man’s face was as resolute as stone. In the depths of his ice-blue eyes, there was not the slightest trace of post-battle agitation or fear—only an almost cold focus, as if the harrowing battle in the "painting world" had been nothing more than swatting a few bothersome flies.

’Such mental fortitude... No wonder he has earned Our Lord’s favor...’

Finian sighed to himself, then answered Jon’s question in a solemn tone.

"That Evil Mage is exceptionally cautious. He didn’t simply possess this body. Instead, through some kind of extremely profane ritual, he deeply bound this woman’s body—and even part of her soul’s origin—to that so-called ’Dream Weaver’ entity, forming a twisted bridge."

"When he withdrew his Spirit, he borrowed the chaotic Power of that evil entity to brutally sever all connections to ’this end’ of the bridge."

The old man shook his head, and the golden, flaming halo behind his skull seemed to dim slightly, as if combating such a level of profane corruption had drained a great deal of his energy.

"I have already tried. Conventional tracking methods—be it the Divine Technique ’Destiny Tracing’ or the Arcane Magic ’Causal Rewind’—are severely diminished in effectiveness after he forcibly erased his tracks using the power of that entity’s very essence."

"Therefore, finding that ’Governor’ through this woman is almost impossible!"

Jon’s brows furrowed. He stared intently at Carina’s face, etched with pain even in her unconsciousness, and at the horrific gash on her waist. It had been forcibly "welded" shut by Holy Light, but its edges still oozed charred, black blood. He fell into a thoughtful silence.

"Almost... which means it’s not impossible?"

The other three people present looked at him in surprise.

As a veteran Advanced Level expert, Finian’s words essentially represented their collective opinion and should have been the final word on the matter.

Yet Jon seemed to have another way?

But what they didn’t know was that while the Jon standing before them was merely a young man who had just reached the Official Level, he had once been an "Ascension Level" powerhouse—far stronger and with a much broader perspective than any of them.

Something impossible for them wasn’t necessarily impossible for a player.

Jon met their gazes and spoke, organizing his thoughts as he went.

"I have an idea. We might be able to get on his tail."

Jon looked away from Carina and met Finian’s molten-gold eyes.

"Since that Evil Mage used this body—or rather, this woman’s soul—as a medium to so easily borrow the entity’s Power and escape, then even though the connection was violently severed, the ’wreckage’ of the bridge—the traces left deep within the origin of Carina’s soul—can’t have vanished completely."

He spoke at a steady pace, his logic clear and organized.

"Everything that exists leaves a trace. Since this woman served as the ’bridge,’ her soul must bear the channels carved by the Evil Mage’s Power washing over it, as well as the brand left by the stain of the entity’s chaotic aura."

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.