"Orc outbreak?" As Faulerei repeated the phrase Valyr had mentioned, all of the elders engaged in a hushed conversation with one another, glancing at Valyr down at the center of the room from time to time. Of course, Valyr tried to listen in on their conversation as best as he could, yet, for some reason, all of the words that came out of the elders' mouths seemed to sound like gibberish to him.
Unsure of whether it was due to some sort of magic stopping him from eavesdropping on their conversation, or the fact that the gap between his strength and theirs was more than enough to make their words incoherent if they so wanted it to be, Valyr decided to wait until their discussion was over.
Thankfully for him, it did not take too long.
However, rather than tell Valyr the information that he wanted to know, a bitter smile adorned Faulerei's face as he told him, "Unfortunately, us elders of the Ancestral Council are not privy towards the orc outbreak that's going on. At most, we only have surface-level information that even you could get your hands on, Herald."
"If you want detailed information that's up to date, then I'd suggest you ask the branch leader of Algerie Kingdom's Blacksmith Guild, Herald. I'm sure they'd accommodate you to the best of their abilities." Though Valyr nodded in response to Faulerei's words, he now harbored a bit of resentment towards the Ancestral Council.
However, it was not due to the lack of information they knew as they made it out to be.
Instead, it was the fact that he knew that they knew the information he wanted, yet they still withheld it from him, leaving him no choice but to go through a lot of hoops before even getting a smidgen of a clue regarding the entire situation.
Of course, while listening to Faulerei's words, Valyr thought about answering the question he had asked from their perspective, eventually coming to the conclusion that their action did make a lot of sense. After all, he was not an inner member of the Imperial Production Guild in any way. At most, he was just connected to the guild due to the fact that he was going to participate in the upcoming Four Pillars' Inheritance.
With that in mind, Valyr responded that he had no more questions after Faulerei had asked him one more time if he still had any questions to ask. With Faulerei announcing that the meeting between both sides was now over, Valyr went ahead and excused himself in front of the elders before leaving the room, eventually finding Braum at the end of the corridor that led to the Ancestral Council's room.
"So, how did the meeting go?" Braum looked at Valyr with a hint of curiosity as they made their way to the guild's entrance.
"Alright, I guess." In response, Valyr briefly shrugged his shoulders as he let out a faint sigh. "The elders mostly talked about what things I should take note of before the inheritance, such as the fact that there's a test a week before the inheritance, as well as the fact that I can't exceed the peak of Rank 2 if I want to enter."
"Sounds about right." Braum nodded in understanding once Valyr was finished talking. "That's what they usually tell all of the candidates for the inheritance after they meet up with them at the Ancestral Council's hall."
"However, you and the elders discussed another topic after that, right?" asked Braum not long after. "Something about a discussion of your identity."
"Oh, that." Valyr briefly nodded as he thought about how he would go about and phrase what had happened to Braum. "It's mostly just to fill me in regarding the happenings that's going within the clan. Nothing more to it than that."
"I see." Noticing that the two of them had finally arrived at the entrance of the guild, Braum decided to end the conversation with Valyr then and there. "Well, I guess this is where we'll part ways. Of course, if you need my help, you always know where to find me. Or, if you want, you can just send a message."
"I appreciate it." Nodding in response, Valyr went ahead and activated [Enhanced Polymorph], his appearance returning to how it previously was when he accompanied Wells earlier. "Speaking of which, would it be possible for you to get some items for me?"
"As long as it's items that the guild readily has available, then there wouldn't be much of a problem." Braum nodded.
"Do I have to pay anything for it, or should I think of it as a gift like the Shadow Serpent Essence?" Valyr joked in response, eliciting a faint chuckle to escape Braum's mouth.
"Unfortunately, you'll have to pay for the items from this point onward," said Braum. "The items you're requesting eats into my contribution points into the guild, you know?"
"Alright, alright. I'll pay for them, so don't worry too much about it." Valyr laughed soon after. "Anyways, here are the items I want you to get for me…"
…
"I guess Wells decided to go sightseeing around the city again." Returning to their room at the inn, Valyr let out a long sigh as he sat down on his bed. Taking a look outside the window, a few thoughts lingered in his mind as he pondered over how he was going to make the most out of the remaining time of the day.
"Well, since he's not around, I guess now's the best time to do that."
Whoosh!
Infusing a bit of mana into his spatial bracelet, a dark orb soon appeared on his other palm, prompting Valyr to stare it for a bit. "Shadow Serpent Essence."
"With this, I'll be able to grab the subclass that I've always regretted not grabbing when I had the chance back then." Taking in a few deep breaths to calm himself down, he then infused a bit of his mana into the dark orb, causing the energy inside the orb to course throughout his body not long after.
"Mngh…" Similar to when he absorbed a lot of skills in one go, the energy from the orb that was coursing throughout his body inflicted quite a decent amount of pain. However, unlike what he had to go through back then, this pain only lasted for a few seconds, quickly being replaced by the feeling of gaining a connection to the darkness.
After a while, a cool breeze washed over his body as he felt like he now had the ability to tap into another source of energy, a source that not many people had access to. Coincidentally, at the very moment the energy from the orb stopped circulating within his body, a notification sound resounded in his mind.
Ding!
[Due to the user absorbing Shadow Serpent Essence, 'Serpent Spear Combat Style' has undergone transmutation, transforming into a skill that better exhibits the abilities of a Shadow Serpent.]
[The skill 'Serpent Spear Combat Style' has transformed into 'Shadow Serpent Combat Style'.]
[Due to the user absorbing Shadow Serpent Essence, 'Serpent Steps Movement Style' has undergone transmutation, transforming into a skill that better exhibits the abilities of a Shadow Serpent.]
[The skill 'Serpent Steps Movement Style' has transformed into 'Shadow Serpent Movement Style'.]