Looking at the chat, Neris chose the Carnage and the Broken Brooch. It was expected, Cail thought. The Piercing Lock's downside was brutal.
What he didn't expect was that they still seemed to recognize him as their instructor. No academy teacher managed to catch that?
Still, he continued the trade.
An: Price for Carnage, 12 million nu and seven red drops of El.
An: As for the broken brooch, 10 million nu and two Chaos Coins.
Cail had no idea what they were, but since it was the price given, he had no choice.
Actually, he felt a bit strange about the box. Aside from forcing him to sell, it didn't seem to ask for any of the profit that he got from the artifact.
There weren't any answers in the book. While he was cautious, he still planned on using the money but not the other stuff that he got.
Neris (Cail put his name in the chat): Sir, everything is fine... But the Chao Coin...
Cail raised his brows. Was that something important?
An: That's the price. Take it or leave it?
Neris: I'll take it!
Neris: But Sir, this Carnage bind artifact, will a Conductor-level void user be able to use that?
Looking at the word Conductor, Cail knew what level that was because of the book. At that level, void users are already starting to form their own void signature.
Levels in the book were separated by color coding. Carnage is suitable for Conductor and Warden level void users.
An: Yes. You can use it just fine.
Neris: Yaay!
After the deal was finalized, Cail finally asked the question that he was curious about.
An: So what happened after you went back?
Neris: Nothing happened, sir. Why?
An: You told your teacher about the artifact briefing?
Neris: Yes, sir.
Cail was confused. Where was their original instructor? Still, since nothing seemed to have come out of this conversation, he tried to grab some other information.
An: You know what happened to the South Emerald Highschool?
Neris: That, sir! It was the talk of the academy. One of the missing void artifacts was found. I wonder where the other three remain?
Cail's eyes narrowed.
An: Hey, you know the purple fog guy, right? I've seen him around the school a few times. Is he investigating the case?
Neris: Purple Fog guy? Hahahahahaha Mr. Quill? Yeah, I heard he was assigned there since Auren wasn't making any progress.
So Mr. Thade's real surname or name is Quill? And that Auren, isn't he a member of that Mary Sue group?
No wonder the other side responded immediately. It looks like they were already at the school?
When provoking the artifact, Cail already had a idea that there are probably departments reconsible for managing them. He got that guess from the fact that the Academy existed. But the speed that they arrived was unexpected to him.
"So that's why... It looks like the school is starting to become fun."
Cail continued the chat.
An: He seemed to have become stronger than before.
Neris: He's probably starting to surpass his bottleneck, sir. He had been stuck at Voidborn for 80 years now. That's great!
80 years?! Cail gulped a bit. So that handsome middle-aged teacher is probably more than a hundred years old?!
When he sensed his void energy, Cail could feel that it was solid and burning. He couldn't feel any artifact when Mr Thade produced that fog. That was Mr Thade's own innate void energy with no artifacts.
Such raw power was admirable.
It was horrifying at first. But once Cail was shown how powerful a person could be once he reaches that level, Cail was burning with passion and ambition.
I want to be that strong! I want it!
...
After the transaction, Cail and Neris planned to do the trade on Wednesday. Now, still lying at the hospital, Jael, Iven, and Oris were sitting by his side.
Oris looked a bit in pain and guilty, "Sorry, Cail. If I wasn't so insistent on letting you join the club, would none of this have happened?"
Cail shook his head, "You wouldn't have known." Although Cail enjoyed Oris's services, he was still a friend. He didn't want his friend to treat him better just because of guilt.
He wasn't wearing any sunglasses now and his bloody eyes was visible. No one was suspicious, they just thought it was part of the injury he got from the accident.
Jael was sleeping on the couch looking exhausted, his feet were on top of Iven's lap as the two of them squeezed into the sofa.
Iven was reading something. Cail was feeling a bit bored. He called him, "Vv, what are you reading?"
Hearing the Vv, Iven cringed, "Don't call me like that! I'm reading some mythology."
Cail lost interest, "What's so good about those make-believe exaggerated stories?"
"You're wrong!" Iven defended. "There are actually records here that correspond with reality."
"What?" Asked Cail.
Iven smiled, he rarely had anyone to talk to about his hobbies, although Cail probably won't take it to the heart, he still told him, "Ten years sunless. That's the name of the myth."
Oris became a bit interested, "But wasn't it debunked that it was probably just ash from a volcano erupting?"
"I don't believe it! The fog lasted for ten years! Ash from volcano don't last that long... Probably." Iven still felt that what those experts said wasn't credible.
Cail's mind wasn't really in the conversation, "So what did that mythology say?"
Iven lowered his voice to sound mysterious. "The book said the reason why the sun vanished is because the god of light Illunis died."
Hearing that name, Cail felt a strange throbbing familiarity in his head. His interest was captured. "Is there any detailed information about that?" He tried to remember it but he couldn't pinpoint where he had heard that name.
Iven clapped his hands, seeing that Cail was finally hooked. "It was a sunless era. Cold, death, and monsters started to lurk in our world. It is said that the person who killed the God got a powerful weapon from the devil."
Oris didn't like the story at all, "Why is the villain winning?"
"Hush! I'm not yet done!" Iven glared at Oris, then he continued, "Well, there is a deeper lore about that. The person who killed the God was supposed to be a servant of that God. Saints and saintesses came from their family. They are the most devoted believers of the God of Light."
Again, Oris interrupted, "Why did they kill the God that they loved so much?"
Cail was invested in the story and Oris's yapping reminded him of his mother when they were watching TV. Like son, what's going on? Damn, watch the entire thing and stop asking before it's finished.
Iven ignored Oris, "Well, all of that changed. When the God was in a battle with some other Deities, a lot of cities were flattened, including the hometown of that man. All his family were squashed to death."
Oris's eyes widened, "I thought when you said flattened, you meant that cities were destroyed. I didn't expect it to be literally squashed!"
"Yeah." Iven said offhandedly, "That man asked for the revival of his family but his revered God told him, 'Who? During the battle, I killed millions of mortals. Which one is your family, and what makes them different from the other humans that I killed?'"
"The man went crazy. He tried to revive his family by himself, but even their souls were scattered during the battle of the Gods."
"Faith turned into hate, he plunged into madness. His family sacrificed a lot for their God. Going back to his family tree, they had been serving the God for thousands of years, only to realize that their efforts were in vain."
"Not a single mercy. Not a single acknowledgement. That would have been fine for the selfless family, but they died by their God's power. At least acknowledge them as devoted believers. The God was indifferent and the man plotted revenge. Is this the Deity that they revered?"
"They were just like ants in the eyes of the God. The man concluded."