Chapter 68: Peeking Mirror
When Kael left the audience with the Outlaw Goddess, it was surprisingly already morning, and he quickly made his way to the locomotive station.
There, he boarded the locomotive, found his way to the cramped room of his, and collapsed onto the small cot.
He was feeling pretty tired.
'Half-Criminal…'
…
A short time ago.
"Why Half-Criminal?"
Kael asked the gold-haired goddess.
"You're not a full-fledged criminal, that's why. I can say to you that being either Half-Criminal or Criminal class in the second level is pretty common.
"Therefore, the path you're walking is not completely unique, and it's up to you to decide how you want to pave your path from now on."
Wren said.
"I understand… I am ready to leave."
Kael said.
Wren nodded with a smile, tapped her slender finger against Kael's forehead, and said.
"Good luck in pretending~"
…
'Hmm…'
Kael looked at the ceiling, turned to his side, and rubbed his head, which was slightly suffering from a throbbing headache.
'My new abilities…'
'Quickdraw Shot—by drawing gun from holster, I can shoot extremely quickly, and my accuracy is boosted as well.
'It's way faster than just summoning the revolver because the summoning takes about two seconds.
'It means I have to acquire a holster now, and I now know why that Magisterial Yard guy had a holster.
'I was wondering why, and I guess he also has the Quickdraw Shot skill, but Willow doesn't seem to have it. I know that people, depending on their class, can get different abilities.
'And lastly, the second ability, Street Smarts.
'It's an instinctive ability that lets me know when the area is dangerous, which can help me to avoid traps and ambushes. Of course, it's not an omnipotent ability.'
Kael thought to himself, knowing that there were still risks he had to face despite this skill.
With a contented sigh, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
…
On the evening of the Sunday, Kael arrived back in the Dark Jewel's Corner and visited the Corpse Collectors HQ briefly.
It sounded like Dorian had already told Malrick of how it went during the delivery and was pleased enough.
Of course, Dorian kept the stuff about the brothel secret, as he wasn't officially allowed to go there, as he was in the middle of a government delivery mission.
Kael also received a slight bonus of fifty Iris coin pieces from Malrick, and thus, in total, he made three hundred and fifty Iris coin pieces.
After he left the Corpse Collectors HQ, he took a visit to the local merchant store to purchase a holster of black cover.
It was perfect for his long black-barreled revolver. It looked like it was specially made for the Outlaw revolver.
He tucked the holster securely into his belt, and with his long coat, he hid it underneath the leather.
He slid the black revolver inside, and while summoning two revolvers was draining his divinity enormously, it wasn't the same with just one.
With just one revolver, he was able to keep it summoned as long as he needed and wanted.
Then, Kael returned back to the School of Divinity and Mysticism and got greeted by everyone there, and after enjoying a dinner, he headed back to his room.
It was time to take a visit to the Realm Between.
'The court case opened my eyes to a few things. Appearance is also important to the effectiveness of pretending.
'I don't look like an Outlaw. I look like a student who is out here on a school trip. I must make a few changes to how I look.'
Kael, after waking up from his nap on the locomotive, also decided on what to do with the memory crystals of the Lord of the Realm Between.
He decided to use them.
It was what Outlaw would do, he believed.
Kael placed Iris coin in one corner, a strand of his hair in another corner, a piece of half-eaten bread in another, and an upside-down chair in the last corner.
"Realm Between~ Realm Between~"
Kael clapped his hands, walked backwards a square, and then bowed in the four corners of the room.
Soon, the mist poured out from the windows, even though he believed that the windows were closed, and the room became shrouded with the mist.
Swoosh~
…
Realm Between, Shattered Peninsula, the ruined town.
Kael was all alone, sitting around the mirror table, just watching around the eerie ruined town while the wind whistled past the dead-looking trees with black tree fingers reaching towards the stormy sky.
He arrived pretty early, as he didn't want to be too late either, and after thirty minutes, a horse galloped through the fog.
Pale Rider came in first, hopped off the horse's back, and greeted Kael before sitting down on his reserved seat.
"Congratulations."
Rune said from behind the helmet, his voice muffled by the metal.
"Thank you."
Kael said with a nod.
It was clear that Rune realized that Kael had made advancement to the second level, but Kael wondered how he exactly knew.
Sure, if he had checked with Mind Image, he would've found that out easily, but Kael didn't think that Rune tapped his forehead.
He was also wearing this metal helmet with the slit down the center, and he couldn't tap his forehead even if he wanted to because of it.
'It must be one of his abilities then.'
Kael thought with his arms crossed.
He now realized that he forgot to thank Wren, the Outlaw Goddess, for healing his broken left arm.
There was just so much on his mind with the throbbing headache that he just completely forgot.
At that moment, through the fog, the rest of the Society of Knowers came, greeted both of them, and congratulated Kael for advancing.
"Hello, everyone~"
Melia said with a bright smile behind the doll mask, looked at the people around the table, and then at Kael with an even brighter smile.
She wasn't quite sure whether he would come back to another meeting, but she was extremely happy that he did.
"Welcome back, my Lord. Last time, I told you that we will teach you about the Peeking Mirror. It's the reason why we think of ourselves as knowers."
Melia said, and traced her hand around the mirror's edge—it fogged up—but at that moment, the hazy image of Ketherdam appeared.
"What is this?"
Kael asked in shock.
"With this mirror, we are capable of seeing things beyond this town. What we're seeing now is Ketherdam, a city in the Whitesky, and if we want to, we can do this…"
Melia zoomed in on the image, and soon, they were able to see a fish marketplace in Ketherdam, where people moved about.
They were even able to hear sounds.
"…Fresh fish, fresh fish! Fished straight from the Humanity Waters! Come, and get your fresh fish!"
"…How much is this roasted fish?"
"…Achoo!"
"…I've made a mess. I am in so much debt. The Damned Debt Collector will be coming for me soon… I am dead…"
It was overwhelming to hear several conversations at the same time, but Kael immediately saw the potential of it and was utterly amazed.
"This is… amazing."
"Right?!"
Melia beamed with a beautiful smile, happy that the Lord also found it fascinating.