The Deceitful One

"Wait! How the fuck did it get inside there?" Bryan couldn't believe his eyes as he intently stared at the silver card in Andrew's hand.

He had already expected to see all kinds of strange things in the Transcendent world. However, seeing it in person was really an eye-opener for him.

"Hehe, this is a special sealing card made by Old Larry himself. I had to pay a large chunk of my fortune to get him to make three of these," Andrew chuckled as he took out two more similar-looking silver cards from his pocket and showed it to Bryan.

Bryan took one of the cards and scrutinized it, "It looks just like any other normal card. I can't even begin to comprehend the intricacies behind it."

He suddenly thought of his silver pocket watch which was sort of similar to this card and probed, "Can this store normal items as well?"

Andrew shook his head, "No, these can only trap spiritual bodies in them. No living beings or items can be stored. I don't understand how this functions exactly, to be honest."

"However, space-type storage artifacts are extremely rare! I have never seen one before. This card cannot even compare." He added.

Bryan nodded his head with a neutral expression but thought inwardly, 'Kekk, little do you know, I have one on me right now!'

He felt quite smug about owning such a rare artifact. He inwardly thanked his late mother for it once again.

On the horizon, the rising sun cast an orangish-red hue across the morning sky. Along with the sunrise, the dreary atmosphere in the cemetery gradually receded as if meeting its nemesis.

Bryan looked into the distance at the sunrise and sighed, "What an eventful night!"

Andrew patted Bryan's shoulder and smiled, "You did really good out there against the wraith. Let's get going now."

He truly meant what he said. Andrew was really shocked by Bryan's combat abilities and his usage of spells.

Although the wraith was in a weak state because of having been just born, Andrew felt that even without his help, the wraith would have surely been taken down by Bryan. Albeit, it would take some time.

Bryan nodded his head as a tired yawn escaped his lips. Together with Andrew, he then walked back toward the entrance of the cemetery in a leisurely manner.

He was already feeling sleepy before the battle, to begin with. After dealing with the wraith, he was now even more exhausted. He couldn't wait to go home and embrace the warmth of his bed.

Speaking of the battle, Bryan felt that casting Mirage and Shadow Chains used surprisingly less spiritual force than Earth Spears did.

He stroked his chin as he pondered, 'Does this mean the Theft Path is very compatible with illusion and shadow-type spells?'

Being a descendant of Medici, Bryan could already be considered a quasi-Theft Path Transcendent at this point.

Therefore, if illusion and shadow-type spells were really compatible with this Path, it would make sense why he had expended less spiritual force when casting those spells.

The yearning for advancing to the next rank increased in Bryan's heart as he thought, 'I wonder what changes becoming a Transcendent will bring about. I can't wait to find out!'

…

Friday, 20th November 1580

Inside the kitchen, Bryan was busy preparing his dinner. Over time he had come to enjoy cooking quite a lot and it had become a hobby for him. Life would get monotonous if one didn't have a hobby that one enjoyed.

In the past two months, his life had been quite productive. He would go to the Silver Owl's HQ every day except Friday. Since that was the day he had chosen as his off day.

Being his off day today, Bryan had decided to spend the entire time at home as it was getting severely cold outside. The winter season was nearly at the doorstep. Therefore, he preferred to stay indoors whenever he had the chance.

His work at Silver Owls was progressing smoothly. He would go on night patrols every alternate weekend with one other member of the Strike Team. However, it was mostly Andrew who accompanied him.

Other than night patrols, he would also help out other members with their missions. He had never once taken a mission of his own initiative because, honestly, he didn't need to.

The main reason for taking up missions was to earn credit points or money. And one thing that Bryan had an abundance of was money!

He didn't require credit points either since almost everything at HQ that could be bought with credit points, could also be bought with money.

Hence, he only ever accepted missions that were given to him by the captain or if one of his friends required his assistance. Other than that, he mostly spent time practicing his magic spells in the training area or sparring with Henry.

The missions that were issued to the members of the Strike Team were mostly cases related to the supernatural that was experienced by normal people.

But in the majority of these cases, it turned out that the people were just downright scared and had imagined things instead.

Bryan had come across only a handful of paranormal cases which included hauntings by evil spirits. Andrew was always the right man to handle such cases, Bryan would just accompany him as a backup.

His cultivation had progressed very well in these past two months. Just this morning, after a round of meditation, Bryan had finished carving the 38th mind rune and was yet another step closer to becoming a Transcendent.

The refining process of the mask, Deceit, had also come a long way. Bryan believed that he would be able to completely refine it around the time that he advanced to a Transcendent.

After finally having cooked his meal for dinner, Bryan put the food on the plate and brought it to the living room.

He had cooked two pieces of grilled chicken breast with red wine sauce, a bowl of steamed rice, and another bowl of sautéed vegetables. After placing the food on the dining table, he sat down and began to devour it.

It was only 8 pm currently and Bryan usually always ate dinner after 9 pm. However, today he decided to have an early dinner because later in the night, he had a secret Transcendent convention to attend!