Chapter 371

Chapter 312: Choice

Gregor stood frozen in place, lost in thought about the consequences if he were truly replaced. After a long moment of fear, he finally relievedly said to Harold, “With the task entrusted to me by His Highness, I will surely do my utmost to complete it.”

“Good, very proactive. However, you shouldn’t rush to start this task just yet. On one hand, your teammates have not arrived, and on the other, you still need to be promoted. Participating in such a task requires more than just an apprentice,” Harold replied, taking another sip of his tea and savoring it for a moment before continuing to look at Gregor.

“Since your review is already complete, you should quickly start preparing for your promotion. By the way, have you thought about which path you want to choose for your promotion?”

“Uh… there’s a choice? Shouldn’t I only be able to advance as a Wind Mage under the Storm Path?” Hearing Harold’s words, Gregor was taken aback. He initially thought that after arriving at the headquarters, he would definitely only be able to advance along the Storm Path, just like his old bureau chief James, but he hadn’t expected there would be other options.

“Haha, indeed. The Storm Path is our signature at the An Yin Bureau in Pri, but that doesn’t mean we only master this path. You still have some choices,” Harold chuckled lightly before continuing to list them to Gregor.

“The Storm Path, based on ‘Shadow’ and ‘Stone’, has been a family inheritance of our Despenser royal family since ancient times. Under our bestowal, many extraordinary beings in our country’s An Yin Bureau and military are on this path. Our nation relies on this powerful ability to control wind, which has allowed us to dominate in naval warfare and secure strong maritime power. The complete storm is the symbol of Prit.

“Thus, we have the most people on the Storm Path in our bureau. The Storm Path is also the smoothest option for you, with the greatest potential for future development.”

After Harold finished speaking, he paused to allow Gregor to digest the information before continuing.

“Aside from the Storm Path, our bureau has recently gained control of a new path based on ‘Shadow’ and ‘Cup’, called the bl**d Darkness Path. This was an unexpected gain after we dismantled a nest of an evil society. This path possesses the ability to alter one’s appearance, and at the White Chalk Tier, can easily hypnotize humans, transform into a bat, and rapidly heal injuries by consuming bl**d.

“This path was only recently acquired. Compared to the Storm Path, it is incomplete, and we have only mastered it at the White Chalk Tier. However, because the bl**d Darkness Path is just starting in our bureau, we are willing to invest more resources to cultivate the first batch of newcomers in this path. If you choose this path, you will be a focus of our training, with ample resources provided to you. As long as you perform slightly outstanding, you have a great chance of being promoted to White Chalk.

“However, after reaching the White Chalk Tier, we lack the rituals for this path. But for an ordinary Hunter, reaching the Black Earth Tier is already something to be thankful for, and reaching White Chalk requires great opportunity—something that is hard to come by. Thus, most matters above White Chalk are not worth considering. This is an opportunity for you.

“I have mentioned all the paths you can choose. Once you have made your decision, just let me know directly.”

Harold spoke to Gregor in this way, and after hearing his words, Gregor was taken aback again, as a confusion in his heart was suddenly unraveled.

Gregor had always been puzzled about how he would face promotion upon arriving in Tivyán, since that guy named Adeline was clearly at the Black Tier. Wouldn’t he just go from Black Earth to Black Earth? If, after advancing, he couldn’t use Wind Magic, wouldn’t that be exposing himself?

It seemed… the other party was aware that the An Yin Bureau had a new promotion path, and that this path would be the same as the one he originally belonged to, so there was no need to worry at all. After pretending to complete the promotion, he only needed to display his abilities, so might the information about this path’s promotion have been intentionally leaked by the other party?

‘It appears… the headquarters has been infiltrated by the other party far more seriously than I imagined, to the point where even this step has been grasped…’

Listening to Harold’s words, Gregor thought to himself, while pondering that the future task of rooting out moles would probably be quite difficult.

Though he was contemplating, Gregor still needed to make a choice. But to say it was a choice was somewhat misleading, as he didn’t really have one. If he truly wanted to help the headquarters find the traitor, the best way would be to utilize his identity as Adeline in the Eight Pinnacle Nest. To avoid suspicion from moles within the bureau, he would have to follow the script, choosing the bl**d Darkness Path, which also offered a tilt in resources—quite favorable…

‘After all, reaching White Chalk in this lifetime would be very worthwhile. Being a focus of training and having an easier path to White Chalk certainly makes this worthwhile…’

Gregor thought to himself, then silently decided to choose the bl**d Darkness Path for better advancement opportunities and to be a more dedicated undercover agent.

……

North Suburb of Tivyán, outside the East Gate of Royal Sacred Crown University King Campus, Green Shade Town.

In the afternoon, Dorothy, wearing a small hat and a beige long coat with a pleated skirt, was walking along the streets of Green Shade Town with a bag in hand. She had just taken advantage of the dry weather to shop in the city for some snacks, tea, and coffee to prepare for the increasingly variable and chilly weather.

Humming a tune, Dorothy walked along, and before long, she arrived at her home. However, just as she was about to enter, she suddenly noticed that the mailbox at her door was open and had something stuffed inside.

‘Is there a letter? At this time, it shouldn’t be Gregor, as he should have already arrived in Tivyán, but he is likely still undergoing the review and won’t see family that quickly…’

Confused, Dorothy reached into the mailbox to take out the item, only to find that it was not a letter, but a small rectangular package. There was no writing on it, but it had a faint smell of machine oil, and smelling it, Dorothy immediately knew what it was.

‘This is from Beverly… That girl is really acting as my mailman, huh.’

Thinking this, Dorothy immediately took the small package and quickly opened the door to her home. After simply putting things away, she hurried to her study and opened the package. In fact, she had already inferred who it was from before; now only Adele frequently sent her things through the White Stone Craftsmen Guild, and the only thing Adele could be sending now was her teacher’s materials.

Opening the package, sure enough, an old, yellowed notebook appeared before Dorothy’s eyes. The title on the cover confirmed that it indeed belonged to Dalena.

Flipping through the notebook, Dorothy briefly skimmed through it, then couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement. The content of this notebook was none other than Dalena’s research on the ruins of the Star Number Repair Association!

Dorothy finally had a lead on the Star Number Repair Association!