At this hour, not yet six in the morning, the morning glow had yet to lift the sky.
The castle and the surrounding mountains remained shrouded in dense mist and shadows.
Inside the ground-floor hall, the chill of late autumn seeped through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, plunging everyone into a cold, deathly stillness.
From the information currently provided by the Shadow World alone, no one could tell where to begin deducing the traitors' identities.
At the very opening of a Shadow World, intelligence was strictly limited for the challengers standing out in the open.
They knew neither the effects of the Blood Authority granted to the traitors nor what the traitors' quest objectives were. However, everyone could see that the Shadow World prompt had explicitly stated the traitors held objectives entirely distinct from those of normal challengers.
That meant that in order to advance their goals, the traitors would inevitably have to take action, and any such actions were very likely to leave behind flaws.
Thus, a detective with professional insight and supreme intellect was needed to seize upon those clues.
By virtue of an unimpeachably trustworthy identity, the detective also had to serve as a nexus where other challengers could comfortably share their intelligence, bearing the heavy responsibility of unmasking the traitors.
Consequently, the detective was also the target most vulnerable to the traitors' foul play.
The other normal challengers had to find ways to protect the detective.
Though this particular detective seemed more than capable of handling himself in a fight...
In the hall, the challengers gathered in four distinct clusters.
Not a shred of trust existed between strangers; they were cautious even about speaking aloud.
They placed their faith solely in the companions who had entered the Shadow World alongside them.
It was plain to see that there were four teams in total, each composed of three members.
This meant that either one team harbored two harborers of ill intent, or two separate teams each harbored one traitor.
Those chosen to be traitors in this sort of adversarial challenger Shadow World were usually individuals whose minds were already twisted to begin with, perfectly embodying the traitor's stance.
For instance, the Resurrection Church inherently wished to bring catastrophes upon the mortal world, craving slaughter or the plunder of others' treasures.
There was a high probability that the two traitors were Resurrection cultists whose identities in the mortal world were impeccably disguised, without a single flaw.
Perhaps not even the companions who had entered with them knew their true identities as cultists.
Therefore, even though Lanqi and Hyperion were visibly on Frey's team, they still failed to earn the slightest trust from the other nine.
"..."
Outside the windows, ancient trees swayed in the wind with a rustling whisper—the only sound capable of breaking the silence of this cavernous banquet hall.
No matter where they stood, all the challengers fixed their eyes solely on Frey, waiting for him to speak first and organize the most basic exchange of information.
Frey swept an expressionless gaze over the crowd, seemingly unconcerned about which of them might be problematic.
He offered no opinion, and not a ripple of emotion showed in his eyes.
Such silence did not leave people bewildered; instead, it put quite a few challengers somewhat at ease.
Strange as this detective appeared, his steady, absolute confidence was far more reassuring than a detective who panicked upon realizing he could not bear the burden.
"Let's do a brief introduction. The three of us are from the Hutton Kingdom, Ikerite Academy,"
Frey said simply, his gaze drifting over the top of his dark lenses toward the trio standing closest to them.
He said nothing more, yet his meaning was abundantly clear.
It was this group's turn to speak.
How much or how little they shared was entirely up to them.
Regardless of the quantity, the information would serve as Frey's basis for weighing their credibility.
Perhaps Frey could not immediately deduce the challengers' true identities at this moment, but as the Shadow World progressed, every single word spoken now might turn into a flaw or a vital clue.
The first group was a trio that was striking and distinctly characteristic.
"You're from the Southern Continent too? We're from the Canberra Kingdom, the Petras Chamber of Commerce."
Stepping forward toward Frey and speaking up was a youth who looked eighteen or nineteen.
He seemed relieved the moment he looked at Frey, his eyes openly displaying both earnestness and an eagerness to show off.
"I trust you can tell at a glance which one is the young master,"
the youth said with a touch of smugness.
Behind him stood a taciturn yet exceptionally handsome man whose deep gaze resembled an unfathomable lake, the beauty mark at the corner of his eye lending him an even more alluring charm.
On the other side stood a woman as exquisite as a doll. Her hair and eye color bore a striking resemblance to the handsome man's; they appeared to be brother and sister.
Frey glanced at Lanqi, seeming on the verge of saying something, but ultimately held back.
Lanqi merely offered a helpless smile.
Not far off, the youth went on without pausing, seemingly checking his Shadow World status panel as he spoke:
"My role in this Shadow World is 【Geographer】... Let me see what it does...
"I can perceive the general map and terrain of the surrounding area. For example, Lichtenstein Castle, where we are right now, is nestled in a continuous mountain range. To the rear, it is cut off by the edge of the Horning Empire's national defense barrier, while in front lies only an eight-hundred-and-ninety-meter chasm spanned by a bridge—the only usable route leading from the city-state to Lichtenstein Castle..."
Just as the youth was about to blurt out all the geographical information for everyone to hear, the male guard behind him gave two soft coughs, finally causing the youth to snap out of it and stop.
Evidently, letting this foolish young master babble so openly was not a wise move.
Certain pieces of crucial intelligence ought to be shared with the detective in private.
Directly laying his cards on the table would make it easy for the challengers to verify his information shortly, which would indeed win the trust of the detective and the normal challengers.
However, exposing the immense utility of the 【Geographer】 role would also draw heavy scrutiny from the traitors, making him the most endangered person after the detective.
Hyperion and Lanqi stood behind Frey without uttering a word, quietly taking in the information.
The Canberra Kingdom was a standout among the kingdoms of the Southern Continent in terms of comprehensive national strength, and it had maintained neutrality for many years. Both the Southern Continent Shadow World Management Association and the Card Makers Association had their headquarters located there.
It was likewise one of the countries most difficult for the Resurrection Church to infiltrate.
The name of the Petras Chamber of Commerce was also widely renowned across the Southern Continent's kingdoms.
Though Lanqi was a wealthy scion himself, in terms of family fortune, the Petras Chamber of Commerce likely possessed a couple more zeroes.
If this youth truly was the young master of the Petras Chamber of Commerce, such a noble identity—one with a fair chance of being directly recognized—would not be a prime choice for a fabrication.
Evidently, this fellow wasn't particularly bright, belonging to the sort who was dragged through Shadow Worlds by two hyper-carries on his team.
Chapter 123