Beside the perilous cliff, merely shifting one's foot felt like stepping straight into the clouds.
Frey's strides seemed to test the boundaries of death as he walked right up to the edge of the precipice.
Looking down, the stark, rugged rock face resembled the carved body of a giant, marked only by sparse, scar-like vegetation. The bottom of the gorge drifted in and out of view through the mist, dominated by a raging torrent.
A single misstep and fall would inevitably reduce a person to paste.
Even with a death-immunity spell, one would perish swiftly from catastrophic injuries and complete paralysis.
And so it went.
The Detective gazed out over the abyss, seemingly observing something in absolute silence, yet also appearing at an utter loss as to how to proceed.
For anyone standing behind him knew full well there was nothing at all to observe on that cliff!
Everything underscored the sheer cruelty facing the challengers' side.
Even though the Detective had earlier collected each challenger's written vocation slip in the library—in what amounted to private messaging, yet under everyone's watchful eyes—it seemed no deducible intel had come from it.
The traitors' disguises were flawless.
If there was no further progress, their only hope of securing crucial clues to advance the investigation would be to wait until tonight, when the traitors made their moves for their mission objectives and the first round of bloody psychological warfare began.
In such a passive situation, if the Detective were killed on the very first night, all would be practically lost.
And even if the Detective survived, there was an overwhelmingly high chance that someone would die horribly tonight.
Fear crept into everyone's hearts. At this moment, they completely abandoned any lingering wishful thinking, certain that this Shadow World was destined to be a soul-crushing, agonizing five days and five nights.
Two full minutes passed in this manner.
The challengers watched Mr. Detective, unable to fathom why he remained standing before the cliff for so long.
Could this detective truly be a fool with not a single thought in his head?
"Mr. Detective, what should we do next...?"
Finally, the young master of the merchant association from the Canberra Kingdom could not hold back any longer and asked.
Truth be told, throughout the entire trek earlier, Frey had pursued sheer efficiency, sweeping through the castle's layout at top speed while breezing past every nook that might have held clues. That behavior had already left quite a few people anxious and doubtful.
Hearing the question, Frey studied the cliff for a little longer.
As if he had finally confirmed something.
He turned around, looked at everyone, and asked, "Alright. Every one of you told me your vocation earlier, right? Does anyone want to change theirs?"
Frey's words caused everyone's hearts to clench.
The vocations represented by the roles could only be possessed by non-traitors; they were abilities granted to normal challengers to give them a slight edge against the traitors in terms of information.
Among the vocation descriptions the eleven people had conveyed to the Detective in the library earlier, two were bound to be lying, because traitors were not granted roles or abilities by the Shadow World at all.
They had no idea what Frey was trying to do.
Granted, roles were indeed a vital factor in deduction.
The problem was that roles came with both positive and negative effects, presenting far too many distractors. The Shadow World's rules dictated that Frey could not possibly deduce any flaws in their identities through mere conversation on the very first day!
Yet looking at Frey's imposing aura now, why did he look like he was already about to find the answer?
After everyone nodded quickly, confirming that the roles they had told Frey were indisputable, Frey took off his coat, tied it around his waist, and slung his pack onto his back.
"To prevent humans from organizing underground churches and staging rebellions, the Blood Clan exercises extremely strict control over humankind... I remember the Lawyer mentioning that everyone must register their identity when entering a city-state. In other words, before this Shadow World began, everyone's identity and vocation should have been registered in the city."
Frey let out a cold chuckle.
"I'll climb down the mountain now and scale the opposite bank. Once I go to the city-state and check whether your vocations match up, I'll naturally know which two are lying."
The greatest detectives often employ the most unadorned methods of investigation.
With the palpable power radiating from his body and his lithe, athletic posture, he clearly was not joking.
The Detective intended to use his superhuman strength, stamina, and rock-climbing technique to head directly to the city-state and find the answer!
"???"
This was Hyperion.
"???"
This was the other challengers by the cliff.
"???"
This was the students watching the live broadcast before the giant outdoor screen at Jera Memorial Square.
"Holy shit, Frey!"
"Is a Strength Detective the real meta answer?!"
Cries and roars of disbelief erupted in waves from the students watching the broadcast in the mortal world.
They finally understood why, even though both Lanqi and Frey had peculiar mindsets, the Shadow World had judged Frey as the one with the highest chance of uncovering the traitors!
Because for this guy Frey, his odds of identifying the traitors were practically a hundred percent! All it required was a fixed amount of time to hike down and up the mountain!
On the screen.
Beside the sheer precipice.
A fierce wind blew up from the depths of the valley, whipping Frey's clothes as if seeking to carry him aloft.
"Wait for me for two days. I will return with the answer."
Frey's words carried absolute certainty. Just as he was about to turn and vault over the cliff, he spoke to Lanqi and Hyperion.
"Yeah, go ahead. Don't worry about a thing."
Lanqi caught Frey's eye, the corner of his lips trembling imperceptibly.
Their gazes met like two tranquil lakes, reflecting their mutual trust.
Then, without the slightest hesitation, Frey flipped over the edge of the cliff and swiftly climbed down, disappearing into the crags, brambles, howling wind, and thick fog.
"..."
Watching Frey's logic-defying detective stunt, all the challengers felt as though a bone were lodged in their throats.
They wanted to say something, yet did not know how to begin.
"As expected of Mr. Detective! That's incredible!"
Finally, the young master of the merchant association could not help but exclaim in admiration.
As if momentarily forgetting the crisis, his voice brimmed with the excitement of having found a savior.
The other challengers gradually breathed a sigh of relief as well.
Though this detective was utterly bizarre, the nature of this terrifying and bloody killing game had completely changed from this moment onward!
The ones who needed to be nervous were no longer the challengers.
Instead, it was the traitors who would be sweating buckets with anxiety.
In two days, the great detective would return to the castle with the answers.
And the traitors couldn't possibly kill the Detective now, because the Detective had vanished completely from the map.
As for the remaining eleven people here, there was nothing left for them to suspect among themselves.
The atmosphere instantly turned harmonious.
Whoever tried to run, whoever showed murderous intent, whoever acted suspiciously at night—that person was a traitor.
A two-day death countdown had fallen squarely upon the traitors' heads!
Under such immense mental pressure, they had no choice but to adopt the most aggressive and risky methods possible to complete their traitor mission objectives before the Detective returned, or all would be lost!
Furthermore.
Outside the Shadow World, on Jera Memorial Square at Ikerite Academy.
All the spectating students knew something that the traitors right now likely had not yet realized.
The truly terrifying thing was—
They had to live under the same roof as Headmaster Lan in this mansion, spending two harmonious, loving days and nights together!
Chapter 126