Finding Teammates

"Severing Self miracle... the Severing Self miracle..." Igola paced back and forth in the room, absentmindedly gnawing on his fingernails. Unable to hold back, he asked, "Are you truly confident you can unleash a miracle while sorcery power output is forbidden?" "I'm not confident," Yaxiu replied calmly. "What's more, I definitely can't pull it off right now. I'm still missing a key sorcery spirit to form the Severing Self miracle." "Then how can you—" "Like I said, I have a secret channel for acquiring sorcery spirits. I don't know when I'll find that key spirit, but it's only a matter of time." Igola opened his mouth, then closed it again. If Yaxiu wouldn't say, Igola naturally had no way of guessing what this supposed "secret channel" was. Yet regarding the authenticity of the claim, Igola didn't harbor much doubt. Because of the Balance sorcery spirit. If Yaxiu had possessed the Balance spirit days ago, he wouldn't have been unilaterally constrained by Igola's Contract sorcery spirit back then. While it was possible Yaxiu was deliberately playing the fool to catch him off guard, it had been Igola who instigated the provocation. How could Yaxiu have laid a trap targeting Igola in advance? Rather than believe in a conspiracy theory that existed only as a statistical probability, Igola preferred to believe in Yaxiu's possibilities. It wasn't that Igola was naive, optimistic, or charming; it was simply that Yaxiu had already staged miracle after miracle before his very eyes. In the death match against Igola, within a few minutes he transformed from a rookie who didn't even know how to fight into a skilled boxer. In the death match against Valkas, within a few minutes he went from a rookie who didn't even know how to hold a sword into a master swordsman. In the Blood Moon Trial, he shockingly showed no fear of the Purging Flame's scorching, even though he was the death row inmate burdened with the heaviest sins. Coupled with the sudden appearance of the Balance sorcery spirit, Igola felt he had no reason to question Yaxiu. Even if the "secret channel" Yaxiu mentioned sounded like utter fantasy under the prison's tight surveillance, in this world of sorcerers, miracles were the most commonplace inevitabilities. Not to mention, Yaxiu Heath was the leader of the Four Pillar Gods cult... Igola's expression flickered with uncertainty. He gritted his teeth, stomped his foot, and said, "Count me in!" "However, breaking out of prison with just the two of us won't work. I have to recruit a few more people." "Naturally," Yaxiu smiled. "The reason I came to you first is that you definitely possess intel on the other death row inmates. After all, I'm new to this place and need a sly, resourceful 'local' to assemble the team." "Thank you for the compliment. As a Swindler, intelligence is my weapon." Igola gave an elegant bow. "So, who are we looking for?" "I already have a preliminary plan. On the premise that you can use the Severing Self miracle to dispel the chip's restrictions, we will need three kinds of people: a vanguard to spearhead assaults, a destroyer for sustained damage output, and logistical support for rapid mobility and healing." "Those sound like specialized roles requiring very high professional expertise. Can we really find them?" "Are you joking?" Igola chuckled. "Villains, murderers, and black market smugglers—aren't those three types everywhere in Shattered Lake Prison?" ...... ... Starry Country, Jialesi. Ingrid looked curiously at the scenery of the villa district outside the car window, Adele excitedly stroked the decorative leather interior, and Lois, deeply embarrassed, hurriedly pressed down Adele's hand. Casting about for conversation, Lois said, "Felix, thank you for inviting us to your tea party." "Don't thank me." Behind the wheel, Felix had a gloomy look on his face. "Sonia adamantly insisted on bringing her roommates along, which is the only reason I invited you... If you want to thank someone, thank her." His words were distinctly impolite. One could tell Felix was in a foul mood, unable to maintain even basic aristocratic etiquette, which frightened Adele so much she no longer dared touch anything. Lois had no desire to court further displeasure. She quietly observed Sonia, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, wondering what kind of relationship existed between the two. At noon today, Sonia had suddenly approached them, saying Felix was inviting them to a villa for a tea party. Tea parties were a very common student activity. The basic format involved several students gathering in a scenic spot to eat pastries and drink black tea, conveniently badmouthing others to stir up rumors. Many campus rumors began spreading from tea parties. Lois had naturally attended plenty of tea parties herself; she had even specifically hosted one to speak ill of Sonia—if not for slander, a tea party was entirely devoid of value. She therefore felt it strange that Sonia would invite her. Given that tea parties were, by nature, intimate gatherings for birds of a feather to spread rumors, Lois hardly thought her relationship with Sonia had reached the level of closeness where they could talk behind people's backs together. Even if Sonia wanted to bring friends, Ingrid had been spending so much time with her lately that inviting Ingrid alone would have been enough. Why drag Lois and Adele along? Moreover, since this tea party was hosted by Felix, associating it with the despicable rumors about this playboy made Lois reflexively assume the worst about Sonia. Keywords like "young noble master," "basement," "captive young women," "abuse," and "slaves" flooded her mind. Yet before Lois could refuse, Sonia advised them to inform their parents that they were going to Felix's tea party, adding that if any misfortune befell them, it would undoubtedly be the misdeeds of the Duke of Vosroda's second son, and so forth... Such thoughtful consideration left Lois somewhat bewildered. Ingrid, on the other hand, noticed something amiss and asked Sonia if she needed them to act as witnesses. Sonia didn't answer explicitly, but promised that if they came to the tea party, there would definitely be benefits. And benefits related to sorcerers, no less. However, if Felix harbored malicious intentions, they would be in trouble, which was why Sonia had urged them to inform their parents of their whereabouts. The more she heard, the more it sounded like bait to lure naive young women. Lois certainly would have refused had it been anyone else. But the people involved were Felix and Sonia, and they had even reminded them to notify their families. Furthermore, Lois still hoped to purchase the Torrent sorcery spirit from Sonia and couldn't afford to offend her too much. Most importantly, Ingrid had agreed. In Ingrid's words: "In the world of sorcerers, taking risks means advancing, while caution means retreating. If I don't even dare take this small a risk, I might as well go back to my hometown and get married." Perhaps it was a young woman's longing for adventure, or perhaps the subtle hints about matchmaking her parents had dropped the last time she visited home, or maybe simply not wanting to back down in front of the person she despised most—in the end, Lois accepted the tea party invitation. As Lois's follower, Adele tagged along without thinking twice. Once they were in the car, however, the anxiety hanging over Lois's heart gradually subsided. Not only because many students had seen them board Felix's silver sedan, but also because the car was heading toward Jialesi's villa district. There were surveillance Sky Eyes along the entire route, and the villa district was located in the heart of Jialesi; it was impossible for anyone to commit a crime here. The silver sedan drove into a luxurious villa. Adele stepped out and looked around. "Where are the servants?" "There are no servants," Felix said impassively. "I only hire domestic cleaners to maintain the villa when I'm not here. At all other times, there is no one else around." Adele asked naively, "If there are no servants, how will the tea party be held? Do we brew our own tea and make the pastries ourselves?" Looking embarrassed, Lois pulled her little follower aside to explain the situation. Felix walked ahead, leading them into the villa's main hall. Then, under everyone's disdainful gazes, he summoned a single-winged, scantily clad pretty girl sorcery spirit. As if triggering a mechanism, the fireplace suddenly swung wide open, revealing a deep, spiraling secret passage leading underground. Sonia complained, "Did you really have to make it this creepy and frightening? Do you usually indulge in little hobbies like abducting young girls, murder, autopsies, and flaying corpses?" "Secrets are always associated with things like fear, darkness, and bloodshed—not because secrets are inherently that way, but because secrets are too fragile, so they must use bluff and bluster to protect themselves," Felix retorted testily. "Did you want me to change the location to the school cafeteria instead?" "If it were the school cafeteria at midnight, it wouldn't necessarily fail to meet your criteria." Sonia grumbled under her breath and followed Felix into the spiraling passage. Ingrid drew a wooden sword from her sword bag and followed close behind. Lois and Adele exchanged a glance, clutched each other tightly, and nervously brought up the rear. Lois was already feeling a bit of regret. It wasn't that she feared for her life; she even believed she would gain benefits. But all gifts came with a price. As the cost, she sensed she would become bound together with Sonia and Felix, united in an alliance of shared interests where they advanced and retreated as one. She suddenly recalled words her merchant father had once told her: "Mutual interest makes the most stable relationship, secrets are the firmest bond, and accomplices are the purest friends." After walking for about thirty seconds, they arrived at an underground training room. To their astonishment, the lighting system here wasn't civilian gas incandescent lamps, but a spirit tool item known as "Daystar," illuminating the cavernous basement as bright as day—one had to keep in mind that Sword and Rose Sorcerer University's training hall used only a single "Daystar" for lighting at night. Felix's extravagance was apparent in every detail. Upon arriving here, Felix seemed to discard his burdens and his mask. He walked over to a freezer in the corner, took out a bottle of wine, and drank straight from it. With annoyance written all over his face, he said, "I've fulfilled my promise and met your demands. Settle the rest yourselves." Ingrid stood at the foot of the stairs, extending an arm to block the two behind her, and asked, "Sonia, can you explain now?" "No problem," Sonia smiled. "To put it simply—" "Felix has a treasure he wanted to split fifty-fifty with me. But when encountering such a good thing, how could I possibly forget my dear roommates? So I brought you all along to share in this treasure."