Ashley had a great path lying ahead of her. She had been able to triangulate the source to a kingdom known as Aurorise Kingdom but a few kingdoms lay between her and her destination but she wasn't in a hurry.
...….
*Andrew's POV*
Within the two months that had elapsed, he was able to impart all the knowledge onto Hilda successfully. She could now craft recovery potions and breakthrough potions altogether. During this period, the shop was closed thus they were unable to reel in any customers.
It was morning as the two went on with their practices.
She was able to run its own her own, clearly aware of the rules Orsen had instituted. She had become freer around him though that didn't mean that she could act according to her own emotions. The respect was still there and she was baffled by his personality. It was stoic on the surface and the more she knew, it got more professional but there were cracks of moments here and there thought they were extremely rare.
'With this knowledge, why wouldn't he just breakthrough to the higher tiers?' She thought as she was able to successfully make a Tier Four Breakthrough Vial. A small test he had given her to which she proved potent in succeeding.
In those two months, Orsen had risen in his tiers by a small margin from Tier Two on the first Array to the Third Array. "It's pointless for me." He suddenly said. 'Did he just read my thoughts? Wait! Does that mean he has been reading my thoughts this entire time?'' She wondered in bewilderment. "What do you think?" He taunted with a smile which made a shiver run down her spine.
By now, she had known that for a Tier Two, he showed profound knowledge that even the higher tiers would be unable to reciprocate. As for the vial that were of higher grades, she was to remake them but what she grew interest in was the one that tempted to grant immortality. 'Maybe he is an immortal?' She had concluded several times now.
Orsen had also informed her about the array guarding the store so she didn't have to deal with any cases of theft. "It's powerful enough." He had vaguely said once before shifting the subject. Hilda was now a tier three however she had taken a Tier Concealment Potion which displayed her tier to be a measly tier one.
It was because she had received so much attention from Orsen that she would receive playful taunts from her colleagues. She would brush them off but some ideas that were proposed made her fall into delusions of her own. Orsen knew what they were but hid them under a playful smirk.
From this day forward, Hilda would now be running the shop on her own without his presence had he had other dealings to attend to. Other than locating where the Blood Hearts were, he had also been trying to rank up in the Adventurer's Guild by taking out tasks and now, he was a Carmot Rank.
It wasn't that much of an achievement as had gone up by one rank but he wasn't all that concerned about it. Reya had gained a lot of attention with her increase in her tiers as she was bombarded with numerous questions all over the guild.
As for her answers, she would play it off as hard work but she had been able to advance in two tiers in less than a year much less than a week and now she was a tier four expert. She had to stabilize it perfectly thus she would refrain from taking any quests whatsoever.
As Orsen made his step into the Guild, he was brushed off as some degenerate loser in comparison to his sister. He was still in the Second Tier while his sister was in the Fourth Tier. The gap was becoming more and more insurmountable foe hi to close, or so that was what people thought.
He looked at the bulletin board and surveyed the quests at hand. Most of them involved hunting which he had grown weary if. He would test out his sword only in discreet locations while continuing with his assassination job on the side. He did low level jobs thus he didn't gain a lot of attention to his name.
Realizing that nothing noteworthy was on there, he was ready to take his leave before a peculiar scene played out. "What do you mean that there aren't any adventurers available?!" A frustrated groan came from the front desk of the Guild.
Looking at the source, it was a lady adorned in white robes, her demeanor radiant of holiness and peace with an enchanting charm however in this scenario, she seemed conflicted. Her tone was controlled but her distress was visible from a mile away.
Seeing her sorry state, numerous people rushed to lend a hand to the maiden. "What is the matter?" Some inquired. "It is nothing major to alarm any of you. It is merely a small inconvenience." She tried to ward them off but failed as more people gained more interest in the matter.
Orsen looking at her, he could tell that she was good at manipulating others despite being a member of the church. She was on the third tier and on the second array. 'The Church. A key factor of keeping the number of demons in check however…' Orsen thought as he looked at her. Her name was Eloise.
"The problem is that I have to venture out to another kingdom but the problem is that I cannot guarantee my safety considering the rampant rise of demon attacks as of late. I hope that I don't bother any of you with my incessant worries." She pleaded.
'Couldn't she have been more subtle?' Orsen thought at her words. The reason as to why she was complaining was that there were currently no strong Adventurers available and those that were present didn't have high tiers. The strongest one was a female with an Aredrite Rank, a tier two on the fifth array.
"Worry not dear sister, I'll will ensure your safety." The Aredrite Ranker said. Her name was Siara. "Why thank you sister." Eloise said in a grateful tone as the two made their exit. Several more adventurers decide to offer their services. Orsen let out a small laugh as he saw them make their way out of the kingdom gates.
He decided to make his way back to his mansion and waste the entirety of the day there. As he was on his way, he received a notification from Lirien through the Communication Stone.
[{Do it as soon as possible. I don't care what happens after she dies just kill the bitch!}]
So far he had been doing dirty work for these two. Provided he got paid, he didn't care who he would have to kill. At first he had refrained from killing Victoria as it would be detrimental to his relationship with these two, saying that the time wasn't right but now, he dragged this excuse for two months and Lirien's patience was at its end.
'Guess it is you time to die Victoria.' He thought as he made his way towards her mansion. Covering his presence with his shadow like earlier, he made no noise and in a matter of seconds, he was in the same room as her.
He had yet to withdraw his sword as he stared at her figure who was comfortably seated on a chair. Surprisingly, she wasn't horrified by his presence as a calm look appeared on her face. 'So she knew that at some time, Lirien would make this move.' He thought as he took a seat adjacent to her.
"So you already know why I am already here, huh?" He said calm with a soft smile on his face. With Orsen's presence, she knew that Lirien had paid him to do this. But of course that didn't mean that she didn't have a couple of tricks up her sleeve.
"So what trick do you have for me?" His eyes darting towards her figure. He wasn't all that absorbed with her beauty. She knew that she couldn't face him head on, it was tantamonious to suicide thus she decided to take other viable strategies.
"I am aware that you had a keen interest in the Blood hearts and I may know something about them." Orsen paused as he listened before breaking into laughter. "Do you think that this will save you? I already know where they are thus your information is irrelevant."
Victoria as if anticipating this had a collected face. "As we speak, the Royal Church is on its way here. Do you really think a demon could casually live with humans and go unnoticed? Ever since you made your presence known in this kingdom, I've been watching you."
"You're clearly a skin stealer which had managed to infiltrate the kingdom through the guise of Orsen. The family of the boy that you are currently impersonating knows about the true you and will not help you should you think so. From killing the kingdom gates guards to several murders in the kingdom including killing a noble, Aleron. Your charges will be worse than death."
She said however Orsen seemed unfazed by her words. "I like making sure my prey always think that they have the upper advantage whilst they are on the precipice of death." He said as he poured himself a glass of wine with his telekinesis.
He savored the taste as it trickled down his throat before glancing at Victoria. He got up from his seat and made his way right in front of hers. He could feel the arrays present in this room. 'A Tier Five Explosion Array.' Snapping his fingers, the array was immediately defused which took her by surprise. 'How did he-' In the midst of her thought, Orsen placed his hand on her throat and raised her into the air.
She displayed a discomforted expression however she wasn't suffocating as she was an undead but the pain was there. "Do you think that suffocating me will kill me?" Orsen let out a spine chilling smile. "I was hoping that it wouldn't." His fingers proceeded to dig deep into her throat as cold blood trickled down his fingers.
She tried to break free from his grip but she was stumped upon realizing that his grip was too strong for her. The blood had made its way to the floor before he suddenly let her go. She collapsed onto her chair as she clutched her throat. She activated a healing spell which quickly healed her throat as if it was never there.
She looked at Orsen who was towering over her with frustration and confusion in her eyes. She was perplexed with how she was going to get out of her current predicament but to her shock, the door which had been closed was now opened.
Looking at it, it was Maurus who had fallen into a comma ever since his confrontation with Orsen. Internally, she was both happy and crestfallen that he had come. She knew that he couldn't win but his presence alone brought a little bit of assurance to her.
"Maurus, I'm glad that you could make it to your funeral." Orsen spoke in an amused tone as Maurus stood at the entrance. There wasn't any movement in his physique or facial expression. Maurus didn't seem angry or frustrated with Orsen present in the room but rather he stood perfectly still like a sentry, awaiting orders.
Recalling what Orsen had said earlier, a chill ran down her spine. She realized that he was giving her false hope in thinking that she would be saved only for him to crush such a thought. As for the Church, she had called them over but by the time they make their arrival, she already would have been dead.
"But of course I could compromise and choose to spare your life at a fee of course." He added which made Victoria dread what he would put on the table. "|Don't worry, it will be something that you can easily afford." He smiled lightly.