When A Mage Revolts

Once Miles had drunk the potion, he disappeared from Benjamin’s peripherals within a blink of an eye.

Benjamin was astonished.

He wasn’t sure what happened. However, when he focused his senses into the depths of the ruins, he could detect Miles’s presence stealthily hiding behind a wall.

In that moment, a sense of disbelief washed over Benjamin.

"Not bad. In reality, he directly ran in." System then commented, "When he noticed the guards’ attention shifted for a few seconds, he sprinted past the guards as fast as he could. That’s all there is to it, really."

That’s all there was to it, huh…

Sweat trickled down Benjamin’s face.

"Is it possible to possess this level of speed?" He couldn’t help but blurt out what was in his mind, "Even my water element sensory ability couldn’t pick up his movements. He seemed as though he had instantly teleported himself."

System replied, "The extent of following living beings’ motions through elemental sensory wasn’t any close to amazing in the first place. Clocked at sixteen frames per second at most, you may as well rely on your eyes instead. This bastard, however… He has an acute sense of perceptions and attention spans of others, always exploiting blind spots for an opening to sneak through. In truth, he’s actually not as agile as you might think."

"...Alright then."

Though Miles’s infiltration technique was astonishing, to say the least, System managed to meticulously analyze it. However, this already wasn’t Benjamin’s biggest concern right now.

More importantly, how was he going to sneak in?

In fact, Miles didn’t say anything before he left. Hence, Benjamin could only tightly grip the bracelet in his pockets, using his water elemental sensory to closely inspect Miles’s movements.

Through the sensory images, Miles, who was successful in his infiltration attempt, slowed down his movements. Benjamin hadn’t lost his target yet. Miles moved around various crumbled walls, cautiously making his way into the depths. Once he put some distance between him and the guards, his footsteps suddenly rest in place.

Shortly after, a faint yet sharp whistle could be heard from within the ruins.

"...What’s that sound?"

"Is it a bird? Or is there still someone inside?"

The whistle startled the guards outside, a few holy knights turned toward each other. In actuality, the sound wasn’t exactly blaring, it easily could have been brushed aside as a "must have misheard it" scenario. However, in the pin-drop silence of the night, it was especially noticeable that the guards couldn’t have ignored it.

These group of people began to feel restless.

They were positive that there was no one in the ruins. Since no bird-like creatures could be found here, that sound sent a chill down their spines.

As such, their minds drifted to possibilities of unknown beings residing in the ruins.

"It came from… that entrance?"

Even the looks on the purifiers turned pale. After guarding here for so many days, they had a feeling about what could the grand pastor be searching for.

In a ruin that could previously be the site of the Abandoned Valley of Gods... Came a haunting sound in the middle of the night.

With that in mind, after a brief discussion, the purifier captain suddenly said, "You, and you… go in and investigate. Careful now, who knows what lies within."

Around ten holy knights and five purifiers were chosen by him. They then headed toward the prison ruins’ interior.

Then, at this moment.

"Hold on… what’s this?"

The holy knights stationed outside suddenly felt a brief gust, their eyelids shielded shut from it. The purifier captain turned as well and gave off a mystified look.

With their attention still focused on their dark surroundings, plus the gust of wind barraging their eyes shut, they failed to notice a figure dashed by above their heads.

Soaring at his top speed, he landed behind a few crumbled walls. Benjamin let off a sigh of relief and said to himself, "Phew… finally in."

It went without saying, that Miles’ way of diverting attention had too high of a risk.

If Benjamin wasn’t prepared, with even a slight hesitation, that minuscule window of opportunity could have flashed by. Fortunately, he reacted in time. The instant he heard the whistle, Benjamin understood Miles’ intentions.

As such, using vapor, he summoned a gust of wind and flew under the cover of the night sky to whoosh in. The whole process took a span of mere seconds. He didn’t emit any magical energy, plus, those guards were so occupied by the mysterious sound that Benjamin’s presence naturally went unnoticed.

He matter-of-factly entered the ruins successfully.

"I urge you to move quickly. Even though they didn’t see you, they’ll sure to send people in to investigate." System suddenly reminded.

"Understood." Benjamin nodded.

Sticking to the walls, upon affirming that the guards wouldn’t find him for a while, he first ventured deeper into the inner prison ruins. Soon enough, Miles met up with him in the shadows and nodded towards Benjamin.

"This is good, now bring out that silver key of yours."

Although he lowered his voice to a whisper, a sense of urgency can be heard from it.

Benjamin couldn’t fathom how the usually-carefree Miles would be so fidgety when it came to matters regarding the Abandoned Valley of Gods? What was there to be found within it?

He blankly shook his head.

"What’s the rush? This place may not be the site of the real Abandoned Valley of Gods, it may even be a hoax."

As he said this, he took out the bracelet from his pocket.

Something astonishing happened.

The usually silver bracelet seemed to have crystallized in structure. A faint glow emitted from the bracelet dispersed in the pitch black night. Benjamin was shocked at this occurrence. He scurried to a corner and concealed the light from the bracelet so that the holy knights didn’t catch sight of it.

He used his hands to block the silver light emitting from the bracelet, wearing a face of utmost disbelief.

"This is…"

Miles stared at the bracelet, took in a deep breath, and whispered, "It’s the Abandoned Valley of Gods, it’s calling for the key within your palms."

Benjamin couldn’t help but take a deep breath as well.

So… Was it actually real?

The Abandoned Valley of Gods, the silver key… these were all supposed to exist only in legends. Other than it being real, it was even located inside the prison ruins of Heaven’s Light.

Benjamin still couldn’t grasp the reality of the situation, yet everything was happening right before him. This bracelet, which emitted ancient magical energy, suddenly glowed in this location. This most certainly wasn’t pure coincidence.

However…

"If the Abandoned Valley of Gods truly is here, then how do we open it?" He suddenly asked.

The bracelet within his hands continued to glow. Aside from this, nothing else seemed to be happening. Was there something more they needed to do?

Miles shook his head, and said, "I don’t know either. But… this is a magical tool, you should understand it more than I do. It must have a way for it to be utilized, think about it."

"..."

Benjamin blankly shook his head. And then, he tried the most direct approach— focusing his mental energy unto the bracelet.

HUMM!

The instant Benjamin focused his mental energy, a humming sound could be heard as if it had traveled from the bottom of the ruins, surprising the both of them. At the same time, the glowing bracelet began to resonate, emitting an ancient yet intense magical pulse.

It was at this moment, Benjamin’s heart jumped.

Oh no…

Many purifiers stationed outside the ruins. When it came to the magical pulses, they were the most sensitive toward them.