I've Become the King of Villains in the Game-Chapter 795 - 493 Time of Pearls

"Hm?"

Chen Lun was slightly startled.

Floey rolled her eyes, seemingly realizing that he didn’t know what had happened, and then she gestured for him to come closer.

"Come in first, then we’ll talk," she said.

"Excuse me, Miss Floey."

Chen Lun smiled politely, took off his hat, and greeted her with a bow.

As the two climbed the spiraling stone staircase, Floey, walking ahead, said with some irritation:

"The messenger came back last night looking unusually excitable, quite abnormal... I checked it over, and found some strange changes in its body; several nodes in the inscription circuit were burned out, and the energy storage area was filled with a large amount of high-energy fluctuations. If it weren’t for the two emergency arrays I designed initially, it probably would have exploded like a bomb."

Chen Lun roughly understood what she meant.

He couldn’t help but feel a pang of worry, secretly hoping it wasn’t those two Dragon Sharpstones he gave to Miss Floey’s messenger that had caused the breakdown.

What would happen if he had to compensate for it?

This Archmage was quite "in need of money"—it wouldn’t be surprising if she took all the hard-earned money he had made from players!

While Chen Lun was still pondering how much money would be enough to not hurt feelings but satisfy Miss Floey, she stopped walking, turned around with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, and said:

"Do you still have any of those Energy Barytes you fed the messenger last night? Let me see them." freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

"Cough, just the last one left."

Chen Lun blurted out, lying through his teeth, quickly picked the smallest piece from the Blood Poem Ring, and handed it to Miss Floey.

She took it and immediately raised an intrigued eyebrow.

"Interesting... Let’s head up to the attic first, I’ll study it further."

As she spoke, she turned back, continuously toying with the finger-sized black crystal stone in her hand, marveling with clicks of her tongue, seemingly quite interested.

Seeing this, Chen Lun had an idea.

If Miss Floey really liked the Dragon Sharpstone, using it as compensation could be fitting... after all, there were plenty more in the mining tunnels beneath the misty plains of Immortal Realm, where a group of Lost Souls mined tirelessly for him, having already amassed a large stockpile.

Looking at it this way, he realized he was quite wealthy himself, owning an entire plain’s worth of mining veins, plus countless "working souls" laboring for him.

The key point was, he didn’t even have to pay them.

With that thought, a certain mine owner’s mood lightened considerably.

The two reached the attic, one after the other, and Chen Lun immediately noticed a familiar emaciated figure sitting on the floor in the corner in front of a bookshelf, deeply engrossed in reading something.

Unaffected by the footsteps, Carmen remained absorbed in the sea of knowledge, unable to extricate himself. It was only when Miss Floey stomped her foot, making a clear sound, that he suddenly came to his senses.

"Ah... Teacher, my apologies, I can’t bear to pause while reading your notes; I always get so engrossed in them, feeling my own ignorance and insignificance," said the white-haired old man apologetically.

Floey pursed her lips to indicate that there was still a guest standing beside her.

So, Carmen hurriedly put down the scroll he was holding and performed an ancient etiquette to Chen Lun. He took a step back with his left foot, placed his left hand on his right shoulder, and held his pointed high hat with his right arm, positioning it in front of his chest.

"Once again, I express my gratitude for saving my life, Your Majesty Jack Spett. If you hadn’t come to my rescue, I might have been forever lost in the painting of the God of Frescoes, never seeing my teacher again!"

"You’ve already thanked me, Mage Carmen,"

Chen Lun said with a smile, waving his hand.

Internally, he thought mockingly of the old sycophant, putting on an act, trying to impress with his refined elegance, which was nothing like his demeanor when they first met.

Floey also smiled and said:

"Alright, Carmen, carry on with your studies. You haven’t continued your education for many years now; don’t think that just because you have advanced to an ’Ancient Scholar,’ you can slack off. The path of magic holds mysteries you can’t even imagine; without sufficient knowledge, you wouldn’t even understand the basic principles."

"Yes, teacher, I dare not forget your teachings,"

Carmen nodded in agreement, immediately picked up the scroll again, and went back to his corner to read.

Then Floey also turned around and gestured for Chen Lun to sit down.

Polite as ever, Chen Lun nodded and sat down on an antique wooden chair, holding his Silver Staff. Floey dragged a dusty, large box from a corner filled with miscellaneous items and placed it in front of him, giving a slight smile.

"I haven’t had the chance to thank you in person, Jack; you risked your life to save my student, so it is only right that I show my gratitude... These are some of the items I collected when I was younger; you may pick anything you like."

Chen Lun’s eyes lit up, looking at the large wooden chest reinforced with iron, feeling a sense of anticipation within him.

This was a collection from a high-ranking magic practitioner!

Even after his own advancement, he still felt that Miss Floey was unfathomable, similar to when facing Selma, the Long-Sever of the Moon Church, and Lady Moose, the Pope of the Naturalist Sect; it was clear that her strength exceeded his own, starting at least from Sequence Three.

Her collection must be extraordinary...

Chen Lun took a deep breath, and under Floey’s expectant gaze, slowly opened the lid of the box.

Clang.

The next moment, Chen Lun was taken aback.

Instead of the glittering gold and various high-end Mysterious Objects or Mythical items he had imagined, the box contained a collection of bizarre small objects, like weird dried weeds turned into specimens, some unopened buds, colorful stones, and even bottles of deformed insects in potion form.

"What is this...?"

Chen Lun feigned curiosity as he asked Ms. Fleurette.

"Don’t underestimate these items. They are all of Mythical Level materials, and extremely rare at that, some even extinct..."

Ms. Fleurette explained softly.

"I see, your collection is indeed precious."

Chen Lun complimented her, then carefully picked up the small objects to examine them closer, his panel popping up notifications now and then to provide detailed explanations of the items in his hands.

’Indeed, as Ms. Fleurette said, these objects are quite valuable Mythical materials. If used for pharmaceuticals or forging, they would likely produce high-quality items... however, with Maggie and Floey’s current level, it would be difficult for them to handle such Level materials. It’s feasible to use them for brewing, though...’

Suddenly, Chen Lun felt a book-sized, irregularly edged stone slab at the bottom of the box. He paused, then a surge of joy followed.

It was indeed a part of the Stele of Destiny!

Seeing that Ms. Fleurette had no objections, he took it upon himself to pick it up and brought out the pieces he had collected to fit them together.

This time, the Stele of Destiny revealed two-thirds of its original form; it was roughly half a meter long, twenty centimeters wide, and a finger’s thickness, with some text engraved in Anita Language.

Chen Lun looked closely and, upon decoding, the previously missing content came into view—

"...In the year 15,920 of The Fourth Era, pondering the past, I did not understand. So, I traversed the curtains of history, returning to the first layer of historical stratum, to witness once again the pivotal moment of the collapse of Anita Civilization three thousand years ago... It turns out that the end had been decided before it even began. The chaos caused by Death God Bankroft, leading to the Splitting of the Church of Starry Sky, was actually guided by the Ring Duke, the Master of Destiny, the one who overlooks and stirs the currents."

"...I exhausted my thoughts, yet could not comprehend Ring Duke’s intentions. But as the grand scenes unfolded before my eyes once again, I could not forget... The night the current King of Anita died in battle, the sky was extraordinary, the Sun, Moon, and Constellation came together, like a brilliant pearl hovering above humanity, only to Split and never reunite— I call it ’Time of Pearls’!"

"...Perhaps the Ring Duke was quietly watching all developments and personally scattered this ’pearl,’ waiting for history’s evolution to prove this was the correct path, further strengthening my belief in carving this Stele for him— the writer of history, the engraver of time, the witness of great deeds, Seth Mitchell."

Chen Lun was deeply shocked by the words recorded on the Stele.

It turned out that the one leading Anita Kingdom towards ruin, the hidden orchestrator behind humanity’s initial Split into three major families, was not the old man buried in bones, but the even more concealed Ring Duke!

Even Death became His pawn; how terrifying must the Master of Destiny be?!

Chen Lun took a deep breath.

’Time of Pearls... is that the significant historical moment when the Church of Starry Sky Split into Sun Moon Stars?’

At this moment, Ms. Fleurette, who had been standing by, suddenly spoke:

"I did not expect that you were close to completing the Stele of Destiny... Although it doesn’t contain any extraordinary powers, it holds great value as a collection, especially since it’s a masterpiece personally carved by ’Seth Mitchell.’

She slowly showed a smile.

"He is the only Earth Angel known to date, formerly the Sub-God ’Seth’ from the past... Only, since The Fifth Era, He has almost never appeared again, like a history buried under dust, disappeared into the long river of time."

Chen Lun looked at the fragmented Stele in his hands, but his thoughts drifted to Vertu City in Saint Aye’s Town of Lin State, where the mysterious high-ranking person who took his pet white snake might well have been this ’Seth Mitchell.’

But he did not mention this, instead preparing to ask Ms. Fleurette for the Stele fragment.

"If you like it, I can give it to you. Keeping it myself doesn’t serve any purpose... You can also take some more of the other items, don’t be shy."

Ms. Fleurette said nonchalantly.

Chen Lun thanked her, immediately continuing to rummage through the ’Treasure Box.’ However, he ultimately found, much to his dismay, that besides the part of the Stele of Destiny, the rest were all various Mythical materials.

He suddenly stopped his actions, looked up, and asked:

"Ms. Fleurette, well, this might be a bit abrupt, but may I ask you about some magic knowledge... I can give up all these materials."

Ms. Fleurette appeared surprised, glanced back at her student Carmen, then, after a moment of thought, nodded in agreement.

"You can indeed. In that case, stay here for a week... I know you have just advanced to a high position and must be confused about your abilities. Magic and Destiny are intertwined; the knowledge here should give you some insights."

"That’s exactly what I was hoping for, Ms. Fleurette, thank you very much."

Chen Lun stood up, quickly expressing his gratitude.

Having this learned Archmage providing face-to-face guidance boosted his confidence in developing his abilities!

"By the way, Ms. Fleurette, I wonder if you remember the Crown Prince of the Sun Royal Family?"

Chen Lun remembered his uncertainty, so he took the opportunity to ask her.

"Of course, I do remember. I witnessed the birth of the Tresor Empire, after all..."

Ms. Fleurette replied with a smile.

But soon, her smile gradually disappeared, and her expression turned solemn and silent.

The Archmage turned around without a word and walked towards the bookshelf area. Under Carmen’s puzzled gaze, she searched briefly and finally pulled out a dusty, bulky book from an inconspicuous spot.

Thud!

She slammed the thick hardcover book on the table and flipped accurately to a certain page in the middle, her face suddenly changing color.

"This is impossible!"