Psychokinetic Eyeball Pulling

Chapter 95: Debrief 3/4

“Maybe he was selected by a dungeon?” Astrid said.

She had long been thinking about how Haufman had entered her dungeon. She first thought that he had entered the same gateway, but failed the dungeon mission and was stuck there.

But now knowing that he had taken place in a city expedition and now the town that she was in meant he had to have taken another gateway somewhere else. And she had personally experienced the teleportation effect of the gateway. She wasn’t even anywhere near the gateway and it had whisked her back to Ruitera.

“A dungeon…” Vihaan muttered.

“Astrid may be correct,” Heath said. “We know very little about the dungeons, what if one doesn’t need to interact with it for them to be taken there?”

Astrid added, “if the reward was too great, great enough so that Haufman couldn't refuse. He might have accepted it?”

Vihaan said, “What if a dungeon reward could bring back the dead?”

“Haufman’s lost child,” Heath said.

“It’s the only temptation in existence that he would willingly accept something so mysterious despite the risks,” Malina said.

“Other worlds–” Faris took another sip of his summoned alcohol. “I wonder what their grapes taste like? What would the fermentation process be like? What kind of drink could I make with such alien ingredients?”

Faris looked like he had stars in his eyes as he dreamed about the possibilities. Surprisingly, he sat forward in his chair, ready for the rest of the details of Astrid’s play.

Everyone shook their heads, ignoring the mumbling drunkard.

“We will have to begin mass exploration of the ruins down below,” Malina said. “If the pirates, or the settlers get their hands on the rewards instead of us, the results would be disastrous.”

“I understand your excitement Malina,” Heath continued. “But we have Rebirth to protect, don’t forget that the robed men are shrouded in mystery. We simply don’t know when they will strike again.”

Malina scoffed. “You think they will attack again? Last time it was a fluke, if they tried it again, we are ready for them.”

“Not if we thin our troops by having a mass expedition,” Heath said.

Astrid said, “may I continue? Your thoughts may change when you see the entire picture.”

“Very well.” Heath nodded and motioned his hand so that she could continue.

Astrid continued where she left off. She blended some of the details from their eyes. Like having to enter the palace through Mind Domain.

Just like Heath had stated, she had no idea the reaches the robed men had. Maybe they had already infiltrated the top brass?

She glanced up at the elders above.

Who could it be? Astrid thought.

If at a glance, she would suspect Malina purely because of her image. Dark colours, angry all the time, and the fact that Esa Waters, the suspicious Master Jewel Crafter was her daughter. But she knew it was wrong to judge a book by its cover. Maybe she was being overly cautious, but she would rather not overshare information when it wasn’t needed.

She continued through the trials. She had to make certain new details to mask a lot of her abilities.

Astrid wasn’t so naive to think that the undying elders up above held no suspicions about her use of skills, but at least they wouldn’t know what abilities she had. And if they did pry, then an electric monster was sitting right by their side breathing down their necks.

Then, she approached the box in the centre of that primal, alien-like hall. The box that used to be black, was now a dark brown wood. When she unlocked the latch, a mult-coloured pearl sat within a satin pillow.

It was one of the highest quality void-jewels she had found within the voidlings stomach, but they didn’t know that. Although it wasn’t exactly a top-grade treasure from a dungeon mission, the fact that it had never been seen before meant she could use their lack of information against the elders.

Malina’s eyes shone as she seemed to realise what it was just from a mere glance through the illusion.

“Do you still have it?” Malina asked.

“I do, Elder Malina,” Astrid said with a smile.

She reached into her pocket and took out the galaxy-like pearl. Astrid launched it through the air with Psychokinesis.

Malina caught it, her gaze focused onto it as the other elders peered at the item in her old, wrinkled hands. Despite them appearing prehistoric, they were as agile as a child's hands as she expertly flicked around the jewel.

She held it to the light, as it glowed like stars in the sky.

“Beautiful,” she admitted. “May I buy it from you Astrid? I assure you the price won’t reach higher on the auction.”

“Very well.” Astrid nodded.

It would save her the hassle of interacting with the auction house and money now was always better than money later.

“Excellent, I’ll have to experiment with its properties,” Malina said and dug out a few solid, card-like objects. They were platinum bank cards, each one held tremendous wealth.

Astrid had seen them, of course, but she had never been able to touch it before.

Malina sent it forth with a tendril of black-purple smoke. It acted like Astrid’s Psychokinesis as it stopped in front of her.

Astrid squinted her eyes, it had a faint resemblance to the masked man’s shadow skill. But she didn’t dare voice her opinions. She took hold of the cards and nodded.

She continued on further. With her no longer needing to use illusions, she wreaked havoc on the void world. There were some monsters that were terrifying to face against, and she had suffered a lot of injuries through the battles.

But they thinned out. At first she had thought the stronger monsters would be closer to the dense mana storm, but it was the opposite. There were no strong monsters as she battled the buffeting mana storm.

Then, she was about to show the colossal titan emerging from its hole when an intense pain tore through her mind.

In her head, it opened its eye, revealing a mesmerising eye filled with all the stars in the galaxy. Yet it was as empty as the void.

Astrid’s eyes snapped open as everyone looked at her in curiosity.

“I–uh, it failed,” She admitted. “That’s all that happened, then I was teleported back to this world.”

“I see…” Heath nodded. “That certainly brings forward the high possibility of Haufman's sudden disappearance. Then what happened, Calum? ”

Vihaan clenched his hand, yet he looked relieved. As if he had finally uncovered an excruciating answer.

Calum continued where he left off. He explained how he split the force and travelled back through the forest to return with the vital information of a dungeon appearing within an already scouted town.

It was then that they were attacked by the pirates, by Prince. His fists tightened until the bones in his hands creaked, yet he didn’t miss out a single detail. Even about him trying to run away from the enemies.

“They called him Prince.“ Calum finished his debrief, he no longer had anymore to say.

“Prince, son of Darcey the seventh pirate king.” Heath grit his teeth in anger.

Vihaan’s fist slammed onto the other armrest, blasting it into small fragments.

“They dare slaughter our people,” Vihaan fumed. “So close to Rebirth, that is a declaration of war.”

“Now wait just a minute, Vihaan.” Malina frowned. “Talk of a war is ludicrous, the oceans have remained calm for years, we should talk it out with them. Resorting to war is the absolute last call of action, you should be very aware of what happened last time we had a war with the pirate kings.”

Heath sighed. “I agree with Malina. We need to straddle that thought with a high degree of care.”

“We will hold a council to decide on the matter,” Lord Sinwen said, and they all listened. “But blood must be paid with blood. If it was of Prince’s own mind to attack and plunder, then we will seek recompense. However, if we discover it to be a plot…”

Lord Sinwen stopped his words, but the silence told them all everything they needed to know.

Astrid recalled the moment that she was preparing to head into the dungeon. No one refused to hand over their health or mana potions, even moreso, they were happy to do so.

Whether it was done out of the goodness of their heart, or because Astrid had promised them loot from her expedition didn’t matter to her. They had helped her, so she would get her revenge. It didn’t matter what the higher-ups decided, she owed it to the Wayfarers, and to herself.

If they didn’t allow her… Astrid gripped onto her Wayfaring badge. It was something she had wanted for her entire life. She had always dreamt of becoming a Wayfarer, but now that she was one, she could feel the restrictions it brought with it.

She wasn’t sure if it was something she wanted anymore.

Astrid glanced at the others as they looked up at the elders in awe-struck, yet the only thoughts in Astrid’s mind was that it wouldn’t be long before she stood on even footing with them.

I really am arrogant. Astrid scoffed internally, but she couldn’t help it. Something within her mind kept on telling her that. That the humans in front of her were just at the bottom of a well.

Astrid sighed, she just wanted to be free.

“But first,” Malina’s gaze turned to Calum, piercing into him as if her eyes were daggers “Calum, hand in your badge. A leader who would turn and abandon their comrades in the face of death, doesn’t deserve to be in the Wayfarers.”

The words sent a shockwave through the young Wayfarers as they all murmured one to one another.

Astrid had expected the punishment, but to think it was so serious.

No, she’s right. But everyone deserves a second chance. Astrid thought.

It was probably a naive thought, as in their line of work, one decision could get not just one killed, but all of them.

Yet she saw something within Calum’s eyes. A change. Whether it was for the better or not, she didn’t know, but she was curious to find out.

Calum gnawed his lip, he couldn’t refuse the order. He clasped onto his badge and yanked it from his chest. As he threw it to the ground, another joined its place.

Everyone’s eyes widened, they followed the badge along the ground.

Standing directly in front of the badge was Astrid. She held a mischievous grin as she looked up at her father.

She had long grown tired of the Wayfarer's restrictions. The thought of leaving was but a phantom image within her mind, yet there was no better time than now.

Calum gazed at her as if she was a mythical creature. He was dumbfounded. His life had just ended, yet Astrid followed him into the fire.

His eyes lit ablaze, and he tightened his jaw. He glued his eyes on her figure.