Chapter 40: Uso

The next day, 12:30 P.M on Saturday.

I arrived at the travelling club's meeting place. Most of the others were already here. They seemed excited it was an overnight trip.

All except Yoo Yeonha who seemed to wear a warm smile while talking idly to someone. 

To her left stood a tired looking man, his pale eyes hidden under coloured contacts. He seemed a little more slouched than usual.

When I looked at him, he looked back, giving a wave.

It shook me slightly but [Acting] forced me to stay calm.

'That's strange… was Yeonha supposed to be this close to anyone yet?' 

I listened in through [Observation and Reading], hearing the conversation clearly despite the distance.

"Would you like to go to the Masquerade, Minori-Nim? I'm allowed to bring another person with me so…I came to ask you." Yoo Yeonha asked in her usual prideful tone, though it was slightly softened. There was even a slight flush to her cheeks.

It seemed she had recovered a bit from whatever hit her.

"Oh? I appreciate the offer but I've been invited by someone else." Minori's voice, ever calm, seemed to cut through Yeonha's expectations.

Her mouth hung a little before she cleared her throat and forced a smile.

"A-Ahhh, is that the case? Well it's a bit of a shame then…out of… curiosity, who-"

Yeonha's voice trailed off slightly and drifted when a loud voice silenced the crowd.

"Alright! Now that everyone is here, let's form our teams before heading off." 

The club leader, Oh Hanyun, took out a box for drawing lots just like before. In the original story, Kim Suho and Yoo Yeohna would be a pair but…

A lot had changed in just a few months, so I didn't exactly trust for things to develop the same.

'Especially when that guy is here.'

My eyes darted to Minori once again, watching him fiddle with the mana in his palm.

…Minori POV…

France, Paris.

As the cube cadets stepped foot on European land, many for the first time in their lives, they were greeted by a city skyline of state of the art buildings.

At the centre of which was the Eiffel tower. I had seen it in pictures before but it's a lot larger in person.

I then noticed a limousine pulling up, looking in the window I saw a young man in an almost butler-like outfit driving the car.

He got out and waved.

"Korean Cadets, over here!"

It was then that the others noticed him, turning in the direction of the voice. The club leader, Oh Hanhyun, walked up to the limousine with a hearty laugh.

"Nice to meet you. You must be Raymond."

"Yes, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." 

"Can we drop off our bads real quick before we take a look around the city?" Oh Hanhyun spoke with confidence, unlike at the start of the year.

The man named Raymond nodded with a smile. 

We then stuffed our bags into the limousine, I kept my smartwatches, my coin and my pendant on my person.

A couple of items were also stored with the power of encryption, stuck in between the seconds.

"Now, we'll travel in the pairs we formed."

I had been paired with a stranger from the club, but since I had planned to meet someone it didn't really matter.

"Alright, it's 1 P.M. right now… so let's meet back here at 7."

Saying this Oh Hanhyun departed with his girlfriend. The cadet's looked on with jealousy while I looked at my pair.

The boy was blonde and seemed stuck up so I saw no need to act polite.

"Hey. I'm leaving." I informed the boy before making my exit, not bothering to give any sort of explanation.

The cube cadets grew further and further, my leave going unnoticed by most of them while the sharper of them turned their heads but paid no mind.

The moment I rounded the corner and turned away from the main street into a destroyed part of paris.

The Eiffel tower which had been standing tall was now a pinprick on the horizon.

The street ahead was cracked, many roots grew from the ground, protruding and growing.

The mana here was dead, having been sucked out of the air in a presumably large battle and in the process of recovery.

The sun was still high and the air was a pleasant warmth.

I pulled out one of my watches and checked the violet banquet.

I projected the screen to show a message history.

一一一一一一

[Monument: I got a job for you.]

[Me: Details]

[Monument: There's a masquerade in Paris. Essentially it's to get the rich together to socialize and show off their wealth.]

[Monument: All you have to do is report any suspicious acts or people while acting like one of the nobles. For extra pay you can try and stop them, but I won't force your hand.]

[Me: How will I get in? I can't exactly afford a ticket.]

[Monument: I'll have someone take you as their plus one.]

[Me: I want you to introduce me to a skilled chemist. And 300,000 won]

[Monument: As long as the Ring of Homer isn't stolen you'll get paid. (¬‿¬)]

一一一一一一一

Those were the messages I had exchanged with Vatz up to this point.

Although I was a bit iffy on spending time with the arrogant and rich, I was also broke right now and no one other than Vatz had paid me that well.

Which is why, now I had arrived at a part of Paris which had recently seen a monster attack in order to meet the person who would bring me to the masquerade.

I made my way down the street, my shoes clicking on the eerily silent city floor.

'Apparently they wanted to test me or something.'

I grabbed at the air and pulled a mask out from nothing.

'Or at least that's what I'm inferring from all the mana threads pouring out of the alleyways.'

I slid the mask onto my face. It was black in colour, its eyes an eerie dead gray while its mouth sealed shut.

It was a mask of cunning calmness while also a subtle writhing ferocity.

The shape resembled that of a hunting dog.

I semi turned my body to the furthest signature and locked onto them.

…??? POV...

—We found him! It's just as high priest Vatz said!

—He emits such a high level of mana! He truly is of dragon heart!

Along the rooftops a group of hooded figures surrounded a bored looking woman, her figure tall and her hair bright red.

She clicked her tongue, some of her skin bristling as mana deficiency ate away her disguise, revealing paler skin beneath the red fountain.

It was a disguise and more importantly, the woman's gift. Said woman was Jain Valerin, a beautiful caucasian woman as well as the Chameleon Troupes Seat of Yellow.

Or at least that's who she is under the skin of the noble she's disguised as.

"Ugh, high priest this high priest that. It's seriously driving me insane here." 

The woman cursed under her breath.

This was supposed to be a one and done, get in with and get out with the Ring of Homer, but now their seller wants to add a clause of bringing a plus one over.

Something about testing their abilities.

But it was a pain because now she had to keep an eye on her little tag while making sure they didn't catch her stealing.

"God damnit boss… you just had to accept it for a freaking bracelet…" 

She grumbled under her breath while listening to the cultists on the radio.

—Oh! He's coming this way! Is that…?

—Yeah… I think he sees us-!

Kshhhhhk-!

The cultists cut off as static came through before a crisp click.

The robed figures on the rooftop began whispering until a voice cut through everything.

—Ahh-Ahh. Testing, testing, does this thing work?

Jain combed her hair out of her face before freezing.

'Hm? This voice…'

The woman's bored expression gave way to a strange smile. 

—Well, whatever. My name is Uso, I'm here simply as a plus one for an attendee of the oncoming masquerade.

The voice was tired but smooth. It was airy and sounded as though they had woken up moments ago.

Jain knew the voice, it was the voice of someone who spotted her after all.

'Oh, this might be a little more troublesome than I thought.'

"T-This-! He's clearly disregarding us!" One of the hoods was dissatisfied with their disinterested tone.

—This means that I'm here to simply keep an eye on things, if everything goes well, I get a bonus. 

Uso explained his role in a relaxed voice but everyone could tell the rising annoyance in his tone.

—Now, I may not care much about working conditions, or guaranteed safety, or anything of the sorts. But I do care about being properly greeted. Not with knives to the face.

It was then that Jain looked up a piece of paper blowing on the wind, slowly drifting towards them.

—Sigh… in other words. I think you ought to learn who you mess with before you try to test them.

The paper safely dropped onto the roof of the building. 

The hooded cultists all gathered around it like magnets while the red haired beauty had long lept to a safe place.

Jain didn't make it too far before stopping to look back. She was quite curious about Minori or Uso abilities.

But…

When she looked back at the roof she had been standing on, she found nothing.

No, it wasn't nothing, there were still buildings and streets but they were different.

Or rather, the entire area was different.

Teleportation, a skill only possible through gifts, the support of Djinn or terrifying magic power.

And Jain now knew exactly who had it.

"Good afternoon."

The voice from the radio had greeted her in a polite tone. Though it was strained, as if annoyed.

"Good afternoon to you too, Uso."

Jain smiled, having noticed his presence the moment she got her barings, it was still quite disorientating though.

"My name is Pearl Anders, I believe we'll be working together."

Jain nodded warmly and looked forward at the dog masked gentleman.

Her grin was genuine and filled with interest.

Combing a strand of red hair back, Jain curtseyed to the man.

"I'll be in your hands."