Chapter 279: Pale-skinned man

Alex left after talking with the shadow monarch for some time; he had gathered all the information he could from the other party.He now knew that a soul jewel was in the hands of the Dark Union, although finding that one would be difficult, at least he now had a lead.

He had asked the shadow monarch if there was another way through which he could get a soul jewel, but the other party had said the same thing as Maria; he didn’t know where to get a soul jewel from.

His former one had been handed over to him by an old friend to repay a favour several years ago.

Alex had also inquired about the Eye of the Void. The shadow monarch said that he would need to go inside a crack as that was the only place where he could find one.

Aside from that, he also mentioned that a Saint in the third continent used to have one but he wasn’t certain if they would still have it.

While walking behind Rigmus as they left the underground villa, Alex contemplated the last conversation that he had with the shadow monarch.

....

"Do you know about the twelfth and thirteenth elements?" Alex asked.

The shadow monarch paused, a silent ripple sweeping through his black eyes for a moment.

"Have they fully been discovered?" He asked after some time.

Alex didn’t reply and just kept staring at the other party.

The shadow monarch let out a sigh.

"I won’t question how you came to know since it isn’t a secret between Saints from all around the world, the thought that there are more than eleven elements.

Although we haven’t found any mage who awakened a different element from the usual, we’ve encountered strange elemental spirits, essence stones, and elemental spirits that do not belong to any of the elements." He said calmly.

Alex’s eyes widened upon hearing this and he instantly became more attentive.

The shadow monarch seemed to notice the increase in his focus and smiled slightly.

"I don’t really know much, if you wish to know more about this, visit the library of the Union HQ located in the first continent. Or even better, meet Femi, he’s the president of the Union HQ there and should be able to tell you more.

Of course, meeting him won’t be easy even for a fellow Saint mage but it’s worth the shot, right?"

...

’Thankfully, meeting Femi won’t be a problem for me.’ Alex thought as the side of his lips hooked up in a smirk.

He left the Osworth mansion soon after and returned to the Union Core Center. On his way, Alex was thinking of how far his search was going.

The space element essence stone was the easiest item on the list, and a lot of people were already searching for it; he should be able to get it in a week at least.

As for the soul jewel, he now knew where to find one but it wasn’t going to be easy to acquire.

The void eye would require him to go to the third continent or look for a crack and enter it.

Either way, it didn’t look like he would be able to do any of those two for the time being; unless a crack spawned in front of him, of course.

That would then leave the item that was probably the hardest to acquire on the list, the chaos element essence stone.

But from what the shadow monarch had said, it seems like the Saint mages from the seven continents knew that there were more elements than the popular eleven and had even suggested that Alex should go to the first continent.

All these were trips he would make later but Alex was most glad that he now had a direction for his search.

He arrived at the Union Core Centre shortly after and went directly to Maria’s office.

"Mr Chen, you’re finally here!" Maria exclaimed upon seeing Alex.

Alex’s eyes narrowed behind his mask, and he didn’t respond; he could sense a strong presence in the building.

A Saint rank mage!

"Did something happen?" he asked after some time.

"Yes, it’s about the mission. Someone came shortly after you left and said that he had a space element essence stone but would only give it after meeting you in person.

But since I couldn’t contact you, I tried persuading him to leave the space element essence stone with me and take the reward, but he said he would wait instead. I don’t think that they’re interested in the reward." Maria explained everything that had happened to Alex.

She was also suspicious of the person who had come with the space element essence stone, the fact that she couldn’t see through his strength was enough for her to be on edge.

"I see, bring me to him," Alex said after a brief moment of thinking.

"Are you sure? They might have other motives." Maria asked, worried that the other party might be up to something.

"Don’t worry, he can’t do anything to me," Alex said seriously.

’Besides, I’ll gladly walk into a trap if it means getting the items I need to help Emily.’ he added in his thoughts.

Left with no other choice, Maria led Alex out of the office. They took the elevator and reached one of the lower floors before coming out. After moving through the hallway for a bit, Maria pushed open a door and they both walked in.

This room looked like a waiting room with long connected seats placed around, a lone figure in casual clothes sat on the seat opposite the door.

This position allowed him to see whoever came into the room once the door opened. Similarly, he would be the first thing they would see after they opened the door.

Alex’s eyes narrowed after seeing this man; he didn’t recognise him.

Spiky black hair, pale white skin like someone who didn’t have any blood in them, and very long skinny limbs.

Zombie.

Was the first thought that Alex had after seeing the other party?

"Mr Chen, we finally meet." The man lifted his head and said with a wide grin after the two entered the room, his red eyes gazing at Alex’s mask.

At that moment, Alex received a notification that a strange energy was trying to scout him but the mask had blocked it.

"Impressive, I can’t see through you." The pale-skinned man said.

Alex frowned slightly, he didn’t like this person for some reason.

"You said you have the space element essence stone? Give it and take the reward, I have other things to do." Alex said impatiently.

The pale-skinned man raised an eyebrow before chuckling.

"We all have things that always need our attention, Mr Chen. But let’s not be in a hurry, shall we? How about having a chat with me?" He said and paused, his red eyes slowly moving over to Maria who was standing behind Alex. "Alone," he added.

Alex’s frown deepened under his mask after seeing the other party’s expression; those eyes didn’t look human at all.

"Leave," Alex whispered to Maria.

"But, Mr Chen..." Maria wanted to protest but Alex cut her off.

"If someone was able to harm me, do you think you’ll be able to face them?" Alex turned his head to the side and glanced at her through the corner of his mask.

Maria’s words immediately died in her throat and her eyes twitched. What Mr Chen said just now was painful, but it was the truth, not to mention that Mr Chen was a Saint rank mage; his display during the joint operation was not something that she could ever hope to replicate in the next one hundred years.

Her shoulders relaxed as she took a deep breath.

"My apologies, I understand," Maria said before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

Now, it was just Mr Chen and the pale-skinned man left in the room.

"The dogs of the Union listen to you so obediently, isn’t that nice?" The pale-skinned man asked with a smile as he watched everything between Alex and Maria.

"So, what do you want?" Alex asked as he casually went to sit down, not responding to the other party’s crude remark.

"Oh, come on, no need to be so cold. I believe you’ve met a few of my juniors, you’ve even killed quite a good number of them. Truly, it won’t harm you to be a bit more polite, no?

That’s the least you can do as compensation." The pale-skinned man crossed one leg over the other, placed his right elbow on his knee, and rested his chin on the back of his hand while still looking at Alex’s mask.

"You’re from the Dark Union," Alex stated calmly, he made sure not to show any strong reaction in front of this person.

"Bingo! And don’t worry, I’ve not come to get revenge for my juniors that you killed, instead, I’m here to make you an offer."