Gray found himself baffled as to how he ended up here in this particular blankness of the dark where nothing noteworthy is witnessed here.

Well, yes, there's nothing really to see here, and anyone in their still right mind would undoubtedly descend into an utter state of madness when they spend here for an extended period, no doubt the solitude would grip every last piece of sanity clinging for even a shred of hope.

"Virtue and Chaos mold into one?" A dark voice of complete malice suddenly introduced itself as it spoke to the elf. "Not that I really care about the former, but the morals of good mostly limits you to the greater picture, deceiving you into your conquest for unlimited power. I see great potential within you, your hunger… thirst for great power, it is what truly defines you. Do you know that an individual's true personality and nature would only be revealed in the state of total Chaos? This is where the individual would thrive in his or her very being, molding him or her into an unstoppable force that few would dare to match."

"What the h.e.l.l?" Gray definitely was weirded out by all of this, even though if the voice kind of make sense in his philosophy. "Who in Sylvia's name are you?"

"You'll know in time." The voice held an amused tone. "If you truly desire for more power, you will seek my emissary at the Musician's Pub in Flocaster. From there, he'll instruct you with further details."

"And why should I listen to you?" Gray crossed his arms in unamus.e.m.e.nt. "Hearing a dark voice suddenly emerging out of nowhere is not something that one should agree with just like that."

"Perhaps you're right." Gray heard the voice chuckling. "That is why I'm going to grant you a portion of what I'm going to offer you something that you might want to consider. Let's simply call it an investment in my part of a sort."

In an instant, a ring with a strange red mark of a star in the middle of eight arrows in a radial pattern appeared on his left middle finger.

Item received: u003cRing of Chaotic Fortuneu003e (Suppressed)

u003cRing of Chaotic Fortuneu003e (Suppressed)

u003cEpic Jewelryu003e

Attribute Requirement: None

Level Requirement: None

Additional prerequisite: Any of the Chaotic Alignment.

Enchantments: +10 Luck, Luck is also increased by 30% of Chaos points, Gain Chaos points 10% more, Gain Order points 10% less.

"Woah." Gray, no doubt, was surprised by this new powerful item. "Suppressed, huh? If the ring shows promising enchantments on its current state, I can only imagine how powerful it could be at its full apt.i.tude."

"Indeed." The voice agreed with him. "If you want the ring to show its true power, then it would be wise that you do my bidding."

"Maybe." Gray had to admit that he was certainly tempted to do whatever this voice asked of him. This ring is the perfect chance for him to increase his Luck without ever needing to resort in spending his attribute points to the said attribute. The convenience is clearly more than appealing. "I'll just meet this guy of yours at Flocaster, correct?"

"And perform as he instructs." The voice quickly responded. "As much as I would love to chat with you more, I have some other business that is required of me. Until we meet again… mortal. And by the way, it would do well for you to wake up at this very moment and take a look at the lovely moonlight outside. The twilight is certainly a sight of remarkable grandeur to perceive that even someone of exceptional Chaos such as myself also came to appreciate."

"Uh… can't you just tell me directly?" Gray asked, wondering why the voice would go such trouble if he could tell him the task right now.

A short silence was followed before Gray heard the voice chortling with intrigued, much to the elf's confusion.

"No, no, no." The voice answered with an easy-going yet disapproving tone. "Where would all be the fun of that? Think of our situation as a story, where this is Chapter one or perhaps the prologue of a book. You don't want the first part of the story to explain all of the plots now, would we? That would be highly dull and tasteless in a story's progression, hehe."

"Right..." Gray could only sweatdrop in response. Although he was quite annoyed at how this ent.i.ty seemed to be playing him for its amus.e.m.e.nt.

The voice then deemed worthy that this conversation is finally concluded as it prepared its farewell remarks.

"Remember." Gray heard the ent.i.ty's final words. "Revel in Chaos and Anarchy with all thy heart for it is the only Truth. Order is a pathetic illusion that only birth the weak-willed and indecisive. Farewell, Paragon, and hopefully, we'll meet again in more favorable circ.u.mstances, hehe.

And with that, the voice was no more, and Gray was forced back among the living in the mortal plane.

u003cQUEST START!!u003e

u003cIn Chaos, we flourish.u003e

[An unknown ent.i.ty has offered you a gift and task in your dreams. You are to proceed at the Musician's Pub in Flocaster and speak to the emissary.]

u003cQuest Completionu003e - Go to the Musician's Pub in Flocaster and speak with the emissary.

u003cQuest Bonusu003e - (???)

u003cQuest Rewardsu003e - (???), (???)

u003cACCEPT QUEST?u003e YES / NO

Gray thought about it for a moment before clicking YES in the end. From there, he'll truly decide whether he'll pursue this ent.i.ty's request or not after speaking to this emissary. Hopefully, it won't be something problematic that may cause him trouble in Flocaster.

***

And as per instructed by the voice, Gray indeed woke up from night sleep, wondering what really was the conversation all about.

'Based on the way he talks, he must be some sort of G.o.d, calling me mortal as well as Paragon.' Gray deduced mentally. He then verified his left hand, marveling at the now present ring on his left middle finger that was given to him by the unknown ent.i.ty. 'Still, that being or whatever sure is generous to give me such a powerful ring.'

The elf also thought something about what the ent.i.ty mentioned, something about him going outside to marvel at the night sky. As such, he first decided to open the window of the room. Accurate to the ent.i.ty's words, the night sky is undoubtedly majestic, especially the full moon that basked its grandeur throughout its entirety.

While Gray was on his sight-seeing from his spot above, his eyes all over the area that overlooked a significant portion of the village from above, he spotted something not quite right. Hearing the sound of the door opening from below, Gray saw a man wearing a set of hooded leather armor emerging from inside. Of course, he would probably not pay him any sort of attention to him if not for the outfit that the mysterious man wore coupled with the late hour of this night. That, and the village curfew is currently on strict implementation, so no one aside from the guards and other authorized individuals is supposed to be outside prowling around in the dark.

???

Level 22

Health: 1,458 / 1,458

Stamina: 2,914 / 2,194

Mana: 390 / 390

Oh, and let's also not forget the long sack that the man is carrying as well as he seemed to be in a hurry to get away from here.

It's clear as the daylight from hours ago that the man is up to no good. Relying on his best judgment, Gray pointed his hand at the fleeing man and immediately cast u003cMana Slaveu003e from his spot above. The spell effectively took its place, causing the man to immediately halt his tracks as he clutched his head in agonizing pain while screaming and dropping the sack and himself into the ground.

If his suspicions are false, though, then the elf us willing to make the proper reparations to his victim who he cast his magic upon.

The guards patrolling naturally have heard the screaming, and they all went to investigate. Upon seeing the state of the man in pain down on his knees, they were definitely flabbergasted and wondering what in Wynather's grace is going on around here.

At first, they were concerned for the man's well-being and decided to help him. At the same time, they, too, were suspicious of what this man is doing here at this time of the late evening accompanied by his dubious clothing.

As a result, they decided to investigate the inside of the suspicious-looking sack while one of the guards is instructed to tend to the man's well-being.

"What the?!" The guards' surprise skyrocketed further upon seeing the contents inside the sack.

"L-lady Stephania?!"

Indeed, it was the n.o.ble Lady herself who was dressed in her nightwear inside the sack. She's witnessed to be unconscious and unaware of the current events that's unfolding. They instantly put her out from the constricting sack and look after her concerning state of condition.

"Uh, mates…" The guard that was tending to the man spoke with fear to his fellow guards. "You might want to take a look at this man of ours too."

Heeding his advice, the guards were beyond puzzled yet again upon seeing the man now standing still. What's even more menacing is that his eyes were shown to glowing brightly in the color violet with his entire body unmoving like a statue.

The guards were immediately alarmed by this unholy sight and quickly sheathed their respective weapons in preparation for whatever this is.

"Wait!"

They all heard a serious voice coming from inside the Manor as they saw an elf approaching them calmly. The guards knew who this esteemed individual is as they were well-informed of a Baron from Chadena visiting here at their village.

"Lord Gray." The Captain of the militia guards spoke on his men's behalf as they all bowed down with regard for acknowledging and greeting him. "We are about to apprehend this crook for attempting to kidnap the gracious Lady over here, but it appears that he is in some sort of a state of magic trance."

"I'm quite aware of that," Gray replied, now wearing his usual robes instead of his sleepwear. "As a matter of fact, that was my doing. My magic has ceased him from whatever sinister intentions he has for Lady Stephania. I was… fortunate that I woke up from a bad dream and opened the window for some fresh air and looked at the beautiful night sky. Then I saw this man coming out from the Manor while carrying the sack and lurking like a rat who is in a hurry to leave. As a result, I have every right to be suspicious of his actions."

"I see." The Captain nodded at his statement. "Then Einsberg and no doubt, the Walcot family is in your debt, my lord. We will apprehend this b.a.s.t.a.r.d for questioning to find out his motive for kidnapping the kind Lady."

"Yeah, you men do that." Gray approved as he does not want to get in the way of the guards' duties and ended the spell's grip on the culprit, sending him fainting down to the ground. He then approached the unconscious Stephania with a concerned look and carried her gently in bridal style. "If it's okay with you, I'll be bringing her personally back inside. Additionally, I want two guards to come with me and a.s.sumed your post right outside of her room in case some other s.h.i.+t like this is going to follow as we are not exactly on the safe just yet. One of my companions is a healer, and she'll be tending to your Lady's health. With any luck, that b.a.s.t.a.r.d did not induce her with life-threatening drugs or any kind of similar medium."

"Yes, my lord." The Captain agreed as the elf proved to be a trustworthy one tonight. They then took away the criminal to the jailhouse, where he'll be locked and questioned before deciding his inevitable trial.

'This night sure is trouble.' Gray thought with utter relief at seeing the Lady safe and sound in his arms while in the company of two guards on his side. 'Thankfully, that G.o.d or whoever he is, woke me up from my slumber so that I can save her just in time. Although I'm not sure if that was intentional in the G.o.d's part or a mere coincidence. Nevertheless, I'm glad that this crisis was averted because it would also be a huge scandal in my place. The Lady disappearing on the night of my visit? I'm never going to hear the end of it, and I might also be branded as a suspect.''

Fortunately, the incident ended without any further complications as the peace of the night slowly restored to its intended state as per the preference of the people staying in the village of Einsberg.