Chapter 314: Invaluable Jewel. (1/2)

They had to hurry because time was indeed short; they barely had a month left before the tournament finally started.

When everyone was informed of the new orders, they were back to their initial excitement to complete the task. This time, they had more confidence as they didn't have to hold back to hide anything from the rest of the world.

Leaving them to deal with everything, Ozul decided to spend these days trying to familiarize himself with the new power.

He had thought of naming it but then decided to leave it for later until he had a better understanding of it.

Every day he felt his control over that shadow increase, albeit just a little.

Unlike with the Ball of Purity, he would easily get tired of manipulating them. As a result, his progress was far slower than he had anticipated.

At the same time, the anticipated day drew nearer, and everyone in the organization was busy looking for clues about the symbol.

Anything related to the Three-Eyed Strangers was regarded as highly important by all the other organizations because of the sudden speed at which they had risen to their current position.

Except for the Church of Light, which was too busy stabilizing itself to care about external matters, this new action from the renowned neutral organization drew the attention of many, if not everyone's.

Within a day, everyone around the continent had their own copies of the pattern being spread everywhere.

Including the Merchant's Guild and the Leonhard Dynasty, they asked their own experts but found nothing related to the pattern.

Unfortunately, that was all they decided to do for now since the upcoming event was more important to them right now. While they kept their eyes out for whatever the Three-Eyed Strangers were doing right now, none interfered as they were busy with their own preparations.

Weeks quickly began to pass while thousands of files started piling on the desks of every higher up in the headquarters.

Although Ozul made it easier for them this time, their work had undoubtedly increased many times over.

The pyramids of reports were the proof of their best efforts and the results of the expenditure of their enormous resources every single day.

Sadly, most of these reports contained nothing but disappointment for them.

The rest of the reports only contained vague hope which they had to verify every time. These were mostly from the people who would do anything to get some rewards; even making up their own clues regarding the pattern.

Overall, they had it easier to gather information now but they still weren't able to bring any good news.

As days passed, all the organizations keeping an eye on the Three-Eyed Strangers began to have doubts. They understood more than anyone how much resources were being spent and they still continued to do it while the deadline given from Old Gu was only days away.

They began to assume whether their decision to not pay much heed to this unusual behavior was alright in the first place. It had become clear to them that the importance of this pattern to the Three-Eyed Strangers was invaluable, hence they should have investigated it a bit more.

However, with the deadline in their view, they could only choose to conserve their forces. After all, most of them were clueless about what would really happen.

****

In an inconspicuous corner of the continent, an old man walked through the busy streets with an obscure presence.

He didn't seem out of place yet there was something different about him.

At one point, he suddenly paused as a series of words reached his ears.

Making a slight turn, he walked towards the corner and noticed a few men discussing a strange pattern with a painting of it in their hands.

The Sun seemed to rage on the sky but the gentle cool winds helped calm the burning heat.

Just then, a gentle breeze hit the area and the next moment, the man holding the painting of the strange pattern found himself with nothing in his hands.

Outside the town, the old man sat on the roof of a building with the painting of the pattern in his hands as he tilted it a little and deeply stared at it for a moment.

”So this is what that boy's been looking for? Hm...” Old Gu muttered, his interest in Ozul increasing even further.

”... I can't seem to make out anything from this... but I get the feeling that it is not just any casual pattern.”

Old Gu continued to tilt the painting and stared at it from all possible angles. Unfortunately, he couldn't figure it out in the end.

Standing up with a sigh, he looked at the horizon, colored half with the blue of the sky and half with the green of the forest with a glint in his eyes and a grin stretching across his face.

”Come to think of it, I hadn't told him where to come... Gahaha”

The old man then vanished from the town. Although his laughter echoed there for a time, frightening the townspeople in broad daylight.

***