Baron Cullen

"Karen Waller greets the Chief."

Karen stepped forward, placed her right hand on her chest, and performed a standard aristocratic bow.

"Hmm, don't be so formal, have a seat." Fiona put down the documents and pointed to the chair in front of the desk.

Her gaze lingered for a moment on the long sword at Karen's waist, but she said nothing.

Karen sat down as instructed, her back straight and her posture composed.

"Bright has already given me the mission report from Blackwood Village," Fiona said directly and calmly. "I've read it carefully, and the report is very detailed. The vampires haven't appeared for a hundred years, and your encounter with them should have been an extremely dangerous situation."

But the report mentions that you ultimately killed him alone, and the Order Keepers witnessed your sacrifice.

She paused, looking directly at Karen: "However, there are some details that cannot be seen just by looking at the report."

For example, I'm curious how you sensed the village's unusual activity without anyone else noticing?

Her tone was calm, but the probing tone in her words was obvious.

Karen remained calm and replied, "Reporting to the leader, my perception of extraordinary elements is slightly more acute than that of ordinary people."

At the time, I sensed a very subtle lingering aura in the village, but I didn't find anything unusual in the entire village.

Therefore, I thought things might be different at night, so I suggested staying until then.

Karen paused, thinking about what happened next: "As for the battle that followed... it was thanks to the team's concerted efforts and the weapons the church had given me that we were able to successfully kill that vampire."

He attributed the credit to the team and the equipment, thus answering the question without appearing arrogant.

Fiona looked at him for a few seconds; her cool, clear eyes seemed to see right through people.

She didn't press the matter of perception further, after all, she had already heard some of Karen's deeds from Donald, the president of the Mage Association.

In this world where extraordinary beings exist, it's not surprising that some people have special talents.

"Hmm... keen perception, calm judgment, decisiveness at crucial moments, and outstanding combat skills..." Fiona summarized, her tone carrying a hint of approval, "Karen, your performance this time was quite excellent!"

Even Bright Martha and I agree that your Seventh Squad's success in killing that Tier 3 vampire and bringing back crucial clues in this mission is primarily due to your efforts.

She took a few things out of her desk drawer and pushed them in front of Karen.

First, there was a thin booklet with a cover made of some kind of tough animal hide, on which were written three words in strong handwriting: "Hundred Edges Slash".

"This is a third-tier combat skill," Fiona explained. "Its core lies in unleashing hundreds of sweeping slashes in a very short time after a single strike, using special power generation techniques and extraordinary elemental manipulation."

Although observations show that each of these hundreds of slashes is only about half as powerful as the first one, they have the advantage of a wide attack range and a fast attack speed, making them suitable for dealing with multiple enemies or suppressing opponents.

This combat technique demands a high level of control over the user's extraordinary elements, but I imagine this shouldn't be too difficult for you.

Karen's eyes lit up.

Tier 3 combat skill!

Although he currently possesses the third-tier combat skill "Severance" and the third-tier special combat skill "Soaring Dragon," he does lack the ability to launch area-of-effect attacks.

Now that he has this "Hundred Edge Slash," he won't have a headache if he encounters a large number of enemies in the future.

Next came a heavy little bag.

Karen opened it and found a pile of shiny gold coins inside, roughly estimated to be at least three hundred.

This would be a considerable fortune for any extraordinary person, even a nobleman.

Finally, there was a small wooden box.

Karen was a little puzzled. After opening it, she found that there were some packaged alchemical materials neatly arranged inside.

There were dried moongrass, shimmering stardust sand, a few small fragments of fire crystal containing fire element, and some calming pollen that Karen had learned about in the warband for stabilizing potion reactions, among other things.

These alchemical materials are undoubtedly of superior quality, and can be used to brew both professional secret medicines and some commonly used auxiliary magic potions.

Although he doesn't know how to brew potions right now, these materials will come in handy eventually.

"The 300 gold coins are the reward for this mission, and these alchemy materials are the organization's investment in your potential. We hope you can improve your strength as soon as possible," Fiona said. "This combat skill is my personal reward for you."

I've reviewed your combat logs. Your style is flexible and varied, but you lack a decisive finishing move or a way to clear large areas. 'Hundred Edge Slash' might be able to fill this gap.

"Thank you so much!" Karen accepted the three items and expressed her gratitude earnestly.

"No need to thank me, you deserve it." Fiona waved her hand and leaned back in her chair. "The organization will continue to follow up on the matter of the Mystic Society. Your recent outstanding performance may bring you into their sights."

Be extra careful and focus on improving your skills; that's the most important thing.

"I understand," Karen nodded in agreement.

He keenly sensed that Fiona's breathing seemed to fluctuate very slightly when she spoke her last few words, unlike her usual steady breathing.

Given Fiona's strength as a Tier 6 warrior and her age, she shouldn't be showing signs of fatigue under normal circumstances, especially during routine office work that doesn't require much physical exertion.

The mysterious runes deep within Karen's right eye were quietly activated, and the world before her began to change...

He saw the extraordinary elements within Fiona, as dazzling as a sky full of stars, and they constantly emanated a powerful aura.

This is the performance expected of a sixth-tier powerhouse.

However, within that seemingly vast and stable torrent of extraordinary elements, he saw some discordant "impurities."

Those were extremely fine threads of energy, like filth in clear water.

Although few in number, they were distributed throughout Fiona's body and seemed unusually stubborn...

No matter how the torrent of extraordinary elements washed over it, they could not carry it away.

Combined with Fiona's slightly pale complexion and the faint weariness between her brows, Karen was slightly taken aback.

The leader is injured?

Thinking of this, Karen carefully chose her words, her tone carrying appropriate concern: "Have you been working too hard lately?"

You don't look too well. If needed, the Mage Association or the church might have a solution...

He did not directly state what he saw.

After all, this concerned the mysterious runes deep within his right eye, which was his most important secret.

Upon hearing this, Fiona glanced at Karen, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes before she regained her composure.

She hadn't expected Karen to be so observant, but she still shook her head and said in a calm tone, "It's nothing, I've just been dealing with a lot of things lately, which has been a bit tiring."

Besides, I have some old injuries that haven't fully healed, and they occasionally flare up, but it's nothing serious.

She clearly didn't want to talk about it, and probably didn't want anyone to know that she had a health problem.

As the leader of the Order Keepers, she must be the strongest pillar of the City of Breath, and any sign of weakness could shake the people's morale, especially now that the evil forces like the Arcane Society have been discovered operating in the shadows.

However, putting aside her identity as the leader of the Order Keeper's branch, this was the first time she, as a woman, had felt the care and concern of others.

Even though the young baron in front of her might have been acting out of courtesy between superiors and subordinates, it still left a ripple in her otherwise calm and stagnant heart.

At the same time, Karen also sensed the evasiveness in Fiona's words.

He knew that asking further would not yield any results and might even provoke the other party's resentment.

He then nodded: "In that case, I hope the leader will take good care of his health. The City of No Breath needs your presence."

"I know, thank you." Fiona nodded.

Karen was about to leave when she suddenly remembered something and took two things out of her pocket and placed them on the table.

"There's one more thing I need to trouble you with, Chief. These two items are what we found on that vampire."

According to the previous interrogation of Duvel Ralph, this badge was used by members of the Mystic Order to prove their identity.

"And this parchment is the one I told you about before, the one that exudes a terrible aura; it's exactly the same as the other parchment I found in that mansion by the Greywater River!"

Upon hearing this, Fiona glanced at the two items on the table.

She glanced at the mithril badge casually, but when her gaze fell on the parchment, her eyes suddenly sharpened.

She reached out and picked up the parchment. When she unfolded it, she saw the crooked, dark red writing on it, and her pupils contracted slightly!