Chapter 2: The Conclave of Wizards
Zhu Yu squatted beside the corpse and read the short sentence on the letter several times.
In the end, she had to come to the conclusion that the messenger from the Draka family was killed by Elena.
She was nervous for a long time, but the murderer behind the scenes turned out to be herself!
This ridiculous result made Zhu Yu feel relieved.
Although the original body's behavior confused her, at least the current situation was easier to handle than she had imagined.
However, the content of the letter gave her a headache again.
“Old time”, “Old place”?
What time and place is this?
Damn it, at a time like this, what she feared most was this kind of charade clue!
996, who was standing by, did not say a word to disturb Zhu Yu's thoughts. He just silently carried the messenger's body back to the cupboard.
It was not until he closed the cupboard door that he spoke up and reminded:
"Zhu Yu, you haven't checked the main quest of this dungeon yet."
Zhu Yu was startled, and turned around:
"What main quest? Doesn't this game allow players to explore freely?"
She subconsciously raised her hand and looked at her wrist, but there was no black player bracelet on it.
996: "Although the rules of the game are free exploration, it certainly won't be completely free. For a copy like this, there must be some kind of hidden mechanism, or at least completion conditions. Otherwise, how do you judge whether it is a clearance?"
Zhu Yu was enlightened by his words: "...You have a point."
Then she closed her eyes and silently recited the game system in her mind.
A translucent interface immediately appeared in front of her:
Total number of players: 100
(Note: This instance does not have a chat group or forum interaction function)
Player reputation: 10/100
Main Mission 1: Find the source of the plague
Main Mission 2: Completely eradicate the plague
Mission Progress: 10/100
Player Occupation: Wizard
Current wizardry level: Wizard Apprentice
Skill: Purification (Basic)
Conditions for improving witchcraft ability: gradually unlocked according to the progress of the main task, currently 10% has been unlocked]
This personal page is completely different from the previous two copies. There are no more functional modules such as system mall, business panel or task panel. There is only one page of simple content presented in front of Zhu Yu.
Her eyes first fell on the column of player numbers.
There were only 100 players in this dungeon. According to her experience, this number of people meant two extremes - the difficulty of the dungeon was either extremely low or extremely high.
Considering the current situation, she didn't need to think too much, the answer was obviously the latter.
As for her wizard profession, after drawing the card, she felt a little disappointed when she saw the "purification" ability marked on the wizard card.
After all, compared to purification, she prefers to choose a more combat-effective profession, so that she can at least protect herself more actively.
However, when he saw that the main quest of this copy was related to the plague, Zhu Yu suddenly felt that this purification skill was extremely practical and completely suitable for his profession.
Moreover, even though her profession in this dungeon lacks direct combat power, the combat skills and practical experience she accumulated in the first two dungeons are not for show.
Thinking of this, Zhu Yu closed his eyes and prepared to summon the fire dragon and bow and arrow.
However, the next second, a cold system prompt sounded in her ears without warning:
[The current player's other abilities are unlocked with reputation. The player's reputation is monitored to be 10, and the initial seal release progress is 10%. ]
Zhu Yu froze, suddenly opened his eyes, stared at the description, his mind went blank.
Wait, what is happening?
This copy sealed all her previous abilities! ?
She was also thinking about summoning a fire dragon and picking up a bow and arrow to kill everyone!
With the last glimmer of hope, Zhu Yu tried to call for his weapon, but what appeared in his hand was only an extremely ordinary wooden bow - there was not even a gem inlay, and even the bowstring was a bit rough, like a toy made by a carpenter's apprentice.
"What the hell is this? This is too much of an insult!"
Her eyes swept over the bare wooden bow, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but twitch, and she was completely speechless.
Zhu Yu tried to pull the bowstring again, and the muscle memory in his wrist was still as smooth as before.
"Fortunately, my archery skills are still there."
Zhu Yu let out a breath, barely comforting himself a little.
After calming down, Zhu Yu turned his attention back to his personal information, and new doubts emerged again:
"What's up with the 10-point value on the reputation and task progress bar? I didn't do anything when I entered the dungeon..."
996 came over and glanced at the interface, then said thoughtfully:
"This should be what the original Elena left behind. Although she has been marginalized by the family in the past three years, she has performed well in managing the tavern and helped you accumulate basic reputation points."
After listening to this, Zhu Yu leaned against the wall and sighed deeply.
She quickly sorted out her current situation. Elena's efforts provided her with a starting point, but from now on, all progress had to be driven by herself.
For example, now, although Zhu Yu didn't know the exact time at night of the "old time" mentioned in the letter, it was already dark outside the window, so it should be not much different.
She hesitated for a moment, weighing whether to pretend she hadn't seen the letter and avoid this dangerous appointment, or to take the risk and go and find out what was going on.
Just before she made up her mind, Maggie's voice suddenly sounded outside the door:
"Miss, your appointment with Mrs. Janet is coming up soon. Do you need me to prepare anything else for you?"
Zhu Yu and 996 looked at each other, their eyes filled with silent surprise.
Although she guessed that this copy would not give her a dead end right from the start and there should be clues to break the deadlock hidden somewhere, she did not expect the answer to appear in Maggie.
If you think about it carefully, this makes sense.
In the memory fragments provided by the system, Maggie has always been Elena's personal maid, loyal and devoted. If Elena really left any secrets, Maggie is likely to be an insider.
In just a few seconds, Zhu Yu quickly formulated a countermeasure.
She raised her hand and pointed at the window, then whispered a few words into 996's ear.
996 nodded, without asking any more questions, turned around, gently pushed open the window, turned over and jumped out with a swift movement, disappearing into the night.
After confirming that 996 had left, Zhu Yu adjusted his expression and said to Maggie outside the door: "Come in."
Maggie came in with a large bag and put it on the table.
The bundle was slightly open, revealing a neatly folded wizard's hat.
Zhu Yu took a look, then calmly withdrew her gaze, quietly sat in front of the dressing mirror, and asked Maggie to help her with her appearance.
The room was suddenly too quiet, with only the sound of a comb gently running through hair.
Zhu Yu's eyes swept across the mirror. Maggie's expression in the mirror was as calm as ever. Her technique was skillful, as if she had long been accustomed to such silent interactions.
After a while, Maggie tidied up the last strand of hair and said:
"All right, miss."
Zhu Yu stood up and approached the door first.
The moment she grasped the door handle, she stopped, turned to look at Maggie, and said suddenly:
"Maggie, the body in the cupboard needs to be dealt with."
Maggie looked normal, even showing a matter-of-fact expression, and replied:
"Okay, miss. The garden just needs some fertilizer. I'll tell Mrs. Gwen later and have the gardener come up to take care of it."
Seeing Maggie acting so naturally, Zhu Yu gradually came to an understanding that this mansion should be full of Elena's confidants.
After confirming this, her tense nerves relaxed a little, and her expression softened.
Then she opened the door and walked out.
After going downstairs, Zhu Yu's eyes fell on the carriage at the gate of the manor.
It was a low-key civilian carriage, the carriage made of dark brown wood, without any aristocratic patterns or gilded decorations. Even the horses looked extremely ordinary, and it was obvious that they had been carefully disguised.
With Maggie's help, she got into the carriage.
Along the way, Zhu Yu sat in the wobbly carriage, his hands casually placed on his knees, his eyes occasionally glancing towards the window.
Because Maggie was beside her, she did not hastily reach out to lift the curtain of the carriage to check the scenery outside. She could only judge the general road conditions based on the sound of horse hooves and rolling wheels.
Finally, after this long and depressing jolt, the carriage slowly stopped.
Zhu Yu got out of the car and was slightly startled by the scene in front of her - there was an abandoned monastery in front of her.
"Miss, please wait a moment."
Maggie walked up to her, put a loose robe on her, and skillfully put a wizard hat on her.
Zhu Yu adjusted his hat and sighed secretly in his heart. He must not let the secret of tonight's role-playing be exposed.
She should be somewhere in the suburbs now. The air was filled with the smell of damp moss. Most of the stone walls of the monastery had collapsed, and broken statues were scattered here and there.
Through the broken stained glass windows, the moonlight sprinkled like a veil, making the ground mottled and gorgeous, looking both desolate and mysterious.
As Zhu Yu looked around the ruins, a strange memory suddenly appeared in his mind:
[This is the regular venue for the Arce Town Wizards Secret Society branch]
Zhu Yu raised her eyebrows. Could it be that the game settings would automatically trigger memory fragments based on the specific scenes she encountered?
As she was thinking, her eyes were drawn to the figure at the gate of the monastery.
She was a woman with gorgeous makeup, her lips painted with deep red lipstick, her black curly hair piled high, and a pair of delicate jewel earrings dangling from her earlobes.
This scorching face coupled with the black robe made her exude an irresistible charm.
When she met those narrow eyes, a new piece of information emerged in Zhu Yu's mind again:
[Mrs. Janet, her husband was seriously injured and paralyzed in an accident. Since then, she has taken over the Chamber of Commerce run by her husband and managed it with her skills. Mrs. Janet has a close relationship with Elena and is a black-robed wizard of the secret society.]
It seems that her encounters with certain people can also trigger memory fragments.
Thinking of the last sentence, Zhu Yu's eyes involuntarily fell on the white robe on her body - her identity should be a white-robed wizard of the Secret Society.
Lady Janet walked quickly towards her and spoke in a friendly voice:
"Honey, you are always the first one to arrive on weekdays, why are you the last one today?"
Zhu Yu opened her mouth, but before she could find a suitable excuse, Mrs. Janet smiled knowingly and patted her on the shoulder:
"I see. You must have been busy dealing with family matters recently, right? Oh, by the way, I met the leader of the Cold Wind Mercenary Group today. She asked me to tell you that the matter has been settled. You should have received the letter, right?"
I wish I could keep in mind the tricks of role-playing. The more you speak at times like this, the more mistakes you will make.
She just nodded cautiously and didn't respond.
Mrs. Janet smiled even more: "Also, she asked me to remind you to pay the balance as soon as possible. Tsk tsk, considering your friendship, you still have to talk about money. It seems that you have caused a lot of trouble this time."
The two talked as they walked through a long corridor. At the end of the corridor was a heavy wooden door.
Mrs. Janet pushed open the door and urged:
"Okay, don't keep everyone waiting, come in quickly, honey."
Zhu Yu walked into the room, which turned out to be a spacious hall with old stone bricks on the floor and weathered tapestries hanging on the surrounding walls. Directly in front of him was a high platform made of black stone with a few candles burning in front of it. The faint light enveloped the entire room in darkness.
Zhu Yu's eyes swept over the thirty or forty people around the long table and she found that most of them were wearing gray robes, with only her and another person wearing white robes.
There was an empty seat on the right side of the white-robed wizard, which should be reserved for her.
Zhu Yu walked over and sat down, and at the same time caught a glimpse of Mrs. Janet slowly walking to the seat in front of her and sitting down gracefully.
Every organization should have its own unique hierarchy.
The initiator of the secret meeting tonight was none other than Mrs. Janet, who was at the very top. Obviously, in the secret meeting, the black-robed wizards had a higher status than the white-robed wizards.
The gray-robed wizards were the largest in number, and were scattered on both sides, which should correspond to the lowest level in the secret society.
Of course, Zhu Yu’s observations are not limited to this.
She soon realized an even stranger phenomenon
——Why are all the wizards in this secret meeting female without exception?
Just when Zhu Yu was puzzled, Mrs. Janet raised her hand and gestured for silence. The scene where there were originally some whispered conversations suddenly became silent.
"This impromptu meeting is called tonight to discuss urgent matters concerning the plague."
Her tone became stern and her eyes swept over every wizard present.
"The plague situation in the east is getting worse now. There are already signs that it is spreading rapidly and has already reached our area."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
