Chapter 608: Fear of the Unknown


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    Inside Garden Cafe, Adam saw a few familiar faces. Some were students and professors of Saratoga, others were Herbalists from the guild. There were also a few aristocrats whom Daneli had introduced him to.


    The youth greeted all of them and made some small talk. Although he disliked such things, he realized that it was important to maintain a healthy rtionship with them. He couldn''t just outright ignore them.


    Enzana led him to the second floor toward a seating area that had been reserved for someone else. But since Adam was a more cherished customer and also a friend, Enzana had no qualms. The interior of the cafe was serene, with soft lighting from enchantednterns resembling fireflies. A faint, otherworldly melody yed in the background, soothing and uplifting. Elegant tables and chairs inside were made of polished wood, their design inspired by Elven craftsmanship—light, airy, and adorned with leaf motifs. Potted nts and climbing vines weaved through the cafe, creating the sense of a living and breathing sanctuary.


    The transition from ck Bunny Bar to Garden Cafe was like the difference between night and day. One was rowdy, the other was graceful. One tacky, the other posh.


    But Adam didn''t care for such trivial matters. He liked the liquors provided in both ces and would frequent them often. Unlike most Magi who cared about the ces they visited while keeping in mind thier image, Adam couldn''t care less.


    Enzana didn''t chat for long, she assigned a staff to Adam and promptly left. Before leaving, she informed Adam that her family would being to the cafe for dinner and that if possible, she would introduce him to her elder brother.


    Adam didn''t mind making acquaintances with a member of the city council, but he wasn''t overly interested in it. He already knew Brigham Flynn, after all. Still, he didn''t refuse Enzana''s good gesture and said that he''d be happy to.


    After ordering a bottle of Eclipse Nectar, he finally conjured the letter from his earring and began reading.


    Elorywn, the Agent of the Brotherhood who had infiltrated Clover Academy, had gotten straight to the point in the letter. As Adam started reading it, his eyebrows rose in surprise.


    Clover Academy set up a branch in Hannes City? He thought. They should have probably seen the value of researching the tunnel''s connection to Shadowmuir... Interesting.


    His eyes shed with reminiscence as he recalled the time he spent with his friends at Clover Academy. More than a decade had passed, but it felt like it was only yesterday.


    Adam turned his head to the side, gazing at Uptown Quarter''s skyline through the arched windows, thinking to himself, I wonder how those two are doing... I''m sure I''ll be meeting them in the tournament in five years.


    Sigh, time flies by so fast...


    Deep down in his heart, he felt strange that the arcane institution that he attended as a child had been infiltrated by a member of the organization he now worked for.


    But then he realized, wasn''t he doing the same with Saratoga now? Shaking his head with a slight chuckle, he turned his attention back to the letter.


    Elorywn wrote that there hadn''t been any major breakthroughs over the past decade. The Magi of Clover Academy had researched the underground passageway leading to the deceased vampire''sir but hadn''t found anything conclusive.


    Except for some faint new knowledge about shadow magic and summoning magic, they hadn''t gotten to know anything more about Shadowmuir itself.


    Hmm, strange. Fifteen years and they haven''t found anything conclusive rted to the ne known as the dark echo of the world? Adam thought, stroking his chin.


    He recalled the mission that he was sent for to Hannes City all those years ago. Hmm, we had passed through that wall in that alley and then arrived at a tunnel where everything was ck and white.@@novelbin@@


    But that state of colorlessness onlysted for a few tens of meters in the passageway before all the colors returned and we seemed to have teleported underground.


    Well, it makes sense that they''d be able to glean information about shadow magic and summoning magic from that ck-and-white area... but nothing about Shadowmuir?


    Wait a minute...


    Adam''s brows suddenly wrinkled together. How did all of use to the conclusion that it was rted to Shadowmuir in the first ce? There was no evidence suggesting it.


    So why was Shadowmuir the first thing that came to our minds when we arrived at that ck-and- white ce? Strangely enough, Lisa also arrived at the same conclusion back then.


    So did the people from the Brotherhood and Clover Academy. Not one person voiced out a different opinion.


    The more he thought about this bizarre phenomenon, the more it didn''t make sense to him. Why did everyone conclude it was rted to Shadowmuir?


    "Good evening, Lord Constantine." A graceful young elvendy''s voice snapped Adam out of his thoughts. It was the staff assigned to him by Enzana.


    "A bottle of Eclipse Nectar for you," said the staff as she ced a pristine white bottle and a crystal goblet on the table.


    She poured the silvery wine into the goblet in a practiced and refined manner. Then, she asked respectfully, "Sir, would you like to order something to eat?"


    "No, thanks." Adam shook his head absentmindedly.


    For some reason, his heart started to feel heavy after reading what he had just read. After the staff had left, he focused his attention back on the letter, an ominous feeling slowly gripping


    his heart.


    ''... After excavating parts of the ck-and-white tunnel, we have found traces of highly- advanced runes...''


    ''...Samples of these runes have been sent to the Ulier Headquarters. If you would like a detailed report on those advanced runes, you will have to contact the headquarters directly...''


    As he finished reading the letter, the frown on Adam''s face had be deeper. Highly advanced runes? He thought.


    Are those runes for teleporting people from the city to the undergroundyer? Or is it for something else?


    He couldn''t quite put a ring on it, but something felt very strange about the entire situation. His sixth sense-or intuition, as most people would call it was telling him that there was something concealed behind the veil of grim obscurity.


    The fact that those advanced runes were found, the fact that everyone subconsciously assumed that the ck and white passageway was connected to Shadowmuir, made Adam


    feel... dread.


    He pulled his sleeve and nced at his arm, only to notice that it had been covered in goosebumps. He then looked at his palms, they had turned sweaty.


    What... what''s going on? He couldn''t help but involuntarily gulp.


    Is my sixth sense warning me about something? About that underground tunnel in Hannes City?


    About that ck-and-white passage?


    Adam took a deep breath, curmbling the letter in his hand and disintegrating it with mana. He could feel his heart thumping as the fear of the unknown creeped inside of it.


    First, I need to contact the Ulier Headquarters and ask them about the runes they found in the


    underground tunnel, he thought.


    And then... I need to personally visit Hannes City!