Chapter 2550 The Noah Family <TOC> Chapter 2552 Joint Adventure Purpose
Translator: SumTLMan
Daus approached the man in the black robe and first bowed slightly towards the empty seat next to the black-robed man, saying: “Good evening, Lord Black Count.”
No one responded, but a nose embedded in the stone slab jumped onto the table and sniffed at Daus.
Then, the black-robed man said: “You needn’t do that; this time I didn’t bring the lord’s ears and can’t hear.”
Daus, who now saw that it was a nose and not ears on the stone slab, breathed a sigh of relief, somewhat complaining: “Why didn’t you say so earlier? Had I known you couldn’t hear, I would have come directly to you.”
“Do you fear my master that much?” the black-robed man asked teasingly.
“Are you not afraid?” Daus countered.
The black-robed man just chuckled softly, but did not reply.
Daus continued: “To divide one’s body into countless parts, each with its own consciousness, such a monster gives me the chills just hearing about it. And yet you dare bring it with you every time you go out. Tell me the truth, aren’t you scared?”
The black-robed man sipped his wine and said indifferently: “Although my lord’s nose is here this time and can’t hear your words, it can smell your malice.”
Daus staggered back several steps in shock.
“Can a nose really smell out malice? Is that true, or are you just fooling me?” Daus asked cautiously.
“You may think I’m fooling you. But do you believe that?” the black-robed man said.
Regardless of whether it was true or not, Daus dared not speak further and specifically walked around to sit at the farthest position from the black-robed man and the nose.
Once Daus sat down, the black-robed man said softly: “You just asked me if I was scared. A mere apprentice has made the mighty Lord Red Sword sit opposite. Do you think I am scared or not?”
At this point, Daus no longer cared whether the black-robed man was scared, but the other was right; Daus spoke to this apprentice as an equal, even sitting on equal footing, because he was with a part of Lord Black Count’s body.
As long as the “nose” was present, no one dared disrespect the black-robed man.
This was also why the Noah family was renowned; the Noahs were few, but every Noah who walked outside carried a part of Lord Black Count’s body. It meant that every Noah was under the protection of Lord Black Count.
Of course: “protection” is just an outsider’s understanding, but based on past interactions with this old friend, Daus vaguely sensed that Lord Black Count might have other, unknown purposes for doing so. What these purposes were, Daus did not know, but his strong spiritual perception always gave him an uneasy premonition.
That’s why Daus had asked earlier: “Are you not afraid, are you really not scared?”
Though the black-robed man seemed to use a counter-question to express his fearlessness, was he truly not scared? He had never answered directly.
“I’ll stop speaking in riddles; let’s get to the point,” Daus said as he glanced at the still-sniffing nose and then shifted his gaze to the cloaked figure: “Vai, shall we find a convenient place to talk?”
The cloaked man, Vai Noah, Daus’ old friend for many years, did not move but closed his eyes for a few seconds. Soon, the nose embedded in the stone slab took a deep breath and then exhaled sharply, creating an absolute barrier around Daus and Vai.
This was a second level spell, with soundproofing as its most trivial effect. In battle, its formidable defensive capability was its primary purpose.
“Now we can talk,” Vai said calmly.
Using a second level spell as a sound barrier was something only the Noah family among apprentices could accomplish.
Daus paused for a moment: “Were you just communicating with Lord Black Count’s nose? I hope you didn’t say anything bad about me.”
Vai rolled his eyes, too lazy to respond to such a foolish question: “I was doing just fine in Somiya. What did you call me here for?”
From Vai’s reaction, Daus could be sure that he hadn’t spoken ill of him to the Black Count. Daus felt relieved and replied: “I’m planning an expedition to some ruins soon.”
Vai looked resistant: “Don’t include me. I’ve told you before, I hate deserted places. I can barely breathe in big cities, let alone the Sandworm Market.”
Vai was a peculiar person; not very sociable, indeed somewhat reclusive, Daus had never heard of Vai having friends other than himself. Yet, despite his reclusive nature, Vai peculiarly enjoyed bustling, crowded places. However, he appeared resistant whenever someone tried to engage him in conversation, a true contradiction.
He seemed to enjoy merely watching others revel.
“It’s not that I’m asking you to join me on the adventure; rather, my intuition seems to be failing this time. I can’t sense good or bad outcomes and wanted your insight,” Daus said, his face unusually serious.
Vai frowned slightly: “If your intuition is failing, that suggests a serious problem. Better not to go at all.”
Daus: “But… I’m not content.”
Being discontent was just Daus’ excuse; the real reason was the malfunction of his spiritual perception. He always felt a premonition that this exploration might transform his spiritual perception into a true innate ability.
Vai looked at Daus deeply and sighed: “I give up on you; you love tempting fate. I really don’t see the point of exploring.”
“This is the essence of a wandering wizard; having gained freedom, we lose sources of knowledge, and exploring is a way to compensate.”
Vai was silent for a moment and then took out a transparent glass cup from his robe.
“Remember, you owe me another favor,” Vai said as he placed the cup on the table.
Daus nodded repeatedly: “I remember, with this one, I now owe you five favors.”
Vai raised an eyebrow: “Six.”
Daus waved his hand grandly: “All your drinks here today are on me. Consider it a repayment of a favor, how about that?”
Vai was silent for a moment before responding: “Fine. Five favors.”
Daus immediately leaned in, thrilled: “Then let’s begin.”
It was clear that Daus and Vai had done this many times before; he was familiar with the process. When he saw the clear glass cup, he extended his hand.
In his mind, he was thinking: I am about to go to the ruins.
Then, with a slight slash of a wind blade, a drop of blood from his fingertip fell into the glass cup, and the dark red blood shimmered with a faint glow.
Vai glanced at it: “Your blood purity has improved a lot since last time.”
Daus replied: “I’m not as lazy as you, staying at the apprentice peak without advancing.”
Vai snorted but didn’t retort, instead stretching out his own hand, letting a drop of blood from his fingertip fall into the glass cup as well.
Vai’s blood was uniquely colored, a bright red with a faint golden sheen.
Logically, as a formal wizard, Daus’ blood should have dominated over Vai’s. However, when Vai’s blood mingled in the glass, it was instead Daus’ blood that was suppressed.
To be precise, Vai’s blood, like a membrane, tightly enveloped Daus’ blood.
“It’s always fascinating to see; are you Noahs even human?” Daus exclaimed in wonder.
Vai didn’t want to respond to pointless remarks, instead picking up the glass cup, preparing for the final step: to smell.
Vai possessed a very peculiar talent, which he called: Death Scent.
He could smell the scent of death in blood.
In terms of classification, this talent might belong to the prophecy school, since prophecy wizards also have the ability to predict death. However, the prophecy wizards predict death by finding constants in variables, and their outcomes can be changed.
Vai’s Death Scent, however, was a prediction of death based on an already existing constant, though the outcome could still be changed.
As Daus dripped his blood, he mentally prepared to go to the ruins; this was a constant.
What Vai was about to smell was whether Daus going to these ruins would exude the scent of death.
However, just as Vai was about to sniff the blood in the glass cup, his hand suddenly paused, then he gently placed the glass back on the table.
Daus, knowing every step clearly, asked in confusion: “What’s wrong, why put it down without smelling?”
After a few seconds of silence, Vai said: “This talent of mine, it was inherited from my family’s elder. Since my lord’s nose is here, let my lord judge, perhaps more accurately.”
It was the first time Daus heard that Vai’s Death Scent talent was inherited from the Black Count.
Although Vai did not know why the Black Count’s nose was needed to smell, Daus thought about it and nodded. They had already come this far; they could not give up halfway.
Soon, Vai picked up the stone slab embedded with the nose and placed it in front of the cup.
The Black Count’s nose began to sniff.
Miraculously, the two drops of blood in the cup kept rolling, but no matter how they rolled, Vai’s blood still tightly enveloped Daus’ blood.
After a long while, Vai put down the stone slab.
Vai did not speak immediately but closed his eyes as if he had fallen asleep.
Daus guessed that Vai was probably communicating with the Black Count’s nose… It could also be said he was communicating with the Black Count, although all parts of the Black Count had “his consciousness,” it was still fundamentally the Black Count’s consciousness.
The communication took longer than imagined. Vai’s brow occasionally furrowed, as if he was arguing with the Black Count.
It wasn’t until Daus had downed two full glasses of liquor and watched the blue sky outside get covered by dark clouds and raindrops start to fall that Vai finally opened his eyes.
“What’s the result? Did Lord Black Count say anything?”
Vai still did not speak but picked up the glass cup again and sniffed it once more.
After finishing, Vai looked lost.
Seeing all of Vai’s actions, Daus was still a bit confused: “What exactly is going on?”
After a long time, Vai finally sighed: “I can’t smell anything myself.”
The absence of smell did not mean that death would not approach, but that Vai’s talent had failed.
“However, my lord smelled the scent of misfortune,” Vai continued, his brow lowered.
Daus: “The scent of misfortune, does that mean I’m going to die this time?”
Vai shook his head: “I don’t know, but…”
After hesitating for a while, Vai sighed and finally said: “The lord told me to go to that ruin with you. This way, you can be sure you won’t die.”
Daus: “So you mean, if I go, there’s a high chance I’ll die; but as long as you come with me, I won’t be in danger?”
“Not dying and not being in danger are two different things,” Vai couldn’t help correcting.
Daus: “We don’t need to worry about these details, can I confirm one thing, are you really planning to explore the ruins?”
Vai nodded.
A homebody who never liked exploring ruins was actually going out. Even without Daus’ spiritual perception, it was clear that something was definitely wrong.
“Is it your own desire to go?”
Vai remained silent.
As old friends for many years, Daus immediately understood that this was the intent of the Black Count.
“Can I refuse? After all, it’s not my decision to make, someone else leads the exploration of the ruins,” Daus attempted to use this method to help Vai return to his homebound lifestyle.
Vai understood what Daus meant, and helplessly spoke: “I have memorized the scent of your blood.”
Such an unexpected statement, not understood by others, but clear to Daus.
Even if Daus refused Vai, Vai would follow him through the scent of his blood.
Unless, Daus does not go to explore the ruins.
“Also, don’t forget, you owe me five favors,” Vai said again: “If I use this favor to make you tell me who the leader is, you won’t refuse, will you?”
Clearly, Vai had considered the possibility of Daus not going to the ruins.
The Black Count had emphasized Vai going to those ruins, surely foreseeing something.
Daus was silent for a moment: “I can’t agree to this immediately, give me a day, I will give you an answer after one day.”
Vai bowed his head and softly hummed in agreement, simultaneously using lip-reading to silently say to Daus: I’m sorry.
Daus understood, Vai was apologizing for his inability to resist the Black Count, thereby implicating a friend.
There wasn’t much Daus could say, he just sighed and patted Vai on the shoulder: “Don’t be like a worry wart, it’s not a big deal.”
After a pause, Daus added: “By the way, after I leave, you might want to ask the Black Count if our entire adventure team would be safe if you come along?”
Vai nodded: “Okay.”
With that, Daus patted his old friend’s shoulder again, sighed helplessly in his heart, came to the bar, and asked the bartender to take extra care of Vai, then he quietly left the Cross Bar.
After leaving the bar, Daus wandered the streets for a long time, pondering what exactly the Black Count intended to do.
And how he could help Vai.
But the Black Count was a figure at the pinnacle of the pyramid in the Southern Region, and Daus found it difficult to gauge his intentions.
With a lament, Daus finally headed toward the direction of the black market outside the Sandworm Market. This was his mistake, leading to Vai’s involvement, and no matter what, he had to explain and apologize to Angel and Kael.
Moreover, with Angel backing up against the Savage Grottoes, he also had some understanding of the ruins, perhaps he knew what the Black Count’s intentions were?
After all, the gap in core information between organized and unorganized wizards is quite significant.
Chapter 2550 The Noah Family <TOC> Chapter 2552 Joint Adventure Purpose