Chapter 812: Small Mythallar, Shadow Assassin

For the Drow, the night on the Surface, while still plagued by significant background glare, was far more convenient for operations than broad daylight.

Moreover, on the Surface, without the complex terrain of the Underdark, the body temperature of a living Elf was like a beacon in the night to the Drow's vision; it was impossible to ignore even if one wanted to.

Perhaps due to excessive trust in the inner city's guards, Genite's Library had no specialized protective magic set up, only a magic Jieti similar to a doorbell.

Xia Duo easily penetrated the Jieti; the wood-and-stone Library was divided into two sections, the front being the Library open to the public, and the rear being Genite's residence.

Passing through rows of bookshelves, Xia Duo did not immediately collect the books; compared to the loose protection at the main entrance, the bookshelves here, along with the books upon them, were shrouded in a systematic Jieti.

The Magic Net here was woven neatly and orderly, highly organized, and seemed to possess some special utility; Xia Duo was no longer the low-level Mage who had first explored the Mythallar ruins.

With his current perspective, it was not difficult to see that this was very likely a miniaturized Mythallar, specifically used to protect the books, scrolls, and even ancient secret texts, documents, Magic Artifacts, and so on here.

Genite was a highly renowned Secret Text Master in Domujiasi City; although his own strength was not great, he had collected quite a few treasures.

Carefully avoiding the area affected by the Mythallar, Xia Duo made his way to the back of the Library, passed through a courtyard furnished with simple tables and chairs, and beyond that was Genite's residence.

In his shadow state, Xia Duo had almost no restrictions of a normal physical form; as long as it was not absolutely airtight, nothing could block his passage, just like now, as he squeezed through a crack in the door into Genite's Study.

Calling it "squeezing" was not entirely accurate; the plane overlap state his body was in was not limited by form, and even if he felt perfectly normal, from an external perspective, it looked like he was squeezing in.

This reminded Xia Duo of the concept of topological equivalence on Earth: if one shape could be transformed into another through twisting, bending, stretching, or shrinking, then no matter how different the two shapes looked at first, they could be said to be topologically equivalent.

And now, the plane overlap state Xia Duo was in was similar; as long as the target location was open and continuous in the Main Plane, whether it was a room with only a small hole or a room with the door wide open, it was equivalent for his current state.

……

Such a special ability also reminded Xia Duo of the legendary Shadow Assassin of the Main Plane.

According to Aiboke, some powerful Arcanist Lords, or even Great Arcanists themselves, might keep such Shadow Assassins, specifically to do things that could not see the light of day.

Currently, the only territory Xia Duo could confirm might possess a Shadow Assassin was the 【August Territory】; that Mage Weierde, who hailed from the Auguste Family, had once visited the Tower of Time, wanting to "purchase" Akuilaien Huo Ke of the rival family.

Xia Duo had personally received him at the time, and he had discovered then that Weierde was wrapped in a cold aura mixed with the scent of blood.

That special aura, which existed almost like a concept, was something Xia Duo still found unforgettable to this day.

Additionally, Aiwa had also received Rogue training there, and he had once mentioned that the August Territory might have methods for High-level Rogues to advance further.

That was a Shadow Ability that only a very small number of assassins could awaken; those who mastered Shadow Ability were Shadow Assassins.

Last year, because Huo Ke Territory had several Spellcasters assassinated by Auguste, including even an Arcanist, this matter not only went to the Lord's Conference of the Seven Cities Council after the new year, but at the time, the Arcane Union had also intervened to investigate.

Archmage Olong led an investigation team to Huo Ke Territory personally to investigate; although Archmage Olong belonged to the Seven Towers faction and had no fondness for Huo Ke Territory, the fact that they investigated for so long without finding a single trace made one think of Shadow Assassins.

By the time the Magic Net Background Communication that Xia Duo transferred to Giles Tower came out, the assassination cases in Huo Ke Territory were ultimately left unsettled.

Besides the fact that Huo Ke Territory was already at a disadvantage and at a low point, the involvement of Shadow Assassins might be the real reason the investigation could not continue.

Those in high positions might have kept Shadow Assassins themselves; although assassinating Spellcasters provoked public anger and challenged the unspoken rules, as long as it did not involve themselves, there was nothing to say.

And if Shadow Assassins were exposed, the consequences might be difficult for many to accept.

As far as Xia Duo knew, Netheril in the Main Plane currently had no way to guard against Shadow Assassins; whether it was because it was unknown and no one had studied it, or because someone was deliberately suppressing it, was hard to say.

In any case, in the Main Plane, the Shadow Plane had almost become a taboo, a taboo that was never mentioned.

Whether at the Tower of Time, Giles Tower, or the Library of the Arcane Union, Xia Duo had never seen any records regarding Shadow Assassins.

Although there were no explicit regulations, everyone tacitly agreed not to learn about it and not to come into contact with it.

The deep meaning behind this was truly terrifying to contemplate!

Therefore, upon learning the true purpose of the Invisibility Cloak, Xia Duo decided to bring it to the Main Plane; he just didn't know if his Personal Space, now approaching 60 cubic meters, could materialize it.

The main body of this cloak was woven from a type of cold-temperature spider silk, interspersed with extremely fine Mithril threads, though these were only used for decoration and stabilization; the magic on the cloak was attached via Constant Spell.

Compared to the 【Blade of Veto】 materialized previously, the material itself was much less; as for the magic, the 【Blade of Veto】 possessed both spell resistance and Spell Breaking, which was also more complex than the simple invisibility of this cloak.

If nothing went wrong, it should be possible to materialize it, but the Personal Space that he had painstakingly restored to 60 cubic meters would shrink again in an instant, which truly made Xia Duo feel a bit sad.

Fortunately, it was only a matter of energy; in the future, he just needed to earn more money and buy more Arcane Crystal. Besides, the Saruoke Wuhui Ruins within the Territory had not been fully excavated yet!

Originally, Xia Duo only planned to finish excavating those two small patches of ruins in the shallow layer and be done with it, as the deep layer was too labor-intensive and costly, but now that he could foresee his Personal Space shrinking significantly, he prepared to develop the deep-layer ruins.

At the very least, he had to find a Statue to expand his Personal Space enough to accommodate his main body; not to mention whether this retreat counted as a retreat, at least having it prepared was the right thing to do.

As for how to complete the ruin development before he and Niya headed to Seventon, he already had some ideas, just waiting to finish preparations in the Projection Plane so he could implement them upon returning to the Main Plane.

And it would be almost once and for all; he would never have to be troubled by this kind of trouble again in the future.

……

Tightening the Invisibility Cloak on his body, Xia Duo swept away all distracting thoughts in his mind, looking at Genite, who was sitting on a rocking chair three or four steps ahead, deep in thought over a palm-sized leaf.

A bloodthirsty smile appeared on Xia Duo's face; he licked his lips as if expecting something, then his gaze fixed, he drew his scimitar from his waist, gesturing as he prepared to launch a surprise attack.