The guys in the logistics departnt had placed their bets and were holding their breath, listening for the latest news.
Baron was unaware of the commotion he was causing in the outside world. If he had known, given his personality, he probably would have placed a huge bet on himself and then thrown the match.
The containnt chamber was pitch-dark. There were no lights; the only illumination ca from Baron’s Golden Eye.
The Golden Eye, like the Hunter’s Eye, possessed Night Vision, allowing him to see the room’s layout clearly.
The room was empty except for a single spiral staircase that ascended into a bottomless height. It seed to be divided into several floors, and Baron was on the first.
’Strange. When the door opened, I rember this being just a small room.’
But after the door closed behind him, darkness flooded the world, and the spiral staircase shot up from the ground like a bamboo shoot in the spring.
’This must be the Illusory Cocoon Stella ntioned.’
Baron scanned the first floor for a mont and found nothing but the polished marble floor.
So, he went up to the second floor.
He looked around the second floor. Again, there was nothing.
Then to the third floor.
He looked around. Still nothing.
Baron quickened his pace, his empty footsteps echoing throughout the staircase.
Fourth floor, fifth floor, sixth floor... nothing.
???
Baron was a little confused. ’What’s going on? Is this so kind of stair-climbing exercise to pad my step count on WeChat?’
’Or maybe they were in such a rush to set up this containnt test that they forgot to put in the Taboo Item?’
He looked up. The staircase continued to extend, seemingly without end, stretching beyond his sight.
Baron frowned. He thought he might have been too hasty and missed an important clue, so he decided to search the sixth floor thoroughly.
anwhile, in the observation room outside the containnt chamber.
Howard watched as the floor number on the digital screen stopped at "Sixth Floor."
"The Taboo Item on the sixth floor is nearly B Level. It seems our dear Dragon Knight’s talent for containnt isn’t as sharp as his acun for money," Stella said faintly.
She had asked Howard why he had given Baron an S for the interview. She admitted Baron’s answer was rather clever, but it surely didn’t warrant an S rating.
After all, even soone as intelligent and perfect as herself had only managed to get an A- in her own interview, a fact that remained a sore spot for Stella.
But in response, Howard had simply told her that the definition of "S" was "one of a kind."
The only Dragon Knight in the world since the fall of the Dragon Clan—wasn’t that reason enough?
"Perhaps."
Howard heard the subtext in Stella’s words and replied casually.
To be honest, he was also a little disappointed.
He had originally thought that this legendary Dragon Knight, who had managed to escape the Ti Death Judgnt, might be a child of Destiny. Now, it seed not just anyone could beco *that man*.
"The Illusory Cocoon can transport a person within it to any enclosed space it has previously occupied. Each floor is a containnt chamber for a Taboo Item from Westminster’s European Region collection."
Stella held a small notebook, scribbling in it, seemingly writing so preliminary evaluations of Baron based on the ti he was spending on the sixth floor.
"I thought he would at least make it to B Level, but I suppose extres really do beget their opposites."
...
"...I suppose extres really do beget their opposites..."
As Stella’s voice faded from the broadcast, a dead silence fell over the logistics departnt, including those listening in on the phone.
Most of the agents who had bet on A or B Level looked ashen-faced and dejected.
Only Ter and a few other gamblers who had followed him in betting on C Level were pumping their fists and cheering. "We’re rich! We’re rich! A 1-to-35 payout!"
Ounces of Gold at a 1-to-35 payout cos out to 175 ounces, worth nearly 80,000 USD.
Jack sucked in a sharp breath. By that calculation, his own take as the bookie... wasn’t small either.
Gambling is that kind of ga. The gambler might win a little, but the house never loses.
Another voice ca over the broadcast, accompanied by the harsh scraping of a chair. It was the Deputy Director. "What’s going on!?"
Everyone perked up and listened intently.
In the observation room, Howard and Stella’s faces were masks of astonishnt. Just monts ago, the number "Sixth Floor" had started to change, climbing rapidly: seventh floor, eighth floor, ninth floor... it just kept soaring!
In an instant, it shot up to the thirtieth floor! That was A Level territory, bordering on S Level Taboo Items.
Westminster’s entire European District had only thirty-three containnt chambers in total. In other words, the Illusory Cocoon could only generate thirty-three floors.
Each floor corresponded to a containnt chamber the Illusory Cocoon had once occupied. But from the looks of it, Baron was speedrunning the whole thing, as if he’d flipped on a cheat!
The speed was unprecedented!
"Did the counter malfunction? Or did the runes of the Alchemy Array controlling the Illusory Cocoon beco disordered, causing a system crash?" Stella spoke rapidly.
"No," Howard stopped Stella from terminating the test. "It’s Constantine. I vaguely recall that while Taboo Items are instinctively drawn to agents with strong Destiny, there is another type of agent..."
"...for whom Destiny is so strong that Low Tier Taboo Items dare not approach. For such a person, every floor would seem like an empty room," Stella finished his sentence faintly.
She added, "That might explain why he’s climbing the stairs so quickly. His pause on the sixth floor wasn’t because the Taboo Items on higher floors rejected him, but because those Taboo Items felt they were unworthy of him."
"Let’s wait and see," Howard said. "The final floor holds an S Level Taboo Item. If he can reach it and gain the acknowledgnt of one of those items, then there might still be hope for dealing with the Beast."
"In that case, I might just win enough for a vacation to the Maldives. Sun, sand, palm trees... Just thinking about it makes feel a little less old," Howard said, half to himself.
The crowd eavesdropping in the logistics departnt at that mont: "..."
Jack, who had guessed that Howard was one of the three who bet on S Level: "..."
The gamblers, led by Ter, who had gone all-in on C Level: "..."
Inside the Illusory Space, Baron remained completely unaware of the impact his stair-climbing speed was having on the outside world.
He paid no mind to the floors he passed, simply climbing, climbing, his eyes fixed on the invisible darkness at the top of the stairs. The sound of his footsteps on the steps echoed crisply and cleanly in the empty space.
Finally, Baron stopped on the floor designated as "Floor Thirty-Three" for Taboo Items. Looking up, there were no more stairs... or so he thought.
Baron stared blankly as the staircase, which had ended in front of him, began to grow anew like a fresh sprout from a broken willow branch, continuing its ascent.
He glanced back at the still-empty floor, then continued climbing without pause.
Constantine had no idea that his choice had caused an uproar in the observation room, the logistics departnt, and among gamblers all over the world who had placed their bets via Westminster’s phone lines.
...
Stella watched the floor number continue to soar until it beca a large, blood-red question mark. She shot to her feet and said:
"I’m terminating the test. The Illusory Cocoon has likely broken free from the constraints of the Alchemy Array. If this continues, there’s no telling where it might take Constantine."
The Illusory Cocoon is an S Level Taboo Item. Its Authority is to transport people via a spiral staircase to any enclosed space it has previously occupied.
And "enclosed space" could include a dead man’s tomb buried deep underground, or a perpetually frozen icehouse!
Howard also understood the gravity of the situation. He was just about to order for the best nearby Alchemist to be summoned to repair the Array and rescue Baron.
Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed in the hallway, followed by a knock on the door.
Stella opened the door, frowning as she was about to ask what was going on, but the agent blurted out anxiously:
"Deputy Director, urgent report from the board! The Westminster Bank vault for the European District, located under Moscow Red Square in the Soviet Union... has been infiltrated by a mysterious individual!"
"Did you catch them?" soone asked.
"The security caras didn’t capture any trace of an intruder... That’s the strangest part," the agent said. "The person might be a specialized Taboo Item thief... Who are you?"
Stella and Howard looked up at the sa ti to see a cold and handso face.
It was Constantine.
"So I ended up in Moscow... No wonder it was so cold..."
The Gentiana Pattern Ring on the young man’s hand flashed. In an instant, just an instant, the entire hallway was flooded with gold ingots, their brilliant luster reflecting everything.
The Dragon Knight sneezed, then shrugged at the Director and his secretary. "By the way, does this count as a successful containnt?"
"Wait... You... you dominated the Illusory Cocoon?"
Staring at the gold ingots piled high in the hallway, it took a long mont before Stella spoke, her voice filled with shock.
That’s an S Level Taboo Item we’re talking about.
As soon as she said it, Howard was stunned, the reporting agent was dumbfounded, and the gambling dogs from the logistics departnt who were listening in went absolutely wild.
Ten minutes later, a ssage shot across the network lines connecting the Atlantic and the European continent.
Fifteen minutes later, the latest issue of the *Westminster Tis* was sent out across all seven continents and four oceans to every organization and individual agent who subscribed.
This edition of the *Tis* contained only a short ssage, but it sent massive waves throughout the entire Old Descendant Realm.
[Dual S-Rank in Interview and Containnt, an SS Level Agent! Certified by Westminster’s Deputy Director, Howard Davis! A Mysterious Young Man!]
The subheading read: [Single and Available!]
Below that was a short phone number that, when dialed, would connect directly to his bachelor apartnt in the logistics departnt.
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