Fantasy Game: Infinite City

After a while, at the top floor of the spire in the center of the castle.

This is a gorgeous and grand place. The furnishings in the entire room can be called collectibles. However, there are no artworks or other decorations hanging on the walls. Instead, there are many weapons and special flags. In front of one of the walls, there are several display racks with sturdy and noble armor.

But the layout of this room is a little strange. In front of the main door, the only entrance, there are more than a dozen bookshelves neatly filled with various books and scrolls. Behind these bookshelves are the rest of the room.

Although there were books and scrolls everywhere, the strange thing was that there was no table or anything like that in the whole room. Besides the bookshelves, there was no place to put things except the windowsill. Logically, such a room would have at least some cabinets to store wine or use them as tables, but that was not the case here. However, there were some stands that were supposed to be used for potted plants, but they could not be used as tables. Although there was indeed an alchemy workbench in front of one wall of the room, it was filled with alchemy potions and materials, with no place for other things. And judging from the thickness of the dust on it, it seemed that no one had touched the workbench for a long time.

Apart from that, this room, which only had weapons, armor, and bookshelves, was actually very empty. Apart from these things, the only other furnishings in the room were a few fur rugs on the floor and a fireplace that was burning gently. There wasn't even a chair, and it looked like a room that hadn't been fully decorated. However, the location of this room in the castle occupied the position of the castle lord's room, and it was at least the residence of one of the most distinguished people in the castle. However, not only did it look like it hadn't been fully decorated, but there was no one there. Not only that, the only entrance and exit door of the entire room was blocked from both the inside and the outside.

But this is very strange. In a room with a completely blocked entrance, the fireplace is burning gently. It seems that someone has carefully adjusted it. The windows are integrated and cannot be opened. In addition, the bookshelves filled with books and scrolls are very clean except for the dustproof edge on the top layer. Only a few books are covered with dust, indicating that people often come here to check those books and scrolls. However, the weapons, flags, and armor on the walls are covered with dust like the alchemy workbench. No one has touched them for a long time.

“Squeak…”

But at this moment, the door that was locked in both directions was suddenly pushed from the outside, but because it was locked in both directions, it could not be opened. However, because the door was locked with some rusty padlocks and chains, although it could not be opened, it could open a gap. The gap was very small and people could not get in. The size of the gap was only small enough for some rodents to get in. Or some small bats.

“Rustle, rustle…”

The light source inside the room was very dim. There was light from the fireplace, which was okay, but the door was blocked by the bookshelves, and the fire from the fireplace was not very bright, so no light could be seen from outside the door. And because of the unique location of this room, this spire in the center of the castle was rarely visited except on the first floor. Of course, it might be because the stairs leading to the second floor were also locked.

At this moment, a black shadow came in from the gap of the open door. After entering the room, the black shadow gradually grew larger and made some subtle noises. Soon, a figure appeared in front of the door. The figure turned around, looked at the staircase entrance outside through the gap of the open door, and then quietly pushed the door back to its original position, as if no one had ever appeared here.

"pssspsss!"

After entering the room, the figure quickly walked to the bookshelf. At this moment, some strange noises suddenly came from one of the armor display racks on the wall of the room, as if someone made some faint sounds with his mouth. The figure at the bookshelf quickly walked to the armor display rack. When he walked in front of the display rack, some liquid shadows flowed out smoothly from the armor, and soon, these liquid shadows re-formed into a human shape, and he took out a rolled-up thing, which might be parchment, from the armor where he had just hidden.

"You shouldn't have lit the fireplace."

"It's too dark in here to see anything, and it's very cold here. Besides, I adjusted the fireplace carefully, so no one will notice."

"Have you forgotten the chimney smoke?"

"Don't worry! Today is a big day. The city lord is busy preparing for the evening banquet. The castle is also busy welcoming and entertaining guests. The kitchens in various places are working and will not be discovered. Besides, it is noon outside. Compared with the smoke in other places, it is difficult to observe here."

"I hope your hypocrisy won't get us all killed here."

"You... If something goes wrong, I stay and you guys run, right?"

"You're a wimp. If you're caught, you'll betray everyone. I don't know why the initiator of the mission specifically asked you to participate in this mission."

Although he heard the ridicule from another companion, he was not angry. It seemed that this kind of thing happened frequently. Moreover, it seemed that what the other party said was not wrong.

"Maybe it's because I'm handsome? I heard that the initiator of the mission is a beautiful girl. Although she wears coarse clothes and black gauze as a disguise, her noble temperament cannot be concealed. She must be a lady from an aristocratic family. Besides, this little trick can't fool my eyes."

"And three hundred gold coins just as a down payment."

"Yes, there is also this. I have digressed. What is the situation outside? How is the brothers' investigation going?"

"The mayor and his family are waiting at the castle gate to welcome the guests, with the guards following them. The Rat King has obtained the guest list. It is estimated that in an hour or two, the last few guests on the list will arrive. At that time, the castle exit will be closed and blocked, and the drawbridge will be raised."

"Sounds like we don't have much time left?"

"No, no one is going to risk wrestling with the beasts in the moat. We are not leaving today. The castle banquet will last for three days. We will leave in three days. During this period, there will be carriages delivering gifts and food. If we complete our task quickly enough, we can use them to leave early. But to be safe, we have three and a half days to complete the task. However, according to the analysis of the "scholar", it is best for us to leave after the banquet is over. By then, there will be more people around and it will be safer for us to leave."

“How much time did the employer give us?”

"One month is more than enough."

"How are the others doing?"

"The Siren has infiltrated the maid team and is further investigating the residences of the guests. At the same time, she is also looking for opportunities. The Earth Dragon is looking for an opportunity to enter the castle's sewers to see if it can find a backup evacuation exit. I walked around the castle, observed the soldiers around the castle, and wrote down their patrol routes."

"What's the catch?"

"The number of soldiers has tripled, and the patrol team size has also increased from three to six. However, the patrol route has not changed and is the same as what we investigated beforehand. However, the safety interval between patrols has been shortened by one minute. If we are discovered, we must either kill the person who discovers us within three minutes or run away within three minutes. Otherwise, we will be chopped into pieces by the knights who come to support us. If we are lucky, we may be burned to ashes by the mages among the guests."

"It sounds exciting. But I don't want to be made into dog food."

"Looks like you've gained something?"

The other pointed to the parchment in his hand.

"Yes, do you want to guess what this is?"

"drawing."

"Wrong guess... Wait, how did you know that?"

"The word 'drawing' is written on the footer of the part you showed."

"...You're so boring, okay."

With the help of the faint light from the fireplace, the two men opened the parchment and began to investigate its contents. The man who had been hiding in the armor took out something else from his arms, which were two drawings that had been folded into small pieces many times.

"This is the drawing that the employer gave us in advance. It records some important locations that she wants us to investigate. Combined with our prior investigation and the partial castle drawings given to us by the steward bribed by the Rat King, it seems that the employer gave us part of an older castle drawing. I have studied it carefully with the Scholar before. What the employer wants us to find is not actually anywhere on these two drawings, but should be near one of the changed locations. However, this part of the location is a structural wall on both drawings."

"So you found this?"

"Very smart! Look at this."

The figure who had been hiding in the armor spread out the parchment he had found and superimposed it on the two drawings. After observation, the two found that the content on the parchment seemed to be a secret space in the castle. Not only was there no marking on it, but the description of this area was also very rough.

"So what does this mean?"

"This parchment is the only text in the whole room that is not on the bookshelf. I found it in the secret compartment inside the chimney when I was trying to light the fireplace. And, take a closer look, what is different about this parchment?"

The second person picked up the parchment, looked at it carefully, then held it up and used the light from the fireplace to observe it in more detail. He found something interesting: there were some small holes on the parchment that allowed light to pass through, but these holes did not seem to be formed naturally.

"It's rough, and...wait, this seems to be..."

"Yes, this parchment has been marked. I compared it again based on these small holes that let light through, and then I found this."

The first person took the parchment from the second person, then picked up the other two drawings, stacked them together, and held them in front of the fireplace. Through the firelight of the fireplace, it can be seen that there are also some small holes on the two drawings that let light in. But the positions of the holes are different.

"Is this a... a staircase with a passage? It looks narrow, but it's enough for people to pass through normally."

"Yes, I have written down the locations of these light leaks. This may be where the thing we are looking for is hidden."

"Ah."

The second person nodded. Although he had some prejudice against the first person, he still recognized the other person's professionalism.

"So when do we act?"

"Wait until the Siren finds out the approximate routes of the people's activities. Although this location is in the central area of ​​the castle, I didn't see any patrolling soldiers when I passed by there, only some servants like maids and housekeepers. That location should be a secondary corridor, and not many people usually pass by. As long as we keep a low profile, nothing should go wrong."

"Let's go then, there's nothing else important here."

The first person blew gently towards the fireplace, and the flames in the fireplace suddenly went out silently. He stood up from the fireplace and prepared to leave.

"Wait a moment."

"what happened?"

When the two men walked to the bookshelves, the second man waved his hand, and some of the surrounding dust was attracted by an unknown force, turning into a sphere and floating in the air. As he waved his hand, the dust scattered, as if it had life, and floated to the bookshelves. Covered with dust, it looked as if the bookshelves had never been moved.

"Restoring this place to its original state will reduce suspicion. Our mission this time is not easy. We must be careful everywhere."

"What are you talking about? I haven't touched these bookshelves?"

"Didn't you say that parchment was the only thing not on the shelf?"

"It's definitely not there. Didn't I tell you that I found it in the secret compartment of the fireplace?"

"Are you sure these bookshelves haven't been moved?"

"I'm sure... From your tone, it seems like there's something wrong?"

"If you didn't touch these bookshelves, then in a room that's locked from both sides and covered in dust, why are these the only bookshelves that don't have any dust?"

The news immediately made the two men fall silent, their hairs standing on end. They could not help but quickly reach for the weapons at their waists. The first person immediately pinched his hand seal and released a magic. Soon, some phantoms appeared between the bookshelves and began to move, looking like they were investigating the bookshelves.

"Phew... it was just a false alarm."

"It's time for us to leave."

"Ah."

However, after seeing the appearance of the phantom, the two men breathed a sigh of relief. This person was the woman who hired them in the first place. Although her face could not be seen clearly, her body movements and body shape were exactly the same. She should have entered this room before.

After their doubts were dispelled, the two figures immediately turned into two black shadows, left the room through the gap in the open door, and after returning the door to its original position, they immediately and quickly left here along the stairs and lost their trace.