Chapter 493 – The News Brought by Kirk Weilen

“Your raven… why does it look so sickly? Shouldn’t it be an alchemical creation?”

Pointing at the Magic Raven Vector perched on Punk’s shoulder, whose feathers had lost their luster, Kirk Weilen asked with evident surprise.

Of course, the head of the Thought of Truth Branch wasn’t genuinely concerned about Vector on Punk’s shoulder. His inquiry was merely a common tactic to ease the awkwardness.

Typically, when meeting with peers of similar stature, Kirk Weilen would habitually comment on the drink served to initiate conversation. He would then showcase his knowledge and critiques of various beverages, subtly positioning himself as the “senior” in the exchange…

But only with Punk was Kirk Weilen destined to find a conversational icebreaker in a foolish bird…

Because the cup in his hand contained nothing but plain water—even the water and the cup had been conjured on the spot by Punk just moments ago!

What could Kirk Weilen do in such an awkward situation? Aside from shrugging helplessly, what more could he say?

Unlike Kirk Weilen, who placed great importance on atmosphere, Punk was entirely indifferent to awkwardness. If Punk had still been willing to exchange a few words with Kirk Weilen when he first returned to the Thought of Truth, he now had no interest in humoring the old man before him.

On one hand, Punk’s power had grown stronger; on the other, he was eager to return to his laboratory to continue his research.

Thus, looking directly into Kirk Weilen’s calm, unreadable eyes, Punk stated bluntly:

“My Magic Raven is merely undergoing treatment to rid itself of a minor ailment. Its condition requires no concern from the Branch Head… Instead, I assume Master Kirk Weilen didn’t come here today just to inquire about this foolish bird?”

As he observed Kirk Weilen’s aged, bark-like face, Punk’s eyes filled with wariness.

It had been over seven hundred years since Punk returned to the Thought of Truth. During these seven centuries, Punk had no interactions with Kirk Weilen, the busy Branch Head. Even news of Kirk Weilen extending his lifespan by transplanting magical creature bloodlines three hundred years prior reached Punk much later. Now, Kirk Weilen had suddenly appeared at his doorstep. Punk did not hesitate to entertain the worst suspicions about this smiling old man before him.

Punk’s vigilance was not unfounded. His spell modifications had been completed thirty years ago, but his research had entered a more clandestine and critical phase—while occasionally subjecting the Magic Raven Vector to “treatments” by tossing it into insect swarms, Punk had begun comprehending the “laws” within the Eerie Eyeball. At this stage, Punk was more paranoid and cautious than someone suffering from persecution complex. When Kirk Weilen requested an audience, Punk had swiftly stored all important items from his laboratory into his Storage Ring, preparing for potential combat or even a life on the run.It wasn’t that Punk was overly paranoid, but rather that his secret was far too dangerous. Once exposed, it would almost certainly mean certain death. And now, Kirk Weilen, a spellcaster specialized in divination magic, had come to visit. How could Punk not be on high alert?

Fortunately, Kirk Weilen hadn’t discovered Punk’s secret.

In fact, facing Punk’s extremely wary attitude, the old mage viewed it with complete understanding.

In his view, most mages tended to act this way—”treating everyone as a potential thief”—when engaged in research. Inexperienced mages often believed their work was a groundbreaking, era-defining achievement. Kirk Weilen had seen plenty of such ignorant young people in his lifetime!

At this moment, Kirk Weilen clearly regarded Punk as one of those inexperienced young spellcasters.

Thus, even though Punk maintained a cold expression throughout their interaction, Kirk Weilen remained unperturbed and calmly stated his true purpose for visiting:

“Cyan, I recently received a letter from a distant kingdom. The sender claims to be a Kingdom Protector of a small nation, and his name is Kane Bisadas. He calls himself your long-lost ‘dearest friend’! I came here to ask if you are aware of this matter.”

When mentioning the letter, Kirk Weilen adopted a strictly businesslike and serious demeanor. In truth, he was indeed handling this as an official matter.

After all, the sender was a Kingdom Protector of a kingdom, no matter how small, and his personal strength had reached the Master-Level. Strictly speaking, this could even be considered a diplomatic incident. Particularly since the other party specifically requested to meet a Senior Mentor of the Thought of Truth Branch, Kirk Weilen found it necessary to inquire whether Punk knew this so-called “dearest friend”—both for the safety of the branch and for the security of its Senior Mentors.

“Kane Bisadas?”

Hearing this name from Kirk Weilen’s lips, Punk’s expression turned somewhat peculiar.

Of course, he remembered this scheming, unlucky knight. In fact, a large portion of the wealth he was currently rapidly depleting could be credited to Kane.

Moreover, Punk wasn’t particularly surprised that Kane knew he was a spellcaster of the Thought of Truth and that he resided at the Gray Rain Country Truth Division. Although he had never disclosed any personal information to Kane himself, considering how Kirk Weilen never missed an opportunity during his speeches to apprentices and official mentors to boast about the branch’s strength…

“Our Thought of Truth Branch has a total of six Senior Mentors (Ben Lajie is deceased), among whom Mage Punk Cyan is an undeniable Level 19 Peak Spellcaster. Our power is beyond doubt…”

Thanks to Kirk Weilen’s “tireless” promotions, anyone with even basic intelligence-gathering capabilities—like Kane—would inevitably learn Punk’s whereabouts, especially since the kingdom Kane protected wasn’t far from the Gray Rain Country at all…

Of course, Punk didn’t believe that Kane had come seeking revenge. Otherwise, Kane wouldn’t have inexplicably submitted some ambiguous “diplomatic letter” to the Thought of Truth first.However, Punk truly hadn’t expected Kane to suddenly seek him out. What’s more, the guy immediately demanded a “face-to-face meeting” and “personal visit,” shamelessly using the absurd pretext of being “the closest of friends” right from the start…

After pondering carefully for a moment, Punk still couldn’t figure out why Kane suddenly wanted to meet him.

“From any perspective, Kane and I shouldn’t have any connections at all. What could possibly make this lazy knight travel thousands of miles to the Thought of Truth to see me?”

While subtly frowning and continuing his contemplation, Punk casually confirmed Kane’s claim to Kirk Weilen.

“That’s right, this Mr. Bisadas is indeed my good friend… hmm, the ‘life-and-death comrades’ kind.”

In the end, Punk decided to meet with Kane after all. Ultimately, Punk had complete confidence in his current abilities. Moreover, he was located at a branch of the Thought of Truth – under such secure circumstances, Punk was quite curious to see what new mischief this unpredictable knight Kane had cooked up this time!

(End of Chapter)