The old man paused for a moment before speaking slowly. “Therefore, the Class Holders Guild has decided that, effective immediately, the risk level for all escort commissions will be increased by one grade. As for exploration commissions, it will be up to each individual squad to decide whether to accept them.”
The entire meeting passed without a single word of nonsense, much less an explanation of the reasons. It was as if the Guild was simply informing everyone of a fact.
...
A captain raised his hand. “Vice President, who exactly are the attackers?”
The old man glanced at him and replied calmly, “The investigation is still ongoing.”
Another person asked, “Are they some kind of bandit group?”
The old man still shook his head. “No conclusion has been reached yet.”
After several consecutive questions, the answers received were almost identical. Low murmurs of discussion gradually rose in the meeting room. Matthew noticed, however, that it wasn’t that the Vice President didn’t know; it was that... he couldn’t say.
...
Half an hour later, the meeting ended, and the crowd began to leave. Just as they reached the corridor, Barton couldn’t help but grumble. “He talked for ages, but it was basically like he said nothing at all.”
Ryan said indifferently, “At least we know one thing.”
Barton turned around. “What?”
Ryan looked out the window. “Things are bigger than we thought.”
Matthew didn’t interject, simply following quietly behind them. Just then, an old captain walking ahead suddenly stopped. He looked around to confirm no Guild staff were nearby before lowering his voice.
“My brother is in the City Guard. He said that for the past half month, the inspections for people entering and leaving the Royal Capital at night have been getting stricter and stricter.”
Another captain nodded. “I’ve heard that too. It’s not just people; even cargo has to be opened and inspected.”
Barton frowned. “It was never this much trouble before.”
The old captain sighed softly. “That’s why I’m saying the Guild definitely knows something. They just can’t tell us.”
The group fell silent. No one continued to speculate because they all knew that the more they guessed, the less safe they might be.
...
Just as they reached the hall, a commotion suddenly erupted near the counter. A deacon ran out quickly, holding an urgent dispatch that had just arrived.
“Vice President! Urgent report from the North Gate!”
The entire hall fell silent again. The Vice President took the letter, and after just a few glances, his originally calm expression changed for the first time. He immediately turned and gave a deep command.
“Notify all Class holders of Gold Rank and above to assemble at the Guild immediately. Furthermore, suspend all exploration commissions for today.”
At the last sentence, the expressions of everyone in the hall changed. The Class Holders Guild had not fully suspended exploration commissions for many years.
As soon as the Vice President finished speaking, the entire hall sprang into action. Several deacons hurried to various counters. Parchment papers began to be taken down one by one from the announcement wall, which had been covered in commissions. Especially in the exploration area, it was cleared in less than a minute, leaving only a hollow wooden board.
Many Class holders stood where they were, their faces full of bewilderment. “All of them suspended?”
“What on earth happened?”
“Even ruin explorations have stopped?”
The discussion grew louder, but no deacon answered. Everyone just kept their heads down and worked. The atmosphere was unusually oppressive.
...
Matthew watched all this quietly, neither asking questions nor moving closer. In times like this, it was best not to show too much curiosity.
Just then, a team of Class holders walked quickly through the Guild’s main entrance. There were five of them in total, all wearing uniform black combat robes with golden badges pinned to their chests.
Someone in the hall whispered in surprise, “A Gold squad!”
“It’s the Obsidian Squad!”
The five didn’t stop, heading straight for the second floor. Subsequently, a second team, then a third... In just over ten minutes, four Gold squads had entered the Guild.
The entire hall went completely silent. For many Silver Rank Class holders, this was the first time they had seen so many Gold Rank experts at once.
...
Barton stared toward the stairs and couldn’t help but click his tongue. “Good grief. Usually, you don’t even see a few in a year, and today they’ve all shown up.”
Ryan’s expression, however, grew increasingly solemn. “No, there’s still one missing.”
Barton was stunned. “Which one?”
“Azure Wolf,” Ryan said slowly. “They left the city yesterday and haven’t returned yet.”
The air suddenly went still for a moment. Matthew silently noted the name. The Azure Wolf Squad was clearly a famous Gold Rank team in the Royal Capital, on par with the Obsidian Squad. If they had truly lost contact, then things were far more serious than Mission 317.
...
While everyone was waiting, hurried footsteps came from the second floor. A young deacon ran downstairs and posted a new notice on the announcement wall. Everyone immediately crowded around it, and Matthew also walked over slowly.
The notice was short, with only three points:
1. Effective immediately, Class holders are prohibited from entering the Royal Capital's underground drainage system without authorization.
2. Temporary restrictions are in place for the West District at night; entry is prohibited for non-official personnel.
3. The Class Holders Guild will revoke the commission eligibility of anyone who violates these regulations.
As soon as the announcement was posted, the hall erupted in an uproar. The first two points were understandable, but the third one... revoking professional eligibility was an extremely severe punishment. It meant the Guild wasn’t making a suggestion; it was giving an order.
...
Ryan stared at the announcement for a long time before suddenly whispering, “It seems something has really gone wrong down there.”
Barton, for once, didn’t argue and simply nodded. “And... it’s more serious than we thought.”
Matthew didn’t speak. His gaze fell on the second notice: the night restrictions in the West District. The first clue was on the old library map. The second was the Mission 317 underground entrance. The third was today’s official announcement. Three clues had finally converged on the same place: the West District.
Just then, the Guild’s doors were pushed open again. A blood-covered Class holder stumbled inside. He wore a golden badge on his chest, but it was already half-shattered.
Someone in the hall recognized his identity and shouted in shock, “It’s someone from the Azure Wolf Squad!”
The entire Class Holders Guild instantly fell into a deathly silence. Blood dripped continuously down the steps. Drip. Drip. Drip.
Not a single person in the hall spoke. Everyone’s gaze fell on the man stumbling inside. His left shoulder was gone, and the wound was wrapped in a temporary bandage, but blood still seeped through. The golden badge on his chest was cracked in half, as if he had experienced an incredibly tragic battle.
Thump!
The man finally couldn’t hold on any longer and collapsed heavily to his knees in the center of the hall. Several deacons immediately rushed over.
“Healer! Quickly!”
On the second floor of the Guild, the Vice President rushed down almost instantly. His speed was so great that the people in the hall couldn’t even see his movements clearly. He knelt down and supported the man, his voice sounding urgent for the first time.
“Kahn, where are the others?”
The man struggled to raise his head, his lips trembling. It took several seconds before he squeezed out a few words. “Captain... they... are still down there...”
In the hall, the air seemed to freeze. The Vice President continued to press him. “What did you encounter?”
The man’s pupils dilated slightly, and his face suddenly turned pale. His body began to shake uncontrollably, as if he were recalling an extremely terrifying scene.
“Bell...” He struggled to spit out a word. “Bell toll...”
Matthew’s pupils suddenly constricted. The bell again. The warehouse. The underground. And now, the Azure Wolf Squad. All of them mentioned the same thing.
The Vice President’s expression also darkened instantly. “And then?”
The man’s throat bobbed, and his voice grew lower and lower. “We... saw... the door.”
Everyone in the hall was stunned. A door? What door? But the man seemed to have completely lost the ability to speak. No matter how the Vice President questioned him, he only repeatedly whispered two words.
“Bell... Door...”
Then, his eyes went dark, and he fainted completely.
...
A healer arrived quickly. After an examination, his expression was exceptionally solemn. “The physical injuries can be treated, but...” He hesitated before saying, “His Spirit has suffered severe trauma. I’m afraid he won’t recover anytime soon.”
The Vice President slowly stood up and remained silent for a long time. Finally, he only said one sentence. “Block all news. No one is to spread a word of this.”
Several deacons immediately nodded and began to evacuate the hall. What had happened today was clearly beyond the scope of what ordinary Class holders were allowed to know.
...
The crowd began to disperse, and Matthew left with the others. No one laughed or joked along the way. Barton kept his head down, clenching his fists, while Ryan smoked continuously. It wasn’t until they walked out of the Guild that Barton finally spoke.
“Old Ryan... do you think... the captain and the others can still come back?”
Ryan was silent for a long time. Finally, he just looked toward the West District and gently exhaled a cloud of smoke. “Let’s hope so.”
Those three words already said everything.
...
After returning to the inn, Matthew didn’t immediately practice. Instead, he opened his notebook and turned back to the last page. Below the original content, he added two more lines.
Keywords: Bell toll.
Keywords: Door.
After writing, he put down his quill and stared quietly at the two words on the paper. Herbert had once taught him that when investigating unknown events, one should not rush to find answers but first look for... recurring phenomena.
The bell toll had already appeared three times. And today, a new recurring point had been added: the door.
Just as Matthew was about to close his notebook, a melodious tolling of a bell suddenly came from outside the window.
Dong— Dong— Dong—
The central clock of the Royal Capital struck nine o'clock on the dot. But at the moment the tolling ended, the Spirit that had been dormant within Matthew’s body suddenly vibrated without any warning, as if... it had sensed something.
Matthew’s movements froze instantly. The room returned to silence, with only the flame of the oil lamp flickering gently. He slowly closed his eyes, and his Spirit spread out like a tide.
The walls, the floor, the roof—the presence of every person in the inn was clearly reflected in his perception. The owner was doing accounts at the counter. Someone was snoring in the next room. Aidan was wiping his longsword. Everything was normal. There were no enemies, and no abnormal mana fluctuations.
Matthew didn't relax because of this. The Spirit vibration just now was definitely not an illusion. As a Tier 2 Wizard, his control over his Spirit Sea was extremely high. His Spirit would not fluctuate for no reason unless... it was affected by some kind of resonance.
Thinking of this, Matthew slowly opened his eyes, his gaze falling on the quill on the table. He reached out, and a faint wisp of mana emerged from his fingertip. In the next moment, a light blue rune the size of a grain of rice slowly took shape.
This was the most basic Detection Spell. It had no offensive capability; its only function was to sense residual mana traces in the surroundings. The light blue glow spread silently, quickly covering the entire room. A few minutes later, the rune slowly dissipated. Nothing was found.
Matthew frowned slightly. “It’s not from the outside...” Then the problem was within himself.
...
He re-entered a meditative state, his consciousness sinking into his Spirit Sea. It was still a scene of tranquility. His Spirit flowed slowly like silver mist. In the center, the Spirit Core representing a Tier 2 Wizard rotated steadily. There were no cracks, no contamination, and no external marks.
He checked everything once, yet still came up empty-handed. Just as Matthew was about to exit his meditation, an extremely subtle ripple flashed at the edge of his Spirit Sea. It lasted for less than an instant, but he captured it precisely.
Matthew immediately concentrated his consciousness. However, the ripple had already vanished, as if it had never appeared. He remained silent for a moment and ultimately did not continue the investigation. Herbert had repeatedly warned him never to rashly delve deeper into unknown spiritual phenomena, for the spiritual world was often far more dangerous than reality.
...
The next morning, Matthew went to the library as usual. Since he couldn’t explain it himself, he would look for information. This was the most fundamental habit of a wizard.
The library was still quiet. Violet was still sitting behind the counter. She looked up and saw Matthew, a slight smile appearing on her face.
“Looking for books again today?”
Matthew nodded. “About spiritual resonance, or ancient bell legends.”
Violet was slightly taken aback, then stood up. “Follow me.”
She didn’t ask for the reason but led Matthew straight to the third floor. What was stored there were no longer public books, but a large number of local gazetteers, travelogues, and transcripts of ancient documents. She quickly pulled out three thick ancient volumes and placed them on the table.
“These all mention bells, though it’s hard to distinguish truth from fiction.”
Matthew opened the first book. It mostly recorded religious rituals, which were of no value. The second book was about the ceremonial bells of the ancient kingdom, which were also irrelevant. It wasn't until he opened the third book that his movements suddenly stopped.
It was a very short marginal annotation. It didn’t look like the main text; it seemed more like something someone had jotted down later. There was only one sentence: “He who hears the bell need not chase it; he who sees the door must not enter it.”
There was no author, no date, and not even an explanation. Matthew stared quietly at the sentence, and the two words the Azure Wolf Squad survivor had repeatedly uttered immediately surfaced in his mind.
Bell. Door.
It corresponded perfectly with this margin note. Violet noticed his expression and asked softly, “Did you find something?”
Matthew didn’t hide it and pointed the sentence out to her. Violet read it seriously, her beautiful brows furrowing slightly. “Strange... I don’t think I noticed this margin note when I was cataloging these books before.”
She reached out and gently brushed her hand over the page. The ink of the annotation was already very old, existing for at least several decades. It certainly hadn't been added recently.
The two looked at each other and said nothing more. The library returned to silence, but Matthew had a faint feeling in his heart. Perhaps what was truly worth investigating was no longer Mission 317 itself, but rather—how long the legend of the bell and the door had actually existed in the Royal Capital.
Rate on N.U.
