The Last Gentleman

The manager of Cold Lake Cemetery, the limping Field.

Upon seeing this elder, everyone instinctively became alert.

Even the little grape in Yi Chen’s body immediately shut its mouth and hid deeper.

“The disconcerting sensation of burial sitting heavily, these guys in charge of managing cemeteries are all just as uncomfortable. Try not to expose me; I don’t want to interact with this old man… Moreover, his grape is about to go bad, as if it’s been soaked in water for too long.”

“Um, just stay hidden.”

Yi Chen also felt a moist, burial-like sensation emanating from the elder, as if a moment of inattention would see them thrown into a river of corpses.

The single document the old man threw on the dining table meant the captains of the three squads had to crowd together to examine it.

The document was indeed detailed, analyzing the three “rooted pathogens” of the Natural Grey Zone and then providing a corresponding difficulty rating. A brief summary followed:

1. [Black Pus Disease] ★★★★, relatively simple rooted pathogen, some distance from Holy Grail Mountain, with fewer available route information, requiring squads to subsequently find their own correct way up the mountain and locate the [Passage].

2. [Gathering Eye Disease] -★★★★★, the most difficult rooted pathogen, occurring within Holy Grail Mountain. A few individuals with deep pathological infection have already found the correct path and might even have discerned the location of the [Passage].

3. [Septicemia] -★★★★+?, of intermediate difficulty, since investigative squads have never penetrated deeply into the Baron Mansion, the exact challenge is uncertain. The Baron Family, living in the mountains for many years, is likely to hold extensive information about Holy Grail Mountain and there might be family treasures left in the mansion.

…

When the captains finished perusing,

a white-haired young man wearing a white robe and with Intelligence as his Main Attribute placed his right hand elegantly over his chest to introduce himself:

“Well, since we haven’t formally met, I am Iskarion Lottson, currently employed at the Magician Association, though just a newbie assisting with miscellaneous tasks, specializing in ancient magic.

We are a more traditional combat-magic pastor squad. Miss Jenny must handle both healing and perception and is not quite adept at dealing with spiritual events.”

With the guidance of the white-haired youth, another captain began to introduce themselves; she was also the only female captain among the three teams.

Short chestnut hair, a Gentleman’s Coat tailored as body-fitting combat skin, an arm covered with a metal bracer, a sword on her left waist, and a metal shield bearing an elk pattern on her back.

“Norma Kopet, member of the Pathogen Investigative Team in waiting. Our squad has Robert responsible for exploration and deciphering texts from the Old World, and neither Larmer nor I are strong with [Sensing].

Similarly unfit for dealing with spiritual infection events,”

Yi Chen caught the implied messages from the two captains and introduced himself with a smile:

“William Behrens, student at the Omphalo-Centric Academy… Since both of you are reluctant to take on [Gathering Eye Disease], we’ll handle it~ Our team members have high Perception.

Although I, as captain, am relatively lower, I am fairly proficient with ‘eyes’.”

As Yi Chen chose the Grey Area Pathogen he would confront, the little grape hidden inside him opened its mouth in excitement, seemingly about to feast on countless high-grade grapes.

Seeing Yi Chen take on the most difficult task, the white-haired captain asked curiously:

“Oh? Mr. William, are you also skilled in Pupil Skills? No wonder in the previous competitions, when you faced that uniquely-identified Heavy Knight alone, you always found the right ‘angles’ to strike and dodge.”

“Not exactly Pupil Skills, just better eyesight.”

“I really envy such talent~” The white-haired man smiled, shifting his gaze to the other side. “Miss Norma, for the remaining two pathogen areas, what are your preferences? Do you lean towards the village or towards investigating the Baron Mansion, where even the investigative team hasn’t fully entered?”

Norma herself being a reserve member of the investigative group, she was well aware of some of the internal rules regarding investigations. If one area in a certain time zone has not been examined, it is for sure that there are concerns, and it’s left until last.

“If you don’t mind, we’ll take the Black Pus issue with the Village Chief.”

White-haired Lottson made an OK gesture, appearing to get the outcome he wanted.

“No problem at all; our team will take care of that mysterious Baron hiding in his mansion. I’m quite curious about what this fellow is up to on the mountain that he knows he’ll get sick but still stays put.”

“If that’s the case, it’s settled then! I hope everyone has a smooth climb and we’ll journey to the Old World together.”

Yi Chen could probably tell that this white-haired gentleman was no ordinary man, he had not used any obvious ancient magic in the previous qualification selection. Instead, he suppressed his opponent with basic magic alone.

Indeed, an ancient aura different from the “Gentleman’s Skin” could be felt emanating from within him.

Sensing that Yi Chen was stealthily observing him,

the white-haired Lottson smiled amiably and tilted his head to glance at Yi Chen.

“Speaking of which, Mr. William appears to be a gentleman of physique, but in reality, you mainly rely on intelligence, right? Would you consider joining the Magician Association after graduation? If we could invite a genius like you, the chairman would definitely praise me.”

“Haha, we’ll see. I’m still not sure how I should develop my future.”

After the meal,

the limping Field, upon receiving the ‘mountain climbing route’ chosen by the three teams, still spoke with a somber face:

“At this time tomorrow, carriages will take you to the respective areas.

If you die in the deep mountains, at least don’t let it be too shattered. Make sure your teammates can carry your complete body out and continue to contribute to the organization by placing you in my cemetery.”

After a series of ill-omened farewells, the old man walked towards the exit, and just as he was about to vanish from everyone’s sight, he suddenly turned around!

His pale eyes once more gazed towards the young people at the dining table.

Sadly lifting his withered arm, his curled index finger straightened gradually while emitting the sound of cracking bones, pointing at two people:

“You, and you… come with me.”

The ones named by Field were none other than Yi Chen and Reagan.

Since the other party was a senior gentleman, as well as the person in charge along the way, they naturally could not refuse.

Jin also waved his hand, “You go ahead quickly, maybe you can get some benefits from this old guy. I’ll go to the clinic here for a look, maybe I’ll find some good corpses.”

After exchanging a look, Yi Chen and Reagan followed the old man, with the latter grabbing the last chicken leg from the table.

All the way in silence,

they reached the eastern exit of the town, and as the scent of decay that pervaded the air reached their noses, Yi Chen and Reagan both thought back to their life in the cemetery.

However, the rotten smell here was mingled with moisture,

like a legless captain who kept his booted severed leg in a barrel with dead fish. After a hundred days at sea, the stench that emerged when the barrel was pried open.

As they stepped into the cemetery, the limping Field finally spoke.

“You both have a strong scent of the cemetery on you… Have you done such dirty work in other cemeteries before becoming gentlemen?”

Yi Chen answered indifferently, “Yes, I’ve spent some time in the Seven-Day Cemetery before.”

“Seven-Day… That’s Wilbert’s place, right? And you, where did you come from?”

Reagan, when talking about his cemetery experience, remembered some not so good memories, but the fat on his face quickly covered it up, “Camberley Cemetery, I worked there for nine years.”

“The Great Cemetery, nine years? No wonder I could smell the strong odor as soon as I entered the hotel. It’s rare that you could survive. I called you here because I’m short-handed, and there’s a batch of [important goods] at the bottom of the lake that needs to be transferred by tomorrow. I believe you gents who have come out of the cemetery can easily handle this task.

Though I’m old and only own this damp cemetery, I’m not stingy enough to let you work for free.

As long as you do a good job, the ‘tomb products’ you carry on you can benefit from me.”

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